Tuesday, July 03, 2007

Transformers Plus Robosaurus = Awesome x 1 Zillion

Tonight was Transformers + Robosaurus = Awesome. Peabo, if you heard lots of roaring of both crowd and robotic dinosaur from your home, you were right to tremble with fear and awe.

We were joined by JackBart and his fried, Tara. We also caught up with Denby (and hubby Mike) as well as Amy C. Steanso, of course, was in attendance.


The Alamo South promised a transformative experience

I am afraid I am at a bit of a loss for how to describe "Transformers". Some parts seemed set for an adult crowd, and then, literally the next moment, you would be reminded "ah... this is for kids".

Little boys will love this movie. And big boys, like myself, will be severely disappointed one moment and then rapt in amazement at the craziness I am seeing on screen. If nothing else, Transformers delivers a superhero picture on a scale worthy of the Transformers franchise. It's a bit tough to convey how amazing some of the sequences really were. It's also a bit stupefying how utterly goofy I found much of the movie.

I've decided to come down on the side of "Wow, what a crazy technical achievement". But I still think Michael Bay is one of the most questionable talents in Hollywood. As much effort as he was willing to put into the movie, it wasn't that he didn't seem to take the characters seriously, it was almost as if he was experiencing some of that embarassment that directors used to feel making big budget superhero films in the 80's and early 90's, before Spidey made it respectable.

But, as Jason said, "What did you want? A grown up movie about a line of toys for kids?" I dunno.

Pair that with some of the most incredible stuff I've seen on film in quite a while, and I have to state that it's at least worth seeing on teh big screen for the damn spectacle of it all. And... Optimus Prime.

Wow.

But if you're looking for 4th of July viewing, I'd probably still recommend Ratatouille first, which is a cartoon about a rat which is probably better suited to adults who like a good glass of wine than kids looking for fart jokes.

But let's get real... we came for the movie, we stayed for the Robosaurus!


ROBOSAURUS!!! He's destroying cars for the Spirit of 1776.

Apparently folks who landed tickets for the 8:45 show got rained on and Robosaurus spit no fire. We were dry and got two shows' worth of fireballs and amazing carnage. Add in a live band, wanton destruction, the fire department (on hand in case an audience member spontaneously combusted from sheer awesome overload)and the most baffled MC to hit S. Austin in many a moon...

The poor MC was clearly used to Monster Truck shows and dirt bike rallies and seemed a bit confused by the fact that the mention we were in Texas did not elicit applause, nor when he went oddly jingoistic and declared (with no trace of irony) that Robosaurus was tearing cars apart for the 4th of July and the The Spirit of 1776.

What did get applause? Fireball.

Okay, you guys got my cameraphoen shots, and I'm tired. I'm going to bed.


The car-nage

Monday, July 02, 2007

Robosaurus Chaos

I received an e-mail from the Alamo South in regards to the Transformers/ Robosaurus event. After seeing the chaos at Alamo South for just a regular showing of Ratattouille this evening (totally awesome movie, btw), I can only imagine the chaos which shall be associated with Transformers. They're actually opening the doors at 1:00 PM for this event, so I have no idea what to expect. Chaos, I think.

I plan to be at the theater prior to 6:00 if I can help it.

I guess if you see me, give me a shout. I'll also have on my phone if you wish to coordinate.

Thanks to Carla and David

Before I forget... a special thanks to Carla and David for having us over for dinner on Friday. Or to Carla. I don't think David knew we would be there when he arrived from the airport. But he was still willing to talk turkey about Galactus and other important topics when he did arrive.

Carla made sloppy joes, which sounds less exciting than it was. I don't know where Carla gets her recipes, but these sloppy joes rocked the casbah. Well done, Carl.

We shall reconvene in the not-too-distant future.

Saturday, June 30, 2007

Interview I forgot to do

This is a blog game, courtesy of Amy C.

Here's how it works:

I answer the questions from my 'interview' here. Then if you want to play you do this:

1. Be one of the first five people to reply with INTERVIEW ME.
2. I will respond by asking you five questions (not the same as you see here).
3. You will update your blog/site with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

1. Who would win in a fight: Wolverine or Batman?

Batman. Please. And if I have to explain it, I'm taking away your comic geek membership card.

2. How do you like your new vehicle?

I like it just fine. It drives forward and backward. It gets me to work, and it seems to have better fuel efficiency than the Forester. I have adorned it with a Superman sticker, so you know it has my seal of approval.

I have realized that one in every four vehicles on the road in South Austin is an Element, so I do not feel as if I shall be cast as a trend setter in this matter. According to a salesman at Honda, the car is sold largely to people who own dogs.

