VFTF1

Oh I remember that virus. You have it all wrong Seto. The virus Rhade was talking about was developed by me, when I still worked for Chinese Secret Services. It was co-developed with the aid of former Soviet nuclear scientists and my amazingly one-of-a-kind chimpanze, Herman, who can make fart sounds when cusping hands against his mouth. Sorry Seto - but you're not always right. Pete

Gubaba - please stop quoting that Macek interview. His statement makes my brain slowly turn to jello every time I read it Seriously - it's not even about the "flaw" thing... But...here...look at this: 1. ROTF is a flawed movie (most people here would agree/argue) 2. The Godfather II is generally considered to be one of the best sequels ever made THEREFORE: 3. I will re-dub ROTF and Godfather II and together they will be SOLAR POWER MAN! Point: EVEN if we "accept" Macek's "argument" that Macross is "flawed" because of music as a weapon against aliens...the FUUCKING QUESTION WAS WHY DID YOU PUT THEM TOGETHER WITH SOUTHERN CROSS AND MOSPEDEA!?!? I mean - Macek DOESN'T say that Southern Cross and Mospedea were "flawed" does he?? So - why SHRED those two anime?? How does a "flaw" in Macross justify shredding two other anime that Macek apparently DOESN'T think are flawed?? FURTHERMORE - IF Macross is, by Macek's own admission the "flawed" anime of the three composing Robotech... then why make the FLAWED anime the ground-work for the entire Robotech series!? I mean - it is just so much utter nonesense. Also - notice that he says "more people were exposed to the ANIMATION" ... the ANIMATION!? Oh gee thanks! As we all know - most people watched Avatar with the sound off - they were just thankful to be exposed to the pretty pictures. If the point was to just "expose" people to the animation...then why couldn't they be exposed to the animation by keeping the material true to the originals? Because the originals were "less palpatable" ? WHY? Because ONE of them was "flawed" (Macross) ? So...why does that ONE happen to be the most popular of the three? Because it "resembles" Robotech?? HOW can Macross' continuations "resemble" Robotech if they actually emloy and widen the "flaw" that Macek mentions and which has been effectively REMOVED from Robotech (judging by how "important" music was in Shadow Chronicles)... This is so blatantly and obviously a sack of BS PR lies that relies on the majority of fans to have a) never read Robotech Art I or III b) Be vaguely nostalgic but utterly NOT knowledgeable about either anime or even Robotech for that matter Macek is harping this BS because he knows that 95% of his "lessoners" are not Seto or us in general but people who don't know shiit about Robotech or Macross or anime. It's obviously not "him" doing the talking - it's the "company line." The problem is - in the age of the internet - that's not going to get you very far.... I can't WAIT - if the Robotech LAM comes out - to see the directors' commentary on this one.... "we wanted to be true to the original Robotech vision" .... ble ble ble... all of the distortions and BS that Macek spouted in that interview will be passed off as common sense... It's just BS - utter BS... And it hurts my brain just to read it. Pete

That bad, eh? I liked both it and Planet of the Apes. The only two Charleton Heston moies I've ever really watched. I can't really remember anything specific - but I thought it was a great premise and recall being moved in that sur-realistic late 70s/early 80s way that sci-fi of that period could move a fellow... I'm actually thinking of a movie starring Mark Hamil where there's some kind of time travel or something... he has a moustache in the movie...I saw it in a rental store once a long time ago - never watched it... Pete

As I recall it, Taniguchi stated that Ryoko is "AAA+" and never made any mention of Asahina Mikuru-- which isn't surprising given that the Taniguchi scale only measures the hotness of 1st year girls. Asahina is a second year student ... That said - if I had to drop a nod to SECOND-best sci fi of all time, I'd probably agree with Blade Runner. However, it's possible I hold this extremely favorable view because I (surprisingly) still don't own Blade Runner on DVD...why?...I dunno...and so - it's been a while since I've seen it...and yes, I did love it... Speaking of similar films - what about Soilent Green? Edit - oh - and... ROLLER BALL! With James Cann! Am I the only mega-fan of that movie?? I thought it was brilliant. Pete

