links for 2007-08-02
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What it is: “Mobile Movie is bringing back the forgotten joy of the great American drive-in. Powered by cars and low-cost film projectors, “mobmovs” are easy and affordable to set up” (Cool!) [Via]
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“Australian commercial broadcaster Channel Ten has dropped Torchwood from the Monday 9.30pm timeslot, moving the programme to Tuesday nights at midnight (Wednesday 12am).” (We might start to call this Battlestar syndrome. *sigh*)
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“Teachers have called for websites such as YouTube to be shut down as part of efforts to prevent pupils and staff being bullied.” (And then we can ban all of those books since lots of them encourage vioilence … *sigh*).
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Listen to the original version of 1938 The War of the Worlds radio show in which Orson Welles took H.G. Wells’ tale of Martian invasion and scared a lot of people! [Direct Mp3 Link]
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“The reason for the public interest is that the hero of the game is a “honest and upright official” whose assignment is to weed out corrupt officials, along with their children and mistresses.” (Chinese game players vs official corruption!!)
Talking Facebook, MySpace, Australian Politics and Class … on the radio
Yesterday I was interviewed by Laura Miller on RTR FM’s radio programme ‘Morning Magazine’. Laura and I spoke about about MySpace, Facebook, Australian politican’s using social software, and the recent interest in these spaces in terms of ‘class’ on the back of danah boyd’s work. For the two or three people in the world who would be interested in hearing me talk about these things, you can listed to an mp3 recording of the interview (which clocks in at just under 10 minutes) here.
Incidentally, Laura completed her Communication Studies degree at UWA last year and was part of a team who put together the wonderful comic exploration of the role of the Peacock’s at UWA and that video is viewable here (fans of Laura’s may want to focus around 2:18 in, which features a 1970s Laura cameo!).
links for 2007-08-01
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““The Simpsons Movie” sold a strong $71.9 million in tickets at United States theaters over the weekend and another $100 million overseas, according to 20th Century Fox.” (Despite 19 years on TV, a change of medium is as good as a holiday!)
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The Times Online lists their “50 best Robot movies” … I disagree with some of their choices, but it’s an interesting list nevertheless
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How to take well-lit macro photographs of bugs and other itty-bitty things!
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Monsignor Geoff Baron who was recorded swearing and abusing teenagers (after some provocation, but not enough, imho, to justify the outburst) has been suspended after the clip was posted on YouTube and viewed widely.
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After asking for video resumes for a PA job, Sean “Diddy” Combs has had over 650 video reponses uploaded on the back of his request! [a href=”http://www.textually.org/tv/archives/2007/07/016855.htm”>Via]
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Chris Anderson versus Wagner James Au on the future of Second Life and the digital spinefex which seems to be tumbling through this virtual world.
links for 2007-07-30
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Is this an Alternative Reality Game well in advance of the 2008 Batman film or a Smart Mob cleverly using the image of the new Joker instead of Zombies or pillow fights?
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“57% of [US] online adults have used the internet to watch or download video, and 19% do so on a typical day. Three-quarters of broadband users (74%) who enjoy high-speed connections at both home and work watch or download video online.”
Blade Runner: The Final Cut
The US release date for the much anticipated Blade Runner: The Final Cut DVD has been set at 18 December 2007 (I hope the same date will be true for Australia, but I can’t find anything to confirm that yet). There are sets from 2 to 5 discs in size, including the package pictured, which comes in briefcase in the style of one holding the the Voight-Kampff test in the film. It all looks very exciting, and, unlike, say, George Lucas’ Star Wars Special Editions, the Blade Runner sets will contain all the versions of the film, from the 1982 release, the first Director’s Cut, the new Final Cut and, for those getting the 5-disc pack, a work-print (which I’ve never seen) which has all sorts of changes that never made it to any cinema screens at any time.
One of the best parts of this collection will have to be the new ‘Dangerous Days’ documentary which seeks to be a ‘definitive’ look at the film, but really will just add more to the film’s ongoing mythology. Yahoo! has a few preview clips up, which include footage showing new interviews with most of the cast and crew, including James Edward Olmos and Harrison Ford. I thought the previous Blade Runner documentary put together by Mark Kermode was pretty good, so I’m hoping to be dazzled by ‘Dangerous Days’ if it has even more to show about the film and its cultural impact.
I’m quite pleased this set is on its way – when I was lecturing earlier this year on Blade Runner I was really starting to think it would be the last time this film would seem relevant to students, but I think this re-release will spark further interest in the film, its peppered production history and the importance of the questions it provokes. Yes, I think Deckard is a replicant in every cut, but I’d be pleased to hear why you disagree … or agree! 🙂 [Via AICN]
For Harrison Ford fans, you can also check out the Comicon report from Ford, Spielberg and others from the set of Indiana Jones 4!
Update: Blade Runner: The Final Cut will get a cinematic premiere on September 1st at the 64th Venice Film Festival!
links for 2007-07-29
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The BBC’s iPlayer (downloadable TV) is in beta, but ONLY for XP users, only in the UK and with other restrictions which has led some people to question whether it’s consistent with the BBC’s mission.
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“Google hopes technology will be in place in September to stop the posting of copyright-infringing videos on its YouTube site, a company lawyer told a judge presiding over copyright lawsuits yesterday.”
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