And now its raining...

Finding Nemo

The musical was great. Its done with all puppetry with sort of a Cirque Du Soliel twist (only less French). It was written by the writers of Avenue Q. Of course, the movie is not a musical, so they had to write songs from scatch. They are all pretty good (unlike a few Poppins: The Musical songs I can think of), but the best is "Big Blue World". Its an instant Disney classic and is still stuck in my head!

After that, I went to the Flaming Tree BBQ. What can I say, I'm a sucker for BBQ. It was really good, if not a little sweet. Smoked chicken is the perfect protein for a day of park hopping.

Next up, Epcot. Its the 25th anniversary weekend. And its the Food & Wine festival. Its going to be packed!

See you on the other side...

Jambo

For theme park nerds like me, Animal Kingdom is probably the penacle achievement of Imagineering. Some would say Tokyo DisneySea, but most of those people haven't been there, and that park, while spectacular, doesn't have anything living in it. Animal Kingdom is one part animal reserve and another part theme park. Its founded on the most modern principals for zoology and conservation. And its a place with a message - we need to preserve this earth and the creatures that live on it.

I got the park right when it opened and rushed to Asia, pausing only to briefing take in the truly spectacular Tree of Life, which has hundreds of animals "carved" into it. It is Animal Kingdom's "castle". I had one big mission - ride Expedition Everest. Let me tell you, that ride is soooo incredible. Its fast and pulls a lot of Gs, but the Yeti animatronic, the biggest in the world, puts it over the top. And it is imaculuately themed. The line was short, so I rode it twice.

I remember when they were developing the Yeti, I was taken to a warehouse and stood only feet from it, while in operation. It is a giant. There was a yellow line on the floor and the Imagineers told us "You cross this line, you die! The Yeti's force is so powerful it will could kill you with a single swipe!" Needless to say, no one crossed the line.

Next up was Kilimanjaro Safari. What an awesome ride! Its a fulfillment of Walt's original goal for Jungle Cruise, a ride with real animals. Imagineers solved the problem of letting people get close to the animals and of animals hiding like you often see at zoos with clever "invisible" improvements to the safari that let you go on all sides of of the animal areas. The animals were out in force today. I wish my kids could have been here to see this!

Next I'm off to Finding Nemo: The Musical. Standing in line right now. Will let you know how it goes.

Walt Disney World

Its been 5 years since I last came to WDW. Can you believe it? And I work for Disney!

Disney World is truly impressive. This is the REAL Disney, Disney at its best. No Disney resort in the world can even come close. WDW has something like 17 hotels, 2 water parks, 4 theme parks, and the Downtown Disney entertainment center. It is its own county and has its own government. You can EASILY spend a week here and see 25% of the resort. There is nothing like it on earth. Whenever I come here, I am always impressed by the scope of the resort but also by how well maintained it is.

WDW is incredibly hard core. Its like a radical offshoot of California. People here bleed Disney.

I'm hitting the Parks today! Talk to you soon....

MIT

Spent today at the MIT Media Lab. I was as cool as imagined it, and I went in pretty skeptical. I got to meet John Maeda, who is a hero of mine and has written some great books.

Most of the stuff I saw is on their website, so I can talk a little about it:

Sensor Networks - This pretty interesting. Basically how sensors can network together to monitor your home or track an athlete's performance.

Scratch - A super simple to use programming language for kids to make animations. Very cool! Get it at http://scratch.mit.edu/

Robotics - Lots of cool stuff here. Robotic legos. A robotic stuffed bear. Dancing robots. And the coup de gras, a robotic Gremlin with 65 degrees of freedom. The animation was incredible!

Hypersound - A program that makes it easy for kids to make music by painting.

Conversational AI - A Second Life-type environment used to train an AI engine to control characters in a game.

And my favorite, a technological magician. This guy would have you write down on a card a word. You show it to no one. Turn it over. Type "what am I thinking" into a computer, and it comes back with the answer. No one could figure out how we did it!

There's a lot more, but that's probably all I can say...

Just landed in Orlando for meetings on Sunday. Tomorrow, I'm going to Animal Kingdom and Epcot. Bummer that Epcot's 25th anniversary is Monday, and I will be here, but I can't go to the re-dedication cerimony.

Mikey doesn't like it

Mike's got Cruft back up and he's got a post up about his digital music collection...