"will be" - maybe. But the topic is clearly about what movie IS the best sci-fi. Robotech LAM doesn't even have a trailer out. Dissapearance of Haruhi does - and the trailer alone is better than all the movies anybody has mentioned because the Haruhi trailer has the hot hot AAA+ Ryoko in a couple of frames. Ok - obviously if we're not being serious - and just joking around - then sure - Blade Runner or whatever is the best sci fi ever. But only because it's Bogart with androids. Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann Lagann-hen can't be the best sci-fi movie because the series is better than the movies. The Haruhi movie, on the other hand, is not an alternative re-telling of the series - it's a movie which is an extension of the story told in the anime. Last of the Starfighters... is that the lame Mark Hamil movie? In any event - like I said - if we're just joking - then fine...Blade Runner...obviously Star Wars... Also - Kieth (as usual) brings up a good point - namely...how do we qualify science fiction? I think that anything that is at least conceptually possible is Sci-Fi. This is why something like Lord of the Rings is NOT science fiction - because they EXPLICITLY rely on "magic" - on the creation of a universe or world where super-natural phenomena just ARE because there are magical beings and you ought not really inquire too much into "why" - but just accept that such-and-such Being has such-and-such magical characteristics. Clock Work Orange also does indeed deserve a nod - it's great science fiction - for sure. Pete

Terminator was very very good. All of the movies you guys are mentioning have great merit. But please - can't we be serious here? I mean - I'm really surprised that no one but me sees the obvious - that Dissapearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, which is set to come out this year (I think) - is the greatest SC-fi movie of all time. I notice that NONE OF YOU have made ANY arguments to the contrary - choosing instead to ignore the elephant in the room... just proof perfect that you guys can't come up with a single good reason why it's not. But the real question is - why do you fear admiting it? I mean - there's no point to the denial... Pete

All these films suck. The best science fiction film of all time is the upcoming Dissapearance of Haruhi Suzumiya. Pete

This below is mor Macross purist Bs cause of corse in Japan where Cowamoree is they cant get robotech cuz of legal blocade of HG's proparty. Fact spiks lowder then wurds! Only pedofiles buy blu-rays, and the dvds salz not acowting for much so go back to watching your kiddie porn macross purists fact is Shadow Chronciles is having better salz. pete

NO DOESN'T! YU STUPID ROBOTECHI NOT UNDERSTANDING HERE IS WE HAVING 9000 LESSONERS AND MEBMRES AND IS NOT HAVINT IME FOR STUPIDNESS OF ROBOTECH. YUMMY YUMMY KIDDIE PORN GOOD!! Pete

The new Macross Idol needs to be ENOZ with temp musicians! Pete

It's not just the lack of Robotech cosplay that is indicative that nobody really loves Robotech. Note the TOTAL lack of fans showing off their Robotech toy collection. I remember when I first opened a youtube link to Doug Bendo talking about something...I thought that since we saw HIM, we'd see his Robotech collection. I mean - when a Transformer fan yammers on about TFs on youtube - he's usually surrounded by them... Macross fans - as evidenced by our toy forums - manage to have huge collections.... Robotech fans don't seem to really care. Pete

I've slowly come to the conclusion that the real problem with these holywood adaptations is that they focus too heavily of making things visually interesting rather than on the story. I mean - come on - one of the MOST appealing things about Neon Genesis Evangelion is not just the story, but actually the fact that as the series went on, budget constraints forced it to become more and more avante garde. Besides - as I've said numerous times - I prefer anime art to live action - particulary since, let's be very clear here: it's never REALLY live action. It's almost ALWAYS a CGI projection. So the "live action vs. anime" debate is flawed from the opening. I wonder how many people would be excited to hear that there will be a CGI version of their favorite anime? Not many. Most anime fans are also fans of hand-drawn art, and while computer graphics and the use of computers to build backgrounds, mecha, and help with visualizations, "camera movements" etc etc is becoming more and more accepted and raising the bar - ultimately people like artistic visualizations which are just NOT the same as CGI. And all these "live action" flicks are are actually just CGI - not "live action" - ALL of the scenes where anything remotely "action" oriented happens - the mecha AND the human/organic characters are rendered in CG anyways. So really - to me - ALL OF IT IS A REMAKE OF ROGER RABBIT. Pete

