This festive fright-fest was a nice surprise from what I was originally expecting. This is another horror remake (from the people behind ‘Final Destination’ – great film), but un-like so many others; it did manage to come up trumps; such as ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.’ This is a remake of Bob Clarke’s 1974 classic slasher movie, ‘Black Christmas’; which actually came four years before John Carpenter’s ‘Halloween’. Some fans lay claim that it was the original slasher flick.
From the outside, this looks like just another of your basic ‘there’s a psycho hacking up a bunch of pretty girls, who are running up the stairs instead of out of the door,’ and to a certain extent that’s correct, it’s the way this is conveyed which is interesting and enticing to watch.
The story: crazed killer, Billy Lenz, escapes his psychiatric ward and is determined to make it to his childhood home, where he was abused, by Christmas. Problem is, it’s years later and the home is now a Sorority house. It’s Christmas Eve and a who’s who of teen/horror girl stars are there to welcome him, including Melissa (Michelle Trachtenberg , ‘Buffy the vampire slayer’ fame), Heather (Mary Elizabeth Winstead, ‘Final Destination 3’), Dana (Lacey Chabert, ‘Mean Girls’) and Kelli (Katie Cassidy, ‘When a stranger calls’ remake.)
This movie is actually pretty good, it has a constant feeling of being watched that runs right through it and adds a sparkle to the scares, and the tension is kept high. The actresses, although spouting some awful lines at times, also say some good ones. The acting is good, and because most of the leading ladies are stars, and most of them horror stars, the audience doesn’t guess which one is going to make it to the rolling credits. The story-line builds well, and there is a mounting tension, as the killer first phones the girls, and then starts to do away with them.
A similar storyline to the original ‘Halloween’, with a killer coming home for the holidays, there are also many similar P.O.V shots of the killer, watching the girls throughout the house. The Christmas theme bleeds in nicely with the plot, and it comes across in places (especially, the flash-backs to Billy Lenz’s childhood) like something, director, Tim Burton, would dream up. The film gets darker and darker as we move through it, with some very violent scenes, and the music by Shirley Walker is great; capturing horror and Christmas all in one twisted melody. Also, the use of red and green lighting throughout (owed to Christmas) is very cool, and creates a great atmosphere.
Due to it being set in a Sorority house, and this no longer being 1974, some of the dialogue just doesn’t cut it. I can’t imagine many of these girls’ staying in the house with a crazed serial killer, just because they can’t find their ‘sorority sister,’ believable in 2007 – sad, but true. There is, unfortunately, the obligatory shower scene, but it’s used for scares, not thrills, and so works.
Right from the start you can tell, this isn’t your usual run of the mill slasher, it actually has a back story, and we do find ourselves caring for some of the characters, for example, Kelli, played by Katie Cassidy is great; plus if you hated ‘Dawn’ in ‘Buffy the vampire slayer’ – you are gonna love this movie.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Benefits of Online Event Tickets
Now-a-days the Internet plays a very important role in buying and selling of event and concert tickets. It comprises of nearly $10-$12 billion event ticket market -- particularly for sold-out sports games, music concerts and popular plays. Online ticket market includes professional brokers that provide you with these event tickets at very competitive prices with a great ease.
Online availability of these various event tickets such as Boston Celtics Tickets, New Jersey Nets Tickets, New York Knicks Tickets, Philadelphia 76ers Tickets, Toronto Raptors Tickets, Chicago Bulls Tickets, Cleveland Cavaliers Tickets, Detroit Pistons Tickets, Indiana Pacers Tickets, and Milwaukee Bucks Tickets etc. has made your experience more joyful. You don’t need to worry to reach there in time to get the ticket or for the availability of desired seat. These online brokers have really made the entire event watching experience a lot easier and interesting.
Just like any other online market and stock trading industry, the Internet has had a great affect on the ticket industry as well. Now, there is no need to get the ticket physically but all you have to look is the trustworthiness of the site and selection and pricing. For almost any kind of event (Atlanta Hawks Tickets, Charlotte Bobcats Tickets, Miami Heat Tickets, Orlando Magic Tickets, Washington Wizards Tickets) you can get ticket online.
Of course, the big beneficiaries are the consumers like us. We can now compare prices in a flash, find great seats that used to be only for people who knew someone important or who had season tickets, got a hot tip, or was somehow ‘in-the-know’. What else could we do? There was no other way.
You may have another concern that how to buy tickets online? It is also a very simple procedure. You can buy tickets online just like you would buy a any other commodity say, a book online. First of all, find a website that sells what you want, enter your credit card and shipping information and you’re done. Compared to going down to the box office weeks before the event and waiting in line when the tickets first go on sale, buying online is much better.
There are also secondary online markets. These website sell tickets that already have been sold out. Sometimes you may find prices a little bit higher than the face value in the secondary online ticket market. This is because service fees are added. You have to pay for the convenience and the opportunity to purchase tickets concerts that have already been sold out.
So, enjoy your favorite event (Toronto Raptors Tickets, Chicago Bulls Tickets, Cleveland Cavaliers Tickets, Detroit Pistons Tickets, Indiana Pacers Tickets, Charlotte Bobcats Tickets, Miami Heat Tickets, Orlando Magic Tickets, and Washington Wizards Tickets) with a much greater ease. . For more about Chicago Bulls Tickets, Boston Celtics Tickets, Cleveland Cavaliers Tickets, Detroit Pistons Tickets, New Jersey Nets Tickets, visit: www.ticketamerica.com
Online availability of these various event tickets such as Boston Celtics Tickets, New Jersey Nets Tickets, New York Knicks Tickets, Philadelphia 76ers Tickets, Toronto Raptors Tickets, Chicago Bulls Tickets, Cleveland Cavaliers Tickets, Detroit Pistons Tickets, Indiana Pacers Tickets, and Milwaukee Bucks Tickets etc. has made your experience more joyful. You don’t need to worry to reach there in time to get the ticket or for the availability of desired seat. These online brokers have really made the entire event watching experience a lot easier and interesting.
Just like any other online market and stock trading industry, the Internet has had a great affect on the ticket industry as well. Now, there is no need to get the ticket physically but all you have to look is the trustworthiness of the site and selection and pricing. For almost any kind of event (Atlanta Hawks Tickets, Charlotte Bobcats Tickets, Miami Heat Tickets, Orlando Magic Tickets, Washington Wizards Tickets) you can get ticket online.
Of course, the big beneficiaries are the consumers like us. We can now compare prices in a flash, find great seats that used to be only for people who knew someone important or who had season tickets, got a hot tip, or was somehow ‘in-the-know’. What else could we do? There was no other way.
You may have another concern that how to buy tickets online? It is also a very simple procedure. You can buy tickets online just like you would buy a any other commodity say, a book online. First of all, find a website that sells what you want, enter your credit card and shipping information and you’re done. Compared to going down to the box office weeks before the event and waiting in line when the tickets first go on sale, buying online is much better.
There are also secondary online markets. These website sell tickets that already have been sold out. Sometimes you may find prices a little bit higher than the face value in the secondary online ticket market. This is because service fees are added. You have to pay for the convenience and the opportunity to purchase tickets concerts that have already been sold out.
So, enjoy your favorite event (Toronto Raptors Tickets, Chicago Bulls Tickets, Cleveland Cavaliers Tickets, Detroit Pistons Tickets, Indiana Pacers Tickets, Charlotte Bobcats Tickets, Miami Heat Tickets, Orlando Magic Tickets, and Washington Wizards Tickets) with a much greater ease. . For more about Chicago Bulls Tickets, Boston Celtics Tickets, Cleveland Cavaliers Tickets, Detroit Pistons Tickets, New Jersey Nets Tickets, visit: www.ticketamerica.com
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Being John Malkovich
A quintessential loser, an out-of-job puppeteer, is hired by a firm, whose offices are ensconced in a half floor (literally. The ceiling is about a metre high, reminiscent of Taniel's hallucinatory Alice in Wonderland illustrations). By sheer accident, he discovers a tunnel (a "portal", in Internet-age parlance), which sucks its visitors into the mind of the celebrated actor, John Malkovich. The movie is a tongue in cheek discourse of identity, gender and passion in an age of languid promiscuity. It poses all the right metaphysical riddles and presses the viewers' intellectual stimulation buttons.
A two line bit of dialogue, though, forms the axis of this nightmarishly chimerical film. John Malkovich (played by himself), enraged and bewildered by the unabashed commercial exploitation of the serendipitous portal to his mind, insists that Craig, the aforementioned puppet master, cease and desist with his activities. "It is MY brain" - he screams and, with a typical American finale, "I will see you in court". Craig responds: "But, it was I who discovered the portal. It is my livelihood".
This apparently innocuous exchange disguises a few very unsettling ethical dilemmas.
The basic question is "whose brain is it, anyway"? Does John Malkovich OWN his brain? Is one's brain - one's PROPERTY? Property is usually acquired somehow. Is our brain "acquired"? It is clear that we do not acquire the hardware (neurones) and software (electrical and chemical pathways) we are born with. But it is equally clear that we do "acquire" both brain mass and the contents of our brains (its wiring or irreversible chemical changes) through learning and experience. Does this process of acquisition endow us with property rights?
It would seem that property rights pertaining to human bodies are fairly restricted. We have no right to sell our kidneys, for instance. Or to destroy our body through the use of drugs. Or to commit an abortion at will. Yet, the law does recognize and strives to enforce copyrights, patents and other forms of intellectual property rights.
This dichotomy is curious. For what is intellectual property but a mere record of the brain's activities? A book, a painting, an invention are the documentation and representation of brain waves. They are mere shadows, symbols of the real presence - our mind. How can we reconcile this contradiction? We are deemed by the law to be capable of holding full and unmitigated rights to the PRODUCTS of our brain activity, to the recording and documentation of our brain waves. But we hold only partial rights to the brain itself, their originator.
This can be somewhat understood if we were to consider this article, for instance. It is composed on a word processor. I do not own full rights to the word processing software (merely a licence), nor is the laptop I use my property - but I posses and can exercise and enforce full rights regarding this article. Admittedly, it is a partial parallel, at best: the computer and word processing software are passive elements. It is my brain that does the authoring. And so, the mystery remains: how can I own the article - but not my brain? Why do I have the right to ruin the article at will - but not to annihilate my brain at whim?
Another angle of philosophical attack is to say that we rarely hold rights to nature or to life. We can copyright a photograph we take of a forest - but not the forest. To reduce it to the absurd: we can own a sunset captured on film - but never the phenomenon thus documented. The brain is natural and life's pivot - could this be why we cannot fully own it?
Wrong premises inevitably lead to wrong conclusions. We often own natural objects and manifestations, including those related to human life directly. We even issue patents for sequences of human DNA. And people do own forests and rivers and the specific views of sunsets.
Some scholars raise the issues of exclusivity and scarcity as the precursors of property rights. My brain can be accessed only by myself and its is one of a kind (sui generis). True but not relevant. One cannot rigorously derive from these properties of our brain a right to deny others access to them (should this become technologically feasible) - or even to set a price on such granted access. In other words, exclusivity and scarcity do not constitute property rights or even lead to their establishment. Other rights may be at play (the right to privacy, for instance) - but not the right to own property and to derive economic benefits from such ownership.
On the contrary, it is surprisingly easy to think of numerous exceptions to a purported natural right of single access to one's brain. If one memorized the formula to cure AIDS or cancer and refused to divulge it for a reasonable compensation - surely, we should feel entitled to invade his brain and extract it? Once such technology is available - shouldn't authorized bodies of inspection have access to the brains of our leaders on a periodic basis? And shouldn't we all gain visitation rights to the minds of great men and women of science, art and culture - as we do today gain access to their homes and to the products of their brains?
There is one hidden assumption, though, in both the movie and this article. It is that mind and brain are one. The portal leads to John Malkovich's MIND - yet, he keeps talking about his BRAIN and writhing physically on the screen. The portal is useless without JM's mind. Indeed, one can wonder whether JM's mind is not an INTEGRAL part of the portal - structurally and functionally inseparable from it. If so, does not the discoverer of the portal hold equal rights to John Malkovich's mind, an integral part thereof?
The portal leads to JM's mind. Can we prove that it leads to his brain? Is this identity automatic? Of course not. It is the old psychophysical question, at the heart of dualism - still far from resolved. Can a MIND be copyrighted or patented? If no one knows WHAT is the mind - how can it be the subject of laws and rights? If JM is bothered by the portal voyagers, the intruders - he surely has legal recourse, but not through the application of the rights to own property and to benefit from it. These rights provide him with no remedy because their subject (the mind) is a mystery. Can JM sue Craig and his clientele for unauthorized visits to his mind (trespassing) - IF he is unaware of their comings and goings and unperturbed by them? Moreover, can he prove that the portal leads to HIS mind, that it is HIS mind that is being visited? Is there a way to PROVE that one has visited another's mind? (See: "On Empathy").
And if property rights to one's brain and mind were firmly established - how will telepathy (if ever proven) be treated legally? Or mind reading? The recording of dreams? Will a distinction be made between a mere visit - and the exercise of influence on the host and his / her manipulation (similar questions arise in time travel)?
This, precisely, is where the film crosses the line between the intriguing and the macabre. The master puppeteer, unable to resist his urges, manipulates John Malkovich and finally possesses him completely. This is so clearly wrong, so manifestly forbidden, so patently immoral, that the film loses its urgent ambivalence, its surrealistic moral landscape and deteriorates into another banal comedy of situations.
A two line bit of dialogue, though, forms the axis of this nightmarishly chimerical film. John Malkovich (played by himself), enraged and bewildered by the unabashed commercial exploitation of the serendipitous portal to his mind, insists that Craig, the aforementioned puppet master, cease and desist with his activities. "It is MY brain" - he screams and, with a typical American finale, "I will see you in court". Craig responds: "But, it was I who discovered the portal. It is my livelihood".
This apparently innocuous exchange disguises a few very unsettling ethical dilemmas.
The basic question is "whose brain is it, anyway"? Does John Malkovich OWN his brain? Is one's brain - one's PROPERTY? Property is usually acquired somehow. Is our brain "acquired"? It is clear that we do not acquire the hardware (neurones) and software (electrical and chemical pathways) we are born with. But it is equally clear that we do "acquire" both brain mass and the contents of our brains (its wiring or irreversible chemical changes) through learning and experience. Does this process of acquisition endow us with property rights?
It would seem that property rights pertaining to human bodies are fairly restricted. We have no right to sell our kidneys, for instance. Or to destroy our body through the use of drugs. Or to commit an abortion at will. Yet, the law does recognize and strives to enforce copyrights, patents and other forms of intellectual property rights.
This dichotomy is curious. For what is intellectual property but a mere record of the brain's activities? A book, a painting, an invention are the documentation and representation of brain waves. They are mere shadows, symbols of the real presence - our mind. How can we reconcile this contradiction? We are deemed by the law to be capable of holding full and unmitigated rights to the PRODUCTS of our brain activity, to the recording and documentation of our brain waves. But we hold only partial rights to the brain itself, their originator.
This can be somewhat understood if we were to consider this article, for instance. It is composed on a word processor. I do not own full rights to the word processing software (merely a licence), nor is the laptop I use my property - but I posses and can exercise and enforce full rights regarding this article. Admittedly, it is a partial parallel, at best: the computer and word processing software are passive elements. It is my brain that does the authoring. And so, the mystery remains: how can I own the article - but not my brain? Why do I have the right to ruin the article at will - but not to annihilate my brain at whim?
Another angle of philosophical attack is to say that we rarely hold rights to nature or to life. We can copyright a photograph we take of a forest - but not the forest. To reduce it to the absurd: we can own a sunset captured on film - but never the phenomenon thus documented. The brain is natural and life's pivot - could this be why we cannot fully own it?
Wrong premises inevitably lead to wrong conclusions. We often own natural objects and manifestations, including those related to human life directly. We even issue patents for sequences of human DNA. And people do own forests and rivers and the specific views of sunsets.
Some scholars raise the issues of exclusivity and scarcity as the precursors of property rights. My brain can be accessed only by myself and its is one of a kind (sui generis). True but not relevant. One cannot rigorously derive from these properties of our brain a right to deny others access to them (should this become technologically feasible) - or even to set a price on such granted access. In other words, exclusivity and scarcity do not constitute property rights or even lead to their establishment. Other rights may be at play (the right to privacy, for instance) - but not the right to own property and to derive economic benefits from such ownership.
On the contrary, it is surprisingly easy to think of numerous exceptions to a purported natural right of single access to one's brain. If one memorized the formula to cure AIDS or cancer and refused to divulge it for a reasonable compensation - surely, we should feel entitled to invade his brain and extract it? Once such technology is available - shouldn't authorized bodies of inspection have access to the brains of our leaders on a periodic basis? And shouldn't we all gain visitation rights to the minds of great men and women of science, art and culture - as we do today gain access to their homes and to the products of their brains?
There is one hidden assumption, though, in both the movie and this article. It is that mind and brain are one. The portal leads to John Malkovich's MIND - yet, he keeps talking about his BRAIN and writhing physically on the screen. The portal is useless without JM's mind. Indeed, one can wonder whether JM's mind is not an INTEGRAL part of the portal - structurally and functionally inseparable from it. If so, does not the discoverer of the portal hold equal rights to John Malkovich's mind, an integral part thereof?
The portal leads to JM's mind. Can we prove that it leads to his brain? Is this identity automatic? Of course not. It is the old psychophysical question, at the heart of dualism - still far from resolved. Can a MIND be copyrighted or patented? If no one knows WHAT is the mind - how can it be the subject of laws and rights? If JM is bothered by the portal voyagers, the intruders - he surely has legal recourse, but not through the application of the rights to own property and to benefit from it. These rights provide him with no remedy because their subject (the mind) is a mystery. Can JM sue Craig and his clientele for unauthorized visits to his mind (trespassing) - IF he is unaware of their comings and goings and unperturbed by them? Moreover, can he prove that the portal leads to HIS mind, that it is HIS mind that is being visited? Is there a way to PROVE that one has visited another's mind? (See: "On Empathy").
And if property rights to one's brain and mind were firmly established - how will telepathy (if ever proven) be treated legally? Or mind reading? The recording of dreams? Will a distinction be made between a mere visit - and the exercise of influence on the host and his / her manipulation (similar questions arise in time travel)?
This, precisely, is where the film crosses the line between the intriguing and the macabre. The master puppeteer, unable to resist his urges, manipulates John Malkovich and finally possesses him completely. This is so clearly wrong, so manifestly forbidden, so patently immoral, that the film loses its urgent ambivalence, its surrealistic moral landscape and deteriorates into another banal comedy of situations.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Beauty And The Beast (DVD) Review
Nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture, Beauty And The Beast is one of Disney's greatest animated achievements. Its massive success reinvigorated the Disney animation juggernaut which had been dormant for decades, launching the release of smashing blockbusters such as Aladdin, The Lion King, and Finding Nemo. Taking home two Oscars for Best Music (Original Score and Original Song), the film launched a trend in Disney animation by blending musical numbers (with cartoon choreography), an aspect that would become a staple of film after film for the remainder of the decade. In short, Beauty And The Beast is a landmark production just as remarkable today as when it was first released…
Following the Disney tradition of transposing well-known fairy tales from the pages of a book to the sparkle of the big screen, Beauty And The Beast follows the life of Belle (Paige O’Hara), a beautiful bookworm maiden who captivates her town’s most eligible bachelor, Gaston (Richard White). Dissatisfied with life in her small French villa, Belle grows especially tired of the conceited and self-absorbed Gaston, who is unable to fathom the idea that Belle does not welcome his affections.
Meanwhile, The Beast lives in solitude in a long-ago abandoned castle, having had a spell cast upon him because of his inability to love. The spell turned the handsome prince into an ugly beast, and it turned all of his servants into dinnerware, candlesticks, and other inanimate objects. When Belle’s father, Maurice (Rex Everhart) makes a wrong turn, he inadvertently unites the lives of Belle and The Beast. After spending much time with Belle, the bitter and hardened Beast begins to soften. He and Belle fall in love, but Gaston and his fellow village marauders arrive at the castle walls and demand the return of Belle, threatening to kill The Beast…
The highlight of Beauty And The Beast is the musical number “Be Our Guest,” which features an entire dining hall filled with dancing teacups, plates, and eating utensils. The sequence forged the way for similar scenes in Aladdin (“A Whole New World”) and The Lion King (“Hakuna Matata”). Directors Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise not only create a perfect transition from song to story, but they also manage to introduce innumerable humorous lines into musical sequences, especially with the early song bandied about by the rival for Belle’s hand, Gaston.
One of the top films of all-time (that’s from any genre, not just animation), Beauty And The Beast remains one of Disney’s most heralded creations. It tells the classic love story of the beast with a good heart and does so with vivid characters, a world-class musical score, and animated visual images that would make Walt Disney proud. Critically acclaimed and extremely successful at the box office, Beauty And The Beast is a true blockbuster in the traditional sense of the word. An awe-inspiring film that launched a new generation of animated Disney masterpieces, Beauty And The Beast is the quintessential must-see film…
Following the Disney tradition of transposing well-known fairy tales from the pages of a book to the sparkle of the big screen, Beauty And The Beast follows the life of Belle (Paige O’Hara), a beautiful bookworm maiden who captivates her town’s most eligible bachelor, Gaston (Richard White). Dissatisfied with life in her small French villa, Belle grows especially tired of the conceited and self-absorbed Gaston, who is unable to fathom the idea that Belle does not welcome his affections.
Meanwhile, The Beast lives in solitude in a long-ago abandoned castle, having had a spell cast upon him because of his inability to love. The spell turned the handsome prince into an ugly beast, and it turned all of his servants into dinnerware, candlesticks, and other inanimate objects. When Belle’s father, Maurice (Rex Everhart) makes a wrong turn, he inadvertently unites the lives of Belle and The Beast. After spending much time with Belle, the bitter and hardened Beast begins to soften. He and Belle fall in love, but Gaston and his fellow village marauders arrive at the castle walls and demand the return of Belle, threatening to kill The Beast…
The highlight of Beauty And The Beast is the musical number “Be Our Guest,” which features an entire dining hall filled with dancing teacups, plates, and eating utensils. The sequence forged the way for similar scenes in Aladdin (“A Whole New World”) and The Lion King (“Hakuna Matata”). Directors Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise not only create a perfect transition from song to story, but they also manage to introduce innumerable humorous lines into musical sequences, especially with the early song bandied about by the rival for Belle’s hand, Gaston.
One of the top films of all-time (that’s from any genre, not just animation), Beauty And The Beast remains one of Disney’s most heralded creations. It tells the classic love story of the beast with a good heart and does so with vivid characters, a world-class musical score, and animated visual images that would make Walt Disney proud. Critically acclaimed and extremely successful at the box office, Beauty And The Beast is a true blockbuster in the traditional sense of the word. An awe-inspiring film that launched a new generation of animated Disney masterpieces, Beauty And The Beast is the quintessential must-see film…
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Bambi (DVD) Review
Nominated for three Academy Awards, including Best Music - Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture, Bambi is a true animated classic of the silver screen. Long before the public's introduction to Aladdin, The Lion King, or Finding Nemo, Walt Disney single-handedly conjured the full-length animated feature film out of nothing and into an enduring, well-respected genre - creating one family classic after another, starting with Snow White (1937) then Pinocchio (1940), Fantasia (1940), and Dumbo (1941) before creating this gem in 1942. Directed by David Hand, a longtime Disney animator and supervising director of Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs, Bambi is a masterpiece of color, motion, and the beauty of life. Its relative simplicity harkens to a time long past when such movies focused on symbolism, emotional breadth, and challenging the boundaries of artistic creativity, instead of catering to a perceived audience demographic. The result is a truly remarkable and memorable family experience…
Bambi begins with the forest birth of a young fawn (Bambi) who comes into the world surrounded by an anxious crowd of admirers. Hailed as the "great prince of the forest," Bambi is thrust into an exotic world of animal and plant life, complete with all the highs and lows experienced in the world of reality. One of the film's most powerful scenes (and the one most often referenced in regard to Bambi) is when the dreaded "man" (i.e. a band of hunters) enters the forest and kills Bambi's mother. Although the scene takes place off camera, Disney manages to convey all the emotional trauma of the event in the brevity of a few bold and powerful brushstrokes.
As Bambi seeks to recover from his mother's death, he must learn to grow from a fumbling fawn into a fearless buck. The charming scenes of Bambi bumbling across a frozen pond are soon overshadowed by the power of his maturation into a formidable leader. Assisting him on his journey is a parade of unique personalities, the most notable of whom is a rabbit named Thumper. Thumper's vocal velocity and eagerness to befriend Bambi threaten steal the show, but the growing deer never loses his deserved spotlight. Throw in a skunk named Flower and a beautiful doe named Faline (Bambi's love interest), and the film comes together in its own right, creating a combination of tragedy and triumph all ages can enjoy…
In stark contrast to its contemporary peers, Bambi is a refreshing exit from today's highly commercial animated features. Although Thumper provides the necessary comic relief, the film is more than just a deluge of juvenile one-liners - and boasts absolutely zero fart jokes. Instead, Bambi wraps a timeless story of a life's journey to adulthood in the majesty that is mother nature. Its ingenious illustration of a forest teeming with wildlife and the dangers encountered by its inhabitants is truly awe-inspiring. In short, Bambi has all the makings of a tinsel-town classic - one that should make today's Disney creations utterly green with envy…
Bambi begins with the forest birth of a young fawn (Bambi) who comes into the world surrounded by an anxious crowd of admirers. Hailed as the "great prince of the forest," Bambi is thrust into an exotic world of animal and plant life, complete with all the highs and lows experienced in the world of reality. One of the film's most powerful scenes (and the one most often referenced in regard to Bambi) is when the dreaded "man" (i.e. a band of hunters) enters the forest and kills Bambi's mother. Although the scene takes place off camera, Disney manages to convey all the emotional trauma of the event in the brevity of a few bold and powerful brushstrokes.
As Bambi seeks to recover from his mother's death, he must learn to grow from a fumbling fawn into a fearless buck. The charming scenes of Bambi bumbling across a frozen pond are soon overshadowed by the power of his maturation into a formidable leader. Assisting him on his journey is a parade of unique personalities, the most notable of whom is a rabbit named Thumper. Thumper's vocal velocity and eagerness to befriend Bambi threaten steal the show, but the growing deer never loses his deserved spotlight. Throw in a skunk named Flower and a beautiful doe named Faline (Bambi's love interest), and the film comes together in its own right, creating a combination of tragedy and triumph all ages can enjoy…
In stark contrast to its contemporary peers, Bambi is a refreshing exit from today's highly commercial animated features. Although Thumper provides the necessary comic relief, the film is more than just a deluge of juvenile one-liners - and boasts absolutely zero fart jokes. Instead, Bambi wraps a timeless story of a life's journey to adulthood in the majesty that is mother nature. Its ingenious illustration of a forest teeming with wildlife and the dangers encountered by its inhabitants is truly awe-inspiring. In short, Bambi has all the makings of a tinsel-town classic - one that should make today's Disney creations utterly green with envy…
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Babylon 5 (DVD) Review
Nominated for 6 Emmys and 3 Hugo Awards in its five-season run, Babylon 5 changed the landscape of the TV science fiction series genre. Following on the heels of hit series such as Star Trek and Star Trek: The Next Generation, Babylon 5 is unrivaled by any of its peers in its application of special effects. The brainchild of J. Michael Straczynski (writer for such shows as Murder She Wrote and Walker, Texas Ranger), the hour-long sci-fi drama series breaks new ground by deploying a five-season storyline that follows the outline of a traditional novel. As such, Babylon 5 is more like a mini-series that lasts five years instead of the usual three to five nights. And also unlike its predecessors, the series showcases original advanced technologies, believable alien characters (who speak alien and not English), and boasts of superb costume and makeup. Premiering in mid-season 1994, Babylon 5 established a solid audience and continues to inspire new generations of fans via syndicated reruns on cable…
Babylon 5 follows the daily events that transpire on Babylon 5, a five-mile long space station from the year 2258. Built by the Earth Alliance, Babylon 5 orbits a lone planet in interplanetary (neutral) space. The setting for an Earthling military post and a transportation hub for businessmen and general travelers, the space station's primary purpose is to provide a safe haven for the airing of differences between the alien races. Similar in function to the United Nations, Babylon 5 is tasked with preserving the peace between the five primary space-traveling civilizations - the Earth Alliance, the Mimbari Federation, the Centauri Republic, the Narn Regime, and the Vorlon Empire. Headed by Commander Jeffrey Sinclair (Michael O'Hare), and later by Capt. John J. Sheridan (Bruce Boxleitner), Babylon 5 is home to almost 300,000 humans and their alien counterparts. With so many confined to such a small area, the space station is ripe for internal struggle, racial conflict, regular cast members' personal problems, and showdowns between various political interests. It's this intricate and diverse storyboard, coupled with amazing visual effects, that makes Babylon 5 one of the most successful sci-fi TV shows in recent memory…
The Babylon 5 DVD (Season 1) features a number of exciting episodes including the series premiere "Midnight on the Firing Line" in which the crew of Babylon 5 awake to find that the Narn have launched an attack on a Centauri colony. The event drives a wedge between Londo and G'Kar. Meanwhile, a number of attacks on ships around Babylon 5 by space pirates has become a rampant problem… Other notable episodes from Season 1 include "The War Prayer" in which Babylon 5 is plagued by a racist group of humans who attack and brand alien residents, and "Babylon Squared" in which Babylon 4 reappears in the same coordinates in which it disappeared several years earlier, prompting the crew of Babylon 5 to arrange an evacuation of its predecessor while they try to discover the cause…
Below is a list of episodes included on the Babylon 5 (Season 1) DVD:
Episode 1 (Midnight on the Firing Line) Air Date: 01-26-1994
Episode 2 (Soul Hunter) Air Date: 02-02-1994
Episode 3 (Born to the Purple) Air Date: 02-09-1994
Episode 4 (Infection) Air Date: 02-16-1994
Episode 5 (The Parliament of Dreams) Air Date: 02-23-1994
Episode 6 (Mind War) Air Date: 03-02-1994
Episode 7 (The War Prayer) Air Date: 03-09-1994
Episode 8 (And the Sky Full of Stars) Air Date: 03-16-1994
Episode 9 (Deathwalker) Air Date: 04-20-1994
Episode 10 (Believers) Air Date: 04-27-1994
Episode 11 (Survivors) Air Date: 05-04-1994
Episode 12 (By Any Means Necessary) Air Date: 05-11-1994
Episode 13 (Signs and Portents) Air Date: 05-18-1994
Episode 14 (TKO) Air Date: 05-25-1994
Episode 15 (Grail) Air Date: 07-06-1994
Episode 16 (Eyes) Air Date: 07-13-1994
Episode 17 (Legacy) Air Date: 07-20-1994
Episode 18 (A Voice in the Wilderness: Part 1) Air Date: 07-27-1994
Episode 19 (A Voice in the Wilderness: Part 2) Air Date: 08-03-1994
Episode 20 (Babylon Squared) Air Date: 08-10-1994
Episode 21 (The Quality of Mercy) Air Date: 08-17-1994
Episode 22 (Chrysalis) Air Date: 10-26-1994
Babylon 5 follows the daily events that transpire on Babylon 5, a five-mile long space station from the year 2258. Built by the Earth Alliance, Babylon 5 orbits a lone planet in interplanetary (neutral) space. The setting for an Earthling military post and a transportation hub for businessmen and general travelers, the space station's primary purpose is to provide a safe haven for the airing of differences between the alien races. Similar in function to the United Nations, Babylon 5 is tasked with preserving the peace between the five primary space-traveling civilizations - the Earth Alliance, the Mimbari Federation, the Centauri Republic, the Narn Regime, and the Vorlon Empire. Headed by Commander Jeffrey Sinclair (Michael O'Hare), and later by Capt. John J. Sheridan (Bruce Boxleitner), Babylon 5 is home to almost 300,000 humans and their alien counterparts. With so many confined to such a small area, the space station is ripe for internal struggle, racial conflict, regular cast members' personal problems, and showdowns between various political interests. It's this intricate and diverse storyboard, coupled with amazing visual effects, that makes Babylon 5 one of the most successful sci-fi TV shows in recent memory…
The Babylon 5 DVD (Season 1) features a number of exciting episodes including the series premiere "Midnight on the Firing Line" in which the crew of Babylon 5 awake to find that the Narn have launched an attack on a Centauri colony. The event drives a wedge between Londo and G'Kar. Meanwhile, a number of attacks on ships around Babylon 5 by space pirates has become a rampant problem… Other notable episodes from Season 1 include "The War Prayer" in which Babylon 5 is plagued by a racist group of humans who attack and brand alien residents, and "Babylon Squared" in which Babylon 4 reappears in the same coordinates in which it disappeared several years earlier, prompting the crew of Babylon 5 to arrange an evacuation of its predecessor while they try to discover the cause…
Below is a list of episodes included on the Babylon 5 (Season 1) DVD:
Episode 1 (Midnight on the Firing Line) Air Date: 01-26-1994
Episode 2 (Soul Hunter) Air Date: 02-02-1994
Episode 3 (Born to the Purple) Air Date: 02-09-1994
Episode 4 (Infection) Air Date: 02-16-1994
Episode 5 (The Parliament of Dreams) Air Date: 02-23-1994
Episode 6 (Mind War) Air Date: 03-02-1994
Episode 7 (The War Prayer) Air Date: 03-09-1994
Episode 8 (And the Sky Full of Stars) Air Date: 03-16-1994
Episode 9 (Deathwalker) Air Date: 04-20-1994
Episode 10 (Believers) Air Date: 04-27-1994
Episode 11 (Survivors) Air Date: 05-04-1994
Episode 12 (By Any Means Necessary) Air Date: 05-11-1994
Episode 13 (Signs and Portents) Air Date: 05-18-1994
Episode 14 (TKO) Air Date: 05-25-1994
Episode 15 (Grail) Air Date: 07-06-1994
Episode 16 (Eyes) Air Date: 07-13-1994
Episode 17 (Legacy) Air Date: 07-20-1994
Episode 18 (A Voice in the Wilderness: Part 1) Air Date: 07-27-1994
Episode 19 (A Voice in the Wilderness: Part 2) Air Date: 08-03-1994
Episode 20 (Babylon Squared) Air Date: 08-10-1994
Episode 21 (The Quality of Mercy) Air Date: 08-17-1994
Episode 22 (Chrysalis) Air Date: 10-26-1994
Friday, June 24, 2011
Art Posters
A work of art is a timeless treasure and an eternal source of joy. While the functional utility of posters has been exploited for ages, the aesthetic appeal of posters has elevated their status and transformed them into a unique form of art. Poster production is done by lithographic printing on paper, which is a relatively inexpensive form of printing. However, poster art has found its own class of collectors and admirers. Moulin Rouge made history when it sold for a record-breaking $200,000 at a fine art poster exhibition. After the success and popularity of the 1970s vintage poster market in France, posters have caught on among the masses across various countries.
A piece of poster art is not just a visual treat; it speaks out and conveys a message. An individual piece is conceived by an artist through the creative execution of his/her insight, but these are not necessarily decoded by another. The message varies depending on individual perception. Art posters are used as unique pieces of decor. They create a particular mood, define the ambience of the room and reflect the possessor’s personality. Apart from personal purchases, it can be purchased as a special gift item. Both the online and offline market provides numerous options to a lover of poster art.
Many poster exhibitions, auctions and museums showcase art posters. Collectors can get information from various collector’s magazines like Jon Warren’s price guide, Movie Poster Price Almanac, and many more. Online guides give a good idea about the pricing of various posters and collectibles, and how to get a good deal. The collectible value of a piece can be determined to some extent by some standard parameters, like the demand for the poster, its condition (weather damaged, stained or not), and what issue the poster is. However, the decision about the collectible value of an art poster is subjective.
Art posters can be of various kinds, like vintage original posters, specialty prints, fine art, movie or music posters, posters of nature, abstract posters and many more. Alice in Chains, Fallout Boy and Avenged Sevenfold are few of the rare music posters. Limited edition posters are also popular. The magical charm and ambience created by the classic movie posters of the golden era can hardly be resisted by any one. Art posters have a charm and loyal following of their own that is hard to resist.
A piece of poster art is not just a visual treat; it speaks out and conveys a message. An individual piece is conceived by an artist through the creative execution of his/her insight, but these are not necessarily decoded by another. The message varies depending on individual perception. Art posters are used as unique pieces of decor. They create a particular mood, define the ambience of the room and reflect the possessor’s personality. Apart from personal purchases, it can be purchased as a special gift item. Both the online and offline market provides numerous options to a lover of poster art.
Many poster exhibitions, auctions and museums showcase art posters. Collectors can get information from various collector’s magazines like Jon Warren’s price guide, Movie Poster Price Almanac, and many more. Online guides give a good idea about the pricing of various posters and collectibles, and how to get a good deal. The collectible value of a piece can be determined to some extent by some standard parameters, like the demand for the poster, its condition (weather damaged, stained or not), and what issue the poster is. However, the decision about the collectible value of an art poster is subjective.
Art posters can be of various kinds, like vintage original posters, specialty prints, fine art, movie or music posters, posters of nature, abstract posters and many more. Alice in Chains, Fallout Boy and Avenged Sevenfold are few of the rare music posters. Limited edition posters are also popular. The magical charm and ambience created by the classic movie posters of the golden era can hardly be resisted by any one. Art posters have a charm and loyal following of their own that is hard to resist.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Another bullet in the cake?
Another bullet in the cake? No, this time I eat the cake.
I finally saw "Hate Rock" the long awaited - actually 23 hours download - documentary about us. The presentation of the documentary seems much harder than what the video says in reality. Before watching this video I asked for impressions to people who saw it on the cable in the US and all their comments have been very negative. I was caught days ago while answering to some questions on the phone. I classified this documentary as antifascist propaganda, because this is what it seems reading the introduction on the websites (SMG productions and Discovery Times) and this is how people described the show to me. I have to say instead, after watching the work, that it is a "documentary" and not the ultimate show about the "absolute evil".
If I ever missed anything or did not understand anything or if you just want to post a comment (including the expected "go to hell"), you can send a message to my forum (you don't need to register) or to my email address: viking@ashtree.org
Contents
Length limitation (about 1 hour) and lack of time make also the best of the videos a marginal work. You must have asked yourselves: what to include and what to exclude? How to delineate the whole documentary? So, this is the section in which I will list (I will exceed!) your "made 30s, why not 31?", all good advices for someone who'll try to write a book - maybe - about hate rock in future, and I guess many of the things I will write down here were maybe consciously excluded, not just forgotten.
