I'll just adjust my cynical hat for a sec, and loudly proclaim, "These ^%$#!ing people in Congress consistently vote in favor of large corporations, at the expense of normal people like you and me. A CORPORATION IS NOT A PERSON! Last time I checked, we were by THE PEOPLE for THE PEOPLE, not for the corporations."
This kind of crap just makes me sick.
I am now writing a letter (with a pen, on paper) to send to the committee. I urge EVERYONE ELSE to do the same.
Maybe fans need to lower their expectations a little and just enjoy the movie for what it is.
NO! We should NOT lower our expectations! It's precisely this type of thinking that lets the studios crank out POS after POS with [insert current flavor of the month here] in the title role.
I can't tell you how many times I've had this conversation with one of my friends in the industry:
ME: What are you working on?
FRIEND: Some piece of shit.
ME: Really? What's it about?
FRIEND: It's a rip off of [recently successful movie], starring [currently hot actor] and [producer's girlfriend/mistress/wife].
ME: So it's a piece of shit, and everyone knows that, but they're still spending 20 million dollars on it.
FRIEND: Yep. It'll make it back opening weekend before anyone realizes how shitty it is. Hey, it's starring [currently hot actor], you know!
ME: Sounds great. Let's get drunk.
Studios would love nothing more than for us to keep lowering and lowering our expectations, because it lets them focus on what they really care about: selling merchandise, and "synergy" with advertising tie-ins.
There was a time when movies were considered an art form, and studios were run by creative people who wanted to tell a story, or make a statement. Now, movies are just another excuse to sell crap, feature the actors who have been capriciously identified by Hollywood as "up and coming" (Vin Diesel? Please.) and push more and more product. Creative people are a necessary evil, and we are constantly over ruled by somebody's cousin, whose MBA from Harvard somehow qualifies him to make creative decisions about story structure. News flash: studios are run by multi-national conglomerates, and they can't WAIT for us to lower our expectations and give them our money.
Honestly, what's it going to take for us to say "enough?" Sure, Watchmen may get made, but they'll fuck it up. They're already trying to make Sandman, and I know first hand that the studio wants it to be an action movie. Sandman. Action Movie. Oh, sure, that makes sense. Let's just lower our expectations and go enjoy it.
If I go to enjoy AToC for "What it is," I may as well stay home and watch commercials for Burger King tie-ins and action figures.
I'd write more, but I have to go stand in line, and my Chewbacca suit is already itchin' my ass.
I just got off the phone with Someone Who Knows(tm).
He phoned Jimmy's wife, and asked her how he was, and she laughed out loud. He was in the hospital because of pneumonia, but he is home now.
She put Jimmy on the phone (he told my friend to say hi to me =]) and he said that he's glad to be home from the hospital because he missed his daughter and "the food is much better."
Please let everyone know that rumors of his death are greatly exaggerated.
You know what would be a great way to deal with spammers?
Tie them up, and flog them, Inquisition-style. Every 10th hit or so, you'd stop, and tell them that this flogging isn't really torture, because they specifically asked for the flogging by sending out spam. Then you'd ask them if they'd like to "opt-out" of the flogging. When they said "yes," you could take it to mean "Yes, please flog me some more." Then you could get 5 more guys to come over and flog them too.
As a matter of fact, we could have an army of "Flog-bots" which would seek them out, and bring them to us.
I posted this earlier, but I think messed it up, so I'm reposting it here. Moderate as necessary.
Here's what Arena is:
We capture gameplay in team-based games like Unreal Tournament and Counter-Strike using observer modes. We use flying cameras to follow the players, and we use some static cameras to capture areas which always have lots of action in them (like bombsites in CS or bases in UT.)
Players compete in timed rounds, and win points for kills and capturing objectives (detonating/defusing bombs or capturing flags.) At the end of each show, we count up all the points and the team that wins gets to advance to the next episode, in a ladder-tournament.
I've been telling my producers that we should get some website teams together, so Team Slashdot could play Team K5, or Team FARK could play Team Something Awful.
I've seen two episodes completed, and our third episode's rough cut...and they totally don't suck.
On a more personal note, I wrote at my website this morning:
This is how much of a nerd I am: I didn't care about The Wall Street Journal (I'd link, but those bastards want 50 bucks from me), or Reuters... but I got all excited when I saw the channel I work for in a story on Slashdot. Yep, news for Wil, stuff that matters.
