Jay Smooth (@jsmooth995) On The Media & Donald Trump

I'm glad to see him putting out more videos in the last few weeks. His voice is badly needed.

2 Of My Favorite People @ SXSW

Zadi Diaz of Epic Fu interviews Jay Smooth of Ill Doctrine at SXSW.

A Winner's Take On Music/Life's Blood

A couple weeks ago a friend and I were discussing an older blog of mine on the death of physical media (iNightmare). It turns out that she was having a similar discussion with some of her friends. Well, to make a long story short our discussion along with her discussion led to a pretty cool blog piece that she wanted me to share with my readers . . . all two of you (Hi, mom & dad!). Anyway, here's a contribution from one of the coolest people I know . . .

Music Fades

By Fledgling Fashionista

When I first heard Kick, Push I was amazed. I had a burned copy in my car and seriously I listened to it on repeat for weeks on end without blinking. I’ll admit I’m a bit of an orchestra nerd. I played cello for many years and it’s still on my wish list of things to get myself. I fell in love with the strings and horns on the track so much that every time I hear the start of it, I turn up the volume. I get lost in the music of the song. It’s not the lyrics (nothing against them, however). It’s just the music.

Why did I love it so much? Maybe it reminded me of growing up the daughter of a DJ and tapping back into that love of music and feeling like I was a little girl in a basement full of records learning how to use turntables and a mixer for the first time. Maybe it made me realize, I’ve become an “oldhead”, that I miss ATCQ, Leaders of the New School, De La Soul, Pete Rock and CL Smooth, Brand Nubian, LL Cool J, MC Lyte, Kid N Play, Salt N Peppa, Eric B and Rakim, and a whole crew of others. I missed music and Lupe’s song took me back.

Back when I was in junior high and high school Friday nights meant come home, eat, change and head to the mall. The highlight of those evenings was going into Camelot Music and coming out with three cassette singles for $10. Sometimes I’d even have enough to buy a full CD or an EP from one of my favorite artists. I can clearly remember the bright yellow, long bodied, cardboard case of BBD’s Poison. I can recall the feel of the REM tape in my hand and my first exposure to The Roots through a CD single of What They Do. Growing up I had a world of music at my fingertips via my father, but there was nothing like having my own collection.

As I got older I would make bi-weekly trips to Record Exchange and build my collection with cheap used music. Now at 30 I’ve amassed about 400 CDS (minus the ones I had to sell to eat in college), but where are they? Sitting in booklets in my office. They are rarely touched outside of those I keep in my car. For someone with music so engrained in her blood why? Well first there were the mixtapes I made when I first discovered Kazaa. Next there was my 2gb Creative Zen, then the 32gb video Zen and now the 80gb iPod Classic. Sadly, for all the good memories I have attached to physically having the music in hard copy, I have become one of the many who download. That’s not to say I do not buy hard copies anymore, but the number has seriously dwindled. I can tell you on one hand the music I bought in store this year: The Odd Couple by Gnarls Barkley, Shine by Estelle, Rising Down by The Roots…I think that’s it.

Having my students write a paper this semester on where they stand on the issue of downloading made me look at my own thoughts. Do I consider it a crime? Yes I do. Is it a crime that can be stopped or properly punished? Of course not. The recording industry turned a blind eye to this phenomena for so long that when they did act their attempts were purely scare tactics and unreasonable. Me, along with many others, have had so many years and such easy access to filesharing networks, blank CDS and burners that the incentive to change is not there. There are a variety of reasons I download and I’m sure those reasons are shared by more than a few.



