For "Rental Only" DVD's

This is a trend that I’m finding very aggravating!!

Basically, the movie studios and rental companies have come up with what they hope is a way to make the consumer purchase more DVD’s by renting you a disc that has only the feature film on it…They still have the menus for the bonus content and deleted scenes etc…Except, when you try to view it the message “Purchase this DVD from your local retailer to view this content” is displayed.

“What the Hell?!?” I need to go spend $19.99 to see 3 minutes of deleted scenes? Who in the hell do they think they are?

To add insult to injury…these discs usually have all preview “skipping” options, like fast-forward, Next chapter\title, and jump to the menu DISABLED! So, the renter must watch 5 or more minutes of commercials and previews to even get to the limited content.

Not cool movie\rental industry!!

Lame Duck Sessions are "Lame"

There's a great John Woo film called "Broken Arrow" -- if you haven't seen it, you should check it out.

One of my favorite scenes goes like this:

• Actor 1 - "What's a Broken Arrow?"

• Actor 2 - "That's what we call it when we lose a nuclear warhead."

• Actor 1 - "I don't know what's scarier...the fact that we've lost one, or the fact that we lose one often enough that we have a name for it."

I think we should feel the same way about a lame duck session of our governing body.

Did we elect a bunch of kinder-gardeners into office...so they could bicker, kick, and whine for us? Or, did we elect a group of mature adults to collectively work together to make our lives, country, and world better than what we could do individually -- on our own?

Dan Hesse, of Sprint, is an ass...

"Even as Sprint continues to lose money and customers, Sprint CEO Dan Hesse rakes in a hefty compensation package that includes a $2.6 million bonus for 2008. "

I hate seeing this guy in his !(@#*^!(# Sprint commercials

Read this for the full story...

New cars...we don't need anymore.

I'd rather see the big 3, or some competitors, get into "upgrading" our cars for the future.

There are people converting cars to electric and bio diesel etc..."small scale"...why doesn't someone with resources do it large scale???

We have plenty of cars, let's just make them better.

You don't need Blu-ray

really...you don't. The only reason we need DVD is because we, as consumers, have allowed the corporate media makers to convince us that we needed the technology...when we don't.

VHS is a great technology. What?!? you ask??? This is what I mean...I've got VHS tapes dating back 15 or more years that still play. They've been thrown around, stepped on, handled by the kids etc...and yet they still work. Occasionally I've had to splice a broken tape or stuff it back into the casing because of a child's curiosity with that mysterious brown metallic ribbon...but, the tape has kept playing. Give a child a DVD or a CD to play with and within minutes that nice shiny playing surface can be scratched and marred to such a degree that your disc is now a $20 drink coaster. I understand that Blu-ray is supposed to have a "protective layer"...but, I have my doubts about that :)

Also, do you really need all of the menu and info options that Blu-ray is touting and all of the extra hours of feature extras? Are you kidding me? Why would we need this...most people barely have the time to just watch the movie itself?

And another thing...Why do we need higher definition? I'd argue that most people can't even tell the difference between a VHS movie a DVD let alone a DVD from a Blu-ray. I'd even argue that too much definition is bad for the viewing experience. I was watching a store display of a high-def TV playing a Blu-ray movie of Spiderman III...at the part where the sandman guy was swirling around in that grain silo...and I thought that the high definition of every CG grain particle was distracting and uncomfortable to the eye -- I couldn't watch too much of that, yikes! Along those line...there are several TV personalities and movie stars that just shouldn't be portrayed in high-def -- you know what I mean....I'm sure we've all seen one or more of those extreme closeups on some personality and said, "Woa! Back off camera...Too close!"

Send the media companies a message and don't buy into Blu-ray, HD, or whatever is next (you know something else is wating to replace Blu-ray someday).

Be satisfied with what you got -- there's nothing wrong with that.

Who Killed the Electric Car?

Have you seen this documentary yet, http://www.whokilledtheelectriccar.com?

I'm ashamed of owning a GM car after watching this -- I will not buy another.

Pictured here is an EV1 -- GM started it in 1996...and just 10 years later had successfully killed almost all traces of it. Ooo, they make me so mad!




http://www.pluginamerica.org/

Someone at Stouffer's LEAN Cuisine messed up

I found these at the store tonight...The "Teriyaki" box shows the chicken on a bed of noodles; The "Chow Mein" box shows the chicken on a bed of rice??? Hmmm, do they know what Chow Mein or Teriyaki is?

From Wikipedia:
Chow mein (also known as chao mian in Chinese-speaking communities) is a generic Chinese term for a dish of stir-fried noodles, of which there are many varieties.
Also from Wikipedia:
Teriyaki (kanji: 照り焼き; hiragana: てりやき) is a cooking technique used in Japanese cuisine in which foods are broiled or grilled in a sweet soy sauce marinade (tare in Japanese).

*Notice how the chicken in the "Chow Mein" box looks like it has a teriyaki sauce on it...while the "Teriyaki" box, above, appears to be lacking the teriyaki.

Hmmm, Stouffer's needs a little quality control?

Racism isn't dead in America

A booth at this weekend’s Texas Republican convention

sold buttons asking, “If Obama Is President…Will We Still Call It The White House?”:

This makes me sick! When will it end?

The 2008 Presidential Election

Does anyone else think it's sad...that in this day and age we're considering it a momentous event that a black man or a woman may actually become president. Come on how racist and sexist are we still???

