The New STAR WARS Film (And rant about the other films)

So here it is upon us, another Star Wars film.

I can't say that I am a huge fan of the franchise. I did watch the ORIGINAL Trilogy a lot when I was younger and I quite enjoyed it all, even though I didn't particularly get a lot of it anyway, I still watched the 1997 VHS Boxset re-release thing (That I still have).

Over the years I have seen the PREQUEL Trilogy come out, a number of re-edits of the ORIGINAL (Why am I using caps, to point out the different fucking films) a shit load of merchandise and now finally, the seventh film in the series - The Force Awakens.

Now, I will be absolutely honest and say, it didn't need to happen. They did not need to go ahead and add another film (And subsequently another 2 more films of this new trilogy).

Re-watching the ORIGINAL trilogy a while back, I found a number of things to pick at and say, no it's not like that at all blah blah blah. But it started and it ended clean and clear. Basic plot of intergalactic battles turns into family problems and more battles. Anyway, in conclusion, that's that.

I will admit, sigh, here I go. I happened to have a copy of The Phantom Menace on VHS and watched it a few times, I actually only remember Jake Lloyd in the film as he was in "Jingle All The Way" (Which his role in that is way better than in Phantom Menace), but if you questioned me today on what I remember about the Phantom Menace, I might struggle and go, er, Darth Maul and, the kid, and podracing. That's literally about it. Ask me about the ORIGINAL trilogy and yeah I could be like, well this happened so on so forth.

To this day, I have not seen "Attack Of The Clones" and "Revenge Of The Sith". I think early, 2005?, I was at a friends house and they had I think the Sith one on and I remember a very poor CGI shot of, what I assume was Anakin, with no arms and no legs screaming on a rock with lava surrounding him. I have no idea if this scene actually exists or not, would be interesting to see if it actually does exist. But I have zero interest in watching either films. In fact any of the PREQUEL films.

Since CinemaSins did a "EWW" with the Phantom Menace, I knew I had to watch it and I got a good laugh out of it all. But then Attack Of The Clones EWW was posted and I just, can't, just, justify to have anything to do with those films.
It's bad enough I watched the Phantom Menace but, we all know the reason behind the PREQUELS. Lucas needed Money, let's release some crap!

Moving forward, we are now almost at the end of 2015. We have all been teased with screenshots and behind the scenes looks of "The Force Awakens". And although I have seen bits and pieces here and there, I have not seen any trailer released for the film. I caught a snippet of some dude (Presumably, a Sith Hound Maul Lord) with a "Double Edged Lightsaber from Star Wars Episode One....The Phantom Menace" < (You don't know what that's from, Google is your friend).
I think I had a look at the poster, then I look over at my wall and see the original 1977 poster for the first film (Sigh....A New Hope), and it's like, it's got fancy colors and, stuff.

I am by no means anywhere near a hardcore fan, yet alone to be even calling myself a fan, I just enjoy the ORIGINAL films for what they are, practical effects, great battle scenes, the iconic Darth Vader, Harrison Ford, the Storm Trooper that bangs his head on the door....



*BOOP*

But now, I give zero fucks about the PREQUEL trilogy. It's just, meh. Never will watch any of them, ever. Even people bagging them, just can't do it. They don't exist.

So which brings me to the long awaiting, what the fuck is going to happen when "The Force Awakens" arrives into all of our cinemas on December 18th.

To be honest, it's hard to really say.

One thing I can be sure of it - it's not going to be a box office bomb. It's going to literally obliterate any film that came out this year in terms of revenue. That is the most absolute definite prediction that's in the bag.

The merchandise - with countless stores selling EVERYTHING about Star Wars (I admit the re-releases of the 1977 Kenner figures is fucking awesome), what's going to happen if the movie is a success, but people don't like it, the merchandise is going to end up in discount stores after all the money has been made. Sorry this is a continuation of the above prediction. Moving on.

