Category: Opinions/Editorials

Geekly Speaking About… “The Star Wars Blu-Ray Conundrum”

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It’s time once again for another edition of “Geekly Speaking About,” which we recorded on September 14, 2011. Joining myself and co-editor Jill Pullara are two of our newest contributors, Lowell Greenblatt and Jonathan Cherlin. We really do hope to get these going on a more frequent basis, and your feedback is always helpful. Show notes are right after the jump:

  • Star Wars: The Old Republic will be coming out sometime in “holiday 2012”; meanwhile, players of Star Wars: Galaxies can enjoy their last hurrah when the servers shut down on December 15. If you’re more of a Trekker, the Star Trek MMO has you covered; yes, it’s out of beta now.
  • Incidentally, my main on WoW is a level 51 Forsaken hunter on Proudmoore, and I’m trying to find a good RP server as well. Suggestions can go into the comments.
  • After talking about it twice, I thought we’d link it this time; here’s where you can find Richard Bartle’s article about the four types of RP gamers. For your further reading-about-MMO pleasure, you can check out SmartBomb, written by Heather Chaplin.
  • More information about Patrick Rothfuss and his works can be found here; I believe I’m going to have to put these books on my Kindle list as well (because we’re running out of space for them in our bookshelves). The Hunger Games is being made into a movie, and the Dresden Files was made into a TV show which ran for only one season.
  • Speaking of “Game of Thrones” isn’t it awesome that Peter Dinklage won an Emmy for his performance? He is such an awesome actor; I’ve loved and had a crush on him ever since I saw The Station Agent.
  • Catherine—which looks really cool—features animation by Studio 4C, the same studio which is currently bringing to you the new “Thundercats” series.
  • Not embedding it, but here is the first of the Red Letter Media Star Wars reviews; enjoy the rest at the risk of your free time as it’s almost as long as the movie itself. And as for “The Clone Wars,” Jill later noted that two of her friends who are huge Star Wars fans have come to love it, “either through sheer will or by legitimate means.”
  • Jurassic Park 4 will happen, as reported by Deadline.com from the San Diego Comic Con. And if Steven Spielberg wants to have two to three years to make it, I think Universal should just let him have that extra time, don’t you?
  • The next incarnation of The Crow does have a director but not a leading man. And for some reason, I’m actually glad it won’t be Bradley Cooper.
  • Just for you, Jonathan, here’s a link to The Hollywood Reporter’s analysis of the reasoning behind Frank Darabont’s departure from “The Walking Dead.”
  • And finally, here’s the link to all of the letters that ran in Paste.com regarding the conversation between a person who loves Final Fantasy VII and someone who has never played it before.

We hope to record a podcast or two during the upcoming New York Comic Con; suggestions and feedback can go in the comments!

Geekly Speaking About… “The Geek Chick Backlash”

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Behind the scenes, co-editor Jill Pullara and I have been recording podcasts while we work on something fun for our upcoming vidcast series, the first installment of which will be up in an hour. This particular one was recorded on May 7, 2011, and thanks to us finally getting some technical details worked out, it’s ready for public consumption. After the jump, I’ll give you the show notes:

If you’d like to download this show, you can go to the show’s home page at TalkShoe. I have to stitch the next podcast together, so expect that one to go up in maybe a week or so? Comments, questions, and kudos can be left here.

Trisha’s Take: Using the Force as a force of good

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Katie poses with her very own custom Star Wars drawing by Scott Zirkel (c) Carrie Goldman

When Carrie Goldman wrote about her daughter Katie who was teased when she brought her Star Wars-themed water bottle to school because “Star Wars is for boys, and not girls,” and the Internet and cast and crew members from “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” proved that was most definitely not the case, I kept a close eye on the story.

Even though I’m not specifically a Star Wars fan, I do know what it’s like to be bullied or teased for looking and sounding or just being different from the other kids I grew up with. When I was younger, I lived in a pretty suburban area in Orange County, California. From when I was in kindergarten to when I was in the sixth grade, I had quite a few strikes against me: a) I’m Asian, b) I was smart, and c) I had (and still do have) a bit of a speech impediment.

Even now, as a grown woman working in a somewhat posh office in downtown Manhattan, I often feel awkward because I don’t dress like the other women who work in the office, and almost all of my geeky pop culture references go completely over the heads of the other people I work with. To throw in some more pop culture references, in an office full of Joan Holloways, I am a Peggy Olsen.

Having said that, I think even adult geeks can take heart from Goldman’s most recent update about Katie:

As I tried to coax her into putting on the patch [to help control her amblyopia], I remembered that one of the comments to Katie in the Anti-Bullying article was from a man who called himself the One-Eyed Jedi, because he was born with only one eye. I told Katie about him, and she immediately stopped crying. She began asking me questions about him, and as her focus shifted from herself to him, she was able to calm down and put on her patch.

The next morning, when she protested wearing the patch, I told her about a woman who had written about how she had suffered from scoliosis as a child and needed to wear a brace. Again, Katie was able to move outside of her unhappiness and put on her patch.

and

Katie is learning how to reach out to help other children in the same way that she has been helped.  A mother named Emily called to tell me that her first grade son was recently teased for bringing My Little Pony for show and tell.  She said he was terribly upset by the incident, and when I told Katie about it, she called to leave a message for the child.

