Re: [scifinoir2] Re: Right Wing-nuts see Machete as harbinger of race war
Yep that dude is more than a few slices short of a loaf. he's the biggest conspiracy nut on the planet I am almost certain. There's a great documentary of Alex Jones trying to catch some secret society in the act of some kind of nefarious world controlling deed at an annual convention in the woods. It's great because he never catches anyone and because he never gives inch in his conspiracy dogma. B --- On Tue, 9/7/10, Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com wrote: From: Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Re: Right Wing-nuts see Machete as harbinger of race war To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Tuesday, September 7, 2010, 8:17 AM First off this should come with a SPOILER ALERT. Secondly, Alex Jones is a right winged wack job. On Tue, Sep 7, 2010 at 6:08 AM, Kelwyn ravena...@yahoo.com wrote: Box Office Mojo says 60% of Machete's audience was Hispanic. I don't believe I have ever heard of that particular demographic breakdown before. I also wonder how they came to that determination. ~rave? --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, Kelwyn ravena...@... wrote: http://www.infowars.com/machete-producers-lied-about-racial-violence/ `Machete' producers lied about racist bloodbath Machete `race war' confirmed as tax rebates still in question for anti-Texas, pro-immigration film Aaron Dykes Alex Jones Prison Planet.com Sunday, September 5, 2010 `Machete' reached the #3 spot at the box office opening weekend. But after viewing the film, it is clear that its producers lied about the extent of the film's racial message, which includes vulgar atrocities, including the killing of a pregnant woman attempting to cross the border during one of the opening scenes. This deception about the film's message could bring its tax incentives, worth millions in production costs, into question. When Alex Jones expressed concern in May that a leaked script portrayed white characters as vehemently racist and wantonly murderous, or that a Latino mob is roused to take on border vigilantes in racial conflict, director Rodriguez assured Ain't It Cool News, that he'd `had too much tequila,' and that those types of scenes wouldn't make it to the final edited version. Producer Elizabeth Avellan went on the attack just before the release, defending the tax incentives `Machete' had practically already been assured. Avellan denounced the `uproar over the film' as unfounded and unnecessary, stating there was `no reason for a denial of incentives': A lot of people made up a lot of stuff in terms of what the movie is about and who the bad guy is, she said. There were a lot of things that people misconstrued … without even knowing the script and pretending they have a script. Now there is no doubt. Everything Jones quoted from the script was on screen in one form or another– and its tone was clear: opposition to illegal immigration is tantamount to murder, white racism and vile Machiavellian scheming. One scene that was excised from the script repeated the one-sided demonization of the Freedom Force vigilantes, who were to murder a young child on the border at the end. However, that ending was left behind for a different sequence altogether. Reviewers like `Big Hollywood' panned the film as `Dull, Convoluted, Racist and Anti-American,' criticizing that: 'Machete' offers no middle ground, no reasonable, non-racist position against wide open borders for those fleeing from what one character describes as the personal hell that is Mexico. Who the illegals fight against on screen is one thing. What their words mean is altogether something else. That's the shell game Rodriguez plays and his racially divisive messaging goes way beyond the normal cinematic political posturing and button-pushing. And you will never see a more stereotypically racist portrayal of Southerners, who, in an obvious reference to the border Minute Men, are not only played for cheap laughs but portrayed as sub-human animals who hunt and murder illegals – kill a helpless pregnant woman and say Welcome to America. Rodriguez crew played everyone as fools, knowing full well what the film would contain. Does Texas want to subsidize the films of Robert Rodriguez and continue to give him a platform to spew divisive racially-tinted trash oriented at Hispanics and attempting to radicalize their views? Rodriguez is the face of the Texas Film Commission's tax incentives program, and has been virtually guaranteed up to $60 million in rebate funding for a package of films. Blood-soaked and dripping with hate It wasn't the extreme levels of violence or its nudity that made this film so offensive; it was the one-sided approval of Hispanic revenge killings while uniformly demonizing the actions of the white groups involved. Though the head Mexican drug lord was the ultimate enemy, he was served
Re: [scifinoir2] Finally Saw Inception
I probably didnt communicate very well that I liked it but didnt think it lived up even remotely to the hype. I was mostly disappointed the speculative fiction aspects of the film were mostly just window dressing. B --- On Sun, 9/5/10, Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.net wrote: From: Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.net Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Finally Saw Inception To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Sunday, September 5, 2010, 12:11 AM I plan to see it later today, having been late to the party as well. I'm looking forward to it, based on your take, to compare against the hype. - Original Message - From: Bosco Bosco ironpi...@yahoo.com To: Sci Fi Noir scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Saturday, September 4, 2010 11:44:59 PM Subject: [scifinoir2] Finally Saw Inception Lots of cool visual effects and technical complexities. It turns out the tech complexities are mostly irrelevant. In fact the entire dreaming and reality part of the story is pretty much pointless. It's a basically a sci fi twist on some really old themes. The sci fi part is really fun but those old themes have been conquered by better men with better skills both in director's chair and in front of the camera. I would hazard a guess that beyond some simple nostalgia in a few years no one will remember this one or care about it. It won't hold up. You can boil the entire movie down to father issues and regret issues and both have been done better and more intelligently. I know I'm late to the party and I'm clearly old because I don't find the hype accurate but I figured I would weigh in anyway Bosco
[scifinoir2] Finally Saw Inception
Lots of cool visual effects and technical complexities. It turns out the tech complexities are mostly irrelevant. In fact the entire dreaming and reality part of the story is pretty much pointless. It's a basically a sci fi twist on some really old themes. The sci fi part is really fun but those old themes have been conquered by better men with better skills both in director's chair and in front of the camera. I would hazard a guess that beyond some simple nostalgia in a few years no one will remember this one or care about it. It won't hold up. You can boil the entire movie down to father issues and regret issues and both have been done better and more intelligently. I know I'm late to the party and I'm clearly old because I don't find the hype accurate but I figured I would weigh in anyway Bosco
Re: [scifinoir2] Steampunks: The New Goth?
I'm not sure I understand what you're saying? Could you reiterate? B --- On Mon, 8/30/10, Martin Baxter martinbaxt...@gmail.com wrote: From: Martin Baxter martinbaxt...@gmail.com Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Steampunks: The New Goth? To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Monday, August 30, 2010, 5:27 AM I see steampunk as more of a presence than Goth. Steampunk came out of the SF genre, and it's far more inclusive. On Sun, Aug 29, 2010 at 8:57 PM, Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com wrote: Steampunks: The New Goth? May 12, 2008 So maybe im late on this one but just found out about this trend/movement/identity called Steampunks. They basically look superGangs of New York, dressing in antique clothes, buying antique objects and for hardcore Steampunks– they redesign new technology like iPhones (wrapped in burnished brass) or Mac computers (modify keyboards with old cash register buttons and such), etc. I love the aesthetic and revival of old technology, but these peops claim they are the “new goth”. Let me tell you something Steampunkers, no one should ever want to be the new goth! Goth kids suck… if you’re still in Highschool and think its super OG, roll with it, but the day you graduate you better burn up your Wednesday Adams’ wardrobe because there’s nothing more un-original or stylish than turning in your personal identity for some non-mainstream outfit subscription (pent-up goth anger since 96′). Steampunk Moves Between 2 Worlds Robert Wright for The New York Times From left, Deacon Boondini, the Great Gatsby and Giovanni James of the James Gang share a vision with the designer Alexander McQueen. More Photos FACEBOOK TWITTER RECOMMEND SIGN IN TO E-MAIL OR SAVE THIS PRINT REPRINTS SHARE By RUTH LA FERLA Published: May 8, 2008 “MEET Showtime,” said Giovanni James, a musician, magician and inventor of sorts, introducing his prized dove, who occupies a spacious cage in Mr. James’s apartment in Midtown Manhattan. Showtime is integral to Mr. James’s magic act and to his décor, a sepia-tone universe straight out of the gaslight era. Multimedia Slide Show Steampunk Enlarge This Image Robert Wright for The New York Times The structured clothing of the steampunk movement. More Photos » The lead singer of a neovaudevillian performance troupe called the James Gang, Mr. James has assembled his universe from oddly assorted props and castoffs: a gramophone with a crank and velvet turntable, an old wooden icebox and a wardrobe rack made from brass pipes that were ballet bars in a previous incarnation. Yes, he owns a flat-screen television, but he has modified it with a burlap frame. He uses an iPhone, but it is encased in burnished brass. Even his clothing — an unlikely fusion of current and neo-Edwardian pieces (polo shirt, gentleman’s waistcoat, paisley bow tie), not unlike those he plans to sell this summer at his own Manhattan haberdashery — is an expression of his keenly romantic worldview. It is also the vision of steampunk, a subculture that is the aesthetic expression of a time-traveling fantasy world, one that embraces music, film, design and now fashion, all inspired by the extravagantly inventive age of dirigibles and steam locomotives, brass diving bells and jar-shaped protosubmarines. First appearing in the late 1980s and early ’90s, steampunk has picked up momentum in recent months, making a transition from what used to be mainly a literary taste to a Web-propagated way of life. To some, “steampunk” is a catchall term, a concept in search of a visual identity. “To me, it’s essentially the intersection of technology and romance,” said Jake von Slatt, a designer in Boston and the proprietor of the Steampunk Workshop (steampunkworkshop.com), where he exhibits such curiosities as a computer furnished with a brass-frame monitor and vintage typewriter keys. That definition is loose enough to accommodate a stew of influences, including the streamlined retro-futurism of Flash Gordon and Japanese animation with its goggle-wearing hackers, the postapocalyptic scavenger style of “Mad Max,” and vaudeville, burlesque and the structured gentility of the Victorian age. In aggregate, steampunk is a trend that is rapidly outgrowing niche status. “There seems to be this sort of perfect storm of interest in steampunk right now,” Mr. von Slatt said. “If you go to Google Trends and track the number of times it is mentioned, the curve is almost algorithmic from a year and a half ago.” (At this writing, Google cites 1.9 million references.) “Part of the reason it seems so popular is the very difficulty of pinning down what it is,” Mr. von Slatt added. “That’s a marketer’s dream.”Devotees of the culture read Jules Verne and H. G. Wells, as well as more recent speculative fiction by William Gibson, James P. Blaylock and Paul Di Filippo, the
Re: [scifinoir2] Steampunks: The New Goth?
There are a lot of different goth folks out there and the two styles, goth and steampunk tend to overlap. I spend some time among the goth folks and I see people of all sizes shapes and colors represented regularly. We definitely have a regular contingent of people of color in the Austin Goth Scene. On the goth side, because it's a music based subculture, the music probably filters out more than anything. What I mean is, if you don't like goth music, you probably are less likely to be interested in the fashion or other aspects. Steampunk on the other hand is a literary based subculture and while the literature functions as a filter, it probably does so to a lesser degree. That's my thoughts anyway --- On Mon, 8/30/10, Martin Baxter martinbaxt...@gmail.com wrote: From: Martin Baxter martinbaxt...@gmail.com Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Steampunks: The New Goth? To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Monday, August 30, 2010, 11:04 AM I'll try, B. Maybe it's because I know nothing of the Goth movement, aside from seeing the results walking through Atlanta, but Goth seems to be just for a select set of people (usually teens to early twenties), while I've seen people of all ages in steampunk gear. Literally. And I'm trying to avoid bringing in a racial component, but... I have yet to see a person of color in Goth. One Asian girl, but that's it. On Mon, Aug 30, 2010 at 11:01 AM, Bosco Bosco ironpi...@yahoo.com wrote: I'm not sure I understand what you're saying? Could you reiterate? B --- On Mon, 8/30/10, Martin Baxter martinbaxt...@gmail.com wrote: From: Martin Baxter martinbaxt...@gmail.com Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Steampunks: The New Goth? To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Monday, August 30, 2010, 5:27 AM I see steampunk as more of a presence than Goth. Steampunk came out of the SF genre, and it's far more inclusive. On Sun, Aug 29, 2010 at 8:57 PM, Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com wrote: Steampunks: The New Goth? May 12, 2008 So maybe im late on this one but just found out about this trend/movement/identity called Steampunks. They basically look superGangs of New York, dressing in antique clothes, buying antique objects and for hardcore Steampunks– they redesign new technology like iPhones (wrapped in burnished brass) or Mac computers (modify keyboards with old cash register buttons and such), etc. I love the aesthetic and revival of old technology, but these peops claim they are the “new goth”. Let me tell you something Steampunkers, no one should ever want to be the new goth! Goth kids suck… if you’re still in Highschool and think its super OG, roll with it, but the day you graduate you better burn up your Wednesday Adams’ wardrobe because there’s nothing more un-original or stylish than turning in your personal identity for some non-mainstream outfit subscription (pent-up goth anger since 96′). Steampunk Moves Between 2 Worlds Robert Wright for The New York Times From left, Deacon Boondini, the Great Gatsby and Giovanni James of the James Gang share a vision with the designer Alexander McQueen. More Photos FACEBOOK TWITTER RECOMMEND SIGN IN TO E-MAIL OR SAVE THIS PRINT REPRINTS SHARE By RUTH LA FERLA Published: May 8, 2008 “MEET Showtime,” said Giovanni James, a musician, magician and inventor of sorts, introducing his prized dove, who occupies a spacious cage in Mr. James’s apartment in Midtown Manhattan. Showtime is integral to Mr. James’s magic act and to his décor, a sepia-tone universe straight out of the gaslight era. Multimedia Slide Show Steampunk Enlarge This Image Robert Wright for The New York Times The structured clothing of the steampunk movement. More Photos » The lead singer of a neovaudevillian performance troupe called the James Gang, Mr. James has assembled his universe from oddly assorted props and castoffs: a gramophone with a crank and velvet turntable, an old wooden icebox and a wardrobe rack made from brass pipes that were ballet bars in a previous incarnation. Yes, he owns a flat-screen television, but he has modified it with a burlap frame. He uses an iPhone, but it is encased in burnished brass. Even his clothing — an unlikely fusion of current and neo-Edwardian pieces (polo shirt, gentleman’s waistcoat, paisley bow tie), not unlike those he plans to sell this summer at his own Manhattan haberdashery — is an expression of his keenly romantic worldview. It is also the vision of steampunk, a subculture that is the aesthetic expression of a time-traveling fantasy world, one that embraces music, film, design and now fashion, all inspired by the extravagantly inventive age of dirigibles and steam locomotives, brass diving bells and jar-shaped protosubmarines. First appearing in the late
Re: [scifinoir2] Apple applies for patent to kill jailbroken devices
Pardon my language but F*(K Apple They turned into a crappier greedier version of microsoft. I wanna buy one and jail break it just to piss them off. If I didnt have to make them profit to do it, I probably would. B --- On Tue, 8/24/10, Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com wrote: From: Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Apple applies for patent to kill jailbroken devices To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Tuesday, August 24, 2010, 5:50 PM Hmm I don't remember that story but that seems to taunt the bear. Apple will win the first battle on this but then the hackers will win the war. On Tue, Aug 24, 2010 at 3:45 AM, Martin Baxter martinbaxt...@gmail.com wrote: Did I ever mention the story I read in Wired, about the guy who took an iPad into an Apple Store and used it to jailbreak his iPhone, with the store's own Wi-Fi? On Mon, Aug 23, 2010 at 11:04 PM, Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com wrote: Apple applies for patent to kill jailbroken devices by Steven Musil Font size Print E-mail Share 240 comments 7 A browser-based iPhone 4 jailbreak was released this summer, just days after the U.S. Copyright Office ruled that such bypasses were legal.(Credit: Steven Musil/CNET) Apple is apparently ramping up its battle to prevent iPhoneand iPod owners from jailbreaking their devices. The company has applied for a patent, titled Systems and Methods for Identifying Unauthorized Users of an Electronic Device, that covers a series of security measures to automatically protect devices from thieves and other unauthorized users. Unauthorized users apparently applies to those who engage in jailbreaking, which allows devices to run apps not approved by the company producing the operating system--such as Apple, the main target of such bypasses. The application, which was filed in February 2009 and published Thursday, describes measures to identify particular activities that may indicate suspicious behavior, so that safety measures can be taken to restrict the device's functions. Those activities include the hacking, jailbreaking, unlocking, or removal of a SIM card, according to the application. Apple also intends to send warnings to owners via e-mail or text message when such activity is detected. The application also describes a variety of measures that could be used to help identify the unauthorized user, including the activation of a camera that could capture and geotag the device's surroundings, and perhaps current user, and transmit that information to a remote device: In some embodiments, an unauthorized user can be detected by comparing the identity of the current user to the identities of authorized users of the electronic device. For example, a photograph of the current user can be taken, a recording of the current user's voice can be recorded, the heartbeat of the current user can be recorded, or any combination of the above. The photograph, recording, or heartbeat can be compared, respectively, to a photograph, recording, or heartbeat of authorized users of the electronic device to determine whether they match. If they do not match, the current user can be detected as an unauthorized user. When unauthorized use has been detected, access to particular applications can be restricted, access to sensitive information can be restricted, sensitive information can be erased from the electronic device..., the application states, effectively wiping and bricking the device. Apple representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In July, U.S. Copyright Office ruled that bypassing a manufacturer's protection mechanisms to allow handsets to execute software applications no longer violates federal copyright law. However, while the U.S. Copyright Office has declared the software legal, Apple has repeatedly discouraged users from loading such a bypass, reminding them that doing so will void their device's warranty. As we've said before, the vast majority of customers do not jailbreak their iPhones as this can violate the warranty and can cause the iPhone to become unstable and not work reliably, Apple had said in a statement in response to the ruling. Steven Musil is the night news editor at CNET News. Before joining CNET News in 2000, Steven spent 10 years at various Bay Area newspapers. E-mail Steven. -- Celebrating 10 years of bringing diversity to perversity! Mahogany at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mahogany_pleasures_of_darkness/ -- If all the world's a stage and we are merely players, who the bloody hell wrote the script? -- Charles E Grant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQUxw9aUVik -- Celebrating 10 years of bringing diversity to perversity! Mahogany at:
Re: [scifinoir2] Re: Barnes and Noble bites the dust
Plus when bookpacalypse comes from the retail meltdown there will be a shortage of new and interesting books in the library anyway. Bosco --- On Thu, 8/19/10, Kelwyn ravena...@yahoo.com wrote: From: Kelwyn ravena...@yahoo.com Subject: [scifinoir2] Re: Barnes and Noble bites the dust To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Thursday, August 19, 2010, 1:11 PM The city of milwaukee has a wonderful library system. Our Central Library downtown is a marble floor and collumned cathedral of books - but current urban fiscal realities have put our libraries at peril. Staffing and hours have been cut. Neighborhood libraries will be closed. ~(no) rave! --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, angelababycat asrobin...@... wrote: I still like paper books too. But even if the book store market falls apart, there will be one last refuge: the public library. After decades of neglect, we have 2 new BEAUTIFUL libraries in walking distance oAA1a1u1 in DC. They are busy with people of all walks. The librarians are far more helpful than clerks at a store. They couldn't print a list of top sci-fi books either. But because they're profesionals and perhaps tickled to see a sistah in the psuedo-hood looking for such titles, they gathered around the computer and really tried to help me. Plus, they now have on-line accounts for card holders, so you get reminders when your books are due, when your special orders are in, etc. And my daughter loves picking out as many books as she wants to take home. So maybe the fall of the mega book store will lead to the revitalization of the old fashioned neighborhood library where we can avoid the temptation of $5.00 mocha coffee messes, and get our hands on Charles' 1,000 books...for free. Angela --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, B Smith daikaiju66@ wrote: I miss that as well. I can't do the e-book thing. Comic books work for me in that format but I love the experience of holding and reading a printed book. The Kindle, Nook, I-pad, etc. can't seem to replicate it for me. --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, Martin Baxter martinbaxter7@ wrote: I admit to missing that as well, Charles, sitting around and chatting. Didn't get to do it often, with the demands of work, though. On Thu, Aug 19, 2010 at 8:28 AM, Charles Sheehan-Miles charles@ wrote: I made the comment to my wife a couple weeks ago that I'd be screwed if we had any sort of apocalypse (or lengthy power outage for that matter). After three moves in one year (and another one coming up in a few weeks), we got tired of lugging around dozens of boxes of books from state to state. After the last move, I donated more than a 1000 books to the local library, and replaced most of them with ebooks. I carry my library around in my pocket now, which is great… but when the battery dies, it really sucks. I have mixed feelings about Barnes Noble. I was a regular at Oxford Books in Atlanta for many years, met my wife there, got married in the coffee shop. Not long after BN opened up in Buckhead, Oxford started careening toward bankruptcy, due to a combination of bad management, too much debt, and sudden intense competition from a national chain. BN killed off many many independent bookstores, and now ironically is being killed off by virtual competition. Not entirely sure how I feel about that, because I'd give a lot to be able to sit in the coffee shop at Oxford again chatting with the other regulars late into the night. From: Martin Baxter martinbaxter7@ Reply-To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Thu, 19 Aug 2010 06:16:31 -0400 To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Barnes and Noble bites the dust My hunch is that BN never really embraced the Internet or e-books, tied as it was to the old-fashioned world of physical books and stores. Personally, rave, I think that just might be why I like BN so much. I'm not big on e-books at all (I picked up a batch over the past few weeks, only because it was the only way I could get the books, as they're unavailable in print. E-books, for all the marvel they are, are dependent on tech to be viewable. If you've got a problem with your Kindle or iPhone or computer, you're SOL. Books don't break down, even when they fall apart. On Wed, Aug 18, 2010 at 8:35 PM, Kelwyn ravenadal@ wrote: http://finance.yahoo.com/career-work/article/110381/clearance-sale-barnes-noble-didnt-evolve-enough?mod=career-leadership How did Barnes Noble (NYSE: BKS - News) fall so far so fast? The giant bookstore chain, whose superstores once struck fear into
Re: [scifinoir2] Barnes and Noble bites the dust
First off, being up for sale is not necessarily biting the dust. It looks grim but they aint corpsified just yet. Many possible options exist until the end is official. What's more important to note and the author of the article failed to realize is that the loss of barnes and noble will be devastating to the publishing industry in general. If Borders follows suit, and the total loss of Borders both more likely and more imminent if the failure rumors are true, I can't even begin to describe how terrible this will be. Assuming that BN and Borders together make up around 50% of the book billing in this country, the loss of revenues to publishers will be crippling to fatal to loads and loads of companies. ( I don't really know what they're combined market share is but I bet it's more than 50%.) If we lose two of the three biggest book retail outlets in this country, the book landscape will be different a lot sooner than we expected. Also, the e-reader market will lose a major player which is no bright spot.I am a manager at the biggest indy book store in the state of Texas and I can say with certainty this loss is not good for the book business. If you are a reader, whether you shop at a major chain or not, you are gonna be seriously negatively affected sooner than later. If you are a published author, get ready for the wordpocalypse. It's coming Bosco --- On Wed, 8/18/10, Kelwyn ravena...@yahoo.com wrote: From: Kelwyn ravena...@yahoo.com Subject: [scifinoir2] Barnes and Noble bites the dust To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Wednesday, August 18, 2010, 7:35 PM http://finance.yahoo.com/career-work/article/110381/clearance-sale-barnes-noble-didnt-evolve-enough?mod=career-leadership How did Barnes Noble (NYSE: BKS - News) fall so far so fast? The giant bookstore chain, whose superstores once struck fear into the hearts of independent booksellers everywhere, put itself up for sale this month, rendering it the corporate equivalent of the remaindered books it sells at a discount. The company said it made the move because its shares are undervalued, but to me there was an air of desperation about it. The simple explanation for Barnes Noble's decline is the Internet, which spawned Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN - News), e-readers and digital books. But that didn't have to be the end for BN, which had a dominant market position and should have out-Amazoned Amazon, leveraging its brand and innovating when it began marketing and selling books online. I know exactly when BN lost me as a customer. Some years ago, to compete with Amazon, BN began offering free same-day delivery in Manhattan if you placed your order over the Internet by 11 a.m. I did so several times -- and not once did the books arrive when promised. Everything I have ordered from Amazon has arrived on time or earlier. Then came Amazon's game-changing Kindle, and instant delivery. Nothing I've read about BN's belated rival Nook has tempted me to try it. My hunch is that BN never really embraced the Internet or e-books, tied as it was to the old-fashioned world of physical books and stores. As BN focused on managing decline, a much more nimble Amazon could concentrate exclusively on the new world it was forming. BN needed to destroy its business model to prevail. Now it is probably too late. There is a lesson for all businesses here.
Re: [scifinoir2] Gary Kurtz Speaks Bluntly About George Lucas
I dont even know where to begin. At least I know I'm right. Everything post Empire has been designed to maximize merch sales rather than make great movies. B --- On Tue, 8/17/10, Martin Baxter martinbaxt...@gmail.com wrote: From: Martin Baxter martinbaxt...@gmail.com Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Gary Kurtz Speaks Bluntly About George Lucas To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Tuesday, August 17, 2010, 8:05 AM Keith, I would've loved to have seen Kurtz's proposed ending made real. I've also read that the late SF author Leigh Brackett, who's listed as a co-writer on Empire, originally had Luke and Leia as NOT being brother and sister, and that Luke had a twin sister somewhere out there, whom Han was supposed to hook up with, allowing Luke and Leia to go off into the sunset together. Lucas himself kiboshed that, but left in the kissing scenes. Draw your own conclusions there... On Tue, Aug 17, 2010 at 8:56 AM, Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.net wrote: Right. The online world used to be called Expanded Universe, but I can't find that particular site anymore. Now it's unto Databank or something. But yeah, all the aftermath stories show just how difficult it was to change the course of the Empire. There were battles a-plenty left. Indeed, often there can be more and more painful fighting after the evil leaders are gone. And the relatively small number of Jedi would be hard tasked to restore a moral center to the galaxy entire as they struggled to rebuild their Order and make sure their own don't give in to temptation again. For example, I do recall reading that the Emperor lived on in that shade form that Yodi and Obi-Wan used, and continued to wreak his evil influence on people. I know Luke is forced in a way to give in to the Dark Side, and I believe either his son or his nephew also fell to the Darkness for a while. Realistically, the ending Kurtz mentions, with Leia overwhelmed by the work to be done, and Luke walking away to contemplate a difficult future, would have been better. I'm surprised someone hasn't created a fan film where, right in the middle of the Ewok Lua, a force of ships loyal to the Empire didn't show up and bomb the place. - Original Message - From: Martin Baxter martinbaxt...@gmail.com To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Tuesday, August 17, 2010 6:28:56 AM Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Gary Kurtz Speaks Bluntly About George Lucas Another spot-on analysis, Keith. Reminds me of a fantasy novel that came out a few years ago (the name of which escapes me), considering what happens after the happy ending, that there's the management and clean-up aspects yet to be done. And I've read a few of the SW novels, enough to see the strengthening foundation that been laid for the SWverse. One batch in particular regards the Mandalorians (the clones of Jango Fett that chose not to be Stormtroopers, packed up and left for Mandalor). They developed their own unique culture, and even a language unlike any in the remnants of the Empire. On Mon, Aug 16, 2010 at 10:19 PM, Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.net wrote: The below from the interview really resonates with me. One problem i always had with Return of the Jedi was the ending. I kept thinking that just because the second Death Star was destroyed, and Vader and the Emperor dead, that only meant the work was beginning. After all, there was a huge interstellar apparatus in place that had aided and been complicit with the Empire's depredations. This system included the rule of whole solar systems, a corrupt Senate, leaders on hundreds of worlds loyal to the Empire that gave them money and power, a military dedicated to the Empire, and a dearth of Jedi to enforce the principles of the Old Republic. In short, the work was indeed just beginning, and tackling the task of a galaxy-wide makeover of a totalitarian state into a democratic one again would be a monumental task. Look at how the former Soviet Union is already struggling mightily with autocratic elements fighting with its democratic aspirations. They have a Prime Minister who was an autocratic president who's basically their strong man. So the Ewok lua as he put it, was indeed premature. I think that if you read some of the books, and study the Expanded Universe online, you see more mature, thoughtful, and in-depth treatments that handle that world a lot better than the kid- and crowd-pleasing movies. - Original Message - From: Martin Baxter martinbaxt...@gmail.com To: SciFiNoir2 scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Sunday, August 15, 2010 5:01:40 PM Subject: [scifinoir2] Gary Kurtz Speaks Bluntly About George Lucas George Lucas, Mercenary Bastich First Class? You betcha, according to Kurtz...