3. If you had to choose between cutting off your right index finger or your left foot, which one would get the chop, and why?

My right finger would go in a heart beat. While my usual method of making accusations might be confusing at first as I waved a four fingered fist at the accused, I am certain I could get a novelty rubber finger to attach to the stump for particularly meaningful blame sessions.


4. What's your favorite food?

Anything that doesn't still have enough fight left in it to bite back when I begin chewing.

5. What's your theme song?

Probably "Send in the Clowns" or "Turn on Your Heart Light". Curiously, this is the second time I've been asked this question in an interview. I find this odd. Perhaps others perceive a musical quality about me, or, more likely, see me as a supporting character in a mid-range budget summer comedy in need of a theme. At the time of the first interview I thought "Bastard Wants to Hit Me" was fairly accurate.

Today, I am unsure.

There just aren't many songs about chubby comic collectors.



Also... I believe I am now duty-bound to interview five people who ask to be interviewed. So, drop a note in the comments.


Happy Way Late Birthday, Randy (aka: anonymous)






Austin Books is my Secret Mistress

So recently a book was released entitled "I Shall Destroy all the Civilized Planets", and, surprisingly, it is not the memoirs of JMD, it's a collection of features by comic creator Fletcher Hanks. "I Shall Destroy all the Civilized Palents" is a fairly geeky comic to want to get your hands on as its reprints of third rate comics from fourth rate publishers, but Hanks' work has been one of those secret hand-shakes of comic geeks for a while, I guess. It just hasn't really been reproduced in any way that I'm aware of.



Anyhow, I was unaware the book was actually coming out quite yet until I found out from Amy C that not only was the book out, it was sold out at Austin Books and had already been re-ordered. By the time I got in touch, much to my dismay, even the re-orders had been sold out.

But that didn't stop them from seeking out the book for me. I think they talked to three or four distributors when they finally found it and got it in for me on Thursday.

That, Leaguers, is customer service.

I did pick up two issues of Jimmy Olsen as well, and the new issue of Black Coat (Black Coat...! Think masked mystery man in service of the Patriots in 1777 or so) and a comic about outlaw Belle Starr.

I'm now looking forward to the Labor Day Sale at Austin Books. I need to assemble a list of some sort for maximum effieciency as I figure out how much Jimmy Olsen is too much Jimmy Olsen and if the 4th volume of New Gods is really a comic I want to get into.

I salute you, Austin Books. Thanks for finding my book for me.

Sweet iPhone Justice

I know I said I had no plans to get an iPhone, but that doesn't mean I think it's okay for other people who DO want one to get gouged by eBay speculators...





And because I can't think of anything else...

Here's Lynda Carter

Friday, June 29, 2007

Thursday, June 28, 2007

No iPhone for me

It hasn't even crossed my mind yet to get an iPhone.

It doesn't help my chances of getting an iPhone that I have a phone contract to which I'm beholden for another 18 months, and I feel I'm getting decent service. And, of course, my phone was free with my contract. The phone is the LG Chocolate, which also stores music and takes pictures. And the phone sucks, in no small part because it ALSO has a faux-touch screen capability that goes off when you stick the phone in your pocket. It likes to call whomever was the last person I intentionally dialed, a feature I can't find when I actually want it, of course. I suspect Jason gets a call at 8:00 most mornings when I'm putting keys and phone in my pocket.

I keep looking at the touch screen of the iPhone, and it's a real turn off. I ponder how scuffed the screen was on my iPod (I couldn't keep it in the protective sleeve and take it running in my arm band, so I quit using the sleeve). And how messy it looked with fingerprints all over it. I look at the iPhone and I just imagine a grease-smeared box which will keep calling Jason every time I put the damn thing in my pocket, if it will even fit. The Chocolate fits in the change pocket of my jeans. It doesn't seem the iPhone will fit in that pocket, which means at some point that glistening surface will come in contact with my keys, and that will be that.

I'm intrigued with the varying capabilities of the iPhone, but, honestly, do I really need to see the skateboarding dog YouTube video while I'm standing in line at the grocery? (That's sort of what they're pitching in the commercials for the iPhone). If I want to check e-mail, I can get the Motorola Q for a few bucks on my existing plan, or surf the web from a Treo. All without the awkwardness of tiny touchscreen buttons.

Yes, I prefer rubber buttons. There's nothing more frustrating than poking at a touchscreen that's decided it no longer wants to recognize your electrical field.


the only time you'll see the damn thing without thumb prints all over it

iPhone is contractually bound to use AT&T as their carrier until 2012. Not my current carrier, and so I would necessarily have to change services to a service not of my choosing for five years (most likely six as contracts usually run in two year cycles.)

