Movie Test

Long-Playing Albums (LPs) gave way to 8-track tapes which gave way to cassettes which gave way to Compact Discs.

In much the same way, Betamax was replaced by VHS tape and then, after a brief experiment with laser video, VHS was replaced by Digital Video Discs (DVDs).

And now, with the Federal Communications Commission decreeing that all broadcast signals must be converted to digital format by February 2009, we are seeing the emergence and broad acceptance of High Definition television and we, the public, want our recordings to also be in high definition.

From personal experience, it's a *much* better picture, folks. But before you go buy a DVD player that can handle those high definition recordings, you need to know which format to get. There are two. HD DVDs and Blu-ray DVDs.

Both have pluses and minuses, but in the past week, Blu-ray won the decisive battle. Warner Brothers Studios announced they would exclusively support Blu-ray and Paramount has a clause in their contract that lets them opt out of their support of HD DVD if Warner Brothers goes to Blu-ray. That gives Blu-ray more than 80% of the market for high definition recordings. Universal Studios remains the lone major producer of DVDs still putting their product on the HD DVD format.

So when you go to buy that high def DVD player, make sure it can play Blu-ray discs.

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So a teacher, a garbage collector, and a lawyer all find themselves together at the Pearly Gates. Saint Peter looks them over and then announces, "For today only, in order to enter into these hallowed gates, you must correctly answer a movie trivia question."

He turns to the teacher and understands the long years of service to children given, and decides to make the question simple. "In this movie based on a real incident, what was the name of the ship that crashed into an iceberg and sank?"

The teacher quickly replies, "That would be the Titanic." Saint Peter lets the teacher enter.

Then he turns to the garbage collector, and thinking that Heaven didn't really need all the odors this person would bring, makes the question a little harder. "How many people died on that ship?"

But the garbage collector had just recently seen the movie on DVD and knew the answer. "1,228," he quickly replied.

"Why, that's right!" Saint Peter exclaims and lets the garbage collector in.

Then he turns to the lawyer.

"Name them."


[from Send Me A Joke via Ed Peacher's Raucous Laughter]

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WISDOM for YOUR WEEK: "He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." (Micah 6:8)

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