The Daily Loper – February 2, 2007

Stuck in San Diego With The Glendale Blues Again Edition

Todays links of interest:

• NBC: Streaming Extends Reach of Shows
  So obvious, it probably shouldn’t be noted. But what the heck. We like to state what you already know to be true.
• 2006 Best Music Scribing Awards
  Best rock music writing of 2006 (and you thought we were done with the year-end roundups.
• Watching Super Bowl Ads Could Make Viewers Cringe
  This is being viewed as a positive.
• eBay: Aqua Teen Hunger Force Mooninite LED sign
  This story wouldn’t be complete without an eBay auction. Here’s your chance to get one of those signs that scared the hell out of Boston. Bidding is currently at $400.
• Warming ‘Likely’ Man-Made, Unstoppable
  Well then, party on Wayne.
• Booksellers seize the digital momentum
  Hmm, wonder how many centuries before they discover nanotech?
• Billionaire claims that novelist duped him in selling film rights
  Apparently, one billionaire believes the fact that author Clive Cussler apparently overstated his sales was the reason behind "Sahara’s" sub-par performance: "Cussler and his agent had gotten away with these numbers for years," said Alan Rader, Anschutz’s lawyer. "It was a lie and it doomed the movie."
• Men Accused of Bomb Hoax Plead Not Guilty
  Apparently the media was not "amused" by the press conference. Of course, the media assumed they were entitled to a press conference. And if you’d just spent the night in jail, would inane questions like "What was it like to spend the night in jail?" make you want to talk about 1970s haircuts? Thought so.
• S.F. mayor’s scandal snarls a stellar rise
  With this going on, those "Aqua Teen" devices could have been actual bombs and nobody in San Francisco would have paid any attention. The danger of taking a moral stand — like the one that Newsom awesomely took a few years ago — is that your own morals have to remain above reproach. Longtime San Francisco politics watchers have to appreciate the irony that the mayor who came *after* Willie Brown is the one embroiled in a sex scandal. Somewhere, Herb Caen is just laughing and laughing.
• Turner CEO apologizes for Boston scare
  "Dear Boston, we’re sorry that we scared your city and all of the other cities where we put — what? It was just Boston? No other city panicked? Oh . . . well, it’s obvious that you people are wound wayyyyyy tooo tight. What you need to do is unwind. Have a laugh. Have you watched ‘Aqua Teen Hunger Force?’ Never heard of it? Well, you should try it."
• It’s Groundhog Day. Hide!
  It it Groundhog Day already? Seems like we just had it.
• Microsoft Responds to Claims about First Windows Vista Flaw
  Oh speech recognition, why are you so difficult? We’ve only wanted you since we first heard you on "Star Trek" all those years ago.
• Dave’s 25 Years of Bringing the Funny
  We’ve been fans pretty much that entire time. We’ve said it before, and we will say it again: "Late Night With David Letterman" was the best talk show that there will ever be. And we’re pretty sure that the Guy Under The Seats agrees with us. We’re pretty sure that he’s still there, watching, watching . . .
• Network Storage for Your Phone
  It’s nice and all, but what we really want is a phone that never goes out of range.
• Zune exec steps down
  Of course he did.
• Cisco and Apple talking about iPhone again
  Of course they are.
• Microsoft Zune Phone In the Works
  This shouldn’t come as a surprise since Microsoft has always insisted that Zune is a family of products. A dysfunctional family perhaps, but a family nonetheless.
• Rowling: New ‘Harry Potter’ due July 21
  We’ve already pre-ordered ours on Amazon.
• Models "too thin," say 4 in 5 consumers
  Also: sun "too hot;" ice "too cold;" lemons "too sour;" puppies "too cute;" those damn kids’ music "too loud;" and Spinal Tap’s album cover "too black."