Just like I remember the look and feel of the BBD case from way back when, I still do love cover art and liner notes. I’m one of those people who have framed album covers in my living room, who remembers albums sometimes not for their track listing, but rather the picture they’ve left in my mind. I enjoy reading the thank yous and stories that those booklets contain, but convenience and a wide variety of musical tastes have severely disrupted that. Why convenience? Well until I moved to southern New Jersey last year the only available music was at Wal-Mart. I don’t want edited music and I certainly want my choice to extend past the typical blazin’ hip hop and r&b fodder, county and rock. There is such variety and Wal-Mart is not it. Now that I live near an FYE, the pull of LimeWire and my laptop have become too strong to resist because of years of use. I know I can get five blank CDs from Walgreens for $2.00 and next thing you know I have what I want in rotation in my car. I can indulge myself in that random Lil’ Wayne single or burn a whole Stevie Wonder mix in a flash.

Secondly, I wholeheartedly believe there is a lack of artist development. Of course as with everything there are exceptions to the rule and there are wonderful new musicians if you know where to look, but I’ve struggled in many debates to come up with my generation’s Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway or Nina Simone. Do we have one? I’m not really convinced we do. I’ve held conversations about how easily the word “genius” is thrown around in relation to musicians today. How do the artists that are popular now and even ten years ago stack up to their predecessors? Music is ever evolving, but I think I’m becoming one of those “I remember when” types and it’s funny that I look forward to the old school mix at noon. Why? Because I know if I was to buy one of those CDs I would be getting my money’s worth. There were stories and plots crafted into music in previous years that I think is lacking as a whole now. So I will continue to download that new Beyonce single or that Rihanna re-release because it’s about the single and not the album (or the career) as a whole.

So where does that leave us (or specifically me)? I will download the junk and buy the sustainable. I will always buy albums from those artists that I believe put out the best they can for each album, that go beyond working with the next hot producer, that are not changing their image or sound for the sake of sales, but rather evolving from something familiar to something cutting edge. I will continue to buy t-shirts and concert tickets.

As for the industry? Perhaps I would have more respect if they’d sued consumers for the actual cost of the songs and not for more than they can ever expect to collect. There is a possibility I would feel differently if the cost of CDS remained consistent with the quality of music, if there was more artist development, or better relations as a whole with those who fuel this industry. Maybe there is a change is coming with the downturn in sales over the last few years, but only time will tell. What I do know is that some of my fondest memories are based in music; I separate time periods in my life in categories of songs; and there are melodies that can bring tears, smiles or laughter within in the first few notes. Perhaps I have taken too much of a personal stake in these sound waves and beats, but it’s that important to me.

You can roll with this winner at FledglingFashionista.wordpress.com.

Video Game Violence

I love his game reviews on X-Play. I would attend a lecture if he gave one. I like his sense of humor as well as common sense approach.



What do you think has had the biggest role in our desensitization to violence? What medium has the largest impact on children? Maybe you believe the media has no impact. Thoughts?

I'm Not American, Are You?

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Pfriend or Pfoe?

Barack Obama Interview
John McCain Interview

Sarah Palin Video
Funny Election Video

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Quiz: Are You a Real American?

Barack Obama Interview
John McCain Interview

Sarah Palin Video
Funny Election Video

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Understanding Real America in Wasilla

Barack Obama Interview
John McCain Interview

Sarah Palin Video
Funny Election Video

McCain/Palin Klan Rally

They Finally Got O.J.

Las Vegas jury reaches verdict in Simpson case

By KEN RITTER
Associated Press Writer

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Jurors in the O.J. Simpson trial reached a verdict Friday after working into the night, deliberating the fate of the former football star and a co-defendant accused of robbing two sports memorabilia dealers at gunpoint in a casino hotel room.

"We have a verdict," said Michael Sommermeyer, spokesman for the Clark County District Court. He said it would be read after all the defendants, lawyers and prosecutors arrived at the court.

The jury reached a decision after deliberating for more than 13 hours.

Simpson, 61, and a golfing buddy, Clarence "C.J." Stewart, 54, each face five years to life in prison if convicted of kidnapping, or mandatory prison time if convicted of armed robbery. They've pleaded not guilty to 12 charges, including conspiracy, coercion and assault with a deadly weapon.

