Toho had such an eye for composition and color. I could always tell when it was a Toho product.
Note: Pluto did a big update recently, so I am giving it another try for content streaming. Previously it was a dice roll to connect to their view on demand content. I tested this on Brave, Chrome and direct to app with no issues. Firefox was being difficult. If you are viewing this on your smart TV, it won’t matter because you would look this up on Pluto directly. If you have any problems, our technician is standing by. You can contact him via drone.
The year is 2000. Here in the states we had just been exposed to Godzilla (1998). It was a re-imagining of Godzilla with American and French actors, done and distributed by TriStar. In japan, they got Godzilla vs. Megaguirus. Of the two I definitely prefer the Toho movies. The Toho Godzilla films made in the late 90’s-early 2000s would be the last Godzilla films to have men fighting in suits. Model and monster making capability was at an all time high in the 2000s, due to the success of things we in the states know as Power Rangers. All of those camera techniques, story pacing and model making lessons went into making this Godzilla film.
This film has the usual absurd device that can obliterate Godzilla. In every movie the device never functions when needed. Seems par for the course going back to the original Godzilla and the concept of the oxygen destroyer. Always there is some thing which might destroy Godzilla. This time, the thing which could destroy Godzilla causes the problem it eventually has to solve. Hmm…. Could be an allegory for something…
How many versions of Godzilla are there? A ton. This link to Wikizilla can enlighten those of you who never thought about it. Movies in the same group as tonight’s film include:
- Godzilla 2000: Millennium (1999) – This kicked off a new round of movies with a new look and more serious tone. This is NOT the TriStar film.
- Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000) – Tonight’s film! Vampire bugs suck the life from people, then become a collective to suck the life from Godzilla.
- Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001) – Everyone together now! Both cool and slightly kiddie. Mothra became a kid superstar around this time and had a number of excessively long movies.
- Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (2002) – I think this is the one where a former dead Godzilla’s skeleton was used to make the robot.
- Godzilla: Tokyo SOS (2003) – Quite long, had all the monsters.
- Godzilla Final Wars (2004): After Godzilla Final Wars, there was not a live-action Godzilla film until Shin Godzilla (2016), where mostly CGI and a puppet were use for Godzilla.
If you do like tonight’s film, be aware that Pluto currently has a channel for Kaiju films and has all of the films mentioned above as view on demand!
So watch! Or don’t! Everything is voluntary until a giant unstoppable monster shows up and destroys everything you care about! Wow, you know that could really be an allegory for something….
“Megaguirus”
That doesn’t sound Japanese?
MAGA-JEERUS
Blue Oyster Cult – Godzilla (Live at The Capitol Center, 1978)
I’ve actually seen BOC live. Good show.
i never got to see them. I did get to see Deep Purple though.
Saw them too!
Never got to Ozzy or Maiden, but wanted to go.
Looks like I’ll be going to see Steel Panther at a small bar in Fort Wroth soon. The wife found some tickets.
“Fort Wroth”
Head on a swivel, bro. Sounds like people there can be touchy.
R.J. gets it. 🤘🤘 And your wife must have a sense of humor and excellent taste. 🤘🤘 I only wish there was a Shocker emoji.
I’ve seen them a couple of times. Never saw Deep Purple. Never was a huge fan, but would have gone just to see Ian Paice play.
Jon Lord had his whole keyboard rig on a rocking pivot and he would sway back and forth. That was the really surprising part of the show.
Cap Center for the WIN, Dee Cee homeboy.
I saw them as the warm-up for Uriah Heep. BOC ended their segment of the show with all five guys on guitars rocking out Hot Rails to Hell. I yelled myself hoarse at that concert.
Saw them several years later at a local bar. The sound guy must have been drunk because it was really disappointing.
A good mix can make or break a show.
Diving in.
Shit. Pluto shit the bed on me.
Oh no! What browser?
Firefox.
