WheelMan Press Reviews

The Blessing and the Curse of Memory

The Woman Who Can't Forget: The Extraordinary Story of Living with the Most Remarkable Memory Known to Science--A Memoir by Price - $17.16

Most of us take the ability to remember for granted in a sense. We are fascinated by those who can remember well, and bemoan the loss of our own memories, often attributing such things to the ravages of age. And having seen the horrible effects of Alzheimer's firsthand through my late Grandmother, watching someone slowly robbed of their very soul as their memories are eaten away is a slow and painful process I pray no one ever has to witness. But what we don't realize that some things are best forgotten, or at least dulled by the passage of time. It is in much of that which we forget that allows us to evolve and grow. Just because we don't remember the particulars of an event doesn't mean they don't have lasting effects on us that, ultimately, make us smarter, stronger human beings. But imagine if you never forgot those things...

When I first saw Jill Price's story on ABC's 20/20, I immediately purchased and downloaded the book to my Kindle reading device because it seemed like such a fascinating story. Price suffers from the first documented case of "hyperthymestic syndrome", which refers to the continuous, automatic, autobiographical recall of every day of her life. On the surface one would think that such an ability is a gift, a blessing that every unsuspecting person wishes they had been given.

But as Jill Price takes us through her life journey, we discover the bitter that inevitably goes along with the seemingly sweet. Her syndrome is great in that it allows her to forever relive the most wonderful moments of her life, like meeting and falling in love with her one true love. But imagine when that also means the inability to escape the most embarrassing or painful moments of your life, like the sudden death of this very man of your dreams. Price's memory are vivid and potent, carrying with them not only the clear visuals of every recorded event, but the feelings, sounds, and smells of the moment as well. Childhood fears, though adulthood allows her to put rational perspective upon them, are still as powerful as when she was a child. And although she has the ability to call upon whatever memory she wishes at the prompting of a date, the memories also can come upon her unbidden, and cannot simply be dismissed the way one would change the television set if you don't like what's airing one channel.We've all heard of people who dwell on the past, as well as those who only live in the now. But for Jill Price, there is little distinction between the two, and the only thing more extraordinary than the life journey she's traveled so far is the fact that she's seemingly come through it sane and whole.

The book is not only a great biography about a woman dealing with an extraordinary ability that she's only recently found scientific explanations for, but Price also provides a lot of background information about how the mind and memory work, and how they play such vital roles in the people we become.

I found it a very compelling read, and I think you will too.

"Meet the Robinsons" - Another Disney Treat

Meet the Robinsons (Starring Daniel Hansen, Jordan Fry) - $19.99

I'm a long time fan of the Disney movies, especially their 3D animated flicks by Pixar. Although I've seen almost all of these films, when "Meet the Robinsons" first premiered, I found myself not feeling overly compelled to see it. I'm not sure why, except that on the surface of the promotion it didn't seem to possess the same sense of magic and wonder that other films like "Cars" or "Toy Story" generated, so I never made an effort to see the movie until it premiered on cable a couple of weeks ago. And I am happy to say that the movie was a happy surprise.

What fascinates me about Pixar/Disney films is their ability to breathe such vivid life into animated characters, to create stories that are both heartfelt and compelling, and the way they seem to never lose touch with what's it's like to see things through the eyes of a child. When you watch the story of Lewis, an orphan with a brilliant mind who is desperate to find a place where he belongs, you don't see this as an animated tale, but the story of a real little boy. A few of the scenes, in particular the one's depicting newborn Lewis being left on the doorstep of an orphanage by his mother, contain the kind of elegant and sincere cinematography as a classic film of the 40s or 50s. In these scenes, the animated characters possess the same on-screen presence as real actors.

If the film lacks anything, it's consistency. While I love the movie for what it is, and I love all the elements of it overall, as a cohesive story, the movie does bounce back and forth from touching drama to flat out slapstick humor. While other Disney/Pixar films seem to have a natural ebb and flow that maintains a strong balance between the comedic and dramatic turns in their plots, this one feels just a bit disjointed to me. Perhaps if the villain, the "Bowler Hat Guy," hadn't been so over-the-top bumbling criminal, or if the Robinson clan hadn't seemed like a futuristic Addam's family who all needed to be institutionalized for their own protection, I wouldn't have come away with the nagging thought in the back of my mind that while I enjoyed the movie a lot, there was something missing that could have made it even better.

But I still found "Meet the Robinsons" one of the better family films around, and there are definitely enough laughs to keep your kids happy, and if you are like me an adult that still has some lingering connection with your inner child, you will find enough fun moments to keep you entertained as well.

One of the greatest war films ever made...

Below review originally written October 24, 2003:

Grave of the Fireflies (Starring Tsutomu Tatsumi, Ayano Shiraishi) - $26.99

"Grave of the Fireflies" is the sad tale, based on the semi-autographical book "Hotaru no Haka" by NOSAKA Akiyuki, which tells of the author's experiences during the aftermath of World War II, in which he lost his little sister to malnutrition, for which he blamed himself.

In the movie, 14 year old Seita and his 4 year old sister Setsuko lose their mother after the Allied forces bomb their village. Their father is in the Navy and at sea, and hasn't been heard from in a long while. Without going through the entire plot, suffice it to say that the story is a moving and frightening look back at the lives of two young children who should never have to face such horrors at their tender ages. The tone and mood of this heartwrenching piece is set from the very first scene, when Seita utters the fateful words "September 21st, 1945. That's the day that I died."

Before watching "Grave of the Fireflies" I'd heard that it'd been referred to by many, like movie reviewer Roger Ebert, as one of the greatest war films made, and after watching it, I have to agree. Only a person with the emotional depth of a gnat or the heart of block of wood could watch this film and not feel the emotional power of it. It's the kind of story that lingers in your consciousness long after, and forces you to see the true face of war, the REAL consequences and victims of the violence we seem all too quick to inflict upon each other these days. And the most incredible thing about this movie is its subtleness, its complete lack of political propaganda or any attempt to try to blantantly force a moralistic ideal down the viewers throat. Director Isao Takahata shows supreme trust in the story itself, choosing to use the beautifully illustrated film to portray the tale in all its moving glory.

Horror at its best and most frightening

28 Weeks Later (Starring Catherine McCormack, Robert Carlyle) - $19.99

For me, the best horror is that which touches on those things which, whether in reality or in the mind's eye, could be true. Some people find blood and gore, the ability to invoke the best (or worst, depending upon how you look at it) gross out reactions, as the definition of great horror. And while 28 Weeks Later, like it's predecessor, 28 Days Later, has enough gore to satisfy those with a love of such things, the movie is one of those seemingly all too rare gems in which the very story itself, and not the special effects or the star power of the lead actors, carries this film.

The story picks up six months after the previous film, during a time when humanity is picking up the pieces after the "Rage virus" decimated Britain, a horrible plague that turned anyone infected into a raging, zombie-like menace in a matter of seconds. It begins with a flashback to the time period of the previous film, where we find a man, his wife, and some friends being trapped in he infected zone trying to survive the plague-ravaged landscape around them. Not so surprisingly, their luck quickly runs out, and as most everyone is killed, the husband, in what I thought was a disgusting act of cowardice, leaves his wife at the mercy of these monsters and runs to save his own neck. Then we flash to six months later, the jumping off point for this film, when the man is reunited with his son and daughter, who had somehow been saved from the danger zone prior to the incident with his wife. The man tells the kids that their mother is dead, which is a reasonable expectation considering the predicament he left her in. But later, after the kids sneak back into the danger zone to retrieve mementos from their former home, shocks, surprises, and more await, setting in motion the tragic adventures that befalls these kids throughout the rest of the film.

28 Weeks Later is, on the surface, just a well-made zombie flick. But it's more than that. In the film, we explore the possible ramifications of what might happen if a virus like the Bird Flu, or some other unstoppable plague (natural or manmade) were to emerge into the global arena. No, we won't see some mysterious disease that will miraculous transform man into beast at the blink of an eye, but in 28 Weeks Later we see the panic, the confusion, the brutal forms of martial law where many might be sacrificed to save many more. Imagine having to decide whether to save a human life begging for help, or to slaughter this person because you can't take the risk of getting infected by them, should they be a carrier themselves. Unlike this mystical "Rage" virus, a real plague won't manifest itself in such an obvious way, so how will we know who is safe and who is not? How will we choose whom to save and whom to forsake for the greater good? This world has faced such plagues before, and scientists say that it will eventually happen again. We hope and pray that with today's modern technology and techniques that we can head off any potential disaster in time, but the very same technology could be used to create such a plague, one specially built to defy the very measures we have in place to stop such a thing.

When a horror movie leaves me with these kinds of deep thoughts long after having watched it, that's when I know that the movie was good. If you like visual horror, this film has plenty (in my opinion, more than it needs) to satisfy you. But beware. You might come away not so much afraid of the monster hiding under the bed, but fearing the ticking time bomb lurking in the inevitability of our far too real future.

Pimping out my Kindle

Genuine Leather Executive Case for Amazon Kindle, Brown from M-Edge - $54.99

The sad but honest truth is that I didn't have to buy this cover. My Amazon Kindle won't be traveling often, is mostly positioned on my bed in its Kindle Reader Stand in Sleep Mode waiting for me to return so that we can spend more quality time together. I had my Kindle in its case, and it was wedged pretty firmly despite the problems some have reported with getting the Kindle to fit into it securely. I could have gone months or years probably without spending $55.00 on the brown Leather case from M-Edge.

But the stock case from Amazon just felt cheap in comparison to the $400 investment I made into a device which has greatly enhanced my life in the almost two weeks I've owned it. The Amazon cover seemed as if it would wear quickly, even with limited use, and I just didn't like the gray interior which seemed like the kind of material that would, in time, dry rot or in some other way deteriorate. So finally I just gave in to temptation and purchased this cover, and I am extremely happy I did.

The cover is indeed a nice soft leather with a deep, warm brown which I thought would be more interesting than just the plain black. The suede interior is a soft, grayish chocolate I'd say, although there is probably another color that is a better description than that. But it's nice and soft and has interior pockets on the left hand side, great for the executive needing to carry business cards or other small papers or notes with him. There's also a loop to hold a pen in the "spine" area of the cover, although personally, I'd be a bit fearful of putting a pen in the same case with the Kindle unless you were sure the pen won't ever leak or be left with the point exposed.

The corner holders are great. In my case, I had trouble getting the upper left corner hooked after inserting the two bottom corners (and the same for the bottom right corner when I first inserted the two left hand side corners). I'm sure I could have gotten assistance (being disabled) and someone else could have done it more easily, but I also decided that rather than trying to take the elastic band in the upper right corner off any time I needed to access the power and wireless buttons on the back, that leaving the two bottom and one upper right corners hooked holds the Kindle securely while allowing me to slip my finger behind it to reach the switches. These things may not matter to you, but for those who such conveniences might be useful, this approach does seem to work.

While this cover is in general an improvement functionally over the stock Kindle cover, because of the price of this cover, I think you should also take into consideration whether you also have a desire to purchase this simply because of the fashion improvement as well. While I could have made out fine with the original cover, the compulsion to "pimp out" my Kindle was the deciding factor in my purchasing decision, and I'm happy with that choice.

If the stock cover just isn't working for you, either functionally or stylistically, then the M-Edge Leather Cover is my personal recommendation. If not, then you might want to save the $55.00 until a cheaper option comes along, or use it to buy more Kindle books instead.

The perfect accessory for Amazon Kindle owners

Mighty Bright XtraFlex2 Light by Mighty Bright - $17.99.

One of the downsides, such as it is, about the Amazon Kindle and any other device using the revolutionary eInk display is that, just like a paper page, you need external light to read it. By far I think that a non-lighted display is a great thing as it seems far less tiring to my eyes, but it also means that one must have decent lighting in order to read the screen comfortably. This is even more important since, for some, the contrast of black text on a gray background is hard to get used to.

That's where having an accessory like the Mighty Bright XtraFlex2 Light becomes really important. The light is by far the best reading light I personally have seen, with it's long flexible neck which makes finding just the right position a breeze. The wide mouth clip is strong but not overly tight, making it easy enough for me with my limited strength and manual dexterity able to open it, but also leaving more than strong enough to attach firmly to any surface. In my case, I place my Kindle in the Kindle Reader Stand by OCTOVO, so I attach the Mighty Bright to the back of the stand.

I love that the lights are LED. A previous reading light I've owned had a small traditional light, and it got hot very quickly. Being disabled and therefore normally using the light on a bed, trying to stand it next to my book (as it had no clip on mechanism) always left me worried about it falling over and burning me, or my inadvertently touching the exposed bulb. Not a problem with the Mighty Bright LEDs, which always stay cool to the touch. Also the ability to use either one or both of the twin LEDs is very useful, as one can (presumably) cut down on battery drainage when the brighter setting is unnecessary.

As for glare on the Kindle screen, a problem other reviewers have mentioned, it is a minor annoyance, but I found the simplest solution is to position the light so that it extends around or just below the Kindle's upper corners to rest off to the side of the screen, with the light itself angled more directly toward the Kindle itself, or perhaps aimed toward a point just to the side of the screen. That seems to keep enough light on the screen to read while keeping the reflection of the bulb off the screen itself. But I am lying down on my bed with the Kindle in its stand beside me more on eye level. Your experiences may vary as you will likely be viewing from a different position.

I can't speak to battery life as of yet as this is an early, first impressions review, after having owned and used the light for a few hours as I write this. But the Mighty Bright looks and feels solid and well made, and with that and its usefulness to me in helping me to further enjoy my Kindle experience, I'd say it's well worth the somewhat high price of $17.99.

Even if this isn't a product you will use every day, for anyone who wants to have the full range of "must have" accessories, you should put the Mighty Bright at the top of your list.