The Internet as Network is Here

When NBC is releasing an internet only reality show, you know that the age of the internet as network has arrived. I have written a lot about how the future of programming, even syndication, is the internet. As more people have broadband connections and are stepping away from the TV for more interactive media, it becomes necessary for television networks to respond with more interactive content in the new medium. So far , for NBC this means Startommorrow.com.

Nice play on words that, isn't it. Star tommorrow...Start Tommorrow, looks like NBC is playing the Delphic Prophet on this one, or should I say Adephic profit?

I know there is a lot of discussion about "net neutrality" in the interweb, and I don't mean to start a ruckus, but if what advocates of NN desire happens content like this will disappear. Broadband content requires bandwidth capability, just ask Mark Cuban. The internet is going the way of the Radio and the Television and this means more content (not less like NN'ers fear), but it does possibly mean the end of the "indy" provider. Look, I saw Pump Up the Volume, I wish there was more indy radio, but there is no conspiracy to prevent you or me from getting content. Let's stop the fearmongering talk and discuss the real issue. Do we want the internet to be strictly an information and journalism forum? Do we want it be strictly an entertainment medium? Something in the middle? What do the consumers of the internet desire?

And don't show me that fact free Moby film. I hate propaganda rooted in future shock and fear-mongering. You can put that right next to your Intelligent Design films and Bush speeches regarding Global Warming. Hyperbole don't fly here.

Upcoming Fantasy Films

Gone are the days when Fantasy films are low budget affairs with titles like Yor or Beastmaster where the men are topless, as are the women, and the director's idea of special effects is the use of dry ice making water bubble. Recent years have seen Fantasy films make the transition from fringe to mainstream, similar to the transition that Thrillers made decades ago. Fantasy films have yet to have their Hitchcock, who was one of the directors who made the Thriller high art, but they have had some excellent films in the past few years.

What do I mean by no Hitchcock? What about Peter Jackson, M. Night Shyamalan, or (insert favorite director here)? What I mean is that no director has emerged with the large body of work that is consistently of high quality and that consistently features narrative devices unique to that director. I am still waiting for my fantasy auteur. Jackson or Shyamalan, or even Christopher Nolan or Chris Columbus (actually we can't leave out Zemekis, Lucas, or Spielberg either), might end up being that director, but only time and more movies will tell.

When it comes to the release of new Fantasy films, this year looks to be a great one. We have The Prestige, an adaptation of the Christopher Priest novel. I discussed the movie back in December, but as a reminder The Prestige stars Hugh Jackman, David Bowie, Scarlett Johansson (ugh!) and Christian Bale and is a mysterious tale set in Victorian England. I look forward to seeing how the film will translate the novel's story.

In the wake of the very disappointing SciFi Original version of A Wizard of Earthsea, Hiyao Miyazaki's son is directing a film based on the third and fourth novels in the Earthsea series by Ursula K. LeGuin. The film is called Gedo Senki, which can be transliterated (as opposed to translated) as "Ged's History of the War." The film will be showing at the upcoming Venice International Film Festival along with a lot of other exciting films. You can read a translation of the director's development blog here. The SciFi version lacked the "heart" of the books, but one hopes the younger Miyazaki will be able to bring in the sense of wonder that the SciFi Original lacked.

UPDATE:
LYT was surprised to learn that there were 6 Earthsea books and admitted to knowing about the trilogy. It is true, there are more than the original three books in the series. But it is also true that one can talk about the "Earthsea Trilogy." The original three books from a complete narrative, though the other books (written long after I read the original three as a child) add depth to the story.

For LYT's sake, and the sake of any other interested parties, here is a list of the Earthsea books.

The Earthsea Trilogy:
A Wizard of Earthsea -- Where a young wizard brings evil into the world and in battling evil becomes a man.
Tombs of Atuan -- Ged, no longer a child, searches for a powerful relic and need the aid of a young priestess in acquiring the great treasure.
The Farthest Shore -- Magic is leaving Earthsea and a great evil is overcoming the archipelego. Ged must once more face the product of his greatest failure.

Books written since 1990:
Tehanu -- Ged is dying, but he must find the strength to help a young girl to bring a brighter age to Earthsea. This book also reexamines the role of gender in the practice of magic.
Tales of Earthsea -- This collection of short stories adds great detail to the world of Earthsea.
The Other Wind -- Ged once more finds himself called to serve Earthsea when a man with the power to "mend" objects seeks to "mend" the death of his beloved wife.

Coming out in a limited release this weekend (at the Westside Pavilion in Los Angeles) is Beowulf and Grendel starring the much overworked Stellan Skarsgard. The movie reviewers on NPR this morning were enchanted by the geography, but horrified by the violence and gave the film a negative review. One wonders how a film about Beowulf could be an accurate translation without a good dose of violence, but that just goes to show the biases of the reviewers (and my own). I look forward to seeing the film and whether or not it succeeds in capturing the manly virtues of the epic hero. I enjoyed The Thirteenth Warrior and its "what if Beowulf happened in the real world and not in the land of myth" approach, but I eagerly await seeing a mythic telling of the epic.