Re: [scifinoir2] Lucas Announces Star Wars Blu-ray
Thanks. I try. I love writing. Too bad there's no money in it and loads and loads of soul wrenching work. Jar Jar wasn't the big issue for me, I just recall him being the first sign that it was time to insert the fork in the corpse of the legacy. The list of things that is wrong actually starts with Return of the Jedi and starts with the ewoks. It goes downhill from there. Revenge of the Sith was for me the deepest insult. The bad acting, the crappy direction, the totally unbelievable final conversion from Anakin to Vader with all it's sophomoric character motivation was a full and total betrayal. Total bummer. I spend a lot of time wishing someone would do it better. I'll bet it gets done. I hope in my life time. The fact that hollywood is stuck in recycle mode actual gives me hope for this one. --- On Mon, 8/16/10, Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.net wrote: From: Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.net Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Lucas Announces Star Wars Blu-ray To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Monday, August 16, 2010, 9:47 AM This was a really well written little e-mail. You managed to convey your feelings very vividly. I agree and felt the same way. Unlike Kurtz, i think prequels can be assume ideas. I love backstories, and like you, thought the backstory of the Star Wars universe would be great. And like you, I sat in the theatre and was stunned at what I saw. I hated that the entire first movie was wasted on Baby Vader, especially because the young actor was horrible! That Pod race--WTF? Midchlorians??? Jar Jar was the least of my issues. And note how with the first prequel movie, Lucas spent most of the film killing legions of robots, but very view living beings died. it all showed how he'd moved from films that kids and families could enjoy, but that still felt adult, to really kiddie level films, that reminded me of nothing so much as cartoons like G.I. Joe, where no one died. The body count went up in Revenge of the Sith, but by then so much damage had been done... - Original Message - From: Bosco Bosco ironpi...@yahoo.com To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Sunday, August 15, 2010 11:44:00 PM Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Lucas Announces Star Wars Blu-ray I'm curious. I have a really strong reaction to every film, post empire. The prequels are particularly hard for me because I had been waiting for that story to be told from the minute I became aware that it would be. I dont know exactly when it was but sometime around 12 or 13 probably after seeing Empire but before Jedi I began to hear talk about Lucas telling the backstory at some point. I had waited my entire life, multiple decades, to experience the Anakin to Vader story. Sometime around the moment JarJar Binks appeared on screen, I realized I was gonna get burned. Somehow, I just couldnt let go, like a mentally debilitated rubbernecker at a fenderbender, I watched the entire train wreck unfold. Nothing has ever been as artistically devastating or disappointing. What Lucas did to his legacy is criminal. What he did to the fans is worse. There are moments where I actually wish I had never seen any of it. B --- On Sun, 8/15/10, Martin Baxter martinbaxt...@gmail.com wrote: From: Martin Baxter martinbaxt...@gmail.com Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Lucas Announces Star Wars Blu-ray To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Sunday, August 15, 2010, 2:48 PM Bosco, I'm sending this to a long-time SW fan, to get a reaction to this. I'll let you know what it is. On Sun, Aug 15, 2010 at 1:19 PM, Bosco Bosco ironpi...@yahoo.com wrote: The only Star Wars announcement I want to hear is that George Lucas has hired somebody competent like Peter Jackson or Christopher Nolan or hell, anyone else, to rewrite, redirect and remake from scratch the entire saga from start to finish. Then and only then is there a shot at redemption for his utter and complete destruction of what should have been the greatest science fiction legacy in history. Bosco --- On Sun, 8/15/10, Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.net wrote: From: Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.net Subject: [scifinoir2] Lucas Announces Star Wars Blu-ray To: scifinoir2 scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Sunday, August 15, 2010, 12:47 AM This deleted scene with Vader reaching out to Luke seems pretty cool. It sounds as if it has more of the grim feeling of The Empire Strikes Back. I don't have a Blu-Ray player yet, but not sure I'd buy this even if I did. I have at least two versions Lucas has released over the years--and I'm not even an ardent fan. I wonder how many different versions UPF's (Ultra Passionate Fans) might have? * http://bluray.ign.com/articles/111/1112481p1.html Lucas
Re: [scifinoir2] Lucas Announces Star Wars Blu-ray
Agreed, that scene should have been so powerful it compared with any of the greatest classic moments in film. We should remember that in the way we remember Struther Martin saying, What we have here is a failure to communicate, or Sydney Poitier's line from In The Heat Of The Night: They call me Mr. Tibbs. It should have been epic but instead it was, to quote the hipster kids, an epic fail. I got stop belaboring this. It's making me totally bummed out again. Bosco --- On Mon, 8/16/10, Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.net wrote: From: Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.net Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Lucas Announces Star Wars Blu-ray To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Monday, August 16, 2010, 7:26 PM I had a former co-worker who said that Anakin vacillated between a psycho and a bratty teen. I mean, in a movie about the end of a way of life and huge battles of good and evil, you get lines like him whining It's Obi-Wan's fault! just like a jealous teen. Even the climactic battle, where he's lying on the beach with his legs cut off, he screams I hate you! like a petulant child. The *only* thing even coming close to saving that scene is McGregor's acting ability. His anguished You were the Chosen One! is really good. - Original Message - From: Bosco Bosco ironpi...@yahoo.com To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Monday, August 16, 2010 6:19:25 PM Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Lucas Announces Star Wars Blu-ray I also found Anakin's sense of betrayal by Padme to be both unbelievable and completely under developed. There has to be more time, reason and motivation between I'm doing what I am doing because I fear your loss to I'm so hurt I want you dead. I just realized that Sith is poorly constructed melodrama. I wonder why it took me so long. It reminds me of Dudley Do Right cartoons. Bosco --- On Mon, 8/16/10, Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.net wrote: From: Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.net Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Lucas Announces Star Wars Blu-ray To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Monday, August 16, 2010, 10:51 AM I agree. I too felt the shift with Return of the Jedi. I had issues with a lot in that movie. for one, had I written it, there's no way I'd have had Vader change so quickly. When he first takes Luke to the Emperor, he says he is your Master, my son, then after a hurt Luke is taken off, Vader wanders over to a railing and looks out into the night as if he feels bad! I remember in the theatre saying What the hell? Why is he so maudlin all of a sudden?. I kept thinking there had to have been prior interactions between Vader and Luke. Else, his quick influx of paternal attachment just made no sense. I also felt the climactic scene where Vader attacked the Emperor wasn't earned. Again, i just didn't see enough time given to justify that. I mean, Vader was a guy who had killed children, tried to kill his Master, and now all of a sudden he's sentimental?? And Sith, I completely agree. He watches Mace defeated, then drops to his knees and swears allegiance? Completely illogical! I still can't get how the Sith can so easily mask their true selves around the Jedi either. The Emperor and Anakin were all but twirling their moustaches, and Yoda, Mace, and the rest couldn't sense that at all? WTF? Let's not even start about how Anakin could have a suite apartment with his pregnant wife right under the Jedi's noses, nor how none of the medi-scans detected the presence of twins. And what's this dying of a broken heart crap? - Original Message - From: Bosco Bosco ironpi...@yahoo.com To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Monday, August 16, 2010 11:33:14 AM Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Lucas Announces Star Wars Blu-ray Thanks. I try. I love writing. Too bad there's no money in it and loads and loads of soul wrenching work. Jar Jar wasn't the big issue for me, I just recall him being the first sign that it was time to insert the fork in the corpse of the legacy. The list of things that is wrong actually starts with Return of the Jedi and starts with the ewoks. It goes downhill from there. Revenge of the Sith was for me the deepest insult. The bad acting, the crappy direction, the totally unbelievable final conversion from Anakin to Vader with all it's sophomoric character motivation was a full and total betrayal. Total bummer. I spend a lot of time wishing someone would do it better. I'll bet it gets done. I hope in my life time. The fact that hollywood is stuck in recycle mode actual gives me hope for this one. --- On Mon, 8/16/10, Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.net wrote: From: Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.net Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Lucas Announces Star Wars Blu-ray To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Monday, August 16, 2010, 9:47 AM
Re: [scifinoir2] Lucas Announces Star Wars Blu-ray
The only Star Wars announcement I want to hear is that George Lucas has hired somebody competent like Peter Jackson or Christopher Nolan or hell, anyone else, to rewrite, redirect and remake from scratch the entire saga from start to finish. Then and only then is there a shot at redemption for his utter and complete destruction of what should have been the greatest science fiction legacy in history. Bosco --- On Sun, 8/15/10, Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.net wrote: From: Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.net Subject: [scifinoir2] Lucas Announces Star Wars Blu-ray To: scifinoir2 scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Sunday, August 15, 2010, 12:47 AM This deleted scene with Vader reaching out to Luke seems pretty cool. It sounds as if it has more of the grim feeling of The Empire Strikes Back. I don't have a Blu-Ray player yet, but not sure I'd buy this even if I did. I have at least two versions Lucas has released over the years--and I'm not even an ardent fan. I wonder how many different versions UPF's (Ultra Passionate Fans) might have? * http://bluray.ign.com/articles/111/1112481p1.html Lucas Announces Star Wars Blu-ray The Star Wars Blu-ray release is now as official as it can be, as none other than George Lucas announced the films were coming to the format. I wish I could say it's coming out this year, but it's coming out next year, Lucas said to the packed audience at the Main Event at Star Wars Celebration V today, which was moderated by Jon Stewart. Speaking about what will be included, Lucas said, They'll be different kinds of additional material, adding, I think you've seen enough behind the scenes [material] for a lifetime. There's some really good material that will be included in there, [including] more deleted scenes that you haven't seen yet. Lucas said these newly released scenes would be kept separate from the film itself. In a surprise appearance, Mark Hamill then joined Lucas and Stewart on stage, to introduce one of the new deleted scenes, which he said was his original entrance in Return of the Jedi. Hamill noted the scene was short, but that it was for the UPFs in the audience – the ultra passionate fans. We were then shown the scene, which would have taken place after Darth Vader arrives on the second Death Star at the beginning of Return of the Jedi. We see Vader walking down a corridor and into an elevator on the Death Star. We then cut to Vader inside his medication chamber, a la Empire Strikes Back. As Vader sits there, the camera moves into a close-up and we hear him reaching out with the Force. Luke. Luke. Join me in the dark side of the Force. My son. It is the only way. As Vader continues to repeat Luke's name, we cut to a tight close-up of Luke, insinuating he is hearing his father's voice. it's a very ominous shot of Luke, who is wearing his cloak and hood, with the shadows from the hood blocking out his eyes completely - in line with how Darth Sideous' face is mostly hidden. As Vader's voice fades away, the camera pans down to Luke's hands, and we see that he is using a tool to complete work on his new lightsaber. Satisfied, he puts the tool down and holds the lightsaber hilt up, igniting it – in what would have been the first reveal of the green blade. We cut to a shot from the side and see Luke is sitting inside a cave on Tatooine, with C-3P0 standing outside, waiting for him – no doubt to receive his orders to head to Jabba the Hutt. That was it for the scene, but the crowd erupted in cheers at what was indeed a very cool new moment, from films we are all quite familiar with. The panel ended with one more surprise guest – Carrie Fisher. Alas, there were no other deleted scenes shown to us today, but Fisher cracked to Lucas, Did you put the nude scenes back in? She then turned to the audience and deadpanned, There was a huge me and Jabba porn scene. That's what got me into drugs. No further details were given on the Blu-rays as yet, which leave plenty to speculate about. It's safe to say from the Return of the Jedi scene being shown that this release will include all of the original trilogy, but while it seems likely the answer is yes, there was nothing definitive stated about the prequels being released simultaneously. And no, we didn't get any info on whether the original, pre-Special Edition versions of the films will be part of this set as well. Suffice to say though, there will be more news to come in the months ahead, so keep checking IGN for more on the Star Wars Blu-ray release! Update: About five minutes after I published this story, I was handed Lucasfilm's official press release for the Blu-rays. It confirms that all six movies are being released on Blu-ray and that the set is coming out Fall 2011 - so don't line up just yet! We're also told it will
Re: [scifinoir2] Lucas Announces Star Wars Blu-ray
I'm curious. I have a really strong reaction to every film, post empire. The prequels are particularly hard for me because I had been waiting for that story to be told from the minute I became aware that it would be. I dont know exactly when it was but sometime around 12 or 13 probably after seeing Empire but before Jedi I began to hear talk about Lucas telling the backstory at some point. I had waited my entire life, multiple decades, to experience the Anakin to Vader story. Sometime around the moment JarJar Binks appeared on screen, I realized I was gonna get burned. Somehow, I just couldnt let go, like a mentally debilitated rubbernecker at a fenderbender, I watched the entire train wreck unfold. Nothing has ever been as artistically devastating or disappointing. What Lucas did to his legacy is criminal. What he did to the fans is worse. There are moments where I actually wish I had never seen any of it. B --- On Sun, 8/15/10, Martin Baxter martinbaxt...@gmail.com wrote: From: Martin Baxter martinbaxt...@gmail.com Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Lucas Announces Star Wars Blu-ray To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Sunday, August 15, 2010, 2:48 PM Bosco, I'm sending this to a long-time SW fan, to get a reaction to this. I'll let you know what it is. On Sun, Aug 15, 2010 at 1:19 PM, Bosco Bosco ironpi...@yahoo.com wrote: The only Star Wars announcement I want to hear is that George Lucas has hired somebody competent like Peter Jackson or Christopher Nolan or hell, anyone else, to rewrite, redirect and remake from scratch the entire saga from start to finish. Then and only then is there a shot at redemption for his utter and complete destruction of what should have been the greatest science fiction legacy in history. Bosco --- On Sun, 8/15/10, Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.net wrote: From: Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.net Subject: [scifinoir2] Lucas Announces Star Wars Blu-ray To: scifinoir2 scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Sunday, August 15, 2010, 12:47 AM This deleted scene with Vader reaching out to Luke seems pretty cool. It sounds as if it has more of the grim feeling of The Empire Strikes Back. I don't have a Blu-Ray player yet, but not sure I'd buy this even if I did. I have at least two versions Lucas has released over the years--and I'm not even an ardent fan. I wonder how many different versions UPF's (Ultra Passionate Fans) might have? * http://bluray.ign.com/articles/111/1112481p1.html Lucas Announces Star Wars Blu-ray The Star Wars Blu-ray release is now as official as it can be, as none other than George Lucas announced the films were coming to the format. I wish I could say it's coming out this year, but it's coming out next year, Lucas said to the packed audience at the Main Event at Star Wars Celebration V today, which was moderated by Jon Stewart. Speaking about what will be included, Lucas said, They'll be different kinds of additional material, adding, I think you've seen enough behind the scenes [material] for a lifetime. There's some really good material that will be included in there, [including] more deleted scenes that you haven't seen yet. Lucas said these newly released scenes would be kept separate from the film itself. In a surprise appearance, Mark Hamill then joined Lucas and Stewart on stage, to introduce one of the new deleted scenes, which he said was his original entrance in Return of the Jedi. Hamill noted the scene was short, but that it was for the UPFs in the audience – the ultra passionate fans. We were then shown the scene, which would have taken place after Darth Vader arrives on the second Death Star at the beginning of Return of the Jedi. We see Vader walking down a corridor and into an elevator on the Death Star. We then cut to Vader inside his medication chamber, a la Empire Strikes Back. As Vader sits there, the camera moves into a close-up and we hear him reaching out with the Force. Luke. Luke. Join me in the dark side of the Force. My son. It is the only way. As Vader continues to repeat Luke's name, we cut to a tight close-up of Luke, insinuating he is hearing his father's voice. it's a very ominous shot of Luke, who is wearing his cloak and hood, with the shadows from the hood blocking out his eyes completely - in line with how Darth Sideous' face is mostly hidden. As Vader's voice fades away, the camera pans down to Luke's hands, and we see that he is using a tool to complete work on his new lightsaber. Satisfied, he puts the tool down and holds the lightsaber hilt up, igniting it – in what would have been the first reveal of the green blade. We cut to a shot from the side and see Luke is sitting inside a cave on Tatooine, with C-3P0 standing outside, waiting for him
Re: [scifinoir2] Re: Microsoft's Not-So-Secret Plan to Cripple Windows XP
I had a palm phone. It had a manufacturers defect that caused the charger to go out and they replaced it right before the warranty expired. The replacement phone did the exact same thing four months later and they not only didnt replace it, they refused to do anything about it. If it had been my fault, I wouldnt have been bothered but the defect was known by the manufacturer and they still refused to do anything. I hate them. I hope HP steals what's good and retires the brand. They need to be sent to the attic. Bosco --- On Thu, 8/12/10, Kelwyn ravena...@yahoo.com wrote: From: Kelwyn ravena...@yahoo.com Subject: [scifinoir2] Re: Microsoft's Not-So-Secret Plan to Cripple Windows XP To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Thursday, August 12, 2010, 9:28 AM Well, this isn't going to work for Palm. I refuse to buy another Palm product. I will continue to support those companies that offered upgrade patches. ~rave! --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@... wrote: Yep, that's a very common scenario for new OS's. Microsoft is just ticked that they did their jobs too well with XP. Heck, there are lots of companies still coding for XP. Years ago, Toyota had a car that lasted for freakin' ever. I believe it was the Tercell line? I just know that everyone who owned one sang its praises for reliability and long life. The car actually did so well that in time Toyota changed the car so that newer versions weren't quite as long lasting. The urban myth is they did this specifically because they wanted customers to buy a new car at some point - Original Message - From: Kelwyn ravena...@... To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Wednesday, August 11, 2010 10:53:05 PM Subject: [scifinoir2] Re: Microsoft's Not-So-Secret Plan to Cripple Windows XP When my very reliable Sony Vaio with Windows XP was stolen I replaced it with a very reliable Sony Vaio with Windows 7. One of the consequences of upgrading to a new operating system is that my old palm pilot software won't work with the new windows 7 operating system and Palm, unlike every other software manufacturer I deal with, does not offer a patch for Windows 7. ~(no)rave! --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com , Keith Johnson KeithBJohnson@ wrote: I hear you. I have two laptops, both running XP. I don't want to spend the money now to replace them just to get Windows 7. They're an IBM T41 and T42, and run XP great, but would drag a bit with 7. I have a desktop running 7, but I loaded VMWare to it, and then loaded a XP into that VMWare session. Why? So I can do test and support for the many cases where XP is still dominant. Most non-IT people I know with home PCs have told me repeatedly they're happy with XP, and won't get a new OS until they have to buy a new machine. As for Apple, it truly is a different experience. Ducats prevent me from going that route, but I am looking forward to it... - Original Message - From: Martin Baxter martinbaxter7@ To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Wednesday, August 11, 2010 5:41:49 PM Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Microsoft's Not-So-Secret Plan to Cripple Windows XP I've been happy with XP ever since it first came out. The only reason I'm looking to Apple is because of the considerable charms invoked by lady friends of mine who have Macs. On Wed, Aug 11, 2010 at 3:54 PM, Keith Johnson KeithBJohnson@ wrote: I agree. It cosst a *lot* of time and money to move to a new OS. On the corporate side, you can be talking hundreds or thousands of computers, requiring major rollout/upgrade projects. I know 'cause I spent ten years doing it for my last permanent job, from NT 4.0 and OS/2 to Win2003 and XP. There's a lot of software testing that must take place in the corporate world to ensure that critical software functions on new OS's. There's often a major expense in upgrading hardware to accommodate the new OS' greater needs for RAM, CPU power, and hard drive space. For the home user, there's the money to buy a new OS, the always scary prospect of upgrading a machine's OS --somethign I never do, preferring a wipe/new install--and the time and effort needed to learn about using and troubleshooting a new OS at home. And again, if the home user has a PC that's as relatively young as five years old, it may be fine for the old OS, but must be upgraded or replaced to give the most robust experience on the new OS. I've been in IT for over a decade, and learning this stuff is what I have to do, but I admit even my eyes glaze over and my head throbs sometimes at trying to learn the intricacies of a new OS. There are people who'd be perfectly happy using XP five years from now. I say
Re: [scifinoir2] Microsoft's Not-So-Secret Plan to Cripple Windows XP
It's my own marginally informed opinion that XP is the only decent, stable and fully functional version of Windows ever. I didnt hate 98 but ME blew chunks and 2000 was not a great system for casual users like myself. Everything since XP has been a piece of crap. Microsoft has made a fortune stealing ideas and repackaging them poorly. There's no mystery in the desire to kill the best thing they ever made. There's no need to return to the trough if you're getting good feed. If you take away the food, you make people hungry again. It's pity that Apple costs a billion times more than the hardware's worth and linux requires a reasonable tech mind to run effectively. Bosco --- On Wed, 8/11/10, Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.net wrote: From: Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.net Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Microsoft's Not-So-Secret Plan to Cripple Windows XP To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Wednesday, August 11, 2010, 6:16 PM Vista was the worst OS Microsoft has put out in decades, with the possible exception of the horrid Windows Millennium. Both are buggy, hard to troubleshoot, and just plain unstable. I bypassed both, sticking with Win2K until XP, then XP until 7... - Original Message - From: Martin Baxter martinbaxter7@ gmail.com To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com Sent: Wednesday, August 11, 2010 5:36:17 PM Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Microsoft's Not-So-Secret Plan to Cripple Windows XP Makes me angry as well, Keith. Just a few minutes ago, my niece, running Vista on her laptop, had lost all sound on her system, and we had to puzzle out how to reset the drivers. I've never had that issue using XP. On Wed, Aug 11, 2010 at 3:45 PM, Keith Johnson KeithBJohnson@ comcast.net wrote: No, it's B.S. I've spent the last week fixing a lady's PC that was lousy with infections, so bad they'd turned off Windows Firewall. I had to roll it back from SP3 to SP2, then re-install SP3. I was amazed at how sparse and hard to find the SP2 resources were on Microsoft's site. Also, while XP data abounds at their site, there were obvious links all over the place trying to direct one to Windows 7. I have Windows 7 on the PC I'm using now, and it's great. But XP is the best OS they put out since Windows 2000--better, even--and I see no reason to push people toward it. For those of us who have to watch our money, for people for whom an upgrade to Windows 7 represents a real financial struggle, XP is a godsend. I find it appalling at what they're trying to do here. - Original Message - From: Martin Baxter martinbaxter7@ gmail.com To: SciFiNoir2 scifino...@yahoogro ups.com Sent: Wednesday, August 11, 2010 2:58:45 PM Subject: [scifinoir2] Microsoft's Not-So-Secret Plan to Cripple Windows XP Microsoft isn't particularly pleased about the continuing success of Windows XP, which has more than twice the installed base of Windows Vista and 7 put together. So it's trying its hardest to kill the operating system that won't die, including refusing to issue security patches for XP SP2, putting many XP users at risk. Is that the right way to get people to upgrade? More at: http://www.pcworld. com/article/ 202612/microsoft s_notsosecret_ plan_to_cripple_ windows_xp. html?tk=nl_ wbx_h_crawl1 -- If all the world's a stage and we are merely players, who the bloody hell wrote the script? -- Charles E Grant http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=fQUxw9aUVik -- If all the world's a stage and we are merely players, who the bloody hell wrote the script? -- Charles E Grant http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=fQUxw9aUVik
Re: [scifinoir2] The Complete James Bond Collection
What are these files? B --- On Mon, 8/9/10, Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com wrote: From: Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com Subject: [scifinoir2] The Complete James Bond Collection To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Monday, August 9, 2010, 2:56 PM -- Forwarded message -- From: Shelly onurknees66@ gmail.com Date: Sun, Aug 8, 2010 at 2:23 PM Subject: [now_showing] The Complete James Bond Collection To: -- Bundles group http://tech. groups.yahoo. com/group/ BundlesWithoutDr ama/ Bundles sister group for everyone to share in http://groups. yahoo.com/ group/Outlaw_ Pando/ -- Celebrating 10 years of bringing diversity to perversity! Mahogany at: http://groups. yahoo.com/ group/mahogany_ pleasures_ of_darkness/
[scifinoir2] Did Nolan Rip Off Inception From Scrooge McDuck
Here's an interesting bit of info floating around der infobahn. I don't know if it's remotely accurate or not. I am just forwarding what was sent to me. I haven't even looked at it yet. That said, enjoy and let me know what you think http://videogum.com/208132/caught-inception-ripped-off-scrooge-mcduck/remakes-and-spinoffs/ Bosco
Re: [scifinoir2] Topic: Favorites?
My favorite movie character is hard. I suppose I could pick any member of the Serenity Crew and be happy but I favor Mal Reynolds and Shepherd Book. My favorite book character, I don't know that I can narrow that down at all. Either Hiro Protagonist in Snow Crash or Nell from the Diamond Age would be in the top. My favorite comic book is the Walking Dead but my favorite comic book character is V from V for Vendetta. --- On Wed, 7/28/10, Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com wrote: From: Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com Subject: [scifinoir2] Topic: Favorites? To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Wednesday, July 28, 2010, 7:54 PM What is your favorite scifi movie character? What is your favorite scifi book character? What is your favorite comic book and comic book character? -- Celebrating 10 years of bringing diversity to perversity! Mahogany at: http://groups. yahoo.com/ group/mahogany_ pleasures_ of_darkness/
Re: [scifinoir2] True Blood Season 3
I've watched season 1 and season 2. I'm undecided about anything further. I hate sparkly tragic romantic vampires to begin with. In addition to the aforementioned issues of your post, I'd say there's something equally as problematic that causes me to hesitate to return. That show is filled to brimming with terrible horrible deep down stinking up everything bad acting. There's almost no one on that show, save the actor who plays Lafayette that could act their way out of paper bag. It's just horrible. Every time the Bill character utters a line, I wanna stake him on professional objections alone. If you factor in that the mystery factor of the show is generally about on the same level as an Encyclopedia Brown mystery, you've got a show that's pretty much objectionable on every front. I think I've just decided to skip season 3. Thanks for helping make the right choice. Bosco --- On Wed, 7/28/10, Kelwyn ravena...@yahoo.com wrote: From: Kelwyn ravena...@yahoo.com Subject: [scifinoir2] True Blood Season 3 To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Wednesday, July 28, 2010, 1:10 PM I am enjoying season three of True Blood. But am I the only one who has a problem with the only two black regulars being the virtual slaves to their white vampire masters? I am powerfully disappointed by how the role of Lafayette has devolved. I would have preferred him dead (as he is the Sookie Stackhouse books) than reduced to this. ~rave?
Re: [scifinoir2] Fwd: Bad Connection: Inside the iPhone Network Meltdown
The truth is apple has always engineered their portables to limit functionality to their financial benefit. ATT may have added to the equation in this round but essentially it's just more of the same since the first generation i-pod when a silly marketing campaign convinced people to purchase an overpriced portable hard drive with a music player built in that you couldn't drag and drop files on to. Why would anyone buy a computer that you can't drag and drop files on to the disk? It's completely insane. It's been a con from the beginning and nothing to date has changed. Technological Snake Oil at it's finest. I hope the whole company goes bankrupt from this stupidity. Bosco --- On Tue, 7/20/10, Martin Baxter martinbaxt...@gmail.com wrote: From: Martin Baxter martinbaxt...@gmail.com Subject: [scifinoir2] Fwd: Bad Connection: Inside the iPhone Network Meltdown To: SciFiNoir2 scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Tuesday, July 20, 2010, 5:12 AM -- Forwarded message -- From: Martin Baxter martin.baxter. 0...@gmail. com Date: Mon, Jul 19, 2010 at 5:26 PM Subject: Bad Connection: Inside the iPhone Network Meltdown To: martinbaxter7@ gmail.com Somebody shoulda seed this comin'... = = = = = = = For iPhone fans, it really was too good to be true. A pair of Apple executives had just described the latest model of the iPhone — the 3GS — onstage at the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference in June 2009. The audience loved it. The 3GS was twice as fast as its predecessor, it included a camera that shot video, and the updated iPhone operating system enabled multimedia messaging and tethering — the ability to use the phone as a modem. Just one problem: While many customers in Europe and Asia could enjoy all those features, ATT, the iPhone’s sole US carrier, wouldn’t allow video messaging or tethering at launch. In other words, the most advanced features wouldn’t be available to ATT customers. What’s more, some current iPhone users who wanted to upgrade wouldn’t get the subsidies that new customers enjoyed. Incensed iPhone fanatics vented their fury on Twitter. “ATT has been one disappointment after another.” “Is ATT trying to squeeze more money from us poor suckers?” And they punctuated their complaints with a hashtag — the Twitter convention for grouping conversations — that became an eight-character protest slogan: #attfail. More at: http://www.wired. com/magazine/ 2010/07/ff_ att_fail/ -- Between getsumei no michi and the Zero...no better place to live. (About little moments of happiness) If this isn't nice, I don't know what is. -- Kurt Vonnegut, A Man Without A Country -- If all the world's a stage and we are merely players, who the bloody hell wrote the script? -- Charles E Grant http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=fQUxw9aUVik
[scifinoir2] Upgraded to 21st Century TV and Now Wonder
So last week after noticing I hadn't actually used my home phone in more than 7 months, I decided to ditch it. I upgraded my ATT Uverse package and now have actual pay programing which is costing me less than the previous package. I was unfamiliar with the encore and starz end of the cable spectrum as I have never had premium channels before. They have western, action, mystery and other genre channels that are none to shabby. I have to wonder why they don't have a sci-fi or speculative fiction channel. It seems a natural. Surely there is bandwidth and programming available? Or am I missing something? Bosco
[scifinoir2] Jonah Hex
Just got back from a viewing at the fabulous Alamo Drafthouse. Great place to see a movie in Austin. Not much needs to be said about Jonah Hex. It is EXACTLY what it purports to be a cheesey action film set as a western with lots cheesey action film moments strung together with lots of bang and boom and fights and horse riding. If you're not into westerns, don't bother. Otherwise, the naysayers are all hipster tools, do yourself a cheese filled matinee favor and enjoy while you can. I say yes, hell yes. Fun, Fun, Fun. Bosco
Re: [scifinoir2] Who greenlighted Jonah Hex
It might be DOA and it might be pointless and terrible but I loved that comic as a kid and I plan to see this with my kid this week. A western with lots of explosions and retarded action plot line? Im in. --- On Sun, 6/20/10, George Arterberry brotherfromhow...@yahoo.com wrote: From: George Arterberry brotherfromhow...@yahoo.com Subject: [scifinoir2] Who greenlighted Jonah Hex To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Sunday, June 20, 2010, 6:55 AM Anyone with half a brain knew this was DOA , Megan Fox or not.
