Still prepping for Superman Returns, I rewatched Superman II and here's a brief list of things I noticed:
Superman's identity crisis
Los Angeles Times
Will the first and most elemental of superheroes be able to reassert himself as the paragon of the form, the hero that every other elastic-wrapped champion of justice can only yearn to be? Or will he be perceived as merely one more franchise along the entertainment superhighway? Or worse yet, will he come off as too simple, too old-school, even too corny for today's hero-savvy crowd?Gerard Jones, author of Men of Tomorrow, Killing Monsters, and a number of Green Lantern comic books, wrote this thoughtful piece. I'm not really old enough to contend for some of his conclusions ...
That very corniness, of course, was half the secret to Superman's big-screen triumph in 1978. After a decade and a half of disastrous war, murdered and disgraced presidents, crime, inflation, drugs, cultural upheavals — in short, maybe the longest stretch of relentlessly nerve-shredding experiences in our history — Americans were overjoyed to allow an impossibly perfect hero to swoop from the neglected shelves of childhood memory and snatch us briefly from resignation.I watched the Expanded Edition of the 1978 film recently and realized I had either forgotten or never noticed a few things:
Schools pulling the plug on Macs
baltimoresun.com
For nearly two decades, Anne Peach has taught graphic arts at a Catonsville high school using Apple Macintosh computers, knowing her students would use that system in the working world.The main reason previously stated for replacing Macintosh computers in schools with Windows PCs was that students needed to learn on computers they would be using in the workplace. Now they're saying:
But the Apple logo has given way to the waving Windows icon in Baltimore County schools' graphic design and multimedia computer labs, and Peach is furious.
Students and staff can share information efficiently if everyone uses compatible equipment. "All of this can happen only if we're all on the same operating platform."Oh, sure. Apparently the world is not sharing information via the Internet using different operating systems (Windows 95, 98, Me, XP; MacOS 9, OS X, Linux, etc.)
Chris Isaak is returning to Stockton for his first hometown concert in six years and Megan put together a special section for Recordnet. It includes:
http://homepage.mac.com/ehargreaves/PhotoAlbum48.html
Hiding in Plain Sight, Google Seeks More Power
New York Times
On the banks of the windswept Columbia River, Google is working on a secret weapon in its quest to dominate the next generation of Internet computing. But it is hard to keep a secret when it is a computing center as big as two football fields, with twin cooling plants protruding four stories into the sky.Ah, The Dalles. Forever to be described as "80 miles east of Portland."
Mathematical references abound on The Simpsons
Science News
Although nobody would call The Simpsons a science show, the writing staff boasts an impressive array of former mathematicians, scientists, and computer scientists. Over the years, they have injected their brand of geeky humor into the show.
Hasbro Introduces Transformers Classics Line
This fall, Hasbro will pay a special tribute to the rich history captured in the saga that is More Than Meets The Eye with the Transformers Classics line of figures.Sounds great. So why does the new "Classics" Megatron look even less like the TV show and animated movie than the original toy?
Each character in the Classics line will have a more detailed face and body, resulting in a more comparable appearance to the character seen on the original TV show and animated movie.
Bush's Broadband Goal In Doubt
President Bush's goal of universal broadband access for all Americans by 2007 appears to be in doubt, according to a recent Government Accountability Office report. Between 42-48 percent of online Americans subscribe to a broadband service, according to two surveys.
The 25 Worst Tech Products of All Time
PCWorld
Even the worst products deserve recognition (or deprecation). So as we put together our list of World Class winners for 2006, we decided also to spotlight the 25 worst tech products that have been released since PC World began publishing nearly a quarter-century ago.I really only disagree with one item on the list (and it's not made by Apple).
Fat sitcom husbands
Slate
... several shows pair extremely attractive women, who are often clad in plunging tops and tight jeans suitable for a Maxim photo spread, with TV husbands who are not only not studly, but downright fat.I don't know why it took me a year-and-a-half to find this article (maybe because I read Slate that often) but I've been wondering about this for a few years and King of Queens and Grouded for Life were the most prominent mismatches I had noticed.
I recently did a domain name search for eddiehargreaves.com, just to see if it was available (which it is) and was given a list of "Similar Available Domain Names"
The following similar names are available:What do you think? Should I grab SuperHargreaves.com while it's available or would I be better suited to TheEddieTheory.com?
theeddiefiles.com
eddieinventors.com
palmerhargreavesmint.com
yourhargreaves.com
theeddietheory.com
besthargreaves.com
theothereddie.com
superhargreaves.com
eddiehargreavesworld.com
eddiehargreavesguide.com
New World Record Established for Most People Dressed as Smurfs
290 people from across the U.S. established the first world record for "Most People Dressed as Smurfs" during San Francisco's famous Bay to Breakers foot race.
In Our Post-PC Era, Apple's Device Model Beats the PC Way
The Wall Street Journal
Critics attack the iPod and iTunes as 'closed' and 'proprietary,' because the songs Apple sells at its iTunes Music Store play only on iPods, and iPods can't play songs purchased from other music stores. But both the iPod and iTunes handle the two most common open audio formats, MP3 and WAV, and the most common open video format, MP4. They work well even if you never buy a song from Apple. And iTunes and the iPod work on Windows computers, not just Macs. So how is that closed?It's amazing that this needs to be pointed out to people, but the Microsoft misinformation campaign is succeeding in convincing people that if you use iTunes or an iPod that all your music is locked in. Only music and videos purchased from the iTunes Music Store are locked from full and fair use (even free downloads). Competing digital music services are not Mac-compatible, so their claims of being 'open' are ridiculous. The music service that is truly 'open' is eMusic.
