Aden and I walked into the comics shop on Wednesday and the manager, without saying anything at first, barely acknowledging us, grabs a copy of Previews off the shelf and then, flipping the pages, walks over to us and says to Aden, “How did you get them to make an action figure of your boyfriend?” and he holds up the full-page advertisement for the Robin 13″ Deluxe Collector Figure (vis:
At first I just thought, since Aden is a pretty big teen superhero fan, with Robin and/or Dick Grayson being her favourite, that George was just poking a bit of fun… but then I realized that he actually thought the action figure looks like me.
I dunno. Looks kind of like Peter Gallagher had relations with a Super-marionette and spawned a colour blind gymnast.
Anyone else see a resemblance?
29/06/2007
Batman’s boy toy?
28/06/2007
My stand-up moment
Near BOBTown, there’s an aesthetics storefront with a printed up sign on letter-sized paper stating “WAXING 25% OFF”… there are funny jokes in there alone, but I like to push it to stand-up routine material
Remixed:
I was walking past an aesthetics shop and they had a sign in the window that read “BRAZILIAN WAXING 25% OFF”. I don’t know where they went to cosmetics school, but I think it’s generally known that a Brazilian should remove a lot more than just 25%”.
Okay, so I’d make a lousy comic…
A happy moment
No one told me that Roger Ebert’s back doing reviews…
There’s been a void in my internet reading cycle since Ebert underwent his surgeries last year, but damn if it doesn’t make me feel a little warm and fuzzy to know that he’s returned… even if still somewhat casually.
Welcome back…
Grrr. Argh.
Part of my job requires me to deposit our software in Escrow on the clients behalf. I have many annoying aspects to my job but this one is easily the cake taker, as it’s incredibly time intensive, kind of tedious and just nuanced enough that you actually have to pay attention to what you’re doing. When I prep the deposit, I encrypt the software before burning it to DVD. The burning process on the 30+ DVDs takes about 2 - 3 business days to do. A few days ago I discovered that the decryption key for each of the files I included on the dvd was missing, and no matter where I (or IT) looked I couldn’t find them. The end result is 30+ destroyed DVDs in the wastebin pictured below. It’s kind of pretty if it weren’t so pissant annoying.
Woa le DC et Marvel
Oh dear boy… they killed Bart Allen unceremoniously last week (I reviewed it for the raid), and it’s starting to get to some people. Even co-creator Mike Weiringo is officially unhappy with DC’s treatment of not just that character but the majority of mainstream superheroes as is. I’m pretty annoyed at the whole thing, here’s why:
- during the Infinite Crisis, DC made then-Flash Wally West disappear, and aged then Kid Flash Bart Allen four years and made him the Flash.
- DC decided to launch a new Flash book (instead of continuing the existing book) with Bart in the role, written by TV Flash creators Danny Bilson and Paul DeMeo. It sucked, and sucked hard. Uneven writing, awkward pacing, turning a fun-loving superhero into a whiny, emo college kid completely out of character.
- The writers were booted off the book after 8 issues, and if there were a consistent art team they too would have been kicked off. They then brought on writer Mark Guggenheim who was there for the sole express purpose of killing the character. He did a good job at returning Bart to a more mature version of his normal, impulsive self. But in his press junket, he spouted such lies as:
“Bart’s the Flash now… the one and only. He’s the heir to Barry and Wally’s mantle. In fact, that’s the thrust of my first issue and, at least, the initial few issues of my run. My mission statement is to firmly ensconce Bart as both the Flash and a major player in the DCU, befitting his heritage
- now he’s stating:
Yes. I always knew my run would be limited to five issues, culminating in Bart’s death in #13
- Even though issue #14 and #15 were solicited, they’re now retro-solicited as All-Flash #1 and Flash #231 (continuing with Wally West where the old numbering left off).
- Dan DiDio has stated that since issue #1, this was their trajectory. If that’s so, then why bother… why waste people’s time and money? Why lie to them? This is a terrible breach of customer confidence in their product. If they knew they only had 13 issues to work with then why didn’t they build a much better and more interesting story arc for the character, why not make the death relevant? Hell, why kill the character at all? Why not just send him back to the 31st century?
