To some of you today's title might mean something, to others they're just the total count of round spheres of frozen water. To those of you who "get it" - Snoogins!
Today I watched the Supplement disc of the Clerks.X DVD set which included the 2+hour documentary on the making of Clerks. - "The Snowball Effect". The title has a double-meaning to Kevin Smith fans; it appropriately describes the phenomenon of Clerks. as told by the people involved, 10 years later (yes, it's really been 10 years) and it also is a reference to a certain act committed following another certain act. For an explanation I highly recommend checking out Clerks. either on VHS or even better - on this new 3-disc DVD set from Miramax.
The documentary is fascinating and covers all aspects of the production, indie film festivals and purchase by Miramax of this crude and hilarious comedy that follows a day in the life of Dante & Randal, two retail store clerks that enjoy their jobs "except for all the customers". The writing is brilliant, the acting is spotty at times, the language is foul (but it's true to life) and the black & white print is from 16mm, so it's not in the best shape (though the new 10th Anniversary edition is the best print ever seen), but it all works beautifully.
There are two versions of the film in this set, the newly remastered 10th Anniversary Edition, in anamorphic widescreen and Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound that has an alternate audio commentary track (that's the same one from the 1997 DVD edition), and there's a third disc that has the original 105 minute version with the original ending that was shown at the indie film festivals, this was not the version that later appeared in theaters after being bought by Miramax. This version contains an all new audio commentary (2004), but as I've yet to watch it (and listen to the commentary) I can't really comment on it yet.
I also watched the extras on the Star Trek: Generations DVD as well as pieces of the actual film to check the quality. The extras are pretty standard compared to the first 6 Special Edition DVD sets (aside from the missing Teaser & Trailer....as it turns out Paramount has announced a new official release date for this set as September 28, so if you missed it you won't have to wait but 2 more weeks). The film quality is better than the non-anamorphic version, though there is some annoying edge enhancement which gives it a video look/feel instead of a film quality, which is a little disappointing (though this will NOT be fixed on the new release, all that will be fixed on that is the outer insert, with a sticker no less, saying that the Teaser & Trailer are not part of the set). The DTS surround track however is very open and very punchy when it needs to be, so kudos to Paramount for adding this on there!
Last night saw the premiere of Joey, the Friends spin-off starring Matt LeBlanc and I have to say, being the pilot episode, which sets up the basic premise and introduces characters (and actors unfamiliar as of yet with those characters) it was not that bad. I know I am spoiled now, but being that Joey is in NBC-HD Widescreen, that's another point in its favor, Friends was not. Of course, only the coming weeks will tell if Joey can stand on its own or if it was a horrible mistake, but hey, Frasier pulled it off after Cheers, so it's very possible Joey is here to stay.
Today I did a little cleaning in my storage shed, so it's becoming less and less crowded and eventually I'll be able to move everything into the condo.
I also went to Sam's Club (a warehouse market, a division of Wal*Mart) and picked up a 7lb container of cat food and a 40lb container of cat litter...three cats eat and shit a lot!!!
Today I will try to watch Jersey Girl and write a review (this is another Kevin Smith film and it didn't do well in the wake of Gigli, though I'm going in with an open mind, and being unspoilt by Gigli I think I can be fairly objective about it....although I'm already biased towards Smith's writing and directing....so we'll see...).
Tonight sees the return of StarGate SG-1 and StarGate: Atlantis after taking a week off. So from 9pm to 11pm I'll be tuned to the SciFi Channel......
RobMac
Friday, September 10, 2004
Wednesday, September 08, 2004
The Third Option
What I refer to as The Third Option whenever I visit a doctor keeps its track record alive yesterday, much to my chagrin.
I was supposed to have a post-op visit with my urologist yesterday at 4:40pm, so I get there around 4:30pm (although I know I probably won't even make it to the isolation room for a good half-hour) and around 5:05pm the Queen Nurse behind the patient-proof glass calls my name, so I answer by hobbling up to the window and leaning down so I can speak under it so she can hear me;
She says "Who are you here to see?"
I said "Doctor So-and-so." (name omitted)
She says "He has no office hours today...maybe you should make an appointment instead of just stopping by next time."
? ? ? W T F ? ? ?
I respond with a polite but frustrated "What?! No, I had an appointment. Someone called me two weeks ago the day after my procedure and told me to be here September 7th at 4:40pm for my post-op follow up visit. Today IS September seventh, isn't it?"
She says "Yes, but I don't think someone told you to be here today..."
I said "Well I do! I wrote it on a sticky note as soon as she said it and stuck it on my computer so I wouldn't forget; it's been there for two weeks!"
She says "That's not possible...."
This is where I start to get mad, and here's why;
Instead of just telling me what the hell is going on she berates me for making up an office visit because it's not at all within the realm of possibility that someone there screwed up, God forbid they should admit a mistake. I hate people that continue to argue over something instead of trying to rectify a situation; they'd rather make it worse than make it go away.
So I come to find out that I have the appointment today and I ask her no less than three times (much to her chagrin!);
"That's for tomorrow, the eighth of September at 4:40pm....that's Eastern Time, right?"
