Slashdot Mirror

With the exception of the already mentioned Clone Wars shorts that were produced recently, I remember Droids and Ewoks from 1985. They were craptsatic but none the less considered Star Wars animated series.

And not very GOOD CG at that.

A journey that begins where everything ends... cue the music http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078869/

I have a feeling this won't be much different except this time it's CG and not traditional animation.

I have a feeling this won't be much different except this time it's CG and not traditional animation.

How about Wrong is Right
or Wag the Dog?

How about Wrong is Right
or Wag the Dog?

It does seem that math movies require madness in there too, but they are far better than the rash of 'crypto' movies a few years back.

As long as they don't start waking Egyptian Mummies that will unleash plagues of locusts and turn the water to blood.

Who would you pay more, the writer for an emmy-winning show, or the writer for a complete flop? If the answer isn't obvious, you might want to ask your local Politburo for help. How do you know which writers are working on new emmy-winning shows and which are working on complete flops? If you can tell in advance, why would you pay anyone to work on a flop? If you can't tell in advance, how do you know how much to pay them? One hit show is no guarantee of another. One of my favorite writers, David Shore, won an emmy for "House," but completely flopped on his next project. You would have seriously overpaid him for the flop and seriously underpaid him for "House."

I have an idea, we can wait to see how successful the show is, then pay the writers more for more successful shows. But how can we measure how successful a show is? I know, by the profits. We can pay writers more for shows that make more profit. I bet that would encourage them to write better. If only there were some mathematical formula we could use to codify that in a contract...

Slashdotters who judge writers but don't care enough about writing to learn "there" homophones get a big fat FAIL!

Of course it's an option, it's just how you present it to the public. Now if Canadians were to have weapons of mass destruction... http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109370/

That's what John George Haigh believed but it isn't true.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0327392/

Actually if you think about it, it can't be true. Otherwise all murderers would get rid of the body and then be safe from prosecution.

No obvious fairy tales?

They shouldn't be using unaccountable AI that doesn't have the human inhibitions (eg. guilt, shame, no promotion, incarceration) on making mistakes. There's plenty of capable human intelligence for air traffic control, in the air.

Most actual piloting is already handled by AI, autopilots. The crew spends most of its time fighting boredom (and whatever _Airplane!_ got right). Instead, they should participate in a distributed global air traffic control system. Let every plane report its GPS position to a satellite network, and each plane get the positions of objects in its nearby airspace. Then let those crews plan the traffic of all the planes in their airspace, but only one crew at a time actually controls the paths - the rest just shadow them. Then divide up all the world's airspaces by the crews in the air. Crowded airspaces should get partitioned into multiple separate smaller spaces. And ground stations should remain available to boost the manpower and report local conditions, and just certify plans through their airspace (like at airports) that are actually set by others really doing the hard work.

Then the more traffic, the more people are available. The people are going to be a lot better than the AI, not just because the problem is highly nuanced, and therefore hard to reduce to the independent variables needed to make AI predictable and testable. But also because the humans actually give a damn about planes with other humans getting in trouble.

And it will also keep the inflight crews something to keep them awake. So if they're needed to actually fly the plane, they can drop right back into controlling their plane, already fully alert and engaged, while one of the shadow crews gets to take over their lead (if they were actually committing traffic scheduling).

We can use networking to harness our superior human brains. Or we can just trust the machines. That are programmed by some Pentagon nerds who will never get in trouble for making a mistake that's discovered in the air years later.

See The Lone Gunmen, S01E01 for more reasons.

to have this sort of disdain for the entire justice system because it has human flaws doesn't make you wise, it makes you naive

If I knew how to break into your house, then told you that I was able to but won't tell you how unless you paid up a fee?

With 'free speech' zones, permits, other candidates snickering in concert when one makes one's point and such, I feel that protesting is pointless and might get you labelled a whacko hippie.

Let's be real here: If you don't make at least USD$500k every year and you're not in a position where you can take off work at your discretion to participate in major party politics, you're currently a Non-Player-Character in this democracy.( See 'The American Ruling Class' http://imdb.com/title/tt0455906/, an inept documentary movie that is rather enlightening in spite of itself )

The way things are really changed in this country is to get a group of like-minded individuals to register to vote as Democrat or Republican, start donating money and attending precinct party meetings and either eventually taking over the precinct organization by becoming the majority or chasing everybody else out. Get enough contiguous precints with your people installed, then you can push a state house candidate. Get a state house candidate elected and you begin to have a voice. And so on.

