Service

 A short post about customer service.

It’s really no secret if anyone has been paying attention, that I’ve had issues with Microsoft for quite a while.  Everything from Hotmail to phone to PC and, most recently, OneDrive.  I’ve spent countless hours online, with knowledgeable friends, with tech-support and at the Microsoft “Store” attempting to resolve issues that have occurred.  My friends jokingly call it ‘karma’.  I call it poor customer service and lack of connection with actual, real-live humans who use the product.  I won’t belabor my irritation with Microsoft and their problems; instead, I’ll focus on what customer service SHOULD be.

A few years ago I was gifted with a used Kindle (Generation 3) as a friend was upgrading to a newer generation and sold my husband theirs.  I used it more than I expected to and downloaded quite a few books through the service; using a variety of “free e-book” sites including Book Bub and Kboards.

I keep my Kindle plugged in and charged next to my bed unless I’ve grabbed it and thrown it in my purse for the day.  That way when I find a free book to download, I’m within my wireless area and I’m not dumping my battery every day.

This last week I grabbed my Kindle and threw it in my purse as we had an evening function that would have some downtime where I could read a bit here and there while waiting for the event to begin.  I turned it on and nothing.  I re-tried a couple of times and still nothing.  Came home, plugged it back in, check the cords were connected and left it overnight.  The next day, still nothing so I looked online and tried to “hard-shut-down” as recommended on several sites.  No success.

A couple of days later, after looking on the Amazon site for more tips, I called Amazon for assistance.  Their tech support site has a button for “email” or “call” support.  You can have them “call right now” or in “5 minutes”.  They call RIGHT NOW!  Seriously!   Yes, it was a robo-dial, but after I picked up, I waited on hold for less than a minute and was connected with a live human.  She listened to my problem, asked what I had tried, and tried to offer more suggestions.  After no success, she said to plug the unit back in, wait an hour and if nothing happened then I’d need to replace the unit.  By the time I hung up from the call there was an email in my inbox with links to our call and links to the site where I could contact tech support again to get my replacement process started.

I waited the hour, still nothing so I selected the link in the email.  Again, they gave me the choice of “email” or “call” support.  You can have them “call right now” or in “5 minutes”.  And again, they called IMMEDIATELY!  Within 20 minutes I had an order placed for a newly refurbished Kindle Paperwhite unit for a discounted price, an email link for a return label for my old unit and an email link for the purchase receipt of the new unit.

Amazon shipped my new unit IMMEDIATELY (I got the tracking email within an hour) and received the actual shipment within 5 days (3 actual business days – I called on Friday and had the new unit on Tuesday via UPS).  My return shipping label is printed and ready to tape to an envelope with the old unit inside.

My NEW Kindle came in a sealed box with a cord.  I plugged it in, entered my wireless key and the Kindle automatically connected me to my Amazon (Prime) account, Facebook and all my books on file (242 in case you’re interested).  In under 10 minutes.  With no hassles, or issues.

AMAZON?  I’m a total fan.

Microsoft?  Catch up.

Two movies and a book

The Hollow Crown (BBC production, on DVD, 4 disks)

This is a BBC production of three of Shakespeare’s plays about kings Richard II, Henry IV and Henry V.  It’s filled with lots of old English speak and traditional Shakespearean writings so it’s a bit hard to follow.  However, the story line, political intrigue, costuming and acting was fantastic.  The first DVD is Richard II who is deposed by the man who becomes Henry IV.  This was the hardest play to follow as there were a lot of characters involved in the various plots.

In the second DVD, Henry the IV is played by Jeremy Irons who is wonderful in the part.  He’s kingly and just and more than a bit worried about his first heir, Prince Hal (soon to be Henry V).  Hal is played by Tom Hiddleston and he’s a rake at best and a playboy at worst.  He hangs out in bawdy houses with drunkards and thieves and prostitutes.  He even steals things himself and brags about his conquests.  His closest friends are a cousin and a major thief named Falstaff.  Falstaff is a fictional character, but he’s quite important in the plays to show the differing characters of Hal.  Towards the end of the 2nd DVD Henry IV dies and Prince Hal becomes Henry the V.

The third DVD is all Henry the V and he’s changed from a common thief and ne’er-do-well to a man who’s thrown off all the bad of his previous life and does everything he can to convince his advisors and subjects that he’s worthy of the crown.  He attempts to take over France, but instead signs a peace treaty with them and marries the French princess Catherine of Valois.

