CBS Upfront

CBS' turn to reveal its new fall schedule.

Canceled:
Out of Practice, CBS sunday night movie, Threshold, Courting Alex, Love Monkey, Still Standing, and Yes Dear.

Renewals:
60 Minutes, Amazing Race, Close to Home, Cold Case, Criminial Minds, CSI (all 3), Ghost Whisperer, How I Met Your Mother, NCIS, Old Christine, Numbers, Survior, Two and a Half Men, The Unit and Without a Trace.

New Shows:
Jericho - Drama about a Kansas town that believes it alone in the world after a nuclear explosion. Cast includes Skeet Ulrich, Gerald McRaney, Pamela Reed and few others. Eh, could be good but me think it goes splat after about 6 episodes.

Shark - Despite shows based around the ego of ex-movie stars not lasting long, CBS is giving it a go with this drama serires for James Wood. Its about a defense attorny who switches to the prosecutor's side working for Jeri Ryan. The drama is how the office reacts to a slimy defender becoming an equally slimy prosecutor. As long as it doesn't try to be like Boston Legal, the show might stand a chance.

Smith - Ray Liotta is a career crimial stuck between the mysterious Smith and the FBI who wants to arrest them all. Amy Smart is in it so I will sample the first show but considering that the number of shows that have failed recently with criminals in the lead, I don't see this one lasting long. Besides Ray Liotta gets tiresome very quickly. 20 episodes of over acting maybe to much for the audience to handle.

3 lbs - Mid-season drama with Stanly Tucci, and few others about a brain surgeon and his mentor.

Waterfront - Mid-season drama. Stars Jpe Pantoliano, Mary Stuart Masterson and a Baldwin. Apparently about a mayor and his people. Snore.

The Class - Comedy about some purty 20-somethings who once where in the same third grade class. For reasons that will make no sense they get together for their 20th anniversay of the third grade meet and stay together. Stars some folks, but the show will be canceled in abou tthe time its takes to type all this.

Rules of Engagement - Mid-season comedy to replace the Class. Its a comedy about relationships of the married, engaged and single kind. Cast includes Kathleen Rose Perkins, Megyn Price, Patrick Warburton and Paulo Costanzo. Cast is king and not so sure about this lot with a long list of failures.

Schedule:
MONDAY
8pm: "How I Met Your Mother"
8:30pm: "The Class"
9pm: "Two and a Half Men"
9:30pm: "The New Adventures of Old Christine"
10pm: "C.S.I.: Miami"

TUESDAY
8pm: "N.C.I.S."
9pm: "The Unit"
10pm: "Smith"

WEDNESDAY
8pm: "Jericho"
9pm: "Criminal Minds"
10pm: "C.S.I.: NY"

THURSDAY
8pm: "Survivor"
9pm: "C.S.I.: Crime Scene Investigation"
10pm: "Shark"

FRIDAY
8pm: "Ghost Whisperer"
9pm: "Close to Home"
10pm: "Numb3rs"

SATURDAY
8pm: "Crime Time Saturday"
10pm: "48 Hours: Mystery"

SUNDAY
7pm: "60 Minutes"
8pm: "The Amazing Race"
9pm: "Cold Case"
10pm: "Without a Trace"

NSA Phone Logs and Abuse

Last week, USA Today revealed that the NSA is collecting the phone call logs of millions of Americas without court approval. The claims is that the data is only being used to catch terrorists. Yet not even a week later and a rumor is suggesting that the the government may be using the data for less noble purposes. Say to discover the confidential sources for journalists.

It amazes that only 51% of Americans have a problem with this program. Its amazing how trusting people can be on the big picture things. Even assuming that the story about the journalist is incorrect, it does show a problem. The data can be used for such a purpose. If anyone tracked their phone calls for a 1 month to a 6 month period, its amazing what kind of picture it can paint about a person. How many times call your parents, your girlfriend, your mistress. Do you call gay chatllnes (see here for Daily Show joke/point). What would prevent someone, regardless of party, from using the information that the phone records might reveal to blackmail people including our government leaders?

People simply don't realize how much one's calling habits could reveal. If the information was trivial, the NSA wouldn't be interested in collecting it. Also, what is to prevent them from expanding on the data they collect?

For instance, your web site tendancies. Review your "history" from your browser. Take a step back from it and try to access it as a stranger. What would that history reveal about what you like and don't like? Your interests and curiousities? Would you want anyone to know these things?

Another example of useful information would be from your cell phone. Why not give the NSA logs of what towers your cell phone connects to. Using triangulation, a little guesswork and lots of data, the NSA could develop a map of your movements over a period of time. Maybe they notice on that business trip you went near that seedy section of town? Yet here your tax records show your married. Hmm and based on this form, you applied to run for office. Ah but you are not of the party I believe in, and the idea of you representing a state just bothers me. I think this info might be useful to your opponent. Far off scenario, yet closer to a possibility.

My point is that the data sounds irrelevant, which if that where true, why collect it? Why assume the data is safe and will never be abused. History has shown over and over again that people will abuse the power they are given. People can only ignore the tempation for so long. What is to prevent Bush from demanding that the NSA give him the phoning habits of certain congressional canditates? What would prevent them from expanding the data they seek? To accept that this collecting of records is all well and good, is to assume that the government can be trusted. Which cannot. Its not even a republican vs democract thing, its a right to privacy thing. Just remember, one day a democrat may become president again, do you want them to have access to this kind of power and control?

Pentagon 9/11 film

The pentagon released footage of American Airlines Flight 77 hitting the Pentagon on 9/11. The images where recorded by security camera outside the building and released due to a Freedom of Information Act request from Judicial Watch.

Click here for the footage, which shows a shadow and then a fireball. Not sure what Judicial Watch was looking for because I see nothing in the footage that provides new information or insight.

ABC Upfront

ABC announced their proposed 06-07 schedule today. Once again going lazy and skipping the italics and quotes for shows.

Canceled:
Freddie, Invasion, Emily's Reasons Why Not, Rodney, Jake in Progress, Hope & Faith, Sons & Daughters, Less Than Perfect, Hot Properties, Night Stalker, In Justice, Miracle Workers, and Commander-in-Chief.

New:
Sons and Daugters - Drama that follows the trials and tribulations of siblings throught the perspective of Calista Flockhart. Cast inclues Rachel Griffiths, Patricia Wettig (guess no more Prison Break for her) and several others. It has an attractive cast, lot of familiar names, so has a good chance of being sampled which can only help ratings. Family also makes for good shows if done well.

Men In Trees - Despite the odd name, apparently another drama. Its about Anne Heche dumping her cheating fiance and enjoying a new lease on life. Also stars some other people who don't ring any names but probably are familar faces.

The Nine - The storytelling method of 24 meets Lost with a dash of Prison Break. The nine covers the lives via flashbacks of nine hostages during a failed bank robbery. Starts Tim Daly, Chi McBride, Scott Wolf (Everwood is toast obviousily) and others. Its got my interest, just hope it doesn't become another Heist.

6 Degrees - Title refers to 6 degrees of seperation where everyone is connected to someone else by 6 unknown connections. This series plays up the unknown by showing how 6 people influence each others lives without actually knowing each other and what those connections mean and why. Stars Erika Christensen (ooh la la), Bridget Moynahan (another ooh lala), Hope Davis (ditto) and bunch of guys too lazy to type out. I am there. Good idea with attractive cast. Execution will be key but if they do it right, can be the hit of the new shows.

Day-Break - Mid-season replacement drama. Its the movie "Groundhog Day" without all the carefreeness "must get girl to love me". Basically the guy has to prove in a single day who killed a DA while keeping loved ones alive. Good thing he has a nifty reset button. Stars Taye Diggs, Adam Baldwin and others. Another great exicting concept that will require some tricky editing and wrting to keep all the elements in the air without seeming to be repetitive.

Traveler - Mid-season replacement drama. Bad place at wrong time results in friends being accused of a terrorist bombing. At the same time they discover a friend of theirs doesn't even exist. Without anyone to turn too they must find out who did the bombing. Stars lots of folks and looks like it could be an excellent drama.

Betty the Ugly - Sweet ugly girl (ie overweight but clearly attactive) does good and in the process the guy that only goes for flash starts to fall for her while they try to work together in the fashion world. This is doomed to fail.

Big Day - Comedy that tracks the single day in planning, prepping, and executing a weeding and all the mess that goes on such as parties and all the other hijinks that can ensue. Stars Marla Sokoloff (the Practice), Wendie Malick (Just Shoot Me) among others. Eh, personally I shut off at "wedding".

