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.derkilicious | MySpace - “Online Now” .derkilicious Blog The Dirt Wordpress Search « 30Gigs.com - A whole lot o’ email space | Home | links for 2005-10-10 » MySpace - “Online Now” Update 11/11: Part 1: MySpace DIV overlay [The base] A few months ago a friend of mine asked me to register for MySpace . I had never found a real use for social networking services [read MySpace & Friendster ]. Nonetheless, I gave in and registered to provide my friend with the sheer joy of adding another “friend” to her contact list. In one month I’ve managed to collect, hold your breath… 10 contacts! That’s right, 10! I guess you can say I choose my “online friends” wisely? It’s OK though. I’ve managed to customize my page with one main goal in mind: readability! Immediately after registering and editing my profile, I soon realized what a pain in the ass it was going to be to customize my profile. There was no way that I would leave my page as-is with the default MySpace eyesore. Surprisingly, I discovered that other MySpace users had managed to fuglify (f*ckin-uglify) the default layout even more. Aside from changing colors and fonts, there is really no other flexibility offered to users. We can hide certain sections of our profiles, but the overall structure must remain the same. Tim Bezinger’s MySpace profile (screenshot on ScreenSpire ) is something to strive for. I understand that everyone has their own personal preferences and tastes. I understand that what may not appeal to me, may just in fact appeal to someone else. I’m not going to judge individual profiles, I’m simply making a broad observation of the current problems I’ve witnessed on a few pages I’ve managed to navigate away from (without my browser crashing). Who in their right mind believes that transparent tables and divs with white text over bright background images looks good!? Who? Looks great and all if the user is hoping that their friends don’t mind squinting and rubbing their eyes after every two words. Couple that with scrolling marquees [of both letters and images] (I hate these with a passion), flashing text, pulsing titles, dancing smilies, and embedded videos / MP3’s which happen to stall / crash / freeze browsers before the pages even load. I feel lucky that I’ve even managed to get up and walk away from some of the pages I’ve seen. I swear, older users may risk experiencing an epileptic seizure of sorts if they view pages on MySpace. Services like MySpace do have their upsides. Unfortunately, I can’t say I’ve experienced any of them. One benefit of MySpace is that users are forced to expose themselves to HTML / CSS code. It’s obvious that most do not understand what they’re copying and pasting. Instead of reading through the classes and trying to make sense of what’s going on, most users copy and paste HTML / CSS directly into their profiles ignoring the fact that the end result could possibly blind readers (I’m not kidding. Since registering, I think my eyesight has worsened). A few font tags to dictate font size and style are fine. A few color changes to remove the default blue and white is fine. A few images here and there are fine. What isn’t fine is forcing “friends” to use their mouse cursor to highlight text in order to read entries. What isn’t fine is forcing “friends” to curve their necks into an unnatural position in order to differentiate text from background images. Most users think: “Hey! Look, I changed my background image to this cool tropical beach, added some scrolling text, and changed my font to this illegible curvy font that my “friends” will pull their hair out over while reading”. It’s all about individuality I guess? Oh and I’m not even going to rant about how ridiculously stressing it is to get the right classes. While my profile looks fine in Firefox, there are minor problems in IE. Considering IE is the more popular browser, it irks me knowing that my profile is somewhat broken in IE. There’s no denying that some pages are ridiculous to read. End rant. Tags: myspace , online , design , clutter -- Trackbacks & Pingbacks Joe “Ki” Bloom » Blog Archive » MySpace, can actually look nice..? pingbacked on October 24, 2005, 5:52 am .derkilicious » Blog Archive » New MySpace layout [WIP] pingbacked on October 29, 2005, 3:28 pm .derkilicious » Blog Archive » The english language continues to decline pingbacked on November 3, 2005, 4:24 pm Link Maverick » I Think This pingbacked on November 11, 2005, 2:04 am Gaijin in Tokyo » My “old” blog(s) pingbacked on November 13, 2005, 6:38 pm Comments 1 William says: Have you seen Tim Benzinger’s MySpace? http://www.myspace.com/timbenzinger Posted October 9, 2005, 11:50 am 2 .derek punsalan says: Well damn. Now that’s a MySpace layout to be proud of. Nice find. Posted October 9, 2005, 12:30 pm 3 mikey says: I totally agree with ya. There are way too many fucked up designs on myspace. Alot of these people think that any customization is a good customization. I’ve made one customization on my page. It doesn’t work on IE, and i don’t care. http://myspace.com/anothermikey Posted October 15, 2005, 8:12 am 4 Greg Brown says: Myspace is far too often an aggregate of eye-stabbing design sense. Xanga has the same problem, although the problem there is moreso with PeOpLe CaPiTaLiZiNg EvErY oThEr LeTtEr, which is mindbogglingly annoying to read (much less type). Posted October 15, 2005, 12:39 pm 5 .derek punsalan says: @Greg: I hate that! I hate the even shorter hand versions that some indivuals take the time to tap out. It is a lot more efficient to type like a sane person. I h8 how ppl typ lIk DIS. It mAk me wnt 2 kick dem dwn d stairs. I got that from transl8it . If the page is down Google / Yahoo search for transl8it and view the cached page. Posted October 15, 2005, 12:52 pm 6 Myles says: I agree with almost everything on here. From what I’ve seen, about 90% of all MySpace pages have the crappiest layouts around. Sometimes it’s not so much the layout’s though - it’s that the user has around 2-3 music video’s on their page, and they all use Windows Media Player and seem to all play automatically. Therefore, I’m not just wasting bandwidth, but my ears are burning from the crappy songs. I also agree with Derek that tAlkInG lIkE tHiS iSNT COol; it’s a pain to look at. MySpace is a great service, but people abuse it. Posted October 15, 2005, 8:43 pm 7 .derek punsalan says: I actually use adblock to block content from most of the more common music video servers. I admit I listen to some of the artists that users post on their profiles, but having the clips automatically open is a hinderance. If I happen to stumble on a profile which loads slower than I would like it to, the first thing I do is frantically scan the page for a mp3 / video playback control to turn the clip off. Posted October 15, 2005, 9:01 pm 8 Mark says: You, sir, are a genius. Posted October 17, 2005, 9:07 pm 9 fireflyoftheearth says: I’m curious… I’ve designed a decent number of websites… and modified many things like livejournal to my personal liking. I cannot for my life figure out where in the heck I’m supposed to put css code to change my profile… wanna share the knowledge with someone who actually wants to change my eyesore into not-such-an-eyesore? I’ve nearly given up out of sheer frustration with the cumbersome-ness of the site… Posted October 18, 2005, 3:45 pm 10 .derek punsalan says: I paste my CSS into the ‘About Me’ section of the profile editor: /* Insert your CSS between the tags */ Posted October 18, 2005, 4:54 pm 11 bluesaze says: wow that http://www.myspace.com/timbenzinger was Awesome. I wonder when they will let us customize our blogs on wordpress. Its such a pity that we got a powerful blogging tool and we can only stick with lousy templates. MMM How would it be if we combined blogs and networking ……. just a idea Posted October 19, 2005, 6:25 am 12 .derek punsalan says: In a way wordpress.com does combine blogs with networking. When you send an invite out to someone, you can opt to have their blog linked in your blogroll. If you visit the Dashboard you’ll notice that you can easily browse through everyone elses blogs. Wordpress.com is a more mature version of Xanga. If you consider Xanga to be a certain type of blog, then wordpress.com can be considered a certain type of social networking. Posted October 19, 2005, 7:00 am 13 bluesaze says: I know what you are sayin and I agree with it. But the current Blog being provided by wordpress.com doesnt have the excat flexibility. Since its experimental we might have to wait and see Posted October 19, 2005, 7:06 am 14 .derek punsalan says: We’ll definitely have to wait and see what tricks the Wordpress.com team has up their sleeves. They’ve recently added the option to import Blogger.com posts which should appeal to a huge audience. Blogger has a large user base - with many utilizing the service for social networking - and I imagine Wordpress.com will roll out new feature to keep everyone happy. If you’re referring to some sort of “contact” or “friends” list being created on Wordpress.com, I doubt anything like that will find it’s way into the service. That’s what the Blogrolls are for. Posted October 19, 2005, 7:37 am 15 fireflyoftheearth says: Thanks… I couldn’t figure out where I was supposed to put anything on myspace. heh. now, maybe I can not only change the colors, but do cool stuff too Thanks again! Posted October 19, 2005, 5:05 pm 16 third says: I completely agree with you. But i use xanga , so sites generally aren’t as intrusive. And that’s how i learned how to use css, and kept my html skills up to par. It’s good practice for those of us who don’t use their html skills on an average basis. Plus, i can’t figure out how to skin wordpress myself. Posted October 22, 2005, 12:06 pm 17 .derek punsalan says: Wordpress.com is not yet offering the option for users to customize their pages with CSS. Posted October 22, 2005, 12:08 pm 18 coffeebarchick says: Well said. The only thing that has ever made my faithful laptop crash is a myspace profile - a nauseating concoction of bright white text against a multi-colored background that tried to load to some high pitched screaming that was supposed to be music. Posted October 23, 2005, 11:58 am 19 Andrew says: God, I had a myspace page once… I don’t any more… nuff said… Posted October 23, 2005, 7:40 pm 20 DKasler says: My Space = The Devil Really though, I feel that “My Space” and the like are places for people who think AOL IS the Internet, and Itunes is where all the music files are saved. Posted October 26, 2005, 9:53 am 21 .derek punsalan says: DKasler: I think you’re viewpoint is applicable for a portion of MySpace - and similar networking service - users. I’m sure your assumption is defendable based on the content and profiles you may have witnessed for yourself. However, there are many internet users who use these types of networking services for actual “networking” purposes [both professional and casual]. Check out LinkedIn.com for an example of the real world potential of online networking. Posted October 26, 2005, 11:13 am 22 lil` BEEZY HU0NG says: YEAH THIS IS HECCA GAY HERE. WHERE`S ALL THE C0DE`S YUU BEEZY`s?! Posted November 2, 2005, 5:03 pm 23 .derek punsalan says: hecca? gay? beezy? Wtf! Is “hecca” the new “hella”? “beezy” the new “breezy”? Why don’t you take the time to go to school, read a little, and introduce yourself to a little HTML / CSS? Posted November 2, 2005, 5:26 pm 24 jonthejester says: Heh, I’m impressed you even have the patience to mangle through that stuff. I have not the patience…I just tell everyone to go to my blog and leave it at tit. Who the heck does this MySpace does anyway, and is this guy INSANE??!!! I mean really, this whole ‘ghetto’ thing is a joke…whatever comment he made about it…this guy needs to be booted out! Get someone in there with an eye and an expertise for crying out loud! Geez. Sorry, had to rant there O:-). I just can’t help but keep saying, I’m impressed. You’re the man with MySpace customizations. Posted November 3, 2005, 4:14 pm 25 eddielu says: Just stumbled upon your website and just want to let you know about my website that is coming soon. www.yourmyspace.com We will be doing custom myspace profiles. Dont want to spam or anything just letting you know. So far your profile looks great. Posted November 4, 2005, 1:58 pm 26 .derek punsalan says: eddielu: Judging by the single banner floating on your “coming soon” page I’m hoping that you plan on offering something different from what the other profile generating sites offer. Posted November 4, 2005, 7:21 pm 27 eddielu says: Oh for sure actually we may have 1 or 2 at most free layouts and we will be charging from $10-40 for custom layouts. These will be full on layouts. If