The movie won’t show up at all in Brave. I get their front page.
Check to see if you have the “Play DRM content” switch turned on. I am in Firefox, ad blocker turned off.
Alternately, navigate there from the front page if it can play content. Or I could call STEVE.
Turning the adblocker off helps.
I had the DRM switch on. The movie won’t play at all with it off. Back to on.
Good. STEVE SMITH, troubleshooter rarely makes things better.
You should have a field day with all the cars in this one. Mechagodzilla 2 has some great Japanese jeeps too.
Your wealth of knowledge never ceases to amaze.
Those Japanese Jeeps were made under license by Mitsubishi.
I always thought there were zero left of them.
Well, this was 24 years ago. They sure seemed to have a lot of them. Also that awesome tall two-door sedan with the badge covered up. What was that? It was way modern for that year, notice all the other cars were squared off Toyotas and Hondas.
I smiled when I saw the Kei truck.
I used to see one in the parking lot at my gym.
Sigh. Mitsubishi… Zero…
Bueler, Bueler, Bueler…
I got a different window and such, but it still works. I got a still ad when I hit pause though. First time I’ve seen ad from them.
I have an insane amount of ads. Maybe 20 minutes in I have had ten ads.
Are you using a browser on a computer or a TV?
I don’t think I get that many ads on Pluto on my TV. Live, there’s a bit less than the 8 minutes per half hour that used to be the maximum for broadcast TV. On demand, the movies seem to have fewer ads than live.
I don’t seem to be able to get Pluto to play on my PC (Firefox, Linux Mint).
Of course, that’s because I had my ad-blocker on.
/blushing
Tootsie is currently on, a 1:56 movie in a 2:30 slot. The Long Goodbye is four minutes shorter, but in a 2:15 slot. I think all the movie channels on Pluto start movies in 15-minute increments, which might have something to do with how many ads they put in. The movie channels on the Roku Channel app aren’t like that.
Tubi, I only watch stuff on demand.
I was writing you a big troubleshooting piece and then when I went to verify the keystrokes in Firefox I closed my damn browser window. AAAAAAHHH!
Looks like you figured it out. Pluto will not tolerate an ad blocker. And they throw in more commercials than bird shot in a quail. So I may just make this an occasional thing.
Smart TV. I am living in luxury tonight with a big TV and a laptop for commenting.
I don’t get ads with a browser and uBlock (I connect the computer to my Chinese spy flatscreen via HDMI). There is just this tiny glitch where the ad would have been.
I mean with Tubi, our usual source.
I’m in Firefox on a Mac and it’s working fine.
I saw Godzilla vs Megalon with my Ma. Don’t remember anything about the movie – just being out with my Ma.
This is a totally different monster. Really similar name though. On this second watch through it really feels like a Power Rangers episode in some places. I think it is the cinematography.
(after Googling it – no wonder I don’t remember the movie – I was 4!)
‘Oops! Something went wrong
We’ll have things fixed in no time so you can continue on your journey.’
Too bad, could be because I’m out of country though.
All the CGI and anime Godzillas are terrible. Guys in suits destroying toy models are where it’s at. Can’t wait until my son is old enough for Godzilla. He’s getting close because he spends all day pretending to shoot it blow up everything around him.
i didn’t even want to bring up the anime Godzillas you can get on Netflix. They are really bad.
For those of us who grew up watching men dressed as monsters wrestling on Saturday morning these newer films are a treat. Somebody cared enough to make new ones, and not wreck it with bad CGI.
This really is one of the best of the newer ones that few people in the states have seen. Mark it for future reference if you can’t get Pluto working.
Thanks, will do.
No way they will allow Brandon to debate Trump. What excuse will they use?
“He’s dead. He is still our candidate so VOTE FOR JOE!”
Actually, they should let him debate. Trump, instead of showing compassion and pity, would mock and scorn Biden causing the audience to sympathize. A debate with President Harris would be a three bucket of popcorn event.
