Disney is evil....

My wife and I rarely head out to the movies, although we are both big fans of the movie industry and some TV shows. We satisfy our entertainment needs mostly with what's available on our cable TV (with some tv shows and movies "on demand"), although we are continuing with Netflix (at a much reduced frequency lately) to catch specific shows or at least keep tabs on things we want to see eventually. Thanks to a free offer from one of my credit cards a while back, we were introduced to redbox, one of those vending machine DVD rental dealios.

For just a buck per rental (if you don't keep it more than one night), it has actually been more economical than our current Netflix usage. The downsides, of course, are being somewhat at the mercy of what is in-stock in the machine, and having to get the disc back by a certain time. But it is also good for instant gratification (instead of having to wait for a disc by mail), and for forcing you to peruse a list of titles to choose from that might expand your horizons a bit. Plus, thanks to subscribing to their email list (along with various offers in conjunction with their host stores like Jewel & Walgreens), most of our rentals have actually been free.

Our most recent free rental was Up, the latest Disney-Pixar film. Pixar has a strong history of decent movies, so we figured we'd see if this one lived up to the hype. It was definitely a heart-warming story with some laugh-out-loud moments, but over all it was fairly predictable and a touch sappy. It was a bit slow too - so I dunno if it is a great choice for kids. The animation is great, and the details were a nice touch (note the tennis balls) - but at this point they have already proven themselves, and we should expect good animation... that in and of itself isn't a draw anymore.

The inciting factor for this post, however, was the functionality of the disc itself. Sometimes rental discs are manufactured with different options/settings than the versions you can purchase. Whether that is the case for Up I don't know, but regardless the production company is no doubt directing the standards for either / both versions. When this disc was placed in the DVD player, it autostarted into some previews. That's pretty standard nowadays. What is NOT standard, however, is being unable to skip the previews, and being unable to get to some form of a menu screen. NEITHER were options. Thankfully we could fast-forward manually until the movie started. But our default is to watch with captions on (I think we are both going prematurely deaf), which couldn't be turned on during movie play, and couldn't be accessed otherwise because we couldn't get to any form of a menu screen!! And to top it all off, when the movie ended it was followed by some further previews, then cycled back to the beginning to show earlier previews and then restart the movie. Without missing a beat. Without access to any potential special features, without the choice to play again if desired. For parents that sit their kids in front of a movie and half-listen for the silence when it is over to move the kids to their next activity, that cue is lost. It is especially sneaky to sandwich the movie between previews, as this disguises the fact that the disc has restarted.

Just another Disney fail. Is it obvious that I was a Warner Brothers (Bugs Bunny) fan growing up?

Bonzo's bits

Like most of us, my inbox periodically gets floods of "warnings" about the newest computer virus, or uses for coca-cola, or other unsolicited tidbits. Many come handed-down as-is, with all the headers and comments from the various people it has passed through. Very few are fact-checked, although the worst offenders are occasionally remembering to check things out on "snopes.com" beforehand.

That site is the only one I've personally used for urban legend fact-checking. Apparently they get a lot of verification requests, but I never would have suspected people would send in jokes to see if there was any rumor of truth in them. Either that or people really are dumber than I suspected. Check out their humor section if you want a good forehead-smack.

C.R.A.P. Sunday - Time's a-wastin'

Catch-up Rants And Platitudes - #8 - Time waster edition

I have been very productive, in unmeasurable and insignificant ways.

Not much to report on the volunteering-side ... putting in my time, hopefully it has been beneficial, kinda hard to measure at this point. The good news - have a lead on a clinical opportunity - will have to see how that plays out.

Blew the rest of my time this past week on mostly really useless stuff. Take, for example, my goodreads page. This is a really cool site where you can build up your history of all the books you have read in the past, rate them, review them (if so moved), and develop a list of books to read in the future. It has a lot of options for "shelves" of books - you can create any categories to group your books that you choose. I selected to create lists of books that were read multiple times, or for reference, or so long ago that I cannot recall much about them. Others have lists based on what year they read the book, or based on the genre. Since most of my reads tend to fall into science fiction (ie, Dune), horror (ie, Stephen King), or fantasy (ie, The Wheel of Time series) - and many of those fully overlap (ie, King's The Dark Tower series) - I didn't bother separating by genre.

