In 1982, three kids from Mississippi decided to remake Raiders of the Lost Ark. Seven years and countless adventures later, they finally finished it. In 2003, the adaptation was discovered by director Eli Roth and hit the film festival circuit where it has gained much notoriety, including a personal letter from Steven Spielberg raving about the film.

On Thursday, June 5th, at 7:00 pm, director Eric Zala will present the film in person at the Belcourt Theatre in Nashville.

That’s right. The kid who made a shot-by-shot recreation of Raiders of the Lost Ark will be in Nashville to screen the film for you.

“This remake has everything—the rolling boulder, the live snakes, the heart-thudding truck sequence, and everywhere flames, flames, flames. With a few inventive substitutions—a puppy dog stands in for a monkey, a boat for a plane—they didn’t skimp on production value by including a submarine, a truck on fire, a melting face, and even the same copy of a 1936 Life magazine used in the original.” Or so say the promotional materials.

This film, and the story behind it, are a feat to behold. Wired calls it the Ultimate ‘Indy’ Flick. Producer Scott Rudin purchased the rights and is making a movie about it. TheRaider.net built a website about it.

Watch the trailer and then see for yourself.

This will be the second annual Zombie Walk in Nashville, following the inaugural walk in April 2007. For the uninitiated, a zombie walk is an event in which many people dress up as zombies and stalk the streets for hours of undead fun.

In Nashville, the undead will begin assembling at Riverfront Park (map) on Saturday at 5:00 pm and begin the walk at 6:00. If you would like to join the living dead, conveniently, registration is not required—just show up. Nearly 500 people have joined the Nashville Zombies group on MySpace, but turnout for the walk is difficult to predict without advanced registration. Currently, 23 people have indicated on the Facebook event that they will attend.

Naturally, t-shirts to promote and commemorate the event are available to order online.

For information and updates, connect with organizers on the MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/nashvillezombiewalk.

From 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., Dell will accept computer and computer-related equipment, including laptops, monitors, printers, keyboards and mice, of any brand. They will also accept gaming consoles and mobile entertainment devices. Electronic items that will NOT be accepted include: televisions, stereo equipment, cell phones, appliances, etc.

Drop-off is free, and all plastics and metals will be recycled, and other materials, including heavy metals, properly disposed. Be sure to remove all personal data from the equipment in advance.

The first 1,200 people to participate will get a free tree sapling ready for planting.

Dan Hensely, organizer of Nashville’s Cross Dressing the Bridge Ride, hopes the event will “bring attention to cycling in the city and the use of bicycles as viable forms of transportation, as well as bring attention to more opportunities for road and mountain biking. We will have a petition on hand to help gain more mountain bike trails in Davidson County.”

Participants should meet at noon on Saturday at the Public Square near the Woodland Street Bridge and Second Avenue (map). The course will follow Davidson Street in East Nashville to Shelby Park and along the paved path in Shelby Bottoms Greenway to the pedestrian bridge. Riders will take a break for snacks on the other side of the bridge before returning via the same route to downtown and then on to the Yazoo Brewery for the post-ride cool-down.

Sponsors of the ride, including Urban Velo Magazine, Walz Caps, and Swift Wick Majic Socks, will provide some give-aways for participants.

According to Hensely, the idea for the ride originated in discussions with his friends about the lack of a bicycle culture in Nashville. “There are a lot of people cycling, but not a lot of fun, free events. We were tired of waiting, so we just decided to do it ourselves.” Johnny Crowe, who coordinates the regular Sunday Ride, organized last Sunday’s Nashville Scavenger Hunt cycling event and Hensley took the lead for planning the bridge ride. “The idea of a costume party theme came to mind and it just went from there.”

Hensley encourages riders to dress in drag or a costume and to wear a helmet, but notes that fashionable attire is not required. The ride is free and open to the public and will proceed rain or shine. Hensley notes that organizers have planned a casual group ride and not a race, so cyclers of all abilities are welcome.

For more information, see the website.

UPDATE 4/10/08: Metro Parks and Recreation has not yet opened the Pedestrian Bridge to the public. Hensley still plans for the group ride, but is not planning to cross the bridge if it has not been opened to public traffic by Saturday.

Snow in Nashville photo courtesy of Chris Wage.

In addition to his responsibilities at WTVF, Ligons also writes the New Media Marketer blog where he discusses how the Internet is rapidly changing the advertising industry. In the blog, he encourages readers to share real world experiences, ideas, and opinions about Internet advertising and new media.

Participation is key to the success of the new business network. “The thing about networks is that the more people that participate, the more each member gets out of it,” says Ligons. “Because NSIDE Nashville is about making connections, the more people that participate in the NSIDE Nashville network, the more we will all benefit.”

Sound interesting? Join NSIDE Nashville.

And by the way, has anyone seen any of our authors? Seems like we all disappeared with the old site….

Letters were mailed on January 11 from Mayor Karl Dean to all Davidson County registered voters whose identifying information was likely listed on the laptops that were stolen from the Davidson County Election Commission offices over the Christmas holiday. The letters offer a year of identity protection service from Debix Identity Protection Network at no charge. Included in the protection are: warnings by phone whenever someone attempts to open credit in your name, optional placement on the National Do Not Call Registry, and $10,000 of identity protection insurance (although the Debix website indicates $25,000 of coverage will be provided). In addition, Debix will place a fraud alert on your account with each of the three major credit bureaus and renew that alert every three months.

I received my letter recently and went to the Debix website to learn more.

The company’s website provides a very clear description of the services provided and even includes a live demo of the warning call you will receive when someone applies for credit in your name. During the demo, the system calls your phone and allows you to approve or deny the simulated credit request.

Based on the article about identity theft that appeared in today’s Tennessean, it’s not clear whether or not the service covers all of the scenarios under which your stolen identity could be used. It is clear that the service from Debix will cover situations where someone is attempting to open a line of credit, like a credit card or loan, but what about turning on utilities or applying for employment? The Debix website doesn’t address these other situations at all.

However, since it’s still unclear whether or not anyone’s information has been compromised and the service is free for the first year, I decided to go ahead and sign up. The process is very straightforward and took about ten minutes to complete. After reading about the service and providing contact information, I received an automated phone call to set up notifications and an email message to confirm my email address. The irony of providing my identifying information to a third party in order to protect my information from misuse by a third party was not lost on me. Later, I should receive an ID card in the mail from Debix as well as confirmation letters about the fraud alerts from each credit bureau.

And that’s pretty much it. Now I can sleep a little better at night, knowing that my identity is better protected, at least from fraudulent lines of credit.

Following on the success of last summer’s BarCamp new media “unconference,” tech-savvy musicians, marketers, bloggers and developers will gather next month in Nashville to discuss new media and podcasting. PodCamp Nashville, which is free to the public, will be held at the historic Cannery Ballroom on Saturday, February 9, and is designed for anyone interested in online media to share ideas, hear from industry experts, and participate in discussions and demos.

“This is all about building community,” said Dave Delaney, one of the local PodCamp organizers. “That’s what we’re trying to do here. By attending PodCamp Nashville, members of the blogging, podcasting, marketing, development and business communities will be able to join forces to put Nashville on the digital world map. After the huge success of BarCamp Nashville, it’s clear that Nashville’s tech community is alive and kicking.”

The PodCamp organizers have lined up two top-notch speakers to deliver the keynote presentations, Joseph Jaffe and C.C. Chapman. Jaffe is one of the most sought-after consultants, authors, speakers and thought leaders on new marketing. He is the president and chief interruptor of crayon, a conversational marketing company specializing in community, dialogue and partnership. C.C. Chapman has been described as a new media maven, a podcasting pioneer and a grounded futurist. Chapman is a partner of The Advance Guard, a new company focusing on using social media and emerging technology to create radical marketing programs.

Other presentations will cover topics such as podcasting, blogging, social networking, marketing/promotions, and legal issues. Organizers are still accepting applications for a few remaining speaking slots. If you don’t have enough to say to be on the big stage, but still have something to say, organizers are also considering scheduling five-minute lightening sessions during lunch.

Just like BarCamp Nashville, PodCamp promises to bring together creative, tech and business types from across Nashville to exchange expertise and collaborate on developing new ideas and projects. It’s a fantastic opportunity to meet people and get involved in local new media development. Organizer Delaney recommends that interested participants register in advance to be assured admission.

More information about voter registration is available from Metro Election Commission or Tenn. Dept. of State.