I really enjoyed the history, costuming and acting in all the episodes and, although I had a hard time following some of the plots and keeping track of the names and enemies and friends; with the help of the internet and several great history sites; I followed the stories and plot.

I completely recommend this series.  There was little blood and gore; no swearing, and only one nude scene (in the bawdy house as we’re introduced to Falstaff and he’s in bed with a woman.  We see her naked bottom).  The acting was wonderful and the actors themselves had quite a bit of dialogue to manage, in addition to learning a different language and staying in character as well as costume.

The down side for me was there were very few women in this series; the queens/consorts were hardly mentioned.  The other negative for me was Edward of York was played by a black man.  I find this disturbing because there were no black men during this period of time in England’s history and certainly none of peerage.  However; those are small issues and overall I thought the series was well done and worth watching.


The White Queen (Starz Channel, on DVD, 3 disks)

This series was based on three novels written by Philippa Gregory who is a writer of historical romance fiction.  This series differs in many ways from The Hollow Crown, but has its own merits.

First, let me cover the graphic nature of this series.  There was a LOT of nudity and sex in this series.  I really could have gotten the idea that they loved each other without having constant flashes of women’s breasts or men’s bottoms on screen several points throughout the series.

I also found the few fighting scenes hard to watch as there was blood flying and numerous beheadings with blood-dripping axes.  Again, I got the idea and didn’t need the visual.

Thirdly, this is not Shakespeare, so the story-telling was quite a contrast from my previous DVD.  There was little old-English speech; which helped as you weren’t confused by the language as you tried to keep up with the political intrigue and all the names swirling around.  It doesn’t help that people went by three or four different names during the series; changing names because of status or familiarity or importance in the story.  Again, the internet was helpful for me to keep track of the various characters and the parts they played in the history.

As for the historical part of the stories, I found them to follow the written history pretty closely.  There were a few quirks here and there (the boys in the tower and the death of some of Edward’s children); but overall the history and the story followed.  The series did play up Elizabeth’s rumored witchcraft and abilities to conjure things and spells and curses.  It also played up the love stories of all the people involved, which I suppose is to be expected in a movie made from a romance novel.

The acting was well-done; King Edward is played by Max Irons (son of Jeremy Irons).  All the actors were well-cast; it was easy to grow to like or hate the various players as necessary.  The second disk was far more interesting as far as history was concerned, but political intrigue and plots were standard throughout the entire series.

Costuming was beautiful and I found very little in error about the series at all, historically.  I will comment that the writer played a bit loose with the ‘boys in the tower’ story line and I found it a bit creepy the Richard III had an affair with his niece; even though she was promised to Henry Tudor (who would become Henry VII).

I would recommend this if you like your history liberally laced with romance and sex.   The women were more of the story line than in “Hollow Crown”, but the men had equal parts in the series.


The Book Thief (Hardcover book)

I borrowed this from our library in hopes that I would understand the movie better once I see it.  If you haven’t read the book or seen the movie, there will be spoilers in this review, so you’ve been warned.

My only real complaint about this book is the writing style of the author.  I haven’t read anything else of his so I don’t know if this is his normal style or not, but I found it distracting that *he* kept making announcements throughout the book.  It made the reading a bit choppy for me.

I found it interesting that this book is written from the perspective of death.  It’s a dark book and takes place in WWII-era Germany.  Death talks about colors and souls and God, but I cannot imagine making this book into a movie based on the story-line alone.  It would be just too hard to follow the story and keep to the book and its tale.  There’s no real romance, no real ebb and flow and not even, to my liking, a real sufficient ending to the story.

There were some interesting insights regarding the Germans and the Jews, the Hitler Youth and the politics of the time.  Besides the choppiness of the writing, I found I enjoyed the book.  The characters were interesting (once he got around to bringing them all in – which took almost one-quarter of the book).  The inter-weaving of the different lives became more important as the book went along but, again, it was dark and sad and pretty unfulfilling as a story.  There were some sad parts and a few parts that made me smile, but overall this was a gloomy, depressing and sad story.

I definitely will not read this again and I won’t plan on watching the movie as I just cannot see how they could stay true to the book and make it an interesting movie.

10 things I LOVE about Movies at Marymoor (“10 Things I Hate About You”)

Movies at Marymoor has been a summer tradition for a number of years now (9 years according to the website).  This is the first time I’ve gone.   A beautiful, sunny, summer evening with nothing to do; I took the chance to see a movie that’s always been one of my favorites, regardless of how old it is or the corny factor. 