Superman Returns - First Listen
Most of the raw material present in [John] Williams' original oeuvre (the Fanfare, the Love Theme, the Krypton Theme, the Kent Family Theme) is preserved here and it is with great anticipation and pride that SoundtrackNet presents an exclusive first listen to the official motion picture score release of John Ottman's Superman Returns.
Perfect Strangers, Hooked on a Can Can and
YouTube
If you remember the television series "Perfect Strangers," you will probably find this compilation of clips (set to "Hooked on a Can Can") fun.
1987 Marvel Comics Parade Float
YouTube
Willard Scott is the least embarrassing thing about this 1987 video of Captain America, Wolverine, Dr. Strange, Power Man (and Robocop?!) battling Dr. Doom, Magneto, Enchantress, The White Queen and The Hulk. All this is on a parade float playing music from "Back to the Future."
Lego's new branded collection of play sets and characters uses the Batman 'property.' To promote it, they've made some fun wallpapers, Flash-based comics, and movies. The movie(s) are computer-generated, rather than stop-motion. And the mini figurines have better character designs than some of the big-budget films.
It has been said that "God is in the details." That sentiment is strikingly rendered in a series of new station identification spots for MTV HD, co-directed by Psyop's Marco Spier and Marie Hyon.
May 12 - Age of Armor (22.6MB)
June 9 - Birthday Party (33.3MB)
more than 470 797.
http://homepage.mac.com/ehargreaves/PhotoAlbum47.html
Delta College stages funny, fast-paced trip to 'Urinetown'
Far from reinventing the genre, "Urinetown" depicts the death of the musical as a progressive and relevant art form. Along the way, though, San Joaquin Delta College's current production invites audiences to a clever, funny and wickedly virtuosic funeral.
When, seventeen years ago, I designed the Web, I did not have to ask anyone's permission. The new application rolled out over the existing Internet without modifying it. I tried then, and many people still work very hard still, to make the Web technology, in turn, a universal, neutral, platform. It must not discriminate against particular hardware, software, underlying network, language, culture, disability, or against particular types of data.The creator of the World Wide Web speaks out regarding Net Neutrality. If you don't know what it is, try this Google News search. One notable link from that search is McCurry Sells Out to AT&T.
'Nightmare' awakens for 3-D release
Sally will drop nightshade into Dr. Finkelstein's tea in 3-D come Halloween, when Walt Disney Pictures releases a digitally remastered version of Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas.
At first glance, the show appears all silliness and satire. Set in a world where people must pay to use the bathroom, the musical features arch characters, star-crossed lovers right out of "Romeo and Juliet" and a score that goes out of its way to spoof such landmark musicals as "Sweeney Todd," "Chicago" and "Fiddler on the Roof." Even the title carries a pun.As with his preview article for Over the River and Through the Woods, I disagree with most of what Brian McCoy presents as fact (the excerpted paragraph above is one of the few parts written I consider accurate). And I'm not completely sure why all the photos on the Record's web site are so washed out. But if you click on the image to enlarge it and squint real hard, you can see me in the upper left corner (some of my fellow actors are actually behind the sign).
Inflation gets the best of us. The cost of everything from postage stamps, electricity and gas continues to rise. We gripe, groan and moan as we lament how much cheaper everything was “in the good old days.” Now, contemplate how you would feel if you had to pay to use the toilet and the costs kept going up? What if you were a low-income citizen who scratched out a living day by day? Would you continue to gripe and groan or take a stand? This is the premise of URINETOWN.
Transcript of Stephen Colbert's speech at the White House Correspondents Dinner
via Daily Kos
Now, I know there are some polls out there saying this man has a 32% approval rating. But guys like us, we don't pay attention to the polls. We know that polls are just a collection of statistics that reflect what people are thinking in "reality." And reality has a well-known liberal bias.This also includes a transcript of his "audition tape" when he applied to be the new press secretary.
Take a look at the ten images. Some of them are photographs of real objects or scenes, others are created by computer graphics artists. Test your ability to tell which among the array of images are real, and which are CG.I got 7 out of 10 correct, which is an improvement over my score on the original Fake or Foto.
A PC demo and Mac demo are available for download but I don't think having two players on a computer keyboard is particularly fun.
And now you know what I did during Spring Break.
I am going to pre-emptively answer this question which will inevitably be asked by anyone who reads or sees Urinetown, The Musical. 
In this famous work, Malthus posited his hypothesis that (unchecked) population growth always exceeds the growth of means of subsistence. Actual (checked) population growth is kept in line with food supply growth by "positive checks" (starvation, disease and the like, elevating the death rate) and "preventive checks" (i.e. postponement of marriage, etc. that keep down the birthrate), both of which are characterized by "misery and vice". Malthus's hypothesis implied that actual population always has a tendency to push above the food supply. Because of this tendency, any attempt to ameliorate the condition of the lower classes by increasing their incomes or improving agricultural productivity would be fruitless, as the extra means of subsistence would be completely absorbed by an induced boost in population. As long as this tendency remains, Malthus argued, the "perfectibility" of society will always be out of reach.
This photo gallery is a little different from past ones in two respects:
Congress readies new digital copyright bill
CNET News.com
For the last few years, a coalition of technology companies, academics and computer programmers has been trying to persuade Congress to scale back the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Now Congress is preparing to do precisely the opposite.If this legislation passes, the person who is currently hosting that clip of Conspiracy School Rock could possibly be sent to jail for 10 years. And if the record labels copy-protect all the CDs, the iPod will essentially be an illegal device.
Retail chain Best Buy is in trouble after aggressively promoted, 24-hour computer support task force the Geek Squad has been served with a temporary restraining order barring it from using a popular brand of system restore software, which Best Buy is accused of pirating.But don't true geeks use pirated software?
Terrorist, or Truth Seeker?
Wired News
To the United States, he is a seriously dangerous man who put the nation's security at risk by committing "the biggest military computer hack of all time."