Also, with the luck I've had with my iPod, I don't like the idea of losing all of my music, phone numbers and videos of skateboarding dogs should the thing decide to take the silicon-dirt-nap.

I know its totally un-hip not to salivate at the iPhone, but there's nothing in my lifestyle that makes me think that I need one. I have a free phone. I'll continue to get free phones with a series of upgraded features. Heck, in 18 months I can probably expect for my mobile provider to carry a competing product. Hopefully one lacking a touch screen interface.

Right now I get the feeling the Apple-Zombies have bought into Jobs' hype hook, line and sinker when a cost benefit analysis offers no real benefits. I was a bit appalled to hear a report last night about how plans of action are being circulated by Apple-geeks to contact the BBB, etc... with false claims regarding their cell-phone carriers so they can wrongfully be released from their contracts (hint, Apple geeks: by telling NPR's Marketplace this was your plan, you just screwed every person with a legitimate complaint out of any hope of being released from their contract for the next year).

The iPhone is sleek looking, but in that EPCOT "in the future we'll all use video-phones" sort of way. I'm just not seeing the value in this doo-hickey.




POST EDIT: I had mis-spelled Treo as "Trio". This is what happens when one does not do their research and hasn't thought too much about PDA's in a year.

I also mis-identified the carrier as Sprint. This was horribly wrong. The carrier is AT&T/ Cingular. I have no experience with AT&T or Cingular, but I have been known to get grouchy about Sprint.

I shall include my original rant, anyway, as I sort of think Sprint's customer service stinks:


Further, I have nothing nice to say about Sprint mobile service, who dealt me a list of offenses between 2000 and 2001 (including the now unheard of practice of "slamming"), and whose call center staff has the single worst customer service I've ever experienced, including dropping calls after an hour, not correcting charges after literally a dozen tries, refusing to believe I couldn't get coverage at my house in Chandler and turning off my phone on the day I was moving out of Austin thanks to their screwed up charges, which wound up with me having to pay the charges just to reinstate service so I could find my damn moving van.




POST POST

On the touch-screen front... while I foresee an ocean of blue-screened gaming tables in Vegas, I can actually get my head around the practical usage for the new Microsoft touch table.

That's not to say that consumer apps will make sense quite yet, unless you're Batman, but I can visualize a couple dozen educational uses, advertising, gaming, menu's at restaurants and all kinds of Blade Runner/ Diamond Age good stuff.

Wednesday, June 27, 2007



Thanks to Randy for sending this along. No, Arden has not finally escaped from Jill. Spike Jonze is making a movie of "Where the Wild Things Are".


Not much going on here. Last night Jamie and I had a lovely dinner with Lauren at Chuy's. Steven was traveling, so she came on back to League HQ and hung out for a while. She's a swell dame, and while we never did get around to firing up the Wii as planned, we still managed to stay entertained.

Found at Lauren's blog... Watch as a morning show host/ journalist actually tries not to cover the Hilton story. Not just a wink and a sigh... I mean, really tries not to cover the story...



I'm still trying to get my head around what happened there. But I know I just saw something that tells us a whole lot about cable news... and I'm sort of afraid. Not in a "I'm being snooty" way. I'm genuinely a little freaked out by how her co-hosts and the producers reacted.

This evening Jamie met up with Amy C. and went to go see Henson's "Labyrinth" at the Dobie and I tried to clean up my office for the first time since before I got a job. It was a @#$%ing mess.

I spoke briefly with JimD (aka jmd) who had been to the first meeting of the S. Carolina Longhorns. Anyhow, apparently Jim saw there was no Texas Ex org and put one together. So, essentially, Jim just found his drinking buddies for Saturdays from August to December. Well done JimD!

I then walked the dogs, reached the farthest point in the neighborhood from the house, and it began to totally pour. Like, not a drizzle and then some rain. It was like someone turned on a shower. Mel flipped out and pulled out of his collar and leash and Lucy was straining horribly at the end of her leash.

Jamie came and tried to save us. She'd just made it home. Sadly, it was too late. I was drenched like I'd jumped in a pool with my clothes on. Hopefully my "Say No to Kryptonite!" shirt will survive.

This is the story of that planet...

I thought I posted Planet Unicorn back in May. Apparently not. People keep sending it to me. Anyhoo... thanks to everyone who sent me Unicorn Planet.








Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Just some stuff

Another Blood-Sucking politician...

