Running an Online Experiment, and Movies Update!

This post got me thinking about something I'd like to try online. No, I'm not going to try stalking anyone, before any of you get any ideas. I'm not going to go into specifics about it, but if it achieves its goal in some way I will be sure to keep all of you guys informed!

Speaking of which, this blog has been part experiment, part personal itself. I know its possible to monetize a blog, and as those of you who visit this blog may know, there ARE ads on the site. I wanted to see how possible it is. As I've mentioned before, I know you have to create good content and drive traffic to your website before you can really expect any return on this. The (monetary) returns on this website have been pretty low, but that's not the whole point. I've been getting great comments, and more people are visiting, which I think in itself is an accomplishment! I actually constantly check to see if there are comments, and I always try to respond. If there is something that you would like to say to me but don't want to say it online, you can try e-mailing me. Please ask me if you would like that, since nobody likes spam. Except.. the meat. Right? lol.

On to some more relevant topics. Movies opening this week! I'll try to provide images of the more mainstream ones just for now to keep people updated, but if you'd like to see the independent ones also, please let me know and I will add those in the future. I'll also try to put them in order that'd I'd like to see most. Remember, you don't have to agree with me! I would like to know what you plan on seeing if you see something you like. :-P


The Bourne Ultimatum - Jason Bourne returns to the big screen again! I have to say that I think this series is past its prime, but who knows, I could be surprised. Still I think this is the movie that I would most likely be watching this week. There are some other contenders, but this is highest on my list. Personally, I think this is a fairly weak movie week.

Other movies this week include Underdog, Hot Rod, El Cantante, Becoming Jane, The Ten, and Bratz: The Movie. I guess it really is a pretty weak opening this weekend. I can't seem to post any more images at the moment, which is why I listed them instead.

Well, that's all for now. As always, more to come later!

Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I WAS WRONG!!!!!

I thought for sure I was going to be right about the winner of Hell's Kitchen. I really didn't think Bonnie had it in her, but she must've really showed Ramsay shes got it. It was probably Jen's miss on the sabotaged dish that did her in. I know this is going to provide some great conversation at lunch tomorrow.

I think Rock will win now. I believe he's always wanted it more than Bonnie. But again the preview for next week's episode teases me. I always like the last show in the season for Hell's Kitchen. It's always so unique, with the two restaurants being designed side by side. Makes me wish I could do something like that. That's something else I'd like to do. Learn to cook. I'm successfully making myself hungry again.

What did you guys think of tonight's episode? Did you love it or hate it? You already know my opinion, let me know yours! Again, I encourage you to check out the show if you haven't seen it before. I can't wait until the DVDs come out!

I'm going to try to find something to eat... Bon Appetit!

Reminder: WATCH TV TONIGHT!

I can't wait! The preview for this show was incredible. Looks like Ramsay is going to get a little bit of his own medicine. Maybe that's what he's looking for, even though I don't see him taking it that well. I fully believe that Bonnie will be gone after this week, and it will be a showdown between Rock and Jen. Ahh.. this is definitely what the doctor ordered for tonight. I'm so looking forward to this after such a long weekend.

My prediction for the winner of this season? Jen

I think Rock shot himself in the foot last week with his outbursts. Ramsay's going to need someone who's a bit more in control of themselves.

For those of you who watch the show, let me know what you think! For those that don't, check it out!

WEEKLY UPDATE: At the Movies!

Don't worry, no spoilers here! I got to watch the end of The Simpsons movie last night, and there is some stuff worth watching during the credits. It's pretty funny actually, so if you can stay, I would definitely stay for it. I'm going to be watching the movie myself hopefully today. Animated films always seem to find a way to get the audience to stay.

It was pretty busy last night, but surprisingly, there were no complaints. I think that when its busier people have less time to find something to complain about, which is good for me!

