Amped

Meh. I dunno, sumthin about Alisa still says 'butta-face' to me. Just personal preference is all. I can't say that her foray into what appears to be softcore is much of a surprise, considering her past cosplay projects. Nonetheless... bet she's gonna make some cash from all the creepy convention boys that check out her site, tho!

ICK. Yeaahgads... after seeing that slop of a trailer, methinks that Asimov is spinning in his grave like a rotisserie chicken...

Hmmm... I'm sorry every time I see a pic of Angelina, I can't help but think 'fish lips'... Saaaaay, anyone ever notice the similairty between Peter Jackson and Ogre from Revenge of the Nerds. Granted, PJ is slightly rounder, wears glasses, & has a more pleasant demeanor... however they share a certain hairy unkept 'look.' Just an observation.

Sorry, I still dig the old 'bad' dub... I was bummed the remaster didn't at least have it included for old times sake. Like folks say... don't read to much into the film. Just like Blade Runner isn't the be-all-&-end-all of sci-fi flix... nor is Akira the best that anime has to offer. Doesn't mean it's any less impressive, tho! Remember: it's all CEL animation!!! No computer cheats! And I still say the billowing smoke in this flick is the best...SMOKE... EVER!!!!!

Like I sez in my profile: I love music of all sorts; both to play (on my guitars) and to listen... my taste ranges from Cerebral to Stoner... Tool, Zep, Monster Magnet, Floyd, Ozric Tentacles, Dead Can Dance...

Will we have a fully autonomous (AI-controlled) combat aircraft in our lifetime (next 50 years or so)? Ehhhhhh... perhaps on a limited basis. However, I think there's a whole lotta development that's gotta go on before folks start entrusting the welfare of expensive military hardware soley to AI. I think that the increasingly widespread use of pilot-less aircraft is a more realistic near-term possibility. Remote-piloted aircraft will expand beyond their current spy/ recon/ blck ops role into more visible & routine day-to-day uses. To make a slightly silly analogy, aircraft carriers of the future could resemble seafaring arcades. Actually, with satellite systems, the carrier itself really need only have a minimal human crew to supervise & service the shipboard systems & pilotless/ AI aircraft. The 'pilots' (assuming non-AI control) could be in some secure base deep in a mountainside in Colorado or wherever. Doesn't really matter as long as the pilot signal can get to the aircraft. Gone could be the days of the cocksure fighter jock to be replaced by the deadly accurate future versions of today's top dedicated gamer-geeks. Weird, but entirely possible in a real-time, wireless networked future society. What's interesting about this sort of development in combat aircraft - aside from removing the human pilot directly out of harm's way in the combat zone - is the change in air combat tactics this could portend. Instead of the current fairly large complex aircraft, future pilotless/AI aircraft could be smaller & cheaper... & capable of engaging in high-speed/ high-G maneuvers that would otherwise pulp an onboard human pilot. Researchers are currently studying the bio-mechanics, behavior & habits of swarming insects so that they might successfully apply such principles to AI based robotic airframes. Actually, by removing the human body from the airframe, there is no limit to the design possibilities & configurations we could see. Delicate but deadly insect-like craft, or ornithopters, could literally swarm the skies of future air combat zones! Think of the flying Hunter-Killers from the Terminator movies... but remote piloted by human pilots. Personally, I don't see technology & future AI replacing human pilots... but I do see them augmenting a human pilots' skills & abilities far beyond the capabilities of todays modern military.

Here's a simple but important tip: WASH all the kits' parts before you do anything!!! Use warm water & plain ol' dish soap & clean the parts while still on the sprues. An old soft toothbrush is perfect for lightly scrubbing the parts. You want to do this in order to remove all traces of release agent (from the parts molds), dust build-up, & body oil. Let the parts air dry thoroughly. Doing so will insure that all the parts will accept paint well. Once you've cleaned all your parts, you'll need to apply primer (a base coat of paint) to the parts. There are tons of good modeling books & websites out there... just try a Google search & absorb as much info as possible. It's best to do all your research & planning before you start assembly. Maybe practice some assembly & painting techniques on some other cheapie kits before you tackle this puppy. You don't want to be caught unaware as your paint & glue are drying...

