I was catching up on reading the Candorville website, and came across this response to a criticism of the strip that I thought I would share with you. Maybe with newspapers and readership down maybe it's time to quit pandering to the whiners and complainers who are never satisfied. I think we've had enough of that over the past 8 years or so. That's why a lot of entertainment is bland and boring. What's wrong with the philosophy "if you don't like something, don't look at it"?

Even though I'm a guy, I know it makes a world of difference if there are some nice scents in your home (and not "soup whiff" as a "Wayne's World" skit on Saturday Night Live once claimed every house smelled like). And washing with a different kind of soap can help make you look and feel better. Maybe I'm not ready to go the whole metrosexual route, but these scented soaps that you can find at www.simplescents.com would be a wonderful addition to your home. Or maybe that special lady in your life would appreciate any of these soaps. Simple Scents soap bars combine the finest natural moisturizers, such as Shea butter, natural glycerin, and essential oils with the most aromatic, pure natural fragrances. Then they triple-mill their soap, so that it will last and last and last. Even the fragrance is there until the last little soap bubble. Which is sure to make your home smell a lot better. And between the smell and using the soap you're sure to feel a lot better. And they offer a wide variety of products available to pamper yourself and make you look and feel better. So whether you want to improve yourself and home or you want to give these products as a gift, they're sure to be enjoyed and appreciated.

It does seem that with very rare exceptions, American movies have to end on an upbeat note. It does tend to result in more predictable outcomes to movies I'm watching. Mental Floss has a list of movies and their original more downbeat endings. I got the recalled DVD of Little Shop of Horrors from eBay as I got into DVDs years after that one was released, and it's an interesting piece of my collection.

With all the tickets sold out (if they're not already) the hotels booked up, not to mention the obstacles on this end, it doesn't look like I'm going to go to San Diego. But it didn't keep me from reading Tom Spurgeon's tips on how to plan and enjoy Comicon. I'm glad Mark Evanier pointed that article out. And if you're a small press publisher going to any conventions, you would do well to heed The Beat's tip to not rely on the publishers sending your books rush air to the con. I've been at the other end of the table being told that the books I'm interested in were "supposed to be there" and we lose out on both ends.

If you've stayed at a hotel you've probably marvelled at some piece of decor that you wish you could have in your home as well. Or if you're in the hotel business you're probably looking for a good source of those same fixtures to spruce up your hotel. With the help of Decor Planet you have a good source of shower panels, bathroom vanities, faucets, cabinets, mirrors, and more. Looking at all the products they have for sale they offer a wider variety than you could find at one of those big box retailers. Seen something in a hotel or magazine that you wish you could get for your home? There's a good chance that they've got it in stock here. Whether it's time to change one or more of your fixtures in home, or you'd like to try something new and different, they've got what you need to help fix up your home. And if you're in the hotel business looking to get some snazzy fixtures to make your lodging stand out in the marketplace, they've got you covered on that as well. They've got two showrooms in New York and Philadelphia if just looking online isn't satisfactory to you. Not only that, but they offer free shipping on all their orders and online help service if you need any assistance on your shopping.

Today's Dorm Dorks strip has a line that life has taught me is so true: "My managerial skills tell me not to back down from my own ideas, regardless of how much logic may shoot them down..." Colleges does nothing to dissuade them from that notion.

Just had a close call here. While Kathy was watching one of her shows when the phone rang and she put it on pause. While talking on the phone the receiver went out. I couldn't turn it back on and thought after all these years it finally gave up the ghost. I do have a coverage plan, so it wouldn't cost money to get it replaced. But there's the hassle of waiting for the replacement receiver and sending the old one back. Then there's the programs still on the recorder, they'd be written off. In addition to the Harlan Ellison programs I mentioned earlier, there's some episodes of Simpsons and Breaking Bad yet to watch that would be gone. And there's the whole question of upgrading to HD. While the picture would be much better, it's too much hassle to change at this point. But after a few frantic moments of troubleshooting, I determined that the power cord was loose to the receiver, and it came back on. *Whew*

In one of my favorite movies Ed Wood Ed was called into an editor's room where he was shown different pieces of stock footage that the editor lamented couldn't be used. For Wood, that was a challenge, and strung together a narrative tying the footage together on the spot. Okay, it was Ed Wood, but I never said it was good, just an exercise of the creative juices. Another problem that the film postulates is that Wood had very limited resources and was doing what he could with what he had.
But you don't have to tie together stock footage to put together a film or video, but you may have the need for some footage that would be cheaper to obtain this way than filming it yourself. Especially when it comes to travel stock footage saving you a fortune in travel and permits alone. And with the help of people stock footage you can save the time and hassle of managing groups of people. And Movietone News is one of the available resources, so if you're doing a historical piece, you can do what others have done and start off with a newsreel containing the subject of your video.
So if you have limited resources, you don't have to compete with Ed Wood as worst director. With the help of this stock footage, it can be the spice that can make your video better and save you some money.

