Never A Year Like '09 - The creative folks at JibJab have put together a very amusing music video that does a great job of summarizing the year 2009 with its many ups (election of Obama) and downs (economy).
Zelda Reorchestrated - Celebrate the New Year with a Zelda marathon of music and check out this site which created the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time soundtrack. The goal was apparently to take the music from the game and make it sound have if played by an orchestra rather than an electronic creation. Click the link, about halfway down is streaming of 22 classic tracks.
70-Minute "Review" of The Phantom Menace - Click the link for a video that tears the Star Wars movie apart for its many story mistakes, casting mistakes, decisions and more. It is an amusing, strange but very entertaining trashing of a film that to me was written with a tin ear for merchandising rather than trying to tell a story.
Same Old Lang Syne - A classic New Year's themed song from Dan Fogelberg. Have a Happy and safe New Year.
The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks - For those stuck getting the second (2nd) Ferrus letter, I had the same problem. The letter finally became available after I got the 20th stamp for Niko. That stamp is located at the Tower of Spirits on the top level (same place got the Bow of Light). The way to get that is simply got back into the tower after defeating Byrne. Run up the stair column, hit the blue light, go up the stairs, past the arena fought where fought him and run up the last set of stairs. Hit the comments if this proved useful.
World's Largest Image - The pic to the left is of Dresden, Germany. It is a copy of the world's largest image of a 26 gigapizel view of the city. The pic was the result of 16555 photos and 94 hours of stitching together.
Saab Closing - GM has announced the end of another car brand with the Saab being discontinued. GM will continue to honor warranties and provide service and parts but closing plants, etc will begin very soon. The closing is an attempt by GM to consolidate and become profitable.
Terminator Franchise Sold for $1 - In an interview with James Cameron comes a mild shock. He actually sold the franchise away for $1 back in the day (year wasn't specified). Considering it has become a bit of a curse with multiple production companies failing with each movie, he might have actually made a solid business deal.
Inflight Wi-Fi Cheat Sheet - For those traveling for the holiday, hit up the think to find out if and for how much it will cost you to surf the net while flying. The short answer is almost all of them are rip-offs with JetBlue being the only free provider.
Deficit Graph - That image to the right is from the Congressional Budget Office and estimates what will be the largest contributor to the deficit over the next 10 years. The short answer is Bush's tax cuts if they are made permanent. Tax cuts that only benefited the rich but seriously hampered the government's revenue stream. Oh I know, some think it helped them but have you actually compared you tax payouts year to year. Do you see a big difference? Yeah neither do I. The next largest is Bush's two wars. The thin red line and beige line are for all that Tarp and stimulus spending that had Republicans and "Tea Party" members suddenly up in arms. Funny how that works. GOP spending = good. Dem spending, even when dramatically less = bad.
Singer Returning to X-Men - In an interview with MySpace at the premiere of Avatar, Bryan Singer revealed that he is returning to the X-Men franchise with X-Men: First Class. No indications if this is based on the comic book series by the same name which essentially covers the core X-Men (Cyclops, Jean Gray, Ice Man, Beast, etc) as they experienced the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning for the first time as they learned to control their mutant powers.
Clash of the Titans Trailer #2 - Click the link for different formats of the second trailer for the movie that is shaping up to look pretty good.
Special Comment: Not Health, Not Care, Not Reform - Keith Olbermann essentially summarizes my disgust at what the Healthcare Reform Bill has become at the hands of the Senate, that whore Lieberman, and that useless man who can't lead Reid. The idea was to provide healthcare to all, hold insurance companies to basic standards (rather than whatever they want to do, they can do), and try to reduce the cost of healthcare by encouraging preventative care (thus healthcare for all aspect). Instead, the Democrat leadership has caved on everything. The reform is gone, the healthcare for all is gone, and there is no attempt to really reduce the cost, so system of checks and balances. It’s become a massive paycheck to the insurance companies with an "I hope you will do the right thing with this money" rider. At this point, the bill is useless and we would be better off starting over again, this time with people actually willing to lead, to use up political capital, and ok with not necessarily being liked by everything. There has been no leader no this bill, just a bunch of people gawking for the camera, hoping to take credit for any good while dodging the blame for any bad.
Mega Man 10 Trailer - If interested, the next installment of the franchise, retaining its 8-bit graphics and design. The game will be released in the next few months on the Wii, PS3, and 360, likely for around $10.
Iron Man 2 Trailer #1 - Click the link to view the official Iron Man 2 trailer which includes a look at War Machine in full butt kicking mode. Gwyneth Paltrow continues to look exceptional with long red hair so lovely bonus. Whiplash (Mickey Rourke) doesn't impress as much, Scarlett Johansson always looks impressive and a brief sneak peek at Samuel L Jackson as Nick Fury.
