And While Jon Has The Floor...

I've been trying to come up with a post about the shooting in Arizona, but I couldn't quite get a handle on it. And then, I was watching the news and suddenly an angle appeared to me. Just when I was about to write it out, Jon Stewart beat me to it...

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Veiled Criticism
www.thedailyshow.com

More on the iPhone coming to Verizon...

Yesterday, I put up this blog post about Verizon's announcement that they will be carrying the Apple iPhone in February. The basic gist of which is that while it's a cool idea, my life has not really been changed by the announcement. There are other viewpoints out there, and in the interests of fairness I am compelled to post this video as a counterpoint to my earlier comments. It was... a moral imperative.

And now for the rebuttal, I give you... Jon Stewart:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Verizon iPhone Announcement
www.thedailyshow.com

Awesome Commercial Idea

Anyone who owns a tv has seen those Axe commercials. You know the ones I'm talking about where some average looking guy sprays on some Axe spray or uses Axe shower gel or some other product and then is this chick magnet, where women can't help but throw themselves and start grabbing all over him and nuzzling at him. As much as I would love to be that guy, I'm honestly getting tired of those commercials. They are just becoming trite and derivative. What they need is to be a bit more exciting.

Check out this mock commercial for an "Axe-like" product called Saber. This is the type of commercial I would LOVE to see!!

Today Is A Big Day...

Today is a big day. Verizon (Vz) has officially announced that next month they'll start carrying the Apple iPhone. After years of begging, customers got what they wanted and for a brief moment all was right in the universe. We were all basking in the glow of the power of the possibilities soon to be available to us.... And then reality set in. Yes, Vz is going to carry the Apple iPhone. No, this doesn't mean the end of AT&T. Why not? Well, to be completely honest, I don't see many people suddenly switching to Vz next month. Here's why.

First, the Vz iPhone 4 is a 3G phone. One big drawback of this is that Vz customers will not be able to make voice calls and surf the web at the same time. The other major hitch here is because of hardware differences, anyone wanting to switch to Vz will most likely have to buy a new phone. At least until some enterprising individuals write some app to map AT&T iPhones to Vz's network. Given the announced prices, that's going to be about $200 for the phone, plus if you jump ship before your contract is up, AT&T is going to charge you anywhere from $250-$375 in termination fees. So that's almost $600 to get a phone that does LESS than the current phone does on AT&T.

The other reason AT&T shouldn't be sweating Vz getting the iPhone is that they no longer have to shoulder all the data traffic of iPhone users. If my prediction turns out to be completely off (I have a 50/50 chance people!!) and tons of people leave AT&T for Vz, that means a huge chunk of bandwidth is going to be freed up for those who choose to remain, thereby alleviating the biggest customer complaint AT&T seems to get regarding the iPhone.

Now, Vz does have a 4G network, (and there are Vz compatible phones that are 4G) but due to customer impatience, um.. increasing demand, Apple didn't have the time to make the necessary hardware changes to maintain the look and feel of the iPhone while making it compatible to Vz's 4G network. So, it's our own fault because we couldn't wait patiently. As for me, I'm waiting until I can afford the switch, so in about 2 or 3 years, (assuming the world doesn't end in 2012) I'll probably switch to the iPhone. Probably on Verizon, but who knows... maybe by then it'll be available on MY cell phone carrier!

Television Blues...

 

In a previous posting, I mentioned that I love this time of year because all my shows return after their winter breaks, but I find that this January, I don't have the same level of excitement as I've had previously. It took me a little while, but I finally figured out why. This is my first January in 8 years with no 24. I've gotten used to looking forward to January for the Two Night, Four hour premiere of 24. Even the commercials were awesome, and then on the Sunday night of the premiere hearing the announcer (most likely Don LaFontaine) say the words I've been waiting for:

"The new season of 24 starts... RIGHT NOW!"

It was a truly epic moment for me. And what's worse is that I don't have a ready replacement. There just aren't any shows on tv with that same high octane, indomitable energy of 24. While that's the biggest source of my blues, there is another thing I'm missing.

There was a time when all the shows came back within a couple of weeks. If you had 6 shows you watched, 3 would come back on one week and the next week the other three were back. You heard tons of announcements of "premiere week" and other such nonsense, but now everything comes back in drips and dribbles. One show comes back then it's another 2 weeks before another show comes back and so on. I miss that sudden revving up of the television schedule as all the shows come back raring to go and pull you back into action, suspense, melodrama, or whatever.

It's almost like the networks are tired of doing this stuff and are burning out. Given some of the concepts of upcoming shows, I can see their point.

Difference between Thought & Action...

I finally finished Castlevania: Lords of Shadow and it was a good game. The ending was really interesting and I'm eager to see what the DLC packs that Konami are going to release this year have to offer! This past weekend, I started a new video game: Batman: Arkham Asylum.

I bought the game because everyone told me how awesome the game was. (I wish I could have afforded the collector's edition with the Batarang!) It got game of the year, and tons of people (including a large subset of my friends) absolutely loved it. Now that I've finally played it, I can see why. Like Bioshock, Arkham Asylum engrosses you into the events of the game in such a subtle way that I didn't realize I was hooked until I checked the clock and realized that what had felt like 20 minutes of playing was actually THREE HOURS!! And as I played the game, I realized that as much as I love Batman, I had no idea just how difficult it is to be in his shoes.

I remember tons of arguments I've had with many a Superman fan, arguing about the quality of Batman's mind. Not just about it's alleged superiority, but also the subtle manipulations that Batman engages in almost every encounter that allow him to perform as he does. Yet, for all my vaunted knowledge and in depth reading, actually having to perform those same manipulations is another challenge all together. While I'm still just in the beginning of the game, the aspect of the game that I absolutely LOVE is how the game puts you in Batman's mind.

The last part of the game I played was in the Asylum's medical facility where a couple of my choices backfired on me. I had been given a couple of upgrade options and, in typical gaming fashion, I upgraded my armor first, thinking that it would be an advantage in any fights I get into. But that's not Batman's style. If Batman is in the middle of a shoot out, he's lost his main advantage: stealth. At the height of his ability, the only time someone gets to see Batman is when HE wants you to, not before.

And I paid for that mistake, time and time again as I tried to take out 5 guys and ended up getting killed over and over. But rather than frustrate me (as what would happen in most games), this setback actually gave me a deeper understanding of my favorite comic character and just enhanced my enjoyment of the game. It's most likely going to take me awhile to complete Batman: Arkham Asylum, but I'm going to LOVE every single instant of it and when I'm done, I'll have a much greater, more delicately nuanced understanding of Batman and the way he sees the world. 

Here We Are...

Well, it's a new year, and things are already starting to look up. My shows are starting to come back after their winter breaks, and that always puts me in a great mood. Yesterday, Castle came back with a fantastic episode! It was funny, intriguing, and just all around awesome. Tonight marks the season premiere of V, which looks like it's going to be lots of fun this year!!

Lie To Me starts next Mon, and House starts back up on the 17th. I can't wait!!!