Author: RPadTV

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FAA Seeking Comments on In-Flight Portable Electronics Use

You know that stupid rule that forces you to turn off your iPad, Vita, or 3DS during the first and last ten minutes of a flight? The FAA is reexamining that rule and seeking policy-shaping comments. That’s where you come in! If you’re convinced that catching a Pokemon or reading an e-book has no impact whatsoever on takeoff or landing then let the FAA know. There are several ways you can do this:

• Email: Submit your comments via email to PEDcomment@faa.gov.
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and follow the online instructions for sending your comments electronically.
• Mail: Send comments to Docket Operations, M-30; U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE, Room W12-140, West Building Ground Floor, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
• Hand Delivery or Courier: Take comments to Docket Operations in Room W12-140 of the West Building Ground Floor at 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE, Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
• Fax: Fax comments to Docket Operations at 202-493-2251.

So bust out your fax machines and comment away! Or, more likely, send the FAA a polite email stating your case. Yes, safety is the highest priority, but I’ve yet to see a study that shows that several people using an iPad on an airplane will interfere with its ability to land at an airport.

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Justice League Movie: No Affleck, Yes Wachowskis?

Looks like we dodged a bullet there, fellow comic-book fanboys. io9 has reported that Ben Affleck is definitely not directing the Justice League movie. Many JLA fans feel that his strengths aren’t suited to a spandex superhero movie, while others simply hate him for Daredevil. Either way, he claims that he was never in the running. Most would agree that Affleck not directing this movie is good news. The arguable news/rumor is that the Wachowski…uh…siblings are the leading candidates for the job. While many comic-book nerds loved The Matrix, opinions were split on the two sequels and most people hated the Wachowskis’ take on Speed Racer.

Personally, I’m intrigued but not yet sold. I loved The Matrix and enjoyed parts of the two sequels. I actually didn’t mind Speed Racer either. Having said that, I acknowledge that the Wachowkis are maddeningly inconsistent. They have the potential to make a killer Justice League film, but they also have the potential to make a disappointing one.

What do you think of the possibility of a Justice League movie directed by the Wachowskis?

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More McKayla Maroney is Not Impressed

The “McKayla Maroney is Not Impressed” Tumblr keeps on rolling! My latest favorites include McKayla being unimpressed with Jedi ghosts in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, Leroy Green getting the glow in The Last Dragon, and hanging with the Rat Pack. It’s websites like this that make me love the Internet. Check it out! Continue reading “More McKayla Maroney is Not Impressed”

What I Learned From HBO’s The Newsroom

Season one of The Newsroom ended last night and I was left satisfied with Aaron Sorkin’s HBO show. Many critics have slammed the show, while many viewers praised it to the heavens. Both sides have their points, but funnily enough those points are being taken to extremes in a way that’s reminiscent of the political climate the show is supposed to be a commentary on. Anyway, here are some random thoughts on The Newsroom. If you’ve watched the show, I’d love to hear your take too.

I Love Sorkin’s Writing: Yes, I know his characters speak in an unrealistic way, but I’m just a fan of condensed dialogue with wit and heart. I love that style and Sorkin is arguably the most commercially successful writer that employs it. It’s the same reason I love Kevin Smith’s writing. To me, they’re two sides of the same coin. One side is unapologetically liberal, while the other is stoned and lewd, but they’re both witty and have heart. You know, I wish I had a coin like that.

Lisa Munn Was Good: While it’s still unbelievable that she’s an economics godess with dual-wielding PhDs, I came to enjoy Olivia Munn’s character. Her awkward charm grew on me. She was fun. Don’t get me wrong — I will still exploit her for traffic and am not a fan of her as a person, but I completely admit that I came to enjoy her performance as Sloan Sabbith.

