Two different stories in the news recently about Pixar or their characters.
(1) Norwegian lamp company sues Disney/Pixar over Luxo Lamp character:
(Were they “hopping” mad? Sorry… heh) From the LA Times:
[i]Luxo Jr.," the squeaky desk-lamp character created by John Lasseter more than two decades ago, is in the spotlight again – this time under the glare of a transatlantic lawsuit.
The hopping swivel lamp has been a corporate mascot for Pixar Animation Studios since its founder created the character in 1986 for a short computer-animated movie that was nominated for an Academy Award. Lasseter was said to have based the character on his own Luxo lamp.
But Norwegian lamp maker Luxo isn’t happy with how Pixar and its parent company, Walt Disney Co., are using its name.
Luxo filed a lawsuit yesterday in New York federal court against Pixar and Disney accusing the companies of infringing on its copyright by selling a limited-edition “Luxo Jr.” lamp packaged with a Blu-ray version of the Disney-Pixar “Up.” The complaint also cites a new attraction at Walt Disney World that is a six-foot animatronic version of the lamp.
Oslo-based Luxo said in the complaint that the Luxo name hadn’t been used on Pixar and Disney products until now and that sale of the Pixar lamps would “cause devastating damage to Luxo and dilute the goodwill which Luxo has built up.” The company, in business since 1939, says more than 25 million of the lamps have been sold.
A spokesman for Disney said the company had not seen the complaint and could not comment.[/i]
latimesblogs.latimes.com/enterta … acter.html
(2) Buzz Lightyear Leaves the International Space Station Aboard Shuttle:
From the AP:
[i]CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The farewell hugs and handshakes are over. Now all that’s left for the crews of the space shuttle and space station is the release of the docking latches.
Discovery will pull away from the international space station Tuesday afternoon, ending a resupply visit that spanned just over a week. The shuttle will bring home seven astronauts and a Buzz Lightyear doll that was launched last year.
The hatches between the spacecraft were closed late Monday.
The 12-inch action figure of Buzz Lightyear has been at the international space station for more than a year.
Mission Control asked Discovery’s crew to do a final check to make certain Buzz was safely stowed on the shuttle, before the hatches between the linked spacecraft were sealed late Monday night. The shuttle will depart Tuesday.
NASA also was tracking another threatening piece of space junk, but did not think the orbiting outpost would have to steer clear.
The Buzz Lightyear toy kept a relatively low profile at the space station following its June 2008 arrival, but was pulled out for extensive filming over the past week. Some of the movie scenes: Buzz going to sleep with an astronaut who lets go, causing the doll to float away and hit a wall, and Buzz flying through a chamber followed by a real spaceman.
NASA said the video will be used in an educational outreach effort for children and have a “Toy Story” movie spin.
As for Buzz, a Walt Disney World spokesman said the toy will take part in “several debriefing sessions” and then a ticker tape parade with Apollo 11 moonwalker Buzz Aldrin at the beginning of October. The spokesman said Buzz has become “the longest serving astronaut in space.”
Late Monday, the 13 human astronauts accomplished one last major job together before parting company.
A moving van holding a ton of trash and discarded equipment was moved back aboard Discovery, with the use of a hefty robot arm. The van was delivered by the shuttle, fully loaded with supplies, and moved onto the international space station one week ago.
The two crews — seven on the shuttle and six on the station — hugged and shook hands as they said goodbye. “Have a safe trip and have a safe landing, guys,” said the station’s skipper, Russian Gennady Padalka.
Meanwhile, the latest piece of menacing space debris is from a Chinese satellite blasted by a missile in a 2007 test. It was expected to fly near the space station early Wednesday.
Flight director Tony Ceccacci did not know the size of the fragment, but he noted that early projections put the closest approach at 15 miles. A massive piece of an old rocket passed less than a mile from the shuttle-station complex Friday, but required no dodging.
In a series of Labor Day interviews, shuttle astronaut Jose Hernandez said his presence in space “means hope for all our people that speak Spanish.” He grew up in a migrant worker family from Mexico.
“If you work hard and study hard, any dream can be achieved,” Hernandez said in Spanish, “and I am the proof of that because I started (with) very little means.”
The space station’s new resident, Nicole Stott, said she’s looking forward to gazing down at her home state of Florida and the rest of the planet over the next three months. She took up a watercolor kit to paint what she sees.
She said the artwork might not be that good, “but it will certainly be fun for me to try.”
Stott flew up on Discovery as the replacement for Timothy Kopra, who has been in orbit since mid-July. Kopra will return to Earth on Thursday, along with the six other shuttle astronauts and, of course, Buzz.[/i]