But Briton Gary McKinnon says he is just an ordinary computer nerd who wanted to find out whether aliens and UFOs exist.
Thanks to continuous bombardment in television and movies, the idea of characters shimmying through air ducts has become not just a cliché, but almost a given. The moment a hero finds himself stuck someplace, we expect his eyes to drift north to that spot just below the ceiling, where an oversized grate is beckoning.I thought the same thing when I saw the episode of Lost referred to. But screenwriter John August, whose credits include Go, Big Fish, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and some others I'd rather not mention, makes the point even better in this funny, well-written post.
Matthew Bourne and New Adventures are back with their latest creation: a magical new adaptation of the classic Tim Burton motion picture Edward Scissorhands.Although this production is currently only touring the UK right now, I overheard from the director of Urinetown, The Musical that it will be coming to San Francisco. Photos and video clips can be seen by following the link above, but if you have Flash Player 8 and a high-speed connection, you can visit the official site.
via Cartoon Brew
This weekend, Saturday Night Live is airing an episode comprised entirely of Robert Smigel's animated Saturday TV Funhouse shorts. But there's one short that's guaranteed not to be on the line-up: Conspiracy Theory Rock. The 1998 Schoolhouse Rock parody, animated by J.J. Sedelmaier Productions, criticizes corporate ownership of the media and takes some sharp jabs at NBC owner General Electric.I saw this short when it originally aired on March 14, 1998. Because I was doing a senior project on media ownership at the time, I was a little disappointed that I didn't tape it. And even more disappointed when I discovered they were never going to show it again (though not entirely surprised).
DC Comics bridges the classic 1980 movie Superman II and one of the most highly anticipated films of the summer with its Superman Returns Specials, four books that each deal with a character from the new motion picture!I would typically remove the exclamation mark, but it is pretty exciting. It's going to be a big year for Superman, if Warner Bros. has anything to say about it: Year of Superman
Methanol-Powered Robot Muscles - Bend It Like Bender
Alcohol-powered artificial muscles for robots? They could be one way to solve the limits that batteries place on robotic limbs and prosthetics.This science news is a good excuse to give a compiled history of Bender.
Episcopal Churches Turn to U2 to Pack Pews
Associated Press
As the electric guitar in the U2 anthem "Pride (In the Name of Love)" faded from four speakers, the Rev. Robert Brooks welcomed worshippers to Grace Episcopal Church with an unusual suggestion: He warned them to protect their hearing.
Christ Among the Partisans
New York Times
There is no such thing as a 'Christian politics.' If it is a politics, it cannot be Christian. Jesus told Pilate: "My reign is not of this present order. If my reign were of this present order, my supporters would have fought against my being turned over to the Jews. But my reign is not here" (John 18:36). Jesus brought no political message or program.
I'm tired of reading jackasses on the Internet who propagate factually incorrect or inaccurate technology information and cliches. I'm tired of their never-ending bickering and condescension. I'm tired of people hiding behind the anonymity of a computer screen and using that shield to wreak havoc and disturb the peace in a multitude of ways, without consequence. And I'm especially appalled and sickened by the level of illiteracy and carelessness the Internet has revealed among people who are either too lazy or too stupid to take the time to write clearly.Aaron Adams is tired of a lot of things and I agree with him on most of them. I may be bitter, but I'm shocked and disturbed by the level of unnecessary hatred and anger I see on online message boards. Combine that with the level of factual errors and and it's worrisome. In the last few months I've heard Diggnation podcast co-host Alex Albrecht spout such untruths such as 'Apple has made more money from iPods than it has ever made on Macs' and 'Pixar was started at Disney, so its weird to see them bought back.' At least newspapers have a section for corrections.
The ham's big. It's the movie that got small.
The Seattle Times
Other amateur filmmakers had warned that the editing process takes a long time. These folks often repeated the admonition ("No, I mean really, a long time") as if I hadn't been paying sufficient attention.A funny first look at digital moviemaking.
Prisoner of Redmond
By Robert X. Cringely
What do you do when your wealth is immense but completely tied to people whom you inherently do not trust? If you are Paul Allen you watch your tongue and spend eight years getting out from under that burden.This should be of interest to anyone in the Pacific Northwest who are undoubtedly affected by Paul Allen's post-Microsoft ventures. And to anyone else who wants to know a little bit more about how Bill Gates got to be the richest man in the world.
Hijacking the Internet
PC Magazine opinion by John C. Dvorak
It seems to me that if you buy a 1.5-Mbps connection, you should be able to redline the connection, to use the full capacity without being charged more. And you should also be able to use it for whatever you want to use it for. Otherwise, it's like selling public-utility water to people and making them pay more to use it for washing dishes.Dvorak is loathed by many in the Mac community for his hyperbolic statements. But he has his moments and this is one of them. We've lived in California for a little more than three years and have seen the phone company change hands as many times. So I especially appreciate his noting that
In just six years, the name of the fabulous baseball stadium in San Francisco has gone from Pac Bell Park to SBC Park to AT&T Park. Just the expense of changing the signage and promotional collateral tells you that someone is making plenty of money.The ads promoting "the new at&t" tell me that "your world is suddenly changing for the better ... all because two companies — two great companies — have now joined forward to deliver the world that matters most: yours." That 'better' world I'm inhabiting has resulted in a DSL connection that drops unexpectedly and repeatedly, regular phone service that was out for a week due to their own downed equipment that they wanted to charge me to come look at, customer service via phone that uses those maddening voice recognition menus (which don't recognize much) and then I get to find out about this:
AT&T provided National Security Agency eavesdroppers with full access to its customers' phone calls, and shunted its customers' internet traffic to data-mining equipment installed in a secret room in its San Francisco switching center, according to a former AT&T worker ...