- People keep talking about how associated issue 13 of the Flash: The Fastest Man Alive is with the final reveal of the lackluster “The Lightning Saga” that ran through 2 issues of Justice Society Of America and 3 issues of Justice League of America which saw the return of Wally West thanks to the efforts of the pre-Crisis Legion of Super-Heroes. All obvious signs pointed to the return of Barry Allen, but actually further probing saw that, yes, indeed it was Wally that was summoned. And yet, this storyline has NO association with the Bart Allen Flash book. The events of one in no way impact the other. Just because one Flash comes back doesn’t mean the other had to go away. Hell, the Golden Age Flash has now lived through four generations of Flashes.
- The end of Justice League of America #10 had Braniac 5 saying that he got who he wanted, trapped within a lightning rod. The only way DC can save any face is if that’s Bart Allen he has in there, but everyone foams at the mouth saying it’s Barry Allen. If JLofA #10 and The Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #13 are actually connected, then that would have to be Bart trapped in there, otherwise that’s one very tenuous connection.
- However, as my Bart Allen-loving girlfriend has solemnly pointed out, Bart died without his powers and therefore never joined the Speed Force in his death and thus couldn’t be returned via any lighting mumbo jumbo.
- Mark Waid (now returning to Wally West the Flash) has said he’ll never bring Barry Allen back and he’ll fight DC on that if need be. Maybe he’s eating his words now?
- Barry Allen is boring… more boring than Hal Jordan. That was what his character was intended to be. Boring criminal scientist Barry Allen, always late, perpetually slow, is turned into the fastest man alive. What makes the character exciting is not his character, but the costume. Wally West, he was interesting. Young, a bit cocky, stepping into very large shoes to fill, a bit of a womanizer, at one point very rich but then very poor, troubled relationship with his parents, and with a public superhero identity. Why bring a boring scientist back when there’s that rich tapestry to work with… I don’t understand the Barry Allen love.
Anyway… that’s my scattered thoughts on the Flash for now. I need to let it rest, and see how it works out, or perhaps ignore it altogether.
meanwhile, on the micro-marvel side
Marvel’s shady dealings continue… because, you know, they’re (shock) canceling the Irredemable Ant-Man (gasp, nooooo).
Okay, I don’t read the title, but from what I’ve read about it on-line, it seems kind of interesting. It’s about a guy who discovers how to tap Hank Pym’s shrinking powers and use them for his own personal interests. He’s a bit of a cad, an asshole if you will… irredeemable so they say. A title with a not-so-likable or unsympathetic character isn’t always an easy sell so I could see why it’s facing the chopping block.
But then, I don’t actually believe it’s facing the chopping block. The news of its cancellation came this past weekend, just days before, surprise, the digest edition collecting the first six issues comes out.
In a Newsarama interview, here’s what writer Robert Kirkman has to say about the cancellation:
Frankly, with a Marvel book, the fan base is invested in the “universe” so the “core” titles, the titles that effect the universe the most, are what sell the most. You start at say, I don’t know, New Avengers and you work your way backwards. As a title begins to affect the main universe less and less, you see them appearing lower and lower on the chart. That’s pretty much how it works. That’s why company wide crossovers are so successful. It makes all the books matter.
.
True enough, but here’s the kicker:
It doesn’t have to be cancelled. If everyone went out and bought the Volume 1 Digest TPB and it sold out in a week—they’d bring the book back. Marvel’s getting a ton of mail about the book—and that’s totally cool. But buying that digest is really the thing that would make them stand up and take notice.
So this whole “Ant-Man’s being cancelled, go buy the digest to save it” is a bullshit “marketing” scheme from Marvel to try and sell more copies of the digest.
Honestly, do they think we’re stupid, or just not paying attention.
Cherry Darling
One thing I didn’t realize about Toronto is how abundant it was in cherry trees. When I lived at the Ronces I had a cherry tree there but unfortunately it was a worm-ridden tree two out of the three years that I was there, and so, despite the additional grub nutrients, I didn’t really partake in the fruitful bounty of the old tree.
There was a big storm with heavy winds on 19th which blew down a few trees in Aden’s neighbourhood… one big branch that hit the ground was loaded with cherries and that when I began to notice all the cherry trees in her neighbourhood. Testing the cherries off that branch, Aden and I knew her backyard tree would be ripe for the picking in about a week. Well, this past weekend the fruits were all red-dy (narf!), and with the wee one’s help, Aden had picked two buckets. When I arrived I picked another couple batches, much of which was dispersed to friends and co-workers.
