Zeigen

Ok, as cool as the content we launched recently is, some of these new channels are not really household names (yet). So, you ask, when is TiVoCast going to launch some free downloads for shows I’ve heard of?

To that I say, what, you haven’t heard of CNET, The New York Times, Rocketboom, and The Onion?

But those are already out there, you say — I want more new shows that I’ve heard of before.

Ok, how about this: Today we launched Days of our Lives. Each Wednesday you can get exclusive behind-the-scenes looks from the famous NBC soap opera, which has been running since 1965.

To get a Season Pass, visit TiVo Central Online’s TiVoCast section, or head to TiVo Central -> Find Programs -> Download TV & Movies.

The first episode is a day in the life of actor Black Berris (Nick Fallon).

Enjoy!

So it was 12:40pm, and I was eating lunch and getting ready for an operations meeting when Kimi called my cell.

“My water broke.”

Oh! Ok! I grabbed my lunch, rushed for the car, headed home while canceling my afternoon meetings, made sure the nanny could watch Sammy and hand him off to Kyrie, made sure Kyrie (our designated Sammy-watcher for the big day — thanks Kyrie!) was alerted and on her way home, packed Kimi’s bags and things into the car, followed her request to load the infant car seat even though I knew we wouldn’t need that for days, and we headed off to the hospital.

Well, long story short, her water hadn’t really broke, and with no contractions, no rupture, and being a month only, it just wasn’t the time yet. Even though Kimi’s very uncomfortable at 8 months pregnant, and even though she wants the baby to be born NOW now NOW, I’m just as glad it isn’t time yet. Sammy will have more time to get used to his new preschool that he starts (two days a week) on the 11th, we have more time to finish up some more projects around the house, and most importantly, Sophie doesn’t have to enter the world some five weeks early and deal with lungs that aren’t quite up to the task of dealing with air yet.

Even though it was just a false alarm, it was a good dry run and a good chance to assess our readiness. It took a lot out of me — all the paperwork and examinations left me pretty exhausted for the rest of the day.

Soon, Sophie, soon. Just not today.

Another day, another TiVoCast launch

Check out JETSET (www.jetsetshow.com), coming to you via TiVoCast every Monday. It’s an Internet pop culture show for young adults, featuring cool, geeky, underground things and people found online and off.

To subscribe, either visit TiVo Central -> Find Programs -> Download TV & Movies -> JETSET, or subscribe via TiVo Central Online.

Hot on the heels of the four TiVoCast launches earlier this week, we’ve got two new ones for you to check out today:

• Indy Mogul (www.indymogul.com) — You want to do more with your video camera than home movies? Indy Mogul shows you how. It’s the first network for the YouTube generation. Every Monday and Friday.
• ThreadBanger (www.threadbanger.com) — The do-it-yourself fashion show that allows you to create and recreate today’s hottest styles at home. Every Tuesday and Friday.

Find ‘em right now under TiVo Central -> Find Programs -> Download TV & Movies, or subscribe at TiVoCast on TiVo Central Online.

Check them out and let us know what you think!

Kimi, John, Yvonne and I saw Stardust this evening. Kimi’s cousin Miranda drove up with her boyfriend Alex to babysit, and unfortunately Sammy was a bit upset with Kimi and me leaving, and ended up crying so hard that he threw up a lot. (How’s that for a reproduction deterrent?) But he settled down with them and ended up having a fun night — and so did we. I had read the Neil Gaiman book previously (long enough ago that I didn’t remember it very clearly) and it seemed that the movie was a nice melange of the book, the comic book, with a dash of The Princess Bride thrown in.

Several times Kimi squeezed my hand in delight; it is really a magical movie, well worth seeing. Many things invented for the movie — Robert DeNiro’s expanded character, “Billy” the man-goat — really work well cinematically. While I’d have loved to see the seven brothers have a fuller role as they do in the book, the movie gets the point across, and the two leads do a marvelous job.

I can’t figure out why this movie doesn’t have better reviews and box office numbers. It’s wonderful. See it.

Hot on the heels of Channel Frederator yesterday, we’ve got three new channels for you to enjoy on TiVoCast starting today:

• Fast Lane Daily — Daily car news! (See www.fastlanedaily.com for more info.) Every weekday.
• Pulp Secret — Comic book network featuring “The Stack” — reviews and more. (Check out www.pulpsecret.com for stories.) Every Monday and Wednesday.
• Veracifier — Home of TPMtv (Talking Points Memo), a political show featuring original ideas, reporting and commentary. (Learn more at www.veracifier.com.) Every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

All three of these, plus yesterday’s Channel Frederator, come to us thanks to the good people at Next New Networks. Now, while I don’t like make promises, I have to say that there’s more to come. Stay tuned!

