LucasMarius.com

So I went to watch “Spartacus: Blood and Sand” (Season 1 with Andy Whitfield, RIP) this morning, since I’ve been slowly getting my girlfriend Chelsea into it, and continue with episode 3. To my shock, it was gone! Then, she had reminded me that the Starz contract with Netflix expired. It expired on February 28th of this year – and coincidentally, the day we watched episode 2 was on the 27th.

I will miss Starz on Netflix. It wasn’t a huge percentage of Netflix streaming content, but it had a lot of the quality movies and TV programming with it, including a lot of Sony and Disney favorites. An estimated “over 1,000 movies” have been removed.

Starz believes that it can make more money (than the $200 million offered by Netflix), by making users subscribe to their cable channels. What do you think about that? I think it’s a bit backward-thinking. Online/cloud streaming is the way of the future – it’s simple, convenient, and relatively inexpensive. A streaming subscription to Hulu Plus in addition to the Netflix one will provide enough entertainment for the common viewer. Devices are also pretty cheap, like the Roku streaming player for around $50. There are no long-term commitments as you have with cable. For the around $15-$20 you’d spend getting just the Starz/Starz-on-demand channels, you can get the two online subscriptions mentioned above!

This is a pretty major loss for Netflix, but I expect them to bounce back soon. Starz will likely be picked up by an eager competitor (Blockbuster or Amazon Instant Video, perhaps?), but I also see Netflix making more similar deals with other content providers.

They will have to be competitive – and even more so, to stay as ahead of the pack as they have been.

I took my girlfriend here with the ‘2 for 1′ ticket week on Broadway. Before this, I have only seen the 2004 movie, with Gerard Butler and Emmy Rossum – and I loved it. The music, the acting, the story, the lyrics! I was further amazed reading an interview with Gerard Butler, where he said he had pretty much never sung before getting the part of “Phantom”. He had to take thousands of hours of singing lessons for the movie, and that is both admirable and impressive. A man who puts so much work and dedication into a movie, is a man who respects and enjoys his craft! A very far stone’s throw away from his ab-bulging counterpart in 300.

The Broadway show was impressive as well. I love live performances. Live music. Live voices. All of the voices that night carried – and were very powerful, working with the acoustics of the theater. The stage-work was impressive, the costumes were extravagant, and the live orchestra was sublime.

I can’t say a negative thing about this show. Go see it. You owe it to yourself. It’s a timeless classic.

Hands down, this is one of the most fun movie experiences I’ve had since possibly as far back as “Return of the King”. Sam Worthington has really found his stride as an actor. If you enjoyed “The Negotiator”, with Samuel L. Jackson and Kevin Spacey, this movie is most definitely your cup of tea. I didn’t expect much, especially since the title of the movie sounds overly-descriptive (“Snakes on a Plane”? What’s that movie about?!), but it really came through as a ton of fun.

I must also say, that seeing Ed Harris playing the bad guy is spine-chilling – and unexpected. I’m used to him playing the good guy (“The Abyss”, “Radio”), or the bad guy who grew a conscious (“The Rock”, “National Treasure: Book of Secrets”). But he plays a really great old/bad guy.

Great cast all around. Even the homeless guy makes a great contribution, and is a crowd-favorite/pleaser.

I am definitely getting this on Blu-Ray as soon as it comes out. Or on Netflix streaming, whichever is available first!

Hope you enjoy it!

Well, I was skeptical about yoga for a very long time. Right up until today. I always thought it was just a bunch of stretches that ‘I could do on my own anyway’. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

If you are like most people in the US, you’re battling many health problems, especially obesity and heart and lung problems. Everyone tells you that it’s simply not enough to go on the latest fad diet – the weight always comes back, usually in larger amounts. What is required, is a lifestyle change.

Well, I think I’ve found my lifestyle change.

Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to present to you – Bikram Yoga.

What is it?
It’s a specific form of ‘Hot’ yoga, which always lasts for 90 minutes. By ‘hot’, I mean – the room is heated, anywhere from 105-110 degrees Fahrenheit.

You will sweat like you’ve never sweat before. They tell you to bring a change of clothes, because what you wear there will be thoroughly drenched after the session.

It involves a few breathing exercises, one at the beginning and one at the end. (This can vary by studio, or instructor though, I imagine.) Then you have a bunch of different poses you do sequentially. It’s very intense, but it was my first time, and if you’re even a little athletic you shouldn’t have too much trouble doing these. I had more trouble with certain ones than others, but that was to be expected.

Here are a few helpful links: Poses, FAQ.

The rates aren’t that bad, and I especially recommend the 1-week unlimited deal, to get you started. Most places have this. The one I went to (Bay Ridge Bikram), had a week for $20. That’s a great amount of time to figure out if you love this, or if you hate it. I loved it.

There were times that I had to sit down and rest for a little, but that’s encouraged – especially over leaving the room. They say your first time is considered a success if you don’t leave the room. They also say that you should do your best to go on your 2nd day in a row, even though you will probably be very sore. It gets progressively better as you go. I talked to a few people there as well, and they all say that they’ve seen a drastic change in their health due to their doing this Yoga.

Doing this regularly, is a pretty big lifestyle change, in and of itself. I don’t see anyone surviving one of these 90 minute sessions, and then rushing to McDonald’s for a super sized #2, for example. When I got out, I picked up some fresh berries to eat at home. Yum.

