I just got done telling a very cool and nice person with whom I work that we have chosen to not hire him for our open editor position here. It was hard to do! I can’t tell if handled it well, or with fumbling awkwardness.

I have never had to go through a true employment interview process on this side of the desk. Last time we hired an editor, Lauren, she was pretty much the only candidate. This time, we had four candidates, three of which were very qualified and would have been good for us.

We ended up hiring someone who was less experienced, partially because of salary and partly for creative reasons. My current co-worker is a very smart, very technologically astute fellow, and it’s always a pleasure to work with him. I would love to have him here permanently! With multiple qualified candidates, however, all kinds of details come into play—political, economic, personal—and you simply make the best decision you can.

My boss and the other director here are both out, so it was up to me to dole out the bad news. The second rejection I have to deliver should be easier, as we are rejecting him based solely on his asking price. We can not afford him. That’s an easy out.

But it’s much harder to tell someone you like that you have to pass. Ouchie. This makes me feel way too grown up.

So in case you guys are wondering why John so vehemently defends all of George’s changes to the original Star Wars movies, it’s his job! Most people reading this probably don’t know that. John works for marketing at Lucasfilm. While I do enjoy a good Star Wars row on The Wren Forum, what we all should understand is that John can’t very well agree with us, even if he wanted to. (I don’t think he’d want to.)

With that prologue out of the way, here’s something interesting from Video Business, forwarded to me by Marcy:

In the wake of extreme fan protests, Lucasfilm is positioning its release of the original ’70s theatrical versions of the first three Star Wars movies as bonus features.

As groused about on various DVD enthusiast Web sites, including www.thedigitalbits.com and www.hometheaterforum.com, Lucasfilm confirmed the studio is not remastering these early films. The prints for the Sept. 12 DVDs of Star Wars: Episode IV—A New Hope, Star Wars: Episode V—The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars: Episode VI—Return of the Jedi come from laserdiscs of the films released in the mid ’90s. This means that Episodes IV-VI will be presented in widescreen but not anamorphic, thereby not making full use of modern TV screens.

Lucasfilm acknowledges that some imperfections are embedded in the prints, but director of publicity John Singh said the company felt there was little need to invest resources into sprucing up films that have already been restored to pristine form.

Special edition versions of the films with additions made by George Lucas were released in theaters in the ’90s and on DVD in 2004.

“We put a lot of time and effort into digitally restoring the negatives for the 2004 DVD releases,” Singh said. “The late ’90s theatrical versions represent George’s vision for Star Wars. We hoped that by releasing the original movies as a bonus disc, it would be a way to give the fans something that is fun. We certainly didn’t want to be become a source of frustration for fans.”

Although the prints aren’t in the best of shape, the masters used for the laserdiscs “do look good,” Singh assured.

Both old and new versions of Episodes IV-VI will be included in the Sept. 14 Star Wars sets, to be distributed by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. The revamped ’90s theatrical versions will be offered in anamorphic widescreen.

This release also represents the first time the movies will be available individually on DVD.

Fans have threatened to boycott buying the original Star Wars films if they aren’t cleaned up.

“These are the versions that the fans saw as kids back in the ’70s—this was how they grew up,” said Ron Epstein, HomeTheaterForum.com co-owner. “George doesn’t like these versions, and it’s not the way he wants his legacy to be remembered. But fans [are saying], ‘You aren’t doing us a favor [in putting out] what basically amounts to a laserdisc transfer.”

Aware of the uproar, Lucasfilm is in the process of directly contacting its upset fan base in an attempt to smooth things over.

Some fans had been speculating that Lucasfilm was saving its big gun efforts for the new generation DVD formats. But the company said that at this time, there are no plans to release the original ’70s Star Wars versions in high-definition.

“We absolutely appreciate the fact that these fans are so passionate,” Singh said. “It’s indicative of the fact that they care so much about Star Wars.”

Well, how about that? I think everyone knows what’s wrong with Lucasfilm’s statements regarding the old films, and yes, it pretty much does end up being a “screw you, fans” thing. “We appreciate [insert concern here]” is corporate speak for “We don’t really care but must act concerned anyhow.” (Or, in the case of customer support issues, The Consumerist says, “I damn well know that ‘I appreciate your concerns’ is shorthand in your industry for ‘We’re not going to help you.'”)

How clever that the original movies are only “bonus features.” What spin! And saying “the company felt there was little need to invest resources into sprucing up films that have already been restored to pristine form” is ludicrous; the originals were not spruced up, and that’s what the problem is here. Clever marketing speak (read: LIES) does not change the fact that the originals, which are what people really want out of this release, are gonna look like crap.

I reiterate that it is John’s job to create statements supporting his employer’s position. And as he once hinted he’d do, he has, indeed, started a blog devoted to criticizing the company I myself work for. (You can also get there via the Epcot Central link in the Wren Peeps box.) But I don’t care. In fact, I tend to agree with him on everything he posts there. His site is well-written, passionate, and, most of the time, dead-on regarding Disney’s missteps with its theme parks. Maybe if I were in a marketing or PR position here, I’d have to watch what I say about Disney. But I’m not, and I don’t, thank God.

As far as the Star Wars movies go, I, of course, fully appreciate John’s approach to this issue. However, I am unable to support his employer’s viewpoint at this time.

Min and Teresa, all married and stuff.

The setting for Min and Teresa’s wedding.

Min’s bachelor party was at a LAN gaming place. No strippers, but lots of violence.

This is Scotty and me in Austin with some Amy’s Shiner Bock ice cream. Yes, it tastes like beer. I picture myself getting both my first intoxication AND my first DUI. In Texas, no less.

What little can we do when something tragic happens? With my heart shrouded and my mind unable to grasp such sadness, the only thing I could do today, feeble as it is, was add a bit of bright yellow to remind us all how important the light we give to each other can be, even if brief.

I know you won’t see this, maybe for a long time, and I’ll probably have the chance to tell you in person before you do, but I have to tell you today that my heart is with you both.

As if the monkey link weren’t enough, I have here some more links—a few good and one bad—for your cyberspace pleasure.

First off, witness Robb’s clever CSIing of a note he found in a parking lot. The note itself is fantastic, but Robb’s analysis is funny.

Then it’s off to Canada, where Nettwerk Records is defending an family against the RIAA. Hooray for taking a stand!

But then there’s California, who’s suing Rock Star Games for hiding that blistering hot java module (not it’s real name) in their Grand Theft Auto game. While in essence I agree that Rock Star should not have hidden it there and thus misled the consumer and the ratings board, the headline of this Wired article says it all. The game is pretty nasty, and yet somehow it was the sex that would give it an Adult rating, not all the killing and drug dealing and pimping.

Okay, if you’ve gone this far, you may as well read this great article about Steve Jobs and Disney. I posted it in a comment yesterday, but it’s good enough to exhume for display here.

I’ve been off the Net, but today was aquarium day (I’m in Denver), so I’m experimenting with a multi-picture post from my cell phone. If this doesn’t work… Well, then you’ll never know! (NOTE: I have now had a few moments to edit the entry into its proper order.)

First, it’s Nathan, Eddie, and Robbyn in a bubble!

Then it’s Eddie and a giant grouper!

Hello everyone. Meet the latest member of our family:

In case you’re not sure who I’m talking about, it’s the one in the gray. Er, okay, that wasn’t helpful…

Since my parents’ cat Sunny died a while back, my dad’s been very gung-ho about getting another cat. Yes, he’s been talking about it since I got here on Thursday, but he’s been on about it long before then. My folks have a second cat, Charlie, but they think having two cats is a good idea for when they go on trips and things. The cats can keep each other company. You know, play poker, watch DVDs from Netflix, make prank calls to the pizza place…

Well, dad broke down today. He went to the pet store early and came home with this cute creature. My sister came down and woke me up with her. Apparently, while I was still sleeping, they had already named her Holly. Full name, Holly Berry, in honor of Christmas. (I was up too late to chime in that that moniker was much too close to that of a certain famed actress, but they would not have listened to me anyway. No matter; I concede Holly’s a cute name.)

Here’s everyone enthralled with the little cat, who’s running around somewhere off screen:

My dad said Holly was the last cat in the store, which I find hard to believe. Not because my dad’s a noted liar, but because this is the sweetest kitten I have ever seen. She is curled up with me now, and has been since I’ve been putting this post together. My sister was kind enough to capture this with a snapshot:

Holly’s been nuzzling, purring, climbing up my chest to rub her head under my chin, and other extremely extra-cute things that you expect kittens to do, yet most of them don’t because they are scared or mean or just not very nice. Thanks to her utter cuteness and extra-special miniature feline neediness, I’ve been typing most of this with one hand. Tedious, but acceptable when a small, furry animal is nestled in the crook of your arm.

Holly loves each and every one of us. It’s not enough for her to be in our laps; she must climb as far up us as she can. She has ridden my shoulders twice today. And lest you think she’s done nothing but cozy up to us, she’s had her share of fun running around the house to explore. But she’s good at multi-tasking: exploring, then nuzzling, then running, then cuddling. Franklin Covey is in her DNA.

Charlie’s not happy, but that’s how it goes. Holly is unafraid of Charlie, but Charlie’s pulling the whole “I’ve been scorned!” act. This tiny kitten getting the best of big, lumbering Charlie is amusing.

Well, here’s one last picture. As you may know, my dad is fond of accessorizing with Christmas bows (exhibits here and here), and enjoys teasing the cats by forcing them to accessorize as well. Holly got this treatment on her first day:

What a first day for this little fuzzy happy fun cat. And tomorrow’s Christmas. Oh, the paper! THE PAPER! It promises to be an exciting day for every one of us.

In case I don’t get online tomorrow because of all the paper, I’ll take this moment to say

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Today was Drive to Connecticut to Visit Michelle, Alan, Cameron, and Garrett Day.

(The purple hair you are seeing in these pictures appears to be a handy feature of my cell phone’s camera.)

Jake and the trucker hat look.

(Thanks to Steve R. for the inspiration for the title.)

This is Catherine spinning fire on her roof. Shhh! It’s illegal!

Today, I canceled my Friendster account. It took me a little while following the spam incident in part because it was hard to delete the kind and funny testimonials people had written about me.

Well, in all the time I was on Friendster, Matt had begged me to write a testimonial for him. I just couldn’t. Our relationship was/is too complex for me to capture in any sort of sprightly, forced, or off-handed manner. I knew any testimonial for him would have to include elements that he might not like. So inspiration never came.

Of course, today, after my account is gone and I can not post something about Matt, I get my spark. I am posting this without his approval, so I hope he doesn’t get mad at me. But here it is, Matt: Your extra-Friendster testimonial.

Matt is like an unusual-tasting dish. You’re not sure at first if you get him, but you like him right away. His abrupt disavowal can leave an unpleasant taste in your mouth, until you hear him laugh and the flavor then returns. You can recognize him on the outside, but once you dig in, you realize there’s too much going on inside for you to comprehend or distill. You may devour him and shower him with praise while he remains oblivious to your hunger, and when you stop eating, he looks over with the cutest face and wonders where you went. Sometimes you can’t get enough of him, and several servings can’t satisfy you. Sometimes you’re just not in the mood for the complexity. You think you can live without him, but when you get a hint of his bouquet, you need some of him right away. And as surprising as if such an exotic dish were to become animated off the plate, if he responds and embraces you in return, you blink, curious, and then melt.

This is Amelia. Amelia Satterthwaite Ward. I have been incredibly remiss in not announcing her existence earlier.

Amelia is a brand new person who is not exactly “owned” by my friends Greg and Lisa but who will probably feel that way in about 14 or 15 years. She’ll certainly have some kind of issue with that middle name until she’s in her 30s and can appreciate her parents and the history that name represents. (What is the story of Satterthwaite, anyway, you two?)

I have known Greg since 7th grade. He is one of those people whom, while I do not communicate with him all that often, I consider one of my very best friends. When I mentioned staying up until dawn “playing Halo 2 on the Xbox or talking religion with people I’ve known since junior high,” Greg is one of the guys I was talking about. I usually only get to see him when we’re both visiting Colorado. (See exhibits A and G. Exhibits B through F removed for lack of relevance.)

Thankfully, Greg married an awesome person who I have loved getting to know bit by bit over the years. She and he both live in Atlanta now, something which I think they both are so very way over.

Now, Greg and Lisa have joined the burgeoning tide of people having babies. While one part of my brain can not believe Greg has a kid now, the other part knows this girl is in for the time of her life. She is bound to grow up enjoying the nuances of Mountain Dew, will always recycle the can it comes in, and will certainly have a future kicking my ass at Halo 5.

This is my public, hearty congrats to Greg and Lisa—and Amelia, too. I can not wait to see all you guys at Christmas. I hope my advancing age and bad back are capable of providing the kind of child-friendly entertainment I’m known for once Amelia gets old enough to appreciate it.

First off, congrats to John for figuring out how to post a picture. And a cool one, at that.

Now, time for some links for your pleasure and fun! And because you have nothing better to do today.

It is so rare for someone to admit they do something unpleasant and yucky. It’s also rare for someone to be so logical about something that people generally feel so stringly about. Je am talking about smoking, and though I would love nothing more than to see the tobacco companies be shot through the head—a decidedly reactionary and cruel stance—I have to agree wholeheartedly with Robb’s latest treatise.

Speaking of nefarious plots, how about that RFID in our passports thang? How about it, indeed! Wired has a good article called “Fatal Flaw Weakens RFID Passports.”

Speaking of speaking of nefarious plots, did you know Sony, in their latest stupid bid to prevent music piracy, has placed a little trojan horse program on audio CDs that install themselves on your PC (Windows only, of course) and can then be used by third parties to hide any file from the system and perhaps do truly disastrous damage? No? Well, Wired to the rescue again! Read “The Cover-Up Is the Crime.”

Off of the speaking of speaking ofs, I enjoy this little item regarding Microsoft’s not-so-hot presentation design. This is what I do for a living, these presentations, and have to agree that Steve Jobs does beautiful if spare presentations, while Microsoft, like everything else it does, gums up the works.

That is all. FOR NOW…

So a quick thanks to Robb for the kind words and the link! And for the laughter! And the tears!

For the record, while I do see the definition that Robb found for ebullience on my Mac here, the following is the one I used when choosing the word for The Wren Forum:

“The quality of lively or enthusiastic expression of thoughts or feelings.”

That came from an old-fashioned dictionary, with paper pages. It’s 12 years old, so perhaps an “archaic” needs to be added before that definition.

The other definition is “cheerful and full of energy.” Well, “cheerful and full of energy” certainly fits, huh?

So now that the Forum is re-gussied up and I can get on with my life, it’s time to rant! First of all, you need to go to Robb’s blog. It’s a new link here on the site.

Robb and I were in a play together over two years ago, and he was part of the CCPT team this summer when I did Antigone. Robb never ceases to entertain me when he’s on stage, and off, for that matter. And now I see he’s got a blog AND he draws this cartoon strip that is surely in the top 1% of decent comics on the Web. (I’ve read many a web comic, and what I’ve read of his already beats most of them by leaps and such.)

I could tell you to visit and leave it at that, but then I wouldn’t be taking advantage of the insanely-powerful power of TrackBack that the new Wren Forum offers. Robb has a well-writen rant on the emasculation of “thank you.” His rant planted some ranting seeds in my own head, which shall sprout and flower now, as they are wont to do in the fertile ground of The Wren Forum. (Vermoo for the hokey metaphor.)

I, too, got a notice at my apartment one day. My entire street would be closed all day on October 3rd so that men in reflective vests could come and slop slurry sealant on the apparently failing asphalt. I park in the alley, which is usually a huge inconvenience, but this time it proved to be a lucky deal. But what if I had a more coveted parking space in the front? And what if, say, I wasn’t going to work that day, or didn’t work at all? I’d have to park somewhere else in the neighborhood, something that’s getting more impossible to do as more four-story condo buildings replace two-story apartment buildings and more local businesses become too cheap to provide their employees with parking in the high-rises where they work. Of course I have to mention the two popular bars behind my place because if I needed to make sure my car was off the street by 6:00am on the 3rd, I’d have to park it the night of the 2nd, and the bar patrons and valets make sure there is no parking in my neighborhood after 7:00pm.

Well, all this fanciful what-iffing aside, I was not at all inconvenienced by the slurry work, and while I can’t recall if the notice I got had the actual words “thank you” on it, the entire thing was infused with an implied sense of “thank you.” Robb’s right. What other option was there? While I’m pleased as punch our street has been face-lifted, the fact that there was an implication in the notice that I or anyone else on Goshen Ave. had some kind of say in when the sealing would take place makes me a little miffed. If I had been inconvenienced by the work, their thank you would mean nothing.

As I was reading Robb’s post, I thought, “It’s just like the word ‘sorry.'” Anyone who listens to Le Show on KCRW ( or ) knows, via Harry’s Apologies of the Week, that “sorry” means nothing any more. I’ll be good God-damned if Robb didn’t say the same thing in his post as soon as I thought this.

I used to have a gigantic problem with this very issue. I had trouble saying “I’m sorry” to people because I had this fear that they would not believe me. Somehow, it was better to go through the anguish of wanting to say “I’m sorry,” to have the recipient of the unsaid apology think I was cruel, than it was to have them think I was inauthentic. It was one of those things that looked stupid anywhere outside of my own self. I knew this at the time, yet something in me could not allow for the possibility of being seen as fake.

(Coincidentally, see this other post by Robb, which discusses seeing things outside one’s own narrow experience.)

Now I am over that whole thing, and I can say “sorry” when I need to. But the word loses more weight every year. Especially now with a dumbass in the White House who not only never apologizes, but wouldn’t mean it if he did. I wonder if I’ll fall back into my old habit. One day, after listening to the Apologies of the Week, it will all be too much for me and I’ll distance myself from the disingenuous apologists by refusing to ever apologize again. I hope not. Perhaps to avoid this fate, I can come up with a new word, like the Brights did when faced with only tainted terms to describe their beliefs. Instead of “I’m sorry,” I can say, “I’m vermooed.”

Is it too much now to bring up marketing? You see, all this dilution of anything meaningful is marketing’s fault. Marketing has spent decades, even centuries, lying to people to achieve a certain result. Marketing now gets me 2 ounces less yogurt per container than I used to get. Marketing let OJ go free. Marketing is ruining the next-gen high-def disc format. Marketing makes it okay for the RIAA and MPAA to whine and whine and whine. Marketing got us into this stupid war “with” Iraq. And so marketing makes apologizing weak. How? By using it to project a certain image. How should a man who, say, spouts racist diatribes on the ball field be allowed off the hook? By apologizing. We all know someone like that doesn’t mean a word he’s saying, yet he says it anyway to satisfy those who are marketing him as innocent or misunderstood. Apologizing is the best way to get the public to think that you are taking responsibility for your own actions when really, at this stage in the game, it’s only being used to give the impression that you’re taking responsibility.

Idiotic though people may seem, they are cunning and learn much from the nonsense they are fed. If Fox News can get away with apologizing through sneering lips over something they knew very well they were doing in the first place, then so can Arnie Hoober in Alabama. The more Arnies there are that fake it, the harder it is for those who are trying to execute a bona fide apology.

I have to believe that the people in my life who I will ever need to apologize to will never mistake my words as false. I have to trust that those to whom I say thanks will know I mean it. I guess personal action on the individual level is the only way to counteract a global weakening of our most powerful sentiments. I hope so, because I will not be able to get used to saying “vermoo for your loss.”

Well, how about this. Yet another high school classmate has been arrested for having sex with minors. But this time, it was with minor minors. Ugh. Miserable. First Kevin, now Billy.

If you can get past the horrible tabloid-like writing, the story is here.

And since I STILL have not been able to get The Wren Forum upgraded to a real forum, I have no permalink for the other post regarding Kevin. But put the following in the Pico Search box at the bottom of the page and you’ll find it: kevin rowdy AND forum.

[NOTE: As The Wren Forum is now indeed a full-fledged, self-referantial entity, the link does work. Though you can still search using the top search box on the left. Or not. Or you can. —Ed.]

This is fun: My friend Catherine (a.k.a.: Princess Sugar Britches) was interviewed for part of a story about The Moth. What is The Moth? Storytelling. Simple, huh?

Here’s the audio file (sadly, requires Real Player), and if you want to know more, visit The Moth’s website.