A Guy Named Joel

Joel Hodgson has spent the past decade behind-the-scenes developing a variety of entertainment projects, but he will soon be returning to the silhouetted spotlight when he and the original cast of Mystery Science Theater 3000 debut an all-new video project, Cinematic Titanic. In preparation for this new venture, Hodgson visited the offices of Lucasfilm, and StarWars.com was granted an exclusive interview.

If you're like me, and remember MST3K with fondness, you'll find this Q&A very interesting. And why isn't Comedy Central or Sci-Fi airing reruns?

Mexi-CO!

Although I uploaded the photos the day after I got back, I just now had the chance to write captions for most of them. Unfortunately, there were quite a few things I didn't get pictures of, such as kayaking, the Día de los Muertos political/musical performance, Santo Coyote restaurant, the boutique hotel and the podcast room. It was a great four days. Gracias, Noah & Megan!

Mexico

Earthquake!

After living down here for nearly five years, I've felt my first California earthquake.

5.6 Earthquake Hits Northern California

A magnitude-5.6 earthquake shook the San Francisco Bay area Tuesday night.

The moderate temblor struck shortly after 8 p.m., about 9 miles northeast of San Jose, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Residents reported feeling the quake, which lasted about a minute, as far east as Sacramento and as far north as Sonoma.

I felt it in Stockton for, oh, about 30-60 seconds. But it seemed like a few minutes at the time.

The Joshua Tree 2007

http://joshuatree.u2.com/

Twenty years after its original release, The Joshua Tree has been remastered for release in a series of special formats. As well as a fourteen track bonus-CD of b-sides and rarities, the 2007 release features a live concert DVD from Paris in 1987, liner notes from band and producers and previously unseen photos in a limited edition booklet.

I'm too new of a U2 fan to remember this album's original release. But its songs are undiminished and the album is worth the special treatment. This remastered anniversary release will have to tide me over until they release a new album (2008?) and then I can look forward to the remastered Achtung Baby! in 2011.

Wallace and Gromit news

A new Wallace and Gromit short film is now in the works (think "The Wrong Trousers and "A Close Shave"). Visit www.wallaceandgromit.com to watch a video interview of Nick Park talking about the new film. Plus, you can enter a contest to win 2 tickets to the premiere.

Interesting Comment

You probably missed this interesting comment because it was posted on Oct. 10 to an entry dated July 7 (thus long gone from the main page)

I am one of 200 volunteers who appeared in the winning Springfield Vermont video. After we helped our local Chamber of Commerce win the contest, they turned their backs on us. We should have been the first in town to be invited to view the world premiere of The Simpsons Movie but instead we were kept off the invitation list so the more elite members of the community could all be invited instead. And then not even a word of thanks or mention of us in the public ceremony outside the theater. Read more and view our famous winning video now at our new website: The Simpsons Springfield Vermont

Speak, Optimus!

Create and send a personalized message from Optimus Prime by visiting
optimus.transformersmovie.com

And by 'from Optimus Prime,' that means it is spoken by Peter Cullen, the voice of Optimus Prime. Yes, it's all to promote sales of the Transformers DVD (and HD-DVD) but it's pretty darn fun. Here, listen...

Annie Lennox at Nob Hill Masonic Auditorium

We had a very enjoyable evening last night on San Francisco's Nob Hill. Yeah, it was expensive, what with the $40 for parking, but it was worth it to not park 10 blocks away and walk uphill there and back. And though our seats were only a few rows from the back, we were probably only 50 feet away from the front of the stage. So it was a very intimate, classy venue.

She opened the show with "No More I Love You's," which is not a favorite of mine and, frankly, from her least interesting album. But I recognize it was a pretty big hit for her. I still hear it occasionally in malls and such. Thankfully, it was the only song from that album she performed that night.

She followed it with a few more hits from past albums ("Little Bird," "Walking on Broken Glass," "Pavement Cracks"). Hmmm, four songs into the concert and nothing from the newest album, Songs of Mass Destruction? Maybe the biggest surprise of the show was that she only performed three songs from her just-released effort ("Dark Road," "Smithereens," "Sing"). With most artists, listening to less of their newest work is preferable, but her new album is quite good.

Competing for biggest surprise of the show was how many Eurythmics songs she performed ("Here Comes The Rain Again," "Sisters Are Doin' It For Themselves," "There Must Be An Angel," "Thorn in My Side," "Sweet Dreams"). A welcome surprise. Clips from the old videos (which I was largely unfamiliar with) played in slow motion on a large screen in the back.

That video screen was also used to play a short movie about her trip to Africa two years ago and the efforts she is involved with now to prevent HIV transmission from mothers to children. (For more information, visit annielennoxsing.com) That type of thing can be preachy and uncomfortable, but the mission can't be disputed and the audience was supportive. Despite that, she was largely unable to get the crowd to sing along with "Sing" directly following that. Bono makes this stuff look easier than it is.

The highlight of the show for me was hearing my favorites from her original solo effort, Diva, such as "Why" and "Cold." It only took me 15 years.

And now for news on another solo artist from a popular '80s band who only releases new albums once in a long while...

Gabriel juggling new album with array of projects

Peter Gabriel has resumed work on his next studio album while juggling an array of other projects.

"There are some (new) things," he told Billboard last Friday in New York. "I've been very good at distraction with some charitable things and some Internet things. But I'm now back in writing mode and I'm very much enjoying that."

The Shins and Shaky Hands

Megan and I saw The Shins Friday at UC Berkeley's cool (figuratively and literally) Greek Theatre. It was a good concert, but they somehow managed to not play the one song from their latest album that is my favorite ("Red Rabbits").


