Wednesday, July 31, 2002

It's raining outside.

I keep trying to tell my dogs that the scary noises they hear during thunderstorms can't come inside and get them, but they just don't seem to understand for some reason and continue to hide under the bed...

Thursday, July 25, 2002

Why? WHY?!?

Why do people say "Is it raining outside?"

Where else is it going to rain?

Sunday, July 21, 2002

Dream I Had Last Night

I dreamed last night that I had just found out about the existence of a small outdoor movie theater near here in Clinton, Mississippi. It had a fairly small screen, and the seats were just concrete benches, and the ground was really overgrown with plants and wild vines everywhere (which was kinda neat and gave it an airy garden-like atmosphere), and they would only have one movie showing every day, but the cool thing about it was that it was The Star Wars Theater. Every day they'd have one screening of one of the original, pre-Special-Edition Star Wars films. (They even had the original version of Star Wars without the "Episode IV: A New Hope" subtitle on the opening text crawl.)

Thursday, July 18, 2002

Um... German?

I like overdubs. I can't help it. If I want to watch a movie, I don't want to read it too. I like to look at the screen, because -- you know -- it's a visual medium. I can't understand German or any other language except English. I'd rather have a bad overdub that allows me to watch the movie than to "preserve" the language of the movie (which might as well be people speaking like The Sims) with subtitles.

Rusty Does Want To Rant... A Little

I think that they confused "bad" TV with "interesting" TV. Not just for Tom Green, but for most of the shows on the list. Look at all of them, and what makes them not bad (even if they were, technically, bad) is that they stood out from other TV shows. I mean where were the shows like Family Matters or Who's the Boss?? Those are the truly bad ones, along with a zillion others just like it, that are just vomit-ups of already-existing shows. You have to give something like Sheriff Lobo credit for originality.

I would write another We Like Media article, but it might just sound too much like my Tom Green Gets Razzied one. The general public is so f*cking boring to me. Thank God for individuals.

Com Pew Tah

It's fun fixing computers, once you're fixing them and not just cursing at them.

For those who are now scared to play The Sims because it supposedly killed Liza's computer: don't worry. It didn't kill Liza's computer. The Sims is one of the best games ever made, and you should probably play it once or twice to see if you agree. If you don't like computer games, you might like this one.

Gateway's "service" indeed sux. I've called them two times, and both times I eventually just had to figure out the problem by myself. They kept suggesting things that would indeed kill the computer. They're basically just kids with a troubleshooting guide on their desks.

Tuesday, July 16, 2002

I'm just home for lunch, so this will have to be brief.

Thank you

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Rusty for fixing my broken computer.

The Sims killed my computer

For those of you who don't know, I was installing some Sims expansions Sunday night after we got back from Jackson, and my computer had a meltdown. We were up until 2 a.m. Sunday night, on the phone with Noby from 1-2 a.m., trying to fix it, but Rusty ended up having to reformat my computer yesterday.

Everything seems to be in perfect working order, although I'm still missing several games and programs, but I'll get around to downloading them in the next few days.

Thanks, Again

So, once again, I'd like to publicly thank Rusty for saving me from doing something crazy, like taking my computer to Gateway to be fixed. Who needs places like that when you've got Rusty and Noby? (Thanks to you, too, Noby!)

Monday, July 15, 2002

Rusty wants to Rant, I know it

The Tom Green Show was rated #41 on TV Guide's list of the 50 worst television shows of all time. See the whole list of shows here.

Sunday, July 14, 2002

Where's Tommy?

Tommy, I'll assume that since we neither saw you or heard from you this weekend, you stayed in wherever it is you live in North Mississippi with Danny and rocked the boat with recordings of music and what not. It was a generally slow weekend, so you didn't miss much.

Run Noby Run

Noby, let me take this opportunity to thank you for watching Run Lola Run, in German, with me.

Since you offered no comments during or after the movie, I'll ask you now what you thought. I know you'd seen it once before, but the second time around brings new thoughts, usually.

I feel the need, the need, for speed

Oh, and despite my comments to the contrary, I made the drive from your house to mine in 1 hour, 10 minutes. That's a record for me, I think. Of course I was driving 80mph half the time.

Ah...memories

When I was in college, I used to try and see how fast I could get from point A to point B (usually from Memphis to Birmingham/Birmingham to Memphis). I grew out of that eventually, the fear of speeding tickets helping me along. Hopefully I won't fall back into my evil ways of high speed highway behavior.