Well I got kicked off the internet before I could finish this post last time, and in that time I've managed to see the movie itself. I thought it was pretty good actually, though it started off stronger than it ended. Overall a good watch, definitely worth the time. Crowd reaction to the movie was excellent, there was almost never a time when there was nobody laughing. The atmosphere was great! The theatre I saw it at was also pretty full, though I arrived early and got the seats I wanted. As some of you mentioned, I did have to go to the bathroom during the movie, but I made sure my seats were extremely close to a bathroom (upstairs, that no one uses), so that wasn't a problem. Just one of the tricks working at a theatre gets ya. :-P

If you've seen the movie, I'd like to know what you thought of it! What you liked, didn't like, and how your theatre experience was in general!

More Theatre Stuff

Here's a quick post I found while surfing the web for stuff about movie theatres!

Thinking about the Movie Theatre Business

You can also watch movie trailers here and here.

Enjoy!

LATE for work

Wow, I can't believe how long it took to get to work this morning. 2 and a half hours from when I left my house! Turns out there was a pretty serious accident but I could have avoided the traffic by listening to the news in the morning. I'll have to definitely do that more often. There was one really weird thing about the drive... there were these two girls driving next to me, and one had her foot out the window and was screaming for no reason. Guess she thought it was pretty funny to be stuck in traffic? Anyway, I was weirded out by that cuz she kept staring and laughing at me, and I don't like being watched (by strangers anyway)!

I missed the end of the Simpsons when it was being watched last night, so I'll give my update on that and also "No Reservations" after I get home from work. Impressions from what people think about both will also be posted!

Getting back to things I don't like about people at the movies, a guest informed me that the lobby was "filthy" and made her want to throw up last night. I looked around, and it was nothing that was really out of the ordinary. A few guests had just spilled their popcorns, and someone put wayyyy too much mustard on a hot dog and decided to leave the rest at the counter. I called someone to clean it up right away, but what really made me upset was the she implied it was my fault. "You're the manager, right? How can you let this place be run like this? I've never seen anywhere this bad before." Honestly lady, it wasn't as bad as you made it seem. If she didn't want to come back, it'd make me happy. She even needed to add that "it better be clean when I get out of my movie." NO LADY, I'M JUST GOING TO LEAVE THE MESS THERE. IT DOESN'T BOTHER ME AT ALL. Oh well, some people you just gotta deal with.

More later on, or tonight! Keep the comments coming!

Are Movie Theatres becoming Obsolete?

This was discussed during lunch today with some of my co-workers. Is it really possible to emulate the experience of going to the movies at home? One of them said that movie theatres would be obsolete in 5 years. In my opinion, it's not going to be. But, there are several reasons why people might think so. For example, some of the very wealthy have built theatres in their own homes! We'll do a head to head comparison here of several categories here to see why I think the way I do. Feel free to leave your own opinions here about why you think movie theatres are obsolete or not also!

1. Sound Systems

This is where I think the home is really starting to catch up to movie theatres. Many home theatre systems can be THX Certified, which some of you may recognize as the sound format that was made famous by Lucasfilms, LTD. But, that's starting to become obsolete, as its not really a sound system but more of a standard. Most movie theatres nowadays use DTS sound systems or Dolby SDDS sound systems. These systems provide the stereo surround that we're so used to in movies. However, many home theatre systems are now also capable of recognizing the same DTS and SDDS sound formats that are used in movie theatres. These sound formats are often encoded on DVDs, allowing home theatre systems to generate the same kind of sound that theatres do, albeit on a small(er) scale. The problem with this is that it often require a great deal of set up time and there are many components you must buy. If you're willing to make the investment, the sound you can generate can be comparable. However, movie theatre systems are already set up and calibrated for you, and you generally don't have to worry about the quality (unless you're a true audiophile). Advantage: PUSH

