He Said

New Site and Design!

2008-02-14T18:32:00.001-05:00

We've moved our site to a new address with a new look. You can still find us by pointing your browser to http://heandshesaid.com, but the blogspot address will no longer be updated as of right now.

If you subscribe to our RSS feed, please update the feed URI to one of the new feeds:

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All links on this page will now take you to the new site. Go there now.

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Podcast Episode 16 Now Available!

2008-01-21T20:56:00.001-05:00

Topic: Cloverfields Forever.
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Hollywood's current golden boy, J.J. Abrams, releases his mysterious monster movie popularly titled "Cloverfield" for no discernable reason. Does this "Godzilla vs. the Blair Witch" project have what it takes to reinvigorate a genre that was never really popular in this country anyway? Listen and find out.

Thanks for listening!

Podcast Episode 15 Now Available!

2008-01-17T22:32:00.001-05:00

Topic: Terminatrix.
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Podcast Episode 14 Now Available!

2008-01-15T22:14:00.001-05:00

Topic: Please don't Terminate Me.
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Podcast Episode 13 Now Available!

2007-12-25T23:39:00.001-05:00

Topic: I Am Legend, Hear Me Roar.
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Podcast 12 Now Available

2007-12-09T23:09:00.001-05:00

Topic: Play "Mist"-y for me.
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Podcast Episode 11 Now Available!

2007-10-21T02:11:00.001-04:00

Topic: All Elizabeth All the Time.
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Podcast Episode 10 Now Available!

2007-10-08T23:05:00.001-04:00

Topic: The Seeker: The Dark is Rising.
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Putting the "A" in atheism

2007-10-05T11:04:00.000-04:00

I've always said I don't like to discuss religion. People are generally very touchy on this subject. No one likes it when their beliefs are called into question, with or without evidence, but question someone's FAITH and you're in for a dogfight. I try to avoid the topic whenever possible. After all, I don't claim to know everything. And as long as a person's belief system doesn't interfere with my life and my choices, I honestly couldn't care less what they believe.

People who believe in God or gods of any sort are, by definition, "theists". That includes all denominations and iterations of Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus and any religion that believes in some sort of deity. You would have to talk to an awful lot of members of any of these groups to hear any one of them refer to themselves as theists, however. It is not a commonly used label.

The antonym of "theism" is "atheism", just like the antonym of "sexual" is "asexual" and the antonym of "synchronous" is "asynchronous". The prefix "a-" is simply one of several prefixes in the English language that can be added to a word to give the word the opposite meaning. Other prefixes of this type are "un-", "non-", or "anti-".

So, is someone who is not a "theist" automatically an "atheist"?

Let's look at the definitions again:

According to the American Heritage Dictionary (via Dictionary.com), "theism" is "Belief in the existence of a god or gods, especially belief in a personal God as creator and ruler of the world."

The same source defines "atheism" as "1. Disbelief in or denial of the existence of God or gods. 2. The doctrine that there is no God or gods."

I find these definitions interesting and more than a little troubling, especially the one for "atheism". Note words like "Disbelief in" or "denial of" and most especially the word "doctrine". These all imply that "atheism" is an active choice or even a formalized belief system, just like a religion. In fact, there is a concerted "Atheist" movement with a capital "A" that seems more like a religion than some Christian denominations I've encountered.

In my view, the term "atheist" has been defined through the eyes of those that make the assumption that God exists by default, that belief in God or gods is the standard way of existing and that "atheists" are actively pursuing "denial" of something that just "is". This comes as no surprise. In most societies on this planet, theism is the norm. So when it comes to defining words, the beliefs and/or opinions of the definers are going to creep in no matter how objective they try to be. It's only natural.

I always like to come back to the example of the Flat Earth Society to make my religious analogies because they're just so easy to pick on, so here we go again. The norm, that is, the default belief in this world, is that the planet Earth is a sphere. So let's call that "spherism". I am a "spherist" and I know I am right. The members of the FES are "aspherists" and I know that they are wrong. I will therefore define "aspherism" as the "disbelief in the idea that the world is a sphere" or "the belief that the world is some shape other than a sphere." The Flat Earth Society is an organized and formal movement proclaiming that the world exists on a plane instead of a sphere. They are like the "Atheist" (capital "A") movement in that they ACTIVELY deny what others consider to be the norm. This is very different from passively not believing what others say they should believe.

So is not believing in God or gods the same thing as denying that God or gods exist? I think not. A child is not born believing in the existence of God. If they were, everybody would believe the same thing. No, children must be actively taught what to believe. If no one were around to teach a child about religion, that child would grow up without any knowledge of the existence or non-existence of a God or gods. It simply wouldn't enter into their minds on any level. Does that make the child an "atheist"? Not according to the definitions I've cited above. In order to be an "atheist", they would have to be taught about the existence of God and then taught to deny that existence.

I think a new term needs to be applied to those who simply "don't believe" in the existence of God or gods, i.e. those who accept that the default state of the universe is that it exists without the presence of omniscient invisible superbeings making everything happen. "Atheists" accept the theists default state and choose to "deny it", and since the word "atheism" has been tarnished both by the filter of those who have defined it and by it's adoption by the (captial "A") "Atheists" of the world, it might be preferable to use one of the other antonym prefixes I mentioned earlier. I think I prefer simply "nontheism". This would be simply a lack of belief in what theists claim, as opposed to an active denial or disbelief.

Perhaps I'm picking nits with the language on this one, but the distinction seems quite clear to me. Really, even better than "nontheism" would be to apply no label at all to those whose default state of existence contains no deity, since the "theism" label already differentiates between the states.

Podcast Episode 9 Now Available!

2007-10-03T23:35:00.001-04:00

Topic: Heroes, Season 2.
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My Next iPod

2007-09-11T13:13:00.000-04:00

I currently have a 5G iPod (with video) with a 60GB hard drive. It was also my first iPod (though I did buy an original Shuffle before that). Why did I wait so long to buy an iPod, you ask? Though I am an Apple fan boy, my income is not unlimited, and I set a standard that an iPod would have to meet before I would lay down the cash for one. That standard was a) video and b) a minimum of 60GB, abd the 5G fulfilled both of those requirements, so I bought it.

I've been longing for the day the "true" video iPod would appear, which it did in the form of the iPhone a few months ago, and now the iPod Touch. However, as before, I have certain criteria that must be met before I will buy either of those products. Eventually, I'm sure Apple will reach these milestones, and I will buy one or the other.

My iPhone specifications:

Must be unlocked OR sottware unlockable and usable with a faster 3G network (we'll see if Apple manages to undo the latest unlock hacks from iPhoneSIMfree and others over time.)

Must be able to take at least 640x480 video and 3 megapixel stills with the built in camera. Camera should have a flash.

Safari MUST be able to utilize Flash AND be able to use any other plug-in that comes along.

Must have AT LEAST 6 hours of video playback battery life.

Must have STEREO bluetooth AND the ability to control playback from the Bluetooth device (A2DP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile) and/or AVRCP (Audio Video Remote Control Profile)).

Should have a minimum of 30GB of storage (though I'd prefer upwards of 80GB, even if that means a hard drive instead of flash).

Third party apps (even if they have to be purchased through iTunes, like the iPod games.)

Should have iChat installed AND an iSight on the front (either rotate the existing camera or have a second camera for videoconferencing).

My iPod specifications (based on the Touch):

Should have a minimum of 30GB of storage (though I'd prefer upwards of 80GB, even if that means a hard drive instead of flash).

Must have AT LEAST 6 hours of video playback battery life.

Must have STEREO bluetooth AND the ability to control playback from the Bluetooth device (A2DP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile) and/or AVRCP (Audio Video Remote Control Profile)).

Third party apps (even if they have to be purchased through iTunes, like the iPod games.)

Safari MUST be able to utilize Flash AND be able to use any other plug-in that comes along.

Should have a camera that can take 3 megapixel stills and 640x480 video.

Should have iChat installed AND an iSight on the front (either rotate the existing camera or have a second camera for videoconferencing).

Once these specs are met by either of these product lines, I'll take the plunge.

Black and Yellow Garden Spider

2007-09-06T21:53:00.003-04:00

This is a black and yellow garden spider that appeared above my back door a few years ago. I've used iMovie '08 to quickly edit this and post it to YouTube. Check it out:

iLife '08 Part 2: iMovie

2007-09-06T21:53:00.001-04:00

In my continuing testing of iLife '08, I've taken quite a bit of time to put the controversial iMovie '08 through its paces. I find it to be a mixed bag. Some good, some bad, and some ugly. I'll get to that in a moment.

First, I think it's important to establish perspective. I work in video editing for a living, and have worked with both Avid and Final Cut Pro non-linear editing systems, as well as After Effects, Motion and Shake. I very familiar and comfortable with the timeline paradigm, which to a simplified degree, is what iMovie USED to utilize as well. I made a couple of personal projects using iMovie in the past, but I always found it difficult to use and extremely unstable. Yes, it used a timeline, but had only one track, which was very frustrating for someone used to mulitple video and audio tracks.

Another problem with previous versions of iMovie: DV format. Everything you added to iMovie had to be in DV format. That worked fine for video captured from DV cameras, but for video imports, it added transcoding time and lots of hard drive space to a project. DV is not the most efficient storage format for video.

Finally, iMovie (pre '08) was a DESTRUCTIVE editor. If you cut a clip, it did not preserve it for later re-use in that or any other project. To reuse a clip, you had to go back to the source tape and re-capture it.

All in all, iMovie (pre '08) was never a particularly useful program to me. All the above issues plus it's poor performance and stability made using it a frustrating experience at best. So how about iMovie '08?

The Good
The story was told by Steve Jobs himself: a member of the development team was having trouble quickly putting some vacation videos together, so he/she wrote some code to make the task easier. Someone caught wind of the project and the decisionmakers liked what they saw. So (apparently with the Steve's blessing) iMovie '08 was born.

iMovie '08 abandons the timeline paradigm for what Apple considers a more intuitive, user-friendly interface. And I have to admit, for the most part I like it. I had to watch the tutorial videos provided on Apple's web site to get started. This is primarily because I was initially unable to leave the well-ingrained timeline metaphor behind.

The iMovie '08 editing process starts with the events library. You add your video clips to the library and select from those clips to create your projects. Video clips are organized into events (much like iPhoto) and are captured from your camera or imported from your hard drive. I have been able to import video directly from my JVC Everio GZ-MG37U Hard Drive based camcorder, which records video into mpeg2 formatted video muxed into a .mod file. Previously, the only way I could get video off this camera and into something that could be read by any app on my Mac was through the use of MPEG Streamclip, which took a very long time to transcode the video to mp4 or H.264. Now, I plug the camera in, iMovie pops up the capture window, creates skimmable thumbnails of all the clips contained on the camera's hard drive (more on skimming later). I can play the clips and choose which to import or I can import all the clips. And I can store the imported clips on any external FIREWIRE hard drive. Nice.

Once captured or imported into the appropriate event in the library, iMovie creates thumbnails of all the video (I find that on my G5, this can take an interminably long time). "Skimming" (see video below) is the act of previewing your clips by running your cursor over the clip. In the pro world, we call it "scrubbing", but the principle is the same. This feature provides the "WOW" factor in iMovie '08. It is a truly excellent feature that is implemented so well that it even works smoothly on my G5. It makes it very easy to find the bits of video that you want to use in your editing project. Another nifty feature is that iMovie will now automatically make any video clip in your iPhoto library available in the iMovie library, providing it's in a supported format.

iMovie '08 allows you to work on multiple projects at once, another clear advantage over previous versions. But the greatest new feature has to be non-destructive editing. When you drag a portion of a clip from the event library into your project, the library clip is not altered in any way. You can therefore reuse footage over and over in any or all of your projects without having to recapture the footage. And that footage is no longer converted to storage hungry DV Video. My Everio clips, according to the Quicktime Player info window, are "Apple MPEG-2 SD Camcorder Video". Presumably any video you import will remain in its native format.

The Bad
I had a few issues with iMovie from the get-go. The first, which I've complained to Apple about, is that every time iMovie starts up, it thinks my big firewire hard drive, the one on which I store all my video content (i.e. backed up DVD's etc), is a camera and starts scanning and generating thumbnails automatically. There is no "Cancel" button and command-period doesn't work either (but then, it rarely works in any program), so I have to wait for it to finish OR remember to unmount the drive before I launch iMovie.

Problem number two: upon launching iMovie '08, it dutifully started creating thumbnails of my iPhoto video clips, but when it finished, only one video clip appeared. I checked all the other video clip formats and they were all mp4 files, which Apple says are compatible. Long story short, not all mp4s are created equal. I tried importing dozens of videos from different sources and in different formats using different codecs and nearly all were un-importable (even though Quicktime Player could play them fine). Strange.

Luckily, there is Perian, a free Quicktime component that permits a wide variety of videos to play in Quicktime, and after installing it, ALL my videos worked in iMovie, too.

I know a lot of users are complaining about the lack of effects and transitions, but I have never really liked flashy effects for the sake of effects, so I don't really miss anything here. Still, it is an omission for those who are accustomed to these effects.

The Ugly
iMovie '08's handling of audio is a CRIME. It is difficult, if not impossible to set your in point for your background audio or music clip. But far worse and utterly unforgivable: you cannot directly affect the LEVEL of the audio. You cannot even FADE audio in or out. My first project was coming together smoothly, until I wanted to create a closing credit scene with music. When the video came to an end and faded out, the music just stopped...abruptly. I looked everywhere for a control or an effect – ANY way of fading the music out, to no avail. The only level control is automatic "ducking", like in Garageband, in which you can select one audio track to prevail over another while they overlap. Very limited in its usefulness. Ultimately I had to find the natural end of the music and butt it up to the end of the video, which of course means it started abruptly, which is only slightly less unacceptable.

I haven't gone into detail on how to use iMovie. For that, I recommend you watch the tutorials Apple has posted on their website. I do like iMovie, but it is extremely flawed. Still, I consider it an improvement over iMovie HD, and can only hope that future versions address the issues I've raised here.

•VIDEO: See Skimming in Action

Rating: 5 out of 10 (iMovie HD: 3 out of 10)

iPod Attack!

2007-09-05T22:14:00.001-04:00

Unless you live under a rock, you've probably already heard the news that Apple announced a veritable slew of iPod products today. I don't think there were any real surprises, nor were there any real innovations. Just like the recent iMac announcement, Apple is merely advancing existing products rather than revolutionizing anything.

Still, the iPod lineup has a few mild surprises, some good, some not so good.

First, there was some news relating to the iPod Shuffle, which I, for one, was not expecting. The announcement? New colors. Yucky, bland pastel colors. No more bright green or orange, my two favorites. The only good color in the new Shuffle lineup is the (Product)RED model (which is, of course, red).

Next in the lineup is the iPod Nano. Photos of this product leaked onto the interweb last week, and the general reaction was less than positive. It earned the nickname iPod "Fatty" due to its apparently squat and wide shape. Basically, this new model is half the height of the previous model, a perhaps a little wider to accomodate a slightly bigger screen. Why a bigger screen? V-v-video! No longer the exclusive domain of the "full-size" iPod (aka 5th Generation iPod with Video), you can now load up your 4 or 8GB of storage with up to 5 hours of TV shows (non-NBC, that is), movies and video podcasts. I suppose as a second iPod for exercise or other rough treatment, this makes sense. But I've never been a big fan of the Nano pricing: $199 for 8GB? An extra $50 gets you 80GB!

Which brings me to the surprise of the event. I had been assuming that Apple would replace the 5th Generation iPod with Video (which Apple has always officially called simply "iPod") with the long-awaited 6th Generation touchscreen iPod. Indeed a touchscreen iPod was announced (more on that later), but instead of being replaced, the "iPod" has been reborn as the "iPod Classic". Following Apple's trend of doing away with white (or black) plastic, the Classic has brushed metal bodies in silver or black and has an enhanced user interface (so does the Nano) which is more visual than previous editions (including Cover Flow). What's truly great about the Classic, however, is the capacity. At 80GB for $249.00 and a whopping 160GB for $349.00, this is the "largest" iPod yet. Very impressive.

Also impressive for different reasons is the new iPod Touch, the baby brother of the iPhone (without the cell phone part, and without the indentured servitude to the AT&T demons). Since you're surely familiar with the iPhone, you will find the Touch is virtually identical. It even has Wi-Fi and Safari, so you can take advantage of all those iPhone apps out there. It does NOT appear to have a dedicated mail client, so you're stuck checking your mail in whatever webmail interface you have within Safari. And Apple has finally given what people have been bugging them for: the iTunes WiFi Store, which allows you to make purchases on the fly (so Apple has leapfrogged the Zune, which has failed to provide this service despite beating Apple to the punch with a WiFi enabled device.)

The problem with the Touch? It comes in 8GB and 16GB capacities. Booo! Now it's clear why Apple has kept the Classic around. Some users, like myself, like having the flexibility of carrying LARGE amounts of content around with them. I don't want to decide at home what I may want to watch when I'm stuck in the doctor's office waiting room later. I'd rather have everything with me so I can decide what I'm in the mood for AT THE TIME.

So, now that Apple no longer makes a product called "iPod", the various choices in the iPod product line should appeal to a wide variety of users. But for me, there's nothing here that is worth trading in my 5th Gen iPod for. I'd consider a secondary iPod in the form of an 8GB Nano, but not at the current price. I'll wait until the day comes when the Touch has enough capacity to make the Classic completely obsolete. How long will that be? At the rate Apple is growing, it may be sooner than we think.

Podcast Episode 8 Now Available!

2007-09-04T22:12:00.001-04:00

Topic: Carl and Di go to Church!.
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The Dilemmas of Men and Women

2007-09-03T20:08:00.001-04:00

A friend of mine recently posted this the following question on her blog. I have edited the entry for the purposes of this discussion, but feel free to read her entire blog entry if you wish.

blog.myspace.com/67937264: "I need something clarified for myself and my female friends by the males who read my blog. See, we women are trapped in a rather sticky predicament when it comes to dating: when is it ok to have sex with the guy?

Seriously guys, I know your initial answer is of course 'As Soon As Possible!' but I'm asking a legitimate question here.

See, for women, it's like this:

If we sleep with the guy too soon, we are put in a 'booty call' category and get no respect and guys don't take us seriously. In fact alot of guys don't even respect the girl as a person if she gives it up too soon, but they'll still sleep with her regardless, they just won't 'date' her.

If she waits too long the guy sometimes loses interest or thinks she isn't attracted to him or starts to feel like he's wasting his time and starts pursuing other women, etc.

Now, the guy usually, at least in my experience, begins pursuing the prospect of sex either on the first or second date. Either by trying to make those high school 'moves' like saying something sweet and leaning in for a kiss or something equally tasteful but nonetheless a step toward getting laid. And after the first kiss, most guys will make out with the female and take things as far as she will let him, especially if that means all the way. Am I right girls?

And unfortunately there is still that old double standard that if she gives it up too soon then she must do that will all the guys she's dated and therefore must be a ho.

The guy pursues sex almost immediately b/c that's probably what attracted him to the female in the first place and even if it's not that's what men are wired to do: mate. (Not that I blame them, hey everybody likes sex and the only people who don't are either virgins or haven't had good sex). However, if they succeed too soon then they don't respect the female. I guess they think 'wow, that was a little too easy. She must be easy.'

But, if they don't succeed they get pissy. Make a guy wait too long and he loses interest or starts seeing other women or both.

Which oddly enough is pretty close to what happens if he succeeds too soon.