No, more like Rocket Arena 3 3rd person view mode after you die, or even better, Team Fortress demo style arena viewing. Imagine being able to spectate on the interaction between multiple players from a distance, instead of watching the game from a single player's perspective.
This is exactly what my show, Arena, does. (I write the show, and I co-host it with my friend Travis.)
We capture gameplay in team-based games like Unreal Tournament and Counter-Strike using observer modes. We use flying cameras to follow the players, and we use some static cameras to capture areas which always have lots of action in them (like bombsites in CS or bases in UT.)
Players compete in timed rounds, and win points for kills and capturing objectives (detonating/defusing bombs or capturing flags.) At the end of each show, we count up all the points and the team that wins gets to advance to the next episode, in a ladder-tournament.
I've been telling my producers that we should get some website teams together, so Team Slashdot could play Team K5, or Team FARK could play Team Something Awful.
You know, one of the reasons I've always liked PC games better than console games is the ability to get mods, updated rosters, etc., through the Internet.
I mean, would anyone still be buying Half-life if we didn't want it to play CS and DoD?
I wonder if, once we can have Linux on our PS2's, we'll see mods for GTA3 and the like.
Does anyone know if it's possible to release mods for console games?
You know, if there was any REAL competition in broadband, I'd say that this is good, because it'd sink AOLTimeWarner, as all their subscribers flee to alternative providers.
But, since getting broadband internet is a lot like getting cable television, I think that the consumer is going to get screwed big time by this.
Seriously, has deregulation ever benefited consumers? I can't think of a time off the top of my head when it has. It seems to me that it always benefits big business at the consumer's expense, and this is yet another example of the consumer getting screwed by a deregulated conglomerate.
If this software utilized any cycles on my system, it will impact performance causing me expense which will rapidly increase to the $5000 threshold (a cumulative threshold). I granted no access nor privilage to use my systems, to any employee of Brilliant Digital Entertainment Inc. [slashdot.org] so as soon as any command is issued, affecting the behavior of any software installed on my computers, the employees and officers of Brilliant Digital Entertainment will imediately have become guilty of computer crimes under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act as modified by the USA Patriot act.
Thank god you are helping us all in our noble fight against terrorism.
Well, a huge thanks to/. for going along with this. I was able to get FARK on board, as well, and we all had a really good time with this.
I hope everyone takes this in good humor.
Lots of people sent really kind and sweet congratulatory messages, and I actually feel pretty badly for fooling such nice people. All the idiots who thought it was a really good idea to fill my inbox with "Wesley is gonna ruin Enterprise" crap should get a life, and direct any further comments to the nearest brick wall.
I think the greatest highlight of the day came when my mom called Anne, while I was at work.
The conversation went something like this:
Mom: Do you have something to tell me?
Anne: Uh, no.
Mom: Do you have some big news about Wil?
Anne: Oh, that. Uh, what day is today?
Mom: It's Monday!
Anne: Right. And the date is...?
Mom: It's April Fir-- OH! Damn you!
Heh. I guess my dad was all pissed off, stomping around my parent's house because I didn't tell them myself, and he "had to read it on Wil's $%@#!ing website!"
"...Xenu.net gets even better covarage then before Scientology started to fight it. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot..."
Back in the early days of alt.religion.scientology, they would talk about something called "Operation Footbullet".
From the website: "Operation Foot Bullet, a joke at Scientology's expense; the Scientologists who's job it is to "contribute" to ARS often seem to be doing so poorly, it's as if they're shooting themselves in the foot. Humourously named after the seriously criminal Operation Freakout and Operation Snow White."
"...explanation from Google on today's turbulent events."
Slashdot Mirror
Contact info for the committee is here.
(Shoulda put this in my rant. Sorry.)
I'll just adjust my cynical hat for a sec, and loudly proclaim, "These ^%$#!ing people in Congress consistently vote in favor of large corporations, at the expense of normal people like you and me. A CORPORATION IS NOT A PERSON! Last time I checked, we were by THE PEOPLE for THE PEOPLE, not for the corporations."
This kind of crap just makes me sick.
I am now writing a letter (with a pen, on paper) to send to the committee. I urge EVERYONE ELSE to do the same.
I'm starting to think Taco could get his "cult" to commit mass suicide if he could prove that it'd help them rail on MS...
