The twisted and bizarre got weekly airtime in Rod Serling’s sci-fi anthology, the Twilight Zone. The yet-to-be matched creep factor of the Twilight Zone is still used to measure all else unexplainable, from the X-Files to Lost to Twilight Zone remakes trying to capture the diversity of the 1959 series. The Twilight Zone ran 156 episodes exploring the end of the world, super powers, time travel, and alien encounters all with unexpected twists alluding to some alternate reality where everything ends up sucking. It’s one of the best TV shows ever. Because it’s so easy to identify with.

The Economist has two articles showing the lighter side of piracy, reveal how media and software companies are using file-sharing systems to help their businesses.

Music companies find out which bands are popular using file-sharing statistics tracked by companies like BigChampagne.  These statistics help decide tour locations and target advertising dollars.

Movie and TV companies are using file-sharing statistics from BigChampagne to set advertising rates for online video sites like Hulu.

Software also benefits, as Bill Gates says “It’s easier for our software to compete with Linux when there’s piracy than when there’s not.”  90 percent of PCs in China use Windows from mostly pirated sources. Gates recognizes long term revenue increases from loyal Microsoft users than if the company fought piracy, pushing companies to free alternatives.

While admitting piracy helps their businesses, these companies continue to fight file-sharing in every possible way.  Piracy needs to stop being scapegoated, but rather embraced as a competitor - something to learn from and beat at its own game.

[Via Against Monopoly]

This fall, I will be pursuing my masters at the University of Chicago. I’ll be studying much of what I blogged about, specifically new media and mass communication.  In three weeks, I’ll move from Boston to Chicago for an exciting new chapter in my life.

Prodigeek will be regularly updated all school year, though my regular columns will be lessened. In addition to all the great content I’ll already write, I’ll also have lots of school assignments to share, so yay for us all.

For now, I’m excited and extremely stressed (I hate moving). I only know three people in the entire city, so if anyone knows anyone, I’m on the friends market.  Other than that, I’m looking to beat several of my few hundred unfinished video games. 100 hours of Oblivion down, only 100 more to go.

Republican presidential candidate John McCain has been open about his lack of computer knowledge, saying “I am an illiterate that has to rely on my wife for all of the assistance that I can get.” He adds he’s “learning to get online” and “will have that down fairly soon.” He doesn’t read email and won’t blog. McCain’s aide Mark Soohoo added “you don’t have to use a computer to understand how it shapes the country.”

Is that true? With so many technology issues going unaddressed or made worse with bad legislation, can we support a politician who isn’t fully informed.

Politicians, especially presidential candidates, should have a familiarity with the major technology trends, issues, and debates much like they would any other field from energy to foreign policy. I don’t expect candidates to design their own web pages or develop PHP applications, but using email and and search engines should be second nature.

The United States has no broadband policy, an out-of-date legal system unable to cope with online issues, and a steam of misinformation about security and privacy risks all likely do to a legislative body uneducated on the driving force of the world economy.  Politicians should know more than the average person because they have to make decisions that affect everyone else. Advisors are there to help filter the information, but some knowledge needs to come from the politicians, otherwise how can we trust they’ll make good decisions.

And admitting you don’t know something 73 percent of Americans use regular isn’t a good decision.

Annoying brothers and sisters affect even the greatest heroes and villains of comic book world.  These pairs (and quartet) of spandex wearing freaks make sibling rivalry a moral lesson for us all, and page filler until the next battle.  These are the siblings worth watching fight and frolic, no matter the awkwardness.

7. Starmen, Jack and David Knight

The original Starman, Ted Knight, had two loving sons with different take’s on their father’s career choice. David quickly followed his father into super heroics while Jack looked down on the colorful profession. After their father’s old foe, the Mist, murdered David did Jack take over the Starman mantle. With the Cosmic Staff and a pair of goggles, Jack Knight fought crime with the annual assistance of his brother’s ghost, who imparted wisdom from the beyond to help Jack foil the doers of evil.

6. Northstar and Aurora

Canadian super-siblings Northstar and Aurora spent most of their youth separated after their parents’ death. The two coincidently reunited as members of Canadian super-team Alpha Flight, discovering they earn bonus super powers when in physical contact. When the two touched, they emitted a beam of light that made people feel happy and peaceful. How sweet. The power didn’t work on themselves, however, since they had a falling out leading Aurora to augment her powers so she never needed to touch her gay brother again. Homophobe.

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No one asks super hero movies to make sense, something the Superman movie took a little too far. Superman stops one of two missiles launched by Lex Luthor, but the second hits the west coast of the United States causing a massive earthquake. Superman tries to slow the damage, but isn’t fast enough to save Lois Lane. Enraged, Superman flies into space and begins circling the Earth, reversing the planet’s spin which, somehow, turns time backward. Superman saves Lois, but didn’t care to stop the missile. Just goes to show movie Superman is just selfish.

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The most expensive movie at its time, Total Recall cemented Arnold Schwarzenegger’s stardom, rejuvenated Sharon Stone’s career, and frankly didn’t accomplish anything good. These faults aside, Total Recall adapted the Phillip K. Dick story “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale” making for a blockbuster with lots of philosophy (Matrix much?). Schwarzenegger’s mind wiped hero searching for answers tackled many violent and special effect laden sequences, from the thrilling mind meld to ripping a tacking device out through his nose.

Though her recent comics have been a series of financial misses, Vampirella’s introduction into the comic book world drastically changed how super heroines acted. Instead of the good girls like Phoenix and Wonder Woman, Vampirella imitated the ruthless, bloodlust that male characters like Wolverine introduced. She was the first female character to not uphold the wholesome views for women. She killed. The “bad girl” trend came to conquer the women of comics; they now had attitude and were prepared to fight on the same level as the men.

Video games can take years to make but hours to beat and once you’re done, you can just toss them aside like pointless Gamecube. This is why some avid gamers began modifying their video games, adding new features, weapons, characters, and sometimes even creating all new games. Modding, thanks to the internet, has become a massive influence on the video game industry, attracting game developers to including modding software with their retail games. Doom was one of the first games with a large modding community, even releasing Master Levels for Doom collecting the best mods. Counter-Strike, a total modification of Half-Life, achieved success on its own, being released as a stand-alone game in retail. Mods allow gamers to fulfill their need for copyright infringement and porn to exist in their favorite games, helping bridge all their interests into one, lovable package.

Few movies mix alien attacks and gender politics as well as Alien. The 1979’s blockbuster spawned a popular franchise, revolutionary story-telling techniques, and one of the most memorable scenes in science fiction history. Alien used the uniquely strong and challenging female lead, Ellen Riply (Sigourney Weaver), to tell the story of a space mining mission gone wrong. One of the ships crew, Kane (John Hurt) gets attacked by a tiny alien critter. The critter is killed and the Kane gets better. Yay. But from all the spoofs, references, and often imitated scenes, you know what happens next. Kane, while eating, gets what he thinks is some severe heart burn but is actually the alien hatching inside of him, ripping through his chest to break free. This shocking and unforgettable moment is just the beginning of the horror and suspense Alien provided. Because the baby that hatched quickly grew up.