Zixar

Um, scuttling a ship is sinking it yourself to avoid it falling into the enemy's hands... :)-->

And that makes YOU more qualified? It might make THEM more qualified, but hardly you. If ego were fuel oil, you could push a battleship around the world with yours. Twice. Galen knows what he's talking about. You don't.

Hate to disillusion you, Kit, but Ed Asner is about as far left as anyone in Hollywood--pro-abortion, anti-America, the lot. He may be a good actor, but honorable, he is not.

I knew it was going to be good, since Pixar hasn't made a horrible movie yet, but I never thought I'd say this about it: Best. Superhero. Movie. Ever. They might as well just shelve the Fantastic Four movie, because Pixar just made an excellent one (if you substitute a speedster for the Human Torch) Pixar has always been able to create convincing characters, but the sheer humanity of everyone in the Parr family swells to the forefront. Even though they're superheroes, they have all the same crappy problems you do, and superpowers aren't a bit of help. It is the first PG-rated Pixar film, but only because some of the situations may be a bit suspenseful for very small kids. As much as I loved the Toy Story films, I do have to say that The Incredibles is Pixar's finest film to date. Highest recommendation.

Finally saw it on DVD. The science in TDAT was ludicrous. It was based on a book by nut-job radio host Art Bell and nut-job alien-abduction author Whitley Strieber. Looks like Devlin & Emmerich only had two good movies in them (Stargate, Independence Day). Although, on a happier note, their ludicrous "Zilla" (there's no "god" to him) gets the living crap kicked out of him by the REAL Gojira in Big G's final film, "Godzilla: Final Wars". Mmmmm....cinematic justice.... :)-->

I was in the audience when they taped that episode of BCTV... ;)-->

dmiller: Unfortunately, Jimmy died in the late 90s, but he was performing right up till the end. It's a crying shame that more people don't know anything more about the man, but that was because he didn't really care too much for all the fame and hypocrisy of Nashville in the 60s. Driftwood wrote over 6,000 songs, and researched hundreds of others in his folksong career, but people generally have only heard two of them, if any at all: Battle of New Orleans, and Tennessee Stud.Fortunately, most of his excellent RCA Victor recordings of the early 60s were compiled to CD in the early 90s in a 3-disc box set called "Americana", which is still available online if you hunt for it. It's a treasury of early American folk songs from the Revolutionary War up through the Westward Movement. A fellow named Richard Kent Streeter has compiled a biography of Driftwood, and also sells songbooks of his music and picking bows. If you're at all interested in folk music, look up his stuff, by all means. God bless, Zix

It's simply amazing the number of folks who won't take the word of a man who's been there over the fantasies they've already chosen to believe without question. I don't see a single person here who is more qualified to talk about today's military than Galen.

WG: It was General Sir Edward Pakenham who died commanding the British forces at the Battle of New Orleans, 8 January 1815. He was the brother-in-law of the Duke of Wellington, who would go on to defeat Napoleon at Waterloo that same year. I could not find any evidence that Pakenham's body was enbalmed in a whiskey barrel, but as there was no other preservative at hand, it's quite possible this is true. It's a pity that more people don't know about the Battle of New Orleans, since it's an amazing story of triumph in the face of a larger, better-equipped force. (British casualties: 2,000. American casualties: 71.) If it weren't for Jimmy Driftwood's song, practically no one would know about it. ("In 1814, we took a little trip...") While Jimmy wrote the lyrics to teach his high school history class, the tune comes directly from the battle--it's called "The Eighth of January". Even more bizarre, the battle was completely unnecessary, as the Treaty of Ghent which ended the War of 1812 had been signed two weeks earlier. Trivially, Zix

Deeply sorry to hear about your loss, Mike. I know how hard it is to lose your father. Many condolences, Reece

It was still in poor taste, Raf.

April? Rats. Looks like yet another one I'll have to miss... :(-->

Cowgirl: The next one is a week from today, town-hall style. Wacky: You might try listening to Sean Hannity's radio show, then. He's still a conservative, but he doesn't have Limbaugh's bluster or sanctimonious self-righteousness. You probably won't agree with him, but he probably won't set your teeth on edge as much, either.

