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Don't believe it!
A revolutionary medical technique allows an undercover agent to take the physical appearance of a major criminal and infiltrate his organization.

Oh wait, is this a movie? :)

The team of surgeons deny that The Silence of the Lambs played any influence in their technique.

Been there, done that.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119094/combined/

Congratulations to the TTC. They have replaced a gang of harmless good-for-nothing teenagers with a bit of the old ultra-violence.

1. The Sword Of Shannara
2. The Elfstones of Shannara
3. The Wishsong of Shannara

Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman:

1. Dragons of Autumn Twighlight
2. Dragons Of Winter's Night
3. Dragons Of Spring Dawning
4. Time Of The Twins
5. War Of The Twins
6. Test Of The Twins

L. Ron Hubbard:

1. Mission: Earth: Vol 1
2. Mission: Earth: Vol 2
3. Mission: Earth: Vol 3
4. Mission: Earth: Vol 4
5. Mission: Earth: Vol 5
6. Mission: Earth: Vol 6
7. Mission: Earth: Vol 7
8. Mission: Earth: Vol 8
9. Mission: Earth: Vol 9
10. Mission: Earth: Vol 10

Depending on their reading habits that should last them at least a 20 days, and hopefully more like a few monts. I read the Mission: Earth Series in a week when I read it because it was that good IMO.

If they have not read them yet, there is of course Douglas Adams' Hitchiker's Guide To The Galaxy. It is too bad The Movie sucked the sweat off a dead man's balls, because the books were GREAT

You might also consider som Isaac Asimov such as I, Robot and/or Foundation

Just my $.02...Hope it helps, because I am now being forced by slashdot to add more characters to this post because apparently creating a good list with appropriate links is a bad idea here.

Just ignore the rest below here:
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Sed neque libero, imperdiet et, imperdiet id, sollicitudin ac, diam. Aliquam elit velit, mollis a, malesuada vel, cursus eget, magna. Donec non sem quis nisl venenatis eleifend. Nunc ligula felis, porta a, suscipit vel, consectetuer eget, leo. Quisque dapibus blandit nulla. Nunc nulla. Vivamus sem elit, faucibus ac, tempus sit amet, molestie et, risus. Etiam aliquet ante vel magna. Ut facilisis aliquam ligula. Donec ligula. Donec ut lorem. Sed tincidunt facilisis magna. Praesent sed arcu non sapien posuere venenatis. Duis laoreet est nec lorem.

Duis a lacus. Sed viverra, lorem in mattis ullamcorper, ipsum metus mattis metus, vel vestibulum nulla libero sed turpis. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos hymenaeos. Nam et ante in ante aliquam pulvinar. Donec tempor, mi ut scelerisque gravida, dolor odio posuere nulla, sed suscipit urna felis at tortor. Nullam eu lacus. Etiam placerat. Sed arcu risus, convallis ac, frin

Click on the bio links for more info about them.

Click on the bio links for more info about them.

Poor Harry. Poor, poor Harry.

Dear Bill & Ted,
The 80s called; they want you to come back.
- Rufus

Translation: I can't write or spell properly and I have a chip on my shoulder about my betters who can, so I'll pretend it doesn't matter.

"Oh, and if anyone has a problem with the spelling or grammer in this post, see the 4th sentence of paragraph one."

I guess you think you deserve three cheers?

Yes. The truth is revealed in this if you haven't already seen it.

Specifically, Brazil by Terry Gilliam.
It could be you.

Specifically, Brazil by Terry Gilliam.
It could be you.

You Only Live Twice? It didn't *really* suck, anyway.

The Shirt Tales or Teletubbies?

The Shirt Tales or Teletubbies?

In the dvd "An Evening With Kevin Smith", Kevin goes into great length about this Superman story.
It's realy fun to watch, my favorite part is about Jon Peters.