I have seen you pointed your attention to our more or less extreme faces, the "interface", so how music is spread, how concerts are organized, what different images we use, the persecution we get and so on...it's a very good video, but I think sometimes it is too "aesthetic", it often proposes some songs with "impact" lyrics but does not get into their deep meaning, imaging people outside already know about our beliefs (only in Detroit instead you captured a good deal of explanations about some aspects of white power music or when you talked about the 14 words) and sometimes it escapes too much towards descriptions of political organizations forgetting it is a documentary about music and it confines the "white power" movement into the racist thing too much.
Question number one: what is a racist? And on a higher level: what is a nationalist?
It would have been interesting to know how a song is born, in what situation. From the documentary we seem to want ethnic cleaning mostly or only and above all... and you sent my song "Don't go round with the Jews", for instance (I'll take myself as example, because I know myself), which is not a song about that topic, but about the problem of social integration. You chose from my interview my declaration "I say I'm not a nazi, I'm a fascist, I must defend my italian history"... I must comment, with or without that sentence my position doesn't change: I'm a so-called "white power" songwriter anyway, so the statement - extracted from a long discussion - is redundant in this context.
You talked a lot about persecution against our music, absolutely daily life. I think you fully described what happens to our bands and organizers.
Shawn made very clear arguments about it and Erich of Resistance added that music sales help the activities, but what's missing between these parts? It's quite clear that people like the Big Jews or the Communists persecute us (Death to ZOG! People shouted.), but no one clearly expressed some opinions about the reasons. Hegemony for example? What does it mean? What could the interests be? (I'm aware it's impossible to talk largely about it in such a video without falling out of the circle of the topic, but maybe a little idea could be given)
I think the most important reason is implicit, but at the same time fragmented, in your documentary: this kind of music is engine for activities!
Really there are harder crimes than "loving your own folk" in this world, but they are not persecuted. Is recruitment a possible reason for this persecution? You talked a lot about it, but you did not say it is - surely it is - a reason why we are persecuted, or better, there are opposite forces pulling people from other sides into their own gardens.
Very good...In total simplicity you expressed so well the moment "before the concert" in Verona (also in Britain showing true rehearsal). It's direct, it's clear... I'll write more about it later in the editing section. Another good note about the concert in Germany (it was like you were there ready to be arrested together with the skins!).
I saw you noticed how internet increased the sales and the spreading of our music... this is real. Anyway, you didn't investigate about how our music is technically and artistically produced. (You must have seen that artistic production is almost completely missing in this scene!) You showed a recording studio... but what about other solutions, live recordings and...distance recordings? You also talked too little about executive production: if you look carefully you'll find deep gaps among labels! You touched the MTV topic, but which are the requisites for being on MTV? And do we want to be there or are we avoiding? (I personally was on the charts for most downloaded songs on mtv.it...eheh! I'm terrible!)
Or did you ask yourself: in terms of numbers does the white power movement produce and prefer more musically skilled bands or lyrically oriented bands? Which is the balance among these two aspects? (Erich just mentioned something about it) Is there any kind of attempt/effort for an industrial product? Prussian Blue have an organization behind, they "aggressed" the media, they have a tv crew supporting them, a network of advancers...you talked about them, but did not notice this! And how would a music industry based on political groups make difference from current mainstream industries if it takes off? What consequences does it take?
You talked about bands, some in political groups, others external, but which are the differences between a band in politics and a band which is not? Is music more transversal when outside the party?
What about the "fans"? How much do they spend? How do top seller products change according to age, country, income...of buyers?
What about peer-to-peer and how does it damage our scene? How do fans interact and cultivate their interest (forums, mp3-video-photo uploads, blogs and original websites...)?
The Turner Diaries: cutting that part there was place for all these aspects or for another band... I would have chosen Kolovrat or some other band from Eastern Europe.
I appreciated the fact - and now I'll be killed for this - that you didn't mention Ian Stuart so much, but your analysis of "hate rock" has been contemporary.
I liked a lot the line you followed, visiting the concerts and their backstages as self-talking environments.
What's really missing? I'm not the only one who states this: I think you didn't focus at all on the metal scene, such as Burzum (whose cds are sold at your local Virgin Megastore!), or neofolk (I'm considered neofolk, but I'm not one of the exemplary artists who play this genre). You didn't talk about the pagan and christian subcurrents and their struggles (oh, so wrong to have religion and politics together... but this happens!).
And what else... you didn't see there are some professionists who make this music and who are trying their way outside the movement. (I won't nominate, because I'm not sure I am allowed)
I'm sorry to say this final thing, because your work really deserves many honours, but this documentary is still a "flouring" of white power music. I'm very critic about this, yes, like a spinster teacher, because the attempt was really promising and mature this time!
So, sincere congratulations!
My experience on the set and the comments of the old aunts...
I have to award the professionality of those who worked on this documentary, obviously in particular those 3 nice guys I mentioned on "Gloucester Road" (I don't know the others...).
It was not my first time on tv and on press in general. Apart from right-wing press stuff, my relationship with the out-of-the-ghetto press has always been quite stormy...
do you remember, folks, for example, my pics with the bottle or when (on Italian satellite tv) a prestigious reporter aggressed me and cut my hair?
I have to say this time I was treated like a princess. I spoke, answered to questions, I was not aggressed, never interrupted and I have eaten and drunk.
I was shown on the screen like a normal girl with a guitar during a possible ordinary moment of my life - ok, Magnus and Katana are still laughing on the floor saying I walk like a duck. Also all the other people in the video are "men and women".
I received some complaints via email about what I didn't say in the video...
you have to know, sometimes I speak too much and I had promised my close mates of Ashtree things about defence topics and scientific reseach and paganism, because these are important themes in our struggle here at Ashtree Records.
You didn't choose anything of this and ok, it's your choice.
To those who say I'm shown for a too short time on this documentary I reply:
I have always tried to fill my music with hidden messages and now I appear on this video as a subliminal message, so I don't see the problem!
Audience
Some people said your documentary is too British. Well, in my opinion since you are British and the documentary was first produced for Five and then distributed overseas, I think you might have some British audience.
I would like to write down some personal observations and I would like to propose some new hint for reflection and curiosity.
Before investing money on any television production, you must have an idea about the audience to which your product is addressed. It's hard - believe - it's hard to find a man who's got no interest or simply never heard of "hate rock", who sits down in front of the tv and watches a show like this. It's not ignorance... it's a situation like going back home, tired from work and just relax with something pleasant which depends on tastes. You know, television is still not "programmed" by audience (even digital terrestrial, which is sold like "power in the hands of the spectators!") anyway the man, who's God with the Remote Control, could choose a documentary about lions rather than sieg heil sieg heil...
You talked about "arising hate rock". Do you think hate rock is arising alone or is it accompanied by the number of people who are interested in watching your documentary on tv? (Remember, we sell cds because there are fond listeners)
I'll try to be clearer. I have the curiosity to know, whether you considered to produce this video because there are a lot of people who would like to know more about the topic.
Somebody shouted "another jewish thing!"... no, I think, instead, as Orwell's Big Brother teaches, the unwanted truth is hidden! You DO show hate rock, so I see no jewish conspiracy.
MacIntyre
Donal, what kind of name is that? Anyway, I thought MacIntyre was much worst, according to what my nice cooperator from our Press Room Neil Rush said: "George Clooney on holiday". Oh, God, I thought, What is it?
I'm watching from far away Italy. The times I was in Britain I never had the opportunity to see this man in action on tv, so this is my first time. I read his name and I searched on internet. His photos on his website don't make good impression of him as professional figure... I'm not becoming a bigot...
I would like to focus again on the introduction written for this documentary. As I said above it seems a factious introduction, referring to words like "disturbing rise of the racist and anti-semitic music industry". It's true, I should not connect the man with the words reported above, but - this is an advice - pay attention, Mac, because you may fall into the well known tv trap of "kindness", a disease attacking media... nobody's safe!
The history of times has taught: good-looking = kind.
Anyway, Mac, I know you too little to go on discussing this.
I found the location where you spoke adeguate. It was very "hip hop" style and in a certain way "opposed" to white power and since you are an external viewer (I'm not saying you're hip hop or black) the thing unconsciously matched somehow.
I'm sure, I bet 50 pounds, you didn't think about this, but the location was chosen because it was more "streetlife" and more "bad macintyre".
Video & Sound Editing
I cannot say much about filming, because I haven't got the requisites to talk about it, but I can say something about the editing, since it is a bit my cup of tea.
There's not much to say in reality. It's a professional work and done by masters.
I'm a little (some one would rather say "short") beginner - even though somebody has the courage to pay me for editing stuff - but I think I should examine.
I already talked about it, but I should add in this section that the times used to describe the different moments of the Verona event are as precise as a clock.
Sometimes too much "tourism" (indispensable, I don't deny!) cutting time for significative information. A "tourism" like the one in Detroit with explanations of places and local fauna is the good solution.
Sometimes maybe too long zoom in, zoom out on still images and...I don't remember,
I maybe took note about some too slow transition... but those are choices and strategic "fill holes" and pauses, change of rhythm...
The "futuristic" images + music leading to title "Hate Rock" after the introductive speech are like putting Madonna's "American Life" as soundtrack for a documentary about nuns. I don't know if this intro is stylistically in common with other documentaries from your series, but really here it is a punch in an eye.
I think the introductive speech was enough, since it was a sort of well done summary, it could lead to title "Hate Rock" perfectly.
The last 20 minutes of the show are much slower than the first part. Is it my impression?
Too long uncut videos, less movement... in my opinion, after about 40 minutes play, such a video should get a faster rhythm because it's like the audience - I don't want to say it falls asleep - is eating 300g of pasta and after all this food you may get enough of it.
Sometimes different speeches of a same person taken in different places, with too different noise backgrounds, are attached like a continuous speech but the contrast is too evident.
You should have overlapped or attached more carefully or tried to show the video (even half a second, don't need much) from which the environmental noise is taken.
You may wonder "You, right you are telling me this...have you ever seen your own stuff?"
Yes, I have and I don't want to remember.
I finally saw "Hate Rock" the long awaited - actually 23 hours download - documentary about us. The presentation of the documentary seems much harder than what the video says in reality. Before watching this video I asked for impressions to people who saw it on the cable in the US and all their comments have been very negative. I was caught days ago while answering to some questions on the phone. I classified this documentary as antifascist propaganda, because this is what it seems reading the introduction on the websites (SMG productions and Discovery Times) and this is how people described the show to me. I have to say instead, after watching the work, that it is a "documentary" and not the ultimate show about the "absolute evil".
If I ever missed anything or did not understand anything or if you just want to post a comment (including the expected "go to hell"), you can send a message to my forum (you don't need to register) or to my email address: viking@ashtree.org
Contents
Length limitation (about 1 hour) and lack of time make also the best of the videos a marginal work. You must have asked yourselves: what to include and what to exclude? How to delineate the whole documentary? So, this is the section in which I will list (I will exceed!) your "made 30s, why not 31?", all good advices for someone who'll try to write a book - maybe - about hate rock in future, and I guess many of the things I will write down here were maybe consciously excluded, not just forgotten.
I have seen you pointed your attention to our more or less extreme faces, the "interface", so how music is spread, how concerts are organized, what different images we use, the persecution we get and so on...it's a very good video, but I think sometimes it is too "aesthetic", it often proposes some songs with "impact" lyrics but does not get into their deep meaning, imaging people outside already know about our beliefs (only in Detroit instead you captured a good deal of explanations about some aspects of white power music or when you talked about the 14 words) and sometimes it escapes too much towards descriptions of political organizations forgetting it is a documentary about music and it confines the "white power" movement into the racist thing too much.
Question number one: what is a racist? And on a higher level: what is a nationalist?
It would have been interesting to know how a song is born, in what situation. From the documentary we seem to want ethnic cleaning mostly or only and above all... and you sent my song "Don't go round with the Jews", for instance (I'll take myself as example, because I know myself), which is not a song about that topic, but about the problem of social integration. You chose from my interview my declaration "I say I'm not a nazi, I'm a fascist, I must defend my italian history"... I must comment, with or without that sentence my position doesn't change: I'm a so-called "white power" songwriter anyway, so the statement - extracted from a long discussion - is redundant in this context.
You talked a lot about persecution against our music, absolutely daily life. I think you fully described what happens to our bands and organizers.
Shawn made very clear arguments about it and Erich of Resistance added that music sales help the activities, but what's missing between these parts? It's quite clear that people like the Big Jews or the Communists persecute us (Death to ZOG! People shouted.), but no one clearly expressed some opinions about the reasons. Hegemony for example? What does it mean? What could the interests be? (I'm aware it's impossible to talk largely about it in such a video without falling out of the circle of the topic, but maybe a little idea could be given)
I think the most important reason is implicit, but at the same time fragmented, in your documentary: this kind of music is engine for activities!
Really there are harder crimes than "loving your own folk" in this world, but they are not persecuted. Is recruitment a possible reason for this persecution? You talked a lot about it, but you did not say it is - surely it is - a reason why we are persecuted, or better, there are opposite forces pulling people from other sides into their own gardens.
Very good...In total simplicity you expressed so well the moment "before the concert" in Verona (also in Britain showing true rehearsal). It's direct, it's clear... I'll write more about it later in the editing section. Another good note about the concert in Germany (it was like you were there ready to be arrested together with the skins!).
I saw you noticed how internet increased the sales and the spreading of our music... this is real. Anyway, you didn't investigate about how our music is technically and artistically produced. (You must have seen that artistic production is almost completely missing in this scene!) You showed a recording studio... but what about other solutions, live recordings and...distance recordings? You also talked too little about executive production: if you look carefully you'll find deep gaps among labels! You touched the MTV topic, but which are the requisites for being on MTV? And do we want to be there or are we avoiding? (I personally was on the charts for most downloaded songs on mtv.it...eheh! I'm terrible!)
Or did you ask yourself: in terms of numbers does the white power movement produce and prefer more musically skilled bands or lyrically oriented bands? Which is the balance among these two aspects? (Erich just mentioned something about it) Is there any kind of attempt/effort for an industrial product? Prussian Blue have an organization behind, they "aggressed" the media, they have a tv crew supporting them, a network of advancers...you talked about them, but did not notice this! And how would a music industry based on political groups make difference from current mainstream industries if it takes off? What consequences does it take?
You talked about bands, some in political groups, others external, but which are the differences between a band in politics and a band which is not? Is music more transversal when outside the party?
What about the "fans"? How much do they spend? How do top seller products change according to age, country, income...of buyers?
What about peer-to-peer and how does it damage our scene? How do fans interact and cultivate their interest (forums, mp3-video-photo uploads, blogs and original websites...)?
The Turner Diaries: cutting that part there was place for all these aspects or for another band... I would have chosen Kolovrat or some other band from Eastern Europe.
I appreciated the fact - and now I'll be killed for this - that you didn't mention Ian Stuart so much, but your analysis of "hate rock" has been contemporary.
I liked a lot the line you followed, visiting the concerts and their backstages as self-talking environments.
What's really missing? I'm not the only one who states this: I think you didn't focus at all on the metal scene, such as Burzum (whose cds are sold at your local Virgin Megastore!), or neofolk (I'm considered neofolk, but I'm not one of the exemplary artists who play this genre). You didn't talk about the pagan and christian subcurrents and their struggles (oh, so wrong to have religion and politics together... but this happens!).
And what else... you didn't see there are some professionists who make this music and who are trying their way outside the movement. (I won't nominate, because I'm not sure I am allowed)
I'm sorry to say this final thing, because your work really deserves many honours, but this documentary is still a "flouring" of white power music. I'm very critic about this, yes, like a spinster teacher, because the attempt was really promising and mature this time!
So, sincere congratulations!
My experience on the set and the comments of the old aunts...
I have to award the professionality of those who worked on this documentary, obviously in particular those 3 nice guys I mentioned on "Gloucester Road" (I don't know the others...).
It was not my first time on tv and on press in general. Apart from right-wing press stuff, my relationship with the out-of-the-ghetto press has always been quite stormy...
do you remember, folks, for example, my pics with the bottle or when (on Italian satellite tv) a prestigious reporter aggressed me and cut my hair?
I have to say this time I was treated like a princess. I spoke, answered to questions, I was not aggressed, never interrupted and I have eaten and drunk.
I was shown on the screen like a normal girl with a guitar during a possible ordinary moment of my life - ok, Magnus and Katana are still laughing on the floor saying I walk like a duck. Also all the other people in the video are "men and women".
I received some complaints via email about what I didn't say in the video...
you have to know, sometimes I speak too much and I had promised my close mates of Ashtree things about defence topics and scientific reseach and paganism, because these are important themes in our struggle here at Ashtree Records.
You didn't choose anything of this and ok, it's your choice.
To those who say I'm shown for a too short time on this documentary I reply:
I have always tried to fill my music with hidden messages and now I appear on this video as a subliminal message, so I don't see the problem!
Audience
Some people said your documentary is too British. Well, in my opinion since you are British and the documentary was first produced for Five and then distributed overseas, I think you might have some British audience.
I would like to write down some personal observations and I would like to propose some new hint for reflection and curiosity.
Before investing money on any television production, you must have an idea about the audience to which your product is addressed. It's hard - believe - it's hard to find a man who's got no interest or simply never heard of "hate rock", who sits down in front of the tv and watches a show like this. It's not ignorance... it's a situation like going back home, tired from work and just relax with something pleasant which depends on tastes. You know, television is still not "programmed" by audience (even digital terrestrial, which is sold like "power in the hands of the spectators!") anyway the man, who's God with the Remote Control, could choose a documentary about lions rather than sieg heil sieg heil...
You talked about "arising hate rock". Do you think hate rock is arising alone or is it accompanied by the number of people who are interested in watching your documentary on tv? (Remember, we sell cds because there are fond listeners)
I'll try to be clearer. I have the curiosity to know, whether you considered to produce this video because there are a lot of people who would like to know more about the topic.
Somebody shouted "another jewish thing!"... no, I think, instead, as Orwell's Big Brother teaches, the unwanted truth is hidden! You DO show hate rock, so I see no jewish conspiracy.
MacIntyre
Donal, what kind of name is that? Anyway, I thought MacIntyre was much worst, according to what my nice cooperator from our Press Room Neil Rush said: "George Clooney on holiday". Oh, God, I thought, What is it?
I'm watching from far away Italy. The times I was in Britain I never had the opportunity to see this man in action on tv, so this is my first time. I read his name and I searched on internet. His photos on his website don't make good impression of him as professional figure... I'm not becoming a bigot...
I would like to focus again on the introduction written for this documentary. As I said above it seems a factious introduction, referring to words like "disturbing rise of the racist and anti-semitic music industry". It's true, I should not connect the man with the words reported above, but - this is an advice - pay attention, Mac, because you may fall into the well known tv trap of "kindness", a disease attacking media... nobody's safe!
The history of times has taught: good-looking = kind.
Anyway, Mac, I know you too little to go on discussing this.
I found the location where you spoke adeguate. It was very "hip hop" style and in a certain way "opposed" to white power and since you are an external viewer (I'm not saying you're hip hop or black) the thing unconsciously matched somehow.
I'm sure, I bet 50 pounds, you didn't think about this, but the location was chosen because it was more "streetlife" and more "bad macintyre".
Video & Sound Editing
I cannot say much about filming, because I haven't got the requisites to talk about it, but I can say something about the editing, since it is a bit my cup of tea.
There's not much to say in reality. It's a professional work and done by masters.
I'm a little (some one would rather say "short") beginner - even though somebody has the courage to pay me for editing stuff - but I think I should examine.
I already talked about it, but I should add in this section that the times used to describe the different moments of the Verona event are as precise as a clock.
