Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Wikipedia

Today in my Communication class my TA discussed our papers that she returned and some people were very angry about their grades. She continued to discuss why people received bad grades and then went on a tangent about how to never use Wikipedia as a source and that its completely in accurate and useless. It made me angry and upset becuase for the past weeks we have been talking about how great and fastinating that everyday people are having a change to create media and contribute to things like Wikipedia. I wanted to lash out at her and tell her she was stupid for dismissing something that has the potential to be so great, so quickly. I also should have told her to talk visit my JMC 262 class and partiipate in our discussion about Wikipedia. Wikipedia has opened a whole new door of information on everything you can imagine. Yes it had its downfalls but I would say our traditional encyclopedia has numerous negative attributes as well. At least wikipedia has the potential to fix its mistakes immediately. So does my TA just believe the average person is not educated enough to supply information or maybe I should just explain to her how this is revolutionalizing information on the internet

Monday, May 14, 2007

The Last One

For my last blog entry, I'd like to reflect a little on how far we've come (or not). This was mainly caused by a book I'm in the process of reading by Hunter S. Thompson called "Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72." What a great journalist, what a great book. One part of the book just made me laugh, because otherwise I think I might have cried. Seems like some people never really learn. We got into a mess like Vietnam, and you think that we would have learned from that. Instead, we got ourselves into an even bigger mess like Iraq thirty years later. Here's a quote from the book: "The front page of the Washington Post carried...McCarthy's harsh warning that he was going to hold Muskie '"accountable"' for his hawkish stance on the war in Vietnam prior to 1968...Muskie seemed genuinely shaken by this attack. He immediately called a press conference to admit that he'd been wrong about Vietnam in the past, but now '"I've had reason to change my mind."' His new position was an awkward one to explain, but after admitting his '"past mistakes"' he said that he now favored '"as close to an immediate withdrawl from Vietnam as possible."' Ha, ha. Flash forward a few years, change a few names, and it's the same story. I almost typed Iraq in place of Vietnam every time. I like to stay optimistic and believe that we're slowly moving forward, but when I read crap like this I admit it's hard, especially when Bush makes Nixon look like a good President. Yet I still believe that as long as we have people who are willing to keep an eye on Big Brother and do good things in general, we can still inch forward. Here's to the future of journalism and thanks for a great class with a great instructor!!!

thanks for the class

Just wanted to thank Michael Newman for a great class.

so heres my last blog...its all about the greatest thing on Earth!

and it makes me totally lame

I Michael Wisth am seriously addicted to Maroon 5. Its all I got. I really suggest everyone check out the new song and the new album. check this review


Maroon 5's 2002 debut album, Songs About Jane, was the kind of hit that doesn't happen often in the new millennium -- a genuine word-of-mouth hit whose popularity grew steadily after its release, largely due to the sweet, sunny hit "This Love," a song sly and catchy enough to stay on the adult pop charts for years without wearing out its welcome. It also was catchy enough to engender years of goodwill. Five years of goodwill, in fact, as the band toured heavily while slowly tinkering away on their second album, finally delivering It Won't Be Soon Before Long (its title perhaps a pun on the gap between records, perhaps not) half a decade after Songs About Jane. If that delay sounds like a symptom of sophomore jitters, that's not exactly true, since during that long stretch between albums Maroon 5 worked Songs About Jane and, in a sense, that album wasn't strictly their first album, either. Maroon 5 evolved out of Kara's Flowers, a post-grunge pop band whose 1997 debut never took off, not even when their debut was reissued in the wake of Maroon's success, but it did provide the group with the foundation for their success; it's where they paid their dues and learned how to be a pop band. Traces of Kara's Flowers could be heard in Maroon's rockier moments on their debut, but under their new name, the group began to develop an infatuation with blue-eyed soul-pop, which they wisely develop on It Won't Be Soon Before Long. More than develop, they modernize it, borrowing elements of Justin Timberlake's stylized synthesized soul, but Adam Levine is wise enough to know that he's no young colt, like JT. He knows that he's a pop guy, somewhat in the tradition of Hall & Oates, but he isn't trying to be retro, he's trying to fill that void, making records that are melodic, stylish, and soulful, which It Won't Be Soon Before Long certainly is.

