Re: Monday (yes, I've run out of titles)

[cleolinda]

Since a lot of people miss entries posted on the weekend: discussions of Children of Men and The Illusionist, the latter of which involved a request to promote the DVD release.

Regarding the Illusionist entry: FTC Moves to Unmask Word-of-Mouth Marketing. ter369 brought this up, and I think it's worth repeating what I said there: I feel like it's really crappy for someone to take a personal journal, with genuine anecdotes and opinions, and suddenly get all "Try new improved TIDE® detergent!" up in there. I personally don't think whatever you could possibly get in return is worth betraying your audience. This is why I would never promote something unless I had already recommended it on my own, something y'all know that I already use or like, and I would tell you up front that I had been asked to mention or discuss something. Which is why I took so much trouble in the Illusionist entry yesterday to say, "Here's who contacted me, here's what they asked me to say"--literally, "Could you mention the DVD release and the contest?" The email was all of two or three lines long--"and here's what I get in return" (a copy of the DVD). And why, when I dredged up all the little trivia bits I knew, I made sure to tell you that they weren't fed to me. I don't feel like minor freebies for something I've already recommended on my own is a problem, although let me know if you disagree. And since I know from your comment replies what y'all, in turn, are interested in, I don't see a problem with saying, "[Company/studio] asked if I'd mention a release date, or an early screening, or a way to get free tickets, or a contest" for something like The Golden Compass, which I've already mentioned at least four times in the last month on my own steam. If I wasn't passionately interested in something, I wouldn't promote it, because I know that any time you betray someone's trust (i.e., y'all's), it always bites you in the ass, and quite frankly, I don't have the time or the energy to be someone's shill. Which I guess is my point: it would only feel like work if I wasn't interested in the first place. Since I've basically hosted discussions of The Prestige, The Fountain and now Children of Men on this journal, and I've urged people to go see those movies because I personally enjoyed them, I don't see anything wrong with someone contacting me and saying, "Since you're already interested, we can throw you a freebie if you mention a new piece of information," as long as I tell you up front that that's exactly what transpired. I don't know--does this make any sense? Quite frankly, I don't know that I'll ever be asked to do anything like this again, so it's not like This Journal As You Know It Will CHANGE FOREVER. It's just important to me that this is okay with y'all.

(Wow, this paragraph didn't look this epic in Semagic.)

Massive linkspam:

hulamoth, in response to a linkspam last week: "The UN website put out an article concerning the UNMIS peacekeepers and sexual abuse here."

Boy hangs himself after watching Saddam.

Two NYC men save falling toddler: "Two passers-by rescued a toddler who fell four stories, scrambling to catch him as he tumbled from a fire escape, police said. Hearing people in the building scream for help as the boy's grip weakened, the men rushed over to position themselves under the fire escape to catch him. 'No one came,' Nevarez said. 'We knew it was up to us.' The crucial catch came two days after a bystander threw himself onto a Manhattan subway track to save a man who had fallen, and a day after three police officers delivered a baby on a Brooklyn subway platform."

Acquaintance claims dead Russian spy planned blackmail. " 'I can't say it's (Putin's) order, but without his knowledge, it couldn't happen,' Litvinenko's widow, Marina, told "60 Minutes" when asked about her husband's death. She also dismissed the claims that her husband had been planning to blackmail someone, saying that while she didn't know what work he did, he 'wasn't a person (who would do that).' "

Atheists challenge the religious right: "For some time, the religious right has decried 'secular humanism,' a philosophy that rejects the supernatural or spiritual as a basis for moral decisionmaking. But now, nonbelievers are vigorously fighting back."

Ex-Dem. Party boss blasts Kerry in book: "Former Democratic Party boss and Clinton friend Terry McAuliffe is lambasting John Kerry's unsuccessful presidential campaign, calling his effort to unseat President Bush 'one of the biggest acts of political malpractice in the history of American politics.' "

Rescued sailor tells family: 'I'm ok.' "PUNTA ARENAS, Chile - An American trying to sail solo around the world was rescued early Friday after drifting three days on his disabled yacht in treacherous seas off the southern tip of South America. 'I'm OK,' he told his loved ones by telephone."

Lost lakes of Titan are found at last.

Adults in households with kids eat more fat.

Britney Spears wants hot career comeback.. And a pony.

