15 years ago yesterday, the Interweb was born.
Well, in a way it was, because 15 years ago yesterday a document was signed that allowed the free use of the technology on which the WWW is built. The BBC had a particularly interesting article about this which features interviews and future predictions from some of the most influential web luminaries including Sir Tim Berners Lee, Professor Wendy Hall and Robert Cailliau. Most are upbeat about the future of the Internet (which is good), and Robert Scoble's contribution resonated very strongly with me:
"The web means everything to me: I use the web to talk to my friends, to keep in touch with people around the world, to buy things, to look things up, to do research.
I can't think of a part of my life that isn't touched by the web in some way."
Too true!
Monster Haiku and other delightfulness
The new auction from Kids Need To Read is a collection of wonderful books for children and adults., alike. 'Caught Creatures' (a book of monster haiku), 'After Halloween' (a rhyming/alphabet book about the jobs monsters have) and 'Klawberry' (about a cute, little monster girl in a not-so-lovely world) are all autographed by illustrator and graphic designer Daniel M. Davis. The auction is hosted on eBay so head over there and make your bid.
Harrison Ford, eh?
Yes, I have to admit to having the hugest crush on Harrison Ford for most of my younger years. Nerd or not, the only reason I watched Star Wars the first time was to see him. Ah. Yeah. Of course, being the mature adult I am, I am way past that stage now. Of course. And the reason I'll be heading off to see the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is because the kids want to. So imagine my horror when I saw this "George Lucas admits that he’s stopped trying to please his fans and that, if you previously liked the Indiana Jones adventures, they will be ruined for you if you see Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. " pop up in my 'Pink Raygun' update. Lisa Fary's latest article does quote Lucas as saying that the Crystal Skull will disappoint, but she also tells us why we needn't be too worried. Still, fingers crossed...
PS: R2-D2 Projector
You know you want one...check it out.
Showing posts with label BBC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BBC. Show all posts
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Friday, April 4, 2008
Got that Friday feeling - Galactica Actual!
Only hours to go before the start of BSG Season 4
And how excited are we? On a scale of 1 to 10, frakking orbital! We eventually got to see the DVD I so expertly recorded last Friday of the Battlestar Galactica hour from Space (yes, I did record the right thing!). It was great but....we want more! Enough teasing already. Watching Joss (and I think there were other people, also) on 'The Phenomenon' talking about how much they love Galactica was brilliant.
Give us a break!
The only little thing was...the commercial breaks! Now, I've said before that I miss the BBC and this is for 3 main reasons: the news, the programs and the fact that there are no adverts. I don't watch much TV (I've got my boxsets to keep me warm) and I can't get used to the commercials every 2 minutes. Show title of show - Adverts! Show first 2 mins - Adverts! Get you back into story - Adverts! There are even adverts between the end of the show and the credits for the show! How does that make sense? Yes, I know that it's all to do with revenue for the infinity-plus-one channels but I hate it. I'm just glad I am Geek and I rule technology. I'm sure there's a fast forward on this gorram remote...
Later, on this blog...
Joss Whedon's Journal and a Felicia Day update (possibly).
And how excited are we? On a scale of 1 to 10, frakking orbital! We eventually got to see the DVD I so expertly recorded last Friday of the Battlestar Galactica hour from Space (yes, I did record the right thing!). It was great but....we want more! Enough teasing already. Watching Joss (and I think there were other people, also) on 'The Phenomenon' talking about how much they love Galactica was brilliant.
Give us a break!
The only little thing was...the commercial breaks! Now, I've said before that I miss the BBC and this is for 3 main reasons: the news, the programs and the fact that there are no adverts. I don't watch much TV (I've got my boxsets to keep me warm) and I can't get used to the commercials every 2 minutes. Show title of show - Adverts! Show first 2 mins - Adverts! Get you back into story - Adverts! There are even adverts between the end of the show and the credits for the show! How does that make sense? Yes, I know that it's all to do with revenue for the infinity-plus-one channels but I hate it. I'm just glad I am Geek and I rule technology. I'm sure there's a fast forward on this gorram remote...
Later, on this blog...
Joss Whedon's Journal and a Felicia Day update (possibly).
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Back on the chain gang
I found a picture of you
So, what's all about, then? Geekness, fandom, life, this business called show? While recovering I saw the Star Wars documentary, reliving the excitement, the ups, the downs, the wacky hairdos. It was a welcome distraction and had some footage I'd not seen before. Ole Georgie-boy, he knew (and still knows!) a thing or two about how to make a movie. The sheer persistence and bloody-mindedness needed to get the thing done. The compromises and the tears. And he changed the way movies were made, no doubt about it. Good business sense but still an artist. What a guy. (Still not had my copy of Star Wait, BTW).
The powers that be
And yet...there is controversy over the way things were done. Breaks with the writer's and director's guilds hurt him financially and no doubt personally, but it's hard to see how things could have played differently. Now we are lucky that the recent Writers Strike came to a fairly amicable ending and works are back in progress. The way things are going at the moment it would be good indeed to have some inspiring, uplifting productions to look forward to in Autumn (ok, Fall, if you must).
To a place in the past
For me, there is the prospect of seeing a new Joss Whedon series as it comes out! This will be a first for me. England has great TV (and I miss the BBC A LOT), but always getting things second hand was really hard. You will probably gasp to hear that we had only four (yes, FOUR) TV stations in our house. There should have been 5 but we were in a valley and couldn't get the reception. And the satellite channels were so rubbish I couldn't be bothered to have them. And we couldn't get cable because of the valley...Yes, no wonder I was so out of date (...but I still wouldn't have satellite if we moved back). Now I have over 50 channels-worth of rubbish to click through! That's progress, I guess.
A circumstance beyond our control
But Dollhouse - that will be worth it. In fact, I've been checking the boards and already we are poised to start the 'Bring back Dollhouse' petition just in case Fox pull the plug. Now, I'm not going to start an anti-Fox campaign because who knows what goes on in these big corporations. I'm sure there are many able and dedicated people working at the Network. There have apparently been a lot of personnel changes since Firefly was so cruelly squished. So hope springs eternal. The writing for Dollhouse has been going on apace according to Whedonesque and other sources, so it will be interesting to see when casting is going to start and who gets what.
When I see what they have done
Oh yes, and we might get some exclusive insights into how it's all going, but you have to keep this really, really hush-hush. I mean it! I have some insider information from the world of Joss. Yes, I am about to get hold of some authentic extracts from Joss' personal diaries! Me! Now, don't go spreading that around because the deal could still fall through. Obviously, in order to protect the innocent and save my own butt I'll have to amend them slightly, so some of the details might not be 100% accurate. I'm meeting the guy (well, I'm assuming he's a guy) downtown later in the week so I'll let you know. He's emailing some older extracts today so I'll soon know if they're going to be worth it. As soon as I can check it all out I'll start posting. Here's hoping.
So, what's all about, then? Geekness, fandom, life, this business called show? While recovering I saw the Star Wars documentary, reliving the excitement, the ups, the downs, the wacky hairdos. It was a welcome distraction and had some footage I'd not seen before. Ole Georgie-boy, he knew (and still knows!) a thing or two about how to make a movie. The sheer persistence and bloody-mindedness needed to get the thing done. The compromises and the tears. And he changed the way movies were made, no doubt about it. Good business sense but still an artist. What a guy. (Still not had my copy of Star Wait, BTW).
The powers that be
And yet...there is controversy over the way things were done. Breaks with the writer's and director's guilds hurt him financially and no doubt personally, but it's hard to see how things could have played differently. Now we are lucky that the recent Writers Strike came to a fairly amicable ending and works are back in progress. The way things are going at the moment it would be good indeed to have some inspiring, uplifting productions to look forward to in Autumn (ok, Fall, if you must).
To a place in the past
For me, there is the prospect of seeing a new Joss Whedon series as it comes out! This will be a first for me. England has great TV (and I miss the BBC A LOT), but always getting things second hand was really hard. You will probably gasp to hear that we had only four (yes, FOUR) TV stations in our house. There should have been 5 but we were in a valley and couldn't get the reception. And the satellite channels were so rubbish I couldn't be bothered to have them. And we couldn't get cable because of the valley...Yes, no wonder I was so out of date (...but I still wouldn't have satellite if we moved back). Now I have over 50 channels-worth of rubbish to click through! That's progress, I guess.
A circumstance beyond our control
But Dollhouse - that will be worth it. In fact, I've been checking the boards and already we are poised to start the 'Bring back Dollhouse' petition just in case Fox pull the plug. Now, I'm not going to start an anti-Fox campaign because who knows what goes on in these big corporations. I'm sure there are many able and dedicated people working at the Network. There have apparently been a lot of personnel changes since Firefly was so cruelly squished. So hope springs eternal. The writing for Dollhouse has been going on apace according to Whedonesque and other sources, so it will be interesting to see when casting is going to start and who gets what.
When I see what they have done
Oh yes, and we might get some exclusive insights into how it's all going, but you have to keep this really, really hush-hush. I mean it! I have some insider information from the world of Joss. Yes, I am about to get hold of some authentic extracts from Joss' personal diaries! Me! Now, don't go spreading that around because the deal could still fall through. Obviously, in order to protect the innocent and save my own butt I'll have to amend them slightly, so some of the details might not be 100% accurate. I'm meeting the guy (well, I'm assuming he's a guy) downtown later in the week so I'll let you know. He's emailing some older extracts today so I'll soon know if they're going to be worth it. As soon as I can check it all out I'll start posting. Here's hoping.
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