2. Theatre Screen (Size, quality)

Why do a lot of people go to the movies? To see the movie on "The Big Screen". One of the theatres I worked at recently had a 62 foot screen! That is pretty enormous. Traditional TV screens are starting to get pretty large too, with the biggest right now being about 102 inches. I haven't done the math out, nor am I a whiz at determining this kind of stuff, but if you put a big screen in a smaller room as opposed to a theatre screen in a large auditorium, you can still feel like you have a bigger screen at home. With digital projectors, you can make the screens even larger! 150 in is the biggest that I could find. However, with digital projectors coming into theatres at much larger sizes than you can find at home, I still think that the size and quality of theatre screens are better. Advantage: Movie Theatres

1. Experience

This is obviously one of the most important aspects to consider. Sure, watching a movie at home means that you won't have to worry about people talking on their cell phones, annoying children (unless they're your own), sneaking in food, or ridiculous ticket and popcorn prices. However, would you get the same experience watching Snakes on a Plane at home as you would watching it at the movies? I don't think so. There are some movies that are just meant to be watched at the theatre, just so you can go out and see the people! Customer service, in my opinion, is key to the movie theatre business, so you know most theatres will go out of their way to ensure you a pleasant movie going experience. (I know I would) Advantage: Movie Theatre

WINNER:

So, as you can see, the movie theatre wins out in my view. There are other things that haven't looked at, such as drive in theatres, and maybe I will soon, but there is nothing right now that would really beat the experience of going out and seeing a movie. Watching movies at home is great, and I often buy dvds after I've seen the movie in theatres. But to be honest with you, its not really the same. If you think of anything that I haven't discussed here, please let me know and I'll be glad to write about it!

If I haven't convinced you that going to the theatre is the way to go, please let me know why you choose to watch your movies at home. Also, if you're interested in setting up your own home theatre, look at some of the components I've suggested here.

Anyway, I'll be off to work at the theatre soon tonight. Look for my update on the Simpsons movie if I do get a chance to screen it tonight! See you all at the movies!

Top 5 Things I Hate About People at the Movies

I've been reading quite a few posts lately about people have bad experiences at the movies, at the grocery store, etc. Well, as I've stated before, I work at the movies on the weekend, and let me tell ya, there are a ton of things that guests, my employees, my boss, and whoever else interacts with me have done to annoy me. In this post, I'm gonna focus on the guest though, just like I'm supposed to when I'm at work! :-)

5. There's something wrong with the movie, can you rewind it?

This one is definitely pretty annoying. I understand that there are sometimes problems in the projection booth, and as difficult as it may be for people to understand, we DO try to get them fixed as quickly as possible. It doesn't make sense for us not to. However, if you could see what the movie actually looks like (It's no VHS or DVD) you would see that its extremely difficult to even consider rewinding (so to speak, since you can't actually rewind). I'm more than happy to give you a pass if its a significant inconvenience and you don't stay for the rest of your movie, but don't stay for the whole move and expect a pass for a 30 second disruption.

4. Sitting in the movie before it's been cleaned, then complaining about the mess.

Ok, this one I can understand to a point. If we've missed a theatre and you end up sitting in a mess, you have a legitimate reason to be angry. On the other hand, if you're trying to get a good seat by beating the crowd, you might end up sitting in a mess. There's a reason we don't start movies right after the credits from the previous show have stopped rolling. Yes, we pay people to clean up after the messes that people leave behind, and I personally really don't mind doing it. BUT, don't complain because you all rushed in there, and we couldn't clean around you since you wouldn't leave.

3. Messy Bathrooms

This can be a pretty touchy subject. Bathrooms, in general, are very difficult to keep clean. Yes I do agree that they could be cleaned more often than the crew would like to admit, but its a never ending "battle". (On a side note, women are definitely messier than men in public bathrooms) I've cleaned many a bathroom in my theatre career, and I've seen it all. Keep in mind that these bathrooms have trash recepetcles and are often overstocked with bathroom products, so nothing should be running out or ending up on the floor. It's those people who don't like to flush toilets (you don't have to use your hand, use your foot if you don't want to touch it) and kids who think playing with toilet paper is fun. Basically it's people who are not picking up after themselves! We do try to keep up, but my usher staff is often no more than 3 people, trying to clean bathrooms that hundreds of people use every hour! So while this is annoying, it's something I think we could work on.

