Potter 6, Galactica Panel, Whore Stevens Indicted and Lego Universe

Harry Potter 6 Trailer Online - Click the link to see the trailer. USA Today is reporting that the trailer for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will be online tonight around 9PM. The trailer is also attached to The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. The movie will fill out the childhood background of Voldemort as played by Hero Fiennes-Tiffin.

Comic-Con Battlestar Galactica Panel - The full video of the SDCC Battlestar Galactica panel.

10 Annoying Things About the iPhone - Know that I have one, probably my biggest complain is the battery life. The second one is the Wi-Fi antenna sucks with half the reach that the first iPhone and current iTouches have. My final complaint is once again AT&T. I am trying to add a non iPhone line and since now an "existing" customer, the number of phone choices is about 30 total while new customers get hundreds. If I wanted a Razr for instance, new have a choice of about 15 different models and colors. I can get a pink one. When I called to complain I basically was given a polite to bad so sad I can't do anything about it. AT&T remains a huge weak link in the iPhone chain.

That Whore Stevens Indicted - As a sign of the return of the Justice Department to non-partisan ways, Alaskan Senator Ted Stevens on seven counts of filing false financial disclosure reports. Basically corruption. He was bought off in various ways and hid it. All you have to do is look at his random politics that have nothing to do with helping Alaska but everything to do with helping his big business friends (especially oil and the telecoms) to know the man was available to the highest bidder. I hope this costs him his seat but I don't have enough faith in Alaskans to not vote for the incumbent once again.

Lego Universe Preview - Click the link to get a hint of the plans being made for Lego's massive multi-player online game.

SDCC Odds and Ends

Bootleg Tr2n Video - Click the link to see a fairly bad recording of the Tr2n teaser that was shown at the San Diego Comic-con over the weekend.

Pixar's Up Teaser - A video that shows the teaser trailer for Pixar's next movie "Up." Frankly it confused the heck out of me but Pixar's record of quality work is too good to not see the movie.


Terminator Salvation Trailer Description - No video so you will have to do with the description of the trailer and pictures of the panel.

Heroes and The Office SDCC Panels - NBC continues to do something very smart, put its panels online for all to see. To bad the other networks and studios didn't do the same thing.
The Office

Heroes

Unusual Builds, Box Office, and Randy Pausch

Lego Beijing Olympics - The Hong Kong Lego Users Group created the gallery at the link that is truly a work of great skill. The resulting structures have plenty of details that re-create the various venues for the upcoming Games.

"Rolling Through the Bay" - Click the link for a video that shows a toothpick structure of San Francisco built by Scott Weaver. It took 35 years to build and 100,000 toothpicks. It has a ball that rolls through the structure in "Rube Goldberg fashion."

Dark Knight Rules, X-Files Flops - The Dark Knight maintained its stranglehold on the box office dollars with an additional $75.6 million in revenue over the weekend. This allowed the movie to become the fastest to reach the $300 million threshold in just 10 days beating Pirates 3 previous mark by 4 days. Currently it is on track to reach the $500 million mark, making it the second highest domestic earner just behind Titanic. Step Brothers did well, taking in $30M, Mamma Mia was at $17.8M. X-Files (awful, boring movie) took in a disappointing $10 million and will probably just barely re-coup its $30 million cost. Don't see that movie, don't rent that movie, it’s not worth one dollar, regardless of how big an X-Files fan you are. Its not the actors fault, it is the director's and writer's fault. Just garbage.

Rockport Paper House - Click the link for a gallery that shows a house, furniture, and decorations make completely out of paper, glue and varnish. The house was completed in 1924 by Elis Stenman and continues to stand despite the 80 years that have passed.

Randy Pausch ABC Special - In April Randy Pausch was the focus of an hour long ABC Special with an interview with him. He died Friday from the cancer that triggered the memorable and inspirational Lecture.

"Last Lecture", Randy Pausch Dies at 47

Randy Pausch, professor at Carnegie Mellon made famous for his YouTube "Last Lecture" video, died today due to complications with pancreatic cancer at the age of 47.

The "Last Lecture" titled "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams" was a look back on his life and the many lessons he learned along the way. The video has already been seen by million on YouTube (video below) and led to a best selling book. The Lecture, recorded on September 18th, 2007 was the result of Pausch learning he had terminal cancer with little time to live so he assembled the lecture as a departing gift to his students and his family.

He is survived by his wife Jai, and his children Dylan, 6, Logan, 3, and Chloe, 2. He managed to do what few people get to, achieve his dreams and make the world a little bit better along the way.

Some moments from the Lecture:

-Never underestimate the importance of having fun. I'm dying and I'm having fun. And I'm going to keep having fun every day because there's no other way to play it.

-Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted.

-No one is pure evil. Find the best in everybody. Wait long enough and people will surprise and impress you.

-Brick walls are there for a reason. They are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. The brick walls are there to stop people who don't want it badly enough.

Randy Pausch
October 23, 1960 - July 25, 2008

SDCC Movie Stuff

San Diego Comic-con is in its second day and some news here and there has come out of note to me.

Knight Rider panel - Below is video of the promo clip that shows a much more exciting series as Las Vegas creator Gary Scott Thompson brings his brand of visuals and energy to the show. The result appears to be a much improved show. There is also the video of the entire panel as the cast and producers discuss the show. Deanna Russo is looking quite gorgeous and enough reason for me to at least sample the show.



Punisher: War Zone Red Band Trailer - This more violent trailer was first shown at the SDCC panel yesterday. The movie is coming out December 5th. AICN is reporting that behind the scenes changes (jettison the director/editor) will probably result in a studio cut that will probably not be very good.


Watchman Footage Description - Not yet available online, so you will have to do with the description of the footage shown during the panel. I have read the comic but still can't decide if the movie interests me. Panel pics here.

Tron 2 Info - A rather awesome sounding description of footage shown at the panel including an appearance from Jeff Bridges.

Mega Man 9, Paparazzo, Jason and Couric

Mega Man 9 Shirt - Available soon, from Capcom will be a shirt with the image on the left that is a homage to the awful box art for Mega Man 1 way back when.

Eight Things Paparazzo Deal With - Little clip compilation that shows some of the stuff the Paparazzo (deservedly) deal with on a regular basis.

Friday the 13th Jason Images - Now taken down but it showed a blond, mullet-headed Jason that frankly made me want to yawn more then anything. The remake is looking a whole lot like other remake efforts...a whole lot of nothing going on.

CBS Edits Interview To Cover McCain Error - Interesting story of how CBS Evening News with Katie Couric violated its own standards and practices of editing an interview so that the (better) answer to a third question was applied to the first question. The reason: apparently to hide McCain's continuing confusion on differences between the Sunni and Shiite governments. Now I don't know the difference but then I am not seeking a position of office where knowing that difference is pretty critical in working with (or against) those groups.

The Star Wars Retrospective Episode VII

The seventh installment out of 10 of Gametrailers.com look at the Star Wars history in video games is out. This one covers Shadows of the Empire and Knights of the Old Republic Games.

Lego NES, Caprica, Iron Man and Speed Racer DVD, and Estelle Getty

Lego NES Scenes - Cute re-creation of NES game moments with Legos. They cover Mortal Kombat, Excite-Bike, Contra and Duck Hunt.

Caprica Promo - Sci Fi has released the promo for the Battlestar Galactica prequel movie Caprica that covers the origins of the Cyclons that takes place about 50 years before the series events. Ironically you have to watch a commercial to watch the commercial.

Iron Man DVD Release Date - September 30th is the date when the movie will hit store shelves maintaining the ever shortening window between the theatre release and the DVD and Blu-ray releases. The movie will come in the usual 1 disc or 2 disc setups. What special features will be available are unknown.

Speed Racer Release Date - The movie will be out on September 16th. Personally I thought the movie was highly entertaining and looking forward to the release.

Estelle Getty Dead at 84 - One of the famed "Golden Girls", the actress died Tuesday morning at her home after suffering from Lewy body dementia. "The only comfort at this moment is that although Estelle has moved on, Sophia will always be with us," co star Betty White said. She recieved Emmy nominations seven years in a row for her work on the series and won one Golden Globe.

Box Office, At the Movies, Leno, and Lego Factory

Dark Knight Rules Box Office - The movie took down more then a few records this weekend with highest sales for each day and the most money in one weekend with $158.3 million topping previous record holder Spider-Man 3 by 7 million. Despite the competition, Mamma Mia managed to take in a respectable $27.605 million, Hancock was 3rd with $14 million, Journey to Center of the Earth was 4 with $12.3 million and finally Hellboy II took a nasty 70% tumble to 5th with $10 million. That drop was probably a direct of many of those willing to see Hellboy probably decided to see Dark Knight first.

At The Movies with? & ? - Ebert and Roeper have both decided to not renew their contracts to continue the 30+ year old review program. The reason why is not known but apparently Disney plans on going in a new direction with the show (probably something "hipper") and those two didn't want to be associated with the change.

Leno's Last Night - NBC has announced its plan to turn over The Tonight Show torch to Conan O'Brien. Jay Leno's last day will be Friday May 29th and O'Brien's first day as the new host is June 1st. The last day for O'Brien's program and Fallon's start date is unknown. Where Leno will go after that is up in the air but apparently he has many interested networks.

