Amped

BatMANUEL, that's who! I made my wife laugh out loud when I pointed out to her that the guy playing the mayor also played Batmanuel in THE TICK... I kinda figured somebody in casting had a weird sense of humor!

Hmmmm.... I kinda dig the theory that the Colonials & Cylons landed on 'Krypton' (ie - the planet that is now the Asteroid Belt) or Mars... that would explain the constellations match. It would mean that the Galactica is in the 'right Church, wrong pew'... just a planet or two off from what we all know now as Earth. Of course this would fairly definitively place the series well in Earth's past (and thus make it more difficult to explain the 'All Along The Watchtower' bit) but I have to say I would be impressed as hell if the writers had the stones to incorporate such an oddball nod to the Ancient Astronaut vibe of the original series...

Ahhhh, the absence of Dee in that photo now makes sense of Leoben's cryptic statement to Roslin earlier in the series that 'Adama is a Cylon'. (This foreshadowing makes sense within the series when you consider the prophetic vision driving the Cylons). Dee is now married to Lee, hence she is now an Adama... thus she is likely the remaining Cylon...just you wait 'n' see!

Indeed you are correct; sounds like banding was a problem with the older models. I have the 64U and its picture-perfect. If there was banding I'd be pissed, and rightly so... it'd be going right back to the store.

Just wanted to chime in on the Sharp Aquos. Its an amazing set, awesome contrast, very bright. 3HDMI inputs, USB, etc.... plenty of component jacks. It has an optional (on or off) Dynamic Contrast feature which is interesting & in some cases helps with maintaining detail within dark shadow areas... although it can prove a little irritating in movie scenes that toggle between light & dark rapidly, or often, thereby creating a bit of a strobing effect (in which case you can shut the feature off). I believe its the thinnest LCD in its size segment (at least for the 52") on the market at only 3.5" thick. Anyhow, I snagged the 52" Aquos for just a hair over 2Gs during a mid-day 'unadvertised' (in-store) sale at Circuit City, about 900 off list. After much research I had narrowed my choices down to either Samsung or Philips as I headed out to hunt down a HD LCD. Ultimately, and somewhat surprisingly, when I arrived at the store the Sharp blew me away & compared very favorably to the Samsung (what I had considered, up to that point, to be the best of the lot). Of course, for its size & picture quality, the price could not be beat... it may not seem like much, but 52" compared to 46" is a big freakin' difference! Even regular DVDs look phenom-amazing! HD... well thats a whole 'nother level of 'wow'! Well, suffice to say I think the Aquos is a beauty! I seriously wonder if I need to go to the movie theater anymore, now that I have my home theater set up...

Watch out on Philips Outlet, the refurbed stuff sounds iffy: http://www.resellerratings.com/store/Phili...ctronics_Outlet

Not only is that 'Iron Monger' (Obadiah Stane)... but I think that suit is probably the Iron Man Mark II armor. The silver 'garbage can' suit in the beginning of the trailer has already been identified as the MK I... while the Red & Gold version at the end of the trailer has been ID'd as the Mk III... So my guess is that Obadiah steals the Mk II suit & gets dubbed the Iron Monger by the press...

From AICN, First pix of the actual suit on set. Looks good... though he seems a little short for a Stormtroo... I mean, er, Iron Man... More pix from the original source site HERE. Lottsa luck, however, as it seems every F'n fanboy on the East Coast has simultaneously decided to hammer that thread. The site doesn't actually seem to be down, but it takes like 10 re-loads to get it to come up. There is a video too...

I remember The Highwayman! I actually remember liking it as a kid, although I'm sure it would probably be groan-inducing now. But hey, any excuse to see Jane Badler, right? I also recall, about 10 years or so ago, prob closer to 15 (ach!), whilst returning to the Motor City from a Windsor Ballet performance, seeing The Highwayman's tractor trailer thingamajig - complete with the helicopter bubble front end & all (minus the flame paint job) - crossing the Ambassador bridge from Windsor, Ontario over to Detroit, Michigan. Musta been comin over to some event like Autorama or maybe a Comic Con... all I remember was me 'n' my buddies goin' WTF, isn' that...?!?