I agree with a lot of the points made so far, that both candidates were too repetitive with their canned soundbites, Kerry looked like a boring salesman, Bush looked like Ol' Joe the Farmhand, Kerry didn't give anything substantive or specific in his plans to build alliances, Bush calls everything "hard work", Kerry couldn't keep his story straight even for two hours, Bush was Johnny One-Note. Biggest point Bush won: North Korea. Biggest point Kerry won: Reduction of loose Soviet nuclear material. Dumbest Kerry move: Long on finger-pointing, short on specific solutions. Dumbest Bush move: Using nearly the same identical 30-second rebuttal twice. (The "wrong war" complaint.) Smartest Kerry move: Minimal use of personal Vietnam references. Smartest Bush move: Warm, friendly manner. Kerry put on the better performance, but there wasn't any meat to his message. He should have relied on incontrovertible factual buildup instead of empty accusations and Monday-morning quarterbacking. Bush easily withstood all attacks, but counterpunch was narrow and repetitive. He should have nailed Kerry on his easily-checked voting record on national security. Hopefully the next debates will be better.

(supposedly a true Dungeons & Dragons story...) ED: You see a well-groomed garden. In the middle, on a small hill, you see a gazebo. ERIC: A gazebo? What color is it? ED: (Pause) It's white, Eric. ERIC: How far away is it? ED: About 50 yards. ERIC: How big is it? ED: (Pause) It's about 30 feet across, 15 feet high, with a pointed top. ERIC: I use my sword to detect whether it's good. ED: It's not good, Eric. It's a gazebo! ERIC: (Pause) I call out to it. ED: It won't answer. It's a gazebo! ERIC: (Pause) I sheathe my sword and draw my bow and arrows. Does it respond in any way? ED: No, Eric. It's a gazebo! ERIC: I shoot it with my bow (rolls to hit). What happened? ED: There is now a gazebo with an arrow sticking out of it. ERIC: (Pause) Wasn't it wounded? ED: Of course not, Eric! It's a gazebo! ERIC: (Whimper) But that was a plus-three arrow! ED: It's a gazebo, Eric, a gazebo! If you really want to try to destroy it, you could try to chop it wih an axe, I suppose, or you could try to burn it, but I don't know why anybody would even try. It's a @#%$*& gazebo! ERIC: (Long pause - he has no axe or fire spells) I run away. ED: (Thoroughly frustrated) It's too late. You've awakened the gazebo, and it catches you and eats you. ERIC: (Reaching for his dice) Maybe I'll roll up a fire-using mage so I can avenge my paladin...

Okay, it's gonna be a run-n-gun offense with a quick Z-out, slot-fly and... Aw hell, just get open and I'll throw it to you.

I don't care what the 1st Edition rulebook says, if the AP scale is really a logarithmic chart, then that means that Batman, with a STR attribute of 7 APs, can fling a hamburger weighing -9 APs into low Earth orbit with a running start. Bats is good, but he's nowhere near that good...

"Do not handicap your children by making their lives easy."--Robert A. Heinlein

In that case, there are many good standard-tube-type flat screen TVs to choose from. I've always had excellent results from Toshiba, since their color reproduction seems to be the best (to me). Most Toshibas also have the "component" video input (red, green, blue) which, although not true hi-def, will still give you the highest possible picture quality if your DVD player is also equipped with component video-out. (Most are, unless really, really cheap.) I have a 27" and a 13" Toshiba, both with component video. (Toshiba calls it "ColorStream", but it's the same thing.) You should be able to find an excellent flat-screen standard-def tv for $500 or less.