After a few heated days, I realize the fruit wouldn’t be ripe on the branch for long, and promptly picked another bucket (each bucket probably about 3 litres), using a step-stool to reach higher on the tree and actually clearing off every branch I could reach. Of course, I didn’t go to the extent of climbing the tree (I couldn’t climb and hold the bucket at the same time…) but a good harvest it was. Now… now I’m on cherry overload.
Hurrah. It’s been a long time since I was on cherry overload.
unrelated quote
“The weed of crime bears bitter fruit you old hag”
27/06/2007
Short Rounds vol. 15 - superokay
Fearless
AKA Jet Li’s Fearless, this is, apparently, the last hurrah for Jet Li and martial arts action flicks, which I guess means that in the upcoming War, where he squares off against Jason Statham, that there’ll be no fists or kicks or wirework..? Anyway, it would be nice to say that Li went out on a high note, but Fearless doesn’t differentiate itself much from any other film where a man becomes involved in a bloodsport and triumphs (fits in well with Van Damme’s early repertoire). This has a little bit of historical story, as well as some cultural underpinnings, but still, an arena fight movie is an arena fight movie. It’s cute but never thrilling, tense or even surprising. Some nice wire work, but these kind of fantastic action moves work so much better in genre stories where people performing completely unnatural feats makes sense.
-2.5/5-
Judgement Night
I’ve seen this 1993 movie a dozen times if I’ve seen it once. The soundtrack to the film was revolutionary in its time, as hip-hop artists collaborated with heavy metal artists (think beyond Run-DMC/Aerosmith, more like the Public Enemy/Anthrax “Bring The Noise” collabo). The film’s importance pales in comparison to that, but I love this movie. Playing off the “middle class nightmare” of being stuck in the lower-class projects where those bad things you see on the news happens, the story features three middle class friend and one tag-along sibling (played by a pre-oscar Cuba Gooding Jr., Jeremy Piven, Stephen Dorff, all led by Emilio Estevez) venturing on a boys night out in a “borrowed” RV to a big fight night in Chicago when they make a wrong turn on an off-ramp and wind up in the ‘hood. There they accidentally get involved in some underworld dealings of Denis Leary and crew… and the chase begins. Completely cartoonish, but surprisingly smart and often tense, their shadow-filled surroundings and the completely alien and hostile terrain bodes harsh for the four nice boys and suck the viewer in. And the soundtrack is still pretty great.
-4/5-
True Romance
The first time I saw True Romance, I didn’t really get it. I’m certain I was in full-on Quentin Tarantino obsession at the time, having watched Pulp Fiction in the theatres six times and scarfed down Reservoir Dogs , but for all its Tarantino-isms, it didn’t feel like a Tarantino movie. Watching it these days, what it does feel like is an early Tony Scott film… that which predates his more stylized Denzel Washington fare, and postdates his Tom Cruise pap. The film itself has a sense of grandeur and mania that Scott intends but doesn’t fully capture, and listening to the Tarantino commentary, I can finally see how that vision should have played out (essentially the same movie, but with that early Tarantino convention of non-linear timeline). The deluxe edition of the film is brilliant, with commentaries from Tarantino, Scott, and a third from Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette. The bonus features consist of extended and deleted scenes, some featurettes, and scene specific commentary from folks like Brad Pitt and Val Kilmer discussing specifically the cameo roles and scenes they were in. The film is decent, aging quite well, surprisingly considering how divested in 1990’s pastiche it is, but the added features are charming and really help any hesitant viewers truly appreciate the film, if not for exactly what it is, then for what it was really trying to be.
-4/5-
Meatballs
Oy. Teen comedies have never been one of my favourite things, and I think most of the modern teen comedies, from Mean Girls, to American Pie, to even John Hughes’ 80’s repertoire owe a debt to Meatballs, a film that is an ensemble of kids of varying ages lynchpinned by the celebrity of Bill Murray. Of course it’s Murray that provides most of the funny, as the rest of the film comes together as the conventions of these films always do (with the outsider kid winning the big inter-camp competition and the nerd making out with a real life girl and the fat guy winning a food eating competition when not getting stuck in places). To be honest it’s dreck. It’s predictable, juvenile and fairly low brow, which is why it spoke so well to its target audience when it first appeared, and the films its spawned since equally do so. But for every utterly predictable scene that makes up this movie, it does walk an endearing pathway to you. Mindless, by today’s standards, harmless fun.
