I know it is the age of the remote, but anyone will agree that it has reached ridiculous levels. Hah! I have to keep a separate side table for all my remotes. In this day and age, every electronic device and almost every appliance comes shipped with a small box (remote) that fits in your hand. Its almost as if there is a secret war going on vying for the real estate that is your palm. On an average, every household has a bare minimum of 4 remotes. Most times I find myself using the wrong remote for the wrong device. Even fans come with remotes ,sheesh!
The Universal remote was touted to be the solution for this quaint problem of plenty, but we all know how that turned out to be in practice. The Universal Remotes that are sold in most stores are next to useless, it is cheap, but what is cost when one cannot use the remote effectively. Yes, there are some sophisticated Universal Remotes that addresses this problem of plenty quite effectively, and some can even be programmed to accept and control new devices as and when you buy them, they can be programmed for every device that would possibly need a remote. But they are bulky, complex to use, and they are not exactly cheap either. That puts them out of us commoners' hands.
Till the day comes when the prices of these 'Universal Remotes' come down to acceptable levels, all we can do is keep juggling the remotes in our hand to find the right one to switch on that damn TV.
-end of post-
This is an article by Home Theater Enthusiast Steve Jenkins.
When I first starting enjoying the home theater experience, I noticed that my family and I frequented public movie theaters less and less. Now, we almost never go to public theaters - and when we do, I really miss being at home.
So I thought it would be fun to create a list of Reasons Why I No Longer Go To Public Movie Theaters to help those of you who are interested in building your own home theater (usually guys) convince anyone standing in your way why a home theater is a good thing.
So here it is, here are the reasons I no longer go to public movie theaters:1. You show up 45 minutes early to find the perfect seat in the center of the theater, and someone taller than you shows up 5 minutes before the opening credits and sits right in front of you. If you're really unlucky, he's wearing a huge hat or he/she has a hairdo that blocks half of your line of sight to the screen.
2. The guy who shows up late looking for a seat in the dark and then asks you to move over one seat so he and his girlfriend can sit in your row - knocking you one seat away from the surround sound sweet spot.
3. The noisy girl right behind you who keeps asking her boyfriend "What's gonna happen next?". Sometimes, noisy girl keeps talking about things as important as 'What her friend said about her seating arrangements when SHE came with HER boyfriend'.
4. The noisy guy right behind you who keeps announcing what's going to happen next - even if he's not asked by his noisy girlfriend. Or the noisy guy who finds the movie theater, of all places to be romantic. Or maybe he is just in the mood for some groping.
5. The kid sitting one row in front of you who orders a sugar-high glazed donut with chocolate, lots of it, and it starts "kicking in" about half an hour into the movie.
6. The guy near the front of the theater who uses a camcorder to make a bootleg/pirated tape and keeps the bright back-lit viewscreen wide open.
7. Noisy teenagers who laugh, talk, whistle or make other noises at inappropriate points of the movie.
8. Grown men who assault the aforementioned teenagers instead of talking to the manager and/or asking for his money back.
9. Kids who sit behind you and kick the back of your seat.
10. Parents who let their kids kick the seat in front of them, and then who give you that "how dare you talk to my kid ?" look when you ask their kid to stop.
11. People who remain standing during the previews.
12. People who talk during the establishing shot (first few moments) of the movie.
13. People who ignore the "please turn off your cell phone" message during the previews and who think that bending over while taking a call will somehow magically render their conversation imperceptible to everyone else in the theater. This is even more annoying if they've added blinking lights to their phone's battery, case, keypad, etc.
14. What used to be enjoyable previews are now replaced by 30 minutes of commercials - which you can get at home.
15. The movie soundtrack sounds vastly inferior to a good home theater audio setup.
16. You can't adjust the volume in a public theater.
17. If you have to go to the bathroom at a public theater, they won't press PAUSE and wait until you return.
18. The guy who comes back from the bathroom and then wants to know (in graphic detail) what he missed, and then gets mad at his girlfriend for not being able to remember.