JJ Abrams directing the film, he worked on Lost, the new Star Trek films and all sorts of other works. But to be given this task, it's a big gap to fill. It's either going to be a hit or miss. Without Lucas getting in the way of any of the directing duties, it may actually end up alright and we may have a winner on our hands. However, with what happened with Star Trek with people not liking it and...

LENS FLARE

So, likely, there's going to be that. I believe his directing is much better than what Lucas could pull nowadays (Heck even Tommy Wiseau could bust out something better than what Lucas could do now, I went too far. Too late)

With the original main cast returning, what's going to happen with continuity? Are we going to be pushed up to date with it? Although it's pretty much been confirmed, yes it will etc etc. It leaves many questions to be answered when it arrives, will any of the PREQUEL shit be mentioned or will it be swept under the carpet and not even mentioned (This would be good, but I would probably understand .1% of what they are referring to, but if nothing is mentioned, it's not a big deal anyway.

I just keep thinking to myself, people are going to walk out of the theater from all this hype with not much to hype on. I don't want to rain on anyone's parade here but, it happens with a lot of films. Overhyped and then fail.

Everywhere I have been and visited has had anything and everything Star Wars related. It's like "It's got to be good or else this is just for nothing". However, money and well....money can be used for goods and services!

Part of me wanted to buy the ORIGINAL Trilogy on Blu-Ray before I go and try my luck with the new film, I hesitated...for about half an hour and then decided against it all. I would rather watch the original released VHS versions (Which I scored from an old Video Rental place a while ago) where they are unedited before the re-release...and other re-releases of the ORIGINAL. It still feels good to actually sit back and enjoy how they were released and not been tampered with. I do want to watch the trilogy again (I do have digital copies anyway) just to get a bit prepared and up to date with everything that goes on in the new film. I don't care what's canon, who shot first, which hand flew off or anything like that. Learn the jargon again, watch the new film, decide if it was any good or not.


These are what you SHOULD be watching. On your VHS Player!
Also these aren't my tapes man.

Expectations for the new film keep going UP....down....UP.....down. I don't know how I really stand in having a total of Seven installments. From reading above, I am a grump who just whines at every move that a studio makes. It's not really like that. It's just, thank you Disney for taking the rights from Lucas because he was only going to ruin anything to do with Star Wars even further and possibly make the hardcore fans even angrier. Just my worries that a redesigned, hyped up, fancy looking, all new film that has Star Wars bumped on it will obviously be huge (It has already proved to be), what do the fans think? Probably really good on every scale with the film. But if it ends up just flopping but doing well in revenue, they will just keep releasing them until there's no more left in the universe to write about. It's no way to go about it MONEY......MONEY....PROFIT. You get the idea.

Quick look on the WIKERPEDIAZ and IMDB just for a scroll through I learnt some of the names in the film like, that guy and, her! I think it will be like OH C3-P0 and R2-D2 and Luke, Chewie etc etc and then, who are these guys, why are flying round, alien, this, what, I get NOTHING (Looks at phone and starts to just tweet rampage).
I don't know, as I mentioned, I honestly can't predict anymore than just, it's either going to just bomb (But do well in revenue) and if Abrams stepped up and have made fans happy and if the production company has left creative control to whoever was working on the film then, yeah not much concern I wouldn't imagine.

I'm seeing it on Sunday, so, few days after it's been out. (Ugh the Cinemas are going to probably offer all the BS merchandise) - HINT - stay AFTER the film finishes and everyone leaves then go around to every seat and take all the cups and merch left behind so YOU don't have to pay for it all, then collect it all and sell it on eBay....cough...didn't do this with Jurassic World or Terminator Genysys....certainly not. Come on you want me to pay $20 for a large drink in a plastic cup with a fucking dinosaur printed on it! Nah just stay till after it finished and bring a bag!


Don't leave any of that merchandise you paid for behind. Whoops too late. KTHXBAI.