"Whilst my website was borked, Sean tagged me with an interweb meme. The meme came from Jason, who wants to know The Last 5 Songs I Bought On iTunes.

That's fairly simple. I have never bought a song on iTunes.

Not that I don't believe in electronic music, I do. I ripped my entire CD collection to MP3. Over 500 albums.

It's the DRM I don't like. With music, you have the option of getting a CD, where you can rip it yourself and use the music as you see fit for personal use."

And remember that Mike works for an entertainment company. DRM is in real trouble when even the people have to use it at work don't want it. I don't know anyone in the entertainment industry who really wants it, but no one can really figure out an alternative. Well, maybe that's not true...I know a few.

Its just another sign that DRM is dead. Its all ad-supported from here on out. Want to copy on P2P, go right ahead, as long as long as the ads are in there and the CPMs are good, knock yourself out. Won't work as well for movies though.

FSJ is funny people!

"...It brought me way back to 1976, to the original days at Apple and the goals we started out with. This is what we wanted to deal with. The anger, the pain, the sadness, the negativity. We saw our own culture wounded and saddened by a long and painful war, trying to recover. We saw our culture in pain and decided you know what? These people need beautiful consumer electronics."

New Wall-E posted

Thanks Upcoming Pixar!

House

"Sometimes, I am wrong. I have a gift for observation. For reading people and situations, but sometimes, I am wrong.

This will be the longest job interview of your life, and I will test you in ways that you will often consider unfair, demeaning, and illegal. You will often be right.

Look to your left. Now look to your right. By the end of 6 weeks, one of you will be gone, as will 28 more of you.

Wear a cup."

Priceless.

Monday results

Well folks, the results are in...and it ain't good for NBC. Heroes was flat to last year, but up in adults 18-49. Chuck, which is a great show, got spanked by ABC's Dancing with the Stars (20M viewers vs 9M for Chuck.) Journeyman didn't comp the premiere of Studio 60, which was in the same time slot last year and was cancelled. Even worse, it went down dramatically in viewers from 10 pm to 10:30. Told you it was boring. If it doesn't build this week, its dead. I think Chuck is a keeper. Great show. But NBC may need to move it out of that slot. I just hope they don't pull a Friday Night Lights on it and move it all around the schedule so it doesn't find a home. I'm thinking Tuesdays against House might be good. CSI:Miami had its lowest ratings ever, which is great because I hate the CSI franchise (sorry, Jerry Bruckheimer) and for the most part CBS. So ABC won the night, and while I don't love the shows they have on that night, at least its good for my stock.

Journeyman

I'm not sure this one's going to make it. I like the lead actor, Lucius Vasillus from Rome, and I like the premise well enough. But its kind of boring. Its kind of like Quantum Leap but he doesn't know why he's travelling. I'll probably stick with it a few weeks. But it will be interesting how the ratings hold up on this one. Confusing time travelling storylines don't exactly spell ratings gold.

Chuck

Is great!

Nerd + Hot Spy = Awesome!

Disney's answer to Harry Potter

The Disney Blog has a post asking whether Disney has an alternative to the Harry Potter land going in at Islands of Adventure and posits that the alleged George Lucas Tomorrowland is just the cure. I'm a big proponent of Lucasland, and I sure hope it turns out to be more than a rumor, but I'm not so sure. People who might want to go to Harry Potter-land are going for fantasy, not sci fi, and while there are a lot of fans who like both genres, I think Disney needs a more direct answer.

My suggestion is a major E-Ticket for Narnia. Narnia is a fantasy world as deep as the Potter world and one that may even lend itself better to a park. Disney is committed to making seven movies against it which means that more than a decade of Disney's history will be dedicated to the property. And unlike the Potter movies which are mostly in the past, most of the Narnia movies are yet to be made. It just makes sense.

There are a couple of problems I could see for Narnia.

The first is where do you put it? It makes sense in Fantasyland, but that is the most problematic real estate in the Magic Kingdom. Its already full of attractions and its landlocked by the other lands. I don't really see where Narnia fits into DCA, particularly as they try to clean up the theming of that park. It doesn't really fit Animal Kingdom or Epcot in Orlando. I guess you could shove it into Disney Studios, but that seems kind of forced. (There is a Narnia attraction there already, but its a temporary walkthough supporting the film.) So its got to be Fantasyland. One place I can think of that could make sense is the Fantasyland Theater which is now the Disney Princess Fantasy Faire. It would be a shame to loose that theater, but its probably the only real estate available and it is currently underutilized. In Orlando, Fantasyland is not as land locked because Mickey's Toontown Fair is off to the side and there's some room behind Fantasyland. There's also Pooh's Playful Spot.

