Gregory Harbin, Foreigner

When I go back to America, I don’t want to buy an iPhone. I want a phone that’s small—the size of Microsoft’s Kin 1. I don’t want to buy a bunch of voice minutes I’ll never use. I don’t want to be locked into a contract. I want a Wi-Fi hotspot for all my gadgets. And mostly, I don’t want to pay for a phone overloaded with features just so I can have an interface that works.

A year ago, when it came time for me to buy a phone in Japan, the obvious choice was an iPhone. Sure, it came with a two year contract, but in exchange, I paid nothing upfront, and have gotten steady service for around $60 a month. I hardly ever use voice minutes, which is good, because I have to pay for any I use. My data is unlimited, and ratchets down if I use less than a certain (admittedly confusing) number of packets, which I occasionally do. This is working out pretty well. So why do I want to change things up when I go to the States?

The main answer is that I purchased an iPad. When it was all I had, the iPhone was a fantastic touch device. I could surf the web, use applications, take photos, and, oh yeah, occasionally make phone calls. But now, web surfing feels slow. Applications feel tiny. I use my digicam and the camera connection kit for photos. And when I actually want to make a phone call, I have to find the app amongst an array of others. The main use for my iPhone these days? Tweeting, when I’m feeling too lazy to pull my iPad out of its bag.

What I really need is a phone that does only what I need it to do. When I want to make a call, I want to make it easily. When it sits in my pocket, I don’t want it taking up a bunch of space. I want it to feel speedy. I want its battery to last all day. And I want it to serve as a Wi-Fi hotspot when I’m not at home or the office.

This theoretical phone would probably be a slider. The iPhone feels big in my pocket, even though it’s rather thin. I like the size of Microsoft’s Kin 1, but I don’t like the UI. It’s trying to be more of a phone than it really can be. I don’t need all the Facebook integration, I just want to make phone calls, and maybe send a text or two. I think QWERTY is a little more than I need, too. Just give me a ten-key numpad with nice big squishy keys. I can take it from there.

And because the point of a phone is to connect to a 3G network, I want to be able to rely on it for all my data needs, no matter what device I’m using. There’s no reason to pay an extra $130 for the 3G iPad for a radio that I have to carry with me anyway. The same is true of those adorable MiFi (compact wireless router) devices, which want me to pay an extra $60 a month and give me yet another device to carry around. Just put a Wi-Fi antenna in my phone. My jail-broken Japanese iPhone can do it—just don’t tell SoftBank. One switch, and I’ve got a 30-foot circle of 3G-powered Wi-Fi.

Price is an issue, but not as much as you might think. I don’t mind paying for my data, as long as I’m not paying over and over again for the same data. AT&T’s new data pricing makes sense to me. They’re charging $25 for 2GB per month, and then $10 for each gig after that. If I’m using more than 2GB per month, I just need to stop downloading so much video. What guts me is the $20 charge to tether. And then, they don’t even allow Wi-Fi tethering to several devices, but only single-device USB or Bluetooth tethering. That’s just silly. I want a MiFi that works as a phone, with a sensible data plan. Is that too much to ask?

And I don’t want a contract, either. It makes sense when I’m buying an iPhone, which has an expensive screen, gobs of flash storage, a powerful processor, and a camera. I’m stuck with AT&T for two uninterrupted years, in exchange for getting a $599 phone subsidized down to $199. But what I want isn’t $599, it’s at most $199, and better yet $99. It sits in my pocket, and is barely thought of, except when I need to make a phone call, or I briefly forget why my iPad is always connected to the Internet.

Is there hope for me? I see that Google’s new mobile OS, Froyo, has tethering built in, but I don’t want to buy an expensive, top-of-the-line Android phone like the Evo 4G or the Incredible just to have it be ignored. But consumer devices like the Kin also leave me cold, overcharging for data and voice, not offering tethering, and including a bunch of social networking features I don’t need or want.