She said, “I am Katie.  I like Star Wars, and you like My Little Pony.  I know other boys who like to play with My Little Pony, and it’s great, and umm, May the Pony Be With You!” she finished proudly.

Today in Evanston, Illinois at Katie’s school, they will be holding a Proud To Be Me Day where they will be “encouraging all students to wear something that represents their special interests regardless of gender (i.e. a girl in a Star Wars shirt or a boy in a princess shirt).” And over 28,000 geeks on Facebook have pledged to wear their own Star Wars shirts today as well, to support the idea that it’s perfectly okay to be a geek.

But even better than that, Goldman asked in a different follow-up article that “each person who decides to wear a Star Wars item also make a donation of a single Star Wars/science fiction toy to a shelter or hospital on December 10th.  (And please specify that the toy can go to a girl OR a boy, not just a boy).” I personally believe a great way to honor that request would be to check out the children’s hospital wishlists over at Child’s Play or to see if there’s an organization like the New York City-based Winter Wishes in your area, and donate.

And no matter what flavor of geek you are, I think that’s something we can all get behind.

Geekly Speaking About… “Top Gear USA” Episode 1

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From l to r: Adam Ferrara, Tanner Foust, and Rutledge Wood hope you'll enjoy the U.S. version of "Top Gear"

Thanks to some technical difficulties which were not present when we conducted our tech test about 1.5 hours before its premiere last night at 10:00 pm, we were unable to produce the audio for the live commentary between myself and Kara Dennison as we watched the first episode of the U.S. version of “Top Gear.”

Thankfully, there was nothing wrong with our fingers, and so just in the nick of time, we hied ourselves over to Google Chat to record our thoughts about the first episode of “Top Gear U.S.A.” on the History Channel:

10:05 PM Kara: Okay, here we go. Right … things I’m noticing to start.
TrishaLynn: And already I’ve got problems with this as well. You go first 🙂
10:07 PM Kara: One, their set is similar but smaller; two, they’re giving the same sort of talk as the original hosts do; three, they’re working on getting a similar level of cinematography going.
Kara: It looks like re: the ‘Challenges’ they’ve got the right idea.
TrishaLynn: The addition of the missile detection system system to this kind of challenge is a nice touch. And that Tanner Foust is cute, though.
Kara: I’m gonna say right now … I’m not coming in intending to hate this. Just skeptical. One thing I will say about the hosts is you can tell it’s gonna be a bit ’til they’re comfortable with each other. On the set, they looked like they were still working on how to talk to each other and the camera at the same time.
TrishaLynn: “We’re the only two dudes riding in a red convertible together right now” = That’s cute. I appreciate that they’re doing this in a live city.
Kara: Now, this sponsor message actually has to do with something I was talking with my family about over dinner. One of the reasons Jay Leno turned down the show.
TrishaLynn: Go forth and expound!
Kara: The Beeb gets its money via taxpayers; American TV via commercials. I think there’s a legitimate concern that this sort of thing could keep them from getting too critical of certain cars for fear of losing possible sponsors. That’s really gonna depend a lot on how ballsy the hosts and producers are. If they’re smart they’ll avoid running commercials from c…… oh, wait, the first ad out of the gate was for Mercedez-Benz.
10:15 PM TrishaLynn: What I love about original TG is that they do have the autonomy to say, “Screw you” if/when the auto manufacturers don’t comply.  Like in the drive from San Francisco, Calif.  to the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. Dodge didn’t want to provide a Challenger, so they just went out and bought one
10:16 PM Kara: For the record, there are other international Top Gears: Australia and Russia. So we aren’t the first. “We are going straight to hell, my friend.” “Just turn left here on Blasphemy Blvd.” Okay, that got a giggle.
TrishaLynn: I recall that there are other versions of Top Gear out there. And how are those guys doing on their shows? Still tops in their country? Do they have the same kind of sponsorship issues? And speeding in a cemetery? Not sure if even Jeremy Clarkson would do that.
Kara: Not sure about Russia, but the Australia one does have a fair following as I understand it. Not sure about their finances. Richard Hammond might do it, with that chasing him. Aaaand, there’s Ride of the Valkyries. Was wondering when they’d do that.
10:19 PM TrishaLynn: I recall reading somewhere that of the bloggers who got to see the first three eps, it appeared as if some of these were totally staged. Which would make sense with the cemetery run and the fact that we didn’t see any other car on the road while they did their thing.
Kara: I see a banner in the back, and that did look like the Stig. They say they’ll have their own masked racer. Hopefully they won’t call him the Stig.
A lot of people accuse the original of being staged, and I think they admitted to the caravan fire … the rest, I think people just sort of stand back and let them be at this point so there’s no need to stage them.
TrishaLynn: Yay for their “Stig” reveal…?
Kara: … Oops.
TrishaLynn: Heh. I do like how they show where he is on the track during these power laps.
Kara: That is nice, yes.
TrishaLynn: Their straight is nice. Nice bit of a drift round that last corner
Kara: Not bad.
10:23 PM TrishaLynn: So far, we like their improvement on how they broadcast the power laps.
Kara: Yes. That’s good from a technical standpoint. People who’ve been watching for a while (or have played Gran Turismo) know the TG track already, but I like having an overhead of the new track.
10:24 PM  TrishaLynn: And the improv’ed banter between the hosts could use work, but it’s good that they like each other. See, here’s my thing about TG UK and the BBC. The thing that works is that these guys were somewhat already known as presenters so seeing these guys talk about cars was good. I’m speaking of Clarkson, Hammond, and James May. Each of these guys are almost totally unknown.
Kara: Yeah. Though Hammond auditioned for TG.
10:26 PM TrishaLynn: Ah, see this is why I’m glad I have you as my TG historian 🙂
Kara: He’d been doing sparse work before then as a radio personality. Clarkson and May were both on the old format. Clarkson from 88-00, May in ’99
TrishaLynn: Hmm. Okay, I understand that. So do you think Leno would have been a better co-host?
10:27 PM Kara: I think it’s important for the hosts to have both a ‘presence’ and the geekery to go with it. Oh God. They’re using a Suzuki for the ‘Big Star, Small Car’ segment.
10:28 PM TrishaLynn: “You’re gonna wear a helmet”?  Heh….
10:29 PM Kara: These three look like they’re gonna be more of the ‘frat guy’ sort with each other. Will be interesting.
TrishaLynn: First guest is Buzz Aldrin. “You had a 51 Chevy?” “They weren’t that expensive in those days”. I like how they’re showing the pictures of the cars they owned.
10:31 PM Kara: Adam Ferrara is a far less aggressive interviewer than Clarkson, but that’s sort of like saying someone is less intimidating than Andre the Giant, so…
TrishaLynn: Ah… gearbox problems. So it’s not just a right-hand drive thing.
Kara: Absolutely not. Buzz Aldrin officially the fastest lap TG USA has had on their show.
10:33 PM TrishaLynn: Officially since he’s the first guest on their track. 🙂
Kara: So far, yes, I like the overhead of the track and the actual visual aids for the cars in the interview segment, like you said. I wonder if any of that will be taken into account for the UK show.
10:35 PM TrishaLynn: I don’t know. But it’s a good change.
10:36 PM Kara: I don’t think they’ll bother with the former, since most people watching know the hell out of their track. I’d sort of like the latter since, despite the fact that I enjoy looking at shiny cars, I cannot recall how most look offhand.
TrishaLynn: But back to Leno… who else do you think would be a good co-host for this show instead of these guys? Personally, I would like to have seen Adam Carolla and/or Jimmy Kimmel. Because of how awesome “The Man Show” was.
Kara: I think Adam Carolla was an early choice. Sadly, I am not as well-versed in what American sorts are car geeks. And I do think that’s important. Being one, or being willing to learn.
TrishaLynn: Nice fun cinematography here.
Kara: For those playing the home game, bullfighting with a Lamborghini.
10:38 PM TrishaLynn: Nice trivia bit there. Re: Names of Lamborghini cars versus bulls.
10:39 PM Kara: I know I got quiet, I’m just drooling over the pretty supercars.
Kara: “It’s like being aroused at gunpoint.”
TrishaLynn: Talk about being inappropriate… and ballsy
Kara: Their talk is a lot more straightforward, I think. In original TG, you get Clarkson coming in talking about cars being fueled by diced lions …
TrishaLynn: For a second there, I was thinking that the tone was entirely too fawning and not critical enough. But the metaphors are what make Clarkson’s car films so fun to watch!
Kara: Oh, they absolutely are. At the same time I’m glad they’re not trying to cast themselves in those three roles. Like, “Okay, you’ll be our Hammond” or some such.
TrishaLynn: Yes. I’m glad of that as well. But this means that Tanner Foust (who is a stunt driver) is also a bit of a pussy because he’s the one who wore a helmet when they took the Suzuki for a spin and the other guys did not.
10:43 PM Kara: I think of the three, Rutledge Wood seems to be most grounded (at least for now) in the spirit of the show.
10:44 PM TrishaLynn: Rutledge also feels like he’s the most “good ol’ boy”
Kara: The sensibility is very different. There’s this sort of ‘OH WOW CARS’ aspect to them.
10:45 PM TrishaLynn: Nice callback to the original metaphor.
Kara: At the 45 minute mark, my main impression: I feel equally informed but far less ‘drawn in.’
10:46 PM TrishaLynn: How much is that because … DRAG RACE!
Kara: The upcoming drag race might help. And here’s a preview for next episode…
TrishaLynn: Teaching a blind man to drift? AWESOME.
10:47 PM Kara: They certainly seem to be getting similar amounts of leeway to the original.
TrishaLynn: Meaning? Getting or giving?
Kara: If they can put a blind man behind the wheel, even in a controlled environment. And I’m talking safety-wise. So, okay, no one involved in production is particularly inhibited.
TrishaLynn: It’s safer for them to be critical of Lambos because they’re not sponsoring this episode.
10:49 PM Kara: True.
TrishaLynn: But yes, I do feel awesomely informed. And I think the problem we’re having is that because we are expecting or comparing the new show to the UK show, we’ve got problems with the beats. YEAH, DRAG RACE!
10:51 PM Kara: I’m gonna say, though, the people behind the UK show are why I started (and kept) watching.
