The day before yesterday, I put my car online to sell it.  Yesterday, I was happy to see that I had an email from someone who wanted a bit more information about the car.  I actually entertained the idea that my car would sell in only a week.  Today, reality set in with the following:

Hello,

On the other hand I want to inform you that I have in my possession the sum of 16.2million USD. which was recovered from one of our raids on terrorists here in Iraq because they keep most of their money at home for evil activities which they normally get through illegal deals on crude oil….

I immediately jumped on the deal and am now a millionaire.

A couple of days ago, I excitedly connected to the iTunes store to see if they had a Season Pass for the new season of Terminator:  The Sarah Connor Chronicles to find out that it was not available.  Whether it will be or not is up in the air.  The show airs on the Fox Network, and they pulled another great show, House, as soon as it became popular.  So, it is entirely possible that I won’t be able to buy it again for my iPod.  I am becoming increasingly frustrated with the networks’ and studios’ greediness when it comes to how I can view my favorite movies and TV shows.  On the one hand, they complain about loss of revenue through piracy and peer-to-peer sharing of their products, and on the other, they make it difficult or costly for those of us who want to stay on the legal side of the entertainment industry. 

The same day I learned that Terminator:  The Sarah Connor Chronicles  wasn’t available, I found out that the last season of Battlestar Galactica is.  However, there’s no season pass, and it costs $2.99 an episode.  I can guarantee that the DVD set won’t cost that much to buy.  30 Rock, another great show, costs about $15 more for the season than if I buy the DVDs through Amazon.  COME ON!!!  Where is the incentive?  iTunes is only selling the episodes and no extras!  It is digitally transmitted, so the cost should be far less than the DVD version, which requires packaging, warehousing and everything else involved in traditional retail.  I’m not blaming Apple for this crime.  The company is being forced (at least that’s what I hope) to charge these ridiculous fees.  While I’m not a conspiracy theorist, it seems to me that “the industry” is trying to shut down the digital media.  For a while there, I really thought I was going to be able to go completely digital.  Maybe I still will….

Talk about a fantasy film!  Many people have wanted to see a movie with Jackie Chan and Jet Li together ever since their names became common place in the American movie industry, and maybe even beyond that.  The Forbidden Kingdom is a film for those who love a good fairy tale as well as martial arts afficianados.  The film has a feel of “The Neverending Story” meets “The Wizard of Oz” to it.  I really liked it.  

Jason, played by Michael Angarano, is a fan of martial arts films.  He lives in Boston and is friends with an elderly Chinese pawn shop owner, Hop, who supplies him with DVDs.  During this latest visit, he notices an antique staff, which Hop informs him is waiting to be returned to its rightful owner.  After the visit, he’s confronted by bullies who force him to return so they can rob the place.  After a fight where Hop is badly injured, Jason grabs to staff to keep it safe, but is then carried back to ancient China.  After being chased from a village, he meets Lu Yan, who helps him fight off the attackers.  Jackie Chan stars as Lu Yan, the Drunken Immortal.  They then begin an adventure to return the staff to the Monkey King who 500 years earlier was tricked by the Jade Warlord, Colin Chou.  Along the way, they are befriended by Golden Sparrow, Liu Yifei, and meet up with the Silent Monk, played by Jet Li.

I hate spoiling films for people and can never decide what is too much, so this will have to be it for this review.  My movie reviews will be always be bare bones and give the briefest of synopsis.  Can you really call it a review then?  Anyway, if you’ve seen this movie, let me know what you thought of it.

The Forbidden Kingdom

Talk about a small, yet inviting fest…  I first went to the Vaihinger Herbst last year after I moved to Vaihingen.  I had a nice time, ate a lot of good food and enjoyed the live music.  This year I went with a few friends for one big evening.  We seem to be having a cold autumn, so we were very happy to see that Glühwein was on the menu at two of the stands.  It warmed us up just right.  Also, to my delight, the band I enjoyed last year, Splash, was back again for some fun.  They are an excellent cover band and perform songs spanning four decades.  One of the musicians does a very good Elvis impersonation, and the female lead can belt out Janis Joplin with no effort.  As the Glühwein “warmed” us up, we sang along with the band with an increasing volume.  They really noticed us when they sang the Beastie Boys “Fight for Your Right”.  One of the guitarists would point our way with his guitar and smile everytime they came to “You’ve gotta fight, for your right, to Party!”  They even acknowledged our table at the closing.  I think that we’ll all be back again next year

I’ve been gone for awhile and am now thinking of a way to make this a blog well worth a person’s time and energy to come to and read, as well as comment on.  My last blog was a little less thought out and amateurish, at least in my opinion.  This will be better, but then also familiar.  I just can’t give up writing movie, wine and restaurant reviews.  I’m still thinking this through a bit, so expect a few more changes to the look and feel, but I thought it was time to at least write one entry while I do so…