Sorry I didn’t get this to you yesterday, but we were actually traveling, and then when I tried to log into the doctorhorrible.com website to watch Act 1 of Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, the site was continually down. Very frustrating. So after messing around with that for an hour or two, I just went to iTunes and purchased the whole thing for $3.99 (it was $1.99 per Act and I know I’m gonna want them all). Its so worth it, if the first installment is anything to go by.

I loved it!! So my advice to you is to forget dealing with trying to watch for free. Just go buy it. You’re gonna want to anyway. I just bought it last night and I’ve probably only seen it like a dozen times, is all.

Oh, and look what I found? This fun Gawker interview of Joss Whedon. It’s not your father’s interview, if you know what I mean. Here’s a sample of the type of questions and answers to expect:

Q. Any surprise cameos we can look forward to in “Dr. Horrible”? I know I could use a fix of some Anthony Head or Emma Caulfield about now. I’m dying!

A. Two words, true believer: no. Ah, there was no second word. Sorry.

Go check it out. Right after you see Act 1 of Dr. Horrible.

Related posts:

1. Dr. Horrible Is Coming!
   I know I keep going on and on about Dr. Horrible, but I’m just so excited about a new Whedon project and Dollhouse is still in the future. First of...
2. So have I mentioned Dr. Horrible yet?
   OK, I promise. This will (almost probably) be the last mention I make of Joss Whedon’s Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog until next week. It’s just that stuff keeps happening and...
3. Whedon’s Horrible Doctor
   Look what I just found!  Here’s a link to the official site for Doctor Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog.  What, you might ask, is that?  Well, I’m not exactly positive.  I know...

FanaticSpace - Everyone loves something.

I know I keep going on and on about Dr. Horrible, but I’m just so excited about a new Whedon project and Dollhouse is still in the future. First of all, here’s a link to the official myspace. But more importantly, the dates are here!!!! I’m so amazingly thrilled about this, I can’t stand it.  The first part will air on Tuesday, July 15, the second part on Thursday, July 17, and the third part on Saturday, July 19.  All three parts will remain up until Sunday, July 20.  All to be viewed free!   After that, Dr. Horrible will be available for download. 

In honor of the dates being revealed, I’m going to repost some of what Joss had to say over at Whedonesque.

Dear Friends,

At last the time has come to reveal to you our Master Plan. BEWARE! Those with weak hearts should log off lest they be terrified by the twisted genius of our schemes! Also pregnant women and the elderly should consider reading only certain sentences. Do not mix with other blogs. Do not operate heavy machinery while reading this blog. You must be this tall to read. ‘Kay?

It is time for us to change the face of Show Business as we know it. You know the old adage, “It’s Show Business – not Show Friends”? Well now it’s Show Friends. We did that. To Show Business. To show Show Business we mean business. (Also, there are now other businesses like it.)

ONE WEEK ONLY! AN INTERNET MINISERIES EVENT!

“Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog” will be streamed, LIVE (that part’s not true), FREE (sadly, that part is) right on Drhorrible.com, in mid-July. Specifically:

ACT ONE (Wheee!) will go up Tuesday July 15th.

ACT TWO (OMG!) will go up Thursday July 17th.

ACT THREE (Denouement!) will go up Saturday July 19th.

All acts will stay up until midnight Sunday July 20th. Then they will vanish into the night, like a phantom (but not THE Phantom – that’s still playing. Like, everywhere.)

 

(If you want to read the rest of the post, and I strongly suggest that you do, then head on over to Whedonesque with this link.)

So now that we are armed with this information, I want to urge everyone out there to tell your family, tell your neighbors, tell your friends, tell your enemies, tell the guy who bags your groceries and pumps your gas (ha!), the lady at the dry cleaners, your attorney, your banker, your baker, your candlestick maker, and even your Indian Chiefs. In short, tell every one you come into contact with between now and July 15. Dr. Horrible is coming.

Related posts:

1. Whedon’s Horrible Doctor
   Look what I just found!  Here’s a link to the official site for Doctor Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog.  What, you might ask, is that?  Well, I’m not exactly positive.  I know...

FanaticSpace - Everyone loves something.

