Requiem for the Blu-ray Dossier

It’s time to face facts.  Blu-ray discs are great but they have no future.  Yeah, that’s right, I said it – NO FUTURE.  I love to bask in the glow of 1080p as much as the next movie geek but the fact of the matter is the format’s days are numbered.  I use to write a column here on Chicken Scratch about with a two tiered rating system the first score was for the story and the second was for the quality of the Blu-ray itself.  As always, the story is what truly matters; the jaw dropping pop of crystal clear 1080p was simply icing on the cake.  Video may have killed the radio star but it was streaming content that has dealt the fatal blow to Blu-ray.  Just as Blockbuster killed the Ma & Pa video rental stores, video streaming gutted Blockbuster and there are options for streaming, Netflix, Hulu, cable, Amazon, heck – even Redbox, one of the only places left that you can rent a Blu-ray BTW, all have huge stakes in the streaming game.  Then there are all of the plug-ins for you HDTV to stream.  Companies like Apple, Google, Roku, Netgear, and even Tivo are all manufacturing High Def streaming hardware to make your Blu-ray collection obsolete.  

Hey, it happens.  It is part of the circle of life.  The writing is on the wall and not just for all those, “early innovators” out there; obsolescence approaches.  It’s event horizon dawns and change happens – both big and small; everything changes.  Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 3:1, “For everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven…”  He was right.  Granted he wasn’t specifically talking about Blu-ray discs but, on the other hand, “everything” does cover, well, everything.  You get the idea – there is an expiration date on all things.  Take for example any old thing.  Now this any old thing works just fine right up to the point that doesn’t anymore and it is replaced by something that does the same job, “better” and/or faster.  The, “new thing”. 

History is chocked full of examples of this axiom.  New cells are generated and old cells fade away.  The MP3 replaced the CD which replaced the cassette tape which replaced the 8-Track which replaced the record which replaced wax cylinders.  People got tired of walking so they started riding horses.  Seeing that this horse-riding thing was a pretty good idea people hooked them up to chariots and then to horse drawn buggies.  The advent of the automobile put the horses out to pasture then came the trains and the planes which will someday be replaced by matter transporters – it’s true!  I’ve seen it on Star Trek.  

 Hey, that’s progress. 

I’ll still do the occasional review but I simply don’t watch that many Blu-rays anymore to keep the column viable so, therefore, it is time to bid it farewell.  On the right side of this particular version of Chicken Scratch I use to have, “The Blu-ray Dossier – At a Glance”.  It’s still up there but it too will be going away.  I’ll repost it here for posterity…

Blu-Ray Dossier at a Glance. Ratings? Story first Blu-Ray quality second.

"Blade Runner - The Final Cut" 5/4

"Blazing Saddles" 4/2

"Bounty Hunter" 1.5 / 2

"Bridesmaids" 4 / 3

"Captain America - The First Avenger" 4/3

"Clash of the Titans (2010)" 2 / 3

"Cowboys and Aliens" 3.5 / 4

"Despicable Me" 3 / 4

"Diary of a Wimpy Kid" 3.5 / 2

"Evil Dead 2: 25th Anniversary Edition" 4 / 3.5

"Grown Ups" 3 / 3

"Hangover" 3.5 / 4

"John Carter" 4/3

"Kick Ass" 3 / 3

"Knight & Day" 2.5 / 3

"Resident Evil: Afterlife" 2.5 / 3

"Serenity" 4 / 4

"Sherlock Holmes - Game of Shadows" 3/3

"Star Wars - The Empire Strikes Back" 5/4

"Star Wars" 4.5/4

"The A-Team" 3 / 3

"The Frighteners" 4 / 4

"The Good, the Bad and the Weird" 4 / 4

"The Walking Dead: Season One" 5 / 4

"THOR" 3.8 / 4

Robin Hood (2010) 4 / 4

Superman / Batman – Apocalypse 3.5 / 3

The Untouchables – Special Collector’s Edition 3.8 / 4

“9”: 3.5 Stars / 4 Stars.

“Alice in Wonderland”: 4 Stars / 4 Stars.

“Batman/Superman, Public Enemies” Rating: 4 Stars / 4 Stars.

