I've been a BlackBerry user for two and a half years now. I was happy with it for the first year. It felt like EVERYONE had a BlackBerry. Out of my circle of friends, only one didn't have a BlackBerry at the "peak" - around late 2008-2009.
It was cool. It was smart. BBM was coolest way to text. But then what happened?
It's too easy to blame the iPhone. I think it's more the lackluster advancements that BlackBerry has made since their real competitors have come out. It's still running with an "office" mentality that will be the product's downfall. Originally, the BlackBerry was meant to be an "office" phone - for portable e-mail communication. It made sense and was a huge success.
But now BlackBerry has lost any edge it had. That's not news. It's just the way it went down. It seemed like a product that would withstand any new product, but instead it couldn't find ways to innovate itself. It remained too "office"-y while trying to be marketed as a "consumer" product.
Easiest problem is the internet. If you can't look at the "real" internet - not the mobile version - then it's stupid. iPhone's and Droid's can, so why can't BlackBerry? I literally don't use the thing to go on the Internet - mainly because I'm trying to save the battery - but the browser sucks.
Everything about the BlackBerry is too much of a pain in the ass. The BBM is cool, but it's not cool when nobody's on it anymore. Since the phone's break all the time, your PIN changes, so nobody knows you have an updated PIN unless you tell them. If you have alot of contacts, that could take a while.
I know I've written about this before, but the battery is atrocious. I also use the damn thing too much, but the battery won't last me much longer than maybe 6 hours? Again - most of that is because I'm OCD for Foursquare and check Twitter when I'm bored, but come on. I turn my phone off to save the battery. Doesn't it defeat the purpose of being mobile if I have to charge my phone every 5 hours? And, this speaks to how absurd our society has become, you feel lost without a functional phone, and the feeling of an almost-empty battery can be terrifying if you're crazy enough. We're enslaved to these devices.
I'm not totally sold on the touch concept, but BlackBerry got it wrong. The Storm with the "click" nonsense was lame. People were skeptical with the iPhone's touch screen for texting, but it seems that everyone's gotten over that. The new Torch works for touch, but it's still running on the BlackBerry Operating System - and that is what crippled the product. The App Store is too slow moving for me to want to do anything. It takes away from the simplicity that iPhone has really mastered.
I forget when I'm up for a new phone - because of the stupid contracts that we're stuck in - but I know my next phone will NOT be a BlackBerry. I'm done with them. Mainly it's the battery, but also the browser are too limiting. I'm stuck on Verizon, so who knows if the iPhone will actually be coming or if it's just more rumors, but I think I'll be content with the Droid X - the thing looks sweet.
Sorry BBM, but you're days are numbered.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Thursday, October 28, 2010
The Tipping System
This post is probably going to make me seem like a cheapskate. Whatever.
I think the payment system for waiters/waitresses in the food service industry is completely wrong. They make $2 something a hour and depend on the tips for customers to make up the rest. It's unfair. It does allow for an incentive for the employees to do a good job, but their tips (and income) therefore rests in the hands of strangers while the restaurant owners bring in more money than they know what to do with as they charge $12 for a $4 burger.
Sometimes they'll get lucky and get really big tips. Sometimes they don't get anything.
My problem is I get annoyed when they are asking me for tips or criticizing me for my tip.
For example, one time I was at the Liquor Store in Boston, and I got two PBRs - which was already absurd at $6 each - and left a $5 tip because I was in a good mood. Next time up I just left $2, and was yelled at for being cheap, being ugly, was given the finger, etc etc. for my tip choice. I was drunk enough to try to engage in conversation with these wonderful human beings, and explained my logic, and I was still told to F off. Really?
At a bar - where all these bartenders have to do is reach down and open two cans of beer, does that warrant a serious tip? Isn't it out of generosity that we give anything anyway? Or maybe they get some girl back there to dress like a slut so guys will give her more money for attention. I don't fall for that. Regardless, I left a tip, and was told to F off because it wasn't big enough. That's not good customer service, and really turned me off towards that place. You can't treat your customers like crap and expect to have them coming back. Most of the people there seem to have more money than they know what to do with, so maybe I didn't belong.
Another time my friend was at some restaurant and paid the check and the waitress said "Are you guys short on cash? Cause you didn't leave a big enough tip." WHAT. No no really, that one floored me. You didn't leave a big enough tip? Who says you get to determine what it is?
