Sunday, December 23, 2007

Adultswim, STOP Complaining About The Anime

STOP, Stop right now. We are all tired of seeing the graphics that bad mouth the anime on your schedule. Maybe you want to try something different then, well here’s a thought, play some good anime.

Eureka 7, Cowboy Bebop, Trigun, and Blue Gender to name a few were good anime to have been played. Maybe because they had either some sort of space or robot theme, these seemed to be the most enjoyable of your past schedule. Shows like Death Note (which is awesome), Trinity Blood, Samurai Champloo, and Fooly Cooly were good for things of change, but remember not everyone is into the vampires/demons (Blood+, InuYasha, Bleach) and series being rerun like six thousand times (Cowboy Bebop).


In my opinion maybe you should consider getting rid of all non-anime shows from your schedule. The only non-anime you’ve ever played that I liked is either going or has gone by the wayside anyways (Futurama, Sealab 2021, Mission Hill). Everything else is either poorly animated, or just absolutely disgusting, and in most cases both. Granted an episode of Family Guy once in a while is entertaining to watch but I could have lived happily if it was never picked up again.

So how about trying to find more space or giant robot themed anime to play, usually these are also a little bit more adult themed as well. I remember a couple years back Toonami did a Giant Robot week and they played three episode of a show called Martian Successor Nadesico, that was good, why not try that. There are also several Gundam series that have yet to make it to American airwaves so why not pick one of them?


You know what; why not try uncut, unedited Sailor Moon? Anything has to be better than Assy McGee, Saul Of The Mole Men, 12 oz. Mouse, The Boondocks, and Frisky Dingo.

So unless you make a better attempt at what’s on your schedule, quite displaying graphics about how bad your anime ratings are, because it’s no one’s fault but your own.

Spaceballs: The Animated Series


Really? Are you serious? Fall of 2007 on G4, no kidding?

So now that it’s past the fall of ’07, where in the world is this series? I personally never saw any of the promos, but they’re out there, just go to YouTube and type in Spaceballs the animated series and they’ll be there.

For those that seen the original Spaceballs movie, you know just as well as I do that we all wanted to see a sequel, but we could’ve all lived with an animated series. Spaceballs was an epic science fiction spoof movie poking fun at mostly Star Wars (force = Schwartz, Darth Vader = Dark Helmet), but was enjoyed by all.

The animated series was even overseen by the great Mel Brooks himself. So you know this series had to be worthwhile, and yet, we wonder about its existence.

Maybe G4 just couldn’t find a spot for it, you know they have all these great shows as it is; Arrested Development, Cops, Cheaters, Ninja Warrior. Okay so I’m being sarcastic, the shows I just listed I wish they would ditch altogether because they really just don’t belong. I understand Star Trek, Cinetech, Cheat, and X-Play, but how many channels do we really need to play Cops on? Don’t get me wrong I enjoy the show once in awhile because people are just dumb, but it already runs on like ten other channels.

So G4, I say get rid of the crap and give us the Spaceballs cartoon. It can’t be any worse then what is currently on your schedule.

The Machines From The Terminator Universe, Intelligent?

By now we have all seen the three Terminator movies and are anxiously awaiting the premier of the Sarah Connor Chronicles. Some maybe even ready for the fourth movie that is rumored to begin production soon.

But the question here has to be asked, are the machines actually all that intelligent? I mean they had a good concept in the first movie. They couldn't kill John Connor in the future so send a machine back in time to kill his mother, Sarah Connor.

Great idea, just one little problem. Sarah Connor has proven to be a tougher opponent than John Connor. In the first movie the terminator failed to kill Sarah Connor, in the second and even third it was the terminator’s job to kill John Connor as a teenager, but both times there was involvement from his mother that cost the terminator’s their lives and allowed the future to continue the way it was.



The new TV series the Sarah Connor Chronicles seems to most fans of this saga that it will be a great watch. It falls between movies two and three, so again John Connor is a teenager, but this time along with his mother he will have a new female protector played by Summer Glau (River Tam; Firefly, Serenity). This is where I feel the machines fail to show intelligence.

Why would you bother to keep making attempts on John Connor as a teenager when you know Sarah Connor will be getting involved? You already know that if you could successfully get rid of Sarah Connor like you attempted in the first Terminator movie, there would be no John Connor, so why not try killing Sarah Connor as a teenager, or take it one step farther, go kill Sarah Connor’s mother.

Maybe the machines shouldn’t even focus on the Connor family altogether. Why not eliminate other families that assist John Connor in the future. John Connor never made a stand by himself it was always as the leader of the human army, so if you take away his army, you take away his victory. And they say machines are smarter than man.

With all this said, I still plan on watching and enjoying the Sarah Connor Chronicles and who knows maybe the fourth movie won’t be as bad as the third.

The Sarah Connor Chronicles airs in January on FOX.

