Movies On The Radar For 2026

We find ourselves in the beginning of the second quarter of 2026 and the world has changed.

That said, don’t fret, this little blog is about movies and the state of the movie industry, so politics & religion need not apply. No, I am more concerned with popcorn at the moment. And moments have an explicit expiration date so let’s talk about what is coming out this year to theaters & streaming services.

In days of yore when this blog was but a gleam in my eye movies and films were a big part of it. I’d write about what I was excited to see coming to the theaters or the quality of movies presented in the format of Blu-ray in an ongoing article here on these electronic pages, The Blu-ray Dosier. I did that until the rise of streaming, which put Blu-rays on the endangered list of formats along with laserdiscs, Betamax, VHS tapes, & DVDs – not extinct yet, but the herd has been dramatically thinned. The times have changed.

We live in the era of streaming and the age old battle between movie studios and theaters, while still raging, is looking like the studios will have their products beamed directly to their customers immediately, rather than having to rent their wares at movie houses & theaters from sea to shining sea for the lovers of cinema to discover and spend their money on tickets. Ma & Pa theaters are more endangered than Blu-rays. Theaters be they Ma & Pa or big chain operations such as Regal or AMC, have always been strong armed by the studios. If theaters do not play ball, they do not get to be able to show the summer blockbuster(s) that will let them pay their bills & their employees. There is no “flat fee” and the studios take all the profits, leaving little for the theaters to survive on. It been this way since a (as Google told me) supreme court case in 1948, “United States v. Paramount,” to prevent the monopolization of the film industry. Movie studios have leaned on theaters like loan-sharks collecting gambling debts; again, from Google, “Theaters pay studios a percentage of the box office receipts. This typically ranges from 50% to 70%, depending on the movie and how long it has been in theaters.” This is why a bucket of popcorn and a soda are about $40.00 when you go to a theater. They want to keep the lights on, the toilets flushing, the roof of the movie house on, and the staff paid. Prior to ANY of that happening, the studios take their cut…

...Said this Reddit user 15 years ago.

Time marches on. Theaters will continue to decline due to the film industry increasing its profits by eliminating the middleman. I believe that there will always be a place for a communal theatrical experience, but the delivery method of film has shifted and it is not going back.

All that said, what will get me away from this keyboard and into a reclining theater seat from now until the end of 2026? Well, these offerings will! …Also, it should be known, some of the films I am about to list are going directly to stream. Netflix was poised exactly where they needed to be when the zeitgeist changed and out of all the corporate studios, they are in the best position, at present, to offer a glimpse at where the industry is heading in the future. …But that is a story for another time.

Here is what I’m excited about now…

“Remarkably Bright Creatures,” coming to Netflix on May 8^th. I loved the book; I think I’ll love the movie. The cast is spot on with Sally Field, Lewis Pullman, Colm Meaney, with Alfred Molina as the voice of Marcellus. This will have a lot of heart.

“Ladies First,” coming to Netflix on May 22. It is with Rosamund Pike & Sacha Baron Cohen in the leads. The manosphere gets the multiverse treatment in this one. Again, excellent casting.

“The Mandalorian & Grogu,” in theaters May 22. I will love this movie. I’m a fan of the TV series. Although, the marketing for this movie has been a bit lack-luster. Perhaps Disney is depending on fans like me to show up and not worrying about a TV show making the leap to the big screen? I don’t know. I do know that a Star Wars movie should have the words, “Star Wars” in the title. This would give a nice line of demarcation between streaming on Disney + and going to the theater. But who am I? Just a fan who is looking forward to what Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni have in store for Din Djarin and his adopted son.

“Disclosure Day,” in theaters June 12. Steven Spielberg is back and I’m here for it! Spielberg and aliens have a long and glorious history, and I am jazzed to see what is up his sleeve for this one.

