“There will be hand-wringing over fears of libel suits and other litigation. It is going to be an unholy brawl.”

Here is an interesting blog entry by Paul Gillin about the demise and the resurrection journalism as we know it.  We are definitely seeing the consolidation of newpapers now, but I’m not so sure about the rise of blogging as legitimate journalism nor do I think that legitimate news agencies will do away with editting and fact checking in favor of letting the masses do.  I also, now, believe there is a place for paper in places where there will not be any electronic equivalent for a while.  Anyhow, this blog is an interesting read.

As I sort through the details of the Screen Writers Guild strike, I wonder what does this all mean.  How will we ever figure out who owns what as the idea of authority gets rewritten in the digital world?

Unfortunately, through all the noise, hype, and spin coming from the news organizations it’s very difficult to get the heart of the matter of the Screen Writer’s Guild Strike.  At first I didn’t really care about it until I read this blog entry on CNET.  In this blog, the writer editorializes on comments made by Michael Eisner in an interview he did with Neil Cavuto.  Basically Eisner calls the strike “silly” because there is no money, now, to be redistributed and if the writers want to blame somebody for their unfair treatment, then they should blame Steve Jobs.  *lol*  *oh, my sides hurt and there are tears coming from my eyes*   I can’t say I’d ever think to talk to Michael Eisner about the fair treatment of workers and don’t get me started on Disney during the Eisner days or the soreness Eisner is feeling in the wake of Steve Jobs …

But then it hits me, yeah, where does the money go?  It’s the same problem that music writers face with online music.  I, however, am not too concerned with the established ways the studio system distributes money.  My understanding is that it’s a fun chain wherein each link of workers gets screwed as you go on down the chain.  My feeling is that writers have the opportunity to break the chain now that anybody can be a writer and anybody can make a TV show or movie and post it on the web.  My main concern is what happens when fans start to make their own episodes of their favorite show or when fans create spin-offs.  Are fans going to be pursued for infringement?  If fan writers are recognized, will they have to join the Screen Writer’s Guild?  Are web writers, in general, in order to have their content put on TV or in movie theaters going to have to join the Screen Writer’s Guild?  The same goes for awards.  Ever wonder why George Lucas doesn’t have an Oscar — it’s because he’s not a part of the Director’s Guild.  There is a promise between the various Hollywood Guilds and the production studios, but how does this system stay in place when everybody can be an author, actor, director, or crew?

Here’s a link to the wonderful ad that was sent to me and probably to some of you to.  The first thing that came to mind was “oooh, shiny …” And then I saw that this laptop was compared to a dragon which I guess comes from the laptops appearance due to the screen hinge.  But it’s not only the appearance, it’s the “Dragon” aspect itself — big, fast, powerful, dangerous, and full of fire.  Geez, now I want one of these too!   Anyhow, my husband and I have drooling over this laptop since it came out.  We believe it would be a great replacement for our entertainment laptop — if only the darned thing would just DIE.  But alas, that laptop hasn’t give us a problem yet (that wasn’t immediately fixed — yes, I experienced good HP customer service).  Anyhow, we love the 20-in screen because we often take our entertainment laptop on vacation with us so we can watch our favorite downloaded shows on the road.  I love now that the current special includes the HD-DVD drive (though, I’m not ready to take the plunge there yet) and the Vista upgrade. 

Anyhow, “Dragon” and, similarly, “Blackbird” are great names that capture the imagination, especially when there are style cues in the products that hint at the names.  I also like the push for style in our latest line up of computers.  I hope to see us push forward with other HP enhancements on the software level that make our computers more compelling (as opposed to that mountain of garbage ware that comes on the computers now) like the enhancements added on top of Vista for the “kitchen computer.”  (Ooh, I want a lite-version of that PC to put into the door of my fridge!  That would be cool!  I could post images, e-post-its, and bring up recipes on my fridge.  I could easily create a shopping lists and then print it out (maybe with some coupons) when I go grocery shopping.  Yep!  Nice!)