Codename: Kids Next Door

Though it is really nothing more than a children’s cartoon, as an adult I find it fascinating. It has good clean humor for the kids, but the creative imagination that is beyond most adults. Not to mention it has quality animation unlike most American made cartoons.

For those that have not seen the Kids Next Door (KND) you may want to make an attempt at seeing at least one episode, regardless of your age.

Here’s a very quick recap of the story. We follow a team of five kids somewhere around the age of ten in their quest to conquer adult suppression; be that from doing chores/homework to eating their vegetables.

So many people maybe wondering why I chose to blog about a children’s cartoon like KND. Well if you’d seen the show you would know. This cartoon is chalk full of science fiction goodness. There’s creative weaponry, vehicles, tree-houses and moon-base, the virtual reality machine that appeared in an episode, along with the incorporation of several big science fiction movies in the creation of episodes (the most dominant being Star Wars).

When you can make a snow day from school turn into the battle of Hoth in the Empire Strikes Back using school buses for AT-AT walkers, you have yourself something that many people will enjoy. Actually that entire episode was full of different Star Wars spoofs and is probably my personal favorite.

The conflict in this series is also not only between the kids and adults but teenagers as well. For most of the series it’s every organization for themselves, but there are times when the groups form short term treaties to put a stop to the opposition that may be gaining an advantage over the other two.

For a children’s cartoon, it’s very appealing to adults, just keep in mind, it’s a children’s cartoon and to gain access to doors and secret chambers the kids don’t use keys or passwords, but reach deep into their noses to pull out a booger or two.

Truly a must see, KND airs several different times a week on Cartoon Network.


Monday, December 17, 2007

Futurama – It’s Back Baby



Well kind of. With the release of Futurama: Bender’s Big Score, we finally get to see our favorite delivery crew in an all new adventure. Something we have all wanted for a long time.

For those that haven’t run right out to buy Bender’s Big Score yet (which we say shame on you), the movie will be broken down into four episodes and aired on Comedy Central sometime in the near future. Just keep in mind that some content will have to be deleted for the run time allotted.

Bender’s Big Score is just the first of four straight to DVD movies that we will be getting to see. We also have:

The Beast With A Billion Backs
Bender’s Game
The Wild Green Yonder

There is currently no scheduled release date for the next three films, but we do know that they will also be broken down into four episodes and aired on Comedy Central.

We can pray that if these DVDs have great sales, along with great ratings from when they’re aired on TV, added with the ratings from the series being run on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim, we hope to get more new episodes. Hey if it can happen for Family Guy, it should happen for Futurama.

One disadvantage for Futurama is that as of January 1, 2008 the series will no longer be aired on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim.

But forget about the negative, because at least for a short time we have new Futurama. If you don’t like it Bender says “Bite my shiny metal @$$.”


Friday, December 14, 2007

Wanted: Science Fiction Movies

Here I am posting a list of science fiction movies that I would love to see hit theaters some time in the near future. Some of these are actually in production, and some are just going to be wishful thinking, but none the less, it makes for an interesting list.

Transformers 2 - A sequel to the biggest movie of the summer is a must. I don't care what any of the critics said, this was an awesome movie and deserves to have a sequel. Transformers 2 is tentatively set for release on June 26, 2009.

Serenity 2 - All brown coats know exactly what I'm talking about here. Serenity, based on the short lived but epic Firefly series, is one that should fly back on to the big screen in an all new feature film. Media sources state that this is one that is not likely going to happen anytime soon, but we can all hope for the best.

X-Men 4 - This one should happen, though it more than likely will happen after the X-Men Origins: Wolverine movie, which is scheduled for a May 1, 2009 release. I want to see an X-Men 4 though if too much time passes, they will probably end up replacing most, if not all of the cast from the previous three films, and that will lead to the downfall of this film. If I don't see Gambit in four though, it won't matter how good the plot or cast is, I'm still going to be disappointed anyways.

Spider-man 4 - These movies have been getting better as the series moves forward. There are several concepts that are still available for exploration in this series, and we all look forward to seeing which avenue this next chapter will take. This is another candidate for a 2009 release.

Teen Titans - Okay so I fell in love with the cartoon series running on the Cartoon Network. This has been one of the better concepts for superheros of late and though it was designed as a children's cartoon it could be adapted quite well for adults. There is a more adult themed comic series based on the cartoon, but I hope they keep the characters and concepts from the cartoon, but give it that adult upgrade, for I wasn't all that fond of the few comics focusing on this series. We will all be spending a lot of time at the theaters in 2009, Teen Titans is another set for this particular year.

Batman Beyond - I hate the prequel Batman movies; Begins and Dark Knight (even if it's not out yet). This is another cartoon that hit the concept right and this was even discussed as being an option before they started with Begins. The only reason Begins was done instead of Beyond is because Beyond is set into the future where Gotham has had a classic Sci-Fi city upgrade, which means a lot more money would have had to been spent on graphics and apparently it was not worth the risk if the film was a flop. In my opinion Begins was differently not worth the money.