I know he's not going to read this, but I'm going to wish Harlan Ellison a happy 75th birthday anyway. Kathleen David has an appreciation. And an online search shows I wrote about this same thing last year. But I'm still going to write about it and send the best wishes.
I found out last week that the documentary about him Dreams With Strange Teeth came out on DVD yesterday. I tried to add it to the Netflix queue, but it's listed as having an unknown release date. Then I found out Sundance Channel was showing it Monday night, but I don't get Sundance. And the local versions of the chain stores aren't carrying it. I went ahead and ordered it on Amazon, as it has extras that wouldn't be shown on TV, plus it looks like something I'd come back to again and again, and it wouldn't just sit on the shelf after being watched.
And I have a lot of his books I haven't read yet, but it comes back to the subconscious fear that it's a finite resource and once it's read it's all over. I think the unread book is preferable to one you've read (even if you want to read it again) so that's why I've got such a stockpile of books and videos. I even have a couple of his shows on the TiVo, the last "Masters of Science Fiction" adapting one of his stories and an "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" adapting his tale of going undercover in the gangs of Brooklyn. I guess it's like WC Fields being so afraid of poverty that (as the story goes) he'd jump off a train and set up a bank account in towns he'd never been in before, leaving a trail of accounts even he didn't know about.

While I like to think that in my neverending quest for knowledge I take in an interest in overseas matters, I have to admit there is some streak of the American tendency to only care about what's going on in what's going on in our country. And you hear and read a lot about the complaints around tax time about our tax system and how difficult it can be to navigate it. You don't think that there would be other countries that would have the same problem.
I hate to burst your bubble (and there is a bit of bubble popping on my end here), but the United States isn't the only civilized country in the world. What's more, we're not the only ones that have to deal with the problems of taxes. And Australia is a lot more than the Outback and shrimps on barbies. They need tax accountants tax return help as much as we do here. But with the help of chartered accountants sydney cbd Australians can get the help they need to deal with taxes. And they can do a lot more than just help you make do. With their tailored assistance to meet your needs, they can help you manage and maximize your assets.

I can't believe that I haven't written about this movie yet. As you know, I don't do full-blown reviews, just something with a little more detail than talking to a friend or a co-worker about a film they've seen. There's plenty of other sources if you want to read reviews. Plus, I don't know about reviews. I don't like it if I see a bad review for a film I want to see. And I don't really have a go-to source for reviews, somebody who says if a movie's good then it's good enough for me to decide whether or not to see it. Roger Ebert comes close, but sometimes we disagree.
And there's the whole mentality of having to go see a movie the weekend it comes out. I think a large part of it is the studios getting so wrapped up in the opening weekend's performance that the marketing has reflected that, whipping up the crowd to go see it. Sometimes when we don't go see a movie on opening weekend, I say that I heard a rumor that the film will be playing throughout the next week, maybe even the week after that.
So, Night At The Museum Battle Of The Smithsonian. You can tell their ambitions by not simply tacking on a "2" next to the title. Like some sequels, they've decided to amp up the action and the stakes. Kathy and I watched the first one the night before seeing the second one, and the sequel does dovetail seemlessly. While the set up does involve some contrivances to get Our Hero into position, it's not so awkward that you don't accept it, and you go along for the ride. And like a lot of people, Amy Adams' Amelia Earhart is fun and amusing to watch on screen. Don't know if it's worth the extra bucks to go IMAX sized (or "sized" if you have one of those theatres) but worth seeing at the theatre, at least for a bargain matinee. Also not sure about blu ray, as I only got the first one since it came with movie money to see the second one, but ended up thinking it was worth it. There were a couple of "refrigerator moments" at the end (those parts where hours later, you think "wait a minute", usually when you're going to the fridge for something) I was going to InvisoText this last part, but there's a lot, so click on "more" to read it, please.   more »

Whether you're part of the force or like the clothes and equipment they wear, this police gear site can keep you supplied at low prices. And right now they've got a special on 5.11 Tactical gear. Purchase any two 5.11 clothing items and receive free shipping when you use coupon code "gear", free return shipping and a free hat. Purchase $125 worth of 5.11 items and you'll also get a free travel mug. But even if you don't take advantage of either of these specials there's still a lot of great police gear to be found at this site. You can shop by category, brand, or more. And live help is available for customer service.