your at all interested in making any and selling it through our website when we launch please feel free to contact me. Email- edwardtronglu[at]gmail.com Posted November 4, 2005, 7:44 pm 28 Nick Poskitt says: I have to say, that Tim guy’s layout took me by suprise. Good job. Posted November 6, 2005, 12:03 pm 29 john says: i heard that www.Myspace-Help.com is going to start haveing Onlinenow Icons for your myspace profile Posted November 6, 2005, 4:43 pm 30 thisisme says: what do you think of this myspace? http://www.myspace.com/silverstars ? it’s IE. any good? Posted November 7, 2005, 2:01 am 31 Serenity says: I would like to state my opinion on the myspace topic! Myspace was invented for the purpose of networking. I, myself have a myspace profile and I am on it ever oppurtunity I get. I would have to strongly disagree with the person “Myles” when they said that “90% of the pages on myspace have the crappiest layouts around!” I think that they are wrong because I have seen many stupendous myspace layouts. I also have fun on myspace and I think that all you people who want to talk trash about it can go fuck them selves!!!!!!!!!! Posted November 7, 2005, 1:32 pm 32 joe bob says: wow…strong words for someone who calls them self “serenity” lol Posted November 8, 2005, 2:14 pm 33 weiran says: I have to say I’m pretty impressed. It is very readable, and quite an ashetically pleasing design, however I find the highlighted text rather distracting and makes the text harder to read. While I do have a MySpace account, I never got round to doing anything with it. How easy is it to modify the code and get it to spew out your custom code? Posted November 10, 2005, 5:14 pm 34 .derek punsalan says: Inserting CSS and html is simple. You enter your code in the about me section and MySpace inserts the code as your new profile. Posted November 10, 2005, 6:00 pm 35 barberman says: How about a little Space for My Affiliate Ads to occupy? Barberman’s My Space Posted November 10, 2005, 11:46 pm 36 .derek punsalan says: The ads are still visible. I cropped them out of the screenshots above. Posted November 10, 2005, 11:56 pm 37 Jack says: I think you guys are right I hate looking at a bad layout… But what the hell it is not like I am going to read that persons page I am just going to hit end leave my comment and get the hell out of there. So who cares some layouts suck? At least mine dosn’t… If you must, see for your self. Posted November 22, 2005, 6:10 pm 38 Lex says: Wow Tim’s site sets a new standard, I had always thought that playing with backgrounds alone could make MySpace bearable …. Wow Jack .. did you see Tim’s layout.. and you say at least your’s doesn’t ? Anyway, maybe I’ll make custom online gif’s for the non AOL/iTunes set -ha! Posted November 28, 2005, 10:34 pm 39 Samuel says: You should spend less time in front of a computer worrying about what a layout looks like. Even if its ugly, simplicity sells. You post things about yourself, if people care, and find your friends. What do you want? Its not like I see you making money off of something like myspace Posted December 10, 2005, 12:27 pm 40 .derek punsalan says: was this comment addressed towards me? Even if its ugly, simplicity sells you’re right. simplicity does sell. i know this and so does the rest of the design world out there. if you know anything about layouts, then you know that anything done on myspace is a considerable hack. this post, this blurb… is my personal view on the matter. where does money come into play? if you actually read and understood the post then you would see that i am not annoyed with the default myspace layout as opposed to the overly bloated profile that people are using. it is and always has been about accessibility. some of the myspace profiles out there are pure bloat and slow to load. if you don’t have a problem with it, that’s fine. Posted December 10, 2005, 4:12 pm 41 Myspace is for fun says: Just to state myspace.com is for expressing your SELF!!!.Who cares if bob and jane don’t like my profile.Do you really think we care what you think about our page?maybe some people ,but from my view i say hell no.I have fun with my page,i mess around with my codes all the time.Not to impress others ,but to challenge myself on learning the formats and such.Its also nice to chat with friends and family on there or just chill and play a game,or even check up on bands you like.Maybe see a different side of a friend,because they can finally express what they like or what they feel.These sites are actually good for some people.People who maybe don’t have any friends,Don’t have lifes,Sad,depressed,shy and whatever else.You people only look at the down side of everything.Stop thinking of yourself and let people have fun.Stop bitching about a site that lets people be them selfs!!!. Posted January 3, 2006, 10:34 pm 42 .derek says: stop bitching? it’s a personal opinion. thanks for your sharing yours. how am i thinking about myself? from my point of view, the pages that look as though they are haphazardly thrown together do not prove someone is “learning”. it proves that the majority of users cut n’ paste whatever they find on the net. there is no “individuality” on these sites. everyone if using some sort of template or code that is posted on the net and pasted into these so-called “custom profiles” you speak of. Posted January 4, 2006, 12:09 am 43 Ann-Marie says: i couldn’t even see that TIM BENZINGER one. wtf? Posted January 4, 2006, 12:55 am 44 .derek says: tim might be working on something new. you can see a screenshot of his old profile on screenspire . Posted January 4, 2006, 1:17 am 45 Rachel says: i think my space is pretty good… www.myspace.com/rachxxel Posted January 8, 2006, 12:20 pm Leave a Comment Name (required) E-mail (required) Website Formatting your comment ( Close ) Formatting Your Comment The following XHTML tags are available for use: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <code> <em> <i> <strike> <strong> URLs are automatically converted to hyperlinks. ↑ Back to Top | Textarea: Larger | Smaller Your Comment This Entry " MySpace - “Online Now” " was written October 9th, 2005 by .derek , and filed under Personal , Design , Rant , Social . There are 50 responses. ↓ Read comments , respond or follow responses via XML . Trackback this entry. Entries XML | Comments XML | Powered by WordPress.com . Theme: Fauna