Cox Newspapers tunes out AP Online video
Barnako.com
While 450 news outlets are distributing video newsfeeds from the Associated Press, using its Windows-only viewer, Cox Newspapers is opting out.Nice to know someone has some backbone.
According to the interactive-projects editor at the Palm Beach Post, Cox is dropping out because the MSN-supplied player does not work with the Firefox browser or Apple Computer's Macs.
How France Is Saving Civilization
Wired News Commentary by Leander Kahney
But French legislators aren't just looking at Apple. They're looking ahead to a time when most entertainment is online, a shift with profound consequences for consumers and culture in general. French lawmakers want to protect the consumer from one or two companies holding the keys to all of its culture, just as Microsoft holds the keys to today's desktop computers.Many Apple fans have been deriding the bill in France aimed at forcing digital music files to be played on any hardware device. But as Leander points out, if Microsoft held the position in digital music that Apple currently does, those same fans would be complaining to high heaven. They also seem to forget that it would force online stores selling protected Windows Media Audio files to be compatible with the iPod and Macs. Hmmm, that would give Apple competition, and they'd have to respond by making a stronger case to consumers: higher quality files? subscription option? more freebies?
The Torn-Up Credit Card Application
Could a determined and dexterous criminal gather all the bits, tape them together and apply for a card in my name? Would a credit card company balk when confronted with an obviously resurrected application?
Overhyped bands
Boston.com
Boston.com has compiled a list of bands from the past five years that we feel were over-hyped by the critics. While you may be angry at some of our choices, remember, we're just a bunch of bitter computer geeks.Bitter? Count me in! I don't agree with all their choices, of course, but it's a fun trip with a surprise at the end.
Inside Scientology
Rolling Stone
In June of last year, I set out to discover Scientology, an undertaking that would take nearly nine months.15 years after the Time magazine cover story, Rolling Stone magazine has published an up-to-date and well-researched look at the "religion" that may take you nine hours to read but is engaging nonetheless.
A few months ago I received 50 free downloads from eMusic.com as part of a promotion. I at first assumed that, like most non-iTunes digital music download stores, the music available at the store would be in Windows Media Format and would be completely unplayable on my Mac and similarly un-transferrable to my iPod. Boy, was I wrong in the best way.
eMusic sells regular MP3 files that are not protected with Digital Rights Management (DRM). Because of this the songs can be played with ANY digital music software and used on ANY digital music device without restriction.
As expected, the major music labels don't want to sell unprotected music. Subsequently, eMusic doesn't have most major label music. It does, however, have a large selection of independent artists. I was easily able to find 50 tracks to download, between Aimee Mann, Badly Drawn Boy, Grandaddy, The Presidents of the United States of America, and some nifty compilations.
The recording industry is bemoaning the fact that Apple's proprietary copy-protection is hurting the digital music market (See Apple May Be Holding Back The Music Biz) but the reality is that ANY copy-protection is bad for consumers and makes everything incompatible. The labels want Apple to open up their system to their competitors, but if they would simply allow the music to be sold without copy protection, it would be compatible with everything and they wouldn't have this problem.
At least one person is paying attention:
Yahoo exec: Labels should sell music without DRM
And, of course, the CEO of eMusic agrees
eMusic's Pakman: Does he think the iPod is holding back overall music sales?
Pakman does emphasize a factor that is very much in keeping with the dominant theme in your comments: that the music industry would be far better off if it dropped its demands for DRM entirely
I'll be playing Senator Fipp, a small but distinct role, with performances at 8 p.m. on May 5, 6, 11, 12, 13, and a 2 p.m. matinee on May 14.
Nominated for 10 Tony Awards in 2002, and winner for Best Book of a Musical, "Urinetown The Musical" is the satirical tale of greed, corruption, romance and revolution in a city where water is worth its weight in gold. The show celebrates and spoofs Broadway musical theatre traditions, "poking good-natured fun at everything from corporate greed and politics to boy-meets-girl romance to good-versus-evil."
It is not a happy musical, but it is a funny one.
Jessica Simpson snubs Bush
Yahoo! News
NRCC spokesman Carl Forti said he was surprised at Simpson's position.That's a completely inaccurate comparison. To my knowledge Bono has never appeared at a Republican fund-raiser.
"It's never been a problem for Bono," he said, referring to the U2 rock star who has met regularly with political leaders of all stripes to promote various causes, including Third World debt relief.
Simpson is currently featured wearing cowboy boots and hot pants in a TV pizza ad.Is this really who the Republicans want to invite to their gala? A divorced celebrity that is currently sexually tempting an underage boy in a pizza commercial? And you want to sit her next to Congressman Boehner?
Since we have a TV set and a cable subscription, purchasing TV shows from the iTunes Music Store has never appealed much. It didn't help that the episodes are sold in a small 320x240 pixel resolution. However, our neighborhood lost power for over an hour on Wednesday, Feb. 8 -- when a new episode of "Lost" aired. Even a TiVo can't record if it doesn't have power.
So the next day I purchased the episode (gift certificates are useful) from the iTunes Music Store (the name of which is increasingly inaccurate) and we watched it on our TV. The main point of this post is to note that the quality was shockingly not awful. Apple obviously has a good codec on their hands in H.264, as scaling the image up to full-screen showed little loss in quality. Neither of us could see a difference from the broadcast version.
The lack of commercials, teasers, and network watermark were actually quite refreshing. It also meant that we heard the closing credits 'music' for the first time.
The process wasn't entirely painless, however. For one, I used QuickTime Player instead of iTunes, as the latter is a very poor video player compared to the former. Second, I hooked up my iBook to our TV's RCA jacks. My original iBook required only one $19 adapter to do this. My new G4 iBook required three separate cables/adapters to accomplish the same feat. Finally, you aren't allowed to burn the episode to a DVD. Presumably this is to prevent piracy. If so, why not allow only one burn per episode in the same way iTunes only allows a limited amount of burns of purchased music (using a specific playlist).