Maybe I should know the answers here but I was raised by a single mother and my father never answered questions like this for me, we were not ever really close enough for me to feel comfortable even asking questions like this. I seriously want some sort of answer from every male who reads this blog. My fellow females do as well, they just don't have the balls (so to speak) to post such a question. However, I've discussed this on different occasions with alot of women and they all seem to be equally confused.

Now personally, so far, my attitude has been that if he is serious then he is serious and sex won't change that. However, looking back over things in the past I am inclined to think that perhaps I destroyed a few good things by making things physical too soon. Or at least a few hurtful situations could have been avoided had I not given in so easily to my hormonal desires. Which has recently (over the past year or so) lead me to start asking myself certain questions. This, being one of those particular questions. Maybe things still work the way they did 50 years ago. Maybe men really don't respect women who enjoy sex as much as they do....? You tell me, b/c sadly enough, I don't know.

***So my question for the men out there is: when is the right time? When is it ok to 'give it up'? Where's the line between too soon and too long? Is there a right time? If a guy likes a woman that much is he still going to like her an pursue her in a serious manner regardless? We women are very confused here.******

And now...here is the response I left in her comments:

I'm not really qualified to provide you with an answer, but I'll throw some additional muddy water into the mix.

Here is a dilemma faced by SOME men. There are some men out there whose ingrained respect for women causes them all kinds of problems in this area. They respect a woman's feelings and needs and don't want to push things. Unfortunately, if they wait to long to initiate physical contact, they get relegated very quickly into the woman's 'friend zone' from which there is no escape. These are generally known as the 'nice guys' who, in spite of their apparent lack of persistence, really are interested in sex, too. Many of them were also raised by single mothers and had limited relationships with their fathers. They've experienced their mother's grief in her relationships with men and don't want to be the kind of guy who would cause that kind of pain to a woman. So they do not assert their needs or desires onto their relationships with women. It is a little thing called 'nice guy syndrome' and it leads the man who suffers from it into a long life of loneliness and fruststration: he may have lots of friends, many of them female, but he rarely if ever enjoys a physical relationship with any of them. The only hope he has is to rely on the OTHER types of men out there (who seem vile to the 'nice guy') to teach him how to 'seduce women' or 'How To Be A Player' (or any number of other books and/or websites designed to help 'nice guys' break out of the 'syndrome')

Why do I bring this up? As I said, to muddy the waters of your dilemma all the more, of course. :)

I just find it fascinating that you women feel like you have this big dilemma, when from my perspective, you are the ones in complete control. But then, I suffer from the syndrome, don't I? To a guy with the syndrome, a woman deciding to have sex with him is a great gift. But women don't want to have sex with 'nice guys'. They want the other kind. The assertive, dominant kind. So here is my advice, based on what I've always heard all my life. Third date is the guideline. I would definitely say you should not sleep with a guy on the first date. Second date should solidify whether or not he's ONLY after sex, I'd guess. i.e. if you don't sleep with him after the second date (and I do mean a real date - nice restaurant, a show, etc) and he still asks you for a third, then there's a better chance that he's interested in YOU and not just in SEX WITH YOU.

Take that advice with a grain of salt, as it's just my own analysis of what I've heard, not my actual experience. Good luck."

So what's the point of all this? Well, as I indicated, my reality has always been that women are pretty much in the driver's seat when it comes to the question of sex. However, I've also known for a long time now that I suffer from the ravages of "nice guy syndrome". I have recently taken the bull by the horns on this issue and have started looking for a "cure" for this problem. So far the outlook has been fairly bleak, as I have very little respect for what I consider to be the "player" mentality of most of the books, websites and other resources that claim to offer solutions.

In any case, reading of this "dilemma" that apparently plagues women makes me wonder. I admire Stacy for her forthrightness in asking the question, and for some of the other points and admissions she makes in the full blog. But I find I have little sympathy for the problems of women who seek out the kind of men who have so little respect for women in the first place.

Sadly, I am coming to realize in my own journey that if I am to connect with women on a physical level, I must lose my inherant respect for them. As much as women seem to want to be respected by men, my experience has shown me that men with no respect for women get far better results than I do. And women ignore the respect that I offer them in favor of those men.

The fact is that women prattle on and on about wanting to find a "nice man" or a "respectful man" but what they MEAN is they want a "nice man who looks like Brad Pitt" or a "respectful man with a mansion on a hill". Being "nice" is meaningless if the man isn't good looking or highly successful or both. When I keep this in mind, it becomes a bit easier to chuck that unfounded respect I've been saddled with, doesn't it?

Of course it really isn't that easy or that clearcut. But I do hope that little example tirade has shown someone how frustrating my life has been. I've done everything I thought was right, but it's all been wrong. And as I approach my 40th year, I have to make some major changes.

It was never my intention for this blog to be a personal diary, but I just got carried away on a topic that obviously causes me a great deal of anguish, so if you've read this far, thanks.

Podcast Episode 7 Now Available!

2007-08-30T14:57:00.001-04:00

Topic: Carl and Di discuss/debate The Invasion.
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New Job for Nathan Fillion, Perhaps?

2007-08-28T23:54:00.001-04:00

Tim Minear has a new show in development as a follow-up to the woefully underrated Drive. Minear, who also co-produced Angel and Firefly with Joss Whedon, seems to have a habit of giving Nathan Fillion work. I can easily see Fillion in the role of "disgraced former televangelist, a man of no faith, who finds that God is using him to perform real miracles and change lives, starting with his own."

He did play the preacher in Buffy, Season 7 (though that particular preacher was doing anything BUT God's work.) Fillion has an easy going style that makes him a likable lead.

Unfortunately, TV Shows dealing with religious themes tend to tank, either under the weight of controversy or simple viewer apathy. Highly formulaic efforts such as Touched by an Angel and Highway to Heaven have more success than shows that raise questions or take a more creative approach to the material. Joan of Arcadia developed a cult following, but it wasn't enough to give it legs. The Book of Daniel, also about a troubled religious leader (a Catholic priest, in this case) was yanked off the air in a storm of controversy, while Dead Like Me, a religious/fantasy effort, simply couldn't maintain enough ratings to survive.

After his experience with Drive, Minear is taking another big risk in Miracle Man. Some good news though...at least it's not airing on the idiot-run FOX network. Good luck, Tim.

SCI FI Wire | The News Service of the SCI FI Channel | SCIFI.COM: "Former Angel producer Tim Minear and Emmy winner Todd Holland have teamed for Miracle Man, a supernatural drama project that sparked a bidding war between ABC and Fox and landed at ABC with a put pilot commitment, according to The Hollywood Reporter."

(Via SCI FI Wire.)

Podcast Episode 6 Now Available!

2007-08-27T23:06:00.001-04:00

Topic: Carl and Di discuss/debate Stardust.
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Down with 'Mountaintop Removal' Mining!

2007-08-27T16:39:00.001-04:00

I live in West Virginia, and we have lived with and suffered the consequences of this practice for years. In a way, (a warped and twisted way) I am grateful to Mr. Bush for bringing this subject into the national spotlight. The rest of the country needs to see the destruction caused by this practice.

The debate over mountaintop removal has raged in this state for years. It comes down to jobs versus the rape of our land. The people of West Virginia need to realize that coal is NOT the future of the state. Coal companies employ fewer and fewer West Virginians every year. Mountaintop removal will only deplete coal reserves faster.

And guess what happens when all the coal is gone? The coal companies will pack up and leave without so much as a thank you. If you don't believe me, take a look in McDowell or Mingo counties, where those that got left behind by earlier coal company exoduses live in abject poverty with little or nothing to fall back on. The one other resource such communities DO have are the natural resources - the beauty of the mountains is a great draw for tourism. The Hatfield-McCoy trail system is one step in the right direction, but if mountaintop removal is permitted to continue unabated, there won't be anything to draw tourism dollars into the state.

Stop Mountaintop Removal NOW!

Mountaintop removal -- the name says it all -- is the most ruthless method yet found to extract coal as quickly and as cheaply as possible. That it happens at all is an outrage. That it happens in one of North America’s most biologically diverse ecosystems is heartbreaking.

read more | digg story

Scientists once again state the obvious.

2007-08-27T16:00:00.001-04:00

I sure am glad we have a vibrant scientific community out there. I need fully funded scientific studies before I can say that women prefer muscular men or that sugary beverages can contribute to diabetes.

Now I need a scientific study to prove that the sky is blue and that grass is green. Or that women have vaginas and men have penises. Or that apples do NOT, in fact, taste like oranges. Because clearly we can't make a decicion about anything without spending millions of dollars and years research on even the most obvious things.

A new study released Thursday suggests sodas sweetened with high fructose corn syrup may contribute to the development of diabetes. The study from researchers at Rutgers University, shows sodas sweetened with high fructose corn syrup contain high levels of compounds that previous research suggests may play a role in the development of diabetes.

read more | digg story

I wish to note that my partner in crime, Di, has already covered this topic quite thoroughly on SheSaid.

iLife '08, part 1: iPhoto

2007-08-26T23:38:00.001-04:00

iPhoto has always been the heart of my own personal iLife hub experience, and that won't change with iLife '08. I also think it is the most improved app in the suite. Perhaps because it is my bread and butter, I am far more conscious of its improvements than any other app.

The Library

The first major improvement is a structural one. Your iPhoto library used to be kept in a folder in your "Photos" folder within your user folder. This hasn't really changed, but the folder is now a "package", which is basically a folder that appears to be a single file. You can still access the contents of the package by right-clicking on the package and selecting "Show Package Contents". Personally, I've never found it particularly useful to dig through the iPhoto Library in the Finder. The whole purpose of the iPhoto application is to keep track of and help you find and organize your photos. It is within iPhoto that you name the files, and organize them into rolls, and add keywords and descriptions. To me, this is a much better way to find a photo than digging through a bunch of folders looking for files with camera-assigned names such as "DSC00542489315315.jpg" and so forth. I like to let the database (which is all iPhoto really is) do the work. So the transformation of the iPhoto Library to a package makes it much neater and cleaner. It also prevents the confusingly named photos and support files from clogging up file searches.

Events and Skimming

So now, let's get into the application itself. The first and most visual improvement is the addition of "Events". In my iPhoto libraries of the past, I used film rolls to organize photos (yes, I am extremely OCD with regards to my iPhoto library) and I found that after the library was updated, all of my photo rolls had been converted into Events. The theory behind Events is that iPhoto will automagically try to find photos that are related (I think it's really just looking for photos taken on the same date) and group them together. You can add to Events, or divide Events into multiple Events if you aren't happy with iPhotos automagic.

The real benefits of Events over rolls becomes obvious immediately. If you, like me, actually used rolls as an organizational tool, you know that the only way to view the contents of those rolls was in a list.

The photos appeared as thumbnails within each roll when uncollapsed, but the rolls were all presented in a long vertical lists. It was difficult to move things around, if you were so inclined. (I know a lot of you may be thinking that you aren't supposed to move items from one roll to another, but my response to that is "you do it your way, I'll do it mine!").

Events provide a grid of thumbnails which can be sorted by date, by Event name, or manually. The thumbnail incorporates a new iLife feature called "Skimming" (though you video pros out there might also think of it as "Scrubbing") which allows you to view a preview of all photos in an Event simply by running your mouse cursor over the event. This is, simply put, AWESOME.

You can even right click on a specific image to make it the "key photo", the one that appears on the Event thumbnail when it is at rest. Simply skim through until you find the best photo to illustrate the event, then right click and choose "Make Key Photo". Wonderful. And, if you want to view your photos in the old roll-style list, you can still do that by clicking on "Photos" instead of "Events" in the "Library" list, and then choosing "Event Titles" from the "View" menu (More proof that Events are just a new name for rolls.)

The Sidelist

The sidelist now looks very much like the one in iTumes and still has all the features of previous versions of iPhoto. You can still use Albums, Smart Albums and Folders to organize photos. There is still a "Last Import" viewer and one for the "Last 12 Months". Newly added to the "RECENT" list is the last Event you were looking at, and "Flagged" which is very useful for temporarily highlighting photos that need attention. Here's how I am currently using flagging: My mother recently scanned dozens of old photo albums full of family photos and provided them to me on disk. All the photos bear the date they were scanned, not the date they were taken. I can't have this (remember, I said I am obsessive about the organization of my photos), so I flagged them all so they appear in the flagged list. As I put the correct date to photos, I unflag them. Now I can see at a glance how many photos remain to be dated. As the number counts down, I feel I'm getting somewhere. Very useful.

Keywords

Since its inception, iPhoto has had one absolutely useless feature: Keywords. I'm not saying that keywords are useless, but iPhoto's implementation of keywords has always been, frankly, terrible. This has allowed third party developers to come to the rescue with plug-ins such as Keyword Assistant and Keyword Manager. I'm happy to say that iPhoto '08 has greatly improved keywords, so much so that the developer of Keyword Assistant has discontinued development, stating "In iPhoto '08, the native keyword interface is good enough that Keyword Assistant is not necessary! Yay!"

You can now assign keywords simply by clicking in the area below the photo where keywords appear (make sure you have elected to show keywords in the view menu), and typing a keyword. You can also open the keyword panel, where you can assign simple keyboard shortcuts to keywords you use most often (these shortcuts are only in play as long as the keyword panel is open, and they don't require modifier keys). I still think there is room for Keyword Manager, and I'll explain why in a future post.

Sharing and Publishing

iPhoto still offers numerous ways to use and share your photos: Mail, iDVD, Burn a CD/DVD, iWeb, Desktop picture, RSS Photocast, prints, books and calendars, and the new Web Gallery (.Mac slides is still available, though why anyone would use that when Galleries is available is beyond me.) If you like making bound books as gifts (they do make excellent gifts), they now have dust jackets. Web Galleries are terrific...if you have .Mac, which is now far more compelling in large part due to the ability to create these Galleries. Galleries can be open to the public or protected with a password. Once created, you can announce your Gallery to friends and family with a well formatted and autoatically generated email message that includes the password info. You can also allow others to download from the Gallery or even add to the Gallery, either through direct download or by emailing photos to the Gallery using a provided email address. This is very cool. Anywhere I am, I can email a photo to my gallery and collect it later. Take a look at Apple's sample Gallery. Cool stuff.

Final Thoughts

I am very pleased with iPhoto '08. It suits my needs perfectly and with its improvements to organizational tasks, it makes my life a little easier. I honestly can't think of how I would improve it, but I'm looking forward to what Apple has in store for the future.

Rating: 9.5 out of 10

iLife '08: Introduction

2007-08-26T21:43:00.001-04:00

I obtained a copy of iLife '08 while on a brief family vacation. I was able to install it on my G4 iBook with the exception of iMovie, which requires a G5 or an Intel Mac. The install failed on the first attempt but succeeded on the second. I had played around with the program on one of the aluminum iMacs in the Apple store in Durham, North Carolina. The only thing I really got out of that experience was that the new iMovie confused me. I didn't understand the new interface at first glance. The rest seemed familiar enough. I'll be reviewing each app in turn over the next few days.

Kristen Bell (who?) too big a star for Heroes???

2007-08-20T11:21:00.001-04:00

Is Kristen Bell really all that famous? Veronica Mars was not exactly a ratings powerhouse and has been cancelled. I personally don't know anyone who has ever seen an episode. Perhaps I'm not 'hip' enough to have been a fan of that series, but I am part of the Heroes fanbase. I really don't see the addition of Kristen Bell as any sort of problem. At least not in the way this author indicates. I'm a little more concerned about the stunt casting of Nichelle Nichols (and I'm waiting for news on Walter Koenig to hit any day now). I certainly have nothing against Ms. Bell, but the author's "concern is that Bell’s fame will result in a guest arc that isn’t subtle: that, when introduced, her character will not integrate into this universe but rather smash her way directly into it." Uh, I don't think so.

Veronica Mars' Kristen Bell has, indeed, been tapped for a multi-episode guest arc on Heroes as a character with ties to HRG, Claire and Peter's "death". But in a show already incapable of balancing its ensemble cast properly, will a guest star with this much hype not derail the show further? Or will they learn from past mistakes?

read more | digg story

China stops couple from naming baby "@"

2007-08-17T01:35:00.001-04:00

This just proves that the Chinese have more sense (or taste) than a country which allows children to be named "Pilot Inspector" (Jason Lee's daughter), "Moxie Crimefighter" (Penn Jillette's daughter) or "Moon Unit" (Zappa).

A Chinese couple tried to name their baby "@," claiming the character used in e-mail addresses echoed their love for the child, an official trying to whip the national language into line said on Thursday.

read more | digg story

Even Evolution Evolves

2007-08-16T23:50:00.001-04:00

Livescience.com has posted a very fascinating and thoughtful article on one of the great "mysteries" of Evolution. The article demonstrates a couple of important concepts. First, that science is not static, but is prepared to change as new evidence presents itself. We've seen this most dynamically in recent years in the disciplines of Astronomy and Physics, but in the last quarter of the 19th Century and the first quarter of the 20th Century, the truly dynamic sciences were Peleontology and Archeology, both of which were profoundly affected by Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution.

It is unfortunate that by definition in the scientific method, Evolution must be called a "Theory", for it invites dismissal by Creationists who prefer to accept the word of the Bible over any scientific evidence that supports what to many, including myself, is quite obvious.

Part of the problem is that there are still unanswered questions that arise when discussing Evolution. Questions that our current level of knowledge cannot answer. This is part of science, though. Throughout history, EVERY scientific discipline has evolved. Copernicus and Galileo were considered heretics because they dared to theorize that Earth was not the center of the universe. Columbus was chastised for believing in theories that the world was a sphere. And the first notions of the concept of extinction were rejected on Theological grounds. As our knowledge and skill have developed and, dare I say, evolved, all of those concepts have been proven to be absolutely correct.

So here are some new discoveries, brought about by advances in technology and progressive thinking, which fill in some of the gaps that some find in the evolutionary model.

As for Creationism, all ancient cultures have their own theories about how the world came to be. At the time these theories were devised, you could make the argument that, given the knowledge that was available at the time, these were just as scientific as any other theory. Unfortunately, these theories left the realm of science and became dogma by ignoring any and all evidence that came after.

I don't want to suffer the same fate as the author of a recent Esquire article on the subject, so I will say this as respectfully as I can: the evidence in support of Evolution, well, exists. The evidence in support of Creationism doesn't exist... it is entirely based on what the Bible says and nothing else. It is stagnant and old, and it ignores reason.

Here's an analogy on a similar line, but on a smaller scale. There are, believe it or not, people on this planet today, who believe, in the face of all evidence to the contrary, that the earth is flat. This belief has been stagnant since 1492. a bit over 500 years. It ignores evidence that came after 1492 which the rest of us take for granted. So ask yourself this: what do you think of these people? Do you respect their belief that the earth is flat? Can you see their point of view? Do you think their belief is reasonable or logical? Now apply your answers to a roughly 3000 year old theory that also ignores all evidence that has come since. In my view, there is no difference.

I urge everyone to come to their own conclusions. Read the article referenced below for insight into how scientific theories grow and advance. But also look into other points of view. A good starting point, as always, is Wikipedia. Good luck to you.

From bizarre butterfly spots to rainbow-colored lizards to adaptations that allow squirrels and even snakes to "fly," physical innovations in the natural world can be mind-boggling.

read more | digg story

For Anyone Planning to Buy an HDTV...

