Thoughtnami™

In a moment of deviation, I saw this post at And We Shall March. Now, I'm not a fan of chain letters, surveys, and other sorts of drivel I see on these blogs because they're time killers. So, I had a little time to kill in the middle of the radical upgrade to TXB (which will be online in the coming weeks), and it seemed kind of cool. Do you Wiki ? Well, if you do, wiki your birthdate (in my case, January 21) and add the following: five events, three births, and three deaths. Sounded simple enough. Here goes: EVENTS: 1911: The first ever Rallye Automobile Monte Carlo race is run 1915: Kiwanis International founded in Detroit, MI 1924: Lenin dies of unusual causes 1968: The Battle of Khe Sanh begins in Vietnam 2000: Kevin Mitnick, a famous hacker, is released from prison. Three years later, he was allowed to use a computer again. BIRTHS: 1924: Telly Savalas (actor) and Benny Hill (comedian) 1942: Edwin Starr (musician, best known for song "War") 1953: Paul Allen (entr...

Did you watch Saturday Night Live this past Saturday? You didn't? Wow, guess you figured that it was going to be yet another lame celebrity trying to do lame sketch comedy, which it was. However, if you did miss it, you missed one of the most scathing pieces of animation since, well, Conspiracy Rock. And if you did miss it, you're never going to see it again. Not on NBC, not on E!, not even on You Tube anymore. This week, Robert Smigel lampooned the ridiculous practice The Walt Disney Company continues of putting films in the mythical Disney vault, a place where classics are locked away. You know, classics like Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Cinderella, Bambi, The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and 101 Dalmations as well as "classics" like Cinderella 2, Bambi 2, The Lion King 2, Beauty and the Beast 2, Aladdin and the Return of Jafar, and 101 Dalmations: Patch's London Adventure all rest for a period of 10 years. How did the guy who introduced the w...

I like dialogue. The fact that in this free society that we can converse about everything. However, dialogue works when both sides are willing to talk to each other. Cartoon Network, for some reason, refuses to be a part of dialogue when it comes to their recent programming decision of airing live-action shows. They hide behind the term "live-action cartoon" to justify airing live-action fare. Of course, there is only so many times one can use that term (which is an oxymoron like virtual reality, permanent guest host, genuine imitation, soft rock, and Microsoft Works), and the statute of limitation has expired. There's cartoony live-action, but no such thing as a live-action cartoon. I mean, they could almost get away with a Zack and Cody-like show by attaching that "live-action cartoon" label on it with a smile on their face, insulting longtime viewers everywhere. And discussion won't help either. Why? Because while a lot of people can complain, Cartoon Net...

You know, I think I strayed too much from my original intent for this site, which was to talk about things other than animation. I think the world can survive without me kvetching about Cartoon Network's lack of direction for a moment. I do have this question I have to ask: How in the hell did a group who was originally conceived to operate miniature golf courses and sports entertainment facilities become the majority owner of two of the 20th century's biggest icons and a company that owns that overrated karaoke sing-off every week on Fox? Seriously, a company called CKX, Inc. (short for Content is King [the X makes them sound, um, cool or something]) bought 85% of Elvis Presley Enterprises (including the singer's name, likeness, and image as well as all of Graceland) and all of 19 Entertainment (owners of the IDOLS "music" format that spawned Pop Idol in the UK, Canadian Idol up north, and some stupid show on Fox whose name eludes me). Today, CKX bought 80% of al...

Cartoon Network has done some dumb things in the past six months, mostly airing live-action programming, trying to attract the audiences who watch live-action fare on Disney Channel and Nickelodeon, and getting rid of everything that made Cartoon Network Cartoon Network. Of course, in spite of all these changes, Cartoon Network feels that they're doing a great job with minor increases, compared to major ones in the same period a year ago. But you know who doesn't think Cartoon Network is doing a good job? Cable operators. Yeah! Cable operators, the people who actually place these networks on their lineups. Apparently, and color me crazy for suggesting this, they believe that a network that calls itself Cartoon Network should, um, show cartoons and not stray from that intent. Otherwise, you're getting into G4/OLN territory. More people are getting rid of OLN (formerly Outdoor Life Network) because that outlet is straying away from its outdoor recreation roots in favor of f...