Amazon's got a real shot at dethroning iTunes when it comes to selling major-label music online. They just announced they'll be selling Warner Music too without any kind of DRM, and they're doing it cheaper than iTunes. The ability to purchase music cheaply, legally, without strings and to play it on any player, including iPod and iPhone, is the only way ANYONE could compete with Apple in this market and it's taken Amazon's clout to make it happen. And it's not just music. They're also selling e-books with the Kindle which was pretty well-reviewed and movies that can be downloaded directly to the TiVo. We've done the movies a few times and have been moderately happy with the results. Once they work out a few kinks, it'll be great. They'll often have deals on relatively new rentals. We paid only a buck each to rent The Lives of Others, Hot Fuzz, Zodiac, and Ocean's Thirteen. Four movies for what it would cost us to rent one movie from Blockbuster and no trip to the store.
The DRM is a real pain though. If I start watching a movie at 8pm on tuesday night and my son wakes up and I can't finish the film that night, there's a 24 hour countdown 'til it disappears from the TiVo. It'll take a few years of competition before the restrictions are loosened for film rentals and books, but it's a trend, and I'm sure we'll get there eventually. Just don't expect to get there without some kicking and screaming.

Hulu Testing

This is a test of Hulu's embed capabilities. This SHOULD be a Kings of Leon performance from The Tonight Show. If it is, enjoy.

Consumed

Great conversation last night on Bill Moyers Journal with Benjamin Barber about consumerism and democracy. The best part? There's no commercials. Enjoy. You can watch video or read the transcript here.

I saw this on Boing Boing.
You'll see it eventually. Might as well be here.

"Extras", like "The Office", gone too soon

I just watched the Extras series finale that I recorded the other night. It played like a feature film. More serious than the regular episodes, I thought, and rightfully so. It's an odd series that way. Definitely a comedy, but comfortable being more. The show at times felt a diatribe about our fascination with celebrities. And yet Gervais himself seems to have an obsession with the idea of fame. Take a look at his most recent stand-up DVD. I love his talent and his integrity and can't wait to see what he does next. Apparently a film called Ghost Town will be released this summer also starring the very funny Kristen Wiig and Cameron Frye himself, Alan Ruck.

One More Drifter...

Aimee Mann released One More Drifter in the Snow last year.
It's a great Christmas album. If you're looking for new tunes to stir that holiday spirit in the coming weeks, you could do a lot worse.

New "Lost" content online

I didn't hear about these 'til today so I assume others may have missed them as well. Go to http://abc.go.com/primetime/lost/missingpieces to watch. Here's the official description:

Lost: Missing Pieces are 13 two- to three-minute stories of compelling, new, never-before-seen moments from the hit television show LOST. These newly-created scenes (not deleted scenes from previous episodes) reveal answers and new details about your favorite characters. For each story, we leave it up to the fans to figure out where these pieces fit into the overall mythology. The new stories are from the same creative team responsible for the series and feature the show's main actors in stories that have all the compelling values that make LOST one of the most popular dramas on television around the world.

I'm not sure if there's a contest for "most rockin' Thanksgiving photo", but if there is, I think we've got it won, hands down.

(I just hope we're not brought up on charges by the SMC)

Multimedia message

Matthew was watching sesame street on my ipod at the airport and he turned it over and saw the logo on the back and looked up at me and said "apple!". you have to start 'em young.

How cool is this?

Strike or No Strike, for a Select Few, Saturday Night Was Live

Jimmy Carter: Man From Plains

I'm really excited about the new documentary from one of my favorite filmmakers, Jonathan Demme. It's about one of my favorite people.
Jimmy Carter: Man From Plains should be out soon.



Here's a pic of me and my sister at the Carter headquarters a (very) long time ago.

Kite

Erin, Matthew, and I had a great time flying a kite on monday

THIS IS NOT ME

Here's the funny thing. This picture IS NOT ME.
I've had THREE people now tell me that I have a Doppelgänger.
His name is Matt McCarthy and he's a comedian/actor from New York.
You can see more pics here at his myspace page. Now, some photos are closer than others, but a few are just uncanny. I've spoken to my mother about this and she assures me Heather and I don't have a hidden triplet.

24

new season of 24 coming soon. thanks Taj for the heads-up.

Jimmy Carter

This quote is in response to a question from Bob Edwards on whether our "image problem" around the world is fixable.

CARTER: In my opinion, the next president could make major repairs the first day in office, the first 30 minutes in office. In the inaugural address, if the next president would announce:

The United States of America is rejecting pre-emptive war as a policy, and we will not attack another nation unless our own security is in danger, as has been the policy of every president since, since uh, George Washington until recently.

The United States will observe every nuclear arms control agreement that has been negotiated since Eisenhower, and we’ll comply with a non-proliferation treaty by working to bring the nuclear arsenals to zero.

The United States will never torture another prisoner, and we will comply with the Geneva Conventions on the treatment of those who are incarcerated. We’ll make sure that they have knowledge of their own crimes and that they have legal counsel and they have a right to outside contact with their families.

The United States will be at the forefront of controlling global warming, and will work with other nations persistently and enthusiastically to reduce the threat to the environment.

The United States will raise high the banner of human rights. From now on, we’ll be the champions of human rights.

The United States will take a balanced position in the Middle East and negotiate without ceasing to bring peace between Israel and Israel’s neighbors with justice to both sides.

Those kind of statements, which I think are rational and defensible and would be very unequivocal, I think, would arouse the admiration of Americans, and would also help to alleviate the concerns that are now so patently obvious in other people’s attitude toward us.

Mad Men

I've got about five episodes backed up on the TiVo of this show on AMC called Mad Men. If you don't know anything about it, check out the short video above. The season finale aired tonight but of course I won't watch it 'til I catch up. I've been watching since the premiere and think it's uncommonly good. I'm sure they'll do a marathon at some point. If so, be sure to watch. I'm never quite sure where it's headed. There are some terrific performances, so don't be surprised if you hear more about it come Emmy time.

In my dreams...my fingers are made of butter

Some thoughts about Gore

Speculation is again rampant that Al Gore might enter the presidential race now that he's won the Nobel Peace Prize. While I'm not sure he's interested, I've got an idea for the next president (Democrat or Republican). Cabinet positions are rarely coveted but there is potential for real policy influence (see Rumsfeld). Of course, cabinet members don't usually get much credit but they often take the blame when things go wrong (again...see Rumsfeld). Nevertheless, I think Al Gore would be a brilliant choice for the next Secretary of Energy. He's got the momentum and the passion to affect real change.

Everybody's Got Something To Hide...

Now Steve Jobs is just toying with us. Take a look at this screen-shot from iTunes. I think it's inevitable at this point that the Beatles catalog on iTunes gets announced at the launch of the "Leopard" OS later this month. But then, doesn't everyone already have all the Beatles tunes on vinyl, cassette, CD, and ripped MP3s?

A thought about the radiohead record. It really is an exercise in trust. Fans trust the band enough to buy a record without hearing a note of it. Band trusts the fans to pay enough for it so that this becomes a viable distribution method. I like that.