2007-08-16T23:44:00.001-04:00

Plasma vs. LCD vs. DLP. 720P vs. 1080i vs. 1080P. Contrast ratios, refresh rates, screen resolutions. As if shopping for an HDTV wasn't confusing enough, here's yet another issue to consider:

The Trouble With LCD TVs: Motion Blur and the 120Hz Solution - Gizmodo: "When I first saw LCD TVs in stores and at exhibitions years ago, I was like, WTF? Why would anyone buy these? They were blurry as hell—couldn't everyone see that? Over time, the blur problem has subsided thanks to improved refresh rates of 8ms and less. But motion blur is not only caused by refresh rate, it's a natural problem that arises as LCDs flip from frame to frame, 60 times per second. The solution is to double the flipping, to 120 times per second, hence high-end '120Hz' LCDs hitting the market. We've talked about these sets when they were just launching. But there's new controversy as explained in this Home Theater Mag article right now.

(Via Gizmodo.)

Wal-Mart vs. the Return of Good Customer Service

2007-08-16T23:01:00.001-04:00

In a recent article, the New York Times reported on slumps at Home Depot and Wal-Mart. The CEO of Wal-Mart blames the lackluster sales on increasing energy costs. I think rising health care costs could be part of that as well. Wal-Mart also owned up to the fact that they stock "poor clothing and home décor products".

Of more interest and relevance, I think is the article's contention that Home Depot "has alienated customers with lackluster service". This most definitely applies to Wal-Mart as well. How many times have you gone to your local Wal-Mart, where they have 50 checkout lanes but only 3 that are open, each with the kind of lines we used to joke about when the Soviet Russians had to wait in line for toilet paper. People who make minimum wage are not inclined to work very hard or fast or to make any effort to help customers.

On the other hand, I've had service that is just as pathetic from the unionized workers at my local Krogers supermarket. Customer service has gone the way of the dinosaur in this country, and consumers have let it happen in their desperation to save money.

But there is hope — signs that the pendulum may be swinging back in the other direction. On a recent visit to my sister's home in North Carolina, I had occasion to shop at her local supermarket, Harris Teeter. First, this supermarket had far better selection than anything I've seen at any Krogers or Wal-Mart. Even the store branded items were of high quality and included many organic products.

But what impressed me most was the service. At first I thought perhaps it was a regionalism - that North Carolinians are simply more personable and dedicated to their work than their West Virginia counterparts. This may be true on some level, but according to my sister, Harris Teeter personnel are unique among competitors in the area.

So what's so special? Well, for one thing, when the cashiers have no one in their line, they don't go to the info counter and gossip with one another. They stand at the front of their register line, greet everyone who walks by with a smile and invite you to enter their line if and when you're ready. They had maybe a dozen registers and about 8 of them were open. And when I was in line to check out and a third person got into the line behind me, a young man opened another register and invited her to come over. It was awe-inspiring. The young lady bagging the groceries was extremely friendly and conversational. When I commented on how I wish we had Harris Teeters where I came from, she said something like "we're trying to get some stores in West Virginia. We'll be everywhere soon." Notice the "we". She was acting like she was part of a team...like she enjoyed her work and enjoyed serving the public.

Needless to say, I was extremely impressed. If Harris Teeter ever does open a store here, I'd drive out of my way to shop there, high gas prices or no. You can't put a price on that kind of service. Swing, pendulum, swing.

“Many customers are running out of money at the end of the month,” said H. Lee Scott Jr., the chief executive of Wal-Mart. But Wal-Mart also blamed itself, for poor clothing and home décor products.

read more | digg story

Serenity II a Possibility?

2007-08-11T00:41:00.001-04:00

So Joss Whedon is keeping browncoats' hopes alive by announcing the possibility of more adventures of the good ship Serenity on the big screen, but there is a condition: Sales of the upcoming Serenity Collector's Edition DVD (Available August 21 - Preorder at Amazon for only $18.89) need to be high enough to convince Universal that it's worth their investment. Of course, this makes sense, since even with the rabid support of Firefly fans the world over, Serenity didn't exactly set the box office ablaze. We need to prove to the bean counters that it's in their best interest to invest in another movie by buying the disc. Not renting it. Not downloading it. Go out and BUY IT.

Of course, in my view, a better option would be to return Firefly to the small screen. The best idea I've heard in a long time from several users at digg is for the Sci Fi channel to apply the Battlestar Galactica budget to a new Firefly series after Galactica signs off next year. Hmm. Perhaps if we all sent Sci Fi executives huge boxes of nuts... oh, wait, that's been done. Well, at least start writing letters.

Another factor that Whedon mentions is the availability of the cast. He seems to think they all have too much other work and might be too expensive. Let's see what the cast is up to these days:

Nathan Fillion (Mal), thanks to another one of Fox Network's classic bonehead decisions, no longer has Drive to worry about.
Gina Torres (Zoe) HAD a cushy network gig on a show called Standoff, but apparently it's also kaput.
Jewel Staite (Kaylee) appears to have joined the refurbished Stargate Atlantis and has a horror film in the works.
Morena Baccarin (Inara) just finished a stint on Stargate and has landed a role in the Treat Williams series Heartland.
Sean Maher (Simon) has nothing at all in the works according to IMDB.
Adam Baldwin (Jayne) has a pretty full schedule, but no series. And remember, he's always been a steady worker, whether it's small parts in blockbusters (Independence Day) or roles in every third Sci Fi Channel "Original" movie ever made.
Summer Glau (River) could be a tough one if her new series, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, based on the Terminator movies, takes off. But that's what summer hiatus is for.

I don't see any significant problems there. Still, that could change at any time. So, my partner, Di has a few things she'd like all Firefly fans to do to help make more Serenity stories possible over at She Said. I've already followed her directives. So should you.

In an interview at this year’s Comic Con, director Joss Whedon talked about the Collector’s Edition Serenity DVD and a possible big screen sequel if the sales of the new DVD set do well .

read more | digg story

Podcast Episode 5 Now Available!

2007-08-10T01:02:00.001-04:00

Topic: Carl and Di discuss/debate The Bourne Ultimatum.
Subscribe via or listen and download online.

The Problem with iWork...

2007-08-09T01:24:00.001-04:00

I've just been trying out the demo of iWork '08 in the hopes that the upgrade would solve the biggest problem I have with the program, but it doesn't.

I am fortunate to work in an all-Mac office. Most of our clients use PC's. We constantly have to exchange MS Word .doc files with our clients. I've been trying to get us off Word for a number of reasons, so many of us are using NeoOffice, which is bloated and slow. However, it has one feature that Pages sadly lacks: a preference for changing the default 'Save' format to Word .doc files.

Most of the people in my office cannot be bothered to take the extra step of "Export"-ing their final document into Word format. The files need to be Word format from birth and they need to remain Word format through every save and revision. All it takes is one accidental emailing of a .pages document to a PC-based client and all hell will break loose.

So although I am a big fan of Pages, and will likely use it myself, it is not the solution I was hoping for to free my office from the crappy, bloaty, MS Office and its equally bloaty emulators. Which is too bad.

Apple, please see it in your heart to let us change the default save format. Only then will businesses be able to adopt iWork.

Tom Cruise to Play Capt. Christopher Pike in new Star Trek?

2007-08-08T11:30:00.001-04:00

The comments to this story on digg.com are universally, and vehemently, against this, with declarations of "they're destroying Star Trek" aplenty. I think that if Star Trek V: The Final Frontier couldn't manage to destroy the Star Trek franchise, then a cameo by Tom Cruise (who, in spite of some of his undeniably unhinged personal choices of late is still a perfectly fine actor) can't do it, either.

I have posted a few blogs on Scientology in general and Tom Cruise specifically, but I've never really made my position on Cruise clear, so I will do so now. During the Top Gun phase of his career, in which every picture he made was the Top Gun of (blank) (i.e. The Top Gun of car racing was Days of Thunder and the Top Gun of bartending was Cocktail) I despised Tom Cruise, just like everybody else (that is everybody else who didn't go to see these blockbusters). But then Cruise actually began ACTING. His performances in films such as Rain Man and Magnolia were superb and he quickly rose above the level of pretty-boy movie star to A-List artiste. I've enjoyed most of his professional choices ever since.

Now his personal choices are another story. I watched in horror with everyone else in America as he took on psychiatry and told Matt Rauer he was 'glib' on the Today Show. I shook my head in disbelief as he danced around like a madman on Oprah, and cringed when he put the (verbal) smack down on a water squirting prankster. I've grown increasingly disappointed in his growing role as poster boy for the pseudo-religion Scientology (see "Germans equate Scientologists with Nazis"). But on these issues I really just do not care. What he does in his personal life is his business. I am only interested in whether he can keep me entertained, and the simple fact is that so far, he has.

So, I'm going to buck the trend here and separate the man's personal life from his professional life and state that if they insist on making this Star Trek remake (which I don't really agree with in principle), then Tom Cruise is a good choice to step into Jeffrey Hunter's shoes. Go for it!

IGN has learned from a trusted source that director J.J. Abrams would like to have the A-list star cameo in his forthcoming big-screen reboot of Star Trek.

read more | digg story

NEW iMac, iLife, iWork, .Mac, Mac Mini, Airport Extreme, RAID Card (whew!)

2007-08-07T23:38:00.001-04:00

Apple's Mac event today wasn't revolutionary, but it was still a bit drool-worthy. There has been plenty of coverage, so I won't go into the details of the event. I'll just discuss what I see as the most significant aspects of each announcement.The headliner of the event was, of course, the new iMac. With this design revision, Apple has nearly eliminated the clean white look they pioneered in favor of brushed aluminum (only the MacBook and the 5.5 G video iPod retain the white plastic cases.) But aside from the new skin and sleeker and slimmer case, the upgrades are nothing particularly special. The bump in processor speed, increased RAM capacity, and larger hard drive options are pretty standard and expected. Gigabit Ethernet and a FW800 port may be new (I'm not certain) and are certainly useful. The big disappointment for me is the SuperDrive. Still no Blu-Ray. I suppose they have to wait for the Blu-Ray support built into Leopard before they can add that upgrade, so I'll be waiting until the next iMac refresh before I'll even consider buying one.

One thing I can appreciate, though, is the pricing. The iMac sports price drops across the board, and the elimination of the 17 inch model. They two 20-inch models sell for $1199 and $1499, while the two 24-inch models run $1799 and $2299 (which includes the Core 2 EXTREME processor, whatever that is).

The new keyboard is noteworthy. It appears in the photos to be wafer thin, and the keys are identical to those used on the MacBooks. They will also be offering a smaller Bluetooth keyboard, as well. I can't wait to see one in person when I travel to Raleigh this coming weekend (sadly, we have no Apple stores anywhere near here, but I'm going to Tarheel country for a family visit — the timing couldn't be better!)

Next up for the big announce-fest is iLife ’08. This is way overdue, and many were speculating that it would rely so heavily on Leopard that it would likely be delayed until its release in October. Well, it's here now. I'm excited, but again, I don't think there is anything particularly revolutionary here. Certainly there is better integration with .Mac (which I'll discuss momentarily) and the iPhone. iMovie received the most significant upgrade, and it needed it. It now more closely resembles iPhoto in appearance and behavior, and it looks like the process of editing videos has been enhanced with even more drag and drop simplicity. That's all well and good, but the biggest problem with iMovie was never the interface... it was the performance and stability. I hope they've addressed those issues as well. I will also note that they've added support for AVCHD format, which is great, but it really highlights the deficiency in the lack of Blu-Ray support. Again, I'll be curious to see if this changes after Leopard is released.Garageband received some upgrades, but I've never really been into Garageband, so I can't really offer any insight into this. iWeb seems to have been improved, particularly with the addition of Google features, like AdSense and Maps. The alliance that started with the iPhone is bearing fruit in other places. iDVD gets short shrift (as did DVD Studio Pro in the recent Final Cut Studio upgrade), with a few minor features, like new themes and better encoding.

In the grand scheme of things, the .Mac upgrade may be the most significant. The $99 per year service has had a hard time justifying that expense. Sure it had mail and a few other fairly useless features, and it served as a sync vehicle for those with multiple Macs. But it was a pretty lame web page host and frankly, it didn't have much else going for it. Even the sync didn't always work well. Now, however, the service starts to feel more compelling. It's most dynamic new feature is Web Gallery, which allows you to share your iPhotos and your iMovies in what is, quite frankly, a stunningly beautiful interactive interface. This is miles ahead of mere photocasting. I can't wait to try this out.

Following iLife, as always, is iWork 08. I have just one thing to say: Numbers! This was the missing element, a spreadsheet. Without it, iWork could never replace MS Office (or OpenOffice, etc). I now have reason to try iWork. My hope is that we can replace the woefully out of date and ridiculously overpriced MS Office at my place of work. The key is file saving. I know you can EXPORT Pages files to Word .doc format. But unless you can change the default save format to .docs, I fear we will have to remain enslaved to MS Office (This is a not necessarily a failing of iWork, rather it is the result of inflexibility of the technical luddites with whom I work — to ask them to 'Export' a file would be an unspeakable hardship for them, but we must work in Word format in order to be compatible with our PC using clients)

I will be purchasing iLife and iWork when I arrive in Raleigh this weekend. I will try to fight the crowds to get my hands on the new iMac. I will post my impressions of all these experiences early next week.

Before I go, it should be noted that Apple quietly refreshed the Mac Mini (processor boost) and the Airport Extreme (gigabit ethernet) and release a RAID card for the MacPro. Busy day, indeed.

read more | digg story

Buy 24 inch iMac OR Buy 20 inch iMac

Stunt Casting on 'Doctor Who'?

2007-08-07T20:56:00.001-04:00

Although I'm happy to hear of the return of Davros (the evil creator of the Doctor's arch enemies, the Daleks), and Ben Kingsley would be great in that role, I'm concerned that this upcoming season (or series, as the Brits would say) of Doctor Who is shaping up to be more about the 'famous guest star of the week' than about the stories. There were reports of Dennis Hopper, for example, guesting on the show and I do believe other big name guest stars have been mentioned. This could be done well, or it could take the 'Law & Order' route, in which the viewer is so distracted by the appearance of Martin Short or Chevy Chase or Ludacris, that they are taken completely out of the story.

If you're going to bring in one of the bigger villains in "Doctor Who," why not bring in the right actor to portray him? Believe The Sun or don't believe them. Either way, however, the British newspaper is reporting that producers are trying to bring in Ben Kingsley as the villain Davros.

read more | digg story (via SyFy Portal)

Couple Claiming To Be Followed By Scientology Agents Kill Themselves

2007-08-07T13:14:00.001-04:00

I've been following recent Scientology-related stories (i.e. Cruise's problems in Germany), but this is a tragedy. The problem with Scientology is that the U.S. Government granted them tax-exempt status, as they do for any religion, which gave the outfit an endorsement as well as allowing them to keep more of the millions they pull in each year from their über wealthy "congregation". Other countries, like Germany, have a different, and frankly, more realistic view.

As for their use and abuse of the torte system...well, again, we have our U.S. Government to thank for that, too. A bit of torte reform could help alleviate some of these problems.

They blamed Scientology (claiming that they had turned up on the religion’s radar through Blake’s work with Beck). They said that agents of Scientology (among these they included, Tom Cruise, Beck & others) had been following them in public and keeping them out of the movie business behind closed doors. Now we all know Scientology wouldn't do this.

read more | digg story

Movie Time 001: A Remake We Just Don't Need

2007-08-07T00:42:00.001-04:00

And The Director Of GEARS OF WAR And The ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK Remake May Be... : "IESB reports that Len Wiseman is in talks to direct both GEARS OF WAR and the ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK remake for New Line."

(Via Ain't It Cool News.)

That little piece of news from AICN gives me an opportunity to start my Movie Time series, in which I discuss my recommended films from the list in the sidebar of this very web page. The list is not in any particular order, though you'd be hard pressed to convince me to remove Blade Runner from the top.

Today's bit of news puts me in mind of John Carpenter's 1981 science fiction masterpiece, Escape from New York. Carpenter has been a very prolific filmmaker over the years, but EFNY is arguably the best of his career.

For those who don't know: In a dystopic near-future (uh...1997), crime has reached such levels that the U.S. government has sacrificed its largest city, taking advantage of the natural isolation afforded by the island of Manhattan by turning it into the ultimate maximum security prison. When the President (Carpenter go-to guy Donald Pleasance) crash lands in the city, the prison warden (the incomparable Lee Van Cleef) recruits the extremely reluctant war hero and ne'er do well, "Snake" Plisskin (played as the ultimate tough guy antihero by Kurt Russell) to rescue him.

Plisskin is a walking caricature of toughness, talking in a whispered growl swaggering like a pirate complete with eye patch. This may well be Kurt Russell's penultimate creation... the role he will be most fondly remembered for. Snake growls his grumpy way through the dilapidated city where he encounters a cast of colorful characters played by equally colorful actors: Ernest Borgnine as the ever gleeful Cabbie, Harry Dean Stanton as Brain, the buxom Adrienne Barbeau as "Brain's squeeze" Maggie, and most surprising of all, the immortal Isaac Hayes as the mega-pimp from hell, the Duke of New York. A masterful, if low-budget, cast that helps to give this film the kitsch factor of a "Wizard of Oz" style quest adventure, set in the ultra grime of a violent, rotting Emerald City. Instead of a yellow brick road, we have Broadway. What's wrong with Broadway, Snake asks? Well, instead of flying monkeys, we have a swarm of cannibals attacking our intrepid group of heroes in their big-ass 70's station wagon.

The scenes of torment that the Duke inflicts on the President are beyond priceless. "You are the Duke of New York...A number one..." as is the final revenge the President takes on the Duke. And the Duke's car... a big caddy with chandeliers on the fenders... priceless. The film wallows in its grime and makes it fun to feel dirty. It's a big part of the charm.

Which is why I live in fear of the upcoming remake. The original had a couple of effects shots, but it lived or died on its low-budget tactile nature. The remake will likely be a huge "Hollywood Spectacle", with slick special effects and camera work. I'm sure it will look incredible. But will it have the same charm?

And how do you recast a role that was so perfectly defined by the actor who created it? Would you remake Raiders of the Lost Ark without Harrison Ford? Or Casablanca without Humphrey Bogart? Or Willy Wonka without Gene Wilder...oh, wait, they did that. Ok, how about Star Trek without William Shat... oh, wait. OK, clearly Hollywood has no shame in these matters. Very well. We'll have to live with it.

Even if the remake sucks rocks, thanks to DVD, the original will live on.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Mac Event tomorrow!!

2007-08-06T23:16:00.001-04:00

The one thing that could reverse my dark mood after my last post is this reminder that tomorrow is the day for the promised Mac event from Apple. No iPhone. No iPod. Only products that contain "Mac". And apparently that could include .Mac as well. Apple has been promising a .Mac upgrade to make it more than just a sync tool. I am eager to see what they have up their sleeve.

Mac Rumors: .Mac Update Coming at August 7th Media Event?: "Apple's .Mac site warns users that the .Mac service will be undergoing maintenance on August 7th between 10 AM an 12 PM PDT.

"Due to scheduled maintenance, .Mac members might be intermittently unable to access some .Mac services from 10 AM to 12 PM PDT on 08/07/2007. We apologize for any inconvenience."

Coincidentally, this time corresponds exactly to Apple's Media Event which is scheduled to take place on August 7th at 10AM PDT.

Steve Jobs had hinted that .Mac would see a refresh in the near future during a recent interview."

(Via Mac Rumors.)

Judge says RIAA owns us all...

