I just got accepted yesterday to be a beta tester for hulu.com. If it is successful it will really redefine how we think about television. Hulu has clips, episodes, and movies that are free to watch but have 30 second ad spots interspersed through the episode.

The picture definition is not great, so far. It's okay in the small screen format but when I try to open it up to full screen it gets all Monet on me.

The ads, though shorter than television ad breaks, are still pretty annoying as each episode has one sponsor so you tend to see the same freaking ad over and over again. Also hulu hasn't quite mastered hitting the ad on the break so it's often a second or two before or after the break which, again, is annoying.

But, this is all beta. They ain't ready for prime time yet.

The list they have so far is impressive. I can watch season one of Buffy and all of Firefly. They have recent episodes of the Simpsons and season two, thus far, of 30 Rock. They have Battlestar Galactica, both current and classic. They even have the A-Team.

So, if this embed works, you should be able to see the entire first episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. If you want to sign up to be a beta tester like I did, just go to hulu.com. It took them about 3 weeks to get me on. Your results may vary.

And as a bonus, here's the pilot for Firefly!

Update December 28, 2007:

Maria was rendered sad because I only put the first part of the Buffy opener. So, true believers, here's part two:

Posted by ironic1 at 12:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

From the people who brought you the Human Clock, it's the Human Calendar!

It amuses me.

Posted by ironic1 at 8:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I was reminded at breakfast yesterday that my son, Simon, is 10 of the funniest people I know. He made some off handed seeming non sequitur about Snow White. Emma and I roared with laughter. Emma told him that he should do stand up comedy and he reminded us that he'd only do "sit down comedy." I had forgotten about his plan.

"Sit down comedy" (TM) is Simon's approach to comedy. Yes, my ten year old has an "approach" to comedy. Got a problem with that? Didn't think so.

Simon's plan is that you'd hire him as a comedian and he'd come out to dinner with you and, say, 5 or 6 of your friends. He'd sit down at the table with you and talk, and you'd laugh, because he's funny, and you'd pick up the tab for his (vegetarian) meal and pay him his normal fee. That's the life of a "sit down comic" (TM).

I think it's brilliant and he's beyond the cutting edge of entertainment. It's completely personalized for the individual need and it's not about someone standing in front of you and showing how wonderful she or he is, it's about building comedy out of a relationship that develops and is unique every time.

Frankly, I'm happy to be his training ground.

Posted by ironic1 at 10:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)