The second issue is whether there would be any support to do it at Disney. There are pros and cons to the Pixarization of Disney's Parks, with decidedly more pros. But one of the cons is that all the love is going to Pixar properties and a lot of other Disney properties that people love are getting left behind. The Second Golden Age films like Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Beauty and The Beast are largely ignore at the Parks despite the fact that they remain some of Disney's best. You can thank Michael Eisner's penny pinching for that because he let the Parks rot while these films were in theaters. You can't really blame the current regime for not having these films top of mind when they think about new attractions seeing how they were made in the early '90s. But these films are still relevant and still loved by millions. A testament to this is the $4B Disney Princess consumer products franchise that wouldn't exist without these movies. But I digress, the question is, will there be support from Lassiter and Co for Narnia?

Third, there's a more practical perspective and that is about the dollars. With reportedly over $1B committed to DCA and hundreds of millions going into Toy Story Mania and Carland, is there really a budget there for Narnia? And if so, does Narnia have to wait in a queue that means we wouldn't see it until beyond 2012?

Fall TV

Wow are there a lot of new interesting new shows!

NBC looks like it has a pretty good line-up that I'm pretty excited about. They are going to rule Mondays with Chuck, Heroes, and Journeyman. And I also can't wait for The Bionic Woman. NBC is really courting the Sci Fi crowd. I'm Tivoing Life - the story of a cop who was convicted of a crime he didn't commit and was then set free with a big cash settlement to boot who is now looking for who set him up - but I don't hear any buzz about it and I think it may be an early cancellation. It could do okay is The Bionic Woman draws big ratings, provides a good lead-in, and if the pilot is good. But its going to be tough because...

ABC is going to rule Wednesday as they have for the past 3 years. Private Practice, which I will not watch, is a sure hit. Pushing Daisies looks like and is being called one of the most innovative shows of the season, but its also a big risk. We should know by next week if this one will live. And I think Dirty Sexy Money is going to dominate. Thursday also looks strong for ABC, with Ugly Betty and Grey. I'm not sure about Big Shots, which comes after Grey. It has some good actors, but it looks like a bunch of ex-frat guys who act like assholes and hate women. Don't know who that's going to play with the heavy female lead-in from Grey's. This one could be dead next week as well.

CBS's line-up looks pretty weak to me. I'm not a CSI fan, but apparently CBS is pretty confident because they put it up against Grey's again. I just wonder how long the procedural phenomenon can last. There's just too many of these shows and NBC made a wise call by scaling back on Law & Orders. I am boycotting Kid Nation because I think its exploitive and evil. CBS should be ashamed of that show. The debut did so-so and it came in second to Deal or No Deal. I bet there's a big fall off this week and then its dead. The only show I'm really excited about on CBS is Cane with Jimmy Smits. That could be good, but its marketed like a drug show when he's really the head of a sugar cane empire. I wonder if people will loose interest after they find that out. I'm Tivoing Moonlight, the vampire cop show, but it looks like a rip off of Angel.

Which brings me to another point, Fridays are awesome this year! I don't know why everyone is so excited about Friday, but here's the line-up. Nashville is incredible! If you aren't watching this, you should. Its the reality show of a bunch of country music hopefuls. But there's a love story with a rich guy who is a real asshole and that's really what makes the show so entertaining. Apparently, the ratings are really bad, so watch it before it goes away. CBS has Ghost Whisperer, Moonlight, and Numb3rs, two of which I won't watch, but all pretty well liked shows. ABC has Women's Murder Club which had me at the word "murder" but I just hope its not too close Desperate Housewives, and Men in Trees. Busy night.

CW has some interesting shows. My wife is very high on Gossip Girl, but I haven't seen it yet. I hear good things about Reaper and Aliens in America looks good as well.

Too much TV people, too much TV. Let's see what lasts.

Rain

Its raining in LA today...and cold. It was only 3 weeks ago that we had 113 degree days, the peak of the summer. Now, it is officially Fall. For my kids, who were all born in LA, rain is like snow. They rarely see it, and when they do, they want to play in it. They ran out for a while and played in the rain and got soaked. Fun was had by all.