In every respect, It Won't Be Soon is a bigger album than its predecessor: hooks pile up one after another, there's not an ounce of fat on the songs, the production is so immaculate that it glistens. If there were lingering elements of Maroon 5's alt-rock past on Songs About Jane -- primarily in its lazy, hazy vibe -- they're gone now, replaced by the sleek, assured sound of a band that's eager to embrace its status as the big American mainstream pop band of the decade. But Maroon 5 isn't desperately grasping at the brass ring, they're playing it smart, building upon the core strengths of their debut and crafting a record that's designed to appeal to many different listeners, from teens crushing on Nelly Furtado's R&B makeover to adults looking for something smooth and melodic. It Won't Be Soon Before Long appeals to both audiences with an ease that seems effortless, but like any modern blockbuster, this album was shepherded by several different teams of producers, all brought in to emphasize a different personality within the group. The bulk of the record was cut with Spike Stent and Mike Elizondo -- Stent worked with U2, Oasis, Björk, and Gwen Stefani, while Elizondo had produced Fiona Apple and Pink -- but Queens of the Stone Age producer Eric Valentine was brought in for a couple of cuts, as was Mark Endert, who mixed "This Love." There may have been three different sets of producers, but the album is streamlined and seamless, never seeming calculated even if it was clearly made with an eye on mass appeal, and there are two reasons for that. First, Maroon 5 has gelled as a band, developing a clean, crisp attack that may bear traces of its influences -- there are knowing references to Prince, the Police, even OutKast sprinkled throughout (the keyboard on "Little of Your Time" is a direct nod to "Hey Ya") -- but it's a sound that's instantly identifiable as the band's own signature. Nowhere is that more evident than in how they can give soulful grooves like "If I Never See Your Face Again" a rock edge -- or how they can suddenly explode into shards of noise as they do on the coda of "Kiwi" -- or how when the electronic instruments dominate the production, the music still breathes like the work of an actual band, not like something that was constructed on a computer. But like with any good blue-eyed soul, the reason that this album works is the songs themselves. Even the flashiest production-driven tracks here -- the opening one-two punch of "If I Never See Your Face Again" and "Makes Me Wonder" -- aren't about feel; they're about the songs, which are uniformly tight and tuneful, sounding better with repeated plays, the way any radio-oriented pop should. If some of the ballads aren't as distinguished as the livelier tracks, they nevertheless are as sharply crafted as the rest, and the end result is that It Won't Be Soon Before Long is that rare self-stylized blockbuster album that sounds as big and satisfying as was intended.


have a great summer!!! much love



mike

Wikipedia

Wikipedia is a relatively new concept to me. Maybe I've been to the website before taking media studies but I don't know if I ever realized I was at Wikipedia.com. I also didn't know that it was created by consumers and could be edited. Now, I've really come to love Wikipedia. It's pretty much my first stop when I am searching for a term or details about a person. I've found it to be very useful in studying for exams. Like Jen and Melissa who take a break from studying to browse the internet, I do too. But a lot of the time I can get away with searching for something the teacher didn't necessarily cover in depth on Wikipedia, thus satisfying my internet craving. It really is helpful. There were so many terms to memorize and understand for all of my exams and without Wikipedia I doubt I would have covered most of them. It just makes finding information so easy and I like that. The only bad thing about it is that one of my professors wouldn't let me use it as a source for a paper. darn.

hahaha Paris may(not) be going to jail

So I was in the grocery store the other day and read that Paris Hilton is facing 45 days in prison. She was sentenced for violating her probation from a DUI. I find this funny because the reason that she violated her probation was because she did not know her guidelines. She also told the court that she has someone read her mail for her, which is another reason why she didn't know the guidelines. I like the trend of Hollywood sentencing celebrities lately. I think that they are so out of touch with reality that they need a reality check when they break the law. I assume that when they do serve time it is probably in a protected prison because they are "scared for their lives" due to their celebrity status which most likely ends up being like a spending 45 days in a resort which will probably end up being only 1/2 of that sentence which tax payers have to pay for so....I say just let her stay at home in her own little world.

