Robin Williams Dead at 63

Damn. One of my favorite actors of all time is dead at the age of 63 after committing suicide this morning in his home. The actor, who has spent decades battling depression and his various drug and alcohol addictions is suspected of dying from asphyxiation. One of my favorite movies of his was Dead Poets Society. I still remember seeing it a theater with my family. I also watch most of his Mork and Mindy episodes as a child. Really I consumed most of his work, be it comedy, drama, TV, movies, it didn't matter. Robin Williams was always entertaining and the best at what he did. I think his demons are really the only reason he isn't one of awarded actors in history as the skills were there and when allowed to be on display he simply had no equal. He was a four time Oscar nominee with nominations for Good Morning, Vietnam, The Fisher King and Dead Poets Society before finally winning Best Supporting Oscar for Good Will Hunting. He also one four Grammy Awards and three Emmy Awards. The actor is survived by his three children Zachary, Zelda and Cody along with current wife Susan Schneider and previous wives Valerie Velardi and Marsha Garces. His humor and gravitas will be missed and a true loss to entertainment.

Supreme Court: Corporate Religious Rights Trump All

It continues to amaze me that in this day and age that birth control remains an issue. Not abortion (that will never go away), but the use of various medical means to avoid even needing to have an abortion. You would think encouraging people to not get pregnant and therefore not potentially want an abortion would be a good thing. So while abortion is bad, so is preventing the means that might lead to that decision. A contradiction and yet one that the Republican party is happy to live with. Why? Because the religious right thinks any form of birth control is bad. Not because of the bible (because that isn't in there) but because of religious tradition.

A tradition founded at a time when populations could easily be decimated by war and disease. Usually war. So it was to the best advantage of those in charge to encourage as much baby making as possible to not only keep the religious ranks (and thus Church coffers) full but also allow those in charge to go off and conquer as needed. Wars are expensive and costly in manpower and the only way to keep numbers up was more children. This constant need to have replenished populace was why the average age of marriage was 10 to 12, the average age of birth was around 13 to 14 and the average age of death was late 20s. This "tradition" is what is fueling the religious arguments of today.

The Legend of Korra Book 3 Trailer

Below is the first official trailer for The Legend of Korra Book 3. In what is likely the final season of the show, the focus seems to be on how the world has changed now that the spirit world and human world are now merged. There is no voice overs or the like, just a whole lot of gorgeous images and scenes. While I hope this show gets more seasons, it doe seem the second golden age of cartoons will be concluded with the show's end as all the cartoon channels are once again drifting to childlike, simplified story telling that marked most of the late nineties and early oughts.

E3 2014

E3 was held this week in LA and once again it was gamer heaven as all the major players in the industry laid out their plans for the next year or so of games. As usually Sony dominated with announcement of Playstation TV (sling games to another TV and play Vita games), a white PS4 combo pack, Playstation Now (rent games) and usual slew of games. Microsoft played it safe by announcing only a bunch of games including a Halo collection. Nintendo, still trying to recover from very poor Wii U sales, also essentially played it safe that once again teased a bunch of potential great games but other than Super Smash Brothers doesn't have anything much left in the tank for this year. Below are links to a detailed summation with trailers for the major press conferences while what follows is really just my overview on things.

Sony | Microsoft | Nintendo | EA | Ubisoft

Apple Announces iOS8 and OS X Yosemite

Monday Apple started their week long 2014 World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC). For the last few years the conference has not been used to announce new hardware but to announce new features, updates, and changes that will be made to the software that will be running on future hardware. Pundits will complain about the lack of hardware announcements...but the pundits are either morons or liars cause they knew there wasn't going to be any hardware announcements. So on the software front, the iPad and iPhone (aka iDevices) will get the iOS8 update in the fall, likely to come with the now traditional hardware refresh of the i-line sometime in October or so in time for Christmas. For their laptops, the next iteration of operating system will be OS X Yosemite. Both will bring a bunch of new features that have, to be blunt, been legally stolen from Android and other apps. They have the usual slight alteration in implementation to avoid law suits but almost none of it is original. Except maybe their new Apple only programming language to replace Objective C called Swift. Still if use Apple products (like me), the changes will be welcome. Highlights below or can watch the keynote here.

Honest Trailer for The X-Men Trilogy

In time for X-Men: Days of Future Past, here is the Honest Trailer for The X-Men Trilogy.

R.I.P. Bob Hoskins

Fantastic character actor Bob Hoskins died today at 71 due to pneumonia that was possibly related this is multi-year fight with Parkinson. The actor retired after learning of the diagnosis after completing his last major role in Snow White and the Huntsman. For most though he is most known for his role of Eddie Valiant in Who Framed Roger Rabbit? Some of his other famous roles include The Long Good Friday, Mermaids, Hook, and Super Mario Bros. Not mentioned by many but one I really enjoyed was his portrayal of Winston Churchill in "When Lions Roared" (I still have the VCR recording of the mini-series). I always thought he was an amazing actor that could play whatever role was thrown at him. If anything, it is a shame that Hollywood didn't pay more attention and use him more. Condolences to his family.

New Amazon Fire TV Announced with Demo Video

Yesterday Amazon has announced their next attempt to get into the daily use of homes with the Amazon Fire TV. The tiny quad-core powered smart TV box is their answer to the Roku, Chromecast and Apple TV. Available now, the $99 box comes with a bluetooth remote, wireless connectivity, voice commands and the ability to play Android games (modified for Fire TV) with either the remote or a separate game controller that costs $40.

Hit the links below for hands-on descriptions and videos. There is also an unboxing and detailed demo video below. Overall the first impressions of the device have been excellent, citing an easy to use controller that does not rely on line of sight, a very fast response time to loading videos and a lot of potential. The game controller turns it into an inexpensive video game console, useful for those that already enjoy many Android based games. Already there is a long list of games and channels that are available right from the start but its not clear if some of those channels require a corresponding cable subscription like they do on other devices (but I assume they do).

Hands-on: Gizmodo | The Verge | Engadget

Reviews: The Verge | Gizmodo

So just based on the descriptions, is it worth buying? If you already own some smart TV solution from the last year or two, I see little additional benefit from buying a second box unless just really love video games. However, if you are new to looking for one of these devices or just wanting to replace a current one, then it does seem superior to current offerings. The AppleTV could have been great but really if you don't live in the Apple ecosystem you are paying a whole lot of money to enjoy only 10% of what it can do. The $99 Roku is an alway recommend but this new box blows it out of the water in speed and potential, along with a user interface that doesn't appear out of date and clunky. Even though it is compared to the Chromecast, that is its own separate thing that is (to me) really designed to share and view tablet content on a TV and more in addition to a smart TV box solution rather than instead of one. As for Amazon Prime subscribers, its an easy choice. There is no reason to get any other box but this one.