“Toy Story 5,” in theaters June 19^th. McKenna Harris & Andrew Stanton direct this latest offering from Pixar/Disney. When I first heard that a fifth movie was in the works, I asked myself the question, “Why?” I mean, after all, the fourth one spilt up the gang, and I thought that they had painted themselves into a corner with the story. It appears that I was wrong. Woody & Buzz are reuniting to fight their biggest villain yet – electronic devices that are replacing toys. One can never count Pixar out. They will, routinely, punch you in the heart. This will be no exception.

“Supergirl,” in theaters June 26. Milly Alcock is Kara Zor-El, Kal’s cousin. This tale may very well have shades of John Wick to it. Think post-traumatic stress meets the straw that breaks the camel’s back, or rather, you never should have hurt Krypto. Lobo, played by the BEST choice for the role ever, Jason Momoa is coming to James Gunn’s DC universe, too! Yes. I will buy a ticket for this.

“The Odyssey,” in theaters July 17^th. Christopher Noland does Homer. Matt Damon is Odysseus. Noland knows how to tell a story and this epic is in very good hands.

“Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” is coming to theaters on July 31^st. Say what you will about MARVEL & superhero movies – this one I care about. A street-level Spider-Man with street-level peers (I’m looking at you Frank Castle/Punisher and, I’m calling it right now, DAREDEVIL). And villains, including the Hand and, I’m calling it right now, JEAN GREY. Yes my fellow true believers, the X-Men are coming to the MARVEL movie universe. Oh, yes. I will see this one before some shlub on social media ruins all the twists & comic history is spoiled. Another friendly neighborhood Spider-Man movie? Oh, yes. I’m in.

“The End of Oak Street,” in theaters August 14^th. Dollars to donuts, and I could be wrong here, but I’m thinking this is another back-door movie into the Cloverfield universe originated by J.J. Abrams. Anne Hathaway & Ewan McGregor are parents of a family that is experiencing what happens when one universe invades another. Are Kaiju far behind? I’m looking forward to finding out.

“The Dog Stars,” coming to theaters August 28^th. Ridley Scott is at the helm of this one inspired by Peter Heller’s book of the same name. A post-apocalyptic pilot and his dog go searching for what’s left of humanity and hope, along the way. I am a sucker for a good speculative tale, and this one has some wonderful possibilities. I have not yet read the book but is now on my radar.

“Avengers: Doomsday,” in theaters sometime in November or December. The Russo Brothers, Anthony & Joe are back with all their friends from MARVEL’s ever-expanding stable of characters. Again, say what you will of tales of gods and men, history & legend are loaded with ‘em. These superhero tales are our modern takes on a classic genre. It is all cyclical. Stories are told and then they are told again, over and over, since the dawn of man, which pretty much started with telling stories. …Anyway, as for this film in particular, has Doctor Doom been pulling the strings in the universe the whole time (the beginning of the MARVEL U in “Iron Man”)? Who are the Fantastic Four? And why are all these mutants suddenly popping up all over the place? How does the old guard usher in the new? Find out in theaters this December. I’m here for it all. …Also, Kevin Feige, the president of MARVEL Studios, knows & loves what he is doing. Doomsday will set the stage for Secret Wars and, I believe, the movies in-between them will bring the X-Men to prominence. As I have mentioned, I’m here for it all.

“DUNE: Part Three,” in theaters December 18^th. Denis Villeneuve’s third and final installment of his DUNE trilogy. Villeneuve has done a masterful job of bringing Frank Herbert’s six book epic to the screen. The first two films have been a wonder to behold on the big screen – especially if you have read the books. DUNE asks questions far more reaching than a movie with spaceships & explosions usually asks. Politics, religion, environmentalism are all themes deeply rooted in the world of Arrakis. I’m very curious as to how he joins the next few books in the series, “DUNE Messiah” and “Children of DUNE.” I’ll be there opening night to find out.