Faced with the prospect of overpaying, I’m just going to buy a pay-as-you go burner phone, relying on Wi-Fi where I can find it. But I’ll be on the lookout for a phone that doesn’t get bogged down with extra features, remembers it’s just a glorified 3G radio, and simply fulfills a phone’s core purpose: to connect me with the rest of the world.

Gregory Uncategorized

10. 2012

A very fun action movie with a surprisingly interesting plot. Certainly better than Emmerich’s other disaster films, mainly because of John Cusack and Woody Harrelson, who was great in a film that got left off this list, Zombieland.

9. Up

Not my favorite Pixar film, but Up is really moving, and I love the characters, especially the dog. I really feel this movie should have been live action, but it works as it is. Hope they make a sequel.

8. Julie and Julia

Meryl Streep does a phenomenal job playing Julia Child, and all of her scenes are just delightful. The rest of the movie is a bit dull, and drags on a bit, but overall, it’s very worth seeing.

7. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Newcomer director Mike Newell did a great job with the sixth book. It’s one of my favorite of the films so far, and I’m very glad he’s working on the final two films.

6. Watchmen

The book is certainly better, but the movie captures the spirit, if not enough of the letter, of what I liked from it. It’s an almost perfect cast, too. Change the ending, and this would be higher on my list.

5. The Hurt Locker

This placement is all about (Nathan Fillion lookalike) Jeremy Renner’s fantastic performance as a military contractor I’m not quite sure we’re ever supposed to like, but possibly, by the end, we understand. A very gripping movie, but the reason to see this is the lead.

4. Star Trek

Shaky-cam aside, this is the best Star Trek to date. It does a really good job of setting up the universe for a 21st century franchise. I just hope the next one can calm down on the lens flares and camera blurs.

3. Avatar

Clearly the best big-budget film of the year. Avatar, especially in 3D, draws you in and never lets go. We’ll have to see if it still works on the small screen, but if it makes a billion dollars worldwide and brings in a boat of Oscars, I won’t complain.

2. Inglorious Basterds

This isn’t the movie I thought it was going to be from the previews, and I’m still not quite sure what to think, but I know that it’s one of the best movies I’ve seen all year, and probably all decade (that list is coming soon). Brad Pitt is hardly in it, which is fine. The diverse cast is one that has to be watched, and an early scene between (hopeful Supporting Actor Oscar winner) Christoph Weitz and a French farmowner has to be seen.

1. Moon

Moon! I knew I loved Sam Rockwell, and this movie just proves it even more. Avoid all spoilers before seeing it, although certainly, knowing what happens is not going to completely ruin what makes this my favorite film of the year, which is Rockwell’s amazing, amazing performance. And to think it was made for only $5 million!

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Every year, Steve Jobs keynotes a special event in which new Apple products, especially iPods, are announced, and usually released. Here’s my predictions for this year, with my expected probabilities:

1. G5 iPod nano (99%)
Lower prices (85%): 8GB $99; 16GB $149; 32GB $199
480×270, 16:9 screen (75%)
720p video playback and output (75%)
Built-in camera (50%)
Wi-fi (33%)
Wireless syncing (20%)

2. G3 iPod touch (99%)
Lower prices (85%): 16GB $199; 32GB $299; 64GB $399
Built-in camera (80%)
Enhanced Wi-fi with draft-n support (50%)
Wireless syncing (33%)
570×320, 16:9 screen (20%)

3. 7G iPod classic (75%)
More capacity (75%): 160GB $249
Lower price (25%): 120GB $199
Nothing else interesting (90%)

4. 3G Apple TV (60%)
More capacity (75%): 500GB $249, 1TB $349
Built into Apple-branded HDTVs (33%)
Apple TV software licensed to HDTV manufacturers (25%)

5. 1G Apple ‘PaperMac’ Tablet (50%)
Two models, 64GB $699; 128GB $999 (60%)

Gregory Uncategorized

First of all, the new Star Trek film was amazing. I cannot wait for the sequel. But what I want to talk about are three projects, one of which is already in the works, and two more which I think would make a lot of sense.