TrishaLynn: I agree with you on that.
Kara: I DO like drag races, though.
TrishaLynn: Me, too. Wait… they’re not racing each other? I am less excited about this now.
Kara: This is individual times.
10:52 PM TrishaLynn: I like how Tanner can tell by the sound how he’s shifting. And I am totally forgetting the third guy’s name.
10:53 PM Kara: Adam? Or Rutledge?
TrishaLynn: Which goes to show how forgettable he is right now. Yes, Adam.
Kara: Given the fact that BBC America is running TG far closer to its initial airdate and releasing things (from series 10 onward) on DVD, I don’t think this is necessarily an attempt to oust/replace the original. Which I think is a lot of people’s major concern.
TrishaLynn: I agree with you on that.
Kara: And now we’re putting the comedian in the car. I trust the other two far more and am not entirely sure why he is here. “That shaking is near death.” But yeah … original TG is heavily pirated to the point that they actually worked it into their marketing this past series.
TrishaLynn: Did they?
Kara: “Back with episodes you’ve never seen before … Unless you’re a filthy Internet pirate!!!”
TrishaLynn: Heh!
Kara: I am a little unnerved by the fact that their Stig banner is animated. It keeps catching me unawares.
10:58 PM TrishaLynn: It is?
Kara: Yeah, he’ll move every once in a while.
TrishaLynn: I think I like their dynamic a bit. Chicane sounds too similar to Chicago. I love how the two regular guys (Rutledge and Adam) love busting on the professional driver. “It was so fast it changed colors!”
Kara: Yeah, they found their punching bag pretty quick. John Deere sports car. Ohhh dear. Or is that “Ohhhh, Deere.”
TrishaLynn: I would love to see that happen. Them turning a John Deere tractor into a super car or a racing car. That’s a great challenge idea.
11:01 PM TrishaLynn: Final thoughts?
Kara: Final thoughts … interesting guys (though Adam feels a little forgettable, I like Tanner and Rutledge), like some of the technical things they’ve done differently, I like that they’re starting out at least somewhat fearless, but there’s one thing that keeps nagging at me. Which is … why?
11:02 PM TrishaLynn: Why remake TG for the U.S.? Then you should also ask why did they do it for Australia and Russia.
Kara: I do.
TrishaLynn: Hah!
11:03 PM Kara: I understand that the auto industry is very different in different areas of the world.
TrishaLynn: In comments I’ve seen on other articles, people have said that they once thought the U.S. version of “The Office” would be terrible, and it actually wasn’t.
11:04 PM Kara: I can’t get behind the US or UK version of “The Office,” but I think that’s just because I can’t get behind office humor in the first place. I do know it’s done rather well, and even people leery of remakes like it.
TrishaLynn: “Sanford and Son” was also based on a British TV show.
11:05 PM Kara: Sadly, the good remakes are so few and far between. When they’re good, they’re amazing. When they’re bad …
TrishaLynn: And if we’re asking why does a franchise allow itself to be remade for a different country, I think the answer is so that it can be more easily understood in the target country. What I don’t think people who are proponents for localization understand is that what makes it popular in the foreign country is that it is different from what they’re used to.
Kara: TG has a very British sensibility to it. A lot of the things we remake over here thrive on that sensibility, and I think things like “The Office” weren’t so reliant at their core on that. And that’s how you can tell if something’s gonna fly or not.
TrishaLynn: I remember when I was working at a media database company and was working on Geneon’s DVD releases of eps from a Japanese car show. They were just subtitled, but reading the synopses of these shows were just so interesting to me. And I can imagine a show like that celebrating the Japanese car culture and just Japanese culture in its own way and if I could remember what those DVDs were called, I’d watch the shite out of them.
Kara: Sounds actually like something I need to start looking for, as well. The idea is interesting. When I was first sat down to watch TG, it wasn’t “Here’s a car show,” it was “Here’s three crazy middle-aged British guys doing a car show.” Nothing to say the TG producers can’t expand their media empire. I think it’s just going to attract a different demographic entirely.
TrishaLynn: I totally agree with you. Thinking about who this show is for, it’s not for the original TG fan.
Kara: Thing is, it’s really hard to tell who they think it’s for.
TrishaLynn: Explain?
Kara: I’m not sure I can because I’m still turning over all the elements in my brain … best I can describe it… On the surface it’s very much like the original. It’s going with the format Clarkson pitched to the BBC in 2002. They even shoot it the same. But it’s hard to tell if that’s meant to attract people who like the original, or if it’s just transposing a formula that works to a different audience.
TrishaLynn: Hmm. Interesting thought.
Kara: Like … have they put out this shiny thing for me or for someone else? BBC aren’t dumb. Usually.
TrishaLynn: And who knows, maybe once these guys get into a groove, we’ll like them more?
Kara: Maybe.
11:16 PM TrishaLynn: Because has the U.S. ever put out a show about cars that has lasted long? Maybe that’s what they’re trying to do?
Kara: Maybe. The original TG — by which I mean the original format going back to ’77 — stuck around for a good long while. I’m not sure we have an equivalent in U.S. car shows.
11:17 PM TrishaLynn: You know, for having such a car culture in so many parts of this country, we haven’t had any TV shows about cars. Which aren’t about the cars themselves. “Speed Racer” does not count. 1) Because it was orignally Japanese and 2) Because it’s about drivers.
Kara: I know someone who could put us right if we’re wrong, but sadly he is unavailable. I’m sure we’ll hear in the comments if there’s one we’re missing.
11:18 PM TrishaLynn: “M.A.S.K.” doesn’t count. “Transformers” doesn’t count.
Kara: Aw.
TrishaLynn: Well they transform into “not cars”! They don’t count.
11:19 PM Kara: TG in the UK actually has a competitor — “Fifth Gear” — so they’re still ahead.
TrishaLynn: (Although “M.A.S.K.” was a hella awesome show). We do have magazines about cars. So why hasn’t Car & Driver done their own show?
Kara: Excellent question.
TrishaLynn: And the Japanese show I mentioned was also done magazine format.
Kara: That was the original TG format. It was just one person doing car news and reviews. Well, initially one.
TrishaLynn: Because why mess with a format that works?
Kara: Well, back before ’02 it was much more straightforward.
TrishaLynn: So I’ve heard.
Kara: Very basic news, reviews, occasionally an outing to a car show.
TrishaLynn: I can see why that format won’t work anymore.
Kara: Clarkson’s the one who started stirring that up in ’88.Because he came in and … er … was himself … and the ratings went through the roof.
TrishaLynn: And the Japanese show was based on a magazine, that’s what I meant by its format. But it had crazy-awesome stuff like we see in Clarkson’s re-imagining.
Kara: Yeah, the spectacle.
11:22 PM TrishaLynn: Yes, the spectacle.
Kara: And how just straight-up ludicrous some of it is. And by “some,” I mean most.
11:23 PM Kara: So the questions become: Can we do that here? 2. If we can’t, should we bother, or should we just do our car show and let the boys on the home front keep blowing up caravans for themselves? I don’t think the existence of a US version really threatens the livelihood of the UK one in any way. Which sounds obvious, but I think that can be a knee-jerk reaction. Especially considering a lot of UK-to-US remakes really DO muck things up by way of international distribution.
TrishaLynn: I think the success of this show will eventually rely on several things happening: 1) That people will enjoy watching the three hosts have fun with cars. 2) That they will find their own “new thing” which will differentiate their TG from the original TG. 3) That they can and will have the balls to call an American car rubbish.
11:26 PM Kara: 3 is a big one.
TrishaLynn: 4) That Americans can accept that it’s okay to enjoy and love cars but to still be responsible about the environment at the same time.
11:27 PM Kara: I do note that there’s not been a marketing push to attract fans of the original.
11:30 PM Kara: And yeah … there are people out there who just plain aren’t Anglophiles. The opposite, in fact.
TrishaLynn: Those people are kinda weird. 🙂
Kara: Ha!
11:31 PM TrishaLynn: So in other words…. reserving judgment? Cautiously okay?
Kara: I’m trying very hard to.
TrishaLynn: Giving them a shot?
Kara: While reminding myself that I am not their target audience.
TrishaLynn: Noted.
Kara: I’m gonna do my three-episode rule here, I think.
TrishaLynn: Alright… back in a week then? And this time we’ll try to actually coordinate audio again?
11:32 PM Kara: That’d be pretty cool.