2007-08-06T23:07:00.001-04:00

When did we lost control of this situation? The RIAA MUST BE STOPPED! I don't condone piracy, but here is a case where they obviously have NO REAL EVIDENCE and they've put the burden on the defendant to INCRIMINATE HIMSELF, which used to be forbidden under the Fifth Amendment of a little document we used to value called the Constitution. The fact that a federal judge is conspiring with the RIAA in this is entirely unforgivable. I'm sorry I have nothing constructive to add, but I'm apoplectic with rage.

Judge greenlights RIAA to dig into man's past, employer: "A federal judge granted the record labels a big victory in a file-sharing fishing expedition, approving the RIAA's request to subpoena the defendant's employer, wife, and brother. In a ruling issued late last month, Judge P. Kevin Castel also ordered defendant Yuri Shutovsky to provide the names and addresses of every person who had used his PC in the three years prior to the lawsuit being filed."

(Via Ars Technica.)

Putting Too Much Faith in Technology

2007-08-06T22:56:00.001-04:00

Earlier today, I was listening the the podcast (er, sorry, Leo, I mean "netcast") of a recent episode of Leo Laporte's Tech Guy radio show in which he was discussing the issue of electronic voting. He is against it, and states that the technologists and the computer experts, contrary to what one might expect, are all strongly discouraging the use of these machines. The following post from Engadget follows that line (note the section in bold):

California official gives ok to voting systems that failed security audit - Engadget: "Yeah, remember those white hats that took out three separate systems with ease in a California e-voting system security audit? Well what do you know, the eminently wise and honorable California Secretary of State Debra Bowen up and decided Friday that those severely vulnerable Diebold, Hart, and Sequoia voting terminals would still be cleared for takeoff, provided the companies in question supply their machines with updated firmware, disabled access to unused ports, kill the wireless connections, and so on. So basically, the companies that deny up and down their voting systems are even vulnerable are now directly responsible for making them less vulnerable per seemingly vague security-hardening guidelines. As usual, we suggest preempt these fools' garbage tech entirely and go low-fi on it: if you suspect your district is or will be using e-voting machines, send your votes by mail."

(Via Engadget.)

This speaks to an even greater trend I've encountered far too often. The sad truth is that people who don't understand technology have the most unrealistic expectations of what technology can do. People in business rely so heavily on email that they use it to meet deadlines that they used to meet via overnight letter delivery and are stunned and amazed when their email doesn't get through due to a mail server failure or a dropped packet somewhere between here and there. I've had to explain innumerable times to my office workers that they rely on email at their peril, because I understand how email works and I understand that there are hundreds or thousands of possible points of failure in the email process. They don't listen. To them, it's all there working at their pleasure... until that day it isn't, and then they're screwed.

I can't even count how many times I've received questions like "why can't I send this pdf? It keeps coming back undeliverable" (it's 35MB), "why won't it just print it the way it looks on screen?" (It's not a calibrated monitor), "why can't Word tell what I meant to type instead of what I typed?" (seriously, I've been asked this question). They see a computer as some perfect solution to all their problems and are stunned and flabbergasted when the computer crashes, and can't understand why their file can't be recovered in spite of the fact that they NEVER ONCE SAVED IT!

So it is no surprise to me that government officials, who seem to be famously ignorant and inept in matters of tech, see voting machines as the magical remedy to all their voting woes. They believe the almighty computer can take the votes, count the votes, and magically produce results, thus saving their poll workers from all that tedious chad checking and ACTUAL WORK. And shame on Diebold and any company that takes advantage of their ignorance. I guarantee you that the programmers at Diebold do not believe their systems are un-hackable. And the execs at Diebold better pray that no icebergs present themselves in the 2008 election, or they could find themselves at the center of a shit-storm of such magnitude that the 2000 election debacle will seem like a light summer breeze by comparison.

The GIMP to get new Interface?

2007-08-01T16:04:00.001-04:00

I have been looking for a viable alternative to Photoshop for YEARS. It's not that I don't like Photoshop, I love it. I'm just sick and tired of the ridiculous high prices Adobe keeps charging for it. Similarly, during the long gap between the Intel-ization of Macs and the release of Adobe's CS3 line of products, I grew increasingly frustrated with the company.

The GIMP has been around for a long time. It is certainly the closest thing I've found to a replacement for Photoshop, and the price is certainly right (free), but it suffers from the fact that it is a UNIX app with all the interface garbage that implies (it runs within the X11 Unix windowing system on the Mac). Let's face it, the interface of the GIMP is and always has been pure, unaldulterated crap. Anyone trying to transition from Photoshop is in for an extremely unpleasant ordeal. Even when using GIMPshop, the somewhat controversial repackaging of GIMP that is intended to make it more Photoshop-like, the app feels clunky and ancient, with menus on every window which you have to click twice in order to activate. It is completely unintuitive.

So news that the original developers of GIMP have started to redesign the interface is good news indeed. The first thing they are addressing, according to the article from Venturecake below, is the mulitiple menus on every window problem. I am hopeful that these developments will lead to that holy grail of open source apps...the Photoshop Killer!

VentureCake » Blog Archive » GIMP's major UI revamp: "Despite all the noise made about improving the cross-platform image editing tool, people seem to have missed that GIMP’s own developers are planning on UI improvements.

...

The main image window is always displayed at startup, even when no image is loaded. This is Gimp’s application window now, containing the menu items that were once in the toolbox. When there’s no image to show, a top of the day is shown in the area.
The toolbox is now just a regular floating window, similar to the stylist in OpenOffice. It doesn’t have any menus, these are moved to the main image window. Like all other floating menus, it now won’t show up in the taskbar. This is the first round of changes, and the GIMP developers believe they’d address many of the complaints about GIMPs user interface. At this point, GIMP would behave a lot more similarly to existing multi-window design apps.

...

The plan is for a single menu item to enable the interface in the mockup above. One additional pleasant surprise is tabs to handle different documents."

(Via VentureCake.)

Next Year's Sweeps Episode...

2007-08-01T14:21:00.001-04:00

I am an avid viewer of TLC's "Little People, Big World". I don't really know why... I just enjoy it. Each season chronicles the lives of the Roloff Family during the previous year. This means that events that are reported in the news today may appear on the show next season. This happened last season when one of the kids was severely injured in an accident on the farm. The accident occurred the previous year, and TLC placed little Public Service Announcements in the episodes in which Matt and Amy kept reassuring the viewers that Jacob was OK. We actually got to see the accident this past season.

How will they handle this one, I wonder. To be sure, it represents an embarrassment for Matt Roloff, but in this world of 'build 'em up, knock 'em down' mentality, you have to figure this would give the ratings a real boost, especially if they acknowledge and deal with it on the show. Hmmmm.... decisions, decisions.

Cops: "Little" Star Hit Bar, Drove Car - TMZ.com: "The pint-sized pop on the TLC reality show 'Little People, Big World' has been hiding a pretty big secret -- he was busted for DUI last month.

According to the Washington County Sheriff's Office, 45-year-old Matthew Roloff was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of intoxicants, around midnight on June 19 after cops claim that Roloff's van had been swerving on the road.

Roloff, who then failed a field sobriety test, was taken to Washington County Jail, where he was cited and released."

(Via TMZ.com.)

'Bout Time!

2007-08-01T14:05:00.001-04:00

I am happy to see that in the wake of months and months of iPhone hype, Apple is FINALLY getting back to the Mac. Rumors indicate the possiblity of a new iMac (though I'm not thrilled with the idea of brushed aluminum replacing the clean white we've become so accustomed to). Other rumors would have us believe a new iPod Nano redesign could be on the agenda. I suppose it could be, though I find that unlikely. The Nano is still the most popular iPod, and the current design is certainly much fresher than the full-sized 5.5 G iPod.

Personally, I'm hoping for an all-Mac series of announcements. I'm waiting with bells on.

Apple Mac event Scheduled for 8/7: "The press are being invited to an Apple 'product presentation for Mac' at Apple Town Hall in Cupertino on the morning of Tuesday, August 7th."

(Via digg.)

A Blu-Ray Adventure...

2007-07-30T00:01:00.001-04:00

I recently had my first experience with the Blu-Ray disc format.

My personal feeling on both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray is that neither format is ready for prime-time, though as a distribution method for Hollywood movies, they're both getting equally close. As for more advanced features, such as custom disc burning, it is far too early to make use of either format. HD-DVD's cannot be burned as of now (though there are ways to burn HD-DVD content onto regular DVD's apparently). Blu-Ray is ahead of the game on this front, as there are several burners available. Authoring Blu-Ray Video Discs is another story. The only app I've found that claims this ability is Roxio's DVDIt Pro HD, which is currently available for Windows only.

I have sales reps at Apple working on finding a Mac solution, but it is unlikely that one will present itself before the release of Leopard in October.

But in my business, it is not my opinion that matters. We were recently contacted by a potential client who had a great use for high definition video that went beyond the usual content production uses. This idea is, by my reckoning, a year ahead of its time.

So they were faced with 3 options: spend $80,000-100,000 on a Sony HDCam deck to play the tapes they were recording (this on top of the cost of acquisition, which included, among other things, a helicopter mount and a gyro stabilized system); have the video transferred to HD-DVD; or have the video transferred to Blu-Ray. Of course, they really did NOT want to buy an HDCam deck, particularly since they wanted to be able to take and play these videos at conferences and meetings in various locations. So they came to us to explore the feasibility of burning a disc using one of the warring hi-def disc formats. Naturally, my boss, who has no understanding of how any of this is done, said "no problem."

So I began my research. I quickly discovered, as I mentioned earlier, that HD-DVD burners were non-existent. I came up with a risky solution which involved an investment on our part of around $5000 or so for a burner, a set-top player, a copy of Windows (to be run in Boot Camp on my MacPro), the DVDIt Pro software, an upgrade to our editing system to allow us to capture HD content and the rental of an HDCam deck for a week. In hindsight, we should have gone that route.

Instead, we found a vendor in NYC who could create Blu-Ray discs from our source tapes. The cost of this was around $4,000 to transfer six 40 minute tapes to two Blu-Ray discs without interactive menus. Additionally, the vendor informed us that not all burned discs would work with all set-top Blu-Ray players, so I had him recommend those that he knew would work.

Here is where things (finally) get interesting. One of his recommended players was the Sony BDP-S1, the other was the Samsung BDP-1000. The client, knowing they would have to buy a player and a 1080p TV to play the video for optimum resolution, opted to go all Sony. It seemed reasonable, since Sony is, after all, the inventor of Blu-Ray.

We were in for quite a shock when the discs arrived and we put them into the player. "Cannot play disc". I tried the other disc. "Cannot play disc". We just spent $4800 on the discs and the player, and all we got was "Cannot play disc". Ouch!

Naturally I called the vendor. He suggested I check the firmware on the player. Sure enough, there was a firmware update available, which was specifically designed to allow the player to play burned discs, so I went through the extremely long and convoluted process of updating the player. Afterwards, we put the disc in and..."Cannot play disc".

I called the vendor again. I asked him directly if he had really tested these discs in the Sony player. He had to admit that he did NOT, but that he had tested with the Sony BWU-100A drive, which he asserted should be the same drive that's in the set-top player. At this point, I had an idea. The discs he had sent were BD-RE's (don't ask me why they don't just call them BD-RW's to be consistent with other rewriteable disc formats), so I suggested he re-burn them on BD-R instead. He did. "Cannot read disc".

Finally, as the vendor was struggling for a solution, he offered to send us HIS Samsung BDP-1000, on which he HAD tested the discs. We hooked up the Samsung, put the disc in and...voila, perfect, beautiful 1080p hi-def goodness. So the Samsung player worked where the Sony did not. Even though Sony invented the format, Samsung's player outperformed theirs on the simple task of PLAYING A DISC.

I'm sure the Sony works just fine when playing commercial movie discs, but it's inablility to play burned discs makes it totally useless to me. I suppose they could fix it with another firmware upgrade, but the last upgrade was supposed to solve this problem, and it didn't. Oh, Sony, you used to be so good at this stuff. What happened to you?

Anyway, after finally getting the discs to work, the client selected certain clips to be compiled onto a final disc. While they exchanged their Sony player for the Samsung, we had the vendor make the final disc. Due to the editing involved, the final disc cost the same as the first two: another $4000.

All told, the process of preparing a the final Blu-Ray disc was $8000. To be sure, we learned a lot from this process. The first thing we learned is that Blu-Ray is just NOT ready for this type of work. We also learned that Samsung out Blu-Rays Sony. Finally, we learned that clients with deep pockets are wonderful!

If they decide to try this again for future projects, I've determined that we can cut the cost in half (or more) by investing in the equipment and software to do this ourselves. Eventually, the process of burning a Blu-Ray disc will be as simple as a regular DVD. We just have to wait for Apple to come along and make it happen.

Until then, my advice is to wait. Blu-Ray is just NOT ready.

Google Asked to Delist Scientology Critics

2007-07-29T20:37:00.001-04:00

Just a quickie, following up on my posts on the Tom Cruise vs. Germany scuffles over Scientology. In case anyone doubted my assertion that Scientology likes to sue anyone who speaks negatively about them, just click on the link below. There are not content to sue the owners of the critical web site, now they are suing Google for revealing the site in searches. Here's hoping that Google is the one 900 pound gorilla that gives the 800 pound gorilla a legal trouncing.

Google Asked to Delist Scientology Critics (#1) -- via Chilling Effects Clearinghouse

The Simpsons Movie Makes Me Laugh! Film at Eleven...

2007-07-29T18:57:00.001-04:00

I've been watching The Simpsons from the days when they appeared in short segments on The Tracy Ullman Show, which was on waaaaaaay back when I was in college (1987). Now, in 2007, The Simpsons remains a top barometer of what's funny in America. There are a lot of people who say the show jumped the shark a few years ago and that its current creative team just can't hold a candle to those that have come and gone before. Maybe. But The Simpsons on a bad day is still wittier and funnier than the "best" Saturday Night Live or MadTV have to offer.

Having said all that, I must admit that I have not been a religious follower of the show for the past few seasons. I'm not really sure why that is. I certainly made no conscious effort to avoid watching it. I know that I get extremely frustrated when some sporting event pre-empts the FOX Sunday lineup, and this happens more and more often these days as FOX has acquired NFL, NASCAR and God knows what else. My tastes may have shifted a bit, as well, toward the Family Guy style of humor, which, crude though it is, is often outrageously funny.

Whatever the reason, I am happy to say that I have been reborn as a Simpsons fan with the release of The Simpsons Movie (following in the footsteps of other films containing the word "Movie" in their title: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079588/, Silent Movie, Pokemon: the First Movie, Jackass: The Movie, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, Scary Movie, etc. etc. etc.). I am going straight home to program my DVR to every possible showing of The Simpsons so I don't miss another episode.

The most important thing I can say about The Simpsons Movie is this: It made me laugh. Plain and simple. Granted, the laughs were more tightly packed in the first half of the movie than in the latter half, but laughs were fairly regular and consistent. There were only a couple of 'laugh until you can't breath' moments, but a good number of belly laughs all the same.

Though well known for its political and social satire, which is here (though not as topical as it could be, given the long production schedule of a film like this), most of the laughter of The Simpsons comes from the characters. Even when, as the filmmakers say, "crudely animated", you can read volumes in the yellow faces of Homer, Bart, Marge and the rest that makes for subtler moments than you might expect. But it's broader moments of physical comedy that bring the biggest laughs.

I'm not going to go into too much detail here. My description of jokes and gags will NOT do justice to the film. Suffice it to say that some of the gags are classic Homer and Bart, with the added twist of being free from the broadcast censors (the film is PG-13), but they don't push the envelope. Two of the films funniest moments could never have been shown on the telly. I won't spoil them for you here.

The film falters a bit in the second half. It drags as it gets bogged down in feel-goodliness. A little of that goes a long way and it may be that factor of The Simpsons in general that that holds it back in this day of far more jaded comedy like Family Guy or American Dad. As Homer wrestles with hard decisions that affect his relationship with his family, I honestly couldn't have cared less.

All in all, the film is very successful on many levels, if not perfect. I think it proves that what works wonderfully in a 22 minute TV format, doesn't always make it when stretched to a 90 minute film format. I will undoubtedly see the film again, but I will likely wait until the DVD.

Bottom Line: Hey, it made me laugh. What more could anyone ask?

Rating: 7 out of 10

The Humorous Side of Sylvia Plath ??

2007-07-29T12:35:00.001-04:00

I'm no Sylvia Plath scholar, but when I was a theatre major at Northwestern, we once had an assignment to prepare a one-act, one person show in which we selected and performed someone we admired. My best friend at the time chose Sylvia Plath.

For those of you who don't know, Plath suffered severe depression and ultimately committed suicide. There was nothing humorous about my friend's performance, and as I myself have been a long-time sufferer of depression, I can say from experience that there is nothing remotely humorous about it. I am highly offended that the filmmakers of this adaptation of Plath's semi-autobiographical book, The Bell Jar could possible take the view that this work can possible be in any way humorous.

To portray someone suffering from the often fatal illness of depression as an object of comedy is a travesty. But even more tragic is when filmmakers take a great piece of literature and pervert it into something it's not merely to put their own 'stamp' on the work. What's next? How about Romeo and Juliet in which they live happily ever after? Or a remake of Titanic in which the ship doesn't sink? Or A Tale of Two Cities in which no one gets beheaded?

Julia Stiles Talks Up 'Bell Jar' - Cinematical: "Back in April, Ryan Stewart alerted us to the twist in the new adaptation of Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar. Celine Rattray, of Plum Pictures, had said: 'Esther Greenwood has a strong outlook on life, and we're really looking to bring out the humor in the character. We don't want to do a depressing descent into the world of suicide.' ... Julia Stiles, who will star as Esther, recently chatted with MTV and said: 'I don't think it's depressing at all. It is ABOUT depression, but I think that Sylvia Plath writes with such awesome, beautiful, vivid imagery that is so perfect for film, that it's kind of a joy.'

(Via Cinematical .)

How to sell something that's free for $2 a pop.

2007-07-29T12:18:00.001-04:00

I've known this for years, so it hardly seems like news to me, but it's good to see someone force a little more truth in advertising.

Aquafina Labels: It's Tap Water - Forbes.com: "NEW YORK - The label on Aquafina water bottles will soon be changed to spell out that the drink comes from the same source as tap water, the brand's owner said Friday.

A group called Corporate Accountability International has been pressuring bottled water sellers to curb what it calls misleading marketing practices.

Aquafina is the single biggest bottled water brand, and its bottles are now labeled 'P.W.S.' The new labels will spell out 'public water source.'

'If this helps clarify the fact that the water originates from public sources, then it's a reasonable thing to do,' PepsiCo (nyse: PEP - news - people ) spokeswoman Michelle Naughton said Friday.

The corporate accountability group is also pressing for similar concessions from The Coca-Cola Co. (nyse: KO - news - people ), which owns the Dasani water brand.

Dasani's Web site says that Dasani comes from local water supplies and is then filtered.

'We don't believe that consumers are confused about the source of Dasani water,' Coca-Cola spokeswoman Diana Garza Ciarlante said. 'The label clearly states that it is purified water.'

Sales of bottled water has been a growing source of revenue for companies such as PepsiCo Inc., based in Purchase, N.Y., and Atlanta-based Coca-Cola as they lessen their dependence on sales of traditional carbonated sodas, as consumer concern over health issues has weakened demand."

(Via Forbes.)

Germans equate Scientologists with Nazis.

