When is a Garfield comic funny?

The answer? When Garfield has been removed entirely and Jon is left to his own crazy hallucinations...

Some wonderful person has devoted a web-page to do just this... The comic becomes so absolutely absurd that I can't help but to laugh! Garfield Minus Garfield... go there now.

A Future Star Wars Convention Venue?

There are plans to build a new hotel on the Caspian Sea, which from one angle appears to be a very similar to a certain moon-sized space station. Of course, we can only hope that rebel spies don’t get their grubby hands on these and blow it to pieces just after completion.

Actually, though it looks like a globe, it really isn't... click the link above to see views from other angles.

The Clone Wars

Something came over the internet tubes yesterday that put a smile on my face. Star Wars: The Clone Wars, which is a half hour cartoon will be starting its series run in movie theaters as a 100 minute long episode. August 15th... I'll be there.

Speaking of that. While Samuel L. Jackson was being interviewed about the movie "Jumper" which he is staring with Haydon Christenson, he stated that he would love to lend his voice to Mace Windu's character. That would be excellent.

Haydon was asked the same question about voicing Anakin, and he said he'd jump at the opportunity. I can't say I'm suprised at that one... not that I don't think he's a good actor, I just don't see his schedule being as busy as Sam Jackson's.

Anyway... August 15. WOOT!

And Then They Pull the Rug Out from Under Us

So maybe The Hobbit won’t be made at all now. Apparently New Line Cinema, who had issues with paying Peter Jackson’s production company last year, but has since settle, also didn’t pay the Tolkien Estate a penny of the $6 Billion made from the theatrical release as well as the DVD’s. What is up with New Line… I guess someone never learned to share. Here’s a quote from the news release: New Line was required to pay 7.5 percent of gross receipts to Tolkien's estate and other plaintiffs. Let’s see… 7.5 percent of 6 Billion dollars is 450 Million dollars. You could see why the Tolkien Estate wants the money, and it is rightfully theirs based on the agreement signed before the movie rights were released.

Now here’s something interesting, also from the same article: The plaintiffs seek more than $150 million in compensatory damages, unspecified punitive damages and a court order giving the Tolkien estate the right to terminate any rights New Line may have to make films based on other works by the author, including "The Hobbit."

So fine… you want your money, and I can totally understand that. But if you win you not only take the money, you also stop The Hobbit from being made? That’s punishing the fans just as much as it is New Line… and it’s also punishing yourself. That part makes no sense to me. Yes, they are made at New Line, as was Peter Jackson a year ago, but they made up after everything settle.

Can’t we all just get along, and make some decent movies that are actually worth seeing? I feel the same as these Hobbits pictured below… sad that more movies about their race probably won’t be made, because of money grubbing scum.

Sucked In!

WOW! Yes… that’s right… Wow. Or more accurately: WoW. As in: World of Warcraft. After many, many years of purposely not playing World of Warcraft, I feel like I’ve finally got sucked in. My so called friends decided that I need to play, and so like the dealers of internet smack that they are, sent me a “free” trial. Yeah… there’s nothing free about this 10 day trial, I’m afraid. I’m going to play it, I’ll get hooked, because my awesome Dwarf Hunter will be 2 levels away from being able to get a pet (I’m hoping for a T-Rex, though I’ve been told that I can only get a Raptor) and the system will cut me off. “Sorry, that’s all you get. You’re done…. Unless you PAY for it.” This, of course, is followed by a wicked maniacal laugh. I will have no choice in the matter any more, for like the metaphorical drug that it is, I will have lost the will to not play any more, and I will spend 15 US dollars a month just to get to Level 60… because that’s what the game is all about. Then I will say “Level 60 isn’t high enough… I NEED to get to level 70!” And so I will go out and buy the expansion pack… I’m already crying myself to sleep in the fetal position, wishing that I could purge my system of WoW. Andrew and Mike: You are both pure evil.

Right now I’m just grateful that $15 US is pretty much $15 CAD. I guess it was only a matter of time. Once the Star Wars MMORPG based around 4000 BBY* which is being designed by BioWare comes out, then I will have no choice to play that either. Wookiee Scout, here I come!

*BBY: Before Battle of Yavin, or Before “A New Hope” which is what people who don’t know what Yavin is, or A New Hope is just refer to simply as Star Wars. As in the first one… but not Episode 1.