I just watched this video on Godtube.com. Be prepared: you will cry.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Traitor!
I'll get to the title of this post momentarily. But first, this message:
After reviewing my recording on my MP3 player, I finally have that second thing I couldn't remember before. I do lots of surveys and pretty much get points. Eventually, enough points adds up to getting some merchandise. I've only traded in points for a couple of things, both DVDs (the other merchandise is either junk, or just not to my taste). So, back in January, I ordered a DVD, Grave of the Fireflies - Collector's Edition. I received an order-verification email on Jan 5, which was several days after placing the actual order (maybe Jan 1).
On Monday, June 23, I got a package with a return address I did not recognize. I opened the package, and there was my DVD that I had ordered nearly six months prior. Talk about timely shipment. After all, it came the same year, didn't it?
So, about that traitor thing: I've been a member of Netflix since February 2000. They're the first, and frankly, they're the best, too. I stopped renting from Hollywood Video (except on days I was sick and stayed home from work and wanted multiple movies to watch all day). Blockbuster has never been all that attractive to me, even with their online and in-store combo program.
Tonight, however, I wanted some lighter fare than what was currently at home from Netflix (all good stuff, I'm sure, but sometimes you're just in a mood to watch something else). I stopped by McDonald's (second time this month, which is now twice in the past two years) to get a salad. And there was the red Red Box box (aptly named - who'd imagine they'd find a red box and come up with the name "Red Box"?).
I've looked at their offerings before, and with it being generally mainstream-only recent releases, I've never been tempted. Tonight, not only was I tempted, I succumbed and rented not one but two (count 'em) movies. I feel so dirty. The only catch is, I've got to watch both movies by 9 p.m. tomorrow night to make it worthwhile. I'm halfway there!
(Oh, I rented Fool's Gold, which was cute and enjoyable, but not something I would buy; definitely worth $1. The other movie is Jumper, which I have not watched yet. Maybe tomorrow after going to Batman: The Dark Knight.)
After reviewing my recording on my MP3 player, I finally have that second thing I couldn't remember before. I do lots of surveys and pretty much get points. Eventually, enough points adds up to getting some merchandise. I've only traded in points for a couple of things, both DVDs (the other merchandise is either junk, or just not to my taste). So, back in January, I ordered a DVD, Grave of the Fireflies - Collector's Edition. I received an order-verification email on Jan 5, which was several days after placing the actual order (maybe Jan 1).
On Monday, June 23, I got a package with a return address I did not recognize. I opened the package, and there was my DVD that I had ordered nearly six months prior. Talk about timely shipment. After all, it came the same year, didn't it?
So, about that traitor thing: I've been a member of Netflix since February 2000. They're the first, and frankly, they're the best, too. I stopped renting from Hollywood Video (except on days I was sick and stayed home from work and wanted multiple movies to watch all day). Blockbuster has never been all that attractive to me, even with their online and in-store combo program.
Tonight, however, I wanted some lighter fare than what was currently at home from Netflix (all good stuff, I'm sure, but sometimes you're just in a mood to watch something else). I stopped by McDonald's (second time this month, which is now twice in the past two years) to get a salad. And there was the red Red Box box (aptly named - who'd imagine they'd find a red box and come up with the name "Red Box"?).
I've looked at their offerings before, and with it being generally mainstream-only recent releases, I've never been tempted. Tonight, not only was I tempted, I succumbed and rented not one but two (count 'em) movies. I feel so dirty. The only catch is, I've got to watch both movies by 9 p.m. tomorrow night to make it worthwhile. I'm halfway there!
(Oh, I rented Fool's Gold, which was cute and enjoyable, but not something I would buy; definitely worth $1. The other movie is Jumper, which I have not watched yet. Maybe tomorrow after going to Batman: The Dark Knight.)
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
A Couple of Things II
A couple of things (and I'll actually address two things this time, unlike this previous post — I kept recalling for about three days afterwords what the second thing was, but never when I was in a position to write about it. Oh, wait, I think I did a voice recording of what that thing is; I'll have to get my mp3 player out and check it out. I'll post it soon. I also plan a glowing review of said mp3 player sometime soon, too. Maybe this weekend.)
Item the First: I just read that the band Delirious? has disbanded, or will disband at the end of 2009. They have long been a cornerstone of (decent) modern Christian music, not catering to the lowest common denominator like a certain three-named Christian singer. They had their misses, but they had more than their share of hits.
Item the Second: I thought I had posted about the TV show previously, but a Google site search produced no results. So, let me mention Burn Notice, a show found on the USA Network (Burn Notice site).
A brief synopsis: Michael Westen, a spy for the United States, receives a "burn notice" while on a covert op (aren't spies always on covert ops? bad writing on my part). Essentially, he is fired and no longer has any backing — he's on his own. He gets beaten up, gets on a plane, passes out, and wakes up in Miami, his home town. The FBI is watching him, and he can't leave the city. There are worse places to be stuck, I'm sure, but his mom is there, his mom with whom he does not get along very well. His non-girlfriend, Fi (short for Fiona), and long-time acquaintance/fellow former spy, Sam, are also hanging around. He takes up odd jobs helping people out of tight jams (a la The Equalizer) but with a much more light-hearted spin.
I watched the first seven episodes online a few weeks ago (I didn't realize they were available when the show premiered last year) and then ordered the season one DVD. I watched the remaining four episodes last night (three regular hour-long episodes and a double episode season finale). What a great show! My jaw nearly broke from some of the stuff that happened in the finale, totally unexpected.
Now, I can keep up with season two online (since I don't have cable or satellite).
It's really nice to have a smartly-written show that doesn't cater to lowest common denominator (I detect a pattern here) pablum. It's all fantasy, but it's realistic. The characters are real and pretty much stay true to their setup, but they alsoevolve grow over the course of the season. Great scenery, nice stories, and decent plots all serve up a tasty dish.
Item the First: I just read that the band Delirious? has disbanded, or will disband at the end of 2009. They have long been a cornerstone of (decent) modern Christian music, not catering to the lowest common denominator like a certain three-named Christian singer. They had their misses, but they had more than their share of hits.
Item the Second: I thought I had posted about the TV show previously, but a Google site search produced no results. So, let me mention Burn Notice, a show found on the USA Network (Burn Notice site).
A brief synopsis: Michael Westen, a spy for the United States, receives a "burn notice" while on a covert op (aren't spies always on covert ops? bad writing on my part). Essentially, he is fired and no longer has any backing — he's on his own. He gets beaten up, gets on a plane, passes out, and wakes up in Miami, his home town. The FBI is watching him, and he can't leave the city. There are worse places to be stuck, I'm sure, but his mom is there, his mom with whom he does not get along very well. His non-girlfriend, Fi (short for Fiona), and long-time acquaintance/fellow former spy, Sam, are also hanging around. He takes up odd jobs helping people out of tight jams (a la The Equalizer) but with a much more light-hearted spin.
I watched the first seven episodes online a few weeks ago (I didn't realize they were available when the show premiered last year) and then ordered the season one DVD. I watched the remaining four episodes last night (three regular hour-long episodes and a double episode season finale). What a great show! My jaw nearly broke from some of the stuff that happened in the finale, totally unexpected.
Now, I can keep up with season two online (since I don't have cable or satellite).
It's really nice to have a smartly-written show that doesn't cater to lowest common denominator (I detect a pattern here) pablum. It's all fantasy, but it's realistic. The characters are real and pretty much stay true to their setup, but they also
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Vertigo
I'm a fan of Alfred Hitchcock's. Or, maybe better, I tend to like his movies. I suppose for directors I recognize and "follow", he would be in my Top Ten. Every movie of his I've seen, I've really enjoyed.
Except Vertigo.
Oh, the technique he developed for the vertigo effect is wonderful. And Jimmy Stuart and Kim Novak are quite wonderful. But the movie just left me feeling, "So what? This is really lame and empty." I really couldn't understand what people saw in this movie, and certainly not why anyone would rank it their favorite Hitchcock movie. I know virtually every movie's is someone's favorite movie, but there's no accounting for some people's taste.
Before legions of Hitchcock/Vertigo fans attack, please, please, please, read the rest of the story.
I went to see my mother this past weekend (the fourth weekend). She has cable (I don't), and I enjoy getting to watch SCi-Fi, Cartoon Network, Nick, HGTV, etc. This time, I watched quite a bit of TCM (Turner Classic Movies). There was a Hitchcock festival on TCM, and I watched several movies, one of which was, you guessed it, Vertigo. Actually, it was already running when I came across it. I told my mother that I was going to watch it again, but that I just didn't get why people like this movie. I was going to give it a fourth or fifth try.
An important note before continuing: I have only seen Vertigo on tv, not on DVD. I'm still not sure how it figures in, but I know that it does somewhere or somehow.
We get to the point after the inquest (which I don't recall ever seeing before), but I do remember Jimmy Stewart being in the recovery asylum.
Then, the movie continues. My jaw hits the floor (not really, that would hurt, but, you know, it's just an expression of surprise, shock, and/or awe). I've never seen this bit before. Who's this Judy woman? And I continue watching, understanding more and more why people like this movie. When it's over, I'm furiously trying to figure out how in the world I could have not seen the most important part of the movie — multiple times! It's still not my favorite Hitchcock film (either Psycho or North by Northwest fills that role), but it has certainly moved way up the list as an interesting movie, one I can unreservedly recommend others watch.
Except Vertigo.
Oh, the technique he developed for the vertigo effect is wonderful. And Jimmy Stuart and Kim Novak are quite wonderful. But the movie just left me feeling, "So what? This is really lame and empty." I really couldn't understand what people saw in this movie, and certainly not why anyone would rank it their favorite Hitchcock movie. I know virtually every movie's is someone's favorite movie, but there's no accounting for some people's taste.
Before legions of Hitchcock/Vertigo fans attack, please, please, please, read the rest of the story.
I went to see my mother this past weekend (the fourth weekend). She has cable (I don't), and I enjoy getting to watch SCi-Fi, Cartoon Network, Nick, HGTV, etc. This time, I watched quite a bit of TCM (Turner Classic Movies). There was a Hitchcock festival on TCM, and I watched several movies, one of which was, you guessed it, Vertigo. Actually, it was already running when I came across it. I told my mother that I was going to watch it again, but that I just didn't get why people like this movie. I was going to give it a fourth or fifth try.
An important note before continuing: I have only seen Vertigo on tv, not on DVD. I'm still not sure how it figures in, but I know that it does somewhere or somehow.
We get to the point after the inquest (which I don't recall ever seeing before), but I do remember Jimmy Stewart being in the recovery asylum.
Then, the movie continues. My jaw hits the floor (not really, that would hurt, but, you know, it's just an expression of surprise, shock, and/or awe). I've never seen this bit before. Who's this Judy woman? And I continue watching, understanding more and more why people like this movie. When it's over, I'm furiously trying to figure out how in the world I could have not seen the most important part of the movie — multiple times! It's still not my favorite Hitchcock film (either Psycho or North by Northwest fills that role), but it has certainly moved way up the list as an interesting movie, one I can unreservedly recommend others watch.
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