Based on descriptions, initial hands-on write-ups and the potential that Amazon's market share brings to bear, if you are in the market to spend around $100 for a smart TV solution, then the Amazon Fire TV may quickly become the leader in the market, especially if Apple continues to limit the capabilities of their own hardware. If you are interested in getting one, the Amazon Fire TV is available now, the game controller accessory will be out on April 24th.

X-Men: Days of Future Past Trailer #2

Today the second trailer was released for X-Men: Days of Future Past that unites the cast from the original X-Men trilogy with the cast of the relaunch that was set in 60s. The movie jumps to the 80s as Xavier is at his most depressed. Meanwhile, in the future the X-Men are fighting a losing battle against extinction and in a desperate gamble sends old Wolverine into the body of young Wolverine (in the 70s) to try and prevent that future from occurring. The movie is based on the early 1980s story of the same name that is considered one of the best X-Men stories ever written and has been frequently emulated in some form or fashion in comics, books and movies ever sense. Based on what is seen hear, this could be an amazing movie.

Comcast Doesn't Give a F**k

This video from Funny or Die pretty much summarizes why the merger between Comcast and Time Warner Cable is a very bad idea. So of course once money and future job promises are completed, the FCC will happily approve it. The last major merger from Comcast was for NBC and its networks. Shortly after the approval one of the people that vote for and pushed for it left the FCC to work for the company. Considering how well that plan worked last time, I expected a repeat performance. I also think at least one of those that have a vote use to work as a high level executive for the company. The Justice Department also have to approve the merger so that might be a roadblock but only if Comcast does something foolish in the next six months or so (like try to block Google Fiber expansion).

NBC Olympics Opening Intro and Closing Ceremony Montages from Years Past

I love watching the Olympics and the 2014 Sochi Games were no different. Sure the drama and individual stories are often exaggerated but really for me it really isn't about team and country. It is about the excitement, the drama, its pure unpredictableness. There are favorites to win but more often than not, the favorites seem to fall short for the simple fact it is the Olympics and nothing less than perfection is required on the day and no human is capable of being perfect on demand regardless of the training involved.

But what I really enjoy is the joy. Regardless of who wins or the country involved, for at least two weeks it doesn't matter. Instead we get to see that pure joy from an athlete achieving a dream, family and friends enjoying the success and fans around the world reveling in the moment. Joy in its purist form that has nothing to with lines on a map or political differences. It doesn't last long but its wonderful to see, if only because if you think about it, how often do you get to see real joy in your daily life? Not much, but for two weeks you get to see it over and over and over.

Best News Bloopers of 2013

A little year end funny with a bunch of news bloopers from the year edited together in two parts. Technically NSFW due to language and sexual references.

Working Life-Size Lego Car

As the below video does show that using a whole lot of ingenuity, 500,000+ Lego, and air Steve Sammartino and Raul Oaida were able to build a car that is drivable and does move forward while powered only by air. Everything about the car is Lego including the engine with its 256 pistons and is capable of a speed of 20 - 30kpm (12.5-18.5 mph). (via i09)

Disney Buys Rights to New Indiana Jones Films

Today Walt Disney Studios and Paramount Pictures have announced a new agreement regarding the Indiana Jones franchise. While buying Lucasfilm gave Star Wars to Disney, the deal did not come with Indiana Jones as Paramount owned the rights to the character and movies. Under the new agreement, Disney will have the rights to make, market and distribute new films using the Jones-verse while Paramount will retain distribution rights to the first four films and get a cut of the future films. Disney did not announce a new film is in the works but if Star Wars is any indication they are working on that as they will want to recoup whatever the unannounced cost of the rights transfer as soon as possible.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Trailer #1

The first trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man 2 has been released and it is looking pretty good. The movie, coming May 2014, has Electro (Jamie Foxx) as the main big bad but clearly there is more to the movie with teases of the Rhino, a sick Norman Osborn, Harry Osborn with what appears to be glimpses of Doc Octopus's mechanical arms and the Vultures wings. Probably one of the Osborn's will become the Green Goblin but unknown if that alter ego is in the movie. The suggestion could be the film at least introduces the "Sinister Six."

In the comics that is the name of six Spider-Man villains joining together to defeat Spider-Man, a kind of anti-Avengers team to stop one hero. The idea could be awesome if handled well but as Spider-Man 3 proved, too many bad guys can be a bad thing, especially if forced to spend a good chunk of the movie providing the big bads origin, spending enough time to get the audience to love or hate him and usual story needs. Seems a proper use of the Sinister Six would need to be saved for The Amazing Spider-Man 4 or 5 so that each of the six can get all that done in the previous installments. Again The Avengers formula of using other movies to do the character introductions, origin etc. so that the team movie can just focus on the main story. In this case, assuming The Lizard is one of the six, after the sequel you may or may not have the introductions for Lizard, Green Goblin, Rhino and Electro. That leaves Six mainstay Doc Oct and I guess the Vulture (personally I would swap out Lizard and introduce Mysterio). Any case that is a lot of character origin stuff to juggle unless use three and maybe four to introduce the new characters with the fifth as a kind of grand finale six vs one fight. All that speculation is years away from being proven true or false so instead just enjoy the trailer below. The second video is commentary from the core cast and director for the trailer that is more informative then would expect.

Beautiful Time-lapse Compilations from the ISS

Take a few minutes and enjoy the grandeur of Earth from the International Space Station in the two compilation videos edited by David Peterson using footage from ISS Astronauts including Don Pettit. (via i09)

Man of Steel Honest Trailer, Everything Wrong with Pacific Rim

While I really loved Pacific Rim and Man of Steel, buying both Blu-ray versions on day of release I am more then willing to admit that both movies have flaws. Flaws that the Honest Trailer and Everything Wrong series is happy to use to amusing effect.

