Scattercast is 70 … and it’s a long one!

- Mark ‘Rizzn’ Hopkins makes his first appearance since episode #4, but instead of getting all social media this time, we take on a common enemy … sci-fi TV shows that annoy us.

- Mark and I have had many late night conversations about sci-fi shows that get it totally wrong, and in particular lately we have had one favorite target … Chakotay’s total lack of usage on Star Trek: Voyager. I made an off hand comment to Mark once about pay attention about how they used him less and less as the show progressed, and leave it to Mark to actually start timing his appearances!  This led us to a lengthy essay named Chakotay: The Walking Plot Hole, and off to the races we go.

- We do move pass Voyager and take on current sci-fi shows and the very sad and sorry state they are in. Smallville in particular gets raked over the coals, and you really need to Dan Liebke’s Smallville recaps … they’re better than the show.

- I eventually name the best sci-fi show currently on TV in my eyes (which Mark disagrees with), and it may surprise you to hear me say which one it is.

- This is a lengthy episode, but easily one of my favorites of all 70 I have done, and Mark and I have already discussed doing a follow up based on sci-fi movies.  Stay tuned!

Here’s a link to the MP3 for those who wish to download it, subscribe to Scattercast via iTunes.

Welcome to another week of the daily edition of CobWEBs, the flagship podcast of The Cynical Bastards!

For those who don’t remember from the other episodes, this is a new format for the show as we are going to try giving you daily bite sized chunks of our patented brand of cynicism over everything in the tech universe. The show will have a rotating host schedule between Steven Hodson, Mark ‘Rizzn’ Hopkins and myself. You’ll always get two of us, you just never know which two!

Steven and Mark handle tonight’s show and discuss the craziness that is Techmeme, and a little news story that came out today about something called “Google Chome OS” … apparently the kids are all excited about it.  (Links, as always, courtest of Steven’s hard work)

Gee maybe Jerry Yang had it right in the beginning – Shooting at Bubbles
Google Chrome OS – so is it worth all the fuss? (Round-up) – The Inquisitr
Chrome OS Isn’t an Anti-Microsoft, Anti-Apple Play [Gratuitous Backpatting] – SiliconAngle
Google ChromeOS on Techmeme
What ChromeOS Means For Netbooks And Why Microsoft Needs To Be Scared – TechCrunch

Push the big green button and have a listen in!

The French should just be removed from the World Cup for all eternity.

In the 2006 FIFA World Cup Final that had France playing against Italy, Zinedine Zidane famously head butted Marco Materazzi, leading to Zidane being ejected from the game.  The Italians went on to win the tournament, but many people questioned what was going on with the French even at that point.

Yesterday France was playing against Ireland with the winner going to the World Cup in South Africa next year.  The match was tied 1-to-1 and went into overtime.  In the 103rd minute of the match, William Gallas of France kicked in a goal to make it 2-to-1, sending France to South Africa, and Ireland would be staying home.

Yay for France … right?

Wrong.

Before the ball went to Gallas, the ball came within range of Thierry Henry, and as the ball was about to pass out of bounds, he put up his left hand and batted the ball back into play.  For those of you unfamiliar with soccer (football to the rest of the world), the only member of either team ever allowed to use their hands are the goal keepers, no other player on the field is ever allowed to use their hands under any circumstances.

Apparently the referees did not see the handball, and the goal was called as good.  Ireland immediately lodged a protest, and there have been calls for FIFA to replay the game, but thus far FIFA has not said one way or the other.  To his credit, Henry has admitted the handball, but has also said since the referees did not call it, what was to be done.

Even French sports teachers are crying foul over the handball, saying that this sets a bad example for young athletes everywhere that all that matters is winning.

It doesn’t matter that Henry has admitted the ball, he says it stands.  FIFA is sitting on their thumbs and in the meantime the world cries in outrage over such a flagrant violation of the rules.  There is no more basic rule of soccer than “no hands”, and when you are playing on the world stage, you should know it.

Of course, the refs also failed here and claim they didn’t see it.  To be honest, as crowded as the area was (video below), I tend to believe them.  This whole issue raises again the big issue as to why FIFA does not currently have video replays, and the subject has now come up again over this play.  Somehow I doubt it will happen, but you never know.

For now, FIFA, do the right thing, replay the match.

Welcome to another week of the daily edition of CobWEBs, the flagship podcast of The Cynical Bastards!

For those who don’t remember from the other episodes, this is a new format for the show as we are going to try giving you daily bite sized chunks of our patented brand of cynicism over everything in the tech universe. The show will have a rotating host schedule between Steven Hodson, Mark ‘Rizzn’ Hopkins and myself. You’ll always get two of us, you just never know which two!

Steven Hodson and I take on tonight’s duties and have a look at the idea of how social media could be used by people for evil.  Whether it be a serial killer to taunt their prey, or a group such as the Nazis to promote their agenda, social media could be the propaganda tool of the future for evil, but would we even realize it?  (links courtesy of Steven)

• Dinner_guest Twitter Page
• Is this a real murderer on Twitter? Or just some twisted soul? [Updated] – The Next Web
• Relief. The Twitter ‘murderer’ is fictional. An ‘artist’. – The Next Web
• A Quick Interview with @Dinner_Guest. Twitter’s “serial killer”. – The Next Web
• A murderer on Twitter? Either one demented person, or a very viral campaign – The Inquisitr
• Evil in the Twitter Age – Shooting at Bubbles

Push the big green button and have a listen in!

It seems that at least one member of the Australian parliament has had enough of the Church of Scientology.

Independent Australian senator Nick Xenophon tabled letters with the Australian parliament this week from former members of the Church of Scientology that accuse the organization of torture, coerced abortions, embezzlement and more crimes.  According to the Times of London, Mr. Xenophon made some very sweeping claims against Scientology:

Scientology is not a religious organisation, it is a criminal organisation that hides behind its so-called religious beliefs …

The letters received by me which were written by former followers in Australia contains extensive allegations of crimes and abuses that are truly shocking – crimes against them and crimes they say they were coerced into committing.

These victims of Scientology claim it is an abusive, manipulative, violent and criminal organisation, and that criminality is condoned at the highest levels.

While nothing is definite yet, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is calling for investigations into the accusations which the Church of Scientology mearly says they are the angry ramblings of disgruntled former members.  “Many people in Australia have real concerns about Scientology,” Prime Minister Rudd said. He also commented, “I share some of those concerns. Let us proceed carefully and look carefully at the material he has provided before we make a decision on further parliamentary action.”

The list of allegations include (again from the Time of London):

• Paul Schofield admitted to being part of a campaign to cover up the facts surrounding the death of his two daughters, including two and a half-year-old Kirsty, who died during a purification program.
• Aaron Saxton confined and tortured a follower and coerced females to have abortions, one who used a coat hanger for fear of punishment. He also has details of murder confessions from members in the US, information that was never passed on to police.
• Carmel Underwood was put under “extreme pressure” to have an abortion, and witnessed a young sexually abused girl being coached on how to keep it secret.
• Anna and Dean Detheridge, who were forced to reject a gay relative, provided evidence that personal information was used to blackmail and control them.
• Kevin Mackey revealed how he handed over nearly a million dollars in exchange for services and products after he was conditioned by the sect.
• Peta O’Brien was discouraged from seeking treatment for cancer, was cut off from her son and provided evidence of being assaulted.

While the Church of Scientology can claim these are the ramblings of disgruntled former members, but these fit in with numerous stories from anti-Scientology sites such as Xenu.net that have been collected over the years.

While this is the first time I have heard claims of coerced abortions, it is far from the first time I have had stories of Scientologists being forced to reject (known as “disconnection” in the Church) family members.  Paul Haggis, the Oscar winning screenwriter who recently left the Church, told a story of how he was forced to disconnect from relatives who had left the Church.  The Church denies that this policy still exists, but the evidence continues to mount that it indeed does.

All of these claims are of course nothing more than claims at this time, and as with any time I write about Scientology, I highly recommend you do your own research into the organization.  I would, however, say, that if the government of an entire country is becoming interested in investigating them, doesn’t that say something isn’t completely right here?  Again, do your own reading, but for those of us who already speak out against Scientology, this is a major step in the right direction.

[hat tip to Jo for pointing out this story to me on Twitter]

So, after a week of playing a game I waited so long for, what did I think?

Let me just say right up front that I have NO delusions about this post influencing anyone on this game. This thing is a juggernaut that I could say “It literally kills puppies”, and people would still buy it.  Also, considering how many millions of copies have already sold, no one is going to really care, but I figured I might as well express my thoughts since I talked it up so much pre-launch.

Single-Player Game

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare had a fairly good single player mode, and a fairly coherent plot.

… what went wrong this time?

The plot felt like something that would fit better in a season of 24 with conspiracies, shadowy government plots, rogue military officers, double crosses and more.  At least in the first game you were working towards an actual enemy, and this one just felt like Infinity Ward, the makers of the game, had a bunch of random ideas for scenes and then went, “how do we string these together?”

There was also the issue that this had to be one of the shortest single player games i have ever gone through.  It only took me about 5 & 1/2 hours, and considering that I am not some hard core gamer, that is just ridiculously short.  The game play is solid with excellent controls, and the game is gorgeous to look at, but it is just way too short.

Significantly missing from this game was any sense of gravitas.  While the first game made me actually move to the edge of my seat a few times while in a firefight, this time I just felt like I was being led by the hand through an amusement park.  During one of the major chase scenes I was trying my hardest to catch the villain, only to realize at the end I was never going to be allowed to catch him so I could be led to the next scene.

Then there is “that” scene.  The scene that is causing the game to be pulled from shelves in Russia, and leading to talking heads wringing their hands on news shows.  While the ‘No Russian’ scene is essential to the “plot” (I use the term loosely), and there is a way to skip it, people are still freaking out over it.  Folks … it’s a video game, get over it.  The scene is not glamorized in any way if you actually bother to listen to the mission briefing before it.

In short, if you aren’t going to play online, I would skip the game, but as every one knows, Call of Duty games get their real value in the multi-player modes.

Multiplayer Game

Holy …

Infinity Ward basically took everything you loved about the last multi-player in CoD4, and turned the knobs up to 11.

Weapons – Better … really, that’s all you can say.  They are better.  They look better, they handle better, the sound effects are improved and in general they just seem like they are all around better.

The fact they also made your secondary weapons more broad helps a lot.  Instead of waiting for the perk that allows you to carry more than a pistol, you can carry machine pistols, shotguns or pistols from the outset.  It makes a lot more sense from a military perspective, being restricted to pistols never made much sense.

Play – The “Host Ended The Match” pain in the butt is a thing of the past as the host will now migrate to another player if the host should happen to leave.  The matchmaking also seems to be a bit quicker, but that could be chalked up to the millions of people currently playing.

Experience Points – This may be my one complaint about the multi-player.  There are so many ways to earn experience now that the screen always seems to be busy telling you the 500 ways you just earned some more XP.  ”+50 for ending a kill streak … + 100 for revenge … +100 for longshot …” you get the idea.

The XP just flows so fast it seems like Infinity Ward may have coddled the lower rung players a bit much in giving them faster ways to rank up.  I am not the best player, I admit it, but even I think they went a bit overboard in how many ways you can earn them now.

Grenades – Not too get too specific, but … oh thank you almighty Infinity Ward for getting rid of the rain of grenades we all suffered through various maps in the previous games.

Maps – The maps seem a bit more complex, and a bit “blind corner” happy, but they do seem a bit more balanced and “realistic”.  By that I mean you really do have to be aware of your complete surroundings from looking up at roof tops a lot more than you did in the last game, checking more balconies, preceding with a lot more caution through alleys and so on.  In short, these maps are not suited to people who just want to run without thought, there are consequences to just about all of your actions.

Perks – We now earn XP for using perks?  We even earn basically for just having a perk installed that has nothing to do with what you are doing … er, okay, that makes no sense, but whatever.

Multiplayer Conclusion – If you liked CoD4, don’t worry, you’ll still love this one.

Conclusion

It basically depends on what you want from the game.  If you just want it for the single player, skip it.  If you are the least bit interested in the multiplayer aspects, it’s a must buy.

Welcome to another week of the daily edition of CobWEBs, the flagship podcast of The Cynical Bastards!

For those who don’t remember from the other episodes, this is a new format for the show as we are going to try giving you daily bite sized chunks of our patented brand of cynicism over everything in the tech universe. The show will have a rotating host schedule between Steven Hodson, Mark ‘Rizzn’ Hopkins and myself. You’ll always get two of us, you just never know which two!

Steven Hodson and I take on tonight’s duties and have a look at a post over at The Next Web by Ayelet Noff that opens with the line, “These days we live in an era of a historian’s wet dream. We are consistently recording history through all our social tools.”  After Steven and I finish puking, we analyze all of the problems with this concept.

Push the big green button and have a listen in!

It seems Joss Whedon already has some ideas of what to do with his time since Dollhouse got cancelled.

The Buffy, the Vampire Slayer season 8 comic books have been running for quite some time now, and it appears that they will be brought to life in a manner of speaking.  It seems that a casting call has gone out for voices to turn the season 8 comic books into motion comics online.

According to an article on Sci-Fi Wire, it sounds a bit like we will see a mix of events from the comic as well as some events that happened “off screen”.  Some of the characters they are casting for are not included in the comic book, such as the “Slug Queen”.

Friday, Nov. 13, 2009, 3:15 PM Pacific BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER (MOTION COMIC) Webisodes NON-UNION

Casting Director: Jeff Shuter
Interview Dates: Next week (w/o 11/16)
Shoot/Start Date: TBD
Pay Rate: Pay Provided (various for each character)
Location: Los Angeles

SUBMIT ELECTRONICALLY IMMEDIATELY

PLEASE SEND VOICE OVER LINKS/ REELS (IF POSSIBLE)

NOTE: ALSO INCLUDE PERFORMANCE VIDEOS OR ACTOR SLATES IF AVAILABLE. DO NOT SEND DEMO TAPES.

[ FAITH (V.O.) ]
Co-Star / Female / Caucasian / 20 – 25 years
Description: MAXX INITIATIVE is now casting voice over talent for the Buffy the Vampire Motion Comic, upcoming web series. Seeking the role of FAITH – female, early 20’s, a slayer, displays a much darker, dangerously, fun-seeking, approach to both slaying and murder, she is the dark side of a slayer’s personality. Voice to match Eliza Dushku. Send voiceover links/ reels (if possible). Pay provided. Nonunion.

[ KENNEDY (V.O.) ]
Supporting / Female / Caucasian / 20 – 25 years
Description: MAXX INITIATIVE is now casting voice over talent for the Buffy the Vampire Motion Comic, upcoming web series. Seeking the role of KENNEDY – Female, caucasian, early 20s. A newly made slayer, Kennedy is also Willow’s girlfriend. She’s an out lesbian with an assertive personality. Voice to match Lyari Limon. Send voiceover links/ reels (if possible) Pay provided. Nonunion.

[ LIEUTENANT MOLTER (V.O.) ]
Supporting / Female / African American / 30 – 35 years
Description: MAXX INITIATIVE is now casting voice over talent for the Buffy the Vampire Motion Comic, upcoming web series. Seeking the role of LIEUTENANT MOLTER – Female, African American, early 30s. A lieutenant in the US Air Force – ally of the villain Twilight. Send voiceover links/ reels (if possible) Pay provided. Nonunion.

[ DANIEL CRAIG (V.O.) ]
Guest-Star / Male / Caucasian / 30 – 40 years
Description: MAXX INITIATIVE is now casting voice over talent for the Buffy the Vampire Motion Comic, upcoming web series. Seeking the role of actor DANIEL CRAIG – Male, caucasian, mid 30s. Voice to match actor Daniel Craig. Send voiceover links/ reels (if possible) Pay provided. Nonunion.

[ RODEN (V.O.) ]
Supporting / Male / Caucasian / 30 – 40 years
Description: MAXX INITIATIVE is now casting voice over talent for the Buffy the Vampire Motion Comic, upcoming web series. Seeking the role of RODEN – Male, caucasian, 30s. An Irish human warlock and the tutor of Lady Genevieve Savidge, one of the new slayers, manipulating her into becoming an assassin of slayers. He was also a servant of Twilight, who convinced Roden to serve him in exchange for surviving the coming purge. However, Roden ignored that Twilight did not intend them to survive, but that they would merely thin out the number of Twilight’s enemies. Send voiceover links/ reels (if possible) Pay provided. Nonunion.

[ LADY GENEVIEVE (V.O.) ]
Supporting / Female / Caucasian / 25 – 30 years
Description: MAXX INITIATIVE is now casting voice over talent for the Buffy the Vampire Motion Comic, upcoming web series. Seeking the role of LADY GENEVIEVE – Female, caucasian, British, late 20s. With Roden, she hunts and kills other slayers as part of his ‘Training’ her. However, she and faith find they share a lot in common; both as slayers and as troubled young women enticed by evil, despite their drastically different background. Send voiceover links/ reels (if possible) Pay provided. Nonunion.

[ ROBIN WOOD (V.O.) ]
Supporting / Male / African American / 30 – 35 years
Description: MAXX INITIATIVE is now casting voice over talent for the Buffy the Vampire Motion Comic, upcoming web series. Seeking the role of ROBIN WOOD – Male, African American, early 30s. Robin is in charge of a squad of slayers, and is shown to be working at the Hellmouth in Cleveland. In his one-panel appearance he calls Faith to tell her of a family that was recently attacked by vamps. Faith refers to him as ‘The ex’ implying the couple has ended their relationship since ‘Chosen.’ Voice match to D.B. Woodside. Send voiceover links/ reels (if possible) Pay provided. Nonunion.

[ SEPHRILLIAN (V.O.) ]
Supporting / Male / All Ethnicities / 30 – 40 years
Description: MAXX INITIATIVE is now casting voice over talent for the Buffy the Vampire Motion Comic, upcoming web series. Seeking the role of SEPHRILLIAN – Male, demon. A demon who walked in the realities of humans and the old ones, making him ‘Tichajt: – one of the demon elite. He resides in a domain between realities kept in stasis by Robin, a minder. Send voiceover links/ reels (if possible) Pay provided. Nonunion.

[ FAERIE (V.O.) ]
Supporting / Female / All Ethnicities / 20 – 30 years
Description: MAXX INITIATIVE is now casting voice over talent for the Buffy the Vampire Motion Comic, upcoming web series. Seeking the role of FAERIE – Female, faerie creature. She is a pixie fairy, helping one of the Buffy decoys. Send voiceover links/ reels (if possible) Pay provided. Nonunion.

[ ROBIN (V.O.) ]
Supporting / Female / Caucasian / 20 – 25 years
Description: MAXX INITIATIVE is now casting voice over talent for the Buffy the Vampire Motion Comic, upcoming web series. Seeking the role of ROBIN – Female, caucasian, early 20s. The minder of Sephrillian’s reality field, chosen to watch over a small house which serves as a mask to Sephrillian’s domain. Send voiceover links/ reels (if possible) Pay provided. Nonunion.

[ RONA (V.O.) ]
Supporting / Female / African American / 20 – 25 years
Description: MAXX INITIATIVE is now casting voice over talent for the Buffy the Vampire Motion Comic, upcoming web series. Seeking the role of RONA – Female, African American, early 20s. Rona is a new slayer, working as a squad leader. Send voiceover links/ reels (if possible) Pay provided. Nonunion.

[ SLUG QUEEN (V.O.) ]
Supporting / Female / Caucasian / 40 – 50 years
Description: MAXX INITIATIVE is now casting voice over talent for the Buffy the Vampire Motion Comic, upcoming web series. Seeking the role of SLUG QUEEN – Female, slug queen, 40-50s. The oldest survivor of the Slug Clan, the Slug Queen rules the underground Slug resistance against the force of Yamanh. Send voiceover links/ reels (if possible) Pay provided. Nonunion.

[ TWILIGHT (V.O.) ]
Supporting / Male / Caucasian / 30 – 40 years
Description: MAXX INITIATIVE is now casting voice over talent for the Buffy the Vampire Motion Comic, upcoming web series. Seeking the role of TWILIGHT – Male, a villain with superhuman strengths, such as flying. Twilight is the leader of an Initiative-like group that shares his name. He views the expanded ranks of Slayers as a threat to humanity no better than an army of demons, and plans to bring about an end of magic, both good and evil. Send voiceover links/ reels (if possible) and Pay provided. Nonunion

One of the most interesting things is the speed with which this appears to be coming together. This casting call went out on Friday the 13th and it indicates recording is to begin this week, minus the 16th.  There is no indication of when these will hit the Web, but if they are moving this fast, I would imagine it isn’t too far off in the future.

Lets all keep an eye out for the project.

Apparently I am in the completely wrong blogging game.

Technology is something I am passionate about, and while I love writing about it, it isn’t exactly making me rich. There is also an illusion that tech bloggers get piles of free products to review, but I can tell you with all honesty that I have received exactly three review units in the nearly three years I have been doing this, and one of those came to me after I wrote about the product and hadn’t even asked for it. The company just appreciated my favorable comments about the product.

So it has been a bit hard for those of us in the tech blogosphere to understand why the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) was going all nuts with the new guidelines about disclosure, but apparently we hadn’t thought much about the mommy bloggers.

If you aren’t familiar with the term, mommy bloggers are commonly considered to be stay at home moms that have taken up blogging as a way to share their views and share tips with one another.  Well, they have been elevated by marketers to a level where they think these are the ultimate online influencers of key demographics, and have in turn begun to lavish them with gifts, trips and perks to try to sway them to their side.

While there have been many stories on this subject, the Los Angeles Times had a very frank, and honestly disturbing, look into just how much companies are giving these people to win them over.  The article by P.J. Huffstutter and Jerry Hirsch will more than likely be decried by the rather … “outspoken” mommy blogger community as being one-sided and unfair to them, but facts are facts, and these little trips they go on are fairly well-known.

There are tales of how these people get flown to lavish events, meet celebrities, get put up in posh hotels, have steaks sent to their houses to feed their families while they are gone, dine with executives and so on, all in the hopes that they will write positive things.  And while some of these bloggers do disclose that these things happen, others don’t, and that is where the problem comes in.

The most disturbing portion of the article to me was the following section:

“They handle the family budget,” said Amanda Vega, an industry consultant who specializes in social media and public relations. “People read them and believe them, because they’re easy to identify with.”

They also rarely are critical. Christine Young, owner of the From Dates to Diapers blog, has a closet full of free baby products she never liked. She hasn’t mentioned them in her blog.

They’re still there, sitting on the shelves, waiting to be donated.

“My business is not to bash companies,” said Young, 32, who lives in the Sacramento area. “My business is to create buzz for the products and services we enjoy.”

Do you see the problem between these two sections?  The marketers know they are “trusted”, but how can readers really trust bloggers who only write positive things?  Ms. Young’s comment of “My business is to create buzz for the products and services we enjoy” basically translates into “Hi, I’m a product whore, and to continue to get these products I promise to never, ever say anything bad about your products … can you send me some steaks?”

I e-mailed fellow Cynical Bastard Steven Hodson about this story this morning and he had the same thought as me:

I’m writing about the wrong thing … jezzz

And he also shares the same opinion as I about just how wrong these people are in their thinking:

If you are going to do nothing but write high praises about all the stuff you have gotten for free don’t call yourself a blogger of any kind – you’re a shill. Period.

So what is it Mommy Bloggers? Are you being honest with your readers, or are you nothing but shameless shills?

A whopping 40 articles this week … just too much breaking news this week in the technology realm.

iPhoneTouch.BLORGE.com

• Top 10 best free iPhone and touch racing games

Photo.BLORGE.com

• Ricoh introduces GXR “interchangeable unit camera system”
• Eye-Fi adds FTP uploading

SeanPAune.com

• Waterford Teacher’s Aide Arrested For Sexual Contact With Three Students
• The Berlin Wall: 20 Years Later
• CobWEBs Daily Edition – Breaking News: Hopkins acquires dairy producer & cereal maker
• Modern Warfare 2 Day Is Here!
• Carrie Prejean Is A Moron
• CobWEBs Daily Edition – Go to Twitter and collect $200 from LinkedIn
• Dollhouse Officially Cancelled
• CobWEBs Daily Edition – Is Twitter’s light shining too brightly too soon?
• Joss Whedon Comments On Dollhouse Cancellation
• Clash Of The Titans Trailer
• CobWEBs Daily Edition – Twitter numbers – the good, the bad, and the bullshit
• Scattercast Episode 69: Yeah, You’re An “Expert”
• Here Come The Board Game Movies

SiliconANGLE.com

• Mobile Monday: Mobile App News for Week of November 2nd
• Google Acquires AdMob For $750 Million In Stock
• Rumor: Google To Purchase VoIP Solution Gizmo5
• Google Acquires Gizmo5 Soft Phone Service

SitePoint.com

• 18 Great Shopping Carts to Power Your Online Store

StarterTech.com

• EA Purchases Social Gaming Company For $400 Million
• Google, Yahoo And Microsoft Offering Free Wi-Fi For The Holidays
• UK Firm Launches Computers Designed For The Elderly
• RIM Introduces BlackBerry Theme Studio
• Facebook Status Message Used As Alibi In A Crime
• Beware Of Purchasing Xbox Units On Calssified Or Auction Sites
• Retrevo Gives Shopping Advice On The Go

Tech.BLORGE.com

• ZuneHD firmware version 4.3 released
• Nokia to replace 14 million defective cell phone chargers
• EA acquires Playfish for $400 million
• Amazon launches Kindle reader for PCs
• Blockbuster launches video rentals on SD cards; world wonders “why”
• Google Latitude gets location history and friend alerts
• Google slashes prices of cloud storage and ups the limit
• Intel to pay AMD $1.25 billion settlement as the companies make peace
• Google looking to speed up the Web with new protocol
• Rupert Murdoch will remove content from Google within “months”
• Walmart launches iPhone app for holiday shopping
• Apple looking to hire in-house game developers

There is going to be a movie based around the board games of Monopoly and Risk … why?

The rumors of the Monopoly movie have been circulating for some time now, and then came the news that Sir Ridley Scott, director of such films as Alien, Blade Runner and Gladiator, was attached to direct.  Well, thanks to an article in this week’s Los Angeles Times, things have progressed even further, and we now know the basic plot of the film.

In an interview with Frank Beddor, producer on such films as Something About Mary, he revealed the plot that actually lured the famous director to the project:

“I created a comedic, lovable loser who lives in Manhattan and works at a real estate company and he’s not very good at his job but he’s great at playing Monopoly. And the world record for playing is 70 straight days – over 1,600 hours – and he wanted to try to convince his friends to help him break that world record. They think he is crazy. They kid him about this girl and they’re playing the game and there’s this big fight. And he’s holding a Chance card and after they’ve left he says, ‘Damn, I wanted to use that Chance card,’ and he throws it down. He falls asleep and then he wakes up in the morning and he’s holding the Chance card, and he thinks, ‘That’s odd.’”

[...]