Re: [scifinoir2] First Look At HBO's A Game Of Thrones
Um given HBO's track record for fantastic television, Ima predict greatness. I dont even like the fantasy stuff so much but I'll be watchin this fer sure dude. B --- On Tue, 6/15/10, B Smith daikaij...@yahoo.com wrote: From: B Smith daikaij...@yahoo.com Subject: [scifinoir2] First Look At HBO's A Game Of Thrones To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Tuesday, June 15, 2010, 9:46 AM Why did my wife and I scream like world cup soccer fans after their team has scored a goal when we saw this trailer? We were waiting for the season premiere of True Blood and got this treat. http://www.hbo.com/video/video.html?view=gridvid=1100909autoplay=true http://io9.com/5562558/first-ever-trailer-for-hbos-fantasy-epic-game-of-thrones The trailer doesn't show much but the mood and feel are spot on. I can't wait.
Re: [scifinoir2] U.S. Identifies Vast Riches of Minerals in Afghanistan
I guess we'll be hearing about the end of the war soon. Bosco --- On Mon, 6/14/10, Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com wrote: From: Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com Subject: [scifinoir2] U.S. Identifies Vast Riches of Minerals in Afghanistan To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Monday, June 14, 2010, 4:23 AM Anyone surprised by this? U.S. Identifies Vast Riches of Minerals in Afghanistan Tyler Hicks/The New York Times A bleak Ghazni Province seems to offer little, but a Pentagon study says it may have among the world’s largest deposits of lithium. By JAMES RISEN Published: June 13, 2010 Facebook Twitter Recommendcomments Sign In to E-Mail Print Single Page Reprints ShareClose Linkedin Digg Mixx MySpace Yahoo! BuzzPermalink WASHINGTON — The United States has discovered nearly $1 trillion in untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan, far beyond any previously known reserves and enough to fundamentally alter the Afghan economy and perhaps the Afghan war itself, according to senior American government officials. Notes from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and other areas of conflict in the post-9/11 era. Go to the Blog » Multimedia Graphic Minerals in Afghanistan Readers' Comments Share your thoughts. Post a Comment » The previously unknown deposits — including huge veins of iron, copper, cobalt, gold and critical industrial metals like lithium — are so big and include so many minerals that are essential to modern industry that Afghanistan could eventually be transformed into one of the most important mining centers in the world, the United States officials believe. An internal Pentagon memo, for example, states that Afghanistan could become the “Saudi Arabia of lithium,” a key raw material in the manufacture of batteries for laptops and BlackBerrys. The vast scale of Afghanistan’s mineral wealth was discovered by a small team of Pentagon officials and American geologists. The Afghan government and President Hamid Karzai were recently briefed, American officials said. While it could take many years to develop a mining industry, the potential is so great that officials and executives in the industry believe it could attract heavy investment even before mines are profitable, providing the possibility of jobs that could distract from generations of war. “There is stunning potential here,” Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of the United States Central Command, said in an interview on Saturday. “There are a lot of ifs, of course, but I think potentially it is hugely significant.” The value of the newly discovered mineral deposits dwarfs the size of Afghanistan’s existing war-bedraggled economy, which is based largely on opium production and narcotics trafficking as well as aid from the United States and other industrialized countries. Afghanistan’s gross domestic product is only about $12 billion. “This will become the backbone of the Afghan economy,” said Jalil Jumriany, an adviser to the Afghan minister of mines. American and Afghan officials agreed to discuss the mineral discoveries at a difficult moment in the war in Afghanistan. The American-led offensive in Marja in southern Afghanistan has achieved only limited gains. Meanwhile, charges of corruption and favoritism continue to plague the Karzai government, and Mr. Karzai seems increasingly embittered toward the White House. So the Obama administration is hungry for some positive news to come out of Afghanistan. Yet the American officials also recognize that the mineral discoveries will almost certainly have a double-edged impact. Instead of bringing peace, the newfound mineral wealth could lead the Taliban to battle even more fiercely to regain control of the country. The corruption that is already rampant in the Karzai government could also be amplified by the new wealth, particularly if a handful of well-connected oligarchs, some with personal ties to the president, gain control of the resources. Just last year, Afghanistan’s minister of mines was accused by American officials of accepting a $30 million bribe to award China the rights to develop its copper mine. The minister has since been replaced. Endless fights could erupt between the central government in Kabul and provincial and tribal leaders in mineral-rich districts. Afghanistan has a national mining law, written with the help of advisers from the World Bank, but it has never faced a serious challenge. “No one has tested that law; no one knows how it will stand up in a fight between the central government and the provinces,” observed Paul A. Brinkley, deputy
Re: [scifinoir2] Angelina Jolie Wants to Play Cleopatra
My favorite quote from that is Not only does she look the part, Bosco --- On Fri, 6/11/10, Said Kakese Dibinga s...@bayindogroup.com wrote: From: Said Kakese Dibinga s...@bayindogroup.com Subject: [scifinoir2] Angelina Jolie Wants to Play Cleopatra To: s...@bayindogroup.com Date: Friday, June 11, 2010, 9:47 AM http://www.cinemati cal.com/2010/ 06/10/angelina- jole-wants- to-play-cleopatr a/?utm_source= Film+News+ Briefsutm_campaign= aa6864f99e- FRIDAY_JUNE_ 11_20106_ 6_2010utm_medium=email Said Yenga Kakese Dibinga Director General, Bayindo Group SA POB 1782 Los Angeles, CA 90078-1782 em: s...@bayindogroup. com skype: saiddibinga
Re: [scifinoir2] The Road
It's pretty good and I think reasonably faithful to the book though I haven't read it yet. It's definitely worth checking out if you are able to deal with a movie that dwells pretty much exclusively in the realm of bleak and hopeless. It helped me reaffirm that there are some things I just don't want to survive. If the choice is hopeless endless struggle or a lead snack in the roof of the mouth, please pass the ammunition. Bosco --- On Mon, 6/7/10, Augustus Augustus jazzynupe_...@yahoo.com wrote: From: Augustus Augustus jazzynupe_...@yahoo.com Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] The Road To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Monday, June 7, 2010, 9:19 PM Angela, now u have me wondering do i want 2 see it! i hate feeling like what u have described. Fate. --- On Mon, 6/7/10, Angela Robinson asrobin...@mindspri ng.com wrote: From: Angela Robinson asrobin...@mindspri ng.com Subject: [scifinoir2] The Road To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com Date: Monday, June 7, 2010, 9:21 PM I'm sure The Road was discussed when it came out, but I just got around to seeing it on PPV this weekend. Maybe the most dark and depressing movie I've ever seen (or in the top 5 anyway). Yet the last few minutes offered a little redeeming hope in a way that was totally unexpected to me. I thought it was well done and worth checking out if you don't mind feeling awful for a little while. Some how, more than Survivors, Book of Eli, The Day After or even Threads, The Road left me sunk in the sofa saying, God, would it ever really come to that? Angela
Re: [scifinoir2] Re: The End Of Lost
The first half of season 4 is genius and I mean genius. I had really liked the show up to that point but by the time the first half of season 4 was over, I really thought they might pull off the greatest show in the history of science fiction. Alas, they killed it and completely destroyed the entire legacy with the second half of season 4. B --- On Thu, 5/27/10, Martin Baxter martinbaxt...@gmail.com wrote: From: Martin Baxter martinbaxt...@gmail.com Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Re: The End Of Lost To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Thursday, May 27, 2010, 6:05 AM Marian, IMO, the first two seasons of BG are all that you should see. It fell apart after that. On Wed, May 26, 2010 at 6:30 PM, marian_changling md_moor...@yahoo. com wrote: I found it completely emotionally satisfying. The gave each character arc an end. I didn't care for the light at the end, but given the extended metaphor used throughout the series, that would have been difficult to avoid. They tried to keep the show out of the religious bucket, but that is difficult to do. I had the same problem with the end of Connie Willis' novel Passages. It is difficult to be spiritual but not assign a religion. In reading reviews after the show, a lot of reviewers did not get it. They reverted to thinking that the whole thing was a dream or they were all dead. My quibbles were exactly the ambiguity that would allow people to think that, even though they explicitly stated that was not the case in the show. There were a lot of heated arguments on abc.com on and lostipedia on just that topic. *** SPOILER? Part of the problem is that Jack is ultimately the viewpoint character. It looked like an ensemble show, but the end only works if you understand that we don't see anything that Jack doesn't know. We don't know what happened on the island after he dies. Hurley and Ben continue their stewardship and later die themselves but we see none of that. So it's initially confusing to see them at the gathering with the others. All in all, better than Battlestar for me. I would love to go back and see every episode now. I wouldn't do that for Battlestar. (I never saw the 1st two years of BG and still feel no need to see them.) -- If all the world's a stage and we are merely players, who the bloody hell wrote the script? -- Charles E Grant http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=fQUxw9aUVik
Re: [scifinoir2] The End Of Lost Spoilers Sort Of
I have been fairly disappointed all season. I feel like they totally blew it. I really didnt think they would really boil the entire thing down to simply morality tale of good vs evil where the good guys literally ride off into the sunset. Maybe the Lost writers planned it that way all along. If so they conned everyone into believing the everything is not what it appears to be lie they've been touting since the beginning. There were some touching moments and some fine acting in the last hoorah but really, it was just another easy wrap that deftly avoided actual complexity. From series that's been paying lip service to complexity since it began. They asked us to believe they would do better and promised to deliver and in the end, they didnt. No real suprise there but disappointing none the less. It wasn't terrible but it could have and should have been s much more.I don't feel betrayed as I did with Galactica but I definitely feel like I was promised gourmet meal and got McDonald's instead. Bosco --- On Mon, 5/24/10, Adrianne Brennan adrianne.bren...@gmail.com wrote: From: Adrianne Brennan adrianne.bren...@gmail.com Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] The End Of Lost To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Monday, May 24, 2010, 11:49 AM Watched, cared...loved it all up until the last five minutes where they gave us the biggest copout, cliché d ending since...I won't compare for fear of spoiling. :P ~ Where love and magic meet ~ http://www.adrianne brennan.com Experience the magic of the Dark Moon series: http://www.adrianne brennan.com/ books.html# darkmoon Dare to take The Oath in this erotic fantasy series: http://www.adrianne brennan.com/ books.html# the_oath The future of psychic sex - Dawn of the Seraphs (m/m): http://www.adrianne brennan.com/ dawnoftheseraphs .html On Mon, May 24, 2010 at 12:12 PM, Bosco Bosco ironpi...@yahoo. com wrote: Did anyone watch? Did anyone care? I'm still gathering my thoughts. I'm holding off on discussion of specifics for fear of spoilage. I'm torn, really torn. There are somethings I liked and somethings I didnt. I think they may be the same as the things I've liked and disliked about the show the whole time. I rewatched the pilot episode and while I am not thoroghly convinced that they had the whole thing planned out, I think there was some definitive planning from the beginning. I think Locke teaching Walt to play backgammon was indicative of such. I'm walking away from six seasons not feeling Galactica'd but not necessarily satisfied either. Anyone else? Bosco - - -- Post your SciFiNoir Profile at http://groups. yahoo.com/ group/scifinoir2 /app/peoplemap2/ entry/add? fmvn=mapYahoo! Groups Links http://groups. yahoo.com/ group/scifinoir2 / Individual Email | Traditional http://groups. yahoo.com/ group/scifinoir2 /join (Yahoo! ID required) scifinoir2-digest@ yahoogroups. com scifinoir2-fullfeat u...@yahoogroups .com scifinoir2-unsubscr i...@yahoogroups. com http://docs. yahoo.com/ info/terms/
[scifinoir2] End Of Lost Spoilers Sort Of
I sent this yesterday very late. Never saw it come through I have been fairly disappointed all season. I feel like they totally blew it. I really didnt think they would really boil the entire thing down to simply morality tale of good vs evil where the good guys literally ride off into the sunset. Maybe the Lost writers planned it that way all along. If so they conned everyone into believing the everything is not what it appears to be lie they've been touting since the beginning. There were some touching moments and some fine acting in the last hoorah but really, it was just another easy wrap that deftly avoided actual complexity. From series that's been paying lip service to complexity since it began. They asked us to believe they would do better and promised to deliver and in the end, they didnt. No real suprise there but disappointing none the less. It wasn't terrible but it could have and should have been s much more.I don't feel betrayed as I did with Galactica but I definitely feel like I was promised gourmet meal and got McDonald's instead. Bosco
[scifinoir2] The End Of Lost
Did anyone watch? Did anyone care? I'm still gathering my thoughts. I'm holding off on discussion of specifics for fear of spoilage. I'm torn, really torn. There are somethings I liked and somethings I didnt. I think they may be the same as the things I've liked and disliked about the show the whole time. I rewatched the pilot episode and while I am not thoroghly convinced that they had the whole thing planned out, I think there was some definitive planning from the beginning. I think Locke teaching Walt to play backgammon was indicative of such. I'm walking away from six seasons not feeling Galactica'd but not necessarily satisfied either. Anyone else? Bosco
Re: [scifinoir2] OT: Palin says Obama would ban guns if he could
It's funny that they weren't worried about the constitution when habeas corpus was suspended. The fundamental right that is the basis of democracy and freedom was destroyed and they couldn't be bothered to utter a sound. Teabaggers are proof that democracy is doomed. Democracy depends on an educated and self interested population. Teabaggers are merely the most vocal of a deeply stupid majority that are hell bent to destroy everything any intelligent person holds sacred through willful destructive ignorance. I am officially sanctioning intellectual facism. Bosco --- On Sat, 5/15/10, Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.net wrote: From: Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.net Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] OT: Palin says Obama would ban guns if he could To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Saturday, May 15, 2010, 12:11 AM Ha-ha! It's like the tired refrain, We're standing up for the Constitution . I keep trying to figure out what Obama's done to thwart the Constitution. Even some of the things from Bush he's unfortunately continued started under Bush--and none of them complained about Patriot Act abuses, wiretaps, etc., which come way closer to violate the Constitution than anything Obama's initiated. There is no way they can deny that there's a huge personal animus toward Obama at the root of much of this. - Original Message - From: Mr. Worf HelloMahogany@ gmail.com To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com Sent: Friday, May 14, 2010 11:58:37 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] OT: Palin says Obama would ban guns if he could You should hear the crazy rants that the teabaggers have been doing here since Cinco de Mayo. Old woman - They're taking away our rights! Newscaster - What rights are they taking away? Old woman - blank stare... Newscaster - Can you answer the question? What exactly are they taking away?? On Fri, May 14, 2010 at 8:45 PM, Keith Johnson KeithBJohnson@ comcast.net wrote: See, this is why so many of us distrust the Tea Party, and idiots like Palin. You disagree with someone, fine. But where does she get off saying Obama wants to ban guns and ammunition? That's such a general and sweeping statement. It's incendiary, inaccurate, hyperbole, and, as my mom used to say A pure dee lie!. How is it she can make public statements like this that are pure lies? Obama has *never* intimated he wants to ban all guns. Even if he did want to restrict assault weapons--something I'm in favor of doing--it's not the same thing. The guy legalized guns in national parks, for Christ's sake--something I'm vehemently opposed to. And to say that he's the most pro-abortion President ever. Again, how is such lying permitted? But then, this is the same lady who started the Death Panels lie, and when presented with evidence it *wasn't* true, went on Facebook and said, I still believe that's his goal. * * * * *** http://news. yahoo.com/ s/ap/20100515/ ap_on_el_ ge/us_palin Palin says Obama would ban guns if he could CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin warned NRA members Friday that President Barack Obama wants to gut the Second Amendment and told a separate gathering that mama grizzlies will help Republicans win this November, sweeping away the Democratic agenda. Palin, a potential 2012 presidential candidate, told National Rifle Association members during their annual meeting that the only thing stopping Obama and his Democratic allies from trying to ban guns is political backlash. Don't doubt for a minute that, if they thought they could get away with it, they would ban guns and ban ammunition and gut the Second Amendment, said Palin, a lifelong NRA member who once had a baby shower at a local gun range in Alaska. It's the job of all of us at the NRA and its allies to stop them in their tracks. Gun enthusiasts have trumpeted fears that their rights would erode under a Democrat-led White House and Congress, but President Barack Obama has largely been silent on issues such as reviving an assault weapons ban or strengthening background checks at gun shows. Obama also signed a law allowing people to carry loaded guns in national parks. Palin, the GOP's 2008 vice presidential nominee, also praised tea party activism during an appearance in Charlotte, and scoffed at suggestions that the movement had roots in violence, racism or rednecks before adding: I don't really have a problem with the redneck part of it, to tell you the truth. She proceeded to read several redneck jokes off her phone and talked about how she could relate to some of them. During an event earlier Friday in Washington sponsored by an anti-abortion group, she challenged Republican women to help the GOP take this country back and elect anti-abortion lawmakers. She praised female leaders of the tea party
Re: [scifinoir2] Just in: Heroes canceled!
It was a corpse after the second season. It just took the network a while to realize all the blood had been squeezed out of it. --- On Fri, 5/14/10, Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com wrote: From: Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com Subject: [scifinoir2] Just in: Heroes canceled! To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Friday, May 14, 2010, 6:51 PM I just saw on G4 the show Heroes was officially canceled today. Chuck was renewed for season 4.
Re: [scifinoir2] OT: Do Past Mistakes Condemn a Star Forever?
Mr. Worf wrote: As for Woody and R Kelly: It takes two to tango. People try to make it sound like an adult was taking advantage of an innocent, but there are some youngsters that will put grown women to shame. The fake ID was invented a long long time ago. The number of of ways in which this is singularly the most offensive and disgusting thing I have ever read on this list is pretty long. However, I will try to boil it down. It's the horrible old sexist argument that the victim really wanted it and so it's not a crime. Children are considered children for a reason. As the parent of teenagers, I can assure you that just because they are capable of making stupid decisions does not mean they fully understand the consequences of those decisions. Excusing adults to prey on the inherent social awkwardness and weaknesses that are obvious in adolescents is pretty much totally f*#king disgusting. Bosco --- On Wed, 4/21/10, Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com wrote: From: Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] OT: Do Past Mistakes Condemn a Star Forever? To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Wednesday, April 21, 2010, 1:06 AM I agree with most of what you said. Except I forgave Michael Vick. As for Woody and R Kelly: It takes two to tango. People try to make it sound like an adult was taking advantage of an innocent, but there are some youngsters that will put grown women to shame. The fake ID was invented a long long time ago. On Tue, Apr 20, 2010 at 12:31 PM, Keith Johnson KeithBJohnson@ comcast.net wrote: The story about Roman Polanski's continuing battle to be free of his past made me think of famous people who commit crimes--or are rumoured to have done so--and how we treat them. So many times, the rich, famous, and powerful get off, or get forgiven, lickety-split, for things common people would wear as a cross forever. As a very liberal person, I am all in favor of innocent until proven guilty, the power of redemption, and one serving one's time to wipe certain slates clean. But I also find some behaviors repugnant enough to where I never forget, even if I forgive. In recent years, I have made conscious decisions not to support several high-profile people who've done things or espoused views I find objectionable. Even before the mess with that famous tape, i was disgusted by singer R. Kelley's spoken views about young girls. So, years ago, i quit buying his music, a personal ban to which I still hold. Now, i know the law says there's no proof of him being on that tape, but there are times when rumours are more than just hearsay. And like I said, his past is enough to where i want nothing to do with him. Given that past, I am amazed at how many black people still support and flock to him, including Tavis Smiley publishing his autobiography. Dude will never notice the lack of my ten bucks or so in his CD- or concert coffers, but it's my small protest. And too bad, 'cause Brother can sing and I love his music... Similarly, i haven't seen or paid for a Woody Allen movie since he was revealed to have gotten with a young girl who was for all practical purposes being raised as his daughter. The heart wants what it wants, perhaps, but my heart no longer wants to support an Allen film, old and classic, or new. Of course, he hasn't been on his game in years, so maybe I'm not missing much. Likewise, I have not supported a Polanski film since I was old enough to understand what he was charged with doing. Maybe if he had stood and faced his punishment like a man all those years ago...but no, i just can't bring myself to throw any ducats his way either... It's odd at times for a person as liberal as me to feel this way, and as a Christian, I totally believe in repentance and being a New Man. But sometimes, the ick factor is still too much present for me, since these are issues of doing things to young kids or forcing themselves on people, not something as simple as being a cad or whoremonger. I know: there are a bazillion politicians, actors, singers, and businessmen who similarly have really sordid pasts and views, and I'm not trying to go on a witch hunt to decide who i will and won't support. But like I said, for people like those above, i just can't bring myself to support them anymore. Do you ever find yourself taking such a position on someone in the public eye? -- Celebrating 10 years of bringing diversity to perversity! Mahogany at: http://groups. yahoo.com/ group/mahogany_ pleasures_ of_darkness/
[scifinoir2] Reimagining Reimagining
This is freakin awesome. Thrift Store art made fabulous: http://used-outboard-motor.net/How_To_Make_A_Used_Thrift_Store_Painting_MOAR_AWESOME.html Bosco
[scifinoir2] Dreadlocks OT
I just wanted to say that removing a decade of dreadlocks from the top of your head will reduce the average human's weight by 10% Bosco
Re: [scifinoir2] Did anyone see this?? Texan accused of disabling 100 cars over Internet
Lets not also forget that it is just a little bit funny Perhaps not a spectacular idea but there is some level of excellently fun pranksterism going on here. Perhaps I'm just a bad bad man Bosco --- On Thu, 4/15/10, Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com wrote: From: Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Did anyone see this?? Texan accused of disabling 100 cars over Internet To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Thursday, April 15, 2010, 5:49 PM Yea, but he was an employee there. I'm just concerned that it will open up the door for abuse. The car I bought previously than the one I have now was from a dealer that turned out to be shady. If he had technology like this in his hands no telling what would have happen. On Thu, Apr 15, 2010 at 3:44 PM, Martin Baxter martinbaxter7@ gmail.com wrote: I heard about this somewhere, Mr Worf. More proof that, IMO, too many children have Internet access. On Thu, Apr 15, 2010 at 5:12 PM, Mr. Worf HelloMahogany@ gmail.com wrote: I didn't know that this had already been implemented! This technology is not good especially for folks that are having rough times. Texan accused of disabling 100 cars over Internet By JEFF CARLTON (AP) – Mar 17, 2010 DALLAS — A man fired from a Texas auto dealership used an Internet service to remotely disable ignitions and set off car horns of more than 100 vehicles sold at his old workplace, police said Wednesday.Austin police arrested Omar Ramos-Lopez, 20, on Wednesday, charging him with felony breach of computer security.Ramos-Lopez used a former colleague's password to deactivate starters and set off car horns, police said. Several car owners said they had to call tow trucks and were left stranded at work or home.He caused these customers, now victims, to miss work, Austin police spokeswoman Veneza Aguinaga said. They didn't get paid. They had to get tow trucks. They didn't know what was going on with their vehicles.Ramos-Lopez was in the Travis County Jail on Wednesday with bond set at $3,000. The Associated Press could not find a working phone number for his family.The Texas Auto Center dealership in Austin installs GPS devices that can prevent cars from starting. The system is used to repossess cars when buyers are overdue on payments, said Jeremy Norton, a controller at the dealership where Ramos-Lopez worked. Car horns can be activated when repo agents go to collect vehicles and believe the owners are hiding them.We are taking extra measures to make sure this never happens again, Norton said.Starting in mid-February, dealership employees noticed unusual changes to their business records. Someone was going into the system and changing customers' names, such as having dead rapper Tupac Shakur buying a 2009 vehicle, Norton said.Soon, customers began calling saying their cars wouldn't start, or that their horns were going off incessantly, forcing them to disengage the battery. Norton said the dealership originally thought the cars had mechanical problems.Then employees noticed someone had ordered $130,000 in parts and equipment from the company that makes the GPS devices.Police said they were able to trace the sabotage to Ramos-Lopez's computer, leading to his arrest.Norton said Ramos-Lopez didn't seem unusually upset about being fired.I think he thought what he was doing was a harmless prank, Norton said. He didn't see the ramifications of it. Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. -- Celebrating 10 years of bringing diversity to perversity! Mahogany at: http://groups. yahoo.com/ group/mahogany_ pleasures_ of_darkness/ -- Celebrating 10 years of bringing diversity to perversity! Mahogany at: http://groups. yahoo.com/ group/mahogany_ pleasures_ of_darkness/
Re: [scifinoir2] Accused man's mom blames Fox News for behavior
Actually I wouldn't feel comfortable blaming Fox News for crazy man antics. Yeah they're propagandists for all kinds of nonsense but they don't make them put guns in people's hands. It's like blaming heavy metal for teen suicide or hip hop for gang violence. I'm no defender of Fox or it's rampant stupidity and wrecklessness but at some point people make choices. Bosco --- On Thu, 4/8/10, Martin Baxter martinbaxt...@gmail.com wrote: From: Martin Baxter martinbaxt...@gmail.com Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Accused man's mom blames Fox News for behavior To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Thursday, April 8, 2010, 11:59 AM Of COURSE, all and sundry at Faux/Fixed/Fox will rise up to a lifeform and deny any blame for this, wrapping themselves in Flag and Constitution. Bastiches. On Thu, Apr 8, 2010 at 1:33 AM, Mr. Worf HelloMahogany@ gmail.com wrote: http://abclocal. go.com/kgo/ story?section= news/iteamid=7374140 Accused man's mom blames Fox News for behavior Wednesday, April 07, 2010 Related Video All Live Video : All Video » Accused man's mom blames Fox News for behavior FBI arrests man for threatening Pelosi Tags:nancy pelosi, health care, health insurance, i-team, dan noyes Comment Now Email Print Report a typo Dan Noyes , Chief Investigative Reporter More: Bio, E-mail, Blog, Facebook, Twitter, News Team SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Gregory Giusti's 83-year-old mother had not heard that her son had been arrested, but she told ABC7 he has a history of mental problems. She does not think he would be capable of carrying out the threat; he has never owned a gun, and she blames Fox News for getting her son worked up. Giusti was arrested Wednesday afternoon for threatening Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi over recent healthcare legislation. Greg frequently gets in with a group of people that have really radical ideas and that are not consistent with myself or the rest of the family, which gets him into problems, Eleanor Giusti said. I say Fox News, or all of those that are really radical, and he, that's where he comes from. Related Content Story: FBI arrests man for threatening Pelosi Giusti, 48, has a long history of encounters with law enforcement. In 2004, Giusti was convicted of criminal threats. The San Mateo District Attorney's office says he was trying to evade the fare on a Caltrain, and when the conductor tried to kick him off, Giusti started yelling and threatening the conductor's life. As a result, Giusti was sentenced to one year in county jail and three years supervised probation. He was also ordered to undergo mental health counseling. There is also a lawsuit filed in February by Hamilton Square Baptist Church in San Francisco. It says, Giusti has engaged in and continues to engage in a campaign of harassment against people at the church. Giusti also has a record of skipping out on his BART fares and causing disruptions. BART sued him in 1996. He also has two convictions in San Francisco for welfare fraud and petty theft from 1992. According to ABC7 legal analyst Dean Johnson, there is a point at which free speech ends and a threat begins. Communicating a threat with the intent that it be taken seriously is one of those types of speech that is simply not protected, Johnson said. Even under state law, as well as the federal law that applies here, there are crimes that are based on threatening another individual, you simply cannot do that. Eleanor Giusti also told ABC7 she talked to her son earlier in the day -- apparently before the arrest. He asked about his niece and nephew and acted as though nothing was going on. The FBI told ABC7 Giusti will be booked into San Francisco County Jail to spend the night, before appearing in federal court Thursday morning. -- Celebrating 10 years of bringing diversity to perversity! Mahogany at: http://groups. yahoo.com/ group/mahogany_ pleasures_ of_darkness/
Re: [scifinoir2] Behind Runaways film, legal battle simmers
They should have called the film Neon Angels after the book it was based on. The film does not include the lead guitarist or the bass player as characters. It's not the story of the Runaways. It's the story of Jett and Currie. Bosco --- On Sun, 3/21/10, Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com wrote: From: Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com Subject: [scifinoir2] Behind Runaways film, legal battle simmers To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Sunday, March 21, 2010, 5:20 PM http://movies. yahoo.com/ news/movies. reuters.com/ behind-runaways- film-legal- battle-simmers- reuters
Re: [scifinoir2] Re: 5 Reasons Caprica Is The Season's Most Promising New SF Series
It's better 'til you invest several seasons of your life getting attached to it only to have it ruined for sake of a convenient, neatly wrapped ending. Moore proved he was incapable of bringing the vision the close it deserved and betrayed what could have been the finest legacy in science fiction television period. At least with turds that start as turds and end as turds, you know you've got a turd. With BSG, we were promised something stunning and lead to believe for years that we get something stunning. In the end, we got a turd. Bosco --- On Wed, 1/27/10, Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com wrote: From: Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Re: 5 Reasons Caprica Is The Season's Most Promising New SF Series To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Wednesday, January 27, 2010, 3:43 PM Its still better than Ghost Hunters or snakes and meteors movie of the week. On Wed, Jan 27, 2010 at 1:35 PM, B Smith daikaij...@yahoo. com wrote: Three. --- In scifino...@yahoogro ups.com, Martin Baxter truthseeker013@ ... wrote: That's two of us, Bosco. If all the world's a stage and all the people merely players, who in bloody hell hired the director? -- Charles L Grant http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=fQUxw9aUVik To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com From: ironpi...@.. . Date: Wed, 27 Jan 2010 11:51:13 -0800 Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] 5 Reasons Caprica Is The Season's Most Promising New SF Series BSG ending was unforgivable. I'm boycotting this on prinicple alone. B --- On Wed, 1/27/10, Tracey de Morsella tdli...@... wrote: From: Tracey de Morsella tdli...@... Subject: [scifinoir2] 5 Reasons Caprica Is The Season's Most Promising New SF Series To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com, 'Cinq' cinque3...@. .., 'glenn' ggs...@... Date: Wednesday, January 27, 2010, 3:11 AM What do you think. I'm still smarting from BSG and a little put off that this is an original story that was blended into BSG to piggyback off of its success. But I do like it 5 Reasons Caprica Is The Season's Most Promising New SF Series This Friday brings the first episode of Battlestar Galactica spinoff Caprica, a noir-scifi drama set on the planet Caprica 58 years before the cylons nuke it into oblivion. Based on the pilot, we think this series could become a classic. Of course there are many reasons Caprica might fail, not the least of which would be poor audience ratings. Many fans of BSG are still smarting from that series' disappointing conclusion, and are predicting that Caprica might take an abrupt nosedive into lameness. But the current facts are these: Caprica is a completely different series, and based on what we've seen so far, it is the coolest new SF show on the air. Here are five reasons why. 1. Intriguing, thoughtful worldbuilding As I wrote a couple of weeks ago, the worldbuilding that went into creating Caprica City and the culture of Caprica is simply superb. We're introduced to a culture where paganism is mainstream and sexual mores are extremely liberal, but immigrants still suffer discrimination and monotheists are outcasts. Unlike most SF shows, where worldbuilding is often something like everything is the same except the technology is better, Caprica challenges us to imagine a society radically different from our own. Also, the concept design of the city - which was shown off to great effect in the broadcast version of the pilot - is breathtaking. The futuristic technology isn't bad either. 2. A birth of AI story that feels original A lot of contemporary science fiction, from the Terminator franchise to Star Trek: The Next Generation, deals with what happens when we finally create AI. Will it rise up and destroy us ala Skynet or will it nerdily attempt to fit into human society ala Data? We've seen dozens of vengeful bots and dorky AIs, but a virtual religious zealot computer genius teen trapped inside the body of a killing machine made by her manipulative zillionaire father? Not only is the premise fresh, but so are a lot of the emotional and ethical issues it stirs up. 3. The Adama family Rarely has a family unit in science fiction been as interesting as the Adamas seem to be in Caprica. Trapped between two cultures, straddling the line between criminality and respectability, Joseph Adama is a character who has problems I want to know more about. Plus his brother Sam, a smalltime gangster with a heart of gold, is another guy I want to know better. I'm sold on the idea of gangsters on another planet. 4. Excellent acting With Essai Morales and Eric Stolz as our leads Joseph Adama and Daniel Graystone, it goes without saying that the acting in this show is going to rock. (There was
Re: [scifinoir2] 5 Reasons Caprica Is The Season's Most Promising New SF Series
BSG ending was unforgivable. I'm boycotting this on prinicple alone. B --- On Wed, 1/27/10, Tracey de Morsella tdli...@multiculturaladvantage.com wrote: From: Tracey de Morsella tdli...@multiculturaladvantage.com Subject: [scifinoir2] 5 Reasons Caprica Is The Season's Most Promising New SF Series To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com, 'Cinq' cinque3...@verizon.net, 'glenn' ggs...@yahoo.com Date: Wednesday, January 27, 2010, 3:11 AM What do you think. I’m still smarting from BSG and a little put off that this is an original story that was blended into BSG to piggyback off of its success. But I do like it 5 Reasons Caprica Is The Season's Most Promising New SF Series This Friday brings the first episode of Battlestar Galactica spinoff Caprica, a noir-scifi drama set on the planet Caprica 58 years before the cylons nuke it into oblivion. Based on the pilot, we think this series could become a classic. Of course there are many reasons Caprica might fail, not the least of which would be poor audience ratings. Many fans of BSG are still smarting from that series' disappointing conclusion, and are predicting that Caprica might take an abrupt nosedive into lameness. But the current facts are these: Caprica is a completely different series, and based on what we've seen so far, it is the coolest new SF show on the air. Here are five reasons why. 1. Intriguing, thoughtful worldbuilding As I wrote a couple of weeks ago, the worldbuilding that went into creating Caprica City and the culture of Caprica is simply superb. We're introduced to a culture where paganism is mainstream and sexual mores are extremely liberal, but immigrants still suffer discrimination and monotheists are outcasts. Unlike most SF shows, where worldbuilding is often something like everything is the same except the technology is better, Caprica challenges us to imagine a society radically different from our own. Also, the concept design of the city - which was shown off to great effect in the broadcast version of the pilot - is breathtaking. The futuristic technology isn't bad either. 2. A birth of AI story that feels original A lot of contemporary science fiction, from the Terminator franchise to Star Trek: The Next Generation, deals with what happens when we finally create AI. Will it rise up and destroy us ala Skynet or will it nerdily attempt to fit into human society ala Data? We've seen dozens of vengeful bots and dorky AIs, but a virtual religious zealot computer genius teen trapped inside the body of a killing machine made by her manipulative zillionaire father? Not only is the premise fresh, but so are a lot of the emotional and ethical issues it stirs up. 3. The Adama family Rarely has a family unit in science fiction been as interesting as the Adamas seem to be in Caprica. Trapped between two cultures, straddling the line between criminality and respectability, Joseph Adama is a character who has problems I want to know more about. Plus his brother Sam, a smalltime gangster with a heart of gold, is another guy I want to know better. I'm sold on the idea of gangsters on another planet. 4. Excellent acting With Essai Morales and Eric Stolz as our leads Joseph Adama and Daniel Graystone, it goes without saying that the acting in this show is going to rock. (There was also a lot of terrific acting in BSG, so Caprica maintains the quality of this aspect of the franchise.) Sasha Roiz as Sam Adama is already terrific, as is Magda Apanowicz as Zoe Graystone's friend Lacy. Alessandra Torresani is probably the weakest link as Zoe - she's a little one-note - but she could improve over time. Given that this show hinges on personal drama as well as epic SF storytelling, it's crucial that the leads be able to show us subtle emotion and conflict - and damn, they are delivering. In the pilot, Stolz does a perfect job embodying a guy who is incredibly manipulative while also being sincere. 5. Drama that depends on science fictional plot points, but isn't completely focused on them I already suggested that drama is one of this show's strong points. One of the ways Caprica has already become a standout this season is that it manages to give us human drama of the sort we might expect on The Wire, while also never losing sight of the fact that its plot arc is centered on something basically science fictional. This is a series about how two new technologies - the holoband and the cylon - come together to create artificial life. And much of the human drama hinges on these technologies as well. In other words, this is fiction fueled by drama and science, which is a rare and awesome thing. Who knows where the show will wind up, but for these reasons alone I think it's worth tuning in Friday for the first episode. Send an email to Annalee Newitz, the author of this post, at anna...@io9. com.
