DVD. friday night lights

a couple years ago a couple friends and i went to see the movie 'friday night lights' because we had heard such good things about it. it turned out to be ok. im not really that into sports movies (well, except 'field of dreams', but thats a requirement of all guys).

this past tv season nbc decided to make an hour long drama based on that movie, and the book of the same name that inspired the film. i heard about it and quickly dismissed it. i didnt really care for the film, so why should i give the show a chance? after the show got fair ratings i figured it was an easy choice since nbc would probably cancel it anyway. it turns out that nbc renewed it for next season, not because of ratings, but because they believe in the show. strange, huh?

fast forward to this week. i kept reading reviews of the show all season and each one was glowing about how great the show was. it just came out on dvd this week and it seems that nbc is really getting behind the show. they are selling the first season (22 45 minute episodes) for only twenty bucks, and on top of that, they are offering a money back satisfaction guarantee that if you dont like the show they will give you you twenty bucks back.

i just so happened to find myself in a circuit city yesterday and decided to take nbc up on the offer. last night i watched the first 4 episodes, and i must say, it is a lot better than i had anticipated! the focus is well balanced between football and the relationships of the towns people. the acting is good, and the writing is refreshingly believable. ive got 18 episodes to go, but at this point i dont think ill be sending it back...

WEBSITE. thinkgeek.com

after jeffry lee introduced me to this website, i spend some time rooting around and checking out what they had to offer. the site is really cool, its mostly for people who like unique stuff thats kind of geeky. for example, they have a little thing you can attach to your faucet, it has led lights that make the water coming out look red. cool, but geeky. they also have tee shirts with the transformers logo that lights up. totally rad, but geeky. and there in lies the fun. these things are strange, but at the same time kind of cool!

i decided that i needed to get some nintendo stuff, so i got a 5 inch yoshi action figure, and a little fire mario figure on a block that when you push him, the box makes noises from the game! i have decided that i am going to use this thing all the time in my classroom! oh, the kids will get so annoyed with me! but really, isnt that what teaching is all about?

GAMES. sales figures

its no secret that i am a fan of nintendo. im not just a fan, im one of those people who would be considered a 'fanboy'. what i mean by that is that what ever nintendo puts out, i will buy. the flip side of that fact is that i also care very little for xbox or playstation. now, the life of a nintendo fanboy was a hard path to travel a couple years ago. in the last console race the gamecube did horrible. the playstation 2 blew away all the competition.
when it was time for the companies to begin releasing their next gen consoles, and it was expected that sony would blow away the competition, and actually had many people wondering why nintendo was even in the hardware business anymore.
then something strange happened. nintendo presented its next console to the world: the wii.
as it turned out, they werent out of the race just yet. now, a little over 9 months later, the wii has just surpassed 10 million sales. this is really impressive because the xbox 360 has only racked up about 11 million sales, and it was released a whole year earlier. heres the best part though: the playstation 3, which was heralded as the 'best of the next gen gaming consoles' has only 4.2 million sales. (by the way, the stats come from this site)
all is right in the world for a nintendo fanboy, as it should be.

TV. relationship builders

lately there have been a couple shows on that are quite interesting. the two shows that have caught my interest are vh1's 'the pick-up artist', and 'scott baio is 45 and single'. both are kind of lame reality shows, but there has been some aspects about them that have brought up interesting ideas about how to build and keep a healthy relationship.

'the pick-up artist' is a vote-off show a la 'survivor', but in this particular show the contestants are a bunch of shy guys trying to learn how to talk to and relate to women. at its core its somewhat superficial, but the ideas brought up are cool. it deals with getting over nerves, instructs the contestants how to start conversations, and how to actually listen to what others are saying. the host/judge is a guy nicknamed 'mystery', and he teaches the guys how to be confident and comfortable with themselves and around others. most of the contestants are very nerdy and hapless in social settings. this show has a big potential to become lame, but so far it has been really interesting to watch.

the other show, 'scott baio is 45 and single', has a similar theme. baio has been a swinging bachelor all his life, caring little for the women he sees (by his own confession). he is scared to death of commitment and marriage, but he feels it is time to start dealing with that and settle down with someone. the show follows him as he hires a life coach and works through different exercises to better himself and come to a place where he can accept the next step in his life. one of the exercises was visiting with old girlfriends and asking them what he did wrong, and how he can improve himself. it is fun to watch his journey because he doesnt put up with his therapists bull, but is willing to admit when he is wrong and she is right.

its always insightful to learn more about how we as people relate to each other.