Sunday, May 13, 2007

In response to (x2)

I am having the same problem as Jen has cited from her blog right now. Maybe not totally, but it is a common problem to stop mid paper and take an hr journey across the web. I read Jen's post and found it similar to the way some nights go in my paper writing world. I haven't really considered myself much of a procrastinator at all...until I discover some neat thing to go play with on the internet... but it really does take a lot of focus/drive to get anything done over a computer without spending an hour sidetracked sometimes. For instance, typing a paper I recently want to check my email, and I see on yahoo news that there has been a story broken about how Favre considered asking for a trade from the Packers. I read that story for 20 minutes, and when I get back to the paper, I have lost all train of thought. I smiled as I read the post, because I know that could be anyone...and it probably is...its me anyways some nights. It has indeed been a fun and intriguing journey through some of the media studies.

Spiderman 3

As you may have guessed from my title, my post is concerned with Spiderman 3. For once, things are actually going pretty well for Peter. He's dating Mary Jane, (the girl he's loved forever apparently) Spiderman is very popular, and his work is going well. Unfortunately, this starts to go to his head just as Harry decides to worm his way between Peter and MJ, his Uncle Ben's real killer reappears as the Sandman, and a symbiote which can enhance his abilities and his dark side gets a hold of him. As you could no doubt guess, the visual effects are awesome, especially with the ones showing him swinging through the air and the Sandman coalescing out of sand. And at least Mary Jane was a little useful and seemed more intelligent to me in this film. And the film was actually funny, even during the scene where Peter and Harry fight in Harry's home. You can tell that they may have superpowers, but at heart they're just two nerds duking it out. And when Peter is eying up all the women in the street you have to shake your head and wonder that he doesn't know how much more nerdy he looks. But sometimes I have to wonder why these movies are so popular. I don't have to question why the character is. But sometimes I felt like this was a kind of corny cult movie that Raimi has a habit of making with a huge budget. The dialogue was so corny that the whole audience actually burst out laughing. Maybe people (heck, me included) are so into the cool effects and the underdog story with the hopeless nerd that they're willing to tolerate it.

In response to...

In our last class period we talked about how the blogging part of the class could be improved. One of the suggestions was to respond, or add on, to other classmate's blogs. So, that is exactly what I am going to do for my last JMC 262 blog.

I just read Melissa's blog and I couldn't help but laugh. It's so true, except my vice is the Internet. I do a lot of school work on the computer so it's very tempting, mid paper writing, to take a "short" break and hop on Internet Explorer. From there, the "short" break usually turns into a half hour break or more. I usually have a list of bands written on my hand that people have told me to check out. So, I go to wikipedia to look up the band first, then I go to myspace music to listen to samples of the songs. If I like them, I continue on to amazon.com to see how inexpensively I could buy the cd. Once you look at one band on amazon.com, they usually give you a list of similar artists. From there, the cycle starts all over again, and it's a vicious one.

It sucks that I am a procrastinator...I wish I wasn't, but I am. And, it is something that I have just learned to accept about myself. This, however, will be my last round of finals that I will ever have to procrastinate for since I graduate in 6 days, 8 hours, 30 minutes and a few seconds...but, who is counting?

Good-bye JMC 262 blog...it has been fun!

Distractions

Recently, the remote control to my television 'broke' and we could not manually change the channel or do anything from the actual tv. During this two day stint of my tv being stuck on INPUT 2, I barely watched television, and got SOOOOOO much done! Once the tv was gone, I didn't even resort to the internet for entertainment...I actually wrote papers in a punctual manner, took my dog for a walk, etc.

I definitely won’t say that television makes people lazy… but lazy people seem to watch a lot of tv—and I am definitely a lazy person. Right now even, I have on the most random, distracting channel on (Style- Who’s Wedding is it Anyway!?) even though I have 4 exams to study for and a 15 page paper due.

I don’t know why turning the television off is such a struggle! Does anyone else have the same problem? Do I have major ADD? AM I ADDICTED?

Friday, May 11, 2007

Digital Billboards

I had to do a reseach and analysis project for another one of my classes and our topic was digital billboards. Yeah, I've noticed them before but never really paid attention to them. I remember the first time I saw one. I was driving westbound on I94 and its' brilliant light and colors caught my eye. I remember the advertisement and I also remember thinking that I never really pay attention to any billboards. Throughout the study for this class project, I realized how innovative digital billboard advertising really is. Clear Channel was having problems leasing out their billboard spaces for their full, desired year, so now they are trying something new. In addition to the catch-your-eye look they give consumers as they walk and drive by, they're able to change pictures, allowing more than one advertiser to buy time on their boards. Another thing I learned was that they are a trial run right now. Only two cities in the United States currently have digital billboards in them and Clear Channel is trying to decide if they are effective or not. I think they're cool. Maybe they shouldn't be super close to one another on places like highways because people are going to start staring at them instead of watching the roads, but I think that in terms of outdoor advertising they are the way to go. They're so bright and noticable that people, like myself, remember what they've seen later on. I have a feeling more and more cities in the United States are going to start seeing the brilliant lights of digital billboards real soon.