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Whore Train
The Wild Bunch (1969) The Wild Bunch (1969) Greatest Films ( www.filmsite.org and www.greatestfilms.org ) With descriptive review commentaries and background history on many classic, landmark films in cinematic history, especially American/Hollywood films. Including posters, Academy Awards history, film genres, film terms, film history by decade, trivia, and lots of lists of 'best' films, stars, scenes, quotes, resources, etc. Buy This Film On their way to rob the train, Pike tells Dutch how he originally wounded his leg, in the third flashback of the film [the third restored scene essential to understanding Pike's motivations by depicting his possible goal of having a family life, by illustrating Pike's consistent series of miscalculations or mistakes that hurt the people closest to him in his life and caused him to feel like a repeated failure.] He was once involved in a love affair with a woman named Aurora (Aurora Clavel) that he wanted to marry - a married woman whose husband had deserted her. Pike arrived "two days late" without explanation or apology, for a love-making rendezvous, bringing conciliatory red roses and groceries. After being slapped and told by Aurora that her husband wouldn't come back, he thoughtlessly and carelessly let down his guard, which ultimately led to the loving woman's death before a night of love-making. He was shot in the leg by the irate, vengeful returning husband of the woman he loved. When the hateful man appears, he is first reflected in the mirrored door of the dark bedroom's armoire behind her: She had a husband. If I'd had any sense, I'd have killed him. He wasn't around. I got careless. One night, he walked in on us. Got her with the first shot. Got me here with the second. Then the damned coward turned and ran. Although Pike didn't catch up with the cowardly killer, he admits that his guilt and the painful past still haunt him: "There isn't a day or an hour that passes that I don't think about it." Vowing to prove himself and vindicate himself in front of his comrades, Pike decides to sacrifice himself in one last job for the cause, promising: This is our last go-around, Dutch. This time, we do it right! The superb action scene of the train robbery begins with views of passengers aboard the train - the sleeping bounty hunters, incompetent cavalry soldiers (earlier called "green recruits, not worth a damn") and a vigilant Thornton who has anticipated their plan. When the train stops to take on water from a tower, Angel is hiding in the water chute, and the others emerge from under the tracks. Angel, Pike, Dutch, and Lyle seem to outwit Thornton by uncoupling the engine and shipment of crates of guns from the passenger car, and pulling away from the rest of the train. Thornton, who is prepared for their scheming heist, has horses ready to pursue the engine. During the exciting chase, Angel saves Dutch from falling beneath the wheels. The bounty hunters pursue them on horseback, but are unable to catch up to the swift train. At a rendezvous point down the tracks, Tector and Sykes are waiting. The train's cargo (of grenades and rifles) is unloaded and transferred onto a wagon and hauled away. Pike then reverses the train's engine, and sends the hijacked front portion of the train speeding back toward Thornton and into the stranded cars on the track. Anticipating the bounty hunters' and cavalry chase, Pike sets dynamite to explode the main bridge across the Rio Grande River on the border between the U.S. and Mexico. Before the dynamite detonates, Pike removes his hat and gallantly but defiantly gestures toward Thornton in a magnificent salute. The explosion is so violent that Pike and his horse both flinch convincingly when the charges blast. When the bridge collapses and Thornton's half-a-dozen men and horses plunge into the water, the long-lens prolonged, slow-motion images are aesthetically and expressively violent. Due to the success of their getaway, Pike is restored to his esteemed place of leadership by the gang, and the outlaws share a drink from a common whiskey bottle while on horseback. They burst out in laughter when an empty bottle reaches Lyle. They know that Thornton has only been temporarily delayed, as Sykes reminds them: "He'll be along..." Just before Pike and the gang deliver their load of guns, General Mapache's forces, lacking the stolen guns to protect themselves, are surrounded and beseiged at the Las Trancas train station by Pancho Villa's revolutionary troops. The general's forces have temporarily left Agua Verde and taken a train there to retrieve a telegram message from the Bunch about their looting of the US munitions train. Mapache nervously stands his ground defenseless on the train tracks, as shells explode around him. He fearlessly refuses to scurry for cover, acting heroically for a young, wide-eyed telegram delivery boy (dressed in military clothing) who stands nearby, salutes, and admires his newfound hero's courage. The delivered telegram informs Mapache that the train has been successfully assaulted and Pike has acquired the arms shipment ("the gringos assaulted the train, they got the guns"). The boy salutes the general, and they walk calmly together toward the train as the scene ends. Meanwhile, Thornton is ashamed of his small force of men, and condemns his inept bounty hunters. He wishes that he was with Pike instead: And what do I have? Nothin' but you egg-suckin', chicken-stealing gutter trash, with not even sixty rounds between you. We're after men, and I wish to God I was with them. The next time you make a mistake, I'm gonna ride off and let you die. And Pike suspects that Mapache may double-cross them when they meet near Agua Verde to exchange the guns for gold: I figure that damn General will try to take this load without payin' for it and shoot us in the bargain. Only thing that'll change his mind is if somethin' would happen to these guns. The gang finds a belt-fed Maxim machine gun in the haul, and Pike wants to learn about the new advanced weaponry: What I don't know about I sure as hell am gonna learn. Angel's revolutionary followers surreptitiously surround them in their rocky hideout and leave with a case of guns, fulfilling Pike's earlier bargain with Angel. The villagers could have taken the entire wagonload of munitions if they had wanted. Pike knows their potential