Boba Fett is lame and people who like him are lame.

Okay, I just have to get this out there.  Boba Fett is a stinky character and he represents everything wrong with fandom today.  Let's first of all examine just precisely why Boba Fett is lame and overrated in the first place.  

If you look at the events of the original Star Wars, you can see that Boba Fett is a disposable character at most.  He makes his first appearance when Vader hires him to capture Han Solo, a task which he failed at.  It was Lando that ultimately hands Han Solo over to Vader.

In The Empire Strikes Back, Boba Fett supposedly "talks back" to Darth Vader in a surly way, and this makes him a bad-ass.  Watch the scenes again - can you really say that tone is surley?

 His lines were:

"As you wish"
"He's no good to me dead"
"What if he doesn't survive?  He's worth a lot to me"

Wow.  What a badass, eh?  Seriously, though, he comes off as a disgruntled lackey at most.  He in no way challenges Darth Vader's authority.  The last line comes off like he's asking Vader to throw him a bone because he's broke and he really needs the cash.  It's a wonder Vader doesn't just bitch-slap him and tell him to shut his mouth, because he bungled the mission.

Scarface; finally off my movie checklist.

I finally got around to watching Scarface with Al Pacino.  It's one of those movies that's been on my viewing list for years, but I've never made an effort to watch it because of the fanbase.  I know it's not right to judge a movie or any piece of media by it's fanbase.  Still, it seems like every Guido I've met and every hip-hop type I've come across is really into Scarface.  I think this is why I avoided watching the movie, despite it being on my "movie list" for so long.

Classic 80's Anime Songs - 

That last article about Carl Macek made me think about all those wonderful 1980's anime songs that were either butchered or never release.  Sure, we all grew up with the theme from Robotech, but once you actually get your hands on the original songs, you realize just how amateurish the American dubs were.  For me, when I heard these songs, it was like seeing color tv for the first time.

Thanks to the wonders of the internet, just about anyone can listen to these wonderful classics.  Here is the original theme for Macross:

 

Oden Dinner

This is some oden I made the other night for dinner with the family.  It was the first time I tried making this dish.  Broth is made from konbun and dashi.  Ingredients are cabbage, mushroom, daikon, potato, carrots, eggs, and assorted fish cake out of a frozen pack.

The eggs were boiled first before adding to the soup, which is why that one egg on the left looks mutated.  Otherwise, this oden came out pretty much like I expected it.  It's been cold lately, and oden makes a great meal.  Maybe I'll try it again with a different package of fish cake.

Goodbye Carl Macek, and good riddance

It has recently come to my attention that Carl Macek has kicked the bucket and gone to the big anime convention in the sky.  Well, I know it's not good to speak ill of the dead, but that won't stop me from evaluating this man's career and impact on the anime community.

First off, I hate the guy.  Let's get that out of the way.  Macek's wikipedia page refers to the man as an "anime pioneer", but in reality, he is no more than an anime opportunist.  The man was egotistical, had terrible taste and was foolishly ethnocentric.

 I know that Carl Macek has many admirers out there.  This is mainly because they believe he somehow introduced anime to North America through Robotech in 1985.  The popular belief is that somehow Macek's efforts made anime what it is today.  What a load of shit.  If anyone takes the time to look closely, we can already see that there were already many popular animes in America before Macek ever got his filthy, grubby fingers on it.

Star Blazers (originally Star Ship Yamato) was a huge hit.  It was broadcast in America starting in 1979, produced by Westchester Film Corporation: