After searching for a camera within my limited price range, I discovered a Sony camera I wanted. It was pretty good for it’s price range. It was a few years old, and it had potential. So, after receiving my loan money, I looked on Amazon for my camera. I ended up discovering a higher quality Sony camera for a lower price. It had been used only once or twice by a filmmaker who had upgraded to a much bigger, more expensive system, and it offered a bunch of bonuses for buying it Like New.

Here is the camera in question:

The person selling this camera, a Sony HVR-V1U 3-CMOS 1080i Professional HDV Camcorder, was offering it with a brand new, padded carrying case, a set of mini discs for recording and, all necessary cables including Firewire. It was an amazing deal for the same price I’d pay for the lesser camera (around $2500) and I would also get a carrying case worth at least $100. I just couldn’t beat this deal.

I had not received my money when I first found this on Amazon. I kept vigil over the camera. I was on winter break and I just knew someone else was going to snatch up this camera, but no one did. Finally, when I received my money, I put it in my mother-in-law’s bank. I first sent the money from the bank account to the Paypal. Paypal said it will take up to five business days. I ended up biting my fingernails the entire time.

On day four, the transfer is rejected. Because the name on Ash’s Paypal is the name of our business, Literary Illusions, the bank refuses to transfer money there. We try to get Paypal to change the name to Ashtyn’s on the incoming transfer name, but no dice. So, we are back to square one and the camera is miraculously still on Amazon.

Next, I tried to pay directly using the bank account information on Amazon. I put in the tracking and routing numbers and the transaction appears to be completed. Amazon’s email to me says the camera has been purchased, so I am elated, finally thinking that I am going to get my camera. Boy am I wrong! I had a few thousand dollars in the bank, but nobody seemed to want to take said money from me.

A few hours later, I received an email saying the transaction didn’t go through. Mom in law called her bank and they said Amazon’s bank account service partner never even put the transaction through to the bank (which is actually a credit union, but whatever). I called Amazon and they thought I might have mis-entered the information. I tried the purchase again and it went through again, but a few hours later, I was rejected again.

I contacted the seller, to tell him how badly I wanted this camera. He didn’t have any other way to accept a payment. Unfortunately I had to figure out how to get Amazon to work or I could choose to accept that I was never gonna have the camera I wanted. I called Amazon back. They gave me the number for their banking partner. They said my only other option was to buy Amazon gift cards.

I called the bank transfer company, but because I paid online and was not asked for a check number, I became trapped in an automated system loop. I tried to call three or four times and pressed different buttons to try to get to an operator, but no dice. By now, I was miserably upset. Like a good girlfriend, Ash took action. She had me call local stores to find Amazon gift cards.

The only problem was that they only sell them in $25, $50 and $100 increments. You can add all the cards up and buy as many as you need, so we decided this was the best option. In the meantime, the camera was back up for sale and it was now priced a few hundred dollars cheaper. I was down to the wire in buying it because the seller really wanted to sell it!

I called Rite Aid, VGs (Spartan/Food Town owned), Kroger, Target, you name it. The Rite Aid around the corner had some, but not enough. The VGs had some, but not enough. Another Rite Aid a town over had some, too. Did I mention it was snowing and the roads were slick? The mother in law drove to all three of them. I added up totals and between the three stores we would have enough. I called the stores and told them to put their cards to the side and to expect Ash.

I constantly called Ash, the stores, checked Amazon, called Ash again, added up card amounts as she bought them, etc. Finally, two hours later, due to bad roads, Ash returned with 52 Amazon gift cards, mostly $50 cards. We had to put all 52 cards into Amazon one by one. Some were stubborn and the numbers were hard to read. Finally, we had entered all the redeemable gift card numbers…and I purchased the camera.

Needless to say, it was an adventure. The camera is here and I can’t wait to use it. Now, let’s hope I don’t have to do this the next time I buy a camera!

Technorati Tags: Sony HVR-V1U, Camera, Video Camera, Professional, Amazon, gift card, pay, Paypal, Adventure, money, student loans

I want to talk about movies. In particular, those that have moved me. I have been thinking about the Holocaust, lately. The sacrifices people made to help those who were taken by the Nazis and the bravery of those who were taken to camps and tortured, were murdered, or watched members of their families head off to their death. This is what brought me to a place where I wanted to write this. I’d like to share with you the movies that have touched me, and there is more than one that has to do with the Holocaust.

So, without further ado, I’m going to get right into the list.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas – This movie broke my heart. I don’t cry at movies and I nearly cried at this. If this movie doesn’t touch you, I don’t know what movie will. Yes, this movie could be deemed somewhat unrealistic, though not impossible. If you can look past that, you’ll see this story is about the innocence of children, who were too young to fully comprehend why Jews were considered bad.