I didn’t even think of that. All Joe’s team does is mis-steps so they will probably miss the opportunity to let Trump look like king bully.
A dead candidate for dead voters!
R.J. I really hope this happens. ‘Zombie Biden runs for president’ could make a good Thursday night film.
You know Full Moon Features will make a film. Maybe “Barbie and Kendra Save America,” or “Bidenzombies.”
You lurkin’, Charles?
This could turnout to be right.
We will not debate with an INSURRECTIONIST!!!
Damn your nimble fingers.
That’s it. Some kind of “we won’t dignify Trump’s campaign by debating with him” play.
The half of this country in that bubble will cheer and clap. The half in the other bubble will point and laugh. It’s past time this country split into at least two, probably four, nation-states.
Getting back to the article posted over the weekend about Republicans having a stupidity problem, this is another of those situations where the Republicans have to overcome the Dominant Culture*. Of course thanks to the media propagating the message, of course Trump’s campaign is undignified, while the Dominant Culture is doing everything it can to cover up the stupidity coming from Joe Biden, or from Team Blue in general.
*Dominant Culture being that which can get it its messaging out because of the extent to which it controls the means of propagation; it’s not always in the majority (immigration being one issue where I’d argue it’s decidedly not in the majority).
By the same token, of course you can sneer and laugh at the caricature of Team Red that the Democrats and the Dominant Culture puts out there, while good luck finding the caricature of Team Blue getting broad airing. The Democrats do just as much stuff that’s stupid as the Republicans are portrayed as doing. If anybody on Team Red tried Hillary’s wiping the server with a cloth line, or “what difference at this point does it make”, they’d be the laughingstock in every TV outlet and all the social media feeds would be highlighting it. But point it out about Team Blue? Whycome you be so mean?
I recently attended a timber-framing opportunity at a YMCA camp I used to work at. It was led by my former boss/mentor/hero. The liquor flowed, the food was eaten, we got talking about current events.
This guy I looked up to for many years (not dumb, well travelled, speaks multiple languages, possesses common sense, can cook an amazing popover) asserted that Biden was a VERY SMART MAN. I blinked my eyes and said “Moss (short for Thomas), surely you are joking!” Then he went on to say that Putin must be stopped and Zelensky is a hero. I…I…I…was dumbfounded. What do you say to that?
“Say, Moss let’s change the subject. Can you help me understand cognitive dissonance?”
Take out your phone and show him this Biden clip:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87aPi_qwL1k
You could also just quote the recent judgment of the special counsel: “elderly man with a poor memory”
follow up with this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nY0GwuBn-c
“So…you are saying that Biden is obfuscating stupidity?”
Probably the best thing to do, if the relationship is still important, is guide the conversation elsewhere.
“Yeah, that Biden; he’s something else, isn’t he? What was his favorite ice cream, again?”
Trump is a terrorist traitor to democracy, and we won’t dignify his illegitimate run for office by hosting a debate.
Plus he’s not on hardly any ballots, so he’s already lost!
I forgot about the first insect ripping a guys head off. Shocking gore for a Godzilla film!
Unlike the guy Tom Hanks played in the movie, I made it out of Philadelphia alive.
TALL CANS!
Are you still trapped in Jersey?
Nope. Safely ensconced back at Chez Tres with Jugsy and the hounds.
Jugsy and the Hounds is a great band name. Just trying to land on the genre. I’m thinking blues.
Definitely blues.
Bluegrass
Now I’m thinking “Huckleberry and the Hounds”.
Jugsy and the Pussycats scans.
Ya know, now I’m thinking bluegrass.
Rockabilly
Hick hop
https://youtu.be/kFr0jVOH0vc
You got it
See, that should have been the sequel! None of that LA shit.
I did have the best shakshuka when I was in Philly tho.
Not something you find in these parts so much.