Oh, and most importantly, the episode –– "The Long Con" –– was a good one.
The Vendetta Behind 'V for Vendetta'
Dave Itzkoff, New York Times
With ... a body of writing that spans nearly three decades, [Alan] Moore, a 52-year-old native of Northampton, England, distinguished himself as a darkly philosophical voice in the medium of comic books — a rare talent whose work can sell solely on the strength of his name
WonderCon moved from Oakland to San Francisco in 2002, was bought by Comic-Con International in 2004 (the first year I attended), changed its date from April to February in 2005, and moved to the new Moscone Center West location this year, marking its 20th anniversary. Unfortunately, I found this year to be pretty unimpressive. 
Michael Chabon was scheduled to sign autographs at noon at the Dark Horse Booth, so we did a bit of scouting around the show floor before returning for that. We managed to be probably 2nd or 3rd in line, and were even given free copies of the latest edition of Dark Horse's Eisner Award-winning anthology Michael Chabon Presents: The Amazing Adventures of The Escapist (try fitting that title on an order sheet!) for him to sign. Those issues cost $8.95 and I was missing that one, so it was especially fortuitous. 
The first programming session we attended was "Paramount Pictures Presents: J.J. Abrams/M:i:III." J.J. showed some lengthy scenes from the upcoming, unfortunately-titled film that were quite impressive. If the trailer doesn't excite you, it's because it stinks compared to the actual movie footage we saw. I was very impressed with his presentation, especially his admission that he didn't like the first two Mission: Impossible films as much because they didn't focus on the team aspect of the original TV series.
I figured he would get peppered with questions about "Lost," since he's a co-creator of the series, and maybe even "Alias." But, surprisingly, most of the Q&A session seemed to be about "Felicity." Surprising not only because the series ended years ago, but also because I don't think most people would equate comic book fans with Felicity fans.
We got a nice piece of swag from that session: a black cloth baseball cap with a red M:i:III logo. It's nice enough to wear and not geeky enough to get you beaten up. If anything, no one who sees it knows what it means. I've even had one person ask me if it was a Pacific University cap.
The next session we wanted to see was "Pixar's 20th Anniversary Tribute/Cars Preview," but because they were running horribly behind (45+ minutes), we had to wait through quite a bit of the Kevin Smith session. He was there to show some clips from "Clerks II," curse up a storm and tell stories I would generally describe as 'grosser than gross.' I will not recount them here. I wouldn't want the Internet to get inappropriate.
The Pixar session had its highs and its lows. It kicked off with a fun 20th anniversary video sequence edited together from all their films. Then some of the animators who worked on "Cars" talked, and talked, and talked, and it was surprisingly boring. They did show two lengthy scenes from the movie, however, which were very impressive. The first was the opening sequence of the film, featuring music by Sheryl Crow. The second was a scene showcasing the various supporting characters and was quite hilarious. Everytime there's a new Pixar movie I figure it will probably be the "bad one" simply due to the law of averages. But based on what we saw at WonderCon, this will be yet another great film. The final reward for sitting through the tedious commentary session was the presentation of the Oscar-nominated short film One Man Band, which I suspect will be shown before "Cars" in theatres.
The last session I was interested in attending was the "Warner Bros. Presents Superman Returns" featuring Director Bryan Singer "with a surprise to show." Of course, since the sessions were now 45-60 minutes behind schedule, I didn't return until 30 minutes after it was supposed to start (I was definitely not interested in waiting through the "Silent Hill" movie preview). And yet somehow when I returned Bryan Singer was already speaking with his "surprise" –– star Brandon Routh. And, unfortunately, they had already shown the footage. Oh, sure, every OTHER session makes you wait and then show the footage at the end. And after a couple of questions ("Why is the shield so small?") the duo left ... EARLY. To kill the remaining time, V masks were distributed.
Let me know which of these you like better and why:
Normal .Mac photo album
New iWeb 1.0.1 photo album
New Grant System Excludes Mac Users
What if the federal government were about to give away more than $400 billion in grants, but only people whose computers ran on Microsoft software could apply?
...
Critics note that in contrast to the domination of PCs in the business community, Macs constitute about one-third to one-half of the computers scientists and academicians use.
Wired News: 2005 Vaporware Awards
Several wags nominated our vaporware story itself for an award. Yeah, we know it's late. Apologies for that. But we never promised it in 2005, so it wasn't eligible anyway.Always a fun annual read, especially considering how many repeat offenders there are. And I'm satisfied that a product I nominated made the list.
U2 dominates 48th Annual Grammy Awards
In typical award-show fashion, producers, in their apparent zeal to introduce Recording Academy Chairman Neil Portnow, cut U2's Album of the Year acceptance speech short just as Mullen stepped to the microphone.Larry never talks! And the one time he's going to, he gets cut off! Now he may never speak publicly again! Way to go, producers!
Tartakovsky Directing Dark Crystal Sequel
Award-winning animation director Genndy Tartakovsky, who created the hit series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Samurai Jack and Dexter's Laboratory, will direct Power of the Dark Crystal, the much anticipated sequel to The Jim Henson Company's 1982 classic fantasy film. The announcement was made by Lisa Henson, co-CEO of The Jim Henson Company and a producer on the film.
liveDaily.com Review: Coldplay in Sacramento, CA
Grammy voters are wack. Coldplay is arguably today's most important rock band, currently touring in support of arguably the best mainstream rock record of last year, and the group deserves to go head-to-head with the likes of Kanye West and Mariah Carey in the major categories.I agree completely. Personally, I think "X&Y" is more deserving of an Album of the Year nomination than U2's "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb."
