10 things I've learned about "The Passion of the Christ"

... in no particular order...

1. Ebert says it's the most violent movie he's ever seen (and that's saying a lot!)

2. Not a single word of English is spoked... you have to read along via subtitles.

3. Mel Gibson paid for the entire movie out of his own pocket. ($25 million)

4. A lady in Kansas had a heart attack and died while watching it!

5. It opened in more than 3,000 theaters — an unusually large release for a religious film

6. Much of the controversy surrounding the film concerns the line referring to Jews from the Book of Matthew, which reads “His blood be on us, and on our children.” Critics had asked Gibson to remove that line from the final edit but he chose instead to leave it in while deleting the subtitle that translated it.

7. Mel is a "Traditionalist Catholic" which views the modernizing reforms of the Second Vatican Council as a conspiracy between Jews and Masons to take over the church.

8. You can REALLY PISS PEOPLE OFF by referring to the entire movie as one of the central myths of western civilization and Insisting that the Jews called for Jesus's crucifixion is an easy way to start a fight.

9. The Anti-Defamation League warned Gibson about potential consequences of the film... to fuel and legitimize anti-Semitism.

10. The movie is rated R but if it were any other movie, it would certainly get an NC-17.

The iPod Mini is available today

My dad bought my mom a shitty MP3 player for christmas (Why he didn't ask me for my opinion before he bought one of the lowest rated players ever sold, I will never understand!!!) and after he got her a new PC for her birthday, I helped him set it up. Once I realized how crappy the MP3 player was, I had to point out that my advice to anyone about to spend over $100 on an MP3 player is to look closely at the $250 iPod Mini. After giving her my official advice (see below) and showing her the iPod Mini website he decided she wanted one.

When she was ready to buy she noticed that there was only a $50 difference between the 4GB $250 iPod Mini (1000 songs) and the 15GB $299 iPod (3700 songs). Wow... that's a lot more space for only $50. This is was a common complaint made after Steve Jobs introduced the iPod Mini at MacWorld in January. I personally think the iPod Mini should be priced $150-$200.

Anyway... I explained to her that it was a good idea to spend the extra $50 for roughly 2700 more songs and she agreed. She bought the 15GB iPod on Monday at our local Apple Store.
Score one for the good guys!

I guess they throw fair use out the window...

Okay... some idiot federal judge in San Francisco (SF is in the news a lot recently) decided today that 321 Studios, the makers of DVD X Copy has seven days to stop distributing its DVD-copying products.

"The company said it would immediately ask for an emergency stay that would let it keep the software on the shelves but would appeal Illston's ruling, regardless of what happened."

Basically the judge decided that consumers don't have the right to back up their DVDs even though the practice of backing up music CDs and converting the music into other formats is widely accepted.

In a press release from 321 Studios today...

“Despite today's ruling, 321 stands firm in our vow to fight the Hollywood Studios in their effort to take away our customers' digital rights ,” said Robert Moore, Founder and President of 321 Studios. “There is no difference between making a copy of a music CD for personal use and making a backup of a DVD movie for personal use. We are so firm in our belief in the principle of fair use that we will appeal this ruling immediately. And we will take our fight all the way to the Supreme Court, if that's what it takes to win.”

I don't own this software... I use FREE software on the mac that will copy it for me. But I for one, am glad this company is taking a stand! I bring this to your attention because I FIRMLY believe that consumers have the right to make backup copies of ALL of their software (computer, games, audio, video, etc.) if they choose to and it's wrong for any court to decide otherwise! It doesn't make sense that I can make a backup copy of my $650 Photoshop CS, or the $300 Final Cut Express but I can't backup a $5.88 Wal-Mart bargain bin DVD!

This is just more proof that the DMCA is a pathetic law and that Clinton was a fucking idiot for signing a law he didn't fully understand!

Full article here.

Why the fuck is America so uptight?

If two people love each other and want to spend the rest of their lives together who the hell is to say that they can't get married?

GET OVER IT AMERICA!!