Re: [scifinoir2] Re: ATT U-verse Doomed?
I agree. I was a cable installer for a while and U-Verse smashes the next best competitor in my area to bits in all areas. They haven't failed yet. They may have issues but they also have incredible demand. Serious huge demand. Get on a waiting list to get it demand down here. I wouldn't rule them out just yet. B --- On Sun, 1/24/10, Kelwyn ravena...@yahoo.com wrote: From: Kelwyn ravena...@yahoo.com Subject: [scifinoir2] Re: ATT U-verse Doomed? To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Sunday, January 24, 2010, 9:10 AM Isn't this always the way? As a unrepentant vidiot, I have done time with all the services and IMHO, ATT-U-verse is superior to all when you consider price, service and selection (for instance, DISH is cheapest but you can't get most of the black channels and BET is only available in the pricier tiers; Warner Cable is available everywhere - here in Milwaukee - but they don't carry the NFL network). Further, also IMHO, it is better to go without a dish instead of a dish (the ugly DISH Network dish is STILL attached to the front of my townhouse). It seems the best product always fails in the marketplace. That said, I have no sympathy for either ATT or Microsoft - although I do find it fascinating that they are running into problems when they finally deliver a better product. ~(no)rave! --- In scifino...@yahoogro ups.com, Tracey de Morsella tdli...@... wrote: Many have heard of the difficulties in implementing ATT's U-verse IPTV http://www.tmcnet. com/tmcnet/ snapshots/ snapshots. aspx?Company= IPTV service. ATT's U-verse network is actually a fiber/copper hybrid, which pulls fibers to 3,000 to 5,000 feet from the homes they serve, where it then connects to mini-DSLAMs called 52B boxes and then it runs copper the last mile to the home. This hybrid approach is a bargain when compared to the $20 http://blog. tmcnet.com/ blog/tom- keating/voip/ verizon-races- to-build- fiber-t o-fend-off-voip- and-cable- rivals.asp billion Verizon http://www.tmcnet. com/tmcnet/ snapshots/ snapshots. aspx?Company= Verizon is spending to build-out fiber all the way to the home. This hybrid fiber/copper approach gives ATT a 20Mbps+ link to customers, enough to offer high-speed Internet, VoIP, and the company's IPTV service. The problem is getting towns to grant public right of ways for these massive 52B boxes, which hold DSLAMS, batteries, and cooling gear in rugged, weatherproof cases. Many towns objected or wanted AT http://arstechnica. com/articles/ culture/u- verse.ars T to sign video franchise agreements. Lawsuits were filed, including cable companies that want to classify U-verse service as a cable service to force ATT to abide by the same build-out rules, which has drastically affected U-verse deployment . In addition, the IPTV service uses proprietary set-top boxes from Microsoft, which had their own share of problems - mostly http://www.dmwmedia .com/news/ 2007/01/26/ wsj-at-t- iptv-deployment- delayed-by -microsoft-software -problems software related. On top of all this, a new IPTV standard (DVB-IPI http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ DVB-IPI ) is about to be ratified (later this month) by the Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) standards body. This standard takes a very different technical approach than the strategy embodied in the Microsoft http://www.tmcnet. com/tmcnet/ snapshots/ snapshots. aspx?Company= Microsoft solution that ATT has implemented, and addresses many of the inherent challenges with IPTV, including quality of service, scalability and fast channel change times. Which reminds me, I really hate the slow channel changing times on satellite TV. I wish the set-top boxes would buffer the next channel UP and the next channel DOWN, so at least changing up or down one channel is fast. In any event, The DVB-IPI standard is based largely on a hybrid of well-established forward error correction (FEC) technology from Digital Fountain http://www.digitalf ountain.com/ called DF Raptor and a public domain technology known as Pro-MPEG COP3. These technologies are currently being evaluated by most IPTV providers in the U.S. and elsewhere. Several new deployments using this technology are expected to be announced later this year. According to Rose Anne Raphael, a representative of Digital Fountain, Whatever the actual problems in the ATT/MS deployments (since we're not part of these deployments, we have no firsthand knowledge), the strategy employed is one that inherently poses scalability problems and bucks certain foundation assumptions on which IP networks and broadcast architectures are based. Could this new standard make ATT's and Microsoft's gamble on their own proprietary technology be the nail in the coffin for U-verse? Certainly, a standards-based approach will eventually result in lower costs to deploy due to
Re: [scifinoir2] Swordfish
I saw it once. I have almost no memory of it. I don't even remember the Halle without clothes on part though I am certain that's in there. I recall it being terrible and immediately, obviously, forgetful. I think I'll keep forgetting about it based on your re(view) B --- On Sun, 1/24/10, Grayson Reyes-Cole grayson.reyesc...@yahoo.com wrote: From: Grayson Reyes-Cole grayson.reyesc...@yahoo.com Subject: [scifinoir2] Swordfish To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Sunday, January 24, 2010, 1:36 PM I don't know if this movie has ever been discussed here, but I just watched Swordfish all over again for two reasons 1) I was bored and 2) I keep thinking if I watch it again I will like it more. Neither reason was worth the effort. I'm just curious, lots of people I know like the movie and not just because they got to see Halle Berry's boobies, I'm in the minority because I don't (the only scene I like is when Hugh Jackman is explaining how he cracked the DoD, Halle Berry negates all of his explanations, then he fesses up to just being au naturel and seeing the code in his head). What do you think? Grayson Reyes-Cole http://www.graysonr eyescole. com Facebook Bright Star The Builder The Prescription Playboy
RE: [scifinoir2] Jonah Hex
I love the westerns so I am in as well. B --- On Sun, 1/24/10, Martin Baxter truthseeker...@hotmail.com wrote: From: Martin Baxter truthseeker...@hotmail.com Subject: RE: [scifinoir2] Jonah Hex To: SciFiNoir2 scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Sunday, January 24, 2010, 2:06 PM I'm game, too. If all the world's a stage and all the people merely players, who in bloody hell hired the director? -- Charles L Grant http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=fQUxw9aUVik To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com From: jazzynupe_007@ yahoo.com Date: Sun, 24 Jan 2010 18:34:02 + Subject: [scifinoir2] Jonah Hex Anyone other than me waiting to see how this one with Josh Brolin and Megan Fox going to look? Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry From: Kelwyn ravena...@yahoo. com Date: Sun, 24 Jan 2010 16:29:29 -To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.comSubject: [scifinoir2] Book of Eli ends Hughes' 9 year hiatus Hughes brothers are back with 'The Book of Eli' By Rob Lowman Los Angeles Daily News Posted: 01/17/2010 01:00:00 AM PST Updated: 01/18/2010 12:58:19 PM PST NEW YORK - Sure, they are twins, share a wicked sense of humor and do that finish-each- other's-thoughts thing, but there are differences. Ask Denzel Washington, who stars in their latest film, The Book of Eli: Allen is more the casting people, cutting guy, and Albert is the guy with all that geek stuff. See? Easy. It's like a two-headed mutant monster, admits Albert. Sometimes we walk around separately like idiots, but together we can be one complete whole. Allen specializes in one thing. I specialize in one thing. He can do my job, and I can do his job. He thinks more personality, Religious roles fit nonreligious Paul Bettany surprisingly well story and relationships, and I'm more like, 'I like this microphone' and 'How does it work?' But the real question is what have the 37-year-old filmmaking brothers been doing since their last film, From Hell, the 2001 adaptation of Alan Moore's graphic novel about the Jack the Ripper murders, starring Johnny Depp. Allen offers three reasons for the delay: First, they couldn't get the scripts they were interested in off the ground. Second, they were pretty successful making commercials, and making a lot of money tends to make you less urgent to make things that you should be making. Lastly, they took a twin sabbatical. For the first time in our lives, at 30, we went and tried to find out who we were as individuals. Encouraged by their mother, who gave them a video camera at age 12 while growing up in Pomona, the brothers began working on music videos as teens for rap stars such as Tone Loc and Tupac Shakur. By 1993, they had written and directed Menace II Society, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and went on to be a big hit. They followed that in 1996 with Dead Presidents, and then in 1999 with the documentary American Pimp, about the underground pimp culture and exploitation of women, which generated a fair amount of controversy. The brothers expect that The Book of Eli, which involves the power of the Bible, may generate some discussion, too. Allen says, When I read the line 'This is not just a book, it's a weapon,' that's when the hair stood up on the back of my neck. ... It's a rare occasion where a film can be a different movie depending on what you bring into it. For his part, Albert gave the film an eerie look, befitting a post-apocalyptic world. As we've gotten older, the references come from anywhere, says Albert. I've been recently influenced by this Czech photographer, Jan Saudek. A lot of the way the clouds are in the movie are straight out of his photos — desaturate everything and add a stroke of color. I wish you would have shared that with me, Allen chimes in. Talking to the brothers is a bit of a trip, careening from them riffing on an old Alka Seltzer commercial to some wild quips — most of which are best left unrepeated lest someone think they were serious — to talking about their favorite male soul singers. There is a key moment where Washington's character, Eli, listens to Al Green's version of How Can You Mend a Broken Heart. Green, Allen points out, has made an appearance on all their soundtracks, except for In Hell, set in London in 1888. Although they say they have nothing pinned down at the moment, the brothers promise there won't be such a long wait for their next movie. We're not waiting around another eight years — that's for sure, Albert says. It's important we get back to making movies where you leave the theater and it's a debate about it, Allen says. Even if you don't like the movie, you've got to respect it, and if you go to dinner afterward, you're going to be talking about it.
Re: [scifinoir2] Inglourious Basterds
Quentin Tarantino's rep out-hypes his talent by an exponential level. He makes terrible movies and has terrible taste. He should be stopped. Bosco --- On Thu, 12/17/09, Kelwyn ravena...@yahoo.com wrote: From: Kelwyn ravena...@yahoo.com Subject: [scifinoir2] Inglourious Basterds To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Thursday, December 17, 2009, 7:44 PM I have just seen Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds and I am powerfully underwhelmed. The movie it most reminds me of is Spike Lee's The Miracle at St. Anna. Both movies are bloated and too long and show a remarkable lack of narrative restraint. But where Anna has made $9 million, Basterds has made $312 million worldwide. Thinking maybe it's me, I googled other reviews: I don't know if I've ever seen a revenge fantasy so willfully messed up, sometimes offensively so. - Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune Clocking in at 2 hours and 32 minutes, it is unforgivably leisurely. - Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times. Tonally schizoid and rife with anachronisms (a David Bowie song on the sound track, out-of-era vernacular), Tarantino's Third Reich folly is utterly exasperating. - Stephen Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer All of these things are true and all of them can be said of Anna (with the exception of the Bowie song). Both movies are visually impressive (some of the images in Basterds are stunning), almost painterly but, in both cases, the heightened cinematography distracts from the narrative. Both directors have made better movies with lesser palattes. ~(no)rave!
Re: [scifinoir2] Tank Girl
I dont care if it's bad. I love this movie. It's totally totally fun. Iggy Pop plays a child molester and gets stabbed through the hand. Malcolm McDowell plays super fun super bad guy with no head. Ice T plays a killer genetically modified kangaroo. What's not to love? B --- On Tue, 12/8/09, Kelwyn ravena...@yahoo.com wrote: From: Kelwyn ravena...@yahoo.com Subject: [scifinoir2] Tank Girl To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Tuesday, December 8, 2009, 6:46 PM I just finished watching all of Tank Girl (1995), something I had somehow managed not to do before, and it remains bizarrely inspired and insane, making no sense whatsoever and fully justifying its $4 million in total box office (on a budget of $25 million). One would be left wondering what were they thinking? but they are more than willing to tell you: The strip features various elements with origins in surrealist techniques, fanzines, collage, cut-up technique, stream of consciousness, and metafiction, with very little regard or interest for conventional plot or committed narrative. In fact, writer Alan Martin described his attitude to plot in the third strip anthology as such: Never start with a clear idea of storyline. Instead, commence blindly, with a vague notion of trying to include a reference to your favourite band, gift shop, or chocolate bar. Mission accomplished. ~(no)rave!
Re: [scifinoir2] Korean pop star gets ripped, becomes ‘Ninja Assassin’
I saw this the day before Thanksgiving. There's little left to the imagination from the title. It was 100% fun. Fun fight scenes, cheesey dialogue, blood everywhere, super bad villians and a hero with a pure true heart. The weapons are awesome and there is some fullbore hilarity throughout. That dude was in fact, ripped. Though, I didn't think of him as a badass ever. he has such a baby/androgenous face. I pretended it was part of his Ninja disguise. If you like lots of fighting and blood, this one's for you. Bosco --- On Sat, 11/28/09, Kelwyn ravena...@yahoo.com wrote: From: Kelwyn ravena...@yahoo.com Subject: [scifinoir2] Korean pop star gets ripped, becomes ‘Ninja Assassin’ To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Saturday, November 28, 2009, 5:28 PM http://www.utahmovi ereview.com/ index.php? type=story aid=000838 Korean pop star gets ripped, becomes `Ninja Assassin' Story by Roger Moore (MCT) - November 24th, 2009 The Korean pop-star-turned- actor Rain (real name Jeong Ji-hoon) is ready for Hollywood stardom. He's willing to put in the work. He's patient. It's still not easy to make your mark, as an Asian actor or singer in America, Rain says. If I do my best, Americans will love me, too! I want to challenge myself to see where my limit is. If I do my best, over and over again, I will succeed. I know it. So what if Speed Racer, the first big Hollywood film the 27-year-old appeared in, wasn't a smash? He's back, pounding at the door with Ninja Assassin. He plays — wait for it — a ninja assassin, or rather an anti-assassin, a former ninja who defends those targeted by ninjas from the ninjas. And he has suffered for his art. I had to make my body fit, like Bruce Lee, he says. I trained for eight months, five days a week, eight hours a day. I ate only chicken breast and vegetables; no sugar, no salt, none of my favorite foods. It was horrible! I learned a bit of many different types of martial arts — kung fu, tae kwon do, tai chi, kick boxing, karate, karate with swords, chains, shuriken (throwing stars), kusarigama (dagger-chains) , ninja tactics. The stunt men on the set, they looked out for me. But with those sharp weapons, I could hurt myself even more easily than they could hurt me. It took some doing to sculpt the six-hit-albums singer into a lean, mean ninja machine, the loner Raizo, who left that old world of discipline and murder behind. The script gets away with a He looks more like a boy band singer than a ninja wisecrack only because Rain is so ripped. But that training regimen, those muscles, don't mean he's giving up the day job. I should be able to do both. I plan to concentrate on both singing and acting, he says. Always good to have a Plan B, with the chance of trade publications like Variety (Rain conjures only a mild drizzle as Raizo) panning the film and his work in it. But Rain plans to stick with his game plan, pursuing Hollywood work with a vengeance. He hopes, too, that this work might even attract the attention of the most famous director back home. The filmmaker he'd most like to work with? Oh, Park Chan-wook (Old Boy), he says.
Re: [scifinoir2] Clothing: Kinky geekware
Would the appropriate nomenclature of fans of this clothing be star freaks? She's a very kinky girl, the kind who looks like Vader! I've got to stop now. My brain is gonna go into overload. Bosco --- On Tue, 11/24/09, Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com wrote: From: Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com Subject: [scifinoir2] Clothing: Kinky geekware To: mahogany_pleasures_of_darkn...@yahoogroups.com Date: Tuesday, November 24, 2009, 4:31 AM Someone posted this on Fetlife. A mix of scifi and slightly kinky clothing. http://www.geekolog ie.com/2009/ 06/gallery_ sexy_star_ trek_and_ sta.php -- Bringing diversity to perversity for over 9 years! Mahogany at: http://groups. yahoo.com/ group/mahogany_ pleasures_ of_darkness/
Re: [scifinoir2] Clothing: Kinky geekware
Would the appropriate nomenclature of fans of this clothing be star freaks? She's a very kinky girl, the kind who looks like Vader! I've got to stop now. My brain is gonna go into overload. Bosco --- On Tue, 11/24/09, Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com wrote: From: Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com Subject: [scifinoir2] Clothing: Kinky geekware To: mahogany_pleasures_of_darkn...@yahoogroups.com Date: Tuesday, November 24, 2009, 4:31 AM Someone posted this on Fetlife. A mix of scifi and slightly kinky clothing. http://www.geekolog ie.com/2009/ 06/gallery_ sexy_star_ trek_and_ sta.php -- Bringing diversity to perversity for over 9 years! Mahogany at: http://groups. yahoo.com/ group/mahogany_ pleasures_ of_darkness/
Re: [scifinoir2] THE WIRE - 100 Greatest Quotes
I'm reworking the whole show from the beginning over the holidays. Bosco --- On Thu, 11/19/09, Kelwyn ravena...@yahoo.com wrote: From: Kelwyn ravena...@yahoo.com Subject: [scifinoir2] THE WIRE - 100 Greatest Quotes To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Thursday, November 19, 2009, 7:33 PM If you love THE WIRE like I love THE WIRE. http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=-Sgj78QG9Bg
Re: [scifinoir2] Go broke on one NY Times Bestseller a year
Selling 10K books without a real marketing budget or promotional materials or staff is not a very easy task. So is selling 10K worth of songs in single or album. Most unfinanced artists will simply never pull those kind of numbers. I have several friends who have published books. None of them have made a living except one and that's because Oprah picked her book. She was very lucky. Bosco --- On Thu, 11/19/09, Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com wrote: From: Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Go broke on one NY Times Bestseller a year To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Thursday, November 19, 2009, 5:38 PM That is the problem with large publishers. With the business model situation that she is in, it will take about 200,000 sales before she can start to be comfortable. Self publishing is an alternative but it takes a lot more work for the person doing it. No advances, you must make your own promotional dates etc. It is possible to sell 10,000 books and make the same money though. That is the same with music too. On Thu, Nov 19, 2009 at 8:40 AM, Kelwyn ravena...@yahoo. com wrote: Paranormal romance author Lynn Viehl bared all last week — she posted her complete royalty statement from her publisher, for her New York Times bestselling book Twilight Fall. And the details might make you reconsider a career as a novelist. http://feenooy. notlong.com - - -- Post your SciFiNoir Profile at http://groups. yahoo.com/ group/scifinoir2 /app/peoplemap2/ entry/add? fmvn=mapYahoo! Groups Links http://groups. yahoo.com/ group/scifinoir2 / Individual Email | Traditional http://groups. yahoo.com/ group/scifinoir2 /join (Yahoo! ID required) scifinoir2-digest@ yahoogroups. com scifinoir2-fullfeat u...@yahoogroups .com scifinoir2-unsubscr i...@yahoogroups. com http://docs. yahoo.com/ info/terms/ -- Bringing diversity to perversity for over 9 years! Mahogany at: http://groups. yahoo.com/ group/mahogany_ pleasures_ of_darkness/
Re: [scifinoir2] Precious moment
They're doing hella good with the book now as well. We're selling a ton. I will, alas be missing this one. It's gonna be here or is already playing Austin. I can't watch movies with child abuse of any sort. My emotional reaction is overwhelming and takes a very long time, several days, to overcome. As awesome as this film sounds, I don't have that energy to give to anything right now Bosco --- On Tue, 11/17/09, Kelwyn ravena...@yahoo.com wrote: From: Kelwyn ravena...@yahoo.com Subject: [scifinoir2] Precious moment To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Tuesday, November 17, 2009, 9:34 AM Saw sneak peak of Precious last night. I have never seen anything so soul crushing and life affirming. An amazing achievement. ~rave!
