The Naked Dancing Llama and I

Sometimes I don't know how to feel about the Naked Dancing Llama homepage I created in the 90s. I wrestle with revamping and investing in the site, ending it, acknowledging it, denying it, feeling entitled because of it, feeling belittled because of it.

This showed up in the Naked Dancing Llama forum earlier this year and made me smile.

horray for retro 1990s sites:

AGS : internet history, llama

I first found the NDL site in the early 90s -- could it have been here

as early as 1994?

Remember the first Fishcam? Hamsterdance when it was new? The

Information Supercollider at CERN? Doofus the Ferret King?

The web has grown up, gotten commercial (in the early days that was

against the rules!), developed an entirely different look. Most of the

fun, silly, and simple websites from the dawn of the web have

disappeared.

NDL is still the same. Or close to the same -- I remember when it

upgraded to this new look and got the midi soundtrack. It was originally

basic gray like the rest of the web.

Viva le llama. An artifact of the web's roots. If this were in the real

world, this site would now have a historical marker.

And for all you whippersnappers who don't REMEMBER the early web and

don't know the history of the internet..

The History of the Internet: Happy 20th Birthday, World Wide Web

Keep on dancin' - Skidoo

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Thanks, Skidoo. If I've managed to contribute to Internet History, then that's awesome. And it explains why I'm attracted to other items I know will go down in Internet History, like "The Guild."

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Every day we create something and put it out there that wasn't there before, we make history. That's my new goal - to create the kind of content that is boldly new, different, and lives in unexplored territory. That mindset can keep someone fueled for a lifetime.

Thoughts on the future of Joss Whedon's Dollhouse

I've been thinking about this for quite a long time, and I am finally going to say it: Fox is treating Dollhouse much like they treated Eliza Dushku's previous television outing, Tru Calling - but unlike Tru Calling, I believe that it will be comissioned for a full second season to great fanfare unlike its predecessor.

The difference? Joss Whedon.

I will elaborate as time permits.

Why people might not "get" Dollhouse at first

In Dollhouse, Joss Whedon attempts to balance his cerebral takes on investigating what human personality laid up against a classic backdrop.

A lot of the critics of the Dollhouse premiere, and of the three episodes available to the press, don't understand something, and here is what that something is.

Anyone can write a show about vampires.  Anyone can write a show about people that are hired for missions (aka Charlie's Angels)..they are missing the point.

My AP English Teacher Mrs Brown once told me, there are no such things as new ideas, only old ideas combined in new ways. Like paints on a canvas, they can be mixed in different, new and challenging ways but the paints are still the same colors.

My point is this, anyone can write a vampire show, anyone can write a sci-fi show, but what Joss does, how he writes, how he weaves an intricate universe that asks the important questions philosophically about who people are and what motivates us and what is the meaning of life, that's the deep stuff that keeps people coming back.

Even Dr. Horrible used a ton of musical conventions, with a complete understanding of what they are, before breaking them.

I learned while studying music (and engineering, for that matter) that the best way to know how to break the rules is to know what the rules are and then DELIBERATELY break them. 

This first episode of Dollhouse was an establishing shot. It was what the network wanted, and now the critics are calling it conventional. I have a feeling they are just being idiots, because Joss always establishes conventions before he breaks them in new and unexpected ways.

Now that Joss has created the frame for his crayon drawing in black and white, I look forward to where he puts the colors -- both inside and outside the lines.

Chris

It's all about the people - Valentine's wishes

I have a confession.  For me, Whedonverse and The Guild are only about 30-50% about the shows themselves, and the same goes for Dr Who.  In reality, it's all about the people. I'm serious, it's about the people. People are my books, which is why my Goodreads.com is so short. I love to get to know people, and to understand them.  Ironically, I am trying hard not to do what Joss Whedon says in the Commentary musical, and "pick pick pick them apart" -- because -- as he aptly points out, if you spend too much time analyzing, you miss the story!

So since so many of my Internet friends have been kind enough to give me shout outs I am going to return the favor and just rant a bit about the awesome people I've gotten to know as a result of my fandom.

@geekyfanboy - Kenny is the behind the scenes guy for The Guild and has a job at Discovery Channel as a producer.  He works probably 80 hours a week making "output", which means generating audio and video production materials for television and the net.  The Guild is his first foray into this crazy world of the Net.  We share Star Trek and Dr Who fandom -- it's hillarious that he's friends with Shawn Lyon, who runs Outpost Gallifrey, and the Doctor Who forum.  Kenny is a sensitive and interesting guy who is really passionate about television and about his fandoms.  He runs the largest Star Trek podcast on the net, the Ready Room, and is starting up a new podcast for The Guild.  

