wwwade, television, science Wade Roush wrote: Crime shows generally turn me off, but for years I’ve enjoyed CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, because (as I’ve written before) the heroes are scientists. They catch crooks not by outgunning them, but by observing, hypothesizing, and testing. Of course, the dramatic license that CSI and other series sometimes take with real-world science can be disturbing: no matter how much you “enhance” a still from a surveillance video, for example, you can’t read a license plate in the reflection on someone’s cornea. But you’ve got to applaud creator Jerry Bruckheimer and the show’s writers for bringing out the glamour in a dweeby and meticulous profession like forensic science. TV viewers clearly have an ongoing appetite for scientists as leading characters. And there are two new series this season that play on that fascination. One of them—another Bruckheimer creation called Eleventh Hour that premiered on CBS last night—tries its best to stick to known, real-world science and its uses and abuses. The other, the Fox series Fringe, has no such scruples. Created by J.J. Abrams, it gleefully mixes factual science with patently impossible claptrap, yet manages to stay charming. I felt moved to write about the two shows this week because they’re both inspired by science, but take almost diametrically opposite approaches to portraying it—with wildly differing results. In short—though I wish it were the other way around—Fringe is an enjoyable romp, while Eleventh Hour (at least in its pilot episode) is preachy and predictable. Fringe’s plot will feel familiar to any fan of The X-Files or of Abrams’ previous series, Alias and Lost. FBI agent Olivia Dunham (played by Australian actor Anna Torv) joins a top-secret interagency task force investigating a series of bizarre occurrences: a planeload of bodies dissolved by a mysterious virus, a mutant baby that hits Social Security age in under an hour, a bus full of people suffocated by instant Jell-O, a demonic underground torpedo that surfaces every few decades. The government thinks these events are connected: Dunham’s boss refers to the phenomena as the Pattern. To study the events, Dunham recruits former Harvard scientist Walter Bishop—a mad-scientist type played to the hilt by John Noble, aka The Lord of the Rings‘ Lord Denethor—and his son Peter, a genius-dropout gamely portrayed by Joshua Jackson, the wisecracking actor who single-handedly made Dawson’s Creek tolerable. Walter has a childlike wonder about science, but is haunted by the memory of the defense-related experiments he was forced to perform in the 1970s (experiments that, it is implied, may have given rise to the Pattern). Meanwhile, Peter is on the run from some unpleasant people who loaned him a lot of money (and they’re not mortgage brokers). Dunham’s investigations frequently lead her back to Massive Dynamic, a Microsoft-Apple-Intel-General Dynamics hybrid where all of the offices look as if they were designed by Ayn Rand protagonists. Her contact there is Nina Sharp, lieutenant to the company’s reclusive founder. Sharp has a bionic arm and is played with creepy gusto by Blair Brown (Altered States, The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd). It’s actually Sharp, in the pilot, who’s given the line that sums up the series’ intellectual premise: “Science and technology have advanced at such an exponential rate for so long… it may be well beyond our ability to regulate and control them.” We’re meant to infer that the Pattern is a global experiment by some dark organization (SD6, perhaps?) that’s bent on transforming society but may be in over its own head. Clearly, Abrams has been reading books like Ray Kurzweil’s The Singularity, which posits that genetics, nanotechnology, and robotics are about to give rise to a new species of hyper-intelligent and virtually immortal super-humans. But whereas Kurzweil greets this glorious future with optimism, Abrams sees the potential for boundless mischief. I would be very surprised if Abrams ever reveals, or even knows, what the Pattern really is—I stopped watching Lost after it became obvious that he had no intention of clarifying who created the island or why the plane-crash survivors were brought there. But I think I may stick with Fringe, because in the end, it isn’t about the conspiracy. It’s really about Walter, who keeps the show moving forward by conceiving the brilliant (if pseudoscientific) experiments that provide the clues to solving each episode’s conundrum. (Hey, if we just hook up a TV to this corpse’s optic nerve, we’ll get a picture of the last thing she ever saw!) Walter is the MacGyver of neurophysics—his genius lies in his willingness to consider how, with the aid of defibrillators, LSD, and aluminum foil, one might approximate fringe phenomena like telepathy. The show’s big question is …Next Page » Comments | Permalink | Share |  E-mail Less

