I realized today that I don’t think I actually ever saw the Tyson / Spinks fight. Back in 1988, my friend Jesse’s folks agreed to get the show on pay per view. I don’t remember what I was doing - bathroom break, or perhaps I lost the coin toss on who had to get the popcorn from the kitchen downstairs. But I do remember Jesse shouting “The fight’s starting!” and by the time I got back to the TV - it was over.
91 seconds. In 91 seconds, he knocked out a guy who’d never even been knocked down, whose knees had never touched a mat before.
Has any one else seen the Lipitor guy (a.k.a. Dr. Robert Jarvik inventor of the Jarvik Artificial Heart) and thought, “inventor of the artificial heart or not, I just don’t trust this guy because he looks like President Bush with a fading mullet.”
Does any one else feel like Khalid Shaikh Mohammed is pulling a Wee-Bey?
Wee-Bey
For those who haven’t seen The Wire, Wee-Bey is a member of the gang that finally gets caught and is arrested for murder. While at the station house he calmly cops to every murder that his gang has ever committed - every single one. He essentially tables every murder investigation the police were conducting against his gang.
Now that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed is talking, he is copping to everything Al Qaeda has done in the last decade. Not only was he responsible for the 9/11 attacks from A to Z, but he also personally beheaded Daniel Pearl, all the while he was furiously spearheading over 30 other acts of terrorism. By his account, we can stop looking for everybody else cause he is the “terrorists.”
Khalid
I can see him in the interrogation room, like:
“Oh.. the USS Cole? Indeed. That was me. First World Trade Center Bombing? Why do you think I was responsible for 9-11 from A to Z? I drove the truck the first time and I always finish what I start. Jessica Lynch? (smiling) Fo’ sho’. I personally put the blindfold on that [redacted], the [redacted] is lucky she got out alive! And oh…. I killed Joan-Benet Ramsey.
I watched my first game on a HD flatscreen today. I was skeptical until I actually could see a defensive lineman’s face so clearly that I could tell how badly he fell for a fake by Smith.
Going to have to get one of those sooner or later.
Turning on the television and trying to choose between the good the bad and the ugly, rocky IV (the one where Apollo creed is killed by drago), Friday, cool hand luke, o brother where art thou, grave of the fireflies, and raging bull.
I often link to articles about services that are in the works but then forget to actually go back and check them out after they are live. I came across an old post of mine about a service called In2TV that was to be offered by Warner Brothers in early 2006. According to a New York Times article (now hidden by NYTimes Select) over 100 shows would be made available with 4800 episodes.
Well, In2TV is live - and it disappoints on two levels.
The Content
In2TV certainly doesn’t offer 100 shows or 4800 episodes. That said, I was excited to reminisce while watching old episodes of Wonder Woman with Lynda Carter.
Other old gems include Welcome Back Kotter, Alice and Eight is Enough. That said, the library needs work.
The Delivery
The site isn’t very user-friendly and the video service is poor. AOL offers both streaming and downloaded content. Before streaming, I was required to install an active-x plugin for my mozilla browser. Despite being on a T1 connection, the video had sync problems as it continually had to buffer.
I decided to download an episode to see how the video quality compared, but was rebuffed by AOL. Apparently you can only download the shows from In2TV if you use Internet Explorer.
Oh well. In2TV sounded promising. I am sure it is only a matter of time before someone gets this right. Unfortunately, AOL and Warner Brothers are likely in to deep to get their offering on the right track.
I had absolutely no idea that Aaron Spelling produced Starsky and Hutch, Charlie’s Angels, The Love Boat, Hart to Hart, Dynasty, T.J. Hooker, and Twin Peaks (among other things). I only knew about Beverly Hills 90210 and Melrose Place.
We have three very large (and very expensive) flat screen televisions on the first floor of one of the law school buildings. They are always on, always silent, and always tuned to CNN. Every once in awhile, as I enter the lobby, I pause to see if anything new is being reported. Today, as I passed the silent screen, I saw “Late Breaking News” and stopped to tune in. On the screen was a picture of Maryland with a pulsating circle located right above Camp David. “Oh no they didn’t…” I thought to myself, wondering whether Camp David had been attacked. The caption underneath the picture read:
Bush says Zarqawi’s death won’t end the insurgency.
At least CNN got it half right. It ain’t news, but they certainly broke it late.
Interesting article on MovieBeam, a new service backed by Disney, Intel and Cisco. MovieBeam is a set top box that stores 100 movies at a time for your viewing pleasure. You pay for only what you watch and there are no monthly fees. What fascinates me is how they get the movies onto the box. According to the NewYork Times:
This wireless movie-delivery feature gives MovieBeam its name. The company doesn’t require an Internet connection or even a computer. Nor does the service depend on what cable or satellite setup you have, if any. How, then, can it send enormous, multigigabyte movies to MovieBeam owners nationwide?
Answer: Very cleverly. MovieBeam’s movies are encoded in the broadcast signal of PBS stations across the country. You’re actually receiving MovieBeam’s movies at this very moment — but they’re invisible unless you have the MovieBeam box. (MovieBeam pays PBS for these piggybacking rights.)
I didn’t even know you could do that!
This service doesn’t seem to solve the problems I raised here, but perhaps it is a step in the right direction. (via LJ)
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