Besides getting ... roughly 20 great Coldplay tunes, fans also got the chance to see Fiona Apple open the show. Most, however, could have done without her presence.I disagree. Most of the folks surrounding us were either quite enthusiastic in their response to Fiona's set, or they were simply tolerant. I've been to concerts where the crowd dislikes the opening act (P.J. Harvey opening for U2 in Portland) and they don't give resounding ovations.
...
When Apple finally left the stage, following a version of "Fast as You Can" (also from "Pawn"), she received a resounding ovation--but not for the reasons an artist would hope.
After a so-so stripped-down segment ... the band decided it was time to wind up "Clocks." Just like on "Parachutes," the song came across like a prime example of elegant songwriting delivered with extreme passion.Um, "Clocks" is not on the album "Parachutes." Messing up easily-checkable facts like that puts the whole review in question.
Several of the Coke Classic commercials are vignettes set to music.What this article doesn't note (and I have not been able to find any note of it anywhere via Google) is that the music used in this commercial is
...
One is an upclose look at Coke poured over ice cream. The words flash up: "You had a good run, root beer."
Family finds comic book gift offensive
An 11-year-old boy and his foster mother are mad about unwittingly buying a comic book they consider racist.Then read this story at Newsarama:
Thanks, in part, to a knee-jerk response such as this by the press to his comic, Captain Confederacy, creator Will Shetterly has opted to put the entire run of the comic series online.Now determine which did a better job of informing its readers.
Some years ago, the producers of The Simpsons toyed with the idea of spinning off some minor characters into their own television series -- each of which failed. But that didn't stop the studio marketing and licensing teams from creating comic book tie-ins for the quickly cancelled shows. Perhaps those books are best left on scrap heap of comic history, or maybe, just maybe, the time has come to present "The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase Quickly Cancelled Comic Cavalcade," featuring the return of 'Chief Wiggum P.I.,' 'The Love-matic Grampa,' and 'The Simpsons Family Smile-Time Variety Hour.'If you've seen the original episode of The Simpsons with the Spin-Off Showcase, this issue is hilarious. Find it at a Comic Shop near you.
Q: I can't watch videos posted on MSNBC in Firefox, because the site keeps telling me that I need to run Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player. Why can't these files play in my own browser?
A: MSNBC made that impossible when it adopted Microsoft's MSN Video software, which requires that you run IE for Windows and accept the installation of an ActiveX program from MSN's site. To drive away 10 to 15 percent of the potential audience like that is a foolish thing for any news site to do, but MSNBC (with which The Post shares some news stories) seems to have decided that promoting the proprietary software of one of its owners matters more.
Alleged eDonkey pirate gets trial
Paramount tried to do a forensic analysis of Davis' Macintosh G4 cube. But the company found that Davis wiped his hard drive clean and reinstalled the operating system soon after being notified of the legal action against him.
I was not granted a Media Badge this year, so I only visited the Exhibit Hall. Since that was not scheduled to open until 11 a.m. (it never opens before Steve Jobs' keynote) I didn't plan to arrive until about 11:30 a.m. That ended up becoming 12:30 p.m. thanks to a traffic jam on 580.
I stopped into the Apple Retail Store since it's right at one of the exits of the Powell St. Bart station but saw no new products.
Here's the conversation I overheard while I was waiting in line to get my badgeholder.
Woman: "I have to wear a badge?"
Man: "That's how they know you're allowed to be here"
Woman: "But it's going to wreck my outfit!"
There was quite a crowd around the Apple areas, but I did manage to pin down a few reps and get a first-hand look at the new hardware and software. First was the new MacBook Pro. I was surprised that a "Pro" laptop was one of the first Intel-based Macs, since they had promised to release consumer hardware first. I was also surprised that it looked remarkably similar to the PowerBook G4. The only external differences at first glance were the built-in camera and the remote control infrared sensor for Front Row. There was a FireWire port, contrary to some predictions that Apple's first Intel-based laptop would not include this, but only one? I was impressed with the size of the screen, but I'm used to a 12" iBook, so that doesn't say too much. Curiously absent were any claims about heat, battery life, or wireless reception -- all problems that affect the current PowerBooks. The rep tried to show off Front Row to me, but the machine had crashed. This gave me the chance to see how fast it booted: the time between the Welcome to Macintosh status bar and the final load of the Finder desktop was mere seconds. And despite some who worried, there are no Intel branding stickers.
I next got to look at the new iMacs. Again, I was surprised these were the first Macs to receive an Intel processor, since they had just gotten a redesign a few months ago. And these look exactly like those G5 models. The speed seemed impressive. A gentleman asked why he would want this iMac instead of the one he currently owned. The rep then answered by clicking on every application in the Dock (Safari, Mail, iChat, iMovie, iDVD, iPhoto, iTunes, Keynote, Pages) and we could see them all start up in about 2-3 bounces. "Can your Mac do that?" the rep asked. Impressive. I also watched Word 2004 run via the Rosetta "translation" which was transparent. But Virtual PC and Apple's "Pro" apps will not work on either of the Intel Macs. Going against hardware introduction tradition, the older iMac G5s are still available. Choice is good.
There were plenty of stations showing iLife '06 and I was impressed with iPhoto's changes, especially full-screen editing and multi-image comparison. The greeting cards look nice and so do the calendars, but couldn't we have gotten those before the new year started? The rep could not answer my question about whether or not the new photo-sharing web page templates could hold more photos per page than the current ones do. In fact, he was unaware that there was even a limit. "I don't really use .Mac for publishing photos," he admitted. Hey, Apple, when your own reps use a competing photo-publishing solution, pay attention.
iMovie HD 6 was less impressive in terms of overall changes. I doubt I'll ever be able to take advantage of the 1080i editing mode. But the ability to open multiple projects at once is a welcome improvement. The themes were very impressive and I'm now glad I didn't finish our Hawaii movie before Christmas since I think they'll be very useful for that project. I've since discovered, however, that those themes require OS X 10.4.4. I still have not installed Tiger on our iMac G5 since I find Spotlight to be truly awful. I'm not looking forward to resolving this incompatibility.