When I first heard about YouthBytes.org I thought, “Oh no, not another video curriculum of shallow content and lame production. The youth ministry video curriculum market is already saturated with products that enable youth leaders to outsource the teaching of scripture.” But what I appreciate about the videos from YouthBytes.org is that, not only are they MTV quality videos, but the host, Chad Daniel, actually communicates the Word. The videos are not intended to be a surrogate teacher for your kids — they’re created to spark discussion and engage teenagers’ minds on Biblical truths that you, their youth leader, can (and should) follow-up on. That’s why each episode includes a 1-minute version, a 3-minute version, a 6-minute version, even up to a 30-minute version so you can pick which works best for your group. The included leader’s guide contains ideas for icebreakers, a lesson, discussion questions, key scripture passages, and more to help you teach your kids on the subject matter covered in the video. They really do a professional and quality job with everything they produce. When you get a chance, check out some of the video clips at YouthBytes.org. The first time I went to their site, I only intended to check out a couple clips, but I actually ended up watching all of them! They’re engaging, funny, and thought provoking. And the longer DVD versions are even better! I actually watched the episodes on the YouthBytes DVD I have twice! I actually had no faults with YouthBytes until the second time I watched the DVD: I realized that I was so engaged with what Chad Daniel was doing the first time around that sometimes I stopped paying attention to what he was actually teaching. Instead my mind focused on things like, “Oh wow, flares strapped to tennis shoes! I so wanna try that!” or how I need to tell my wife about a funny clip that made me laugh out loud. Unfortunately, I missed some of the valuable gems of wisdom that Chad Daniel shared the first time I watched it. However, this could actually be a positive thing because it makes the replay value of the DVDs pretty high. You could watch it several times and pick up something new each time. I’ll probably use YouthBytes as discussion starters for my own Sunday morning Jr. High ministry starting in 2009. Tips from Chad Daniel: How to improve your teaching A couple weeks ago I had the opportunity to talk with Chad Daniel. Of course, YouthBytes entered the discussion and how to communicate with teens in a media-based culture, but he gave me some great tips on how to improve my teaching and communication with teenagers. Listen to this interview with him to hear his advice. Hear it in iTunes ———————————————————————- A HUGE thank you to YouthBytes for being the official sponsor of our Youth Ministry Mentorship program! Because of their support, every mentee received the required books for free and every mentor was blessed with a gift. Thank you, YouthBytes, for your investment into the training of new youth workers across the country! Less

This week Talk Social News interviews Danny Burkes , chief architect at Rejaw.com. Listen to Danny explain the challenges of launching a new “conversation micro-blogging social networking site” the differences between Rejaw, twitter, yammer and pownce and what Danny says separates Rejaw from the rest. The interview: Talk Social News Episode 6 - length 46:30 download or click to play: Download audio file (TalkSocialNews006Rejaw.mp3) Subscribe to podcast in iTunes: In the “what the blog” section of the podcast Kipp reviews the Revision3 Casting Call and why internet TV is going to huge in the next six months. For the callout or better known as the “Fail” section Wayne discusses his dislike for the person who reported the fake Steve Jobs heart attack story on CNN’s iReport and how it was a blow to citizen journalism. We also asked What is your favorite iPhone app on twitter, @Jonbrown was first to reply and we used in the podcast but see the other tweets replies below: Reminder if you listen to Talk Social News, we’re looking for some “positive reviews” on iTunes (iTunes link), be one of the first 2 or 3, to write a review of the podcast and let us know in the comments and we’ll have something special for you. Check out Ripple6 our sponsor and thanks for listening. If you’re interested in becoming sponsor of Talk Social News see the Become A Sponsor page. Also today marks our one month anniversary of Talk Social News, want to say thanks to all of our guest and thanks for listing. September 29, 2008 — Talk Social News Episode 5: Yammer, Google Android G1, using social media to explain the bailout bill and what Jason Calacanis calls the Startup Depression September 22, 2008 — Talk Social News Episode 4: Kipp and Wayne Talk With A Co-Founder of Qik.com About The Future of Mobile Video September 8, 2008 — Talk Social News debuts with Brightkite CTO interview On Location Based Applications September 15, 2008 — Talk Social News Episode 3: Kipp and Wayne Talk TechCrunch 50 and Interview Geoff Livingston September 9, 2008 — Talk Social News Reviews Apple’s “Let’s Rock” Keynote Share and Enjoy: Less

