Edshugeo The GodMoor

Since the moment some of these guys wanted us to buy into man-made climate change.

Labels: bullshit, science

Hollywood is considering (once again) a movie based on Sgt. Rock, a DC comics hero who fights during World War II. Only this time, they want to set it the future. Great!

I was more of a Sgt. Fury guy (via back issues and reprints), but there's a bigger issue than just fucking with an icon.

Until now, “Rock” has retained its World War II setting, with Silver and the studio trying to make a big-budget action adventure movie that was a throwback to flicks like “The Dirty Dozen,” which feature acts of American derring-do.

But a big budget always was an obstacle and, “Inglourious Basterds” notwithstanding, period war movies have not been in vogue in Hollywood for years, unless it was a more serious contemplation of the subject like “Saving Private Ryan.” Also, American jingoism went out of style after 9/11; even this summer’s G.I. Joe movie dropped the toy’s “A Real American Hero” tagline and made the action team internationally focused.

The studio hopes moving the time period to the future solves the dilemma.

Really, why not just make your probably crappy sci-fi film anyway and call it something else? And if you must have a Rock in it, you can cast THE Rock. And then wait for some Europeans to make the the type of movies Americans want to see, like this one.

Labels: bullshit, movies, nostalgia

I was wondering why Marlon Wayans was spending the entirety of G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra acting like Shawn Wayans (also: why didn't I shut the movie off - it's not like I paid for it or anything). Turns out I had my Wayans Bros mixed up. Shawn is the Abbot to Marlon's Costello, not the other way around. It's the name Marlon that's tripped me up (that and not seeing any Wayans Bros since In Living Color, except for a thing or two with Damon). Marlon's not a clown-y name.

What else did I hate about G.I. Joe? Just everything. One could argue the movie wasn't made for me. My G.I. Joe had fuzzy hair and a kung fu grip, but not too many younger folk had nice things to say about it, either. Could'a been worse. Could'a been Transformers 2: Let's Take The Most Annoying Shit From Part One (the "comedy" relief) And Expand That To Almost The Whole Movie. Could'a turned that one off, too, but apparently I'm a masochist.

But these are kind'a cool:

Labels: bullshit, movies, youtube and other video

It was clear Mr. Liddy was starting to fade out, when he lost on Fear Factor a few years ago. That much of the Republican Party is accompanying him into desperate dementia is just sad, though funny to watch.

Chris Matthews Almost Killed G. Gordon Liddy On Live Television Tonight

And of course, this...

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
The Born Identity
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Joke of the Day

I normally like Lou Dobbs, who's not a Republican, but every now and then he earns the long standing reputation third party types have, as being slightly loony.

Labels: bullshit, C O N Spiracy, Fucking Idiots, funny-ass shit, politics, The President Is A Bad Muthafucka, youtube and other video

About a month ago, my brother text'd these words to me as he walked into a supposed Imax theatre on 42 Street (NYC) to see Watchmen; "I think I would have been better off at broadway... Screen is not large here... Damn damn damn damn"

The Broadway theatre he mentions is the AMC Loews Lincoln Square (located at 1998 Broadway), where I've seen all my Imax films, thus far. That's a fricking movie screen right there. I may go to the Long Island one this week for Star Trek. Mostly out of convenience, but partly to see how it stacks up.

Made a mental note not to ever go to 42nd street for an Imax movie, but didn't realize there was a larger trend emerging.

From Aziz Ansari:

REBLOG THE FUCK OUT OF THIS. WARNING: AMC theaters are running FAKE IMAX's and charging $5 extra for a slightly bigger screen. Boycott IMAX, AMC, and Regal. Don't let them fool you.

I went with a friend of mine to see Star Trek: The IMAX Experience at the AMC Theatre in Burbank today. I drove out of my way to see the film on the large IMAX screen and paid an extra $5 for the ticket, which felt worth it at the time.

HOWEVER, we get in the theatre and its just a slightly bigger than normal screen and NOT the usual standard huge 72 ft IMAX screen. I was very upset and apparently this problem is happening all over at Regal and AMC theatres. Here’s a graphic representation of what’s happening at these “FAKE IMAX” screens:



If you don’t want the whole long story, I did some research online and found this article that explains it. Basically IMAX is whoring out their brand name and trying to trick people. These new “IMAX” theatres are really just nice digital screens with good sound, but they ARE NOT IMAX, in that they don’t have the huge 72 ft gigantic screen which people would expect. However, they still charge $5 more for tickets as they would for the regular IMAX.

More here.

Funny thing. The graphic uses the Lincoln Square and 42nd street Imax screens for comparison, giving me a li'l bit more insight into my brother's disappointment.

As seen on Ain't It Cool News

Labels: bullshit, C O N Spiracy, DANGER WILL ROBINSON DANGER, movies

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, a brilliant and beautiful film based upon the fourth* part of Wang Du Lu's Iron/Crane Pentalogy** is finally being released on Blu-Ray. Not (yet) knowing what the picture quality will be like, that is probably the good news. The bad news is that the movie is not being released individually, but as part of a "trilogy" set that apparently includes Sony's surplus inventory of blu-rays for two unrelated films, House Of Flying Daggers (great movie, bad disc) and Curse Of The Golden Flower (dreadful movie, good disc).

Not buying Crouching Tiger until it's sold individually. Not buying House Of Flying Daggers until a proper Blu-ray is made. Not Buying Curse Of The Golden Flower at all. Ever.




* always thought that CTHD was the third book in the series, previously.
** which I've never read - like most Wu-Xia fiction, the novels aren't available in English.

Labels: bullshit, DVD, kung fu, movies, wu-xia

Swiped from the BBC:

The Taleban in Afghanistan have publicly killed a young couple who they said had tried to run away to get married, officials say.

The man, 21, and woman, 19, were shot dead on Monday in front of a mosque in the south-western province of Nimroz.

Nimroz is an area where the Taleban have a strong influence.

Governor Ghulam Dastageer Azad told the AFP news agency the killings followed a decree by local religious leaders and were an "insult to Islam".

Dangerous region

Mr Azad said: "An unmarried young boy and an unmarried girl who loved each other and wanted to get married had eloped because their families would not approve the marriage."

Officials said the couple were traced by militants after they tried to go to Iran. They were made to return to their village in Khash Rod district.

"Three Taleban mullahs brought them to the local mosque and they passed a fatwa (religious decree) that they must be killed. They were shot and killed in front of the mosque in public," the governor said.

He said there were some reports that the families of the young couple could have links with the Taleban. The Taleban could not be immediately reached for comment.

Correspondents say that the killings took place in a remote and dangerous region, where the government has no access.