-2/5-
WKRP In Cincinnati - Season 1
The 1970’s weren’t exactly known for their cutting-edge comedy. George Carlin and Richard Pryor were breaking taboos and pushing the limits on what the goodly American public would accept in terms of language and humour, while the water cooler humour of Saturday Night Live (and much of its cast in their own stand-up right) stunned an unexpected audience, growing over four seasons into a star-making machine that, through its ups and downs, has pepetuated for 30 years. But the sitcoms of the era, they’re about as bland as they come, the comedy was always safe and there seemed to always be a moral to the story. Growing up a child of the 80’s my only exposure to the television of the 70’s was and remains through repeats, but aside from the Muppet Show and Welcome Back Kotter, there wasn’t much that managed to capture my interest. A group of coworkers (and one girlfriend) spouted the praises of “WKRP”, a show I never watched since I couldn’t get past the dreadful opening theme song. With the recent release of the first season on DVD (hotly anticipated by my lady) I gave it a chance, and was surprised to find it was, actually, funny. Though a few song-specific gags were lost due to the fact that generic music had to be subbed for the era-specific tunes (for which licensing rights made cost-prohibitive to secure), overall the show’s cast and atypical characters manage to push the envelope of its conventional sitcom structure.
Gordon Jump’s Arthur Carlson is easily top three classic “boss” characters (keeping pace with Steve Carrell’s Michael Scott), a reluctant, timid and lazy man who would much rather be fishing. Loni Anderson’s Jennifer Marlowe is a fascinating character, put high upon a pedestal by every man on the show, the audience likewise agrees she may be the epitome of woman. Upon first appearance she’s the classic blonde bimbo bombshell, but quickly one realizes she’s quite adeptly in control of every situation she enters, sparking as much fear as lust into men. Tim Reid’s Venus Flytrap fills the token black character position on the show, but the show not only gives him more than a token role and token characteristics, he’s also the scene stealer every single time (if only for his fantastic and vibrant polyester suits… also of note, Venus is no doubt the inspiration for Red Dwarf’s Cat).
While the season set spends about a quarter of its episodes on maudlin storylines that, for the most part, fail to generate any laughs, the brilliance of DVD is the ability to skip to the good stuff. A surprise, for me, and a most welcome return for fans.
-3.5/5-
Surface - The Complete Series
After the first season of Lost turned out to be such a blow-up success for ABC, replication of the show’s success was attempted the following season by most networks, diving head-long into genre television with such a fervor last seen 10 years prior when the X-Files began sucking up audiences globally. CBS’s Threshold had a solid cast but a tired conceit (not too dissimilar from the 4400) and faltered quickly. ABC’s Invasion was a little more well rounded but again, another “aliens amongst us” show, and too slow paced. Surface emerged as something completely different than it’s main competitors, presenting an underwater threat (as opposed to an outer space threat) that was explored via a sense of discovery, each episode revealing something more about the creatures and their effect on the planet. Conspiracies and government cover-ups played a key role, but that was only one third of the story. One story was that of a marine biologist also a single mother who strives to find the truth despite being outcasted from the community after the government uses every tactic it can to silence her. Another story saw a troubled teenaged boy discover one of the creatures eggs, only to have it hatch and the new species specimen become his pet. A third character, an insurance salesman and sport fisherman, becomes obsessed with the creatures when his brother dies during one of their fishing dives. In tone, the show is an homage to Spielberg’s works from Jaws to Close Encounters to ET without ever being completely derivative. Created by the Pate Bros. (G vs. E) the origins of Surface are unclear (some report it was originally intended as a mini-series, others say it was cut short or prematurely cancelled). The opening 8 episodes are tight and exciting, the sense of discovery as the creatures and their nature are revealed, while the following 5 feel a little too compressed comparatively, hammering out the conspiracy (governmental and corporate) as well as the origin of the species too quickly. The final episode is, simultaneously thrilling, hokey, and rushed. The series easily had another season or two’s worth of life in it, with some mysteries still left unsolved. Moreover, though, the series invested more in its lead characters than its story and not getting a satisfactory resolution to their situations is really where the show lets you down in the end… lets hope the Pate brothers explore the characters and concept in other medium (but that’s wishful thinking I know).
