Friday, April 21, 2006
UP TO HERE . . .
so...down here there is this service similar to Netflix which will rent you a DVD for pretty much an UNLIMITED amount of time and they usually show up right on the DOT. the COmpany certainly does DOT it's 'i's' and cross it's 't's' but when it comes to sending out those dvds to the people of NZ, i'm afraid they lag in the area of sending out quality disks.
i had had previous problems with their disks skipping endlessly in my dvd player when i initially signed up with them about 6 months ago. i cancelled my account because i can not pay for poor quality and i can not justify that kind of service.
a little while later, i'm notified that they've made changes in their business plan. they have new disk mailers which do a better job at protecting the disks during shipment. they also have a wider selection to choose from now and the list of items to convince me to reinact my account went on. the optimist in me decided to give them a second chance because i'm cool like that...that and i don't really like spending my time wandering around in a video store trying to make a selection from thousands of dvds.
my account is easily reactivated and before long disks start showing up in my mailbox again. i'm excited because it's sort of a crap shoot when you get one of these things in the mail. it's like christmas each day you go to the mailbox and find a disk there waiting for you. that part i loved.
then it happened. a studder, a pause, then little digital squares would stagger erratically across my screen in a stop start heart attack fashion. BAM! the disk jumps back to some previous chapter which immediately thrusts me right OUT of the movie experience. i reach for the remote to play dvd jockey with the scroll wheel to see if i can get through the nasty part of the disk. NOPE! BAM! the disk jumps back to some previous chapter which infuriates me. i get up, open my little sony dvd player, wipe the dvd clean, place it back in the tray and sit back down. hit play, scroll to where i was before and resume my enjoyment...until BAM! a studder and the disk jumps back to some previous chapter. if i cursed, now would be a really great time to let fly with some colorful profanity.
multiply the above experience more times than not during my second go with this company. i decide i can't hang and ultimately cancel my account a second time after being more than patient with this horrendous service. my world is beautiful once again, not as entertaining, but oh so beautiful and stress free.
then from out of nowhere, another disk pops into my mailbox. ah, one that was already in the system before i cancelled. i think "sweet, i'll watch this last flick and i'm done with them". i open the envelope like a happy little 6 year old on his birthday. i turn the mailer over to reveal that it's "The Terminal", that lighthearted film starring tom hanks where he's stuck in the airport for some reason or another. it'll be fun.
you know the routine, lights out, disk in tray, stereo up to about 18 or so, tv to the DVD2 setting, butt on couch and thumb to the play button. entertainment is comin my way and i feel good. company logos light up my screen, a red on black fear warning from the gubberment and i'm staring out the window watching the pretty city lights flicker below. finally the movie begins so i turn my attention back to the screen. i am so warm and fuzzy inside because i'm cuddled in blankets and had a decent meal just prior.
no more than a minute and a half into this film, BAM! a pause, a studder then the little digital squares appeared on my screen in that cute and oh so lovable stop start heart attack manner that i've become so familiar with. i count to 10, unbury myself from my blanket cacoon and do the wipe the dvd dance. back in my blanket burrito, remote in hand, thumb on play i'm ready to watch this movie. i watch the seconds tick by, here it comes...that trouble spot - BAM! i'm immediately off the couch and extracting this disk from my dvd player. i'm looking around the room for something really rough - like the cement bricks that line the interior of my freshly cleaned fireplace. i slap that disk right against that cement block and rub with all the caffeine energy and elbow grease i can muster for the next 15 seconds. it feels really good.
i then spend the next half an hour sprawled out on the hard wood floor snapping countless photos of my new friend looking for just that right picture to remember this lovely occasion by. i hope you enjoy the photo as much as i enjoyed making it for you. why exactlly was tom hanks stuck in the airport anyway?
so...down here there is this service similar to Netflix which will rent you a DVD for pretty much an UNLIMITED amount of time and they usually show up right on the DOT. the COmpany certainly does DOT it's 'i's' and cross it's 't's' but when it comes to sending out those dvds to the people of NZ, i'm afraid they lag in the area of sending out quality disks.
i had had previous problems with their disks skipping endlessly in my dvd player when i initially signed up with them about 6 months ago. i cancelled my account because i can not pay for poor quality and i can not justify that kind of service.
a little while later, i'm notified that they've made changes in their business plan. they have new disk mailers which do a better job at protecting the disks during shipment. they also have a wider selection to choose from now and the list of items to convince me to reinact my account went on. the optimist in me decided to give them a second chance because i'm cool like that...that and i don't really like spending my time wandering around in a video store trying to make a selection from thousands of dvds.
my account is easily reactivated and before long disks start showing up in my mailbox again. i'm excited because it's sort of a crap shoot when you get one of these things in the mail. it's like christmas each day you go to the mailbox and find a disk there waiting for you. that part i loved.
then it happened. a studder, a pause, then little digital squares would stagger erratically across my screen in a stop start heart attack fashion. BAM! the disk jumps back to some previous chapter which immediately thrusts me right OUT of the movie experience. i reach for the remote to play dvd jockey with the scroll wheel to see if i can get through the nasty part of the disk. NOPE! BAM! the disk jumps back to some previous chapter which infuriates me. i get up, open my little sony dvd player, wipe the dvd clean, place it back in the tray and sit back down. hit play, scroll to where i was before and resume my enjoyment...until BAM! a studder and the disk jumps back to some previous chapter. if i cursed, now would be a really great time to let fly with some colorful profanity.
multiply the above experience more times than not during my second go with this company. i decide i can't hang and ultimately cancel my account a second time after being more than patient with this horrendous service. my world is beautiful once again, not as entertaining, but oh so beautiful and stress free.
then from out of nowhere, another disk pops into my mailbox. ah, one that was already in the system before i cancelled. i think "sweet, i'll watch this last flick and i'm done with them". i open the envelope like a happy little 6 year old on his birthday. i turn the mailer over to reveal that it's "The Terminal", that lighthearted film starring tom hanks where he's stuck in the airport for some reason or another. it'll be fun.
you know the routine, lights out, disk in tray, stereo up to about 18 or so, tv to the DVD2 setting, butt on couch and thumb to the play button. entertainment is comin my way and i feel good. company logos light up my screen, a red on black fear warning from the gubberment and i'm staring out the window watching the pretty city lights flicker below. finally the movie begins so i turn my attention back to the screen. i am so warm and fuzzy inside because i'm cuddled in blankets and had a decent meal just prior.
no more than a minute and a half into this film, BAM! a pause, a studder then the little digital squares appeared on my screen in that cute and oh so lovable stop start heart attack manner that i've become so familiar with. i count to 10, unbury myself from my blanket cacoon and do the wipe the dvd dance. back in my blanket burrito, remote in hand, thumb on play i'm ready to watch this movie. i watch the seconds tick by, here it comes...that trouble spot - BAM! i'm immediately off the couch and extracting this disk from my dvd player. i'm looking around the room for something really rough - like the cement bricks that line the interior of my freshly cleaned fireplace. i slap that disk right against that cement block and rub with all the caffeine energy and elbow grease i can muster for the next 15 seconds. it feels really good.
i then spend the next half an hour sprawled out on the hard wood floor snapping countless photos of my new friend looking for just that right picture to remember this lovely occasion by. i hope you enjoy the photo as much as i enjoyed making it for you. why exactlly was tom hanks stuck in the airport anyway?