"All-You-Can-Watch MoviePass Brings Netflix Model to Theaters"

This article talks about MoviePass, a new service that is currently being tested in San Francisco, with plans to expand nationally by the fall. It's a service like NetFlix, where you pay one flat rate fee and can get an unlimited amount of movies each month. In this case, though, instead of DVDs shipped to your home it's movies at the theater that you get for $50.

It's an interesting concept but I don't know many people who go to that many movies each month to make it worthwhile. Of course, the benefit for most companies like this is that people buy something and don't use it enough to make it worth their while but keep the subscription anyway. It's not a bad idea and I'm honestly surprised it's taken so long for something like this to be developed.

The article mentions a cheaper service that is under consideration that costs $30/month for access to four movies and I have to say that might be something I would consider, especially if you can start and stop the service as easily as you can with Netflix. There are definitely months (like in the summer or around the Academy Awards) when there are four movies I would want to see. But not all months. Plus, movies cost over $10 here so really as long as you went at least three times you would be saving some money.

Movie review: Bad Teacher

Bad Teacher opens this weekend and I had the chance to watch it on Wednesday at a free advanced screening. I have to say, I laughed really hard. It seems to be getting only average reviews but it's not often that I laugh so consistently throughout a movie so I recommend it. It's crude and Cameron Diaz plays a really despicable person but she's remarkably good at it and does get her comeuppance a few times. She has a rival teacher that you kind of root for, plus Jason Segel, from How I Met Your Mother, is awesome in that his character sees right through Cameron's character.

Well-Read Cities

I came across this article - Cambridge, Mass. tops Amazon's list of 'well-read' cities - and while that's great and all for Cambridge, I couldn't help but notice that number 10 on the list is Arlington, VA, where I live!

National Dump the Pump Day

Apparently today was National Dump the Pump Day, brought to us by the National Public Transportation Association in an effort to promote the use of public transportation. While I did not take public transportation today, I have dumped the pump recently. Something major is wrong with my car and I've been holding off on getting it fixed for awhile, sort of seeing how long I can make it without a car. It's been about six weeks and it's not been bad. I'm lucky that I can walk to work and be there in about 12 minutes. If worse comes to worst (like there's a major storm or something), I do have the option of taking a bus that leaves about a block from my house and drops me off directly across the street from my work.

Probably the times I miss my car the most is on the weekends. I have to run all my errands on foot or by using public transportation and some days it's harder than others. I have a grocery store about two blocks away and another about 8-10 blocks so I go to both regularly. My other most common errand-running is to the library, which is about 4 blocks away. So those two things are pretty easy, although it does mean that I can't buy too much from the grocery store at one time. Hanging out with friends isn't too tough because a few of my friends don't have cars anyway so we usually meet at spots accessible by public transportation. Going shopping or to Target, one of my favorite stores, is the toughest. I wouldn't call myself a shopaholic but I do like to go shopping every once in awhile. There are a couple malls or shopping centers directly off the Metro and I've also discovered a bus that leaves from by my house and goes directly to Tyson's Corner Center, one of the biggest malls in the area. I tried that out a couple weeks ago and it was super easy. There is a Target on a bus route and I did that in early May but had my car been working, I would've been to Target at least a couple more times since then. The Target I like best is not a quick bus ride away, unfortunately. I guess there are worse things than not visiting Target several times a month.

I've found that I actually enjoy taking the bus. It's nicer than taking the train because you are above ground and can actually look out the window and see sights. It's also cheaper. And, it's kind of a neat way to see a new area. Plus, the NextBus system lets you plug in your stop information and see exactly how many minutes away the next bus is... that enables you to stay at home until the last minute and not have to sit at the bus stop waiting.

In sum, I do plan on getting my car fixed soon but I gave up my parking pass at work, so I have given up the pump in that respect. While I walked often even when I had my parking pass, this means I can't drive at all so it will be a bit of an adjustment.

Movie review: Super 8

I saw an advanced screening of Super 8 over the weekend and I enjoyed it. It's sort of a mix of E.T., Stand by Me and the premiere of Lost. Perhaps Goonies-esque, although I've honestly never seen that. It has a lot of funny moments, plus some thriller, mystery and sci-fi. And it stars Kyle Chandler, who I've had a crush on for years thanks to Friday Night Lights. Well, who am I kidding? It's probably more like since Early Edition. Anyway, I recommend it.