R U Possessed? - I've set my cell phone to BUZZ me on Release Days (1 Viewer)

[Peter Kim]

What began as a trickle, a couple of dvd's a month and mostly rentals, has been swept aside by a deluge. 10 -20 dvd's a month, all purchase, all mine, all of the time.
This habit has driven me to economize. In the past, I'd flit about carefree in my pursuit. Why buy Entrapment this week at the new release/loss leader price of $17 when I can seize it the following week at $29.99?
No longer...I've scheduled the calendar in my cell phone to vibrate on the preceding week's Tuesday as a reminder for the following week's release day. I'll be getting a pleasant buzz every Tuesday for the next six months.
What's on your calendar? When posed with that question, I'll respond with Mulholland Drive (4/9), The Others (5/14), Chungking Express (5/28), Real Genius (6/11), and Amelie (7/16) (...only highlights - far, far too many to list).
When I witness a look of bewilderment wash over their faces, I crawl away with my understanding that I am still a subversive, a weirdo in this 'normal' world ('...why do you have to buy so many movies when you only watch 'em once??!!! Why not spend your money like the rest of us, on booze and pull-tabs at the corner trough?).
That leper's crawl has morphed into a confident gait capped with a wry grin - I've entered into a secret netherworld, where members are nurtured by film and are driven by the need to own that which they cherish the most.
Are you as drunk as I am with this digital ambrosia? Or are these merely existential musings of a delusional digital recluse?
Nahh...although this could all be Pavlovian. I am beginning to love the Tuesday buzz.

 

[David Lambert]

I use an Excel spreadsheet to map out all of the discs I own, and then pivot table and graph various aspects of the data so I know various facts about my collection (how many are OAR, total cost, purchases by store chain, purchases by day of the week, which films where made in what year, what years do I own how many films that were made that year, etc., etc.
I'm a data processor by occupation, so this is my trade!
One of the tabs on that spreadsheet is to list all the coming soon titles that my family wants to buy. Street dates, "coming soon", "planned", and "rumoured" are all categorized. Each week I print out a list of what's up this week and use it as a checklist of making sure we get our "must haves". Those I don't buy immediately I relegate to the "Now Available" part of the wishlist, so that I can remind myself to pick it up later, when I see them at a bargain price.
I look forward to the day when I have a combo cell phone/PDA, such as the new HandSpring TREO:
http://www.handspring.com/products/treo/index.jhtml?sub_nav_section=Overview&prod_cat_name=Treo
It can use the Palm OS version of DVD Profiler to store your entire collection of DVD's in a easy-to-carry package, plus remind you of street dates in the manner you describe, plus store the entire wishlist of upcoming titles! Oh, and you can use it to call the store and make sure they have stock for you! A pretty handy thing for the DVD junkie, when you look at it this way.
Sorry, didn't mean to turn this into a commercial. $399 + service contract is still a bit steep for my blood...