How about that inflation

[Spartan26]

I'm not sure if it's really inflation or part of their overall market strategy but Netflix raised their price like $1.50 in January and then didn't meet 1st qtr earnings and their stock took a beating because of it. Not only did it lose like 30% in value, I believe was the initial figure, but I think they lost more than 2 million long-term subscribers. That being defined by 3 years or more. Which is a pretty big deal. They expect decent amount of turnover each qtr but to lose faithful viewers says a lot. It's kinda weird, a lot has been written on them but none citing the price hike for the defection. They said they're going to crack down on password sharing. I think that's a legit concern as they said people share with like 8-9 people. What I kinda wonder is how do you tell for certain. Like, in just my own possession I have logged into Netflix on my laptop, in my new Roku stick, which is currently in my bedroom, and on my PS3 in my living room. I haven't logged in on my phone but that's an option. Then, if I should end work from home, I could conceivably log in at work. All legit mine. But would it look like I'm sharing? I know they sent me an email saying that someone had logged in from India and reminded me that my account is for my household. I called customer service to see if it was real and all they could say was change my password. But I had been traveling and mentioned that, and asked if they could see it was one of my normal devices but she didn't seem to care too much. Like, OK??

They did announce new, cheaper, ad-supported service I think coming next year. I really don't think it was part of their plan to tease that announcement so soon but the stock erosion caused them to throw out a lifeline. My guess was they were going to try to do another price hike and then offer that as an alternative and a means to pick up more subscribers. I'm curious what their ad-supported rate would be. I said two price hikes ago that if they raised their rates again, I'd be out of there but I'm still paying and hardly ever watching. One good thing is that this should prevent all the other streamers from raising their price anytime soon.

I got my ticket to see Top Gun Maverick. I remember hearing about some things about the production, like I'm sure 4 years ago. I can't even remember what I heard to now look for in the film. I do belong to the AMC A-List subscription service. On the one hand, I often feel like I'm not getting my money's worth if I don't see 2 films a week but they don't anywhere near enough indie or foreign films. I thought I'd have it and see films, just cuz, but there have been so many that I would rather not venture out and see, not even being on the fence about seeing. But if they keep jacking the price up of a regular ticket, your $24 prepaid monthly expense doesn't look so bad. Here's a screenshot of my Imax purchase for this weekend.

Maverick Top Gun ScreenShot - Copy (2).png (392.65 KiB) Viewed 21384 times

$25.49 for one ticket is insane right? Like, no other word. I'm pretty sure that's like a $2 increase from earlier this year. Price hikes generally come right before the summer but this seems steeper than normal. I went to a film last evening and took a glance at concession prices on my way by, $8.79 for a medium popcorn and $9.79 for a large. I'm gonna have to see when I go to movie this w/e cuz I think that AMC I went to generally has cheaper prices than some others.

I was really bummed that a theater not too far from me had to close. They did play 50/50 major studio releases to smaller films. Saw a lot of screenings there with Q&As afterwards. They had a nice lounge that was a great place to network & smooze after a film. A few times over the years I'd meet friends for a drink and catch a bit of game before or after a film. Yeah, a tad pricey but fairly convenient. It was part of a mall that most of the place had shutdown well before the pandemic. They were talking about it being remodeled and I can't remember what stores coming in to anchor the place. Now I don't think that's happening. I'm pretty sure Westfield, one of the larger mall proprietors was getting out of the mall business. At one time they were going to make a lot of them mixed use space but I think those plans are of no more. No surprise that office and commercial leases are really expensive out here. What gets me is how many places are vacant but no one will drop the lease price to get steady tenants in.

[jyng1]

$25.49 for one ticket is insane right? Like, no other word.

Lucky/unlucky the nearest Imax is a 4 hour drive away... I paid NZ$12.00 (USD$7.83).

Netflix is losing the content battle which is why it's losing subscribers. I'm thinking of ditching it because it doesn't have much to watch anymore.

[Senseye]

I don't know that Netflix is losing the content battle per se, although no doubt they had a much easier time when they were the only game in town.

It's just that with Amazon, Disney, Apple, etc. getting in the game, how else could it possibly go? Eventually, either some of these streaming services will fail (although many have parent companies with deep pockets) or the industry will have to re-consolidate to some degree.

Or start to show ads. That's a slippery slope because once you have to please advertisers, content can suffer. Can't show anything too controversial or violent or sexual, etc, because heaven forfend a particular shopping demographic gets offended. I mean, how did network tv get so boring in the first place? Outside of the tedious advertising I mean.

