Category: Overlooked Pop Culture

Thomas Holbrook II | The *Nixed Report

As can be seen by looking at this site, there hasn’t really been much in the way of activity for some time. The reason why was life in and of itself. It happens. I won’t go into details, but I had to take a break from the site.

While I was thinking about finding ways to revive the site yet again, something occurred to me.

I wasn’t having fun with it. Combine that with the fact that we’re in a political environment in which we aren’t as willing to think outside the box, and we have what’s called a no win situation.

Then we have individuals who are Revolution for Sale®.

The funny thing is, there are plenty of things to hit a certain radio talk show host in the head with, yet people are going with things that are so weak that it makes me virtually face palm and head desk myself. There are legitimate things that can be used to expose this individual for the person he really is.

Case in point:

I can try to point these things out, but the audience may not be in the mood to listen, and who can blame them? We’re in an environment where we’ve been yelling at each other for so long that we can’t see the forest from the trees.

The perspective of there only being things that are Black and White is what has been hurting us more than anything, and I don’t want to be in that environment at the moment.

I want to have fun again, and give people something to smile about.

What better way to do that than to do something that is actually fun? That is why I started RetroX86. I have been looking at the history of personal computers for some time, and was excited for the first time for some time.

So this isn’t goodbye or see you later.

I’m just setting this site aside for the time being. You’ll still be able to access past content, including the podcasts and magazine issues. The part that said, “Entertain Yourself….” is something I take seriously.

If your heart isn’t in it, don’t do it. My heart is somewhere else at the moment, so I will be doing that.

Thank you for visiting, and please check out the new site.

Let’s make this fun again.

P.S. Fuck Paul Isaac Jr.

Update: TheQuartering YouTube Channel has been shutdown. Hambly is still uploading to his Unsleeved Media Channel, though there is no telling if that will be next.

At the beginning of December 2017, Jeremy Hambly received a lifetime DCI ban from Wizards of the Coast for alleged harassment according to Kotaku’s Adam Wells.  The DCI is a sanctioning body for Magic: The Gathering and other collectible trading card games.

Hambly’s entire Magic the Gathering Online collection was also seized.

Things took an interesting turn however when a guest post on Niche Gamer revealed that the situation wasn’t so cut and dry.

Lou Colagiovanni brings to light possible double standards on the part of those who were irritated by Hambly’s words in the past. Examples include mentioning Lucas Florent’s lifetime ban over threatening a WoTC employee only to have it lifted months later as well as Twitter user The Mana Leek calling for the removal of toxicity in the MTG community while utilizing harsh and negative commentary in other venues.

Though considered controversial, Hambly does have his supporters.

There is a Change.org petition asking Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro to reinstate both him and Travis Woo, another controversial figure. The petition is currently shy of 17,000.

As a result of the ban, an interesting development has taken place as well.

A proverbial Pandora’s box may have been inadvertently opened with accusations of misconduct on the part of WoTC and Hasbro staff. Included among those allegations are claims of game judges being convicted of possession of child pornography and in some cases, sexual misconduct against minors.

Wells’s Kotaku piece mentions none of this.

This wouldn’t be the first time that such accusations have been levied against those participating in particular niches. Ed Kramer, co-founder of DragonCon, is another prominent example. Finding such things in popular culture isn’t new, and only time will tell if anything results from the videos published on Hambly’s TheQuartering YouTube Channel.

Hambly has also claimed that both he and his wife were harassed.

Thomas Holbrook II | The *Nixed Report

Versailles, Missouri based radio talk show host Joyce Riley will no longer be able to host The Power Hour radio broadcast. According to their official Facebook Fan Page:

It is with the greatest of sadness that we deliver to you today the heartbreaking news of the death of our friend and fellow patriot Joyce Riley. Joyce died peacefully on June 25, 2017.
Sent with love and remembrance,
The Power Hour

She was the narrator behind the film Beyond Treason and hosted The Power Hour, often with former co-host Dave vonKleist, the narrator of 911 In Plane Sight. Riley was battling cancer and that fight ended today.

Thomas Holbrook II | The *Nixed Report

This year’s Money in the Bank was more compelling than Extreme Rules. The first ever Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder match ended in controversy.

