Elementary: from Zero Cool to Sherlock

I don’t always like the trending TV shows, but when I do … I just can’t get enough of it. Elementary is one of those shows. Best described as a cross between CSI:NY and House, it stars John Lee Miller as Sherlock Holmes, a rather eccentric “consultant in logical deduction” for the NYPD. He is joined by Lucy Liu as Joan Watson, who plays a post-rehab companion that helps keep Sherlock of heroin and on track to recovery. The base premise for the series is that Sherlock used to have the same position at Scotland Yard before his substance abuse got the best of him and ended him in a NY rehab center.

A lot of you will remember John Lee Miller as Sickboy from Trainspotting, but to me he’ll always be Zero Cool from the 1995 cyberflick Hackers. Although the movie wasn’t that good (more of a cult fim really), it defined the computer culture and New York City (so much that I watched it on the plane as I flew into NYC for my first visit in 2007) to the 8 to 16 year old me who saw this movie every time Belgian TV decided to air it …

It’s rather interesting how you can draw a tiny bit of a simile between Hugh Laurie and John Lee Miller. They both are British born actors who are catering to the American market (JLM used an American accent in Hackers, for obvious reasons Holmes is a British character) and they both play eccentric know-it-alls who are the best at what they do. It is therefore no surprise that both House and now Elementary are part of my top 10 series (although I wouldn’t know where to put Elementary until I see some more seasons).

Want to check it out for yourself? Elementary airs in Belgium on sunday nights on VIER @ 21.10. This week they’ll be broadcasting s01e13.

Enjoy and don’t forget to hack the planet!

3 or HD? (UPDATED)

My predictions for tomorrow’s Apple event:

- Launch of the iPad HD, a retina version of the iPad 2 that gets a better camera and processor (A5x or A6). iPad 2 will still be available for schools, maybe for consumers.

 

- iOS 6 preview.

- Apple TV update, not a TV with integrated unit. Update for the external unit.

- iCloud leaves beta, iDisk/Dropbox equivalent feature, return of some sort of gallery service for pictures, integration of iWork.com beta, just in time for the new iPad (possible iWork update for iOS)

 

Nekkerspoel

In November of 2010 Clo and I moved from Mechelen’s historic city center to Nekkerspoel (best described as a multicultural suburbian neighborhood). It’s mostly known for it’s “Nekkerhal” exhibit hall and (the largest) toy museum (in the world). I’ve been playing with the idea to collect shots of the neighborhood ever since, but have only just started to take action. It’s probably going to be a mix of digital and analog, architecture, street photography and hopefully some portraits too. My goal is to bring you guys an image every now and then so you can get to know this sometimes unfairly judged part of Mechelen. It even has an English Wikipedia entry.

This first picture shows part of the before mentioned Nekkerhal. This 18.500 m² structure was originally built in 1981 to function as a huge vegetable hall but was soon used as an event hall instead. Every year multiple car shows, jumble sales, sporting events and much more take place in the just over 300 m long pillarless space inside. I’ve always liked the design even though it clearly shows it’s 80′s roots inside (did anyone say brown?). The white domes that cover the entrance somehow make me think of 50′s style American drive in diners and gas stations. Recently, it’s council decided it’s time to give the old girl a facelift. I’m curious as to what they’ll make of it.

Upgrading to 24 frames per second

So, last week was quite thrilling for me. Remember how I said I would upgrade to the Nikon Pro line this year? Well, I did! The D4 ended up being a bit out of my price range, but I got offered a practically new (under one year old) Nikon D3S for a very fair price. I decided to go for it and boy, am I glad I did. The Nikon D3S is probably the best allround camera for someone who does mostly press related photography like me. Even though it’s “only” a 12 MP sensor like my D300 had, ISO sensitivity differs leaps and bounds and the ability to shoot 11 still frames per seconds opens up some great multimedia capabilities (see more below). There’s a lot to say about the device and I need a little more time to get the complete hang of it in order to give you guys my full review.

One of the main reasons I wanted to upgrade is video. I specialized in video during the last year of my journalism studies, and even shot my dissertation on a DSLR.  I was looking for a way to continue that work and as I need a good stills camera to do my photography work, the video capability on the D3S  is a great plus for me. I’ve decided to do some very small multimedia projects to get back into the flow of things and would like to share my first result with you guys. This past weekend, about 50 Congolese people protested in the main streets of Mechelen against Kabila’s reelection. I ended up with a 40 second clip mixing stills and video with their chanting in the background to give people a taste of the atmosphere. Any comments are, as always, very welcome. This video also got published over @ gva.be

Ice, Ice …

Spent my afternoon on the ice for an “IceFest”. Just in time before the thaw …

© Gil Plaquet

 

 

Raised on music

Some portraits to go with an article on local young musicans. T. is the son of a left-handed guitarshop owner. He plays bass AND mixes tunes as a DJ.

You know the drill: © Gil Plaquet

To protect and serve

A pair of pics to got with an article on what it’s like to run a local police station.

Local officer “Mon” has been on the beat in Willebroek for more than 20 years.

Chief Commissioner De Ley of the Willebroek police force.

As always © Gil Plaquet