Folksonomy/Corporate Control

I found it interesting that the day after our class discussion of folksonomy and corporate control (bottom up and top down control/content), we discussed nearly the same thing in my history of media class. After talking about user-generated content and corporate ownership of popular websites on the internet, the professor asked us what direction we thought the internet what directed. It just got me thinking. I probably don't know enough about the subject myself, but it seems as though America has almost always been under some sort of corporate control and although the Internet has made much progress in giving consumers more power, I just don't see monumental changes in our social system anytime soon. Maybe I'm being pessimistic...any comments?

Thursday, May 10, 2007

Card catalogs...gross.

There are technologies in my life that I use daily, and I always wonder what people did before these wonderful things were invented. For example, the cell phone. Cells phones didn't become a HUGE things until my freshman year of college. I never had on in high school, and I didn't get one until I was a sophomore in college. Now, it is my only phone. My roommate and I both have cell phones and have ditched the land line. The computer! I spend hours infront of my computer this time of year (finals), writing papers, researching, etc. Or even, when I do venture into the library and physically check out a book, I wonder how people could have actually used card catalogs. I would have never made it through college. I'm not kidding.

The NewZ

I’m sure many of you have read the Shepherd-Express article “Why We Hate Local TV News.”(Article). I can see how this article could/did anger some local television personalities and stations, particularly those at WTMJ4, but this article just re-listed things that even casual viewers have known about and complained about for years – overly dramatic music, entertainment plugs, and “the team.”

The 30-minute news format is flawed—that’s not enough time to share ALL of the news…and it’s a lot of time to produce segments for everyday, multiple times a day. What’s actually newsworthy is rarely what is important, but it’s timely or funny.

In a class, my professor showed us several news clips…a few of hard news (aka world issues/events, real news) and a few of soft news (Look how cute the Pandas are!). Hard news stories often times elicited no response or emotion, but a particularly funny soft news story had the whole room laughing and wanting more!

Think about what might pull YOU into an episode of the Nightly News—not what’s happening in Iraq—but instead how American’s are spending out of control, or about how the most popular car on the market spontaneously combusts… human interest & wacky stories draw in the viewers. We’ve shown news outlets what we want…but yet studies show, and we personally say, that we are disappointed and want more important information and stories (what is socially/intellectually acceptable to say).

Gas Prices

I know that I am not the only one sick of putting $10 in the tank and not even getting half of a tank. I remember not to long ago that I could actually fill up for about $25, man I miss those days. It's like everytime I make some money I gotta put it in the tank. I mean after that I don't have nowhere to go but school because I'm broke. Sometimes I actually have to debate whether I want to put the whole twenty in the tank or just ten and keep ten for myself. Actually as I am typing this I am asking myself that question. I think I'm only going to put ten in the tank and keep the other ten.
My brother keeps bugging me about taking him places and he don't have no gas money so I want do it. Am I wrong? I don't think so. He even had the nerves to ask me to go and pick someone up for him for $2. I could have slap him right in his mouth just for even asking me something like that. It seems like people who don't have a car don't understand that cars need gas in order to run.
That's just something that was on my mind, now I gotta go put some gas in my car at least 3 gallons.

Wednesday, May 09, 2007

Yes yes, not yo grandmas internet now

Good evening sports racers. I would have to say that after discovering the show with Ze Frank I am now mildly addicted. After watching a few tonight I saw one that detailed a woman who made over a million dollars online selling...well..its kind of funnier if watched on the show. Otherwise I don't really have a lot to blog about really. The episode after gets even better as he describes his sophmoric attempts at humor on his show. I think the mentioning of web 2.0 in our final class today applies to this, even if it is sophmoric humor that is actually quite funny the way he does it.

Yes yes.


http://www.zefrank.com/theshow/archives/2007/01/011707.html

Sunday, May 06, 2007

Bye, Paris! 45 Days Without You...

Is anybody else crying out, "Justice has been served!"-- or is it just me?

