[scifinoir2] NYTimes.com: Turn On, Tune In, Veg Out
This page was sent to you by: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Bona fide pro genre geek has some trenchant things to say about the Star Wars phenomenon and its audiences. OPINION | June 17, 2005 Op-Ed Contributor: Turn On, Tune In, Veg Out By NEAL STEPHENSON Star Wars has much to say about geeks - and also about a society that loves them, hates them and depends upon them. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/17/opinion/17stephenson.html?ex=1119672000en=0a526f2fcb0b6258ei=5070emc=eta1 -- ABOUT THIS E-MAIL This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service. For general information about NYTimes.com, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018 Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scifinoir2/ * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
[scifinoir2] NYTimes.com: Onward, Moderate Christian Soldiers
This page was sent to you by: [EMAIL PROTECTED] AMEN to this! OPINION | June 17, 2005 Op-Ed Contributor: Onward, Moderate Christian Soldiers By JOHN C. DANFORTH It is important for those of us who are considered moderates to make the case that we have strongly held Christian convictions. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/17/opinion/17danforth.html?ex=1119672000en=c14d5622af0320cfei=5070emc=eta1 -- ABOUT THIS E-MAIL This e-mail was sent to you by a friend through NYTimes.com's E-mail This Article service. For general information about NYTimes.com, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] NYTimes.com 500 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10018 Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scifinoir2/ * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
[scifinoir2] People prefer to see movies at home: poll
http://www.cbc.ca/story/arts/national/2005/06/16/Arts/poll050616.html People prefer to see movies at home: poll Last Updated Thu, 16 Jun 2005 CBC Arts A new poll released Thursday reveals that a large majority of people - 73 per cent - prefer to watch movies at home on DVD, VHS or pay-per-view. The same poll found that only 22 per cent of people preferred to see movies the old-fashioned way - in a movie theatre. The numbers may provide fodder for those who believe the proliferation of at-home entertainment technologies is permanently changing moviegoing patterns. It also comes on the heels of a prolonged box-office slump. So far this year, theatre revenues have been off for the past 16 weekends, compared with the same weekends in 2004. The poll of 1,000 Americans was conducted by Ipsos for the Associated Press and AOL News. Among the other findings: * When asked if they think movies are getting better or worse, almost half - 47 per cent - said worse. * Sixty-nine per cent of respondents said that they see movie stars as negative role models for children. * Only a tiny number - five per cent - said that they had downloaded a movie from the internet. Some observers believe that this year's poor box-office numbers are not due to changes in viewing habits, but have been caused by a number of lacklustre releases, such as Cinderella Man, The Honeymooners, Kingdom of Heaven and XXX: State of the Union. I think this slump is product-driven, Paul Dergarabedian, the president of the box-office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations, told the Associated Press. That, to me, is a much less chilling problem than some sort of cultural shift in people's moviegoing habits. A cultural shift takes longer than 16 weekends of down box office. Indeed, the poll found that people who use things like DVD players actually go to more movies in theatres than those who don't, suggesting that home entertainment options and theatres are complementary. Some have also argued that comparing this year's box-office with last year's totals is a dicey proposition since 2004's The Passion of the Christ was an anomaly that drew people into theatres who wouldn't normally have gone to the movies. Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scifinoir2/ * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
[scifinoir2] [SAD] Mystery surrounds Wesley Snipes's South African passport
http://iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1click_id=79art_id=vn20050617064731479C223502 Mystery surrounds Snipes's SA passport June 17 2005 By Poloko Tau Hollywood star Wesley Snipes was curiously using a South African passport when he tried to leave South Africa on June 1. According to documents in newspaper's possession, Snipes was held and questioned at Johannesburg International Airport, resulting in his missing an Air France flight to Switzerland, before he was allowed to board a Kenya Airways flight later that night to Geneva. Snipes had apparently been on holiday in South Africa. The South African passport bears Snipes's South African ID number, his full name and his photograph. But the ID number on the passport is false, according to both the Home Affairs Department and Independent Electoral Commission websites. The actor's place of birth in the South African passport is given as the US. At the time of the incident, Home Affairs spokesperson Leslie Mashokwe said the actor had been allowed to proceed past immigration at the airport after being interviewed. Mashokwe said Snipes had only been interviewed and never arrested or held, as it is alleged. On Thursday night he expressed surprise that Snipes had been attempting to leave the country on a South African passport. A newspaper has provided him with copies of the documents in its possession, and Mashokwe was due to comment on them on Friday. Snipes's South African passport shows he entered SA on May 23, leaving for Mozambique the next day via Lanseria Airport and returning to SA with the same passport on May 26, having flown into Durban. Attempts to contact Snipes for comment were unsuccessful. Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scifinoir2/ * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
