James Horner 1953 - 2015

James Horner [61], one of the most prolific film score composers of the 80’s, 90’s and 00’s tragically lost his life yesterday in an aircraft accident.

He was best known as the composer for two of the world's highest grossing films, Titanic and Avatar - both of which earned him Oscar nods, a win in the case of Titanic as well as it's song “My Heart Will Go On”. He would receive another 7 Oscar and three BAFTA nominations as well as winning two Golden Globes, three Saturn Awards and three Satellite Awards throughout his career.

Horner had little issue composing scores for impressive works in the field of motion pictures such as Glory and Braveheart, family favourites like Jumanji and Casper, period epics like Troy and Legends of the Fall, balls-out action movies like Commando and Red Heat, for animated movies including The Land Before Time and An American Tail, comedy such as Honey I Shrunk the Kids and Hocus Pocus, thrillers including Ransom and Patriot Games and even for comic-book heroes The Rocketeer and The Amazing Spider-Man. With over 100 scores under his belt he was one of few composers who catered for everybody and any type of movie.

In an interview in 2010, Horner said that scoring Avatar was the toughest assignment he had taken on and he needed time to get it out of his system, so he had done little of note since but he was collaborating with James Cameron in providing music for the director's Avatar sequels over the course of the next few years.

Horner was one of the first composers whose work I listened to daily. His compositions along with those of John Williams, Danny Elfman and the late Jerry Goldsmith were the four cornerstones of my musical tastes for many years. Among my favourites from Horner are Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan [‘82], Aliens [‘86], Willow [‘87], The Rocketeer [‘91], Braveheart [‘94], Apollo 13 [‘94], The Mask of Zorro [‘98] and Enemy at the Gates [‘00].

Horner was often mocked for lifting sequences and musical motifs - as well as almost entire segments from one of his own scores and adapting them to fit the musical scores of other movies he was assigned to. Throughout the years his audience became more accepting of this quirk and when recognised upon listening it can only bring a smile to the face of his true fans.

Many of Horner's detractors were critical of his use of the works of classical music composers such as Orff, Elgar and Wagner and labelled his works as derivative - but if anything he spotlighted the works of the classical greats he admired and cherished the works of, and helped them to be discovered by successive generations. I have no doubt that in the future, composers of scores will even use Horner's own cues in the same way he did, and make it part of their work as a homage and  as they take us on a new musical journey of their making.

Thank you James Horner for over 100 gifts to us over the years and may you rest in peace.

Sir Christopher Lee 1922 – 2015

He was Scaramanga - The Man With the Golden Gun, he was Saruman - Head of the White Council & Lord of Isengard, he was Count Dooku/Darth Tyrannus - Sith Lord of the darkside and when one thinks of Dracula himself - it is the rumbling voice and menacing black and white visage of Christopher Lee you should think of.

A former intelligence officer for the RAF during WWII, Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee, CBE, CStJ brought many silver screen characters to life in a career that spanned seven decades and was a favourite baddie of both young and old movie-goers alike. 

Lee died on Sunday 7th June from heart failure, he was 93.

Laser satellites on the way

The recent destruction of the U.S. Air Force's 20-year-old Defense Meteorological Satellite Program Flight 13 and the resulting cloud of space debris adding to an already dangerous amount of clutter traveling at high speeds in orbit of the planet has brought to light a plan by Japanese researchers to fit a laser to the ISS.

The Extreme Universe Space Observatory (EUSO) telescope, originally designed to detect cosmic rays, could be put to use for a more 'useful' project. The EUSO which is scheduled to be installed on Japan's module on the ISS in 2017, could help the orbiting complex detect dangerous debris. Researchers say that a powerful laser under development could then help shoot down this space garbage.

Toshikazu Ebisuzaki, an astrophysicist and chief scientist at the RIKEN (Rikagaku Kenkyūsho) Computational Astrophysics Laboratory in Wako, Japan, and his team reasoned that the EUSO's wide range of view and powerful optics could also help it detect high-speed debris near the ISS. Then a Coherent Amplification Network (CAN) laser could then blast the debris. The CAN laser consists of many small lasers working together to generate a single powerful beam and is currently under development to drive particles at high speeds in atom smashers. The laser would vaporize a thin film of matter off the surface of debris and the resulting high-speed plasma would act like a rocket plume, nudging the junk downward to eventually burn up in Earth's atmosphere.

A full-scale version of the system would be armed with a 100 kilowatt ultraviolet CAN laser that can fire 10,000 pulses per second, each lasting one-tenth of one-billionth of a second. The researchers say this system could blast debris from a range of about 60 miles (100 kilometers), and the laser would need about 17 lbs. (8 kilograms) of lithium-ion batteries.

A proof-of-concept version of the system is first intended to be deployed, consisting of a miniature version of EUSO and a prototype 10-watt ultraviolet CAN laser firing 100 pulses per second. A RIKEN spokesman noted that the mini-EUSO telescope has been accepted as a project on the ISS and could perhaps go up in 2017 or 2018, but the laser system is still a concept that has not been built.

Simulation of Earth's orbiting space junk - NASA

If the concept and full versions are successful, the researchers suggest developing a satellite devoted solely to blasting space debris. They suggest the satellite should assume an orbit that takes it over both of Earth's poles, allowing it to shoot down debris all over the planet, and be armed with a 500 kilowatt ultraviolet CAN laser that can fire 50,000 pulses per second. They estimate it could blast one piece of debris every five minutes, or 100,000 pieces of space junk each year.