Re: [scifinoir2] Copyright Time Bomb Set to Disrupt Music, Publishing Industries
I would disagree. I think great albums continue to be made on a regular basis. We could take a trip down to Waterloo Records in Austin and I could pull literally thousands of full albums made in the last few years that were awesome. The quality issue is less about single vs album and more about the tidal wave of people recording music who simply shouldn't be doing it. We've got about the same number of great albums and singles coming every year but we've got an exponentially higher number of hacks watering down the pool with their drivel. That's been the issue since the start of digital revolution. Assuming, however that you are correct and the major players all bail to self released and self financed business models. What does that leave for the new guys? With the enormous pool of artists recording and releasing the songs, how do they get noticed without a well honed marketing machine to help create awareness? With the ease and virtual non cost of home recording and digital distribution the pool of people making music is going to continue to increase. The quality releases by unknowns and lesser knowns will simply disappear into the miasma of plain and pointless that's already drowning the industry. The music industry is a bloated demon but without it, lots of things are going to be lost. I'm not sure missing the next Prince or Dylan or whoever is the intended goal but it seems a likely one to occur. Bosco --- On Sun, 11/15/09, Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com wrote: From: Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Copyright Time Bomb Set to Disrupt Music, Publishing Industries To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Sunday, November 15, 2009, 4:31 AM If every major act out there starts doing like what the Eagles are planning, and what Prince, Nine inch nails, George Michael, Radiohead and others have done the business will be pretty much dead in a couple of years. Unless they learn how to adapt and work with a different business model. Back in the 1940s though early 1960s they worked on singles (45s) model but that went out the window when they started focusing on album sales. I think they need to go back to that. It is very rare that an artist will produce something that is so good for an entire album. On Sat, Nov 14, 2009 at 5:28 PM, Bosco Bosco ironpi...@yahoo. com wrote: This will be an interesting time for the music business. Other copyright issues have already begun with acts like the Beatles and the Stones. The interesting part will be if artists, as in the aforementioned Nicholas Cage bankruptcy thread, become business saavy enough to run the business part of their music without the massive infastructure that has supported the business for so long. The fall out from this is gonna be really really interesting for years and years to come. The music business beast may finally be felled but the results may not be as pleasant as many would hope for. I'm watching with intense interest. Bosco --- On Sat, 11/14/09, Mr. Worf HelloMahogany@ gmail.com wrote: From: Mr. Worf HelloMahogany@ gmail.com Subject: [scifinoir2] Copyright Time Bomb Set to Disrupt Music, Publishing Industries To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com Date: Saturday, November 14, 2009, 5:28 PM This has the potential to really hurt the music industry. By Eliot Van Buskirk November 13, 2009 | 3:17 pm | Categories: Intellectual Property, Media The late ’70s, when punk exploded and disco imploded, were tumultuous years for the music industry. A time bomb embedded in legislation from that era, the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, could bring another round of tumult to the business, due to provisions that allow authors or their heirs to terminate copyright grants — or at the very least renegotiate much sweeter deals by threatening to do so. At a time when record labels and, to a lesser extent, music publishers, find themselves in the midst of an unprecedented contraction, the last thing they need is to start losing valuable copyrights to ’50s, ’60s, ’70s and ’80s music, much of which still sells as well or better than more recently released fare. Nonetheless, the wheels are already in motion. “The termination that’s going to be coming up is going to be a big problem for the record companies and publishers,” said attorney Greg Eveline of Eveline Davis Phillips Entertainment Law. “It’s written into the statute,” said entertainment lawyer Robert Bernstein. “It’s just a matter of time.” The Copyright Act includes two sets of rules for how this works. If an artist or author sold a copyright before
Re: [scifinoir2] Copyright Time Bomb Set to Disrupt Music, Publishing Industries
Some distro's may be dead. Other's are thriving. I know of a couple that are doing really well because they have changed their business model to meet the demands of the changing market. Warner's didn't invent Prince but they sure did pay to get him in the studio, grow over three or four albums and oversaw the marketing for his breakout record 1999. Left to his own devices it's unlikely that Prince would have happened in the way that he did. That's true of almost every major artist you can name. I'm not defending the majors but I am pointing out that their finances have played a major role in every huge artist you can name. With those funds dwindling and the marketing machine drying up, a new infrastructure is gonna have to replace the old or most of the great new music will mostly go unheard and more importantly unsold meaning more folks will have to work day jobs and keep their creative roles as hobbies. That's a terrible thing. I certainly don't see how that will make discovering new artists easier. Bosco --- On Sun, 11/15/09, Daryle Lockhart dar...@darylelockhart.com wrote: From: Daryle Lockhart dar...@darylelockhart.com Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Copyright Time Bomb Set to Disrupt Music, Publishing Industries To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Sunday, November 15, 2009, 9:11 AM This is actually more of a challenge to social media than it is a problem for the music industry. This isn't the death of record labels, it's the death of distributors. but really, distribution' s been dead for 10 years now. It's also probably the death of mega conglomerates. So expect Universal, for example, to break out and re-brand its individual labels, like they do in the UK. Expect to hear about this great new band on Mercury. This has been the best year for new music in a long time. I bought 12 great records that came out this year. The difference is that most of the great records that came out this year were independents. And so social media played a big role in promoting new bands and singers, while Radio is still pushing priorities . We have to remember that Warner Brothers didn't invent Prince. They signed him while he was young and on the rise. It will probably be EASIER to discover the next Prince without major labels getting in the way. Right now, who's going to artist websites? I consider OkayPlayer.com, for example, to be one of my favorite labels. I like all the associated artists, and so if an artist comes out that's OkayPlayer approved, I'll buy. Same with Sonar Kollektiv, Foreign Exchange, or Ninja Tune. I trust these sites/brands and am happy to use them as a starting point for discovering new music. I NEVER go to Sony's website looking for new artists. Giving artists (and let's be real - managers and agents as well) control of their copyrights turns it all around, and gives people a reason to go to websites again. This is good because the artists/indie labels can make their money in two ways - from the downloads and, once they've gained sufficient audience, concert tickets and advertising! In addition, artists can capitalize on this by building destination web radio stations or branded environments on iTunes. There are also mobile applications that can be developed that a music industry of the 21st Century SHOULD have. Most importantly, it stops artists from getting 10 cents out of a 99 cent download! The challenge, then, is this - how does Facebook maintain its ridiculously high traffic when people rediscover that they can do other things on the web?! On Nov 15, 2009, at 8:47 AM, Bosco Bosco wrote: I would disagree. I think great albums continue to be made on a regular basis. We could take a trip down to Waterloo Records in Austin and I could pull literally thousands of full albums made in the last few years that were awesome. The quality issue is less about single vs album and more about the tidal wave of people recording music who simply shouldn't be doing it. We've got about the same number of great albums and singles coming every year but we've got an exponentially higher number of hacks watering down the pool with their drivel. That's been the issue since the start of digital revolution. Assuming, however that you are correct and the major players all bail to self released and self financed business models. What does that leave for the new guys? With the enormous pool of artists recording and releasing the songs, how do they get noticed without a well honed marketing machine to help create awareness? With the ease and virtual non cost of home recording and digital distribution the pool of people making music is going to continue to increase. The quality releases by unknowns and lesser knowns will simply disappear into the miasma of plain and pointless that's already drowning the industry. The music industry is a bloated demon but without it, lots of things are going
Re: [scifinoir2] Copyright Time Bomb Set to Disrupt Music, Publishing Industries
We were just talking about this subject tonight at my book club. Ray Charles is the classic example. He spent years at Atlantic trying to be Nat King Cole essentially. Ertegan and Wexler at Atlantic just let him do his thing because they new he had something. Then one day he calls them from New Orleans and says you need to come down here. They do and he takes them to a rehearsal and plays I Gotta A Woman. The collective jaws hit the floor because they knew that he was on to something amazing and because they knew their faith in the process had worked. That kind of AR actually went the way of the Dodo Bird in the 80's for the most part. I've worked with more than a few bands who were dropped when their first or second record failed to yeild the company expectations. What's sad and obvious is that return to this kind of approach would probably save the recording industry in the long run but there are too few who actually remember and appreciate it. Bosco --- On Sun, 11/15/09, Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com wrote: From: Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Copyright Time Bomb Set to Disrupt Music, Publishing Industries To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Sunday, November 15, 2009, 4:51 PM The music industry doesn't do AR anymore. They stopped doing that in the 1990s. Basically the job of an AR rep is to develop an artist by having the artist do show cases, work on their performance etc. and musicality. So by the time the artist hits they are well prepared. They thought that it was an unnecessary expense. So it is doubtful that any new Princes will be invented by the music industry. They are too busy turn Princes into Kanyes or Beyonce. Another thing that was dropped in the RB category is the group concept. The musical group no longer exists in that category. We may never see it again at this rate. (Unless it is an group from the alternative category crossing over.) I guess they figure that black folks are uninterested in people that play instruments? (the exception would be Keyes and John Legend) So no more Time, Zapp, or Parliament Funkadelics. Martin is right. They will use whatever works until it has been completely worn out. New faces same old sound. That varies slightly by region, but its mostly the same in this country from coast to coast. What happens in the US is repeated around the world. On Sun, Nov 15, 2009 at 11:22 AM, Bosco Bosco ironpi...@yahoo. com wrote: Some distro's may be dead. Other's are thriving. I know of a couple that are doing really well because they have changed their business model to meet the demands of the changing market. Warner's didn't invent Prince but they sure did pay to get him in the studio, grow over three or four albums and oversaw the marketing for his breakout record 1999. Left to his own devices it's unlikely that Prince would have happened in the way that he did. That's true of almost every major artist you can name. I'm not defending the majors but I am pointing out that their finances have played a major role in every huge artist you can name. With those funds dwindling and the marketing machine drying up, a new infrastructure is gonna have to replace the old or most of the great new music will mostly go unheard and more importantly unsold meaning more folks will have to work day jobs and keep their creative roles as hobbies. That's a terrible thing. I certainly don't see how that will make discovering new artists easier. Bosco --- On Sun, 11/15/09, Daryle Lockhart dar...@darylelockha rt.com wrote: From: Daryle Lockhart dar...@darylelockha rt.com Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Copyright Time Bomb Set to Disrupt Music, Publishing Industries To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com Date: Sunday, November 15, 2009, 9:11 AM This is actually more of a challenge to social media than it is a problem for the music industry. This isn't the death of record labels, it's the death of distributors. but really, distribution' s been dead for 10 years now. It's also probably the death of mega conglomerates. So expect Universal, for example, to break out and re-brand its individual labels, like they do in the UK. Expect to hear about this great new band on Mercury. This has been the best year for new music in a long time. I bought 12 great records that came out this year. The difference is that most of the great records that came out this year were independents. And so social media played a big role in promoting new bands and singers, while Radio is still pushing priorities . We have to remember that Warner Brothers didn't invent Prince. They signed him while he was young and on the rise. It will probably be EASIER to discover the next Prince without major labels getting in the way. Right now, who's going to artist websites? I consider OkayPlayer.com, for example, to be one
Re: [scifinoir2] Re: Fan Boy Dip Tard
I found it kind of horrifying. I am not really that kind of guy generally. I mean really. I've met lots and lots of famous people. I've worked in the music business with many people who either were or became very famous. I've never ever been like that. It was odd. B --- On Sat, 11/14/09, Kelwyn ravena...@yahoo.com wrote: From: Kelwyn ravena...@yahoo.com Subject: [scifinoir2] Re: Fan Boy Dip Tard To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Saturday, November 14, 2009, 8:04 AM I find this both amusing and touching. You are a true fan. ~rave! --- In scifino...@yahoogro ups.com, Bosco Bosco ironpi...@. .. wrote: Yep I am talking about me. I work in a large book store in Austin. We're very well known. Austin gets a lot of celebrities because we have pretty good professional film and music industry going here. I've had a lot of famous people in my line over the years. I've met Dan Rather, Owen Wilson, Luke Wilson, Matthew McConaughey, Madeline Albright, Ozzy Osbourne, Willie Nelson, Roky Erickson and Rick Riordan among many others over the years. I've never ever been star struck, until last Tuesday. On Tuesday, I walked up to my register to load the drawer and right there in my line was Larry Gilliard, Jr otherwise known as, D'Angelo Barksdale. After my jaw hit the floor, I verified it was in fact him and managed to offer up some kind of lame compliment. All the while, I felt like my brain was a worn out scratchy old vinyl record constantly skipping at the same point. I was a like a drooly adolescent fan boy. I was so goofy, I felt embarrassed for about an hour afterwards but even that could not nearly diminish the excitement I felt. I was 100% stoked and grinning for the rest of the day. Bosco
Re: [scifinoir2] Copyright Time Bomb Set to Disrupt Music, Publishing Industries
This will be an interesting time for the music business. Other copyright issues have already begun with acts like the Beatles and the Stones. The interesting part will be if artists, as in the aforementioned Nicholas Cage bankruptcy thread, become business saavy enough to run the business part of their music without the massive infastructure that has supported the business for so long. The fall out from this is gonna be really really interesting for years and years to come. The music business beast may finally be felled but the results may not be as pleasant as many would hope for. I'm watching with intense interest. Bosco --- On Sat, 11/14/09, Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com wrote: From: Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com Subject: [scifinoir2] Copyright Time Bomb Set to Disrupt Music, Publishing Industries To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Saturday, November 14, 2009, 5:28 PM This has the potential to really hurt the music industry. By Eliot Van Buskirk November 13, 2009 | 3:17 pm | Categories: Intellectual Property, Media The late ’70s, when punk exploded and disco imploded, were tumultuous years for the music industry. A time bomb embedded in legislation from that era, the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, could bring another round of tumult to the business, due to provisions that allow authors or their heirs to terminate copyright grants — or at the very least renegotiate much sweeter deals by threatening to do so. At a time when record labels and, to a lesser extent, music publishers, find themselves in the midst of an unprecedented contraction, the last thing they need is to start losing valuable copyrights to ’50s, ’60s, ’70s and ’80s music, much of which still sells as well or better than more recently released fare. Nonetheless, the wheels are already in motion. “The termination that’s going to be coming up is going to be a big problem for the record companies and publishers,” said attorney Greg Eveline of Eveline Davis Phillips Entertainment Law. “It’s written into the statute,” said entertainment lawyer Robert Bernstein. “It’s just a matter of time.” The Copyright Act includes two sets of rules for how this works. If an artist or author sold a copyright before 1978 (Section 304), they or their heirs can take it back 56 years later. If the artist or author sold the copyright during or after 1978 (Section 203), they can terminate that grant after 35 years. Assuming all the proper paperwork gets done in time, record labels could lose sound recording copyrights they bought in 1978 starting in 2013, 1979 in 2014, and so on. For 1953-and-earlier music, grants can already be terminated. The Eagles plan to file grant termination notices by the end of the year, according to Law.com. “It’s going to happen,” said Eveline. “Just think of what the Eagles are doing when they get back their whole catalog. They don’t need a record company now…. You’ll be able to go to Eagles.com (currently under construction) and get all their songs. They’re going to do it; it’s coming up.” Other artists are also filing notices (there’s a five-year window), according to Bernstein. But in some cases, they’re choosing to leave the copyright grant where it is — albeit with much more favorable terms. “There are all different kinds of ways people approach it,” said Bernstein. “If they have a publishing company that’s making money for them, and collecting it and paying them well, they may just want a higher royalty. Or if they’re unhappy, they get it back.” This isn’t just about music. “It’s every type of copyright,” said Bernstein. “It doesn’t distinguish between the types of copyright.” The only exceptions, he said, are derivative works such as movies based on novels that include certain music in their soundtracks, because Congress decided it was unfair to ask publishers to give those licenses back to artists and authors. The record labels tried to defuse this bomb in 1999 by sneaking an amendment to the Copyright Act through the House of Representatives that would add sound recordings to the Act’s list of copyrights that were considered “works for hire,” which would make them exceptions to the grant termination clause. According to one source close to the situation, the labels told Congress that the Copyright Act already covered sound recordings as exceptions because albums of music are “compilations” — but that “just to be absolutely clear, [the labels] wanted to put it in so nobody can debate it.” After musicians, including Carly Simon, reacted negatively, the amendment was withdrawn amid public outcry leaving record labels with precisely two options for fending off notices of termination,
Re: [scifinoir2] Dollhouse' axed
Those of us with a proud heritage of Tennesse White Trash that nobody else wanted still see ourselves as Southern and Texan. My family came down with the land grants from Mexico and promptly began to the scurge of ignorant hillbilly entitlement that scars this fine state to this day. You can leave the trailer behind but you never really wash the whole stink off of ya. What are ya gonna do? Bosco --- On Thu, 11/12/09, Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.net wrote: From: Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.net Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Dollhouse' axed To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Thursday, November 12, 2009, 10:58 PM Interesting points you make, but I have one quibble: If you live in Austin, you're *not* a Southerner, you're a *Texan*!! Trust me, after growing up in Texas, and living in Atlanta for two decades, I can tell you the differences are many, former Confederate membership aside. I confound people here all the time when they say I'm from the South, and I say, No, I'm not from the South, I'm from Texas. Well, it has to be the South, 'cause Texas isn't really the Southwest like Arizona and New Mexico is often the smart retort. That's right, I drawl, I'm not a true Southerner, and I'm not a true Southwesterner- -I'm a Texan. And that says it all... - Original Message - From: Bosco Bosco ironpi...@yahoo. com To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com Sent: Thursday, November 12, 2009 10:30:40 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Dollhouse' axed Obviously there is a relationship between ratings and success. Even an dopey southern, half wit like me can figure that much out. On the other hand, If your network goes out of it's way to ruin your ratings before your show is even on the air, you have to place the blame where the blame is due. In this case, the network is the problem. To be less than polite, Fox is totally fucking retarded. There's a bar here in Austin where the patrons play bingo with live chickens. The player who's chicken shits in the appropriate places first wins. The idiots at Fox could make their programming decisions with the chickenshit bingo method and it would be exponentially better than the first full drool cup method they currently use. Worst network in the history of television ever. Bosco --- On Thu, 11/12/09, bruce harden bhsleepystudent3@ gmail.com wrote: From: bruce harden bhsleepystudent3@ gmail.com Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Dollhouse' axed To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com Date: Thursday, November 12, 2009, 4:06 PM DONT BLAME THE NET WORK IF YOU DONT WATCH YOU DONT GET RATINGS .PERIOD.AND people dont want to seem to want to be challenged when those plain jkane shows csi navy spin offs are winning there time slots . Me ,I would like to see those dvr numbers because from what i can tell the genre stuff does well on ater time On Thu, Nov 12, 2009 at 12:21 PM, Bosco Bosco ironpi...@yahoo. com wrote: and we succumb to the inevitable. I hope he never works with them again. Bosco --- On Wed, 11/11/09, Tracey de Morsella tdli...@multicultur aladvantage. com wrote: From: Tracey de Morsella tdli...@multicultur aladvantage. com Subject: [scifinoir2] Dollhouse' axed To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com Date: Wednesday, November 11, 2009, 8:09 PM This just in: 'Dollhouse' axed This has been a busy week for cancellations. The latest addition to the TV graveyard: Dollhouse. According to multiple insiders, Fox has informed Joss Whedon that it will not be ordering additional installments of his low-rated drama beyond the current 13-episode order. On the bright side, the network still plans to burn off the remaining unaired episodes beginning in December. Hey, it’s something. Dollhouse has been averaging a mere 3 million viewers this season. Last season — when fan support, together with significant budget cuts, helped it to get an odds-defying second-year pickup — the show averaged 4.7 million. Bottom line: Dollhouse is lucky it ever saw a second season. Remember that when you’re posting your eulogies below. UPDATE: Whedon just posted the following statement on Whedonesque. com: “I don’t have a lot to say. I’m extremely proud of the people I’ve worked with: my star, my staff, my cast, my crew. I feel the show is getting better pretty much every week, and I think you’ll agree in the coming months. I’m grateful that we got to put it on, and then come back and put it on again. I’m off to pursue Internet ventures/binge drinking. Possibly that relaxation thing I’ve read so much about. By the time the last episode airs, you’ll know what my next project is. But for now, there’s a lot of work still to be done, and disappointment to bear. Thank you all for your support, your patience, your excellent adverts. See you again.” Tracey de Morsella, Managing Producer The Green Economy
Re: [scifinoir2] Dollhouse' axed
I figured that's about as self defining as possible. We rose up from the birthplace of Ugly, the Cumberland Plateau and headed west to Texas with the land grants from the Mexican Government. I am at least a 7th Generation Texan on my Mom's side and probably more on my Dad's. There's some seriously distrubing Okie heritage as well. I try not to talk about that. It hurts my soul. On the other hand, I'm a quarter German from my Maternal grandmother. Her folks came over from Germany and settled in with all the other Tuetonics in Central Texas. Texas, like every other place in the US, is derived from a history of land thievery, murder and deceit. We're just prouder of it than everyone else. Bosco --- On Fri, 11/13/09, Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.net wrote: From: Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.net Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Dollhouse' axed To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Friday, November 13, 2009, 12:32 PM Too funny. Not to pry, but Tennessee White Trash?? Wanna expound on that? - Original Message - From: Bosco Bosco ironpi...@yahoo. com To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com Sent: Friday, November 13, 2009 11:41:16 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Dollhouse' axed Those of us with a proud heritage of Tennesse White Trash that nobody else wanted still see ourselves as Southern and Texan. My family came down with the land grants from Mexico and promptly began to the scurge of ignorant hillbilly entitlement that scars this fine state to this day. You can leave the trailer behind but you never really wash the whole stink off of ya. What are ya gonna do? Bosco --- On Thu, 11/12/09, Keith Johnson KeithBJohnson@ comcast.net wrote: From: Keith Johnson KeithBJohnson@ comcast.net Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Dollhouse' axed To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com Date: Thursday, November 12, 2009, 10:58 PM Interesting points you make, but I have one quibble: If you live in Austin, you're *not* a Southerner, you're a *Texan*!! Trust me, after growing up in Texas, and living in Atlanta for two decades, I can tell you the differences are many, former Confederate membership aside. I confound people here all the time when they say I'm from the South, and I say, No, I'm not from the South, I'm from Texas. Well, it has to be the South, 'cause Texas isn't really the Southwest like Arizona and New Mexico is often the smart retort. That's right, I drawl, I'm not a true Southerner, and I'm not a true Southwesterner- -I'm a Texan. And that says it all... - Original Message - From: Bosco Bosco ironpi...@yahoo. com To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com Sent: Thursday, November 12, 2009 10:30:40 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Dollhouse' axed Obviously there is a relationship between ratings and success. Even an dopey southern, half wit like me can figure that much out. On the other hand, If your network goes out of it's way to ruin your ratings before your show is even on the air, you have to place the blame where the blame is due. In this case, the network is the problem. To be less than polite, Fox is totally fucking retarded. There's a bar here in Austin where the patrons play bingo with live chickens. The player who's chicken shits in the appropriate places first wins. The idiots at Fox could make their programming decisions with the chickenshit bingo method and it would be exponentially better than the first full drool cup method they currently use. Worst network in the history of television ever. Bosco --- On Thu, 11/12/09, bruce harden bhsleepystudent3@ gmail.com wrote: From: bruce harden bhsleepystudent3@ gmail.com Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Dollhouse' axed To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com Date: Thursday, November 12, 2009, 4:06 PM DONT BLAME THE NET WORK IF YOU DONT WATCH YOU DONT GET RATINGS .PERIOD.AND people dont want to seem to want to be challenged when those plain jkane shows csi navy spin offs are winning there time slots . Me ,I would like to see those dvr numbers because from what i can tell the genre stuff does well on ater time On Thu, Nov 12, 2009 at 12:21 PM, Bosco Bosco ironpi...@yahoo. com wrote: and we succumb to the inevitable. I hope he never works with them again. Bosco --- On Wed, 11/11/09, Tracey de Morsella tdli...@multicultur aladvantage. com wrote: From: Tracey de Morsella tdli...@multicultur aladvantage. com Subject: [scifinoir2] Dollhouse' axed To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com Date: Wednesday, November 11, 2009, 8:09 PM This just in: 'Dollhouse' axed This has been a busy week for cancellations. The latest addition to the TV graveyard: Dollhouse. According to multiple insiders, Fox has informed Joss Whedon that it will not be ordering additional installments of his low-rated drama beyond the current 13-episode order. On the bright side, the network still plans to burn off
Re: [scifinoir2] Dollhouse' axed
Actually I've mentioned it here on the list more than a couple of times. You probably didn't see it. I mean, how many people actually pay attention to my ramblings anyway. As for offense, I'm rarely offended by anything. Certainly next to nothing here on this list and specifically nothing from you. I've always felt like this was the nicest email list on the web and I've been always been pleased and proud to be here. Bosco --- On Fri, 11/13/09, Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.net wrote: From: Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.net Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Dollhouse' axed To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Friday, November 13, 2009, 8:49 PM No, I didn't know, and I'm not trying to pry. There are many of us on the list whose ethnicities are easily known because we talk about it so often. I mean, you'd have to be brain dead not to know that people like Martin, Astro, and me are black. But others? How many of us are white, and how would we tell if the person doesn't say so? When we discuss Star Trek, politics, idiot conservatives, even the evils of racism, none of that cries i'm white or I'm black necessarily. And beyond that, how many members are Asian, Latin, Pacific Islander? How many are of multiple categories, such as some Latinoes who are both that, and black? For that matter, how many are Latinoes who don't even check the Black box? Anyway, painfully caucasian? that's hilarious. Though now I gotta think back to see if I've said anything really fierce about painful caucasians that might have offended you... :( - Original Message - From: Bosco Bosco ironpi...@yahoo. com To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com Sent: Friday, November 13, 2009 7:58:26 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Dollhouse' axed You didn't know? I refer to it as painfully caucasian. --- On Fri, 11/13/09, Keith Johnson KeithBJohnson@ comcast.net wrote: From: Keith Johnson KeithBJohnson@ comcast.net Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Dollhouse' axed To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com Date: Friday, November 13, 2009, 1:01 PM Interesting. okay, let me be plain: are you melanin-challenged ? :) I only ask 'cause of those self-descriptions of Tennessee White Trash. I'm sure I have some European blood in me, but i'm basically just a Colored man! - Original Message - From: Bosco Bosco ironpi...@yahoo. com To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com Sent: Friday, November 13, 2009 1:46:25 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Dollhouse' axed I figured that's about as self defining as possible. We rose up from the birthplace of Ugly, the Cumberland Plateau and headed west to Texas with the land grants from the Mexican Government. I am at least a 7th Generation Texan on my Mom's side and probably more on my Dad's. There's some seriously distrubing Okie heritage as well. I try not to talk about that. It hurts my soul. On the other hand, I'm a quarter German from my Maternal grandmother. Her folks came over from Germany and settled in with all the other Tuetonics in Central Texas. Texas, like every other place in the US, is derived from a history of land thievery, murder and deceit. We're just prouder of it than everyone else. Bosco --- On Fri, 11/13/09, Keith Johnson KeithBJohnson@ comcast.net wrote: From: Keith Johnson KeithBJohnson@ comcast.net Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Dollhouse' axed To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com Date: Friday, November 13, 2009, 12:32 PM Too funny. Not to pry, but Tennessee White Trash?? Wanna expound on that? - Original Message - From: Bosco Bosco ironpi...@yahoo. com To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com Sent: Friday, November 13, 2009 11:41:16 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Dollhouse' axed Those of us with a proud heritage of Tennesse White Trash that nobody else wanted still see ourselves as Southern and Texan. My family came down with the land grants from Mexico and promptly began to the scurge of ignorant hillbilly entitlement that scars this fine state to this day. You can leave the trailer behind but you never really wash the whole stink off of ya. What are ya gonna do? Bosco --- On Thu, 11/12/09, Keith Johnson KeithBJohnson@ comcast.net wrote: From: Keith Johnson KeithBJohnson@ comcast.net Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Dollhouse' axed To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com Date: Thursday, November 12, 2009, 10:58 PM Interesting points you make, but I have one quibble: If you live in Austin, you're *not* a Southerner, you're a *Texan*!! Trust me, after growing up in Texas, and living in Atlanta for two decades, I can tell you the differences are many, former Confederate membership aside. I confound people here all the time when they say I'm from the South, and I say, No, I'm not from the South, I'm from Texas. Well, it has to be the South
Re: [scifinoir2] Dollhouse' axed
I prefer the moon. I wear long sleeves in the Texas Summer. I dont dislike the outdoors but I am not a fan of the yellow soul killing cancer ball. B --- On Fri, 11/13/09, Adrianne Brennan adrianne.bren...@gmail.com wrote: From: Adrianne Brennan adrianne.bren...@gmail.com Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Dollhouse' axed To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Friday, November 13, 2009, 9:44 PM Nah, he's probably just like me--burns to a crisp if he looks at a ray of sun. That's pretty painful! XD Naturally I'm a sun-and-heat lover, so I just wear 70 SPF and pray a lot. ~ Where love and magic meet ~ http://www.adrianne brennan.com Experience the magic of the Dark Moon series: http://www.adrianne brennan.com/ books.html# darkmoon Dare to take The Oath in this erotic fantasy series: http://www.adrianne brennan.com/ books.html# the_oath The future of psychic sex - Dawn of the Seraphs (m/m): http://www.adrianne brennan.com/ dawnoftheseraphs .html On Fri, Nov 13, 2009 at 9:49 PM, Keith Johnson KeithBJohnson@ comcast.net wrote: No, I didn't know, and I'm not trying to pry. There are many of us on the list whose ethnicities are easily known because we talk about it so often. I mean, you'd have to be brain dead not to know that people like Martin, Astro, and me are black. But others? How many of us are white, and how would we tell if the person doesn't say so? When we discuss Star Trek, politics, idiot conservatives, even the evils of racism, none of that cries i'm white or I'm black necessarily. And beyond that, how many members are Asian, Latin, Pacific Islander? How many are of multiple categories, such as some Latinoes who are both that, and black? For that matter, how many are Latinoes who don't even check the Black box? Anyway, painfully caucasian? that's hilarious. Though now I gotta think back to see if I've said anything really fierce about painful caucasians that might have offended you... :( - Original Message - From: Bosco Bosco ironpi...@yahoo. com To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com Sent: Friday, November 13, 2009 7:58:26 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Dollhouse' axed You didn't know? I refer to it as painfully caucasian. --- On Fri, 11/13/09, Keith Johnson KeithBJohnson@ comcast.net wrote: From: Keith Johnson KeithBJohnson@ comcast.net Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Dollhouse' axed To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com Date: Friday, November 13, 2009, 1:01 PM Interesting. okay, let me be plain: are you melanin-challenged ? :) I only ask 'cause of those self-descriptions of Tennessee White Trash. I'm sure I have some European blood in me, but i'm basically just a Colored man! - Original Message - From: Bosco Bosco ironpi...@yahoo. com To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com Sent: Friday, November 13, 2009 1:46:25 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Dollhouse' axed I figured that's about as self defining as possible. We rose up from the birthplace of Ugly, the Cumberland Plateau and headed west to Texas with the land grants from the Mexican Government. I am at least a 7th Generation Texan on my Mom's side and probably more on my Dad's. There's some seriously distrubing Okie heritage as well. I try not to talk about that. It hurts my soul. On the other hand, I'm a quarter German from my Maternal grandmother. Her folks came over from Germany and settled in with all the other Tuetonics in Central Texas. Texas, like every other place in the US, is derived from a history of land thievery, murder and deceit. We're just prouder of it than everyone else. Bosco --- On Fri, 11/13/09, Keith Johnson KeithBJohnson@ comcast.net wrote: From: Keith Johnson KeithBJohnson@ comcast.net Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Dollhouse' axed To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com Date: Friday, November 13, 2009, 12:32 PM Too funny. Not to pry, but Tennessee White Trash?? Wanna expound on that? - Original Message - From: Bosco Bosco ironpi...@yahoo. com To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com Sent: Friday, November 13, 2009 11:41:16 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Dollhouse' axed Those of us with a proud heritage of Tennesse White Trash that nobody else wanted still see ourselves as Southern and Texan. My family came down with the land grants from Mexico and promptly began to the scurge of ignorant hillbilly entitlement that scars this fine state to this day. You can leave the trailer behind but you never really wash the whole stink off of ya. What are ya gonna do? Bosco --- On Thu, 11/12/09, Keith Johnson KeithBJohnson@ comcast.net wrote: From: Keith Johnson KeithBJohnson@ comcast.net Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Dollhouse' axed To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com Date: Thursday, November 12, 2009, 10:58 PM
[scifinoir2] Fan Boy Dip Tard
Yep I am talking about me. I work in a large book store in Austin. We're very well known. Austin gets a lot of celebrities because we have pretty good professional film and music industry going here. I've had a lot of famous people in my line over the years. I've met Dan Rather, Owen Wilson, Luke Wilson, Matthew McConaughey, Madeline Albright, Ozzy Osbourne, Willie Nelson, Roky Erickson and Rick Riordan among many others over the years. I've never ever been star struck, until last Tuesday. On Tuesday, I walked up to my register to load the drawer and right there in my line was Larry Gilliard, Jr otherwise known as, D'Angelo Barksdale. After my jaw hit the floor, I verified it was in fact him and managed to offer up some kind of lame compliment. All the while, I felt like my brain was a worn out scratchy old vinyl record constantly skipping at the same point. I was a like a drooly adolescent fan boy. I was so goofy, I felt embarrassed for about an hour afterwards but even that could not nearly diminish the excitement I felt. I was 100% stoked and grinning for the rest of the day. Bosco
Re: [scifinoir2] Nicolas Cage loses 2 homes in foreclosure auction
This why so many lottery winners are flat broke within five years of winning big jackpots. They generally know nothing about money management. Managing a fortune is a full time job. If you don't treat it as such and learn all you can about how it works, you're gonna lose it. Bosco --- On Sat, 11/14/09, Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.net wrote: From: Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.net Subject: [scifinoir2] Nicolas Cage loses 2 homes in foreclosure auction To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Saturday, November 14, 2009, 12:06 AM Wow. Maybe this explains Cage selling off hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of comics in recent years. I remember reading an interview once with Bill Cosby about celebrities and money management. He and Oprah Winfrey had been discussing the number of famous people they knew who'd been cheated by their accountants and agents. Cosby and Winfrey both agreed that one of the most important things a celebrity needs to do when the money starts rolling in is to take courses in finance and money management. Winfrey contributed that many rising stars felt finances were something they could never understand-- especially some of the kids with little education--but that it was crucial. The bottom line, Winfrey said, was that you *have* to get yourself to the point where you understand every single deal and transaction made with your money. She and Cosby both said that they personally reviewed every check, every contract, every financial statement that pertained to them, as time consuming and difficult as that can be at times. Bottom line: always know where your money's going at all times. Cosby said it was one of the first pieces of advice he gave to young people. That, and never, ever giving anyone the legal ability to make financial transactions without your signature. * * * * * * http://finance. yahoo.com/ news/Nicolas- Cage-loses- 2-homes-in- cnnm-1304107173. html?x=0.v=2 Nicolas Cage loses 2 homes in foreclosure auction By Hibah Yousuf, CNNMoney.com staff reporter On 4:47 pm EST, Friday November 13, 2009 Even Academy Award winners are suffering from financial woes this recession. Actor Nicolas Cage lost two homes in New Orleans worth a total of $6.8 million in a foreclosure auction Thursday. Birmingham, Ala.-based Regions Bank purchased Cage's 1140 Royal Street property in the French Quarter appraised at $3.5 million for $2.3 million. The bank, which has about 1,900 branches throughout the South, Midwest and Texas, paid $2.2 million for Cage's 2523 Pataniya Street property appraised at $3.3 million in the Garden District. New Orleans's civil Sheriff Paul Valteau said no other bids were made on the houses. Cage owed $5.5 million in mortgage payments and $151,730 to the City of New Orleans in real estate taxes, according to Valteau. Hancock Park Real Estate Co., a corporation through which Cage purchased both homes, is listed as the official property owner. Valteau said attorneys representing Samuel Levin, Cage's former business manager, set up the corporation so that Cage's name would not appear on the mortgage documents -- a common strategy among celebrities. Levin also was listed on the mortgage document as the agent for service of process, Valteau added. That agent is the officer appointed by a corporation to receive legal notices. Last month, Cage filed a lawsuit against Levin in California claiming that Levin duped the Hollywood actor out of more than $20 million since 2001 when he was hired. The suit said Levin lined his pockets with several million dollars in business management fees while sending Cage down a path toward financial ruin. The suit went on to say Cage has discovered that he is now forced to sell major assets and investments at a significant loss and is faced with huge tax liabilities because of Levin's incompetence, misrepresentations and recklessness. Rather than attaining financial security, Cage has been forced to dispose of significant assets in order to pay for Levin's gross misconduct. A reporter's calls to Levin's office for comment were not immediately returned. CNN reported that Cage owes more than $6 million in back taxes and his properties in California and Las Vegas have also been foreclosed on and are designated for auction later this month. The actor, who's known for his roles in Leaving Las Vegas and National Treasure, has 5 projects slated for 2010, according to the Internet Movie Database. Cage's publicist Annett Wolf said she had no information and can't help when reached for comment.