[scifinoir2] Hollywood risks future by ignoring adults
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050617/en_nm/film_adults_dc Hollywood risks future by ignoring adults By Anne Thompson Fri Jun 17 LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Let's debunk a popular myth: Grown-ups don't go to the movies. Truth is, they still go. Ray, Million Dollar Baby, Shall We Dance? and The Interpreter all played primarily to adults. And movies like Ray and Million Dollar Baby earned their audiences the old-fashioned way: They took their time. But Cinderella Man, the most recent film to attempt to court the older-than-35 crowd, is finding that time is a luxury it might not have. Ron Howard's earnest Depression-era boxing drama might have looked like a slam-dunk. Initial audiences liked what they saw, with the film winning a 99% excellent rating from Cinemascore, and a respectable 83% fresh rating from the Internet review site http://www.rottentomatoes.com. But exit polls told a further part of the story: Fully 50 percent of the Cinderella Man audience was older than 50. That's a serious drawback for a movie that cost some $88 million to make and $40 million to release because this group can't be counted on to rush to theaters on a movie's first weekend. Cinderella Man opened on over 2,800 screens to $18.6 million, landing in fourth place behind three holdovers, and fell 46.8% on its second weekend. Releasing a high-profile movie for mature moviegoers at the height of summer, when competition is most intense, was not a brilliant move. The farther away you get from age 25, the more difficult, one marketer says. While the appetite for those films is there all year round, adults don't feel that sense of urgency to see the film. They don't commit, it's crowded, they wait to see it later. Universal Pictures is now counting on DVDs to salvage Cinderella Man. Come late fall, when star Russell Crowe's anger issues will have faded from the public's memory, Universal Studios Home Entertainment will stage a well-funded comeback for the drama (which has grossed a piddling $36 million to date), aimed at both DVD buyers and Oscar voters. When it comes to DVD consumers, the studios are confident that if they build a strong adult movie, the audience will come. That feeling does not extend to theatergoers. For that, the studios have only themselves to blame. They're driving that ever-loyal viewer home to watch HBO or DVDs by not keeping the moviegoing habit going with strong movies aimed at adults. The movie business is pushing them away, says producer Sean Daniel, making them look for other things, like renting all the seasons of 'Six Feet Under.' Since the dawn of Hollywood, a wide swath of the American public counted themselves among the faithful: frequent moviegoers. Through the late 1970s, that throng was dominated by adults. Movie critics wrote their reviews for adults. TV, radio and print ads were targeted at adults. Movies were constructed by adults for adults. Sure, there were always youth-market movies, but they were always ancillary, not primary. Then came the wide-audience marketing revolution. With each succeeding decade, the Hollywood studios, driven by the relative ease of selling their movies to the dominant demographic (young men under 25) that showed up on opening weekends, increasingly aimed their movies at less demanding kids. Slowly but surely, they decreased the number of movies for more discerning grown-ups, leaving that headache to the likes of Miramax Films' Harvey Weinstein, who specialized in building the drumbeat of year-end accolades that accompanies an Oscar campaign. When the studios produce movies that adults might enjoy, like The Bourne Identity, Seabiscuit or Gladiator, they try to make sure that the younger demo will like them too. It has become rare to greenlight a big-budget studio movie aimed squarely at the older-than-30 set. But the studios that take that gamble often score: Fried Green Tomatoes, Driving Miss Daisy, Cocoon, The First Wives Club, Training Day, Grumpy Old Men, The Truman Show and Braveheart all come to mind, along with a laundry list of Clint Eastwood movies. But these movies were surprise breakouts; they didn't start out as summer tentpoles or wear their self-importance on their sleeve. They had time to earn word-of-mouth and media attention. Clearly older audience movies have to be made for a price, says one studio marketing chief, by a director who will deliver the product. The real trick for these movies is to give them enough time to grow legs. (Not the studios' strong suit.) Take Crash, which has earned $44 million for Lions Gate Films since it opened May 6 on 1,500 screens. It is scoring with the same cinemagoer that loves Cinderella Man, but at a fraction of Cinderella Man's costs. That means that it can afford to hang in for the long haul, even in the summer. It's playing and playing and playing, much the way Sideways did last year. That movie cost $16 million and grossed $71.5 million in North America. Obviously, Cinderella Man
[scifinoir2] FW: Future Giant Laser Threatened by Cuts
The usage of alternative fuel sources is a special interest of mine, and I guess I have a special place for fusion...By all means, let's hold off on fusion research while we continue slogging along with pollution-producing hydrochemicals, destroying pristine environments with oil spills, and finding ourselves at the mercy of Opec and politically unstable oil-producing nations. I understand money's tight, and I know there's a lot of wasted spending. And I definitely understand we need more funds allocated for healthcare, education, urban renewal and other worthwhile goals. But as an e-mail I sent y'all last year stated, I think a critical issue for the whole human race is the need for more efficient and cleaner sources of energy. All these dire predictions of oil running out in the next few decades, global warming, etc. Whether you give them credence or not the truth remains that we can't maintain a thriving world by burning crap and poisoning our own air and water. Nuclear power never became the salvation we hoped it be, given all the problems, breakdowns, and potential for terrorists stealing the radioactive waste. We've dragged our feet for decades, never pushing viable alternatives like wind, fuel cell, even true solar power. All this time and the best we've come up with is hybrid cars that cost too much, don't get nearly the mileage they should, and are in my opinion years behind where they should have been in development. Is fusion the great hope I anticipated all those years ago when reading science and science fiction predictions of its promise? I don't know. But I do know that it has a great potential to move us from an oil and coal burning society into something better. And we'll never know unless we give this a serious shot. Typically our leaders wait until the situation is dire before backing what's seen as far-out or unworkable technology (hence the long delay in serious hybrid vehicles until gas prices skyrocketed and fear of treating with oil-rich nations drove Detroit to get interested). But this is a time when we need some major foresight and strength of character to look into something that may stave off a very bad future for us and our planet. Besides, havent' these guys seen Soylent Green? http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=storycid=1894e=3u=/ap/20050617/ap_on_ sc/super_laser Future Giant Laser Threatened by Cuts By ERICA WERNER, Associated Press Writer Thu Jun 16, 9:08 PM ET WASHINGTON - A giant laser being built to simulate the explosion of a hydrogen bomb is facing funding cuts in the Senate that supporters say could kill the project after $2.8 billion has been spent on it. The device, which would focus 192 lasers at a single point to create a huge release of energy, is nearing completion at the Lawrence Livermore nuclear weapons lab in Northern California. But a spending plan for energy and water projects approved Thursday by the Senate Appropriations Committee would shut off further construction money for the project, leaving it with just the four laser beams now in place. Sen. Pete Domenici (news, bio, voting record), R-N.M., complained that ballooning costs on the project, called the National Ignition Facility, are a drain on other programs for maintaining the nation's nuclear arsenal. New Mexico is home to the nation's two other nuclear weapons labs, Sandia and Los Alamos. NIF construction must wait until additional resources can be found to balance the needs between support of the stockpile and the single-minded desire to build NIF, said Domenici, who chairs both the Energy Committee and the Appropriations Committee's energy and water subcommittee. He contended that even with just four beams, the device remains the world's most powerful laser and is capable of performing many useful experiments. The project is now scheduled for completion in 2009. Supporters said it's as good as dead because without more lasers it cannot reach fusion ignition - the hoped-for energy release. The whole point is to achieve ignition. That's why it's called a National Ignition Facility, said Lawrence Livermore spokesman Bob Hirschfeld. Achieving fusion ignition would allow nuclear weapons scientists to study the performance and readiness of the country's aging nuclear arsenal without actually detonating a nuclear device. President Bush's 2006 budget proposal requested $141 million for NIF construction. The House agreed to that figure but the Senate Appropriations Committee eliminated it entirely Thursday, leaving a few funds for other program elements. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (news, bio, voting record), D-Calif., said she hopes to get some of the money restored when House and Senate negotiators meet later in the year put together the final bill for sending to Bush. The NIF is almost there. They've done all the experiments, they're almost there. It would be a total waste to stop the program now, Feinstein said. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Yahoo! Groups
[scifinoir2] Don't Let Congress Kill PBS
After accusing PBS of liberal bias, Congress is slashing funding for public broadcasting and attempting to bankrupt the system. I just contacted Congress and asked my representative to preserve funding for public broadcasting and I think you should do the same. Go to www.freepress.net/act/savepbs to learn what we can do to save public broadcasting! Yahoo! Groups Links * To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scifinoir2/ * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
Re: [scifinoir2] Anyone catch Dead Zone?
