kenkraly2007 said:
I just can't understand why the issue of the OOT not being released on blu-ray is a big issue it's not a huge deal for me.
I just can't understand why bashing Lucas because he's a pathological liar is a big issue. It's not a huge deal for me.
The Company Men
I enjoyed it. Story of how layoffs at the upper management level can affect individuals and their families. Certainly topical in these times and that helped make it deeper. That said, there have been more than a few of these types of stories over the years, so you can sort of see what's going to happen. Nothing terribly shocking and no big revelations.
It was well done and probably the best version of this type of story I've ever seen. For me, sometimes it's nice to sit and take in a modern day drama that hits close to home, given the state of our economy. Nice outing by an all-star cast. Each was believable.
I give it 4 out of 5 resumes
Lauren Graham
She's always jumped out at me as fantastic looking. Another natural beauty who isn't afraid to be photographed that way.
Planet Of The Apes reference - nicely done, sir. Bonus, just watched it this past weekend.
darth_ender said:
The internet is a great place for people with passion to state their viewpoints as absolute facts.
Easy, big guy - that's an awfully big brush you just picked up.
TV's Frink said:
I actually think this is one of Bay's biggest failure points - his action sucks. He has no sense of geography, there's no sense of style, it's all just a bunch of loud shit thrown up on screen. You can't tell which transformer is which, you can't tell what the hell is going on
Make that two.
Geography is something Spielberg takes very seriously as an artist - and as a fan sitting in the theater, I thank him. The moment I can't tell where things are - Bourne 2 & 3, Quantum Of Solace, nearly every TV show - I'm out. One watch only, if that. I'm the customer - I don't pay money to sit and work for the story. If the director wants my money, he'll show me the story.
Interesting how the current generation is not only becoming accustomed to not having geography in a scene, they almost seem to prefer not having it. Guys like Bay and Greengrass don't even need to frame a shot or waste time trying to set it up. Just roll continuously, move the camera unnecessarily, make a million edits later, toss in some music, and call it style.
Finished the last three stories.
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Doctor Death: The Tale of Dr. Evazan and Ponda Baba, by Kenneth C. Flint
This is about the "he doesn't like you, I don't like you either" guys and has a sort of 1950s horror movie feel, but in a Star Wars setting. It has nothing to do with the cantina scene other than a name-check to establish that the film scene took place some time in the past, on a different planet. Not one of my favorites because I'm not really a 1950s horror movie fan, but it kept me interested, if for no other reason than it wasn't really Star Wars per se.
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Drawing the Maps of Peace: The Moisture Farmer's Tale, by M. Shayne Bell
I didn't think it was possible for one of the stories to pass the Tonnika Sisters as my favorite, but this one did. It's about a moisture farmer on Tatooine, almost completely unrelated to the cantina scene. This is one of the longer entries in the book, as well as being one of the longer stories, taking place over the course of about two months.
This is a much more cerebral story than Hammertong and for me a nice bookend to the action and suspense of the Tonnika sisters' story. A look at what it's like for all the moisture farmers and how they have to deal with Tusken raiders and Jawas. This is another excellent example, maybe the best, of expanding the Star Wars universe. A definite reread.
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One Last Night in the Mos Eisley Cantina: The Tale of the Wolfman and the Lamproid, by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens
The Wolfman's story. I thought this was an interesting take on the guy. It's very much a Star Wars story, but the writing structure had a very Star Trek feel. He comes across as a fairly likeable guy, which I didn't expect, and the story kept me interested. It references all three OT films pretty heavily.
-----------------------------------
So anyway, that's it for Tales From The Mos Eisley Cantina. If I were to rank them;
Enjoyed;
When the Desert Wind Turns
Hammertong
Swap Meet
At the Crossroads
We Don't Do Weddings
Play It Again, Figrin D'an
Didn't enjoy;
Soup's On.
Everything else falling somewhere in between.
Next up is Heir To The Empire. I waited too long to order it, so it won't be here until next week. In the interim, I've started Death Star. I've caught a mention or two of prequel events.
I'm interested in the story of the construction and maiden voyage of the Death Star, but not from a prequel point of view. That's a tie-in I don't care to make. If the mentions become too frequent or become more than just name-checks, I'll have to bail.
Great scene.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvuIHFdCQKc
I need to get a Columbo marathon going this week.
Hats off to Peugeot for a very nice tribute.
Forgive my very limited grasp of French, but it's something to the effect of;
For Sale
Peugeot 403, 650,000 KMs
Great Sentimental Value
A tribute to the unforgettable character of Columbo
Ziggy Stardust said:
Literal lol.
Make that two.
As has been my yearly tradition for as long as I can remember, Jaws is ready to go for my July 4th viewing. One of my top ten.
No other plans. Just staying out of the 100+ degree heat, putting in the DVD, and enjoying a glass of white. Have a good one everyone.
Domino, during the 2007 Genesis tour.
Ziggy Stardust said:
I just used the Wayback Machine to see what the site looked like before the new software.
It's kinda surreal to see it!
Several years ago I made a mock-up of what the forum could be changed to. It was a joke obviously because it would be too hard to read, but it was a fun exercise. Man, there are some names on there I'd forgotten about. That was a long time ago in forum terms.
There was a sort of Australia love in the late 80s. Crocodile Dundee and Quigley Down Under came out pretty close together. Also, my wife worked at The Limited (clothing store) on Madison Avenue back then and they had a line called Outback Red. There may have been other Australia-based films back then too.
This sort of second wave of Australia love we're going through currently reminds me of the late 80s.
I'd like to pass on some information that may be of help to anyone who suffers from frequent heartburn. We've all seen the commercials talking about how frequent heartburn can lead to damage of the esophagus and a more serious condition.
I'm one of those more serious conditions. Hopefully I can help some of you who think the commercials are just a scare tactic to sell medicine. For as long as I can remember, I had heartburn regularly. I was seldom without Tums and just sort of got used to it being something I had to deal with. In passing, during a physical exam in 1997, I mentioned to my doctor that my heartburn was an issue and maybe some of those new drugs I'd been hearing about on TV (Tagamet) might help.
She suggested that I have an endoscopy to see if there was damage. I'm not someone who puts off doctor visits. I've been having a yearly physical for as long as I can remember because I don't believe in taking chances. I was all over getting it looked at.
So that you're aware, the more serious condition the commercials hint at is a condition known as Barrett's Esophagus. It's a condition where the surface of your lower esophagus mutates to become Intestinal Metaplasia. The surface cells become nearly identical to the cells of your small intestine.
That in itself isn't a huge cause for alarm. If you treat the heartburn by taking medicine to stop the acid, the Barrett's stops growing. However, it never goes away on its own.
The cause for alarm is when the Barrett's progresses to Dysplasia. That's when the cells start to mutate to unhealthy cells - a precursor to cancer. There are three stages of Dysplasia - Indefinite (too few cells to be sure it's present, but it appears to be), Low Grade (less than 50% of the cells), and High Grade (over 50%).
I was diagnosed with Short Segment Barrett's, no dysplasia. That was 14 years ago. I was immediately a Surveillance patient, meaning I had to have an endoscopy\biopsy every year for the rest of my life. For the past 14 years my results every year have been no dysplasia.
Until November of 2010 (the month I always have the endoscopy\biopsy). My results last November were Indefinite For Dysplasia. My doctor recommended a new type of treatment (5 years old) called Halo. It's where a wire mesh is lowered down to the Barrett's and, using radio frequency energy, the Barrett's is burned away. The esophagus grows back a new, normal, healthy lining.
I literally made the appointment for my first Halo the very next morning. Per my doctor's recommendation, I called one of the doctors who is preeminent in the field. It's good to be in Houston when you have a problem. My first Halo was scheduled for December. It typically takes four Halos to eliminate the Barrett's & dysplasia. The first Halo is a Halo360. It's just what it sounds like - the full 360 degree surface of your esophagus is burned. They go from just above to just below the area of Barrett's. In my case it was about 2 inches. This removes nearly all of the Barrett's. Subsequent Halos are Halo90s (a smaller wire mesh only burning 90 degrees of a circle).
I won't lie you, the Halo360 was the most severe pain I've ever experienced. It hurts like hell for a few days and then gradually subsides as the new surface grows in. It's liquids for a week and then mush foods for a week after that.
Full healing takes two months. Because of that, the burns are about three months apart (endoscopies and biopsies are taken between burns). After my third burn, I had an endoscopy\biopsy to determine my condition. The results were one small island of Barrett's left, but no dysplasia.
I had my fourth burn yesterday. My doctor feels there is no Barrett's or dysplasia left, but as usual, a biopsy is already scheduled in two months to confirm. I feel extremely fortunate to have been someone who kept up with my strict surveillance and to live in the city I do. When I had my Halo360, assisting my doctor was a doctor who worked for the company that pioneered the technology. I don't have to tell you, that is quite a relief when you're about to go under. You know you're in the best hands.
I thought I'd pass this along so that any of you who may be concerned will have someone to ask for any questions you may have.
Here are two links that have a ton of information. One is the condition, the other is the treatment.
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/barretts-esophagus/HQ00312
http://curebarretts.com/treatment-options/procedure-tutorial.php
Hold on to your seats folks. I have something positive to say regarding the only prequel I've seen.
Because I'd seen screen-grabs of the SEs, I was skeptical about Phantom. I went into the film not expecting much, but thinking maybe it might be ok.
Here's the positive; At the start of Phantom, I thought this was a great shot. Composition, execution, and the feel all seemed worthy of the film I experienced back in 1977.
