Sex and the City: The Movie premieres today, and many of the SATC fans in the office have already purchased their tickets for the weekend. Having watched every episode of the series from beginning to end, I feel pretty attached to Carrie, Miranda, Samantha and Charlotte.

Sarah Jessica Parker recently appeared on Inside the Actor's Studio to discuss the film, as well as the impact of the original series. We have a number of clips from her interview with James Lipton, including this one, where she talks about getting back into the role of Carrie Bradshaw after a four-year break:

I can't wait to see what happens with Carrie and Big, but until showtime, I'm catching up with the girls, thanks to clips like this one from Hollywood News:

You can find more clips in our Sex and the City: The Movie collection.

Here's to a fairy tale ending,
Taunya

President John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, would have turned 91 today. On his way to the Oval Office, Kennedy and Richard Nixon faced off in the first televised presidential debates in U.S. history. Now considered a milestone in American political history, these debates mark the point at which television began to play a dominant role in national politics. Kennedy -- who appeared relaxed in front of the camera while Nixon looked tense and uncomfortable with an injured leg -- gained momentum following the debates, going on to defeat Vice President Nixon in one of the closest elections in American history.

Of course, Kennedy was no stranger to the TV camera by the time he stepped up to that podium. The following NBC News Time Capsule highlights rare interviews from the NBC archives, spanning most of Kennedy’s political career:

With the aid of TV distribution, President Kennedy’s inspiring and optimistic rhetoric made politics more accessible to a much wider audience. I, for one, was raised on his words by my parents, whose lifelong political obsessions were inspired by them.

With candidates on MySpace, bloggers offering independent political commentary and grassroots fundraising taking place online this year, the landscape has changed dramatically even since Kennedy’s time. What else does this year's election have in store? You can catch the latest from America's Election HQ as November 4th approaches.

Travis
Hulu Political Correspondent

Recently added to Hulu: A coming-of-age drama from the '90s and a modern-day web series that takes an irreverent look at the lives of a group of twentysomethings. In addition, House wraps up the season with an emotional finale, the top teams in the NBA and NHL battle it out, and a wine enthusiast shares his love for all things grape.

New Series
Before there was Jack Shephard, there was Party of Five's Charlie Salinger -- the eldest of five brothers and sisters whose parents were tragically killed in an accident. As Charlie copes with being in charge -- and the inheritance dwindles -- Bailey, Julia, Claudia and Owen learn about life, love and growing up. Catch the third season, now on Hulu.

Not just another web series about blogging, 2/8 Life is a humorous riff on life on and off the Internet. Part of the generation that's racing to change the world, aspiring writer Angela is pacing herself-- and when she starts blogging about the lives of her group of friends, she finds that none of them are really all that interesting.

Episode Spotlight
In a moving two-part season finale, House first recreates a bus accident in order to discover which passenger's life is at risk in House's Head, and then puts his life on the line for Wilson as they fight to save a loved one in Wilson's Heart. Did House make the right decision? Share your review with the rest of Hulu.

Sports Spotlight
Do the Red Wings have what it takes to shut out the Penguins in the Stanley Cup Finals? Watch as Detroit vies for a 3-0 lead in the series. Meanwhile, as the Lakers face off with the Spurs and the Pistons try to shut down the Celtics, we have all the excitement of the NBA Playoffs, from full games to highlight reels, anytime, right here on Hulu.

Show Spotlight
Want some wine with attitude? Tune in to The Thunder Show for host Gary Vaynerchuk's color commentary on the world of wine. Whether you tune in for more info about the wines, Gary's contagious enthusiasm about his subject, or the sight of him spitting into a New York Jets bucket, you're sure to walk away a little more knowledgeable about grapes. Check out the Costco wine tasting episode -- where he tastes three Kirkland-brand wines -- and see if he found any winners.

Have a favorite Hulu show you'd like to see in the spotlight? Share it with us in the comments section.

Rebecca
Hulu Editor

We're always trying to create a better experience for our users. That's why we've adopted two new features make it easier to share Hulu wherever you are online.

Since so many people have Facebook accounts -- over 70 million, in fact -- it seemed logical to come up with another way to integrate Hulu into the Facebook platform. Our new Facebook feed integration allows you to automatically post your rating and reviews activity on your Facebook feed, giving your friends an idea of what you like to watch on Hulu -- and it lets them watch the same videos you've reviewed, right in Facebook.

When you're viewing your Profile page on Facebook, look for the "Import" link in the corner of your Mini-Feed to connect your Facebook profile with your Hulu account. Select Hulu from the list of sites, enter your Hulu username, and click on "Import." Your profile will automatically update whenever you rate a video on Hulu.