Look, I know the system isn't going to change, so it's up to the customer to make up for the rest of the income for these people. But that doesn't mean it is a given. It should be based on the service - did you do a good job or were you rude? There shouldn't be a "well it should be somewhere between 12-18% of the bill" rule. It should be whatever feels right. After all, the whole concept is voluntary. It may be bad etiquette or whatever, but if the person did a really bad job, then they get a really bad tip. Am I just being cheap or does this make legitimate sense? My friends who have worked in the restaurant industry always argue this with me, but I don't understand the reasoning if they're rude. It's a privilege, not a right.
Everybody has had those who are really nice and seem concerned about your meal, and others who are so short with you that you can't even ask for more water/condiment/beer. I'm typically a person who asks for recommendations for meals, but if you act frustrated or annoyed with me, then that's not good for your end result. Sorry. I sound like such a mean guy. I sound cold-hearted here, so I should acknowledge that I know some people's entire income rests on tips, but you can't beg or tell the customer what the "right" tip is. Like I said, sometimes they get lucky and sometimes they don't. Depends on a lot of factors that are out of their hands, but the thing they can do to help themselves the most is to be positive, not nasty. And I know the "in such tight econmoic times" story, that doesn't give anyone the right to be a grouch. We're gonna get through this together, not on our own.
Or cab drivers, same shtick. If you're on your phone or make some wrong turns or something, no deal. My last cab driver I had was great and I gave him a nice tip. Not only was he friendly but he was courteous towards where I wanted to go and gave me options on how to get there and what he thought would be best. Then we talked about baseball and the city and whatnot. It helped that he was American-born and spoke English with zero accent, but he actually seemed to care. Most cabbies couldn't care less who you are or what you do. I read somewhere that cab drivers in NYC get around $50k a year. That's more than I will get for a while. So I don't feel bad when they complain that we didn't leave a "big enough tip" on a $10 fare. Relax.
I guess my point of this whole thing is that tips are a necessary evil because corporate America is a greedy bastard. It shouldn't be that way, but it is. I don't have a problem with tipping people for good service, but tipping "because I have to" doesn't fly with me. It's about respecting good service. And the times your trying to impress people - which doesn't happen for me much, but I understand the idea. But when someone tells their customer they didn't leave a big enough tip? Now we're just being greedy, and that drives me nuts.
That being said, anyone want to leave some tips for reading this blog? Whatever you leave, it's not enough. C'mon now, this takes hard work!
If you don't understand the sarcasm of that last paragraph, then we can't be friends and you may want to consider reading other blogs. Just sayin'.
I think the payment system for waiters/waitresses in the food service industry is completely wrong. They make $2 something a hour and depend on the tips for customers to make up the rest. It's unfair. It does allow for an incentive for the employees to do a good job, but their tips (and income) therefore rests in the hands of strangers while the restaurant owners bring in more money than they know what to do with as they charge $12 for a $4 burger.
Sometimes they'll get lucky and get really big tips. Sometimes they don't get anything.
My problem is I get annoyed when they are asking me for tips or criticizing me for my tip.
For example, one time I was at the Liquor Store in Boston, and I got two PBRs - which was already absurd at $6 each - and left a $5 tip because I was in a good mood. Next time up I just left $2, and was yelled at for being cheap, being ugly, was given the finger, etc etc. for my tip choice. I was drunk enough to try to engage in conversation with these wonderful human beings, and explained my logic, and I was still told to F off. Really?
At a bar - where all these bartenders have to do is reach down and open two cans of beer, does that warrant a serious tip? Isn't it out of generosity that we give anything anyway? Or maybe they get some girl back there to dress like a slut so guys will give her more money for attention. I don't fall for that. Regardless, I left a tip, and was told to F off because it wasn't big enough. That's not good customer service, and really turned me off towards that place. You can't treat your customers like crap and expect to have them coming back. Most of the people there seem to have more money than they know what to do with, so maybe I didn't belong.
Another time my friend was at some restaurant and paid the check and the waitress said "Are you guys short on cash? Cause you didn't leave a big enough tip." WHAT. No no really, that one floored me. You didn't leave a big enough tip? Who says you get to determine what it is?