“Werwulf,” in theaters December 25^th. Robert Eggers gives the world a pagan, folklore laden, werewolf story just in time for Christmas! Eggers knows what he is doing. He pulls on stories and tales that reach down to that part in all of us that is still afraid of the dark. He is the man who brought us, “The VVITCH,” “The Lighthouse,” and “Nosferatu,” so his storytelling is not to be missed. So, once you’ve opened your packages and if you’ve had a bit too much tinsel, turkey, & fruitcake, perhaps a trip to the movies for something disturbingly horrific is just what you’ll need.

These are what I’m looking forward to seeing. I’m sure that there are some great stories that I have missed. If so, let me know for I am a humble word-slinger bobbing as a cork in the internet seas.

Start saving your nickels (since they don’t make pennies anymore), you’re gonna want some popcorn. Buttered.

See you at the movies.

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?

 

The Media Delivery Wars

Good morning, Gentle Reader.  I hope this communiqué finds you well.  If you have poked around here at Chicken Scratch for a few clicks of your mouse then you know that I am a bit of a movie fan – in fact, you could say cinema is one of my favorite varieties of a story delivery vehicle.  I am a BIG fan of Blu-ray but the future of media delivery is going to be streaming in HD.  Different companies have experimented with this to varying degrees of success including Comcast, Verizon, Blockbuster, and Netflix. 

Here is an excellent blog from cnet’s, Media Maverick, Mr. Greg Sandoval that addresses the multiple reasons that Neflix is feeling the sting of an ostracized public who would prefer to use Redbox than pay more for a “skimpy selection” of films.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-20106678-261/netflix-feels-wrath-of-consumers-investors/?ttag=fbw.

I found it interesting that STARZ holds the rights to Sony’s and Disney’s content for internet streaming.  I also thought this was worth noting, “Starz is reportedly asking for a $300 million deal, or 10 times the $30 million agreement it penned in 2008 and Netflix doesn't want to pay.”  Is that a crazy amount of money?  Well, I suppose, by my standards but to have Netflix walk away means that content will suffer.  Now that Netflix, in a move of sage-like wisdom, has doubled their price (DVD delivery is $8.00 and streaming is $8.00 as well – 16 Bucks a month) for even less product customers have been revolting and canceling their subscriptions.  I was going to make the jump but have decided against it; choosing instead to wait until all the corporate greed gives way to a decent product in glorious 1080p.  I may have a long wait since most companies stream movies in 720p. 

What’s a boy to do?

See you at the Redbox.

Blockbuster, Ramblings and the Blu-Ray Dossier

This particular Blu-Ray Dossier marks a milestone for this ole article here at Chicken Scratch. You see, Gentle Reader, in order to write about movies on Blu-ray one must either purchase them or rent them. The lion’s share of the movies on Blu-ray here that I’ve reviewed I have rented from Blockbuster; the corporate Juggernaut that rolled over all of the “ma & pa” video rental places during the last decade and made them vanish into the sepia images of memory. The corporation grew and grew and blotted out the sun from the other small businesses that peddled the film industries wares. They’re all extinct now. They fell victim to the future; they could not compete with the idea that one store could have so many copies of the movies that people wanted to see. Our hunger for instant gratification only fueled “ma & pa’s” demise. Why should we wait to see the movie we want to see when we can just go to Blockbuster and they’ll have a copy? Hey, I want to “go home happy”.

Where was I? …Oh yes, this blog marks the end of my / our Blockbuster exclusivity. Tonight we canceled our Blockbuster plan.

During the last three years we have rented 225 movies on DVD & Blu-ray; that’s on average 75 movies a year. We had the deal where you could receive up to three movies in the mail, swap ‘em at the local Blockbuster and get two coupons for ‘free’ movies a month. All this brought our total to $21.19 a month. Now let’s see here… that comes out to a total of $762.84 that we have spent to date – that’s about $3.39 per movie. Not too shabby in the long run and we have been running with them a long while. We stayed with Blockbuster not only because they were the only game in town (‘in town’ not via Netflix or cable) but because of a handful of true & dedicated movie fans who used to work there. These guys were Great – with a capitol G. They were not just ‘managers’ they were Movie Geeks and something that Blockbuster truly needed; a human face that actually gave two shakes of a Raisinets Box about film. They cared about movies and story and they bent over backwards for their customers and for their staff. These gentlemen are no longer there and now that the human factor is gone, so am I.