This page contains several WidgetBox movie information widgets you may find useful: (Top to bottom) Internet Movie Database (IMDB) Movie Custom Search Engine Rotten Tomatoes Reviews and... R. Richard Hobbs | nyc.locationscout.us | New York City area film location scout, film location manager, film location library, location and production services for film, photo, video and tv. Click here to play Less

Here are some good things I listened to or read today in trying to prepare for show 129 and trying to figure out how to survive if a collapse really does happen: NPR Planet Money Podcast 9/26/2008: The Week America’s Economy Almost Died (audio program). This explains what the credit lockup means and why everyone was scared last week. Sound Investing Special Report Coping With the Wall Street Crisis (audio program) How to remain calm and invest. Gary North: Blaming the Victim: The Free Market. Excellent article on why it wasn’t the free market’s fault, it was the gobmint’s fault. Pat Buchanan: Day of Reckoning. Rather pessimistic? Everything else at LewRockwell.com and LewRockwell.com/blog I’m addicted to reading this site. And just for good measure read SurvivalBlog.com before it’s too late. Here’s a list of lists to get you started.  addthis_url = 'http%3A%2F%2FMadMoneyMachine.com%2F2008%2F09%2F27%2Fstudying-the-collapse%2F'; addthis_title = 'Studying+the+Collapse'; addthis_pub = ''; Less

Today’s Show: Software, Reviews, News, Tips, Helpful utilities for productivity —- Sponsored by GoToMeeting, Try it Free for 30 days visit www.gotomeeting.com/techpodcasts Try GoDaddy Code Blu84 for 10% off —- Slightly different format tonight. A bit of a free flowing episode with a bit of news and then a ton of software to help you be more productive in your use of [...] Less

The Family; Tess of the D’Urbervilles; Merlin - Times Online …the countryside looks lovely. The star of this series is the location scout. The lingering longing for a defunct landscape seems... R. Richard Hobbs | nyc.locationscout.us | New York City area film location scout, film location manager, film location library, location and production services for film, photo, video and tv. Click here to play Less

Join us for a special midweek mini episode of Talk Social News that discusses the newest arrivals in Apple’s iPod line up! Today Apple’s Steve Jobs took the stage in San Francisco for the company’s annual fall event to introduce its newest line of iPods. The event brought several product and software updates, but left Kipp and Wayne wanting more. Please listen click on the player or download the mp3 to hear Kipp and Wayne give their opinions on today’s big announcement. download or click to play: Download audio file (appleitunes.mp3) This file has been downloaded 36 times. Subscribe to podcast in iTunes: View Poll September 22, 2008 — Talk Social News Episode 4: Kipp and Wayne Talk With A Co-Founder of Qik.com About The Future of Mobile Video September 8, 2008 — Talk Social News debuts with Brightkite CTO interview On Location Based Applications Share and Enjoy: Less

The HostGator Windows Pro dedicated server is one of four packages offered by HostGator.com. These servers are all fully managed around the clock and will provide your websites with a boost in speed, security, and uptime. Windows Pro is the top of the range when it comes to Host Gator’s Windows server plans, and it comes at a price of $374 per month. With this price, however, is a free setup, a Quad-Core 3210 Xeon (Kentfield) processor, 24-hour tech support and guarantees for 99.9 percent uptime and your money back after 45 days if you’re not completely satisfied. The server’s datacenter is located in Dallas, TX. The Windows Pro package has memory storage of 4,096 megabytes and the hard drive has 2 x 250 gigabytes SATA II. As far as bandwidth is concerned, Pro allows for 2,500 gigabytes and there are 10 IP addresses included with the plan. The latest version of the Plesk control panel, server monitoring, and remote desktop also come with Pro. If you are more concerned about what you can get out of your server, rest assured. Windows Pro plan servers have unlimited abilities to make domains, subdomains, MySQL and MsSQL databases, as well as POP 3 and FTP accounts. Email tools also come by the plenty. Security is added with spam filtering, and there are appealing options like web mail and automatic responders. Let’s face it — ecommerce is important in today’s day and age, and the Pro’s standard features in this department include Private SSL support and instant osCommerce. But that’s not all. Pro servers are already installed with certain features when you receive it. For convenience, the servers already are equipped with items like CGI, Perl, streaming music and video along with Image Magick and FrontPage. Always remember that you get what you pay for, and that is true when it comes to the HostGator Windows Pro dedicated server plan. Deciding which level is right for you can be tricky, but you can always make changes down the line if you find that you’re not utilizing the full potential of Host Gator’s cheap yet reliable dedicated servers. Less