1)      It’s only about 5 miles from my house.
2)      Cost is $6 if you bring your own food ($1 to park in a KC Park and $5 entrance fee).
3)      Lots of room to sit or lay down.
4)      Food trucks with interesting food. 
5)      Lots of Garbage cans
6)      Pet and kid friendly
7)      Trivia, raffles and pre-show entertainment
8)      Beautiful weather
9)      Plenty of Honey Buckets
10)   Great location and set-up.

I packed up my bamboo chair, a blanket, a sweater and some entertainment for the pre-show and drove the few miles down to the park.  $1 to park – if you have a monthly or other pass you can use that too – and lots of parking available.  You could also walk the roughly 2 miles from Redmond Town Center and get your exercise in before you indulge in caloric overload from movie food.  What’s a movie without junk food?  Of course, then you have to walk back to the center in the dark after the show; so the dollar is well spent.

I arrived about 6:30 and there was a short line; people take your $5 (cash is preferred), stamp your hand for re-entry and you enter the flagged off area.  My first impression was that there were a TON of garbage cans placed all over the site – always a great idea for an outdoor venue.  The food trucks line the back of the area, as well as a few other tents (Rainbow Girls and a table for Autism awareness).  Asian, Mexican, Grilled Cheese, Whole Foods, Kettle corn and a sweet/coffee truck were available.  Average price was about $6-8 for the main course; beverages and sides (fries, chips, cookies, and snacks) were extra.  There were also sponsor tents on the other side:  Geico, First Tech, Station 106.9 Warm, Redmond Reporter, Pet Pros and a couple of others.  You could fill out a raffle ticket, get a free glow stick and enter a couple of sweepstakes if you chose. 

I spent $13 on a “Bluesy Chick” grilled cheese sandwich, a coke, a bottle of water and a bag of sweet potato chips from the Grilled Cheese truck.  The sandwich was small for $8 but very delicious.  I also bought a mocha and an ice cream from the sweet truck and was good to go.  Many people brought in coolers and bags with their own foods which I’ll definitely do next time.  I wasn’t sure of security or what was allowed or not so I packed light.

Seating is sectioned in “low back chair” area (at the front) and “high back chair” area (behind the low chair area).  Many people had inflatable mattresses, sleeping bags, pillows/pets, blankets for their set-up; there were also a lot of chairs.  Kids and dogs were allowed, no smoking in the flagged areas and lots of Honey Buckets (lit too for night time!) 

I’d say the average age was late high school to early 30’s with a fair amount of families and middle aged (myself included) viewers.  Alcohol wasn’t sold there, but there were no specific rules about alcohol.  The crowd was well-behaved and very family- and pet-friendly.  I saw everything from Surface/iPads to laptops and smart phones in the crowd, some brought board or card games to entertain before the movie and even some (like me) brought books or kindles.  Music plays over the loudspeaker from 106.9, “The Cabriri” walked through the crowd and entertained before the movie started and the event offered a trivia game with prizes to keep the crowd busy before showing.  Medical assistance is available at the projector area.

The movie started at 9:10 (just about completely dark) and the crowd was absorbed for the entire show.  The movie was over about 10:35 and after cleaning up my area (and the area of a few others) I walked back to my car.  Leaving the parking area is always busy, so I sat and played games on my phone until most of the traffic died down.  I was home by a little after 11 PM.  It’s still upsetting to me that with so many garbage cans available in the area, there was still a lot of garbage on the ground.  People are just inconsiderate and lazy.

I will say that although this is a family-friendly event; I was surprised by the number of people who brought their under-15 children to the movie.  “10 Things” is a High school movie and there is swearing, adult situations and language and I wouldn’t have recommended it for under age children.  I’d stick with one of the other movies that are more “kid” friendly if I brought my children.

What to bring:

• a blanket, sleeping bag, chair or inflatable mattress to sit on
• A blanket, sweater, sweatshirt or something to keep you warm after the sun goes down
• Cash (some places take cards, but they prefer cash)
• Your own food or beverages
• Something to entertain yourself before the showing starts
• Bug Spray (I had a few nibbles, but I know it would really bother some people)
• A flashlight for the walk to your car afterwards

The last three movies will be “Mary Poppins” (August 14^th), “Jurassic Park” (August 21^st) and “The Goonies” (August 28^th).

As far as I can tell…

Microsoft expects me to keep my existing phone forever and never change to another brand within my lifetime…OR

They expect me to start out every new phone I have with a new email address and life (contacts, apps).

