Fact of the Day
A recent study by Pfizer Incorporated notes that Texas average penis length is seven percent lower than in its neighboring states.
-Pfizer.com
Friday, November 30, 2007
Not so big in Texas...
Fact of the Day
A recent study by Pfizer Incorporated notes that Texas average penis length is seven percent lower than in its neighboring states.
-Pfizer.com
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Striking sense of humor
Here is some fun on the picket line with the writers of the Daily Show.
They actually do a great job of explaining the strike to anyone who does not already know..
They actually do a great job of explaining the strike to anyone who does not already know..
Gov. Mike Huckabee for President
If I was going to run for ANY political office, I would try this campaign.
Monday, November 5, 2007
A message from James Gunn about the strike.
-Warning- Language-
From James Gunn's personal Blog:
I'm on strike!
As a member of the Writers Guild of America, I have been on strike since 12 am last night.
The only reason for the strike – and don't believe anything to the contrary – is that the studios have refused to pay writers (and screen actors, and directors) residuals on new media. When you download a movie from Amazon or a TV show on iTunes, the people who created that content, who devised it, wrote it, acted in it, and directed it, get exactly 0% of the profits. And the studios want it to stay that way.
The WGA was asking for an increase in the residuals made on DVD sales (unlike new media, creators make a small percentage off of DVD and VHS sales, pay-per-view showings, TV sales, etc). For months now the studios have said that this was the reason the contract couldn't be closed. However, at the 11th hour – last night – the WGA took that off the table. It came down to new media and only new media. And the studios refused to budge.
This strike is absolutely not a matter of the rich getting richer. We're not striking because of guys like me who have made numerous feature films, or guys like Greg Daniels who have created popular TV shows. This is for middle-class writers – your regular TV staff writers and people who may have done one or two small feature films. Residuals are a way they can make perhaps a few thousand dollars a year between gigs. This is a way they can put food on the table and pay the rent during downtime – and downtime is something almost all writers (and actors and directors) have.
And the writers guild are striking not only for themselves – they're striking for the actors and directors as well. Most likely, whatever deal we agree to is the same deal the actors and directors will get when their contracts are up later this year.
None of the TV shows or movies you watch would exist without us, the people who created them, who poured our hearts and souls into the making of them. And yet, again, the studios think that only they should be making the money off of them. And new media is exceptionally important – in just a few years that may be the way most of us experience most of our entertainment.
I've gotten a lot of messages from MySpace folks worried about me or my various projects. The truth is, as long as the strike ends in the next thirty to forty years, I should be personally fine. And, to be quite honest, I'm excited about the break. I'm working on some smaller, non-studio, non-guild related projects with my brothers Brian and Sean, and with the LOLLILOVE crew of Pete Alton and Stevie Blackehart. This is stuff that really fires me up.
As for my big projects, PETS is definitely on hold, as I'm in the middle of writing the script, and can't turn anything in until the strike is over. THE BELCOO EXPERIMENT is a different story – the script is completely finished, my deal with the producers is done, and I could direct it if we all chose to do that. But would I want to commit to a movie that I wouldn't have the freedom to rewrite even if I wanted to?
However, although the strike for me is, in some ways, a good thing, I recognize how shitty it is for the rest of the industry, and the city of Los Angeles in general, so I want it to end quickly. I can't help but think of all the crew people who are going to lose jobs because of this, or the Burbank waiters and waitresses whose tips are going to dry up as the work around them does – not to mention the strippers across the LA area whose g-strings rely on writers and actors being flush with cash. Let's end this fucking strike for the strippers, okay?
Not to mention you guys, the audience. You're going to start to feel it right away with the late-night talk shows that are going to disappear or get real crappy real quick. And, if it lasts for a bit, you're going to lose out on the second half of the seasons of your favorite TV shows (already, WGA member Steve Carell didn't show up to set, so this season of THE OFFICE could be kaput after the next few already-shot episodes.) The studios will also rush movies into production with unfinished scripts which means, in a little less than a year from now, you're going to see the shittiest movies of all time.
So for their stinginess, their greed, and their overall bullshit, the studios can go fuck themselves. And not in a nice way either.
Be good,
James
From James Gunn's personal Blog:
I'm on strike!
As a member of the Writers Guild of America, I have been on strike since 12 am last night.
The only reason for the strike – and don't believe anything to the contrary – is that the studios have refused to pay writers (and screen actors, and directors) residuals on new media. When you download a movie from Amazon or a TV show on iTunes, the people who created that content, who devised it, wrote it, acted in it, and directed it, get exactly 0% of the profits. And the studios want it to stay that way.
The WGA was asking for an increase in the residuals made on DVD sales (unlike new media, creators make a small percentage off of DVD and VHS sales, pay-per-view showings, TV sales, etc). For months now the studios have said that this was the reason the contract couldn't be closed. However, at the 11th hour – last night – the WGA took that off the table. It came down to new media and only new media. And the studios refused to budge.
This strike is absolutely not a matter of the rich getting richer. We're not striking because of guys like me who have made numerous feature films, or guys like Greg Daniels who have created popular TV shows. This is for middle-class writers – your regular TV staff writers and people who may have done one or two small feature films. Residuals are a way they can make perhaps a few thousand dollars a year between gigs. This is a way they can put food on the table and pay the rent during downtime – and downtime is something almost all writers (and actors and directors) have.
And the writers guild are striking not only for themselves – they're striking for the actors and directors as well. Most likely, whatever deal we agree to is the same deal the actors and directors will get when their contracts are up later this year.
None of the TV shows or movies you watch would exist without us, the people who created them, who poured our hearts and souls into the making of them. And yet, again, the studios think that only they should be making the money off of them. And new media is exceptionally important – in just a few years that may be the way most of us experience most of our entertainment.
I've gotten a lot of messages from MySpace folks worried about me or my various projects. The truth is, as long as the strike ends in the next thirty to forty years, I should be personally fine. And, to be quite honest, I'm excited about the break. I'm working on some smaller, non-studio, non-guild related projects with my brothers Brian and Sean, and with the LOLLILOVE crew of Pete Alton and Stevie Blackehart. This is stuff that really fires me up.
As for my big projects, PETS is definitely on hold, as I'm in the middle of writing the script, and can't turn anything in until the strike is over. THE BELCOO EXPERIMENT is a different story – the script is completely finished, my deal with the producers is done, and I could direct it if we all chose to do that. But would I want to commit to a movie that I wouldn't have the freedom to rewrite even if I wanted to?
However, although the strike for me is, in some ways, a good thing, I recognize how shitty it is for the rest of the industry, and the city of Los Angeles in general, so I want it to end quickly. I can't help but think of all the crew people who are going to lose jobs because of this, or the Burbank waiters and waitresses whose tips are going to dry up as the work around them does – not to mention the strippers across the LA area whose g-strings rely on writers and actors being flush with cash. Let's end this fucking strike for the strippers, okay?
Not to mention you guys, the audience. You're going to start to feel it right away with the late-night talk shows that are going to disappear or get real crappy real quick. And, if it lasts for a bit, you're going to lose out on the second half of the seasons of your favorite TV shows (already, WGA member Steve Carell didn't show up to set, so this season of THE OFFICE could be kaput after the next few already-shot episodes.) The studios will also rush movies into production with unfinished scripts which means, in a little less than a year from now, you're going to see the shittiest movies of all time.
So for their stinginess, their greed, and their overall bullshit, the studios can go fuck themselves. And not in a nice way either.
Be good,
James
Friday, November 2, 2007
PC Game Review: STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl
STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl
The Story
The world’s worst nuclear disaster occurred on April 26, 1986, at the Chernobyl power facility in the Ukraine. The area slowly recovered until 2006 when an unforeseen second explosion rocked the landscape, leaving a vast "Exclusion Zone" plagued with deadly energy disturbances in its wake. The quarantined Exclusion Zone expanded over time, and by 2012, specially equipped poachers, known as S.T.A.L.K.E.R.s, venture into the Zone to claim radioactive artifacts for the black market. You are a new S.T.A.L.K.E.R. battling for survival among rivals, soldiers and mutant creatures while trying to discover the true nature of Chernobyl’s dark past and horrific future.
The Deal
STALKER is a PC game that takes place in 2012 in Russia. It is a very different Russia where Chernobyl was not contained and is now part of a militant war zone. The character that you play is a loner, like everyone else, who is just trying to make it day to day. You basically go on missions of different sorts to earn stuff, that you can use or trade. Your overall goal is to get better gear, so you can travel closer to the main facility. The main facility is visited by a rare few because the fallout is very heavy. This has also caused the nearby lifeforms to become heavily mutated. These mutants would love nothing more than to eat your character.
The Bottom Line
First off, I worked in the PC software field for a few years. Here is some advice: Never buy a PC game at release. Always wait until it is about $20. By then, there are enough patches and mods out there to make it worthwhile.
Now the low down – This is a great game! If you love first person shooters, then it is a definite BUY for you. I typically stick to the mainstream FPS (Halo, Battlefront, etc) but I have enjoyed the heck out of this. What can I say, you go around on a massive map (20 miles of terrain) and shoot, loot, and explore. The AI is pretty good too. Nobody sticks around and lets you shoot him or her, they will duck and hide and even flank you sometimes. And there are a ton of mods to download for free. I even found one that turned it into a “horror” game by auto adjusting the lighting and gore. Lots of fun!
Best Quote
“Find him dead or alive, I don’t give a sh!t, just bring back the thumbdrive.”
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