Awhile back I posted some statistics on the number of plays I’ve seen/read in the past couple of years. This got me thinking about the number of movies I watch, and although I haven’t been keeping as close a tab on my movie watching, I do have at least one interesting number I can pull from my Netflix account. I have spent considerable time on Netflix assigning ratings to movies I’ve seen, and in return Netflix recommends movies it thinks I will want to see.
This number isn’t complete, but I’d say it is a good ballpark figure to use for the number of movies I’ve seen in my lifetime (at least the ones that have made it to DVD). Based on my Netflix ratings, I know I have seen a minimum of 1372 movies (for easier math we’ll round up to an even 1400). If we assume an average running time of 2 hours, this means I have spent a minimum of 2800 hours (or more than 116 entire days) of my life watching movies.
I saw a hit-and-run, yesterday. It happened right in front of our apartment. Someone in a big, black SUV was trying to turn around, and backed right into the corner of a parked car. Crunch! I saw it happen. They saw me see it happen. So what do they do? They drive off as if nothing had happened. It was very frustrating because my hands were full of grocery bags, and the angle was such that I was unable to get the license plate number. The big-ol’-SUV wasn’t damaged, I don’t think, but the parked car now has a dent on the front corner. I don’t know who owns the car, but I hope their insurance doesn’t give them any hassle.
While shopping for a new toothbrush today, I discovered a new line of eco-friendly toothbrushes from a company called Recycline. Everything about the toothbrush is ‘green’, from the handle made from 100% recycled plastics, to the packaging which doubles as a travel case for your brush, to the fact that the entire brush and the package it came in can be returned to the company when you’re through for 100% recycling.
Recycline also partners with Stonyfield Farm Yogurt (my preferred organic brand, actually) as a source of the plastic recycled to make the handles. I also just discovered that Stonyfield pledges to recycle any clean Stonyfield yogurt containers that are returned to them (since many places only recycle plastics #1 and #2 and their containers are #5).
Got that? “This Film is Not Yet Rated” is a documentary film about the MPAA movie ratings system, a system flawed by the fact that its actions and board are super-secret, yet its members get regular face-time with big movie studio executives.
This film features interviews with several prominent filmmakers who discuss their experiences with submitting their films to the MPAA ratings board, and their frustrations when their films were given an NC-17 rating (which often translates directly into lost $$ due to lack of marketing or even distribution by a movie studio). The film also compares scenes from various films to show the inconsistencies with which the film ratings have been applied over the years. Perhaps most interestingly, the filmmakers hired private investigators to discover the identities of the MPAA board members, and these scenes created dramatic tension, and when the identities are revealed you feel a kind of sneaky satisfaction.
This is a fascinating and yet strangely disturbing documentary that also addresses some of the more general dangers of big business (a small number of companies control distribution of the vast majority of films and therefore have enormous power). The filmmakers outline several flaws in the current system and call for a major reform.
Incidentally, the film was submitted to the MPAA and given an NC-17 rating, but was released to theaters without an official MPAA rating.
Don’t have a place to recycle your inkjet or deskjet ink cartridges? Now you do:
The process is fairly simple. Sign up on the website, print a free mailing label from their website, mail in your cartridges, and they will send you a small check in return.
Last weekend was my 10-year, high school reunion. I made the most of the trip and spent the entire week at home. Kurt joined me for the weekend and the reunion festivities. I haven’t heard the official count, but out of 68 class members, 35 (plus one faculty sponsor) made it into the photo we took. In all it was a lot of fun. Half the fun was just seeing who showed up. Although I have stayed in touch with a few close friends from my class. There were several that showed up that I was quite excited to get reconnected to.
And so, I returned to Columbus, and found an amazing amount of junk mail awaiting me:
*sigh* My only consolation is that the recycling drop-off station near here accepts junk mail.
*****
Okay, Heather, here you go:
Today is National ENERGY STAR Change a Light Day. You can read more about it at the ENERGY STAR website, but consider this: changing a single incandescent light bulb to an energy-efficient bulb can save you $30 over the lifetime of that bulb (both in savings on your electric bill, and in not having to replace the bulb as often). This more than makes up for the higher initial cost.
In honor of today, I replaced a dozen light bulbs at my parents’ house (combined wattage of 820W) with equivalent energy-efficient bulbs (combined wattage of 156W).
