areaseven

I'm back from the L.A. Auto Show, and as promised, I have lots of pics for your enjoyment. Let's start off with Porsche.

The American Muscle war is back, baby! Road & Track Video Preview: Chevrolet Camaro Concept Automobile Magazine: 2009 Dodge Challenger Concept

2006 Lamborghini Miura Concept (Unless you're a complete idiot, do not quote these images when replying to this post.)

"Some Puerto Rican Guy."

Your turn, Flaming Guantlet.

Okay, that was a tough one. Craig does not appear on the first episode. Here's an easy one: In "Fat Camp," how does Kenny die?

Bruckheimer & Co. had around a dozen or so Shelbys for his version of the movie (if you count the CG render used for the bridge jump). And yes, only one car was used for the stunts in the original Gone in 60 Seconds. The late H.B. "Toby" Halicki had the Mach 1 reinforced with a NASCAR-grade rollcage. He did all the driving, including one stunt gone wrong when he spun on the freeway and knocked over a telephone pole.

The original movie used a 1973 Ford Mustang Mach 1, not a Shelby. The 2000 remake used a 1967 Ford Mustang Shelby GT 500.

Trivia time again. New question: Which of these kids does not appear on the pilot episode "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe?" a. Butters b. Token c. Craig d. Clyde

Just about any film version of War of the Worlds is completely overrated, even though I've never seen the recent one. The 1953 version bored the hell out of me. As a matter of fact, Independence Day executed the whole concept better than any of the film adaptations. And while we're at it, how about the 2002 version of The Time Machine? Simon Wells may be the great-grandson of H.G. Wells, but he can't direct his way out of a paper bag.

I don't care if it's new or not, or if it's fast or not - it's still a NEON. And I'd never touch any Neon with a 10-foot pole.

And now for something a little different... Quill ( クイール ) Shochiku Film, 2004 U.S. Distributor Pending Directed by Yoichi Sai Based on a true story and the novel by Ryohei Akimoto and Kengo Ishiguro Running Time: 100 minutes Not Rated (Suggested G). Suitable for all ages. Cast Kaoru Kobayashi as Mitsuru Watanabe Kippei Shiina as Satoshi Tawada Teruyuki Kagawa as Isamu Nii Shinobu Terashima as Mitsuko Nii Keiko Toda as Yoshiko Watanabe Tomoka Kurotani as Matsumi Kubu Yuko Natori as Ren Mito Synopsis Quill is a yellow Labrador Retriever with a bird-shaped birthmark on his mid-section. Shortly after his birth, he is raised by a married couple until his first year, in which he is taken in to a training center to become a seeing-eye dog. After a few months in training, Quill is paired with Mitsuru Watanabe, a blind man who, at first, is reluctant to have a guide dog. In just a short time, Quill and Mitsuru become inseparable. But when Mitsuru's life slowly fades away, Quill must once again cope with saying goodbye to an owner. Lowdown There are times in life when you want to just sit and watch a simple family film. Earlier tonight, I turned the TV to channel 18 to watch some Japanese programming. That's when I discovered this movie. I had read about Quill over a year ago on the web, and I had waited for so long to check it out. Quill is a very heartwarming film that chronicles the life of a dog. Throughout the film, you'll see the importance of guide dogs and how they're trained. The acting and direction is very realistically done. And unlike Disney's Old Yeller, the movie does not end in a sour note. You'll laugh. You'll cry. And you'll probably cry even more towards the end, as you may get emotionally attached to this film. If you love dogs, then don't miss Quill. It's undoubtedly the single best dog movie ever made. Rating: A Links Official Quill Homepage Reference The Internet Movie Database

Well, I haven't seen Underworld yet, but I plan to rent it this week. Anyone here plan to watch the sequel when it hits theatres on January 20? Underworld: Evolution

One year ago, I started this thread after attending the L.A. Auto Show. Well, it's that time of year again. This Saturday, I'll be attending the 2006 L.A. Auto Show. And now that I have a better camera than last year's, I'll be taking much more photos than ever. Anyone else here planning to attend?

Sea Park Employee: "Do you recognize any of these kids?" Woman: "The fat one in the middle looks like Dakota Fanning."

Cool. Now we need someone as Kenny, Butters or Tweek.

Has anyone noticed on the past couple of seasons that Kenny's become much less of a main character? Never mind that Trey and Matt have stopped killing him on every episode. These days, he hardly ever appears. And when he does, he doesn't talk and/or is just one of the kids in the background. As a matter of fact, minor characters like Craig and Clyde have more prominent appearances on recent episodes than Kenny. What's your opinion on Kenny's current, or lack of, role in the series?

Wow, all this talk about Figure 17 has the battle theme playing in my head again. Looks like I'll be dusting off my DVDs and playing them this week.

Dude, don't judge an anime for its character designs. Not all great anime titles have artwork, etc. that's considered perfect. Take Berserk, for example, as it's by the same team that did Figure 17. The story is awesome, but the character designs are so-so and the animation is choppy, not to mention that the opening theme is probably the worst ever recorded. Nevertheless, it's still a masterpiece. In the case of Figure 17, the production team wasn't aiming for over-the-top character designs or flashy animation. They wanted to make the anime as realistic and down-to-Earth as possible. Sure, the character designs aren't the greatest, but that shouldn't stop you from checking this title out. I wanted to skip Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo because the artwork was too funky for my tastes, but the whole anime just grew on me. Just rent Figure 17 and see for yourself. You can also buy the boxed set as well, as it's a steal for $40-50 at most stores.

I was just gonna mention the release of the SeaQuest DSV boxed set a couple of days ago, but I got distracted and forgot all about it.

Character designs were by Yuriko Chiba (Steel Angel Kurumi). More information on the series can be found on my homepage:

I gave up on Spielberg after watching A.I.: Artificial Intelligence, but perhaps I'll check Munich out.