Sometimes too much "tourism" (indispensable, I don't deny!) cutting time for significative information. A "tourism" like the one in Detroit with explanations of places and local fauna is the good solution.
Sometimes maybe too long zoom in, zoom out on still images and...I don't remember,
I maybe took note about some too slow transition... but those are choices and strategic "fill holes" and pauses, change of rhythm...
The "futuristic" images + music leading to title "Hate Rock" after the introductive speech are like putting Madonna's "American Life" as soundtrack for a documentary about nuns. I don't know if this intro is stylistically in common with other documentaries from your series, but really here it is a punch in an eye.
I think the introductive speech was enough, since it was a sort of well done summary, it could lead to title "Hate Rock" perfectly.
The last 20 minutes of the show are much slower than the first part. Is it my impression?
Too long uncut videos, less movement... in my opinion, after about 40 minutes play, such a video should get a faster rhythm because it's like the audience - I don't want to say it falls asleep - is eating 300g of pasta and after all this food you may get enough of it.
Sometimes different speeches of a same person taken in different places, with too different noise backgrounds, are attached like a continuous speech but the contrast is too evident.
You should have overlapped or attached more carefully or tried to show the video (even half a second, don't need much) from which the environmental noise is taken.
You may wonder "You, right you are telling me this...have you ever seen your own stuff?"
Yes, I have and I don't want to remember.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Animation is the technique in which each frame of a film is produced individually
Animation is the technique in which each frame of a film is produced individually, whether generated as a computer graphic, or by photographing a drawn image, or by repeatedly making small changes to a model unit (see claymation and stop motion), and then photographing the result with a special animation camera. When the frames are strung together and the resulting film is viewed at a speed of 16 or more frames per second, there is an illusion of continuous movement (due to the persistence of vision). Generating such a film is very labour intensive and tedious, though the development of computer animation has greatly sped up the process.
File formats like GIF, QuickTime, Shockwave and Flash allow animation to be viewed on a computer or over the Internet.
Because animation is very time-consuming and often very expensive to produce, the majority of animation for TV and movies comes from professional animation studios. However, the field of independent animation has existed at least since the 1950s, with animation being produced by independent studios (and sometimes by a single person). Several independent animation producers have gone on to enter the professional animation industry.
Limited animation is a way of increasing production and decreasing costs of animation by using "short cuts" in the animation process. This method was pioneered by UPA and popularized by Hanna-Barbera, and adapted by other studios as cartoons moved from movie theaters to television.[3]
Although most animation studios are now using digital technologies in their productions, there is a specific style of animation that depends on film. Cameraless animation, made famous by moviemakers like Norman McLaren, Len Lye and Stan Brakhage, is painted and drawn directly onto pieces of film, and then run through a projector.
File formats like GIF, QuickTime, Shockwave and Flash allow animation to be viewed on a computer or over the Internet.
Because animation is very time-consuming and often very expensive to produce, the majority of animation for TV and movies comes from professional animation studios. However, the field of independent animation has existed at least since the 1950s, with animation being produced by independent studios (and sometimes by a single person). Several independent animation producers have gone on to enter the professional animation industry.
Limited animation is a way of increasing production and decreasing costs of animation by using "short cuts" in the animation process. This method was pioneered by UPA and popularized by Hanna-Barbera, and adapted by other studios as cartoons moved from movie theaters to television.[3]
Although most animation studios are now using digital technologies in their productions, there is a specific style of animation that depends on film. Cameraless animation, made famous by moviemakers like Norman McLaren, Len Lye and Stan Brakhage, is painted and drawn directly onto pieces of film, and then run through a projector.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Angel (DVD) Review
Nominated for 25 Saturn Awards and one Emmy for Outstanding Makeup for a Series, Angel has established a strong cult following during its five-year run on the WB network. A spin-off of the enormously popular series Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Angel has followed in the footsteps of its predecessor and boasts many of the same heroes and villains. Created by Joss Whedon, the show is one of a number of successful original series aired by WB including Buffy, Smallville, Dawson's Creek, and Gilmore Girls among others…
Angel revolves around the life of Angel (David Boreanaz), a vampire turned do-gooder following a long career of killing the innocent. After spending three years in the small California town of Sunnydale with his girlfriend Buffy, Angel moves to Los Angeles where he sets up Angel Investigations to help those people most in need of protection from the dark forces that lurk within the city. Aided by old friends and new, Angel seeks to redeem his soul while cleansing the streets of Los Angeles of demons, warlocks, and evil lawyers… Angel's supernatural fighting team includes Buffy crossover character Cordelia Chase (Charisma Carpenter), now an aspiring actress; erudite Englishman Wesley Wyndam-Price (Alexis Denisof), and street fighter Charles Gunn (J. August Richards). Together, they join forces in a series known for its well-written and suspense riddled plots…
The Angel DVD features a number of exciting episodes including the season premiere "City Of" in which Angel moves to L.A. unaware of his life purpose, at least until he meets up with his half-demon spiritual advisor Alan Doyle (Glenn Quinn) who reveals a more positive direction for Angel. When powerful vampire lawyer Russell Winters sets his sights on Cordelia, it's up to Angel to save her from his evil clutches… Other notable episodes from Season 1 include "Sense & Sensitivity" in which an evil sensitivity training instructor casts his spell over an entire police department including Angel himself, and "The Ring" in which Angel stumbles into a secret underground demon fight club…
Below is a list of episodes included on the Angel (Season 1) DVD:
Episode 1 (City Of) Air Date: 10-05-1999
Episode 2 (Lonely Hearts) Air Date: 10-12-1999
Episode 3 (In the Dark) Air Date: 10-19-1999
Episode 4 (I Fall to Pieces) Air Date: 10-26-1999
Episode 5 (Rm w/a Vu) Air Date: 11-02-1999
Episode 6 (Sense & Sensitivity) Air Date: 11-09-1999
Episode 7 (Bachelor Party) Air Date: 11-16-1999
Episode 8 (I Will Remember You) Air Date: 11-23-1999
Episode 9 (Hero) Air Date: 11-30-1999
Episode 10 (Parting Gifts) Air Date: 12-14-1999
Episode 11 (Somnambulist) Air Date: 01-18-2000
Episode 12 (Expecting) Air Date: 01-25-2000
Episode 13 (She) Air Date: 02-08-2000
Episode 14 (I've Got You Under My Skin) Air Date: 02-15-2000
Episode 15 (The Prodigal) Air Date: 02-22-2000
Episode 16 (The Ring) Air Date: 02-29-2000
Episode 17 (Eternity) Air Date: 04-04-2000
Episode 18 (Five by Five) Air Date: 04-25-2000
Episode 19 (Sanctuary) Air Date: 05-02-2000
Episode 20 (War Zone) Air Date: 05-09-2000
Episode 21 (Blind Date) Air Date: 05-16-2000
Episode 22 (To Shanshu in L.A.) Air Date: 05-23-2000
Angel revolves around the life of Angel (David Boreanaz), a vampire turned do-gooder following a long career of killing the innocent. After spending three years in the small California town of Sunnydale with his girlfriend Buffy, Angel moves to Los Angeles where he sets up Angel Investigations to help those people most in need of protection from the dark forces that lurk within the city. Aided by old friends and new, Angel seeks to redeem his soul while cleansing the streets of Los Angeles of demons, warlocks, and evil lawyers… Angel's supernatural fighting team includes Buffy crossover character Cordelia Chase (Charisma Carpenter), now an aspiring actress; erudite Englishman Wesley Wyndam-Price (Alexis Denisof), and street fighter Charles Gunn (J. August Richards). Together, they join forces in a series known for its well-written and suspense riddled plots…
The Angel DVD features a number of exciting episodes including the season premiere "City Of" in which Angel moves to L.A. unaware of his life purpose, at least until he meets up with his half-demon spiritual advisor Alan Doyle (Glenn Quinn) who reveals a more positive direction for Angel. When powerful vampire lawyer Russell Winters sets his sights on Cordelia, it's up to Angel to save her from his evil clutches… Other notable episodes from Season 1 include "Sense & Sensitivity" in which an evil sensitivity training instructor casts his spell over an entire police department including Angel himself, and "The Ring" in which Angel stumbles into a secret underground demon fight club…
Below is a list of episodes included on the Angel (Season 1) DVD:
Episode 1 (City Of) Air Date: 10-05-1999
Episode 2 (Lonely Hearts) Air Date: 10-12-1999
Episode 3 (In the Dark) Air Date: 10-19-1999
Episode 4 (I Fall to Pieces) Air Date: 10-26-1999
Episode 5 (Rm w/a Vu) Air Date: 11-02-1999
Episode 6 (Sense & Sensitivity) Air Date: 11-09-1999
Episode 7 (Bachelor Party) Air Date: 11-16-1999
Episode 8 (I Will Remember You) Air Date: 11-23-1999
Episode 9 (Hero) Air Date: 11-30-1999
Episode 10 (Parting Gifts) Air Date: 12-14-1999
Episode 11 (Somnambulist) Air Date: 01-18-2000
Episode 12 (Expecting) Air Date: 01-25-2000
Episode 13 (She) Air Date: 02-08-2000
Episode 14 (I've Got You Under My Skin) Air Date: 02-15-2000
Episode 15 (The Prodigal) Air Date: 02-22-2000
Episode 16 (The Ring) Air Date: 02-29-2000
Episode 17 (Eternity) Air Date: 04-04-2000
Episode 18 (Five by Five) Air Date: 04-25-2000
Episode 19 (Sanctuary) Air Date: 05-02-2000
Episode 20 (War Zone) Air Date: 05-09-2000
Episode 21 (Blind Date) Air Date: 05-16-2000
Episode 22 (To Shanshu in L.A.) Air Date: 05-23-2000
Monday, June 20, 2011
All In The Family (Season 4) DVD Review
Recipient of widespread critical acclaim and much audience adulation, All In The Family remained the top rated TV program throughout the early 1970s. Following the life of the loudmouth and often crass Archie Bunker (Carrol O'Connor), the show centered around Archie's constant conflict with his daughter and son-in-law and their very liberal belief system. Archie also periodically clashed with his wife Edith, an often subserviant and ditzy traditional housewife. Tackling some of the more taboo issues of its time such as sexism, racism, bigotry, xenophobia, and death, All In The Family was a truly groundbreaking industry production...
The All In The Family (Season 4) DVD features a number of hilarious episodes including the season premiere "We're Having a Heat Wave" in which Archie and Henry Jefferson (both for different reasons) try to prevent the Lorenzos, a Hispanic family, from moving into the house next door which just went up for sale… Other notable episodes from Season 4 include "Archie and the Kiss" in which Gloria brings home a Rodin-inspired centerpiece much to Archie's chagrin, and "Edith's Conversation" in which Archie fears that Irene Lorenzo is attempting to convert Edith to Catholicism…
Below is a list of episodes included on the All In The Family (Season 4) DVD:
Episode 62 (We're Having a Heat Wave) Air Date: 09-15-1973
Episode 63 (We're Still Having a Heat Wave) Air Date: 09-22-1973
Episode 64 (Edith Finds an Old Man) Air Date: 09-29-1973
Episode 65 (Archie and the Kiss) Air Date: 10-06-1973
Episode 66 (Archie, the Gambler) Air Date: 10-13-1973
Episode 67 (Henry's Farewell) Air Date: 10-20-1973
Episode 68 (Archie and the Computer) Air Date: 10-27-1973
Episode 69 (The Games Bunkers Play) Air Date: 11-03-1973
Episode 70 (Edith's Conversation) Air Date: 11-10-1973
Episode 71 (Archie in the Cellar) Air Date: 11-17-1973
Episode 72 (Black is the Color of My True Love's Whig) Air Date: 11-24-1973
Episode 73 (Second Honeymoon) Air Date: 12-01-1973
Episode 74 (The Taxi Caper) Air Date: 12-08-1973
Episode 75 (Archie is Cursed) Air Date: 12-15-1973
Episode 76 (Edith's Christmas Story) Air Date: 12-22-1973
Episode 77 (Mike and Gloria Mix It Up) Air Date: 01-05-1974
Episode 78 (Archie Feels Left Out) Air Date: 01-12-1974
Episode 79 (Et Tu, Archie?) Air Date: 01-26-1974
Episode 80 (Gloria's Boyfriend) Air Date: 02-02-1974
Episode 81 (Lionel's Engagement) Air Date: 02-09-1974
Episode 82 (Archie Eats and Runs) Air Date: 02-16-1974
Episode 83 (Gloria Sings the Blues) Air Date: 03-02-1974
Episode 84 (Pay the Twenty Dollars) Air Date: 03-09-1974
Episode 85 (Mike's Graduation) Air Date: 03-16-1974
The All In The Family (Season 4) DVD features a number of hilarious episodes including the season premiere "We're Having a Heat Wave" in which Archie and Henry Jefferson (both for different reasons) try to prevent the Lorenzos, a Hispanic family, from moving into the house next door which just went up for sale… Other notable episodes from Season 4 include "Archie and the Kiss" in which Gloria brings home a Rodin-inspired centerpiece much to Archie's chagrin, and "Edith's Conversation" in which Archie fears that Irene Lorenzo is attempting to convert Edith to Catholicism…
Below is a list of episodes included on the All In The Family (Season 4) DVD:
Episode 62 (We're Having a Heat Wave) Air Date: 09-15-1973
Episode 63 (We're Still Having a Heat Wave) Air Date: 09-22-1973
Episode 64 (Edith Finds an Old Man) Air Date: 09-29-1973
Episode 65 (Archie and the Kiss) Air Date: 10-06-1973
Episode 66 (Archie, the Gambler) Air Date: 10-13-1973
Episode 67 (Henry's Farewell) Air Date: 10-20-1973
Episode 68 (Archie and the Computer) Air Date: 10-27-1973
Episode 69 (The Games Bunkers Play) Air Date: 11-03-1973
Episode 70 (Edith's Conversation) Air Date: 11-10-1973
Episode 71 (Archie in the Cellar) Air Date: 11-17-1973
Episode 72 (Black is the Color of My True Love's Whig) Air Date: 11-24-1973
Episode 73 (Second Honeymoon) Air Date: 12-01-1973
Episode 74 (The Taxi Caper) Air Date: 12-08-1973
Episode 75 (Archie is Cursed) Air Date: 12-15-1973
Episode 76 (Edith's Christmas Story) Air Date: 12-22-1973
Episode 77 (Mike and Gloria Mix It Up) Air Date: 01-05-1974
Episode 78 (Archie Feels Left Out) Air Date: 01-12-1974
Episode 79 (Et Tu, Archie?) Air Date: 01-26-1974
Episode 80 (Gloria's Boyfriend) Air Date: 02-02-1974
Episode 81 (Lionel's Engagement) Air Date: 02-09-1974
Episode 82 (Archie Eats and Runs) Air Date: 02-16-1974
Episode 83 (Gloria Sings the Blues) Air Date: 03-02-1974
Episode 84 (Pay the Twenty Dollars) Air Date: 03-09-1974
Episode 85 (Mike's Graduation) Air Date: 03-16-1974
Sunday, June 19, 2011
All In The Family (Season 3) DVD Review
One of the more celebrated situation comedies of all-time, All In The Family dominated the Nielsen ratings throughout much of the 1970s. Carroll O'Connor plays the title role of Archie Bunker, the politically-incorrect head of the Bunker household. Loud and opinionated, Archie liberally dispenses his often bigoted remarks and ignorant comments from a recliner in his Queens, New York living room. Living with Archie are his loving, yet airheaded wife Edith (Jean Stapelton), progressive daughter Gloria (Sally Struthers), and ultra-liberal son-in-law Mike (Rob Reiner) who Archie regularly calls "Meathead". As Archie's ingrained assumptions clash with Gloria and Mike's modern ideas, arguments break out everywhere in the Bunker household, but the inevitably the various family members come to love and respect each other for who they are…
The All In The Family (Season 3) DVD features a number of hilarious episodes including the season premiere "Archie and the Editorial" in which Archie ardently defends his anti-gun control views on a TV editorial show, only to be held up by a pair of muggers wielding a gun when he leaves the station. The incident causes Archie to transform into a gun control advocate… Other notable episodes from Season 3 include "Lionel Steps Out" in which Lionel Jefferson takes Archie's niece out on the town (peeving Archie who believes whites and blacks don't mix), and "Mike's Appendix" in which Archie and Gloria fight over the credentials of female doctors when Mike is forced to have an emergency appendectomy…
Below is a list of episodes included on the All In The Family (Season 3) DVD:
Episode 38 (Archie and the Editorial) Air Date: 09-16-1972
Episode 39 (Archie's Fraud) Air Date: 09-23-1972
Episode 40 (The Threat) Air Date: 09-30-1972
Episode 41 (Gloria and the Riddle) Air Date: 10-07-1972
Episode 42 (Lionel Steps Out) Air Date: 10-14-1972
Episode 43 (Edith Flips Her Whig) Air Date: 10-21-1972
Episode 44 (The Bunkers and the Swingers) Air Date: 10-28-1972
Episode 45 (Mike Comes Into Money) Air Date: 11-04-1972
Episode 46 (Flashback: Mike and Gloria's Wedding: Part 1) Air Date: 11-11-1972
Episode 47 (Flashback: Mike and Gloria's Wedding: Part 2) Air Date: 11-18-1972
Episode 48 (The Locket) Air Date: 11-23-1972
Episode 49 (Mike's Appendix) Air Date: 12-02-1972
Episode 50 (Edith's Winning Ticket) Air Date: 12-09-1972
Episode 51 (Archie and the Bowling Team) Air Date: 12-16-1972
Episode 52 (Archie in the Hospital) Air Date: 01-06-1973
Episode 53 (Oh Say Can You See) Air Date: 01-20-1973
Episode 54 (Archie Goes Too Far) Air Date: 01-27-1973
Episode 55 (Class Reunion) Air Date: 02-10-1973