Look, I know the system isn't going to change, so it's up to the customer to make up for the rest of the income for these people. But that doesn't mean it is a given. It should be based on the service - did you do a good job or were you rude? There shouldn't be a "well it should be somewhere between 12-18% of the bill" rule. It should be whatever feels right. After all, the whole concept is voluntary. It may be bad etiquette or whatever, but if the person did a really bad job, then they get a really bad tip. Am I just being cheap or does this make legitimate sense? My friends who have worked in the restaurant industry always argue this with me, but I don't understand the reasoning if they're rude. It's a privilege, not a right.
Everybody has had those who are really nice and seem concerned about your meal, and others who are so short with you that you can't even ask for more water/condiment/beer. I'm typically a person who asks for recommendations for meals, but if you act frustrated or annoyed with me, then that's not good for your end result. Sorry. I sound like such a mean guy. I sound cold-hearted here, so I should acknowledge that I know some people's entire income rests on tips, but you can't beg or tell the customer what the "right" tip is. Like I said, sometimes they get lucky and sometimes they don't. Depends on a lot of factors that are out of their hands, but the thing they can do to help themselves the most is to be positive, not nasty. And I know the "in such tight econmoic times" story, that doesn't give anyone the right to be a grouch. We're gonna get through this together, not on our own.
Or cab drivers, same shtick. If you're on your phone or make some wrong turns or something, no deal. My last cab driver I had was great and I gave him a nice tip. Not only was he friendly but he was courteous towards where I wanted to go and gave me options on how to get there and what he thought would be best. Then we talked about baseball and the city and whatnot. It helped that he was American-born and spoke English with zero accent, but he actually seemed to care. Most cabbies couldn't care less who you are or what you do. I read somewhere that cab drivers in NYC get around $50k a year. That's more than I will get for a while. So I don't feel bad when they complain that we didn't leave a "big enough tip" on a $10 fare. Relax.
I guess my point of this whole thing is that tips are a necessary evil because corporate America is a greedy bastard. It shouldn't be that way, but it is. I don't have a problem with tipping people for good service, but tipping "because I have to" doesn't fly with me. It's about respecting good service. And the times your trying to impress people - which doesn't happen for me much, but I understand the idea. But when someone tells their customer they didn't leave a big enough tip? Now we're just being greedy, and that drives me nuts.
That being said, anyone want to leave some tips for reading this blog? Whatever you leave, it's not enough. C'mon now, this takes hard work!
If you don't understand the sarcasm of that last paragraph, then we can't be friends and you may want to consider reading other blogs. Just sayin'.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Back To The Future - 25 Years Later
Today's a special date for geeks/losers/nerds/unemployed like me - 25 years ago today, Marty McFly time traveled from October 26th, 1985 to November 5th, 1955. I'm talking about Back to the Future - one of my favorite childhood movies. It's one of those movies I never grew out of. If anything - I've grown more into it as I've gotten older.
Maybe it's my circle of friends - mainly from high school - but we reference the movie almost every time we hang out. It's kind of sad, but that's why we're friends. I won't go into details of our jokes, because I don't want you stealing them. Or judging us.
It's started a sci-fi thought-process that's the basis of all time travel for me anyway. It came up a lot with Season 5 of Lost - the changing of the past and how it affects your future - including your existence. I know time travel is not real. Relax. It does keep my mind occupied when I'm bored or trying to be creative/imaginative, although I should probably be thinking about jobs/apartments/girls/sports/something normal. This is what I do instead.
The movie isn't even really about time travel. It's about parent-child relationships. Part II and III are more about the absurdity of time travel and different time periods and the life cycle repeating itself. But the original is a story is actually very complex hidden underneath a time travel comedy exterior.
What I think is great is I'm pretty sure when the team making the movie were in production, they had no clue it would of been this successful. It's purposefully corny. A jiggawatt? Or is it gigawatt? The whole concept of putting it into a DeLorean? Hilarious.
As usual I'm trying to find a witty ending to this. This is like my Bruce Springsteen post. I could say anything I want, and it would make me laugh. I'm losing my mind in this house.Where we're going, we don't need roads.
Other posts I found interesting regarding Back to the Future:
52 Reasons Why Back to the Future Might Be The Greatest Film of all Time.
Going Back to the Future, 25 Years Later
Going 'Back to the Future' again, 25 years later
Monday, October 25, 2010
Video Games - Now vs. Then
This post is going to be a hot rambling mess. You have been warned.
This post is the collision of two thoughts - how good video games were as a child, and how futile they are now. I was playing Super Mario World the other day, and it made me miss all those old games. And I bought the new Halo today, and it made me angry at how ALL these games are the same, and honestly aren't as fun.
