lintonchiswick.org

On BigString

… and email for the paranoid.

Top 100 foreign-language films

Film (in fact, arts) blogger Edward Copeland balloted experts, fans, readers for a list of their favourite foreign-language films. Nothing more recent than 2002 was eligible, and they had to be dramas (rather than documentaries) and feature-length. He's counted up, created a list of one hundred and - if you like lists - it's a good read. The top ten (starting at 10, and counting down, Top Of The Pops-style):

• The 400 Blows
• The Battle of Algiers
• Aguirre, The Wrath of God
• Grand Illusion
• Persona
• Bicycle Thieves
• 8½
• M
• The Seven Samurai
• The Rules of the Game

See the whole list here.

On MediaDefender

... and the effect of egg on face.

Art Pepper... YouTube find

Some rare video of Art Pepper embracing the 60s.

On Chinese hackers

... and Western governments, here.

On Citizendium

... in the light of WikiScanner, here.

Spike Lee to judge online film festival

According to this in Variety he's using his Venice time to promote Babelgum, a Joost-style TV-over-IP service that's positioning itself at the quality-end of broadcasting by launching a film fest for high-end short films. Lee will be judging, and Babelgum appears to be walking the difficult fine line between Web 2.0 democratisation and trash. Babelgum insist they're not in the user-generated content business and their rules for submission even specify a short needs to have been shown at a bona fide realtime festival to qualify for the online festival (although Spike Lee has apparently made noises about having this changed). Submissions are open from September 15 to February 15. Online viewers will vote through the first selection, before Spike Lee and other jurors take over. Meanwhile Babelgum's showing material from the Rushes Soho Shorts Festival. Can't comment on content since it's Windows XP-only and guess what? I'm on a Mac.