LA FLORIDIANA Book Review: “Totch - - A Life in the Everglades”  by William Moriaty

THIS WEEK'S MOVIE REVIEW "Super-Size Me"  by Mike Smith

ODDSERVATIONS Spider-Man 2 Review  by Andy Lalino

COUCH POTATO Bright House DVR vs. TIVO....The Grandfathers of Goth....TV Notes....Spider-Man 2 Review  by Vinnie Blesi

SPLASH PAGE Free Comic Day  by Brandon Jones

MATT'S RAIL It's A Bash, Dude!....Bush Speak<  by Matt Drinnenberg

MIKE'S RANT This Week's Issue....The Greatest Ever....Get Well....Now The Song Makes Sense....Movie Notes....Screen To Stage....Meet The Beatles, Part 24  by Mike Smith

Archives of Nolan's Pop Culture Review

Archives 2004 Archives 2003 Archives 2002 Archives 2001 Archives 2000

Email PCR Home

A sardonic commentary on America’s favorite pastime.

Bright House DVR vs. TIVO
I recently moved and a canopy of trees covers my new house. The cost of tree cutting, as I found out, is outrageous, so I have been forced to give up my Directv service in favor of Bright House Cable in Tampa Fl. I have been telling the cable company I prefer to live in a Dark House but they have ultimately prevailed.

I had the Tivo service for about a year and a half and have loved it since day one. Unfortunately, my Tivo was built into my Directv receiver, and not a stand-alone model, so I am currently using the DVR (digital video recorder) service from Bright House. While Tivo was a simple, intuitive, and polished service, the Bright House DVR sports cheesy graphics looking like some old DOS program, is hard to use and seems to not want to record my favorite shows unless they are shown in the same time slot. I recently missed 2 episodes of “Street Fighter 2” because the damned box didn’t record them, even though I selected the option “Record all time slots” from their complicated menu.

The other thing I miss is the Tivo’s suggested recording feature and its wish list feature. The Tivo would record shows that I said I had a preference for, so it would record shows automatically if there were space available on the hard drive. I was also able to do a wish list for “horror movies” and it would show me all the horror movies coming up so I could choose what to record. The Bright House DVR has neither of these features.

I always said Tivo was easy enough that my 80-year-old mother could use it. Unfortunately I can’t say that for Bright House DVR. 3 weeks into the service and I am still trying to figure it out. On the Bright Side, the cable company’s DVR is relatively new and hopefully software upgrades will make it more usable in the future.

The Grandfathers of Goth
What better way to spend the July 4th weekend, than listening to the new CD from the Grandfathers of Goth, The Cure. Finally leaving Fiction Records, and forcing Chris Parry to get a day job, this is the first release for Geffen and is simply titled “The Cure”.

Produced by Ross Robinson, some hard rock icon, his presence is felt very little and instead what we have a cd full of classic Cure sounds. The band is a tight as it has ever been, and other than the single, “The End of the World”, this cd has a rawness similar to “Kiss Me” or “The Top”. From the angst in the first track, “Lost”, to the last track’s ten minute dirge this cd is exactly what Cure fan’s would expect. There is nothing new or groundbreaking on this release, just a bunch of old goth’s still plying their craft.

TV Notes
As usual The Sci-Fi Channel begins their new shows in the summer. Look for the premiere of "Stargate Sg-1" Friday July 9th. This show has lost steam since leaving the Showtime cable network and I can’t believe they are beating this dead dog for another season. Also look for a spin-off "Stargate Atlantis" premiering July 16th.

The premium channel Encore Action has started showing reruns of disaster king Irwin Allen’s “The Time Tunnel”. They also show reruns of “The Green Hornet” as well as the most anime on television.

Spider-Man 2 Review
No, I am not reviewing the movie, but the Pop Tarts. With their tasty spidey-berry goodness and spider web frosting there is no toaster needed for this yummy goodness, just eat ‘em right out of the package. Each foil wrap package is glow in the dark for even more fun, plus they leave your tongue a pleasant bluish-red color. For kids of all ages I give Spider-Man 2 pop-tarts 5 out of 5 stars.