Re: [scifinoir2] Dollhouse' axed
Allright, props for an adventurous sense of programming and jeers for an alarming penchant for killing shows in utter stupidity. Bosco --- On Fri, 11/13/09, bruce harden bhsleepystude...@gmail.com wrote: From: bruce harden bhsleepystude...@gmail.com Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Dollhouse' axed To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Friday, November 13, 2009, 3:12 PM BUT OF THE Major networks they seem too be the only ones willing to at least try something out of the box. me I' gotta give props to fx and marginally to tnt for pulling some of the stops out. On Thu, Nov 12, 2009 at 7:30 PM, Bosco Bosco ironpi...@yahoo. com wrote: Obviously there is a relationship between ratings and success. Even an dopey southern, half wit like me can figure that much out. On the other hand, If your network goes out of it's way to ruin your ratings before your show is even on the air, you have to place the blame where the blame is due. In this case, the network is the problem. To be less than polite, Fox is totally fucking retarded. There's a bar here in Austin where the patrons play bingo with live chickens. The player who's chicken shits in the appropriate places first wins. The idiots at Fox could make their programming decisions with the chickenshit bingo method and it would be exponentially better than the first full drool cup method they currently use. Worst network in the history of television ever. Bosco --- On Thu, 11/12/09, bruce harden bhsleepystudent3@ gmail.com wrote: From: bruce harden bhsleepystudent3@ gmail.com Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Dollhouse' axed To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com Date: Thursday, November 12, 2009, 4:06 PM DONT BLAME THE NET WORK IF YOU DONT WATCH YOU DONT GET RATINGS .PERIOD.AND people dont want to seem to want to be challenged when those plain jkane shows csi navy spin offs are winning there time slots . Me ,I would like to see those dvr numbers because from what i can tell the genre stuff does well on ater time On Thu, Nov 12, 2009 at 12:21 PM, Bosco Bosco ironpi...@yahoo. com wrote: and we succumb to the inevitable. I hope he never works with them again. Bosco --- On Wed, 11/11/09, Tracey de Morsella tdli...@multicultur aladvantage. com wrote: From: Tracey de Morsella tdli...@multicultur aladvantage. com Subject: [scifinoir2] Dollhouse' axed To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com Date: Wednesday, November 11, 2009, 8:09 PM This just in: 'Dollhouse' axed This has been a busy week for cancellations. The latest addition to the TV graveyard: Dollhouse. According to multiple insiders, Fox has informed Joss Whedon that it will not be ordering additional installments of his low-rated drama beyond the current 13-episode order. On the bright side, the network still plans to burn off the remaining unaired episodes beginning in December. Hey, it’s something. Dollhouse has been averaging a mere 3 million viewers this season. Last season — when fan support, together with significant budget cuts, helped it to get an odds-defying second-year pickup — the show averaged 4.7 million. Bottom line: Dollhouse is lucky it ever saw a second season. Remember that when you’re posting your eulogies below. UPDATE: Whedon just posted the following statement on Whedonesque. com: “I don’t have a lot to say. I’m extremely proud of the people I’ve worked with: my star, my staff, my cast, my crew. I feel the show is getting better pretty much every week, and I think you’ll agree in the coming months. I’m grateful that we got to put it on, and then come back and put it on again. I’m off to pursue Internet ventures/binge drinking. Possibly that relaxation thing I’ve read so much about. By the time the last episode airs, you’ll know what my next project is. But for now, there’s a lot of work still to be done, and disappointment to bear. Thank you all for your support, your patience, your excellent adverts. See you again.” Tracey de Morsella, Managing Producer The Green Economy Post http://greeneconomy post.com tra...@greeneconomy post.com
Re: [scifinoir2] Fan Boy Dip Tard: D'Angelo Barksdale
D'Angelo Barksdale was a character in the first two seasons of the Wire, the greatest TV show ever. He was played by Larry Gilliard, Jr. You simply have to see it to understand why I am in awe. Go rent it, seriously. If you don't love it, I'll pay your rental fee. I had a friend who loved it so much that he hand delivered me each disc from his netflix queue because he was insistent that I needed to know how great it was. I work at Book People. We're in downtown Austin. 2 floors and a little less than a half million books on hand. We have the best kids section in the US. www.bookpeople.com Bosco --- On Sat, 11/14/09, Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.net wrote: From: Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.net Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Fan Boy Dip Tard To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Saturday, November 14, 2009, 1:06 AM hate to say, but who is that? what's your bookstore? - Original Message - From: Bosco Bosco ironpi...@yahoo. com To: Sci Fi Noir scifino...@yahoogro ups.com Sent: Saturday, November 14, 2009 1:16:44 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: [scifinoir2] Fan Boy Dip Tard Yep I am talking about me. I work in a large book store in Austin. We're very well known. Austin gets a lot of celebrities because we have pretty good professional film and music industry going here. I've had a lot of famous people in my line over the years. I've met Dan Rather, Owen Wilson, Luke Wilson, Matthew McConaughey, Madeline Albright, Ozzy Osbourne, Willie Nelson, Roky Erickson and Rick Riordan among many others over the years. I've never ever been star struck, until last Tuesday. On Tuesday, I walked up to my register to load the drawer and right there in my line was Larry Gilliard, Jr otherwise known as, D'Angelo Barksdale. After my jaw hit the floor, I verified it was in fact him and managed to offer up some kind of lame compliment. All the while, I felt like my brain was a worn out scratchy old vinyl record constantly skipping at the same point. I was a like a drooly adolescent fan boy. I was so goofy, I felt embarrassed for about an hour afterwards but even that could not nearly diminish the excitement I felt. I was 100% stoked and grinning for the rest of the day. Bosco
Re: [scifinoir2] Dollhouse' axed
and we succumb to the inevitable. I hope he never works with them again. Bosco --- On Wed, 11/11/09, Tracey de Morsella tdli...@multiculturaladvantage.com wrote: From: Tracey de Morsella tdli...@multiculturaladvantage.com Subject: [scifinoir2] Dollhouse' axed To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Wednesday, November 11, 2009, 8:09 PM This just in: 'Dollhouse' axed This has been a busy week for cancellations. The latest addition to the TV graveyard: Dollhouse. According to multiple insiders, Fox has informed Joss Whedon that it will not be ordering additional installments of his low-rated drama beyond the current 13-episode order. On the bright side, the network still plans to burn off the remaining unaired episodes beginning in December. Hey, it’s something. Dollhouse has been averaging a mere 3 million viewers this season. Last season — when fan support, together with significant budget cuts, helped it to get an odds-defying second-year pickup — the show averaged 4.7 million. Bottom line: Dollhouse is lucky it ever saw a second season. Remember that when you’re posting your eulogies below. UPDATE: Whedon just posted the following statement on Whedonesque. com: “I don’t have a lot to say. I’m extremely proud of the people I’ve worked with: my star, my staff, my cast, my crew. I feel the show is getting better pretty much every week, and I think you’ll agree in the coming months. I’m grateful that we got to put it on, and then come back and put it on again. I’m off to pursue Internet ventures/binge drinking. Possibly that relaxation thing I’ve read so much about. By the time the last episode airs, you’ll know what my next project is. But for now, there’s a lot of work still to be done, and disappointment to bear. Thank you all for your support, your patience, your excellent adverts. See you again.” Tracey de Morsella, Managing Producer The Green Economy Post http://greeneconomy post.com tra...@greeneconomy post.com
Re: [scifinoir2] Dollhouse' axed
Obviously there is a relationship between ratings and success. Even an dopey southern, half wit like me can figure that much out. On the other hand, If your network goes out of it's way to ruin your ratings before your show is even on the air, you have to place the blame where the blame is due. In this case, the network is the problem. To be less than polite, Fox is totally fucking retarded. There's a bar here in Austin where the patrons play bingo with live chickens. The player who's chicken shits in the appropriate places first wins. The idiots at Fox could make their programming decisions with the chickenshit bingo method and it would be exponentially better than the first full drool cup method they currently use. Worst network in the history of television ever. Bosco --- On Thu, 11/12/09, bruce harden bhsleepystude...@gmail.com wrote: From: bruce harden bhsleepystude...@gmail.com Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Dollhouse' axed To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Thursday, November 12, 2009, 4:06 PM DONT BLAME THE NET WORK IF YOU DONT WATCH YOU DONT GET RATINGS .PERIOD.AND people dont want to seem to want to be challenged when those plain jkane shows csi navy spin offs are winning there time slots . Me ,I would like to see those dvr numbers because from what i can tell the genre stuff does well on ater time On Thu, Nov 12, 2009 at 12:21 PM, Bosco Bosco ironpi...@yahoo. com wrote: and we succumb to the inevitable. I hope he never works with them again. Bosco --- On Wed, 11/11/09, Tracey de Morsella tdli...@multicultur aladvantage. com wrote: From: Tracey de Morsella tdli...@multicultur aladvantage. com Subject: [scifinoir2] Dollhouse' axed To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com Date: Wednesday, November 11, 2009, 8:09 PM This just in: 'Dollhouse' axed This has been a busy week for cancellations. The latest addition to the TV graveyard: Dollhouse. According to multiple insiders, Fox has informed Joss Whedon that it will not be ordering additional installments of his low-rated drama beyond the current 13-episode order. On the bright side, the network still plans to burn off the remaining unaired episodes beginning in December. Hey, it’s something. Dollhouse has been averaging a mere 3 million viewers this season. Last season — when fan support, together with significant budget cuts, helped it to get an odds-defying second-year pickup — the show averaged 4.7 million. Bottom line: Dollhouse is lucky it ever saw a second season. Remember that when you’re posting your eulogies below. UPDATE: Whedon just posted the following statement on Whedonesque. com: “I don’t have a lot to say. I’m extremely proud of the people I’ve worked with: my star, my staff, my cast, my crew. I feel the show is getting better pretty much every week, and I think you’ll agree in the coming months. I’m grateful that we got to put it on, and then come back and put it on again. I’m off to pursue Internet ventures/binge drinking. Possibly that relaxation thing I’ve read so much about. By the time the last episode airs, you’ll know what my next project is. But for now, there’s a lot of work still to be done, and disappointment to bear. Thank you all for your support, your patience, your excellent adverts. See you again.” Tracey de Morsella, Managing Producer The Green Economy Post http://greeneconomy post.com tra...@greeneconomy post.com
Re: [scifinoir2] Finnaly Switching from Comcast - Please advise
I use ATT UVerse. It was a difficult start but a year into it, I am 100% satisfied. It's cheap. It works great and it's more robust than every other service available. Everything is done TCP/IP over a fiberoptics. All my devices, phones, TV Boxes and computers have IP addresses. It comes wireless and secure with no additional equipment to buy. The modem doubles as a wireless router. In short, it's a great value at a bargain price. It's technically superior to everything else and it makes my inner geek salivate. Get it, everything else is last century Bosco --- On Mon, 11/9/09, Tracey de Morsella tdli...@multiculturaladvantage.com wrote: From: Tracey de Morsella tdli...@multiculturaladvantage.com Subject: [scifinoir2] Finnaly Switching from Comcast - Please advise To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Cc: ' Lockhart, Daryle ' dar...@darylelockhart.com, afrikanm...@hotmail.com, 'Albert Fields' cbilmarket...@yahoo.com, bettil...@msn.com, CINQUE cinque3...@verizon.net, dorothyh...@sbcglobal.net, duva...@hotmail.com, fis...@bellsouth.net, 'GTW' gwashin...@aol.com, 'Jeffrey Ballou' jeffreypbal...@gmail.com, 'Kai Pettaway' killa...@gmail.com, kalpub...@aol.com, keithbjohn...@comcast.net, 'Kera' imke...@gmail.com, 'Leroy Hughes' seriousnup...@yahoo.com, 'Logic' logic1...@aol.com, 'Martin Baxter' truthseeker...@icqmail.com, 'Marvalous' mmb1...@gmail.com, 'Michael Gordon' gord...@indiana.edu, michael.v.w.gor...@gmail.com, 'ravenadal' ravena...@yahoo.com, rs...@yahoo.com, 'Seku Brathwaite' everything...@nyc.rr.com, 'Valery Jean' valeryjea...@yahoo.com, 'Wendell Theophilus Smith' wendellsmit...@gmail.com, 'Whitney J Evans' sonofafieldne...@sbcglobal.net, williamsf...@speakeasy.net, 'Zanfordino Anthony' beta...@yahoo.com Date: Monday, November 9, 2009, 12:15 PM About a year ago, I was planning on switching from Comcast and some of you gave some great advice regarding Direct TV and ATT, etc. Comcast lowered my price, so I put it off, but the price is about to go back up so I want out. Can you guys make any recommendations. Also if I do not take a package, won’t it cost more? Thanks
Re: [scifinoir2] Re: catching up on dollhouse
Dude That argument is like telling me Star Wars is the story of two droids who have a grand adventure in space. It's factually accurate but ignores that fact that there are several other important and worthwhile stories being told. Clearly there's some exploitation going on and it's ugly. Then again, it's a show about remaining human in the face of exploitation. I'm relatively certain that's a hard story to tell without some exploitation being represented. In the end, the exploitation is not the reason for the show. It's the driving force behind some really really creative and human character development. It's clear that your down to dislike Dollhouse and I'm certainly not gonna abandon ship so I'm gonna bow out of this little exchange. Bosco --- On Fri, 11/6/09, Kelwyn ravena...@yahoo.com wrote: From: Kelwyn ravena...@yahoo.com Subject: [scifinoir2] Re: catching up on dollhouse To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Friday, November 6, 2009, 12:48 PM Lessee... Echo is a doll who is sold to the highest bidder to fulfill their (often sexual) fantasies. In Episode 1 (actually Episode 2 but the first one shown) Echo is the perfect date, both a prostitute (she sleeps with the client on assignment) and the human prey of the same sadistic sicko (after he beds her he sets out to kill her - nice) - AND she is fully compliant because she is a programmed doll and not a fully functioning human being in control of her thoughts and actions. In Episode 2, she is a video ho. In Episode 3, she is a call girl/antiquities thief/lost little girl. In Episode 4, she is a powerless and compliant cult member. Episode 8:(I personally found episode 8, where Victor is sent on a lonely hearts mission and the client turns out to be his boss extremely creepy) SEASON TWO Episode 1, she is perfect wifey - a role she has played more than once. Episode 2, she is a hot baby mama. Episode 3, she is the student muse to a college professor. And I haven't even mentioned the misogynistic symbolism of a character having her face razor sliced. At least Larry Flynt had the good grace to call the dolls he sold polyvinyl perversity. ~(no)rave! --- In scifino...@yahoogro ups.com, Bosco Bosco ironpi...@. .. wrote: You're about 180 degrees off the mark here and over simplifying in the extreme. It's unfortunate but hey if you wanna ignore amazing work from one of the finest character development folks in the history of television, that's certainly your business. I'll continue to enjoy some of the finest Whedon so far. Bosco --- On Fri, 11/6/09, Kelwyn ravena...@. .. wrote: From: Kelwyn ravena...@. .. Subject: [scifinoir2] Re: catching up on dollhouse To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com Date: Friday, November 6, 2009, 8:27 AM Â What kinky sexual fetishes did Whedon explore in these episodes? ~rave? --- In scifino...@yahoogro ups.com, Bosco Bosco ironpigs3@ .. wrote: I'm really really busy these days and my outside work and family activities, like reading and watching TV are at a snails pace. I just caught up on the last three episodes of Dollhouse. I'm completely overwhelmed with how good it's gotten and how expertly Whedon is weaving the story line. I feel 100% redeemed in my prediction that he would make a great series out of this concept and I'll go out on a limb here and say this is some of his absolutely best work. What an amazing piece of television. Bosco
[scifinoir2] catching up on dollhouse
I'm really really busy these days and my outside work and family activities, like reading and watching TV are at a snails pace. I just caught up on the last three episodes of Dollhouse. I'm completely overwhelmed with how good it's gotten and how expertly Whedon is weaving the story line. I feel 100% redeemed in my prediction that he would make a great series out of this concept and I'll go out on a limb here and say this is some of his absolutely best work. What an amazing piece of television. Bosco
Re: [scifinoir2] Al Franken kicks eventy-million kinds of ass
That's one of the greatest things I've seen in ages. --- On Sat, 10/24/09, Kelwyn ravena...@yahoo.com wrote: From: Kelwyn ravena...@yahoo.com Subject: [scifinoir2] Al Franken kicks eventy-million kinds of ass To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Saturday, October 24, 2009, 3:23 PM After his marathon senate campaign and victory, Al Franken has proved to be a sharp, articulate and, more importantly, intelligent advocate for the citizens of (America) Minnesota. ~rave! http://www.boingboi ng.net/2009/ 10/23/al- franken-kicks- ele.html
Re: [scifinoir2] Re: William Shatner set to be beamed up
Subtlety is not my strong suit I suppose. Then again, I crack myself up constantly!! B --- On Fri, 10/23/09, Kelwyn ravena...@yahoo.com wrote: From: Kelwyn ravena...@yahoo.com Subject: [scifinoir2] Re: William Shatner set to be beamed up To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Friday, October 23, 2009, 11:02 AM dayum. how do you really feel? ; --- In scifino...@yahoogro ups.com, Bosco Bosco ironpi...@. .. wrote: Shitner Abrams trek debate Insert Yawn Here. Who cares? Abrams made the best Trek Movie ever without the egomaniac crybaby. He'll probably make another really good one with or without anyone's blessing or approval or senior citizen pointless cameo. I think he should go to the biggest Trek Convention in the world and take a dump on a table and walk out. That movie was the bomb. Anyone who doesn't get that can't keep on keepin on with their OS DVD's and reruns. I'll be their opening night havin enough fun for all of em Bosco --- On Thu, 10/22/09, brent wodehouse brent_wodehouse@ ... wrote: From: brent wodehouse brent_wodehouse@ ... Subject: [scifinoir2] William Shatner set to be beamed up To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com Date: Thursday, October 22, 2009, 1:09 PM http://www.stuff. co.nz/entertainm ent/film/ 2986590/William- Shatner-set- to-be-beamed- up William Shatner set to be beamed up Last updated 13:32 21/10/2009 Hollywood director JJ Abrams appears set to beam William Shatner up to the Star Trek sequel. Abrams suffered plenty of criticism from Star Trek fans when he opted not to cast Shatner, the original Captain James T Kirk of the USS Enterprise, in this year's big screen update of the iconic sci-fi film and TV series. Abrams did cast the original Spock, Leonard Nimoy. Star Trek was one of the most successful films of 2009, earning almost US$400 million (NZ$542.81m) at the worldwide box office, and with a sequel set for release in theatres in 2011, Abrams confirmed Shatner may be offered a role. I would love to work with him, Abrams told reporters in Los Angeles at a press conference to promote the release of the Star Trek DVD. We speak. We actually have a lunch date planned. Abrams opted to make Star Trek a prequel, winding the clock back to the early years of the Star Trek crew with young actors Chris Pine (Kirk), Zachary Quinto (Spock) and Simon Pegg (Montgomery Scott) filling the lead roles. While Abrams and screenwriters Bob Orci and Alex Kurtzman managed to find a way to bring Nimoy back, they opted against offering Shatner a role. The dilemma they faced is examined in The Shatner Conundrum, one of the extra features on the Star Trek DVD. It was a foregone conclusion we wanted him in the movie, Abrams explained. The problem was his character died on screen in one of his Trek films and because we decided, very early on, that we wanted to adhere to Trek canon as best we could ... the required machinations to get Shatner into the movie would have been very difficult to do given the story we wanted to tell and also to give him the kind of part that he would be happy with. It was this thing where it would have felt like a gimmick in order to get Shatner in the movie, which would have honestly, to me, been distracting. The success of Abrams' Star Trek and the welcome Pine, Quinto, Pegg and other new actors received from Trekkies will make it easier to introduce Shatner into the sequel, Abrams said. In terms of moving forward, I am open to anything, Abrams added. I feel like the first movie did some of the heavy lifting that needed to be done in order to free us to continue going forward. Maybe there's less of a burden and there's going to be more opportunity to work with him (Shatner). The Star Trek DVD, set for release in Australia on October 29, is filled with extras, including gag reels, three hours of bonus footage, commentary, secrets behind the costumes and sets and deleted scenes that reveal a side story involving Eric Bana's villainous character Nero. The DVD also includes what is billed as ground-breaking augmented reality technology which, through a webcam, allows a 3D holographic tour of the Enterprise. Abrams said the decision to hold the world premiere for Star Trek at the Sydney Opera House in April was the perfect launch pad for the movie. I have been to Sydney before and I loved it the first time, Abrams told AAP in a video interview. This last time it was so surreal. First of all I had never been to the Opera House which could not have been more beautiful. The reception was off the charts. The people were so kind. It was beautiful, maybe not atypical Sydney weather, but I called my wife and said 'We might have to move here'. I am serious. I want to go back not just for professional
Re: [scifinoir2] William Shatner set to be beamed up
Shitner Abrams trek debate Insert Yawn Here. Who cares? Abrams made the best Trek Movie ever without the egomaniac crybaby. He'll probably make another really good one with or without anyone's blessing or approval or senior citizen pointless cameo. I think he should go to the biggest Trek Convention in the world and take a dump on a table and walk out. That movie was the bomb. Anyone who doesn't get that can't keep on keepin on with their OS DVD's and reruns. I'll be their opening night havin enough fun for all of em Bosco --- On Thu, 10/22/09, brent wodehouse brent_wodeho...@thefence.us wrote: From: brent wodehouse brent_wodeho...@thefence.us Subject: [scifinoir2] William Shatner set to be beamed up To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Thursday, October 22, 2009, 1:09 PM http://www.stuff. co.nz/entertainm ent/film/ 2986590/William- Shatner-set- to-be-beamed- up William Shatner set to be beamed up Last updated 13:32 21/10/2009 Hollywood director JJ Abrams appears set to beam William Shatner up to the Star Trek sequel. Abrams suffered plenty of criticism from Star Trek fans when he opted not to cast Shatner, the original Captain James T Kirk of the USS Enterprise, in this year's big screen update of the iconic sci-fi film and TV series. Abrams did cast the original Spock, Leonard Nimoy. Star Trek was one of the most successful films of 2009, earning almost US$400 million (NZ$542.81m) at the worldwide box office, and with a sequel set for release in theatres in 2011, Abrams confirmed Shatner may be offered a role. I would love to work with him, Abrams told reporters in Los Angeles at a press conference to promote the release of the Star Trek DVD. We speak. We actually have a lunch date planned. Abrams opted to make Star Trek a prequel, winding the clock back to the early years of the Star Trek crew with young actors Chris Pine (Kirk), Zachary Quinto (Spock) and Simon Pegg (Montgomery Scott) filling the lead roles. While Abrams and screenwriters Bob Orci and Alex Kurtzman managed to find a way to bring Nimoy back, they opted against offering Shatner a role. The dilemma they faced is examined in The Shatner Conundrum, one of the extra features on the Star Trek DVD. It was a foregone conclusion we wanted him in the movie, Abrams explained. The problem was his character died on screen in one of his Trek films and because we decided, very early on, that we wanted to adhere to Trek canon as best we could ... the required machinations to get Shatner into the movie would have been very difficult to do given the story we wanted to tell and also to give him the kind of part that he would be happy with. It was this thing where it would have felt like a gimmick in order to get Shatner in the movie, which would have honestly, to me, been distracting. The success of Abrams' Star Trek and the welcome Pine, Quinto, Pegg and other new actors received from Trekkies will make it easier to introduce Shatner into the sequel, Abrams said. In terms of moving forward, I am open to anything, Abrams added. I feel like the first movie did some of the heavy lifting that needed to be done in order to free us to continue going forward. Maybe there's less of a burden and there's going to be more opportunity to work with him (Shatner). The Star Trek DVD, set for release in Australia on October 29, is filled with extras, including gag reels, three hours of bonus footage, commentary, secrets behind the costumes and sets and deleted scenes that reveal a side story involving Eric Bana's villainous character Nero. The DVD also includes what is billed as ground-breaking augmented reality technology which, through a webcam, allows a 3D holographic tour of the Enterprise. Abrams said the decision to hold the world premiere for Star Trek at the Sydney Opera House in April was the perfect launch pad for the movie. I have been to Sydney before and I loved it the first time, Abrams told AAP in a video interview. This last time it was so surreal. First of all I had never been to the Opera House which could not have been more beautiful. The reception was off the charts. The people were so kind. It was beautiful, maybe not atypical Sydney weather, but I called my wife and said 'We might have to move here'. I am serious. I want to go back not just for professional reasons. I just want to go back because it is fantastic.