“He’s all groggy and he goes down to buy some coffee and he reaches into his pocket and all he has is Monopoly money. All this Monopoly money pours out. He’s confused and embarrassed and the girl reaches across the counter and says, ‘That’s OK.’ And she gives him change in Monopoly money. He walks outside and he’s in this very vibrant place, Monopoly City, and he’s just come out of a Chance Shop. As it goes on, he takes on the evil Parker Brothers in the game of Monolopy. He has to defeat them. It tries to incorporate all the iconic imageries — a sports car pulls up, there’s someone on a  horse, someone pushing a wheelbarrow — and rich Uncle Pennybags, you’re going to see him as the maître d’ at the restaurant and he’s the buggy driver and the local eccentric and the doorman at the opera. There’s all these sight gags.”

This sounds absolutely dreadful.  Never mind the plot has been used too many times to count – Super Mario Brothers, Jumanji and Zathura: A Space Adventure immediately spring to mind to name just a few — and so this sounds like it brings absolutely nothing original along with it.

To top all of this off, there is also talk now of Risk being turned into a movie. I’ll just let the press release about the project explain it:

Sony Pictures Entertainment has acquired from Hasbro, Inc. the motion picture rights to produce RISK, the classic board game brand of world conquest, it was announced today by Doug Belgrad and Matt Tolmach, presidents of Columbia Pictures. The film will be produced and developed by Hasbro’s Brian Goldner and Bennett Schneir and Overbrook Entertainment’s James Lassiter.

Commenting on the announcement Belgrad said, “Hasbro has already seen tremendous success with Transformers and G.I. Joe and audiences have shown a great desire for films that bring to life everything that has made these franchise properties stand the test of time. The strategic thinking and the tactical gambles that players must take in the game are what make RISK a classic, thoroughly engaging game. Those elements translated into an action-packed, thrilling story are what will make this a uniquely exciting movie.”

Lassiter added “We are excited to be working with Hasbro and Columbia Pictures on bringing such a beloved and well-known game to life on the big screen. We have two television projects currently in development with Hasbro Studios and look forward to this collaboration.”

“We are thrilled to be working with tremendous partners like Sony Pictures and Overbrook Entertainment on RISK,” said Brian Goldner, President and CEO of Hasbro, Inc. “Like so many of Hasbro’s brands, RISK resonates with consumers of multiple generations around the world. We can’t wait to re-imagine this brand into a motion picture.”

The game was invented in 1957 by French filmmaker Albert Lamorisse as La Conquete du Monde (The Conquest of the World). Two years later, Parker Brothers published the game in the U.S. as RISK. According to Hasbro, RISK was a groundbreaking game, the first board game to offer nonlinear movement. In the game, players compete on a map of the world, amassing armies and attempting world domination, or, as its rules put it, to “occupy every territory on the board and in so doing, eliminate all other players.” The game has sold millions of copies and spawned several variations, with settings ranging from movie properties to various periods from world history to the moon.

How in the world are they going to turn this into anything more than a war movie? If they add any aspects of the game (colored uniforms to represent the various colors in the game? ew) it will just come off as looking goofy.  And if they don’t add aspects of the game then why did they even bother licensing the name of the game?

There is also talk of games based on Ouija and Battleship and I am more convinced than ever that Hollywood has completely run out of anything close to resembling an original idea.

Now, all this being said, I am actually a fan of the film version of Clue.  It was turned into a comedy in 1985, and it had a stellar comedic cast including the likes of Madeline Kahn, Tim Curry and Michael McKean.  If you’ve never seen it, I highly recommend it for just a fun little watch with absolutely no depth to it.

So who knows, I could be wrong, but Clue was primed for comedy with all of the ludicrous character names in the game.  The other ones I’ve listed?  Not so much.

What say you?  Will you go and see any of this slew of board game movies?

Scattercast is 69 … and I am wearing old glasses.

- I lost a pair of glasses to the tiny terror tonight …

- Modern Warfare 2 has its moments.

- There is no such thing as a social media “expert” … get over it.

Here’s a link to the MP3 for those who wish to download it, subscribe to Scattercast via iTunes.