For the record, then "then" I'm referring to is primarily the Nintendo 64/SNES. Now is the Xbox/PS3/Wii.
At it's most basic level, then was simple, now is complicated.
THEN - THE CONCEPT
Wasn't it so much more simple? You'd play with you're friends - who were right next to you. That is, in the same room, and would be there when the TV turned off. You shared experiences together, not apart. It was so exciting when your friend beat the final boss.
Talking about simple - you could beat these games in a hour. Super Mario World was completed in 10 minutes and 54 seconds. They set up the game so you could BS you're way through or play the whole way. When I first got Super Mario 64 (Christmas 97 or whatever, if we had a video camera, I'd probably be a YouTube celebrity too) my cousin had 110 stars before the end of the day. Now it took me like 20 something hours to beat GTA. Not totally complaining - but it's part of the simplicity storyline I'm carrying.
Also part of the fun was the cheat codes. Every game had them. Hitting up, down, right, right, right, left, down, and up to get a big head was SO worth it. You could have those things memorized. Or the GameShark? What a god send. Until it messed up my Diddy Kong Racing game so that the levels were permanently invisible. That was a letdown. Cheat codes barely exist anymore.
NOW - THE CONCEPT:
Now, you can play with your friends online, so you don't actually hang out. It's nice when my friends are far away, but it's dumb when it's 20 minutes. And after the TVs off, I'm on my own again. And honestly? We all look like the biggest losers with those headsets on. The "shared" experiences are gone. It sucked taking turns, but you cared more. Maybe it was also my youth and obsession with video games. Then my ADD started kicking in, and if I can stay in my seat while someone else is playing Call of Duty then I must be on some kind of drug.
Playing online means well. Especially with friends. It's so much better than playing the computer, but people are such sore losers. Or they yell and kick and scream online. Or they find ways to cheat through the game. It's so lame sometimes. I'd rather kick the computer's ass then deal with a whiny 12 year old who wants to sing the latest Drake song but doesn't know the words and can't drop an F bomb cause his mommy might hear him. No thank you.
THEN - THE GAMES:
Almost every hit N64 game was Mario & Friends. Kart. Golf. Tennis. Party. Smash. Only like 6 more Parties. Honestly was there ever anything better than Super Mario 64? Maybe Zelda or Goldeneye, but that game will forever go down as a life-changer. And from a social stand point? Mario Kart 64 is the base of my FAVORITE drinking game, and honestly I never get enough of it.
I kind of look like this guy, but without the amateur hour.
I've upgraded to Wii Mario Kart, but if there's a chance to do it on the N64, game on. Sure, there were a lot of shitty games that never should of ever been made (Earthworm Jim 3D will go down as the biggest disappointment of my childhood) but the great games were unreal. Smash Brothers is an awesome 4 player game. Except everyone gets mad that I'll win everytime. Such is life.
Same for SNES - The Mario games were fantastic. They also had their fair of shit. I think my favorite SNES game was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time. I remember me and my one friend played that game every Saturday night. I was SO excited when they were making a re-boot for Xbox, but it sucked more than Earthworm Jim 3D. This also gets back to the old arcade games. Like that X-Men game? Chucky Cheese games. I'm starting to drool.
NOW - THE GAMES:
The top selling games are all sequels and franchises. The Madden/NHL/NCAA/NBA. The Halo/Call of Duty/GTA/Tom Clancy stuff. Couldn't tell you one game I played where I'll really remember anything. What was the storyline of any of the Call of Dutys? I have no idea what all those Halos are about. These games aren't made so that we remember them forever, the same way you remember a book or movie. They're made as time killers. To play online Call of Duty online for as long as possible until then next one comes out (aka a year later) and then sink another $60. It's changed now. It's not the game using their own experiences. You're supposed to create you're own. Playing some intense game of capture the flag with a last second win. That's lame. I also don't have enough friends online and don't have enough care to to things like that, so I'm not getting as much out of it as others are.
