Category: Here & There

ThunderCats Are Back With A New 2011 TV series

Of all the animated series I watched as a kid back in the 80′s, ThunderCats was probably the one I enjoyed the most, and that popped up first in my mind whenever I took a little trip down memory lane throughout the years.

I’m not sure what it was exactly that fascinated me about it all and what got me so hooked on it and attached to the different characters and storyline; but it’s safe to say that it stuck to me, and still is to this day in some way; in fact, one of my favorite t-shirts that I wear whenever I can is a ThunderCats shirt I bought a few years back from an HMV store.

Enough about the past though, let’s return to the present; the ThunderCats are back!
Yes, Warner Bros. Animation have rebooted the series with animation provided by the Japanese Studio 4°C, and it’s currently airing on the Cartoon Network every Friday night.

I realized this after the series had already started, and only got to catch up with all the 7 episodes that have been aired so far this past weekend. And it was really fun watching it; the little boy in me just loved it!

Initially I was afraid they’d mess it all up and ruin it for me and other fans, but I have to say they’ve done quite a good job with it. The only thing that irked me a bit is the new look the different characters got, I like their looks from the original series much better; in this version they all have this Japanese anime elf-like look, which is annoying and doesn’t fit some of the characters at all (especially Lion-O and Cheetara).

Other than that though, it’s really good and fun; they took the story back and gave the characters more history and personality, developing the story slightly differently than the original, but still in an interesting way, where instead of the Cats being stranded on a new planet as in the original, they actually rule Third Earth and are seen by some as the powerful oppressors, who are attacked and their city of Thundera targeted and destroyed.

The story at this point follows Lion-O as he takes on the role of King after the passing of his father, and as he goes on a quest to find the Book of Omens.

Another great thing about this new 2011 series is that I got to introduce my 5 year old son Adam to it, and he just loved it too. In fact, as I was writing this he saw the image I included above and started asking if we could watch some other episodes of ThunderCats today.

At the end of this post, all I can say is that I really enjoyed watching the new series and will be making sure to watch the new episodes every week.

As for you dear reader, if you were a fan of ThunderCats in the 80′s, then you should definitely check this out; if you weren’t, well this is your chance to redeem yourself and discover a great series.

The Gap Between Generations

Every generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it.

– George Orwell

Simply said, but very true and represents experiences we’ve all surely had with people from the generation before us; whether parents, relatives, teachers or others; and the experiences we’re having nowadays with the generations following us, whether it’s our children, younger colleagues, students or others.

For a good time in our lives we grow up on the receiving end of this, basically getting people talking down to us from their pedestal of wisdom, without us even asking for it; it annoys us, and we mumble to ourselves as they do it, and think “What do they know? We’re smarter than them!”.

Then one day in one of our conversations with someone younger, it just hits us, we’re doing the same thing, we’re lecturing them, we’re doing the exact same thing that used to annoy us when we were younger, BUT we re-assure ourselves, we have the right to, we’re wiser than them, they don’t know what they’re getting themselves into…

It’s funny and ironic, and it perfectly represents the circle of life and how we all move through the different stages of it.

Companies And Their Bureaucracies

Most companies build their bureaucratic rules to manage the small percentage of wrong people on the bus, which in turn drives awaythe right people on the bus, which increases the need for more bureaucracy to compensate for incompetence and lack of discipline, which then further drives the right people away, and so forth.

Jim Collins, Good To Great

Getting To The Top

I studied the lives of great men and famous women, and I found that the men and women who got to the top were those who did the jobs they had in hand, with everything they had of energy and enthusiasm and hard work.

— Harry Truman, former U.S. President

I dedicate this quote to a certain someone at work that I’ve been trying to convince that the way to the top is by focusing on their job and doing it great, not obsessing about positions and money, resting assured that those things and the rest will follow automatically.

Follow Your Heart And Intuition…

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

— Steve Jobs

Arabic Version Of StartUpArabia Officially Launched

One of the points many people asked for after the official launch of StartUpArabia back in April is an Arabic version, insisting on how important they thought it was.

I couldn’t agree more, and it was always one of the main points in my plans for StartUpArabia; and so my answer was always that it was currently underway and that it would be ready soon enough.

Well that soon enough is now, and the Arabic version of StartUpArabia is officially launched here:
http://www.startuparabia.com/arabic/

There are a number of posts already available there that have been translated from the English version, and more of the older posts from the English version will be posted over time so that everyone who prefers Arabic can read them too. As for new articles and posts, they’ll mostly be posted on both English and Arabic versions of the site on the same day from now on.

I’m happy that this Arabic version is out now, mainly because it will widen the reach of the information about Arab startups, and also because I can now focus on the next side project for StartUpArabia, which should be coming soon too.

Last, but not least, I’d like to thank Eman Abu-Khadra, my wife, for her hard work with me on the Arabic version. If not for her help with the translation, this version wouldn’t exist now.

So, I leave you with: StartUpArabia – Arabic Version

Don’t hesitate to link to it and spread the word; I’d be really grateful.

Bits & Pieces

Wow, it’s been over a week since I blogged here, mainly because I’ve been very busy working on StartUpArabia, and on some new extensions and side projects for it, but also because I haven’t really been in the mood to write a well-rounded post.

This post should pretty much sum up a number of my random thoughts and some interesting links that I’d like to share.

– USA: It’s about time Hillary Clinton stopped acting foolish, it’s time for her to drop out of the race now. Barack Obama is clearly going to get the nomination, and he deserves it.

– Zimbabwe: It’s going to be a run-off now between Mugabe and Tsvangirai, even though I’m quite sure there was no need for one. Anyway, I hope there won’t be any more violence, that Morgan Tsvangirai wins and that Zimbabweans can turn a new page starting this year.

– Lebanon: What a shame! Hezbollah using their arms against Lebanese people?! Do we really need that? Thank God this situation has passed, but this has to never happen again. And would you choose a President already, for God’s sake.

– Tunisia: The Tunis Sports City project has gotten the green light from the parliament, and should be officially launched this week. It’s a huge project, only shame is that I think a lot of trees are going to have to go to make place for it.

Enough about all that though, here are some interesting links that I enjoyed and thought I’d share with you:

– Not Always Right (Funny and stupid customer quotes)
– FontStruct (Create your own fonts online)
– Geek and Poke (Funny web2.0 comics)

High Morale Makes Creativity Cheap

“In my experience, the thing that has the most significant impact on a movie’s budget — but never shows up in a budget — is morale. If you have low morale, for every $1 you spend, you get about 25 cents of value. If you have high morale, for every $1 you spend, you get about $3 of value. Companies should pay much more attention to morale.”

— Brad Bird, Pixar; ‘Pixar’s Brad Bird on fostering innovation in the workplace‘

[Via: Kottke]