Sunday, August 23, 2009

MOVIE MARKETING MISTAKES

I don't know if the rest of you have noticed this, but the folks marketing movies are using scenes that are NOT in the movies themselves in the trailers. I recently saw District 9 & I remember seeing the trailer a couple of weeks prior. There was a scene where the "Alien" Christopher was being interrogated about how the alien weapons work. He also spoke & the translation said "we just want to go leave" This scene was NOT in the movie copy I saw! Perhaps it was a deleted scene, but if so, it should not have been used in the trailer.

The same thing occurred with another movie I saw: Julie & Julia. The trailer contained a scene between Julia & the owner of the Le Cordon Bleu where the owner says to julia "You will never be a french chef" (I don't want to tell you the wrong bit of dialogue- I'm not sure of the actual phrase) As the Owner walks away, julia gives her a razz berry. In the movie, the scene occurred but the dialogue was slightly different & julia made the razz berry noise AFTER the Owner left the room!

I dislike this tactic. I want the trailer to show me enough of the actual film to get me interested in it, not in deleted scenes that aren't in the final version. What stops someone from making a trailer that doesn't even remotely resemble the film? Marketing is NOT serving either the movie industry or the public by continuing this type of behavior.

Friday, August 14, 2009

Review: Verizon Range Extender

I purchased a Verizon Range Extender from my local Store, after looking online and talking to the reps by phone. I have Awful Reception in my house (not surprising, since I live in a Butler Prefabricated Building-Made of Aluminum) The Unit is about the size of an external hard drive and comes with all the cables needed to hook it up. It needs to be placed near your router & has an Antenna (the size of a Tiger Balm tin) on a 25 ft. cord that has to be placed on a window.

The Range Extender works by connecting to your Broadband Connection (FIOS) & when in use it uses a small part of your Bandwith to act as a Repeater, Dramatically increasing reception. It has some limitations- it will handle up to 3 cell phones at a time & there is another dedicated channel available for someone to call 911. It has the capability to store up to 50 numbers as "Priority" numbers. This is Programmable. Three (3) numbers automatically have priority over other calls.

The Retail price of this unit is $200.00, quite pricey for what it does. I believe it will come down as more folks see it's advantages. I was able to reduce the price to $174.65 by combining a group discount and I have a couple of phones on my account. Now for the Meat:

Yes, it really does the job! Now, when I make a call anywhere within range, I hear a short 2 tone beep and my connection is 4 bars. The calls are crisp & clear. I will tell you that it only works for voice calls- data (Txt, Pics,etc..) aren't helped at all. I hope they will correct this in the future- it would really make it more useful.

I am a Verizon customer. I have No financial interest in the companies involved. I bought & continue to use the product and have not recieved any form of compensation. My review is my Opinion only and I am responsible for it (as I am for much of the rest of my life as well)

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Some Remarks about a new NBC TV series: TRAUMA and a completely unrelated note about BLOGGER.

I went to see Julie & Julia today at a matinee. I highly recommend it. It's a chick flick to be sure, but Good! What I'd like to say a few words about is the Ad for the upcoming NBC TV series Trauma. First, marketing your TV series in a movie theatre feels too much like the very TV commercials everyone HATES!!! Bad Move! Second, about the previews, I've been in the TRAUMA game for much of my Adult life, both as a volunteer & as a working Professional. Some Observations:
-If I am ever in the middle of exploding cars without Gear- I'm in the Wrong Place!
-I actually have been in the middle of a gunfight & I can tell you: I was in the Wrong Place!
-running away with a patient in one hand, shielding my face with my (short sleeved shirt) hand as the Glass is Flying=Wrong Place!

Many folks think EMS is like that & almost nothing is further from the Truth! & as you know if you are reading this blog-this truth is free! It has all the boring parts of every job I've ever had, bad bosses, bad partners, too many hours, BS up the Wazoo etc... I've also had (& have) Great Partners, Great Bosses and I've gotten to do a Lot of things most other people never will! My Objection is that kids are going to see this & think: WOW! That's the job for me!

-Trust me when I say this: WE DON'T NEED YAHOO'S OUT IN THE STREETS!!! Have I done some Cool shit? Yes! Will I in the future? Seems Reasonable. but as you work here long enough, the real message should be: I want to do my job to the BEST of my Ability. I also want to go home, intact, at the end of the day. I don't want to Trade my Life for someone else's OR get so injured that I will have to Retire early & live, in pain, the rest of my life.

Like it or not, There are 3 rules in EMS that are Universal:
Rule #1- PROTECT YOURSELF!
Rule #2- PROTECT YOUR PARTNER!
Rule #3- PROTECT YOUR PATIENT -if doing so won't involve breaking Rules 1 or 2!

I will NOT stand in between you & whomever trying to Kill you! I won't let my partner do it either! If I can Grab you & Go- That's what I'm doing! If you want to leap off the GW Bridge and I can't Talk you out of it, you will be leaping by Yourself! I have a deep and Abiding Love of Life! and I don't want to give it away!

I have appropriate Protective Gear and I WEAR IT! You only have had to be in the middle of only 1 car wreak, protecting yourself & patient from flying glass as the Fire Department cuts the car to extricate you and have to take Multiple showers afterward to get all the slivers of Glass out/ away from your skin to learn that lesson! No Joke!

*********************Comment about/ to Blogger*************************************

Why is it that I can't change the size of my fonts? I so Totally enjoy seeing everyone else do it and supposedly I can when I post but those buttons don't work! And compounding the Problem, is your Absolutely Piss-Poor help site! I can't find my issue in the FAQ and I can't find who to ask! So I have Resorted to Blogging about it in order to GET YOUR ATTENTION!!! Fix the Problem(s) O.K.?

Wednesday, August 05, 2009

Blocked!

I am on Twitter a lot! I enjoy the Banter, the Bon Mots, the funny Observations etc... I follow a bunch of folks who are Interesting but recently found that one of them has Blocked me! Me? I can't quite get my head around that, I am one of the more innocuous people I know but obviously I caught someone the Wrong way. I formally Apologised to that person as a tweet & hope they read it but if they don't- Cie la Vie- Life goes on. I hope anyone who reads my blog is well, healthy and in Good Spirits as I am, perhaps because I am keeping myself busy & being mildly productive. If you would like to look me up on Twitter go to http://twitter.com/yknot