sketchley

If you only wrote the Muslim invaders as evil, then yes, in a way it is racist, or at least bigoted. If you included some humanizing elements to the Muslim invaders, at the same time giving some dehumanizing elements to the Spanish, then it would be both more interesting and not racist, or bigoted. The only example that comes to mind is James Cameron's terrorist movie 'True Lies'. The bad guys are all from Arabian countries, and yes, they are all portrayed pretty terribly (most not much more than cardboard cutouts.) However, in the special team that fights them is an Arabian member who exhibits opposite traits and humanity (I can't remember if the character remains cardboard or develops much during the movie.) Anyhow, take it as an example of attempting to not write a racist story.

This actually makes a lot of sense. In the making of documentaries that come with the extended edition, they dwelve into Tokein's personal history; specifically his fighting in the trenches of WWI. The experiences there actually compelled him to write his epic tale as a way or means to work some of the issues he had from the war out of his system. Looking at it as a variation of WWI, and the events leading up to it, the players in the war for the ring makes sense. Of course, there is a healthy dose of pro-environment, anti-industrialization that was added too, and I'm pretty certain that came from his experiences in the English countryside where he grew up and lived.

It is seen and used in the anime? If I remember correctly, the roll is used to quickly move out of the way of incoming projectiles. It's very handy against the Zentraedi ECM satellite.

Your country, your laws. From the information being presented in this thread (and no, I am not going outside of this thread to search for more,) it appears that what showed up at the CES was a technological demonstrator - as we all can agree that most reputable companies (and LG is a reputable company) release products that largely work. Perhaps this was a gamble that isn't paying off because a sought after agreement with the DVD Forum may not be coming (based on the statements of other posters in this thread.) Nevertheless, plan to ship is different from will be shipping. If the fiasco with the Playstation 3 proves anything, it's that plans don't always go as planned. ComicKaze, I suggest reading earlier posts in this thread, as the issue has been addressed. And yes, even with smallish sized screens, there is still a noticeable difference in quality. I also recommend that you check out Star Wars II (possibly III) if it ever comes to an IMAX screen for you. If anything, the detail increased, and all that they did with Star Wars II was reformat the digital print to fit on a larger film stock! Watching the making of documentaries also indicates that there is a lot more detail then may not be readily visible - texture of real skin used to make the skin of the CG characters, etc.. Anyhow, late... cheerio.

Not a game player. The allegory doesn't work for me. Nevertheless, I did some thinking on this, and the conclusions I came to are: 1) The LG player is a technological demonstrator - proving that it can be done. Perhaps they should have called it HD-DVD 'reader', and not 'player.' 2) There is a clash of cultures. LG is an Asian company, and the DVD Forum is acting 100% like a greedy capitalist. The Asian business philosophy is largely lets work together so that we both make profit, and the customers more or less happily give up their money for all of our products. The greedy capitalist philosophy is let's make short term profit by sueing them, thereby solidifying the monoply of the product, and hope that the format wins the war - in the process, alienating customers, and delaying large volume sales for all sides of the format war for months to years. Yes, LG obviously doesn't have a license, but at the same time they are obviously not manufacturing and selling the player. It is obviously just a technological demonstrator, and the DVD Forum is obviously missing a rather large business opportunity in their shortsightedness and quest for short term profit and a monopoly. That's my opinion based on the little facts available (gives a stern look to the reporters for not asking the right questions.)

Pg 149? Bottom left? ãƒ€ã‚¤ãƒ‰ãƒ­ã‚¹ã€€ãƒ‡ã‚¹ãƒˆãƒ­ã‚¤ãƒ‰ã€€æ ¼ç´åº«ã€€= Daedalus Destroid Hanger. Note the similarity with ãƒ€ã‚¤ãƒ‰ãƒ­ã‚¹ã€€ãƒ‡ã‚¹ãƒˆãƒ­ã‚¤ãƒ‰ã€€æ ¼ç´åº« (1) on pg 148, 1st picture on the right, just above the CV-101 title.

?! This is the first time that this topic has appeared on my radar map... all I can say is: why can't they rip off the story from the first Dark Horse comics series that did the Aliens vs. Predator thing? That was the only good AvsP that I've read and seen since then! Personally I think it's the lack of elements from the Alien series of films that ruins these projects...

Huh? Sorry, maybe because I just finished work and it's late in the day, but that doesn't make sense to me. The only part that does is the line of 'just because they can, doesn't mean that they are legally allowed to.'

A bit of a pessimistic interpretation of the article, my friend. It appears that LG has to rework some of the guts of the player to get it up to spec (and the article didn't even ask the question about whether that DVD Forum has given HG access to the software that is needed to play the additional content on the HD-DVD). In addition, it sounds like the DVD Forum is playing like a spoiled child - especially if they choose to litigate LG for displaying a product with their logo on it... The DVD Forum and HD-DVD is coming across pretty badly here... and it's making me wonder about their customer relations in the future.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_Allen_radiation_belt I'm guessing the potential versus the average altitude. Solar flares/winds etc. do have an effect somehow.

Please read the wikipedia article you cited more carefully. Though it doesn't directly state the shuttle, it does state conditions that are directly applicable to it - both electronic, and the potential altitude of the Van Allen Belts. In addtion, there are a couple of other conditions to be aware of - the existing hardware, and its user interface in the shuttle, it's use of HAL/S, and financial restrictions by the prime fund provider of NASA. All of which combined against upgrading to another computer system, especially when the original computer system required a large part of the research that went into the original building of the shuttles. EDIT: Jenius, you beat me to it. You hit on the two main points: budgeting and compatibility. I agree that there is the capability to build rugged computers, but there is a limited market for it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_Allen_rad...on_space_travel

OK, change what I said so that it means 'passes through solar radiation like that present in the Van Allen Belts and not ordinarily present at sea level on Earth.' The point that I want to make is that modern computers are less robust than the dinosaur that they have on the shuttle, and are (or at least were) impractible for the missions the shuttle takes.

Isn't it because the computer is something that came out of the late '70's, and nothing since has the shielding or strength to still be operational in orbit, after the rough ride to orbit, and passing through the Van Allen (Radiation) Belts? It's not their fault that their computer supplier(s) opted to manufacture less robust products.

Macross 7? Trash? You guys talking about the manga Macross 7 Trash?

Go with the Russian suit. It's bound to be cheaper (and you'll spend less time in the airlock adjusting to the lower pressure - mind you, as the Russian suit runs at a higher pressure, some tasks using the hands will be a bit more labourous.

They might have confirmed that all of the ASS-1's crew were dead, and left orbit, or destroyed the ship (and South Ataria Island in the process) and left. If I'm not mistaken, the Zentraedi, or at least Buritai's fleet had orders to not interfere with the Protoculture. The fact that humans had commandeered and reconstructed the ASS-1 was what prompted them to not destroy the ship outright, instead following it around the solar system.

It's been brought up: http://www.macrossworld.com/mwf/index.php?...20766&st=77 Technically it's under renovation, and all of the links, save Macross Zero, are closed.

Golly gee... cyde01 already posted to that effect - but at least he was polite enough to be discreet about it (thank you cyde01.) The only addition I have is that I was under the impression that upgrading pre-existing DVD manufacturing facilities to HD-DVD was easier to do than with Blu-ray, because of the similarities between HDDVD and DVD - DVD using red lasers et al. Now I know that it has nothing to do with lasers, and everything to do with the thickness (depth) of the scratch resistant laser - and knowing is half the battle. Go Joe! Oh, and today I was talking with my coworker about the differences between the two formats - and once again I must vote for Blu-ray, simply because it is easier to say, and the name does have a connection to how it functions. HD-DVD is just another confusing jumble of letterfied jargon that tended to get an extra D in the middle. Yes, more alphabet soup to add to the difficulties of attempting to explain the difference between DVD-R and DVD+R, etc., etc, etc. in a foreign language.

I don't belief Kawamori did the tank. It doesn't have his signature drawing style. I believe the same guy who did the designs for the vehicles in GitS did the Think-tank - Takeuchi Atsushi. I'm guessing, but I believe he also did the handguns and briefcase machine gun too (but innitial design inspiration goes to Masamune Shirow, as it's first seen in his manga, and Mamoru Oshii for including the scene in the movie.) All of the vehicles from GitS can be found on this page: http://www.serenadawn.com/GITS-Vehicles.htm Kawamori Shoji's two helicopters are (fanfic?) named as: AWACS helicopter and Megatech Hekatoncheires Sniping Helicopter, whereas the tank in question is referred to as the Kenbishi Standard Light Weight Tank – Multi-Ped. All of those names are fan-fic, as it's the first and last time that I have heard or read them.

You'll have to do your own research on pricing and availability (and I suspect currency conversion), nevertheless, imports are by their very nature, expensive. Here's a simple breakdown of why: distributor cost (sometimes retailer cost) + overseas transport + brokerage fee + customs fee + tariff + transport to retailer + (currency conversion & small buffer in case exchange rates change) + retailer mark-up = 2 to 10 times the retail cost in Japan. Even direct-mail purchases are more expensive: retail cost + shipping + currency conversion fee + wire-transfer fee. Of course, coming to Japan intails costs of their own, but that's something which can be balanced by the experience of travelling in Japan and looking at the merchandise before spending any money. Hope this helps.

Most trains have an overhead rack in which you can put big stuff. It is also highly advised to NOT travel during rush hour - both when arriving/leaving, AND during daily travelling. Space is at a premium and it may be well beyond your comfort limits. Limousine Bus service is another option, as mentioned. Leaving your baggage in your hotel suite should be ok - though yes, what little space is available will be eaten up by them. It all depends on the type of hotel that you stay at. Some do offer large rooms - you just have to pay more for them. Shinkansen (Bullet) Trains have both reserved, and unreserved seats. Unreserved is basically first-come, first-served. During this most recent holiday rush, some news shows were reporting that some of the Shinkansen trips were reporting between 150 and 200% capacity. Another reminder of why you don't want to be traveling during rush hour or one of the major holidays here in Japan...

Eh? It has to be something more than that... differing lens focal point shouldn't be what's causing this format war. Though, in a way, it does explain the 'ease' in which a multi-player can be made... I stand corrected.

Uh... different wavelengths. It's the main reason that different formats exist, and different amounts of data can be stored on the two variations. Blue-ray has a smaller wavelength, so it is able to read/write in a smaller amount of space than the HD-DVD. I've also heard that the beams read at different depths, which is the main reason why these multi-players are an option. DVD, HD-DVD and Blue-Ray are at 3 different depths, readable via three different wavelengths, thus they can cohabit the same disc. If you are talking about HD-DVD and DVD, then yes, they are similar enough that factories don't have to retool very much before switching between them. I'm not a technical expert, but it appears that that is one of the main selling points of HD-DVD (to the manufacturing sector, not the consumer.) http://www.engadget.com/2005/09/19/blu-ray...ion-s-division/ A nice image: And more info can be found here: http://www.google.ca/search?hl=ja&q=HD...ser+wavelengths

You can ask them: http://www.sofmap.com/tenpo/shop/nanba_1.htm My guess is that it is such a niche release that the price never got knocked down because there were too few copies to begin with, and it was forgotten about/not eating up enough shelf space to be a concern. But, that's just IMHO. Just to check: http://www.amazon.co.jp/%E8%B6%85%E6%99%82...=UTF8&s=dvd amazon.co.jp knocked off 22% of the price, but it is still in the 'stratospheric' price range for DVDs.

He's been pushing film technology since his 4th movie (Aliens.) I do hope that his directorial skills have been modified from the streak he was on before - bloated budget movies are the leading cause of the increase of movie ticket prices.