HG and Robotech Debates

[Jasonc]

It's even lamer than that, actually. You'll notice that Doug talks a lot about how massively popular he is, with more than 6000 lessoners. 6000 is a lot, especially for something like a Robotech podcast, and it would certainly mean that his opinion, in one way or another, mattered.

But yeah, it ain't true.

Here's a simple game that anyone with the iTunes music store can play. Go to the store, and type in "dougbendo" in the search box. You'll end up with a screen that looks like this:

Notice anything? Perhaps the fact that the podcasts are listed by popularity, and all but #9 in his top ten are Macross Frontier songs?

Yes, a bit over a year ago, Bendo uploaded some Macross Frontier songs to his podcast. Illegally, of course. So people download the Macross Frontier songs, this adds to his download count, and he gets to claim 6000 lessoners.

I'll go further:

Notice that of the 301 podcast episodes on iTunes for bendo, only 28 have actually been downloaded by anyone. Of those 28, only seven are actually Doug Bendo podcasts. The others are the 21 Macross Frontier songs he uploaded. So anyone thinking that Bendo's got a big fanbase is...pretty gullible, I gotta say. I found this information out in a matter of minutes, and anyone with iTunes could do the same.

So yeah...bashing Frontier while illegally riding on its coattails. He's a crackpot, yes, but a really small-time crackpot. If we're gonna bash someone, we shouldn't waste our efforts on the weak and tiny. Forget Bendo, and find someone who actually matters instead.

Man, on those images I see one with my name on it, and here I thought I'd have more people listening. Sheryl and Ranka kicked my butt there. Thanks for putting that up. I knew they were padded somehow, and now it's clear why. EXPOSED and OWNED!!! This feels like the ending of a Scooby-Doo episode where the criminal yells out "If it weren't for you pesky kids".... Scooby Dooby Doooooooo! Hahahaha

[Seto Kaiba]

ok i know i missed 'yesterday's' news but when was HG active legally in harrassing fanfilm makers? is this fananime or like life-action not-for-profit deals (like the many Star Trek fanfilm makers)? links please?

The most recent example was February 2010, when Harmony Gold put the screws to the almost-finished Robotech Genesis, a fan-made animated Robotech feature... sent them a cease and desist letter demanding they stop use of the Robotech name and images similar to those in the 1985 Robotech TV series. You can read the piece on Kena Cubed about it here or the RobotechX news piece on it here.

Both. In short if it has the potenial to be better than the actual Rt franchise a c&d gets sent. And rumor has it that Seto has the ability to have a fan project canned.

Yeah... when UEG first received the cease and desist order, MEMO contacted UEG Productions to claim that I had used my influence at Harmony Gold to have the project shut down for some unclear and petty reason. As soon as the news became public, he changed his story and started claiming that the irregularities in the cease and desist order were because I had faked the documents to trick them into shutting down. Later, I ended up having a chat with UEG's head honcho and he assured me he wasn't buying MEMO's BS for a second, and he filled me in on what really went down.

[Nicaragua]

The most recent example was February 2010, when Harmony Gold put the screws to the almost-finished Robotech Genesis, a fan-made animated Robotech feature... sent them a cease and desist letter demanding they stop use of the Robotech name and images similar to those in the 1985 Robotech TV series. You can read the piece on Kena Cubed about it here or the RobotechX news piece on it here.

Yeah... when UEG first received the cease and desist order, MEMO contacted UEG Productions to claim that I had used my influence at Harmony Gold to have the project shut down for some unclear and petty reason. As soon as the news became public, he changed his story and started claiming that the irregularities in the cease and desist order were because I had faked the documents to trick them into shutting down. Later, I ended up having a chat with UEG's head honcho and he assured me he wasn't buying MEMO's BS for a second, and he filled me in on what really went down.

Who is MEMO ?

Apologies if this is a nooby question but since this topic is 60+ pages then im hoping one of you will humour me.

Edited December 24, 2010 by Nicaragua

[anime52k8]

Man, on those images I see one with my name on it, and here I thought I'd have more people listening. Sheryl and Ranka kicked my butt there. Thanks for putting that up. I knew they were padded somehow, and now it's clear why. EXPOSED and OWNED!!! This feels like the ending of a Scooby-Doo episode where the criminal yells out "If it weren't for you pesky kids".... Scooby Dooby Doooooooo! Hahahaha

speaking of padding, did he seriously come up with two and a half hours of stuff to talk about relating to that one picture you posted?

