domingo, 24 de mayo de 2009

Los internautas salen a la calle por la "neutralidad" de la red y contra el canon

Fuente:

http://www.libertaddigital.com/internet/los-internautas-salen-a-la-calle-por-la-neutralidad-de-la-red-y-contra-el-canon-1276360181/

Información:

GONZÁLEZ-SINDE, "INCAPACITADA LEGALMENTE"

Los internautas salen a la calle por la "neutralidad" de la red y contra el canon

La Asociación de Internautas se ha concentrado este domingo frente al Ministerio de Cultura en un acto por la protección de los derechos civiles en la Red y contra el canon. Algún participante se ha manifestado disfrazado de pirata.

Ampliar la foto
Uno de los participantes se disfrazó de pirata para defender sus derechos. EFE.

(Libertad Digital) "Esta manifestación tiene el objetivo de pedir la neutralidad en la red, para que no nos quiten nuestros derechos civiles, protestar contra el canon digital y exigir un ADSL más barato", declaró el presidente de la Asociación de Internautas, Víctor Domingo, según recoge Europa Press.

El acto duró una hora y se desarrolló frente a la sede del Ministerio de Cultura, ante la cual se dirigieron contra la ministra de Cultura, Ángeles González-Sinde, al considerar que está "incapacitada legalmente" para tomar decisiones, "debido a su anterior vinculación al mundo del cine y sus relaciones familiares", manifestó Domingo. El representante de los internautas denunció la negativa por parte del Gobierno de atender a las reivindicaciones que la asociación les ha manifestado, desde el nombramiento de González-Sinde como encargada de la cartera ministerial de Cultura.

Entre ellas, destacan la universalidad de la banda ancha, para "hacer posible la igualdad de oportunidades en el acceso al conocimiento". "Hay 4 millones de españoles que no pueden acceder a la banda ancha por el sitio donde viven, tenemos una ralentización del crecimiento del ADSL, porque tenemos la banda ancha más cara y más lenta de Europa", denunció Víctor Domingo a Europa Press.

Paquete Telecom

En favor de "los derechos civiles de los internautas" la asociación también reivindicó, ante la proximidad de las elecciones al Parlamento Europeo, la iniciativa del paquete Telecom que pretende reformar la legislación sobre banda ancha de aquí a 2012 y que ha sido aprovechado para intentar permitir a los Estados aprobar legislaciones en contra de la neutralidad de red y que castiguen a los internautas por intercambiar material protegido por derechos de autor.

Entre los asistentes estuvo David Hammerstein, eurodiputado del grupo Los Verdes, quien afirmó en declaraciones a Libertad Digital que las instituciones europeas tendrán que escuchar la voz de los ciudadanos y que este otoño, cuando se reanuden las negociaciones sobre el Paquete Telecom, paralizadas por la negativa de la Eurocámara a aceptar estas restricciones.

Contra el canon y la SGAE

También se produjeron durante el acto discursos contra el canon digital. Desde la asociación defienden la "ineludible necesidad de restablecer el equilibrio entre el derecho individual de autor y el derecho colectivo a la cultura". "La Industria de contenidos debe asumir que los modelos de negocio que no puedan competir en el nuevo escenario tecnológico tienen que desaparecer y no pueden sostenerse artificialmente a costa de restringir las libertades civiles", demandó la asociación en un manifiesto.

En el acto ha intervenido un músico, Luis Cobo "Manglis", que ha recordado que los únicos que se benefician del canon son unas 300 personas y que la mayoría paga más por productos gravados con él que lo que cobra de la SGAE. Ana María Méndez, presidenta de Apemit, ha recordado que no hay que limitar las críticas a esta entidad, pues las demás son igualmente culpables.

El abogado especializado en asuntos civiles en internet Carlos Sánchez Almeida ha denunciado la práctica que pretende llevar a cabo la Sociedad General de Autores (SGAE), que "se dedican a chalanear a los órganos administrativos con la Ley de Servicio de la Sociedad de la Información para proporcionarles información y datos personales de los internautas, para que de esa forma la SGAE pueda demandar a los usuarios".

También el periodista Enrique de Diego se ha cebado con la SGAE y dijo a Teddy Bautista que ya "tiene años" como para empezar a trabajar en una ocupación honrada. A su vez, acusó a la ministra de Cultura de "corrupta" y le pidió que explicara cuánto dinero ha ganado trabajando en películas que no se han llegado a estrenar.

También intervinieron en el acto el ex colaborador de Libertad Digital Enrique Dans, el director de ADSLZone, Javier Sanz, y el presidente de la Asociación de Usuarios de Internet (AUI), Miguel Pérez Subías. El acto concluyó con la lectura del manifestó por parte de la Defensora del Internauta, Ofelia Tejerina, y una improvisación de Manglis a la guitarra, que declaró no estar tocando ninguna canción registrada para que no pudieran exigirle después ningún pago.