The Taleban ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001 and during that time implemented its austere interpretation of Islamic Sharia law, carrying out public killings and floggings.

Unmarried men and women were forbidden from talking or meeting in public and women were not allowed out of their homes without a male relative. Girls were discouraged from going to school.

Extrajudicial "honour killings" have been widely carried out in Afghanistan since then by conservative families angered by a relative who has brought them shame - usually by refusing to marry a chosen partner.

The Taleban have widened their influence over the past three years and now control many remote districts where there are not enough coalition forces to establish a permanent presence.

Labels: bullshit, civil rights, Islam, World Affairs

Somehow missed this when it was new news. I'd noticed that my live bookmark for Kaiju Shakedown hadn't updated for a while and assumed Grady Hendrix had gone on vacation or something. Turns out he and some others at Variety Asia had been laid off.

Well.

That kinda sucks.

Labels: bullshit, movies, readin' an' writin'

Lotusflow3r.com officially launched last night. $77 membership fee for those who could solve the fill in the blank riddle at the start (1986 and Los Angeles - Thanks, Prince.org). Some would be members faced other riddles as well; browser incompatibility, username issues and credit card nonsense.

My experience wasn't soo bad.
Had to go to prince.org to figure out the ticket riddle mentioned above. The cryptic shit has to go. I know it's Prince, but if he's charging people 77 bucks to access a website, then some courtesy should be a given. Of course, I say this having paid the damn fee anyway. I'll have to keep relying on prince.org as a supplement to the official site, just so I know what's going on and what's been made available (I guess Housequake's not coming back?).

I signed in okay within an hour of the site's opening. During that process I saw a link to system requirements. Clicking on it brought me to an error page. Once on the site, I found a preview video which was slow and choppy as hell. I figured that was because the servers were being taxed by the high demand being the first night and everything, but I find that the videos are still slow and choppy.

The three albums are available to download in both mp3 and wav formats. I had trouble downloading the zipped wav files (first an error page, then incomplete downloads), but the mp3s were not a problem. I don't remember if I downloaded the mp3s before taking a break or if I took an hour away from the computer, and came back. I managed to download two albums in wav. Still having a problem with MPLSound.

Edit: An apology from the web designers to Prince.org:

We understand that several people have had issues with the site, and we're working diligently to address them all as quickly as possible. With the great amount of traffic that we've received there have been some issues getting the large amount of content in the site out to everyone simultaneously. We're currently doubling the size of our server farm in order to make sure that fans can get all of the albums and videos they desire. To accommodate our friends overseas we've relaxed some of the normal security checks put in place by American banks. Since the vault has 3D and video, which is pushing the boundary of the web and current technology, only newer machines can adequately handle it. If fans are experiencing choppy videos in the vault, they should click the fullscreen button on the video and it should improve their experience. Thanks to everyone for their patience while we scale up LotusFlow3r.com to accommodate the great response from Prince fans all over the world.

Thanks so much,
Scott

3/26/09 UPDATE: the MPSoUND zip was fixed last night, and they're working on optimizing video playback...

The fullscreen option does improve video playback considerably. Not great, yet, but watchable.

Haven't spent much time with the music, yet, but my first impression is that MPLSound is crap. Except for Dance 4 Me. And maybe No More Candy 4 U, which is... interesting.

Lotus Flow3r sounds pretty damn decent. Will require more investigation.

Elixer also sounds good, which I didn't expect.

I dunno if I should'a spent the 77 bucks though. I avoided one of his previous ventures, NPG Music Club when it was 100 bucks and was wise to do so. The three albums will be available in a single package at Target this Sunday for only twelve bucks.

Oh, yeah. Prince is on Jay Leno tonight, tomorrow and Friday. That should be pretty cool...

March 25th performance (Hulu.com)
March 26th performance
March 27th performance

Mo' edit (March 27th): efforts to improve the site continue. I was actually able to enter the site and view the Crimson and Clover video via the PS3's browser. The video played fine in fullscreen. The rest of the site was pretty slow, though, and eventually the browser ran out of memory (!!!??). That might be a PS3 issue, though. The PSP's browser does the same thing. Then again, the PS3 hasn't had that issue with Hulu. Not in my experience, anyway.

If Lotusflow3r is aspires to include more longform video (Sacrifice Of Victor is currently up), I would prefer to watch on my TV rather than PC. I have Yellow Dog Linux installed on the PS3 as well. I'll have to see how well the site works on that combination...
It dosen't. I haven't installed Flash on Firefox, yet.

Labels: bullshit, downloads, music, online retailers, Prince, youtube and other video

but this is retarded.

How long before "intellectual disability", or "special" becomes "hurtful"?

Labels: bullshit, society

Clive Thompson on How More Info Leads to Less Knowledge

The print version of that article was titled "Manufacturing Confusion". I like my title better.

Labels: bullshit, everybody's a critic, media, politics, religion, science, society, technology

Cablevision's Voom "Network", a suite of channels that included Kung Fu, Monsters, Gameplay, Filmfest, Rave and a few others in Hi-Def finally got shut down yesterday. Cablevision plans on replacing them with multiple premium channels in HD because some people apparently don't have enough channels called HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, etc.

Perhaps there just isn't a big enough market for a Kung Fu channel. If that's the case, so be it. I have less use for Cablevision now, as a result. Right away, I've cancelled the IO package of channels that the Voom suite were a part of. Currently, this is what the basic Io package consists of:
History International
Investigation Discovery
Logo
Military Channel
MLB Network
MLB Network HD†
MTV Hits
MTV Tr3s
mun2
The N
National Geographic Channel
National Geographic Channel HD†
Nicktoons Network
Noggin
Planet Green
Science Channel
Science Channel HD†
Toon Disney
VERSUS
VERSUS HD†
VH1 Classic
VH1 Soul

I don't watch any of that shit. So why would I pay an extra ten bucks a month for it?
I don't subscribe to the premium channels, so that leaves broadcast basic and Family cable, and I'm thinking of dumping family, which does include stuff I watch like CNN, FoxNews, Comedy Central for The Daily Show and South Park (neither of which needs to be seen in Hi-Def).

News I can, and do get on the web (through Cablevision, mostly, though sometimes even on my cheapie little Virgin Mobile phone). The Daily Show is just as accessable. South Park hasn't been very good in a while. I don't think I'll miss it.

So what replaces the rest of it? Blu-Ray and DVD movies (I buy more than I have time to watch), Netflix on Xbox Live, TV on internet video (such as The Daily Show, Hulu, etc.) via the Ps3s web browser, and of course streaming hard drive content (downloaded movies and whatnot) from the PC to both consoles using Windows Media Player 11 or if I'm on Ubuntu, to the PS3 using MediaTomb.

