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Real Seafood Company- Ann Arbor, MI

One of the most enjoyable things to do in Ann Arbor during the summer is to dine outside on Main Street.

Tonight we ate at one of my favorite restaurants, The Real Seafood Company.  I’ve been eating at Real Seafood for nearly 20 years and it rarely disappoints.  Unfortunately, this visit was disappointing.  We sat for while before our waiter made it to our table and when we did finally order, the food took a long time to arrive.  Our appetizer was MIA.  Also disappointing was the cole slaw, one my long time favorites.  According to our waiter, the recipe had recently been changed and many patrons had complained.

On the positive side the entrees were great (grilled swordfish and whitefish marsala).

Despite our service problems, I still recommend Real Seafood.  I just hope they go back to their old cole slaw recipe!

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Apple iPad 3G first impressions

Last week the iPad 3G landed at my house as a present for my wife.  After several days of use here are my initial impressions.

It has quickly become the most popular device in the house, displacing the iPod Touch and iPhone.

Out of the box I was slightly disappointed.  I expected it be bigger, the iPad feels like a scaled-up Touch.  After a few days of use, I began to appreciate the larger size of the iPad.  I love my iPhone but the larger screen size of the iPad makes web browsing easier and watching videos comfortable.  The iPad screen keyboard is very accurate compared to pecking at the iPhone/Touch keyboard.

As an entertainment device, the iPad is a clear winner.  For many people it also is a competent laptop replacement if you limit yourself to web applications.  You don’t want to write a novel on the device, but it’s fine for composing short documents and email.

There are a few chinks in the iPad armor.  The well documented lack of Flash support is annoying but not a deal breaker.  Another problem is that there’s no support for Google’s Chrome web browser.  If you go with a 3G model and Apple Care warranty the price easily exceeds budget laptops and netbooks.

I expect the iPad to will decimate the netbook market and take a good chunk out of the budget laptop market.  Since most people in these segments are buying a device to mainly browse the internet, it will be an easy decision to upgrade to an iPad.

Compared to the now discontinued Windows XP Tablet edition, the iPad is a far superior device.  Once again Apple has taken a form factor with a great promise, shed extraneous features, and created a slick streamlined device for the masses.

With rumors of a Google tablet in development, the iPad may soon have some competition.

But for now the Apple iPad rules the tablet space.

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Battlestar Galactica- Stay on target…

A few years ago I got my hands on the Series Bible for Battlestar Galactica (BSG).  As a huge fan of the show and writing it was a huge deal for me.  How did it come into my possession?  The tried and true relative of a friend with connections route.  To protect my sources, I was reluctant to write about but now since it’s been leaked to the internet and seeing that I’m re-watching the series on DVD, now seems to be a good time.

What is a series bible?  A series bible is a document written to guide for directors of episodes as they move through the Galactica universe.  Producers Ronald Moore and David Eick can’t oversee every element of show development and the series bible is particularly important at the beginning of a series.  Once a show a has run for 15 or 20 episodes it’s much easier for a directors to know the tone of the show and understand what it’s about.

Ronald Moore made his name with Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG).  He was responsible for some of my favorite episodes that delved into Worf’s dishonor and redemption.  He also worked in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (DS9) and briefly on Star Trek: Voyager (Voyager).  Star Trek starting to lose me during the run of the DS9 and completely lost me during Voyager.  But what I remember the most about Moore, was his self- criticism during the DVD commentary of Star Trek: Generations.  While commentary tracks gloss over problems, Moore was candid that limitations from the studio greatly hampered the screenplay.  It was refreshing to hear a writer speak so candidly about a high profile project.

When I heard that Moore was helping to develop the new Battlestar Galactica for the SciFi channel I had high hopes that is wouldn’t be the typical schlock peddled by the network.

I was not disappointed,  The BSG miniseries was everything that the original Galactica wasn’t- serious, edgy, and relevant.  But could the tone be maintained?  The series bible helped the the early episode “stay on target” and continue to deliver.

Right out of the gate Moore sets the bar high, “Our goal in nothing less than the reinvention of the science fiction television series.”

Over the next 49 pages sets out the BSG back story and indentifies the elements that will drive the show.

Character driven stories.  No techno-babble.  No alien of the week.  The characters of BSG “…are you and me.” 

The people of BSG “…[are]  deeply flawed, deeply human characters.  They are not, by nature, innately heroic or noble creatures.”  Their actions will have repercussions that carry on from one episode to the next- there is no magical reset switch in the BSG universe, a constant gripe about various incarnations of Star Trek.

Looking back on BSG, I believe the series bible was a key element in its success.  If you’re a BSG fan I highly recommend you track down a copy.

If you’re a writer I recommend you read it to see a great example of how to set boundaries for a project.

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Battlestar Galactica- The missing dvd THE PLAN found!

I was a huge fan of both the original Battlestar Galactica (1978) and love the re-imagined series (2004-2009).  Recently I purchased the box set of the full series and have decided to review the episodes and re-watch the show from beginning to end.

I was excited to finally purchase this set at Best Buy when it was re-released last month (April, 2010).