I say this because…

We purchased insurance on the phone we gave to son #2 (I gave him my old phone when I received my new Lumia 900).  Of course, Son #2 damaged the phone and the insurance came in handy.  We made him pay the $50 to replace the phone (gasp – fascist parent warning!) and they shipped the phone to us at home.

I made the decision to take the new phone – HTC 8x Windows phone; and give son the ‘old’ phone – Lumia 900.  So, to transfer my ‘stuff’ to the new phone should be easy-peasy, right?  Well apparently, not-so-much.

I start off by backing up my photos, etc. to my Zune.  That’s what the online guide said to do.  I then removed the SIM card from the Lumia and place it into the HTC.  Follow the instructions to set up the phone and BINGO.  Right?  Not.so.fast.

First I have to install the “Windows Phone App for Desktop” which keeps telling me my phone isn’t plugged in.

When I finally (four tries) get it installed, it won’t let me drag anything from my PC to my phone – only from my phone to my PC.  There’s nothing ON the phone.

THEN, I go to my Windows Live account to re-install my apps and…uh, oh…

Let me back up a bit.  A few weeks ago, Microsoft finished their “migration” of Hotmail to Outlook.  Apparently, I’m special because I was one of the few people who had to create new passwords and user names to access my Microsoft Live account. I now have two – one for my phone and email and one for my online Windows Live Account. 

The two accounts can be “linked” for email purposes, but they do not “link” for any other purpose under the sun that I can tell. There’s no way to switch between the two and copy or sync or upload or download or…oh brother!

So, my phone won’t let me use my frontier.com/Hotmail/Live account.  Which has all my “stuff” on it – but doesn’t recognize my new phone.  I have to use my new Outlook.com sign in to get my phone to continue setting up.  Okay, my phone works; my contacts are there, but no apps.

To FURTHER confuse the issue, my calendar has “disappeared” from my phone.  Oh, it’s there at the start screen, but my calendar is apparently linked with my frontier.com/Hotmail/Live account – which my phone won’t let me use to set up my phone.  I have NOTHING on the Outlook.com sign-in except contacts.

I thought I’d be smart and install my frontier.com email and disable the email sync function (I don’t use that email anymore).  This partially resolved the calendar issue, but not completely.

I tried to fix the problem myself by looking at helps online.  I watched two videos that had lousy sound quality and the screen didn’t match my phone.

I contacted the Microsoft Community help boards online.  The answer was for me to contact Xbox and get it fixed.  I’m not even sure how that can be.  Why would I contact Mattel if my Wii wasn’t working?

In desperation, I emailed my contact at Microsoft – the one who gave me the help with my original post regarding Microsoft / phone products.  He never answered.  Okay, it’s not his job to help me.  Or he’s busy.  Or he’s left the country.  Pick one.

So, in FINAL desperation, I bring a bottle of wine over to my friend Jen’s house.  She says “it’ll take about 15 minutes for me to fix this”.  Two bottles of wine and an hour-and-a-half later…she’s had to ‘crash’ my phone (start from scratch), delete the Lumia from my frontier.com/Hotmail/Live account and I have to come up with a new Outlook.com sign-in password.  Finally, I have my apps.  (There is a lot of the story I’m not writing here because it’s too confusing to put down on paper and I’m not even sure I understand how to explain it to anyone unless they could have looked at it.)

NOW my problem is that my calendars STILL don’t sync; I have no ringtones other than factory MS tones (migraine anyone?) and some of the apps I had on my Windows 7 phone no longer are available for Windows 8.  Like the off-market Starbucks card app that I LOVED.  Starbucks won’t write one for Windows.  I know, first world problems.

So I’ve spent a total of about 5 hours upgrading my phone.  It should be ‘easy’.  It shouldn’t require me to have a MCSE figure it out for me.  Overall, I’m not impressed, AGAIN with Microsoft Windows Phone product. 

ON a separate note, I think the HTC charger port is phony.  The charger cord doesn’t slide into the port easily, and it doesn’t charge completely overnight if not correctly plugged in. 

The next phone I purchase will either be a Lumia product OR i'll jump the Microsoft ship and switch to an iPhone.  If the Lumia has the same issues that I’ve had with the two previous Windows OS for phones; I’ll be an Apple customer and Microsoft will have lost this housewife to the evil Borg.

“Skyfall” Review

****SPOILER ALERT****

Actors:  Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Javier Bardem, Naomie Harris, Ralph Fiennes

Rating:  PG-13

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1074638/

I’ll get some Bond basics out of the way.