2007-07-25T22:39:00.001-04:00

The odyssey of Tom Cruise's German adventure continues. While filming Valkyrie, the story of an internal German plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler, Cruise continues to face challenges and obstacles from the German authorities over his devotion to and, in this case, promotion of the highly questionable pseudo-religion of Scientology. Germany has taken a hard line against Scientology, which they and many others consider to be no more than a cult. The stories about Scientology are often disturbing, as is their policy to abuse the courts and litigate against anyone who attempts to expose them.

I'm not going to directly comment on Scientology, because a) I haven't read the book which serves as their 'bible' and b) as long as they leave me alone, I really don't care what aliens or whatever they worship.

Cruise is 'Goebbels of Scientology', says German church - Independent Online Edition > Europe: "The German Protestant Church compared the Hollywood film star Tom Cruise to the Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels yesterday and claimed the actor was using his celebrity status to publicise the controversial Church of Scientology, of which he is a prominent member.

...

Thomas Gandow, 60, chief spokesman on religious cults for the German Protestant Church, described Scientology as a 'totalitarian organisation' and said that Mr Cruise had become 'the Goebbels of Scientology'.

...

Antje Blumenthal, a conservative MP and Scientology critic, said: 'Unlike the Nazi propaganda minister, Tom Cruise has the sympathy of the public. As a Scientology ambassador he uses his popularity very cleverly in the interests of the totalitarian sect.'"

(Via The Independent (UK).)

Silar as Spock is quite...logical.

2007-07-25T02:00:00.001-04:00

I can see the resemblance. As long as he doesn't leave Heroes!

More Sources Say Quinto's Role As Spock Is a Lock - Cinematical: "Some sources were reporting that Zachary Quinto, the evil, forehead-slicing Sylar on NBC's Heroes, was circling Spock -- the role originally made famous by Leonard Nimoy. All that was officially known were some quotes he made last December -- 'I missed the Superman Returns boat ... so I'm angling for Star Trek. People are constantly telling me I bear some resemblance to Leonard Nimoy.' Quinto's casting now seems to be pretty much a lock. The film's producer and director, JJ Abrams, is supposed to announce the Star Trek cast at Comic-Con, and if today's news is to be believed, Quinto will be on that list."

(Via Cinematical.)

Futurama to return!

2007-07-25T01:55:00.001-04:00

In yet another boneheaded FOX cancellation from years back, Matt Groening's Futurama was sent off to pasture only to become more popular than ever in reruns on Adult Swim. Unlike that OTHER animated series that suffered the same exact fate, FOX did not bring Futurama back from the dead.

But now, there is hope. I'm not thrilled with the idea of direct to DVD movies — I would much prefer a new series. But this is certainly better than nothing.

Good News Everyone! An Update on Those 'Futurama' Movies! - Cinematical: "According to the IMDb, the Futurama movies are called Bender's Big Score!, Bender's Game, Into the Wild Green Yonder and The Beast with a Billion Backs. Aside from those titles, that's about all the info that the IMDb has to impart. But being a longtime and unquestioning supporter of The Hypnotoad, I'm of course very familiar with the excellent fansite called CGEF.com. If you need a website to bookmark and refresh constantly in an effort to learn the latest on these Futurama movies, I highly recommend the CGEF.

Anyway, their news bin informs us of the following: Actress Lauren Tom told IGN that the voice-work on all four movies is done. (Apparently the movies will also break down into 16 episodes for Cartoon Network Comedy Central, which is just fine by me. Just give me the DVD versions!) A little more poking around yields the news that the first flick (Bender's Big Score!) will be in DVD stores before the end of the year with the others to follow in short order throughout 2008. Awesome. (And really, if you've never seen Futurama and you're wondering why I'm this psyched about the new flicks, just do yourself a favor and buy / rent the first two seasons. And then the second two. And then you won't wonder anymore.)"

(Via Cinematical.)

Disagree with Bush...Lose your property!

2007-07-25T01:38:00.001-04:00

I hate politics. And I was very reluctant to blog on this topic, but I can't keep silent. For the record, I am a Democrat, though I don't brag about it. The fact is if you aren't either a Democrat or a Republican, you lose out on some of your opportunities to chose the leaders of this country (as in the Primaries, for example).

The cold hard fact of the matter is that on some issues, I am liberal. On some issues I am conservative. I have supported Republicans in the past, though in the last 8 years, I have done everything I could to get as many Democrats into office as I could, to counter the extreme radical right's appropriation of this government and its military.

I firmly believe that ALL politicians, no matter what their party affiliation, are LIARS! I believe that the inefficiencies of our governing process produce enormous amounts of waste and that corruption is not the exception, but the rule.

I have seen corporate interest groups, such as the RIAA and the MPAA, through their monetary influence, 'persuade' corrupt Senators and Representatives of both parties to pass legislation that benefits ONLY the RIAA and the MPAA, to the exclusion of fair use and other consumer rights.

I have seen perfectly good and necessary bills die on the Senate floor because one too many pork riders for a construction project here...a restrictive policy there...ruined whatever good intentions had initially driven the creation of said bill.

I have seen a good President who balanced the Federal budget and was admired and loved by the common man in this country and around the world, nearly taken down because he received blow job, while a very bad President who destroyed that balanced budget in his first year of office got re-elected even after plunging this nation into a unilateral war based on lies and highly questionable motives, while a the same time turning this once-admired nation into the most hated nation on earth.

There is no justice in politics. There is no fairness. Those who have, get more. Those who have not, get less. The new boss is the same as the old boss. Someday, as history has shown us time and time again, a threshold will be reached in which the "have nots" will no longer tolerate the excesses of the "haves" and there will be a revolution. Possibly bloody and violent. Then we will have... a new boss.

I don't know when this threshold will be reached, but in a recent Decree (we call them "Executive Orders" but as they do not require the approval of our Legislative branch, they are no different from the Decrees of the kings of old), our illustrious President has taken a rather frightening step toward totalitarianism by essentially announcing that anyone who disagrees with his Iraq policies can have all their property confiscated by his government. Or at least that is one interpretation of this broadly worded travesty.

Read it for yourself. This comes straight from the White House website. It states quite clearly that without any sort of trial, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense can take your property away from you if you suspected of INTENDING to commit an "act" that has the effect of "undermining efforts to promote economic reconstruction and political reform in Iraq or to provide humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi people." The type of "act" is not defined. The language is so vague that any PERCEIVED impediment to Bush's plans for Iraq, such as protest or perhaps even Congressional inquiries or legislative actions, could fall within the scope of this decree.

Like any bad law, many of which have been enacted under the guise of "post 9/11" security, we'll have to wait and see exactly how this gets used or abused before final judgement can be made. Lame duck Bush, with the lowest approval rating of his presidency, may not have the clout to make this happen. It may just be one more nail in the coffin of his legacy as the neo-imperialist, pseudo-fascist president we'll be apologizing for over the next several administrations. However...

My greatest fear is that something will happen in the months or weeks leading up to the 2008 presidential election... some heinous act of terrorism, perhaps, that will prompt a new decree... one that say, postpones the election until said crisis has passed... though it seems impossible to think that something like this could happen in America, it would fall right in line with this administration's behavior. Let's hope it's just a paranoid fantasy on my part.

Meanwhile, make your own judgement. Read the "Executive Order" in its entirety.

Now read the following: these are some links I found that discuss the ramifications of this and other recent actions by the Bush Administration:

Broader Privilege Claimed In Firings - washingtonpost.com

A White House Warning on Contempt Charges - New York Times

Bush Abolishes Fifth Amendment

Just What the Founders Feared: An Imperial President Goes to War - New York Times

The Raw Story | Feingold: Censure Bush, Cheney for 'their repeated assaults on the rule of law'

The Raw Story | Old-line Republican warns 'something's in the works' to trigger a police state

The world after George W. Bush - The Boston Globe

windymedia >> Bush Outlaws All War Protest In United States

Lovely Aussie as Evil Witch...

2007-07-25T00:39:00.001-04:00

I adore Naomi Watts. Ever since I saw her in Tank Girl, I've been madly in love with her. What's not to like? Even as a blond, she makes my heart go pitter patter. It's no mystery to me why that big gorilla fell so hard for her.

Now she has signed on to play the undoubtedly evil matriarch of the Malfoy clan in the sixth film of one of my favorite film series: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. She joins the equally lovely Helena Bonham Carter on the dark side, which should provide many an opportunity to ham it up witch style for demure Australian. I, for one, can't wait!

Naomi Watts Signs to Play Narcissa Malfoy in 'Harry Potter 6' - Cinematical: "Naomi Watts Signs to Play Narcissa Malfoy in 'Harry Potter 6'"

(Via Cinematical.)

'Drive' gone but not forgotten.

2007-07-25T00:21:00.001-04:00

FOX has risen to the top of my 'most hated television conglomerate list'. They were already on the list thanks to their treatment of Firefly and their insistence on continuing to give Bill O'Reilly a means to spread his bile across the world. So their treatment of Drive is merely par for the course.

I had very little in the way of expectations when Drive premiered. In fact, I likely would not have even watched it were it not for Di (the She of Heandshesaid.com) and her admiration of the star of Drive, Mr. Nathan Fillion of Firefly fame. Interestingly, Tim Minear, Joss Whedon's co-producer on Firefly, was also the creator of Drive. In the future, I hope he can forge a relationship with some other network, as FOX seems bound and determined to bend him over a log and make him (and his shows) squeal like a pig at every opportunity.

I quite enjoyed the four episodes of Drive that I saw. The show had promise. It featured some very innovative camera work darting inside and outside of the speeding vehicles, and was developing quite a mystery around this secret race. Too bad FOX cancelled it after only four episodes. Only two other episodes were filmed, but the FOX geniuses opted not to air them at all. Nor are they currently available with the first four episodes on . Instead, they streamed them on, of all places, MySpace.

Now, in somewhat similar fashion to the post-cancellation Firefly phenomenon, the oh, so short-lived series is receiving its kudos in spite of the total lack of support from the FOX ferrets. I guess that MySpace streaming was worthwhile after all:

'Drive' makes Primetime Emmy history: "Web Exclusive: Canceled drama is first-ever broadband nom -- Fox's quickly canceled drama 'Drive' has inadvertently made TV academy history on Thursday, becoming the first-ever Primetime Emmy broadband nominee."

(Via Variety.com.)

He and She Said Podcast Ep. 2 Available!

2007-07-24T13:13:00.000-04:00

Topic: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Subscribe via or listen and download online.

Ah, Yuko...

2007-07-16T23:53:00.001-04:00

I am a sucker for a tough and beautiful woman, and recently I find myself becoming quite an admirer of Yuko Mizuno (水野裕子). She can be seen fairly regularly on G4's Ninja Warrior series. She is billed as an "athletic entertainer". Apparently, in Japan it is possible for a fit, athletic individual (with good looks) to make a living competing and performing on any number of sports and athletics reality shows. Sasuke and Kunoichi, the shows which have been repackaged in the US as Ninja Warrior and Women of Ninja Warrior, are just the tip of the iceberg. During intros on that show, we see clips from other shows that we in the States have little or no access to.

Yuko is apparently one of the country's better known "celebrity athletes" and though she has yet to find complete success on Sasuke or Kunoichi, she has participated with great success on other shows (for a poorly translated list visit the Babelfish interpretation of her Japanese Wikipedia page.)

So why do I find Yuko particularly compelling? Well, she's beautiful, to be sure. But I like her spirit. She has a signature gesture where she beats her chest then holds up a "V" for victory to the cheering crowd. She approaches the competition with supreme confidence and she has the goods, athletically speaking. She has the aura of a star. And unlike so many of the Japanese sex symbols, she doesn't seem at all frail or overly girlish.

Consider the Azumi films, which starred the very lovely Aya Ueto in the title role. She was not convincing as a tough, sword wielding samurai assassin, mostly because she has that slight, almost frail and very girlish body which is very typical of the Japanese schoolgirl aesthetic. This is a stark contrast to the solid, yet still feminine form of Yuko Mizuno, who would be extremely believable in such a role (provided, of course that she has any acting ability at all).

There isn't a lot of information to be found about Yuko Mizuno in English. And machine translations can be laughably hard to decipher. Case in point, from the aforementioned Wikipedia translation:

"It is famous as the talent which handles sport generally, calling 'sport queen' 'sport type idling No.1' is. Image of the athlete type talent is strong, but there to be also the experience which does 3 annual part-time job at the sushi shop, also cooking is proud. It has been said this person, when even now the sushi can be grasped, is.

The body where muscular quality was forged is beautiful, either support of the same sex is not little. Simply, usual extreme motion has not done, you say that static training such as stretch is main. It is indoor group also you talk unexpectedly."

I couldn't have said it better myself.

I have found Yuko's blog site. I really wish I could read Japanese.

I'll believe it when I see it.

2007-07-16T22:34:00.001-04:00

The Photoshopped image is super-sweet, to be sure, and I would LOVE to see this come to pass, but I'm going to take a wait and see attitude. This rumor started on the "MacBreak Weekly" podcast when Merlin Mann of 43 Folders fame jokingly suggested that a Beatles-themed iPod
was going to be the subject of Apple's big Superbowl ad (it wasn't). Even then, it was purely a jest, and the panel on the show (including Leo Laporte) joked about how this would start a rumor frenzy... which it did.

So I'll wait and see if this just represents more wishful thinking on the part of Apple and Beatles fans everywhere, or if I need to start loading my piggybank for that yellow touchscreen iPod
goodness. Unfortunately, even if it is true, Apple's track record with themed iPods
has been disappointing at best. It will likely be configured with the smallest possible storage capacity, just like the iPod
.

I Am The Walrus: Yellow Submarine iPod Forthcoming, Loaded with Entire Beatles Catalog?:

"Hi there, Beatles haters. Please skip on down to the next post, and keep listening to that crappy music that will never measure up to the virtuosity and creativity of the musical entity that defined the 20th Century. Okay, now that they're gone, if you are wishful-thinking rumor hater, please leave too. Because this is what we have here—the next unlikely and reheated rumor in the saga of the Beatles and Apple: a Yellow Submarine-like iPod shipping soon with the entire Beatles catalog loaded on board.

This latest round of Beatles-on-iPod scuttlebutt comes from a music industry consultancy called Music Ally, which also somehow knows that this Yellow Submarine iPod will commemorate the date when all the Beatles tracks suddenly become available on iTunes. The prescient consultants add that all these Beatles songs will be exclusive to iTunes for a month before they're offered on any other music download services.

If that's the case, why would Apple offer an iPod with all the Beatles songs pre-loaded, probably at a deeply discounted price, rather than just selling a repainted collector's model and let the fans spend more money in the store? Just like they did with the U2 iPod, you get the fans to buy the special iPod and then let them buy the songs with a higher profit margin.

That said, we've been bamboozled by all these Beatles/Apple rumors so many times, we're not going to hold our breath waiting for this one. [Tech Digest, via CrunchGear]"

(Via Gizmodo.)

The RIAA business model: how NOT to make money.

2007-07-16T22:16:00.001-04:00

The RIAA is OUT OF CONTROL, but this is precisely the kind of thing that will ultimately curtail their activities. When it gets right down to it, it's all about money. If they continue wasting thousands upon thousands of dollars pursuing hapless marks who can't even afford decent attorneys (everyone who HAS had a halfway decent lawyer has so far fought them off sucessfully), ultimately the bean counters will put a stop to this nonsense. It can't come too soon, as far as I'm concerned.

RIAA spends thousands to obtain $300 judgment:

"The RIAA agrees to a judgment of $300 after suing a single mother in state-subsidized housing for file-sharing. It's a far cry from the $750 per song the record labels claimed was due them.
Read More..."

(Via Ars Technica.)

The Wheels of Russian Justice

2007-07-16T22:09:00.001-04:00

I've never been sure what to think of the Russian grey market music download business. The players in Russia claim they have legitimate contracts under Russian law and that they ARE sharing the revenue with the copyright holders.

Riiiiiiiiight.

The story below interested me for a couple of reasons. 1. It seems highly unlikely that ANY decision made in a Russian court is going to have any impact on how the rest of the world does business. 2. I had no idea that Allofmp3 was gone, OR that it had basically been moved lock stock and barrel to the sites AllTunes and MP3sparks.

Now those sites say they can take credit cards again. The grey market is alive and well for now. We'll see if Russia gives a damn what the rest of the world wants them to do. Only time will tell.

Russian court rules that Visa must process payments for Allofmp3.com:

"The people behind AllOfMP3 and AllTunes have just won a court case against Visa, charging the company with breach of contract after it stopped processing credit card payments for the site.

(Via Ars Technica.)

All that grease better in your car than in your stomach.

2007-07-16T21:55:00.001-04:00

Well, McDonald's food may have little or no nutritional value, but at least it's doing somebody some good. But why just in the UK? Why not in the USA? C'mon McD's, bring some of that environmental love to your home turf!

McDonald's will make biodiesel from its own waste grease for trucking fleet:

"I think the world now makes a little more sense.Over in the UK, McDonald's announced today that it will start using its own waste cooking oil to make biodiesel, which will be then used in its entire truck fleet of 155 vehicles."

(Via digg.)

Duuuh!

2007-07-12T02:20:00.001-04:00

I don't know which is sadder: the fact that a major university is actually researching this (how much did they spend, I wonder?) or that Reuters actually reported it as if it were news.

Women drawn to men with muscles (Reuters):
"Reuters - Muscular young men are likely to have more sex partners than their less-chiseled peers, researchers at the University of California Los Angeles said on Monday."

(Via Yahoo! News: Odd News.)

Potter 5 good, not great

2007-07-12T01:10:00.001-04:00

Here is a breakdown of my relationship with Harry Potter. I eschewed the books initially, as they were targeted at kids and were too popular to possibly be any good, right? I avoided Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone like the plague, but by the time Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was due for release, I became intrigued enough to watch the first film on DVD. Then I went to the cinema for Chamber of Secrets and I was hooked. Both those films suffered from the pedestrian direction of Chris Columbus, but were certainly good enough to establish the series.

Then came Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, which was something very rare in the history of cinema: a second sequel that was actually BETTER than it's predecessors. Think of all the movie trilogies that have been made and consider their third installments — Superman III, Matrix Revolutions, Alien 3, even Return of the Jedi — all were fairly bad in relation to their predecessors. I would dare say that only Return of the King springs to mind as a third installment that equaled or exceeded its first two parts.

Prisoner of Azkaban benefitted strongly from the influence of its director, Alfonso Cuarón. It had a more mature feel, not just because the main characters were becoming young adults, but because of the style Cuarón and cinematographer Michael Seresin brought to the film. Increased location shooting brought an earthy reality to the magical world of Hogwarts, and a more subtle color palette added a bit of grit to the proceedings. The performances of the leads improved greatly, resulting in a much more character driven story, in which special effects were merely the sauce for the goose, and not the main attraction.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire brought in a new director and a new vision, and if anything, was even better than Prisoner of Azkaban but for entirely different reasons. Mike Newell, the first actual British director of this very British film series, brought us the most action packed Potter film to date. Darker subject matter was mixed with snappy action sequences like the dragon chase and the showdown between Harry and Voldemort.

The series had done something remarkable and as far as I know, unprecedented in film history: FOUR films, each better than the last (perhaps you could count the first four James Bond films as sharing in that achievement). Along with the continuity of maintaining the same cast through all four films (with the exception, of course, being the recasting of Dumbledore necessitated by the unfortunate passing of Richard Harris), the growth of character has created an investment for the audience. We care about and want to see what will happen to these characters.

