October, 2005

  1. New Wizard of Oz DVD Set

    On November 1st, a new 3DVD Wizard of Oz collection will be released. This version features an Ultra Resolution restoration of the film that should make it look stunning. Also included are the complete versions of five earlier film versions of Oz, including four from the silent era and a cartoon short from 1933 which…

  2. Can Spyware Ever Be A Good Thing?

    In posts here and here, Xeni Jardin and Cory Doctorow at Boing! Boing! accuse Blizzard of installing spyware on their customers’ computers and then using “a bunch of PR spin” to justify said spyware. For once, I could not disagree more — if this spyware did not exist, I probably would not be playing World…

  3. Fantasy Grounds: Excellent PnP RPG Software

    I’ve demo’d quite a few programs designed to make it easier to play paper-and-pencil role-playing games over the Internet, but Fantasy Grounds is certainly the best looking of the ones I’ve tried. It has a very appealing visual look to it, as well as a pretty thorough featureset. About the only drawbacks I can see…

  4. Stupidity, Thy Name Is Tom Barrett

    So I open up the local rag, The Kalamazoo Gazette, today to the local section and there is a full-color photograph of some Western Michigan University students protesting outside the Kalamazoo Public Library. They’re part of a student group called Students for America, and in the photo they’re carrying signs that say things like, “Preserve…

  5. RavensBlight.Com

    Ray O’Bannon apparently has a thing for old school horror, and his Raven’s Blight web site has an amazing array of downloadable horror-related content. Among other things, O’Bannon has downloadable PDFs for dozens of paper toys, including an original board game; four full albums of his horror-themed music; and numerous horror-themed PC games. Its just…

  6. Jack Thompson — Sometimes He Feels Like A Nut

    Jack’s back (Thompson that is) and this time its the nutcase vs. the video game freaks at Penny-Arcade. This time around, Thompson made a bizarre offer to pay $10,000 to any game developer who would put out a crude game in which a relative of a victim of video game-inspired violence takes his revenge on…

  7. Cindy Sheehan, We’ll Miss You

    The Tri-Valley Herald laments the passing of Cindy Sheehan from the public stage — i.e., her 15 minutes is definitely over. The Herald notes, But after drawing the international spotlight in Camp Casey in Crawford, her name is fading from headlines. . . . She attracted what in essence became a traveling troupe of anti-war…