Not to sound too melodramatic but now it is Blockbuster’s turn on the endangered list. You see our hunger for instant gratification is fueling Blockbuster’s demise; and make no mistake; ‘demise’ is the right word. Why should we waste all that time to go to a brick and mortar Blockbuster when we can ‘rent’ a movie cheaper from Comcast or Netflix (which is MUCH cheaper than Comcast) and not even have to be concerned about returning it in the next day or two? Come to think of it with Netflix you can watch the movies / TV shows you want to watch wherever you wish be it in your living room you’re your laptop or on your smart phone. Some TV’s come with wireless connections just for downloading movies from Netflix these days. Do you have a Nintendo Wii or a Xbox 360? Yeah, you can download Netflix movies from these game systems too. Then there is Red Box. Red Box machines have popped up everywhere. You can rent a DVD for $1.00. “What about Blu-ray?” you may ask. Well, for $1.50 you can rent a Blu-ray from a Red Box. You can also return it to ANY Red Box kiosk. Blockbuster can not compete with that; nor can they compete with the future – downloadable content. Blockbuster has been trying to rearrange the furniture on the first class deck of the Titanic but no matter how neat & orderly the deck looks the ship is still sinking. It is hard to fight an idea whose time has come.

Let’s gaze into my crystal ball… into the future. What will it look like? DLC is the future. Downloadable Content for the distribution of media (movies, music, video games, information) will be the business standard in the coming years. And no matter how much I love my Blu-ray movies they too will give way to DLC in 1080p. No matter how much I may love my Xbox 360, my Sony PSIII, or even my Nintendo Wii video games there will simply be no reason why I will have to own a physical disk anymore. Blockbuster is hemorrhaging now, when the next – next generation game consoles hit Gamestop (a store that specializes in used video games) will fall as well. It’s the way of things and it is hard to fight against the future. I’m sure that there will be some sort of occasional effort from companies to have “Special Editions” of movies and games that are packaged with cool doodads, souvenirs, toys and statues but when you sit down to watch that movie or play that game you’ll enter a code from a card or you’ll simply click a button on a remote. It will be a world without discs. Theoretically, this should drive prices down since you will no longer have a physical Blu-ray or video game to take up space on your shelf but the price of this future is something that is still cloudy from the vision from my crystal ball.

Here’s to the hunger of instant gratification; the engine of society’s progress!

Now that I’ve said that and in that vein… I can move forward to actually reviewing some Blu-rays. At the Blu-Ray Dossier I review Blu-ray movies on a 5 star (5 is the best), two tiered system; the first rating is for the story and the second is for the jaw dropping Blu-ray quality. Here’s what I’ve been watching…

Despicable Me, 3 Stars / 4 Stars. I did not go into this one with high expectations but I was pleasantly surprised. The animation glistens and gleams in 1080p. The story is about a man who happens to be an evil genius who, through a series of misadventures becomes a dad. Good for the family. Go rent if for ‘em.

Knight & Day, 2.5 Stars / 3 Stars. A romantic comedy with explosions. I liked it and it is worth the rental. Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz are the couple and they are fun to watch. Pop some popcorn; you’ll have a good time and YES this can be considered a “Date Movie”.

The A-Team, 3 Stars / 3 Stars. This is another one I was pleasantly surprised by. I LOVED watching original A-Team back in the day. This oozes nostalgia and seeing these characters in action again just had me grinning the whole picture through. There’s a bit of a breakdown in act III but it still delivers. If memory serves the movie didn’t break bank at the box office; still this is one franchise that I would love to see continue. Rent it, you’ll have a good time.

