InterTube II

Well, the last few weeks have certainly shown us how television on the internet can be used for non-entertainment purposes. From the death of Michael Jackson to the protests of the Iranian election, people all over the world have been turning to the internet for the latest in video information.

The death of Michael Jackson, CNN reported, produced such communal curiosity at first that it almost took down sites like TMZ (oh, no, not that…) and Twitter. Everywhere, it seems, people were looking for information on the shocking loss of the king of pop. This didn’t just mean text, of course, it meant looking at news video - like the official announcement from Brian Williams - or video of fan reaction around the world- or looking at video of Jackson in his prime, like the highly-viewed (long before this week) Youtube clip of his performance at the 30th Anniversary of Motown. I watched that particular video myself, and it really takes you back to vintage Jackson. I wasnt a huge fan, but you can’t help but be a little bit amazed. It’s perhaps impossible to really reflect on the life of Michael Jackson, the consummate performer, without video.

In Iran, it is not just tweeting but video footage- grainy and shakey- that has brought the message of the election protestors to the rest of the world. Frequently, web watchers are updated with new footage of beatdowns or protests. Of course, lately, the most shocking footage to make it onto the world stage is the dying moments of a 26 year old woman named Neda during a protest. I have not watched the video of her death, but we have all heard in the news about how much it has been used as a rallying cry for the protestors - and that, of late, the Iranian government has posited that the murder was a CIA job. Ick.

In more trival news, I watched one episode of The Closer on Amazon yesterday after having no success watching another episode. I’m not sure if maybe it’s not available yet, really, though, it was available enough for me to pay for it twice. Customer Service suggested I call them about it. I still don’t want to mess with TNT’s “this may ruin all your other downloads” device, or whatever that is. I also tried to watch Castle on ABC.com and was told I had to download their special, fancy, dancy plug-in, surprise surprise, to watch their video. When I tried, I got nowhere. Is this a VISTA thing? Do I not have enough RAM? And it wasnt any easier attempting to watch online illeagally- I say in the abstract - because those things just put you into a maze of links and ads.

I just went onto hulu yesterday for the first time in a while and realized I still don’t know what
I am wondering if Psych and Monk will be available online this summer? Ah, such important questions to ponder…