"The biggest obstacle is funding," Ebisuzaki said. "There are some technical challenges, of course, but the main issue is getting funding for development and launch."

It was noted that Major General "Jäger" Brandt, SPEARHEAD Deputy Commander for Security and Surveillance and Brigadier General "Whopper" Creedon, SPEARHEAD Assistant Commander for Intelligence and Information both visited RIKEN recently, fueling online conspiracy rumours that SPEARHEAD had deliberately destroyed DMSP-13 in an effort to fast-track extra funding for the Japanese project. Neither RIKEN or SPEARHEAD have answered questions on the issue.

Sources: Space.com

Dunford continues to blaze a trail to the top

Long time readers will remember the Marine General "Fighting Joe" Dunford from the past several years of posts. In June 2010 when General Amos was nominated to replace General Conway as Commandant, I expressed the opinion that Dunford, then a 3-star and CG of I MEF, may have been a better choice. He had been elevated from 1 to 3-star rank quickly [never actually holding 2-star grade] and his combat experience in Afghanistan was both exemplary and proved he wasn't just a politician but perhaps he was too young [at 55] to be elevated to the USMC's #1 spot just yet.

Dunford did however assume the Vice Commandant's position and a fourth star that October. Exactly two years later in October 2012 I blogged when he was nominated to command the ISAF which he did in February 2013 replacing General Allen and then last June when the man was nominated for Commandant, a position he assumed last October replacing General Amos.

Now only in his 7th month as Commandant, President Obama has unexpectedly nominated Dunford to replace Army General Martin Dempsey as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff when his tour ends in the Autumn. I would have expected Army Chief of Staff General Raymond T. Odinero or Navy Adm. Samuel Locklear, Commander, US Pacific Command to have been tapped for the billet but it looks like they're retiring.

General Dempsey said: “I've known General Dunford for almost half of his 39 years of service,... He is a phenomenal, combat-tested leader and a man of integrity, courage and humility." He's known for keeping his cool under pressure, Marine Gen. James "Mad Dog" Mattis, former CENTCOM commander said he once saw a grenade pass over Dunford's Humvee in Iraq and explode 100 yards away. "He barely glanced up and then went right back to writing his orders."

The rise to power continues...

Expect some action on this list likely before 2016.

He lived long and prospered. Leonard Nimoy 1931 - 2015

I had a rough draft of Leonard Nimoy's obituary saved here for a while now, but I deleted it on Friday. Instead it was recommended to me that because thousands if not millions of people would be writing and paying tribute to him over the following few days, my own impression of the man would be lost in a sea of lists of his extraordinary accomplishments, artistry and impact on the human race. So instead I took my time until I could say what Leonard Nimoy meant to me.

Amongst other things Leonard Nimoy was a soldier, an actor, director, photographer and poet. To me he represented the face of Star Trek, even before I watched the show or embraced science fiction in general my teens. Leonard Nimoy's characterisation of Dr. Spock [that's not an error that's what I thought he was called] has such an impact it was literally all I knew about Star Trek before the time I began a passive-aggressive bullying campaign against Dave, a school-chum because he liked Star Trek and I often drew pictures of him with "Spock ears".

To negate the bullying Dave asked me to watch Star Trek: The Next Generation it first came on TV and see what I was mocking. So I did. The bullying stopped on Monday morning afterwards. Just over 12 months later I was wearing a Starfleet Uniform in public and people were calling me "Lt. Commander", I shit you not.

I needed a fix like a drug addict. So for about 26 weeks Dave who was now my pusher/supplier had to make me a video tape with three episodes of the Original Series on it so I could properly embrace all of Star Trek. Before long I had acquired enough knowledge to begin forming my own opinion and like all Star Trek fans, the arguments and differences of opinions surfaced, but now all in good fun.

He was never my favourite Character, but due entirely to Leonard Nimoy's performance I certainly was able to identify with Spock more than any other - he was very weird, says a lot of weird shit but once you get to know him and accept him he was a friend. That's also pretty much what I think about Star Trek as a whole and I've discovered it's also actually how more than one person has described ME.

"Of my friend, I can only say this: Of all the souls I have encountered in my travels, his was the most.... human" - Adm. James T. Kirk, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

Hot porn right here, right now [SFW]

That's right, time for something new on the Bunker. PORN!

Well GUN-PORN [is there a better kind?]. Beretta revealed this sexy little piece at the IDEX (International Defence Exhibition and Conference) in Abu Dhabi last week, the Beretta APX - their their first full-size striker pistol.

The gorgeous 7.55-inch-long APX is a striker fired pistol built on a chassis system.  The just over 4.25 inch long barrel is cold-hammer forged with nitriding surface treatment on all the steel parts. Beretta describes the operation as semi-auto, tilting barrel locking system using a non-pre-cocked striker block.

The serialized stainless steel chassis is encased with a fiberglass reinforced polymer frame and this helps to reduce the weight. With an empty magazine loaded, the APX weighs about 26.8 ounces in the 9 mm versions and just over 26.8 ounces in the .40 S&W variant.

