Monthly Archives: January 2006

Powerful Times

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Brilliant: A beacon to light the way and a compass showing the general direction of things to come
Few times does a book have such a powerful effect on me. Not coincidentally is this 2005 book by Wharton School Publishing titled Powerful Times. The book is written by the CEO of the Global Business Network, a group self-described as a “future-oriented network and consulting firm”.

Any assumptions you come to the book with will be strongly challenged, not to convince you to steer left or right, but rather to open up your mind to one clear and indisputable truth: these are changing times, and we might as well realize that, in order to be able to deal with the world we are embarked on and the world of the coming decade.

Kelly presents the reader with a deep yet easy-to-follow set of trends, most of which are represented by opposite forces pulling in different directions. Chances are you may identify yourself with one of the forces in most of the trends, yet Kelly’s effectiveness lies in his ability to present all forces in a very balanced way, which allows you to open yourself to what others may be thinking.

Once all the trends have been covered, he goes into what he considers to be the three most likely scenarios to take place in the coming decade, depending on the outcome of two basic yet fundamental crossroads we are in the process of going through. He emphasizes that no single scenario should be expected to prevail in a unique way, but rather to dominate the scene, “sprinkled” with elements from the other scenarios.

Finally, he provides the reader with an extensive framework for him to assess his place and that of his company in this new world we’re entering. This framework, along with a handful of additional tools and resources, is provided through the book’s web site at www.PowerfulTimes.net.

I cannot do less but give the book five shining stars for shedding a brilliant light on some of today’s impossibly contradictory issues, and giving us readers a tool with which to steer through the troubled waters of the coming decade.

The Breakfast Club: Now I know why this is a classic

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I guess I was locked out in a cave, because in spite of having graduated from high school in 1989, today I saw “The Breakfast Club” for the first time. Laugh if you may, but I guess this opinion from an eighties child who is now 33 years old may help you decide to watch it too.

The movie is now over twenty old, and it doesn’t feel old. The first half hour or so, you may feel like you’re watching a teenage movie, but the plot thickens a bit as it evolves and the definite personalities of the five characters float to the surface, baring their souls to each other and the viewer. You will find yourself finding one (or more) of them with whom you will be able to identify with. In my case it was Brian (the nerd), but you may find you had more in common with the ones depicting the athlete, the basket case, the princess or the criminal.

The performances are all extraordinary, but the true standouts were Emilio Estevez (the athlete) and Judd Nelson (the criminal), who were perfect for their roles and delivered some of the best lines overall. Now I know why “The Breakfast Club” is a classic.

The clash of the (new media) titans

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Today was an interesting day. It’s not like it was a surprise at all, but announcements about things under way and things to happen popped up all of a sudden. On one side, Apple continues to expand their media offerings on their iTunes store, including more and more TV shows and movies. Today, for instance, I found out they added Dora The Explorer to their lineup of videos (I guess cool news for parents…) But on the same day word broke out about the new Google Video Store, going beyong their video.google.com space, which until now only offered user-submitted videos. With video as an open front where they are going up against Apple (and Pixar ironically being responsible for over 10% of the sales over iTunes), there was word about a possible Google Tunes Music Store.

As if this news wasn’t enough (it was enough for me), there word also broke about Amazon.com’s formal commitment to compete against all of the above (and Netflix, watch out!) offering downloadable movies starting in April. Perhaps a latecomer to this “party”, but nonetheless a very important force to keep an eye on, considering their penetration of the online shopping segment and the intelligence they’ve gathered over the years that now allows them to give right-on recommendations for other entertainment options when you visit one of their product pages.

Who will win? Who will loose? If you ask me, there will be some consolidation in this field, and the winners will end up being those who remain flexible and mindful of the important things for consumers. I put my money on Apple, Google and Amazon. Netflix, I am a bit worried about, because I don’t see them (yet) breaking away from their current DVD-based model, and stuck there competing against Blockbuster.

Disney Buys Pixar

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Who doesn’t love Pixar movies? I know I do. Finding Nemo is my all-time favorite movie, so I like to see things go well for the folks that came up with it.

So, today I learned that good ole Disney has agreed to pay a ton of money for Pixar. What is this? I mean, werent’t these the guys that were not on speaking terms just over a year ago? Yep! It’s them… they “worked around their issues” and it seems that now they are more than in speaking terms! ;)

I must admit I am happy. I am happy because I’ve never stopped loving Disney. I mean the OLD Disney, the one that came up with the classic movies we’ve all learned to love: Bambi (BTW, do check out Bambi II when it comes out -believe it or not, it’s very good!), The Jungle Book, The Lion King, Beauty and The Beast and many, many other classics…

So, having them and Pixar work together again makes me feel there’s still some “hope”. Not that there was NONE before, but I must admit The Incredibles were nowhere as good as its predecessor, and I admit I am not overly excited about the prospects of Cars later in 2006.

A Scanner Darkly

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A Scanner Darkly seems like a movie where The Matrix was combined with Sin City (sort of) to produce a Minority Report-type fiction tale.

Here’s why:
-The story is based on a futuristic tale by Philip K. Dick, the same sci-fi author responsible for Minority…
-The star of the movie is Keanu Reeves. Not my favorite choice of an actor, but perhaps the script will help him.
-The movie is done in a format called animated rotoscoping, used by the movie’s director (Richard Linklater, also responsible for Before Sunset and Before Sunrise, among many other movies). It looks a bit like a comic (therefore the Sin City comparison), but it’s more like tracing on top of a video, if you know what I mean.

I can’t say that I am dying to see it (it may be interesting, I admit), but for now, if you want to view the trailer, it may make more sense. If you want to read more about the story, check out this review.

Get Skype!

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Have you heard about Skype? They say of themselves “We’d like to do for telephones what e-mail did to the post.” I think they are well on their way to accomplishing it. What is happening to Skype is what happens to good companies with good products. Remember a few years ago, when we only had dial-up connections, life sucked and voice-over-IP was nothing but a promise? Well, the guys that created KaZaA (one of whom looks VERY weird on the Founders page for Skype) set out to come up with a Global P2P Telephony Company. And they are kicking the butt of the telephone companies…

Simply put, I have not heard such quality in internet-based telephone conversations. I just hung up with my buddy Luis Carlos, using a new Plantronics Audio 90 Multimedia Stereo PC Headset we got for this purpose, and it was almost like talking to him in person, like he was in the same room… almost creepy! Only that he was in Venezuela and I was in Orlando, and it cost nothing, and we had virtually zero weirdness in the entire 25-minute long conversation.

So, do I recommend it? Damn right! Get Skype! I believe in this so much, that I just signed up for an affiliate account with them.

(Now listening to: “Folklore No-Tradicional Venezolano #4″, by Masseratti 2lts and “The Show (Original Mix)” by Konk West)

What has been the BEST concert you've ever been to?

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I can tell you without a shadow of doubt. In spite of the fact that I saw him in 2002 during his stop in Phoenix, for the Growing Up tour, where he showcased all the visuals and theatricals that technology make possible today, my favorite concert ever has been Peter Gabriel in Caracas, in October 9, 1993. We painted our faces (I wish I could find that picture) in preparation for it. We went to the hotel where he was staying in an attempt to meet him (we were only able to meet Tony Levin, his bass player, whom I also admire and who was kind enough to autograph my copy of King Crimson’s “Three of a Perfect Pair”, where he played).

We even sneak into his press conference the night before. The set was impossible to forget and I can totally remember when I was about to tear up my shirt in excitement over one of the songs.