IT HARDLY MATTERS Back to Main Index Browse the Archives	Thursday, June 29, 2006 ( 10:29 AM ) I don't know about you, but I smell the end of The OC and the beginnings of a spin-off (featuring Mini-Coop, probably?). "The O.C." Loses Prime-Time Real Estate By Natalie Finn Fox is retooling its strategy as it heads into the Thursday-night fray this fall. Instead of sending its 9 p.m. staple, The O.C., into battle against CSI and Grey's Anatomy every week, the network announced Wednesday that it has ordered up a mere 16 episodes of the rich-kid drama for 2006-07. Considering that 22 episodes of a show constitute your typical season and The O.C. has averaged 25 a season during its three-year run, this doesn't bode well for the prime-time soap, although a Fox spokesperson said that since it doesn't premiere until Nov. 2 (allowing for baseball's World Series) this fall, there's no technical reason to have a full schedule of episodes. But with Mischa Barton not returning for a fourth go-round and the surviving O.C. denizens "growing up" and heading off to college in the fall, it looks as if Fox is packing up its beachfront property. If the network airs all 16 new episodes in a row, it will be out of O.C. by February, giving Fox the opportunity to take a midseason replacement for a test drive, Variety reported Wednesday. ABC announced last month that Grey's Anatomy would be moving from Sundays to the juicy Thursday-at-9 spot that has been dominated by CSI for years. NBC had originally planned to add its highly anticipated new Matthew Perry drama, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, into the mix, but ended up sending the freshman series to Mondays and shelving Medium until midseason. The surprise hit Deal or No Deal will anchor the 9 p.m. slot for NBC instead. Despite its already competitive Thursday perch last season, The O.C. still attracted 5.7 million viewers a week. But if any of those Adam Brody fans also want to check in on Dr. McDreamy, the remaining residents of Newport may end up joining Marissa Cooper in drama series heaven. Thursday, June 22, 2006 ( 09:49 AM ) Good stuff! Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Khazakhstan Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby Wednesday, June 21, 2006 ( 04:42 PM ) Haha, funniest thing I've seen all week: According to the line producer, Napoleon Dynamite director Jared Hess' next film will be about the invasion of Normandy. He said clarified [sic] that he wasn't sure if it was a comedy or not... Monday, June 19, 2006 ( 10:02 PM ) Pretty much the most disturbing thing about this is the large number of people who can't tell how frickin' terribly fake the pictures are. Wednesday, June 14, 2006 ( 06:22 PM ) In celebration of the season premiere of The First 48, A&E is having an ALL-DAY marathon tomorrow. SO AWESOME. Tuesday, June 13, 2006 ( 07:15 PM ) Wireless internet at the park?? Is that really necessary? "Gee, it's a beautiful day, I think I'll go down to the park and surf the internet while my laptop basks in the burning sun and I can't see the screen because of the glare. The fresh air sure will be nice." From the Daily Texan: Austin's wireless access to grow Zilker Park, Barton Springs among area network will cover By Behnaz Abolmaali Austinites have enjoyed a large, free wireless Internet network in the streets and offices of downtown since May and now, recent city expansions will allow people to use this free service all the way into the open spaces of Zilker Park and alongside the waters of Barton Springs pool. The Outdoor Wireless Mesh Project, made possible with $700,000 worth of equipment from Cisco Systems, is part of the city's efforts to improve economic development practices by attracting professionals. The city of Austin should be able to maintain the service in the long-run with this grant, said Peter Collins, the city's chief information officer. "With this wireless capability at the shores of a natural springs, we're changing the high-tech landscape of Austin without changing its natural landscape," said Councilwoman Jennifer Kim, who along with Mayor Will Wynn, has sponsored efforts to expand Wi-Fi access across the city. The new hot spots at Zilker and Barton Springs, have a special appeal to college students and professionals in Austin, Kim said. She envisions the technology as a way for people to use the Internet in a creative setting, she said. "The possibilities are endless," Kim said. She said she imagines artists sharing their music online, updating Web sites to promote their bands and researching on the Internet in the comfort of the park. The connection is equivalent in speed to a cable modem and allows users with a wireless feature on their laptop to connect within a matter of seconds, after being directed from a city Web site, Kim said. The project also serves as a test laboratory for new wireless applications and businesses, said Russ Rumney, project manager for City Hall's Information Technology department. Expansions in parts of East Austin have also been central to the city's plans, with the goal of reaching low-income residents who otherwise don't have the means to subscribe to Internet service but have access to a laptop, Rumney said. Austin ranks high among cities in the country with free and for-subscription wireless access. A recent survey by Intel identified Austin as the third most "unwired" city in the country, with Seattle and San Francisco ranking ahead. UT-Austin was not named in a similar survey conducted by Intel on the top 50 "most unwired college campuses." The University provides wireless internet access in many buildings and outdoor areas of campus. The former wireless network downtown, ranging from Town Lake to Seventh Street and from Interstate 35 to Lamar Boulevard, was set up for the World Congress on Information Technology, a global summit for industry leaders held in May. ( 03:43 PM ) On the bus to school today, I saw a teen wearing a "World's Greatest Grandpa" t-shirt and on the