The cups are probably going to be all black with STAR WARS written on them and the straw will be a silly lightsaber or something. Does anyone remember the ORIGINAL trilogy release back in the 80's with the tie in promotional items you got when you seen the film? They were actually quite decent and are worth a bit nowadays. Varying from theater to theater one would assume, in America where it has been hyped up SO MUCH that there are going to be awesome merch from the Cinemas, whereas in other countries maybe not so much.

"Here you go young Billy, here's your inflatable lightsaber!"
*pfffffffffffffffffft
"Another one is going to be $15, you know that right"

Anyways, I'll leave it here and let the internet debate over how great it's was or wasn't. But don't mention no PREQUEL shit, you can just 

GTFO.

May some force thing be with you and stuff.

*Waiting for internet to burst into a clusterfuck of arguements about the film....it's going to happen.

News - Man with a knife who climbed up a tree magically summons 40 heavily armed officers and a negotiator. WTF?

I shit you not.

This appeared in my local news. I honestly have no idea how this even got on the news to begin with!

So. Idea was. Some guy was running through an open park about an hour from where I am. People called the police (Fair enough).

Police turn up. 40 Officers, heavily armed (Tactical gear, armored, shotguns etc) and a negotiator.

The man had climbed a tree, which is no more than 20 feet high (Edit, probably 30 feet...still!). He's right at the top with his 30CM blade (Which they don't know if it's a long knife or a Machete).

The Police have been standing around for this guy to come down and have been "peacefully negotiating" with him to come down. Although it has now been several hours.

Sorry if you didn't catch on there, I will help you.

Man with a 30cm knife. NOTHING ELSE.
Police are called.
40 Officers show up with a negotiator as the man climbs a tree.
Someone said he was going to kill them.
Police are now standing near the tree looking above and waiting.

Are you fucking serious?

Woah woah woah. So hang on a minute here. What did I just say?

40 OFFICERS FOR ONE GUY.

ONE GUY.

UP A FUCKING TREE.

One shot to the kneecap, he would fall and they could instantly apprehend him and take him to the hospital, get him fixed up and ask questions later.

Instead! The police have a great idea!

"LETS ALL GO DOWN THERE AND STAND AROUND. SHIT ALL THIS TACTICAL GEAR IS HERE, LETS USE IT! IT'S ALL GOVERNMENT FUNDED! FUCK IT BROS!"

Honestly, if you are where I am, the Police system is absolutely ridiculous.
They could've just sent 2 Officers down and rightfully got this guy.

BUT MAN HE IS UP A FUCKING TREE.
CHAINSAW THE TREE DOWN MAKING HIM FALL!
WHO GIVES A SHIT! THIS GUY DESERVES TO BE PUNISHED!
*Although, the Police are to be blamed at this point for letting it go SO long*.

I wish I was making all this up as it seems utterly absurd. But, it's not.

*Lemme Google to see if it's still going*

Yes. As of 1PM on the 4/5/2015 to the current time of writing which is 11:10PM on the 4/5/15. This guy is up the tree.

Want to see what the Police are up to, or what they have been up to - 

*Sir, um, don't throw any leaves at us. Or any sticks. That may cause serious injury!*

Ok so yes, this man may be able to throw the knife and injure one of the Officers.
However!
I wouldn't be worried about all the Officers. They are decked out in this -

*I am a Special Operations Officer on duty to get a man down from a tree with my Pump Action Shotgun and Tear Gas and Armor and all that. Because he just may throw a stick at me!*

Just...look at them all....

*What should we be doing Sir?*
MAKE SURE THE GRASS IS STILL FINE!

Someone captured this photo (Courtesy of this person, you made the story!)
Ok...so the tree is not 20 feet high. Probably a little over 30 feet high.
SHOOT THE GUY AND LET HIM FALL. DO NOT LETHALLY SHOOT HIM! Just..you know...maybe throw a stick at the guy as a counter measure you know?

*I am standing on these rocks to protect them from that evil man in the tree!*

*On our phones and playing Candy Crush. Hey does anyone know where the nearest Maccas is?*

Ok that's enough. That's enough. The media, Police and etc are taking this WAY too far.
It could be solved SO EASILY!