There's a lot of eyes on the real estate market since the meltdown last Fall. And while there are a lot of people looking to the market to see if there's going to be a way out of this financial mess, not only do I have faith that the market is going to grow again, but people are always looking to buy homes. And if you're in the market for a vacation or retirement home it may be worth your while to take a look at these Costa Rica properties for sale. The Coldwell Banker Pennisula Trading Company has just opened up the Costa Rica market, and as the newest addition to their real estate family they're looking to offer you some great deals on property in that country. They also have articles and other information about the country, and from reading it, it does look like a worthwhile investment for your personal needs if for no other reason. The costs are so low to travel down there and everything costs so less your money will go farther on a vacation or retirement budget than it will in other areas of this country. And the scenery and climate are so beautiful you can picture yourself spending some time there. And they can help you find the right property to achieve that dream. Or if you're not sure of making a commitment now they have many vacation rentals to let you take a trip down there and enjoy all Costa Rica has to offer for your vacation. Whether you want to make an investment, find a property to get away from it all, or just take a trip; Coldwell Banker Real Estate can help you.

As if there weren't enough reasons to love computers in this internet age, a homemade fan trailer can be made with a mashup of what's already out there. While the suits at Warner Bros are going back and forth on coming out with more movies based on DC Comics characters, it doesn't help that something like this sets the bar so high:

Hey, better than having Jack Black starring (and I'm a fan). Thanks to The Knight Shift for the link.

One thing a lot of sports fans would like to have in their collection is a piece of autographed sports memorabilia. But they don't want to spend the time at the sports arena trying to get an autograph, or they're too embarassed to ask for themselves and they don't have a kid that can go and ask for them. One way to save the time and trouble is to shop for authentic sports memorabilia that's available from a trusted dealer AuthenticSportsCollectibles.com. You will find sports memorabilia, sports collectibles and gifts for every type of sports enthusiast. Each of their sports memorabilia and sports collectibles items are individually hand-signed and come with a certificate of authenticity. One thing I liked about autographed memorabilia is that there's a personal connection between you and that person, as they not only actually touched that item, they signed it. They offer a flat $4.95 shipping rate on any sized order, and accessories that will allow you to prominently display your personal piece for all to enjoy. Buying a piece as a gift and not sure what to give? They offer a free gift advisor service that can help you find the right gift to give someone, allowing that special sports fan have a special one of a kind piece that they're sure to enjoy.

While I was out and about today, I saw something that might help newspapers. A promotion one of the local papers is running is where you can get a card at certain merchants that will get punched each time you buy a copy, and when you buy 6 copies you get the 7th one free. Also, the card is entered into a drawing for a gift card to local merchants. This is an idea that, if I were working for a newspaper, I'd be looking into. Getting the local merchants involved to offer coupons and savings that you can't get online, that will get customers in the stores that wouldn't otherwise come in. Another paper offers a deal where if you text a code you can get Kroger coupons, but I don't like the idea of messing with unfamiliar technologies, having to bring the local store up to speed, and it's cold and where's my World's Fair spoon and you kids get off my lawn.

Many people look back on the good old days and recall when something was better. But nostalgia tends to pump up the good parts and forget the bad ones. And there's one thing that nostalgia can't do a thing about: cable and internet service. Without a doubt, things are so much better nowadays than they used to be just for the amount of choice available nowadays. The concept that you have a choice alone beats out the way things used to be. And with competition comes ways that the business compete for your business.

For this month Charter is running an exciting contest to get people interested in Charter On Demand, with their vast library of over 6000 movies and shows, with more free content and new releases for their subscribers. Just head on over to the Win 10 Grand Contest Page where for the month of May they're giving away a Sony Bravia 52" TV, with a grand prize of $10,000. Each week you enter and answer questions about Charter On Demand to be eligible for the contest. You can enter every day for a chance to win. And to find out the latest contests, promotions and other information from Charter keep an eye out for Charter’s Twitter Feed to keep you updated.

The California Supreme Court upheld Proposition 8, but said the marriages already performed before the ban will be upheld. And they've said that to overturn this will take an effort at the ballot box, which Mark Evanier said the other day he prefered it be done that way instead of by court ruling, as the opposition to gay marriage is waning, and such a ruling would reignite it. I agree, the best thing to do is to wait for the proposition overturning Prop H8 to be done in 2010, instead of (to borrow another thing Mark wrote once) listening to all these groups saying they're going to fight this opposition and oh yeah, they're going to need money to do so.

If you game online via X Box 360 (like I do) or play World of Warcraft, you probably prefer to enter a code to keep your account current than to have a credit card on file. I've read too many tales of problems with cards being charged incorrectly that, while it's a very rare case, I don't want to take any chances. And it can be a hassle to remember to get a card at the store before your time runs out. That's why it's handy to buy online and get a wow game card code sent by e-mail instantly. And they've got live customer service help if you have any questions.

As I said Sunday night, we decided to take in a double feature. Unfortunately, there's no such animal at the theatre unless you pay for both tickets. Even with the coupons we had, it was an additional $5 for the second movie. So it was the best we could do.
I'd have to say that Terminator Salvation was better than Terminator 3. And not in a "Superman IV was better than Superman III" type of faint praise. The main complaint was after the initial scene set in 2003. There was the narration on the screen that pointed out oh yeah, Skynet became aware and attacked humanity, who is now locked in a war against the machines. It rang the "show, don't tell" bells in my head, but I can't really think of a way they could better present it. And any quibbles you would have with the story would be ones you would have with the overall premise. And it was a good enough story that you don't think while watching it "this is the film that Christian Bale went off on that guy for getting in his light". It was enjoyable, but I don't know if I'll get it on blu ray when it comes out, and right now it doesn't take that much to interest me. Worth seeing in a matinee.

Everybody's going back and forth about the economy and the different indicators of whether buying and selling is up or down. They can talk about that until they're blue in the face, but there's still people who need automobiles to get where they're going. Living here in the middle of nowhere a car is necessary to be able to go anywhere. Mass transit? Taxi? Don't make me laugh.
One advantage of the economy being the way it is is that you have an opportunity to take advantage of the deals going on to attract business. However, the car dealers know their best chance to sell you something is when you're there on the lot and not give you a chance to think about it. The best way to prepare for that is to study up on the cars you want and be prepared for that. You can read up on the different Chevrolet car makes and years. Or you may have a particular make of car in mind such as the Lincoln MKT or the Honda Odyssey and you'd like to read more about it to make sure it's the car you want. Or you may have heard of the smart car and want to find out more about it.
Remember, while you have the advantage as far as they need to sell cars, they're looking out for their own best interests, not yours. If they can get you off the lot with one of their cars (and they can make more money with the car you drive off) it's better for them than for you. So it benefits you to prepare yourself for your best interests. If you won't look out for yourself, who will?

The main reason my attitude on Coke and Pepsi contests are "meh" are for two reasons. One is I never seem to win anything worthwhile. It's gotten to the point where I don't bother entering the codes for My Coke Rewards because there isn't anything worth the effort. Not even the rent one get one free from Blockbuster since it's 5 miles from where I live and there's driving there to get it, and driving there to take it back. Plus, Netflix has me covered on videos and what they can't do, Redbox picks up okay.
The other reason is that it seems that every time they have one of these contests there's a screw up where somebody who thinks they've won actually didn't and the company tries to weasel out of it. Here's the latest one.

You know how you shop for someting online, or you hear of a good deal on something, and you get ready to buy it and you see the box to put in a coupon code? You didn't know anything about a coupon code but you don't want to miss out on any deals, so you try to search online for a code and you can't find one. And you feel bad that you may have missed out on some savings.
I found this site that offers an Easy Coupon Search all in one site so you don't keep running into coupon codes that have expired. And it's more than just coupon codes. They let you search by website so you can look for Overstock Coupons for example, or by item. I didn't think they'd have anything for comic books, but I searched, and not only found coupon codes for sites that sell comics, but great deals on merchandise and books that I wouldn't have otherwise known about. And the Amazon codes will come in handy since I do a lot of buying there. Not buying, just looking? No problem, you can save what you find in codes and deals in your profile. And you can even share them with your friends via your public profile page. This might be one of those deals where saving money may end up costing you more money, but with the extra merchandise you can get it's worth it.

What can I say? Once in a while you feel like taking a breather. After all, if Norm Feuti and 1977 can do it...
I wasn't sure which movie to see this weekend Terminator Salvation or Night At The Museum Battle of the Smithsonian, so we went to see both. I had the movie money for Night At the Museum BotS thanks to buying the blu rays of Fantastic Four and the first Night At The Museum (the latter movie we watched last night to get ready for the second one) which saved some. But the temperatures up here have been so hot this weekend, getting close to 90, that I went ahead and got out the air conditioners to put in the window yesterday. Made a world of difference. But coming home, all I feel like doing is taking a nap. Time to take it easy some more.