So the question is, can Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix continue the trend? Is it better that Goblet of Fire? The answer is, in a word, no. It is not better than Goblet of Fire. Nor is it better than Prisoner of Azkaban, but it IS better than the first two installments. It is a GOOD movie, though. Because of the investment in the characters I mentioned earlier, the audience is bound to be very forgiving if other elements aren't up to par. The characters drive this movie. I think we learn more about many of the ancillary characters in this film than we've learned in all four of its predecessors combined. Backstory for Snape, Neville Longbottom and Sirius Black add depth to the tapestry of lives in the Potterverse.

Phoenix, for all its talk of a brewing war against the growing forces of Voldemort, is very light on action. It's a far more internal story. Voldemort (the still noseless Ralph Fiennes) remains in the background, though as always, his influence is widely felt. Denial ain't just a river in Egypt, it is the policy of the Ministry of Magic when it comes to the re-emergence of Voldemort. This puts Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) in a sticky wicket, since only he and the late Cedric Diggory (Robert Pattinson) actually SAW the dark lord return. No one wants to believe Potter, as that would mean facing up to their greatest fear. In an effort to curtail Potter and Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) from spreading these "lies", Minister Fudge (Robert Hardy) sends the very deceptively sweet and completely creepy Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton)to enact a series of McCarthy era policies accompanied by medieval punishments against the students of Hogwarts. Umbridge is a loyalist, blindly devoted to the truth she believes, who will stop at nothing to to see those she deems "disloyal" suffer for their "crimes". She is every bit as evil as Voldemort in her own way.

Naturally, teenagers being teenagers in the wizard world as in our world, the students go behind her back to train themselves to fight the dark lord. We get to see all the familiar faces we've grown up with in this series — Ron and Hermione (Rupert Grint and Emma Watson), of course, along with the rest of the Weasley clan (James and Oliver Phelps, Bonnie Wright), Neville (Matthew Lewis), Seamus (Devon Murray), The Patil sisters (Afshan Azad and Shefali Chowdhury), and Cho Chang (Katie Leung) — all learning to fight alongside Harry (Cho gets a little closer to Harry than the others, if you know what I mean...) There's also a strange new character, named Luna Lovegood (Evanna Lynch) who has a real Village of the Damned vibe. All this camaraderie is good. The result is the start of a real team starting to form.

The biggest problem with the movie is its darkness. I don't mean the tone, though that is decidedly darker than ever. The film is shot dark. Almost every scene, even those shot in familiar locales, is much darker than it needs to be. The climactic battle at the Ministry of Magic is ridiculously dark and hard to follow as a result. I often come out of a movie with an impression of a color. For instance, I tend to come out of James Cameron pictures with a strong sense of blue. The Pirates of the Caribbean films are a dingy brown. My color sense from this film is black black BLACK. Black walls, black corridors, black cloaks, you name it. Black prevails in this picture. There's very little contrast. It's just too dark.

The special effects seemed a bit off to me, too. The digital characters seemed to be no more advanced than those seen in the earliest Potter films. The compositing of flight sequences just didn't hold up nearly as well. And there were a number of inconsistencies with previously established effects, such as what I call the "fire phone" effect introduced in Goblet of Fire. There, the embers of the fire came together to form a facsimile of the head of Sirius Black (Gary Oldman), but here his face is merely superimposed over the flames. The Dementors and the look of the Petronus charm have different looks as well. This is nitpicking, I know, but these things do bother me.

Director David Yates, with few credits to speak of, does a serviceable job, but other than his affinity for darkness and black, brings little style to the film. It's kind of a shame that he's already been hired to direct Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, due in 2008. We can only hope that the mere fact of experience will allow him to make Prince an improvement over Phoenix, but only time will tell if we'll ever see another Potter film that improves further upon the best of the series to date. Either way, I'll be there to see what becomes of the wonderful characters of Hogwart's.

Bottom Line: Good, but not as good as the previous installment.

Rating: 7 out of 9

Yeah, yeah...whatever. Where's Brainiac already?

2007-07-11T00:14:00.001-04:00

Apparently, Kevin Spacey has signed on to reprise his role of Lex Luthor in the sequel to Superman Returns. I don't have anything against Kevin Spacey, and I certainly appreciate the importance of Lex Luthor in the Superman mythos, but I am bored bored bored with Lex Luthor's decidedly UN-super powered attempts to do in the Man of Steel. There ARE other villains in Superman's pantheon of evil-doers, and Superman's SECOND major villain was always BRAINIAC.

Brainiac has existed in many different forms in the Superman comics over the years, with the most recent portraying him as the Krypton central computer, which also managed to escape the destruction of the mother planet to become an almost V'ger-like (from Star Trek: The Motion Picture) entity who eventually arrives to assimilate Earth.

This would certainly represent a nice change from the somewhat slow-paced Superman Returns.

Alternately, this concept depicted below would also make for a veeeery interesting Superman flick (Sorry, I couldn't resist):

Spacey set for 'Superman' sequel:

"Legit News: Actor to play Major Banks in Moran's 'Telstar' -- Kevin Spacey will return as Lex Luthor in 'Superman: Man of Steel' and appear in 'Telstar,' Nick Moran's film version of Moran and James Hicks' 2005 darkly comic West End play about flamboyant '60s record mogul Joe Meek."

(Via Variety.com.)

J.J. Abrams disavows Cloverfield websites

2007-07-10T21:37:00.001-04:00

In a letter to Harry Knowles of Ain't It Cool News, J.J. Abrams (assuming the letter is authentic) has disavowed the Ethan Haas websites, I'm a bit confused by this one. To be honest, I think it's more smoke and mirrors from Mr. Abrams. The websites I listed in an earlier post, which allegedly relate to the mysterious movie code-named Cloverfield, are awfully elaborate and well thought out. Why would anyone create a site like this to promote a film without the cooperation of the film studio? Unless they really are for something completely different, but then how could the web community have been so wrong?

I definitely think we should take every piece of alleged 'information' about this movie with a grain of salt until it actually comes out in January. I personally don't have time to scour the web looking for all these hidden mystery sites mentioned in the letter, but I'm sure there are plenty out there who will commit themselves to finding every one. I look forward to hearing about it. On your mark, get set, SEARCH!

JJ Abrams drops Harry a Line on all this 1-18-08 stuff!:

Dear Sir,

Thanks for your support of our little movie. I can't wait to talk to you more about it -- of course, knowing you, by the time we talk you'll know more than I will.

Regarding the online stuff you posted: yeah, we're doing some fun stuff on the web. But, obviously, if the movie doesn't kick some massive ASS, who gives a rat's about what's online? So as you can imagine, we're focusing mostly on THAT. For what it's worth, the only site of ours that people have even FOUND is the 1-18-08.com site. The others (like the Ethan Haas sites) have nothing to do with us.

Stay cool the rest of the summer -- and thanks per usual for AICN!

JJ"

(Via Ain't It Cool News.)

Good news continues for Jericho

2007-07-09T23:31:00.001-04:00

It's good to see that fans are putting their money where their 'nuts' are. I am concerned, though, about how much CBS (and other networks for that matter) takes iTunes sales and DVR's into account when they establish ratings for shows like this. I bought the entire season from iTunes because I didn't want to be locked into whatever ridiculous schedule the programming geniuses at CBS decided to run. Let's hope they learn a lesson here. (I'm not holding my breath)

'Jericho' Returns With Strong Summertime Ratings:

"CBS officials have made it clear: If fans want to see a long-term return of 'Jericho,' they're going to have to turn out in strong numbers -- even for the summer reruns that began last Friday.The fans ...

(Via SyFy Portal Headlines.)

J.J. Abrams Mystery Movie Trailer

2007-07-09T23:23:00.001-04:00

The trailer for "Cloverfield" or "the Parasite" or whatever it's called is up at Apple Trailers. New speculation has this film being based on some H.P. Lovecraft creation. Since most of the movies based on Lovecraft are of the low budget B movie variety (From Beyond, Reanimator, Dagon), it would be great if a mainstream picture were made from this material.

There are also a couple of websites that puzzle and entice:

Ethan Haas was Right

Ethan Haas was Wrong

1-18-08

There's already a mean spirited parody site, full of foul language and negativity:

Ethan Hass was a Douche Bag

As for the puzzles, I haven't had time to play with them too much. Those that have had the time are already posting the booty (video clips) on YouTube.

Anyway, see the trailer here:

Apple - Trailers - 01-18-08

Billy Crudup to Play Dr. Manhattan in 'Watchmen,' Source Says - Cinematical

2007-07-09T23:03:00.001-04:00

I feel both excitement and dread for the motion picture adaptation of Alan Moore's Watchmen. How can it possibly live up to the source material? Still, it's a movie I really want to see. Now I don't really know much about Billy Crudup, but I share this story's author's relief that Keanu Reeves is out of the running. I'm more interested in one of the other casting rumors. Does that actually say 'Jackie Earl Haley'? THE 'Jackie Earl Haley'? Star of Breaking Away, the Bad News Bears movies and countless B movies? I haven't seen him in anything since the Charles Band classic Dollman(1991). This would be quite a comeback movie for him.

Billy Crudup to Play Dr. Manhattan in 'Watchmen,' Source Says - Cinematical:

Posted Jul 9th 2007 2:32PM by Christopher Campbell

Ever since Keanu Reeves (thankfully) declined the part of Dr.Manhattan in Watchmen, we've all been dying to find out who is really going to fill the skin of the nuclear hero. Fans have been listing (on this site, anyway) names as unlikely as Jim Carrey (too famous), Doug Jones (not famous enough) and Daniel Craig (someone just wants to see him naked). The only name that seemed possible -- at least as possible as reported internet rumors go -- was Jason Patric, who had been listed as Dr. Manhattan on Filmick. But, wait! CHUD.com now has word that the blue, nude superhero will be played by Billy Crudup. And though this is only a report 'from a very reliable source', it actually feels right to me. Sure, Patric is a good actor, too, but Crudup makes more sense if you really look at him in the photo CHUD has up, and he certainly better compliments the rest of the rumored cast of Patrick Wilson and Jude Law (and Jackie Earle Haley, Kate Winslet and Thomas Jane, maybe, too)."

(Via Cinematical.)

Jericho producers have plans for a long run - TV Squad

2007-07-09T22:44:00.001-04:00

I consider this good news, I guess. I always worry that shows with long arcs may not make it (as our close call here proved). The worst thing is having a story left unfinished. Luckily, we have a few episodes reprieve. I just hope we don't find ourselves right back in the position of an unfinished story again next year.

Jericho producers have plans for a long run - TV Squad:

"As we all know, Jericho will live on next season, thanks to a concerted lobbying effort by the show's fans. According to CBS, seven episodes will be created, with the assumption that those episodes will tie up loose ends and conclude the series.

But as far as Carol Barbee, one the show's executive producers, fans shouldn't be making that assumption. 'We are not closing this story out. We have a story to tell. It's a really rich story, and we've got it mapped out for quite a while.' she told Broadcasting & Cable magazine. 'The network suggested doing a two-hour movie to wrap up this story. We weren't in any way interested in closing it down.'
The reason why they're only doing seven episodes, then? According to Barbee, CBS only had enough free sound stage time for a limited number of episodes. Interesting. So, if the fans of the show put their money where their nuts and e-mails are and actually watch the show, we may see it beyond those seven second-season episodes. That's a big 'if', of course..."

(Via TV Squad.)

Great Commercial Concept

2007-07-09T22:39:00.001-04:00

This is a great concept that's well executed. It should win you over with it's surprising reveal.

Mystery Movie...

2007-07-04T19:36:00.001-04:00

One of the most intriguing aspects of Transformers wasn't the movie at all, but the mysterious trailer for a movie 'produced by J.J. Abrams' that ran before the film. At first, this seemed like a pointless party scene shot by one of the partygoers, until the first "BOOM!" Then it got very interesting indeed. Giant explosions rocking the city...panic in the streets...people yelling "It's alive!"...and the head of the Statue of Liberty crashing to the street. All filmed as if through a camcorder. Then the J.J. Abrams credit and a release date (January 2008). But no title. WTF?

With Abrams affinity for old franchises (i.e. Star Trek), could it be that he's doing his own Godzilla film? That would explain the secrecy, since he would NOT want to be associated with the Roland Emmerich stinkfest that forever ruined any chance of a good American kaiju franchise. Maybe it's something new. Either way, I haven't heard ANYTHING about this picture, and I'm pretty well tuned in.

IMDB lists 'Untitled J.J. Abrams Project' with a very brief synopsis that mentions 'The Parasite' as a possible working title, and other sites refer to it as 'Cloverfield'. One thing is certain, it's a mystery AND I am dying to see it already.

Here's the trailer that someone illegally recorded in a theater, so it may not be up for long:

Transformers no more than meets the eye.

2007-07-04T18:24:00.001-04:00

I am just bit too old to have been part of the Transformers craze. I was into Shogun Warriors, which did a bit of transforming, but I was over it by the time Hasbro brought Transformers to market. Likewise, although I was aware of the Transformers cartoon (we didn't call them 'animated series' back then), I never really paid much attention.

I was aware of the basics: Autobots were the good guys, who all transformed into some form of automobile, and their leader was Optimus Prime, who transformed into a big rig; Decepticons were the villains, who could transform into a wider variety of objects, and they were led by Megatron. Both sides were fighting their war on earth. That's about all I knew going in to the new summer tent-pole film by Michael Bay.

The film delivers about what you'd expect: a big, loud, dumb, slick actioner with lots of special f/x and little plot or character development. It is what it is, and it does it pretty well, though your ability to willfully suspend your disbelief will be stretched to its breaking point.

The film starts out fairly well, though it is full of Michael Bay sappy character moments, in which we briefly meet each of the stereotypes that pass for characters in any Bay film: the Army guy (Josh Duhamel) with the wife and kid back home (like Nicolas Cage in Con Air), the wise cracking soldier in horn-rimmed glasses, the hispanic soldier who insists on speaking Spanish, the African-American soldier (Tyrese Gibson) ...blah blah blah... The characters do have names, which I'm sure are mentioned during this set-up, but you won't remember them anyway, so I'm not going to bother listing them here.

We are then treated to a well set up scene in which a Decepticon disguised as a U.S. military helicopter is forced to land in the middle of the Air Force base. Bear in mind that this is an unknown bogey which, for all the c/o of the base knew could have been packed full of terrorists and/or explosives, but hey, let's land it right in the middle of our base (This kind of thinking, or lack of it, is prevalent throughout this film). We are immediately treated to our first transformation and action scene. This is a good first introduction to the concept.

Next we're introduced to our non-military characters, namely our hero, Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf), a semi-nerd (not one of the popular jock-types) kid who thinks a cool car will help him out with the ladies. We immediately learn of his great-grandfather, who apparently discovered something in the arctic in the early part of the century. It will be important later... we know this because there's an expensive flashback of a ship trapped in the ice.

I'm going to breeze through the story of how Sam gets his car, an old yellow Camaro. And how the car (it's no secret that it's alive) gets him in good with the girl of his dreams, Mikaela (Megan Fox) (you know, she's the super hot babe who's dating the school's head jock...that jerk who calls her his "bunny" and makes her walk off indignantly...at just the moment when Sam is there to offer her a ride in his new car...but wait, she's a great mechanic, too, as it turns out...and then this happens and that happens, and she's super hot and blah blah blah). It's good to know that the Autobot disguised as the Camaro can take time out from his mission to help his new owner "get some".

Anyway, Sam, of course, discovers that his car is a robot...and he happens to run into Mikaela again while running in fear from the car, so that she is conveniently part of a battle between the Camaro and a Police Car Decepticon. All very predictable and inevitable.

I know it seems like I'm being harsh, but I actually enjoyed the movie up through this point. There's a good amount of humor (Shia LaBeouf generates a good deal of humor out of his character) and very cool effects. The problems begin with the introduction of additional Transformers.

One of the problems with the Transformers is... they talk. I almost wish they didn't. The first time we hear Optimus Prime speak (which is actually in the film's prologue) I immediately recognized it as the same voice from the cartoon, namely Peter Cullen. And it just sounds so...well, cartoony. And when the rest of the Autobots are introduced, it's a nightmare. One talks like a hip-hop guy, another talks like Dirty Harry, and they all crack wise and make lame jokes. They try to explain this by saying they learned to speak English from the internet, but that's just another lame joke.

We are then treated to a ridiculous scene in which the Autobots stumble around destroying Sam's father's prize lawn, while getting peed on by the dog and trying to hide themselves from Sam's parents. Ugh. Clumsy virtual slapstick.

Soon, a secret government agency led by the great actor (and why the hell is he in this movie, anyway?) John Turturro, channeling director Michael Bay in his performance as a loud-mouthed government weasel, shows up and captures the Camaro (whose name, it turns out, is 'Bumblebee' -???-) and the kids.

All the principals are then brought together at Hoover Dam, which was ACTUALLY built to conceal a giant alien cube (which the Transformers call 'the Spark') which has the power to transform any piece of our technology into living Transformers (for some reason, all the Transformers it creates are evil). They also have a giant Transformer on ice (it was discovered by Sam's aforementioned great-grandfather at the turn of the century). Of course, it's Megatron, leader of the Decepticons.

Needless to say, Megatron is set free and our heroes have to make off with the Spark to keep it from his evil grasp (he, unfortunately, also talks like a cartoon character...you can almost see him twirling his moustache). In other bonehead move, the military geniuses decide the best place to run with Decepticons hot on their tail is the heavily populated downtown of a major metropolis (some fictitious city which isn't Las Vegas, but is apparently 22 miles from Hoover Dam - I guess they don't expect audiences to know geography.)

In this fictional city, we are treated to a highly destructive battle royale between the Autobots and their military allies, and the Decepticons. The battle is filled with plenty of Michael Bay 'moments' in which, despite the action and destruction happening around them, characters can still stop long enough to say 'profound' things to one another.

Though there are a few good instances of robot-fu in the battle (for example, one of the Transformers does a backflip and fires his guns into the ground to help him complete the move...very cool), the action scenes, like all Michael Bay action scenes, are a jumbled mess that you just can't follow. His style is to shove the camera in waaay too close to the action and keep it moving through dust, smoke and carnage. I just can't follow the action. Some Transformer throws another while firing missiles and bullets over the heads of dozens of fleeing pedestrians and the camera seems to be zoomed all the way in on the robot's chest before cutting to some other angle for a second and then to another and another and it's just a mess. Even the use of super slow motion doesn't clarify anything.

The other major problem with this battle (and the whole movie in general) is the design of the robots themselves. You may have noticed that in my above descriptions, I don't refer to any of the Transformers by name or even by affiliation (Autobots or Decepticons). That's because, for the most part, I couldn't tell them apart. Some of the Autobots had distinctive colorations (though why on earth would they make two of the Autobots yellow?), but other than Optimus Prime and Bumblebee, the rest just looked like a jumble of machinery. A good character design in one that you can recognize from its silhouette. These robots were just too busy. I'm sure the designers went to great pains to try and make them look believably like they could be made up of the parts of the vehicle they transform from, but since all of that is really impossible anyway, they should have paid more attention to making them into recognizable characters.

Another dumb dumb dumb thing that's worth mentioning: when our heroes are fired upon by a Decepticon disguised as an F-22 fighter plane, one of them uses the fact that 'no F-22 pilot would fly below the tops of buildings' to determine that it's one of the robots. Not five minutes later, the real F-22's show up and come flying in below the tops of the buildings to attack. Hmmm. Logic anyone? Consistency anyone? I guess the filmmakers think we'll be soooo into the action, we'll forget..... what was I saying?

Anyway, lot's of problems, sure, but overall an enjoyable summer action flick.

