VFTF1

Well, the mortgage crisis was largely caused by Federal Reserve banking policy which did everything possible to guarantee that no matter how many crazy home loans a bank made, the government would gaurantee to bail them out. Is it any surprise that if the Feds guarantee to cover you no matter what the outcome of your enterprise, that this would create a lot of artificial investment - bad investment that would not happen if the government wasn't telling investors that they needn't worry about the consequences? The fact that no one wants to buy our debt is actually good - it means that in spite of what the "masters of the universe" at the Fed might think, their control only goes so far - there are other currencies and other players in the world economy. This might just help America because at some point the government will have to come to terms with economic reality. While I respect the fact that J is making a good statement about how it pays to be frugal and how wise it is not to just waste money - I generally don't agree with this kind of thinking. Why should WE "close our wallets" when we have done nothing wrong? Why shouldn't Wall Street investors who get bailed out by the government for bad decisions close THEIR wallets for a change? Every time an economic turn down happens - elitist rich people start pontificating about how greedy "we" are, about how "we" need to reign in our huge unlimited desires, about how "we" are materialistic and how "we" should just be thankful for having food on the table and not complain. This is a terrible thing - the majority of working people had nothing to do with creating this down-turn - heck, lots of times people vote for reasonable sounding candidates - but the candidates then turn around and lie and do something different (for example Reagan was elected to cut back government, but government under Reagan grew, recently the Democrats were ellected to Congress to get America out of Iraq, but the Surge happened) - I understand that sometimes things don't always work out - but why do "we" have to pay for it instead of them? I just fundamentally do not believe that "we" have to tighten our wallets when the people who are responsible for this mess are living it up getting big government bail outs. Look at Bear Sterns. Those guys ran their company into the ground, but the Federal Reserve bailed them out. Why? Because they are an "important part" of the economy and if they went under - then other "important sectors" of th economy would go under. But in reality - what they mean by "important" is well connected - and therefore they get to be bailed out by our tax-dollars, and we get saddled with the debt. So with all due respect - and I do respect the sincere argument of "better to be frugal and not spend-thrift" - but nope - we don't have to tighten our wallets - we should be able to buy lots of stuff and live happy comfortable and good lives - and IF the economy is in such a down turn that people need to be tightening their wallets - then let's see Wall Street tighting its' belts, and closing their wallets - and above all - let's see the Federal Reserve close its' wallet and stop handing money out as if the whole country was a Monopoly game board. that's my two cents VFTF1

I know - but it was an intentional miss I'm being an old sour puss about it VFTF1

At the risk of sounding like one of those obsessive internet types... I refuse to be sympathetic to this project, let alone equate it to Macross. The block buster Macross movie was DYRL. nothing with Toby Maguire in it will even come close... This is one case where I can safely say that I actually PREFER anime - I don't want a "live action" Macross movie. Not everything has to be made into "live action." Boo Hoo! I don't like this project at all. Don't like the idea of it. Got nothing against Toby - liked him in Spiderman - although sometimes his version of Peter Parker remined me of "Machine" from 8mm with Nicholas Cage - seriously - look at the guy who is beneath the mask and how he lives - that's like a failed version of Peter Parker... err...anyways - don't like this notion of Robotech the movie. Am particularly dreading "sequels" now what I COULD get behind is a live action version of Macross 7! VFTF1