Re: [scifinoir2] William Shatner set to be beamed up
I was hoping you were in line with me. That way I'll be in good company for the premier of the next movie B --- On Thu, 10/22/09, Justin Mohareb justinmoha...@gmail.com wrote: From: Justin Mohareb justinmoha...@gmail.com Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] William Shatner set to be beamed up To: Cc: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Thursday, October 22, 2009, 7:45 PM Feh. That was supposed to be love. Justin On 2009-10-22, at 8:38 PM, Justin Mohareb justinmohareb@ gmail.com wrote: Bosco, I believe I am in live with you. Justin On 2009-10-22, at 8:27 PM, Bosco Bosco ironpi...@yahoo. com wrote: Shitner Abrams trek debate Insert Yawn Here. Who cares? Abrams made the best Trek Movie ever without the egomaniac crybaby. He'll probably make another really good one with or without anyone's blessing or approval or senior citizen pointless cameo. I think he should go to the biggest Trek Convention in the world and take a dump on a table and walk out. That movie was the bomb. Anyone who doesn't get that can't keep on keepin on with their OS DVD's and reruns. I'll be their opening night havin enough fun for all of em Bosco --- On Thu, 10/22/09, brent wodehouse brent_wodehouse@ thefence. us wrote: From: brent wodehouse brent_wodehouse@ thefence. us Subject: [scifinoir2] William Shatner set to be beamed up To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Thursday, October 22, 2009, 1:09 PM http://www.stuff. co.nz/entertainm ent/film/ 2986590/William- Shatner-set- to-be-beamed- up William Shatner set to be beamed up Last updated 13:32 21/10/2009 Hollywood director JJ Abrams appears set to beam William Shatner up to the Star Trek sequel. Abrams suffered plenty of criticism from Star Trek fans when he opted not to cast Shatner, the original Captain James T Kirk of the USS Enterprise, in this year's big screen update of the iconic sci-fi film and TV series. Abrams did cast the original Spock, Leonard Nimoy. Star Trek was one of the most successful films of 2009, earning almost US$400 million (NZ$542.81m) at the worldwide box office, and with a sequel set for release in theatres in 2011, Abrams confirmed Shatner may be offered a role. I would love to work with him, Abrams told reporters in Los Angeles at a press conference to promote the release of the Star Trek DVD. We speak. We actually have a lunch date planned. Abrams opted to make Star Trek a prequel, winding the clock back to the early years of the Star Trek crew with young actors Chris Pine (Kirk), Zachary Quinto (Spock) and Simon Pegg (Montgomery Scott) filling the lead roles. While Abrams and screenwriters Bob Orci and Alex Kurtzman managed to find a way to bring Nimoy back, they opted against offering Shatner a role. The dilemma they faced is examined in The Shatner Conundrum, one of the extra features on the Star Trek DVD. It was a foregone conclusion we wanted him in the movie, Abrams explained. The problem was his character died on screen in one of his Trek films and because we decided, very early on, that we wanted to adhere to Trek canon as best we could ... the required machinations to get Shatner into the movie would have been very difficult to do given the story we wanted to tell and also to give him the kind of part that he would be happy with. It was this thing where it would have felt like a gimmick in order to get Shatner in the movie, which would have honestly, to me, been distracting. The success of Abrams' Star Trek and the welcome Pine, Quinto, Pegg and other new actors received from Trekkies will make it easier to introduce Shatner into the sequel, Abrams said. In terms of moving forward, I am open to anything, Abrams added. I feel like the first movie did some of the heavy lifting that needed to be done in order to free us to continue going forward. Maybe there's less of a burden and there's going to be more opportunity to work with him (Shatner). The Star Trek DVD, set for release in Australia on October 29, is filled with extras, including gag reels, three hours of bonus footage, commentary, secrets behind the costumes and sets and deleted scenes that reveal a side story involving Eric Bana's villainous character Nero. The DVD also includes what is billed as ground-breaking augmented reality technology which, through a webcam, allows a 3D holographic tour of the Enterprise. Abrams said the decision to hold the world premiere for Star Trek at the Sydney Opera House in April was the perfect launch pad for the movie. I have been to Sydney before and I loved it the first time, Abrams told AAP in a video interview. This last time it was so surreal. First of all I had never been to the Opera House which could not have been more beautiful. The reception was off the charts. The people were so kind. It was beautiful, maybe not atypical Sydney weather, but I called my wife and said 'We might have to move here'. I am
Re: [scifinoir2] Re: What Are You Reading?
Hey B I've read all the Gibson and most of the Stephenson. I loved everything by Stephenson from Snow Crash forward. He's very literate, well researched and intelligent. He can be a little dry from time to time. Each work explores a variety of themes from science to banking to economics to technology. He probably knows as much about the history of the computer as any human being alive. At heart of every novel is an adventure story. So while he's exploring some truly heady subject matter, he's also sailing the seas with pirates or spying behind enemy lines etc. I think my favorite is a tie between The Diamond Age, an exploration of the possibilities nano-technology and Cryptonomicon, a tale about the birth of modern computers and cryptology. I love Snow Crash and the Baroque Cycle but the other two really turned my gears. As for Gibson, I read Pattern Recognition which I found to be fun but not great Gibson. Spook Country was better than okay but not quite good. It dragged. Essentially Gibson's work is all built on the same structural mystery frame. It begins to wear a little thin in the latest trilogy. That said, I'm still looking forward to the third installment in the Pattern/Spook series. Bosoc --- On Tue, 10/20/09, B Smith daikaij...@yahoo.com wrote: From: B Smith daikaij...@yahoo.com Subject: [scifinoir2] Re: What Are You Reading? To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Tuesday, October 20, 2009, 8:35 AM I really want to read some Neal Stephenson but I keep putting it off. I'll have to tackle it someday. Has anyone read William Gibson's post-cyberpunk work like Pattern Recognition or Spook Country? My wife loved them both but they didn't fully hook me. I'm scared Stephenson's work will do the same. On the other hand I loved Walter Jon Williams' This Is Not A Game. It's one of the most enjoyable books I've read this year. --- In scifino...@yahoogro ups.com, Bosco Bosco ironpi...@. .. wrote: Anathem bu Neal Stephenson and Dream Of Perpetual Motion by author's name escapes me. It's an advance copy that isn't out until next march. B --- On Thu, 10/15/09, B Smith daikaiju66@ ... wrote: From: B Smith daikaiju66@ ... Subject: [scifinoir2] What Are You Reading? To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com Date: Thursday, October 15, 2009, 8:50 AM My semi-legendary To be Read pile is starting to thin out just a bit and it needs to be fed before it goes feral. Any suggestions? My wife has the last book of the John Twelve Hawks Fourth Realm trilogy The Golden City hanging around and I may add it to the list. I just finished an urban fantasy by Seanan McGuire called Rosemary and Rue. i liked it but I figured out the central mystery way too early and it made the book drag a bit. Plus I was hoping for something a little more gritty. I have two books waiting to be read that might fit the bill: Child of Fire by Harry Connolly. It's about a not so nice guy in debt to an even meaner wizard. I've heard it's a bit grittier than the Harry Dresden series and I'm in the mood for something similar. Next is Tom Sniegoski's A Kiss Before The Apocolypse. I first read his work in a collection called Mean Streets that featured a Harry Dresden story. The work that hooked me most was Sniegoski's story Noah's Orphans. Remy Chandler was the seraphim Remiel who gave up his glory after the last war in Heaven. He lived as a human but apart until the 20th century. He fell in love, got drawn back into the great game of Heavenly politics and had to hold back an apocolypse or three. In Noah's Orphans he is drawn into the mystery when someone kills the Old Man Noah. To say more would spoil it. I came into the middle of the series and mistakenly read the second book of the series which has some uncanny parallels to the current season of Supernatural. So now I'm finally reading the first book. So what's on your list?
Re: [scifinoir2] What Are You Reading?
Anathem bu Neal Stephenson and Dream Of Perpetual Motion by author's name escapes me. It's an advance copy that isn't out until next march. B --- On Thu, 10/15/09, B Smith daikaij...@yahoo.com wrote: From: B Smith daikaij...@yahoo.com Subject: [scifinoir2] What Are You Reading? To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Thursday, October 15, 2009, 8:50 AM My semi-legendary To be Read pile is starting to thin out just a bit and it needs to be fed before it goes feral. Any suggestions? My wife has the last book of the John Twelve Hawks Fourth Realm trilogy The Golden City hanging around and I may add it to the list. I just finished an urban fantasy by Seanan McGuire called Rosemary and Rue. i liked it but I figured out the central mystery way too early and it made the book drag a bit. Plus I was hoping for something a little more gritty. I have two books waiting to be read that might fit the bill: Child of Fire by Harry Connolly. It's about a not so nice guy in debt to an even meaner wizard. I've heard it's a bit grittier than the Harry Dresden series and I'm in the mood for something similar. Next is Tom Sniegoski's A Kiss Before The Apocolypse. I first read his work in a collection called Mean Streets that featured a Harry Dresden story. The work that hooked me most was Sniegoski's story Noah's Orphans. Remy Chandler was the seraphim Remiel who gave up his glory after the last war in Heaven. He lived as a human but apart until the 20th century. He fell in love, got drawn back into the great game of Heavenly politics and had to hold back an apocolypse or three. In Noah's Orphans he is drawn into the mystery when someone kills the Old Man Noah. To say more would spoil it. I came into the middle of the series and mistakenly read the second book of the series which has some uncanny parallels to the current season of Supernatural. So now I'm finally reading the first book. So what's on your list?
Re: [scifinoir2] Re: What Are You Reading?
Both are available readily from sellers at half.com starting at about .75 and going up to 15-40 dollars for brand new copies. Lots are available in good condition for less than $4 dollars. I love half.com Bosco --- On Thu, 10/15/09, B Smith daikaij...@yahoo.com wrote: From: B Smith daikaij...@yahoo.com Subject: [scifinoir2] Re: What Are You Reading? To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Thursday, October 15, 2009, 5:35 PM Good luck finding them. I found my copies when I was scrounging around in the basement and quickly put them on the shelf of honor. --- In scifino...@yahoogro ups.com, Martin Baxter truthseeker013@ ... wrote: I will, B. As for the two you recommend, I know that they're good. So good, in fact, that I was going to buy them at a B Dalton, and someone stole them when I put them down to use the Little Lifeform's Room. The manager told me that he'd rung them up personally, the *only* copies. Been meaning to re-order them. If all the world's a stage and all the people merely players, who in bloody hell hired the director? -- Charles L Grant http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=fQUxw9aUVik To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com From: daikaij...@. .. Date: Thu, 15 Oct 2009 22:13:15 + Subject: [scifinoir2] Re: What Are You Reading? Mieville is a bit hit or miss with me. He has great ideas and can write beautifully but sometimes his work seems to run out of steam and limp to a conclusion. I loved The Scar but was bit underwhelmed by Iron Council. Please let me know how The City and The City turns out. Have you ever read anything by Mark Sumner? He wrote two damned fine books in the late 90s called Devil's Tower and Devil's Engine. They take place in an alternate American West where magic exists due to a apocolyptic event during Civil War. They might be something you'd enjoy. --- In scifino...@yahoogro ups.com, Martin Baxter truthseeker013@ wrote: Right now, B, I'm reading China Miewille's The City and The City (the second The City mirror-reversed) , about a detective investigating the murder of a woman who seems to be a prostitute. The detective soon realizes that the woman is from a version of the city that exists in the same space as the city he's in. After that, I've got Brent Weeks' Night Angel trilogy, in which a young boy learns to become an assassin, but only after he masters the one unique magical gift he has. (Problem is, he doesn't know what the gift is just yet.) If all the world's a stage and all the people merely players, who in bloody hell hired the director? -- Charles L Grant http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=fQUxw9aUVik To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com From: daikaiju66@ Date: Thu, 15 Oct 2009 13:50:34 + Subject: [scifinoir2] What Are You Reading? My semi-legendary To be Read pile is starting to thin out just a bit and it needs to be fed before it goes feral. Any suggestions? My wife has the last book of the John Twelve Hawks Fourth Realm trilogy The Golden City hanging around and I may add it to the list. I just finished an urban fantasy by Seanan McGuire called Rosemary and Rue. i liked it but I figured out the central mystery way too early and it made the book drag a bit. Plus I was hoping for something a little more gritty. I have two books waiting to be read that might fit the bill: Child of Fire by Harry Connolly. It's about a not so nice guy in debt to an even meaner wizard. I've heard it's a bit grittier than the Harry Dresden series and I'm in the mood for something similar. Next is Tom Sniegoski's A Kiss Before The Apocolypse. I first read his work in a collection called Mean Streets that featured a Harry Dresden story. The work that hooked me most was Sniegoski's story Noah's Orphans. Remy Chandler was the seraphim Remiel who gave up his glory after the last war in Heaven. He lived as a human but apart until the 20th century. He fell in love, got drawn back into the great game of Heavenly politics and had to hold back an apocolypse or three. In Noah's Orphans he is drawn into the mystery when someone kills the Old Man Noah. To say more would spoil it. I came into the middle of the series and mistakenly read the second book of the series which has some uncanny parallels to the current season of Supernatural. So now I'm finally reading the first book.
RE: [scifinoir2] Re: What Are You Reading?
I've purchased a lot of stuff online and never had a problem. It's just as likely your credit card number will be stolen by your waiter or the person at grocery check out or by criminals rigging your ATM. That said, you can always fix the issue like so: Buy a prepaid Visa or Amex. Load it up with the amount of your purchase plus shipping. Make said purchase with pre-paid card with absolutely no risk to any of your bank accounts or credit accounts. Alternately feel free to spend inordinate amounts of time browsing used book stores. I know I HATE doing that( he said jokingly.) On a related note, my kid now has a weekly appointment less than a mile from the biggest half price books in the city. I've been there every week for two months now and I have pulled some badass finds!!! Bosco --- On Sat, 10/17/09, Martin Baxter truthseeker...@hotmail.com wrote: From: Martin Baxter truthseeker...@hotmail.com Subject: RE: [scifinoir2] Re: What Are You Reading? To: SciFiNoir2 scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Saturday, October 17, 2009, 4:29 PM Thanks, Bosco, even though I don't partake of online buying. (Say it's safe all you like -- I'll have my body double do the listening as I run screaming.) And, B, regarding The City and The City -- just finished it, and I'm giving it a thumbs down. Had promise, but got lost in its own prose. Hotmail: Powerful Free email with security by Microsoft. Get it now.
[scifinoir2] The Dollhouse Thread Again
I watched the new season premiere this weekend on my DVR. If you are not watching this show, you are missing out. Whedon's trademark character development is blooming in full effect. Amy Acker's character, among others, is fleshing out in fabulous ways. This show is going to become some of Whedon's best work. Bosco
Re: [scifinoir2] Dollhouse Returns tonight
The finale was aired. The original pilot which Whedon had to reshoot was not aired. It's a very fun show with a lot of what makes Whedon great shining through. B --- On Fri, 9/25/09, Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.net wrote: From: Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.net Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Dollhouse Returns tonight To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Friday, September 25, 2009, 11:30 PM The finale of last season wasn't aired in the US? Why not? I'll try to catch up on this show. It's supposed to rain--again- -here in Atlanta Saturday. Maybe I'll watch online to catch up. Thanks for the recommendation. - Original Message - From: Justin Mohareb justinmohareb@ gmail.com To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com Sent: Saturday, September 26, 2009 12:04:12 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Dollhouse Returns tonight Yep. Just like Firefly, it nearly got torpedoed by network interference, but once they got past the network mandated motorcycle chases, it got REALLY good. The last several episodes were very good. Plus, Patton Oswalt. The finale was particularly good, especially since it never even got broadcast in the US. Justin On Fri, Sep 25, 2009 at 8:24 PM, Keith Johnson KeithBJohnson@ comcast.net wrote: I missed most of Dollhouse last year. Other sources I've read say it became a really good show. Opinions? Is it worth catching up on and watching? -- Read the Bitter Guide to the Bitter Guy. http://thebitterguy .livejournal. com
RE: [scifinoir2] OT: Kanye West Again Ruins Award Recipient's Moment
Kanye West is a genius?? Who knew. B --- On Mon, 9/14/09, Martin Baxter truthseeker...@hotmail.com wrote: From: Martin Baxter truthseeker...@hotmail.com Subject: RE: [scifinoir2] OT: Kanye West Again Ruins Award Recipient's Moment To: SciFiNoir2 scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Monday, September 14, 2009, 6:54 AM I'm thinking that the Curse of Genius has bitten him on the a$$ and he's just gone N-V-T-S-NUTS. If all the world's a stage and all the people merely players, who in bloody hell hired the director? -- Charles L Grant http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=fQUxw9aUVik To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com From: KeithBJohnson@ comcast.net Date: Mon, 14 Sep 2009 04:01:50 + Subject: [scifinoir2] OT: Kanye West Again Ruins Award Recipient's Moment To get away from healthcare, rude Republicans, and terrorists. As Monty Python gang said, And now for something completely different... what the heck is wrong with the brother?? * * * * ** Kanye West Has Truly Lost It This Time Posted 6 minutes ago by Billy Johnson, Jr. in Hip-Hop Media Training You know that saying, it takes a village to raise a child? Apparently, Kanye's village has failed him. He obviously doesn't have a real friend in the world. There does not appear to be anyone who can get through to him, to make him understand that he needs to curb his obnoxious behavior. I thought it was a joke when Kanye showed up on the MTV Video Music Awards stage next to Taylor Swift, right in the middle of her acceptance speech for Best Female Video for You Belong With Me. It was the first Moon Man for the 19-year-old country starlet, who has become an equally huge star in the pop world. I always dreamed about what it would be like to win one of these one day, Taylor said with surprise. I never thought it would happen. As Taylor continued, Kanye interrupted, saying he thought Beyonce's Single Ladies video was wrongly overlooked. Hey Taylor, I'm really happy for you, but Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time. Taylor looked humiliated. I felt humiliated for her. The audience booed him, and gave her a standing ovation. I didn't expect Taylor to win that award, and I'm not upset about Kanye's opinion. However, bum-rushing the stage wasn't the appropriate time and place to express his disagreement. Not only was Kanye's approach disrespectful, it was especially a disrespectful act directed towards a woman--a teenage girl, actually. Taylor won't turn 20 until December. I can only imagine how her father feels. I'm sure he would like to have a talk to Kanye. I'm not related to her, and I'd like to have a talk with him. If Kanye wants people to win the awards he thinks they deserve, he should create his own event. He should name it after his website, KanyeUniversecity. com, and webcast it. Kanye is a guest at the MTV Video Music Awards. He does not determine the winners. The winners are determined by popular vote. Furthermore, aside from the fact that Taylor Swift is a top-selling artist, who has revolutionized teen country pop, she did not have any competition in this category as her competitors Beyonce, Lady GaGa, Pink, and Kelly Clarkson split the pop vote. Taylor had to get 100 percent of the country vote, plus some of the pop vote as well. It's simple math that even a College Dropout should be able to figure out. Ironically, a MTV writer joked that Kanye's rant was an indication that he might be inebriated. Kanye West ruins Taylor Swift's big moment, the MTV.com editor wrote. Further proof that he's on the Hennessy. In my humble opinion, that is. MTV also reported that Perez Hilton and Hayley Williams started a #TeamTaylor trend on Twitter. Pink tweeted about her annoyance with Kanye. Kanye West is the biggest piece of sh-t on earth. Quote me, she wrote. My heart goes out to Taylor Swift. She is a sweet and talented girl, and deserved her moment. She should know we all love her. Kanye has previously made award show rants about Gretchen Wilson, Justice and Simian, as well as Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake, but this was the worst. I give credit to Taylor. She handled it gracefully. The audience countered him by giving her a standing ovation, and booed Kanye throughout the night whenever his name was mentioned. Taylor performed You Belong With Me live just minutes later. I watched, wondering if she would feel flustered, and if it would show in her performance. But it didn't. I think she channeled that negative energy into a positive. Good for her. Fortunately, Taylor got another chance to complete her acceptance speech. When Beyonce accepted the Best Video Award for Single Ladies, she invited Taylor back on stage. Wow, this is amazing, Beyonce said when receiving her award. I remember being 17-years-old and up for my first MTV award with
Re: [scifinoir2] LeVar Burton on the End of Reading Rainbow
I just got so used to him in it that it freaked me out when he wasn't wearing it. I think it would have been way better if they simply grown him new eyes in a vat or surgically altered his to repair them. I think Gene's intention was to show that in the future disabilities would be irrelevant to the job at hand and there would be no bias for those who were differently-abled. I just don't think he pulled it off very well. B --- On Fri, 9/11/09, Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.net wrote: From: Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.net Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] LeVar Burton on the End of Reading Rainbow To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Friday, September 11, 2009, 11:16 AM It was canceled, due to a combination of budget cuts and a feeling the show wasn't remedial or direct enough in teach basic reading skills. As for the eye piece, I'm ecstatic he didn't have it. I always hated the VISOR on TNG. I didn't get why in a time when Data exists and they have nanobots and genetic engineering, a big clunky thing like that was needed. Why couldn't they grow some organic eyes for Goerdi and implant them in his skull? Surely that's not beyond people who can create Augments and enhance Bashir's brain power. Why did the VISOR have to be so big and bulky: the more normal eyes he sports in the later movies made way more sense. I just never got the artifice of that contraption, and was really really glad to see it go. And, to be honest, I did have one of those why does the black man have to have the disability attitudes about the whole thing. Get enough of that in comics with the likes of Deathlok, Cyborg, Spawn, etc. - Original Message - From: Bosco Bosco ironpi...@yahoo. com To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com Sent: Friday, September 11, 2009 12:07:36 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] LeVar Burton on the End of Reading Rainbow I don't have time to read the transcript just now, was it cancelled or did Mr. Burton retire? That show was bad ass. Almost no whistles and bells, just books and stories and kids. I haven't seen it in a while but I'm sad to see it go. As a side note, I always found it creepy that he didn't wear the eye covering on the show. B --- On Thu, 9/10/09, Keith Johnson KeithBJohnson@ comcast.net wrote: From: Keith Johnson KeithBJohnson@ comcast.net Subject: [scifinoir2] LeVar Burton on the End of Reading Rainbow To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com Date: Thursday, September 10, 2009, 11:34 PM A sad and mostly unnoticed end to a very important program. Several people called into the broadcast to thank Burton for his two-plus decades of teaching their children to read and love reading. They were very upset. Hey...maybe Obama should make a statement supporting the program? Yeah right: that'll make sure it stays dead and buried for all time. Can't risk having Burton teach the kids anything dangerous like how to read something outside of headlines and webpage tickers You can listen to the broadcast at the link below, or read the transcript. http://www.npr. org/templates/ story/story. php?storyId= 112679753
Re: [scifinoir2] LeVar Burton on the End of Reading Rainbow
I don't have time to read the transcript just now, was it cancelled or did Mr. Burton retire? That show was bad ass. Almost no whistles and bells, just books and stories and kids. I haven't seen it in a while but I'm sad to see it go. As a side note, I always found it creepy that he didn't wear the eye covering on the show. B --- On Thu, 9/10/09, Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.net wrote: From: Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.net Subject: [scifinoir2] LeVar Burton on the End of Reading Rainbow To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Thursday, September 10, 2009, 11:34 PM A sad and mostly unnoticed end to a very important program. Several people called into the broadcast to thank Burton for his two-plus decades of teaching their children to read and love reading. They were very upset. Hey...maybe Obama should make a statement supporting the program? Yeah right: that'll make sure it stays dead and buried for all time. Can't risk having Burton teach the kids anything dangerous like how to read something outside of headlines and webpage tickers You can listen to the broadcast at the link below, or read the transcript. http://www.npr. org/templates/ story/story. php?storyId= 112679753
Re: [scifinoir2] Re: Atheists offer to care for Christians' pets after rapture
If you add the hydraulics, you can just bounce right over the hellfire, paint job or no. On the other hand, I'm really fearful that Michael Bolton may be the anti-christ. If so, I may rethink it all. Blue Eyed Devil In Deed!! Bosco --- On Tue, 9/8/09, ravenadal ravena...@yahoo.com wrote: From: ravenadal ravena...@yahoo.com Subject: [scifinoir2] Re: Atheists offer to care for Christians' pets after rapture To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Tuesday, September 8, 2009, 4:24 PM Uh...well, if your car is one of those with the hellfire paint job, I don't want it. ~rave! --- In scifino...@yahoogro ups.com, Milton Davis mv_media_atl@ ... wrote: Of course you can. Just be mindful of the hellfire. --- On Tue, 9/8/09, ravenadal ravena...@. .. wrote: From: ravenadal ravena...@. .. Subject: [scifinoir2] Re: Atheists offer to care for Christians' pets after rapture To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com Date: Tuesday, September 8, 2009, 2:23 PM  So...I can't have your car? --- In scifino...@yahoogro ups.com, Milton Davis mv_media_atl@ ... wrote: They won't have time to take care of pets. They'll be to busy with the Apocolypse. --- On Tue, 9/8/09, Mr. Worf HelloMahogany@ ... wrote: From: Mr. Worf HelloMahogany@ ... Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] Re: Atheists offer to care for Christians' pets after rapture To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com Date: Tuesday, September 8, 2009, 4:57 AM  Another factoid. The bible never mentioned an apple in the garden of Eden. It was a fruit. There were no apples in the middle east. On Mon, Sep 7, 2009 at 8:19 PM, ravenadal ravena...@yahoo. com wrote: You had me at rapture monkeys. ~rave! --- In scifino...@yahoogro ups.com, Bosco Bosco ironpigs3@ . wrote: Laugh all you want. There's absolutely nothing in the bible about the rapture. Jesus did not teach about a rapture. None of his disciples taught about a rapture. The Bible never mentions it. Only American fundamentalist protestant Christians really even consider it a reality.Remember that thing about the stupid people ruining it for the rest of us. This is one of the things the stupid people believe. Yes I am belittling a religious belief. Yes I'm comfortable with that. I'm not gonna be LEFT BEHIND, I'm gonna STAY BEHIND because, assuming the infintesimal possibility that there is a rapture coming, I'd rather burn in hell for all eternity than spend it in heaven with the rapture monkeys. I only wish I had thought of the petcare idea. My favorite rapture joke ever? A bumper sticker that reads: Come The Rapture, Can I have your Car? Bosco --- On Sun, 9/6/09, Martin Baxter truthseeker013@ ... wrote: From: Martin Baxter truthseeker013@ ... Subject: RE: [scifinoir2] Atheists offer to care for Christians' pets after rapture To: SciFiNoir2 scifinoir2@ yahoogro ups.com Date: Sunday, September 6, 2009, 5:53 PM  I shouldn't be laughing... really I shouldn't. Martin (won't be taking care of any Christians' pets, because he'll be slow-roasting for this) If all the world's a stage and all the people merely players, who in bloody hell hired the director? -- Charles L Grant http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=fQUxw9aUVik To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com From: ravena...@yahoo. com Date: Sun, 6 Sep 2009 21:55:21 + Subject: [scifinoir2] Atheists offer to care for Christians' pets after rapture           http://murairo. notlong.com Now a group of atheists in the US have come up with a tongue-in-cheek solution, offering to take in the cats and dogs of saved believers in return for a small fee. All the atheists signed up by Eternal Earth-Bound Pets are self-confessed sinners and blasphemers, guaranteeing they will be left behind when the chosen are selected The business idea is an irreverent attempt to cash in on the belief †widespread among US Christians †that the pious will be carried up to heaven by God in a sudden swoop, leaving unbelievers to endure the seven-year reign of the anti-Christ on Earth. According to some polls, as many as 55 per cent of Americans believe in the notion of the Rapture. You've committed your life to Jesus. You know you're saved. But when the Rapture comes what's to become of your loving pets who are left behind? the group's website asks. Eternal Earth-Bound Pets takes that burden off your mind. For $110, the firm promises lifetime
RE: [scifinoir2] Atheists offer to care for Christians' pets after rapture
Laugh all you want. There's absolutely nothing in the bible about the rapture. Jesus did not teach about a rapture. None of his disciples taught about a rapture. The Bible never mentions it. Only American fundamentalist protestant Christians really even consider it a reality.Remember that thing about the stupid people ruining it for the rest of us. This is one of the things the stupid people believe. Yes I am belittling a religious belief. Yes I'm comfortable with that. I'm not gonna be LEFT BEHIND, I'm gonna STAY BEHIND because, assuming the infintesimal possibility that there is a rapture coming, I'd rather burn in hell for all eternity than spend it in heaven with the rapture monkeys. I only wish I had thought of the petcare idea. My favorite rapture joke ever? A bumper sticker that reads: Come The Rapture, Can I have your Car? Bosco --- On Sun, 9/6/09, Martin Baxter truthseeker...@hotmail.com wrote: From: Martin Baxter truthseeker...@hotmail.com Subject: RE: [scifinoir2] Atheists offer to care for Christians' pets after rapture To: SciFiNoir2 scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Sunday, September 6, 2009, 5:53 PM I shouldn't be laughing... really I shouldn't. Martin (won't be taking care of any Christians' pets, because he'll be slow-roasting for this) If all the world's a stage and all the people merely players, who in bloody hell hired the director? -- Charles L Grant http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=fQUxw9aUVik To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com From: ravena...@yahoo. com Date: Sun, 6 Sep 2009 21:55:21 + Subject: [scifinoir2] Atheists offer to care for Christians' pets after rapture http://murairo. notlong.com Now a group of atheists in the US have come up with a tongue-in-cheek solution, offering to take in the cats and dogs of saved believers in return for a small fee. All the atheists signed up by Eternal Earth-Bound Pets are self-confessed sinners and blasphemers, guaranteeing they will be left behind when the chosen are selected The business idea is an irreverent attempt to cash in on the belief – widespread among US Christians – that the pious will be carried up to heaven by God in a sudden swoop, leaving unbelievers to endure the seven-year reign of the anti-Christ on Earth. According to some polls, as many as 55 per cent of Americans believe in the notion of the Rapture. You've committed your life to Jesus. You know you're saved. But when the Rapture comes what's to become of your loving pets who are left behind? the group's website asks. Eternal Earth-Bound Pets takes that burden off your mind. For $110, the firm promises lifetime care for almost all domestic pets if their owners are transported to heaven within the next ten years. The offer may sound far-fetched, and even a little provocative, but the group insists it is not joking. It claims to have a network of pet-loving atheists spread across 20 states to ensure speedy, local animal care wherever the Rapture occurs, and has established a PayPal account to take subscriptions. The founders also assure believers that their animals will enjoy an excellent quality of life: All pets will live in loving homes, not in animal shelters or pet 'mills'. And while the company promises that all its atheist carers are moral people with no criminal records, it stresses that they are not too saintly. Each of our representatives has stated to us in writing that they are atheists, do not believe in God / Jesus, and that they have blasphemed in accordance with Mark 3:29, negating any chance of salvation, the website states. But potential customers would be advised to read the terms and conditions before forking out their $110; if the subscriber loses their faith or is not Raputered in the next 10 years, they are not entitled to a refund. The venture follows the launch last year of a new internet service designed to allow Christian subscribers to send emails to non-believing friends and relatives after the Rapture. Hotmail® is up to 70% faster. Now good news travels really fast. Try it now.