La. mayor's death sparks controversy, in the sense that they can't figure why he would have killed himself. I keep wondering if it's going to come out that he didn't.

Bacharach daughter committs suicide.

Inventor of instant noodles dies at 96.

Centerfold accused in call girl ring.

Colorado firm recalls 15,000 lbs. of sausage: USDA.

Indian court hears Bollywood kiss complaint.

Family, friends still the best cupids, survey says

Father: Costumed 'Tigger' hit his son. An alternate headline on the same page says that Tigger "punched him in the face." Given how much bouncing an actor playing Tigger would have to be, I wonder if he was bopping around and meant to punch the kid's shoulder and... missed. I mean, I don't know. Maybe it was all GoodFellas up in there. I have no idea.

Mystery: Why is man sitting on dead horse?

DVD release dates about which I am way too excited: The Heiress 2/6 (adaptation of Washington Square starring Olivia de Havilland, for which I think she won an Oscar; my memory is fuzzy offhand, but I think Montgomery Clift stars opposite); Marie Antoinette, 2/13; The Prestige 2/20; a 25th anniversary edition of The Last Unicorn (commence feeling ancient now).

A brief POTC3 promotional clip.

Daniel Craig and Nicole Kidman--Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter, as it were--on the cover of W. Kidman, unfortunately, is so photoshopped that she looks like she's from an entirely different picture.

National Society of Film Critics Winners: Several good surprises here. Pan's Labyrinth for Best Picture, Paul Greengrass for director; and it's starting to look more and more inevitable that Whitaker, Mirren and Streep have three of the four acting categories locked up. My favorite: Children of Men for cinematography (damn straight).

Winslet, Pitt films win in Palm Springs.

Screenwriters aim barbs at "Babel," "Departed."

Novelists not always welcome in Hollywood.

particle_person: "PublishAmerica just accepted yet ANOTHER sting manuscript. This one is called Crack of Death by Sharla Tann."

Important: Warning - Getty Images fining users. "It doesn't matter if your website is big or small, commercial or noncommercial. If you have a website that hosts images made with Getty Images pictures (such as a signature or an avatar), you may be held responsible for paying the fine, even if you didn't upload the picture yourself. In the meantime, take advantage of other image sources such as Sxh.Hu or Creative Commons searches. Be careful though: if the image's photographer uploaded his pictures into multiple archives, and one of them happens to be Getty Images, you may be fined for that image even though you got it from a different source. Please pass this on to other relevant people and communities. This would impact a lot of LJ and JF people, as well as people who make their own website designs or maintain fansites and rely on Getty Images for source material."

Comments

[bubbly.livejournal.com]

That Getty thing is such a load of BS. Why allow people to save the images if you're going to fine them? Are they not a STOCK website? I'm just very confused. If someone could please explain that one, I'd be most grateful.

Right now, I'm thinking they can kiss it. I don't sell any of the images I get from there, nor do I use them for any kind of profit, monetary or otherwise. I call bullshit.

[callmesyd.livejournal.com]

They are a stock site, but not all stock photography is free. What they do is sell photos taken by various photographers and companies to be used in advertisements when the advertisers don't or can't simply do a shoot specifically for the product they're advertising for.

It's annoying and inconvenient, but they're perfectly within their rights to step on people for denying them and their clients money through the use of the images, even if you and I don't make any money off of them ourselves. The photos are there to be sold before they're used.

[xblackrose666x.livejournal.com]

Hopefully this version of The Last Unicorn has some sort of special features.

[guinevere33.livejournal.com]

And isn't *shudder* pan and scan.

[rebel-waltz.livejournal.com]

this would come out of Wisconsin. (http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/01/05/dead.horse.ap/index.html)

[lylassandra.livejournal.com]

For my part, Cleo, I'm cool with it-- like you said, you're being upfront about who asked you to do what and for what, and you aren't promoting anything you wouldn't have otherwise, so I see no problem with it.

[suthnoli.livejournal.com]

seconded

[callmesyd.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for the head's up on Getty. I use some of their photos for drawing exercises, but I've yoinked them off of my site. Unfortunately, this also means the death of my totally awesome Buddhist Monks On A Roller Coaster icon. BOOOOOOOO.

Goodbye, monks. T_T

[bigeyedrabbit.livejournal.com]

Crack of Death is the best thing EVER.