krys: You don't need to have a 15" subwoofer for your surround sound or anything, but no room is too small not to benefit from surround sound. The Bose wave radio is good, and you'll get quite decent sound out of it, but if you're going to drop thousands of bucks on a TV, spend another thousand and get Bose's small combo DVD-player/surround sound package. I think it's called the "Lifestyle" or some such. You don't have to blow out the windows to see what a HUGE difference surround sound makes for DVDs. (And if you do want to blow out the windows just for fun, go rent "U-571". The depth charge explosions are some of the most bone-jarring sound effects ever filmed. Won an Oscar for them.) Take a good look at the Samsung DLP tvs. A buddy at work has one and it's got a GORGEOUS picture. Have much fun, Zix

Krys: On the TV: --HDTV is really nice, but unless you have a digital cable or satellite provider, you won't get your TV programs in HD, and even then you don't get all of the channels in HD, only a few that broadcast in HD. However... --HDTV-ready screens are also capable of showing hi-def output from DVDs, if you have a "progressive-scan" DVD player (most are, nowadays. If your player is older, you can replace it with a progressive scan model for under $100.) Until HDTV becomes more widespread, this is the real selling point of HD-capable TVs. Make sure you get "component" video cables (red, green, blue) not "composite" video cables (red, white, yellow). You get the best possible picture with component video, the next best is S-video, then composite. Don't pay $40-$50 for cables, either. They really aren't worth it. Any good-quality RCA-connector cable will work just fine. If you start getting any picture noise (rare) then shell out for the Monster Cables, otherwise, it's Wal-Mart specials. Usually your TV or DVD player will come with a set of component cables if it's a decent one. --Plasma is pricy. If you want to go that high-end, look at the DLP technology TVs instead. You'll get a bigger screen for the $$$. You'll still need some sort of HDTV receiver, either from your cable/satellite provider or a standalone tuner that you can get local HDTV broadcasts off of. (unless the TV has a built in HD tuner.) --Regardless of which way you go, flat screen is always better. Curved screens will pick up glare from every light source in the room, whereas flat screens will only reflect it in one location. If there's glare on the screen, you usually only have to move the offending lamp or your chair a little bit and the glare is reflected out of your line of sight. Bottom line, for the most part, you're buying an HD screen for gorgeous DVD movie watching today, with HDTV coming along as it grows in popularity. If you watch a lot of movies, it's worth it. Make sure you have a good surround-sound system too, if you're going to drop that much on a TV. Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS capability are a must in your amplifier. (Then buy the new DVD set of the Star Wars trilogy and get blown away... :D--> )

Bought this last night along with my Star Wars set. I don't know why I keep underestimating Green Day, but then again, I like being pleasantly surprised. American Idiot is that rare album that's consistently good from start to finish. (with the caveat that one likes Green Day's music, or punk rock in general) It's supposedly a "concept album" or a "rock opera", but it's nothing that pretentious. There are recurring characters (Jesus of Suburbia, St. Jimmy, Whatshername) running through the different songs, but it's not forced. A lot of publications and fans are already referring to AI as a "masterpiece", and it's hard to disagree. Green Day is the modern-day master of the three-chord punk anthem, the heir presumptive to the throne of The Clash. blink-182 tries, but they just don't have the consistency or songwriting talent. They come in a distant second to GD. Now, if you hate Green Day, or blink-182, or The Clash, then you'll probably find this album unremarkable. If you liked any of Green Day's stuff, though, you'll probably have American Idiot in your CD player for a long time. Five stars out of five.

Got the new box set last night and I'm really impressed--except with that digital edit to put the new Anakin into the funeral at the end of ROTJ. I'm still not OK with Greedo shooting first, but at least now it looks like they shoot closer to the same time. The sound mix is what makes these a new experience from the old VHS tapes. They've been remixed in Dolby 5.1EX, so even the 1977 soundtrack sounds fantastic. Check around for the best discount. I got mine for $44.99, but you might be able to find it a little cheaper.

Except that in the Terms & Conditions on academic software licenses, utilizing an academic version for any type of commercial use violates the license. So, you may get a cheap copy of Adobe Creative Suite, but you can't sell anything you make, nor even use it for business purposes of any sort. Of course, if you don't care about such things, that's up to you. It's not like they can monitor what is done with every single copy, but if it ever did come down to a court battle, you'd lose.

Count us out, too...