Balance

Actually, I think I've struck a strange balance...my highway driving has slowed down to just above speed limit speed while my in town driving has increased to about twice the speed limit. I often wonder at the fact that I haven't been pulled over on Hardy Street or 4th Street and been given a big, fat ticket.

Later

Okay, I've got things to do and things to do, so I'll bid farewell for now.

Thursday, July 11, 2002

Rock Is Dead. Long Live Rock!

You ain't gotta defend nothin'. And, yes, you are Pete Towshend.

I had a similar affirmation moment when I first went to a Magnetic Fields show and saw people who liked his music as much as I did. Before that, I felt pretty alone. It wasn't a thousand screaming fans, though, but maybe 60 quiet fans. That was enough for me. And Tommy was there, too. And Ben Lee. And Ancient Chinese Garden.

Double-Meanings

I tend to think the skirting and flirting in lyrics is just people trying to hard not to say anything because they don't know how to say it or because they don't have anything really to say or because they're trying to make the thing they're saying more deep than it really is. I don't appreciate complete abstractions too much. One way they work are in some of the better R.E.M. songs, though. Like "Losing My Religion." The song is just about not wanting to say to much to someone you have a crush on, but the not-quite-saying-it makes it a better song (where you can ignore the "real" meaning altogether and make it about religion or whatever you like). However, the reason it works is because of the specificness of the lyrics. It's not the abstraction. In fact, it's pretty darn specific: "Oh no, I've said too much. I haven't said enough." Early R.E.M. songs are good like this too. Like "Fall On Me." It's an environmental song, and it addresses the issue straight on, but it doesn't use the common words. It doesn't use words that the EPA would use. That's what makes it art in addition to being a environmental song.

So I dislike songs telling you what to do, too, but I think it's bad songwriting when it's just too abstract to mean anything, or when it uses symbols (usually symbols) so common the song can mean absolutely anything. Like "I'm sinking in a sea of darkness and my eyes are blind to the light that would bring me up into the sky so I have to keep falling forever and forever" or shit like that.

Neutral Milk Hotel

Neutral Milk Hotel is a perfect example of using very very specific words and images to get across meanings that couldn't possibly be told in a "normal" language. But listen to the specifics: "And she was born in a born in a bottle rocket, 1929, with wings that ringed around a socket right between her spine, all drenched in milk and holy water pouring from the sky" to pick one random line. They do what myth-writers do. But all myth-writers use specifics too. They're never abstract.

The Royal Tenenbaums

I still like Rushmore the best of the Wes Anderson movies (you know, Tommy's favorite movie). I liked The Royal Tenenbaums a little better the second time, though I'm still annoyed by the same things I was the first time: the nothing-but-symmetry shots and the way that everything is so overly-precious so that the real problems these people have are just kind of being toyed with and snickered at with intellectual snickering. But, yes, I think it's a good movie too.

Nerd?

Am I a dork for reading "Tommy Said" as Tommy Sah-eed at first?

Farto McTurdstink.

Wednesday, July 10, 2002

Tommy said

Tommy said I should post more often to the robot, and as his loyal and obedient servant, I am doing so.

Unfortunately, all of my internet time has been spent job searching lately. Jobs suck. Looking for jobs sucks more.

The Royal Family

In case anyone was wondering...I bought the Criterion Collection of The Royal Tenenbaums yesterday.

That there is a pretty good movie.

In other news

I don't really have any other news. Job searching, movie buying/watching, work, and sleep take up most of my time these days.

As a matter of fact, I'm going to quit posting now, bathe, and watch some tv in preparation for sleep. Ah, sleep...
And keep writing I shall...