[Spartan26]

$25.49 for one ticket is insane right? Like, no other word.

Lucky/unlucky the nearest Imax is a 4 hour drive away... I paid NZ$12.00 (USD$7.83).

It'd be rare that I pay to see a movie on IMAX. The first time I remember doing so for a film that wasn't like an IMAX doc special order was Batman Begins. Even then I was sure to go to the discounted first showing of the date. It was so good and so worth it that I did again for The Dark Knight and Dark Knight Rises. This was actual IMAX theater. They call the AMC screens LIEMax cuz they aren't quite a big as true IMAX. If it wasn't included in the A-List membership fee that you can see IMAX, 3-D, or Dolby enhanced screens w/out added surcharge, I wouldn't go as much as I've been. I think I paid to see the last X-Men that came out on IMAX and all I can say was I'm glad I didn't shell out more money for popcorn cuz it was lousy.

There's an AMC theater that's near to me that's a dine-in theater. They bring your food to you and the seats recline. I didn't go there too often cuz not only was it more expensive but then I'd feel guilty for not ordering food. That feeling has since gone away. I do like that seats recline, although it's hard to get the true sweet spot. I just want my feet up but then the back goes down and so I'm like looking down my nose to see the screen. Really annoying wearing glasses. One of my biggest pet peeves was watching a film and then seeing someone in the row behind me put their feet up and so I see them dangling out of my peripheral vision the whole time. That was solved in reclining seats. BUT, they have the little seat marker between every other chair and other interior lights on illuminated the whole time so it never gets completely dark. There are some other theaters that reclining seats and no lights but they are a bit farther away or one charges more for parking. There's always something.

* * * * * *

I stopped by one of my favorite mom & pop donut shops this evening. I feel like any of the ones I frequent is a favorite. Anyway, it was prolly around 5:30-6 PM when I get in there, so not a huge selection left. I bought a cinnamon roll and chocolate long john. $4.25. Yikes! That's certainly a price increase. I haven't been to too many donut shops this year. WFH precludes me from being out. Plus, was cutting back on sweets and junk. But another shop I would go to a lot raised their prices as well. They sometimes have prices posted but I'm never sure what constitutes fancy, premium, regular, etc. I remember whenever I'd get 2 items, and neither was like the gourmet baked cinnamon roll or the giganto rope braided twist, and I'd say "Wut?" to get the attendant to repeat themselves if they gave a price of $3.50 or more, cuz that was never the case. This time I didn't even question what the price was of each. Without any prompting or freakout on my end, she ended up giving me an extra long john and packed a bag with donut holes so it definitely evened out. Another place I go to a lot, the lady who's generally working was apologetic at the price increase and said everyone's raising their price. I'm not sure she meant all donut shops, nearby businesses, or their suppliers.

I feel like most of my expenses are fairly routine. Gas, of course, is more. I pay more when I order fast food. Part of that is being more willing to get the "premium burgers or chicken sandwiches" and also order a bit more so I can have something to snack on later on. Some things I get at Costco I may pass on cuz it frequently goes on special and if I can I'll wait. I was kinda bummed I had to spend $45 on protein powder last time I was in. They often have one of two brands on special for like $15 bucks off. I knew it'd be at least 3 weeks for the next cycle of sales and wasn't particularly certain I'd last that long. I mean, not having a shake after working out isn't the end of the world and I could pick up a cheap smaller container elsewhere but I just as soon get it while I'm there and be done with it. It's usually the real healthy items that get cut. Like the 3 pound bag of fresh, mixed greens or organic brussel sprouts. Thankfully, I haven't had to make any real sacrifices. I've only purchased chicken thighs there, as far as meat goes, in the past couple of months. They're $.99/pound, so nothing new. They've had OK prices on various beef cuts but not so good that I got some to freeze. Like, I had gone into, "do you really need this?" mode of thinking for every item I looked at. Now, of course, I got stuff I don't "need" but no real luxury, indulgent items. It's easy to get stuff there cuz the quantity justifies the hefty bill at the end. I do get stuff I generally know won't go to waste. Sometimes finishing those big bag off greens can get difficult. Like I envision using them in omelets and assorted things but just don't fix them as much. But otherwise, 2 dozen eggs will be gone, 2 lbs block of cheese I'll kill off. Frozen wings I can heat up as needed are perfect. I think in the past if I was in like say a Wed or Thurs before a holiday w/e, I'd look for a large package of ground beef, sausage or ribs, just on the in case I wanted to have a few friends over, even if I had nothing planned. I was in there a couple of days ago and totally passed on the notion. Like, if I didn't have people over, no problem breaking them up and freezing parts for later but it could be fear of a potential recession that prevented me from such mild extravagance.

