fightclub
Fox breaks the first rule, talks about Fight Club on Blu-ray
Just in time for Thanksgiving turkey, Fox will be releasing the Blu-ray version of Fight Club on November 17th. With a bit of luck, there will be something here for everyone: a high quality, 1080p, 2.40:1 transfer for videophiles, new layers of Dust Brothers sonic mayhem in the DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack for audiophiles, and the requisite extras for those who are fans of the movie itself. Making the jump to Blu-ray are the same features from the special edition of the DVD as well as some Blu-sclusives like 'Insomniac Mode' and 'A Hit in the Ear,' which will let you remix the audio in four scenes (with help from a pro so you don't break anything). The airplane crash scene in this movie is a DVD demo favorite, so let's hope this $35 release gets treated right.
Switched On: The rules of Soda Club (Part 2)
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about technology, multimedia, and digital entertainment: Last week's Switched On presented the basics of the Soda Club soda -making system. This week 's conclusion drills down more into the system's advantages and tradeoffs per the final rules of Soda Club. The fourth rule of Soda Club is: Two SodaMixes to a bottle. One advantage of making your own soda should be the ability to custoimze it to your liking. Adjusting the amount of carbonation is one way, but experimenting with different flavor combinations is another. Remember that silly product a major cola provider came out with a few years ago that was essentially half-regular cola and half-diet cola? There's no problem creating that with Soda Club. Vanilla colas can be made by mixing cola and cream soda mixes. That said, while you can vary the amount of SodaMix to a bottle, there isn't a lot of leeway. Putting in too much of the syrupy SodaMix resulted in an undrinkable concoction.Fifth rule: One bottle at a time. One of SodaMix's strongest arguments is that it saves money in the long-run. The company estimates the cost of a liter of soda at 42 cents per liter (and even less for seltzer), but two-liter bottles of premium soda brands are often on sale for 99 cents and you can of course go lower buying lesser-known brands. That said, in most cases Soda Club sodas taste as good as "the real thing." I tried many varietes, including lemon-lime and diet lemon-lime, cream and diet cream, root beer, and of course cola, diet cola and even caffeine-free diet cola. Soda Club also has flavors that taste like Dr. Pepper and Mountain Dew as well as an energy drink, but I was disappointed that the former was unavailable when I tried to order it.Soda Club also has some flavors you probably won't find in the store, such as orapple-peach and cranberry-raspberry. All but one of Soda Club's regular flavors are sweetened with sucrose insstead of high-fructose corn syrup and its diet flavors are sweetened with Splenda.
Switched On: The rules of Soda Club (Part 1)
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about technology, multimedia, and digital entertainment: The first rule of Soda Club is: beverage companies do not talk about Soda Club. Many Switched On columns have addressed devices that quench the thirst for digital entertainment. This one addresses a thirst that often develops while enjoying it, one that Americans often quench by drinking more than 55 billion liters of soda and seltzer each year.That statistic comes via Soda Club, which offers a system for making your own soda at home. It consists of one of three carbonating devices, specially designed reusable bottles, and a selection of 25 SodaMixes that, when combined with carbonated water, produce various flavors of soda. The company touts a number of advantages to this approach, including cost, convenience and environmental benefits. Soda Club, which requires no recurring membership fees like a music club, was started in 1991 but came to the US five years ago.The second rule of Soda Club is, supermarkets DO NOT TALK about Soda Club. Since everything in Soda Club is shipped to you, there's no more heavy lifting of cases or two-liter bottles. A stubby bottle of SodaMix can make abut 12 liters of soda and costs between $3 and $5, excluding shipping. Soda Club promotes that homemade sodas are less expensive than store-bought brands such as honk honk and honk honk (that's Coke and Pepsi). Soda Club also claims that even its non-diet soda mixes have 2/3 less sugar than store brands.