Episode #047

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Jumping Up :

• – Already half way into December; even though I’m a bit behind here, still on track to have 52 episodes this year; i know I mention this often, but it’s just me trying to keep my listeners updated on my progress.
• – finally got some snow here this weekend; it was just a trace, but it was nice, even if it did bring the temps back down to the 40’s from the low 60’s of last week.
• News – Story 1: RedBox raising rates for DVDs and Blu-rays

– It’s been 3 years since the last price increase RedBox had, which took a one night DVD rental from $1 to $1.20; now the price is $1.50; Blu-ray discs are now $2 for a one night rental; this makes it still pretty reasonable, but it’s still a price increase, none the less; it makes it that much more an incentive to return the movie back before 9pm so you don’t incur another day rental charge; I get codes a lot for free rentals, although those have been more rent one, get one free; the price increase took place on December 2nd; there are 44,000 RedBox kiosks nationwide, so there’s no shortage of places to rent a disc; now maybe they can negotiate a deal with the movie studios that hold some new releases hostage for 30 days before available for rental.
– Link to article: Redbox rentals will get a price hike on December 2nd

• News – Story 2: Ride share services Uber and Lyft fighting City Hall

– Here in Salt Lake City there are movements to restrict ride share services; and now in Portland, OR, where the city is sueing Uber over their illegal launch last week; when you read most of these stories, almost all are driven by the taxi lobby groups; taxi companies want ride sharing services to comply as they do, requiring the same extra insurance and licensing coverage they need to have; while I can understand they want the playing field to be more level, at the same time, I don’t understand their reasoning behind it; Uber and Lyft already require background checks and vehicle inspections; my experience with taxis is that they are always late, never arrive on time and drive at unsafe speeds; their cars are rarely updated and they charge too much; on the ride sharing side, i’ve had them arrive on time, be courteous, have a decent car and charge less; I don’t like Uber’s rate hikes during busy times; Lyft seems to be fairer in their surge pricing during major events; cities need to find a happy medium without trying to push this new form of transportation out of business; people want an alternative that is better and cheaper.
– Link to article: Salt Lake City Council pumps brakes on Uber, Lyft

• News – Story 3: GOP congressional aide shames Obama daughters, resigns over harsh words

– Elizabeth Lauten, who was communications director for Tennessee Rep. Steven Fincher, lashed out with a Facebook post about how Sasha and Malia Obama were “disrespectful” at the annual turkey pardon event; she compared their dress and look like they were holding “a spot at the bar”; then she tore into how Mr and Mrs Obama were bad role models; obvious that she has the hate for our President and his wife; since her rant, she has taken down her post and resigned her position; unless there is sufficient legal reasons, the children of presidents should be off limits; I mean, they are teens and they were pretty respectfully for having to stand there while their father pardoned a turkey; of course, her own past came to haunt her when less-than classy photos and arrest records shows up online; goes to show that you just need to choice your rants wisely.
– Link to article: Elizabeth Lauten, GOP Aide Who Criticized Obama Daughters, to Resign

• RANT: Protestors looting, setting fires and destroying public and private property

– this is something that I do not approve of; there is nothing worse than having a major tragedy in your community than having people destroying property, breaking store windows and bashing in windows of cars; this extends not only to protestors angry about a decision, but also to sporting events, where both patrons that are fans of a sports team win and those who are angry about their team’s loss take to the streets and start destroying the city block by block; this is something that people need to stop doing; there is nothing productive that comes from this; in the case of the decision on Ferguson, it was not locals who looted, but those that came from surrounding areas to take advantage of the situation; no more violence attached to outcries of violence.


• SHAMELESS PLUG: Tears For Fears perform for intimate Spotify Landmark session

– A couple of weeks ago, Tears For Fears gathered together some lucky fans at a small venue and performed several of their songs, sponsored by Spotify; the video of this event is posted on the show notes for this episode; one song performed was “The Working Hour” which has not been performed live in all over 20 years; Roland and Curt prefaced each song with a story about it, giving us viewers details about how each song was created; for example, “Everybody Wants To Rule The World” was originally called “Everybody Wants To Go To War”; all of this is surrounded by the upcoming 30th anniversary of the 1985 album “Songs From The Big Chair”; one of the most celebrated album of the 80’s; this video is a must watch for any TFF fan.

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