Mark Fleischmann

After extensive testing, I have finally found the ultimate power cable. It's from Mothra Research Unlimited. Their motto: "At Mothra, you won't get snake oil; you'll get the entire snake." While the Mothra Power Cord may be a bit pricey at $8899.95 per meter (one meter shown), doesn't this description excite the two-channel purist in you?: "Designed and engineered for proper frequency handling from the wall tap to your equipment, the Mothra Power Cord uses 0.0001 mm palladium wire in a helium atmosphere to carry high frequencies, 0.001 mm platinum wire in a xenon atmosphere to carry the upper midranges, 0.01 mm gold wire in an argon atmosphere to carry the lower mids, and 0.1 mm silver wire in highly reactive sulphur hexafluoride to carry the low frequencies. This is then shielded with over 700 Kg of 99.9999% copper, packed into a special neodymium-bismuth damping material, encapsulated in our specially bioengineered case, and irradiated with high intensity gamma rays from Three Mile Island reactor #2." No system would be complete without Ghidorah or Rhodan interconnects, not to mention Mothra's speaker cable. Here's the price list. Mothra's corporate philosophy is simple: "Our goal is to wrap the listener in an intense, passionate and lifelike embrace of sound at a price comparable to the US Navy's Trident Missile Program. The enormous soundstage and precise, realistic imaging of our products will bring out the beast in you and secure our comfortable retirement."

Like a Perdue Oven Stuffer Roaster with an unpopped plastic thermometer, downloads are still a half-baked method of movie delivery, according to a recent survey.

The latest Will Smith movie Hancock will make its video debut on Sony's Bravia Internet Video Link before it reaches Sony's Blu-ray disc format (or DVD for that matter). The release-window experiment will run from October 28 to November 10.

Moviegoers in Japan will get a special treat when they see The New World starring Colin Farrell. Telecom company NTT will supply hardware that releases aromas from scented oils. According to Yuri Kageyama of AP: "A floral scent accompanies a love scene, while a mix of peppermint and rosemary is emitted during a tear-jerking scene. Joy is a citrus mix of orange and grapefruit, while anger is enhanced by a herb-like concoction with a hint of eucalyptus and tea tree." Variations of the technique date back to 1959 when Aroma-Rama delivered scent through the air-conditioning system during Behind the Great Wall. In 1960, Smell-o-Vision injected olfactory enhancements into the seating for Scent of Mystery. Most notorious was John Waters' Polyester (1981) with Odorama, a relatively low-tech scratch-and-sniff card that provided suggestions of flowers, pizza, glue, grass, and feces. Waters later exulted over having gotten audiences to "pay to smell..." the latter.