So put it this way then.
An Officer, on a usual on the job drive, sees a driver pulling in and out of lanes.
The Officer then speeds after the other driver and pursues him until he pulls over.
The Officer steps out of the car, on his own, armed only with a handgun, tear gas, walkie and high visibility jacket, approached the car with caution.
The Officer then knocks on the drivers window.
The window unwinds with a squealing noise and shows a man in a black hoodie.
"Sir, why were you driving erratically back there?"
The driver then turns to his left and pulls a gun out and fatally shoots the Officer and drives off.

One Officer injured, a man on the run, a family left in grief etc.

Now look at the situation above, analyze it, now compare it to the main story.

Yeah....exactly right.

Police you get my applause for your absolutely idiotic reaction to this.
There are SERIOUS crimes out there. Go do something better than standing around and talking to this guy up a tree hoping he will just you know, come down and go, "No sweat bros, was waiting for the right moment!"
Then the Police all laugh and walk away and go "Hah, Silly Man!"
Pffft.
The next morning this WILL STILL BE GOING!

*Maybe we should poke the tree sir!*
*I've played Pokemon Gold and Silver! Spray the tree with a squirt bottle and the tree may get up and move!*

I can't make much more sense out of this situation, only to make it seem like a complete joke. This guy is just chilling in a tree with a knife. And there's a swarm of cops under him just waiting.....and....er...waiting...and waiting..........zzzzzzzz.

Fuck it, let's all give a warm applause for the efforts of the Tactical Teams and the negotiator and etc!

Me -

TRG-SH

Cause I'm A Big Attention Whore!

Been bothering me for a while.

But need to say this.

Song by deadmau5 - Attention Whore.

Going to shout out to those who this song was made for

Stephen L.
Leigh T.

Cause you are both Attention Whores.

The Apple "Smart Watch"

Simply put it this way.

After Steve Jobs died, I lost my faith in Apple for the future.

I won't rant particularly about Apple currently, will save that for another time.
Just what I am kind of, ticking over at the moment about is, as the above image would tell you.

The Apple Smart Watch.

Over the past view months I have seen bits and pieces here and there claiming that this is the most revolutionary device and will change the way wristwatches are used and looked at so and so forth.

With demonstrations on media (Mostly news programs), showcasing how the watch can do this and do that, there's that one ultimate question, and an answer to go with that for you about all this.

It's already been fucking done.

Among the most obvious being Samsung and their series of "Gear" watches which have received mostly positive praise for their innovation and etc. And with multiple versions to pick from - from a standard fitness only one, to a multimedia capable solution. Samsungs offerings are not only far more superior than what Apple have offered, but are also more affordable.

Fair enough we have to also give out fair share of welcomes to LG, Sony and other companies who have followed in the steps of Samsung and revolutionized Smart Watches.
Samsung never invented the Smart Watch. You remember those shows and movies where the main character talks to their watch and can issue commands for high tech equipment and communications? Well, that's practically what we wanted on our wrists and we got that.

Watches have been around for ages. They have evolved from just to show the time, to show date, to show your heart rate, backlight, etc. And with the way technology is moving forward at this rapid pace, it was only a matter of time before what we only thought was fiction in fiction, became a reality.

So, back on track. Why are we ranting again?

Because the media is publicizing and Apple is making it seem like they are the only company in the planet that has a Smart Watch.

I remember seeing a "demonstration" for the device a month or so ago with the claim that "You just raise it up and the screen comes on allowing you to view the time!".
That's funny, cause, you know, the Galaxy Gear does EXACTLY the same thing! And it's been around for 2 years with multiple versions that improve over their counterpart!

This exact moment prompted me to really think about it and consider why I was actually watching it in the first place.

Everything the Apple Watch does, the Galaxy Gear does better.
Don't call me out for a fanboy here. You may remember something.
Let me bring that memory back for you.

iPod! Yes, that revolutionary invention by Apple that defined how Media is taken around with us in today's society. Yes, that Apple we used to know.
So, iPod.
There was a model that was a small square and had a touch screen. It was able to be fitted in a little resting place and become an actual watch!
It was meant as just a music player, but it had the capability of showing the time on the main screen and including functional hardware buttons (Volume, home etc).

