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Posted on 07.09.07 by Mr. Majestic @ 8:22 pm
Okay … time to re-boot the movie get-togethers! Next up: STAR TREK The original series (or TOS, as the geeks know it), of course. But here is the best part: You call it! That’s right, you – the viewers – get to select the episodes we will view. Will it be the quirkiness of “Trouble With Tribbles”? Or perhaps the philosophical challenges of “The Conscience of the King”? Just choose your favorite and stop on over! What’s that you say? ‘The catch’? OF COURSE there’s a catch! You have to show up. We will watch six episodes of Kirk-y goodness … each one hand-picked at the peak of flavor by the lucky few who attend the screening. THE FIRST SIX guests will each get to select their favorite episode from the following: Star Trek – The Original Series – Season One Star Trek – The Original Series – Season Two Star Trek – The Original Series – Season Three Star Trek – The Animated Series YES! We will also have the animated series, which, some of you may not be aware, starred the original actors and for which many of the writers from the original series were used. It’s real Trek! WHEN: SUNDAY, JULY 15, 2007 WHERE: THE USUAL PLACE WHEN: Starting at 1:00 PM Popcorn and refreshing beverages will be served. Feel free to bring along your favorite movie candy! See you there! Filed under: Film & Television Comments: None |
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Posted on 07.07.07 by Mr. Majestic @ 5:29 pm
Well, 3 online TV options, one PC … but that doesn’t have the cache’ of classic sci-fi, does it? In the continuing saga of IPTV evolution, I propose to offer a fundamental set of parameters. These are – I submit – the “things that matter”: 1) CONTENT “It” is king, after all. Without a decent selection of programming that people WANT to see, everything else is moot. 2) QUALITY After all, you can get just about anything (at least temporarily) on YouTube, but the major networks and cablecos hardly consider it a threat (Viacom lawsuits notwithstanding). Unless a minimum standard of quality is met, none but the desperate (or underage) will notice. 3) INTERFACE It all needs to be usable … passing not just the dreaded WAF test, but manageable by the kids and Uncle Fred as well. IPTV will never go mainstream until everyone can use it. So – how do three of the current crop of products fare? Let’s take a (brief, unscientific) look, shall we? (Hey, if you want full-blown reviews, there are plenty of sites for that.) - – - – - – - – - – - - I finally received a beta-invite (along with half the rest of the world, I’m sure) and am starting to dig around the program. They say I can send an invitation to as many friends as I want, but honestly I am waiting on that to make sure the service is ready-for-prime-time. At the moment, I can say that the interface is slick … perhaps too slick. I prefer a little less aero and a little more “form follows function”. Not saying it’s bad (not yet, anyway) but it could get irritating. Judging by the source (lol … pun intended) I will presume that skins & other mods will be forthcoming. I haven’t tried any plug-ins yet, but for now the biggest “wait-and-see” is the content itself. Until it leaves beta for the real world, there is just no way to tell how much draw Joost will have. Some of the existing reviews act like there is a plethora of material already here (Si, el Guapo!) but I’m just not seeing it. Sure they have Adult Swim (and that counts for a lot) but until I see more complete episodes than I can get at the channel site itself, I remain singularly UNIMPRESSED. So … For 1) CONTENT, I’m giving them a D … but they are still in beta, so consider that a PROVISIONAL grade. For 2) QUALITY, I will give them a C- … the video is no better than what I can stream elsewhere, and nowhere NEAR the quality level of something downloaded from iTunes (for $1.99) or for FREE in H-Q from AOL. Lastly, for 3) INTERFACE I will give Joost an A for looks and a B (so far) for usability. - – - – - – - – - – - - I have had my eye on this for almost two years, now. Thankfully, they abandoned the ill-conceived set-top-box requirement, and you can now use the service on any PC. There are some channels and shows available for free, but most of it costs. (By the way, they are running a promo right now that gives you $25 worth of content for signing up … you can even get pr0n!) So … For 1) CONTENT, I’m giving them a D as well. They promote the ability to “subscribe to channels for a small monthly fee” … yet almost none of the channels you might actually WANT allow this option (example: A&E or The History Channel). If I could get EVERY SHOW that Adult Swim carries, unlimited, for a few bucks a month, I am SO IN! Otherwise, as they say on ‘the boards’: STFU. For 2) QUALITY, I will give them a B- … the video is almost up to iTunes quality, but I am PAYING for it (so it should be just as good, right?). Lastly, for 3) INTERFACE I will give Akimbo a B for usability. The software (powered by Roxio) is not bad, and although it may be less-slick, I would rate it higher than Joost on the simplicity factor. - – - – - – - – - – - - All I can say right now about AOL’s service is that it has to be one of the most massive marketing failures in history. No one – I mean, really – knows about this site! There are literally hundreds of shows there … and the great majority of the content is FREE. Most episodes are available in either an instant stream (which is still watchable at full-screen) or a *very* nice downloadable version (they call “Hi-Q”) that rivals anything from iTunes. Everything from classic episodes of Gilligan’s Island, through 80′s fare like Growing Pains, right up to recent programs like Joey. (Hey, I didn’t say it was all stuff I would actually watch … but maybe Uncle Fred would.) There is minimal commercial interruption (Joost has ads, too) and everything works great through standard browsers. (No downloads, and no P2P intrusion.) Did I mention that it’s FREE??? So … For 1) CONTENT, I’m giving them a B+. The only thing really missing is an iTunes-like library of current shows & movies. But – if I’m going to *pay* for it, I can just GO to iTunes. For 2) QUALITY, I will give them a B+ as well … videophiles will quibble, but considering the price and ease-of-use, this is fine for almost everyone. Lastly, for 3) INTERFACE I will give In2TV an A for usability. Sure, at the moment there aren’t a lot of bells & whistles, but it’s a browser app – so anyone could come along and do add-ons for it anytime, including AOL. Well, the bottom line is that I still await my IPTV savior … the good news is that for early-adopter digerati, there is plenty out there for free or cheap if you know where to look and don’t mind navigating half a dozen different apps, interfaces, and sites. The bad news is that Uncle Fred will have to wait just a bit longer before he tells Time-Warner to go fly a kite. I’m outie.
