Frakin' Kevin Smith; Obama's venue switch; column

-- Column: "If you don't prepare for it, then it will overtake us, and it will be a huge crisis." That’s a U.S. senator talking about next year’s digital transition. And also ridiculous. I weigh in on why the transition to digital could be Y2K fear-mongering all over again.

--  Barack Obama moves his acceptance speech to a football stadium, inconveniencing and annoying networks by making the event far more interesting.

-- Director Kevin Smith has agreed to moderate Sci Fi Channel's "Battlestar Galactica" panel at Comic-Con. This could push the typically packed venue into fire marshal-shutdown level of geek engagement. Smith beat out several interested candidates for the moderating gig ... including myself  (instead, I will moderate a panel for Sci Fi Channel's “Ghost Hunters." So, ahem: "Go 'Ghost Hunters'!"). Smith did a funny-bossy-affable turn as substitute co-host on "Ebert & Roeper" a couple years back so the panel-pairing of Smith and BSG's cast should be lively.

-- VH1 may spin off "Celebrity Rehab" with "Sober Living," where a group of rehabilitated abusers sit around a mansion being sober. Which sounds as exciting as doing a spinoff of "Rock of Love" where Bret Michaels spends the entire season unconscious.

-- Greta Van Susteren defends her reporting credentials on the Fox News Web site. Nothing cements your journalistic credibility like using multiple exclamation points.