Last weekend, wanted to head into the city to do a little more Christmas shopping. Ya know, it's that time of the year and all. As I always do, I sat behind the wheel of my car, iPhone plugged in to the sound system, listening to my favourite podcasts on the way in. When I arrived, I grabbed my phone to notice that the battery had gone down. It appeared my car adapter had quit working. Reason #3728 that it's time to upgrade my phone.
Yeah, I've been complaining about this since the summer. My iPhone 4S is really starting to show its age. Things load a little slower. I can't listen to a podcast or music for more than an hour without it crashing. During my summer vacation, my brother-in-law raised his eyebrows at the fact that I was still rockin' the 4S, because I've got a bit of reputation for being a tech guy.
But yeah. Back then, I knew the announcement of the 7 was imminent. And here we are now, in the post-7 world. As expected, the 6S went down in price accordingly, and the SE as well. Crunching the numbers as I have been, the SE would probably do me quite well. If I read the tech specs correctly, the SE is pretty much the guts of a 6S in the body of a 5C. But if that's the case, I may as well spend the money and get the 6S for its nicer camera. Or maybe I splurge and get the 7, because a bigger memory comes standard. But the 7's got no headphone jack!
I'll probably bite the bullet and upgrade next month. January seems to be the time I buy new tech. I do all the research you see above, and then I just go into the store and buy the shiniest one.
But, before I spend for myself, it's time to spend for others. I did my Christmas shopping. And I dare say, I did pretty good. I'd say, right now, I'm about 95% done. The last time I went in was pretty much a recon mission. This time, though, I knew exactly what I wanted, so I was able to get in, grab what I needed, and get out. I was able to call it a day by noon.
But of course I didn't. Had to see a movie. I went to see Moana.
I'd been kind of excited for Moana. Not because it was the latest Disney animated film. Not because Broadway's current superstar Lin-Manuel Miranda did the music. But because the directors are John Musker and Ron Clemments. These guys were at the forefront of that period in animation now known as the Disney Renaissance. Of the four films considered the pinnacle of the Disney Renaissance, they did two of them: The Little Mermaid and Aladdin. This was their first foray into computer animation, and I wanted to see if they could inject a little of that ol' Disney Renaissance charm into the proceedings.
And for the most part, they do. Guys, I liked Moana a whole heck of a lot more than Frozen. Maybe because it was a little more...traditional. I like the songs better. I found them more humable.
Or maybe it's because Dwayne Johnson steals the show as the demigod Maui. The character just oozes that trademark Johnson charm. Almost as much as Robin Williams stole the show in Aladdin, does Dwayne Johnson steal the show as Maui. And just as scene-stealing our Maui's tattoos, that feature a little cartoon version of him that kind of serves as his conscience. It's a clever addition.
Don't know what more to tell you, gang. I really liked it. Full review over at the website.
But before I left the city, I figured I'd pop into HMV and buy a little something for myself.
The Black Cauldron is one of my favourite Disney animated films, gang. When I was a kid, and go visit my Oma and Opa in Red Deer, Oma would usually take us down to the theatre to catch the latest Disney animated film. And the Black Cauldron is one that just stuck with me. I mean, it's the only Disney animated film with a zombie army! How awesome is that?
Anyway, I've had it on DVD for a while, but it's part of Disney's "Gold Collection," meaning it's one of their very first DVD releases from the early 2000s. It's not even in widescreen. Well, it is in widescreen, but not anamorphic widescreen. This 25th anniversary edition has a smattering of new bonus features, and is finally anamorphic. I was holding out for Blu-Ray before upgrading, but as it's one of Disney's lessers in their animated film canon, that's looking less and less likely to happen.
But, because of the busy-ness that's kept me from blogging, it's also kept me from watching it. Starting to develop a stockpile of "to-watch" DVDs and Blu-Rays again. I finally broke down and bought Jem and the Holograms out of a discount bin for $5 a few weeks ago, and haven't gotten around to watching it.
It's just the holiday season, gang. If it's not Christmas stuff at work, it's Christmas stuff at home.
Don't know how to end this, so just like at work, if I don't know how to wrap up the bit, just play the next song.
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