Bombers Introduce "New" Helmet and Logo

It's back to the basics and tradition for the CFL's Winnipeg Blue Bombers as they unveiled their not-so-new logo and helmets for the upcoming 2012 season.  The bold white "W" that will emblazon the helmets is the same logo the club used between 1965 and 1995.  it replaces the lightning bolt logo that I never liked in the first place, but was forced to embrace.  I guess I have to buy a new baseball cap with the "new" logo, since I the one I just got last year has hardly been worn what with me wearing the colour out of my Jets cap since their re-birth.

I hope this will be a re-introduction to the classic "W" over the football and word-mark I grew up with:

American Bandstand Icon Dick Clark Dead at 82

Dick Clark, the seemingly ageless rock 'n' roll mogul that brought rock 'n' roll into the mainstream and countless homes across the world, as well as kick-starting the careers of numerous bands and solo artists over the decades has died of a "massive" heart attack at the age of 82.

The Titanic: 100 Years Later

It's been one hundred years to the day that the world's biggest "unsinkable" luxury liner, the RMS Titanic, hit an iceberg and sunk to the bottom of the North Atlantic taking with it 1,514 souls.

It feels weird to post this on an "entertainment" blog since it was and continues to be one of the most tragic, if not the most romanticized occurrences in nautical as well as human history.
It's hard to believe that 1oo years ago today (and as of this writing, about two hours to the hour) that the once thought-of "unsinkable"RMS steam liner Titanic hit an iceberg in the still, freezing waters of the North Atlantic and within two hours, slipped beneath the waves after tearing in two, taking with her 1,514 souls. Only 710 survivors that either were lowered onto the collapsible lifeboats from the ship's deck, or picked up from the water after the sinking.

I, like a lot of people, have been pretty avidly interested in the Titanic and all her stories all my life, whether they be myths or not. Everything from the unimaginable horror, to the bravery, chivalry, myths and human arrogance of the tragedy. It wasn't really until Robert Ballard's discovery of the wreck in 1985 that made it real for everyone. Although documented history let us know the the "greatest" marine disaster ever did happen, it had that romanticized myth about it that almost put it in mind of Greek mythology. I think the discovery of the wreck at the bottom of the Atlantic 400 miles off the coast of Newfoundland finally made it real for everyone that had heard about it throughout their lives, other than the survivors and those like Ballard that made it their life work to find the famed, doomed vessel.
"The first reaction was celebration, we all jumped up shouting because we were near the end of the expedition and we thought we were going to fail," Ballard said when he and his crew saw the image of a boiler in the sand 12,000 feet beneath the surface signaled the discovery of the Titanic. "But that was followed quickly by a realization of where we were, that we were on a gravesite. We started seeing where the bodies had landed, that this was a cemetery, and it changed our emotional wall. It went from pure joy to thoughtful reflection."

There have been a plethora of books written on the subject and there will continue to be hundreds more written in the coming years. But I think, because of this milestone anniversary, the fascination of the tragedy will never be as high as it is right now. Mine started when I read one of the first written in the modern age, A Night to Remember by Walter Lord. I couldn't put it down and have been engrossed by the subject ever since. The tales of bravery and sadness as well as the the mysteries of exactly how and why the ship was destined to flounder has always kept me on the lookout for almost anything to do with the ship and her stories. I have read almost anything I can get my hands on and have seen countless documentaries. Last summer I went to the Titanic artifact exhibit, complete with mock passenger ticket and short biography of an actual passenger. At the end of the exhibit you wen to a big list and checked to see if the person you had the name of survived or not. Mine didn't. He was third-class male and like most steerage passengers, he didn't have much of a chance.
Most people tend to forget that this horrific event actually happened and happened to real people that suffered the greatest horror that even the best Hollywood writers couldn't imagine. But one story of the Titanic wasn't about the Titanic at all. It was called Wreck of the Titan (aka Futility) by Morgan Robertson and it was a work of fiction about an unsinkable ship that didn't have enough lifeboats for everyone on board, hit an iceberg on its maiden voyage in the North Atlantic in the month of April. It was published in 1898. That means it predated even the designing of the Titanic by about 12 years. Creepy. The similarities are down right eerie. I mean this has to be the preeminent tale of
coincidence in the history of history.
As mentioned, there are countless books and documentaries about the Titanic. Here is a short one found on YouTube with footage and survivor interviews.