Lego Hoth Photos - Click the link for a gallery uses Lego sets and figs to create a gorgeous set of photos.
Alice in Wonderland Trailer - Click the link to few the latest trailer from Tim Burton's latest flick. The result is visually interesting but very bizarre looking film. The movie is coming March 5th.
Roy E Disney Dead at 79 - The nephew of Walt Disney died today after a fight with stomach cancer. While not as knee deep in the creative side of the company, mostly choosing the business side including leading two shareholder revolts that ousted two CEOs. However, his 56 year employment with the company allowed him to influence much of what it became, especially by re-energizing the animation department that lead to Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King and more.
Entourage Edge Hands-On - The e-Ink tablet market is heating up as the Entourage is revealed with a demo unit. The result is pretty sweet. The idea is to basically replace text books while keeping at least some of the look and feel of a book. Sadly, there is still some work to be done as most of the 1.0 devices suffer from technology limitations resulting in devices that are larger than needed. The goal should just be barely larger then screen size with a touch screen interfaceand at most two buttons to turn page forward or backwards.
Batman: The Animated Series Bible - Click the link for a PDF file that shows the bible to one of the best cartoon series of all time. It provides what the designed approach for the series was (much of which changed) along with lots of artwork for the characters, objects and Gotham. If a fan, it’s worth looking through.
Lord of the Rings Trilogy on Blu-ray - Warner Bros. has officially announced the release date as April 6th, 2010 for a nine disc set based on the theatrical version of the film that will include most of the special features from the various DVD releases and online content. The retail price is $100 but likely will be around $60-$70 for that first week of release.
2009 Golden Globe Nominations - One of the few award ceremonies that mix TV and movies together when one big Hollywood a$#kissing fest. The winners are decided by the "Foreign Press Association" which is really just a random collection of people, most of whom don't do any actual reporting of any kind. Yet for reasons unknown, the Globes have become a de facto crib sheet for deciding many of the Oscar categories. I would attempt to predict the winners but honestly don't really care who wins or not.
Robin Hood Trailer - First full trailer for the Ridley Scott version of the character that is played by Russell Crowe. Probably good this is the first trailer as it did pretty much nothing to make me want to see this film.
Let Them Sing It for You - Amusing site that has a player that "sings" to you whatever you type in the field. The words are taken from many different pop culture songs resulting in rather odd combinations.
I Got a Feeling Parody - An amusing parody of the song, approached as if waking up hangover and trying to remember the night before.
2009, the Newsical - Mix together all the random news events of the year (mostly pop culture) and autotune it for the amusing result below.
Stargate Atlantis Home Theater - A fan took his love to the extremes with his $70,000 setup that invokes the franchise while offering an awesome viewing experience with a ten foot screen. As long as someone else foots the bill, I wouldn't mind having that setup.
UK Amazon Distribution Center - Click the link for two images of the huge warehouse used by Amazon. The volume of stuff is impressive.
Public Option Removed - At the link is an explanation on the compromise the Democrats made in the Senate when it removed the public option from the Healthcare bill. The feature has long been fought as the insurance companies’ fear they might have to compete for the first time in decades. Early indications are the compromises might make for good soundbite but ultimately the companies are probably very happy right now which can't be good for consumers.
Mega Man 10 Announced - Nintendo Power has announced that the sequel is coming. The game will remain 8-bit in style with the same goofy boss fights such as Sheep Man. More importantly, early indicators are that the game will have an Easy Mode for people (like me) that just enjoy playing a game, not conquering a game.
Lego Harry Potter Video Game Trailer - New trailer for the game coming next year that covers the first four years of the franchise. It seems to have the same fun factor, graphics and controls that the previous Lego games have had.
Tron Legacy Poster, Image - Even though it’s about a year away from release, Disney has released a teaser poster with love interest image for the movie with the slogan "The game has changed." The movie is a direct sequel to the 80s film, using some of the same characters but taking place about 25 years later to allow it to take place in the relative present.
The Sorcerer's Apprentice Teaser Trailer - A new trailer is out for the live action film starring Nic Cage as the sorcerer. Once you get past his silly hair style, it looks like might be interesting to see. Click the link for a wide range of viewing options.
Congress Bill Pushes for College Playoff System - A new bill, co-sponsored by a Democrat and Republican, would ban the promotion of a national championship in college football without a playoff system. The amusing part though is some are against it not because it is bad law but because they think Congress could be doing better things. Personally I have faith in Congress' ability to multi-task multiple issues at once. Too bad the conversation has been hijacked from talking about improving college football to something about who might be working harder.
Leaving the Right Behind - An interesting article from Andrew Sullivan, who is a gay conservative that currently disagrees with the often contradictory goals of the Republican Party. Click the link for his analysis of the major issues he has currently with the party that does a good job of summarizing many of my own.
Fox's Gretchen Carlson Has A Brain - It turns out the dumb blonde on Fox & Friends is actually a brain with degree from Stanford and Oxford Universities. You know the kind of places only the Democratic elitists supposedly come from. As a result, she has made her bones basically being the "idiot" of the group so that things can be explained through or to her for the sake of their equally dumb audience. The Daily Show does a good job calling her out on it and asks her to use what her God gave her.
Spider-Man 4 Villains Cast? - New rumors from the movie that are supposedly confirmed by "sources close to the film. The first is that John Malkovich will play The Vulture, who is essentially an old flying man prone to grand larceny. Anne Hathaway would play the sexy thief and potential love interest Black Cat, aka Felicity Hardy. Think Catwoman as the two are nearly identical character, main difference being hair color (white vs. black). I have my doubts but seeing Anne Hathaway in a skin tight costume would be worth the price of admission.
The Tetris God - Silly but amusing video about who chooses the pieces that come in Tetris, often to aggravating results.
Top 10 Sci-Fi Disappointments of the Decade - From IO9.com, a list of sci-fi ideas that fell flat despite high expectations (and hope). Examples include The Hulk, Superman Returns, Firefly, Heroes, and more.
Tea Party Tops Poll - A new poll suggests that the formation of a third party based on the "Tea Party" movement could succeed. In a Rasmussen poll among likely voters, 36% were Democrat, 23% Tea Party, 18% Republican and 22% undecided. Of note is in that 18%, 70% have a favorable opinion of the movement suggesting chance for growth. In the undecideds, 43% have a favorable opinion of the Tea Party. Basically, for the first time a third party could form and completely fracture the GOP. On top of that, it could draft enough votes from undecideds and Democrats that they could at least make a few elections interesting. Personally I think the movement is so extreme that once people realized the party was really a bunch of slogans without any real ideas or plans with a refusal to compromise on anything, that the party may sound nice but their ability to do anything useful is unlikely.
As the World Turns Cancelled - After 54 year old CBS soap opera is ending in September. This will leave only six soap operas on the air with cancellation rumors circling for other operas. Every soon it will end of a television era as television stations opt for using those time slots for cheaper syndicated talk show programs or commercials.
Decode Your VIN - Turns out the VIN number isn't just a unique identifier of your car but a detailed breakdown that describes your cars make, features, model year, assembly plant and more. Click the link to learn more.
Barnes & Noble Nook Review - First review of the final unit that I have seen. Solid device, runs slow (screen refresh, menu response, pretty much everything), has a small learning curve for the UI, good use of the second color touch screen but still needs improvement. My read is it is further proof to not buy the 1.0 version of new tech even if it’s copying the 2.0 version of someone else's (in this case the Kindle). Still, I am interested in the possibilities, just waiting for the price and tech to get to become worth the investment. Below is a video showing off the interface.
Avatar Costliest Film Ever - James Cameron likes to hit new thresholds in expense as Titanic’s $200 million was a new high 10 years ago and now Avatar's $300 million budget has once again moved the bar. Fox and Cameron are being coy about the film's cost, probably waiting until have at least the first weekend's box office to determine profitability feasibility. However, Cameron has bragged that his team essentially re-invented motion capture technology from scratch, finding Robert Zemeckis (A Christmas Carol) lacking. Technically this rather expensive R&D undertaking normally would be added to the film's cost which might explain early $500 million estimates for the film.
Legend of Zelda: Sprit Tracks Review - The next installment of the Zelda franchise finally comes out tomorrow and so far reviews are good. Like the one at the link, pretty much all say the game is fun, Zelda's heavy use add a good element to the game, the dungeons and puzzles are solid but the train travel is about as tedious as the sailboat was in the other DS installments.
MLR and Healthcare - While the article at the link is about one thing, I found the information about the MLR (medical loss ratio) to be more interesting because it is a key value used by insurance companies in determining their profits. In short, the higher the ratio, the more money spent on healthcare and less going to paperwork and profits. So of course insurance companies want that number as low as possible. As Aetna learned, even going up 1.5% can cost a company billions in market value. This was not because of loss in profits but because Wall Street used that as a queue to sell their shares at lower values. In essence, this easily describes why healthcare companies are in the business of saying no. If they say yes to procedures and those with pre-existing conditions, the MLR goes up, they make less. So no is, by market necessity and rules of capitalism, a must. Therefore, reform by the market has no real reason to occur without some outside force like laws.
YouTube Feather - It’s the same YouTube, but now many of the videos have a lightweight page load version that strips away elements of the page to encourage faster load times. This is a solid solution for those with slow internet connections (say 3G), netbooks and the like. It’s actually just great if your one those that watches the video but not into all the social aspects of the site.