Help Me Help You - Group therapy by a celebrity doctor who just may be nuts himself. Stars Ted Danson, Suzy Nakamura, and others. I smell splat.

Let's Rob Mick Jagger - Bunch of screw ups get together to rob Mick Jagger's apartment. In the process of prepping they find out about themselves. This sounds like a smooshy do gooder comedy that once agains makes me go snore.

Notes From The Underbelly - The trials and problems that occur when having a baby especially from interfering family. blah.

In Case of Emergency - Mid-season comedy (they going to need a few). Bunch of high school buddies get together for much bonding as each of their lives fall apart. Sarts David Arguette, Greg Germann, Kelly Hu, and Lori Laughlin. I like most of the people that are in this show, but so far not feeling the interest. May g ive the pilot a go though.

Also three new reality shows: Wake-Up Call (Greg Behrendt helps with relationships), Just for Laughs (Candid Camera redux), and Set For The Rest of Your Life (contestants try to win a check of x value for x frequency over x period of time, with a partner who may be helping or hurting them). Rest of Your Life has legs if its not beat to death with frequent plays. Others will die a quick death.

Schedule:
MONDAY
8pm: "Wife Swap"
9pm: "The Bachelor " (through January)
9pm: "Supernanny" (from January)
10pm: "What About Brian"

TUESDAY
8pm: "Dancing with the Stars" (through January)
8pm: "Set for the Rest of Your Life" (from January)
9pm: "Let's Rob Mick Jagger"
10pm: "Boston Legal"

WEDNESDAY
8pm: "Dancing with the Stars" (through January)
8pm: "George Lopez" (from January)
8:30pm: "According to Jim" (from January)
9pm: "Lost"
10pm: "The Nine"

THURSDAY
8pm: "Big Day"
8:30pm: "Notes from the Underbelly"
9pm: "Grey's Anatomy"
10pm: "Six Degrees"

FRIDAY
8pm: "Betty the Ugly"
9pm: "Men in Trees"
10pm: "20/20"

SATURDAY
8pm: "ABC Saturday Night College Football"

SUNDAY
7pm: "America's Funniest Home Videos"
8pm: "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition"
9pm: "Desperate Housewives"
10pm: "Brothers & Sisters"

The Da Vinci Code Quest Finalist Email

As the above picture indicates, finally received the email confirming I am one of the 10,000 finalists for the Da Vinci Code Quest on Google. Oddly enough, I received the email at 10:14pm 5/15/06, hours after the mailman delivered the crytex (pics here). I do believe thats the first time I have experienced the mailman beating the email. Best guess is the contest starts this weekend after the movie premieres. Feel free to comment, curious to know who else I will be competing against to win stuff.

NBC Upfronts

Upfront week has started, where each of the (now) 5 networks announce their upcoming fall and mid-season plans. Monday was NBC's go at showing what they plan on doing. I am not going to bother with italics or " " for each program.

Canceled:
Fear Factor, Conviction, Teachers, Heist, Four Kings, Joey, Surface, The Book of Daniel, E-Ring, Martha Stewart Apprentice, Inconceivable, Three Wishes, The West Wing, and Will & Grace.

New:
Friday Night Lights - Based on the film, starts Kyle Chandler (Early Edition) as the coach, Connie Britton (Spin City) as the wife and lots of others as the team and various related secondary characters. The storyline is basically about the crap all involved go through to get to the state football championship in a town where football is all that really matters. If anything like the film, and its director and writer Peter Berg, is involved, this might be the hit new drama of the season.

Heroes - Similar to the 4400 and comic Rising Stars, it focues on the lives of people made extraordinary during a eclipse that somehow gives them abilities. Cast includes Adrian Pasdar (Profit) and Ali Larter (Final Destination). This one could be the next Surface or Invasion. In other words, excellent idea that could be handled horribly. If they are smart they will come out of the gate running and then throttle back once they establish themselves. To many make the mistake of assuming they will be around for 8 or 9 years so hold to many cards to their chest.

Kidnapped - Mix Without a Trace and 24 or Murder One together and you get this series that tracks the investigation into the kidnapping of a rich kid. Cast includes Delroy Lindo and Dana Delany. Overall the cast looks good (not a fan of Jermey Sisto though), have to sample it before deciding. Has potential to be a boring disaster.

Studio 60 On the Sunset Strip - From Aaron Sorkin and Thomas Schlamme (of West Wing when it was good), its about the behind the scenes crap that occurs during the making of a weekly late-night comedy show (think SNL or Mad). The cast includes Amanda Peet, Matthew Perry and many others. Oddly enough, its a drama about a comedy show. I would have huge doubts but Sports Night proved that if a show is well written with a fine cast, you can get gold out of pretty much any work setting. Either way, I am there for its debut.

The Black Donnellys - From Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco who brougth us the movie Crash. Its a mid-season replacement show about a crime drama that follows the exploits of a group of brothers dealing with organized crime in New York City. Might be good, but when I read "organized crime" my interest meter goes right to zero. The title doesn't help.

Raines - Another mid-season replacement. this one from Grapham Yost (Band of Brothers) and Frank Barabont (Shawshank Redemption) and stars Jeff Goldblum (lots of stuff). Since Jeff is in it, you know its not going to quite follow the police drama conventions. Its a mix of Monk and Medium where the hero Raines can have conversations with dead crime victims to solve their crimes. Since the police don't like the crazy, much conflict insues while doing the crime solving. Cast includes Linda Park (Enterprise and Nicole Sullivan (MadTV). I like the cast, interesting concept if handled well. Worth a whirl.

20 Good Years - Comedy about two people that realize that one day they could die so hilarity ensues. Starts John Mason (Third Rock from the Sun) and Jeffrey Tambor (Arrested Development). Its basically the Odd Couple meets death. Whatever, I am not intersted.

30 Rock - Another behind the scenes of a late night variety show. Only this one is a comedy and is produced and stars SNL queen Tina Fey. She plays the head writer, deals with the network president and other eccentric folk that try to interfere with her job. The cast will make or break this show. Tina Fey is a likeable sexy women who knows how to do her thing very well. Its the rest of the cast that could be a problem, especially if they overdue it to much which could be a danger with Alec Baldwin and Tracy Morgan as part fo the cast.

Andy Barker, P.I. - Midseason replacement that stars Andy Richter (Conan O'Brien) who plays a CPA who becomes a PI after a mistaken identity error. Hilarity ensues as he answers to the new calling. Andy Ricter is the funny man who has usually found the show but not the audience or network support he needs to thrive. Chances are the show will be good, but doesn't mean it will survive.

The Singles Table - Midseason comedy replacement about a group of single strangers that meet at a wedding and become good friends. Basically its "How I Met Your Mother" with a different cast. Doesn't mean it can't be good, but a copy is rarely as good.

The schedule:
New shows in caps (except for ER)
MONDAY
8-9 p.m. "Deal or No Deal"
9-10 p.m. "HEROES"
10-11 p.m. "Me-dium"

TUESDAY
8-9 p.m. "FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS"
9-10 p.m. "KIDNAPPED"
10-11 p.m. "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit"

WEDNESDAY
8-9 p.m. "The Biggest Loser"
9-9:30 p.m. "20 GOOD YEARS"
9:30-10 p.m. "30 ROCK"
10-11 p.m. "Law & Order"

THURSDAY
8-8:30 p.m. "My Name Is Earl" (new time)
8:30-9 p.m. "The Office" (new time)
9-10 p.m. "STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP"
10-11 p.m. "ER"/("THE BLACK DONNELLYS" in January 2007)

FRIDAY
8-9 p.m. "Deal or No Deal"
9-10 p.m. "Las Vegas"
10-11 p.m. "Law & Order: Criminal Intent""Law & Order: Criminal Intent" (new day and time)

SATURDAY
8-9 p.m. "Dateline Saturday"
9-11 p.m. Drama Series Encores

SUNDAY
7-8 p.m. "FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA"
8-11 p.m. "SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL"

MID-SEASON
Post NFL on Sundays:
"America's Got Talent" (8-9 p.m.)
"The Apprentice" (9-10 p.m.)
"Raines" (10-11 p.m.)
"The Singles Table"
"Andy Barker, P.I."
"Crossing Jordan"
"Scrubs"

Da Vinci Code Google contest Finalist

The Google The Da Vinci Code Quest is a movie contest tie in that has some pretty nifty prizes including a trip to New York, Rome, London, and Paris. Its made up of several rounds, the first of which was to be the first 10000 the complete the 24 part contest. These 10,000 then receive via mail a Cryptex inside of which is the link to go to for the final round. The final round is to complete a 5 part contest is fastest cumulative time. The fastest wins the grand prize.