"Yes, because he's not in the office on Tuesdays, he does his operations and rounds at the hospitals on Mondays and Tuesdays"
...she had to turn the knife one last time. Fake Power, I hate it.
The Third Option is what happens when I see a doctor, I'll go in thinking "One of two things will happen, either A or B...." and then a third option appears and throws me completely for a loop.
So yesterday, its record stands strong.
So I go back today and see the doctor and I am told to get a KUB X-ray of my kidney so he can see if there's anything to see and bring him the films, meanwhile he's sending my stone fragments to be analyzed to see exactly what they're made of, this will help determine if the sodium bicarbonate I take every day is worthwhile and also how to go about treating it. I am scheduled to have my stent removed (and possibly replaced, pending him "getting in there" to see what he can see), so on the 23rd I again go to the hospital to have people gawk at my genitals and stick things up there....
On a lighter note, yesterday saw the return of the new season of The Screen Savers on G4TechTV, now from Los Angeles instead of San Francisco and with a new co-host, Alex Albrecht (Patrick Norton got married and his wife didn't want to move to L.A.....best of luck Patrick, we'll miss 'ya!), so it's good to have the show back with new stuff.
Also last night was the second episode of Father Of The Pride (Larry's Debut, And Sweet Darryl Hannah Too) and while not as funny as the first episode (What's Black And White And Depressed All Over?) it had its share of belly laughs, which is far better than most shows these days.
I highly recommend checking it out.
RobMac
I was supposed to have a post-op visit with my urologist yesterday at 4:40pm, so I get there around 4:30pm (although I know I probably won't even make it to the isolation room for a good half-hour) and around 5:05pm the Queen Nurse behind the patient-proof glass calls my name, so I answer by hobbling up to the window and leaning down so I can speak under it so she can hear me;
She says "Who are you here to see?"
I said "Doctor So-and-so." (name omitted)
She says "He has no office hours today...maybe you should make an appointment instead of just stopping by next time."
? ? ? W T F ? ? ?
I respond with a polite but frustrated "What?! No, I had an appointment. Someone called me two weeks ago the day after my procedure and told me to be here September 7th at 4:40pm for my post-op follow up visit. Today IS September seventh, isn't it?"
She says "Yes, but I don't think someone told you to be here today..."
I said "Well I do! I wrote it on a sticky note as soon as she said it and stuck it on my computer so I wouldn't forget; it's been there for two weeks!"
She says "That's not possible...."
This is where I start to get mad, and here's why;
Instead of just telling me what the hell is going on she berates me for making up an office visit because it's not at all within the realm of possibility that someone there screwed up, God forbid they should admit a mistake. I hate people that continue to argue over something instead of trying to rectify a situation; they'd rather make it worse than make it go away.
So I come to find out that I have the appointment today and I ask her no less than three times (much to her chagrin!);
"That's for tomorrow, the eighth of September at 4:40pm....that's Eastern Time, right?"
"Yes, because he's not in the office on Tuesdays, he does his operations and rounds at the hospitals on Mondays and Tuesdays"
...she had to turn the knife one last time. Fake Power, I hate it.
The Third Option is what happens when I see a doctor, I'll go in thinking "One of two things will happen, either A or B...." and then a third option appears and throws me completely for a loop.
So yesterday, its record stands strong.
So I go back today and see the doctor and I am told to get a KUB X-ray of my kidney so he can see if there's anything to see and bring him the films, meanwhile he's sending my stone fragments to be analyzed to see exactly what they're made of, this will help determine if the sodium bicarbonate I take every day is worthwhile and also how to go about treating it. I am scheduled to have my stent removed (and possibly replaced, pending him "getting in there" to see what he can see), so on the 23rd I again go to the hospital to have people gawk at my genitals and stick things up there....
On a lighter note, yesterday saw the return of the new season of The Screen Savers on G4TechTV, now from Los Angeles instead of San Francisco and with a new co-host, Alex Albrecht (Patrick Norton got married and his wife didn't want to move to L.A.....best of luck Patrick, we'll miss 'ya!), so it's good to have the show back with new stuff.
Also last night was the second episode of Father Of The Pride (Larry's Debut, And Sweet Darryl Hannah Too) and while not as funny as the first episode (What's Black And White And Depressed All Over?) it had its share of belly laughs, which is far better than most shows these days.
I highly recommend checking it out.
RobMac
Frustrated
Tried uploading last night's blog no less than 10 times...the Uploading progress notice just sits there at "0%..." reloading over and over and over.....nothing.
If this shows up, I can't understand why last night's won't, even when I cut, copy and paste into a new publish box.
If this shows up, I can't understand why last night's won't, even when I cut, copy and paste into a new publish box.
Tuesday, September 07, 2004
Target Misses What Wal*Mart Hits
So I go looking this morning for the Star Trek: Generations-Special Edition DVD which Paramount officially recalled on Friday, just 4 days before it's supposed to be released due to a misprint of a few words on the case insert. It mentions as extras "Teaser Trailer and Theatrical Trailer" but they were left off for some unknown reason, so to correct this heinous crime Paramount tells stores to return thousands upon thousands of DVDs already crowding warehouses across America, but I knew some wouldn't, it's just not cost effective, or some just don't care.