Gundam - A live action Gundam movie would be an enjoyable one for me. I have seen many of the Gundam series (Mobile Suit Gundam, 08th MS Team, Gundam Wing, Gundam Seed, G-Fighter, and two other series I can't remember the names too) and I can see anyone of these having a new story created for the big screen. Each series has seen different worlds and unique characters and this concept means a film could be entirely independent from the different anime series, so people would be familiar with the concept of Gundams but not expect a film to be true to any particular series. Since this would be based on an anime series the Japanese could do this film and I would still pay theater prices to see it here in the states.

Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy - Title alone says it all. I've read the Timothy Zahn books (which I love), and think every Star Wars fan would love to see these on the big screen. Plus more movies would bring more toys, and I'm a big dork who loves his toys. Oh yea, did I mention STAR WARS!!!!!!

God willing, we at least get half of these movies, though it would be fantastic to get all eight of these films. Here's hoping.

Thursday, December 13, 2007

My Favorite Sci-Fi TV Shows

Here are the shows that have made the greatest impact on my imagination and creativity. Again I know there will be arguments and complaints about this list, and again I say you will get over it.


Andromeda
Battlestar Galactica (Original)
Cowboy Bebop
Firefly
Futurama
Gundam Wing
Space Above and Beyond
Stargate SG-1
Star Trek – The Next Generation
The Jetsons

Sunday, December 9, 2007

My Favorite Science Fiction Movies

This is a list of my favorite Sci-Fi movies. I know people will disagree with this list but that's okay, we're all entitled to our opinions, even if they're wrong. These are movies I liked and that's all that truly matters. But feel free to express your thoughts on this list, or hey, create your own.

Alphabetical order.

Blade Runner
Chronicles of Reddick
Equilibrium
Fantastic Four
Fifth Element
Final Fantasy VII – Advent Children
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
Independence Day
Men In Black
Minority Report
Serenity (Firefly)
Spaceballs
Spider-Man
Stargate
Starship Troopers
Star Wars – Complete Saga
The Matrix
Transformers
X-Men

Saturday, December 8, 2007

Battlestar Galactica - New vs Old

Most people will argue that new is always better than old, but in this case, I'm going to be going with the old, even though I wasn't born during the original airing of the first series.

The decision to stand by the old series is because I just can't stand the changes made for the new series.

The first and biggest thing that bothers me about the new series over the old is the changing of Starbuck from male to female. Starbuck was a womanizing, hot shot, who couldn't help but get into all kinds of trouble. The new female Starbuck, not the most attractive actress first of all, has only one characteristic in common with the original Starbuck and that's being a hot shot, and the whole love thing with Apollo is just kinda disturbing.

The difference between Apollo between series is also something that bugs me. The original Apollo was headstrong and near fearless, and was often competitive with Starbuck over women. New Apollo, a wuss who finds Starbuck attractive, and wants to do nothing but please his father, Admiral Adama (who was just a commander in the original series).

Next there's the problem with the cylons. Cylons were originally a robotic race, covered in armor, glowing red light running back and forth across the visor on their helmets, not human replicas like they are now. They were never suppose to blend in, granted it is a good concept, I think it just upsets me that almost all cylon human replicas resemble females.

Other problems with the new series is the fact that they have added to many characters, changed characteristics of those that we admired originally, and the fact that Boomer went from a black man to an asian female is just upsetting in its own right.

If this series was designed to follow another ship and crew from the same universe and state that it was inspired by Battlestar Galactica, this maybe would have had more of a fan base and been a more enjoyable series for all.



Sunday, December 2, 2007

Batman Beyond



What in the world was wrong with following this concept instead of that whole prequel Batman crap. Batman Begins was bad, but now there's the upcoming Dark Knight film; Please, someone make it stop. Seriously, would it have been so bad to move forward in time?

Batman Beyond is set approximately forty years into the future. Bruce Wayne has retired as Batman, but don't worry there's a new kid on the block, Terry McGinnis.

Terry is a high school student out for revenge, seeking his father's killer, when he happens to stumble upon the bat cave. Bruce Wayne throws him out, but being the resilient man he is, Terry just steals the bat suit. And history is made.

Gotham in forty years has seen an interesting upgrade. Everywhere you look you will find large skyscrapers, and tons of swarming flying vehicles. The residents of Gotham have changed a little as well. The most notable are splicers and the gang The Jokers.

The Jokers is a gang that has decided to build their appearance and lifestyle around the infamous Joker. Not the brightest people around, but are considerably dangerous due to their numbers. Terry however usually doesn't have too much trouble dispensing them.

Splicers are an interesting breed of people. They're mostly teenagers, all of whom have mixed their DNA with some sort of animal. Not only do they obtain the animals behavior but also some of their physical attributes as well. Like the Jokers, splicers tend to travel in groups, and can often be quite a handful for our Batman. But in the end, we all know who's going to win anyways.

