Cleaning the Desktop

Time to clear off some of these links (yet retain them oh-so-cleverly in this blogpost) and pass the savings along to you!


Stop Smiling Magazine - CYNICS REJOICE! Well, not rejoice, exactly, because that's not your normal state of existence and then you wouldn't be ... oh, nevermind.

Ezprezzo.com - Full of games and video clips and other fun stuff to help pass the day

Mapping Hacks - All kinds of cartographic goodness!

Fallout - I have no idea how I originally came across this Russian site, but I know why I kept a link to it: the references to the classic Commodore 64 game "Wasteland".

Damn Interesting - It is definitely that. A cool and well designed site that posts random stories about all sorts of oddities that are ... well, you get the idea.

Never Happened - Probably linked solely on the info for the Boeing Library design.

Victorian London - A very cool and extensive online encyclopedia on all things Victorian (most of which are primary sources).

Other Time Lines - Site devoted to chronicling the alternate universes in historical "what if" fiction. In other words, manna for Harry Turtledove fans.

And finally yet another LEGO link, this time to some guy who refuses to let the inherently boxy nature of LEGO keep him from creating a very un-boxy design. I may have to steal some of his stuff.

Look, Sir: Digital Media

News travels fast on the Internet, and the revelation 24 hours ago about the original Star Wars films being released on DVD is already all over the place. One commentary on this that tickled me was from Mac Slocum of Film Fodder:

Now that many of us old-schoolers have popped out little ones, I'd be interested to know how parents are going to handle the all-important "Star Wars" introduction. Will you follow the final story arc ("Episode I" through "Episode VI")? Will you show the 2004 originals ("Star Wars" through "Jedi") then show the prequels? Or, will you revisit your own youthful "Star Wars" experience: "Original Unaltered Trilogy" followed by the prequels? These are the questions that haunt me.

Not to worry, Mac. I have an answer for you: (gestures vaguely with right hand) You don't need to see the prequels ... These aren't the films you're looking for ... You can go about your business ... Move along ... Move along.

Skippy of the Day: Donald Rumsfeld

Much like my full-length movie reviews, "Skippy" doesn't make many appearances around Acrentropy any more. However, given Rumsfeld's recent run in with somebody who actually knows what he's talking about, I though it appropriate to bring it back:

QUESTION: Well we're talking about lies and your allegation there was bulletproof evidence of ties between al Qaeda and Iraq.

RUMSFELD: Zarqawi was in Baghdad during the prewar period. That is a fact.

QUESTION: Zarqawi? He was in the north of Iraq in a place where Saddam Hussein had no rule. That's also ...

RUMSFELD: He was also in Baghdad.

QUESTION: Yes, when he needed to go to the hospital. Come on, these people aren't idiots. They know the story.

Mr. Rumsfeld, I lived in Tallahassee for most of 2001. That doesn't mean I ever had brunch with Jeb.

Dipstick.

BOOYAH!

Hot Damn! (Found via Linkfilter):

Die-hard Star Wars fans soon can see the original theatrical versions of the first three Star Wars films on DVD.

Even though George Lucas adamantly declared 2004's digitally restored Star Wars Trilogy DVDs the definitive versions of his movies, fans have held out hope for DVDs of the originals.

Their wishes will be granted Sept. 12 when Fox releases new two-disc DVDs ($30 each) of Star Wars (since retitled as Episode IV: A New Hope), The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi that include the films as they first appeared in theaters, along with the new, restored versions (now available in the four-disc $70 Star Wars Trilogy).

The individual DVDs will be taken off the market on Dec. 31, a strategy that Disney uses on many of its classic releases.

Lucas re-released his original three Star Wars films in theaters in 1997 with inserted scenes and improved special effects. Those "special editions" were further enhanced for the four-disc DVD set. With the original versions coming to DVD, here's what you'll see again:

• In Star Wars, Han Solo shoots a bounty hunter named Greedo. Lucas changed the scene later so it seemed that Greedo draws first, and changed it again for the DVD so that they appear to shoot simultaneously.

