Spuds Mackenzie lives to party again thanks to google video!

[Holy shit. I forgot how awful the 80s really were. -k]

1987 - Spuds Mackenzie commercial - Google Video

] Stephen Colbert, who plays a phony correspondent on the
] fake-news program "The Daily Show," is getting a real
] promotion.
]
] Comedy Central said yesterday that it was giving Mr.
] Colbert his own show: a half-hour that is expected to
] follow "The Daily Show" on weeknights and will lampoon
] those cable-news shows that are dominated by the
] personality and sensibility of a single host. Think, he
] said, of Bill O'Reilly and Chris Matthews and Sean
] Hannity.
]
] Where "The Daily Show" and its host, Jon Stewart,
] generally spoof the headlines of the day (and the anchors
] and reporters who deliver them), Mr. Colbert's program
] will send up those hosts who have become household names
] doing interviews and offering analyses each night on the
] 24-hour cable news channels. The program, which is
] expected to begin appearing on Comedy Central as soon as
] early fall, is being produced by Mr. Stewart's production
] company, Busboy Productions.

Yeah so think "the talking heads" version of the daily show...

'Daily Show' Personality Gets His Own Platform - New York Times

]
] Viewers eagerly awaited director Shinichiro Watanabe's
] first broadcast series since Cowboy Bebop, and this
] quirky, violent period adventure was worth the wait.

This came out just last year, apparently.

[ NetFlix queue updated. -k]

Amazon.com: DVD: Samurai Champloo - Volume 1 (2005)

"I would welcome voluntary actions by the industry to address both indecency and gratuitous violence, but they aren't stepping up to the plate, and that's why Congress cannot wait any longer to protect our communities and our families," Mr. Rockefeller said when he introduced the measure. "If the industry won't protect our children from gratuitous violence and indecency, then we must act."

[ Hey Rockefeller, how 'bout a "Be A Competent Fucking Parent Act". Protect our children by censoring as much as possible? I guess naive and uneducated is the way to build a strong future for America. -k]

Under New Chief, FCC Considers Widening Its Reach

] That may change, if some lawmakers and consumer groups
] get their way, as the cable industry finds itself under
] increasing scrutiny. Lawmakers report that their
] constituents are angry about cable bills that have risen
] at three times the rate of inflation since the industry
] was largely deregulated in 1996.
]
] One possible solution being proposed is a la carte cable,
] a way to give consumers more choice over what they watch
] and how much they pay for it. But it's not an answer the
] cable industry will swallow easily, if a Senate Commerce
] Committee hearing last week on cable rates is any
] indication.

[ Says John McCain, "'When I go to the grocery store to buy a quart of milk, I don't have to buy a package of celery and a bunch of broccoli,' McCain said. 'I don't like broccoli.'"

It's an interesting question... i think there's *some* validity to the mechanism of subsidizing lesser watched channels by packaging them with more popular channels, but I still think the consumer needs to be given a choice. Nothing says the channels need to cost the same amount... if USA is the most watched, make it more expensive than, say, Oxygen. Offer incentives to try out new channels. People are even more likely to require that their entertainment be on-demand and custom tailored these days. Cable is locked into a model that's too restrictive, and it can't last.

I think we're about 3 weeks away from cancelling our cable altogether, acquiring by broadcast the network stations that account for 80% of our viewing (and pretty much all of the shows we watch on purpose, none of the hm-lets-see-whats-on-while-i-eat-lunch type shows). 70 bucks a month for cable just isn't worth it. If i could buy the networks, UPN, and FoodTV, maybe cartoon network for 20-25, that'd be much more compelling.

While I'm dreaming, I'd also like to be able to pay-per-view any football game... they have cameras at all of them... I should get to choose what game to watch. -k]

Duluth News Tribune | 03/28/2004 | Cable industry defends packaging

] The Federal Communications Commission will likely adopt
] rules that will allow programmers to attach a code to
] digital broadcasts that will in most cases bar consumers
] from sending copies of popular shows around the world,
] said the officials, who declined further identification.

broadcast flag here we come...

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