This is a nice chart and all, but can someone calculate the…

This is a nice chart and all, but can someone calculate the inflated importance of a college degree vs. job value over the past three decades? (or maybe this chart does that and no one wants to admit it?)
(chart from Charts: College Tuition vs. Housing Bubble vs. Medical Costs » My Money Blog.)
DVD New Releases – 8/31/2010
These are my DVD and Blu-Ray picks that are getting released this week.
- Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy - The Rich Mahogany Edition - One of the most quotable of Will Ferrell’s movies is being offered in this Best Buy exclusive featuring a 12 pack of trading cards and “The Many Months of Burgundy” journal.
- The Evil Dead (Limited Edition) - The classic Sam Rimi and Bruce Campbell debut gets a high def release. (It’s Evil Dead…what else can you say?)
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The Best Of Soul Train (3 DVD)
- Just a glance of the description makes this purchase irresistible: “…exclusive performances by The Jackson Five, Marvin Gaye, The O’Jays, Smokey Robinson, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Sly & The Family Stone…the original dance styles and scene-stealing fashions…the Soul Train Dance Line and the Soul Train Scramble Board….Barry White on stage performing with a full orchestra…Marvin Gaye and Don Cornelius playing one-on-one basketball with Smokey Robinson refereeing…”
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I Think We’re Alone Now
- A documentary about Tiffany fans doesn’t seem that big a deal. Except she was a pop singer in the 80’s and this film was made in 2008 about two people who are her biggest fans. It gets weird. This was a hit at Fantastic Fest that year. (Technically this came out last week, but it hit my radar today.)
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FlashForward: The Complete Series
- I had several episodes of this show on my DVR when in got canceled. I’m afraid to watch the “complete” series lest it leave me thinking they never had a chance to actually complete it. Did anyone watch it to the end?
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Expendables 2: Zero Heroes
- What a coincidence that a few weeks after a movie called The Expendables slams the international box office that this DVD collection of four low budget 80’s movies (including a 1989 movie called The Expendables) — none of which has more than 100 votes on IMDb — finds its way to the release lists. It does include Cobra Mission which starred John Wayne’s son Ethan Wayne.
If you’re looking for cheap Blu-Ray discs, Warner Brothers has a sale this week.
My mom is laughing to beat the band. (comic strip from…

My mom is laughing to beat the band. (comic strip from Today’s Zits Comic Strip - ArcaMax Publishing.)
…and here’s a bonus Tommy Wiseausaurus that @Molly23…

…and here’s a bonus Tommy Wiseausaurus that @Molly23 posted to go with her hipster dinosaur collection.
Check out @Molly23’s hipster dinosaurs. The first one…







Check out @Molly23’s hipster dinosaurs. The first one (“Vampire Weekend”) reminds me of Comeau in SCOTT PLIGRIM VS THE WORLD. I think I need to go see that again.
(If you didn’t already know, Molly Lewis is a great ukulele-playing singer-songwriter that has opened for the likes of Jonathan Coulton, Paul and Storm, The Presidents of the United States of America; is now a regular at w00tstock; and has her own trading card.)
“Tried to build up good b-day karma by paying for the person behind me at Starbucks. Have ruined said…”
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twitter post from @karolinatx
At least you recognize the circularity of your plight, and highlight the manner that technology is destroying our souls.
The Apple Jam Shop is making these awesome stickers for iPhones…

The Apple Jam Shop is making these awesome stickers for iPhones and MacBooks. Check out stickers and decals for your gadget by apjam on Etsy.
Sharing xkcd cartoons is like telling people what the weather…

