Television... the change has done me good.

I watch all my TV on the Internet now. Two years ago I had no idea what Hulu, Sidereel, or IMDB were. Cable was once our means of access, but the times they are a changin'.

It can be frustrating to learn how to use these formats, especially given that they have a horrid tendency to experiment with the commercials, making them more annoying and less avoidable. Sidereel carries links to video sites on which you can watch your shows, but be forewarned: Not all links are safe, or connected to the correct episode let alone the show you are attempting to view. Some links will try to divert to media unsuited to a PG audience though not often in my experience.

Hulu.com pauses for commercial breaks at least on the free site. Sidereel has them on each page as you search for your content, and more and more they block the controls so they play at volume with no pause enabled.

On Sidereel.com you are given links to the actual video hosting sites such as Videobb, Megavideo, and several others. Each has its own faults and querks, making viewing either a hassle or an even bigger hassle depending on if you choose to pay for their services or take the free, but much more heavily commercial route. Videobb has begun running commercials before the video begins that are not stoppable, mutable, or vaguely endurable... Any attempt to abort their play, re size the screen, pause, or otherwise change the experience usually winds up getting them restarted all over again.

Free is free though so I guess I'll live with it until I can afford better.

Also the free services are timed, normally they time out around 72 minutes. (The exception is Hulu which will play non stop.) After they timeout there is a waiting period also usually 72 minutes. Using careful planning one can switch to the other provider to weather the wait time while still viewing your show. Plan on utilizing your right to fast forward by clicking ahead on the load line at the bottom of the screen.

Quality of the video is varied and may cause swearing and switching to other links... audio probably will drag on a few links, and some are grainy in the video department. Hulu is normally very high quality but the commercials are mandatory.

One of the perks to these services is the library of videos available. Not all TV programs are there, but you will be surprised by the number of old programs at hand. New shows vary as to how soon the become available. A few are next day. Others are anywhere from a week to a month later. The CW is one (As far as I know) that is only available on their own Website.

Has Hollywood thrown in the towel? Have they no readers to dig through the huge pile of published work that authors produce? Is it possible that the persons in charge truly believe that financial salvation rests solely at the bottom of a re-make well? There are some notable exceptions, but every day seems to add more films or TV shows from the past to the growing list.

Re-making anything that once had John Wayne in it is sick and wrong. He may have only portrayed one role in all of his films, but that role should not be defiled. I have heard the new "True Grit" is really quite good and yet I will never see it. At least not on purpose or on my own dime. Never say never and all that.

The question is not can it be done better, but should it be attempted in the first place. I am sure that given the level of todays CG even "Star Wars" could be improved visually... it does not mean it should be re-made.

There are shelves filled with volumes of film fodder... please someone teach them to read!

Back in the game.

It has been a while since I blogged my brains out... here's hoping there are enough left to squeeze some sense out of....

I now have a short story in print, one soon to be a downloadable story, and another short due out later this year.

My writing has been in hiatus, actually that is a lie, my life has been on hiatus since March of 2011. That is when I got fed up with the Job and tried to apply for Vocational Rehabilitation. They sent me to a Doctor. He sent me for some tests....

After two MRIs, one CT scan, an xray, and a partridge in a pear tree... I was told I should file for disability. My working life as I knew it had come to an end. My spine is a mass of ruptured and protruding discs, I have Emphazema, and my attitude sucks. The last were my words not the Docs. Oh, the nice Doc also told me I had lung cancer two weeks before I took the test that I apparently passed well enough to get an upgrade to Emphazema. I wish I had studied harder. Maybe I could have gone all the way to old and short of breath.

I applied for disability and was allowed on the first try. It was also in the minimum amount of time possible. Leave it to me to get disabled correctly....

Well I think I have delved into self pity and ranted enough for one blog post. Now that it is out of the way I can create a proper post. One with wit and humor, ya right.