After two long weeks, I finally had an opportunity to pop in the DVD from Netflix, and watch Tropic Thunder, starring Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr, Jack Black, etc. So many people have mentioned this as a hilarious, and the trailers have made the movie look very promising. My friend Raj came over to visit, and had a nice guys night. We had pizza & beers, played some Madden ’07, and then watched Tropic Thunder.
Tropic Thunder (2008)
I have to confess that I wasn’t all the impressed with the movie. It had its occasional moments, but I didn’t think it was all that funny. Being that this movie was about so-so actors not initially realizing they were not in an actual movie reminded me of the old 80′s comedy classic Three Amigos!, but I thought Three Amigos! was more consistently funny. Tropic Thunder was only okay in my book.
Today, my wife was working, so she missed all the fun. I took the kids to Philadelphia to spend a few hours at the Please Touch Museum. My wife first told me about it, and I think she had heard about it from her coworkers. Ironically, the day we finally take the kids there, she’s gotta work. Sucks.
Robbie & Joshua at the Please Touch Museum
In the morning, we got them ready, and off we went. First I took the kids to Dunkin Donuts to get some donuts to go. I didn’t want to unstrap the kids, so I opted for my first ever trip through the drive-thru. Dunkin Donuts is currently running a promotion for 6 donuts for just $3. Sounds nice, but you know what? I don’t want 6 donuts, I just want 3 donuts. I’m sitting at the drive-thru, no menu of all the donuts to choose from, and the guy tries to convince me to get a half-dozen, as it’s the same price. I figure what the hell, sure. I start trying to rattle off a few types that I could remember, and they don’t have it. What’s the point if they didn’t have any selection today? I ended up getting the ONLY two glazed they had, one boston creme, and three chocoloate donuts. We ate in the car, and Josh was covered in chocolate crumbs.
We met up with my sister and her husband at their place, and I drove the five of us to Philly. The museum was very nice, and certainly a higher quality than the Garden State Discovery Museum in Cherry Hill we visited a while back. Lots of exhibits for the kids to see and interact with. We had lunch around 2:30pm, and wrapped up around 5pm. We’ll have to go back sometime.
Friday night, my wife and I had a few free hours away from the kids, so we went out for dinner and a movie. Well, an early movie and then late dinner. We both did the big rush to get home after work, do the we-don’t-have-the-kids prep for the sitters, and raced to the movie theater for a 7:25pm showing of Duplicity, starring Clive Owen and Julia Roberts. Duplicity wasn’t my first choice for movies, but a) we were going out without the kids, b) watching a movie in an actual movie theater, and c) it was a movie opening night no less. Can’t beat that.
Duplicity (2009)
The movie is about two spies who end up in the private sector doing corporate espionage. You spend the entire movie wondering who is scamming who to get the final big payoff. It was a decent movie, and I thought the overall direction was good. Paul Giamatti and Tom Wilkinson were also in the movie as the pivotal CEOs of two corporations warring against each other.
Afterwards, we walked over to TGI Friday’s for a late dinner. I am under the distinct impression that they are only good for the appetizers and drinks. I haven’t been impressed with their entrees in a long while. My steak sandwich was definitely a minus. From now on, I’m sticking to the apps, or eating somewhere else. At least I had a pleasant partner for conversation sitting across the table from me to make up for it!
Now this is disturbing, and I’m worried that this will start an ugly trend among arenas. Just when you thought the arenas were gouging you before with $7 popcorn and $5 bottles of water, the PNC Bank Arts Center will now be charging $6 parking fees per person, not per vehicle. Yikes.
I thought I’d give a quick update on my latest gadgets/toys/devices/acquisitions — the PlayStation 3 and the BlackBerry 9000 (the Bold.)
My new PlayStation 3 is pretty nifty. It’s beautiful, it’s sleek, it’s quiet, and it has wonderful features. The games I’ve played so far are excellent. I finished the Bioshock demo, was freaked out by the atmosphere, but I want more.
Frankly, though, we’ve been watching much more video than actually playing games. I / we have had much more time and instances where watching online streaming video has been more convenient than for me to have a solid block of time to play games by myself. It suppose that is weird, but it does demonstrate that we’re getting a lot of value out of this multi-purpose device.
