Dots & Slashes

Fall/Early Winter, 2002

In the TV world there's "cheers and jeers." In the movie world there's "thumbs up" and "thumbs down." Well, here in cyberspace, there's dots and slashes. What goings-on hit the "dot" right on the mark, and which should be "slashed"? Here are Techtite's thoughts...

Got something worth Dotting or Slashing? 

Comments about the "praise" or "puns" here? 

Send a note, and it your comments might be added to the latest list!

DOT : To being all over the map. As we approach the end of the year, "Best Of..." lists are in full swing. The winner? Well, let's just say it's up to interpretation...and for many movie fans, that's a very good thing. Los Angeles critics loved About Schmidt, while Roman Polanski's The Pianist charmed Boston's finest. The Big Apple of my eye, New York, gave kudos to Far From Heaven. As for Techtite.com; Golden Otto "top 5" honors this year will inevitably go to (in no particular order): Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Minority Report, Changing Lanes, Signs, and Spider-Man. My take: it's about time that people with their own opinions, formed their own opinions, and didn't just go "oh gee this film was tops at the box office" or "oh gee that snooty burned-out 60-somthing movie critic liked it..." I can't be the only person who is sick and tired of "Oscar Sweeps." Oscars next year have one thing going for them: unpredictability.

DOT : To loving your name as it is. Jennifer Lopez now wants people to refer to her as "Jenny" or "Jennifer" because she's grown tired of the moniker "J-Lo." Quite frankly, Jennifer: so have we, and it's nice to hear that such a nick will not be used in the future. This was a nice album name, I suppose, and was a fitting moniker for when she was dating rap stars like P. Diddy-Diddly-Squddly-Doggy or whatever Sean Combs calls himself these days. Lopez is a rising star who deserves a name that doesn't sound like the niece of R2-D2. Nice to hear Jennifer Lopez is here to stay.

DOT : To not messing with perfection. It is a fair conclusion, given the wide acceptance of last year's Lord of the Rings film, The Fellowship of the Ring, and the already wide critical acclaim of its sequel The Two Towers this year, that this will be a widely accepted trilogy. However; it's always best to leave well enough alone! Kudos, then, to director Peter Jackson, who couldn't agree more. He recently refuted claims that he will follow up the trilogy with a movie based on the first book in the series, The Hobbit. If only George Lucas was as wise! Don't get me wrong; I love the new Star Wars films, and yet it's really annoying that the very people who begged Lucas for a prequel, are the very people who are now complaining about it! No such luck, for those who intend to start flaming a Lord of the Rings prequel; as far as Jackson is concerned, the trilogy is fine by itself, and doesn't require one. Good for him.

Slash :  To MTV showing that once again, they're a teen channel first, a music station second, and a mature news source dead last. Sure, it was nice of them to offer a sneak screening of Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers to lucky audience members of their show, Movie House. However, word is that the early screening came at the cost of even slightly enjoying the movie! At least half a dozen patrons of this event sent their gripes to Aint It Cool News as they told their fellow fantasy film buffs how the reporters rammed cameras in their faces at the most suspenseful moments of the film, asking them how they liked it. I mean, some theaters call the usher if you so much as whisper during a movie; these guys had to deal with some Carson Daly reject yelling in their ear, "So, like the movie? Isn't it cooool?" Groan. Sometimes, it pays to be patient and watch the film in a regular theater...with --one can only hope!-- a regular audience.

Slash :  To the right hand of DVD packaging not paying attention to what the left hand is doing. Sure, the DVD manufacturers want to save a buck or two (or perhaps just $0.25 per package, but still...), by packaging most multi-CD sets in folded-up carboard cases, not regular plastic ones (which only house, at best, 2 discs per case). On the other hand, we have the stores, which want to protect merchandise from shoplifters (and the occasional filthy paw prints, for that matter) by using shrink wrap that's stronger than most of the plastic NASA probably uses. However, you can't have it both ways, guys. Try as you might, the only way to open the typical DVD set is to make an incision that will, almost inevitably, cut right through to the cardboard DVD case as well. Now, I'm not too terribly upset about this --really-- though it is an annoyance that needn't be there. Couldn't there be some sort of compromise here?

Slash :  To little girls who act one way and then snub someone for acting the same way...in real life. Yes, the randy lifestyles of Sex and the City's promiscuous females are hardly an advisable template for real life, but when one of the show's single stars, Kristin Davis, decides to live single life in the fast lane, is it really fair for her three co-stars to gripe about it? Scuttlebutt is that Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon and Kim Cattrall --all of whom are married in real life, two with children-- disapprove of Kristin's high profile date life, which has included Alec Baldwin and Jeff Goldblum. This is different from the characters they play on the show...HOW? She also used the show to promote her book, which apparently involves sex. This is different from Sarah's character Carrie Bradshaw...WHY? It's pretty hypocritical for Davis' co-stars to condemn her for practicing what they preach. Give her a break, ladies.

DOT : To Steve Martin being next year's Oscar host. Oscar night 2001 may have been lackluster in nominees, though not in Martin's hosting duties, who in my opinion was slightly snubbed when Whoopi Goldberg was chosen for this year's Oscars. Don't get me wrong; Whoopi did a fine job this year. Let's just say: she behaved. However, as a long time Martin fan I'm thrilled he'll be the one to host this year. Now, all we need are five good movies for Best Picture. Good luck on that one. 

DOT : To, dare I say it, someone pulling the plug on their computers, when (in this...one...instance!) they're nothing but trouble. We all know the mess the media (yes, quite frankly; the MEDIA) made of election 2000, with their projected winners, exit polls, and more estimates of the future than a psychic hotline. However, I think I speak for many when I say I don't want a projection; I want the votes counted one by one, and those results relayed to me in the news. Congrats then, to the Voter News Service, who pulled the plug on their exit polls November 5th, leaving the news agencies to --gasp!-- wait, slowly, while the votes come in, not a mere "exit poll." I think this is as good of a time as any to say that exit polls are only half-effective, when people (like myself!) tell these nosey schmucks opposite information of who they voted for. And why not...? A) it's none of their business, and B) that little curtain I closed behind me was not put there because Martha Stuart thought it would match my Adidas; it was put there so my singular vote wouldn't affect other, personal votes in any way. Got that, peachy face...? Good. Here's hoping exit polls are a plug that's pulled regularly, forcing the media to concentrate instead on the only poll that matters: the VOTE!

DOT : To the folks behind the ABC drama Push, Nevada, who regardless of cancellation of their series, kept loyal to their fans. Not only did the "season-long" million dollar contest offer its winning prize to some lucky viewer, but the open ending was made far less open, for online fans. Logging onto ABC's official web site for the show (which may be offline in mere weeks; hence why I don't offer a link) offered you the chance to download The Push Nevada Experiment, reveling exactly what was (or would have been) going on throughout the series. This was apparently a novella to be published upon the completion of the full series (not unlike the recently released "Alias" Declassified), except the series was cancelled. No problem; all 80+ pages were made available for download, in Adobe Acrobat format. The book's "files" revealed the full nuances and secrets of every suspect, the how and why of what was going on in that small town, and best of all, the revelation of who sent Jim Profrock that fax in the first place, who lured him to Push, Nevada, and why. There really is no profitable reason for making such a thorough booklet into "freeware" (so to speak), aside from showing your loyal fanbase you care enough to leave them with something more than an unplanned, 7th episode "cliffhanger." Thanks, guys.

Slash :  To ABC, for canceling their two boldest attempts at TV before they even had a chance. Whether you liked Push, Nevada or That Was Then is irrelevant; the truth is, these were far more bold entertainment concepts than most of what ABC offers these days. If you cancel two hours of drama, only to leave your Tuesday Night Sitcom crap-o-rama intact; something is very amiss. No wonder they're dropping in ratings.

DOT : To CORE --the Congress of Racial Equality-- and their reaction to Harry Belafonte's inane, inappropriate comments against Secretary of State Colin Powell. Harry had compared Powell to field slaves who were allowed to live in the homes of their masters by doing their bidding. Not surprisingly, Niger Innis of CORE disagrees. As he told CNSNews.com: "For years, Belafonte and the civil rights movement have been pushing for Black Americans to get the opportunity to serve their country in a variety of ways and now you have a distinguished general and now secretary of state that is blazing his own path. It's a disgrace what Belafonte is saying." Indeed. Harry should've known far better. For someone to imply that Powell's fine work is that of a lackey doing a white guy's bidding in the field, is a more racist comment than any I've heard in years. Shame on you, Harry.

----------------------------------

Agree? Disagree? Send comments to Techtite Letters.