gunnergoz

Yes but if one group survived the battle, I'm not sure it would be very clever to let Darwin select the most lethal fire ant in your neighborhood, though...

Like Slim, I'm so used to mis-spellings on the internet that I read most of the way through it before I realized what was happening and that it was deliberately screwed up.

Today being the next day and all I can now see why Elmar asked me why I hated James Cameron...to confuse him with Lucas is a slight to many; I have to admit that even I prefer Cameron's films to Lucas. But who knows what was going through my mind when I typo'd the thread title? A senior moment? Oh well, too late now but I apologize for any confusion I may have caused. But back on topic...checking out the Aint It Cool News site http://www.aintitcool.com/node/41793 it is clear from his viewing of the extended preview that the film is intended to be seen in 3-D, with those funky glasses. Apparently the glasses seem to work in the film because Cameron has optimized the colors, intensity and contrast to make the 3-D experience really pop out. He's also done some real work on making the visuals complement the 3-D. So it could be that the "anime" aspect is an artifact of viewing a film optimized for 3-D, in 2-D. I'm not sure this is the case, but it could be an explanation, given the enthusiasm that the preview audiences have had for the 3-D experience. I guess I'll have to wait and see this one in the theater later this year and can decide for myself. But will the home DVD versions be in 3-D? Can you even do that on a DVD? I suppose you can...now that I think of it, I some time ago had a documentary about A-bombs on VHS that was partly done in 3-D and included the little glasses in the case.

Well, now that you mention it, I did write Lucas instead of Cameron, didn't I? Oops, I REALLY screwed that up, for sure...sorry. But my comments remain. I like Cameron - and Lucas for that matter - but still don't like the anime-sort of trend I see in the making. I think its going to spoil some otherwise interesting projects. Of course, one could argue that these projects might not get made without the anime aspect and potential audience. I concede that. I guess I just prefer more realism, even in sci-fi. BTW is there any way dummy me can change the name of the thread now that I screwed up?

When did we start letting young whippersnappers get in here?

I don't hate him, where did you see me say that? I've enjoyed almost every movie of his that I've seen. My comments about Avatar is that it represents a trend towards anime-type films and away from realistic CGI films, IMO. That's the way the trailer struck me, even the HD version at 1080p...luscious, but still sort of stylized. I like the suspension of disbelief possible with more realistic renderings.

Better she sample the delights of "Corridor rock" than some of the other offerings that downtown Manila is famous for. Count your blessings, man...

I finally saw the trailer: http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox/avatar/hd/ I have to say that I am simultaneously excited about the film but at the same time a bit disappointed in the obvious CGI digital imagery aspect of it. I'm sure I will enjoy the experience, but it will have to be in the same way I enjoyed 300: not as a conventional film experience, but as something special unto itself. The CGI technology has proven itself able to transport us to scenes otherwise difficult, if not impossible to capture through conventional cinematography. At the same time, the cartoon or anime nature of it, if deliberately selected and not just an artifact of the limits of technology, are a bit of a turn off to me. I am not an anime fan and limit my enjoyment of cartoons to Disney stuff. So if movie makers are doing this sort of blending of anime and "realistic", I'm not exactly sure I like the trend. Not because of the concept, but simply because, due to the "copycat effect", we will soon be inundated with anime-realism mish-mashes that do justice to neither school.

When I was a kid I enjoyed playing with ant lions that trapped ants in the sand near where I lived in Tirrenia, Italy back then. That was different. Now bugs are just a damn nuisance. Goes with getting old, I guess.

The likes of Ksenia vs Britney Spears? Well, on the one hand there's talent and soul; and then on the other there's a cheap commodity manufactured for profit. Not even worth considering in the same breath IMO.

Well, I'm not eager to swap places with you, Slim...I'm no fan of bugs either. I'm not going to scream like a little girl when one lands on me (not that I'm saying you did) but I certainly am going to move quicker than most people have ever seen me move, when one lands on or near me. I detest the little SOB's. They have their place in nature, but its not on me...

Yep, I agree with Michael on this one...Aliens 1 was the best in almost every respect. But I will want to see this new flick, it sounds right up my alley...bug eyed monsters and flying saucers.

Very good read, thank you.

Healthcare is only important to some when they, personally, require it. What other people do with their needs is irrelevant as long as I can get my needs met. Or so goes the logic of the times.

One sunny San Diego day some years ago I saw a flash of blonde hair blowing back from the targa top of a red Porsche on the freeway. I gunned it a bit to get a look see and sure enough, there was this Hollywood-quality blonde driving that hot car. What blew me away was the license plate on the Porsche, which read "HEODME". Nice divorce settlement!

Not bad at all...thanks!

Sequoia got it pretty much right on. I've lived here in SD since 1970. Here's some more sights: Point Loma Lighthouse and Park - $5 parking fee - breathtaking views of all of SD down to the border, Coronado and the harbor. La Jolla - go see the cove, beaches, enjoy the seabreezes and birds Coronado - Check out the Hotel del Coronado for a treat - see how the rich enjoyed their vacations in the 1890's. La Jolla cross - a small park overlooking La Jolla has fantastic 360 degree views of everything you cannot see from the Pt. Loma overlook. Harbor Island/Shelter Island - actually built up from fill when they dredged out SD harbor, these artificial isthmuses have great view points to enjoy the harbor view. Sit or stroll for a while, bring a picnic lunch, its a million dollar view for sure from either location. Embarcadero - a bit North of the Midway carrier museum, this area has a lot of historic ships to see and very enjoyable restaurants (Anthony's is our favorite) with fabulous views of the harbor. This is just a few of the places we take our friends when they first visit SD- and we go to all of them over and over without getting bored.

I cannot disagree at all...and the US's almost fanatical anti-communism crusade of the postwar years and through most of the Cold War was laced with the same iron-bound, rigid, ideologically-based and often untrue beliefs that led us into Iraq and our present war with militant Islam. When you pit dogma vs. dogma, be it from left, right or center, there is not much room for reasoned judgment. So in effect we are again repeating the same mistakes, only this time by tarring with the same broad brush all Islamics that we used to tar "commies." When it comes to foreign affairs, the postwar US has been much more like a bulldozer/wrecking crew than a set of hand tools in the hands of a craftsman. I lay this fact upon the nature of US domestic politics, which places a premium upon snippets of ideological rhetoric and abhors anything approaching reasoned discourse. Americans are not necessarily stupid but their view of the world is truly tunneled, myopic and totally self-centered.

IIRC The Korean and Vietnamese armies held their own; the Vietnamese had some good main line forces and when properly led and supported, proved themselves a number of times. And the toughness of the Korean fighting man was demonstrated many times over. In the case of the Vietnamese, we were supporting a corrupt, inefficient and self-absorbed regime which let down the troops with constant meddling and politicized officer appointments/promotions. A regime we backed to the bitter end, as it happens. The Koreans' regime was not too much better but had the sense to let the military fight and stay out of their way for the most part. Supporting a military is only part of what we have to do and in Iraq, we were in the doo-doo from the beginning, having made very poor planning for the post-invasion nation building phase, other than to let politically-well-connected contractors get filthy rich on tax dollars.

That would be resolved nicely with the first incoming round, wouldn't you think?

Sure seems like a lot of trouble to go to for a dubious benefit...Maybe a wartime partisan extemporaneous conversion?

In Hollywood, money, or lack of it, trumps all...so it seems to me at least.

Don't use Norton. The wife doesn't look at porn sites and she's the one perusing the Russian web for business. Never heard of TOR but I'll look into it. And the browser issue is noted. Thanks to all, that was useful.

I'm looking for some shareware/freeware software that will let me alter or conceal my home PC's IP. Any suggestions? Free and easy to use, works with Win Vista 64 and XP Pro is what I'm looking for. In our home business we have to peruse a lot of Russian sites and I sometimes worry about who is behind those sites and what they may be doing while we are parked there. So I figured an IP utility to hide behind would be handy. I can install and use most utilities but I'm not a programmer or really that savvy about how IP's etc really work...don't want to build the engine, just get in the car and drive off, so to speak. Any suggestions or experiences with the topic would be appreciated.

Yes, I do think you are right in that, that the relative scarcity of MIA's affects the way people react to them...that and the fact that we now hear about them virtually as they happen in many cases. It can clutch the heart strings to hear of a compatriot down, fate unknown, then presumed missing, etc. People follow it as something they personally experience first hand from the moment they hear of it. They become extras in the drama, so to speak. And, as mentioned before, it takes on a life of its own with political overtones that can even overtake the military; as in, what was up with the reclassification of his status several time? I can only suspect that generals were scrambling around, issuing orders and making proclamations, depending upon how much heat they were getting from SecDef or even higher, to just "resolve the damn thing."