Dale Lature: Video and Movies

CDRW problem resolved

Sat, 13 Sep 2003 21:46:54 GMT

After removing a couple DVD authoring tools I had installed, and installing an upgrade/update for Pinnacle Instant CD/DVD, my CDRW drive started reading discs again. Seems the Pinacle Driver for the "InstantDrive" program that is a part of the package had gotten "disconnected" (that's my guess anyway). All is well again.

CDRW no longer recognizes disks that are in the drive

Sat, 13 Sep 2003 16:48:53 GMT

I installed a DVD writer about 3 weeks ago. It had its HP -rleated burning utilities. I also bought Pinnacle Instant CD/DVD (free after rebate). It has a program called Instant Write that creates a virtual drive. All of that seemed to be working fine. My Samsung CDRW was being recognized and I was able to read and write to that drive just fine. Then, sometime after that, my CDRW no longer reads the disks that are placed in it. The DVDRW still reads and writes fine. Windows shows that the drive is there, but it does not recognize a CDROM I place in it.

I have a program called HP-DLA installed (it's in the uninstall list) and I have a program called Daemon Tools that enables a DVD image to be mounted by the system and used as a drive, so my Power-DVD (part of the HP DVD package- my writer is an HP dvd 200i).

My E drive, which is the samsung cdrw drive (as identified in MyComputer when I right click on CD-RW (E:) drive and select the Settings Tab), says it is using the INstantWriteDriver. There is also a tab called DLA, which shows the following:

Label: No Media (there is a CDROM with information on it in the drive)
Type: Samsung CD-R/RW SW 212B
Drag and Drop recording option selected.

I am uncertain which , if any , of these things have caused my problem. Device Status junder properties says "the device is working properly". Any clues?

Bruce vs the Machines

Sun, 06 Jul 2003 18:42:44 GMT

Bruce Almighty and Terminator: these last two movies I saw at the theater (Bruce on June 11 on my 20th anniversary) and Terminator 3 (yresterday). I am always interested in different treatments of the now decades old human fear of "machines taking over". In fact, the subtitle of Terminator 3 is "Rise of the Machines" (and the previous one, T2 was "Judgment Day"). Both suggest that technology finally reached the level where Computers became "self-aware" and instigated a revolt against humans. This is also a slight variation on the Matrix theme, where all of what is experienced by most people as "life" is a computer generated program "life simulation", but the question that gets re-opened in The Matrix Reloaded is "who wrote the program?"

This is where I think the Terminator theme is purely science fiction. Their suggestion is that machines become "self-aware", crossing the barrier from "instructed" (by the humans who build them) to "deciding agent". The fact is, computers are still very much tools that do our bidding, from the machine level responding to volatge , to the operating system level, to the appliaction level. All are responding to voltage, yes-no decisions, translations of 0's and 1's into bits and which represent other things, and work together to calculate and represent. The fear that lies behind the mythological tales , I believe, are the sense of being "out of control" with our decisions. When we hand over "control" to a system of software and a network of such which is comanded to respond to situation A with response B by activating computer-controlled system C, the range of possibilities for "malfunction" grows. The malfunction may snowball into something unforseen.

In Bruce Almighty, his initial decisions and acts as "God" have repurcussions on the other side of the globe (the moon incident when he arranges the moon to enhance the atmosphere for his romantic evening). The application of computer control to such things as Missile Silos (also a theme in the 1983 movie, "War Games") gives us cause for pause when we contemplate handing over more power to the "Sytems" we have constructed.

Field of Dreams

Wed, 11 Jun 2003 18:43:08 GMT

[Macro error: Can't evaluate the expression because the name "624" hasn't been defined.] The DVD I've had for a couple of years, and bring out more often than others, especially now and lately (see my "The 'Field of Dreams' Roadtrip" story)

Aside from its mystical , connected meaning to my present "dreams", it's one heck of a baseball movie, capturing ther hearts of many a baseball fan who misses the "When it was A Game" feel the game used to have, and whoever's family history is accentuated and made dear by numerous little league games and trips to major league parks. This movie certainly tugs at this heart of mine, especially when Ray calls out "Dad......you wanna have a catch?" and his voice breaks....and the lump in my throat pops up just about every time.

The DVD is good too. A very good "Making Of" documentary is one of the extras.

Bruce Almighty

Wed, 11 Jun 2003 18:26:15 GMT

[Macro error: Can't evaluate the expression because the name "624" hasn't been defined.] This was a funny, and sometimes profound movie. Not that they delved deeply into theology, except that some very simple theological points can be profondly relevant, like the simple matter of trying to comprehend the role of God as deity. Part of it is that it's not comprehendible. Part of it is to anthropomorphize God is to make it even more incomprehensible.