• In Empire Strikes Back, the ice creature that captures Luke Skywalker gets less screen time.

• In Jedi, Sebastian Shaw returns as Anakin in the movie's final scene. Lucas substituted Hayden Christiansen, who plays Anakin in the more recent films, for the 2004 DVD.

Back in 2004, Lucas told the New York Post, "The special edition is the one I wanted out there."

This new set of DVDs does not constitute "George changing his mind," says Lucasfilm's Jim Ward. "What we've always said is George viewed the revised versions of the films as the definitive versions."

Fan attachment to the originals is strong. The movies topped entertainment website IGN.com's recent chart of Top 25 Most Wanted DVDs.

"People want the option of having the movies that they remember and people are opposed to George Lucas' revisionist tendencies," says the site's Chris Carle.

The original films' video quality will not match up to that of the restored versions. "It is state of the art, as of 1993, and that's not as good as state of the art 2006," Ward says.

I am so glad I waited on buying this one. Where's that Amazon pre-order?!?!?!

Decisions, Decisions

With only two weeks left in the countdown, the JFF Schedule is finally out!

I'm actually going to see less this time around than I did last year. One reason is that they raised the prices on both tickets and 10-film passes (which are consequently not the great deal they were last year). I'm also going to be busy being a judge for the "Lost In Space" Alt Fest at the Library. At any rate, I've got my eyes on six films so far that I'll try and see:

F*&k - Well, with a title like that, how could I resist? Hard on the heels of The Artistocrats comes another documentary where a bunch of people deconstruct and analyze something filthy (this time a single word instead of an entire joke). George Carlin, of course, will be a major participant, as will be Bill Maher, Alanis Morissette and (gasp!) Ron Jeremy!

The Architect - Very little information seems to be about for this drama starring Anthony ("I'm an Aussie with an accent, but I keep getting cast as a NYC Italian") LaPaglia. IMDb gives this one sentence description: "An architect engages in conflict with an activist who lives in a dangerous complex the architect designed".

The Education of Shelby Knox - Here we have a documentary of a girl in Texas who changed from Conservative Southern Baptist to Liberal Christian and how that change came about. Although the subject matter sounds like great fun for Southern liberals like myself, it's also been described by some reviews as an incredibly moving drama.

Factotum - Who wants a nice thick slice of Charles Bukowski? I do! I do! Matt Dillon plays the protagonist here, and it's a great choice. After listening to him do the audio version of Kerouac's "On the Road", he should be well suited to the tale of a modern wandering bohemian.

Interkosmos - I'm a sucker for comedies in the form of history that never happened. In this case, it's an examination of the East German space program. The pictures that I've found taken from the film look incredibly goofy, but, of course, that's half the point, aint it?

Puzzlehead - By all accounts, this is a freaky little sci-fi drama in the tradition of Philip K. Dick. Very little information can be found beyond that, and even the official website doesn't give much away. It's all the more intriguing for it.

And then there's Lonely Hearts, a fairly large budget studio Film Noir shot in town (mentioned previously here). It will be preceded by a "Tribute Award", most likely given to star John Travolta. Unfortunately, seeing this film will pretty much prevent me from seeing both Factotum and Interkosmos. I suppose my mood (and Mrs. Mosley's leanings) will decide which will win out when that Saturday arrives.

Forest Whitaker Quote of the Month: May 2006

Deacons for Defense tells the true story of a group of black men in 1960's Louisiana who arm themselves and fight for their civil rights. The budget for this Cable movie is low, and it shows through the limited sets. The editing is a bit slapdash most of the time. Finally, Jonathan Silverman, for all his sincerity as civil rights worker Michael Deane, never looks quite right in a role where he's not hauling around a corpse.

Forest, on the other hand, does an admirable job with what he's given. One really good line occurs when his character discusses Deane's non-violent approach to their cause:

Marcus Clay - "You get on the floor. I'll go outside, see if I can find me some good old boys kick you around a little bit. I'll tell them you don't like to defend yourself. They'll be lined up all around the corner. (Laughing) You ready for a real good ass-whippin'?"