I really don't feel my need to defend rock or its meanings. I'm just trying to imply its importance to many people (including myself). Rusty, you are indeed one of the lucky few people in this world that can bury stuff and let it go. Most people in this world cannot, therefore, they end up doing all sorts of crazy things. It depends on how much they let go and how much they hold in. The Beatles were magic. Plain and simple. They managed to walk that perfect line of being so many things to all people. But, The Who's music may actually may mean more to me in the larger picture. I know that it's really a matter of personal taste, but that's me. The reason why is because I relate. I think music should be able to be related to. You relate to ABBA, I do not, but it certainly doesn't diminish their quality. Same goes for 'Nsync, for that matter. I appreciate your clarification on the reasons you dig Destiny's Child. I understand the issues that are being addressed in the big Who songs. It may be because I'm just an overgrown teenager. I understand Pete Townshend's duplicity and contradictions. I'm full of them, too. Somehow, they all add up in the end to me. The great thing about a song is one that can be listened to in headphones and speak directly to your soul, then, you can sit in a room full of people and play it and have everyone sing along, and then, the next level is having it affirmed with thousands of screaming people in a stadium somewhere. Waving your fist in unison to that great anthem. It is important. You are made to not feel silly for turning up the volume on "Won't Get Fooled Again." You've affirmed it with many, many like-minded people. Rock shows can be those kinds of releases. As I seem to remember, Rusty, you're not a big fan of those either. Church, anyone? Why do people attend church? Maybe it's the same reason kids attend rock concerts. It's probably wrong. The Beatles were more popular than Christ, after all. I know for those of you that stand on that good old Rock of Salvation will win out in the end and I will be left with nothing but damaged hearing, but by golly, it's almost all I've got these days to confirm that I am real. Maybe that can change. Alot of folks have commented on The Who's decision to continue their tour a couple of days after Entwistle's death. The more I've thought about it, I know that it's the right thing to do. The only thing to do. The release. It's all about the release. So, whereas you feel that Mr. Townshend is merely trying to get at the big problems, I think he succeeds. Quadrophenia works on so many levels because of this. Eddie Vedder (another purveyor of angst that I happen to like, and Rusty happens to dilsike) was deeply moved by Quadrophenia as a youngster. And, I know as a writer, you feel that his stories has many holes in them (they do). You can't get past the structure. This is precisely why they work for me. Rock music should never actually tell its audience what to feel. I usually don't like the stuff that does. It should always be open ended. This can always be a problem when words are brought into play. Another fine line that bands like The Beatles were perfectly able to walk.

Lyrics

I get really irritated today that if in a rock song you actually mention anything specifically. Hit something head on. You're upposed to skirt around it and flirt around it in a way, say, that a Stones lyric would, and maybe mention it in a sort-of double meaning, double edged way. I've always been frustrated with this aspect of rock, I don't get anything from that type of song. Like you sit down and listen to a piece by Debussy, one person can see the Arctic and another can see the Russian Revolution, you can see anything you like because there's nothing suggested by it than in a musical way. When you've got words, "I walked into the room and I picked up my spade, and I worked for the Revolution" type of thing, it's enough to kill anything stone dead.

In rock and roll, what you don't do is make people's decisions for them, you share their ideas and you share their difficulties and you share their period of frustration, but you don't say "the thing that you have to do now is get yourself a job, get a retirement plan. You don't do that stuff. You say, "Let's go get a drink and talk about it." Drawing a conclusion should never be the job of a good rock songwriter.

Maybe I make no sense whatsoever. I make sense to me, though. Again, it's the reason why people like certain things and other folks don't. It's the difference between me and you, Rusty. But you know I love you all the same. Rock music is my release. I think you have different releases than mine. And perhaps I do harbor too much angst and really don't realize it all yet. My favorite movie is Rushmore, after all...

Tommy Fischer

And I like flowers too, almost as much as The Who.
I like flowers.

They are pretty.
Angst

I'm not carrying anything from my teen or pre-teen years. I feel I'm a minority in this. I had problems, of course, when I was growing up, since everyone has problems at all times of their lives, but nothing I'm still carrying with me. Basically, when I look back now, it feels that I had no problems at all. I don't feel I had any real problems until I became an adult. And I am still carrying some things from my earlier adult years, but I imagine those will go away before too long to make way for new ones. But, no, I don't really even feel there was anything from my youth to get over. It was all pretty nice.

So maybe that's why I don't like rock music. I do think lots of it is immature. I feel this way about a lot of stuff, though: that few things are adult. Lots of adult moviemakers, for example, seem to be re-treading their teen or college years. I know some of them are made for that audience, but many are not. And even the movies "about" adults are about what I consider immature adults.

So take like The Who (just to make Tommy want to write more): when I listen to it, I think it's trying to get at the "big problems, deep stuff," but that it's not. It's presenting it as if it is, like in the Tommy album. To me, even the stuff that Pete Townshend sings about in his solo career (or at least what I know of it) seems like stuff that people should have figured out and been over by, say, age 17.