Performances: Shia LaBeouf is a real up-and-comer. He's playing Indiana Jones' son in the new Indy flick. He carries himself well here. I can certainly see him as the next young action star. Megan Fox is being groomed to be Hollywood's next hot chick, and she is that. But I did not for one moment accept that the 21 year old was a high school teenager. Time will tell if she really has any talent, or is just eye candy. The rest of the cast is forgettable, even the great John Turturro and Jon Voight, who I guess just needed a paycheck to allow them to pursue better projects elsewhere.

FX: Some shots were great, but many were hampered by the Michael Bay style (too busy, too close, too indistinguisable).

Rating: 6 out of 10

Doctor Who 3x12 and 3x13: War of the Time Lords

2007-07-03T01:38:00.001-04:00

Spoiler Alert: This review reveals plot elements!

In my review of episode 11, "Utopia", I indicated that aside from the re-introduction of The Master (John Simm), the story was pointless. I was wrong, as you will soon see in this horrifically SPOILER LADEN review.

When we last left the Doctor (David Tennant) and company, they were apparently trapped at the end of the universe, having lost the TARDIS to the newly regenerated Master. We now discover another reason for the inclusion of Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman) in this story, as he, being a former 'Time Agent', still possesses the technology to travel through time. This brings the intrepid trio back to present day London, where we learn that the Doctor managed to sabotage the TARDIS before the Master's departure, limiting its destinations to the present and the end of the Universe, give or take 18 months.

That last bit is especially important, for it allows another one of those interesting relational time twists that make Doctor Who unique among sci fi television series. For you see, it turns out that the Master has indeed been back for an extra 18 months, and has been manipulating events since last year's Christmas invasion. He is the mysterious figure going by the name of Harry Saxon who has been driving a wedge between Martha's family and the Doctor. And on the day of the Doctor's return, he has just been elected Prime Minister of the U.K.

We find that he didn't do this solely on the basis of his winning personality, but through a system of mind controlling satellites known as the Archangel project. Once elected, he promptly kills his cabinet and reveals to the world that he has been contacted by an alien race called the "Toclofane", a name which the Doctor immediately recognizes from an old Gallifrey children's story. The so-called "Toclofane" are floating metal spheres that sprout spikes and kill at the Master's command.

The Master is joined by the U.S. President, who takes over the "first contact" being held on a secret flying fortress which the Master/Saxon on the heels of the Christmas invasion. Of course, the first contact goes horribly wrong for everyone (EXCEPT of course the Master). Turns out, the Master has turned the TARDIS into some kind of Paradox engine, which opens a rift in space-time through which millions or billions of "Toclofane" descend upon the Earth, annihilating the population as they go. The Doctor is helpless to stop them, having been turned into an old man by the Master (apparently he had a hand in Lazarus' work from earlier in the season).

With the Doctor and Jack captured and helpless along with her family, Martha (Freema Agyeman) escapes using Jack's teleporter and vows to return. End of part 1.

Whew! I'm exhausted. But there's more.

We return to the story one year later, with tales of wholesale death and destruction (apparently the entire population of Japan was incinerated). Martha is returning to England for the first time in a year, having been on a legendary journey around the world to find the means to kill the Master. She has apparently been searching U.N.I.T. facilities around the world looking for the four parts of a weapon designed to kill Time Lords. (For the uninitiated, U.N.I.T. was a division of the United Nations set up to monitor extraterrestrial incursions on Earth. The third and fourth Doctors worked with the outfit for years, so presumably they secretly developed this weapon in the event that the Doctor turned out to be an enemy after all...or something like that. It doesn't make a lot of sense, but that works into the story, too.)

So the Master and the "Troclofane" are turning the earth into a factory to construct an arsenal of war machines with the intention of creating a new Time Lord Empire. The Doctor, Jack and Martha's family have been kept on the floating fortress all this time, presumably because it amuses the Master. Upon hearing of Martha's return to England, the Master broadcasts a final humiliation of the Doctor, reversing all his regenerations, revealing him to be a miniature version of Gollum from Lord of the Rings.

(Y'know, as I write this, I realize that anyone who isn't already familiar with the Doctor Who universe has absolutely no chance of understanding what's going on. In a way, I think this is a good thing, in as much as the show relies on it's vast history to give its stories a specific reality. But newcomers may be lost beyond all hope.)

As for the "Troclofane", it is revealed that they are, in fact, the humans who had gathered in the mysterious Utopia at the end of the universe (in that storyline I mistaken thought was a dead-end in episode 11). Having found no sanctuary there, they survived the harsh conditions by transplanting their heads into the metal spheres. The Master, having only the ability to travel between the present and the end of the universe due to the Doctor's sabotage of the TARDIS, discovered and allied himself with them. The use of the Paradox engine was required for these distant descendants of humanity to come back in time and destroy their own ancestors. Why all the killing? According to the Utopian captured by Martha and other members of the underground, because it's "fun". Huh? That's the reason?

Through a very complicated plan, initiated by the Doctor a year earlier on the day of the invasion, Martha gets herself betrayed and captured, the anti-Time Lord weapon destroyed, and is brought back aboard the Master's fortress, where it is revealed that the weapon was a fake, a decoy. Her real mission in traveling the world was to regale the clustered survivors with tales of the Doctor and all he's done to protect humanity in the past. The point? At the moment of the the launch of the weapons of destruction into the universe, all people the world over are to spread the word to think "the Doctor" simultaneously, which somehow feeds through the Master's own Archangel mind-control satellites back into the Doctor. The unlikely effect of this is to regenerate the Doctor to his old (as in young) self, while giving him superpowers and making him glow blue and float and, well, defeat the Master.

In the end, the Paradox engine is destroyed, causing time to reset to the day it was activated. The invasion never happened. Only those in the "eye" of the storm remember it (i.e. the Doctor, Martha and her family, and Jack). The Master is apparently killed (though there is a clumsy shot later that reminded me of the last shot of the 1980's Flash Gordon in which a hand grabs Ming the Merciless's ring while we hear him laughing. The shot here is virtually identical). All is well. Then we have a long coda which ties up some loose ends, and reveals one rather surprising secret about the Face of Bo, and sets up this years Christmas episode.

I can't believe how long this synopsis is. It is a very complicated story. And although flawed, it was a fairly grand and exciting story arc. The pacing is uneven... some parts feel rushed while others (particularly the extended coda) drag. The overly mystical deus ex machina that saves the day leaves me cold, as does the fact that in the end everything is undone (well, not everything...the President of the U.S. is still very dead). I like the back story that explains how the Master was created, as well as the Doctor's need to "save" the Master so that he won't be the only Time-Lord. I suppose that the revelation that Jack Harkness, unable to die, could eventually over hundreds of thousands of years evolve into the Face of Bo is...interesting. I'm not sure how I feel about it.

I think John Simm made a wonderful adversary as the Master. It's a shame they killed him off (even if they didn't totally kill off the character).

All in all, this was a worthy cap to the best season yet. Word is we have only one more year of Producer Russell Davies and David Tennant. I only hope whoever takes over the franchise can do as good a job.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Ratatouille C'est Magnifique!

2007-07-01T22:32:00.001-04:00

How does Pixar do it? Honestly, how can they keep producing winner after winner after winner while everyone else in the animation biz keeps slipping into mediocrity? There is no arguing the fact that Pixar has yet to stumble, and Ratatouille is a shining star in their already bright catalog.

What's so special about it? What's its hook? Well, it doesn't really have a hook. It's not like "talking toys" or "talking fish" or "talking cars". There's nothing particularly new here in terms of concept. Nor is there anything apparently new in terms of flashy animation techniques. What we have here is a strong story, well-written script, and wonderfully performed characters, all skillfully directed by the incomparable Brad Bird (in case you've forgotten, he brought The Incredibles to life.)

Brad Bird specializes in character. There are joyful little subtleties in each and every performance... a testament to Bird's directorial skill and his ability to get great performances out of his animation team. It's a joy to watch these characters go through their paces, see the emotion in their eyes, every little twitch of facial muscles that convey what they're thinking and feeling... I am actually beginning to think it's possible to get a better character performance out of a stylized animated character than out of a live actor. Sure, in most cases, acting is about spontaneity — capturing a fleeting emotional moment on film — but here, every look, every tick, every change in eye moisture is painstakingly created before final output. When it all comes together, it's as choreographed as the finest ballet. In the hands of a skilled artist like Bird, it can evoke the most wonderful feelings of goodness in the viewer.

Take, for example, the penultimate scene of the film, in which the (as it turns out not-so-)evil food critic, Anton Ego (Peter O'Toole), takes his first taste of Remy the Rat's (Patton Oswalt) culinary take on the old "peasant" dish, Ratatouille. Ego is instantly transported back to his childhood, the taste of the dish evoking memories of home and heart and in an instant, we see the macabre, undertaker look of Ego melt away to the face of a young boy enjoying his mother's cooking in hard times. THEN we see the flashback showing exactly that. Upon returning from the flashback, the hard edges of the character have been melted away, his critic's pen falls to floor, and we see a man who is just enjoying the marvel of the dish he's consuming. The scene is a revelation, and in many ways, pulls all the elements of the story together into a lovely, quietly joyous moment of clarity.

There are several themes being juggled in this story, and miraculously, they all work. Remy must find a way to be true to himself while still being true to his family (Brian Dennehy and Peter Sohn). Linguini (Lou Romano) is trying to find his place in the world and live up to his father's legacy. Even a little nod to the difficulties faced by a woman in the male dominated world of high cuisine fits in perfectly. And if you don't come away from this film truly believing that anyone can cook, the problem is with you, not this film.

I guess I should point out amongst all this high artistic praise, that the film is also very FUNNY! Several conventions are established that, again, just work in the context. For instance, Remy is constantly interacting with an imaginary version of Chef Gusteau (Brad Garrett), a jolly, unpretentious master chef who truly believes that "Anyone can cook". The key physical conceit of the film is the notion that Remy can control Linguini by pulling his hair, which is patently ridiculous, but adds some wonderful slapstick to the picture. Most of the humor comes from character, though.

The voice cast is wonderful. Unlike Dreamworks Animation, which seems to think that the bigger the star, the better, Pixar uses good actors whose voices FIT the characters. Patton Oswalt, the standup comic best known for his role on The King of Queens brings a perfect sense of wonder to Remy. Some familiar voices are not immediately recognizable due to the French accents, like Janeane Garofalo as Colette and Brad Garrett as Gusteau (I can't believe I didn't recognize him immediately). Other notable cast members are the aforementioned legendary Peter O'Toole as Ego, and the equally legendary Ian Holm as the conniving Chef Skinner, and Arrested Development's Will Arnett and the ever-fabulous James Remar filling out the kitchen staff. And yes, Pixar good luck charm John Ratzenberger is here, too.

For the role of Linguini, Pixar continues its tradition of finding in-house talent. The Incredibles production designerLou Romano steps up to voice the insecure garbage boy/prodigal chef and does a great job.

Ratatouille is not the flashiest Pixar film, but it is one of the best. One of these days, I suppose we can expect the folks at Pixar to slip, but here's hoping it's not in my lifetime.

Bottom line: See it. Take the kids, or don't. Just see it.

Rating: 10 out of 10

AT&T: The weakest link, indeed!

2007-07-01T19:50:00.001-04:00

Well, just a few days ago I blogged that AT&T would be the weak link in iPhone's rise to success. I had thought the problem would be the speed of the EDGE network, but reports have been coming in that AT&T has managed to upgrade the network in the 48 hours prior to i-Day.
However, AT&T has ALSO managed to find even more insidious ways to screw consumers of the iPhone. First there were reports of activation problems. Inexcusable that they would be so woefully unprepared for the volume of activations when they've done nothing for months but prepare for this rollout.
But even worse... there are reports springing up all over the internet of unseemly sales practices being perpetrated by AT&T store managers and employees. I am not an attorney, but many of these practices smell illegal and I hope that in the aftermath of this weekend, Attorney Generals in the affected states take some action. In the meantime, you should all avoid the AT&T stores altogether and make haste to your nearest Apple Store, where, as indicated in the last article listed below, there is an entirely different and positive experience awaiting you.

iPhone activation problems widespread, serious (updated):

"Following yesterday’s rollout of Apple’s iPhone on AT&T’s wireless mobile phone network, many once-excited customers found themselves frustrated and disappointed after activation-related delays prevented use of their new $499 and $599 devices. As pointed out by iLounge reader Steve Rubel, and confirmed by two iLounge editors with similar issues, a large number of first-day iPhone customers have fanned out across the Internet to describe failures by AT&T to properly start service on the new phones."

(Via iLounge.)

Buying An iPhone? Don't Go To An AT&T Store:

Michael over at AppleGazette reports he bought an iPhone at an AT&T store that turned out to be defective. Worse, AT&T doesn't want to do anything to help or take the product back:

Well, the lady that told me that she’d take care of the iPhone problem this morning was wrong, because At&t cannot and will not do anything to help you with a defective or DOA product. They don’t tell you this when you purchase the $600 product at their store, of course, and apparently they didn’t tell all their employees either.

(Via Apple Gazette)

Breaking: Several AT&T Stores Forced Customers to Buy Accessories With iPhone - Gizmodo:

"Following up on the launch difference between AT&T and Apple stores, we've got three separate accounts of people reporting that AT&T is forcing them to buy accessories along with their iPhone at three different AT&T stores. This was definitely not the case at Apple stores, and for AT&T to decide this on their own to cash in on the launch is pretty damn shady.

...When buying the iPhone yesterday, the store said all customers must by two accessories with an iPhone... the salesman didn't even know a charger was included and tried to upsell a different charger to the reader.

...the store manager said customers were required to buy a 'bundle' of accessories. The bundle, written up with magic marker on an unofficial sign, listed the 4GB bundle at $650 and the 8GB bundle at $750. The manager told the customer that they couldn't buy the phones without the bundle and that they could leave the store if they didn't want it...

The third store...forced people to buy $60 worth of accessories (a case and car charger), and if you didn't, you'd get a voucher and the iPhone would be mailed to you some time next week...

...after 10 people went in they announced everything was sold out. They then told the remaining customers that through a 'special deal', they could order an iPhone and receive it within 2 business days. The special deal? To buy 3 accessories that night...

...the store on Bridford Parkway in Greensboro, NC sealed the phones in with the accessories anyone purchased so they could charge the 10% restocking fee even if the iPhone box was unopened.".

Though I'm sure AT&T will deny that any of these acts were authorized on a corporate level, they have created a culture at their stores that encourages this kind of underhanded sleazery. And herein lies the problem:

...if an AT&T rep doesn't sell between $60-$65 worth of accessories for each phone sale and $20-$30 worth of features, he can be written up and terminated if sales don't improve within 45 days. If customers came and bought iPhones without accessories, this would have caused a big downwards drag on their record. Each accessory sold will count toward a rep's sales goals, even if it's returned the next day, plus he gets six cents on the dollar.

...regional managers had side bets on Friday with stores and had perks for reps that sold an X amount of accessories. The reader says they basically acted like used car salesmen.

(Via Gizmodo.)

A Tale Of Two Companies: iPhone Launch, AT&T Vs. Apple Store - Gizmodo:

"The line was less than a hundred, and it seemed for a while that the wait might not be too long. Wrong! The employees at the AT&T store at 2195 Broadway were in no hurry. In fact, a woman employee at the door seemed annoyed by all the people in line and would offer no information about wait times or availability of the iPhones.

... not one AT&T employee ever came outside to interact with waiting customers or to explain the situation.

At about 9 p.m. a customer who finally got in the store spilled the beans that all the 8 GB models were sold out. AT&T remained silent...several of us hopped cabs to head to the nearby Apple store...

Even though the line was longer than that at AT&T, the wait was short -- less than 15 minutes. Friendly Apple employees stood by with wireless credit card terminals taking orders. The process took only minutes. Leaving the store, a cheering row of Apple workers high-fived new iPhone owners.

Day one revealed what all Apple aficionados fear. That AT&T, through the depths of its incompetence, could derail the iPhone."

(Via Gizmodo.)

Generous Jobs

2007-07-01T19:06:00.001-04:00

I think MY boss, whom we will heretofore refer to as "Gill" (he's a bit of a shark), would be hard pressed to see his way toward offering his 6 employess each a free popsicle, let alone a $600 piece of gadgetry.

News: Steve Jobs: Free iPhones for Apple employees:

"At an all-hands meeting called by Steve Jobs and held today on the Apple campus in Cupertino, CA, the company’s CEO told a packed audience that every full-time Apple employee who has been with the company for more than a year will receive a free 8GB iPhone by the end of July. While this has little direct meaning for those of us who haven’t been in Apple’s employ for the last year, it is a good indication that the company feels secure…"

(Via iLounge.)

'iPlayboy' for iPhone

2007-07-01T18:59:00.001-04:00

Hmmm. Maybe I do want an iPhone after all...

Actually, this is the first sign of guaranteed success for the iPhone. We all know that porn drives technology, as evidenced by the victory of VHS over Beta (Sony initially refused to allow porn on their proprietary tape format). Some say the reason Laserdisc never took off was because it, too, prohibited porn from using the format. The porn industry was making billions on web distribution of content long before iTunes and Hollywood caught on.

True, one can hardly call Playboy "porn", but it's only a matter of time until more hardcore options become available.

Playboy.com launches 'iPlayboy' for the Apple iPhone:

"Playboy.com is celebrating the release of Apple's new iPhone tomorrow with the launch of 'iPlayboy,' a collection of multimedia features guaranteed to turn up the heat on that cool, new phone..."

(Via MacMinute.)

The Weakest Link

2007-06-27T21:12:00.001-04:00

I've been reading this same basic info all day today. It's a crying shame that the iPhone, with all its sleek, impressive usability, is being saddled with sub-par cellular service. Although, I personally have some other beefs with the iPhone — I can't replace my 60GB iPod with a mere 4 or 8GB device, no matter how pretty and sleek it is. And the fact that third party apps (especially Skype
) are locked out is just plain sad. I'm content to play a waiting game for future revisions of the iPhone. I may have a long wait, though, since Apple's shotgun wedding with AT&T is contracted to last a whopping FIVE years. Yeouch!

On the other hand, perhaps the constant blistering criticism of Edge will push AT&T toward offering something better in the near future. We'll see.

The iPhone's Carrier Problem - TIME:
"It's one thing to get your hands on an iPhone, as folks camped out in front of Apple stores around the country will do by the weekend. But there's no choice about the carrier: you only get AT&T (formerly Cingular) on an iPhone. And so far, the early reviews have not been kind to the mobile service and especially its cellular data network ('Pokey,' says the Wall Street Journal; 'excruciatingly slow,' says the New York Times. A spokesman for AT&T said the company disagreed with those characterizations). Before the reviews emerged, AT&T tried to play down the speed issue and play up the new experience provided by Apple's so-far well-received iPhone software. 'It's not just the speed of the uplink,' says Carlton Hill, an AT&T Vice-President. 'It's about the processor speed on a device and the application design that enhance the customer experience. There are a lot of ways to have an optimized data experience.' And the iPhone's web capacities are said to improve dramatically when it can sync up with local Wi-Fi networks — if so, it would be a juxtaposition that may make the AT&T connection feel even slower."

(Via Time.)

Spider-Man vs. the Kitchen Sink

2007-06-26T22:05:00.001-04:00

The biggest problem with Spider-Man 3 was that there was far too much going on — the black suit, Green Goblin 2, Sandman, Venom... shades of the Batman films, as they thought piling on super villains would compensate for poor writing and directing. It didn't get quite that bad in S-M3, but Venom, who should have rated an entire film on his own, had the same tacked on feel as Bane in the atrocious Batman and Robin.