Wasted most of my time after entering my books by A) attempting to fill in "when" I read them (very loosely guessed), and then B) changing the image of the covers to more closely represent the image of the book I am most familiar with. Very cool that it has these features, but I would expect to be able to enter some of that info in "batches," instead of one by one.

Typed up a few reviews too - for the titles that jumped out at me as needed some commentary. I will try to go back and comment on some others later, and of course then every book I add in the future I will try to get a little blurb out on. You may have to be a registered user to read reviews - but check it out and see if ya like it.

Movies

Along those same lines is the movie review site, Rotten Tomatoes. Check out the links in the sidebar. I had only one review up so far, but was inspired to drop another one after seeing the movie below. Click inside the movie poster to go to my review. And then let me know what you thought of it - either here in the comments or on that site.

News

This swine flu is getting raging amounts of coverage now. I guess people needed a break from North Korea, Iran, and torture. I'm still betting that in retrospect it will be a bit of an overblown response. Just use common sense - with prompt treatment for those getting sick, chance of recovery is pretty high. And it just serves as a reminder for the usual transmission-prevention techniques - don't sneeze on people, and wash your hands frequently. Keep sick kids that can't manage these conventions away from their peers until they are healthy.

Politics

The first official defector from the Republican Party, Arlen Specter, drew quite a stir. If the Minnesota race is ever decided and Al Franken finally gets seated, that will push the Dems in the Senate to that critical 60th vote. Assuming he and the other Dems vote along party lines for any given item in question. Specter basically switched to help ensure his re-election, given that he would have better chances in the Democratic primary than Republican. I would have been happier to see this as a form of protest against "the party of NO" and the Republicans' other apparent roadblocks to passing worthwhile legislation. And instead of trying to change his party from within, he basically switched sides and then reminded everyone that he still may not vote with the majority. That's fine - I would expect ANY politician to vote based on the merits of bill and the input of their constituents - but Specter's move seems more personally-motivated than party-related.

Da Blog

The other wasted time today [after a visit with my nephews, sis & her in-laws, and folks - this wasn't the wasted part, although I did feel a little buzzed after my two mega-martinis (thanks, Dad!)] was playing with the sidebar here (on the right) and making "widgets" work for "goodreads" and "rotten tomatoes." For those not in the know, "widgets" are groupings of text that form the coding behind interactive components of the website. On the goodreads widget you can flip through some book covers from my list of recently-read books, and in the Rotten Tomatoes one you can search for a movie or celebrity.

These are basically test-runs... when I *finally* do the major template overhaul, I will include other related links and make this more functional and attractive.

And then I will promptly ignore the blogosphere for just long enough to make all these efforts obsolete.

Any suggestions on readability, formatting, content, or other items to be on the lookout for are welcomed!

C.R.A.P. Sunday - Movie Madness

Catch-up Rants And Platitudes - #7 - Movie Madness edition

Still haven't quite finished up with the major overhaul of this blog, but I have finally set myself up another little corner of cyberspace to start building up a set of movie reviews. After a little searching, I finally settled on Rotten Tomatoes, which looks like it should be easy for anyone to surf through, even without registering as a member.

I'm a big movie fan, and I've found many "hidden gems" via suggestions from friends and acquaintances, some via blogs. I've been hedging on doing movie reviews at this site, because I wanted a more dedicated approach, with easy-to-follow ratings and quick links to more info. Found that at Rotten Tomatoes, although I am still just trying out the site - there seem to be a few bugs, but for now you can click here to get to my journal page. You can also check out other (literally random) movies I have rated, and lists of movies I plan to check out soon. So far I have only reviewed one recently watched movie, Burn After Reading - which I enjoyed but only rated at 6/10. Read the review to see why and let me know what you think. As I review more I'll drop notes here. If you are a member of Rotten Tomatoes, lemme know and we can link up.

