hopefully all the ice they bring out on stage melts and floods the opera house

I lol'd.

I guarantee there will be someone in a sad polar bear costume, to represent the cartoon in his movie. Maybe it will sing.

this is just capitalism, whts the big deal? you gotta brand yourself these days to make it.

it opera, it video games, it websites, it toys, it books, it the placemat... just like spaceballs.

Haha, I agree with you ananzi. If this stupid opera can sell, then it should earn money. It should just be billed as fiction, just like the movie.

So this post has very little to do with the actual act of converting the movie/travelling show into an opera, and more to do with the fact that your just sooo eager to let everyone know you don't believe in Global Warming as described by Gore and other various scientists.......?

On a side note: Ananzi, obviously Brooks had much more of a firm grasp on concept of moichandizing than these guys do. Trying to create a brand through adapting it to an Opera?! A musical would be laughable, but this is ludicrous! If the goal is to create a brand that the opera going crowd is going to buy into, then converting it to an opera is probably the last thing you would want to do.

mr chaos... under capitalism, you can call it whatever you want, without interference from evil government regulation, or arrogant elitists arguing over what is 'fact' and what is 'fiction'. what do you want us to do, go around slapping 'fiction' labels on the bibles? that is the logical conclusion of your argument. no. under capitalism, we should not label works like inconv. truth. as fiction, we should label them whatever sells the best and brings the most income to the creator of that work. not have the thought police running around telling us what is true and what isnt.

snax_28: the goal? wait what is the goal? what is the opera crowd into then?

Good question. I'm hardly one to speak for the opera-going crowd, but I would speculate that some cheesy adaptation (I can't see it being pulled off any other way) of a contemporary multimedia presentation would hardly endear them to either the producers or the issue at hand (if they were not already decided one way or another).

Although they're likely not aiming this at the opera crowd anyway. The premier (is that what you call an opera opening?) is going to packed with rich hollywood types and rich liberals. Pfooey.

And yes, I think the Bible should come with a warning label. I'm sure you've all seen this...

Snax, maybe if that goes on the Bible it should go on the Quran, too. Or on any book that has any ideology in it that someone somewhere might possibly take to an extreme and use as an excuse for their pre-existing psychological disorders.

ananzi: You know very well Bibles typically are put in their own section with other religious books at bookstores. There's more parallel than you think, since Environmentalism has become a fanatical religion itself, with the IPCC reports serving as scripture, and Algore is their prophet.

I'm not the only one who thinks so, or that it is the new home of socialism. I've already posted some examples, and here's a new one from Freeman Dyson; and though I don't completely agree with him politically I think we can all agree is a "respectable scientist:"

"All the books that I have seen about the science and economics of global warming ... miss the main point. The main point is religious rather than scientific.

"There is a worldwide secular religion which we may call environmentalism, holding that we are stewards of the earth, that despoiling the planet with waste products of our luxurious living is a sin, and that the path of righteousness is to live as frugally as possible.

"The ethics of environmentalism are being taught to children in kindergartens, schools, and colleges all over the world.

"Environmentalism has replaced socialism as the leading secular religion. And the ethics of environmentalism are fundamentally sound. Scientists and economists can agree with Buddhist monks and Christian activists that ruthless destruction of natural habitats is evil and careful preservation of birds and butterflies is good.

"The worldwide community of environmentalists -- most of whom are not scientists -- holds the moral high ground, and is guiding human societies toward a hopeful future. Environmentalism, as a religion of hope and respect for nature, is here to stay. This is a religion that we can all share, whether or not we believe that global warming is harmful.

"Unfortunately, some members of the environmental movement have also adopted as an article of faith the belief that global warming is the greatest threat to the ecology of our planet. That is one reason why the arguments about global warming have become bitter and passionate.

"Much of the public has come to believe that anyone who is skeptical about the dangers of global warming is an enemy of the environment. The skeptics now have the difficult task of convincing the public that the opposite is true.

"Many of the skeptics are passionate environmentalists. They are horrified to see the obsession with global warming distracting public attention from what they see as more serious and more immediate dangers to the planet, including problems of nuclear weaponry, environmental degradation, and social injustice.

"Whether they turn out to be right or wrong, their arguments on these issues deserve to be heard."

The original article is very long, but can be found here.

We should consider applying so-called "separation of church and state" to get the government to stop telling us how to run our lives, right down to what light bulbs are acceptable.

Sounds fair to me. Although I don't think you guys need any more reasons to piss off the rest of the world. That and considering a warning label would only possibly be accepted in North America and parts of Europe, in the places it would be needed most there's no chance...

As per the rest of your post: If you're so worried about global warming fanatics wasting your tax dollars, why do you spend so much time posting in a forum dedicated to an online video game? And if your such an environmentalist, why the hell would you be worried about the government saying you should use fluorescent bulbs over tungsten?

Well, I know you guys, and the debate keeps me sharp, so I post here. I don't think I'm changing the world by posting here.

You do know about the mercury in the fluorescent bulbs, right? Surely you do. Also, there's the principle of the matter. It's a symbolic act against an imagined fear, and I resent that my president fell for that bill. The bill was a trap: If he didn't sign it, he of course hates the environment (it wasn't an energy bill, there was no energy in it! It was a socialism bill), and now that he signed a bill mandating something that won't ever actually be enforced, I predict there will be a couple senators who bravely work to overturn this "Bush energy bill," and our new president, whichever of the three Democrats it happens to be, gets to be the hero and sign it. Never mind that Bush had nothing to do with writing the bill, he just fell for it.

Give me a break, they contain a miniscule amount. For one who argues against misplaced fear mongering that's a little revealing.

And don't tell me the news trickles south as slowly as intelligence. You do know the race is down to two right?

Haha, of course! But Hillary hasn't actually conceded yet. I'm still hoping for some more fireworks and chaos to rip up the Democrat party. Every vote should count! Vote to keep her in the race, or at least to make her feel better about this new guy stealing her entitled place as the nominee! Poor Hillary.