Cloverfield
By You | January 22, 2008
The trailers were suspenseful, enticing, exciting. Promises of amazing special effects — yet another but better version of my beloved NYC being exploded, torn down, bombed, attacked by a giant, unseen monster. Though little detail was available, just the special effects whore in me felt like Cloverfield would rocket to the top of my favorites list.
After seeing this disaster (of a) film all I can say with all confidence that I got more enjoyment and entertainment out of the Tom Cruise pyscho-Scientologist on crack videos than Cloverfield, and those videos were free on Google, not $11.50 a person. Yes, the special effects were amazing. Yes, they came up with new and exciting ways to show Manhattan being destroyed. That’s pretty much where it ends.
No plot to speak of. The plot you could discern was dumb, made no sense, and served only to showcase the special effects. Without really any spoilers — because really, there’s nothing to spoil — the only thing you’re really doing is watching some people you don’t care about navigate the special effects. Other than brief glances at a cool looking monster, you’re told nothing about what it is, where it came from, what happens to it after the small bit of film you’ve seen. Most all of the movie is filmed in that Blair Witch Project style of “reality” jumpy/jerky camera, which has apparently been causing the same bouts of motion sickness in theaters. We had to dodge at least one pile of vomit on our way out of the theater. The name doesn’t even make sense. IMDB trivia says its name comes from the name of the street on which the production company is located. Um, what?
The whole mess is a serious self-indulgent piece of crap that will probably make a lot of money due to clever marketing as opposed to quality movie making. But of course, that’s what our society is about these days. Form over substance. A few clever CGI guys make up a scary looking monster, and all of a sudden it’s a blockbuster movie. It’s sad more than anything else, really. Save your money, or better yet, go see I Am Legend. The special effects may not be as flashy, but they’re cooler and better, and there’s a gripping plot to go along with them.
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Your Own Jewelry Store?
By You | January 7, 2008
Looking to start a business? As long as there are women in this world, there will always be a booming market for jewelry. And what better what to start out than with jewelry wholesalers that have great prices and quality? Cheap Wholesale Jewelry has quite a large variety of sparkly wonders at prices that can’t be beat. Face it, if you want to make money, it’s buy low and sell high.
You’ll be able to do that, too, because it’s not just the prices that make this site different, but the quality of the items. Being as familiar as I am with costume jewelry, you really can see just from the photos that there are some beautiful pieces. For example, these glass rings. I own two very similar rings that I paid $6 each for. These are $18 per dozen. You do the math (because I can’t, really).
So get to it, you entrepreneurs out there!
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Blackberry Curve
By You | January 2, 2008
We were recently issued Blackberry Curves at work. For me, this replaced the model I was issued in 1990-something, and old, good for virtually nothing piece of crap that couldn’t browse the web or make a phone call. I’d stopped using the thing years ago, and instead had my work email all set up to forward to my Treo. One device, all my stuff, no problemo.
But with all the hoopla surrounding this newest Blackberry and the number of people I’ve heard rave about it, I figured if someone wants to hand me one for nothing, I shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth. After two weeks with this thing, I’m convinced that anyone who has love for it clearly has never owned or used a Treo.
Right out of the box, the lack of a touch screen is a gflat out killer for me. Perhaps it’s just what I’m used to, but it’s incredibly frustrating not to be able to just touch what you want. The scroll ball in the middle is uncomfortable, too small, and not as accurate as one would like. The camera function isn’t all that bad, but there’s no way to get the photos off the thing other than to email them to yourself — it doesn’t sync up your camera to your desktop. At least not the way this was configured by the Firm.
As for sortware, the phone came with a zillion pre-inistalled IMing programs — everything from AIM to ICQ — but not much else. There’s the email feature, the phone, and a web browser. I can do all that on my Treo. All that plus add any of the thousands of programs out there that help me calculate tips, map out directions, and look up any business or home phone and address information. All that plus tons of games of my own choice, not one stupid lame-ass 1982 version of breakout that is impossible to play given the scroll ball’s many failings.
I suppose I might like the thing better if certain of the programs and features were not disabled by the above-mentioned gift horse. Still, the lack of good third party programs would piss me off. The counter-intuitive navigation buttons are frustrating. The whole thing just doesn’t do it for me. Get a Treo instead, you won’t be sorry.
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Say Cheese!
By You | December 30, 2007
We don’t have dental insurance at work, and I suspect many out there are in the same predicament. We do have the option to purchase it separately, but as with all things insurance, it never went very smoothly for me. Claims weren’t paid, it was all a big hassle, and at the end of the day I wound up canceling it because it was doing me more harm than good.
So now I was reading about discount dental plans. Rather than deal with insurance crap, you pay a fee, become a member, and have access to all manner of dental procedures at discounts from 10-60%. Sort of like a Costco of tooth care. The website itself helps you compare prices and dentists to find what you need. There’s no paperwork, no uncertainty about whether something is covered. It’s all right there up front for you to make an informed decision. There’s also like 100,000 dentists to choose from. That ought to be enough for even the pickiest customer.
Again, here at Hey You! today, we’re all about saving you money at a time when people generally wind up strappef after the holiday gift-giving season. And now we’re helping you out once again, after eating all those Christmas cookies, you can save on your annual cleaning. Aren’t we helpful?
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Post-Holiday Sales
By You | December 30, 2007
Hey You! Shoppers Rule No. 10 is quite simple. If you at all can, wait until after the holidays to make purchases. The after holiday sales will save you insane amounts of money — some I’ve seen are up to 80% off original prices. Sure, it totally sucks that retailers take advantage of the holiday season, but that’s their job, and I suppose we can’t fault people for wanting to make a living. But we sure can screw them if we save up our purchasing for after the holidays.