2. People like this.....



1. People who think they deserve everything

I can't tell you the number of times people have come charging up to me, complaining about something, and expecting me to be able to give it to them for free. A few examples of this could be:

• I put too much butter on my popcorn and it leaked through to my pants and burned me. What are you going to do about it?
• How was I supposed to know I need to get my parking validated before I leave the garage? (C'mon.. give me a break!) You should give me parking for free now!
• (After the movie) I didn't like it.. I want my money back! But you just watched the WHOLE THING!!!!!

I can deal with customer complaints with a certain degree of professionalism, and you will rarely see me lose my cool while I'm at work. These things, however, do make me angry at times, especially when they're being screamed in my face. Trust me, I don't want to have to see anybody unhappy. I realize that movies are a premium and you probably paid a good price to see them. But just because you did doesn't mean you can just scream at everyone who works there. Nor does it give you the right to talk on your phone during the movie, let your kids run around like its a playground, or wander around from movie to movie.

Just show us some courtesy... and I'm sure you'll have the most pleasant experience we can possibly deliver.


Feel free to leave your comments, as well as suggestions as to what movie theatres can do better to get people to come back!

I need more sleep

Ugh. I feel like this almost every morning. (Pictures from I can haz cheeseburger.) Good thing my family will wake me up so I can get off to work every morning. (Ok, they didn't do it once, and I was late.) I just can't bring myself to go to bed early! There is just too much good TV on! I've been watching a lot of late night FOX. I know, there are better things to watch, but I don't have cable. I'll be happy to take donations to pay for it! Just kidding. Looks like some people agree with me about FOX TV though.

I know a lot of people have trouble falling asleep at night. With me, I am tired, its just that I always think of something else to do before I fall asleep. Sometimes, its surfing the net. Sometimes I read. Recently, its been checking this blog, even though I've only had it for a few days. Then again, staying up late gives me the concentration needed to be creative enough to write in this blog, and give me the energy to surf the web for images to post, so I guess that will continue. Heh heh.

I should also add that eating big breakfasts, and the calm scenery at my office really aid my being able to stay awake. I'll post some pictures of the building I work in soon, its actually really nice. Hey! It looks like eating more isn't so bad for you after all! It also looks like it costs more to eat healthy, which should be no problem since my site is rolling in dough! I made my first $0.01 yesterday! Seriously though, its not about the money. This is a lot of fun for me, and it's helping to keep me sane while I "work".

It seems like there have actually been some readers to this blog lately. I've been getting comments, which I really appreciate! I really enjoy writing into this, so I hope that there will be a lot of readers. If there is anything you like, or anything you would like to hear about, please let me know! Also, stay tuned for my update on the upcoming Simpsons Movie! Now....

For a Good Cause

Sponsor Emily in CHOC/Disneyland Resort Walk in the Park 2007

Stereotyping

Before anyone says anything, don't worry, I'll only be stereotyping about myself... mainly. So I was trying to look busy today and I was thinking about the house situation my family is currently in. (Long story) Anyway, it made me think about stereotyping and how it has affected me. First off, I am asian, and some of you may recognize the following stereotypes:

How to be a Perfect Asian Kid
(from the first generation perspective)
1. Score a perfect 1600 on the SAT.
2. Play the violin or piano on the level of a concert performer.
3. Apply to and be accepted by 27 colleges.
4. Go to an Ivy League university and win enough scholarship money to pay for it.
5. Have four hobbies: studying, studying, violin/piano, and studying.
6. Love classical music and detest talking on the telephone.
7. Become a Westinghouse, Presidential and eventually a Rhodes Scholar.
8. Aspire to be a brain surgeon.
9. Marry an Asian-American doctor and have perfect, successful children (grandkids for ah-ma and ah-ba!).
10. Love to hear stories about your parents' childhood...especially the one about walking 20 miles to school without shoes.

