[youtube width="480" height="385"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahjPQjQGdbU[/youtube]

[youtube width="425" height="344"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMLV3jPQW44[/youtube]

I thought it was rather funny. Prop 8′s proponents need a good reality check…

[youtube width="425" height="344"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lC9GMpTUf0o[/youtube]

WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH THE CONTENT PROVIDERS IN THIS WORLD???

Okay, stepping back. Hulu is removing the ability of Boxee to display any Hulu content. If we take them at their word, this is by request of the content providers. I really have just about had it with the TV, movies, and music industries. These events are likely not new to most readers of this blog, but I just find it absurd. We have spent YEARS educating the recording industry that the ways of the past are a failing concept and that they must embrace the new age where consumers want their content when they want it and where they want it. Now, after all of that fighting, we have services like Amazon’s MP3 Store and an iTunes store moving towards a DRM-free music model (I still always buy from the former nowadays).

If you make your content available in a way that consumers can absorb easily, at their discretion, and at an affordable price then piracy diminishes. If not, it thrives. This has been shown time and time again. I used to buy DVD sets of TV shows I liked. For the most part, I don’t do this any longer. I prefer high-definition content (where it makes sense) and I now understand that most of the content won’t be watched over and over. Therefore, I would purchase in Blu-ray or something like the iTunes TV store for shows I truly love. However, even that is a rarity as I think Blu-ray TV and the iTunes Store are (for the most part) VASTLY overpriced unless I want to own it forever. Also, the DRM is painful (more on the latter) as I like to walk the line between Macintosh and Windows and many formats don’t play equally nice on both (think iTunes videos under Windows Media Center – DRM FAIL). So, in many cases, except where I must have the content (rare), I just refuse to buy and stream on a site like Hulu. I don’t go to many other sites due to the forced software installation (I’m looking at you ABC) or ridiculously low amounts of actual full shows.

It’s getting to the point where I will either stop watching some content due to the pain of viewing it. Others will likely just resort to pirating it. The content providers need to understand that monetizing through pre-roll, overlays, banners, etc. need to be used, content needs to be fully available all shows, all episodes (for at least the current season if not more). Content Providers: get with it and do your damn jobs and in turn I will watch your content and maybe, just maybe pay attention to your ads. I will say I notice them on Hulu as their short enough that I don’t look away to something else. If Hulu is being honest, I hold them as innocent in this fight and will continue to use the service, but I wish they would out the idiots who requested this.

Sorry for the rant as I don’t even currently use Boxee, but this is just ridiculous!

Oh, and as always, my opinions and statements are mine alone.

UPDATE:

Okay, I calmed down and felt I could write a less venomous update, but then I saw this on Hulu (bolding added for emphasis):

Episodes 13-17 will be posted on Hulu the day after their TV broadcast. Subsequent episodes will be posted 8 days after their original broadcast date.

Season 4.5 episodes are available for 28 days.

Ugh! The final episodes which started Friday will be delayed for 8 days?!? What are they thinking? Why do the studios seem hell-bent on ensuring that people who want to see their content have very little way to legally?

Pathetic…truly pathetic…

We actually had our valentines last night by going to the Angus Barn. Believe me when I say it is much nicer than it sounds. It’s basically a large rustic home with lots of dining space and some really good food. To a large extent, their menu is beef. Hence the motto, The Beefeater’s Haven, but it is the whole menu that makes me like the place so much it. First off, they bring you two little crocks of cheese, cheddar & blue cheese, and some homemade crackers. This cheese is amazingly good, but there are also some veggies and olives to go along with it. The rest of the meal is your typical soup/salad, entree, desert. I went with a bacon-wrapped filet mignon which I thoroughly enjoyed and Heather got the prime rib. Finally, it turns out that Heather had told them yesterday was my birthday when in reality it is still a couple of weeks off, so they brought out a medium sized pound-cake with whipped cream and candles. However, that was just to take home, so we ordered an excellent slice of cheesecake covered in fruit.

All in all, the meal was really good and it was very nice to enjoy the troubles and tiredness from this past week with Ben safely at home with a babysitter. We really should go out to a nice meal alone more often as it is somewhat liberating.

Tonight, we’re doing the opposite and taking Ben to see Bolt at the $1 theater and then grabbing some dinner. This will be the second time he has seen it, but the last time he was already inflicted with pneumonia and we just didn’t know.

Right now, Ben & Heather are out and I’m catching up on last night’s Battlestar Galactica episode. I’m thoroughly enjoying where they’re going with these final episodes and so many questions are finally being answered.

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/2998698[/vimeo]

I can’t recall where I saw this mentioned first, but it is making the rounds on the intertubes and I thought it was fairly funny and surprisingly long!

• The government is treating this as if watching TV is a right. It isn’t. Be prepared or lose the option of watching television. People unwilling/unable to convert will either do so or will find other things to fill the void (Oh my God, they might … read a bo0k!)
• Each station can now switch any time between Feb. 17 and June 12 which will only add to confusion.
• The minority of people who haven’t gotten converter boxes will likely continue on as this group either doesn’t understand, doesn’t care, or is likely to procrastinate around the new date.
• The minority of people that they are worried about were only recently getting used to the looming date. Now, they will either become confused on the actual date or simply ignore it assuming it will be delayed again. After all, the government has not stuck to it’s plans and in turn has shown the public it is ill prepared to do so in June.
• Other uses of the freed analog bandwidth are being delayed unnescessarily.
• This switch will be painful for some no matter when you do it. JUST DO IT! This is a band-aid the nation must rip off in one swift motion.

UPDATE: Ugh…had to completely redo CBS’ embedding code as it wasn’t XHTML 1.1 compliant, but I think I now have it all fixed…

My favorites (in no particular order):

Unfortunately, they are missing some good ones, such as the G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra I posted a couple of days ago and a “singing” NBC monday night shows commercial which I liked…

UPDATE: Looks like I missed the following Coke commercial & I quite enjoyed it as well…

UPDATE 2: Fixed Hulu’s non-XHTML 1.1 compliant embedding…