*takes a deep breath*

I hate knee-jerk reactions. They never lead to anything but grief, and they never do anything but satisfy the whiner and the whinee.

That being said, Six Apart, the owners of LiveJournal, did just that yesterday. They knee-jerked… they knee-jerked HARD. I have been following this story for about a full 24 hours now, and there has just never been a good moment to go “Okay… blog it… NOW!” because it kept developing.

In short, LiveJournal received some complaints from a group called “Warriors For Innocence” (no link as there have been umpteen reports their site is loaded with spyware). Said group took it upon themselves to register complaints against anyone, and everyone, that listed certain words amongst their profile interests. (For those of you unfamiliar with LJ, you list keywords in your profile so other people can find and read your journal.) These words included such terms as “child abuse, child f***ing, child molestation, child porn, child sexual abuse, f***ing kids, f***ing little kids, f***ing young girls, kiddie porn, child sexual abuse, incest” and more.” (list taken from this member of WFI’s blog… no spyware)

Before I go any further, let me state, unequivocally, I do not condone any of those real life actions.

Now, here’s where the trouble begins: WFI scared LJ by saying they would contact their advertisers and let them know their ads were appearing on such pages. LJ got scared and… knee-jerked. Anyone with those words in their interests, no matter what the content of their journal, got suspended without warning. A prime example of this being a knee-jerk is the word “Lolita”. They did not take into consideration things like a Community (communities are journals posted to by multiple people so as to discuss a subject) in Spanish, discussing the classic literary novel “Lolite” by Vladimir Nabokov

While Lolita did not appear on the original list of offending words, LJ added it. They did not take into consideration an LJ Community (communities are groups of people posting to one blog so as to discuss a subject), in Spanish, discussing the literary merits of the classic novel “Lolita” by Vladimir Nabokov. They did not take into consideration that “Lolita” is also now a clothing movement. Then there were of course the incest survival communities… child rape survival communities… they are also gone.

Yeah… they knee jerked.

Where it got really out of control was when they hit on the fan fiction communities. Mind you, I don’t read much fic, and when I do read fic, I tend to stay away from the overtly sexual ones. They just aren’t my cup of tea. I do, however, defend their right to exist because they are, as their name implies, works of fiction, and, as such, are protected under the first amendment of the constitution. True, you agree to terms of service when you join a site such as LJ, but, still, a work of fiction, is a work of fiction.

It snowballed out of control when the people who were suspended in the fan fiction communities tried to plead their case to LJ and they were told what was done was done, and that nothing would be reversed. Years of journal entries were lost, complete fan fictions, and a general air of dis-trust appeared between the users and LJ.

This was all compounded when pleas for a statement from LJ’s head honchos went unanswered, but yet, they talked to the media. And still nothing was communicated to the users of the site. While Rome burned, and Nero fiddled, the WFI was doing a war dance of jubilation over their apparent victory against the evil-doers. Never mind the innocent journals that got hurt, the support groups wrested away from victims, the people discussing works of literary merit, THEY, the defenders of the good and true, got… some words removed from a website…

That’s what this all boils down to. There is no evidence that they got ACTUAL pedophiles and child molesters removed from LJ, they got some words removed from people’s interests. That’s it. The action group Perverted Justice even points out that over six months ago they reported actual pedophiles to LJ and no action was taken. Along comes WFI, all this scrambling happens and Perverted Justice goes to look at the pedophile journals they flagged…

Not to mention the fact that despite their taking down of a multitude of random LiveJournal accounts, they still haven’t taken down a variety of pedophile LJ’s that we reported MONTHS ago. Yes, even after this latest takedown “effort” on their part.

Way to go LJ… way to protect the kids. Listen to the kooks, but not to the people who are nationally recognized as the defenders of children.

LiveJournal did finally issued a statement at 3:47 AM EST this morning. They say they are now looking into the journals they suspended and are going to reverse some of their decisions.

1) Over the next few hours we will review the journals that were taken down and wherever appropriate we will restore these journals or communities before 12 noon PDT. Sorry it will take that long but we do not want to reinstate true and clear violators of community policy.
2) In some cases Journals that were restored will be asked to clarify their profiles to avoid the appearance that they are soliciting or encouraging illegal activities.
3) Journals that we do not restore will be journals that we are fairly sure are actually intended to encourage activities that put minors at risk but we will review them if requested by their owner to be certain that we did not make a mistake.
4) In cases that we ask owners to clarify their profiles and they fail to do so within 7 days we will suspend their journals again.

Okay, all reasonable, but you know what would have been even more reasonable? Doing these moves beforehand. It would have saved a lot of ill-will and grief.

So, how does all this fit in with my usual rants? WFI ranks right up there with some of my other favorite people, groups like the American Family Association or The Parents Television Council, you know how well I love both groups. The WFI seems to be even kookier, and, again, they are a group who are out to help you parent. Their intentions may have been noble, and I stress “may”, but what they have actually done in their zealousness is probably the exact oppisite of their intended goals. The true bad guys will just go even deeper underground and be even harder to find.

And the fallout for LJ? People are leaving in droves for other journal sites. This is the result of when you listen a “squeaky wheel” and then knee-jerk to shut them up. You create ill-will with the inevitable innocents caught in the fallout.

If you care to read more about this whole debacle, this journal on LJ has a good timeline of what’s happened.

Apple has released a new version of iTunes today. iTunes Plus is the DRM free, higher bit rate music from EMI. Other publishers will be joining in sometime in the future. This is a HUGE win for the end user. You can now use the files with the music player program of YOUR choice, the MP3 player of YOUR choice. This is a huge day in the history of downloadable media, and a victory for you, the consumer.

_______

But at the same time, Major League Baseball is taking another swing at Sling Media’s Slingbox. In this story from CNET, MLB is supposedly mulling a lawsuit against Sling for violating their broadcast rights. Here are the two important paragraphs:

“Of course, what they are doing is not legal,” MLB general counsel Michael Mellis told the publication. “We and other leagues have formed a group to study the issue and plan our response. A lot depends on ongoing discussions. Plus, there’s no guarantee that Slingbox will be around next year. It’s a start-up.”

In response, Sling Media told CNET News.com that allowing anyone besides the owner to access a Slingbox is a violation of the device’s end-user licensing agreement, and that if anything, the ability to watch one’s home team play when out of town or at the office, “creates a much tighter bond” between a fan and his or her baseball team and local broadcasting team.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Slingbox, it allows you to watch YOUR TV on YOUR computer from anywhere in the world with a high speed net connection. It is not of a quality for broadcasting, it is just a way for you to watch your own, legally purchased, programming in a manner of your choosing. It is, in my eyes, no different than recording a game to watch at a different time of day.

What if I am out of town on business and I record an MLB game a week later when I’m home? Would this not fall under the same argument from the MLB? I am time shifting the broadcast, but it is still for my personal use, the same as the Slingbox.

This is another example of big business not understanding a new technology, and instead of being thrilled people are watching their product at all, they have to whine about it. I personally don’t think MLB has a leg to stand on, but then again, I am not a lawyer.

And for the record, yes, I own a Slingbox, and I love it!

Yesterday I made a post about finding the source of a blog story, and how it just kept leading me further and further back. I mentioned the last place I could find the picture/story was a site named Desire To Inspire. Well, due to backtracks, Jo from that site left me a comment detailing the whole sordid tale of the endlessly stolen picture and story:

The original post was mine. The image is a scanned one from Vogue Living Australia. The actual joinery company is named in the comments. Unicraft Joinery, Hamilton, Victoria here in Australia. No website unfortunately. My blog partner Kim and I always try to cite our sources. If there is not an actual link then the image is a scanned one from a print source hence no link. In the last few weeks of our short 4 month history we are not even scanning. Everything has a link or is original material submitted by readers.

It has been a strange experience following this image as it travelled through the blogosphere knowing full well that it was my scan. There was no way else it could appear as there is no actual link. Slowly but surely all reference was lost until it landed in your lap and the hunt began. We have tracked our little world travelling staircase’s progress through Technorati but only its appearances where we have been cited as source. Other clues have turned up through our site counter. Why else would 800 people turn up from a Spanish website? A short scroll back and yes there it is our most famous stolen image.

Quoting the source is very important to us for just this reason and also one of the reasons why we are no longer scanning images. It has illustrated beautifully though the “Chinese whispers” effect of the blog world. If you are interested in tracking it to the very end then the Vogue Living is the Before+After Autumn/Winter 2007 issue. The Unicraft Joinery address can of course be found by googling.

Thanks for posting this. Glad there is someone else who finds this epic journey strangely fascinating.

P.S. I have amended the original post to acknowledge this is a scan and to point out that the manufacturer is in the comments section.

This prompted me to email Jo and get more details. She also shared with me scans of the original source material

The cover of the Vogue Living Before + After

The interior page with the picture they scanned

So, no question in my mind they were the originators of this blog post, and as Jo explained to me in an email, it has snowballed all over the net with very few people giving them the credit as the original scanners of the picture. She also explained their reason for not linking the manufacturer… no website! So all good on their end, and I have even added them to my blogroll as their site is interesting and full of good ideas.Just remember, if you want to talk about something they’ve shown… cite them as the source! This goes to all bloggers, it is just proper etiquette to cite the source of your info. The trail of breadcrumbs I had to follow yesterday was ridiculous and plain rude to Jo and Kim. They scanned the picture, they started the story, they get credit. Style Dash, a professional blog with paid writers, has no excuse for their laziness in this. None. True, they weren’t the first to do this in this particular case, but it still doesn’t excuse their sloppiness, and seeing as they are “professional”, it just compounds their crime.

The breeder I got Patrick and Winston from, TLD Cocker Spaniels, has a new litter! They have the same mother as P & W, but a different daddy. You can see pictures of them here. Why am I posting this? So someone will hopefully take this one, and my mother will stop looking at him!

I was on TVSquad.com, and at the bottom they have RSS feeds from their sister sites, one of them being StyleDash.com. While not my normal cup of tea, I saw one that said “Stylish Storage Idea“, seeing as I always need more storage, I looked.

They didn’t have much information beyond the picture and saying it was a great idea, so I went to where they got the story from on ProductDose.com. Well… they got the news from somewhere else…

Swissmiss.com thought it was a great idea also… but they weren’t the source, they got it from…

SmartStuff.se, which seems to be a site all about new inventions and they found it at…

Bem Legaus!, a blog in what appears to be Spanish. Hmm… still not the source! He got it from…

DesireToInspire.com. Oh no! No linkage here! Has my hunt come to an end?!? Nope… photo credit shows they got it from Vogue Living Australia. Once I got there though, I couldn’t find any information. The silly thing? I don’t even have those types of stairs! I just got mildly interested, and then it became a game following the links!

I can understand personal blogs not doing the due diligence and going all the way back to the source, but a professional blog such as Style Dash? Just seems sloppy to me and the way for a writer to fill their quota of articles. And yes, this oddly ties into my never ending battle on sloppy journalism. How did they know this was a real product without finding the manufacturer’s website, or at least listing how to contact them?

Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy.

Picking up some undetermined amount of time after Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Man’s Chest, At World’s End continues where the second film left off… Jack dead, Davey Jones under the control of the East Indian Trading Company, and all of the other regulars looking for how to bring Jack back from Davey Jones’ locker.

After a disturbing opening scene of random people being hung for association with pirates, including a small boy, we hear another pirate song we hadn’t heard yet. For some unexplained reason this thrills the men of the Trading Company, but it leads us to Singapore, for the first of many large set pieces. Elizabeth (Keira Knightly) and Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) have come to meet Sao Feng (Chow Yun-Fat). They’ve come for a ship, but they learn that Will (Orlando Bloom) got captured stealing the equally important map they needed. When the Trading Company soldiers arrive, all hell breaks loose, and the first of may treacherous moments happens when Will, now freed, promises to deliver the Black Pearl to Sao Fen.

Really, I could sit here and recap the entire movie for you, but it would just be me jumping from set scene to set scene. Suffice to say, they get Jack back from Davey Jones locker, in an amazing scene of the Pearl sailing dry land, and then we just leap… and leap… and leap. There is a plot, but it’s convoluted and you need a chart to keep track of who currently is double-crossing who else. Basically, just suspect that at all times EVERYONE is betraying someone else.

Do all the plots get wrapped up? Yes. I really can’t think of any questions I went into this movie with that didn’t get answered. And even new questions raised in this one get answered. The storytelling IS loose, rushed, a lot of things happen just a bit too conveniently, with no rhyme or reason, they just… happen. And as much as I pride myself on enjoying movies that make sense… I didn’t really care. I like these characters, I like the setting, and I adore this huge mythos they have managed to create in these films. It’s the real world, but seen through the eyes of old sailors who have spent too much time at sea.

There is a new, unexpected twist that was fairly surprising: Is Jack Sparrow truly insane? The past two films had made you think he was off kilter, but this time out, you wonder if he is just plum certifiable. He takes talking to himself to a whole new level, that’s for sure. As you would expect though, Johnny Depp again delivers in an amazing style. You really wonder if there is anything this man can’t do sometimes.

If there is any complaint I have, and it is minor, it has to be that Will Turner never really mattered to me over the course of these films. Was it poor scripting, or poor acting on the part of Orlando Bloom? Elizabeth had a story arc, Jack is a force of nature, Will… misses his daddy? I don’t know, I just think they could have done a lot more with his character.

We have been told this is the last film, but they left it wide open for at least one more film, but it would probably be without Will and Elizabeth and would probably focus solely on Jack and Barbossa. Fine.By.Me. Bring it on. For all it’s faults, sloppy storytelling, and sometimes over indulgence, I will gladly plop down my money again at the theater and take another ride on the Black Pearl.

I had to come back to the office very late tonight (it’s currently 1:45 AM) because the main computer was acting up… again. As it was going through it’s checks, I turned on the monitor for the second computer on my desk so I could check the main one remotely. For some reason, this computer’s Google Desktop got configured with pop-up news stories, and I’ve just never bothered to change it.

As I was sitting her, typing away merrily and grunting at the world of technology, down in the corner I see “The RIAA Is On Something” go by. “How odd“, I think, “that was the name of my blog entry yesterday!” I click the back button on the little pop-up window and… it WAS my blog entry.

It seems in my paying zero attention to Google lately, I was not aware they had started syndicating blogs of their own accord. I did a search, and both this blog and my LiveJournal account are in the Google Blog Search directory. It’s kind of creepy seeing your own blog entries go by in big syndication system like that. You start wondering “Did I spell everything correctly?” Knowing me? Probably not. And I am SURE I blew some grammar.

If, by some remote chance, you came here due to Google Blog Search… HI! How ya doin’? May I intrest you in some RIAA hatred?

I’ve been watching all the Star Wars movies in order this evening on cable in celebration of the first movie coming out 30 years ago today. This led to a family argument…

Yep… when did we see Star Wars (now known as Episode IV:A New Hope) for the first time? Mom and dad swore it was a year after it was released. I claimed it was September 1977, and gave them a list of reasons I was right.

I finally by proving the release date of the comics.

Never argue Star Wars with me… you WILL lose.

I had heard about this, but hadn’t researched it until Luis brought it up. It seems my good friends at the RIAA are at it again, trying to find even more ways to suck money out of every corner of the suffering music industry.

Over the years, radio has been allowed to skip out of paying “public performance royalties“. While they paid the most basic royalties, they did not pay for playing them in a public forum such as over-the-air radio. So, now, the RIAA feels it is time for this to end, and that radio needs to pony up millions of dollars a year in these other royalties. This has been attempted before according to this story in the LA Times (be warned, they archive fast):

Broadcasters even successfully fought a group of singers and musicians led by Frank Sinatra in the late 1980s who tried to pressure Congress into changing the law. Broadcasters also prevailed in 1995, when Congress exempted them from new fees for digital recordings that everyone else had to pay.

There are two main reasons this is a dumb idea:

1. Where do the majority of people hear music for the first time, that, in turn, inspires them to go purchase an album? On the radio, of course. So, now say the stations have to pay higher royalties, you will have more stations out of business (see #2), more royalty free music played/less music played, and the free advertising will dry up, causing lower album sales.

2. Terrestrial radio is already in the dumps, by forcing them to pay out even more money, you will see even more stations drying up and you will soon be left with nothing but the big conglomerate run stations. The problem with this is they are run from a centralized station, so no more local news, weather, and personal touch.

This is a HORRIBLE idea, and, once again, shows the unbelievable greed of the music industry. They are literally biting the hand that feeds them, and they will then whine when record sales drop even more due to fewer people knowing of new music. And demonstrating just how out of touch the RIAA is with reality:

RIAA chief executive Mitch Bainwol indicates that music creation is suffering a decline in sales, attributing most the loss to gaps in revenue. “We clearly have a more difficult time tolerating gaps in revenues that should be there,” says Bainwol.

Really? This small lack of royalties, something you have done without for all these years, is the reason for the lack of creation? So, all those new albums out there, the vast majority of which suck, there would be even more suckage out there because these royalties would help more music get created?

Huh?

This… I hesitate to use the word… “logic” is just totally beyond me.

Old scenario:
- Music is created
- Music is played on radio in royalty free state
- Person hears music, buys crappy album for one song
- Music industry makes money

New scenario:
- Even more new music is created
- Less radio stations to play due to paying too much being paid in royalties
- Fewer people her music, buy crappy album for one song
- Music industry makes less money, but make up for it in royalties?

Am I missing something in all this?

So, I talked about how Packet 8 messed us over when we tried switching to them for VoIP. Well, we’re looking around now, not giving up on the idea quite yet, but we have hit a new snag… 911 service.

It seems, according to Verizon Voicewing, that no one is able to give us 911 service, so they don’t want us as a customer due to liability issues. That’s all wonderful, however, while we fall in the Kirksville 911 calling area… our house is outside of the area they’ll come out to! Even though we can call 911, they just go “Sorry, we can’t come out there.”

I am going to keep trying to find a VoIP provider who doesn’t care, but we’re kinda screwed for the moment and it’s getting annoying!

(some bad language today in quotes)

I have been writing about the music industry, and how insanely greedy it is, since this blog started. Now… now it seems people inside the industry are finally speaking out about it also.

First up, Trent Reznor, founder of the band Nine Inch Nails. Seems Mr. Reznor decided to speak out in favor of the consumer in a recent personal blog:

Posted on [05_13_2007]

As the climate grows more and more desperate for record labels, their answer to their mostly self-inflicted wounds seems to be to screw the consumer over even more. A couple of examples that quickly come to mind:

* The ABSURD retail pricing of Year Zero in Australia. Shame on you, UMG. Year Zero is selling for $34.99 Australian dollars ($29.10 US). No wonder people steal music. Avril Lavigne’s record in the same store was $21.99 ($18.21 US).
By the way, when I asked a label rep about this his response was: “It’s because we know you have a real core audience that will pay whatever it costs when you put something out - you know, true fans. It’s the pop stuff we have to discount to get people to buy.”
So… I guess as a reward for being a “true fan” you get ripped off.

* The dreaded EURO Maxi-single. Nothing but a consumer rip-off that I’ve been talked into my whole career. No more.

The point is, I am trying my best to make sure the music and items NIN puts in the marketplace have value, substance and are worth you considering purchasing. I am not allowing Capital G to be repackaged into several configurations that result in you getting ripped off.

We are planning a full-length remix collection of substance that will be announced soon.

As I have said many times before, it’s the record companies, not the musicians, who set these insane prices. For awhile I did believe it was to pay the musicians high fee’s, but then, you come across essays like this one, written by an industry insider, saying that is not at all true:

Reasons Not To Sign With The Major Labels

1. They tell you what to do.

Are you following this Kelly Clarkson flap? She made an album from the heart, that she wrote. What did the label do? They shelved it for months, hoping she’d come to her senses and record some more upbeat hit tracks just like the ones she recorded before, positive not NEGATIVE! Who wants to hear about Kelly’s love losses, no one in the audience ever broke up with their boyfriend!

Now you might think Kelly is a mindless twit, with a voice only. But she’ll tell you she wrote hit records for others. And, she’s sold a FUCK OF A LOT OF RECORDS!

Used to be selling records gave you leverage… If KELLY CLARKSON has no leverage, what hope is there for you, someone selling ONE TENTH the number of discs!

2. They’re only in the disc business.

Well, we’ll call it recorded music. If they ever figure out how to monetize Net acquisition, maybe their fortunes will change. But for now, the label only makes money if they sell your music. They’ll do whatever it takes to sell your music, TODAY, to run up the value of the company so it can be sold to someone else. They’ll whore you out to corporations (say this to yourself, “Verizon is not my friend.”), release multiple singles (if they get any traction at all), do whatever’s best for THEM, not YOU! Your career…they might pay lip service to it, but they don’t really give a shit, the employees are probably not going to be IN this business by the time your next album comes out.

As for labels getting a piece of your touring income, other revenue sources, do you want to marry someone DESPERATE?

3. They don’t pay you.

Oh, they’ll give you an ever-shrinking advance. But royalties? No one sells enough albums to go into royalties anymore. And they own the rights to the recording. Terry McBride’s got it right, you want to control all the rights, so you can license INSTANTLY! So you don’t have to get someone on the phone to say YES to YOU about YOUR music!

Oh, they’ll give you money to get started, but it’s like making a deal with the Mafia, they own you, forever.

4. There’s no one working there.

Most analysts believe Warner cut its workforce to make its balance sheet look better, to stanch losses, hopefully report profits. In other words, it’s got nothing to do with whether these people were NEEDED, whether they had jobs integral to the company, just what their salaries and benefits were. Oh, the company can outsource these jobs, but when you go for a meeting at the label do you really want to sit in an empty boardroom with a speaker phone on a conference call with a zillion temporary workers? Whose allegiance is not to this company, hell, why should it be, they’ve got to make their nut every month, they’ve got OTHER CUSTOMERS!

So, going to the building to work the label…that’s a passe concept.

And, what if they don’t outsource/get independent contractors to do the work? Will it be done at all? And, how well, by the overworked, multitasking employees still left?

5. They just care SOMETHING hits.

The label doesn’t give a shit about you hitting, they just care that SOMETHING breaks through. And as soon as it does, your work project goes to the bottom of the pile. If you own your own copyrights, own the label, you’re ALWAYS the priority!

6. They control physical distribution, not online distribution.

They can get your disc in stores. Then again, CAN THEY?

Online, distribution is close to flat. Make a deal with CDBaby, they can get you on all the online services, can get you paid. You don’t need to be with a major to get into the online store.

As for albums… Do you really think albums will be the definitive format in the future?

7. Tour support is a thing of the past.

Not completely. But it’s just about gone. And more than ever you need to break on the road. If you’re doing all the work, why shouldn’t you get all the profit?

8. They only want you once you’ve proven yourself independently.

If you’ve created the base, why give up control now?

9. MTV is dead.

You don’t need a big budget video which won’t be aired anywhere anyway. You just need a digital camera and Final Cut Pro, maybe even iMovie, and you can create a video for almost nothing and put it up on YouTube where it’s got as much presence, as much priority, as the majors’ efforts. And, you control the budget. Zillions aren’t spent, and they’re not charged back to you.

10. Terrestrial music radio is dying.

If Pink can go to number one at Top Forty and languish at the bottom of the SoundScan Top Fifty, selling 15k a week, how important is that airplay ANYWAY? As for other formats… Hot AC doesn’t sell many records, and AOR is an oldies format and the Alternative panel has shrunk to almost nothing and Active Rock…that’s not selling tonnage either.

11. They specialize in saying no.

Music is now about inspiration, made by the seat of one’s pants. You have to do business the same way. In this fast, ever-changing world, you need to take risks, you’ve got to make snap decisions, you’ve got to be able to say yes, QUICKLY! The major is against innovation, it’s hard to get an answer AT ALL, never mind YES!

You want to give your new track away for free? No! They won’t even let you SELL IT if it competes with the track they’re working at radio/in the marketplace. It’s not about artistry, but commerce.

But, if all you care about is commerce, if you want all your money up front, if you want to whore yourself out to corporations, do whatever it takes to sell your lame, paint by numbers built by committee music, then sign with the major label. I hope you achieve your goal and get instantly rich, because after this instant, you’ll be done.

*rubs his eyes* Am I dreaming this? Are people, INSIDE the industry, finally realizing how badly the consumer AND the artists are being screwed? No one is coming out of this deal with money, and happiness, other than the music execs. Finally, two men inside the music business had the guts to speak out against the injustices being done in both directions of the supply chain, and looky, looky, the guilty party is the middle man music companies. The ones crying about how THEY are losing money to music pirates, and gee, even Reznor is starting to understand that the wounds are truly “self inflicted”. Good… let’s hope they keep it until the major labels finally accidentally commit suicide…

No clue if anyone will even use this, but I have added a new static page to the site. As I am always confused about when DVDs I want are coming out, I started a page showing each weeks TV DVD releases. I will be updating it each week, and you can find it in the navigation bar at the top of the page all the time. Enjoy!

The disaster known as season 6 of 24 is finally behind us. I won’t spoil it for those of you who have not yet seen it, just know the last two hours were as craptacular as the other twenty-two.

There was one brief, shining moment though… for the entire last hour, my boyfriend, the SOD made a truly spectacular appearance. Hopefully in season 7 it will get co-star billing.

Until January 2008, keep the faith my SOD brethern!

The sequel to Batman Begins is filming, this time out, entitled The Dark Knight. This time around, my favorite Batman villain is up to bat (HA!), The Joker.

To me, The Joker demonstrates that Batman is as insane as the enemies he fights. Off-kilter, not right in his own head, and coming from a place so dark, it might scare his, supposedly, insane enemies. This concept is perfectly illustrated in Alan Moore’s classic one-shot, The Killing Joke. Two sides of the same coin, both insane, just using their insanity for different ends.

So, last week Warner Brothers launched a site named I Believe in Harvey Dent, all about the district attorney who eventually becomes the Batman enemy, Two-Face. This was followed up a few days later with a mysterious site name I Believe in Harvey Dent Too where you entered an email address, a code was sent to you, and a pixel was removed from the page, slowly reveling the first picture of Heath Ledger as The Joker.

The rest of this post is under the cut as I know some of my readers fear clowns…
Continue Reading ->

Saw a fascinating new gadget over on Engadget today.

I am not familiar with this company before, but the Chargepod sounds interesting to me. The core unit is $49.95 and then you purchase the separate cables for your devices for $9.95 each, so if you used all six slots, you would be looking at $110. For now, a little rich for my blood, but I love the concept, especially for my business trips. It would take up a lot less space in my computer case than all the chargers I carry now.

I can’t seem to ever count on any plan staying stationary for more than two seconds.

October trip - Up in the air. It seemed sure there for awhile, now, who knows.

August trip to Japan - This wasn’t even being pondered a few weeks ago, not it seems to be shifting back and forth daily.

Kansas City trip next weekend - Who knows. It’s getting closer, and I still have no idea.

It’s just the nature of running your own business though, you never know how things are going to pop up and change, but it would be nice once in awhile to be able to plan ahead!

Ugh.

Here are good shots of eight of the Transformers from the upcoming movie. Click any image for a super large version. And I do mean LARGE.

These designs disturb me for so many reasons. Take Franzy for instance, he’s too frail looking. Yes, he is the smallest Transformer in the movie, but that doesn’t change the fact he looks like he could be snapped by a two-year old. Starscream looks like a giant jumbled mess that you can’t make heads-or-tails out of.

I think the problem is they look over-designed. Yes, I understand Michael Bay was going for a more realistic look, but it seems like these are more about look than substance. You didn’t care in the cartoon how silly it was that Frenzy was the size of a human being in robot mode, and turned into a micro cassette in disguise mode. It was suspension of disbelief and it was fine.

Why does Optimus Prime now have lips with a guard that snaps into place while he fights? Are his robot lips THAT fragile they have to be protected? Well, if that’s the case, then… DON’T HAVE LIPS!

The new trailer is out, and in the scene where Blackout is attacking the military base, he fires what sounds like a chain gun. Um… they now fire bullets instead of energy beams? In another scene, Blackout is spinning in a jump and fires off what appears to be a big honking missile. Another projectile weapon? What the hell?!? They’re from an advanced civilization, let them have laser beams for crying out loud!

Anyway, here’s the pictures.

The Autobots

Optimus Prime

Bumblebee

Ironhide

Jazz

The Decepticons

Megatron

Starscream

Frenzy

Blackout

MONDAY
8:00 PM K-VILLE (January)/PRISON BREAK (Spring)
9:00 PM 24

Sean’s take: If K-Ville lasts, sure. 24 season 7 damn well better be than season 6. Really doesn’t matter though, they already renewed for season 8.

TUESDAY
8:00 PM AMERICAN IDOL
9:00 PM HOUSE

Sean’s take: Don’t like either show, but they aren’t going anywhere.

WEDNESDAY (January)
8:00 PM BACK TO YOU
8:30 PM ’TIL DEATH
9:00 PM AMERICAN IDOL

Sean’s take: No big surprises here.

WEDNESDAY (Spring)
8:00 PM BACK TO YOU
8:30 PM THE RETURN OF JEZEBEL JAMES (working title) - Can two estranged sisters, polar opposites, live together when one agrees to carry the other’s baby? SARAH THOMKINS (Parker Posey, “For Your Consideration,” “Best in Show”) is a bright, optimistic, determined woman who seems to have it all – a great job as a children’s book editor, an eager-to-please assistant, BUDDY (Michael Arden), who helps keep her life together, and a no-strings-attached personal relationship with successful businessman MARCUS SONTI (Scott Cohen, “Kissing Jessica Stein”). Nevertheless, as her father, RONALD (Ron McLarty, “Law & Order”), is constantly pointing out, something is missing from Sarah’s life. Her hard work may garner accolades, but when she goes home at night, she is very much alone. All too aware that she isn’t getting any younger, Sarah decides to have a baby on her own and gets the shock of her life when the doctor tells her she can’t get pregnant. Having no concept of the term “can’t,” Sarah wills herself to execute a plan. With nowhere else to turn, Sarah sets up a meeting with her quirky younger sister, COCO (Lauren Ambrose, “Six Feet Under”), and proposes a plan for Coco to carry her baby. They haven’t seen each other in a while, and Coco refuses to go along with such a huge favor. But something happens when Sarah mentions that she’s turned Coco’s imaginary childhood friend, Jezebel James, into a children’s book. Even though she doesn’t say so out loud, Coco is clearly touched, and, realizing that her current living situation – sharing a couch with her friend’s sick dog – isn’t working out, Coco decides that this just might be worth a try.
9:00 PM AMERICAN IDOL Results Show
9:30 PM ’TIL DEATH

Sean’s take: As much as I loved Gilmore Girls, Jezebel James sounds very “one joke” to me. What happens after the baby is born? *snore*

THURSDAY
8:00 PM ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A 5th GRADER?
9:00 PM CANTERBURY’S LAW - From executive producers Denis Leary and Jim Serpico (“Rescue Me,” “The Job”) and writer Dave Erickson (“Murder in Greenwich”) comes CANTERBURY’S LAW, a courtroom drama about a rebellious female defense attorney who’s willing to bend the law in order to protect the wrongfully accused. ELIZABETH CANTERBURY (Julianna Margulies, “ER”) is a force of nature. An attorney on the rise, she puts her career on the line to take on risky and unpopular cases, even when they take a toll on her personal life. Elizabeth and her law professor husband MATTHEW CANTERBURY (Linus Roache, “Batman Begins,” “The Chronicles of Riddick”), haunted by the disappearance of their young son, have settled in Providence, Rhode Island, in an attempt to distance themselves from the tragedy and put their relationship back together. But those goals become elusive whenever Elizabeth’s work provides a stark reminder of the justice absent in their own lives. At the office, Canterbury has surrounded herself with a brilliant but motley crew of attorneys. RUSSELL CROSS (Ben Shenkman, “Pi,” “Angels in America”) was forced out of the Providence District Attorney’s Office when he went toe-to-toe with his morally bankrupt boss, D.A. Zach Williams. His reputation tarnished, Russell turned to Canterbury, the only attorney willing to take him in. Now Russell provides a much-needed voice of reason for Canterbury even when she doesn’t want to hear it, his position of influence well-earned by their years of friendship. CHESTER FIELDS (Jocko Sims, “Dreamgirls,” “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”) and MOLLY McCONNELL (Trieste Dunn, “United 93”) are the associates rounding out Canterbury’s legal crew. Chester is a blue-blooded congressman’s son who is embarrassed by his privileged upbringing and has turned his back on politics. Molly, in contrast, is headstrong, passionate and quick to take sides – even if she finds herself in the opposite corner from Canterbury.

Sean’s take: Another strong female lawyer show… great. Oh, and she has a “motley crew” of lawyer’s around her. Wonderful. *snore*

FRIDAY (Spring)
8:00 PM BONES
9:00 PM NEW AMSTERDAM

Sean’s take: Ruh roh… Bones on Friday… not good… not good at all. Last time Fox had a successful Friday show was the early years of The X-Files.

SATURDAY
8:00 PM COPS
8:30 PM COPS
9:00 PM AMERICA’S MOST WANTED: AMERICA FIGHTS BACK
11:00 PM MADtv
MIDNIGHT TALKSHOW WITH SPIKE FERESTEN

Sean’s take: I gave up on MADtv eons ago.

SUNDAY (Spring)
7:00 PM KING OF THE HILL
7:30 PM AMERICAN DAD
8:00 PM THE SIMPSONS
8:30 PM FAMILY GUY
9:00 PM THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES - Executive producers Josh Friedman (“War of the Worlds”), David Nutter (“Supernatural,” “Smallville”) and C-2 Pictures (“Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines”) bring to television an intense new drama based on the celebrated heroine of the “Terminator” movies: Sarah Connor. At the end of “Terminator 2: Judgment Day,” Sarah vanquished the liquid metal Terminator sent from the future to kill her teenage son, John. Sarah and John now find themselves alone in a very dangerous, complicated world. Fugitives from the law, they are confronted with the reality that still more enemies from the future, and the present, could attack at any moment. THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES reveals what happens when SARAH (Lena Headey, “The Brothers Grimm,” “300”) stops running and goes on the offensive against an ever-evolving technological enemy bent on destroying her life, and perhaps the world. Her son, 15-year-old JOHN CONNOR (Thomas Dekker, “Heroes”), knows that he may be the future savior of mankind, but is not yet ready to take on the mantle of leadership that he’s told is his destiny. John finds himself inextricably drawn to CAMERON (Summer Glau, “Serenity,” “The Unit”), an enigmatic and otherworldly student at his high school, who soon proves to be much more than his confidante – she assumes the role of Sarah and John’s fearless protector. On their trail are not only threats from the future, but an intelligent and tough FBI agent, JAMES ELLISON (Richard T. Jones, “Judging Amy”), who soon becomes a powerful ally. Directed by David Nutter and produced by Warner Bros. Television and C-2 Pictures, THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES represents an exciting reinvention of the “Terminator” franchise, in which the strong and intrepid Sarah discovers that protecting her son and stopping the rise of the machines is more difficult than she had ever imagined.

Sean’s take: Enjoy the four episodes of Sarah Conner that will be aired!

Run.

Run far away.

Not to Far, Far Away, because that would mean running into this car wreck of a “film”. No, no, run in the total opposite direction. Save yourself this cinematic snoozefest. It literally is a snoozefest… I FELL ASLEEP! I have NEVER fallen asleep in a movie before, but during one of Shrek’s seemingly never ending stream of monologues about believing in yourself, I… *snore* huh? what? Oh god… just talking about it, I fell asleep again.

This third outing of Shrek suffers from a syndrome a lot of sequels do; the more characters, the better. Shrek 2 added Puss In Boots and Donkey and Dragon had their babies, okay, no problem. This time around though we are introduced, I’m going to estimate here, 853 more characters. Various new Princesses, lot of fairy tale villains, King Arthur, Lancelot, Merlin, Shrek and Fiona have triplets by the end of the movie… it just kept growing and getting more ridiculous by the minute. And every returning character had to have their “trademark” moment. Ugh, it just needed to end and go away.