“Beetlejuice” 4 Stars / 3.5 Stars.

“Casino Royale” Rating: 5 Stars / 5 Stars.

“Diary of the Dead” 4 Stars / 3.5 Stars.

“District 9” 4.5 Stars / 4.5 Stars.

“Drag Me to Hell” Rating: 4 Stars / 3.5 Stars.

“G.I. Joe” 2.5 Stars / 3 Stars.

“Grindhouse – Death Proof”: 4 Stars / 4 Stars.

“Hellboy II – The Golden Army” 4 Stars / 4 Stars.

“Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” Rating: 4 Stars / 4.5 Stars.

“Inglorious Basterds”: 5 Stars / 4.5 Stars.

“Kill Bill Volume II”: 4.5 Stars / 4 Stars.

“Kill Bill Volume I”: 4.5 Stars / 4 Stars.

“King Kong the Extended Edition” 4.5 Stars / 5 Stars.

“Labyrinth”: 3.5 Stars / 3 Stars.

“Land of the Lost” Rating: 3 Stars / 3.5 Stars.

“Monsters Vs. Aliens” 3 Stars / 4 Stars.

“Nightmare Before Christmas” Rating 4.5 Stars / 5 Stars.

“Poltergeist” 4.5 Stars / 4 Stars.

“Ponyo”: 4 Stars / 4 Stars.

“Pride and Prejudice (A&E): 5 Stars / 3.5 Stars.

“Quantum of Solace” Rating: 4 Stars / 4.5 Stars.

“Reign of Fire”: 1 Star / 2 Stars.

“Sherlock Holmes”: 3.5 Stars / 3.5 Stars.

“Sleepy Hollow” 4 Stars / 3 Stars.

“Star Trek” 4.5 Stars / 4.5 Stars

“Star Wars the Clone Wars”: 3.5 Stars / 4 Stars.

“The Dark Knight” Rating: 5 Stars / 4.5 Stars.

“The Godfather Parts I & II” 5 Stars / 3.5 Stars.

“The Hangover”: 4 Stars / 4 Stars.

“The Hurt Locker”: 5 Stars / 4.5 Stars.

“The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus”: 4 Stars / 4 Stars.

“The Prestige” Rating: 4.5 Stars / 4 Stars.

“The Road Warrior”: 4.5 Stars / 3.5 Stars.

“The Road”: 4 Stars /3.5 Stars.

“The Shining”: 5 Stars / 4.5 Stars.

“The Wizard of Oz”: 5 Stars / 4 Stars.

“The Wolfman”: 1 Star / 2 Stars.

“Transformers – Rise of the Fallen” Rating: 2 Stars / 4 Stars.

“Twilight New Moon”: 2 Stars / 3 Stars.

“Up” 5 Stars / 5 Stars.

“Where the Wild Things Are”: 3 Stars / 3.5 Stars.

“Yojimbo”: 4.5 Stars / 4 Stars.

“Zombieland”: 4.5 Stars / 4 Stars.

Looking back at some of these ratings I am wondering where my head was (I’m looking at YOU, 3 stars for story, “Land of the Lost”) and then there were others I probably should have rated higher such as, “Labyrinth” (I dissed the power of the babe and only gave it a 3.5).  Other than those there are only a few more shaky ones and, for the most part, I stand by my ratings.

I may be pulling the plug on the Blu-ray Dossier but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to keep reviewing film – hey, I’m a movie geek with a fully functioning internet connection; therefore, I am duty bound to throw in my two cents when it comes to the goings on at the local multiplex.

In memory of my friend and longtime column, the Blu-ray Dossier – thank you for the memories.  “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.” – Dr. Seuss

Now then, what’s on Netflix?

 

Peter David

Peter David has been a long time favorite of yours truly.  The man writes.  He writes comics, short fiction, novels, video games, essays, articles, TV shows, films, and probably in several other vehicles that stories are delivered in.  He is a self-proclaimed, “Writer of Stuff” and, as we have already established, he’s one of my favorites.  I first became aware of Mr. David’s work with his run on, “The Incredible Hulk” back in the early nineties.  His, “Future Imperfect” added an element of time travel where the modern smart Hulk flashes forward to a time where the world is ruled by a despotic future version of himself, the Maestro.  Great stuff.  I still dust that off for the joy of reading it.  There really is too much for me to list here.  I will, therefore, point you towards my favorite second brain, Wikipedia, for further details on Mr. David and his body of work: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_David.  