Tune in next week, and we hope to have the technical difficulties with an audio commentary ironed out by then.

Geekly Speaking About… the Original Saw movie

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In a wonderful bit of synergy, the last movie in the Saw franchise was released in 3D right before Halloween. Having never seen any of the movies before, Lyssa Spero and I decided to watch the first one a while ago and recorded the results for all of you to hear.

I must warn you that the audio in this is terribly NSFW if you don’t have headphones on because there were just that many moments of WTF going on. Also, it goes without saying that this commentary is full of spoilers for not only the first Saw, but a few of the others, and has casting spoilers for Saw 3D.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy listening to this as much as we enjoyed recording it.

http://www.geekingoutabout.com/wp-includes/Podcasts/GSA_Saw-1_Commentary.mp3

Trisha’s Take: My response to the Moon Manifesto

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I had a very busy day at work yesterday and so at the end of the day when I heard about the latest case of “writer-fail” to move through the sci-fi/fantasy fandom, I gave it a quick read and then moved on.

For some brief background, sci-fi/fantasy author Elizabeth Moon (the Planet Pirates series, the Familias Regnant series) wrote a blog entry on September 11 expressing her thoughts about what it means to be a U.S. citizen and how the group of developers behind the Park51 community center are a big wrong-headed.

Several people took issue with some of her statements, most notably editor Cat Valente, who decreed that the upcoming November issue of Apex magazine will be dedicated to showcasing the works of “writers of Arab descent and Muslim writers.” Valente’s response was re-blogged by British author Warren Ellis, and it all went viral from there.