Toy Recalls

Mattel has been doing a lot of apologizing lately. They've had 3 recalls and CEO Robert Eckert has apologized on TV talk shows, the Internet, and in Congress. This morning, I got a call from him and he apologized to me. Apparently, he's calling to apologize to every American individually.

Yesterday, Mattel apologized to China. WTF?

Here's why. Of all the products recalled, the vast majority were for design flaws that allowed magnets to dislodge from toys which could be very dangerous is swallowed. But China took a lot of the rap. It now appears also that Mattel recalled some products for lead when their lead levels were fine. China is pissed because of the way it has looked, so Mattel had to apologize because they want to do business in China.

Personally, I think its bullshit. The truth is that there have been a lot of other recalls in pet food and other toys this year. China deserves a lot of the blame here. I agree with Chuck Schumer who said “It’s like a bank robber apologizing to his accomplice instead of to the person who was robbed. They’re playing politics in China rather than doing what matters.”

The truth is that China is not governed. The central government turns a blind eye to what's happening in the provinces. Many of the factories within a province are partially or even majority owned by the province. Corruption is rampant. They have no real legal system and the judges are a joke. Other than show executions, there is no real governance of the country and I don't see how there can be as long as there is one political party that isn't going anywhere and journalists are locked up for exposing issues.

Conflict resolution

I'm setting the season passes for the Fall previews. My biggest pain in the ass is the way the Tivo handles conflict resolution.

I have a 2-tuner Tivo so I can record two shows at once. But if I try to record a show during a time slot where I am already recording on both tuners, it only shows me one of the two shows that conflict. So I have to dig through the To Do List, which I am also finding is flakey, to find out what the other conflict is. It totally sucks.

The way this should work is that if I have a conflict, it should show me both shows that conflict and ask me which one I want to cancel. Basic UI design people.

The Tivo is practically an antique these days. They've done jack shit to improve the user experience for years. No wonder they are struggling so much. Unfortunately, the alternatives are even worse. What a sad note for the future that the shithead cable cos have destroyed innovation in this space and made it impossible to innovate.

Hillarycare Part Deux

Hillary Clinton is unvieling her new healthcare plan today. Its quite different than her last, and terribly failed plan. She basically stole it from Mitt Romney, a fact I'm sure he'll point out. Individuals would be required by law to have health care, just like driver's insurance. Businesses apparently, would be required to provide health care to their employees. Small business would get tax credits. And the poor and uninsured would get Medicare or the healthcare already offered to Federal employees.

Barak Obama is against requiring individuals to have health insurance because he says the cost is too high and it is punative for the poor. I don't know if I buy that, particularly you subsidize it. Someone should do some research on the impact of the Romney plan and see what the negative consequences have been.

Hillary's plan would not create a new government agency to run the plan and it would simply expand the existing programs we have. She would require insurance companies to provide care to all those who apply and would also bar them from charging exorbitant costs to those who need the most care.

I think its a good plan on the surface. It will be interesting to hear what opponents say about it. It seems that with some level of consensus on the left with Hillary and Edwards supporting an individual mandate and some on the right with Romney, that this type of plan could have real traction.

The key part to me is that employers are responsible for contributing to health care. Some of the proposals out there want to do away with this, but I think that creates a bigger problem because employers would be off the hook and make the employee eat it. Everyone has to be in this boat together and pay their fair share. Its the only way it will work.

If the insurance companies are smart, they will sign on to this because it is a lot more favorable to them than a lot of the other proposals. It virtually leaves their system in tact with a few caps. At this point, I don't think its if, but rather when we will see healthcare reform and the insurance companies have to know that. But they are also evil greedheads, so who knows.

One issue it brings up for me is that it just brings us back to the need to fix our existing social programs, probably before we have universal healthcare. Focusing on healthcare is sort of turning a blind eye to the social security problem which is still unaddressed.

Another interesting part of Clinton's plan is that she'll pay for it by, you guessed it, getting rid of the Bush tax cuts. The Bush tax cut is becoming the new peace dividend, spent a thousand times over. I guess soaking the rich is the only way to pay for this politically.

Reich wants tax cuts

Read Robert Reich's blog. We are headed into a recession. Jobs are down. The market is down. And the banking industry is all fucked up. Reich says its time to cut taxes on lower and middle income Americans because it will get them spending again. I agree. But he also brings up debt. I think we need to do something to incentives people to get out of debt too because this problem isn't going away.