Inside the Lego Factory - Click the link for a three part video and description of how a Lego set is created. It involves lots of plastic, robots and computers. Pretty amazing that all that works so well really.

Watchmen, Spirit, iPhone, and Emmy Noms

Watchmen Trailer Leaks - Click the link while the getting is good to see the trailer without first having to see it with the Dark Knight. The visuals look good but as a first attempt to sell this movie to a mainstream audience it’s a bit of a fail. No clear idea of story, characters or much of anything. It’s just a bunch of random images but Malin Akerman looks stunning in her outfit.

The Spirit Trailer - Another new trailer with The Dark Knight. Another trailer that does nothing to interest me in the movie. It does show an outstanding cast of lovely ladies though.

KTLA "Jackass" on TV - Reporter Eric Spillman was embarrassed on live TV for his snarky comments and superior attitude as he asked silly questions of people waiting in an iPhone line. Congrats to the guy for calling his behavior out. To bad more people don't do that to reporters. Their title deservers no more respect then what is given to ambulance chasers.


Emmy Nominations Announced - The annual TV back pat awards where announced and pretty much it was the safe and "known" bets across the board. This is one of those years where I could care less who wins what.

Terminator, Dr Horrible, Castlevania, FF13, and Star Wars

Terminator Salvation Teaser Trailer - Its hit the web and shows pretty much nada. It is also attached with The Dark Knight so can see it then. Click the link for the HD version.

Dr. Horrible - The Joss Whedon creation is now online and is hilarious. The three part webisode is available for free through July 20th so check it out now.

Castlevania Script Review - Click the link for a review of Paul W.S. Anderson's script for Castlevania. The review is pretty bad and suggests the movie is simply a re-make of Bram Stoker's Dracula rather then anything to do with the videogame franchise, include replacing the famed Vampire Killer whip with a sword. Frankly, it takes a special kind of stupid if you cannot take something as straight forward as Castlevania and turn it into a viable movie.

Final Fantasy XIII to 360 - Square/Enix has announced that the next installment of the Final Fantasy franchise, due out sometime before 2012, is no longer exclusive to the Playstation 3 (at least outside Japan).

Star Wars Unleashed on iPhone - Click the link for a hands-on description of the game that is mostly complimentary and also gives you an idea that the iPhone might graphically be nearly as powerful as the PSP but still have control issues to deal with.

E3 Day 1 Trailers and News

God of War III Teaser - Sony presented a brief trailer for the game that is expected to come out sometime next year for the Playstation 3. If you haven't played this franchise you really should, the games are a lot of fun.

Mega Man 9 Trailer - After a long break, the original Mega Man returns for download on the various consoles. The exact release date is unknown but regardless I am excited. I still own the games from way back when and always enjoyed them.

Mega Man 9 Debut Trailer
Ghostbusters: The Video Game Trailer - A trailer for the video game that is less about the game itself and more about the movies its based off of since it seems to have very little in game footage but lots of moments from the two movies. Not a good sign of things to come. Release date unknown.

Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe Footage - Not from E3 but still cool none the less. It shows some of the action and graphics for the game and it suggests that maybe the violence will not be as toned down as we thought. It also hints at some of the special moves available to some of the DC universe characters. No release date announced.

Wii Music Announced - A game that will allow people to play 50 instruments such as the piano, violin, and guitar on the Wii. "Now most music games require you to press buttons with precise timing to symbols on screen, but we've designed Wii Music to allow everyone, including those who can't read music to enjoy the experience of playing music." Instead of following a strict set of notes, Wii music will let players improvise and create their own music using the Wii. The game will record videos of your on-screen play sessions." No release date indicated.

Console Price Drops - If you popped in to a store this week, you will notice that the XBox 360 20gig has taken a $50 price drop to $300. In addition Sony has announced that starting in September the PS3 80gig will drop to $400. Actually though they are removing the backwards compatibility so really it’s the 40gig with a hard drive upgrade.

iPhone 3G Release Link Party

The iPhone 3G is now available depending on where you are in the world. As a result Apple has completed the needed prep and now the information is hitting the internet describing all the new toys available. I really want an iPhone but so far I can't determine if their plans will meet my needs since I need a family plan only where one part is iPhone and the other part is a regular phone. So far everything they have doesn't account for a mixed use setup. On to the links and info.