I've been trying out the XBox/Netflix thing for about a week or so and am very impressed despite some issues. The two week trial is free but then goes into a regular membership. I chose the basic one disc at a time membership which is like eight or nine bucks a month. An extra dollar if Blu-Rays are to be included. At the moment my disc queue does not include movies available on Blu, so I'm holding off on that.

My first experience with streaming Netflix was the Johnny To movie, Exiled. It started out in Hi-Def (which in this case is really decent DVD quality) but at nearly the hour and a half mark, the image froze up and a message appeared on the screen saying that my internet connection had slowed. Playback was gonna adjust to accomodate the current speed. I then ended up with something that at the time looked to be Youtube quality. There was another freeze and I called it a night. The next night I watched the rest of the film without incident (if I recall correctly).
I liked the movie. Kinda (intentionally?) silly take on John Woo's bullet ballet thing, which To may've done before on Heroes Never Die. Sorta.



Next movie was Harold, a silly indie film about a kid with male pattern baldness. Video quality was just below DVD (not seeing what the actual DVD looked liked), but quite a bit better than standard def cable. I don't remember if this was supposed to be Hi-def or not. Kinda liked this one, even though it's a bit stupid and clichéd. Speaking of stupid, they pulled the trailer off Youtube.

Kiltro was billed as a Chilean Martial Arts film and I guess it is, but it felt like more. This one froze up a couple of times, but didn't drop in quality the way it had when I watched Exiled.
Really enjoyed this one.



My first disc from Netflix was The Bodyguard, a Thai movie that claims on it's U.S. release to star Tony Jaa, but clearly does not. I assumed this might've been an old movie dusted off 'cause Jaa had a small role of some sort and avoided it and it's sequel when I sighted them on a store shelf. As a rental, it was not a risk at all when you consider the bang for the buck you get with this deal. I thought it was a surprisingly and often funny action comedy. Jaa does show up in a cameo, but it appears the film was made after he was famous, not before.



I only sent it back the other day, so my next disc isn't due till like tomorrow (according to an email). Another Spanish language action film, The Nest. I know nothing about it, but look forward to seeing it.

My queue includes a number of films and series I might not normally try. Plus I just noticed there are a number of Shaw Bros. films available through Netflix as well as some wu-xia and anime series I've yet to sample.

You know what? who needs Cablevision (aside from internet service)?

And I'm returning their DVR as soon as I watch all the stuff I got stacked on it. That's another ten dollars a month.

Labels: bullshit, DVD, Fucking Idiots, good deal, HDTV, kung fu, movies, PS3, ripoffs, Shaw Bros., tv, wu-xia, youtube and other video

It appears to be so. Kung Fu HD is part of the Voom network of HD channels, and Voom is gettin' the axe in late January. This is quite upsetting to me as much of what I watched outside of CNN and The Daily Show resided on Kung Fu and a few other Voom HD channels.

There has to be sanctions! I may not cancel my service completely, but there will be a downgrade of some sort.

Labels: bullshit, HDTV, kung fu, movies, tv

Lai Ying used to be the spot I'd go to for my Hong Kong DVDs and VCDs in Manhatten's Chinatown. Every few weeks or so I'd make the one hour Long Island Railroad trip to the city and stock up on a handfull of HK movies, and this was the place to go. After years of buying bootleg VHS tapes at various places like a mall on Jamaica Ave. in Queens, and The Karate Center across from the Port Authority terminal as well as tape trading through the mail. A friend of mine hipped me to rental shops in Chinatown. I visited a few (owned by U.E. Enterprises, I think) and rented some tapes, but the trip for me made that option a little on the expensive side unless I needed to be in the city 2 days apart. My friend was working out there, so for him it was no thang.

About ten years ago as I prepared to purchase my first DVD player, I'd discovered a small string of video stores on The Bowery. I don't remember if by chance or if I'd read about them on alt.asian-movies (a usenet discussion group). Or maybe it was while I was searching for the last remaining (not for long) Chinese movie theatre in Manhatten, The Music Palace, which was also on the Bowery.

Anyhow, knowing that the VCD format worked on some DVD players as well as PCs, I started to build up a collection of VCDs, so I'd have a selection to play once I got a player, but could watch right away on my computer.

Lai Lai was the first store I became a semi-regular at. I'd tried a store closer to or on the corner of Canal and the Bowery, and felt like a complete foreigner there. While Lai Lai was a lot smaller, it was a lot less intimidating as well. I'm pretty sure that's where I first met Michelle, who had helped me out when I had to return the DVD of Tai Chi Master. Twice, I think. It wouldn't play, and then another copy was tried in-store and that didn't work either, so I opted for some other movie. I still don't have Tai Chi Master on DVD, and I won't buy Twin Dragons (the U.S. release), though I've seen it.

Lai Ying opened up next door and when I went there was surprised to see Michelle, who I guess was running this operation. Lai Lai might've been her aunt's shop, but I don't remember for sure. Lai Ying was the greatest place for movies for a while, and there was a dude selling HK comics in the back as well. These came packaged with toy swords, which were the main reason I was buying them.

Over time I visited with less frequency due to a lot of factors (the internet, not that interested in Jonhny To movies and the like, not enough new kung fu movies, less time for long trips to buy movies, etc.), but always expected it would be there for me, if I needed it. But no more. It's been razed to the ground by some bastard.

Swiped from Kaiju Shakedown:

The legendary Lai Ying in New York City has been HQ central for Asian film fans for years and years now. Run by Michelle, this DVD/VCD/CD store was located one door down from the Music Palace, one of the last Chinatown movie theaters in the US, near the corner of Bowery and Hester and it was the place to pick up the latest Hong Kong and Japanese movies. They had an extensive stock, would find anything you were looking for, and their bargain bin ran a "3 for $20" special pretty much non-stop. Michelle and her co-worker Paul really stepped up their game to help serve non-Cantonese-speaking fans and their prices were usually the lowest in town. They were also one of the few people to stand up to Tai Seng's "piracy" raids that were once the bane of Chinatown video stores.

A few weeks ago, the owner of the building in which Lai Ying was located told them that they had to move, despite the fact that they had a couple of years left on their lease. Given 15 minutes to vacate the store, Michelle managed to find a new location at 75 Chrystie Street around the corner. Two days later, however, the building owner reneged on his promise to Michelle to let her staff back in to get her inventory out and he had the building demolished along with her entire stock of DVDs and CDs. He told her to file an insurance claim if she wanted her money. On the one hand, "Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown." On the other: holy cow! This is a massive blow to a small business owner, and Michelle has lost all of her money. More details in the next few days.

