Author: Glenn Hauman

We all know how Star Trek was saved by a write-in campaign the first time around, which kept it on NBC for another season. We know the write-in that kept MST3K alive until the Sci-Fi Channel could pick it up. We’ve seen Family Guy and Firefly come back from the dead, thanks to DVD sales.

But we may now have the first case where a show may be saved by fan action when the show hasn’t even aired yet.

Producer John Rogers posts on his blog Kung Fu Monkey about the strange happenings over Global Frequency ever since a version of the pilot was leaked out onto the Net. His own site has seen an additional 10,000 hits in two weeks, all the more amazing when there’s no link to the blog from the program.

Ironically, Global Frequency is a show about a smart mob that organizes to save the world and cause massive effects to happen– which we’re seeing play out right now. If you haven’t read the marvelous comic by Warren Ellis and friends, hie thee to a bookstore and get the trade. Or get it here and here.

I’ve heard weirder things.

Flannery O’Connor wrote your book. Not much escapes
your notice.

Which Author’s Fiction are You?
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I came across this cinema classic, I Killed My Lesbian Wife, Hung Her on a Meat Hook, and Now I Have a Three-Picture Deal at Disney (1993), directed by Ben Affleck. So if you want the real story of how Good Will Hunting made it to Miramax, this must be it.

And no, I’m not going to tell you what I was searching for that led to that link. Trust me, you wouldn’t believe it if I told you.

(No, I haven’t seen the movie yet, but bear with me.)

One friend commented on the movie with “After the first half of the movie, watching Bruce take down multiple fighters on his own, you don’t quite buy that he needs the costume. At least I didn’t.”

To which I reply with the unmasking of Deep Throat.

For the last three decades, the secret identity of Deep Throat was one of great speculation inside Washington and among mystery followers and Watergate buffs. Clearly, he was connected (I was about to type wired but realized that would be an unfortunate choice of words) inside the Nixon White House, but no one was sure exactly who he was.

Which meant that his actions were looked on by the nation as a shadowy figure unafraid to speak the truth and to bring down corruption.

But now, he stands revealed as Mark Felt, former deputy director of the FBI. And now that we know that about him, people are ascribing all sorts of motivations to his actions. He was a disgruntled employee who was pissed about his job, he was a crackpot, he was a Hoover legacy, he was a traitor, he’s an old man who just trying to cash in, and on and on an on.

When Deep Throat was anonymous, he was less and more than a man. He was above the petty motives– they may still have been there, but they didn’t enter into the equation. All we had was the knowledge he chose to share with Woodward and Bernstein, the knowledge that something was very very wrong inside the Oval Office.

And so it is with Batman. If Bruce Wayne was known to be doing what he does at night, Gothamites would remark on his personal issues and demons, pundits would call him names and impugn his tactics and wardrobe, and he’d be much less effective in what he tries to do. By remaining cloaked, we only judge Batman on his actions, and what he might do next. Sometimes, you need a cipher instead of a specific.

You’d think you wouldn’t have to tell people this, but go read it anyway: “When Charles Darwin introduced the theory of evolution through natural selection 143 years ago, the scientists of the day argued over it fiercely, but the massing evidence from paleontology, genetics, zoology, molecular biology and other fields gradually established evolution’s truth beyond reasonable doubt. Today that battle has been won everywhere–except in the public imagination.

Embarrassingly, in the 21st century, in the most scientifically advanced nation the world has ever known, creationists can still persuade politicians, judges and ordinary citizens that evolution is a flawed, poorly supported fantasy. They lobby for creationist ideas such as ‘intelligent design’ to be taught as alternatives to evolution in science classrooms. As this article goes to press, the Ohio Board of Education is debating whether to mandate such a change. Some antievolutionists, such as Philip E. Johnson, a law professor at the University of California at Berkeley and author of Darwin on Trial, admit that they intend for intelligent-design theory to serve as a ‘wedge’ for reopening science classrooms to discussions of God.

Besieged teachers and others may increasingly find themselves on the spot to defend evolution and refute creationism. The arguments that creationists use are typically specious and based on misunderstandings of (or outright lies about) evolution, but the number and diversity of the objections can put even well-informed people at a disadvantage.

To help with answering them, the following list rebuts some of the most common ‘scientific’ arguments raised against evolution. It also directs readers to further sources for information and explains why creation science has no place in the classroom.”

Or if your rhetorical opponents need the entire argument to be made with pictures, go send them to this week’s Helen, Sweetheart of the Internet.

‘Star Wars’ princess inspires real royal name : “OSLO (Reuters) – Norwegian Princess Leah’s name was inspired by a character in a ‘Star Wars’ movie, the mother of the infant princess was quoted as saying Thursday.

‘I must admit that I have always been a big ‘Star Wars’ fan, and Princess Leia has always been the most beautiful in the whole world,’ Princess Martha Louise said in an interview with the Norwegian daily Aftenposten.

Princess Leah, born on April 8 this year and fifth in line to the Norwegian throne, was due to be baptized Thursday.”

(Yes, I’m back posting again. With a LOT to catch up on.)

Well, the reformat didn’t work, so I had to replace the hard drive– yes if you read Kathleen’s web log, you remember the fun that all was.

Special thanks to PBFixit, whose visual guide to replacing the hard drive of an iBook G3 12″ was a godsend. And after I see what files are recovered, I’ll be posting on a regular basis again. I can tell you all can hardly wait.

Nothing like a hard drive crash (and subsequent recoveries) to destroy your productivity for the week. Wheeeee…

There’s a little piece on Pop and Politics about a woman who claims her screenplay was ripped off to make both the Terminator and Matrix trilogies:

“According to Stewart, if she wins all of the damages and compensation she is asking for, she stands to win over a billion dollars…. Stewart also plans on distributing movies and music with a spiritual message, donate to several churches, build a sound studio, and help her son with his rap career.

Stewart would also be able to release ‘The Third Eye’ as a book, which she is unable to do now, as the book is physical evidence in the case. She also has another story ‘Soul-less,’ which she will develop into a film. She believes that ‘Soul-less’ could out do the popularity of ‘The Matrix’ and ‘The Terminator.’ “The saga continues,: she says.

She doesn’t seem the least bit concerned about matching the success of the other films and confidently declares, “A master will keep creating.”

Which I agree wholeheartedly with, and as such I’d be a lot more confident of her claim if she ever actually created anything else. See, when Harlan Ellison sued over who created Terminator, he actually had, y’know, a track record. A few Hugos and Nebulas. Screenplays. Things that were published both before and after. And that’s one big reason why he won.

I am reminded of the George S. Kaufman anecdote related by Mark Evanier:

George S. Kaufman wrote or co-wrote a staggering number of successful plays. After almost every one, some failed playwright would crawl out of the woodwork and sue Kaufman for plagiarism, charging that somehow Kaufman had seen and purloined some unproduced work.

In each case, the claimant was so lacking in funds that Kaufman could have had his lawyer maneuver to run up the court costs, thereby forcing the plaintiff to drop the suit for lack of funds. This, Kaufman refused to do. He knew he was innocent and wanted to have a court say so. So no such tricks were employed and every time he went to court, he won on the merits of his case.

But of course, he was annoyed at having to go through the suits at all, and his annoyance led to a fantasy. It was to invite all the litigants to a gourmet dinner. Around a huge table, he would serve them fine food and fine wine. Then, when the dishes were cleared away, he would stand and proclaim, “I asked you all here tonight because I would like to ask each of you a question.”

He would point to the first person and ask, “You say you wrote Of Thee I Sing. What else have you written?”

Then he’d look at the second and ask, “You say you wrote The Man Who Came to Dinner. What else have you written?”

Then the third: “You say you wrote Stage Door. What else have you written?”

And on and on around the table…

I caught a certain amount of grief about this when they were first considering covering the story over at Cinematical. I said don’t bother, she’s a crank. They said, but why isn’t anybody covering it? That’s the story! I said no, she’s a nut. It’s like giving equal time to creationists in an evolution debate, there’s nothing there. Drop it. They didn’t.

(Via Making Light.)

Angry Bear

1,346 Days

Thursday, May 19, 2005, [was] the 1,346th day since the attacks of 9/11. That is the same length of time from the attack on Pearl Harbor to the end of WWII on V-J Day. (Dec 7, 1941 to Aug 24, 1945)

Most comparisons between WWII and the Global War on Terror (GWOT) have been preposterous: Saddam Hussein was no Adlof Hitler; the “Axis of Evil” was no WWII Axis Powers; the far right even went so far as to compare Colin Powell to Neville Chamberlain.

But this milestone does provide the opportunity to compare the effectiveness of America’s responses to both crises. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, America came together, and with determination, shared sacrifice, and the effective and focused leadership of FDR, George C. Marshall, and many others, America and her allies were victorious.

After the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, America once again came together. However, within months of 9/11, the Bush Administration lost focus and never clearly defined a winnable GWOT. Monty Python comedian Terry Jones quipped: “With most wars, you can say you’ve won when the other side is either all dead or surrenders. But how is terrorism going to surrender? It’s hard for abstract nouns to surrender.”

A more serious critique came from Dr. Jeffrey Record, of the U.S. Army’s War College who wrote: ” … most of the GWOT’s declared objectives … are unrealistic and condemn the United States to a hopeless quest for absolute security. As such, the GWOT’s goals are also politically, fiscally, and militarily unsustainable … The GWOT as it has so far been defined and conducted is strategically unfocused, promises much more than it can deliver, and threatens to dissipate scarce U.S. military and other means over too many ends. It violates the fundamental strategic principles of discrimination and concentration.”

It should not be surprising that a poorly defined mission has led to poor results. Iraq is a mess and many Americans have concluded that the invasion of Iraq was unrelated to the GWOT. The situtation in Afghanistan is not much better. Worldwide terrorism is still on the rise and America is now deeply divided.

The economic consequences of this “war” have been significant and are growing. The most obvious are the war expenditures: over $250 Billion already spent and Congress has just passed another spending bill for an additional $82 Billion. Even before the ink dried, Congress is discussing the need for another $50 Billion later this year. All of these expenditures are “off-budget” and are not included in the Bush Administration’s reported budget deficits. CORRECTION: The GWOT expenditures are excluded from the “on-budget” projections, but they are included in prior year on-budget deficits. Sorry for any confusion, CR.

Additionally, according to the Financial Times, America “is losing billions of dollars as international tourists are deterred from visiting the US because of a tarnished image overseas and more bureaucratic visa policies.” This weakness in the tourist trade is occurring even with a favorable dollar exchange rate. And there are concerns that “the long-term impact for American brands Coca-Cola, General Motors, McDonald’s could be very damaging”.

And the most deleterious impact may come from the growing lack of confidence in America’s leadership. In the event of an international or economic crisis, I have no confidence that the Bush Administration will respond appropriately.

It took 1,346 days to win WWII. 1,346 days after 9/11, what have we accomplished?