iPhone Disassembled - Pics that show you the guts of the iPhone 3G
Mini Faq - From Engadget, it answers some of the concerns that users have had about the new phone including the GPS, mailbox, sound quality and other things.
Firmware 2.0 is Live - Its been recommended that if you already have an iPhone, don't bother upgrading to the new phone (with the more expensive plans). Instead you can upgrade the firmware and enjoy most of the benefits without any of the additional cost. Even better, you get it without lines and from the comfort of home.
iPhone Remote App - A new program from Apple with 2.0 provides the ability to run iTunes remotely. The app plays songs, searches your library and shows your playlists all from the iPhone so you don't have to keep walking across the home every time you want to skip that song you’re not in the mood for. Click the link for a video of it in action.
App Store Now Live - Even if you don't have the iPhone, the app store (via iTunes) is now live and lets you explore the many programs and games that are available. It seems that about 25% of the programs are free so plenty of fun can be had.
App Reviews - Gizmodo reports that there are about 552 different apps currently available and they seemed to determined to review some of the best they come across. Good for trying to find the most useful stuff.
iPhone Games - Impressions for a bunch of new games available for the iPhone. It seems the average cost of a game is $5 or $10 so it might help you in spending that money wisely.
iPhone 3G Video - A 10 minute video that unboxes the iPhone and covers some of its new features.

Update: More links
Apple Store Availability Check - Use this link to see if the apple stores got new iPhone in, seems like in most cases it updates nightly after 9pm.
Free Apps Review - Quick reviews of a few free apps
iPhone Review - Review from Engadget. Positive, but notes the battery doesn't last as long as the first gen.

Sigh I really want this phone but sadly AT&T simply doesn't have a plan that fits my needs (450 minute iPhone plan + extra line for regular phone). Instead they want me to get the 700 minute family plan + $30 for data for extra cost of $20 for minutes I simply don't need. As always the inflexibility of AT&T is Apple's Achilles heal on the mobile phone front.

Star Wars Retrospective Part VI

Gametrailers.com has released the next installment of their Star Wars retrospective series. Part six covers first person shooters.

Drobo 2.0, iPhone Stuff, Square E3 Lineup and Trailer Premiers

Drobo 2.0 Released - The automatic RAID device that is good for backing up and protecting your data has received an upgrade. The 2.0 version is quieter and now includes firewire ports for greater data speeds. The price remains at $500 while the 1.0 version is on clearance at $350. It’s a device I have considered buying but I just can't get past the $200 cost of adding the DroboShare so you can get network capability. I don't want to park this thing near my computer (where space is limited), I want to park it in a back room and just check out it as needed. This way I get my data protection with almost no hassle. Until that DroboShare reaches a reasonable price, sadly this nifty device remains not worth it to me.

iPhone 3G Review Matrix - Gizmodo has created a nice table that shows the various opinions that Walt Mossberg (WSJ), David Pogue (NYT), and Ed Baig (USA Today) have wrote about the device in an easy to understand way. To sum it up, the device is near but no quite perfect. If you’re on the fence about getting one, its worth it and if you already have an iPhone just get the software upgrade and don't bother getting a whole new device.

Rogers Caves on iPhone Plans - Rogers Wireless has slightly caved to pressure regarding their plans for the iPhone. The Canadian company has a virtual monopoly lock on communications in that country and they have a history of enjoying it with constant gouging of their customers for no other reason then because they can. In part due to bad press and sites like RuinediPhone.com, Apple made the decision to simply not support the Canadian launch by diverting most of the stock to Europe and not bothering the sell the phones in Apple stores in Canada. As a direct result of that (after all no phones, no sales, no contracts, no gouging), Rogers has announced that its data plan now has a 6gig per month cap rather then the 500mb or so cap. Rogers plan was basically screw their customer with voice and data overage fees and now customers just have to make sure they watch their minutes and probably not download any videos from the Rogers network. A step in the right direction, but since Rogers still wants a three year contract and could revoke their deal at anytime, I wouldn't recommend doing business with them.

Square Enix E3 Line-up - E3 is supposed to start in a few days and Square announced the games and demos they will have. This mainly means that websites will soon have videos and preview articles up for us to read and see if the games are any darn good. Personally I am looking forward to FFIV DS and Chrono Trigger DS. Sadly no news on the Final Fantasy XIII front.

Movie Trailer Plans - The Dark Knight (out July 17th) is expected to have Terminator Salvation, Watchmen, and Body of Lies trailers and the Harry Potter 6 trailer is expected to be attached to Star Wars: The Clone Wars (August). Hopefully that means all the above will hit the internet a couple of days before that.

Chrono Trigger DS, Hancock, and Mega Man 9

Chrono Trigger DS - Square has announced that coming Christmas of this year (which means a delay to next year) will be a tweaked version of Chrono Trigger done in the same way that Final Fantasy III and IV for the DS have been re-made. I still have the original Super NES game which was a fun RPG that had multiple endings and paths to the ending depending on the choices made throughout the game.

