Since I epically failed last year...

I'm restarting the 101 things list.  I've added some new items, so we'll see how that goes.

I'm going to be blogging more often this year, so stay tuned for more posts and reviews of everything and anything.

The Future of Stuff..

Forgive me for sounding old fashion, but upon discovering this article, I found myself slightly saddened by the some of the trends addressed in this article.

1. DVDs:  This is probably the easiest one the get over, assuming Blu-Ray still continues to sell.  I had no problems with changing mediums.  VHS to DVD was no problem, sure I had to by all of my Disney Movies all over again on DVD.  Those are really the only movies I own.  Disney also happens to be offering the alternative.  They sell their Blu-Ray discs with a copy of the DVD.  This way, even though I haven't quiet moved up to Blu-Ray yet, I'll have a copy when I do make the transition (not to mention Blu-Ray players are backwards compatible.  I have no concerns about the Netflix rentals either. 

This article, however, mentions that downloading movies is becoming to popular way to go.  This concerns me because when I like something enough to purchase, I would like something tangible to display on a shelf.  Files of movies on a computer would not satisfy me nearly as much.

2. Home Telephone Service:  I still have a land line, and for as long as they are available, I will continue to have a land line.  I also have a cell phone, but I try to limit my use on it when I'm in my own home as much as possible.  My land line service does not drop my calls as much as my cell phone.  I suppose if home phone service does become obsolete, then I will have to buy one of those devices that hook up to your cell phone so you can use it similar to a land line.  Cell phones are tiny, and much harder to keep track of in your own home.  I would much rather not have to wear my BlackBerry on my hip at all times even in my own home.  I keep it in my purse, and would rather not have to chase my purse down every time I hear my phone ring.

3. Newspaper/Magazine Subscriptions:  I love reading hard copies of the magazine.  Staring at a computer screen all day can be taxing. The best thing in the world is to just unplug and relax upon returning home from work.  To do so, reading a hard copy of the newspaper or a favorite magazine is great.  I do not think I will ever catch on to the Kindle thing.

4. CDs:  This is what I am saddest to see go.  As I mentioned of DVDs, I do not mind the media changes so much as I don't like to lose something tangible.  I will gladly use iTunes to download a single or two, but if I plan on buying an entire album from one of my favorite artists, I prefer to have something tangible in my hands.  This isn't the same as when Vinyl went to cassette, or cassette to CD.  It may seem like a waste of space to rip a CD to the iPod, and then put the CD on a shelf somewhere.  To mean, it doesn't feel that way.  They are like collectors items, the same way people keep their old Vinyl records.  I have had discussions about this in the past, and find that many of my peers do not feel the same way, so it could be just me.

Maybe this is just my apprehension at letting so many things of the past go.  We're moving into the digital age, and losing touch of everything tangible.  This is something I may just be having a hard time moving past, so perhaps I am just a little too old fashion.  This may be the same way future generations have felt at the creation of cable TV or moving from telegraph to telephone.

Readers:  How do you feel about the potential of these rapidly approaching evolutions in technology?  Do you think many of these items really will become obsolete?  Are you releuctant about the changes as well, or do you think I'm just crazy?  Their were a couple other items in the article I didn't mention because they aren't relevant to me.  Do you have any differing opinions on these items as well?

Review: Avatar

Avatar is a film that lives up to the hype, without a doubt.  Usually when a movie is amped up so much, and one goes to see it with such high expectations, it is easy to leave dissapointed.  I loved this movie from start to finish.  I went to see it in a regular movie theater setting, so I wasn't as taken with the special effects as those who might see it in IMAX (this is definitely on my to-do list, though).  I was suprised at how much I enjoyed the plot, as I had heard much about how it was the effects that made this film truly great, and the plot was average.  Read on.

Review: District 9

District 9 was a refreshing new Sci-fi movie that had me engaged for a good portion of the film.  The portrayal of this film as a mockumentary was an effective way of taking on the subject matter of this film.  I just wish it wouldn't have strayed away from this concept into a shoot-em up toward the end.  Read on for full review.

Review: Paranormal Activity

I'll admit, I am very easiliy scared, and watched a good portion of Paranormal Activity from behind my closed fingers.  This movie scared the crap out of me.  The film starts off relativly slow, but I didn't mind that one bit.  I was on the edge of my seat for a good portion near the end, as each night the paranormal activity escalated.  Read on for the full review.

