I watch a lot of TV and movies. According to FeedFliks, I watch about 75 titles per week on Netflix, and I probably watch another 5-10 titles on Hulu every week.

Watching so much Netflix has given me the opportunity to experience all the pros and cons of a Netflix membership. Overall I’d say my $7.99 per month is well spent: I get access to thousands of titles and I don’t have to watch commercials. However, there are a few things that drive me crazy.

First, Netflix doesn’t work on Linux. Some may say this is because of platform that Netflix uses to serve its videos, but in reality it is a anti-consumer choice meant to prevent Linux “hackers” from cracking their DRM. If they can get videos playing on:

1. Windows
2. Mac
3. PlayStation 3
4. Wii
5. Xbox 360
6. Apple TV
7. Google TV
8. Roku
9. Seagate FreeAgent Theater
10. Sony Dash
11. WD TV
12. A pile of Blu-ray players
13. A pile of TVs (with no special attached hardware)
14. TiVo
15. iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad

…then they could get it working on desktop Linux without much trouble. They choose not to, and I’d appreciate it if they’d stop pretending it is an insurmountable software limitation.

So instead of running it natively, I have to run Linux, which runs VirtualBox, which runs Windows XP, which plays my Netflix videos. Frustrating.

Second, Netflix frequently crashes. On my desktop (Linux) and laptop (Windows 7), Netflix dies part way through shows all the time. It happens even more frequently when I pause a show. To make it worse, when the page is refreshed to bring it back to life, it often forgets where I was at in my show.

So I complained. It didn’t solve any of the problems, but it felt good to vent to the company and maybe hopefully raise a tiny bit of awareness that Linux people are frustrated at the lack of support, and that I’m annoyed that my videos crash all the time.

A few days later, I got an email apologizing for my troubles watching instantly. The interesting part of the email was a link that provided a 3% statement credit on my next bill. While I appreciate the gesture, I can’t help but thinking to myself: Really? 3%? As I said, I watch a lot of TV, so I suppose it makes sense that my patronage is only worth 25 cents to them, but a credit of 25 cents just seems.. well.. tacky? rude? pointless? a backhanded apology?

Anyways, if you have a problem with Netflix, maybe it is worth 10 minutes of your time to call and complain. Who knows, you might get a 3% credit, too!

I watch a lot of Hulu, and generally I don’t really mind an ad or two. However, I hate untargeted ads. For example, ads for Monostat or birth control pills. I’m a guy. Hulu knows I’m a guy (I checked, its in my Hulu profile). Why in the world are they showing me commercials for these things? Have I watched too many chick flicks or something? Does anyone else have this problem?

Just found Stargate Universe on Hulu.

How did I not know this show existed?! I love Stargate! I’ve seen every episode of Stargate SG-1. I watched Stargate Atlantis before vampires were cool. This is my show!

Anyways, the show seems okay so far. Lots of time is being spent in character and story line development, which is a huge improvement over Atlantis.

Check it out on Hulu.

Let’s start with the US movie rating system. For those of you unfamiliar, there are a few basic ratings:

• G – General Audiences. Suited for people of any age. Normally like mellow historical movies or documentaries. And Disney movies (although most Disney movies nowadays are PG or PG-13).
• PG – Parental Guidance Suggested. Kids should have an adult with them. In practice, this is about the lowest rating a normal movie can get. These are like little kid movies though.
• PG-13 – Parents Strongly Cautioned. This is your average movie. Might have a bit of violence or language, but not much.
• R – Restricted. Anyone under 17 has to have an adult with them. Most theatres only enforce this by keeping minors from purchasing tickets. These movies range from a bit of violence and language, to downright awful movies filled with sex and gore.
• NC-17 – No One 17 And Under Admitted. Porn.

So I don’t like watching movies that are, to me, offensive. This includes movies with gratuitous nudity, language, and gore. I say gore instead of violence because violence is a part of life. If a guy gets shot in a war scene, whatever. If for no reason two main characters decide to have sex, thats kind of dumb. Even if there is a reason, there really isn’t any point in SHOWING them having sex. It doesn’t add to the story line. It’s just there in a pitiful attempt to draw more viewers.

But anyways. My point. So two movies I watched recently: V for Vendetta and Dodgeball.

V for Vendetta: Rated R. Basically the government is horribly oppresive and a crazy masked guy decides to blow stuff up and kill some bad guys in order to fix things. Had a fair amount of violence, but for the most part pretty minor. People getting shot and stuff. Buildings blowing up. Also had a bit of language. I honestly don’t remember very much foul language at all. Perhaps a bit here and there where appropriate, but nothing gratuitous. No nudity. No sex. Overall, a very enjoyable movie.

Dodgeball: Rated PG-13. Basically, the employees of a local gym decide to compete in a dodgeball tournament to win the prize money so they can save their gym. This movie was filled with foul language, sex innuendoes (including blow-up genitals and bisexuals), and violence (although a lot was comical, like a guy throwing wrenches at people). I really didn’t like the movie. Would’ve been funny if they had cut the crap out and just had some clean humour.

So my issue here is why the crap is a movie like V for Vendetta rated R, and a movie like Dodgeball rated PG-13? I don’t have kids, but when I do, I hope the avoid movies like Dodgeball. There isn’t any value in them. Not even much comedy. I’d rather they go see rated R movies like V for Vendetta where at least the movie has a purpose, teaches some morals, and doesn’t have sex interlaced throughout it.

Just another wonderful contribution to society by our beloved MPAA.

Okay quick note: Just finished watching Forest Gump again. Anyone notice that Dorothy Harris, the bus driver, looks the same even after all those years? Dorothy drives the bus for Forest Gump, Sr. and Forest Gump, Jr. Maybe Dorothy #2 is Dorothy Harris, Jr. or something. I don’t know…

So now that I got my bit out about the rating system and how I think it is dumb and shouldn’t govern ones views on movies, but rather the content of the movie should cause a person to decide whether to watch it or not, I’ll talk about Hard Candy.

I found Hard Candy on a newsgroup the other day, and watched it. What an amazing movie! Definitely not for little kids as it covers topics that require a more mature understanding of things, but a great view for the average adult IMHO. The story is this:  Hayley is a precocious 14 year old girl who takes it upon herself to punish Jeff, an older man and a photographer, for pedophilic tendencies. She does this by hooking up with him on the internet and then taking him hostage in his own home. Filmed in only 18 days, this movie shows deep insight into the minds of two disturbed individuals, and accomplishes this without showing any nudity whatsoever. Pretty impressive for a film about a pedophile. This movie does have a fair amount of language. However, this is understandable in the circumstances that the characters are placed in. I don’t mind bad language as much when it is used in realistic situations. It seems like some movies only use language to get an R rating.

But seriously. Watch this movie. It is AMAZING. Honestly one of my favorite movies. Again, not good for kids, but good for anyone who likes a movie with a bit deeper meaning, a few good twists, and a minimum amount of offensive content. Unfortunately, looks like it is out of most theatres and not on DVD yet, so unless you download it, you are out of luck. Sorry.

So uh. Yeah. Random stuff. Lets see:

Some lady wants to put my Ideal Mate list in a book. Neat. I said sure. Her page is at http://www.todolistblog.com if you are curious what it is all about.

Got an email from Rachel today! Haven’t heard from her in FOREVER. Like seriously. Its been.. uhh.. probably around 1 1/2 years since I last talked to her. Was starting to get worried that something had happened to her, being in the Marines and all that.

Hmm. Oh! The Simpsons! Up to season 8. I’m skipping the episodes I know I’ve already seen, of course. Its kind of weird because some seasons I’ve seen all but one or two episodes, and then some seasons I’ve only seen one or two episodes. Of course, it is sometimes hard to remember if I’ve seen the episode or not because the plot tends to shift quite a bit throughout an episode of the Simpsons.

Other than that, just been working on the Fake Name Generator. It is still making enough to pay for itself. I’ve been trying to add in more phone number support for the countries that I have available. And I finished Germany a few days ago! Woohoo! Now I just need to start work on India. Oy. That will be time consuming. Oh well. I’ve had a lot of requests for it, and if it helps boost revenues, then it is definitely worth it (on a side note, I’m proud of myself for finally learning how to spell definitely without having to use a spell checker! :o). And the matching name set should be easy. “Mohammed”. I’m just kidding.. Don’t freak out.. Here, I’ll let you poke fun at my religion for a moment: “Hah those Mormons have a big families! HAHAHA!” There see… I’m fair…

For the past week or two we’ve been getting at least one phone call a day where nobody says anything when I answer the phone. It is so freaking annoying. Its like: idiot! WRONG FREAKING NUMBER! If you keep calling the same number it isn’t magically going to change to the correct one! Of course, thats assuming that is the reason for the hang-ups. Perhaps thats not it at all, and someone is stalking us or something. Or trying to find a time when no one is home so they can rob the place. Hah! Joke would be on them! There isn’t anything valuable here, unless they want a box of 30 PS/2 mice or some surplus Dell mousepads!

Speaking of mousepads, I ordered a new keyboard! Hurray! My current keyboard is the Microsoft Natural MultiMedia Keyboard. I like it a lot but it is PS/2, and the little PS/2-USB adapter I have doesn’t carry over all of the functionality for some reason. The new one is the Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000. Its a black/silver keyboard so it will match my computer better, and it is USB so it will actually work consistently. Plus I got a great deal on it! $47.99 – $25.00 GC from Stamps.com – $10.00 rebate + $0.00 2-day shipping (free Amazon Prime trial) = $12.99. Not too bad.

I’d love to buy a second monitor, too, but it would cost nearly $400. So no go there. I’d almost be better off buying another computer with the monitor and using the second computer as a file server of web server or something server. And anyways, the need for a larger hard drive is more urgent. I want to get a couple 300GB drives and RAID them so that if one dies I don’t lose everything cause that would suck.

And a cell phone clip would be nice.

And a remote control for my computer. (Should’ve bought it with the computer.. dang being cheap…)

And a TV tuner.

And a graphics tablet.

And.. umm… Thats about it I think.

Oh oh! One of those nifty USB turn tables. That’d be cool.

And a spinthariscope!

And a FrogPad would be nice.

And a Canon EOS20D digital camera. With CF card.

In fact, most of what I want is listed here.

About halfway through season 4 of Alias. One thing that drives me crazy is how these field-trained and battle-hardened agents close there eyes before shooting a gun. Umm.. Correct me if I’m wrong… But uhh.. Don’t you kind of need your eyes open in order to aim the gun?

Another annoyance: How come every tech gadget blinks and makes noise? If I were making a spy gadget, I’d probably make it as quiet as possible, and limit the flashy blinking lights. Especially on things like hidden bombs that attach to pipes and cars and stuff. And tracking devices. Doesn’t do you much good to have a tracking device attached to something if it beeps and blinks.

Same with the tricorders on Star Trek. They are always trying to sneak around with this massive blinking beeping futuristic Swiss Army knife.

Sometimes I think it would be cool to have a job as like a technology consultant for TV shows or movies or something. You know, to teach them that “teraflop” isn’t a valid storage capacity, and that a monitor isn’t capable of taking over a computer, even if you use a high tech business card sized one-size-fits-all computer hacking device. That one probably drives me crazy the most. It is a monitor people! M-O-N-I-T-O-R. It “monitor”‘s the computer. The only communication it has is telling the computer what brand and model it is, and maybe what its best resolution is. If you are trying to copy the hard drive (as they did on Alias a while back), the device would best be attached to the COMPUTER, where the hard drive actually is. Or maybe even try using a *gasp* USB device. Copying a metal disc spinning at 7200 RPM using a wireless iPod seems pretty unrealistic.

Anyways, just got an order at the Fake Name Generator I gotta fill.

So I was bored, and out of movies to watch, so I started looking online for some good movies to watch. Unfortunately (did I spell that right? I use that word a ton but am never sure if I’m getting the spelling correct…) many people like crappy movies, so this makes it a bit harder. For example, almost every “best sci-fi movies” list contains Blade Runner. Its even normally near, if not at, the top of the list. But I’ve tried maybe 5 times to watch Blade Runner and can never get through more than maybe 20 minutes before I give up because it is so boring.

So what else is there sci-fi? We have the Space Odyssey movies (2001, 2010, etc…). They were pretty good. There is also A Clockwork Orange. Never seen it I don’t think. A bit more violent/sexually-based than I prefer. I liked Contact, but wish there was a sequel based a few hundred (or thousand?) years down the road. The new War of the Worlds was interesting, although, like the book, is missing some details I’d like. The new Time Machine movie sucked. A.I. was good, for what it is. Again, I’d like a sequel. The Matrix Trilogy was interesting, though terribly flawed in a dozen ways. The Terminator Trilogy was also good, but again flawed. Stargate is a classic. The series is even better. I love how they make fun of themselves for having all the aliens speak english. Andromeda Strain was a good book but a terrible movie. Solaris was downright awful. What the crap were they thinking? You can’t turn a book like that into a movie.

So where does that leave me? I’ll tell you where that leaves me: bored. No movies to watch. Maybe I should look for some good anime. Like Spirited Away, or Princess Monoke, or My Neighbor Totoro (heh), or Metropolis. Metropolis was awesome. Loved it. Or Ghost in the Shell. Classic. Have you seen the series? Incredible. Seriously. Or the Cowboy Beebop series. Or, even better, Vandread. Totally awesome and hillarious. Or Escaflowne. Man I love video.

Anyways.

Yeah so I am a movie/TV fanatic and watch tons of everything. Even crappy chic flic movies when there is nothing else to watch.

So this movie was sitting in my dad’s folder of ipod videos that he rips for my brother and sister. I watched everything else and this was all that was left, so I watched. And holy crap what the garbage are kids being fed today?! Let us see what is being shown as “normal”:

Girl #1: Hot blonde soccer player. 17 years old. Has sex with man who is old enough to legally drink. Can you say “statutory”?

Girl #2: That cute girl off of Gilmore Girls. 17 years old. Making out and being in a serious relationship with a man who is at least a second year college student. Again, can you say “statutory”?

Girl #3: Pathetic attempt at a punk/depressed/gothic girl. 17 years old. Doesn’t even have a learner’s permit to drive. Becomes best friends with some 12 year old with leukemia.

Girl #4: Fat Puerto Rican. 17 years old. Blows up on family and throws a rock at a window.

What the *$#@ is wrong with these people? Seriously. This reminds me of that stupid Where the Heart Is book/movie. Thats the one about the Wal-Mart baby. Yeah lets teach our kids that they can get knocked up, go steal from a business, and then get their life fixed for free at the expense of others. Total garbage. We got Wal-Mart babies and magical pants and thats our quality movies apparantly.

Enough ranting though. Should probably go to bed. Its like 1:40am and I am helping some people with some yard work or something at 9:00am.

Holy crap. Got to the dramatic giving of the pants to the dying leukemia patient part of the movie. Are you freaking serious? Girl #3 is telling leukemia girl to let the magical pants heal her of her disease. If you want a GOOD movie with a girl dying of leukemia, try Walk to Remember. At least that one has Mandy Moore in it.