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FightingSeraph
I've been on here for over a decade and have a high level, so fucking what? Regarding my MSN and Trillian accounts: Request to be added.

Shane @FightingSeraph

Age 39, Male

Need a new one.

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Slidell, Louisiana

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FightingSeraph's News

Posted by FightingSeraph - May 25th, 2016


Yep, I'm back and it's time for a new installment of this series.

1. Scooby-Doo: It needs to be said that I don’t hate the series, but do see why John Kricfalusi, Eddie Fitzgerald, Mark Evanier, Tom Ruegger, Bill Hanna, and Joe Barbera did. Most of the show’s potential, along with the talent that worked on it, were either wasted due to bad decision making on Bill and Joe’s behalf; or squandered on bad, repetitive storylines or awful, annoying characters. Then there’s the fact that the character designs, while fine for newspaper comics, were considered unfit for animation. Can they be animated well? Probably, but not on low-budgets and stringent deadlines. However, you’d still have to work on having better scripts and characterizations. I grew up on various HB reruns in the ‘90s, but damn, Scoob and almost everything that Hanna-Barbera did from ’66 onward hasn’t aged well at all. (The same can be said about Filmation, Jay Ward, Rodger Ramjet, Ruby-Spears, etc.) Hell, John K and various NG users made better cartoons with those characters.

2. Syria: The Syrian Refugee crisis is something that has no right answer to. The fact that Obama, Bush (both of them), Clinton, Reagan, and the CIA’s operation that put Reza Khan Pahlavi, Shah of Iran, back into power led to the shitshow we see today. Those who think that the Iraq war wasn’t a mistake (e. g. Rob Maness and Joel B Pollack), are no different from the delusional dipshits who defend minimum wage laws (John Bel Edwards and the Landrieus). If assholes like Jeff Sessions and Bernie Sanders don’t want them coming here, then why don’t they support free, unregulated trade? And by that, I mean no tariffs, no domestic subsidies, no sanctions (which are counterproductive), no quotas, nor any other protectionist bullshit. I’ll tell you why: Sessions peddles baseless claims against free trade, and he supports censoring the internet. Guess who agrees with him on the latter? Dianne Feinstein and SNL’s Al Franken. Sanders, being a socialist, perpetuates tired anti-free-market claims. He says that the US is already a socialist country, but doesn’t want to reduce the size and scope of the government. Furthermore, guess who agrees with him (as well as the rest of the liberal/progressives) on taxes and regulations on small and medium sized businesses? Big Corporations, the very ones that he claims to oppose.

3. Minimum Wage Laws: The whole notion that minimum wage laws have helped the least fortunate and most vulnerable is nothing more than a malicious lie perpetuated by liberal/progressives, career Democrats, and Socialists. To quote someone called 3D Face Analysis: “Many people are unemployed due to bad laws. Minimum wage and other related laws, cause unemployment by pricing low-skilled workers out of the market, particularly among young men and minorities. Germany has high minimum wage laws and this might have caused these men to be unemployed, and in turn, causing them to resort to robbery. So the root of the problem is minimum wage laws and related laws.” And assholes like John Bel Edwards, Robert Mann, the Council for a Better Louisiana (who are nothing more than a bunch of frauds), and Lamar White, Jr want to raise it in spite of the facts. Speaking of Edwards…

4. Edwin and John Bel Edwards: We all know that he and Edwin Edwards are assholes who deserve the Hokuto Hyakuretsu Ken. In addition to being deceitful, The Cajun Prince’s bad laws did nothing but ruin the state, and force people to move to Texas just to raise their families and make ends meet. Did all the money he spent in the ‘70s, ‘80s, and ‘90s go to helping the poor, coastal restoration, infrastructure, etc.? No, it went to him, his friends, and his allies. Furthermore, he’s the reason why Louisiana is in the shitty situation that it’s in. John has ties to teachers’ unions, which means he’s opposed to private alternatives to a shitty education system that has never worked; He’s also backed by the Sheriff’s and DA’s Associations, which means he isn’t the least bit interested in reducing the state’s prison population; and just because he served in the military doesn’t make him any less of a lying bastard. As for those who uncritically support them: you have Walter Williams, Thomas Sowell, John McWhorter, Larry Elder, and Chloe Simone Valdary, all of whom are black, explaining that welfare programs have seriously hurt the poor and minorities, but refuse to listen. You have Bosch Fawstin, Edward Cline, Leonard Peikoff, Michael J Hurd, Doug Reich, Edward Snowden, and Scott Holleran who have exposed Obama and the Democrats for their blatant dishonestly, and you refuse to listen. (To be fair, Republicans aren’t any better.) You have John Stossel, Shikha Dalmia, Lew Rockwell, Jr, Tom Woods, Jr, Stefan Molyneux, David Boaz, Veronique de Rugy, Sheldon Richman, Walter Block, Bill Redpath, and Adam Kokesh explaining why the education system doesn’t work; how The Army Corps of Engineers is responsible for the Katrina flood and coastal erosion; and how the Drug War helped create the New Orleans and Baton Rouge crime problems. Again, you refuse to listen. And you have Patrick Moore, who left GreenPeace because it became anti-humanist, and anti-civilization. Once more, you refuse to listen.

5. Man of Steel: I am one of the few people who is in the middle on this movie. While it isn’t bad by any means, it just didn’t match the first two Superman films in terms of fun factor. Superman and all related characters felt like they were in the wrong movie; this film would have been better suited for Devilman or Dragon Ball Z. That, and it was in serious need of color theory.