The only bad news was that I couldn’t find “The Plan” although it was advertised to be included in the set.  I fired off an email to NBC Universal to find out what the deal was.  A few days later I got a reply:

Subject
—————————————————————
Battlestar Galactica Complete Series DVD

Discussion Thread
—————————————————————
Response (Jeremy) – 05/10/2010 03:52 PM
Dear Phil,

Thank you for your email. Please accept my sincere apologies for the delay in responding to your inquiry.

I have been informed that “The Plan” is in fact included on this set on Season Four, Disc #4. I sincerely apologize for any confusion. If you need any further assistance, please let me know.

Best regards,

Jeremy
Customer Service

So I checked and lo and behold the season four, Disc #4 case was a double dvd box with “The Plan.”

So to summarize, The Plan IS included in the new series box set but is not listed on the outside packaging.

I hope this helps everyone!

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Avenue Q Michigan Theater Ann Arbor, MI

Upon returning from New York, our musical binge continued with a touring edition of Avenue Q.

Avenue Q is a musical that blends puppets and live actors in a profane, witty musical- think Sesame Street with adult themes.  It tells the story of recent college graduate as he moves to the big city and learns about unemployment, romance, and how the real reason the internet was invented.

Avenue Q was entertaining and fun but not exactly for everyone.  It’s definitely not for children but anyone who grew up with Sesame Street will probably appreciate as its conventions are used to tell a tale for grown-ups.

Avenue Q Wikipedia Entry

Avenue Q Official Site

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Rock of Ages on Broadway

Recently in New York, my wife and I saw Rock of Ages on Broadway.  Rock of Ages continues the trend of musicals based on popular music.  For those who haven’t seen a show like this, popular sons are fused together and performed to move the plot of the show along.

Rock of Ages is based on rock anthems of the 1980s and follows in the footsteps of Mamma Mia! (Abba), We Will Rock You (Queen), and Movin Out (Billy Joel).

The show follows the journey of a young couple as they try to make it big in the Los Angeles music scene.  These shows work best if you’re familiar the music, much of the of entertainment value comes from hearing the music performed live and hearing the songs wedged into the plot.  Songs from Journey, Styx, Bon Jovi, Pat Benatar, Whitesnake, Steve Perry, and Twisted Sister among others are featured.

Overall, Rock of Ages is a hoot.  The musical performances rock, and the it’s definitely a show that you can go and have a good time.  It’s the rare broadway show that doesn’t take itself too seriously as the cast interacts with the audience and mocks the conventions of musical theater.  You know you’re in for a different kind of show when cocktail waitresses are selling cans of beer to the audience as they enter the theater.

I highly recommend this show especially if you were a fan of this musical era.

Rock of Ages Wikipedia Entry

Rock Of Ages Official Site

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Wicked on Broadway

On a recent trip to New York my wife and saw a performance (4/3 evening) of Wicked.  Being a big fan of its music I was excited to see it in person.  One the great things about seeing a show on Broadway is that theaters have an intimacy that you don’t often get when you a touring company.  Unfortunately, Wicked plays in the Gershwin Theater which is one of the larger theaters on Broadway, so I would recommend getting seats in the first 10 rows- even the balcony and mezzanine are pretty far back so I wouldn’t recommend those locations either.  Seriously, the theater has the charm of the a shopping mall.

Fortunately, we had third row seats which made for an outstanding experience.

Wikipedia has a great synapsis here.

Having only listened to the soundtrack on CD, seeing the play in person filled in quite a few gaps in the story.  The performances were top notch and the sets and lighting were amazing.  One slight quibble is that the production was breaking in a new performer as Elphaba and it seemed that she was slightly tentative in a few places.  We were close enough to see some glances from the cast encouraging her during the performance.

The strength of Wicked is the music, especially the songs of act 1.  The book has a few awkward turns, surprising for musical that is as polished as Wicked.  Note that the musical differs from the novel- the book I’m referring to is that dialog and plot of the musical.  SPOILER ALERT- For example when Elphaba escapes at the end, the reason for not letting Glenda know seems pretty weak.

Still the strength of the performances, the sets, and the music make a Wicked a must see.

Wicked Official Site

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McLaren Cribs copies Planes to Build Faster F1 Cars

…McLaren’s wing addresses a paradox of racing: How to maximize downforce in the corners while minimizing drag on the straights. It’s always been a compromise, one that traditionally has required teams to continuously adjust the front and rear wing on a car during practice until they find the right balance.

Ideally the amount of downforce would be variable — increased in the corners and decreased on the straights. But F1 prohibits the use of movable parts to manage airflow, so no one’s been able to find a way to do that.

Until now.

McLaren’s solution appears to combine an aerodynamic principle common in aviation with the mechanics of a flute.

Downforce operates on the same principle as lift, which is of course imperative to flight. At low speeds — actually, high angles of attack — airflow over the wing of an airplane begins to detach from the upper surface of the wing. When this happens, the wing is less effective at generating lift. That can impair control or, worse, result in insufficient lift to maintain flight.

Full Article

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