But take like The Beatles: I think they were pretty adult. I think they covered deep stuff without blinking, not making a big show of it. George and (less so) John's solo stuff was like this too. Even their early stuff about boys and girls had a certain maturity to it. Once again, The Beatles win.

So the stuff I like is either "adult" or "candy." In the case of Merritt, both. Adult music is mature, and candy music isn't but it knows that it isn't: therefore it's not like immature rock music trying to sound mature while not being mature at all. I like the honesty of candy music. This is why I can like Destiny's Child better than Pink Floyd.

Maybe nothing traumatic happened to me when I was young, and that's all it is. Maybe more people have traumatic childhoods and teen years. I'm a lucky baaaa.

Rusty.

Tuesday, July 09, 2002

Response to Rusty

I never questioned your intent on recording music. I think I could make an entire covers album, and might like to do so. I think it's magic that you rerecorded an entire album and I love you for it. I don't have the patience to do that. I like your 69 Love Songs. I like them better than Merritt's. And I said that I understood the feeling behind destroying an intsrument. It's all about the emotion. One of the differences between me and you, Rusty, is that you somehow remove the raw emotion behind music and there's something far deeper (or spiritual) motivating your tastes. Or maybe it simply strikes different nerves in each of us. This is why I can listen to Pet Sounds and weep while you simply may think that it's very nice, but "not all that." Again, we have common occurences, such as Neutral Milk Hotel. I think that album moves us for the same reasons. Same with Weezer's Pinkerton. But I do know that it totally tees you off when guys like Stevie Ray Vaughn are making faces or whatever while playing ("Does that help them play better?"). It's emotion. I don't jump around and act like an idiot because I think it's fun (it is), but because that's simply what the music does to me. And if I whack the shit out of my bass or throw it on the ground, I do it because sometimes because simply playing it isn't enough for me. Rock music goes that deep for me, I guess. And that's the fundamental difference between me and you, Rusty. You simply do not like Rock Music. You never have. You like some music that may rock, but not Rock Music on the whole. You don't like the new Weezer record as much because it a rock and roll album. But you do like pop music (I do too).


Pop Versus Rock
Pop music is wonderful, it's essential, it makes the day go by, it makes us happy, it makes us sad, it's good stuff. There's never been anything wrong with it...But Rock always set itself a slightly higher target which was to try to share big ideas, big problems, deep stuff. Particularly the problems that you tend to carry with you from your teenage years. I think we carry alot of teenage stuff with us to our deathbed. I don't think we let it go and I think we're formed in our teenage years to some extent. The person that leaves home is the person that becomes an adult whether they're ready for it or not.

And then there's the other difference. You've got God and I've got music. Maybe music really is my God. You don't need it because you've that the real deal. I've just got these loud guitars and broken instruments.

Tommy Entwistle
Organized Ranting


Marty McFly

I got not only that time travel email, but I've gotten a series of them: like 3 or 4 different ones. So they're getting around. I thought it was odd too. I prefer them to most of my junk mail.

Pete Townshend

Your love of Mike Nesmith used to feed my hatred.

69 Lovers

What's to figure out? It's good music, and it's fun to do covers, so why not cover a whole album? Lots of covers are pointless, if they sound exactly like the original song or don't add anything, but I feel that mine add something. Also, I want to present it as a present to Stephin and Claudia when I'm done (and maybe as MP3s to the fans that they can download for free -- of course, else it's illegal -- on some site). And you know me, I care more about concepts than anything. I'm the Garry Shandling of music.

Religioso

You wonder why I like recording music, but you think it's normal to destroy instruments? Now who's confusing? Jesus might get mad at you worshipping rock music. :)

Sonic

Conceivably, you can get a Chocolate Coke or a vanilla Sprite or anything at all at Sonic. It's magic.

Monday, July 08, 2002

Rants and stuff...

I really have nothing to rant about these days. Life is still good for me. I still like 2002. Beside a couple of bad things, it's been a bowl of oysters. Speaking of which...I really want some oysters. I'm a picky eater, but I enjoy the seafood. I mean real seafood. Not this MS home grown catfish stuff. I like the clams and shrimp...you know, stuff from the SEA.

