Silent Reviews

Prince Caspian (Blu-ray) -Yes
The Elfish Gene – Yes
Symphonic Shades – Yes
Mamma Mia! (movie) – NO
Bridge To Terabithia (Blu-ray) – Yes
Hellboy (Blu-ray) – Yes
NASCAR Awards Banquet – No

Sunday Riddle

What is this man doing? Click on the image to find out.

NCK Road Race

Every year, on the weekend after Thanksgiving, the Northern California Karters hold their season closing race at Infineon Raceway. This event hold a special place in my heart for two reasons: in 2004, this is where I first met Victoria’s family, when she brought me to watch her dad Michael race. That day also marked my first ever visit to the racetrack, which has developed into a pretty intimate affair. This year, two of Victoria’s aunts and five cousins were in town for the race. And Missy upheld the tradition by introducing her boyfriend to the track to the meet the family for his first time.

I made a pretty elaborate music video of the entire day of 2007. This year, I didn’t have as much time, so I just filmed some racing action from good shooting spots (having a hard card for the track and having filmed the 2008 NASCAR and IndyCar races certainly helped!), and edited it into a small montage. Enjoy! These guys easily reach over 100mph in their little karts as they race down the esses. Most impressive, and always a lot of fun to watch. Just as impressive: Michael got first place in his class!

Blockbuster’s Little Secret

Ever since Blu-ray, I have started renting more movies again. In Sonoma, that means Blockbuster Video. At this point, it probably means “Blockbuster” in every other part of the country as well. I remember the olden days back in Virginia when I frequented alternatives like the (now assimilated) Hollywood Video, but Blockbuster seems to be taking over the business completely.

Not that they don’t have their own problems, of course. Under constant assault by mail and download services like Netflix, Blockbuster has been trying to reinvent its retail chain pretty aggresively. One major change came a few years ago, when Blockbuster happily announced “the end of late fees”. Which was obvious bullshit, of course – Blockbuster just tried to pass itself off as a “try before you buy” outfit: the traditional late fees became a “restocking fee”, and late movies were automatically converted into a purchase. Highly misleading, and several states would have none of it.

Even so, the basic policy still stands. Movies are due after 5 days, late rentals are converted into a purchase that can be negated within 30 days for a restocking fee. Except, that’s not really the truth. Blockbuster movies aren’t due after 5 days, as they boldly proclaim on stickers and store windows.

It’s actually 12 days.

[Read more]

Silent Reviews

Hellboy II (Blu-ray) – Yes
Australia (Trailers) – No
AT&T “thumbfaces” texting commercial – No
Valkyrie (Trailer) – Maybe
Pinks All Out in Sonoma – Yes
Kota, The Triceratops – Yes