Ok - I'm reassured that you've said that - because I've been feeling bad about myself all this time...like "man...I'm such a wuss...Arnold worked out 7 houirs a day" ... By "training split" I'm assuming you mean what do I do? I'm really bad at weight lifting vocab - so I'm using wikipedia for reference here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_weight_training_exercises) just looking it over to find what I do - here's a break down: 1. Leg extension machine - either 50 x 50 kilo or 20 x 100 kilo 2. Calf raise machine - usually can only get off 30 x 50 kilo or 50 x 20 kilo 3. Bench Press - I haven't been able to do more that 40 kilos x 8 on this thing. I usually start small, 8 x 10 kilo, then 8 x 15, then 8 x 20...and on up to 40... 4. Push Down/Triceps - I love this exercise. Don't know why - but it's fun working the triceps. It's also really hard. I can do no better than 20 x 25 kilo on this ... 5. Bicep Curl - I usually do this one bicep at a time. I think I use a 17 kilo dumbbell for it and usually aim for 15 x 17kilo 6. Abdominal Crunch - I routinely do 50 of these 7.The Leg Raise - in the wiki pictures, the poor girl is sitting on a bench...in the gym I go to they have this contraption where you rest your arms on it and your legs dangle below you, not touching the ground... then you get to raise them... I'm pretty lousy at this due to all the pizza ... my best is 10 ... I also do this thing that isn't shown on the wiki - where you lie forward at at a 45 degree angle and lift one huge weight thing (I can do 40 kilo on this) towards you. It exercises your...umm..upper back and upper body? Don't know the technical term... And finally - holding a 30 kilo dumbell in each hand, arms lowered at the sides, I rotate my shoulders - aim for 20 x. It exercises the same thing as the exercise described above - but it's funner. I'm still learning about the machines and stuff... and I also heard it's not good to get too much into a routine because muscles "learn" and get used to whatever routine you give them...that it's better to diversify... Finally - there are two machines not shown in the wiki page that I use to warm up. One of them has me sitting and pushing forward on something connected to weights (for this I usually do either 50 x 30 kilo or 25 x 50 kilo give or take) and another machine which works the chest - you stretch your arms out and grab these things that are positioned at an angle and push them towards you. The idea is that it's supposed to engage your chest muscles. Pete

Thanks! No Macdonalds or Pizza this week and 4 days straight at the gym (couldn't go yesterday or today 'cause I was too busy - but will go again tomorrow morning) really make a difference. That last pic I posted of myself earlier was following about 1 week of not working out and a couple of pizzas... this week things look better IMO: But the thing is... I still know I'm gonna be tempted by MacDonalds and Pizza... and another thing that "helped" this week was that my girlfriend is away. As Mickey says in Rockey "Women weaken legs!" - and damn he's right. She likes me to take her out to dinners. Not pizza or anything that vulgar - but really full exotic meals nonetheless...it's hard to resist... Recently we've been exercising together sometimes...playing badmington and stuff... but still... By "lean cuts of meat" -- would that mean things like prociuto? I can't imagine eating ONLY fruit and vegetables...But I definitely DO want to stay in shape because quality of life is just so much better. It's not even about looking better - but ever since I started working out - it's just amazing how much more energy I have, and how I stress less with regard to work/life in general... But I still love to have a smoke from time to time or go eat a good meal...you're right - I should and definitely can cut out the stupid pizza, KFC and Macdonalds... my girlfriend also scolds me for those...leftovers from when I was a kid I guess...like my toy collection ... Anyways - I saw a portion of that movie with Arnold - I think it was called Pumping Iron... he tells a girl who's interviewing him that he works out something like 7 hours a day. That's awesome... I wish I could do that... I found that working out three days in a row is my max - and I usually can only do about 2 hours on average. When I went the fourth day - I found I was unable to lift what I managed the day before. Just too tired Anyways - this leads me to another comment about that Moma guy. Obviously he's trim and athletic and also works out... But it's almost as though he PURPOSEFULLY wanted to make himself look like a boy toy. Maybe the pictures have just been really bad... but he's not gargantuan or anything.. and he's not even Spiderman lean... instead he just looks like he spends a lot of time in solariums, saunas, turkish baths...obviously works out... but.. I dunno - I'm an amateur - but it leads me to think there are different emphasises one can have in working out - I strive to gain mass and buld muscles. This Moma guy looks like he's big on tone...or something... don't even know the proper vocabulary Oh well. Since Agent 1 says no pizza - I guess I won't be eating that stuff any more... But I hope I can at least still eat sushi and chinese food from time to time Pete