Over the years I have watched almost all of the Bond movies; not because I’m necessarily a fan, but because they are good movies and my husband loves the franchise.  I’m not a Bond non-fan, either; it’s just not one of my movie picks.

My favorite Bond actors are (in order):  Pierce Brosnan, Daniel Craig, Sean Connery.  I like Timothy Dalton, but he just wasn’t “Bond” material.  Roger Moore was okay.  That listing and order likely disqualifies me for many people as a reliable reviewer of the Bond movies, but, it’s my blog.

My favorite Ian Fleming book is “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”.  Again, it’s my blog.  Deal with it.

Distractions:

Javier Bardem as a blonde.  Javier Bardem as a blonde with certain affectations.  The simpering lisp was a bit much.  His breathing was kind of weird and the jaw scene made me glad I had finished my Milk Duds much earlier.

I cannot stand Bond’s tailor.  His suit coat is too short. (Pierce’s somehow look longer – Daniel’s look too tight and like they don’t fit right)

 

A thin plot made it difficult to follow. 

What I disliked:

It’s a PG-13 movie.  It should have been rated “R” and would have been even maybe 5 years ago.  No full-frontal nudity or overt sexual acts; but “M” says the F-WORD.  And, there is sex and silhouettes and blood and quite a lot of violence.  I’m not so out of it that I don’t realize that most 13 year olds have seen or heard worse on Jersey Shore, but that doesn’t mean it’s right.  I expect all those things in an “R” movie.  Not in “PG-13” rating.

I don’t like that “M” dies.  (I warned you at the beginning I’d have spoilers.)  I love Judi Dench.  LOVE HER.  Yes, I realize it’s a new direction for Bond, off with the old-on with the new, blah, blah, blah.  I love her as “M” as I think it adds depth to Bond’s sometimes shallow character.  I especially liked her with Daniel Craig’s Bond because she softened him in a lot of ways.  I don’t like Ralph Fiennes so we’ll see where that goes. 

I don’t like it when the “Bond girl” dies.  And I’m not sure I am entirely sold on the “new” Moneypenny.  I kept seeing her with blacked-out teeth and pirates.

What I liked:

I LOVED SKYFALL (the house).  I’m sure Bond hates it because of horrid memories, but it was gorgeous in that European old-style lodge way.  I nearly cried in the finale when the helicopter hit it. 

The explosions, gun fights and action scenes were fantastic.  Car chases, train scenes, flipping cars.  AWESOME.

I loved the old school vs. new tech part of the plot; it ran pretty much throughout the entire film and it made the movie for me.

The new “Q” was great.  He was geeky and faulty and teachable and on Bond’s side. 

And the Aston Martin DB5?   I am so not a car chick, but, seriously, that is one HOT car. 

My overall review

Great movie, lots of action and old school vs. new school.  The plot was a bit thin for me, but the movie moved along fast enough that it didn’t distract from the story.  The ending was terrific; the bulldog with the flag adds a funny bit of humor throughout. We’ll definitely buy it when it comes out and watch it again.  And, I am just a wee bit excited for the 2014 Bond flick.  

Dear Bill:

First of all, let me state that I *understand* that Bill Gates no longer “runs” Microsoft.  I know that he’s passed his legacy on to other people and that he alone is not at fault in the defects and issues that Microsoft seems to possess.

But, let me also say that this is a post about Microsoft products; namely my Windows 7 phone, and the issues I’m having trouble understanding.  And, I’m PRETTY SURE there’s a “Bill” somewhere on one of the Windows 7 / phone teams….

I’ll admit that originally I was a Macintosh girl.  Not by choice, mind you, but it was the computer I worked on in my first large scale company job.  Although Macintosh/Apple has come a long way since then, I was unfaithful to Macintosh and ‘stepped out’ with Microsoft products at my next employment. I should have realized that my new electronics relationship was going to be trouble when I stared at my first blinking prompt on the DOS system.  The relationship has been downhill since then, with only brief blips of joy.  I still fantasize about Mac and may yet return to my first love.

If I had wanted to be a programmer, I would have certainly taken courses in college to understand how to communicate in computer-based languages.  Instead, I chose the path of being an administrative assistant (“secretary”) and chose to learn to type, operate a 10-key and answer the phone, as well as filing, communication with carbon-based life forms and processing reports. 

   

Since my initial introduction to “DOS”, I have been forced into learning all types of languages and communication skills that have no real basis in what I do on a daily basis.  Most of these languages involve some words my mother never taught me and my pastor wouldn’t approve of.  And the communication skills I’ve had to learn resemble banging my head against the wall instead of actually trading any information.  

