Jurassic Park is one of my favorite movies ever. Lost World was a pretty good sequel. I even didn’t hate Jurassic Park III.

So when I heard a fourth Jurassic Park movie was in the works for summer 2006, I was very excited. Especially since there are rumors the movie will continue from where the Lost World left off, skipping over the tepid third installment and possibly starring Keira Knightley!

(Ed.– You may think this post is about movies, but its really just a pop-culturally disguised English lesson. Really, keep reading to see what I mean…)

All of this got me thinking about what I should call the Jurassic Park Trilogy after the fourth movie comes out. It turns out there’s a word for a set of four sequential movies: a quadrilogy.

It also turns out that quadrilogy is only a word according to the Urban Dictionary that was coined by FOX for their release of the Alien movies.

The actual word for a set of four sequential movies is a tetralogy. So we should all get used to calling the “JP” series, The Jurassic Park Tetralogy.

If they were to add a fifth movie, then we’ll be in trouble, since I can’t seem to find a word for a set of five movies. How disappointing!

Here are some slang words people have come up with for sequential series found online:
# pentology (5)
# hexology / sextology (6)
# heptology / septology (7)
# octology (8)
# nonology (9)
# decology / decalogy (10)

And here’s some I just made up:
# cincology (5)
# novology (9)

And in case you read this far, my favorite dinosaur is the Allosaurus, which lived during the Jurassic period, of course.

A video of security contractors shooting at civilians in Iraq has surfaced online.

‘Trophy’ video exposes private security contractors shooting up Iraqi drivers:

A “trophy” video appearing to show security guards in Baghdad randomly shooting Iraqi civilians has sparked two investigations after it was posted on the internet, the Sunday Telegraph can reveal.

The video has sparked concern that private security companies, which are not subject to any form of regulation either in Britain or in Iraq, could be responsible for the deaths of hundreds of innocent Iraqis.

The Security Contractor ‘Trophy’ Video was posted by a blog called Barenuckle Politics.

If it is authentic, it highlights the worst of the hundreds of private contractors currently in Iraq.

If you watch the video, the location definitely seems looks authentic. But there’s no way to verify who was actually in the car shooting — either the video or the gun.

RELATED: Looks like the Bush Administration may have caught on that an exit strategy is needed in Iraq!

Evan Williams has some great advice for people interested in creating their own web startups.

Here’s the overview of Ten Rules for Web Startups:

#1: Be Narrow
#2: Be Different
#3: Be Casual
#4: Be Picky
#5: Be User-Centric
#6: Be Self-Centered
#7: Be Greedy
#8: Be Tiny
#9: Be Agile
#10: Be Balanced

Go ahead, read the whole thing. The list is pretty spot-on.

As well it should be, considering Ev has created two very successful startups — a little thing called Blogger and a new thing called Odeo.

Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey have split up, after months of speculation that their relationship was over.

Simpson, Lachey ‘part ways’:

The couple announced their separation Wednesday.

“After three years of marriage, and careful thought and consideration, we have decided to part ways,” they said in a joint statement released by their publicists. “This is the mutual decision of two people with an enormous amount of respect and admiration for each other.” […]

The couple wed in October 2002, back when they were known simply as pop singers. But Simpson hadn’t achieved the multiplatinum successes of peers Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, while Lachey was a member of the boy band 98 Degrees, which sold far fewer albums than such acts as ‘N Sync and Backstreet Boys.

Happy Thanksgiving, everybody! Well, except for Nick Lachey, I guess…

Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!

I hope you are enjoying the holiday with the people you love.

And, even if your life sucks and everday is full of one annoyance after the other, that you take a break today and reflect on what you are thankful for regardless of all the crap that may go on in your life.

And above all, watch out for those pesky out-of-control Thanksgiving parade balloons!

The Electronic Freedom Foundation (EFF) and the state of Texas sued Sony BMG Monday for selling copy-protected music CDs that installed spyware on customers’ computers.

Sony BMG Sued Over CD Spyware:

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said it was the first lawsuit filed under the state’s Consumer Protection Against Computer Spyware Act of 2005. He accused Sony BMG of installing files on consumers’ computers without their owners’ knowledge and which hide other files installed by Sony. The state is seeking civil penalties of $100,000 for each violation of the law, attorneys’ fees and investigative costs.

“Sony has engaged in a technological version of cloak-and-dagger deceit against consumers by hiding secret files on their computers,” Abbott said. “Consumers who purchased a Sony CD thought they were buying music. Instead, they received spyware that can damage a computer, subject it to viruses and expose the consumer to possible identity crime.”

Abbott’s office investigated the matter and found that ”this technology revealed that it remains hidden and active at all times after installation, even when Sony’s media player is inactive, prompting concerns about its true purpose,” according to the suit.

Sony blew it big time and it seems like it will take a very long time for consumers to trust them again, if ever.

And, as if installing “invisible” spyware programs onto unsuspecting customers’ computers wasn’t bad enough, the Sony spyware was installed even if people selected “no” in the install dialog!

Christina Aguilera married music executive Jordan Bratman Saturday night in California.

Aguilera Reportedly Marries Music Exec:

Christina Aguilera has found out what a girl wants, and now she’s married him. The 24-year-old pop singer tied the knot with music executive Jordan Bratman in a Saturday evening ceremony at Staglin Family Vineyard in northern California’s Napa Valley, Us Weekly reported on its Web site.

Sources told the magazine that Aguilera, her hair decorated in jewels and pulled back in a bun topped by white flowers, walked down the aisle in a Christian Lacroix gown. The couple exchanged rings in front of about 130 guests.

Now that all of the hottest pop singers are married — Jessica Simpson, Britney Spears, and Christina Aguilera — who’s left to pretend to be married to? Oh well, I wish Christina happiness in her marriage and Jordan all the “dirrrrty”-ness he’s always wanted…

Grokster has agreed to cease distribution of their file-sharing software as part of a settlement in a lawsuit against them by the Recording Industry of America. But don’t think that means the online music wars are over…

Grokster Calls It Quits on Sharing Music Files:

Grokster, a developer of file-swapping software used to trade copyrighted music and movie files, said Monday that it would halt distribution of the software and cut off support for its associated network as part of a landmark settlement with the recording industry and Hollywood studios.

The pact comes four months after the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Grokster could be held liable for copyright infringement by users of its software, a decision that delivered a decisive victory for entertainment companies, particularly music labels, which have blamed widespread digital piracy for a worldwide slump in sales. […]

While Grokster is disappearing in its original form, the underlying case that culminated in the Supreme Court showdown may continue. Grokster’s co-defendant in the case, Streamcast Networks, the promoter of a file-sharing network known as Morpheus, has indicated it plans to keep battling the movie studios and record labels in court.

So Grokster has given up (has anyone used Grokster to download music since 1999?), but the battle between file-sharing companies and the RIAA continues.

Of course, file-sharing has continually increased while the RIAA has been suing it’s customers and anybody else they can blame.

More broadly, the popularity of file-sharing networks shows little sign of waning in the wake of the settlement or the earlier court decision. An estimated 9.2 million people are using various so-called peer-to-peer networks at any one time, according to BigChampagne, a data service. The figure has edged up from 8.8 million in June.

So is there a point to all this, beyond scare tactics?

The RIAA has started suing file-sharing networks in Australia and South Korea and has sued over 15,000 individuals.

As we reported earlier, one person has chosen to fight back: Tanya Andersen, a 41 year old disabled single mother living in Oregon. (More on her as that case develops.)

RELATED: Do podcasts have to worry they will be sued next by the RIAA?

*NYU to Ban Killer Coke: New York University will ban Coca-Cola from campus on December 8th (joining 19 other colleges), unless the company agrees to an independent investigation into conditions at a Columbian bottling plant. And this November 9th, NYU graduate students and teaching assistants plan to strike over the right to unionize.

*Blogs and Dogs Conference: Alberta, Canada will play host to a blogging conference called Blogs and Dogs for 4 days in December. It won’t be about bloggers meeting each other’s dogs, though. It’s actually about blogging and social software with an included dog sled race for all participants!

*Democrats, Don’t Ignore the War: Former presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich calls on Democratic leaders to make their party a true opposition party to get things done and get troops home from Iraq in an article on Alternet. Ignoring the war apparently wasn’t helping.

*Ashlee’s fast food flipout: Terrible singer and actress Ashlee Simpson got drunk and went crazy at a Canadian McDonald’s and here’s the (poor quality) video to prove it! She’s probably unset she wasn’t invited to Blogs and Dogs 2005…

*Splogs Solution: Class Action Lawsuit Against Google?: Ensight.org’s Jeremy Wright ponders whether suing Google could help stop the spam blogs (or “splogs”) problem on site’s like Google’s Blogspot. Interesting idea, but could it really work? Any lawyers want to chime in on this one?

*NaNoWriMo: November is National Novel Writing Month. Join in with bloggers or others for a fourth year of novel writing. Can you write an entire novel in less than 30 days? I think I’ll wait ’til next year.

*Famous Friends UK: A British service called Famous Friends will photoshop you into celebrity photos for a fee. Why didn’t I think of that as a business venture? You can even become a Scientologist celebrity-friend! [via Chris Diclerico]

*Most New Yorkers In Favor Of Smoking Ban In Some Outdoor Areas: Bad news for you city smokers out there — now non-smokers don’t want you to smoke anywhere. Well, there’s still inside your car… oh wait.

Coke, the company that brought you such misguided beverage duds as Crystal Clear Coke and New Coke, has decided to phase out Vanilla Coke, Diet Vanilla Coke, and Diet Coke With Lemon by the end of the year due to declining sales.

The company that brings you Coke, Diet Coke, Coca-Cola Zero, Caffeine-Free Coca-Cola, Caffeine-Free Diet Coke, Coke with Lime, Diet Coke with Lime, Cherry Coke, Diet Cherry Coke, and Diet Coke with Splenda will start selling Black Cherry Vanilla Coke and Black Cherry Vanilla Diet Coke (something totally different than Cherry Coke) in 2006.

Coke to phase out Vanilla Coke in US:

The company said Vanilla Coke, which was introduced in the United States in 2002 and Diet Vanilla Coke in 2003, could return sometime in the future. Details about whether Diet Coke With Lemon, which made its U.S. entry in 2001, would be brought back were not available.

If the three flavors don’t return, Coke might as well create and market a few other new varieties of Coke, including Grape Coke, Diet Coke with Orange, Coca-Cola Twelve, Spiced Coca-Cola, Diet Caffeine-Free Chocolate Coke with Splenda and Ginseng, and even Coca-Cola with Pepsi.

Or maybe they’ll just go back to selling Coke and Diet Coke. Either way, they’ll cause everyone lots of cavities, so who cares?

ALSO: Those of you Vanilla Coke lovers might try Pepsi Vanilla, which is reportedly sticking around to corner the vanilla soda market — along with Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Diet Pepsi Vanilla, Pepsi Edge, Pepsi Twist, Diet Pepsi Twist, Wild Cherry Pepsi, Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi, Pepsi Lime, Diet Pepsi Lime, and Pepsi One.

My teeth hurt.