So would we be drinking the Kool*Aid out of a Slackware cup? Or a Debian cup? Or a SuSE cup?
NO! We should NOT lower our expectations! It's precisely this type of thinking that lets the studios crank out POS after POS with [insert current flavor of the month here] in the title role.
I can't tell you how many times I've had this conversation with one of my friends in the industry:
Studios would love nothing more than for us to keep lowering and lowering our expectations, because it lets them focus on what they really care about: selling merchandise, and "synergy" with advertising tie-ins.
There was a time when movies were considered an art form, and studios were run by creative people who wanted to tell a story, or make a statement. Now, movies are just another excuse to sell crap, feature the actors who have been capriciously identified by Hollywood as "up and coming" (Vin Diesel? Please.) and push more and more product. Creative people are a necessary evil, and we are constantly over ruled by somebody's cousin, whose MBA from Harvard somehow qualifies him to make creative decisions about story structure. News flash: studios are run by multi-national conglomerates, and they can't WAIT for us to lower our expectations and give them our money.
Honestly, what's it going to take for us to say "enough?" Sure, Watchmen may get made, but they'll fuck it up. They're already trying to make Sandman, and I know first hand that the studio wants it to be an action movie. Sandman. Action Movie. Oh, sure, that makes sense. Let's just lower our expectations and go enjoy it.
If I go to enjoy AToC for "What it is," I may as well stay home and watch commercials for Burger King tie-ins and action figures.
I'd write more, but I have to go stand in line, and my Chewbacca suit is already itchin' my ass.
Don't worry. Wesley will save us!
I don't think so. Wesley don't play that shit no more, holmes.
I just got off the phone with Someone Who Knows(tm).
He phoned Jimmy's wife, and asked her how he was, and she laughed out loud. He was in the hospital because of pneumonia, but he is home now.
She put Jimmy on the phone (he told my friend to say hi to me =]) and he said that he's glad to be home from the hospital because he missed his daughter and "the food is much better."
Please let everyone know that rumors of his death are greatly exaggerated.
You know what would be a great way to deal with spammers?
Tie them up, and flog them, Inquisition-style. Every 10th hit or so, you'd stop, and tell them that this flogging isn't really torture, because they specifically asked for the flogging by sending out spam. Then you'd ask them if they'd like to "opt-out" of the flogging. When they said "yes," you could take it to mean "Yes, please flog me some more." Then you could get 5 more guys to come over and flog them too.
As a matter of fact, we could have an army of "Flog-bots" which would seek them out, and bring them to us.
Now that's poetic justice.
I thought we were trying to not lone-gunmen-are-dead this review.
Har.
I mean, "propellorheads?"
Yeah, It's P-R-O-P-E-L-L-E-R H-E-A-D-S.
Two words, one "O".
Jeeze.
The thing is, if I go and see Episode II, and it's anywhere near as horrible as Episode I, I won't be faking it when I call in sick.
Here's what Arena is:
We capture gameplay in team-based games like Unreal Tournament and Counter-Strike using observer modes. We use flying cameras to follow the players, and we use some static cameras to capture areas which always have lots of action in them (like bombsites in CS or bases in UT.)
Players compete in timed rounds, and win points for kills and capturing objectives (detonating/defusing bombs or capturing flags.) At the end of each show, we count up all the points and the team that wins gets to advance to the next episode, in a ladder-tournament.
I've been telling my producers that we should get some website teams together, so Team Slashdot could play Team K5, or Team FARK could play Team Something Awful.
I've seen two episodes completed, and our third episode's rough cut...and they totally don't suck.
On a more personal note, I wrote at my website this morning:
No, more like Rocket Arena 3 3rd person view mode after you die, or even better, Team Fortress demo style arena viewing. Imagine being able to spectate on the interaction between multiple players from a distance, instead of watching the game from a single player's perspective.
This is exactly what my show, Arena, does. (I write the show, and I co-host it with my friend Travis.)
We capture gameplay in team-based games like Unreal Tournament and Counter-Strike using observer modes. We use flying cameras to follow the players, and we use some static cameras to capture areas which always have lots of action in them (like bombsites in CS or bases in UT.)
Players compete in timed rounds, and win points for kills and capturing objectives (detonating/defusing bombs or capturing flags.) At the end of each show, we count up all the points and the team that wins gets to advance to the next episode, in a ladder-tournament.
