Author: dtm666

I ramble about things.

SPD Over? Hooray!

The long nightmare is finally over. Power Rangers Space Patrol Delta. Or SPD if you will. Its final episode recently came to pass.

Admittedly, I have seen roughly 10 percent of the entire series. The premiere episodes did NOTHING for me and the subsequent episode was actually an early sign that this wouldn’t be worth my time. In addition to that, I watched the episode that aired early in Canada (Wormhole) and thought that was horrible. And then there was the finale, which had to salvage the series in some form or another.

I don’t know. Call me harsh, but the finale was almost as bad as the rest of what I’ve seen. It proved that I didn’t really miss out on anything. Some time ago, I had complained about Ninja Storm, but at least it had a few good episodes to its credit… not to mention I’ve regretted missing the finale. But SPD does nothing for me and from what I’ve been hearing, there isn’t really much reason for me to commit to the show.

One can only hope Mystic Force turns out better than this piece of shit.

Next.

Say Goodbye to Used Games

I’ve picked up this article and question its validity concerning the subject matter. For the sake of clarity, I’ll post it here:

SCE has secured the patent for a new disc technology that, if used, would not allow the PS3 to read used games for that platform. The technology was invented by Kutaragi himself, as well as two others.

Details regarding the patent are featured here: http://www.ipdl.ncipi.go.jp/homepg.ipdl

It is indicated specifically that the technology is to prevent the use of used as well as pirated software.

The technology involves actually rendering a authentication code originally encrypted on the game disk unreadable to other machines once the disk it is used.

This would mean that Net-based and other such games will not be the only ones to be affected by the technology.

Naturally third software developers would embrace this technology, and it would ensure sales of the inevitable “Best series” for the PS3, but used games shops would be put out of business if the PS3 were to become the primary platform in the next generation.

While information regarding the patent does not specify outright that the technology will be used in the PS3, Kutaragi has gone on record saying that copy management is absolutely necessary in order to endure that no “Napsters” of the game industry create problems in the future.

Yeah right. This kind of copy management is absolutely necessary so that the “Napsters” can’t cause problems that this little doohickey (if implemented) will cause. Used game shops will practically be put out of business because of this technology. Video game sections of rental chains such as Blockbuster won’t see as much business as before (or at least fall reign to other gaming consoles that lack this wretched technology). Friends can’t even trade games to play for the weekend. And what if your machine breaks and you have to get a new one? Does this mean you’ll have to rebuy all your games too just so they work? This is complete bullshit.

I’m not going to turn this into a pro-pirating or anti-pirating lecture. My line of thought is pretty blurred on the subject, but clearly if there had to be a means of fighting pirates, this isn’t one of them. If anything, you’re more likely to drive more people into piracy or purchasing bootleg materials that might be of an inferior make, but at least won’t have any restrictions. Hopefully, Sony will be smart and not implement such technology into their PS3. Whether you like or not, piracy is a rampant thing that is NEVER going to go away regardless of how much you try to stop. They’re everywhere!

There’s my rant of the day.

DTM BLOG Classics #11 – The Taboo Tuesday 2005 Collection

Okay, so tomorrow is the big WWE Taboo Tuesday pay-per-view, where fans can manipulate matches by voting. Sounds crooked to me. For those of you who have no godly idea what I’m talking about, allow me to offer some history behind this relatively new concept.

Last year, WWE had attempted a rather unique Pay-Per-View experiment… no, not the Tuesday PPV – THAT experiment had been done many years ago featuring a paltry rematch between Undertaker and Hulk Hogan. I’m talking about the interactive aspect of a show where fans have some control over what goes on in the match, either by choosing stipulations or choosing challengers to championships. Last year’s show seemed to be enough of a success that they’re trying it again this year. Now, to reiterate what I had said in the Taboo Tuesday 2004 ramblings, this wasn’t the greatest PPV I had seen, but it was something different and unique that broke the monotony of PPVs, all which seemed to booked in the same way.