-----NOTE: I will now proceed to pontificate Feel free to disagree:)--------------- With all due respect - but this is just so utterly WRONG in terms of focus, and America and Americans are going to suffer if they keep up with this bad economic thinking. The price of Oil is not "rising" astronomically - the value of the US Dollar is FALLING astronomically. If American journalists would take the time to think and be reflective in their reporting (hah - like that'll ever happen) - they would find that the price of Oil counted in most major foriegn currencies, not to mention minor ones, has - on a percent basis - been substantially LOWER than the rise in the price of oil in US Dollars. It is not oil, or any other good that is magically becoming more expensive - it is the American dollar which is becoming worthless. Why? Because the Federal Reserve has been on an inflationary binge to finance a vast welfare/warfare state. Fiat money (paper money) is inherently inflationary because central banks can always just "print more" - but it has become especially so in the United States where Americans a) (rightly) do not want to pay higher taxes to finance the warfare/welfare state and b) (wrongly) do not want to cut spending on either the warfare or welfare state and c) (terribly) continue to epxand inflationary spending - having the Fed finance the deficit through inflationary schemes, by selling T-Bills to foriegn countries, by their lunatic policy of buying bad morgage loans from banks in return to T-Bills (a policy that is as insane as it is novel). During the lat 1970s, following massive Federal spending on warfare (Vietnam) and welfare (the "Great Society"), America paid for both of them with the onset of stagflation. Economic growth went down and prices went up (something that does not happen under normal circumstances, since whenever economies hit rough times, prices [and wages] fall as the market self corrects [think of it like a national 'going out of business sale' where excess intenvotry must 'go go go!']). Nowadays, the same thing is happening because the same flawed policies are still being implemented - only with greater force. Anyways - just check the rate of growth in the price of oil in foriegn currencies and compare it to the rate of growth in US Dollars. You will see that the reason this problem is so pressing for Americans is because while yes - Oil is going up - at the same time the US Dollar is drastically falling in value - which means that for Americans - Oil is going REALLY up. I find it amusing, however, that CNN and the mainstream media in the States often act as if the fact that Oil hits 122 USD means the same thing for people in Russia or China as it does for people in the US. When "122 USD" is worth less and less - then Oil rising to 122USD is only bad news for people who primarily operate using USD. The real culprit is the Fed; and its' enablers in Congress who do nothing in terms of oversight of the institution. How does this all play out in relation to Toy prices? Think about it. If you have to give more and more US Dollars in order to buy Japanese Yen in order to buy Japanese toys - then are the Japanese toys becoming more expensive, or is it that your currency is just becoming Monopoly Money? VFTF1

I personally think the MPC IS a waste of money. Yamato is not expensive for what you're getting. MPC calls itself "masterpiece" but the details are extremely scant. I once did a side by side photographic comparisson of a Toynami MPC VF-1 and a Yamato 1/48 - and believe me - when you look side by side at the pictures - arms, legs, hands, wings, vents etc etc - MPC really is asking for too much money for the crumby thing you are getting. Even Yamato's old 1/60 line is superior to the MPC. Sell it and join me! Together we can overthrow Toynami and RULE the universe together; Old-Yammie Collecter and Newbie-Macross-Yammie-Convert - side by side! It is the only way... VFTF1

Ok - I just can't keep it secret any longer. Ban me if you have to. But here is the SPOILER ENDING TO MACROSS FRONTIER: ALTO ENDS UP WITH........................... BOBBY CHUIIE!!!! vftf1 EDIT: WOW! Gubbaba - Bill Clinton gave you that Nanase avatar??

God Mars looks so silly I mean that as a compliment. Like him very much. Raideen takes himself too seriously however. EVA is waaay to serious Will definitely get God Mars, maybe one day would like Raideen (he is nice I'll admit) - but the EVA I am still - as someone wrote a few posts back "meh" on VFTF1

Well my episode 5 download is 70% complete - so I'll be interested in the "Star Date" - but I doubt it'll change my view. Sheryl has many admirable character traits - but none of them are attractive because very few of them are feminine. Unlike someone like, say, Misa Hayese - or mayhaps even Miung - Sheryl is not "compelled" by circumstance to hold back her vulnerable side. She is very self-confident, go-get-'em and therefore would make a terrible female companion for me. My personality would just so totally clash with hers. I'm passive, lazy, aloof, arrogant and not at all concerned with getting ahead in the conventional/what do the Joneses have that I don't sense? I take my time, I hate pomp, I hate being rushed, I hate people who think their somehow more special than others. I like to enjoy the little things, don't find much sense in getting worked up over nothing and am the type of person who would yawn loudly at a Sheryl Nome concert if I felt like it In short - I'm a complete hick Ranka is the kind of girl I could go on a walk with, sit by lake for hours talking to about everything an nothing, or run around the city going shopping and to the movies and cafes and then pigging out (which I love to do) at her chinese restaurant. I highly doubt anything Sheryl says or does will change my view. But we'll see where this all goes. So far - every Macross series (except 7 and Plus which is reversed since the love triangle is girl/boy/man) has the girl I like winning out. Misa beats Minmey. Sara Nome "beats" Mao So I'm hoping the trend will hold and Ranka and Alto will end up together... Or... If they don't - I hope it's because Alto turns out to be a dweeb and changes for the worse. But Ranka should stay as she is - that is her development will hopefully just make her MORE of Ranka-san VFTF1