There are many more videos on YouTube about the Titanic, its survivors and their tales. You can just go the the YouTube website and check them out.

Director James Cameron who gave us probably the best description of what happened to the Titanic both in how the ship hit the iceberg and what detailed damage it did to cause it to sink with an animation that was seen in his 1997 feature film, Titanic, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. But even though it shows the best re-enactment anybody has given the general public to date, a recent documentary he hosted with Titanic experts of the last 20 or so years shows, as Cameron readily admits on air, that there were mistakes made in that animation and he would correct them. However, Cameron stated he would not "fix" the film with the updated information since he is still quite happy with the final product.



The disaster reached far and wide and touched people in seemingly every country and language. This is a memorial plaque in my hometown of Winnipeg that is dedicated to those form here that were lost.



For a sample of the numerous stories permeating the internet this week, I have linked a few of them for your viewing.

Titanic Sinking Remembered

Robert Ballard

Futurama

Archives Contain New Fragments of Tale of Ship’s Fateful Voyage

Tragic Tale Endures Test of Time

Human Remains Embedded at Titanic Site?

The Force Unleashed

O.k. Here are the endings to both the light side and dark side endings to both The Force Unleashed games. I just couldn't resist posting them after the last post that went on and on after it was supposed to be just a simple post after a simple thought. And if I post the same endings as the last post; ah, well. Sai la vie.

Forced unleashed I-Lightside Ending:


Darkside Ending:


The Force Unleashed II-Lightside Ending:


Darkside Ending:

Star Wars: Video Games to Movies

Ok, so I love Star Wars right? So I'm thinkin', why not make another Star Wars trilogy? Prequel, sequel, it doesn't matter, but this time make it awesome and not Jar-Jar Binks crappy. Actually, except for Jar-Jar I enjoyed The Phantom Menace. Yes. Honestly, I did. I mean, c'mon, it was the first Star Wars movie in 16 years, and no, I don't count those pathetic Ewok TV movies. Now Attack of the Clones was the weakest link in the chain of the prequel trilogy, admittedly, but it did not totally suck either. Again, it's a Star Wars movie, how really bad could it be if your a Star Wars geek? And I'm assuming most of us are. Revenge of the Sith tried to recapture the brooding atmosphere of what is arguably the best episode in the SW saga, The Empire Strikes Back. It pretty much succeeded I think, but it wasn't able to dethrone Empire as the best movie.

Anyways, the point of all this is I was just checking out some Star Wars YouTube videos and came across the intro vids for the Old Republic games. Put aside the fact I still haven't played any of these (that's because I still stubbornly refuse to "generation-up" out of my PlayStation 2-I used my PS1 for 10 years, and I'm only on four with the PS2, so good luck with that) but what I am thinking is take the exact same concept of these intros and make movies out of them. And I mean with the exact same animation, if not a tad better. Not like the Clone Wars feature film (or for that matter, the Cartoon Network's adaptation of the Clone Wars in 2005) but just like these intros. If you haven't seen them, I think you'll agree they're pretty awesome. They are in chronological order and tell the tale of the time (as the title indicates) of the Old Republic. Before Emperor Palpatine, before Darth Vader. heck, we're talking about 2000 years before Yoda. Yeah, a long time. Check em' out:



And then there's more in the still ongoing OR saga:



Cool huh? Wouldn't they make awesome flicks? If you're a stickler for live-action sci-fi actors, well then go away. You would get used to computer-generated action pretty quick, especially if it's this great. Imagine the lengths you could go to. There would literally be no limitations. And they could do this forever. I mean, there are endless Old Republic stories. Personally I would love to see prologue stories such as putting Timothy Zahn's 1990's Heir to the Empire trilogy (or Thrawn trilogy, referring to probably the best villain in a Star Wars story since Darth Vader) on the big screen. That would most definitely rock. You couldn't do it with live-action for obvious reasons such as Harrison Ford, Mark Hamil and Carrie Fisher being too old for the roles now. It could have been done in the 90's, because all of them would have supposed to have been a bit older after the events (five years after the destruction of the second Death Star according to the time-line) with Han and Leia married with kids (paternal twin toddlers plus a young infant) but not now. Too much time has passed.

