This week, I'm talking about Boxee, the great service that allows the user to have the TV watching experience -- sitting on a sofa, ten or more feet ... Read More

I did this Martini Shot a few years ago, when my beloved dog, Cohiba, died.  That was exactly one year ago today, in 2006.  But I still think of ... Read More

God, this new KCRW player makes me feel lazy.  I used to write posts -- write them! With words and everything! -- and now all I do is paste ... Read More

I'm starting to love this new KCRW.com media player.  Of course, when we say "media," we mean radio.  Which raises the question: why doesn't KCRW just declare itself a ... Read More

I interviewed Jeff Jarvis yesterday for KCRW's show "The Politics of Culture."  He's the author of the great new book, What Would Google Do?, which has some solid ... Read More

Fred Wilson, who writes an excellent blog, posted this PPT deck last week.  He gave a talk to some television executives in New York.

There's no audio to the ... Read More

I start my weekly commentary on KCRW this way:

Circus monkeys, deep down, are mean. 

Someone once told me that a decent circus monkey is only good ... Read More

I interviewed Tony Blankley yesterday on KCRW.  He has a new book out, American Grit: What it Will Take to Survive and Win the 21st Century. 

It's, ... Read More

I've already written a bit about Jay Leno's move to 10PM.  It's a desperate move by NBC, which isn't the same thing as saying it won't work. 

Desperation ... Read More

Transparency is the word of the moment, in politics and world affairs and finance.

Especially finance.

What is the Madoff scandal, after all, other than a giant ... Read More

There was a long, long wait at the customs office at the port when I got to Shanghai.  Evidently, not too many people arrive in the People's Republic ... Read More

I'm in Baltimore for a week or so, visiting with family.  I was born here, and we moved away when I was 8 -- first to Europe, then ... Read More

Here's how I start my piece in today's -- Monday, December 22nd, 2008 -- Los Angeles Times:

Fifteen years ago, I had a stupid idea.

I was the co-executive ... Read More

Just stepped off the ship for a day in Pusan, Korea.  (Scroll down for more.)

After 3 weeks at sea, it still feels like the ground is moving even though ... Read More

If you're like me, and have never really spent any time around a big machine, the Hanjin Miami is a wonder of the world: huge, powerful, like a floating ... Read More

The beard is coming in alarmingly grey. 

I'm in the lobby of the Commodore Hotel, in Pusan, Korea.  Here for the day as they load and unload the Hanjin Miami.  Pirating wi-fi from the hotel ... Read More

Here's what's supposed to happen: these containers get filled with stuff in China and Korea, then sent to the US to fill the shelves of Wal-Mart and everyplace else.  ... Read More

My glamorous view. 

Next post, from somewhere off the coast of Korea.

Please try to have world financial system sorted out by then.

From November 24th to roughly December 10th, this is where I'll be: the Hanjin Miami, a container ship making the regular run between Seattle and Shanghai.  She's a big ... Read More

I'm not sure which container is mine. 

Alls I'm saying is, maybe a little humility is in order here.  Especially since it's pretty obvious that for the next few years, at least environmental concerns are going ... Read More

Here’s a word you hear a lot these days – content.  People talk about new media content and web content and old media content, and talk about how important ... Read More

I wrote this a while ago, but since my old blog posts seem lost somewhere in the Mystery of Wordpress, I thought I'd repost the essence, here, again.

This is ... Read More

Something strange is happening in Hollywood:  people are getting fired.

Well, let me clarify: people get the sack all the time around here.  Executives are tossed out with such ... Read More

Whenever I can, if I'm heading up to the SF Bay Area, I try to drive along Highway 1.  I know, I know: it takes hours and hours.  On ... Read More

My talented business partner, Tim Fall, produced and directed a personal introduction video of me for a conference I'm attending next week.

Tim's a man of many talents, ... Read More

Of course, this is a perfect time to talk about the Blues.  They exploded in popularity in the 1930's, when the country was broke.

I'm here in Clarksdale, Mississippi this ... Read More

Let me ask you a question:  if someone gave you, say, 50 million dollars today, would you think that’s a lot of money?  I’m not ashamed to say that ... Read More

I heard a story recently that may or may not be true, but since it perfectly conforms to my prejudices and biases, I’m going to just go ahead and ... Read More

Either way, his brilliant Caucaus Diary is worth reading, not only for its sprightly and ... Read More

Deep down, I think every business is really a version of the entertainment business.  This is partially because I only know about the entertainment business, and when you ... Read More

I had dinner with a friend of mine last night, and he pitched what, to me, is a surefire hit:

Pick any four actors.  Let's say....

Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino, ... Read More

When Bob Crane, the star of  the hit sitcom of the 1960’s,  “Hogan’s Heroes,” was found murdered in an Arizona motel in the late 1970’s, among his personal ... Read More

People are lazy.

Okay, I'm lazy.

One of the things that built the TV business, early on, was the reluctance of the viewer to get up off ... Read More

This article in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal – sorry, subscription required; I’ll quote the important stuff – illustrates what’s been happening in the TV business for a while.

We’ve ... Read More

Last week, for a whole bunch of peculiar reasons too complicated to get into, I was in Azerbaijan.

I don’t mean metaphorically.  That’s not a euphemism.  I mean ... Read More