1. Star Trek 2 (2011)

The sequel to this year’s smash success, to be written again by Fringe showrunners Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci, with credited help this time by Lost showrunner Damon Lindelof, has huge amounts of potential. The changes they have thrown into the mix can really send this franchise into some crazy new directions. So, here’s my proposed plot for Trek 2:

“Vulcan and other Federation separatists, blaming the Romulan Star Empire for the destruction of Vulcan, commandeer a sizable number of Federation vessels and invade the Neutral Zone, set on a preemptive strike on the capital planet. Kirk is ordered to intercept, but his ship is taken over by a race of supermen led by Kahn Noonien Singh, who then joins the renegade fleet. Before the attack can begin, however, Kahn turns on the fleet, delivering them into the hands of the Empire. Kirk must defeat Kahn, and then, making first contact with the Romulan Empire, convince them to not attack the Federation in retaliation.”

There are other twists and turns in my full outline (Kahn at first befriends Kirk in what appears to be a very genuine way, Pike’s intended First Officer Number One is introduced), but this gives you a general sense of it. It’s a little fan-ficcy, sure, but I did a lot of thinking about what elements we’ve seen a lot of in previous Trek films (Klingons), what we saw in this film (futuristic evil Romulans with Borg tech), and what we really haven’t seen anything of anywhere (the Romulan Star Empire of the mid-23rd century). I also want to bring in Kahn because he’s an important part of the mythology, but shouldn’t really be given his own story in the reboot. And the franchise really needs to deal with the ramifications of Vulcan’s destruction in more than a passing way.

2. New Star Trek TV show

So Trek writer/’Heroes’ creator Brian Fuller wants to make a new Trek TV show. Let him. Plan its premiere on CBS for the 2010-2011 season, and give him information on the plotline of the new film so that the first season of his show can serve as an overall prequel for the movie. This will be the first time since 1994-1998 that a Trek movie series and Trek TV show have taken place concurrently. It worked fairly well then, but given the popularity of A. Trek, and B. serialized storylines on TV, I think this has a fairly powerful chance of being profitable. If nothing else, you’ve shot footage that serves as a sequel to the new film, and your sets, as with TNG, DS9, and Voyager, can be used for the higher-budget film series.

Now what should the show be about? Obviously Fuller has his ideas in mind, and I’d love to let him and a room go wild, but I’d recommend a show about explorers, as with the original show. It’s simply too expensive to set many shows past the pilot on Earth. It’d be important to find powerful actors, so the first thing I’d recommend is to try to get Bruce Greenwood to reprise his role of Captain Pike from the film. People loved his character, and I think with a good conversation, Greenwood could be convinced to do TV. Obviously Kirk is in command of the flagship and Pike is in a wheelchair, but there’s no reason he couldn’t still command a starship. As a Fleet Captain, he’d actually have his choice of commands.

It’s also important to cast his bridge properly: an absolute MUST is to bring on the woman intended to be his first officer, Number One, who was played by Majel Barret on the original Star Trek pilot. It’s easy enough to explain that she was supposed to be First Officer on the Enterprise, but during the rush that sent the flagship on her maiden voyage, she was simply off-world. We haven’t seen a female first officer (no, T’Pol doesn’t count), and such a strong female character could help fill the gap in sci-fi left by the departure of Battlestar Galactica.

3. Star Trek: Countdown: the film

My third suggestion is probably the least likely. The writers of the Star Trek reboot wrote the story to a prequel comic book, ‘Star Trek: Countdown,’ which is set in 2387 and sets up the backstory of villain Nero. What most people may not know is that it features the Next Generation cast in a storyline that’s honestly better than the past couple Next Gen movies.

If you already have some Trek sets built for the new show, it shouldn’t be terribly difficult to retrofit them to be Enterprise-E sets. Do it like the Battlestar Galactica TV-movies. 60-80 minutes. Plan it for inclusion on a Special Edition of the Star Trek DVD and Blu-Ray. It shouldn’t be hard to convince most of the main cast of Next Gen to come back—especially for what’s no more than a day or two of work—for a much better swan song for the main cast, and the future of the ‘Prime’ storyline than Star Trek Nemesis was. I think everyone can get behind that idea.