I got called Abu Shakshouka in Egypt. In the local slang, the word also means beard. On second thought, it may have been a reference to the fact that my beard at the time would have made eating that dish a very messy affair.
There are umpteen Abu nicknames and sometimes they make no sense. Abu Jassim means a cop in Iraqi Arabic and I have no idea why.
And here I thought they called you “Hassan Bin Laid”
Well, if your blood pressure isn’t high enough or you’re running short on black pills:
The ghost writer that Biden shared a bunch of classified info with deleted all the recordings of his interviews with Biden. After the special counsel was appointed.
https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/1755696693821993398
And.
Nothing.
Else.
Happened.
Staaaaaaahhp.
Want to see my shocked face?
Better that than your O face.
Same face
“If the president does it, that means it is not illegal.”
Just substitute “journalist” into that quote.
What may be the only Bette Middler song I like. And oddly popular in Japan thanks to Studio Ghibli using it.
【ジブリ】おもひでぽろぽろ / 愛は花 君はその種子ーThe Roseー Bette Midler/都はるみ/Studio Ghibli Cover
Odd band. Plays both Japanese and western songs, but with Irish arrangements and instrumentation. Good singer as well.
Kid, we are all Tulpae (is the plural of Tulpa Tulpae or Tulpas?)
(Is the plural of Prius Prii?)
Are we not men?
We are Tulpae!
We need a grammar decision from Tonio. Tulpae, Tulpas, or Tulpii?
tulpads
“Tulpads now come in packs of six for those heavy days”
Tulpuss.
Tulpaades ((4 syllables)
Tulpen. Tulper?
Tulpa is a Tibetan word, so its plural in that language would be tulpazho. This is an educated guess based on the fact that serba means cow in Tibetan and serbazho means cows. The plural marker for human nouns is -tsho, so the correct plural might be tulpatsho.
I’ve been to Tibet. It was fun, but sad to see Chinese soldiers everywhere. The beer was good. I met an airman at DLI who had Tibetan ancenstry. He said I was the first white guy he met who knew any words in Tibetan.
Anyway, the general rule in English is not use foreign plurals, for example, oblasts instead of oblasti.
***
Tulpa (Tibetan: སྤྲུལ་པ | Wylie: sprul-pa) is a term that originates in Tibetan and Indian Buddhism. In ancient teachings it was used as a practice to show that the world around us exists as an illusion, and that the student could not trust what their senses perceived.
***
You know too much about the etymology of Tulpa.
I am calling shenanigans, you are Tulpa!
So fuck off.
Fine, I shall leave and a completely different person named Rollo will take my place.
I like Rollo, he is good people.
I’m pretty sure Rollo is the same guy that run the Rev Artie account at Volokh (which then moved to reason for extra synchronicity)
I remember when Tulpa claimed it was a portmanteau of Tulane, where he claimed to go to school, and PA, as he claimed to live in Pittsburgh at the time.
In that case, his moniker was an amusing coincidence, though I’ve never seen anyone else online use a similar method to create a username.
Sloopyinca?
There’s a university called sloopy?
The formula of xinyz is fairly common. I’ve doing online dating for 14 years. I’ve been YouTube comments for even longer. There’s not much creativity in the usernames.
“What are you animals doing in this Tulpazoo” sounds pretty good.
Prions.
Since we are approaching the fabled Superbowl, I wanted to bring up this excellent piece where Sasquatch and Clay Mathews played football.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZhCQNBAhXA
Don’t mess with Sasquatch.
Damn you all, I have Punk Rock Girl stuck iny head. And I wonder why I didnt name my daughter Minnie Pearl C.
OK, I am out. Busy day tomorrow. You Tulpae clean up, don’t leave a mess for Grosspatzer in the morning!
Biden responds to criticism of his memory:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gzz_SBemmmk
“My memory’s so bad that I let you speak.”
?????
What you all think, Newsom/Michelle ticket in the wings?
Nah… neither of those two will ever settle for VP.