1M iPhones

Apple's hit 1M iPhones. Jobs points out it took only 74 days compared to 2 years with iPod. I bet they hit 3M this year.

Alive Day Memories

Just watched HBO's Alive Day Memories, a documentary filmed by James Gandolfini, that tells the stories of wounded soldiers from Iraq. The survival rate of casulties is 90%, the highest of any war, but the number of amputees is the highest since the Civil War, and 1/3rd have brain injuries.

It breaks your heart. Kids 22 and 24 years old being horribly disfigured, for what? Cheap oil? Its just not worth it.

George Bush will be rivialed for generations for this war. For how we got into it and for not stopping it. Why is he so self centered?

There was a great Fresh Air I listened to today with one of the guys who was his legal council. Terry Gross was asking him, why do they want to do all this evil, unconstitutional shit all the time. And he said, they really think they are doing the right thing and protecting this country. There isn't a dark evil consipracy. They are just horribly wrong.

But at some point, bone headed and clueless stops being a virtue and becomes a vice.

BTW, James Ganolfini dresses like Tony Soprano in real life.

Iraq

Petraeus is supposed to deliver his report tomorrow. Guess what? He needs more time! Surprise. Surprise.

Biden was on Meet The Press this morning. He made the point that though we have made progress with the locals in fighting Al Queda in Iraq - a fact the administration is making a lot of in their on-going attempt to confuse people about where the real threat is in Iraq - it is a small part of the violence compared to the civil war which is not slowing down.

It also sounds like there is no political progress and that Al Maliki is now in trouble.

I think Biden is right about the partition. Its unrealistic to believe at this point that these people are going to come together and form a central government. But then Biden - who I have a lot of respect for - started blathering on about getting Iran, Syria, and Turkey around a table and saying "here's the deal".

Like they listen to us. Condi Rice has tried reaching out to Iran and came up empty. Its a little more complicated than just negotiating something right now. Instability in Iraq is in both Syria and Iran's interest for the time being. I think Iran's secret ambition here is to let it all devolve into chaos and let the US pull out just so they can come in and annex the Shia parts of Iraq in an effort to "protect" their Shia brothers.

The problem with Iraq is that everyone is right. And wrong. Republicans are right that an immediate pull-out would lead to greater chaos, the effects of which will be felt for a long time. The Democrats are right that we are in a losing situation that is not going to get all tidied up. There is no right answer. No easy solution. Bush let the genie out of the bottle and it ain't going back in.

The Bushie Neocons all ridiculed the Cold War notion of stability and containment and replaced it with a strategy of preemptive war with anyone we don't like. Now we see why stability and containment were key tenets of US strategy for so long. We broke it, we bought it. And now we don't want it.

How do we get out of this? We've got two options and both are the ones we all know. Increase the surge, which the American public doesn't support. Or bring everyone home, now. Nothing else really makes sense. We will probably do the latter because people are tired of this war. But we will be back there within a decade and god knows what we will face then.

Spider Trap

This morning we found a spider in the house. My 4 year old son immediately said "Let's make a trap! Quick, I need a ramp, a bat, a bowl and a chocolate chip cookie!"

We said, "What's all that for?"

And he said "The bat will fly down and scare the spider, the spider will run down the ramp and into the bowl to eat the chocolate chip cookie, and then I'll slam the top on the bowl and we'll have him!"

We told him we didn't think spiders like chocolate chip cookies and he said "Alright, we'll use Cheerios then."

Charlie Trotter on United

I often shit on United on this blog. I have a right to. They suck. But they MAY suck less now that Charlie Trotter is doing the menus for first class. That's nice, but they'll still microwave it to warm it up.

Franzia is a hoot

You MUST read this story about Fred Franzia, the CEO of Bronco Wine, the makers of Two Buck Chuck. Franzia is a racist asshole, but he's still funny and on a war against pretentiousness and overpriced wine.

Here's a taste:

While many winemakers say they hate Franzia because he's a bully or because he's crude or because he operates close to one side or another of the law, Franzia believes it's because he exposes their pretentiousness. "Sniff it and smell it and taste the inner body," he says, scoffing. "They're trying to confuse the consumer. You either like it or you don't like it. You shouldn't make them feel like second-class citizens. I love to sell something you don't have to give an excuse for."