There were the usual, funny, often hilarious Jim Carrey antics and slapstick moments. These made the movie entertaining simply as comedy. The God concepts were, as usual, fromthe stuff of Pop theology such as "the real miracles are a mom working two jobs and still taking time to take her kids to a soccer game." I think the point is well taken that the kinds of "miracles" we often look for are something fantastic and immediate, and of the "parting the red sea" variety. The point is also made that attention should be focused on people around us and that often we need to "stop looking up" and look around. That applies well to the dangers of being too "otherwordly" focused by being less attentive to "seeing others through God's eyes". Read on in "Bruce and The Concept of Call"

Fri, 03 Jan 2003 15:51:20 GMT

Digital Photography? I got a digital camera as a gift from a friend, who is really into digital photography now and has a 12 megapixel camera, which he used to give us a portrait of the family on Dec. 28.

My Must See TV Schedule

Fri, 03 Jan 2003 14:39:05 GMT

Saturdays and Sundays in January
NFL Playoff games

Sunday
The Practice

Tuesday
Smallville
Judging Amy
If feasible, on tape: NYPD (used to be a "must watch live" show)

Wednesday
The West Wing

Thursday
ER (Not as strong now as in its first 9-10 years)

Kentucky Basketball Games (whenever shown)

Where are the DVD Collections of These?

Fri, 03 Jan 2003 14:33:12 GMT

When are the good shows going to follow suit and release DVD collections? I've seen collections of Malcolm in the Middle (which I've never seen, so it might be good, but it is certainly not got any credentials of classic).....so where are the collections for "The Paper Chase" and "Thirty Something" (there are collections for My So Called Life and Once and Again, which are two other shows from the writers of Thirty Something, both of which I also liked....so why not do one of your best effort?)

Ordinary People

Tue, 03 Dec 2002 18:06:56 GMT

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I bought (or got free at Best Buy with a purchase of Norton System Works) Ordinary People , a movie I saw while I was a seminary student, and was one of the best I ever saw. Powerful, emotional, and real. I've been wanting a DVD copy of this for quite a while.

Web Department on creativepro.com

Thu, 14 Nov 2002 15:19:03 GMT

Looks like a pretty good DV video site

West Wing Dreams

Wed, 02 Oct 2002 12:12:48 GMT

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TV Guide's West Wing Showguide

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Martin Sheen, From Internet Movie Database

I remember seeing "Heaven Can Wait" back in 1978. At that time, I was a Rams fan who had been frustrted year in and year out with plaoff losses. losing 3 NFC championships in the past 5 years, and 2 other first rounders. The fact that the Rams got there and won in this movie (besides it being a really fun story) kept this movie near and dear to my heart (it was also the very first movie I saw on my very first VCR a couple of years later.)

The West Wing is kinda like that for me now. With the Bush crew in the whitehouse, the show makes me yearn for the articulate and the profound coming from the mouths of the leaders. I've always liked the Martin Sheen aura, and it's no coincidence that he plays well as a political leader, since he also had roles as Jack Kennedy in the TV miniseries "Kennedy" that aired in 1983, and as Bobby Kennedy in "The Missiles of October" (William Devane played Jack in that one). He also played a crazed politician with a desire to "push the button" in "The Dead Zone"). I really like him in the Jed Bartlett role, and the idealism we get to see not only in him, but in the other characters... like last week when Toby and Josh listened to a father talk about sending his daughter to college and how difficult it is......I read on the TV Guide site's West Wing Guide that they come away from that conversation from last week to tonight's episode with plans to do something about it .

Tue, 01 Oct 2002 12:30:51 GMT

If anybody has seen my notice about my move to http://theoblogical.org , please let me know by commenting something here if you get the time. I want to see that somebody is getting this. And anybody who has tips on anything else I might do to notify people, I would appreciate them.

Tootsie

Fri, 06 Sep 2002 02:39:31 GMT

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The first leg of a double-header Movie Night --- the second one was the one I had higher expectations for, and it turned out that Tootsie was far superior. The other was Dudley Moore and MaryTyler Moore and a title I don't even remember;(I looked it up: Six Weeks)

(I'd love to get this DVD someday, like when I have enough money to be buying DVD's. But if you want to buy it, plese go to Amazon by clicking the graphic here and purchasing it there---you are under no obligation to buy onece you get there...it just helps me if you end up buying it on your visit)

An Officer and a Gentleman: Our first Movie Theater Movie Date

Fri, 06 Sep 2002 02:28:51 GMT

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The first movie theater date, in Cincinnati, sometime in September 1982

Movies we went to see about 20 years ago

Fri, 06 Sep 2002 02:09:55 GMT

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Gandhi got me thinking about the Cosmic Christ, since he seemed to be better at being a Christian than a lot of Christians. Know what I mean? Later, when I found the book by Matthew Fox ("The Cosmic Christ"), Gandhi's life had prepared the way for me to think about the way Christ reveals himself across and in spite of culture.

20 years ago on this night

Wed, 04 Sep 2002 20:25:46 GMT

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The movie we watched 20 years ago tonight. I found the DVD version of this at Blockbuster, and so I am taking that one home tonight. Perhaps some Pizza Hut pizza to go with it?

Read what I've written so far about Janet and I and "20 years"

New TV Shows

Thu, 29 Aug 2002 03:05:08 GMT

The West Wing starts up again Sept.25th. Lookin' forward to it. Now that I'm a Blogger, perhaps I'll be driven to Blog on things political. Judging Amy, Smallville (my son and wife and I like that one), ER, and NYPD (the last two have been on the decline over the past year, and I'll keep tabs, hoping they can survive as worthy of watching). I haven't even seen a hint of anything that looks promising coming up this fall. I'll have to check out the network's websites and see what's up.

My all-time favorite Movies

Sat, 27 Jul 2002 05:34:08 GMT

(no particular order)

Ordinary People (1980, best picture oscar)

Gandhi (1982, best picture oscar, Kingsley best actor, Atenborough best director, and 4 others)

King (a TV miniseries, 1978)

Contact (1997)

Field of Dreams (1987)

Cry Freedom (1987)

Rain Man (1988, best picture oscar, Hoffman best actor, Levinson Best Director)

Somewhere in Time (1979)

Back to the Future (1985)

Star Wars (1977)

On Golden Pond (1981)

Tootsie (1982, jessica lange, supporting actress)

Favorite TV shows of all time

Sat, 27 Jul 2002 05:32:02 GMT

(no order here either, just favorites)

MASH (1972-83....I caught on in 1980, AND WENT BACK AND CAUGHT ALL THE RERUNS)

Lou Grant (1977-82)

Picket Fences (1992- 1996)

Paper Chase(1978-80 CBS, 1983-5 Showtime)

ThirtySomething (1987-1991)

NYPD Blue (1993-)

ER (1994-)

Saturday Night Live (Akroyd-Belushi-Chase-Radner-Neuman-Morris-Curtin and later Bill Murray, in the begining, mid to late 70's) and (Carvey, Hartman, Nevin, Lovitz, Jackson, Sweeney, Myers, Rock, Miller in the late 80's-early 90's)

West Wing (1999-)

The Practice (1997- )

I'll Fly Away (1991)

Homefront (1991-92)

Sat, 27 Jul 2002 04:32:46 GMT

Real vs Virtual as I saw it , 1995-6

Sat, 13 Jul 2002 21:08:36 GMT

I also wanna see "Sum of All Fears". Remember "The Day After" ?

Sat, 13 Jul 2002 02:20:13 GMT

I have dived (have dove, diven, am diving ????) into Weblogging head first, but as soon as I did, I knew my heart was right there with me. This is exciting. After just finishing a book by Lawrence Lessig The Future of Ideas: The Fate of the Commons in a Connected World which depressed the shit out of me about how the Internet is being "monkeyed with", but this time not as much by people of the ilk of the original Net revolution, where protocols were built and standards were developed collaboratively and Open Source type things happened. This time, it's the people who have the most to lose by Open Code and the power of the voice of the people. By closing access, at the edges of the Network, or making it more and more difficult for certain kinds of technologies to flourish, the dangers are growing that the Internet is becoming more like what the Media outlets in power would like it be: something they can control.

With Weblogging, I see a second wave of revolution. If the internet was the original Net Revolution, and the Powers striking back is the counter-revolution, then the Weblogs represent a Third Wave (to borrow a title from Toffler). I have been spouting off about Portals for the past two to three years, and now I see a major avenue and channel for the Portal to really be useful: as a way of connecting individuals to their communties that are out there waiting for them but have yet to discover them. Blogs; Weblogs are personal portals that collaborate across the Net to build something powerful. And nowhere am I more excited about this than how this might empower a new people intelligence within the Theological Community (and in some churches)...