There was even a meme arguing that James Ellsworth should have been the winner of that match.

Of course Naomi retained her Smackdown Women’s Championship. The Uso’s retained their tag titles by intentionally getting themselves counted out. Jinder Mahal also retained his title due to outside intereference.

However, the most interesting ending was when AJ Styles and Shinske Nakamura had one final confrontation at the end of the Money in the Bank Ladder Match. Barron Corbin shook the two off the ladder before climbing up and unhooking the briefcase.

The interesting part is the fact that Corbin is a character that is allergic to nonsense.

He is no Hulk Hogan or other wholesome hero. He’s a midwestern, heavy metal, heavy hitter who never apologizes for it. It’s hard to argue with somebody who claims that abs don’t help when you get punched in the face.

A potential match between him and Jinder Mahal could prove to be interesting.

In the meantime, he is being built slowly. As a winner of the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, he came out of obscurity and into the limelight. He could very well be the next star to silence entire audiences as he nonchalantly wins the championship when everyone least expects it.

Thomas Holbrook II | The *Nixed Report

WWE Extreme Rules was rather tame and may as well have been called

Generic Pay Per View Event. Injuries and being concerned about the well being of WWE wrestlers is understandable, but the event didn’t live it up to the name.

Nevertheless, the ending was an appropriate swerve that will hopefully set up a dream match for the ages.

Samoa Joe will be facing Brock Lesnar for the Universal Title, and it should prove to be interesting. Though Joe’s moveset is reminiscent of an MMA/brawling style, Lesnar has actually competed in the UFC and won the heavyweight championship. Though he hasn’t competed in UFC or any other MMA promotion, Joe has trained with MMA fighters and is familiar with multiple forms of martial arts.

Having a dark horse face Lesnar may be a smart business decision.

The contrast in body types and styles could draw a lot of money, and hopefully the match ends in a draw or “unsatisfactory manner” in order for it to be an instant Summer Slam Classic. The match prospect is exciting, but Great Balls of Fire is just another generic sounding Pay Per View.

A bigger stage would be more suitable for these two opponents.

Either way, one can only imagine how Joe’s Muscle Buster and Coquina Clutch can hold up to Lesnar’s Kumara Lock and F-5. Though Lesnar may be the current mayor of Suplex City, the Samoan Submission Machine has been able to pull off some wicked suplexes of his own.

The match is a dream come true, and hopefully magic can happen twice.

Once at Great Balls of Fire and possibly again at Summer Slam!

Thomas Holbrook II | The *Nixed Report

There are times when one possibly sees it coming, but it still comes off as a surprise. After years of seeing the usual suspects hold the WWE Championship, Jinder Mahal now holds the prestigious title.

This proves more than anything that the time has come for new champions to step up to the plate.

It also proves that international business is picking up since WWE has expanded its business reach to India. Kenny Herzog argues in a piece for Rolling Stone that Mahal having the opportunity was good for business. Now he is the champion.

WWE Stock is still holding steady at just under $20 USD per share.

Will this attempt of international expansion increase shareholder value for the company? Only time will tell.

In the meantime, international business has picked up!

Thomas Holbrook II | The *Nixed Report

As this is being written, the rain has been pounding the pavement in spurts. One moment, it’s a calm flow of droplets. Then comes the rapid torrent.

This week’s roundup has been like that with its various ups and downs.

Unix

With Canonical’s announcement of switching back to GNOME for Ubuntu’s default desktop, the question of how they would go about it remains. OMG Ubuntu sheds some light on this and even links to a survey asking for input.

Developers are considering some tweaks to ease the transition.

There’s some good news for the GNU GPL for the time being. Though it wasn’t meant to be treated as a contract, the license agreement itself appears to be enforceable as one for the time being.

The case revolved around Hancom and its use of Ghostscript without adhering to the GNU Affero General Public License.

To end this portion of our weekly roundup, here’s an interesting story about immigration policies possibly impacting free and open source software development. On the one hand, recent policies could impact the ability of the U.S. to bring in intelligent individuals who can lead the way in innovation.

On the other hand, the idea of promoting from within has been brought up assuming interest in the field of software development exists.

