This collection of entries is from February 20, 2003.
I love this! Host John Lehr just before a commercial break: "This just in, ladies and gentlemen. That leach you saw earlier is now attached to Bruce Jenner. Repeating... Bruce Jenner has a leach!"
I went out for lunch to find bright sun, clear sky, and 50 degrees. Of course, I only saw the clear sky when I was outside of my car because the coating of salt over the windows (not to mention the rest of the car) makes it a bit hard to actually see the sky. (I need to take care of that.) It's been wonderful outside the past day or so. Add to that the stories from Arizona that tell me my boys are back in camp, preparing for another season of baseball. I know I've talked about this in the past, that I, for some reason, feel a biological synchronization with baseball. I measure the passage of time by baseball seasons and not years (the months without baseball just don't exist in my passage of time). I don't get very excited about the prospects of post-season play (after all, this is Chicago), but it actually changes my view on life know that baseball is around the corner.
By Monday, it's supposed to be 18 degrees. But out in the high desert, there's a group of guys getting ready to play.
Boy, I've got to you, "I'm so down wit dis"... When we go to the movies, we always get there early to ensure we get a good seat and make sure we get any of our favorite concessions. Of course, seeing trailers for movies that are "Coming Soon" is a big plus. What I have a problem with is the damn advertising, the actual porting of television commercials to film. If I'm at home, I can chose to change the channel or zip through them with my TiVo. I don't have a choice at the theater. So, in a nutshell, I've had to pay money to view commercials that I don't want to see. Apparently, I'm not the only one getting upset over this - there was a class-action lawsuit filed against Loews Cineplex Entertainment Group for doing just that. The charges are Statutory Fraud Claim By Misrepresentation ("by communicating to potential audience members that movies would begin at a particular time, in full knowledge that the movies would be delayed with a barrage of advertisements and product placements, thereby deceiving and misrepresenting to Plaintiff and class members that the movie would in fact be shown at the appointed time"), Alternate Statutory Fraud Claim By Omission ("omitting the fact that they do not show movies at the times scheduled or advertised in the newspaper, because they are instead taking advantage of a captive audience to show advertisements and promotions"), and Breach of Contract Claim ("The contract clearly show that the movies are supposed to begin at a particular time" and - I just love the phrasing of this - "The ticket stub attached as Exhibit 1 memorializes the binding contract between Plaintiff and each of the Defendants"). They're seeking damages "in no event to exceed $75.00 per class member". I think they'll settle for accurate published times. What I'm trying to figure out (and we also agree with this) is that there's a feeling that: Movie Trailer = OK, commercial = bad. I know that a trailer is nothing but a commercial for a movie, but somehow I expect to see them and I'm anxious to see them, and I don't lump them in with those "other" obvious commercials. I have no idea how this suit is going to play out, but I sure do understand where they're coming from. More info at NoMovieAds.com and The Captive Motion Picture Audience of America.