Episode 56 (Hot Watch) Air Date: 02-17-1973
Episode 57 (Archie is Branded) Air Date: 02-24-1973
Episode 58 (Everybody Tells the Truth) Air Date: 03-03-1973
Episode 59 (Archie Learns His Lesson) Air Date: 03-10-1973
Episode 60 (Gloria, the Victim) Air Date: 03-17-1973
Episode 61 (The Battle of the Month) Air Date: 03-24-1973
The All In The Family (Season 3) DVD features a number of hilarious episodes including the season premiere "Archie and the Editorial" in which Archie ardently defends his anti-gun control views on a TV editorial show, only to be held up by a pair of muggers wielding a gun when he leaves the station. The incident causes Archie to transform into a gun control advocate… Other notable episodes from Season 3 include "Lionel Steps Out" in which Lionel Jefferson takes Archie's niece out on the town (peeving Archie who believes whites and blacks don't mix), and "Mike's Appendix" in which Archie and Gloria fight over the credentials of female doctors when Mike is forced to have an emergency appendectomy…
Below is a list of episodes included on the All In The Family (Season 3) DVD:
Episode 38 (Archie and the Editorial) Air Date: 09-16-1972
Episode 39 (Archie's Fraud) Air Date: 09-23-1972
Episode 40 (The Threat) Air Date: 09-30-1972
Episode 41 (Gloria and the Riddle) Air Date: 10-07-1972
Episode 42 (Lionel Steps Out) Air Date: 10-14-1972
Episode 43 (Edith Flips Her Whig) Air Date: 10-21-1972
Episode 44 (The Bunkers and the Swingers) Air Date: 10-28-1972
Episode 45 (Mike Comes Into Money) Air Date: 11-04-1972
Episode 46 (Flashback: Mike and Gloria's Wedding: Part 1) Air Date: 11-11-1972
Episode 47 (Flashback: Mike and Gloria's Wedding: Part 2) Air Date: 11-18-1972
Episode 48 (The Locket) Air Date: 11-23-1972
Episode 49 (Mike's Appendix) Air Date: 12-02-1972
Episode 50 (Edith's Winning Ticket) Air Date: 12-09-1972
Episode 51 (Archie and the Bowling Team) Air Date: 12-16-1972
Episode 52 (Archie in the Hospital) Air Date: 01-06-1973
Episode 53 (Oh Say Can You See) Air Date: 01-20-1973
Episode 54 (Archie Goes Too Far) Air Date: 01-27-1973
Episode 55 (Class Reunion) Air Date: 02-10-1973
Episode 56 (Hot Watch) Air Date: 02-17-1973
Episode 57 (Archie is Branded) Air Date: 02-24-1973
Episode 58 (Everybody Tells the Truth) Air Date: 03-03-1973
Episode 59 (Archie Learns His Lesson) Air Date: 03-10-1973
Episode 60 (Gloria, the Victim) Air Date: 03-17-1973
Episode 61 (The Battle of the Month) Air Date: 03-24-1973
Saturday, June 18, 2011
All In The Family (Season 2) DVD Review
The top Nielsen-rated television program from 1971 to 1976, All In The Family is widely regarded as one of the greatest TV sitcoms ever produced. Inspired by The Flintstones and The Honeymooners, All In The Family focused on the weekly antics of its own loud-mouth, politically-incorrect Fred Flintstone/Ralph Kramden clone, and like his predecessors, Archie Bunker has a hidden sensitive side. Ingeniously written and downright hilarious, All In The Family established new ground for TV sitcoms with its willingness to take on the taboo social issues of its day. Topics covers included bigotry, racism, homosexuality, sexism, death, and other namby-pam, commie-lib feminist ideals (at least that's how Archie would say it!) A true mammoth in the history of TV, All In The Family also led to a pair of highly successful spin-offs: Maude and The Jeffersons…
The All In The Family (Season 2) DVD offers a number of hilarious episodes including the season premiere "The Saga of Cousin Oscar" in which Archie's Cousin Oscar arrives in Queens for a visit. Considering him a lazy, do-nothing, Archie isn't pleased to be playing host to Oscar (whom we never actually see), and the irritation is further amplified when Oscar dies in the upstairs bedroom. Now mourners fill Archie's house, and he must decide whether or not to plan a funeral… Other notable episodes from Season 2 include "Edith Writes A Song" in which Archie purchases a handgun for protection only to have two robbers use it against him, and "The Election Story" in which Mike and Gloria vociferously campaign for the liberal candidate while Archie throws his hat in with the opposition candidate…
Below is a list of episodes included on the All In The Family (Season 2) DVD:
Episode 14 (The Saga of Cousin Oscar) Air Date: 09-18-1971
Episode 15 (Gloria Poses in the Nude) Air Date: 09-25-1971
Episode 16 (Archie and the Lock-Up) Air Date: 10-02-1971
Episode 17 (Edith Writes a Song) Air Date: 10-09-1971
Episode 18 (Flashback: Mike Meets Archie) Air Date: 10-16-1971
Episode 19 (The Election Story) Air Date: 10-30-1971
Episode 20 (Edith's Accident) Air Date: 11-06-1971
Episode 21 (The Blockbuster) Air Date: 11-13-1971
Episode 22 (Mike's Problem) Air Date: 11-20-1971
Episode 23 (The Insurance is Cancelled) Air Date: 11-27-1971
Episode 24 (The Man in the Street) Air Date: 12-04-1971
Episode 25 (Cousin Maude's Visit) Air Date: 12-11-1971
Episode 26 (Christmas Day at the Bunkers') Air Date: 12-18-1971
Episode 27 (The Elevator Story) Air Date: 01-01-1972
Episode 28 (Edith's Problem) Air Date: 01-08-1972
Episode 29 (Archie and the FBI) Air Date: 01-15-1972
Episode 30 (Mike's Mysterious Son) Air Date: 01-22-1972
Episode 31 (Archie Sees a Mugging) Air Date: 01-29-1972
Episode 32 (Archie and Edith Alone) Air Date: 02-05-1972
Episode 33 (Edith Gets a Mink) Air Date: 02-12-1972
Episode 34 (Sammy's Visit) Air Date: 02-19-1972
Episode 35 (Edith, the Judge) Air Date: 02-26-1972
Episode 36 (Archie is Jealous) Air Date: 03-04-1972
Episode 37 (Maude) Air Date: 03-11-1972
The All In The Family (Season 2) DVD offers a number of hilarious episodes including the season premiere "The Saga of Cousin Oscar" in which Archie's Cousin Oscar arrives in Queens for a visit. Considering him a lazy, do-nothing, Archie isn't pleased to be playing host to Oscar (whom we never actually see), and the irritation is further amplified when Oscar dies in the upstairs bedroom. Now mourners fill Archie's house, and he must decide whether or not to plan a funeral… Other notable episodes from Season 2 include "Edith Writes A Song" in which Archie purchases a handgun for protection only to have two robbers use it against him, and "The Election Story" in which Mike and Gloria vociferously campaign for the liberal candidate while Archie throws his hat in with the opposition candidate…
Below is a list of episodes included on the All In The Family (Season 2) DVD:
Episode 14 (The Saga of Cousin Oscar) Air Date: 09-18-1971
Episode 15 (Gloria Poses in the Nude) Air Date: 09-25-1971
Episode 16 (Archie and the Lock-Up) Air Date: 10-02-1971
Episode 17 (Edith Writes a Song) Air Date: 10-09-1971
Episode 18 (Flashback: Mike Meets Archie) Air Date: 10-16-1971
Episode 19 (The Election Story) Air Date: 10-30-1971
Episode 20 (Edith's Accident) Air Date: 11-06-1971
Episode 21 (The Blockbuster) Air Date: 11-13-1971
Episode 22 (Mike's Problem) Air Date: 11-20-1971
Episode 23 (The Insurance is Cancelled) Air Date: 11-27-1971
Episode 24 (The Man in the Street) Air Date: 12-04-1971
Episode 25 (Cousin Maude's Visit) Air Date: 12-11-1971
Episode 26 (Christmas Day at the Bunkers') Air Date: 12-18-1971
Episode 27 (The Elevator Story) Air Date: 01-01-1972
Episode 28 (Edith's Problem) Air Date: 01-08-1972
Episode 29 (Archie and the FBI) Air Date: 01-15-1972
Episode 30 (Mike's Mysterious Son) Air Date: 01-22-1972
Episode 31 (Archie Sees a Mugging) Air Date: 01-29-1972
Episode 32 (Archie and Edith Alone) Air Date: 02-05-1972
Episode 33 (Edith Gets a Mink) Air Date: 02-12-1972
Episode 34 (Sammy's Visit) Air Date: 02-19-1972
Episode 35 (Edith, the Judge) Air Date: 02-26-1972
Episode 36 (Archie is Jealous) Air Date: 03-04-1972
Episode 37 (Maude) Air Date: 03-11-1972
Friday, June 17, 2011
All In The Family (DVD) Review
The #1 Nielsen rated program from 1971 to 1976, All In The Family is quite simply one of the greatest television programs in history. Inspired by The Honeymooners and The Flintstones, All In The Family features its own loud-mouthed, opinionated blowhard sporting a hidden soft and sensitive side. Like Ralph Kramden and Fred Flintstone, Archie Bunker fulfills his role to absolute perfection, and the result is TV magic. Well-written and outright hilarious, All In The Family broke ground in the 70's with its willingness to tackle all the social issues and societal taboos of its day. Topics included racism, bigotry, sexism, homosexuality, death, and other namby-pam, socialist and liberal-feminist ideals (or at least that's how Archie would put it!) A titan among television sitcoms, All In The Family spawned a pair of shows which topped the ratings in their own right - Maude and The Jeffersons…
Carroll O'Connor plays the role of Archie Bunker, the titular head of the Bunker household. Loud and crass, Archie freely dispenses his bigoted remarks and ignorant comments from the living room of his Queens, New York home. Joining Archie is his loving and ditsy wife Edith (Jean Stapelton), his beautiful and progressive daughter Gloria (Sally Struthers), and her ultra-liberal husband Mike (Rob Reiner) whom Archie refers to as "Meathead". As Gloria and Mike's modern ideas clash with Archie's old school beliefs, all hell breaks loose in the Bunker household, but the Bunkers don't spend all their time arguing as they're inevitably held together by the immutable bond of love…
The All In The Family DVD features a number of hilarious episodes including the season premiere "Meet the Bunkers" in which it's Edith and Archie's anniversary, and Edith manages to drag a reluctant Archie to church. Meanwhile, Mike and Gloria work overtime to create a celebration the Bunkers will never forget… Other notable episodes from Season 1 include "Archie Gives Blood" in which Archie refuses to participate in the blood drive because he's afraid of having his blood mixed with that of another race, and "Edith Has Jury Duty" in which Edith's conviction to hold steadfast as the lone juror in favor of a defendant's acquittal proves correct when the true culprit comes forward…
Below is a list of episodes included on the All In The Family (Season 1) DVD:
Episode 1 (Meet the Bunkers) Air Date: 01-12-1971
Episode 2 (Writing the President) Air Date: 01-19-1971
Episode 3 (Oh, My Aching Back) Air Date: 01-26-1971
Episode 4 (Archie Gives Blood) Air Date: 02-02-1971
Episode 5 (Judging Books By Covers) Air Date: 02-09-1971
Episode 6 (Gloria's Pregnancy) Air Date: 02-16-1971
Episode 7 (Mike's Hippie Friends Come to Visit) Air Date: 02-23-1971
Episode 8 (Lionel Moves Into the Neighborhood) Air Date: 03-02-1971
Episode 9 (Edith Has Jury Duty) Air Date: 03-09-1971
Episode 10 (Archie is Worried About His Job) Air Date: 03-16-1971
Episode 11 (Gloria Discovers Women's Lib) Air Date: 03-23-1971
Episode 12 (Success Story) Air Date: 03-30-1971
Episode 13 (The First and Last Supper) Air Date: 04-06-1971
Carroll O'Connor plays the role of Archie Bunker, the titular head of the Bunker household. Loud and crass, Archie freely dispenses his bigoted remarks and ignorant comments from the living room of his Queens, New York home. Joining Archie is his loving and ditsy wife Edith (Jean Stapelton), his beautiful and progressive daughter Gloria (Sally Struthers), and her ultra-liberal husband Mike (Rob Reiner) whom Archie refers to as "Meathead". As Gloria and Mike's modern ideas clash with Archie's old school beliefs, all hell breaks loose in the Bunker household, but the Bunkers don't spend all their time arguing as they're inevitably held together by the immutable bond of love…
The All In The Family DVD features a number of hilarious episodes including the season premiere "Meet the Bunkers" in which it's Edith and Archie's anniversary, and Edith manages to drag a reluctant Archie to church. Meanwhile, Mike and Gloria work overtime to create a celebration the Bunkers will never forget… Other notable episodes from Season 1 include "Archie Gives Blood" in which Archie refuses to participate in the blood drive because he's afraid of having his blood mixed with that of another race, and "Edith Has Jury Duty" in which Edith's conviction to hold steadfast as the lone juror in favor of a defendant's acquittal proves correct when the true culprit comes forward…
Below is a list of episodes included on the All In The Family (Season 1) DVD:
Episode 1 (Meet the Bunkers) Air Date: 01-12-1971
Episode 2 (Writing the President) Air Date: 01-19-1971
Episode 3 (Oh, My Aching Back) Air Date: 01-26-1971
Episode 4 (Archie Gives Blood) Air Date: 02-02-1971
Episode 5 (Judging Books By Covers) Air Date: 02-09-1971
Episode 6 (Gloria's Pregnancy) Air Date: 02-16-1971
Episode 7 (Mike's Hippie Friends Come to Visit) Air Date: 02-23-1971
Episode 8 (Lionel Moves Into the Neighborhood) Air Date: 03-02-1971
Episode 9 (Edith Has Jury Duty) Air Date: 03-09-1971
Episode 10 (Archie is Worried About His Job) Air Date: 03-16-1971
Episode 11 (Gloria Discovers Women's Lib) Air Date: 03-23-1971
Episode 12 (Success Story) Air Date: 03-30-1971
Episode 13 (The First and Last Supper) Air Date: 04-06-1971
Thursday, June 16, 2011
All Along the Watch Tower - Interactive TV
What's so cool about interactive TV? It puts you in (almost) total control of your viewing experience. You can the change camera angles on sports events, games and order food. In its broadest sense - promoted by the interactive industry - interactive TV is anything that allows consumers to have more control over their televisions such as video on demand to watch your favorite movies whenever you want.
Lean Back & Relax - Interactive TV
You sit at your computer all day that gives you a stiff neck. Interactive TV is a "lean back" or should we say "lay back" and relax viewing experience. Ever wonder what makes Interactive television work? Software, what else? The interactive elements are controlled by the set-top box on your TV set for Interactive capabilities like T-commerce, tickers, overlays, games, email, news, etc.
Clouds in my coffee - Interactive TV
While Interactive TV has the potential as a staple in the offerings of cable TV operators, there are some hurdles to overcome on the way to Interactive TV heaven. For example, interoperability is major issue related the set-top boxes on your television. They control which Interactive TV programs you watch and shut out other cable TV operators. The advantage of complete interoperability is to own one set-top box that let's you see all the Interactive TV shows.
Consumer Viewing Habits - Interactive TV
In its broadest sense - the one promoted by the interactive industry - Interactive TV includes anything that allows consumers to have more control over their televisions. Video on demand, for example, lets users order up movies whenever they want, rather than wait for set start times. In the general sense, Interactive TV can mean any kind of interaction with the TV,
whether through program guides, video on demand and more.
Changing Viewing Habits - Interactive TV
Interactive TV has changed viewer habits by giving them more control over their television set. viewing day and night. These can include games, shopping applications, tickets, weather reports and the like. Digital video recorders are also considered interactive TV. They digitally record shows and may be programmed to select programs you might like to watch…. Imagine that! Your TV set now chooses shows for you to watch based on your viewing habits. What will they think of next?
Lean Back & Relax - Interactive TV
You sit at your computer all day that gives you a stiff neck. Interactive TV is a "lean back" or should we say "lay back" and relax viewing experience. Ever wonder what makes Interactive television work? Software, what else? The interactive elements are controlled by the set-top box on your TV set for Interactive capabilities like T-commerce, tickers, overlays, games, email, news, etc.
Clouds in my coffee - Interactive TV
While Interactive TV has the potential as a staple in the offerings of cable TV operators, there are some hurdles to overcome on the way to Interactive TV heaven. For example, interoperability is major issue related the set-top boxes on your television. They control which Interactive TV programs you watch and shut out other cable TV operators. The advantage of complete interoperability is to own one set-top box that let's you see all the Interactive TV shows.
Consumer Viewing Habits - Interactive TV
In its broadest sense - the one promoted by the interactive industry - Interactive TV includes anything that allows consumers to have more control over their televisions. Video on demand, for example, lets users order up movies whenever they want, rather than wait for set start times. In the general sense, Interactive TV can mean any kind of interaction with the TV,
whether through program guides, video on demand and more.
Changing Viewing Habits - Interactive TV
Interactive TV has changed viewer habits by giving them more control over their television set. viewing day and night. These can include games, shopping applications, tickets, weather reports and the like. Digital video recorders are also considered interactive TV. They digitally record shows and may be programmed to select programs you might like to watch…. Imagine that! Your TV set now chooses shows for you to watch based on your viewing habits. What will they think of next?
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Alias (Season 3) DVD Review
One of the highest rated shows of its era, Alias maintains a loyal cult following swept away by its intriguing suspense and action-packed drama. Jennifer Garner stars in the lead role of Sydney Anne Bristow, a beautiful and cerebral recruit tasked to work for a secret government entity, the SD-6 agency. But problems confront her when she eventually realizes that SD-6 is not the government agency she thinks. Reunited with her estranged father Jack (Victor Garber), she blossoms into a top tier double agent in an attempt to counter SD-6... Recipient of numerous industry awards and award nominations, Alias continues to grow its fanbase via strong writing, interesting characters, and a suspense-riddled plotline...
