It was one of those curious coincidences. After seeing M Night Shymalan's new film, The Happening, I happened to catch the last half of Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds.
It's a stunning thing to realise, but The Happening IS The Birds.
It would probably be more polite to describe it as being inspired by the earlier film, but that's just trying to avoid the blindingly obvious.

When two films are about a mysterious, unexpected and never adequately explained attack by nature on apprently innocent people, when the key protagonists are a guy in a white shirt, a woman and a young girl, when they end up in a crazy old lady's house during the final attack, well inspiration doesn't really quite cover it, does it?
The curious and lingering similarities also seems to cast a deeper meaning on Shymalan's appearances in his films, another characteristic of Hitchcock's career.

On its own merits, the film is mildly scary, going a bit over the top as a warning about our laissez-faire attitude toward the environment, but offering its own uniquely intriguing moments. Normally, when a camera pans over ominously waving bushes, there’s something waiting in there, and The Happening milks the slow building revelation that the bushes themselves are the threat.
Now if Night could get a bit more consistency going in his movies, we could set aside the embarrassment of comparing them.

Tags: Shymalan

BitDepth #637, a look at a new report from the Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago is posted here...

Tags: Technology

A note on my process for updating the Mac OS is posted here...

Tags: Macintosh

RBTT becoming RBC provokes some interesting memories. Read More...

Tags: Photography

BitDepth 636, a look a superhero deconstructions as offered by the new Will Smith movie Hancock is posted here...

Tags: Movies

BitDepth 635 on the wisdom of careful upgrading is posted here...

Tags: Microsoft

BitDepth 634, a look at the newest version of Mozilla’s Firefox browser is posted here...

Tags: Web

A new Mac Blog posting on software for handling FTP chores on the Mac is posted here...

Tags: Macintosh

A new Photo Blog posting is available on the real cost of digital images...

Tags: Photography

BitDepth#633, a hands-on look at Amazon’s Kindle e-book reader is posted here...

Tags: Technology

The stock photography galleries have been revamped significantly. The collection is far from complete, but images will be updated over the next few weeks. View the samples that are available right now here...

Tags: Photography

Phillip Emeagwali is an African scientist who has done pioneering work with parallel computing. Read more here...

Tags: Technology

Macintosh blog moved to here...

Tags: Macintosh

Decided to move my ruminations about photography to a new blog. The first few entries consolidate information about my photojournalism projects and contemplate an egg. Read more here...

Tags: Photography

BitDepth 631, a look at the magic of the double feature is posted here...

Tags: Movies

Flash has been a boon to designers who wanted predictable glitz on their websites, but it may also have become something of a bit in the teeth of web development. Read more here...

Tags: Web

The rest of the story on Vista adoption. There first part was published as BitDepth 629. Read More...

Tags: Microsoft

BitDepth 629, a look at Vista's adoption is posted here...

Tags: Microsoft

On Audrey Hepburn. Nothing more need be said, but I go on and on anyway. Read More...

Tags: Movies

Frances Anne Solomon's A Winter Tale is a keenly seen vision of the struggle to find Caribbean truth in a metropolitan city. Read More...

Tags: Movies

You could just scan a photo or you could digitize your analog images with the utmost fidelity. Read more here.

Tags: Photography

On my Mac blog, the inside story on two software tools I've used for years in preparing my writing for publication.

Tags: Macintosh

Flow's broadband is fast and affordable. The tech support needs some improving though.

Tags: Broadband

Derren Joseph believes that he has the right mix of hands-on and virtual for Trinidad and Tobago's credit card shy society. The story behind his cellphone driven ticketing system is here.

Tags: Technology

Slowly, Polaroid is going away, the immediacy of digital photography replacing the fast fading thrill of watching a colour photo appear after a minute of almost magical developing. Read More...

Tags: Photography

BitDepth 625, a memoriam for software that's gone the way of old code is posted here.

Tags: Software

G Anthony Joseph, who really wants me to stop calling him Gerard, has produced the best film of his quarter century in the film business with Contract Killers. Read More...

Tags: Movies

A look at current options for managing images at a reasonable price is posted here.

Tags: Macintosh

BitDepth 624, a look at the success of the fan continuation of the Star Trek TOS story is posted here.

Tags: Star Trek

BitDepth 623, an overview of current versions of image browsing and editing software is posted here...

Tags: Photography

A new note on my experiences with the MacBook Air has been posted here...

Tags: Macintosh

New images of actors and presenters for Gayelle TV have been posted here...

Tags: Photography

BitDepth 622, a look at two online image editing applications is posted here...

Tags: Photoshop

After a hiatus of almost a year, my photoessay project Local Lives returned this Sunday to the Guardian with a profile of a the Ramrick Sadhoo Chowtal Group.

To mark the occasion, I've revamped the web presence for Local Lives, with extended galleries of the first four installments and "The Return of Ramrick Sadhoo."

The other three installments will be posted over the next week.
View the new web presence for Local Lives here...

Tags: Photography

A new section on the Macintosh begins here...

Tags: Macintosh

BitDepth 621, a look at how musicians are taking more direct paths to their customers, is posted here...