More of these from here.

Let's see how many of these I fit into.

1. I did not score a perfect 1600 on the SATs.
2. I did play a musical instrument, but not the piano or the violin, and did not play very well.
3. I was not accepted into 27 schools (I only applied to FIVE)
4. I did not go to an Ivy League University
5. My hobbies include going to the movies, listening to music, ice hockey, and video games.
6. I talk on the phone a lot with my girlfriend (who is not asian - another no no, apparently). I have never listened to classical music for fun.
7. I am none of those scholars.
8. I do not aspire to be a brain surgeon.
9. See #6, I really don't see this happening.
10. I do not like hearing all those stories over and over again.

From the looks of things, I'm as imperfect as they come. I'm not saying that I'm doing terribly for myself, in fact, I'm pretty happy with the way things have turned out. I just personally don't like all of the comparisons, and expectations that I have to endure. I know that it's all supposed to make me a better person, but I think that it placed a lot of stress in my life, and that has hindered me. I know that sometimes I've done things just to go against what my parents say, and I don't agree with their controlling attitude some times.

I know that reading these things can be pretty comical, and I have to say that I do give a chuckle each time I read a list like this online somewhere. What makes them so funny is that most of the time they are true! Anyway, I'm not trying to make anyone sound bad, and I do love my parents, so I can deal with it. What do you guys think about this? I know that there are some of you guys out there who can relate!


Edit: If that video up there wasn't funny enough for you (This one is a little long, but its worth it, I think):

Crawl the Web

You'd be surprised at the amount of articles that you can read in one day while you're at work, and the different things the internet can get you to look at and consider. This is probably part of the reason why online blogs are so popular, and sites like digg.com can live on despite some potentially fatal issues. I, for one thought that digg might have been through after this, but I am very glad that they're still up and running.

One of the things I've run into this morning is an article on space trash. This caught my mind because I saw it on the news last night also. It made me think about the problems with overflowing landfills in the world. The article states that NASA expects the ammonia tank to burn up in the Earth's atmosphere (in 330 days). Wouldn't our every day household trash burn up as well if we brought it into space and threw it back at the earth? I realize that it may not be cost effective at this point in time, but it could be something to consider as we move along. Also looks like the astronaut who disposed of the tank threw quite the fastball. I should mention that the image here comes from NASA.

Speaking of fastballs, I'd like to acknowledge the return of Jon Lester to my beloved Boston Red Sox. It was great seeing him win after almost a year, and even better to see how happy his family was while he pitched. I was actually AT the first game that Jon pitched in the big leagues, and its great to see him come back. Hopefully his return will help turn the Sox around and we can win another world series....

Its also good to see a hero of a different sort, especially for all you Harry Potter fans out there. The new book is doing incredibly well around the world (duh), but I'm afraid I'm still one book behind. In any case, I'd better be getting back to reading this programming guide for work. All the rest of you can go back to reading Harry Potter :-). Those of you who don't have it yet can buy it here!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7)

I think I've found a niche

Wow, what an episode of Hell's Kitchen tonight. Two people eliminated in one night again! I had a feeling Josh had it coming to him, and I knew Julia didn't have what it takes in the end. She was great while she lasted, but at the same time she didnt' have the fine dining knowledge it takes to succeed on the show. I am glad, however, that Gordon Ramsay did decide to put her through culinary school so she could get that knowledge. Many people think that he was playing favorites by keeping her around as long as she was, but she was much better than most people thought she was.

Enough about that though.