Tarzan, Cthulhu, and Other Boardgames I'm Excited About

One of the terrors of being a person who enjoys games is the "new game season" where new products are announced and the desire to acquire takes over. This year is no different from years past and looks like it will be offering a large array of games to tempt my pocketbook. I already mentioned the upcoming Heroscape Marvel edition, which will be released around January with a cost of around $29.99, but there are some other games I am anticipating.

Tarzan Triumphant, by Troll Lord Games features one of my favorite characters from literature in what looks like will be either a good or a horrible game. No matter what, it doesn't look like a great game, but the milieu of the game will be sufficient to take my $39.99.

I am very much looking forward to the Dunwich Horror expansion to the Arkham Horror boardgame by Fantasy Flight Games. The Arkham Horror game innovatively combines RPG-lite boardgame (ala Talisman, Heroquest, Dungeon) with detective game (Clue, 221-B Baker St.) mechanics with a hint of horror. The game can be played solo, but is best when played with a group of fellow Lovecraft afficianadoes.

The soon to be released Marvel Heroes Game, not to be confused with the above Heroscape game, also by Fantasy Flight Games combines two of my favorite things, games and comic books.

A boardgame based on the television series Lost looks like it should be interesting. The designers claim that the game will mix elements of Talisman (an rpg-lite boardgame), Magic the Gathering (a strategy cardgame), Settlers of Catan (an excellent customizable "Euro-game"), and Chess. We'll see, but the game sounds promising. I only have two fears. First, it is based on a license and many licensed games suck. Though if you find a copy of TSR's All My Children let me know. Second, will the game's adaptation of the Lost environment sufficiently simulate the show and how will changes in the show affect future supplements?

Now I will just have to concentrate on actually experiencing the games and not just purchasing them.

Marvel Heroscape

For those who love comic books and Heroscape there is reason for rejoicing.

'Nuff Said.

Tulipomania Brings Eagle Games to Its Knees

Anyone who has read Charles Mackay's excellent Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds is familiar with the Seventeenth century phenomenon of Tulipomania. The rich of Holland became enamoured of the tulip and were willing to pay extravagant prices for them, thus the value of tulip bulbs increased to extremely high amounts. So high, in fact, that those who bought the bulbs soon stopped planting the tulips, only buying the bulbs for resale later, and the market died because there were no buyers. A similar thing happened to comic books in the early 1990s.

Since 2000, the classic game of poker has grown from a fringe casino/home game to a televised event on ESPN. In response, many gaming companies began to offer poker support products. Eagle Games was one such company. They made computer games, poker supplies, and sold poker books. Their poker sales surpased their boardgame sales and became the flagship of the company, so much so that when the market on poker declined they have recently run into trouble.

From the President...

"Hello All,

The auction that has just been noticed by Amcore Bank is a part of a foreclosure process. Due to a sudden and severe downturn last year in the demand for poker products, Eagle Games, Inc. became insolvent and finally ceased operations on May 31, 2006.

The Eagle Games brand and the existing inventory is what is being sold at auction.

I am personally continuing to work on game design and development for Age of Empires and Pirates! (The guys at SDR are spearheading the actual game design for Pirates!) and expect that they will both be ready for publication this Fall/ Holiday season.

More details will be forthcoming after the auction on August 4th.

I appreciate the support that you have all shown Eagle Games in the past and hope that Eagle Games products are available for years to come. "

Eagle Games Inc. makes some wonderful games. Their re-release of Conquest of the Empire was excellent as were their adaptations of Railroad Tycoon and Age of Mythology from videogame to boardgame. I was eagerly awaiting their adaptations of Age of Empires III and Sid Meier's Pirates. Hopefully those products will still be able to be released. The gaming market is a tough racket, I hope they are able to recover.

Pandora Rocks My World

Those who frequent this site, both of you, might have noticed a little box on the right hand side of the page listing "stations." Those are links to internet radio stations that I created using the Pandora website.

I know, I know, the tech savvy among you are saying, "What took you so long Christian? Pandora's been around forever!" And follow this up with 50 sites that have better internet radio functionality. But I find the Pandora site amazing.

Since I first set up a station, I have not listened to one mp3 on my PC. I haven't had too. Pandora combines the ability to listen to music I already like, with a robust AI that finds songs that I might like. According to the website, that is the purpose "to find you more music you like." Boy does it ever.

Add to the quality of the music library, sorry no classical yet, the Pandora Backstage function provides a great amount of detail to whatever song/band you are listening to. In fact, the Backstage information is sufficient to waste hours of my time. Reading the bios/discographic information is a joy and makes me feel like I might actually be able to hold a conversation with Nick Hornby someday.

BTW, check out why they recommend songs to you when you give this program a whirl.

One example from a song recommended for me:

We're playing this track because it features punk influences, a subtle use of vocal harmony, mixed acoustic and electric instrumentation, a vocal-centric aesthetic and minor key tonality.

I wish I spoke about music like that on a regular basis.

Mad Cowgirl Stuns New York Times, Interests Wisconsin Law Professor

Ann Althouse has posted a link to a review of a film that Luke Y. Thompson (you'll notice a link to his blog on the right) worked on. It even sounds like a recommendation.