The opening act was the band Shaky Hands, also from Portland. I've been surprised at how good the opening acts have been at most of the concerts we've seen in the past year (with the exception of the Morrissey concert).

Now that Blogger supports embedded video, here's a (very) short movie clip I captured with our digital camera:

The Lame Show: Episode 20

It's probably the best-sounding episode of the podcast we've ever done, thanks to Noah's new headset microphone.

Sounds Good

Music takes center stage in this episode, as Eddie & Noah (with his spiffy, new mic) discuss Microsoft's new Zune models, Amazon's new MP3 downloads, and the first person to take the record companies all the way to trial over illegal music downloading.

Plus, UC Berkeley puts lectures on YouTube, Ask makes new TV commercials and eBay admits its purchase of Skype was a big waste of money.

Lame List nominations include those complaining about the latest iPhone update and the price cut. Picks of the Week include new albums from Annie Lennox and Radiohead.

The truly burning questions are asked: Will those who download music for free be willing to help pay someone else's legal bills? What products could be advertised during online physics lectures? Can owning an iPhone help you get a date?

Episode 20.m4a (1:07:01)

The Lame Show on iTunes

Kidz Bop their way into live arena

The Kidz Bop World Tour will feature six kids and two young adult lead singers performing with a four-piece rock band in theaters and small arenas. The concerts will also spotlight local talent in each town and offer contests, song-voting and other interactive events, according to a press release.

Surely this is the second sign of the apocalypse. I noticed that most of the tour locations so far are in Iowa, Michigan and Ohio. Does that say something about those states? I'm not certain, just asking.

Radiohead fans can pick their price for new album

Radiohead will release a new studio album Oct. 10, and allow fans to pick their own price when ordering the digital-download version of the album, which will be titled "In Rainbows."

But will the digital download be MP3 or some proprietary format like Windows Media?

Transformers IMAX

After a big movie summer, there aren't a lot of good movies released in September. To be more blunt, it's been a real suckfest of a month at the theater. So in our desperation to see a movie, Megan and I saw Transformers again, but the IMAX version. Although I mostly enjoyed the movie originally, and I'm a big fan of the IMAX format, I was wary about spending $30+ on this combination. So imagine my surprise to discover that I actually enjoyed it more than the regular theatrical release. We both agreed that the battle sequences, which were often visually indecipherable in the regular version, were much clearer and enjoyable. And we noticed additional scenes were added. They were all quite brief (only a couple of minutes extra in total), but still fun. And the sound quality was (as always with IMAX) awesome. So if you're just as unexcited with the Sept.-Oct. movies, live near an IMAX theater and don't mind spending a little extra, check it out.

Foreclosures

Stockton is either the No. 1 or No. 2 foreclosure leader of the nation. But a picture is worth a thousand words and I think this picture of the foreclosure listings in our newspaper is just that (literally?)

Cutting-room floor

Although Fighting Port: Stockton in WWII was a very well-made documentary and featured The Haggin Museum prominently, it was missing one thing: my voiceover! Although most people don't recognize their own voice when they hear it played back, I can assure you that it was someone else reading the letters I read. I got positive feedback from the producers, so I will choose to believe that my recordings were misplaced and they were then too embarrassed by the oversight to inform me.

The Lame Show: Episode 19

If you'd like your questions answered on an upcoming episode of The Lame Show, post a comment to this blog or send an e-mail. Hey, it's worked for the latest episode...

Ring Us Up

Eddie defends his opinion from more reader mail. Noah takes issue with David Maynor and ringtones. In other news, SpiralFrog has launched and Palm is struggling.

On the Lame List this week is Apple's new ringtone policy and the fact that Windows 'thinks it knows better' than you do. Picks of the Week include Beck's new single "Timebomb" and the Doves older album "The Last Broadcast."

The truly burning questions are asked: Do radio DJs understand iTunes? Have you had Spanish hot chocolate lately?

Episode 19.m4a (59:28)

The Lame Show on iTunes

Stockton in WWII

A while ago, I performed some voicover work for the following documentary, which was produced as a complement to Ken Burns' much-anticipated "The War." Both myself and museum coworker Lisa Cooperman read personal WWII letters. Other museum staff members contributing on-camera work are Director Tod Ruhstaller and Curator of Archival Collections Kimberly Bowden. The completed documentary will air this Wednesday, Sept. 19, 7:30 p.m. on local PBS affiliate KVIE.

Fighting Port: Stockton in WWII

This documentary features Stockton's contribution to the war effort with a look at the Stockton Warbird Group, the shipyard, and the Stockton Jeep Project. We take an emotional look at a series of letters written between Stockton soldiers and their loved ones back home, those who kept the city going while many of its residents were away at war.

'Across the Universe' with Bono

I learned this week that Julie Taymor's long-delayed film "Across the Universe," a love story set in the sixties and inspired by Beatles' songs, features Bono as the character Dr. Robert. He performs "I Am The Walrus" with The Secret Machines. You can catch a short clip here at the official web site. The Deluxe Edition of the soundtrack also includes a version of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" performed by Bono. The film will (finally) open nationwide on Sept. 21. It could definitely be a mess, but probably a good-looking mess. Don't forget that Taymor is writing and directing that Spider-Man Broadway musical with music by ... Bono and The Edge.

Annie Lennox brings 'Songs of Mass Destruction' to US

Veteran musician Annie Lennox has mapped a North American tour that will support her forthcoming album, "Songs of Mass Destruction," ... her follow-up to 2003's "Bare." The singer recorded the set in London, Los Angeles and Miami with super-producer Glen Ballard.

