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May 18, 2009

More Good News!

Sorry for all the TV news today, but a lot of great stuff is coming across the Internets today!

Anyway, it seems that Comcast and the NFL Network are thhhhhiiisss close to coming to an agreement for the cable giant to carry the network on BASIC CABLE, and at a much reduced rate:

The deal would mean that instead of paying about $7 per month for the channel and other pay-TV sports channels, Comcast subscribers will get NFL Network with its regular digital package — and it will increase the number of TV homes the Network is seen in from about 35 million to close to 50 million. More importantly, it could well pave the way for the NFL to make deals with other cable companies similarly chapped at the league’s demand for huge rights fees for a sports channel with only 24 hours of NFL regular-season game programming per year.

It seems that two things came to light to make this happen: for starters, the NFL must have conceded that the amount they were asking for per month was far too much for what amounts to 8 games a year. Yes, I want NFL Network so badly that I can almost taste it. I also felt the same way about BBC America once upon a time, and I hardly watch that channel at all these days. My point is that while I want the NFL Network, chances are good that I’ll watch it for a month, then forget about it until football season starts. Secondly, word is that many NFL owners were ready to pull the plug on the network without the wider distribution this deal (and deals with second-tier providers like TWC) would provide.

And yes, NFL Net was also in talks with Time Warner, but these too fell apart. Not to worry, though: word is that NFL Net wants to seal the deal with Comcast first, then use that deal as a template for deals with other MSOs like TWC.

So one day, one day soon my precious, NFL Network will be mine!

Great news!

‘Morning, everyone! How about not one, but TWO great TV news items to start your day:

First of all, NBC has renewed Chuck for a third season! So not only will we get to see the awesomeness that is Chuck, we’ll still get our weekly dose of Yvonne Strahovski as well! Speaking of, here’s an old commercial from her native Australia that’s pretty funny:

And here’s Yvonne being interviewed by Craig Ferguson. Not only is it pretty funny, you can hear Yvonne speaking in her sexy accent:

The second big news item is even better: Tony Kornheiser is gone from Monday Night Football! Yes, it’s true! He’s gone! He’s gone! He’s gone! I won’t want to punch my TV this football season! When I first read the linked article, a rousing version of Beethoven’s Ode to Joy filled my head… OH HAPPY DAY! Tony’s Kornhole is gone!

May 17, 2009

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-05-17

Eliza Dushku is the female Keanu Reeves! #
Let’s go Pens!!! #
I’m going to hell… on a full scholarship! #

May 16, 2009

TV News

Wow! Big news over the past couple of days! Not only is Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse apparently renewed (despite getting terrible numbers and having the handicap of Eliza Dushku’s “acting”), it seems that Better Off Ted was renewed, too!

If you’ve never seen Ted, you should really give it a try. Set in the offices of an evil, but bumbling, corporation, Ted reminds me a lot of Arrested Development – and not just because Portia DeRossi is in both shows. It’s quirky, irreverent, and (best of all) pretty damn funny. In fact, I think it’s the funnest show on TV right now after 30 Rock (yes, I still love The Office, but it’s such a “dramedy” these days).

Perhaps the best part of Ted is the fake commercials for Veridian Dynamics, Ted’s company. Check out this goofy ad they made when the show was bumped due to a speech by President Obama:

So… now that Ted has a new lease on life… WATCH IT! 🙂

May 16, 2009

The “War” is Over?

Could this be a sign that the “War on Drugs” in finally over?

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration’s new drug czar says he wants to banish the idea that the U.S. is fighting “a war on drugs,” a move that would underscore a shift favoring treatment over incarceration in trying to reduce illicit drug use.

In his first interview since being confirmed to head the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, Gil Kerlikowske said Wednesday the bellicose analogy was a barrier to dealing with the nation’s drug issues.

“Regardless of how you try to explain to people it’s a ‘war on drugs’ or a ‘war on a product,’ people see a war as a war on them,” he said. “We’re not at war with people in this country.”

Of course, I’m not naive enough to think that this will mean that drugs will be decriminalized in the next 90 days or anything… but it’s still refreshing to hear someone from the government finally admit that the “War on Drugs” was actually a “War on the American People”. It’s about damn time.

XP Mode and You

Windows 7 will sport a nifty new feature called “XP Mode”. Basically, this is a virtual machine embedded in the OS that boots a VHD containing an image of a XP SP3 computer. It’s not revolutionary, but it is much more convenient than downloading and installing Virtual PC and installing XP SP3 on a virtual drive by yourself.

The only issue with this feature is that it will require hardware virtualization. How can you tell if your computer is up to the task? By downloading a small, free app from Steve Gibson’s website (yes, that Steve Gibson, of the “Windows Security sky is falling!” fame). It’s called SecurAble, and it will tell you in an instant whether your processor is up to snuff:

SecureAble

The first column tells you if you have a 32 or 64 bit processor. The second column tells you if your computer supports D.E.P. (which protects against certain types of malicious software). The third column, the one marked “Hardware Virtualization”, is the one we’re interested in. If it says “Yes”, then you can run XP Mode in Windows 7. If it says “No”… you’re out of luck.

