Merry Christmas

[CMJ]

Tommorrow I'm flying to Arizona to see family. I'll be gone for about a week, but I'll try and pop on when I get the chance to see how everyone is. I just wanted to wish everyone Happy Holidays. :D

[Admiral Lebron]

I am offended by the title of this thread. :mad

But, have a safe flight and happy commercialist holiday. :)

[CMJ]

You're offended? :p Dude Christmas is more of a secular holiday than a religious one nowadays.

Actually it started out that way too, but that's a different topic for a different thread. :D

[Marcus Telcontar]

And a Merry Christmas to you too CMJ :)

[BUFFJEDI]

Merry X-Mas Cmj, have a safe flight.


And too you Admiral

MERRY CHRISTMASMERRY CHRISTMASMERRY CHRISTMASMERRY CHRISTMASMERRY CHRISTMASMERRY CHRISTMASMERRY CHRISTMASMERRY CHRISTMASMERRY CHRISTMASMERRY CHRISTMASMERRY CHRISTMASMERRY CHRISTMASMERRY CHRISTMASMERRY CHRISTMASMERRY CHRISTMASMERRY CHRISTMASMERRY CHRISTMASMERRY CHRISTMASMERRY CHRISTMASMERRY CHRISTMASMERRY CHRISTMASMERRY CHRISTMASMERRY CHRISTMASMERRY CHRISTMAS


Oh and HAPPY HANUKKAH!!!!!!!!!;)

[Jedi Master Carr]

LOL Buff. Merry Christmas, CMJ have a safe flight.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Hannukah was three weeks ago. They got it early this year. Lunar calendars are apt to change. :)

*hugs for Lebron* Sorry again dude about the...thing. :uhoh :)

HAPPY CHRISTMAS!!!!! Fly safe CMJ!

[Admiral Lebron]

:mad Thanks buff...and LD.. :mad

[Ryla Relvinian]

...and a Mele Kalikimaka from Kihei, Maui. The closest thing to a white Christmas we get around here is shave ice. Woo!

[JonathanLB]

Have fun, CMJ.

Lebron, x-mas has almost nothing to do with religion anymore. Although it means that for some people, it has a different meaning for everyone really.

I'm an agnostic and my parents don't belong to any religion either, nor are they whatsoever religious, and we have always celebrated Christmas. It's just a holiday in general like the 4th of July, only bigger, and with presents ;)

Plus I'm a fan of any occassion that I can accumulate more material items I don't need! Haha.

[darth_mcbain]

Hope everyone here has a happy holiday, be it Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanzaa, or Life-Day...

[JonathanLB]

What is Life-Day? Is that from the Star Wars Holiday Special or something? Oh yeah, I think it is, lol. I realized as soon as I wrote that, I think anyway. lol

[ReaperFett]

I'll be honest, I'm like Eddie Izzard, I love the commercialisation of Christmas. It is the best time of the year.


Happy CHristmas :)

[JediBoricua]

I'll be honest, I'm like Eddie Izzard, I love the commercialisation of Christmas. It is the best time of the year.

Spoken like a true genius!

Feliz Navidad a todos y prospero año nuevo!

[Jedieb]

Feliz Navidad y prospero año nuevo!

Just got done wrapping the last of the presents. I can't wait until the kids are asleep and the wife and I sneak upstairs and grab all the presents. These damn kids are getting way more than I ever did! Can't wait to see the look on my son's face when he unwraps his lightsaber tomorrow morning!!!! :crack

[Admiral Lebron]

I want a Count Dooku lightsaber.. :(

[JMK]

Merry Christmas CMJ!

I'll post again tomorrow for the rest of you. It's not Christmas yet. Don't get greedy. ;)

[JonathanLB]

The commercialism of x-mas is great because it stimulates our economy! :)

I can't help but think I should be making a cut of all this x-mas dough, though, because right now I buy stuff for people, I ask for stuff for x-mas, and that all just adds a ton of money to these companies' sales, so what am I selling?! I need a piece of that multibillion dollar pot!

On the radio, I heard a trivia question asking which store made $1.4 billion the day after Thanksgiving, and this is kind of a lame story because I didn't hear the correct answer, but the point is, *A* store made $1.4 billion in just one single day! I couldn't believe that. Jeez.

"I want a Count Dooku lightsaber.."

I asked for (and I know we ordered) the Count Dooku Master Replicas lightsaber. I have the Han Solo blaster and Yoda's lightsaber already, plus ordered the Obi-Wan lightsaber.

[Admiral Lebron]

I want the one that lights up and makes noises and its made of like PVC plastic so I beat small children and the eldarly with it. :D

[Darth Viscera]

Merry christmas and happy boxers day to all!

*eyes the freezer-bound birthday cake and enjoys the christmas tree lights*

I love christmas :)

[Dutchy]

Originally posted by JonathanLB
The commercialism of x-mas is great because it stimulates our economy! :)

Yeah, so people can buy more stuff they can't afford. :)

Oh, merry X-mas, everybody!