On the off-chance you don't know, I'm excited about this. She will be coming to San Francisco in October and I've never seen her perform live, so my fingers are crossed on getting tickets. I always find it amusing how Ticketmaster's page will tell me "You currently do not have any tickets for upcoming events. We can fix that."

During the (dreadful) MTV Video Music Awards, Shia LaBeouf revealed the name of the new film as being "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull." So ignore anything that talks about 'the City of the Gods' and get the official info from IndianaJones.com.

The Lame Show: Episode 18

If you'd like your questions answered on an upcoming episode of The Lame Show, post a comment to this blog or send an e-mail.

We've Got Mail!

Noah and Eddie respond to reader mail regarding Windows vs. Mac OS X and whether or not Apple's iTunes Store is consumer friendly. Then, of course, it's time to rate and debate the new iPod models.

NBC/Universal tops the Lame List, followed by the HP Blackbird (or at least the reactions to the Blackbird). Picks of the Week include "Wincing the Night Away" by The Shins and the Google Earth Flight Simulator.

The truly burning questions are asked: Should people complain when prices drop? How much should a TV episode cost to download? Why are there less Easter Eggs nowadays?

Episode 18.m4a (44:57)

The Lame Show on iTunes

San Francisco photos

Follow the linked image below to see some photos of our day trip to San Francisco (yes, we're nearly a month late uploading them). The Giants lost in less than two hours and Barry Bonds hit his record-breaking home run days earlier, so the game wasn't too great. You'll also notice that someone else took a worse photo than I did.

San Francisco 8/12/07

'300' director inks for Bradbury tattoo tales

"300" director Zack Snyder is sharpening his pencil for "The Illustrated Man," a project based on the Ray Bradbury collection of short stories.

Nice to see Bradbury's work will come back to the big screen, especially since Mel Gibson's long-gestating version of "Fahrenheit 451" never came to fruition. And if Snyder delivers with the adaptation of "Watchmen," he'll supplant Bryan Singer as comic fandom's favorite director.

The Lame Show: Episode 17

Noah's got a new computer (it's a Mac!) and it seems to have improved the quality of his audio recording considerably. We also didn't have any lag/delay during our conversation, so this episode is completely unedited! OK, fine, there's one edit...

Unedited Return

Noah and Eddie return in an unedited episode with improved audio quality to talk about all (or at least six) of the Apple events that occurred since the last episode: iPhone, iLife, iWork, iSafari for iWindows (ah, you get the picture).

Picks of the Week include Wikipedia edits from interesting organizations and a way to transform yourself into a Simpsons character.

The truly burning questions are asked: Should movies really have anything during the credits to watch? Is a transparent menubar even worth making? Is another spreadsheet application necessary? Does Engadget owe somebody money?

Episode 17.m4a (1:06:06)

The Lame Show on iTunes

Geeks to Hollywood: We Want Wonder Woman! (We Want Her Bad)

In a recent poll of 1.6 million geeks… er, subscribers, TiVo asked which comic book character and/or classic cartoon they most wanted to see given the Transformers treatment. The results: In the comic book category — with Joss Whedon on board or not — the nerds want to see Wonder Woman take flight in her invisible jet like there's no tomorrow — she won 29 percent of the vote. Shockingly, the Green Lantern (I'm sorry, who?!) came in second with 26 percent.

I'm not sure what's more telling, the result of the poll, or the condescending attitude of the writer.

It's a new beginning for movie end credits

The scene fades to black, the movie is over, and the credits begin to roll. But wait! Don't leave just yet. You might miss some of the great custom-made artwork being cooked up by today's filmmakers.

Sadly, too many people are getting up and leaving the moment the first credit appears on screen. When we recently saw one of the movies referenced in this article, Superbad, some of the audience actually started getting up to leave before the credits appeared, apparently trying to beat everyone else out. Of course, when they realize there's more fun to be seen, they just s-l-o-w-l-y walk out, still drawn inexorably to the exit, trying to peer over the railing on their way out the exit hallway walking backwards. Sad, really.

MySpace Dark Horse Presents

At the San Diego Comic-Con, Dark Horse and MySpace announced a partnership to revive one of the most celebrated comics anthologies ever with the launch of a new online comic book, "MySpace Dark Horse Presents . . . " The online series features original content by top creators and premiere artists, all available exclusively on MySpace and free of charge to users. A new installment of MySpace DHP will be made available on the first Wednesday of every month at www.myspace.com/darkhorsepresents.

If this doesn't interest you, what if I said Joss Whedon was involved? And there's a mention of GWAR?

Handlebar

For those of you who are unable to see The Music Man, here's how I look as Salesman #1:

'Music Man' ready to ring out summer season

Meredith Willson's "The Music Man" is the final offering in the Stockton Theatre Project's third summer season. Staged at Atherton Auditorium, the show is filled with good laughs, tuneful music, touches of vintage Americana and a simple but pleasing storyline that continues to stand the test of time.

You might not be able to tell by the headline, but this is actually a review of the show, not a preview. And a good one, at that.

'Music Man' of all seasons

Buzz Halsing prefers the complexity of modern musicals to the chestnuts of American theater, and there's no denying that "The Music Man" falls into the latter category.

Indeed, Meredith Willson's tale of Professor Harold Hill and his efforts to swindle the good people of River City, Iowa, is marking its 50th anniversary in 2007. The musical is regularly staged by everyone from professional companies to high schools and certainly qualifies as an unabashed warhorse.

