We're down to the last 25-50 spots or so to fill, and there's stlil over 200 people in the moderation queue. Crap.

I'm looking to fill this party with people with awesome stories to tell, and sweet things to show off. The goal is that any random person you meet at the party will be able to strike up an awesome, memorable conversation.

Of course, there's only so much I can infer from the hopefuly guest's company and comment. So if you're not on the guest list right now, and think you deserve one of the remaining spots, EMAIL ME ASAP.

Talk about too much of a good thing. (And a nice alternative to coffee for getting the ole brain warmed up this morning.) For your amusement, here's a glimpse at the massive pileup that has accumulated over the night in the party site's backend/guest queue: Continue reading...

Update: If any of you readers are SF residents are know the city well / want to help out planning the party, feel free to hit me up on AIM. (VCard to your right.)

"The "Delicious Generation" is a breed of young developers who embrace interface experimentation and brash marketing. The term "Delicious Generation" was meant as an insult, but they wear it as a badge of honor." - Leander Kahney, Scott Gilbertson, Wired.com

I think it's fair to say that this is the most substantial article so far about, well, "us". The Delicious Generation. And the cool news is, it's super positive. Oh, and Wired apparently thinks it's a pretty big story. (Edit: Apparently digg users think so too.) Sorry Apple.

I've kinda kept quiet for months, through a lot of public shitting on us by certain individuals. I feel that, as a 19 year old student, I handled this pretty maturely, keeping my cool. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, you might want to check this Wired.com article out as a refresher course on the "Heist controversy", and this lovely post by Paul Kafasis that sparked the Delicious Generation controversy. In it, he talks about making positive steps for fixing the schism in the Mac community, while simultaneously making grandiose, vicious statements like this one: "Disco's smoke effect is now infamous for being a sign of the fall of the Mac." (Oh really Paul? And who exactly said that... BEFORE your post?) What makes it worse, is that, from a marketing perspective, I can make a real case that the controversy was designed to boost sales for his apps. (I mean, he IS marketing for Rogue Amoeba.) If you don't believe me, check out his next post put up a few days later. Yeah, it's just a list of his apps. Great blogging material there.

So anyway, we've actually been working on an amazing Delicious Generation party over the past couple weeks. And we're actually trying to, well, piece together the schisms in the community, repair burned bridges, that sort of deal. There are Apple people showing up. Reps from Yahoo. Youtube. For Digg fans, Kevin Rose will be chilling. And of course, the best of the best in Mac indie software development, showcasing their latest and greatest, and demoing some awesome, upcoming stuff. The generation's Godfather, Wil Shipley of Delicious Library fame, will of course be making an appearance as well. We're working hard to make this an unbelievable party (no cover fee!) for you guys, and that's with an open bar, great food, free t-shirts and live jazz. Yeah, we're just ballers like that. (Just kidding. Thank the sponsors.)

It's going to be awesome. And now, to take my five minutes of vindication here. Paul Kafasis, I assume you will be at the conference. In which case, if you have the balls to RSVP and show up, I'll offer up the microphone for a few minutes, to say whatever you please. Look, you left a flaming bag of shit at our door, and here I am, tossing toilet paper at your house. I am offering an opportunity here for you to say a few words, crack a few jokes, and make peace. You do that, and I will once again have respect for you.

So I hope to see everyone there. Aaaand, I'm out for the night. Good times indeed.

A note: Please don't take any offense if you, well, can't get in. The venue is small, and honestly, I'm expecting a lot of RSVP's. So apologies in advance to those who will get kinda shafted on this. Lesson learned: get a bigger venue next time.

Update: Well, this is interesting. I wake up from a nap, and this post is on the digg front page. I guess something about this struck a nerve, I'm currently reading through almost 200 pretty heated comments, and I'm still not believing that this post has nearly 1500 diggs. Cool stuff!

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As we near the end of the month, the endings to three of Hollywood's biggest modern megafranchises have come to pass. First was Spiderman 3, and let's be honest, it kinda sucked. (Sorry Toby, but you ain't Johnny Depp. You're a good actor, but that doesn't mean you can pull off "cool". Don't you EVER try pulling off goofy stuff like those venom suit scenes again.) Then came Shrek the Third, which sucked slightly less, or at least, had fewer scenes that had me crying in tears of pain, fear, and disappointment. (In all seriousness, the "venom suit" scenes in Spiderman may've seriously damaged my psyche. Am I the only one who imagined all the extras cracking up as soon as Toby Maguire walked beyond their line of sight?)

Yeah, you know where this is going. Because the Rottentomatoes score is kind of... well, disappointing, to say the least. And there's only so much Johnny Depp can do to buoy the boat afloat. And hey, it's a Bruckheimer/Disney movie. Of course they're going to whore the franchise out. Or... maybe not. Because I have a surprise.

Guess what?

Pirates doesn't suck. In fact, it's actually pretty sick, in a good way.

Yes, Pirates is lumbering, and effects laden, and may be full of hack writing and ridiculously convoluted plot conventions. But don't forget, that's what made the first Pirates so balls out entertaining and fresh. The perfect blend of popcorn fun, and the rewardingly brainbusting plot twists that probably initially had studio execs crying tears of frustration. Then again, we're talking the same execs who greenlighted a movie based on an amusement park ride. Which I would've vetoed. What do I know? (By the way Gore, if you're reading this, how the hell did you get those guys to swallow this up? "Hey look, guys, I wouldn't worry, the Nascar demographics will have fun too, even if they don't quite get everything"?)

Pirates 2 had the formula slightly off, though I will say, after watching 3, I'm willing to forgive 2 for a lot of things.

Yeah, so anyway. To sum it up, it's pitch-perfect popcorn fun. Look, even I still don't believe it. So to convince myself that I'm not high off of Bruckheimer's CGI fumes, I worked on a list. Here are ten reasons why Pirates 3 actually kicked ass:

Disclaimer: Spoilers ahoy.

1. Geoffrey Rush: The best part of the trailer to this movie is when Captain Barbosa is cackling as his ship careens towards Calypso's whirlpool. How ridiculously badass is that? Please, give this guy an Oscar. And Geoff, if that Oscar doesn't work out for you, I give you the Phill Ryu Award for "Most Badass Portrayal of a Pirate Ever" award. Congrats. (By the way, it was totally sweet how you stole Pirates 2 with about two seconds of screen-time. Thanks for popping in at the end and making us all realize how much Pirates 2 kinda blew without you.)

2. Being Jack Sparrow: One of the most hilariously inspired scenes in movie history is in Being John Malkovich, when John enters his own mind. Ok, so imagine that scene, but with Jack Sparrow. Tons of them, babbling at each other, arguing, shooting each other in the face. Ludicrous, hilarious.... and pure awesome, bottled down to its natural form. Yes, it's Johnny Depp metaphorically jacking off, but you can't blame him. I mean, hey, who doesn't love Jack Sparrow and his rum problem. Pirates 3, particularly said scene, begs the question, can you really have too much of Jack Sparrow? (The answer, of course, is a resounding no.)

3. The Tell-Tale Heart: Davy Jones... where to begin? Let's forget about the state of the art CGI for a second, and ignore that pretty, tentacled face. We find Davy Jones with his heart held hostage (literally) in Pirates 3 to the evil East India Trading Company, having been forced to kill his beloved pet, the Kraken. And it only gets more complicated from there. But by the end, Davy Jones is one of the most sympathetic characters ever displayed on screen in a popcorn flick, with MUCH more depth than a blockbuster movie villain deserves. I'm talking Darth Vader depth. (Speaking of which, watch out for that slimy India Trading Company dude, Lord Beckett, just when you think he couldn't get slimy enough.... he redeems himself. And it's awesome.) By the way, Davy Jones also gets possibly the single most badass scene in the movie. You won't be believing it as it happens, second by second. You'll be shitting yourself. I won't ruin it for you. (However, I will say, if you're all icky about squids, prepare to be traumatized.) And as sick as it may sound, man am I craving some calamari right now.

4. Backstabbing and plot twists by the barrel. You savvy?: There's so much backstabbing here, and so many unexpected twists and turns, that it honestly, at times, gets overwhelming. And this is probably the most common claim leveraged against the movie by its critics. But don't get your panties in a bunch like them (who, by the way, I tend to agree with, at least about Shrek and Spiderman). However, that having been said, believe it or not, the twists and turns do work out. (Mostly.) I've seen the movie twice, and it does make sense; a lot more sense the second time around. And, you know what? I love movies that require a second viewing, books that I pick up again right after finishing the last page. I wish I could erase my memory and watch this movie again, fresh experience, because the twists and turns had me at the edge of my seat for nearly three hours. Remember the climactic back and forth plot hilarity in the first movie involving the titular curse? Remember how those sort of hijinks SHOULD'VE happened but didn't in Pirates 2, with Davy Jones' curse and the Kraken? It happens in spades here, and boy is it fun.

5. More pirates: And that's totally a good thing. Because, remember the golden rule of yarr (which, admittedly, I just made up): More pirates equals more badassery. Chow Yun Fat is incredibly badass as an Asian pirate lord, but honestly, the number of badass pirates in this movie approaches a point that I can only describe as ludicrous. And believe it or not, no, Chow Yun Fat is NOT the most badass of the new pirates, even though Chow Yun Fat IS the most badass living Asian currently in existence. Chew on that for a bit. The crown for the most badass new pirate goes to...

6. Keith Richards as Jack Sparrow's dad: 'nuf said.

7. The Pirates universe: What other movie could possibly dare to feature monkeys in rice farmer hats setting off fireworks in a pirate den in Singapore, pirate warlords from the corners of the earth banding together under the pirate's code, the visual spectacle of the giant, rotting corpse of the Kraken, and Barbosa cackling as the Black Pearl plunges towards the whirlpool, meanwhile making gazillions of dollars at the box office and jumpstarting the careers of dozens of Johnny Depp impersonators? What a perfect mix of ridiculousness, fantasy, badasses, and humor. See, one reason why this all works, is because it doesn't take itself too seriously. Which brings me to point

8. Humor: It's still there. Blink, and jokes will fly by, visual or verbal. The humor is often hilarious, and almost always on mark. I can't think of a single really painfully bad joke in there.

9. CGI set pieces: I mean, obviously they've gotta be there. Here's how Jerry Bruckheimer might've proposed one of the movie's big fights.

"I want a fight with hundreds of badass pirate ships firing on and boarding each other. I want Davy Jones and Jack Sparrow dueling it out in the middle of this fight, with Davy's CGI tentacles playing a pivotal role, and lightning striking left and right. And I want all of this going on in a giant whirlpool, that's sucking these ships up."

Glad I wasn't the effects guy in charge of that.

The set pieces are sweet, and even considering my expectations on that front (very, very high), they more than deliver. Forget about Pirates 2, this is the real deal.

10. An ending that doesn't suck, or drag far longer than it has any right to, just like this bullet item: Yes, it has a long ending. And yes, long endings in general suck. Hey, I loved Return of the King, but the extended ending just became painful. Only reason I was able to keep my cool while sitting through it was because Peter Jackson poured his life into it, and hey, I'll give the man 20 minutes to putz around before really finishing it off. (If it isn't clear, I thought ROTK was a pretty classy finale to an awesome trilogy.)

The good news is, Pirates ends well. Honestly, it ends gracefully. I kept alternating between "I hope this doesn't end", and "Oh sweet, I hope it ends on this sweet note" about ten times. That's a great thing, and ultimately why I left the theater glowing, sat down, and wrote this. There is rarely a better feeling than seeing such an epic quantity and range of loose ends neatly, masterfully tied.

By the way, THIS is how you end a mega franchise. Hats off Gore Verbinski, and for not dropping the ball like, um, everyone else this month. You may be a hack, but you're the best of the class. The hack to end all hacks. Bravo.

PS, how hilarious is it that while this movie definitely cements Keira Knightley as our generation's "it" girl (wait until you see her in the film's last few minutes, yowza), Orlanda Bloom's potential chance for sex symbol status gets shafted by a Keith Richards impersonating Depp? Then again, I also consider Orlando Bloom to be the luckiest man in Hollywood, and possibly the luckiest man alive. Two mega franchises without acting chops? You and Gore should team up on another movie. And I'm not even kidding either. I'd watch it. And since I love giving out fake awards, Orlando Bloom, take honor in receiving the Phill Ryu Award for being "The Luckiest Sonofabitch Alive".

PPS, yeah I realize I already screwed up. Say hello to reason #11 why this movie kicks ass: the soundtrack. Mad props to Hans Zimmer, definitely his best since Gladiator. Though a ton of credit goes to Klaus Badelt for the original movie soundtrack. (Who is this guy, Klaus?)

PPPS, the more I think of it, the more I realize Gore Verbinski is, in his own, hack way, a genius. Why? I came out of Pirates 2 last summer absolutely disappointed, and thinking it was sort of shit. And a lot of people agreed with me, but whatever, the movie still made bank. But now, despite what I still recognize as huge, huge flaws, I'm starting to feel an affinity for Dead Man's Chest because of this movie. Maybe it wasn't actually that bad. I'm gonna have to watch it again. Crazy. And I suppose, here I am, harping about Pirates

Agree? Or disagree? If you have some strong opinions or intelligent thoughts, feel free to comment, and digg it if you enjoyed the article. Oh, and shoutout to Will for the cool images.

A bunch of people groupthinking up some crazy theories, or are they on to something? For those who enjoy teasers, sneak peaks, and early invites, check out the ongoing discussion on the Heist forums.

Something different, fresh, and highly flammable. More details to come.

Guess what? Things are stirring again. Actually, they've been stirring for a while, but I've had to keep quiet about most of them. I'm planning some huge updates to the site though in the upcoming week or two.

For any MDA fans out there, if you missed it, we're running a developer competition now to select the right developers for Season 2. And if you're a developer, you'll definitely want to check it out.

MacThemes 2... is out! Huge props to Ricky, Johnny and Dave for pulling it off, and kudos to David Lanham and Renn of Atacama Design for the great design refresh. The front page is now active again with a reallly excited news staff, so while I'm taking things pretty hands off, I'll be looking forward to reading all the new content.

MacHeist? Well... it's over, I guess. But it's a long break between now and the next one. Maybe we'll think of something to fill that hiatus up.

There's other stuff coming up, and I'll be making efforts soon to get some more discussion going between me and you guys. But for now, the blog is definitely continuing in hibernation. (I have over 10,000 comments in moderation, mostly spam. I don't even know where to begin.) Stick with the twitter feed for updates.

As MacHeist is underway, I thought I'd share with you guys a little peek into its design process.

As John Casasanta, Scott Meinzer and I began to finalize details on Heist a couple months ago, we realized that what we were going for (spy themed, campy stories, etc.) would require an extremely capable web designer with a distinctive style. This had to look different from all the forums and blogs out there. It had to look amazing. And it had to be designed fast.

So my first pick for the project was Adam Betts, who I had worked with previously on the original design for MacThemes. What he had created for MacThemes, in my opinion, was fresh nearly three years ago, and is still fresh today. And the amazing thing was, he had come up with the general visual idea and details in a matter of days. So, after a few days of chatting with him, I convinced him to join the project, and he got to work.

Below are a few snapshots from the process over roughly two weeks (click for full size):

Notice something? Adam had the fundamental pieces of the design nailed from the beginning. And from there, it was a matter of relatively minor changes. (Combo code entry, site background, etc.)

Of course the design job isn't over quite yet... but I think it's safe to say that people are loving what Adam came up with. Major props to him.

Voila, the final product

A little over two months ago, I previewed an upcoming YouTube client by my friend Steve Streza. The app is still upcoming, but it's a lot closer to release, and taking a cue from some mutual friends, Steve is taking preorders for his app, now renamed Tubular. (CBS threatened suit for InnerTube.)

Before you kill him about the presale, it's worth noting that in this case, you guys actually do know what you're digging into your wallets for. Plus, Steve is hoping he can continue development on a bit more robust of a development platform than his aging G4 iBook.

While the name has changed, Tubular is still very much the app it was promised to be. It features extremely slick YouTube video browsing (couchpotatos will love keyboard navigation), easy video organization by drag and drop, and one click video conversion for playback of your favorite videos on your iPod.

As always with presales, it's a bit of a risk to purchase the app before it's released. But there are, of course, some perks. The price on the blog for interested people is $12.99. (I've been told it'll sell for $19.99 when 1.0 is released.) But hardcore YouTubing blog readers can grab this for $9.99 by clicking here. Enjoy! (Digg it!