Uri Geller sues Nintendo's Pokemon 269
The-Forge writes "In this article at IGN's Sci-Fi Network, everyone's favorite spoon bending psychic, Uri Geller, is sueing Nintendo over a Pokemon charcter. The Pokemon, #65, is named Alakazam. At this point, you're probably asking yourself why. In Japan this Pokemon is called Un-Geller and carries bent spoons around all the time. And the fact that Geller got mobbed when he went X-Mas shopping in Tokyo by kids wanting him to sign their Un-Geller Pokemon cards didn't help much either. " The great part of this whole deal is the dollar amount - Geller's asking for $97 million.
Geller is a fraud... (Score:2)
Maybe it will slow it down! (Score:1)
Opportunistic fake (Score:2)
Uri Geller is a fake. He's an opportunist. He's doing this for the money. He's described as a real-life spoonbender, which he may well be. But he does it using regular, non-psychic methods.
Another patent idea?? (Score:1)
win or lose? depends... (Score:1)
similarity (Score:5)
uh (Score:1)
I'm going to sue! (Score:1)
Because of their character charmander:
After I eat lots of curry my arse is on fire too.
You hate to see guys like this win, but... (Score:3)
Anyway, as much as I hate to say it, Uri Geller clearly has a case here, and he ought to win, but $97 is far too much. Yes, Pokemon has been a huge moneymaker, but how much of that can be attributed to that one, single Pokemon? If it was Pikachu, maybe, but Un Geller? No way.
Best thing that ever happened to him (Score:2)
hmmm... (Score:2)
C'mon i'm sure there's enough
Gotta sue 'em all!
"I wish I was Uri G . . . " (Score:3)
Besides, there's a little thing known as Fair Use. Ask Negativland [negativland.com] . . . they've been fighting this battle longer than anyone I personally know. Don't get me wrong, I've nothing against suing the Big Evil Corporation(tm), but I DO have something against frivolous lawsuits.
oh yeah, vote for me for best dressed
Ooops. (Score:2)
Makes me mad so it does. (Score:1)
"Some smegger's filled in this 'Have You Got A Good Memory?' quiz!"
Arent we forgetting a very important detail? (Score:1)
Re:Opportunistic fake (Score:1)
He proceeded up with some weird excuse and didn't even try to bend the spoons. Sure, take away his props, and suddenly he can't perform his magic tricks.
Conspiracy (Score:5)
Picture if you would a grotesque little monster with greying hair named Clintoboinko that defeats his opponents by whipping out his... umm... on second thought, actually, don't picture that.
This is old hat for Geller (Score:4)
--Jim
He already won! (Score:4)
So we can all go home now...lawyers step aside, he is obviously more than you can handle.
URI GELLER IS A ***FRAUD*** (Score:2)
He's actually a former -- lame! -- magician. Since he was'nt skilled enough to do it the honest way, he pretended to do it by supranatural power. This way, he got fame, money, girls ... And HE'S A FRAUD. The magic community is laughing at him. The bent spoon is an ultra easy trick. You can do that really simply with shape-memory (don't know the english term for it) material.
A group of french skeptics are offering $20000 to anybody who will be able to bent THEIR spoon, which is placed inside a sealed glass tube, without opening / breaking the tube. Oddly, Uri Fraud Geller never tried to do it!!!!
What is our Capitalistic Monarchy coming too? (Score:1)
Re:Geller is a fraud... (Score:1)
Un(in)formed thoughts (Score:1)
Oh and as for everyone quoting The Matrix, I give you The Tick: Spooooooooooooooooon!
Re:Opportunistic fake (Score:3)
1. material scientists have repeatedly analysed his bent spoons and found deformations caused by fracture (i.e., he bends the spoon with his hands), not by melting (as he claims).
2. he has never been able to repeat his claims under proper scientific conditions. apparently one time, he stormed out and never came back again.
3. various entertainers have demonstrated how they too can bend spoons. once you have got it slightly bent, you just raise the angle of the spoon keeping the end as the pivot in the same place (or something) and voila: optical illusion!
