MightyB!

We all have heard the gripes that Hollywood had a bad 2005. The excuses are many ranging from piracy concerns, rising production costs to just bad, bad movies. Personally, I think that the costs in general are just way out of control between actors and actresses salaries and the enormous production budgets for special effects, but let us put all that behind us and focus on what hopefully will be a good year!

A few are pretty much guaranteed to be blockbusters and three of the four are sequels. These are “Superman Returns”, “Mission Impossible 3”, “The Da Vince Code” and “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest”. The “super hero” franchises continue to be hot with the success of “Batman Begins” last year, which was great by the way! “Mission Impossible 3” will do great not only because its action sequences, but because everyone wants to see the freak show that is now Tom Cruise. The “Da Vince Code” starring Tom Hanks and directed by Ron Howard is a no brainer while the “Pirate of the Caribbean” is something that I have been looking forward to for a very long time now! Johnny Depp was made to play a pirate

As usual, there is a TV remake and this years attempt will be “Miami Vice” starring Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx. The 80’s continue to be this enigma that people are still fascinated by, so maybe that and the star power will make this film a breakout. You know, who doesn’t love the 80’s??? One of my top three Sirius channels is the 80’s channel…but I digress.

Finally, there will be two films about September 11th, “World Trade Center” and “Flight 93”. I am really interested if Americans are ready to relive those events, whether it is with fact or fiction. One is a mega blockbuster directed by Oliver Stone which I’m sure will have people talking, while the other uses relatively unknown actors and focuses on Flight 93 and it’s crash in Pennsylvania. I’m sure one of my future segments will focus on these films in great details!

These are just the tip of the big few, but I am sure we will get some breakout sleepers as time goes by.

Today’s rant is based on one simple question: Why is MTV still a channel??? We all know that they stopped playing music videos a long time ago, but it wasn’t until recently that I saw just how bad it has gotten.

Let’s back up for a bit. While my wife was on maternity leave the past few months, we put the TiVo into overdrive and taped every mindless sit-com in reruns imaginable. The reasoning was that we were up at odd hours of the night and that my wife was home all day, everyday to take care of our son and we needed some basic TV filler.

TiVo has this functionally called “suggestions” where it fills up the remainder of the hard drive with shows it THINKS you may like, based on your viewing habits, recordings, how you rate shows, etc. Now usually I scroll through these once a week or so and maybe find one gem of a show, but it is always hit or miss….but it serves it purpose.

Anyway, It was during this TiVo overdrive time that it was recording all these mindless sit-coms and began suggesting all these half baked reality shows that currently make up MTV. Seriously….I would wager that today, 80% of the channel is some sort of reality show, or some constant re-run of one of these reality shows. I would come home from work and my wife would be watching another unwatchable MTV show that slowly played out like a remake of “Groundhogs Day” with it getting worse day after day.

How could something so good, turn into something so bad?? I can’t think of any other cable channel that has took such a turn as MTV did from music videos and pop culture to an unofficial reality TV channel.
Is this the stuff that the youth of today watches and finds entertaining day after day???

…and hence why I ask, “Why is MTV still a channel?”

Today the AP released a new consumer technology poll about TV Subscribers that was backed by the National Association of Broadcasters

Here are some numbers that really stood out to me:

-51% percent of Americans get TV via cable, 27% get it from satellite while 22% still get it from over the air antennas

So you are asking why this really matters? Well, from my point of view, the FCC is technically only regulationg 22% of the homes that are watching TV. The other 78% of the public is getting their TV from NON FCC Licensed mediums! Why is it they still have such a firm hold on what goes out on the tube nowadays?

When TV was created 50 years ago, all of it’s content was delivered through the airwaves that the government owned. They not only license out their use, but also regulates the content that was sent over them. (this began with radio) As “cable TV” hit the mainstream in the 80’s, a drastic change began that is still evolving today. More and more of TV and it’s “content” were being delivered in other ways than the FCC’s licensed and regulated airwaves. Cable has continued to struggle making this differentiation and still pretty much follows the FCC’s decency rules. Notable exceptions are the premium channels such as HBO and Showtime as well as the cable network F/X. The bottom line is though, the FCC should not have control over the “content” that is delivered through this medium. It’s not using the airwaves. Some will argue that it is the sponsors that are now implying their own indecency rules, but that’s a whole other conversation.

Ultimately, “content” has evolved from the radio, to the broadcast TV, cable TV, Satellite TV, Satellite radio and of course the Internet. With today’s wired and satellite world, the delivery methods will continue to change and what is and can actually be regulated by the FCC will be minimal. Just look at the Internet today and what you can find, read, see and do on it. “Content” as a whole will be available at your fingertips, when and where you want it!