Usually notification was supposed be via email. Oddly enough, I actually got the Cryptex via snail mail before getting the notification. Even though unlikely to win the grand prize, I have to admit I am pleased at winning the cryptex. Its a pretty nifty device that is better constructed then I would have thought for an online contest. Instead of being made completely of plastic its made of a metal alloy with the keys being the only plastic part. It feels quite sturdy in the hand, maybe wieghts 1 - 2 pounds. Nice details on the outside edges. Basically a nice little consolation prize.

Once you open the Cryptex inside is a little tiny note that says:
Congratulations, you have proven worthy of the Da Vinci Code Quest on Google, visit www.Google.com/---- to see if your journey continues."

If go to the site you then get this picture:

Justice League Series Finale

It began September 5 1992 with Batman: The Animated Series. It now ends on May 13, 2005 one of the greatest reigns of quality series cartoons in television history with the series finale of Justice League Unlimited.

In this period we had Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond, Justice League and finally Justice League Unlimited. This 13 year period of cartoons has re-defined comics and the DC universe for a generation. Its influence is felt throughout cartoons and the comics. When future cartoons are made, the benchmark all will be compared to will always be this series of amazing work.

Today, at 10:30pm the curtain call on the final episode of Justice League, "Destroyer." A fine example of excellence and a sign of what shall be greatly missed as 13 years of storytelling simply wasn't enough.

Some moments of note in "Destroyer":
- the world wide butt whupping
- Superman v Daily Planet globe
- "Doesn't look like it quite made escape velocity."
- Superman v Darkseid
- return of Martian Manhunter
- Batman v Darkseid
- "Excellent strategy."
- "...what we have here is a rare opportunity for me to cut loose..."
- "...I had to go get my power suit."
- "...five minute headstart."
- "These are the end times."

"And the adventure continues."

E3 '06: Final Thoughts

E3 is over. The next-gen consoles have been introduced. The controllers displayed, games demoed. The console wars are going to begin in earnest November 2006. The winner will take years to decide but at the end of the day, the consumer wins no matter what.

Microsoft 360 has 6 months to lock down a stranglehold on the industry and grow in Japan which has been reluctant to embrace the technology. They have shown with their upcoming library, including Grand Theft Auto 4, Halo 4 and Gears of War, along with growing accessories of cameras etc that they have every intent to take advantage of the breathing room. Thanks to the quiet of Nintendo on price and the bombshell from Sony, sales will likely increase now that the reluctant know what is coming. Despite this lead-in, Microsoft does have some disadvanges to overcome including a still lingering rumors of the consoles unrealiability, costs of games, and small library. For them the graphics are king..but it may not be enough.

Nintendo finally introduced the Wii. The name is silly but its potential is not. The Wiimote has shown a great potential in gaming and could start a new era in creativity for the console market that has been pretty dry for years lost in the deluge of shoot-em-up and beat-em-ups. Nintendo is also assembling launch titles second to none with a new Mario, Zelda, Smash Bros, and Metroid games. They are not slacking in the handheld market with the upcoming release of DS Lite. To support this "new" system they have also added the US premier of Final Fantasy III, new Mario related games, Castlevania, and many other titles. As the Wii and the DS show, you want innovation and imaginiation you go to Nintendo. However, the sacrifice is graphics. The Wii is clearly inferior to Sony and MS offerings and are clearly hoping that the Wiimote, virtual library and price will overcome that glaring shortcoming to consumers. Nintendo created a momemtum at E3 that it didn't have before but may lose it if it continues its history of missing launch dats on key games and the price isn't nearly the bargain they say it is.

For Sony, E3 was a disaster. It was supposed to be the coming out party. A celebration of the next leap in technology, a repeat of the reception they recieved when first introduced the PS2. Instead it became a defensive battle of trying to justify a $600 console with a old-style remote that blantently steals from Nintendo's ideas. Working for the PS3 though is its clearly gorgeous graphic capabilities that just barly edge out the 360 and stomps all over the Wii in ability, and if Blu-Ray is embraced like Sony hopes, it could become the pricing steal they claim it is. Also helping in its war is its library, with Final Fantasy XIII and Metal Gear Solid 4. The PSP continues to grow, especially with a PS One emulator being added to allow for classic games to be played on the handheld. However, Sony still hasn't quite figured out the "portable" concept as many of the games seem to be indirect ports of existing PS2 franchises. Really though, Sony is buried in a ditch it wasn't aware existed. The announced library is small and barely functional. Its huge games, FF and MGS are notorious for taking years to develop and likely will not see the light of day until a year + after launch. The price, regardless of the bells and whistles will drive consumers away. Long story short, for Sony to overcome all these stumbles, it will have to deliver and deliver big on everything promised at E3.

The video game market is a billion dollar industry, and while all three consoles can co-exist together and make oodles of money, being King of the hill is always the goal. This fight will be long and bloody and will take at least a year before a leader emerges.

E3 '06: Little bit more

Just a few more bits from E3. Nothing of note really, just some stuff that grabbed my attention.

- Castlevania: Portait of Ruin for DS - Next in the successful line and rumors are its pretty good.
- Virtua Fighter 5 for PS3 - Another system, another sequel.
- 360 gear - More rumors and pricing for 360 gear including wireles gaming recieve, headset and faceplates.

Finally in regards to PS3 pricing, Sony chief Ken Kutaragi believes the system is "probably too cheap." Realistically, considering the system is basically a graphics dedicated computer system in power, memory, abilities etc, hes not wrong. When just compare it to the iPod, its a great deal. We just like our systems cheaper since feeding the beast in games more then makes up the difference.

E3 '06: More Game Impressions

Another day of E3 and more impressions and annoucements of games. The big announcement of the day came from Nintendo, which announced a new Super Smash Bros. for the Wii. When the GameCube was launched way back when Smash Bros was a launch title that got rave reviews.

Other games of note:
- Super Paper Mario for GameCube - Some screenshot and info. Looks pretty good.
- Capcom Classics Mini Mix for GBA - HAs Mighty Final Fight, Bionic Commando, and Strider from the NES era.
- Gears of War for 360 - Slick looking game that make take the reign of top shooter from Halo.
- Virtual Console for Wii - Little bit with the interface for all older systems emulation software. No prices announced to download and play the clasics.
- Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass for Nintendo DS - Graphics of the Wind Waker combined with the stylus to control Link. I hope it changes so the stylus helps link but controlling him that way will get tiresome fast based on expericence with Mario 64.
- Wii-mote - Little write up on the pros and cons. Basically it will allow of innovative games but has a little curve. Like the DS with the touchpad, I get the feeling companies will try to force the using the controller in ways it doesn't have be done. In other words just because you can build motion sensitive things into the game doesn't mean you have to do it.
- Bomberland for Wii - Apparently bunch of mini-games rather then the usual blow em all up of previous games. To early in development to know for sure.
- Guitar Hero II for PS2 - Same as before but with co-op mode and more music.
- Justice League Heroes for XBox and PS2 - With JLU leaving the airwaves after this Saturday (seen the ep, drool worthy goodness), can get your fix with this button masher, beat em up, playing as different members of the Justice League.
- World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade for the PC and MAC - New lands, new racces, usual add-ons any MMORPG usual covers.

Click here for all of joystiq.com's game impressions across various platforms. Also, a report on the booth babes and some old style arcade units.

E3 '06: Sony under Attack

Sony annoucned the new and power of the PS3, it was probably expecting much pats on the back, a bevy of celebration and a glut of consumers that can't wait to get hold of its next gen system. Instead, its apparently having to defend its two tier pricing plan and the cost of the device. Even developers are getting into the mix with Ubisoft Executive Clint Hocking not being particularily pleased with the the "me too" motion control controller that was introduced at E3. Even EA was caught off guard, unawaare of the development of the controller.

Most of the criticsm when all said and done will focus on the price tag of the PS3. It turns out that the difference between the $500 and $600 dollar system isn't just the size of the hard drive. The price difference also comes with certain bells and whistles left out. Turns out if you want to "save" $100 dollars you are giving up not only 40GB of storage but lose WiFi connectivity, memory card reader, and HDMI output. If don't have a high def or never plan to get a high def, that last bit is most likely not important. Leaving it out when annoucning the system though is a little annoying and makes you wonder what other tidbits haven't been disclosed.