Worthy ended about two minutes later. These days the shot sometimes pops into my head as a setting that my imagination assigns to some of the EU I've read. It's a great shot and my memory held on to it. The rest of the film, however, is all but gone.
At the Crossroads: The Spacer's Tale, by Jerry Oltion
This was also one of the better ones, as well as a longer one. This is about BoShek, a Corellian acquaintance of Solo's. He's the fella we see in the cantina scene in a pilot's suit. I thought this was another good example of really expanding on the universe. It crosses the cantina day in about the middle of the story. Interesting guy and a very interesting & clever take on who he works for.
In fact, his employer could be a good novel itself. A perfect example of stories existing in the Star Wars universe without having to be Jedi\Sith based. The mention of what he does for a living and where he operates from left me wanting more of that potential story.
Not too much interaction with the film characters and I was again glad that he doesn't know everyone or hear all their conversations. He has his own problems to deal with, so the story goes beyond the cantina scene. I couldn't help but get a slight sense of Indiana Jones in the post-cantina portion. Of course, it's not even remotely close to any type of Indy stuff, but BoShek just sort of reminds me of that type of person.
It has some subtle humor too which I thought was well played. When I go through the novel again sometime in the future, this will definitely get a second reading.
timdiggerm said:
Frink, that hasn't happened to me in a long time. Good job.
No - no - stop right there!......it's not a good job.
It's dirty pool. Plain and simple. I don't know which is worse - that he did it.....
...or that I fell for it.
;-)
TV's Frink said:
I've always hated the term "sold out" anyway. Good music is good music.
I agree. 100%
bkev said:
I was raised to believe Floyd sold out after Animals
That's a shame.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RW-kAqAjMNc
TV's Frink said:
Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems to me that we only make fun of nutjobs. There are plenty of people who appreciate the SE or the PT who are tolerated or even embraced, to an extent.
I think you're absolutely right about that. That's why I'm bummed my co-worker won't give us a chance. I tried to link her to some of our better conversations, but she may have looked into some others too. In fact, it may have been around the time Matt started coming off the rails. If she saw that she may have gotten the wrong impression.
TV's Frink said:
SS4DarthPayne said:
PS: for what it's worth, I like Star Wars better than ESB. By a pretty sizable margin as well
You want the thread where S_Matt called us all idiots and left the forum.
;-)
Since you brought it up, SS4 is a perfect example of how new members\lurkers should stick around a while when they first discover our community - or at least why I wish they would. SS4, by his own admission, said he thought we were all "nutjobs" because we wanted the original version. However, instead of arguing, name-calling, then leaving, he gave the conversations a chance and ended up understanding the importance of the originals - even though he had never seen them.
I was hoping Matt would do the same, but he jumped ship quickly and is now just one more person with a voice out in the Star Wars fandom who is either of no use to us, or worse, may even be working against us.
--------
While I'm on the subject, SS4 mentioned never having seen the originals prior to 2006. I work with a girl (early 20s) who is a huge Star Wars nerd, yet still has never seen the originals. Even worse, she wasn't aware that the scenes and characters had been altered. She had no idea Jabba wasn't in Star Wars. I've sent her a few links to our site and some of the conversations, which she found interesting.
Here's where I'm heading with this. Some people lurk but are hesitant to join because they think we're too out there in our ideals. She's lurked but won't join because she's convinced we'd make fun of her. I hate that we have that reputation. There is a lot to learn about the actual history of Star Wars, away from Lucas' Ministry Of Truth.
Maybe she'll eventually change her mind. I'll lend her the 2006 DVD and maybe she'll understand the need to preserve the original story as well as why the 06 DVD was released in sub-par quality so that Lucas could stomp his feet & hold his breath like a twelve year old child use it as a marketing strategy.
TV's Frink said:
I don't like Mondays.
;-)
bkev said:
I was raised to believe Floyd sold out after Animals so The Wall isn't my style.
Man, as a Pink Floyd fan since the 70s, I don't think it's possible to disagree with that statement any more than I do. To me, Animals was a huge let down after Wish You Were Here. The Wall was Floyd hitting their creative stride again.
Ziggy Stardust said:
The visuals in it are incredible. Especially the Goodbye Blue Sky scene. The animation is beautiful. They also really pulled off having hardly any dialogue!
Do you own it Anchorhead? (the movie, I mean)
Oddly enough, considering some of the rare Floyd stuff I have, no I do not. I should remedy that.
Probably not even on the radar of anyone under the age of 30, but the lead in the film is Bob Geldof. Back then he was very well known as the lead singer for a group called The Boomtown Rats. I was never a fan of him personally or the Boomtown Rats, but he was perfectly cast as the lead for the film version of The Wall.
Bob Hoskins has a small part in it too. Probably even less known than Geldof these days though.