Ender!Krum

Kill the Irishman

noreply@blogger.com (Ender!Krum) — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 19:15:42 PDT

Just watched Kill the Irishman, a half mafia - half American Irish film about a Cleveland union rep turned muscle turned boss, Danny Greene. The cast had some surprising names (surprising because the movie came out this year and never hit the radar...was it even in theater?!) - Christopher Walken, Paul Sorvino, Fionnula Flanagan, (the forgettable) Val Kilmer, (the beautiful) Laura Ramsey, and (the lead) Ray Stevenson.

I think the first thing that might turn people off about this movie is the lead is not made out to be a handsome mob boss or sexy Irishman. Instead, to the director's credit, he stayed fairly close to how Greene actually appeared. Perhaps, it will help the ladies to know that the actor who plays Greene is seen below as Greene in this movie, sexy man on the red carpet, and in a pretty boy still...now ladies, watch the movie with that in mind.

Of course, the next jab could be taken at the director though. I will let you judge him on his past works yourself, but I don't think it was the acting that made this movie lackluster. And of course, I think the post-production team could have done a better job with either making the movie indie and grainy or polished and mafia...but it kind of fell in the middle.

Or, it could be the storyline itself...it is hard to really identify with Greene. The movie does a good job of showing him as a flawed human without glossing over his faults and where they lead him.

ALL that said, I thought this was a good movie and one worth watching when you are feeling patient and up for an atypical, somewhat-true story.

Verizon + Google...first steps.

noreply@blogger.com (Ender!Krum) — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 15:23:34 PST

In a promising move, Google has partnered with Verizon to allow Verizon customers to watch popular YouTube videos with Verizon's web service. Now this may not be an indication that my fantasy three-way partnership amongst Google, Verizon and Netflix is coming true. In fact, this agreement may have been in the works prior to Google's takeover.

However, perhaps these companies will interact enough to see their need to partner in order to stay competative in the changing VOIP market.

Google, Microsoft and Yahoo...play nice together.

noreply@blogger.com (Ender!Krum) — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 08:48:30 PST

What it is:
"Web site owners will be able to go to one place for alerting all three major search engines to their Web pages." (Tim Mayer, director of product management at Yahoo Search)

The real big news:
Google, Microsoft and Yahoo are collaborating. Perhaps this is the beginning of many such collaborations? Let's hope so.

Oh, I need to point out that this is Microsoft and Yahoo adopting Google's existing service as the standard. Hoorah Google!

Wikia Campaigns + Evolution Schmevolution

noreply@blogger.com (Ender!Krum) — Wed, 02 Aug 2006 11:27:06 PDT

A long time ago I watched John Stewart's week long special on evolution. Watching the perspectives presented on a "panel of experts" inspired me to find out more about the topic. After asking a lot of questions I came to an interesting conclusion.

I then wrote out my arguement and posted it to Ender!Krum's brother blog Far Side of Complexity and then on Wikia's new campaign-oriented discussion site.

Let me know what you think. This is a work in progress and any constructive feedback would be appreciated.

MagLev Bed

noreply@blogger.com (Ender!Krum) — Wed, 05 Jul 2006 07:04:15 PDT

Stats:
- $1.5 mil
- No creaky bedposts

Google + Netflix + Verizon...I wish

noreply@blogger.com (Ender!Krum) — Tue, 13 Jun 2006 04:05:23 PDT

Ok, so I might be too keen on the integration of technology...but I really do think these three companies complement each other well. They are all innovative companies who serve there customers well. Also, the announcement alone would generate so much press...they would hardly need to spend any money advertising.

Google and Verizon
1. Develop Google Talk as the first widely used and accepted VOIP service.
2. Integrate email, chat and voice communications...and then take them wireless.
3. Add Google's personalized homepage material to Verizon's "interactive TV."

Google and Netflix
1. Since Netflix is going to begin offering video rentals over the internet soon, they should partner with Google to create the most powerful video download service on the internet - Google can search...Netflix can rate.
2. I think both companies see DRM as a necessary evil and would be able to collectively push for more freedom for consumers (obviously not for pirating...but maybe allowing clips to be taken from movies to be shared and blogged).

Netflix and Verizon
1. Even high speed internet is not going to be able to handle the bandwidth needs for HD content (which is where all content is headed).
2. Give TiVo a run for their money...are maybe bring them on board too...hmm, maybe that's too much integration.

My book was published by...Google

noreply@blogger.com (Ender!Krum) — Sat, 10 Jun 2006 07:10:49 PDT

Ok, so I haven't written a book, much less had it published (much less with Google). However, now that Google allows consumers to upload their video content (and charge people to watch it if they so choose), why not do this with text?