It was very difficult to find anyone that could tell me about iDVD 6, which nowadays I am actually interested in. But I attended an Apple presentation on iLife '06 and saw some of the new themes and the ability to expand the window in order to view the menus "tree." The ditching of the bordered brushed metal interface for the borderless iTunes 5-6 look is actually good, I think, because it provides more usable screen space.
The introduction of Apple's iPod Radio Remote (hmm, does this qualify as fulfilling my "Apple-branded iPod accessories" prediction?) is welcome to me. Not because I actually want to listen to the radio on my iPod (What's the point?) but so that maybe it will finally SHUT UP all those people who complain about how the iPod isn't as good as other digital music players because it doesn't have an FM tuner. You've got video and radio now, okay? Stop complaining now!
Does anyone not have an iPod case? Because if you were looking for one, Macworld Expo was the place to be. There must have been dozens of exhibitors hawking iPod cases. Probably half of the exhibit hall floor was devoted to iPods instead of Macs. The weirdest accessory I saw was this 
Although I was denied a Media Badge this year (but the guy from ThinkSecret gets to attend the keynote?) I was invited to an evening press reception for Microsoft's Macintosh Business Unit at the posh W Hotel across the street. Free hors d'oeuvres and an open bar made a great end to a day that was actually pretty exhausting. Walking and standing around for hours with heavy bags on your shoulder is tiring. The true benefit, though, was the chance to talk to members of the MacBU and ask questions about the products. My main interests are Entourage and Virtual PC. It was great news to hear that Entourage would get an update in March to make it "Spotlightable" (maybe that's when I'll upgrade the iMac) and be compatible with iSync (and thus the iPod). They are aware that the Send Feedback link is broken and explained that it was somewhat out of their control. Virtual PC is not compatible with the Intel Macs, but one of the team members (who formerly worked with Connectix) said he was hopeful they would release a new version, but couldn't commit to it (understandably). They've been awaiting information from Apple on exactly what kind of processor would be used, since the application is tied so closely to the hardware.
I asked about Windows Media Player, although I knew the MacBU isn't responsible for that. They said they'd find someone to get back to me. Of course, it's since been announced that they have ended support for Windows Media Player for the Mac. They claim they stopped developing the Mac version so they could focus on efforts for Vista. It obviously didn't help too much since they stopped developing it two years ago and in that time still haven't shipped Vista. They also claim "We just did not have the resources to do a good job on (the Mac version)." Microsoft doesn't have the resources? Apple has the resources to create iTunes for Windows, but the biggest software company in the world doesn't have enough resources to reciprocate? Sure.
Another interesting nugget of info I heard at the reception is that Firefox will be rewritten in Cocoa. I have yet to see that information elsewhere, but I hope it's true. I also got a chance to see Shawn King of Your Mac Life there and complimented him on the great job he and J. continue to do on a weekly basis. Their live show on the exhibit hall floor with Adam Engst was entertaining, as well. He even gave me a free pin -- one of those nice form-cut ones, not a cheap button pin.
I didn't stay through the whole reception, as I still had to take BART back to Dublin and then drive home. But all in all, it was worth the trip. I scored a great deal on a 160GB LaCie FireWire drive, so that ought to solve my storage needs for another six months.
DC Comics & The Postal Service team up
Ten comic book heroes will be saluted on the "DC Comics Super Heroes" stamps next summer. Half of the pane of 20 will be portraits of the characters; the other half will show individual comic book covers devoted to their exploits. The characters include Aquaman, Batman, The Flash, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, Hawkman, Plastic Man, Supergirl, Superman and Wonder Woman.When I first saw that headline text, I thought they were talking about the band. So this was less exciting news than I thought it might be. Oh, and you'll have to scroll down the linked page quite a bit, since there's not a direct link to the more detailed information.
Here's how I scored:
100% right:
Many Straight Guys Say 'No Thanks' to 'Brokeback Mountain'
It's true, the movie "Brokeback Mountain" does provoke what one researcher calls "a very strong ick factor" in some straight men. What is it in this story of two cowboy pals in 1960s Wyoming who find themselves in lifelong love -- yet go on to marry women -- that elicits this response from heterosexual males? The answers are as complex as the plot.Funny story ... about how I got quoted in this Newhouse News Service story, that is. I posted a comment at this Entertainment Weekly blog post (Queer eye for the straight 'Brokeback'-watching guy) and was later contacted by National Correspondent Dru Sefton, who I had a nice conversation with. As with all interviews, 15 minutes gets distilled down to a sentence or two.
Here's what I think is going to be introduced Tuesday by Apple:
I've got one software review in this month's issue of macCompanion:
2005 Year-End Google Zeitgeist
Considering all that has occurred in 2005, we thought it would be interesting to study just a few of the significant events, and names that make this a memorable year. (We’ll leave it to the historians to determine which ones are lasting and which ephemeral.) We hope you enjoy this selective view of our collective year.
Judge Rejects Teaching Intelligent Design
"That was a real drag," said Michael J. Behe, a professor of biochemistry at Lehigh University who was the star witness for the intelligent design side.A "real drag?" The star witness gives quotes like that?