You know - I get the feeling that some of Jenus' criticisms are not based on a point for point comparisson of the SDFM Miss Macross episode with the MF Miss Macross Episode- but rather of memories from the ENTIRE SDF M compared to MF episde 4... Why? because this thing about how Ranka notes that Alto is not in the audience any more DID "happen" with Minmey and Hikaru - yes - BUT it was waaaay later. Namely -when Minmey decided to reserve a VIP seat for Hikaru to see Shao Pai Lon. Hikaru didn't get the message, because in the future universe of SDF M there were no such thing as mobile phones, and so he went to see the movie - rather out of curiosity than anything else - and ended up gettting crammed in the back. When Minmey and Kaifun kissed on screen, he was compelled to leave - and happened to stumble onto Misa Hayese's butt Minmey - for her part - when she emerged on stage prior to the premiere of the movie, was visibly perturbed about the VIP seat for Hikaru being empty. She took it as an afront. Clearly she was - as usual - completely incapable of understanding that Hikaru's job as a pilot and the fact that she constantly kept sending him signals saying "you're not my boyfriend/I'm just teasing you/we don't have a relationship" resulted in the empty seat (because if they lived together or were authentically a couple, then surely they would communicate every day, even if by phone, and naturally Hikaru would know he had a VIP seat)... Compare this to the wonderful Ranka. Sure - she's steamed that Alto is gone - but INITIALLY - at the very beginning of the competition -Alto is there - and you can see in Ranka's face that she is really happy to see him. She was so nervous and felt that she had nothing to offer compared to those other girls - so having a good looking guy like Alto, who is also an up and coming pilot and has a neat job doing air-acrobatics show up ONLY to see Ranka really made a good impact. She probably thought - for a moment - that Alto had left because she wasn't doing well - but by the end of the Episode, at the Nyan-Nyan restaurant - we see that clearly Ranka learned that Alto had to sortie, and she's happy for him. Also - as has been pointed out by others - there is no seathing jealousy and immaturity in Alto and Ranka's relationship - Alto is happy to Ranka and encourages her to follow up her dreams, and Ranka is happy for Alto getting into SMS. Naturally, I don't know how this will develop but it's a big difference from the dynamic between Hikar and Minmey. Anyways - I bring up Shao Pai Lon to show that certain things can get mixed up in our memories and we remember things differently than they were - particularly if we are remembering mainly emotional impressions. VFTF1

Surprising that Sheryl is winning - but then again maybe not - she has all of the general attributes that would make her popular As for Ranka being 15... well - I think that's legal where I live; and if not - I'm sure it's only 1 year below legal - so we could hang out at Chinese Restaurants and watch movies for a year before getting any more serious VFTF1

Ah - Eugimon - your post is as poetic as Dreamweaver's was analytical - and naturally it is brilliant. I will only add a bit more on this note: Ranka - as far as how I interpreted/felt while watching - does a TERRIBLE job at singing. I was actually under the impression that the artistic crew did a really great job of animating a character who was an amaeteur and song and dance. Ranka seemed to trot along the stage - trying to go through the motions of Kyun Kyun but coming off totally unnatural. Sure, she has a good singing voice, but he body doesn't move like Minmey's - which is quite an achievement given the vast advances in animation technology since SDF:M. I was very impressed by the talents here in episode 4 - because it is much harder to draw and animate a bad performance than a beautiful, fluid and vibrant one. Ranka really sucked And that was cool. Sure - she was cute while she sucked - but she still sucked. And the outfit was hilarious - because of her petite figure; she looks even worse wearing such things than Minmey. Minmey just looked older and more dignified (but not as appealing) in those gowns and stage get ups - but Ranka looks like a 2 year old putting on "grown up clothes" Another thing to consider is this: Why should there NOT be a Miss Macross contest on the Frontier? I mean - are we to relegate Miss Macross to the past and close the book on it? It makes sense that the contest continued, that it has become a part of popular culture in the Macross Universe - and that girls dream of being accepted into the competition. I understand Jenius' argument - the problem is - I just don't get the same sense as he does from the show - and am far more pleased with the homages and the general progression. VFTF1

