Things to do in SF when you're dead: Zombie Flashmob today
From the Boing Boing site:
"I received a message from the brain eating master today: 'We're trying to create a self perpetuating Zombie Mob in the streets of San Francisco on Saturday (Saturday, July 30th). A seed group of zombies will start at St. Mary's square, and as we march up Market St. we'll attack Willing bystanders, converting them and giving them ingredients to make more zombies.'"
see the linked site for more information, if you happen to be in the San Fransico area.
I challenge anyone to tell me that isn't geeky.
Saturday, July 30, 2005
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
Voltron Zooms To Theaters
Voltron Zooms To Theaters
"Producer Mark Gordon (The Day After Tomorrow) is developing a big-budget feature based on Voltron: Defender of the Universe, a 1980s Japanese animated series about a team of pilots whose individual ships combine to form a giant robot, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
"The film will follow the team as they travel to the planet Arus to learn how to operate Voltron, the last hope against the evil Drule Empire that has subjugated Earth and taken control of the universe, the trade paper reported. The film will be produced by New Line Cinema's Mark Costa and Ford Oelman, who secured the rights from Voltron owner World Events. Pharrell Williams, a partner in the producing duo the Neptunes, will score the film and produce the soundtrack.
"The Voltron series debuted in 1984, about the same time as Hasbro's Transformers toy line, igniting a morphing robot phenomenon. Voltron has generated $750 million in worldwide licensing and nearly $200 million in toys and merchandising since 1984, the trade paper reported. A Transformers film is also in development at DreamWorks."
"Producer Mark Gordon (The Day After Tomorrow) is developing a big-budget feature based on Voltron: Defender of the Universe, a 1980s Japanese animated series about a team of pilots whose individual ships combine to form a giant robot, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
"The film will follow the team as they travel to the planet Arus to learn how to operate Voltron, the last hope against the evil Drule Empire that has subjugated Earth and taken control of the universe, the trade paper reported. The film will be produced by New Line Cinema's Mark Costa and Ford Oelman, who secured the rights from Voltron owner World Events. Pharrell Williams, a partner in the producing duo the Neptunes, will score the film and produce the soundtrack.
"The Voltron series debuted in 1984, about the same time as Hasbro's Transformers toy line, igniting a morphing robot phenomenon. Voltron has generated $750 million in worldwide licensing and nearly $200 million in toys and merchandising since 1984, the trade paper reported. A Transformers film is also in development at DreamWorks."
Uproar grows over GTA sex scenes
Uproar grows over GTA sex scenes
"US politicians have stepped into the storm over secret sex scenes in the best-selling Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas game."
"US politicians have stepped into the storm over secret sex scenes in the best-selling Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas game."
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Jim Aparo, 1932-2005
Jim Aparo also had the distinction of having been the longest running artist to ever work on the character of Batman. He brought a very distinct style and identity to the characters of the Batman Family.
Jim Aparo, 1932-2005
"Jim Aparo, a respected Silver Age artist perhaps best known for his work on the Batman character, has passed away, according to a press release offered to reporters on the family's behalf. In addition to work with the big-name character that made his dramatic style one of the most recognizable of the 1970s and 1980s, Aparo enjoyed significant runs with the Aquaman and Phantom Stranger characters, was the co-creator of the Batman and the Outsiders title, and was the penciler on the infamous 'Death in the Family' storyline. He worked at Charlton before heading to DC in the late 1960s."
Jim Aparo, 1932-2005
"Jim Aparo, a respected Silver Age artist perhaps best known for his work on the Batman character, has passed away, according to a press release offered to reporters on the family's behalf. In addition to work with the big-name character that made his dramatic style one of the most recognizable of the 1970s and 1980s, Aparo enjoyed significant runs with the Aquaman and Phantom Stranger characters, was the co-creator of the Batman and the Outsiders title, and was the penciler on the infamous 'Death in the Family' storyline. He worked at Charlton before heading to DC in the late 1960s."
James Doohan, 'Star Trek's' Scotty, dead - Jul 20, 2005
James Doohan, 'Star Trek's' Scotty, dead - Jul 20, 2005
"James Doohan, the burly chief engineer of the Starship Enterprise in the original 'Star Trek' TV series and motion pictures who responded to the apocryphal command 'Beam me up, Scotty,' died early Wednesday. He was 85.
"Doohan died at 5:30 a.m. (1330 GMT) at his Redmond, Washington, home with his wife of 28 years, Wende, at his side, Los Angeles agent and longtime friend Steve Stevens said. The cause of death was pneumonia and Alzheimer's disease, he said."
"James Doohan, the burly chief engineer of the Starship Enterprise in the original 'Star Trek' TV series and motion pictures who responded to the apocryphal command 'Beam me up, Scotty,' died early Wednesday. He was 85.
"Doohan died at 5:30 a.m. (1330 GMT) at his Redmond, Washington, home with his wife of 28 years, Wende, at his side, Los Angeles agent and longtime friend Steve Stevens said. The cause of death was pneumonia and Alzheimer's disease, he said."
Sunday, July 17, 2005
Creative Commons Humbug
An interesting take on the Creative Commons license.
Creative Commons Humbug
"Will someone explain to me the benefits of a trendy system developed by Professor Lawrence Lessig of Stanford? Dubbed Creative Commons, this system is some sort of secondary copyright license that, as far as I can tell, does absolutely nothing but threaten the already tenuous "fair use" provisos of existing copyright law. This is one of the dumbest initiatives ever put forth by the tech community. I mean seriously dumb. Eye-rolling dumb on the same scale as believing the Emperor is wearing fabulous new clothes.
"If you are unfamiliar with this thing, be sure to go to the Web site and see if you can figure it out. Creative Commons actually seems to be a dangerous system with almost zero benefits to the public, copyright holders, or those of us who would like a return to a shorter-length copyright law.
"I have sent notes to this operation and never received a reply, in case you're wondering. Meanwhile, according to its Web site, the Creative Commons organization has money from the Hewlett Foundation and the MacArthur Foundation. For what?"
Creative Commons Humbug
"Will someone explain to me the benefits of a trendy system developed by Professor Lawrence Lessig of Stanford? Dubbed Creative Commons, this system is some sort of secondary copyright license that, as far as I can tell, does absolutely nothing but threaten the already tenuous "fair use" provisos of existing copyright law. This is one of the dumbest initiatives ever put forth by the tech community. I mean seriously dumb. Eye-rolling dumb on the same scale as believing the Emperor is wearing fabulous new clothes.
"If you are unfamiliar with this thing, be sure to go to the Web site and see if you can figure it out. Creative Commons actually seems to be a dangerous system with almost zero benefits to the public, copyright holders, or those of us who would like a return to a shorter-length copyright law.
"I have sent notes to this operation and never received a reply, in case you're wondering. Meanwhile, according to its Web site, the Creative Commons organization has money from the Hewlett Foundation and the MacArthur Foundation. For what?"
Jeff's Gameblog: The Wraeththu Report
Well, Jeff bite the bullet and wrote a review. Enjoy....and hope that the man survived his encounter.
Jeff's Gameblog: The Wraeththu Report
"Colin Chapman started it. It's all his fault.Way back in August 2003 he posted a little item to the RPGnet forums entitled Most Pretentious and Artsy RPG Ever Created?: Wraeththu, starting a thread that exceeded 500 posts. Quickly on the heels of that thread, Wraeththu author Gabriel Strange (posting as gabby2600) ineptly responded with a thread of his own called Wraeththu: Bring on the Clowns. This was also a 500-response monster of a thread. Initially I joined in the guffawing dogpile upon Gabby and his antics, but somewhere along the way I became obsessed with finding out more about the actual game hidden under all the internet gibbering. I started routinely checking up on the official Wraeththu rpg website, stopping by the official messageboards occasionally, sometimes reading the blog of the primary author, and scouring Google for more information. I used the Illinois interlibrary loan system to get a copy of the novels upon which the game is based. (I only made it about 75 pages in before I had to return the book.) Eventually I was so fascinated with the development of the Wraeththu rpg that I started several RPGnet threads of my own: A Wreaththu Thread, Wraeththu: more sample pages (featuring Andy Kitowski's Spulturatorah! rpg), A Brief Wraeththu Update, and Wraeththu RPG on eBay. Once I even edited the Wraeththu entry at Wikipedia to include a missing piece of information.
"Worst of all, I just couldn't stop blogging about this game."
Jeff's Gameblog: The Wraeththu Report
"Colin Chapman started it. It's all his fault.Way back in August 2003 he posted a little item to the RPGnet forums entitled Most Pretentious and Artsy RPG Ever Created?: Wraeththu, starting a thread that exceeded 500 posts. Quickly on the heels of that thread, Wraeththu author Gabriel Strange (posting as gabby2600) ineptly responded with a thread of his own called Wraeththu: Bring on the Clowns. This was also a 500-response monster of a thread. Initially I joined in the guffawing dogpile upon Gabby and his antics, but somewhere along the way I became obsessed with finding out more about the actual game hidden under all the internet gibbering. I started routinely checking up on the official Wraeththu rpg website, stopping by the official messageboards occasionally, sometimes reading the blog of the primary author, and scouring Google for more information. I used the Illinois interlibrary loan system to get a copy of the novels upon which the game is based. (I only made it about 75 pages in before I had to return the book.) Eventually I was so fascinated with the development of the Wraeththu rpg that I started several RPGnet threads of my own: A Wreaththu Thread, Wraeththu: more sample pages (featuring Andy Kitowski's Spulturatorah! rpg), A Brief Wraeththu Update, and Wraeththu RPG on eBay. Once I even edited the Wraeththu entry at Wikipedia to include a missing piece of information.
"Worst of all, I just couldn't stop blogging about this game."
Comic Geeks Now a Fantastic Force
A most interesting article. Click on the link for the whole article.
Comic Geeks Now a Fantastic Force
"Actress Natalie Portman knows something about the dark side — she was Mrs. Darth Vader, after all — and for a moment on Friday she came face to face with it.
"The setting was the International Comic-Con, which began life three decades ago as a gathering where mostly young men rummaged through cardboard boxes for vintage comic books. But as Hollywood increasingly bases its movies on comics and graphic novels, the gathering has turned into a sort of Cannes for geeks: They carry such clout that the likes of Portman and other A-list celebrities make the pilgrimage here each year to work the crowd.
"The fans at this weekend's four-day convention — their number is expected to far exceed the 75,000 at last year's festival — represent a double-edged sword for the movie industry. The true-believer audience is eager to embrace the big-screen adaptations of its heroes but is equally ready to reject them.
"Either way, the fans are poised to spread the word to legions of fellow fans via the Internet.
"On Friday, Portman and producer Joel Silver appeared for a question-and-answer panel before a crowd already skeptical about their new film, 'V for Vendetta,' based on the 1980s Orwellian graphic novel by Alan Moore and David Lloyd. The more than 7,000 savvy "Vendetta" followers were well aware of the recent decision to switch the male lead actor in mid-production (from James Purefoy to Hugo Weaving) and the move by Moore — a towering figure in comics — to publicly disassociate himself from the film.
After waiting two hours to get into Comic-Con's movie preview showroom, they cheered in response to the w"orld premiere of the sleek trailer. But when Portman, Silver and others from the movie met the audience, fan largesse lasted exactly two questions. The third fan to reach the microphone elicited robust applause when he pointedly said: "I wonder why Alan Moore hasn't signed up for this."
But instead of blowing up, the issue was quickly defused by panel members ready to answer it. 'Alan has his own views of things,' said Lloyd, who was also in attendance and praised the film's 'very good script.' And for the moment, at least, 'V for Vendetta,' due for a Nov. 5 release, seemed to be off the hook.
"The makers of 'Vendetta,' whose film touches on such hot-button topics as terrorism and bombings in London, aren't the only ones to face the Comic-Con gantlet. In addition to Portman, the four-day schedule includes Oscar-winner Charlize Theron, on hand to promote another sci-fi film, 'Aeon Flux,' as well as Jack Black, Kate Beckinsale, the Rock and directors Tony Scott, David Cronenberg and John Landis, among others, touting assorted projects that orbit the fan planet.
"Movie studios are so serious about courting these tastemakers that they routinely spend big money on giving them the first-look, specially edited previews of films and special souvenirs (such as the 'V' mask handed out Friday to people who saw the preview). They also pay to deliver the films' stars and props from all points of the globe.
"'You might see studios spend a quarter of a million dollars on Comic-Con now,' says John Hegeman of Lions Gate Entertainment, the film distributor that this year footed the bill for a lavish Friday night masquerade ball and for bringing in the entire cast of the company's upcoming horror film 'The Devil's Rejects.'
"Comic-Con has become a big enough tent to include not only superheroes but also samurai warriors, slasher film villains, gnomes and all manner of other fantastical folk.
"'For us, Comic-Con is everything,' said Hegeman, Lions Gate Entertainment's president of worldwide marketing. 'It's the Holy Grail, as far as reaching the concentrated genre fans that we need to communicate with.'
"That said, the allure of big-budget science fiction and hero movies these days goes well beyond niche audiences. Since 1999, 11 of the 15 most successful films at the U.S. box office have fallen squarely inside the genre turf of Comic-Con superheroes, science fiction and fantasy. Such franchises as 'The Lord of the Rings,' 'Star Wars' and 'Spider-Man' show that a one-time win can be parlayed into seasons of success.
"Comic-book fans were once a deeply frustrated constituency. Hollywood typically mauled their beloved heroes in screen adaptations and injected a camp sensibility that chafed the fans who, above all, hated to be mocked.
"That has changed as films as diverse as 'Men in Black,' 'The Mask,' 'Sin City' and 'Road to Perdition' have found success with deeply faithful renderings of the comic-book pages. With success, though, the long-suffering comics fans are quick to be indignant when they don't like what they see.
"'If they think you are lying to them or that you are letting them down, they will let you have it,' says Avi Arad, president and chief executive of Marvel Studios, which has guided such characters as Spider-Man, Blade and the X-Men to box-office heroics. 'Don't tell them you read the comic book if you didn't; they'll ask you about what happened on Page 11 of Issue No. 6. If they don't like what they see and hear, they spread word on the Internet.'
"Studio publicity and marketing people still refer to the Comic-Con clientele as 'the F&Gs' — it's short for 'freaks and geeks' — but now they do it quietly or with a measure of affection. The studios also monitor the intense fan chatter on the Internet and woo convention crowds as if they were studio company shareholders.
"'It's unbelievable how things have changed…. The fans have the power now,' said Otis Chambliss of Rancho Cucamonga, one of thousands of fans in attendance Friday.
"'It's the advent of the Internet,' film producer Silver said. 'These days, you can have a guy sitting on a couch somewhere writing good or bad things about a movie and it makes a difference. At Comic-Con, you have 6,000 guys in one room.'
"Fans toting laptops have been known to race online to be the first to spread word about the latest sneak peek or juicy tidbit that Hollywood unveils at Comic-Con, in part to gauge the crowd's early reaction.
"'You have to go and you have to show them what you have,' said director Bryan Singer. He has pulled himself away from the tight filming schedule of 'Superman Returns' in Sydney to be in San Diego today with footage from the planned summer 2006 release."
Comic Geeks Now a Fantastic Force
"Actress Natalie Portman knows something about the dark side — she was Mrs. Darth Vader, after all — and for a moment on Friday she came face to face with it.
"The setting was the International Comic-Con, which began life three decades ago as a gathering where mostly young men rummaged through cardboard boxes for vintage comic books. But as Hollywood increasingly bases its movies on comics and graphic novels, the gathering has turned into a sort of Cannes for geeks: They carry such clout that the likes of Portman and other A-list celebrities make the pilgrimage here each year to work the crowd.
"The fans at this weekend's four-day convention — their number is expected to far exceed the 75,000 at last year's festival — represent a double-edged sword for the movie industry. The true-believer audience is eager to embrace the big-screen adaptations of its heroes but is equally ready to reject them.
"Either way, the fans are poised to spread the word to legions of fellow fans via the Internet.
"On Friday, Portman and producer Joel Silver appeared for a question-and-answer panel before a crowd already skeptical about their new film, 'V for Vendetta,' based on the 1980s Orwellian graphic novel by Alan Moore and David Lloyd. The more than 7,000 savvy "Vendetta" followers were well aware of the recent decision to switch the male lead actor in mid-production (from James Purefoy to Hugo Weaving) and the move by Moore — a towering figure in comics — to publicly disassociate himself from the film.
After waiting two hours to get into Comic-Con's movie preview showroom, they cheered in response to the w"orld premiere of the sleek trailer. But when Portman, Silver and others from the movie met the audience, fan largesse lasted exactly two questions. The third fan to reach the microphone elicited robust applause when he pointedly said: "I wonder why Alan Moore hasn't signed up for this."
But instead of blowing up, the issue was quickly defused by panel members ready to answer it. 'Alan has his own views of things,' said Lloyd, who was also in attendance and praised the film's 'very good script.' And for the moment, at least, 'V for Vendetta,' due for a Nov. 5 release, seemed to be off the hook.
"The makers of 'Vendetta,' whose film touches on such hot-button topics as terrorism and bombings in London, aren't the only ones to face the Comic-Con gantlet. In addition to Portman, the four-day schedule includes Oscar-winner Charlize Theron, on hand to promote another sci-fi film, 'Aeon Flux,' as well as Jack Black, Kate Beckinsale, the Rock and directors Tony Scott, David Cronenberg and John Landis, among others, touting assorted projects that orbit the fan planet.
"Movie studios are so serious about courting these tastemakers that they routinely spend big money on giving them the first-look, specially edited previews of films and special souvenirs (such as the 'V' mask handed out Friday to people who saw the preview). They also pay to deliver the films' stars and props from all points of the globe.
"'You might see studios spend a quarter of a million dollars on Comic-Con now,' says John Hegeman of Lions Gate Entertainment, the film distributor that this year footed the bill for a lavish Friday night masquerade ball and for bringing in the entire cast of the company's upcoming horror film 'The Devil's Rejects.'
"Comic-Con has become a big enough tent to include not only superheroes but also samurai warriors, slasher film villains, gnomes and all manner of other fantastical folk.
"'For us, Comic-Con is everything,' said Hegeman, Lions Gate Entertainment's president of worldwide marketing. 'It's the Holy Grail, as far as reaching the concentrated genre fans that we need to communicate with.'
"That said, the allure of big-budget science fiction and hero movies these days goes well beyond niche audiences. Since 1999, 11 of the 15 most successful films at the U.S. box office have fallen squarely inside the genre turf of Comic-Con superheroes, science fiction and fantasy. Such franchises as 'The Lord of the Rings,' 'Star Wars' and 'Spider-Man' show that a one-time win can be parlayed into seasons of success.
"Comic-book fans were once a deeply frustrated constituency. Hollywood typically mauled their beloved heroes in screen adaptations and injected a camp sensibility that chafed the fans who, above all, hated to be mocked.
"That has changed as films as diverse as 'Men in Black,' 'The Mask,' 'Sin City' and 'Road to Perdition' have found success with deeply faithful renderings of the comic-book pages. With success, though, the long-suffering comics fans are quick to be indignant when they don't like what they see.
"'If they think you are lying to them or that you are letting them down, they will let you have it,' says Avi Arad, president and chief executive of Marvel Studios, which has guided such characters as Spider-Man, Blade and the X-Men to box-office heroics. 'Don't tell them you read the comic book if you didn't; they'll ask you about what happened on Page 11 of Issue No. 6. If they don't like what they see and hear, they spread word on the Internet.'
"Studio publicity and marketing people still refer to the Comic-Con clientele as 'the F&Gs' — it's short for 'freaks and geeks' — but now they do it quietly or with a measure of affection. The studios also monitor the intense fan chatter on the Internet and woo convention crowds as if they were studio company shareholders.
"'It's unbelievable how things have changed…. The fans have the power now,' said Otis Chambliss of Rancho Cucamonga, one of thousands of fans in attendance Friday.
"'It's the advent of the Internet,' film producer Silver said. 'These days, you can have a guy sitting on a couch somewhere writing good or bad things about a movie and it makes a difference. At Comic-Con, you have 6,000 guys in one room.'
"Fans toting laptops have been known to race online to be the first to spread word about the latest sneak peek or juicy tidbit that Hollywood unveils at Comic-Con, in part to gauge the crowd's early reaction.
"'You have to go and you have to show them what you have,' said director Bryan Singer. He has pulled himself away from the tight filming schedule of 'Superman Returns' in Sydney to be in San Diego today with footage from the planned summer 2006 release."
Saturday, July 16, 2005
Grand Lodge Officers Jewels Stolen - Grand Lodge of California
A memo from the Masons, all the seeds that a Gm would need to get a pretty good modern campaign going.
Grand Lodge Officers Jewels Stolen - Grand Lodge of California
"MEMORANDUM
"June 24, 2005
"To: All Lodges, All Grand Lodge Officers, All Past Grand Masters and Past
"Grand Officers, All Inspectors
"From: David R. Doan, Grand Master
"Regarding: Theft of Grand Lodge Officers Jewels
"On June 2 the safe in the vault at the Grand Lodge Office was opened, and it was discovered that the briefcase with the Grand Lodge Officers Jewels was missing. The San Francisco Police were called, and an investigation was launched into what appears to be a theft of the jewels. They were locked in the safe by the Grand Tiler on October 14 of last year, and disappeared some time between October 14 and June 2.
"We are doing everything possible to assist the police with their recovery. At this point there is no evidence that anyone with proper access to the safe was involved. The police have suggested that a reward for their return be offered, and this is in the process of being done. Through the police department all the usual venues for the possible disposition of stolen property have been checked, and continue to be monitored.
"The jewels are covered by our insurance policy, and a claim has been filed with the carrier. At this point we do not know the extent of the coverage, because much depends upon how the loss is characterized. The jewels are appraised at $107,000, and we have both current digital pictures of them, and an appraisal, which should help."
Grand Lodge Officers Jewels Stolen - Grand Lodge of California
"MEMORANDUM
"June 24, 2005
"To: All Lodges, All Grand Lodge Officers, All Past Grand Masters and Past
"Grand Officers, All Inspectors
"From: David R. Doan, Grand Master
"Regarding: Theft of Grand Lodge Officers Jewels
"On June 2 the safe in the vault at the Grand Lodge Office was opened, and it was discovered that the briefcase with the Grand Lodge Officers Jewels was missing. The San Francisco Police were called, and an investigation was launched into what appears to be a theft of the jewels. They were locked in the safe by the Grand Tiler on October 14 of last year, and disappeared some time between October 14 and June 2.
"We are doing everything possible to assist the police with their recovery. At this point there is no evidence that anyone with proper access to the safe was involved. The police have suggested that a reward for their return be offered, and this is in the process of being done. Through the police department all the usual venues for the possible disposition of stolen property have been checked, and continue to be monitored.
"The jewels are covered by our insurance policy, and a claim has been filed with the carrier. At this point we do not know the extent of the coverage, because much depends upon how the loss is characterized. The jewels are appraised at $107,000, and we have both current digital pictures of them, and an appraisal, which should help."
Thursday, July 14, 2005
Great Expectations
Great Expectations
"The bookies are telling us that Albus Dumbledore's days are numbered. But how the Dickens will he meet his end? Try your hand at our Alternative Potter project.
"We are publishing the best of the entries as they come in: read them here. Find out what the prizes are here."
"The bookies are telling us that Albus Dumbledore's days are numbered. But how the Dickens will he meet his end? Try your hand at our Alternative Potter project.
"We are publishing the best of the entries as they come in: read them here. Find out what the prizes are here."
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