Deliberations began 13 years to the day after Simpson was acquitted of killing his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman, in Los Angeles.

The jury sent one note to the judge around 3 p.m. with what the court spokesman called a "procedural question."

Judge Jackie Glass responded with instructions to look at documents they had already been given, Sommermeyer said.

The jury of nine women and three men heard 12 days of testimony, capped by prosecutors' arguments Thursday that the Las Vegas case had its roots in the 1994 slayings.

Prosecutors alleged Simpson planned - and Stewart helped carry out - a plot to retrieve personal items that Simpson lost after squirreling them away to avoid turning them over to Goldman's family to satisfy part of a $33.5 million civil wrongful death judgment levied in 1997 by a California court.

Four men who accompanied Simpson, Stewart and a middle man to the Palace Station casino hotel for the Sept. 13, 2007, confrontation later pleaded guilty and testified for the prosecution. Thomas Riccio, the man who arranged and secretly recorded the meeting, testified under immunity from prosecution.

Simpson's lawyer, Yale Galanter, told the jury the prosecution didn't prove Simpson was guilty in the criminal case that he said "has taken on a life of its own because of Mr. Simpson's involvement."

"Every cooperator, every person who had a gun, every person who had an ulterior motive, every person who signed a book deal, every person who got paid money - the police, the district attorney's office, is only interested in one thing: Mr. Simpson," Galanter said.

Stewart's lawyer, Brent Bryson, presented his client as the trial's forgotten man.

Since Sept. 15, the jury heard 22 often colorful witnesses - including seven of the nine people who were in the cramped hotel room. They listened to numerous replays of secret recordings made before, during and after the alleged robbery.

Neither Simpson nor Stewart testified, and jurors were instructed not to consider that when judging the case.

Glass kept a tight rein on the proceedings and rejected several mistrial motions. She read 41 legal instructions to the jurors and six alternates before the panel heard closing arguments.

---

AP Special Correspondent Linda Deutsch contributed to this report.

I Love Dave!

Late Nite Online With Jimmy Fallon?

I am late on this one, but it definitely seems like a great idea. I was against him being chosen, but at least he'll have plenty of practice before hand.

Fallon Will Start ‘Late Night’ on the Web

July 21, 2008

By BILL CARTER

LOS ANGELES — With a new round of shake-ups in late-night television set to begin next year, Lorne Michaels has decided to try to get a jump on things by starting NBC’s next edition of “Late Night,” with its new host Jimmy Fallon, as a nightly entry on the Internet.

Mr. Fallon has been named as the replacement for Conan O’Brien when Mr. O’Brien takes over the “Tonight” show from Jay Leno next year, and Mr. Michaels, the long-time boss of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” who also serves as executive producer of “Late Night,” told television reporters here Sunday that he wants Mr. Fallon to work out as many of the rough spots in his presentation as possible in performances on a website.

Mr. Michaels said he did not know yet which site he will use to post the shows with Mr. Fallon, but he was sure of several of the plans:

The web performances will likely begin in the fall, long before the transition from Mr. Leno for Mr. O’Brien is set to take place. The entries will not constitute anything like an entire hour-long show. “I expect that we’ll do something like five or 10 minutes,” Mr. Michaels said.

But he said they most likely will be on every night, to try to establish the rhythm of a nightly show. And he said, “I’m going to post them at 12:30 every night, so people will begin to look for Jimmy at that time.”

NBC is expected to announce the schedule for the transition from Mr. Leno to Mr. O’Brien and from Mr. O’Brien to Mr. Fallon here tomorrow. NBC executives have previously said that Mr. O’Brien will probably stop production on his “Late Night” show in February, while he moves west and prepares to lead “Tonight” from a new stage now being built on the lot of the NBC Universal studio.

Mr. Leno is expected to continue until perhaps June. Mr. Michaels said Sunday that Mr. Fallon will definitely get some time on the air following Mr. Leno before Mr. O’Brien takes over “Tonight.” He pegged the likely start date for Mr. Fallon on the television version of the show as “sometime in the spring.”

