Archives for January 2007

That’s What I Like: Espensodes

January 5, 2007 by Rox

I read a lot and I watch a lot of TV. A good television writer knows how to make me laugh. The best television writers know how pull a laugh out of me in middle of the most heart-wrenching situations. And one of the best out there is Jane Espenson. She has written for many of my favorite shows: Buffy, Angel, Firefly, Gilmore Girls and now Battlestar Galactica.

The first Espensode I saw was a season three episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer called “Band Candy, ” you know, the one where Giles and Buffy’s mom totally did it. Twice. Hilarious from start to finish, it’s one of my all-time favorite episodes of any TV show ever. On top of that, she went on to write or co-write 22 other Buffy episodes, including “Earshot,” “Superstar,” and the Hugo Award-winning “Conversations with Dead People.”

The Daily Loper – January 4, 2007

January 4, 2007 by Lopy

1-800-201-7575 ext 7 Edition

Todays links of interest:

Amazon’s secret price guarantee!
Did you know that Amazon had a 30-Day price guarantee? Neither did we, until we read this article.
New cable TV channel aims to reel in film fans
Launching a new cable channel…not as easy as it sounds. One new venture tries to find its place in our digital world.
Google Steps Up Self Promotion
Google…it’s the search and a whole lot more.

Whatever Happened To The Ricky Gervais Show?

January 4, 2007 by Jim Connelly

A year ago, perhaps the hottest thing on the internets were the podcasts of the Ricky Gervais show. And why not? The weird comic rhythms of Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant and Karl Pilkington had already been honed for a few years on XFM radio, even while Ricky & Stephen were making comedic history with the original BBC The Office.

The overwhelming buzz, however, died down somewhat when the podcasts went from free to paid.

The Daily Loper – January 3, 2007

January 3, 2007 by Lopy

I’ve Made A Huge Mistake Edition

Todays links of interest:

Patent lawsuit filed over Bluetooth tech
Patent lawsuit number two.
Apple, Google, Napster sued over patents
Yeah, Happy New Year! The first in what is likely to be a long line of patent lawsuits.
Pop Music – Iraq War
A nation at war sees the issues invading pop music.
Hollywood Looks For A Future
Will itty bitty tiny screens be the future of Hollywood? Probably not, but that doesn’t stop people from dreaming.

Why I Hate (Most) Consumer Products

January 3, 2007 by Tyson

For my inaugural ‘Loper report, which I’ve delayed almost as long as Vista, I thought I should tee off on something that really gets my goat. And that is: how companies come up with their positively idiotic names for products. You know what I’m talking about. Those names that sound like they were picked from an eye chart at random.

What Ever Happened To Google Book Search

January 3, 2007 by Kassia Krozser

One of the great, sort-of-under the mainstream media’s radar stories of this past year was/is Google Book Search. If you hang around publishing circles (which, well, I do), it’s been a blip on the screen, but if you’re looking at big media stories, this one just seems to escape the big press.

Maybe it’s just that books aren’t as glamorous as movies, I don’t know. But while the major studios and music labels try — and I use the word very deliberately — to wrap their minds around the concept of digitizing and distributing content, Google (and, to be fair, Microsoft and Amazon) has pushed forward with its plan. As I type, I can access digitized books and make decisions about their usefulness in my current research. As more product gets added to the search engine, I find myself using this feature of Google more and more. I have actually made one purchase based on this feature. Not a bad return on investment, considering I never would have found this book on Amazon. I tried; Amazon’s search functionality denied me, time and again. Google, however, was more than happy to offer the book up right away.
[Read more…] about What Ever Happened To Google Book Search

The Daily Loper – January 2, 2007

January 2, 2007 by Lopy

Buh-Buh-Buh Bennie and the Jets Edition

Todays links of interest:

What if They Released a Movie and Nobody Came?
The sad but true story of Zyzzyx Road, possibly the lowest grossing film in US domestic box office history.
Ailing music biz set to relax digital restrictions
Oh goody, more DRM confusion planned in 2007. Now they’re thinking unrestricted MP3s are the way to go.
Whole Albums in Concert
The album is dead, long live the album! Artists are fighting back against the single explosion by playing their entire albums in order…only works if you have an album that hangs together in a logical fashion.

Whatever Happened To The Nike + iPod?

January 2, 2007 by Jim Connelly

Earlier this year, I greeted the announcement of the Nike + iPod with some skepticism, not the least of which was why they just didn’t call it the NiPod.

As a longtime runner who prefers his New Balance and iRiver (with the FM Radio — hello, Apple!!), it just seemed too gimmicky for me. I just don’t need a disembodied voice telling me my progress. However, I am clearly in the minority here, as it is apparently a big hit, perhaps even helping Nike have their best quarter in a decade.

Shows what I know.