In the main picture for this story you can see the intricacy of the backdrops. In the secondary picture (above) you can see me on the right.

Eddie and Megan Simpsonized

As part of the promotional blitz for The Simpsons Movie, there is a Simpsonize Me site (sponsored by Burger King) where you can upload a photo of yourself and have it transformed into a Simpsons version of yourself (tweaking is required). Megan created versions of both of us, which I think are pretty impressive.

Graphic novel captures 'Heroes'

The hit NBC series Heroes is full of characters that could be torn from the pages of a graphic novel. The odd thing is, except for artwork on the show and a series of online adaptations, there has never been a Heroes graphic novel.

That changes this fall, when DC Comics offers a hardcover collection based on a series of 43 comic-book vignettes that appeared on the Heroes website last season.

You might remember that I mentioned the online comics back in October. The weekly series is up to Chapter 43, since they keep publishing them even when the show isn't airing.

'The Simpsons Movie' Hometown Premiere Contest

Cast your vote for the Springfield video that best represents "Simpson Spirit" and is most-deserving of hosting the hometown premiere of The Simpsons Movie, which hits theaters July 27. Voting ends July 9 at 11:59 pm PT. Please note that to view this presentation, you need a broadband Internet connection and the latest Flash plug-in (version 8 or higher).

The Springfield, Oregon video is pretty entertaining. Watch the credits, too.

Taco Bell using ripoff of Eels song?

I'm a fan of Eels (the band), and a recent Taco Bell commercial for "Fourth Meal" caught my attention because it uses music that sounds suspiciously like the song "Souljacker, Pt. 1" from the Eels album Souljacker.

First, listen to the song.


Next, listen to the commercial. It took me a while to track it down online, but you can see it if you follow these directions. Go to FourthMeal.com, then click on the "Theatre" link on the bottom. After the Theatre has loaded, click and drag off the "World Stops" ticket and it will begin playing the commercial.

You might be thinking that this is no big deal because musicians routinely license their songs or re-workings of their songs for advertisements. But the singular force behind Eels (Mark Oliver Everett, or "E") absolutely refuses to license his work for commercials (see FAQ). So either E has changed his stance or Taco Bell is doing something untoward. Because their commercial's music is way too similar for it to be an accident.

Marriage of Convenience: 7-Eleven, 'Simpsons'

After months of speculation, the convenience chain has revealed details of its "most massive and complex" monthlong promotion for the July 27 release of "The Simpsons Movie." Starting today, the marketer will remodel overnight a dozen stores in the U.S. and Canada into the Kwik-E-Marts of the cartoon family's fictional Springfield, USA hometown.

Check out this Flickr photo set of a converted store in Burbank, CA.

Big bats back dominant Lincecum

SAN FRANCISCO -- There were a lot of zeros in Sunday's game, mostly under the Diamondbacks' run column, but the biggest zero of all for starting pitcher Tim Lincecum was the one next to the number of walks issued.

We saw this game today and it was exciting despite the fact Barry Bonds didn't hit any homers. Really, how often do you see a 13-0 game? Plus, after it was over, the All-Star lineup was announced.

Guitar Riff

It's been noted by some that the central guitar riff in Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is very similar to that of Boston's "More Than A Feeling." But there are actually a couple of other songs I've noticed that use a similar riff (though it took me a long time to make the connection). Play the file below (requires QuickTime) to hear them and tell me if I'm just crazy (or if there are others I'm unaware of.

Update: It appears that due to Apple's DRM restrictions, that 23-second sound clip cannot be played by anyone else than myself. Good job protecting us all from my pirating ways, record labels!

So try this one instead:

Half Moon Bay photos

Follow the linked image below to see some photos of our weekend visit to Half Moon Bay. As an added bonus, they're the first pictures of me with my new glasses.

Half Moon Bay

London, How do I Hate Thee? Let me Count the Ways, 1, 2… 2012

The London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games ... unveiled the identity of their 2012 games ...

Designed by Wolff Olins at an expenditure of £400,000 (almost $800,000) the logo has been met with expected ambivalence, and, in some unavoidable cases, hatred — actually, so far, in 11,550 cases.

Regal Guest Response System Offered in 114 Theatres

Regal Entertainment Group theatres participating in the Guest Response System invite selected patrons to carry a paging device with them into the auditorium. One patron may participate for each of the theatre’s auditoriums and for each movie showtime. The Guest Response device is a hand-held pager with four buttons. Each button alerts local management of a different problem such as: sound, picture, piracy or other disturbance. When the patron pushes a button, a message goes to a pager worn by a manager which tells them the nature of the concern, and in which auditorium.

I SO want to be a movie narc. Check out the list of participating theatres to see if one's near you (there are five in the Portland area). The HACIENDA CROSSINGS STADIUM 20 in Dublin is one we visit pretty regularly, although the IMAX crowds there are usually quite well-behaved.

Mo. man burns books as act of protest

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Tom Wayne has amassed thousands of books in a warehouse during the 10 years he has run his used book store, Prospero's Books.

But when he wanted to thin out the collection, he found he couldn't even give away books to libraries or thrift shops; they said they were full.

In the future world of Fahrenheit 451, no one was allowed to have books because the government burned them. But in the true world of 2007, books are being burned simply because no one is reading them.

Nation's Springfields vie for 'Simpsons Movie' premiere

"The Simpsons," the television cartoon satire that inspired cult-like loyalty among millions of viewers worldwide over its 18 years, is set in a never clearly defined but incredibly dysfunctional place called Springfield. That has led to a raging debate about which of the more than 30 U.S. towns named Springfield is the model.