This was a good series, though keep in mind it was a series for children. This series ran for three seasons, contains 46 episodes, several movies, and has numerous comics.



Sunday, November 25, 2007

Injured Stormtrooper - Fan Film

Extreme Universe - Planet Hunters Episode

Approximately two weeks ago I recorded an episode of Extreme Universe featuring planet hunters and their discoveries. I managed to watch about twenty-five minutes of the hour episode before I reached my boiling point and had to stop and delete this episode from my DVR.

First, lets start with the concept of how planets are discovered. It's plain and simple, because planets would be too hard to spot directly using the billion dollar telescopes that are located around the world, astronomers choose a section of stars and watch for a star to have signs of wobbling. Here's my problem with this:
1. American astronomers decided that to make a star wobble, a planet approximately the size of Jupiter would have to be traveling around that star.
2. Using Jupiter for their example, the Americans believed that no wobbles would be seen for about twelve years. This concept was agreed upon because it takes Jupiter twelve years to rotate around our own star.

The wobble theory turned out to be useful in late 1995 when a Swedish astronomer decided to look at a different portion of sky and realized after four days that one of the stars in his section of sky had a wobble. This brought about several other discoveries and theories:
1. The Americans went back through their records that started in 1986 and found that they had actually missed several wobbling stars because they weren't looking for wobbles yet because their concept was based on Jupiter's travel time.
2. Jupiter sized planets that traveled so fast around a star, anywhere from four days to several years, would simply be an inferno, those rendering the planet uninhabitable.

This inferno theory is what finally broke the camels back for me. After concluding that even those metals that we believe we couldn't melt, it was hypothesised they would be melted within a matter of seconds on entry into one of these planets. Though the next thing that was discussed was our sending of probes to gather data. Problems with this is probes would be constructed of metal, which we were just informed would inevitably burn up on entry. Not only this but to slow these probes down we were to jettison parachutes, can you say DUH!!!

At this point I turned the episode off. Fumed a bit about how stupid astronomers are, and on how many other things we could be wasting our time looking for using these expensive telescopes. Like alien aircraft.

Sunday, November 11, 2007

To Be Human

This is an article I wrote back in High School and just feel like sharing. It's not my best work but it's kind of interesting.

12/13/2001 English III


What does it mean to be human? This, a question with over a million possible answers, it just depends on who you ask. In the book, “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep” (D.A.D.O.E.S) by Philip K. Dick, Philip Dick challenges our definitions of humanity.

From page 3 to 244 Philip Dick challenges our humanity. The first thing that comes to some people’s mind when they are asked what is it to be human is, the ability to make the choice of what mood you want to be in for the day. Well in chapter one of D.A.D.O.E.S Rick and Iran are arguing about what to dial in the mood organ, which means people have to use a machine to get in the right mood. This mood organ allows you to schedule your different moods for the whole day, which means you don’t get to decide what kind of mood you want to be in at different times or if different events occur, which means you lose the opportunity to make decisions for yourself, and isn’t making decisions a part of being human? The mood organ also has to be used to make arguments nastier than they already are. An example of this is when Iran says, “If you dial for greater venom, then I’ll dial the same. I’ll dial the maximum and you’ll see a fight that makes every argument we’ve had up to now seem like nothing.” See, now that’s not humanlike because as humans we have never had to use a machine to have an argument, it just comes to us naturally.

Philip Dick believes to be human you have to look for this higher being to believe in, and in D.A.D.O.E.S this being is Mercer. Mercer is like a god and to be human you must believe in some kind of higher being. Mercer helped everyone, or made them feel better; then the androids proved hat he was a fraud, but they were yet to find out that proving him as a fraud would change nothing. On page 234 Rick says “Mercer isn’t a fake, unless reality is a fake.” This would be like if god was proved to be a fraud, there would be a change in many people’s lives, but for most nothing would change, because god is the supposed one who created reality and without a god there is o reality, so many people would still believe in god, because there is reality.

To be human also means to love nature, and to love nature, is to love animals. Animals are nearly extinct, well real animals anyway, and every human left on the planet wants a real animal. Rick’s main goal in life is to own a real animal. Owning an animal makes people happy, and they understand the importance of animals, unlike the androids who don’t understand the importance of animals.

D.A.D.O.E.S is a book that makes us stop and think about what it means to be human, and author Philip K. Dick does an excellent job of making us think.
“The Matrix” is a movie that doesn’t question our humanity, but questions our perception on what is normal.

When Morpheus and Neo enter the matrix for the first time together Neo say “This isn’t real” and Morpheus responds with “What is real? How do you define real? If you’re talking about what you can feel, taste, hear or smell, then real is just electrical signals interpreted by your brain.” This is a clear definition of what real is.
The definition Morpheus gives us on what is real, tells us, the mind gets to decide what reality is, but our mind can be tricked by electrical signals. Our hopes and dreams also affect our reality, which causes what we see as normal to change.

