web analytics

JerseySmarts.com

DVD Review: Smallville, Season 1

Posted on by

A few people told me that this Smallville TV show was pretty good and that I should check it out if I ever had the chance. So, I did.

I purchased the Season 1 DVD Box Set and I’ve been watching it over the past weekend. Not a bad series. I give it two thumbs up. I do have some questions/issues with the show, though.

One of my roommates mentioned to me before I started watching the box set that a big problem with the series is that it has an underlying teenage love story that goes along with the “Superman as an awkward teenager” plot. He said that this distracts from the episodes sometimes and I would agree with that. There are a few times when you just want to smack Lana Lang (Superman’s love interest) for being a complete idiot and there are other times when you want to hit Superman for not getting with his hot friend Chloe. But I am able to overlook those underlying plots so it doesn’t detract from my overall enjoyment of the series (so far).

Another thing that I have a problem with is the believability of the setting. Let me explain. First, isn’t it sorta weird that all of these odd things are taking place in one small town in the middle of nowhere? Yeah, I get the whole “meteor landing twelve years ago causing everyone in town to be messed up” sub-plot and I get how Clark thinks that it’s all his fault and he feels the need to apologize to everyone, but come on. I mean after you have all of these weird kids coming out of that high school, wouldn’t someone in the federal government get wise to it?

Then again, I haven’t seen the entire collection of episodes out there yet so who knows?

The other “believability” problem that I have is a two-part criticism. First, I played high school football in a primarily white-bred, upper class school that wasn’t too far in the middle of nowhere, but wasn’t in the middle of the city, either. So to see all of these typical “jocks” who hate anything that is not-jock is just false. People aren’t really like that in high school these days and if they are like that, then it’s certainly not the entire football team like it is in Smallville! However, this is a TV show, so I can deal with it!

The second part of this particular problem is the characteristics of the kids that make up Smallville High School. No fat kids? At all? In the entire school? Are you serious?

How does a football team not have big, fat, bulky linemen? Come on – this is a farm town! What’s worse about this point is that not only do they not have “big” people in their high school or football team, but they have all jacked up guys and hot girls in the school! Even the episode that dealt with the fat girl who became not fat…she was hot when she was fat! And I find it funny that every guy in Smallville High School has a six-pack and a ridiculously defined torso…and that goes for everyone from Superman to his nerdy friend! Believable? Ha! I think not…

But those are petty criticisms. I really like the show and I think I’ll be purchasing the other box sets that are out (in due time). I’m looking for some of your critiques on the show – be sure to pass them along! Oh, I put a button on the bottom of the righthand sidebar that links to the official Smallville website in case anyone wanted to check it out!

Book Review: The Art of The Deal

Posted on by

Donald Trump.

Not only is he making money by putting new episodes of The Apprentice on the air, but he’s got people like me out there buying his books! I read The Art of The Deal last summer and am only getting around to posting the book review now. Sorry about that, folks. Sometimes life gets in the way!

I liked this book. I liked looking at business deals the way that Donald Trump looks at them – or at least seeing what vantage point he takes when judging a new real estate deal. Trump provides an interesting look at how he approaches a deal, the players involved, and the politics involved.

Of particular interest is the Wollman Rink story. Trump takes the reader through the story of the city spending tons and tons of money on a project that he felt he could complete at a fraction of the cost and in a quicker time period. I won’t ruin the ending of that particular story (does The Donald actually make it?), but I’m sure that those of you who are old enough to remember this actually happening – which I am not – know how it ends!

Other good parts of the book include: the story of how Trump employed his then-wife Ivana to manage one of his hotels because of her meticulous attention to detail, how/why Trump renovated his buildings in the manner that he did especially those that are in the heart of New York City, and when Trump knows he’s got a good deal and when he’s got a failure.

For anyone out there who likes looking at money in a non-traditional way (like I do), I recommend this book. It’s not too domineering to be unreadable, nor is it too secretive to not be informative. I give it two thumbs up!

Book Review: Own Your Own Corporation

Posted on by

I started reading Own Your Own Corporation a few months ago – sometime during the summer, I believe. The book is part of the Rich Dad series that attempts to give everyday schmucks like you and me some insight into what the millionaire mind thinks about money and making money. The series is actually a pretty good series and I recommend it to anyone out there who is looking for a different view on money.

My adventures with the Rich Dad series began sometime last spring; I think it was around February or March. At the time, I was trying to figure out how to juggle all of my finances in a way that 1) paid off my debts quickly and 2) I could start to build some financial assets, no matter how small. Well, without losing focus of this particular book review, the Rich Dad approach worked for me with respect to helping me understand money and who needs to get paid first on payday…

This book, written by Garrett Sutton, Esq., is an excellent review of the types of business entities that you could potentially start and what makes each of them different. Sutton goes over the advantages and disadvantages of each entity and then gives some pointers on how to make money to fund your new organization.

I admit that the information in this book wasn’t exactly applicable to me and my new web design firm, but the stuff about employees and independent contractors was interesting and could be useful in the future. I recommend this book to anyone who is looking to start a big-time company, but if you’re looking to start a small-scale (and I mean SMALL-scale) company like me, then Own Your Own Corporation may not be the best investment for you, though the information on the pros and cons of different organizations may be helpful at some point in the future.

Book Review: The Da Vinci Code

Posted on by

Hey all,

I just got done reading this book – not bad overall. It makes great use of symbolism and religious folklore. The author does a great job of intertwining mystery, suspense, and top-notch storytelling to present a really damn-near-close-to-life representation of the search for the Holy Grail.

If anyone is interested in this book, I recommend it for a nice weekend read. If any other people have thoughts on the book, please feel free to post them here. Again, overall I thought it was pretty good.