Peeve

But, I digress; my issues with my most current Windows product deals with my Windows 7 phone; an HTC with AT&T service.    Yes, I know every phone is different and every service and every experience.  My blog, my rant.

First of all, I had to wait months for the “Mango” update on my phone.  My husband (same phone, same service) received his several months before I did.  Not having the Mango update on my phone meant I couldn’t download ringtones.  Stupid reason to be irritated?  Maybe.  But I hate electronic ringtones because they’re either chirpy or twangy or somewhere in-between that makes my head hurt.  

Then, when I finally got the Mango update, my calendar wouldn’t upload from Outlook.  I installed the Outlook Connector and nothing.  I asked my techie husband, and nothing.  I looked online (sorry, using Google) and nothing.  So I went through the LABORIOUS task of transferring all my outlook calendar information to my Hotmail account.  As I have things on the Outlook calendar scheduled several months out, this was quite a task.  Sigh.

Peeve 2.0

Version 2.0; get it?  I’ve had a Hotmail account but I never use it.  I was *forced* to use it to access our Troop’s former website (former for many, many reasons).  Except, one day, out of the blue, Windows Live decided it no longer liked my Hotmail account and wouldn’t let me in.  So, I switched it (eventually, after days of trying to fix/decode/figure out the silly thing) to my home email.  Problem solved.  Great; except shouldn’t a Microsoft program (Windows Live) have a pretty sure thing mentality towards a windows email (Hotmail)? 

Okay, so now I have a Windows Live account that won’t take my Hotmail account but will take my Verizon account.  Except Verizon changes to Frontier and I have to fix my Windows Live account.  No can do.  Okay, so I create yet another account (which means I have to create another password.  My feeble brain can only invent so many of these things).

So, now I have a Windows 7 phone, a Windows Live account that I access through my Frontier account and I’m using the calendar for Hotmail to dump onto my Windows 7 phone.  But, I can’t send calendar dates to my husband without sending him my entire calendar.  (Sending “appointments” was by far my FAVORITE thing about Outlook).  And, because my husband’s Hotmail account doesn’t work either, he had to set up a new one.  This means he has to *fix* the Windows Live component in order to view my Hotmail calendar.  So, we can no longer share dates on our calendars with each other.  Which means neither one of us know what the other one is doing unless I kill a tree by printing a paper calendar and hanging it on the wall.  Welcome to the age of technology, eh? 

Peeve 3.0 – 6.0

Applications?  Well, sure we’ve got apps!  I can play for (after a fee) any Xbox game I want on Windows 7 phones.  I can FINALLY access my Facebook application via mobile app.  I can play Words with Friends…wait a minute!  My iPhone friends have an app for WWF but MICROSOFT doesn’t?  What’s that you say?  I have to wait another 4-6 months for the mobile app for my phone?  

Some Podcasts work, some don’t.  I don’t understand which ones and why and why not.  Ravi Zacharias yes.  Dan Savage (what was I thinking?) yes.  T.D. Jakes?  No.  Same Podcast download, different results.  

My Bluetooth headset no longer syncs with my phone.  Why?  Don’t know.  All the internet searches say it “should”.  Great.

And Microsoft?  Somewhere in India there is a programmer who needs to learn to read US street signs.  I thought I was having an out of body experience the first time "Map Chick” told me to “Turn right at Nebraska 97^th Street”.  Nebraska.  United States Postal Service State Abbreviation NE.  It’s also, oddly enough the abbreviation for North East.  Which, I thought was pretty standard map-reading language.  Apparently, I was wrong.  Now, I realize that “Map Chick” means Northeast but just says Nebraska and I laugh.  Out loud; every time.  While I’m dissing “Map Chick”, I’d like to say that I KNOW how to get off my street thanks; and sometimes I drive the shortest way to the freeway just to hear you say “You’ve gone a different way! Tap anywhere to recalculate!”  Maybe I’ll have a life someday when I move to Nebraska 97^th Street.

Are there things I like about the Windows 7 phone?  Sure.  I like having my email show up on my phone so I can decide if I have to answer it right now or wait until I get to the laptop.  I like the camera function.  I like having the weather forecast and the Scanner application (saved me 30% at Bed, Bath & Beyond!).  I like that it sync’s with my Facebook peeps and that I can type notes or stories on it (I’m not fond that I have to wrestle yet again with Windows Live to transfer it to my laptop).  I haven’t used the cloud and I haven’t put music on my phone.  I have a Zune and I use it for my music (not my phone).  I have a couple of FREE games downloaded that I play while I wait at school for pickup or while I’m on hold on the land line.  And, yes, the phone works like a phone should.  