These sequels suck. I can only think of one series that's had good ones: The Grand Theft Autos. Maybe that's because I really enjoyed the violence (and playing it without my parents knowing made it a fun challenge too). I don't know what the difference is between Maddens 02-10, but I've bought every single one. This year was finally the year I didn't. They sucked me in for 8 whole years. This new Halo game? It's too complicated. Trying to reinvent the wheel. I think Halo 2 was the best Halo for online play. The game just worked. Instead, they had to make another 3 now that have all sucked compared to that. If it ain't broke, don't fix it, and don't make me spend more money on more poorly-designed products. I thought Modern Warfare was amazing. MW2 was better - and that's rare. I don't get why the Call of Duty people are making new games every year. Make it every two.
To boot - the games are money sucking whores. Every game you buy (for $60) will then have download-able content that costs $15 bucks a pop usually. They purposefully hold things back to release it later to suck more money out of us. It makes sense if you're a greedy bastard, but I, the poor unemployed graduate, gets annoyed.
I think people are starting to get sick of the new games, so Nintendo tried to do something bold and go back to the old school 2D platformer and give it a 21st century upgrade. That game saw huge success. Not worth my $50, but I know people loved it.
Add in this crazy 'motion' craze we're going through now with Wii and soon for the Xbox. Why do I want to play a video game without a controller? That doesn't sound fun. Part of video games are the laziness - all I need to move is my thumbs. Having to jump up and down and swing my arms and things? I'll get tired in two minutes.
The only good thing to come from the current systems are the wireless controllers. Seriously. But - the buttons suck. They're more buttons on that thing than my first cell phone.
We can't go back to such a simple time, because the technology has changed. Or maybe it was just my childhood and everything is so much more simple as a child. It's probably a lot of that honestly. Now we worry about too many other things. I know I wrote a post earlier about the death of our creativity focused on movies and touched on it for video games - but it's true. All these sequels and franchises. Easy money, no substance. Every now and then you'll see the true gem of the bunch - something that separates itself from the rest. Those are the ones you'll remember.
So this post took like four hours of me thinking and reading and playing and a few very-important phone calls to friends I haven't spoken to in years to devour how and why this all happened. Thank you to them. I doubt they read this.
Isn't it absurd that the video games world's most famous character is a plumber who has a pet dinosaur and saves princesses from angry standing turtles? That's how you make a billion dollar franchise.
This post is the collision of two thoughts - how good video games were as a child, and how futile they are now. I was playing Super Mario World the other day, and it made me miss all those old games. And I bought the new Halo today, and it made me angry at how ALL these games are the same, and honestly aren't as fun.
For the record, then "then" I'm referring to is primarily the Nintendo 64/SNES. Now is the Xbox/PS3/Wii.
At it's most basic level, then was simple, now is complicated.
THEN - THE CONCEPT
Wasn't it so much more simple? You'd play with you're friends - who were right next to you. That is, in the same room, and would be there when the TV turned off. You shared experiences together, not apart. It was so exciting when your friend beat the final boss.
Talking about simple - you could beat these games in a hour. Super Mario World was completed in 10 minutes and 54 seconds. They set up the game so you could BS you're way through or play the whole way. When I first got Super Mario 64 (Christmas 97 or whatever, if we had a video camera, I'd probably be a YouTube celebrity too) my cousin had 110 stars before the end of the day. Now it took me like 20 something hours to beat GTA. Not totally complaining - but it's part of the simplicity storyline I'm carrying.Also part of the fun was the cheat codes. Every game had them. Hitting up, down, right, right, right, left, down, and up to get a big head was SO worth it. You could have those things memorized. Or the GameShark? What a god send. Until it messed up my Diddy Kong Racing game so that the levels were permanently invisible. That was a letdown. Cheat codes barely exist anymore.
NOW - THE CONCEPT:
Now, you can play with your friends online, so you don't actually hang out. It's nice when my friends are far away, but it's dumb when it's 20 minutes. And after the TVs off, I'm on my own again. And honestly? We all look like the biggest losers with those headsets on. The "shared" experiences are gone. It sucked taking turns, but you cared more. Maybe it was also my youth and obsession with video games. Then my ADD started kicking in, and if I can stay in my seat while someone else is playing Call of Duty then I must be on some kind of drug.
Playing online means well. Especially with friends. It's so much better than playing the computer, but people are such sore losers. Or they yell and kick and scream online. Or they find ways to cheat through the game. It's so lame sometimes. I'd rather kick the computer's ass then deal with a whiny 12 year old who wants to sing the latest Drake song but doesn't know the words and can't drop an F bomb cause his mommy might hear him. No thank you.
