JsARCLIGHT

Folks, you have no clue how much I am glad to not live in california... I am soooooooo sorry for you guys. Seriously. ... but then again who knows, maybe Paul Reubens or Judge Rienhold will run for office here in Misery (Missurah for you east coasters) and outquote ol' Arns with some good one liners like "I'm going to remove the banana from the tailpipe of the system!" or "I'm going to collect kiddie porn till the deficit is no more!"

I actually don't know a single person who has bought that CD... I think the "success" of Hung is what they call in the business a "SMC". SMC stands for "Smoke and Mirrors Celebrity"... a manufactured celebrity that is popular because the execs and radio stations are forcing him down your throat. A celebrity that makes money because chain stores like Best Buy buy the albums by the truckload... the execs and the "artist" have made their money then... the CD's rot on the store shelves and eventually get charged back to the manufacturers. Anyone remember the other manufactured celebs? Where are they now? That's right... working at Arbys. I think I saw the girls from Bewitched at the fryer right next to the dorks from Ohtown. Hung is just another example of how music has lost it's soul and filled the void with greed, gimmick and stupidity. Someone's always playing corporation games... who cares they're always changing corporation names? We just want to dance here but someone stole the stage. A bad lyric from a bad song that is horribly horribly true.

Aren't those the things they sell at Best Buy? A few weeks back I was wandering the PC game isles and accidentally tripped over one that a Best Buy blueshirt was demoing. Looks like any other plastic kid's toy to me...

I must be the only one that wants Hung to pay for his crimes... after all, you take out the record execs that gave him this undue attention and two more slither out of the sewers to replace them. Record execs are like the T1000... no matter how many you kill they... keep... comming... back. But if you dispatch their creations in grisly and effective ways then the next crap-ass tone deaf superstar-to-be will have serious second thoughts about signing that record contract. Don't sign that paper tonight she said because you'll get a friggin' bullet in the brain!

I'll gladly ignore this man with a .357 ... or perhaps a .44... Nuke the fool from orbit, only way to be sure.

Angst will always leak in, it's human nature. The trick is to understand the "opposition" and for them to understand you... but human nature gets the best of all of us. Gun control is a by-product of fear, people fear what they do not understand, what they don't wish to understand or what they are told to be afraid of. The real demon facing man is man himself, not machines or ideas or laws. I myslef fear what people can and would do to me and my new "family" (if a wife and a cat can be called a family) so I arm myself against threats. Military training, lots of practice and a decent head on my shoulders makes me (I would love to believe) a responsable gun owner... but there are those people out there that fear the guns and not the person pulling the trigger. That belief is irrational as weapons are tools, they cannot have a polar capacity like "good" or "evil". Is a hammer good? Is a bench lathe evil? Is a person good? Is an individual evil? Neither. Only people's actions are good or evil... and most of the time that capacity is in the eye of the beholder. The gun laws we need should be retroactive not proactive. The laws should focus on the use of the weapon and not the weapon itself. If it was a manditory 30 year sentence for using a firearm in the comission of a crime then I bet the prisons would fill up past capacity (like they are now) but gun crime might drop. You never know. Anyway I'm breaking my own request again here so this should be the last post on the topic of law, on to better happier topics. I'm going to my local gun shop today to look over the springer catalogs and possibly put in my order for my M1A1 (M14). I really want the NM classic but it might be more cash than I have to spare right now so I might end up just going with one of the cheaper ones.

Does anyone know what the deal is with the MPC Legioss toys that come with the cels? Are they only available at RT.com or are those first 3000 that are "different" the ones that will be coming with the cels? I'm not really interested in the cels per se but I'm just wondering if it is a "wide" release of those limited edition ones or if RT.com hogs them all. I'd check on RT.com myself but for some reason that site locks up my AOL browser every time I try to go there.

I think for our own sakes we should 86 the politio talk in this thread. Yes, we are all peeved about the gun grabbers but by constantly mulling them here and dropping names and politically heated replies we may get our beloved thread locked or deleted. Back to the talk of guns and let's just leave the political angles to heated bashing while buying ammo in our local gun stores.

I find Jack Black to be yet another "fat, stupid, boorish and arrogant american actor". He is very, very not funny. I can understand a bunch of drunk college kids loving his ham-fisted muscial vomit but turning him into a comedic actor is one step beyond. If you ask me this movie will just be another Jack Black vehicle like School of Schlock rather than be a superhero piece.

Those pics are nice... they also clear up something that was bothering me this whole time: are the paint schemes going to be correct to the line art? Still no mock/proto of the Dark Legioss yet, huh? Is that a good sign or a bad one?