Filed under: Film & Television Comments: None |
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Posted on 04.06.07 by Mr. Majestic @ 1:50 pm
Okay - Just a quick note here because I want to get this out while it’s still (relatively) fresh. If you haven’t seen the Alanis Morissette send-up of the Black-Eyed Peas number ‘My Humps’ … well … HERE. If you’d like to see the original, Yahoo has it. From what I can tell, this virus was born on a recent airing of BWE. Back in tha day, we kicked-it old skool with some Weird Al. Sure, he’s still around, but things started to go downhill the minute he left his bedroom recording studio and replaced an empty suitcase with a real set of drums. One of the great things about the Interweb is the way that things which should just stay underground – but don’t – flame out a lot faster (mercifully) than they otherwise might. Used to be that when some corporate entity decided to invest a lot of cash to take some brilliant-but-obscure concept and monetize it until it became a dessicated husk, there was nothing we – the viewing public – could do but suffer. Nowadays, things rise and fall so quickly online that no matter how intolerable the meme, it is rare for any real traction to occur. Like a cultural McDLT, the fun inside jokes can stay that way. Which reminds me. Speaking of pure deliciousness, taste THIS.
Filed under: Eric on the loose ... andFilm & Television Comments: 1 Comment |
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Posted on 10.22.06 by Mr. Majestic @ 2:14 pm
Time for the second monthly movie party! This time around, I feel like being self-indulgent. Therefore, it’s ANIME’ TIME! Ever wondered what the big deal is with all those anime’ geeks? Ever wondered what the heck anime’ IS ??? Well now you can find out, as we span the history of the genre from the 1960′s straight up through today! - – - – - – - – - - The History of Anime’ 12:00 NOON - The 1960′s – The Birth of Anime’ Speed Racer – 1966 First created as “Mach Go Go Go” by anime pioneer Tatsuo Yoshidain Japan, in 1966. The central character, a young race car driver named Gō Mifune (Hence the letter “G” on his shirt). When the series emerged before U.S. TV audiences as Speed Racer, fans were quickly drawn to its quirky plots involving fiendish conspiracies, violent action, hard-driving racing, and characters with sparkling eyes. Episode 3 – Challenge of the Masked Racer – Part 1 (25 min) 1:00 PM - The 1970′s – Outer Space Beckons! Star Blazers – The Quest for Iscandar – 1978 Known in Japan as “Space Battleship Yamato” – Star Blazers is a groundbreaking Japanese science fiction anime series created by Leiji Matsumoto. Set in the year 2199, an alien race known as the “Gamilons” have defeated Earth’s space forces, and are raining radioactive bombs on the planet. A bit of trivia: the 90-minute movie version of Yamato outperformed Star Wars at the Japanese box office in 1978. Episode 1 – The Last Battle at Pluto (20 min) 1:45 PM - The 1980′s – Anime’ Revolution AKIRA – 1987 (120 min) AKIRA is a 1987 animated film by Katsuhiro Otomo based on his graphic novel (called ‘manga’ in Japan) of the same name. The movie led the way for the growing popularity of anime in the West, with AKIRA considered a forerunner of the second wave of anime fandom that began in the early 1990s. One of the reasons for the movie’s success was the highly advanced quality of its animation, with meticulously detailed scenes, exactingly lip-synched dialogue and superfluous motion as realized in the film’s more than 160,000 animation cels. The story takes place in the politically volatile city of Neo-Tokyo, built over Tokyo Bay after an unexplained explosion had destroyed the previous metropolis. 4:00 PM - The 1990′s – Perfection is Achieved Cowboy Bebop – 1998 Cowboy Bebop follows the adventures of a group of bounty hunters traveling on a spaceship, the Bebop, in the year 2071. Strongly influenced by American culture, especially the jazz movements of the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, nearly all of its action sequences, from space battles to hand-to-hand martial arts combat, are set and timed to music. Episodes are called Sessions, and titles are either borrowed from an album’s or a song’s name or make use of a genre name, that will influence the whole episode’s action and musical theme. Session 5 – Ballad of Fallen Angels (25 min) 5:15 PM - The 2000′s – Art for Art’s Sake FLCL (Fooly Cooly) – 2001 The series focuses on Naota, a twelve-year-old boy living in the fictional and initially tranquil Japanese suburb of Mabase. FLCL is an esoteric work whose odd style, hyperactive pace, and frequently inaccessible plot logic sets it apart from other contemporary anime. FLCL can be categorized as a work of comedy, drama, soap opera, and/or science fiction. Its comedic side is most noticeable, as it references such pop culture icons as John Woo and South Park, not to mention other anime. However, its comedic elements at times overshadow what is, at its core, a coming of age story. Puns and sexually suggestive metaphors fly freely. Episode 1 – Fooly Cooly (25 min) Hope y’all can make it!