So I'm at Target when they open at 8am and there's one other guy there and he runs to the DVD section (I hobble) and I can see he's getting frantic searching every end-cap, aisle and bin for some elusive DVD (now I can't be certain it was Generations he was after), but he left without buying anything and looking really pissed off. I look and of course, nothing. I really didn't expect to find it so easily. I did, however, pick up Clerks.X (The 10th Anniversary 3-disc set of Kevin Smith's first film), of which they only had 3...(THREE!? for the entire stock?) so it wasn't a total waste.
So I drive to another Target about 5 miles away (since I think Target's the only store open this early) and same thing; no Star Trek: Generations. So I decide on a whim to try Wal*Mart, thinking that they usually suck so bad that maybe people won't go there or (more likely) that the employees just don't care about a studio recall, but I'm not sure what time they open, but I check it out anyway. I get there and they're open! (Turns out they open at 7am) I mosey on down to the Electronics area and lo-and-behold, Generations, lots of 'em. So I pick one up, go to the register, sure it's not going to accept it and cause a problem, but nope, it scans just fine. I pay my $15 and leave.
So now I have something to do today before I go to see my urologist....
RobMac
So I'm at Target when they open at 8am and there's one other guy there and he runs to the DVD section (I hobble) and I can see he's getting frantic searching every end-cap, aisle and bin for some elusive DVD (now I can't be certain it was Generations he was after), but he left without buying anything and looking really pissed off. I look and of course, nothing. I really didn't expect to find it so easily. I did, however, pick up Clerks.X (The 10th Anniversary 3-disc set of Kevin Smith's first film), of which they only had 3...(THREE!? for the entire stock?) so it wasn't a total waste.
So I drive to another Target about 5 miles away (since I think Target's the only store open this early) and same thing; no Star Trek: Generations. So I decide on a whim to try Wal*Mart, thinking that they usually suck so bad that maybe people won't go there or (more likely) that the employees just don't care about a studio recall, but I'm not sure what time they open, but I check it out anyway. I get there and they're open! (Turns out they open at 7am) I mosey on down to the Electronics area and lo-and-behold, Generations, lots of 'em. So I pick one up, go to the register, sure it's not going to accept it and cause a problem, but nope, it scans just fine. I pay my $15 and leave.
So now I have something to do today before I go to see my urologist....
RobMac
Monday, September 06, 2004
Family
Today I visited my mother and father to measure their bedroom windows for light blocking shades, then mom & I went to Lowes to order them. I have cordless light blocking shades in my bedroom and my mother loves them (as do I) and she's been wanting some ever since she & dad rearranged the layout in their room, so today was the day. I was expecting them to be overfull (being the holiday and all) and it was. Generally it's impossible to find an employee to help you, but today we lucked out and within 5 minutes we had our own employee to order the blinds from. We were in and out in 10 minutes; a new world record for anything in Lowes! And because it was a holiday they took 20% off the kind she wanted, so it was a good trip.
I than called my sister to see if I could visit since I had made a DVD for them of my nephew (home movies of my first nephew (15), I have three now) and as it turns out her half-brother and his girlfriend were up from Georgia visiting so she said "come on up". I get there and my brother-in-law is feeding my youngest nephew (5 months old) and my second nephew (29 months) is watching The Lion King (his favorite movie too!) and the rest of them are sitting down to eat lunch, so I join them. As we ate my brother-in-law's brothers arrive...so it's turning into a party! I didn't stay long as I was still kinda hurting but mostly because it was getting to naptime for my two youngest nephews.
Family is great, I love them all.
That's all I did today, though it was fun and it was a beautiful day here in eastern PA so I drove to & from my sister's with the top down (convertible), she's about 30 minutes away so it was a nice drive in the open sun and wind for an hour. I felt better while I was driving.
Tomorrow's the follow-up visit with my urologist and we're supposed to discuss the removal of the stent and schedule a CT Scan, so expect the unexpected tomorrow as my thoughts of how a doctor visit will go turns completely the other way once I get there.
RobMac
I than called my sister to see if I could visit since I had made a DVD for them of my nephew (home movies of my first nephew (15), I have three now) and as it turns out her half-brother and his girlfriend were up from Georgia visiting so she said "come on up". I get there and my brother-in-law is feeding my youngest nephew (5 months old) and my second nephew (29 months) is watching The Lion King (his favorite movie too!) and the rest of them are sitting down to eat lunch, so I join them. As we ate my brother-in-law's brothers arrive...so it's turning into a party! I didn't stay long as I was still kinda hurting but mostly because it was getting to naptime for my two youngest nephews.
Family is great, I love them all.
That's all I did today, though it was fun and it was a beautiful day here in eastern PA so I drove to & from my sister's with the top down (convertible), she's about 30 minutes away so it was a nice drive in the open sun and wind for an hour. I felt better while I was driving.
Tomorrow's the follow-up visit with my urologist and we're supposed to discuss the removal of the stent and schedule a CT Scan, so expect the unexpected tomorrow as my thoughts of how a doctor visit will go turns completely the other way once I get there.
RobMac
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