If you haven't read this original book series that started it all (yeah, don't tell of the original Star Wars books adapted from the screenplays, supposedly written by George Lucas or Splinter of the Minds Eye, I know about that too-who doesn't? And although the chronological time sequence may suggest otherwise, this was the original story) I really suggest that you do. The inside flap of the first book reads,

Here is the science fiction publishing event of the year: the exciting continuation of the legendary Star Wars saga. Picking up where the movie trilogy left off, Heir to the Empire reveals the tumultuous events that take place after the most popular series in motion-picture history—masterfully told by Hugo Award-winning author Timothy Zahn.

In spring 1977 a film called Star Wars was released—and a cultural phenomenon was born. Its epic story, about a young man named Luke Skywalker, whose destiny was to save the galaxy from conquest, caught the imaginations of millions and broke all box-office records. Today Star Wars and its sequels, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, are acknowledged as the most popular series in movie history, and rank among the top ten films of all time.

The three Star Wars films form a spectacular saga of bold imaginations and high adventure. But the stories of its characters did not end there. Now for the first time, Lucasfilm Ltd., producer of the Star Wars movies, has authorized the continuation of this beloved story. In an astounding three-book cycle, Timothy Zahn continues the tale of Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, and the other characters made world famous by Star Wars, as he brilliantly expands upon George Lucas's stunning vision, "a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away."

Heir to the Empire begins five years after the end of Return of the Jedi: the Rebel Alliance has destroyed the Death Star, defeated Darth Vader and the Emperor, and driven the remnants of the old Imperial Starfleet back into barely a quarter of the territory that they once controlled. Leia and Han are married and have shouldered heavy burdens in the government of the new Republic. And Luke Skywalker is the first in a hoped-for new line of Jedi Knights.

But thousands of light years away, where a few skirmishes are still taking place, the last of the Emperor's warlords has taken command of the remains of the Imperial fleet. He has made two vital discoveries that could destroy the fragile new Republic—built with such cost to the Rebel Alliance. The tale that emerges is a towering epic of action, invention, mystery, and spectacle on a galactic scale—in short, a story that is worthy of the name Star Wars.

There's one testimonial on the back cover of the first book, Heir to the Empire (the other two are Dark Force Rising and The Last Command) that reads, "...moves with the speed of light tempo, you can almost hear the John Williams soundtrack." I concur. Zahn really gets the Star Wars universe. May I add you could also almost see the editor's "wipes" that separate the scenes. Zahn is obviously a Star Wars fan...or just a really, really good writer.

Well, this was supposed to be an advocating of a video game-turned-movie. Instead it seemed to progress into an everything Star Wars post. Ah well. Sue me.

So while I'm at it, how about this one as well. Again, if you're a Star Wars fan, you undoubtedly know about the game The Force Unleashed, the story of the secret apprentice of Darth Vader set between Episodes III & IV. That was followed in 2009 with The Force Unleashed II.



YouTube has all of The Force Unleashed II's cinematic cut-a-ways. Hey, this isn't about spoiling, it's about the quality of animation for possible theatrical releases, so there. Embedding disabled (the cretins) so...Part 1 and Part 2 have to be viewed directly from YouTube.

Seriously. Could you imagine these as full-length feature films? Or at the very least, direct to DVD and/or Blue Ray? I predict there will be a Star Wars project released in this version. Although it wouldn't be the first (there was the feature film release of Final Fantasy) It has to happen sometime.

And just for a bonus, take a look at these "What if?" horrible scenarios. I have no idea where they came from, but they're a little disconcerting.





They do say "RisingGamer.com at the end, but I couldn't locate it online. Whatever. The bastards.