Wednesday, March 03, 2004

I Like to Watch: ABC's cure for commitmentphobes almost makes up for big, fat obnoxious Fox. Plus: Cult movies, cultists and the joys of David Chappelle. By Heather Havrilesky, in Salon. Remember David Cronenberg's movie "Crash," based on the book by JG Ballard, in which James Spader's character finds beauty and erotic power in gruesome car accidents? Sometimes, when I want to understand the mentality of the executives at Fox, I think of Spader's character. How else do you even come close to comprehending a Fox executive's uncanny ability to survey a tragic mess and proclaim it a victory? Thanks to the fact that "My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiancé" won the highest non-"American Idol" ratings of the season for the network and drew in an incredibly high young-adult rating, Fox alternative chief Mike Darnell told Variety that the series was a word-of-mouth success. Forget that 80 percent of those who tuned in experienced nausea, stomach upset, trouble sleeping, loss of appetite and hair loss for days after the finale. Forget that those last few moments, when the Big Fat Obnoxious One chuckled and guffawed as he explained the big "joke" and Randi's family looked on, pale and horror stricken, were perhaps the most cringe-inducing minutes in television history, up there with Howard Cosell's toupee blowing away and Joan Rivers telling some star on the red carpet that they go to the same podiatrist. Forget that talk of the incredible love and support of Randi's family, inserted no doubt to keep her brothers from ripping out automatic weapons and leveling the groom's family of bad character actors on the spot, did little to stop those brothers from glaring or to dry Randi's sisters' tears. Forget that, even when the big fat dork pulled a million dollars out of his pocket and gave half to the family and half to Randi, everyone looked angry and scarred by the whole awful situation. This show was a smashing success, exactly the sort of triumph in programming Fox has been looking for! As Darnell told Variety, The show started out as a comedy but then it took this turn so that it became a very dramatic reality series. I believe the last hour was as dramatically intense as any episode of fictional TV in the last few years. Right, right. But you know what would've been even more dramatically intense? If the brothers really had whipped out semiautomatics and mowed down half of the assembled wedding guests. Maybe for "My Bigger, Fatter, More Obnoxious Fiancé," Fox can place some high-powered firearms within easy reach. Also, if Randi would've thrown herself over the nearest cliff, or better yet, set herself on fire, that would've been the most dramatically intense hour of television ever filmed. Maybe Fox should screen its reality stars a little more carefully to make sure that they have the right blend of personality disorders to ensure a truly dramatic ending. You know a show is bad when it makes me all self-righteous and uppity. 11:46:52 PM    comment []

What are they thinking? By Deborah Radcliff, Network World. Hackers, crackers, carders and thieves are putting the squeeze on your network security. But what do you really know about them? What draws them to your network, and why do they do the things they do? Knowing the motivations of digital intruders helps you understand their behaviors, says Dr. Max Kilger, a social psychologist for the Honeynet Project . And understanding those behaviors can help you better protect your networks. With this in mind, Network World dug into three real cases to analyze the attackers' behaviors and motivations. The incidents include an outsider attack on a financial institution, the rooting of an e-commerce hosting provider to heist credit card numbers and an employee copying a client database from a brokerage firm to take to a new job at a competitor. 1:44:42 PM    comment []

Youth cleared of trying to hack Mossad Web site, by Yuval Dror and Yuval Yoaz, Haaretz. 1:44:36 PM    comment []

BNA News notes that MP3 FORMAT GETTING DIGITAL RIGHTS MANAGEMENT ADD-ON The MP3 music format is getting a makeover aimed at blocking unauthorized copying. Thomson and Fraunhofer, the companies that license and own the patents behind the MP3 digital music technology, are in the midst of creating a new digital rights management add-on for the popular format. 11:44:40 AM    comment []

Treasury Department Is Warning Publishers of the Perils of Criminal Editing of the Enemy, by Adam Liptak, NYT. Writers often grumble about the criminal things editors do to their prose. The federal government has recently weighed in on the same issue — literally. It has warned publishers they may face grave legal consequences for editing manuscripts from Iran and other disfavored nations, on the ground that such tinkering amounts to trading with the enemy. Anyone who publishes material from a country under a trade embargo is forbidden to reorder paragraphs or sentences, correct syntax or grammar, or replace "inappropriate words," according to several advisory letters from the Treasury Department in recent months. Peter Suber has been following this story for awhile. 11:44:34 AM    comment []

Ex-Ambassador Wilson to Name Names, by Curt Anderson, AP. Former Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson will reveal the name of the person he thinks leaked his wife's identity as an undercover CIA officer in a book due out in May, his publisher said Tuesday. A federal grand jury has heard testimony from at least four White House officials in its investigation to identify the leaker of Valerie Plame's name to syndicated columnist Robert Novak, who published the name in his syndicated column last July. Numerous other officials have been interviewed by the FBI. On the topic of the book, Publisher's Lunch says: Carroll & Graf editor-in-chief Philip Turner tells Lunch that Wilson acts as both a memoirist and reporter in the book. Wilson's theory on the leak draws on his research skills: He has many sources among journalists who have been covering the story, Turner says. Many of them would seem to be more comfortable talking to Joe than reporting on the story directly. Wilson’s postulations also stitch together a connected-chain-of-events, drawing on personal experiences, other sources, and things that people in the Administration have said. As for columnist Robert Novak, who was the one to actually publish Valerie Plame's name last summer (citing two anonymous leaks), Turner says, There's some damning stuff in the book about Novak that no one knows about, including a story that pulls the whole picture together. 11:44:27 AM    comment []

Kevin: US HIGH COURT WEIGHS SIDELINED INTERNET PORN LAW. The Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday on the 1998 Child Online Protection Act which requires Web site operators to wall off risque material from underage visitors. The law requires Web site operators to check visitors' credit cards or otherwise ensure that they are over age 18 before allowing them to see material deemed harmful to minors. Violators face up to six months in jail and fines of up to $50,000 per day. Ann Beeson, who argued on behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union, said Web sites might take down adult material rather than risk going to jail. "The majority of rational adults, faced with this choice, would choose to self-censor," she said. Solicitor General Theodore Olson of the Justice Department compared the law to state laws that require stores to place pornographic material behind blinder racks. A decision in the case is expected in June. [SOURCE: Reuters, AUTHOR: Andy Sullivan] See also: Justices Hear Arguments on Internet Pornography Law (NYT) High Court Hears Arguments (WSJ) Porn Law Before Court (WashPost) 11:44:20 AM    comment []

Virus Writers Start Dissing Match with New Worms, by Dennis Fisher and David Morgenstern, eWeek. 10:44:08 AM    comment []

Hands Off! That Fact Is Mine. Congress is considering a bill that would allow companies to copyright databases and other sets of information. Critics say the bill would circumvent the core of copyright law, which says no one can own a fact. By Kim Zetter. [Wired News] 7:24:52 AM    comment []

The first music video shot entirely on a Nokia 3650. The first music video shot entirely on a Nokia 3650 is available at a Textamerica moblog. (Thanks Shawn!) [Smart Mobs] 7:19:27 AM    comment []

Loudeye snags antipiracy start-up. The digital music services provider acquires Overpeer, a company dealing in antipiracy services for record companies and digital content distributors. [CNET News.com - Front Door] Isn't Overpeer the outfit that did Cuckoo eggs and the like to foul up downloaders/traders? 7:12:37 AM    comment []