Craig's Official MP3 Player Buyer Advice

Craig's Official MP3 Player Advice: It's no secret that the iPod is by far the best MP3 player in the world. So good in fact that HP decided not to even bother competing... instead of making their own they struck a deal with Apple to release an HP branded iPod later this year! If you are planning to spend over $100 on a player (with an extra memory card could push you past $150) I urge you to take a hard look at the iPod Mini. It's a much more cost effective solution when compared to a flash based player where you have to factor in the cost of the player AND the extra memory card(s). You're looking at like 60 songs vs. 1000 songs. After it has sunk in that it makes FAR more sense to buy one, then consider the extra $50 for the 15GB iPod. Which is more important to you, size of the player or size of the hard drive?

After getting an iPod or Mini your music collection will grow rapidly. In my humble opinion, it's better to plan ahead than be stuck worrying about which songs to take with you on your next ________ (fill in the blank) I SAY TAKE THEM ALL WITH YOU! And you also have access to the iTunes Music Store and Audible audio books to boot! I like room to grow. I have 15GB available on my 40GB iPod. I currently have 35.4 days of content!

The moral... try to make a good choices BEFORE you buy. Having to buy a new (larger capacity) player in 4 months will cost more than buying the proper player in the first place.

A great article about the upcoming Star Wars DVDs

Once again I'm in complete agreement with Bill. Article here.

Get your ass outta my NYPD Blue!

"To suddenly find objectionable something that three days earlier would not have been is a hysterical knee-jerk response," says Bochco, who is refusing to edit the episode himself. "I can't stop them (ABC), but I think it's really lame."

http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2004-02-09-nypd-blue-edit_x.htm

It's rather pathetic I'd say.

Oh yeah... and next season is going to be the last season of Blue. It's official now.

It's Official.... STAR WARS will be on DVD in September!!

"The most requested films for the DVD format will finally become a reality this September as Lucasfilm Ltd. and Twentieth Century Fox present the eagerly-awaited Star Wars Trilogy for the ultimate home entertainment format. The four-disc collection will be released on September 21"

http://www.starwars.com/episode-iv/news/2004/02/news20040210.html

I'd be surprised but strong rumors at The Digital Bits told us this announcement was coming. This is great news though. It's about damn time! I've read that this set will only include the 1997 versions. I guess Lucas wants to rewrite history for an entire generation of fans! That sucks!

The good news is that my kids can finally see the original Star Wars movies. I haven't allowed them to watch the trilogy because I don't want them to watch it from tape in pan & scan. It's important to me that they see it in widescreen and 5.1 sound. I'd like them to see the originals but it doesn't look like that's gonna happen any time soon.

Still having a hard time finding caps...

Of course I'm referring to the Apple iTunes/Pepsi deal. Seems all the stores here still have the NFL promo bottles. Anyone else have any luck finding bottles with the iTunes promo? For the seven bottles of Sierra Mist we were able to find with the promo, I've won free tunes on three of them. Let's hope I can find more soon!

TiVo, Nielsen sign TV research pact

"Under the pact, the two companies will provide information on DVR use and viewing patterns to clients in the television and advertising industry, using a sample of TiVo's more than 1 million subscribers."

I'm really happy about this! While some are scared of giving up their viewing habit data to a company, I say take it all! Television shows are all about the ratings. I've had TiVo since mid 2001 and if using TiVo data gives Nielsen more accurate data... great! That may mean that shows I watch would get cancelled less frequently.

Full article here.

Chicago Sun Times = Idiots

http://www.suntimes.com/output/rosenthal/cst-ftr-phil05.html

The article doesn't mention that you can easily call TiVo or DirecTV to opt out if you don't want your information included with everyone else's. I didn't opt out. I'm ALL FOR TiVo using my watching data. They will see that 99% of the time I NEVER watch a single commercial and they will see what shows I like to watch. If that helps keep them on the air... all the better!!

Oh yeah... and for the record... I didn't watch the Superbowl... I TiVo'ed it to see the commercials and even after hearing about the stupid Half Time incident, I still deleted it without going back to check it out. I'm sorry but Janet Jackson does NOTHING for me. Now if it were Jennifer Garner, that's something completely different! ;-)Post Options

Disney vs. Pixar & Eisner vs. Disney & Jobs vs. Disney

In case you weren't aware of the recent goings on, let me fill you in...

Roy Disney, the last Disney family member on the board, was forced into mandatory retirement on November 30th. Walt would be rolling over in his cryogenic chamber after hearing this! Due to this, the next day another board member, Stanley Gold, quit. In his resignation letter he seconded Roy Disney's call for the removal of Michael Eisner as chairman and CEO.

Read the articles here, here and here.

Then...

Disney closed down their Animation Studios at Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park in Orlando firing some and relocating others to Anahiem, CA where their Animation headquarters are located. They citied that they were more profitable with Pixar's films. By the way... Roy was in charge of Disney's animation department.

Article here.

Then...

After 10 months of trying to get the deal they were looking for, Pixar ended talks with Disney and is now looking for a new studio to distribute their movies beginning in 2006. Both Roy Disney and Stanley Gold blame Eisner for mismanaging the Pixar partnership.

Disney points out that they own rights to all the Pixar movies plus the two movies remaining on their contract. "The Incredibles" due this year and "Cars", expected in 2005.

Disney also notes that they are currently working on Toy Story 3 in their own digital animation departments.

Let me be one of the first to say that this movie will suck big time if John Lasseter & Andrew Stanton aren't involved in them and since they work at Pixar... they won't be.

It will also help to point out that Steve Jobs of Apple fame has been the CEO of Pixar since he bought it from George Lucas in the mid 80's for a mere 10 Million. (George needed cash fast after a divorce)

Articles here, here and here.

Next up...

A CNN/Money article speculates that it's not a bad idea for Apple to buy Pixar. Since Steve Jobs is the CEO of both, I do not disagree.

Now earlier today...

An MSNBC article gives us excellent quotes from Pixar's Quaterly & Full Year Conference Call...

Steve Jobs on the prospect of Disney making a Toy Story 3....

“We feel sick about Disney doing sequels,” Jobs said. “If you look at the quality of their sequels, such as ’Lion King 1½’ and (the Peter Pan sequel ’Return to Neverland’), it’s pretty embarrassing.”

Steve Jobs on Pixar vs. Disney quality...

“You can compare the creative quality (of Pixar films) with the creative quality of Disney’s last three films and judge each company’s creative ability yourselves.”

Steve Jobs on Disney's last 2 animated films... Brother Bear and Treasure Planet...

“No amount of marketing will turn a dud into a hit...”

what an excellent low blow! lol

Here's another article that basically says the same thing.

And if that weren't enough, the New York Post has an article today suggesting that Stanley and Roy would like Steve Jobs to run Disney.

Let me just pause on that for a minute. Steve Jobs running Disney. His touch inside Disney World. That would never happen but god damn it would be interesting!

Anyway... what does this all mean? Hell if I know. But it will be interesting to see how this all turns out. I can't wait to see what happens at Disney's shareholders meeting on March 3rd in Philly. And in case you haven't figured it out, I'm on Pixar's side... it's all about quality.

Here's something you don't see every day...

"Leila LeTourneau returned from work late Monday to find crude oil covering her home's floors and spilling from the toilets, bathtub and sinks."

Read the article here.

The Butterfly Effect

We saw this over the weekend. I must say that it was pretty decent in spite of that "Dude, where is my car?" moron in the leading role.

Did you see the Apple/Pepsi commercial during the superbowl?

If not, check it out here.

So Apple & Pepsi are giving away 100 million iTunes Music Store songs. You have to buy 20 oz. or 1 Liter bottles of Pepsi, Diet Pepsi or Sierra Mist. 1 in 3 wins. An excellent deal for those that drink a lot of soda anyway. My problem is that I can't seem to find a store with a good supply of them in stock.