My new BlackBerry Bold is simply awesome. The screen is gorgeous, 3G speeds are great, and the everything about the phone is oh-so-pretty. The battery does drain faster than I thought if I do a lot of calling, emailing, texting, or web surfing, but I think this is due to the 3G access draining the battery. Thankfully, the phone battery charges quickly. If I could make out with my phone without it being considered abnormal, I would do it openly.
Fox has released an image from “Not All Dogs Go to Heaven,” the Sunday, March 29 episode of Family Guy.
Here’s how Fox describes the episode:
The Griffin family heads to the annual Quahog Star Trek convention, but Stewie blows a fuse when he doesn¹t get a chance to ask his favorite Star Trek: The Next Generation cast members any questions. He devises a plan, builds a transporter and beams the entire cast to his bedroom so they can spend a fun-filled day together in Quahog.
Stewie builds a transporter and beams the entire cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation to his bedroom so they can spend a fun-filled day together in Quahog in the "Not All Dogs Go To Heaven" episode of FAMILY GUY airing Sunday, March 29 (9:00-9:30 PM ET/PT) on FOX.
Next Generation guest-stars include Brent Spiner, Denise Crosby, Gates McFadden, Jonathon Frakes, LeVar Burton, Marina Sirtis, Michael Dorn, Patrick Stewart and Wil Wheaton.
I visited the AT&T store today to see a man about a phone. My phone, actually. I had them take a look, but their unsophisticated eye told me the phone was toast. Unfortunately, AT&T doesn’t offer repair services like Verizon Wireless does, so I was assed out of options. The way our life is, my wife and I are a tag team, and not being able to reach each other is a no-win scenario. If I’m in a bind, she has to pick up the kids, etc. Too bad we don’t do those push-to-talk “BEEP. Go for Joel!” family wireless plans.
There was no point in waiting, so I opted to go for the BlackBerry Bold smartphone. It has a number of improvements over the Curve 8300:
a sharp LCD TFT display
great multimedia performance
HSDPA 3G
an updated BB OS
Wi-Fi
improved email (HTML!)
The biggest problem was using an American Express gift card, which we tried to use last week at Amazon.com, but it didn’t go through. I spent a good 45 mins at the store, repeatedly on the phone with American Express representative “Ivan” (who incidentally was so sitting in a call center in India, and so wasn’t named “Ivan”.) We tried and tried, but we couldn’t get the transaction to go. AMEX kept reporting that the balance was zero, and the AT&T sales rep blockheads couldn’t find the right merchant ID. In the end, the AMEX rep couldn’t remove the temporary block on the card account, so I couldn’t use the gift card. I would have to wait 7-10 business days for the block to be removed. Sigh. Well, whatever. I still needed the phone.
So, hassles aside, I’m the proud owner of the BlackBerry Bold. I tell you, the Curve lasted me about 1.5 years, which fits my average. Every cell phone has lasted just under a year before disintegrating into dust in my very hands. AT&T’s policy allows upgrades/renewals every 18 months, so this is about right for me.
I downloaded and installed Media Mall’s PlayOn Digital Media Server software for my PC. It’s a neat little media server that runs on your PC, and allows you to stream internet video from your PC to your PS3, Xbox 360, and other devices that support DLNA. You can stream video from YouTube, Hulu, CBS, Netflix, CNN, ESPN, and they added Amazon’s VOD service last week.
It was extremely easy to set up. Downloaded and installed on my PC, inputted the IDs and passwords for some accounts like Netflix, and the PS3 picked up my PC right away. I haven’t tried everything out, but the quality is standard definition, which for the moment is completely fine by me. I’m curious how it looks on HDTV, but I suppose if you have a decent TV, it’s going to upscale for you. As long as your PC fits the minimum specs, and you use ethernet or 802.11g or higher, you should be set.
PlayOn Media Server on PS3
I think Hulu is especially groovy. I thought it was good before when it was just SNL reruns and Family Guy. Now you can even watch old time 80′s shows like Airwolf and The Facts of Life. I just watched the pilot episode of Airworlf for fun while blogging! The PlayOn software costs you a one-time $39.99 if you choose to keep it after the 14-day trial, but it’s a done deal for me. Who wouldn’t want to curl up on the couch and watch Alf again?
