Friday, quickly

[cleolinda]

Mmm, hail coming in. This should be fun. So, just quickly, the linkspam I have on hand, before my internet goes out:

Chinese anger and terror warnings cloud Olympics. I am really, really concerned that China is not prepared to handle what's coming.

Dangerous animal virus on US mainland?

The Bush administration is likely to move its research on one of the most contagious animal diseases from an isolated island laboratory to the U.S. mainland near herds of livestock, raising concerns about a catastrophic outbreak.

[...]

A simulated outbreak of the disease — part of an earlier U.S. government exercise called "Crimson Sky" — ended with fictional riots in the streets after the simulation's National Guardsmen were ordered to kill tens of millions of farm animals, so many that troops ran out of bullets. In the exercise, the government said it would have been forced to dig a ditch in Kansas 25 miles long to bury carcasses. In the simulation, protests broke out in some cities amid food shortages.

[...]

Asked about the administration's finalist sites located near livestock, Breeze said: "It seems a little odd. It goes against the ... safety program of the last 50 years."

Um. This seems stupid to the point of willful conspiracy. I mean... what the hell? I wonder if they'll really move off the island--you would think that McDonald's lobbyists would step in, if nothing else, to protect their beef resources.

Here's the sad part, in terms of my initial reaction: I got through the first sentence of the article and went, "They're talking about Plum Island, aren't they?" Ah, the things you learn from movies.

Microsoft’s $40 billion dilemma; Google may be winner in Microsoft-Yahoo fight, "undermining Microsoft's main reason for pursing the deal in the first place." MOO HA HAAAAAA.

Shocking elimination leaves 'Idol' crowd booing. My mother was traumatized, y'all. I didn't even realize she liked the guy that much.

Mills explains divorce court outburst. You know, the one where she poured the pitcher of water on McCartney's lawyer's head.

K-pop fans are out of their minds.

"Who got felt up last night at the Galaxy Book Awards?"

Gerard Butler: I’m Not Dating Cameron Diaz! ”So if I take my dog for a walk apparently I’m f—ing my dog? No, it’s not true!” Man, it's been a while since I've laughed out loud.

New images: Prince Caspian poster; Charlie Bartlett; Hellboy 2; The Wolf Man; War Inc.; First Character Photos from 'The Spirit'; New 'X-Files' Photos Might Reveal Major Spoiler; New 'X-Files' Shots: Maybe the Snowflakes are Small Aliens?; Promo Images for 'Cars 2,' 'Newt,' 'Toy Story 3' and More; Spoiler Pics of Shia LaBeouf in 'New York'; More of Bale on 'Public Enemies' set.

Natalie Portman Set for 'Wuthering Heights.' Well, it's a good thing she's here to save the day, since Britain has no actresses.

Ledger's 'Dark Knight' Scene Intact?

Farrell, Vega, and Lee Join 'Triage.' That would be Christopher Lee, by the way.

Closer Than Ever to a "V" Movie and New Series.

The Best "Tip" Email We've Ever Received [Io9 Mailbag]: "If you're really interested in the X-Files, I'm the guy who got Chris Carter (and a stunning brunette not his wife) to come to a Navajo peyote ceremony outside Window Rock, Arizona. It's quite an interesting story, and I'd be willing to tell it for... one million dollars!"

Jungle Disco Around The Roast Dino Head.

Comments

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

I don't normally comment here, but I've been snagged by the X-Files thing...

Judging by the image and the text, I'm betting that the supposed "spoiler" news-clipping in the image refers to (spoiler in white text)

Just a little in-joke. :) (That said, I'm not getting the best quality view on the clipping, so I could be wrong, of course!)

[quarantedeux.livejournal.com]

I totally didn't think of that angle with the news clipping. Sweet! I hope it's true, because I love those little in-jokes.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

I just watched that one a few weeks ago, so it was at the top of my mind. ;) Plus, the image... well, it's hard to tell. But it sort of looks like it's of... that person. So I'm hoping!

Maybe this is a sign that this movie will be better than "Fight the Future." At least I really hope it will be.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that was actually the first thing I thought of, except that I wondered if they were bringing him back, rather than the more likely in-joke explanation.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Oooo, that'd be really interesting if they brought back that plot-line! It wouldn't have occurred to me as a potential line for the movie, but I've long since learned not to underestimate Carter & co. ;)

[particle-person.livejournal.com]

"Microsoft’s $40 billion dilemma; Google may be winner in Microsoft-Yahoo fight, "undermining Microsoft's main reason for pursing the deal in the first place." MOO HA HAAAAAA."