That... Is fucked up. I had read that they moved, a little while back at the Kung Fu Cinema forums, but this bit with the 15 minutes to vacate and later on all of her stock being destroyed like that...

RRrrgh!!

I'll have to make it a point to visit the new spot some time in the next few weeks.

Labels: bullshit, DVD, Heroes, kung fu, movies, odd

I just pre-ordered this muh-fug this morning. Now it's being recalled worldwide because some of the music contains readings from Islam's holy text. I think I'm gonna cancel my order.* I'll get the game eventually, perhaps when it's down to thirty or forty bucks. My purchase this morning was kinda an impulse, nudged slightly by Amazon's offer of a ten dollar gift certificate with the pre-order. Since I order from them all the time, why not? Now with the extra time it'll take to get the game, I think I'll just pass for now.

Sony needs to get it's act together. Right now the PS3 is getting its ass kicked here in the U.S. as well as on it's "home turf", Japan. Is it even fair to still call Sony a Japanese company? I wonder.

Little Big Planet does look like fun, though.

Anyhow, I still enjoy the machine as a Blu-Ray player and continue to order movies for it. I have Metal Gear Solid IV and Rainbow Six Vegas 2 as well as a few downloadable games for the PS3; Loco Roco: Cocoreccho, Pain, and Piyotama. I've haven't touched MGS 4 or Rainbow 6 and barely played the others, so it's not like I have to have a new game right now. Plus there are a few unfinised games for the Xbox 360 as well.


* October 20th, 2008 - I did cancel, but I changed my mind and I'm a gonna order it again (or buy it at or near the time it comes out).

Labels: bullshit, downloads, Islam, japanese, online retailers, PS3, video games

UN Classifies Rape A "War Tactic".
Maybe I'm just not understanding what this is about, but it seems to me, Rape (in this context) should be classified a "War Crime". War tactic sound legit.

Labels: bullshit, civil rights, Fucking Idiots, politics, society, terrorism, World Affairs

This is fucked up.

These details are swiped from Electronic Village;


Villagers remember the horrific story of ten youths that forced their way into a Black woman's home in Dunbar Village housing complex down in Florida. For several hours,they not only gang-raped her repeatedly and viciously beat her young son, but they forced her to have sex with her own child. The teenage boys then placed the two of them in a bathtub and poured nail polish remover in her son's eyes, blinding him for a period of time. They attempted to set them on fire, but couldn't find a match. So instead, they violated them with ammonia and threatened to kill her family if she told anyone.

Only four of the suspects have been apprehended, there are six others on the loose. There is conclusive DNA evidence on at least one of the boys. There is no manhunt for the rest of the criminals, they are running around loose as you read this.


Fast forward to today. It seems that the NAACP and Al Sharpton's National Action Network (NAN) both refused to help this woman because it was 'outside the scope of their mission' ... however, both groups found time to send lawyers down to Florida IN SUPPORT OF THE RAPISTS. The lawyers are claiming that it is 'unfair' to not offer bail to these four rapists.

Barack Obama spoke on the rage that exists in Black America when it comes to race relations. That rage burns especially strong when sexual crimes are committed against Black women and children ... even if the criminals involved are Black!

I encourage all like-minded villagers to join in collective action against the NAACP and Al Sharpton's NAN as a result of their misguided criminal advocacy in the Dunbar Village case. Perhaps it is time for right-thinking villagers to stop fueling the NAACP and NAN with our money and our volunteer activism until they stop trying to hinder the successful prosecution of this heinous crime down in Dunbar Village.

Perhaps it is time to ensure that the safety of Black women and children are non-negotiable. Here are some specific steps you can take:

1. Share this post with others so they might have their conscience and concern raised as yours as been today.
2. Demand an explanation from your local NAACP and NAN chapter about the Dunbar Village case.
3. Cancel your membership to these organizations
4. Write a letter explaining that you will return when they prioritize the public safety needs of Black women and children.
5. Stop donating your time or money to these organizations; instead invest in other organizations that take the lives of Black women and children seriously.

Even if you do not belong to these organizations, call or write them to express your displeasure:


NAACP National Headquarters
4805 Mt. Hope Drive
Baltimore MD 21215
(410) 580-5777

National Action Network
Rev. Al Sharpton
106 W. 145th Street
Harlem, New York 10039
(212) 690-3070

You can obtain more information about the direct action against NAACP and NAN from the Dunbar Village blog (BBR #494).

Labels: bullshit, civil rights, society, terrorism

Geert Wilders has had his website, which promotes his anti-Islam film, Fitna, shut down by it's host, Network Solutions. While I don't agree with some of Mr. Wilders views*, I don't like what's going on here. Of course, he can move to a different host, though they aren't the only providers with clauses about "hate speech".

What I like even less is this story (from January) that Network Solutions is registering domain names entered into their search site, to force interested parties into purchasing said domains from them instead of from a (less expensive) competitor.

However, when trying this myself with a couple of bullshit names (soundofnmnmnm, jesusisgoogly), both remained available after leaving and returning to the site. Either they've changed their tune, or have become good at filtering out bullshit names. The latter is unlikely since so many domain names sound silly to begin with (including my own).

Jesusisgoogly might have a couple of decent uses, but I'm gonna pass. As of this writing, though, it's up for grabs.

* www.fitnathemovie.info is still online and was linked above. It appears to be a mirror to www.fitnathemovie.com, though I never saw the offending site, so I guess I can't really say. Supposedly, the fifteen minute film will be viewable there.

Labels: bullshit, Islam, movies, religion, terrorism, World Affairs

I'm a little concerned about the way the media is playing the Obama/Clinton primary campaign story. Especially the polling by race stuff. To me that seems way more polarizing than anything coming out of the campaigns.

Are they just reporting what's there? Maybe, but I remember that nobody I knew gave a rats ass about OJ Simpson until polls revealed a racial split among those who thought he was guilty or innocent.

Labels: bullshit, politics, society

Okay, it's not terrorism, continuing assaults on our freedoms, or way out of control illegal immigration, but still.

Time Warner said on Wednesday that it was going to start testing a new rate plan in Beaumont that would limit the amount of bandwidth each customer can use each month before additional fees kick in. Alexander Dudley, a Time Warner spokesman, said that the exact terms had not been set, but that packages would probably offer between 5 gigabytes and 40 gigabytes a month. The top plan would cost roughly the same as the company’s highest-speed service, which typically runs between $50 and $60 a month.

read more....

Labels: bittorrent, bullshit, computers, downloads, media, technology

is really The Banquet which really sucks all kinds of ass just like The Curse Of The Golden Armor did. In other words, I don't recommend it.

Labels: bullshit, kung fu, movies

Sony wants to sell digital music via gift cards that you go to Best Buy to purchase. Then you take it home, scratch off to reveal a pin number and download your Thirteen dollar album. Huh? Like I can't do that with a CD, which I'd take home and convert into mp3? (though the music industry wants you to believe that ripping your own music is illegal - muthafuckers!) If I wanted just the mp3, I don't need the trip to Best Buy.

The angle that gift cards are popular presents doesn't wash in this instance either. Gift cards are generally used when one doesn't know what to get for someone. The card usually lets the user choose what they will spend it on, either at a specific retailer or a wider group of them. There have been such cards for mp3s for iTunes, and I think for eMusic and Rhapsody.

However it's good for surprising your loved one. When she opens it up and starts to think you got her a card to shop somewhere, imagine the look on her face when she realizes that you actually got her a card for the new (?) Backstreet Boys album. Not only that. Even though your dumb ass went all the way to Best Buy to purchase this one specific album, you didn't actually pick it up. You got the card so that she has to do the fucking work to get it. Brilliant!

So maybe Sony comes back in a year and go; "This DRM-free thing isn't working for us." Oh, yeah? No shit, you stupid fucking monkey! Well it's been working for me. I've been able to bypass your convoluted schemes and get your music just fine, and for free.

When you're ready to actually do business, call me.

Labels: bullshit, Fucking Idiots, music business, online retailers

The last time I noticed something like this, it was a projectionist who made known his opinion of some movie before it was widely released.

This time it's an editorial director at a gaming site I used to check out regularly. The firing may've been motivated by the huge amount of advertising on Gamespot by Eidos for their apparently not so great game, Kane And Lynch.

While this controversy shines an unflattering light on the Gamespot site, other sites could very easily learn the wrong lesson from this. Luckily, it's easier than ever to get opinions from fellow gamers, as well as playable demos to help guide the choices we make.

In any case, I won't be needing Gamespot, as there are a ton of other videogame news sites, and I certainly won't be giving any Eidos titles a benefit of the doubt. If Eidos actually makes a kick ass game, I'll probably check it out, though.

Labels: advertising, bullshit, comics, video games

Prince is being a dick, again. Is there no end to his dickery?

Labels: bullshit, Prince

Prince responds in song (recorded last night) to the shitstorm he started. And what a funky ass song it is. It seems he's still being an ass in the lyrics (or so it's been interpreted), but who cares? Listen.

Labels: bullshit, civil rights, downloads, music, Prince

This is a bit disturbing. The BBC has posted a story about a woman who has been convicted (in the UK) of possessing terrorist manuals and writing Jihadist poetry.

She had posted her poems on websites under the screen name the Lyrical Terrorist, prosecutors said.

Malik said the poems were "meaningless", but prosecutor Jonathan Sharp said: "These communications strongly indicate Samina Malik was deeply involved with terrorist related groups."

Police said they had found a "library" of Islamist literature in her bedroom including The Al-Qaeda Manual and The Mujahideen Poisons Handbook.

Sounds like guilt by association or consorting with witches. Not that I'm a big fan of Islamist groups, but I don't like this at all.

However... buried deep in the story was this little tidbit;

She also tried to donate money to a terrorist group.

That does seem like a serious charge and one worthy of jail time. The other stuff at best, should have inspired the authorities to keep a watch on her activities and those of her friends.

I just wonder if the other stuff was over played to generate more sympathy.

"She had the ideology, ability and determination to access and download material, which could have been useful to terrorists. Merely possessing this material is a serious criminal offence."

Hmmm. Or not.

Labels: bullshit, civil rights, Fascism, Islam, media, politics

Prince is being a dick again. He has to be stopped.

Labels: bullshit, Prince

Hey, Douche-Bag! Please, piss off.

Nobel Prize-winning author Doris Lessing has said that the 11 September attacks were "not that terrible" compared to the IRA's terror campaign.

"Some Americans will think I'm crazy... but it was neither as terrible or as extraordinary as they think," the writer told Spanish newspaper El Pais.

The 88-year-old added that "people forget" the IRA bomb attack on Margaret Thatcher's government in 1984.

Lessing won the Nobel prize, worth £763,000, honouring her 57-year career.

Five people died and 34 were injured when an IRA bomb exploded in a Brighton hotel where leading members of the Conservative party - including Mrs Thatcher - were staying for its annual conference.

'World calamity'

The author conceded that "many people died and two prominent buildings fell" in the attacks on New York's World Trade Center in 2001.

"They're a very naive people, or they pretend to be," she added of Americans.

Lessing, whose novels include The Golden Notebook and Memoirs of a Survivor, also branded President George W Bush "a world calamity".

"Everyone is tired of this man. Either he is stupid or he is very clever, although you have to remember he is a member of a social class which has profited from wars."

The writer also said that she "always hated Tony Blair from the beginning".

Lessing was awarded the Nobel Prize for her "fire and visionary power", and is due to collect her award at a ceremony in Stockholm on 10 December.

Labels: bullshit, Fucking Idiots

White people need to stop fucking with OJ.

Only thing I have to say is... Oh, no.
Not again.

Labels: bullshit, funny-ass shit, society

Cop gets busted on camera (mostly audio) tryin' to intimidate some kid.

Police harassment has never been an issue for me, but if it was, I'd be inclined to Wi-Fi my movements on a consistent basis. Being a pedestrian, I'd need a smaller camera, of course. I'm not sure what sort of wearable device is available for such things, but if they aren't, they will be eventually. Video blogging would be taken to a new level.

Labels: bullshit, civil rights, funny-ass shit, independent film-making, society, solutions?

And still looks like a sickly old fuck.

He's got a new announcement coming out, on video tape. Apparently not hip to DVD yet, much less any of the Hi-Def formats. Anyhow, provided he hasn't committed any more mass murders by then, the new video, should it surface, might be worth a laugh or two.
Here's the BBC story about the new tape and the dyed beard.

Labels: bullshit, funny-ass shit, Islam, religion, terrorism, World Affairs

NBC has ended their deal with Apple, no longer allowing downloads of their programs from iTunes.
Apparently NBC wants the service to charge $4.99 an episode rather than $1.99.
Also, they seem to think that the DRM on iTunes downloads aren't strong enough.

"Among its aims are to stop pirated material from being uploaded to iPods."

Now, the only NBC programs on iPods will be pirated ones. Idiots!
I still think $1.99 is too much, but it doesn't matter. I don't have an iPod, nor do I plan on getting one. The DRM crap won't work on my PSP, and that's fine by me.

The program I use to convert downloaded (not from iTunes) and dvds for viewing on my PSP also converts them to the iPod, XviD4PSP. And it's a free program. So if you want to take the latest episode of Heroes to work with you, it'll show up on usenet (look it up if you don't know) and the other usual places about a day later. When the accountants explain to the knuckleheads the damage being done, you'll soon be able to go back to your overpriced iTunes downloads... if you still want to.

Update: You might not want to. I haven't tried this yet, but it's supposedly easy, using RSS and torrents. I think there are risks using torrents that aren't there with usenet, but usenet is complicated to explain (TimDoc can help) and finding exactly what you want there, isn't always easy. Read - TV Torrents: When 'piracy' is easier than legal purchase.
Thanks James Hudnall.

Labels: bittorrent, bullshit, downloads, funny-ass shit, online retailers, ripoffs, solutions?

Recently, some rare-ish (never before released on CD) 80's b-sides and extended versions from Prince were made available from 7digital (and iTunes?) in Europe*. Fans are expressing some disappointment that these tracks are badly encoded vinyl rips complete with audible scratches, pops and surface noise. Read here to see what one fan had to go through to get some of his money back.

Hold on to those bootlegs. They won't be obsolete for a long while.

*these may not be available in the U.S.

7 Digital sells DRM'd wma files, by the way.

Labels: bullshit, downloads, music business, Prince, ripoffs

The video of Mickey Mouse's terrorist cousin, Farfur being beaten to death at the hands of an "Israeli agent".
Funny and sick at the same time. I'd be less judgmental about it if it was a Palestinian sketch comedy show aimed at an audience older than 15.

Labels: bullshit, funny-ass shit, Islam, religion, society, terrorism, World Affairs, youtube

The BBC reports that the last episode of the Hamas "Mickey Mouse" show has their terrorist mascot beaten to death by an Israeli agent.

It's a children's show. I guess they wanted to end with a good triumphs over evil message. Maybe not, but all's well that ends well, or something.

Hope the beating shows up on YouTube.

Labels: bullshit, funny-ass shit, Islam, ripoffs, terrorism, tv, World Affairs

The reaction to the Knighthood awarded to Salman Rushdie.

...Comment by Pakistani Religious Affairs Minister Mohammad Ejaz ul-Haq;

"If someone commits suicide bombing to protect the honour of the Prophet Muhammad, his act is justified," the minister said, according to Reuters news agency.

The minister later clarified his statement, saying extremists could use it to justify attacks.

Here we go again with this bullshit.

Bitches.

By the way, shouldn't the term "Islamophobia" only apply to the pussies who roll over for these asshats?

Labels: bullshit, Fascism, Islam, politics, terrorism, World Affairs

Most commercial DVDs look great on my 38" LCD. About as good as the HDTV channels I get through cable, without the annoying pixelation during fast scenes. So until prices come down significantly, and there's a single format, I have no need to upgrade.

There's the chance I'll get a PS3 at some point. Then again, maybe not.

Labels: bullshit, DVD, HDTV

Some projectionist submitted a negative review of "Rise Of The Silver Surfer" and got canned after the studio (Fox) threatened the theatre chain. Most agree that if a confidentiality agreement had been signed (or otherwise consented), then fine. However that isn't apparent at this time (he denies it), and Fox's bullying tactics might not be the type of publicity they want right now.
I was already leaning towards not seeing this film until it was available in some digital manner. I disliked (didn't hate it) the first one, and didn't see how the same crew could do any better this time. So, the controversy, if it has any legs, is mostly a non-issue for me. I am interested to see what it leads to, if anything.

Speaking of movies, I attempted to see Knocked Up over the weekend with a friend, and found the screening sold out. If theatre attendance is really declining the way it's been described, then this sort of thing shouldn't be happening anymore, should it? Or is Hollywood only worried about their shitty movies?

Labels: bullshit, comics, downloads, movies

I kinda don't care one way or another. Not a fan. I defend his right to free speech, of course, and see no difference in how he's been exercising it between now and the last three decades. So, why now?

For me, the issue's the FCC and it's need to regulate speech on the public airwaves. I would prefer to do away with it, but that probably isn't happening anytime soon. Haven't listened to the radio in ages anyway.

I was looking for an old TV ad I remembered from the early eighties that featured Imus and station-mate Howard Stern apologizing to all of the various groups they've insulted, a long list that of course included blacks, gays, catholics, jews, etc., etc.

Couldn't find it, but I did find this one which delivered a similar sentiment.

For the hell of it, an eighties profile of Howard Stern, with a guest appearance from Don Imus on local TV station WOR (channel 9) and another channel 9 broadcast made in the aftermath of Stern being fired from WNBC.

For a recap on the recent controversy (including video), I direct you to Bol.

April 14th, 07 - Oops. FCC's got nothin' to do with this. I've mixed feelings about his being fired;
On the one hand, fuck him. On the other, where does this culture of outrage over bullshit end?

Labels: bullshit, civil rights, hypocrisy, media, nostalgia, politics, tv, youtube

when Anna Nicole Smith's name is mentioned on the news. On comedy shows, I pay attention.

Labels: bullshit, tv

That's the first and last time I'll be caught using that word.

Here's a video (up as of this writing) of Sean Hannity trying to ignite some kind of firestorm by pitting an outspoken NYC Councilman Charles Barron, naturally upset about the whole Sean Bell issue against infamous O.J. Simpson witness, Mark Fuhrman. The results aren't what one might normally expect.



Strange. I thought conservatives normally supported the rights of citizens to protect themselves, not only against crime, but against oppressive police actions as well. This would've been a good opportunity to bring up issues with both New York City and New York State gun laws. Hmmm.

Three of the officers have apparently been indicted. I don't know the details yet, but this simply means a case will actually go to trial.

But Michael Palladino of the Detectives' Endowment Association said the indictments sent a "chilling message to all New York City police officers".

"You can act in good faith and there is no margin for error," he said.

There's a margin, it isn't fifty bullets long, though.

Labels: bullshit, civil rights, funny-ass shit, hypocrisy, politics, right to bear arms, tv, youtube

Some of these were obviously jokes:

"I find it highly unacceptable to have a family watching a sporting event only to find Prince stroking, manipulating and fondling his guitar behind the curtain. This image only made him look extremely large which made the rest of us feel small, and unable to perform this evening."


Some others, I'm not so sure of. Funny stuff, in any case.

These and more at The Smoking Gun.
Thanks Housequake.com.

Labels: bullshit, funny-ass shit, Prince, tv

This stupid; "...the PSP isn't well suited for homebrew." - Sony Worldwide Studios president Phil Harrison.

Labels: bullshit, funny-ass shit, PSP, video games

Prince's new song is up at 3121.com. It's called Guitar and it's a buck ninety-nine for a tune slightly over three minutes. I've made it clear that iTunes is too expensive at ninety-nine cents (cant use iTunes songs on my PSP anyway). There's no fuckin' way I'm payin' two dollars on an mp3, not even one by Prince. So I'll have to wait 'till I can "find" it. If it's on a new CD, I'll end up buying it, anyway. Sometimes, that man is not very bright.


Feb 4th, 2007 - Having heard the song a few times now, I rather like it. It's not great, but even if it was, I wouldn't pay two bucks for it. Looking forward to this evening's halftime show.

Labels: bullshit, downloads, music, online retailers, Prince, ripoffs

Swiped from the BBC (as usual)...

The Nazis hijacked the symbol from its Hindu origins

Hindus in Europe have joined forces against a German proposal to ban the display of the swastika across the European Union, a Hindu leader said.

Ramesh Kallidai of the Hindu Forum of Britain said the swastika had been a symbol of peace for thousands of years before the Nazis adopted it.

He said a ban on the symbol would discriminate against Hindus.

Germany, holder of the EU presidency, wants to make Holocaust denial and the display of Nazi symbols a crime.

Mr Kallidai said his organisation was writing to European lawmakers to highlight the issue.

The swastika has been around for 5,000 years as a symbol of peace, Ramesh Kallidai Origins of the swastika

Hindu groups in Holland, Belgium and Italy were also involved in the campaign, he said.

"The swastika has been around for 5,000 years as a symbol of peace," he said. "This is exactly the opposite of how it was used by Hitler."

He said that while the Nazi implications of the symbol should be condemned, people should respect the Hindu use of the swastika.

"Just because Hitler misused the symbol, abused it and used it to propagate a reign of terror and racism and discrimination, it does not mean that its peaceful use should be banned."

The group said banning the swastika was equivalent to banning the cross simply because the Ku Klux Klan had used burning crosses.

The swastika is already banned in Germany. A previous attempt to ban it across the EU in early 2005 failed after objections from several governments, including the British.

Germany took over the six-month EU presidency on 1 January.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I remember watching an old Shaw Bros. Kung Fu movie back in the seventies and seeing a Manji (what most would call a swatstika, but turned the other way, I think) in stone, on a wall at Shaolin Temple, and thinking, "Oh! I didn't know the Nazis got to China, too." Didn't know then what I know now. I've also seen the symbol on Chinese comicbook art and on the foreheads of characters who were supposed to be monks (Kinda like Charlie Manson during one of his probation hearings).

The point here is that this symbol doesn't belong to the Nazis and those who sympathize with them. Personally, I'd like to see this image and what it really stands for embraced by the mainstream. This isn't like the "N" word (profanity), nor like the confederate flag, which I believe symbolizes treason. It isn't about taking something negative and making it positive, but recognizing that it was positive to begin with. The Germans (as well as others in Europe) believe they can fight fascism with fascism, and they are wrong.

Doesn't mean it should be scrawled on peoples grave markers, on Synagogues, or anything like that, though. Just to make myself clear.

Labels: bullshit, civil rights, Fascism, hypocrisy, politics, World Affairs

Great prices can be found on Nerds.net on a variety of items, but if you're in a hurry to get your stuff, I'd advise you steer clear of them. If you need a place for your money to hang out for a while, before (hopefully) being returned to you, these may be your kinda nerds.

My 20" RCA was new when Miami Vice was still on the air. It had seen better days, and I had been meaning to replace it for years.

My interest in getting a new TV perked up over the hype for the upcoming PS3, which was recently released (sorta). My enthusiasm for Sony's new gaming platform went from "No fucking way am I paying 600 bucks for that" to "hmmm, I dunno."

Considering the PS3 and the XBox 360 (slightly cheaper and available) got me thinking about HDTV. Prices had been coming down on LCD and Plasma screens and even the smaller models were looking attractive, so I decided I was gonna get one by years end.

At first I thought a 27" would be enough of an upgrade, but though the screen would be wider, it wouldn't be taller than the old 20". I think it would be shorter in height. So 30-32" made more sense to me. I considered a model from WalMart, but I'm a Teamster. I wouldn't like their labor practices even if I wasn't. Spending $600 there wasn't gonna happen for me, though I've bought 2-tin packs of Altoids for 3 bucks over there as well as other minor purchases. I did actually go there and check out a couple of models and almost rethought my hesitation over the 27" size. A Sanyo looked pretty good at that size. Better than the 32" next to it. I think it was the Ilo, but I don't remember for sure.

I soon came across this guy at Target. The reviews were mostly decent and the price wasn't bad, but I decided to check Pricegrabber.com to see if I could do better. The site lead me to nerds.net which had the LCD monitor at $518.99 at the time. The merchant reviews were mostly positive (4 1/2 out of 5 stars) though there were few negative reports. I bit the bullet and placed my order on a Sunday. I paid for overnight shipping so that I could get it that Tuesday and make sure I was home to get it. Nerds.net also charge a fee to expedite the processing of the order which I also paid. Something like $3.75. So on Monday, I get a call. My phone # was different from what was on file at the credit card company and the person on the other line needed confirmation. This was fine. it showed they were taking some effort to avoid fraud and whatnot. I also got a name and a phone extension, just in case I needed to contact somebody. I asked the guy would my order ship out that day, and he said yes.

That's not the way it worked out, though. I never got the order, because it never shipped. Not that I could tell at the time as it seems they don't like to give tracking numbers. I emailed them on Tuesday evening, saying they should at least refund the overnite shipping charge as it obviously hadn't been shipped overnight. Got a response the next day saying it would be looked into. Thursday was Thanksgiving and phone calls on Friday indicated they were closed for the holiday. I sent an email demanding a complete refund Friday night. Had it even shipped Wednesday via overnight shipping, it would've come Friday, but no. The email wouldn't have been read until Monday, but I couldn't wait till then to vent. I didn't want to log the experience here until I knew for sure what was going on.

On Monday, the 27th of November, a week after my order should have been processed, I placed a call to my contact to discuss cancelling my order. He wanted to find out what happened to it first. The "tracking system" had been down. I said fine, but I would be calling back once an hour, until I got an answer. I skipped an hour after the second call cuz I was washing my dreads. On the third, I was told they could ship my TV out that day. I said no. At that point I just wanted my money back and he said fine. No problem. I got an email later that day apologising for my inconvenience and now saying that they were out of stock on the item in question. Whether or not this was bullshit didn't concern me as the email also stated I would be getting my money back and that it would post to my account in 3-5 business days.

