Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room

A documentary on the rise and fall of Enron.

A very well produced movie showing the personalities behind the company, very little narration, mostly it’s just the former employees and associates talking, which certainly leaves the impression that not much editing was required to get this particular viewpoint.

It’s sad really, a lot of the ideas they came up with were very interesting, but lacking a basic business plan to actually bring money in, and moral scruples to keep everything open, Enron appeared to be a cesspool from day one.

Some great motown music in the background. It does contain some bushbashing, but the previous Democrat governor is made to look pretty stupid too.

Another year, another BIFF

Films I’m interested in seeing:

• 36 Quai des Orfevres
• Blowin’ in the Wind
• Akale
• The Beautiful Washing Machine
• Dumplings (cloest thing to a Miike Takashi film this year)
• The Hunter
• Into the Picture Scroll – The Tale of Yamanaka Tokiwa
• L’Amant
• Sanctuary
• So Cute
• The Taste of Tea
• Vital
• My Korean Cinema
• Blacktown
• Girl in a Mirror
• I Told You I Was Ill: Spike Milligan
• Jabe Babe – A Heightened Life
• Look Both Ways
• Mosaic (*)
• Betelnut Bisnis
• Coca: The Dove from Chechna
• CQ2
• Darwin’s Nightmare *
• Dead Man’s Shoes
• I Am a Sex Addict
• The Love Crimes of Gillian Guess *
• Manners of Dying
• Moolaade
• Murderball *
• Phil the Alien
• State of Fear
• Yes
• Inside Deep Throat
• Pink Ribbon
• Heaven’s Gate *
• The Fearless Freaks
• I, Curmudgeon
• Piccadilly * (Medecins Sans Frontieres screening)

Asterixes denote films I’d really rather not miss. Thirty Eight here, there maybe some I’ve missed.

There are more Australian films that have caught my eye than usual. There’s a stupid car movie collection, there’s plenty of them on the roads thank you very much.

I’m not sure how much time I’m going to be able to take off, having just started a new job, so here’s hoping most of them are after hours.

Me and U(sb)

I have had a terrible time getting the USB keyboard to work on my new desktop. During bootup, it powers up, then down, several times. The trick seems to be to compile all the usb stuff into the kernel, exactly what bits are required is left as an exercise for the reader.

Everything else has been easy, though.

Knoppix and USB keyboards

I’m using Knoppix 3.8.2 to set up my Dell Precision 380 desktop at work.

Out of the box it comes with a USB keyboard and mouse. Knoppix does not know how to get the keyboard working, it works when you are selecting what kernel options you want to start with, but that’s it.

After a bit of searching, it seems the solution is to use a PS/2 keyboard. Quite appalling really.

War of the Worlds.

Pure crap. I couldn’t wait to get out of the cinema. I felt so totally turned off the whole unbelievably stereotypical dysfunctional family that I was hoping they’d all die, particularly whenever the daughter started screaming.

Can directors please get past the Matrix for visual inspiration?

There were a couple of good lines about terrorists and Europeans.

But first, a word from our sponsor.

Anthony has kindly given me some space on his virtual box azure.humbug.org.au for my blog, a small number of my galleries, and place to hang a screen session off.

I think he actually believed the bogus readership numbers I gave him.