Commander in Chief

In the last week or so I was finally able to watch all the episodes of Commander in Chief available on ABC's web site (see my post from May 10th). I really enjoyed this TV show. It has quite an interesting story and the characters are playing it very well. I thought all of them played very strong. I also like the fact that this show captures the politics involved, the childrens perspective as well as the tough choices which need to be made quickly. It drives home for me that so much in today's world is a people business. It's about trust, collaboration, knowing the right people, people skills, etc. Look around and you will see that this applies as much to today's business world. Quite a change from just a decade or two ago.

The show also captures very well the challenges a first female president will have. There will be tremendous pressure on her to be tough and as mentioned in one episode everything she does will be second guessed. There is ongoing speculation that Hillary Clinton will be running for president in 08. I really hope so. It would be the best thing this country can have - a female president. It would truly show democracy and the values of freedom this country stands for.

Today I also learnt that you can buy these episodes on iTunes. Even shows like 24, Alias, etc. Apple has revolutionized with iTunes the music download business and is quitely doing the same for the movie download business. They have the brand and they have the technology. Now it is all about getting the content quickly enough online and offer it up for reasonable price. As a consumer I can only cheer them on! But I wish they would offer this also up outside of the US, like Canada!

Ice Age 2 - a meltdown?

So last weekend I finnaly got around watching Ice Age - the meltdown. Opinions are really split about it. Some find it quite funny and a good movie while others just don't see it living up to the coolness factor of the first movie. I agree that the first movie was quite cool. The second movie was funny and some characters kept their coolness. I liked the introduction of Ellie and the dynamic between Manny and Ellie - quite funny. Scrat the quirrel is quite funny - I think it is the best of all charcters in this second movie. You gotta love all the stupid things Scrat is doing to get its beloved nut. Sid the sloth was quite funny two - all the goofing around, everyone finding him an embarrassment but still being a great friend you can have. I had a good laugh when he was surounded by a sea of tinny sloth's and they called him the lord of the flame and next thing they throw him into a vulcano. I found Diego the saber tooth tiger a bit disappointing, there is nothing new or funny in this character. The goofing around of the other two new characters Crash and Eddie (possum's) is quite funny two.

I think overall this is a great movie. I had a great laugh - the reason why I wanted to see the movie in the first hand. I hope they are not doing another one. Most movies which try to do a sequel fall short, it is just hard to live up to the coolness factor of the first one.

ABC, are they serious with the digital media

All of us are just too familiar with Hollywood being in denial of the digital age. There are still many out there who think denial of the digitial media is the best way to deal with IP (Intelectual Property) issues. It's not. Listen to your customers. They are changing and they want to consume content in many different ways, be it the good old TV and DVD or through new channels (or devices) like on your laptop, on my iPod, on my PDA like device and many more. I truly believe the first studio or distributor which really figures out how to distribute content through all these different devices and channels but at the same time can take care of the IP will dominant the consumer media business for the next decade. Yes, there are issues to deal with and yes it is a struggle to make this economically work. But boy will this business suddenly be the media power-house in the digital economy.

So I ran into ABC's new site - http://dynamic.abc.go.com/streaming. It allows you do view four of their shows online. The quality is great. It would be great if it worked really in full-screen, but even in its current size its quite impressive. Obviously you need a pretty decent high speed internet access but today that should be no problem. You have problems watching it outside the US - well use a public proxy server like http://www.proxy4free.com and you can bypass that check. Try it out, it's quite a treat.

I am cautiously optimistic to see that some of the media houses are willing to experiment with the digital age and see how they can make it work. I do believe they will go through tremendous changes in the next decade. Renting and watching a movie over the internet should become a reality. Also being able to watch TV over the internet should be the norm - you can see already some experiments with this too. Those on the fore-front of this, as a consumer I can just cheer them on!

United 93

All our lives have been touched and changed for ever with the tragic events of 9/11. And all of us are still struggling with the aftershocks of 9/11. So are we ready to watch "united 93" - the movie which tells the story about what happened on that flight? Some are of the opinion that yes we are while others have a strong opinion of the opposite. So I wasn't quite sure whether I was ready myself. Finally last weekend I decided that I am gonna go for it.

Has it been worth? Has it been schocking to see a pretty realistic version what might have happened on that flight? Had it an effect on me? Yes. Yes. Yes. If I would have to tell you what I will remember about this movie in 30 seconds, here is what I would say - "The movie and its actors have done a fantastic job telling the story. It is very humbling to see in detail what happened to these people - on the ground and on the plane. It is humbling that the families of the victims have helped telling this story and must have lived through it again with all its anxiety. It is humbling to see that so many have played themselves - yes there are many who played there real life story in this movie. It is terrifying to see and live through what these victims on the plane had to go through. What is telling that when I watched it in the theather not a single person talked, not a single interruption and at the end it was quiet, very quiet and people left the theather humbled in silence".

So yes, I can only recommend to everyone, go and see it. I hope you will. Not for your entertainment but to remember what happened on that day and be influenced by it and hopefully when a moment of posibility comes up that you will make a difference in life. Whatever that will be or mean. I wish all the families who lost someone on 9/11 all the best.

Today is the day

I have toyed with the idea of blogging for a while. I was intriguide by its idea at the same time I told myself, why should I blog about my life. Well, maybe I finally realized that life is about sharing, collaborating, touching each other and making a difference. So today I finally decided to create my personal blog to talk about things which have me touched and sometimes change me and my outlook on life.

If you have made it this far, then I know you are interested (at least a bit) what I have to say. Contact me and share your thoughts and moments with me and all the other bloggers in this world. Don't be shy!