Re: [scifinoir2] FW: [AFAMHED] Texas Executed an Innocent Man
What turns my stomach even more is in spite of the overwhelming evidence that the system is broken most people think it works well. Stupid people, they ruin it for the rest of us. B --- On Fri, 9/4/09, Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.net wrote: From: Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.net Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] FW: [AFAMHED] Texas Executed an Innocent Man To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Friday, September 4, 2009, 11:32 PM Turns your stomach, doesn't it, that a state can do so much wrong it *needs* to have such high payouts! - Original Message - From: Bosco Bosco ironpi...@yahoo. com To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com Sent: Friday, September 4, 2009 12:19:25 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] FW: [AFAMHED] Texas Executed an Innocent Man In regards to the hideousness of the Texas Justice System http://news. yahoo.com/ s/ap/20090904/ ap_on_re_ us/us_exoneree_ millionaires --- On Wed, 9/2/09, Keith Johnson KeithBJohnson@ comcast.net wrote: From: Keith Johnson KeithBJohnson@ comcast.net Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] FW: [AFAMHED] Texas Executed an Innocent Man To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com Date: Wednesday, September 2, 2009, 11:18 PM From what I understand of Pennsylvania, I think Texas is a better choice. Despite its lingering racism, like many states down that way, it at least has a longer history of whites and blacks mixing in more areas and ways than some of the Northern or upper Midwestern states. - Original Message - From: Tracey de Morsella tdli...@multicultur aladvantage. com To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com Sent: Wednesday, September 2, 2009 1:55:04 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: RE: [scifinoir2] FW: [AFAMHED] Texas Executed an Innocent Man And you ask me why I do not want to move there. It seems worst than Pennsyltucky, where I am from. That being said, I’ve been to Texas several times and people were very nice to me. However, I never ran afoul of the law From: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com [mailto:scifinoir2@ yahoogroups. com] On Behalf Of Keith Johnson Sent: Tuesday, September 01, 2009 8:38 PM To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] FW: [AFAMHED] Texas Executed an Innocent Man Yeah, I know. I was born and raised in Texas, after all. My late father ran afoul of its system when trying to vote back in the '40s, and having local officials try to apply a poll tax to him. I dealt with the DWB thing, and have lots of friends who've run afoul of the law in many ways--none to the level of being on death row, thank God. The abusive legal system, with its paternalistic/ ultra-conservati ve/ racist workings, has always been a sad legacy to a state that, conservative leanings aside, has a lot of really great things to offer. - Original Message - From: Bosco Bosco ironpi...@yahoo. com To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com Sent: Tuesday, September 1, 2009 11:05:01 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] FW: [AFAMHED] Texas Executed an Innocent Man Texas leads the rest of the first world combined in executions. I mean like every other first world country combined execute fewer people than the state of Texas. I kid you not, sir. --- On Mon, 8/31/09, Keith Johnson KeithBJohnson@ comcast.net wrote: From: Keith Johnson KeithBJohnson@ comcast.net Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] FW: [AFAMHED] Texas Executed an Innocent Man To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com Date: Monday, August 31, 2009, 11:25 PM It's not just Texas. Georgia's bad too. We have the Troy Davis case here now, the one that just went to the Supreme Court. Seven of the nine people who testified against Davis 20 years ago now say they were wrong or just plain lying, but the courts wanted to kill him anyway.And as always, guess who on the High Court was in favor of letting the execution go forward? Uncle Tom... Texas, Florida, Georgia, are among the worst. But Alabama, the Carolinas, Mississippi, are bad too. It's one reason among many I can never support the death penalty... - Original Message - From: Mr. Worf HelloMahogany@ gmail.com To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com Sent: Monday, August 31, 2009 5:03:39 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] FW: [AFAMHED] Texas Executed an Innocent Man One more thing. They also have a few judges that have given people 99 years over crimes that were misdemeanors. On Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 2:02 PM, Mr. Worf hellomahogany@ gmail.com wrote: Texas has always played fast and loose with the law. I have a young cousin that served 8 years (just got out a few months ago) for a robbery but wasn't there at all. After 8 years and four appeals he was finally released. Can
Re: [scifinoir2] FW: [AFAMHED] Texas Executed an Innocent Man
In regards to the hideousness of the Texas Justice System http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090904/ap_on_re_us/us_exoneree_millionaires --- On Wed, 9/2/09, Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.net wrote: From: Keith Johnson keithbjohn...@comcast.net Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] FW: [AFAMHED] Texas Executed an Innocent Man To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Wednesday, September 2, 2009, 11:18 PM From what I understand of Pennsylvania, I think Texas is a better choice. Despite its lingering racism, like many states down that way, it at least has a longer history of whites and blacks mixing in more areas and ways than some of the Northern or upper Midwestern states. - Original Message - From: Tracey de Morsella tdli...@multicultur aladvantage. com To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com Sent: Wednesday, September 2, 2009 1:55:04 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: RE: [scifinoir2] FW: [AFAMHED] Texas Executed an Innocent Man And you ask me why I do not want to move there. It seems worst than Pennsyltucky, where I am from. That being said, I’ve been to Texas several times and people were very nice to me. However, I never ran afoul of the law From: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com [mailto:scifinoir2@ yahoogroups. com] On Behalf Of Keith Johnson Sent: Tuesday, September 01, 2009 8:38 PM To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] FW: [AFAMHED] Texas Executed an Innocent Man Yeah, I know. I was born and raised in Texas, after all. My late father ran afoul of its system when trying to vote back in the '40s, and having local officials try to apply a poll tax to him. I dealt with the DWB thing, and have lots of friends who've run afoul of the law in many ways--none to the level of being on death row, thank God. The abusive legal system, with its paternalistic/ ultra-conservati ve/ racist workings, has always been a sad legacy to a state that, conservative leanings aside, has a lot of really great things to offer. - Original Message - From: Bosco Bosco ironpi...@yahoo. com To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com Sent: Tuesday, September 1, 2009 11:05:01 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] FW: [AFAMHED] Texas Executed an Innocent Man Texas leads the rest of the first world combined in executions. I mean like every other first world country combined execute fewer people than the state of Texas. I kid you not, sir. --- On Mon, 8/31/09, Keith Johnson KeithBJohnson@ comcast.net wrote: From: Keith Johnson KeithBJohnson@ comcast.net Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] FW: [AFAMHED] Texas Executed an Innocent Man To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com Date: Monday, August 31, 2009, 11:25 PM It's not just Texas. Georgia's bad too. We have the Troy Davis case here now, the one that just went to the Supreme Court. Seven of the nine people who testified against Davis 20 years ago now say they were wrong or just plain lying, but the courts wanted to kill him anyway.And as always, guess who on the High Court was in favor of letting the execution go forward? Uncle Tom... Texas, Florida, Georgia, are among the worst. But Alabama, the Carolinas, Mississippi, are bad too. It's one reason among many I can never support the death penalty... - Original Message - From: Mr. Worf HelloMahogany@ gmail.com To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com Sent: Monday, August 31, 2009 5:03:39 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] FW: [AFAMHED] Texas Executed an Innocent Man One more thing. They also have a few judges that have given people 99 years over crimes that were misdemeanors. On Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 2:02 PM, Mr. Worf hellomahogany@ gmail.com wrote: Texas has always played fast and loose with the law. I have a young cousin that served 8 years (just got out a few months ago) for a robbery but wasn't there at all. After 8 years and four appeals he was finally released. Can you imagine how difficult that was if he was on death row? Texas wasn't capturing dna evidence until recently. How many people have served time unjustly? On Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 1:38 PM, Tracey de Morsella tdli...@multicultur aladvantage. com wrote: From: African-Americans in Higher Education [mailto:afam...@listserv. MUOHIO.EDU] On Behalf Of John Lindsay Sent: Monday, August 31, 2009 11:03 AM To: afam...@listserv. MUOHIO.EDU Subject: [AFAMHED] Texas Executed an Innocent Man Date: Mon, 31 Aug 2009 12:42:46 -0500 From: i...@innocenceproje ct.org To: jcli...@msn. com Subject: Texas Executed an Innocent Man
Re: [scifinoir2] adding to the sequel madness
I think I just threw up in my mouth. B --- On Thu, 9/3/09, Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com wrote: From: Mr. Worf hellomahog...@gmail.com Subject: [scifinoir2] adding to the sequel madness To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Thursday, September 3, 2009, 6:15 PM They are making Big Mama 3
Re: [scifinoir2] Disney to buy Marvel Entertainment for $4 billion
aarrrggh PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD KILL ME NOW. Bosco --- On Mon, 8/31/09, ravenadal ravena...@yahoo.com wrote: From: ravenadal ravena...@yahoo.com Subject: [scifinoir2] Disney to buy Marvel Entertainment for $4 billion To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Monday, August 31, 2009, 8:56 AM This is Christmas early for the stock holders at Marvel Entertainment. It is the death knell for a lot of great characters. ~(no)rave! August 31, 2009, 9:27 am Disney to Buy Marvel Entertainment for $4 Billion The Walt Disney Company said on Monday that it has agreed to buy Marvel Entertainment, bringing together the house of Mickey Mouse with the publisher of Spider-Man, for $4 billion in cash and stock. Under the terms of the deal, Disney will pay $30 a share in cash and .745 Disney shares for every Marvel share, with no less than 40 percent of the deal being made in stock. Disney valued the deal at $50 a share as of the companies' share prices on Friday. Isaac Perlmutter, Marvel's chief executive, will continue to oversee his company's properties, including more than 5,000 characters that also include Iron Man and the X-Men. Marvel has had a string of successful movies based on its characters, which analysts have praised in part for the company's taking an active role in their production. This transaction combines Marvel's strong global brand and world-renowned library of characters including Iron Man, Spider-Man, X-Men, Captain America, Fantastic Four and Thor with Disney's creative skills, unparalleled global portfolio of entertainment properties, and a business structure that maximizes the value of creative properties across multiple platforms and territories, Robert A. Iger, Disney's chief executive, said in a statement. Disney is the perfect home for Marvel's fantastic library of characters given its proven ability to expand content creation and licensing businesses, Mr. Perlmutter said.
Re: [scifinoir2] Re: Disney to buy Marvel Entertainment for $4 billion
Yes we can have Finding Wolverine, The Punisher, Inc. or A Hulk's Life. AAHHH KILL ME NOW B --- On Mon, 8/31/09, daikaiju66 daikaij...@yahoo.com wrote: From: daikaiju66 daikaij...@yahoo.com Subject: [scifinoir2] Re: Disney to buy Marvel Entertainment for $4 billion To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Monday, August 31, 2009, 11:22 AM Nope. Fox still owns Toby and the Spider-Man film franchise. One silver lining: Part of the deal involves possible Marvel-Pixar collaborations. Yes --- In scifino...@yahoogro ups.com, Martin Baxter truthseeker013@ ... wrote: Sweet Christmas! This could mean that Tobey Maguire would do a turn as PP on The Suite Life On Deck as a visiting pyhsics teacher. Excuse me while I go catatonic... If all the world's a stage and all the people merely players, who in bloody hell hired the director? -- Charles L Grant http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=fQUxw9aUVik To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com From: ravena...@.. . Date: Mon, 31 Aug 2009 13:56:47 + Subject: [scifinoir2] Disney to buy Marvel Entertainment for $4 billion This is Christmas early for the stock holders at Marvel Entertainment. It is the death knell for a lot of great characters. ~(no)rave! August 31, 2009, 9:27 am Disney to Buy Marvel Entertainment for $4 Billion The Walt Disney Company said on Monday that it has agreed to buy Marvel Entertainment, bringing together the house of Mickey Mouse with the publisher of Spider-Man, for $4 billion in cash and stock. Under the terms of the deal, Disney will pay $30 a share in cash and .745 Disney shares for every Marvel share, with no less than 40 percent of the deal being made in stock. Disney valued the deal at $50 a share as of the companies' share prices on Friday. Isaac Perlmutter, Marvel's chief executive, will continue to oversee his company's properties, including more than 5,000 characters that also include Iron Man and the X-Men. Marvel has had a string of successful movies based on its characters, which analysts have praised in part for the company's taking an active role in their production. This transaction combines Marvel's strong global brand and world-renowned library of characters including Iron Man, Spider-Man, X-Men, Captain America, Fantastic Four and Thor with Disney's creative skills, unparalleled global portfolio of entertainment properties, and a business structure that maximizes the value of creative properties across multiple platforms and territories, Robert A. Iger, Disney's chief executive, said in a statement. Disney is the perfect home for Marvel's fantastic library of characters given its proven ability to expand content creation and licensing businesses, Mr. Perlmutter said. _ _ _ _ _ _ Windows Live: Make it easier for your friends to see what you're up to on Facebook. http://windowslive. com/Campaign/ SocialNetworking ?ocid=PID23285: :T:WLMTAGL: ON:WL:en- US:SI_SB_ facebook: 082009
RE: [scifinoir2] FW: [AFAMHED] Texas Executed an Innocent Man
What's incredibly sad is this not the first, second or third time this has happened. There are more than a few cases of folks being tried, convicted and in more than a few cases executed for crimes that they were later cleared of. Texas leads the nation in death penalties. We also lead the nation in cases that are later overturned because DNA and other evidence proves innocence. In spite of the overwhelming evidence that the justice system here is one of the most broken in the nation, an overwhelming majority of Texans believe the system is relatively good. It's beyond disturbing. Barring some overwhelming conversion to critical thinking, the idiots that populate this state will keep the broken system as their preferred method of justice. It disturbs me beyond words. Bosco --- On Mon, 8/31/09, Martin Baxter truthseeker...@hotmail.com wrote: From: Martin Baxter truthseeker...@hotmail.com Subject: RE: [scifinoir2] FW: [AFAMHED] Texas Executed an Innocent Man To: SciFiNoir2 scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Monday, August 31, 2009, 4:28 PM (speechless) If all the world's a stage and all the people merely players, who in bloody hell hired the director? -- Charles L Grant http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=fQUxw9aUVik To: cdemorsella@ yahoo.com CC: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com From: tdli...@multicultur aladvantage. com Date: Mon, 31 Aug 2009 13:38:04 -0700 Subject: [scifinoir2] FW: [AFAMHED] Texas Executed an Innocent Man From: African-Americans in Higher Education [mailto:AFAMHED@ LISTSERV. MUOHIO.EDU] On Behalf Of John Lindsay Sent: Monday, August 31, 2009 11:03 AM To: afam...@listserv. MUOHIO.EDU Subject: [AFAMHED] Texas Executed an Innocent Man Date: Mon, 31 Aug 2009 12:42:46 -0500 From: i...@innocenceproje ct.org To: jcli...@msn. com Subject: Texas Executed an Innocent Man New Reports Show that Texas Executed an Innocent Man in 2004 A new investigation shows that Cameron Todd Willingham, who was executed in Texas in 2004 after spending 12 years on death row, was innocent. An exhaustive report published today in the New Yorker deconstructs the case against Willingham and finds that all evidence used against him was false. There can no longer be any doubt that an innocent person has been executed, Innocence Project Co-Director Barry Scheck said today. The question now turns to how we can stop it from happening again. Read the full New Yorker story here. Willingham was convicted in 1992 of setting a fire that killed his three children (including two-year-old Amber, pictured on Willingham's shoulders). He proclaimed his innocence throughout his trial and refused an offer to plead guilty in exchange for a life sentence, saying I ain't gonna plead to something I didn't do, especially killing my own kids. The new report comes three years after the Innocence Project released analysis from the nation's leading arson experts that the evidence against Willingham was invalid. Documents obtained by the Innocence Project also show that Texas officials ignored convincing evidence of Willingham's innocence in the days leading up to his execution. The Innocence Project submitted this evidence of forensic error to the Texas Forensic Science Commission, which agreed to investigate the case in 2007. Last week, an independent arson expert contracted by the commission submitted his report, finding that the arson evidence in Willingham's case was wrong. The commission is reviewing the report and will release its findings next year. For background on the case and links to media coverage, video and more, visit the Innocence Project website. The Innocence Project — Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law 100 Fifth Ave. 3rd Floor - New York, NY 10011 www.innocenceprojec t.org Manage your email subscriptions / Donate to the Innocence Project / Visit our website Windows Live: Keep your friends up to date with
[scifinoir2] Dexter Palmer
Anyone know anything about an author named Dexter Palmer. Got an advance reading copy of a steampunk book called Dream Of Perpetual Motion but can't find out anything about the author. If ya know, let me know. thanks B
[scifinoir2] the Strain
Has anyone read the Guillermo Del Toro/Chuck Hogan novel, The Strain? I'm almost through with it and have to say it's a passle of fun though not as scary as the hype, by far. At least up to this point. I'm wondering what anyone else thinks Bosco
Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Something has gone wrong with Where the Wild Things Are
I meant to mention that I saw a preview for Where the Wild Things Are when I took my youngest son to see the latest Harry Potter. I assume it's still being released but I forgot what the date was. B --- On Sun, 8/16/09, Martin Baxter truthseeker...@lycos.com wrote: From: Martin Baxter truthseeker...@lycos.com Subject: Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Something has gone wrong with Where the Wild Things Are To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Sunday, August 16, 2009, 6:53 AM (shrugs) Those lingering traces of evil in me have to work their way out... ;-) -[ Received Mail Content ]-- Subject : Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Something has gone wrong with Where the Wild Things Are Date : Sat, 15 Aug 2009 20:50:56 -0700 (PDT) From : C.W. Badie astromancer2002@ yahoo.com To : scifino...@yahoogro ups.com Ahem...Thank you very much for reawakening my addition to those oatmeal sandwich cookies...damn you! _ _ __ From: Martin Baxter To: scifino...@yahoogro ups..com Sent: Friday, August 7, 2009 5:36:00 PM Subject: [RE][scifinoir2] Something has gone wrong with Where the Wild Things Are (a single sigh of exasperation, followed by a Little Debbie binge) -[ Received Mail Content ]-- Subject : [scifinoir2] Something has gone wrong with Where the Wild Things Are Date : Fri, 07 Aug 2009 13:31:38 - From : ravenadal To : scifino...@yahoogro ups.com By PATRICK GOLDSTEIN, THE BIG PICTURE July 12, 2008 SOMETHING HAS gone very wrong with Where the Wild Things Are, the much-anticipated Spike Jonze adaptation of Maurice Sendak's classic children's book. The $80-million film, with a script by literary cool guy Dave Eggers, was filmed largely in the second half of 2006 in Australia. It was originally slated for release this October but got pushed back to the fall of 2009. Last week it disappeared entirely from the Warner Bros. release schedule, a sign of continuing troubles. http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=JQdwk8Yntds Messages in this topic (1) Reply (via web post) | Start a new topic Messages | Files | Photos | Links | Database | Polls | Members | Calendar Post your SciFiNoir Profile at http://groups. yahoo.com/ group/scifinoir2 /app/peoplemap2/ entry/add? fmvn=map Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required) Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch format to Traditional Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe Recent Activity * 2 New MembersVisit Your Group Give Back Yahoo! for Good Get inspired by a good cause. Y! Toolbar Get it Free! easy 1-click access to your groups. Yahoo! Groups Start a group in 3 easy steps. Connect with others. . __,_.._,___ http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=JQdwk8Yntds
Re: [scifinoir2] GREATEST CANCELED SCIFI SHOWS
Jim Baker and Tammy Faye Bakers 80's show, The PTL Club. Jim J and Tammy Faye Baker's 90's day time show, The Jim J and Tammy Faye Show. Actually anything with Tammy Faye Baker. You may disagree that this is science fiction. If so, you just aren't perceiving reality correctly. Bosco --- On Thu, 8/6/09, Michelle Lauren miche...@michellelaurenbooks.com wrote: From: Michelle Lauren miche...@michellelaurenbooks.com Subject: [scifinoir2] GREATEST CANCELED SCIFI SHOWS To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Thursday, August 6, 2009, 2:32 PM Someone in this group recommended Joss Whedon's FIREFLY to me a few months ago. Once I saw the episodes on Hulu (listed in their intended order as opposed to how Fox patchworked them together during the original viewing season), I got hooked. The characters, the dialogue, the world (an interesting mix of Asian and Western culture thrown into a futuristic setting) – everything was wonderful. My DVD set of the series just arrived today and I can't wait to watch it again. Fox made a serious mistake canceling this show. If someone hadn't recommended it on this loop, I might never have bothered looking it upon because the plot seemed weird to me at first. Plus, I'm a fan of any show that features the gorgeous and uber-talented actress Gina Torres. What are some other great scifi shows that got canceled too early? Michelle Lauren ~ Join my Yahoo Group thru 8/31 for a chance to win a $10 Amazon Gift Card.** www.MichelleLaurenB ooks.com ~ Multicultural Romance that defies boundaries Celestial Lovers: Starstruck Hunter ~ AVAILABLE @ Amazon | Fictionwise | Liquid Silver Books Temptation Eve ~ Cobblestone Press ~ Coming 9/2009 How to Tame a Harpy ~ Romantic Times American Title V Finalist
[scifinoir2] Their New to Me Graphic Novels
I have been reading two series in Graphic Novels that I discovered at work. First is the Zombie Apocalypse party known as Walking Dead. I'm two volumes into it and it's pretty right on. Zombies, people struggling to survive, Zombies, ethical delimmas in a world without law, Zombies, adventure in the search for a new home, and Zombies. It's pretty bad ass. I'm also, three volumes into Y The Last Man. Yorrick is the last man on earth. All other men died from a mysterious plague. He's wandering the country with a spy/protector with no Name and a genetic scientist who's a cloning expert. All the while he's being hunted by crazed lesbians bent on destroying him and the Israeli Army who are determined to capture him for strategic advantage. It's also very funny. Anyone else read either of these? Bosco
Re: [RE][scifinoir2] Alert. Alert. Alert.
At the top of my list, more than watching my dog eat it's own feces, I wish I could unsee this. My soul burns with despair. Bosco --- On Tue, 7/28/09, Martin Baxter truthseeker...@lycos.com wrote: From: Martin Baxter truthseeker...@lycos.com Subject: [RE][scifinoir2] Alert. Alert. Alert. To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Tuesday, July 28, 2009, 7:11 AM Only if I can get napalm for my flamethrower. .. ;-D -[ Received Mail Content ]-- Subject : [scifinoir2] Alert. Alert. Alert. Date : Tue, 28 Jul 2009 05:05:23 -0700 (PDT) From : Augustus Augustus jazzynupe_007@ yahoo.com To : Black SciFi blackscifihorrorfan tasyclub@ yahoogroups. com Cc : Sci Fi scifino...@yahoogro ups.com BSG is running on SyFy right now. that lovely series finale 'Daybreak Parts 1, 2 and 3 start at 1pm (EST). i know u all are going 2 rewatch it right? :-) Fate. http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=JQdwk8Yntds
Re: [scifinoir2] What was the last SF novel you read that made you go WOW!?
I have loved everything by Neal Stephenson that I have read. Snow Crash was just unbelievable. I loved Cryptonomicon and the Baroque Cycle. I am in the middle of the third volume now. However for me, The Diamond Age, an exploration of Nano-Technology and sociology amongst other things, is his best. Like all Stephenson work is multi-layered and exceptionally difficult to describe adequately. Stephenson is a brilliant story teller. He can bog you down from time to time but he never fails to drive it home by the end. In Diamond Age he weaves together a future that is not only possible but highly believable. Our problems are not solved and our issues remain as troubling as always but there is hope that technology can help us cure many of our ills. If you haven't read it, you're missing out completely. Bosco --- On Fri, 7/31/09, ravenadal ravena...@yahoo.com wrote: From: ravenadal ravena...@yahoo.com Subject: [scifinoir2] What was the last SF novel you read that made you go WOW!? To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Friday, July 31, 2009, 6:46 AM The question about Asimov's Foundation septology leads me to ask what was the last SF novel you read that made you go WOW! And, by that, I mean the last novel that made your head spin around. For me it was William Gibson's Neuromancer and that was published in 1984, twenty-five years ago! By-the-by, I am only interested in novel novels - do not summit graphic novels. Thanks, ~rave!
[scifinoir2] Did Anyone See Shatner
on Conan reciting the Palin speech? A career highlight fer sure. Google: Watch Palin get Shatnerized and be amazed. Garaunteed Hilarity Bosco
Re: [scifinoir2] William Shatner: Rocket Man
There are things you can't unsee. My eyes they burn. Bosco --- On Mon, 7/20/09, brent wodehouse brent_wodeho...@thefence.us wrote: From: brent wodehouse brent_wodeho...@thefence.us Subject: [scifinoir2] William Shatner: Rocket Man To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Date: Monday, July 20, 2009, 8:24 PM http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=NN3MGN899yE
