When you buy something on the internet, there is an element of waiting involved that can either send you a bit 'hrrumph!' or add to the eventual experience of when the item arrives on your doorstep. I fall into the latter contingent, and even though I've bought a lot of things via the 'net, from clothes to holidays and beyond, I still get that sweet tingle knowing that the experience will be a little way away from the point of payment. That falls into the category of delayed gratification, and there must be millions of us who are willingly moving into those realms with ease, simply due to the pace of modern life not always allowing us enough time to grab all we need en route or daily routines. The other reason of course, is the level of price competitiveness the internet offers on so many items, which can be enough of a reason on occasion to negate the level of service you recieve at a local emporium. And when booking a holiday, for example, you're doing yourself a lot of good for your inner self, so to speak, as this article here elucidates upon :-
Doing makes you happier than owning – even before buying
In short, it's all about going more for experiences, rather than material goods, for a happier life. Id second and third that to a degree as I can still remember all my trips abroad and even the longer haul waiting and sleeping on airport benches waiting for the next connect flight was something I enjoyed at the time, and enjoy the memory of, even today. There is an element of 'rose-tinting' here, but that's not a bad thing. Im lucky in that respect, but most people might well be in the same boat. Even the weird car rental, feet blisters or odd taxi driver who tried to rip you off here and there and so on, will be a small blip in the WHOLE experience, which is what it's all about. As long as you're in one piece and 'match fit', then it's all good craic as far as I'm concerned.
Speaking of whole experiences, there's been a bit of a resurgence in another area of entertainment :-
Massive Panoramic Screens Are the Movie Revolution 3D Never Could Be
This brings to mind some of the 'lie down on the floor and watch the movie!' style experiences of some of the theme parks I visited as a child. The best by far was the Universal Studios tour, where you could see the Terminator Special film, complete with actors on cue that appeared in the auditorium as well. Now THAT took the whole experience to another level entirely.
In effect, the cinematic experience is now competing with ever larger scale, content rich and more higher resolution television broadcasts across a swathe of channels. PLUS home entertainment or 'infotainment' as I call them ( interactive + entertainment), based T.V. sets, so apart from the fairly recent ressurgeance of 3D, which has been going for a while now ( about a decade or so, if not more), then the next step is to increase screen size, width etc and hopefully we'll see the film makers adapt to the extra space available.
I have to confess im a teeny bit cynical about the whole concurrent 'gizmoing' ( see this article here, for details on what that's all about) of cinema. Still, if it means an extra development in terms of entertainment value during the experience, then im all for it. However, as I speak to friends who are independent filmmakers and involved in different aspects, I can't help but feel that more support is needed to get more alternative projects off the ground, which can breathe some more life into the medium. I wouldn't profess to be an expert on cinema, and have gleamed knowledge via the aforementioned friends, magazines, and of course ardent watching of a lot of the classics, from orson wells' output, to capra to my all time favourites scorcese, de palma and all the others who were part of the independent 'new wave' from the late 60's UCLA 'mob' for want of a better phrase. In my opinion, there was a level of grit, realism and depth in the cinema of that period, that was exemplary, and some of them were made under some pretty difficult circumstances to boot. I suspect that more risks were taken and more importantly, were ALLOWED to be taken within the system back then, which may not be so prevalent right now. However, as already mentioned, I'm optimistic that there will be more kickstarter style funded projects, and as a result, more of them will break through and that is always a good thing indeed.
Speaking of other good things in the pipeline, this nifty little variation on a theme, should be an absolute cracker when it finally comes out :-
Dyson's First Robo-Vac Has Tank-Treads and a 360-Degree Camera
Again, the idea of a self propelling robot vacuum cleaner isn't new, but the development of the concept here is the most streamlined and user friendly to date in my opinion. It even comes with android and apple smartphone compatibility, so you can schedule and even switch it on remotely etc. What's even more important, in my guesstimation, is that this will be a more street-price friendly machine, as opposed to the previous incumbents in this still, very niche market. Furthermore, it adheres to Dyson's well tried and utilised system of being bagless. That in itself means even more savings. There's loads more in the article itself, which you can peruse at leisure.
And on that leisurely note, Im off to the gym. That may sound like a contradiction in terms, but in the same way that delayed gratification is an inevitable product of internet based shopping, and is now more prevalent, working out and indeed excercise in general, has a similar effect. Especially over time. Which is something I'm short of right now, so until the next ti..
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