Changes, Take Two...

A while back DC comics announced a semi-sorta reboot of their comic book continuity or reality.  This set the comic world a blaze in argument, derision & declarations of how unfair was to the readers.  There a lot of people who critiqued these new comics months before they were released.  I guess those people could see the future.  Other's swore to never by another DC comic again, hah.  Well, the day arrived & the new comics were released & ta-da, the sells were pretty good.  The stories are new & so for I'm liking most of them.  So much for the roar.

Now, it's Netflix's turn.  Recently they raised their prices, the first time in years & in this economy, that's unheard of.  Hell, every time I buy milk it goes up a few cents.  Now Netflix has decided to split it's mail order & the streaming side of it's business.  Here come the flaming arrows & troll attacks.  Not to mention their renaming their mail service.  Do I think they should've done this? No.  But, I'm not in control of the company.

Mailing DVD's & streaming media are totally different phenomenon.  They require different technologies & costs.  I am not upset with the separation, but I don't think it needed to be apparent to the public.  They are going to offer game rentals, which isn't that big a deal for me, but it might be for others.    Will this new phase work or flop?  I don't know.  I  don't see why it shouldn't.  Only time will tell.  For now, I'll wait & see & hope for the best.  

Seriously, I am tired of the Debbie-Downers & Bitchy-Betties.  At least give something a chance to thrive before declaring it DOA.  Beyond that, where can you find a bargain like Netflix, with the businesses credibility?  The answer to that is, nowhere.   I am hopeful & relatively certain Netflix/Qwikster will survive this bump in the road & continue to thrive.  It's all just about changes & changes they do happen, so just deal already.

Cya

Opinionated...

Not going to be a long post today, just something to bounce an idea off the reader.  My roomie brought the idea that some people are just too opinionated. By that she meant that when someone makes a statement that we are not obligated to stick in our two ¢ on the matter.

The example she used that when a person comes up & informs another that their child has just died in the war, this person wasn't inquiring the second for an opinion.  Neither was it an appropriate place for the second person to interject their beliefs.  This was a time for support, compassion & if the second couldn't muster anything else, silence.

Communication is more than talking & hearing.  It is about genuinely trying to get a point across. Talking is not the same as speaking.  Some people gab all day & in the end say very little, so they just rambled on without communicating.  Others nod their heads & say that they heard you, but they didn't really listen.  They didn't take the time to comprehend what was being said.  

In a world where communication has become more & more indirect & impersonal truly conversing is often difficult.  Texting is not the same as communicating. Neither are one line blips on Facebook or Twitter.  Simply expressing your opinion without really listening to what was being said in the first place isn't communicating.  Constantly expressing your side of things is unyielding & rude.

Are giving your opinion to often?  Can you hold back your 2 ¢?  Or do you feel obligated to spit out your unrequested opinion?

Our Taste For The Questionable

Everyday in the news we are shown how badly people can act.  It isn't that other people don't act well, it's just that on the whole we really don't care about people who arent' misbehaving.

Charlie Sheen is a prime example.  He's partied some hard for so long that he's lost his looks & his teeth.  Now he looks more like this.

Charlie had a lot going for him & still he opted for some seriouslly poor choices. I"m not trying to judge him.  I don't know what's going on in his life, but I will say this type of a behavior is unacceptable for man who has children.  Sadly, as bad as the behavior might be, it's perfect for getting all the wrong kinds of attention.

Between 24 hour news, online tabloids, Twitter & Facebook we now have the ability to know way too much about other people's lives far easier & quicker than we ever did before this age of  twitter hounds.  

Paris Hilton, Briney Spears, Lindsey Lohan & a host of other fallen stars & celebutantes are fodder for the news & our sick desire to see people fall in demoralizing ball of flames.  I don't blame any of the tabloid websites or TV shows.  It's not there fault.  This is a business & we as a people have been willing to pay the seedy side of life for centuries.  As long as people care what this star did to that one in bed, what drugs that singer did with this model's husband or any other garbage being displayed by some sort of celebrity then this business will be profitable & in this economy, any way to make a buck is better than none.

People gripe about this all the time.  They say they don't like this behavior or these actions taken by people they usually have absolutely no association with at all.  If they really don't like it, then they should stop paying to see it, stop buying the magazines or stop supporting the advertisers that supports these shows or publications.  You as a consumer hold the purse strings & you can cut these people off.  Take away the $ & you take away the interest to produce these materials.  

Do I think that will ever happen?  No. This will never happen because most people are actually pretty base & enjoy the perverse as long as it's not too near them.  It's their spectacle, their circus & they're nothing more than a immoral mob waiting to see the next car wreck.  As long it doesn't affect them personally they'll cheer it on & call for more, more sex. more drugs, more blood, etc...  The media is the coliseum of the modern world & the people shown are little more than would-be social gladiators getting thrown to the lions.