The Loft
The Loft at Donkey HillArchive for January, 2008
Minimalist Tip of the Week
Today’s minimalist tip is one that I feel is the most important tip for organizing your home - categorize your space. As you organize rooms, write down the purpose for that room or section of a room - what activity belongs there. For example, you may want the bedroom to only be used for sleeping and getting dressed. Then take out any objects that do not relate to those activities.
In your living room, you may want to categorize sections of the room. For example, one area may be designated as the TV section, another may be the reading section, and yet another may be the game section. In the TV section, only your TV, a couch or a few chairs, and maybe a small table belong. In the reading section, you only need a bookcase, chair, and some comfy pillows.
If an object does not fit into an activity or a category, throw it out or donate it. By separating your daily activities, you will keep only the objects that you use and be able to see more clearly those you don’t.
Until you get used to the idea, it might help to post a list of the activities for one room or section of a room on a wall of that space. That way you will never place an object there that does not relate to that activity.
It’s in the Air…
That was Apple’s official slogan at MacWorld, which is taking place this week. Yesterday Steve Jobs delivered a keynote address in which he described all the new gadgets and technologies being released this week. The biggest news is the new MacBook Air, the thinnest notebook computer Apple has manufactured. ”Air” is so small, it doesn’t even have a CD drive. It only comes equipped with a USB port, a headphone jack, and a Micro-DVI port. It weighs only three pounds, and really seems to be designed mostly for travel or use with another computer. Music and films either have to be bought through iTunes or else wirelessly transported from another computer.While the MacBook Air seems very cool, I’m not sure that it’s not a little ahead of its time. The world is moving much more to wireless everything, but not everything is wireless yet. Air can only be used with wireless internet, wireless backup (Apple’s new Time Capsule), and wireless transfer of media.I love the look of the MacBook Air, but for now I am sticking with my plain ol’ MacBook. Plus, with a price tag of $1800, I won’t be affording one of those anytime soon.
Minimalist Tip of the Week
Every week, The Loft will bring you a tip on how to minimalize and simplify your home and your life. Many people feel like they have too much clutter, and we are here to help!
At the beginning of each month, make a box of things that you haven’t used in a while. Check the box at the end of the month, and donate the items that you haven’t used to charity.
The Mole is back!
At a time when reality shows were few and far between, and Survivor was in the first few seasons, a little-known reality TV show rocked primetime. The year was 1999 and the show was The Mole.
Contestants on The Mole compete in physical and mental challenges for cash prizes, but not without obstacles - one of the players is working to sabotage the other members of the group. This “mole” must keep his identity secret until the end of the game. At the end of each episode, all players take a quiz about the “mole”, and the player with the lowest score is eliminated.
The Mole ran for four seasons, including two with celebrities as contestants. Eight years later, ABC has announced that The Mole will return for a new season this summer. Casting has begun, and shooting is scheduled for this spring.
At The Loft, we are all extremely excited about this news. Besides The Amazing Race, The Mole was the best reality show on TV. For complete details, check out this article about The Mole.
Get Ready
for MacWorld tomorrow! The biggest prediction is that Apple will announce the start of a movie download rental service, possible through iTunes. iTunes already offers downloads of movies, but you may soon be able to download movies for a few days, at which point the movie will not be playable on your computer anymore.
Imagine hanging out with your friends and being able to watch any movie you want at any time. Netflix has already begun this service of downloading rentals, but currently they are not playable on Apple computers. I love this idea, and I hope that is proves to be true!
Check out these “MacChick” T-shirts on the MacWorld website!
iGoogle Themes
Google has some new themes for your iGoogle page. Check out the new Holiday Village for the (already over) Christmas season, as well as Solar System, one of my favorites.
I love the cute animals that iGoogle has, and my new theme is Aja Tiger. The characters move throughout the day, doing activities during the day and sleeping at night. JR and Autumn are more themes with characters.
To use iGoogle, you need to create a Google account. Once you’ve done that, you can personalize your iGoogle homepage, adding RSS feeds, Gmail, the date and time, and more. Creating a Google account also gives you access to Picasa, Google’s web album service.
Mamma Mia movie
The story - For fans of ABBA, musicals, or movies in general, Mamma Mia is being released as a movie this summer. You can find the official trailer at the Mamma Mia website.
The verdict - Fans of ABBA (and even if you aren’t a fan, who can resist the catchy tune of Dancing Queen?) will love this movie. The Broadway musical has gotten great reviews, and although I have not personally seen the musical, the movie looks like a good adaptation.
The commentary - Please comment below. Ta!
The Dark Knight
The story - A new trailer has been released for The Dark Knight, Warner Brother’s sequel to 2005’s Batman Begins. The movie will be released on July 18.
The trailer reveals first glimpses of Gary Oldman as the Joker. It also includes Christian Bale returning as Batman.
The verdict - Although I tend to be a fan of superhero movies, including Spiderman and Superman, as well as the TV show Smallville, I didn’t like Batman Begins as much as I thought I would. It was very dark compared to other summer movies, and The Dark Knight looks to be the same, if not darker.
One of the aspects that makes the Batman movies so dark is the costuming. The Joker looks horrifically scary in Knight, especially to those of us who hate clowns. The movie poster is downright creepy in my opinion.
I don’t know if this will be a film that I will be seeing this summer. My sights are set on Indiana Jones 4 and Prince Caspian, both releasing in May.
If you are a Batman fan and are interested in The Dark Knight, check out the new trailer here. Also check out the official website here.
The commentary - Feel free to comment below. Ta!
Indiana Jones on Vanity Fair
The story - In an article titled “Keys to the Kingdom”, the new issue of Vanity Fair magazine focuses on the upcoming Indiana Jones movie. The next installment, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, is due out on May 22 of this year.
In addition to the article, the Vanity Fair website also provides exclusive interviews with George Lucas and Steven Spielburg, as well as a short video of Annie Leibovitz photographing the “Crystal Skull” stars for the article. Included is the author’s commentary on future Indiana Jones films.
You can find the article here.
The verdict - Shesapirate is most excited about the new Indiana Jones movie! This article just made me want to see it even more. The first two pages tell the story of how the original trilogy came to be, and then we get to the meaty part. George Lucas describes a concept called the MacGuffin. He explains that the new Indiana Jones has a great MacGuffin and that although industry execs were not so hot to trot on his idea at first, in the end, they were convinced.
I’m wondering what this “MacGuffin” is. So far, we know that the villains in Crystal Skull are not Nazis, but rather Cold War Russians. We also know that the movie has something to do with Crystal Skulls (duh). And we might be introduced to Indy and Marion’s child, played by Shia LaBeouf.
Stay tuned for more updates regarding Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. And check out the official movie website here.
The commentary - Please comment below if you have any thoughts on Indiana Jones, Vanity Fair, or film in general. Ta!