May 14, 2009

What’s in a name?

Back in the Middle Ages, people had a practical way of naming streets. If the street was home to a group of businesses that sold the same thing, then the street was often named for them. Even today, centuries later, you can look at a map of the City of London and see streets with names like Ironmonger Lane, Poultry Street, Fish Street, Bread Street, Goldsmith Street or Oat Lane. As you might guess, each street was once the home to a group of merchants involved in a certain trade.

Now… would you care to guess what type of business went down on Gropecunt Lane?

It sounds like a joke, but it’s not: during medieval times, many of the streets where prostitutes gathered to peddle their “wares” were known as Gropecunt Lane.

Since spelling had yet to be standardized, there were many variations, such as Gropecunte, Gropecounte, Gropeconte, Groppecounte, or Gropekunte. But they all had one thing in common – ladies of the night plied their trade there. Such streets were almost always located near the town’s market and\or docks, and almost all were centrally located. London had multiple streets with the name, and even though it was mostly the larger cities that had such streets, smaller towns weren’t unfamiliar with the name. Small market towns like Wells, Banbury and Shrewsbury also had their own Gropecunt Lanes.

Continue reading “What’s in a name?”

May 13, 2009

SI ranks the Rooneys

Sports Illustrated recently ranked the best and worst team owners in sports. Although it was amusing to read about the worst owners in the NBA or NHL, I am first and foremost and NFL fan… and it tickled me to no end to see which NFL owner SI ranked as #1: the Rooney family:

The NFL’s most decorated franchise has been under one family’s control since its inception in 1933. Since Art Rooney’s death in 1988, the Steelers have been run by Art’s son Dan and, in recent years by Art Jr., the patriarch’s son and the third generation of Rooney. Through the years, one thing has remained consistent: the class with which the organization is run. The Rooney family’s influence over the NFL has also resulted in breakthroughs in diversity — hence the “Rooney Rule.” But at the end of the day, the Rooneys have won a record six Super Bowl trophies and have given Pittsburgh, an industrial town that always seems to be hit hardest in tough economic times, its biggest source of civic pride.

Although I hate the Baltimore fucking Ravens with every once of my soul, it also kind of made me proud to see Steve Bisciotti on the list. Out of 32 total NFL owners, it’s pretty cool to see two of the four AFC North teams make the Top 5. However, it should probably come as no surprise that Mike Brown of the Cincinnati Bungles came in at #4 on the “Worst Owners” list.

Also, it’s pretty amazing to see that Art Rooney’s $2500 investment is now worth over a billion dollars. Even accounting for inflation, Art’s initial investment is still only around $40,000 in today’s dollars!

Read the full list here.

May 13, 2009

Ashes to Ashes: Season 2 Episode 4

Wow! Wow! Just… wow! After last week’s snoozer, Ashes to Ashes came roaring back with one of the best episodes ever! Let’s stop playing around and get right to it!

The episode begins at Liugi’s, where Gene has told the gang about his pending transfer to Plymouth. Everyone’s heartbroken, and it’s made worse by a much larger table full of guys from “Division A” who are taunting Gene and the gang by singing “Combine Harvester” with exaggerated West Country accents. Ray, defending the group’s honor, tosses a roll at the next table. Chris joins in. An all-out food fight starts, which quickly escalates into a real brawl, despite Luigi’s pleas to take it outside.

Before the fight breaks out, Alex excuses herself and leaves, and just as the fight starts, the gang turns around and finds that Gene has disappeared… leading the others to wonder what, exactly, the two are up to. Is it an affair?

Actually, no: Alex and Gene are busy planting a bug in Supermac’s office. As Gene stands on Mac’s desk to plant the bug, Alex wonders aloud where all of Mac’s purloined money is going. She mentions a gold bullion heist where some of the evidence “disappeared”, yet Mac still lives in the same house, drives the same car, and still takes the same crappy vacations. Alex wonders if it’s time to bring Ray and Chris in on it, but Gene says no. The two then go to Gene’s office to work on a flip chart of all of Mac’s connections.

The next morning, Ray, Chris, Shaz and Viv find Alex and Gene asleep in his office. Although the two are fully clothed and sleeping on separate chairs, everyone looks at them as if the two were sleeping together. Ray blasts Gene for leaving them at Luigi’s… and just as he finishes, intrepid reporter Jackie Queen walks in (see the “Other Stuff” section, below). She agrees that Gene has always ran away from his obligations… and opens her coat to reveal that she is very pregnant:

ashes_to_ashes_s2_e03_01

Gene says that he can’t possibly be the father, as there is no way that he would ever sleep with Jackie. Jackie says that they most certainly did sleep together, although Gene was too drunk to remember it. Jackie then reveals that she’s also there for another reason: she’s writing a news story about teenage girls that come to London from northern England and go missing. She’s specifically looking for a girl named Rachel Lessing. But here’s the thing: the Met has actively ignored her requests for information. Gene asks Jackie who she had spoken to, and she apparently names Viv. Gene talks to Viv, who says that he was acting under a direct order from Mac.

Continue reading “Ashes to Ashes: Season 2 Episode 4”