Now Raimi is talking about SIX super villains for Spider-Man 4!? I'd much rather see a whole film devoted to a character already introduced in the film series...the Lizard. Or perhaps a Carnage film for the younger fans. Either way, the reason 1 and especially 2 worked so well was because they developed the characters of the villains. In 3, Sandman got the most character development, and Venom got virtually none. It made for a bit of a slipshod effort.

Please, Sam, stick to basics. No more kitchen sink movies.

Sam Raimi Wants Six Villains for 'Spider-Man 4' - Cinematical: "Sam Raimi Wants Six Villains for 'Spider-Man 4'

As Raimi sees the next installment, according to MTV: 'I would love to see Electro, Vulture, maybe the Sinister Six as a team.' Now, I'm completely Spidey-dumb beyond the originals, but luckily, the Internet provides quick geek research. The original Sinister Six was a collection of supervillains brought together by Doc Ock to bring Spider-Man down. He collected: the Vulture, Electro, Kraven the Hunter, Mysterio and Sandman. So, that means bringing two of the villains back for more, and adding a ton of new ones as well. (Or, any one of the other incarnates of the group.) And that, frankly, seems a bit rash. After all of the feedback saying that 3 villains was a bit much for one film, he wants to double it? Maybe in a few films, after introducing the other evil characters, but why the over-kill? But that's not all - Raimi is also anxious to see Dr. Curt Connors get his time as The Lizard: 'I love Dylan Baker as a person, and I really like the character he is developing.' So, that means dipping into The Sinister Twelve. Oh, the villains never end."

(Via Cinematical.)

I can't believe I'm about to say this...

2007-06-26T21:34:00.001-04:00

...after all, I'm all for freedom of "religion" and all that stuff, and I certainly don't want to antagonize the sue-happy Scientologists... but I have to agree with Germany on this one. I'm kind of afraid to say anything more...

Germany Really, Really Doesn't Like Tom Cruise - Cinematical:

"The German Defense Ministry has said 'nein' to Tom Cruise, Bryan Singer and the entire Valkyrie crew. The original plan was to shoot on some German military locations, but apparently Mr. Cruise's connection to the Church of Scientology has shot that plan all to hell. Germany, you see, has a very low tolerance of the Hubbard religion (see Monika's post on the Stauffenberg family reaction to Cruise's participation). Variety explains it perfectly when they say the 'decision was based on Germany's longstanding contention that Scientology is not a religion but an exploitative, profit-based business concern.' Yowch. No hair-splittin' there, folks."

(Via Cinematical.)

EU vs. Microsoft...Again.

2007-06-26T21:10:00.001-04:00

You gotta love the EU. They keep trying and trying and trying to stem the flow of American capitalism, with their numerous attempts to curtail both Microsoft and Apple... but in favor of what, exactly?

For example...in the following story, the BBC is under fire for using Microsoft WMV to stream video on their site. But if they had used Quicktime, they'd be in the same boat. As a Mac user, I'd prefer Quicktime of course, but either way, the BBC can't win. I guess the EC would have us all trapped in RealPlayer hell.

BBC NEWS | Technology | EC threat to BBC over downloads:

"The BBC has been accused of forcing people to use Microsoft operating systems and has been threatened with a complaint to the European Commission.
The charge concerns the use of Microsoft technology in the corporation's forthcoming iPlayer.

The web service, set for launch later this year, allows viewers to watch shows up to 30 days after broadcast.

The BBC has said it does intend to allow access to its content from computers with other operating systems.

A statement from the organisation read: 'The BBC aims to make its content as widely available as possible and has always taken a platform agnostic approach to its internet services.

'It is not possible to put an exact timeframe on when BBC iPlayer will be available for Mac users. However, we are working to ensure this happens as soon as possible and the BBC Trust will be monitoring progress on a six monthly basis.'"

(Via BBC News.)

Doctor Who 3x11: the Return of....

2007-06-26T08:45:00.001-04:00

Spoiler Alert: This review reveals plot elements!

I'm catching up with Doctor Who by reviewing the last 2 episodes, which are the first 2 parts in the 3 part season finale.

The entire point of episode 11, "Utopia", is to establish the return of... oh, you think I'm going to say "Captain Jack Harkness". Well, he does return from the doldrums of Torchwood. but that was no secret. It was clear in the season finale of Torchwood that he had been picked up by the Doctor.

It is worth noting that the method of that pickup has been revised here. In the aforementioned Torchwood finale, it seemed as though the TARDIS had materialized in the Torchwood command center and Jack simply walked in, but in "Utopia", the encounter is much more action-packed and triggers an unexpected trip to the end of existence, which has no real bearing on the point of the story: The return of... Jack's libido.

Yes, Jack's willingness to frak anything that moves, whether female, male, or blue and crabby, is present here, though not as "in your face" here as in the almost soft-core Torchwood but it's just as annoying as it ever was. But I do like Jack, really. His presence in this story is convenient (turns out they need someone who can't be killed at a critical moment in the story), but we do get to learn more of his story since Rose brought him back to life, including how he came back to 21st Century earth.

Those are some nice touches in an episode that basically goes nowhere, save for bringing about the return of...

Y'know, when the Face of Bo told the Doctor "You are not alone" earlier in the season, we pretty much were clued in to the fact that the Doctor was NOT, in fact the last remaining Time Lord. So when we first meet Professor Yana (You Are Not Alone), dressed as he is in very frilly, old-style garb a la the first incarnation of the Doctor, it seems like he could very well be a lost Time Lord... or perhaps even a future incarnation of The Doctor himself.

Turns out, however, that the truth is far worse. The Doctor may hate being all alone in the universe, but the one thing he didn't count on or need, was the return of...
THE MASTER!

And that is the entire point of this episode. Nothing else matters. Even the mystery of Utopia is left hanging, forgotten after the Master's return to self-awareness and his theft of the TARDIS.

The creators have some explaining to do, however, as I had always thought the Master was not able to regenerate, and had to steal bodies for himself. The last time we saw him was in the ill-concieved Fox TV Movie in which the Master was portrayed as a blob who took over the body of an ambulance driver (Eric Roberts). I'd have to subject myself to watching that dreck again to remind myself of the Master's fate in that story, but I know it wasn't good. How did he end up at the end of time?

Hopefully answers will be forthcoming in the next episode. We shall see...

For an introduction to the world of Doctor Who, I strongly recommend the following:

Suck it up, IT

2007-06-25T22:44:00.001-04:00

It's awfully hard for me to feel sorry for these IT guys. In my many run-ins with IT departments in which I was hired to design a web site to run on a company's internal servers, I have found most IT guys to be sanctimonious, uppity, know-just-what-they-need-to-get-by's who have found their little niche of 'power' and are loathe to give even the slightest inch to anything that comes from outside their own comfort zone.

They have often been brainwashed by Microsoft into believing that anything not .NET or Outlook Exchange is not worth their time to know and understand. They are surprisingly closed-minded when it comes to new tech. Though I can sympathize with their point of view to some degree, I do get a little wicked grin on my face at the thought of some CEO demanding his IT manager just stop with the excuses and make it happen with regards to getting his shiny new iPhone to work with the corporate email. After all, if the IT departments are, as quoted below, "unwilling to look into workarounds," then they get what they deserve:

The Coming Battle: Apple's iPhone vs. Corporate IT Departments:

"The battle lines are being drawn...between the managers of corporate Information Technology (IT) departments, who insist on total control of any device that connects to their network, and gadget-oriented users, some of them very high up in the corporate food chain, who just want their iPhones.

The first shot fired by IT professionals appeared on Tuesday in the Wall Street Journal in a piece entitled 'Companies Hang Up on Apple's iPhone.' It quoted technology directors complaining that the iPhone couldn't send or receive mail from corporate Blackberry or Microsoft Exchange servers -- and furthermore that IT was unwilling to look into workarounds.

That tough line is echoed in an article today in eWeek, an online newsletter that caters to IT professionals. It cites the lack of tools to secure the iPhone with encryption -- VPN, for example -- or the ability to lock or wipe the hard drive of an iPhone that gets lost or stolen....But what both these articles also concede is that resistance may be futile. Increasingly, it's users who drive the adoption of new technologies within corporations, not IT. And when the user is a VP or maybe even the CEO, all bets are off.

(Via Apple 2.0.)

Another reason to hate cell phones

2007-06-25T22:26:00.001-04:00

I didn't really need yet another reason to despise the cell phone scourge.

They promote rude behavior among otherwise civil individuals. Ringtones are the worst form of noise pollution. They encourage reckless driving and walking. They cause people who would otherwise demand privacy to suddenly start baring their personal conversations to all within earshot. They rob you of your life, especially if your employer has your number. They lose power at the most inopportune moments. The draconian cellphone companies rule your life with an iron hand (though I guess this is only because people have agreed to let them do that).

I could go on, but now I don't have to, because this story from Engadget is scary enough in and of itself to warrant my distaste for those most parasitic of gadgets. And the real solution to the problem for these folks...ditch the cellphones! You don't NEED them. You CAN live without them. Trust me.

Stalker remotely controls family cellphones, even when they're off:

"To use a TV news cliche, it's like a horror movie come true: three families from Fircrest in Washington State are being harassed by a unknown individual, who somehow has the power to turn cellphones on, send messages, and change ringtones. Over the last few months, the families have had calls that threaten death and violence against them, calls that tell the people what they're doing at that time, and calls that originate from the cellphones of other members of the family. In one case, the stalker changed the ringtone of a phone to say 'answer your phone.' According to one James M. Atkinson, an apparent expert in these matters who used to provide the CIA with advice in counterintelligence, the technical profficiency to pull off this level of stalking isn't that high: if the FBI can do it, why not some anti-social kid, right?

(Via Engadget.)

Protesting for Dummies Part 2

2007-06-25T22:09:00.001-04:00

From Ars Technica, another story of protest that hurts the protester far more than it hurts the protestee. Go get 'em, tigers.

"Day of Silence" coming to Internet radio on June 26: "

A number of Internet radio stations will go silent on June 26 in protest of the Copyright Royalty Board's decision to retroactively raise royalty rates in mid-July.

Pixelmator: Photoshop replacement?

2007-06-21T20:28:00.001-04:00

Pixelmator is an upcoming photo editing app for Mac with what looks like a great modern Mac interface. Very Aperture-like. I'm dying for a decent Photoshop replacement. I use Gimpshop occasionally, but it's interface is so convoluted and un-Mac-like that I keep returning to Photoshop. I'm loathe to buy the new Photoshop upgrade... it's just too expensive.

This looks promising... Among the dozens of supported formats, it works with layered Photoshop PSD files. It's powered on Apple's Core Image technology. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

What I really need is an Illustrator killer.

(Via Pixelmator.)

Protesting for Dummies

2007-06-21T20:14:00.001-04:00

I'll never understand some people. Because of a dispute with Apple over the cause of his MacBook's problem, this fellow decided to "protest" by destroying the computer. Yeah, those Apple despots are quaking in their shoes, fearing that others will give them a lot of money for a computer and smash it to bits.

I think a much better method of protest would be to send ME your MacBook. That'll really show 'em.

Angry Apple fan smashes MacBook:

What happens when Apple refuses to cover a broken MacBook under warranty? Customers get angry and throw fits, even going so far as to smash entire MacBook’s. Go cry home to mommy! What a way to make use of a $1,300 piece of hardware.

(Via UneasySilence)

'Jericho' May Receive Six More Episodes

2007-06-20T00:23:00.001-04:00

The history of television is replete with tales of letter campaigns that may have prolonged or saved a low-rated television show, but as far as I know, this is the only case of a show being saved by legumes.

Di and I watched Jericho from the beginning. Unfortunately, our viewership didn't count, since the 2 week period that I was actually chosen by the almighty Nielsen gods to record my viewing was smack in the middle of the ridiculously long hiatus that occurred in the middle of the season. Oh, and I was buying it off iTunes, anyway (I wonder if the download figures were taken into account in their decision to cancel?).

When the show was cancelled, leaving a massive cliffhanger, I feared we would never get the conclusion to the story (the cancellation of Drive had already hit us pretty hard). I have never seen a more dedicated fanbase rally SO quickly and decisively to save a show. According to Nuts Online, the unofficial rally point of the campaign, over 40,000 pounds of peanuts were delivered to CBS offices in NY and LA. And miraculously, CBS capitulated. I guess nuts were a lot harder to ignore than letters or emails.

So after committing to only seven episodes, which is better than none, but not even a half-season, the story below is indicating the possibility of a full 13 episode commitment. Awesome, if true. I'll definitely be following this story, and looking forward to Jericho's return next season.

'Jericho' May Receive Six More Episodes: "Fans rejoicing about the news that 'Jericho' will in fact be back for seven new episodes have got one more reason to cheer -- the series might have a very bright future after all as CBS is open to the ..."

(Via SyFy Portal Headlines.)

"Nuts!"

Google Solar Panel Project

2007-06-19T23:50:00.001-04:00

Google is now providing a website that reports on the amount of energy they are generating from the sun at the Googleplex.

Having such a high profile company dedicate themselves to the self-sufficient and self-sustaining energy movement is a big deal. Google is a money making machine, so their decision to go solar was certainly influenced as much by economics as environmental concerns. If more large companies would see the economic benefits of generating their own power from the sun, it would spurn a jump in solar panel manufacturing capacity, and ultimately would lead to less expensive solar panels. The only reason I myself haven't shingled my roof with photovoltaic cells is the initial cost of such a conversion. I long for the day when I can declare independence from the out-of-control energy companies.

Power outages are also a problem. I'm not suggesting that a solar system wouldn't ever go down, but if it did, at least I feel like I would have some control over the process of restoring power, which is in stark contrast to the feeling of helplessness I feel when a blackout occurs on the grid.

I salute Google for their dedication to this project. Here's hoping others follow suit.

Google Solar Panel Project:
"In the last 24 hours, Google produced 9,899 kilowatt-hours of electricity from the sun.

In October 2006, Google announced a commitment to solar energy production and launched the largest solar panel installation to date on a corporate campus in the United States. Google has installed over 90% of the 9,212 solar panels that comprise the 1,600 kilowatt project. Panels cover the rooftops of eight buildings and two newly constructed solar carports at the Googleplex (check out this SketchUp fly-over video).

This installation is projected to produce enough electricity for approximately 1,000 California homes or 30% of Google's peak electricity demand in our solar powered buildings at our Mountain View, CA headquarters.

We built this page to monitor and share the day to day production of clean, renewable energy from our very own rooftops. Keep checking in to see how we're doing. We think the future looks bright!"

(Via Google.)

Shatner as Art!

2007-06-19T22:56:00.001-04:00

This is great news! I grew up on Star Trek reruns, and over the years I have watched William Shatner go from frustrated typecast actor to (Star Trek) movie star, back to obscurity, and recently, to elder statesman and Renaissance man.

During that lean period between the Star Trek Generations and his resurgence, I had the privilege of not only meeting him, but employing him. My company hired him for a personal appearance to celebrate the opening of a state-of-the-art Emergency Room at a private hospital here in Charleston. The excuse we used to justify it to the client was his stint as host of Rescue 911, but in reality, we (client included) were all just pumped to have our favorite captain here. The turnout was immense, and he signed autographs and met the fans for hours. It was a great experience for all of us.

Now he is being immortalized as art. Couldn't happen to a more deserving icon. Congratulations!

Veer: The Skinny: The Shatner Show:
"Pop-culture and art come together at The Shatner Show. 77 artists and illustrators from the US and Canada pay tribute to the multi-talented and very funny William Shatner at the Uppercase Gallery."

(Via Veer.)

A Broadway version of a classic film...

2007-06-19T20:47:00.001-04:00

He did it once... The Producers was certainly a smash Broadway hit based on the film of the same name. Young Frankenstein was both Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder masterpiece. It only featured one musical number ("Puttin' on the Ritz" - classic scene!) and one of the best comedic casts ever assembled.

As for this Broadway musical, I guess I'll have to wait for the film version of the musical version of the original film. I wonder if it will be in black and white? hmmmm.

Martin joins 'Young Frankenstein':
"Legit News: Actress confirmed for Brooks' new musical -- Andrea Martin has been confirmed for the cast of the Broadway-bound Mel Brooks tuner 'Young Frankenstein.' Thesp (most recently seen on Broadway in 'Fiddler on the Roof') will play Frau Blucher, the household servant with a secret."

(Via Variety.com.)

"I Forced a Mac on My Daughter"

2007-06-19T20:12:00.001-04:00

I love this story. I persuaded my mother and her husband to switch to a Mac years ago, and we then jointly decided to get one for my sister and her kids whether she liked it or not (she did). It's nice to see I'm not the only person who can persuade others of the benefits of Mac-dom.

The Division Street Princess: I Forced a Mac on My Daughter:

"... in December of 2004, plagued by viruses, spy ware, and the programs intended to bar them, my computers ceased to be fun. It was time to switch...

Persuaded I could handle change, I bought an iMac G5 desktop and gave myself and my new pet a few weeks to get to know each other. Then it happened: I was hooked, addicted. Ripping and burning to iTunes, importing to iPhoto, dragging files to the Desktop or Trash. Soon, an iPod Shuffle, a Nano, and finally a PowerBook entered my iLife. I became – drum roll here – a certified M.O. (Mac Obnoxious).

Not satisfied with my own collection of Apple products, I vowed to win over everyone else in my life, starting with my own family. Figuring my 8-year-old grandson would be most amenable to conversion, I wooed him during a visit to Los Angeles. ‘Just put these in,’ I cooed as I gently stuffed Shuffle buds into his tiny ears. ‘Nice grandma,’ he said as Carmen McRae continued the seduction. His 9th birthday won him a Nano from all grandparents, and an iBook from his parents. My first success!

My L.A. grandson being wooed in the Apple store at The Grove.

Emboldened with the taste of tech, I tried my spiel on PC friends, but recognizing they were beyond salvation, and also because they ran whenever they saw me approach, I returned to my original scheme and targets: my two daughters.

When I learned Jill was borrowing her son’s laptop for Starbucks visits, I cackled to myself. To my Macs I said, ‘It’s just a matter of time. She’ll soon be ours.’

Jill, pre-Mac and unaware of my devilish plans.

Finally, her e-mail, ‘You’ll be happy to hear…’ was the subject line. Two down, one to go. Not only did Jill get a Mac desktop, but her machine included a camera and iChat. Video conferencing from L.A. to Chicago (okay, early shots were of Jill and my grandson making silly faces) followed, with a hunger on my part, for a new Apple product, an iSight camera.

As for Faith, my last holdout, fate intervened. A visit to her home in Boston required my laptop’s participation. As Faith and her daughter watched her sister and nephew cavort on the West Coast, I sensed an opening. ‘You need a Mac,’ I said. ‘I can’t afford it,’ she answered, ‘although my Dell is driving me crazy.’

Did my eyes brighten with lust, my heart quicken? I’m ashamed to admit such emotions as my prey slacked before me.

‘I’ll buy it for you,’ I said, the words spilling before my brain could calculate my income to debt ratio.

‘Oh, Mommy, I can’t accept it,’ she said, and quickly added, ‘but how could I turn you down.’

If I knew how to link a sigh of contentment to this essay, it would go right here. We plugged in her Mac iBook upon our return from the Apple store in Chestnut Hill, MA. And before we could say ‘Steve Jobs’ my daughter and grandson’s punims sailed wirelessly to the East Coast.

Faith, success!"

(Via The Division Street Princess.)