R.I.P. Michael Jackson

The King of Pop has passed away. He was a phenomenal artist and a polarizing figure in the later years of his life. I feel for his family and his three children. I don't know what's worse...people who hated him suddenly saying that he was a great person or the inevitable deluge of nastiness that will surround his death. Larry King said it best when he talked about his death. "He gave us his talent. Let's celebrate that."

When Is Diet Soda Not Diet?

When you hear the term "Diet" in regards to beverages, you assume the drink is going to be sugar free. That is the case for virtually every Diet drink from Diet Pepsi to Diet Green Tea. However, I found out recently that some companies (or at least the Dr. Pepper/Snapple Group) have been using the word "Diet" to simply mean "lower-calorie."

My sister purchased some Diet Crush Orange the other day for our mom. Our mother is a Type I diabetic and she likes orange pop, so it seemed like a no-brainer. Then, when I tried a can of it, I looked at the nutrition facts and discovered that this drink wasn't sugarfree. The second ingredient after carbonated water is the ubiquitous high-fructose corn syrup.

One can of "Diet" Orange Crush has 25 calories and six grams of carbohydrates. To be fair, this is a lot lower than regular Crush but it is certainly misleading. Why? Well, maybe because nearly every other Diet beverage has 5 calories or less and almost all of them do not have or sugar in them.

A big trend in drinks is to mix regular and sugarfree sweeteners. However, most companies do not call drinks with this mix "Diet." Vitamin Water has been touting its Vitamin Water 10 as having 10 calories per serving. It mixes crystalline fructose with the new natural sugar-free sweetener Truvia. However, nowhere in its advertising does the word "diet" appear.

The same can also be said for Propel, which mixes HCFS, simple syrup (sucrose syrup) and artificial sweeteners. A bottle of Propel usually has about 30 calories but, again, it is never described as "diet."

If any word is used to describe the mix of regular and sugarfree sweeteners it is "Light." That's what Minute Maid uses to describe its Lemonade with fewer calories. Again, the word "diet" isn't used.

The use of the word "Diet" on Diet Crush Orange may not seem like a big thing, but it's troubling for those who want (or need) to avoid sugar/HFCS-sweetened products. The Dr. Pepper/Snapple Group should seriously consider either changing the name of their product to remove "Diet" or making it clear on their packaging that this product is not sugarfree.

The TV, The TV

After really watching HD, I think I want a new TV. Although I don't really watch TV in my room, I probably would if I had a nice, mid-size HDTV.

My history with TVs in my bedroom is surprisingly lame.

I can't remember exactly how old I was when I got my first TV in my bedroom. I want to say I was maybe 12 years old or something like that. My first TV was a 20-inch Zenith with a dial for VHF and a dial for UHF. It became my TV when we got a new TV for our living room. The TV that was in that room became mine.

That TV was not cable ready and it was so old that you needed a special attachment in order to hook cable to it (the antenna connection involved screws). I have fond memories of staying up late on Friday nights (the only weeknight I could stay up) and watching The Tonight Show on that TV.

When that TV konked out, the next TV I got was the first (of two) that would come courtesy of one of my grandmother's friends. It was the first cable ready TV I had and the first TV with a remote. It was brown and the channel number was visible on a red LED display on the right side of the TV. The one main thing I remember about that TV was how I had to push the buttons really hard in order to go to a channel.

When that TV stopped working, I got my current TV. It also came from my grandmother's friend and it's notable for being the first TV with inputs on it (mono though...it's not stereo). It's not really a bad TV. The picture is just a little too dark. I never really noticed it until my family had to use it as our living room TV while I was at school. Watching stuff on that TV looked a lot darker than on any other TV in the house.

Even though I've had it for at least seven or eight years, it hasn't stopped working yet. It illustrates one thing about me...I'm reluctant to spend a lot of money at once. I could afford a new TV right now but I can't just drop $300 without doing some research. I buy a lot of stuff I don't really need (DVDs and CDs especially) but I rationalize it because it's in small doses. Spending $20 five separate times doesn't seem as bad as spending $100 at once.

A new TV is one of a list of things I should buy in the near future like a new bed, new bedroom furniture, and a new computer. I'm going to get one and I deserve to buy myself the first brand-new TV I've ever owned. It's going to just take time, I guess.

Updating

-Yeah, so no full-on Star Trek review. I really wanted to do one but I had trouble with it. It annoys me quite a bit when I can't write the type of review I want to write. I can't bring myself to write something short and post in anywhere other than here. It's basically like if I'm going to post it some place where a lot of people could read it, I want it to be the best thing I can do. The only time I ever write a review even when it isn't the way I want it is when I have to do it (assigned review).

-I want to review the last two CD's I've bought, Divided by Night by The Crystal Method and Blackout! 2 by Method Man and Redman. My early opinion on Divided by Night is that it's kind of meh. My early opinion on Blackout! 2 is that it's quite enjoyable. Of course, the more I listen to these albums, the more that opinion could potentially change.

-Since my review copy never came, I bought the second (and final) season of Freakazoid! recently. I intend to review it. As I watch it, I'm still struck by how much it may have influenced later animated comedies. There was a gag in an episode, for example, that purposely went on for far too long. It was really reminiscent of how some Family Guy gags go on for a lot longer than they should. I can't be sure that the writers of Family Guy watched Freakazoid but it certainly caught my eye.

-I'll probably do an anime thoughts post soon but I will tell you that this season I've watched Cross Game, Eden of The East, 07-Ghost, Hanasakeru Seishounen, K-On, and Sengoku Basara.

Quick Thoughts on Star Trek

I saw Star Trek on Friday morning and overall, I enjoyed it. It's a lot of fun to watch and it's a great way to introduce/reintroduce the characters of this new Star Trek universe. I want to do a full review of the film for Blogcritics but I'm not sure if I will. If I don't do that full review, I'll post a lighter one here.

DVD Review: Death Note - Volume 2 Box Set

The anime version of the popular Death Note manga concludes in the Death Note Volume 2 Box Set. The series comes to an end but not before a flurry of new characters, twists, and shocking character deaths.

[Note: If you are not familiar with Death Note, you should probably check out the review of the Volume 1 Box Set first to learn about the characters and premise.]

When we last left the characters of Death Note, Light had relinquished ownership of his notebook in order to lose all his memories of it. He did this in order to gain L's trust and eliminate suspicion that he was Kira. He even arranged it so that another person, an exec at a large corporation, could continue killing as Kira in his absence. The episodes on the Death Note Volume 2 Box Set begin with L and Light working together to find the current Kira.

The current Kira is caught in dramatic fashion but when Light touches the man's notebook, all his memories involving the notebook return (as well as his evil personality). Light kills the current Kira and resumes his plans to stop L from within his organization. L and the task force also learn of the existence of shinigami, the gods of death that normally use Death Notes.

Much happens over the course of the episodes on this set. Light triumphs against one foe only to gain a brand new one just as suspicion of him grows in the Japanese anti-Kira group. He grows colder and more sinister in his attempts to keep enemies off his trail and further his goals for a new world. He manipulates a shinigami's feelings to make it do his dirty work. He exploits the affections and admirations of two different women to get them to kill as Kira. He considers killing his own sister when her kidnapping threatens his plans. He even uses his own father to attempt to kill one of his enemies. The scene with Kira in the hospital with his father shows how evil Light has truly become.

These episodes also give us a look at how the world has reacted in the years since Light first used the Death Note. Tasteless TV producers make programs appealing directly to Kira and his fans. One man even claims to be Kira's official “spokesperson” and organizes a riot against the headquarters of the new group going after Kira. People's names make them vulnerable as criminals refuse to reveal their names and kids threaten bullies with the promise of putting their names on the Internet. Even whole countries aren't immune to Kira. The President of the United States receives a call from Kira and gives in to his demands.

There are many interesting themes and questions within Death Note. However, the simplest one is that absolute power corrupts absolutely. At the beginning of the series, Light is a brilliant young man with a bright future. By the end of the series, he is a shell of his former self. He has become a sociopath with a God complex who is hellbent on ruling a new world with only those he judges worthy. The contrast between the the young man he was and the man he has become are what make the final sequences of the series so haunting.

The five-disc Death Note Volume 2 Box Set is packaged in a handsome digipack with a slipcover that mirrors the Death Note Volume 1 Box Set. Inside, you will also again find representations of the instruction pages of the Death Note (the text is different this time around). The first four discs of the set contain the episodes. The fifth disc is a brand-new bonus disc exclusive to this set.

The excellent presentation from the last set is carried over to this one with little to complain about transfer-wise. The episodes are available with both Japanese and English audio with available English subtitles. Unfortunately, the ridiculously long sequence before the main menu remains on these discs. However, the sequence is also skippable like the previous set.

There are a nice amount of extras on this set. The first four discs each feature a behind-the-scenes featurette with voice actors for the English dub of the show, audio commentary on one episode each with people involved with the English dub, and production art. The first disc also has the clean version of the show's second opening and ending.

The extras on the fifth bonus disc revolve around the original Japanese version of the show. There is a behind-the-scenes featurette with the Japanese voice actors along with an interview with the the show's animation director and character designer. There are also conversations with the Japanese cast and crew as well as the original Japanese interstitials and a larger gallery of artwork.

If you enjoyed the first Death Note anime box set, then you will likely enjoy this one too. These episodes leave you at the edge of your seat until the very end. Although things get a little confusing at times, the journey to the show's conclusion is often exciting. While this is the end of the anime series, there is plenty more Death Note out there including three Japanese live-action films, a companion novel, the original manga series, and a Hollywood remake potentially on the horizon. This is likely not the last time you'll ever hear of Death Note.

Blogcritics Redesign

Blogcritics recently got a nice new redesign/relaunch. The new look takes a little getting used to but I like seeing more images and the new logo. Although I haven't written a new article since the redesign, I did update my writer page with a new (terrible) bio and a twist on the picture I've used to represent myself on this blog for the past five years.

Although the look is different, all the great writers are still there. I'm looking forward to posting my first article for the new BC, my review of the second Death Note anime box set, very soon.

Brief Thoughts on Dragonball Evolution

Last weekend, my sister and I went to see Dragonball Evolution. This movie was about 10 years too late to be a success but I enjoyed it. There were some changes to the original story (the word "saiyan" is never uttered once, for example) but a lot of things were kept in. I really thought they were going to change Bulma's last name but, no, they didn't. It was funny to hear Emmy Rossum introduce herself as Bulma Briefs.

The fight sequences were pretty decent. I enjoyed the opening "fight" between Goku and Grandpa Gohan. There's also a nice one which consists entirely of Goku avoiding attacks by a group of bullies. Also, the fight between Piccolo and Goku featured DBZ's trademark "punching at high speed at close range."

Overall, it's a nice PG-rated action flick that took me back to the days when I was a DBZ fan.