Tech-savvy Ghostface stalks Scream

Ghostface is back on the big screen, for the first time in a decade, but sadly not for Halloween!

Following four films and a television spin-off series, which was much more fun than I expected, the fifth film instalment in the iconic slasher franchise promises to pit a tech-savvy Ghostface against our long-suffering heroes.



Here's the official synopsis:

"Twenty-five years after a streak of brutal murders shocked the quiet town of Woodsboro, a new killer has donned the Ghostface mask and begins targeting a group of teenagers to resurrect secrets from the town’s deadly past. Neve Campbell (“Sidney Prescott”), Courteney Cox (“Gale Weathers”) and David Arquette (“Dewey Riley”) return to their iconic roles in Scream alongside Melissa Barrera, Kyle Gallner, Mason Gooding, Mikey Madison, Dylan Minnette, Jenna Ortega, Jack Quaid, Marley Shelton, Jasmin Savoy Brown, and Sonia Ammar."

Scream is exclusively in cinemas on 14th January.

Are you looking forward to Scream? Let me know in the comments below.

Party of Five

Currently watching Party of Five season one. Its signature familial dramas resonate more pointedly than they did a decade ago! Aside from the supernatural sibling synergy and canny casting. Seeing Lost's Matthew Fox, with long hair, requires adjustment. Here's the cover of the new Girls Aloud album Chemisty. Now tell me that Cheryl Tweedy doesn't look like Neve Campbell?



The second single, Biology, is an ambitious melding of backbeat meets Motown and I'm loving it!

The new Pace box arrived this afternoon (well within 24 hours) and eschews the 'bulk' of its predecessors in favor of Apple-influenced design couture. It sports USB 2.0, but I'll go into further detail at the weekend.

Can I Have It Like That

After reading a 4 star review of Rachel Stevens' new album, Come And Get It, in Friday's Guardian. I procured a copy and it's the most audacious, chic and eclectic collection of pop songs since Gwen Stefani's Love, Angel, Music, Baby! The Sunday Times concurs! An amusing anecdote. A photo of Ms Stevens adorned my Windows NT desktop at Dow Jones Reuters (before brand hegemony infiltrated every pixel) and a member of staff wondered if Rachel was my wife? If only...

Watching the Girls Aloud videography in iTMS, I noticed how much Cheryl Tweedy looks like Neve Campbell!

Added additional Doctor Who titles to the DVD collection. Claws Of Axos and Revelation Of The Daleks. The former is a by the numbers Pertwee yarn and the latter is a macabre masterpiece. Aside from the digital restoration and edible extras, the new disc art is welcome.

Version 2.0 of the Atari 2600 emulator has been released for Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows. This new version of Stella contains a wealth of improvements. Some highlights are listed below:

*Fully-integrated UI
*New ROM Launcher
*Integrated Debugger
*New Sound Subsystem
*Added ZIP Support
*Added Cartridge "Frying"

With the advent of Halloween comes Castlevania! This year Akumajo Dracula - Chi No Rondo (for PC Engine/TG-16 Super CD-ROM² System) should provide the requisite console chills. Considered by many as the definitive entry in the long-lasting franchise.

The Craft

Catch Scream 2 (1997) last evening on Channel 4? There was a time when Neve Campbell adorned magazine covers around the globe, and the desktop of a former Dow Jones Reuters online journalist (whom writes this very blog)! Here's a picture that captures an idyllic era.



A year after Apple announced that Dashboard would debut with Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger, Yahoo! buys Konfabulator as part of its search services 'land grab'. From today the widget application is available gratis here. Regardless of this step, Yahoo! please update your IM client for Macintosh before Google consigns you to a cached page footnote. Actually, an IM widget would be an excellent idea.

Arlo Rose, part of the duo behind Konfabulator, continues to attest that Apple aped 'his' widget idea. They're from Apple's 1984 Macintosh. Remember desk accessories Arlo? It maybe overkill for Tiger users to include Konfabulator in the Dock. To quote the Dr Pepper slogan - "You've got to try it to love it".

Tomorrow should witness new announcements concerning Apple's iBook and Mini lines. I'd like to see the addition of nVIDIA GPUs to the diminutive desktop line.

Silver Shamrock

Happy Halloween. Whatever you're doing to mark the occasion (or nothing at all) have fun! This evening I'll be watching seminal horror movies, getting down with ghouls n' ghosts, and playing Castlevania.

In keeping with the season, here's a photo of the bewitching Love Hewitt (I Know What You Did Last Summer, 1997). Alongside fellow Party of Five alumni Neve Campbell, Love capitalized on the slasher movie renaissance of the mid to late '90s.