-4/5-
21/06/2007
As You Wish
Book: The Princess Bride by William Goldman
Purchased: (borrowed)
Cost: n/a
Pages: 283
Start reading date: June 11, 2007
Finished reading: June 20, 2007
Total days taken to read the book: 9
Average reading speed: 31pg/day
I know people who LOOOVE the movie. I’ve watched it about 5 or 6 times on television, however I always seem to miss the first 20 minutes of it. Even still, I like it, but I don’t LURVE it, you know? So I noticed the novel sitting on Aden’s shelf, pulled it down and started reading. A 20 page preamble from Goldman setting the audience up for the existence of his fictional author (Morgenstern), fictional country (Florin), and the fictional book (The Princess Bride). The detail involves the book being read to him by his father, and wanting to pass down his love of the story to his son (lots of self-deprecation about himself and his family, also likely fiction, here) only to find that the book his father read to him was an expurgated version of the overall novel. So Goldman sets himself to task to “edit” the Princess Bride into the rollicking adventure he knew as a child… and thus book follows the path of Westley and Buttercup, Buttercup and Prince Humperdinck, Buttercup and her kidnappers, the kidnappers and the man in black, the man in black and Buttercup etc. etc. Goldman “interjects” throughout to note his “childhood recollections” and to briefly detail the text that was expunged, making for an off kilter read that plays heartily into fantasy, romance and adventure tropes, while simultaneously playing with them, tounge-in-cheek like. Extremely enjoyable. The film, which I bought two days ago and watched again, is an even further pared back version of Goldman’s tale, while only hinting at it’s metafictional qualities, still enjoyable on its own right (but, yes, the book is indeed better).
20/06/2007
DC in September
The DC Comics solicitations for September went on-line the other day and, well… at one point in my life I would have been very excited, but now I’m pretty much just annoyed:
Item: COUNTDOWN 34-31
Sounds like somethings finally started to happen in Countdown, only 20 issues later!
Item: COUNTDOWN TO MYSTERY #1
Wasn’t Steve Gerber set to write a Dr. Fate book that was solicited but then pulled?
Item: COUNTDOWN PRESENTS THE SEARCH FOR RAY PALMER: WILDSTORM #1
So one of the MAJOR Countdown storylines doesn’t even take place in Countdown!!!. FARG!
Item: SUPERGIRL #21
Well, new artist Renato Guedes is drawing Supergirl in a pretty natural/realistic fashion, and kudos. But what about cover artist Bernard Chang:
View image
Um… ew.
Item: THE BLACK CANARY WEDDING PLANNER
Item: JLA WEDDING SPECIAL #1
Item: THE GREEN ARROW/BLACK CANARY WEDDING SPECIAL #1
The big mystery of the Black Canary min-series (see the July and August solicitations), whether Dinah will say yes to her proposal (from last week’s Green Arrow #75) isn’t so much a mystery now is it. I guess we can all skip the Black Canary mini-series now. Brilliant marketing there DC.
Item: JLA WEDDING SPECIAL #1
Item: JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #13
Written by Dwayne McDuffie … oh hells yes! The man had no clout in the industry for over 10 years, and then a phenomenal run on the Justice League/JLU cartoon has now landed him some prime Fantastic Four, Avengers and Justice League gigs. Well deserved.
Item: WONDER WOMAN ANNUAL #1
“At long last, the climactic, extra-length chapter of “Who is Wonder Woman?”, the story that launched the WONDER WOMAN monthly!”… you shouldn’t be so proud that your opening, 5-issue story took over two years to come to completion…
Item: INFINITY INC. #1
blah
but… Written by Peter Milligan
yeah, okay… maybe give this one a shot, even though it’s yet another 52 spin-off (could be worse, could be a Countdown spin-off)
Item: SUICIDE SQUAD: RAISE THE FLAG #1
Written by John Ostrander … I think I just wet myself
Item: GREEN LANTERN CORPS #16
“‘The Sinestro Corps War’ continues as Mogo is attacked by the Sinestro Corps.” Poor Mogo.
Item: UNCLE SAM AND THE FREEDOM FIGHTERS #1
Awesome, another Uncle Sam mini… but of unknown (or at least unsolicited) length.
Item: SHOWCASE PRESENTS: THE GREAT DISASTER FEATURING THE ATOMIC KNIGHTS AND HERCULES VOL. 1 TP
Say whaaaaaat?
Item: SHOWCASE PRESENTS: METAL MEN VOL. 1 TP
That’s on the buy pile fo sho.