Time will tell the tale on that one.

Overlooked Pop Culture

There’s a reason many are either captivated and/or aggravated by politics. Though campaigns may portray otherwise, things are rarely black and white. Nothing demonstrates this more than with the firing of James Comey by President Trump.

Though there has been suspicion as to the President’s actual motivations, Trevor Aaronson of The intercept reminds readers that Comey himself did some things during his tenure as the head of the FBI that were questionable at best.

The aggravating portion of the political arena is why people seek an escape, even if it’s a virtual arena. An old escape may have a chance at a revival if Billy Corgan has his way after buying the rights to the National Wrestling Alliance.

He will own the rights to the trademarks as well as the NWA Championship belt.

Though the classic name in professional wrestling has waned over the years, the plan is a long term move, so nothing will change right away. Could this WCW 3.0?

Speaking of retro, 8-big video game music has been making a comeback… on vinyl that is! The LA Times has a fascinating piece on how boutique record labels have been combining the two niches together.

That’s all for this week. See you next time.

Thomas Holbrook II | The *Nixed Report

On the week of Star Wars Day, there have been several incredible things. However, in the interest of time today, this week’s roundup will be kept brief.

Unix

A new snapshot of OpenIndiana has been released. Support for USB 3.0, more Intel GPU’s, and updated software are included in this release update. OpenIndiana is a derivative of OpenSolaris that uses the Illumos kernel.

Overlooked Pop Culture

Those who are visually impaired may have some hope. A student has been able to synthesize an artificial retina. Though there is a long way before human trials, it’s definitely showing some promise.

That’s all for this week. There will definitely be more next week.

Thomas Holbrook II | The *Nixed Report

With the so called “government shutdown” delayed until next week, the roller coaster of 2017 is still building momentum, which brings us this week’s Friday Roundup.

Unix

FOSS Force announced the improvement of their news wire. In addition to headlines and authors, excerpts are now included. DistroWatch Weekly has a review of Ubuntu 17.04, the final series that will use Unity for the desktop environment before switching back to GNOME in the next LTS release. Jesse Smith noted an issue with Snap packages in conjunction with DEB packages.

I think it is worth mentioning that to install Snaps from Ubuntu Software, we need to have an Ubuntu One account. Sometimes, when trying to install Snaps, I would encounter authentication errors with my Ubuntu One account and I found closing Ubuntu Software and then re-opening the software manager and trying to install the Snap again would work around the issue.

I also feel it worth pointing out that Ubuntu’s three software managers (Ubuntu Software, Snap and APT) each work with a subset of the available packages. Snaps, for example, cannot be managed using the APT utilities. Likewise, we cannot use Snap to manage traditional Deb packages. The Ubuntu Software application tries to bridge this gap and works with desktop applications provided by both Snaps and Deb packages. However, Ubuntu Software does not work with non-desktop software or some games, requiring a trip to the command line to manage those items. This situation may get better in the future and we may get an all-in-one software manager, but for now we need three different utilities to manage software on Ubuntu and that makes for an awkward situation.

The CEO of Thinkpenguin Inc was arrested for filming the police at a police checkpoint and may face up to a year in jail. Christopher Waid had this to say:

I was essentially arrested for filming a police checkpoint in Manchester, New Hampshire (police invoked non-existent law to interfere with recording, made multiple contradicting and confusing requests, and were quick to obstruct and damage video recording equipment). Papers please. I don’t think I’ll be posting this to the ThinkPenguin blog as its irrelevant to free software / the company / etc. However I thought people here might be interested in following the case. The entire trial will be highly publicized, recorded, etc. One of the officers humorously threatens me with a motor vehicle violation. To be clear I was not drinking, not driving, had no car nearby (got there via another driver which had his car parks two or three blocks away), and in no way under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

The Debian Project is shutting down their public FTP service, though developers won’t be affected. According to SoftPedia:

This means that the upload queues for both the main (ftp://ftp.upload.debian.org) and security (ftp://security-master.debian.org) archives will be accessible to them. The rest of the world won’t be able to access ftp://ftp.debian.org, nor ftp://security.debian.org starting November 1, 2017.