Now that I finally have a chance to sit down and write (and I’m also attempting to get my writers’ muscles back), here’s my pure reaction to what Moon had to say, without glancing at other peoples’ reactions:

Had the signers of the Declaration been as wedded to personal liberty as the right wing today, there would have been no successful Revolution.

Okay, here she’s proving that she’s no Tea Partier, and in fact, I’ll bet that she’s saying that she doesn’t think that the TP movement is really actually true to its own cause. Nevertheless, any time anyone brings up what they think the “founding fathers” thought in such a declarative manner, my hackles are raised. You can only infer what they believed through their writings and make guesses by their actions.

[They] did not demand that others bear the burdens so they could ride in the well-sprung coach.

My flip response is that some of them owned slaves just so that they could ride in coaches. However, I get what she’s saying in that they personally put their own lives and reputations on the line when they signed the document. I totally grok that part.

When a President’s wife (Laura Bush) publicly announces that she and her husband have suffered more from the war than anyone else–a statement I’m sure most brain-injured and amputee vets and their families would take issue with–and then retire to a cushy Dallas home and a cushy central Texas ranch–with a big estate in Patagonia waiting should they wish–we have an excellent example of citizenship failure right at the top.

I don’t see here where she’s being painted as a Fox News-spouting bigot. I wish she had provided sources, though. Alas, she’s a writer and not a journalist and not a blogger.

When an Islamic group decided to build a memorial center at/near the site of the 9/11 attack, they should have been able to predict that this would upset a lot of people.

Oh boy…. there’s a lot of wrong in this entire paragraph. So much wrong that I’m not going to go into it, but just mark the entire paragraph with a red X and move on.

But Muslims fail to recognize how much forbearance they’ve had.

This “forbearance” came out of the civil rights movement, and is a good thing. Perhaps it’s created its own problem where now people are hyper-vigilant about remaining politically correct, but then again it’s not a bad thing when people who just.don’t.get.it. don’t understand why people are upset about what they say in public and think it’s okay (see: Dr. Laura Schlessinger’s outburst).

But yeah… there’s one whole paragraph of “fail” and unless she’s made a follow-up statement or concessions, it’s not looking good for Elizabeth Moon.

I can’t speak for the other writers of this blog, but I believe that an upcoming issue of a fantasy mag with Arab or Muslim-writers in it would be awesome, I would totally read and buy that or donate to the website, and I hope you do, too.

If you’re a writer of Arab descent or you are a member of the Muslim faith (or both!) and are interested in submitting to Apex magazine, the submission guidelines can be found here.

Trisha’s Take: How Hollywood may still be “doing it wrong” in the world of web entertainment

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When it comes to being a writer or actor, we currently live in interesting times—and by “interesting” I’m using the “Chinese curse” definition of the word.

Computers and the Internet have not only opened up a new distribution method for people to see their work and give them money for it, but also a way for people to view their work and keep from giving them money for it. The main point of contention during the Writers Guild Strike of 2007-2008 and the threatened Screen Actors Guild Strike of 2008 was over residuals from “new media,” and how much a production studio would pay them for re-broadcasts of the material over time beyond its initial broadcast.

To briefly summarize, rather than use the old mathematical formula created in the 1980s when home video became a concern or wait a few years to see exactly how profitable distribution on “new media” is and create a new formula, the WGA wanted the producers’ guild (the AMPTP) to create a new formula right now which would potentially address any and all concerns about how writers would get paid for work that has the potential to be seen and consumed in innumerable ways that aren’t easily tabulated thanks to things like click rates and online piracy.

Because that formula hasn’t been perfected yet and online piracy is still a problem, anyone who wants to start releasing their content on the ‘net is trying to figure out who their loyal paying audience (aka their True Fans) is and how to best get a hold of that person’s entertainment dollar.

About a month ago, Indie Wire.com blogger Cameron Carlson went to the “Producing Web Entertainment” seminar at the American Cinematheque in California, and came away with eight things he learned about how to best reach an Internet-based audience. However, the people on that panel and the series they were talking about were people I’d never heard of personally, which made me wonder: Exactly who are these guys and why would I want to believe their words on this topic?

After doing lots of clicking and a bit of research, I present to you my own list of five things I think these particular content creators are doing correctly and incorrectly when it comes to reaching out to a ‘net-savvy audience:

1. The folks at Babelgum.com allow for embedding, viewing fullscreen, and sharing via social networks on their video content hosting site and that’s great. However, they don’t have multiple options for embedding a la YouTube, and that’s bad. If I want to share your video with my friends on my blog, then I want to show you off in the best manner possible and a small inset ain’t gonna cut it. This kids’ re-enactment of the Bravo reality show “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” is pretty funny, but if the sample I’m showing you presents poorly, you’re not going to want to go to the source to see more, are you?

That’s a shame, as there’s some pretty good content over at Babelgum, including a BBC channel that has clips of shows like “The Young Ones” and “Red Dwarf” and many of the Improv Everywhere skits.

Overall grade: C+

2. I was fully prepared to give the gang at FearNet.com an awesome grade because they have an interesting selection of free R-rated movies that only require an age-checker to view, the female eye-candy host of their “Jobs of the Damned” original series seems pretty genre-savvy, and they already know their audience is going to be a bunch of horror buffs, so they don’t condescend when they conduct interviews, as seen above.

