DVD Storage Times 2

DVD Storage
I watch a lot of television. In fact, I'm no longer a couch potato, I'm more like the state of Idaho. As I've watched, I've collected a series of pet peeves about nearly everything I watch. So what angers this boob about the tube?

Reruns Cut To Shreds — I am a lifelong “M*A*S*H” junkie. When our local station showed the show twice a day, I often caught both, eventually seeing just about every episode at least four or five times. Somewhere in the mid 90s the shows started getting cut to shreds. Hawkeye would be in mid joke or pious speech and suddenly you'd be in another scene. Jokes and scenes I remembered fondly were suddently nowhere to be found. While you can get many of these shows uncut on DVD now, it's a bit sad to have to watch shows cut to bits in syndication. Some shows are now even creating content that can easily be ripped out because of syndication. Kudos to Sleuth Channel for showing one of my favorites, “The Rockford Files”, uncut, even including the episode “previews” that used to precede each show.

Filmlook on Videotaped Shows — I first saw this process of making videotaped shows look like they were shot on film in the early 90s, on an unsold pilot shown in a television class I took. In case you're not aware, videotape and film have a lot different properties. Videotape has a “live” look, with bright colors, sharp picture, and no grain. Film has a more artsy look, with grain, muted colors, and a richer feel. Filmlook adds an obviously fake veneer to stuff shot on video tape, as well as what seems to be a flicker. The result, perhaps best seen daily on “All My Children”, is a show that has none of the good qualities of either medium. It's meant to make the cheap looking videotaped productions look richer. In most cases, they just look cheesy.

Bugs – These are those logos, big and small, that have cropped up like weeds on every network and station that can afford a computer and make you feel like you're watching through a frosted window on the lower right corner of your screen. One of our local stations has one that is so obnoxious, it takes up about an eighth of the screen.

More words than Moby Dick on News Shows — Look honey, there's the news they're telling us at the very bottom. And look, just above that, there's a bit about exactly what we're seeing. And look, right above that, there's a title for the story. And look right above that there's the name of the person they're speaking to. And look above that there is a thing that tells us today's forecast. And look, right above that is the name of the reporter and what he had for breakfast, and…..

You need an Evelyn Wood speedreading course these days just to watch the news. It would be nice just to have them focus on the story at hand and show me a picture.
Sports in Standard Definition — If ESPN can cover Frisbee Golf in HD, then surely ABC can give us an Indy Race in HD. Although it is happening less and less, it is frustrating to flip on a game you want to watch and see that the network couldn't be bothered to shoot in in HD. I bought an HDTV because I wanted to be able to see Shaq's lazy eye better than his opthamologist, not so I could stretch 400 pound linemen into 500 pound linemen on a standard definition game.

“Debates” on News Shows — Do we need more gun control? To discuss further, we have the head of the NRA and a woman who was shot 48 times by a guy who purchased a gun legally from a gun show. This is what passes for debate these days. You get two polar opposites and have them screaming at each other, thus learning nothing about the issue. Jon Stewart summed this up much more eloquently than I did when he was on Crossfire.

Cliches among reporters — The next local reporter who uses the term “like a war zone” to describe the damage done by a storm will be shackled and sent to Iraq. A trip to the inside of the Liberty Bell to act as a clapper is in store for the person who uses the phrase, “shots rang out.” And an athletic supporter over the face of the next sports guy who says, “just look at his athleticism on this play” while describing an athlete. He's an athlete. All professional athletes have “athleticism”. That's why they call them athletes.

“Alleged” Crimes – I understand that this one is a CYA move on most news shows, but if someone is shot 38 times with a bazooka by someone else, they aren't “allegedly” killed. They're killed. The “alleged” part is only for an accused person or the level of severity of the crime. If the crime happened, it happened. Alleged doesn't enter into it.

Cable Networks that Forget Their Reason For Existing — MTV — Music Television. VH1 — Video Hits One. Anyone remember when these channels used to show music and music themed programming? Now they're homes for cruddy reality programming and endless repeats of shows about previous decades. Don't get me wrong, “I Love the 70s” was fun in its first 7 iterations, but isn't it stretching it a bit to have the Olsen Twins reminiscing about 8-Track tapes? The worst offender of all is CNN Headline News. This was the one place you could turn for news every half hour. Now it fills its Primetime lineup with such stellar talents as Glenn Beck and the Southern Satan, Naaaaancy Graaace.

Shows that start or end one or two minutes too late — I have a dual tuner TIVO that can tape two shows at once. Unfortunately, that one minute overlap can kill my ability to tape two shows during an hour because the TIVO's still trying to finish up a show on another network that's late in ending. I know it's a cheap way to try and keep you from changing the channel, but none of us are fooled.

Fox News — 'Nuff said.

and finally……

“Reality” shows — An admission. I loved the first season of “Survivor” and the first few seasons of “Big Brother”. But “Survivor” birthed the most hideous form of celebrity, the reality star, followed closely by the reality star wannabe. Every single reality show, no matter how promising the concept, seems to be populated not by people who want to experience the challenge of being on the show, but by people who want their 15 minutes of fame. And the networks, knowing this, tend to fill these shows with as many gorgeous and empty people as they can find. The result is that every reality show seems to be the same, and “the game” becomes more important than the concept.

DVD Storage

DVD Storage

On the counter, in the cabinets and closets, and in every nook and cranny… clutter can take over your house and your life. People have a lot of stuff. You could argue that people have too much stuff, and that moving to a larger house is the answer. However, when people do move to larger houses, they usually get even more stuff.

Lack of space is not the reason for most clutter. Instead, it is a lack of organization that creates the jumble of stuff in your home. You might have heard the phrase, “A place for everything, and everything in its place.” That is the ultimate mantra for getting rid of clutter. These top five tips will help you do it.

1. Mail Handling

Position your mail center directly next to your garbage and recycling bins. When you bring the mail in from the mailbox, do not just lay it on the counter. Immediately leaf through the pile and throw out or recycle and junk mail and unwanted magazines and catalogs.

2. Entertainment (Movies, CDs, and Books)

DVD and video movies, music CDs, and books can create a lot of clutter and take up a lot of room. You can store these most efficiently with various shelves and racks that are created just for them. Some DVD and CD racks can even be hung right on the wall.

3. Containers for Counters

Wide-open flat spaces like counters and tabletops are one of the first places that are covered in clutter. In order to reduce this countertop clutter, use containers for various items. Your car keys can be hung on a rack; purses or backpacks should have a peg on the wall or fit underneath the counter, or should be brought into bedrooms. In the kitchen, bins for coffee, tea, sugar, and other ingredients will look much less cluttered than individual containers.

4. Maximum Closet Usage

To reduce clutter everywhere in your home, make the most of the closet space you do have. Rather than just using them to hang hangers and shove a few things on the high shelf, you could try utilizing closet bins and racks of varying sizes. The more you fit into your closets, the less cluttered your house will seem.

5. Garages and Sheds

Garages and sheds attract clutter in their own way. Besides organizational shelving or bins, you should be able to make room for various other items that would otherwise sit in your house. Here, where the look of the place is less important than the use, organizing clutter is easier. Walls can be covered with hooks and shelves. Even the ceiling can have hooks or pulleys that will hold items for you.

Living with clutter makes many things more difficult: cleaning and housework, finding the things you need, and even leads to wasting money. With these five easy tips, you will be able to get rid of clutter in your home. Maximizing the space that you have, and minimizing the stuff that you have to put into it is the way to go.

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