Idiocracy

As I promised earlier, here finally is part of that clip from the 2006 Mike Judge movie Idiocracy that I made reference to.

The intro is great - talking about the dumbing-down of society. The more I pay attention to the news, the more worried I am that it is coming true. The clip below runs less than 2 minutes (despite the title) - this truncated clip is unfortunately all I could find. At least it gives you the flavor of the concept. In the film it goes on a bit longer and really magnifies the impact of the situation.

Intro clip from Idiocracy | Movies & TV | SPIKE.com

I wouldn't rave about the movie - there are a lot of stupid parts - but it does have some interesting things to say about the direction of our society, and it is entertaining at that juvenile level.

Consider this next clip a bonus - it's very short, but has a special place in my heart for reasons I haven't quite figured out. Maybe it is better seen in context....

News

I have been giving myself a little break from keeping up with the news - other things going on. I'm sure I'll have a slew of C.R.A.P. to talk about later this week.

Volunteering

One of those things going on has been some volunteer work. I finally got off my ass and started working with a couple of groups now that the job hunt has slowed down to an unbearable crawl. Ugh. Anyway, as things develop there I'll write more.

Sunshine

In between some of these "April showers" we have finally gotten some stretches of sun in Chicagoland. Been LONG overdue. We're still getting 40-degree fluctuations in temperature each day, but it's much better than trudging through six inches of snow or wading through the humid air in August.

I'm out for now. Get out there and enjoy the weather while ya can!!

C.R.A.P. Sunday - Bonzo's Ladder, pt 2

Catch-up Rants And Platitudes - #5 - unreality

So for those who weren't sure (yes, my wif, you had it right) - the title relates to the movie Jacob's Ladder, a very interesting and disturbing movie from 1990 with Tim Robbins. Without giving any spoilers here, let me just say it is a glimpse into a man's mind who is torn between the reality of his current life, and the reality of his experiences in Vietnam. [That is a grossly inadequate summary, and the movie is not *about* Vietnam - it's definitely a good watch even if you are put off by war movies.] It also happens to include an early, not-yet-annoying appearance by Macaulay Culkin (uncredited).

I'm just borrowing the term to launch into this general feeling of unreality that has been building lately. It's not quite the same as navigating around in thick fog, where things are familiar but notably "off" in some fashion - but that gives you a taste of the sensation. Nor is it the same as the internal fog from being sick. I am just getting over a week of pretty nasty cold, likely courtesy of an overseas infant niece that I didn't even have the privilege to meet first-hand. That brain-fog of thinking through molasses, that's a whole different kind of unreality. But mix the two ... wow. Interesting times.

So - sorry for not having blogged much recently. Have been planning a bigger overhaul of this site, and lots of topics being drafted a bit... please stay tuned. In the meantime, lots of "achievables" I'm working on the real world, so we'll see how much energy I have left for the blogosphere. I *am* keeping up with postings on my blog list (on right side of page, near bottom) - if you are reading here and I haven't added you yet, please send me the link to your blog so I can add ya.

On to the rants....

Driving - it really isn't that hard. Why do people continue to ignore basic courtesies?!? And why does traffic always slow down in the same places on the expressway when there is no real traffic jam or other justifications for delays?

• Use your turn signals for changing lanes (AND - imagine that - for turns!) When people know where you are going, we can stay out of your way better.
  
• Use the left lane for passing, then get back into the other lanes until you need to pass again. Stop holding up traffic because you *might* need to pass another car 10 minutes further up.
  
• Try to change lanes to move away from stopped cars on the right (or left) shoulder, or upcoming merges. Best to avoid the chances of two cars trying to occupy the same space at the same time.
  
