Why I hate money and tv ratings (read: American studios)

Well, that's another great show to die.

I've just found out that the Syfy Channel has cancelled yet another Stargate show. Stargate Universe (SGU) Was a bold new installment in the Stargate franchise. It was completely character driven and was much darker than both SG1, Atlantis and the DTV movies. I for one really enjoyed it. Gone were the Goauld, the Ori, the Wraith and Replicators. SGU had no "bad guy" that they fought with every week. Instead, the enemy, for lack of a better word, was simply survival and isolation. It was a really good concept and one which was slow to burn. It was a far more dramatic show than the previous installments, which relied on action to drive the plot. I was really looking forward to seeing what they could do with it over the next couple of seasons. But no. Syfy, in its infinite wisdom, has scrapped it. To be replaced, most likely, with more wrestling or awful self made b-movies.

Ratings, it would seem, are everything to the network execs. With high ratings comes advertisers. With advertisers comes money. Forget the fan base. Who cares about the people who actually watch the show? They'll watch what we tell them to watch. The irony is that without American tv, I'd have nothing to watch, but because of it, I have to constantly search for something new because all my favourites get routinely cancelled due to their (the studio's) greed and douchebaggery.

SG1: Cancelled after 10 seasons (a great run to be honest)

Stargate Atlantis: Cancelled after 5 seasons

SGU: Cancelled after 2 seasons.

Firefly: Cancelled after 1 season

Studio 60: Cancelled after 1 season (though to be fair, American audiences dont like intelligent programming)

Kyle XY: Cancelled after 2 seasons

Sliders: Cancelled due to being fucked over by FOX

Fringe: On its way out

While one cant solely blame the suits for these cancellations, (the writers are sometimes to blame for lack of ambition and or laziness/ineptitude) the fact remains that if your show fails to make the money the studios want, then you get the axe.

And its not just tv. Jon Favrou wont be directing Iron Man 3 due to, one can assume, budget issues.

The film studios are even worse at this kind of thing. They have always thrieved on greed. Its capitalism 101: How do we make the most amount of money, for the least amount.

I'm sick to death of seeing endless horse shit movies and tv shows gaining huge ratings and success that just dont deserve it. Pirates of the Carribean 4? Seriously? Isnt that horse beaten to death enough?

You may have noticed that my list of shows, bar Studio 60, were all sci-fi. Yes, SCI-FI, not SYFY, you miscrients. If you're going to re-brand, dont be retarded about it. The reason is I love Sci-fi stuff. I was raised on a healthy dose of Star Trek, Stargate, Star Wars, anything really to do with space and or time travel/alternate dimensions. I watched Earth 2, Quantum leap, Sliders, was blown away by the 1st ep of Farscape (I was young) and I recall another show that involved marines in space, though I cant remember the name. I'm a huge nerd. I'm good at it as well. That isnt to say however that I dont enjoy other genres. Lie to me, Lost, Dexter, HIMYM, Californication, The Wire. I just prefer science fiction. Its inspiring, entertaining, can be hilariously funny, (SG1's 100th and 200th episodes were amazing) dramatic, thought provoking and touching. It is, in my opinion, the greatest and richest of all the genres. That is why I get so angry when studios shit all over it.

Alas, I feel as though I'm pissing in the wind. Science fiction will never garner the same support as a televisual/Movie art form the likes other genres enjoy. You wont see sci fi shows winning the best show award at the prime time emmys. You'd be hard pressed to see a Sci Fi movie win a top Oscar (At least not these days)

There are millions of sci fi fans all over the world. Millions of them in America alone. When you think about it, it doesnt really makes sense as to why such an obiously popular genre is constantly being beaten in the damn ratings. (a possible reason could be weak writing, but that can only go so far. Sliders was a fantastic show until the studio got involved and started demanding more of this and less of that)

There should be a dedicated channel, a proper sci fi channel, that airs only science fiction, for science fiction fans. A channel that isnt controled by idiots who think they know what people will watch. A Sci Fi channel for fans that is run by fans of the genre itself. Ratings can go fuck themselves.

But of course, for that to become a reality, the monetary system would have to take a back seat to quality programming. And that will never happen. Oh I do despair sometimes. Money, like religion, is the cause of so many problems. But without both, this wouldnt be our world. Damn paradox!

Stephen Fry and Craig Ferguson

I love dick and fart jokes. I love crass, low rent humour. I also love fascinating conversations about society and language. While Craig Ferguson is generaly the proponent of the former, his is a gifted interviewer with a keen intellect.