Also, if you have a business or are in a profession, consider having your chamber of commerce or trade group hire a lobbyist. They're not cheap, but again, enough like-minded people banding together can pay for one.

Third, have your trade group send press releases tying every bad event or anniversary to the fact that your agenda hasn't been adopted. Example: Wife-beating is highest on Superbowl Sunday. Not true, but it was one hell of a press release when it came out.

Fourth, if you can, find and publicize some angle to tie the absence of your agenda to impending disaster for the interests of MSM broadcast and cable companies and their news divisions -- scare them and they'll scare everybody else for you. This is likely the only way to ovecome the self-interested censorship that the broadcast TV/radio news business seems to engage in to serve the TV/radio industry lobby.

If you can make this happen and get whatever it is you want made into public policy, you're now just as dirty as the rest of the folks who make politics happen in the USA and I'm afraid I'm going to need to stage a protest march against you :-)

The last time I had a situation like that was at CompUSA. I bought a few Motorola routers and access points and was surprised when all of them rang up for 19.99$ each.

Years ago, when FF:TSW came out, I passed up a large box set of FF music CDs that some seller on eBay was auctioning off.

The price was incredibly cheap for the number of CDs in the box set but I knew better: they were most likely bootleg versions from such 'labels' as Son May and/or Ever Anime (except for the FF:TSW OST--I figured that one CD was legit). Years earlier, I had unknowingly bought a bootleg copy of the 3-CD 'sound collection' to Gunbuster. I liked it so much, I bought it again as a legit version to show my support for Koohei Tanaka, the composer, for a anime music score with comporable depth, scope, and musicianship as John Williams' work for 'Episode 4'.

Ironically, both Gunbuster CD sound collections sound identical to me indicating that the bootleggers 'care' about their 'work' when they want to...though illegal in most the world.

The last time I had a situation like that was at CompUSA. I bought a few Motorola routers and access points and was surprised when all of them rang up for 19.99$ each.

Years ago, when FF:TSW came out, I passed up a large box set of FF music CDs that some seller on eBay was auctioning off.

The price was incredibly cheap for the number of CDs in the box set but I knew better: they were most likely bootleg versions from such 'labels' as Son May and/or Ever Anime (except for the FF:TSW OST--I figured that one CD was legit). Years earlier, I had unknowingly bought a bootleg copy of the 3-CD 'sound collection' to Gunbuster. I liked it so much, I bought it again as a legit version to show my support for Koohei Tanaka, the composer, for a anime music score with comporable depth, scope, and musicianship as John Williams' work for 'Episode 4'.

Ironically, both Gunbuster CD sound collections sound identical to me indicating that the bootleggers 'care' about their 'work' when they want to...though illegal in most the world.

The last time I had a situation like that was at CompUSA. I bought a few Motorola routers and access points and was surprised when all of them rang up for 19.99$ each.

Years ago, when FF:TSW came out, I passed up a large box set of FF music CDs that some seller on eBay was auctioning off.

The price was incredibly cheap for the number of CDs in the box set but I knew better: they were most likely bootleg versions from such 'labels' as Son May and/or Ever Anime (except for the FF:TSW OST--I figured that one CD was legit). Years earlier, I had unknowingly bought a bootleg copy of the 3-CD 'sound collection' to Gunbuster. I liked it so much, I bought it again as a legit version to show my support for Koohei Tanaka, the composer, for a anime music score with comporable depth, scope, and musicianship as John Williams' work for 'Episode 4'.

Ironically, both Gunbuster CD sound collections sound identical to me indicating that the bootleggers 'care' about their 'work' when they want to...though illegal in most the world.

Considering his newsletter, it would look something like this.

People forget that they have forgotten to remember stuff.

Tommyboy? Is that you?

For all of Tommy Boys contemporaries that can't figure out the reference:

Plotline - Tommy Callahan Jr. is a slow-witted, clumsy guy who recently graduated college after attending for seven years

I believe they are pod-people, clones of Donny Most, aka Ralph Malph. They have a strange genetic mutation that only allows them to comprehend Web browsers and nothing else.

The message from writers to the studios had been, "Come back, baby. We can work this out." But after the second time negotiations fell apart, the message became, "Maybe we should see other people."

I decided to start seeing other people.

It's an online "channel" featuring original video shows created by working professionals in the TV and Film Industry. These shows are self-funded and owned by their creators. Funds raised by ad revenue will go toward the Writers Guild Foundation Industry Support Fund, assisting non-WGA members, including IATSE and Teamsters affected by the strike. Strike TV videos will not be about the strike. This is a chance for writers to do what they do best - be original and tell stories.

i live and work in midtown, have an hd camera and an editting set up, and a burning passion in support of a common sense approach to intellectual property

i am not looking for a soap box, i am offering you a soap box. if you ever had dreams of pulling a michael moore or a morgan spurlock on the riaa, let's do it

call it "taking on the riaa", or i am sure you can think of a better title. we can sample some of the more egregious bastard things these guys pull, and document, in real time, as they are taken down in case after case, digesting it into something more palatable for the mainstream public by explaining to them why it should matter (in a cinematic way, not a talky way: interview say that woman from wappingers falls who was attacked). emotionally, it would simply be little guy versus vile conglomerate. all factual, no stagey theatrics. but not boring and dry legalese. done right, it would be cinema gold

i'm 100% serious. if you are game, i am willing to commit serious time to this. lead us on nycl. i am sure there are other slashdotters who would sign on to this too

So the writters get like a couple percent increase in their salaries while they lost about 1/3 of their anual income. These are writters not mathamatitions,

You need to rent Around The World In 80 Days - not the fictional movie(s), the A&E documentary with Michael Palin.

While regularly scheduled passenger service is not available, there are places you can go to seek passenger accommodations aboard cargo vessels. It's not The Love Boat, but it didn't look nearly as uncomfortable as steerage^Wcoach on a passenger plane.

Note to /.: How about allowing <s> tags? It would bring the ^W joke somewhat closer to the 21st century.

It's interesting how strongly the muslims are against idolatry. It's understandable that they would like to keep their religious beliefs imageless. In that way you don't externalize the feeling at all, but it grows in you. This difference in faith might explain a lot about the actions some individuals take, and how they feel about it. The overblown idolatry of the western religions tells the same about their followers. The images are unreal, but everyone believes they are true.

There is a movie called The Message http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074896/, which tells about the early days of Islam. Mohammed is not portrayed visually at all, but aurally via a piece of music. When he is present we see world through his eyes, and the music plays in the background. I think this is the sort of sensitivity that many a muslim desires, and it is a beautiful way to portrait the feeling. The movie was released in 1977, and comes from quite a different world...

Overheard at the airport:

Johnny Mnemonic: No dice?
Homeland Security: No. But I can get it out
Johnny Mnemonic: How?
Homeland Security: A general anesthetic, a cranial drill and a pair of forceps.
Johnny Mnemonic: I could die, right?
Homeland Security: It's gonna kill you anyway.If I take it out, you'll probably survive but lose some fine motor skills.You might not remember anything for more than three minutes.

That's not the only thing. Apparently his guy has a problem with others stealing his ideas. I always thought Peter Norton invented the Norton Anti virus. What, now you're going to tell me that he's not related to Ed Norton?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0362227/

At least cars have evolved a little since the 60's, when cars would explode just before it hit something.
 
See Where Eagles Dare to see what I mean...

Mice are nice. Nicer than trolls, anyway. Well... most trolls. Nicer than you in any event.

Mice are nice. Nicer than trolls, anyway. Well... most trolls. Nicer than you in any event.

Mice are nice. Nicer than trolls, anyway. Well... most trolls. Nicer than you in any event.

"They're not going to have a lot of luck hijacking it either."

Better yet, imagine an evacuated train hitting Union Station in Chicago...

Old news.

Some analysts say "looming recession", people think "Oh noes" and stop buying stuff/investing => recession.

Twins meets Junior?

Twins meets Junior?

They used to be in the opera piracy business, but that was too exciting.

The crazy thing about Obama is that I have this notion (which feels fairly ridiculous but may not be entirely crazy) that if he gets elected, it could play out a little bit like a real-life version of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. The guy wants to open stuff up and put as much as possible on C-SPAN and on the Internet. And check out these words from his visit to Google. He was asked about Guantanamo, and he said:

Guantanamo, that's easy. Close down Guantanamo, restore habeus corpus, say 'no' to renditions, 'no' to [warrantless] wiretaps. Part of my job as the next president is to break the fever of fear that has been exploited by this administration that... we're told that we should be afraid of terrorists, and immigrants, and each other, and it becomes the means by which our civil liberties are subverted, our values are distorted; we start hearing our attorney general nominee not being certain as to whether simulated drownings are torture. That's not who we are, as Americans.