• Along those same lines, stop tailgating me!! I pretty much go as fast as I can safely do in traffic, but I believe in at least a car-length of space (when available) for emergency braking distance. Driving up my ass won't make my car go any faster, and just increases the possibility of us trying to be in the same place at the same time. And when that happens, I'll bet you are un- or under-insured.
  
• If you are going to insist on putting on make-up, talking on the phone, eating, reading, playing with the radio, and wrangling kids or pets ALL AT THE SAME TIME, please at least be a competent driver and know where you are going first. So many near-misses, and vigilance on my part will only stave off an accident for so long....

Parenting - I don't claim to be an expert, nor do I feel uniquely qualified to offer actual advice. Quite the contrary, I readily admit that I am not yet a parent (although I hope to be in the next year or two, and will keep practicing attempts at conception when opportunities present). ;-) However, I have reflected extensively on my own upbringing (which was relatively successful - I stayed out of trouble and can function well in society), and have been an observer and sometimes-participant in my nephews' upbringing for the last 11 years. I understand it can be frustrating, and that some kids can be very strong-willed.

I was nearly floored, however, when I was an incidental bystander to the following exchange near a busy, local grocery store. Please tell me - what is possibly served by yelling "give me your motherfu**ing hand" at a 2.5 year old child while you and she are already walking through the middle of the high-traffic drive at the front of the parking lot?

• Use some foresight, and maybe have your child's hand before you step into the street? Consider making that STANDARD, for safety's sake, that any mobile toddler is taught to hold an adult's hand before even thinking about traversing a parking lot?
  
• Maybe temper the language? What are you teaching your kid? They are sponges, and will use language like that when you least want it.
  
• Of course, the type of person that would verbally abuse their child like that in public, because they were too distracted to have control of their child in advance, is unlikely to care about prevention - and will just react when bad language / misbehavior crops up - in most assuredly appropriate ways, I'm sure.

I just keep hearing about all these crimes against kids: how Chicago already has a record number of school-aged children murdered for this point in 2009; the several suicides of GRADE SCHOOL-aged kids; the abuse (sexual or physical) of these kids, some by their classmates (- further than the simple bullying most of us experienced in our pasts), or members of their family. It's just sad, and these experiences are just more likely to propagate a cycle of abuse.

Ok. Sleepytime.

C.R.A.P. Sunday - Bonzo's Ladder

Catch-up Rants And Platitudes - #4 - surreal images

So I burned up a couple of days of my temporary bachelorhood by heading out to my folks' place, near Rockford, IL. As if that concept - willingly subjecting myself to them without the safety and shelter of my spouse - wasn't surreal enough, I went that extra mile and even brought laundry with. Hey, machines that don't gulp down your coins in order to operate - I'll take 'em!!

The drive out there takes you somewhat nearby a nuclear power facility, assumedly at Byron, IL. My eye is always caught by the quite distinctive cooling towers, all the more dramatically due to the inherently frightening nature of nuclear energy. Apparently Illinois is the state with the most nuclear facilities - and I don't think we're glowing, yet. I'm just fascinated with the steam you can usually see rising from the cooling towers.

On the drive over from Chicago this time, I noticed some particularly prominent contrails, which my wife and I incorrectly refer to as "chemtrails" - we're not conspiracy nuts, we got the name mixed up. Again, a fascinating visual phenomenon, very eye-catching at times.

The surreal aspect was seeing a quite distinctive pair of contrails heading downward from the sky, DIRECTLY AIMED AT the cooling towers. My cell phone was (as usual when traveling, since I never broke down to buy a car charger for this model) on "low battery" mode and refusing to take pictures, otherwise I would have documented this for the sheer amazement of it. Of course, given that I was driving alone, in a moving vehicle going 65 mph, if I HAD managed to snap a photo it would have looked like this:

But below is a mini recreation of what I saw ... now tell me that seeing this combo in real life wouldn't make you triple-take?

Granted, there was no plane at the business-end of the contrails, the cooling towers were still intact, and there was no mushroom cloud in sight - but I still had trouble extracting my jaw from the dashboard.