David Bowie's new CD is really good. I picked up a couple more Alex Chilton solo records recently. Rusty, what's your deal? You should like Alex Chilton more than you do. Then again, I've stopped trying to figure your taste in music a long time ago. I'm even to the point of making you your very own LX compilation, so you won't listen to it. Yes. That's how desperate I am. Like Flies On Sherbert is a brilliant, wreckless little masterpiece. Mr. Chilton is truly one of the fathers of indie pop/rock. Along with Mr. Reed. Those are the granddaddies as far as I'm concerned. But Rusty probably won't like LX because I like him so much. I think Weezer is the only band (probably The Beatles) that Rusty and I both share a common love/adulation for. In most other cases, if one of us likes a band or artist a WHOLE LOT, the other won't. Oh, yeah...we both like REM, but I don't know why anymore. There's a couple of middle folks we both kinda like, but it seems the more I love Pete Townshend, the more inclined Rusty is to hate him. It's like my love feeds his hatred. Is that a rant? Can that count?

I picked up the new Beach Boys collection as it was compiled by Brian Wilson himself. Yeah. I'ma sucker. Capitol Records can always sucker me for a buck when it comes to The Beach Boys and The Beatles. I have every single song on this compilation with the exception of the "bait." The bait is a new Brian Wilson song called "California Feeling." Plus the packaging. I am a nut for pakages when it comes to my music. So, while there are still tons of albums I need/have to own, I shelled out another 15 bucks for basically one Brian Wilson song and a bunch of pictures I already had and some goofy liner notes written by Brian ("I really sung this one good.") I love him ,though. Maybe that's a rant, too. Or maybe just a confession of my own stupidity.

I really also like Rusty's new installment in the 69 Love Songs Trilogy. What's up with Liza? It's great, but almost pointless. I guess it's no longer my job to figure out Rusty and his music stuff. I've said that already, though. It's still a good listen. I should stop analyzing and just enjoy music. Wait. That's the secret to my whole life! Stop analyzing things and simply enjoy them. I should be a freaking guru.

The Who's bassist, John Entwistle died last week. He was a monster bassist, really. The Who decided to go on with their current tour. The early reports have been really good. The first leg of the toru ended yesterday with Pete smashing a guitar. I love that man. I know most folks think it's pointless to do such a thing. I probably couldn't explain the need for it. But I'm sure it had to do with a sort of cathartic release. Pete has been known to pummel guitars into submission, something I have been unable to do myelf. I try, but I haven't gotten there yet. When the guitar is smashed, it becomes almost a release of the the poor instrument. "I have tortured you all night and now, you will be sacrificed." Like I said, it probably still doesn't make sense, but I totally buy it. My religion is Rock and Roll, so...
Tommy Presley

Saturday, July 06, 2002

Dangit

The rumors of Giles becoming everyone's favorite Time Lord have been greatly exaggerated. It does seem like an interesting idea, if they could only make it happen. At least we still have the eventual Ripper series to look forward to. (And, according to various rumors and stuff I've been reading online, the Buffy cartoon seems to be back in the works, after the Fox network's cancellation of their entire Fox Kids lineup put it in limbo.)


Hope everyone's enjoying a fun and safe Fourth of July weekend!

More shopping rants

Had to go to Wal-Mart today to try to find some Stewart's Orange and Cream soda (one of the best things ever), which it seems is getting harder and harder to find lately, and dammit, it looks like they've stopped carrying all the Stewart's stuff.

If you're ever at a Wal-Mart and they have to get a price check on something, just forget it. Tell them to put it back. Unless you've got a good half hour or so to kill. Seriously.

There was this clown ahead of me in the checkout line. Really. As if I didn't have enough reasons to not want to be there.

The hell?

I've received some strange spam mail before, but this one is just... well... see for yourself:

Return-Path:
Received: from deputy.combox.de (deputy.combox.de [212.87.33.5])
by pike.netdoor.com (8.12.1/8.12.1) with ESMTP id g670HnWj004163;
Sat, 6 Jul 2002 19:17:50 -0500 (CDT)
Received: from www-data by deputy.combox.de with local (Exim 3.12 #1 (Debian))
id 17QzkH-0001PY-00; Sun, 07 Jul 2002 02:17:45 +0200
From: ()
Subject: Time Travelers PLEASE HELP!!! 11446
Message-Id:
Sender: www-data
Date: Sun, 07 Jul 2002 02:17:45 +0200