Hancock Rules the Box Office - Will Smith's Mr. July record continues as he took in a nice $62 million over the July 4th holidays. Including international sales that brings the movie up to around $181 million for the first week. Wall-E took in $32 million, Wanted earned $20 million and Get Smart added $11 million.

Mega Man 9 Footage - After about a 15 year or more break, Capcom has finally returned to the original Blue Bomber. As the footage below shows, the game will return to its roots in the 9 bit era complete with goofy jump and new bosses including Splash Woman (the first female boss of the series). The game is supposed to be released on Wii Ware at some point in time.

5 Reasons Not Proud of American Cars - An article that discusses some of the problems with the American Auto Industry. Their valid complaints in descending order: poor product planning, poor design choices, getting retro wrong, health care and retirees (hurting the industry), and failure for people and government to protect automakers. On the last one I say tough shit. If American car companies want to remain king, they need to produce vehicles worthy of our dollars and currently they are not doing that.

The Onion News Network Videos

Below are two videos from The Onion that does a hilarious job of sending up network news and politics.

Today Now!: How To Pretend You Give A Shit About The Election


Bush Tours America To Survey Damage Caused By His Disastrous Presidency

Doctor Who Finale, iPhone, and Car Sales

Doctor Who Season Finale Promo - The cliffhanger of the last episode indicates a new Who is on the horizon..or maybe not. Either way I am looking forward to it and below is a trailer that provides few hints on what’s coming.

Cars Sales Plunge - Another sign that a recession has become a self fulfilling prophecy, car sales dropped 18.3% for June and I doubt July will be any better. GM took an 18.2% drop, Ford 27.8%, Chrysler 35.9%, Nissan 17.7%, and Toyota around 11%. For some reason the companies are saying lack of supply is the problem, but not something I noticed on any of the lots I drive by. Only Honda showed growth but only 1.1%.

Official Pricing and Plans for the iPhone - AT&T is starting to prep for the July 11th release of the iPhone with it’s plans and a how to prep to purchase video (below). The plans themselves are essentially the regular plans with a $30 unlimited data charge added. The only thing I can't figure out is how much an iPhone plan plus extra non-iPhone plan would cost. If it’s too much I will just have to do without.

SSD Memory Does Not Improve Battery Runtime - According to a report from Tom's Hardware, the new and very expensive solid state hard drives do not improve laptop battery life as many assumed. The reason comes to SSDs have a simple on or off state. When off, they use no power and when on they use what ever the max power they need to operate. With a regular hard drive though, the amount of power used is based on how hard to platter reader has to work. So if a lot of read/writes are needed over a fragmented drive, then more power used. If less needed, then less power is used. The net result is over all less power is used by a standard hard drive compared to an SSD. Click the above clink for the detailed report.

Don S Davis Dead at 65

Gateworld reports that Don S. David died at the age of 65 due to a heart attack at his home on June 29th, 2008. Davis is probably most famous for his role of Major General George Hammond for seven years on Stargate SG-1. He also played Major Garland Briggs in Twin Peaks. Davis severed three years in the US Army and rose to the rank of Captain. His career is long going all the way back to the MacGyver days on through today with unreleased projects including Stargate: Continuum.

"Many fans of Don's work have had the opportunity to meet him in person, as he was also a regular face at fan conventions around the world. Fans learned that behind General Hammond was a Southern gentleman with a big heart, a no-nonsense attitude, and all the love and respect one could imagine." Davis reflected on his own career back in 2006 with Gateworld, which can be found here.

From Davis' representative and wife Ruby Fleming-Davis:

Dear Fans and Friends of Don S. Davis,

So many of you have been touched by not only the work and art of Don S. Davis, but by the man himself, who always took the time to be with you at the appearances he loved, that it is with a tremendous sense of loss I must share with you that Don passed away from a massive heart attack on Sunday morning, June 29th.

On behalf of his family and wife, Ruby, we thank you for your prayers and condolences. A family memorial where Don's ashes will be scattered in the ocean will take place in a few weeks, and should you wish to, please make a donation to the American Heart Association in Don's memory.

Don S. Davis
August 4, 1942 - June 29, 2008

Special Comment: Obama & FISA Bill

Keith Olbermann aired another special comment, this time the FISA bill that gives telecoms immunity for breaking the law at the demands of the Bush administration. Obama has indicated he would vote for the law and Olbermann is making the argument that since Obama is in a dammed if you do and damned if you don't, you might as well do the right thing and vote against the bill. A full transcript is here.