The movie doesn’t come out and say this, but it implies it. Neo plans on rescuing Morpheus, that is his goal, he is so intent on doing so he believes he can dodge bullets and take on three agents, and he does. To do these things though, he has to believe in the impossible, which makes him change his reality, and when he changes his reality he change what is seen as normal.

The little boy bending the spoon, shows Neo that sometimes things are not always what they seem, and sometimes you have to believe that something isn’t there. The boy tells Neo, “Remember, there is no spoon,” then he says “You are not bending the spoon, but you are actually bending yourself.” These words allow Neo to bend the spoon, or he thinks he bent the spoon, when in actuality he bent nothing.

The Matrix makes you think about what is real and what isn’t. After watching this movies, some wonder what really would of happened if Neo had taken the blue pill.

Thursday, November 1, 2007

Is The World of Fiction Good for Kids...

by: Laura Hickey

Fiction- Good or Bad for Children?

Ghosts, vampires, demons, wizards...all items you could easily find in a fictional story. Or all items that some parents may feel would give their child nightmares. Is fiction something we should keep away from our children? Two experts in the field of fiction comment.

“First of all fiction is really just a reflection of reality told in a way designed to fire up the imagination. For example, Aesop's and LaFontaine's Fables are books of moral codes for kids and examples of human behavior which are dressed up as fictional parables. If they had been set out in a nonfiction way, they would have seemed dull and boring.

Science Fiction is the one fiction which has inspired people more than any other. For example, many scientists have stated that they only became scientists because of the SF novels they read as kids. Science Fiction can also inspire the young to invent new ideas decades later. In the article above, it mentioned that Arthur C Clarke had written a novel decades ago about a space elevator linking Earth and Space. Now, according to New Scientist, scientists are studying a new material which might serve for that purpose.

Other non-scientists have been inspired by SF as children. The film director James Cameron, for example, lists the SF writers Arthur C Clarke and A E Van Vogt, who he read as a child, as being a major influence on his later career.

SF books can also be a very good way to preach to people about modern-day issues. Frank Herbert, for instance, was always deeply interested in environmentalism, but he realized that if he wrote about the subject merely as nonfiction he would be constantly restricted to writing about dull facts. He therefore created the book "Dune" which is a novel about a desert planet with a fragile ecosystem ruthlessly exploited by Mankind. The result was that this became the bestselling SF novel of all time, and inspired many people to support the environment than would otherwise have been the case.

Generally speaking, SF is a far more imaginative genre than any other type of fiction. Where else, can you dream up entire new worlds, alien societies, different periods of history and different technologies. Other fiction sub genres are restricted by the society or historical period they focus on, so that they often are in danger of becoming clinched and stereotypical. SF is different in that it has evolved continuously since H G Welles and Jules Verne, with dozens of subcategories such as cyberpunk, soft/hard SF, etc. etc.” -Geoff Purcell

And Sue Kayton comments “I believe that children should read a mix of fiction and non-fiction. The benefits of non-fiction are obvious, but fiction is also necessary for a well-rounded person. Speculative fiction helps kids think about what the future might be like, and encourages them to think outside the box, such as the Harry Potter novels or Jurassic Park. Historical fiction with interesting protagonists helps kids understand what the world used to be like, through the eyes of the ordinary people of the day. Contemporary fiction helps them to understand interpersonal relationships and current issues, especially helpful to adolescents dealing with dating, drugs, and pressure from school and friends. Mystery stories like Sherlock Holmes encourage critical thinking skills, while the reader tries to put two and two together to figure out whodunit. Stories set in other cultures (such as The Good Earth) help students understand other ways of looking at the world.

Most students find fiction easier to read than non-fiction. The best way to become a good writer is to read a wide variety of material, which usually includes copious doses of fiction.”

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Galactic Empire, a Space-age Third Reich

by: Francesca Black

Born in May of 1944, in Modesto, California, George Lucas lived a world away from the horrors of Fascist Germany. Yet its imprint is more than evident in Lucas' life's work and creative brainchild, the Star Wars Saga. Admitting that the Galactic Empire was based on Germany's Third Reich, Lucas drew from history the characters and imagery needed to paint his evil regime. While some parallels are obvious-such as the robotic white soldiers Lucas named "storm troopers," the same name Hitler gave his personal bodyguards during World War II, other comparisons require a little digging. These comparisons make for a fascinating study.

Senator Palpatine and Adolf Hitler: The story of Senator Palpatine as fleshed out in Episodes I, II, and III bears remarkable resemblance to Adolf Hitler's rise to power. Both men rose from obscurity to power, outwardly embracing democracy and the republic, while behind the scenes they worked for its ruin. In Episode II Senator Palpatine faces the dissolution of the senate with, "I love democracy…I love the republic," while reluctantly accepting supreme power. It is unknown that he is also the Sith Lord, orchestrating the downfall of democracy. This echoes the history of Hitler, who also outwardly supported democracy, promising to play by its rules, all along forming a shadow government and an army among the ranks of his Nazi party. The similarity is most striking in the burning of the Jedi temple and the 1933 burning of the Reichstag which effectively dissolved the German senate. These spectacles were both masterminded to bring Palpatine and Hitler into power. Afterwards, Palpatine installs himself as Emperor, while Hitler declared himself "Fuhrer," or supreme leader.

The leadership style of Palpatine continues to be modeled after Hitler, who then withdrew from the public eye and surrounded himself with only those whom he knew to be his loyal followers. While Hitler formed the SS-a black-coated protection squad which protected him day and night and publicly carried out his orders, Palpatine as emperor created Darth Vader-his black robed crony whose obedience to the Emperor extended to destroying whole planets. Hitler is remembered as evil embodied, and as such, Lucas could not have chosen a better figure to model Palpatine after.

Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker Parallels: In German, vater means "father." Thus, Vader is a most interesting and deliberate choice for a character who is the father of the spiritual Star Wars hero. This father-son relationship finds its parallel in the relationship between the German poet and political rebel Albrecht Haushofer and his father, Karl. Karl's frequent travels to Japan greatly influenced his life and thinking. He was particularly entranced by the samurai--the Japanese military aristocracy which Lucas drew on heavily for inspiration for the Jedi. In the 1920s Karl became involved with Hitler through his close student, Rudolf Hess (who later was considered Hitler's #3 man after Goring). Karl became instrumental in forming the alliance between Germany and Japan. An additional interesting side note is that a geopolitical contemporary named Maull existed at this time. Maul was a contemporary sith of Anakin Skywalker.

Young Albrecht, in a poem entitled Der Vater, alludes to an evil that shows itself once every thousand years. When Star Wars begins the sith had not been seen for that long. The poem continues by saying that Albrecht's father had power to stop this evil but instead he unleashed it, a power and choice that Anakin Skywalker made before becoming Darth Vader. While Albrecht worked alongside his father at first, attempting to bring peace to Europe through a treaty with England and France, he later saw the futility of his actions and joined the Bomb plot to assassinate Hitler and restore balance and peace in Germany. Here George Lucas departs from history; for while Luke succeeds in overcoming the evil that his father embraced, Albrecht was not as fortunate. He was arrested for his treasonous involvement and shot by an SS commando as Russian troops entered Berlin. Karl was also imprisoned after the war. Perhaps the remembrance of his son prompted his death in 1946. Before his death, Darth Vader redeemed himself by throwing off the Emperor's influence and restoring balance to the universe. He is last seen taking his place among Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda, thus becoming the Jedi he once was. Karl's last act in life also resembled the Jedi when he committed suicide by seppuku, the traditional Samurai method.

Nazi Echoes The discerning eye recognizes the overt Nazi overtones apparent in the Galactic Empire. This is no accident. George Lucas reportedly told costume designer and military historian John Mollo that he wanted the "baddies" to look Fascist. The atmosphere of rigid control and dehumanization was the ideal of Hitler, whose armies marched in stiff procession, going beyond the description of disciplined to robotic. The uniforms and caps worn by imperial officers in Star Wars were modernized versions of 1915 Bavarian Chevaulgers. The throne room scene in Episode IV is reminiscent of a Nazi propaganda film, further painting the image that history repeats itself. In this way watchers of Star Wars gain a lesson in history.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Deja Vu - Phenomenon or Artificial?

Deja vu is defined by Wikipedia.com as the experience of feeling that one has witnessed or experienced a new situation previously. According to formal studies deja vu has been experienced by over 70% of the world's population; I myself can think of more than one occasion were I have experienced deja vu.

Because deja vu is such a unique experience in the way that it occurs there is really no way that science can prove or disprove of its existence. Though scientists feel that hypnosis has taken them a few steps forward, we are still very far off from finding out the true cause of deja vu.

But what if I told you that deja vu may not be a natural phenomenon. What if it was actually an event that was manufactured by mankind or some other Alien life form. Now seriously, stay with me on this one. What if there is a machine that man or alien has placed into space, and mankind is allowed to live on Earth until the point where we completely destroy the planet, but this said machine actually turns back time to allow mankind to start over again. We of course would have no knowledge of the entire event taking place but what if after many rewinds certain images or events aren't fully erased from your memory and they seep into your dreams letting you see "future" events.

I know this maybe hard to swallow, but prove me wrong, if you can.

