99% of the World’s Brains…

Here is a picture of [GaS] reader Truly as she walked through Brisbane, AU, on October 23rd for the Brisbane Zombie Walk. The picture was sent for our “Occupy Movement Turns Geek” post, but I liked it so much that I decided to post it on its own. Kudos to Kylie Shaw from SilverAya photography for the great shot!

Thanks Truly!

Twaggies: Funny Tweets Illustrated

Here are some of the latest and greatest cartoons from our friends over at Twaggies.com. Make sure you follow them on Twitter and Facebook to get your daily Twags!

Joss Whedon’s Secret Movie: Much Ado About Nothing

It started with a tweet last night – nothing but a link, from Nathan Fillion, pointing to a webpage that contains only a movie poster. “Much Ado About Nothing,” it announces, “A Film by Joss Whedon, Based on a Play.” With a list of actors – a very familiar list of actors, many of whom have starred in Whedon’s previous projects like Buffy, Angel, and Firefly. The poster also announces that principle photography has already been completed.

So did Joss Whedon really make a secret movie? It’s no secret that he’s a fan of Shakespeare, and it seems like just the sort of randomly awesome thing he would do. Actors have been coming out on Twitter to say it’s true, including Alyson Hannigan (who is married to Alexis Denisof, listed in the cast) and Sean Maher (listed in the cast).

Additionally, Pink is the New Blog has run a story that the blogger was actually an extra on the film – which includes the casting. According to that blog, here’s a partial list of who’s who!

Amy Acker (Angel, Dollhouse) – Beatrice
Alexis Denisof (Angel) – Benedict
Fran Kranz (Dollhouse) – Claudio
Jillian Morgese – Hero
Nathan Fillion (Firefly, Doctor Horrible) – Dogberry
Clark Gregg (The Avengers) – Leonato
Reed Diamond (Dollhouse) – Don Pedro
Emma Bates – Ursula
Joshua Zarr – Leonato’s Aide

Also listed on the poster are other actors who have appeared in Whedon’s shows: Sean Maher (Firefly), Tom Lenk (Buffy), Riki Lindhome (Buffy), and Ashley Johnson (Dollhouse).

Anyone else crazy excited about this prospect? It looks like the film doesn’t have a distributor yet, and I’m fully in favor of going the Dr. Horrible route and releasing online. It would be interesting to see if a feature-length film with some name actors could hold up on the format. But either way: Joss + Shakespeare? I’ll be the first in line.

New Diablo III Cinematic: The Black Soulstone [Video]

As Deckard Cain’s niece, Leah, struggles to make sense of her uncle’s mysterious and disturbing notations, she bears witness to a dark vision. Azmodan, Lord of Sin, towers over the fragile young woman, swearing his armies of the burning Hells shall pour forth into Sanctuary, ravishing the world and all hope of resistance.

[Diablo III]

Facebook: Where “Delete” is a Dirty Word

It only takes a moment’s thought to realize Facebook stores a fair amount of personal data about its users. But one man has made a formal complaint after discovering the site had kept more than a thousand pages of information about him, even though he’d “deleted” most of it.

Austrian Max Schrems has complained to the data protection commissioner in the Republic of Ireland: that’s because Facebook’s European operations are based in the country. The commissioner’s office is now investigating 22 separate allegations by Schrems that the data file breached regulations. If the case leads to criminal action, it could mean a maximum fine of €100,000 (around US$139,000.)

Schrems made the discovery after an exchange trip to California where he heard a Facebook executive give a lecture. That sparked him to exercise his rights under European regulations to get a copy of all data stored about him by a company operating on the continent. Facebook mailed him a CD containing the data, which Schrems has now published online, with personal details blanked out.

While Schrems believes the details he was given are not the complete set of data, the amount of information is staggering. It falls into 57 categories and, to put it simply, it’s safest to assume that everything you’ve ever typed, clicked or viewed has been recorded forever, even when you’ve specifically deleted it.

But even with that philosophy in mind, there are still some details you might not expect to be listed:

e-mail addresses linked to you, even if you’ve never submitted them and instead another users has imported it from their own address book;
details of every event you’ve been invited to, even if you declined the invitation or simply didn’t respond;
every friend request you’ve received, even if you rejected it;
details of every time you logged into Facebook, including the IP address you used;
details of pictures in which you have been tagged, even if you’ve explicitly untagged it (in this case the information is “deactivated” not deleted);
lists of every Facebook friend you’ve ever had, even those you’ve “unfriended”; and
everything posted on your wall, including posts you’ve deleted.

Schrems also notes this is far more detail than is available through Facebook’s own utility for users to download a “personal archive” of their activity through the site, rather than making a legal request. Facebook said it only provided personal data, in line with the law governing such requests, and that it is not obliged to share other information with a user.

It should be noted that Facebook’s own terms of service allow it to use data even after a user deletes their account. Of course, while that’s a contractual agreement between Facebook and the user, it doesn’t necessarily override laws or regulations.