However, when I pasted the embed code for the video above into the text side of my WordPress Dashboard, a whole lot of clunky code came along with it, including a link to their ad network. Ugh.

Overall grade: B-

3. Sometimes, size really does matter and in this case, the lack of an adjustable embed code means that showing you this episode of “Easy to Assemble” is going to break some blogger templates and even some LiveJournal pages, so good luck sharing it with your friends. By far, this is the slickest of the productions we’ve seen in this review, but there’s just one major problem I have: Why does the About page only contain a press release for the second season?

Part of what turns a casual viewer into a True Fan these days is the level of access to the creators of that content and the amount of information those creators are willing to provide. If you’re not even willing to have a FAQ section available on your site to explain exactly why actual Hollywood stars like Illeana Douglas, Justine Bateman and Ed Begely, Jr. are schilling for IKEA in a quirky web series, then I’m not going to want to watch it, no matter how many Streamys it has won.

Overall grade: C

4. See what I mean about breaking templates? I really, really like “Imaginary Bitches,” even if I’m not their target demographic of women who do “lunch with the girls” and make plans to go shopping. The conceit of main character Eden (played by Eden Riegel, best-known as Bianca from “All My Children”) creating bitchy imaginary friends because her real-life friends are all in relationships and have abandoned her is so freaking interesting to me because it’s an unusual take on a very common situation.

The embed issue aside, the other problem I have with IB is the lack of consistency on the Cast page. Props go to male cast members Michael Traynor and Billy Aaron Brown for following Eden’s example and deciding to relish in the playful spirit of Internet TV and having such playful bios for their cast pages.

With the exception of Brooke Nevin, the rest of the female cast didn’t follow suit at all, which makes them all look like, well, bitches.

Overall grade: B-

5. And as long as I’m at it, I’m also gonna give some props to Strike TV, because just in the same way that Joss Whedon was bored, wanted something to do during the Writers’ Strike, and came up with “Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog,” every single series in this long list was created because some writer had an idea, was able to go out and realize it, and someone gave it a home.

I am now about to take those props away because not only is the management team nothing but guys, but it doesn’t seem like any of the blogs or any of the other series have been updated since 2009. If a bunch of Canadians living on an island off the coast of Washington state can produce at least one video a week for over six years while trying to maintain a day job or school, you’d think a bunch of Hollywood screenwriters could do the same, yes?

Overall grade: F

Ultimately, as Carlson concluded, just as the plate engravers looked askance at Johannes Gutenberg or silent film stars cursed Al Jolson’s name under their breaths, the successes or failures of the Hollywood players in this article are probably being well-scrutinized by the bean counters at the AMPTP. I don’t agree, however, that it’s these particular creators who will be the “shovel sellers.”

In fact, I’m going to make a bold prediction right now and say that it’s going to be some unknown creator who’s going to come up with a product, video format, level of popularity and transparency, and price security that will propel Internet-original entertainment beyond the comparatively niche circle it currently enjoys.

Trisha’s Take: How to desegregate the World Series of Poker

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Shaun Deeb says: "I support women poker players. Poker is a gender-neutral game. I am here to promote abolishment of gender-specific or segregationist events at the WSOP."

Back when Secretary of Geek Affairs Wil Wheaton was writing a lot about poker in his blog, I took it upon myself to learn more about the modern game and why Wheaton liked it. My Internet meanderings eventually lead me to the Tiltboys, a group of friends and poker players in the California Bay Area who had been regaling the online poker community for years with their outrageous exploits, prop bets, and antics which surrounded their weekly home game.

Eventually, they gathered these writings into a book called Tales from the Tiltboys, the cover of which features former “Celebrity Poker Showdown” commentator Phil Gordon in drag. The reason why he was in drag was that back in 2006, he and and four of the other Tiltboys crashed a Bay101 ladies only tournament (please excuse the bright pink background); the reason written by Bruce “Bruscilla” Hayek is here:

If you’re not a ba-poker [Bay Area Poker] list regular, then you may have missed a recent debate about Bay101’s “Ladies Only” poker tournaments. A prolonged discussion ensued, with many complaints about reverse discrimination, and post after post enumerating the many reasons that women don’t need an exclusive poker tournament.

Very few dissenting opinions surfaced, with one notable exception: a post that lucidly and succinctly proposed that this was a “solution in search of a problem.” I was at a party on Sunday with several Tiltboys, discussing why Clifford Matthew’s posting was one of the more sensible ones we’d seen.

I then turned to Rafe [Furst] and mentioned that the current discussion kind of made pointless a previous discussion we’d had. (We had talked earlier about accepting a proposed challenge on the list to show up for the tournament in drag.) Rafe agreed with me, but we both regretted having to pass up on some good fun for reasons of principle, so we resolved the dilemma the way our religion dictates: a rock-scissors-paper match. We loaded the dice in fun’s favor by me taking the side of principle and Rafe taking the side of fun, and I somehow got skunked 3-0.

In short, “they did it for the lulz,” and according to Hayek’s account, only a few of the women there complained.

