J Marcus Daily
Bluelight special on Craftsman tools
Being an ex-retail manager I’m interested in news from the exciting world of malls. Today, Kmart Holding Corp made public their intentions to purchase Sears and Roebuck & Co for a planned $10.85 billion. An odd mating the two struggling companies have had their share of financial blackhole and more than a passing understanding of the bankruptcy laws.
Aside from the obvious issues, Kmart and Sears are very different companies. Managing stand alone stores like Kmart are distinctly different than operating in malls. For the two to capitalize on each others strengths, namely their branding, Sears will have to find its niche in the strip malls. Not a bad bet there are customers who will find it convenient to buy Craftsman and Kenmore appliance without having to step into the hustle and bustle of the regional mall. However, as a stand alone venture like Kmart, Sears Grand their big box outlet, came to the party late and has had difficulty coming into their own against Target and Walmart.
Who knows how this one will pan out or even if the purchase will even go through? As always the struggle for your retail dollar continues. Just make sure you get the most for it before letting go.
Candlelight Couch Potatoes
Dinner for two. As parents of a three year old, Andrea and I seldom get the opportunity to go out on our own. Long gone are the romantic evenings when she comes home from work and I’ve prepared a special dinner by candlelight for the two of us. I can’t even recall the last time we went away for a weekend at the beach by ourselves doing adult things.
Last night, we organized my parents taking Tristan overnight so we could meet up for dinner and an evening alone. I met Andrea downtown near where she was working. We went to a restaurant she’s been waiting to go to since it opened four months ago. We had a nice meal. An hour later, we were on the couch at home watching T.V. with our notebooks on our laps doing work.
It was 9:30 at night. Our son was gone for the night and we were watching TV like a couple of old people. We so rarely have time as a couple I guess we didn’t know what to do with ourselves. Ah, well it was still a nice night and we didn’t have to worry about him walking in on us in the middle of the night. Even if we were in bed by 10:30.
Blockbuster Games: Halo 2
Halo 2 is being released today. For those of you who haven’t followed the adventures of Master Chief, first person shooters, Xbox, or the gaming universe in general, Halo 2 is the most highly anticipated Xbox game release. The media frenzy and fan anticipation for this game makes the race for the presidency pale by comparison. While the first Halo has sold more than 4 million copies, Halo 2 has already had 1.5 million preorders giving it legs to perhaps hit the 5 million mark. Clearly, this game will help bring Xbox closer to having a profitable year. An achievement that in itself shouldn’t be overlooked by business pundits who have been forecasting a dark days ahead for the fledgling console company.
Video games are steadily marching towards being the next blockbuster medium perhaps eventually overtaking Hollywood big screen productions. The budgets for the most popular of games are similar to that of their silver screen counterparts. Will Smith and Keanu Reeves are just as likely to star in a video game as they are in a motion picture now that actors are voicing many of the top games. The world of gaming is clearly changing. There is excitement in gaming releases that all but the largest of blockbuster movies have a difficult time achieving. And while, games are expensive at $50 a pop a night out at the movies isn’t far off and that’s only for two hours of entertainment. A video game on the other hand should at least eat up ten hours of your life. Clearly more value for your entertainment dollar.
So, while it may seem strange that a video game like Halo 2 is getting more press than any of the movies out currently in theaters, it’s clear that times are changing and the roles of movies and video games may be reversing. Watch out, because then instead of seeing games based upon movies, you’ll see Hollywood making movies out of video games. Too late.
Sticky Floor Blues
Thank god for the Incredibles.
Since the day Tristan was born my wife and I have been trying to get him to watch movies on the big screen. Our first attempt was when he was a few weeks old. To us, it seemed like a good idea and besides we wouldn’t know until we tried. We didn’t know a newborn could make that much noise. We stuck it out longer than the rest of the auditorium would’ve preferred before I ended up in the hall so Andrea could finish the movie. That being a no go, so we tried again a year later. Surely, that would work. A one year old should be able to sit still, hang out in his car seat and maybe take a nap.
Nope, that didn’t work so well either. I spent the rest of Harry Potter and the whatever, in the hall while everyone else finished the movie. When he turned two we thought we had it made. 730 days of socialization and maturity clearly had to make its mark on a kid, by this point there was no reason why he couldn’t watch a kids movie, he was doing it at home. Turns out he likes watching movies at home for the same reasons I do and didn’t much care for having to sit in his seat, be quiet and not be able to pause the movie to go to the bathroom.
He enjoyed Shrek 2 a few months back but a little over half way decided it was time to go rebuild an engine in the parking lot. With a lot of cajoling we convinced him to stick around, and luckily the rest of the kids in the theater were making more noise than him.