The Alias (Season 3) DVD features a number of exciting episodes including the season premiere "The Two" in which Sydney, suffering from amnesia, desperately tries to uncover the truth about the past few years of her life. Meanwhile, the CIA puts her on a case which might possibly aid in her memory's recovery… Other notable episodes from Season 3 include "Reunion" in which Sydney and Michael once again pair up on an assignment in order to halt an evil plot by Sark, and "Conscious" in which Sydney participates in a strange doctor's experiment to recover her earlier memories…
Below is a list of episodes included on the Alias (Season 3) DVD:
Episode 45 (The Two) Air Date: 09-28-2003
Episode 46 (Succession) Air Date: 10-05-2003
Episode 47 (Reunion) Air Date: 10-12-2003
Episode 48 (Missing Link) Air Date: 10-19-2003
Episode 49 (Repercussions) Air Date: 10-26-2003
Episode 50 (The Nemesis) Air Date: 11-02-2003
Episode 51 (Prelude) Air Date: 11-09-2003
Episode 52 (Breaking Point) Air Date: 11-23-2003
Episode 53 (Conscious) Air Date: 11-30-2003
Episode 54 (Remnants) Air Date: 12-07-2003
Episode 55 (Full Disclosure) Air Date: 01-11-2004
Episode 56 (Crossings) Air Date: 01-18-2004
Episode 57 (After Six) Air Date: 02-15-2004
Episode 58 (Blowback) Air Date: 03-07-2004
Episode 59 (Facade) Air Date: 03-14-2004
Episode 60 (Taken) Air Date: 03-21-2004
Episode 61 (The Frame) Air Date: 03-28-2004
Episode 62 (Unveiled) Air Date: 04-11-2004
Episode 63 (Hourglass) Air Date: 04-18-2004
Episode 64 (Blood Ties) Air Date: 04-25-2004
Episode 65 (Legacy) Air Date: 05-02-2004
Episode 66 (Resurrection) Air Date: 05-23-2004
The Alias (Season 3) DVD features a number of exciting episodes including the season premiere "The Two" in which Sydney, suffering from amnesia, desperately tries to uncover the truth about the past few years of her life. Meanwhile, the CIA puts her on a case which might possibly aid in her memory's recovery… Other notable episodes from Season 3 include "Reunion" in which Sydney and Michael once again pair up on an assignment in order to halt an evil plot by Sark, and "Conscious" in which Sydney participates in a strange doctor's experiment to recover her earlier memories…
Below is a list of episodes included on the Alias (Season 3) DVD:
Episode 45 (The Two) Air Date: 09-28-2003
Episode 46 (Succession) Air Date: 10-05-2003
Episode 47 (Reunion) Air Date: 10-12-2003
Episode 48 (Missing Link) Air Date: 10-19-2003
Episode 49 (Repercussions) Air Date: 10-26-2003
Episode 50 (The Nemesis) Air Date: 11-02-2003
Episode 51 (Prelude) Air Date: 11-09-2003
Episode 52 (Breaking Point) Air Date: 11-23-2003
Episode 53 (Conscious) Air Date: 11-30-2003
Episode 54 (Remnants) Air Date: 12-07-2003
Episode 55 (Full Disclosure) Air Date: 01-11-2004
Episode 56 (Crossings) Air Date: 01-18-2004
Episode 57 (After Six) Air Date: 02-15-2004
Episode 58 (Blowback) Air Date: 03-07-2004
Episode 59 (Facade) Air Date: 03-14-2004
Episode 60 (Taken) Air Date: 03-21-2004
Episode 61 (The Frame) Air Date: 03-28-2004
Episode 62 (Unveiled) Air Date: 04-11-2004
Episode 63 (Hourglass) Air Date: 04-18-2004
Episode 64 (Blood Ties) Air Date: 04-25-2004
Episode 65 (Legacy) Air Date: 05-02-2004
Episode 66 (Resurrection) Air Date: 05-23-2004
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Alias (DVD) Review
Premiering in September 2001, Alias has built a steady and loyal following among television viewers. The show combines the fast pace action sequences of 24 with the conspiracy theory backdrop of the X-Files. It also doesn't hurt that the show centers itself around a character that's a beautiful and mysterious woman. But the true strength of Alias, as with most successful TV shows, is its unique and creative writers who manage to always keep their audience on edge…
Jennifer Garner (star of 13 Going On Thirty) plays the role of Sydney Anne Bristow, a beautiful, intelligent American woman recruited to work for the government's super secret SD-6 agency. However, problems arise when her fiancé is murdered by the agency she works for, and she ultimately discovers that SD-6 is not a legitimate government organization at all… In seek of revenge, Sydney contacts the CIA, and they deploy her as a double agent. Meanwhile, Sydney's estranged father, Jack (Victor Garber), also works as a double agent, and their relationship blossoms as a result of their work. Together, they manage to eliminate SD-6, and now both work full-time for the CIA where they're accompanied by fellow colleagues Marshall Flinkman (Kevin Weisman), Marcus Dixon (Carl Lumbly), and Michael Vaughn (Michael Vartan)…
The Alias DVD features a number of exciting episodes including the season premiere "Truth Be Told" in which Sydney, against her better judgment, confides in her fiancé Danny the secrets of her SD-6 affiliation. Some time later, Danny is murdered, and Sydney finds reason to believe that SD-6 is involved in his death. She also comes to the realization that SD-6 (which also employs her father) is not a branch of the CIA, but an anti-US government force working against it. Sydney agrees to work with the CIA as a double agent, and along the way, she learns that her father is also a double agent. Episode one sets the framework for the remainder of the series… Other notable episodes from Season 1 include "Time Will Tell" in which Sydney is forced to take a lie detector test while SD-6 attempts to identify the mole within its ranks, and "Snowman" in which the SD-6 rival K-Directorate dispatches as assassin known as the "Snowman" to eliminate the newcomer Khasinau (alias "the man")…
Below is a list of episodes included on the Alias (Season 1) DVD:
Episode 1 (Truth Be Told) Air Date: 09-30-2001
Episode 2 (So It Begins) Air Date: 10-07-2001
Episode 3 (Parity) Air Date: 10-14-2001
Episode 4 (A Broken Heart) Air Date: 10-21-2001
Episode 5 (Doppelganger) Air Date: 10-28-2001
Episode 6 (Reckoning) Air Date: 11-18-2001
Episode 7 (Color-Blind) Air Date: 11-25-2001
Episode 8 (Time Will Tell) Air Date: 12-02-2001
Episode 9 (Mea Culpa) Air Date: 12-09-2001
Episode 10 (Spirit) Air Date: 12-16-2001
Episode 11 (The Confession) Air Date: 01-06-2002
Episode 12 (The Box: Part 1) Air Date: 01-20-2002
Episode 13 (The Box: Part 2) Air Date: 02-10-2002
Episode 14 (The Coup) Air Date: 02-24-2002
Episode 15 (Page 47) Air Date: 03-03-2002
Episode 16 (The Prophecy) Air Date: 03-10-2002
Episode 17 (Q & A) Air Date: 03-17-2002
Episode 18 (Masquerade) Air Date: 04-07-2002
Episode 19 (Snowman) Air Date: 04-14-2002
Episode 20 (The Solution) Air Date: 04-21-2002
Episode 21 (Rendezvous) Air Date: 05-05-2002
Episode 22 (Almost Thirty Years) Air Date: 05-12-2002
Jennifer Garner (star of 13 Going On Thirty) plays the role of Sydney Anne Bristow, a beautiful, intelligent American woman recruited to work for the government's super secret SD-6 agency. However, problems arise when her fiancé is murdered by the agency she works for, and she ultimately discovers that SD-6 is not a legitimate government organization at all… In seek of revenge, Sydney contacts the CIA, and they deploy her as a double agent. Meanwhile, Sydney's estranged father, Jack (Victor Garber), also works as a double agent, and their relationship blossoms as a result of their work. Together, they manage to eliminate SD-6, and now both work full-time for the CIA where they're accompanied by fellow colleagues Marshall Flinkman (Kevin Weisman), Marcus Dixon (Carl Lumbly), and Michael Vaughn (Michael Vartan)…
The Alias DVD features a number of exciting episodes including the season premiere "Truth Be Told" in which Sydney, against her better judgment, confides in her fiancé Danny the secrets of her SD-6 affiliation. Some time later, Danny is murdered, and Sydney finds reason to believe that SD-6 is involved in his death. She also comes to the realization that SD-6 (which also employs her father) is not a branch of the CIA, but an anti-US government force working against it. Sydney agrees to work with the CIA as a double agent, and along the way, she learns that her father is also a double agent. Episode one sets the framework for the remainder of the series… Other notable episodes from Season 1 include "Time Will Tell" in which Sydney is forced to take a lie detector test while SD-6 attempts to identify the mole within its ranks, and "Snowman" in which the SD-6 rival K-Directorate dispatches as assassin known as the "Snowman" to eliminate the newcomer Khasinau (alias "the man")…
Below is a list of episodes included on the Alias (Season 1) DVD:
Episode 1 (Truth Be Told) Air Date: 09-30-2001
Episode 2 (So It Begins) Air Date: 10-07-2001
Episode 3 (Parity) Air Date: 10-14-2001
Episode 4 (A Broken Heart) Air Date: 10-21-2001
Episode 5 (Doppelganger) Air Date: 10-28-2001
Episode 6 (Reckoning) Air Date: 11-18-2001
Episode 7 (Color-Blind) Air Date: 11-25-2001
Episode 8 (Time Will Tell) Air Date: 12-02-2001
Episode 9 (Mea Culpa) Air Date: 12-09-2001
Episode 10 (Spirit) Air Date: 12-16-2001
Episode 11 (The Confession) Air Date: 01-06-2002
Episode 12 (The Box: Part 1) Air Date: 01-20-2002
Episode 13 (The Box: Part 2) Air Date: 02-10-2002
Episode 14 (The Coup) Air Date: 02-24-2002
Episode 15 (Page 47) Air Date: 03-03-2002
Episode 16 (The Prophecy) Air Date: 03-10-2002
Episode 17 (Q & A) Air Date: 03-17-2002
Episode 18 (Masquerade) Air Date: 04-07-2002
Episode 19 (Snowman) Air Date: 04-14-2002
Episode 20 (The Solution) Air Date: 04-21-2002
Episode 21 (Rendezvous) Air Date: 05-05-2002
Episode 22 (Almost Thirty Years) Air Date: 05-12-2002
Monday, June 13, 2011
Aladdin (DVD) Review
Anxious to follow up on the massive commercial and critical success of Beauty And The Beast, Disney created another animated masterpiece with Aladdin. Although not nearly as successful in terms of critical acclaim as the aforementioned film, or later Disney creations such as The Lion King and Finding Nemo, Aladdin is nevertheless just as entertaining and probably the funniest of all the animated Disney features. With the voice of Robin Williams leading the way, the film is a non-stop foray into the timeless fantasy world of A Thousand And One Arabian Nights spliced together with the rapier-like wit and quick-fire humor of one of America’s most talented comic performers…
The film takes place hundreds of years ago in the windswept sands of the kingdom of Agrabah, where a young street urchin named Aladdin wanders the streets, stealing and hustling for survival. Along the way, he’s joined by his loyal companion Abu, a clever and enterprising monkey. Yet, in stark contrast to the poverty-ridden streets below, the lustrous facade of a massive palace towers high above the urban world of Aladdin. Inside, the Sultan of Agrabah lives a carefree life of opulence and luxury with his beautiful daughter Jasmine and a cunning, ambitious adviser named Jafar.
Forced to spend her days inside the palace walls, the headstrong Princess Jasmine sneaks out in order to experience the world around her. During this dangerous trek through the streets of her kingdom, the girl befriends Aladdin who is immediately awestruck by her beauty. But when Princess Jasmine’s escape is brought to the attention of Jafar and her father, she is quickly rounded up, and Aladdin is thrown in prison. Hoping to seize the kingdom for himself, Jafar enlists the aid of Aladdin in an effort to obtain a fabled magic lamp, the purported powers of which are unlimited. Legend has it that only a “diamond in the rough” is capable of retrieving the lamp from the Cave of Wonders. All others will be swallowed whole by the endless sands of the desert.
When Aladdin fails in Jafar’s quest, he is left for dead. But he soon discovers the mysterious lamp and the blue genie who resides within. Granting Aladdin the ultimate power of three wishes (with certain conditions such as not wishing for more wishes or wishing for someone to fall in love with you), the genie transforms Aladdin into a powerful Prince, thus making him eligible to marry Princess Jasmine. Riding into Agrabah at the helm of a triumphant parade, only Jafar knows the true secret of Aladdin’s identity and his success, and he’s determined to scheme and connive until he gains control of the magic lamp himself…
Aside from Robin Williams, this film is easily forgettable. With him, Aladdin is transformed into a legendary blockbuster hit. In fact, the later appearances of comic voices in animated films such as Shrek (Mike Myers and Eddie Murphy), Mulan (Eddie Murphy), Finding Nemo (Ellen DeGeneres), and The Lion King (Nathan Lane & Whoopi Goldberg) can most likely be traced back to the overwhelmingly positive audience reaction to Robin Williams and the comic relief his blue genie provided. This once overlooked aspect of the animated film has since become a staple, and Aladdin is the reason why. In addition, the film boasts a beautiful soundtrack that gave birth to the chart-topping hit “A Whole New World”. Fun for children and adults alike, Aladdin is the perfect film for those who enjoy creativity, humor, and a great story…
The film takes place hundreds of years ago in the windswept sands of the kingdom of Agrabah, where a young street urchin named Aladdin wanders the streets, stealing and hustling for survival. Along the way, he’s joined by his loyal companion Abu, a clever and enterprising monkey. Yet, in stark contrast to the poverty-ridden streets below, the lustrous facade of a massive palace towers high above the urban world of Aladdin. Inside, the Sultan of Agrabah lives a carefree life of opulence and luxury with his beautiful daughter Jasmine and a cunning, ambitious adviser named Jafar.
Forced to spend her days inside the palace walls, the headstrong Princess Jasmine sneaks out in order to experience the world around her. During this dangerous trek through the streets of her kingdom, the girl befriends Aladdin who is immediately awestruck by her beauty. But when Princess Jasmine’s escape is brought to the attention of Jafar and her father, she is quickly rounded up, and Aladdin is thrown in prison. Hoping to seize the kingdom for himself, Jafar enlists the aid of Aladdin in an effort to obtain a fabled magic lamp, the purported powers of which are unlimited. Legend has it that only a “diamond in the rough” is capable of retrieving the lamp from the Cave of Wonders. All others will be swallowed whole by the endless sands of the desert.
When Aladdin fails in Jafar’s quest, he is left for dead. But he soon discovers the mysterious lamp and the blue genie who resides within. Granting Aladdin the ultimate power of three wishes (with certain conditions such as not wishing for more wishes or wishing for someone to fall in love with you), the genie transforms Aladdin into a powerful Prince, thus making him eligible to marry Princess Jasmine. Riding into Agrabah at the helm of a triumphant parade, only Jafar knows the true secret of Aladdin’s identity and his success, and he’s determined to scheme and connive until he gains control of the magic lamp himself…
Aside from Robin Williams, this film is easily forgettable. With him, Aladdin is transformed into a legendary blockbuster hit. In fact, the later appearances of comic voices in animated films such as Shrek (Mike Myers and Eddie Murphy), Mulan (Eddie Murphy), Finding Nemo (Ellen DeGeneres), and The Lion King (Nathan Lane & Whoopi Goldberg) can most likely be traced back to the overwhelmingly positive audience reaction to Robin Williams and the comic relief his blue genie provided. This once overlooked aspect of the animated film has since become a staple, and Aladdin is the reason why. In addition, the film boasts a beautiful soundtrack that gave birth to the chart-topping hit “A Whole New World”. Fun for children and adults alike, Aladdin is the perfect film for those who enjoy creativity, humor, and a great story…
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Al Gore’s Inconvenient Infomercial: A Movie Review
Who is the chubby, aging baby boomer waddling through airport after empty airport, wearily tugging along his 2-piece luggage roller? Hey, it’s not Michael Moore (again). Why, for heaven’s sake, it’s none other than a bored, disgruntled Al Gore, Jr. – the Man Who Personally Believes He Coulda/Woulda/Shoulda Been King! Well, at least Saturday Night Live believed him. Instead of ruling the Western World with a Green Fist, he’s starred in a new movie persuading us to stop using up so much energy. Meanwhile, Al Gore Jr. cruises about foreign capitals in one gas-guzzling, chauffeured Mercedes after another, pondering one very deep thought after another while solemnly tapping away on his Mac Powerbook. Earth to Al Gore: Actor Steven Seagal already nailed down the slick but glazed ‘poseur look’ about nine movies ago.
Is “An Inconvenient Truth” a documentary about Global Warming, or Al Gore’s microphone-grabbing, spotlight-snatching platform to whine about, and revisit, his presidential election loss, six years ago? Is former Veep Gore really hoping to educate film audiences about the very serious dangers of carbon dioxide emissions, greenhouse gases and abrupt climate change, or conniving to create a multi-media white paper for the Democratic Party’s energy agenda? We’re not sure, actually. Perhaps, it is because Al Gore, and the film’s executive producer Davis Guggenheim, were themselves confused as to the direction in which they were heading with this narcissistic political propaganda.
C’mon, a former high-profile Vice President of the United States shuffling through airport security like the rest of us hoi polloi? If so, then why didn’t the alarm bells go off? For those who missed it, in one scene Gore wore a belt buckle the size of a small dish, when passing through the airport’s metal detector. And it didn’t screech? Right! Or how about the scene where a pompous Al Gore (sans bodyguards) was hailing a cab in Manhattan, but no one recognized him? Well, perhaps that part was realistic. Who really cares about Al? Was the former #2 man doing a for-the-people inspirational routine, along the lines of “He Walks Among Us,” so that we’d buy his punch line about self-sacrifice at the end of the movie?
The man, who at one time claimed to have invented the Internet, more carefully documented his alleged 30-year personal campaign to help bring Global Warming to a screeching halt. Amazingly, he didn’t include footnotes with his film speech. We’re sure Gore was anticipating the “I invented the Internet” jokes and dutifully prepared his track record for audiences. He shamelessly dredged up memories of his old Harvard science professor, Roger Revelle, whom he once called into congressional hearings to have the scientist warn about CO2 emissions and rising water temperatures.
How seriously can we take ‘Scientist’ Al Gore? In a Washington Post article (March 19, 2000), Al’s grades and scores were questioned, during the presidential campaign, and the assistant headmaster at Gore’s private school, St. Albans, reportedly “chuckled at (Gore’s) science results.” He had scored so poorly.
Gore’s one constant, his glibness, manifests in this quasi-documentary. Mostly it’s a political infomercial, but for whatever reason Gore was so fervently pitching and hyping Al Gore was never made clear. He hasn’t quite grasped how serious the earth’s climactic changes could impact our civilization, other than flicking through multiple photos of receding glaciers and a few other tidbits. Gore mentions we might have 100 million refugees if sea levels rise, as if those many would actually survive. In contrast, Dr. Lovelock, author of “The Revenge of Gaia,” is forecasting the demise of billions of people under the same “earth is melting” scenario. Whom do we believe? We vote Lovelock, not Gore. After all, the politician admits, in a recent Rolling Stone magazine interview, Lovelock has forgotten more science than Gore has ever learned.
Whatever gravity the poseur portrayed during his supercilious narration, and in his deep-thinking (but awkward) poses, Gore nullified these moments with clumsy flashbacks to the 2000 presidential campaign. (Well, Gore reportedly did a lot of drugs in college, so we guess he's entitled to his flashbacks.) While he claimed in his movie to have moved on, the man still sounded downright bitter during this pre-campaigning film farce. His movie oozes contempt for the man who defeated him, and offers the same ill will toward anyone distantly related – family, business or otherwise – to the man who is now President of the United States. For those who helped keep him out of the White House or dissed him? He repays his enemies in a way only a screenwriter could: Gore adds his enemies to his movie.
Gore’s rapid-fire “subliminal images” are cleverly aimed at Florida and the 2000 presidential campaign. Take that Senator Katherine Harris! Guess which state gets submerged first when the polar ice caps melt? You got it, Florida. Of all the lakes in the world which are drying up, Gore selects Lake Chad. For those who have forgotten, it was the notorious “chads,” which cost Gore the presidency. Darn it Al, will you let it go? It’s been six years, you know. You LOST the election!
Film goers should wonder why an ex-tobacco farmer, and erstwhile U.S. presidential candidate (going 0 for 2 on presidential campaigns), has only NOW come out against fossil fuels because of Global Warming. What’s his agenda? To educate the public? If that is the case, then the filmmakers should have focused on the matter at hand – the earth is getting hotter, and we need a solution. Dr. James Lovelock’s mandate is simple: Nuclear energy is the single solution. Listen up, Hillary Clinton – you might have enjoyed Al’s ramblings, and said so in your pretentious New York Press Club speech last May, but where is Gore’s actual solution to the Global Warming crisis?
The self-righteous Al Jr. offers no solution in his movie. Even when asked by an audience in China for his solution, Gore spouts non-sequiturs – political rhetoric, but no word of a solution. The movie director deftly cuts away before Al can look even sillier, while we wonder why Al offered no solution.
The film shows images of a nuclear reactor, a wind farm and running water. Was the blustering Al or his bewildered movie director hoping the audience would choose a solution for them? At least Ross Perot, in his infomercials, had some solution for the ills then facing America. Al has none. Zippo. Nada. Just join Al’s crusade and start driving a hybrid car. Or did he mean a bicycle? After all, in one scene, Al boasts about the Chinese riding their bicycles and flashes a dated photo showing this. Wake up, Al, last we heard, the Chinese were driving Beemers and Benzes, not bicycles. Bikes are reserved for environmentalist weenies who can’t find a real job.
Al seems to be pro-nuclear, but claims there are problems with proliferation and waste disposal. In an interview with Australia’s The Age newspaper, published in November 2005, Gore told the reporter he was not “reflexively against” nuclear energy. Wearing his hat as a fund manager for the Generation Fund, he told the newspaper that investing in uranium mining comes down to sustainability. In another interview with “Grist Magazine’s” David Roberts, published in May of this year, Gore responded to questioning about the nuclear energy renaissance, saying, “ I doubt nuclear power will play a much larger role than it does now.” How’s that for naiveté in the context of dozens of countries having already announced their plans to advance their nuclear energy programs?