Others might feel differently, but I thought that the Taboo Tuesday concept was a novel idea and shows that WWE are willing to take chances and try something different when they feel like it. Earlier this year, WWE suspended one of their regular PPVs and replaced it with an ECW one, a show that I can say was pretty entertaining. Not because the wrestling was any good, mind you, but mostly because it was a different offering from what we are commonly used to seeing from McWrestling.

Here we are: Taboo Tuesday 2005 is coming up in a few days and once again, we are given the power to vote. Now since I have night courses at school this year, I obviously won’t be able to update regularly on the blog. Instead, this’ll be a regular prediction sheet… I’ll put down what I’ve voted for, what I think would get the vote, and of course, who wins the frickin’ matches. So without further adieu, let’s get this thing done, shall we?

Continue reading “DTM BLOG Classics #11 – The Taboo Tuesday 2005 Collection”

PPV Predictions – WWE Taboo Tuesday 2005

(Update: Hey, kids. No results for this one. This PPV made me sad and felt like a waste of time. No sense in wasting more time on this pile of shit. Sorry.)

Okay, so tomorrow is the big WWE Taboo Tuesday pay-per-view, where fans can manipulate matches by voting. Sounds crooked to me. For those of you who have no godly idea what I’m talking about, allow me to offer some history behind this relatively new concept.

Last year, WWE had attempted a rather unique Pay-Per-View experiment… no, not the Tuesday PPV – THAT experiment had been done many years ago featuring a paltry rematch between Undertaker and Hulk Hogan. I’m talking about the interactive aspect of a show where fans have some control over what goes on in the match, either by choosing stipulations or choosing challengers to championships. Last year’s show seemed to be enough of a success that they’re trying it again this year. Now, to reiterate what I had said in the Taboo Tuesday 2004 ramblings, this wasn’t the greatest PPV I had seen, but it was something different and unique that broke the monotony of PPVs, all which seemed to booked in the same way.

Others might feel differently, but I thought that the Taboo Tuesday concept was a novel idea and shows that WWE are willing to take chances and try something different when they feel like it. Earlier this year, WWE suspended one of their regular PPVs and replaced it with an ECW one, a show that I can say was pretty entertaining. Not because the wrestling was any good, mind you, but mostly because it was a different offering from what we are commonly used to seeing from McWrestling.

Here we are: Taboo Tuesday 2005 is coming up in a few days and once again, we are given the power to vote. Now since I have night courses at school this year, I obviously won’t be able to update regularly on the blog. Instead, this’ll be a regular prediction sheet… I’ll put down what I’ve voted for, what I think would get the vote, and of course, who wins the frickin’ matches. So without further adieu, let’s get this thing done, shall we?

Continue reading “PPV Predictions – WWE Taboo Tuesday 2005”

MOVIE REVIEW – Be Cool (2005)

The other film that we rented was Be Cool, which was the sequel to a prior movie called Get Shorty, which I’ve never seen. This means that I had no clue what was going on and sadly, this movie doesn’t help much in terms of filling the blanks. Most sequels will at least have some kind of hook for those who somehow missed out on the first movie… especially if that movie came out A WHOLE DECADE AGO!

Be Cool doesn’t do that for newcomers… nor does it do the other thing you’d want out of a movie and that’s be entertaining. That last bit boggles the mind because you have a fantastic array of talented stars on this cast lineup (and even the Rock is there) who could have elevated even the crummiest of scripts, but I guess everyone was just phoning things in because there was nothing here. There are supposed jokes and references to things, but these fall flat and I don’t think even knowing anything about Get Shorty would make these even funnier.

By the halfway point, the audience (myself and a few others in the room) were pretty much done with the film and talking about other shit. There’s no comedy to be found here nor was there anything that we could at least poke fun of. When you can’t even mock a movie for its badness, that film is pretty much doomed to failure and unfortunately, we learned that lesson the hard way.

Be Cool is not a good movie. Avoid at all costs. Stick with the Ice Princess. It’s safe, but it’s at least fun to watch.