When I created this blog, it was mainly to be able to write about the random thoughts and things I think about during the day. In doing searches online, I also realized that its possible to make money through blogging. There are so many things involved in having a monetarily successful blog, such as:

Original content
Proper Ads
Traffic

There are so many other things which I am also learning about now. After reading all of that, where does it leave me? I need to find something that will make this blog stand out from the millions or even billions of other blogs out there. But what do I, a recent college grad working as a programmer and movie theatre manager have to offer? I've decided that in addition to all of my random rantings and postings on this blog, I'll try to offer something useful that I do have access to.

Imagine this, you're at a movie, and the credits are rolling. Your kids, girlfriend, wife, boyfriend, whoever you may be with, really really wants to leave. Maybe you have dinner reservations, or they're just getting cranky and want to go home. You, on the other hand, have a feeling that there might be something at the end of the credits that only true moviegoers who stay get to see. How do you convince them to stay?

Well I may have your solution to that. Being a theatre manager, I usually get a chance to see what happens after the credits while I wait with my crew to clean a theatre. Being there as the credits roll, I can see if there is anything at the end of the credits! I'm not guaranteeing I'll be able to do this for every movie, but I can at least give you some insight as to whether or not you should stay. Most likely this will be a weekly thing, and you can check in here before you go to the movies and plan accordingly.

So, tell me what you think? Could this be the niche that this blog needs to get noticed, and earn me the money that I can use to get my car? Let me know what you think!

Or of course, you could always wait, and buy the DVDs

Cars and more...

Like I've mentioned before, my main goal over the next few months is to purchase a car. I'm sure many of you out there know how much freedom having your own car can give you. Now this may be a little dumb on my part, but a lot of car shopping that I've done is more based on what I want as opposed to what I should actually be getting. That being said, I've pretty much made up my mind on what I'm going to be getting. I would like your opinions also though! Please feel free to leave a comment, so I can see what YOU think I should get.

For those of you out there who are looking to buy a car, here is a website I suggest. Awesome for those of you who have never bought a car before (like me) or even the seasoned haggler.

In tech news, those of you who are considering purchasing a new Blu-Ray player might want to check this out. I haven't jumped on the Blu-Ray revolution yet, but I do honestly think that it's going to beat out HD-DVD.

Finally, everyone's favorite old news, the iPhone! I've personally played around with it a few times at the Apple store (I'm an Apple fan, also) but I don't see the economical sense it makes to buy this phone right now. I'm currently with Sprint and I use a Treo which offers a lot of the same functionality of the iPhone (though not all) for much less per month. A lot of you out there may put Sprint towards the bottom of the major cell phone companies in the US, but if you are a good customer, they will take care of you well. No one ever mentions in the comparisons that a lot of Sprint services, especially internet, cost a lot less than AT&T's if you know the right tricks. So while the iPhone may be the hot device of the day, I'm gonna hold out for the 6G iPod and the New Mac OSX

Well, I'd better be getting back to work. I'll post another update tomorrow, after I've seen tonight's Hell's Kitchen!

EDIT: Poll has been removed, but feel free to leave a comment still!

Hell's Kitchen

Hi everyone, just thought I'd mention that one of my all time favorite shows is on tonight:

Hell's Kitchen

I don't know what it is about this show, but I can't get enough of it. It's one of the more entertaining reality shows that I've seen. Something about it makes me hungry. If you haven't checked it out I really think that you should. You may or may not be pleasantly surprised.

Blogging!

Welcome to my blog everyone! I'm just going to be using this to post quick entries about the goings-on in my life, and also any interesting stories or opinions I may have. Some basic info, I work for a medical IT company as a programmer, and also as a movie theatre manager on the weekends. In other words, I get to see all movies for free, and help serve you popcorn! I'm also a HUGE hockey fan, especially for BU, my alma mater.

My main goal right now is to get a car, so that I can have some more freedom. Feel free to help me out if you'd like! :-)

Upcoming movies that I'd like to see (or have already come out and I haven't seen yet):

Transformers (I know, I know, I should have already seen it)
Harry Potter 5
The Simpsons Movie

More updates to come soon!

Update: Just posting a picture of myself to use as my profile picture.