Typically, embedding videos requires users to copy an "embed code" and paste it to their blog. Released earlier this month, oEmbed aims to standardize the process of embedding videos, photos, links, and other media. It allows a Web site to display embedded content (such as a Hulu video) when a user simply posts a link to that content. For example, microblogging site Pownce supports oEmbed so that you can simply paste the link to the Hulu video (ex. http://www.hulu.com/watch/5555/family-guy-chicken-fight) instead of the entire embed code.

We think this feature will make it a lot easier to share your favorite videos. For more information, check out oEmbed.com.

Betina
Hulu's Good Karma

The wait is finally over! Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull made its box office debut yesterday and the Hulu Los Angeles office was front and center for the premiere. Given that the last Indy flick was released in 1989, it's been a long wait -- but well worth it to enjoy a morning with the team at the movies.

Get your popcorn and check it out for yourself this Memorial Day weekend and in the meantime, warm up with the trailer on Hulu, courtesy of our friends at Hollywood News:

Have a great weekend everyone,

Eric
eric.feng@hulu.com

This week, you may start seeing Hulu pop up in new places. In order to bring Hulu to the many online communities that people are already using, our content is now available on popular TV- and movie-oriented sites, as well as social networking sites.

Our new content distribution partners provide Hulu with a bigger footprint on the Internet, getting more and more users familiar with all the things you count on from Hulu -- outstanding video quality, innovative technology and great content -- so that users around the web can watch their favorites, anytime, for free, at their favorite sites.

So where can you find Hulu? You can already stream our videos on AOL, Comcast, MSN, MySpace and Yahoo. And starting today, Hulu is also available through TV.com, home to millions of TV fans who connect through their favorite shows.

You'll also find Hulu videos on great sites like these in coming weeks:

• TV Guide, the Web site for the iconic TV brand name -- and home to one of the web's leading TV fan sites.
• Break.com, a leading video destination site for guys.
• Zap2it, a leading TV, movie and entertainment community.
• BuddyTV, a leading TV fan site that is host to forums, news, spoilers and interviews.
• Flixster, the largest movie community on the web, where users can rate, share, review and discover films they love.
• myYearbook, the third-largest and fastest-growing social network in the U.S.

We're looking forward to bringing the Hulu experience to a wider audience. After all, these communities are home to people who are passionate about TV and film, just like all of us.

Enjoy the show,
Eric Yellin

This weekend wrapped up another season for The Simpsons, the longest running animated show (and sit-com) on TV, plus two other family-focused animated series: King of the Hill and American Dad.

Even after 19 seasons and 420 episodes, The Simpsons is still my favorite show. Even though the whole town of Springfield is full of interesting characters, I tune in each week to see Homer's latest escapade. After all, he's done it all, having been an astronaut, a submarine lieutenant and even The Chosen One. And while it's tough to beat Homer's hand in a toaster, his flying pig remains one of my all-time favorite Simpsons moments:

Although The Simpsons and their Sunday-night neighbors are taking the summer off, you can watch your favorite episodes again -- or catch up on some shows you may have missed -- anytime on Hulu. With full episodes of shows like The Tick and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, plus clips from animation classics such as The Pink Panther, you should find plenty to laugh about this summer.

As for myself, I'm spending the summer looking for a monkey with some doughnuts.

Mmm, doughnuts…
Eusden Shing

On Monday, a massive, 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck southwestern China's Sichuan province. With official death tolls currently over 19,500 -- with 30,000 more reported missing -- reports of the devastation continue as rescue workers reach the most affected areas.

With an office in China, this particular tragedy struck home for the team at Hulu. We'd like to take a moment to recognize the disaster and also offer ways that we all can support in the relief effort.

Organizations such as the Red Cross and Mercy Corps are working to provide critical supplies -- including water, food, milk and shelter items -- as well as resources for longer-term recovery and reconstruction efforts in the region.

If you wish to help, you can make a tax-deductible donation by visiting any of the following sites:

• International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
• American Red Cross
• Mercy Corps

Our thoughts are with all of those affected by the tragedy.

Jason
Hulu CEO
jason.kilar@hulu.com

This week marks the season finales for two shows that are big here at Hulu's headquarters: The Office and My Name is Earl.

I've been addicted to The Office ever since a friend showed me the DVDs from season two. It is one of those rare shows that combines outrageous humor with real human emotion. Between the brilliant talent of its writers and the incredible ability of its cast, I'm constantly surprised to see where it will go next. As far as I'm concerned, Steve Carrell is one of the great comedians of his generation.