Gregory Uncategorized

So I’m now found here, at gregory.harbn.com. Thanks to my brother (kevin.harbn.com) for setting up the site, thanks to me for coming up with the name, and thanks to my brother for going along with it.

I’ll have more posts coming in the future, but for now, suffice it to say: Japanese hawks? They’re scary. This morning I was sitting outside a 7-11, eating a hot dog, and one of these crazed aves scooped up my hog dog with his scaly little claws and flew off into the heavens, all while emitting a death screech designed to strike fear into the hearts of mice, rats, and, apparently, twenty-something English teachers.

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Gregory Uncategorized

1. The Dark Knight

Yes, I love TDK more than any other film this year. It’s one of the best action movies ever made, and certainly the best superhero film. I can’t wait to see how this does in my Top 50 of 2000-2009. Heath Ledger is of course more than amazing, and the entire cast—I love love Gary Oldman in this—is wonderful as well. Also, Nolan’s use of the IMAX camera is worth an Oscar right there.

2. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Magical. Brad Pitt is the best leading actor of the year, putting together a performance I’ll be watching for years. It’s almost better shot than Dark Knight, and reminds me of another of my favorite films, The Aviator, in its use of shifting ‘film stock’ as time passes. Also: the best film framing device since Princess Bride.

3. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

I’m almost angry that liked Dark Knight and Button better than this, because I love love love it. I saw it three times in theaters, and three times on DVD so far, and I love it. I’ve done to death the problems with the script and why they exist, but I’ll be darned if it doesn’t work anyway. I really hope they make a fifth one.

4. Slumdog Millionaire

Really, this top ten, especially the top five, is a list of movies I absolutely adore from this year, for different reasons. Boyle throws us into the world of Mumbai in a way I really didn’t expect from the 28 Days Later director. A must-see.

5. WALL-E

Pixar’s best film since Toy Story, and the best computer animated character ever. Maybe a little preachy? But honestly I didn’t notice. Fabulous.

6. In Bruges

Overlooked gem. Seek this one out, if just for Colin Ferrel’s shifty performance as a hidden hit man for hire.

7. Frost/Nixon

You have to accept that this film isn’t factual and move on. Consider it a complete What If? on the subject of Richard Nixon. Langella and Sheen do a great, great job. I absolutely cannot wait for Morgan’s next film. Ron Howard continues to be versatile. He’s doing Angels & Demons next, and then maybe the Arrested Development film. I’m glad I’m not his agent.

8. Iron Man

Robert. Downey. Junior. Glad to see this guy finally get the due he didn’t get after Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. The man can act up a storm, and Iron Man is a fun superhero romp.

9. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

Another unappreciated gem of a film. I hope this gets some sort of Oscar buzz—costuming?—because it should have been seen by more people. Amy Adams delights.

10. Speed Racer

I thought I wasn’t going to like it, and I did. I really, really did. Probably the most falsely-maligned film of 2008. If you have Blu-Ray and HDTV, this must be in your collection.

Bonus: 11-20!

11. Revolutionary Road – Great acting
12. Quantum of Solace – Great action
13. Vicky Cristina Barcelona – Great writing
14. Burn After Reading – Great final scene
15. Forgetting Sarah Marshall – Great jokes
16. Cloverfield – Great concept
17. Body of Lies – Good action
18. Get Smart – Good jokes
19. Hellboy II – Good production design
20. Pineapple Express – Hilarious

Gregory Uncategorized

After a month, a small series of minuscule—yet glorious!—moments from Sendai:

Gregory Uncategorized

Oh, how a week changes things. The map as it currently stands:

McCain now needs to turn Nevada, Ohio, Virginia, Colorado, New Hampshire, AND Florida, and take Missouri and North Carolina, or he stands no chance of winning. Quite a feat for a nominee who has been sliding in the polls since the beginning of the campaign, aside from a slight, quick, convention bump.

Gregory Uncategorized

Inspired by @aimeeisdrawing, I made pretzels tonight.

Gregory Uncategorized