If you're not familiar with Craig, and I shall assume that you are not based on the fact that nobody I know does, here is a brief description. Craig Ferguson is the host of "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" which airs everynight on CBS in America. In my opinion the best of all the talk show hosts in that country and perhaps the world. He is funny, immensely entertaining, and you only have to watch a few of his shows to realise that what sets him apart from the rest is his honesty and his ability to not conform to the usual norms of his chosen profession.

Earlier this year, Craig had on as his guest, Stephen Fry. There is no need to provide a description of this man, as his awesomness goes without saying. Stephen has been on the show several times, but on this particular night, without an audience, without puppets or sketch segments, Craig just wanted to sit down and have a good old chat. This kind of thing is never seen in late night. And thats the point. Craig sets himself apart from the rest by being brave enough to try new things.

I just wanted to share with anyone who may read this the footage of that interview. Why? Because it's a great interview with two fascinating and intelligent people I admire greatly. I'll also provide links to Craig's wikipedia page so you can get some more information and also the youtube channel that provides daily episodes to the show. This is a relatively new channel as the old one was forced to close down. Because of this I cant seem to find the opening of the show.

Enjoy :)


Part 1:


Part 2:


Part 3:


Part 4:


Links: (hidden for some reason. Just move your cursor down and they will highlight)

Wikipedia page

Malinky's youtube channel

Budget 2011 instant reaction

I have just spent the last couple of hours watching coverage of the Budget via RTE's online service. The quality was, at times, terrible as i was forced to continualy refresh the feed and thus missing large portions of what was being said. I dont know whether this was due to my connection being weak or if RTE's service is just pants. In either case, I felt the need to comment on what I heard.

At first glance, the Budget doesnt seem to be the extremely harsh one we were all led to believe it would be. Though it will obviously take time and various supplemenatry reports to make a full decision on this. Iwas very surprised that no increase in alcohol or tobacco was introduced. Dole payments are of course down, various taxes are up. To be honest, I dont feel qualified enough to go into these things. What I will say though is this: How does it benefit any nation to continually take money out of Health, Social Protection and Education?

In regards to the speeches made I thought Brian Lenihan was his usual confusing self. Though that may be due to my lack of understanding in regards to finance. He recieved several jeers and looked a bit like Donkey standing next to Shrek. Shrek being the mass of useless flesh sat next to him, Brian "Jabba" Cowen.

Michael Noonan was, from what I managed to hear, almost inspirational in my opinion. It was a great speech with a very apt Michael Collins quote at the end. Quite right that Minister Noonan was applauded at the end of it.

Joan Burtan was painful. I dont know enough to make a comment on her ability to do her job, but public speaking certainly isnt what she should do very often. Endless comparisons to America and a bizzare and cheesy High School Musical reference was just plain stupid and irelevant to me. She sounded like one of those school teachers who want to be popular with the kiddies. Though she did seem angry at the end of her speaking time, which was nice to see.

The last speech, and the one most interfered with in terms of RTE's pitiful streaming abilities, was the new Sinn Féin minister Pearse Doherty was in my view fantastic and awe inspiring. He encaptualted what we all are feeling. He, along with Minister Noonan gave suggestions on how all the FF cut backs cut have been avoided and he seemed genuinely angery and passionate about what he was saying and I respect him a lot for it.

I was utterly digusted however, that by the time Minister Doherty had a chance to speak, the Dáil had basicaly emptied. No Cowen, no Lenihan, No Kenny or Gilmore. In fact, I think I saw one Labour party TD and no FG TD's what so ever. FF had the Tainiste Mary Coughlan and another TD there, though I cant recall his name now. The Táinste spent most of the speech looking bored, disrespectal and constantly berrated and badgered Minister Doherty. Utter disgrace. The idea that 90+% of our elected officials dont see the need to listen to everyone and just get up and leave once they've said their peice makes me really angry. Sanctimonious, self-righteous bastards.

I never though id become involved in th politics of my Country, but the last few weeks have really shaken me up. I was even dissapointed to find out that due to me being in Italy, I will be unable to vote in the up-coming election. (Though I am still fairly cynical about elections in general)

I also never would have thought I would vote for anyone in Sinn Féin. But based on what I heard in the Dáil today, If I could, I would most likely vote for Pearse Doherty.


Slán





P.S: I'm quite liking the surge of Patriotism ive been feeling lately.