For example you learn that Jon requires that:
  * superman must NOT fly for no obvious reason
  * superman must NOT wear a cape because it's gay
  * superman must fight a giant-fuckin-spider

As a sidenote the spider made its way to the Peters-produced movie of the time "Wild Wide West"

Favorite quote:
J.P: "Spiderman must fight a giant spider"
K.S: "Why ?"
J.P: "Do you know anything about spiders ?"
K.S: "No"
J.P: "They're the fiercest killers in the insect kingdom!"

And the same goes on later with White Bears !!!

Seriously, this Jon Peters guy is so messed up !!

Hehe, google to the rescue, here's a transcript from http://www.anecdotage.com/index.php?aid=12916::


Supermoron (long)

After seeing Mallrats, Warner Brothers producer Jon Peters considered hiring Kevin Smith to work on Superman Lives. Smith visited Peters in his Hollywood monster home to discuss the project. Peters, who climbed the Hollywood ladder from the lowest rung (Barbra Streisand's former hairdresser), began by telling Smith he was perfect for the project because, like Peters, he understood Superman. "You know why we understand Superman?" he asked. "Because we're from the streets."

Smith, who grew up in suburban New Jersey, did not argue the point and Peters continued. Smith could do whatever he liked with the story, said Peters, with three exceptions. "I don't want to see him in the suit," Peters began, explaining that it made Superman look gay. Secondly? "I don't want to see him flying..."

If Smith was speechless, he had yet to hear the third demand: "I want to see him wrestle with a giant spider in the third act." Why a spider, Smith asked. "Do you know anything about spiders," Peters replied. "Theyre the fiercest killers in the insect kingdom!"

As so often happens in Hollywood, a director (Tim Burton) was soon attached - and insisted on bringing in his own writers. Smith, who had a nasty feud with Burton (after claiming that he had stolen the idea for Planet of the Apes from a comic book) noticed that the spider promptly disappeared from the script. Some time later, however, he went to see another Peters production: Barry Sonnenfeld's Wild Wild West:

"I'm watching this thinking, this is really a piece of s---," he later recalled. He had the laugh of his life, however, as the plot unfolded. The plot? President Grant assigns two U.S. Marshals (Will Smith and Kevin Kline) to stop a deranged madman (Kenneth Branagh) from wreaking havoc on the country... with a giant mechanical spider!

[Many critics called Wild Wild West the worst film of the year.]

Smith, Kevin Patrick (1970- ) American writer, actor and director [noted for his work on such comic book series as Daredevil (Marvel Knights) and Spiderman (2002); and for his roles in (and direction of) such films as Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001), Dogma (1999), Chasing Amy (1997), Mallrats (1995), Clerks (1994), Mae Day: The Crumbling of a Documentary (1992)]

In the dvd "An Evening With Kevin Smith", Kevin goes into great length about this Superman story.
It's realy fun to watch, my favorite part is about Jon Peters.

For example you learn that Jon requires that:
  * superman must NOT fly for no obvious reason
  * superman must NOT wear a cape because it's gay
  * superman must fight a giant-fuckin-spider

As a sidenote the spider made its way to the Peters-produced movie of the time "Wild Wide West"

Favorite quote:
J.P: "Spiderman must fight a giant spider"
K.S: "Why ?"
J.P: "Do you know anything about spiders ?"
K.S: "No"
J.P: "They're the fiercest killers in the insect kingdom!"

And the same goes on later with White Bears !!!

Seriously, this Jon Peters guy is so messed up !!

Hehe, google to the rescue, here's a transcript from http://www.anecdotage.com/index.php?aid=12916::


Supermoron (long)

After seeing Mallrats, Warner Brothers producer Jon Peters considered hiring Kevin Smith to work on Superman Lives. Smith visited Peters in his Hollywood monster home to discuss the project. Peters, who climbed the Hollywood ladder from the lowest rung (Barbra Streisand's former hairdresser), began by telling Smith he was perfect for the project because, like Peters, he understood Superman. "You know why we understand Superman?" he asked. "Because we're from the streets."

