Past Lives
I think about this film a lot.
I find myself thinking a lot about this movie Past Lives.
I think I first saw it at home last summer nearly a year after its limited theatrical release date. It had received a lot of recognition and press due to the directorial debut of Celine Song and I consider it maybe the best film I watched in 2024. Everything from the cinematography to the music is just damn near perfect to me. Greta Lee’s portrayal of an immigrant Korean-Canadian making their life in NYC is not something I can directly relate to, but I found her part convincing nonetheless (and in parallel with some of the stories of my friends who do identify with her character’s journey).
The movie is a quiet masterpiece of cinema from one scene to the next; A love story without the word love uttered, reminiscing about a past that once was but will never be again, and the threads of time and life that get interwoven in the process of two people meeting again.
The soundtrack is fantastic as well, with the song “See You” getting heavy rotation on my train and bike rides in the city. It’s also used in this compilation video below. It makes me sad and happy at the same time — I kind of like it.
Healthcare CEO target fliers in Chinese
The healthcare CEO posters are now in Chinese.
The targeted killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson by Luigi Mangione on December 4th last year has sparked an odd campaign of retribution by some anonymous (and presumably angry) recipients of American healthcare organizations.
Today, for the first time, I saw the CEO target flyers in Chinatown, NY in Chinese.
Cheap way to make your own MTA Subway countdown clock at home
Here’s an affordable way to turn any screen into a Subway countdown clock.
There are a number of unique ways to have a Subway countdown clock timer in your own home, but many of them require a good chunk of investment or technical know-how.
My favorite one I’ve seen is this DIY LED matrix display that looks most like the actual countdown timers in the NYC Subway. But even this one requires quite a bit of elbow grease to get working.
There is also this Arduino Subway Clock that uses a tiny LED display but the final result, while providing the correct information, doesn’t quite look the part.
And there is this small informational display running on a Raspberry Pi that doesn’t quite look like any of the clocks in the stations but still provides relevant arrival information.
The cheapest most affordable option however, outside of the MTA’s official website, is this customizable website from Subway Here. If you have an iPad or a TV or anything with a browser, all you have to do is bookmark the page (or leave it on a TV screen all day long) and the subway information for any selected lines is shown. I’ve had this set up on an iPad and it works great.
A list of every USB-C camera tether cable color
A comprehensive list of USB-C tether cable colors.
I’m a digital tech by profession and over the years one of the hardest items to reliably procure in my setup is a USB-C camera tether cable.
Many people often confuse USB-C as a connection protocol rather than a connector type because initially manufacturers were advertising their “new” USB-C cables with the fastest speeds available at the time of its launch. However, as the USB protocol matured, cable makers started flooding the market with USB-C cables that were sometimes transferring at USB 2.0 speeds. These cables were identical to all other USB-C cables on the market except on price (but the reason wasn’t always clearly labeled). See the bottom of the chart here on how the USB-C connector could potentially cover USB 2.0 speeds.
Today, the USB-C connector covers everything from display protocols like HDMI and DisplayPort to Thunderbolt, and a plethora of power delivery speeds ranging from 5W to 240W. All of this on top of what most people need primarily which is maximum transfer speed.
In the photography world where the bare minimum requirements for cables are 10M/32ft reach, USB-C cables are only available from a select few makers. Here’s the definitive list (so far) of all of the different colors you can get that will work on set.
ORANGE
The most well-known USB-C tether cable comes from one of the oldest makers, Tether Tools.
They are not my preferred cable by any means, but they seem to do the job if budget is higher on the list than reliability or if your setup stays in a studio all the time. Their USB-C cable comes in black as well, but it’s iconic orange is hard to miss on BTS videos.
HYPER BLUE
LVNA Cables based out of Los Angeles make a Hyper Blue cable in limited quantities. Their options are limited so choice should be rather simple once you narrow down your needs (basically, are you shooting on the GFX 100 II?).
I use their cables, I like them as a company, and they generally ship fast with great customer service.
Their cables come with additional options in all-black as well.
PRICE: $149 for the Hyper Blue
PINK (FLAMINGO)
The 10M Pink/Flamingo USB-C cable from ROCK CAMERAS is available locally for those of you who are in London. They are the only company I’ve seen so far that also makes a Lemo to USB-C cable at 10M.
They also make an active extension at 10M if you prefer to use pigtails.
