Blaine23

The article also doesn't mention that McFarlane lost the rights to the Medieval Spawn and the Angela characters to Neil Gaiman, who had co-created them when he wrote the script for Spawn #8.  Both characters had starred in various spinoffs series and mini-series.  Neil Gaiman was looking for royalties for those characters and wasn't receiving them, so he sued and won.  Yay Gaiman!

I wasn't aware of the that. Yay for Gaiman!

Damn skippy. The Tony Twist ruling is a bit sad for free-speech, but McFarlane deserves to be slapped around for the B.S. he's tried to pull with Gaiman.

Hopefully all of this will boil down to someone re-releasing the incredible Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman runs of Miracleman which have been kept in Todd's vault for the last 15 years or so.

All these lawsuits, and yet Rob Liefield is still a free man? I tell you, there's no justice in the world.

BWA!

Sure, he may be free... but there's simply got to be some kind of price on that doofus' head by now, BSU. If not, I'll pitch in a few extra bucks.

True, but I sincerely believe that, before SW books started getting written again in the late 80's, the ones that were written during the OT were probably very controlled by Lucas . Books like SitME, the Han Solo books and, of course, the novelizations of the films.

Remember that Lucas was quoted as saying that in reference to the new crop that started with Timothy Zahn's books.

As for Smith- Smith rocks! You suck, Mechleader!!!

True dat, WDC - but I went the newer books, since that seems more relevant to the discussion. If GL really did have a hand in those Billy Dee Williams' themed books, then he rocks.

Just look at that malt-liquor loving pimp...

Mmmm... I think about half my MP3s are untagged. And pr'ly half of those are incomprehensible filenames too. Good thing I don't go for controlled playback.

Yikes! Maybe I've got a touch of the Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (okay, I've got a major touch of it ), but I think I'd die if I had to deal with untagged, wacky named mp3s for very long.

Once you've got 37gb worth of audio in your pocket, it could seriously take hours to find what you want.

One of my favorite things about having an HD based player is the ability to make an on-the-go mix as I feel it.

The funniest thing about all the RIAA restrictions on iPod and other players is that it's really very easy to plunk down $90 on an external USB Maxtor 80GB drive an load it up full of quasi legal content and give it to a friend. As we speak, 2 of my closest are getting full, external music collections for the holidays.

And people say I have no heart...

Does this mean we can expect the same incredibly high level of quality that we've seen in films like Con Air, Gone in Sixty Seconds, and Days of Thunder?

Oh well, it'll look pretty and we might get lucky. But at least it will probably get made with the Bruck on board.

Whatever. At least Kevin Smith can write. Lucas has written about 3 scripts (the prequels) in the last 10 years and they're not exactly snappy dialogue.

It's TV, so the majority of the actual writing/directing will be handled in an episode by episode basis by people that work mostly in television. Any involvement of someone like Smith or any bigger name would be in showrunning - hiring writers, directors, etc and seasonal plot development - bigger story arcs, etc.

Lucasfilm the company may be very involved in keeping control of comics, books, etc - Corey, but GL himself has a pretty large "hands-off" mentality towards liscensed material. He sets the initial guidelines and that's about it. Every article I've ever read with the guy said, "no, I don't really care about that stuff. I've never read it."

From what I've heard, I'd imagine the same sort of thing on the TV show. Sure, he'd likely get an exec producer credit... but in Hollywood that's almost a sure way of saying you had very little to do with the actual project other than money, licensing, or favors.

It's a funny cycle, really. Someone comes up with a way for really non-technical people to share stuff - usually illegal trading of copyrighted data. It grows and becomes popular, gets magazine articles, and becomes even better with all of the people using it and sharing their bandwidth and more variety of goodies... then it gets killed by lawyers. Or comes back neutered with none of the good stuff or charging money.

I saw it with Napster, and a million clones and now BitTorrent is taking the heat.

The funniest thing is that the easier you make it, the more likely it is to get shut down. All of the oldest filesharing methods never die. Most of how I trade or d/l this sort of thing has been there since the internet was in it's infancy.

It will always happen, you just can't make it too easy, apparently.

