Home > buzz off > Archives > 2006 > July
July 2006
Load up on Lone Star and head to Alto
The Redneck Games are coming to East Texas! Not much else needs to be said, except that there are two categories for the wet T-shirt contest: factory and modified.
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Blu-Ray vs. HD-DVD vs. DVD
So this past week I was able to check out the latest in video technology. Blu-Ray DVDs.
With stand-alone players priced at around $1,000, I was very unimpressed. Sure, it looked crisp and clear, but compared to a standard DVD and home theater setup, I don’t see it worth dropping the extra money. Maybe it was just the movie that was playing, “House of Flying Daggers.”
I have yet to see HD-DVD in person, but I fear the same result, but at least it’s cheaper though than Blu-Ray.
I just don’t think it’s a great enough change in technology to warrant the upgrade. The time between the introduction of VHS and DVD was around 15 years or so. At least with that there was a huge difference in quality. You didn’t have to worry about tracking on a tape, worry about a machine eating a tape, bleeding colors and other things inherently problematic with using tape for video.
The differences between DVD and the two new formats is minimal, in my opinion. You have more disc space to allow for better quality video and audio. Other than that, I see no other reason to upgrade. And to take full advantage of those, you’ll have to buy a high-end TV as well that allows for HD.
So, if you go Blu-Ray, you could easily spend $2,000 so that you can watch enhanced video. Woo. Woo, indeed.
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The Bush/Bono connection
Here’s our president doing his version of Sunday Bloody Sunday. Reminds me of the old Emergency Broadcast Network mash-up of his dad, which U2 used to open up shows on their ZOO TV tour.
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Oh, her…
I haven’t seen that “Rock Star” show yet, because I hate all reality shows that aren’t on VH1 and, quite frankly, it makes me sad to see musicians I sort of used to respect (and let’s not forget Tommy Lee) pimp themselves out like that.
But I just realized that Patrice Pike is on the show. She used to sing for Sister 7 (which was originally Little Sister), which played here in Nac a few times back in the ’90s. I didn’t care for the band so much, but I was always really impressed with her voice, so I guess now I’m rooting for her…
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Random newsbits
Thanks to the wonderful all-too-powerful Patriot Act, if you apply for work at a state agency, they can use the Patriot Act to get access to any part of your Facebook profile, regardless if you have privacy settings enabled or not.
Nac may have a poor excuse for a movie theater, but at least it isn’t closed due to a leaky roof like this one… right?
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Wanna go on a date with Jessica Biel?
Esquire’s Sexiest Woman Alive is auctioning off a date. And it’s all for a good cause.
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Dark Side of the Rainbow
Ever tried to sync up The Wizard of Oz and Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon? It’s kind of tricky. You have to start the music immediately after the MGM Lion’s third roar and, depending on which version of the album (the 1993’s 20th Anniversary re-issue edition has some slightly altered run times) or which edition of the movie (The UK version is shorter because of a different frames-per-second transfer rate) you use, it may or may not work just right.
Fear not. Some has done it all for you on Google Video.
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Remaking Baracus
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Favorite Syd Barrett songs?
Mine’s “Bike.” What’s yours?
Shine on, you crazy diamond
Most headline writers are going to go with “How I wish you were here…” Either way, Syd Barrett is dead.
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W00t!
If you’ve been on the internet for years, this may not be all that new to you.
1337speak (leet speak) is something that annoys many. Don’t know what it is? It’s basically replacing traditional letters when you type with symbols and numbers.
Microsoft has the skinny on it..
So Pirates came out this weekend. Turns out a sequel has already been filmed and will be released next year. Mr. Depp, why must we wait so long to see you in eye shadow again?
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Vote or don’t
You can help choose which slogan enters the Madison Avenue Advertising Walk of Fame. You don’t have to vote for Don’t Mess With Texas, but do you really want “It Takes a Tough Man to Make a Tender Chickenâ€? to take the honors?
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Stuff to do
Get out of the house this weekend.
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Gaming goodness
If you’re stuck in Nac or Lufkin, there is now one more thing to do. University Mall (in Nacogdoches) now has an arcade … with two air hockey tables!
See, this little place called Sebastian’s opened up. It’s a pizza/soup/salad buffet that happens to have an arcade on the side. Most of the arcades they have are old (Sunset Riders, anyone?), but it’s nice to have a place to go to play them.
More gaming news: Analyst rumor, which has yet to be confirmed by Nintendo, indicates the Wii may launch in September, maybe October. Seeing as how it’s set to launch for under $250 (no price has been nailed down yet), launching earlier than Sony’s PlayStation 3 may hurt PS3. That and it’s $500/$600 price tag.
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