When there are no more guns peope will kill each other with knives... when there are no more knives I will not be able to cut up my chicken dinner... when I can't cut up my chicken dinner I will eat it with my hands... when I eat with my hands I will become feral... when I become feral I will poo in the back yard and wear a loincloth... society collapses, cities burn and a new dark age rolls in. There will always be the people in the world that are afraid of you and what you can do with a device. They cannot trust you with a weapon so they deem it necessary to remove that weapon from your hands. What happens if the pendulum swings back the other way? What if I don't trust those gun grabbing fools with their SUVs and cell phones? SUVs have been proven by many different sources to be polluting, dangerous monstrosities. More people are killed each day in America by and in SUVs than people are killed by "assault weapons". In 2003 alone 2,353 (est.) people were killed in sport utility vehicle related accidents on the roads of america. On the flip side of the coin 35,000(once again est.) people were killed with firearms in 2003... but alas only 3.5 to 4% of those murders by firearm were done with a rifle (while a whopping 55 to 60% were comitted with totally legal, common over the counter handguns). So basic math tells us that about 4% of those murders is a nice rounded number of about 1,400 people. Hmmmm... 2,300 killed by SUV's and 1,400 killed by rifles... Can I take those SUVs away from them then? I have proof they are deadly and a hazzard to living things? What? It doesn't work that way? Oh. So if the SUV was painted black and had a bayonet then we could ban them? Oh Ok then. (JsARCLIGHT backs out of the thread before he really starts getting political)

But if that were true than what explains the missing other music? No Doors, no CCR, no Hendrix, no nothing. I stayed up most of the night last night watching the DVDs and I clearly remember a few of the episodes as having some very noticeable songs in them. Plus I have a VHS copy of the pilot from the british/european release and Paint it Black is the theme song for the opening.

That is the major issue with Miami Vice... the music. Not so much it's own "soundtrack" but that Michael Mann used a different muscal artist on every episode... that sort of crap means that for almost every individual episode they have to secure some now defunct '80s band's release to use their song.

What I was referring to was the scale of the zombie menace. In Night it was claustrophobic... the zombies seemed to only be a here and there thing, they were just starting to get out of hand. Then in Dawn they seemed to be everywhere but people still had control. Then in Day the zombies seemed to control most of the cities and major areas with people hiding out for their safety... Romero has been known to make magic on small budgets anyway.

Boss. The man is back in the saddle again! Seeing how his movies have escallated from small to large scale I wonder how "big" Land of the Dead will be?

I myself would like to see all four Tread color variations made... even though you only saw the Blue, Green and Dark Treads on the show.

Ok for those who care I could not resist any longer and went out on my lunch and bought the Tour of Duty set at Walmart (lowest price here, $36.99 for the set). I watched the pilot and ep 1 on my computer at work (yes, rather than working ) and have the following to report to those, like me, who are die-hard fans: The GOOD: - Outside of the music the episodes appear uncut and unaltered from their original form and they are placed on the DVD in the correct order (duh... but sometimes some DVD sets get the right orders mixed up) - the packaging is superb. Nice keepbox with a fold out cardboard/plastic keepcase for the 5 discs and booklet. Nice graphics on the keepcase. - the booklet, while sparse (just a list of the episodes, a brief synopsys of each and the cast for the ep), is nice. - the sound quality is excellent and presented in Dolby Digital... due to the audio track remix most likely - it's F'ing Tour of Duty, bitch. The BAD: - The music. More precisely the lack thereof. The entire original rock and roll soundtrack has been replaced with the show's incidental music. Folks who have seen the show will remember the flute and guitar haunting theme that rolls during the commercial breaks and the closing credits... well ladies and gentleman that is now used ad nausiem to fill in where the licensed rock music used to be. Along with a grotesque filler canned "generic rock music" lick they use over and over again all the musical soul has been sapped from the show. It's mood is drastically changed into a more somber and sad feeling than the "period piece" feeling it used to have. - NO EXTRAS. None. Nada. Zip. Nothing. Just the shows and some commericals for Columbia's other TV to DVD items. Quite dissapointing. The UGLY: - on a sad note I regret to inform you that your video quality has been killed in action with the enemy. No sign of remastering or even a basic attempt to clean up the picture is present. Grain, color issues, pops and all other manner of VHS bullcrap rear it's ugly head throughout the first DVD... and from what I have heard it does not get any better. Video quality ranges from tollerable to terrible. If Columbia wanted me to have the "watching an old bootleg VHS of the show" feeling then damn, they hit the nail on the head. My Verdict: While the video quality, replacement of almost all the kickass music and the complete lack of any extras make me want to join the VC the fact that after so many long years one of CBS's finest shows is in my hands leaves me reluctantly waving the US flag. I can only hope that perhaps as time marches on they can actually secure the rights to the music, clean up the video and at least give me some crappy still cards for extras with the release of the future seasons. Seaons two and three are short compared to season one so perhaps they will combine them for the second set. If you are a die-hard ToD fan, watched it on TV with baited breath from '87 to '89 like I did then you must buy this set... but if you are a casual fan or just simply "interested" in seeing it I feel you may be disappointed by the lack of shine on the set. The audo thing is not an issue if you never saw the show before, you will just simply think the show is depressing... but the grainy video will make you just a tad angry that you are watching a DVD and not a VHS. Seeing as it has a low price and there are bootlegs already available (for the more tightassed out there) I see no reason not to buy and enjoy... just imagine the music in your head and squint so the grain goes away. Tour of Duty Fun Fact! (that means nothing to anyone but me) When ToD ran on CBS back in the day my father (who was in ailing health at the time) and I used to watch it together. We both enjoyed the show and we both also found it ironic that the character Sgt. Anderson (Terence Knox) had the same name and rank as my father when he was in country in the 'Nam. The show was a nice piece that let my father and me spend some more time together and I enjoyed listening to his insights on the show... the typical "that's BS" or "that is totally right". I still feel bad to this day that he died before the show ended... so to me in some way watching this show my father still watches it with me. Sappiness over! Buy the DVDs dammit!