BitDepth 620, a look at online options for wordprocessing software is posted here...

Tags: Web

Information Minister Neil Parsanal wrote this response to the editorial of March 17 in a letter to the Guardian after its publication.
I should note that I often write the editorial without having had the benefit of witnessing the incidents or issues that are the subjects of the day's opinion leader.
I do, however, try to draw conclusions based on at least two reports of the situation. In this case, both Newsday's report on the incident and the TV6 report under the heading "Things that make you go...huh?" asserted that the reporter, Sean Douglas' microphone had been silenced.
Whether or not Mr Parsanal threw the switch, as Information Minister, he had the right and leverage to continue the discussion to the satisfaction of both the reporter and the media in attendance.
The response was published in the Guardian of March 21. Read More...

Tags: Media

Here's a new one. I've referenced editorials that I've written for the Trinidad Guardian in this virtual space, most notably here, but this is the first time that I'm reproducing one directly as an entry on the blog.
Editorials are a curious piece of work for me. They need to represent the thinking of the newspaper's editor and publisher, or at least such thinking as they would be comfortable with.
After writing almost 600 of these, I have to acknowledge that some of them are also my own opinion, free and clear. This one was important enough to share here. There may be others in the future. Read More...

Tags: Media

A review of Jazz Artists on the Greens is posted here.

Tags: Music

Windows Server 2008 features virtualisation. Here's why that might be important for you to think about...

Tags: Microsoft

BitDepth#618 a report on the launch of Windows Server 2008 is posted here.

Tags: Microsoft

Taping television has gone digital. You can buy a box from your provider or create your own solution. Read more here.

Tags: TV

Fast developing downloading music site looking for a webmaster, for webmarketing and web programming. Webmaster should have experience and knowledge of Apache, MY SQL, PHP, HTML, CSS, Javascript.  Location Port of Spain, Part-time an option.  Contact 625 4829, email michele@ritualsmus.com.

Tags: Jobs

Jumper is a bad movie. Bad, bad, bad. Read More...

Tags: Movies

BitDepth#616, an overview of Microsoft's new Office Communicator product and Unified Communications concept is posted here.

Tags: Microsoft

Some notes and references on issue of the Boissiere house, now for sale. Read More...

Tags: Heritage

BitDepth 615 which examines service issues related to the recent broadband push by Flow and TSTT is posted here. Read More...

Tags: Broadband

Trevor Deane, TSTT’s VP for Broadband services responded to the reader responses to issues they have experienced with broadband implementation. Read More...

Tags: Broadband

These are three detailed responses from readers about their issues with the broadband rollout by Flow and TSTT over the last few months. Identifying details have been removed at the request of the respondents, but their comments are otherwise unedited. Because the Flow response made more sense inline, I've included Rhea Yawching's comments in italics in the body of these reports. The column that I wrote based on these reports and responses is here. Read More...

Tags: Broadband

BitDepth 614, my final rumination on the state of the Carnival in 2008 is posted here.

Tags: Carnival

More thoughts about how to improve Carnival that didn't fit into this week's BitDepth, (posted here). Read More...

Tags: Carnival

Is anyone having issues with their broadband service with either Flow or TSTT?
I'm working on a piece that aggregates information from customers about their experiences with broadband upgrades, new installations or problems with Internet speeds and the support responses they have experienced with these providers.

Tags: Broadband

I've been following some of the Carnival bloggers after getting some really valuable links off a few of the sites for the Making Mas series.
Several of these sites are really focused on the business of getting ready for Carnival Monday and Tuesday and one of the fascinating themes that cropped up in the week before Carnival was the disparity between costumes as delivered and as advertised.

Two particularly thorough and interesting entries appeared on the blogs of Saucy Diva and Carnival Jumbie.
After covering Carnival for almost a quarter of a century, an issue like this simply never occurred to me. Have a look at what the committed masquerader has to say. These are blogs that deserve to be signed.

Tags: Carnival

Congratulations are in order to several of the people profiled in the Making Mas series. Brian Mac Farlane (MM4) won the George Bailey award for Large Band of the Year, with Trini Revellers (MM3) came in second in that competition. Tribe (MM2) placed sixth in the Large Band category.

San Fernando bandleaders Ivan and Wendy Kalicharan (MM6) won the South Band of the Year title. De BOSS (MM7) took the Lil Hart award for Small Band of the Year, closely followed by Tribal Connection (MM7) in second place. Wade Madray tied for third place in the King of Carnival competition.
View Making Mas online here.

Tags: Carnival

Why careless construction work and other day to day slights should not be tolerated. Read More...

Tags: Crime

Making Mas is just about finished. I've added a new page, Made Mas that's linked from here. This new page shows some of the costumes and band covered by the series on the road at Carnival. You can find new images and outtakes from the entire series here , the stories are extracted here and PDFs of all the published pages are here. I've also posted for download iPod friendly video clips of an interview (here) I did with GayelleTV's Cock a Doodle Do and a smaller version of the supporting video (here) that I prepared for the broadcast.

Tags: Carnival

Winning the Road March competition sometimes gets easier when the judges do you wrong. Read More...

