• Futurama’s “1% Rule” - something that is definitely true. If more shows would realize how well this approach works, there would be far more TV shows that are great fun to analyze. Personally, I love shows that are fearless about using references and jokes that are sure to whiz right by most of the audience. Gilmore Girls was a prime example of the reference approach to this, and Futurama is easily king of the buried geek joke. If reading that Wired article isn’t proof enough of that fact, than just watch the show closely.
• Katee Sackhoff counters rumors about Bionic Woman. It’s all academic at this point anyway, since the smart money is on the show not surviving for any more produced episodes…
• Road kill toys. Gots to gets me some of these for peoples as gifts.
• Scott Adams reports on “What happens in Vegas…“
• Sometimes it’s the angle that matters
• “Is is always illegal to kill a woman?” Good grief.

• Google put out a new version of their Mobile Maps app that does a cool thing. It’ll give approximate location based on cell location, even without a GPS. I played with it on the way home today and it does a decent job. As good as I could expect given how it’s doing it, anyway. It doesn’t have the accuracy of GPS location, but it’s great for keeping the map on the area you’re in, not to mention saving you from having to search around to get the map to where you are initially.
• Speaking of which, Google has added collaborative features to their web maps system.
• So, Katee Sackhoff may be departing Bionic Woman? Bad news, as she and Miguel Ferrer were the highlights of the show. I still have very mixed reactions about the show, and won’t be all too crushed if it doesn’t survive the strike should Sackhoff no longer be on it.
• The legendary Todd-AO Scoring Stages are being shut down. OK, so I suppose it’s not as legendary to those of you who aren’t film score nerds like me…
• Looking to get into the housing market? Might wanna consider current trends.
• Add MORE reviews I’m not behind on: No Country For Old Men (9), Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium (9), Enchanted (7), Bee Movie (3) & Saw IV (3). Good grief.

Dialog Of The Day: “The Pie Maker considered how not telling Chuck the truth about her father was a lot like being locked in a prison. Then he considered how being locked in a prison was actually much worse than some silly metaphor about truth.” (The Narrator in Pushing Daisies 1.08)

Yeah, I haven’t done a Dialog Of The Day in quite some time (I do have plans for the return of the feature in a better form, I swear), but I couldn’t resist this one from today’s Pushing Daisies. Have I mentioned how much I love this show?

• I have begun doing reviews of Star Trek: The Original Series episodes, as recently released in remastered hi-def on HD-DVD. I’m working my way through them sporadically (probably one or two a week), and shall continue to update the page as I do. I haven’t watched through the full TOS run in a decade or two. Frankly, I probably barely remember some of the episodes, so it’ll be cool to watch ‘em all from the beginning again. And hey, I get to check out all the groovy new work done in remastering ‘em while I’m at it. You can always find the page in the TV menu option on the top of the site.
• You know, as I read the average comment thread on web sites, I have to wonder if the people making the comments are as big a Neanderthal as they seem in real life, or if it’s just an online thing where there’s no real retribution. Frankly, I’m not sure which answer is more depressing.
• Stop dressing your daughter like a… Yeah, no kidding. That article is so right.
• Chuck has gotten a full season pickup. Now, what to do about that strike…
• As many are reporting, XP continues to be Vista’s main competition. Speaking as somebody who has had Vista on both the machines I use every day, after some time using it on both I went back to XP on both, and have been FAR happier having done so. Vista is the worst new OS version Microsoft has ever released, and I was hoping SP1 would fix some of it. Clearly, it won’t. It’s hilarious to see XP continue to improve, though, as there have now been reports of the upcoming XP SP3 showing some 10% performance improvements.
• Order Of The Phoenix on HD-DVD to feature a community screening feature. In terms of interactivity gimmicks, I think this is actually one of the better ideas. But, why is this a title-based feature and not just a format/player feature? It should be at a platform level, not just supported on the few titles that include it.
• When does Congress actually WORK?
• So, Scott Adams is finally scaling back on Dilbert Blog postings. Honestly, I figured this would happen sooner than it did. Still, as long as it continues, it doesn’t need to be daily.
• Interesting. Fox is opening up a competition for fans to submit an official poster for The Sarah Conner Chronicles.
• Here’s a rather stark and depressing story about the ongoing problems in Congo. Not my usual kind of post, but one worth the read.
• The Inquirer praises SlySoft’s recent cracking of BD+ protection on Blu-Ray. And what they say is dead-on right. Go, SlySoft, Go. Those of us with hardware deemed “inadequate” to play back high def content, only because it doesn’t support Orwellian/Draconian protection systems that were of insanely poor conception, depend on folks like SlySoft to be able to PLAY BACK LEGALLY PURCHASED CONTENT ON LEGALLY PURCHASED HARDWARE. I swear, these morons don’t just go out of their way to limit their customers, THE ONES WHO ACTUALLY *WANT* TO GIVE THEM MONEY FOR THEIR PRODUCT, but they create an industry for those who exist just to circumvent their idiotically ill-conceived notions of protection.

• So, did you have a happy Thanksgiving?
• I’m SO far behind on movie reviews, I’ve got more than half a dozen partially completed and have trouble getting myself to just choose some to finish and get on with it. I’ll quit promising to have them up soon and just cross my fingers and hope I’ll get ‘em posted over this long weekend. Until then, here’s a list of the 11 pending with my score out of 10 with each. I also added each to the 2007 film list (which, btw has passed 100 for the year now - and climbing). So, here are all the ones with pending reviews: The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford (7), Gone Baby Gone (9), 30 Days Of Night (8), The Darjeeling Limited (7), Dan In Real Life (8), American Gangster (8), Rendition (9), Martian Child (9), P2 (8), Hitman (6), The Mist (6). Hmmm, guess there haven’t been much by ways of bad movies that I’ve seen since my last reviews (though there was Good Luck Chuck & The Heartbreak Kid just before this streak).
• Was discussing Buffy The Vampire Slayer with somebody who had never seen it, and was clearly unlikely to ever be convinced otherwise. As Joss once referred to it, and I completely agree, “those who can’t get past the title aren’t invited to the party.” Actually, I also like his very first concept title for what would eventually become Buffy - “Rhonda The Immortal Waitress.”
• Speaking of Buffy, Sarah Michelle Gellar apparently changed her last name to Prinze in honor of their 5 year anniversary. This sounds like a pretty logical practice in Hollywood, where marriages rarely last that long…
• Here’s an amusing approach to cracking MD5 encryption hashes.
• “The Vampire Angel” - a completely chronological history of Angel, which is quite cool simply for the effort alone. It’s split into twenty-something parts thanks to Youtube limitations, but quite fun. Can’t imagine this’ll last long before it gets yanked due to copyright restrictions…
• What if everybody in the U.S. flushed at the same time? Interesting. A tad obvious, but interesting.
• That’ll do for now. Back with more soon.

• Yeah, the many reviews for which I’m behind will finally start to show up over the holiday weekend. For a list of what I’ve seen that don’t yet have reviews posted, just check out the latter part of my 2007 viewing log.
• I’m enjoying listening to Alan Silvestri’s great Beowulf score on CD (released today) as I type this. Great score (great movie, too).
• Coolness. Director David Twohy hasn’t given up on another Riddick movie. I hope he can pull it off.
• The interesting impact of the writer strike on the production (and completion) of Battlestar. Man, it would royally suck if the show got prematurely cut short, so very close to the planned finish line. I’m sure Ron Moore will fight tooth and nail to get it to that finish line. BTW, don’t forget that Razor airs on Saturday. I’ve already seen it in a theater last week, and it’s great. Some cool moments for classic Battlestar geeks like myself for added fun.
• Some specs and the cool cover art are detailed for the HD-DVD release of David Fincher’s Zodiac. Given his previous special edition DVD sets for his other movies, I’m sure this release will be spectacular. Can’t wait.
• Speaking of DVD releases, A&E has revealed some neato specs on their upcoming season 1 & 2 set for the Weird Science TV series. I was a fan of the show (still have many of them on tape from their original USA Network airings). Very cool that they got Vanessa Angel, Michael Manasseri and John Mallory Asher to all contribute in audio commentaries.
• So, Hasselhoff might appear on the new Knight Rider remake.
• Looks like I’ve figured what my next portable media player will be: the Cowon A3. I currently own the Cowon X5, which is an overall nice player (my battery is near dead, and I need to get around to replacing it). I’m not in a big hurry to upgrade, but that A3 sure does look awesome.

• So, seen the new trailer for Cloverfield yet? Seriously cool stuff. I hope it’ll be a big hit, cause I’d love to see writer Drew Goddard a-listed. Goddard was quickly snapped up by JJ Abrams for Alias (and then Lost) after his work on Buffy & Angel. Abrams works again with director Matt Reeves, a former collaborator on Felicity who’s been a bit under the radar in recent years. I definitely look forward to seeing Cloverfield.
• Here’s a fascinating piece of the Apollo 11 story I wasn’t previously aware of. Nor was most anyone else, from the sound of it.
• Here’s another absolutely beautiful Shuttle picture. I did a 1920×1200 widescreen cropping of the photo for use as wallpaper.
• Just to solidify their evil nature, Macrovision is buying Blu-Ray’s also-evil BD+ system.
• The amusing end result of Scott Adams’ contest for book blurbs (there are fewer words in the English language that are naturally funnier than “blurb”)
• So, here’s a shock - SP1 doesn’t help the performance of Vista much.
• Whoops. Small mishap during an engine test at the Airbus facility.
• Speaking of the airlines, here’s an interesting story on the woes of air travel, particularly of late. I would stop short of the one suggestion to ship luggage, though.
• Oh, and I’ll never fly Atlantic Southeast airlines…
• Hey hey hey. You wanna take this outside?… Of the car?
• The newest, amusing chapter in the Everywhere Girl saga
• They don’t make kids shows like they used to
• This is an old video, but it’s absolutely hilarious. Actually manages to pull off a pitch-perfect Python delivery.

• Oooooh, finally a definitive soundtrack release for Blade Runner. Boy, all the stops are being pulled out for us Blade Runner fanatics. This 25th anniversary is becoming THE time to be a Blade Runner obsessed fan like myself. After years and years of us fans wanting high quality releases of the film, soundtrack and other extras, we are finally getting it all, and more.
• 100 Movies, 100 Quotes, 100 Numbers. AWESOME video. Too cool.
• Then there are these wicked fun videos of the random ramblings of spam messages put to animation. Spamland 1, 2 & 3.
• And if that’s not fun enough, how about watching the Eiffel Tower (the one in Vegas, anyway) get hit by lightning?
• Another cool casting move by JJ Abrams for the new Trek film - Jennifer Morrison.
• Dinner In The Sky. You gotta be kidding me.
• For anyone doubting just how stupid the major studios are, or how bad sequels can be, look no further - Crank 2! I can’t image it possibly being worse than the first (which I continue to seriously consider naming as my all-time least favorite movie), but I’m sure they’ll find a way to do so.
• The idea of Tim Burton doing a 3D version of Alice In Wonderland is a bit of a scary proposition.
• One last tidbit. For any of you wondering how insane fans of Joss Whedon are, here’s a forum thread discussing the upcoming planned writers strike day that will reassemble the Mutant Enemy writing team (Mutant Enemy was the production company of Joss’ 3 shows of Buffy, Angel & Firefly). Guess they are planning on having the strike last a while.

Poor Jessica Alba. Poor, poor Jessica Alba. Try as she might to save this dog of a film, she can’t quite pull it off.

Writing: This comedy falls flat in between some of the clever notions it presents. Frankly, it’s a movie that should work, and the fact that it doesn’t really says something. Just like the recent The Heartbreak Kid, this movie is buried under severely out of place explicit sequences. While it might not be quite as bad as The Heartbreak Kid at it, the end result is the same. I’m all for mixing genre and style, but trying to bury these sweet natured stories amidst soft-core porn productions simply doesn’t mesh. At all.

Production: Can’t recall anything either particularly good or bad to comment on.

Cast: Like I said, Jessica Alba’s performance and her character are absolutely lost amidst the rest of this film. Again, I can equate it to The Heartbreak Kid, where the fantastic Michelle Monaghan was also unable to save the otherwise disaster of a film. Oh, and I will say that Lonny Ross (who plays Josh on 30 Rock) was a nice touch to play the brother for Alba’s character. Though with his small amount of material, he can’t do a whole lot to save the film, either. Dane Cook is unmemorable in pretty much every way. And Dan Fogler, who I liked in Balls Of Fury, can’t manage to make his debased best friend character work (a tired genre staple).

Music: I have zero memory of anything having to do with Aaron Zigman’s score. He is a talented composer, so I’ll just go on the assumption that it was a decent enough score since I don’t remember particularly disliking it or anything.

• AWESOME photo. Here’s a version I cropped to 1920×1200 for you fellow high-res widescreen monitor users. It’ll be my wallpaper for a while. BTW, the pic is from a couple weeks after 9/11.
• Spidey to the rescue
• Could you read that back in 12-year-old?
• Wait, is that the fire alarm I hear?
• For anyone wanting to open their own Gitmo
• Ah, the wonderful joy of DRM
• Speaking of which, here’s more legislative fun over copyright control
• Cool. Aliens, Lego style
• Michael Eisner working on next chapter of his Winning Friends autobiography
• An outdoor Battlestar set took a pounding in a windstorm yesterday

• I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again - WHERE IS PARKER LEWIS CAN’T LOSE ON DVD?!?!?! Come on, Sony!
• Here’s a painful flashback to the 70’s. A hilarious one, too.
• And here’s more video of the winged lunatic
• Who doesn’t love a carnival? Indeed.
• Think whatever you wish of George W, but he can sure be entertaining. When it isn’t simply making up words, it’s brilliantly delivered ambiguity. One of my favorites: “For every fatal shooting, there were roughly three non-fatal shootings. And, folks, this is unacceptable in America. It’s just unacceptable. And we’re going to do something about it.”
• Some videos of the Google-championed Android platform in action. Anxious to see Android disembowel the horrendously screwed up mobile device industry.
• Caught the theatrical screening of Battlestar Galactica: Razor tonight. Overall, a cool addition to the series. Some fun surprises. I’ll do a full write-up very soon.

As some of you may know, I made the jump to the HD formats a few months ago. I did so via Blu-Ray & HD-DVD drives for the PC. Lacking HDCP encryption support on both my HD monitor and my front projector, I was forced to turn to SlySoft’s AnyDVD HD application to be able to even watch the discs I legally purchase on equipment fully capable of playing them back, if not for the lack of HDCP encryption crap (HDCP is evil, and another reason for my dislike of Intel). From the beginning, the format war has been an annoyance to me. I’ve always been of the opinion that I didn’t really care which one won, as long as one of them did so sooner rather than later (which is looking highly unlikely). To choose a side, I had been a backer of Blu-Ray, due almost solely to the studio/industry backing of the format. HD-DVD has smacked of desperation from the start, and in a Darwinian way has always felt like the pending loser (then again, since when does a Sony format EVER win?). While I may like a few tidbits of tech spec better for Blu-Ray, the two formats are for the most part a wash. That was until I spent a few months learning all there is to know about the encryption and restrictions of the two formats first hand. And let me be clear about this after having experienced them these few months - from a consumer standpoint, Blu-Ray is downright evil in comparison to HD-DVD. Microsoft (of all people) weren’t kidding when they were touting the consumer friendliness of HD-DVD back during the launch. It’s absolutely true. Blu-Ray goes that extra mile to alienate the customer in almost every possible way in terms of policy and restriction. There’s nothing, and I mean NOTHING, about the format that was designed with the viewer in mind. That’s not to say HD-DVD is perfect (it has AACS/HDCP restrictions as well). While I know that the money from the industry is key to the design of these specs, Blu-Ray’s obvious design towards the paranoia of the studios is without doubt. Blu-Ray recently launched their highly-touted BD+ encryption protection system, which is something unique to the format above and beyond what HD-DVD can do to lock down content. The fine folks as SlySoft promised they’d nail BD+ within the year, and they have already done so. I kid you not. I can happily play back Fantastic Four 2 and other BD+ discs using AnyDVD HD. It’s a fantastic app (if a bit overpriced) made by developers who really know what they are doing. It goes to show that these guys will be able to hack their way around anything to enable consumers. But that doesn’t stop apps like CyberLink’s PowerDVD app (the ONLY current choice for good HD playback for computers, sadly) from putting in positively retarded restrictions into their newest builds recently, such as the fact that it will no longer play Blu-Ray discs that aren’t AACS encrypted (which is what AnyDVD unlocks to get around HDCP requirements) because AACS encryption is actually REQUIRED to be on every commercial Blu-Ray disc. Never mind BD+, region coding and the other aspects of Blu-Ray over HD-DVD. So, as of this moment, I’m changing my vote for who I wish to see win this war. I’m now an HD-DVD supporter. Given the choice on Warner Bros titles (the last of the major studios to support both formats), I will now start getting the HD-DVD version (unless it’s a DVD/HD-DVD combo disc - which is a topic I won’t rant on right now). Paramount annoyed me a little while ago when they changed from supporting both formats to just HD-DVD (after being bribed to do so), but I no longer care (BTW, I think Paramount does some of the nicest HD disc releases of any of the studios). Frankly, more exclusive support might finally put an end to this mess. It’ll be interesting to see if Warner choses a side after the Christmas season. I think it’s unfair to those with a player for just one of the formats as well, but since I can do either, that fact doesn’t really matter to me. I know a number of people that won’t touch the HD formats until there’s either a clear winner or all the players do either. And I don’t blame them one bit. I still think that HD-DVD will be the likely loser (all of Toshiba’s moves of pure desperation make it seem like a fire sale), but do to their far more consumer-minded spec, they officially have my support as of now. Actually, if you want some amusement on all this, read this change log for the most recent build of AnyDVD HD.

Just popping in briefly to say that I haven’t dropped off the face of the Earth. Having a tech problem with the blog, which this time is completely my fault. After playing with a couple components, I’ve screwed up a couple minor things (like posting pictures in blog posts), that I just got squared away. So, now I’ve gotta finish off the handful of movie review posts I’ve got mostly finished and get ‘em all posted. They’ll show up within the next day or two, depending on available time. Gonna be at the Battlestar Galactica: Razor screening tomorrow night, so the posts might not start showing up till Tuesday…

• Hope y’all had a happy Guy Fawkes Day
• Today’s big news is Google’s amusingly off-center announcement of their open platform initiative for mobile devices called Android. People were expecting the announcement of a “GPhone” and instead got the reality of hundreds of them. Meanwhile, Google stock continues it’s meteoric climb.
• Speaking of which, Engadget has this great article about Palm in light of Android. I completely agree with the write-up. I gave up trying to figure out Palm years ago. That company seems determined to nuke itself into oblivion.
• So, the writers strike official kicked in today. It’ll be fun to see how the TV/Movie landscape shifts. Many things have already begun feeling the pressure. Heroes may end their second season with the mid-season finale (not to mention the death of Heroes: Origins).
• Interesting local news. Microsoft is launching a $500 million data center in Northlake (A Chicago suburb just south of O’Hare airport)
• Speaking of Microsoft, here’s some fun internal stats for you fellow IT nerds
• Awesome! Check out the Last Starfighter arcade machine. Too bad those never quite made it to production. I’ve got a prototype Atari 5200 cart of the also-unreleased home version.
• Check out 8 insane videos of twisters. Warning - plenty of language in the clips. Amazing footage, to be sure. And I love how being in the path of one ‘em turns anyone into a blithering lunatic.
• On a more calm and collected note, how about some funny headstones?
• You’ll have to confirm your age/consent to watch this video, but it’s absolutely amazing. Just wait for it. Don’t worry, it’s not gory or anything. They just have it flagged for the very nature of what it is - just shown at a distance. Wouldn’t that be classified as something a bit better than the average IED?
• This just in from the “what the…?” department
• And in case that one wasn’t enough, try this one - also from the same department.
• A kinda nifty approach to measuring time in base-10
• Hey hey, one of the universities has denied the RIAA outright
• Here’s a collection of awesomely timed photos
• No big surprise that Blockbuster is in such a tail spin
• NBC to launch a spin-off of The Office? You know, if there was one show that I truly wish I could like, but just can’t after repeated attempts, it’s The Office. I don’t know why it fails so completely for me.
• Looks like Shia LaBeouf’s fame finally caught up with him, as I’m sure most figured it would.
• For anyone interested in a quick breakdown of Dubai and what makes it tick. Sure does make Vegas look like a theme park.
• And, I swear I’m gonna try to get at least one movie review posted per day for the rest of the week. I’m falling behind…

A fantastic character thriller filled with excellent performances and a great script.

Writing: This is one of those marvelous morality tales where pretty much everyone exists at one level of gray or another. When described as a miracle worker, the character of Michael Clayton quickly shuns the accolade and instead describes himself as a janitor. And in most ways, he’s not just being modest. While he may be very good at his job, it really does come down to being little more than that in the grand scheme of things. Nobody thinks of him unless they need him, and after the fact they’d probably rather forget about anything having to do with him. As such, he’s a very ambiguous character, eeking his way through his meandering life, unsure of almost everything. And as much as he may seem to have his act together, he’s hanging on by little more than all those he helps. If they only knew. The journey of the character(s) is fascinating.

Production: Favoring the simple over the flashy (which is in character with the story), the production exists in the world of high stakes class action lawsuits and Fortune 500 power grabbers, but doesn’t stoop to glorifying their world or making it overly flashy. It’s a dog-eat-dog atmosphere, and the crew brings it to life with a great combination of cinematography, set design, location scouting and comfortable editing.

Cast: Here is another strong suit of the film. Clooney is 100% on the money with his performance. It’s tweaked to perfection, nailing all the details with subtlety. He portrays all the frustration of being a fish trapped in a current without overplaying any kind of anxiety or melodrama. It wouldn’t surprise me if Clooney manages to get himself a nomination for the role, and I’d be happy to see it happen. Tilda Swinton is intriguing as the up-and-coming corporate spin-controller, who’s in over her head and compounds her problems with one worse choice on top of each bad choice, slowly losing control. Sydney Pollack is an obvious casting move as the semi-soulless boss, and is also the correct choice. Then there’s Tom Wilkinson who is always able to walk that fine line of slick power and unglued mania, and does so with ease in this film. Another acting bonus is Merritt Wever in a supporting role. She was great as PA Suzanne in Studio 60, and pulls off the character of naive intelligence very well.

Music: James Newton Howard downplays the score but makes it work very well. He avoids anything particularly flashy or even thematic and goes more for atmosphere, texture and ambiance. Not a score to rave about, but definitely a solid, deserving effort.

This remake makes a number of mistakes, not the least of which is being directed by the Farrelly brothers. I don’t think I’ve seen the original version, but I have to imagine it works better than this remake.

Writing: The single biggest mistake in this film is the extremely crude material that feels COMPLETELY out of place. It just doesn’t work at all. It feels like being dirty and nasty just to be dirty and nasty. As much as they might be trying for humor, it just falls flat on its face, making a very loud, metallic thud in the process. I can’t stress how much this destroys this movie, which to be honest might have been able to otherwise work.

Production: The location filming does add something to the feel of the movie, but for the most part the production of the film is pretty pedestrian and average for the comedy genre.

Cast: As if wasting Ben Stiller wasn’t bad enough, poor Michelle Monaghan is absolutely neglected. Frankly, she’s the best thing about this film, but awash in the midst of all the rest of the story and characters, there’s just no way she can save things. And that’s a shame, cause she’s quickly shot up to being one of my favorite actresses, and all I could do was pity her amidst this mess of a film. She’s really trying, but has almost nothing worthwhile to play against. Actress Malin Akerman gets saddled with absolutely horrible material, so it’s almost impossible to judge her performance. It sucks, but it’s likely the fault of what they gave her to work with. Jerry Stiller certainly doesn’t help the film, and in all honesty probably does more to hurt it.

Music: Bill & Brendan Ryan are credited with the score. I’m not only completely unfamiliar with them by name, but I don’t recall the music score in this film whatsoever. So, I can make no comment. It must have been average enough if I don’t remember at least somewhat liking or disliking it.

• I spent a couple evenings this week digging through all the commentaries and extras on the new DVD set of My So-Called Life. Such a nice set. They did an admirable job getting interview material from nearly all the cast and primary crew. Some nicely off-the-cuff, reminiscent stuff. It’s truly scary to watch the pilot episode of the series and keep in mind that Claire Danes was only 13 years old when it was shot. It took a while for the show to get picked up, so by the time it was in episodic production, Danes was nearly the 15 years she was portraying. How strange is it to have a child actor on TV playing ABOVE their age? And Danes is just amazing in the show. Truly. Another thing I feel the need to point out is just how amazing the pilot of the show was shot (the rest of the show is no slouch either). It’s one of the most gorgeously filmed pilots I’ve seen. I’ve watched it quite a few times over the years and it never fails to amaze in how beautiful it is. I also never tire of the great main title sequence.
• Oooooh. Joss Whedon & Tim Minear join forces again. And with Eliza Dushku, no less. Woo hoo! I just can’t believe it’ll be with Fox.
• Michael Giacchino is to use the Trek theme in scoring the new JJ Abrams film. Great news. And I’m sure his arrangement will be fantastic. He did such a marvelous job with the theme in Mission Impossible III.
• The X-Files 2 has picked out a release date, and it’s sooner than I would have expected. I’m totally looking forward to being able to see it.
• Warehouse 13, huh? Hey, if Jane Espenson is involved, I’m already a loyal viewer.
• 10 reasons to hate cellphone carriers - no kidding. This article is SO right.
• I’m anxiously awaiting the release of a version of AnyDVD HD that can get around BD+, as SlySoft has recently claimed to have cracked. I tell ya, as a customer trying to play back legally bought movies on Blu-Ray, they sure do go out of their way to make it so I can’t.
• Speaking of which, looks like Warner might be considering going single HD format like Paramount recently did. The format war continues to get bloodier and bloodier. Christmas sales sure will make things interesting, particularly given HD-DVD’s recent moves of utter desperation (uh, $99 players?).
• NBC ain’t pulling any punches badmouthing Apple’s online media business. Can’t say I blame them.
• Looks like my decision to use Microsoft’s HD Photo format for my new family photo scanning project wasn’t poorly founded. The format has been chosen to be the successor to the ubiquitous JPG format. HD Photo is a very nice format, and I’m anxious to see it get better adoption.
• The man who wants to control the internet. An interesting read (well, for us techies, anyway)