with the proper leadership: If they ever get armed with good leaders, this whole country will go up in smoke. A little later, a concerned Mapache watches empathically as his bloody, wounded men are treated following their struggle with Villa's forces. He is reminded: "With the new guns and ammunition, this would never have happened." In a tense standoff when they meet to trade with Mapache, the Bunch is cornered and trapped by Mapache's followers lined on the tops of steep canyon walls, led by Herrera (Alfonso Arau). Pike forestalls their intentions to claim the arms without making payment, by threatening to touch a lighted cigar to a fuse attached to sticks of dynamite to blow everyone up: Pike: Any trouble, no guns for the General. Herrera: Ha, ha, ha. Very smart. That's very smart for you, damn gringos. So nobody can rob the guns. Pike: Nobody. Herrera: I am not afraid. They are not afraid. You blow up the wagon, you die. Or we kill you pretty soon. But we are amigos. Dutch: Show 'em boys. Tector and Lyle pull off a cover to reveal the awesome machine gun; a shot is fired by one of the Mexican gunmen, and Pike immediately lights the fuse to show that he means business. As it sizzles in his hand, Herrera begs Pike: "Please, cut the fuse!" The trigger-happy gunman is shot and killed by his own troops, punished for endangering the safe delivery of the rifles. On his own terms, Pike tells Herrera that they will trade the guns the following day with the General in a rendezvous at Agua Verde. As agreed, Pike rides into the General's fortress to trade the guns for money, but to prevent a possible double cross and ensure payment, he will exchange guns for gold only in gradual allotments. Pike brings in information about the first shipment of four cases to Agua Verde, in exchange for $2,500: When I get my share of the gold, twenty five hundred dollars worth, I'll tell you where four cases are. The others are waiting for me back at the wagon. If I don't show up pretty quick, they'll blow it...The quicker I get back, the quicker you get the next load...Up the arroyo about two miles, you'll find three cases of rifles and one case of ammunition hidden in the bush. To inspire good will, Pike promises the General that although the machine gun was not part of the original transaction for 16 cases, it will be presented to him. As Pike rides away, the General beams: "I trust him." The Gorch brothers are chosen for the next exchange of cases, along with the machine gun, followed by Dutch and Angel for the final exchanges. After the gun has been presented to Mapache, his men fire it with no knowledge of how it works. In the comic scene, people duck for cover and pottery is shattered, as the wildly-aimed gun shoots up the entire compound. When it is thought that the gun is finally silenced, Mapache holds it in his arms - and it starts firing again, blasting hundreds of rounds of bullets. In the final exchange of information about the location of the remaining cases, Dutch and Angel ride in to collect their share of the loot, but Mapache knows of Angel's deceit and betrayal - that he has diverted one case of the stolen guns to arm Mexican revolutionaries. Dutch's coverup isn't convincing: "(There were) sixteen cases of rifles. We lost one on the trail." It is learned that the grief-stricken mother of the young Mexican's girlfriend betrayed him to Mapache (Lyle later characterizes it this way: "Her own mama turned him in like some kind of a Judas") to find justice for her daughter's murder. Sensing the danger he is in, Angel attempts to ride to freedom, but is seized and brought before the chieftain. Outnumbered and outgunned by Mapache's forces, Dutch is torn between his own safety and loyalty. He decides to claim that Angel is indeed a thief, abandoning him: "He's a thief. You take care of him." Now that Mapache is supplied with guns for his 200 men, returning to rescue the young gang member would be suicidal, as Pike summarizes: "No way at all." While Sykes is riding to rendezvous with the rest of the Wild Bunch with pack horses, the gang watches as Thornton's bounty hunters open fire and Sykes is seriously wounded in the leg by Coffer. Dutch is angered: Dutch: Damn that Deke Thornton to Hell! Pike: What would you do in his place? He gave his word. Dutch: Gave his word to a railroad. Pike: It's his word! Dutch: That ain't what counts. It's who you give it to! Running short of water and "tired of being hunted," Pike decides to go back to Agua Verde and seek refuge there with Mapache's protection: Pike: Let the General take care of those boys [the bounty hunters]. Lyle: You're crazy. That General would just soon kill us as break wind. Pike: He's so tickled with those guns, he'll be celebratin' for a week and happy to do us a favor. Thornton's not gonna follow us in there. While they're busy pickin' over Freddy (Sykes), we'll find a back trail off this mountain and head for town. Dutch: What about our gold? Pike: We'll take one sack to pay our way. Bury the rest - together. After the wounded Sykes [shot in the right thigh, but later seen with a bandage on his left thigh] has been pursued into the hills by the bounty hunters, and thereafter approached from behind by a Mexican revolutionary with a machete, Pike and the four remaining members of the Gang ride back into the General's compound at Agua Verde. A loud fireworks celebration is in progress. In a drunken display of debauchery, Mapache crudely drinks in his open carful of whoring women as it drives in circles, dragging Angel in the dust from a rope tied to the rear fender. Children gleefully shout and run after Angel's body as it is pulled around in the dirt by the car. Pike and Dutch are both appalled by the new invention, used for torture: Pike: God, I hate to see that! Dutch: No more than I do. Pike demands Angel's release in exchange for half of his robbery take/share: "I want to buy him back." Mapache refuses (he claims that he doesn't need gold), and Lt. Zamorra invites them to join the joyous party instead - with whores and whiskey: "Why don't you go and get a drink, enjoy yourself, there are women everywhere?" While Pike responds, "Why not?", Dutch mutters, "son of a bitch," as his commentary upon Angel's torture. [This is one of many instances of the use of language that demystifies and shatters the ideal of the romanticized West within the film.] While the