Blogging Bookwalter

I tend to watch most movies at home, either from the comfort of my Dish HD satellite DVR or as a Netflix rental (and sometimes, using their Watch Instantly streaming method, when applicable).

Yesterday, the wife and I ventured out with my father & stepmother to see the new Bond flick, QUANTUM OF SOLACE. Watching the coming attractions unspool before the flick, my wife whispered that she wanted to see a couple of them, to which I gave my customary reply: “That’s a Netflix rental.”

So the question is, what justifies a movie not being theatre-worthy?
Read the rest of this entry »

OK, enough with political opinion, it’s time to get back to the good stuff.

I’ve decided to update my home office network, which for the last 2 years has consisted of an Apple AirPort Extreme Base Station with a Western Digital 500 GB MyBook hard drive attached to it. This setup has served me mostly well, being able to store software updaters and other files that I need to share between my main MacBook Pro work setup, my Mac G5 editing system and even my home theatre’s HP Windows Vista box in the living room or the wife’s Powerbook G4 in the kitchen. But now I’m ready to do even more with my network, and here’s why.
Read the rest of this entry »

So the American auto industry appears ready to crash & burn, and the Democrats are at it again, trying to get we the taxpayer to bail their sorry asses out.

Now, what is wrong with this picture?
Read the rest of this entry »

Well that’s a bummer… first the death of America as we know it last night and now author/director Michael Crichton is dead at the age of 66.

Though I’ve never read a Crichton book since The Andromeda Strain as a kid, the guy directed two of my favorite childhood flicks, COMA (1978) and WESTWORLD (1973). And yeah, I totally dug the original THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN movie as well as his later cinematic contributions like TWISTER (co-written with his then-wife, SLEDGE HAMMER! actress Anne-Marie Martin!) and JURASSIC PARK (which was based on his book of the same name).

There’s a full obit at Yahoo News, so check it out. A tip of the hat to a true original!

All I’m gonna say is… I fear for the future of my unborn child. Seriously…

The first Akron Screams! event is now a memory and THE DEAD NEXT DOOR was well-received by those in attendance.
Read the rest of this entry »

Just a quick reminder that the Akron Screams! event is starting tonight at 7 pm, with a DEAD NEXT DOOR reunion on Saturday at 6:30 pm followed by a big-screen showing of the movie at 10 pm to wrap up the show. Akron Screams! is taking place at the Akron Civic Theatre in downtown Akron, 182 S. Main St.

See you there!

MySpace just posted a teaser of the FRIDAY THE 13TH rehash that’s coming (you guessed it) Friday, February 13, 2009. And it ain’t half bad, although really it just looks like a slicker, more expensive sequel than a complete “reimagining” (oh, how I hate that word!). They’re even sticking with a similar music score (at least for this teaser), although really, how could they top that classic theme?
Read the rest of this entry »

Apple’s iPod turns 7 today, although it seems like it’s been with us forever!
Read the rest of this entry »

Last year at this time, I first discovered the Archos 605 Wi-Fi Portable Media Player. As anyone who reads this blog probably realizes, I’m a bit of a gadget nut but most of my media-playing allegiance has gone to Apple’s iPod and iPhone. (I skipped the Apple TV originally because I’m more of a renter than a buyer these days, which has since been addressed. My living room still is without an Apple TV.)
Read the rest of this entry »