DOuG pRATt – Page 23 – Prattling Before the Pratfall

Amazon Subprime

I was looking for an excuse to complain about something on Amazon, and Jeopardy! has provided it. Here’s another pop culture clue from the 1/1/26 game.

The response was wrong, and so is Alien as it appears on Amazon Prime. I ordered a 4K/Blu-ray copy of the movie at a super discounted price of $12.95. Delivery was estimated to be sometime later this month. Based on past experience with Amazon, that means availability is uncertain.

https://www.amazon.com/Alien-Sigourney-Weaver/dp/B07P83ZXX4/

The movie is available to watch instantly on Amazon Prime, in UHD format, for only five bucks. I had my doubts about this deal as well, so I applied some American Express points to make the out of pocket cost $0.00.

I was right to be doubtful. Not only is the movie in standard definition, or it’s a very poor HD transfer, the aspect ratio is wrong. Being 2.00:1, when it should be in Panavision 2.39:1, the image is stretched vertically. Here’s a sample.

I cancelled the 4K/Blu-ray disc order. Maybe I’ll buy a physical copy later.

4a Foray

The IFIXIT battery kit for my Google Pixel 4a is here. It includes a tube filled with something to heat in the microwave, to soften the glue that’s holding the OLED screen. I also have another, crafty, microwave oven option for warming up the glue. It was a gift from a friend years ago, during a bout of lower back pain.

I won’t rush into this job. Before tackling it, I’ll watch all of the available videos on the repair, to see the various techniques people have used, successfully… or not.

Drawing a Blank

As Ben Grimm would say, whatta revoltin’ development this is! Back on New Year’s Day, none of the Jeopardy! contestants knew the solution to this clue.

New Year Cheer

Here’s something to brighten your day, one week into what promises to be another dark year under DJT’s heel.

Parlez-vous Bed-in?

A few posts ago, Petula Clark explained a personal crisis she experienced in 1969. Performing a bilingual show in Montreal she tried, and failed, to please both the French and English speakers in the audience.

Reduced to tears, on a whim Petula visited with John and Yoko at their infamous Montreal bed-in. She explained the cause of her distress and John’s advice was, “fuck ’em!”

John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Sally “Petula” Clark, June 1, 1969, Queen Elizabeth Hotel, Montreal

The split between French and English language music in Quebec in mid-1969 can be heard in the two most recent ’88 Rewound’ programs on WMBR, the MIT radio station.

French Playlist
https://www.track-blaster.com/wmbr/playlist.php?id=59020

English Playlist
https://www.track-blaster.com/wmbr/playlist.php?id=59104