Then finally it happened. Our world has changed forever; we can take Tristan to the movies. He sat through the entire movie and hardly said a word. Thank God for the Incredibles and Pixar, without them I’d never be able to spend $40 on buttered popcorn, sticky floors and a movie I could enjoy at home for 17.99 in six months time.
The Scifi Peacock
When the Scifi channel first launched in way back in 1992 I was ecstatic. Finally a channel for science fiction lovers. There were already plenty of cooking, automotive, history, travel and music channels. Did science fiction deserve any less of a place in our couch potato lives?
Fast forward 12 years and I’m still waiting for a science fiction channel. Instead of getting a channel devoted to all the best programming science fiction lovers want, we have the Scifi channel. Of course you can find reruns of the original Star Trek and the occasional Battlestar Galactica, and every once and while a well produced mini-series. The problem is the channel isn’t very cutting edge and aside from Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis (which incidentally, originally came from Showtime) their original programming sucks. Instead of giving us science fiction, there are plenty of idiots trying to find ghosts, aliens and long dead aunts.
At the heart of the matter, Scifi channel is owned by NBC. In an effort to make up for their past science fiction programming disasters, namely canceling the original Star Trek and decision they will never live down, they are attempting to give science fiction a home of its own. The problem is NBC has never been that great at science fiction or truly cutting edge television. (That may not be entirely fair, but I don’t feel like being charitable at the moment. NBC has all but thrown away their Must See TV leaving us little to nothing left to watch on the Peacock.)
So, why am I surprised there isn’t one originally produced, decent space fiction series on Scifi channel? Why am I surprised that the one truly shining star of a show, cutting edge in the extreme, was canceled? In case you don’t realize, I’m talking about Farscape. Sure the channel has had a few successes in the last 12 years: Dune and Children of Dune; Farscape: Peacekeeper Wars; and most probably a successful return of Battlestar Galactica. Still, these successes are few and far between. When most of their programming is sub par reruns from other channels and original programming that isn’t really science fiction they can’t claim success, at least not to this science fiction fan.
Here we go again
As promised the J Marcus Publications set of columns will ramp up into full gear beginning November 8th, 2004. With the new editorial staff the columns will be able to focus on their individual topics and provide a timely dose of information and entertainment. We’ve brought on board some highly qualified and extremely talented individuals who will work tirelessly to bring you the best, if not a slightly irreverent look at Electronics, Games, Movies, Travel and much more. We appreciate all the support we’ve received from our supporters and look forward to an amazing new beginning, again.
Election Day American
The election will be decided today. A 120 million voters will have their ballots counted and their voices heard on a number of issues and candidates, including President. This election season I’ve kept my mouth shut, at least in my column here. I have an opinion, don’t we all, and I enjoy politics and issues. For my part, I was a little tired of all the opinions and the non-stop media onslaught of ads and candidates. So, I didn’t contribute to the mass media ramblings and left the blathering to the professionals.
However, here we are, Election Day and I’m happy to proclaim I’m proud to be an American. For all the mixed emotions from the rest of the world on Americans in general I for one, as an American am proud to be part of this amazing country. Most especially on this day. No matter which side of the partisan politics you fall at the end of the day, we are all Americans. We can fight tooth and nails to get our point across and for someone to listen to our righteous beliefs, but when the election is over we are Americans.
Over the coming days and weeks, there will be a lot said about the split in this country between Democrats and Republicans. More so before the day is through we will see a larger split between the Northeast coast states, west coast states and the rest of America. It is part of the ever changing landscape of politics and in regional ideologies. Still, when the ballots have been cast and the fervor dies down citizens don’t need to take up an armed insurrection against the government. The majority has won the day and everyone else has to calm down and do a better job of convincing the rest they were correct. But no one has to revolt against the government as in so many other countries in the world.
I’m proud to be an American no matter the outcome of this election, so long as all the votes are counted and the people’s voice is heard.
Decisions are made by those who show up. Don’t forget to Vote.
Holiday Music Scrooge
Halloween has come and gone. Heralding the start of the Holiday Season merchants are free to throw caution to the wind and decorate every square inch of their space with all the trappings of Christmas. The pumpkins have barely begun to rot and already retailers have their Christmas signing up begging for your holiday dollar.
I used to be in retail myself, my wife and many of your friends are still, so I understand the need. However, there is still a bit of me, the average stay at home sucker side of me that wonders if it isn’t a bit much. Shoppers are still going to spend their money. They have gifts to buy and it all has to be done by December 24th, so is it really necessary to kick off the hoopla so early?
I don’t really know. I’d venture to say that for as many people who question how long the Christmas season feels, there’d be just as many people wondering what happened if no one put up their Christmas goodies until after Thanksgiving. In the end, it doesn’t really bother me. Except for one thing. Any store that starts their Christmas music this early won’t get much of my money. I refuse to go through sixty days of jingle bells and the Celine Dion Christmas Album.