Resident Evil: Afterlife, 2.5 Stars / 3 Stars. The Resident Evil movies have always been loosely based on Sony’s Resident Evil video game franchise and this one is no different. It was originally released in 3D and shot with real 3D cameras instead of that horrid 2D to 3D process that some companies strain their new releases through. One thing I’ve noticed after 4 movies thus far, Paul W. S. Anderson is having a good time playing in the playground that he has created and I’ve got to give him kudos for that. He has written and directed each of the movies and they have been successful enough for Sony to keep asking him back. What can I say, I was entertained. Lots of ‘splosions and Anderson sets it up for part 5 which I will probably rent as well.

Grown Ups, 3 Stars / 3 Stars. A lot of reviewers have given this film a lot of flack and not all of it is deserved. I’ve heard, “It’s too crude” or “It’s not good for children!” Well that may be the case and it may not be for everyone but I’ll say this, it’s one of the most accurate portrayals of a group of men of a certain age that I’ve seen in a long time. Men are boys whose toys are more expensive; you may deny it but you know deep down that it rings true. Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Kevin James, Rob Schneider and David Spade play the adult versions of their younger selves and I, for one, enjoyed the heck out of it. Rent it but beware you may see yourself in this film; if you don’t or worse, you can’t; then you have my pity.

So there it is.

I wonder what I should call this article once Blu-ray discs become obsolete? I’ll have to ponder that one.

Until next time, Gentle Reader, I’ll see you at the Red Box.

Oh The Things I Could be Writing About

Please let it be known, Gentle Reader, I have never meant to abuse this blog. Hey, I love Chicken Scratch! That being said there have been some pretty cool things that have come and gone without me even typing a peep of it. That's too bad really. What can I say? Life has a way of encroaching on the things that we would really like to be doing verses the things that must take priority as a means of getting things done.

Here is a brief list of stuff that I really should be writing about but, for one reason or another, have not...

1. The Christmas play, "Glorious Impossibilities" by Kathryn Ross is coming up at my church and I'm still trying to learn my lines. It is gonna be a blast this year - seriously. I get to unleash my inner Stooge. I am really excited about this one. If you can make it come on out!

2. Work. I make a clear effort to never discuss work here on Chicken Scratch. Let's just say there's been some interesting things afoot.

3. We, the EC-5 went to Washington DC for the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear on 10/30/10. I have a thing for John Stewart and Steven Colbert. They did not disappoint. I will be blogging about this at some point but until such time know that we had a blast, had some interesting adventures in Social Studies and would do it all over again.

4. Netflix. Brick and mortar is quickly becoming obsolete. That being said, some of the people who work at MY local Blockbuster are simply wonderful individuals who love film and are doing their best to keep things together and going. I will continue to rent my Blu-ray discs and video games from my local Blockbuster BUT Netflix is just the shape of things to come. In an instant gratification world they deliver - instantly. No longer does one have to wait until their Blockbuster queue is depleted to see that samurai, gangster, ninja, zombie flick that they have had a hankering to see - no, that sometimes month long wait has been replaced by the press of the button on my remote, X-box, laptop, Nintendo Wii, smart TV, or even Blu-ray player. Bickety-Bam; instant gratification. I don't have time to wait on movies. Now I don't have to. My middle aged attention span is longer than some others but is not designed to handle the onslaught of all the other things screaming for my attention. This being said, I am not giving up on Blockbuster; there are some great people there and that is the only source of Blu-ray and video games in South Jersey. Netflix, however, cuts the price more than HALF ($8.99 a month VS. $20.00). That's a lot of cabbage.

5. The progress of our Turtles. We have two turtles; Van Goff and Sheldon/Bertha. I could be writing about their progress and how they came into our home but NO! I have not done so.

6. NANOWRIMO? I have no time for National Novel Writing Month this year. I'd write and tell you about it but I simply don't have the time.