Filed under: Film & Television Comments: None |
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Posted on 05.03.06 by Mr. Majestic @ 10:05 am
Okay, long-time since last post, but whatever. I haven’t updated the planetscape on the IPTV revolution in a while, and things have been changing fast & furious. Over the course of the past six months or so, the available offerings have ballooned considerably, and could very well be nearing a tipping point. When the “Big 3″ start to dip a toe in the water, one could argue it’s already happened. (One wonders what the iTunes Store folks think of this, since they have been *selling* the same episodes for a while …) You have bona fide “new breed” services like Akimbo, now available as a software-only solution for your Media Center PC. There are 24/7 online “webcast” channels that qualify as “real” (compared to amateur vlogs, etc.) like ManiaTV. You have significant cable networks offering free, full-length programming from their web site like Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim Fix. Then there’s AOL’s In2TV site, where you can watch full-length ad-free episodes of classic TV-Land-esque offerings such as “Welcome Back, Kotter” and more recent programming such as “Pinky and the Brain.” All of this beside the rapidly-growing video-sharing sites like YouTube and Google Video. For a long time, I have looked forward to the day when I could (with a straight face) say: “Who needs cable?” Last month, we started experimenting with the Vongo online service, from the folks who run the STARZ! movie channel on cable. In a nutshell, it is similar to NetFlix, with a few important differences. On the plus side, it’s a download service, so there’s no mailing to mess around with, and no waiting. Also, you get a bonus of a free live-feed from the Starz! movie channel, so you’re getting a pay-cable benefit as well. Cost is very reasonable at $9.95 a month. On the minus side, the library of titles is (at this point) small compared to the colossal selection at NetFlix. Vongo currently offers a rotating list of 1,000 titles. The list is a mixture of current hits, classics, and some dogs. There is plenty to watch, and titles rotate on (and off) the list every week. I haven’t yet figured out all of the nuances, but it seems like titles stay on the list a reasonable amount of time (at least a month or two) before disappearing, so you’ve got a reasonably long chance to view them. They do have some titles that are Pay-Per-View, at the typical $3.99 price point for 24-hours of viewing, but most of these show up on the “unlimited” viewing list after a while as well. Certainly for titles you want to watch again and again for the rest of your life (your personal “Top 100″ or whatever), you’re going to want to own the DVD anyway (at least I do), so the fact that these titles eventually “disappear” is not an issue for me. For probably 8-out-of-10 films I watch, a single viewing is all I’ll ever need. I love the fact that we can get the movies (virtually) instantly, so whenever the kids want a Disney film or the wife & I want a movie, we can browse a generous listing and start viewing before the popcorn comes out of the microwave. (Typically the film is ready to watch in less than two minutes, and the entire thing has downloaded to your hard drive before you are fifteen minutes in.) Titles are saved on your “Library” until they expire, so for any additional viewing (and if you have kids, you know that is a guarantee) there is no waiting at all. Picture quality is quite good. Easily as good as what you see on “digital cable” … about as good as a perfect-quality VHS tape. We watch full-screen on a standard-definition television (fed via the S-video out on the video card) and have been very impressed. Between the movie selection (and convenience) of Vongo, the free classic TV available from AOL, and the new full-length offerings from places like ABC and Cartoon Network, we generally find more than we need to watch. Sure there are still some shows & cable networks (are you listening FoodTV ?) we would like to access, but at this rate, how long can it be before they jump on the gravy-train? Companies like AT&T are launching full-blown IPTV services this year in select markets (coming soon to a metropolis near you) and when that happens we can all say – as our favorite Sith Lord – “The circle is complete. Now *I* am the master.” It’s a good time!
Filed under: Comp-YU-TAH! andFilm & Television Comments: None |
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- Capt. Mal Reynolds