First, lets get this clear, Troops was and still is the best Star Wars fan film ever made. Download it. Watch it. Laugh. It’s old. But somehow, since it mashes COPS with Star Wars, it works.
Turns out the makers of Troops have started production on a new, epic fan film, and the Slashdot crowd isn’t impressed. Their criticism’s aren’t close to fair. So far, if you ask me, this rocks.
As some of you know, I have a life long love of Star Blazers, a Japanese, Americanized cartoon that ran in the late 70s/early 80s. I just wanted to share some links for reference:
The Voyager Entertainment official site.
A Frontier article from 1999 marking 20 years of Star Blazers.
totse.com fan fiction: Star Trek:TNG Enterprise vs. Star Blazers Yamato
Wikipedia: Space Battleship Yamato
MSN Groups: All Things Yamato & Star Blazers
Star Blazers/Yamato – Wave Motion Page
Yamato Mechanics.org (Japanese)
A starship comparison chart.
Related:
Neal Stephenson, NYTimes: Turn On, Tune In, Veg Out
If you want to be surprised, don’t read “TV Squad”.
One of the three in New Jersey is where I might catch the digital version of “Revenge of the Sith” (TheForce.net). The one in PA is probably too far away (TheForce.net). I’ve heard it’s a sight to behold.
Matthew Frederick Davis Hemming has kindly made available his entire work of fan fiction (some of the best I’ve read – fun and thought provoking all at once) chronologically as html and pdf. Check it out.
Arrived at the Death Star. Spent the day in meetings. I need a stiff drink.
Whether or not history appreciates the fact I am more than just a tyrannical dark overlord — I’m also an engineer. So my first meeting upon stepping into the landing hangar from my shuttle was with the chiefs of all of the station’s operational divisions, the victim of long multimedia presentations from each department detailing their progress, expenditures, and time-table for task completion.
I fell asleep for a while, but nobody could tell because of my masque.
The bottom line is that, with the exception of one department, every system promises to be one hundred percent for tomorrow’s big test. The chief of the errant division was apologetic, but I was unimpressed. He said, “We’ll have the internal security sensors operational before the week is out, of that much I can assure you with nearly full confidence, Lord Vader.”
“That is insufficient.”
He shrugged and shook his head. “What can I say? Good, fast, or cheap: pick two.”
I pointed my gloved hand at him and he began struggling for air. He clawed at his throat, his eyes bulging as he slid off his seat and hit the floor. He convulsed briefly before the final stillness. “You’re fired,” I said.
Hehe.
The Wikipedia has a terrific Star Wars resource portal. Check it out.
I was at the Star Wars premier at Neshanamy Mall last night with Richelle, her mom and dad, and some friends from work. The movie rocked. I said this in Binq‘s comments thread: I went in looking for something great and the movie did not disappoint. That’s a rare thing.
This one movie should have been made into the three.
I don’t take much stock in critics, and as always there have been plenty of negative reviews, but surprisingly, this time around there have been just as many positive ones as well. Here goes two:
Washington Post: ‘Sith’: The Promise Fulfilled
NYTimes: Some Surprises in That Galaxy Far, Far Away
Related: Turns out there are some on the right uncomfortable with some lines in the movie: NYTimes: Latest ‘Star Wars’ Movie Is Quickly Politicize.
You’ll want to see this on the big screen. I’m seeing it again this Saturday with another group of friends and family.
Google Groups : net.movies.sw.
Wow. Some terrific reading here. Things never change. They just never change.
Traditionally, bands toured cities and played dive bars to create buzz about their music. But with MySpace, bands can host demos of their songs, announce shows and connect with fans without spending weeks on the road.
“We’ve developed communities for unknown bands really quickly, which would take a lot longer a few years back,” said Alan Miller, co-founder of Filter magazine, which last month teamed up with MySpace to develop The Booth, an online promotion featuring a different band each week.
“It’s a medium where people can go and hear new music and develop an attachment to the band,” said Miller.
Wired News: Bands Embrace Social Networking via Scripting News.
You must remember that critics are not interested in serving the public trust; they’re interested in serving themselves. You’re a critic, and you need to pay the rent: there is a sea of other critics out there in the same boat. Some people in that situation will always go against the tide, to try and stand out. Some people will focus on gushing with the popular opinion as cleverly as possible – perhaps their punchy little quote will end up in a big ad in the newspaper, and their notoriety/income will increase.
And there are, of course, intellectuals who align themselves with elitism; they are forced to have disdain for all things popular. Their inability to be objective is indication of how ironically intellectual they are not.
In the end, critics are just people. People with an agenda. You are seldom going to find well thought-out, thorough objectivity in that demographic, no matter what they’re critiquing.
But mostly, there’s the bitter, sad realization that while they can write and scream or praise and jump up and down, they will be utterly forgotten in the annals of history, where Star Wars will not. For all their words and self-important positing, they know they have made no lasting contribution, no great impact. They’ve changed no lives, and shaped no futures. They’re resigned to being wordy because they’ve done so little. Like a fat, lazy sports fan who doesn’t like how Barry Bonds is hitting this season. Beset by jealousy, and ignorance, compensatory self-importance and bluster, they sit at their keyboards, furiously typing, and turn their self-hatred outward, to the very things they long to be part of most.
millenniumfalcon.com – The Official Media Review Links Thread