La concentración estuvo amenizada por diversos actores, disfrazados de marido y mujer acosados por un detective de la SGAE el día de su boda, y del diablo (con un martillo con la leyenda "El canon te machaca") y su abogada.

Highlander: The Search for Vengeance - Anime DVD Review

Fuente:

http://www.basugasubakuhatsu.com/blog/2007/05/19/highlander-the-search-for-vengeance-anime-dvd-review/

Información:

Highlander: The Search for Vengeance - Anime DVD Review

highlander-the-search-for-vengeance.jpg

To be honest, I don’t have much experience watching Highlander stuff. I think I may have seen part of a movie, and maybe an episode of the TV show. The OP totally rocked! Anyway, I just got this anime version in the mail so I figured I’d pop it in my DVD player and check it out.

Story:
Highlander: The Search for Vengeance follows the story of Colin MacLeod and his never ending search for… you guessed it: vengeance! Apparently Marcus Octavius was an immortal, and he killed Colin’s wife and destroyed his town in the name of Rome!

Colin has been following Marcus around ever since, trying to get his revenge. After 2000 years, Colin still hasn’t gotten the best of Marcus! Now in the present, (it’s like the 22nd century), Marcus has taken over New York City! Can Colin finally get his revenge? I’d sure hope so by now…

Analysis:
This anime tries really hard to be cool. In some cases it succeeds, and in others, it ends up being really funny. There’s a funny anime-esque scene where Colin is fighting another immortal. He does one of those slashes that’s so fast, that his opponent laughs at him, then a few seconds later his head slides off! While I admit that’s kinda neat, it’s also very cliche and I sorta saw it coming from a mile away.

Right after that scene, we see Marcus wailing on a guitar hard. It’s almost like an excerpt from Robert Hamburger’s Real Ultimate Power. You know, with the ninjas vs pirates? The sense I get is that the writers are exactly like the fictional Mr. Hamburger. They’re writing this stuff thinking it’s totally badass, when really it’s roll-on-the-floor funny! Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

In fact, I quite enjoyed watching this anime. I decided it was one of those times that I should just shut down my brain and enjoy. Still, there were a few things that kept nagging at me. For instance, right before Colin’s wife dies, she asks him to promise that he won’t try and get revenge, saying that it’ll totally ruin his life. Colin replies, “I promise…” Then his wife dies and he continues “…that I’ll get my revenge!!!” It’s really funny and unintentionally so. But funny nonetheless.

Also, I love how Colin finds out that his wife’s spirit has really been living on in other women. Then he finds out that his wife is currently a prostitute… Umm… well at least she lives on… Later there’s a totally uncomfortable sex scene with nipples and all. I’m sure quite a few people will be watching this anime with their “non anime friends” and once this scene pops up, instant awkwardness!

Character Designs and Art:
The Highlander concept is American, but apparently the director (Kawajiri Yoshiaki) is Japanese and animation studio (Imagi) is from Hong Kong. The character designs are more towards the “realistic” side. They’re alright, I guess.

The animation is OVA quality. I guess this could be considered an OVA, after all. There’s quite a bit of CG used, but it’s mostly in good taste.

The Actual DVD:
I realized that Highlander wasn’t an original Japanese anime creation when I went to the audio menu of the DVD to change the language, as I pretty much do automatically now. That’s okay though, the voice acting was actually pretty good. There were a few times where Colin totally sounded like he was trying to be Snake from Metal Gear Solid. That got a bit annoying.

There were a few extras on the production of the anime that were interesting, including an interview with the director, Kawajiri Yoshiaki. It has some nice background if you’re trying to figure out if the DVD is really anime or not.

Conclusion:
The Highlander anime is an interesting project. There’s people of all sorts of nationalities working behind it. I think the result can still be called anime, even if it was created for American audiences. It’s a pretty enjoyable movie, both for the intended coolness and the unintended hilarity. Sure, it’s kinda cheesy, but in the end, it’s enjoyable cheese.

Many thanks to Manga Entertainment for sending me a review copy of Highlander: The Search for Vengeance.

7 Responses to “Highlander: The Search for Vengeance - Anime DVD Review”


  • “In the END, there can be… ONLY ONE!”

    *cue Queen’s song, “Princes of the Universe”*

    Y^_^Y

  • Yeah! That’s the OP I was talking about!

  • I remember seeing this in Newtype USA, but the art didn’t apeal to me. You make it sound like the show I was expecting it to be. xD

  • I found the film to be enjoyable cheese too - like you I don’t remember much about the original movies beyond the fact that they were entertaining and that McLeod is a badass.