 

On December 30^th, while on vacation with his family in Florida, Mr. David suffered a stroke.  He has been in the hospital ever since and the right side of his body has been starting to respond to rehab.  The good people over at SciFi Pulse put this together on how he is doing and what WE can do to help: http://scifipulse.net/2013/01/comic-book-creator-peter-david-has-suffered-a-stroke-here-is-how-to-help/.

My sincerest thoughts and prayers are with him and his family for a full and rapid recovery.  Please consider showing him some love.  I’m just about to order Parts I & II of, “Pulling up Stakes” from either Crazy 8 Press or Amazon.  You can also look right here: http://www.peterdavid.net/2013/01/04/here-is-how-you-can-help-peter/.  Every little bit helps when it comes to medical bills.

All the best, Mr. David ~ get well soon!

Print Will Never be “Dead” but the Ole Rag Ain’t what She Use to Be

Oh no, Gentle Reader, the death of print will, thankfully, never be the case. There will always be a need for print media. That being said the newspaper industry is in for some hard times. E-readers are going to be the next BIG thing. If it is a Kindle, a Nook, a Sony, an iPad (which is a step towards the obsolescence of magazines too) or one of these puppies; the Kobo (http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/03/150-kobo-ereader-the-real-kindle-killer?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wired%2Findex+%28Wired%3A+Index+3+%28Top+Stories+2%29%29). When I read about the Kobo I thought of filling my Christmas list with at least 3 (possibly 4) of ‘em. FINALLY an e-reader that is multiple platforms instead of just what Amazon is selling. The $150.00 price tag – HALF the price of a Kindle is nothing to sneeze at either.

Any way… getting back to print… This very evening while shopping at my local Shoprite I ran into two attractive middle-aged women who were trying to see subscriptions to the Atlantic City Press. “Would you like to have a subscription to The Atlantic City Press and receive a $10.00 coupon good for shopping here?”

“I’m sorry, I’m illiterate.” I lied.

“No you’re not.” She said. But it was too late; I had already started to put my junk onto the self-check out isle (I LOVE to avoid the contact of human cashiers).

They asked the next guy they saw. After hearing the question he said, “Why would I buy the paper when I have the internet?”

BAM! The game was up. That guy was right. If I wasn’t loading my groceries or have just lied to one of the quasi-attractive ladies selling the Press I would have asked the same question. Of course I would have followed it up by asking them when is the Atlantic City Press going to offer a viable digital delivery? Seriously. Just why would one purchase a newspaper these days – for the coupons?

NO. The gentleman in question answered the ladies inquiries by saying, “I can just print ‘em out.” He said goodbye to the ladies by wishing them a nice day but the truth was still hanging in the air. The newspaper business is dying. Do a search for the New York Times and it’s struggles to remain viable in an instantaneous world and you’ll begin to see the scope of this latest revolution. Oh well. Learn to use new technologies or let them put you out of business. That is the reality of the newspaper world. It was true for the record industry, the movie industry and it is true for ANY other media industry – Change or Die.

Seriously.

Right now, at this moment in the twenty-first century, the only thing holding back a BANGIN’ e-reader are the copyright holders.

Seriously.

I myself can’t wait for the day that YOU, Gentle Reader, will be able to download your favorite blogs to your e-reader. Kindle is experimenting with it now but it is only a matter of time before it is industry wide. Printing will be in the hands of the people – talk about your “freedom of the press!” The big boys (publishers) will have to adapt or die.

Seriously.

Here’s hopin’ that Chicken Scratch will be on your reading list.

The E-Reader Blues

Someday, not today but sometime in the near future, from one electronic device you will be able to have an entire library of books in the palm of your hand. It will be a wonderful thing. Instead of lugging around a wheelbarrow full of textbooks or best sellers you will have it all at your fingertips wherever you go and whatever you want to read. Perhaps you will be able to download different books from online libraries the world over or, if you are in college, download the semester’s curriculum in one fell swoop. But that day has not arrived. Perhaps we will be able to procure new E-books from a variety of sources including the big three, Amazon, Boarders and Barnes & Noble – who’s to say? Again, that day has not yet come.

