Sharper Than Titanium

Today while in a store, I stopped for a closer look at some beard trimmers, and saw one that had blades that were described as being “sharper than titanium”.

Sharper than titanium.

That statement, by itself, makes no sense.

To illustrate why, a story.

Remember when Tiger Woods had to sit out the Masters because he had badly cut his hand on the edge of his titanium driver?  No?  You don’t remember that?

That’s because it never happened.

In my line of work, I’ve handled various pieces of titanium hardware without a scratch; I’ve also cut myself on paper fresh out of the photocopier.  How is this possible?  Because, Dunder Mifflin products aside, you can control the sharpness of what you manufacture.  We have the technology.

But I wouldn’t want a beard trimmer with paper blades.  Which, for all I know, is what they were selling.

“Sharper than titanium”.

Thi is the sort of nonsense that threatens to spoil Tom Wilkinson Week.

Good Film Broadcasts, Week Of November 22nd, 2009

I declare this week to be Tom Wilkinson Week, with three of his films making the list.  Check out all three, as they really show off his range.

Also, while it may not be of much use to the readers of this blog, I should note that the Mexican movie channel De Película is doing a Luis Buñuel marathon on Saturday.  The fact that I neither speak Spanish nor subscribe to this channel will prevent me from watching any of it, but I’m happy to see some of these films getting a showing.

Snatch

• Sunday, 11:00 PM, HBO2

Black Orpheus

• Monday, 2:00 AM, Turner Classic Movies
• The legend of Orpheus, transplanted to 1960’s Brazil.

Apollo 13

• Monday, 1:15 PM, HBO2

The Fifth Element

• Monday, 6:45 PM, HBO2

The Man Who Knew Too Much

• Tuesday, 1:30 AM, Turner Classic Movies
• Hitchcock first made this 1934 movie, then remade it in 1956.  He said the first was the work of a talented amateur, the second the work of a professional.  You can judge for yourself this week, as both versions will be shown on TCM (see below).

Primer

• Tuesday, 9:45 AM, IFC

The Big Sleep

• Tuesday, 2:00 PM, Turner Classic Movies

The Dark Knight

• Tuesday, 5:15 PM, HBO

Slumdog Millionaire

• Wednesday, 6:00 PM, HBO2

The Discreet Charm Of The Bourgeoisie

• Wednesday, 8:15 PM, The Sundance Channel
• Is there a more ironic movie to see over Thanksgiving than a movie about a group of people unsuccessfully attempting to dine together?

A Woman Under The Influence

• Thursday, 7:00 AM, The Sundance Channel

Raising Arizona

• Thursday, 11:15 AM, IFC

The Full Monty

• Thursday, 1:15 PM, IFC
• Tom Wilkinson appearance #1.

A Fish Called Wanda

• Thursday, 9:45 PM, IFC

Michael Clayton

• Friday, 10:00 AM, HBO2
• Tom Wilkinson appearance #2.

Some Like It Hot

• Friday, 5:45 PM, Turner Classic Movies

RocknRolla

• Saturday, 2:10 AM, HBO
• Tom Wilkinson appeaance #3.  Also, Thandie Newton in High Def.

Singin’ In The Rain

• Saturday, 6:00 AM, Turner Classic Movies
• People call it the greatest musical ever made.  While I agree it’s quite good, I also think it’s a bit overrated.

The Seven Samurai

• Saurday, 8:00 AM, IFC
• People call it the greatest adventure film ever made.  Not only are they right, but this film is still underrated.

The Thin Man

• Saturday, Noon, Turner Classic Movies
• Such a good film, we’ll forgive it for advising one to shake Martinis.

The Man Who Knew Too Much

• Saturday, 2:00 PM, Turner Classic Movies
• …and here’s the ‘56 version.

Casablanca

• Saturday, 6:00 PM, Turner Classic Movies

Tonight, On A Very Special “Pimp My Ride”

Lord knows I need a new vehicle; I’ll be the first to admit that.  However, the BBC’s mobile web site is tempting me with advertisements for something that’s a bit more than I had in mind.  Every time I visit, there’s an ad at the bottom of each page for the Airbus A380.  I didn’t really think I was the target market for one of these, but I’m trying to be more open to new possibilities, so perhaps I should give this some more thought.

I clicked on the ad for more info, taking me to the Airbus product page, but had some trouble figuring out exactly how I would go about purchasing one of these.  Off of the main Airbus page, I found a “Let’s shop Airbus” link, so I decided to start there.  Unfortunately, that just brought me to a selection of tee shirts, hats, and airplane-shaped paper clips (which I have to admit are pretty cool).

Poking around a bit more, I managed to get some basic information, and Wikipedia helped me fill in some of the details.  (It’s important to consult multiple sources before a major purchase such as this.)  Drawing up a comparison with my ‘95 Avenger, the pros and cons become clearer:

Cost:

• $18,000 for the Avenger (when it was new) vs. $(18,000 squared) for the A380.  Of course, the Avenger cost is in 1995 dollars; you have to adjust for inflation.

Crew:

• 1 for the Avenger vs. 2 for the A380.  That’s not counting stewardesses.