Possibly the best part of that first article is the MicroHOO (http://msnbcmedia4.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/ArtAndPhoto-Fronts/BUSINESS/080219/080219-microhoo-logo.300w.jpg) logo.

[particle-person.livejournal.com]

JK Rowling looks great in that dress. She's aging as well as Helen Mirren, I think.

The Little Apple

[kauricat.livejournal.com]

Hi! Manhattanite here, chiming in about bringing a new Bio-whatsit facility to my fair city.

It's amazing to me how many people around here think this is a Fabulous Idea. They're working really hard to bring the nasty germs in to boost our local economy. I can hardly express how excited I am by the prospect of Plum Island in my backyard.

The Zombie outbreak will begin here. Count on it. Which is really only fair, since we're kind of centrally located. It just wouldn't do to give one coast a headstart over the other.

Re: The Little Apple

[lilgoala.livejournal.com]

http://www.randomhouse.com/crown/zombiesurvivalguide/

Best of luck!

Re: The Little Apple

[kauricat.livejournal.com]

I actually have that book! It's not as good as World War Z, but it does have some entertainment value. :)

Re: The Little Apple

[lilgoala.livejournal.com]

Oh good, so you're well-prepared! :)

[ter369.livejournal.com]

Natalie Portman Set for 'Wuthering Heights.' Well, it's a good thing she's here to save the day, since Britain has no actresses.

Wasn't it Juliette Binoche in another semi-recent unnecessary, fercryeye remake? The entire UK must have no actresses. (I have a joke about how Wuthering Heights was remade, like, 2.5 years ago with Keira Knightley, but I don't want to offend fans of that P&P, even if screaming fiercely in the rain should be trademarked for Brontë-esque novels.)

I am so over Heathcliff, in theory and in cinema.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Oh, I love the Juliette Binoche/Ralph Fiennes version (which I think ended up being too awful to even release in theaters) in a very shameful way. (It does legitimately have beautiful music, though.)

I actually like WH because I view it as a horror story--an emotional horror story, granted, but basically as being about two extremely dysfunctional people who lay waste to everyone around them (um, what did the Lintons do to anyone? Seriously) rather than An Epic Romance for the Ages. Of course, I'm not sure my take would sell as well at theaters.

[ter369.livejournal.com]

I actually like WH because I view it as a horror story--an emotional horror story, granted, but basically as being about two extremely dysfunctional people who lay waste to everyone around them (um, what did the Lintons do to anyone? Seriously) rather than An Epic Romance for the Ages.

I think of it as a story of destruction and death -- which sounds compatible with how it strikes you. Jasper Fforde sees what you found, since he put the characters in off-the-page therapy in one of his Thursday Next book.

[brittastic14.livejournal.com]

Your mom and my mom are on the same page with loving the Aussie American idol. My mom wants to boycott the show. See I don't think he was going to be the American Idol, but he was eliminated a bit early. I think it was the same thing that happened with Chris Daugherty.

[tonks07.livejournal.com]

I'm still a little sad about the changing of Caspian's age,though I see why it was done.But that new poster-yum!Eye candy isn't lacking in this movie it seems.

[queenthesixth.livejournal.com]

It must be nice in Heather Mills land where tipping a glass of water over a solicitor in court is considered 'baptising them'. I was under the impression it wasn't exactly manneredly and could get you into trouble. But then I'm not crazy.

The more I see her on television and read about her, the less I like her. She's spent enough time in Hollywood and on the London celeb scene, you'd think she'd have picked up a few lessons on how to cultivate a public image that would work to her advantage. For crying out loud, even I know how to pretend to not be a bitch in public when I have to!

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Yeah, she seems a little... unhinged to me.

[chaosdancer.livejournal.com]

Ack, Plum Island. I used to live not too far from there. Gathered shells on the beach opposite the island. I think if I lived there now, I wouldn't hang out quite so close. That plan to move it is either insane or some sort of tin-hat conspiracy. I wonder which?

[randombastary.livejournal.com]

"So if I take my dog for a walk apparently I'm f—ing my dog? No, it's not true!"

God, I love that man. He always amuses me.

[sigma7.livejournal.com]

Here's the thing, regarding the biolab -- the university and legislature are behind it with almost religious fervor (http://www.cjonline.com/stories/071207/kan_183882827.shtml). It means more jobs (high-tech, much moneys), it means prestige, it means a lot. And they're not doing a half-assed job of putting together the building, believe me.