One reason for trying out the show online, Mr. Michaels said, is that the Internet will allow Mr. Fallon more freedom in terms of what he can say and do, “more opportunity for experimentation,” Mr. Michaels said. But he added that he didn’t expect the show to push the line too far in terms of content. “I think we’re our own censors,” he said.

But the main reason for the idea, he said, was the experience of Mr. O’Brien, who endured a long period of uncertainty about whether he would survive after he assumed the desk on “Late Night” succeeding David Letterman. “Conan needed time to find his show,” Mr. Michaels said. “I think this will help Jimmy to do that.”

New Michael Moore! *said in DJ Clue voice*

I was rolling with one of my west coast winners, Leather, when I read that Michael Moore is making his newest film available for free download!!! Say what you will about Mr. Moore. He may sometimes be a little heavy handed, but he's always entertaining and tells the truth as he sees it.



Michael Moore's Election-Year Freebie

September 22nd, 2008 7:14 pm

By Brian Stelter / New York Times

Michael Moore, the political provocateur behind the films “Fahrenheit 9/11” and “Sicko,” is releasing a new film Tuesday. But you will not be able to find “Slacker Uprising” at any theater.

Instead he is placing the film on the Internet for free viewing, at SlackerUprising.com. Mr. Moore said the unorthodox rollout is a gift to his fans and a rallying cry for the coming election.

“At times there’s nothing wrong with preaching to the choir,” he said in a telephone interview from his office in Traverse City, Mich. Liberals have been “pretty beaten down over the last 28 years.”

“The choir, especially on our side of the political fence, is often fairly dejected,” he observed, “and could use a good song every now and then.”

The song in this analogy is a 100-minute look at Mr. Moore’s tour of college campuses during the fall of 2004. Cameras followed him to 62 cities as he urged young people to vote for John Kerry. The resulting footage sat on the shelf for a few years before Mr. Moore spliced together a version of the film, then titled “Captain Mike Across America,” and showed it at the Toronto International Film Festival a year ago.

After the festival screening Mr. Moore returned to the editing room to give the film “more heft and substance,” he said. It includes exchanges with Mr. Moore’s detractors and their attempts to interrupt his tour, raising free-speech issues and creating some comedic moments. Some critics (including those for The Michigan Daily, at the University of Michigan, and Inside Toronto) have said the film amounts to little more than a “highlight reel” of Mr. Moore’s trip, suggesting that its theatrical prospects were dim. Mr. Moore disputes that, saying that his agent, Ari Emanuel, believed the film could net $20 million to $40 million. (“Sicko” brought in $24.5 million domestically.)

“I prohibited him from contacting any studios to ask them whether they were interested,” Mr. Moore said. “I just said straight up, ‘I want to give this away for free.’ He thought I should have my head examined.”

The Weinstein Company owned the distribution rights to the project, so Mr. Moore bought back the North American rights for an undisclosed amount. “The irony is that I believe people should see movies in theaters,” Mr. Moore said, praising what he called the communal experience. “You get so much more out of it, emotionally, cathartically.”

Perhaps for that reason Mr. Moore said he hoped fans would set up screenings and use the film to raise money for candidates. Visitors to the Web site will be able to stream and download it free, thanks to Mr. Moore’s partnership with Blip.tv, a company distributing online videos; additionally a $10 DVD will be distributed, and free copies can be requested for libraries.

Robert Greenwald — another member of the small fraternity of advocate filmmakers, whose production company specializes in tying video projects to off-line organizing — said a supporter in Alaska was already planning a screening. The film is “quite an adrenaline boost, even though it’s got a sad ending,” he said.

The ending, of course, is the re-election of George W. Bush in 2004. The film notes that voters under the age of 30 were the only demographic that Mr. Kerry won outright. “Unfortunately,” reads a graphic at the end of the film, “their parents voted for Bush.”