Sorkin’s Women Are Silly But the Men Are Sillier: I actually argued this a bit with a friend last night. He, and many others, feels that Sorkin writes female characters that are flawed and idiotic. I feel that most of the characters on the show are flawed and idiotic. The women are just honest about it, while the men cover it up with bullsh*t. For all of Will’s bravado and gruffness, he’s a romantic softie that’s overly sensitive. Don comes off as a dick, but he’s also insecure and sensitive. If anything, I preferred that the women were being real. Heart on sleeve baby!!! (You have to picture me saying that the way Chris Jericho says, “Come on baby!!!”)

Retroscopic News is Easy: Many fans of the show point to it as a sterling example of everything that’s wrong with news reporting in America today. There’s a point to that, for sure, but The Newsroom makes reporting the news “right” seem much easier than it actually is. While the fictitious News Night has its share of struggles, there are times when they look like the most brilliant newsmen and newswomen that ever existed. It’s easy to like like a genius on a fictional show that uses last year’s news as plot devices. Anyone can look good through the retroscope. Doing it in real-time is a whole other matter. Some people forget this this is fiction. It’s like when all the kids in the neighborhood saw Gleaming the Cube and became experts on skateboarding. Really, it’s exactly like that.

The Show is Extremely Left Wing: I’m honestly shocked by Newsroom fans that think the show is anything but ultra-liberal. They point to Will’s character being a republican that’s dissatisfied with the tea party and trying to restore balance to The Force the GOP. Uh-huh. I have zero problems with a fictional show being ultra-liberal or ultra-conservative, but let’s not pretend The Newsroom is something it’s not. Sorkin is on the extreme left, but his writing has charmed (fooled?) some people into thinking this show is only slightly left because the protagonist is a conservative. That’s just nonsense. It’s like believing Fox News or MSNBC reports the “proper” version of the news. That kind of stuff can be dangerous, especially in an election year.

Season Two Will Kick Ass: Now that the actors have had a season to get into their characters, I’m sure they’ll be even better in season two. More importantly, the show will have the benefit of an election to cover. It’s similar to how The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, and Saturday Night Live are at their best running up to an election. I can’t wait to see how Sorkin’s team covers the 2012 election through the retroscope. It’ll be fun, witty, and full of heart.

Also, I hope Jim and Maggie stop being weenies and finally get together. Yes, I love to the soap-opera aspects of The Newsroom too.

This Week’s Videogame Releases

Are you ready for some football?!? Madden NFL 13 comes out this week, which is always a huge deal in North America. If you’d rather fight it out in the unfriendly skies then Damage Inc. Pacific Squadron WWII might be your game. It’s a particularly sweet week for PlayStation 3 owners, with God of War Saga, inFamous Collection, and Journey: Collector’s Edition to choose from.

Any of you picking up new games this week?

Coffee Talk #512: Your Thoughts on Apple vs. Samsung

Now that we’ve all had a weekend to think about it, I wanted to get your take on the Apple vs. Samsung verdict. If you haven’t been keeping score at home, Samsung got its ass kicked and will have to pay Apple more than $1-billion in damages. The jury found that Samsung infringed on several of Apple’s software and design patents. While the software patents are pretty specific, the design patents are vague enough that it’s somewhat surprising that Samsung lost so decisively. Some people believe this is all the result of a broken patent system. Others believe that Apple was just protecting its IP rights. Some pundits feel that the decision will stifle innovation in mobile tech (unless the innovators want to shell out money to Apple). What say you?!?

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, the stupendous trade between the Dodgers and the Red Sox, McKayla Maroney being totally hot (in certain states only), or the great Neil Armstrong, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Now that we’ve all had a weekend to think about it, I wanted to get your take on the Apple vs. Samsung verdict. If you haven’t been keeping score at home, Samsung got its ass kicked and will have to pay Apple more than $1-billion in damages. The jury found that Samsung infringed on several of Apple’s software and design patents. While the software patents are pretty specific, the design patents are vague enough that it’s somewhat surprising that Samsung lost so decisively. Some people believe this is all the result of a broken patent system. Others believe that Apple was just protecting its IP rights. Some pundits feel that the decision will stifle innovation in mobile tech (unless the innovators want to shell out money to Apple). What say you?!?

