Vandals attack historic monument
"A gang of youths climbed on top of The Shepherd's Monument at Shugborough Hall and smashed ornamental sea shells at about 1500 BST on Tuesday.
"Experts were called in recently to examine an inscription on the 250-year-old monument rumoured to reveal the location of the Holy Grail. "
Monday, May 24, 2004
Friday, May 14, 2004
A Failing Grade For "Friends" - May 12,
A Failing Grade For "Friends" - May 12,
"Though 'Friends' would prove to be a lucrative ratings powerhouse, the sitcom's pilot received a failing grade and was described as 'not very entertaining, clever, or original,' according to an internal NBC research report obtained by The Smoking Gun. Months before the program's debut, 'Friends' was shown to test audiences that were 'not very favorable' to the show or its six main characters, according to the May 1994 report (a copy of which you'll find below). In fact, the pilot performance was graded 'weak' and scored a paltry 41 out of 100. By comparison, 'ER' scored a 91, though 'Seinfeld' famously also earned a 'weak' rating. While Courteney Cox's Monica fared best with test audience members, her appeal was 'well below desirable levels for a lead.' The characters portrayed by Lisa Kudrow and Matthew Perry had 'marginal appeal,' and 'Rachel, Ross, and Joey scored even lower.' A particularly stinging rebuke was delivered by adults 35 and over, who felt 'this group did not really care about each other the way real friends would. They found the characters smug, superficial, and self-absorbed.' TSG couldn't stand the show, so the brutal research analysis sounded pretty accurate to us--both then and now. However, considering the show's spectacular success during its 10-year run, the NBC report is merely an odd footnote to the 'Friends' success story."
"Though 'Friends' would prove to be a lucrative ratings powerhouse, the sitcom's pilot received a failing grade and was described as 'not very entertaining, clever, or original,' according to an internal NBC research report obtained by The Smoking Gun. Months before the program's debut, 'Friends' was shown to test audiences that were 'not very favorable' to the show or its six main characters, according to the May 1994 report (a copy of which you'll find below). In fact, the pilot performance was graded 'weak' and scored a paltry 41 out of 100. By comparison, 'ER' scored a 91, though 'Seinfeld' famously also earned a 'weak' rating. While Courteney Cox's Monica fared best with test audience members, her appeal was 'well below desirable levels for a lead.' The characters portrayed by Lisa Kudrow and Matthew Perry had 'marginal appeal,' and 'Rachel, Ross, and Joey scored even lower.' A particularly stinging rebuke was delivered by adults 35 and over, who felt 'this group did not really care about each other the way real friends would. They found the characters smug, superficial, and self-absorbed.' TSG couldn't stand the show, so the brutal research analysis sounded pretty accurate to us--both then and now. However, considering the show's spectacular success during its 10-year run, the NBC report is merely an odd footnote to the 'Friends' success story."
Monday, April 26, 2004
Whatever happened to Dungeons and Dragons?
BBC NEWS: Whatever happened to Dungeons and Dragons?
"In the 1980s millions of teenagers world-wide would battle dragons armed with just a few dice, paper and pens. D&D became part of youth sub-culture but as the game celebrates its 30th birthday - is anyone still playing? "
"In the 1980s millions of teenagers world-wide would battle dragons armed with just a few dice, paper and pens. D&D became part of youth sub-culture but as the game celebrates its 30th birthday - is anyone still playing? "
Thursday, April 15, 2004
Twenty Questions
So, you play twenty questions with a computer and it gets smarter. I remember playing this with that computer at the Museum of Science and Industry as a kid...
Twenty Questions
Twenty Questions
Wednesday, April 14, 2004
Friday, April 09, 2004
Long Dream / Nagai yume
Long Dream / Nagai yume
"After the enormous critical and public success in 2000 of Uzumaki, based on Junji Ito's tour-de-force horror manga series and directed by the frankly astonishing Higuchinsky, it seemed pretty inevitable that the two forces who brought us that stunning movie should work together again. And in the same year of Uzumaki's release, lucky Japanese TV viewers got to witness their second joint project, Long Dream (aka Nagai yume), a short movie commissioned for TV." [via Jason Hyde]
"After the enormous critical and public success in 2000 of Uzumaki, based on Junji Ito's tour-de-force horror manga series and directed by the frankly astonishing Higuchinsky, it seemed pretty inevitable that the two forces who brought us that stunning movie should work together again. And in the same year of Uzumaki's release, lucky Japanese TV viewers got to witness their second joint project, Long Dream (aka Nagai yume), a short movie commissioned for TV." [via Jason Hyde]
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