Naughty Bits

Posted on February 18 2004 by Mickey
    Good thing Mom’s not watching, because in this blog entry I link to a naughty site. Playboy.com is running a “girls gone wired” contest, where visitors can choose their favorite TechTV Babe. So they tell me. It’s not like I actually went to that deplorable site, I swear. Actually the domain (and pop-up ads) might not be work-safe, but so far the page is. It also features interviews with the five contestants, Melanie Kim, Sarah Lane, Cat Schwartz, Laura Swisher, and Morgan Webb. The competition ends February 27, whereupon the winner will reportedly announce if she will pose or not.
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Around the Web

Posted on February 17 2004 by Mickey
    I’m bored. Too bored to even form sentences. Here are links.
    • From the Toronto Sun: 17-year-old surfing the web discovered his mother abducted him fourteen years ago.
    • First the BBC criticizes UK government, then the government responds by threatening to dismantle the BBC. (However, according to Yahoo! News, “Opinion polls after the Hutton inquiry was published showed that many people considered its verdict a ‘whitewash’, and that they trusted the BBC far more than they did Blair and his ministers.”)
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ROTK DVD A/B

Posted on February 16 2004 by Mickey
    A week ago The Digital Bits linked to a site called DVD Debate which reportedly had a sneak peek at the cover art for The Return of the King DVD. Having seen some impressive bootleg covers in my time, I remained skeptical. The official LOTR site, according to TORN, has released the official artwork, giving us the opportunity to decide just how legitimate that first offering is…

Top: Official (including VHS version)
Bottom: Unofficial (don’t mind the DVD Debate watermark)
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A Message about Joe (2004/02/16)

Posted on February 16 2004 by Mickey
    There has been a scarcity of messages from my nephew Joe, who is still involved in his international studies classes in Ecuador. His classes are done, but he used the remaining time to take several trips, first to Peru to see the Incan ruins, then a visit to the Galapagos Islands, followed by three weeks in the Rainforest. He finally checked in with his family by phone on Friday, saying he was glad to be out of the rainforest as it was unbearably hot and full of tarantulas.
    His six-month-long stay is soon coming to its end. In fact, it will end a week from tonight, when we all go to Metro Airport to welcome the world traveler home.
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Meeh Meeh Meeh!

Posted on February 16 2004 by Mickey
    Either today’s update brought a lot of changes to Free Country USA, or I haven’t been paying enough attention. I see there’s a new FAQ page at the Homestar site (normally accessible through their Contact page), there’s also a new Marshie t-shirt, and, best of all, a plush Cheat toy!
    I’ve been waiting for such an item to go on sale ever since catching sight of it in an old Brothers Chaps interview last July, and the Cheat plush toy was put on sale today. Frustratingly, the Store page showed a “0” quantity of Cheat toys in stock this morning, but this was finally corrected mere moments ago.
    And I’m also awaiting word on their long-planned DVD, but the FAQ page says they’re still working on it and it will be out this year.
    P.S.: I found a decent H*R fan site today too.
    P.P.S.: This site is pretty cool as well, full of H*R sightings.
    P.P.P.S.: Can’t forget about the new 2nd Set H*R figurines too (which at least I did know about already), but they’re still listed as “Coming Soon”.
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Lord of the Rings II: Their First Assignment

Posted on February 16 2004 by Mickey
    I read an interesting article today from the Wall Street Journal (reprinted in our local paper, the Detroit Free Press). Unfortunately one has to subscribe to the WSJ to read the online version, so I am unable to link to the original. The article discussed the possibility of making a movie based on The Hobbit, citing how New Line has recently acquired the rights to it, but must share distribution rights with MGM. “Unsurprisingly, MGM — which these days makes few big-budget movies — is rubbing its hands with glee.
    “[…] For its part, New Line says it will pursue a deal only if [director Peter] Jackson takes on the project. […] ‘A big reason for the franchise’s success has been Peter… He’s so passionate about the subject and we feel very loyal to him,’ says New Line cochairman Bob Shaye.” Because of the current King Kong project, Jackson wouldn’t be able to work on a Hobbit until late 2005 if not 2006.
    New Line and MGM have yet to sit down to seriously discuss The Hobbit. When they do make it to the negotiating table, it is likely that MGM will want to retain some sort of cut. A possible proposal could include the two sharing costs and splitting the profit, with New Line taking the domestic distribution right and MGM taking the international rights. Such a split isn’t unusual. In the case of the Rings films, New Line used independent distributors for the international release.
    “We’re open to any discussions that the other rights holders would like to have,” says Chris McGurk, MGM vice chairman.
    If New Line can’t do a deal with MGM, it says it may go back to the drawing board and either pursue its own prequel filling in the period between The Hobbit and the first Rings book, or create a sequel that follows on from Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. However, that option faces a number of potential complications, including the Tolkien family.
    Family members still benefit from sales of the books, but they signed away their say on any films based on The Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit when JRR Tolkien sold the rights to MGM. A new prequel or sequel could be another matter, however.
    Starting from scratch with a new story would also involve extending Tolkien’s fantasy world without the Tolkien vision, and his fans may object. “To take some elves and short guys with furry feet and invent new challenges for them that aren’t in the source material…would be a betrayal of Tolkien and Mr Jackson’s achievements,” says Houghton Mifflin’s [Tolkien projects director Clay] Harper.

    I had read in interviews with Jackson that the Tolkien family retains more rights to The Hobbit than to LOTR, and that their lack of approval was indeed a stumbling block in proceeding with another film; for the WSJ to say otherwise is literally news to me. A New York Times article, reprinted at the Alameda Times-Star site, goes even further, saying “both [Ian McKellen] and Jackson also mentioned the rights issue, amid growing rumors of resistance to further film efforts on the part of the Tolkien estate. The buzz grew so intense that the estate felt obliged to release a statement denying that it was trying to obstruct the making of The Hobbit. (Christopher Tolkien, the famously press-shy son of the author, declined to comment.)”
    So it looks like a new Hobbit movie could be a real possibility. This is a relief, if only because the idea of Hollywood creating an original Middle-earth adventure is not only frightening but downright blasphemous.
    New Line might do well to consider a hand-puppet version of Tolkien’s stories, just to cut down costs.
    And you can keep track of Hobbit movie news at this fan site.
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Buffett in the News

Posted on February 14 2004 by Mickey
    A lot of activity in Margaritaville. Buffett’s new song and article are featured in the swimsuit issue of Sports Illustrated (for those who “read the articles”), Buffett appeared in Friday’s Today show, and now I find some Florida boaters group wants to boycott him.
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Heart-Shaped Blog

Posted on February 14 2004 by Mickey
    It’s Valentine’s Day! Or as short fat guys call it, Saturday. Usually I avoid the sappy sentimental trappings of this day, but this year I’ve decided to revel in them. Romance is in the air, people are exchanging symbols of their love, gays are getting married in San Francisco, and I’ve got the Internet to keep me warm. In between IMs to my mail-order Romanian bride, here are some stories I found to tug at your heart strings:
    • According to Universe Today, the system of Centaurus wants to marry us.
    • Bride tired of groom. Marries wedding guest instead.
    • Mattel ruins Valentine’s Day by announcing Ken & Barbie split. Their 43-year-long inability to achieve orgasm cited as main reason for break-up.
    • In the US we give flowers. In China, they celebrate the day by hiring private investigators to learn if partners are having extramarital affairs.
    • SpongeBob Valentine has mysterious power to cause people into confusing the terms printing error and racial slur.
    • Israeli counter-terrorism technology leads to creation of a “Love Detector”. Those counter-terrorist softies!
    P.S.: And, yes, you’re right. You can see right through me. The only reason I’m celebrating Valentine’s Day this year is so I can bring chocolate into the house.
    P.P.S.: While looking for an image of chocolate, I found this page of very nice desktop wallpapers.

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Diet Blog: Day Forty-Two

Posted on February 13 2004 by Mickey
    Today’s weigh-in is unofficial, since I did it after I had breakfast. Still, the news is good — especially considering I fell off the wagon a little this week. The repetition of asparagus and cherry tomatoes and fish had gotten so monotonous I started treating myself to an occasional trip to the snack machine at work. Nevertheless, I weighed in at 218½ this morning: a three pound loss since last week and an even twenty pounds lost since the diet began.
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Mac Attack

Posted on February 12 2004 by Mickey
    Now that Virginia Tech has switched to Xserve, they’re selling off the 1,100 G5s which had formerly been their supercomputer. These 2GB dual-processor Power Macs, with 1GB of RAM and 160GB of hard drive space, are going for $2,799 over at MacMall.com. That’s $200 off Apple’s base price, not counting an additional $250 savings on the RAM.
    Mussst refraaain from clicking Select… Mussst refraaain from clicking Select…   [8:46 PM]
    Update: Speaking of Apple, they (and IBM and VisiCorp) might end up causing Microsoft to lose their Windows copyright! An old lawsuit against “Lindows” might backfire on Microsoft if it can be proved “windows𔄭 was used as a computer term before Microsoft’s 1985 copyright. Pity Apple had a graphical OS in 1984.
    …However…if Microsoft is unable to hang on to a copyright for “windows”, what would that mean in regards to “apple”?
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