To accommodate different hand sizes, there are three sizes of removable backstraps and grips. Each option provides a different palm swell and length of pull for the user. For those wearing heavy gloves, the trigger guard opening is designed to make that possible. APX also features coarse slide serration making cocking with cumbersome gloves easier.

The trigger, designed to be flatter and wider than others in the striker-fired pistol space, has a pull weight of about 6 pounds. The trigger travel is 6 mm, with reset at 3.

The weapon has the standard 1913 Picatinny rail for accessory mounting. Sights will be a standard three-dot combat sight system with a unique mounting system. For one handed slide cycling, there’s a rear sight ninety-degree face. 

Fieldstripping and switching components should be super easy. Triggerless disassembly is one of the advantages of striker-fired pistols and the APX has enhanced safety with the ability to disassemble without pulling the trigger. There is a disconnector pin on the rear right side of the pistol under the breech.

Christmas is just over nine months away folks :)

RIP John Cooper

The death has occurred of John Cooper at 73. He was a British comic book artist from West Yorkshire that was most famous for his work in the '70's and '80's. Chances are if you read any British weekly comic books around that period, you'll likely have seen his work as he drew strips for Valiant, Action, Starlord, Tornado, Battle, Eagle and one of the first Judge Dredd strips for 2000AD.

While he's known for Johnny Red and One-Eyed Jack - what I'll remember him for is the hundreds of pages of Action Force which he drew for ICP's Battle: Action Force in the mid 80's featuring all the G.I.Joe characters from that period, long before anyone in this neck of the woods had ever heard of G.I.Joe.

As he wasn't bound as his American counterparts were by the Comics Code Authority, Cooper had free reign to draw everything from realistic bullet wounds to suicide bombers in a comic book based on a child's toy. - And it was fucking awesome! May he rest in peace.

Commie alien star threatens freedom!

...or at least the freedom of Neanderthal man who shambled the planet 70,000 years ago.

A team of international astronomers led by Eric Mamajek at the University of Rochester, New York and supported by SPEARHEAD say that Scholz's star, a red dwarf, travelled through a region at the edge of the Solar System filled with trillions of comets known as the "outer Oort Cloud" and passed within 0.8 light years of the Sun. No other star is known to have approached this close to us - five times closer than our nearest neighbour - Proxima Centauri.

The researchers determined the trajectory of the star by analysing the change in distance from the Sun to the star and the star's motion across the sky. As Scholz's star now lies 20 light years away but it showed very slow motion for a star as close. This indicated that it was either moving away from us or worse - TOWARDS a future close encounter with the Solar System.

Once the panic that this generated among the senior scientific community and world governments which began working on ways to prolong the human race away from the doomed Earth had died down: the velocity measurements of the red dwarf confirmed that it was in fact speeding away from us. However after tracing its movements back in time, the astronomers found its close shave with the Sun occurred some 70,000 years ago.

While it was theorised that a star passing through the Oort Cloud could potentially play gravitational havoc with the orbits of comets there, sending them on trajectories into the inner Solar System. Dr Mamajek believes the effects of Scholz's star on our cosmic neighbourhood were "negligible". 

Director of Scientific Research,  Dr. "Quantum" Pataal cautioned that just because Scholtz's star will unlikely be the object of our doom "it won't be the last time we're threatened by rogue celestial bodies that we may be ultimately powerless to defend ourselves against.

Source: BBC

2014 - The Year in Review

We say goodbye to 2014, the 70th Anniversary of D-Day and 75th for Batman, a year of Ebola, ISIS, The Ukraine, Frozen, Ferguson Missouri and where Colbert "won" Television.

Where the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Germany won the World Cup and Luis Suárez was hungry. 

When Boko Harem were prompted to Bring Back Our Girls. Crimea was annexed by Russia. Israel and Palestine fought again and the Syria crisis worsened. 

A year of the Ice-Bucket Challenge, the Pistorious verdict, Irish Water charges, when Scotland is united yet divided, MH370 is lost, MH17 is shot down and QZ8501 crashed.

Kim Kardashian's huge oiled ass didn't break the Internet, but we landed something on a fucking comet [which you can even listen to] - there is hope! 

It is time to remember those we have left behind in 2014...

General Carl E. Mundy Jr, former USMC Commandant, former Taoiseach Albert Reynolds, outspoken Northern Irish Unionist politician Ian Paisley, Shirley Temple the child actress who would grow up to be come a U.S. ambassador, Ralph H. Baer engineer, inventor and pioneer of video gaming, author Maya Angelou, artist H. R. Giger, announcer and movie trailer voiceover artist Hal Douglas, TV producer Glen A. Larson, actors Eli Wallach, Mickey Rooney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, James Garner, Bob Hoskins and Lauren Bacall. Comedians Joan Rivers, Harold Ramis, Rik Mayall and Robin Williams. They changed the world and our lives.

