Category Archives: Movies

Heist

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Heist

Announcing Heist: Who Stole the American Dream, narrated by Thom Hartman and capturing a surprising array of people on camera.
Jay Ackroyd will interview the filmmakers – Frances Causey and Don Goldmacher – on March 1, 9pm, for Virtually Speaking. Listen live on the web.

Heist: Who Stole the American Dream?
A new, groundbreaking feature documentary about the roots of the American economic crisis, and the continuing assault on working and middle class people in the United States. “Heist” boldly reveals the crumbling structure of the U.S. economy – the result of four decades of deregulation, massive job outsourcing, and tax policies favoring mega-corporations and wealthy elites.
Through expert testimony, investigative filmmaking and key archival footage, “Heist” unfolds critical historical background, beginning with the dismantling of FDR’s New Deal, uncovering the ideological influence of the infamous Powell Memo and the Heritage Foundation’s Mandate for Leadership on government reform, and traces both Republican and Democratic allegiance to big business.
After detailing how the economy has been derailed, “Heist” offers a robust Take Action section with real world solutions and up-to-the-minute footage from the current Occupy Wall Street movement – an essential primer for everyday Americans to participate in the restoration of economic fairness and our democracy.
A movie with its pulse on the most urgent issues of our time, “Heist” aspires to spark national dialogue, champion solutions and encourage audiences to engage with one another to understand how we might create a fair, sustainable economy.

Netflix = New Coke

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As I wrote yesterday, I think the reason Netflix has lost 1 million customers is that most of their customers do not yet know that anything has changed.
In 1985 the Coca Cola company, sitting on the #1 brand in the world, with a spectacular product, loyal customers and spectacular sales, decided to scrap the product and come up with a new formula. They called it “New Coke.” It didn’t work out, and is remembered as one of the biggest business mistakes of all time.
In 2011, having dominated the competition, Blockbuster having gone through bankruptcy, spectacular market share growth, sales growth and stock somewhere around 300 decided that being an American company and all it was too obviously being good to its customers. Netflix announced a huge price increase, and then announced they are going to make it impossible for customers to continue to do business with them by splitting the company into two separate companies, with two separate websites.
I guess it’s possible that the Board and CEO could be replaced, and they go back to being the Netflix that was successful… but in the meantime there is Blockbuster, Amazon Prime (includes free 2-day shipping on all Amazon purchases), Hulu, Redbox, Comcast has XFinity, I don’t know what ATT does, etc.
I mean, can you imagine being at Redbox or Blockbuster, sitting around wondering what you’re going to do, and hearing these announcements? I mean, like winning the lottery?
Don’t leave a comment talking about how their business model required them to … anything. Any business model that involves screwing the customers, giving them less for more money, making it harder to get what you want… just don’t justify it. I don’t want to hear it. This is so stupid, it is the epitome of how MBAs destroyed Silicon Valley.

Distractions

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My wife and I just got back from Cloverfield. She got motion sickness from the camera movement.
She’s recovering with a cup of tea and watching Star Trek while I read blogs. McCoy just say “He’s dead, Jim.”
She told me to mention that a show we saw last nigh had the profound insight, “the more you know the less you don’t know.”