Hot on the heels of my rant yesterday about the price of movies and how I will only go to see a movie that I’m sure I’m going to enjoy… I think I found the first movie of the summer that I’ll definitely be plunking down 10 dollars to see…. Speed Racer!

Click the image to check out the trailer.

Go Speed Racer GO!

I would definitely say I’m a movie fan. I love movies, and I love to watch and rewatch them. I was more than a bit annoyed when I read this article from ArsTechnica last week stating that even though 2007 yielded a record box office, the MPAA still claims that the motion picture industry is being decimated by piracy. The following day on Buzz Out Loud, some one from the motion picture industry said the reason they made so much money is that although attendance is down, prices are up and that’s how it worked out. I actually think that’s the problem… not the solution.

Going to the theater is too damned expensive anymore. It’s 10 USD to go to the theater where I live and that means that at that price, I won’t go to the theater to see a movie unless I’m 100% sure that I’m going to enjoy the movie. I won’t take a chance on a movie any longer, it’s too expensive. I look back in 2004 and I realize how many movies I went to over the summer, the boyfriend and I and my father went to the theater almost every weekend. This past summer I think we went to three movies, Ratatouille, Knocked Up and Transformers. That’s it.

I wonder if they lowered the price of going to the theater, people would come back, and even take a chance on some of the crap that’s out there.

This weekend while I was in the city, I met a very nice podcaster named Mikeypod who had such an amazing messeger bag. I had to ask where he got it and he very nicely informed me that it was Crumpler bag. I liked the bag so much I was off in search of one the next day.

Kevin and Pinoyboy took me to SoHo and to the Crumpler Store where I picked up a bag for my 13.3″ MacBook. The bags are very nice and constructed very well. It’s got plenty of room for all my gear and it fits like a dream.

The funny thing about the bag is that it’s got a really odd name. The bag is called the “Moderate Embarrassment”! It’s anything but embarrassing

Yesterday was my last day in NYC with Pinoyboy and John Ong. We had one last hurrah with brunch at the same place we always do before we we leave and it was almost too good a time. We had a lovely time and even got in some last minute shopping after. The weekend was fantastic and I couldn’t have asked for anything more.

When Pinoyboy and I were on the train platform going our seperate ways, I felt a sense of sadness that we were parting ways but it was not until I was on the train heading back home that I was overwhelmed with my emotions. I really was so sad that we had to part ways, so much so that I actually began to cry, it sucks when someone who’s company you enjoy so much lives so far from you.

I feel so bad for only looking at the sad side of the equation, there is a sense of guilt that I shouldn’t over look the amazing wonderful weekend I had and focus only on the sadness of parting with my friend but… there you go that’s where I am.

Today was day two of our trip to NYC. It started pretty early after quite a late evening on Friday, we had plans to meet a group of podcasters from the NYC area for dim sum. We met John at our hotel and headed over to Chinatown to meet the rest of the podcasters. We met quite a few people that I’d not even heard of before and a few that I knew but had not met yet. A good time was had by all followed by a slow walk thru Chinatown and then up to the new Apple store in the Meat Packing District, sadly no photos cause dumb ass me left the SD card in the card reader in the hotel room :(.

After the Apple store, we did some shopping and headed up to meet Mike P. and had some noodles at Sammy’s. Once we were all full we headed to the Pleasure Chest which as always was a good time. Eventually Mike had to go at which point we met up with Kevin at Max Brenner’s for some dessert and some really interesting chats about our teenage years. It was a lovely ending to a very busy day!

After the last two weeks of very stressful family issues, I’m had planned for months to head off to NYC this weekend for a podcast seminar, however just like the podcast seminar I planned to goto in Kansas City last July, they moved this one as well.

Even though the seminar was moved, a few attendees still decided to meet up in the city to hang out. Yesterday I met up with Pinoyboy and John Ong (my two constant companions for the weekend) and had a blast going to Dumplingman, and wandering around Chinatown before meeting up with Jeffery Keefer and his partner for dinner at Il Palazzo. It was a wonderful but wet evening.

While walking around however, it became evident to me that the trainers I was wearing were more mesh than solid over my toes. First my feet were freezing from the whipping wind and then after dinner while walking to the The Stonewall Inn, we had to walk through lots of snow and puddles and each one got my toes more and more wet! Still it was a fantastic evening and today is another full day of running around and meeting other podcasters and bloggers. I’m doubling up on my socks today and even thinking of looking for a new pair of trainers.