But it comes down to a simple question of chaos versus order. If you ultimately believe that mankind can exert absolute control over nature, even on such a small scale, then it's a roll of the dice you feel that you can take, because otherwise, it's just going to end up in another state.

And yet you only need to come up snake-eyes once. If you don't have that confidence in human control, or if you just have greater faith in chaos or nature or just simple stupidity, if there's one outbreak, then the protocols are draconian and brutal:

-- You close the state borders, nothing goes in or out.
-- From the incident site, you create a 1.5-mile radius "exposed zone" and inside that zone, you kill everything with cloven hooves.
-- From the incident site, you also have a 6-mile radius quarantine, strictly enforced, in which every animal is actively monitored. And when any animal begins showing symptoms, then you have a new incident site, and it all begins again.

And say nothing about the personal toll on farmers, the end result on the food industry, on the food supply (and the perception of it, and its safety) is, even for a conservative estimate, catastrophic.

There's a hell of a lot going on here. It would be god-awful if it happened in Kansas, but also if it happened in San Antonio or Mississippi or Georgia. (And are the odds of it escaping from a biolab disproportionately different than an accidental transmission from an unknowingly infected area? I'm genuinely asking; I don't know, because I don't have Dr. Jerry Jaax on speed-dial, though his Powerpoint (http://www.authorstream.com/presentation/Chyou-30201-AM-Jerry-Jaax-WEB-VERSION-Potential-Targets-Biological-Weapons-Implications-Constraints-Bioweaponeer-Urban-Myth-Bi-am10-as-Entertainment-ppt-powerpoint/) and his PDF (http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/212280.pdf) are most revealing.)

(What, did I sit through a three-day conference on biosecurity and readiness communications? Yes, yes I did.)

[kookaburra1701.livejournal.com]

Also, wouldn't they then have to try and round up all the deer in the area and kill them?

[kookaburra1701.livejournal.com]

...and after I read the link you posted, it seems they're going to be researching small pox and anthrax there as well?

This is going to end well.

[sigma7.livejournal.com]

Yup, though I confess, neither of those worry me like FMD. (And I'm about a five-minute walk away from the building, too.)

The Crimson Sky simulation, with the 25-mile trench and the rioting? Doesn't surprise me in the slightest. (The building in question is named after the senator who played the president in that sim, too.)

[kookaburra1701.livejournal.com]

Yes- FMD is more worrying to me, not just because I raise goats and feeder calves (don't have any right now though :( ) but because it usually isn't fatal and is very rarely transmitted to humans (where it is almost never fatal or life-shattering) many people don't take it seriously.

[floatingpencil.livejournal.com]

Hmmph. Michael was the only thing that had me watching Idol. God that man is gorgeous. We get it on delay, so I know not to bother watching this weekend's show then. The rest of them bore me silly.

[wirrrn.livejournal.com]

A "V" movie would rock- scariest thing? Grandpa Bernstein (Leonardo Cimino)who told the very moving Holocaust story in the first part of V is *still alive*!

Kansas- but do the Terns nest there in the Spring?!

[animejosse.livejournal.com]

Mind Your Business: You Will Lose All The Rights to Your Own Art (http://mag.awn.com/index.php?ltype=Columns&article_no=3605&) If I understand this correctly, it means you have to pay a sum to avoid having your art used for commercial use by companies and such - and even then they'd still be able to declare an artwork "Orphan" if they can't find the original owner. More info here (http://news.deviantart.com/article/46388/) and here. (http://news.deviantart.com/article/46375/) The last one offers a more level-headed view on things, but I'm still not comfortable with it.

[farasha.livejournal.com]

If I had noticed you had already posted about this, I wouldn't have commented below. I read the DA news page that you linked.

I'm still not comfortable with this, and I'll tell you why. This might work all fine and good for art, but there are other forms of creative works out there that are harder to put a stamp on. Literature? Most people don't put "By whoever" in the file itself. Music? How many musicians say their band name at some point during their song?

And the point is, if someone finds your music, your story or your art on a separate webpage with no "signature" on it, and they do a search of the registered copyrights database and don't find it, they could claim they did a search "in good faith" and still steal your work.

This whole bill stinks. It's a bad idea, and I'm still going to try and strike it down before it passes.

I also have an electronic petition (http://www.petitiononline.com/FSS5439/petition.html) that people can sign.

[animejosse.livejournal.com]

You had some links I missed, so I don't think it was a wasted comment.