But then, my pay-as-you-go phone worked as a phone too but didn’t make promises it couldn’t keep.

Snow White and the Huntsman

I’m a movie sap.  I am NOT a movie aficionado, a purist or even a movie critic.  I like what I like and I don’t what I don’t.  My tastes are not definable, nor are they logical.  I love Pauly Shore movies and I detest anything with Christian Bale in it.  That being said….

SPOILER ALERT!!!

The Evil Queen dies, Snow White lives and they live Happily Ever After.  

Distractions:      It’s difficult to picture Chris Hemsworth as a drunk, depressed widower/huntsman when I’m too busy thinking of him as “Thor”. If you haven’t seen “Thor” or “The Avengers” you likely won’t have this problem, but seriously, it was a mind trip.

I also had a difficult time not being distracted by the non-dwarf dwarves, thanks to all the media blather about it.  That should teach me not to read anything about a movie BEFORE I’ve watched it, but as I rarely see movies in the theater, I’d never find out about anything, so it’s a distraction I have to deal with.

Charlize Theron is gorgeous.  Seriously, she is one of the women I’d like to come back as if I believed in reincarnation (Giada DiLaurentiis and Janet Jackson are my other two, BTW).  But it was hard to feel for her in this part as she’s blonde and her name is “Ravenna”.  It took me until the drive home to get the significance of all the Ravens…  And the aging thing was kind of distracting too.

Snow’s dirty cuticles were distracting, but then, I suppose a girl can’t really take a bath while running for her life and being led through the forest by some non-dwarf dwarves, “Thor” and a prince.  

I was equally distracted by the well-done, but not-by-the-book romantic plot.  Snow takes a bite of the apple, is choking and dying and all I can think about is shouting TRUE LOVE’S KISS!  TRUE LOVE’S KISS! KISS HER YOU FOOL!  Fortunately, I remember I’m in a theater and I have control of my romantic urges and eat a milk dud instead.  I won’t tell you who was supposed to kiss her, but he didn’t in that scene and I had to finish the box of milk duds.  IMMEDIATELY.

The Movie

Is the evil queen less beautiful than Snow White; could Charlize Theron even come in anywhere behind Kristen Stewart on a bad day (she DID look pretty bad in “Monster”)? Well, that’s up to you, but I found the entire cast completely mesmerizing.  Ravenna spends most of the movie aging and grasping at her youth by killing almost every single living woman in her dying kingdom.  It’s typical grey, dark, depressing scenery, complete with twisted vines, bugs, snakes and ravens.  She is a spoiled brat of a woman who berates her brother for not being able to out-wit Snow White.  Seriously honey, if you wanted her heart, why did you not go to the castle tower and snatch it out of her little body yourself?

The Huntsman spends most of the movie moping about his dead wife and denying that Snow is the princess/savior/promised one.  The non-dwarf dwarves help in some ways, but he doesn’t really come to the conclusion that Snow really going to de-throne the queen until after she’s “died”.  Hello?  I’m done with the Milk Duds!  What am I supposed to do now to quell hopeless the romantic dialogue that’s threatening to shout out?  Whew!  I still have Cherry Coke left.  All is well and there’s still some of the movie left too.

What I Loved

The scenery, the soundtrack, the CGI, the story that followed the fairy tale but strayed just enough to make it all work out.  The costumes and the script were awesome too, and I thought the cast played well in their roles.  I was so entranced I forgot to be distracted by the on again off again ‘accent’ Snow White had (darn movie critics for putting that in my head too!).  I loved that the heroine was scared and wounded yet fought and kept going.  I loved that she found wonder in the beauty of the butterflies, the fairies and the white stag.  I love that true love doesn't always appear in the usual ways.

The Conclusion

I’ll buy this movie on DVD (and probably the soundtrack too) and I’ll watch it over and over again – much to the confusion and annoyance of my teenage sons.  The story was traditional yet inventive, dark but not scary, and although it was predictable (I mean, it’s SNOW WHITE for Pete’s sake), I walked out of the theater completely feeling like I’d seen something new.  I love a movie that takes me away from my life for even a bit of time.  There was action, CGI, romance, magic, evil, non-dwarf dwarves, horses, beautiful costumes, a prince and a princess.   What could be better?