Forgotten?

I hope not.

I know it’s been a long time. I also know some people are going to think my reasons for not writing are total crap. I think I should let you know what they are though.

I quit smoking, and I did it in what is probably the worst possible way, cold turkey. That phrase makes no sense. I like turkey, even if it’s cold. I didn’t like quitting cigarettes. I went through some horrible withdrawal, then I got sick.

I’ve had a craptacular month, but I’m getting back into things. Now I’m doing it all without nicotine. That is extremely weird.

Priorities

When my schedule started to return I had to prioritize, since I’m trying to do several blogs at once. Thanks to certain posting requirements on another blog, that meant I had to focus solely on it until I could get back into the swing of things. Either that or drop that blog completely, which I didn’t want to do.

Now that I’m learning to write without smoking I’ll be posting here again.

I wish I had a cigarette.

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FanaticSpace - Everyone loves something.

I like Facebook, or at least I did like Facebook. Things are changing over there. Those changes aren’t always for the better. You might have noticed this yourself.

Take the apps for example.

Have you seen something like that? If you like the quizzes and such, I bet you have. A lot of the apps that do that won’t even give you your results unless you invite friends to add the app. That’s just wrong. It needs to stop and it needs to stop now.

I like Internet quizzes and I enjoyed those kinds of apps, but this just bugs me. All I want to do is waste a little bit of time and have fun. I go through and answer the stupid questions that have nothing to do with the topic. Then I get a ransom note. “Give us the names of your friends so we can show them our ads or you’ll never know what kind of breakfast cereal you are.” Does that seem right?

Now don’t get me wrong. I don’t mind seeing the invite screen if I can skip it and get my results. That makes sense. They’re giving you a chance to share your wasted time with your friends. That’s what friends are for, at least on social networks. It’s pretty cool to be able to compare your results with your friends. It is not cool to hold your friends, or your results, hostage. That would be like Google turning over their search results to the advertisers. “You can’t see the results for ‘Bionic Woman Sucks’ until you click on 10 ads.” Yahoo! would love to see that.

Facebook needs to make some changes or a lot of people are going to be leaving. This is annoying. People don’t join social networks to be annoyed.

Except for Myspace.

: Internet, Fun Stuff, Social Networks, Facebook, Apps, Quiz, Ads, Friends, Myspace

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FanaticSpace - Everyone loves something.

I don’t know if you’re aware of what Google has been doing since October. If not here’s a short version.

Google decided to hide the Page Ranks of sites that made paid posts and linked without using the non-standard “nofollow” tag. They didn’t do this to all the sites that they could have, just the ones least likely to cause them trouble.

What does that mean?

It means FanaticSpace.com suffered a penalty. I’ve been honest about making paid posts to try and pay for expenses on the site. That’s just not enough for Google, even though their own guidelines tell you to write for people and not search engines.

Can it be fixed?

I’ve thought about this for a long time. Should I add “nofollow” to the paid links and ask Google to reconsider? Should I just accept the penalty and continue as if nothing happened?

I came to the conclusion that I need to comply with Google’s demands. No matter how much I dislike it, I can’t fight Google. They’ve got too many people brainwashed into believing it’s about search results. If I try to fight it, I’ll wind up like the guy from the picture up top.

I’ve added “nofollow” to all the paid links. I’ve also filed for reconsideration.

Now I just have to go to sleep and await the mercy of the pod people Google.

: FanaticSpace, Fanatic Space, Site News, Internet, Blogging, Google, Page Rank, Googlesmack, Googleslap, Reconsideration Request, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Pod People

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FanaticSpace - Everyone loves something.

I was contacted by author Kaza Kingsley about a month ago. Looks like FanaticSpace is going to be participating in a blog tour. This will be my first one, and if things go well it might not be the last.

Here’s one of the questions, come back on January 10 to see how she answers.

Who would win in a fight, Harry (Potter) or Erec? Oh, and none of that “They’d be on the same side” stuff either, just assume they were both tricked into thinking the other one was evil…

Erec Rex Book Reviews

Kaza Kingsley was kind enough to send me review copies of the first 2 Erec Rex books. I was going to hold a giveaway once I’d read the books. I just can’t bring myself to do that, since she took the time to autograph them to me. Don’t worry though, I will be holding an Erec Rex book giveaway. I just won’t be giving up my copies.