All of their cables come in standard black as well but the pink is where they stand out.
PRICE: £100.00
YELLOW
Cobra Tether is based in Germany and supplies reliable tether cables out of Europe. If you see a yellow cable on set, chances are you are working with a crew member out of Europe. Their tether cables come in 10M lengths and they also have 10M active extensions, all in yellow.
If you prefer the classic black, they have that option as well.
PRICE: $150 USD for the 10M cable and $130 USD for the active extension
RED
Area51 Tether Co is based in the US and supplies USB-C tether cables in a variety of configurations. As far as I know, they have the largest cable options available at the sacrifice of quite possibly the most confusing naming convention ever.
As they were one of the first companies to mass-market USB-C tethers, they command a premium price: The 10M cable is $185. I use them, I can vouch for their reliability, but if all other cables are also available and in stock ready to ship, I will sometimes steer away from Area51 on price alone.
Interestingly, they DO NOT make cables in all black.
PRICE: $185
BLACK
While most of the USB-C cable manufacturers on this list also make a black option, Nine Volt seems to only make their IQ Wire cables in black. They are however the only maker on this list that makes a single 15M cable, priced at $189.
These cables are no-frills-do-the-job-right kind and are not flashy at all with a very reasonable price to boot.
PRICE: $129 for 10M
ARCTIC BLUE & MAGENTA
I’m including the Mathorn cables in this list because they are technically tether cables but they currently only come at maximum lengths of 5M/16ft (not ideal for commercial shooting applications in my opinion).
The company is based in Poland so if you’re in that region and want to save on some shipping costs this is one place to look.
For what it’s worth, I’ve never seen anybody use this cable in a commercial setting.
PRICE: $40 USD (???)
PURPLE
Kondor Blue and YouTuber Gerald Undone are coming out with this 15ft purple USB-C cable that delivers 10Gb/s transfer speeds, 4K display support, and 65W power delivery.
I’ve not used this cable (it’s only on pre-order right now) but I know Kondor Blue makes decent cables and on paper the specs of this cable should work with USB-C active extensions to create a hybrid-colored cable length at 10M. Of course, your mileage may vary but I thought I’d include it here anyway.
Kondor Blue makes a number of shorter USB-C cables in different colors (pink, blue, red, black).
PRICE: $40
ASPECT (short film)
A short film about aspect ratios.
I randomly came across this short film called ASPECT by bykody on YouTube. It’s an interesting view on the aspect ratio where the aspect ratio itself takes center stage as it attacks the protagonist throughout the film.
What’s more enjoyable however to me is the fact that there is an accompanying behind the scenes video by bykody on how this short was made on a budget. Lots of interesting tidbits here from practical filming tips to editing on a shoestring budget. Check out that video below.
Only NY x MTA Table Lamp
My favorite household item I got in 2024.
I have been fan and customer of ONLY NY for years and there is no product that excited me more lately than this MTA Table Lamp. The lamp is modeled after the station lights of yesteryear that can still be found in select stations across the system, showing the iconic dual-tone “M” above a green square indicating the station entrance.
It is wonderfully crafted and the perfect size for a table or shelf lamp. The braided cable with integrated dimmer is perfect and very high quality. My only complaint (if I had to really find one) is that the “M” looks like it is printed onto the exterior rather than screen printed (there are some banding lines that Only NY tells me in email is an unfortunate after-effect of the production). Anyway, I really love this thing in my house.
Over The Hill: An overlanding video game
A new overlanding video game from the makers of Art of Rally.
The makers of the video game Art of Rally have released this teaser video of an upcoming game called Over The Hill which looks mostly like a fun and relaxing overlanding drive set in the 60’s-80’s era. It looks like a beautiful game of landscapes and vistas and one that I hope its developers will also release for the Mac.
Check out some early screengrabs below and the official reveal trailer.
McDonald’s releases special edition mahjong set in Hong Kong
McDonald’s in Hong Kong has released a limited edition mahjong set!
Asia always gets the best stuff! McDonald’s in Hong Kong has announced a very special limited mahjong set featuring their iconic mascots! This set comes on the heels of other celebrations and special collaborations that McDonald’s is doing in Hong Kong as they celebrate a historic 50-year anniversary in the country.
I’m not sure if the 1850 release number signifies anything but I can pretty much bet that small number of sets has already been bought. Looks like it’ll be eBay from here on out!