Then there was the pacing. Oh good god, the pacing. There is a scene outside of Merlin’s where Shrek has, yet another, heart-to-heart with Arthur and I literally wanted to start snapping my fingers to count off the beats of the scene. And the problem was, halfway through the scene I started mumbling “Don’t cut from this scene back to Fiona in Far, Far Away… don’t go there… if you go there this movie will reach unsalvagable… don’t cut away now… don’t do it… oh my god they’re… Oh how Fiona!” This was the first time I checked my phone for the time, and prayed for a text message. There was no natural rhythm to the plot, it was all done to very predictable beats.

And the humor… oh god. After the Far, Far Away scene I prayed wouldn’t happen, we cut back to Merlin’s hut, where Captain Hook is going to attack and try to capture Shrek. His henchman show up and Hook gets wheeled in with… a piano. It was odd, out of place, and made no comedic sense. The sad thing? THE WRITERS KNEW THIS! How do I know? Donkey immediately says “Oh no! He brought… A PIANO!”… you had to point the “humor” out to us? You had to point, wave a flag, and shout “LOOK EVERYONE! WE’RE WACKY AND COOL!” Apparently I fell into an episode of Family Guy with no warning.

I chuckled a couple of times, but mostly I counted the moments to the end of the movie so I could just get out of the damned theater. I luckily paid only $5 at the sneak preview, and only 23 people showed up, so that was nice.

MONDAY
8:00pm: Everybody Hates Chris
8:30pm: ALIENS IN AMERICA (new show) - A 16-year-old Wisconsin boy, Justin Tolchuk (Dan Byrd, “The Hills Have Eyes”), whose mother decides to improve his social status at school by importing an exchange student to be his friend. When the student turns out to be a Pakistani Muslim teenager named Raja (Adhir Kalyan, “Fair City”), issues of diversity, tolerance and coming of age in America take center stage in this sweet and insightful comedy.
9:00pm: Girlfriends
9:30pm: The Game

Sean’s take: Aliens In America… I want to see some footage. I’m very neutral to the material for now.

TUESDAY
8:00pm: Beauty And The Geek
9:00pm: THE REAPER (new show) - With executive producers Michelle Fazekas, Tara Butters, Mark Gordon, Deb Spera, Tom Spezialy and executive producer/director Kevin Smith, this humor-filled adventure is the story of a slacker named Sam (Bret Harrison, “The Loop,” “Grounded for Life”) who learns that his parents accidentally sold his soul to the devil before he was born, forcing him into a new life as the devil’s bounty hunter. Ray Wise (“24,” “The Closer”) plays Satan, and Tyler Labine (“Boston Legal,” “Invasion”) plays Sam’s best friend Bert “Sock” Wysocki.

Sean’s take: The Reaper… hello “Brimstone” from the Fox 1998 schedule! Wait… it’s a comedy?!? Um… yeah… again, I’ll have to see footage.

WEDNESDAY
8:00pm: America’s Next Top Model
9:00pm: GOSSIP GIRL (new show) - From “The O.C.” producers Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, GOSSIP GIRL is based on the best-selling young-adult book series of the same name. The show features an ensemble cast of new and veteran actors, including Blake Lively (“The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants”) and Leighton Meester (“Surface”), and focuses on the struggle for social supremacy among teens from both sides of the tracks in a posh Manhattan prep school. The fun, sexy and dramatic hour is a perfect companion piece for TOP MODEL’S strong female audience, making Wednesday “Girls Night In” on The CW.

Sean’s take: Yay! I don’t have to go anywhere near channel 385 on Wednesday’s! YAY!

THURSDAY
8:00pm: Smallville
9:00pm: Supernatural

Sean’s take: Smallville entertained me for a season or two, now it’s just plain old stupid.

FRIDAY
8:00pm: Friday Night Smackdown

Sean’s take: Um… yay. (Does not wish to be killed by wrestling fans)

SUNDAY
7:00pm: ONLINE NATION (new show) - The CW is turning couch potatoes into mouse potatoes with ONLINE NATION, a series that takes the best of the web’s user- generated video and makes it available to television audiences. At 8:00 p.m.
7:30pm: CW NOW (new show) - CW NOW will premiere as the ultimate source for everything hip, hot and happening in youth culture. From the producers of the entertainment magazine show “Extra,” CW NOW utilizes eye-catching graphics and visuals in a fast-paced mix of celebrity gossip and current fashion and lifestyle trends. Advertisers can participate by incorporating their brand into the fabric of the show, expanding on the network’s success last season with content wraps. At 7:30 p.m.,
8:00pm: LIFE IS WILD (new show) - the new family drama LIFE IS WILD brings the beauty and drama of Africa to television. The show will be filmed entirely in South Africa, with a diverse cast of American, British and South African actors, and will feature film-quality production values. LIFE IS WILD is the story of a dysfunctional blended family from New York who moves to a rural South African town and finds they must rely on each other more than they ever did back home.
9:00pm: America’s Next Top Model repeats

Sean’s take: Well… yet another “Watch videos from the web!” show, and a show that will make teenagers attention spans even shorter as they are force fed a line of what someone in office has deemed “cool and hip”. Yeah… won’t be watching. Life Is Wild… isn’t this based on yet another British series? Do we have NO original ideas left in America?!?