Smith, who grew up in suburban New Jersey, did not argue the point and Peters continued. Smith could do whatever he liked with the story, said Peters, with three exceptions. "I don't want to see him in the suit," Peters began, explaining that it made Superman look gay. Secondly? "I don't want to see him flying..."

If Smith was speechless, he had yet to hear the third demand: "I want to see him wrestle with a giant spider in the third act." Why a spider, Smith asked. "Do you know anything about spiders," Peters replied. "Theyre the fiercest killers in the insect kingdom!"

As so often happens in Hollywood, a director (Tim Burton) was soon attached - and insisted on bringing in his own writers. Smith, who had a nasty feud with Burton (after claiming that he had stolen the idea for Planet of the Apes from a comic book) noticed that the spider promptly disappeared from the script. Some time later, however, he went to see another Peters production: Barry Sonnenfeld's Wild Wild West:

"I'm watching this thinking, this is really a piece of s---," he later recalled. He had the laugh of his life, however, as the plot unfolded. The plot? President Grant assigns two U.S. Marshals (Will Smith and Kevin Kline) to stop a deranged madman (Kenneth Branagh) from wreaking havoc on the country... with a giant mechanical spider!

[Many critics called Wild Wild West the worst film of the year.]

Smith, Kevin Patrick (1970- ) American writer, actor and director [noted for his work on such comic book series as Daredevil (Marvel Knights) and Spiderman (2002); and for his roles in (and direction of) such films as Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001), Dogma (1999), Chasing Amy (1997), Mallrats (1995), Clerks (1994), Mae Day: The Crumbling of a Documentary (1992)]

Given the disaster that Superman II was, and let's not even mention Supergirl, my expectations couldn't be lower for anything in this franchise. Not having another movie in the last 10 years is a Good Thing. It gave us all a chance to forget what a mess Hollywood as made out of what is probably the top comic of all time.

No no no... that's the NEXT sequel to the Superman saga, and a crossover to Bubba Ho-Tep.

Well, Mr. Shatner, I think you might have enjoyed Mystery Men.

Fred Hoyle & John Elliot's "A for Andromeda" (IMDB link)

(be warned, contains spoilers...)

And let me say, it was *better* than most sci-fi you get on TV nowadays!

Oh come on, it's easy to do, we just better hope the aliens dont have any telephone repairmen.

And he is after all, one of the most reputable names in the computing field today.

There most certainly is a risk: a risk that someone in the government might actually take a particle physicist's word that aliens are trying to hack the Internet (which, given the speed of light, most enlightened civilizations in the galaxy won't find out about for about 200 years, assuming they are listening in the first place).

On the one hand, I don't know why this is a story. This guy is out of his element, and no one should be taking him too seriously (Independence Day buffs notwithstanding). On the other hand, the chance that people in positions of power with less than two neurons to rub together might take this guy seriously, thereby jeopardizing peaceful scientific research (see Contact) has me just a bit concerned.

And he is after all, one of the most reputable names in the computing field today.

There most certainly is a risk: a risk that someone in the government might actually take a particle physicist's word that aliens are trying to hack the Internet (which, given the speed of light, most enlightened civilizations in the galaxy won't find out about for about 200 years, assuming they are listening in the first place).

On the one hand, I don't know why this is a story. This guy is out of his element, and no one should be taking him too seriously (Independence Day buffs notwithstanding). On the other hand, the chance that people in positions of power with less than two neurons to rub together might take this guy seriously, thereby jeopardizing peaceful scientific research (see Contact) has me just a bit concerned.

He's yet another music video hack turned big-budget feature hack -- and possibly the worst of that dismal breed.

Christopher Reed? Surely you don't mean 'Pete' from this movie:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108002/

And of course Supe will be needed at the end of the film. It is, after all, a story about him.

And I'm not so sure you'd want all the original actors back -- Margot Kidder (Lois Lane) has been through some rough times... "dirty, frightened, and paranoid" according to police: http://bipolar.about.com/cs/celebs/a/margotkidder. htm

If the name of the URL doesn't tip you off, well, you'd better call the Superfriends.