Tags: Music

BitDepth 613 explores what I've found in the fields of mas making and what it means for Carnival's future. The Making Mas series is found here.

Tags: Carnival

Jason Daly died on January 29. Jason was one of the first of GayelleTV's presenters to visit my studio for the series of portraits that I've been doing of the all-local station's presenters. I didn't know him particularly well, but he always acknowledged me whenever we met and he was a cooperative subject.
I began shooting GayelleTV's presenters partly as a personal project, partly because of my long association with Banyan and Chris laird and Errol Fabien, but mostly because the station is just around the corner from my studio and as I told Chris, it would have been ridiculous for anyone else to be doing their photography.
Having a record of the presence and vitality of Jason wasn't the reason for doing it, but I'm glad that the photos exist.
GayelleTV has created a virtual condolence book for Jason here.

Tags: GayelleTV

BitDepth#612 a report on calypsonian Crazy's first attempt at online sales of his music is posted here.

Tags: Carnival

If 30 is over the hill, what the heck is 50? Read More...

Tags: 50

BitDepth #611, about my experiences with social network sites and Facebook in particular is posted here.

Tags: Facebook

New entry on Trini Revellers and Brian Mac Farlane in the Making Mas series here. I've also added the stories on a new page, so you can view downloadable PDF files of the pages as published, the full take of selects that I worked from in developing the layout and the stories.

Tags: Carnival

Updated the Blog page with a new design from Gary at RapidWeaver Themes called Headliner.
This new theme demands a monitor with a resolution of at least 1024 pixels (pretty much any modern monitor sold in the last four years). My test run using OpenTracker, a pricey but powerful visitor tracking tool reveals that just three percent of you use a smaller monitor that will require some scrolling to view the whole page.
I get to pack a bit more information in to a new left side column, which may make accessing information about page a little easier for folks who don't scroll down very far.
I plan to develop this a bit more as I go along.

Hosay is approaching its climax again this year. It's Flag Night tonight. Have a look at the photoessay I did on the Panchaiti camp last year here and there's a look behind the scenes at how it got put together here.

Tags: Photography

How does Carnival get made?
Making Mas, a new photoessay series that I'm working on for the Trinidad Guardian is a celebration of the unsung heroes of Carnival, the hundreds of people who build thousands of costumes for the annual festival.
The introduction page is here. Galleries of published and unpublished photos are here. Downloadable PDFs of the published Guardian stories are here.

Tags: Carnival

BitDepth #610 a contemplation of the state of Carnival is posted here.

Tags: Carnival

Some thoughts about Terry Joseph. Read More...

Tags: Obituary

More on TrinidadTunes.com. The BitDepth story is here... Read More...

Tags: Carnival

BitDepth#609 a report on the TrinidadMusic.com download service is posted here.

Tags: Music

A big-up for my visitors.
Read More...

About the website updates.
Read More...

The publication of BitDepth has been postponed for one week. The Guardian has the column, but the thinner New Year's day paper allowed no space for the column this week.
Happy New Year, though!

BitDepth #608, an overview of how to calculate broadband speeds is posted here.

Tags: Broadband

Click on each photo to see an enlarged detail.
These images are excerpts from a larger work that is in progress in which I examine the way that flowers, the reproductive organs of plants, deteriorate after they are picked and discarded.
The first two images were selected for display in the Art Society's November exhibition for 2007 and you can view an interview with Magella Moreau and Dennis McComie on the Gayelle Morning Show, Cock a Doodle Doo here and download the interview here. If you're curious about the slideshow I put together for my appearance, you can find that download here and view it here.

Tags: Photography

TSTT's marketing of its Blink broadband service is very pretty, but at its core, I think it's rotten. Here's an alternative. Read More...

Tags: Broadband

I finally chose. But quitting TSTT's HSIA service proved to be an adventure as well. Read More...

Tags: Broadband

Holding onto your integrity, along with your dignity, at a Christmas party should be higher on the media agenda. Read More...

Tags: Media

Films built out of little stories are starting to look a bit too similar. Read Keifel's entry here. Read More...

Tags: Movies

BitDepth 607, covering an interview with TSTT's VP for Broadband and my first experiences with Flow's broadband service is posted here...

Tags: Broadband

BitDepth 606, a report on a recent SAP "awareness" meeting is posted here.

Tags: Technology

BitDepth #605, a behind the scenes look at how Tribe manages a massive group of masqueraders with technology is posted here.

Tags: Carnival

More technical background on Tribe's database driven management of its masqueraders. The original story is here Read More...

Tags: Carnival

BitDepth 604, a look behind the scenes at how bpTT is using technology to bring group knowledge to its high risk offshore platforms is posted here.

Tags: Technology

There are only two kinds of people, people who have a hard drive fail on them and those who will. Guess which kind I am. Read More...

Tags: Technology

BitDepth 603, a report on a introduction to McGhee Productivity Solutions hosted by Microsoft is posted here.

Here's a response from Christopher Laird of Gayelle TV on his experience with Time Machine. I'd scorned the feature in favour of my existing backup software, but I may have to give it another loo