101 Things Update

Quiet a few of my goals are on-going things that need to be done regularly.  Because of this, I will allow myself to count them as complete as long as I do something 90% of the time.  The whole point of those items is to do something beneficial, so I have to allow room for improvement.  If failing to do something once knocked it off my list right off the bat, then there is no point in trying to improve.  I will touch on the goals that I've completed as a whole, and the goals that need improvement.  The day to day goals on my main list will reflect a score for how many times they were missed.  For a complete look at where I'm at, please see the original list, which I've edited to portray my success.

Completed (Key: Bolded on list)
Buy a designer purse
I received a Vera Bradley purse from my grandma as a gift.  I decided that gifts should count, as why would I want to purchase a new purse when I have a perfectly good one that was free to me.

Buy a video camcorder

This was another freebie we received.  My fiance's work gives away various items at their Christmas party, and we walked away with a Flip camcorder.  I am actually very pleased with this item, and this was the exact camcorder I was considering buying for myself anyway.  It is very simple to use, and creates a high quality video.


Remarks:
This week was rather tough, as I worked a lot of overtime, and was not home for other than sleep the entire week.  I missed out on a lot of house work and quality time with my fiance, so there are a lot of daily and weekly tasks that I missed.  I also failed miserably at keeping up with the blog last week.
         

 





 

Checking Off IMDB's Top 250 Films...Part I

One of my goals for the 101 in 1001 days is watching every film on IMDB's top 250 film list.  This list is evolving as people provide reviews and opinions form of new movies.  I will list some of the films that are on the current list that I have already seen and provide a brief summary of what I thought of the film.  They are listed below.

My fiance and I watched Seven Pounds recently, and I found it to be a very wonderful film.  I know it has had mixed reviews, and I have had friends tell me that it is "so predictable."  In the below review, I will explain why that while it was predictable it didn't matter to this film.  Please note that this review may contain spoilers as I attempt to explain why I feel this movie was not predictable, but the fact that what I will reveal is made apparent in the very first scene, I feel this will not impact the viewing experience for any readers.  I will try to explain everything as ambiguously as possible, but even still it may not be possible to prevent spoilers.  All I can say now is that I strongly recommend watching this movie. Read on at your own discretion.

First Attempt at Freeing My Mind

As part of my 101 things, I chose to attempt to answer the 50 Questions That Will Free Your Mind.  Today, I attempted to answer the ones that came to me right away as I was reading them.  I will take a stab at the harder ones in the future.


2. Which is worse, failing or never trying?  

•  Failing for sure.  I am not one to jump into tasks that are a huge gamble.  If the cost is minimal I am willing to take a chance, but I am not one to take unnecessary risk.

6. If happiness was the national currency, what kind of work would make you rich?

• Honestly, the career path I chose is one that makes me truly happy.  I enjoy the work I do and feel accomplished at the end of the day.  That said, the reason I didn't choose the career path that would make me happiest is because the availability of these types of jobs are very small.  I used to dream of training killer whales and Sea World.  If it weren't all but impossible to have a job doing so, then that would be the kind of work that would make me rich.

8. If the average human life span was 40 years, how would you live your life differently?

• I would have gotten married and had children rather than focusing on developing a career right away.

9. To what degree have you actually controlled the course your life has taken?

• I am very much in control of the course my life has taken.  The decisions I have made are 100% my own.

 10. Are you more worried about doing things right, or doing the right things?

• Doing the right thing is the most important.  I could not do something that would cause for me to go against my morals.

11. You’re having lunch with three people you respect and admire.  They all start criticizing a close friend of yours, not knowing she is your friend.  The criticism is distasteful and unjustified.  What do you do?

• I would like to say that I would stand up for this friend.  I am pretty sure I would, especially if the criticism is unjustified.  I have little difficulty in standing up for someone, and I doubt the fact that I respect and admire the individuals that need to be stood up to will change my mind.

13. Would you break the law to save a loved one?

• Without hesitation.

19. If you had to move to a state or country besides the one you currently live in, where would you move and why?

• Michigan in a heart beat.  It would be wonderful for my fiance and I to be close to our families.

20. Do you push the elevator button more than once?  Do you really believe it makes the elevator faster?

• No, because I know it doesn't make the elevator move faster.
  

21. Would you rather be a worried genius or a joyful simpleton?

• Joyful simpleton.  I take great pride in my intelligence, but if I was simpleminded and happy, I would not know what I was missing.
  

24. Which is worse, when a good friend moves away, or losing touch with a good friend who lives right near you?

• The good friend moving away.  It is always possible to see the ones that live far away, but losing touch is far worse.
  

26. Would you rather lose all of your old memories, or never be able to make new ones?

• I would rather lose all of my old memories.  I am still young, and have years to make new, wonderful memories.  I am sure as I age, my feelings on this will change.
  

28. Has your greatest fear ever come true?

• No, it hasn't.
  

