June 2012 » Page 2 of 2

Documentaries

June 6, 2012November 9, 2016
by Drew

With all the exercising I’ve been doing lately, I have plenty of time to browse the Netflix queue. I’ve been on a bit of a documentary kick lately and I’ve seen some good ones. Thing is, documentaries nowadays sometimes remind me of the big coffee table books that collect a particular artists paintings on a theme. If you check the slipcover carefully you discover that such books are often the byproduct of some Fine Arts graduate thesis.

I feel like documentaries are the new coffee table book medium. Some do a fantastic job of making their point and driving their idea while still offering some insight into the full story… so they at least SEEM unbiased. Sure, there’s an agenda, but do they go for full disclosure? If so, I’m alright with it.

I watched a Walmart documentary recently, and while it was fairly interesting and I found myself in agreement with most of the sentiment conveyed by the filmmakers, I felt it lacked some interesting detail. Since it purported to be a far reaching and all encompassing portrait of the corporate behemoth, there were some early innovations and even potential cultural contributions made my the consumer goods giant that were never mentioned. Like aggressive fleet tracking, careful inventory management and early adoption of many technologies, some of which would eventually revolutionize retail.

Sure, you can ask for better or worse? You can wonder how I would be coming out as a defender of Walmart. But there is a reality to the “other side” that was ignored. Ultimately this reduces the effectiveness of the presentation.

Life

Semi-hollow

June 1, 2012November 9, 2016
by Drew

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, right now, in fact. I’m no stratocaster guy. I’ve definitely had other solid body guitars that I enjoyed playing, but in recent years I am definitely into hollow bodies, or semi-hollow bodies. A chambered body is nice.

I haven’t played too many Fender acoustic guitars, but they certainly have their redeeming qualities. I suppose, as with any mega brand, you have to pay for quality. I mean, nowadays you can buy Gibbies and Fenders in places like Target and Walmart, so… yeah, you have to watch out.

Start with simple guidelines, like if it comes in a shiny box with a clear plastic see-through window, you should probably pass it by.

Life

The busted fridge

June 1, 2012November 9, 2016
by Drew

Here’s the voicemail you don’t want to get when you’re helping the comic book store peeps move across the street to a new location: Call me back – I think the refrigerator is dead.

And I know everyone means well, but when they say things like “at least it’s Memorial Day so all the appliances are on sale” it starts to wear on your nerves. Sometimes the bright side is a little irritating.

Everybody else is out there shopping for electric fireplaces and patio bug zappers at holiday prices, but not me, I’m the schmuck buying a french door fridge.