Who is Kaza Kingsley?

Kaza Kingsley is the author of the Erec Rex book series. The Erec Rex books are fantasy books for young adults. They’re filled with mythological references and a dramatic story. Just the kind of books I like. Perfect.

Whoops, almost started the reviews early.

If you’d like to know more about Kaza Kingsley then stop by during the tour, she’ll be checking in to read the comments and answer your questions. I’d also suggest you check out her blog, The Memory Mogul.

To learn more about the Erec Rex books check out the Official Erec Rex Website. You can also get a sneak peek at the books.

First 3 chapters of Erec Rex: The Dragon’s Eye (Book 1)

First 2 chapters of Erec Rex: The Monsters of Otherness (Book 2)

What is a blog tour?

A blog tour is an online version of a book tour for authors. Several sites agree to post an article about the books or author. Fans get to say hi, ask question and get to know them. The posts are scheduled to run consecutively, much like the appearances on a book tour.

It sounds like a great way for fans to interact with an author they like and with each other. How could I say no?

Kaza Kingsley Blog Tour Dates

Here are the sites participating and the dates scheduled.

January 7 – A Fort Made of Books

(The tour post is up Kaza Kingsley interview)

January 8 – Books4Ever

( Kaza Kingsley Blog Tour )

January 9 – Baseballs and Bows

( The Erec Rex Blog Tour )

January 10 – Fanatic Space Blog

( Kaza Kingsley Blog Tour )

January 11 – Bibliophile’s Retreat

( And Now Presenting Kaza Kingsley and her Erec Rex Series )

January 12 – Children’s Literature Book Club

( Kaza Kingsley is here today! )

January 13 – Stephanie’s Confessions of a Book-A-Holic

( Kaza Kingsley Blog Tour 2008 )

January 14 – A Year of Books

( Blog Tour )

January 15 – Author Chris Rettstatt’s blog

( Kaza Kingsley and Erec Rex )

January 16 – Deliciously Clean Reads

( Kaza Kingsley on Blog Tour HERE! )

January 17 – Into the Wardrobe

( Kaza Kingsley Blog Tour )

January 18 – Real Gurlz Magazine

( Our Interview With Kaza Kingsley )

January 19 – Chauceriangirl

( Guest Starring: Kaza Kingsley )

Bonus Days

January 20 – Kaleb Nation

( Interview with Kaza Kingsley )

January 21 – The Jay

( The Jay Interviews Kaza Kingsley )

January 22 – Young Adult (& Kids) Books Central Blog

( Blog Tour: Kaza Kingsley )

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Make sure to check out the Blog Tour, and be sure to come back here on January 10.

: Fandoms, Books, Fantasy, Fun Stuff, Internet, Blogging, Blog Tour, Kaza Kingsley, Erec Rex, The Dragon’s Eye, The Monsters of Otherness

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FanaticSpace - Everyone loves something.

I’d like to take a moment to thank everyone (Beth) who responded to my previous article “Book Reviews or Book Discussions?“. Book discussions won in a landslide, but like the 2000 American Presidential Election it’s been overturned. Not by an antiquated electoral college, but by practicality.

Looks like I don’t have enough active readers to start up a discussion about, well, anything. Not yet at least. I’m too damn stubborn to give up though. So I’ll do reviews for now. Once things get rolling and we get some regulars, then we can start up some discussions. I’ll bring this up again in the future, once the site is more active.

Or when Gore is President.

: Fandoms, Books, Opinion, Blogging, Book Discussions, Book Reviews, Book Club, FanaticSpace, FanaticSpace.com, Fanatic Space

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FanaticSpace - Everyone loves something.

I need your opinions

After the posts by Donna and myself, I’ve decided that I should make books a larger part of the site. I’d like to do more posts about books and reading. What I’d like your opinion on is the structure of those posts.

1. Should I review books I read?

Or

2. Should I open a discussion about a book?

I can see pros and cons for both of those. I’m just not sure what you’d rather see here. That’s why I’m asking you.