Mr. Moore suggested that the 2004 election results were a prelude to the Obama movement, which was “ignited by young people.”

“The road to getting where we want to be has to be filled with a certain amount of failure,” he said, drawing a parallel to the United Auto Workers’ labor movement 70 years ago.

Mr. Moore remains coy about the subject of his next movie, although he said filming was well under way. He has denied rumors that it will be a sequel to “Fahrenheit 9/11,” but he has not quashed reports that his next film will explore what he views as American imperialism. The recent turmoil of the financial markets may be giving him even more material.

“Some weeks, like this past week, I wonder if we’re going to have to credit others with the screenplay,” he said.

Keith Olberbmann & Chris Matthews Get The Boot!

MSNBC has decided to remove both from MSNBC's election night coverage according to the The Hollywood Reporter in an effort to broadcast a kinder & gentler telecast. lol








They will still be involved in the telecast, but they are no longer scheduled to anchor it. That job has been given to David Gregory.

Jon Stewart aka The Truth!

Did I Miss Something?/Dead This, Please?

Who let her pose for this photo? It's not like people like to portray her as an angry black woman or anything? lol



Also, will people please stop putting them in office? It is not a forgone conclusion!!! Doesn't anyone remember our last two presidential elections?

*Heavy Sigh*

Stop jinxing this shit!

:(

The Balcony Is Officially Closed

Roeper can take six steps off of a 4 foot pier, but Ebert was my man. I know he had not been on the show in a long while due to illness and the contract dispute, but I will definitely miss him now that it is officially over. He IS movies to me. He was an institution. Not to mention I definitely worshiped at the altar of Ebert. He rarely steered me wrong with his reviews. He often opened my eyes to movies that I may not have given a chance normally. But, his seal of approval meant something to me. I can't say that about any other review of any other thing.

Ebert, Roeper cutting ties with `At the Movies'

By DON BABWIN
Associated Press Writer

CHICAGO (AP) -- Roger Ebert is leaving the balcony - but hinting that he's not finished with television.

The famed film critic announced Monday that he is cutting ties with the nationally syndicated program he and the late critic Gene Siskel made famous, a day after Richard Roeper said he was quitting the show.

In an e-mail to The Associated Press, Ebert said Disney-ABC Domestic Television, which owns "At the Movies With Ebert and Roeper," has decided to take the program in a new direction.

"I will no longer be associated with it," Ebert said.

He didn't immediately elaborate, but it was clear the Pulitzer Prize-winning Chicago Sun-Times critic wanted the show to remain as it was when he and Siskel, a fellow Chicago newspaper film critic, first hit the airwaves on PBS in 1975.

"Gene and I felt the formula was simplicity itself: Two film critics, sitting across the aisle from each other in a movie balcony, debating the new films of the week," Ebert wrote. "We developed an entirely new concept for TV."

Ebert is a trademark holder on the signature "thumbs up-thumbs down" judgment that he and Siskel made part of each film review. Last year, as he negotiated a new contract with Disney-ABC Domestic Television, Ebert, according to the Walt Disney-owned company, had "exercised his right to withhold use of the 'thumbs' until" he had a new contract. Ebert subsequently has said the show could continue to use the "thumbs" during negotiations and that he never withheld their use.

On Monday, he said he has plans for those famous digits.

"The trademark still belongs to me and Marlene Iglitzen, Gene's widow, and the thumbs will return," he wrote. "We are discussing possibilities, and plan to continue the show's tradition."

"Disney cannot use the `thumbs,'" he said.

Ebert didn't elaborate on future possibilities. Nor did he say what - if any - role Roeper, whose work he praised, will have.

But Roeper, in his own announcement that he was leaving the program, hinted that perhaps his partnership with Ebert may not be over.

Roeper, a Sun-Times columnist who signed on in 2000 after Siskel's 1999 death, said he planned to "proceed elsewhere with my ninth year as the co-host of a movie review show that honors the standards established by Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert more than 30 years ago." He added that he would soon disclose details about such a program.

Roeper didn't immediately return a call for comment Monday.

His statement said he was leaving after failing to agree on a contract extension with Disney-ABC Domestic Television, and that his last appearance will air the weekend of Aug. 16-17.

A Disney spokeswoman didn't immediately return calls for comment on the latest developments as well as whether the show would continue either in its current form or a new one.

Ebert said he is in the dark about any plans for the show, saying Disney hasn't discussed any with him.

"All I know for sure is, the show is not being taken in its current direction," he said in a second e-mail.

Ebert's announcement brings to a close a chapter in one of the longest running shows in television history. In 1975, Siskel and Ebert, two competing Chicago newspaper film reviewers, launched a program on Chicago's public broadcasting's WTTW. The two jumped to commercial television through the Tribune Co.'s TV syndication wing in 1982, switching to Disney in 1986.

The pair became stars in their own right, and their "two thumbs" reviews became one of the most recognizable assessments in the history of film criticism - with movies trumpeting a "Two Thumbs Up" as part of their own advertising.

After Siskel died of a brain tumor in 1999, Roeper was selected from among a large group of contenders to be his permanent replacement on the show.

In recent years, Ebert has been battling cancer. He has undergone a series of operations, with doctors removing a cancerous growth from his salivary gland and part of his right jaw.

He has been unable to appear on the show since doctors performed surgery in July 2006 that left him unable to speak. But he continues to churn out reviews, and has published a number of books.

Guess Who's Bizzack?

No Blockbuster deal for Circuit City

Earlier in my ode to CDs & DVDs I mentioned a potential deal between Blockbuster Video and Circuit City. Well, according to Forbes.com Blockbuster has decided to look in a different direction.

You Family Guy Fans Are About To Be Stalked

Google and Creator of ‘Family Guy’ Strike a Deal

By BROOKS BARNES

LOS ANGELES — Google is experimenting with a new method of distributing original material on the Web, and some Hollywood film financiers are betting millions that the company will succeed.

In September, Seth MacFarlane, creator of “Family Guy” on television, will unveil a carefully guarded new project called “Seth MacFarlane’s Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy.” Unlike “Family Guy,” which is broadcast on Fox, this animation series will appear exclusively on the Internet.

The innovative part involves the distribution plan. Google will syndicate the program using its AdSense advertising system to thousands of Web sites that are predetermined to be gathering spots for Mr. MacFarlane’s target audience, typically young men. Instead of placing a static ad on a Web page, Google will place a “Cavalcade” video clip. The content will also be distributed via YouTube.

Advertising will be incorporated into the clips in varying ways. In some cases, there will be “preroll” ads, which ask viewers to sit through a TV-style commercial before getting to the video. Some advertisers may opt for a banner to be placed at the bottom of the video clip or a simple “brought to you by” note at the beginning.

Mr. MacFarlane, who will receive a percentage of the ad revenue, has created a stable of new characters to star in the series, which will be served up in 50 two-minute episodes.

In an interview, he described the installments as “animated versions of the one-frame cartoons you might see in The New Yorker, only edgier.”

For a more substantial fee, Mr. MacFarlane has been working with advertisers to animate original commercials that will run with “Cavalcade.” Google and Mr. MacFarlane would not reveal any of the advertisers, but the two said that several deals are among the largest ever landed by AdSense, which went into business in 2003.

Google, which calls the distribution service the Google Content Network, until now has only dabbled in distributing original content. In May, it announced a deal with The Washington Post to distribute real estate listings from the newspaper’s Web site in a similar manner.

But the partnership with Mr. MacFarlane represents a bold step into the distribution business, one that, if successful, will surely send shock waves through the entertainment business. “Cavalcade” is not only from a high-profile Hollywood talent, but also carries a multimillion-dollar production price tag, by far the largest amount spent on original Internet content to date.