Wow, there's a real Shelbyville, Ill., not far off from the real Springfield, Ill. But what about North Haverbrook?

China's Tech Generation Finds a New Chairman to Venerate

Since the passing of Chairman Mao Zedong, a new chairman has come to represent the aims and aspirations of millions of Chinese youth -- the chairman of Microsoft, Bill Gates.

This is a very surreal story. And this quote is maybe the most surreal of all:

"Bill Gates deserves to win the Nobel Peace Prize," said the Chinese propaganda officer.

Could Linkin Park, Green Day, Nine Inch Nails Be The Next U2?

Everyone's heard the saying A&R guys have been kicking around for decades to describe the hottest up-and-comers: "the next Beatles." While this title has been liberally conferred upon many acts since the Beatles' prime, no artist has really been as big a hit or had as profound an influence on pop culture as the Fab Four. But U2 have come pretty damn close.

So forget the Beatles — we're more interested in who's poised to become the next U2. Here are some notable candidates.

I've never liked the oft-asked question 'Is so-and-so the next so-and-so?' Why can't the former just be themselves? Why does the latter need to be replaced? The more accurate question that headlines this interesting story is: "Are some of today's rockers modeling themselves after Bono's band of Irish lads?" There are certainly worse people to emulate.

10 Biggest Apple Rumors (that never came true)

With Apple rumors getting spread further around than ever (and regular coverage from national news media), it’s important to remember that many (most?) tend to be either completely untrue or so premature they never come true. So here’s a look back at 10 of the worst offenders.

This is my latest feature-length post for The Apple Blog. I wrote it before I left for Chicago and it published this week.

HOWEVER... I did not give them numbers. The list was never intended to be in any kind of ranking order; they're not even in the order I wrote them.

After reading some comments, I would agree that the PowerBook G5 should have been on the list. I considered it a more realistic expectation and hadn't truly examined the depth of the rumors of its existence. I also smiled when I read "Dugg for pleasantly surprising me by putting the whole list on one page."

Will the third time be the charm with Disney's Muppet revival project?

Jim Hill walks us through the recent history of the Muppet Holding Company / Muppet Studios LLC. Which has blown through a trio of seasoned Disney VPs in the past three years. So now the question is: Does Lylle Breier really have what it takes to restore Jim Henson's once-beloved set of characters to their former glory?

I've seen the Muppets sporadically over the last few years (I wasn't aware of the French language show, though) and wondered exactly what was going on (Pizza Hut commercials?). Thanks to another inside dish from Jim Hill, more fully understand the behind-the-scenes politics.

If you've seen Spider-Man 3, you will probably find this interview interesting. I think it explains why the film was a little more crammed than it should've been. But even with all the new characters and villains, I don't think it suffered as much as the Batman franchise from packing in too much: starting with Batman Returns (3 villains), continuing the trend with Batman Forever (2 villains, 1 sidekick) and ultimately wrecking with Batman and Robin (3 villains, 2 sidekicks)
Talking (Spider) Sense with 'Spider-Man 3' Director Sam Raimi

Primarily, it was a story that featured the Sandman. It was really about Peter, Mary Jane, Harry and that new character. When we were done, Avi Arad, my partner and president of Marvel at the time, came to me and said "Sam, you're not paying attention to the fans enough. You need to think about them. You've made two movies now with your favorite villains and now you're about to make another one with your favorite villains. The fans love Venom. He is the fan-favorite. All Spider-Man readers love Venom. Even though you came from '70s Spider-Man, this is what the kids are thinking about. Please incorporate Venom. Listen to the fans now."

As much as I like the story of the black suit and Venom, I don't think he should've altered things based on Arad's perception of fan desires.

Chicago & Internet Access

I'm currently attending the American Association of Museums Annual Meeting in Chicago. Internet access from the conference costs $10 per day. Internet access from the hotel I'm staying at costs $13 per day. This is why I haven't been online since Friday evening. I'm writing this from a cafe one block from the hotel that offers free wireless access.

So to recap: the two places that require a payment of hundreds of dollars to attend ask for an additional fee for Internet access. The one place that you don't have to pay a single cent to is giving it away for free. Hmmm.

The Electric Co. Spider-Man

See, this is the Spider-Man I got to enjoy watching as a kid. And nowadays people are complaining about Spider-Man 3 being not so great?

Family Guy steals from The Simpsons

I was aware of certain similarities, but I had no idea there was this much blatant stealing.

The Lame Show: Episode 16

Best. Episode. Ever.

OK, maybe I shouldn't oversell it, but I think this one was a ton of fun to record and hopefully will be just as fun to listen to. Ray joined Noah and I for what seemed like two hours, but somehow ended up shorter than the previous episode.

Three Tickets to Lame

Ray returns to the podcast after releasing his new album, Jessica and the Silver Eclipse. He, Noah and Eddie discuss Digg's HD DVD processing key debacle and the departure of PC Magazine's Editor over an Apple story before getting the juicy topic of Summer Movie Season 2007, where Eddie's comic book knowledge is summoned.

Only one thing is nominated to the Lame List, but Noah calls it "the best nomination I've ever heard in my life."

Picks of the Week include Pidgin & Adium, the Wii's Super Paper Mario, and Wil Wheaton's blog at TV Squad.

The truly burning questions are asked: Are Top Ten lists written by lazy authors? Can Galactus be easily explained? Should Wes Bentley's acting result in a ticket rebate? When isn't the Caddyshack theme funny?