Peter's Evil Overlord List
or "The Top 100 Things I'd Do If I Ever Became An Evil Overlord"
Some of my favorites include
SPJ criticizes radio station’s sale of naming rights
The Society of Professional Journalists urges Clear Channel radio group to stop allowing its stations to sell naming rights to their newsrooms. WIBA, a Clear Channel radio station in Madison, Wis., sold the naming rights for its newsroom to a local bank.
USB drives comes in thousands of designs and colors, but these 10 are extraordinary weird. Or what do you think? Go ahead, check them out. They are weird! Promise. Hehe.
OCC trustees oust student paper adviser
Bosley rebutted the two reasons she was given for not being renewed as newspaper adviser — that the paper contains too many errors and that student staff, because they use Macintosh computers, are not being prepared for the real world.
This amazing animated Christmas display, synchronized to a rousing rendition of 'Wizards in Winter' by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, was constructed in 2004 by Carson Williams of Mason, Ohio using programmable light controllers and software made by Light-O-Rama of Garfield, New Jersey. The music was broadcast on FM radio so viewers could listen to it as they drove by the house in their cars.
What Is On George Bush's iPod?
Ever wondered what the most powerful man in the world listens to in his spare time? In a rare departure from formal media interviews, George Bush has revealed what is on his personal IPod. Andrew Wilson reports on the President's favourite tunes.This is a streaming Windows Media video.
eBay: 8-Ft LEGO Rebel Attack Cruiser
This one-of-a-kind 8-foot LEGO Rebel Attack Cruiser model was designed by LEGO Master Builder Erik Varszegi for display at Star Wars Celebration III, San Diego Comic-Con, LEGOLAND California and several other national LEGO events to promote the final episode in the Star Wars saga. Megan and I saw it at Comic-Con and were blown away by both the size and the detail. You can see our picture in our Comic-Con photo gallery, but we couldn't back up enough to get the whole thing in the frame. Better pictures are found by following the link above.
It is now being auctioned off with a signed certificate of authenticity from George Lucas and 100 percent of the proceeds will be donated to Habitat for Humanity’s hurricane relief efforts in the southeastern United States to aid families who are rebuilding their lives in the wake of the natural disaster.
There are six days remaining to bid, so make sure you've got at least $31,000. But shipping is free!
TV glitch mars Xbox 360 Kong game
Fans wanting to get the best out of the King Kong video game should avoid the version for Microsoft's new Xbox 360, the game's maker Ubisoft has suggested.Ouch. This is just sad. However, the headline is misleading, as there is no "TV glitch."
...
"When you play on an Xbox or a PlayStation 2, you start to see that it is beautiful," he said.
The Ubisoft boss said the team who made the game used certain settings on high-definition TV screens. It did not occur to them that there would be a problem with standard televisions, which are what most people use to play console games.
Not so long ago, in candy stores not so far away, anyone could snag a bag of Masterfoods' limited edition Star Wars dark chocolate M&M's. But since their release in collectible packages in April, the ten-week window of the promotional product has long since closed, leaving many craving more. And now some speculators have stepped in, tasting some sweet profits.This article is slightly out of date now, since
dark chocolate M&M's were re-released in late September through early November. What is still relevant, though, is they were impossible to find. I snagged 1-1/2 lb. at M&M's World when we were vacationing in Las Vegas, but once they're gone, it'll be tough (impossible?) to go back to boring old milk chocolate.
When we were at the 2005 San Diego Comic-Con, I attended the session for Superman Returns, featuring Director Bryan Singer. That session and the events surrounding it are recounted in his video journal on BlueTights.net. It does not reveal most of the footage that was previewed to the audience, and neither does the recently-released teaser trailer. But it's a fun little video nonetheless.
A Web Exclusive!! The 2005 edition of the Hargreaves family Christmas newsletter - The Informer - is available online! It is a 532KB PDF file, which translates into a 1-2 minute download for you dial-up users but unnoticable to you broadband users. Whether it loads in your browser window or launches Adobe Acrobat/Reader, don't forget that you can zoom in if it displays too small for your taste. This is a reward for all you blog readers who may or may not get a print version in your Christmas card (as if visiting this site isn't reward enough...)
Informer 2005
Steve Jobs discusses music labels, iPods and Intel Macs
Jobs also warned of the challenge of offering extra features just for the sake of it, saying "We are very careful about what features we add because we can't take them away."Really? Because over the past few years, you've taken away the included carrying case/belt clip, wired remote, the Settings option on the main menu, FireWire cable, dynamically-updating smart playlists, the headphone connector, power adapter, and the ability to sync with iTunes via FireWire. So are you sure you can't take things away?
Megan and I visited the 
Interesting facts from that tour include:
iTunes outsells traditional music stores
For its comparison, the company compared 12 separate song downloads at iTunes to a single album purchase at an ordinary retail store. Using that measure, iTunes scored higher than Tower, Borders and Sam Goody.Impressive and unexpected
In one of my quickest updates yet, I've posted photos from our Las Vegas mini-vacation that were just picked up this evening. There is still one more roll that will probably not get developed until after Christmas.
And in one of my slowest updates (yet), I've posted photos from the April/May 2005 production of Man of La Mancha. However, I did have literally hundreds of nearly identical images to comb through and most were not in chronological order.
Las Vegas November 2005
Man of La Mancha 1
Man of La Mancha 2
Paris Hilton doesn't change facial expressions
Warning: May cause seizure. Oh, and the images flash really fast, too.
DRM Crippled CD: A bizarre tale in 4 parts
The key restriction of this particular DRM is that it renders a disc nontransferable to the iPod. Nor can you make a backup copy, or travel discs, or a copy for the weekend house, or use any of the songs on a mixed disc. Oh, and it won't work with my iTunes Music software (and that also means no shuffle play).
Fake or Foto?
Air vents are for air
Edward Scissorhands Ballet
New Coke ads for 2006
Christmas House Video