If I remember correctly down here in the states when they re-aired ToD on our History Channel (or was it TNT?) it was this new altered version and not the "classic" one. I remember catching an episode midday and remember telling myself "WTF? Where are the Stones? Why is the opening music different?" There is a Briton on eBay right now selling the full series he ripped off satelite and he claims it has all the original music plus the openers and previews. I sent him an email to see how the quality is before I go and buy the "altered" version.

Have they nailed down the release dates for the other three yet? I have seen several dates on the internet for the remainder of the series (A few sites I have checked list the release dates as soon as all three by the end of the year and others claim the last issue will be sometime late 4th Q 2005) and I'm just wondering if Toynami plans to do like they did with the original MPCs and drag the release out over the next year and a half or if they intend to scoot poot this time and release these things in a timely manner?

All hyped up I just did some searching for the Tour of Duty season 1 DVDs and have the following to report: - ALL the original music, not just the opening, have been replaced with generic "music library" tracks. One place I read a review at said it was different but not that important to the show (which is true) and another site said they should not have released the show in this butchered state as the classic music was part of the character of the show... which is also very true - 5 DVDs, the whole first season from the pilot. 21 episodes - NO special feaures at all. None. Nada, Zip. - Chinese bootlegs are already showing up on eBay and other places. My view on this is if they could not get the rights to the orininal music and present the show in it's original unaltered version they should not have released it. I know many other pending projects like Rock and Rule that are holding out for the music rights before they release as the music is that important. Tour of Duty to me is the same way. The Vietnam conflict was not just a war but part of the changing reality of america in the '60s and the music of the era played a massive role in that. Replacing the Doors with some crap-ass music library track to me is like replacing the star wars theme with some other generic orchestral thing made by "Now Hear This!" music library... it just isn't done. I guess I'll have to buy these as they are the only thing out there aside from fan taped copies off of TV. Man, what a letdown though...

My vote for most inept military in anime would be those that others have already stated... but one that sticks out in my mind is in the one-off anime movie Windaria. The valley people who mobilize an army of crossbow wielding, blimp riding, bandana having, downright hairdressing troops against the vicious mechanical nazi-like war machine of the darklanders. Who in their right mind thinks it is a good idea to take on tanks with arrows? The only other mystery that is even more unbelievable than that is that somehow the valley dwellers and the darklanders fight to a relative draw! Tanks, guns, helmets and armor against ballons, crossbows, wooden vehicles and suave uniforms... it should have been a bloodbath!

Yet another wiseguy. ... then again jacking old ladies for their cars then running them over while shooting a prostitute and cussing like a sailor makes me smile. Nice ass, baybee!

Boss. But they should stop releasing the show before the last season. No one needs to see Crockett and Tubbs go down.

A couple '80s cartoons/shows that I want in their entirety on DVD are: Galaxy High. For the love of kawamori this show was produced by Chris Columbus (Home Alone, Harry Potter, others) with a soundtrack by Don Felder (the Eagles). It only lasted 13 episodes so just to keep me off the clocktower with the PSG-1 they should release it so I can soak in Doyle, Amy and Beef. I have the old VHS of the first four episodes but I need it all! Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers. Once again, dammit, release this show! It had early CG, two part stories, guns and crazy space cowboy action! And also once again I have the two VHS tapes they released but I need the whole shebang! Jace and the Wheeled Warriors. Bring out the whole series... dammit. Tour of Duty. Nuff said... dammit. I have one rare VHS of the pilot but that is it. Must... have... whole... show... only... three... seasons... long... ... and I will also second (and nominate) the requests for: Crime Story Miami Vice M.A.S.K. ... and still not '80s but Space: Above and Beyond

I still think these will not perform like the first MPCs. After all, when the original Valkyrie MPCs came out they had oodles of competition from Yamato and Bandai. Most people did not buy the MPCs at brick and mortar stores but more likely bought them online on ebay and at other e-tailers. It's easy to see why the original MPCs dropped in price like a rock in a pond as most of the time people saw them side to side with other toys of the same thing and had a choice between them. The Legioss/Alpha is different. There are no other current Mospeada toys out right now and other than those dorky morphers they are alone in the market for "new" Mospeada toys. Judging by the premium prices the old Gakkens fetch on the internet and in other places I still think these new MPCs will hold their price better and have a higher demand than their previous brothers. But time will tell... I myself would rather see these toys sell very well and hold their prices so it gives more incentive for Toynami to make the Tread as well as other Mospeada toys. I personally am sick to death of Macross things and seeing some nice new Mospeada toys, especially toys that I never had like a Dark Legioss fighter and the promise of different ride armors and possibly a Tread just make me want to whip out the wallet and start sneaking toys into the house all over again.