DRM is Apple's friend

Oh, and here's another thing. Apple now has a new security system on video out on iPod, so old connectors won't work. People are pissed. Hollywood got what it wanted and closed the "analog hole" but the real winner here is Apple who has found yet another way to make money of the $1B iPod accessories market. Who says DRM isn't good business?

iStuff

Okay, so Apple announced the new iPods and it was pretty much what I expected. I was surprised that the screen on the Nano is so small - 2" is useless for video. I was surprised that the Touch has no HDD, but when you look at it, it makes sense. An HDD on Touch would have killed the iPhone dead. Touch is going to put a dent in iPhone as it is. But the line makes sense, you pay basically $100 for the phone. Not a bad step-up. The confusing part is for people like me. I don't want an iPhone. I have a Blackberry and its better at corporate e-mail and calendaring. I want a new iPod. What I really want is the Touch, but oops, I have a 60GB media collection. So it can't fit on the Touch, not even 20% of it. And who the hell is going to buy the Classic. It makes zero sense. If you have a video iPod, the Classic is no real upgrade because they don't give you the big screen. It sucks. They might as well have made a $700 ultimate iPod. But they didn't want to hurt iPhone.

I'm sure they're thinking that most people have small media collections and will go for Touch or iPhone and that by next year they can have much bigger capacities on those items. But it still sucks.

FastPass

One thing Nemo is missing is FastPass. For those who don't know what FastPass is, its a patented system that lets guests make a reservation to ride a popular ride at a pre-determined time so they don't have to wait in line. It makes guests happier and reduces the lines on the most popular attractions. Today, guests have to go to the ride itself to get a FastPass reservation. The Disney blog community is a buzz this week because of a recently filed patent that would allow hotel guests to book their FastPasses in their hotel rooms on the TV and then transfer the tickets to their cell phones - completely paperless. Some are opposed to this because it puts resort guests at an advantage over day guests. But hey, there should be some priviledges of membership, right?

I personally would like to see the whole FastPass system online so you could book a full itenerary before you come to the resort. Although I can see problems with this - Do FastPasses overwhelm the regular line? What happens is you can't get a FastPass for the ride you want? Do you just stay home? - I think it would lead to a lot higher guest satisfaction because you could see everything you want to see. Right now, in the summer, you can go and maybe get to ride 3 E-Tickets in a day.

Maybe that's why they are doing this for resort guests only. Its a way to control who has access to FastPass so as not to overwhelm it, but at the same time reward those who pay the most at the resort and make sure they get what they came for.

Nemo Subs

I got to ride the Nemo Subs at Disneyland this week. It was for a summit, so we got in at 7:30 and didn't have to wait in line. They said that the subs now use over 90 projectors to create the illusion of Nemo and friends swimming in the water. Its really impressive! They also mentioned that its one of your best values because you may wait in line an 1:30 like Peter Pan or Dumbo, but its a 15 minute ride where those others are only about 1.5 minutes. It was a lot of fun and I can see why its so popular.

More Cottie on ClownCo

Cottie has more thoughts on ClownCo:

"I have reason to believe that rentals will be coming to iTunes shortly.

What I'm waiting for someone to ship is rentals with immediate streaming at a competitive price point. I know what kind of price the studios require, and it's pretty clearly designed to put the internet operators out of business. If the studios would wise up, allow new movie rentals for $1.99 and back catalog for $1.49, and TV show rental at $.99 for premium and $.79 for back catalog, that'd be a compelling case. I'm surprised someone like Turner hasn't done this already, but if ever there was a company at war with itself, it's TimeWarner. And of course, ad-support would be golden, but even a decent price point would be great."

If Apple does rentals, they will have to do streaming. Nobody wants to wait an hour or more to download something they only get to watch a few times. Come to think it, no one wants to wait an hour or two to download. That's why movies on iPod aren't taking off.

Is this the new video Nano?

Broken Flicker has this image that they are claiming is the new video Nano? Is it? Is Apple announcing anything tomorrow? Is so, what?

I think the video Nano and a widescreen video iPod with the touch interface is a pretty safe bet. Rumor has it that the new high end iPod will have WiFi. I hope so, but I think its iffy. That would cut the legs right out of the iPhone. Why would I want an iPhone if I can surf on the iPod? It sure ain't for the texting interface or phone functionality.