What’s the difference?

This is how I imagine these working. If you have other ideas please let me know.

Book Review

• I would choose a book, or let you vote on a book.
• I’d read it and take a few notes.
• I’d come back to the blog and write up a review. It’s pretty straight forward.

Book Discussion

• I would choose a book, or let you vote on a book. That’s the same.
• I’d write a post on the blog to announce what the book is.
• A reading deadline would be set. That way people know when the discussion will start, and will know when to finish the book.
• People that want to join in would, I hope, read the book.
• After the reading deadline I’d come back here and officially open the discussion. I would include some of my opinions and my questions about the book. It wouldn’t be a full review though.
• I would update the post with some, or all, of the relevant comments from the discussion for a period of time. This would make the relevant comments about the book easier to find and make things easier on people taking part. A long list of comments can be hard to follow sometimes.

What do you think?

Does this sound like something you’d be interested in? Do you have any other ideas? I’d appreciate your thoughts on this. I’d really like to make this site something we could all enjoy together.

: Fandoms, Books, Opinion, Blogging, Book Discussions, Book Reviews, Book Club, FanaticSpace

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FanaticSpace - Everyone loves something.

The Internet and file sharing are becoming a popular alternative to TV or even DVD rental. This has put quite a few executive panties in a bunch. If people are watching TV shows online how are they going to make money? I think the answer is pretty simple.

Commercials

TV makes money by showing commercials during the shows. Most of ‘em aren’t even that well targeted. I’m not going to be buying a car, so it doesn’t matter how cool the commercials are on TV. The same could be said of any number of products. The commercials run by the local stations aren’t much better, but at least it’s somewhere I can actually get to. Even if I’ll never need to.

The Internet can fix these problems. A short survey when you sign up for a free service can help advertisers find people that might be interested in what they’re selling. This would probably be better for the advertisers than TV spots. Since they wouldn’t be paying for time on a particular show because they think their customers watch it. They wouldn’t have to bombard people outside the demographic they’re looking for in the hopes that it reaches their audience. They would be targeting users instead. Every time the ad runs it could be playing just for the people they hope to reach.

Target local customers, anywhere on the planet.

That same sign up form can make geotargeting possible as well. Which means the viewers would be seeing ads for the things they can walk down the street and buy. Once more targeting your customer and not a time slot pays off. Added to this the possible ads from online businesses such as Amazon or iTunes and you have a working advertising model. A way to make money.

What about the viewers?

Should some glorious miracle make this happen, the viewers could benefit the most. A system like this would make it possible to watch TV from around the world as if you were living there. Shows in your selected language could play online simultaneously with the TV broadcast. With a short delay you could even watch subtitled or closed captioned versions of shows that aren’t broadcast in your selected language.

I’d be willing to watch commercials in a TV show, I do it already. I’d be even more interested in watching them if they’re about something I’m interested in. If that means I get to watch the shows I love I’d be happy to do it. I could watch Doctor Who on the BBC and during the commercials find out that Amazon UK has the new Terry Pratchett book for sale.

All of this, and no one would lose money. Isn’t technology great?

: TV, Internet, Opinion, Television, Streaming Media, File Sharing, BitTorrent, Piracy, Internet TV, Internet Television, Advertising

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FanaticSpace - Everyone loves something.

I’ve had some things I wanted to write that didn’t fit in here or on AnimeFansOnline. So I decided to start a personal blog for all that miscellaneous stuff. I’m lucky that I have a fairly unusual name, it wasn’t registered. Well, the “.eu” was, but I don’t live in the Eu. I’ve registered www.JasonWigley.com and I’m putting a WordPress blog up.

I’m hoping that it will give me a chance to write different kinds of posts and also make FanaticSpace better. At the very least it will move the non-fandom stuff out of here. That should help to keep this site on topic.

So say goodbye to meta-blogging on FanaticSpace. No more blogging about blogging here. Unless I’m writing about a fandom blog, because that still fits in here.

If any of my friends here want to link to it or review it, I’d appreciate it. Give it a little time first if you want to review it. I’m busier than ever now.

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FanaticSpace - Everyone loves something.