Sharing xkcd cartoons is like telling people what the weather was like yesterday*, but this idea passes through my mind almost daily since my wife and I started living together. It’s such a weird thing that her presence is sufficient to calm my mental atmosphere, and that always seems noteworthy.
(comic from xkcd: Falling Asleep)
* Everyone who cares already knows, and no one else cares at all.
“This week, Frank is opening a miniature drive-in movie theater in the back of the space at…”
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This is exciting news. Trailer food and movies sounds like exactly the kind of mash-up I can get behind. (…and those Wondercraft gals are the bee’s knees.)
Read more at East Austin food trailer park adds drive-in movie theater | Relish Austin.
DVD New Releases – 8/24/2010
These are my DVD and Blu-Ray picks that are getting released this week.
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Lost: The Complete Collection - This is it! You can get the complete enigmatic TV show in a special edition case with an ass-load of extras OR you can forgo the full disc of never-before-seen content, special edition collectible Senet game as seen in Season 6, custom LOST island replica, exclusive episode guide, collectible ankh, and the black light pen light; and just get Lost: The Complete Sixth and Final Season
to add to your existing set.
- The Simpsons: The 13th Season - When they eventually cancel “The Simpsons”, will they offer a “complete collection”. Since the complete “Lost” is MSRP $280, does that mean the complete “The Simpsons” would be over $1,000?
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Death Note Collection (Death Note / Death Note II: The Last Name)
- When they showed at Fantastic Fest 2007 most of the manga/anime fans had already seen these live action movies. They aren’t great cinema, but they are beautifully shot and did a good job of integrating CGI, so a Blu-Ray release makes sense.
- George A. Romero’s Survival of the Dead (Ultimate Undead Edition) - With Romero in attendance when it premiered to moderate reviews at Fantastic Fest 2009, the line of whether you liked it or not seems to fall on your adoration of zombie culture. Zombie fanatics just wanted more zombies, but non-fans thought it had a decent story.
- Time Bandits - Finally a US release of Gilliam’s hilarious time-traveling pirate dwarves on Blu-Ray!
- The Long Good Friday - This was not the career starter for neither Bob Hoskins nor Hellen Mirren, but it was a big movie for them both. It’s great to see it finally get a US Blu-Ray distribution.
- Ninjas Vs Zombies - There should be enough free time in my life to take a chance on something like this.
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The Pixies: Acoustic & Electric Live - This Blu-Ray release combines two previous DVD releases. I saw Loudquietloud - A Film About the Pixies
on Netflix last week, and I may only love it, and be looking to buy this Blu-Ray, because I am part of a generation that loves the Pixies.
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Flight of the Conchords: The Complete Collection
- Look! They found one thirty minute special to entice you to buy FotC again! Then they’ll wait a few months before releasing the Blu-Ray versions.
I can’t laugh at this person, only with them. We have a…

I can’t laugh at this person, only with them. We have a couple tribal stories of a similar nature. @BOsmon, @FayreneSmith, and Laura J one night came up with a business idea where they would work as the middleman(woman?) helping homeowners find plumbers, electricians and handymen. (It’s called a “contractor”.) After a string of helping friends with stalled or stuck vehicles, @KellyMc and Peter E came up with a business plan where they would be available, for pay, to take their truck and tow cables out to help stranded strangers. (It’s called a “tow truck”.) Sometimes the best ideas have already been thought of, and you just forgot about it.
(Image from Could this be the dumbest forum post ever?)
There’s a new version of TrueHDR that supports the iPhone 4…

There’s a new version of TrueHDR that supports the iPhone 4 (along with other enhancements.) The pictures look better, but it still works better in conjunction with Camera+ (which Apple yanked from the app store, btw.)
“@theshowerciara what do you do when your best friend asks you out, then says he texted the wrong…”
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This has to be made into a cheesy Disney movie RIGHT NOW! Someone get Miley Cyrus’s agent on the phone.
I played around with TrueHDR for the iPhone, and tested it with…

I played around with TrueHDR for the iPhone, and tested it with Camera+ vs the built-in iPhone camera app.
DVD New Releases – 8/17/2010
These are my DVD and Blu-Ray picks that are getting released this week.
- The Good, the Bad, the Weird - Everyone should see this movie. It is an amazing homage to classic spaghetti westerns, yet it is complete as a stand-alone action/western. This is why Koreans may soon rule international cinema.
- Red Riding Trilogy - Wide critical acclaim and a Rotten Tomatoes freshness rating of 85%, but I have avoided seeing this in the theater. I’m glad it got a disc release before Oscar season (though I’m not sure how it would fit the Academy’s category restrictions.)
- Skellig: The Owl Man - Since this has pretty much only aired on European TV, I haven’t seen it; but I Iike Tim Roth, LOVE Kelly McDonald, and I’m partial to movie adaptations of children’s books. It’s going in the queue.
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Cougar Town: The Complete First Season
- Whatever reason you have for not watching this TV show doesn’t change the fact that it’s hilarious. Featuring the lady power trio of Courteney Cox, Christa Miller and Busy Phillips, it brings the funny that’s been missing from sitcoms.
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DOA: Dead or Alive
- This is one of Becky’s favorite bad movies. It has a lot of girls kicking ass in absurd ways, but I’m guessing she won’t push for a Blu-Ray upgrade.
- Furry Vengeance - I know Becky wants me to buy this one, but I think we’ll wait for the deluxe edition.