Elaine Stritch and Donald Sinden both starred in the British ITV comedy series Two's Company from 1975-1979, both legends passed away in 2014 only 8 weeks apart

We also lost the following people from the world of entertainment:

Elaine Stritch, 89, American award-winning actress (30 Rock, Two's Company)
Sir Donald Alfred Sinden CBE FRSA, 90, English actor (The Day of the Jackal, Two's Company) Roger Lloyd-Pack, 69, English actor (Trigger in Only Fools and Horses)

Hal Sutherland, 84, American animator (Star Trek: The Animated Series), co-founder of Filmation

Sarah Marshall, 80, British actress (Janet Wallace Star Trek: TOS, "The Deadly Years")

John Cacavas, 83, American television score composer (Kojak, Hawaii 5-O, The Bionic Woman, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century)

Bernard Stanley "Acker" Bilk MBE, 85, English clarinetist ("Stranger on the Shore")

Campbell Lane, 78, Canadian actor (Baron Wolfgang von Strucker in Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.)

Richard Bull, 89, American actor (Mr. Oleson in Little House on the Prairie, The Doctor in Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea)

Ralph Waite, 85, American marine and actor (The Waltons, NCIS)

Cliff Bole, 76, American television director (MacGyver, T.J. Hooker, Star Trek: The Next Generation)

Christopher Malcolm, 67, Scottish actor (The Empire Strikes Back, Highlander)

Jimmy Murakami, 80, American animator and film director (The Snowman), co-founder of Murakami-Wolf Films

Malcolm Tierney, 75, British actor (Lieutenant Childsen in Star Wars, Braveheart)

Aaron Allston, 53, American game designer (Dungeons & Dragons) and sci-fi author (X-Wing)

James Rebhorn, 65, American actor (Independence Day, Homeland)

David A. Trampier, 59, American fantasy gaming artist (Dungeons & Dragons)

Arthur Smith, 93, American musician and songwriter ("Duelling Banjos" from Deliverance)

Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., 95, American actor (Alfred in Batman: The Animated Series and related shows/video games)

Terry Richards, 81, British actor and stuntman (Arabian Swordsman in Raiders of the Lost Ark, Star Wars, James Bond movies)

Casey Kasem, 82, American radio jockey (American Top 40) and voice actor (Shaggy in Scooby-Doo)

James Shigeta, 85, American actor (Takagi in Die Hard)

Patsy Byrne, 80, English actress (Nursie in Blackadder II)

Bob Hastings, 89, American actor (Commissioner Gordon in Batman: The Animated Series and related shows/video games)

Joe Viskocil, 61, American visual effects artist (Independence Day, Star Wars) Oscar winner (1997)

Cassandra Lynn Hensley, 34, American model (Playboy Miss February 2006)

Arlene Martel, 78, American actress (T'Pring in Star Trek: TOS "Amok Time")

Stephen Lee, 58, American actor (The Negotiator, Chorgan in Star Trek: The Next Generation "The Vengeance Factor")

Brian G. Hutton, 79, American actor and director (Kelly's Heroes, Where Eagles Dare)

The Rt Hon. The Lord Attenborough [Richard Samuel Attenborough], CBE, 90, English award-winning actor, producer and director (Gandhi, The Great Escape, Jurassic Park)

Buster Jones, 71, American voice actor (Blaster in The Transformers, Winston in The Real Ghostbusters and Lothar in Defenders of the Earth)

Polly Bergen, 84, American singer and actress (Rhoda Henry in The Winds of War and War and Remembrance) Emmy Award winner (1958)

Geoffrey Holder, 84, Trinidadian actor (Baron Samedi in Live and Let Die)

Jan Hooks, 57, American comedienne and actress (Saturday Night Live, Batman Returns, 30 Rock)

Carol Ann Susi, 62, American actress (Mrs. Wolowitz in The Big Bang Theory)

Richard Kiel, 74, American actor (Jaws in the James Bond movies)

Christine Cavanaugh, 51, American voice actress (The Critic)

John Robert "Joe" Cocker, OBE ("With a little help from my Friends", "Up Where We Belong")

Maximilian Schell, 83, Austrian-Swiss Oscar-winning actor (A Bridge Too Far, Cross of Iron)

Elizabeth Peña, 55, American actress (The Incredibles, Modern Family)

Mike Nichols, 83, German-born American director (Catch-22), Oscar winner (1968)

Don Pardo, 96, American radio and television announcer (Saturday Night Live)

Menahem Golan, 85, Israeli director and producer (Operation Thunderbolt, The Delta Force, Masters of the Universe), founder of Golan-Globus and the Cannon Group

Edward Herrmann, 71, American actor (Nixon, The Lost Boys, The Aviator)

The Ultimate Warrior, 54, American Hall of Fame professional wrestler (WWE)

Warren Clarke, 67, British actor (Firefox, Top Secret!)

Dennis Lipscomb, 72, American actor (Under Siege, Wiseguy, In the Heat of the Night)

Jimi Jamison, 63, American musician (Baywatch theme, Survivor "Burning Heart")

Lee Marshall, 64, American radio personality, professional wrestling announcer and voice actor (Tony The Tiger)

we appreciate the legacy of their talents and creativity.

Jackie Healy-Rae, charismatic former Fianna Fáil politician who left the party to become an Independent TD and founded a political dynasty.