Everyone's favorite (and I use the word favorite with sarcasm in mind here) Hilton is going to jail. I guess her charm and money couldn't get her out of this mess. I think it's about time that-- Paris served time.

Paris breached her driving ban and was caught, obviously. Ms. Hilton doesn't exactly rank up there with the most intellectual of criminal minds. It's really funny that Paris broke the law in such a manner. The girl is literally stalked by photographers-- didn't she think someone would notice she was driving when she wasn't supposed to be behind the wheel? Did she not realize that with her image splattered all over the pages of the tabloids that someone, maybe even a law official would say, "Gee, that's odd. Paris is in the front seat behind the driver's wheel. It almost appears as though she's driving."

Also, with all the money the girl has, did she really find it necessary to pilot a Range Rover (or whatever obnoxious vehicle of the week she has) in her six inch stiletto heels? Hi, Paris, it's called a limo. I'm pretty sure you could have afforded one...

Article 1
Article 2

I highly recommend reading the second article.

See you in 45 days, Paris. I'm sure you'll capitalize on this experience when you are released with a cheap novel or two. Hey, maybe even an interview on 20/20 where you claim you are a changed woman.

Oh, we, your adoring fans, can only hope.

Saturday, May 05, 2007

BLOBBING OUT

Because it's the end of the semester, and papers and exams haunt my nightmares, I have almost no time to take in any TV, movies, etc... When I'm done with my schoolwork, it's usually late, or I have no energy left to do anything fun. In times like these I need to "vedge out," or as my brother would call it, "blobbing out."

To reach a sufficient level of blob-ness, lately I've been watching "Beavis and Butthead." Yes, I know what you're thinking: "Beavis and Butthead" are animated Cro-Magnon-like retards from fifteen years ago meant for idiot teenagers. Well, as it just so happens, fifteen years ago I was fourteen and enjoyed "Beavis and Butthead" and therefore have a sweet spot for them now, in my late twenties.

I think everyone can relate. We tend to enjoy shows that we watched in our youth. And even if you may have outgrown them, they still tend to be, for the most part, watchable. So, my recent acquisition from Netflix was "Beavis and Butthead: The Mike Judge Collection" (the complete six disc series). Now I have tons of ultra low-brow humor to numb my brain when I need to "blob out." I think I'll try to get some "Tom Green Show" next....

Friday, May 04, 2007

spinoff

Last night ABC aired a two hour special of Grey's Anatomy and most it just turned out to a launch into Addison's (Kate Walsh) new spinoff that will be called Private Practice. The new show will be written by Shonda Rhimes and show Addison and her new practice in southern California.
I was very disappointed. I was expecting the full two hours to be about all the characters at Seattle Grace that we all have grown to love of the past seasons. I was even more disappointed with few scenes that we did see of Seattle Grace. All of a sudden Burke is getting cold feet? What? Meredith loses her stepmom and then her dad slaps her, with no reaction from all the doctors looking on. They just stood there as Meredith stormed off and her dad went into hysterics. Lame. Jane Doe can speak three languages and still doesn't remember who she is? I guess.
Even though some of the scenes from the original Grey's were questionable and not very entertaining, it is all just a set up for the season finale. I was reading some online tabloids and may have found out some answers to some of the questionable writing for this episode.
I guess that the show wrote itself into a corner after the February sweeps and off screen drama also played into what will be happening. I guess we just have to say goodbye to a show that is now going down hill.

entertainers

I was reading the Rolling Stone once again, and it got me thinking yet again. (Damn that magazine.) It was their 40th anniversary edition, so of course they had interviews with Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Ringo Star, George McGovern, Norman Mailer, Patti Smith, Jane Fonda, and a bunch of other big names I can't remember. Whenever I read those I wonder what it was about them exactly that made them household names we'll remember. Other people probably played like they did, wrote like they did, did what they did, had the same ideas. It also makes me wonder what went on behind the scenes then and now, and how their music and personas were shaped exactly. Well, given the huge number of books about celebs I guess I'm not the only one who thinks about such things...at least now we've got Entourage to answer those questions! Not that I know if that show has any truth to it, but you gotta love a show like that which seems to answer some of the questions that people have about how Hollywood works and how it's shaped by the personalities, drives, and ambitions of the people there. Although I must admit, I think that nowadays the entertainment industry usually distracts us more than anything else.

