R2 and Chewie for teh Win

This is Geek Level Nine, but damn. Thanks to Phillylist, I find this, and I gotta say -- wow. Just ... wow. Star Wars Episodes 4-6 re-examined in context of 1-3, and much like the legendary recut of Episode 1, this guy's take on the Star Wars mythos is AU's more satisfying, particularly from a screenwriter's standpoint.

Anyone who can convincingly argue R2-D2 is the mastermind of the Rebellion is aces in my book. Nicely done, Keith.

The Doctorow is In

Sci-fi writer Cory Doctorow's new short story collection, Overclocked is out and is a one fine piece of science-fictioning. My Lovely Wife's enthusiasm for it is so blatant that it actually triggered the long-dormant "hey, are you reading another writer in our bed?" twitch. I urge all of you to buy the book. But, then again, you don't have to -- as usual, Cory has offered the entire text in downloads and in some cases podcasts. For free.

Hack it, remix it, make mini-comics, send them to your friends. Write songs using the dialogue, make machinima -- whatever. Why does Cory do this? Because he believes, as I do : "Obscurity is a far greater threat to authors and creative artists than piracy."

Downloads here. My favorite is Anda's Game. Enjoy.

Going ... Going ... Gonzales

Attorney General Gonzales got hauled in front of the Senate Judiciary committee this week. Ahhhh, Senate committees actually doing their jobs of oversight. It's like I'm living in America again. I'm sure the feeling will pass.

Anyway, my beef is not really with Mr. Gonzales. It just, when you look at the news that we'll now try terror suspects with hearsay and coerced evidence, without allowing their defense to see government evidence --

-- or the weird mid-term purge of prosecutors who were all, coincidentally, investigating political corruption --

-- or his bizarre position on habeus corpus:

Specter: Now wait a minute, wait a minute. The Constitution says you can't take it away except in the case of invasion or rebellion. Doesn't that mean you have the right of habeas corpus?

Gonzales: I meant by that comment that the Constitution doesn't say that every individual in the United States or every citizen has or is assured the right of habeas corpus. It doesn't say that. It simply says that the right of habeas corpus shall not be suspended.

(See Article 1, Section 9 for why this is vaguely insane) --

-- or how the warrantless wiretapping system that was so vital it needed to be done outside FISA has now, lickety-split, been brought under the court's jurisdiction ... except that Congress isn't allowed to see the conditions under which it's legitimized. And all this just two weeks before the first case regarding the program goes to court (seriously, there are like five just crazification level contradictions in there) --

-- it's just that, as we all know I don't care for the electoral college. I also favor public financing of elections. And several commentors made it clear that wanting these changes shows such reckless disregard for the Constitution, I might as well roofie the document, have my way with it and dump it in a ditch by the highway. The outrage!

Yet Cheney and Gonzales have dropped the Constitution into a hole in the White House basement and are currently dancing naked around the pit, penises tucked between their legs, screaming "It rubs the lotions on its Amendments!" at the shuddering, terrified document, and there's nary a peep.

Seriously, what the fuck?

Bonus points for Senator Pat Leahy on the Arar case:

Leahy: "We knew damn well if he went to Canada he wouldn't be tortured. He'd be held and he'd be investigated. We also knew damn well if he went to Syria, he'd be tortured. And it's beneath the dignity of this country, a country that has always been a beacon of human rights, to send somebody to another country to be tortured."

Syria, of course, being our enemy for helping insurgents in Iraq and backing Hizbollah, but not so much our enemy that we can't send people to get tortured there ... damn this makes my head hurt.

4GM: NATPE Notes and mini-DVD's

The wonderful Alice in Wonderland -- who made me eat raw frikkin' rutabagas last Friday, which my Irish red-meat-and scotch-trained stomach is just barely digesting now -- is at the National pow-wow of panicking television producers and executives. Some interesting notes on tech and snippets of a keynote by Chris Anderson of Long Tail fame.

EDIT: Mad Bill over at DISContent has pointed out that the first four episodes of 24 are out today on DVD. Such mini-issues -- Bill cunningly calls them "bump" releases -- have long been a crucial part of what I saw as the new model for television in both release and financing. The short-term financial bumps will replace the long-term massive cash infusion that's ordinarily fronted for the long, dinosauric 22 episode seasons.

This is why I'm never stumped by the question "who will pay for the TV of the future?" Markets will out, and savvy mainstream producers will adapt, intentionally or not.

Salvage

It's flying by on TMC, but I want to toss a compliment to the little indie horror flick Salvage. Worth putting on the Netflix queue -- surprisingly well acted, a great play-fair mystery. Not monstrously complex, but a nice little jab to the gut. Couple really great creep-out scenes. That's the point, actually, they manage to pull off what very few American horror movies have any feeling for -- creepiness. Has a Session 9 vibe to it ( not quite in the same league, but hell -- Session 9 remains one of the great under-rated horror flicks of the last ten years).

Salvage won't change your life, but you'll come out the end wondering who the hell the Crook Brothers are and why they're directing in West Virginia. Well done.

Brave & Bold #3

Won't mean much to most, but this is a frikkin' George Perez cover, folks.