Got My Netflix Wii Streaming Disc

It came on friday. So far, it's pretty cool.

Formerly, I was using PlayOn with my Wii and Patriot Box Office (buggy in the latter case) in the bedroom and Boxee on my PC in the living room to stream Netflix movies.

The streaming disc beats the PlayOn interface hands down for a couple of reasons:

• More control over the rewind/fast-forward functions. They actually work, are much faster, and allow you to move to points far along in the movie without hanging. Now the movie will rebuffer, but I'm not too bothered by that.

• Your instant queue display is more attractive and, in most cases, more convenient. In PlayOn, you have to browse movie by movie, which is time consuming if your have a large queue. With the disc, the movies are displayed with a scrolling bar below them which allows you to go movie by movie or move from beginning to end quickly.

• Navigation is quicker. You don't have to navigate through a million icons and folders to get to the movies. They're pretty much on the main screen.

• You can browse movies that aren't in your queue. I thought you could do this with PlayOn, but people are listing this feature as something new, so I guess it must be.

Setup is very easy:

1. Pop the disc into your Wii and note the activation code.
2. Go to www.netflix.com/wii on your computer and login to your Netflix account.
3. Enter the activation code from your tv screen into the box in your Netflix account.
4. Done.

So far, so good. Go to www.netflix.com/wii if you need one. They're free and don't have to be sent back. Also, the selection is cool if you want to watch older movies/shows or wanna discovered a few gems here or there; hell, I haven't gotten an actual disc in the mail since April of last year. Happy streaming.

Bob & Harlan in a Threesome with Me

Out there is a guy named Bob. He used to work at the Crow's Nest, had a tattoo or two (if I recall correctly), and a piercing or two as well. The accuracy of his physical description is not important here, as what Bob looked or looks like is not what this little recollection is about. It is, instead, about a book he placed in my hands one fine day by the name of Shatterday. The cover was ripped from the volume, but the pages were intact. And that night I went home and read what continues to be my favorite short story of all time, "Jeffty Is Five" and cried like a Holocaust survivor.

Bob simply wanted to share with me a writer that he found so imaginative and brilliant that he couldn't bear to keep him to himself. He couldn't know that I'd be sitting in my room roughly ten years later at my relatively ancient laptop typing through tears because I'd recalled some random memory of him handing me a ratty book. I'm so glad he did.

And here I am these ten years later, watching a documentary about said author, Mr. Harlan Ellison, and loving both him and Bob in equal measure because they've made my life that
much more interesting. Thanks, Bob and Harlan.

(Oh, Harlan Ellison: Dreams with Sharp Teeth is the documentary.)

Plan B Needed: Local Natives Rules

I'm always late. The thing is I get to things when I feel like it. Well, I felt like some new music and stumbled across this band, Local Natives. Love them. So much I spent actual money buying their debut (under this name) album, Gorilla Manor, and went searching for concert tickets. Unfortunately, their May shows are already sold out, but there's hope.

Enjoy!

Sun Hands


Airplanes


Cecelia (cover)