6. Copyright Abuse: I have to agree with what Decker Shado and Doug the Nostalgia Critic have said, but feel the need to post this study by the Cato Institute: http://www.cato.org/publications/policy-analysis/circumventing-competition-perverse-consequences-digital-millennium-copyright-act

If you really care about creator rights, I suggest that you read this study. Hell, even if you don’t care, you should still read it. Oh, and one more thing: anyone who pulls a “________ is funded/backed by _______” will be mocked because A: it is not an argument; B: it shows that you don’t have any real arguments; and C: are just damn stupid. If anyone wonders why Big Corporations have so much pull in politics; it’s because of big government, not in spite of it. It’s like saying why Louisiana’s coast is eroding away while ignoring/whitewashing the Army Corps of Engineers’ role in that and the Katrina flooding. (Read http://www.downsizinggovernment.org/usace for more info.)

7. 8 Man After: This is one instance where I, to an extent, disagree with Bennett the Sage. I do agree that the female lead (and the story as a whole) could have been better written, the themes better handled, better edited, and the reference to the Japanese Constitution felt out of place. (The live-action movie also had similar problems.) However, I did enjoy this due to its well-drawn animation, excellent dub, cool fight scenes, Tony Gleck (who is a bad-ass villain), and kick-ass soundtrack. Trust me, there are worse shows that I’ve seen. (Looks at Tengen Toppa Gurenn Lagann and Dokuro-Chan.)

8. Selective Service: Am I the only person who thinks that forcing people to register for Selective Service under penalty of prison time and 250,000 dollar fines is absurd, revolting, and just plain un-American? Both the Draft and Kennedy’s decision to go into Vietnam led to the rise of Left-wing domestic terrorists, United States Soldiers killing innocents en masse such as the infamous My Lai Massacre, and veterans who did survive either died off quickly, or were fucked up beyond reproach. Both of my Granddads and Opelousas State Senator Elbert Guillory fought in that hopelessly misguided conflict thinking that they were spreading freedom and liberty. I’m going to go out on a limb by saying that their efforts were all in vain. The fact that many Republicans such as war vet turned warmonger Tom Cotton want to bring the draft back is just mind-blowing. Oh, and guess who agrees with Sen Cotton? Jon Stewart, which makes him look incredibly hypocritical. By the way, here’s some additional reading: http://sheldonfreeassociation.blogspot.com/2016/02/end-dont-extend-draft-registration.html

9. "Free" Health care: A lot of people consider this to be a great idea. Too bad they never put enough, if any, real thought into it. This will always fail due to having no prices nor the discrepancies that come with them. Furthermore, this always results in everyone having far substandard treatment. I even read that in Italy, there are hospital staffers who smoke. (Thanks to the Cato Institute for bringing this up.) I suggest that you read https://mises.org/blog/laura-hillier-rip and if this doesn’t change your mind on “Free” healthcare, then...fuck it.

10. Bludgeoning Angel Dokuro-chan: Ugh, this had so much potential to be funny, but ended up being stupid, annoying, and in some cases, teeth-grindingly hateful. Especially Dokuro herself, who almost never gets any real comeuppance for her tormenting Sakura, or those two guys that were transformed into a monkey and a dog. Speaking of the male lead, is it just me, or does he come off as more sad than despicable? The comical blood geysers pale in comparison to Mortal Kombat and Rats on Cocaine, and even if they were funny, got old after the first episode. The running gag involving Sakura and pedophilia? NEVER FUCKING EXPLAINED ASIDE FROM A BULLSHIT CLIP AND ALSO GOT OLD, REPETITIVE, AND FUCKING ANNOYING FAST! Furthermore, many of the classmates somehow turn on him due to Sabato showing some film from 2025 depicting all of the women as lolis is complete bull. At least she could have presented stronger evidence or have a Post-cancellation-Family-Guy-esque joke involving Sakura and child molestation. Alas, no incriminating evidence. Dean Packis’ Father Tucker blows this away in terms of character, voice work, and humor. I wouldn’t mind seeing Garth Ennis’ take on this series; that would be an actual improvement. (Even if it would end up being a repeat of Herogasm and Crossed.) Come to think of it, there were hentai doujinshi based off of this series that was far more enjoyable than the actual show. If you’re going to do outrageous comedy, fine, but for fuck’s sake, do it right? (To be fair, I got a couple of smirks, and only Shizuki was a likeable character, but that was it.)

11. Bob Clampett: With Stan Freberg’s death last year, I’m going to talk about the one man who gave his career a jump start: Bob Clampett. It needs to be said that I am well aware of his lawsuit against Freberg for doing a straight-up clone of Cecil the Seasick Sea Serpent; mistreatment of Daws Butler; firing of Bill Scott for wanting a raise; and taking credit for cartoons that he had nothing to do with. On the other hand, most of his cartoons are hilarious and well-made, especially considering that there were worse cartoons back in the day. (Most of the late ‘30s-early ‘40s Screen Gems and UPA after Bill Scott left come to mind.) But what really pisses me off is Thad Komorowski’s attacks on the man’s character. It’s one thing to dislike his cartoons, but using that to further defame the man is ostentatious, and when you factor in how much Thad likes Sita Sings the Blues, downright stupid.

12. John Oliver: I’ll admit that I agree with him on Abortion, Mandatory Minimums, Torture, Asset Forfeiture, Executions, the border wall, and, to an extent, the aforementioned refugee ordeal. On the other hand, I sure as shit wish that he’d stop pandering to Maher/Stewart fanboys and start skewering the Democrats for their shit. (E. G. Racism, corruption, poverty pimping, etc.)

13. Free Trade: Contrary to what Bernie Sanders, Donald Trump, Jeff Sessions, and Hillary Clinton say, Free Trade benefits everybody. Not just those who we’re trading with, but people on the domestic front as well. Furthermore, if those four assholes don’t want random peckers from third-world countries here, then free trade is the only effective way to keep them out. (As I said before, recreating the Thai-Malay wall will not only cost at least 60 Billion dollars, but will also be counterproductive.) There have been plenty of studies from the Cato, Mises, and Competitive Enterprise Institutes that prove my point. Furthermore, sanctions and embargoes have been ineffective in changing dictators’ ways, and hurt the very civilians that sure as shit would benefit from free trade. For all of you who bitch about sweatshops, those third-world guys don’t mind the work because it beats the fuck out of being dependent on foreign aid and subsistence farming.

14. Inner-city Black issues: Before I discuss this and get shot down for doing so, many of my friends are Black, and many of them decently educated. I live near New Orleans, which is synonymous with all the bad shit that goes on in their neighborhoods. Firstly, while the single motherhood deal is a problem, the much bigger problem is bad parenting. I think it is high time to stop spanking, yelling, and fussing at your children; it just further destroys the bond between parent and child, dumbs them down, and makes them even more aggressive. To Saint Augustine alumni, you are every bit as wrong on this topic as the state’s liberals are on the next topic: Education. I find it disdainfully hypocritical of Democrats that claim that they’re for a well-educated populace while trying everything they can to stifle all attempts at getting Black kids out of shitty, government-run schools that don’t really educate anyone unfortunate enough to be stuck there. Never mind private schools, homeschooling, and unschooling. Look, I revile creationism with a passion, but compulsory education has been a total disaster. Third, it is high time to abolish occupational licensing, minimum wage laws, regulations on entry-level businesses, etc. Especially considering that many of those laws are rooted in racism. Fourthly, I’ll also suggest getting rid of law-enforcement lobby groups, such as the Sheriffs and DA’s Associations. They do nothing but obfuscate and lie in order to keep far too many Blacks in jail, while truly violent criminals manage to get released. Did I mention that the reason why they got so powerful is because of the likes of Edwin Edwards? I’d also suggest ending the anti-drug, anti-prostitution, and anti-sodomy laws, which have contributed to and exacerbated inner-city crime. Five, it’s also time to get people off of welfare, which has also contributed to this majorly. It’s also amusing that conservatives complain about welfare, yet as soon as they get into power; they don’t do a damned thing to get people off of it. That, and their tendency to back corporate welfare. (Looks at Rick Santorum and Chris Christie.) Finally, do not vote Democrat ever again. They’re the ones who put them in the misery that they’re in, and have a history of racism that stretches all the way back to slavery.

15. A need for certain redundancies: This is going to be a shocker to Apple fanboys, Netflix staffers, and so on and so forth, but I think that there is a need for redundancy. We’re still going to need tapes, print, optical discs, memory cards, books, cartridges, etc. for when there is an Internet crash or similar shit; at least we won’t be totally screwed.

16. The WWF/WWE's PG limit: I see why Vince would have the regular broadcast wrestling programs PG, but for Pay per view events he should turn up the violence and themes. Speaking of the WWF/WWE, kicking Hulk Hogan off because of his rant while ignoring the racially suggestible gimmicks of other wrestlers (example: Rowdy Roddy Piper in blackface) was a big mistake on McMahon’s part. (And for that matter, Vince's own offensive statements.)

17. Capitalism and the Family: This is one of the best, most poignant articles I have ever read: http://fee.org/freeman/capitalism-and-the-family/ The one man, one woman family structure is actually a rarity throughout history. (There's actual evidence to prove this.) It is also imperative to say that homosexual couples are better at familial stability, less prone to abuse, have lower divorce rates, and don't have accidental children; which is saying a whole lot. If dipshit rightists were really concerned about familial destruction, then why do they continue to shill for the drug war—which has been just as destructive as the welfare system that dumbass liberals still defend—or America's brain-dead foreign policy—which resulted in the deaths of countless fathers, mothers, husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, sons, and daughters? (Here's a clue: there's a better way to thwart terrorists, and I'll get to that later.) It is not the government's job to force people to get married, feed the poor, throw people in jail for oral/anal sex (it hasn't stopped the spread of HIV/AIDS, Gonorrhea, Chlamydia, etc.), lock them up for taking a few tokes, etc. Why? The Tenth Amendment of The Bill of Rights is proof of that.

18. Islamic Violence: When you really think about it, the likes of Al Qaeda, Hezbollah, Islamic State, etc. really aren't that radical. I could comment on the Qur'an's inconsistencies, but that's not what I want to do. Besides, several others already have. If people in this country want to really solve this problem; there's a better way to do so: Make them question their faith, culture, and themselves. That, and support unregulated free trade.

19. Michael Bay: The only film I enjoyed from him was the '07 Transformers. In regards to his obscuring of visual clarity underneath artistic tics; he wants to make the next Rambo. However, whereas Stallone and those that worked with him had the skills, talent, tact, and understanding to pull off what they did in the '80s; Bay has neither of those. What I said won't make his films any better, but an explanation was needed.

20. John F Kennedy: I don't know why he still has that glowing reputation surrounding him; especially when you factor in his brothers and some little known facts. First of all, I heard from Edward Cline that he, along with Joe Jr., Ted, Robert, and Patrick, venerated communists and fascists alike. Two, he was friends with Louisiana's own Edwin Edwards via both of them having the same campaign manager. Three, he got this country involved in the Vietnam War. Four, I have also heard that he even sent the IRS to go after his critics. Finally, I am sick of the conspiracy theories surrounding his assassination. If there Really Was a second gunman on that grassy knoll, people would have rooted him out.

21. New Cutey Honey: Is it just me, or is this the best anime that nobody aside from four people ever bothered with? Seriously, an OVA sequel to Go Nagai's 1973 TV anime that was made in 1994, then dubbed a year later is still better than Neon Genesis Evangelion (which was also dubbed by ADV), Trigun*, Tengen Toppa Gurinn Lagann, Hayao Miyazaki's movies, Shinichiro Watanabe's shows*, Gundam Wing, and Chrono Crusade. (*=Not my thing, sorry) It's funny, the fights are excellent, the music kicks ass, the characters are excellent, and just plain entertaining. Too bad Toei couldn't complete the series considering episode 8's budget problems, which is a let down. Kudos to Go Nagai himself for choosing Jessica Calvello as Honey Kisaragi personally. The only other flaws this has is that A) Virtual Hacker was an easily-killed wuss and B) there wasn't much of an actual fight between Honey and Dolmeck. Then again, with all of that armor, that would have been a bitch to animate. Now let's compare this to another OVA that had some the same voice talent: Virgin Fleet. The premise, while original, is so stupid that it's not funny at all; the characters are too stupid/assholic to be relatable/compelling; each episode's script was lousy; and what the hell was the creator of Sakura Wars on anyway? Finally, how come none of Go Nagai's characters save for the female lead get the M. U. G. E. N. treatment?

22. Jon Stewart leaving the Daily Show: As I said before, I like this man as an actor; however, he was as every bit of a partisan hack as many of his right-wing counterweights, and an intellectually dishonest coward. As for The Daily Show's accuracy, He and his writers are notorious for editing guests with dissenting viewpoints interviews and refusing to release the unedited tapes. In fact, these quotes from Reason Magazine's comments section summarizes things much better than I: <i>John|7.18.15 @ 12:57PM|#

He could be funny. As long as Bush was in office, he was serving the purpose of making fun of the powerful. The moment Obama came in office, his complete lack of integrity transformed him into a vicious hack for the powerful.

More than that though, is his cowardice and dishonesty. Stewart never did anything to stop his audience from taking him seriously and in fact loved it. Yet, every time someone tried to hold him accountable for the things he said and did he tried to claim he was just a comedian. Okay, then tell your audience that.

For example, his show is notorious for refusing to release the unedited versions of the interviews they do and thus preventing the subjects from proving how distorted and unfair the editing of them is. When called on this Stewart claims it is just an entertainment show and not a real news show and thus he is under no obligation to do so.</i>

<i>timbo|7.28.15 @ 4:45PM|#

In a hilarious twist to his otherwise clever routine of looking confused, then sick, then screaming at all things not provided in his talking points from the white house press secretary, Stewart's last show was briefly outed as his secret visits to the white house were revealed this week.

One does not have to have any political affiliation or social high ground to understand that he simply was not funny.

His delivery was as easy to forecast as a punch line from Friends, and just as terrible. The only thing he offered was that he will likely go down as better than all of the tools on comedy central lately. He certainly carries the water for the prog propaganda machine, but at least he was a tiny bit funnier than that Wilbon guy. HE SUCKS.

The only comedy that is left in the world is to make fun of the united states for being the herd of fag sheep they are. The punch line is that citizens of the US do what they are told with no pushback. They can be driven to the deep end by comedians like Stewart that are not funny.

Saying Stewart changed the face of news delivery is like saying ...... punch line????</i>

<i>F. Whiny Comments, Jr.|7.18.15 @ 1:06PM|#

The Daily Show is what happens when you fuse group-think, applause comedy, and Def-con 1-level smug into one colossal turd.

Go fuck yourself Stewart, and may your departure crush TDS' ratings so badly that it sinks and dies. The Man Show, even when Rogan and Stanhope replaced Corolla and Kimmel, was more relevant and thought-provoking.

In closing, since Reason asked that we share a memorable moment from TDS, I remember this one time Stewart unloaded on Sarah Palin and then they edited a video to make the interviewee look bad. HILARIOUS.</i>

<i>Greg Gutfelt's Nutpunch|8.6.15 @ 1:02PM|#

That is not a matter of artistic license. You can't blame his writers for that.

He make fun of democrats at times but never because that was the policy direction of the show. He did it just enough to get "cred" of being "impartial". He would never do it if it didn't provide this false halo to his audience.

Jon Stewart was a blatant partisan hack, masquerading as a comedian, masquerading as a news organization. It's a masterpiece of propaganda, and it worked on several levels.</i>

<i>Bill Dalasio|8.6.15 @ 8:32AM|#

Good piece overall. I would pick a nit, however. Jon Stewart was never "an honest commentator seeking his own truth" (or words to that effect). We're talking about a guy who edited discussions or responses to make opposing arguments look worse than they were and would put on his clown nose whenever somebody challenged him ("Oh, buy my show is on Comedy Central...."). Stewart was as much a partisan shill as any of the people he called as much.</i>

<i>the other Jim|8.6.15 @ 9:47AM|#

Thank you for pointing that out. His show's production was dishonest as hell, and he was a coward for claiming he wasn't supposed to be taken seriously whenever anyone called him on the dishonesty.

Jon Stewart is basically the TV version of Krugman, except not angry: He tells smug liberals what they want to hear.</i>

If there is something I learned from this, just because you're great at one thing, doesn't mean you're great at everything else.

23. Autism: Has it ever occurred to anti-vaccine dipshits that this disorder has plenty to do with genetics, and not vaccination? Furthermore, it was liberals who spread this shit like primer on a freshly (sand) blasted car. I'd also like to say that anyone who is opposed to STD vaccination because of mythical innocence deserves the Hokuto Hagan Ken. (Looks at the Duck Dynasty dipshits, who ought to be forced to Sins of the Sisters ad nauseum. Having them killed by Kenshiro would be an act of mercy.)

24. Maggie McNeill: No, she's not related to Beast Wars' Scott McNeil. This former prostitute knows her shit, and I think her web log has plenty of food for thought. http://maggiemcneill.wordpress.com
 


Posted by FightingSeraph - December 27th, 2014


166722_141970484712_dbd_apple_watch.png1. Michael Sporn's Death: I knew when he wasn't posting regularly that something was up. While I haven't seen any of his films; Poe looked like something worthwhile. Unfortunately, his death from pancreatic cancer killed the chances of that getting finished. To be honest, I was expecting him to recover, but that turned out to be a fool's hope.

2. Rick Santorum: Dr. Michael Hurd and Edward Cline were right to criticize him and this country's conservative faction. Seriously, he's basically another man in the government-control obsessed, Barack Obama/Edwin Edwards/Mitt Romney/Newt Gingrich tree. If it is between extreme socialists, the extremely religious, and/or corrupt moochers running this mercantilist, overbearing, surveillance obsessed, war addicted, schizophrenic, hypocritical government; is the United States still savable/worth saving? In case you are wondering: I do not, nor will ever endorse conspiracy theories.

3. Hayao Miyazaki: From the films that I have seen from Japan's most highly regarded animated filmmaker; they aren't as good as both critics and the general audience proclaim them to be. Kiki's Delivery Service felt like a sterile, expert-but-empty excercize; Princess Mononoke came off as confused and had nothing but an “I hate everything everyone's doing complex;” and Laputa felt like he was trying too hard. However, he is an excellent draftsman, and I do agree with him on the following: The Fleischer Brothers (though their influence on his animation style rarely shows), a dislike towards most anime, and a common complaint regarding Japanese voice actors (almost all of them sound the same).

4. Gnash: I've been telling people about this through e-mails, and it is the GNU Flash Player. They have made versions for Windows, Raspberry Pi, Android, Wii, Haiku (open source implementation of the Be Operating System.), Amiga One (Hyperion Entertainment bought what was left of the old company), PS3, etc. I have also suggested to those that I have emailed to tell as many people about this. Here's the links:

http://www.gnu.org/software/gnash

http://www.gnashdev.org

http://wiki.gnashdev.org/building_for_android

Rob Savoye deserves both our thanks, respect, and support.

5. Filmation: With both Lou Scheimer and Hal Sutherland dead, I'm going to be honest on Filmation: they weren't very good in spite keeping jobs stateside. Fat Albert was mildly enjoyable at times, but the rest of that studio's cartoons were either vapid (Superman) or pretty damned shitty (Mighty Mouse). Look, Lou Scheimer appeared to be a nice guy in interviews, and yet he didn't give a shit about how his studio's output turned out to be. I mean, John Kricfalusi and his friends worked at that studio and hated how they had to trace model sheets on every show they worked on; Milton Gray had a nice-looking walk cycle for Flash Gordon, but the production manager rejected it for fear of embarrassing the studio heads; and for every good storyline that Paul Dini and J Michael Straczynki wrote, there were a shitload of badly-written dreck that got approved. (To be fair, other studios at that time had those same problems in varying degrees.)

6. Roland AIRA: This series of instruments also has left me conflicted. For starters, I like the designs, MIDI/USB enhancements, and the SH-101 add-on. On the other hand, the TB-3 looks like a cross between the TB-303 and the Kaoss Pad 3. I mean, couldn't they have used a single two-waveform oscillator like the original and the numerous clones such as Bassbot's TT-303 or Mode Machines' x0xbox? Or for that matter, re-release the originals with MIDI/USB enhancements akin to what Korg did with the MS-20?

7. Robin Williams' Suicide: I have to concur with what Stefan Molyneux said in his “The Truth About” series, along with many of Free Domain Radio's members. I liked most of his movies such as Popeye and Death to Smoochy, and despite his personal deficiencies, was a genuine successor to the kind of comedy that Bob Clampett and Tex Avery did. (The other was Jim Carrey, but he fucked up after Bruce Almighty.) Here is what really bothers me: How come it is okay to downplay one person's (Such as Mr. Williams or our own Ben Spurgin) achievements because of how they died, but can't criticize the equally dead Edd Gould's cartoons due to his cancer death? In addition, I have to concur with what Maddox had to say not only on how ABC covered the story, but how various other News outlets didn't credit him for pointing out ABC News' little hypocrisy. Speaking of which, it reminds me of all of those people who only credit YouTube for the Internet Animation Revolution. Never mind Atom Films, Newgrounds, Ifilm, TX Mafia, Deviant Art, etc., which have been in Internet Entertainment years before YouTube. (And people bitch about Bob Clampett taking credit for cartoons that he had nothing to do with?)

8. Wii Homebrew: Yep, I softmodded my Wii to play homebrews. So far I have WiiMC (which does swf, MP3, MP4, MOV, WMA, WMV, OGG, OGM, and various other audio, video, and image formats), Wii Doom (An exceptionally worthwhile port of Id's original), Wii Quake (Which suffers from Wii Remote hypersensitivity), The Prophecy (A good Castlevania clone that ought to be finished), Wii Xplore (which hopefully will get Gnash soon), Wii Abuse (another amazing PC game port), ProjectGMS (A Mega Man clone with amazing graphics), Nowhere (an unfinished First-person adventure game in Spanish), Engine 02 (Now under a different name), and many others. Here's where I learned about this: http://www.wiibrew.org and there's a page for Wii U: http://www.wiiubrew.org

9. PS4 vs Xbox One: Am I the only person who thinks that the X-Box 360 and the PS3 were powerful enough to not warrant replacements for another two or so years? Another thing is why the hell would anyone want to stream videos on a video game system? Sure, I have Netflix on my Wii, but never use it. If I had a choice, it will get deleted. In spite of Nintendo's overreaction to this site, the Wii U had all of its features since it was launched. In addition, it has plenty of great stuff that no one has noticed. (This is also why Maddox plugged the E70 by Nokia.) Oh, and one more thing: Here's one game that I would love to have...

10. Strider 2014: After seeing videos of this game, I have to say this is one of the few high-budget games that are worthwhile. Double Helix did an excellent job at mixing both the NES game and Strider 2 together with a visual style reminiscent of the much-maligned Beast Machines. As much as I want a copy of this game, there are a few things worth mentioning: One) There's no lip-sync on any of the characters. Honestly, when Capcom made Spawn: In the Demon's Hand years ago--which had both lip-sync and jaw movement—it looks disconcerting and amateur. Especially with such excellent voice acting. Two) The music, while not horrendous, isn't that conductive for that kind of action aside from the remixed songs. Would it not have killed them to get either Chris Huelsbeck, Tommy Tallarico, Jesper Kyd, Yasuhisa Watanabe, Tamayo Kawamoto, Yuki Iwai, etc? Three) Why wasn't Moto Kikaku also credited for co-creating the series? (Unless they were mentioned in the credits.) Four)No Wii U version? Honestly, that system could have handled it provided that they played their cards right. Five)I don't have a Steam account, and probably won't. By the way, I do own a sword similar to Hiryu's Cipher.

11. Valve Software: While this company isn't a bad developer by any means; I do find them to be very overvalued. I mentioned before about my dislike towards the original Half-Life on account of being really bland and all the hype surrounding Counter-Strike. On the other hand, Portal has something that was actually original going on, and Team Fortress 2 had a sense of humor. Regarding their Steam Service: It's great for small developers and finding hard-to-find stuff, but I feel that there is a need for redundancy when it comes to selling video games, etc. I'd also mention how similar their service is to the Satellaview add-on to the Super NES/Super Famicom. (I'm not saying that they are ripping St-Giga and Bandai (Namco) off, but that comparison had to be made.) Finally, if Gabe Newell hates consoles so much, then: Why did he agree to port Half-Life to the Dreamcast and PS2; port both of the Portal games, TF2, and HL2 to the X-Box 360 and PS3; or bothering with the Steam Machines?

12. CGI: Let me be frank, I like CGI when it is done right. (Rendering and animaton blends in with the sets/actors/etc. When it comes to effects; judicious use of traditional animation principles in animated cartoons.) Unlike Mark Kausler or Thad K, I consider CGI animation akin to clay; you can squash and stretch it. (Examples: Conker's Bad Fur Day, Banjo-Tooie, Donkey Kong 64, Mario Party 3, and Luigi's Mansion.) Unfortunately, the focus is on painstakingly constructed realism akin to the aforementioned live action effects, which explains both DreamWorks and Blue Sky. Hell, those N64 and GameCube titles still like livelier than anything Pixar did after The Incredibles. (Though Ratatouille is the exception.) Oh, and Wall-E has very strong similarities to GiFTPiA and Chibi-Robo, and its junkyard Earth setting looks like it was ripped out of Heavy Traffic.

13. Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe: While I have not played this game; there is something that needs to be said. Just because Batman doesn't kill people doesn't justify taking out the extreme violence that MK is (in)famous for. Wouldn't it be much better if they just gave the Caped Crusader a friendship and a babality instead? In addition, Deathstroke is one of DC's most violent characters, which further makes themselves look hypocritical. Thirdly, if Midway was serious about being back in black, they should have just did a follow up to MK: Shaolin Monks, but with Scorpion as the main character. I mean, why DC? Why not Capcom or SNK? (MK vs Darkstalkers would have been a better choice.)

14. Conspiracy Theories: Ugh, am I sick of this shit or what? 9/11 “Truth”, Anti-Vaccine drivel, birthers, climate alarmists, etc. Yeah, I went as far as to compare the warming whiners to the Infowars dickheads. Seriously, if the attacks on the World Trade Center really were an inside job, then why are those saying such still alive? I mean, wouldn't they be taken out in a swift, anonymous operation? Also, wouldn't people working in those buildings notice the explosives or those planting them in the building? And to top it all off, they accuse anyone who refutes them of being shills for ever-evil corporations, while, at the same time, taking corporate money. It makes me want to fucking vomit.

15. Jay Ward and Hanna Barbera: I grew up watching cartoons from these TV cartoon pioneers, but looking back on their shows; the majority of them are really dull and/or ugly. For Ward, Scott, et al, they were hobbled by not just low budgets, but deadlines that were far more stringent than what Clampett, Jones, etc. had to deal with. It didn't help that what worked with a three-minute timeframe didn't always work when extended to five minutes or more. The latter were too self-limited and that impacted their animators, writers, and directors in a very negative way. I mean, the commercials they produced were far better than their shows, but at least Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera did admit to how much most of their output sucked. (Even if they hardly did anything about it.)

16. Downloadable Content: I'm in the middle when it comes down to this trend. While there are games that benefited from this (My Life as King, My Life as Darklord, and Mario Kart 8 come to mind); I cannot stand it when companies take out features from prototypical versions, only to sell them back later. It's a complete jape and has to stop. In addition, the micro-transaction craze needs to stay in the arcades.
 


Posted by FightingSeraph - November 4th, 2013


http://www.lp.org/blogs/staff/ken-kaplan-for-a-new-jersey-with-no-state-income-tax

http://capitalismmagazine.com/2013/11/americas-social-security-ponzi-scheme-congressionally-duped-americans/

http://capitalismmagazine.com/2013/11/obamacare-old-new-program-establish-government-monopoly-health-insurance/

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304402104579151850028363502

http://fawstin.blogspot.com/2013/11/tea-party-or-ea-party.html
I don't know what people here think of this guy, but at least he knows how to draw and write.

http://blog.paxholley.net/2010/11/08/7-kids-cartoons-based-on-r-rated-movies/
I remember seeing three of these shows, but that doesn't mean I still like them.

http://www.cato.org/blog/copyright-terms-tpp-too-long-or-way-too-long

Here's some Commodore 64 sites:
http://tnd64.unikat.sk/
http://codebase64.org/doku.php
http://www.c64-wiki.com/index.php/Main_Page

Edit: Here's some more...
http://reason.com/24-7/2013/11/03/nobel-peace-prize-winner-obama-reportedl
http://reason.com/archives/2013/11/05/getting-past-the-john-f-kennedy-mytholog/
http://rare.us/story/rachel-maddow-mocked-rand-paul-for-plagiarism-but-shes-been-accused-of-it-too/
To be honest, I don't like Fox News, but also disapprove of Maddow.

Other stuff: I've been checking out Hyun's Dojo recently, and for a competitor, they're the kind of site that Tx Mafia and The Backalleys should have been. Here's the link:
http://www.hyunsdojo.com

Another Edit:
http://capitalismmagazine.com/2013/11/victims-capitalism/
It kills me that people so quick to blame all of the bad shit of the world on Capitalism and not the good.

http://capitalismmagazine.com/2013/11/stealthy-moves-freedom-speech/
http://capitalismmagazine.com/2013/11/psychology-islamic-culture/
http://www.libertarianism.org/columns/libertarian-case-against-death-penalty
http://www.fee.org/the_freeman/detail/neighborhood-effects-or-culture-rot
http://boltax.blogspot.com/2011/01/extended-bio-whirl.html
http://boltax.blogspot.com/2010/12/extended-bios.html

Well, that's the rest of it...


Posted by FightingSeraph - October 26th, 2013


First of all, I just bought an M-Audio Keystation 88 ES with Ableton Live (Lite version), and am enjoying them so far. Problem is, I don't have much room to put it.

Second, here's a local tv show worth watching:

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This guy used to creep me out when I was four-to-six years old, and now he's pretty funny. If there's one thing that I love about YouTube; watching old TV shows would be it. Here's the website: http://www.morgus.com

Oh, if you haven't, I suggest checking out my last post, but that's old hat.


Posted by FightingSeraph - October 11th, 2013


1. Tibet: A lot of people may hate me for saying this, but I think this part of Asia would be better off without the Dalai Lama. While I may agree with a good portion of his philosophy; how Tibet was run before 1959 is an entirely different matter. When the Dalai Lama was in power, Tibet was not a nice place. The monasteries were living large while the Tibetan people were basically serfs with no rights or private property. In addition, I've heard reports of monks over there raping random women and children, law breakers being subject to cruel and unusual punishment, and blood-drinking rituals with bowls made out of skulls. Need proof? Just watch Penn & Teller: Bullshit! on Holier than Thou.

2. Josh Palmer (Zeurel): Even though he's one of the better animators on Newgrounds; it doesn't compensate for the lack of worthwhile content. Adventure Babies was a very bad case of “expert-but-empty” and Zombie Murder Explosion Die would make Eddsworld, Legendary Frog, and The Weebl look like Tomorrow's Nobodies. Aside from Ashley Snaps, he's just mediocre shit who hasn't taken what he said about Nin10doh 64th to heart.

3. Windows 8: I'm going to be honest and say that this version of Windows is a case of not bad, but not great. First of all, I just want Windows to be Windows as Linux to be Linux rather than iPOS or Blandroid. I don't see what's so great about the iPhone, iPad, and their competition when they're little more than stripped-down rehashes of existing technology. (iPhone = PDA + Cell phone – buttons – stylus – any other practicality; iPad = Wacom Cintiq – pen – media slots – most of the buttons.) Second, it seems that Microsoft hasn't learned from their mistakes, but at least it isn't crash prone like Win ME was. In addition, it's also worth mentioning the bad direction that they've taken with X-Box 360 that doesn't involve unreliability (crappy interface, inability to copy downloaded games onto a disc or SD card, DRM, rejecting used games.) On the other hand, at least there's a program called Classic Shell for those sick of the bullshit that this, Win 7, and Vista have been plagued with. Oh, and speaking of X-Box...

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4. The George Zimmerman Ordeal: I do not believe that Zimmerman is a cold-blooded killer, but someone who overreacted to a potential threat to him. It doesn't help that Trayvon Martin wasn't the nicest guy around. (I have heard reports that he was a delinquent, but would like solid evidence to prove it.) Furthermore, there have also been reports of gang violence as a result of that verdict. While we're on the subject of mistaken self defense, a black man by the name of Cory Maye accidentally shot a police officer when the officer barged into his apartment thinking that Maye was a drug dealer. I mean, Maye wasn't a violent person or a hardcore addict, so what's all the fuss? It turns out that officer was the son of the police chief of Prentiss, MS, which got Maye in hot water and got him sentenced to jail because of the local police's mistake. It kills me that Maye got the legal shaft and Zimmerman will now live in constant fear whereas Martin is hailed as an “outstanding citizen.”

5. Michael Barrier: Here's one man who I think people on Newgrounds should listen to: http://www.michaelbarrier.com
After reading various articles on his site, I have to say that I agree with a vast majority his views on animation such as his criticism of Pixar, Hayao Miyazaki, and present-day Disney in general. However, while I do see where he is coming from on Ralph Bakshi and Richard Williams; the former managed to maintain a better track record than the latter. Besides, there are greater examples of on-screen self-destruction.

6. John Kricfalusi's Depressing Studio Stories: I know that all of you are familiar with John K and Ren & Stimpy, but here's some of his accounts of working at crappy tv cartoon studios:
http://johnkstuff.blogspot.com/2010/02/what-was-most-depressing-80s-studio-1.html
http://johnkstuff.blogspot.com/2010/02/depressing-80s-cartoon-studios-2-hanna.html
http://johnkstuff.blogspot.com/2010/02/depressing-studios-3-dic.html
This may provide an explanation as to why he has a distaste towards how most cartoons are made throughout the past decades.

7. Downfall: Here's a really cool horror game by the Michalski brothers that is worth checking out:

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If you're fed up with the bad direction that Resident Evil and Silent Hill are going, then you're in for a treat. Oh, and due to its content, it got rejected from Steam. Here's the official site: http://prawkonj.republika.pl/harvest/games_downfall.html

8. Jack Tramiel's Death: It's quite surprising that his death didn't get as much coverage as it should. I mean, Tramiel founded Commodore in the '50s and created its most recognized product in the '80s: the Commodore 64. On the other hand, I do acknowledge that he and his son Sam helped run it, Atari Corp., and Amiga into the ground during the '90s. As an added bonus, Commodore originally started as a typewriter repair company.

Oh, and here's some Goa:

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Posted by FightingSeraph - October 3rd, 2013


Things That Suck About New York.

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I have to hand it to Maddox, he knows how to tear sacred cows and gris-gris new assholes. Oh, and read the comments posted on that video; they're wonderful.

A former Apple user explains why they suck these days:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjyIYRQn4Eo
Keep in mind that he also has complained about Windows and Android.

Some posts by Mark Mayerson:
http://mayersononanimation.blogspot.ca/2011/07/growth-maturity-and-decline.html
http://www.mayersononanimation.blogspot.ca/2013/09/the-wind-rises.html
http://www.mayersononanimation.blogspot.ca/2009/10/happy-birthday-ralph-bakshi.html
What can I say? Heavy Traffic is my favorite of Bakshi's films.
http://www.mayersononanimation.blogspot.ca/2008/11/sleeping-beauty-puts-me-to-sleep.html
Ever think about why Hayao Miyazaki hated Sleeping Beauty so much? This post explains why.

Some stuff from Michael Sporn:
http://www.michaelspornanimation.com/splog/?p=1522
http://www.michaelspornanimation.com/splog/?p=1523

Enjoy this while you still can. By the way, I'm planning on doing Things on My Mind Datatrack 25 sometime.

Edit: Here's some Zone-Tan fanart I found.
http://gelbooru.com/index.php?page=post&s=view&id=1901629


Posted by FightingSeraph - September 26th, 2013


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Here's the fifth season, which was mainly older episodes that were introduced and narrated by a Stop-motion Optimus Prime and a kid named Tommy Kennedy. I heard that Peter Cullen admitted that these were really terrible, even by '80s standards.

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Here's a fan dubbed version of Headmasters, which beats the half-assed Star TV dub by miles. I don't know what the NG staff thinks of this, but thought it was worth sharing.

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This is Masterforce, which involves the Powermasters, Small Headmasters, the Seacons, Pretenders, and Black Zarak.

Edit:

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Beast Wars II, a Japanese take on Beast Wars.

In other news...
http://blog.paxholley.net/2010/11/19/microsoft-windows-1-0-was-released-25-years-ago-today/
http://blog.paxholley.net/2010/08/24/windows-95-was-released-15-years-ago/


Posted by FightingSeraph - September 19th, 2013


Here's something that was supposedly based off of Frank Miller's original Robocop 2 script:
http://www.i-mockery.com/comics/longbox24/default.php
As for the upcoming remake: I kinda like the design, but it will end up being a generic sausage movie. On the other hand, that comic will make it a bit more bearable.
Dragon Half

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John K on Calvin and Hobbes
http://johnkstuff.blogspot.com/search/label/Cavin%20and%20Hobbes
Finally, some satire...

The Robocop 2 comic


Posted by FightingSeraph - September 11th, 2013


Yep, the horror convention is coming to New Orleans this weekend and Bruce Campbell and Ron Perlman are the guests of honor. Will I be at this convention? Certainly, and here's the link: http://www.madmonsterpartygras.com

Toasty Tech on Mac vs PC:
http://toastytech.com/guis/macvspc.html
A little something on computers.

Behind the Toys:
http://www.behindthetoys.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=7195
http://www.behindthetoys.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=7198
http://www.behindthetoys.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=7205
Some prototypes to the cancelled TF Transtech line.

Android Arts' Pixel art tutorial.
http://androidarts.com/pixtut/pixelart.htm
A well-written how-to on Pixel Art.

Sebastian Mihai on the Vectrex:
http://sebastianmihai.com/main.php?t=88&n=Vectrex-Who-needs-pixels-anyway
I wonder if anyone here has known about this XY monitor system?

When Linux Fails:
http://sebastianmihai.com/main.php?t=59&n=When-Linux-fails

Finally, some old school Techno:

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Posted by FightingSeraph - September 3rd, 2013


And it's based off of Beast Wars

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Oh, this has been fan-translated:
http://www.romhacking.net/translations/16/