    The action’s great though - Kawajiri brings a lot of the slick animation techniques and gore from his experiences with Ninja Scroll and Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, which is no bad thing. Still, there were moments where it was laugh-out-loud funny: for instance there was a scene in which several clearly Scottish characters were gathered together over an on-screen caption that stated they were in ‘Northern England’. You’re only a couple of hundred miles out, guys…

    Definitely fun to watch but I don’t know if I can be bothered to go out of my way to see it again. THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE! :)

  • Oh Colin! I’ve seen trees with more brains…it was soooo funny, but never again, unless to torture scottish friends.

  • Thanks for the review, I’ve been waiting for this. Love the original movie, which is classic.

  • This movie is so bad that it actually puts Highlander 2 to shame.

Debates en Libertad: La decadencia de Europa -23/05/09

Una visión liberal, y por desgracia descorazonadora, de la realidad europea y el negro futuro que le espera, tanto si hace las cosas bien como si hace las cosas mal.

Y es que al final esta fiesta la van a pagar nuestros hijos...

Vídeo:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uh1BDldn4Pc

Pathfinder ya en preventa

Fuente:

http://sandmanreturn.wordpress.com/2009/05/24/pathfinder-ya-en-preventa/

Información:

Pathfinder ya en preventa

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Esto es lo que comentan:

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Trivia for Highlander (1986) More at IMDbPro

Fuente:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091203/trivia

Información:

  • Clancy Brown nearly turned down the role of Kurgan, concerned that his allergy to makeup would prevent him from wearing the prosthetics required late in the film.

  • Christopher Lambert spent time with a dialogue coach, developing an accent which sounded non-specifically foreign.

  • Eight minutes of footage was removed from the original American theatrical release. The original version of the film was not released in America until 1996, with the "10th Anniversary Director's Cut" DVD. All subsequent DVD releases have included the director's cut. Among the footage removed: The opening flashbacks to Scotland as Connor sits in the stadium, Fasil doing back flips in the parking garage, Connor's first wife saying goodbye to him as he rides off into battle, Connor lying on the ground in agony after being stabbed by the Kurgan, and a flashback to World War II with Connor rescuing a young Rachel. In addition, the scene in which Connor is driven away from his village was trimmed, removing the head butts and the more violent punches and kicks.

  • Unused footage includes a sequence with Kurgan fighting an immortal security guard named Yung Dol Kim in an office building. Kim, tiring of his immortal life, yields to Kurgan, who takes his head.

  • Christopher Lambert had just barely learned to speak English when he took this role. The only other English-speaking film he had been in at that point was Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984), in which he spoke only a few words.

  • The brief snippet of "New York, New York" performed by Queen during the movie has never been released officially on an album or single by the group. It wasn't included on the official soundtrack either. The soundtrack was released and then deleted, and re-released in 2003 as a numbered limited edition.

  • In the scenes following Connor taking the Kurgan's head, director Russell Mulcahy had originally envisioned an animated dragon with the Kurgan's skull battle helmet emerging from the Kurgan's decapitated body and challenging Connor again. Only after Connor had defeated this Ghost-Dragon would he have received the final quickening and subsequent Prize. This idea was eventually cut due to budget restraints.

  • The final fight scene that takes place at the Silvercup studios (the sign is used in a few shots) used to be a bakery for the Silvercup bread company that had gone out of business a few years earlier.

  • During the final fight sequence between McLeod and Kurgan on the roof of the Silvercup Studios building, cables can be seen in the foreground pulling the studio's neon sign down. After filming had been completed, the production discovered that they had done so much damage to both the set and the actual roof of the Silvercup studios building as to make re-takes impossible.

  • Sean Connery and Christopher Lambert got along so well during filming that they called each other by their characters' names even when they were not filming and it was at Lambert's insistence that Connery and his character returned for the sequel.

  • According to the scene where a computer compares the signatures on the deeds to MacLeod's house, his previous aliases before Nash were Adrien Montagu, Jacques Lefebert, Alfred Nicholson, and Rupert Wallingford.

  • Among the many ancient artifacts in MacLeod's storeroom is Ramirez's vest and hat.

  • According to the director's commentary, the animated lightning on Connor's shoulders when he receives The Prize was actually supposed to disguise the wires -- ironically, this may have just drawn more attention to them.

  • The quickening is a term for when a baby in the womb shows its first sign of life, its first noticeable movement within the womb.

  • Queen originally intended to record only one song for the film, but after viewing footage from the movie, they were inspired to write more. The band members each had a favorite scene and composed songs specifically for them. Brian May wrote "Who Wants To Live Forever" during the cab ride home after seeing the film, and Roger Taylor used the line "It's a kind of magic" as the basis for the end title song.

