Microsoft is Retarded

Seriously. If Windows 7 was the idea of all these idiots, why the hell would I buy it? They should have gotten Steve Jobs on the commercial and say that Windows 7 is his idea. That might work. 

Microsoft continues to be out of touch with the customers. They have annoying, ineffective and plain stupid marketing campaigns to compliment their lackluster lineup of products. 

And something else. If I remember correctly we had Windows 3.0, 3.1, 3.11 etc. Then Windows 95 came out. Then Windows 98 came out. Then? Windows XP (if we don't count Windows 2000 as it as Enterprise Edition). Then the magnificient Windows Vista. So shouldn't this be WINDOWS EIGHT instead of Windows 7? Do these people even know how to count?

PLEASE. Bring Bill Gates back. Spend money on research & development and not in stupid marketing. THINK. BE SMART. I don't want to hate Microsoft but you people are making it impossible not to. Thanks. 

Jim Carrey Online

So Jim Carrey finally launched his official website and it looks amazing. It may be a litle hard to navigate, but the visuals are incredible and it definitely looks like something out of his crazy and innovative mind. I may not plan to see "A Christmas Carol", but I still enjoy at most of his movies. If you haven't seen "Yes Man", you should. He never gets the credit on how good an actor he is, but as ridiculously hilarious he can be sometimes, he's also done an amazing job in "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and "The Truman Show". 

Check out his site by clicking here. 

Another one Bites the Dust

Miramax is done and gone. As the current CEO Daniel Battsek announced that he will step down in 2010, Disney announced that the New York office will shut down and 'some' of the remaining employees will be relocated to Burbank, CA. Sad news. Miramax became famous for being the indie label that launched Quentin Tarantino and Steven Soderbergh into superstardom. That all ended when the Weinstein Brothers left to create their own company, but the company still had some solid hits in the past few years like No Country for Old Men, which not only was successful financially but also won several Oscars including Best Picture. 

This is for sure a big blow for the indie producers out there. I'm glad that Fox Searchlight and a few others continue to believe, but of course Fox Atomic, Paramount Vantage and a few others are also gone. If we learned something these past weeks is that indie films have power. Paranormal Activity is now the most profitable film of all time, having cost only $13,000 and in route to generate over $100 million in Box Office. 

As I said, sad news for the indie film industry, but hopefully someone else will pick up where Miramax left off. I'm sure it will not be the Weinstein Bros. again, but who knows. 

Having Fun in LA

I'm sick of nightclubs. I've said it many times. This weekend was an exception because of my birthday and Halloween, which is always fun. But what to do? In other places like Miami where I spent many years of my life, there is not much else going on, but Los Angeles is not the case. There is plenty to do. 

Here are some ideas for this week. Hope you like them. 

- The Floor Show this Tuesday night at the King King Hollywood. I posted something about this amazing show before, produced by Carolina Cerisola and Sasha Escandon. You know what? This Tuesday is the LAST SHOW so I suggest you be there. More info clicking here. 

- The AFI Fest started this weekend and continues all week. Click here for more info.

- Want Music? R. Kelly at the Nokia Theatre this Thursday. The Dan Band at Club Nokia on Friday. Jay-Z at Pauley Pavillion (UCLA) on Sunday. 

- If you want something awesome and a little bit different on Sunday night, head over to Bordello for Harlow Gold. I wrote something about that before and its a really cool place and the show is definitely worth it. 

- Sports Fan? November 8 has the amazing showdown of Chris Paul and Kobe Bryant at Staples Center. One of the best players to come to LA before Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat come to town. 

- Comedy? Tom Arnold does a funny show and he will be at the Laugh Factory o Wednesday. 

- And the Holiday Season Movies begin this weekend with Jim Carrey's "A Christmas Carol" opening on Friday, as well as Richard Kelly's "The Box" with Cameron Diaz, and the one I really want to see which is "The Man Who Stare at Goats" with George Clooney, Jeff Bridges, Ewan McGregor and Kevin Spacey. Looks great. 

So those are some of the great entertainment options of the LA nightlife. I will try to post similar things often as I find out of other cool events going on. If you have any recommendations please email me anytime. 

Full Hearts

The best show on TV is back on, and that is something considering that TV season has been more than impressive this Fall. Friday Night Lights started season four this past week (on DIRECTV) and it proved once again it's one of the best written shows. But the general consensus these days is that most television shows have come back stronger than ever this new season.

It's impressive but not surprising. The economic problems have cancelled many programs and cut the number of new bets in more than half, so naturally everyone that is still on the air knows the stakes are high. The good news for most of them is that ratings have been sky-high, and although advertising revenue still trails last year, the most important thing is that television is showing how strong of a medium it is. 

Yes, online viewership is also up. Movie box office is also up. Everything is up. But the economy is down. Simple math if you consider that watching television and going to the movies remain to be some of the cheapest things people can do in a time of crisis, but truth is that beyond the economic factors, quality has become important and overall it seems like the shows that have been successful are the ones that have proven to have improved creatively. 

This is not true entirely if you count that sport ratings are also up. NBA kick-off week had a huge ratings boost over last season and pretty much every season since Michael Jordan was still in uniform. Baseball is up, and NBC is thanking god for having Sunday Night Football save their ass. TV viewership is up in every category.

So if you are also interested in watching good TV, get on with Friday Night Lights. If you don't have DIRECTV, the fourth season will air on NBC in early 2010. In the meantime, you can probably get all the previous seasons on DVD for little money and catch up. Other shows that you should pay attention to are Dexter, Californication, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Big Bang Theory and 30 Rock. Enjoy!