As for me, after a weekend of deliberation I’ve come to the conclusion that this is all stupid. The trial was an enormous waste of money. Design patents are shockingly dumb. The jury failed. Samsung’s lawyers failed harder.

The decision was fantastic for Apple and there are several instances where I believe that the company was in the right. That said, I believe that it also got several gift decisions (like Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr.) and that the verdict is bad for mobile tech. The ruling makes it harder and/or more expensive for companies to compete with Apple, which will result in consumers having less choices.

Anyway, that’s my take. Now it’s your turn! What are your thoughts on the Apple vs. Samsung verdict?

I Want a Pikachu 3DS XL/LL!!!

I really didn’t want a Nintendo 3DS XL…but then I saw this limited edition Pikachu model available for pre-order at Pokemon Center stores in Japan. A few of you will recall that I own several Pokemon-edition Nintendo handhelds. I love my Celebi Game Boy Advance. I adore my Torchic GBA-SP. My DS Lite with Dialga and Palkia on the cover…well, that one is just okay; the other two portables look cooler. Anyway, the point is that this Pikachu 3DS XL/LL is screaming to be part of my collection. It’s cute and awesome and super-effective against water Pokemon!

If only I had a friend that lives in Japan, like Brad Douglas. If only a pal, like Brad Douglas, would drive down to Los Angeles while he’s in America in a few weeks so that I could give him some money to pick this bad boy up for me at Pokemon Center Tokyo. A good friend, like Brad Douglas, would realize that it’s my birthday next month and this favor would be awesome. I wonder….

ECW Documentary Needs Kickstarter Help

John Philapavage is putting together a documentary about Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) and is seeking funding on Kickstarter. For most of the organization’s existence, it was a small, regional wrestling promotion with limited television exposure. However, the workers had a passion that connected with the fans in a unique way. Much of what made ECW different and popular was later mimicked by WWE and WCW. The group helped one of the biggest pro-wrestling stars of all time — “Stone Cold” Steve Austin — find his voice. It gave many North American wrestling fans their first looks at Eddie Guerrero, Dean Malenko, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, and many other fantastic wrestlers. For a small promotion, ECW’s contributions to the wrestling business were huge.

Check out the video below to learn more about Philapavage’s ECW documentary:

Here’s an excerpt from the Kickstarter page that lists the talent involved:

Our approach to telling the story of Extreme Championship Wrestling and giving you proper context has been holistic in nature. We’ve interviewed journalists, wrestlers, referees, ring announcers, security staff, company staff and production, all the way to fans and fan organizers. The wrestlers range from mainstays like Sandman, Raven, Shane Douglas, Balls Mahoney, Axl Rotten, New Jack, Mikey Whipwreck, The Blue Meanie, Stevie Richards, Nova, Ted Petty, and Johnny Grunge, to wrestlers from later years like Jerry Lynn, Angel and Devito of Da Baldies, Chris Chetti, Danny Doring, and Steve Corino.

I loved ECW back in the day. It was just different and refreshing. It had a mix of crazy hardcore action, edgy storylines, and outstanding technical wrestling. Allowing fans to bring weapons for wrestlers to use was an awesome touch. I fondly remember watching a show where a SNES was used as a “foreign” object.

I’m going to try to contribute to this Kickstarter project when I have some extra money. Any of you interested in backing this ECW documentary?

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

After spending most of the week working on a secret magazine project, I don’t want to see any games that involve shooting or the military (or transcribing). I think I’m going to stick to Dyad and Outernauts. The former’s soothing sounds and trippy visuals should pull my mind away from realistic warfare. The latter…I’m just enjoying the hell out of. If you start playing Outernauts, then you can count on me supplying you with premium materials.

How about you? What’s on your weekend playlist?