Going back to entertainment that all of us like, but a smaller percentage will actually admit to... Apple's iTunes Video store now features the entire first and second seasons for both South Park and Beavis and Butthead - two very funny shows, especially when they first launched, though South Park has definitely earned a higher level of staying power over time.
Let the dumbing down of America continue... but good for Apple. Yet another guaranteed revenue stream, and even more excuses to push us into eventually upgrading to a video iPod. Just like when they first debuted the iTunes Music Store, the video store's initial pickings were slim indeed, but as they continue to add more mainstream entertainment (and these are definitely mainstream), sales will follow.
January 26, 2006
January 25, 2006
Big Time Signings
Big Time Signings
It always seems like the big news hits when I'm out of town - so someone has to fill me in hours after it happens, just to catch me up. After months of anticipation in both cases, two big signings went down today that rocked the Northern California sports world, such as it is. First, the Oakland A's signed a one year, incentive-laden contract with the "Big Hurt", Frank Thomas, fresh off of a 16-year tenure with the Chicago White Sox, which had culminated in two injury-plagued seasons. Second, the Sacramento Kings traded away fan favorite three point sharpshooter Peja Stojakovic for the world-renowned bad boy Ron Artest, from the Indiana Pacers, just 24 hours after he swore he would never play for the Kings.
To start off, the A's have a fantastic young team, led by a pitching staff that surprised many people in 2005, with stability up and down the rotation, from Rich Harden and Barry Zito at the top, down to Joe Blanton, Dan Haren, and the off season signee Estaban Loaiza. But while they came close to taking the division away from the Anaheim Angels, their on-again, off-again offense needed an upgrade, especially in the form of a right handed bat with power. Thomas represented that power for many years with the White Sox, and very well could fill that role again, provided modern medicine and physical therapy do their trick. While many are very excited about this pickup, I'm more cautious. Thomas has been a shadow of himself the last few years, and has injury-prone written all over him now. But I wouldn't mind see him providing power at the top of the lineup, helping Chavez, Crosby and crew drive runs home.
The second deal is a little mind-boggling. Just last season, we saw a maniacal Ron Artest dive into the stands in Detroit on his way to a suspension for the rest of the regular season by the league. We all know he took time off earlier to make and promote a rap album, and is generally known as a hot head. Meanwhile, Stojakovic has the purest shot of anybody in the NBA this side of Lebron James or Kobe Bryant, and has been a mainstay for the Kings for the better part of 7-plus years. That makes the deal bewildering for us who only know the surface story. Others say that Peja's statistics are on the decline, and maybe with a better environment, Artest can thrive. Who knows? After all, just a few years ago, Chris Webber called Sacramento a cow-town, and wanted nothing to do with the place. Next thing we know, he's a perennial All-Star and MVP candidate... we'll see, but the feeling is hollow now.
To start off, the A's have a fantastic young team, led by a pitching staff that surprised many people in 2005, with stability up and down the rotation, from Rich Harden and Barry Zito at the top, down to Joe Blanton, Dan Haren, and the off season signee Estaban Loaiza. But while they came close to taking the division away from the Anaheim Angels, their on-again, off-again offense needed an upgrade, especially in the form of a right handed bat with power. Thomas represented that power for many years with the White Sox, and very well could fill that role again, provided modern medicine and physical therapy do their trick. While many are very excited about this pickup, I'm more cautious. Thomas has been a shadow of himself the last few years, and has injury-prone written all over him now. But I wouldn't mind see him providing power at the top of the lineup, helping Chavez, Crosby and crew drive runs home.
The second deal is a little mind-boggling. Just last season, we saw a maniacal Ron Artest dive into the stands in Detroit on his way to a suspension for the rest of the regular season by the league. We all know he took time off earlier to make and promote a rap album, and is generally known as a hot head. Meanwhile, Stojakovic has the purest shot of anybody in the NBA this side of Lebron James or Kobe Bryant, and has been a mainstay for the Kings for the better part of 7-plus years. That makes the deal bewildering for us who only know the surface story. Others say that Peja's statistics are on the decline, and maybe with a better environment, Artest can thrive. Who knows? After all, just a few years ago, Chris Webber called Sacramento a cow-town, and wanted nothing to do with the place. Next thing we know, he's a perennial All-Star and MVP candidate... we'll see, but the feeling is hollow now.
January 24, 2006
In-Flight Movies
In-Flight Movies
Channeling Jerry Seinfeld...
"I mean, airplane movies... are they supposed to be so dull, I mean - come on!"
With all our travel the last few years, I've started to grow accustomed to the in-flight feature films, which are usually popular enough that we've all heard of them, but not blockbusters, making it unlikely I'd already seen them in the theater. On cross-country flights, the major airlines, including American and United, tend to offer 2-hour films to act as a sort of electronic babysitter for us grown-up toddlers, who are probably much better behaved and calm - even if we're watching the latest tripe from Adam Sandler, Will Ferrell or Reese Witherspoon.
Yesterday, we were satiated with the movie "Just Like Heaven", a cutesy film about a career woman who perishes in a car accident, and though separated from her body, she (now as an angel) communicates with the man subletting her apartment, and begs him to help her remember her now-lost identity. Turns out she's in a coma, and only he can see or speak with her... and they fall in love, blah blah blah...
Never would have stuck that on the NetFlix queue. But I watched it. Why? Because it was a frickin' five-hour flight, and we were a captive audience. In recent months, that same excuse can be made for why I sat through "The Longest Yard", "Bewitched", "Kicking and Screaming", "Mr. and Mrs. Smith", and other B-list Hollywood fare. They probably know that. I don't expect to see "Schindler's List" or "Pulp Fiction" on these flights (too edgy), let alone "Turbulence" or "Con Air"... thank goodness. Not to mention the element of plausible deniability. Given the majority of people on the mid-day mid-week flight were businessmen, they could all act macho later and claim never to have seen it, but deep down, we all know they secretly like the soft fare.
"I mean, airplane movies... are they supposed to be so dull, I mean - come on!"
With all our travel the last few years, I've started to grow accustomed to the in-flight feature films, which are usually popular enough that we've all heard of them, but not blockbusters, making it unlikely I'd already seen them in the theater. On cross-country flights, the major airlines, including American and United, tend to offer 2-hour films to act as a sort of electronic babysitter for us grown-up toddlers, who are probably much better behaved and calm - even if we're watching the latest tripe from Adam Sandler, Will Ferrell or Reese Witherspoon.
Yesterday, we were satiated with the movie "Just Like Heaven", a cutesy film about a career woman who perishes in a car accident, and though separated from her body, she (now as an angel) communicates with the man subletting her apartment, and begs him to help her remember her now-lost identity. Turns out she's in a coma, and only he can see or speak with her... and they fall in love, blah blah blah...
Never would have stuck that on the NetFlix queue. But I watched it. Why? Because it was a frickin' five-hour flight, and we were a captive audience. In recent months, that same excuse can be made for why I sat through "The Longest Yard", "Bewitched", "Kicking and Screaming", "Mr. and Mrs. Smith", and other B-list Hollywood fare. They probably know that. I don't expect to see "Schindler's List" or "Pulp Fiction" on these flights (too edgy), let alone "Turbulence" or "Con Air"... thank goodness. Not to mention the element of plausible deniability. Given the majority of people on the mid-day mid-week flight were businessmen, they could all act macho later and claim never to have seen it, but deep down, we all know they secretly like the soft fare.
New Site Features - Feedburner RSS
New Site Features - Feedburner RSS
In the late 1990's, services like PointCast were all the rage, where it was imagined that consumers would eagerly snap up "push" media, where news, sports, and finance data would be downloaded to their computer at any time, when the content provider was ready. PointCast specifically was banking on a lot of idle time - as its service would be used as a "screen saver", offering your brain the ability to engage when your computer was resting. It didn't work out. After being talked up to the point where they were entertaining offers north of $100 million, PointCast stumbled and died an ugly death.
Years later, consumers are back in charge, enjoying the ability to customize their favorite portals, best exemplified by My Yahoo! and Google. In parallel, Internet users are finding new ways to get their data, from new devices and applications, outside of the browser. One of the most common is RSS (Real Simple Syndication). RSS can be used to send updated site information or news to customers who request it, not be pushed, in the way PointCast and others had dreamed. Now, nearly any HTML site can be syndicated using RSS, and this site is no exception. Through a site called Feedburner, which is one of the most popular on the Web, you can now subscribe to the RSS feed in your reader of choice, or add the page to My Yahoo! or Google, taking louisgray.com directly to you - making sure you don't miss a single story, and giving you the opportunity to catch up at any time.
You can find a link to Feedburner on the right sidebar of the site, as well as one-click buttons to add to your preferred home site, quickly and easily. Enjoy!
Years later, consumers are back in charge, enjoying the ability to customize their favorite portals, best exemplified by My Yahoo! and Google. In parallel, Internet users are finding new ways to get their data, from new devices and applications, outside of the browser. One of the most common is RSS (Real Simple Syndication). RSS can be used to send updated site information or news to customers who request it, not be pushed, in the way PointCast and others had dreamed. Now, nearly any HTML site can be syndicated using RSS, and this site is no exception. Through a site called Feedburner, which is one of the most popular on the Web, you can now subscribe to the RSS feed in your reader of choice, or add the page to My Yahoo! or Google, taking louisgray.com directly to you - making sure you don't miss a single story, and giving you the opportunity to catch up at any time.
You can find a link to Feedburner on the right sidebar of the site, as well as one-click buttons to add to your preferred home site, quickly and easily. Enjoy!