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Messages - The Legendary Shark

#31
Off Topic / Re: The Implications Of AI Art.
29 February, 2024, 11:01:46 PM

:lol:

Bravo, Sir. 

*clap clap clap*

#32
Film & TV / Re: Rogue Trooper News…!
29 February, 2024, 10:16:56 PM

Which is better, heh. Perhaps the only possible improvement would be the addition of the prefix 'Wee.'

#33
Film & TV / Re: TV help
29 February, 2024, 07:51:33 PM
#34
Film & TV / Re: Rogue Trooper News…!
29 February, 2024, 07:45:50 PM

Mad MacMax - The Rude Worrier.

#35
Off Topic / Re: This is the News!
29 February, 2024, 07:40:43 PM

Well, not exactly. Sure, I do want a better world for everyone, with no exceptions and no compromises, but I don't know what that world will actually look like. I can suggest elements that might contribute to such a world but that is all. It's not for me to tell anyone how to build their own futures.

All I can do is give you my perspective, what you do with that is not up to me. What is up to me are the words I write, and they give my opinion that many (but by no means all) current affairs nightmares stem from the same underlying problems. In the case of the nightmarish Ghana legislation, the underlying problem - again, from my perspective - is the conflation of different types of law leading to the general false perception that law flows down from the ruling classes and cannot be questioned or disobeyed. It is this general mindset that leads to egregious examples of inhumanity such as the Ghana legislation, the ongoing annihilation of Gaza, and the all too numerous pogroms and wars throughout history. For me, treating the Ghana legislation as separate from the Gaza emergency or the Communist disaster is like treating one boil on a plague victim, trying to cure the body boil by boil.

That is my assessment of a big problem highlighted, again in my view, by the Ghana legislation. You may agree with my assessment, or bits of it, or disagree with all of it.

I admit that my solutions are currently nothing more than suggestions geared towards paving the way for that better world we all want, but I'm happy to explore other ideas and perspectives. That, however, puts the cart before the horse (a common practice in Magic Land); we must first agree that this problem with the perception of legislation as ultimate law is a problem in itself. Maybe you don't think it's a problem, or maybe just a minor glitch in the system; I don't discount those possibilities but so far I've heard nothing to disabuse me of my opinion on this. Which is not to say that I'm right and everyone else is wrong, maybe it is the other way around, I can't be certain. Who can?

Anyway, I'm sorry for the frustrating nature of my posts but they are genuinely meant and as honest as I can make them.

#36
Off Topic / Re: This is the News!
29 February, 2024, 03:52:02 PM

Well, what do you want me to say? If you want me to say that legislating against the LGBTQIA+ community is wrong, then I'll gladly say it. In fact, I'd say it was downright evil and condemn all such legislation in the same terms, no matter which group is targeted, why they are targeted or where they are. 

My "mistake," it seems, stems from me trying to explain one of the major reasons why, in my view, the Ghana legislation is wrong by placing it in the wider context of not all laws being equal, which I view as a global systemic problem and not just a local problem specific to this case.

You yourself called the Ghana legislation "Another slip towards hell," which I agree with - but given the way you toss in concepts like "Magic Land" to deflect from discussion, I'm not entirely sure what you actually mean or even why you mean it. Care to expand your point?

#37
Off Topic / Re: This is the News!
29 February, 2024, 12:06:49 PM

I'm genuinely sorry you feel that way, Jim, because I'm interested to know how you arrive at the conclusion that legislative and common law are the same when they are known to be different things.

#38
Off Topic / Re: This is the News!
29 February, 2024, 11:39:47 AM
You are correct. Natural human law, based on our fundamental instincts and nature, is very much morality. Legislation does not alter morality, therefore legislation does not alter basic law. Passing legislation that allows hanging, for example, does not alter the immorality, or unlawfulness, of murder.

You say "Law is law because people with the power to pass legislation say it's the law. That's how laws work." I would rephrase that as "Legislation is law because people with the power to pass legislation say it's the law. That's how legislation works." Basically, might makes right. I cannot go along with that, personally.

Something being legislation doesn't make it right (or moral/lawful). As I said, legislation can be fine as a guide but should never be imposed on anyone because for one human being to enforce their will on another is unlawful.