Another problem is with Sony's full support of Blu-Ray format which tends to be more expensive and is part of the blame for the overall cost of the system. This is in contant to DVD-HD that Microsoft supports.

Finally, the last complaint is concern over what will be the launch titles? The better the launch titles the better the launch. Nintendo has already annoucned a new Super Mario Bros, Zelda, Metroid and other A-list titles for launch. Knowing Nintendo, not even 1/10th of the proposed launch will be released as planned. Regardless, at least you know the gameplan of Nintendo. Sony on the other hand apparently doesn't yet know what it will release. Based on a report at IGN, Sony doesn't have many titles even close to completion and if they suddenly rush to make launch date, the quality will be effected. You have to many bad quality games at launch and that could effect long term sales ot overcome that inital bad impression.

Suffice it to say, Sony has a bigger hill to climb then they probably initially thought as the 360 and potential of the Wii is stealing all their thunder.

NSA Secret Phone Records Database and Signing Notes

USA Today has released a report that with the NSA is collecting the phone records of tens of millions of Americans that probably represents billions of call. The data has been collected since 9/11 from the big three - AT&T, Verizon, and Bellsouth (soon to be AT&T). These records include businesses, government offices and individuals not suspected of anything. The Bush Administration says they are within the law. Members of congress are less then pleased with Arlen Specter, R-PA calling for a congressional hearing. CLick here for a mini Q&A about the records collecting.

Wow, Bush just keeps setting in it over and over again. I am starting to think he is aiming for a new record in low approval. Many may claim that the records are irrelevant, after its the same records your cell carrier may send you every month with the bill. You know, what numbers you called, when and for how long. Of course, most neglect to mention that these records alone, when cross referenced with the names attached to those numbers (and you can't tell me the CIA isn't doing that), can tell lots about your day to day habits and living style. Long story short, the information is a gateway that violates the privacy regardless if the conversation itself is being recorded or not.

Its also telling that unlike the illegal tapping controversy, the republicans and democrats seem to be equally appalled about this one. Clearly they where not aware it was going on. I am willing to bet that other then yes-man Gonzalez, almost no one in the DoJ are aware of what was going on. Its strikes me as strange that Bush can claim its legal, but seems to go out of his way to avoid those questions of legality. This constant violation of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, while claiming to protect is why there is a seperation of powers.

Speaking of seperation of powers, funny thing about that. Apparently Bush has decided that he is a one man Supreme Court. Bush has claimed that he can ignore more then 750 laws he signed into law during his administration if he believes it voilates the Constituion. Irony aside considering his history, that role is exclusive to the Supreme Court. Bush apparently blieves he can ignore miltary regulations, affirmative action provisions, and other safeguards and protections.

The way Bush has done this is "signing notes" he added to nearly every bill he signs instead of vetoing the bill. Presidents have done this for years but only in an occasional fashion, not with the habitually habit of Bush. It could turn out his little scribbles have no meaning other then historical, but that of course is the problem. Do they have meaning? If so how much? How does this impact the power of the president? How does it impact the inacting and enforcing of the law? Could it be used as a legal precident in other matters? There in lies the problems, all the unanswered questions that could confuse or void the intent of the law Bush signed. Basically another mess to add to the already heaping pile.

E3 '06: Games

Lots of games info now flowing out of E3 now that the name console presentations are done. The highlights that interest me anyway:

- 23 new DS games announced.
- Super Paper Mario for GameCube - Peach and Bowser now playable. Trailer here. Screenshots here.
- Star Fox for the DS - Apparently the touch pad is used to draw routes for teammates to take and attack from. So a pseudo-computer based co-op play.
- Sonic Wild Fire for Wii - Apparently very fast and potentially a hit
- Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess for the Wii - Innovative use of the Wi-mote could make this a new landmark in the Zelda series.
- Golden Axe for PS3 and 360 - The return of the 8-bit title for the next gen consoles. Probably will be the usual beat em up with purty new graphics.
- God of War 2 for the PS2 - The PS2 is not dead yet and this title proves it.
- Super Mario Galaxy for the Wii - Mix Super Mario 64 style play, big round globes, usual Mario fun and the Wii-mote for thie probably must have title.
- Metroid Prime 3: Corruption - Just like the other Prime titles only now have the Wii-mote to make aiming and shooting funner.
- Blue Dragon for the 360 - Next gen console plus dragons. Has to be at least interesting.
- Metal Gear Solid 4 for PS3 - Click link for little info about title and Silent Hill PSP title.

Zapper Attachment for Wii - Basically makes the Wii-mote look like a zapper gun, probably very useful for Metroid Prime 3 Hunters.

E3 '06: Microsoft Press Conference

Microsoft did its presentation also today. It announced its upcoming game slate, new accessories for the 360 and basically a desire to take advantage of the lead that Nintendo and Sony have granted.

Highlights:
- XBox Live arcade apparently has some arcade games of yesteryears and has added Lumines Live to the list.
- 2nd wave titles: Games of War, Halo 3, Prey, Superman Returns, 99 Nights, Fables 2, Dead or Alive XTreme 2, and Grand Theft Auto IV (release 10/16/07) and usual EA sports games.
- New accessories: wireless wheel controller, wireless headset, XBox Live Vision Camera and HD DVD player.
- Rockstar will produce exclusive episodic content for XBox.
- Also announced some games will be cross platformed for the PC and apparently the graphically speaking, the different between console and PC is starting to evaporate.
- Live Anywhere - Apparently some method to provide cross-platform possibilities where your progress, stats, gameplay etc is shared. Example would be playing a game on the 360 and then continue playing the game on your cell. Its based upon Vista and so more details are irrelevent until 2007.

The conference notes are here.

E3 '06: Nintendo Press Conference

Nintendo announced their slate of Wii and DS things for the upcoming year. The goal is to stroke the fires of interests and passion. Based on what I am reading, I have more then a little concern that this might just be Nintendo's last hurrah in the console market. I pray I am wrong.

The highlights:
- Release date is Q4 2006, ie November or December.
- Price: Didn't say. Which either means its high and they don't want to risk losing any momentum at the start of E3, or they think they can make the price cheaper. Hopefully the latter.
- Launch games: Metroid Prime 3, Dragon Quest Swords, Super Mario Galaxy, Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and many more - Considering Nintendo's history on release dates, believe it only when you see it.
- Graphics don't compete with PS3 and 360
- Controller has built-in speaker and rumble
- Final Fantasy III, Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass and Yoshi 2 is coming for DS - not sure but think this would be the first time FFIII has been stateside.
- If don't like the Wii-mote then there is also the classic controller which looks like a modified version of the Super NES controller with an iPod feel. See above.

Blow by blow of the conference is here.
Hands On with Wii - Basically fun with a small learning curve.

Beatles Lose Apple Fight but War continues

The Beatles lost round 1 of a court case against Apple Computers for copyright enfringment. Its turns out that the Beatles library is owned by a company called Apple Corp, which is owned by the Beatles. Got that? Anyway, since Apple Computers is now kindof sorta in the music business, the Beatles feel infringed upon. Afterall, don't you think Apple Corp when you think Beatles?

The judge basically said your off your rocker, pay Apple Computers courts costs and be on your merry way. Of course the Beatles don't like this answer and will appeal. Not sure what the goal is but bet its trying to get a piece of the iTunes pie. Greed will out and all that.

Random computer link:
Top 10 XP Tips
Fresh Devices

E3 '06: Sony Press Conference

Sony has just finished their pre-show conference for E3 announcing some of the games and plans for the Playstation 3. The main highlights:

- Playstation 3 prices 20gig is $500 and 60gig is $600
- release date is around november 17 in the US, Nov 11th in Japan.
- Controller is bluetooth wireless and supports motion sensing technology in the usual Duel Shock controller package.
- Final Fantasy XIII is coming for PS3 (most likely sometime late 2007)
- games are the usual shoot em up, beat em up, drive and play sports variety. IE PS's stock and trade.
- the PSP will have an emulator added so can download and play orginial playstation games (the cost of a game was unspecified). PSP future updates will include RSS video, Flash and VoIP.


Other E3 rumor suggests that Nintendo Wii is going to be $250 and also released in November. Basically XBox has about 6 months to build as strong a stranglehold in the industry it can (and will probably fail to do). Blow by blow of the conference with some screenshots here.

E3 Begins.

E3, the Electronic Entertainment Expo has begun. The expo is basically the place well all the video game companies and announce their new toys and titles for the next year.

Since this is the year of the next gen console, the news should be big with Sony and Nintendo finally giving the public the details they need when deciding their next-gen purchase.