Jon Peters is producing it. Better expect that giant spider by the 3rd act and a no-fly zone.

Top 3 billing:

Kevin Spacey .... Lex Luthor
Brandon Routh .... Clark Kent/Kal-El/Superman
Kate Bosworth .... Lois Lane

Posted anonymously 'cause I don't need the karma.

When Michael Bay declines your project for reasons of artistic integrity

What's the problem with Michael Bay? Let me see.

# Armageddon (1998)
# Pearl Harbor (2001)
# Bad Boys II (2003)
# The Island (2005)

Oh, now I understand...
--
Superb hosting 2400MB Storage, 120GB bandwidth, ssh, $7.95

Regeneration, if they could pull it off, would hopefully produce cells with non-damaged or non-mutated DNA.

Think about TV. Who runs things, the people selling air time for commercials or the station manager who chooses what shows appear and what the format is when the network isn't forcing its agenda? Or even at network level, what directs them - people who sell ads or creative people who think their program could be a hit?

From what I can tell, this example doesn't apply. The Ad people are the ones who run the company when it comes to TV. The quality of programming continues to decline to pandering for whatever will get the most viewship, becuase more viewers means more eyes at commercial break and higher rates commanded for ads in that timeslot. When a major sponsor of a show doesn't like the political/ethical fork a show's storyline takes, does the network tell the writers to edit the script? Or the sponsor to live with the story or find another show?

For insight into the correct answers, check out such movies as The Insider and the currently playing Good Night, and Good Luck .

Think about TV. Who runs things, the people selling air time for commercials or the station manager who chooses what shows appear and what the format is when the network isn't forcing its agenda? Or even at network level, what directs them - people who sell ads or creative people who think their program could be a hit?

From what I can tell, this example doesn't apply. The Ad people are the ones who run the company when it comes to TV. The quality of programming continues to decline to pandering for whatever will get the most viewship, becuase more viewers means more eyes at commercial break and higher rates commanded for ads in that timeslot. When a major sponsor of a show doesn't like the political/ethical fork a show's storyline takes, does the network tell the writers to edit the script? Or the sponsor to live with the story or find another show?

For insight into the correct answers, check out such movies as The Insider and the currently playing Good Night, and Good Luck .

I used to spend my summers on the CFB with the air cadets. Where I had other cadets mock and insult me for being English.

Where the "biligual" flight sections were French only [which was ok because I do speak enough French] and you'd be lucky if an official [e.g. officer or instructor] spoke English at all. Yes, I've spent time in Quebec.

Only a moron believes in a superior culture in a country like Canada. We're a mixed bag of cultures.

What? You think McDonalds is French?

How about that MTV [which is adored in France btw]?

Seen any movies lately?

Played any video games?

Do you use a computer?

A moron thinks their way of life is superior while indulging themselves in the product of many different cultures.

I don't dislike the French. I dislike the vocal Quebecois who are trying to ruin Canada because they can't play nice.

Helloooo????

Canada doesn't deliver, period. We don't have half as good a life as elsewhere in Canada. If Canada is so good, why the fuck do we consistently have more unemployment in Québec than in Ontario, no matter if we have a pederalist or sovereignist government in place???

They amount to no more than a bunch of squabling idiots who have nothing productive to do with their lives so they harass and fight with others.

In the 1960's we had to start bombing mailboxes and federal buildings so our 200-year old concerns had to be considered. Until then, the english didn't do anything ecxept fatten themselves on our backs.

Goldmember.

Don't play the laughing boy. There's only two things I hate in this world. People who are intolerant of other people's cultures and the Dutch.

It does? Not for the Canadians I've talked to, but then they moved south for lower taxes and less regulation (sure fooled them!).

The problem is one of force. Socialism is based upon social interaction by force.

Capitalism is its opposite, non-coercive interaction.

That's all. I prefer to live peacefully, and I recognize the benefits of not being afraid. Great movie, _The Russia House_, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100530/ especially the level of angst. That, and Michelle Pfeiffer, a reason to see it all by itself.

Bob-

You could always do like Gene...