Hello,
If you are a time traveler or alien and or in possession of government or alien technology I need your help! My entire life and health has been messed with by evil beings! If you have access to the carbon copy replica model #50 3000 series, the dimensional warp, temporal reversion or something similar please reply! I simply need the safest method of transferring my
consciousness or returning to my younger self with my current mind/memory. I need an advanced time traveler to work with who can help me, I would prefer someone with access to teleportation as well as a variety different types of time travel. This is not a joke! I am serious! Please send a separate email to me at: Dragonball03@aol.com if you can help! Thanks

Scm5Odl5qmdZaWpZWWk6BUlZSQ==

Below is the result of your feedback form. It was submitted by
(oddc@) on Sunday, July 7, 2002 at 02:17:45
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

x: i

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

(To: line removed to protect the innocent)

It seems that variations of this email from what would seem to be one quite disturbed individual have been circulating around for a while now. A Google search reveals more of its history...

Wednesday, July 03, 2002

Robot Good

My magical post seems to have cured all. It took days for this thing to convert from "Rusty's Post-It Notes" to "Rusty's Ranting Robot." It seemed a better name, especially since we just call it the robot.

Time to BMT now...
Robot Bad

I don't know what the deal with the non-showing names are. I hope it fixes itself.

Re: Jason's Star Wars Rant:

1. Yes.
2. I might like Clones even better, but I'm stupid.
3. You bet!
4. I agree. And when he did get to talk, he got to "pull a Gilligan" and screw up, giving Palpatine the power.
5. For some reason, I almost liked the C3P0 puns ("What a drag"/"I'm beside myself"). I thought the same thing, though, that he was taking the place of Jar-Jar. I think Anthony Daniels somehow made it good. I was glad to have 3P0 back in business in this movie. I loved it when he put his hand on R2D2 for the first time at the end.
6. My list:
(1) Star Wars
(2) The Empire Strikes Back
(3) Attack of the Clones
(4) Return of the Jedi
(5) The Phantom Menace
(6) [This may go here, or any place above. This slot is not reserved for Phantom, since I liked it.]

Mesa C3PO...

Monday, July 01, 2002

I, Ranting Robot

Hmm... looks like whatever it is that displays our names below our posts is broken. Just so our legions of loyal fans won't wonder who it was that saw Attack of the Clones last night and ranted about it below, it was me.


(Oh, and I'm Jason, btw.)
I did it

I finally saw Attack of the Clones last night. (Probably the last week it'll be in theaters around here, too, since it's down to one screen in only one theater now, and all sorts of big new stuff is coming out. Kinda sad that a Star Wars film has come and gone so fast.)

Now that I have seen the movie, I can make the following statements of possibly varying degrees of controversiality:
1. Attack of the Clones is, technically, probably a better movie than Return of the Jedi.
2. Return of the Jedi is definitely a more entertaining and likeable movie than Attack of the Clones
3. Attack of the Clones is at least worth seeing for the Yoda fight.
4. They reigned Jar Jar in so much for this movie, it was horribly obvious and even off-putting. I swear he looked and acted like a dog that had repeatedly been beaten mercilessly by his owner, and was now terrified to step out from behind anyone to say anything for fear of his life.
5. Lucas still hasn't completely learned why the Jar Jar "humor" from Phantom Menace doesn't work. C-3PO sadly takes over for a few too-obvious instances of "Hey, look at me! I'm saying or doing something stupid and silly and funny to distract from the seriousness of what's going on!" (I'm specifically talking about those several cringe-worthy out-of-place and almost-out-of-character puns he spouts when Artoo's putting him back together in the battle arena.) It's still nowhere near as horrible as Jar Jar, so there is a definite improvement.
6. My updated ordered list of favorite Star Wars movies is now:
(1) The Empire Strikes Back
(2) Star Wars
(3) Return of the Jedi
(4) Attack of the Clones
(6) The Phantom Menace
(Yes, I'm ignoring the Ewok movies. They're stupid. The Droids TV series might rank slightly above or below TPM, but I haven't seen it in a long time, and it's not a movie, so it doesn't count for this list. And yes, TPM is deliberately counted as #6, despite the fact that there are only 5 movies on the list.)

One last thing: I read a Lucas quote not too long ago where he said that fans were upset at him because they were expecting The Phantom Menace to be more like The Matrix. Huh? Wha? Um, no. Maybe there were a few weirdos out there who for some inexplicable reason expected The Matrix in space, but I'm pretty sure most of us Star Wars fans were upset because we expected a movie more like Star Wars than what he made. He just... doesn't... get it. Sigh.