This is the place to post HostGator user reviews. If you’re a current HostGator.com customer or have been one in the past and would like to share your experiences with others, please post your review using the form below. Webhosting reviews really are a great tool which can be used to make the best hosting choices possible. Please take a minute to share your experiences (good or bad) with HostGator’s hosting services, I’m sure it will be appreciated by all! Remember that HostGator.com offers shared hosting packages, reseller accounts, and dedicated servers — so remember to mention the setup you are reviewing. Less

I have been a huge user and fan of Sorenson Squeeze for 3 versions now. It is my “go to” when I want quality compressions. The best part is “Squeeze” contains outputs presets to all the major formats such as Flash SWF and FLV, QuickTime, Mpeg4, and WMV. When I got the email that an upgrade was available I was excited to see what was new. At first launch I was impressed with the new user interface. A much darker and sleeker looking Squeeze. Sorenson also added BluRay to its compression presets. This is a great helper for clients that ask for the new standard in HD. Join me as I escort you around the new Sorenson Squeeze 5.0. For more information visit www.sorensonmedia.com Enjoy. abWritePlayer(1747524, 468, 400, "http://vid.adbrite.com/video/abplayer?"); a2a_linkname="FMC Video Review - We take a look at Sorenson Squeeze 5"; a2a_linkurl="http://filmmakingcentral.com/fmc2/2008/09/01/reviews/fmc-video-review-we-take-a-look-at-sorenson-squeeze-5/"; a2a_show_title=1; Less

Tag Team Interactive | We should probably come up with a tagline. “Tag Team Interactive is the proud parent of blippr™. Since our 2007 inception, we’ve been creating socially-driven... R. Richard Hobbs | nyc.locationscout.us | New York City area film location scout, film location manager, film location library, location and production services for film, photo, video and tv. Click here to play Less

Carroll County (AR) News | Blogs | The Ubiquitous Pig | The Ogallala Blues | Daniel Krotz | Posted Tuesday, August 26, at 4:53 AM | via Google News... R. Richard Hobbs | nyc.locationscout.us | New York City area film location scout, film location manager, film location library, location and production services for film, photo, video and tv. Click here to play Less

Tap Tap Revenge for the iPhone and iPod Touch by Tapulous Inc. Tap Tap Revenge is an addicting “Pick up and Go” type of game. It is very easy to play and it never gets boring, especially with new tracks released almost every week for each difficulty level. This is a music game (like Rock Band and Guitar Hero) that puts your rhythmic skills to the test, tap on each bubble as it hits the bottom line to play the note or swing your iPhone or iTouch to the left, right, or up & down when you see the arrows. Oh your friend wants to play too? No problem, this game has you covered with the two-player mode. Bottom Line: Tap Tap Revenge is good for most peeps! It’s good for those long road trips or flights, or maybe even while waiting at the DMV! The music is great, the game experience can be addicting and the best thing of it all… the app is FREE!!! Get it right here Listen to TQcast Episode 41 for the Audio review version 8 Michelas out 10 Less