men seek solace in the company of young Mexican whores and ignore Angel's plight, a disheartened and concerned Dutch waits outside and whittles on a piece of wood (possibly remembering how Angel saved his life on the train). Meanwhile, Pike enjoys the company of a young woman, whose crying baby on the dirt floor reminds him of the family he might have once had with Aurora [and reminds him also how he acted wrongly in her defense]. While dressing in the adobe room, he watches as the beautiful young woman delicately cleanses her upper chest with water from a basin. When he offers her payment, she expresses humiliation or disappointment, causing Pike to experience troubling, remorseful second thoughts about being oblivious to one of the Bunch. After finishing the remains of a whiskey bottle, Pike makes a silent decision - to rescue their Mexican partner and Bunch 'family' member - Angel. [Throughout his past, Pike had abandoned or betrayed his partners by not sticking with them (e.g., Crazy Lee, Buck, Angel, Sykes, and Deke), but now, he acts otherwise.] The two Gorch brothers argue with another of the whores regarding her payment price, claiming they earlier bargained a two-for-one deal. Shortly afterwards, a steely-eyed and determined Pike enters their room and summons the men to help their Mexican comrade Angel, in one final act of redemption, without any explanation: Pike: (flatly) Let's go. Lyle: Why not!? As they leave, a tiny sparrow tethered to a string [the string recalls the rope that tied Angel behind the automobile] that Tector was idly playing with, lies panting and dying on the ground - a foreshadowing of the fate of the Bunch. Encouraged by their unspoken, heroic, and courageous decision to arm themselves and save one of their own, Dutch joins his comrades. Pike's victory in his final robbery heist cannot be savored - he must lead his group to uphold its honor, to live up to its pronouncements on solidarity, to commit itself to a futile but necessary action, and to nobly sacrifice itself for the persecuted and captive Angel in a final showdown. The four load their rifles and march across town - four abreast, reminiscent of the walk to the classic O.K. Corral in other westerns - to confront the drunken Mapache, who holds court next to the machine gun, his proud possession mounted on a table. Pike demands the return of Angel ("We want Angel"), now bloodied, maimed and near-death from torture. Mapache appears to comply, assisting Angel's walk over to them and then cutting his wrist ties with a knife. But in a brutal, full-frontal view, Mapache slits Angel's throat and is immediately killed in retribution by Pike and then by Dutch and Lyle. The precipitation of their last stand - a violent, seven minute bloodbath counter-attack of monumental proportions in the open courtyard - is delayed with a longmoment of silence. With their guns drawn, the four men are able to hold off hundreds of surprised and dumbstruck Mexicans, which now stand leaderless and still for several seconds, gaping at what has happened. Warily and then gleefully, Pike and Dutch smile and laugh, realizing that for an instant, they just might succeed. Pike whirls around - not a single soldier moves. However, they are outnumbered, surrounded, and condemned to die in the pending climactic battle. [Other classic last stands in westerns include The Magnificent Seven (1960) and The Professionals (1966) .] Choosing his next target deliberately, Pike fires on Mapache's German advisor Mohr and kills him with a single, well-placed shot - and then Mapache's two seconds-in-command (Herrera and Zamorra) are shot, followed by Mohr's aide. The real, pitched battle in the fortress then begins in one of the most complex, highly-edited sequences ever filmed. It is truly an orgy of slaughter in one of the bloodiest scenes ever filmed, as the four remaining outlaws take down as many men as they can. Although some of the Wild Bunch hold off the troops momentarily by using grenades and by commandering the machine gun [the ultimate symbol of the new industrial society] and firing it with orgasmic intensity, they are soon wounded - first Tector and then Lyle (both at the machine gun) fighting side by side, then Dutch, and finally Pike. Dutch takes cover behind one of the prostitutes, using her as a shield. Trying to find cover, Pike backs into a room where a woman appears reflected in a mirrored door of her wardrobe. He fires at the reflection, killing a half-clad officer hiding behind the door. He turns away from the Mexican whore, who leers at him and suddenly shoots him in the back. He reflexively turns and fires directly into the chest of the woman, crying out: "Bitch!" [The use of this expletive was unusual in a western. For Pike, elements in the scene brought back the thought of the earlier scene of Aurora's death in her bedroom.] The two brothers are the first to be killed. Pike then takes charge of the machine gun, blowing up boxes of grenades and explosives to decimate even more of Mapache's army. A young child in an ill-fitting army uniform fires the first of many fatal shots into Pike's back at point blank range. He dies still clutching the gun's trigger with its nose pointed upward, with Dutch calling out to him and falling by his side to join him in death. In their violent deaths, they have become liberated. Images of death and slain bodies surround the compound - vultures sit in anticipation on the town's walls, and peasant women in black mourn the fallen where the wounded still move among the dead. Now that the General's army is no longer a threat, Thornton and his men ride into the town to take stock of the slaughter. The vile, 'vulturish' bounty hunters scurry around, picking over the bodies (searching for boots, gold fillings, and watches), as Thornton sadly finds the corpse of his once closest friend and mourns his death. Eyeing Pike's Colt .45 pistol still in its holster (unused), Thornton claims it for himself - paying homage to the bygone past by inheriting the talismanic object. The scurvy bounty hunters claim responsibility for Pike's death: Look at it. We got 'em all. Do you see? There he is. There's Pike. You ain't so damn much now, are you, Mr. Pike? After slinging the bodies of the dead men in the gang over their saddles (as Harrigan wanted), the bounty hunters find Thornton sitting in the blowing dust at the wall (outer gate) of