Personal Blanding Blog

"Spinners after replicants" is just brilliant.

Social media has become the equivalent of commercial hippiewear: it's much more convenient to buy a prefab tie-dye shirt than make one yourself, and while it may appear great, there's not an interesting story behind it. (That changes if you wear the shirt and get into some strange counterculture misadventures, but that's another… story.)

Some people get afraid with all these 21st-century buzzwords passing by them like spinners after replicants. I feel your fear, dudes. And I'm here to tell you so much of it ultimately results in nothing. Just like the 1,000 archetypical fake MySpace friends you don't really know, those numbers… don't add up. But that's been brought up too many times. So let me move on!

I has Twitter

Just click the link above if you are curious, devious or looking for other ways to find out what is going throuh my head.

CD Exchange

So, I want some new music (hopefully things that I haven't heard already) and to get that I am going to try having a CD exchange. Send me a CD and I'll send one to you as well. Get a special "Dorkland Adventures" compilation of music for your dancing and dining pleasure. Interested in join in on the fun? Leave a comment here.

LiveJournal: The Russian Bear Slashes a Social Network

The bubble in social networking has burst, decisively. LiveJournal, the San Francisco-based arm of Sup, a Russian Internet startup, has cut about 20 of 28 employees — and offered them no severance, we're told.

The quirky site, part blog and part social network, is best known for its users' weird obsessions — like the troublesome clique of Harry Potter erotica writers, whose outre tastes ran afoul of LiveJournal's efforts to comply with U.S. child-pornography laws. (Oddly, the site also gained a following in Russia, which led to its acquisition by Sup.) All that adds up to an environment even more distasteful to advertisers than the typical social site.

Search for new Doctor Who's partner begins

The producers of Doctor Who have begun the search for a 'high profile' female companion after unveiling little-known actor Matt Smith as the new Time Lord. Smith, 26, a surprise choice for the 11th Doctor and the youngest actor ever to take the role, is largely unfamiliar to audiences and BBC bosses are keen to pair him with a showbusiness name.

The singer Lily Allen is an early favourite, while sources say Strictly Come Dancing stars Rachel Stevens and Kelly Brook are high on the BBC's wish-list.

Producers are looking for someone who is famous outside the world of acting – replicating the success of former Doctor's assistant Billie Piper, who was better known as a teenage popstar and the wife of DJ Chris Evans when she landed the role but proved a hit with viewers.

9 to Watch in 2009: Television

The New Year is wide open with comics firing on all cylinders in the upper echelons of superhero comics to the vibrant field of modern comics. But who rests at the top? Who are the biggest and brightest – who are the ones who pose to make 2009 a breakout year for themselves? From characters to comics to creators, and even to the wider spectrum of television and movies – who will be the breakout stars?

Newsarama gathered the facts, analyzed the fiction and reviewed the rumors to delineate who we think will the top – the 9 to Watch in '09. All this week, we'll be picking out the 9 To Watch in '09 in five categories: comic characters, comic creators, comic series/books, movies and television shows. The first three are clearly comics-centric, while the last two are wide open.

In the previous days, we've covered all corners of the comic spectrum for what's to come in 2009: the characters, the creators and the new series. Now we broaden our focus into the wider world of television. From shows based on comics to shows who have their own comics and even shows that should have their own comics. And yes, we know the fickleness of televsion production, so take the entries on shows that are yet to begin production with a heaping helping of optomism.

the high point for this blogger comes a little bit after that part:

One of Vertigo's biggest success stories throughout the years with fourteen Eisner Awards, it is now poised to take over the world of television in the 2009-2010 Television season - we hope. Announced on December 8th, it is to be shepherded by the creators of the underrated Six Degrees series Stu Zicherman and Raen Metzner, and director David Semel (Studio 60, Heroes) is onboard to direct. The shape of Fables is a perfect fit for comics – but could it work even better on television?

9 to Watch in 2009: The Comics

The New Year is wide open with comics firing on all cylinders in the upper echelons of superhero comics to the vibrant field of modern comics. But who rests at the top? Who are the biggest and brightest – who are the ones who pose to make 2009 a breakout year for themselves? From characters to comics to creators, and even to the wider spectrum of television and movies – who will be the breakout stars?

Newsarama gathered the facts, analyzed the fiction and reviewed the rumors to delineate who we think will the top – the 9 to Watch in '09. All this week, we'll be picking out the 9 To Watch in '09 in five categories: comic characters, comic creators, comic series/books, movies and television shows. The first three are clearly comics-centric, while the last two are wide open.

And The Doctor Is...Matt Smith

26-year-old actor Matt Smith has been cast as the Eleventh Doctor, as revealed in today's special broadcast of Doctor Who Confidential on BBC One. Smith will succeed David Tennant in the role for the fifth series, which begins filming this summer and will air in 2010.

Smith has appeared in various television productions, including alongside Billie Piper in the BBC's adaptations of the Philip Pullman novels The Ruby in the Smoke and The Shadow in the North. He co-starred in the drama series Party Animals, and on stage was in Alan Bennett's acclaimed play The History Boys.

New Doctor Who to be announced

The name of the actor who will replace David Tennant in Doctor Who will be announced on Saturday.

Tennant said in October that he would stand down from the show after filming four special episodes in 2009.

His replacement - the eleventh Doctor of the TV series - will be revealed in a Doctor Who Confidential programme on BBC One at 1735 on 3 January.

Just So You Know

I'm not being completely lazy here. The holidays have indeed sucked but I have been behind the scenes crafting my first ever year end, wrap up type of post for 2008. No, it isn't about RPGs. I thought that I'd have it done by now but, well, I'm still figuring out mesdiafire and getting it together.