Some are rumor mongering a new Shuffle. I don't see that. The current Shuffle is working great and I don't think they can make it any smaller or better. This concept has run its course.

Engadget is saying maybe we'll get a wireless download store and maybe The Beatles. Its possible. Almost all The Beatles are on iTunes now, which is a sign that its moving in the right direction. Fingers crossed.

Opera for Blackberry

If you're like me and have extreme iPhone envy but need the Blackberry for its physical keyboard and corporate e-mail, then you will be glad to know that Opera has come out with its browser for Blackberry. Its a real browser that let's you zoom in and out like iPhone (minus the pinching). You're welcome!

Thanks Om!

My Simpsonized Family

Its a shameless promotion, but a good one. BK has a site in conjunction with the Simpsons movie where you can upload a picture of yourself and it creates a Simpson-style cartoon of you. I did my whole family. Check it out before its gone.

Thanks FSJ!

FSJ on NBC

"Steve Jobs" has a few words for NBC on his blog:

These guys want to play hardball? Just fine. We loves to rumble. Call Clemenza, because we're going to the mattresses. Smack down time, motherzucker.

The Rat primed to top $200M

Tomorrow, Ratatouille will top $200M domestic. But Blue Sky Disney points out it is on track to match or beat Cars global take:

The final take should be at least what "Cars" took in, which was just under $462 million... Remy has taken in over $371 million so far and Brad Bird's great, little film still has over HALF it's foreign territories to still open up.

Robert Reich's shills new book "Supercaptialism"

Not Your Typical Capitalist Sales Pitch from robertreich and Vimeo.
I already pre-ordered it. I love this guy.

21st Century Desktop

2719 Hyperion has this desktop celebrating Epcot's 25th anniversary. Retro cool!

Disney & Pixar Treasures

The next wave of the awesome Walt Disney Treasures DVD series has been announced including, most excitingly, The Adventures of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Also in Wave 7, The Chronological Donald, Volume 3 and Disneyland: Secrets, Stories and Magic which includes "a new documentary with archival footage, including Walt's own words, as well as new interviews that reveal the magic and manpower behind one of the world's most famous destinations." They go on sale December 11.



In other news, Pixar has announced its Short Film Collection which will be released in both DVD and Blu-Ray on November 6th.

Thanks LaughingPlace!

Dreamflight

Now a part of Yesterland.

Thanks The Disney Blog!

Cottie on ClownCo and More Clownishness

'Stador has some thoughts on ClownCo:

"I understood hulu to be full episodes and full-length movies, all ad-supported.

If it is, it's a huge deal. If it's Yet Another Trailer Site, but with ads, it's dead in the water.

Say it once, say it loud; give people the broadcast experience which has been going gangbusters for the last 50 years -- ad-supported premium content -- and you'll gain share and make tons of money. Try to fuck with that basic paradigm, and you'll lose your ass."

Well said, 'Stador. Well said.

Now NBC, one of the ClownCo partners, has decided not to renew its contract with Apple for iTunes. This is a MAJOR bummer for me because I download episodes of Heros and The Office all the time when I'm on the road. IF they put full episodes up on ClownCo, I bet the georestrict it so you can't watch it out of the country.

I hope this shit backfires. Those greedy fucks. $2 is really the right price for a TV show. Most of these I watch once and never again. I might pay $3, but I would never pay $5. This is really a turnaround for NBC. They once PREMIERED shows on iTunes. Now its like the cromagnons have taken over again. These guys deserve the piracy their going to get.

But what of the impact on iTunes? I think it hurts. NBC content was some of their top stuff. It puts a hurting on their video iPod and Apple TV. Rumor has it that Apple is planning to announce a new video Nano on Tuesday. If they do, the story will all be about NBC and whether the Nano can make it without their content. It will put a cloud over the whole thing. On the other hand, Jobs will be forced to say something in his keynote about it and that counter punch will be heard around the world. But video is key to Apple's plan, on iPod, on Apple TV, and on iPhone. Apple has not gotten any more studios on board in a year and now NBC is pulling out. If things keep going at this rate, Apple's going to stall and its going to hurt the products.

I think Apple really needs to introduce ad-based and rental systems. Its the only way around this. They networks have all realized that $2 a TV show isn't a very super business and they can probably make more for the ads. And there's a small pool of consumers who are willing to pay to download video to own. Most just want to watch it one time. Apple has to enable these business models or its going to get left behind.