The Fluff Five
5 Pointless DVD Special Features
5. Music Video. For the song that I just finished listening to during the closing credits, no less. And almost certainly a lame movie-tie in song or a terrible cover. And the video is always just a montage of movie scenes. Again, from the movie I just finished watching.
4. Trailers for Other Movies. There was a time, long before the era of You Tube and digital cable with 800 channels, when we (in our innocence) thought of previews as some kind of fun treat. But now they're just glorified ads. Why do I want to spend my time watching commercials and pretending that they're some kind of special gift to me?
3. Interactive Facts. I can't even imagine the situation in which I would be so bored as to make use of the interactive gizmo thing that is senselessly included as a way to let you know how many cars were used in the climactic chase scene or how many bagels the caterers served.
2. The Producer's Commentary. Some commentaries are interesting and add a lot to your knowledge of the film. Others consist of nothing more than variations on, "I am very important and was involved in this movie in a surprisingly boring context." Guess which this is?
1. Trailers from the Movie. Why on earth would I want to watch the trailer for the movie I either just saw or am about to watch? This is just blatant Special Feature padding; an attempt to make it look like you put more effort into this alleged "Special Edition" than just coming up with a new packaging scheme.
Fluff Five Archive
Sporty Fluff
Hulagan's NCAA Football Picks
by Hulagan
Now, with 33% fewer Tebow references and 100% of the fear of Southern sorority girls! Catch up with the latest picks . . .
Uninformed Draft Analysis
We now have a four hour countdown show of sports analysis . . . all leading up to an event that is essentially two full days of sports analysis. And all to give a measure of rationality to the multi-million dollar coin flip that is the NFL draft. We pit our lack of knowledge against the experts. Read the Full Article.
Uninformed NFL Picks
I figure that almost any system could be nearly as accurate as the knowledgeable sportswriter method, and to test this theory, I’m going to be making mostly uninformed football picks every Friday. (I say “mostly” because every once in awhile, despite my best efforts, some bit of statistical football knowledge might penetrate my brain.) Read the Full Article
Sports, Politics, and Figure Skating
Having been asked numerous times in the last week by my frustrated and bored husband why I insist on watching the Winter Olympics (otherwise known as the “Boring Olympics” or the “Olympics with all the Non-Sports”), I have come to the conclusion that it has nothing to do with enjoying the sports themselves. Read the Full Article
Random Fluff
When Valentine's Day Goes Wrong
Still getting the silent treatment several weeks after the yearly romantic minefield? We can tell you where it all went wrong. Read the Full Article
Ill-Fated Resolutions
Whatever the reason for the good intentions that hit somewhere around the 3rd or 4th of January (because let’s face it, you never start a resolution on January 1st—you spend the day stuffing your face with nachos and coming up with the promises that will start in a day or two . . . once you’re “mentally ready”), it’s a wonderful ride until one’s true nature reasserts itself. Read the Full Article.
Launch Madness
Inexplicably, we line up at midnight to buy video games, DVDs, game consoles, and phones. Phones, for God’s sake. Are we so overcome by materialism and advertising that we can’t wait until morning to buy a damned phone? Read the Full Article
Prue's Imaginary Interviews
An Interview with a Fox Executive
"I hope that, looking back on it all, I’ll be able to say that wherever the network standards were kind of low, I managed to take them a little lower." Read the Full Story . . .