Thursday, May 03, 2007

It's the Internet as we know it...

Today I was on-line (surprise, surprise) and I came across this list on USAtoday.com. It's a list of the 25 innovations that shaped the 'net. It's similar to other lists we have look at in class, for example, the most visited websites, etc, but I thought it was still interesting to share with the class.

1. World Wide Web
2. E-mail
3. Graphical user interface
4. AOL
5. Broadband - no more dial-up! Yea!
6. Mosaic/Netscape
7. eBay
8. Amazon.com
9. Wi-fi
10. Instand Messaging
11. Yahoo!
12. Compuserve/Prodigy
13. The Well
14. Vices
15. Spam/Spyware
16. Flash
17. Online mapping tools
18. Napster
19. YouTube
20. The Drudge Report
21. Bloggers - clearly a big part of this class
22. Craigslist
23. Myspace - or, as I like to call it, mylife
24. Gaming
25. Google (actually google was number six, but I messed up typing the list...oops.)

Anyways, I'm sure everyone is more than framiliar with the 25 things on this list. It's amazing to think that 25 years ago, the Internet, as we know it, was just in the process of being created. Now, it is an enormous part of our everyday lives. It makes you wonder what is to happen next....

Chevy Ads

Here is an article in Wired about the Chevy Tahoe user-generated commercial fiasco that we discussed in yesterday's class.
The MBAs who populate ad agencies and corporate marketing departments spend years learning the art of control – what their cleverly calibrated messages should (and shouldn't) say, where they should appear, how often they should appear there, and what should appear nearby. Chevy decided to chuck all that and invite people to post their own commercial messages about America's best-selling SUV online, where the ads would be free to migrate to YouTube or anywhere else. Chevy supplied the video clips and music; users could then mix and match the material and add their own captions.

The contest ran for four weeks and drew more than 30,000 entries, the vast majority of which faithfully touted the vehicle's many selling points – its fully retractable seats, its power-lift gates, its relative fuel economy. But then there were the rogue entries, the ones that subverted the Tahoe message with references to global warming, social irresponsibility, war in Iraq, and the psychosexual connotations of extremely large cars. One contestant, a 27-year-old Web strategist from Washington, DC, posted an offering called "Enjoy the Longer Summers!" which blamed the Tahoe for heat-trapping gasses and melting polar ice caps. An entry called "How Big Is Yours" declared, "Ours is really big! Watch us fuck America with it." The same contestant (hey, no rules against multiple entries, right?) created an ad that asked the timeless question, "What Would Jesus Drive?" On its own Web site, the Tahoe now stood accused of everything but running down the Pillsbury Doughboy.
It continues with lots of background about the history of these innovative campaigns, including that of Converse, the sneaker company. It's worth checking out their website, especially the "made by you" area where they have short films inspired by the brand. (This is an example of involving users that didn't go wrong.)

Tuesday, May 01, 2007

HBO and The Wire

I am a huge fan of HBO programming… documentaries, dramas, comedies…ALL OF IT! In fact, I’ve recently become addicted to “The Wire.” This is the best cop show I have ever seen and one of the best shows on television right now– the detectives never have all the answers and every character is well developed and varied. Instead of doing a paper one night—I watched 7 episodes in a row and they are each a full hour long…oops!

In the first season, the cops and the gang (all the characters) are slowly revealed and it becomes evident that every character’s goal is to climb the ladder and gain more power…except for Detective McNulty–who is just a pain in everyone’s ass.

The Sopranos, Entourage, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Extras…and even Sex in the City (which is a great show when it’s not in censored syndication).

Which leads me to a major problem: All of my favorite shows are on cable, but not even basic cable…which I can’t afford… but PREMIUM cable…which I REALLY can’t afford.

Which leaves me with two choices: Downloading or buying the DVDs when they finally come out….I do both…but let’s just say I do a lot more of one than the other.

I just downloaded the last four episodes of The Sopranos (and I do actually own the box sets for this particular show). The first of the four episodes had over 100,000 downloads just from this particular bit torrent site. WHOA! Especially considering the fact that HBO (according to my knowledge) hired a private firm to try to diminish illegal downloading of their programming—doesn’t look like that’s working.

If HBO offered their shows streaming on the internet for a monthly fee…I would sign up in a heartbeat!! Although, that would probably really piss off Time Warner Cable and other Cable systems.