Links of the Week

PSP 2 Officially Announced (gallery)
Sony has officially announced its next generation hardware and software. The codename of the device is NPG (Next Generation PSP) but PSP2 seems to fit better until the official name is released. The device sports 4 core processor, near PS3 level graphics, two touch screens, two cameras, microphone, speakers, six-axis motion sensing system, GPS, Wi-Fi, and more. It appears to be a touch bigger than the current PSP system but has a lot more power and more potential with Sony envisioning people switching back and forth between saved games on the PSP2 and the PS3. The game will support downloading games from the Playstation Network like the PSP Go does and interestingly it will have a flash drive cartridge support like the Nintendo DS does so retail will be happy. There is no release date or price but I imagine you are looking at around $299 and higher. In additional, Sony announced the Playstation Suite which is an Android application that will allow playing certain Playstation Network titles on Android devices. This is probably what explains the leaked Playstation Phones over the last few months as devices have probably been tested to take full advantage of the PS Suite. Below are various videos from the keynote in Japan.
PSP2 Revealed | Gameplay | Little Deviants

2011 Oscar Nominations
Hit the link for the list of nominated films in the various categories. Few surprises involved with the pack leaders being The King's Speech (12 noms) and The Social Network (8 noms). About the only surprise is Christopher Nolan did not get a Best Director nod for Inception which doesn't really surprise me consider most of the Academy is made up of older (like 55+) members that probably didn't understand most of Inception. That skewed age range is important to keep in mind as it often explains the nomination and winners. The age gap should favor the superior The King's Speech to win Best Film over The Social Network which for reasons I can't fathom is a critical darling. My picks for likely winners for Best Actor are Colin Firth, Best Actress to Natalie Portman, and Toy Story 3 for Best Animated Film. Any other choices would just be random guessing on my part.

Links of the Week

Keith Olbermann Fired by MSNBC
"MSNBC and Keith Olbermann have ended their contract. The last broadcast of "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" will be this evening. MSNBC thanks Keith for his integral role in MSNBC's success and we wish him well in his future endeavors." With that one brief statement, Comcast has made clear who is now in control of the network. A question many had is exactly what would happen with MSNBC and its left leanings which are the political opposite of Comcast leadership who prefer to avoid controversy and fully support the GOP. This might be the beginning of an answer. Olbermann, who was integral in turning the network from a third place to second place news network, was considered the most "left" on the network by most even though his viewpoints are really right up the middle of the political spectrum. He is blunter then most in expressing them. Bluntness is something people claim to like but few really do. The other shows he helped create will remain on the network but expect a toning down and as contracts expire a replacement to something that more reflects the GOP and pro-corporate agenda that Comcast prefers. If you are the GOP and Fox News it is party time as another "enemy" of the party has been silenced. Where Keith goes from here is unknown as CNN will not have him as their hatred of controversy has reached such huge proportions that they have virtual become irrelevant in the news business. I wish him luck on his future endeavors and while I have a feeling his TV career is over, he can easily have a second life online.

Links of the Week

Verizon Score the iPhone
If you are tired of AT&T but love your iPhone, then February 10th will be a good day for you as Verizon will be caring the device. Sadly no price plans were revealed so not exactly confidence inducing, but still a good sign. Even better, Verizon will support using the phone as a local hotspot, something AT&T currently doesn't. Again no idea if that cost is built in or not. Prices for the iPhone do not change and of course your ability to switch providers may depend on whether you are on plan or not or willing to take the hit for early termination.

GOP Health Care Repeal Would Add $230 Billion to Deficit
When will people learn that the Republican Party has never been fiscally responsible? It is a myth they run on every election cycle but look at their record; they have never actually come close to fulfilling those now decades’ old promises. They have already added another trillion to the deficit by pushing through a deal to give $700 billion of that in tax cuts to the rich and now they have a plan that is an attempt to repeal health care and added another quarter trillion. Not even one month into office and already they have added nothing but debt. The reason for the increase is simple in its logic. Which is cheaper? Going to the doctor while you have the sniffles or going to the hospital because you have developed Pneumonia? Now multiple that by the current 32 million of uninsured. If people have insurance, they simply like to use the insurance to take care of medical problems before they become full emergencies. As it stands, when that care occurs as an emergency, the tax payers foot 100% of the bill. If the person is insured, then that is at least partially or mostly going to be covered by insurance companies. It really is that simple despite Fox News very effective attempts at making the idiots out there believe otherwise.

Supermarket Shooting Tragedy

Saturday six people were and 14 people injured in a shooting spree when Jared Lee Loughner opened fire at a Safeway supermarket in Tucson, Arizona where U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords was holding a public event. Those killed included Federal Judge John Roll and 9 year old Christina Green who was born on September 11, 2001. Rep. Giffords is currently in critical condition after surgery from a bullet that did hit her in the head. Loughner was araigned on two counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder with a preliminary hearing for January 24th.

The question now has once again become "Why?" or more specifically who was at fault. It probably isn't a question that can be definitively answered. Based on people that knew Loughner ("friends" seems to be too strong a word), the 22 year old seems to be unstable and not terribly bright. As his five YouTube videos demonstrate, he began at some point to believe in various conspiracy theories involving the US currency (aka return to gold standard), mind control, overreach of government and other beliefs that fall right into the far right wheel house that current Conservative favorites like Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin, and Sharron Angle advocate.

However, you have to wonder just how much influence the current right wing extremism may have had on just an unstable mind. When you are told day after day that liberals are purposely trying to destroy America, take away your freedom, and everything you hold dear, it isn't a reach to think an unstable mind might decide that the only proper action is to destroy those that are seemingly trying to destroy him and his fellow Americans. Examples of this include the daily dose of conspiracy of Glenn Beck be it from his radio show, books or TV program were he twists every little thing into some grand plan to conquer America, like the liberals of America wake up each morning and go "what evil acts can I do today?".

Sarah Palin repurposed a tweet of hers into a call of action, complete with sun site graphic (removed from Sarah's website after the shooting), for the recent elections by saying "don't retreat, instead RELOAD!” The use of hunting and weapon phrasing is so common among conservatives that it reached a new extreme with Sharron Angle's "second amendment remedies" being a possible solution if Conservatives didn't get their way in the recent elections.

Links of the Week

Welcome to a New Year! Still have not figured out what this blog is about. Probably need to define something specific. If have any ideas, feel free to let me know in the comments. Until then, more links to things that grabbed my interest over the last week or so.

R.I.P. Pete Postlewaite
Grand character thespian Pete Postlethwaite sadly died to cancer on January 2nd at the age of 64. The actor, maybe not a household name, is probably a familiar face to many movie fans from his long career. His most recent roles included The Town, Inception, and Clash of the Titans. He also was in The Usual Suspects, The Lost World, Aliens 3, The Last of the Mohicans, Dragonheart and many more movies. The industry lost a giant they were not even aware of.