(I'm not going to listen to find out, I'm too afraid for what little sanity I have left.)

[Seto Kaiba]

Who is MEMO ?

Apologies if this is a nooby question but since this topic is 60+ pages then im hoping one of you will humour me.

MEMO is short for MEMO1DOMINION... he's one of thought police/volunteer moderators on robotech.com and the owner/admin of robotechx.com. He's a long-time wanna-be bigshot in the Robotech fandom who has done a lot of backstabbing and taking credit for the handiwork of others to raise his stock in the eyes of Tommy Yune. He's one of the worst of Robotech's die-hard lunatic fringe, and the slanderer-in-chief holding Bendo and JuanRT's strings. He's reportedly doing all this because he thinks if he kisses Tommy's ass hard enough he'll land himself a job at Harmony Gold. Word has it his Robotech obsession was even the reason his wife divorced him...

[anime52k8]

MEMO is short for MEMO1DOMINION... he's one of thought police/volunteer moderators on robotech.com and the owner/admin of robotechx.com. He's a long-time wanna-be bigshot in the Robotech fandom who has done a lot of backstabbing and taking credit for the handiwork of others to raise his stock in the eyes of Tommy Yune. He's one of the worst of Robotech's die-hard lunatic fringe, and the slanderer-in-chief holding Bendo and JuanRT's strings. He's reportedly doing all this because he thinks if he kisses Tommy's ass hard enough he'll land himself a job at Harmony Gold. Word has it his Robotech obsession was even the reason his wife divorced him...

He's also the guy who post on every web forum he belongs to IN ALL CAPS SO IT LOOKS LIKE HE'S CONSTANTLY YELLING. And I get the feeling he's got some sort of creepy man-crush on you Seto, considering how much he likes to talk about you and your evil, nefarious ways.

Edited December 24, 2010 by anime52k8

[Seto Kaiba]

And I get the feeling he's got some sort of creepy man-crush on you Seto, considering how much he likes to talk about you and your evil, nefarious ways.

He's not the only one... even though he can't post here anymore, MEMO's best buddy Maverick_LSC is still periodically creeping this thread and my profile here to see what I've been saying about Robotech and Harmony Gold, and what I think is a feature on dougbendo's podcast so frequently that there've probably been more Robotech fan podcasts about me than Carl Macek and Tommy Yune put together by now. I'm even a frequent topic for discussion on the other lunatic conspiracy theory podcast run by JuanRT. Seems like I'm the one guy the entire Robotech lunatic fringe is obsessing over. It's like being that fruity f**ker from Twilight, except it's ugly dateless men obsessing over me instead of ugly dateless girls and neglected housewives.

Edited December 24, 2010 by Seto Kaiba

[Nicaragua]

MEMO is short for MEMO1DOMINION... he's one of thought police/volunteer moderators on robotech.com and the owner/admin of robotechx.com. He's a long-time wanna-be bigshot in the Robotech fandom who has done a lot of backstabbing and taking credit for the handiwork of others to raise his stock in the eyes of Tommy Yune. He's one of the worst of Robotech's die-hard lunatic fringe, and the slanderer-in-chief holding Bendo and JuanRT's strings. He's reportedly doing all this because he thinks if he kisses Tommy's ass hard enough he'll land himself a job at Harmony Gold. Word has it his Robotech obsession was even the reason his wife divorced him...

Thanks.

Its quite an interesting read this thread, should keep me entertained as im sat in the office today.

[Zor Primus]

Man, on those images I see one with my name on it, and here I thought I'd have more people listening. Sheryl and Ranka kicked my butt there. Thanks for putting that up. I knew they were padded somehow, and now it's clear why. EXPOSED and OWNED!!! This feels like the ending of a Scooby-Doo episode where the criminal yells out "If it weren't for you pesky kids".... Scooby Dooby Doooooooo! Hahahaha

2:28:00 dedicated to you bro...you're a rock star!!!