7. Downed Trees. A cherry tree limb snapped off and hit a maple tree limb in my yard - both of which collapsed in my driveway. Thanks to my Ford I was able to pull them onto my front lawn. Thanks to a friend (Thanks Rich!) and his chainsaw the gravity challenged limbs are no longer an issue. I could have written about this but the time just did not materialize.

8. Weight loss. I don't want to but I must. I'm too fat but I have a taste for butter, egg yolks, red meat and salt. I would write about it but I'm just too busy. Let's just say that I'm gonna be eating a LOT of salad and veg in the future; I may even write about it.

9. The Christmas movie season. There are some decent offerings this holiday season. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I", "True Grit" and the one I'm really waiting for, "Tron Legacy" will all be hitting theaters in the next month and a half. Yeah, if I had time I'd be writing about those too.

10. Injustice and false representation. I don't like to wallow in this for too long since the stench sort of follows you around. Just like... Well ya know, Thumper's mother was right, if you don't have anything nice to say about someone it's best to not say anything at all.

Gentle Reader, please forgive me. Also let me just say that these days my life is NOT my own and I am actively looking forward the END of the holiday season when I can relax with my family, play some video games with the girls and do some geocaching with Mother Hen - oh yes, and spend some quality time right here at Chicken Scratch. I am happy to be busy and a part of things greater than myself this time of year but I'm looking forward to a time when the wheels are not spinning as fast as they are right now.

Stay tuned, Gentle Reader, the best is yet to come.

The iPad Tablet

I am a Star Trek fan. In Star Trek The Next Generation, on board Captain Picard’s Enterprise (NCC-1701-D, mind you) the crew had access to all shipboard computer systems via a device called a PADD or “Personal Access Display Device”. Well, that little piece of tech just became real. This week Steve Jobs presented the world with the iPad Tablet. This is the direction that computer and technology market will be heading; it is another step forward and (please excuse the next Star Trek reference) only logical.

“So, what does it do?”

Well, it should be a blend everything that your laptop does with everything that an iPod Touch or even an iPhone does. Throw in all that an Amazon Kindle and your Netflix account can bring you and you would have quite the device. Here’s what Wikipedia has to say about it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPad.

“It can do all that?”

I don’t know. This is the first generation of the next phase in computer and technology so it is hard to pin such hopes and aspirations on the brand new, not even out of the box device such as this. I have as many questions as you do; fortunately Wired’s Gadgetlab has some excellent coverage on this little gem that may be able to answer some of the questions that we may have: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/apple-tablet-full-coverage/.

“Next phase computer device?”

Seriously. My, you are asking quite a few questions this morning, Gentle Reader but that is fine with me – we’ll learn together. The iPad Tablet is another step towards the future – sure there are no flying cars or jet packs but now you no longer need a paperboy since your copy of the paper is downloaded to your phone every morning. Of course your schedule and planner is now electronic as well. Do you have a question? Bring up Wikipedia or Google or Clusty. Need directions? Plug ‘em in and go. Need to study or read a technical journal for work? Do so. Could you use some tunes or perhaps you want to take in a movie or kick back with a good book to read? Make it so. The interface and portability of such a device is what makes it the step forward that it will prove to be. And these are just the applications off the top of my head. If you think about it doctors in hospitals could electronically maintain a file on each of their patients. “Mr. Smith,” the doctor said pressing a button on his iPad / PADD, “Here is the x-ray of your spleen. It looks like it’s healing nicely since the elephant stampede.”

Silly? Yes. The future? Undoubtedly. Before I make the jump to such a device a few generations are going to have to happen; also, the company’s logo, at least on my device, will not be Apple. Nothing against them, it’s just that I’m a dyed in the wool PC guy and I am very interested in what the Windows version of a very similar and slightly more advanced PADD would roll. Still you can’t take anything away from Apple or Jobs for that matter. They consistently produce technology that the masses want and push the entire industry and, dare I say, the world on towards the future.

That’s progress, Gentle Reader. That’s progress.