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Top 20 Reasons Why Star Wars is Better Than Titanic

20. Titanic's big, but it doesn't have hyperdrive.

19. Star Wars has WAY cooler action figure potential.

18. Yoda could use the Force to lift Titanic out of the water.

17. Leia is a princess, a senator, a freedom fighter, and Jedi material; Rose is just marriage bait.

16. Ewoks throw better parties than either first class or steerage.

15. When flying towards the Titanic, Wedge can't say "Look at the size of that thing!" and really mean it.

14. It would be much scarier to get chased around the boat by a raving madman with a lightsaber as opposed to a handgun.

13. Titanic is egalitarian by portraying poor people as sympathetic characters. Star Wars is egalitarian bypromoting bug-eyed amphibians to Admiral.

12. Said bug-eyed amphibious Admiral manages NOT to lose his ship.

11. We know Cal is the bad guy because he sneers at the poor and treats his fiancee like property. We know Darth Vader is the bad guy because he strangles people and blows up planets for fun.

10. Yeah, Leo can dance, but can he fly an X-wing?

9. Rose braves icy water to rescue her man. Leia braves Jabba the Hutt.

8. Two words: John Williams.

7. There are always enough escape pods in Star Wars.

6. Do you know what the Empire does to self-proclaimed "kings of the world"?

5. If Luke were handcuffed to a pipe below decks in a sinking ship, he would use the Force to get the key.

4. "I'd rather be his whore than your wife" just doesn't have the same sting as "I'd rather kiss a Wookiee."

3. Han is frozen in carbonite and turned into a wall ornament. Leo simply freezes.

2. We knew the boat was gonna sink. But who could've anticipated "Luke... I am your father"?

1. Han Solo would've missed the dang iceberg!

Friday, October 5, 2007

Greatest Star Wars Character Ever

BOBA FETT. Need we say more. But what is it about this masked man that made thousands of fans decide that Boba Fett is to be the most memorable character to come out of the Star Wars saga.

First between the two movies he originally appeared in, he had a total of what ten minutes, and most of that was spent standing around in the background. Was it his dialog? Which was all of two lines; "He's no good to me dead." and "AAAHHHHHHH!"

Maybe it was his appearance. I mean have you seen this guy. Covered in armor from head to toe, wookie pelts, multiple weapons, or maybe it had something to do with the awesome jet pack with a huge missile attached.

I've often thought that maybe it has something to do with Darth Vader getting into Fett's face and telling him "...no disintegrations." I mean we already know Vader is powerful, but the fact that he had to get right into Fett's face to say this kind of makes us believe that even Vader felt a little fear when dealing with Boba Fett.
Funny thing about it all is that George Lucas had no plans for Boba Fett after he fell into the Sarlacc pit. That was suppose to be it, Boba Fett was to die. But in the end so many people loved the mysterious man that George Lucas started letting novels and comics be centered around him.

Now Boba Fett has an extensive profile that includes an adventerous past chasing Solo and multiple other bounties, managed to obtain family, and oh yeah, became Mandalore, which means he's in charge of an entire planet and millions of lives; all of whom seek advice and knowledge from their great Mandalore.

In the end Boba Fett has captured the hearts of fans around the world, and placed fear in the scum of the universe.

Sunday, September 30, 2007

The Icarus Hunt - Timothy Zahn

A riveting science fiction novel wrote by one of the best in the business. The Icarus Hunt is a story about a star freighter pilot named Jordan McKell who is hired to transport a ship with an extraordinary cargo in it's hold; a cargo that seems to bring out murderous intentions in everyone.

This novel contains many interesting characters, constant action, and will keep you guessing until the very end.

This is another superb novel by Timothy Zahn. If you've ever read any of Zahn's Star Wars novels, you know that he creates unforgettable characters, unbelievable environments, and plot twists that expand the story and leaves you wanting more.

If you read one book this year, I highly recommend The Icarus Hunt by Timothy Zahn. You won't be disappointed.

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Space, My Thoughts

Space the final frontier. If that isn't the biggest load of crap then I don't know what is. At the rate we are going, space will never be a frontier. Apparently man has made it to the moon; satellites have reached as far as Pluto, robots to Mars; we even have pictures of distant galaxies and planets populating them. So why aren't we, the average Joe, out there in space traveling like it's just another highway?

My feelings towards this subject I admit leave me confused. On one hand I want to be out there amongst the stars and am growing impatient with the government and their delay in open space travel. On the other hand, all of mankind needs a basic driving course before we all go up, because if you thought a crash on Earth was bad; remember there will be no chance of survival in space.

Many feel that space travel will lead to a territorial war. I have often pondered this, and came to the conclusion that he who reaches territories first should be allowed to claim them for their country. I also think everyone that complains about this leading to war needs to come out of their cave, because just about every single nation on this miserable little planet of ours is already at war.