SGS-Search Godzilla System, LOL!
Siskel and Ebert review The Critic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wqm-dVF-Sdk
They made some good points.
TPTB and others. I checked email and saw there was a password reset request sent from Glibertarians.com 2019 Archive. Was this part of the recent madness you are suffering through?
Hmmmm. I didn’t get one. Make of that what you will.
El Presidente Dude-Bro missed his chance. Should have pulled up in a gull-winged car.
Whaddup Canuckian.
Fuck, I can’t watch this. Every time it hits a commercial, it goes back to where the last commercial was, and the fast forward is disabled.
Eh, I woke up well a head of my alarm. 😒
Morning, everyone!
🌄☕
Guns, Nazis, monocles: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YV4oYkIeGJc
🎶🎶
I woke up after my alarm had been turned off my some self-sabotaging jerk, and convinced I had only twenty minutes until my shift start (not enough time to reach the office) only to remember I never changed that clock when some jerk switched them all back in fall.
Good morning, Sean and U!
Morning.
The office is quiet for the moment. None of the noisy people are in yet. It’s so peaceful.
Maybe they’ll call in sick! 🤞
I’ll accept them working remotely as well.
👍🤞
My boss called in sick. I am at the top of the management chain today.
*retrieves cattle prod from locker*
Can you repeal policy? Fire the Diversity office? Much more productive than zapping people with prods.
Yanno, I’m not actually certain where the DEI personnel sit. I would assume they’re on this site. Fortunately, we’re doing pretty good at pantomiming goodthink without actually shitting on anyone or making ourselves less efficient.
Biden address from yesterday evening I didn’t even realize was going to happen concerning the classified documents noncharges:
https://youtu.be/vRndv9A1JvY?si=Lk0Pc3paqJAL1bzn
Lord have mercy, what a soup sandwich. I actually felt sorty for him, at least up until the point that he blamed his staff for things that may have criminal implications.
I did for a bit until recent months when he has been more frequently shouting with rage at anyone who expresses doubt in the radical program his handlers have been using him to feed to the country.
Christ, what an asshole.
He was never a nice guy despite the kind elder uncle fake image of his younger days. Now though, I doubt he’d have many of the views he expouses if he had the mental horsepower to push back which he plainly doesn’t. He really is a puppet, to who I’m not certain but whichever amoral scumbag is pulling the strings behind the curtain would be crazy to let this guy and this opportunity go.
I saw a little of that but couldn’t stand to see very much. So that’s what he resorted to when someone asked the inevitable, “If your memory is fine, do you take responsibility for the mishandled documents?” If so, just goes to show he’s still a weasel. (Yes, I know – the comparison is unfair to weasels.)
Mornin’, reprobates!
Fun City
Once upon a time, American tourists were warned to be careful in Brazil. Tables be turning, yo. My head will be on a swivel when I go into the city next week to meet up with my soon-to-be-ex colleagues.
I’ve always understood cities to be violent, crime-ridden hellholes.
Growing up in one may have colored my perceptions.
Damn you Bruen! Thids is all Gorsuch and Kavanaugh’s fault!
suh’ fam
yo whats goody
Covfefe and Vicodin here. You survived the Philly metro, that’s good.
Mornin’ all
Morning
Yo
“Here’s the take-away for thoughtful democrats: Putin isn’t a wild-eyed maniac; he’s thoughtful and intelligent. He isn’t crazy; he’s rational and has understandable reasons for what he’s doing, even if we don’t agree with his reasons. He isn’t unreasonable; he offered to negotiate peace and openly invited that discussion. He might be an enemy, but he’s not a chaos demon from the pits of Hell, like corporate media has always described him.”
https://open.substack.com/pub/coffeeandcovid/p/skepticism-friday-february-9-2024?r=d0r3d&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post
You do not survive as a KGB Colonel then take over a country like post-Soviet Russia without some serious cunning.