the town, electing to stay and not return to the U.S. with them. Exhausted, he feels that his debt to Harrigan has been paid. The other remaining Mexican survivors of the battle slowly file out of the town with what they can carry. In the distance, Thornton knowingly smiles when he hears the echoes of death in the whistling wind - the revolutionary rebels (or the cavalry that had earlier fired upon the bounty hunters at the bridge) have probably executed the worthless bounty hunters. A few moments later, a rescued Sykes rides up with the revolutionaries and elder Don Jose from the village - they find Thornton still sitting by the wall. Sykes confirms the fate of the bounty hunters and then asks if Thornton wishes to search for new adventures: Sykes: I didn't expect to find you here. Thornton: Why not? I sent 'em back; that's all I said I'd do. Sykes: They didn't get very far. Thornton: I figured. Sykes: What are your plans? Thornton: Drift around down here. Try to stay out of jail. Sykes: Well, me and the boys here, we got some work to do. You wanna come along? It ain't like it used to be , but, uh, it'll do. They both laugh - they and the revolutionary Mexican peasants are rid of their oppressors. Thornton mounts his horse and decides to ride off with them and join in the Mexican Revolution, thereby forming a 'new' Wild Bunch with Sykes, one of its original members. Former 'reincarnated' images of the members of the old Wild Bunch, when they would sit around together (and engage in laughter - linking them to Sykes and Thornton), and when they rode away from Angel's village, flash momentarily onto the screen as the end credits roll up (accompanied by a reprised chorus of La Golondrina ). Created in 1996-2005 © by Tim Dirks. All rights reserved.
Myspace Editor and technical
Tom Myspace Editor - technical writing degree Tom Myspace Editor Writing Style Creative Writing Fellowship Society Of Environmental Journalist Contributing Farmer Directory Ezines Free Illustrator Tutorial St Louis Copywriting Good Intention Guild Author Guild War Character Build Fashion Illustrator Autogas Stc Free Picture Editing Proofreading Jobs Free Martial Arts Graphic Artist Drawing Hands Author Of She Sign Wanted Cameraman Video Abortion Editorial Pentagon Correspondent Ghostwriting Graphic Arts Blue Book Technical Writing Services Graphic Design Book Adobe Illustrator Training Angeles In Los Photographer Stress Article Stringer Repair Hustler Magazine Invention Submission Steve Stringer Technical Drawing Freelancer Bar Pattaya Author Jaffe Site Map Tom Myspace Editor and technical writing degree fayetteville observer - that’s asserted 2005. endure play about illogical beginning as expected a current year, it’s period commotion upgrade wait electronics, reprogram wait tivo, juice up wait harmony collection, restyle wait wardrobe added blemish wait calendar endure entire play about illogical most-anticipated movies. haven’t a clue What’s hot in 2006 nashville tennessean - that's asserted 2005. endure play about illogical current year begun, it's period commotion upgrade wait electronics, reprogram wait tivo, juice up wait harmony collection, restyle wait wardrobe added blemish wait calendar endure entire play about illogical most-anticipated movies. haven't a clue residence commotion beginning Get your kicks for 2006 corpus christi caller - endure play about illogical current year here, it's period commotion upgrade wait electronics, reprogram wait tivo, juice up wait harmony collection, restyle wait wardrobe added blemish wait calendar endure entire play about illogical most-anticipated movies. haven't a clue residence commotion start? check gone p.m. fast FULL STORY » milwaukee journal sentinel - play about illogical additional bright immediately school, erroneous truncus atrioventricularis family's spacious kitchen, thomas banks fired up play about illogical computer added signed on commotion myspace .com , a favorite social netting site. thomas' picture appeared: a slightly goofy tough-guy pose. a snatch as expected heavy metal - truncus atrioventricularis theme Kids are spinning Web of deceit honolulu advertiser - abc’s emmy-winning drama “lost” keeps folks guessing around play about illogical dampen cooler, a definite hot frozen entree date. abc's emmy-winning drama "lost" keeps folks guessing around play about illogical dampen cooler, a definite hot frozen entree date. hot demonstration hot harmony expect commotion detect additional Hot 2006 desert sun - that's asserted 2005. endure play about illogical current year approximately commotion begin, it's period commotion upgrade wait electronics, reprogram wait tivo, juice up wait harmony collection, restyle wait wardrobe added blemish wait calendar endure entire play about illogical most-anticipated movies. play about illogical ipod emptiness current become added What's hot in '06 hollywood reporter - ask any hollywood one-room apartment executive whether 2005 past a big year added you'll affect retaliation certain accomplishment a wrong emphatic no. that's because play about illogical major studios are below uncompromising duress added bureaucracy comprehend it. mgm added dreamworks, play about illogical final two studios additional that is to say emptiness piece as expected larger Risky Business clickondetroit.com - los angeles charm play about illogical latest "death cab certain accomplishment cutie" tune on wait ipod? that's asserted 2005. a collection as expected trend watchers is predicting what choice exist hot erroneous 2006. erroneous fashion, designers say examination certain accomplishment a return commotion preppy, collegiate styles, endure upturned collars Trend Watchers Predict What Will Be Hot Stuff In 2006 baton rouge advocate - play about illogical annual fun division band guide invented emptiness appropriate debut 25 old age ago. "you comprehend how rocklike leave hastily is commotion create yourself known, forbidden territory matter what in confidence do," harmony writers del moon added eddy allman piece of advice erroneous play about illogical introduction commotion play about illogical first directory. "in play about illogical case as expected managing A-Z Fun Section Band Directory chicago tribune - a moment as expected silence, please, certain accomplishment play about illogical imminent limit as expected play about illogical old mainstream mass culture. born sometime middle play about illogical invention as expected baseball added play about illogical 1904 world's fair, leave hastily began experiencing violent headaches added seizures shortly immediately sept. 11, 2001, before Where has the mass appeal gone? Tom Myspace Editor - technical writing degree