He's exactly right about fear. People say "sex sells", and, sure, that's true, but I say people give short shrift to fear by not including it too, because fear sells just as well. Listen to a radio commercial for an automotive brake repair shop sometime to see how fear is used to try to get you to part with your money. I'm not that cynical about Bush, and I think he may not be using fear to intentionally manipulate the public, but what I believe is worse: I believe that Bush has actually lost perspective and bought into the fear himself. And so has much of the rest of the nation. So I think Obama's imagery is excellent: fear is an illness, and it has been long enough that it's time for the fever to break, and for us as a nation to get better.

And boy are we in for some great tunes if these "ideas" become reality.

I mean... it sure is funny to see life imitating art, but life imitating Stallone SF action movies?
Cause if this takes hold, how long till the radio jingles become a more popular form of entertainment then "popular" music?

When it's Godzilla vs Godzilla, Tokyo gets trashed either way.

Unless it's Godzilla: Final Wars , in which case Sidney ends up on the receiving end...

What, teeth? http://imdb.com/title/tt0780622/

He railed against the money-changers, but not the slave owners.

He said that the meek would inherit the kingdom, but he didn't exclude slave owners

He said that those who kept his commandments would be okay, not anyone else. Of course, slave-owners, as long as they did what he said, got a free pass ... what an asshole.

He said "love thy neighbor as thyself" - but slaves, well, I guess technically, they're not your neighbour ...

He ranted against premarital and extra-marital sex, but not against slavery.

He said "keep my commandments" - why couldn't one of them have been to not own people? Simple - he was a coward and a con artist. Same as Jimmy Swaggart, Oral Roberts, Pat Robertson, Mike Warnke, and the rest of them ... jesus was the original "Matchstick Man."

Remember - he said "I and my father are one." And we all know that god had no problem with "his people" enslaving others, raping them, committing genocide, etc. About King David - "a man after my own heart" - was also a murdering swine. Just like god himself, or so the so-called "good book" says.

How to become a "good" Christian in 20 easy steps.

1. Confess to all your friends, associates and church leaders that you love Jesus and intend to become His slave and that you will devote your life to Him. It doesn't matter whether you believe it or not, just saying it will put you in a Christian mode.
2. Join a church, get baptized and attribute your conversion to the priest or minister. Gaze reverently into his eyes as he pontificates about the nature of God. Sighing every once and a while, or wiping a tear will guarantee their devotion. If you join a revival church, fall to the floor, shake your body, put up both hands and yell: JAYsus-ah! NEVER bring up the topic of sexual molestation to your priest, no matter how many boys or girls he may have poked.
3. Every Sunday, make sure you put a large sum of MONEY into the church's MONEY basket. Make sure that everyone in the congregation sees you giving MONEY.
4. When talking with your priest and religious friends, occasionally confuse something that they said with something that Jesus said. This will impress them and they will think more highly of you.
5. Read the Bible, but ignore the atrocities and concentrate only on what seems "good" to you. For instance, discard the parts where God kills firstborns, pregnant women, etc., and only keep verses such as "God is love." Its like taking a sugar coated bitter pill, but it will appear good and that's what counts here.
6. Learn a few basic Hebrew words and whenever you're in a religious discussion, mention them in the context of their original meaning and comparing them to the English version. This will impress others of your Biblical knowledge, even if you don't know squat about theology.
7. Rely on faith and believe in the Bible superstitions, regardless of how silly they may seem. Yes, even the talking donkey, unicorns, and the strolling on water part. Even if you don't believe in them, just pretend that you do; no one will be able to tell the difference.
8. Abandon all reason and critical thinking. This is imperative. You cannot become a good Christian if you question the Bible with reason or skepticism.
9. Smile a lot to everyone you see. Say you love them even when you hate their guts. You must pretend, at all costs, to love your worst enemies even if it kills them in the end.
10. Attempt to convert your unbelieving friends. Make an ass out of yourself to the point of getting them angry. Make sure you always keep smiling and tell them how much you love them. This will escalate their anger and leave you fully satisfied. If they persist, claim that they are in league with the Devil and only faith in Jesus can release them (make sure you keep smiling).
11. If anyone presents reasonable arguments against Christianity, simply go int