THEN - THE GAMES:
Almost every hit N64 game was Mario & Friends. Kart. Golf. Tennis. Party. Smash. Only like 6 more Parties. Honestly was there ever anything better than Super Mario 64? Maybe Zelda or Goldeneye, but that game will forever go down as a life-changer. And from a social stand point? Mario Kart 64 is the base of my FAVORITE drinking game, and honestly I never get enough of it.
I kind of look like this guy, but without the amateur hour.
Same for SNES - The Mario games were fantastic. They also had their fair of shit. I think my favorite SNES game was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time. I remember me and my one friend played that game every Saturday night. I was SO excited when they were making a re-boot for Xbox, but it sucked more than Earthworm Jim 3D. This also gets back to the old arcade games. Like that X-Men game? Chucky Cheese games. I'm starting to drool.
NOW - THE GAMES:The top selling games are all sequels and franchises. The Madden/NHL/NCAA/NBA. The Halo/Call of Duty/GTA/Tom Clancy stuff. Couldn't tell you one game I played where I'll really remember anything. What was the storyline of any of the Call of Dutys? I have no idea what all those Halos are about. These games aren't made so that we remember them forever, the same way you remember a book or movie. They're made as time killers. To play online Call of Duty online for as long as possible until then next one comes out (aka a year later) and then sink another $60. It's changed now. It's not the game using their own experiences. You're supposed to create you're own. Playing some intense game of capture the flag with a last second win. That's lame. I also don't have enough friends online and don't have enough care to to things like that, so I'm not getting as much out of it as others are.
These sequels suck. I can only think of one series that's had good ones: The Grand Theft Autos. Maybe that's because I really enjoyed the violence (and playing it without my parents knowing made it a fun challenge too). I don't know what the difference is between Maddens 02-10, but I've bought every single one. This year was finally the year I didn't. They sucked me in for 8 whole years. This new Halo game? It's too complicated. Trying to reinvent the wheel. I think Halo 2 was the best Halo for online play. The game just worked. Instead, they had to make another 3 now that have all sucked compared to that. If it ain't broke, don't fix it, and don't make me spend more money on more poorly-designed products. I thought Modern Warfare was amazing. MW2 was better - and that's rare. I don't get why the Call of Duty people are making new games every year. Make it every two.
To boot - the games are money sucking whores. Every game you buy (for $60) will then have download-able content that costs $15 bucks a pop usually. They purposefully hold things back to release it later to suck more money out of us. It makes sense if you're a greedy bastard, but I, the poor unemployed graduate, gets annoyed.
I think people are starting to get sick of the new games, so Nintendo tried to do something bold and go back to the old school 2D platformer and give it a 21st century upgrade. That game saw huge success. Not worth my $50, but I know people loved it.
Add in this crazy 'motion' craze we're going through now with Wii and soon for the Xbox. Why do I want to play a video game without a controller? That doesn't sound fun. Part of video games are the laziness - all I need to move is my thumbs. Having to jump up and down and swing my arms and things? I'll get tired in two minutes.
The only good thing to come from the current systems are the wireless controllers. Seriously. But - the buttons suck. They're more buttons on that thing than my first cell phone.
We can't go back to such a simple time, because the technology has changed. Or maybe it was just my childhood and everything is so much more simple as a child. It's probably a lot of that honestly. Now we worry about too many other things. I know I wrote a post earlier about the death of our creativity focused on movies and touched on it for video games - but it's true. All these sequels and franchises. Easy money, no substance. Every now and then you'll see the true gem of the bunch - something that separates itself from the rest. Those are the ones you'll remember.So this post took like four hours of me thinking and reading and playing and a few very-important phone calls to friends I haven't spoken to in years to devour how and why this all happened. Thank you to them. I doubt they read this.
Isn't it absurd that the video games world's most famous character is a plumber who has a pet dinosaur and saves princesses from angry standing turtles? That's how you make a billion dollar franchise.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Fall TV Thoughts
Because it's too much to tweet, here's a quick post on what I'm watching so far.
Mad Men
This season finally caught my attention and actually made me want to watch. I didn't force it down my own throat. I think I know why - there was less Betty/family BS and more office drama. Sure, the focus is and always will be on Don, but this was on the only thing going on in his life: his work. He left his family and is completely alone, which is why he is clinging to anyone that will put up with him. He's realizing he really shouldn't keep drinking this much - but he will. His past is fading away, and now he's lost. The mid-life crisis.
I can't believe he married the secretary. It seemed like everything with the doctor was lined up. Yet he fell off the wagon and made a (most likely drunk) impulse decision that, as we see in the last scene, he's regretting. Unbelievable. How do you marry someone you barely know? Brutal.
Also, "The Suitcase" was the best 48 minutes of television I've ever seen.
Dexter
It bothered me that the season picked up exactly where the last one ended - that hasn't been the format over the previous seasons. Either I don't remember it, but I never thought that Dexter would of been so upset over Rita's passing. And the kids are gone. Why didn't the grandparents take Harrison? Very confusing. Have all of them or none of them. I'm excited for the Quinn/Dexter clash, but I'm worried it'll be too much like season 2 with Doakes. It's my favorite show on TV right now, just because I find Dexter's character to be so interesting and humorous.
Boardwalk Empire
I REALLY want to like this show. I really do. It feels like the episodes are dragging and building towards something, but I don't know what. I just need that "WOW" moment for me to really believe in it. Last week's FBI raid on the Celtic dinner was the first steps towards some serious action I believe, but I hope it comes sooner than later. I still don't buy Steve Buscemi as Nucky. He just looks like a wax statue. There's too many things they aren't explaining that they need to sooner than later. I also think I'm becoming too used to watching it on DVD so I can bang out a few in a row instead of this once-a-week deal. I guess that's how TV works.
Eastbound and Down
Awesome. There's nothing else I have to say about it. I just hope they can keep it up.
The Event
This show sucks. NBC is promoting it like it's the second coming of Lost ("What is THE EVENT??"). They're aliens. It blows. I watched the first episode and was excited, I watched the second episode, found out they are aliens, and cursed it off. I refuse to see anymore of it's nonsense, and any ad I see about it makes me shake my head. Haven't we had enough aliens? Between those crappy ABC shows and everything, who cares.
Dancing With The Stars
They kicked Situation off? That's all I know. Haven't seen any of it. I thought fist-pumping was the best type of dancing there was?
Mad Men
This season finally caught my attention and actually made me want to watch. I didn't force it down my own throat. I think I know why - there was less Betty/family BS and more office drama. Sure, the focus is and always will be on Don, but this was on the only thing going on in his life: his work. He left his family and is completely alone, which is why he is clinging to anyone that will put up with him. He's realizing he really shouldn't keep drinking this much - but he will. His past is fading away, and now he's lost. The mid-life crisis.
I can't believe he married the secretary. It seemed like everything with the doctor was lined up. Yet he fell off the wagon and made a (most likely drunk) impulse decision that, as we see in the last scene, he's regretting. Unbelievable. How do you marry someone you barely know? Brutal.
Also, "The Suitcase" was the best 48 minutes of television I've ever seen.
Dexter
It bothered me that the season picked up exactly where the last one ended - that hasn't been the format over the previous seasons. Either I don't remember it, but I never thought that Dexter would of been so upset over Rita's passing. And the kids are gone. Why didn't the grandparents take Harrison? Very confusing. Have all of them or none of them. I'm excited for the Quinn/Dexter clash, but I'm worried it'll be too much like season 2 with Doakes. It's my favorite show on TV right now, just because I find Dexter's character to be so interesting and humorous.
Boardwalk Empire
I REALLY want to like this show. I really do. It feels like the episodes are dragging and building towards something, but I don't know what. I just need that "WOW" moment for me to really believe in it. Last week's FBI raid on the Celtic dinner was the first steps towards some serious action I believe, but I hope it comes sooner than later. I still don't buy Steve Buscemi as Nucky. He just looks like a wax statue. There's too many things they aren't explaining that they need to sooner than later. I also think I'm becoming too used to watching it on DVD so I can bang out a few in a row instead of this once-a-week deal. I guess that's how TV works.
Eastbound and Down
Awesome. There's nothing else I have to say about it. I just hope they can keep it up.
The Event
This show sucks. NBC is promoting it like it's the second coming of Lost ("What is THE EVENT??"). They're aliens. It blows. I watched the first episode and was excited, I watched the second episode, found out they are aliens, and cursed it off. I refuse to see anymore of it's nonsense, and any ad I see about it makes me shake my head. Haven't we had enough aliens? Between those crappy ABC shows and everything, who cares.
Dancing With The Stars
They kicked Situation off? That's all I know. Haven't seen any of it. I thought fist-pumping was the best type of dancing there was?
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