414 thoughts on “Unshow 65 Yeah”

  14. I’m not sure who to thank but it’s 7am and I’m done my work for the day.

    I think I’ll take the morning and rearrange the books in the library. I want to free a couple of shelves so I can put my super duper collectors pack games on them.

  15. Speaking of games, hubby has decided to go and download a bunch of old games that have become abandonware. He’s downloaded Dungeon Hack, Eye of The Beholder (which I had to bonk him on the head for because he said he never played that one), an old Star Trek Adventure and a couple of other games I don’t remember. The funny thing is, he put a bunch of them on his work laptop. I asked him if that meant he wasn’t going to get any actual work done now. He just laughed.

  16. This is the kind of facebook post I like to wake up to:

    “Boulevard Brewing Company
    It’s a Smokestack kind of day in production. We’re bottling 12 oz. versions of The Sixth Glass, Dark Truth Stout and Tank 7 as well as Long Strange Tripel in 750mL bottles.”

    • By the generousity of ditto, I got to try some Sixth Glass for a secret santa gift. Good stuff. I ended up sharing it with Brian Brown who loved it. 🙂 I’ve discovered a local brewer here in Phoenix that I’m starting to warm up to. SanTan Brewery south of town. May have to pick up a few different beers from them this weekend.

  24. I bet there is some new-age spa in Sedona that does tumbleweed enemas. Just a word of advice, as cool as a saguaro enema sounds, just say no.

  25. Hey, Deadpan! I have exciting news!

    Back on the weekend of June 22-24, I participated in a Deliberative Poll called What’s Next California. It was filmed for a documentary for PBS, and the show is on the air TONIGHT! It will also be repeated next Tuesday. Full schedule here:

    http://action.nextca.org/schedule

    I didn’t do any individual interviews for the camera, but I was there, so there’s at least some chance I might be in some of the footage. I can’t wait to watch!!! :biggrin:

  28. Cool Amy! I didn’t see it appear on my local PBS listing, but I’ll check it anyway.

    The recent talk of great old games has got me thinking of Freedom Force. I own both games, but I think I’m going to purchase them on Steam tonight for $7.50. Great semi turned based superhero combat, with a big sense of humor.

  35. I wish there was a skype connection to some club from the best times of my life. Maybe I can’t go back there but if I could look in, like it was a chat room …
    *sigh*
    I need

    a lobotomy

  46. And a fine morning, Deadpan.

    Van – I knew that well predated both of us. But with all our talk lately of reviving the video games and computers of our youths, it was so very fitting 🙂

      • The nervous cat is nervous.

        6 Months old
        Female
        Delivered spayed and fully boostered with
        2 scratching posts, 1 scratching pad
        1 giant litter box
        Litter
        Food
        Catnip
        Toys

        It’s like I traded all that money I dumped into a dog for about the same amount of money’s worth in a cat. Only, I have much less maintenance and she’s mine. Not the children’s. MINE I say MINE!

  58. We watched the Dr. Who episode last night. Perhaps my expectations were just too high from the positive vibe I picked up, but I wasn’t so impressed. The whole thing felt like a deliberate emotional manipulation building up from a more ridiculous than usual premise. While the ending was touching, it was also pretty obvious where it was going to end up.

    But, that’s just one joker’s opinion. And I’ve largely enjoyed these last two years with Matt Smith as The Doctor.

    • I will have to admit that the premise was rather contrived. The first 5 minutes or so had me rolling my eyes and thinking “Oh no. Not again.”

      What I enjoyed was getting to see a stretch in the characters. Rory got to be more than a clown in this one and I felt his character gained some depth. I also enjoyed getting to see the Karen Gillan stretch her acting chops as well. I found her “Ellen Ripley” persona to be quite believable.

      The other thing I liked was the film work in this one. There was a lot of cinematography that was above what was needed just to “show” the scene and it really brought the level up. The very last reaction shot of the Doctor’s being a good example.

      Those are the things that took me beyond the weakness of the Ep’s premise itself.

  59. Hey Pan

    1) Cute Kitten CJ
    2) Family Scry on the move. Tell us more!
    3) Got your story Jack. Now I just need more reading time
    4) Enjoyed the last Dr. Who and the last episode of Torchwood. Does anybody else (who saw Torchwood), see an American spin off based on that ending? – No spoilers I promise :cheerful:

    • I can take or leave Gwen. It just wouldn’t surprise me if they try to Americanize it, especially since a number of Buffy people worked behind the scenes of this one. Although, I don’t see it being as good as past Torchwoods. These things never are when converted to US.

      • Um…except in the case of Torchwood, seasons 1 and 2 were quite possibly 2 of the worst seasons of TV I’ve ever seen.

        And while I agree most shows arent as good when Americanized, you cant say “never”. Three immediate examples that come to mind are The Office, Sanford and Son, and (god help me for saying this) American Idol. There’s plenty more examples as well. So perhaps while history isnt overall on the side of the new Torchwood, hope isnt lot.

        And yes… EssBee I’m fighting you for Gwen. Nothing personal, you understand

  61. Your strange fact for the day.

    If a lobster can avoid predators and accidents, theoretically it could live for hundreds of years as it cells don’t age the way human cells do.

  62. I’m trying to decide if I want to go for a walk or not. I think it’s going to rain. Normally I don’t mind rain, that’s what umbrellas are for, but I’m feeling my age today and don’t know if I want to go out in the damp.

  67. In the sad but cool sort of thing.

    Got a hacked Wii, so installed DOSBOX and a certain Star Trek Game.

    Dug out an old USB keyboard and plugged it into the Wii, and voilà playing a 1992 PC game on my big TV.

    • That is cool, Van. I know hubby’s enjoying those old games too.

      I just picked up From Dust. I played three hours straight the first day without realizing how much time went by. *tsk, tsk*. This Bunny’s not suppose to do that. Felt it the next day.

  69. So with my current Apple earbuds doing the usually trick of fading volume in one bud, I purchased some JVC ones with memory foam earplugs that block out a lot of external noise.

    Sadly in blocking out the external noise I can now tell how crap the audio is on some of the podcasts I listen to.

  72. I think my kettle’s broken. I set it to boil and the water’s Luke warm. It won’t restart to finish heating. It’s convinced the water’s warm enough.

    *sigh*. Time to use the microwave

  81. Bunny, I agree with you about Torchwood (and am ignoring Lo Pan’s comments on Seasons 1 and 2). This season was the weakest, and definitely Star-ified and American-ized. Hated Esther, too.

    I probably want to you-know-what Gwen more than you do (and maybe the same than Lo Pan does).

    cough

  88. Bad joke o’ the day.

    One day a boy was walking down the road and found a magic lamp. The boy the rubbed the magic lamp and, of course, a genie appeared and told the boy he could have one wish granted.

    The boy said he wanted to be just like Batman.

    So the genie killed his parents.

    • Well in the spirit of crap jokes:

      Sex is like a gas station, sometimes you get full service, sometimes you gotta ask for service and sometimes you have to be happy with self service!

    • Yeah I know. I was thinking about that today as well. I’m no internet expert, but isn’t the internet “cauched” or somehow backed up by search engines? Would it be possible to locate the old files there? Just wondering.

  96. “JohnBoze Says:

    October 29th, 2006 at 3:09 pm
    And then re-collect it after it comes spewing back?

    We were up at 3am too, Ed. Fox has been running a mystery fever so we were up poking in the thermometer and administering tylenol.

    And a fair bit of attempted comforting as well…”

    *Happy Dance*

  104. I had to wipe some tears from my eyes after reading the following exchange from years past:

    “JohnBoze Says:

    December 11th, 2006 at 1:47 pm
    Oh good, I can losse the pants…

    *zip!*

    *sigh*

    Alvie Says:

    December 11th, 2006 at 1:47 pm
    I really need a blow job.

    That was a statement, not a request… so yall keep your filthy ideas to yourself….

    And with that…. Im out….

    Alvie Says:

    December 11th, 2006 at 1:48 pm
    Oh snap!!!!!!!!

    BAD TIMING! BAD TIMING!”

  107. Wat, this is produced by Kevin Sorbo?

    You’d think someone would at least read the script before pumping money into a project.
    And also, a second thought should be required knowing it’s a SyFy production

  109. Ok, let me get this straight. This extra special isotope, which will quadruple the life of portable batteries, explodes on contact with water. Also, if water is anywhere near the area, it will seek it out with “almost intelligence liike determination.”. Yeah, that’s what I want in my next iPhone

  113. I do enjoy Deadpan’s past, especially during the past year, as we’ve hit #200, and as my personal/work life has drained away precious Deadpan creative time.

    I just hope that as we’re looking back on Deadpan glory days, that we’re still enjoying the present and that the Deadpan future still looks as fun as ever. Or at least as fun as the past.

  117. Ok, you smell rotten eggs and there are dead bodies everywhere. My first thought would be to get out of the area until, at the very least, I don’t smell anything. But nooooo, our heroes must look around.

  118. Ok, this movie had one redeeming scene. Some guy leaves his car to go to the bathroom. The explosive goes along the ground then up his stream of urine, finally getting to hin and exploding

  125. Holy crow, that general must be 100 years old. I think he’s senile too. Wy would he be hammering out business deals with evil corporations on behalf of the government?

  133. Another crap joke:

    A man walks up to a woman in his office each day, stands very close to her, draws in a large breath of air and tells her that her hair smells nice. After a week of this she can’t stand it any longer! The woman goes into her supervisor’s office and tells him that she wants to file a sexual harassment suit against the man and explains why. The supervisor is puzzled by this and says, “What’s wrong with the co-worker telling you your hair smells nice?” The woman replies, “He’s a midget!”

  142. For those Panites with younger kids (Jack and Cj pop into mind first) , I recommend the little Lego Heroica games. They’re easy, fast (average game is 15 minutes) and fun for all ages. Hubby and I have become addicted. It’s actually amazing how much of the D & D experience comes across in these quick little games

  167. Hmm, rereading that article:

    But having done so, it feels as if science fiction film makers other than James Cameron have said “our work here is done” and offered spinny killbots rather than significant women roles.

    Clearly he’s never seen Avatar or The Abyss. That being said I’d definitely have put Sarah Connor in the mix if not for the first Terminator film.

  168. Wasn’t Mary Elizabeth Mastrae7ntonioioqwesdnf a powerful character in The Abyss?

    I’d also nominate the female lead the Day the Earth Stood Still, who was remarkably empowered, especially for a 1950s film. Still not as rich as Ripley or Jodie in Contact.

  169. This may be blatantly obvious, but I think Scalzi was also implying that this limitation only applies to US SF films.

    Once you get out of that limited collection, it gets easier to find counter examples. How about Mrs. Incredible from The Incredibles. I agree Eowyn is a great character, though LotR is Fantasy. And, I’d even say La Femme Nikita could be considered contemporary SF.

    • Oh Le Femme Nikita! One of my all time fav films, but I have a hard time classifying as Sci-Fi. Then again if Eternal Sunshine is then I have no problem classifying Le Femme as such. I do love this choice. Nikita’s growth in the film never once waivers into “oh save me” or “oh poor me” territory. Tho it does touch the edge it never cuts thru

      • There’s a scene that is in both versions of the movie (original French and US), in the original Nikita is curious about a computer mouse and is told what it is. In the US version the translated dialogue is the same but it’s a trackball.

        I have no idea why I remember that.

    • The swoony feature of Eowyn is actually a reason I like her over Ripley. Not because women have to be swooney to fit the femine profile, but I don’t feel like Eowyn sacrifices who she is to be who she is. She knows what she wants, she fights for it and she isn’t conforming to what other’s expectations are for her. She doesn’t stiffle her attraction to Aragorn to appear “strong.” I’d like to hear some female Deadpanite perspective on this as well.

    • (:ftb: decided to put this post about 47 comments back but I want it HERE)

      I also was under the impression that Scalzi was referring to not just “strong” female characters but “leading role” characters (as opposed to supporting roles).
      So “Contact” would apply but I’m not sure “Abyss” does. Of course that raises the question … in T2 was Sarah Conor the lead role or was she a supporting character?

      • An excellent point. I thought of Sarah Conner as well. My take is that she takes on the role of strong action hero as a result of psychological trama, not because she willed it.

        • But can you say that any of any of the aforementioned heroes, Nikita and Ripley included, were less psychologically traumatized than Sarah? I think willing it and trauma go hand in hand in many of these

          • Point taken, but I think there is a case to be made on the severity of personality change Sarah goes through from the start of Terminator to the end.

          • No I do agree on that. Its actually why I reserve to put Sarah in there. Maybe its not fair… but that whole first film she was the Sci-Fi equivalent of Willie Scott. And unlike most hipsters, I like Willie Scott.

  175. I think he’s also talking about interesting, well-developed (cough), appealing (cough) characters.

    There really is no female Tyler Durden, Jules Winfield, Indiana Jones, Ash, etc. – – other than Ripley.

  180. I was trying to decide why I don’t put Tomb Raider on par with Aliens as far as the Scalzi female model goes.

    I guess maybe Laura Croft is a little bit too much “spinning fembot”.
    Of course that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy a good spin … it’s just different.

  186. I guess Scalzi is discounting movies based on TV as well. Otherwise we could include all four ladies from Serenity just based on their actions in the film. And at least some of the Star Trek movies.

    • No, River is a swirly, crazy, killy thingy. Now, Zoe…. *swoon*
      However, Serenity doesn’t really count since the female cast, aside from River, are really secondary characters in the film itself.

  187. I’d also posit that the article isn’t only talking about strong females in SF films. I think it’s well-rounded, fully-realized, three-dimensional female characters, flawed or no.

    SF/adventure lit just has a sad history of utilizing female characters as weakness or treachery in a short skirt – – damsels in distress and wicked queens – – so we often view “strength” and “toughness” as top qualities in SF females. There can be other uniquely female qualities to great female characters.

    • Agreed. Sci Fi hasnt done much to not set women’s lib back 20 years.

      In related news, and its funny you use the word “posit”, I would de-posit in most all these characters.

    • Alright, but, based on that criteria, how many male roles actually satisfy this criteria? Well rounded, fully realized, three dimensional leading male characters in Science Fiction?

      While I’m sure there’s probably more male examples than female, I’m having trouble thinking of any leading men in Sci-Fi that can match the pedestal that Scalzi has put Ellen Ripley up on.

      • Another good point!
        Would Harrison Ford’s “Indiana Jones” (from the FIRST movie)come close or is he too close to the “swirling killing machine” thingy ?

        As a side note, I once heard an episode of NPR’s Fresh Air in which an artist for Marvel was being interviewed. Terry Gross was increasingly aggressively, trying to berate him for drawing physically unrealistic portrayals of women in the comics. Finally the guy said, “Have you SEEN our male heros? Does the average REAL male human look like Superman or Batman?” The bottom line was that no kid wanted to read stories about people like themselves … they wanted to read stories about people they’d like to imagine they could be.

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