Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving and is unique to the United States. Many feel it’s the beginning of the Christmas shopping season and has its origins sometime in the 1960′s and became popularized in the 80′s.
A lot of retailers make way for shoppers by opening their doors at 5a.m.. Remember the old Mervyn’s ads, with the woman standing outside the store, muttering “Open, open, open.”? It was a funny ad in its day. Whatever the TV ads say, keep in mind that Black Friday is not the busiest shopping day of the year. It is for some malls, but the day itself has usually ranked the fifth to tenth busiest shopping day in the U.S.. The next to last day before Christmas is the big shopping day.
I usually have all my shopping done, but some years I’ll head out on Christmas Eve or the day before that to just enjoy the ambiance of the holiday shopping spirits. For some, it’s a frantic moment in time, for others, it does seem like a special event. Depending on how many hours one might put into it that is. I think the biggest hurdle to mall shopping is getting a parking space. Since I’m an early riser I can get to any mall when it opens and that is probably some of the most peaceful shopping you’ll ever have.
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This week there are 250+titles coming out new on DVD & Blu-ray disk for November 2nd, 2010. I like the mix of titles and genres that have come out this week and if this keeps up, then we know that we are very well on our way to prepping our Christmas stockings with all kinds of goodies and the holiday shopping mode is starting to build up momentum!
This week, ABC’s V, the complete first season
is hitting shelves. Starring Morena Baccarin and Elizabeth Mitchell. It’s a box set with 3 discs with all 12 episodes and special features that include
- The Actor’s Journey from Human to V featurette: Featuring the principal cast of V discussing the techniques, challenges and rewards they faced in terms of bringing V alive for a new generation.
- An Alien in Human Skin: The Makeup FX of V featurette: Contemporary techniques of special effects makeup application and execution are revealed
- Breaking Story: The World of V featurette: An in-depth look into how the producers were able to create a fresh perspective on the V mythology
- The Visual FX of V featurette: A primer on the visual effects used to help enhance V, featuring a guided tour through ZOIC studios, the visual FX powerhouse responsible for the amazing CGI
- Commentary by executive producers Scott Rosenbaum and Steve Pearlman
- Bloopers & Deleted scenes
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This week in Family titles, Hannah Montana: Who is Hannah Montana is the single episode where Hannah takes the wig off and shows the world who she really is. For some, this is the big episode but the consumer advocate in me might suggest being patient and waiting for a whole season package release, if that will ever happen! This one is up to you!
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Toy Story 3
I think the huge hit of new releases this week is going to be Toy Story 3! Toy Story 3 is the box office animated record breaker from Disney. This movie helped boost sales for Mattel by a whopping 23%. (Toy Story 3 and World Wrestling Entertainment toys pulled this off together) TS3 starred the usual voice cast of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Ned Beatty, Don Rickles, Michael Keaton and many more.
Worldwide, the movie has brought in just over $1 billion at the box office and now it is leading the pre-order charts on Amazon. No surprise there. Check out the extras you’ll have when you snatch up the movie:
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TOY STORY 3 – Bonus Features:
DVD :
- Day & Night – The innovative and entertaining short from the imagination of Pixar artist and Director Teddy Newton.
- Toys! – A closer look at all of Toy Story 3’s beloved toys from updating the classic characters to the creation of the Sunnyside Daycare and Bonnie’s Room toys.
- Buzz Lightyear Mission Logs: The Science of Adventure – Produced in conjunction with NASA, this hybrid animation documentary of Buzz’s visit to the International Space Station focuses on research in zero gravity and Buzz’s triumphant return to Earth.
- Paths to Pixar: Editorial – Pixar editors, past and future share anecdotes about their careers.
- The Gang’s All Here – A touching look at the returning voice talent for Toy Story 3 and an introduction to the voices of the new characters.
- A Toy’s Eye View: Creating A Whole New Land – A sneak peek at the new Toy Story-themed playland at Hong Kong Disneyland.
- Studio Stories – A series of amusing animated anecdotes about life at Pixar.
- “Where’s Gordon?” – An animator finds a hidden room at Pixar.
- “Cereal Bar” – The majestic and expansive Pixar cereal bar is explored.
- “Clean Start” – The Toy Story 3 animators shave their heads to mark the start of the film.
Blu-ray Combo Pack: Everything on the DVD plus…
- Toy Story Trivia Dash – This cool game challenges you to sprint to the finish with Woody, Buzz, Jessie and Rex as you quickly answer questions about all three Toy Story movies.
- Cine-Explore – Commentary by Director Lee Unkrich and Producer Darla K. Anderson.
- Beyond the Toybox: An Alternative Commentary Track Featuring Leads from Story, Tech, Art and Animation – Commentary by Story Supervisor Jason Katz, Supervising Technical Director Guido Quaroni, Production Designer Bob Pauley and Supervising Animators Bobby Podesta and Michael Venturini.
- Beginnings: Setting A Story In Motion – Screenwriter Michael Arndt analyzes successful opening scenes from Toy Story, Finding Nemo and The Incredibles.
- Bonnie’s Playtime: A Story Roundtable – A roundtable discussion with Director Lee Unkrich and the story artists who brought the “Bonnie’s Playtime” scene to life.
- Roundin’ Up A Western Opening – The development of the movie’s exciting opening scene.
- Life Of A Shot – Toy Story 3 artists and technicians describe their contributions to a few of the shots in the film’s “Western Opening.”
- Goodbye Andy – An exploration of character design, acting and animation in the scene “Andy’s Goodbye.”
- Accidental Toymakers – By creating the Toy Story characters, the Pixar filmmakers found themselves in the unlikely role of toy designers. Meet the toy company that took a chance on manufacturing the now iconic toys and learn of their incredible success that began with a modest number of Woody and Buzz Lightyear toys 15 years ago.
- Making of Day & Night – The story behind the unique 2D/3D blended short.
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The other day I was looking at calendars in the mall at one of those Calendar kiosks that pops up like a seasonal flower budding for the bucks.
They offer a ton of pretty cool things on those wire mesh walls. And the problem is that as I think I found what I like, I take a step to my right and suddenly there’s another one.
If I’m not careful, I’ve drifted into the ‘Not approved by wife’ section. If you’re not quick enough, you will be caught guys! Tread with caution as we ponder our new garage wall calendars!
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A humorous interlude from Bruce at Stuff on Brusimm:
Ah, tis the time of year. We’re all out and about scurrying from sale table to sale table. Or maybe even going online to Amazon to get our Christmas shopping done.
I think by now the shopping to get things shipped in a timely fashion has come and gone but we’re still scurrying like ants to snag inventory from shelves for our local present delivery. Inventory that isn’t as fruitfully stocked as years past… and rightfully, understood with these economic times.
Then there’s the shopping likes of me.
I’m out there with ya, looking like I’m scurrying. Picking up that last item on the sale table, looking it over. Looking like I’m pondering a purchase. All the while there’s a small group of fretful, wishful shoppers standing at the ready… ready to pounce if I put that precious last sale item down.
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