The news will be fast and furious but below are a few good sites to get your news.
Engadget
Joystiq
GameSpot
GameDaily
Gaming-Age
E3 Insider

A little new to wet the appetite.
Square Enix has announced that Final Fantasy XIII will be lease for the Playstation 3. Final Fantasy: ring of Fates is coming for the DS and Final Fantasy: Crystal Bearers for the Wii. The last two titles are based off of the Crystal Chronicles FF franchise. Full press conference here.

Bush at 31% approval

New week, new poll, new low. Maybe time for new policies and less yes-men? The announced nomination for new CIA chief, General Michael Hayden, is not a step in the right direction.

2006 Summer Movie Predictions

Time to guess what will make moolah this summer and what will not. These are all guesses and if I turn out to be right...I claim the hard work and dedication to achieve accuracy. Money is domestic only not overseas. Money makers are not so much "greatest weekend ever!!!" and "#1 comedy/drama on a fourth sunday in May!" and more of a cost (movie + advertisement) - sells = moolah type of deal.

The money makers, most of which are gimme's.
- Superman (350 million) - The ticket of the summer. Everyone and their mother will go see this. Word of mouth and repeat sells will drive this movie into the number movie of the summer easy. I expect a 110 million opening weekend.
- X-Men: The Last Stand (250 million) - This will be the other ticket of the summer and get lots o repeat business, good for the money machine.
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (225 million) - Its like printing money.
- The Da Vinci Code (215 million) - Based on huge book, Tom Hanks, and looks interesting as heck. Don't see much repeat business though.
- Cars (180 million) - Its going to be considered a miss by Pixar standards. I don't think it will have the repeat buys and solid word of mouth that previous Pixar films had.
- Click (150 million) - Its creative looking, it might actually have heart, the teaser gives the entire story away and its has Kate Beckinsale looking hotterific.
- Over The Hedge (135 million) - Looks cute as heck and might even entertain better then the Wild did.

Break-even (make enough of its money back to not be a complete failure)
- Mission Impossible 3 (125 million) - Tom Cruise will hurt it but not as much as people think, DVDs though is where this will get back its cost.
- Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (100 million) - Its fast and the furious, high on action, low on personality, story, and special effects.
- Talladega Nights (80 million) - "Made by the team of Weatherman" should be a red flag about how mcuh this movie will suck. The NASCAR crowd will see it opening weekend, and thats about it.
- Snakes on a Plane (75 million) - Everyone says sleeper hit. I say break-even. Even with the man Samuel L Jackson and a bevy of internet support, I think it will be the Serenity of 2006.
- Strangers with Candy (35 million) - Based on a comedy central show about a creepy ugly women. Its a cheap movie so its doesn't take much to break even.
- Clerk II (35 million) - Technically a failure but because its cheap to make, its would take a really poor showing to actually loose money. Their are enough View-Askewverse fans to keep it even.

The money loosers.- Poseidon (75 million) - Retread of a tired story that was recently horrible done on TV
- Miami Vice (90 million) - Based on the slick 80s show and probably re-imagined for the egos of Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx. Lots of things go boom and you will take a snooze.
- My Super Ex-Girlfriend (65 million) - Superhero and love never mixes well. With Uma "depends on lightning to look good" Thurman, there really isn't a hook to make this movie rise above the rest of the movie noise.
- The Break-Up (60 million) - Vince Vaugn does his thing and does it well, but Jennifer Aniston for all her sex appear isn't nearly as good as she and Hollywood thinks she is. Get a second coming on DVD though.
- A Scanner Darkly (60 million) - Curious looking film that will only get sells from comic fans, the curious and the bored.
- World Trade Center (55 million) - United 93 shows that US just isn't ready for 9/11 films. That combines with the always touchy and conspiracy prone Oliver Stone, and many will take a pass.
- The Omen (50 million) - Frankly its being sold horribly and interest seems to be in the non-existant range. Plus its the Omen, a crappy movie the first time it was made and in today's horror = gore or atmosphere but no story, well the signs are bad.
- DOA: Dead or Alive (50 million) - Based on a video game and the track record or those is basically 0 for 1000.
- The Devil Wears Prada (45 million) - One of those Wha? movies for everyone but those that read the book. The cast will get some feet in the door and thats about it.
- Nacho Libre (40 million) - Jack Black may be in it but a stinker is a stinker. This isn't the sleeper many are predicting.
- Garfield's A Tale of Two Kitties (20 million) - The first stunk, this will stink worse. But the goal is just to make some moolah in theatres to help make even more moolah on DVD. The producers will be pleased with any ticket sells.

The suprises.
- Monster House (150 million) - I don't think this movie is on most people's radar but by the time the summer is done most people will have found out about this film and be suprised.
- Just My Luck (80 million) - Lindsay Lohen looking hot and back in her comfort zone. Simple cheap movie that will get the tweens in the seats.


Not to many suprises this year but after the poor showing in theatres last years, studios are going to play it safe as much as possible. The rest is up to the viewing public. Don't feel sad though, with DVD sales and the growing overseas market, even a "failure" can still be profitable (assuming the studios didn't screw themselves on backend points with the stars.)

4th Amendment and General Hayden

Possible new CIA head is General Hayden. He is a huge fan of the wiretap policy of the administration...and apparently doesn't know what the fourth amendment says.

Landay: "...the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution specifies that you must have probable cause to violate an American's right against unreasonable searches and seizures..."

Gen. Hayden: "No, actually - the Fourth Amendment actually protects all of us against unreasonable search and seizure."

Landay: "But the --"

Gen. Hayden: "That's what it says."

Landay: "The legal measure is probable cause, it says."

Gen. Hayden: "The Amendment says: unreasonable search and seizure."

Landay: "But does it not say 'probable cause'?"

Gen. Hayden [exasperated, scowling]: "No! The Amendment says unreasonable search and seizure."

Landay: "The legal standard is probable cause, General -- "

Gen. Hayden [indignant]: "Just to be very clear ... mmkay... and believe me, if there's any Amendment to the Constitution that employees of the National Security Agency are familiar with, it's the Fourth. Alright? And it is a reasonableness standard in the Fourth Amendment. The constitutional standard is 'reasonable'" ( h/t Dale)

What the fourth says:
To quote the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States in its entirety, the one the general and the NSA folks are so familiar with and know is about reasonableness and not about probable cause, quote, "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."

Sadly, because of the cowardice of the republican party, the guy would pass easily. On bright side, at least his background indicates he might actually have the background to do the job but that doesn't mean he deserves the postion.

Picture from cnn.com

McIntrye in the Morning Apologizes

Something pretty amazing has occured in this age of follow your party no matter what act of stupidity or damage it does. A republican apolgizes. Doug McIntyre, radio host on Talk Radio 790 KABC in New York (i think) apolgizes for voting for Bush in 2000. Basically he has seen the light and in his apology lists all the damage that Bush has done. If look at the line-up on KABC, its clearly a conservative station so this is actually pretty amazing. Make no mistake though, he hold democrats to the fire for their total lack of leadership and inability to get their act together.

The essay is worth reading and highly recommend.

Some highlights:

But in the months and years since shock and awe I have been shocked repeatedly by a consistent litany of excuses, alibis, double-talk, inaccuracies, bogus predictions, and flat out lies. I have watched as the President and his administration changed the goals, redefined the reasons for going into Iraq, and fumbled the good will of the world and the focus necessary to catch the real killers of September 11th.

I have watched the President say the commanders on the ground will make the battlefield decisions, and the war won’t be run from Washington. Yet, politics has consistently determined what the troops can and can’t do on the ground and any commander who did not go along with the administration was sacked, and in some cases, maligned.

Katrina, Harriet Myers, The Dubai Port Deal, skyrocketing gas prices, shrinking wages for working people, staggering debt, astronomical foreign debt, outsourcing, open borders, contempt for the opinion of the American people, the war on science, media manipulation, faith based initives, a cavalier attitude toward fundamental freedoms-- this President has run the most arrogant and out-of-touch administration in my lifetime, perhaps, in any American’s lifetime.

Tragically, the Democrats have allowed crackpots, leftists and demagogic cowards to snipe from the sidelines while taking no responsibility for anything.

Its sad, with all the mistakes, corruption and cronyism of the Bush and Republican era, this is prime opportunity for Democrats to step up to the plate. Instead they cower in the dugout.