Who is going regulate the Internet and the changing content mediums? YOU DO!!! You control what you read and watch with a flick of the switch!

As content continues to evolve to different mediums, lets remind ourselves that WE should be in control of what WE read and watch.

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With the holidays upon us and Christmas right around the corner, I guess it is that time to go over a few of the things I can be thankful for this time of year.
Of course it’s easy to go with the mainstays such as my wife, the birth of my first child, my job, my health, my house, etc, etc….But where is the fun in just that?
So let’s look at those more selfish 2nd tier items that I’m most thankful for at this time of year…

• My TiVo – With a newborn in the house, it’s almost impossible to sit for a half an hour straight, uninterrupted. It also comes in handy when you are up with the baby at 3 in the morning and need to watch something just to stay awake!!!
• My iPod – What would a day in the office be like WITHOUT good music!! Without it, the silence is deafening and sometimes counter productive. Plus with the iPod video, I have a quick way to show off all those baby pictures!
• Quizno’s Subs – In a world of fast food, Quizno’s really is a step above all the others. Don’t waste you time any where else!
• Target – This retailer is always top notch. Whether you need laundry detergent, printer cartridges or patio furniture, spending a Saturday afternoon at Target is time well spent.
• Snow blowers – For anyone who has ever shoveled snow, you understand how much of a workout it really is. Thanks to the combustion engine, we thankfully now have the power to automatically blow the white stuff wherever we want!
• Google – At one point, I would have have said the internet itself, but now with so much “stuff” out there, you need a way to find it and Google and it’s tools are the way to go!

Well there you have it, my selfish side!

As the year winds down, we are sure to see many “top whatever” list of 2005. One I came across today deals with AOL’s “Search Year in Review”. This list highlights the top 10 searches on AOL in 2005.

Now, in order to discuss anything about AOL, we really need to take a step back and really understand who uses AOL. Basically two groups of people:

-Computer illiterate middle age baby boomers who think the “internet” IS AOL and that it is worth paying $24 a month for a dial up connection!!!
-and their kids.

I really do not have a lot of scientific research to back up my assumptions here, but it will all make sense in a minute as I review the list.

So the top 10 overall searches at AOL were:

1. Lottery (I guess there’s always a chance!)

2. Horoscopes (I guess this could apply directly to #1)

3. Tattoos (if #1 never happens, you have another way to change your image)
4. Lyrics (cause it isn’t enough just listening to the music anymore)
5. Ringtones (maybe this is why you need the lyrics, so you know what to sing when your phone rings!)
6. IRS (definitely applies to #1….or possibly what you can get away with each tax year as you get closer to retirement)
7. Jokes (need something to forward along to everyone in your address book)
8. American Idol (because apparently having this show on three nights a week is NOT enough!)
9. Hairstyles (hmmm…teenage angst or midlife crisis??)
10. NASCAR (what more do you need to know about NASCAR other than GO FAST and TURN LEFT??)

I consider myself pretty tech and internet savy and I not once searched for any of those things. Hence my theory of AOL users are the computer illiterate middle age baby boomers and their teenage kids.

AOL Search Results

Now that the holiday season is in full swing, the constant word debate of “Christmas” vs. “holiday” has begun. Around these parts where the state of Massachusetts is wrapped up in every sort of pseudo controversial perceived problem in this country, this year was not different. The debate went back and forth between the City of Boston and the legislators, with finally the word “Christmas” winning out and once again being deemed as acceptable. There is now a huge “Christmas” tree in the common as normal, and all those “Holiday Tree” signs have made it to the garbage. (”Holiday Tree”??? C’mon on now!!!)

WHY IS IT A BIG DEAL????? There are so many instances where in today’s world we try to PC everything to the extreme, and this is aprime example of this. Who are these people that are offended by the words “Merry Christmas“…just because a majority of people celebrate christmas as opposed to Hanukah or Kwanzaa this time of year, is it really a knock to those that do celebrate Christmas. I don’t see any of the Jews coming to work on christmas day at my job…am I offended??? HELL NO…I could care less!

It isn’t like the phrase “Merry Christmas” has an alternate meaning such as “I hate Hanukah” or the words “Christmas Tree” really is a synonym for “Menorah’s suck ass”….c’mon on now!!! What’s next??? Changing such American staples such as the “Easter Bunny”, “4th of July fireworks” and god forbid the “Thanksgiving turkey”

Is the next form of this extreme political correctness going to entail me not being able to say “have a good day” because I am being inconsiderate to all those out there having a bad day? I sure as hell HOPE NOT!

I’m off to get my Christmas tree, buy some Christmas lights, hang my Christmas stockings and finish my Christmas shopping….