[JonathanLB]

Oh we can afford it, Dutchy ;)

You are right, though, the number of people who spend money they don't have using credit cards is shocking, to me at least. I am sorry but... intelligent people do not spend money they don't have unless it is for extremely good reason, and x-mas isn't good reason. Good reason is like losing your job and needing to buy food or pay rent and survive. That's good reason. It's not that you don't have enough money and REALLY want Minority Report on DVD because it was just SO good you have to have it! No, that's not need, that's want, and there has to be a better sense of control in this country between what people want and what they really need.

At least I recognize I don't need anything else, but I sure would like other things, and that's a healthy desire too, as long as it doesn't become dangerous, like being a slave to your desires so that you work to support the buying of material items or whatnot.

I can't sleep tonight, ugg, I went to sleep 3 hours ago and haven't really managed any good sleep yet, UGG.

[JMK]

Merry Christmas kids! I hope Santa was good to you! Even those of you who were naughty and deserved spankings and coal! :D

[Nathanial K'cansce]

The fat man is my new best friend. ^_^

Highlights include an actual dvd player, 5 dvd's, and a cd which also has a dvd. ^_^

[ReaperFett]

Scanner, DVDs, comics, good stuff :)


LOTR extended has annoyed me before I play it though. It only FEATURES Sean Bean, but stars the others? Blasphemy! And, it spans DVDs, meaning I cant lie back :)

[JMK]

Probably because everyone but Bean makes it past the 3 hour mark. ;)

[JonathanLB]

Yeah he got bored and quit, lol.

"Even those of you who were naughty and deserved spankings and coal!"

Which is just what I got! Haha, j/k. Haven't made it that far yet, I don't get up that early, and it's only 10:55

[JonathanLB]

Well, it was definitely a good x-mas! :)

I got a ton of various things, of course mostly all related to film, wait, no, ALL related to film. Some not as much so as others, I suppose.

I got about 12 books I asked for on film comedy, to complete my study of the genre with tons of biographies and autobiographies on some of history's greatest directors and actors. It's going to take a while to get through it all.

I also got Star Trek: The Next Generations seasons 1-5. It'll take so long to watch all of those that I don't need 6 and 7 for, well, probably like two years ;) I have too much to watch before I get into TV stuff anyway, mostly, I'm not interested in TV whatsoever. Just film.

Basically what I do is I set goals for film viewings, then if I have just a bit of extra time I might watch a TV episode I have on DVD, like my South Park discs. I've finished 6 South Park episode reviews, but they're really short too. Star Trek is longer.

I have X-Files seasons 1-6 (every one on DVD) too. I need an entire binder just for my TV DVDs, hehe, two seasons of Simpsons in there too, two of Buffy (love that show), and I pre-ordered Futurama. I think it might be a great section to add to the site at some future point, though, because I feel those represent some of the best TV shows ever, X-Files, Simpsons, TNG, and Buffy is a cult classic, one of TV's better shows for sure. South Park, eh, it depends on your taste. I love it. I can see why others wouldn't, but I don't see how they couldn't laugh unless they're just uptight about ANY non-PC shows, lol.

I got The Back to the Future Trilogy on DVD, Solaris on DVD (the original foreign film from Tarkovsky), Roshomon (Akira Kurosawa), Annie Hall (I liked it too much, had to ask for it), and a few others, but not a whole lot of DVDs. To be honest there's not much I don't have and that I want. I mean, I could probably name 100 films easily that I'd love to have on DVD, but do I really need them or would I just sorta like them? Hehe, I definitely don't need them. At some point...

Also I got like $150 in gift certificates to Borders from my relatives, so there is a bunch more DVDs I'll get soon too. I'm not even sure how many DVDs I have, probably 400 or so I guess. I should make a list of them, which I did once, and that list was lost with my old computer :(

Well perhaps most exciting for me was that I got 2 professional lighting devices that I can use for filmmaking. They of course would work great for still photos too, but I'm not that obsessed, I mean a picture is a picture, it looks fine without extra line, IMO. Unless you do very professional work and are taking people's money, then, ok fine. ;)

These lights are sweet, the bulb is 500 watts! Each kit comes with a replacement bulb too, though, which is nice. The entire kit folds into a small space, so basically what I'm going to do is use this plastic storage bin I have that closes up and I'm going to put the lighting devices in there with any other camera equipment like my tripod and stuff like that. I have a nice $200 case for my camcorder, though; anything that is $4,500 retail deserves to be well protected...

I also got a boom mic, which is the real first step to professional filmmaking. You can't make a good looking movie with the mic that comes with the camera, just isn't going to happen. It sounds good on the Canon XL-1S, but not that good. Not movie quality. It still sounds like a great home video, and that's not ok.

So with all of this equipment that I've managed to accumulate over the last year, I am basically set for making independent films when I feel like doing so. For now I'd like to stick to my film studies, even up until I get to film school, but I may mess around and make one movie between college and film school just to get some practice and feel prepared. I'd like to go through the real motions. Maybe go to a high school and request people to audition for the film, there wouldn't be any pay, but I could have like free food and it would be fun anyway, or perhaps a local college might have people to participate. I know that's what a lot of amateur filmmakers end up doing. I can't just ask my friends to be in it because I'll need others. Then I'll arrange locations and get a crew together and stuff, just to see what I can do before film school, which will be an interesting comparison at a later point I suppose.