Porter Goss, CIA Chief Resign

After only a year and a half on the job, Porter Goss resigned, effective immediatly, as the CIA chief. Not much to say except something stinks to high hell about this. TalkingPointsMemo suggests it has something to do with "HookerGate" that is currently being investigated. Apparently Hookergate is contracters using hookers and parties over at Watergate to get defense contractors. You know basically what everyone assumes is occuring but noone talks about. Since Republicans are the only ones worth wining and dining, its can't be good for the dogpile of problems they are already dealing with. Not a dig, but you are not going to wine and dine a democrat that can barely scratch his ass without permission from a republican. This should be a story worth watching once the mainstream media gets wind, usually about 3 days behind the online media nowadays.

DS Lite Release: June 11th for $129.99

Nintendo has finally confirmed a release date for the Nintendo DS Lite in North America. It arrives in white, for existing prices of $129.99. This probably means that Nintendo will phase out the production of the older version since the prices are identical. There are other colors available in Japan, so if want some variety, history shows wait about three months.

Un-edited Star Wars Trilogy on DVD

Lucasfilms has announced that for a limited time only, they will release the unaltered, pre-1997 versions of Star Wars on DVD from September 12th to December 31st. Each movie will be a two disc set containing the orginial film and the new editions developed in the 2004.

Good news, except for the fact I have a set of the 2004 series that will quickly become redundant. Really wish the studios would get this right the first time because I am starting to stop buying DVDs on the assumption the "new and improved" version will get released at a later date. Crap like this only re-enforces the notion.

Superman Returns Trailer

Looks good. Lex may be a little over the top. Hopefully the bits don't represent the whole. Everyone looks to young considering its playing off Superman I and II mythology. Not saying 20 years older, but five years older as established by the movie plot. Instead it looks like every lost about 10 years. Oh well. Minor quibbles. Main thing is the look and the flying looking sweet.

Apple linky.

Stephen Colbert at White House Correspondents Dinner

Stephen Colbert of Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report" was a guest speakers at Saturday's White House Correspondents Dinner. The dinner is basically a way for the rich and powerful politicians to rub elbows with the rich and famous and the press.

The presentation is usually mostly humorous, a kind of tepid roast of the sitting President. This year Bush did a pretty funny bit using a person impersonating him as his inner thoughts. The real moment of the show was at the end though.

Stephen Colbert basically ripped the President and the press corp a new one with his jokes. The move was simply ballsy and amazing to view. I still can't believe he did that. Historically the comedian's job is to cow tow to his audience, a little gotcha humor but mostly keep it safe. Not Colbert. He was noone near safe. He held very little back.

"Listen, let's review the rules. Here's how it works: the president makes decisions. He's the decider. The press secretary announces those decisions, and you people of the press type those decisions down. Make, announce, type. Put them through a spell check and go home. Get to know your family again. Make love to your wife. Write that novel you got kicking around in your head. You know, the one about the intrepid Washington reporter with the courage to stand up to the administration. You know -- fiction." That is just one example of many scathing jokes that was met with tepid responses from the audience. No suprise, the press is notoriousily thin skinned when the spotlight of imcompetence or humor is shined on them.

An interesting aspect of this whole thing is that the press then chose to report very little about this event. From reading press reports you almost wouldn't even be aware that Colbert was the comedic guest of the event. Its like they want to pretend he didn't attend. This of course is the press doing what they do best, the omission of facts. Can't say you lied if you didn't report what occured.

The blogosphere of course can't be fooled. What they will not report, the bloggers of the will happily do for them. Below is a few links including video. Especially note how much you may laugh and how its the opposite of how the audience responded. Sadly I think Colbert will take a hit as the press's usually response to insult is to deny access, which sound vaguely familiar doesn't it?

YouTube.com videos: part 1, part 2, part 3
C-Span's entire video of event is here.
ABCNew.com video, starts with the President's bit, actually worth watching is here.
Transcript is here.

Blogs and other links about the event:
Dan Froomlin, ABCNews
Whiskey Bar
MediaBistro
Crooks and Liars
PublicEye
Editor & Publisher

www.thankyoustephencolbert.org - Pass along your thank you for his routine.

Microsoft loses $32 billion in one day

Microsoft's market value took a $32 billion nose dive Friday. You may thing yes! Did they lose money because of bad products? Bad management? Crappy sales? Profits not meet expectations? Nope, sadly none are the reasons.

According to the Seattle Times:

Microsoft's stock closed at $24.15, down $3.10 a share, or 11.4 percent, after the Redmond software company indicated plans Thursday to invest more in its businesses — including a battle for the Internet with Google and Yahoo! — at the expense of higher short-term profits.

Basically Microsoft took this hit because they decided to invest to gain profits in the long term rather then the short term. God forbid they think about the future beyond the next quarter. This is a solid example why US businesses are falling apart. Microsoft can take this hit, but what about companies that can't? This is why layoffs are always the quick temp fix. Why canceling projects, short term ideas are employed. The alternative is to risk losing more value in the market then the action is worth. Such a "risk" could then doom a company. This is the sad state of US business policies. Our national ADD and impatience for results now rather then later. This is why we are losing ground to China and India and why are days as a "superpower" are going to end. To be punished for thinking long term is hubris beyond all repair and the nation will pay for it.

Nintendo Revolution Now Named Wii

Nintendo announced today the official name of its next gen console. Its now called the Wii, pronouced like "we" or "whee". The name Revolution was also a code name for the project but most, including me, assumed that would become its final name as thats been the tendancy in the past. Plus its good name. The online sites have been having a field day with the name change announcement. Nintendo stance is the name reflects the fun and to emphasis "that the console is for everyone."

My initial reaction was the sneer. After much thought, my reaction is to ask "why?". My final reaction is to simply shake my head in confusion and be saddened by this PR blunder that Nintendo isn't even aware of yet. Can you imagine going into a store and asking "Got any Wii games in?" I just feel stupid thinking about it.

E3 starts May ninth I think. That will tell us if "Wii" will be worth buying, crappy name or not.

United 93

As the name suggests, this movie is about a telling of events of United Airlines Flight 93 that crashed in Pennsylvania during the horrible events of September 11, 2001. The movie begins with the people boarding the flight and ends...well the only way such a story can end.

This was a hard movie to get through. Its actually painful to watch. You know what going to happen, and so you wait for each hammer to fall with increasing tension and dread. This does not mean the movie is bad. It just means the story is told that well that even though you know whats coming, you watch anyway. You watch this horror unfold almost all over again and it hurts.

The agenda of this movie can be the agenda you choose to see and insert into it. Really though. the only agenda this movie has is to tell a story of events on United 93 with the other events of 9/11 playing into it since they are directily tied together. The director and writer, Paul Greengrass weaves this story together very well with events on the ground with events in the air.

When this movie ended, literally more then half the audience was crying and the other half was on the verge. This movies hurts to watch, but it is worth seeing.

Tony Snow new White House Press Secretary

The White House announced today that Tony Snow will be the new press secretary, replacing Scott McClellan. Give him credit but Snow is sacrifing his radio talk show and his Fox News TV show to take the job. It does provide excellent training ground in doing the professional spin that the job requires. Sadly though this is just another case of Bush trading yes-men. To be fair, being WH spokesman, yes-man is job requirement.

A Little Political Humor

Just a touch of humor to bring a smile (or frown) to your face.

Air Force One Graffiti - A video of Air Force One being tagged with statement "Still Free". Article about it here.

Pizza Palace - A look at the ordering pizza in the year 2010.

McClellan retires, Bush at 33% approval

Despite a so-so successful visit from China prime minister, Bush just can't seem to catch a break. Scott McClellan, dissembler in chief, has decided to call it quits as Press Secretary. Its so bad even FoxNews.com of all places is reporting on the new low in approval rating for Bush. He now sits at 33%. Finally people are waking up to the consistent failure that is Bush. Took em long enough.

Gas $75 a barrel, $3 at the pump, but some good news

Oil hits a record high with $75 barrel for no other reason then because the oil cartels wish it so. Currently gas is $3 a gallon and will probably soon rise to about $3.20, all before the usual summer vacation markup! I am sure Bush and Cheney are quite happy right now as their stock dividends etc will be quite nice.

In the good news, if you love the iPod, like me, and use iTunes to buy music, Steve Jobs managed to hold the line and keep prices at $.99 a song. The RIAA, of course, was doing their best to raise the price to maximize profits while complaining how broke they are.

Also, JJ Abrams has apparently been tapped to direct the next Star Trek movie. Hopefully it true and not just a rumor that has spread all over the place. If don't know who he is, he is the creator of Felicity, Lost, Alias, and directed Mission Impossible III. Hopefully, this will mean the next movie will get a decent budget as probably one of the biggest obstacles has been the penny pinching. Epic space battles don't come cheap and anyone worth their salt knows that a Star Trek movie needs at least one.

