Scribbled Atom

Whenever we saw the future in films and on TV, it would have videophones in it. People talking to each other through videoscreens recessed in the wall. Or on devices like RAZRs or the StarTAC. But we never imagined what has in fact happened. Mainstream videocalling is here today and it's all about people opening clunky laptops and attaching a plastic webcam to the screen to try out a beta feature on a free piece of software that you first heard about through word of mouth. The future's so much more makeshift than anticipated.

And Mac fans - don't you start.

I just watched The Squid and the Whale. What a well-written and frighteningly mature movie. It's steeped in literature, but knows when people are drowning in words and conceits.