The Rhythm (6)

This week the Rhythm gets it's own segment: The Mill, as in the Rumor Mill. Each post will now exclusively have some rumors floating around the net and the entertainment industry. For starters we've got Bruce Willis and Die Hard 5, Johansen and Adams for Uncharted, the blizzaster, and geek like an Egyptian.

The Rhythm: Now with more rumors, and barrels of salt.


The Mill: Ladies and Baddies Edition

Ladies: This week, rumors have been going around that Scarlet Johansen or Amy Adams could be up for the role of as Elena Fisher in the upcoming Uncharted adaptation. I can see what Johansen might be rumored for this, considering she has recently become action oriented playing the Black Widow in Iron Man 2, but could she bring the right swagger to the role? Also, I'm not really sure where Adams is coming in here. Don't get me wrong, I think she could do a good job, but I'm not really aware of her action chops at the moment so that could be interesting.

Baddies: Bruce Willis needs a bad guy for Die Hard 5, a.k.a. Die Hard 24/7, and the rumor mill has spit out another Gruber. In the original, John McClane went up against international "exceptional" thief Hans Gruber, and in Die Hard With A Vengeance his little brother was up. Word is the baddie this time around could be another brother, or son of Hans. Personally, I really hope they don't go down this road. IGN suggests a sister or daughter. I think a female villain could make things interesting, how exactly would she handle the testosterone tank that is Bruce Willis John McClane? And why is it Die Hard 24/7? The last one had such a poetic title (and the best state motto, go NH!), we need something a little better or else Die Hard 6 (and yes, Willis has mentioned he might do one) will be called Die Hard Forever, and we all know how Batman Forever was.

[IGN]

Snowpocalypse Now, or rather Tuesday

If you weren't aware, the massive storm already known as Blizzaster 2011 (pictured below) blanketed most of the eastern US earlier this week. If you weren't a part of it, you're probably considering yourself lucky. As for me, I was in Rochester, NY expecting over a foot of snow. Reality was about 2-3 inches. Super lame, especially after considering this place Hoth when it comes to snow storms.

Meanwhile, back in my home state of NH (that's right, twice in one post) this was happening, with snow banks piled over 5 feet in some places.

It's not so much the snowfall in this storm as the frequent bombardment of snow storms in the northeast. It's actually quite interesting to think that there are places, cities like New York, that just don't know how to handle the many feet of snow that have been piling up. And here's the ultimate kicker, the groundhog saw his shadow, no surprise there since this giant storm was over head.

[Gizmodo]

No internet, all resolve

Last Friday, the government of Egypt shut down the internet. You heard right, they shut down the series of tubes, preventing Ahmad Gharbeia and the rest of the geeks, independent filmmakers, and online activists of Egypt from doing what they do best. In a true story of epic determination, these folks led a peaceful protest for three days in Tahrir Square in Cairo, keeping their mobile phones charged by sapping energy from street lights. This Wednesday, the peaceful protesters were attacked by supporters of President Mubarak. As of last night, three had been killed and around 1,500 were injured. I joked earlier this week in my post about the [radio] that a country having the power to shut off the internet is dangerous, and now we see what the result is.

The shutdown came from a peaceful anti-Mubarak protest that Gharbeia assisted in organizing through Twitter. Using the internet, he and fellow protesters were able to update in real-time where they were and where they needed to be. Up to date information was posted about blockades and closures by the police, further allowing protesters to circumvent their efforts to get shut down. The three day protest hasn't ended despite the violence brought in to break it down, which will ultimately backfire against the president and his regime.

The internet was restored on Wednesday and Gharbeia and the other supporters, armed with laptops, cellphones and tents, say their resolve is only strengthened, and they aren't going anywhere.

[Wired]

The last one demonstrates that geeks are the same anywhere you go, and when they are passionate about something, they'll fight for it. I haven't really figured out why exactly they were protesting their president, but if it was peaceful I'm not really sure why it had to turn to so violent. Anyway, we need to get off the downer, and get in the [groove], so let's celebrate the Chinese New Year with a little "Dirty Harry".



Dream on.

[END TRANSMISSION]