To get these new channels onto your TiVo DVR (or to get any of the other channels for that matter), you can either head to TiVo Central Online and then click on the TiVoCast link (which gets you the list of channels), or you can use your DVR and head to TiVo Central -> Find Programs -> Download TV & Movies, then select the shows you want to download.

If you, like me, haven’t found much good TV to watch during the summer, then check out the newest TiVoCast offering, Channel Frederator! This is a compilation of interesting animation; we’re starting with Episode 93. It’ll run every Tuesday.

Find it on TiVoCast under TiVo Central -> Find Programs -> Download TV & Movies -> Channel Frederator, or from TiVo Central Online.

Enjoy!

We haven’t really been watching much TV this summer (well, compared to normal).

I was watching Pirate Master, a reality TV show sort of like Survivor, but it got canceled mid-stream and moved to CBS’s web site only.  I hate watching TV on my laptop or desktop, so I probably won’t see the end of that one.

I was also watching On The Lot, a reality TV show for aspiring movie directors, and it’s almost done.  The show format was really mishandled, in my opinion.  Early on it had challenges for the directors to complete, a bit like The Apprentice.  Later it became just a popularity contest, like American Idol.  It’s much more interesting to me to learn more about how movies are made than to see some random short films.  The last show is tonight; I’ll tune in for the couple of minutes required to see who won.

I also have been watching the second season of Who Wants To Be A Superhero, a reality TV show for aspiring costumed leotard wearers.  It’s fun in a dopey way.

Kimi was watching So You Think You Can Dance, and she loved it all the way through the ending last week, but that show’s not really my thing.

That’s definitely a lot of reality TV.  There’s isn’t really much else new on in the summer — we watched a couple of the new Monk episodes this season, and we enjoyed them. But now we’re falling behind. I have some other shows piling up too, but haven’t had the interest.

However, the one show that both Kimi and I reall are enjoying is The Flight of the Conchords TV show on HBO.  It’s about two singer song-writers from New Zealand.  If you search around on YouTube you can catch some of the bits, although I think their music numbers work better in the context of the larger show. Funny funny stuff. My favorite songs are Mermaids and the Bowie tribute.

Yesterday Kimi took Sammy to visit Hakone Gardens in Saratoga. Turtles, koi, tea ceremonies, and the things that Sammy was most interested in: rocks and pinecones.

“It was just so relaxing there. The sounds of the water, the peacefulness, the views of the mountains — it’s really like a different world.” — Kimi

On Sammy’s new blue race car bed.

Kimi and I are thrilled to announce that we’re expecting our second child, to be named Sophie, on or around October 2. I first wrote about it on this blog back in January, but kept the post private. Now that entry is available to read.

Kimi says, “Sammy calls her ‘baby sister.’ He knows she’s swimming and sleeping inside mommy’s tummy. He thinks that he has a baby inside his tummy too.”

We’ve been working on the house for the past few weeks. New couch, new bed for Sammy, new train table, and trying to make room. We’ve also had some contractors work on the outside (ripping out a rotten deck, replacing it with some fresh concrete). Are we ready? Not quite, but we’re getting there. Wish us luck!

Sunday, after Sammy’s nap, we headed out to the San Mateo County Fair. We’d intended to go to the Santa Clara County Fair but missed it (things are a bit busy around here). It’s still going on for a few days, and open to 11pm or midnight each night.

To be honest, I was a bit disappointed in it overall (especially the food choices — I’m spoiled by the other food and art & wine festivals we go to), but Sammy loved loved loved the animals.

Look, I don’t care about sports at all, and least of all baseball, a sport that remains entirely alien to me. (Growing up in England we played rounders, which is somewhat similar to baseball, and cricket, which seems like a distant cousin, and soccer, which I’ve always preferred).

For Bonds to say, as he is quoted in this AP article, that “This record is not tainted at all. At all. Period” is willfully ignoring a deep-stained muck of festering controversy.

Besides, he’s got a ways to go to catch this guy.

But hey, congrats*** to the home team and to Barry for his new world* record**

*, **, ***, **********: Insert disclaimers here.

Saturday was Zoo day. Bob and his son Nico, Kyrie and her twins Andy and Jack, as well as Sammy and me, made our way up. I’d actually never been there before; it’s an interesting zoo, with a strange mixture between brand new exhibits and things that look like they’re thirty years old, like the abandoned Pachyderm house.

We all had a great time. Nico took pictures on my camera. Not bad for an eight-year-old.

If you go, don’t forget (as Kyrie did) that even when it’s 90 degrees on the Peninsula, it’ll be fifty or lower in SF.

Jennie’s a good friend of mine, and it’s great to see this SFGate article about her new business.