However there have been recent talks that a race for the moon is gearing up. Most rumors currently surround the Chinese and there recent activities towards the open frontier. The way every other country has been slacking in their efforts, I would not bet against the Chinese. The moon has on more than one occasion been discussed as being a true line of defense against any so called alien visitors, be it that the moon is used as a military base, a center point of a new kind of weapon, or other various ideas you may have read from hundreds of Science Fiction novelists. The true concern for many is that if the moon is held by one country, that said country will use the moon for weapon placement and that placement will be back towards Earth. Hence I personally think the moon should never be held by any one country or any country for that matter. Leave the moon as is, we don't need to trash everything in the Milky Way, do we?

I would love to live a life like characters from Star Wars, Firefly, Star Trek, or any of the hundreds of anime that involve space travel. But I know in my heart that this will never happen during my life time; I just hope that mankind's existence never has to count on space travel for it to continue.

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

The Mars Theory

Have you ever wondered about Mars and what its past may have been? Well let me tell you about this little thing called the Mars theory.

To begin, let’s first look at some facts about Mars. First it has been concluded that Mars is possibly the only other planet in the Milky Way that could sustain life. There is water and ice on Mars. The rovers launched years ago have come across fossils and other artifacts.

So here's the theory; mankind once populated Mars. That's right we were on Mars. Hard to believe? For many that answer is a definite no. So what happened?

As usual where there is man there is war. It's said that Mars was a planet full of thriving cities, that contained hover cars, and other futuristic luxuries that we can only now imagine. These cities covered most of the planet, and there were just too many people per square foot. Of course no one is sure how but war of course broke out.

It's believed that at the start of the war mankind had already surpassed its current state of technology so this would have been worse than a nuclear war. The planet suffered greatly. Not only did many people die, but the atmosphere was destroyed. With no atmosphere there was nothing to stop any of the dust or sand particles traveling through space, and they eventually made their way onto the planet, thus bringing the redness that the planet has become. Layers upon layers have built up, covering the ruins of what had once stood tall and proud on Mars. In the minds of some, there is a belief that Mars and Earth were once the same size, but with the layers of dust and sand building, Mars eventually grew to a larger size.

As for how man made it to Earth, well the belief is that there were several large ships built underground on Mars and just before whatever weapon was used to destroy almost everything, those ships were launched.

The real question I must leave you with, is did all of those ships come to Earth?

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Transfomers in IMAX

The must see movie of the year is back, now bigger and better! Transformers was the best movie of the summer, maybe even the entire year, and now it has been digitally remastered to make those giant robots look even badder than before.

This release is also slated to include a couple of extra bonus minutes, but it's said not to be that big of a deal. All I know is that if I get to see an additional punch thrown, I'm a very happy person.

This is a limited release, so hurry and don't let this opportunity pass.

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Best Stargate SG-1 Episode

The best Stargate SG-1 episode could be a topic to be debated for years to come, so here I'm going to give you my vote for best episode and if you'd like you can leave a comment stating your favorite.

My favorite episode is "A Window of Opportunity" which was run during the fourth season. In this episode Teal'c and O'Neil are stuck repeating the same six hours over and over again, and when Daniel Jackson informs them that it most be fun to live a life where no matter what you do there are no consequences, because in six hours you'll just repeat the day, the entertainment really begins.

This episode is hilarious, keeping your intention from beginning to end. This is a must see episode. I mean, come on, when was the last time you got to see Teal'c and O'Neil shoot golf balls through the star gate?

Check it out and let me know. Enjoy!

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Batman: The Dark Knight

So talk about the upcoming Batman: The Dark Knight has begun, and in my opinion this movie is going to be terrible. I did not like the idea of Batman Begins and the next movie is another step backwards in my mind.

First of all there was no reason to go backwards in the timeline. It was just something that screwed with the original back story, and now it's going to get worse. The villain for the upcoming film is none other than the Joker. That's right the Joker. Maybe I'm the only one that remembers this but the first Batman film had a guy named Jack Nicholson play the Joker, who we saw the creation and destruction of. So why another movie with the Joker? Please anyone?

Whats worse is the Joker is to be played by Heath Ledger, who was a respected by most until he did this film called Brokeback Mountain (which I never saw, and never will).

Some may feel that it's too early to make a decision on this film, which is to be released in 2008, but me, I've already decided that this is one film I'm not wasting my hard earned cash on.

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

eBay A Must

If you don't have an eBay account you must sign up for one immediately. There is no place better on the net for finding great products at good deals, you only need to know how to find them. With little practice this is no problem. Seriously though, if you don't have an account please click the eBay link under my awesome links and sign up today.

I have found many great deals and seen lots of items that I would love to have if the money was available.

You'll never know what will be found until you give it a try.

Happy Hunting

Sunday, September 16, 2007

Awesome Site For Readers

Do you like to read, but don't have the time? Own an iPod or mp3 player? If you answered yes to these questions, then I have a revolutionary website for you.

Leisure Audio Books
http://12820.leisureaudiosales.com/retail.cgi

This is a must see.

Sunday, May 13, 2007

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