Say an author has a short novel but no publisher? They could upload to Google Books, choose to allow the first half to be read for free and the last to be purchased for a small fee. Also, the uploaded content could be searched for plagiarism, prior to publication. Everyone wins!

Some problems:
Well, ok so its not that easy.

1. Protecting the material. DRM for text would be harder since it is easy to copy and paste text, then distribute it outside the original format. But then again, who reads books electronically? Books practically don't need DRM since the format is prohibitive.
Google could solve both of these problems by coming up with a program (Google Reader?) which would make text easy to read (and perhaps, hard to copy). By doing this, they can increase reader participation and guarantee content protection to providers with their proprietary software.

2. The amount of junk that would be submitted would be awful. Yes, this is true. Google would definitely have to distinguish between real publications and their "self-published" works. However, internet users love peer to peer rating systems and the cream would rise to the top. Conversely, the $#!* could be recommended for removal, as with YouTube...and the gazillion other sites out there.

3. ... what other issues need solutions?

Net Neutrality...a nebulous idea

noreply@blogger.com (Ender!Krum) — Fri, 09 Jun 2006 06:24:07 PDT

According to news.com's blog, Kevin Martin, the FCC chairman, stated yesterday that "the commission hasn't seen any widespread abuse that would justify making new laws." (Note: I am quoting the blog, who was paraphrasing Mr. Martin.)

This supports my assertion that we should take a "wait and see" attitude about this whole issue.

We simply do not know that if broadband providers charge content providers (who want to pay for more bandwidth) it would negatively affect the internet. In fact, this just may give the broadband providers the incentive to provide more bandwidth...so content providers could offer HD content.

Also, you can read a Cisco's employees take on the issue and more here.

Dell...the new Apple?

noreply@blogger.com (Ender!Krum) — Tue, 30 May 2006 11:44:03 PDT

It appears that Dell is at least thinking about offering OS X on its machines.

Apparently, whoever read my previous entry got the names mixed. Apple was supposed to be the new Dell...not the other way around...c'est la vie.

Voting Lottery

noreply@blogger.com (Ender!Krum) — Tue, 23 May 2006 09:31:43 PDT

Here's a twist on how to increase voter participation:

Under the plan, the $1 million awarded to one randomly selected voter after each election would come from unclaimed Arizona Lottery prize money. A voter could get one entry in the drawing for voting in the primary and another for the general election.

An Arizona State University faculty member who specializes in voting topics was concerned about the proposal. The $1 million reward is a "gimmick" that could cause some people to vote without giving sufficient thought to how they're voting, said Kelly McDonald, an assistant professor of political communications. "I'm not sure I want people who are voting just because they have a 1 in 12 million chance of winning," McDonald said.

McDonald has a good point. Obviously, people should choose to exercise their right to vote because they care about the issues...not because they are motivated by an unlikely means of gaining wealth.

Apple...the new Dell?

noreply@blogger.com (Ender!Krum) — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 10:35:32 PDT

Walk through almost any business or government agency and you will likely see Dell computers being used. However with the advent of Microsoft OS on Apple computers, we may start to see a shift in businesses choosing Apple computers.

However, Apple needs to take another step in supporting Microsoft OS to make it truly worth it to consumers to switch. But...dare I say it?

As Apple has done with it's hardware, it now needs to do with its software programs. What do I mean? They should confugure all their programs to run natively on the Windows OS. Consumers should be able to choose not only which OS they want to run on their hardware, but also which software programs the want to run on their OS.

Consumers should be able to purchase an iMac with Windows OS, Microsoft office, and any of Apple's unique, stylish and useful software programs (ie video editing). They should be able to use any Apple or Microsoft program they want without the need to toggle between different OS'...this would truly be revolutionary.

But what about mac's OS? Hopefully, they will get out of the OS business altogether. They should sell (or give) their OS to an open source group who will continue to develop and support it for those who want to continue using it.

Happy Baby

noreply@blogger.com (Ender!Krum) — Mon, 03 Apr 2006 07:28:09 PDT

I stumbled across this while randomly clicking through blogger. With a recent death in the family, the joy of new life is more striking than normal.

Google Music?!

noreply@blogger.com (Ender!Krum) — Tue, 28 Mar 2006 15:42:03 PST

They already have a search page specific to music (still bare bones...it doesn't even appear to be in the "beta" stage yet).

Now there are rumors that its talks with major studios will lead to an iTunes like service. However, Google denies this claim.