Fast-forward to the 2010 World Series of Poker where professional Shaun Deeb (that’s him in the picture above) and 11 other men who also wanted “lulz”—or legitimately wanted to bring attention to the fact that they feel that the inclusion of the “Ladies Event” is sexist—entered and played in the tournament which took place on Day 15 of the series. The poker blogosphere erupted with commentary about the proceedings, but I think the most interesting comment is from Linda Geenan, a former dealer and current grandmother, who was got her pocket aces cracked by American Pie starlet Shannon Elizabeth on the first day of the event:

My view on women in poker and Ladies only events are neither pro nor con. I have no huge push to segregate the poker field into categories but I also am not adverse to it. The Seniors Event and the Ladies Event, are categories that are not open to all players, it’s just the way it is, live with it kids. When you look at the realistic side of life and what it costs just to make a daily living, the $50K Poker Players Championship is in a category that very few of us will ever find ourselves standing at the cashier cage signing up for the event. It is what it is. If I had an extra 50K, I have too many other things going on in life to invest it in a grueling battle of wits, cards, poker skill, and physical exhaustion, to try to win the event or even finish in the money so I’m not bust.

As a former writer and editor for Sequential Tart.com, I’m very familiar with the arguments for and against single-gender only events, publications, and websites because ever since the Golden Age of comics began in the late 1930s, the world of both the comics themselves and the companies who published them have been the domain of mostly men. As a female geek, I know well what it’s like to be the only woman in a comics shop or one of the few women at an anime or comics convention.

And I will say to the people who run online poker sites and poker bloggers now what the women who write for Sequential Tart as well as female creators/editors like Johanna Draper Carlson, Lea Hernandez, and Gail Simone have been saying for years:

If you ask women what you can do to make them feel welcome at your table and then actually listen to what they say and follow up on that advice, your female audience will grow.

This means doing things like featuring women in your advertising as more than just armchair candy. It means refraining from calling women “spank-worthy” in the same blogpost where you provide links to other commentary about the 2010 Ladies Event. It means boosting the visibility of female pros who run good, giving us role models to follow and emulate.

It means continuing to dissuade men from entering into the Ladies’ Event until the amount of women who are playing in the donkaments and other lower entry fee games increases. It may mean creating a Newbie Event to parallel the Ladies’ Event or the Senior’s Event and restricting it to players who have never cashed in any major tourney in order to serve as that “free hit” that gets newer female players coming back for more.

It means doing these things to convert women like me, the casual home game player who runs well at her table into a casino-visiting player or an online player.

And that’s how I think the desegregation of the WSOP should start.

Trisha’s Take: To buy an iPhone4, or not to buy an iPhone4?

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If, like me, you were unfortunate enough to only have to rely on Twitter updates to find out exactly what new doohickies are going to be on the new iPhone rather than being able to stream it live, you can check it all out again courtesy of This Week in Tech’s special coverage of the Apple Worldwide Developer’s Conference (aka WWDC).

After reading Gizmodo.com’s official summary of the new features, the thing that jumps out at me is the selective multitasking, which pits it directly against the Droid phones and makes me swing back towards staying with AT&T. The video calling feature turns me off because it’s something I don’t think I’d use every day.

Gizmodo’s own rundown of why someone would want to buy one is telling, especially the part where it says that it’s much better at being a phone than previous models of the iPhone were due to its slimmer size, greater battery life, and noise canceling microphone.

I think that the reason someone should buy an iPhone should ultimately come down to how much it’s going to cost you on a monthly basis. Considering that I’m already paying about $110 a month for the most basic calling plan (but I’ve got an obscene amount of rollover minutes), unlimited data, and unlimited text messages–and that’s before my special day job-related discount could kick in–I’m still incredibly on the fence.

Anyone local got an iPhone or a Droid I could play with for a while?

Trisha's Take: When one 'tube feeds another

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ShatnerquakeIf you’re a Wil Wheaton fan like I am, then you probably have already read his blog entry about how you can get a free book download today only.

The book in question is called Shatnerquake by Jeff Burk and Wheaton’s description makes it sound like it’s as much of fun read as Free Enterprise was to watch:

It’s like Lloyd Kaufman and Sam Rami’s mutant offspring wrote a book. It’s very funny, and doesn’t try to be anything other than what it is: The William Shatner locked in surreal and hyperreal mortal combat with every character he’s ever played, from the Priceline guy to Kirk.

I just downloaded the book and am throwing a little tip money into Burk’s jar, and I’ll tell you why: It’s all because of movies like Clerks and Paranormal Activity.

I love that Kevin Smith maxed out his credit cards to make a little black and white movie about my generation and most of that money went to securing the music rights. I love that Oren Peli’s casting notice was so unconventional that no regular agency would have ever considered sending any actors to the auditions.

I love how people like Smith and Peli and now Burk took a chance with their art and how that with interaction via Twitter and the blogosphere, us “normal” non-Hollywood types can have a way to give back and help them succeed. The “cost” of the free download is to write a review on Amazon or GoodReads and you bet I’ll be doing that tonight after I leave the office.

I wish more filmmakers interacted with the public this way.