Guess what? On Monday December 4th, two weeks after I'd placed my order with nerds.net, they still had my money. I let the business day pass before sending yet another email. I decided to wait till morning to make another phone call. When I did, the guy (the same guy I always talk to over there) says they issued the credit yesterday (Monday). "Yesterday?" "Weren't you supposed to do this last week?" I wasn't happy, but I remained patient while quietly fantasizing about how I was gonna wage war on these assholes.

On Wednesday the 6th, Nerds.net finally gave me my money back. By the time this occurred, I'd already received my new 37" LCD HDTV from an Amazon.com vendor, Worldwide Distributors and was enjoying the hell out of it.

While I was wrestling with nerds.net to get my money back, I was looking at alternatives. I knew the 32" I wanted was available at Target and Amazon, but I'd now decided I wanted to go even bigger. This guy was 37" and included the NTSC/HDTV tuner that the model I'd previously ordered lacked. I don't think I actually need the tuner, but whatever.

I didn't like that "expedited shipping" doesn't necessarily mean next day or even second or third day (at least they tell you that), but I went with it anyway and got it in two business days. No tracking number here, either. Can't say I'm happy about that, but the delivery went well and the product is great.

One good thing about nerds.net is that they give you time to reconsider your purchase with them.

Labels: bullshit, HDTV, online retailers, ripoffs, tv

The Dutch cabinet has backed a proposal by the country's immigration minister to ban Muslim women from wearing the burqa in public places.

The burqa, a full body covering that also obscures the face, would be banned by law in the street, and in trains, schools, buses and the law courts.

Favorite quote;

"It is very important that we can see each other and can communicate with each other. Because we are so tolerant we want to respect each other."

Read the full article over at the BBC.

Labels: bullshit, civil rights, Fascism, hypocrisy, Islam, terrorism

Not so much now. The movie's over. Just finished Mission Impossible 3, and annoying is the only word I can find to describe the experience. And I not only enjoyed the first two movies in the series, I often admit to it in public. Oh, well. Maybe Casino Royale will be good

Labels: bullshit, movies

Lost my 4 gb memory stick duo on a food shopping excursion yesterday and I'm a bit annoyed. It's possible I've simply misplaced it around here somewhere, but I think it's lost. I still have my previous memsticks, the 2 gb, the 1 gb (which was in use yesterday for an assortment of mp3s arranged via PSPShuffle) and the 32 mb that came with the PSP, and is almost never used.

The 2 gb memstick will do fine for most daily uses. I just like having the extra room for games I might want to play or shows I might want to watch or music I might want to hear. I'm considering replacing it, but I wonder if I should wait for the upcoming 8 gb. It will likely be very expensive upon release, so I might wait for an upgrade like that. In the meantime, I'll just see if there are any decent discounts on the 4 gb, before I do anything.

Labels: bullshit, PSP

Yet another PSOne emulator for the PSP has been announced after the disappointment of the last coupl'a days. This one seems a little more hopeful, as the webmaster of DCEmu claims to have a copy. Still, I could'a done without the announcement until a day before release, or better yet, just let it drop right outta the blue. I think that's what happened with the great gpSP (GBA for the PSP) emulator.

Guess I'll just wait and see.

Labels: bullshit, PSP, video games

Not the one by Sony. That's due around November, I think.
This one is the homebrew CONcoction that sprung up yesterday. Had it simply been a proof of concept that came out of nowhere, that would'a been fine, and exciting even.

But it started with this announcement on August 7th:

A French website announced that a team would be releasing a Playstation 1 emulator by the end of the summer.

These features were boasted (actual release features in red);

- The support of the sound - No sound support
- At least 50FPS - at most, maybe 5 FPS for those games that loaded at all
- The support of the images compressed in DAX or CIS - Only ISOs or BINs supported
- Management of the memory boards of the PSX (virtually) - I have no idea what that means
- The support of WiFi for the multijouor mode - Ha, ha! No.
- Other functions will come to be grafted progressively - I should fucking hope so, but I won't hold my breath

Many readers on the thread I linked to scoffed at the idea, but a few forum members, most, if not all, of some respect in the "community", went out of their way to back up the claims made in the announcement. Perhaps not explicitly by saying, "yeah, 50 frames per second", but by their affirmation that the announced project was real.

At some point, a September 1st deadline was thrown around (I don't remember by whom), but it came and went. A 2.71 downgrader was released that day and one or more of the developers from the emulator project was apparently involved. In the meantime a small number of shitty YouTube videos were shown off, and attempted to provide a "proof of concept". For some, this was enough evidence that this project was real, but the rest of us knows that shitty YouTube videos are easy enough to fake.

I stayed out the discussions, for the most part. There's no point in discussing vaporware, is there? I just watched as the few voices of reason argued against the stupid hype, the videos, the delays and whatnot, while the supporters (friends?) assured that when the project was "ready" it would be released.

So yesterday we got this. Like I said, if not for the bullshit that preceeded it, it would make a fine POC (Proof Of Concept), but instead, it's a POS (Piece Of Shit) that falls waay short of expectations.

So. I guess it's ready now?

There are other issues regarding a violation of the GPL, which is similar to the Creative Commons Copyright. The guy taking credit for this mess hasn't properly credited the previous coders on this project (it's a port of a PC PSOne emulator), nor has he offered up the code, which has to be shared under the licence. The site I normally frequent, DCEmu.co.uk, is usually a stickler with legal issues (no talk of ISOs, piracy, etc.), but apparently this rule is inspired by a fear of the power of Sony and the like. Lowly coders like PacManFan can't do much, so screw 'im, right?

Here's where the homebrew community has revealed it's ugly side, and Sony comes out looking pretty good. The mod (at DCEmu) who removed the link and closed the original thread may've been threatened with dismissal of staff privilages. The link is back* (edit - it's gone again by request of the original programmers), the thread re-opened, except for the one where the legality of the emulator was questioned (edit - now addressed on the first page of the release thread). That one is gone, though the issue is brought up in the release thread. The illegality isn't so much an issue for me. If it was a decent emulator, I'd be using it. The hypocracy of DCEmu on this does bother me a little though. I've been in other forums and newsgroups where people will defend some stupid shit just to get on the good side of somebody with a little "clout". I thought that site was above that. I was wrong.

Nor the past issues with the main coder involved here. I've only heard bits and pieces about him. If I don't trust him and his supporters, it because of what's happening now. This whole thing was mis-handled from begining to end. And what do we get in the end? A shitty ass emulator.

Okay, Sony. Show us what you got (I won't be updating my firmware for it, unless I can keep my other homebrew).

Labels: bullshit, PSP, video games