Naturally Misa Hayese is my one true love. But if I had to choce someone from Macross Frontier, it would be a simple choice: Ranka all the way. No other girl even comes close. She's cute, she's not at all annoying like Minmey. I don't mind immaturity resulting from youth - it often results in sponteneity, rash joy, liveliness - it's a great thing. It stops being great when it results in mindlessness, in aloofness, in arrogance, in stupidity - in short - when it results in Lyn Minmey. Ranka does not have any of the terrible characteristics of Minmey - and insomuch as I could forgive Minmey because she was young - I am happy that I needn't "forgive" Ranka anything. She is very loyal to Alto and to her friends. She has great empathy for others. She loves her big brother and worries about him. She is humble - almost to the point of being timid and shy. She has all of the qualities that Misa Hayese had, but was compelled to cover up by her military rearing and the general war sitation. In addition - she is a "normal girl." Professioanlized women are the worse kind - and please note I say "profesionalized" and not "women who work." What I mean by "profesionalized women" are women who seem to have basically made feminism mean: "Being as terrible as we used to paint men." There was once a stereotype of terrible men, who only worked and didn't make quality time for their families, didn't really love their wives, didn't understand their children - were generally dry and boring and "realistic" to the point of becoming the equivalent of a Borg. Women, in their pursuit of "equality," have very often unwittingly become like the men they used to criticize - and the criticism still stands. But women started wearing it as a badge. "Look! I'm capable of being equally evil as any man!" Ranka is free of this terrible disease. She works, she works hard, but she's still just a girl - and seems destined to remain one. I can't imagine a better girlfriend than her. VFTF1

But the homages are so well crafted that you DON'T know what's going to happen next. When Alto's hand reached for Ranka's - I fully expected him to catch her and...he didn't! And then he shot out on that rope to save her - that's a surprise. Most of the homages are done that way - Episode 4 is no exception. Ranka is cute, Sheryl has been goading her and encouraging her, everyone is there for her, Alto is there for her, the judges comment on how cute she is - everything seems to be leading up to her becoming Miss Macross - and of course it's all just adrenalyn and unrealistic hopes that an average looking little waitress from a Chinese Restaurant who smells of pork on a daily basis could be a big star like Sheryl Nome - what was she thinking? ... So the homages are great insofar as they play with us and play with our expectations - and end up taking the story in a different direction. Also - the Gerwalk at the end of episode 1 with a girl to rescue is actually a fairly standard Macross image - remember that not only ddi it happen in SDF M, but more prominently in Zero, when Shin climbs into the VF0A to rescue Mao. I agree with dreamweaver whole heartedly. This series strikes a perfect balance between taking us back to a world we all loved and introducing new elements - it does so MUCH BETTER than, say, something like Transformers which, ever since Beast Machines, has just totally neglected the story line and gone into la la land. I like what Macross Frontier does - it is very respectful of the best elements of the Macross Universe. Also - the twists are interesting in another way: Alto, in contradistinction to Hikaru, is not "good looking" in the traditional understanding of manliness. Ranka is not "hot" in the traditonal sense of femininity. Both of the lead characters are very much "outcasts" from the aesthetic norm - and perhaps this makes them all the more endearing. I like the fact that the leads are designed with physical "flaws" that make them unique - and I like how Sheryl Nome, in all her "super model looks" actually looks like a walking cylocone half the time (not to mention Miss Macross who is so utterly void of individuality that it's a relief). In fact, if anything, Miss Macross shows us just how much the show IS new. In our hearts, we all want to go back to those times when mankind was making its' first perilous journey through the stars, when a down-to-earth good looking girl from next door entered a singing contest and beat out the Holywood glam to become Miss Macross and then lived up to the hype by becoming a beacon of joy and hope to a war weary populace... ...But sadly - time marches on. And like most great events, the Miss Macross Contest has become just another corporate commercial-thon where models and wannabe playboy bunnies conglomorate to make a mark in the vacuous world of fashion... Episode 4, if anything, shatters our hopes for a rekindling of that nostalgic flame - it tells us that memories are just that - memories. I like this way of dealing with the story very much. VFTF1

I hope they delay it longer I need to save money In fact - everybody should just delay everything and wait for me :) VFTF1

That's it! Mr. March has hit on the answer - of course! After all - when Shin and Mao kissed, AFORS seemed to radiat joy. Singing must have the same effect. Basically when AFOS sees the good in humanity - there is great joy. When he sees humans warring - he seems forced to terminate the experiment which is the human race. Makes perfect sense. VFTF1

Eek. Well - this is just another reason for me never to open email from "ebay" or "paypal" or any company. Like others say- go through your ebay account in future. VFTF1

Which again brings us around to the fascinating question of just who were the Protoculture - in terms of how did they live, how did they communicate? What kind of technology and science did they have? The one forever unanswered question in the Macross universe VFTF1