[Gubaba]

2:28:00 dedicated to you bro...you're a rock star!!!

No fair! He only gave me 2:11:34!!

[TehPW]

He's not the only one... even though he can't post here anymore, MEMO's best buddy Maverick_LSC is still periodically creeping this thread and my profile here to see what I've been saying about Robotech and Harmony Gold, and what I think is a feature on dougbendo's podcast so frequently that there've probably been more Robotech fan podcasts about me than Carl Macek and Tommy Yune put together by now. I'm even a frequent topic for discussion on the other lunatic conspiracy theory podcast run by JuanRT. Seems like I'm the one guy the entire Robotech lunatic fringe is obsessing over. It's like being that fruity f**ker from Twilight, except it's ugly dateless men obsessing over me instead of ugly dateless girls and neglected housewives.

TU Seto. I am smarter now than before. Basically in a nut shell, HG is the sole cause of why Macross property owners in japan will NOT EVER try to bring over anything Macross to the US, nor will any TV production or outfit (example: Cartoon Network/Adult Swim would never try to purchase the rights to air any Macross property not already beachheaded head [M+, maybe MII:LA], nor will properties like Battletech/Mechwarrior ever get live action or animated in any format by a US or foreign-based animation studio because of the inherant risks possed by HG.

Now some questions...

One: Macross & realted properties ARE aired world-wide otherwise, exept in random countries that HG has inffluence, right? does some american companies that hold foreign interests (like overseas version of SiFi or CN/AS) play Macross? or does it air exclusively on foreign marker cable networks?

Two: what are the odds someone buys out the portion of HG that controls macross properties (not nessessarly for OUR interests). It that the requirement before someone would finally dare to purchase the rights to air macross in any form or sell the merchandice as well?

[Jasonc]

speaking of padding, did he seriously come up with two and a half hours of stuff to talk about relating to that one picture you posted?

(I'm not going to listen to find out, I'm too afraid for what little sanity I have left.)

I haven't listened to it either, but thanks to some good friends, they gave me the rundown of it. Basically, it's about me, Tom, and a couple other people. What I understood from it (I did get an in depth synopsis from 2 people) was that most of it is all hypotheticals, conspiracy theories, and 1/4 truths all made to be fact. I posted some of the details on the previous page I think, so it's not worth repeating.

On a sidenote, since HG doesn't seem to care about the image, why does the peanut gallery? Supposedly they use the term of me "getting caught" leaking pics. Heck, I put it out there hoping people would see it. Some got to see the other stuff I was given by Memo, and I asked one guy to take it off another website till all this drama was free and clear. As HG hasn't answered the call I made in a public forum, they are in effect, stating that they don't care that the images came out (not that they'd have any recourse due to whom I got them from). It's all petty, sad, and yet sickly funny at the same time.

I probably won't be writing for a couple days, as it is Christmas, but will respond to pm messages. So, if I don't talk to you guys till afterward, have a Merry Christmas for you and your families, even our so-called enemies (which I don't really call it that). They probably hate me, but I do wish them all well. Afterall, this is only over animated pictures. Talk to you guys soon, or at least I'll be lurking for a couple days. Have a good one my bruthas and sistas.

[Seto Kaiba]

TU Seto. I am smarter now than before. Basically in a nut shell, HG is the sole cause of [...] the inherant risks posed by HG.

Nah... as big a pack of idiots and apefaces as they are, there are other reasons why some Macross shows would be difficult to license and distribute outside of Japan. Likewise, if the property owners for Battletech and MechWarrior stayed away from the "unseen" mecha, HG would have no grounds to complain or interfere.

One: Macross & related properties ARE aired world-wide otherwise, exept in random countries that HG has inffluence, right?

In practical terms, there's nothing stopping distributors outside those regions where HG has trademarks on the Macross name and logo from licensing other Macross shows. There are a few roadblocks related to the cost of licensing the music that make obtaining Macross 7 and likely Macross Frontier as well a tricky and expensive proposition. Since HG has covered the major nations where dubbing and distribution is handled, they've pretty effectively shut out Macross from most countries.

Two: what are the odds someone buys out the portion of HG that controls macross properties (not nessessarly for OUR interests). It that the requirement before someone would finally dare to purchase the rights to air macross in any form or sell the merchandice as well?

