Not often I find something that makes this much of a difference, though I did almost trip into some anxiety along the way…. skipping that because talking about the anxiety makes it worse, I thought I was in trouble, if I was I’ll find out when I find out, but I’m not going to stress about it, why borrow trouble is my attitude. Talking about it actually could make it in specifics actually could make it more likely, irony abounds.
Anyway when I was replacing my mouse it came with a little disc, and that made me nostalgic for having a disc drive. That was the true origin of this whole thing. I realized that if I had a disc drive I could get access to a whole world of movies that were off limits to me at present, because streaming services right now are shrinking the scope of their offerings. My budget is also shrinking. I could get more bang for my buck with DVDs than buying digital copies, and DVDs are mine forever I’m not buying viewing rights, which is something else entirely.
So a few days later and a $25 optical drive purchase, and I’m able to rip DVDs from my extensive collection straight to my PC, and I have some obscure titles that will never come to streaming and I haven’t seen them in years. I forgot the simple joy of clicking on a file and watching an old movie in digital, not having to negotiate with a streaming service to get what you want or figure out which service it is on. I can move files where I need them and create libraries and playlists to my hearts content.
My first two weren’t that nutty; An animated favorite We’re Back A Dinosaur Story and Don Knott’s The Love God?
This Don Knotts movie might be his best because it shows his range, and he was kind of a rake in real life. It shows his contrast that people thought he was an aww shucks country boy but he got around if you know what I mean. Right now I’m ripping Jumanji because I need more Robin Williams in my life.
I have the two movies that started it all coming in the mail on Tuesday; The Hanged Man about a group of suicidal young adults who meet in a barn to end it, but one of them is a ghost. I watched it with my lover after my ex wife left, it has a great line read by a gay cowboy “Hater, Judger, Why don’t you serve up a plate of hatertots?” We named our cat hatertot. of course it’s all years gone by now, she the lover has become just a friend and the cat has gone to cat heaven or hell, I don’t know how cat afterlife works.
Then I’ve also got 7 days to live coming. This couple buys a house in the middle of a swamp to get over the death of their son, and the husband gets possessed by a demon or something. The best part is the end of the film the house sinks into the swamp while everyone stands around watching it sink, it’s epic. Don’t build your house in a swamp is the lesson, I think. So many obscure movies I’ve got, so many of them that the digital copies would cost $20 for what? so Bezos can buy more stuff? No thanks, I’ll just keep a digital copy on my hard drive.
Simple stuff sometimes, you’ve got to find what works.
Oh and there was this huge branch in my back yard that was dead and hanging over it, and it fell last night, huge relief, maybe that’s a metaphor? I hope, man do I hope that stuff will start coming through.
1 comment
This is so relatable. I have the same attitude toward streaming services. The number 1 rule of finances is buy, don’t rent. And streaming services are like renting. Even worse, it’s like renting from a lousy landlord who keeps removing rooms, adding new ones, hauling away your cozy armchair and replacing it with a barstool. With physical DVDs and blu-rays (ripping them to a physical drive), you have ownership again.
It’s so bizarre that you’d think modern technology would put every movie at everyone’s fingertips all the time, but the opposite is the case. Obscure titles that don’t make the streaming roster end up obliterated from history. I never thought DVDs could become collectors items but the rare ones are quite valuable and fetch a pretty penny on ebay.