Yeah - what he said. I would also add that it was the power of song which lifted those rocks - and it probably did so because the rocks were fragments of the Protoculture city which reacted to such things - perhaps the protoculture generally developed what in M7 was tentatively called "Sound Energy" and perhaps certain materials were built to be moved by the use of sound energy. In any case - it is not mysticism. On m7, Sound Energy is developed by the science division and while the science behind it is unclear - it is explicitly science and not "magic." Anime Spiritia is simply a kind of animating spirit - it is kind of like the kernel of life, of conscious happy joyous life - it is more a psychological energy than a physical one... In any event - the question is fun because it treds on ground we hardly know anything about: namely how the Protoculture lived; what was their every day life like? I venture, based on what we've seen, that Protoculture used Sound Energy in every day dealings - "pass the salt" ... "La la la la!" (and the salt shaker flew over to you). Sound crazy? Equally crazy as the initial Protoculture Evolution Theory! VFTF1

I have a question for anybody out there who is able to create figures/models from scratch... I've been thinking about a Christmas present for my girlfriend - namely - I want to buy her ...HER! I'd love to be able to give her a custom made doll/figure of her. In order to do this - I need: 1) Someone who can take her picture and render an anime version of her. 2) Someone who can cast/create her in figure/model form. I am a very amateur modeler - the only thing I've ever made are three Gundam MG kits and one Machine Collection Mazinger Z... and I have NEVER painted anything... So I would like to have the thing painted and ready to present in gift form for Christmas It does not have to be big (Revoltech size is just fine). I have no clue how much such a commission would cost - but if anybody out there has experience doing this and would be interested, please PM me or give me a heads up in this section I am also all for the idea of taking a "blank" doll and painting it as my girlfriend - basically I don't have a very precise idea of what the final product should look like - other than being an anime version of her - and I would obviously like to keep the costs down. thanks! VFTF1

Wel - I just preordered the entire Wave 1 deluxes (6-piece w/Black Arachnia) and the three Voyagers from Animated from BBTS. I really like Leader Bulkhead and I really hate Leader Megatron - but it might be that Leader Megatron is horribly mistransformed in that picture... But shelling out 100 bucks for two essentially super-deformed leader class Transformers just ain't gonna happen Still - what with Swindle, Wreck Gar and Shockwave going to appear in Animated - and the Dinobots and a few others - the line is looking up and I decided to take the plunge. Oh - and the cartoon kicks butt too VFTF1

Ehh??? What is Ranka wearing? I never saw her in that dress before! For that matter - what is that hideous GOWN-THING that Sheryl is wearing in the poster??? I see she is continuing the tradition of "Dresses really good when off work/dresses really bad when singing"... sheesh The only one I think is super cute is...Alto Princess VFTF1

So I take it these events are canonical? VFTF1

I'm totally getting that Rock'n'Roll band and Yotsuba renewal! The band will crew my new Macross class fighter and sing load head banging heavy metal Spinal Tap covers whenever alien life forms show up. Yotsuba will serve refreshments such as icecream and generaly bang hear head whenever the band gets going Dandbord will be a stage prop! Weeeee!!! I love Revoltech! On that note - I hate street fighter - assuming that's what Muscle Bulge Man is - I could never get into it - and even with the brilliant Revoltech rendition - I am still not into it... Although I totally appreciate the 'body-flies-apart' bad guy - that is cool! VFTF1

I don't see Klein as a travesty - I actually find the character very endearing; and the manga-ish elements that creep into the anime are actually quite charming. There was also a comment made somewhere about how they were going overboard with the homages. Well - in a way you can never pelase people. If they didn't do homages, we would likely be writing a million posts about how much better SDF-M was because of this or that, and now since we get lots of homages some people are growing weary of them. But I actually like what's happening. Kawamori is treating the original material with respect - and he understands that change must be gradual; if certain things we love and cherish are to be changed - they must do so for well established reasons... Besides - while the formula may remain the same - we are getting a number of twists and turns which play with us in a very nice way. That and the characters are all unique enough that when you watch Sheryl, Ranka and Alto - you KNOW it's not a rehashing of Misa, Ichijo and Minmey... I find Macross Frontier to be a flawless undertaking so far. And I do mean flawless. I love Macross 7, but it is in many ways an amazingly radical departure and in that sense does leave one "missing Macross." Plus does the same for me. The only other Macross series which I give top marks to is Zero - but that's not really a series... So hands down Frontier is the best thing to happen to the Macross universe since 1982 VFTF1

I just assembled my third MG kit - and it also happens to be my favorite Gundam! Turn-A-Gundam! Now all I need to do is buy a toy farmer set and put Turn-A-Gundam into a field of cows! VFTF1