Monday, February 19, 2007

Breach, jeans, books

I always have such a difficult time coming up with a title for my blog post. If I only blogged about one item per post I suppose that'd make it easier but I like to throw 2-3 thoughts in at a time. Oh well.
Movies!
Finally made it back to the theater this weekend (I don't know how long it's been probably only 2 weeks but it felt much longer for some reason). My friend and I went to see "Breach". I pretty much liked it. It started to drag just a little towards the end, but then it snapped back just in time and held my interest for the rest of the movie. The movie was about the "greatest" breach of security in US history. (I put the quotes because that's not really such a great thing). AND it's a true story (well based upon true events). What made the movie riveting was the acting of Chris Cooper, and I have to say, Ryan Phillipe held up his side of the screen just as well. I liked the movie because it was a story, and had a few characters and dialog. I would have liked to have seen more into the personality of the lead character Robert Hanssen. We were pretty much shown his character at the office a once or twice in a social setting. Although they spent most of the movie developing his character, I think it should have been a little broader in focus. But all that said, it was a good spy movie. As I was leaving the theater though, I had a thought about "that world" versus "my world". To think there are people out there doing that for a living, and how much their actions or inactions effect my world is all hidden from me. For example, the actions of this man Robert Hanssen jeopardized so many American Intelligence officers, and even cost some their lives, yet here I am walking out of a movie about it all. I wonder how much of the Governments are run behind closed doors. I don't know if I really want to know what goes on behind those doors. Something tells me I don't.

I've been playing a good PS2 video game too. Midnight Run 3- Dub edition. It's a racing game, and I have to say it's pretty fun. It's nice to have a game where you can get lost for a couple hours at a time. (yes, I said hours). One of the things that makes the game interesting is it's open-end in that you the player controls what races to race, what vehicles to buy, etc...

I have to get two items out there in a small rant...
Yesterday I went to the mall to visit JCPenny's. I needed to get some new jeans and knew that JCPenny's had them last time so I'd go back. You need to have a college degree now to buy a pair of jeans. I wanted to get levis (I used to get Lee, but since found that I like the levis better). So just on that one brand of jeans there are different "model numbers" - 505, 550, 555, etc... Then, to complicate it even more, then there are various "cuts" - Relaxed, straight, boot, regular, etc... Then of course are the sizes. I must have spent a good hour looking through this store trying to find my size, in the right cut. NONE of the jeans were organized based on a pattern that I could recognize. I finally got fed up, and bought the wrong size (2" longer inseam) because I just wanted to get outta there. I figure I can sew them up if I need to. I asked the sales girl if I could make a suggestion that they have someone organize the jeans. She smiled politely, and said, "we do. Every Monday", and by sunday they are a mess again. I don't think I believe her. Not only was the overall store a mess, but these jeans were so unorganized that no one would accidentally place a 32-34 in with the 38-30's. It was as if someone deliberately went in a unorganized the jeans.
Ok, moving on.
My mom recently joined one of these book clubs called "North Light". They deal specifically with art related books. I've often wanted to join, but I know this would be the ruin of me. Books are like crack cocaine to me, and this would be like me starting a subscription with my local corner dealer. So I've borrowed some of my mom's selections. Well, this recent catalog had some really good choices for watercolor books. So I was going to order 3 thru her account. Just before she finished filling out the order form, I said "I wonder what amazon prices are like". So we picked my three, and 2-3 of here selections and did a price comparsion. Amazon was consistently about $3 cheaper than North Light. So, needless to say, I canceled my order, and my mom will probably be canceling her North Light membership. Shame on you North Light.

1 comment:

JWD said...

I have likewise been frustrated by JC Penney in recent years. Disorganized sales areas as well as inadequate customer service.

If you know the size and cut of the jeans you want, I recommend an online store called Denim Express (www.denimexpress.com). We've ordered from there several times before and have felt quite pleased. Their prices are good, too!