Damning themselves with faint praise

Monex has been running ads for at least 20 years claiming that "there's never been a better time than now to invest in gold." Their latest ad, though, reeks of desperation.

"What if I were to offer you fifty thousand dollars in cash, or fifty thousand dollars in gold, with the understanding that you couldn't cash it in for five years? Which would be the better investment?" (Or words to that effect.)

Whisky Tango Foxtrot. Their best selling point is that gold is a better investment than stuffing cash in your mattress? They are literally saying you should invest in gold because it's better than the guaranteed loss of holding onto cash? Or, at best, that the returns are better than a savings account (although they strongly imply that you're supposed to just let the cash and the gold both sit in a box)?

Damn, there's no way I'm investing in precious metals if that's the best they can do.

Negadon: The Monster From Mars!

Just finished watching Negadon the second time (first was without commentary track, second with), and it was definitely worth the time and money. Okay, didn't cost a whole lot of either...25 minutes and twelve bucks shipped. Plus some shorts and other extras to round it out to the 70 minutes advertised on the DVD case.

In a nutshell, Negadon is a kaiju (giant monster) movie done in CG. Commercially available packages, but with a LOT of effort put into it. To the point where in the still shots, it looks almost photographic, and the giant monster/robot action looks like suitimation on film, not CG. Loads of references and influences, some of which are pointed out in the commentary track.

If you like kaiju movies at all, or simply appreciate good computer animation, you need to get this movie.

Horror of horrors....

I just recovered from seeing an extended ad for Stan Lee's "Who Wants To Be A Superhero?" show coming up on Sci Fi Channel. One of the "too stupid to accept, so stupid they gotta show it" contestants...is ManFaye. The guy who dresses up as Faye Valentine from Cowboy Bebop. His declared power was setting up ripples in his flabby, hairy buttcheeks (which they mercifully matrixed out).

(deep and lengthy shudder)