Month: February 2007

Satin Tights No Longer: Joss Whedon is Not Working on Wonder Woman Anymore

/ Adam Nash / 3 Comments

Just caught this news tidbit tonight, and had to post.

One of the most anticipated upcoming comic book movies was the new adaptation of Wonder Woman, which was being written by Joss Whedon. Whedon is a cult favorite for shows like “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and the more recent western/sci-fi series “Firefly” and the following movie “Serenity“.

As Joss Whedon reported on his own blog, Whedonesque:

“You (hopefully) heard it here first: I’m no longer slated to make Wonder Woman,” Whedon wrote. “What? But how? It’s pretty complicated, so bear with me. I had a take on the film that, well, nobody liked. Hey, not that complicated.”

It’s surprising news, especially given the initial optimism that Whedon would be able to take Wonder Woman to production, after a number of failed attempts.  He also made comments to the effect that he had never established an idea for a lead actress, likely the number one challenge with a character like Wonder Woman.

You can read more on the SyFy Portal.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7) Release Date: July 21, 2007

/ Adam Nash / 10 Comments

Right now, my original post on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows (yes, mis-spelled) is driving about one half of all traffic to my blog. Amazing.

Well, more Harry Potter news today.

Two versions.  Standard & Deluxe.

They have announced the ship date: July 21st, 2007.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling, the seventh and final book in the best-selling series, has been scheduled for release at 12:01 a.m. on July 21, 2007, it was announced today by Scholastic, the global children’s publishing, education and media company.

I can’t even really imagine how incredibly large the hoopla will be around the event. In fact, hoopla is not the right word. (Is it even really a word?) Celebration. Chaos. Pandemonium.

This is bigger news than the announcement that the actor who plays Harry Potter in the movies, Daniel Radcliffe, is going to be appearing naked in the revival of the play Equus in London starting February 27th. Yes, you read that right.

You can already pre-order the book. Borders is actually running a “Severus Snape: Friend or Foe” campaign to drum up excitement (like they need to).

The movie for Harry Potter 5, The Order of the Phoenix, opens the week before, on July 13th.

Pandemonium.

Price Changes at the US Mint: Some Down, Most Up

/ Adam Nash

It looks like the US Mint is adjusting prices significantly in 2007 to account for the inclusion of the new Presidential $1 Dollar Coins in the annual sets, and the increased cost of many of the base and precious metals.

Quoted from their new answers site:

You may notice price changes on some of our recurring products this year. These changes, both increases and decreases, can be attributed to several factors:

  • Many of our annual sets have grown to include Presidential $1 Coins.
  • The cost of the base metals that make up many of our coins has increased significantly over the past several years.

Opportunities have been identified to increase customer value by reducing product prices where possible.

Below is a list of current product prices, followed by the change from last year’s price.

  • United States Mint Proof Set – $26.95 (+$4.00)
  • United States Mint Silver Proof Set – $44.95 (+$7.00)
  • United States Mint 50 State Quarters Proof Set – $13.95 (-$2.00)
  • United States Mint 50 State Quarters Silver Proof Set – $25.95 (+$2.00)
  • United States Mint Uncirculated Set – $22.95 (+$6.00)
  • Golden Dollar 250-Coin Bag – $319.95 (-$27.05)
  • Golden Dollar 25-Coin Roll – $35.95 (+$0.45)
  • 50 State Quarters 1,000-Coin Bag – $309.95 (+$9.95)
  • 50 State Quarters 100-Coin Bag – $32.95 (-$2.55)
  • 50 State Quarters Two-Roll Set – $32.95 (+$0.95)
  • Kennedy Half-Dollar 200-Coin Bag – $130.95 (-$4.05)
  • Kennedy Half-Dollar Two-Roll Set – $32.95 (-$2.55)
  • 50 State Quarters First Day Coin Covers – $14.95 (-$5.00)
  • Collecting America’s Coins: Beginner Basics – $11.95 (-$2.55)

The price changes are most noticeable around the precious metal coins, particularly the silver proof sets.  It will be interesting to see how prices adjust on the open market.  I noticed last week that the price of silver proof sets on eBay hadn’t yet adjusted to these new prices.

More information can be found on the US Mint website.

Seema Shah has a new Blahg (Blog?)

/ Adam Nash / 1 Comment

Wow.  Seema is cold.  Ice running in her veins.

Check out this brush-off post to Blogger.  See ya.  It’s been fun.

She has now moved to WordPress.com.

http://eseema.wordpress.com

It’s funny, but I continue to get several hits a day from people who type “Seema Shah eBay” into Google.  Clearly, people want to find her blog, and somehow they use mine to find it.  So there you go.

Seema, if you see this, 100 bonus points for the Douglas Adams reference. 🙂

The Apple iPod Shuffle. Now in… Orange?

/ Adam Nash / 1 Comment

Apple quietly updated the iPod Shuffle line of ultra-portable music players with a range of colors this week. $79 gets you a 1GB player of your choice, and you pick the color. The iPod Shuffle was redesigned last year, moving from the stick-like form factor to a little clip-on that is even smaller.

It’s funny, but I remember the Saturday Night Live sketch about the iPod continually shrinking… and that was before the new iPod Shuffle redesign.

It’s on YouTube, of course…

I still think it’s hilarious. My favorite quote…

Newscast: “Wait… That iPod was only out for like 5 seconds!”

Steve Jobs: “5 seconds too long. It was too big. Ridiculous.”