4. to get the initial bend, you grab the spoon quickly in two hands and bend it. on footage (including the impromptu noels house party), geller has repeatedly been shown a quick slight of his other hand before he starts to "bend" the spoon, i.e., perform the optical illusion #3.
5. i read how he has set up his own "consultancy" business where he will bring your business good luck. i heard how some business was unfortunate enough to employ him, and he didn't find any oil spots for them on the island they were looking at (which is what they employed him to do), yet he lists it as one of his successes on his website (which I haven't visited).
6. he is blatantly out to make money. i always deliberately avoid reading his column "uri geller's wierd web" (although i cannot avoid reading the title!) in the times' computer magazine.
7. most obviously to me ... in his FIRST TV performance, they were asking him something like, if he could really, truly, bend spoons. WATCH HIS BODY LANGUAGE. he raises his hand just above his mouth in response to this question. in ANY BASIC BOOK ON BODY LANGUAGE, THIS INDICATES THE PERSON IS LYING! so uri geller may be deceptive in other ways, he may have even mastered the body language by now, but then he utterly and irretrievably gave himself away as a fraud.
thank you for listening. i still think that he has a right to his own name and image though and that Pokemon should get done for the lack of asking permission.
Is it coincidence? (Score:1)
Whether or not they have a legal right, I don't know... I'm not a lawyer, least of all a Japanese lawyer, but in America, it'd proably be covered under Parody clauses of Copyright laws, which basically state that you can pretty much rob someone blind of intelectual property such as names, as long as you're doing it to make fun of them.
WOOHOO!!! About 400th Post!!!
Geller's latest attempt at "Make Money Fast" (Score:1)
Suing over the Pokemon card is just another attempt of his to get rich quick. He might be on to something but I doubt it. The Pokemon card could probably be defended as a parody of Uri Geller, a public figure.
Click here [skepdic.com]. Professional skeptic, James Randi (also a shameless self promoter, but hey, at least its for a better cause) has debunked Geller in a book. He's also challenged him to perform his feats of telekinesis under controlled circumstances for a million dollar prize. Given he loves publicity and will do anything for a buck his refusal to compete for the prize speaks volumes about his credibility.
A Haiku... (Score:1)
Bastard Pokemon stole it!
Psychic whoop-ass time
Personally, I find the idea of Uri Geller being mobbed by children asking him to sign their Pokemon cards quite hilarious.
He should have seen it coming... ;)
LouZiffer
Names --> Common Words (Score:2)
It reminds me this story [indiainfo.com]: a few months ago Dr. Bernard Lewinisky (Monica's father) got upset when the TV Show Law & Order: Special Victims Unit used "lewinsky" as a colloquialism for oral sex. Annoying, but probably not actionable (at least under US law; I don't know about Japan) given proof that the name is in general use as a common word.
/.
Is is illegal? (Score:1)
And, in related news... (Score:4)
In a related development, NSI responded by immediately placing all related domain names on hold.
- -Josh Turiel
Re:This is old hat for Geller (Score:2)
Geller was awarded $1 in damages.
Paul.
Re:Opportunistic fake (Score:1)
Win-Win situation for Geller (Score:2)
"Moderation is good, in theory."
-Larry Wall
The obligatory AC Posts (Score:1)
Another
Uri
Geller
Lawsuit
Story
Pokemon sux
Pokemon rox
Pokemon sux rox
I wonder what a Beowulf cluster of Uri Gellers would be like...
[Insert your favourite "there is no spoon" quote here]
[Insert your favourite Natalie Portman naked and petrified nonsense here]
Et cetera, ad nauseam. There, I've done it for you. Now you can go home.
Geller on "Late Late Breakfast Show" (Score:2)
After a few minutes he seems to have smelt a rat, and stopped. Geller's supporters claimed that he had obviously detected the cameras by psychic powers.
Paul.
Re:Geller is a fraud... (Score:2)
BTW, I'm assuming that Un-Geller straightens spoons, right? 7:^)
ya right. (Score:3)
Re:Conspiracy (Score:1)
I hope the judge sentences him to death. (Score:1)
97 Million Dollars? (Score:1)
He _bends spoons_ for a living! Is he gonna sue the Wachowski Bros too for the little bald kid?
Some thoughts (Score:3)
IMHO, if you create a fictional character with a very similar name, and various hallmarks that clearly identify the original person, then you have a clear-cut case of misuse of that person's name, unless they've given permission. You can't get away with saying "any resemblance of real people, living or dead, is coincidental", if there is good reason to believe that that is so much bullshit.
Now, I'm not standing up and saying "all hail the great and wonderful Gellar!". What I =AM= saying is that the law must apply to EVERYONE, EQUALLY, or it's no law at all. If Uri Gellar feels that his character has been seriously besmirched, or that Nintendo has sought to profiteer off a celebrity's image without permission or recompense then I say "go for it!".
Nobody should be allowed to covertly or overtly profit off another's name, no matter WHAT people think of that name. To profit like that is flat-out WRONG, and Nintendo deserve everything they get for it. $97 million seems odd, though. Surely a round figure would be better. $100 million sounds much more impressive.
Geller's objection (Score:1)
Spoon bendind method patented (Score:2)
RUSSIA, Nov. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading spoon bender Yuri Geller has been awarded a patent for its innovative 1-glance spoon bending method, wich allows one who uses this technique to easily bend spoons. It is rumored that Geller is going IPO. The market is waiting anxiously.
In other news, Geller is going to sue Matrix movie makers, because of that famous Matrix scene, in wich a boy teaches Neo how to bend spoons.
-"This is an obvious infingiment of my patent" -angrily said Mr. Geller.
Re:Arent we forgetting a very important detail? (Score:1)
Re:Arent we forgetting a very important detail? (Score:1)
Re:Some thoughts (Score:1)
But of course you read the article, or you wouldn't be posting a comment about it, would you...?
Two wrongs don't make a right.... (Score:1)
Nobody really knows this beside Geller, and that's beside the point.
There two important facts here:
1. People have the right not to be depicted as a little orange monster by a multibillion dollar multinational organisation.
2. $97 Million has more to do with greed than about redressing one's violated rights.
If Mr Geller really wants to make a point, I suggest that he declares that if he wins, he will donate the money to charity.
Re:Conspiracy (Score:1)
Picture if you would a grotesque little monster with greying hair named Clintoboinko that defeats his opponents by whipping out his...
On the other hand, wouldn't it be nice to have a Bill-Gates-like character? Maybe serving as a dart target or for vodoo porpouses...
-------------------------
Geller is trying to promote his book (Score:1)
Anyway, Mr. Geller is simply looking for publicity. He's got a book on psychic healing (or something equally stupid) and nobody noticed, so he's decided to up the ante by suing someone.
. . . and while I'm at it, why hasn't he sued Buffy? Isn't her last name Gellar? Sounds like infringement to me!
Re:Some thoughts (Score:1)
Re:Geller is a fraud... (Score:2)
Are you sure 'Un' and 'Uri' can be mistaken for one another in katakana?
No, he means that an OCR program could mistake the Roman characters "ri" for an "n" and vice versa.
However, the "n" and "ri" characters in katakana are strikingly similar. When I first got interested in Japanese writing, I couldn't tell the two apart. To turn a "ri" into an "n", just tilt the little line in the upper-left corner so it points inward and straighten the longer line that runs from the upper-right to lower-left corners.
Sometimes Roman characters are used in Japanese writing for abbreviations, English names, and other uses. I've got a Japanese poster listing of all 75 of the Pokémon, and, yes, the names are in katakana.
Re:You hate to see guys like this win, but... (Score:2)
Somebody had to say it (Score:1)
Re:And, in related news... (Score:1)
that's so true, who really watches the WB anyways? its like the black hole of the entertainment field.
Geller is a fraud, but a fraud w/ a case (Score:1)
Nintendo's a big target (Score:2)
What's the matter, Mr. Geller? Bending spoons not as lucrative living as it used to be? Trying to move up to bending corporations? Really, if you don't want media attention, you shouldn't fucking bend spoons for a living. That was supposed to be the whole idea, wasn't it?
Re:Some thoughts (Score:2)
On the other hand, doing this for profit might work against them...
Yet another death toll for Pokemon (Score:3)
- The last Pokemon show has aired in Japan, bringing the total to about 160 some episodes. Warner Bros. current have the rights to about 100+ of those, and will probably get the rest as 4Kids translates them. However, there's only a limited number of episodes left; unlike certain other TV shows in the states that get run into the ground (The Simpsons, for example), the show had a story arc, and it finished it and ended.
- Pokemon have been reported as tools of the devil, etc etc, by a number of critics.
- Pokemon toys was the big hit this Christmas. There's yet to have been a single popular toy to continue dominating Christmas sales two years in a row. Anyone remember Cabbage Patch Dolls, Tamagachi, or Furbys?
- Pokemon card trading has been banned from many schools because students spent more time doing that than learning.
- A wrongful death lawsuit may be brought against Pokemon and has forced the recall of millions of pokemon toys: a toddler suffocated to death when she placed half of a Pokeball that came from Burger King over her nose and mouth, and couldn't breath.
- Pokemon, the cartoon, is overplayed way too much on WB networks: Pokemon's on about 7 to 9 times (depending on the weekend schedules) on the WB network, and so far, WB's only had 60-some episodes to rotate through. Doesn't take a math genius to see how fast it would take to get boring.
- "Pokemon the First Movie" was a practical failure in the states: sure, it got a profit for the WB as they spent nearly nothing to get it, but compared to something like Toy Story 2, it did not get a lot of return viewers as some were expecting.
- Pokemon's been spoofed by MAD and South Park.
:D.
It's not that Pokemon is bad, but it was pushed in our faces to the point where you could not ignore it, and now people are getting disgusted with the entier concept and are now fighting back.Re:Blackmail (Score:1)
Not true for any multinational like Nintendo or Sony. Besides, there is no suit in the US (since the US version of the card isn't named after him).
Re:Geller is trying to promote his book (Score:1)
Re:Opportunistic fake (Score:1)
Yep. IIRC Reading Football Club (football in the original sense of the word; the beautiful game. Not that USA razzamatazz with 50 heavy dudes in protective harnesses prancing around like they were athletes or something...). Still, last I checked, Reading FC weren't in any danger of threatening the Premier division... Or even anywhere near even being in that division, either...
Take a hint from Carl Sagan and Apple... (Score:1)
Re:Arent we forgetting a very important detail? (Score:1)
Justice should not be a lottery. (Score:1)
1. It is just that Geller should win the suit if they did not make the appropriate contacts.
2. It would also be just for Geller to be slapped with a frivelous filing of suit given the amount of money he is asking. My first response to this story was "Who the heck is Uri Geller?" If the character had been "Pizza the Hut" and it had a red roof looking top half, ok maybe there is a reason for there to be alot of money because the business has a ton of face time with the world and they have paid for that face time. It would be more interesting if the jury was allowed to set damages in cases like this rather than the plaintif.
Re:similarity (Score:1)
Considering there is no letter L in Japanese... (Score:1)
Re:Opportunistic fake (Score:2)
C'mon, if you've seen David Copperfield or Penn and Teller you've seen much more impressive illusions and didn't believe they were the results of "psychic powers". Why would you believe it of Geller?
It wont... (Score:2)
Secondly, Uri should be happy he is getting all this publicity. I am an avid Pokemon television show watcher, and I loved the movie. If it weren't for Pokemon, and this story I would have no idea who Uri Geller was. Now I think he is cool b/c he is modeled after my favorite pokemon.
Re:similarity (Score:3)
I would suggest the character carries around pre-bent spoons, but then Mr Geller's lawyers would be after me, too
--
What about Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee? (Score:2)
Do you think Marcel Marceau could sue over the pokemon called Mr. Mime?
Also, Alakazam is the third evolution of the pokemon. The earlier forms are called Abra and Kadabra in English, I wonder what their Japanese names are and if they have anything to do with other con artists.
I only know about pokemon because I have a four year old!
Re:You hate to see guys like this win, but... (Score:2)
*patriotic*
I love my country but
*/patriotic*
*rant*
I really really don't like our twisted justice system much anymore.
*/rant*
Uri Geller is a nobody. He is probably not too well off. Poke'mon is a huge franchise with plenty of money, and is very famous.
Maybe the Poke'mon creators were really trying to have this pun on his name, but puh-lease... $97mil? Maybe a public apology or something but don't be a baby.
This is the kind of stuff that lends our legal system to ridicule. I sincerely hope that the judge who fields this case gets a good laugh out of it and soundly spanks Uri for being a bit of a twit.
Of course, I'm no friend of the Pokemon's, either... but one character out of 150 has a bent spoon and you can sue them for it? *sigh*
Do you think they sue like this in Costa Rica? I've been considering moving...
----- if ($anyone_cares) {print "Just Another Perl Newbie"}
Re:Win-Win situation for Geller (Score:2)
I saw the price in E.B. the other day -- $2.50 / pack -- and only 8 come in a pack? Does anyone remember paying even close to that much for baseball cards? Okay, so I'm 20, and packs of baseball cards only costed $.50 - $1.50 when I was collecting, but you got 15, and until around '90, a stick of gum..
Nintendo is making more than enough money on this case to pay him off over and over again. Not that I care either way who wins this -- a corrupt wanna-be psychic who discovered a neat trick while he was a child, or a corrupt company who's business practices makes Microsoft look saintly.
Re:You hate to see guys like this win, but... (Score:2)
For sure. But is it our (I assume you me the US) system that will be subject to ridicule or Japan's?
Anyone know where the suit is filed? Isn't Nintendo a Japanese company? Please fill us in on how that works - do you file suit in a US court against a foreign company, or do you have to go to court in that company's country?
(then again, there *is* a "Nintendo America" subsidiary that is based in the US and presumably subject to US legal jurisdiction?)
Oh, wait - no the article says he is suing for 60 million *pounds*. Does that imply that he's filed suit in the UK? If so, I think "our justice system" isn't going to become part of this?
>but one character out of 150 has a bent spoon and you can sue them for it? *sigh*
Yeah, but the article says he once tried to sue timex for a commercial where a psychic tried to destroy a watch. Sounds like publicity stunts to me?
Re:Win-Win situation for Geller (Score:2)
Dude, you were obviously *not* around for the Magic: The Gathering craze.
God, I don't want to know how much money I spent on those things....
Hell, I remember buying 3-4 *boxes* of cards at a time. I really should get together with some guys and play the game again. I haven't touched the cards in about 3 years.
Re:You hate to see guys like this win, but... (Score:4)
There IS no spoon! (Score:2)
Apparently, the sci-fi hit sequels were rumored to involve reviving stopped watches and taking photographs without first taking off the lens cover. Slinky Carrie Ann Moss was also to be featured wearing a skin-tight aura of bio-energy.
Actor Keanu Reeves was quoted as saying: "Whoa.."
But... (Score:2)
Re:Nintendo's a big target (Score:2)
Identity theft?
Re:hmmm... (Score:2)
Only if you also change your voice box so that you only communicate by saying your name (or parts thereof) with various inflections.
Look, Ma, a link! (Score:3)
Re:What about Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee? (Score:2)
Re:You hate to see guys like this win, but... (Score:2)
Yeah, maybe more like US$0.97 ??
Actually, he is suing (according to the article) for 60 million pounds (which works out to what, like $97 million?) Still way to much, though. Maybe when he wins again he'll get another huge award like the one buck he got previously (or, should that be one quid?)
He has a legal basis for a suit (Score:2)
Uri Gellar has a right to sue Nintendo of Japan. Everyone of the Pokémon names is trademarked (at least here in the U.S.), and the fact that the Pokémon is named Ungellar in Japanese obviously isn't coincidental. As has been previously stated, the katakana glyphs for Ri and N are strikingly similar. It can therefore be determined that Nintendo's name 'Ungellar' was a play on Uri Gellar's name. Mr. Gellar obviously would have a winning suit if not for the international complications.
Gellar cannot sue Nintendo of America - that Pokémon is called Alakazam here and a simple "He bends spoons too!" suit would not hold up in a civil court. The only way for Gellar to get money would be to sue Nintendo of Japan, and then you obviously have international trademark and copyright law coming into play with every one of the Pokémon names being trademarked (at least in the U.S.)
With all the difficulties that are inherent of an international suit, I doubt that he'll get the money, even though he probably deserves it.
Re:Poorly animated crap (Score:2)
I see a lot of good character traits displayed in the three principles - strength, compassion, dedication, respect for nature and living things, selflessness, good personal freindship and other things that I consider to be a positive message for my kids to watch. A lot better than a show like Dragon Ballz that is pure violence.
The thing that I do hate about this whole frachise is the endless merchandise tie-ins. A couple posters, some cards and the occasional t-shirt to go with the tv show and the video game would be allright, what kills me is the endless Burger-King promotions, 12 different varieties of plastic or stuffed dolls, the stickers, board games, bed sheets and underwear that is constantly shoved in my kids' faces.
No, I don't buy each and every one of these things for my kids, of course not. My son likes the cards, my daughter the stuffed dolls, not too much beyond that. Its the neverending 'gotta catch 'em all' mentality with 150+ of these things that kinda wears thin real fast.
To summarize:
Badly animated -- about on par with average stuff we watched growing up.
Empty, worthless crap -- not in my opinion. Not the best stuff for my kids to watch (PBS, Discovery Kids and the Learning Channel are on a *lot* in my house) but far from the worst. Fairly entertaining with positive message.
Over-hyped merchandising machine -- without a doubt.
Added bonus -- the identical female characters of Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny as a running gag in the series is actually kinda funny.
total score - 3 out of 5
Re:What about Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee? (Score:2)
Yeah, that's the excuse I use! I have 3 year old daughter and 6 year old son who really like the show, but I gotta admit that I watch it with them and try to keep up on which Poke'mon evolves into what and keep track of how many Gym Badges Ash has.
Sucks though that the WB station here in Chicago shows the episodes all out of order. They air it twice each weekday and probably 3 times over the weekend. They mix current episodes with older ones and it's confusing as hell.
It's one of my "Guilty Pleasures". I always use the excuse that I watch the show with my kids and that's the only reason I know anything about it - but a couple weeks ago my wife took the kids out to the library early in the morning and came home to find me sitting in the kitchen sipping coffee and eating breakfast cereal with the show on.
There's something really fun about being the only adult in a room full of first graders that 'gets' poke'mon. They seem facinated by "Andrew's Dad" who has a Pikachu keychain and understands what they are talkingabout when they debate the relative coolness of Mewtwo and Mew. Blew their minds when they asked me what was my favorite Poke'mon and I answered "Jiggly-Puff - he's the one that puts everyone to sleep when he sings and then gets mad and scribbles on everyone's faces."
In some wierd way its kind of a prestige thing for my son. All of his 1st grade classmates are really impressed.
Pokemon is a video game, and other game TV (Score:2)
So the TV show is over, and the toys won't be popular Christmas 2000. If the past proves predictive, we'll be looking forward to more Pokemon gaming excitement for the next 10 years-no matter if there's an anime attached or not.
Re:What about Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee? (Score:2)
It IS great, getting dirty looks from the neighbor-kids' parents when I "steal" their kids on the simple virtue that I have a clue who or what a Rhydon is.
Here's a good joke to play: I've convinced my kids, and their friends that there is a new type of Pokemon out there, that is going to be in the TV show someday, but there are no cards for this one, and it's not in the Nintendo game. It's called "Redrum", (for those of you that have seen "The Shining") and it talks with it's finger. It's a riot to see a bunch of kids running around, saying "REDRUM! REDRUM!" in gruff voices, wiggling their index fingers, just like the kid in the movie. . . I'd really like for this to become a nationwide phenomenon, just remember, when CNN is asking, from whence did this "Redrum" thing appear. .
I wish I had a nickel for every time someone said "Information wants to be free".
Ack! The trolls are getting to me! (Score:2)
Uri Geller sues Natalie Portman
Only for a split-second, mind you.
If I had telekenetic powers... (Score:2)
--
It's October 6th. Where's W2K? Over the horizon again, eh?
Re:Poorly animated crap (Score:2)
this is the part that bothers me the most. Training kids to be good little consumers. "You'll be happy if you just have this doll...and this one...and this one, etc." I'm seriously thinking that a universal ban on advertising to children under 12 would be a grand idea, isn't it like that in some countries? Children don't have the abstract reasoning needed to see past the actors in commercials, or the need to question what they are told (especially at loud volume). In the end you get Pokemon, which is, IMHO, Japanese for "blind consumerism".
Re:Opportunistic fake (Score:2)
If you can find it consistently, contact the James Randi Educational Foundation [randi.org] and demonstrate your powers and they will give you a million dollars [randi.org]! Though you should probably read their page on dowsing [randi.org] first to learn why no one's been able to do this.
Re:Opportunistic fake (Score:2)
Re:You hate to see guys like this win, but... (Score:2)
Maybe the scientologists are just too thick-skulled to get it.
"Hey Nicole, look at the stupid leader!"
Re:similarity (Score:2)
Uri could have really just nipped this in the bud by remotly destroying all the cards, but as he usually states he's 'a believer in love' and probably woudn't do that to the kids.
I'm pretty sure Pikachu could take him in a fight, release the electric hamster I say.
People /. doesn't like have no rights (Score:3)
Does he so challenge you average slashdotters wordview they agree that he's an ass (which he probably is) but an ass that doesn't deserve his own day in court?
Its an obvious rip-off and the 'bad guy' here are the practices of corporation who have mastered marketing to CHILDREN. Now thats pathetic, at least Uri can make adults look slack-jawed and goofy when he takes their watch and changes it to GMT. But commercializing crap aimed towards the under 10 market is evil incarnate.
Now Pokemon's masters not satisfied with world domination start fucking around with some guy (regardless of who he is) trademark act AND name.
Boo hoo slashdotters cry, Uri is psychic he has no rights lets make fun of him cause we're all so smart and hip to the materistic worldview he challenges through a freaking stageshow.
Its infringement plain and simple. Even if he's litigation crazy he might actually be right one time. Scary I know, its called justice. Can you guys stop being prejudice for 1 minute to read about the issue?
If he was suing MS, I'm sure we'd have a gaggle of pro-MS geeks crawling out of the woodwork.
Re:You hate to see guys like this win, but... (Score:2)
So what is Uri is playing the 'real magic' card game? He knows modern skeptical audiences have trouble suspending disbelief so he puts on the airs of the old 'spritualist.'
Most, from what I've read, slashdotters giant egos and dogmatic materialistic worldviews can't even face competition from even Uri's lame old and tired shtick.
Its just a shame that most of the posters can't look past their own prejudices in this case. From a group of people who make efforts to investigate the degradation of rights when it comes to tech and big business this is a refreshing insight into the mentality of US vs. THEM.
Maybe rights on-line should be renamed rights on-line for geeks only, flakey people need not apply.
Re:You hate to see guys like this win, but... (Score:2)
Everyone knows he's 'fake' but go to his shows for kicks. Unfortunatly the ultra-sensitive giant egos of slashdot can't remotely handle anything the might even come close to challenging their materistic worldview so they come out complaing and actually ROOTING for the big corporations who do as they please. Sad.
What does money mean in today's judicial system?
Lets see, some old crone spills Mcdonalds coffee on her cooter - MULTIMILLIONS.
Or how about the oft told story of the theif who breaks into a hour, hurts himself in the process, and sues the ownder for - MULTIMILLIONS.
Its mostly bullshit and intimidation, lawyers pick a big number hoping to scare the defendant or impress the jury. In has no relation to money you and I use everyday.
Spoonbending and The Matrix (Score:2)
There Is No Spoon
Re:Poorly animated crap (Score:2)
This is my tactic as well. My wife doesn't understand why I let my kids turn on shows like Cow and Chicken, Ed Edd and Eddy and Two Stupid Dogs only to sit there and constantly bitch about how bad it is. I'm trying to pass on my sense of what is good to watch and what is crap so they'll learn to distinguish for themselves. Beats just telling them 'no' and snapping off the program. That just makes them more intrigued.
When we turn on the learning channel and dad sits there and says 'wow, that's cool, huh?' they seem to pick up on it and pay more attention to the show. If my son is going to insist on flipping Johnny Bravo for 1/2 hour, I don't begrudge him that. Sometimes you do need a short amount of mindless crap to just veg out.
Re:You hate to see guys like this win, but... (Score:2)