Star Wars episode V on TV, can’t help watching it again :-)
Category Archives: Tv
Battlestar Galactica
As some of you may know I love Battlestar Galactica (aka BSG) and I can’t wait for the fourth season to start, because it’s bound to kick ass again. SciFi channel has been so kind to provide an 8-minute recap of 3 seasons of BSG and it’s pretty darn funny (and has an extremely high spoiler density). One of the many cool quotes: “But then Helo tells Starbuck there’s a bun in the toaster.” Check it out if you’re also a BSG afficianado, if not, get your paws on BSG and start watching, from episode one, it’s great SF, grim, with real people (some episodes can be a bit soapish, but over all it’s a hell of a ride).
Musing when watching the channel guide
Can someone explain to me why the hour of power takes two hours and five minutes? Even with ad breaks it doesn’t add up.
Song of the day
I’m watching Boer zoekt vrouw, and it’s dismissal day, which is a sad occasion for some people, so I dedicate this song to all the people that have gotten to stay:
Perverse pleasures
I’m watching the Dutch Beauty and the Geek, and damn, how embarrassing is that. Okay, I know, I’m a geek, but for some reason it is reassuring to know that there are people who are more awkward than I am.
Video of the day
No Joostlink unfortunately because of geo restrictions, but just a video with very strong imigary:
The eye of the beholder
I just watched this documentary about beauty (warning: Dutch but quite good (and not on Joost)). Even though the tone of the documentary is a bit nagging and ego-centrical, it’s worth watching. It turns out that that only 2% of the women consider themselves beautiful. I don’t know what it’s like in other countries, but most, if not all, women I know are beautiful in their own right. So please, borrow my eyes and see the beauty.
Here to stay
Today the two months probational period at Joost have passed, so even though it was pretty clear after a couple of weeks that I would stay, it does feel very good that I’m really there to stay. I’m still very much enjoying my work at Joost, it is very varied, I get more responsibilities than even before, but I think that I can handle them as well as anybody humanly can. I do notice that the extra responsibilities can bite you in your ass though, so, last thursday, when I lost sight of priorities and fucked up a bit, I was suddenly working to past 10 pm to put out fires.
The really cool thing of working in a startup is that there are no best solutions or working procedures. Almost every procedure has been created, and part of the work we are doing right now is inventing solutions and procedures that kill our current jobs. Ain’t life great?
At the moment of writing I’m sitting in the train, being tired, and enjoying the view. The sun is setting and I’m seeing clouds and all kinds of blue and pink. I just viewed a movie Steve (my boss) lent me, it is Danish, cruel and bloody and reminded me of Happy Tree Friends (we have it on the platform too, if you like cruel animation with sweet furry animals, go watch it).
Joost now also has an official blogger, who watches and recommends stuff. While I think it is a great thing that people create buzz and put things in the spotlight, I won’t read her entries anymore, her writing is too superficial, bubblish, and maybe girly for me. I will try to eat some of my dog food, and check out if there is anything good on the platform, I really intend to go look at some Movieola and Raindance features, it could very well be quite fun for a movie buff like me. ;-)
Without spilling any numbers, I am really thrilled about the amount of content that we are beginning to serve, both he technical side, as well as the momentum I see building up, thrill and amaze me, and we are getting more and more content that I really really want to watch (but I can’t watch most of it unless I move to the USA :( ).
Revisionists
I was just zapping on TV, where I stumbled upon some program on Discovery Channel that lists military aircraft. The second item I saw made me turn off the TV in disgust. The item was about J-DAM, some system to change ‘dumb’ bombs into ‘smart’ bombs. Some military expert (in uniform) explained the need to use smart bombs by using the firebombing of Tokio as an example, claiming that they leveled 41 square kilometers of a major city, because the bombs of the age lacked precision.
That is one of the biggest loads of bullshit I ever heard. The Americans struck Tokio, just to hit the civilians. Which is why they conveniently failed to mention that they basically leveled the city with firebombs. I know (and everybody should know) that those acts were barbaric and beyond comprehension, just as the bombings on Dresden were. Usually I really like Discovery Channel, but please bring your propaganda elsewhere.
Extremes on a scale
I can’t help it. If a television program has some undefinable, but very distinct quality, I have to watch. Which is why I love both Hak.5 and Pure Pwnage and the new Battlestar Galactica and Heroes.
The most excelling show on the cheaper end of the spectrum is clearly Pure Pwnage. At first sight it seems to be a mockumentary about some very self involved gamer, but, when watching longer and looking more closely it is pretty clear that this show is a gem in disguise. While it is authentic in a nerdy kind of way, behind the gloss of amateur filming there is a strong story with compelling characters, a freakishly fun plot and an insane sense of humour.
Hak.5 is pretty clear. It is a tech show that loves technology, nifty hacks, and underground media, and that pretty much covers my interests as well. Last episode was actually a documentary about Pure Pwnage, so that brings two of my interests nicely together.
As for the higher and of the budget. Battlestar Galactica started of pretty strongly, but after a while it lost its edge, they got too careful with leading characters and that ended up in a lull. This season they have returned with a vengeance, it’s nitty, it’s gritty, it’s great.
The last show I really enjoy this season is Heroes. At first it seemed nothing new, quite generic. Normal people gaining superpowers, Spiderman, Superman and some more of those superhumans combined, but it hooked me nonetheless. As time passed, the characters grew into real, interesting people and the plot progressed beyond expectations. Unfortunately the season won’t return until Februari I heard. The bastards.