So here I am, in bed, on my final night of my hospital stay ecstatic that I got the free Wi-Fi working again.. I watched a few shows on Hulu, some on Netflix, and even did a reverse sync from my iPhone to this Laptop to copy down a few Glee\Spartacus episodes. Then I read up on the new Netflix plans (finally a streaming-only membership plan for $7.99/mo), and a little something about Apple TV. Apple TV looks sweet – 99cent TV show and movie rentals? HUGE savings for me, the chronic Best Buy shopper/returner. I checked out the iTunes store, and their TV show and Movie offerings. There was a ‘99 cent Movie Rentals’ section, so I checked that out. Wanted to keep it cheap tonight (especially since I can (and usually do) stream this stuff for free). I wanted to feel legit for a few minutes, ya know?

Anyway, I saw that Saw 3 was on sale as a rental for a buck. I clicked ‘Buy’. What happened next boggles my IT mind. Why would a ‘rental’ service not be using some variety of the streaming content model!???

So, I knew the following facts:
I had a 2GB download ahead of me.
When I started the download, it said that the ‘time remaining’ was over 4 hours’ – and since the movie is under 2 itself, you’d need to download MOST of it before being able to watch it from beginning to end…

Since these rentals usually cost $2.99 when not on sale, I could have just walked to the local video rental place which is a block away, and costs the same amount for a day’s rental. I expected added convenience to that… like being able to watch it instantly! Instant gratification is the reason that Netflix Instant Streaming is now leading their business model (i’m fairly sure), and why Hulu started charging for Hulu Plus.

Come on Apple, get it together. And while you’re at it, I think all movies should be 99 cents all the time to rent. TV shows could be 50 cents. You can already buy almost every TV episode on the air for 99 cents with the Amazon one-click thing – it’s awesome and I’ll be using it a lot more.

To sum this up, Instant Streaming is the way of the future – and that is mostly for the sake of convenience, ease of use, and the ‘all-in-one’ concept we all know and love – by that I mean, having one device that does everything, like iPhones, and Blu-Ray players that also have Netflix/Hulu software components.

Thanks!
Lucas Marius

At times I wonder if I’ll ever be someone’s Grand Prize, as opposed to a consolation prize. Funny, because the only people that have treated me as such, I have somehow managed to turn away. Most, probably for good.

I yearn for thoughtless days, and a dreamless nights.

If bad examples were the currency of today, I would be a rich rich man.

Why do we live in such hypocritical times? Is it just specific people? I’m leaning towards the former….. so is it just human nature to set one rule for one’s self and another for one’s others? Or do we truly live in a world where entitlement is the most valuable of currencies, and some simply believe they are worth more? The “timely elite.”

The only thing I guess I can do is make sure I do not follow in these footsteps. I will never adhere to the practice of ‘do as I say not how I do’. I will always under promise, and over deliver – not vice versa. I think I’ve been doing alright in these practices in my own company, but time will tell. I think one thing that any boss absolutely NEEDS, is to be respected. And unfortunately, that respect needs to be earned, as it is rarely freely given. And when it is, it is given in short supply and has a hefty upkeep.

I’ve been coming to work on time ever since I was talked to about my rare ‘tardiness’.. I’m doing it for no reason other than to better myself – because when I’m in a position of ‘power’, I will do my best to truly lead by example.

It’s really the only way to do it right. And think how efficiency and productivity would improve!!!…

In a perfect world, perhaps.

Friendship, requires effort from both sides. Love is the level 99 version of friendship.

What does it take to be someones friend? (And I don’t mean facebook friend )

How do you distinguish people into the following categories?

Acquaintance
Friend
Good friend
Best friend

It’s funny how the more something saves you in terms of time, the ‘better’ and therefore more expensive it is. We want faster computers, quicker turnaround times, speedier commutes, etc.

But then why are we so enamored with time sinks, such as sources of ‘entertainment’? Why spend $XXX dollars more on a computer that will speed up program load times by 10 seconds, when we so willingly give our time up to just about anything unproductive? I myself fall victim to this, probably daily… And you don’t realize it unless you take a step back. I’ve recently gotten into Glee. Before that, I was an avid Spartacus watcher. Then Lost, 24, House and so on. These shows are engineered to be appealing. The production process has been all but perfected. At this point, someone can think up weak plots and crappy suspense because there are other inter-changeable elements that will still give you the ‘tear-jerk’ or ‘edge-of-your-seat’ feel you have come to like and expect.

Wasting time has been perfected. We WANT to do it.
Making us Want to save time has been perfected. We want the faster computer, the shiny new iPad.

Check and mate, lady society, and madam capitalism.

Well played.

This is what I wrote in my card to my mommy for Mother’s day – did my best to write it in Polish… lol – here goes:
–
Droga Mamusiu,

Wszystkiego Najlepszego z okazji Dniu Mamusi =) jestes super duper mama – I mam nadzieje ze kiedyś sobie taka żone kiedyś znajde – taka co by dbała o swoje (nasze) dzieci, tak jak Ty dbasz I kochasz swoje. Jestem bardzo szczęśliwy być twoim synkiem. Zawsze ciebie kochalem, kocham, I będe kochał. Mam nadzieje że w tym dniu czujesz się jako najlepsza mamusia – bo w serduszku wiem że jestes, I zawsze bylaś.

Kocham cię ogromnie!
Łukasz
–

I’m sure I made some misspellings, but I know she won’t care.

Hope everyone has a great day!
Lucas