Cheaper-made is debatable.

Sure Creative's fall apart. We've got that established pretty well here.

But what about other brands? There's about a dozen out there, I'm pretty sure.

Every quality comparsion has been to a Creative Labs product.

And like I said, it's not just space, but features. I think the iPod is a tad light on some features it SHOULD have.

I like the red/orange combo. Another fine improvement over white-on-white.

True. I haven't owned every Mp3 player... I have used a friend's Rio and another friend's Lyra. After comparing their players to mine, both bought iPods. So that rules out most of the other competition to me, too.

But Creative is the #2 selling hard drive based Mp3 player, so I AM comparing #1 & #2. Of course, there's a HUUUUUUGE drop between the Apple and Creative in terms of units sold.

I have used a friend's Rio and another friend's Lyra. After comparing their players to mine, both bought iPods. And I wouldn't buy either of their products, either. Lyra= too big, doesn't save your place after a power off (wtf?). Rio = easily the worst interface with the computer I've used (even worse than Creative Media Manager) and it had a tendency to break down.

Don't much about Archos or the others... but I'm doubting they're

Again, I see the reasoning in most of your iPod complaints - there are some things I definitely think could be improved. I wish iTunes could drag and drop or just use IE for that without additional 3rd party software - but on any large capacity player having your tags correct is very important - and iTunes kills the competition in that regard. It's actually not a bad little tagging program, aside from all the other stuff it does. As far as some of the other complaints - it doesn't have FM radio - I don't care and don't want it. It doesn't do voice recording - sure it does, but you have to buy an attachment, if you really want to do that. Personally, I'd rather just have a voice recorder for that job. It doesn't play OGG or WMA - Don't care and don't care. My collection is mp3, at a good bitrate, and with 40GB of space, I got no complaints.

I just think iPod is a good at what it sets out to be. Sure, it dominates the competition, but that's not all just marketing or spin. It works well, the navigation is simple to use and it has a reputation for quality. I don't really see any reason to put it down simply because it's a winner in terms of sales and marketing, y'know?

As someone who has the original 5gig(x2) iPod since day 1, which has gone taken a beating (mountain biking, skiing, snowboarding, rock climbing and still runs great) sah-weet!

Though I rather like Blaine's idea of a unit 00, 01, and 02.

Thankya DA. I'd probably get the butt ass ugly combo of purple and lime green... just because I'm weird. But Unit 02 would probably look the best.

I gotta agree with you. I speak from personal experience here. I've had an original Nomad and a Nomad Zen NX and both fell apart with very little usage - mainly car and office.

My g/f has had 2 iPods, a 2g 10GB and a 3G 40Gb, both are still working fine and took much more of a beating. So when my last Creative died, I decided to spend more money on the superior product. And trust me - I'm not an Apple user so it was difficult for me... this is the first Apple product I've bought since I was studying graphic design.

At $299 for a 20GB 4G, I don't think it's really that much more expensive. You may be able to get more space for less money elsewhere, but you also get a no resale value, cheaper made goods, and at best, an iPod lookalike (which is what all the new Creative Zens are).

I love being able to carry that much music, audiobooks, etc in my pocket. I've pretty much ignored my giant CD shelf since I got mine.

If somebody wanted to get a cheaper mp3 player - I say good for you. It didn't work out very well for me. But please lay off the "lemming" crap - it's not as if there's not good, practical reasons to buy the more expensive product.

Just for giggles, a quick Photochop test -

And yes, Unit02 does look the best.

Good lord, I could care less if Banky worked for HG or whether he manually masturbates circus animals. For profit, of course. It's just a job. But it's a job he loves.

I was just remembering the good old days when he would come on here and be annoying. Sounds like he got a dream job. Talking to the Days Inn on behalf on HG. Lots of prestige in being THE contact man between Days Inn and Harmony Gold.

Wow.

I'm sure it pays the bills... but I doubt I'd be all "check my blog for updates about my exciting career in reserving conference rooms!"

Either way, somebody please update me if Wrylac gets that dream job of officially talking to Pizza Hut to order lunch for Tom Bateman. That's even better than the Apprentice!

