UberTV

There has been some press coverage of AOL's new In2TV service, but not as much as I had expected.

The AOL service - free to everyone, not just AOL users - features streaming episodes of past television shows free. The service is supported by short commercials - usually about 15 seconds long - that play several times during the episode.

My limited experience with the service has been good. There were a few initial set-backs: you need Windows Media Player 10 and it didn't work in my firefox browser, no matter what they say to the contrary or how many times I downloaded and installed the "Active X Firefox Plug-In." Once I started using Internet Explorer things worked correctly.

Episodes are available for streaming and also available in AOL's HiQ format which downloads episodes to your computer at a resolution near dvd quality. (!)

After my early joy (They have V, y'all! The "V" series! And Alice! OOOHHH Eight is Enough! Wonder Woman!) I began to think about who this service was being geared toward. I couldn't see the available shows attracting much attention from the highly desirable 18-25 y.o. demographic.

No, this service is straight up Generation X's avenue. Welcome Back Kotter? V? Alice? Growing Pains? These shows are all touchstones of the slacker generation. There are some more recent offerings, Adventures of Briscoe County Jr., La Femme Nikita, etc, but even those shows wouldn't attract attention from a younger audience.

It's an interesting move by AOL (in partnership with Warner Brothers), especially when most media outlets are making many shows available for purchase. AOL has promised to add additional episodes and more shows in the future.

It's a smart move. Many of these shows haven't been seen on television for a long time and people have forgotten about them. Not every show of every series is available online; this service will spur dvd sales if it is popular enough and the dvd's are marketed correctly.

So take it for a spin. Isn't it time you caught up with Scarecrow and Mrs. King and Perfect Strangers? There are hundreds of episodes available right now.

EXCLUSIVE! Sopranos Premiere Photos

MUST CREDIT APPRECIATE THE CHEESE

So, fancy-pants website TVgasm has 'exclusive' shots from The Sopranos season premiere. It airs this Sunday at 9pm on HBO, and from the upfront hype, sounds like the first episode is a doozy.

Never to be out done, AtheC has aquired these ULTRA exclusive photos from the season premiere. Hey, it pays to have a sister in L.A.

I hold no responsibility for giving away crucial plot-points. Proceed at your own risk.

"Next time get 500 thread count, jerk."

Out of proportion pictures are funny!

From Cute Overload - the web log you're going to be glad I turned you on to! (does anyone use "web log" anymore?) Absolute cuteness, every day, delivered to your face.


See also: KittenWar!

WUHHHHHHHHHHH UHHHHHHHHH

President Bush - reeling after a drop in his poll numbers and backlash from Congress regarding his shady Dubai port deal today announced his comprehensive port security plan.

Each port will feature huge scary floating holograms of his angry screaming head!

Sound Effect: WUHHHHHHHH UHHHHHHH WUHHHHHHH UHHHHHHHH.

[Photo from Talk Left]

Second line of defense: Hairy Lobsters! Waves and waves of hairy lobsters!

And bacteria and complaints.

If you don't reguarly read Overheard in New York, please make sure you do from now on. Turns out nothing is funnier than what people say every day.

Sometimes I'll highlight some of my favorites here - entries that make me giggle at my desk. ("Carl, why is that spreadsheet so funny?")

Snuffy Ain't No Secret Anymore

Guy: We have to figure out a way to get rid of her bird.
Girl: I hate birds like that. They're full of secrets and dust.
Guy: And lice and opinions.

--13th & A

iPope

A group of Vatican Radio employees gave Pope Benedict XVI a brand new iPod nano loaded with special Vatican Radio programming and classical music.

And Prince, I bet. He totally looks like a Prince guy.

Creamed

I knew the "Abortion Test Case" was coming. Hard-core pro-lifers and people who enjoy having more unwanted children around couldn't wait for Alito to shuffle onto the Supreme Court so they could throw a test case into the machine and take it to the Supremes.

Then I heard something about it in passing. Nothing shocking. But ... South Dakota? SOUTH DAKOTA?! I always had a soft spot for South Dakota - sounds warmer than North Dakota, I thought - but the minute I turn my back - BANG - the South Dakota Legislature stabs me with a sharp law. *SQUOOSH* it went, right into my South-Dakota-Respect-Area.

This can not stand!

The Madison Wisconsin Women's Medical Fun is waaaaay ahead of me.

Now the Madison-based Women's Medical Fund is threatening a boycott of South Dakota tourism, a major source of income in that state ...

"All kinds of families visit Mount Rushmore every year. It's a favorite of Americans and foreign tourists. But we can do without Mount Rushmore, the Black Hills, the Badlands and the Corn Palace,"

OK, I was totally on board until I found out that South Dakota boasts about a place called the CORN PALACE. I can hardly digest it, but a lot of people have that problem.

Do they have direct flights from DC?

huh.

CBS News:

President Bush dismissed on Tuesday a report put out by his administration warning that human activities are behind climate change that is having significant effects on the environment.

Washington Post:

The Antarctic ice sheet is losing as much as 36 cubic miles of ice a year in a trend that scientists link to global warming, according to a new paper that provides the first evidence that the sheet's total mass is shrinking significantly.

The new findings, which are being published today in the journal Science, suggest that global sea level could rise substantially over the next several centuries.

huh.