Actually, I gotta agree. After seeing 'The Rundown', I do believe the Rock is actually a charasmatic ACTOR that is capable of doin' stuff far beyond typical meathead fare. This is no small feat, 'cause for some reason he has always bugged me... 'til now. Maybe it was the wrestling 'eyebrow' thing... whatever. Anyhow, I think the Rock'd actually make a decent Conan. BUT... now here's where I gotta put on my R.E.H./ Conan dork hat on... they better give 'im BLUE contacts. Everybody's fav Cimmerian had blue eyes... which makes sense 'cause the Cimmerians were basically the forebears of the Irish/ Scots... Still, I'd love to see Arnie as the older KING Conan someday. If only to hear Mako do the opening voice over of the Nemedian Chronicles: 'Know, O Prince...' Man that's the coolest... B)

FaaaAAAAAK! So much for another Arnie-helmed Conan film anytime soon!!!

Here's some news nuggets of Macross news from Ain't It Cool... http://www.aint-it-cool-news.com/display.cgi?id=16223 'Forget About Love A post on Anime on DVD's forum relays a convention conversation with AnimEigo about Macross licensing. Repordedly, the rights holders to the Macross: Do You Remember Love will not license the movie to an American company because they do not want to share the revenue with the companies that they would be required to. Likewise the licensing of the Macross 7 series is too tangled with song rights to approach.' Sounds like we won't be seeing an official U.S. release of DYRL? anytime soon. <_< Anyhoo, here's another blurb about the Tatsunoko ruling... 'Macross Goes to Court From Natsume Maya ( http://natsumemaya.terminus.net.au/news.htm ) Tokyo High Court rule that production company Tatsunoko Pro held copyright over Super Dimension Fortress Macross , since that company was the one with the responsibility for ensuring the completion of the work. On the other hand, the court distinguished this from copyright in the designs of the characters etc, which was held to reside with planning company Studio Nue.'

Gotta agree with that! Nintendo needs should make their next gen console backward-compatible; I'm sure that feature has helped sales of the PS2. Makes people think their getting more for their money, plus you have the convenience of a single console. Having said that... I got a GameCube from Electronics Boutique back in July when they where running what I thought was a pretty sweet special: trade in up to 10 old N64 games at $5 apiece (Which was great, cause I unloaded alot of my crappier, worth-less-than-poo N64 games that were just sitting around gathering dust. Sh*t like Blast Corps wasn't worth 5 cents, let alone $5, so I was happy! ) and 150 bucks got ya the GC (one of the nifty Platinum ones, no less!) and it came with a memory card and 2 games - WaveRace (good memories of my ol' 64 dayze) and Zelda. A great deal, IMO & we've been happy with the system ever since. We've gotten a few more games for the system, and've been happy with 'em all. Lately, tho, my old SNES has been getting the most use. Go figure. My g/f is addicted to Super Mario All Stars... and I still have a soft spot for Metal Warriors.

Man, I actually have that book... somewhere! I remember buying it as summer reading on a camping trip some time after the film Firefox came out... musta been some time around junior high. I can't for the life of me remember what happened in that book, tho! I do remember one bit, tho... something about placing a ground beacon/ transmittor high enough off the ground so that a reindeer wouldn't be able to piss on it! I'm gonna have to dig that book outta my pile and read it again for old time's sake... and to see what the hell happened in it. *rummages through book stacks* Sweet model, btw! The Firefox doesn't get enuff love from the younger generation... truly one of the cooler fantasy aircraft ever designed!

Great analogy! Do you Feeeeeeel!!! *holds lit cigarette lighter aloft*

*snarfs Coke thru nose* Actually, when I first saw that pic, for some reason I thought of 70's teen idol Lief Garret... which, I suppose, bodes well for them achieving a pseudo-70s style for the film. At least they got rid of the bad Jedi mullet/ rat tail sh*t from the first coupla films. Ya know, as much as I hated (as in Damn you Lucas for poopin' on my childhood mythos-kinda seething hated) Episodes 1 & 2... I may actually have to sneak into a theater to see this one (wha??!? You think I'm gonna pay to see this dreck?!?). I'm rather intrigued to see how cheesy it's gonna be. Tarkin looks like a rejected extra zombie movie. Man, this'll suckeroo!!!

My wallet thanks Toynami's tendancy toward delays... hopefully the end product will not totally suck...

ENTERPRISE second season: Meh. <_< ENTERPRISE blows!!! It is infuriating to me for a number of reasons... IMO, the cast is really great... however the creative direction & stories they are given to work with are poo. Also, it kills me to see how everything looks more advanced than the most recent series' hardware, yet ENTERPRISE is supposed to take place before the original series!!! WTF!!! They shoulda gone old school with the design aesthetic of the show... this was their first & most serious grievous mistake, as it complently taints the vibe of the show... as it is it looks completely misplaced on the technology timeline of the Trek universe. Contextually, it feels wrong!!! I could go on & on... but why bother. ENTERPRISE is an underachiever with gads of potential and will linger on until Paramount either turfs the dastardly duo of B&B ... or somebody accepts that the seriesis brain dead and merifully pulls the plug. Wish they could give Nic Meyer a crack at saving the series, if he could wooed to do so... the man that put the movies on track (directed ST II & VI, w/ major writing credits on IV). Just listen to his commentary on The Wrath of Khan Director's Cut and tell me he doesn't understand what makes Trek tick!!!

Wow, awesome! I NEED that figure!

Basically 'cause it's not a new series... ie - the kits have been out for quite some time now. The only one that's really hard to find... or at least kinda pricey when you DO find it is the Raidin (sp? Raiden? ..can't remember the exact spelling... ) . Luckily the Shinden isn't all that different, mainly just different armament & pilot. The Ishatar, which looks more like a tank turret with legs isn't all that uncommon either, really. Just keep an eye on eBay. They seldom go for more than 30 bucks. Yes, sorta price for a kit that originally retailed for about 9 bucks, but such is the fate when yer late to the model kit dinner table! Anyhow, if ya do drop the cash for 'em, take solice in the fact that they're beautifully detailed kits!!!

Excellent pix Nanashi! No matter how much I despise Macross II the movie/ series, I absolutely adore some of the mech designs! Which only adds to my general loathing of the animation, 'cause designs that neat-o deserve better!!! Having said all that... Not since Edo has ranted on these boards have I been as amused, frustrated, & perplexed by a such a weird series of posts. F'n odd, man. Is it possible to rant in a non-native tongue? At least I hope that's the reason. Or are folks really that wacked?!?

Again, thanks for the great review & pix! However, this just cements the fact that I don't have any use for the 1/60 line anymore. The 1/48 line is where it's at, IMO. Perfect size for display (not to big, not too small!) and plenty of space for loads of quality detail! Plus I just can't stand the 'spud' pilots of the smaller scale Yamatos. Granted, the lil' Minmay is cute... but she's still a gimpy legless wonder.

Excellent pix! I can't wait to get a set! Normally I don't dig the blue DYRL?-style colouring, prefering the greenish TV style... however, surprisingly, the stock blue doesn't look half bad with the low viz valk! I'll probably still customize 'em; but 'til I get around to it, the stock colour will do!

Screw Yamato ( ahem, I mean that in the nicest way!), I've been sayin' since forever that Blue Box Toys (the guys who market Elite Force & CyGIrls figures in the U.S.) oughta snag the Macross License. I think they make the best 1/6 scale figures around. If you sent 'em pix of these awesome figures, that'd haveta get their gears turning!!! *sighs & imagines Elite Force - quality Hikaru in DYRL? flightsuit*

ACK! Man, I dunno about 'loverly'... but it definitly looks plain & 'plastic-y'!!! <_< It needs some serious detailin'!!! Since the Super O & Elint look best in fighter mode, IMO, I think I'll stick w/ the Hasegawa kits. The Yamatos are nice for non-modelers, but they need a lil' TLC to look their best. At least some panel lines!!! Graham, put a bug in Yamato's ear 'bout makin' the Super O & ELint in 1/48 and then you'll have my attention! But to get back on topic... I LOVE my 1/48 low viz ('cept for the goober of a fingerprint on the tailfin paint job... WTF?!? I just noticed that!!!)... The 1/48s truly put all other valk 'toys' to shame. But my Chunkey Monkeys still get a place of honor on the display shelf for pure warm 'n' fuzzy nostalgia. Love 'em still!

How could a fan not wanna see this in a theater?!? The DVDs are awesome, but you haveta experience the grandeur of this films on the big screen. Whether or not you dig Tolkien... regardless of wheter or not you think Peter Jackson has done a worth adaptation of the story... you gotta give the folks at WETA props for nailing the visual aesthetic of Middle Earth. It lives, breathes, and looks alive. Middle Earth is a real place. Just see the movies on the big screen and you won't doubt that!

Man... I freely admit, I was never a huge TF fan... but I just don't get the appeal of this. It looks... goofy. Sorry, just my opinion. To each his own.