Essentially zero... unless Warner decides that Robotech is going to be the next big thing (fat chance, since they seem to be sitting on their hands waiting for the license to expire), that's unlikely to happen.

[BeyondTheGrave]

Two: what are the odds someone buys out the portion of HG that controls macross properties (not nessessarly for OUR interests). It that the requirement before someone would finally dare to purchase the rights to air macross in any form or sell the merchandise as well?

Very Low. But on the slim chance it does happen. The problem is that some properties are very expensive and may not be worth bringing over (Macross7), or no one knows who holds the rights to a property (DYRL). And chances are that Hg is making some sort of money by licensing series/movies and doing very little to nothing with them. Even though their catalog is every limited

[Noyhauser]

Is there any way I can listen to his podcast without adding to his numbers?

[BeyondTheGrave]

&

you've been warned

edit:

if you want more punishment or a good laugh

Edited December 24, 2010 by BeyondTheGrave

[TehPW]

The Thunderbolt is weak as sh*t? Really? I think ill go back to wrapping presents & Listening to NPR than even give that doosh even a wink of thought. serious, that guy the a$$hat Robofan you been bashing about?

Just a reminder, youtube allows even the stupidest people they're -15 seconds of fame. I mean, Robotech is what got me interested in Macross but please! his comparison is like, oh.... pointless. My cat could own his line of thought simply by walking over my keyboard... LOL

*plays FOO Fighters's The Pretender*

Edited December 24, 2010 by pensives_wetness

[Nicaragua]

The Thunderbolt is weak as sh*t? Really? I think ill go back to wrapping presents & Listening to NPR than even give that doosh even a wink of thought. serious, that guy the a$$hat Robofan you been bashing about?

Yeah i thought that was a dumb argument too. If he had just left it as "I prefer the variety of mecha in robotech like bikes, tanks and choppers" then that would have been a reaonable viewpoint but he starts rambling crap about technology going backwards in Macross and the Thunderbolt being weak due to its smaller calibre rifle... the guys a tool.

Some of his spelling is hilarious though, so i give him some credit for amusing me.

[Noyhauser]

Very Low. But on the slim chance it does happen. The problem is that some properties are very expensive and may not be worth bringing over (Macross7), or no one knows who holds the rights to a property (DYRL). And chances are that Hg is making some sort of money by licensing series/movies and doing very little to nothing with them. Even though their catalog is every limited

Thank you for updating my list of products I refuse to watch.

[Beltane70]

The Thunderbolt is weak as sh*t? Really? I think ill go back to wrapping presents & Listening to NPR than even give that doosh even a wink of thought. serious, that guy the a$$hat Robofan you been bashing about?

Just a reminder, youtube allows even the stupidest people they're -15 seconds of fame. I mean, Robotech is what got me interested in Macross but please! his comparison is like, oh.... pointless. My cat could own his line of thought simply by walking over my keyboard... LOL

*plays FOO Fighters's The Pretender*

That again? I was in that argument over at RT.com. I remember posting the official stats of both the VF-1 and VF-11, but was told "Macross fans will make up anything to support their claims." just because the translated stats were taken from an English-language fansite. I just wound up stopping posting in the middle of the argument and I'm pretty sure in their eyes, they claimed it as their own victory.

[Zor Primus]

I probably won't be writing for a couple days, as it is Christmas, but will respond to pm messages. So, if I don't talk to you guys till afterward, have a Merry Christmas for you and your families, even our so-called enemies (which I don't really call it that). They probably hate me, but I do wish them all well. Afterall, this is only over animated pictures. Talk to you guys soon, or at least I'll be lurking for a couple days. Have a good one my bruthas and sistas.

Merry Christmas Jason! And to everyone else that finds this thread more informative then 20/20 or entertaining as a football game, have a wonderful holiday! May Santa give us all 1/48 scale Valks in our stockings!

[Atharun]

Does everyone remember the "Real Men of genius" commercials for Bud Light? I think we should make one for Seto lol. Here's to you Mr.Macross II loving, Harmony Gold hating mech design Valkyrie lover.

[Seto Kaiba]

That again? I was in that argument over at RT.com. I remember posting the official stats of both the VF-1 and VF-11, but was told "Macross fans will make up anything to support their claims." just because the translated stats were taken from an English-language fansite.

Oh, that? Yeah, that outcome wasn't a surprise. In my experience, most Robotech fans are perfectly happy to accept baseless speculation as though it were fact... so long as it supports whatever crackpot point they think they're proving. Robotech was without an official source of information for so long that most fans don't want to accept the official source because it doesn't agree with the last fifteen years of fanon, pet theories, and utterly baseless speculation. It certainly doesn't help that many Robotech fans are used to American style SF, wherein any materials outside the show itself are "Expanded Universe" and therefore automatically non-canon. They're so used to having no facts to go on that the very idea of being able to back your claims up with documented evidence is practically an alien concept... and having a fan-site base its stats on official stats is essentially an impossibility in Robotech, so I suppose their confusion is understandable.

Does everyone remember the "Real Men of genius" commercials for Bud Light? I think we should make one for Seto lol. Here's to you Mr.Macross II loving, Harmony Gold hating mech design Valkyrie lover.

Nah, let's hold off on that until I've invented something really useful... like a way to smite Robotech fans over TCP/IP.

[BeyondTheGrave]

Does everyone remember the "Real Men of genius" commercials for Bud Light? I think we should make one for Seto lol. Here's to you Mr.Macross II loving, Harmony Gold hating mech design Valkyrie lover.

Nah, let's hold off on that until I've invented something really useful... like a way to smite Robotech fans over TCP/IP.

Somebody did something like it

.

Edited December 25, 2010 by BeyondTheGrave

[Atharun]

Oh, that? Yeah, that outcome wasn't a surprise. In my experience, most Robotech fans are perfectly happy to accept baseless speculation as though it were fact... so long as it supports whatever crackpot point they think they're proving. Robotech was without an official source of information for so long that most fans don't want to accept the official source because it doesn't agree with the last fifteen years of fanon, pet theories, and utterly baseless speculation. It certainly doesn't help that many Robotech fans are used to American style SF, wherein any materials outside the show itself are "Expanded Universe" and therefore automatically non-canon. They're so used to having no facts to go on that the very idea of being able to back your claims up with documented evidence is practically an alien concept... and having a fan-site base its stats on official stats is essentially an impossibility in Robotech, so I suppose their confusion is understandable. Nah, let's hold off on that until I've invented something really useful... like a way to smite Robotech fans over TCP/IP.

As someone who is a a fan of Robotech, I do disagree...slightly....many of the vocal members in the online comunity fit into this category. HOWEVER, in my experience, fans who are not active in the online community/fandom are much more level minded. Many of the fans I have met at the cons held here in Fl are aware of the problems associated with Robotech in its current form as well as the frustrations it causes for fans or Robotech AND Macross both.

The largest frustrations seem to be the fact that there is little to no progress with Robotech with regards to actual animated projects(at least that is the perception)or storyline. Also for those like me that are fans of Macross as well, the frustration is doubled with the inablility to have Macross properties released here stateside. While many enjoy subs there are those of us who do not. Also please do not say only die hard anime fans enjoys because many of us preffer dubs. It is ultimately a matter of opinion, anyway...These things combined have built frustrations on both sides of the fence and have caused many to be angry with HG's handling of the Robotech franchise and the direction in which it is headed.

Edited December 25, 2010 by Richardmvela

[Gubaba]

&

you've been warned

edit:

if you want more punishment or a good laugh

Interestingly enough, that second vid backs up my theory that Bendo's 6000 lessoners don't actually lesson to him.

A7 linked to that video some time ago, soon after it was uploaded, and the views jumped remarkably. Look at it: more than eight hundred views. Then look at the other vids uploaded before and after it. Some have as few as four views, most have a couple dozen. If there were really 6000 people lessoning to him, wouldn't his youtube uploads be more popular?

So yeah, sure. He might get 6000 downloads per week, but the VAST majority of those people are downloading the free, illegally uploaded Macross Frontier songs. No one actually cares about his podcast, beyond a few like-minded nutjobs.

Like I said, strictly small-time amateur hour. Why offer him validation when he's done nothing to deserve it?

[BeyondTheGrave]

Look at it: more than eight hundred views. Then look at the other vids uploaded before and after it. Some have as few as four views, most have a couple dozen. If there were really 6000 people lessoning to him, wouldn't his youtube uploads be more popular?

Maybe it broadcast in multiple day cares during nap time. If your 12 lessoners per view then yeah he has over 6000 lessoners.

Which would confirm your theory that there aren't that many people who willing listen to him. That is outside of torture.

@HappyPenguins

Zombie Macek?

Edited December 25, 2010 by BeyondTheGrave

[Zor Primus]

Somebody did something like it

.

The face of Robotech fandom using Lion as his theme song.

[Tom Bateman]

Mr. Bateman your conflict with Tommy Yune sounds very close to what happened with Chris Claremont & Jim Lee over the direction of the X-Men. Would you create a series that throw out the Yune stuff and start fresh? How would you make RT better than Yune?

Terry, I get asked this question a lot. "What would you have done?"

Here is how I would have done a follow up to the original Robotech. Though my first preference would be to do The Sentinels. I didn't care much for the Marcus character, because his whole character is one-dimensional (wanting to avenge his sister), I tried to humanize him a bit in my attempt.

Back in late 2001, right after 9/11, on my own and without being asked, I wrote a script that I felt would be true to Robotech and be a springboard for telling the story of the search for Rick Hunter. This was before anyone else had written a script.

ROBOTECH : Shadow Force by Thomas J. Bateman

None of this script was used in RTSC, as you will notice that this is VERY different from anything resembling RTSC.

Give it a read and let me know what you think.

Merry Christmas, RT fans.

Edited December 25, 2010 by Tom Bateman

[HappyPenguins]

Maybe it broadcast in multiple day cares during nap time. If your 12 lessoners per view then yeah he has over 6000 lessoners.

Which would confirm your theory that there aren't that many people who willing listen to him. That is outside of torture.

@HappyPenguins

Zombie Macek?

nope it was zombie santa, were you good?

also what in the hell is a "lessoner?"

looked it up on dictionary.com and here's what I got

No results found for lessoner:

Did you mean Lessener?

Dictionary:

# lesson

# lessoned

# lessen

# Essoiner

# lesser

# lessing

# lessor

# Lessons

# lassoer

# Lesson's

# Lessons'

# lessened

# less

[BeyondTheGrave]

also what in the hell is a "lessoner?"

dougbendo doesn't spell listener correctly. So the idea/joke is that he doesn't have listeners but lessoners.

[Nicaragua]

dougbendo doesn't spell listener correctly. So the idea/joke is that he doesn't have listeners but lessoners.

and he washes with sope apparently

[anime52k8]

and he washes with sope apparently

Sope, sounds delicious.

Edited December 26, 2010 by anime52k8

[HappyPenguins]

Sope, sounds delicious.

must do a better job of washing the body than soap does I guess

[Roy Focker]

Read Tom's script. I see many similarities to the Shadow Chronicles but this script flows better. I think there was too many characters in it and not enough action. Like RTSC it tries to keep the enemy a secret from the heroes. The Robotech Defenders (and the audience) needs to meet know who the villains are early on. It like the SC seems to rely heavily on the End of the Circle setting. That novel was pretty crappy and is really old. We already know that story. Robotech the Shadow Chronicles could have started the search for Admiral Hunter from a totally new fresh take. Vince, Louie, Scott and Jean Grant uggh what a boring combination. Plus with the RTSC & the Sentinels make the Robotech franchise like a bastard wannabe Star Trek. Robotech is about different generation on Earth protecting it from one alien invasion from the next. Put them on a space mission and it isn't Robotech.

You know Robotech is missing a great opportunity with Rick Hunter. In the Macross Saga he is very much like his Macross counterpart. Young idiot who becomes a hero. Scott Bernard makes him sound like a legendary leader in the third series. People need to see him become that leader. Instead there's his whiny, little bitch worrywart appearance in the Sentinels and his white haired useless old man in the RTSC. They need an exciting tale about Hunter's balls. We get to learn about Rick's kid balls and then his old man balls. People need to experience his balls when they were in their prime.