Alas, Amazon has the Kindle 2.0, which has now dropped in price to $299.00 from $360.00, is nice enough but the only place that you can get your E-books from is, shockingly, Amazon. Even with the price drop three hundred bucks is, at least for yours truly, a decent chunk of change; and then there’re all those books to buy at $10.00 a pop – discounted from an honest to goodness book in your hands but ten bucks, nonetheless (see: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/04/kindle-readers/). And that’s just the Kindle. There’s a slue of these puppies hitting the marketplace and there are things to consider if you feel so inclined such at the jetBook (http://www.geardiary.com/2009/03/09/the-ectaco-jetbook-universal-portable-reading-device-review/) and the Cool-er (http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/05/cool-er-e-book-reader-turns-up-the-heat/). You are going to need to know if you can get the books/data that you want to read, you will want to know what formats are supported (very important) and, of course, you are going to want to know how much you are spending. I don’t know what to tell you, Gentle Reader, other than steering you to this nice little article on choosing an E-book Reader that may help clear things up a bit: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/05/buying-guide-e-book-reader/. If that does not assuage your thirst for knowledge check out what my favorite second brain has to say on the subject: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-book_reader.

Man, I love me some Wikipedia.

Someday the book publishers and electronic media makers will come to some consensus. When that day arrives I will see about making the jump. Until then I will wait and dream of the titles that I would put onto such a device; several versions of the Bible, the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, the Hobbit, the entire Harry Potter and Gunslinger series would be worth rereading. I am also quite fond of Neil Gaiman, Jules Verne, Ian Fleming, Christopher Moore, Ray Bradbury, Edgar Allen Poe, Stephen King, Kurt Vonnegut, Mark Twain, Anne Rice, Shakespeare, Robert E. Howard, Edgar Rice Burroughs… the list really is endless and the idea of having THAT library with me waiting to be read on one device is wildly appealing. I’m probably not alone with this little desire for the future.

So on that one day in the not too distant future, just what will be on your E-book Reader?

Is Print Dead Yet?

Well, no… not yet anyway. A part of me would miss the feel of a book. I mean really, what reader worth his or her salt doesn’t love that musty smell of old books or being spellbound; getting lost inside the pages of a good story? There is magic there – real magic. There are those who believe that the same enchantment can be had without the use of paper.

They might be onto something. For almost the last 600 years people have turned to the book as the preferred method of idea delivery. Well, the times they are a changin’. E Readers have been around for the last half dozen years or so but they have not really been the house of fire they have promised to be. Sloppy interfaces, copyright infringement, publishing companies, glossy screens have all made the transition from page to screen bumpy. Enter the Kindle from Amazon (amazon.com; that is) > http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FI73MA/ref=amb_link_6003602_2?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1RYY06HGSKSRT1H05PCR&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=337021901&pf_rd_i=507846.

Pretty cool, no? Having a library at your fingers wherever you go, wireless – always on technology, access to newspapers, periodicals and blogs, not to mention the 100,000 plus novels that are available for download. It’s possible to email yourself Word documents and pictures and there is free wireless access to my favorite second brain, Wikipedia. This little $400.00 number looks to be the next step in making this a paperless world – at least if Jeff Bezos has his way.

Who is Jeff Bezos? Good question. He’s the entrepreneur who envisioned the concept of Amazon; the 900 lbs. gorilla when it comes to online warehouse shopping. Amazon knows one or two things about books and how they are disseminated to the reading public. He’s carved a niche out into a billion dollar industry and now he’s got revolution on his mind. Here’s the Full Monty on the subject; it’s a really good article > http://www.newsweek.com/id/70983/page/1.

There’s always going to be a need for paper but in the future apart from legal documents, shopping bags, toileting purposes and the occasional book collector who enjoys that old musty smell of bound books – it’s days just may be numbered.

Would Franklin and Gutenberg be rolling in their graves? I doubt it – I think they’d both be bloggers and eager to play with whatever new crease technology would allow them to express themselves; their ideas and ideals through.

…Yeah, those two would have Kindles, but then again, so would I if I could afford it.