Secret Garden

Looks like James Callis is joining his BFF Jamie Bamber in Ron Moore's "17th Precinct" on NBC (see the blurb here @ bamber_news).

( A lovely BRITMANCE... )

UPDATE: Besides Jamie and James, Tricia Helfer is the third Battlestar Galactica alum joining RDM's latest project! http://www.imdb.com/news/ni8262142/

This calls for fist pumping in the air. Thanks to the ever so awesome asta77 who broke the news (okay, it was Ausiello, but I would've never known it if it wasn't for asta), Jamie Bamber is set to reunite with Ron Moore on RDM's new pilot "17th Precinct" on NBC! (see Ausiello's report here, and asta's report here and here)

Oh boy, I would have to eat my words that I would not invest in RDM's project again at the conclusion of BSG. But not only is Jamie reteaming with his old boss, so is Michael Rymer set to direct the pilot episode (the prospect of a Bamber-Rymer reunion is making me even more excited over Jamie's reunion with RDM). Also, before Jamie, Stockard Channing is signed on with the project as well!

Yesterday I defriended a user for the very first time here on LJ. This in and of itself is no big deal, especially considering the user is much happier now that I won't make any more comments at her public entries that may not agree with what she says. I was not being contrary on purpose, and I did not "stalk" her entries just to be mean. I started following her a short while ago because I thought we shared a love for Supernatural and its actors. I did leave many agreeable comments at her journal in the past, but apparently due to her large following (600+ or so she once claimed), she only remembers me when I disagree. I realized my dissenting voice was upsetting her, I didn't want to give her undue distress, so I told her I would remove myself from her journal. Leaving that I did, however it doesn't mean I concede our debate on the "greediness" of one Jensen Ackles in particular, and main Supernatural cast at large.

It all started with my reply to a comment at her entry that implied it was Jensen's fault his concert with Jason Manns were sold at such a high price. Here is what I said:

I think it's misleading to think Jensen Ackles and Jason Manns charged $1500 for their 45 minutes first time ever performance. In my opinion it's perfectly reasonable that the artists involved here want to perform for only a small audience, especially given Jensen is not a professional singer. With only 30 seats available, it's not outrageous the convention organizer auctioned out these tickets. Nobody held fans hands' and made them bid higher and higher. It's a simple matter of "Supply-and-Demand". One can snicker about Jensen and/or Jason's singing ability, however there're just too many people want and willing to pay to see/hear them sing and play guitar on stage together.

This was counter argued that it was indeed Jensen's fault because he should have known how popular he is, and that the small audience was not the problem, they should have just set a low fee for the tickets and draw lottery at the convention to see who gets to attend. To that logic I answered:

No, I think Jensen's opinion on his own popularity is irrelevant here. He has never done a concert before. There is no market pricing for his first ever concert. The auction is not an unfair way to settle who gets to attend the small event. For all I know, Jensen may even doubt anybody would shell out $100 for his singing performance, after all he's not a singer, hasn't released any songs/singles in his name except singing as a backup.

Lottery drawing maybe a way to go (for that matter, why sell the tickets at a cost at all? why not make it for free completely?), however others may feel it's not exactly fair either. Why someone mildly interested in seeing Jensen sing live gets to attend this due to his/her lucky chance while someone else who wants to see it so dearly and willing to pay a hefty amount has to sit out? At least with the auction, the people gets to attend are those who *really* wants to see this, and they have the financial means to do so.

I know I want to see it very badly and I don't have the financial ability to do so. But I don't ever think it's Jensen or Jason's fault. Nor do I think convention organizer is unfair to determine who gets to see this.

For this I got scoffed at that I, like many others, assumed Jensen and Jared lived in a bubble for not knowing how much people are willing to pay to see them. I was also reminded of an ill fated convention was recently canceled because these main actors asked too much in terms of their fees and special treatments. Again, I counter argued:

You misunderstood me. I'm not saying Jensen (or Jared) doesn't know his self worth. I'm saying his knowledge of his popularity is irrelevant in this discussion.

And I stand by my opinion that there is no known market pricing for Jensen's concert. How could it be? He has never done one before.

And speaking of the canceled convention, ... There can be no money made off the fans if the fans are not willing to pay. And I don't think the stars arbitrarily charge an amount for their fee. For all I know their contractual demand is an industry standard for stars of their caliber. If they overestimate their worth, they don't get paid any. Again, fair and square. I don't see a right vs. wrong here.

Meanwhile someone else commented under my thread there that she felt the auction was distasteful because The auction is simply a get-as-much-as-possible greedy money grabbing and blatant showing off Jensen's popularity. I had to make sure I understood what she's saying so I verified:

If I understand you correctly, you are saying auction is evil and distasteful unless it's done for charity then. A position I do not agree, but that's just me.

Surprisingly (or maybe not so surprising) I got the reply that Auction in general isn't. Just talking about this one specifically. (with the emphasize on "this")

Huh?! Did I miss something here? In my opinion, Jensen's talent is a commodity, just as, to a much smaller extent, every single one of ours is too. Don't we get paid everyday for what we can do at our jobs? As a commodity, why is it so awful for Jensen's case specifically? I admit I was curious so I had to ask: And why should this one be singled out from other auctions?