There is a distinction between legislation and law - and you're absolutely correct that morality plays a big part in that distinction - law (at least in theory if not always in practice) protects everyone, legislation protects the legislators. You are also correct that "Calling it something else also doesn't make it so." This is why adding the word "law" to "legislative" doesn't make it so. "Legislative law" makes as much sense as "immoral morality." This is why we've somehow gone from police upholding the law to police enforcing the law. The law to be upheld is common or natural human law, whereas it's legislative law that gets enforced - all based on wordplay.

#39
Off Topic / Re: This is the News!
29 February, 2024, 10:54:54 AM

So, whenever a government passes legislation to commit murder on a certain group of people for any reason, that's fine, is it? It's lawful to kill some people just because some other people wrote it down? 

#40
Film & TV / Re: Rogue Trooper News…!
28 February, 2024, 11:03:16 PM

I love this place.

#41
Off Topic / Re: This is the News!
28 February, 2024, 11:01:08 PM

This is the consequence of conflating legislation and natural human Law. All humans are equal and anything to the contrary, even if (especially if) it's written down, is bogus. Legislation is all very well as a guide, but it should never and must never be seen as equal with Law. That way pogroms lie.

#42
Creative Common / Judge Dredd - Lockdown
28 February, 2024, 10:37:21 PM

This is the last Dredd script Bolt & Co. accepted from me.  :'(

It was written in 2020 during the Lockdown (remember those crazy, dreamlike days?) when I wondered how Judge Dredd would fare under similar circumstances. The excuse for throwing the unlockdownable Judge Dredd into lockdown seemed to flow quite naturally from my previous story, which was nice.

~~~^~~~

Judge Dredd

Lockdown

20~~~^~~~20


(NB: This story follows mjh_JUDGE_DREDD_014_who_goes_there_v1.3.txt)


PAGE ONE (4F)(NO TITLES).


PAGE ONE, FRAME ONE:

Justice 12, a little banged up, comes in to land at a Justice Department aerospace port. It is descending into a subterranean quarantine pit (QUARANTINE PIT JDASP-02/06). The pit is an isolated cylinder cut into the ground, which will be sealed off by a heavy door or set of doors once the ship to be quarantined is inside.


DREDD (FROM JUSTICE 12)                        How long?

CONTROL (JAG)                                  Mandatory twenty-four hour minimum, Judge Dredd - plus indefinite extension if anyone shows symptoms.

DREDD (JOIN)                                    Hmph.

CAP (REPORT)                                    Dredd, Joseph. Senior Judge, Street Division, Mega City One. Priority.






PAGE ONE, FRAME TWO:

Aboard Justice 12, flight deck. The ship has landed. The pilot, Judge Hendry, talks into a comm. In the co-pilot's seat is the grizzled Judge Tutor Carpenter. Judge Dredd stands behind them, between their seats, arms folded, in charge. Grumpy. (Dredd should be rock-solid throughout this strip, anchoring it down, impervious to and unmoved by the action around him.)

HENDRY                                          Confirming power down and systems slaved, Control. J12 out. /  That's it, Sir, we're down safe.

DREDD                                          Okay. Disembark.

CAP (REPORT)                                    Assessment Report Sixteen, Auth. Code Zero One.






PAGE ONE, FRAME THREE:

In the rear of Justice 12, Judge Dredd oversees the group of cadets (Nikki, Margaret (top class cadet), Scotty, Douglas (steadfast), Dykes, James (athletic), Erickson, Robert (unsure), Barnes, William (reckless), Stern, Eduard (Dredd wannabe, on a gurney – he was infected by a John Carpenter's The Thing in the last story, but was treated in time to save him; perhaps we never see him, just glimpses of weird shapes and the expressions of anyone who looks at him), and Chapman, Sally (fearless)) as they disembark. Also disembarking, somewhere, are Med Judge Carrington and the four civilian survivors from the last episode. They are all carrying the cold weather gear they were wearing in the last story. No need for details – just giving you a cast list to choose from.

DREDD                                          Relinquish all weapons. Stow your gear in the lockers. Move directly to de-con. Cadet Nikki, take point.

CAP (REPORT)                                    Report begins:







PAGE ONE, FRAME FOUR:

The cadets have disembarked Justice 12 and are giving their equipment to two Med Division Quarantine Specialists, Judge Pete Cork and Judge Dud Pour, who fill specialised trolleys with their weapons. (We never see their faces or their bodies, just their clumsy, oversized, slightly comical, slightly cartoonish, heavy-duty haz-mat suits.) Med Judge Carrington is organizing the survivors (you can either get rid of the survivors through a 'Civilians' door or use them for set-dressing), the cadets organise Stern's gurney. Hendry and Carpenter disembark together. Dredd is last off. (All this detail is just so you know what's going on – use what you need, when you need, if you need.)

HENDRY                                          What am I supposed to do for twenty-four drokkin' hours?

CARPENTER                                      Paperwork, for me. Scores. Evaluations. Reports.

HENDRY (JOIN)                                  "Flew to Antarctica. Got exposed to plastimorph. Crashed. Flew back."  Done. Now what?

CAP (REPORT)                                    Subject visibly annoyed by quarantine, but remains pragmatic.





######






PAGE TWO (5F).


PAGE TWO, FRAME ONE:

Dredd strides past Pete and Dud with no intention of giving up his Lawgiver – or anything else.

PETE                                            Sir... technically I should take your weapon too...

DREDD                                          Unnecessary. Carry on.

CAP (REPORT)                                    Well, for the most part.







PAGE TWO, FRAME TWO:

The landing bay now empty, Justice 12 is blasted by sterilising chemicals and pinpoint lasers while cleaning robots go aboard.

CAP (REPORT)                                    Subject passed through decontamination process without incident. No indication of enjoyment, not even subconscious cues.






PAGE TWO, FRAME THREE:

Dredd is the first to stride out of the De-Con Unit and into the Quarantine Suite, still pulling up the zip of a fresh uniform (including shiny new helmet) and barking into his helmet mike.

The Quarantine Suite is a spacious but Spartan, functional room with Spartan, functional furniture (bunks, couches, tables and chairs, small galley, three med-pods, head, a few computer terminals, no windows, cctv (with subtle flashing lights) and sensors everywhere). This is the room in which Pete and Dud, seven cadets (one in a med-pod), Judge Tutor Carpenter, Med Judge Carrington, Judge Pilot Hendry, and (maybe) four civilians, will be cooped up for twenty-four hours. With Judge Dredd. There's no need to get all this in – just setting the scene so you can pick and choose what you need when you need it or, of course, invent something better.

DREDD                                          Admin? Report!

ADMIN (COMMS, JAG)                              Ah... On its way, Sir. Ten, maybe twenty... Problem with access, Sir – your personal office has pretty high clearance and the adjutant I sent over...

CAP (REPORT)                                    Manner initially brusque but controlled.






PAGE TWO, FRAME FOUR:

Judge Tutor Carpenter approaches a neat stack of files placed on one of the tables, tagged with his name. The sight pleases him. Hendry follows Carpenter, glum and gloomy – like a teenager denied a hot date. Dredd's in the background, trying not to lose his patience with Admin. Maybe Med Judge Carrington's supervising the cadets as they wheel Cadet Stern towards one of the med-pods with the help of Pete and Dud. (Again, just scene-setting, everyone's basically just settling in.)

CARPENTER                                      Ah, good! Grud bless Admin!  Can't wait to write this up – they learned a lot.

HENDRY                                          If you say so. / Who's Dredd so pissed at?

CAP (REPORT)                                    No urge to micromanage, shows trust in the competency of his group.






PAGE TWO, FRAME FIVE:

Pete and Dud are examining and preparing Cadet Stern before putting him into the med-pod. Med Judge Carrington and the rest of the cadets stand ready to help. Again, I don't think we should actually see Stern, just bits of him (some of them perfectly normal and some of them absolutely not normal), or just the expressions on the cadet's faces... But, it's up to you – you're the artist so, whatever works!

PETE                                            Those protuberances might be a problem... And the fronds... But i've definitely cured worse. / Right, Dud?

DUD                                            Definitely, Pete. / He'll squeal a bit, though.

CAP (REPORT)                                    Side note – Possible weakness if properly, and carefully, exploited.





######






PAGE THREE (6F).


PAGE THREE, FRAME ONE:

Things have settled down to a routine. Pete and Dud fuss over Stern's med-pod, Carpenter goes through his files, Hendry is super-bored, Med Judge Carrington is reading medical reports at a terminal and Judge Dredd has a large box of files on his desk and another three boxes on the floor – he is working through them at a fair lick. The cadets are amusing themselves with impromptu unarmed combat practice. Maybe the four civilians (the rescued scientists) are playing D&D. Out of all that, the focus of this panel is Carpenter and Hendry. Carpenter has paused over a written report, pen in hand, to ask the super-bored Hendry, sat at the same table with his open-mouthed head thrown back, a question.

CARPENTER                                      Chapman shot the dog, right? After Barnes missed?

HENDRY                                          Oh Gruuuuuuud get me out of here.

CARPENTER                                      Why don't you read some technical updates, or something?

CAP (REPORT)                                    Subject sees no need to impose his will on the group...






PAGE THREE, FRAME TWO:

Focus on Med Judge Carrington, studying his screen – a technical paper on  plastimorphic infections. If you need a title, something like Plastimorphic Infection Inhibition Factors, Chapter 16: Neo-Morbidity. (Or not, maybe a detailed diagram of a plastimorphic (John Carpenter's The Thing) cell... Or something... so long as it's technical and complicated.)

HENDRY (OFF, JOIN?)                            Pfa! "Widget 38b-7 Mkiii has been superseded by Widget 38b-7 Mkiv. Operation and functionality unchanged." Which means that when whatever it is breaks it'll be replaced by something exactly the same but made by another company.

CAP (REPORT)                                    ...content to leave his colleagues to their own devices...






PAGE THREE, FRAME THREE:

Focus on the cadets, practising unarmed combat in an area they've cleared of furniture (or maybe an in-built exercise area or something).

HENDRY (JOIN?)                                  It's meaningless. All the real technical info comes from pilots.






PAGE THREE, FRAME FOUR:

Focus on Pete and Dud, in their ludicrous heavy-duty haz-mat suits, tending to the mysteriously afflicted Cadet Stern's bio-pod. Maybe a comedic scene.

HENDRY (JOIN?)                                  Take Justice Twelve, for instance. Another pilot told me she was twitchy.

CARPENTER (OFF)                                That why you crashed it?






PAGE THREE, FRAME FIVE:

Focus on Hendry, waffling on. Carpenter, back to his writing, is only half-listening.

HENDRY                                          No, that was all me, Carps.      Well, the tentacles didn't help. Thanks, by the way.

CARPENTER                                      No sweat.






PAGE THREE, FRAME SIX:

Focus on Dredd, from Hendry's point of view. Dredd has paused in his paperwork to give Hendry (us) a hard stare. Hendry's monologue peters out, getting smaller until it's gone. (The letterer can decide at which point it's best for the speech to become illegible, whatever looks best.)

HENDRY (OFF)                                    No, "twitchy" means that her controls are unusually... sensitive... and you... have to be... gentle...  with...  her...

CAP (REPORT)                                    ...for the most part.





######






PAGE FOUR (5F).


PAGE FOUR, FRAME ONE:

Each frame on this page I am going to say focuses on Judge Dredd – but takes in the activity throughout the Quarantine Suite - sat stiffly at his desk, doing paperwork and fielding calls from Control on his helmet mike or desk-comm. The other activities in the Quarantine suite are the only real movement (Hendry walking around mega-bored, the cadets amusing themselves with training and quizzes, maybe some shenanigans with Pete, Dud and the mysteriously afflicted Cadet Sterns, Carpenter getting synthi-caff and a bun, Carrington doing the rounds and taking notes, maybe the four civilians lounging about or having larks), with Dredd rock-steady at the centre. Have a play with it. (It might be a good idea to consult with the letterer on the layout of this page.)

DREDD                                          Dredd. / Put him through. / Liaise with Dep-Chief Migdalski, Sec-Ho Six. He's got Wallies on the brothers. /  Sure. Dredd out.

CAP (REPORT)                                    Subject's drive for activity apparent throughout.






PAGE FOUR, FRAME TWO:

Dredd.

DREDD                                          Dredd. / No. Dredd out.






PAGE FOUR, FRAME THREE:

Dredd.

DREDD                                          Dredd. / Put her through. / Got it. Access my personal D.B., search key Riley, S. I'll have control flash you access. / You too. Dredd out.






PAGE FOUR, FRAME FOUR:

Dredd is annoyed at this call.

DREDD                                          Dredd. / Put the creep through. /  I ain't listenin', Max. You owe me five – if you're lucky. / Uh-uh, Max, you played me, an' that ain't done, got it?  /  No deals, Max, no promises. If this is bogus...






PAGE FOUR, FRAME FIVE:

Dredd back to work.

DREDD                                          Control – Dredd. / Units and Tek support to Dock 16, Pier 12, EZS Marlene Degaulle. Reactor violation, possible Euro-Dem involvement.  /  Tip-off. Could be nothin'. /  Roger that. Dredd out.

CAP (REPORT)                                    Even in relative stasis, the subject is... relentless.





######






PAGE FIVE (5F).


PAGE FIVE, FRAME ONE:

24 hours later. The quarantine is over. The doors have opened and everyone is standing to attention (even Cadet Stern is back to normal, if a little queasy) so Dredd can formerly dismiss them.

CAP (REPORT)                                    The remainder of the quarantine period passed without incident.

DREDD                                          You cadets scraped an okay. Flight crew too. / Crew dismissed.

CAP (REPORT)                                    Subject adhered to protocol, controlling his impatience.






PAGE FIVE, FRAME TWO:

Everyone leaves the Quarantine Suite, Dredd will be the last one out.

CAP (REPORT)                                    First in, last out. Admirable, in a stale kind of way.






PAGE FIVE, FRAME THREE:

When the Quarantine Suite is empty, Dredd pulls the latch to close the door behind him. A cctv camera light, watching Dredd, is flashing.

CAP (REPORT)                                    The subject is a curious mix of irresistible drive and immovable self-control, but shows limited intelligence, relying on the perceived power of his reputation.


SFX (FLASHING CAMERA LIGHT) (IF NECESSARY)      BIP BIP BIP






PAGE FIVE, FRAME FOUR:

Dredd looks at the cctv camera, noticing the light is flashing.

CAP (REPORT)                                    My review of this latest footage reinforces what we already know.

SFX (FLASHING CAMERA LIGHT) (IF NECESSARY)      BIP BIP BIP

CAP (REPORT)                                    Subject remains unsuitable for repli-replacement at this time, pending further data points.






PAGE FIVE, FRAME FIVE:

Dredd rides away from  Justice Department Aerospace Port 2 on his Lawmaster, back out into the City.

CAP (REPORT)                                    But we have time, My Brethren, and our o-port into their systems.

DREDD                                          Control / Patch me through to P.S.U. /  Flickering cam-indicator. Just a hunch. Could be nothin'.

CAP (REPORT)                                    Through stealth, guile, and superior logic, we will steal this ludicrous city from beneath these fascists' ignorant noses...





######






PAGE SIX (1F)(TITLES).


PAGE SIX, FRAME ONE:


Judge Dredd, flanked by two other tough street judges (with a Tek Judge bringing up the rear, if there's room), kicks a door in, Lawgiver at the ready, spoiling for a rumble. Inside the room is a small band of aliens and lots of very lifelike human suits and masks and judges' uniforms. Professional infiltrators! The Big Cheese, the alien who's been recording the report, is sat at a console reviewing cctv footage from the Quarantine Suite (maybe a pile of VHS tapes and player – a really antwacky system?), currently showing the camera's view of Frame Four from the previous page (P5). The microphone, attached by a wire to an ancient cassette recorder, hangs forgotten in the Big Cheese's hand. This conspiracy has just come to an abrupt and (for the aliens) completely unexpected end. (You can, of course, break this page into more frames if it's easier.)

BIG CHEESE                                      ...replacing them, one by one, until, for the most part...

SFX (DOOR)                                      KERRASH

BIG CHEESE                                      ...Oh Norge...

DREDD                                          Dream's over, Creeps! Back up against the wall!

STRAP:                                         The End.



#43
Film & TV / Re: Rogue Trooper News…!
28 February, 2024, 07:37:01 PM

Cannon & Ball, wasn't it?

#44

I think there was bubblegum at some stage. I remember leaving it sellotaped to the cover and it eventually went mushy and stained a couple of progs with sticky nast.

#45
General / Re: Hivemind query: Name that story
27 February, 2024, 08:20:31 PM