Stupid Disney...

The new Miyazaki movie, Howl's Moving Castle comes out today in Limited Release, also known as Not in Atlanta. I haven't been able to find a release schedule to see if it will EVER come out.

Christian's going out of town on Saturday and I was really looking forward to spending part of Sunday watching it alone. Now I guess I'll have to make do with The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl (in 3-D). Which won't be as quirky but I'm sure will be entertaining. I'm really only going to see it for the name... (Odd - I just spent about 3 minutes looking for an official site to link to for this movie with no luck. I leave you to Google it yourself, then!)

I'm certainly not going to see Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Come on people, work with me here. If we see it, we'll just encourage them...

In other news, a copy of Gothic! turned up yesterday for me, presumably as a birthday present - it's been on my wish list for ages. Unfortunately, whoever bought it had it shipped straight to me via Ebay and so I have no idea who it's from. I forgot to bring the item ID in to work to check on it... I have such odd friends...

Excalibur, slightly used, minor rock scratches, for sale to highest bidder...

This is a really strange story:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4072704.stm

So, apparently, it's common to trade virtual weapons as part of various Internet games that are out there. For real money. I think it's fascinating although I guess it really isn't that different from buying ... no, I take it back, it's different from buying most stuff. You're not actually buying anything! Just time, I guess - the time it would take to acquire the weapon on your own. I guess it's best compared to buying music online - you're paying for the transmittal of bytes which then you use for entertainment. It just takes a few minutes to wrap my mind around it, I guess. A quick search on Ebay shows that I'm apparently in the minority - people are buying virtual goods all over the place.

It gets really interesting when an online gamer borrows a virtual sword from another gamer and then sells it to someone else! The sword owner apparently came after the 'theif' with a very real knife and killed him while he was sleeping. He's been sentenced to life in prison. There's also a splinter conversation going on about how to deal wtih laws around theft of virtual goods... Am I blowing your mind yet....?

And by the way, this isn't nickle-and-dime stuff. The sword in question was sold for over $400. There are people making real money doing this. I guess, theoretically, you could 'set up shop' in an online game and turn this into a real business, somehow...

How to Anger a Female Comic Book Geek

Ooooh this article made me mad...

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,14931-1636789,00.html

The author believes that the entire comic book industry is misogynistic and adolescent... He seems to basically have a problem with Frank Miller because he references Sin City over and over again...

'this computer-generated comic-book adaptation is so steeped in fetishistic adolescent imagery and casual misogyny that it overexposes the sinister appetites of its hardcore fanbase.'

But he loses all credibility when he talks about how women superheros get the short end of the stick:

Appearance
Tiny waist, thunder thighs, muscular buttocks, watermelon breasts and non-existent costume.

Superpowers
Unlike male counterparts, female comic heroines are skilled in the mundane arts, such as gymnastics (DC’s Huntress), “online skills” (seriously! See DC’s desk-bound Oracle) and messing with the emotional centres of the brain (typical woman! See Marvel’s Malice).

Adventures
Rarely privileged with central roles, comic babes are restricted to supporting parts on the villainous periphery — see Spider-Man villain White Rabbit or Batman’s voluptuous stalker, Harley Quinn. "

Um. Hello. Has this guy ever read comics? Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Catwoman - the first three female superheros that any person off the street could probably name off the top of her head were not even mentioned.

Very annoying. Of course, since according to the author, female comic book fans don't exist, I guess I'm not in his target audience, being imaginary and all...

In other news, it appears that Penn Jillette (of Penn and Teller) had a baby this week and named her (I am not making this up) "Moxie Crimefighter Jillette".
Now THAT is crueltly to women... :) Although I don't suppose the kid ever had a chance of having a normal life with Penn as her father...

We got back from Toronto last night after a fantastic show on Saturday. Erasure was amazing - Andy Bell gives as good a show as ever - both over-the-top and surprisingly nice and down-to-earth. (He signed shirts for audience members at the lip of the stage and chatted with people between songs). The show was at Massey Hall which is great venue. Opening act was Elkland, which deserves its own post so I'll have to get to that later :)