Traditional sitcoms have their standard stories, delivery and dialogue. Dramas have constantly changing landscape. The Office really takes the best of both and makes it something new. It’s what makes the series so unique, and one of the few shows that not only survived the recent writer’s strike, but also thrived afterward.

Without giving away too much, The Office season finale involves an office party -- and we all know how Dunder Mifflin parties turn out:

My Name is Earl is another staple in our queues. After three seasons of watching Earl scratch items off his karma list -- despite all sorts of obstacles -- we were rooting for Earl and Billie (Alyssa Milano), his new love interest. Unfortunately, married life hasn't been easy for Earl, and the season finale shows Earl giving all his attention to the list, much to his bride's dismay. Of course, Earl's always had trouble with women, especially his ex, Joy:

We're looking forward to the next season of Michael Scott snafus and Earl Hickey karmic moments. If you are, too, subscribe to the shows. New episodes will be added to your queue as soon as they're available on Hulu -- and you won't miss a single Schrute-ism.

Jason Nellis
The Jim Halpert of Hulu

When we initially announced our company's name, I wrote a short blog post about the choice of Hulu as our moniker. Now that the service has been launched in the U.S., I thought I'd share more background and context on why we chose the name Hulu. After all, we're very proud of the name, and perhaps some of our new users are curious about its origins.

In a series of marathon naming sessions, Eric, Christina, Eugene and I (shown below) generated, reviewed and debated a very long list of names, filling the whiteboard walls with dozens of possibilities last July and August. In doing so, we came up with a short list of interesting names and a much longer list of horrendous names. It turns out it’s much easier to think up bad names as opposed to good ones!

At some point during the marathon naming sessions, the name Hulu was suggested in addition to slight variants. Eric -- who doubles as Hulu's CTO -- mentioned he had actually considered the name Hulu for an online video venture that he previously founded in China. In Mandarin, Hulu has two interesting meanings, each highly relevant to our mission. The primary meaning interested us because it is used in an ancient Chinese proverb that describes the Hulu as the holder of precious things. It literally translates to "gourd," and in ancient times, the Hulu was hollowed out and used to hold precious things. The secondary meaning is "interactive recording." We saw both definitions as appropriate bookends and highly relevant to the mission of Hulu.

As I mentioned several months ago, we were also excited about the name because it had no meaning in the English language. Given that we had aspired -- and continue to aspire -- to create a unique experience that is both worthy of remark and defies easy comparison, having a name with no direct definition appealed to us. For practical purposes, we also set out to have a relatively short, easy-to-pronounce name. And though we had done our homework -- we were familiar with all the translations, both good and bad -- we still wanted a name that was both approachable and fun. After all, we're not selling life insurance or medical instruments here.

And so the name Hulu came to be.

Jason
jason.kilar@hulu.com

Here at Hulu, we know what happens just before Mother’s Day: You suddenly realize the day you're supposed to dedicate to mom (and don't forget grandma) is upon you, but you didn't get the card in the mail in time, you forgot to order the flowers, and -- in my case, at least -- you haven't even taken the trash out.

If the clock is ticking and you're still struggling to find a fun, meaningful way to show Mom just how much you love her this Mother's Day, we invite you to share a few clips from the popular movies and TV shows here on Hulu. They may help express your appreciation for all the times she encouraged you when no one else would, pushed you to do better than you thought you could, or told you the truth even when it wasn’t what you wanted to hear. I especially like this clip from The Jerk, where Navin's mom cooks up a great dinner in honor of his birthday.

You can find a few more classic mom moments in our Mother’s Corner collection, but it's also easy to create your own clip from your favorite show or movie on Hulu. Share it with mom by e-mail and it'll arrive in time for Mother's Day. Tell her you made it yourself, and she'll love it even more.

To all the mothers out there, Happy Mother’s Day from Hulu.

Brandon
brandon.boone@hulu.com

Scrubs has been one of my favorites since its premiere in 2001. As J.D. (Zach Braff), Elliot (Sarah Chalke) and Turk (Donald Faison) have grown from fresh-faced interns to full-fledged physicians, I've watched religiously -- which hasn't been easy considering how often it moved between Tuesdays to Thursdays. I'd even make sure "Scrubs night" was set aside so my friends and I could gather to watch. It was our weekly tradition. Now we gather around a computer screen to watch it on Hulu.