@egspoony - Edgar Garcia.  THE Edgar.  Young, motivated web designer and IT guy, always good at making friends and keeping spirits high. 

@jennipowell  - LonelyGirl15 refugee, PA on the Guild, and independent filmmaker.  Jenni takes all the big risks and is willing to do what she has to do to get by in the crazy world that is Los Angeles.  She has a winner's attitude and gives me an insight into the whole "what might have been" if I had moved to LA when I was younger and went for it. She also is hot and has red hair.

@crixlee - gamer girl, and bringer of good times.  If I had a DJ'd party, Crix would be the DJ.  If I had to have a girl over he bring the fun out, she'd be near the top of the list. End of story. She is also hot.

@worldofhiglet - an online wordsmith who is an excellent communicator and good with people, also very passionate about science fiction. Her communication skills are top notch and she is really good at keeping up her blog and writing contributions to many fan sites.  Eventually she will rule the world.

@feliciaday - There's more webpages about Felicia Day online than any human being could take the time to read.  Personally though, Felicia has been a bit of a muse, helping me to get through my personal creative barriers and not be afraid to create again.  Interviewing her was one of my highlights of 2008 -- not just because I was meeting her -- but because I was having the balls to run a panel at a con and interview a Hollywood professional who I admired.  Her connection to her fans is personal, sincere, and real, and so is she.  She's a talented writer, she's also hot and has red hair. 

@maxsummers - Everyone's favorite, witty, sensitive, fun Brazillian. I eat a kit kat in your honor.

Soma, Matthew, Dena, Nathan Tomato, Jeff Carlisle, and so many other Guildies keep spirits high during long shifts and days of watching Joss.  

My wife Jamie for putting up with all my weirdness and working hard at home and to make our personal life better.

Real life friends and coworkers for always showing me possibilities of how to make my life better.

And of course, my family and extended family for always being there for me and teaching me how to care deeply and sincerely.

Happy Valentine's everybody.

Chris

My Doctor Who regeneration dream

Last night I had a dream about Tennant's regeneration. It's actually the second scenario I've had in my mind, but this one is more interesting than the first.

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In the dream, someone has reverse engineered the fob watch and has learned how it works. They decide they want to see what makes the Doctor tick. So, they kidnap him, the TARDIS and the fob watch (having reverse-engineered all that Gallifreyan technology.) In order to find out the Doctor's greatest secret (his name?) the villan hooks up the Doctor to the fob watch and starts the process of having his essense torn away from him. Once the essence is in the watch, the watch is opened and the essense streams back into the Doctor, being intercepted by a device on the way to "read" the essence.

In this scenario, the Doctor is completely helpless to block or control the flow of information. Tennant realizes who he is again and all is well until a certain piece of information comes through the watch. The Doctor staggers, says NO! and dies.

Thus revealing that the Doctor's mystery, is a mystery even to himself, and if it is revealed to him, he dies.

So yeah. that was my dream.

And ironically, the villan gets what he wants, meaning the secret is then "out there somewhere".

You reading this, Moffatt? 

Chris F

The scifi confessional or all the series I SHOULD be watching

I have seen maybe 4 complete episodes of Battlestar Gallactica; and maybe 4 complete episodes of Babylon 5.  They are both epic, great series, and for whatever reason, I end up not watching them. I think it's because they start with a B?  But with the scheduling of BG final season against Dollhouse, maybe this will be a blessing because I'm not conflicted? I smell a DVD marathon in my future. I'm weird that way. Heroes lost me after season 1....I watched Tru Calling til its cancellation..other than that my scifi watching has been very, very sporatic! OH, and I watch Sarah Conner Chronicles..though it seems to be getting formulaic...curses, real life. Curses to you for interrupting my scifi viewing :)

What is a transhumanist?

People are crossing their eyes at this one. Transhumanists are basically people who believe humans can reach their potential -- peace, harmony, "the Singularity"..through technology. They believe that technology is a component of nature and not against nature, among other things.  They also believe in human modification by technology to extend human life. It always makes me laugh when people are "against" using human technology to extend human life and I ask them, have you ever taken medicine from the pharmacy? Antibiotics? EVER? 

For more information I suggest the Transhumanists FAQ  And it's just a piece of my beliefs not the end all and be all like the site represents it!