Michael Hopcroft

Q: I couldn't find Fred Stick fr you. I didn't mishear you, did I?
 
A: I have no choice but to vote for you -- the Seasick Crocodile isn't even on the ballot.

I did feel pity for Charlie Evans, because despite being physically adult he was obviously still a child. No training or experience in social context or emotional self-control, never having had to take responsibility for his actions, turned loose in an environment where he could do whatever he wanted without consequences. The result was inevitable. But all he really wanted was what he never had, acceptance and companionship from others like himself. And when that was finally in his grasp it was taken away.

Ellison hated what the producers did to his story nad refused to acknowsledge it as his own for the rest of hjis life. Having read the teleplay he wrote, I think the changes were a substantial improvement.

Since the article didn't specify whether the man was an enemy of God, we will never know on that point. All we know for sure is that there are many sea critters we should not be messing with.

My college produced Forum my junior year. I played Hysterium (the Jack Gilford part) and it was a blast. I still think that in my younger days I would have made a great Pseudolus (the Zero Mostel part).
 
Here's a story I heard about the film: when Phil Silvers was on location to film the role of Lycus, he was a lot of trouble -- drinking in excess, showing up late and/or drunk to shoots, and in general being very unprofessional. To get through to him that he needed to shape up, the producers had Jon Pertwee flown in. Pertwee had played Lycus on the West End, and his presence was a clear threat -- Silvers would be replaced if he didn't straighten out. Silvers got the message and finished the film, even though he seemed to phone in most of it, and Pertwee was given a small part in the film for his trouble. If Pertwee had in fact taken over the part, it would have been a great boost to his career. As it was, I think we all know what eventually happened to Jon Pertwee..

Ms. Johnson was teaching her sixth grade science class when she asked, "Who can tell me which organ of the human body expands to ten times its normal size when stimulated?" 
 
Most of the class sat in awkward silence, but two students raised their hands: Mary and Sam. Ms. Johnson called on Mary.
 
Mary said, "How dare you ask us a question like this! This is completely inappropriate! I'm going to tell my parents, and they'll call the principal, and you'll get fired."
 
Me. Johnson took a deep breath. "Sam? Do you know?"
 
Sam answered, "It's the iris of the eye."
 
"That's correct, Sam," Ms. Johnson said. Then she turned her attention back to Mary. "Young lady, three things have become quite obvious to me. First, you didn't do your homework. Second, you have a dirty mind. And third, one day you are going to be very, very disappointed."

I tried throwing a boomerang a few weeks ago. Now I'm living in constant fear.

Or last. Although the bulk of student-athletes (especially the ones who aren't to-rank pro prospects) will try to take the opportunity to earn a degree that would not have been available to them otherwise. Ever since I was a non-athlete in the athletic dorm of my college (NAIA level, with a football team that went winless several years in succession before being shut down), I lost the concept of the "dumb jock". I'm sure there are a few out there, but most of these guys really want to succeed in school as well as on the field and will put in the work to do it if given the opportunity.
 
Now treating these athletes as though they were pros already without paying them for their time? It does these athletes no service if they are scheduled so heavily on football that they don't have as much time for study, classes, or interacting with other people than their teammates and coaches. What other interests will they lose the chance to develop if all they are fed is football, football, football?

If there's any dramatic production that influenced Star Trek, it's Forbidden Planet.   An intrepid space captain and his equally intrepid crew journey to a planet in a faraway solar system where mystery and danger await--that's the elevator pitch for Star Trek right there.  Not to mention those episodes where Kirk and the Enterprise found the ruins of some ancient civilization with some (potentially dangerous) forgotten technology, such as--
 
"What Are Little Girls Made Of" (androids)
"The City On The Edge Of Forever" (time travel)
"That Which Survives" (holographic projection capable of physical contact)
"I, Mudd" (more androids)
"Turnabout Intruder" (mind transference)
 
Finally, you could have put William Shatner in the role of Commander Adams and he would have played it exactly the way Leslie Nielsen played it, righteous tirades and all.  Conversely, you could put Nielsen in the role of Kirk and he would have played it just like Shatner, again with tirades that could have been written expressly for him.
 
There were differences, of course.  Perhaps the biggest is that in Forbidden Planet the crew of the C-57D is thoroughly, relentlessly Caucasian-American men, whereas Star Trek became famous for its attempts at diversity--an African communications officer, a Russian naviForbidden Planet gator, an otherworldly science officer, and so on.  And they had non-Caucasians and non-males in positions of authority--Areel Shaw in the episode "Court Martial" was the prosecutor whose duty was to end Kirk's career.  And Donald Cory (played by Keye Luke) was the governor of a penal colony in the episode "Whom Gods Destroy."
 
While Star Trek had many other influences--I have heard it described as "Horatio Hornblower in space"--there is no doubt in my mind that Forbidden Planet was the biggest.

The New Millennium may be much derided, but there was one good idea: Team Defender. Rather than making Defender a simple Iron Man-light, have the hero be a group project, with one guy in the suit, but a group design with the other members of the group feeding the guy in the suit (using "guy" as a unisex term -- there's no reason for all the support people, or ever the wearer of the suit, has to be male) information and advice. They could even take turns in the suit, as all would know how to operate it. It would be a secret, possibly even from the other Champions, which could be both interesting and problematic.
 
