Best. Movie. Review. Ever.

Phillyist goes to the movies and sees Rambo.

When Tim Burton And Johnny Depp Team Up....

One of the most awesome movie opportunities I may have ever heard of.



The official movie site.

Harry Potter, Philadelphia Wi-Phi

I'm going to combine two topics from my morning post into one since each won't take up too much space respectively.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

My girlfriend and I got the night off from Elliott (thanks to Christina and Brendan for coming over to watch him) and we seized upon the opportunity to go out and see a movie. There's quite a few movies out that we've both been itching to see, SiCKO amongst them but since they weren't showing that movie at The Bridge (40th and Walnut), Harry Potter is what we selected.

I've never read any of the books but Dreya, excluding the most recent, has. That said, I've enjoyed all the movies up until this most recent one, The Order of the Phoenix.

Honestly, I thought it was boring. Whereas every previous movie has had a definitive plot with a lot of back story and focus on many characters, this movie (as our waitress at Copa [40th and Spruce St.] described afterwards) was all Harry, all the time. A number of new characters were introduced but none of them were given too much background and instead were secondary to Harry's overall task that he had to achieve.

By the end of the movie, I was ready to go. I just didn't feel like the movie really advanced the story of Harry Potter any further at all and instead, just offered up a lackluster plot with no real gripping story twists at all.

Thumbs down for me. And with that said, I assume that had I read the book, I would've enjoyed the movie more. Perhaps, but I haven't and have no intention of doing so anytime soon.

Philadelphia WiFi

I've been a proponent of Philadelphia WiFi access ever since I first heard about it. I think it's great for the city and I think it's great for the citizens. Recently, I've experienced first hand the on-going installation and expansion of the the network antennas around the city. The city network is now, by far, the strongest network I can pick up inside my apartment and as such, I'm considering signing up. Apparently, though, I have options and that's what I'm going to discuss.

With Earthlink, service costs $19.95/mop and requires a 12-month contract. Like other wifi providers, although I haven't gone so far as to find it (by requesting more information), the speed is probably capped at @ 1 Mbps.

For $17.95 (for the first 3 months), I can choose PeoplePC. I don't what the rate jumps to after those first three months, but I do know that the service is also 1 Mbps and requires a special PeoplePC wifi modem for $69.95, which is indicated to be free when signing up for 12-mos of service.

DirectTV is another player in the city WiFi network, offering service for $14.99/mos with a 12-mos contract although reading closer it appears that this rate only applies to current DirectTV customers. For any further information, it seems I'd have to call DirectTV and I'm not. I'm the kind of person who likes all the information I need right there in front of me and who prefers that only time I'll need to call is to set-up, cancel, or get help with existing service.

This leads to the final player, Wi-Phi, a locally owner and operated system that offers service with no term contracts, something I like. (FYI: Philly Car Share doesn't require term contracts either.) Here's where it gets nice, though.

The cost of service, while not the cheapest, is certainly reasonable, especially when you consider this:

Our pricing is “forever” pricing.

$16.95/month 1meg download/1meg upload

$18.95/month 3meg download/1meg upload

$65.00 Refundable Equipment Fee May Be Required

There is an additional $1.00/hour charge for Simultaneous Log ins

Service includes 10 email addresses

Free Postini Spam and Virus protection is included

For less than $20/mos, I can have (weather, line-of-sight, network availability and load aside) a 3Mbps WiFi connection. I could care less about the webspace, email and virus protection since I already have all that. I want speed and considering what Verizon, Comcast, PhillyNet, or Urban Cable Works (providing Comcast service) offer in terms of introductory rates which require 12/mos contracts that jump to much higher regular rates after only a few months, or rates that are only afforded to existing clients or special bundle purchases which are used to reel you into to buy more and spend more, ultimately it seems to make sense to hop on the local WiFi network.

It doesn't put any more money into these huge conglomerates that not only rip people off but who also constantly change rates not by changing the actual cost but, with regards specifically to Comcast, cutting down the channel availability, I'm also not funding the huge telecom giants who have a hand in domestic wiretapping and/or eavesdropping that they've been so quietly supporting and allowing to the US government.