MOVIE REVIEW – The Ice Princess (2005)

We watched a couple movies some time ago and I’d figured that I would share some quick thoughts on each. Nothing major or anything. A typical IMDB quick review that tells you nothing, but considering this is outside my usual tastes, it might be worth something?

The first movie we picked out was The Ice Princess, which I can best describe as the typical Disney story where they make an ordinary girl and turn her into a pretty one that eventually learns a wholesome lesson of sorts, along with the usual trademark story twists that are typical in these types of movies. In this case, an ace physics student revives her old love of figure skating for the sake of a term paper, only to be torn between pursuing her academic dreams and her newly rediscovered passion for the sport she once held near and dear to her heart.

Look, I’m typically not fond of these sorts of films from the house of mouse; they typically follow a formula that they rarely (if ever) break away from and the Ice Princess is more of the same in that regard. Still, I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t enjoy this one. The cast is fairly likeable, the acting and writing is fairly safe and solid, and there’s some pretty slick figure skating routines. Sure, it’s hard to buy into the dramatic bits because this is fairly predictable fare, but still, this was a perfectly enjoyable little flick whose 90+ minute runtime flew by quickly and I stayed awake for the most part.

All in all, good, clean, harmless fun.

Yep.

Looking back at the few entries of the Blog, I’ve noticed that the majority of stuff I wrote either relates to wrestling or maintenence of various websites and whatnot. Ramblings, Fiction Friday, and other categories have not seen their fair share of updates and it’s kind of sad that this blog is slowly turning into a wrestling forum, which is something that I don’t want it to be.

I wish it didn’t have to be this way, but the truth is that there isn’t much stuff that I want to post up concerning personal stuff. Other than the occasional show and whatnot, I generally don’t watch as much television as I should. I read a couple of books on occasion, but never really want to make it such a big deal by posting it here. I generally want to keep from turning this into a political forum concerning world events, which is sort of why such major events are not mentioned here, save for an off-comment here and there. In some way, this is sort of why I haven’t been posting here frequently, but it is something I hope to change.

Things are actually looking up and I’m starting to feel a whole lot better. Most of all, I don’t feel as depressed as before (although make no mistake; I’m still there) and that’s the reason for the change in style. Hopefully, this’ll be a sign of good times to come in my life and I’m hoping to reflect that sort of thing here. Having said that, I strongly urge you to visit the Twisted Realms page this coming Monday, where I’ll post up some stuff… I’m not saying.

Never believe. Dave

COMIC REVIEW – Green Lantern: Rebirth #4 (of 6)

When I first heard about this miniseries and its premise, my first question was simply “Why?” I mean, is there a critical necessity to restore the pre-Rayner status quo, bringing everyone back to life and continue on as if nothing has ever happened? I never really cared for the Hal Jordan character, simply because he never seemed all that interesting a character until he went “whacko”. Of course, there are those who disagree with me… so here’s the mini that brings him back to the role he’s familiar with and returns everything back to the way things were.

Questionable intentions aside, the one thing that isn’t questionable is the fact that the Rebirth miniseries has been a fairly entertaining and pretty good read thus far and really, isn’t that the only thing that matters in the long run? Although this fourth issue does advance the story a little further somewhat, it wasn’t as fulfilling as the previous issue, which had some nifty plotpoints such as the reasoning behind the old GL rings’ yellow impurity and why Rayner’s ring doesn’t have it. But who’s complaining?

The bit where Green Arrow strains himself to shoot an arrow with the power ring was a nice touch, going to show how much of a toll it takes to use the ring to create things as simplistic as a mere arrow and that it’s not easy to bear it. Of course, no one’s ever had a problem with this sort of thing before, but those were “special” cases for lack of a better excuse. Visually, the art’s consistently good as the three issues before this one. The choice of coloring and darker shades goes well with the book and really emphasizes the overall tone of the series.

Other than that, there’s not much else to say that you’ve probably haven’t heard elsewhere. Simply put, Rebirth, so far, is good stuff, regardless of your preferred ringbearer. Of course, if you’re patient, you’ll probably wait for the inevitable TPB that’ll come out in a few scant months, but why bother? Just read it now.