So Apple may have had that for them at that point. But they never marketed the device as a Smart Watch. Reason being, it isn't exactly a Smart Watch as it can not communicate with a compatible Smart Phone (ie; iPhone).

Having said that, I owned that exact device. And it was pretty good for what it was.
I am a bit nitpicky when it comes to hardware when going out and about.
So I have my main phone on me, a media player and headphones.
When I am listening to music on my media player (Which is an iPod Touch 5th Gen which I NEVER updated TYVM), I often missed phone calls and texts while on transport as I didn't hear the sound of vibration from my main phone.
I didn't want to have to resort to holding my phone out in my hand and waiting for a call, I wanted something that could alert me when I had an incoming call or something while I had EDM blasting through my ear canals.

I started to investigate into just Notification Watches. Just generic ones on eBay. They either had a Monochrome display or just a very CSTN like display. But it would show when I had a message or a call instantly. And on top of that, they were cheap.
I went to my local tech stores and had a play around with some of the offerings (They were also fitness based as well) and I found that I didn't quite like any of them. I wanted that certain something with style and character. So I continued my search.

Eventually it led me to looking at the Galaxy Gear range. And reading up on each model, I only needed a standard one. Which I could choose the Gear Fit, Gear 1, Gear 2, Gear S etc. But I found a Gear 1 cheap enough and bought it in an instant.

7 months after purchasing it, it has been on my wrist almost every day.
Everything on it that I wanted, plus more is served to me directly on this device.
With a camera equipped for a quick snap, communication to your phone that syncs perfect (Galaxy Smartphones mostly here, but other Android devices could work with it too), exercise tools, customization, a great look. I instantly fell in love with what it had to offer.

Soon after I was trying to hunt down a Gear 2 at a cheap rate but to no avail. I have actually come across them recently but my Gear 1 works with no problems, so why upgrade?

I have one criticism about it though. It requires a dock like attachment that is connected to the underside of the watch and thus can then be charged. It is a little gimmicky but to imagine all that they have packed inside that tiny little watch face is amazing, so I can understand to a point why a USB port wasn't made directly available on the device without the need for an attachment.

I like how I can just connect to my computer, put music, images etc on it. Sync instantly with my phone, customize it via my phone. All this and it was available practically 2 years ago. And now, we have Apple running around with their arms in the air going "WE HAVE THIS DEVICE THAT DOES EVERYTHING OTHER DEVICES DON'T DO!".

So there in lies the topic debate.

After seeing a news report saying how the biggest Apple store near me had nearly no customers waiting for the Australian launch of the device, it made me wonder. Why the Apple bandwagon followers didn't turn up to it? Those silly consumers that think because it has Apple on it, it's good. Or those people who have brains and use a regular watch or a Gear or something (I use a Smart Watch yes but, I have reasons).

The report then showed later in the day that it became busier in the store with people purchasing the device. The media asked customers how much they were spending. One kid says "$1600".e hardware.

But let me guess, in a year, there will be the Apple Smart Watch 2 which will make the first discontinued and no longer supported by Apple
...wut...
HERE APPLE HAVE ALL THIS MONEY FOR SOME USELESS HUNK OF JUNK!
It's sad to know that people are actually going to spend a decent amount of money on a device that is just a rip off of the very decent Samsung range of watches. Buy a Gear 2 or S for just under $350. But, Apple being Apple, raises their prices and watch all the losers walk in like zombies to purchase the obsolet. Because that's what they do with everything else correct? As a friend told me, it's "Planned Obsolescence". Simply in order to make more money. By making something that has already been done, and likely using inferior hardware, the device is like a Nexus/Replicant from Blade Runner. It has a lifespan and it will die on this date. Not a conspiracy theorist or anything it just is quite obvious that Apple are trying to do this.

