Ajant

i agree, yahoo is the best at this moment

Many people would never read all those books so the only way for them to see the story is the through the movie. Having that in mind turning good books into movies is a good practice. Also coming up with a good plot is not an easy thing so turning to books makes a lot of sense for this reason alone. Another positive with this trend is that many people see the movie they like and then go and find the book on which it was based.Some times movie can be good though it has little to do with original book's plot. For instance Starship troopers by Robert Henlien is a great and complex book with little action and a lot of character development and philosophical views by the author. Movie on the other hand is pure non-stop action with a little romance and humor. Now, I'm not the fan of action movies, I don't remember the last time I watched a movie that features Chuck Norris/Steven Sigal/Jean Claude van Damme/Dolf Lundgren but once in a while I like to watch a movie that allows me turn my brain off and just enjoy the action, explosions and special effects. Movie Starship troopers has all that but it also has atmosphere that is required in order swallow it all. After seeing the movie I decided to read the book so for me it's definitely a good movie though it actually has very little to do with original book.I prefer to watch the movie before reading the book because I agree with most people here about book usually being much better. If I first read the book I'd be very disappointed with the movie, but by watching the movie first I get to enjoy it too and then enjoy the book even more thus getting the enjoyment twice out of one story. I don't have the problem, that several people mentioned, with imagining characters in the book differently after seeing the movie.One important problem with movies is that very few movies can hold the attention of the casual viewers for more then 2 hours and that's usually not nearly enough to convey all the complexity and depth of the book (everything that makes the book good in the first place).Finally I wasn't going to bring up Lord of the rings but somebody else mentioned it so I have to comment. First movie is great (not perfect, but great) adaptation of the book. Second movie has little more flaws, but is still very good. I enjoyed watching them both immensely AFTER reading the books, which as I said ealrlier is not my favorite pracitice. Some of the changes made in them even make the story better (Faramir is no longer poor man's Aragorn, but a human with flaws and virtues; Frodo's inner struggle to save Smeagol from Gollum and thus hope for himself is more pronounced; scene when Boromir and Faramir capture Osgiliath adds depth to their characters based on the book's appendixes though it's not actuality in the book etc.). But 3rd movie is so terrible, it's unwatchable after reading the book. It makes major changes in the plot and the characters and none of it is good. At times it's boring and at times it's extremely annoying. Frodo trusting Gollum over Sam, and bringing undead to battle of Pelennor fields negates the core of the book. Denethor looks younger then Boromir and is turned into a mindless pig in stead of powerful and cunning lord etc. I just have no words to describe how disappointed I was with it after loving first 2 movies

For some reason i always find myself rooting for support characters rather then heroes in both books and movies. Since my favorite book is Lord of the rings my favorite fictional hero is Boromir (actually Silmarilion is my favorite book, but it has way to many characters for this topic). Unlike most other characters in the book he is neither 100% good nor 100% bad guy, he is just human. He makes a very human mistake, but he pays ultimate price in order to redeem himself. I think that gray characters like Boromir, Turin Turambar, Feanor etc. while few in comparison to villains and heroes give Toliken's world all the depth it needs, in that department

this is the funniest thread on this forum

Let me guess, you just happen to sell ice and crystal light

I don't know about that but here's a little lotr humor: http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/ http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/ http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/

I just got web hosting approved and I want to host the site I created using Struts framework. I'm a complete newb when it comes to web hosting, so I need a little help. Is there a tutorial that covers this subject?Any help with hosting of Java applications will be appreciated.

Toliken's best book is Silmarilion. Lord of the rings is a masterpiece, but without reading Silmarilion there's no way to comprehend how deep and magnificent Toliken's world really is. While lotr is concentrated on relatively short time frame, Silmarilion shows development of the world and characters through the ages. It's a little hard to follow it when you read it the first time due to having many characters, but when you read it 2nd time it all falls into place. Definitely a must read for Tolkien fansAs for movies, first 2 parts are good, though there are some pointless and stupid scenes in both, but 3rd part is nothing short of a disaster. It completely destroys climax of the book, high point of the trilogy - Battle for Minas Tirit which for me ruins the move. There are many other letdowns which make the move unwatchable for me since I read and loved the book

Last race (German Grand Prix) was one of the best of the season (at least if you are a fan of McLaren). Few years back this competition became very boring, but now it's interesting and competitive again. Hamilton is a great driver, though a little wild at times, while Kimi Raikkonen is as solid as they get, but Kubica, Masa and Nick Heidfeld are the guys who make things really interesting. Any of them can win any race and even some weaker teams are finding way to be somewhat competitive.It's not Hakinen vs. Schumacher but it's the best season since that rivalry ended.