We also acknowledge those who died in 2014 who devoted much of their lives to military, scientific, industrial or public service:

Vicente T. Blaz, 85, American USMC general and politician, delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives from Guam (1985–1993)

Captain John J. McGinty III, 73, American Marine Corps officer, recipient of the Medal of Honor

Major-General Patrick Guy Brooking CB CMG MBE DL, 76, former Commandant of the British Sector in Berlin [1985]

John Carty, 63, Irish politician, FF TD for Mayo (2002–2007), Senator (2007–2011)

Captain Dale Gardner, 65, American naval officer and astronaut (STS-8, STS-51-A)

Valeri Kubasov, 79, Russian engineer and cosmonaut (Soyuz 6, Apollo-Soyuz Test Project/Soyuz 19, Soyuz 36)

Lieutenant Walter D. Ehlers, 92, American World War II soldier, recipient of the Medal of Honor

Major Kurt Chew-Een Lee, 88, American military officer, first Asian-American officer in the Marine Corps, recipient of the Navy Cross

Staff Sergeant William Guarnere, 90, American World War II non-commissioned officer and author, key figure in Band of Brothers

Leutnant Hermann Schleinhege, 98, German Luftwaffe ace during World War II [97 aerial victories]

Colonel Ola L. Mize, 82, American army officer, Korean War recipient of the Medal of Honor

James R. Schlesinger, 85, American government official, Director of the CIA (1973), Secretary of Defense (1973–1975), Secretary of Energy (1977–1979)

Rear Admiral Jeremiah Denton, 89, American politician and naval officer, Senator from Alabama (1981–1987), recipient of the Navy Cross

Colonel James H. Kasler, 87, American Air Force officer, three-time recipient of the Air Force Cross

General of the Army Vladimir Popovkin, 56, Russian military officer, General Director of the Russian Federal Space Agency (2011–2013)

Avraham Shalom, 86, Austrian-born Israeli security official, Director of the Shin Bet (1980–1986), commander in the capture of Adolf Eichmann and the Bus 300 affair

PFC Chuck Tatum, 87, American WWII Marine, Iwo Jima combatant, provided source material for The Pacific

Denis Lyons, 78, Irish politician, FF TD for Cork North Central (1981–1992)

Colonel Henry Hartsfield, 80, American air force officer, NASA astronaut and test pilot (Columbia), commander for Discovery and Challenger missions

Major Theodore Van Kirk, 93, American military officer, navigator and last surviving crew member on the Enola Gay

Sergeant Major Jon R. Cavaiani, 70, American NCO and prisoner of war, Army Special Forces, recipient of the Medal of Honor

Yitzhak Hofi, 87, Israeli general, Director of Mossad (1974–1982)

Colonel Anatoly Berezovoy, 72, Soviet cosmonaut (Soyuz T-5)

Lieutenant General Lincoln D. Faurer, 86, American air force officer, Director of the National Security Agency (1981–1985)

Flight Lieutenant Bill Green, 97, English Battle of Britain RAF fighter pilot

General Ramsey Muir Withers, CMM, CD, 84, Canadian army officer, Chief of the Defence Staff (1980–1983)

Jackie Healy-Rae, 83, Irish politician, fmr FF, IND TD for Kerry South (1997–2011)

Ariel Sharon, 85, Israeli politician and general, Minister of Defense (1981–1983), Prime Minister (2001–2006)

Karl Albrecht, 94, German billionaire grocery executive, co-founder of Aldi

Brian Farrell, 85, British-born Irish broadcaster and journalist

we thank them for their service to their respective fields.

I must also mention the passing of Angalifu, a Sudanese-born American rhinoceros, and was one of two remaining male northern white rhinoceros, Julia O’Donnell, “Ireland’s most famous mammy” mother of singer Daniel O’Donnell who died at 94 and O Sang-hon, a 50 year old North Korean deputy security minister in the Ministry of Public Security, who was bizarrely executed by flamethrower in the political purge. May they rest in peace.

And now we look forward to

2015

Happy New Year

81 million views and counting...

Happy Xmas 2014

Coming to the end of a 3 month classified training operation on the moon, but I wish you all a very Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year.

Fact: Santa is actually a USMC 1st Sergeant

Shatner and Nimoy in new Star Trek III?

Zachary Spock Quinto confirmed recently that the third new Star Trek movie will be released in time for the 50th Anniversary of the franchise in 2016 and thusly will go before cameras within six months. That's great!

What I don't think is great however is that Robert Orci who "has the conn" for Star Trek III [2016] is more of a Trekkie than J.J. Abrams and is apparently planning on having both Spock prime [Leonard Nimoy] and Kirk prime [William Shatner] in the new universe! That's right, William Shatner could once appear canonically in Star Trek III [2016].

Now I'm sure that to some people this is great news, but I'm on the other side of that fence entirely. As much as I love the Shat, I think he's done all he can/needs to do with Kirk including a somewhat flat death scene in Star Trek: Generations, that despite not being the "best" way to say goodbye to the character, it has been accepted for 20 years now [Fuck, is it 20 years!!!???] as Kirk's endgame.

I didn't mind Spock prime's appearance in Star Trek '09, it was a successful passing of the baton, but Star Trek Into Darkness' Spock prime cameo served a pointlessness and a cheapening of the contribution of Nimoy's famous character to the franchise. While I adored Into Darkness, many saw it as just a poor rehash of the original Star Trek II and in turn rejected it's majesty without truly opening their minds to it's genius.

The character development we saw in Into Darkness could only have happened if we didn't have Spock prime there once again being all mystical and armed with future knowledge. His cameo threatened that but in the end it wasn't major enough to do character perception damage. I fear if both Shatner and Nimoy's characters are injected into the third new Star Trek movie it will considerably stunt that same character growth which was on schedule to be even more than evidenced between Star Trek ['09] and Into Darkness.