“We feel that we have recreated the mass media,” said Kim Malone Scott, director of sales and operations for AdSense.

Until now, budgets for original Webisodes have peaked in the low six figures because creators have not been able to figure out a business model that allows for higher spending. Either advertisers have not wanted to pay, or it has been too difficult to attract a large enough audience to support the cost of television or movie-quality work.

But Media Rights Capital, a boutique production company that has the ability to invest about $400 million a year in movies, television and Internet episodes, thinks it has figured out a sustainable business model with the Google Content Network. Every time someone clicks on one of the syndicated videos, the associated advertiser pays a fee, with shares going to Mr. MacFarlane, Media Rights, Google and the Web site that generated the click.

“We believe the revenue could be formidable,” said Karl Austen, a lawyer who worked on the deal. “What is exciting is that this is a way to monetize the Internet immediately. Instead of creating a Web site and hoping Seth’s fans find it, we are going to push the content to where people are already at.”

Media Rights sells the advertising inventory. Asif Satchu, the company’s co-chief executive, would not reveal how much advertisers were being asked to pay, except to say that it is “significantly higher” than if they were placing the same ad via AdSense.

Hollywood’s powerful Endeavor talent agency helped shepherd Mr. MacFarlane through the negotiations, which started during a recent gap in the animator’s contract with 20th Century Fox. Mr. MacFarlane said he wanted to take a stab at an original Internet program because he was feeling constrained by the “taste police,” a k a the Federal Communications Commission.

Sitting in his office wearing jeans and a white T-shirt, Mr. MacFarlane described feeling stifled as a comedian by an F.C.C. crackdown in recent years on what it views as unsuitable language and situations on television. Mr. MacFarlane said he believed that the public’s appetite for raunchy humor and coarse language was only expanding and that television networks like Fox were having a harder time capturing viewers in part because they had to tread carefully or risk fines.

“I just felt I could be a lot more honest on the Internet,” he said.

Mr. MacFarlane started the project on the assumption that he would do 20-minute television episodes and break them into segments to dole out online.

“But that seemed a little odd and a little pointless,” he said. “Why wouldn’t you just release the whole thing at once?”

Google executives also provided him with stacks of data showing how people interact with Web video, including how long the average user will watch before clicking on something new. That prompted Mr. MacFarlane to scrap his original project and rebuild the idea from the ground up.

Each installment is different, but a typical one is titled “Mad Cow Disease.” The clip, which is 38 seconds long, opens with a news anchor reporting on an outbreak of mad cow disease in a dry fashion, detailing the debilitating effects of eating tainted beef. The clip cuts to a shocked male and female cow seated in a tidy kitchen with giant steaks on their plates.

For Mr. MacFarlane, 34, the venture is more than just adding to his already sizable fortune. (His new multiyear contract with Fox, signed this spring, is valued at nine figures.) One goal is to use the venture as a testing ground for new material and a way to ignite attention. At the very least, “Cavalcade” will become a DVD, but the hope is that part of the series will click with audiences and perhaps lead to television or even animated movie projects.

Indeed, in a watch-what-you-want, when-you-want world, the standard processes of rolling out new television programs are breaking down. Even a decade ago, putting a new show on a network schedule would assure that it would be exposed to most of the country; people would either respond or they wouldn’t. Today, with television ratings in particular dwindling, creators like Mr. MacFarlane have to find new ways to introduce new material.

Nobody knows how content can catch fire in unexpected ways more than Mr. MacFarlane. In 2002, “Family Guy” was canceled for poor ratings after running for three seasons. But the irreverent series continued to make new fans through DVD sales. In 2005, Fox reversed itself, citing strong DVD sales, and “Family Guy” has gone on to be one of the biggest comedy hits on television.

Mauricia Grant V. Nascar

No Country For This Old Man!

It's old, but STILL funny as hell!

The Lonely Island - Lazy Sunday