If you don't get that reference, watch the movie. There's this guy named Gene that lives in Jesse and Chester's closet. He comes out every morning an urinates on the plant behind their couch. Funny movie. Watch it. Super Hot Giant Alien.

what amounts to a ban on all new construction because there's simply no more fresh water. They have already exceeded their allotment from available supplies.

This always amuses me, every time some politico starts ranting about conservation.

The fact of the matter is that California has accomplished the last 20+ years of growth through conservation, not through building any additional infrastructure. This is what caused the energy collapse that allowed Arnie to usurp the Governorship, and now it's happening with water. (Didn't anyone *watch* Chinatown?)

The time has come for the powers that be to either a) spend money on infrastructure, or b) halt growth. Sounds like RWC chose answer b).

-Z

Your loaded question implies there's a serious problem with the current system in the U.S, and that's just not the case. Fresh water is cheap and plentiful in the majority of the U.S. and that's not about to change any time soon.

Incorrect. The situation is already changing. And it is going to get worse soon.

Redwood City, CA, -- smack in the middle of one of the most affluent areas in the nation -- currently has what amounts to a ban on all new construction because there's simply no more fresh water. They have already exceeded their allotment from available supplies. Los Angeles has been living on borrowed time for decades, damming up every fresh water supply in sight and draining it dry. Tulare Lake, once measuring roughly 30 by 60 miles across, is now essentially gone. It took government intervention to keep them from completely draining Mono Lake, but they're still slurping a monsterous percentage of the Colorado River. Other scattered communities throughout the continental US are noticing the rivers and lakes are drying up, and underground fresh water aquifers are also becoming harder to find and maintain.

There is a problem. And as long as the population increases, it's only going to get worse. As I see it, there are only two real long-term solutions:

• Mandatory Conservation
  I don't really give a sh*t if you have a six-figure income and can afford a $500/month water bill; the surrounding community that supports you can't sustain it. So mandatory conservation for everyone. That means 1.8 gallon or less toilets, low-flow shower heads, front-loading clothes washers, underground or drip irrigation for gardens. If you're really snazzy, you'll recapture your waste water and re-use it for the garden or the toilets -- or re-purify it yourself and take pressure off the municipal supply.
• Massive Water Grid Project
  We have a nationwide power grid. Why not a nationwide water grid? Some areas of the country get flooded every year, while others suffer drought. With a national network of large pipes, we can ship water from areas that have too much to areas that don't have enough -- use the flood waters from the Midwest and East to relieve water shortages in the West, and vice-versa when the need arises.

Of course, I'm just an insane computer programmer, so what do I know?

By the way, if you want to talk about the (lack of) need for water conservation and be taken seriously, then viewing this is a mandatory prerequisite.

Schwab

Basically, the fact is if you assume interstellar space travel with any vehicle larger than a telephone booth, then you have to assume military superiority as well.

    Are you saying that Bill & Ted could be Earths' saviors?!

I think it is fair to point out that You Got Served is considered to be one of the worst movies ever.

http://www.imdb.com/chart/bottom

#33. [Rating] 2.1 You Got Served (2004) [Votes] 7,604

I didn't think it was that bad though

We've survived thousands of years without tv, tv-remotes, radio, computers, the internet, (mobile) phones, electricity, soap, toilets, toiletpaper, shoes, penicillin and the list goes on and on and on..... so that stuff is all "Massive technological overkill" (if we'd follow your line of thought) because we can survive without it.

Next thing you know, on unwrapping a DVD or your new DVR, it injects&infects you with a RFID chip and makes you a slave to the intruders taking over your life and your living room (once again, just turn on SciFi channel for a depiction - this time it's the biting black stones in Robin Cook's Invasion ;-)).

Just think if they heated the water using a critical-sized lump of plutonium --

Yeah, but slow down if you are a contractor beware when driving on the highway with one of these in the back of your truck. If you hit 88mph you will see some serious shit.

Already been done

That's like Bob from Accounting proving Fermat's Last Theorem.