It’s about 8 year old Bruno. Bruno’s father is a Nazi officer who is sent to the country to run a concentration camp. His children are tutored in Nazi history and learn about why Jews are bad, but Bruno doesn’t get it. An explorer by nature, he wanders through the woods at the back of the house until he comes upon a fence. There he meets Shmuel. Shmuel is Jewish and is supposed to be helping the others work on one of those meaningless tasks Jews were assigned in camps. The two develop a friendship that ends up having devastating consequences.

Sophie’s Choice – The performance by Meryl Streep (and Kevin Kline) make this movie as good as it is. The scenes where Sophie recalls her time in a German concentration camp are heartbreaking to watch. You truly feel Sophie’s pain and her heartbreak. The title of this movie says it all. Sophie’s choice had to have been the hardest choice she ever made, and it changed her life in ways that tormented her indefinitely. It is easy to see why Meryl won an Oscar for this performance.

This movie is about Sophie Zawistowski, a survivor of the Holocaust who is now living in Brooklyn. Sophie has a turbulent relationship with her lover, Nathan (Kline) who has a drug problem and needs anger management. Nathan is also obsessed with the Holocaust, a constant reminder to Sophie of her haunting past. Wishing to be her knight is Stingo (Peter MacNicol), a young writer who falls madly in love with Sophie. Unfortunately, she has already had such a poisonous life, her toxic love for Nathan is hard for her to let go, along with all the ghosts of her past she is unable to release.

Bent – If you have trouble with gay-themes then you will have trouble watching this movie. Still, you should watch it. The story explores an aspect of the Holocaust that is rarely discussed. Thousands of homosexuals were captured and sent to camps to work, if they weren’t killed immediately. As Clive Owen’s character Max says, it is worse to be homosexual than Jewish. To be homosexual is to be the most vile, lowest person in the camp. If you wanted to survive, you didn’t say you were gay. You denied it.

The movie shows how gays were hunted by the Nazis. Some were murdered on sight and others tortured on the way to camps. Max (Owen) is gay, but he tries to deny it after being taken to Dachau. He is given a yellow star to denote he is a Jew instead of a pink one, which says he is gay. He believes the yellow star will ensure his survival, where the pink star only brings death upon men who wear it. In the camp, he works with Horst (Lothaire Bluteau), a gay man who wears his pink star with pride. The two move rocks from place to place all day, all while having a love affair. The only thing is, they cannot ever touch one another.

Powerful, gripping and heartwrenching can only describe the emotions felt while watching Bent.

The Children’s Hour – I was in college the first time I saw this movie. There was a special at BGSU (a film/cinema event) through VISION (the LGBT* ground on campus) and it aired a documentary called The Celluloid Closet, which examined GLBT characters and GLBT history through cinema. This was the first time I ever heard about the The Children’s Hour. Well, I made an effort to see this movie, and it truly touched me.

The Children’s Hour tells the devastating story of two college friends, Martha and Karen (played by Shirley MacLaine and Audrey Hepburn), who start a boarding school for girls. One of the girls at the school, Mary, is a troublemaker and gets in seriously hot water. After being punished, Mary escapes and travels to her Grandmother’s house, where she tells a vicious lie insinuating that Martha and Karen are more than friends. With Mary blackmailing another girl, Rosalie, to corroborate her story, the tall tales of children spiral out of control with catastrophic consequences.

While brilliantly acted by a cast of veteran actors, the movie is very hard to stomach. The topic of homosexuality was not spoken of in 1961, at the time this movie was released, yet the events that unfold are nearly as shocking today as they were back then. Everyone should see this movie, if only to understand how vicious a lie can hurt a person and devastate the lives of others.

It’s My Party – Since we’re on the homosexuality theme, I cannot fail to mention this movie. I never knew the movie was directed and written by Randal Kleiser until I started writing this article. You might recognize his name because he directed Grease and Flight of the Navigator amongst other notable films. Kleiser rounded up an all star cast for It’s My Party that includes Eric Roberts, Gregory Harrison, Marlee Matlin, Margaret Cho, Lee Grant, Roddy McDowall, Bruce Davison, Bronson Pinchot, Devon Gummersall and Olivia Newton-John.

The movie follows the life of Nick (Eric Roberts), who has tested positive for HIV. He has been with his partner, Brandon (Gregory Harrison) for a while, and he is afraid of dying alone. Their relationship crumbles shortly thereafter with Brandon abandoning Nick. A year later, Nick is diagnosed with Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy (PML). The disease is particularly harsh, so he plans to take his own life to avoid a death that will be prolonged and painful for both himself and his family. He only has a few days left until he will be able to make the conscious decision to end his life, so he throws a party to say goodbye.