Episode 16.m4a (55:51)

The Lame Show on iTunes

Stockton's 'Top Chef' at Asparagus Festival

Stockton chef Michael Midgley, a contestant on the second season of Bravo's Top Chef, appeared at the celebrity kitchen of Stockton's annual Asparagus Festival. I didn't get any good pictures, but I did record some video with our digital camera.

Here's the setup to this particular clip. While on the show, he had a wisdom tooth show up that needed to get pulled out. So the producers took him to a dentist in the Los Angeles area (which he had to pay for). So how cushy must that Los Angeles dentist visit have been?

100_0413.MOV (2:04, 13.1MB)

Better photos of Late Night in San Francisco

Megan's phone takes better pictures than mine (which is fitting, really) so here's a few:

This was taken just after we were given our tickets and moved from the standby line to the ticket-holder line.


We were warned by the staff to put away cell phones or we would be ejected. Megan managed to snap this one image right after we sat down. Note the screens at the right and left where we got to watch the prerecorded segments.


Megan took this one after the show was over and we no longer had any lines to wait in.

Why new iPods aren’t quite as good as old iPods

By adding new features to the iPod over time (notes, photos, videos, etc.), Apple has given owners of previous models plenty of reasons to lust after the latest and greatest models. But Apple hasn’t just been adding features to the iPod, it’s also been taking some away. I own a fifth generation (5G) iPod, and compared to my original second generation (2G) iPod, there’s a lot missing nowadays.

This is my third feature-length article for The Apple Blog for April. I'm a little late posting it here because it published while we were in San Francisco. If it seems familiar, it's because it's basically an extended version of this old post from November 28, 2005. I struggled with the headline and don't think it accurately reflects the article (but it's attention-grabbing). And the comments are always, um, fun...

macCompanion May 2007 reviews

I had a couple of (relatively boring) hardware reviews in the latest edition of macCompanion:

Impact 3.5in SATA HDD Enclosure

Most modern Macs use SATA hard drives, which provide tremendous data transfer speed over regular ATA drives. But if you pull that drive out of your computer, it can be difficult to find a compatible enclosure to put it in. RadTech’s Impact line is one such enclosure, but there are some caveats.

TruePower AC Adapter

The AC Adapters that Apple shipped with its G4 PowerBooks and white iBooks are stylish, useful and (generally) superior. But what about when they break down? A replacement adapter from Apple costs $80. Or what if you just want to have an extra adapter – one for your home and one for your work. FastMac has stepped up to meet those situations with its TruePower AC Adapter.

Us on Conan O'Brien in San Francisco

The arrow shows where we were sitting on Monday's show -- the back row of the first balcony. I'm just to the left raising my arms and Megan is on my left (your right). If you click on the image, you can watch a brief QuickTime movie with arm-raising action!



Although we seem very far away from the view of the camera, we really had excellent seats and a great view of both the stage and a screen.

Conan O'Brien in San Francisco

This is probably too late a post for most of you, but be sure to catch Late Night with Conan O'Brien tonight (Monday, April 30, 12:35). Megan and I were in the audience, though I doubt you'll be able to see us all the way in the back row of the first balcony level (loge?). Here are some crummy pictures from my cameraphone:







I promise a more detailed post is forthcoming.

First look: Downey forges a bond with 'Iron Man' role

But it is exactly that past, says director Jon Favreau (Elf), that makes Downey the only choice to play playboy millionaire and recovering alcoholic Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, the comic-book superhero who hits multiplexes next year.

Nice mask. This one continues to look promising.

Morrissey tour-opener in Stockton

To say I left a Morrissey concert depressed might not surprise anyone, considering the singer's lyrics. But his witty remarks inbetween songs made me smile (wow, a reference to "Big Valley") and it was the crowd that ruined everything.

Recordnet.com: Morrissey show ends in frenzy

The iconic English singer cut his encore short Friday at the Bob Hope Theatre and rushed off stage mid-song after a fan tore open his shirt and nearly tackled him. It was the culmination of 90-minute concert that began as a rock spectacle and ended in a frenzy as fans surfed the crowd in hopes of touching the star.

Black comic book art shows at university

The exhibition "Other Heroes: African-American comics, creators, characters and archetypes" focuses on topics such as the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Hurricane Katrina and racial stereotypes.

I'm noticing more comic book-focused news articles without 'POW!' or 'Holy INSERT-RELATED-WORD-HERE' headlines, so that's nice. The only thing I found odd about this story was that Denys Cowan was identified as "artist for 'Hardware'" since he last drew for it in 1994 (and the comic is no longer published).

Lucas, Hamill reunite for 'Star Wars' spoof

George Lucas and Mark Hamill will reunite for "Robot Chicken: Star Wars," a 30-minute stop-motion animation special for Adult Swim, Cartoon Network's late-night programming block.

Sometimes I love Robot Chicken and sometimes I hate it, but I can't argue with a full 30 minutes of stop-motion-animated focused on Star Wars. Plus the bonuses:

The voice cast also includes Conan O'Brien, Seth MacFarlane, Robert Smigel, Malcolm McDowell, Hulk Hogan, James Van Der Beek, Donald Faison, Abraham Benrubi, Breckin Meyer and Joey Fatone.

Thanks to Nicole for the heads-up on this.

Ebert: We spend too much time hiding illness

I have received a lot of advice that I should not attend the festival. I'm told that paparazzi will take unflattering pictures, people will be unkind, etc.

Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn. As a journalist I can take it as well as dish it out.

He's braver than I would be in that situation. Also nice to see Gattaca opening the Overlooked Film Festival.