We all watch for different reasons: To see what J.D. will daydream next, which ridiculous exercise Dr. Cox will use to torment the interns, or whether J.D. and Elliot will give it a go yet again -- or maybe all of the above, because it's all so hilarious. Meanwhile, J.D.'s single-person narrative and all of the guest stars -- Heather Graham, Tara Reid, Scott Foley and Elizabeth Banks -- just make the show all the more enticing.

We've gone on to see Zach Braff take the lead in Garden State and do a great turn as a filmmaker on Arrested Development, and we're looking forward to seeing what he and the rest of the cast will bring to Scrubs next fall.

Where Scrubs will end up next season is still up in the air. We'll wait and see, but in the meantime, you can watch this season’s medieval-themed finale here on Hulu.

Ben
ben@hulu.com
President of the Hulu Brain Trust

As the Wachowskis' Day-Glo take on Speed Racer hits theaters this weekend, we're happy to welcome the original Speed Racer -- along with Trixie, Spritle, Chim-Chim and Rex Racer -- to the Hulu family.

One of the first successful anime series to cross over to the U.S. from Japan, Speed Racer got its start in the late 1960s and stuck around in syndication for nearly 20 years. Many of us here at Hulu caught the series when it made a comeback on MTV in the '90s (and later on the Cartoon Network), and can't wait to see how the Wachowskis' version holds up to the original.

To catch up on Speed Racer’s roots, tune into any of our 13 episodes -- with more on the way -- to see Speed and his Mach 5 outmaneuver spies, motorcycle gangs and other bad guys with the help of his family and friends. Full of zany humor and lots of revved-up action, one of our favorites is The Race Against the Mammoth Car, a two-part episode complete with homing robots, rotary saws and $50 million in gold bars.

The two-part Race for Revenge stars a brother and sister who are out to beat Speed:

While the original Speed Racer series may not have the CGI and special effects of the Wachowski flick, the fast-paced story lines and vintage anime action can't be beat. Still craving more Speed? Subscribe to the series to have episodes placed in your queue as they're added to the site. Turn on queue alerts and we’ll even send an e-mail to let you know when new Speed Racer episodes have arrived in your queue.

Go Speed Racer, go!
Robert
robert.schildhouse@hulu.com

Staying on top of your favorite shows is now easier with Hulu's newly launched subscriptions option. Sign up for a Hulu account, and once you log in, we'll offer the option to subscribe to full episodes and/or clips of any show on our site. Subscribe to full episodes of Family Guy or Battlestar Galactica, for example, and we'll add new episodes of that show directly to your queue, whether it's an episode that just aired on TV or an older episode that's new to Hulu. You can find subscribe buttons underneath the artwork on any show page.

If you ever need to check on or modify your current subscriptions, simply click on "Profile" in the upper right corner of Hulu.com and then click on the "Subscriptions" tab in your profile. You'll see all your subscriptions listed there, and for each of them, you can choose which type: full episodes or clips.

Looking for shows to subscribe to? Visit our newly redesigned Most Popular, Most Subscribed and Recently Added shows pages for some ideas. You can subscribe to any show directly from these pages.

Lastly, we now offer e-mail alerts for your queue. Turn them on for your queue and we'll send a daily e-mail whenever we add a new video from your subscription list to your queue, or if a video in your queue is about to expire. We batch those alerts into a single daily digest, so you'll receive just one e-mail alert if there's activity in your queue that day. You can activate these alerts in your Profile under the "Privacy and Settings" or "Subscriptions" tabs.

With all the technology and gadgets available today, we think it should be easy to keep up with the shows you love. With a few mouse clicks, you can bring your Hulu favorites to your digital doorstep. Give it a try and let us know what you think.

Eugene
eugene.wei@hulu.com

Though Hulu's headquarters is in Los Angeles, most of us call another city home. We are usually too busy to notice this subtle fact, though lately a wave of hometown pride has taken our office by storm. With the Playoffs for both the NBA and NHL in full swing and the best of both leagues battling it out on the hardwood and ice, the competitiveness and trash talking in the office is building to a crescendo only rivaled by the annual Hulu Ping Pong Tournament. With Round 2 kicking off in both leagues, we are excited to feature full games throughout the Playoffs:

as well as classic Playoff games from past seasons:

Also, make sure to check out daily new videos covering all of last night’s NBA and NHL Playoff action. While you are at it, share videos through your Facebook and MySpace pages with your fellow fans, or e-mail clips to your friends to remind them they were rooting for the wrong team.

This is the best time of year for Sports fans, and hopefully we can help ignite your office rivalries, too.

Go Cavs,

Robert
robert.schildhouse@hulu.com
Hulu Cleveland Homer