I'm not sure yet exactly I will do. I might have to look into Wi-Phi a little more just to make sure they're not reselling another companies service, like DCA.net does with Verizon, but with rates like that, forever pricing, and no genuine commitments, I can't expect that they are reselling.

If I find out, I'll update at a later time.

Morning Post

I've got a number of things I want to try and cover throughout the day today.

1. Upload the rest of the pictures from yesterday's bike ride. (Done)

2. Discuss the relationship between crime in Philadelphia with regards to police not showing up, citizens demanding more action, and citizens also somehow not seeing or hearing anything of value for the police to apprehend those responsible for various crimes. (Done)

3. The latest Harry Potter movie which we saw last night, thanks to a much needed evening reprieve from Elliott. (Thanks Christina and Brendan). (Done)

4. Perhaps a little more park blogging.

5. And lastly, I have some questions regarding editing photographs and how to properly make nice panoramas out of multiple shots, what software is best, tips and such. That topic won't be coming from any expertise on my end; instead, I'm looking for advice on the topic so if you have experience doing this, I'll be interested in hearing feedback whether in comments or in email. (Done)

Right now, though, I have to feed my son some breakfast, shower perhaps, eat some food myself, etc. I'll start writing a little more in a little bit, granted I have internet.

Oh yeah. I might talk about Philadelphia WiFi as well. (Done)

Turnabout

Due to a great reminder my brother posted about, I think it's perfectly fitting to remind viewers of the clip of Sen. John Kerry confronting ambassadorship to Belgium nominee Sam Fox who subsequently had his nomination withdrawn today.

As a sidenote, while being grilled from Sen. Kerry, albeit calmly and respectfully, about three-quarters of the way through the clip, in response to a question posed by Sen. Kerry, you can clearly hear Fox say "I have no recollection of..."

Seems like Fox and GSA Administrator Lurita Doan have something in common.

Tired Of Media Drama

That's the image presented on the CNN homepage right now that links to this article regarding the capture of British sailors by Iran and although the picture is very pretty and it's clear someone did a fantastic job with layering images and blending them together, is it really necessary? Isn't it just a bit dramatic?

By all means, tell the story but my god, do you have to make a glitzy friggin' production of it? The first thing I thought of when I opened CNN and saw that image was Matt Lauer of the Today show and what a camera whore he's turned into, especially since the departure of what's her face...um....um....Katie Couric, that's it. And she's another camera whore. Shit, the entire cast of that goddamn show is a friggin' camera whore, although Meredith Viera isn't so bad and at least seems graceful and not vain when on the camera.

Al Roker? Camera whore. Ann Curry, the correspondent at the news desk that comes as close to providing me with real information of value in the morning? She's more a camera slut because, when the show starts and Matt and Meredith cover the tops stories, they always kick it to Ann to pass out the remaining scraps that comprise the lesser important stories (like Alberto Gonzales being a liar, or Bush vetoing a funding bill for the troops) but get her outside in front of that crowd of sign carrying media-johns, and she's suddenly a star-wannabee!

The point I'm trying to make is what the fuck happened to reporting the news and just that? What passes as news these days is a mixture of the latest fashion trends, celebrity sightings, and political gossip that together amount to an hours worth of American Idol quality programming.

I don't need that shit. I want to know what's happening around the world at large. I want to hear what's happening with Tony Blair right now, what scientists think of the bee population decline, I want to know about advances in science and medicine, and unfortunately, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Conservapedia Post Of The Day: Jesus

(This post is for educational purposes only. Educational because I want you to be educated about the types of or presence of (or, in this case, lack of presence of) certain information made available through the rarely difficult and truly undedicated work of the Conservapediologists.)

Sadly, the entry on Jesus is seriously lacking and honestly, I won't hesitate to suggest an alternate if you are truly in need of more information on Jesus since and after visiting Conservapedia's entry, I don't see how you could possibly leave that site any wiser or with any less information than when you entered it.

I mean...well here, take a look. This is the entire Conservapedia page for Jesus. Mind you, there are actually two images here with the bottom 1/4 of the page being a separate image.




Given that this entry is simply lacking every which way from Sunday, I would first recommend that this article entry be added to the Articles Needing Major Improvements list because, ironically, it's not there.

