skip to main |
skip to sidebar
The entertainment industry is in a unique transitional phase right now and I'm trying to figure out where I fit into it. There are and will be opportunities to be a maverick during this phase, but that window of opportunity will close pretty quickly. Once the media giants figure out how to control and make money in the digital entertainment television universe, the chance of being an innovator in the field will evaporate.
Over the next decade you'll see the merging of the internet and television as well as the explosion of high definition programming. The first step is merging the internet with TV, where you select what you want to watch on the internet and you download it to the harddrive on your Digital Video Recorder/Player (DVR), like TIVO. Then you can watch what you want when you want.
You're starting to see some of this already. Yahoo and TIVO have made deals. ABC and CBS are offering programming for $.99 per download and the service Akimbo has numerous major and minor content providers such as IFILM, A&E, The History Channel and Turner Classic Movies. Akimbo also recently made a deal with Microsoft to incorporate their Media Center to make high definition content available for viewing via Akimbo as well.
The Akimbo/Microsoft Media Center Offering.
The good thing at this point is that you don't need to be a major network to provide content. And I think that's the niche that's exploitable. If television truly becomes an on-demand existence, then, like the internet itself, there will be opportunities to offer niche content, specific to a smaller segment of the population, but available through the same interface. The internet has web pages dedicated to everything under the sun... video on demand will be able to offer the same variety.
There are a couple of niche's I think are waiting to be explored... but I'll keep those to myself for now. The key is going to be able to create that content in a way that can be financially supported by an on-demand niche vierwer base. The quality of the program has to be high, as you are now competing against everyone else. But the quality of the CONTENT of the program, i.e. the subject, the writing, the execution, will make you stand above the rest.
There's also an opportunity to be a player in the high definition content provider space as well. I have high def and only have about 10 channels to watch, with Discovery High Definition Theater showing the highest quality images on HDTV available. The problem is that High Defintion under the current technology and business model is cost prohibitive for the niche content provider.
Ted Turner was a genius when it came to turning content into money. His greatest achievement was when he bought the MGM library and created Turner Network Television and Turner Classic Movies. If I had the capital, I would be gobbling up content right now, as there may be a good chance to recoup that money on a per download basis in our on-demand future.
In order for a niche content provider to be able to compete against the media giants in the same virtual space will require an overhaul of the current television production/editing paradigm. There are some new technologies out there that may make high definition affordable to fill this market. And trust me, once you go high definition, there is no going back. On the right, large screen, after watching a high def image and then watching standard definition image is equivalent to watching color TV vs. black and white.
In the end, the niche content provider will need to be able to provide high definition content in a business model that supports a limited potential viewer base.
That's the challenge... and I'm working on it :)
In one of the most exciting games in recent history, the Bucs overcame the resilient Redskins by converting a rare two point conversion to win the game, 36-35. Chris Simms was great at throwing the long ball and has improved a lot since his first start against the 49ers just a few weeks ago.
This week the Bucs take on the Falcons in Atlanta, who lost a "should have won" game against the 2-7 Green Bay Packers. That loss should re-energize and refocus the Falcons in the game against the Bucs.
Winning road divisional games is a tough task. Usually, the way that is accomplished is that the road team has to be efficient and not turn the ball over... and the home team has to turn the ball over and not be able to run the ball. The Panthers win over the Bucs in Tampa is a perfect example of how to win road divisional game.
Now that we are playing more quality opponents, the Buc defense is showing a greater weakness at stopping the run. Atlanta is very good at running the ball, with Duckett, Dunn and Vick, and they usually rack up high rushing yardage against their opponents. Historically, the Bucs have played well against the Falcons. However, the only way I see the Bucs winning in Atlanta is to get some early turnovers and points.
My Heart: Bucs 28-27.
My Mind: Falcons 23-17.
My Colon: Falcons 32-10.
My Pick: Falcons 24-21...
Like last week, my gut tells me the Bucs can win this game... but that feeling is as strong as it was against the Redskins, so I'll let my mind take precedence this week.
My Record: 6-3
The one thing about being a parent is that you never stop being a parent. And this is something you can't really comprehend until you actually become a parent.
I'm turning 40 soon and my parents are both around 80... yet, my Mom is still my Mom and my Dad is still my Dad and they have the same parental concerns, hopes and dreams for me that they had when I was an infant, a toddler, a teen and an adult. I'm still their youngest child... their "baby" and always will be.
It is one of the beautiful constants in life.
On a recent Saturday morning my kids came into our bedroom and jumped on the bed, squeezing in between me and my wife. My daughter said "I never feel safer than I do right now." And I was immediately brought back to a similar memory with the same feeling. I remember, as a child, getting in between my parents on their bed on Saturday mornings and feeling completely loved and relaxed. I have never felt that sense of safety as I did then.
As I have mentioned in previous posts, as I get older and become more aware of the depth of parenthood and it gives me a greater appreciation for God... as our parent. He too has hopes, dreams and concerns for us. He too wishes we wouldn't make bad choices and He hurts when we must pay the consequences those choices require. He too misses us when we are away. He too longs to spend time with us. And, when we are enveloped by Him, we too are never more safe.
Just today, my mother sent me the following, one sentence email...
"I was just driving back from the hairdresser and thinking of how much I love you. Ma."
After all of these years, a sentence like that is still priceless to me.
And it made me wonder... how many times a day does God think about how much He loves us?