Michelle Malkin crosses the line #123543

Michelle Malkin is a known media darling for the Republican party. To her, "any means necessary" is the phrase to employ when defending her Republican heroes against their critics. She worships at the alter of Bush so you can imagine her reaction to anything that is against his precious holy war in Iraq. This week in a blog posting called "SEDITIOUS SANTA CRUZ VS. AMERICA", in response to a group called Students Against War (SAW) on the Santa Cruz Campus, she decided to post the personal phone numbers of the leaders of the campus group. Of course the expected death threats followed, which is always going to occur on any decisive issue.

Even more amazing then the gall for this women to give out personal information on students is that she has the nerve to say "As for SAW, my message is this: You are responsible for your individual actions. Other individuals are responsible for theirs. Grow up and take responsibility."

This from a person that does everything to dodge responsibility for anything she has said or done, whose career is about making excuses for others not living up to their responsibilities. Even more hypocritical, you can't exactly give Michelle a call when you disagree with her statements. You think Michelle would have the balls to back up her own words with action. She takes them to task for their views and wants people to call those students, you would think she would offer up her home phone number so those of us that don't agree with her can give her our opinions.

However, we are talking about a mouthpiece of the republican parties so hypocrasy is a given.

TV network vs FCC

Finally, after be kicked around over and over and over again, the TV network have finally decided they have had enough of the high handedness of the FCC. ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox and affilates have filed notices of appeal in federal courts against the various high fines the FCC has been handing down such as $3.6 million for an episode of "Without a Trace."

The networks and affiliate groups, representing more than 800 individual stations, issued a rare joint statement Friday calling the FCC ruling "unconstitutional and inconsistent with two decades of previous FCC decisions.

"In filing these court appeals we are seeking to overturn the FCC decisions that the broadcast of fleeting, isolated — and in some cases unintentional — words rendered these programs indecent."

The networks and stations said the FCC "overstepped its authority" and acted arbitrarily in not giving the networks a clear standard for what content is objectionable.

- source: news.yahoo.com

The rules have constantly been changing, or inconsistant, and basically give the FCC the ability to voilate the 1st admendment whenever they see fit. When they see fit seems to most often occur after the Family Television Council or whatever they are called, gets started on one of their campaigns. The end result is a few people get to alter the viewing habits of the majority without anyone's say or permission.

So bravo to the networks and finally growing a pair. Tell the FCC and FTC they can shove their wanton violations of the first admendment where the sun don't shine.

South Park Censored

Wednesday, South Park aired part II of its episode codemning Family Guy, censorship and the nonsense over the images of Muhammad. I know, that not PC, but then I am not Muslim. I don't expect them to follow every tenet of, say Christianity (nor would they), I don't see why we have to follow theirs.

Anycase, the powers that be at South Park decided that it was too risky to air an image of Muhammead handing a football thing to the Peter character, since it might anger some. Never mind that the image already aired a couple of years ago for the episode "Super Best Friends" and not a peep was heard. It a pretty solid example of how people can only become offended when someone tells them they should be. Otherwise most are oblivious.

Thanks to wikipedia for the pics.

Intel Mac Benchmark Smorgabord

Macologist.com did some massive benchmarking for all the intel Macs on the market. It contains more graphs and info then probably want to know. The one thing it lacks is a comprehensive versus section for comparing a Mac to its PC counterpart. Either way might be useful info for those thinking of making the jump.

War on Easter?

Apparently there is a war going on. A war that noone knows is going on. That is hidden from view. A secret war. A war..against EASTER!?!?!?!?!?! Be afraid, be very afraid. The war could come to you!

Sounds a bit paranoid and dramatic but thank god we have Bill O'Reilly and his crazy friends to protect us. Either that or he has a new book to promote and nothing like making us problems to sell stuff. Heh the cover of his book is hilarious.

Universal Healthcare in Massachusetts

Today, Governor Mitt Romney signed into law a bill that basically provides universal healthcare to residents of Massachusetts. The theory is that it will cost about a billion a year to provide the coverage to citizens. The cost would be re-couped from the federal government and existing state spending (since have to pay for care of the poor anyway, etc.). This should be interesting to see what occurs and could prove to be the testing ground for nationwide healthcare.

However, as is often the case, I don't think many have considered unintended side effects. The first will be flight into Mass. Many people, especially the poor and the ill, will probably try to move into Mass. to get the coverage to pay for needed medicines. I am not sure what the restrictions are on residency but it will quickly become a vital piece of information to have. Another aspect is the cost. I think one billion is too low a number. Healthcare costs are growing quickly ever year and I don't think the budgets are allowing for that. Finally, the beaurcracy that will form around this will probably quickly become huge, expensive, and incredibily ineffecient, which is what happens when the powers that be put paper pushers and shreadsheet lovers in charge. When you live by numbers and die by numbers, crap is usually the result. At the end of the day, however, I hope this plan succeeds and from it comes an effective, efficient plan for nationwide coverage.

Rubber Stamp Congress video

CrooksandLiars.com has posted a hilarious video from Matt Stoller delivering a thousand plus rubber stamps to Senator Specter's office. In it he talks about what a "time-saver" it would be for the republicans to have the stamps so that Bush can protect us even more.

Video is here.

Online Free TV from ABC

ABC has announced that it is going to offer streams of its television shows including "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost" the day after they broadcast for free. Interesting twist on things since ABC was one of the first to offer its shows on iTunes for $1.99 a pop.

The catch in this case is you don't own the download (even though I am sure the tech savvy can remedy that) and you are going to be forced to watch those commercials as don't have the option to skip em. Small price to pay to have TV on demand or not having to stress missing your favorite show.

As far as how wide this will spread, that to me is debateable. The idea is sound. The business model actually exists (required to watch commercials) but will it spread. I guess it all depends on cost. The file size to serve up an hour long show is not small, nor is the storage, the servers, the bandwidth, etc (as youtube.com is discovering). Its easy to say will provide it, but a different animal to actually do it consistenly and with growing volume. I think in the short term, the networks will join the bandwagon but only in small carefully controlled doses.

As an aside, maybe the networks should consider joining together to offer their goods on youtube.com. The intrastructure and method of delivery already exists, they are thirsty for a business model, and they have a HUGE built-in audience. They could not only use the site to promote the show, but use it to create home grown homages (ie promotions) for those series in contests and the like. The best part though is no re-inventing the wheel and its probably possible to buy it outright.

Immigration protests

Apparently in mulitple locations in the US, organized protests where carried out. In Lexington, Kentucky, they waved signs that read: "We were all immigrants once," and "We are not terrorists," The Associated Press reported. Many carried Mexican flags. Basically they want the chance at a better life.

Let us dissect some of these statements which truly summarize the thing. "We were all immigrants once." This is true, but most of those immigrants became citizens through legal means. They earned it. They followed the law. Are any of them terrorists? Not likely. I also find it telling many carry the Mexican flag. This seems to confuse the issue of loyalty. The claim they want to opportunites of the US but seem to also have divided loyalties. Also, they claim this issue is for all immigrants regardless of nationality, but clearly the flags prove its really only a Mexican issue. Considering that 70% of the illegals are probably from Mexico then its no surprise.

Key thing about this whole argument though...they want this chance without having to earn through legal means. They basically are arguing that since they have broken the law for so long lets just make it legal and be done with it. There are already means in place to earn citizenship, earn the right to live and work here. The key word is earn. Actually learning English being step 1 rather then living a lifetime here unable to communicate with 90% of the countries population many claim they are loyal (while waving the Mexican flag). The millions of people ignoring it shouldn't just get carte blanche because they have gotten away with it for so long.

You want the rights and freedoms that citizenship brings. Earn it. Become a citizen. End the divided loyalies.

Bush Authorized Plame leak?

In a story spreading like wildfire on the net but mostly ignored on the television, court papers have ex-chief of staff for Chenay claim that the President himself authorized the leak on Plame. The implications of such an act would normally be devestating but since the republicans have made a science of flaunting the law, I see little happening here.

The interesting aspect of the story is that the White House is neither confirming or denying the story. One thing is telling though is that Scott McClellen did feel a need to argue that Bush can de-classify information if he wants to. McClellan said, "Because of the public debate that was going on and some of the wild accusations that were flying around at the time, we felt it was very much in the public interest that what information could be declassified be declassified, and that's exactly what we did."

