Karlo.Org - Weblog

The recent Gatorade "Big Head" commercial has to be one of my favorite television ads in a long time. It's a great little set piece (I suspect it's a one timer and not a long-term campaign), with a lighter attitude than their previous efforts. A nice little reminder for all the adults about everyone started out playing the game.

(A detail I didn't notice on the first viewing was fastpitch softballer Jennie Finch's remark -- "why don't you throw it underhand?" Nice.)

All day, baby, all day.

Posted by Tom at 7:32 PM | Permalink

I picked up Rockstar Games Table Tennis for the Xbox 360 over the weekend... $40 is the price because it's a more limited game than their normal releases. Still, it's amazing... great single player play vs. computer and online over Xbox live (I don't think it plays two player at the same screen.) Definitely worth checking out for a change of pace.

A gutsy design decision by Rockstar if you ask me -- going very much in the opposite direction of expansive, kitchen-sink, big-license EA sports games, this is a finely tuned little gem that's a joy to play. I've had more fun playing this for an evening than any recent game in memory.

(Correction: It does support 2 players on one TV locally -- just turn on the second controller and see the option. It also supports up to 8 players in Live via a tourney mode.)

Posted by Tom at 6:31 AM | Permalink

Glenn McDonald on why even a loyal music customer started downloading. A great piece showing why the persistence of music piracy online has its roots in a deeper dissatisfaction among music consumers beyond the simple issue of cost, and showing why the industry needs to start thinking about how to evolve its model rather than maintain status quo.

The world is all connected now, we are not beholden to you for information. An import copy of this record would cost me $26. The domestic copy will cost me $13 at most, probably less. I refuse to pay you to play these pointless games with arbitrary dates and obsolete borders. I can outlast you. I refuse to pay you twice for withholding music when it's supposed to be your job to bring it to me.

Posted by Tom at 6:25 AM | Permalink

This weekend's series has been a test of endurance not just for the players, but for the fans as well. Last night's game went to 1:30 AM, and waking up at 6:30 am, my dream was of standing in line to buy coffee. (Note to self: Decaf.) Then tonight, they go another 6 grueling hours -- by the end we were ordering Cokes instead of beers.

On a secondary note, after watching 20-odd hours of playoff baseball in the last 5 days, I've seen more beer and pickup truck ads than in the last year. Tonight, I figured out the beer ads are far less annoying after you've had at least 3-4 "sales units" of their product. There's a connection to the pickup truck ads too, but I'm not going to get into that here.

Posted by Tom at 11:36 PM | Permalink

Here are my Oscar picks: favorite and least favorite... they're based on the votes of 40-odd friends compiled by Lee Clontz's web site.

Posted by at 6:40 PM | Permalink

Newsforge reports that Reuters last week violated the DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) by publishing an article on how to disable Sony's music CD copyprotection using a magic marker. The story was widely republished in mainstream forums including CNN.

Given that hacking site 2600 has been taken to court simply for linking to information about DeCSS (a scheme used by Linux users primarily for watching legally purchased DVDs) under the DMCA, the Reuters article, which actually contained instructions for disabling Sony's copy protection, may be an interesting test of the DMCA vs. first-amendment rights. According to the DMCA, not only is illegal to violate copyright protection, but it is verboten to explain to others how to disable or compromise copy-protection, or even to let them know where that information resides.

That may seem minor, but it's striking when you realize that simply by linking to the Reuters story on Yahoo! I'm also therefore violating the DMCA and opening myself to potential litigation from Sony. So much for the right to report on current events.

Continue reading "Reuters Violates DMCA" »

Posted by at 9:23 AM | Permalink

If you could have the actor of your choice say one line in a movie, what would it be?

e.g.:

"I'm gonna beat you 'till the candy comes out... M--- F----" -- Samuel Jackson, Star Wars Episode III

"We're in Korea? Oh, damn..." -- Scooby Doo

Posted by at 3:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I died laughing last night when I saw a cheap late-night local television ad starring M.C. Hammer. Oh have the mighty have fallen. Looks like his official web site isn't going so well either (did he hire MarchFirst, Viant, or Scient to build it?) Oh well, there's always his Yahoo! page. Did they already do a Behind the Music show about him, and I missed it? I guess I'll never get to pull my hammerpants out of the closet.

Bonus question: Which web design company was the M.C. Hammer of the late 90's?

Posted by at 8:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

It's been a long time since I thought a comedy on television was actually funny. Too many of them like in the territory between Friends and Just Shoot Me, forcing us to choose between Enya-music and one-liners with a laugh track.

NBC's new comedy, Scrubs, is actually funny -- something I haven't said about a TV comedy show (other than the Simpsons,) in a long, long time. It's younger actors are a little bit weak, but older players such as John C. McGinley add the necessary touch of acidity and bitterness to keep the show appealing (and particularly help distance it from the gooey saccharine of Friends)

A definite Tivo pick.

Posted by at 4:16 PM | Permalink

It's theft. Your contract with the network... is you're going to watch the [ads].... Any time you skip a commercial... you're actually stealing the programming. " -- TBS Chairman Jamie Kellner

According to the Chairman of Turner Broadcasting, using a Tivo or other PVR to skip commercials (or a VCR, I suppose), amounts to stealing from the networks. Apparently, when watching TV you're supposed to sit still and not take your eyes off the television from the opening credits until the next time slot begins.

It's obvious sometimes why network executives have a hard time understanding the impact of new technologies -- often, they don't even have a grip on the behavior of their customers to start with. Hardly anyone sits there and attentively watches the commercials, unless there's nothing else to do. That includes staring at the carpet, going to the bathroom, thinking about going to bathroom, and (gasp!) flipping to other channels for a moment to see if perhaps there isn't something better on.

I could tell you this fight for the networks was a losing battle the day after I introduced a Tivo into my family's house -- my sister had already started making the "bah-doop" sound as she zipped through the commercial breaks. (I did point out that the Tivo even makes the sound for you.) Trust me, even if it was stealing, you're not going to get her to give up commercial skipping out of sympathy for your network. For some of us, the concept that skipping commercials is "outlaw" is even appealling... I didn't know I could be "anti-establishment" while watching Blind Date, but it seems I was wrong. Bah-doop!

Posted by at 3:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)