Perhaps, Gore will begin touting renewables, as Hillary Clinton has done on behalf of lapdog/energy guru Amory Lovins. We asked third-term Wyoming legislator, David R. Miller, who is also president of a U.S. uranium development company, Strathmore Minerals, about the madness over renewables becoming a serious factor for baseload electricity generation. Miller told us, “We were 100 percent renewable 300 years ago, 50 percent renewable 100 years ago and 30 percent renewable 50 years ago. Now, we are less than 10 percent renewable and shrinking fast.”
About nuclear energy, Miller added, “It nearly unlimited. We are learning to use better technology to make purer energy to do more for us.” Miller’s rebuttal on Al Gore’s message was emphatic, “Those that preach about saving the earth should practice what they speak, but the loudest voices are those that consume the most.” Miller pointed out, “Only the rich and idle have time to rail against too much consumption. But they want you to stop the consuming, not them.”
One could look deeper to better understand Al Gore’s ambiguity toward any solution. For example, is Al Gore’s family still a large shareholder of Occidental Petroleum? After all, his father took a consultancy with a subsidiary of the multi-national oil firm, upon leaving the U.S. Senate in 1970. Just in time to cash in on the oil embargo of 1973, Al Gore’s dad was paid $500,000 per year for his services. Al Gore Sr. also served as a company director. Why was Al Gore’s father on such great terms with Armand Hammer, the founder of Occidental Petroleum? Hammer was a good buddy of Josef Stalin and his Kremlin successors. Hammer’s dad introduced Little Armand to Stalin, who helped him build the Hammer Empire. All this in return for one small favor: Julius Hammer founded the U.S. Communist Party.
Have the sins of the father visited the son? For the past thirty or forty years, Al Gore has allegedly received a “mining royalty” check from Occidental Petroleum for zinc ore discovered on the Gore family property. Reportedly, Al has been paid about $20,000 annually for mining rights to the property. But, that’s just chump change. Long before the Buddhist Temple fund-raising fiasco in Los Angeles, Al Gore was involved in dubious political financings.
We didn’t look that much more deeply into Al Gore. Truthfully, why bother? Gore’s remorse appears rigged; his acting is pathetic. For example, his sister died of lung cancer, before the family stopped growing tobacco. He makes a really big deal about this in his movie (despite his own alleged chain-smoking habits as a college student). But he failed to mention he continued receiving royalties from his tobacco farm for years after his sister died.
Gore also forgot his vivid 1988 presidential election campaign speeches, defending tobacco farmers in the southern United States. Imagine Mr. Clean telling tobacco farmers about how he, himself, tilled the soil with his bare hands and picked dem dar tobacco leaves wit his own fingers! Our research shows Gore continued accepting campaign donations from tobacco companies until at least 1990. Instead of being truthful with his audience, Gore mentioned in passing that the reason he ran for President in 1988 was to give Global Warming some exposure. Hypocrisy or ambivalence? You decide.
In his film, Gore claimed to have changed the way he performed his congressional duties after his six-year old son was hit by a car and nearly died. Throughout his movie, Gore uses every personal tragedy to play upon the audience’s heart strings. What does that have to do with Global Warming? Nothing, but it aids and abets an otherwise insincere politician to better sell his purported sincerity concerning abrupt climate change. The message is good; the messenger needs to take up a new hobby. Like unsuccessfully running for president again so he can finally get his just deserves: “Strike Three, you’re outa here!”
Why pay good money to get bored out of your skull with this blasé movie? Save the $7 to $10 (or more) on “Al Gore’s Inconvenient Infomercial” by reading the same stuff for no charge whatsoever (and without the deep-thinking, brooding ex-politician who spends nearly all of his 100 minutes preaching in your face). Kevin Bambrough and Eric Sprott wrote a detailed report, covering a great deal, if not more than what the Gore movie attempted to discuss.
Is “An Inconvenient Truth” a documentary about Global Warming, or Al Gore’s microphone-grabbing, spotlight-snatching platform to whine about, and revisit, his presidential election loss, six years ago? Is former Veep Gore really hoping to educate film audiences about the very serious dangers of carbon dioxide emissions, greenhouse gases and abrupt climate change, or conniving to create a multi-media white paper for the Democratic Party’s energy agenda? We’re not sure, actually. Perhaps, it is because Al Gore, and the film’s executive producer Davis Guggenheim, were themselves confused as to the direction in which they were heading with this narcissistic political propaganda.
C’mon, a former high-profile Vice President of the United States shuffling through airport security like the rest of us hoi polloi? If so, then why didn’t the alarm bells go off? For those who missed it, in one scene Gore wore a belt buckle the size of a small dish, when passing through the airport’s metal detector. And it didn’t screech? Right! Or how about the scene where a pompous Al Gore (sans bodyguards) was hailing a cab in Manhattan, but no one recognized him? Well, perhaps that part was realistic. Who really cares about Al? Was the former #2 man doing a for-the-people inspirational routine, along the lines of “He Walks Among Us,” so that we’d buy his punch line about self-sacrifice at the end of the movie?
The man, who at one time claimed to have invented the Internet, more carefully documented his alleged 30-year personal campaign to help bring Global Warming to a screeching halt. Amazingly, he didn’t include footnotes with his film speech. We’re sure Gore was anticipating the “I invented the Internet” jokes and dutifully prepared his track record for audiences. He shamelessly dredged up memories of his old Harvard science professor, Roger Revelle, whom he once called into congressional hearings to have the scientist warn about CO2 emissions and rising water temperatures.
How seriously can we take ‘Scientist’ Al Gore? In a Washington Post article (March 19, 2000), Al’s grades and scores were questioned, during the presidential campaign, and the assistant headmaster at Gore’s private school, St. Albans, reportedly “chuckled at (Gore’s) science results.” He had scored so poorly.
Gore’s one constant, his glibness, manifests in this quasi-documentary. Mostly it’s a political infomercial, but for whatever reason Gore was so fervently pitching and hyping Al Gore was never made clear. He hasn’t quite grasped how serious the earth’s climactic changes could impact our civilization, other than flicking through multiple photos of receding glaciers and a few other tidbits. Gore mentions we might have 100 million refugees if sea levels rise, as if those many would actually survive. In contrast, Dr. Lovelock, author of “The Revenge of Gaia,” is forecasting the demise of billions of people under the same “earth is melting” scenario. Whom do we believe? We vote Lovelock, not Gore. After all, the politician admits, in a recent Rolling Stone magazine interview, Lovelock has forgotten more science than Gore has ever learned.
Whatever gravity the poseur portrayed during his supercilious narration, and in his deep-thinking (but awkward) poses, Gore nullified these moments with clumsy flashbacks to the 2000 presidential campaign. (Well, Gore reportedly did a lot of drugs in college, so we guess he's entitled to his flashbacks.) While he claimed in his movie to have moved on, the man still sounded downright bitter during this pre-campaigning film farce. His movie oozes contempt for the man who defeated him, and offers the same ill will toward anyone distantly related – family, business or otherwise – to the man who is now President of the United States. For those who helped keep him out of the White House or dissed him? He repays his enemies in a way only a screenwriter could: Gore adds his enemies to his movie.
Gore’s rapid-fire “subliminal images” are cleverly aimed at Florida and the 2000 presidential campaign. Take that Senator Katherine Harris! Guess which state gets submerged first when the polar ice caps melt? You got it, Florida. Of all the lakes in the world which are drying up, Gore selects Lake Chad. For those who have forgotten, it was the notorious “chads,” which cost Gore the presidency. Darn it Al, will you let it go? It’s been six years, you know. You LOST the election!
Film goers should wonder why an ex-tobacco farmer, and erstwhile U.S. presidential candidate (going 0 for 2 on presidential campaigns), has only NOW come out against fossil fuels because of Global Warming. What’s his agenda? To educate the public? If that is the case, then the filmmakers should have focused on the matter at hand – the earth is getting hotter, and we need a solution. Dr. James Lovelock’s mandate is simple: Nuclear energy is the single solution. Listen up, Hillary Clinton – you might have enjoyed Al’s ramblings, and said so in your pretentious New York Press Club speech last May, but where is Gore’s actual solution to the Global Warming crisis?
The self-righteous Al Jr. offers no solution in his movie. Even when asked by an audience in China for his solution, Gore spouts non-sequiturs – political rhetoric, but no word of a solution. The movie director deftly cuts away before Al can look even sillier, while we wonder why Al offered no solution.
The film shows images of a nuclear reactor, a wind farm and running water. Was the blustering Al or his bewildered movie director hoping the audience would choose a solution for them? At least Ross Perot, in his infomercials, had some solution for the ills then facing America. Al has none. Zippo. Nada. Just join Al’s crusade and start driving a hybrid car. Or did he mean a bicycle? After all, in one scene, Al boasts about the Chinese riding their bicycles and flashes a dated photo showing this. Wake up, Al, last we heard, the Chinese were driving Beemers and Benzes, not bicycles. Bikes are reserved for environmentalist weenies who can’t find a real job.
Al seems to be pro-nuclear, but claims there are problems with proliferation and waste disposal. In an interview with Australia’s The Age newspaper, published in November 2005, Gore told the reporter he was not “reflexively against” nuclear energy. Wearing his hat as a fund manager for the Generation Fund, he told the newspaper that investing in uranium mining comes down to sustainability. In another interview with “Grist Magazine’s” David Roberts, published in May of this year, Gore responded to questioning about the nuclear energy renaissance, saying, “ I doubt nuclear power will play a much larger role than it does now.” How’s that for naiveté in the context of dozens of countries having already announced their plans to advance their nuclear energy programs?
Perhaps, Gore will begin touting renewables, as Hillary Clinton has done on behalf of lapdog/energy guru Amory Lovins. We asked third-term Wyoming legislator, David R. Miller, who is also president of a U.S. uranium development company, Strathmore Minerals, about the madness over renewables becoming a serious factor for baseload electricity generation. Miller told us, “We were 100 percent renewable 300 years ago, 50 percent renewable 100 years ago and 30 percent renewable 50 years ago. Now, we are less than 10 percent renewable and shrinking fast.”
About nuclear energy, Miller added, “It nearly unlimited. We are learning to use better technology to make purer energy to do more for us.” Miller’s rebuttal on Al Gore’s message was emphatic, “Those that preach about saving the earth should practice what they speak, but the loudest voices are those that consume the most.” Miller pointed out, “Only the rich and idle have time to rail against too much consumption. But they want you to stop the consuming, not them.”
One could look deeper to better understand Al Gore’s ambiguity toward any solution. For example, is Al Gore’s family still a large shareholder of Occidental Petroleum? After all, his father took a consultancy with a subsidiary of the multi-national oil firm, upon leaving the U.S. Senate in 1970. Just in time to cash in on the oil embargo of 1973, Al Gore’s dad was paid $500,000 per year for his services. Al Gore Sr. also served as a company director. Why was Al Gore’s father on such great terms with Armand Hammer, the founder of Occidental Petroleum? Hammer was a good buddy of Josef Stalin and his Kremlin successors. Hammer’s dad introduced Little Armand to Stalin, who helped him build the Hammer Empire. All this in return for one small favor: Julius Hammer founded the U.S. Communist Party.
Have the sins of the father visited the son? For the past thirty or forty years, Al Gore has allegedly received a “mining royalty” check from Occidental Petroleum for zinc ore discovered on the Gore family property. Reportedly, Al has been paid about $20,000 annually for mining rights to the property. But, that’s just chump change. Long before the Buddhist Temple fund-raising fiasco in Los Angeles, Al Gore was involved in dubious political financings.
We didn’t look that much more deeply into Al Gore. Truthfully, why bother? Gore’s remorse appears rigged; his acting is pathetic. For example, his sister died of lung cancer, before the family stopped growing tobacco. He makes a really big deal about this in his movie (despite his own alleged chain-smoking habits as a college student). But he failed to mention he continued receiving royalties from his tobacco farm for years after his sister died.
Gore also forgot his vivid 1988 presidential election campaign speeches, defending tobacco farmers in the southern United States. Imagine Mr. Clean telling tobacco farmers about how he, himself, tilled the soil with his bare hands and picked dem dar tobacco leaves wit his own fingers! Our research shows Gore continued accepting campaign donations from tobacco companies until at least 1990. Instead of being truthful with his audience, Gore mentioned in passing that the reason he ran for President in 1988 was to give Global Warming some exposure. Hypocrisy or ambivalence? You decide.
In his film, Gore claimed to have changed the way he performed his congressional duties after his six-year old son was hit by a car and nearly died. Throughout his movie, Gore uses every personal tragedy to play upon the audience’s heart strings. What does that have to do with Global Warming? Nothing, but it aids and abets an otherwise insincere politician to better sell his purported sincerity concerning abrupt climate change. The message is good; the messenger needs to take up a new hobby. Like unsuccessfully running for president again so he can finally get his just deserves: “Strike Three, you’re outa here!”
Why pay good money to get bored out of your skull with this blasé movie? Save the $7 to $10 (or more) on “Al Gore’s Inconvenient Infomercial” by reading the same stuff for no charge whatsoever (and without the deep-thinking, brooding ex-politician who spends nearly all of his 100 minutes preaching in your face). Kevin Bambrough and Eric Sprott wrote a detailed report, covering a great deal, if not more than what the Gore movie attempted to discuss.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Alias (Season 2) DVD Review
Making its debut in September 2001, Alias immediately struck a chord among interested television viewers. The series combines the conspiracy and intrigue of The X-Files with the action and adventure of a Hollywood blockbuster. It also helps that the central character of the show is a mysterious and beautiful woman played by Jennifer Garner. But it's the unique plots and creative dialogue of writers which makes Alias one of the highest rated shows of its era...
The Alias (Season 2) DVD features a number of exciting episodes including the season premiere "The Enemy Walks In" in which, following a long search (most of Season 1), Sydney finds her mother. Meanwhile, Michael has been swept away by a tsunami in the Pacific, and it remains up in the air as to whether or not he's still alive… Other notable episodes from Season 2 include "Cipher" in which Sydney is forced to match wits with Khasinau's front man, Sark, while Jack meets with Sydney's mother (whom he once believed to be dead), and "Phase One" in which SD-6 gets a new director to replace Sloane…
Below is a list of episodes included on the Alias (Season 2) DVD:
Episode 23 (The Enemy Walks In) Air Date: 09-29-2002
Episode 24 (Trust Me) Air Date: 10-06-2002
Episode 25 (Cipher) Air Date: 10-13-2002
Episode 26 (Dead Drop) Air Date: 10-20-2002
Episode 27 (The Indicator) Air Date: 11-03-2002
Episode 28 (Salvation) Air Date: 11-10-2002
Episode 29 (The Counteragent) Air Date: 11-17-2002
Episode 30 (Passage: Part 1) Air Date: 12-01-2002
Episode 31 (Passage: Part 2) Air Date: 12-08-2002
Episode 32 (The Abduction) Air Date: 12-15-2002
Episode 33 (The Higher Echelon) Air Date: 01-05-2003
Episode 34 (The Getaway) Air Date: 01-12-2003
Episode 35 (Phase One) Air Date: 01-26-2003
Episode 36 (Double Agent) Air Date: 02-02-2003
Episode 37 (A Free Agent) Air Date: 02-09-2003
Episode 38 (Firebomb) Air Date: 02-23-2003
Episode 39 (A Dark Turn) Air Date: 03-02-2003
Episode 40 (Truth Takes Time) Air Date: 03-16-2003
Episode 41 (Endgame) Air Date: 03-30-2003
Episode 42 (Countdown) Air Date: 04-27-2003
Episode 43 (Second Double) Air Date: 05-04-2003
Episode 44 (The Telling) Air Date: 05-04-2003
The Alias (Season 2) DVD features a number of exciting episodes including the season premiere "The Enemy Walks In" in which, following a long search (most of Season 1), Sydney finds her mother. Meanwhile, Michael has been swept away by a tsunami in the Pacific, and it remains up in the air as to whether or not he's still alive… Other notable episodes from Season 2 include "Cipher" in which Sydney is forced to match wits with Khasinau's front man, Sark, while Jack meets with Sydney's mother (whom he once believed to be dead), and "Phase One" in which SD-6 gets a new director to replace Sloane…
Below is a list of episodes included on the Alias (Season 2) DVD:
Episode 23 (The Enemy Walks In) Air Date: 09-29-2002
Episode 24 (Trust Me) Air Date: 10-06-2002
Episode 25 (Cipher) Air Date: 10-13-2002
Episode 26 (Dead Drop) Air Date: 10-20-2002
Episode 27 (The Indicator) Air Date: 11-03-2002
Episode 28 (Salvation) Air Date: 11-10-2002
Episode 29 (The Counteragent) Air Date: 11-17-2002
Episode 30 (Passage: Part 1) Air Date: 12-01-2002
Episode 31 (Passage: Part 2) Air Date: 12-08-2002
Episode 32 (The Abduction) Air Date: 12-15-2002
Episode 33 (The Higher Echelon) Air Date: 01-05-2003
Episode 34 (The Getaway) Air Date: 01-12-2003
Episode 35 (Phase One) Air Date: 01-26-2003
Episode 36 (Double Agent) Air Date: 02-02-2003
Episode 37 (A Free Agent) Air Date: 02-09-2003
Episode 38 (Firebomb) Air Date: 02-23-2003
Episode 39 (A Dark Turn) Air Date: 03-02-2003
Episode 40 (Truth Takes Time) Air Date: 03-16-2003
Episode 41 (Endgame) Air Date: 03-30-2003
Episode 42 (Countdown) Air Date: 04-27-2003
Episode 43 (Second Double) Air Date: 05-04-2003
Episode 44 (The Telling) Air Date: 05-04-2003
Airhead Behavior Becomes New Human Norm As Underachievement Reaches New Heights
Today, look high and low, and what do you see? Airhead behavior – in fact, so much of it that it’s threatening to become the new human norm. What is going on here? And can we find hope anywhere?
Yes. Where, you may ask? We’ll take a look.
But to infuse the proceedings with appropriate levity, let’s first present NewsLaugh’s Ten Slams For New Heights In Underachievement.
Then we’ll turn to those gifted and resilient human beings who refuse to partake in the worldwide slide toward the moronic and, instead, valorously persist in their commendable quest for overachievement.
Here are Ten Slams For New Heights In Underachievement
1. The insurgents in Iraq, for explosively undermining the peaceful and progressive rebuilding of their own country, along with terrorists everywhere, for cloaking murder with religious-speak apparently without realizing that their verbal yip “God is great” and operational guideline “Life is cheap” are at idiotic odds with each other, since, if God is great, He’d only make great things, just alike a great dumbbell maker would only make great dumbbells.
2. The Taliban in Afghanistan, for managing to preserve themselves from any notion of truly religious behavior, which must, for all God’s chillin, include effusive mutual consideration, not to mention the same for one’s perhaps turban-tossing self, as well as Islamic militants of similar ilk wherever they so mercilessly inflict their airborne medievalism.
3. The Palestinians who keep firing rockets at Israel, which are actually metaphorical rockets they’re firing at their woeful selves.
4. The Iranian “mullahtocracy” for alarming the world and any sane member of their own society by the senseless and impossible pursuit of nuclear hegemony in the region and threats to civilized folks with far more weaponry.
5. The warring factions in Somalia and Darfur for managing to starve, rape, and kill off tens of thousands of their own men, women, and children, along with the equally insightful bombers in Bali who apparently think blowing up innocent people is the way to have their God reach down and drag them to paradise by their religiously motivated beards.
6. All governments who shrug their shoulders at the human role in making the globe too toasty for the survival of the Dairy Queen and other aspects of human life that require cooler temps to continue.