I too would think about moving the setting out of Millennium City. The idea of building a shining metropolis over the ruins of a nuked Detroit borders on the tasteless. If you're going to have fictional cities, have them always having been there; "the Millennium City" would be a nickname for some city where advanced technology is concentrated because of the presence of a super-lab where cutting-edge research is being done all the time.
 
 

The New Millennium may be much derided, but there was one good idea: Team Defender. Rather than making Defender a simple Iron Man-light, have the hero be a group project, with one guy in the suit, but a group design with the other members of the group feeding the guy in the suit (using "guy" as a unisex term -- there's no reason for all the support people, or ever the wearer of the suit, has to be male) information and advice. They could even take turns in the suit, as all would know how to operate it. It would be a secret, possibly even from the other Champions, which could be both interesting and problematic.
 
I too would think about moving the setting out of Millennium City. The idea of building a shining metropolis over the ruins of a nuked Detroit borders on the tasteless. If you're going to have fictional cities, have them always having been there; "the Millennium City" would be a nickname for some city where advanced technology is concentrated because of the presence of a super-lab where cutting-edge research is being done all the time.
 
 

Well, Ataru usually brings the problems on to himself, mostly because he is both stupid and a pervert.
 
A teen 'villain' based on Ataru might be interesting. He has a harem of superpowered girls all wanting to be "The One", and willing to do anything for him, ordered or perceived.  This is "bad luck" turned upon his head.

Q: Where can I find the dehydrated Ork Chops?
 
A: Then the King and the Queen went back to the Green, but you can never go back there again!

Well, for starters, we prefer being referred to as women.

Tangent: everybody accuses soccer players of overreacting to have their legs clip, but it's not a very convincing argument. A footballer's legs are his breadwinners.  They are what feeds his family. and getting a pair of hard cleats caught in your legs, knees, or higher HURTS LIKE HELL. Players go through their opponents' legs on challenges and attempts to deflect the ball all the time, and it happens often, but if you hurt your leg badly you can;t play or help your team win.
 
The remarkable thing is not how quickly they can get up but that they can get up at all.

I'm trying to think of how to describe Bebop without spoilers. But it is one of best action series you'll see in any form.
 
But you've made a good start with EVA. And this may have been the better video to show off: it's an English translation of the iconic OP for Evangelion, "Cruel Angel's Thesis".
 
.

I just went to a memorial. The service was performed outdoors because indoor gatherings were not allowed. Since my county has a new lockdown in effect, social distancing rules were in effect. Others couldn't come to the memorial. The eulogies were performed via smartphone.

The legend is that showrunner Hideki Anno was suffering severe depression when he storyboarded the final two episodes, and they were his was of making art out of his problems (and reactions from fans that did not meet his approval).
 
In honor of your discovery...
 
 

"My positronic brain has several layers of shielding to protect me from power surges. It would be possible for you to remove my cranial unit and take it with you."
"Let me get this straight--you want me to take off your head?"
"Yes, sir."
 
 

The Hall of Champions rules expressly forbid this, but it would be intriguing if they did not. But Hero Games needs to publish material too and have some control over their IP.
 
Fortunately the Complete Series and Hero Basic Rules exist. They still don't quite carry the same weight as a standalone game complete with settings hard-wired in, but they do provide a significantly easier entry point than the 600+ pages of the Hero System Sixth Edition rulebooks.
 
That said, I do plan to write a few things fdor Hall of Champions -- I just need to get off my backside and write (which, ironically, requires me to get onto my backside for hours at a time).

Zevon would be claimed by the cancer he had been battling soon after this appearance. I'm not certain, but this may be the last time he played for a live audience.
 
Enjoy Every Sandwich.

Only one response to that:
 

INT Drain, Area Effect, No Conscious Control. I'm not sure that's a legal build, but there you go. Stupid-Man's mere presence makes everyone dumber and leads them to make stupid mistakes (which, since he's pretty dumb himself and his power affects his teammates too, are often not taken advantage of).
 
[EDIT: Apparently INT cannot be drained. The mental attribute that can be drained is EGO. "Make everyone dumber" might be a special effect, or I may need to use some other power like Mind Control that limits cognitive awareness.]

looks like we are 'do a good job' 
https://www.yahoo.com/news/texas-hospital-overrun-coronavirus-cases-124224673.html
Yeah, we should be doing better.

Most of the property damage is confined to downtown, particularly that section of it where the city, county, and federal offices live. Life during the day seems to be going on in a state of close to normality -- many of the businesses and restaurants are closed, but many f those would have been closed anyway because of the pandemic. Yes, a lot of statuary has come down, but much of that should have been torn down anyway once it became clear what it represented (though many wonder what crime "The Elk" committed...) Most of the rest is just broken windows and graffiti. There hasn't been much looting to spesk of, and only occasional arson (with suspicion in those few cases of whether there's a "false flag" going on -- it is well-known that officers are capable of infiltrating the protests to cause escalation).
 
After the sun goes down, the protests begin. Whether there is violence will usually depend on who decides to escalate the situation and to what level. There is a clear dividing line in the minds of most people on the ground between the enemy and themselves. And you could accurately say that the more things are escalated the more the federal presence appears justified -- so many times they are doing the escalating themselves, as was the case when they gassed the mayor last night.
 
Now I'm not an objective source, but at the moment I can't think of any source that would be objective. Right now only one thing is in the middle of the road -- and that's roadkill.