Here are Michael Noonan and Pearse Doherty's speeches:

Minister Noonan
Government accused of being 'socially blind' - RTÉ News


Minister Doherty:
Government accused of being 'socially blind' - RTÉ News

Critical Mass

Is Wikileaks the shining beacon of hope we all want it to be or is it, like the Iranian government insist, a U.S State Dept ploy? This answer is obviously not the latter (crazy Iranians) but it may not be the former either. Wikileaks is without a doubt one of the most amazing things to happen in recent years. Anyone who values truth and freedom should, and probably do, admire and respect Julian Assange and the various pople connected to the website. In the world today, there are not enough men and women like him. At least, no one as well known. There are the Alex Jones, Jim Marrs and Jesse Ventura's of the world, but they are relatively unknown to the vast majority of the public.

Wikileaks has been around for a few years now and has broken some pretty huge stories. Their exposé of Scientology, the murder of Reuter's journalists and the thousands of documents the released on the wars in Afganistan and Iraq we're incredible. However this latest cablegate stuff is just immense. (side note: I hate how every controversial news story gets the "gate" treatment. Stop doing that!) Governments should be held accountable for what they do, but there is a risk of endangering people's lives when too much information is shared. I'm talking here of the cable released recently discussing locations that are vital to U.S interests. The only problem I have with this is the fact that there is the possibility that such sights ma become targets for "terrorist" bombings. I say "terrorist" because that word is really over used in the media but my point remains the same. Apart from that, I think the release of these documents is a great things. And here's why:

Knowledge is power.

For thousands of years, the ones with the knowledge, control the ones who dont. The world, if you look at it from a certain perspective, is an Orwellian dystopia and becomes so even more as time passes. Such a society can not exist if information is freely available to the mass populace. That is whats really scaring the U.S and various other power brokers. Wikileaks presents a threat to their very nature. If you cant control what the people know, you cant control the people. So they are fighting back in every way they can think of that wont cause all out revolt. Bullshit charges of sexual misconduct. Hacking the site into oblivion (though, like the Hydra, new ones continue to appear) Amazon taking back their servers, Paypal and Mastercard making it so Assange and co cant recive donations, his Swiss bank account being frozen due to him not providing correct details on where he lives. Please! If you read these stories, they just make you laugh!

The bank said: "(Mr) Assange cannot provide proof of residence in Switzerland and thus does not meet the criteria for a customer relationship with PostFinance. For this reason, PostFinance is entitled to close his account."

While Master Card opted for: "MasterCard said it was cutting off payments because WikiLeaks is engaging in illegal activity. "MasterCard rules prohibit customers from directly or indirectly engaging in or facilitating any action that is illegal," spokesman Chris Monteiro said."

Think about that for a moment. A Swiss bank closes an account because proof or residence cant be confirmed. You telling me that every single Swiss bank account holder lives in Switerland? Assange put Geneva as his residence. As, I am sure, many, many others do. It's bullshit. And as for Mastercard's pitiful excuse? How many criminals use credit cards? Its utter lunacy. It's as if you were to let ten thousand rats through your window, but tell one guy he cant come in because he wants to use the front door. (A very odd analogy, but its late, and I'm tired)

I could segway into a rant about the invisble empire or 'NWO' and incorporate all sorts of material ranging from documentaries, to video games, to comics; but I wont. Anyone who knows me knows that I love conspiracy theories and could talk about them for ever. This isnt the best platform to do that. However, I will add some links to news stories, websites and the names of some films you should watch and then you can make up your own minds as to how they are all connected to some degree. I personaly think we as a people are approaching a critical mass in terms of our understanding to whats really going on in the world. There are too many signs emerging for me to believe they are purely coincidental. There are 3 ways this will all end as far as i'm concerned: 1: They, whomever 'they' are, win. Perhaps they already have and now are just consolidating their power. 2: They fail due to information reaching the public and the public, en masse, finally wake up and take actual steps to prevent the End Game. or 3: I'm just a paranoid nut.

We shall find out in the coming future.

Below are the links :) (they just seem to be hidden for some reason. Move your curser down though and the links will highlight)

Good night, and good luck


Wikileaks Twitter

Cablegate Twitter

Twitter censorship of wikileaks?

Infowars.com


Jim Marrs.com


Documentaries:

The Obama Deception

Terror Storm

End Game

Fall of the Republic

Invisible Empire: A New World Order defined

Zeitgeist the Movie

Zeitgeist Addendum

Loose Change


Other ares of interest:

The Illuminati

The Knights Templar

The Bildeberg Group

The Tri-Lateral Commission

The Council on Forign Relations

The pc/xbox game series "Deus Ex" & Assassin's Creed

2012, the Annunaki, the Mithras storyline in the Deadpool comic, ancient astronaut theory and 'Chariots of the Gods' by Erich von Daniken

Jesse Ventura interviews and videos you come across.

