Random Crap

So I was at Best Buy today, and I picked up a copy of a Disney DVD starring Chip & Dale. (the ORIGINAL Chip & Dale from the 1940's... yes, Chip and Dale existed before the Rescue Rangers got together...) It was cheap, and I used to love those cartoons, so why not? Anyway, I noticed this gem in tiny print:

Wow, the DVD starts automatically when inserted. What an amazing technological achievement! I must meet these godly DVD developers at Disney and shake their hands!

Err, I have a couple of movies that were released on DVD in 1999, when DVDs weren't even popular yet, that start automatically just fine when you insert them. Apparently, Disney felt that so many films out there throw huge complex animated menus and effects at you upon insertion, that simply playing the film when you put the disc in is now a "special feature".

Well, kudos to Disney for figuring out that people just want to watch the damn film, but jeez, a special feature!!? Not only that, but they even paid someone to come up with a funky-looking logo for this "special feature", and trademarked it!

This isn't the first time Disney misuses the term "special feature", of course. Let's take a look at a little box on the back of the "Lady and the Tramp" DVD... This was when they just started making DVDs, and they have since redeemed themselves in the features department, but... "Full character artwork on disc" a special feature? Next thing you know the hole in the middle will be a special feature! "Allows you to carry the disc more conveniently!"

One more thing, I noticed the words "Disney's FastPlay Patent Pending" at the very bottom of the back of this disc. I guess Disney felt left out of the club abusing the patent system. At least there's plenty of prior art if they DO try to sue someone over it.

So, a couple days ago I received an E-mail from an address I've never seen before, with no subject. Upon opening it, pretty much expecting spam (you can never be sure), I was perplexed by this:

When Is Bambi On DVD & Video Can You E-Mail Me Back At xxxxxxx@hotmail.com

Of course, the lack of punctuation (except for the '&' and in the E-mail address), along with the fact that I had no idea who this was, AND the fact that he was asking me a question that is easily answered by searching for "Bambi" on amazon.com, led me to ignore the e-mail and get on with my life.

A few hours later, I get another E-mail from this special friend:

I Told You When Is Bambi Coming ON DVD & Video Please Send Me Back

Oh, so now he's DEMANDING to know when it comes out. From someone he doesn't even know! Or at least, I think that's what he's doing. From the way he wrote it, it's hard to tell. He should also talk to a third grade English teacher so she can tell him how not to Capitalize Every Word In A Sentence.

Anyway, I ignored this example of Shakespearian-level English and went on with my life.

Of course, the clincher arrived today:

What Does Lion's Live. Can You E-Mail Me Back Please

I can't make any sense of this, can you? After applying various munging techniques, I came up with this grammar-deficient person's likely question: "Where do lions live?"

So I replied on a single line:

In Kenya. (Not Norway!)

Hey, my answer is technically correct, right? }:) I'm really looking forward to his response. Whether I'll be able to decipher it, that's another story. I'm no WWII allied codebreaker, ya know!

This video is a MUST for all forklift operators to view. It stresses that safety is the most important thing on the job.

Perhaps after watching this video, the world will be a safer place for forklift operators and warehouse employees across the world.

Forklift Safety Video (In German, but still gets the point across if you don't speak it)

So, the paper sleeve in one of these old LP's has an interesting marketing ad on them:

Records give you more of what you want

Back in 1972, when this was printed, the main competition to the LP was reel-to-reel tape and 8-track. Vinyl, of course, had the lowest overhead and highest profit margin of all manufactured music, so obviously the labels wanted people to buy their music on vinyl whenever possible.

Who knew that 10 years later, a shiny silvery disc would be introduced that would relegate most records to the dust bin...

Gotta love old out-of-date marketing materials...

Holy crap. This has got to be the most mismanaged, crazy con I've ever been to.

Two panels we went to were completely non-existant, with no signs telling anyone it was cancelled. The Anime Music Video contest started and ended around 40 minutes later than it was supposed to, and the Cosplay contest started 45 minutes late. The people running the shows were amateurish and the lighting on the stage for the cosplay event was horrid.

I guess the dealer room was a nice experience, if a bit overpriced. The one thing I really wanted to buy, a production cel of Kiki and Jiji from "Kiki's Delivery Service", was $2500! Absolutely insane. I guess they're hoping some rich fan of the movie comes along and plunks down the cash. There was very little stuff from the animes I am/was into, like Tenchi Muyo, Sailor Moon, stuff from Studio Ghibli, etc... Mostly the new stuff.

I didn't really participate in any of the gaming events, so I'm not sure how well run they were. Hopefully they weren't too bad.

Overall, though, it was a fun day. I took a few pictures, some of which will be posted here. }:)

Pictures are linked here.

-Z

From Usenet... Hee. Notice that the kitty doesn't look very happy. I wonder why? }:)

So, I recently picked up the Gargoyles season one DVD set. For those who don't know, Gargoyles was an unusual TV series produced by Disney in 1994. It starred this race of Gargoyles that were stone by day, and alive by night.

What seperated this series from typical TV animation is that there was a very strong storyline, with continuity and good character development, along with a great voice cast and higher-than-normal animation quality. This is what American animation could be, if it weren't so incredibly kid-centric or comedy-centric.

I had forgotten about the show, for the most part, since it hasn't been on TV for about 8 years or more, except on Toon Disney, which I don't get. So of course, hearing about this DVD was a pleasant surprise. I purchased it on release day and sat down to watch it, and was amazed all over again.

The DVD has the first 13 episodes. Gargoyles had a small first season, designed for weekly syndication. As the show grew in popularity, it got a full fledged daily-syndication second season, with over 50 episodes. But this was the experiment, and it was a great success.

There was this great segment on The Gathering, a convention for Gargoyles fans. I've been to several science fiction and furry conventions, and this was very similar. Just a bunch of people who really love something, getting together. Some of the costumes are pretty neat, too.

The transfer quality on the DVD is excellent, both video and audio. Being able to watch this show again after all this time was a treat, and I hope everyone who remembers it will pick up this DVD and enjoy it once again. Now to wait for season 2...

The Gargoyles Fan Site
Gargoyles DVD (not a sponsored link)

So, this weekend I'm going to meet up with some friends at OtakuCon, an anime convention in Miami Beach. Looks like it's going to be fun.

Unfortunately it's going to be cold Sunday, so if I go to VSW to volunteer at the property I'll freeze to death. But of course it's worth it to hear those tiger-chuffs!

Oh, and Shoshauna might be leaving soon. Hell, she might be gone by Sunday. Oh well, that's life...

Posted in alt.binaries.pictures.animals:

Make with the clicky

Bwahahahahahahaaa. }:)

-Z