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Author: Bryant

Writers Strike

November 7, 2007
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I’m finding the WGA strike really interesting, for reasons above and beyond the obvious fact that it affects a lot of my entertainment. (Equal link doctrine: here’s the AMPTP home page so you can read up on the other side’s viewpoint.) Perhaps predictably, screenwriters like to write, and that means there’re a lot of screenwriters with blogs, and that means this is going to be a heavily blogged strike. This is only appropriate given that the major sticking point is residual income for Internet-distributed television and film.

Worthwhile blogs on the strike include United Hollywood (a strike-specific blog), John August, The Artful Writer, Kung Fu Monkey, Jane Espenson, and I’m sure there are dozens more. Nikki Finke is not a screenwriter but what else is a Hollywood blogger going to be writing about?

It’s not just that they’re being pretty candid and frank about their opinions on the whole thing; it’s the arguments getting underway in various comment sections. The effect of this strike on non-writers will be significant — set dressers, location scouts, etc., etc are all gonna be out of work if this goes on very long. Those people aren’t shy about expressing their opinions by any means.

So what I’m seeing is evolving labor relations in the field of intellectual property, weighted towards the question of Internet rights, with a hefty dose of class consciousness included on the side. And it’s playing out in real time where I can see it. Yeah, interesting.

One-Shot Thought Experiment

October 31, 2007
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This isn’t something I want to run immediately; I’ve just been contemplating character generation and systems lately and I wanted to do a thought experiment. Thus, if you feel like commenting on the following, please do. Or even run through the exercise of answering the questions.

So: modern occult game with some action, a touch of conspiracy, you know the genre. Occult is defined as weird stuff, including mad science, psionics, and so on. The framework is a group of free-lance journalists/bloggers; they might know the occult exists but don’t have proof. They’ve got a group blog and cooperate on investigations. Funding is sparse. Thank God for Google AdWords.

Players in the one-shot can define their characters before the game by answering the following questions in prose.

1. What is the core of your character? This could be a profession, a hobby, a way of looking at the world. Describe it in a paragraph or so.

2. What’s another thing that defines your character? Could be a side profession, a skill, a possession, a heritage, whatever. Again, describe it in a paragraph.

3. And a third defining element.

4. OK, now tell me what your character’s flaw is. Same deal, give us a paragraph.

5. What’s your motivation? Why do you do these things you do?

6. What’s your big secret? You really don’t want people knowing this.

7. And, finally, tell me about an important person in your past.

Q4 WWE DVD Releases

October 18, 2007
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Of note:

The Triumph and Tragedy of WCCW — more or less the von Erich story. Interesting probably for the documentary more than the wrestling.

Stone Cold Steve Austin’s Life and Legacy — no match list, but the description sounds tempting.

The Shawn Michaels Story — some repeats, no Bret Hart matches (?), but worth it probably for that hour long match with Cena alone. Said match is not included on the 3 DVD Cena set coming up soon, btw.

Rey Mysterio: Biggest Little Man — the 6 man tag from When Worlds Collide, the Malenko match from Great American Bash 1996, the July 8, 1996 Nitro Malenko match, the Eddie Guerrero match from Halloween Havoc 1997, his Smackdown debut against Chavo Guerrero in 2002, and the Angle match at SummerSlam 2002 are duplicates from his old DVD. C’est la vie. There’s a ton of new worthwhile material, although the old DVD is probably obsolete — the only match that isn’t repeated that’s worth seeking out is a Benoit match. Hm, and a Psicosis match, but still.