[Utisz]

meat inflation

Things that have no business inflating are inflating.

[Spartan26]

Maybe the follow-up that nobody cares but I went to see Top Gun Maverick at 11:30 PM last night on IMAX and the theater was nearly sold out. Hearing good things about the film I opted to spend $8.79 on a large popcorn. It's really the price of a regular but with paid membership they give you the large at medium price. I brought my own water in because 1.I went to a baseball game the day before and drank way too much soda and could feel my gut getting larger and 2) I wasn't sure how long the movie was and I didn't need to slurp down a large soda and then feel the flood gates straining with another hour:twenty left to go. Lemme just say, So Worth It! Even if I had paid $25.50 for the ticket I wouldn't have minded one bit. I didn't see any trailer leading up to it, thought I felt like I knew just about all of the story beats that were going to take place, and they did occur but execution and the filming were phenomenal.

I'm throwing this out now, I'm thinking Tom Cruise gets an honorary Oscar in the next 3-4 years, possibly as early as next year. I think he's about the same age as Spike Lee when he got his. I'm not sure how they go about selecting them. Like, I know there's a subsection in the rules but in many cases they wait til the artist slows down and isn't likely to get nominated for anything on their own cuz they're maybe only in something or putting out something every 3 or so years. The next Mission Impossible looks pretty good. I could see TC getting the nod cuz action films stars normally don't get the love with the voters. Although it wouldn't surprise me if Cruise sneaks into the top 5 with this one.

[jyng1]

Maybe the follow-up that nobody cares but I went to see Top Gun Maverick at 11:30 PM last night on IMAX and the theater was nearly sold out. Hearing good things about the film I opted to spend $8.79 on a large popcorn. It's really the price of a regular but with paid membership they give you the large at medium price. I brought my own water in because 1.I went to a baseball game the day before and drank way too much soda and could feel my gut getting larger and 2) I wasn't sure how long the movie was and I didn't need to slurp down a large soda and then feel the flood gates straining with another hour:twenty left to go. Lemme just say, So Worth It! Even if I had paid $25.50 for the ticket I wouldn't have minded one bit. I didn't see any trailer leading up to it, thought I felt like I knew just about all of the story beats that were going to take place, and they did occur but execution and the filming were phenomenal.

I'm throwing this out now, I'm thinking Tom Cruise gets an honorary Oscar in the next 3-4 years, possibly as early as next year. I think he's about the same age as Spike Lee when he got his. I'm not sure how they go about selecting them. Like, I know there's a subsection in the rules but in many cases they wait til the artist slows down and isn't likely to get nominated for anything on their own cuz they're maybe only in something or putting out something every 3 or so years. The next Mission Impossible looks pretty good. I could see TC getting the nod cuz action films stars normally don't get the love with the voters. Although it wouldn't surprise me if Cruise sneaks into the top 5 with this one.

It was really good. I think I'll be watching re-runs for a few years (maybe not the 36 I've been watching Top Gun).

This was the best preview (I seriously think there was a lot of room to flesh out Bob's character...):

[puerile_polyp]

Latest CPI number is officially 8.6, highest since 1981. But many people are saying that the real number should be much higher. Consumer confidence is at the lowest level since it's been measured in the 50s. A recession seems inevitable. Worse than that seems likely.

[Yesterday]

Latest CPI number is officially 8.6, highest since 1981. But many people are saying that the real number should be much higher. Consumer confidence is at the lowest level since it's been measured in the 50s. A recession seems inevitable. Worse than that seems likely.

You bet'er sh'up bout that mister. Sh'up!

[Madrigal]

I hear Spain has made its commuter train rides free until November due to inflation and people just not being able to afford getting to work anymore.

Argentina's informal dollar is through the roof this week (I think it jumped about 40% in one week) and the tourist dollar went up too. Inflation has spiraled out of control and there are empty shelves in stores because companies are starting to hoard goods while they wait for things to stabilize.

The Chilean peso has depreciated rapidly in the past days and the central bank had to intervene with more dollars.

I hear the euro is worth less than the dollar now?! Because of the war?

I feel like the world economy is more volatile than it has been in a very long time.