Sunday 30 May 2010

Why Download Movie Services will never beat pirates.

Easy Rider.


Dennis Hopper died today, and Easy Rider is one of my favourite films. I don't own it, and haven't previously copied it from a friend, so it's not in my collection.

I thought I had it on video tape, but I was wrong... I've got Roadside Prophets instead, which is a homage to Easy Rider and has Adam Horovitz (Adrock from the Beastie Boys) in it...

Anyway, it's very cold outside, the video store is ages away up a hill, I'm warm and toasted, and besides, my flatmate has my video store card and she'd in Adelaide at the moment.

So I thought "aha! These movie download services should have it!" So I looked on Xbox, PS3, and bigpond downloads.

Nothing.

Dennis Hopper has died, and they don't have Easy Rider up on their service.*

These systems are meant to be instant and applicable to modern life. Why isn't there a whole heap of Hopper Films in these libraries?

I know if I did go the video store I could get something he's in that I like - Easy Rider, Blue Velvet, Apocalypse Now.

Look at the instantaneous nature of the rest of the web: heaps of people are posting and linking youtube videos to their facebook in tribute to him.

And when I look at the torrents sites, I find it instantly, and with the amount of interest in the film there are thousands of others downloading it, meaning I can grab it within an hour.



This is such a huge wasted opportunity for the Movie Industry as a whole, and also the download services provided by Sony, Microsoft and Bigpond, and if these services want to compete with piracy and traditional retail stores, then they've got to offer something pirates and retail stores do but at a better quality and better price and move to take advantage of the immediacy of the internet.



*EDIT: I did find it in the iPhone Store, but I'm not going to buy it if I can't watch it through my TV. I stream video through my Xbox or PS3 to the TV. I'm not hooked up otherwise, so can't stream Apple bought shows through the house to the TV without first hacking them.

If anyone knows an easy way to do this let me know ;)

Monday 24 May 2010

RAGE!

OK, with YouTube now bringing music clips to the masses, I thought I'd start a weekly "If I were to host Rage" post showcasing my favourite songs and more importantly why I like them

I can't remember who introduced me to Cracker, but this song reminds me of being a teenager. I definitely love the lyric "what the world needs now is another folk singer like I need a hole in the head"
Cracker - Teen Angst.




This reminds me of my good mates back in Adelaide. We used to play D&D and Doom together. Once, my friend Kris started singing alternative lyrics to this song when we were driving and we almost had an accident we were laughing so hard. I still giggle when I hear it.
Queen - Bicycle Race



This was one of the first records I owned. I used to scratch it up on my mum's turntable. She busted me once and I got a hiding and didn't touch records for another 10 years.
Herbie Hancock - Rockit



This track reminds me of when I changed my mind about being in love with a certain girl.
Lyrics Born - I Changed My Mind



Pop Will Eat Itself hold a very special place in my heart, because their music led me places I probably wouldn't have ventured if I never heard them. It was them who led me to Electronic and HipHop music.

Lots of people have songs which remind them of other people and other times. This song in particular reminds me of who I am and why I'm still here.
Pop Will Eat Itself - Dance of the Mad Bastards

Wednesday 19 May 2010

Politricks

All these opinion pages and blogs and journalists have simply got it wrong.  

I can't understand why none of the so-called political pundits can't figure out what the UK poll, what the Tasmanian Poll, the SA Poll, what the closeness of the Obama win, and so on and so on REALLY means.


It doesn't mean Conservative / Right are winning / losing to the Progressive / Left.

It means people are sick of the current political process. They're sick of the two party political system. They're sick of Lib / Lab, Lab / Tory, Dem / Reps. Sick of the corruption and the lies and the spin. Sick of being fucked over by big business with the support of big government.

Mark my words. By the end of this decade, there will be a land war in Europe and it will be in part because the people were simply fed up with the political processes which result in parties which are too similar, and will vote in an extremist party of some kind who will either a) kill a whole lot of people who they believe don't belong or b) invade another country because of a).

Wednesday 5 May 2010

Help me Obi Wan...

So, I just had my friend around, and we worked on getting her resume from PDF into an editable format.

I won't go into details, a google search will help you do it if you ever need it done, but it made me realise that I really like helping people, especially one on one.

I like showing them how to do things, how to solve issues and how to get the best out of what they are working with.

Because even with what I do know about the topic at hand, I'll still discover things I didn't in helping other people out.

My assistant producer role was like this. I helped people do stuff they couldn't, whether it was through lack of knowledge or lack of time. And I learned so much about the process of making games.

Even though they're pitching my new role in the call centre as being very similar, I'm not entirely sure I'm going to be as good in it. I don't know, I just find something disagreeable about it at the moment.

I hope my trainers and I can identify my issues and work on it before it gets too late and I simply hate the job altogether.

Monday 3 May 2010

First day of the rest of my life?

OK, so I completed my first day at PCI today.

It took me over an hour to get there by public transport, and even longer to get home. Thing is, I if I rode a bike, it wouldn't take longer than half an hour I reckon! Must discover a better route, especially if I ever have early starts.

On my first day, it felt a lot like being back in highschool.

That's not a criticism, just a statement. After all, our trainer was a highschool teacher, and we were sat in a class with a whole heap of people we didn't know. It was that kind of nervous and excited feeling.

We did a heap of team building stuff, as well as "get to know you" things. There's a few DJs and musos in my group, so that's pretty cool.


Although... and don't get me wrong, the place seems really cool and laid back... we met the "big boss" and he was pretty damn laid back, and PCI seems to have a culture that's rather casual, fun even, as long as you get your work done. The people who work there look happy, and you can tell on the whole people enjoy their jobs.

Thing is... It's just that finding out so many people were DJs/musos reminded me of Spaced, season 2 episode 3 called "Mettle", where Daisy is working in that horrid kitchen in an excellent take off of One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest...

Daisy: I can't do this!
Tina (aka the evil nurse): Excuse me?
Daisy: I'm a writer. I'm creative. I'm not a "mopper'"
Tina: They're all writers Daisy.
Daisy: (incredulous) What?
Tina: All the staff here are writers.
Daisy: Not Harris
Tina: Haikus I believe. Charlie there is an actor but he's writing some play...
Daisy: Even Billy?
Tina: Even Billy.
Billy: (stutters) I...I..I was published in '97. It was just a short story... I came here in '98
Tina: They're all creative Daisy. Not just you. Now get creative with this (throws mop at her)

The video is available on youtube (sorry, no embedding, and the bit starts at 6:50... However, I recommend watching the whole episode! It's awesome!)