Outstanding Lego Arkham Asylum

Lego Masterbuilder Thorsten Bonsch has built an amazing Lego version of Arkham Asylum from the Batman comic books. The large structure doesn't appear to be based on any one version of the Asylum but Bonsch view of how it might look with inspiration from HP Lovecraft. Just as amazing is he created an 82 "making of book" that explains exactly how the built the huge structure. To view his gallery, hit his flickr account and download his making of book (.pdf) here. (via Brothers Brick)

Apple's October Event Introduces iPad Air

Tuesday Apple introduced the next iteration of their iPad, iPad mini, Macbook Pro and Mac Pro. As expected, most changes will not particularly big, just small hardware improvements that only graphic intensive gamers will enjoy. For the iPad, its gets another new name called the iPad Air to highlight that its now at just a pound in weight while the iPad mini enjoys a solid boost with Retina Display but its comes with a $70 increase in price tag. In addition to the hardware tweaks iOS X update, called Mavericks, is free along with new hardware buyers able to get most of Apple's suite of programs for free (iLife, iWorks, etc.). Currently the release date is November 1st for the iPad and later in the month for the mini.

iPad Air
- 20% thinner at 7.5mm, 1 pound in weight, screen resolution and battery life same as previous gen.
- Cameras same but now front camera can shoot at 1080p instead of previous 720p
- Contains the A7 chip, same as iPhone 5s with its 64-bit architecture
- Smart cases now cover entire iPad, not just screen but now at double the price for $80.
- Price: $499 ($16GB), $599 (32GB), $699 (64GB), $799 (128GB) and add $130 for mobile equivalent
- Comparison
- Hands-on: Engadget | Verge | Gizmodo

$24 Billion Lost

The cost of the government shutdown that last 16 days to the United States economy was $24 billion.  $24 billion, with a B. Remember that number the next time Republicans talk about fiscal responsibility.

$24 billion, to gain nothing in return. $24 billion to accomplish nothing except look like fools and please their Tea Party morons, the same morons that later complained when government services were not available when they wanted them, even though their leaders were doing exactly what they wanted.  $24 billion which could have paid for a host of programs, helped a host of people, that painfully proves that government is needed.

While I hope that Republicans look at this and decide that maybe their goal should be to improve government. To fix what is broke, to always improve what is already working, and to cut the fat where clearly it needs to be cut. Sadly, the Republican party lives to break that which works and make worse those things that need to be improved. Sadly, the Republican party believes a hammer is always the solution when a scalpel is needed. Sadly the Republican party is nothing but fools that seem to be determined to destroy the United States just so they can claim a empty victory. The Tea Party is a cancer on American but before they rot away hopefully they will take the Republican party with them. The conservative movement has consistently been on the wrong side of history and sadly it looks like that will remain true.

$24 billion, lost for nothing.

RIP Tom Clancy

Sadly one of my favorite writers Tom Clancy died today at the age of 66. He was most known for the creation of the Jack Ryan character that was the star of a bunch of his books from the mid-80s to today with five movies created based on the character. I have been reading his books since I was in Jr High with some of my favorite books being Red Storm Rising, The Sum of All Fears and Executive Orders. I have long looked forward to each new novel, reading through them in just days. I recommend reading any you can get hold of with a special focus on the Jack Ryan series. While his post 2001 politics often mucked up the books, they were still entertaining reads. His last Jack Ryan novel, Command Authority, will be out at the end of the year. While my mini write-up is frankly crap, I do recommend reading AV Club's look back at this fantastic writer an enduring character that will soon be as well know as Jason Bourne and James Bond. Thanks you John Clancy for the great childhood reads that carried on into adult. Your creativity will be missed.

Republicans Successfully Shut Down US Government

After threatening it for every law, every month, for years, the GOP has finally successfully shutdown the US government. The last time they did this was 17 years under the leadership of Newt Gingrich. This time they are doing it under the pseudo-leadership of Tea Party favorite Ted Cruz. The cause, of course, is Obamacare. Basically this is a hail mary pass to try and end the law that Republicans have been running against for the last four years while offering absolutely nothing as an alternative. Literally. It has been asked on their solutions, their answer on how they would improve health insurance is to improve health insurance. I wish I was exaggerating. That answer isn't a plan. It isn't even a good sound byte. So due to their lack of a concrete plan they have failed to get the support they needed to repeal Obamacare. Now they are hoping to use a shutdown to get the same result. Its kind of the political equivalent of throwing a temper tantrum.

Now to be fair, for once the GOP isn't marching into lockstep over a cliff. It turns out that the "suicide caucus" of 80 House Republicans, representing only 18% of the US population, are leading this charge. Sadly this isn't a situation the framers of the Constitution were prepared for. Who would think that the minority party would devolve into a bunch of children? Can you imagine the outrage the GOP and their followers would have had if the Democrats had even suggested such actions under George Bush? Yet because their team is doing it, suddenly its ok. The Daily Show kind of summarizes my disgust and view on this whole thing.


Sadly those making these decisions are mostly removed from the consequences of it. After all, the average income of Ted Cruz and his ilk is measured in millions. Just a quick reminder, all members of Congress are part of the 1%. The government shutdown impacts the other 99%. For them its no biggie if millions of Americans are suddenly not getting paid, if basic functions that serve people, kids, families and businesses are not getting done. As long as they get what they want, screw the rest of us. Republicans believe in survival of the richest, I just wish the rest of America would wake up (and be less stupid) and realize this belief isn't how you lead a country. I wish they would then vote accordingly and wipe the actual danger that is the GOP out of public office, or at the very least get rid of the 20% far right crazy that is currently driving the series of bad decisions that is harming all of us.

The Story of Metroid

Kotoku has posted a two part article that any Metroid fan will enjoy reading. For those that are not familiar, Metroid is the name of the video game franchise from Nintendo that follows the adventures of Samun Aran who was basically the first major female hero in video games. In the last 25 or so years, only about 8 games have been released for the franchise that have expanded on the universe. As is often the case with Nintendo franchises, there is a continuity to it even if playing the games may not make that entirely clear (like the Zelda series). This confusion gets worse as so much time passes between games that its hard to create the mental continuity of that universe. At the links below is now the unofficial chronological story of the Metroid universe based on the games that finally provides coherence. Even if its not technically official, the details are rich enough to be able to map the entire series events. It sounds dry but its not as it reads like a short story with lots a fantastic fan art on each "page".
Part 1 | Part 2

New iPhones 5c and 5s Announced

Tuesday Apple announced the next iteration of their iPhone line of devices. Only the iPhones and iOS 7 were discussed so its assumed the next iteration of the iPad line will likely be introduced next month in time for Christmas shopping season. Below are the details on the two models but the gist is the iPhone 5 has been discontinued. Instead you can get the iPhone 5c which really is the iPhone 5 put in a strong plastic shell with 5 different color options. After that you have the iPhone 5s that has next generation A7 chip, has a fingerprint scanner, other hardware improvements and constructed as the old iPhone 5 was but now has two additional styles of gold and white. If you are interested in watching the full presentation, you can find it here.

Everything Wrong with The Riddick Movies

In time for Riddick, hitting theaters today, Cinema Sins has posted their "Everything Wrong With" take on the previous two movies - Pitch Black and The Chronicles of Riddick. As usually the observations are amusing and spot on but in this case I don't mind the multitude of mistakes as enjoyed both films.

Iron Man 3 Honest Trailer

I was considering ranting about Syria, but honestly with how politics work (aka governed by corporate dollars), its inevitable. A dance will be done but the US will bomb and invade at some point because the military industrial complex will want the extra few billion in revenue for doing it. So instead of focusing on that noise, lets just enjoy ourselves with some humor. In this case with the latest Honest Trailer from Screen Junkies that makes fun of Iron Man 3. In addition, the voice in the "Honest Trailers" series narrates what random people are doing in movie trailer speak.

San Diego Comic Con 2013 Panel Links

About two weeks ago, the movie, TV and comic book world converged at San Diego Comic-Con 2013. Held from July 18-21, 2013, the con has essentially been taken over by Hollywood to promote upcoming movies, reveal a few tidbits of news (mostly movie titles), and talk about the next season of TV shows. The comics and toys still get their time but usually not nearly the same volume of press attention. Any case this year was chock full of panels. In the past I tried to link to all of them but frankly the effort vs read count is way to low to put that kind of effort in so instead I am linking to a bunch of YouTube channels I used to watch many of the panels that interested me. Check them out, might find some great stuff like Joss Whedon's panel, Marvel movie panel and bunch more.

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Lego Steampunk Castle and World Trade Center

Here are two creations made from Legos that almost seem like works of art. The first is called "Steam Castle Falls" that was shown off at an expo in Rosheim, France. Created by Arnaud Besson, Olivier Curto, and Jimmy Fortel, the wonderful creation is made up of over 20,000 Legos and took over four months to build. The result is a diorama that is just full of medieval details and design. Click here for pictures or more at the links for each buidler's flickr accounts.

The other awesome piece is a re-creation of One World Trade Center complete with light effects. Design by Lego Discovery Center in Westchester County, New York, the piece is 12 foot tall, 110 pounds and comprised of 4,873 bricks. More images of it can be found here.

Supreme Court Upholds Gay Marriage

Today the Supreme Court of the United States did something surprising. In a 5-4 decision, they ruled that the 1996's The Defense of Marriage Act was unconstitutional. The law prevented the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages even when legalized in states. While most anti-gay focus on the "married" part, the law has repercussions that extend into taxes, death benefits, health care coverage and host of other legal issues that other marriages simply did not have to worry about. In essence the ruling is saying the federal government is not allowed to discriminate based on sexual preference. The case regarding gay marriage is ultimately about a founding and constant principle of this country - equality for all.

The ruling occurred because of an unexpected jumping of sides from Justice Anthony Kennedy, who while Republican, tends to go back and forth across the political dividing line, wrote the majority decision. In other words he behaves like a Justice should and makes me wish the other 8 were just as unpredictable as he tends to be.

XBox 180's On DRM

In a blog post Microsoft has reversed course on their universally disliked DRM policy and declared that how things work now on the XBox 360 will carry over to the XBox One. Before the reversal, the policy was that publishers would have absolute control on your ability to loan out games, sell games or buy them used. Even if the publishers allowed you to sell them, they would also have final say on what retailers you could sell too. In other words the days of trading games with friends, giving them away or just making a few quick bucks when done with them would be over. Now some fans would say that it would not be that bad but the reality is if publishers could do it, they would make the used game market illegal. They have zero interest in encouraging it and would have used Microsoft's technical solutions to try and prevent it. On top of that they had a 24 hour check in to homebase to verify your copy of the game was legit. If could not check in, then your system became an attractive piece of furniture until it could.

The result of this decision resulted in a pretty consistent buttwhupping by the gaming press and fans with many wondering if MS knew what they were even doing anymore. This was followed by a so-so E3 Press Conference that showed off the XBox's traditional bread and butter of shoot em ups and sports game that pretty much everyone ignored in light of their DRM policy. The final nail in the coffin is when Sony used their own press conference to use that DRM policy against them while also beating them on price. The resulting consensus is if going to buy a next gen system, skip the XBox One.

Nintendo E3 2013 Press Conference

Tuesday was Nintendo's turn to show off their slate of planned releases for the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS. To no surprise Nintendo has thrown in the towel on 2013 and conceded the year to the new consoles 6 months before they come out. Instead their focus seems to be on 2014 where they do seem to have a solid slate of new games but most will not be out until late summer or Holidays 2014.

The only big game for 2013 for the Wii U isn't even vaguely original but a remake of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. A fine game but its intentional cartoon design means that graphically the only real change will be smoother animation and widescreen but not a real dramatic improvement that makes it worthwhile to buy the system or buy the game all over again for $60. However, 2014's slate includes some pretty good looking games starring a slate of Nintendo classics. Games include Super Mario 3D World, Mario Kart 8, Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze, Super Smash Bros (which does something useful with classic MegaMan since Capcom is unable), and Bayonetta 2.
The Wii U eShop will also get a bunch of smaller games exclusive to them that have a lot of varied game play. A trailer for those games is here.

E3 2013 Microsoft, Sony Press Conferences

Monday was the first day of E3 and it was a doozy. Microsoft's XBox One was attempting a bit of a comback as the last month of public relations has been very poor thanks to a decision to give control of support to used games and lending games to publishers. The same group that historically have long wanted to ban the selling of used games. This choice was further compounded by Microsoft's decision to assume their customers are thieves unless they prove otherwise by having the XB1 check in every 24 hours. Meanwhile, regarding the Playstation 4, Sony offered no comment on their used game policy or potential to phone home simply saying that they would reveal the system, price and details like that at their E3 press conference. To start lets summarize the information from the two main press conferences from Sony and Microsoft the videos of which are below.

Microsoft

Apple's WWDC 2013 Introduces iOS 7

Today Apple held their WWDC (Worldwide Developers Conference) that is used to introduce their next six months of products to the world. The keynote address showed off their updated late of laptops, new Mac Pro desktop, OS X Maverick update and iOS 7 for iPhone and iPads. The biggest news is for iOS 7 which is a radical change (for Apple) in how iOS 7 looks and feels. The over all result clearly takes design cues from Android and Windows 8 but with few flourishes from Apple. The announcements did not provide updates to iPad, iPhone, or iPod line of products as that will likely come in October when iOS 7 is expected to be ready for release. Lets get into some of the details.

iOS 7

The Government Is Really Spying On You

After 2001, at the behest of the President George Bush, Congress passed a bunch of laws that were designed to find terrorists by any means necessary including spying on phone calls, email and internet activity, often with little or no oversight. While vocally Congress talked about how these immense powers would never be abused, it would never be used to spy on Americans and other noises of "trust me!". Of course since them we have learned that Americans have been spied on from the very beginning and that FBI and other agencies would use their powers not so much to stop terrorists but as fishing exhibitions against whoever they were targeting for whatever reason. Long story short, people were given power and they abused it. The old adage about power made real. Yet despite know people will abuse the power they are giving, we still act amazed when we discover it is happening.

Everything Wrong With Superman Returns

Next week finally brings a new Superman film to theaters with The Man of Steel. So CinemaSins decided to release Everything Wrong With Superman Returns in 6 Minutes or Less. The film, released back in 2006, was a bit of a critical debacle. Which is actually a shame because Brandon Routh actually did a good job in the role of Superman/Clark Kent as did most of the cast (except Kate Bosworth who excelled at looking good but not making a good Lois Lane). Sadly the problem was the story and the inconsistent rules of the story when it came to Kryptonite. The choice to essentially retell the first Superman movie while lathering on the homage in boring ways was just to much for the actors to overcome. A little homage is great but when go so far as to lift the entire story and retell it again, it can be a bit much. Also, no kids. Really, thats just plain dumb.

Percy Jackson: The Sea of Monsters Trailer #2

Below is the latest trailer for Percy Jackson: The Sea of Monsters which is a sequel to Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. The books are a fun read and I like the first film (does hurt that Alexandra Daddario is gorgeous) so I plan on checking it out.

How Iron Man 3 Should Have Ended

An amusing take on some of the story ideas from Iron Man 3. I especially like the idea of the super powered Pepper Potts replacing Stark on The Avengers.

Lifesize Lego Star Wars X-Wing

To promote the Cartoon Network's The Yoda Chronicles, LEGO has built its largest model ever with their life-sized Star Wars X-Wing made almost entirely from Lego. The stats on this model are very impressive. It contains 5,335,200 Legos, weighs 45,980 pounds, its dimensions are 11"H x 44"W x 43"L, and took 17,366 hours (4 months) to build. It is a replica of the X-Wing set #9493 but at 42x larger then it. It includes a scaled up version of the mini-fig Luke and R2-D2 made out of more Lego bricks. The model is designed so it can be broken down for transportation. It premiered today in New York's Time Square and will spend the rest of the year at Legoland California Resort. A hand-on tour of build can be found at Brothers-Brick and a look at the Time Square event and video of the build is at Gizmodo.

Xbox One Announced

Today Microsoft officially revealed the Xbox One, the next generation console that will compete directly with the Playstation 4. Much like the PS4 announcement, Microsoft focused almost entirely on the entertainment and TV aspect of the system with only a slight mention of games. This decision by both companies makes a lot of sense really since E3 is just weeks away and will be entirely focused on video games. Unlike the PS4 announcement, Microsoft showed off more then a controller, they showed off the system itself (image left). No price point was provided with a release date expected around Christmas 2013.

Specs:
- 8-core Jaguar x86-64bit AMD CPU, DirectX 11.1 graphics
- 8GB DDR3 RAM (think old was 512MB)
- 500GB HDD (old started at 4GB and went up), not swappable but external storage supported
- Blu-ray drive (old system was HD-DVD)
- 3.0 USB, 3 802.11N antennas
- HDMI 1.4 passthrough (so HDMI in from cable box, out to TV)
- 1080p and 4k video, 7.1 surround sound

The Wolverine Trailer #2

A new trailer for The Wolverine, coming out on July 26th. If the lovely woman in the beginning looks familiar, that is Famke Janssen as Jean Gray, the character that died in X-Men 3 and Logan loved. As for the movie itself, I have to admit, can't say I am excited about it. It looks like it might be good but for me the block comes from the comics. I never liked the "Samurai" Wolverine stories that took place in Japan. They all were variations of the same "I must restore my honor!" while killing a bajillion ninjas. Still such a story on paper gets boring over and over but done will on the big screen can be an enjoyable action film. I will likely be there opening weekend regardless of my reservations.

Pacific Rim Theatrical Trailer

This is probably one of the films I am most looking forward to this summer. The scale and scope just makes it seem like it will be a really fun film. Because of the scope, I am giving serious consideration to seeing it in IMAX as might be one of the few films worthy of that extra large size.

Man of Steel Trailer #3

Below is the latest Man of Steel trailer. I am a comic book nerd but have to admit I can't get excited about this film. Part of it is little confidence in Warner Bros to get it right (to many executive cooks in the kitchen interfering) and part of it has to do with the trailer itself which just makes the film seem depressing and boring. This isn't to say I will not see the film, its just not achieving that level of excitement where I am ready to pre-order tickets for a 12:01a showing. Instead I will simply watch it whenever I get around to it.

Linkfest - RIP Roger Ebert

It has been a while since the last linkfest. Sadly this one starts with the dead of a legend, goes to a great Lego creations, then comments about Veronica Mars movie, Google Reader closure, and finally a fan made trailer for Calvin and Hobbes.

R.I.P. Roger Ebert (6/18/1942-4/4/2013)
Today the entertainment industry lost a legend in the form of long time movie critic Roger Ebert. The 45 year veteran of the Chicago Sun-Times didn't have an opinion he wasn't willing to share (about all forms of entertainment), died today from cancer. To say Ebert loved the movies would be an understatement. Probably not words in the dictionary that can describe that love. Even when he hated the movie, I suspect he loved that it existed and added a little bit to the collected culture even if seen by few. Ebert, the other half of Siskel &, rose to fame starting with his review television show in 1975 that eventually morphed into "At the Movies" with its famous thumbs up or thumbs down reviews. Even after losing his lower jaw in 2006 to cancer, the critic continued to share his opinions about all forms of entertainment. Well except video games which he didn't consider art to the consternation of video games fans worldwide. That his opinion on the subject matter shows that even the current generation of kids knew who he was and cared what he thought. There really doesn't exist a critic today of his caliber and fame and in this age of dispersed entertainment, I doubt there will be one again. While Ebert probably didn't influence many of our entertainment choices, I suspect his influence on Hollywood was quite large. So by relation, the impact of Ebert on our day to day entertainment choices will likely never be known. Condolences to his family, I suspect he will be watching from on high, watching ever movie that comes out from now until the end of time.

The First Honest Cable Commercial

For your amusement. Note: Not safe for work.

Playstation 4 Announced

Sony has announced their next generation console and if it lives up to the promise of its presentation, then console future is looking pretty good. And that is before Microsoft announces their next gen (rumor is anywhere from this year's E3 to next year). The press conference was about two hours long and ironically did not show the actual final product, provide a price or a release date other then Holidays 2013 (so likely early November 2013). Instead it was about its potential features and possible launch games but still a hell of a start.

Specs:
- custom 8 core x86-64 AMD Jaguar CPU with 1.84 TFLOPS AMD Radeon graphics engine (current gen is at 1.76 TFLOPS)
- 8GB GDDR5 RAM (for comparison the PS3 has 512mb so a 16x increase in RAM)
- Build-in hard drive (sizes not announces)
- 6x Blu-ray/8x DVD drive
- USB 3.0 ports (number not specificed)
- Ethernet, b/g/n Wi-fi and Bluetooth 2.1 (essentially same as PS3)
- HDMI, analog AV-out, and optical S/PDIF audio output (so essentially same as PS3)
- DualShock 4 controller with touchpad, gyroscope, accelerometer, vibration, lightbar with 3 LED lights, mono speaker, micro USB port, headset port, battery
- Playstation 4 Eye with two 1280x800 camera, 85 degree field of view

Linkfest - Goodbye Arcades and the PS2

For once a linkfest without politics. Mostly because just don't feel like talking about it since the year has opened with more of the same. If had hope that Senator Reid would grow a pair and alter the filibuster rules to return to the more transparent "Mr. Smith" style that Republicans eliminated in 1971 (I think) then might be more involved but I suspect this year will end up looking like last year. In any event, below is a look at the Superman S-shield, goodbye to the PS2, death of the arcade, data caps sucking, behind the scenes of the Avengers and Red 2 trailer.

120 Superman S-Shields from 75 Years
An interesting infographic that shows off the Superman shield from every year including the variations that would pop up from year to year and in movies and cartoons. Of note is while the shield mostly remained static for 60+ years, the last 10 years brought about the most constant change in design which makes since only because DC is constantly engaging in gimmicks to maintain their audience. As for the picture to the left, those represent the highlights of the 120.

Linkfest - Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

The year is almost done and fortunately the Mayans were wrong as we are all still here. The problems remain but so does hope for the future. In the last post of the year we look at another cool Lego creation, info on data caps being scam, Wal-Mart hell, great Stephen Colbert interview, Google's year in review, and the Man of Steel.

Lego The Legend of Zelda Map
The image is a Lego re-creation of the map for the classic NES game The Legend of Zelda. From Michael Kuroda, the map re-creation really isn't that large with it being 256 Lego studs wide by 88 studs high.

Data Caps are Cash Cows and Unnecessary
Hit the link to read a little bit about how cable companies and telephone service providers lie when they claim tiered data systems are necessary because of a need for data caps. The reality is the cost to move data gets cheaper every year. Also the cost of the transmission remains the same whether 1 megabyte of data is moved or 1000 megabytes. Long story short, the more you use the internet should not cost you more because it doesn't cost the service providers more. They just pretend it does because its an easy way for them to charge more while providing nothing more thereby increasing their profits. The upper management gets their huge bonuses while having done literally nothing for their customers. Its a scam so next time a company or a politician pretends otherwise, don't believe them.

Newtown: "These tragedies must end."

I am not a parent so I can't grasp what these parents and the community of Newtown, Connecticut are going through. As a human being I am just sad and my heart aches for the pain that has been caused. Twenty-six dead. Twenty of them first graders, children who had not lived long enough to deserve anything but our patience and love. All wiped out because Adam Lanza took several assault weapons from his mom, killed her, and then preceded to walk to Sandy Hook Elementary and began his assault on innocence. We probably will never really know why. I have no words for what happened. I wish I did.

What I do have is anger. This just happens to often and in almost every case it seems to involve weapons of war. Not defense, not even hunting but weapons specifically designed for soldiers at war and thanks to the efforts of the NRA and the Republicans, have someone become classified as needed for home use. Weapons of war do not belong in any home. I know, Fox News and the Republicans will say "Now is not the time." Which is bullshit. They have no problem throwing random darts at the board and blaming movies, TV, video games and anything else they can make up on the fly. We have no idea what interests Lanza had to even hazard a guess on his motivations. If they have time to spew their theories, if many of them can hop on Fox News and decide the solution is to turn teachers into armed guards, then now is most definitely the time to talk about getting these weapons of war out of the hands of civilians and only in the hands of those trained to use them only at times specified by our nation's interest.

Still Here

I am still posting, just have not had anything specific felt like posting on the Eras End blog. Been busy trying to keep up with the Star Trek and The Hobbit news but hopefully start posting again here soon.

Linkfest - America Votes

Hopefully this will be the last political heavy post for a while but who knows for sure. Other then the election there is links to an awesome Lego Legend of Zelda Hylian Shield, Iron Man 3 teaser trailer and cool time lapse of a space shuttle on the streets of LA.

Lego Legend of Zelda Hylian Shield
Hit the link for 7 images of this beautiful and detailed shield built by Remi. Makes you wish that Lego would get the license and release a version of their own. (via Brothers Brick)

Obama Re-Elected
Tuesday Barack Obama was re-elected as President of the United States. He won by a comfortable margin taking 5 out of 6 battleground states (Florida too close to call). He also won the popular vote by a fairly typical margin of around 51% to 49%. Basically it was a repeat of 2008. Despite what the pundits may say, really the DC status quo has been maintained. As a result the gridlock and difficulty in getting anything done will continue. The GOP retained the House and the Democrats still have the Senate by about the same margin so sadly the filibuster will continue to be used to death requiring 60 votes to get anything done.

Remove Ads from Echofon for Firefox (Updated)

Thanks to new limitations that Twitter has forced on third party developers, Echofon had to discontinue their awesome desktop apps including Echofon for Firefox and Echofon for Windows. Twitter is trying to reach point where they are the only source for any tweets and only their apps can be used, which is unfortunate as their apps tend to suck. To me Echofon is one of the best and recommend it for whatever version you can find. If you are lucky enough to find a copy (since they removed it from Mozilla and their own site), below are instructions on how to remove ads from Echofon for Firefox. This might work for the Windows version too but have not tried it. Or to put it another way below is a crack for Echofon without needing an email or license key. If don't already use it, make sure to check out Echofon for iPad, iPhone and soon Android.

1) In a new Firefox tab, type: about:support then hit enter
2) On the screen that comes up, click the button that says "Show Folder".
3) Open the "Extensions" folder

Apple's New October Announcements

Today Apple announced their next slate of product refreshes just in time for Christmas. The iPad mini with 7.9" screen was officially announced. The iPad 3, just announced back in April, has been discontinued and replaced with the iPad 4. The Mac Mini, iMac and MacBook Pro also received updates. Below is summary with links to more details.

iPad Mini The iPad 2 in a smaller shell with different power port and improved front camera - Screen: 7.9", 1024 x 769 pixels
- Size: .68 pounds, 7.78" x 5.3", 7.2mm thick
- Other: dual band Wi-Fi, bluetooth, Lightning port, 10 hour battery life, 1.2MP front camera, 5MP camera, A5X chip
- Price: $329 (16GB), $429 (32GB), $529 (64GB), +$120 for cellular

Linkfest - Batcave, Taxes, Time-Lapse, and The West Wing

This linkfest is politics heavy (election coming up after all) but to start things light there is a look at a cool Batcave. After that the politics kick in with look at why tax cuts without strings do not work, the lies of Romney/Ryan and an essay about failings of both parties. If want to skip the politics, after those links to info on the update Nook HD, a cool time-lapse video, and brief reunion of the West Wing cast. Massive Lego Batcave
Hit the link to view a gallery of a gorgeous Lego version of the Batcave. The huge structure was built by Carlyle Livingston II and Wayne Hussey over the course of six months. It took over 20,000 Lego and weighs more than 100 pounds. It has little touches like built in lighting, motors to the Batmobile turntable, rotating costume and weapon walls, and moving Batplane lift. (via Brothers Brick)

Tax Cuts Without Strings Do Not Work
The Romney/Ryan ticket is proposing a 20% tax cut, mostly for the rich, with little means to pay for it. They claim it will boost the economy. They are wrong. The human condition along is why it will fail, even if ignore the failure that the last six tax cuts had on boosting the economy. This isn't to say a tax cut can't work, but it must be done with conditions or incentives. This is not a new idea, the states do it all the time. They offer tax cuts if corporations move their headquarters, build a factory, create jobs, buy supplies from a company in the states, whatever. That has proven to work.

Linkfest - Romney Gaffes Again

Romney: 47% of Country are Lazy Freeloaders
In a video (link above) authenticated by Mother Jones, Mitt Romney said "...there are 47 percent who are with [Obama], who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it. ...my job is not to worry about those people." In short, Romney said anyone who votes for Obama is a lazy freeloading victim. Last I checked, I have not freeloaded, worked full time since I was 16 and fortunately have not been a victim of anything except my own stupidity. The amazing thing is Romney held a rushed press conference where he stood by his comments brushing them off as "not elegantly stated" begging the question of the what elegant version sounds like. Amazing that for a man that can flip flop on any issue depending on what direction the wind is blowing takes stance of refusing to back down no matter what once embarrassed by a mistake. George W Bush behaved that way too often damaging results.

While that was one of the worse, those were not all of the ill-conceived, rich people matter most, comments from the governor. His belief that only the rich don't pay taxes isn't really true, turns out a whole lot of American's across the entire tax bracket spectrum have successfully gamed the system to pay no income tax (emphasis on income as that doesn't include all kinds of other taxes that pretty much everyone pays daily). He going to close their loopholes? Probably not. His disdain for anyone that isn't rich should not be surprising when he admitted in an interview that "middle income is $200,000 to $250,000 and less." The Census Bureau pegs the real median household income at $50,000. Remember his definition when he says he will cut taxes for the middle class because he really means the rich version of middle class and 99% of us are not in the category.

Nintendo Announces Price, Release Date of Wii U

Yesterday Nintendo held an Apple style press conference where they announced the price, release date and details for their next generation game system the Wii U. The system is basically an evolution of the Wii system first released six years ago. Even though it is "next gen" for Nintendo, graphically it just puts them almost level with the Playstation 3 and XBox 360. Both of which are in their twilight and expected to be replaced in next year or so.

Wii U
- Release Date: November 18th
- Two versions of system, the Basic ($299) and Deluxe ($349)
- GamePad: special controller for system with 6/2" screen, 2 analog thumbsticks, facing camera, gyro sensor
- Basic: White color, one GamePad, 8GB memory, AC adapters, sensor bar, HDMI cable
- Deluxe: Black color, one GamePad, 32GB memory, AC adapters, sensor bar, HDMI cable, console stand, GamePad charging cradle, membership to Deluxe Digital Promotion (digital downloads discount), and Nintendo Land game
- Both systems allow for USB external hard drives, backward compatible with all Wii games and accessories, built in wireless and 1080p output; full specs

Apple Announced iPhone 5, new iPods

As expected, today Apple announced the iPhone 5 with a refresh of the iPod Touch, iPod Nano, and iPod Shuffle. While the iPad mini was not announced there is enough evidence to indicate that it will probably come in a separate announcement to avoid stealing the iPhone's thunder. The video of the keynote can be found here. Below are the highlights with links to more details.

iPhone 5
- Lightest (3.95 ounces) and thinnest (7.6mm) yet
- 4", 1136 x 640 resolution screen, adds 5th row of icons, sort of a 16:9 ration screen, may have to letterbox (black bars like on TV) for some apps
- adds LTE connectivity worldwide
- iSight: new 8-megapixel camera, improved low light performance, 40% faster photo, Panorama mode, 1080p resolution video but still take photos
- A6 with improved speed, better graphics, better use of battery
- new Lightning dock connector (80% smaller) with reversible design.
- Battery life: Apple gave stats but it looks like it’s about the same
- Colors: Black, White
- Improved Siri, ships with i0S6
- Price: $199 (16GB), $299 (32GB), $399 (64GB)
- Release date: pre-orders start September 14th, out September 21st
- Comparison to other mobile phones
- Hands-on

Amazon Introduces New Kindle Fire for 2012

Yesterday Amazon announced (video below) an across the board refresh of their Kindle eBook readers. The goal was same experience with faster speeds at competitive prices. From what I saw today it looks like they are meeting that goal. The line breaks down into four main areas - Kindle Fire HD, Kindle Fire SD, Kindle Paperwhite and Kindle. Within each area you have several options on what extras the Kindle will or will not have.

The hardware differences account for the difference in prices and will be broke down below. As far as the operating system, all versions of the Kindle Fire are the same with heavily modified Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich). Since it is essentially a custom interface created by Amazon, they expanding existing features to better take advance of Amazon Prime and multimedia offering that Amazon has. Whispersync, which was used to sync where you stopped reading across devices, now has been expanded to audio books and games. For audio books it means listen (or read) wherever the audio book last stopped on another device without having to find your place again. For games that means picking up your last save on another Fire device (not seeing this application being nearly as useful as audio one). Another new feature is FreeTime, which provides a kids mode with parental controls. Another expanded feature is X-Ray. It was used to provide wiki like info on selected items in books, now it provides info from IMDB.com for videos and more info for use with textbooks.

RIP Michael Duncan Clarke (1957-2012)

Today Michael Duncan Clarke passed at the age of 54 way before his time. This mountain of a man was never considered A-list by Hollywood standards but that was due to lack of vision, not his lack of ability or skill. He had many memorable roles such John Coffey in The Green Mile, receiving a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award nomination. He was also The Kingpin in Daredevil, Manute in Sin City, Bear in Armageddon, and so many more roles. His distinctive voice brought to life the characters of Kilowog in the Green Lantern series, Commander Vachir in Kung Fu Panda, and Atlas in God of War II.

Honestly I rarely care when a celebrity dies. It’s why most of the RIPs get jammed into one of my link fests. But there are exceptions and Mr. Clarke was one of them. I am truly upset at his passing. Hollywood and film has lost an icon.

I watched the TV series The Finder simply because he was in it. He brought a level of joy to his roles that few actors do. You could tell he loved what he was doing and took pleasure doing it. Something it seems few in Hollywood are capable of. I never read a bad thing about him from his peers. He seemed like a kind soul and it was because of him that I know what the phrase "a kind face" really means. I enjoyed what he brought to every role, and believe every moment he acted in. He was an immense talent and Hollywood will likely never see his like again. He will be missed by his legions of fans. Condolences to his family and friends.

Linkfest - GOP's Legitimate Rape

It has been an interesting week for the GOP. They are coming off of the unexpected press blowup over the term "legitimate rape". A concept the party has quietly supported for decades and often spoken of by the GOP even if not quite such stark terms. Then you have the GOP convention that had the VP candidate get called out for a speech of lies by every news organization including Fox News and a speech from Romney that was remarkable for how unremarkable it was. Other topics include the Samsung vs Apple lawsuit and the end of Nintendo Power.

Legitimate Rape
It is weird how all it takes is a poor phrase to get people to wake up to a truth that has been around for a very long time. GOP's Rep. Todd Akin made the mistake of saying exactly what he thought of the idea of there being exceptions to abortion for rape or incest by saying in an interview "...from what I understand from doctors [pregnancy from rape] is really rare. If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down." He later said he "misspoke" for the phrase he used but never apologized for what he meant which is if a woman got pregnant, she wanted the sex and therefore could not have been raped. The idea that pregnancy is proof of no rape has been around for literally centuries. At one time the victim by law would be forced to marry her rapist if she had got pregnant. That thinking is also shared by almost the entirety of the GOP who have made the concept of no exceptions central the the RNC platform for Romney's election and was part of a bill that his VP candidate Paul Ryan write and tried to push through Congress. Below are a few videos that illustrate just how stupid the whole concept is.

Linkfest - Lying Ryan

Been a while since did a linkfest. This edition is about the odd choice of Paul Ryan as GOP VP choice, links to amusing Calvin & Hobbes animated gifs, Lego's 80th Anniversary, Lego Serenity, movies trailers and a disturbing nursery song.

Mitt Romney Picks Paul Ryan as VP
For reasons that confound me, Mitt Romney has picked Paul Ryan as his Vice President. Usually the VP is designed to fill in a voting gap that the candidate can't achieve to help put them over the top be it a state or demographic. Ryan is a far right conservative with a media profile based desperate to make the election more exciting than it is by simply repeating myths about him. Tea Party/Religious right vote is a lock no matter what, after all not like they can explore the alternative of voting for Obama so not sure why make this extra effort to please them. He will do nothing to help Mitt Romney get moderates and undecided. If anything he will send them screaming in the other direction. Paul Ryan deeply believes in the Ayn Rand philosophy that society only functions best when society is geared towards the goal of making rich people richer. This was very well demonstrated with his Budget Plan that would reduce the top 1%'s tax burden to less than 1%. An example being his running mate Romney who under their collective plan would go from paying around 13% to .082%. To pay for a tiny portion of this $4.7+ trillion cost of his plan, he wanted to cut social security by 20% (or privatize it) and turn Medicare into a voucher program. His big claim to fame is a screw you budget proposal that literally takes from the poor and middle-class and gives to the rich. His other conservative thing is supposedly being a deficit hawk. Despite the fact he voted for the Bush tax cuts, two wars, bank bailout and more that added around $7 trillion and counting to the deficit. He supposedly wants less government in your life yet is happy so support laws that would make birth control illegal and, any abortion illegal even in cases of saving mother's life, rape or incest. Not exactly a small government idea. About the only reason I can think he made the choice is money. Ryan will be a money making machine as conservative flood Romney and Super PAC coffers. In general, the more money you spend on an election, the greater your chances are of winning. That is ultimately the Romney plan - simply buy the election.

Calvin and Hobbes Animated Gifs
Hit the link for a selection of gifs that turn certain panels from the Calvin and Hobbes comic strip into motion.

NBC Olympics Opening Intro and Closing Ceremony Credit Montages

Update: Updated post for 2014 Sochi Olympics is here.

I love watching the Olympics. I like the drama of it, I like seeing the close races, the victories and more. While I feel for those that lose, what I really love about the Olympics is the pure joy of victory and pride. If you think about it, how much real joy do you see in life each day, month or even year? During the Olympics for two weeks we get to see that expression of pure joy over and over and over again. I am not ashamed to say it brings tears to my eyes, especially when see the athletes' family and friends react with their own moments of joy. It is a wonderful to watch and just makes me look forward to the next Olympics two years later.

In the United States, the Olympics Games television rights are owned by NBC (starting in 1988 for Summer Games, 2002 for Winter Games). Their many hours of coverage always begins with a poetic introduction that shows off the host country and ends with their Olympics Closing Ceremony credit montage that summarizes the games in spectacular fashion. The credits montage is something I look forward to as Olympics fatigue sets in. With the 2012 London Olympic Games coming to a close today, it seemed like a good time to look at NBC Olympic intros and closing montages over the years in reverse order.

NBC Olympic Closing Credit Montages2012 London Summer Olympics Closing Credit Montage
Not online yet.
Music Credits: "Finale" by Randy Edelman from movie "Dragonheart"; "Titan's Spirit" by Trevor Rabin from movie "Remember the Titans"

2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics Closing Credit Montage
Music Credits: "Finale" by Randy Edelman from movie "Dragonheart"; "Titan's Spirit" by Trevor Rabin from movie "Remember the Titans"