a) There are no translations into Polish, and her english is decent - but not good enough to read the Haruhi novels in english. b) A ring is the last thing she wants She's still in the midst of a post-divorce real estate battle. I don't think she'll ever want to get married again and can't say I blame her... c) you know...recently she's taken to not liking dim lights. Either it has to be pitch black or all the lights have to be on. Rose pedals? She likes when I buy her flowers; sometimes roses too - but I think if I spread rose pedals anywhere - on the bed, on the floor..anywhere...then I'd hear the following: "What have you done?! I just finished cleaning!! Get the vaccume and clean up this mess!!" Trust me - she's a hard nut to crack Pete

Oh...and sorry for the double post - but my official DVD edition of Haruhi Suzumiya actually does have ONE very important scene in it. I forgot the episode - but Kyon openly muses about how Yuki, Koizumi and Mikuru are all super-normal and have some kind of powers while he doesn't...and then he says..."so what's my power? Am I normal? Or do I have some hidden power?" ... and then he says "I think I'm the consciousness of SOS brigade. My super power is ensuring that we don't do anything wrong or illegal." Very interesting. And also puts to rest the speculation about whether Kyon is the one who creates the world and runs everything - although...it also opens up the possibility that Kyon DOES have some hidden power... Pete

We've been together 6 years now I think she has all the insights into my mind and soul that she needs It's not like we're in high school and just started dating ya know Ultimately I just need to be lucky enough to have her in the right mood... Pete