'Idol Gives Back' Two-Night Special

First, what you probably already know (forgive the capitalization):

During tonight’s live broadcast of AMERICAN IDOL, it will be announced that FOX, AMERICAN IDOL and the Charity Projects Entertainment Fund have partnered on an historic television event - IDOL GIVES BACK - a two-night special raising awareness and funds for organizations that provide relief programs to help children and young people in extreme poverty in America and Africa.

The special two-hour results show on Wednesday, April 25 (8:00-10:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed) will be a star-studded evening featuring world-renowned artists and celebrities, including Gwen Stefani, Josh Groban, Pink, Michael Bublé, Annie Lennox, Il Divo and popular Kazakhstan journalist Borat Sagdiyev (Sacha Baron Cohen) among many others who will take the AMERICAN IDOL stage.

Now, what you likely don't know:

We are excited to announce that Bono will be making an appearance Wednesday night on behalf of ONE urging the millions of Americans watching the show to join us in the fight against extreme poverty. Bono will meet with the Idol contestants to talk with them about ONE and the difference your advocacy is making in the lives of the world's poorest people. The Idol contestants will also perform "American Prayer," a song written by Bono and Dave Stewart about the AIDS emergency in Africa.

'Kryptonite' discovered in mine
BBC NEWS

"Towards the end of my research I searched the web using the mineral's chemical formula - sodium lithium boron silicate hydroxide - and was amazed to discover that same scientific name, written on a case of rock containing kryptonite stolen by Lex Luther from a museum in the film Superman Returns."

The Lame Show: Episode 15

After a longer-than-anticipated break, Noah and I reconvened for another episode of our podcast. It's a little longer than normal because a lot happened in a month.

Unprotected nostalgia

Eddie and Noah catch up on all the big stories that broke while they were on vacation: EMI to remove copy-protection from its digital music sales, Apple to delay Leopard until October. And now that CS3 is out, Eddie finally gets to disclose what happened at the Adobe NDA meeting he attended in January.

Nominated to the Lame List this episode are Apple and the Copyright Royalty Board, both for making things not happen.

Picks of the Week include nostalgic Nintendo and Namco games.

The truly burning questions are asked: Should computers have quarter slots? Does The Goonies II warrant a release on the Virtual Console? What is the worst analogy Eddie can make?

Episode 15.m4a (1:03:27)

The Lame Show on iTunes

Santa Cruz photos

For Megan's upcoming birthday, we took a day trip to Santa Cruz and visited both the Boardwalk and the Mystery Spot. I've uploaded the photos and added captions.

Santa Cruz April 2007

Surprising craigslist post

As surprising as posts on craigslist can be, I never thought I'd see this:

Wanted: Glitter the Movie

---

Date: 2007-04-16, 11:25PM PDT

I'm looking for The Movie Glitter. This was my moms favorite movie & I have to have this movie for my mom.

Spider-Man The Musical?

A number of sites have picked up the story of there being a Spider-Man Broadway musical in the works, directed by Tony Award-winner Julie Taymor, book by Taymor and Glen Berger, and music and lyrics by U2's Bono and The Edge. They all lead back to superherohype.com, which got a casting breakdown from an anonymous user. But this same basic story appeared on Playbill.com back on July 8, 2004.

So is this real or an April (15th) Fools joke? The casting breakdown is kinda hilarious:

[ARACHNE] Female, 20-35 years old, any ethnicity. A beautiful, boastful young woman turned into a spider for her hubris and lack of respect for the gods. She subsequently appears to Peter Parker and the audience as in turn a powerful spider-woman who comes from another time to inspire Peter; an otherworldly lover; a bride; a terrifying (and sexy) dark goddess of vengeance; a dance partner in a charged and violent spiders dance of death; and, finally, a lonely, fragile young woman. Possesses an ethereal, unique, gorgeous singing voice. Strong Celtic, Balkan style, e.g., Sinead O'Connor. Outside the box ideas are welcomed. Could be someone from the music industry.

The Five Stages of Leopard Delay Grief

The process by which people deal with grief and tragedy is marked by five stages. And with Apple recently announcing the delay of Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard until October, Mac users are currently going through those stages (some faster than others).

So maybe you heard the news about Universal Studios Florida Building 'Harry Potter Theme Park, which is something I thought would be incredibly fun (both to experience and design) while I was helping with An Evening at 'Haggwarts' last year. But did you know that Disney had tried to get the theme park rights for the franchise? And did you know they might actually be relieved they didn't? Jim Hill provides the details yet again:

WDI hopes that its "Living Character Initiative" will make up for losing "Harry Potter"

... according to the folks that I've spoken with who worked on the Disney version of this project ... J.K. allegedly wanted each & every guest who was experiencing the theme park version of Harry Potter's world to do so by first entering the Leaky Cauldron pub. Where -- by tapping on just the right brick ("Three up and two across ... ") -- they'd then gain access to Diagon Alley, that odd collection of Wizards-only shops & restaurants that's hidden away in the heart of London. From this area ... these folks were then supposed to have made their way to Platform 9 & 3/4 at King's Cross Station. Where -- after magically piercing the barrier that separates the Muggle world from the Wizard world -- guests would have then been able to board a full-sized version of the Hogwarts Express for a trip to Harry's alma mater.

Daring Fireball Linked List: April 2007

Hey, one of my posts on The Apple Blog got picked up by John Gruber! I was hoping he would take notice of my feature-length rant on the green button, but having my name on Daring Fireball (and not as a Jackass of the Week) is still a thrill. Speaking of which, this week's Jackass was brought to his attention by my very same post.

Hey Apple! Fix the green button already!