Also I loved the original Kirk and Spock et al when they were in their prime and maybe a little after, but Shatner is much to bloated now and poor Nimoy looks like he's about to drop dead any minute now (and how many fucking times is he going to declare retirement anyway?). We've got new actors now and a new timeline for them to work in. This is Trek for a new generation. Not ours. It's a timeline that doesn't need more goddamn time travel and alternative universes. They'll risk alienating any new fans they've picked up by delving into this misplaced nostalgia.

Having Nimoy and Shatner around will be like having your parents present while you're getting to 3rd base. No, put the new crew into space Robert and let them do what their counterparts originally did a generation ago without interference from future / alternate selves and give us something more original than a rehash of a classic or the Star Trek franchise will be exiled and lie dormant for another few years.

Source: Bruce Russel via Nerdist

Robin Williams 1951 - 2014

Last night I learned of the sad news that comedian and actor Robin Williams passed away yesterday at only 63. To add to the shock of losing such a master craftsman we learned that it appeared that he took his own life. I hope that I will never truly understand the terrible disease that is substance addiction and the depression he sought help with but I cannot condone his choice which I regard as an act of utter selfishness.

Nevertheless, one cannot deny the contribution that Williams gave to the entertainment industry and the world of comedy over the past 40 years. Williams was firstly a stand-up comedian and performed on stage every chance he got all throughout his professional career. His big break was in 1978 when he portrayed the alien Mork in an episode of Happy Days. The character was such a hit he soon had his own spin-off TV Series Mork & Mindy which lasted four seasons and made him a household name.

Williams made dozens of movies throughout his illustrious and prolific career. He made family favourites like Hook, Jumanji and Mrs. Doubtfire. He delivered 4 Academy Award nominated performances including Dead Poets Society and won for his performance in Good Will Hunting. Like most actors who have worked as long as he did, he also made some monumental disasters like Popeye and Cadillac Man. He explored his darkside in Insomnia and One-Hour Photo. He lent his voice to dozens of animated characters from Aladdin to Happy Feet. Two of his final roles will be as U.S. Presidents - Eisenhower in The Butler and Roosevelt in Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb.

Everyone who watches movies has their own favourite Robin Williams movie. Mine is Good Morning Vietnam. Despite what I think is Williams' greatest performance for which he received his first Oscar nomination, the movie taught me about censorship [and why it's needed] and that no matter how shitty the job is, even if it's against your personal beliefs - if you're the best at it, you have to do it.

In life, Williams was a D&D and tabletop RPG player and an avid video gamer playing Battlefield 2 and and World of Warcraft. He named his daughter after Princess Zelda and it's believed his son Cody is named for the character in Final Fight.

There have been many tributes on TV, online and in the press today from actors, comedians, writers, directors and even President Obama but one that I was most surprised to see was when I read today's Press Releases from the Pentagon and among the usual DoD and military announcements issued daily was official note from the Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel:

IMMEDIATE RELEASE     No. NR-424-14
August 11, 2014
Statement by Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel on the Passing of Robin Williams

The entire of Department of Defense community mourns the loss of Robin Williams. Robin was a gifted actor and comedian, but he was also a true friend and supporter of our troops. From entertaining thousands of service men and women in war zones, to his philanthropy that helped veterans struggling with hidden wounds of war, he was a loyal and compassionate advocate for all who serve this nation in uniform. He will be dearly missed by the men and women of DoD - so many of whom were personally touched by his humor and generosity.

I know other entertainers who have died in recent years have done USO shows but I honestly can't say I recall reading an official DoD press release for someone who has not served in uniform or in office for the Department of Defence, so this is truly special, just like he was.

RIP O Captain! My Captain!

Skellig Michael becomes alien world

There's a 54 acre 715 ft high unpopulated rock off the coast of Co. Kerry that's about to become one of the most famous places on the face of the planet.

Apparently J.J. Abrams, the custodian of my religious beliefs has been given permission by the OPW to film scenes for Star Wars VII on Skellig Michael of all places.

I'm hoping that it will be where they find the crazy old hermit Jedi Master Luke Skywalker living because that would be class and Hamill is sporting a beard [left] that would not look out of place amongst the locals down that direction.

But of course anything they doe will bring an influx of tourism to the island is it has to places like Tunisia and as it also contains a 6th century monastery, part of a UNESCO world heritage site, they may come away with more knowledge than they could possible imagine... ...as well as see some puffins.

Godzilla

Since last year, due to increased responsibility elsewhere, I stopped jumping to the cinema to see absolutely every movie that may have a hook for me. This policy shift has for about 80% of the time, saved me from [according to trusted sources] wasting my valuable time. However the final 20% seems to be split unevenly between movies that I perhaps should have gone to see [4%], and movies I should not have gone to but did [16%]. Godzilla is one such movie in the latter case.

This new Godzilla, apparently an homage to the old Tohiro movies is easily one of the best examples of lazy, pointless, unstructured, maddening, vacant, unentertaining film-making of the decade. For some unfathomable reason, Warner Bros. gave $160m to Gareth Edwards, a completely green first-time director whose only previous work of note was some monster effects for something, I know I read it somewhere but can’t recall now. It’s obvious that the man does indeed have some skill in that field as I’m unable to fault the overall quality of the special effects, pyrotechnics, CGI, modelwork and art direction. However everything else that makes up a movie was almost entirely missing, and sadly it’s a big part.

