Skull Leader

ahh, but there isn't a comparison (actually VFA-11 is one of the few squadrons who's markings actually look "ok" on the superhornet)

For great justice (current question notwithstanding), this thread... ... needs more TOMCATS! (some of my personal favs from Torsten's kickass tomcat site) VF-2 Bounty Hunters F-14D. Last Cruise markings VF-11 Red Rippers F-14B, Escorting their first Superhornet back to Oceana from St. Louis VF-32 Swordsmen F-14B, In tension, last Tomcat cruise VF-103 Jolly Rogers F-14B, SECDEF Phoenix markings (probably my favorite photo of all time) and for the win: VF-114 Fighting Aardvarks F-14A, passing cloud formation

*sigh* what can one expect from the Army museum? Another piece of history physically gone from existence.

That was one of the two exceptions I was referring to (the other time was during "Secret Wars I" when Colossus fell in love with the alien goddess who healed him... even though they didn't speak a common language). Kitty did a brief stint as Logan's girl while she was training to be a CIA operative and assasin. The two eventually got back together and so far as I know, shared a romance up till the point where Colossus committed suicide/sacrificed himself (around issue #390 or so I think. can't remember) to help create a vaccine for the mutant "Legacy" virus.

I probably qualify as the single biggest Colossus fan on this board. If I can deal with it (and I am), anyone can.

Crusader?? Surely you aren't referring to the swept-wing Supersonic fighter (the F-8 Crusader) that we used back in the 50s and 60s... what other Crusader project was there?

I rather enjoyed the rush hour movies.

Callisto is the head of the morelocks, a gang of misfit, malformed mutants.

hmm, the link appears to be broken (as in, you can load up quicktime for small, medium, or large screen, but it won't play)

This pleases me greatly. Kelsey Gramer as "The Beast"= wins (let CG handle the looks, "Frasier" definately knows how to banter like Hank McCoy would) Halle Berry returning as "Storm"= wins (even if it was out of guilt for her co-stars that she returned. Still, I hope she gets a really small role just to spite her for being such an uppity little cockmaster bitch. She's not even that pretty) Colossus returning= wins (ok, the role would've been perfect for a young Arnold Schwarznegger, but the guy they have doing it does a good job. Romance between him and Kitty would be cool to see, since they've been an item almost for the entire run of the two characters... with a few exceptions) Angel= loses (not a matter of how they presented him, it just would've been much cooler if it had been Archangel instead. I guess they decided 4 blue mutants in one movie would be too much (Beast, Archangel, Nightcrawler, Mystique). I won't dock too many points for this though) Possible "Dark Phoenix"= wins (finally, give the X-men something to REALLY angst-out about, having to battle one of their own.) Overall, I'm very enthusiastic about this installment. The X-men series is something that has improved as it's advanced, so hopefully this one won't dissapoint. Furthermore, I'm not opposed to the idea of more sequels (although it sounds like X4 is a no no, "Wolverine" instead), as there is plenty of story they can use with plenty of fresh characters (Arcade, anyone? That could make for some good times)

They ain't on the flight line yet. There's still plenty of time to see the whole project tank (which I sincerely hope it does). The ABL-1 on the otherhand, I rather enjoy (I do work on an aircraft at the local boeing facility and I often see one of the laser-test aircraft sitting on the tarmac. Kinda cool.

that just screams "kiss your warranty goodbye", but something tells me if you can modify something like this, you're not too worried about such things.

Well, it DID spend several years on the development table, but consider that the F-117 Nighthawk was flying in top-secret back in the very late 1970s, and a lot of people still consider it "cutting-edge". The F/A-22 no longer has that "new car" smell to it (metaphorically speaking), but it's still pretty far ahead of most anything else the world's airforces are packing.

Err, the Tomcats had great paintschemes in AC5? About the only one that wasn't any good was the ace paintscheme for the F-14D (which kinda had a JASDF 50th anniversary feel to it)

About the article David posted: No sane pilot in an F-16 would try to take on a Su-30MkI. The F-16 is a great jet for a wide variety of roles, but I'd have a hard time seeing it come out on top over a dedicated air-superiority fighter. The situation becomes even MORE stratified when you take into account that the F-16s we are selling Pakistan are outdated and outequipped. They'll do more for the nations morale than anything else. Given the level of training the typical Pakistani pilot probably receives, they'll likely turn and run the moment a Flanker is sighted (and the only thing that maneuver will change is where the Indian missile impacts the viper, lol). They can't hope to compare the F-16 and the Su-30MkI in that fashion, The F-16s Pakistan is buying are better used as ground-pounders and LIGHT fighters. The Su-30 was designed to eat aircraft like that for lunch. About Callsigns: Like David said... for trips to and from the boat, TDY, and ceremonial flights... that's the only times a pilot is guaranteed to get *their* ride. Any other time, it's a fair bet they will be riding someone elses plane. It's just a matter of which jets the sh!tshirts get ready to fly.

I'm pretty sure there are a fair number of nations that use them for various services, but I don't know if any of them are front-line anymore.

That was out of line and decidedly uncalled for.

I stopped about halfway through the trailor. I went to the bathroom and vomited. I vomited so long that I actually vomited up a cookie I ate back in the third grade. It's as if people who have never heard of the DoA franchise before took the game and tried to make it into something completely unrelated to what it was beforehand. It's so bad that I don't even think they knew they were mauling it! -Jeremy (who isn't really a DoA fan, but is feeling pretty bad for those that ARE just now...)

Strange, wasn't the viggen designed to REPLACE the Drakken?

I think what he's trying to say is that THIS is the reason why it isn't selling out faster than it is. The opening lineup is decidedly ho-hum. Some are getting good reviews, but are any of them really THAT much of a jump over what the Xbox1 had? It seems that the true benefits of the new system are better seen on the peripheral side of things... and even then if you're not a technophile, it isn't such a hot thing

One of my frat brothers who went to get one at one of our local wal-mart centers was talking about a guy walking around outside waving his bundle in the air asking for $1500... from the sound of things, more than one person was willing to pay it too. That's absolutely crazy... are we living in such an instant-gratification world where people cannot wait a week or so? With less than 20 titles out on release day (and none of them a "runaway blockbuster"), I don't see why the firsties were so hot to get it. Granted, I'm saying this knowing full well that I'll pre-order a PS3 when it opens next year, but if I don't get it OPENING NIGHT, I'm not going to fall to pieces (my PS2 isn't going anywhere soon, and even after I get a PS3, it'll only go as far as the girlfriend's house, she only has a gamecube and wants a PS2) It's going to be interesting to see what technical difficulties arise with the first-run 360s... the outcry is going to be long and loud if something unforseen happens.

I'm gonna have to add to the rest here and say there was no need for this. I have no problem with mods expressing their opinion, but that was obvious flame-bait.

Alan Rickman, as in the Hans Gruber dude from Die Hard? 346415[/snapback] That's the dude. Rickman can play a badguy like no one's business (and the more mental, the better). While I first imagined Snape looking a little different (a bit more like Raistlin from the "Dragonlance" series, if any of you have read that), the voice was always spot-on for me.

I'm a huge fan of the series, and this movie was far and away the best to date (each one has been better than the last in my opinion) High points: -Triwizard Tournament was amazingly rendered, even if some things were left out. -Wealey Twins. Easily my favorite characters in the books, there's never enough of them in the movies, but what little there is always manages to be funny. -No mention of S.P.E.W.: It's a side concept that in no way advances the story. I don't think Hermione would've been any different had she not conceived this movement. -Another spot-on delivery from pretty much the entire cast. I preferred Richard Harris as Dumbledore, but Michael Gambon does pretty well. -The "learning to dance" scene between Ron and Professor McGonagall. Priceless! -The "Defense against the Dark Arts" class and it's effect on Longbottom... a seriously moving moment in the movie. I was glad to see them play this part up. It shows that Nevelle is moving away from being the irresponsible, forgetful little boy into a young man with a weight on his shoulders that is almost as hard as Harry's. Expect his encounter with Bellatrix Lestrange in the next movie to be SERIOUSLY up-played (and well done at that) That said, and like pretty much every book-to-movie adaptation, it wasn't without some pitfalls (some much more minor than others) -The Quidditch world-cup: They set up some WICKED SICK visual effects for that whole thing, then it was over before it even really began. WTF?? (no "Wronski feint"? c'mon....) -Hogsmeade? No visits in the movie? what gives? -Needed more time spent in classes... sometimes made it seem like they were just hanging out at Hogwarts instead of attending classes there -More Snape dialogue: Alan Rickman [4chan]winz [/4chan], it could always use more of him. -Beauxbaton and Durmstrang "stepping" on their way into the great hall? What is this, Drumline II? That said, my frat could take a few lessons from the Durmstang guys (as an interesting sidenote, I believe "Durmstrang" is a play on the german phrase "sturm und drang",a musical trend in the 1800s which I believe translates roughly into something like storm and pain) -Dumbledore getting mad at Harry? Nope, not like Albus Dumbledore at all. -Lastly, am I the only one that thought the soundtrack on this one was decidedly sub-par? The last one was superb, and the ones before that were well done also. These are my first impressions. It wasn't without a minor flaw or two, but that's to be expected from an adaptation. Everyone finds something they wanted to see but didn't. For those who don't have the inclination to dive into the books, I think it's an excellent "abridged" adaptation. -Jeremy (waiting anxiously for the next installment both in book and in movie)

I WILL add on to what Abombz said about Japanese players. I don't think it's so much that they suck (well some of them do, but then, so do some american players), but they DO tend to treat US gamers as inferiors and as such, game with them as inferiors (I got dumped from 3 different parties the moment I tried to use anything other than the universal translator because they found out I wasn't a japanese player.) That in itself was a bad move on Square's part. The Japanese players weren't happy to see the US ones and the US ones weren't happy to see the Japanese. Their party philosophies are different and as such, pretty much need their own servers.