Cost Per Fuel Fill-Up:

• $44 for the Avenger vs. $162,000 for the A380.  I know the Airbus number looks low, but remember that Jet A is a bit cheaper than gasoline.

Range Per Fuel Fill-Up:

• 525 miles for the Avenger vs. 9400 miles on the A380.  This is a clear win for the Airbus, as I live approximately 6700 miles from Narita.

Miles Per Gallon:

• Typically, 28 to 33 for the Avenger vs. 0.11 for the A380.  While this looks bad for the jet, the Airbus makes it possible to car-pool with a little over 500 friends and colleagues; I think I’d be justified asking them to kick in for gas money.

Automotive Parking Spaces Required:

• 1 for the Avenger vs. 406 for the A380.  Sadly, my currently lease only grants me 2 spaces.  This could be a deal breaker.

If I do pull the trigger on this, I hope they at least throw in some of those cool paper clips.

Good Film Broadcasts, Week Of November 15, 2009

A Raisin In The Sun

• Sunday, Noon, Turner Classic Movies

The Discreet Charm Of The Bourgeoisie

• Sunday, 4:15 PM, The Sundance Channel

• Fans of Luis Buñuel’s surrealist sensibilities will want to check this out.

Primer

• Sunday, 4:35 PM, IFC
• Several weeks back,  I discussed a flowchart explaining the timeline of this movie.  Since then, I’ve found this second one from XKCD that’s perhaps more accurate.

In Bruges

• Monday, 2:30 AM, HBO

• As the movie points out, there are two types of people: those who’d be happy to be stuck in a city like Bruges and those who’d find the idea boring as hell.  I must be in the former category; every shot of the city looks like the photographs I wish I was taking.  There’s also a top-notch scipt and great performances.

A Woman Under The Influence

• Tuesday, 6:15 AM, The Sundance Channel

Mon Oncle

• Tuesday, 8:15 AM, IFC
• The second installment in Jacques Tati’s series of “Mr. Hulot” movies, which also include Mr. Hulot’s Holiday, Play Time, and Trafic.

Apollo 13

• Tuesday, 9:00 AM, HBO2
• I think I like this story so much because it’s the true story of engineers (among others) saving the day.

Bananas

• Tuesday, 10:15 AM, IFC
• Woody Allen and Howard Cosell combine for comedy gold.

8 1/2

• Tuesday, 11:00 PM, TCM
• A movie about the making of…8 1/2 (?)

Edmond

• Wednesday, Midnight, IFC

The Dark Knight

• Wednesday, 11:00 AM, HBO

The Fifth Element

• Wednesday, 1:00 PM, HBO2

Breakfast At Tiffany’s

• Thursday, Midnight, TCM

A Fish Called Wanda

• Thursday, 12:30 AM, IFC

The Jerk

• Thursday, 5:10 AM, HBO2

The Philadelphia Story

• Thursday, 9:00 AM, TCM
• One of the greatest romantic comedies of all time.

Jaws

• Friday, 2:00 PM, HBO

The Sword Of Doom

• Saturday, 8:00 AM, IFC
• Another in my series of attempts to get you to check out the acting skills of Tatsuya Nakadai.

A Man For All Seasons

• Sunday, 11/22, 12:15 AM, TCM

Good (Criterion) Film Sales, Going On Now

Since I’ve been using this blog to alert folks to good films being broadcast on TV, I should probably also take a moment to alert you when there’s an opportunity to purchase copies of some of these good films.

Right now, Barnes & Noble is offering 50% off all Criterion Collection films on DVD and Blu-Ray.

And, not to be outdone, if you go to Amazon.com, you’ll find that all the Criterion titles over there have been reduced to about the same pricing.

This is a great opportunity to pick up some high-quality releases of some amazing films, many for $20, some as low as $10.

Also, Criterion’s Blu-Ray releases are available for the same list price as their DVDs.

How good a deal is this?  Earlier this week, I picked up three Blu-Ray titles at Barnes & Noble.

Even though I didn’t own a Blu-Ray player.

So what’d I buy?

The Third Man

• As short as his performance is, it’s certainly one of Orson Welles’s most memorable performances.  One of the best film noirs ever made, and post-war Vienna looks amazing.
• Criterion has just lost the rights to this film (making it the first Blu-Ray to go out-of-print), so if you want a package that does this film justice, pick up one of the copies still available on store shelves, or take your chances on what might be released in the future.

The Seventh Seal

• The idea that I can exchange a $20 bill for a high quality copy of a film this beautiful, to watch and share whenever I want, still astounds me.  I love the 21st century!

Play Time

• One of the best arguments for Blu-Ray I’ve seen.  Don’t kid yourself, some films (even older ones) are bigger than DVD; this is one of them.

Oh, and that “not owing a Blu-Ray player” thing lasted about 30 minutes after the above purchases.  They now start between $100 and $150, and they’re only getting cheaper.  (Much cheaper than early DVD players, which were cheaper than some of the early, fancier VCRs.)  Leaving Barnes & Noble, I had planned to come home and order one from Amazon, then I remembered that the one I wanted was available for the same price at Wal-Mart (of all places…).

The potential of “Movie Night” has now been upgraded.