Item: THE FLASH #232
Written by Mark Waid
More Wally West with Mark Waid. Not that I’m unhappy, but… what the hell?
Item: JLA/HITMAN #1
Hitman was a fun series that was generally madcap pg-13 mayhem and absurd violence. There wasn’t really much place for superheroes. While I’m glad to see Tommy again, by the same creative team of Ennis and McCrea no less, I’m not sure about this one.
Item: OUTSIDERS #50
Written by Tony Bedard
“A new era dawns for the Outsiders…FINAL ISSUE”
Nice, and I did a count and Tony Bedard is writing nearly everything at DC this year
Item: JUSTICE LEAGUE ELITE VOL. 2 TP
Item: THE HELMET OF FATE TP
Item: MYSTERY IN SPACE VOL. 1 TP
Really DC, don’t you have anything better to collect out there?
19/06/2007
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
written by Don Payne and Mark Frost, directed by Tim Story. The first Fantastic Four was not a great movie (as I said previously), mainly because origin stories are pretty dull, but not quite as dull as, well, half of the team. I really don’t like Mr. Fantastic or Invisible Woman, not in the comics, not in the cartoons, and not in the films. The balance to Ioan Gruffudd and Jessica Alba’s stilted, wooden performances as the romantic couple of the first movie were Michael Chicklis as pathos-inspiring the Thing and the motormouth, egotistical Human Torch, played by Chris Evans. What tipped the balance to the bad side was Julian McMahon as a rather bored Dr. Doom, and then the ever so pathetic action climax was about as engaging as Queen Elizabeth reading the Bible.
But yeah, I did kind of enjoy it. The sequel, promising a much grander scope with the arrival of Galactus, a planet-devouring entity whose herald, the Silver Surfer prepares the planet for its mastication, well, that bloody well sounded thrilling. The early teaser trailers of the Surfer looked fantastic and where apathy originally lay dormant, excitement grew. While I knew a Fantastic Four movie would always feature Reed and Sue (therefore Gruffudd and Alba), I also knew I could expect more Johnny and Ben, and with an ominous and stunning looking Silver Surfer thrown into the mix, yeah, this could actually be good.
Cranky the Crane
I’ve been in a pretty grumpy mood the past two days… but it’s not the fault of the Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (which Aden and I watched on Friday taking a lovely day off work to relax, which actually seemed much more like running around to some extent), and it’s not the fault of this guy:
because, you know, you can never be mad at a monkey. The work-sponsored Toronto Zoo trip on Saturday was lovely… a long day to be sure, but having never been and previously having some weird moral stance on zoos, I was pleasantly surprised.
It’s also not the fault of the swimming pool:
which is up at Aden’s Aunt and Uncle’s farm, where there were dogs and cats and horses and a swimming pool and the prettiest barbecue I ever done saw, all for the festivities that saw Aden’s grandfolks celebrating their 60th anniversary.
No, I’m grumpy because all this passed and I had to go back to work… and I was quite thoroughly (and happily) exhausted from it all, and yeah, going back to a stale office where I’ve had nothing but hassles from minute one (a large part of that be my demeanour) wasn’t exactly my favourite thing in the world, ’specially since the day off on Friday didn’t really feel like much of a day off. I’m grumpy because I’m still coughing up my lungs, although that’s a more dramatic spin on it, but rather I’m coughing up phlegm that’s draining from my sinuses into my throat which is a weirdly circular cause and effect as I cough and it shoves it right back up there. Needless to say it’s not pleasant. I’m not sick, but rather annoyed… hence my grumpiness. If I’ve developed allergies, well, I’m not going to be happy joining the Clairitin sect.
So, with all this grumpleupagus attitude, I’ve been pounding my ears with music and narrowing my vision with a hat.
Yes, a hat.
I don’t wear hats with any frequency and the last hat that actually had a beak on it I likely owned in high school. But with the attitude now comes the hat (purchased at the Superstore on Saturday for $4.95). And, apparently, the Fidel Castro look-a-like competition prize.