way home from school there was a different teen wearing a "World's Greatest Grandpa" hat on the bus. Kids these days and their wacky senses of humor! Monday, June 12, 2006 ( 06:38 PM ) Today is our 2-year wedding anniversary. To all those who said we wouldn't make it this far: I want my $50. Tuesday, June 6, 2006 ( 09:49 AM ) Happy 666, gang! Screams and nightmares of a life I want Can't see living this lie, no! A world I haunt You've lost all control of my heart and soul Satan holds my future watch it unfold I am the Antichrist It's what I was meant to be Your God left me behind And set my soul to be free Watching disciples of the satanic rule Pentagram of blood holds the jackal's truth Searching for the answer, Christ hasn't come Awaiting the final moment the birth of Satan's son Screams from a life I live Torment is what I give Torture is what I love The downfall of the heavens above I am the Antichrist All love is lost Insanity is what I am Eternally my soul will rot - Slayer ( 12:11 AM ) Well, it's pretty obvious what this means, folks: There is no God on Animal Island. Lioness in zoo kills man who invoked God Mon Jun 5, 8:31 AM ET KIEV (Reuters) - A man shouting that God would keep him safe was mauled to death by a lioness in Kiev zoo after he crept into the animal's enclosure, a zoo official said on Monday. "The man shouted 'God will save me, if he exists', lowered himself by a rope into the enclosure, took his shoes off and went up to the lions," the official said. "A lioness went straight for him, knocked him down and severed his carotid artery." The incident, Sunday evening when the zoo was packed with visitors, was the first of its kind at the attraction. Lions and tigers are kept in an "animal island" protected by thick concrete blocks. Saturday, June 3, 2006 ( 12:28 PM ) So there's all this hoopla surrounding the introduction of a new lesbo Batwoman, but no mention about the ground-breaking Ace and Gary? Batwoman's other secret identity turns heads By David E. Williams CNN Friday, June 2, 2006; Posted: 4:21 p.m. EDT (20:21 GMT) (CNN) -- Kathy Kane's return as a socialite-turned-caped-crusader might not draw much attention outside the comic book world, but Batwoman's other secret is causing quite a fuss. DC Comics says the character, who was brought in originally in 1956 as Batman's love interest, will be reintroduced as a lesbian as part of an effort to diversify its superhero roster. Kane is open about her sexuality with her friends, but has not come out to her family, executive director Don Didio said. A quick Google search for "lesbian Batwoman" drew more than half a million hits with some blog posts calling it a sign of "the steady decline of our society," and others questioning whether a 5-foot-10-inch redhead in big boots and a skin-tight suit was a role model or a straight teenagers' fantasy. (Watch lesbian Batwoman trigger sidewalk argument -- 2:14) Longtime comic book fan Joe Palmer, who runs the Gay League Web site for gay and lesbian comic book fans, said that he did not think the idea was patronizing, and dismissed concerns about Batwoman's new look. "Honestly, comic book characters are already going to be handsome or over-the-top gorgeous anyway," he said. "They're definitely going to be very physically fit, they're going to be gym bunnies basically, only they don't go to the gym." John Schroeder, an environmental consultant and Presbyterian deacon who blogs about both comic books and his religious faith, said Batwoman's sexual orientation is not a big deal to him. He said he decorated his office with superhero statues and has about 8,000 comic books. "Am I happy that there's going to be a homosexual superhero? Not really," he said. "But it's not like I'm going to jump up and down and scream and say it's the end of the world." Schroeder said he loves Batman and is "very much addicted to the superhero genre." But he's not a fan of some of the newer Batman titles, he said. "Some of the Batman work that's being done now is extremely dark, and the art as far as I'm concerned is ugly," he said. "So I'm not buying Batman like I used to, so this will be another Batman-related title I don't buy." Gay superheroes are not really new to the comic book universe. Marvel's "Rawhide Kid" introduced a gay cowboy in 2002, years before the movie "Brokeback Mountain" came out. DC's "The Authority" series features a gay superpower couple. Palmer said he likes the way Marvel's "Young Avengers" has handled the relationship between teen spellcaster Wiccan and his shapeshifting boyfriend the Hulkling. "They've been revealed to be a gay couple as well and it's handled extremely well, just matter of factly, and no big sensation made over the fact that they're gay and a couple as well," he said. He said that gay characters often end up being tokens. "What happens more often than not is that the character is really created as a token and is basically two-dimensional and appears briefly, and then is written out of the storyline or forgotten until later," he said. The Batman series already had one lesbian character, Det. Renee Montoya, who once dated Batwoman's alter ego. "This isn't about a lesbian superhero. It's about a superhero, who also happens to be gay," said Didio. He said the book was intended for all ages and not to expect any sex scenes. "This will be the first time that a gay character has been created to be a starring character and a recurring role that isn't labeled for mature readers," Palmer said. He said that the Rawhide Kid's rating drew a lot of complaints among gay readers. "The book carried a mature readers label and there was absolutely nothing of a mature aspect that occurred in the entire story. It was very tame," he said. The new Batwoman will appear starting in July in a new comic called "52." DC says the year-long series will show what happens when Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman disappear from Gotham City. DC Comics is owned by Time Warner, the parent company of CNN.