First off the topic title is a referance to the code name that was given to the development of the first tanks during the 1st World War.

I happened to be down in Lincoln UK today (its only a 50min train ride away) and one of the main things I wanted to see was the Mark IV Female tank that they have in the Museum of Lincolnshire Life. As a life long treadhead this is my first reallife encounter with a WW1 tank, and I must say I am blown away. I could just see one of these going at 3 miles an hour of the french battle fields, and it is a big beast when you think when people first saw this it was something totally new The next plan is to get down to Bovington Tank Museum and have a big Tank nerd-gasm :)

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To start; this post is going to be rife with whining and gnashing of teeth. What I want back from you guys is not "STFU whiner!" or some variant of that but honestly tell me if I'm upset over nothing or not.

Basically, being in the US with the slow growing economy and the recent sequester job opportunities are very hard to come by. I recently graduated with a Masters degree focusing mostly on the public sector and I am 24 with about 1.5 years work experience via internships. The place I have interned at for over a year now has decided (and has the budget) to take me as a full time employee. Great, right?

Well the bad news about all that is this; its a non-profit company so it is constrained in salaries (although not that much, its a good multi-million $ a year non-profit). It seems like I am going to get hired at the absolute lowest rank (okay.....above intern at least) and that means about $45-50k in raw salary and benefits is my guesstimate. Personally, I feel kind of insulted and taken aback that I'm getting lowballed so hard. Am I overreacting? Should I be happy with what I got, stick it out and keep going? Honestly, I have to stay where I am for the time being but I'm trying to cure some of my discontent if possible.

I just feel after busting my butt for 2 years to get a masters that I deserve a little bit more. Primarily, I should be working for government or for a private contractor. However, as I said before, the sequester choked all opportunities.

Addendum: I think my biggest bug-bear is that I may end up making the same as a friend of mine who currently only has a bachelors.

Comments, critiques, feedback?

Ok then guys, I've got a hankering for some rather specific music, I'm a fan of dieselpunk and the twenties, the whole vibe of jazz and it's mixtures with electronics etc. I listen to electro swing occasionally but am disapoitned to find it mostly full of piles of endless vocal-less creations.

Or to put it short, anyone know of any music to fill the elctroswing/twenties vibe I want that has some lyrics ?

Without much yaddayadda: the main thread. Share your opinions on the contest, the groups, the songs, or the show in general. Please keep the forum rules in mind - racist comments will not be tolerated. Check the finalists here.

Now let the show begin! :D:yes:

Woah, close call this time, I just got home.

SO - here is the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest de la Chanson or something semifinals thread! As every year, I'm really looking forward to this event and I quite don't know why. I don't think that there is any event in the world for which significance and grandiosity of presentation are as disproportionate as with this one. I guess it's nostalgia and the enjoyment I get out of watching completely unnecessary things. Eversince I've been a wee one I remember making fun of and having fun with Eurovision Song Contest.

It's a relic of course from back when world peace was at stake constantly, when the scars of war ravaging Europe were still fresh and when Europe needed anything they could do together. I love how the event is completely devoid of cynicism. Sure, some jokes are cracked but at its core, this still is taken seriously by many nations, by all the contestants and a bunch of tv people. Sure, it's for making money and all of that but there definately is worse out there (like any single casting show). This is just gloriously backwards. But anyway, people who read this thread won't need an excuse or an explanation why we like this stuff.

I always try to avoid hearing any of the songs before the actual shows start so I know nothing except that Austria's girl is called Victorial Kelly or something and sings some song. I think it's going to come over a bit better than the girl two years ago but again, rather forgettable. Germany's sending Cascada who I actually heard of before. This should be good. Actually, I'm very much looking forward to that. I also read that Turkey had dropped out this year which is a shame, they always sent rather strong contestants.

Anyways, here on Austrian TV we got some pre-show stuff yada yada. Stuff's going to hit the fan in about 30 minutes. Anybody watching the show as well or am I the only one (which would make me feel really dorky ;) )? What are your thoughts on the show and some of this year's contestants?


edit: And here we go! Oh yes, last year's winner. It really was a hit which is quite remarkable for Song Contest winner isn't it? Really good song though and absolutely rightfully it won.

edit: And here it's sung by a kids choir in sign language. :D That's pretty good, I like it.


edit: Only one presenter this year. This really is a smaller show than over the past years. Also: Yay, an Eurovision app! Really interested in the download numbers on that. :P


1st song - Austria! Seems like a slowed down version of the disco classic from Angels Revenge!

I'm a literal know nothing when it comes to sports, whats it called when a manager buys out all of his opposition.

This is for some Blood Bowl background i'm writing, my coach gets a large amount of cash and then buys out all of his opponents team and forms a sort of....federation...again i'm not sure of the right word.

Whether you're a Man Utd fan or not, there's no denying Fergusons amazing run at Man Utd over the last 30 odd years.

He's a manager who won't be replaced easily - I can honestly see a slow decline for the club now.

Which, as an AVFC supporter is good news of course!

But, immense amounts of respect for a giant of the sport!


