Former Power Ranger actor Jason Frank has taken up fighting in a cage. Actually, he’s had a couple fights already and has won them both, so he has a chance… then again, that’s what we all say when there’s a new fighter out to prove himself.
Click here to read random article about JDF.
Good luck, dude. You’ll need it since you have no Dragonzord to help you now. HA! HA! HA!
Er… forget it.
Later.
So I got back my PC (now with a gig of RAM, thanks guys) last Monday. Took longer than I would have cared for, but at least it runs a little smoother now.
I’m probably going to do something particular uncharacteristic of me and unusual of this blog; I have a couple thoughts on some political landscapes. Unfortunately, this is mostly happenings in Quebec and whatnot. Yeah, I usually avoid the political talk when I can, but this is kinda irking me (and to be fair, it’s not really political – just that the subjects mostly link to the politics).
So it seems that the latest Quebec budget has caused some dissention among the National Assembly members. The Liberal minority government and the Parti Quebecois are currently negotiating amendments to the budget (the Action Democratique – the main opposing party – has already voted against the budget) in order to make it passable. If the budget is fully rejected, another election could be looming in July. That means more taxpayers money thrown into the Wasteful Spending department. It seems that the Libbies should just swallow their pride and make the damn changes needed to let the budget pass. It’s bad enough I have to go to an election once this year; I don’t feel like contributing to the bullshit voting again for quite some time, much less three-four months later.
Recent reports are revealed illegal money spent by Option Canada during the 1995 referendum. Apparently, one official has already been fired as a result. It’s really unfortunate that people need to resort to illegal spending to get their way. It’s a sad state of affairs, but on the bright side, the right side won… hey, that rhymes.
Boris, a tiger that had spent the majority of his life in a Quebec zoo, was moved to an Albertan zoo and is mostly bored unless someone speaks French. Not sure what this has to do with politics, but the idea of a francophone tiger is funny.
That’s about it. I’m going to end this “big return” now before I get too carried away. Nothing big.
I probably have a few “announcements” and “declarations” to make this weekend. But that’s this weekend. For now… I’m off to the showers and then to work.
Later.
Apparently, the Sheik has been slighted at a convention or something and goes on a tirade as displayed in this YouTube video. I guess this is what happens when you keep referring to New Jersey as a country, I suppose.
I found an interview online with one of the writers of the hit show 24. Of particular interest is this quote:
“We are absolutely evenly employing all the bad guys of all nations,” Cassar says. “Some told me, because I’m Canadian, they said, ‘Hey, why are you leaving us out? Why can’t we be the bad guys?’ I’m like, ‘Good idea. Quebec separatists could be the terrorists.’
Actually, if they went along with that, 24 would be my new favorite show.
If you want to read the whole thing, click here.
2004 saw the release of the “original” Star Wars Trilogy onto DVD for the first time ever… and with a new format comes further changes and “updates” to the films, such as minor graphical edits and the swapping of Force ghosts. While people were thrilled with having these films on DVD, there were those who would rather have the original, unaltered versions of these classic films on DVD instead; a point of contention that still exists to this very day.
Fortunately, Lucasfilm threw the fans a bone with this 2006 Limited Edition DVD release and the results were… well, it’s something.
THE GOOD: Each movie includes 2 discs; the first disc being the then-latest 2004 DVD release with further changes added to the film (in fact, these are exactly the same discs you’d get from that initial release.) And the second disc includes the original theatrical version of the film; which means Star Wars is just Star Wars and not Episode IV, Ewok music ends the Trilogy, and the Emperor is depicted by an old lady in monkey make-up in Empire. Doing it this way provides a nice compare-and-contrast for those into details and minutae while making two camps (updates vs. original) mildly satisfied for the short term.
THE BAD: While the original theatrical releases are indeed included as a bonus feature, the same care that went into the DVD restorations of the “updated” versions obviously didn’t apply to the original versions, which are apparently ripped from the Laserdisc releases. Now if you don’t care about the visual quality, then this is no biggie since it’s not completely terrible… but it’s also not on par with the restored version. Also, since the movies were released separately, you don’t get the bonus DVD of bonus material that came with the original DVD release.
IS IT WORTH IT? I got the 2004 DVD release, but then eventually got the 2006 re-releases because I wanted the original versions of these films on DVD, even if the transfer quality isn’t fantastic. I don’t know if it’d be worth it today since Blu-Ray is a thing, these things are harder to come by, and most would prefer the Unspecial Special Edition that’s been on the bootleg circuit for years on end, but if you find one in the wild for cheap, sure why not?
Here’s a really cool thing I came across (and don’t remember if I had mentioned this before, but won’t be bothered to check): former Trek wonderboy Wil Wheaton reviews classic episodes of his old show, Star Trek: The Next Generation. They’re pretty good reads and offer decent insights into the shows from a guy who’s been there.
(2019 Update: The link to the site is long dead. However, Wil Wheaton did compiled the few reviews from that old site and turned it into a book called Memories Of The Future. Check it out; it’s a pretty good read.)
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.
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.
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.
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.
dtm666 