Also, I certainly didn't feel like you were turning your journal into a shill-fest for The Illusionist business, because, as you mentioned, you have already raved about the film under your own steam. It's not as if you mysteriously started telling us all to go see CRAP movies.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Yeah, if I ever start raving about Scary Movie 15, you have my full permission to kick my ass.

[kellinator.livejournal.com]

I don't suppose there's any word yet on whether this DVD will get Peter S. Beagle paid?

[dolphin--girl.livejournal.com]

Here's the apparently official word on the DVD:

A "25th Anniversary Edition" is scheduled to be released in the U.S. on February 6, 2007, produced using the same digitally-restored masters used for the German edition. It will have audio and visual quality superior to the original U.S. release, and be in widescreen format. The new DVD edition is slated to include a featurette including an interview with the author ("The Tail of the Last Unicorn"), as well as a set-top game ("Escape from the Red Bull"), photo gallery ("Schmendrick's Magical Gallery"), and the original theatrical trailer.

Conlan Press is offering the special edition DVD for sale. Due to ongoing contractual disputes, none of the proceeds of DVD purchases through other sources will reach Peter S. Beagle (though this may change if the dispute is resolved). However, because of the special agreement Conlan Press made with Lionsgate Entertainment, more than half of the payment for copies purchased through Conlan Press will go to Beagle. In addition to the standard version of the DVD, Conlan Press offers the option of purchasing individually personalized autographed copies.

[meredithsg.livejournal.com]

I saw the home video of the Tigger thing on the Today show this morning, it really does look like he smacked the kid intentionally at least once.

[crumpeteer.livejournal.com]

The problem with commiting a felony if you're a Tigger is that you can't blame it one someone else, you're the only one. Hoo hoo hoo hoo!

[nohara-megami.livejournal.com]

So bad! (But it did make me laugh out loud XD)

[ninepointfivemm.livejournal.com]

Ret: the Illusionist:

Really, I figure, if you love something prior to and then are asked to promote it, where's the harm in that? You've always been one to promote something if you love it, anyway, so I mean, well, it's lovely for you to get something in turn. Big plus. I don't mind it at all, really, because I'd do the same thing if I was in your position.

Certainly is a huge change from being constantly forced to promote things with no interest in it and no pluses. ;)

[kittenkatt.livejournal.com]

Tons of Tigger coverage down here in Orlando on Local 6-
http://www.local6.com/news/10694041/detail.html

There's video there of both the incident, and of Tigger's "friend"'s statement that the kid was pulling on the back of the costume. Being a former cast member and seeing how those things were designed, I can totally see how someone pulling in the wrong place could cause physical discomfort. I also wouldn't put it past the kid to have gone for a zipper to try to be "cute".

[angiepen.livejournal.com]

You were perfectly clear about exactly what was and wasn't going on and I didn't have a problem with it. It's not like you said, "Hey, you know what, I thought about it and I've decided that Much Suckitude in the City was a great movie after all! Go see it! Buy the DVD!!!" [bemused smile] If someone's willing to give you a freebie to mention a movie you've already talked about, and pass on a piece of info you know we'd be interested in anyway, I don't see a conflict.

Angie

[lothlorienbaby.livejournal.com]

I have no problem with you promoting something that you already like at the behest of a studio, especially if you are so upfront about who is asking you to promote it and what you're getting in return. As long as you have expressed interest/excitement/approval of a movie before you post a promotion on behalf of a studio (as was the case with The Illusionist), then I don't see a conflict of interest at all.

I think it's cool that you're BNF enough for studios to solicit you. :-)

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Well, honestly I think they used a blog search engine like Technorati, ran a search on "The Illusionist," and contacted anyone who mentioned it in a positive context with a readership of more than, like, five people. But, you know, hey: it's still a free DVD. : )

[leucocrystal]

...a 25th anniversary edition of The Last Unicorn (commence feeling ancient now).

Wow, I didn't realize it was older than I was!  I watched that movie on VHS until I wore out the tape when I was younger, so that's definitely high on my DVD list this month. :)

[particle-person.livejournal.com]

From the Britney article: "Spears, who filed for divorce in November from Kevin Federline, 28, her husband of two years, says she is now more mature and free to explore her next move 'as an entertainer with absolutely no strings attached.' "

I find that very regrettable phrasing.