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Sad news but he had a very good inning and changed so much in stop motion effects, makes me want to watch Jason and the Argonaut's again just to look at the effects - I know today we have all the fancy cgi but like the original Star Wars movies there's something about watching movies with none to very little cgi as the film makers had to be more inventive, and make fantastical effects and beasts come to life, which Harryhausen did so well.



http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansit.../news/?a=79065

The Harryhausen family regret to announce the death of Ray Harryhausen, Visual Effects pioneer and stop-motion model animator. He was a multi-award winner which includes a special Oscar and BAFTA. Ray’s influence on today’s film makers was enormous, with luminaries; Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, Peter Jackson, George Lucas, John Landis and the UK’s own Nick Park have cited Harryhausen as being the man whose work inspired their own creations.

Harryhausen’s fascination with animated models began when he first saw Willis O’Brien’s creations in KING KONG with his boyhood friend, the author Ray Bradbury in 1933, and he made his first foray into filmmaking in 1935 with home-movies that featured his youthful attempts at model animation. Over the period of the next 46 years, he made some of the genres best known movies – MIGHTY JOE YOUNG (1949), IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA (1955), 20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH (1957), MYSTERIUOUS ISLAND (1961), ONE MILLION YEARS B.C. (1966), THER VALLEY OF GWANGI (1969), three films based on the adventures of SINBAD and CLASH OF THE TITANS (1981). He is perhaps best remembered for his extraordinary animation of seven skeletons in JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS (1963) which took him three months to film.

Harryhausen’s genius was in being able to bring his models alive. Whether they were prehistoric dinosaurs or mythological creatures, in Ray’s hands they were no longer puppets but became instead characters in their own right, just as important as the actors they played against and in most cases even more so.

Today The Ray & Diana Harryhausen Foundation, a charitable Trust set up by Ray on the 10th April 1986, is devoted to the protection of Ray’s name and body of work as well as archiving, preserving and restoring Ray’s extensive Collection.

Tributes have been heaped upon Harryhausen for his work by his peers in recent years.

"Ray has been a great inspiration to us all in special visual industry. The art of his earlier films, which most of us grew up on, inspired us so much. Without Ray Harryhausen, there would likely have been no STAR WARS" - George Lucas.

"THE LORD OF THE RINGS is my ‘Ray Harryhausen movie’. Without his life-long love of his wondrous images and storytelling it would never have been made – not by me at least" - Peter Jackson

"In my mind he will always be the king of stop-motion animation" - Nick Park

"His legacy of course is in good hands because it’s carried in the DNA of so many film fans." -Randy Cook

"You know I’m always saying to the guys that I work with now on computer graphics "do it like Ray Harryhausen" - Phil Tippett

"What we do now digitally with computers, Ray did digitally long before but without computers. Only with his digits." -Terry Gilliam.

"His patience, his endurance have inspired so many of us." - Peter Jackson

"Ray, your inspiration goes with us forever." - Steven Spielberg

"I think all of us who are practioners in the arts of science fiction and fantasy movies now all feel that we’re standing on the shoulders of a giant. If not for Ray’s contribution to the collective dreamscape, we wouldn’t be who we are." - James Cameron

Hello all

I am travelling down to Glasgow from Fife for a training conference on Monday 27 May.

Last time I went was 2 years ago on a Sunday/Monday. Sunday was dead quiet so I assumed Monday will a bit busier but just fine.

Ended up stuck in traffic on the M8 for an hour and a half and late for my course.

So anyway what is the traffic normally like on a bank holiday Monday?

PS I can't take the train.

So I was just re-watching a Star Wars lightsaber duel on youtube and I started thinking. What were the major cultural/occupational inspirations for the Jedi? I think they're mostly part Samurai and Western European knights. What else do you guys see in them? Also, why and how?

I already had a lot of respect for Chris Kluwe, a punter in the NFL. Today my son pointed out to me that he uses a Cryx model as his picture for his Twitter account. He is a gamer! Now I have even MORE respect for the lad! How cool!

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The title says it all. I figured you guys would appreciate it. :)



Back when a blister a week ate all my pocket money for 18 months beforehand, getting THAT MUCH STUFF in one sitting was amazingly exciting.

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Does anyone know of any online random callsign generators that they can recommend? I want to use US/Top-gun style callsigns for the pilots of my Battletech Regiments but to be honest I'd really struggle to come up with enough to fill out the full roster. I'd found the Top-gun Call-sign generator, but it seems to repeat quite often plus my own call sign would apparently be "Hairy Beaver", that's not quite as inspiring as I'd hoped...

So, ive been asked to poll out our shortlist of potential band names. I always thought warseer had some sensible people so i thought i would try to rope you guys in for help!

Please choose from the list, the name you like the most, then if you feel you can be bothered, tell us why! just for completions sake, the bands playing a variation of rock, almost a cross between classic rock and indie. its not metal or anything like that. maybe pop rock...

Comedy Central will not renew its contract for Futurama, meaning the series will end in September.
Full story here.

Bad news again :(
Was the decline in viewers really that bad?