So I’ve visiting the ol’ Trekweb site – my go to hub for all Star Trek news (2025 Update: Long since dead. R.I.P.) – and I noticed that they conducted an interview with former Trek exec Rick Berman. He still seems to have no clue as to why his last Trek movie venture (2002’s Star Trek Nemesis, for those who don’t know) failed miserably in the box office. While I’ll be one of the few to admit that I actually enjoyed Nemesis, even I have to admit that it wasn’t that great a movie in comparison to other Trek movies; more of a popcorn flick than anything else. The fact that Berman is lost on this concept even years after the movie’s release and failure goes to show why the Star Trek franchise is currently in limbo as far as on-screen affairs are concerned.
Category: Musings
Captain America? Dead? Are You F'n Drunk?!
Some press release or something. Got it off Trekweb which presumably came from some place else.
NEW YORK – Captain America has undertaken his last mission _ at least for now. The venerable superhero is killed in the issue of his namesake comic that hit stands Wednesday, the Daily News reported.
On the new edition’s pages, a sniper shoots down the shield-wielding hero as he leaves a courthouse, according to the newspaper.
It ends a long run for the stars-and-stripes-wearing character, created in 1941 to incarnate patriotic feeling during World War II. Over the years, an estimated 210 million copies of “Captain America” comic books, published by New York-based Marvel Entertainment Inc., have been sold in a total of 75 countries.
But resurrections are not unknown in the world of comics, and Marvel Entertainment editor in chief Joe Quesada said a Captain America comeback wasn’t impossible.
Still, the character’s death came as a blow to co-creator Joe Simon.
“We really need him now,” said Simon, 93, who worked with artist Jack Kirby to devise Captain America as a foe for Adolf Hitler.
According to the comic, the superhero was spawned when a scrawny arts student named Steve Rogers, ineligible for the army because of his poor health but eager to serve his country, agreed to a “Super Soldier Serum” injection. The substance made him a paragon of physical perfection, armed only with his shield, his strength, his smarts and a command of martial arts.
In the comic-book universe, death is not always final. But even if Captain America turns out to have met his end in print, he may not disappear entirely: Marvel has said it is developing a Captain America movie.
To this I say… if anyone truly believes that they’re going to kill off one of their most beloved characters for good, you are truly out of your fucking minds and deserve to get your heads blown off. I mean, come on.
Big Apple Takedown Gave Me The Flu.
Anyone up for a funny story? Yeah, me neither, but here goes nothing.
So last Friday, I picked up the WWE book, Big Apple Takedown. For those who don’t know, it’s a novel about WWE Superstars as government agents to bust a drug ring. It is a concept that is absolutely absurd and can only be conceived within the somewhat delusional WWE universe that the company occupies.
So I pick up a copy of the book and gave it a quick read for a bit before dozing off to bed. Yes, the concept is as absurd as you’d think and comes off even moreso when you read the first couple chapters explaining the backstory behind this thing.
The next morning, I wake up with a goddamn flu.
It’s horrible, it lasts through the whole weekend, it keeps me in bed for a good chunk of it, and I ended up staying at home as a result… which is totally fine by me. The weather is kinda shit at the moment.
So Saturday’s sudden flu attack had consisted of lots of coughing, a slight fever, and a running nose (not that kind of running, dumbass). Despite extended hours of sleep, said flu apparently got worse the following Sunday as my slight fever became much worse and I had lost all energy to move. It was an effort to just to make it to the bathroom which is only a few feet across and it usually doesn’t take much to go there from the minute I wake up. As a result, I had to skip work yesterday… which meant another number of hours staring at a fucking ceiling.
Of course, after a while, the bedroom got too hot and it was thought it wouldn’t be a good idea to have me lay there. So I put on some warm clothes and made my way to my den (where all the computer stuff is) and just aimlessly browse the Internet. As time passed and many forms of medication were taken, the fever died down with only a sore throat and snotting nose remaining. Not much, but better compared to how I was feeling that morning.
So I went back to work. Business as usual. Now the coughing’s been dropped down a bit thanks to some timely interference from Halls and some cough syrup. It’s still a long way to a full recover, but it shouldn’t take any longer than the end of the week to get there.
VIDEO – Sonic Genesis GBA Silliness
Some YouTuber has created a video montage detailing the many glitches and flaws of the piece of crap game Sonic The Hedgehog Genesis. You can check that out here.
Mortar Attack in Iraq injures people… fortunately, none were WWE employees!