19. Unregulated 'I came first' gouging at the food counters.
20. The other line at the food counter always moves faster.
21. That awful sound your shoes make as you walk across a sticky floor.
22. The people in front of you who barely see 5 minutes of the movie because their faces are stuck together the entire time.
23. Public movie theater seats are nowhere near as comfortable as home theater seats - especially if you have leather recliners.
24. The awkward battle over who gets to use the shared arm rest.
25. While vacuuming under the chairs in your private theater, you'll often find spare change generously left by your guests!
26. For the price of going to a movie theater, you can buy one DVD or rent at least two.
27. Finding parking is much easier at home, and you don't have to navigate your family through the variety of "hazards" that frequently hang out in movie theater parking lots.
28. In your own home theater, you can tell people to quiet down without fear of it escalating into a fight.
29. In your own home theater, you can take your shoes off without having to worry that someone else will do the same.
30. You can't rewind in a movie theater if you missed something, didn't understand the dialogue, or simply want to see something again.
31. You can't turn on sub-titles to pick up unintelligible dialogue.
32. Parents who bring their 2 year-old baby to a scary movie and who don't leave when it starts crying during loud and/or scary scenes.
33. The inability to adjust the heat or air conditioning in a public theater.
34. The lack of somewhere convenient to put your coat in a public theater - if you drape it on the seat it's bound to fall on the sticky floor.
35. You don't have to take your wallet or keys to a home theater, so you can't lose them on the floor.
36. The mysterious bubble-gum based substances on the bottom of public theater seats that find their way onto your pant leg.
37. You can't guarantee that your favorite movie-time beverage will be available in a public theater.
38. Someone who sounds like they have Tuberculosis usually sits right behind you, and they never cover their mouth.
39. Public theaters don't calibrate their projectors with ColorFacts.
40. Having to save seats for people who are arriving later, and then constantly fighting off others to try to steal them.
41. One word (usually yelled loudly and then ignored by the kid in the projection booth for at least 5 minutes): FOCUS!
If you have an additional reason why you no longer go to public movie theaters, send it to me and I'll add it!
This is the trailer for this summers' biggie movie, 'The Clash of the Titans'. The 1981 mythological fantasy adventure Clash of the Titans is resurrected in this March 2010 remake from Incredible Hulk director Louis Leterrier and veteran writer Lawrence Kasdan. The joint Legendary Films/Warner Bros. production focuses on Perseus (Sam Worthington), the mortal hero made to carry out a series of quests by the gods in order to win the hand of the imprisoned princess Andromeda.
Judging from the trailer, it looks bigger and meaner than 300, my most favorite action movie. Though I personally think that Gerard Butler, the 'Spartan King' would simply have kicked major ass as the hero Perseus, Sam Worthington, who is getting majorly noticed after Terminator Salvation and Avatar, is also a good choice.
The setting of background rock music to these historical fantasy epics has worked wonders. The music simply is fantastic. The 'Damn The Gods' bit is also a great touch, don't you think ?
Well, I am really looking forward to this summer, what about you?
It's sci-fi gaming at its greatest as we get a taste of this truly awesome E3 09 trailer for the upcoming shooter, Section 8. The rate at which the Video Game industry is growing, technologically, and talent-wise, the day isn't far that hollywood is left biting the dust.
Letterman, on the Late Late Late Night Show with David Letterman has given us the Top 10 reasons for all of us to watch the new season of the new edition of the Battlestar Galactica. For myself, the fact that the new BSG was the best and most intelligent television show is reason enough, but for those of you who need more convincing, please watch the cast of the new BSG tell you themselves.
Now, we all agree that these shorts released by Bungie are better than any hollywood movie that has come and gone so far. With the epic material that is the Halo universe, and the sheer amounts of money they have pumped into making a videogame, I am shocked that hollywood hasn't picked up on the franchise still. Watch this video 'short' that was made as part of their advertising, of all things, and you'll understand just what they can do with a full length feature film. My God, just imagine all the possibilities...