Anyways, back on track again.
They demonstrated the device in store on the news once again showing the features of what it does. But, it's one of those moment that can only described like this -

Which is, so true. (Must respect to Heath).
Samsung are innovating the innovators to put it like that. People could be saving money and walking around with a device that does so much more but instead, because it's Apple, IT HAS TO BE ON THEM!

I guess personal preference comes down to it also. But if the price is high, the device is not up to par with current technology, it's not justifiable to have something on you that's considered new and be happy with it.

Like how the iPhone 6 plus is practically a Samsung Galaxy Note 2. Yeah, I know. They are almost identical Hardware wise. But on the software side of things, people are lazy and want a simplistic GUI. But there are so many things that an Android device does better than an iPhone.

It's all brainwashing and marketing to make money in the end. It's as simple as that.
So Apple decide to release a watch that - OH LOOK, IT SHOWS YOUR TEXT MESSAGES.....ON THE SCREEN OF THE WATCH!
AND LOOK! WE CAN ALSO SEE WATCH FACES ON THE WATCH!

Samsung isn't shoving the device in your face left right and centre. But Apple does.

It's just people who are sucked in to buying anything Apple shits out and expects it to be good and feel respected cause of it.

An example would be like Beats By Dre for example. 

So many people complain "THEY SUCK, ETC ETC ETC".
Yes, they made be pricey, but they are decent headphones. Pick up a pair second hand or on eBay, or grab a fake pair, they are practically identical.
And now that Apple owns Beats, you know what will happen to that little market there.

So as I said, as a personal preference, if you want to spend so much money on obsolete hardware that are planned to go out of style in a week, feel free to go with Apple.
But for functionality, quality and compatibility. Gear series, or LG's offerings. Even Sony's smart watch is incredible at that.

Bottom line is, do YOU really need one. Or do you want to dig out that old Casio Calculator Watch out from your parents drawer instead?

That's entirely up to you. At the end of the day, no one cares what some insignificant person thinks about a Multi-Billion Dollar company that can get away with so much crap but just to vent this out on my own accord is something I have felt very calm doing so.

So, fuck the Apple Watch. Kids, don't ask your parents for one. You probably own several iPads and iPhones that have been broken several times, so go ahead, I don't mind.

(I'll clarify also, I do not work for any of the above said companies, just from a consumers stand point, this is my view).

Hey Apple. can your Smart Watch communicate with Zordon?
NOOOOOOOO.

TRG - SH

What this blog means...

Hello there.

So, you are browsing the internet and come across this. This blog appears to be just another random blog crafted by somebody who doesn't know what it all means.
That is partially true.
However, as I do have another blog that I barely maintain. I thought about creating another blog to just, vent out, have a little rant, and post some bits and pieces here and there.

Why I created this?

Simply as above. I didn't want this on my main one, so a secondary was created. Besides it's better to have one dedicated to an entirely singled out topic. Not that will matter anyway but, you get the point.

Why rant?

I get frustrated a lot with a lot of the worlds issues, nobody listens, so why not just post it on the internet because that's the thing to do in today's society isn't it? I don't follow it. So whatever. Rant, rant, rant.

Why the name?

There's that song "Grounds For Divorce". You take that, be imaginative and tadah! You have a name.

Who I am?

I am someone who is on the internet, I roam around, I do stuff, I have several accounts on sites and I have a fair amount of hobbies.
I am not a nobody by no means. I have a small, but minor following. But to your average person I am definitely no where near a household name. Anyways, this is better left to being as anonymous as possible just to be on the safe side. Not like I am going to rant about stuff that would violate any policies.

Anything else?

Not really no. There will be some pretty harsh words said. But, it's for the greater good.

So that's practically it for now. I have tonnes of topics to post about. Trust me, they will definitely be very long. Very descriptive, rant like, posts. No, all ranting and raving.
Without the music. You know.

So you will be seeing posts very soon and maybe someone out there will agree with me.

TRG - SH