my first bluray player

I got this yesterday at WalMart for $68 + tax.  Since it doesn't have NetFlix (I didn't assume it would, was just hoping...), I need to get some Blu ray disc(s) before I can decide if it is worth being broke for the next month...I mean, I guess it doesn't really matter.  Other big news is that my Mom decided to give up her car, so now I have to rely on other people to take me places if/when I need it, which means going places for the sake of going somewhere is no longer an option, unless I feel like walking, which I've been trying to do more of since the rain etc. has been easing off since Thursday, although today it rained, I don't think it thundered etc. though...BUT ANYWAY; since I don't have any money I'll need to try harder to be self sufficient.  Which will be easier since I won't have anyone to indulge me in my road warrior dreams...or whatever you call that...um...anyway.
  I probably don't need a Blu ray player, at least not yet...but I really didn't need an HDTV either, although I didn't know that when I got one...it's nice having a TV that doesn't weigh a ton, but as far as functionality goes, this blu ray player has been a long time coming.  I've been racking my brain trying to figure out whose idea it was to make HDTVs when television wasn't being broadcast in HD, and blu ray players were still in development, if that, when HDTVs first came on the market.  I mean, it's nice to see that the consuming public actually bought an HDTV in the hopes of someday being able to watch something in HD on it, but you'd think more people would hold off on something like that.  So, to summarize, I'm stuck with my HDTV, so $68 ain't a bad price to pay for making it useful.

And we don't just have neon logo signs...

Wow.  Took long enough.  The grand total and the MSRP had a minimal gap for quite awhile from the time this became available for pre-order 'til about a month ago...I still think this is a complete waste of $, tho.  The Ghosthead community seemed pretty stoked about it in general, but a silhouette of the all-awesome Ghostbusters logo is not worth more than $30.  If it didn't light up, I'd knock it down to $10.  The no-ghost detail is a very lovingly-detailed design, a visual marvel.  Heck, if Columbia Pictures just made the no-ghost logo, they'd still have a cash cow; the fact that it's associated with such an artful and enjoyable film as GHOSTBUSTERS just makes it more lovable!

if i get home before i wake

walking, just barely
Running, no way
Crawling, may be
Can't seem to move
at all
People say that scientists have decoded dreams;
that they are a way to tackle things too big to think about
Maybe they're wrong
If I drove all the way through North America and back, asleep the entire time
I doubt I'd feel safe
At peace
Rested
Ready

dismissed

When I awoke my neck was glazed with water
When I turned my head to assess the damage,
     the damage was too much to feel undamaged
My cats did not survive the flood,
     they were simply too short, and they couldn't swim
My TV was broken beyond repair
My wallet wasn't worth replacing, and it had no money in it for almost a month
I turned my head the other way and said "why bother?"
At last, dismissed
The water carried me away

FYI, a little known fact about the BMG music club

You ever wonder how BMG Music Club offer(ed) their CDS for so cheap?

Well, here's your answer:

BMG buys CDs from the record companies for discounted prices.  The discount is applied with the understanding that the artists who made the music ON the CDs possible will not be paid for those copies that BMG sells to their customers.

Hold up, you might ask; that doesn't make any sense (right?).  Well, it doesn't.  In order to MAKE it make sense, BMG includes a policy with their terms of service that states BMG MEMBERS ARE NOT MEANT TO RESELL THIS/THESE CD's! 

Ignoring this policy and reselling those CDs anyway isn't a big deal to a lot of the buyer(s), especially those who buy all their stuff 'in-store' where they can inspect their merchandise before they buy.  But regardless if you buy it in store or online where most sellers don't even mention this "minor" detail, the used CD market is, in theory, a place where artists who inadvertently (or perhaps intentionally, but not likely...) sold their CD to someone who never wanted it to begin with, can be at peace knowing that SOMEWHERE down the line, that CD that was wrongly sold to someone will be enjoyed, as was intended.  Personally, I think BMG Music Club is wrong in its very existence, but if it stays in the club, there's no legal basis for intervention.  The problem is, it doesn't always stay in the club.