That was the extent of it because at this point I was clearly upsetting the user, she specifically asked me to stop. She and her guest expressed in no uncertain terms that a free concert won't kill Jensen and that (to paraphrase) a 45 minute concert cost less than $1500 won't starve Jensen. Their sentiment was Jensen and Jared pretty much owe fans because without us, they wouldn't even get a season 6 nor a TV Guide cover.

To respect the user since it was her journal I was commenting from, I did stop saying anything additional except announcing I was leaving her place. Even though I didn't argue further, I still strongly disagreed with their position. Sure, there are many things Jensen or Jared could have done that won't kill them per se, but that doesn't necessarily mean they should or obliged to do these things. And as to them owing fans, I was one of those who voted fervently for Supernatural on the TV Guide cover until my fingers were sore. But never did I feel I own the boys because of that. I voted for them because I owe them gratitude for their jobs well done. I consider myself rewarded when the boys publicly thanked fans for our support and Jensen vowed to work even harder. In all this, I feel the actors under no obligation to give fans freebies, and when they do, it's their gift to us. I hate to think that just because they did something nice once, all of a sudden, they are expected to do it every time, and when they don't, they become less of a decent human being in some fans eyes.

When this entry is posted, LA Con has drawn to a conclusion. Jensen Ackles and Jason Manns concert is either in progress or it may have been over as well. Even though I regret I'm not able to see it with my own eyes, I still wish everything went well, and everyone involved, from the performing artists to the attending audience had (or are having) a great time. Also I was looking for information regarding the convention earlier. I was surprised to see the LJ user I'm talking about here had gleefully wrote a report about it at an online news magazine to which she is the editor. This in particular left a bad taste in my mouth. I find it's hypocritical of her to fuel fans desire and fascination at seeing these actors. After all, I believe it was our tremendous eagerness at wanting to get up close and personal with these stars that drove up the cost.

Dear CW,

You guys are not cool. Really? One day before the scheduled return of Supernatural, and you pull this kind of stunt?

I've watched your network for years now because of Supernatural. I even had to switch satellite provider to find one who can give me a CW station because my local area doesn't have one. Yet you are making me feel you care not at all about fans like me.

I have made plans with my friend weeks in advance to watch the shows this Friday night together. Now guess what? My TV will not be tuned anywhere near the CW station. It's a good time for us to check out other shows that I've been meaning to take a look.

Oh, and I will not be tune in CW tonight anymore either. Nor next Thursday, the week after next, and so on.

I will still come back for Supernatural if you guys don't pull the plug on that. But given how you treated the show and its fans, I have no faith in you anymore.

Sincerely,

A Very Disheartened Fan

ETA: Castiel has a stern message for @CW_network on Twitpic

Sorry about the delay, got sidetracked yesterday. Anyway, as explained, because of camera mishandling on my part, I didn't capture any good quality pictures. What I have are a few VGA (640 x 480 resolution) snapshots for a quick glance. I also would like to recap what I considered as highlights of the panel here, as well as share several short video clips toward the end.

( Read more... )

I just got back home last night from attending Creation Con's Salute to Supernatural in San Francisco over the weekend. I had a blast, and am still in the process of uploading various stuff I recorded here and there. Unfortunately I don't have a whole lot. As far as audio files go, I've only gotten around to record the J2 Panel and Richard Speight, Jr's panel on Sunday. I won't bore you with the reason why that is so (I'll do that in a separate con report;) Anyway, here they are -- my first offerings:

( Two panel audio clips under the cut... )

lmao.

December 25th to December 31st - Cartoons of the Week - TIME.com

Ummm, it came to my attention that I may not have been getting any LJ notifications through my email for a little while. I thought people are just busy or possibly ignoring me since I have been really bad at keeping up with LJ. But I just noticed several "new" comments left at my LJ entry that I knew nothing about. This leads me to suspect there might be more such comments out there. So please accept my apology for not responding. It's going to take me awhile to track down the comments I may have missed, and it's very possible I'm not going to be able to catch all of them. So sorry!

P.S. Has anyone else been experiencing similar trouble lately? Does anyone know if the issue lies with LJ or with yahoo mail?

ETA: Mystery solved! Thanks to layne67 who suggested me to take a look at my Spam folder, I found out the problem was with my yahoo email. At sometime after Thanksgiving, yahoo decided that a good chunk of my emails are "spams" and blocked them from my inbox. LiveJournal is one of the "casualties". To fix the problem, per suggestion from koredump, I added lj_notification's email address to my contact list. Hopefully, this is the last time I encounter this problem!

I just read the following (excerpt) regarding The CW's November Sweep Highlights. Can't say I'm not green with jealous:

SMALLVILLE – "Patriot" (8:00-9:00 p.m.) DC COMICS CHARACTER AQUAMAN RETURNS WITH HIS WIFE MERA; TOM WELLING DIRECTS AND MICHAL HOGAN ("BATTLESTAR GALACTICA") GUEST STARS AS COL SLADE. – in an effort to protect the rest of the team, Oliver (Justin Hartley) decides to register for the Vigilante Registration Act to see what the government plans to do with the new law. As he suspected, it was a trap to lure superheroes to an undisclosed location where he is confined to a jail and subjected to a battery of brutal tests under the supervision of Col. Slade (guest star Michael Hogan, "Battlestar Galactica").

Seriously, Michael Hogan! Col Tigh! When can Supernatural get him to guest star? Want it so bad I can weep.

(Note: the article linked above contain synopsis of SPN episodes scheduled for November as well)