Monthly Archives: January 2018

One site to rule them all!

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OK, so if you aren’t a Lord of the Rings fan, that isn’t going to mean anything. But if you are….

I’m a huge movie fan. And I have a bunch of movies digitally. It is really cool that I can watch a high definition film on any of my devices, anywhere I am (with an internet connection….). What isn’t so cool is trying to figure out WHICH service has WHICH movies! It is absolutely CRAZY!!!!

For example, I have the complete catalog of Star Trek films, including two of the reboot films, on Vudu. But not the first one!!! I can only see that one on iTunes, where none of the others can be seen! And I have Bridget Jones Diary and Bridget Jones The Edge of Reason on Vudu but only The Edge of Reason on iTunes!!! I actually got frustrated enough to put together an Excel spreadsheet listing where which movie is located. It is absolutely absurd!

It seems as if Vudu and iTunes don’t play well together. Vudu is the digital service associated with WalMart (which is pretty much the extent of my involvement with WalMart after I almost got hit trying to park in the parking lot the first 3 times I went there – I don’t even try any more – those people are NUTS!!!). And Disney Movies Anywhere is going away, so now I can see those films and some of the others on other sites on Movies Anywhere. Of course, I can’t find an app for that on my TVs so that only helps on my iPad.

I find it ironic that digital copies are supposed to make it so much easier for us to have a library of our favorite films, but there is no central place to access all of them!

Hence, my “One site to rule them all!” I’m not asking for Gandalf to rescue us from the digital craziness (Sauron or Saruman?) but I would be happy to snuggle down in Bag End and just stream my movies from one place!!! Too much to hope for? Perhaps I’ll just be Gollum and stroke my iPad whispering “My Precious!”

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Faux “No Animal Testing except where required by law”

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I’ve been MIA for a while, but I promise to be better.

As someone very against Animal Testing on Consumer Products (the Medical testing conversation is best left to another day…), I’m constantly irritated by companies that try and hedge their bets (basically, snow the consumer) with their comments like “only test where required by law”. Well, there is no such law in many countries, so the bottom line is choosing dollars over animals when deciding to sell in brick and mortar stores in those countries that do require it!

Companies with a long history of not testing on animals choosing to start up again in order to enter new markets are the worst in my opinion. They made the commitment not to test at one point, and gained a large market share of business. To choose to forsake that commitment now is truly heartbreaking! And because I have to go there – part of me wonders if this is because of the “less kind, less gentle” climate in the US under the current administration.

But we have a choice! There are so very many excellent choices that don’t require pain, suffering, and death!!! It is your choice!

A friend of mine sent me an invite to a virtual party for Younique this morning. This company falls under what I consider lazy companies. They claim they do not test the “finished product” on animals – but that does not ensure in any way that animals are not tortured as part of the materials formulation! They haven’t researched their suppliers. They haven’t gotten any Cruelty-Free certification. In my opinion they are lazy or don’t care. I replied to her invite politely stating that since they are not Cruelty-Free they are not an option for me. Sadly it didn’t seem to stop anyone else since orders have rolled in.

What kind of society are we when everything we have is built on the backs of a person or animal suffering for us to have it?