7. People on the home front who can’t seem to restrain themselves from killing members of their own families, not to mention other innocents who happen to get in the way of their illicit intentions, and the occasional person who still seems to find it necessary to eat a fellow human being.
8. Men who insist on kidnapping and sexually molesting women, whether age 5, 25, or 95.
9. Corporate execs who can’t seem to keep their fingers out of the till or otherwise take the companies they’ve been trusted to conduct will skill for a mighty big spill.
10. Young people who haven’t got enough of a notion of their own self-worth and the worth of other people, including their distressed parents, to lay off of all forms of destructive behavior and tune into the still faint bleeping of their own best potential.
Now, with a spectacular increment in our approval rating, as well our joy, let’s turn to our countervailing consolation and praiseworthy hopes: the gifted and resilient people who continue to aim for the heights of human achievement, despite the pervasive idiocy that encroaches on their persistent positive bents.
1. Medical researchers who carry on with their life-enhancing quest for drugs that will cure cancer, treat AIDS, depopulate mosquitoes, and address other amenable causes of human misery.
2. Tech wizards, who wake up each day bright-eyed in their goal of advancing the revolution in communication, mechanical medicine, and all other promising fields of extrapolation.
3. Politicos and execs who are worthy of the trust that leadership entails and distinguish themselves in the service of its inspiriting call.
4. People who really do believe in freedom and democracy, which, inconveniently for many, includes the wisdom to abstain from trying to make everybody march in lockstep with their own less than universally inviting enthusiasms.
5. Artists and academics who understand that a free mind can only cavort on a stage supported by a free economy, wooly wild and discomfiting that many of its aspects may be.
5. NASA, for continuing to believe in the benefits of space exploration, even in the face of so many short-sighted cutbacks that the space age is beginning to feel like a dream of a more farseeing age.
7. All teachers who care, except those who can’t seem to resist sexually molesting the student body.
8. Smart people everywhere, including Bill, Melinda, and Warren for philanthropy that proves Santa Claus doesn’t always dress in red and say, “Ho, ho, ho!”
9. Nice people anywhere, no matter how smart, dumb, educated or ignorant they are.
10. Everybody who appreciates the finally incomprehensible gift of life and knows that doing the best we can with it is the surest way to distinguish our own lives and express reverence for whatever gifted it.
May the first ten winners read about the second ten and decide to join them. Billions would cheer. And really soon would be a real boon.
Yes. Where, you may ask? We’ll take a look.
But to infuse the proceedings with appropriate levity, let’s first present NewsLaugh’s Ten Slams For New Heights In Underachievement.
Then we’ll turn to those gifted and resilient human beings who refuse to partake in the worldwide slide toward the moronic and, instead, valorously persist in their commendable quest for overachievement.
Here are Ten Slams For New Heights In Underachievement
1. The insurgents in Iraq, for explosively undermining the peaceful and progressive rebuilding of their own country, along with terrorists everywhere, for cloaking murder with religious-speak apparently without realizing that their verbal yip “God is great” and operational guideline “Life is cheap” are at idiotic odds with each other, since, if God is great, He’d only make great things, just alike a great dumbbell maker would only make great dumbbells.
2. The Taliban in Afghanistan, for managing to preserve themselves from any notion of truly religious behavior, which must, for all God’s chillin, include effusive mutual consideration, not to mention the same for one’s perhaps turban-tossing self, as well as Islamic militants of similar ilk wherever they so mercilessly inflict their airborne medievalism.
3. The Palestinians who keep firing rockets at Israel, which are actually metaphorical rockets they’re firing at their woeful selves.
4. The Iranian “mullahtocracy” for alarming the world and any sane member of their own society by the senseless and impossible pursuit of nuclear hegemony in the region and threats to civilized folks with far more weaponry.
5. The warring factions in Somalia and Darfur for managing to starve, rape, and kill off tens of thousands of their own men, women, and children, along with the equally insightful bombers in Bali who apparently think blowing up innocent people is the way to have their God reach down and drag them to paradise by their religiously motivated beards.
6. All governments who shrug their shoulders at the human role in making the globe too toasty for the survival of the Dairy Queen and other aspects of human life that require cooler temps to continue.
7. People on the home front who can’t seem to restrain themselves from killing members of their own families, not to mention other innocents who happen to get in the way of their illicit intentions, and the occasional person who still seems to find it necessary to eat a fellow human being.
8. Men who insist on kidnapping and sexually molesting women, whether age 5, 25, or 95.
9. Corporate execs who can’t seem to keep their fingers out of the till or otherwise take the companies they’ve been trusted to conduct will skill for a mighty big spill.
10. Young people who haven’t got enough of a notion of their own self-worth and the worth of other people, including their distressed parents, to lay off of all forms of destructive behavior and tune into the still faint bleeping of their own best potential.
Now, with a spectacular increment in our approval rating, as well our joy, let’s turn to our countervailing consolation and praiseworthy hopes: the gifted and resilient people who continue to aim for the heights of human achievement, despite the pervasive idiocy that encroaches on their persistent positive bents.
1. Medical researchers who carry on with their life-enhancing quest for drugs that will cure cancer, treat AIDS, depopulate mosquitoes, and address other amenable causes of human misery.
2. Tech wizards, who wake up each day bright-eyed in their goal of advancing the revolution in communication, mechanical medicine, and all other promising fields of extrapolation.
3. Politicos and execs who are worthy of the trust that leadership entails and distinguish themselves in the service of its inspiriting call.
4. People who really do believe in freedom and democracy, which, inconveniently for many, includes the wisdom to abstain from trying to make everybody march in lockstep with their own less than universally inviting enthusiasms.
5. Artists and academics who understand that a free mind can only cavort on a stage supported by a free economy, wooly wild and discomfiting that many of its aspects may be.
5. NASA, for continuing to believe in the benefits of space exploration, even in the face of so many short-sighted cutbacks that the space age is beginning to feel like a dream of a more farseeing age.
7. All teachers who care, except those who can’t seem to resist sexually molesting the student body.
8. Smart people everywhere, including Bill, Melinda, and Warren for philanthropy that proves Santa Claus doesn’t always dress in red and say, “Ho, ho, ho!”
9. Nice people anywhere, no matter how smart, dumb, educated or ignorant they are.
10. Everybody who appreciates the finally incomprehensible gift of life and knows that doing the best we can with it is the surest way to distinguish our own lives and express reverence for whatever gifted it.
May the first ten winners read about the second ten and decide to join them. Billions would cheer. And really soon would be a real boon.
CSI (Season 2) DVD Review
Recipient of 20 Emmy and 6 Golden Globe nominations, including Best Television Series: Drama, CSI (Crime Scene Investigation) ascended to the number one spot as the highest rated series on television in the Fall of 2000. Created by Anthony Zuiker, the show travels into the backrooms of the criminal investigation process where forensic scientists unravel complex crimes using modern lab technologies. Since it first premiered, CSI has enabled CBS to emerge as the top-rated network for the first time in years, surpassing NBC, ABC, and Fox, and spawning two additional series CSI: New York and CSI: Miami. Each fascinating hour-long episode jumps off with the memorable theme song “Who Are You,” a song that adequately expresses the theme of a series where criminals are often tracked down years after the initial commission of their crime…
The CSI (Season 2) DVD features a number of dramatic episodes including the season premiere “Burked” in which Grissom and company are called in to investigate the death of a high roller and known drug addict found dead in his own home. With drug paraphernalia on the premises, detectives initially suspect an overdose, but further probing leads them to believe the man was restrained by duct tape and forced to ingest lethal amounts of drugs… Other notable episodes from Season 2 include “And Then There Were None” in which Grissom investigates a casino heist that left several innocent bystanders shot while Catherine and Sara investigate a murder in the rural desert region, and “Stalker” in which a stalker somehow infiltrates a heavily secured home and murders his victim, prompting the CSI to take over the investigation…
Below is a list of episodes included on the CSI (Season 2) DVD:
Episode 24 (Burked) Air Date: 09-27-2001
Episode 25 (Chaos Theory) Air Date: 10-04-2001
Episode 26 (Overload) Air Date: 10-11-2001
Episode 27 (Bully for You) Air Date: 10-18-2001
Episode 28 (Scuba Doobie-Doo) Air Date: 10-25-2001
Episode 29 (Alter Boys) Air Date: 11-01-2001
Episode 30 (Caged) Air Date: 11-08-2001
Episode 31 (Slaves of Las Vegas) Air Date: 11-15-2001
Episode 32 (And Then There Were None) Air Date: 11-22-2001
Episode 33 (Ellie) Air Date: 12-06-2001
Episode 34 (Organ Grinder) Air Date: 12-13-2001
Episode 35 (You’ve Got Male) Air Date: 12-20-2001
Episode 36 (Identity Crisis) Air Date: 01-17-2002
Episode 37 (The Finger) Air Date: 01-31-2002
Episode 38 (Burden of Proof) Air Date: 02-07-2002
Episode 39 (Primum Non Nocere) Air Date: 02-28-2002
Episode 40 (Felonius Monk) Air Date: 03-07-2002
Episode 41 (Chasing the Bus) Air Date: 03-28-2002
Episode 42 (Stalker) Air Date: 04-04-2002
Episode 43 (Cats in the Cradle) Air Date: 04-25-2002
Episode 44 (Anatomy of a Lye) Air Date: 05-02-2002
Episode 45 (Cross-Jurisdictions) Air Date: 05-09-2002
Episode 46 (The Hunger Artist) Air Date: 05-16-2002
The CSI (Season 2) DVD features a number of dramatic episodes including the season premiere “Burked” in which Grissom and company are called in to investigate the death of a high roller and known drug addict found dead in his own home. With drug paraphernalia on the premises, detectives initially suspect an overdose, but further probing leads them to believe the man was restrained by duct tape and forced to ingest lethal amounts of drugs… Other notable episodes from Season 2 include “And Then There Were None” in which Grissom investigates a casino heist that left several innocent bystanders shot while Catherine and Sara investigate a murder in the rural desert region, and “Stalker” in which a stalker somehow infiltrates a heavily secured home and murders his victim, prompting the CSI to take over the investigation…
Below is a list of episodes included on the CSI (Season 2) DVD:
Episode 24 (Burked) Air Date: 09-27-2001
Episode 25 (Chaos Theory) Air Date: 10-04-2001
Episode 26 (Overload) Air Date: 10-11-2001
Episode 27 (Bully for You) Air Date: 10-18-2001
Episode 28 (Scuba Doobie-Doo) Air Date: 10-25-2001
Episode 29 (Alter Boys) Air Date: 11-01-2001
Episode 30 (Caged) Air Date: 11-08-2001
Episode 31 (Slaves of Las Vegas) Air Date: 11-15-2001
Episode 32 (And Then There Were None) Air Date: 11-22-2001
Episode 33 (Ellie) Air Date: 12-06-2001
Episode 34 (Organ Grinder) Air Date: 12-13-2001
Episode 35 (You’ve Got Male) Air Date: 12-20-2001
Episode 36 (Identity Crisis) Air Date: 01-17-2002
Episode 37 (The Finger) Air Date: 01-31-2002
Episode 38 (Burden of Proof) Air Date: 02-07-2002
Episode 39 (Primum Non Nocere) Air Date: 02-28-2002
Episode 40 (Felonius Monk) Air Date: 03-07-2002
Episode 41 (Chasing the Bus) Air Date: 03-28-2002
Episode 42 (Stalker) Air Date: 04-04-2002
Episode 43 (Cats in the Cradle) Air Date: 04-25-2002
Episode 44 (Anatomy of a Lye) Air Date: 05-02-2002
Episode 45 (Cross-Jurisdictions) Air Date: 05-09-2002
Episode 46 (The Hunger Artist) Air Date: 05-16-2002
Friday, June 10, 2011
Advantages Of Watching Movies Online
If you enjoy watching movies or you just appreciate a well-made movie then it is a certainty that you are interested in a facility that allows you to watch your favorite movies anytime you want. Nowadays, this is a very easy thing to do as there are many of sites that offer such services. You can easily watch movies from your own room without having to spend a small fortune on renting the DVD or going to the cinema. This method allows fans to watch movies shortly after their release by downloading them or watching them streaming.
Speaking of movies, the fans can enjoy not only movies released in the United States but also from other countries at only a few clicks away. Locating movies is a very easy thing to do as the sites that provide the latest links to online movies and online television shows have the facility to locate the movies by categories or countries. Another method of searching for a certain movie is by the movie title, a certain actor or other similar movie characteristics.
If you understand foreign languages you can watch a foreign TV station and enjoy a movie in your native or second language. A brand new technology called satellite television for PC allow computer users to receive and access as many as approximately 3,000 TV stations and over 1,500 radio stations. Sites that offer these kind of services, with other words, sites that provide the latest links to online movies and online TV shows are worth a try as they are not only easy to use but reliable and safe. Basically, some of the main advantages for movie fans are:
• Visitors can download the movies legally and in a safe way.
• Users have the ability to watch the movies streaming.
• Movie fans can watch their favorite movies in a very high quality imagine.
• Besides movies, users can view television shows, sports, documentaries and others.
• All these shows can be watched onto the computer monitor, television or even a projector.
This is the perfect solution for movie fans that are looking for certain old movies that are almost inaccessible. Young people enjoy watching new movies online nowadays as they have 24h access to the Internet and they spend several hours in front of their personal computers rather than watching the TV. The satellite TV on PC gives the visitor access to stations, some of them aren’t even available on conventional satellite TV. Users can watch dramas, comedies, action movies, anything they want, the offer is rich.
All things considered, it looks like the Internet has another big thing for visitors thanks to these sites that offer links to online movies and online TV shows which are getting more and more popular among Internet user as this method is not only safe but also fast and cheap. Searching for your favorite movie was never as easy as it is now, at only just a few clicks away, without headaches, without having to run down to the DVD store to rent/purchase it. What else movie fans can desire?
Speaking of movies, the fans can enjoy not only movies released in the United States but also from other countries at only a few clicks away. Locating movies is a very easy thing to do as the sites that provide the latest links to online movies and online television shows have the facility to locate the movies by categories or countries. Another method of searching for a certain movie is by the movie title, a certain actor or other similar movie characteristics.
If you understand foreign languages you can watch a foreign TV station and enjoy a movie in your native or second language. A brand new technology called satellite television for PC allow computer users to receive and access as many as approximately 3,000 TV stations and over 1,500 radio stations. Sites that offer these kind of services, with other words, sites that provide the latest links to online movies and online TV shows are worth a try as they are not only easy to use but reliable and safe. Basically, some of the main advantages for movie fans are:
• Visitors can download the movies legally and in a safe way.
• Users have the ability to watch the movies streaming.
• Movie fans can watch their favorite movies in a very high quality imagine.
• Besides movies, users can view television shows, sports, documentaries and others.
• All these shows can be watched onto the computer monitor, television or even a projector.
This is the perfect solution for movie fans that are looking for certain old movies that are almost inaccessible. Young people enjoy watching new movies online nowadays as they have 24h access to the Internet and they spend several hours in front of their personal computers rather than watching the TV. The satellite TV on PC gives the visitor access to stations, some of them aren’t even available on conventional satellite TV. Users can watch dramas, comedies, action movies, anything they want, the offer is rich.
All things considered, it looks like the Internet has another big thing for visitors thanks to these sites that offer links to online movies and online TV shows which are getting more and more popular among Internet user as this method is not only safe but also fast and cheap. Searching for your favorite movie was never as easy as it is now, at only just a few clicks away, without headaches, without having to run down to the DVD store to rent/purchase it. What else movie fans can desire?
Thursday, June 9, 2011
A Psp Movie Is Fun For Everyone!
You finally broke down and bought your teenager a PlayStation Portable (also known as PSP) for his birthday. There was a lot of coaxing and pleading from your teenager about all of the benefits of the PSP since it was much more than just a hand-held game system. You could also watch movies on it, but what exactly is a PSP movie?
A PSP movie is just a regular old movie that has been formatted in a certain way. Sony, the manufacturer of the PSP system has been encouraging people to purchase special versions of movies that have been formatted in the Universal Media Disc (also known as UMD). The disks are about 3 inches by 3 inches in diameter and cost about the same or just slightly more than their DVD counterparts.
You can have the excitement of seeing a movie any time and any where with the PSP system. It is now small enough to take anywhere and a vivid widescreen LCD making it perfect for movies and videos while you are on the go. And, you can watch full-length movies on a prerecorded UMD that has designed especially for the PSP. The UMD is a high-capacity storage system that is capable of delivering great graphics in a very small sized disk. There are currently more than 430 UMD movies that can be purchased.
Sounds good, right? Probably yes, if you are looking for something to amuse your children on a long car trip or while they are waiting for medical appointments. The PSP movie can keep them occupied and quiet when you need them to be.
If you are looking for a PSP movie for the family to watch, the answer is probably no. While a PSP movie is great to watch on the PSP player, you must remember that the screen is only a few inches wide. How many people really want to watch a movie on such a small screen? Actually, a lot of them do, especially since the system is so portable!
The UMD version of PSP movies can not be played on a standard DVD player in the home, but if you have the 'know-how' you can connect your PSP to your DVD. The bad part is that if the PSP breaks or some day is no longer made, you are stuck with tiny UMD movies that can not be played on a regular DVD system.
The PSP movie still has a long way to go to become a household name. However, if your goal is for a gift for your children, they will probably be absolutely thrilled with the PSP system and the ability to watch PSP movies any time and any where they go. So, if you want to make your children happy and for them to have the same up-to-date system that all of their friends have, consider giving them the PSP system and movies for their enjoyment.
They will be happy, and everyone knows that an unhappy child can make everyone miserable. So, what are a few extra dollars going to mean when it comes to keeping your child happy with PSP movies.
A PSP movie is just a regular old movie that has been formatted in a certain way. Sony, the manufacturer of the PSP system has been encouraging people to purchase special versions of movies that have been formatted in the Universal Media Disc (also known as UMD). The disks are about 3 inches by 3 inches in diameter and cost about the same or just slightly more than their DVD counterparts.
You can have the excitement of seeing a movie any time and any where with the PSP system. It is now small enough to take anywhere and a vivid widescreen LCD making it perfect for movies and videos while you are on the go. And, you can watch full-length movies on a prerecorded UMD that has designed especially for the PSP. The UMD is a high-capacity storage system that is capable of delivering great graphics in a very small sized disk. There are currently more than 430 UMD movies that can be purchased.
Sounds good, right? Probably yes, if you are looking for something to amuse your children on a long car trip or while they are waiting for medical appointments. The PSP movie can keep them occupied and quiet when you need them to be.
If you are looking for a PSP movie for the family to watch, the answer is probably no. While a PSP movie is great to watch on the PSP player, you must remember that the screen is only a few inches wide. How many people really want to watch a movie on such a small screen? Actually, a lot of them do, especially since the system is so portable!
The UMD version of PSP movies can not be played on a standard DVD player in the home, but if you have the 'know-how' you can connect your PSP to your DVD. The bad part is that if the PSP breaks or some day is no longer made, you are stuck with tiny UMD movies that can not be played on a regular DVD system.
The PSP movie still has a long way to go to become a household name. However, if your goal is for a gift for your children, they will probably be absolutely thrilled with the PSP system and the ability to watch PSP movies any time and any where they go. So, if you want to make your children happy and for them to have the same up-to-date system that all of their friends have, consider giving them the PSP system and movies for their enjoyment.
They will be happy, and everyone knows that an unhappy child can make everyone miserable. So, what are a few extra dollars going to mean when it comes to keeping your child happy with PSP movies.
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