Sometimes it zooms, sometimes it maximizes and sometimes it just does wacky stuff that no one can really explain. The green button in all OS X windows has been a nuisance since the public betas and it's (long past) time Apple fixed it.

This is my first lengthy article since becoming a "full-time" staff writer for The Apple Blog last month. It's overdue, but I think it was worth the wait. Since I'm posting a lot over there now, I am not linking to those posts in blog entries (except this and future large ones). You can see recent smaller posts I've made in the column on the right.

Retailers explore movie download options

When movies shifted from videocassettes to DVD, retailers simply cleared the tapes off the shelves to make room for discs. That's not so easy now that movies appear poised to follow music onto the Internet.

It'll be interesting to see if the traditional music and movie retailers will be able to stay in that business within the next decade.

"Wal-Mart's typical customer isn't your leading-edge technocrat that's likely to download and store a movie on his computer," Hargreaves said.

No, that's not me. Just some other Hargreaves who knows what he's talking about. I also liked the ending quote (not by a Hargreaves, though).

"One day," he said, "my kids will laugh at me for driving to a store and picking up a piece of plastic with content on it and putting it in a machine to play."

More movies to be offered in 3-D

A growing number of blockbuster, live-action films and animated movies are expected to be offered in in-your-face 3-D in the next few years, as thousands of theaters are outfitted with the special projectors and screens needed to show the films.

I just discovered today that "Meet the Robinsons" is being shown in Digital 3-D right here in Stockton, making a 45-minute trip to Dublin unnecessary.

Breakfast of the Gods

There's trouble brewing in Cerealia, a land eternally bathed in morning sunlight. The king and his wizard advisor have disappeared and a shadow of evil has fallen over the land. Perhaps because he's the wisest or ablest or perhaps because he's the most noble soul in Cerealia, the old sailor named Cap'n Crunch has stepped up to lead the fight against Count Chocula's forces of darkness. What follows is the most important battle of their lives as well as the most important meal of the day.

This online comic tells an epic story using breakfast cereal mascots. It gets dark, probably comparable to a PG-13 rating, but it's fun to see how serious the characters are made out and there's a definite nostalgia factor for those that know or remember the older mascots (I researched them for the museum once but don't remember why).

Book 1 of 3, "The Last Good Morning," is available for free online. I found it thanks to Mike Russell's CulturePulp 59.

KCRA 3 A-List

The Haggin Museum is competing for Best Museum in the Sacramento area in the KCRA 3 A-List competition. With 29 percent of the vote (as of this writing) we're tied for first place with The California Museum for History, Women and the Arts. That museum is backed by California's First Lady, Maria Shriver, and I think she and her husband are getting help from the Hollywood contingent (one of the supporting comments is from Entertainment Tonight). So now I'm calling on the readers of this blog to support The Haggin Museum by voting for us. You can leave a comment of support or not, just be sure to cast your vote before April 13. Those who do so will be entered in a drawing to win one of three 37" high definition television sets.

Arts and Entertainment / Museum in the Sacramento area

Snowboarding

Megan and I tried snowboarding at South Lake Tahoe for the fourth time (although I consider it my third try). Here's some action video!

Interview with Buffy creator Joss Whedon

Since this is the month of Buffy, what better way to keep it rolling than with an exclusive DH.com interview with Buffy creator and writer for the new series, Joss Whedon.

If you haven't read Buffy Season 8 #1 yet, don't read this interview, as it will spoil at least one surprise.

Although Dark Horse's first printing of Buffy #1 completely sold out during its first week, you should be able to find the second printing at a comic shop near you.

South Lake Tahoe 2007 photos

I've updated our Picasa Web Album with photos from this last weekend.

Don't Trust "The Others"

Every other week when Megan and I watch LOST we crack up watching this hilarious ad. So I've finally recorded it and posted it to YouTube so those in the non-Sacramento area can enjoy it.



It reminds me of Harrison Ford's appearance in the Star Wars Holiday Special: he's there, but you can tell he really doesn't want to be. And you've just gotta love the airquotes.

3-D

I'm enthused about 3-D movies and have seen quite a few in the last few years because I live within 40 minutes of both an IMAX theater and a digital theater. Probably the best one I saw was "Monster House," which was crystal clear and did not distract from the movie at all. "The Polar Express" was in IMAX 3-D and although it suited the movie very well I found it very blurry in parts. Maybe it was because it was the type of IMAX screen that is curved like a planetarium. I also found the 3-D portions of "Superman Returns" to be a little too blurry and distracting for my taste. It was also in IMAX but in on a flat screen. "The Nightmare Before Christmas" was the last movie I saw in 3-D and it was beautifully clear and really fitting for the film. It was preceded by the old Pixar short "Knick Knack" in 3-D. But during his Q&A at WonderCon, Brad Bird said Pixar is not currently planning on releasing its past or future films in 3-D. I'm looking forward to seeing the just-released "Meet the Robinsons" and, of course, the upcoming U2 concert film:

Sit well back: this is a 3-D invasion

As if the newly knighted Bono were not already larger than life, the U2 singer is poised to become the first rock star to leap out of the silver screen as Hollywood prepares to unleash a flood of 3-D movies.

Superman Ultimate Collector's Edition Returns May 29

When Warner Home Video's The Superman Ultimate Collector's Edition was released last November, consumer receptivity was completely unprecedented, resulting in WHV selling its total supply of collections in one month.

So that's why I don't have one yet! ;)

The re-released Superman UCE will include the corrected discs for Superman III and Superman: The Movie, which were missing bonus content upon their release last fall.

So in this instance, it was better to wait. Well, at least for one of the discs.