These are just ideas on where to begin. You'll find various other sources online and in books.

STOP THE MADNESS!!

Never in my life did I think I would feel the need to so closely follow the on-goings of Irish politics. The country is a mess. On the one hand, it's clear that a budget needs to be implemented and fast. Otherwise we'll wake up one day, go to an ATM and see nothing but the words "Insuffcient Funds" staring at us in the face. If a snap election is called, it will take weeks for a new budget to be drawn up. Thats not good news for anyone.

On the other hand, this proposed budget due to come in on the 7th of next month is, like Fintan O'Toole said, akin to shopping for condoms after you realise you're pregnant. It will be desperately put through (at least, thats the plan) by a government who are dead on their feet. The most likely winners of the election in the new year, Labour and Fine Gael, will be forced to stick to an agreement that they didnt even sign up for. Cowen and co will walk away from the Dáil, dust off their jackets and say "Well, it's you mess now, lads. Good luck"

What the hell like? This is what happens when kids run the sweet shop. The fuck it over (and in Cowen's case, eat all the sweets) Then go running to adults and ask them to come in and clean up.

The Republic of Ireland: 1916-2010. She was a fine experiment that was betrayed and killed by its own children.

Six Truths in Life

1. You cannot stick your tongue out and look up at the ceiling at the same time, a physical impossibility.





















2. All idiots, after reading #1 will try it.





3. And discover #1 is a lie.





4. You are smiling now because you are an idiot.





5. You soon will forward this to another idiot.



6. There is still a stupid smile on your face .



I sincerely apologize about this but I'm an idiot and I needed company.

Unemployment

So I'm lying here in bed, procrastinating before I head down town and and I came across a link for name anagrams. It's lame, pointless and yet, totally adictive! Here is a list of some of my friend's names, post-anagramified!

Ray: Rainy Bore

Louise: Oily Nudes Keen

Kathryn: In Lanky Hatred

Kicki: King Or Dirtiest Dick

Robin: Brown Up The Moronity

Greym: My Smart Geek



I tried lots more but these were the pick of the bunch. Well, that was 20 minutes well spent.


Also, here is a comic...

Are we there yet?

“Until this week Saturn’s small moon Rhea was the only known solid space object thought to have a ring. (Other known ringed bodies, such as Saturn, are mainly gaseous.) But a new study of optical images has failed to detect any signs of structures encircling the natural satellite."

I found this article over at the NatGeo website via Derren Brown's blog via his Twitter (Mmmmm, connection-y) and it got me thinking about how I wish the "real" space age would just hurry up and begin already!

Since I was kid i've been fascinated with Space and nearly anything to do with it. Almost always in a science fiction way but now and again the reality edges its way in. The Mars rovers, the Cassini-Huygens mission and the recent space walks on the ISS.

Epic space battles and hot alien sluts are all well and good, but sometimes just reading an article about a moon and learning new stuff about our Solar System really excites me. It also annoys me because I know that I'll never get to seduce a Vash-type alien chick and contract space herpes!



here is the article: Nat Geo

Best before.....?

What's the deal with the best before dates on food? Seriously. Am I the only one who pays them any heed? They are, as I have always assumed, put on food products with one function in mind: To let you know when to eat it before it gets all manky and smelly. (Hmmm....maybe they should do that with vaginas?)

However, I have been told on many occassions that on certain products, these dates are of little consequence. Bread for example. Who cares if it's best before the 23rd and now its the 25th. Its been in the fridge. Its grand, eat it. Em...no thank you, it's purple. I have issues with purple bread.

What do you think? Are best before dates passed their sell by date? (see what I did there)

Games I'm looking forward to playing.....

...but will have to wait for feckin ages!!


E3 is underway and things look good! Here is a list of games I'm most looking forward to playing. However, since I'm not bringing my xbox to Italy, I'll have to wait till this time next year to play any of them. Lame. On the plus side though, they should be cheaper by the time I get around to them.

After watching Microsoft's press conference yesterday, like alot of other people, I was left feeling a little underwhelmed. Kinect (formally "Project Natal") really looked promising last year but this year it looks like a 2nd hand Wii knock off. The Dance game by Harmonix could be great fun and I have high yet cautious hopes for the Star Wars game but the rest seem a bit....meh. They look great but just like the Wii, they seem like flash-in-the-pan type gimmicks. Only time will tell if Kinect lives up to the hype.

I'm waiting for Gamespot to hurry the feck up and code the Ubisoft and EA confrences and I await the Nintendo and Sony confrences to begin. I dont have a PS3 or a Wii but I have wanted a PS3 since GOW3 came out (especially since they re-released GOW1 and 2) I'd also like to give Drakes Fortune a shot.

Annnnnnnyway........

without further ado, here are the games I cant wait to play!

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier



Halo Reach



Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood



Call of Duty: Black Ops



Medal of Honor



Mortal Kombat



Metal Gear Solid: Rising



Dues Ex: Human Revolution



Gears of War 3



Bullet Storm





Well, there you go. My wish list of games. The trailer for Star Wars: The Old Republic looks kick ass but alas, I'm not a mmo kinda guy.

Thats all for now, folks!

Is this the end for Zombies?

My hatred for anything Twilight or Twilight-esque (Those rubbish T.V shows) not withstanding, I still like my Vampires. I also like Werewolves and Zombies. Alas....something new and even more evil is a foot....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Forest_of_Hands_and_Teeth
Is this Twilight in Zombie form!? For the love of George I hope not!

Hey look! Its a rant!

Things I hate....

Slow walkers in front of me. Unless they are likely to break a hip if they fall over. GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY WAY!

Megavideo.

A commentary track on stand-up DVD's. Why!?

Any DVD commentary with just one person.

Any DVD commentary that waffles on about how some dick stick key grip hurt his back that day so they had to use the dolly...etc etc or any boring technical drivel.

Any DVD commentary that records two seperate sessions and edits them together. Here's an idea, get everyone in the room together? Im looking at you, Star Wars and Fight Club.

People in the university library who spend thier time on Facebook when there is a que of people waiting to print stuff.

Toothpaste stains on my shirt in the morning. You can wipe them away with a wet cloth but the fuckers always come back later in the day.

Praise for Dante's Inferno. I get it, he wrote a decent book. He helped create what was to become the Italian language we know today. He could rhyme like a mother fucker. He was also an arrogant, holier-than-thou douch bag with too much time on his hands and a hard-on for Virgil. Get over it.

When some of my favourite movies dont have a DVD commentary. Or when it has a pointless text commentary.

Megavideo.

Forgetting my keys when leaving the house.

Calling cheese "red" cheese, where clearly it's orange.

Your face.

Online adverts for weight loss or teeth whitening.

"Single moms" not keeping the damn secret to themselves.

The shameless and ridiculously misleading online adverts for the game Evony. (Which is shite)

Coming up with a list of things to rant about and then forgetting them halfway through

Twilight and it's epic gayness

Lady GaGa

Shit remakes of classic movies. Clash of the Titans? Pah! I've had more entertaining bowel movements.

Watching all the Harry Potter movies in one day, realising that after the 1st one "they aint that bad" and being forced to wait till the next one comes along.

Realising you have no toilet paper mid way through a poo.

Megavideo.

Dante's Inferno Quiz

The Dante's Inferno Test has banished you to the Sixth Level of Hell - The City of Dis!
Here is how you matched up against all the levels:

Level	Score
Purgatory (Repenting Believers)	Very Low
Level 1 - Limbo (Virtuous Non-Believers)	Very Low
Level 2 (Lustful)	Very High
Level 3 (Gluttonous)	Very High
Level 4 (Prodigal and Avaricious)	Very Low
Level 5 (Wrathful and Gloomy)	High
Level 6 - The City of Dis (Heretics)	Very High
Level 7 (Violent)	High
Level 8- the Malebolge (Fraudulent, Malicious, Panderers)	Very High
Level 9 - Cocytus (Treacherous)	High

Take the Dante's Inferno Hell Test

what?

How is it that after 6 months that you still hurt when you think of certain things?

I mean really, thinking back over the last 3 + years and realising that as they prgressed, your happiness and hopefulness grew dimmer and dimmer and things getting harder and harder and reaching the point where eventually you make the decision to end things because you just dont want to wait anymore,and saying to yourself what others have said, that you'll be better off and that things will get better and they do in some respects. You start feeling good about your future and your present and you think you have finally turned a corner. Then You hear something, that make all of those feelings rush back in at incredible speed. The love, the anger, the bitterness, the misery, the futile hope....It all comes rushing back in and all you can do is try blcok it all out with pointless distractions because you cant deal with it.

How after 6 months can you still be almost shut down? One event leads to another that leads to another, like dominos. What the fuck, like?