Godzilla Lawyers? Meet Middle-Finger Zilla

The lawyers for Godzilla seem to claim that any sort of dinosaur image usage or use of the word "Zilla" is an infringement upon their rights for the Godzilla character. I think I can show you today where they are wrong.


Just recently, they got into it with Apple lawyers over Finger-zilla.


A while back they threatened a mom and pop barbecue restaurant.


Well, I am now convinced that these Godzilla lawyers couldn't really win in court. Why? Well dinosaur characters can't be copy-written unless they are totally unique and a T-Rex is not totally unique. And the next part: Zilla is the name of an ancient plant species that grows in the Saharan desert.


Since it is ancient, I'd guess it came before a 1950's B-Grade horror flick.


Now, to blow them thar lawyers out of the water, here's Gigantis! (Not to be confused with Godzilla...)


Wait a minute! Gigantis looks like Godzilla's anemic little sister! How could those lawyers claim that Godzilla is unique?


The name isn't and the character certainly isn't!


If Godzilla lawyers send anyone a cease and desist order, show them this. Those Godzilla lawyers are bluffing!

Japan's Future and Nuclear Power?

Since the March 11 disaster involving the earthquake, tsunami and subsequent nuclear accident at Fukushima, I have been consistently stressing at least two important points concerning the nuclear situation in Japan.

First, when dealing with news about Fukushima, we can only deal with the facts and must resist the temptation to be prodded into panic by sensationalist and hyper-reactive "reporting" that is actually nothing but conjecture. And, two, the worst thing that could ever happen to Japan is for us to lose a cheap and clean source of energy. (For an example of wild conjecture, read this. For a great example of factual reporting see here.)


Interestingly, The Diplomat has a story that echoes my exact words:

Last month, thousands of Japanese took to the streets to demand an end to nuclear power in their country. For more than half a century, Japan had been in the uncomfortable situation of being both the only nation that has suffered an atomic attack, but also one of the countries that are most reliant on atomic energy. The disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, though, has made it impossible to ignore this seeming paradox any longer. The Japanese people, known more for their restraint and willingness to endure than for their propensity to express outrage and challenge the status quo, appear to have found their voice. 

A newly empowered public voice would surely be a positive in a country whose democratically elected leaders have waffled with impressive ambivalence through Japan’s troubles over the last decade. However, if this public voice portends a new reality for Japan, Japanese political leadership will need to find the sophistication and fortitude to respect the difference between democratic leadership and popular capitulation. Notwithstanding the immediate task of bringing relief to hundreds of thousands of tsunami victims, perhaps the most important and imminent test for Japan’s leadership in this new era must be to defy the people’s demands and work immediately to ensure Japan’s nuclear energy supply. 

You can read more at the Diplomat.

From reading the above I flatter myself and imagine that this writer is a regular reader of this blog as I have made the exact same points for months, most recently in mid-June. But most probably not. It is common sense that Japan, a country that has little or no natural resources, as well as an aging society and massive debt to GDP; a country that is one of the most over crowded nations on earth; a country that went to war over resources just 55 years ago, needs nuclear power to survive.


What other choices are there except reverting back to the way things were 45 years ago with Japan's energy needs by burning fossils fuels and pollution? That would be a terrible and completely impractical choice. 

We must find a way to make nuclear power safe as well as economical or the land of the rising sun is a country of the setting sun. Japan is supposed to be a leader of the world in technology. We have no choice but to pursue the creation of safe and controllable nuclear power... Even if it means risking a Godzilla type creature rising up from Tokyo Bay (of course, I am joking!) 


If Japan does not pursue creating the technology and will to create safe nuclear power then Japan's time in the sun has passed.

You Need a Laugh

Sunday morning in Japan. It's going to be an excellent day.


Here's a short from the movie "One Crazy Summer" that should give you a chuckle.

If the movie doesn't play, go watch it here. It's pretty funny.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4wJMvw_ra4

Thanks to Steve "Poots" Candidus.


Steve also always sends along these great quotes to ponder:


"...In order to really enjoy a dog, one doesn't merely try to train him
to be semi-human. The point of it is to open oneself to the possibility
of becoming partly a dog..."   -   Edward Hoagland

"...Heaven goes by favor. If it went by merit, you would stay out and
your dog would go in..."  -   Mark Twain

American Godzilla!? Not Again!!!

In 1956, an American movie company took the original Godzilla movie and reedited it, put in Raymond Burr, and a bunch of Caucasians to make the crappy version of "Western" Godzilla. (Watch that turkey here.)


Wasn't that enough damage? As the English speaking representative of the Nipponjin nation, I warn you whitey's to stay away for your own good!


Huuurmph! Now, where was I?.....


Now, it has been announced that Godzilla will be remade (like the rest of these crap Hollywood movies over these last 20 years).... Dear God, please deliver us from evil and horrid cinema.


Godzilla is a Japanese thing and needs to stay that way!


As Topless Robot reports:


​First the good news: Legendary Pictures has announced that Gareth Edwards, the guy who directed the low-budget but well-received alien monster flick Monsters, has been hired to direct the new American Godzilla movie. 


(Monsters Trailer):



I haven't seenMonsters yet, but given how excited everyone seems to be about this, I assume it's pretty good. At least he'll probably have some reverence for the source material, and not turn his Godzilla movie into a shitty Jurassic Park rip-off for the entire second act (or have a giant monster "hide" cunningly behind skyscrapers. God that movie f**king sucked).

Die! Die! Die! Go back to your Cameron Diaz movies and leave us alone!

Now the bad news, although it may be bad only to me -- apparently someone's making another American Godzilla movie. Am I the only who thinks this is a horrible idea? Godzilla is Japan's thing, and we don't need to co-opt it. They've been doing just fine with Godzilla movies on their own for more than 50 years. And the one time we did try it, we shat on their beloved icon and looked like assholes. So I don't really care who directs it. I don't want it. I don't think anyone needs it. And even if it's good, I think we're going to look like a**holes again. Am I alone on this?


No, dude. You're not alone. These Godzilla movies are campy and crappy enough as they are without Hollyweird coming in and making them even worse. 


Death to Rocky and Sylvester Stallone!


(Warning to westerners and white people all over the world! We do not need you to f*ck up our monster movies with your Richard Gere and white teethed Hollywood stars! Death to all Gaijins!)* 

*This message was approved by this blogger! Yet does not necessarily represent the political views of this blog.


**As an aside... I remember the last time a Japanese girl said to me, "Konna Oki no?" (Chuckle)......


Awright! This is quality cinema... Not like that crappy "Armageddon Day" with Aerosmith singing that shitty theme song! "Mo-su-ra! Mos-su-ra!" Shit! They don't write kick butt lyrics like that anymore! E-T phone home! Elvis Presley answer your phone!!!!!


Stay away you stinking foreigners!!!! This is your last warning! We know where you live!

King Kong and Godzilla in Love

This proves what I said about Japan being a weird place full of people who have weird imaginations but  it is not as weird as what westerners imagine it to be.

Exhibit one is the artwork below sent in by Randall Myers, an alert reader, who found this on the Cheese Grater UK:

Randall asks, "Mike, is this from Japan? What does the Japanese say?"

Sorry, Randall, my friend. This is definitely another piece that is a figment of some westerners twisted (but kinda funny) imagination. While that looks like Japanese Katakana on the left, it is not. It doesn't say anything as far a I can tell.

It just "looks" Japanese.

Thanks to Randall Myers for sending this. I do appreciate it.