Aviously

Batman V Superman #Review

@iAmAviG

August 1, 2016

For years Marvel has dominated the superhero movies, but DC doesn’t want to give up, and this was their latest attempt at breaching the Avengers barrier.

This movie starts with a mish-mash of scenes setting the movie up, with Superman causing devastation and death that affects Wayne Enterprises, leading Batman to want revenge against the Man of Steel.

The breaching of worlds ranges from Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent; Batman and Lex Luther; Gotham and Metropolis, all intertwined.

Ben Affleck’s Batman is darker and more intense than any we’ve seen before, and it ruins Batman as we know him.
I always liked Batman over Superman, simply because he was a regular human, with lots of money. But he would always keep things simple, and this time it was very over the top.
His entire outfit was armored to the teeth. Where previous Batman’s had thin, but strong, armor, this Batman had ginormous shoes and thick armor…just another case of DC trying too hard, maybe making him more like Iron Man? He felt more like Bane than Batman.

I’ve never understood the mindset of bad guys in these films. When facing off against Batman, and having a gun in hand, why would you run towards him, instead of just holding ground and shooting him? Obviously he’s going to flip you over and destroy you.

As I’ve said over and over, the movie was simply too over the top, trying too hard to be the best, and it was just too much.
The dialogue between our two heroes was weak, and most of Henry Cavill’s Superman lines were delivered flat.

On the bright side, when the Wonder Woman trailer came out last week, I was very disappointed in it, but seeing her in Batman V Superman made me want more of Gal Gadot’s character.

This movie also showed the formation of the Lex Luthor that we’ve all known for years, and Jesse Eisenberg did an outstanding job in that role.

It was a decent movie, just didn’t live up to the hype (or potential) that it could have. It gets a 7 out of 10.

Zoo – James Patterson

@iAmAviG

no comments

July 28, 2016

I recently read Zoo by James Patterson, randomly picking it up off the shelf at the library, not realizing that it is now a TV show.

The premise is quite simple: The animals of the world are rising up against humans and starting to kill us off.

In the book, it starts out with a lion attack at the Los Angeles Zoo that sends Jackson Oz on a worldwide mission to prove that his long-time theory is correct, of an increase in mammal attacks on humans.
The TV show, airing in the summers on CBS, starts off with Jackson (James Wolk) as a safari guide in Botswana.

His partners in his search include Abe Kenyatta (Nonso Anozie), newspaper reporter Jamie Campbell (Kristen Connolly, House of Cards), scientist Mitch Morgan (Billy Burke, Twilight) and French Intelligence Analyst Chloe Tousignant (Nora Arnezeder, Mozart in the Jungle).

The book was really good, and even though the show changed the plot a bit it too is really good.

They both get a 8 out of 10.

Getting More Parking Spaces #FixNYC

@iAmAviG

no comments

July 27, 2016

There is a former Fine Fare Supermarket near my house, that had allocated to it 4 parking spots just for “No Standing, Trucks Unloading 7AM-7PM”.

But with the store closing 2+ years ago, these spaces, in a semi-commercial neighborhood, were going to waste.
Other stores in the neighborhood were using it for their deliveries, even though their stores had their own “No Standing” spaces…which they then just were using for their own store trucks.

So I wrote an email back in May to Keith Bray, Brooklyn’s Department of Transportation Borough Commissioner, asking them to reassess the situation, and try and get some of our parking spots back.

After a few months I got a response back on Monday:

The Brooklyn Borough Engineering Office completed a field investigation at the above location. As a result, the signs were removed on July 11, 2016 at this location.

I went past the area yesterday and sure enough the spots have been turned into metered parking!

I’m sure the stores themselves are probably a little upset, but their trucks will just go back to doing what all trucks in New York City seem to do…double park; and the people trying to park in the area just gained four legal parking spots.

The way I see it, it’s a win for the drivers of Brooklyn, already struggling with parking spots.

Why You Need An Unlocked Phone

@iAmAviG

2 comments

July 26, 2016

When you buy a phone through your plans these days, you rarely get a deal anymore. They spread your costs out over 24 months, and in the end you end up with a carrier specific phone until you convince them to unlock it for you.

So why not just buy that unlocked phone to begin with? For starters the phone can be taken to any carrier whenever you want, while not tying you to a specific carrier for 24-months.

Did you know that 87% of smartphone owners will get a new one within the next two years, and 47% of owners will switch carriers.
But 68% of people claim to know what an unlocked phone is…and most of those are wrong in what they know, leading them to shy away from unlocked phones, or think it isn’t for them.

23% think an unlocked phone means it doesn’t need a password to open — FALSE
20% think unlocked phones are more expensive than carrier phones — FALSE
11% think that unlocked phones need to be hacked (or jailbroken) after purchase — FALSE

All those facts, are FALSE.

What’s the Truth?

27% don’t know that unlocked phones can be used on any carrier
76% don’t know that you don’t need a 2-year contract for an unlocked phone
89% don’t know that an unlocked phone can be used overseas

Go buy an unlocked phone the next time you get a new one. And if you don’t know where to start, or don’t want to spend $700+ on a phone, try the brand new Moto G4 line.

Inside Man #Review

@iAmAviG

1 comment

July 25, 2016

I rewatched the now 10-year-old movie Inside Man this weekend, and it holds up to the time test.

Inside Man was directed by Spike Lee and starred Clive Owen and Denzel Washington.