As a Jew, this is easy for me, I have very few gifts to purchase (Chanukkah gifts just go to the kids, and as I don’t have any of my own yet, it’s one per customer). If you can’t get around it that way, perhaps exchange small tokens for the holidays and little home made coupons to purchase the big stuff when it goes on sale two days later. Or is that blasphemous? I hope not.
There is, however, one drawback to this plan. Selection. The selection of items may very well be more limited or depleted than pre-holiday shopping. Especially if we’re talking toys and other specialty items. But please, that Wii you couldn’t get because they choked up supply to raise the price, will be more than available the day after Christmas. And cheaper no doubt.
I know this is all very practical sounding — perhaps even humbuggish. Still, if you’re strapped for cash, it’s not a bad way around the problem.
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iPod Accessories
By You | December 27, 2007
Is there anyone out there that can possibly resist the urge to accessorize your iPod just as you would your dog? Perhaps the most important of all iPod accessories are those that protect them from harm. iPods are, after all, quite pricey items, and on their own quite fragile. My particular favorites are the silicone glove type ones that cover the thing and add some cushioning in the unlikely (or likely?) event of a fall.
Aside from the various protection methods, I’m thinking I seriously need this USB travel dock for my second generation shuffle (in orange of course). That might be the most fantastic (and needed) iPod accessory I’ve come across in quite some time.
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Gift Certificates
By You | December 27, 2007
When trying to give this an eyeball rating of some sort, I found it more difficult than any other product or service I’ve thus far reviewed. Mainly, I think, because there are so many pluses and minuses to the giving of a gift certificate, that it is difficult to come up with an ultimate, definitive conclusion regarding their goodness or badness.
On the plus side, we have the convenience factor. You don’t have to wring your hands in angst for hours and hours trying to think of the perfect gift. Rather, you just have to think of a store or restaurant your giftee might enjoy. Gift cards to many store are now even sold in my local supermarket and drugstores, so you needn’t even visit the actual store for one. There is also, of course, internet ordering. Easy as pie indeed.
There are also bank or credit card gift cards nowadays. While this takes all thought process away completely, I really wouldn’t recommend them, with perhaps the exception of a business gift. These cards show SUCH a lack of thought that you might as well just stick a $20 in an envelope and call it a day. Not cool.
Indeed, many think that the gift certificate, even if well chosen from a store to suit the recipient, is plain thoughtless, and hence a big minus. There’s also the added nervousness of the person knowing exactly how much you spent on them. With a gift, unless they’re like my father and look up the cost of everything, you can fudge how much you’ve spent.
You’ll have to balance this scale for yourself. Take into account the recipient, your relationship with the recipient, and perhaps most of all your gift giving history with the recipient. While I would not normally suggest, for example, a gift certificate for Dad’s birthday, Dad knows after so many years I’m tapped out of ideas and enjoys his steak house gift card just as much as anything I could think up, and he still finds it thoughtful. It’s that kind of balancing that’s necessary. The only sure thing is this: proceed with caution.
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Going Somewhere?
By You | December 25, 2007
I find one of the biggest issues to tackle when planning a vacation is finding a hotel that suits my particular preferences and is priced within what I’m willing to spend. Enter Hotel Reservations, a website that allows you to locate hotels, resorts, motels, and all things in between in what looks like almost any world-wide destination. The pricing looks competitive, the site is easy to use, and you can compare pricing and star ranking easily. They also have a nice feature that allows you to search by hotel amenity, such as a pools, pets, and most relevant for me, wheelchair accessibility. All very handy indeed!
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I Am Legend
By You | December 25, 2007
*No spoilers here. Read with freedom from worry!
Yesterday, The Husband and I went to see the highly anticipated I Am Legend. Now normally, when a movie has been so hyped up both in the media and by friends, I will generally wind up disappointed. Not so, however with I Am Legend. This movie was so suspenseful and insane that I almost had to take a Xanax before, during, and after the whole thing. I can’t remember the last time a movie gripped me so tightly from start to finish (or even for more than a few minutes usually).
Yes, I went around and read some of the less than stellar reviews from the “experts,” but only after seeing the movie as is my usual practice. The points are well taken, but as usual, I just sort of have to say screw them — even if my Oscar hopes for Will Smith might be a little far fetched. If you haven’t seen it, go running to the theater. Perfect as a date movie, as there are a lot of hand-grabbing moments. The Husband’s hand was quite sore, in fact, by movie’s end.
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Sleep Number Beds
By You | December 25, 2007
Have you ever tried one of these Sleep Number beds? You know, the ones you always see Linsday Wagner hawking on TV? Have you seen those commercials? She’s so serious about it, so sort of deep throated and concentrated, as if she were delivering a message about world peace rather than a peaceful night’s sleep.
Anyway, I remember trying one at a mall somewhere, you know, that “it’s always fun to lie in bed in the middle of the mall” thing that people somehow can’t resist. The idea is that each side of the bed is an independent air mattress that you can inflate or deflate to suit your sleeping preference. I remember playing around with the thing to find my “sleep number” and feeling the mattress get harder and softer as the numbers went up and down. A fun ride, and not a bad bed either.
At the time, however, I wasn’t in the market for a new mattress, so it just wasn’t in the cards for me. And if I remember correctly, Lindsay hadn’t yet signed on at their spokesperson, so there was no cool connection to the Bionic Woman to be made. I mean, now that it’s a bionic bed by association, that might be a whole different story!
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