Through My Eyes Book Review

Tim Tebow with Nathan Whitaker

It’s a known fact that I profess not to like the memoir/autobiography genre much; but it’s becoming kind of passé as I’ve found several in the last year that I’ve really enjoyed (The Vow, Rob Lowe) and a few that I’ve not (Untied).  Maybe it’s that I’ve moved past the dislike and maybe it’s just that sometimes people’s lives are interesting no matter how long they’ve lived.

I like football and consider myself a “fan” but not a “fanatic”.  I’ll admit I can follow the game, know some of the strategy; the details, plays and statistics are not the part of the game that I enjoy, let alone pay attention to.  I don’t remember from year to year who won the Super Bowl; the college Bowl games, the Heisman trophies or how many yards so and so rushed or passed to pass a record.  I simply enjoy the game for the game itself:  the competition, battle between teams, fun to watch and vent my anxieties at and choosing who my favorites are.

I watch football (and moreover sports in general) because I like what I like and don’t what I don’t.  I have favorite players and teams and players and teams I can't stand – for a variety of reasons that I’ll neither try to explain or defend in this post.  But I’ll give you some examples.

I despise Michael Vick for everything he’s done in his personal life that shows me the true character of his professional life.  He had no compassion for creatures that were in his care and I have no compassion for him.  For this reason, I also despise the Philadelphia Eagles, Subway and Nike as they have encouraged his celebrity and diminished the horror of his crime by giving him money for being who he is.

I like Eli and Peyton Manning, Dave Craig and had a huge crush on Art Schlichter (Ohio State, Indianapolis).  Yeah, I like quarterbacks -- I didn’t say I had a perfect selection system, I just like what I like.  

I have a pretty big hate vote for Alex Rodriguez and Ken Griffey Jr.  I’ve “met” them both in person and was less than impressed with their character which, eventually, became evident to the world in a HUGE way. 

But, this isn’t a post about fan picks, fantasy sports teams, mended ways or 2^nd chances, this is a book review; so I’ll get to it.

I love Tim Tebow.  Not in a crush kind of way where I think he’s cute (which he is) but because I think he is a fantastic role model for people of all ages.  He has a walk with God and a life that represents what our Christian Life should be; he’s the same in person that he is in private and he puts God and his family first before everything else.  I knew all of this before I read the book.  You can see it in his face, in his press conferences, on the sidelines, in his advertisements, in almost every (positive) media article that’s written about him.

And then I read the book.  It’s filled with references to God and family and discipline and service to others.  I don’t recommend you read the book if you find any of those things offensive or over the top.  He is very clear about his walk with God, his obligation to his family and his love of people:  Kids, coaches, siblings, teammates.  He has no problem listing his shortcomings, laughing at himself, pointing out his failures; he mentions on almost every page his understanding that God has his back, holds his hands, has his future all planned out.  Tim has no problem understanding and accepting that his “higher power” is in control and that it’s okay if “Timmy” doesn’t have a clue how it’s going to all turn out. 

Sure, He’s only been out of college a couple of years; but he’s got a life store in those couple of decades that easily filled the pages of this book.  His parents were told to abort him, his mother prayed and prayed and successfully carried him to term.  He has four older siblings; all of them home-schooled and all of them happy and serving God.  He graduated from college with a 3.66 GPA and received a Bachelor’s Degree in Family, Youth and Community Services.  He has a charitable foundation named after him, volunteers his time in the Philippines at an orphanage and is not afraid to show his faith and Christianity everywhere he goes, even on the football field.

And, he talks about football and baseball and basketball and golf.  He writes about how his story is his ‘platform’, given to him by God and he’s just as happy to do whatever it is that God has in store for him (but he’d prefer it be football, or something to do with kids).  He talks in detail about his football games; the backyard plays with his brothers, High School, College and his first year with the Denver Broncos.  He doesn’t gloss over his mistakes and he takes responsibility for them too; he expects nothing from his teammates that he doesn’t do himself.    He talks about the Eye Black Bible verses, college selection process, the crazy (and aggressive) games against some teams (whose fans should really get a grip on reality!), and playing through injuries (even though he admits and admonishes that NO ONE should ever do that).

This is a young man that has a lot of life yet to experience and I have no doubt that God will bless him no matter what he does, regardless of whether he’s a football player or just a player in the daily grind of life.

It was a great book and I highly recommend it to everyone:  football fans, Christians, those searching for God and anyone that wants proof that God has a plan for everyone’s life.