I now have the digital camcorder, the editing software ($600), the lighting equipment (even a camera-mounted light I already had), the boom mic, the tripod, the extremely fast computer with DVD-burning capabilities, so I'm pretty much set for basic items. I'd like to get more advanced lighting equipment in the future and I wouldn't even mind the idea of buying another camcorder just before film school. Perhaps there will be a newer one than the XL-1S, but I can use the XL-1S for backup shots and second angles, which would add yet more professionalism.

I got a bunch of Star Wars collectibles too, which was sweet. I got a life-sized Yoda! I didn't ask for that, but was happy to get it, I think I can find space where I have Star Wars Legos now and I'm just going to kick them out in favor of the giant Yoda with his lightsaber. I got a great edition number too. 1,500 exactly out of 10,000.

Then I got Obi-Wan's AOTC saber and Luke's ROTJ saber from Master Replicas, but Dooku's is not here yet, even though we ordered it when it became available, so doh!

My dad gave me the biggest surprise perhaps, though. I was really happy about that. He gave me a San Francisco 49ers #80 signed Jerry Rice jersey!!! Heck yes. He won it an auction. It's kind of a tradition that we give each other sports-related presents and usually Niners, like last year I think was the 49ers fullsize helmet with a plexiglass case, then a few years earlier I believe was the signed picture of Steve Young. That was more like 4 years ago I think. I have a mini-49ers shrine in my room, I love my team. Best looking uniforms in the league and 5 Super Bowls too ;)

[Sanis Prent]

Annie Hall (I liked it too much, had to ask for it)

Did you pay for that with your Star Wars Uberfan badge, traitor? :)

[Jedi Master Carr]

I got the BTTF DVD, a Digitial camera (though it is not expensive, it is still my first) Bounty Hunter, The Two Towers, and Harry Potter DVD. Along with the usual clothes and stuff, so I got everything I wanted. :D

[Admiral Lebron]

Bounty hunter is great. I need a boom mic tho.. :( I have all I need really to start making films. Just sound is needed... Oh well. Always next year.

[JMK]

I got Clone Wars, TTT and Bounty Hunter for PS2, an 8.5 x 11 framed & signed Natalie Portman picture, a Dolphins jersey (the real reebok one!), a football, a book on the making of LotR, the Hobbit, BTTF on DVD (but fullscreen, grrr!) and Croc Hunter: Collision Course. And I got the requisite granny gifts; socks, t-shirts etc...

[Jedi Master Carr]

Sorry about the BTTF full screen are you going to take it back? That is why I requested it as wide other wise I knew I would get it full. And that Natalie autograph wow, how were they able to get that Ebay?

[JMK]

Yeah, my girlfriend scored it on Ebay. :)
My mom says she doesn't have the bill anymore for BTTF, but my brother got it from his GF as well, and he got the widescreen, so maybe I can trade up with him or something, if he doesn't mind.

[JonathanLB]

"Did you pay for that with your Star Wars Uberfan badge, traitor?"

Ok for the record, it STILL didn't deserve that award!!! lol, grrr ;)

No but seriously, Annie Hall better than Star Wars? They are such different films, and I love them both, but let's get real here, you got one movie that is a comedy -- one of Allen's best, if not his best -- and the other that is an epic story that introduced some of the screen's best heroes and villains.

In retrospect, critics have corrected the mistake:

Star Wars #15 on the AFI list.

Annie Hall #33 (and a deserving high ranking too!)

I still have yet to review Annie Hall, it's sick how far behind I am in reviews. It's about 15 right now, but not growing any as I'm keeping caught up now and trying to fight back to even, which I'll do before the end of break. The problem is that my AFI reviews are 3-5 pages long normally and if I see 3 movies in a day that take 10 pages to review, that is impossible to finish. I can only write 4-5 pages in a day that I see 3 movies, and that's if I'm really "on." Usually during x-mas break I'm doing just 2 movies a day and 5 pages...

Oh yeah my sister gave me Bounty Hunter for PS2 and also Grand Theft Auto Vice City. I got a few other SW games for PS2 for my birthday, though, so I got it all now. I got Warcraft III too, but to be honest I have too little time for video games :(

[Jedi Master Carr]

Forgot to add I got a replica of the one ring, not a real expensive one (came from Books a million) but still very cool, even comes with a chain, and it sits in something that resembles a rock and it glows when you put the ring in it.

[JMK]

Transaction complete! I managed to swap fullscreen for widescreen BTTF with my brother! :D

[CMJ]

I got some books...some DVD's...a poster frame(I have TONS of film posters but very few framed)...some North Texas stuff(of course).

AND I get to spend the holidays with those dearest to me, and see tons of movies. Great Christmas so far. :D

[darth_mcbain]

I finally got the AOTC DVD... I felt so out of the loop, not having it - I'll have to watch it again tonight...

[JonathanLB]

"AND I get to spend the holidays with those dearest to me, and see tons of movies. Great Christmas so far."

I always thought that is the best part! :)