[misachan.livejournal.com]

Unintentional but hilarious Justin Timberlake freudian slips aside-I believe she's forgetting about the two baby-shaped strings she actually still does have.

I hate K-Fed just as much as the next sane human, but at least getting beat up by John Cena on WWE counts as employment. She's making him look like the responsible one!

[sapphires13.livejournal.com]

That athiests article interests me. As I first began reading it, I got a little annoyed, because I used to know a couple of those militant athiests, and frankly, I never quite understood it. I'm all fine with athiesm, but to me, when you're pressing your non-religion (which itself, is a religion) on people, aren't you then doing the same thing the Christian fundamentalists do?
I don't know, I guess I'm just the sort of person that believes in freedom of religion AND keeping one's religion to one's self. I'm not saying that people should keep their religions hidden, I'm all for expressing one's beliefs, but I don't think anyone should try to press their beliefs upon anyone else.
So in that sense, I agree with what the article is saying. I don't agree that religion, and in particular, Christianity should be so infused in our society. I don't believe that any argument of "my religion is superior to your religion" should ever be valid. And I say all of that as a believer (albeit a very confused, yet openminded one).

[alpheratz.livejournal.com]

I'm all fine with athiesm, but to me, when you're pressing your non-religion (which itself, is a religion)

Like you, I prefer religious discussion to be conducted in indoor voices, but I'm sorry, that's just wrong. To quote something or someone I don't remember anymore, that's like saying baldness is a hair colour.

[girlbyjuly.livejournal.com]

I'm unnerved by the Getty thing, because I have some stock icons and I have no idea if the makers used Getty or not. I guess I'll have to check on that. :/ Glad I don't use Getty myself.

[almostnever.livejournal.com]

you may be fined for that image even though you got it from a different source

WTF?!

[divabat.livejournal.com]

Apparently some people (in the SitePoint discussion linked to in the R_L post) got fined because they used a photo that came from another stock photo gallery, but was on GettyImages too.

[soleta-nf.livejournal.com]

The marketing was totally fine with me. You were upfront about it and I agree with what you've said (you already like it, etc) and, hey, if it gets you a DVD, go ahead and mention it! :)

[cassildra.livejournal.com]

Couple of things: Man returns book overdue since 1960. (http://www.cnn.com/2007/EDUCATION/01/07/overdue.book.ap/index.html)

And for a more somber note, US targeted Al Qaeda suspects in Somalia: report. (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070109/ts_nm/somalia_qaeda_report_dc)

I'm sure you've already seen stuff on the second one, but in case you haven't, there you are.

I hope the first one made you smile, at least.

[cassildra.livejournal.com]

...I'm full of links today.

Forum talking about the legality of what Getty's doing. (http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/showthread.php?t=390902)

Hopefully I'm done spamminating your inbox. <3

[eofs.livejournal.com]

Thought this might amuse. (http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2007000420,00.html)

(I wouldn't want to spoil the story by explaining it here.)

[georgie21.livejournal.com]

Hee!

[soleta-nf.livejournal.com]

About the LA mayor committing suicide - the thing that gives me pause is the fact that the bullet went through the chest. Who does that to commit suicide? The story says it's not uncommon, but I've never heard of it. Combined with everything else, no wonder many think there's fowl play.

[r-a-black.livejournal.com]

Ditto. I didn't bother to read the whole article myself, but I read up to that and thought it was just weird. I mean when I heard of the supposed suicide I figured a bullet to the head or something we all hear a thousand times over, but the chest? I guess I should check for "common" bullet to the chest suicides before going on.

[blinkliz.livejournal.com]

I could be high on fumes, but whatever the reason be... I find the following so incredibly poignant:

"'She quietly and peacefully committed suicide to escape the ravages to her brain brought on by Asperger's,' ... 'She loved kitties, and earthquakes, glacial calving, meteor showers, science, blue skies and sunsets, and Tahiti,' the statement said."

[spike22fowl.livejournal.com]

Did you hear? Pluto (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070108/ap_on_re_us/word_of_the_year) is finally getting the recognition it deserves. Damn straight.

[r-a-black.livejournal.com]

I didn't see Children of Men on the list, I guess I'll have to check for it elsewhere.

And then this is just plainly mean to Pluto... but I'll use it anyway. (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070108/ap_on_re_us/word_of_the_year)