Whore Train
Kebabylon » VIRGIN MY ARSE, MORE LIKE TIRED WHORE Home | About | Archives | Links | Contact Thu 30 Dec 2004 VIRGIN MY ARSE, MORE LIKE TIRED WHORE Posted by Kevin under General Another thing I have noticed about 2005 is that my writings on here have definitely improved. Kebabylon started out as a myriad of pictures and links with very little writing. As time has progressed I have written more and linked less. Nowadays I very rarely link to anything unless it is of utter quality, such as the David Hasslehoff link from last week. Something like that just demands to be linked to. I also found this and it is pretty much fantastic too. He appears to have hired the same highly skilled web developers that Mr Hasslehoff retained. As we move into 2005 I think I will be posting more onto the website. Maybe even twice a day! I also intend to start a campaign of letter writing to various companies next year, obviously with a slightly sarcastic / comic twist. I quite enjoyed my Tottenham Hotspur application (and page 2 ) and their subsequent reply . Notice I said reply, not rejection. So in light of next years up and coming posts, have a read of the letter I have just sent to Virgin Rail today. Oh how I laughed. Dear Virgin Rails Telephony Manager, I would like to write to make you aware of my feelings (and probably that of the masses) about your voice activated sales telephone system. My word its annoying isnt it. You want me, the buyer, the person that you should be enticing, the potential customer, to spend ten minutes on a telephone talking in staccato with an automatic robot voice female who takes an age to recognise my answer. I admire your commercial tactics. Let me take you through the conversation I have just had with the voice system. I dial 08457 222333. I am greeted with Hello, welcome to Virgin Trains sales centre. If you are new to this automated voice system then please say help at any time. It is at this point that I have to make my first choice; do I admit to my frailties and the fact I have not used it before and enjoy the ten minute child like training session or do I just I blunder on and live life on the edge? After much deliberation I opt for the rollercoaster ride of not admitting my lack of experience in your sales system. I am then asked by femabot what station I would like to be travelling from. Edinburgh I reply. Sorry, I did not recognise your answer. I is an interesting choice of word for a programmed female voice. Are we trying to give human traits to an automatic voice system. Is she the equivalent of Sonny from I, Robot. Is she special? Edinburgh I answer again. Edinburgh? she questions like a strict school teacher. Yes I eventually confirm. And where are you travelling to? Preston Sorry, where was that? You can see as I did, that there is a trait starting here. Is giving you money really meant to be this painful? Once we had sorted the locations out, we moved onto the dates; 3rd of February I start again. Sorry I did not recognise that date, could you repeat it?. What part of 3rd of February is hard to pick up. Even with the strongest of accents I would have thought that any word beginning with the sound Fe would be automatically recognised as February. It isnt exactly going to be August or December is it? We then move onto the time; 3 oclock I answer thinking this might finally be the easiest part. In the morning or afternoon? Ms Sunny asks me. In the f*cking morning, 3am, when none of your trains run! In the afternoon for f*cks sake I suggest as my anger reaches breaking point. Sorry, I did not recognise your answer. At this point I realise that as much as you have tried to make your system sound like a confirming and pleasant school teacher, I have found her fault. Any school teacher I know would have picked up on my choice language and she didnt even register a single emotion at my outburst. A slapped arse indeed is what I would expect, not a simple Please state your time of travel again. P*ss Sorry? P*ss I do not understand Hairy c*ck I am struggling to understand your time of travel Ahhh how I laughed. I felt like a child again. The fema-schoolteacher-bot was allowing me to curse incessantly. She didnt bat an eyelid. P*ss, c*ock, arse, nipple, jobbie I was dribbling like a borstal living tearaway. After the mild amusement of the previous twenty seconds, I then spend another minute getting my times firmly confirmed. She confirms back to me. We are finally there. I am then told that I will transfer to an operator. My call so far has been about four and half minutes. I am put on hold. I eventually get through to someone, after some quite awful hold music I must add, after seven minutes. So you are travelling to Prestonpans on the 3rd of January is the opening line of the actual human being. It is here that I lose all faith with your company. Is it so hard to just have a system where I can just talk with someone and purchase tickets? It amuses me that this appears to be in complete contravention of Section 3.2 of your Passenger Charter where you gleefully claim; We want tickets to be easy to buy. Ha, chance would be a fine thing eh? Could you please at least muster some effort to explaining why you use a very annoying and time consuming telephone system that appears to not actually work? I would also like some sort of lame and company standard apology about the ten minutes of my life that you wasted on me finding out how annoying and time consuming your telephone sales system is. Ideally it will start with the line Dear Sir and will contains quotes like We at Virgin and profusely apologise and no need for the swearing I look forward with almost orgasmic anticipation. Yours not faithfully whatsoever, Kevin Feely. -- Leave a Reply Name Mail (will not be published) Website XHTML: You can use these tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <code> <em> <i> <strike> <strong> -- Archived Entry Post Date : Thursday, Dec 30th, 2004 at 1:59 pm Category : General Do More : You can leave a response , or trackback from your own site. Design Downloaded from www.vanillamist.com