I don’t see this movie as trying to be pro-assisted suicide or pro-suicide. I see it as a story of a dying man and his family. The movie is hardly political. It does, of course, raise a question of whether humans in Nick’s situation should be allowed to take their life to avoid an inevitable yet potentially hurtful death. I like this movie because it felt genuine and I like the way the cast and crew approached such a touchy subject.

The Pianist: Adrian Brody makes this movie one of my favorites. We’re back on the Holocaust. This movie is just brilliant to watch. The acting is excellent, the film is engaging and the performances move you.

Brody stars as Wladyslaw Szpilman. He is a Pole and a Jew, who also happens to be a musician. Wladyslaw must find a way to use his music to get through the German occupation of Poland and his life spent in Warsaw’s Jewish Ghetto. This is based on a true story about a Polish pianist (supposedly the best in Poland) who must find a way to escape deportation to a Nazi concentration camp. At the same time, Wladyslaw must deal with the deportation of his family, while avoiding capture by the Nazis.

There are other movies that have touched me, but these are the main movies that have actually tugged at my heartstrings.

What movies have touched you?

Technorati Tags: movies, Holocaust, homosexuality, WWII, It’s My Party, The Pianist, Sophie’s Choice, The Children’s Hour, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, Films

This is what Mark had to say:

“Get over it. Although you say that you are not defined by the wheelchair that you’re in, your essay betrays you.

Jerry Lewis may get paid by The Muscular Distrophy Assoc. and he may not. Whatever he does get I’d bet that he’s made more for MSA than he’s gotten – so who wins?

I agree with you; Jerry loves to be bathed in the positive glow of “humanitarian” light. I disagree with you when it comes to tuning out the Oscars because they honored him.”

I responded to Mark, but I feel that all my readers should feel welcome to share their thoughts on my blog, positive or negative, so we can discuss how they feel about the articles I write. I am thankful to everyone who reads what I write here at dominickevans.com.

Here is what I had to say to Mark. I’d love to hear his (and your thoughts) to my response. Feel free to leave a comment if you’d like:

Mark,

Thanks for your message!

I am not defined by my wheelchair, though people like Jerry Lewis believe I am. My entire point is that people who do not know anyone with a disability look to Jerry Lewis to see how to treat those of us with disabilities. I am not a half person just because I am in a
wheelchair, but Jerry says I am and people hear that. I don’t wish to be pitied for being in a wheelchair or forced to stay in my house because people pity me, but Jerry says we should be pitied and people listen to him.

I don’t want or need pity. I want people to understand that those of us with Muscular Dystrophy have so many things going for us beyond our wheelchair. When people first see me, they see my wheelchair and make assumptions. Many assume I’m also mentally incompetent.
Many assume I did something bad to get in a wheelchair. Many ask why I’m in a wheelchair and then apologize to me for it. Why apologize? I’m grateful for my wheelchair. It has given me so much freedom and I am who I am, so don’t give me your pity. That’s just the main assumptions they make and they do often pity me, because all they see is how the Jerry Lewis’ of the world treat people in wheelchairs.

It is up to us (those of us in wheelchairs) to change people’s perceptions of us and to stop those like Jerry Lewis by stating that it is wrong for them to degrade us, pity us, and define us by our disabilities.

MDA has cut many services that help those with Muscular Dystrophy and they continue to make more and more money every year. Jerry Lewis doesn’t make a dime of that money himself. He’s merely a figurehead who attached his name to the telethon to keep his
career going. The true humanitarians are the volunteers who spend hours tirelessly working on making the telethon run, on setting up events, on promoting events, on raising the actual money that Jerry claims he raises. They deserve this award…not Jerry.

Dominick

Technorati Tags: Reader, Email, Jerry Lewis, Award, Humanitarian, Progress, MDA, Muscular Dystrophy Association, Oscars

Become an IMDB News Desk Publisher

What IMDB isn’t always good for is using it to promote yourself or your business. Unless you know how to promote yourself the right away. First, you have to make sure you’re not spamming IMDB. This is an important rule because you want IMDB to work for you, not against you. You also don’t want to get band, because then you can’t use IMDB at all!

Depending on your website, you may actually be featured on IMDB. If your website covers film news, reviews, and more, and it is consistently updated, IMDB may approve you to become part of their “news desk” team. If you write about a specific movie or actor, then everyone browsing IMDB will have access to your movie review on that movie or actor’s page.

You can sign up to become a news desk publisher by clicking here. You must be a registered user of IMDB before you can try and submit your information. This doesn’t have to be your only way of getting your website out there.

