Well, dear readers, I’m a little bleary-eyed from all the TV testing and futzing, but I think I’m closer to keeping the TV now, thanks to some sage and also parsley and rosemary advice from and audio/video forum. After spending a half-hour on the phone with supposed technicians at Samsung, it became apparent that they knew about as much as I did, i.e. nothing, so I knew that route wasn’t going to work. I ended up back at Fry’s with my terrific sales guy, who was totally ready for me to return the TV. We looked at plasmas, which were the same price, but I just couldn’t get with the picture quality. Then he gave me some tips to try to see if they would alleviate the haloing and digital shimmering I was seeing on motion shots. Since I was in the neighborhood, I stopped at Dino’s Pizza for a couple of slices, then went home to try the tips. What he suggested was, I found out later, on the right track, but not the right way. So, thanks to our very own MattH, I visited the avforums and they had an eighty-four-page thread on my very TV. I read about half the pages and finally found someone who was experiencing what I was – and someone had a fix for it, which I immediately tried, and voila, not only did it fix the motion problems but it also made the image more film-like – less blindingly sharp than when it looked like a fifty-year-old movie had been shot yesterday with a hi-def camera, but somehow a little more pleasing to the eye, although the other look was sure fascinating. I’m now almost sure I’ll keep it, although I’ll now live with it and make my final decision on Saturday, after watching more movies.
My first full movie test was a Blu-Ray that arrived yesterday – The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. The DVD was fine, but the Blu-Ray is much sharper and more detailed – in fact, I’m curious as to what it would look like if I put the settings back to where they were – I may try that today, just for grins. I really like The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, although, for me, it’s the one Leone film I always felt went on too long. But such images, such photography, and much of it is classic.
I must admit, I spent much too much time yesterday dealing with the TV issues, and today I must buckle down Winsocki and work all the livelong day, and that includes addressing a whole mess o’ packages with the Kritzerland helper. I’ve got liner notes to write, and, most importantly, Nudie Musical casting problems to deal with, notably the two leading roles, which I don’t even have candidates for. I’m getting a little nervous about our situation – I’ve got all the other roles covered in one way or another, and can probably even deal with a less than ideal male ensemble, but I must have star-power leads or I’m in deep trouble. If anyone has any ideas, let me know. I need to have worked with the people, as that’s when it’s easiest to call them.
Other than that, it was actually good to have a whole day off from the usual things. But boy is it going to be a busy little end of May and all of June, what with a bunch of Kritzerland releases in a row, the charity event, Nudie, and the singer who just did the Metropolitan Room coming back to the Gardenia for two nights, just prior to the Nudie reading. I won’t be spending much time with her, but it will require a couple of rehearsals.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because my eyes are bleary and a bleary-eyed BK cannot possibly write one more word in this section.
Today, as noted, I shall write, do the long jog, address packages (Tom Jones CDs should be here on Monday), and catch up on everything I need to catch up on. Then I think I’ll finally satisfy my craving for Genghis Cohen later in the afternoon.
The weekend is almost all free, and I’m hoping to keep it that way, aside from whatever writing and addressing I need to finish.
Next week will be a very busy week, with shipping and prepping the next two Kritzerland releases. And some good eatin’, too.
I’ve also got to get to work on prepping the new novel for release in August and that will be taking up a good deal of time, too.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do the long jog, write some liner notes, perhaps two sets, I must deal with casting issues, and I must satisfy a craving for Genghis Cohen. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Friday – what is currently in your CD player, and your DVD/video player? I’ll start – CD, a cornucopia of soundtrack CDs – about forty of ’em. DVD, in addition to fooling around with Blu-Ray discs, all of which are films I’ve seen many times, I’ve got a ton of regular DVDs to catch up on. Your turn. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, as this bleary-eyed BK hits the road to dreamland.