I've been telling my producers that we should get some website teams together, so Team Slashdot could play Team K5, or Team FARK could play Team Something Awful.
You know, one of the reasons I've always liked PC games better than console games is the ability to get mods, updated rosters, etc., through the Internet.
I mean, would anyone still be buying Half-life if we didn't want it to play CS and DoD?
I wonder if, once we can have Linux on our PS2's, we'll see mods for GTA3 and the like.
Does anyone know if it's possible to release mods for console games?
So does this mean we're going to see the Bush administration launch a War On Video Games(tm)?
Biggest deregulation ever...a hell of alot more.
Ah! Yes, you are totally right.
That's why I said "off the top of my head."
Now, for the trip to Miami...can you name another?
:)
You know, if there was any REAL competition in broadband, I'd say that this is good, because it'd sink AOLTimeWarner, as all their subscribers flee to alternative providers.
But, since getting broadband internet is a lot like getting cable television, I think that the consumer is going to get screwed big time by this.
Seriously, has deregulation ever benefited consumers? I can't think of a time off the top of my head when it has. It seems to me that it always benefits big business at the consumer's expense, and this is yet another example of the consumer getting screwed by a deregulated conglomerate.
They ARENT real, they [are] clearly as fake, they are more fun...
Are we still talking about Britney? If so, I agree, completely.
Okay, I'm happy for The Bubble Boy, and everything...but I was really hoping to get some good PR by playing cards with him someday.
I was even going to let him win.
Dammit.
If this software utilized any cycles on my system, it will impact performance causing me expense which will rapidly increase to the $5000 threshold (a cumulative threshold). I granted no access nor privilage to use my systems, to any employee of Brilliant Digital Entertainment Inc. [slashdot.org] so as soon as any command is issued, affecting the behavior of any software installed on my computers, the employees and officers of Brilliant Digital Entertainment will imediately have become guilty of computer crimes under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act as modified by the USA Patriot act.
Thank god you are helping us all in our noble fight against terrorism.
Let's Roll.
Well, a huge thanks to /. for going along with this. I was able to get FARK on board, as well, and we all had a really good time with this.
I hope everyone takes this in good humor.
Lots of people sent really kind and sweet congratulatory messages, and I actually feel pretty badly for fooling such nice people. All the idiots who thought it was a really good idea to fill my inbox with "Wesley is gonna ruin Enterprise" crap should get a life, and direct any further comments to the nearest brick wall.
I think the greatest highlight of the day came when my mom called Anne, while I was at work.
The conversation went something like this:
Mom: Do you have something to tell me?
Anne: Uh, no.
Mom: Do you have some big news about Wil?
Anne: Oh, that. Uh, what day is today?
Mom: It's Monday!
Anne: Right. And the date is...?
Mom: It's April Fir-- OH! Damn you!
Heh. I guess my dad was all pissed off, stomping around my parent's house because I didn't tell them myself, and he "had to read it on Wil's $%@#!ing website!"
Does this mean Wil Wheaton won't be in Enterprise?? Damn!
:)
Dude! You stole my joke! DAMN!
Wait...maybe if I titled this "April Fool's Actor seeks work..."?
Heh. Fun day. Thanks everyone for making it memorable.
This is so sad...thank god there's a new, robust, inexpensive alternative to Linux:WheatoniX!
"...Xenu.net gets even better covarage then before Scientology started to fight it. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot..."
Back in the early days of alt.religion.scientology, they would talk about something called "Operation Footbullet".
From the website: "Operation Foot Bullet, a joke at Scientology's expense; the Scientologists who's job it is to "contribute" to ARS often seem to be doing so poorly, it's as if they're shooting themselves in the foot. Humourously named after the seriously criminal Operation Freakout and Operation Snow White."
"...explanation from Google on today's turbulent events."
Shouldn't that be enturbulent events? Har.
D'oh!
I coulda sworn it was Bill Simon.
Just goes to show you how little difference there is betwixt those damn politicians these days, eh?
Well, except for Bill Simon...he's pretty much Ashcroftian in his insanity.
Hmm...Ashcroftian...I like the sound of that...
I wonder how Spammer^H^H^H^H^H Governor-hopeful Bill Simon feels about this?
I wonder if we could bring class action against his campaign?