the digest

Ah the 80's. What a time of reckless abandon. It was a tumultuous time for our nation. The clear beverage craze gave us all a reason to live. The information superhighway showed the average person what some nerd thinks about Star Trek. And the domestication of the dog continued unabated.

Ok, I can't take credit for that hilarious quote, but it does bring me to my main point. Cartoons. As I flip through the channels now on Saturday mornings, I am bombarded with either kid versions of adult shows (Survivor, etc.) or the latest Power Ranger/Pokemon rip off. How I long for a return to the golden age of Saturday morning cartoons.

Now, with the power of the internet, we can take a look back at the cartoons that so enriched our lives and our parents lives (allowing them to sleep in on Saturday mornings). Below each description is a link to the opening of aforementioned cartoon, and if you click on the title itself it will link to the wiki which has much more info on the cartoon than I could ever provide.

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe

This is a true classic.  It has been rumored that Prince Adam was gay, but that just raises the question, was his
alter-ego He-Man also gay?  Or just bi-curious.  One thing is for sure though.  Orko was gay. Really gay.  I
mean look at him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvlitN5BgiA

Thundercats

I really loved this show. I had the Sword of Omens and the thundertank. There was nothing more bad ass then when all the Thundercats when totally ape shit at the end of every show when Lion-o summoned them. Wiley Kit and Kat sucked ass though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Qd_IsxgAf8

Silverhawks

Thundercats bastardized cousin. Some may not remember it as much as the others, but I thought it was cool. Especially the thing where they pass their hand

in front of their faces and the mask comes down. The Lost in Space movie totally ripped that off. The initial cry of “Tallyhawk” in the opening sequence still gives me chills.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMBfm3vUB6M

Transformers

They need no introduction. Now they have a new crappy versio

n that is all CGI.....so terrible.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_biznEbVgMU

Dino Riders

This one's a bit more obscure. But I loved it. Mainly because it had dinosaurs in it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Um5SwXEmGZE

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Great, great show. This cartoon had such an impact on my life it is almost unhealthy. I had a ton of the toys, and saw the movie opening day. Hell, I saw the 2^nd movie opening day. Donatello was always my favorite, mainly because he was the nerd of the group. And he was the best in the video games, due to his long reaching bow. Unlike most of the others in this list, this show is still somewhat popular, well the new one is (which sux, I gave it a chance). And a new CGI movie is in the works.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qd4LLKz4gUY

Muppet Babies

Now hear me out. This was a great show. Not only was the production value very, very high, but it also held some eductional value. It actually had some good intentions other than to entertain.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdvH9IrQ8R4

Captain N: The Gamemaster

Now, this was actually a total marketing tool for Nintendo. And I totally ate it up. Even though, looking back it was completely terrible. Beyond terrible actually. This one should stay in the past, but I still look back at it fondly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0D0fpJJLjM

Voltron

The giant robot craze was upon us. Loved by good, feared by evil.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FaLY94dYVA

The Real Ghostbusters

Sure it didn't make sense that Slimer was on their side. And Egon went Blonde. But I loved it all the same. One of the few good cartoons that started as a movie.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjtGzSANxHI

Dungeons and Dragons

Not sure if it was affiliated with the nerdy board game. I'll tell you what it was affiliated with....awesomeness.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCydqi8D2tc

Honorable Mention

In this section, here are some ones that I remember that I watched, but not a lot. Still blows anything they have these days out of the water.

Centurions

I was reminded of this one just a few weeks ago. How could I forget? Although the blue guy was the best by far. The tank dude was a total sitting duck!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZJNuiw3Hoo

GI Joe

I know a lot of people loved this one, but I could never get into it. Here is the opening sequence from the film, which maybe the greatest thing ever (thank you Cobra Commander).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJiwFawnatE

Captain Planet

This show was so cheesy, but it actually was pretty well produced. Plus I still remember the theme song, and that counts for something. And it had magic rings, which I have an obsession with.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnxFEue6ZF0

Dishonarable Mention

Yes, I watched these too. I'm not proud of it. But the only way to clear my name is to get it out in the open.

Hammerman

Maybe the most terrible spin off idea ever. He had some magic shoes. Um, fighting crime, etc. Great theme song though. Ok, not really. No wiki on this one.....maybe I should create one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZUW5Ul0IdY

New Kids on the Block

Yes. They had their own cartoon. I vaguely remember the premise, but I don't feel like typing it up. I was unable to find the theme, so I present a terrible ad for their dolls instead. No wiki on this one either. I'm not doing this one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PA8GkkIHEg

There are many more terrible and not so terrible cartoons that I watched. These shows, plus my parent's guidance have shaped my life and my personality into the man I am today. If that tells you anything.

The banana! Of course!

Pretty hilarious:

Part I: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcIRXur61II
Part II: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HN0INDOkFuo
Part III: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJvar7BKwvQ

Nintendo announced the official name for their highly anticipated next generation console, previously called "Revolution".
Yup. There it is. Wii, prounounced like "we". You can view a brief flash movie at the official site.
(Youtube mirror).

I can't decide whether I like it or not yet. I'm leaning towards not. I like how the "i's" look like the controller, but the whole small 'i' thing is so played (thank you Apple).

The worst things are:

a) They test marketed the crap out of this name.

b) They probably decided on that one out of about 2 dozen others.

c) A team of very highly paid, very intelligent people spent about a year coming up with it.


Here is an interview with NOA's Public Relation's Manager, Matt Atwood. Even he doesn't seem too thrilled with it.

And another interview with Perrin Kapplan, NOA's VP of corporate affairs.

Also, a blog entry on Wired defending the name.

The blogger makes some good points. The fanboys have been up in arms all day (over 3500 diggs).

On the bright side, the console itself I think looks very cool, lets hope they stick with that.

Good use of the Gmaps API, but a bit disconcerting.

http://www.familywatchdog.us

Maybe, the most terrible thing ever.

Article.

The funny thing is, Mohammed was prominently featured for almost an entire episode a few years back. He was a member of the Super Best Friends.

From Wikipedia:

Members of the Super Best Friends

• Jesus: Founder of Christianity, able to perform miracles and an able carpenter.
• Muhammad: Islamic prophet with the power of fire.
• Krishna: Hindu deity who can shape-shift.
• Buddha: Buddhism founder, has the power of invisibility (though he never uses it in the episode).
• Joseph Smith: Founder of Mormonism, with ice powers.
• Lao Tsu: Founder of Taoism, with mental powers.
• Sea Man (a pun on semen, and a parody of Aquaman, considered by many to be the most useless member of the Super Friends): Can breathe underwater and communicate with sea life. Sea Man has a sidekick bird named "Swallow."
• Moses, the Jewish prophet, who is pictured as the Master Control Program from the movie Tron (Moses was first introduced in "Jewbilee").

GO HERE FOR SUPER EXCITING BREAKING NEWS. THE DIGEST WILL HAVE 24 HOUR COVERAGE TO COMPETE WITH THE OTHER MAIN STREAM NEWS SOURCES AROUND THE COUNTRY. AHHHHHH, IT'S ALMOST TOO MUCH FOR ME TO HANDLE!!

I am a huge Simpson's fan, and this is very exciting news. It is rare something this huge slips under the radar like this these days, with the internets and what not, but the fact that this is attached to many prints of Ice Age 2 was a complete surprise to everyone.

Anyways, here it is. Just a teaser, but still pretty good.

To celebrate, enjoy this hilarious clip of The Simpsons.