X-files, Lost, Becker...

anyone?

thanx to everyone who took the time to respond.csp4.0 thanks for your answer, you were so thorough there are some things in your post that i have no idea what they are:)This is my main question: is it enough to upload the folder containing application(project folder) for the application to work or do i need to do anything else for the server to recognize it as Java application and treat it accordingly (display JSP and invoke business logic)?Once I finish my application and upload I will probably have more questions, but in the mean time I'd really appreciate answer to above question

I just got web hosting approved and I want to host the site I created using Struts framework. I'm a complete newb when it comes to web hosting, so I need a little help. Is there a tutorial that covers this subject?I apologize in advance if this question was already answered, but I've been unable to find the answer anywhere.One thing I have to note is that I need to know absolute address of the uploaded files in order for my application to work. Is this even allowed?Any help with hosting of Java applications will be appreciated.

Houston we have a problem:This domain name expired on Jun 28, 2008. Click here to renew it.

I doubt there will be enough interest for Xisto league. Btw I know all I need to know about fantasy basketball, I was just trying to start a conversation:)

Communism is utopia. Basic idea of communism is: "Everyone contributes according to their capabilities, everyone gets everything they need". This doesn't mean everyone gets same wages for different amount of work. It means that everyone has everything they need, and everyone does his best to support the system that keeps everyone happy. If society is poor then those needs include food, health care and other basic staff like that, if society is rich, then you can expand those needs to vacations etc.The problem with this is that humans are selfish and lazy. Everyone would like to have everything they need, but few people like that doing their best part. Many communist countries fell apart because of those basic human characteristics. Of course there are problems with abuse of power and corruption of those in charge, but that is not the only problem. In order for real communism to exist both government and citizens need to be devoted to the idea 100%, and that is realistically impossible.

Every time I read about these global crisis I get seriously depressed. Not because there are problems in the world, there always were and always will be, but because people who can make a difference are too freaking retarded to do it. Enormous sums of money are being spent on development of weapons while people are dying due to lack of food and drinking water. I know this might sound naive, but imagine how many problems could be solved if all money invested into weapon research, by all countries, for just one year were to be used for helping those in need.And what are politicians thinking when they refuse to implement Kyoto agreement? Do they think their children would not suffer when everything goes to hell? Blah...

This is the slowest part of the season as far as Fantasy NBA goes so I'm just looking to start some discussions about strategy and latest news. Also I'm interested to know where do you play it and which sites, if any, you use for help (to get latest news etc.)P.S. Maybe I should have posted this in sports section, but this is kind of an on-line game

So are there any fans of any of the above mentioned games?Personally Warlords series is one of my favorite game series and definitely has the best music.Other great games I have enjoyed very much are Disciples, Age of Wonders and Lords of Magic. How about you?

This is the best video game I have ever played. It's a mix between RTS and FPS. Here's a great review: http://www.tap-repeatedly.com/Reviews/Sacrifice/Sacrifice.shtml I'm looking for any fan site dedicated to this game since all official ones are long gone.

one of my favorite game series of all times. HOMM III is the best in the series, but I played and loved II, IV and V. As KeeperMustDie said, great thing about turn based strategies is that you can only win using your head. Balance between the races is great in every game and every game was similar to it's predecessor but still different enough to present new set of challanges

StarCraft is the 2nd best RTS of all time. StarCraft's single player campaign is the best single player campaign to this day. Along with Brood War it tells a story better then 99.9% of the movies and TV shows recently created.And balance between the races is almost perfect which is single most important factor when it comes to multi-player experience. In short it's as close to perfection as possible

If NBA was fixed, how did Spurs mange to win 4 rings in 9 years. They are probably the most ratings-unfriendly team in the league, yet the league decided to suspend Amare and Diaw last year. I'm a Spurs fan, but I don't believe there was a conspiracy to get LAL to the finals. Refs are only human too, they make mistakes same as anyone else.