Thanks for the lid, Art.
reverse crank
stuff of making me less cranky:
1. Aden’s hugs
2. the wee one’s boisterous rendition of Oh Canada
3. The Princess Bride (novel, not movie)
4. Mythbusters
5. the freak girl and her ’sTub products
6. Filthy Rich Kids
7. being able to legitimately use the line “he’s a good man, and thorough”
14/06/2007
Silly things to do
(’cause I’ve not done one in a loooong while)
- for June 15, 2007 -
Put on a Genesis album. Stand in place. Relax. Let your body hang loose, limber. Sway. Then leap! Leap again! If you hit a wall, turn the other way. Leap! Leap again! Repeat until Phil Collins sings his last word, and when the drumkit stops, it’s time for a pint of ice cream. Make it banana flavoured. Eat it all up. Puke if you need the room. Then, yes, break out the Blue Oyster Cult…
13/06/2007
Boring
Okay, this post on the latest comics flap is silly… utterly silly…
As one commenter states: “What exactly is the problem here? There are now FIVE covers for the Marvel Zombies HC. In each, beloved characters have been grossly and comically mutilated, in humorous homages to classic covers. Not just this one, but in each.”
Right, so a younger readers Marvel Comic gets parodied by a Marvel Zombies cover… shield your eyes children! The zombie apocalypse is upon you… Is ANYONE going to mistake Marvel Zombies for Mary Jane comic?
(Side Note: I think this is why the comics industry (or at the lowest level, comics shops) should instigate a ratings policy. To give retailers impetus to divide up their shop to sell to different age markets. Marvel has a ratings system on their books but until the rest of the publishers join in, comics are just going to be lumped onto the new release shelf for all to consume.)
I mean, there’s the new Elisha Cuthbert torture-pr0n movie coming out, and films like Saw causing quite a stir, and people, yes, people are kind of outraged, kind of disturbed, and kind of apathetic about them all at once. But will anyone ask for a full boycott of all the distributor’s films? Is someone not going to take their daughter to the Bratz movie because Lion’s Gate put out Hostel 2. Nope. Why? Because it’s dumb. Like movie distributors, there are plenty of different (okay, “different”) products that Marvel offers, certainly most of them are superheroes, but at the same time across age ranges, for which a ($30? $40) hardcover collection of Marvel Zombies is easily going to be identified as “not for kids” by any sensible retailer or parent.
If someone’s disturbed by the image, it’s what they’re bringing to it that bothers them and not the image itself. What I see? I see a zombie and a parody. While the Mary Jane cover is perhaps not the most recognizable cover it’s not an outrageous push to satirize it.
The stirring of the pot on this does appear simply for stirring-of-pot sake. The author himself enjoyed the Marvel Zombies series when it came out last year, and there’s been over 20 MZ Suydam zombie parody covers which he never had any issue with, so it’s obviously not the zombification of another’s art (in general) that’s bothering him… and since he never clearly states exactly what his problem is, I can only assume that it’s the fact that he loves the Mary Jane book and doesn’t want to see it tarnished, which is acceptable if only he copped to it instead of hiding under some “it’s demeaning to women” type rant.
(oh… he’s updated to clarify)
The smarmy responses like “Oh man, congratulations. You just won the fucknut sweepstakes.”, essentially stating “I don’t need to justify a thing to you” proves that he’s not out to have a discussion, but only out to have his opinion, however ludicrous.
Or to someone who stated: “You strike me as a guy who went looking for something to feign outrage over, and ingratiate yourself to the Gails and Leas.” and the reply is: I’m already friends with Lea Hernandez. And guess what? Gail and I shared a drink on Saturday night. (All I get out of that is a) self-congratulatory name-dropping, and b) a “look at our elitist circle of people who try and ’spot the outrage’ first… is there a prize at the end of the year for whomever is angriest or stirs up the most shit? Really.)
Seriously, some of these rampages are now hitting “cry wolf” status and I should really stop paying attention altogether. It actually wasn’t the cry that made me upset this time but the dismissive response to those that didn’t see the wolf. They were asking “where’s the wolf?”, but were being told “I saw a wolf, and you’re a fucktard if you didn’t. If me and [namedrop] say so, then it is so.” Still looks like a sheep to me.
11/06/2007
All that’s missing is 31 candles
Marmy made me a birthday cake as part of my Aquaman-themed birthday (which has also included an Aquaman HeroClix, the 13″ Deluxe Aquaman action figure, a kickass vintage Aquaman Pepsi glass, and yes, the Aquaman cake… next, an Aquaman tattoo[half-kidding])
Looks like Octopus, tastes like chocolate cake. Awesome!
Thanks Marmy!