Well... I remember reading the episode descriptions in Robotech Art III, and I distinctly remember how with each new episode I got the feeling that things would have gotten way to convuluted. Part of the problem with the Robotech narrative is that there is none. Let me explain: In Macross, while the stories of the individual characters are important, with much time given to their character growth throughout the series, their interaction etc - there is also a metanarrative that transcends the particular characters and races. This meta-narrative can be summed up as: the power of culture/music as a remedy for a Hobbesian (aka "nasty, brutish and short") state of nature. Insofar as conflict is "natural" - particularly amongst those who are alien to one another, culture and music are seen as a way to bridge conflicts. Another layer of the meta-narrative is the extent to which music and culture "humanize" scientific progress - and the tension between the two (Macross Plus is perhaps the best "capsule" example of this, with music/culture itself being twisted using the scientific method towards ends which seem at odds with music/culture's nature. Now - like this metanarrative or not - it's always there. Maybe you even disagree with my general summary of it - fine. But I hope you can at least agree that something close to what I've written is the general "theme" of Macross. Now... What's the metanarrative of Robotech? Galactic battle for a power source? Not really, since despite all of the novels, cartoons, movies, episodes, Art Books etc etc etc --- it is NEVER explained what "protoculture" really is and why it is so important as a power source. The "fight for protoculture" is just a given - never really delved into. For instance - it's never explored whether, given the huge costs associated with acquiring protoculture (namely inter-galactic war...apparently)... are worthwhile? In Macross, we see that there are numerous energy sources being used by various colony ships and organizations. Nuclear power, solar power - the Frontier recycles everything...etc etc etc ... This is far more realistic than the juvenille idea that there's ONE energy source in the universe worth having ...and that oddly enough it's impossible to have it without lots of fighting... Ok...so maybe it's a deep personal story about the main character? Mmm...well...not really - because it's one thing when the main character (or characters) undergoes an epic journey with some challenges and changes along the way - but it's another thing completely when the characte undergows a journey that is pathetic rather than epic. Let me explain the difference: Soap Opera characters undergo pathetic rather than epic journeys all the time. Soap Operas, unlike most children's cartoons, do not return to the status quo with each episode - the plot moves forward - however - it moves forward at such a pace that its' particular elements become inconsequential. That is to say, character A can be married, killed, found to actually have not died, been replaced by their twin brother, living in poverty, won the lottery, lost everything gambling, opened a pizza place, fallen in love with an older woman, ultimately gotten married to a younger woman, had two children, gone to war, joined a maritime expedition to the north pole, fallen in love with an eskimo, gone to work at a hospital in the Australian outback, reunited with his family, become gay, opened a fashion parlor, discovered a terrorist plot, been abducted by aliens... you see where I'm going? Soap Operas that are long running have EVERYTHING (and therefore by definition NOTHING) happen to their characters. This is what I call a pathetic rather than an epic journey because it's full of pathos - it's a journey that wants to sound and look important, but is nothing more than writers reaching for ideas to keep the series going and writing for an audience who usually enjoys such campy turns of events. So - this is pretty much what happens to the characters in Robotech. Minmei especially; but all of them really. No events are ever actually EPICALLY important. Minmey's love for Hikaru, which was such an important story element in the original Macross, becomes diluted in Robotech, where Minmei seems to fall in love with people all the time. Hikaru and Misa's tense love - which was moving and memorable because of its' tension - becomes diluted because they need to always be shown as a couple and in love throughout all of Robotech - always in command of everything, flying huge ships and also being married... So really this isn't a meta-theme either - because there is no "end" in sight for the characters - and even if there were one - a story which is full of haphazard twists and turns instead of ones that were thought out is no story at all. So...what else? I dunno. This is because Robotech tries to be everything and nothing. It tries to be the transforming robot show, the "mature" "adult themes show" the space opera star wars space battles show, the cool combat armor show, the amazing alien races show, the exploring the galaxy show, the post-apocalyptic earth show... I forgot what my point was. Pete

1. If I tell her I want her "in character" she'll think I don't love her as she is, and that I'm hunting for a girl "like" Mikuru. Besides - I already told her she IS in character, because she has Mikuru's shame, is constantly embarassed about how pretty she is. She's not clumsy though - but I don't think I want her to be 2. She would say that's too simplistic for her refined and sophisticated taste... 3. That wouldn't work, since I'm always giving her presents, taking her places and doing tons of things to show express my feelings for her...so saying an anime does that would be a step down 4. My girlfriend can't even swallow an asprin without fanfare (she needs me to flatten it between two spoons, mix it with water - and even then she has trouble swallowing it)... besides- we don't do drugs. Neither of us are into them 5. I always do everything she wants anyways - and besides, it's totally unromantic to openly barter with your girlfriend... it'll ruin my romantic image 6. She makes more than President Obama - I don't think I could offer her enough money to do anything Yeah - I'm pretty much in the same boat Pete

You guys are also forgeting that Robotech has 9000 lessoners and propaply duble that amont of veyouwers. Pete

Actually, the box EXPLICITLY says that the anime series is copyright "SOS brigade." I'm not only a MEMBER of SOS brigade - I'm actually Danchou. I'll prove it next week by posting a picture of myself in my SOS brigade T-shirt with my Danchou armband. I'm actually not so much Danchou as I am Man-Dan-Chou. Haruhi is Woman-Dan-Chou. Don't believe me? Check out who I'm standing with in my twitter profile: http://twitter.com/dyrl .... Anyways - there's actually quite a few scenes I've never seen before. And all of them are pretty much as epic as the above picture of Yuki. For instance, Ryoko giggling with some girls, some guys telling Kyon not to worry about how wierd Haruhi is, Haruhi walking around the school looking for members, Kyon reading the official school guidelines for clubs... I'm just happy to own this. I'm gonna carry all four DVDs around with my laptop at all times! But the real test will be when I see my girlfriend again! Now that I have this with Polish subs - she'll be able to watch it...question is...will she? Well - it's my birthday on the 14th! So - this is my chance! I can FORCE her to watch it with me by claiming that she can't deny my for my birthday. Problem is - it's also valentines days...so she can counter that she doesn't want to watch it, and if I make her - it means I don't love her. Besides - she already agreed to dress up like Mikuru-chan in a waitress/maid outfit... which I ended up not buying her in favor of a nice nightgown (although a very short one!) which I found instead... Um...but anyways...I dunno... I watched frickin' THREE episodes of Dr. House at her insistence... she could watch some Haruhi with me We'll see... Pete

My Season 1 4-DVD set of the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya arrived today. I'm gonna marathon the series tonght I think The Polish subtitles are accurate to what I remember. So far, I'm only a few minutes into the Adventures of Mikuru Asahina and... There's a scene in it that was cut from all of the version I saw in fansubs!! Namely this scene: It lasts for a few seconds, with a narration from Kyon, where he says "if you think about it, this angle makes it look like Yuki has some evil intentions towards Itsuki." I never saw this scene before in the originals! Wooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!! See? Legal DVDs always rock!! As pirates, we missed out on this EPIC amazing scene But seriously - I am happy that I can legally buy the first season in Poland. I have no hopes for the second one, but since Bri says it's subbed in english then I'll get the Japanese original DVDs somehow... I'm curious whether or not I'll discover any other new footage that I wasn't aware of before! Pete

Can anybody explain what this quote means from that UK Toy fair TFW2005 link: Bay liked the idea of Prime being moterized and making sounds...so in Transformers III Optimus is going to have a motor and make sounds? What?? as for the "range of body parts and weapons" on the combiners -I would love it if they covered mundane things like HANDS. The microscopic image of the combined form of Bruticus looks good. I'll be curious to see higher res pics. Pete

Re: the Bond movies comparisson...yes...and no... Not all Bond movies are born equal. I am personally a huge fan of the Roger Moore movies, amongst which only Live and Let Die was truly campy. All the other ones were extremely well executed IMO. Some of Sean Conery's films were campy, but I actually have not seen all of them and am hard pressed to comment. The campiness in Bond really started, IMO, with Pierce Brosnan. I remember LOVING the Austin Powers parody - the Spy who Shagged me - and then I went to see Live Another Day (I think that's what it was called) - the first Brosnan as Bond movie... I fell off my chair. I could not believe it. Brosnan's Bond was NO DIFFERENT from Austin Powers. It was the one with Hughy Lewy or whatever that lady actress is named - the one who got the oscar for some other film...the one who played can woman... she royally sucked in the movie. But not just her - the whole movie - Bond's lines were SO cheesy. The action sequences were ridiculous - I mean...Austin Powers ridiculous... I think the advent of CGI has made people sick in the head in terms of what it is possible to show. They think "wouldn't it be utterly cool if we showed [insert physically implausible acts]" .... with the pre-CGI stunts - sure...they wanted to show crazy amazing stuff...but usually they were limited by physical reality in terms of what stunts were possible. It's one thing to use CGI to render things we can't build (robots) or things that don't exist (space ships, other planets, aliens) ... but I hate it when CGI is used to just flaunt the laws of physics and create an on-screen comic book where the hero executes a series of improbable moves at slow motion.... The newest Bond - the ugly dude - I've only seen Casino Royale - but I thought it was EXCELLENT. It was such a relief after Pierce Brosnan's Bond to get something that was good. Now - yes...you're right that there's a level of camp to ALL the Bonds... but I actually think Roger Moore's Bonds are excellent Cold War spy sagas. There are some flabouyant moments, and Live and Let Die is just dumb more than camp (I don't know WHAT the hell they were thinking when they came up with that episode). However, Moonraker is beautiful, the Spy Who Loved me has a great plot...I could go on... The point is - GI Joe is borderline Austin Powers in its' presentation... so... not totally comparable to Bond camp... Pete

I have an idea. Why not just make every page page 25? This thread goes to 25! Pete