  • The Queen song "One Year Of Love" (which can be heard in the background in the scene where Brenda meets Connor in the bar) was never released as a single in Europe or the US, but was a hit in Japan. The 7" single was released as part of the Highlander marketing wave, and its label said it was from the forthcoming soundtrack album (which never surfaced). It was, however, featured on the "It's a Kind of Magic" album.

  • The scene in the alley where the Kurgan (Clancy Brown) beheads Kastagir (Hugh Quarshie) and then stabs the gun nut, followed by the explosion, was filmed in an alley in England even though it was set in New York. The director was reluctant to set off the explosion in the alley because the windows were full of Victorian glass, but he was given permission to do so because that particular site was going to be destroyed in a few months anyway.

  • The church scene involving Kurgan (Clancy Brown) was filmed at night time with the permission of the priests in charge. Still, Brown's lines were ad-libbed and were reportedly considered so sacrilegious that the priests off-camera were making the sign of the cross as he said them.

  • All of Sean Connery's scenes had to be filmed in a week due to Connery's schedule. He had a bet with director Russell Mulcahy that they would not finish in seven days, but Mulcahy won the bet.

  • The priest in the church scene was actually an orthodox rabbi.

  • The brandy scene with Macleod and Brenda was inspired by Russell Mulcahy's dinner with Jim Steinman who, as a wine bottle from 1949 was being opened, sniffed the air between the cork and the bottle and told Mulcahy that he just sniffed air from 1949.

  • During the film scene at Eilean Donan castle, the car park by the castle had to be covered up with tons of peat to disguise it, the house located by the bridge out to the Castle was boxed in with hardboard and painted over so that it looked just like real stone even when you stood right beside it. Extras were paid £25 a day with a £10 bonus if they took their own horse. A lot of the locals took days off work to do it.

  • Virginia Madsen auditioned for the role of Heather. She later appeared as Connor's love interest in the second film.

  • The low flying aircraft in the final scene was a Sepecat Jaguar T2 belonging to 226 Operational Conversion Unit based at R.A.F. Lossiemouth. This unit is incorrectly listed in the final credits as the "Jaguar Fighter Wing, R.A.F. Lossiemouth." The Jaguar is actually a ground attack aircraft and not a fighter. 226 O.C.U. was a training unit used to train pilots to fly the Jaguar.

  • According to Roxanne Hart, Brooke Adams was initially considered for the part of Brenda J Wyatt.

  • Mickey Rourke was considered for the role of Connor Macleod.

  • The wrestling match in the beginning of the movie involves the tag team "The Fabulous Freebirds".

  • According to the DVD commentary, the film's climax was originally intended to take place on top of the Statue of Liberty. This was then changed to an amusement park, and finally changed to the rooftop of the Silvercup Studios building.

  • Director Cameo: [Russell Mulcahy] The first person hit by the Kurgan's car when he's driving on the sidewalk.

  • The swords sparking while clashing was accomplished by attaching a wire to each sword that led down the arms of the actors to a car battery. One was connected to the positive terminal and the other to the negative terminal, so when the swords touched there was an arc.

  • The producers tested dozens of actors for the role of Garfield, the cop who berates MacLeod in the police station. The actors were Americans living in England, and the producers decided not to cast any of them because they had developed English accents after living in England for several years.

  • The opening shot sweeping through the stadium was accomplished using a computerized system that held the camera on four wires. The system was invented by the inventor of the Steadicam stabilizing camera system, Garrett Brown.

  • The opening scene was intended to take place during an NHL hockey match, but the NHL refused to allow the crew to film there because, by the crew's own admission, they were intending to emphasize the violence of the hockey match.

  • The sword fight between MacLeod and Fasil was filmed in a London fruit market made to look like a parking garage. The producers had scheduled to film in England but couldn't film in a parking garage there because they had lower ceilings than American parking garages and could not convincingly be made to look like Madison Square Garden's garage.

  • The opening voice over by Sean Connery has an echo effect because it was recorded in a bathroom. It was played for the producers over the phone, and they approved of it because they could not discern the quality of the recording that way.

  • The opening credits, with red text on a black background, were only intended to be temporary, place-holding credits, but the producers liked the look of them so much that they were kept for the final cut of the film.

  • Kurgan's pseudonym, Victor Krueger, is actually an inside joke. Victor, of course, means winner. Krueger might falsely been seen as a variation on the German word, Krieger, which means warrior. So, Victor Krueger would mean, Winning Warrior. The actual meaning of Krueger is "someone who produces jugs/jars/pitchers/mugs"