Huh. The S4 finale marks an interesting retun to some of the paranoia that was present early on in the series after Sharon was revelaed to be a cylon & prior to Baltar's supposed Cylon test. Once humanity realized Cyclons came in humanoid flavors instead of just the standard Toaster style, everyone seemed paranoid that those around them, if not they themselves, might be cylons. Well, turns out that some of 'em were correct in their paranoia... So... onto the 'final four-of-five...' Well, initially, I thought that just 'cause the characters think they are cylons doesn't mean they are cylons. However, then I find this enigmatic crap from RM that seems to confirm the ARE in fact cylons: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07085/770732-352.stm Not sure how I feel about this, as it all seems rather random & a big deus-ex-machina-kinda-BS writer's somersault. It just feels rushed & poorly planed. Just as an example... Roslyn's PR hack has been something of a background character... now, all of a sudden, she's snoggin' Anders & has been revealed as a potentially pivital character? WTF? Weeeeeeak... At any rate... Remember the line way back in the series, when Leobon said 'Adama is a Cylon?' And we never did get any real payoff as to what made Lee so angsty after the Resurrection ship's destruction. I bet this still plays out. Emo-boy Lee is likely the fifth frakkin' Cylon, I suspect. So... it appears the newly outed cylons have some connection to Earth... based on the Watchtower reference... although the fact that it was a new interpretation as opposed to either the 'definitive' Dylan or Hendrix versions places the exact earth era somewhat in question. The lyrics are rather archtypal, having both Tarot & mythic resonance, so the exact earth-era remains wide open to speculation, IMO. I am intrigued, perplexed, & somewhat annoyed at this juncture of the series. I kinda feel like seasons 2 & 3 have been a waste, however; damn near every character seems to be right back where they started.... sorta. The Mini-series & Season 1 were some of the best Sci-fi around... Season 2 & 3 have both suffered from a lot of preachy &/ or pointless filler, IMO. I was actually disappointed to hear that Sci-Fi increased their order of episodes for Season 4. I'd rather they kept the Season short & tight... otherwise the writers seem to meander a bit too much. They seem to be makin' poo up along just for shock value. Oh well, I hope Season 4 wraps it all up nicely. Despite some of my apparent criticism, don't get me wrong, tho... I'll likely stick around 'til the end. I just have no Fn clue where this series is headed.

Dammit! ZOIDS! They're like the mob... you try to leave... but they pull you right back in!!! Here's a nice review/ break down of the kit: http://www.zoidspoison.com/zoidstalk/tm.asp?m=16456 ... and a preview of the upcoming Kotobukiya Command Wolf here: http://www.zoidspoison.com/zoidstalk/tm.asp?m=15209

The BSG reference doesn't hold up. We are not talking about Ronald Moore helming the TF 'reimagining'... its Michael 'Boom-Boom' Bay, Mr. 'Plot, what's that?' himself. That assclown only knows how to film stuff exploding onscreen... he doesn't have a narrative bone in his body. Rest assured, the movie will suck. The first thing that came to mind when I saw the new robot designs was 'Robo Jox.' That is not a good thing. The second thing was: too gawd-dang much design-kibble. Also... not a good thing, IMO.

I appreciate the advice, but no need to worry: I'm ice. All is good.

Wonderful work by Rohby, as always. I only wish his communication skills were a match for his modeling & finishing skills. I for one am not pleased with his disappearing act and impersonation of a deaf-mute. Working down the list or not, he's on my sh*t list for the appaling lack of communication he has engaged in, RE: the JM 2.0 abortion. He's not a gawd-d*mn charity, for pete's sake. Despite my obvious displeasure, I've been nothing but respectful in my communications to him. I expect some effort at a response. In fact, I think I shall send yet another email... see if the boy has learned any customer service skills yet...

Guitar Hero is a freakin' FUN game! I played it for the first time while staying with friends this past weekend. The guitar controller (about 3/4 actual size) feels remarkably solid and is very comfortable to play. The cover songs are really good covers. The fact that the controller has a motion sensor so that you have to make Rock God poses (point the guitar to the sky!) in order to activate bonus point opportunities which adds a funny... but just plain fun... gameplay element. I could go into more specifics, but suffice to say it is just a damn hoot to play. My fiancée has been wanting a PS2 so she can play DDR... now with Guitar Hero, I think we will be making that purchase soon. IGN has a pretty good coverage of the game here: http://ps2.ign.com/objects/748/748976.html In particular, watch the video 'Rockin' Out to Iron Man' for a hilarious look at how fun the gameplay can be (dorky clothes and gestures optional): http://media.ps2.ign.com/media/748/748976/vids_2.html