Thundercats Animated Reboot Trailer

Snarf is still there.

Production Photos from Empire

Here is a disorienting collection of production stills from The Empire Strikes Back, from the new coffee table book about the making of said film, via Vanity Fair.

Frozen Concentrated '90s

themostimportantvideoyoumayeverwatchreally from Isaac Royffe on Vimeo.

Anyone else from the 90's? This may induce flashbacks, and it's fucking long.

the things we lose with the advent of technology

giant brass hbo logos, for one.

Ala Moana Tower

I've been spoiled this past month working on the 18th floor of the Ala Moana building. Two floors higher and I could have been in the old revolving restaurant, but I can't complain—it was hard enough trying to get work done with a view of the marina during two tsunami warnings! Ah well, thirds the charm.

From the right (with constant daydreaming of a 2012-like apocalypse, and from what I've learned from WoW, I'm pretty sure I can get on roof of the shopping center):

From the left:

I did not know this: the La Ronde was the first revolving restaurant in the world!

Addendum: I couldn't help myself—Panic originally posted this in a comment somewhere I think, but it deserves the front page:

Hey, remember The Factory?

Yeah, The Factory. Many, many magic evenings. None of them very well represented by this video, but I'm not sure what I was expecting, exactly.

I remember one big dark room with intense music, and one slightly less dark room with less intense music and a poorly installed carpet, or something. Anyone remember anything else?

Enough with the auto-tunes already. After this one.

The Ballad of G.I. Joe

The Ballad of G.I. Joe from Olivia Wilde

For those of you who haven't seen it. Starring Alexis Bledel, Billy Crudup, Julianne Moore, Henry Rollins, Alan Tudyk, and more.

Firestorm is considering purchasing a Mazda

Firestar has Hurt her Wrist

Drinking Fountain from the Past

Hey, anyone remember this drinking fountain from the Honolulu Zoo, a long time ago, near the bathrooms by the snack bar? I saw it on the street in NYC. It was probably not the same one.

notPr0n

Here is an old Internet puzzle that you will remember if you are old. Not super-old, though. Medium-old.

Click to play.

Dead Boy Coach

I know I said I'd stop, and this is an afterthought compared to Ruby's, but I thought I noticed a disturbing trend emerging.

Large Magical Pants Coach

Ok, not to be a boaster but I think I may have trumped all of those all with this:

I have to admit I'd never heard of this till a co-worker mentioned it to me today. The animation is actually much more skillfull than Mr. T et al but I think the clunky hip-hop plot description still pulls through for a higher overall crappiness.

Psychotic Break Coach

Theme song by Menudo, apparently!

Rainbow Magicalness Coach

Is this up one or down one?

Gymnastics Coach

This one's for you, Helpwillcome. I can't believe I watched so much of this crappy, crappy show. Can anyone one-up me?

Uhm...yeah...

Immaturity? Lost in the past? I dunno. I can't say anything to defend myself on this one. I did enjoy it and will probably watch it again tomorrow.

http://www.adultswim.com/video/?episodeID=8a25059520b3d89e0120b49221340025

Vader Falls Into a Volcano; That's Why He's Like That

I was sitting here thinking, trying to figure out how I knew that Darth Vader, at some point before A New Hope, fought Obi-Wan Kenobi fell into a volcano. I remember knowing this in second grade. Why the hell did I know this?

I realized that I was sitting in front of the Internet, so I asked it why I knew this. The Internet told me this, and mentioned a bunch of possibilities, including an issue of Dynamite, Alan Dean Foster's Splinter of the Mind's Eye, and finally, this interview with George Lucas from Rolling Stone, posted back in May of 1977 (!). Here, Lucas is talking about the backstory that he hopes to one day tell:

It's about Ben and Luke's father and Vader when they are young Jedi knights. But Vader kills Luke's father, then Ben and Vader have a confrontation, just like they have in Star Wars, and Ben almost kills Vader. As a matter of fact, he falls into a volcanic pit and gets fried and is one destroyed being. That's why he has to wear the suit with a mask, because it's a breathing mask. It's like a walking iron lung. His face is all horrible inside.

It's a good interview, and a great reminder of how much work and thought went into the original movie. (I'm not sure if "one destroyed being" is a typo or a very weird colloquialism.) Also, I don't want to be a George Lucas apologist, but I do think I hate the three prequels a lot less than most. In fact, I quite enjoyed them! Sure, there are a couple or three fatal errors in The Phantom Menace, but I think Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith do a decent job side-stepping these mistakes. I think all three prequels have the same idealistic spirit, dramatic urgency, and (for the most part) fun as the originals, as well as the attention to detail and deep respect for complex lore that made the Star Wars Universe so interesting for me in the first place.

I'm going to watch all six movies again! Who's with me?

Another treat for LC...