37. If you just won a million dollars, would you quit your job?

• No.  Regardless of however many millions of dollars, I would not quit my job at the point in time.
  

38. Would you rather have less work to do, or more work you actually enjoy doing?

• More work I enjoy doing.  When I have more assignments at work, the day goes quickly and I enjoy myself.
  

39. Do you feel like you’ve lived this day a hundred times before?

• Not at all.  I think I am capable of finding enjoyment in many things.  I have a wide variety of tasks to keep me busy, so my life never feels repetitive.
  

42. Would you be willing to reduce your life expectancy by 10 years to become extremely attractive or famous?

• No.  Plain and simply, no.
  

50. Decisions are being made right now.  The question is:  Are you making them for yourself, or are you letting others make them for you?

• I feel as though I already answered this one.  I make my own decisions.
  

Review: Wii Fit Plus

Another item I received for Christmas is the new Wii Fit Plus.  I had seen this played at a friend's house when we had a Wii party after they bought theirs.  The new features were enough to convince me that it would be a great improvement over the original.  I tried it out with my mom Christmas Day.  She was the reason I decided to purchase the original Wii Fit, as her and my dad already had it.  Even she enjoyed the game significantly, and was asking to play it several times during the weekend I was in town.  Read on for my full review.

Our Xbox is Wireless...Finally!

As I've said in previous posts, our Xbox 360 was purchased for Christmas over a year ago.  We had not even considered purchasing the Xbox 360 until we learned that Final Fantasy XIII was to be released on multiple platforms.  Our biggest reason for choosing the Xbox over the PS3 is that it has the ability to stream Netflix movies directly to the TV. (This is something the PS3 can do now, but was not available at the time we were considering the purchase).  The streaming ability of Netflix is awesome, but we are not big fans of watching movies on the computer.  We had been procrastination on purchasing a wireless adapter, and failed to do so mainly because we just never thought to when we were out and about shopping.

This year for Christmas we recieved the wireless adapter for our Xbox from my parents.  Out of all the gifts we've received, this is the one we put to use first.  It fits securely in the back of our Xbox and stays out of the way.  We set up our Xbox Live membership, and can now watch any Netflix movie or TV show that is available for instant streaming.  Hopefully this will help with checking off some movies from the list I must watch for my 101 things.  This also enabled us to access downloadable contents for Dragon Age: Origins, and will probably provide us with the motivation to purchase some massive multiplayer online games.  I don't even know why we waited so long in obtaining this.  If you have an Xbox 360 and aren't online yet, I would recommend a wireless adapter.  No messy cords to trip over, and it is easy to set up.

Readers:  Any of you Xbox 360 users out there?  What games do you like to play online?  Any recommendations?

Review: Confessions of a Shopaholic

My fiance and I rented Confessions of a Shopaholic for a light-hearted movie to watch.  We have been falling behind on new releases, and I remember every time we saw a trailer for it, we'd both mention wanting to see it.  We made the right choice in renting this one.  My fiance enjoyed it, so this might be a pretty good chick flick to watch that the guys won't cringe about either.  Read on for the full review.

Just Because I Went to Community College Doesn't Mean I'm Lazy

Too often I see people sneer at the thought of going to community college in lieu of a four year school after graduating.  I remember watching the movie Accepted and wondering why these kids were acting as though the concept of going to community college was worse than not going to college at all.  I don't understand where this mentality comes from.  The fact that they cost less and let almost anybody in does not mean the quality of their classes is any less that that of comparable classes at a four year school.  In fact, I believe my decision to put off going to a four year school and attend community college was the best decision I could have made at that point in my life.

Upon graduating,  I had the option of going away for college or attending a community college less that twelve minutes from my parents' house.  I chose the later, and obtained a two year degree.  This experience was very rewarding.  The professors were very talented, and some of the best educators I've had taught at this school.  One professor joked that we could fail his Calculus class three times for the cost of taking the equivalent at a four year school once.  While still not a good thing to fail a class, doing so for a third of the cost at community college would allow for less dedicated students to realize they need to work harder without losing out on as much financially.  They say college is not for everyone, and isn't it better to realize it at a cost of $1500 worth of tuition versus $10,000 worth of tuition and room and board at a different school.  The two year degree I obtained allowed me to transfer to any school, and the counselors worked with me based on the program I wanted to go into at a future four year school.  When I graduated with a bachelors degree from a four year school, I did so with zero debt.  I had to finance only two years at the more expensive school rather than four.  I also had the benefit of a couple more years working at my job in my hometown to build up my savings.  Community college gave me the head start I needed.  It is the end result that matters in the long run, not the means one uses to achieve it.