Every month, we will be spotlighting a title from GraphicAudio’s library. With Batman fever still going thanks to last month’s The Dark Knight, what better way to keep it going than with their newest release from the Justice League of America line: BATMAN: THE STONE KING   Something has been unearthed in Gotham City, something that should not have been disturbed. An ancient pyramid has unleashed supernatural energies throughout the world. Drawn to the eye of this arcane storm, the heroes of the JLA become caught in the grip of a force far beyond their extraordinary powers. Only Gotham’s protector, Batman, manages to escape—but to free his allies and stop the chaos that is fast engulfing the world, the Dark Knight must somehow unlock the pyramid’s secret curse. Approximate Running Time: 6 hours Audio CD: $13.99 (On Sale) MP3 CD: $8.99 (On Sale) Coupon Code: geekshow Cast and Production Credits   Having just listened to this, I must say that it was a really impressive production. The sound effects used throughout are so realistic that, listening to it in my car I would find myself confused, trying to find the source of the noise coming from somewhere outside. The opening scene, where the JLA show up to save a helicopter reporter from crashing into a broken dam is particularly epic. This really is Hollywood quality stuff. When they say "a movie in your mind", they mean it. The casting here is really strong as well, everyone is believeable as the characters they play, both major and minor. This being from the Justice League of America series it is important to note that while Batman is the overall focus of the story, the rest of the JLA are prominant throughout: Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash, and Martian Manhunter. As far as Batman is concerned, there are many different ways to portray him. Here, he is much more like the Bruce Timm version of the character from Batman TAS and Justice League Unlimited. And while he’s no Kevin Conroy, the actor playing Batman is impressive nevertheless. The story isn’t the strongest, but of course that’s to no fault of the Graphic Audio team. The author of the novel, Alan Grant, chose a plot that didn’t really take advantage of the Dark Knight’s attributes. Here, he’s used as an underdog of sorts, focusing on the fact that The Stone King can detain the other members of the League by muting their powers, while Batman, a mere mortal whose "power" is his intelligence and skills, has the advantage. It’s a plot I’ve seen a million times in a variety of stories, comics or otherwise. But, again, this is no knock on Graphic Audio’s production. They make the best of an otherwise mediocre plot, producing a product that is as rivting as it is epic. I highly recommend picking this title up, and I can’t wait for next month’s release of Superman: The Never-Ending Battle.   To order Batman: The Stone King or any other in the Graphic Audio library, go to GraphicAudio.net and use the coupon code "geekshow" when you check out to save 40% on your first order or CDs or MP3 CDs. Less

The last 15 months George a listener of the podcast has been serving our country in Iraq and is now back home safely. I would just like to thank George for his service to our country from all of us and I’m sure the sacrifices his family had to make while he was gone. I recently came across a podcast that does reviews of other podcasts. I thought what an excellent idea someplace where you can kind of get some feedback and maybe some new podcasts you’d like to listen to. And then I found out that they actually did a review of this podcast. They mixed up myself and Matt Caron but that was all right I understood who they were talking about. If you would like to listen to their review of the podcast or any other reviews they may have. I will provide the link below. In there or show 37 about 15 minutes  30 seconds in is the review of this podcast. Please contact them and let them know what you think. Links: A Review of the Gun Rights Advocates Podcast Gun Rights Radio Network Share your thoughts in the forums The New Gun Review Podcast Tutorial On How To Record Audio Part1 Tutorial On How To Record Audio Part 2 ShareThis Less

???? 1 by: ??? & ???? Kamisama Kazoku 1 by: Tapari & Kuwashima Yoshikazu Media Factory/Go! Comi/Seinen/Gakuen Comedy - Rated 16+ - $10.99 Kamiyama Samataro is literally the son of god! His Papa-sama is the G-man. His Mama-san is a goddess! And the rest of his household consists of angels with the power to make miracles and control the hearts of men! Samataro relied on his family’s fortunes for most of his life. But now that love is in the air he doesn’t want or need miracles. He wants to make things happen on his own but he might need a miracle to make a certain girl fall for him… Click on badge to listen download the reviews (31min .mp3). Up Next… REAL, Tokyo Zombie, Kujibiki Unbalance, Me and the Devil Blues, Country of Cherry Blossoms, Slam Dunk, Honey & Clover Subscribe to the MangaCast at Less

Woohoo almost in synch!! Now if I could only break down the panels and layout more… But then these would be 30min long… Huh?! ??! the wonderful adventure 1 by: ?? ?? TOTO! 1 by: Osada Youkou Kodansha/Del Rey/Shounen/Adventure - Rated 13+ - $10.99 The world is vast! Or so main character Kakashi has been told. In order to be a man Kakashi has to see the world with his own eyes! First, he has to figure out how to get off the tiny port town he lives in to see that world. Then he has to find a map to plot out his path and finally he has to find a companion or two to make the journey more comfortable. In volume 1 of TOTO! Kakashi isn’t handed all those things. He earns them or takes them by his own determination. Kakashi may look like your standard shounen hero-in-training, but he isn’t possessed by a demon or come from a line of wizards, nah Kakashi is an orphan with a purpose in life. And nothing is going to stop him from going on his journey. Up Next… Devil Princess, MPD Psycho, EDEN, MBQ, Sunshine Sketch, Kage kara Mamoru Click to View Review. Length: 20:09min Subscribe to the MangaCast at Less