Edwards quotes three major influences on his career that’s only several years old now – George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and Quentin Tarantino, three of the most successful film creators in the world. Sadly Edwards captured almost none of what these men are known for. The movie has action, without sense of adventure and thus displays none of Lucas’ influence on him. It does have a plot but it’s without story and it’s soulless which is not how Spielberg would have influenced him, and despite having some of the screens’ more competent acting ensembles as Tarantino often does, Edwards wastes their talent with uninspired direction on top of already bland dialogue. There was one moment where Ken Batman Begins Watanabe reveals the creature’s name as Godzilla, it’s supposed to be a dramatic movie-defining moment to send chills down everyone’s spine but instead elicited shrieks of laughter from the audience. I’m glad some people had something to enjoy anyway, but this wasn’t overall a “so bad it’s funny” effort, this was just “bad.”

I don’t understand fully at what point in the process a story from David Callaham who competently penned the story and screenplays for both Doom and The Expendables could be so damaged by Max Borenstein and or further incompetently handled by Edwards. Neither Borenstein nor Edwards have such credits to their names so logically the fault must be with one or both of them. Not at fault were the actors who did their best with what they got. BAFTA nominated Aaron Kick-Ass Taylor Johnson took the lead as Lt. Ford Brody, a Naval EOD technician who for some reason could execute a perfect HALO jump? [but if I started listing all the military issues I had with this movie, I’d be here all day], the aforementioned SAG, Golden Globe and Oscar nominated Ken Watanabe as the obligatory scientist who ‘understands’ Godzilla, Brian Breaking Bad Cranston who has been nominated or won every TV acting award for the past 10 years is the scientist who speaks the truth but no one listens until it’s too late and of course we must mention Godzilla himself, except he’s really only a supporting character in this shoddy flick.

One major issue I must address was that the sound quality was horrendous. In all my years, I’ve never had such a terrible aural experience in the cinema, and I include the few times I’ve been in the back row far corner with some now-forgotten female conquest, away from the true surround experience in the centre area I insist on today. It was like as if they resampled the sound into 128kbps MP3 with some points sounding as tinny and warbled as 96kbps! It may have been an issue with the cinema sound itself [but I've since been in that cinema without issue] but it’s more likely the movie, and it suits me to blame the movie as I’m hating on it anyway. The sound issue certainly did not help Alexander Desplat’s music score but considering it was only marginally less droning, derivative, uninspired and toneless than the rest of that talentless hack’s other efforts, I don’t think it would have made much difference.

A few weeks back I read and subsequently tweeted that the USMC Hollywood liaison office decided to stay well clear of this. I should have followed suit.

Whopper Rating: *

Tonight on the main evening bias....

I'm so genuinely appalled at the news coming from the Israeli/Gaza conflict that I'll have to turn off the news. While I acknowledge the loss of life is indeed a tragedy and the war crimes on both sides of the conflict will continue, I'm fairly desensitised to that now. No I see the near global media bias against Israel as just as worrying.

Many news outlets have their own narrow-minded agenda like Fox News, Russia Today or The Guardian but thankfully they can be switched off/ignored, but when I see bias on this overwhelming scale that it can't be avoided it makes me sick. This reprehensible media bias is turning people who likely don't even know what the conflict is even about towards anti-Jewish hate-crime that make Mel Gibson at his drunken worst look like a moderate humanitarian! Many of these crimes are being committed against people of Jewish descent who may never even have ever been to Israel.

For the past two years during what was supposed to be a ceasefire, Hamas have been figuratively prodding the Israeli tiger with sticks, provoking it but to no avail. Finally they kidnap and kill three of the tiger's cubs and then they cry foul when the tiger gets pissed off and retaliates? Bollox to the media and anyone who can't see through it.

My words are full of wisdom but why not read from a holy man, a Rabbi who lives in Berkley [the cesspool of liberalism] and blogged to the normally leftist bastion of commentary The Huffington Post.

I won't miss him this time.

One can count the number of live appearances of one Hans Florian Zimmer on their fingers even if they're missing some. Needless to say it's a pretty rare occurrence. He has done a select few live events over the years usually as publicity pieces for movies he's scored. 

In 2000 he did a live concert at the Flanders Music Festival in Ghent, Belgium which was deemed quite remarkable for the lucky folk who attended. That event was captured on "Wings of a Film" an album made from the performance.

I was pretty shocked to see him on Saturday Night Live earlier in the year with Pharell Williams who worked with Zimmer on his Amazing Spider-Man 2 score and Zimmer did another live event with whom he dubbed The Sinister Six, the musicians who helped create the songs and sounds of the Spider-Man 2 soundtrack including The Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr.

I believe I have a CD or MP3 copy of every commercially available piece of music that Zimmer has scored on as well as plenty that's not publicly available so I'd be considered a true fan. He's without a single doubt the living musician I most admire.

So when he announced a concert series to debut in London in October, I vowed not to miss him again and I already have my ticket for his first performance.