The following is a post from WWE.com:
WWE personnel were setting up a makeshift arena in a parking lot at Camp Victory, Baghdad, when three mortars were fired into a crowded street less than a block away. A number of people were injured in the attack; luckily none were members of WWE.
Well, we’re certainly thankful that while a number of people were injured and in need of critical aid, it’s nice to hear that no WWE employees were injured.
Oh well, I guess I should vent on who was stupid enough to publish the article as it was presented, but you know what? I’m not. It’s nice to hear that while some people were injured, none of them were killed or mutilated… nor were they members of the WWE family.
I guess I can rest easy knowing that now.
Big Show “Retires”
It’s been confirmed by WWE.com what was speculated by the IWC: Paul Wight, known as the Big Show, is “taking time off” to heal injuries. He might be retiring, which if he is, I thank him for many great moments, such as getting stuck in the crapper.
But some believe he may be “healthy enough” to face “healthy” Hulk Hogan in a Wrestlemania 23 match to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the historic Hogan/Andre confrontation at ‘Mania 3.
Yeah, that’s right. They’re going to celebrate the biggest wrestling match in history with a match that has been witnessed by many who were watching WCW years ago. And they weren’t even good matches back then, and with Show’s injuries and Hogan’s old age, what makes them think that this’ll do any good?
Whatever man.
(2024 Update: He’d be back two years later to earn a Wrestlemania payday with Floyd Mayweather. And then he’d stick around for another decade-plus before jumping ship to Tony Khan’s All Elite Wrestling promotion.)
Extremely Crummy Timing
In case anyone is aware, there’s an ECW pay-per-view coming up this weekend.
No, I didn’t forget any words because nobody even knows ECW had a PPV coming up because WWE never bothered to promote it.
Then again, can you blame them? This PPV is coming a WEEK after the Survivor Series PPV.
Even worse, there’s only two matches on the PPV and it’ll be a miracle if people who bought the wretched Survivor Series PPV will buy another poorly-conceived PPV a week later.
But it’s also brilliant planning; as it is designed to fail, the higher ups will eventually place the blame on ECW not being pushed hard as a WWE brand… DESPITE THE FACT THAT IT IS NO DIFFERENT THAN OTHER WWE SHOWS SUCH AS WWE HEAT AND WWE VELOCITY.
This is brilliant planning. Vince books the promotion to oblivion and re-invents it.
BRILLIANT. THAT’S WHY HE’S A GENIUS.
The Announcement And Cancellation Of Vinny Mac's @$$ Cartoon… Yes,This Was Actually A Thing.
Don’t look now, kids, but earlier this week, WWE.com announced that they were going to be debuting a new webtoon about… Vince McMahon’s ass. I’ve checked the preview for this thing and all I gotta say is that there are flash cartoons on Newgrounds that are better animated than this. This looks like it could very well be the 2007 version of the Tim White Suicide skits they did earlier this year.
Or not, earlier today, WWE.com posted the following statement:
Mr. McMahon’s “Kiss My Ass” cartoon, which was to have debuted today, has been delayed due to the stubbornness of one of its stars. The cartoon’s director claims that although Mr. McMahon was great to work with, his ass often refused to leave his trailer, demanded daily massages, and would “butt” heads with everyone around him. The ass was not available for comment, but sources close to the prominent posterior say his mood of late has been crappy. Stay tuned to WWE.com for the premier of Mr. McMahon’s “Kiss My Ass” cartoon.
So, is anyone else really looking forward to this? Because I’m not. And really, it’s nothing special. They probably delayed it to improve upon it. Hopefully, it’ll be indefinitely delayed.
(2019 Update: Who knows? This might be perfect for the WWE Network.)
Later.
Mystic Force Is Over. So what?
(2023 Update: The original post was dated November 5th, 2006, but was originally ripped from a Bite commentary that was posted on November 13th, a week later. Nov. 13th was also the date that the Mystic Force finale aired on ABC, but UK viewers got to see it a week earlier. Recently, I came across an updated version of this post that expands on the original Bite comments and so I present that here.)
In 2004, I stated in a blog post that Power Rangers Dino Thunder’s finale was an okay ending to a good run.
In 2005, I expressed my utter relief and happiness that the crapload known as Power Rangers SPD is finally over.
In 2006, I can’t comment on Mystic Force’s finale because I haven’t seen it. In fact, I can honestly tell you that I have yet to see one single episode of the recent Ranger offering. Outside of a brief glance at a fight scene signalling the end of an episode, I haven’t sat down and watched an episode of the series to really judge it. Of course, some would say that by not watching it, I’m already sending a strong message concerning the product.
Mystic Force didn’t get a viewer in me for two reasons.
First off, the previous Power Rangers offering, SPD, was such a huge pile of shit that it had essentially wiped out any interest in seeing what the current creative team has to offer in subsequent series. And while general talk about these particular series has been more favorable than before, it still isn’t enough to get me back into the fold… and the truly sad part was that there wasn’t one time when I wanted to go out of the way to catch an airing. Contrast this to Ninja Storm: while I didn’t care for that series because of the overall tone, it did have some interesting stories that drew me in, even if it didn’t keep me around for the long run. Mystic Force didn’t offer anything to reel me in at any point and thus I ignored it promptly.
The other reason why Mystic Force failed to interest me is because all the stories in that series was nothing more than rehashes of its Japanese counterpart, Magiranger. Yes, the same can be said for SPD being a near-carbon copy of Dekaranger, but I can honestly… wait a minute, I gave up on SPD for that very reason among other things. Because it’s a rehash of a previous show, it signifies that no actual effort is shown in making the show enjoyable or original. There’s no actual heart being put into the show; it seems more like a paint-by-numbers affair. I couldn’t stand that sort of treatment for one show; two shows in a row following that route is a nightmare.
I’m hoping that the next incarnation turns out to be better and, considering the 15th anniversary of the Power Rangers franchise is coming, I’m hoping something really special will be done.
In the meantime, I’ll ignore the previous crappy shows that have infected the airwaves and stick with old episodes on tape as well as the fanfics… the only entertaining aspects left in Power Rangers as far as I’m concerned.
Later.
2010 UPDATE: Well, Operation Overdrive sucked and its 2-part “Once A Ranger” anniversary episode was a waste of time. I’ve only caught a couple episodes of Jungle Fury before I figured my time would be better invested elsewhere… and the Disney era of Power Rangers ended with RPM, which was actually a pretty solid show despite the new blood.
Now, with Saban having bought back the franchise, I’m having somewhat elevated hopes for the upcoming Power Rangers Samurai series… too bad I don’t get Nickelodeon. Oh well… I guess it’s back to YouTube for me.
The So-Called "Connecticut Theory"
That quote above supposedly came from a Connecticut police officer to a TNA official when news broke that the TNA house show in Connecticut was canned. For those not in the know, Connecticut is conveniently where WWE Headquarters is situated. As it stands, WWE denies any involvement in the cancellation of the TNA show, but it would make sense if it did… after all, how would you feel if a competing wrestling company was holding a show on your home turf?
Whatever WWE says doesn’t matter… because they’ll be the primary suspect to the cancellation. A show was canned because of a small crack on the EXIT sign? That’s ridiculous… plain and simple. There has to be more to it than that.
Later on, in a vain attempt to try and fall asleep by thinking too hard about things that don’t require much thought, I came up with a couple theories on what might have been the case;
1) WWE has some involvement in the TNA shutdown and are denying it. This seems like the most obvious theory to those who don’t know any better… although it’s not beneath Vinnie Mac do pull something off, but why bother? If word got out that his company did have something to do with it, it’d be a black mark in the company’s already-faltering reputation.
2) WWE didn’t have anything to do with it and the State of Connecticut did deem the arena unsafe for the show to take place. And if that seems to be the case, then it can be made official that Connecticut’s officials are a bunch of pussies. I mean, come on guys. A broken EXIT sign with a small crack is a safety hazard? There’s no garbage bag in this trash bin? These are significant enough to shut down a wrestling show? Are you fucking kidding me? And even if WWE didn’t have anything to do with it, they’d still get fingers pointed at them simply because of the simple fact that the show would have been held in their own backyard.
3) And not a lot of people have touched on this, but let’s suppose for a second that TNA never intended on holding a houseshow. Let’s suppose that the shutdown of the TNA house show was part of a bigger angle concocted by TNA themselves to place some of the heat on WWE.
Those would’ve been fine theories and honestly, I wouldn’t have been surprised if one or two or all three were true… but as it turned out, the whole issue with the TNA house show shutdown did not stem from conspiracies or backstage shenanigans, but rather unsigned permits and procedures that TNA didn’t follow when they switched arenas. This is from a police conference. When asked about Vince McMahon’s involvement, all they had to say was “Even my superiors had to ask who is Vince McMahon?”
So there you go, kids. There’s what really happened. Things happened not because of a Connecticut Conspiracy, but because of pure trademark TNA incompetence.
We can all rest easy now.