NYPD negotiator Keith Frazier (Washington) is called in for a bank robbery/hostage situation which is being masterminded by Dalton Russell (Owen). Everything has been meticulously thought out, and the ominous threat of hostage killings and the fact that Russell says he will just stroll out the door when it’s all over.
The movie also stars Jodie Foster (as a power broker) and Christopher Plummer (the bank owner).

Funny enough, the music from this movie is so unlike most movies (and when you listen to it makes you expect a Middle Eastern movie), and I instantly associate it with this film.
Chaiyya Chaiyya

If you somehow have shunned this movie until now, it’s gotta be the next one you watch.
A mix of laughs and criminal genius, this movie is a 9 out of 10.

July Songs of the Day #SOTD

@iAmAviG

no comments

July 22, 2016

Here is the latest installment of Song of the Day.

Lush Life – Zara Larsson

I live my day as if it was the last
Live my day as if there was no past
Doin’ it all night, all summer
Doin’ it the way I wanna

Hell No – Ingrid Michaelson

Am I gonna miss you?
Hell no!
Baby watch me up and go
Mama said that the boys like you
Never work out anyway
My girlfriends say are you gonna be sad
If he calls you up, you gonna take him back?
I said Hell no, oh Hell no!

Final Song – MØ

But when you’re gone the music goes
I lose my rhythm, lose my soul
So hear me out before you say the night is over
I want you to know that we gotta, gotta carry on
So don’t let this be our final song

Hymn For The Weekend – Coldplay feat. Beyonce

Oh, angel sent from up above
You know you make my world light up
When I was down, when I was hurt
You came to lift me up
Life is a drink, and love’s a drug
Oh, now I think I must be miles up
When I was a river, dried up
You came to rain a flood

The Future of MTA Subways

@iAmAviG

no comments

July 21, 2016

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced this week the next steps for NYCs MTA Subways, and the future is full of technological advances that were a long time coming.

The problem with how fast technology is advancing, by the time that one thing is implemented, in multi-million-dollar-fashion, it’s time to start working on the new upgrades.
We see this on a smaller level with the cars we buy. You buy the newest model, and the next years suddenly has WiFi enabled, or a backup camera, or self-parking.

Looking at the stations and entryways, they are adding in cleaner/more modern looks, with both the lighting and floors. Neighborhood maps added so that people can find their way around once they get off the trains, more countdown clocks for upcoming trains, both at ground level (before you enter the station) and on the platforms, as well as USB Charging ports dotting the station walls.

On the trains themselves, they added new lighting inside and out, wider doors to allow faster entry/exits, and more flip seats, allowing space for tighter packed cars, as well as wheelchair spaces.

But there are two bigger changes.
The first are open gangways between cars. No longer will there be doors and creaky walkways where walking was illegal. The problems I see: While the homeless (and their smell and liquid spills) now will spill over from car to car, instead of being contained.
The other change is the modernization. Most specifically, new digital signage with upcoming stops (current subways have fixed signs, with lights that turn on and off, leaving maps on trains running on the incorrect line than they were built for, completely useless) USB Ports for phone charging, and WiFi. Yup, now the obnoxious people who listen to music out loud without headphones, can access their latest TV shows, all from the comfort of WiFi.

For all the pictures from the release you can view them here, and for all the info on the announcement, and more new features you can read that HERE.

Spectre #Review

@iAmAviG

no comments

July 19, 2016

I finally got around to watching the latest 007 Bond movie, Spectre, and I’m glad I did.

It was one of those movies that I didn’t care if I saw or it didn’t see, and I’d wait until I stumbled across it on a streaming service…and the 99 cent weekend rental on iTunes did the trick.

The movie was full of everything you’d ask from a Bond movie: Martinis (shaken not stirred), expensive cars, insane villains, and the girl.

Daniel Craig returned as James Bond, Lea Seydoux (The Grand Budapest Hotel) is the girl, and Christoph Waltz is the villain….and not just any villain. He plays Blofeld, a long time Bond foe, and we see his creation to the way he has been portrayed for years, even in Austin Powers.

007 Spectre gets a decent 8 out of 10.

Pearls Before Swine

@iAmAviG

1 comment

July 18, 2016

Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis is one of my favorite comic strips, and while I don’t read daily anymore, I do have one of those “Page-A-Day Calendars” of the strip, and here are some from the last few weeks that I found particularly funny/clever.

The Future of Cell Phones

@iAmAviG

no comments

July 15, 2016

Last year I discussed how Motorola, and their cheaper phones were the way of the future, due to no more “Two year contract free phones”.

I can go ahead and write about how their phones are still cheaper and better than any other phone out there, but those comparisons are unnecessary, because people don’t like to listen to proven logic.
Just looking at the new Moto G4 and Moto G4+ gives me hope for the future of cheap phones.

But on the note of the future, let’s take an early look at the Moto Z, and it’s exciting Mods, which will be coming out on Verizon this summer, and unlocked by the Fall.

The Moto Z is the first of the new lines of phones to use Mods to help enhance your phone.
These mods simply attach to the back of your phone, using pin connectors and magnets to hold it in place.
The Moto Z itself has a 40-hour battery life, and a 21MP camera. And then you add on the connectors.

For starters there are four types of Mods, that will obviously expand as time goes on.

Speaker – JBL boombox style speaker, with a 10 hours of battery life
Projector – Up to a 70″ projection
Power Pack – 22 more hours of battery life, and some editions will have wireless charging in them
Shells – Wood and leather backs for your phone, that can easily be swapped in and out.

Prices on all of these are still unknown, but knowing Motorola like I do, I have to assume they will all be reasonably priced, and a great look into what the future holds.

Speaking of which: We should talk about Ara at some point.

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: