Michael Hopcroft

Games

I think we should remember that what we can do with CGI would not be possible without what John Dykstra did without it. The sequence being redone here was one of his finest achievements, even though the rest of the movie had no hope of living up to it (I don't think Roddenberry had any idea of the sort of movie he wanted to make after working in television all his life. somehow it got followed up with Wrath of Khan, one of the all-time classic SF adventures and the prototype for the many "duel pictures" that followed.)

Old Grey

Q; Say, Hugh, do you need this Rockwell painting for the centerfold? I mean, she is fully clothed, but still -- Rockwell! A: You are a severely overrated painter -- you couldn't even get my walls the right color!

The only real way to win a nuclear war is to not start one. On the railguns, it seems like they would take up an enormous amount of energy using modern technology. Can a, say, destroyer-class naval vessel produce enough to fire more than once? Would you need to fire more than once?

The thing is, that such a case would not fly in Utah because Latter-Day Saint doctrine is that we did choose to be born -- all of us, even if we have no memory of the event. What we don't choose is the circumstances. We chose to be born, but not to the specific parents in the specific place and time. The goal is to make the best of what we are given, whatever that entails to each of us. Also, young people in India are under immense pressure to reproduce, so this may be this gentleman's way of saying as forcefully as he can that he wants no part of it.

Q: He called the Chief a plog and told him he was going to proggunk him! Orkish brethren, the Death by a Thousand Whacks is too good a punishment for the human plog! A: Congratulations! You have just destroyed all of time and space! Too bad Disneyland, like everything else, no longer exists...

He's trying (and failing, in a major way) to make the case that even a good life is something that is unwillingly thrust upon us. That even the best, most exciting, and most joyous life imaginable is infinitely worse than never having existed in the first place. I expect his parents are more bewildered than anything else.

Q: Bobby, I know this is only preschool, but how can you possibly add two plus two without having a defensible definition of what "two" is? A: See! I was right! I TOLD you I couldn't speak Orkish!

I thought I was the only one who remembered that.

Both defenses played lights-out for much of the game. The Rams played very solid defense and made some big plays. Their problem was that they couldn't quite stay off the field long enough to recover themselves as the Pats had several long but futile drives. Well, not entirely futile, because they wore out the Rams defenders. By crunch time in the fourth quarter, the LA defenders were gassed, while the Pats were still fresh when it counted. To the future: the #1 pick in the 2019 draft currently belongs to Arizona.

What do you do if you have the sort of dynamic, popular and respected young player you can build a good franchise around for a decade? Well, if you're the Knicks, you trade him for almost nothing of any real value. That's what happened with Kristaps Porzingis last week. He got sent to Dallas for essentially expiring contracts and cap space. Mind you, Porzingis was was not happy with Knicks management (although, to be honest, who would be?) but the rapidity of the deal suggests that they might have gotten a better offer closer to the deadline. Porzingis is lost for this season to injury, but is a restricted free agent at the end of the season -- and probably would not have signed with the Knicks long-term. With Dirk Nowitzki lasting two or three years at most and already transitioning into a reserve/mentor role, and a new European star in Luka Dončić taking over as the face of the franchise, the Mavs are a team in flux. A healthy Prozingis in 2019-20 gives them rebounding, toughness, and an additional offensive option (if he comes back at all this season the Mavs would count themselves lucky). They will also be in the lottery (their 24-28 record is good for twelfth in the West, although it's certainly respectable for a team in this stage of generational shift), but might not have a selection as the pick is involved in the Trae Young trade with the Hawks that landed them Luka Dončić. Even after the Phil Jackson fiasco, Knicks management is a mess.

"I only want you to be yourself! If you can't do that, I'll do it for you!" "You were right to leave. I always thought that you were failing this world. But if you were happier on Earth, maybe this world was... failing you." "Lars... Look at you! You're... you're a space pirate!" "Look at you! You're a rock star!"

Captain Nemo is a genre-defining icon. Youtube vs Broadway (in honor of Malinda Kathleen Reese's new stage role)

No. I don't I've even seen Tom Jones the movie, at least not in several years. On Broadway, though, having dancers get between the lead singer and the audience/camera would be viewed as bad choreography. I don't know if that was true in Vegas at the time.

Oh, then tell me Sean O'Farrell Tell me why you hurry so Hush me Buchall hush and listen And his cheeks were all a-glow I bear orders from the captain Get you ready quick and soon For the pikes must be together By the Rising of the Moon By the Rising of the Moon By the Rising of the Moon For the pikes must be together By the Rising of the Moon Oh, then tell me Sean O'Farrell Where the gathering is to be In the old spot by the river Right well known to you and me One more word for signal token Whistle up the marching tune With your pike upon your shoulder By the Rising of the Moon By the Rising of the Moon By the Rising of the Moon With your pike upon your shoulder By the Rising of the Moon Out of many a mud wall cabin Eyes were watching thru' the night Many a manly heart was throbbing For the coming morning light Murmers ran along the valley Like the banshee's lonely croon And a thousand pikes were flashing By the Rising of the Moon By the Rising of the Moon By the Rising of the Moon And a thousand pikes were flashing By the Rising of the Moon There beside the singing river That dark mass of men were seen Far above their shining weapons hung Their own beloved green Death to every foe and traitor Forward strike the marching tune And hurrah me boys for freedom Tis the Rising of the Moon Tis the Rising of the Moon Tis the Rising of the Moon And hurrah me boys for freedom Tis the Rising of the Moon

That is so Vegas I'm not sure when to begin. Tom Jones may have embraced camp, but heavens what a voice!

"All you talk about is sex, sex, sex.." "The boys are marching!" "My orders are to do whatever it takes to break up this penicillin ring, and I have written permission to die in the attempt!" "Good luck." "By the way, I'm a doctor and I can tell you for certain that you're pregnant. And we know what causes that nowadays too."

This is one variation of the [problem that in the real world, animals can only get so big and any creature big enough to destroy a city would collapse under its own weight and/or never be able to find enough food to survive even if they deplete entire ecosystems. Magic (assuming it is real in your campaign) might be able to find a way to get around it (hence dragons ion FH worlds need a lot of ambient magical energy to survive). So Godzilla might be not so much a force of nature as an avatar of nature who shows up when the global ecosystem is under an existential threat from human activity and the gods have no other way to get our attention. Which may be why he goes after cities, military installations, and other human-built targets but leaves natural areas alone. Of course, this speculation probably has nothing in common with the mythology these movies are building for Godzilla. It's just me speculating on how I would use the big guy as a GM.

And also, apparently, of Hayao Miyazaki's Sherlock Holmes. (Although the master left the series fairly early in its run....)

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The UFC/NFL crossover event coming soon Live on Pay-Per-View.

Healthy

I never appreciated George Michael while he was alive. But the man could craft some really beautiful music.