Two qualified people are running for president -- One happens to be a black man and the other is a white woman...Oooo, heaven forbid that someday a black woman applies for the job. I think it's time we stop making a big deal out of things like this and remember we're all brother's and sister's in the same earth family...We're all capable of doing whatever we want, no matter our color, race or sex.

Did you notice Obama's TV ad change...

from "Barack Obama. President" to "Barack Obama. For President"? It's that ad he runs with the hip\cool music and his voice is overlayed in a very motivating and even inspiring tone.

I remember being shocked the first time I saw it because it didn't say "for" President...he was basically calling himself President -- pretty sneaky \ presumptuous I think.

Someone corrected him though...or slapped his wrist...because the same ad now say "for President"

If I can find a copy of the ad I'll post it.

Review of restaurant \ Movie Theater

http://www.cinetopiatheaters.com/index.php

Don't go here...They claim to have the best burger in town and to even have one an award for it -- it's definitely NOT worth $10.95. You can get a better burger for less at Fudruckers, Bugattis, Carl's JR, Jack-In-The-Box...

Service is slow, the food is mediocre, and when we were asked, by the manager, how the food was -- we politely told him it wasn't as good as they claim and that it wasn't worth the price. He had nothing to say, but "Thanks, I've never eaten one" What?!? He serves something he's never even tried?!? He didn't even offer to give a discount on the bill or offer a free desert???

So, we gave a tip comparable to the service and went to checkout the movies...$10+ to see a movie?!? What's that all about?!?

We will never go back...and I offer you this warning so you can avoid the place too.

IKEA isn't all it's cracked up to be!

Yeah, IKEA is cool European styling and relatively low prices...but, you do have to put most of it together yourself -- and what's your time worth? I spent about 3 1/2 hours this evening putting together two BREKKE beds. They're cool...B U T ! ! There is alot of screwing to get them together...and not only was I screwing together the beds...but, IKEA was screwing me too!

Both sets of beds came with a bag of all the hardware (screws, wheels, etc.) to put the beds together -- EXCEPT -- neither bag contained enough parts to make two complete beds!!

I followed the directions to the letter on the first bed which means I checked all the inventory and counted every screw -- according to the manual, I had everything I needed. I get to the last step, screw the caster wheels to the bottom of the drawers and guess what??? The screws listed in the drawings were not part of the parts check on page 3 of the manual...And, I've used up all the screws they gave me! Oh yeah, I also was given one completely thread-less screw for putting together the drawers...so, one drawer only got 3 screws instead of 4.

Oh, well! This must be a coincidence I say and we pop open the next set of BREKKE parts -- Wow! There are all the necessary screws for a complete installation of caster wheels plus three extra screws. There where two other sets of screws that had an extra -- so, I was able to finish that last drawer from the 1st bed too.

This time, however, I built the drawers first...because I had luckily bought an IKEA package of screws from their window treatment department and noticed that I had enough screws from that...combined with the caster wheel screws of the second bed...to get all the wheels installed on all the drawers. So, I got that done and I felt much better...until!!

I began putting the 2nd bed frame together and realize I'm short five screws for the mattress rails!! What!! Son-of-a!!! Curse You IKEAAAAA!

I made do with a few extra, old, and a little rusty set of screws I had in the garage.

Man, that sucked.

I will think twice about my next IKEA purchase. They will be getting a letter from me.

G.I. JOE "Now with Kung Fu Grip?"...NOT

We just bought our two youngest twins a couple G.I. JOE Action Figures. I noticed this afternoon that there's a sticker on the front of the package that says "Now with Kung Fu Grip!"

What do they mean now...like this is new technology? I remember when Kung Fu Grip came out in the 70's...My G.I. JOE had that cool rubbery hand that rapped around anything and gripped strong and long. The Kung Fu Grip on these toys is a hard plastic spring-loaded hand...this isn't Kung Fu grip...they're not real enough! The "real" Kung Fu Grip was like a true prosthetic hand that truly grabbed hold of things. These hands don't hold anything but the cheap little plastic weapons that come with the figures. With the old Kung Fu Grip your action figure could hang from the edge of a table etc. But these new hard plastic hands can't do that...they just slip off and your dude falls to his death.

Does NASA make you mad, or what?!?!

NASA Parties, At Taxpayer Expense

Upcoming Party Set To Cost $500,000

(CBS News) WASHINGTON Everyone knows exploring space is dangerous, and the costs are astronomical. Which is why, just last month, NASA was able to squeeze $1 billion extra from the Senate.

That very same day, NASA also posted an online notice few people saw - seeking four-star hotel bids for its December awards, CBS News correspondent Sharyl Attkisson reports.

...If you think that's pricey, consider this: the NASA holds its big awards every time there's a shuttle launch. December's extravaganza will be the third one in 2007. Honoring all those people is costing you about $4 million a year.

(click here for the full article)

I don't like Earl anymore

I used to have "My Name Is Earl" at the top of my favorite TV shows list...BUT, no more.

This season is TERRIBLE!!

It used to have great stories about Earl doing good things to make up for his bad past...and through karma, good things begin to happen to him. I loved that show.

Now, it's all about..well, I don't know anymore....but there's alot more gratuitous sex then there was in the beginning and there's alot less of the good karma message.

Whatever, they lost me.