08/06/2007
Day Watch
written and directed by Timur Bekmambetov. Aside from, maybe, Tarkovski’s works like Stalker and Solaris and, more recently, Sokurov’s Russian Arc I’m not sure that any Russian cinema has penetrated the Anglicized market to any great degree. Under communist leadership, Russian films were indirectly government financed, so commercial concerns weren’t very high. As such, Russian films tended to be methodically paced, philosophical and opaque in nature, quite dull compared to flashier, more glamourous American cinema.
Though Night Watch wasn’t the first Russian foray into special effects extravaganzas, it was easily its best, not only visually stunning but also highly entertaining with its plot surrounding a tenuous truce between the light and dark sides that is ever threatening to fall apart, instigating an apocalypse. Vampires, changelings, witches and other supernatural abilities were put on display with eye-popping effects, and as the promised first installment of a trilogy based on the popular novels of Sergey Lukyanenko, the film was one of the first real blockbusters of the post-Soviet Union, becoming the highest grossing home-grown film in Russian history (for an interesting comparison, Night Watch was made for just over $4million US, and earned over $16million US at the Russian box office).
07/06/2007
unquote
Manga for awhile had the virtue of being cherry picked, so most of the more interesting series were picked up for American publication early, and gave the whole sector a patina of originality and daring, but now that literally hundreds of them are in print it’s way too easy to pick out the stock characters, and repetitive plots, gimmicks, art styles and story/series ideas; turns out the Japanese are just as fond of cookie cutter comics as we are.
-Stephen Grant
Permanent Damage - June 6, 2007
Toast, you nailed it.
06/06/2007
A little prone
So the folks came down south for a visit, mainly to see my Aunt from BC, visiting my Grandmother, but also to greet me kindly for my birthday. The sister and the folks descended upon BOBTown this past weekend for a visit, where Sunday night Aden and I hosted a meager but enjoyable dinner. As happens when families who rarely get the opportunity to get together like this get together, reminiscent memories get broken out like the fine china.
Anyway, the main topic was my accident prone youth, which included all before the age of 7:
- falling off a swingset and breaking my arm
- jumping off the roof of a car and breaking my other arm that same summer
- taking an overdose of fluoride vitamins (which also included dealing them out to other children in the neighbourhood)
- having a table fall on my hand
- numerous other minor injuries too copious to mention
My mother also said “I don’t remember how you got that scar above your eye, though,” which, given the volume of my accidents, is not surprising, and yet, I’m pretty frustrated by this fact, since it’s a pretty distinct thing and something I’m frequently (well, relatively speaking) asked about, appearance-wise anyway. Do I have to live my life never knowing the story of it? That’s pretty sucky… I mean, I’ll always have the summer of broken arms, but those wounds have no visible reminders…
28 Weeks Later
written by EL Lavigne, Rowan Joffe, Juan Carlos Fresnadillo and Jesús Olmo, directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo. For some genre films it’s quite an easy feat to better their first outing with their second, afterall, the first film often suffers from having to satisfy a big concept on a small budget. On the other hand, sometimes the first outing is such a success that the follow-up can’t help but fail. On the rare occasion, a sequel manages to, in fact, be something completely different from the first while still satisfying the general concepts or conceits of the franchise. 28 Weeks Later could have easily fell into the trap of cannibalizing the first movie and forsaking storytelling or logic for bigger budget explosions and gore.
28 Days Later was a surprising success, coming out at a time where horror movies had lost their way into comedy and had been gentrified into masses-friendly, starpower-led vehicles. Scary, tense and intelligent, the first film reinvented the zombie movie for a modern generation, and was ushered in by two creative visionaries in versatile director Danny Boyle (Trainspotting) and author Alex Garland (The Beach). It success demanded a sequel even though the film itself did not decree it.
05/06/2007
Knocked Up
written and directed by Judd Apatow. The Apatow-created TV series like Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared struck a chord with the small but loyal audiences that watched them, and struck a nerve with many that couldn’t watch them, the traumatic humour hitting a little too close to home. But with the massively successful 40-Year-Old Virgin, Apatow proved that he could take his awkward, affectionate character humour (which he developed early on in his career writing for The Larry Sanders Show) and merge it with generally appreciated stoner/nerd comedy and bring it large to the big screen with major success.
Knocked Up is an even more earnest effort than VirginKnocked Up does work in generating laughs and exploring the rather tense and awkward situation of a one-night-stand turning into something neither person expected.