Wednesday, January 27, 2010

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?

Monday, January 25, 2010

Review: Avatar

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.

Friday, January 22, 2010

Review: District 9


District 9 (Single-Disc Edition)

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.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Review: Paranormal Activity

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.

Monday, January 18, 2010

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.
         

 





 

Friday, January 8, 2010

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.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Seven Pounds
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.