Imitation in the Sincerest Form of Flattery

I've been a Netflix subscriber since late 1999. At the time, I thought there was no way the service would survive -- too good to be true. But, after a year or so, I realized it would either change the way we rented DVDs, or else just awaken slumbering giants. Apparently the answer was "both," as Blockbuster has come on full-force with its DVD-by-mail program.

This image of a happy couple enjoying some red wine and a whole stack o' Netflix polycarbonate has graced their web site for at least a year.



So, imagine my surprise when I checked out Blockbuster's competing site.



Let's see. The Blockbuster couple has apparently decided to watch films without a glass of wine or a pillow, and the Blockbuster Boy isn't one of The Riddler's hencmen, unlike our friend from Netflix.

Other than that...

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to watch some DVDs. But first I have to get The Girlfriend to put on her white tank top and blue sweats, then I'll put my arm around her shoulder just so...

Scoring the Oscars

Of the major categories, I got them all right except for Best Picture -- never saw "Crash" coming. I happened to like it better than Brokeback, but the films are so radically different, they're hard to compare. Both were quality films, and I really like that they were shot on the cheap; the indie revolution continues.

I missed Best Foreign Language film: Was sure that "Paradise Now" would win, but, as The Girlfriend correctly pointed out, it's pro-Palestinian (hell, one could call it pro-terrorist and not be completely off base) position might not ring well with some of the older Academy Members. I'll have to check out Tsotsi, it sounds interesting.

I missed on some of the "lesser" categories, like animated films and shorts (not a one of which I'd seen). Got documentary right -- duh; anyone who's seen "Penguins" would have known it was a shoo-in. Was pleasantly surprised that "Pimp" got best song, and I was really amused to hear the New and Improved lyrics ("... and a whole lot of witches jumping ship." Oh my.)

In my quest to see all the major nominees, I came up one short: Pride and Prejudice is sitting on my shelf. Ah well, last year I missed one film as well. Considering the spread this year, that ain't bad.

For grins, check out the Washington Post's discussion about the Oscar winners; half the participants haven't even seen the movies, and appear to be quite proud of the fact. Am I missing something?

Moving sucks

No updates in a while... sorry about that. A perfect storm of events kicked in: Moved from the miserable house in Loudoun County to the cool condo in Silver Spring; had a frantic gig with The History Channel, and got sick as a dog to boot. Updates to follow, I promise.

Verizon madness

So I'm using Verizon's on-line configurator to get my new phone. At first, it looks like a pretty good system. It gives me all the options for the packages, or I can pick a-la-carte. Great. I pick a plan that gives you three "goodies," and the configurator automatically picks CallerID, home voice mail, and call waiting. Fine. I click continue. Nope -- in big red ERROR letters, it says I can't hve home voice mail unless I pick call fowarding. So why the hell does it pick those thre for you? Fine, I deselect call waiting, and select call forwarding. ERROR. You must select call forwarding! Um, I did... there appears to be no way out, so I deselect all of the options. The configurator happily allows me to continue... well, this won't work, so I try again. Eventually, after maybe five attempts, I am able to select voice mail, callerID, and call forwarding. Why the hell don't they just automtically check those boxes in the first place? Why needlessly make the customer jump through hoops?

I realize Verizon is a monopoly, and thus doesn't give a rat's arse if the customer is happy or not, but really, that's no reason to rub it in...