June 28-July 2, 1999

Don't bother seeing Wild Wild West this weekend . . . Well, okay, I don't know that it's awful. But I've been so underwhelmed by previews and I've read so many bad reviews, that I'm going to wait. Maybe you should, too. But then again, I've not seen it so what do I know? It's possible you'll like it (or that I would, for that matter). Let me know what you think . . . should I go see it?

Do watch episodes of the tv series The Wild, Wild West on TNT. (Marathon: 10pm CST Friday July 2 through 11am CST Saturday July 3rd Thereafter at 8am CST Saturdays, 5am CST weekdays).

There's also a long interview with Robert Conrad-- I'd forgotten that The Wild, Wild West was cancelled because it was deemed too violent (the more things change . . . ). Robert Conrad:

The cancellation of The Wild, Wild West because of violence had as much credibility then as it has today. I am the father of nine children, six grandchildren. My children, the men and the women in my family, are compassionate. They are strong. They are not violent. Violence can't be mandated by a government agency. I resent the government telling me that they are going to monitor what I see. I resent it. It's next they'll be coming in my bedroom dictating the terms of how my wife and I make love. Violence is something that isn't re-created by what you see. It's what your home environment is. Now if our schools, where there are so many kids without parents, want to teach those values, fine. But you know, I don't watch violent shows but I'll defend till my death that you have the right to see them.

Harry Knowles writes about his trip to Minneapolis for Convergence.

Harry will be updating Ain't It Cool News from the Radisson South in Bloomington, MN. (a.k.a. my home away from home. I've spent many of the best hours of my life there at conventions and parties and just hanging out in the bar, believe it or not).

I've put together a TV portal page. Well, I'm still adding things to it, actually, but there's already a lot there. If you can think of anything I've missed, please let me know.

Yankscape is what happens when a Weird Al fan decides to make fun of Netscape, I think.

Another new weblog!
This one's called Medley (what a great name!) and is by Lynette I. Millett. It's off to a great start, IMHO.

Convergence really is imminent. This new science fiction convention is July 2-4, 1999 at the Radisson South Hotel in Bloomington, Minnesota. Guests of Honor include Forrest Ackerman and Harry Knowles.

I won't be staying at the hotel, but I'll be attending, methinks. It's a must for me for the music, if nothing else. And 'cuz I'm curious and I wish these folks well with their convention. Plus friends have all-but-ordered me to attend.

Backfence: dogs, commercial mascots, and Star Wars. Good bleat today, too.

StarWarsChicks.com is a website for, you guessed it, female fans of Star Wars. [via medley].

One of the proprietors of the above website wrote a fine piece about being a Star Wars chick for the new sci-fi webzine The 11th Hour. It echoes how I felt during much of the hypefest:

It began back in February, when I read an article about upcoming The Phantom Menace merchandise. In it, JC Penney's mentioned that they were going to build entire displays targeted toward little boys, displays showcasing their T-shirts and short sets and bathroom and bedroom sets. And all I could think of was "What about the girls?"

The omission did not end there. Every article I read, every news show I watched that even skimmed across the topic of the upcoming release of Episode One, seemed to feel as if it was their duty to point out that Star Wars was for "young males". The female species would not be interested. From the way they talked, the female population would not even notice the release; they would be standing at home in the kitchen, wondering dumbly where their men had run off to. Even George Lucas, the Creator behind the entire Star Wars saga, was quoted as saying in reference to the female audience and his upcoming film, "Well, it isn't Titanic."

Excuse me?? Hello!! (Waves hand in air). Did I, and the thousands -- no, millions -- of other female Star Wars fans out there somehow go completely unnoticed? Did I somehow daydream growing up playing in the yard with a blaster in one hand and a lightsaber in the other, with other female friends by my side, battling the forces of the Darkside? Did I somehow imagine that another female friend and myself spent an entire summer watching the films from the Classic Trilogy on a daily basis? Have I only been pretending when I tell my fiancé that I would prefer to have the latest Star Wars novel than eat for the rest of the week?

Clem Haskins steps down as Minnesota Gophers men's basketball coach after 13 years. :-( I like Clem and think he did tremendous things for basketball in Minnesota. Sigh. Hope he wasn't involved in the alleged nastiness.

PalmColors has cool colored replacement cases for Palm Pilots and PalmIIIs. I think I need the clear blue replacement case for my Palm III.

This particular log is a lot smaller than usual, do visit last week's log if you're new to this page. (Or if you aren't and want to, of course).

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