Puggo - Jar Jar's Yoda

OK, back on topic:

Facebook has created an entire new genre of pet peeves.  It's all those stupid placards people inexplicably share.  I'm talking about these:

• inane word games like "name a word that starts with A and ends with E" that are purported to be hard, when actually they are obviously just designed to make you think you're some kind of genius when you answer it in 2 seconds.
• placards with "wise" or "motivational" sayings that we're supposed to "like", such as "There is nothing more unconditional than my love for my children -- like if you love your children too".
• Ridiculous puzzles with supposedly insightful answers - such as "90% of the people see the same word first"... then, judging by the responses, it's clearly not the case.  Or for that matter, SO WHAT?
• Anti-Obama (or insert the latest politician-du-jeur) placards that contain no information, just some inflamatory slogan or empty rhetoric.

I've started un-following every friend that posts these things.  They are nothing but a waste of time.  If you're going to post something, use your mind and post something original or informative.  Vet what you "share".

But I don't think they look anywhere near as "bad" as the original poster believes (or has been led to believe).

SirHenryPercy said:

[here ye, here ye, etc. etc...]

Can you give an example?  For such a long rant, you didn't list anything sufficiently specific to clarify exactly to what or to whom your littany of generalizations is referring.

I think that if you actually spent some time here, you'd find that the OT and PT fans coexist quite amicably - much more so than on certain other forums.  In fact, judging by the passion in your post, I suspect you'd do well here too.  Frink has already given you the thumbs up; that's a good sign.  It might also give you a chance to improve your somewhat sloppy grammatical skills.

CatBus said:

In spite of being derived from some Special Edition sources, I feel that the Despecialized Editions more accurately represent the theatrical experience than anything else out there.

This.  Harmy's DE is what I remember SW looking like when it was first released in theaters.  It didn't start looking "bad" until the prints started getting beat up over the course of a couple of years of showing over and over.

Otherwise, how on earth could Lucasfilm have made the blu ray look as sharp as it does, if the original film wasn't as least as sharp?  You can't go in and make a better CGI Luke!

I'd like to see Lord Grievous vs. Jar Jar, for obvious reasons.

I only have the raw .wav files.

LexX said:

So how about those underrated sequels? Are there actually any underrated prequels? I can't think of any.

The SW prequels are actually overrated.  They are even overrated here on OT.com.

darth_ender said:

Don't tell his African-American wife what a racist he is.

If recent events are any indicator, having a s.o. of another race doesn't preclude one's ability to still do racist things (re: D. Sterling).

I'm not interested in branding someone a "racist".  However, even the best of people do racist things sometimes, usually inadvertently.  Probably all of us do.  It should be possible to point out racist acts, without blanket labeling someone a racist... unfortunately most people can't separate the two.  I never called GL a racist (I have no idea if he is or isn't) - but I'm surprised that nobody suggested to him that the character might be considered insensitive by some people.  Whether or not you (or I) agree with that, a lot of people do consider the character to be borderline racist.  It doesn't mean GL is a racist, and perhaps he downplayed the character in the next episodes partly because of what he learned from the feedback that it stirred.

darth_ender said:

Doom Trooper said:

The criticism that Temple Of Doom is racist is so ridiculous and just another cheap shot people like to take at it.

 I agree. George Lucas is anything but racist.

Indeed, his cultural sensitivity was solidified with the introduction of Jar Jar.

Actually, that's encouraging wording.  By refering to it as "unaltered", that implies that they agree that there is an "altered" and an "unaltered" version.  Whereas GL was emphatic that there is only one version, and the old cuts are just incomplete early releases.

Ghostbusters-2... almost didn't make it to the end, I thought it was so awful. 

(the first movie was awesome)

I still have it, of course.  But as everyone knows, I don't distribute my work...

At the risk of showing my age, here goes:

"A Shot in the Dark" (sequel to "Pink Panther").

(actually, it's not "underrated"... it's just not as famous as it should be!)

A hairyHen mix that includes "close the blast doors!" would be my version of the perfect SW mix.

I think opinion on that line depends on one's personal experience.  I saw the film in 1977 with mono mix 3 times, and that line (well, the line after it), drew laughs at every showing.  I remember when I saw the film in 70mm a month later, I was surprised not to hear the line.  And furious when it wasn't on the VHS tape!

At this point, it no longer seems like an innocent mistake.

I was certainly a nerd.  But I don't remember getting any flak for liking SW.

So basically you are trying to promote Thread Preservation.  Well that seems laudible.  Oh dang, I mispelled laudable - now I can't go back and correct it.  But "laudable" was my original vision.  Now I have to go paint my house green.  This sucks.

Sounds like you need to get the Puggo Grande edition.  16mm film capture with mono mix, including scratches, furrballs, wobbles, and assorted mouse droppings.

http://www.hardbat.com/puggo

1. Raiders
2. Crusade
3. Doom
4. Skull

A couple of thoughts:

"Technically there is no such thing" is a disturbing statement.  That phrase essentially validates Lucas' point that the OOT is not Star Wars, that there is only one movie, the current 2011 one.

There is some logic in Disney opting to digitize the 1997 version.  It is the cheapest way for them to sorta claim they are releasing the original version.  In 1997 the original film was cleaned up and new prints made, also with some alterations.  They could simply 4K scan the 1997, leave out the Jabba scene, and claim it's the original.  With the exception of Han shooting second, most viewers wouldn't know the difference, and with Jabba gone the scan resolution would be excellent.  By contrast, making an equally-good-looking scan of the real OOT would be a lot more work.  Easy way out, and they'd still rake in a load of easy cash.

msycamore's summary is correct.

Charlie Haden - one of the best and most influential bassists in jazz.  76

I was lucky to have seen him perform several times.  He had a HUGE sound and was one of the few bassists who could grab and hold the rapt attention of an auditorium all by himself.  Also was the bassist on one of the most influential albums of all time: "The Shape of Jazz to Come" (Ornette Coleman).  Also recorded in other genres of music, and was even the leader in a country western session!

I'm still surprised that people enjoy watching them.  I had always considered them as research material (and they have proven useful in that regard).  As such, I tried to make them in the most easily accessible and distributable format, and will build ROTP in the same manner.

Of course, I'll continue to make the original captures available to anyone wanting to use them for other projects, such as was done for the grindhouse version, or if someone has the means and desire to produce a hi-def version.  A couple of people have inquired, but backed away after learning it was a bit more work than simply upconverting.

The most embarrassing part was actually the 2nd half... Germany knew it was essentially over, and was just playing defense.  Brazil had the ball pretty much the whole time, and tried and tried to score without success.  And yet, the couple of times that Germany did manage to find themselves with possession of the ball in Brazil's territory, they scored with what looked like not even trying.  While the first half was a rout, the 2nd half was humiliation.

Thanks for the kind words.

I just got back yesterday from China, and expect to restart work on ROTP this week.

I didn't see any interesting SW bootlegs there - but then, I didn't make it to any of the bookstores or to the Silk market this time.