Better than season one? That one started off strong, then got a little bland in the middle, and increased in excitement a bit toward the end. -- Original message -- The new season of the 4400 is excellent. lois [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: It didn't disappear but the times were moved around a bit. I recorded it but haven't watched yet. I have three eps of The 4400 to watch first -- Original message -- It seams as if Dead Zone Disappeared for over a year. Now its back. Has anyone seen it? Wednesday, May 25, 2005 SEASON FOUR OF USA NETWORK'S ORIGINAL SERIES ?THE DEAD ZONE? STARRING ANTHONY MICHAEL HALL PREMIERES SUNDAY, JUNE 12 AT 10:00 PM ET/PT Released by USA SEASON FOUR OF USA NETWORK'S ORIGINAL SERIES ?THE DEAD ZONE? STARRING ANTHONY MICHAEL HALL PREMIERES SUNDAY, JUNE 12 AT 10:00 PM ET/PT Sean Patrick Flanery, Martin Donovan, Danny Masterson, Dedee Pfeiffer, Jennifer Finnigan, Edward Asner, Ben Foster and Sarah Wynter Guest Star in the Hit Series from Lions Gate Television and CBS Paramount International Television UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. -- May 12, 2005 -- The Dead Zone, the hit series starring Anthony Michael Hall (?61*,? ?The Pirates of Silicon Valley,? ?Sixteen Candles?), launches its fourth season on USA Network Sunday, June 12 at 10:00 PM ET/PT. Based on characters from the Stephen King novel, the drama returns as one of basic cable?s top-rated series, its sustained success fueled by an outstanding cast, powerful storytelling and striking visual effects. Produced by Lions Gate Television and CBS Paramount International Television in association with Piller and The Segan Company, The Dead Zone is a psychological thriller blending action, romance, the paranormal and a continuing quest for justice. In one of the most demanding roles on series television, Hall stars as Johnny Smith, a man injured in a near-fatal car crash, who emerges from a six-year-long coma with psychic powers that allow him to see into the past and future through visions triggered by touch. Also starring in the ensemble cast are Nicole deBoer (?Star Trek: Deep Space Nine?) as Johnny?s former fiance, Sarah; Chris Bruno (?Another World?) as Sarah?s husband, sheriff Walt Bannerman; John L. Adams (?Pacific Blue?) as Johnny?s best friend, Bruce; and David Ogden Stiers (?Curse of the Jade Scorpion?) as Reverend Purdy, the executor of the Smith family trust. Sean Patrick Flanery (?Dead Lawyers?) returns to reprise his role as Johnny? s archenemy, the unscrupulous young congressman Greg Stillson. Martin Donovan (?Traffic ? The Miniseries?), Danny Masterson (?That ?70s Show?), Dedee Pfeiffer (?Cybill?), Jennifer Finnigan (?Committed?), Edward Asner (?Lou Grant?), Ben Foster (?Six Feet Under?) and Sarah Wynter (?24?) are among this season?s guest stars. The Dead Zone was created for television by acclaimed executive producer Michael Piller (?Star Trek: The Next Generation,? ?Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,? ?Star Trek: Voyager?) and his son, co-executive producer Shawn Piller (?Star Trek: The Next Generation,? Star Trek: Voyager?). Executive producers are Michael Piller, Lloyd Segan (?The Bachelor,? ?Boondock Saints,? ?Bones?) and Tommy Thompson (?Dark Angel,? ?Quantum Leap?). This season, Johnny continues to explore the potential and the limits of his psychic abilities, while the mystery surrounding his destiny and his fated role in a potential future Armageddon deepens. In the premiere episode, which concludes last season?s cliffhanger finale, Johnny must fight fate ? and his future self ? in order to keep Rebecca (Wynter) from killing Stillson (Flanery), whom she strongly believes is responsible for her sister's murder. As the season unfolds, Johnny?s exploits take him into the arms of an exciting young woman with psychic abilities of her own (Finnigan) and he squares off against his most formidable opponent yet. In episodes ranging from high-stakes adventures to political thrillers, he continues to use his powers for good. He reaches out to a young autistic boy; saves an innocent man from execution; takes on a ring of human traffickers in an effort to save an infant from a terrible fate; and investigates the mysterious disappearance of an aging rock star. He even teams up with a dangerous group of criminals in order to avert a tragedy. Woven throughout the series has been the ongoing mystery surrounding Johnny, Stillson and their murky roles in the future Armageddon Johnny foresees. Since the series premiere, these characters have played their parts in a tapestry of Good vs. Evil. Now, as each man moves forward in his pre-determined role, a new force takes to the stage. By the end of the season, Johnny himself will have to face the possibility that he?s somehow delivered the people he loves to their doom. Johnny?s visions are rendered through fast motion, slow motion and freeze frame photography, enhanced by cutting-edge digital effects and masterful editing. These powerful