Wow... neato.

I'm not sure what I expect out of this... but at least they're using people that obviously know and love Star Wars.

Now if they can just keep Bea Arthur from reprising that role from the Holiday Special.

Stop jumping on the Apple bandwagon! It's not too late, you too can avoid becoming an iPod lemming!

Puh-leeze... like buying a cheaper and more poorly made competitor's mp3 player makes anyone any cooler?

I've had 2 Creatives and they both went to crap after a year of service. There's nothing lemming-like about buying the superior product.

And that iPod is kickass... but it totally should have come in black or Unit 01, Unit 02, and Unit 00 colors. That would be kickass.

Banky... what a tool. Macek... same thing, really.

So, did BoK work for HG when he ran amok here or was he recently upgraded from lickspittle-wannabe to lackey?

Getting a 19" FlatPanel/TV Monitor and buying myself Predaking reissue.

Other than that, not too much. Already bought myself way to much computer crap already. RAM upgrade, HDD upgrade, etc.

Lists are dumb.

Well, I suppose it is cool to hear about the Skull One being considered more popular than Rog, Dwayne, Rerun and Shirley.

I had the Skystriker and it was awesome. I mainly remember getting for my birthday and that it came in a thicker, white box - like a shipping box - with the color label printed on the front and no plastic windows to see inside. I also remember laborously putting it together and applying each NO STEP and BEWARE INTAKE sticker. I also liked Ace's helmet.

But it was a bit too damn big to actually do much playing with. The Helicopter was far more fun to hunt Cobra minions down in my living room.

Wow. Haven't seen a selection that huge and boxes that mint except when Kevin from V-E shows off a new arrival. Very impressive.

But I don't know how you keep from opening all those boxes.

LOL... this thread rocks.

But I gotta be honest, my MP Optimus Prime hung out in my office bathroom for a few weeks, guarding the commode.

I'll just throw in that it was wicked awesome. I expected alot, loving the Iron Giant as I do... and man, it was even better.

I personally would like to imagine Nike just sending over a couple of guys from the Pacers to "negotiate" with the HG staff.

I actually really dig that Strike Valk silhouette logo... it'd be a cool one to use around here.

Now, let's just all kick back and see if HG will go after Nike

Eh. I'd say $10 is pretty fair.

For that some money you could get like 2 or 3 magazines, one book and a Coke, or a discount CD like the best of Steppenwolf or Foghat.

When it comes down to Slow Ride or playing Battlecry - It's really neck and neck.

Love these three films as I do, my personal favorite Eastwood Western will always be the Outlaw Josey Wales. No doubt there as to who he is.

As a young man, I wanted to grow up and kill people and chew tobacco, just so I could spit a nice brown juicer on a corpse. Or a dog. Or a scorption. Really, whatever I wanted to.

Plus it also has my favorite lines of all time in a western.

"Man's got a right to make a living."

"Dyin' ain't much of a living, boy."

Yes, I did see Aladdin and the King of Thieves.  I've seen all three, and liked all three.  I also liked Lion King II and Lion King 1 and 1/2 is my favorite of the Lion King movies.  Stitch: the Movie was highly entertaining...  And Buzz Lightyear of the Star Command was better than either of the Toy Story movies.  In any case, I hated both Beauty and the Beast movies, and both Little Mermaid movies.  Didn't see either Pocahontes movies.

Seriously? I only saw parts of some of them when hanging with my nephews and nieces and the drop in quality of animation, acting, etc was horrendous. If you think that's good stuff... then I guess you probably will like Toy Story 3, no matter what.

Now the funny thing about Disney... or Pixar, or just about anyone out there making movies today... are you ready for this?  They're all in it to make money.  I know, it's shocking, but it's the goal of a business, be it a movie studio, a grocery store, an automobile maker, etc, to make enough money to turn a profit.

That is my point.

Disney, nor any other movie studio, has never made a movie because "there is a good story to be told."

Again, this is also my point. You can't count on The Studio to make a movie for any other reason that moo-lah.

Pixar isn't the Studio, they are the artists and I really, honestly believe they make movies for the right reasons. They really seem to take their time and try to make movies that resonate with kids and grownups alike. Walt Disney built his company on this ideal and it shows with the classic Disney animated films. Now, it's all boardroom decisions, etc. This is why I don't think TS3 has much of a chance of being any good without Pixar's guiding hand. Disney didn't have anything to do with bringing you characters like Woody, Buzz, etc... they just sign the check. What on Earth makes you believe that they have any desire to make a good movie? I doubt they even consider it.

Which actually makes me think of something.  Those direct to video releases?  They're not intended to be on par with the theatrical releases.  They're intended for kids who always watch a particular movie (for my niece, it was Shrek) so their poor parents don't have to watch the same movie over and over and over.  If Toy Story 3 is going to be a theatrical release, it's hardly fair to compare it to Disney's direct to video releases.

Like >EXO< said - Funny story about that. Actually Disney wanted Pixar to make a cheap, quick job of Toy Story 2 and send it direct to video. Their point was, "you've got the models, you have so much animation done - it should be easy." Pixar instead took their time and made a film so good that even Disney saw the potential to sign a few more checks and put it in the theaters.

So, you've got one company that make movies good enough to escape Direct To Video Hell and another company that pushes for cheap, quick product. I wonder why my trust in Pixar is higher than Disney?

Especially when you haven't even seen a preview or anything.  That's jumping the gun.  You can't argue that "it's not about being pessmistic, it's about recognizing talent," when you have no idea if the people working on Toy Story 3 are talented or not.  It's absolutely pessimistic, because you're saying that Toy Story 3 is going to suck when the only thing you know about it is that Pixar isn't working on it.

Yep. My point was that I'm not the type to automatically assume everything will suck.... but in this case, I'm making an exception. The fact that John Lasseter is not involved is a very sad thing. If you liked the first two movies - you liked John Lasseter's work, not Disney's. It's that simple. I could care less if Dreamworks or Fox or anybody's else logo was attached to the film - I just know that this guy told a good story.

It's also a case where this was not an established license, this was Pixar's baby. It isn't like someone else picking up Spiderman or X-Men films - this was Pixar's concept, idea, and execution. I understand why Disney is doing this - they own the license and they want to make cash. I just don't think it stands much of a chance of retaining any of the quality of the original Pixar movies.

And of course, the only reason Pixar isn't working on it is because they split with Disney.  Why?  They wanted a bigger slice of the pie.  It all comes back to money.

Yep. But you're missing the point here, Mike. I'm not railing against the nature of profit VS art. I can totally understand it. I'm not real surprised that the Disney/Pixar/Toy Story deal has gone down the way it has.

All that being said, as a guy with $10 in his pocket - I wouldn't be as likely to spend it on Toy Story 3 as I would a new Disney film or a new Pixar film. It's my choice. And if I think that Toy Story 3 is gonna suck without Pixar and Lasseter - that's my opinion. I think I've given plenty of reasons as to why I think it'll suck and I also think they make a decent amount of sense.

But then again, I'm the type of guy that wouldn't rate Buzz Lightyear of the Star Command as "better than either of the Toy Story movies". So, if the movie comes out and it's fantastic - I'll be pleasantly surprised. Either way, I'm thinking you'll probably dig it.

And as for Nintendo's "originality," going from Nintendo to Super Nintendo or Gameboy to Gameboy Color to Gameboy Advance is almost as bad as going from PlayStation to PlayStation 2.  Nintendo 64 really wasn't that hot either, and frankly, Gamecube and Nintendo Dual Screen are really more descriptive than original.  Yeah, I think I'm sticking with Sega for most originality.

Would you have prefered Nintendo's "Dolphin" as a name for the GC?

Frankly, I don't care what any company names their consoles so long a steh software and and hardware are good.

I'd have preferred it if they went directly for the Boston youth market and dubbed it the Nintendo: WickedAwesome.

J/K... I could care less too - but my marketing side know that it does confuse the parents when they try to figure out which game on which system their kids keep blathering about wanting for Christmas. It's a smarter move to use either different names or consequential number than adding stuff like Advance to an existing title.