"Television is an invention that permits you to be entertained in your living room by people you wouldn't have in your home."
– David Frost
How true.
Over the course of our life, God shows us enough so that we may know our path, yet hides enough so that we may live our faith.
I believe that any faith, including Catholicism, is a belief structure that you either accept or not. Faiths are not democracies that change with every social whim; with morals up for public determination. Faiths should be clearly defined paths to salvation that should remain strict, clear and firm. Sure, faiths must determine how scientific and social issues fit into the faith structure, but they should not be guided by such things.
For example, science allowed the act of abortion to be a health choice for women. The Catholic Church had to evaluate that act and determined, under their faith structure and understanding of the Gospels, that such an act was the murder of the unborn. Other faiths have determined it not to be murder or have not taken a stand on the issue one way or the other. But, since faiths are not theological buffets where one can pick and choose what they will and will not follow and since the Catholic Church has deemed abortion murder, then no Catholic, in adherence to their faith, can be pro-choice.
It is simply not an option.
Now, there are a lot of people who believe they are Catholics, who attend church, that are pro-choice, but, since it is in direct opposition to their faith, they cannot truly call themselves Catholic. They must make a choice. They must pray and ask themselves "What do I believe?" What does it mean to be a Catholic? Why does the Catholic Church hold such beliefs? After understanding what the Church believes and what I believe, can I still call myself a Catholic?
The same goes for the death penalty. The same goes for contraception.
Catholicism is a hard faith to live. It has very high standards. They sometimes fly in the face of the socially acceptable mores of the time. But, it is not, nor should it be, a democracy. It is what it is. It has rarely changed and has stood firm against a growing displeasure with its hard stances on moral issues.
For a while during my youth I used to say "I don't agree with the Catholic Church on..." this issue or that issue. But, what I came to realize is that, it wasn't that I didn't agree with the Catholic Church… it was that I didn't understand why the Catholic Church held such beliefs. I realized that the Church was basing its beliefs on 2000 years of understanding and faith structure and I was basing my opinions on a ten minute piece on 60 minutes... what the hell did I know?
If your faith is important to you, you will take the time to understand its roots before saying we should chop down the tree. So, I researched why the Church held such high moral standards on many things which are unpopular stances today. And, you know what? Every time I have researched it and understood where the Church was coming from, I couldn't help but agree. That doesn't mean that it was easy to incorporate that moral stand into my daily life. To the contrary. But, their arguments for such stances were linked to such clear and strong moral sources that I could not create an effective argument to defeat it.
Unfortunately, most people don't take the time to do the research. They're too “busy.” But, they sure feel absolute in their opinions that fly in the face of Church dogma... even though they don't even understand what Church dogma is...
I’m not trying to sound righteous or without compassion, but its important to understand that, when it comes to a faith, you either are a part of it or not. You either accept it or you don’t. You either follow all of it or you follow none of it.
Faith is not a lukewarm decision. It is an all or nothing existence.
That makes it hard… unbearably tough to live up to at times. But, like everything else, the most important and rewarding things in life are often the hardest to achieve.
The Bucs stopped there 1-3 slide to win a very exciting game over the Washington Redskins. Everyone, including myself, thought this game was going to be low scoring. Both teams had top 10 ranked defenses and both offenses were inconsistent. No one anticipated a 36-35 victory by the Bucs.
The Bucs moved the ball well on offense. This may be the game where we look back to see it was Chris Simms coming out party... where things started to click for the young QB. He's still young, he's still going to have bad games (see Eli Manning yesterday against the Vikes), but yesterday the game was all on his shoulders and he pulled it out. Hitting Shepard in the end zone with one minute left to tie the game was amazing. And Alstott, the fan favorite and under utilized FB/HB scored two TDs and the all important game winning two point conversion. It was a great game.
My prediction: Bucs 20, Redskins 17
Score: Bucs 36, Redskins 35
Offense: B. Passing game was great. Running game was below average again, which is a concern. Even hero Alstott only ran for 21 yards on nine carries. But give Gruden credit for getting Alstott more involved into the game.
Defense: D. Could not stop the run, could not get off the field. We did not force a punt in the second half and the Redskins ran for over 100 yards... without a long running play... all in chunks, which means they were consistently able ot run the ball.
Special Teams: D. Awful kickoff return of a TD when the Bucs could have gone into half time dominating.
Coaching: B. Gruden and Simms figured out how to pull out a win. Kiffin has to get the defense better quick. If we can't stop the run against Atlanta next week, we won't win that game, plain and simple.
Outstanding Players: Simms, Galloway and Shephard... oh, and Alstott. They carried the team to victory.
Things That Drove Me Nuts: The defense's inability to get off the field and stop third down conversions. Frustrating.
Bucs Record: 6-3.
Next Opponent: Atlanta may have been looking past the Packers to their game at home against the Bucs next week and they paid the price. The Pack beat the Falcons and Atlanta should be focused for the Bucs game. This is a critical divisional game and it will be a good indicator if the Bucs offense can repeat their success and if the Bucs defense can overcome their failures.
Well, this weekend I've had my first Crohn's attack in over a year and a half. It wasn't an overly bad attack, but I'm still suffering from it today. All of my weekend plans have been shot and I'll be lucky to have a full meal over the course of the weekend.
I just get to drink a lot of water and offer up the suffering to God. Beyond that, it's sit and wait.
Chronic illnesses... they're the gift that keeps on giving.
Posts