NBA Salary Cap For 2008-09 Season Set At $58.680 Million The National Basketball Association today announced that the Salary Cap for the 2008-09 season will be $58.680 million. The new Cap goes into effect immediately as the league's "moratorium period" has ended and teams can begin signing free agents and making trades. The tax level for the 2008-09 season has been set at $71.150 million. Any team whose team salary exceeds that figure will pay a $1 tax for each $1 by which it exceeds $71.150 million. The mid-level exception is $5.585 million for the 2008-09 season, and the minimum team salary, which is set at 75% of the Salary Cap, is $44.010 million. For the 2007-08 season, the Salary Cap was set at $55.630 million, the tax level was $67.865 million and the mid-level exception was $5.356 million. Philly Wins Race For Brand A number of NBA front office sources have revealed that the 76ers have won the Elton Brand sweepstakes, according to ESPN.com. Brand has reportedly informed the Sixers that he will accept a five-year deal worth an estimated $82 million, spurning what was presumed to be a slam-dunk return to the Los Angeles Clippers. Philadelphia reportedly agreed to a deal that would send Rodney Carney and a future first round pick to the Timberwolves in a trade designed to free more cap space, earlier on Tuesday. I don't get this one. He took 10 more million so he could go East, though Clips just signed Baron in order to compete. It's not just about money as Warriors offered him even more(about 90 Mil). SuperSonics' Name Stripped From Team Website The official website for the Oklahoma City team has now had the SuperSonics' name and colors removed, the Associated Press is reporting. The site now redirects to http://www.nba.com/thunder/ Bennett will be leaving the SuperSonics' name, logo, and colors in Seattle. The NBA hasn't yet announced a new name for the Oklahoma City franchise. Heat Close To Signing James Jones The Heat are close to signing three-point specialist James Jones to a free-agent contract, according to a report in The South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Pat Riley is prepared to give Jones a five-year deal starting at $4 million for next season. The final three years of the contract would be conditional to protect the Heat for the 2010 free-agency period. Miami is expected to use the remainder of their salary cap exception money to sign second-round pick Mario Chalmers. Warriors Offer Turiaf Four-Year, $17M Deal Lakers' forward Ronny Turiaf has agreed to a four-year, $17 million offer from the Warriors, according to The Press-Enterprise. Turiaf is a restricted free agent, which means that the Lakers will have seven days to match the offer. Agent Mark Bartelstein wouldn't confirm or deny the rumors. "We've talked to a bunch of teams," Bartelstein said in a phone interview. "There are a lot of teams that are interested in Ronny. We'll just wait to see what happens." Okafor Receives Contact From Clippers Sources tell the Los Angeles Times that the Clippers have made preliminary contact with Charlotte Bobcats forward Emeka Okafor, who is a restricted free agent. Source: Lakers Offer Odom For Artest According to a league source, the Lakers have contacted the Kings regarding Ron Artest and are believed to be offering forward Lamar Odom. Kings basketball president Geoff Petrie declined comment on whether the Lakers had called. "Right now, (Artest is) just a terrific player to have on your roster," Petrie said. "I don't really have any speculation one way or another (about his future). We'll see what other things ? not specific to Ron ? but if there's some other way we can improve the team or change the team, we'll take a look at it." Bird All But Confirms Tinsley Is A Goner Larry Bird discussed the Pacers recent moves on Wednesday and confirmed that Jamaal Tinsley will not be on the roster when the 2008-09 season begins, according to The Indianapolis Star. Coach Jim O'Brien added to the speculation, claiming he believed that the point guard position is solidified with T.J. Ford, Jarrett Jack and Travis Diener, with no mention of Tinsley. "We're trying to do some things to see what's out there for Jamaal and hopefully we can get something done," Bird said. "Jamaal's been great for us. Unfortunately, he's been injured from time to time. He's still a great basketball player, but Jimmy's right. We're probably going in a different direction." Tinsley has three years and $21 million left on his contract. Price For Posey Looks On The Rise The price for highly-coveted free agent forward James Posey appears to be on the rise, according to The Boston Herald. Posey's agent, Mark Bartelstein, said on Wednesday night that he hoped to have something done in the next 48 hours. According to league sources the Celtics are willing to offer him the full midlevel exception, but with Corey Maggette off the market (Warriors) several teams are expected to increase their offer for Posey.