But yeah, it's very uncomfortable. I'm not in the US, but there's nothing saying Europe won't be affected - like you said, it's hard to put a stamp on works and even if you do... who the hell puts home country on their work online? I'd rather be too careful than ignoring this.

[animejosse.livejournal.com]

To clarify, I meant that even if the bill's only supposed to go for America there's no way of saying that a pic is from, say, Norway. How would a Norwegian protect their work from this?

[farasha.livejournal.com]

And therein lies the problem.

It's been brought to my attention that this bill is old, from 2006, but that the Congress has recently re-introduced the concept of Orphan Works. In my opinion, it's better to strike down this draft of the bill before it's re-introduced into Congress. Overkill? Maybe. Better safe than sorry? Definitely.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Actually, ursulav is saying that it's a dead issue (http://ursulav.livejournal.com/758643.html): "Everything referenced is from the 2005-2006 legislative session. There is no current bill. Anything resembling such a bill died in committee years ago. This is not something you need to freak out about right now.... Relax. It's not happening. You can check the public record and find that there are no such bills currently before Congress. "

[animejosse.livejournal.com]

That's a relief, especially with the panic going around. Thank you (and Ursulav) for setting the record straight.

[farasha.livejournal.com]

No, we shouldn't panic, but it's a good thing this is on our radar, because the Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property recently held a Hearing on Promoting the Use of Orphan Works: Balancing the Interests of Copyright Owners and Users (http://judiciary.house.gov/Oversight.aspx?ID=427). Recently meaning on March 13. If you have Real Player you can watch a tape of the hearing (which I have, the entire hour and a half of boring debate).

There hasn't been a bill drafted - yet - but from what I heard in the hearing, they're very keen on using the language of the old bill. Many of our concerns were raised in the debate, but it sounds like they're more concerned with making it easy for the copyright office than making it safe for copyright holders.

[yarha.livejournal.com]

”So if I take my dog for a walk apparently I’m f—ing my dog? No, it’s not true!”

Yes, it's true. *Real* stars pay people to walk their dogs for them. :p Where there's smoke, there's Fido.

Also, the intarwebs in Alabama is held together with duct-tape?

[farasha.livejournal.com]

Hey Cleo, I would appreciate it if you would pimp my blog (http://farasha.livejournal.com/66852.html) concerning the Orphan Works Act of 2006, which has recently exploded all over the art community.

I also have an electronic petition (http://www.petitiononline.com/FSS5439/petition.html) that people can sign.

Thanks!

[enid-keaner.livejournal.com]

About Wuthering Heights, all I'm gonna say is

FUCK NO. NOT NATALIE. GET SOMEONE WHO CAN DO A BRITISH ACCENT.

that is all. for now.

[kvschwartz.livejournal.com]

[Promise a free Big Mac to everyone who clicks on a Microsoft ad — and give away 14 trillion of 'em.]

Fourteen trillion Big Macs for $40 billion? So a Big Mac costs less than a third of a cent?

[meandstuff.livejournal.com]

The really awful thing about Natalie Portman starring in Wuthering Heights is that now I can't get this song (http://youtube.com/watch?v=gfGc4wcil2g) out of my head.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Oh, dude, I totally collect versions of that song.

[kookaburra1701.livejournal.com]

This may sound a little nutty of me, but the guvmint-distrusting lobe of my brain is convinced that they are PLANNING a controlled outbreak, to push through the USDA animal identification program.

They say they can contain it if it does get out, but guess what? RATS can carry it, and you can't contain them. Also, have they forgotten that there are cloven hooved wild animals like boars and deer? How the fuck are they going to exterminate those if an outbreak occurs?

*grows more paranoid*
*pushes up plans for a small barn on property with a few goats and a feeder calf*

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

My problem is that I don't trust the government--not because I believe they're conspiring against us per se, but because I don't trust them not to be idiots. Which would explain all of this. But it's also so very, very stupid that it does move past stupid into "ulterior motive" for me.

[kookaburra1701.livejournal.com]

That's usually how I feel too - normally I roll my eyes at the conspiracy nuts (there's a surfeit of them at the gatherings of my chosen political party) but DAMN. How can something this boneheaded NOT be hiding something?

BTW, I was looking at the tumbleweed houses again last night, have you been to that site lately? They've got some youtube video tours of their homes now.

[sigma7.livejournal.com]

but because I don't trust them not to be idiots

There's a fraction that's capable of intelligent, thought-out conspiracy-level workings, but I don't think every link in the chain is that clever. Or can dress themselves.

It's more about money, politics, fear and cronyism than it is about establishing the New World Order. Because that would take work.