Next, I would recommend you visit the Wikipedia entry on Jesus (whose entry, if broken up into screenshots, would simply be too large and time consuming for me to put together) as it simply contains far more relevant information as well as outside topics of interest, related topics, and associated internal and external links, all regarding Jesus.

Ultimately, the bottom line is that for the most up-to-date and thorough collection of information regarding Jesus that is available on most modern wiki-styled sites on the Internet today, Wikipedia simply walks on water in the face of Conservapedia.

52% Politically Radical?!

52%? That's it?! Ok, something must is clearly wrong with this poll since I would take to the streets in a heartbeat if the call came.

In fact, I'm almost expecting the call one of these days...

You Are 52% Politically Radical

You've got some radical viewpoints, but you aren't completely nuts. You're more of a visionary than a radical.

Are You a Political Radical?

Friday Videos: Les Miserables - Look Down

Sticking It To The Man

by proposing something radical.

:)

P.S. - Don't tell Boston.

Paris Hilton Wins Injunction

I know - who would expect to see a post here on Paris Hilton that wasn't pornographic in nature? I wrote about Paris' recent woes after seeing how FOX News, to nobody's surprise, decided to take the opportunity to publicly malign her by posting some of the information that was contained on the site where her personal information was being sold.

Well, Ms. Hilton won herself a court ordered injunction and to that I say, good. As much as people might hate, or love Paris Hilton, it's not right to buy her personal belongings that were misappropriated because of error, and then sell them for $10,000,000.00 so that someone else could make even more money selling it online.

-- A federal judge has issued a temporary injunction against a Web site peddling personal pictures, videos, diaries, and other items that heiress Paris Hilton once kept at a storage facility.

Hilton sued the Web site ParisExposed.com last month, accusing it of exploiting her private personal belongings for commercial gain. The injunction issued Friday temporarily bars the Web site from releasing Hilton's Social Security number, health data and other personal information.

...

The lawsuit alleges two defendants paid $2,775 for the contents of the storage unit and later sold the items for $10 million to entrepreneur Bardia Persa, who created the Web site.

Once Again, FOX Sinks To New Lows

(Or alternatively, How and Why I Defend Paris Hilton.)

There's plenty of things I could say in a negative light about her. However, being in the spotlight is to always be taken with an understanding that there are times when it's inconvenient and inappropriate.

This is one of those times:

The Web site, ParisExposed.com, launched Tuesday. It boasts that it has an array of Hilton photographs, home videos, diaries, love letters, recorded phone conversations and phone numbers of friends and celebrities, all left behind at a Los-Angeles based storage facility.

The items were sold to an unidentified buyer after a third party failed to make payments to the facility, and eventually wound up in the hands of a broker aiming to sell them, Hilton's spokesman, Elliot Mintz, told The Associated Press Tuesday.

I checked out the website hosting all this information and it's so sleazy, beginning with the home page which features the image of a storage center with some of the items that were contained inside scattered around the image of the storage center to entice viewers to 'step inside.'

I started the tour and saw some of what they are advertising that's available but when I got to the topless shot of Paris Hilton, I turned it off. Not because I'm not attracted to Paris Hilton; I just think her mentality is that of a complete snob and that alone turns me off. But that is beside the point anyways.

While searching for more information on this story, I came across my local Fox station and their take on the story.

Hilton had kept all of the material in a storage locker when she moved from one Los Angeles mansion to another in 2004.

When she failed to pay a measly $208 storage bill...

OK, let's stop. Sure, $208 isn't very much to pay for storage. But is there a point in denigrating the woman any further by making it sound like such a chimpy trivial amount of money, that she's a complete idiot for not paying it? People forget and lose track of things all the time but sometimes things happen to people that are unexpected and difficult to recover from.

What if it had been a little more money, perhaps $1000, maybe $2000. For the sake of argument, let's say it's $5000 even. Easy money for Paris Hilton, right? Would it still be a "measly" $5000 since it was Paris Hilton?

What about Army Reserve Specialist Patrick Rogalin? He was serving in Iraq and had his possessions in storage and set up an automatic payment system from his bank account to pay the storage fee. Then someone gained access to his bank account and by the time he knew about it:

...he opened another account and resumed payments on his storage unit.

Rogalin assumed the problem had been taken care of.

No so.

When he returned from Iraq, Rogalin found out the storage company had auctioned off all his belongings last June for nonpayment.

The young reservist said the company had never contacted him to say there was a problem or gave him any notice that his belongings would be sold.

So maybe it's just because it's stupid, blond, bimbo Paris Hilton that Fox feels they can denigrate her for not paying a $208 storage bill. But situations arise and bad things happen. Is it fair to then blame or disparage the victim any further?

FOX doesn't think so. And unlike the AP story I cited above, which tells the basic premise of the story and leaves it at that, FOX continues on with all sorts of details like this:

Paris was obviously a pack rat — saving all sorts of things. Among the random items:

* Prescription bottles for Hydrocodone, a painkiller similar to OxyContin used to manage anxiety disorders, post-party sleep aid Ambien and the herpes medication Valtrex.

* A journal analyzing her booze-fueled dreams.

* Her reality TV co-star Nicole Richie's University of Arizona ID card.

* Sister Nicky's Nevada marriage certificate.

* Several bank statements, including one with an ending monthly balance of just $9.26.

* Home videos she shot of visits with her sick grandmother.

* To-do lists that include an assortment of errands, including a reminder to buy Christmas gifts.

...

Among the hours of video footage on the site is a series of short tapes of a naked Hilton being filmed by Joe Francis, the "Girls Gone Wild" creator, and her former fiancé, Jason Shaw.

Francis tapes the dazed and confused heirhead — first taking off her red bikini top on a yacht in St. Tropez, then later swooshing around in a bubble bath while he begs her to show him her body.

And she doesn't disappoint — eventually hosing off the bubbles.

And on and on and on it goes. But let's stop again. She doesn't disappoint? What the hell - is FOX news trying to be Robin Leach with that statement? That's so cheap and unprofessional but then again, it is FOX News.

And why does FOX feel they need to go into such great detail about all the items that were auctioned off in the first place? Couldn't they have covered the basic run of the story like the AP did and leave it at that? Is it necessary to do the bidding of the people who got the items from the auction and are now charging $39.95 to view them? I mean...it almost sounds like FOX is working in concert with the owners of the website to entice readers of the FOX story to check out the site, sign up and pay for membership just to view this stuff for themselves.

Is there nothing more interesting in life anymore than to air the dirty laundry of one of Hollywood's elite just to make a buck? Oh right - there's nothing in the Constitution about privacy so it must be OK. Yeah, well...I'd like to see one of these FOX reporters have their darkest secrets aired in the light of day.

Yet seeing all the details in the FOX article makes me wonder how they got them. Perhaps FOX News bought a subscription to this website just to get more dirt on Paris Hilton to sleaze up their own reporting of it?

I swear, between FOX News, Good Morning America, and all these other larger media conglomerates, I just wish when you turn on the news, you got...the news. Just the facts. No anchor people smiling and waving to the crowds as if they're these precious famous people who everybody likes. FOX is denigrating Paris because she's a celebrity and yet news hosts, like Matt Lauer, Al Roker, and what's her face (#3 in ratings) all act the same exact way.

Like...they're hottt.

Lastly, what if instead of Paris Hilton losing her possessions for nonpayment of a $208 storage bill, it had been a single mother of two and her most prized family heirlooms were in the storage bin?

Would we get off on that fact since it makes a story? Or would we just overlook that?

Heroes Re-Premier: Who's Your Favorite Hero?

My girlfriend and I have been anticipating the return of Heroes. Well, maybe I've been more eager but we both really like the show and have watched, I think, every episode since it's original premier.

If you've been a dedicated Heroes watcher, you already understand why the show is so addictive, even though we really haven't found out exactly why we must save the cheerleader. But perhaps with the debut, we'll get some more clues tonight. There's going to be a new hero with a new power unveiled as well, so that should be interesting.

I won't talk anymore since, well to be honest, as much as I like the show to take time out to write a short post, I'm not one of these crazed fans who reads up on the site. But of recent shows that have been on the TV recently, I rank Heroes pretty high up there, next to Surface which aired last year. But while you're here, who's your favorite here?