Once I arrived, I gladly accepted the offer of a drink and promptly forgot to mention the sighting to my folks. Alcohol flows pretty freely when I visit with them - I probably drink more in one night with them than I would normally consume in a typical month on my own. This is not to say that I (or they) require the substance to interact humanely ... it has just become a ritual habit we have not "grown out of" yet. This is only the case when I am participating in an overnight, of course. Although I am guilty of having driven while "buzzed" in my youth, I would never intentionally drive while drunk.

It is quite frustrating, then, to hear all these news stories about celebrities convicted of DUIs. Celebretards aside, it is really frustrating to hear all the incidents of everyday people having accidents attributed to driving under the influence. The fiercely aggravating stories are about all these REPEAT OFFENDERS who have had multiple incidents of being caught driving under the influence. It's one thing to make a stupid mistake once. It's wholly idiotic to be in the position of many of these drivers who continue to drive after drinking - even despite tragic incidents in their past.

Some judges have stepped up the "punishments" for these people, and apparently many participate in an ignition lock system that requires a clean breathalyzer test before they can start their car. Sounds reasonable enough, although easily overcome - think of the scene in the movie 40 Year Old Virgin when the chick asks him to "breathe into this" before she starts her car.

Then there is this idiot, who rented a car to avoid his breath analyzer ignition lock, and then wrapped the rental car around a pole. GIVE ME A BREAK! Rental car companies are supposed to be so cautious - not renting to "kids" under 25 years old, supposedly doing background checks and denying people left and right for *seat belt violations*, let alone DUI. Somebody screwed up in a big way letting this guy have a car.

If nothing else, perhaps rental car companies should also provide vehicles prepared for this unfortunately numerous portion of the population, with breathalyzer ignition locks. Hell, if they are not going to bother with background checks, it should come standard. Or maybe you can get a free "upgrade" to a model WITHOUT one if you have a clean driving record?

Ok, enough for now. Hey - a whole blog without mentioning Burris. Whoo-hoo! I need a drink....

---

Anyone get the title reference?
Pictures ripped off as follows: byron.jpg and contrail2.jpg borrowed from wikipedia pages. Others found on google image searches.

A Jerry Springer World

Click here to go to a Sun-Times article, containing a transcript of an interview with Christina Raines, the now-ex-fiancee of Drew Peterson. She is living in a Jerry Springer world, and she is a Jerry Springer girl.

Amazing.

And she has already reproduced, ensuring that future generations will be subject to the same kind of idiocy.

When you have a chance, check out the movie Idiocracy, a futuristic farce by the creator of Office Space. The movie itself is mildly amusing, but the premise in the beginning describing how society gets dumbed-down is priceless.

If I can locate a clip I'll try to post it later.

Amazing.

Four Weddings and a Funeral

Woke up this morning to see Bonzo's txt msg on my phone: gotta scramble.

Oh, bugger.

Lemmie translate: All those interviews he attended were part of this elaborate process that ultimately matched 4th year medical students with hospitals/schools where they would do their internships.

I don't know what the (students graduating :internship places) ratio is, but I suppose there will always be cases of some end up not getting "matched" despite going through the elaborate process. So they need to "scramble" for any places that still have open spaces, if any.

Bugger, bugger, bugger.

(If you have the image of Hugh Grant banging his head against a tent pole while muttering those words, from the movie that's the title of this blog post, well, you're on the same track as me :p )

In this case, it seems there are 5 spots open for dunno how many applicants: 1 in west, 1 in midwest / central, and 3 in south (inlcuding puerto rico). Actual locations not available until noon tomorrow. And all he can so is "get on the phone, and wheel-and-deal / send out application materials".

Did I say bugger yet?

Will find out March 16th whether he managed to get a scrambled place, or if we need to go to plan B. or C. or D. or E. :D

Stay tuned.

Bugger.

(NOTE: reposted this back to "u.s. time", i.e. 12hrs earlier than "actual" Malaysian time)