Of course this doesn't answer the question of why the White House wasn't up front about that in 2003. Why allow a two year plus investigation, costing who knows how much money continue if they believes the President can do what he wants? To me the whole thing stinks to high hell. If true, the story confirms my theory that the leak had to come from the top.

McKinney Apologies`

Congresswomen McKinney was finally forced to see the light and apologize for her horrible behavior in striking an officer. She even did it on the House floor. "There should not have been any physical contact in this incident," McKinney said. "I am sorry that this misunderstanding happened at all, and I regret its escalation and I apologize." It may be too little to late as the charges are already before a grand jury. I don't think she deserves jail time but frankly she should get the same treatment any average citizen would get for doing the same thing be it a fine or jail time. Not sure what normally happens in DC on cases such as that.

XP Gaming on a Mac works

Some people have dared to experiment and have discovered that PC games work just fine on a Intel Mac. It should but since this is all new, it never hurts to be sure. What I am interested in though is performance comparisons. Hopefully soon someone will post some benchmark tests of XP systems versus various Mac systems to see who is king.

Apple official allows boot to XP

Today Apple released a beta version of "Boot Camp" that allows Microsoft XP to be installed on Apple intel based computers. The program also comes with the needed drivers for most of Apple's hardware and monitors. About the only thing not support is the remote and iSight camera. Hopefully this will be corrected with the final version of Boot Camp is released with "Leopard", the OS X upgrade.

With this development, once OS X 10.5 comes out, there is no reason to not try out the new suite of Apple products coming in the pipeline. I plan on trying out the Mac Mini.

Download the software here.

McKinney Needs Some Jail Time

It appears that the capitol police are going ahead with assault charges against US Representative McKinney. While elsewhere she would have already been tossed in jail and released on bail by now, the "stature" of the person combined with the way Washington DC justice system functions, means this case has to go before a grand jury. This is actually a colossal waste of money for a little thing, but sadly, its become necessary due to how horribly McKinney handled this whole situation.

If she had simply made a apology/non-apology that politicians are famous for, this might have gone away. Instead she immediately went for the race card. Something she has historically done, but usually with at least a little hesitation. Even when running against a black Democrat candidate, she used race to help her get votes. Habits die hard I guess.

As a result of her own behavior, she painted the police in a corner. Do nothing, they look weak, ineffective and easily pushed over. Also, McKinney probably would have forced them to fire the officer which would have severely impacted the ability for them to do their jobs as they would always wonder if the next person they stopped could cost them their job.

Finally there is a hypocrisy of the whole thing. She is a lawmaker who has made it very clear she thinks she is above the law. A security officer stopped her because he didn't recognize her. Her response is to hit him. In what world is that an appropriate response? If it had occurred to anyone else, anywhere else, we would have called them a damn fool. In McKinney's world though its the officer's fault for not memorizing her face. Why he should have to do that is beyond me. If she behaved like the adult she claims to be, the situation would have resolved itself in minutes instead of becoming this pathetic farce.

The worst part? She pretty much guaranteed herself re-election. Sadly her constituents are not the best and the brightest. They prefer flash over substance, loud over results. I say this as a former resident and result of her district. A district whose conditions and education level is abysmal and I hear little of McKinney's part in improving things.

Katie Couric moves to CBS

Katie Couric made it official that she is moving to CBS to anchor The CBS Evening News and appear on 60 Minutes beginning in September. The vocalized reason is the opportunity, history, yada-yada. The real reason is moolah with a rumored pay day of around $50 million for 5 years. Her replacement on Today? Meredith Vieira from The View.

The real question though is why should the viewing audience care? The answer of course is we shouldn't. When was the last time Couric even showed journalistic ability? When she interviewed the celeb du jour with the usual litany of softball questions? That represents 20 years of experience? The reality is a news anchor today is much different from yesteryears. Today they are simply talking heads reading from a script providing by writers and producers. It doesn't take any special skill to read a script. And don't point at 60 minutes. Those are also canned. The producers are one that does the research, interviews the people, edits the story, everything. The only thing the on air talent does is show up to film a few scenes from a script. Again, zero display of journalism.

From a business move, this might be genius but I think CBS is in for a rude awakening. The audience at the crack of dawn is much different from an audience during a setting sun.

DeLay Quits Congress

Representative Tom DeLay has finally decided to step down from Congress and not run for re-election. His reason is that since he couldn't gaurantee a win, there was no point in running. Actually logical. I think the real reason he quit is because the Republican leadership ordered him to. DeLay was the grand poobah of the Republican congress for the last five years during these times of corruption and rubber stamping. By taking him off the table, the Democrats loose a potent weapon for Congress seats and "proves" that Republicans have cleaned up. This of course is bullshit, but perception is everything during an election year. I wonder what jackass his district will send next.

Rome, GA vs Gordon Lee case dismissed

About a year and a half and $50,000 in defense attorney fees (who knows how much it cost the state), the case against comic retailer Gordon Lee was dismissed. Apparently a fundamental fact of the case, who was given "Alternative Comics #2" was incorrect. It wasn't a nine year old, but supposedly his six year old brother that was given the comic, which Rome prosecutors deemed offensive and dangerous to minors.

Two odd things about that, one is how in the world did the DA Paul Cadle, makes such a monumental error, and 2) doesn't that make it sound a little bit worse as far as a crime is concerned? Yet for some reason, instead of filing felony charges again, the DA is going to file misdemeanor charges again but with the 6 year old as the offended minor.

If I was a Rome citizen, I would be more then a little pissed that my tax payer money was being wasted on such cases.

Bull -censored- !

The FCC has rules that using the word shit and any iteration of it is no longer allowed on the airwaves it controls without a heavy fine. Besides the fact that the FCC is not an elected lawmaking body, I am not aware of the First Admendent of the Constitution allowing such behavior. Yet here we are, just accepting it as par the course.

Here is a problem with this "law." It no longer allows for the use of the word "bullshit." This oh so powerful word that allows us to easily and quickly call people on the inaccuracies and exaggerations that come from their mouths. A word that is frequently used in conjunction with our elected leaders. Basically, by saying this word is "illegal", they are squashing our political speech. Yet we accept it.

What bugs me about this whole thing though is that the FCC claims they do it because the public demands it. They base this off of the complaints they get. Complaints that time and time again have come not from the public in general but watchdog groups like Parents Television Council.

A group with agenda, a group that by definition is against anything that doesn't present a happy, god loving (really Christian god-loving) world. All it takes is one of their ilk to submit a report and the FCC can and does make decisions that effects everyone. I don't want some unknown stranger to decide what I can and cannot watch. I can make those decisions just fine thank you very much. I am sure many would agree as this TV survey apparently shows.

Read more about it over at Buzzmachine.com where Jeff Jarvis writes about it with much more skill then I can muster with "In Defense of Bullshit". His analysis of the report is here.

Studios agree to sell movies online

Seven movies studios - Warner Bros, Universal, Sony, Paramount, Fox and MGM - basically all the ones that matter, have agreed to start distributing their movies online via MovieLink and CinemaNow. The price, $10 - $30, depending on the movie. In other words, the same price as a DVD. The question you have to ask is why?

Well, one, by bypassing the ever popular iTunes, the studios retain total control over everything, and get all the profits. If go through Apple, they get a small percentage of each sell, even if a penny, thats a penny to much for the studios.

Second, Apple would try to have some control over the content and its use. Apple currently allows the music to be "yours" to do with as you see fit, wether copy it to disc, to the iPod, whatever. The movie studios only allow the movies to be copied to DVD if its a Movielink "authorized" computer, whatever that means. More then likely there would be use restrictions out the yazoo.

This method will also help the studios in their attempts to see every tom, dick and jane on the internet. Now they can go to court and say "see! we did try to provide an online alternative". Nevermind that the price is rediculous.

If anyone you know considers getting these movies from online, slap them. Seriously. Anyone that uses these sites with prices that make no attempt to compete with DVDs needs to be smacked for stupity. If go online, you are limiting what you can do. Basically you can play it on your computer..and thats about it. Those special features? If available, probably extra. Long story short, until the MPAA is serious about competing, the consumer should show them the door. This "plan" and these prices are simply insulting.

DS Like coming May 21?

New Super Mario Bros for the Nintendo DS has been delayed a week to May 21st, according to the official website. The theory is the delay is so that Nintendo can launch the DS Lite in North America with a new Mario game.

The theory has legs. One, Nintendo likes to launch every system with Mario whenever possible. Two, they like to launch software on Wednesday and hardware on weekends. May 21st is a Sunday. Finally, after a system is released in Japan, its about three months later it shows up stateside. Japan got the DS Lite in Febuary.