Star Wars VII: Original Trilogy trio return

I don't think that just because I'm young and handsome that it somehow gives me the right to criticise the appearance of others, especially celebrities who are ageing naturally. No human being looks exactly the same after 30 or 40 years [unless you're Patrick Stewart]. Sure some folks look great for their age but there are others who do not. When some move out of the spotlight for a while and re-emerge like Val Kilmer, the result can be a shock.

Last year Mark Hamill was seen really dying for a fag and he rummaged through a public ash can to get a few puffs of sweet nicotine. This act was almost as reprehensible as the paparazzi who photographed him doing it after coming out of a burger joint which as Hamill's neck and waistline could attest to, he visited quite frequently [left]. 

This no doubt worried people about the original trilogy stars reprising their roles for Star Wars Episode VII. To be honest it also worried me a little, far more than knowing that I'd be losing almost 15 years of post ROTJ continuity begun by Timothy Zahn's Heir to the Empire. I mean we don't need [or want] 57 year old Carrie Fisher in her gold bikini but we do need to still see Princess Leia in her and the worry is that while active in Hollywood, both she and Hamill have been away from the front of the camera lens for quite some time.

Seeing her in person assuaged my fear somewhat. I was in the audience for a convention panel in Atlanta a few years back and there was little doubt Fisher [whom I share a Birthday with] commanded the love, attention and respect of those in the audience. While she said a couple of months back that she was made lose 30lbs for her new role, I'm convinced that this was something she'd have done herself anyway, to stay true to a character that obviously means so much to so many middle-aged men.

Hamill recently posed with Jedi Micky, a Jedi personification of Disney icon Micky Mouse. It's pretty obvious that Hamill not only aced the treadmill but every other piece of equipment in the gym as well and looks like a wise old Jedi Master which he damn well should be by now.

And then there's Harrison Ford who has had a stellar career on the silver screen with over 25 major appearances since ROTJ. He was considered the safe bet for being great in Star Wars VII but sadly he's turned into a grumpy old fart and broke his leg on set delaying production and causing rewrites.

Well two of of three ain't bad.

The Lord of the Blogs: The Return of The King

The biggest shock I got when I jumped in grade last year was that apparently general officers attached to non CONUS commands are afforded a shitload of vacation compared with the field grades. And if you don't take it, they send around medical personnel to evaluate you if it's deemed that you've been working for too long.

I've been probed enough by both medical and non-medical personnel throughout my career so if they want me to take a month then that what I'll do. To be honest I fucking deserve it. Why? Well you're all still alive aren't you?

So I grew a beard and went off on vacation, in a south easterly direction with some other folks who similarly were forced to take accrued vacation. We went somewhere with sun, sea and sand, well actually not too much sea as we were pretty far inland. We partied hard and it's unlikely the locals will forget us soon. Those that lived. We lost a couple of our own. Well I did say we partied hard. 

Normal service will now resume.

Whopper.

Fred's Dropped Dead! - RIP Rik Mayall 1958-2014

One may think that that first bit is somewhat callous for an obituary, but if you understood - or even believed you understood the comedic genius that was Rik Mayall then you'd agree that he'd find it quite hilarious, at home both as droll satire and schoolboy toilet-humour.

Mayall performed on stage in the early 1980's with long time comedy partner Adrian Edmondson whom he met at Manchester University. He co-wrote the TV cult-classic The Young Ones in which he starred as obnoxious, poetry-writing anarchist Rick alongside Edmondson before they both went on to star in their sitcom Bottom which also achieved cult status. Crass schoolboy humour, explosions, pyromaniacs and severe blows to the skull with frying-pans were the recipe for the majority of Mayall and Edmondson's slapstick comedy and they became famous because of it.

Mayall made some sporadic appearances elsewhere on television at the time. He is widely known as Lord Flashheart from Rowan Atkinson's Blackadder series shouting catchphrases such as "woof!" and "let's do-oo-oo it!". In contrast to his obnoxious and anarchic characters his last great TV character was Alan B'Stard a conservative backbencher MP for Haltemprice in The New Statesman, which ran on ITV for four series.

Mayall appeared in several movies including cult-classic Woops Apocalypse [1986] and in the final film in the Carry On series, Carry On Columbus [1992]. My post title is a pun on Drop Dead Fred [1991] arguably Mayall's most famous film role where he played the title character, an imaginary friend to Phoebe Cates. It was literally one of the worst British movies ever made probably because it was marketed as a children's movie but contained repressively dark black-comedy, profanity and themes of serious mental illness.

Mayall suffered a serious quad bike accident in 1998 and doctors had kept him on a life-support machine for five days. He began to show signs of life just before they were about to turn it off. He said the near-death experience changed his life and "the main difference between now and before my accident is I'm just very glad to be alive."

Mayall died at his home in Barnes, London on Monday from what is understood to have been a coronary event. He was 56. He is survived by his wife and two children.

Below is Mayall as Lord Flashheart in BBC's Blackadder Goes Fourth with Rowan Atkinson, Hugh Laurie, Tony Robinson and Adrian Edmonson as Baron von Richthofen.

Adrian Edmondson paid tribute to his friend, saying: "There were times when Rik and I were writing together when we almost died laughing... They were some of the most carefree stupid days I ever had, and I feel privileged to have shared them with him. "And now he's died for real. Without me. Selfish bastard."