Or a janitor at MIT solving unsolvable proofs.

You obviously never watched Good Will Hunting.

I think he was asking if the movies were bombs like Gigli, Battlefield Earth: A Saga of the Year 3000, Street Fighter, Armageddon... you get the idea

I pulled those movies from here and here
(The Maxim list loses most of its credibility by rating Dune as one of the worst movies ever.)

If you can't find more than a couple films on this list then you just don't like film. Hollywood might put out a lot of crap, but there are enough diamonds in there to pull out a handfull of movies a year which are really good, not to mention all the fun, crappy filler like action flicks =)

When trying to figure out why some form of entertainment is made in a certain way or made to promote a certain message, the obvious and usually most simple reaction is to follow the money. Who writes the checks to get CSI: Miami made? Jerry Bruckheimer, the number one purveyor of non-cerebral entertainment in the U.S. He's been responsible for such gems as: The Rock, Con Air, Armageddon, Enemy of the State, Coyote Ugly, Kangaroo Jack, and more. Not all his projects are bad; in fact, I really enjoyed Black Hawk Down and Pirates of the Caribbean. However, all his movies are highly dependent on manipulating his viewers' emotions into what he thinks they should feel and rarely do they engage the viewers' intellect. He does this voluntarily and overtly, and his quotes listed on imdb even allude to that philosophy.

All that being said, when someone makes entertainment this way, his product is going to be emotionally engaging (either positively or negatively). Obviously, the write of the article was affected very negatively. On the other hand, i'm sure there were many people who were affected in a way that they did take the viewpoint of the show: that gamers are sheep and game companies will promote murder in order to sell games.

When trying to figure out why some form of entertainment is made in a certain way or made to promote a certain message, the obvious and usually most simple reaction is to follow the money. Who writes the checks to get CSI: Miami made? Jerry Bruckheimer, the number one purveyor of non-cerebral entertainment in the U.S. He's been responsible for such gems as: The Rock, Con Air, Armageddon, Enemy of the State, Coyote Ugly, Kangaroo Jack, and more. Not all his projects are bad; in fact, I really enjoyed Black Hawk Down and Pirates of the Caribbean. However, all his movies are highly dependent on manipulating his viewers' emotions into what he thinks they should feel and rarely do they engage the viewers' intellect. He does this voluntarily and overtly, and his quotes listed on imdb even allude to that philosophy.

All that being said, when someone makes entertainment this way, his product is going to be emotionally engaging (either positively or negatively). Obviously, the write of the article was affected very negatively. On the other hand, i'm sure there were many people who were affected in a way that they did take the viewpoint of the show: that gamers are sheep and game companies will promote murder in order to sell games.

Of course it's dangerous! It's space! Vacuum, radiation, and all that. And yes, unmanned probes do a wonderful job scouting things out (look at the Voyager probes and the Mars rovers). But unless we're planning to colonize Mars with von Neumann robots and allow them to become an advanced civilization bent on destroying humanity (cue Battlestar Galactica theme [the old one]), Mankind is eventually going out there to face the hazards.

This is the same argument they made when the idea of going to the Moon came up. Jerome Wiesner, head of the Presidential Science Advisory Committee recomended to Kennedy that unmanned Moon probes would be more cost effective and just as useful in beating the Russians. But the Russian had been besting us in human spaceflight, not probes (it seems like every probe they tried to send to Mars crashed or missed the planet) and in the end, men went to the Moon, though the Surveyor and Ranger probes went there first to scope things out.

What it comes down to is that there are alway Nervous Nellies who look at the expense and/or danger factor involved in something and go "we shouldn't do that" while simultaneously hiding under their beds. The movement of Mankind to space is inevitable, just as Columbus, Magellan, Cook, the Wright Brothers, and Lindbergh leading us into new frontiers was in their time. You can't stop progress, and anyone who thinks we're going to sit here on our over-crowded, polution-tinged rock and let the robots have all the fun is kidding themselves.

Besides, I want a job as an asteroid rockhound.