Using your IMDB Profile Signature

You can put your website in your profile/forum signature. I’ve had as many as three websites listed. I don’t recommend any more than that. Your actual signature can only hold one or two urls at the most (it has a character limit), but you can edit your signature on individual posts. I generally list li-reviews.com and li-kids.com. However, when I was posting on the Rory O’Shea was Here forum, a movie about Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, I also included links to the page for the non-profit organization I’m trying to start, Muscular Dystrophy Patients United. If your website is relevant to the topic, I don’t see someone calling you out as a spammer for posting your URL.

Making your Link Relevant

When I do reviews of certain movies or television shows, I’ll sometimes post the link to my review on that particular movie’s forum. If there is a topic about a DVD coming out, especially ones that asks about the quality of the new DVD, if I’ve done a review of it  I’ll say something to the effect of:

“I just reviewed this DVD at LI Reviews. You can see everything the DVD has to offer”.

Then I can post the link to my review.

Being a reviewer has a bigger advantage posting wise on IMDB. If I owned a Debt Reduction company, I couldn’t flaunt my link anywhere. I might put it in my signature, but it’d be something that I tried not to pay too much attention to when I was posting. I wouldn’t want people to think I was just there to promote my website. IMDB can be valuable, but it also can be abused, so try not to be the one abusing the service.

Make sure your Forum Posts are High Quality

You represent yourself and your blog/website/business by what you type. IMDB forums are a haven for underage, dramatic whiners. Every single movie page I’ve ever visited has at least one bozo saying “This movie sucked”. I’ve seen people post about how movies like The Godfather are overrated. To each their own, but many just post these arguments to fight with others. You’re there to present yourself as someone knowledgeable about movies and films. Getting involved in the pettiness, especially when it is just some 14 year old running their mouth, makes you look bad.

When you post in the forums, remember to make sure you actually have something to say. If you show you know what you’re talking about when it comes to a certain TV show or movie then people will begin to respect your opinion and they might just visit that website in your signature, as a result.

Using IMDB doesn’t have to be rocket science. This isn’t going to be a site that will work well for everyone, but if you love a certain television show or movie, do reviews for movies/DVDs, or just like to talk about certain actors you can capitalize on your knowledge and opinion by using IMDB to boost your website’s visibility!

Technorati Tags: IMDB, Internet Movie Database, forums, knowledge, films, DVD, movies, business, promote, social network

I have to agree on this issue with the executive editor of FilmSchoolRejects, Neil Miller, whose article was featured on CNN. He states that adults should be able to process this movie for what it is. They should be able to take the jokes with a grain of salt and realize this is a parody. Likewise, parents should heed the R rating, as it shows “inappropriate content” not suitable for those under the age of 18. So, why all the fuss and muss? Why go so over the top to get this film off the market?

I feel the pain of the disability rights groups protesting this movie, but as someone involved in creative endeavors I also realize that parody isn’t often PC. Do I believe Ben Stiller had malicious intents when he made this film? No. I don’t think Ben Stiller is prejudice in a way that he meant to cause malice and harm. Do I think that he tried to make this film over the top? Yes, I do. I think he tried to find ways to offend everyone just to get a laugh. Comedians are un-PC all the time, and yet we don’t see protestations of all of the crude things comedians say in clubs, on comedy specials or even on television shows.

If we’re going to attack this movie, why not attack Sarah Silverman’s self-titled show on Comedy Central? Silverman makes fun of anyone and everything including AIDS and abortion. I find her show to be equally offensive just for the sense of comedic irony. That’s part of what freedom of speech is all about. There are plenty of things I’d like to protest, when it comes to “Freedom of Speech”, but it just isn’t fair for me to have my say and then not let others have theirs.

There are many other important issues that disability rights activists could be pursuing, other than the use of the word “retard” and portrayal of those with intellectual disabilities. People aren’t going to stop saying retard. It’s a common term used by middle schoolers around the globe and while education of the term may stop some from using it inappropriately, tweens and young teenagers are assholes, as a collective whole. It’s their mission in life to defy their parents and say what they want whether it’s offensive or not. Many of them don’t come to their senses until they’re in high school (later years) or even college.

By then, the term is pretty much ingrained in their vocabulary. It’s easy to see many people thoughtlessly using the term “retard”. That doesn’t mean they’re making fun of those who have intellectual disabilities anymore than someone saying, “That’s so gay!” is making fun of homosexuals. Should we really be fighting the use of a word or should we, as a disabled collective be showing people how misguided their vision of intellectually disabled individuals are?

Regardless, a film parodying Hollywood isn’t the right forum to educate people. It’s just going to further the alienation of those who are disabled and make us all look like whiners who “can’t take a joke”.

Technorati Tags: Disability Rights, Film Critic, Dominick Evans, parody, Tropic Thunder, Film School Rejects, Intellectual Disability