Overlooked Pop Culture

Comic book fans may have a reason to rejoice with the upcoming Marvel Legacy one shot. It includes multiple characters telling a story of the glory days. The story will relate to future of the Marvel Universe going forward.

Podcast co-host Stephen Kelley has a review of the 2017 release of Ghost in the Shell. He does pose a warning to the Internet Outrage Machine before the review is underway:

Let’s get this first part out of the way:

If there is one thing I’m tired of in the realm of film and television, it’s pre-emptive complainers trying to de-rail everything before it even comes out. with any review of this live action American/Chinese Ghost in The Shell film, everyone has drawn battle lines in regards to the elephant in the room of “Hollywood whitewashing”; in fact, I would say you were almost expected to take a side, and if you took a side that many didn’t like you’d get lectured by the other. It’s annoying that folks are getting in fights and “unfriending” each-other because of opinions over a goofy sci-fi film, but that’s our modern society I guess. Some popular reviews from major sites didn’t even talk about the film, they just reviewed everything that was in some way perceived as racist to stoke the outrage fires, this honestly comes across like they never actually watched it.

I’m not going to dwell on this topic too much because I can see both sides and don’t think arguing over whether or not Scarlett Johanson should or should not be cast as The Major actually addresses the actual problem that Hollywood has with representation. The internet witch hunts and rage were nearly identical to what people attempted to do with both recent Star Wars films, and even last years re-boot of Ghostbusters, and I honestly don’t care anymore. I’d rather discuss a film based on an anime/manga property that I’ve loved for upwards of 20+ years, and how it turned out.

/end rant

On a lighter note, Causecon has started today and will run through Sunday. All proceeds will go towards the local Women’s Resource Center in Beckley, West Virginia.

Political underground radio talk show host Jack Blood has made his return after a lengthy hiatus. He has a Patreon page for those who have followed him over the years and want to support him. On said page, he indicated the following:

At this time, the show is 100% commercial free! It will be up to you if it stays that way.

That ends this week’s Friday Roundup. We’ll be back next week.

Thomas Holbrook II | The *Nixed Report

In the passing weeks, there have been a plethora of stories regarding Alex Jones and his “performance artist” defense used by his attorney during his divorce hearing. Since that defense was used, it was assumed by most corporate owned outlets that he doesn’t believe what he’s selling to others.

Once again, they’re way off the mark, and this is part of the reason why so much trust has been lost regarding these established outlets.

The issue at hand is that he uses certain shock jock tactics which are really not that different from that of Rush Limbaugh or Howard Stern. He has an audience to build and maintain. The sense of urgency that he has always displayed has been a part of his viral marketing.

There’s a reason he kept encouraging his followers to copy his films and give them away for free.

That is also why I would be able to use his work for certain benchmarks in any future reviews. His discs aren’t region locked. That is a hallmark of viral marketing, and Canonical has also successfully used that tactic to make Ubuntu a house hold name.

Furthermore, when one actually looks into other venues that have covered him at length, a more complicated story appears.

However extreme and paranoid and downright cartoonish his unending stream of alarm can be, Jones believes every word he says and can prove it with a personal stash of food big enough to last three years. And if they bothered to look without prejudice, these righteous leftists would see that Jones covers issues like the drug war, the growing security state, and Monsanto’s genetic modification of food exactly the way they do, just as many of his themes were echoed by the Occupy movement. –John H Richardson for Esquire Magazine

Jones has since changed tone since Trump was elected as President of the United States, but he did cover a lot of points of view that the anti-war crowd would have agreed with during George W Bush’s time in office. As for further evidence that Jones believes what he says, look no further than Joe Rogan.

This isn’t to say that I entirely agree with Jones or his tactics that are used. What I find irritating is the mindless group think that keeps echoing each other when a misleading headline comes across the eyes of the masses.

If people are to oppose Jones and those similar to him, they need to have all their facts straight and be able to back up what is being argued.

Oh, and before anybody cheers for the ex-wife of Jones, you may want to listen to Jack Blood and what he has to say.

When one digs deeper, they find the story of an individual who doesn’t like competition and who may very well have sold out depending on the point of view. Those are points in which criticism would be valid as opposed to saying he doesn’t believe in what he’s selling.