$10 USB Power Outlets - In an idea long time coming, a company will start selling power outlets with two usb ports, perfect for those that have lot of things that charge via a USB port (like me).
Look into Music Industry Accounting - At the link is an example of the rather strange accounting practices that occur in the music industry that essentially results in a "poor me" attitude of the studios even though they rarely have that much to complain about. This is especially when take in account that while they complain they are being screwed by pirates, they themselves often screw the artists even more.
Next Gen Netbooks - You might have noticed lots of sales going on with netbooks and the reason is simple - starting in January the next generation of them will begin hitting stores shelves. These new models will have faster chips, more RAM, slightly larger screens and more. At the link is a more detailed look into the specifics of what is coming.
Lego Matrix Reenactment - Creative use of Legos to create the first bullet time sequences from the first movie.
Queen Automatic Mario - A fan made level of Super Mario Bros that follows the beat and pitch of the Queen song "Don't Stop Me Now". Impressive work overall.
Sprint Provides Customer GPS Data To Cops - It has been discovered that Sprint provided cops with GPS data (i.e. the person's location) at least 8 million times last year. They even created a special website for they can get the data easily and at anytime without proof of need. Since the Telecoms rarely work independently, it is safe to assume that all the others have similar programs. Technically a person's physical location isn't protected, but you think it would be by common sense and decency.
Happy Birthday Playstation - The brand has turned 15. It first debuted in 1994, creating the 32bit system and directly competing with the Super NES. It is now a major contender that at one time toppled Nintendo from its perch. While I remain a Nintendo fanboy, the PS is a close second.
Inside "At The Movies" Implosion - A kind but critical write-up from Roger Ebert about the destruction of At The Movies after he was essentially forced to quit due to cancer that took his voice after a successful fight. The show evolved into some ET clone nonsense of crap, was more or less cancelled and then came back again but sadly without the magic of the old set and style. Ebert is missed but his blog is a great read.
Why Comcast/NBC Merge is Bad - Currently hypothetical, but considering how American businesses work nowadays with eye on the bonus rather than long tern success of the company, I see the concerns becoming true. In this case, the merger is likely to create even more media consolidation, eliminate free video streaming, lead to increase rates, forced bundling and more.
Family Guy: Something, Something, Something Dark Side Trailer - The sequel to Blue Harvest, their spoof of Star Wars. This one takes on The Empire Strikes Back and is coming to DVD on December 22nd. Not sure when it will air on Fox but assume sometime next year, maybe as a May finale thing.
Iron Man 2 Teaser Poster - The movie is still about six months away but finally get a look at Iron Man and War Machine for the sequel that is just bad-ass looking.
Comcast Buys NBC Universal - Barring the FCC preventing it (unlikely), by this time next year Comcast will own about 51% of the company for $5.8 billion and lots of their debt. The resulting deal will make the company one of the largest entertainment entities in the world. The purchase gives Comcast control of NBC, their sister channels like MSNBC, SyFy, Bravo, USA, Universal Pictures movie studio, theme parks and more. Exactly what changes this means for their employees (besides layoffs) and fans of their various forms of entertainment remains to be seen. Comcast's current networks include E!, Versus, G4, and few others, all of which are geared to a small demographic with lots of cheap programming, well the future isn't looking bright.
Bourne Franchise Ending? - In a sign of what happens when money and ego collide, Bourne director Paul Greengrass has walked off the fourth installment of the movie (and taking Matt Damon with him) after a disagreement with Universal over the excessive cost ($100 million plus) of his other project The Green Zone. The movie, which is about an aspect of the Iraq War, was supposed to be an "independent" style movie with a low budget as it is a passion project for the director. Instead it is now a movie with blockbuster style budget for a genre of film that has tanked spectacularly over the last several years. It sounds like Greengrass screwed up (not going over budget is a fundamental part of a director's job), knows it, and rather than admit it he chooses to use the only leverage he as with the Bourne franchise and Damon's loyalty. Net result is the fans get screwed.
YouTube Filmmaker Gets Hollywood Deal - Proof that filmmakers posting their wares on YouTube can win the Hollywood lottery. Fede Alvarex has signed a six to seven figure deal with Sam Raimi's (Spider-Man director) Ghost House company for his idea "Panic Attack!" idea that he made into an inexpensive but very impressive short (below). Once you see the video, you will understand why Hollywood came knocking.
Zelda Reorchestrated - Celebrate the New Year with a Zelda marathon of music and check out this site which created the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time soundtrack. The goal was apparently to take the music from the game and make it sound have if played by an orchestra rather than an electronic creation. Click the link, about halfway down is streaming of 22 classic tracks.