Randy sends this bit of news regarding a sword wielding vampire running for president. Really, when you have that going on, the jokes just write themselves, Leaguers. I invite you to compare and contrast to your favorite candidate.

Steanso actually covered Sharkey when he ran for Governor of Minnesota.



Total Awesomeness abounds...

Now, for $20 per hand, you can stab people like Wolverine! Or, for $16, like Spidey! Or Batman! (you know... for kids!)

There are so many totally awesome weapons at the Swords of Might Ye Olde Onnelynne Sword Shoppe that if I think about it too long, I forget to breath.

It's great to know exactly what I can get Jamie for Christmas so early on in the year.

Also, maybe a little something for your toddler?


We'll Always Have Paris... whether we like it or not...


So I guess Paris is getting out of jail soon and there's talk of her agent or whatever trying to make good on Paris Hilton's few days in lock-up by seeking bids on her "story". Which is odd because (1) I mean, didn't she just sit in a room with people she didn't know for a few days? and (2) is there even a remote chance that we'll get anything resembling the actual story?

I could care less. But what struck me was how once Hilton's face was gone from news sites, from cable TV, etc... as we were forced to live in a world without Paris Hilton for just a few days... I didn't even notice she was gone. Did you?

Really, until I heard a story on NPR's Marketplace last week (prefaced with a disclaimer of "We feel we have to cover this because the networks are covering this, and we're embarrassed)" I had managed to get through a few weeks without thinking about Hilton at all. Not once.

This isn't too bash Hilton, but rather a passing thought on how, like it or not, because I use websites with basic levels of news service, I inadvertently follow every minute of this person's life. Not exactly the Truman Show, as God knows what's actually going on half the time when she isn't paying people huge salaries to ensure she remains in the spotlight...

But without Paris, services like Yahoo News actually seemed to contain news regarding topics like Gitmo, Bloomberg's resignation from the GOP, and stuff that resembles, well... news, all without links to Paris-related news. It was weird.

Well, CNN of all @#$%ing outlets seems to have ponied up for the first interview with the heiress, which should be a real meeting of the minds as Larry tries to figure out who this young lady is sitting across the desk from him while simultaneously putting the last nail in teh coffin for both his reputation and that of CNN, which officially just became InTouch Weekly on TV.

Monday, June 25, 2007

Why We Wii



Because it makes Pat happy



Because Jamie strikes a pose while bowling a strike!



And sometimes Jamie bowls a 172

These pictures were taken the other night at Shoemaker Manor where the fighting forces of our extended circle of pals had assembled for Pursuit of Hoppyness.

Earlier in the evening we'd attended a Roundrock Express game, which was, seriously, a ton of fun. I highly recommend a game to anyone looking for a nice night out, some bad beer, worse hotdogs and some surprisingly exciting baseball (our pitcher, with a .063 average, hit a double or triple. I forget which. I was jumping up and down and shouting too much). Anyway, the Express trounced the Nashville Sounds 6-1. Mangum and Nicole came along. According to Mangum, the $5 Nolan Ryan hotdog was... not so good.

Special thanks to Mr. Peek for the tickets. And to Peabo for suggesting Mr. Peek send them our way.

After the game we headed down to Shoemaker's, and the evening continued. We played Wii.


I don't know what Matt did here, but everyone looks pretty excited.

FYI: I didn't take any of these photos. Pat has a remote on his camera and I was always sitting just out of range.


Here's Mrs. Shoemaker, Laura Ryan (who I hadn't seen in, like, 5 years) and the British dude she just married. I think his name is Simon. And, since I know nothing else, I'll also guess he can move objects with his mind.



And as the night drew to a close (we'd already left) Jeff offered a hops-fueled benediction

Thursday, June 21, 2007

TRANSFORMERS + ROBOSAURUS = AWESOME

****INSERT WAILING GUITAR HERE*****

WHERE WILL YOU BE ON JULY 2nd WHEN THE GREATEST EVENT IN THE HISTORY OF HUMANITY UNFOLDS ON SOUTH LAMAR?

That's right... for one night only, ROBOSAURUS + Transformers = SO MUCH AWESOME I WILL BLEED OUT OF MY EYES

For details, look here



If all you see in the spot above is a blank spot, its because your eyes are not programmed to handle all the radness

I'm not sure I want to live in a world where I've by-passed an opportunity to see Robosaurus. Throw in a Michael Bay movie featuring OPTIMUS @#$%ing PRIME, and I think it's no exaggeration to say that this will be the best thing that could ever happen, ever. Like, ever. So...

JULY 2ND, JOIN THE LEAGUE OF MELBOTIS AT THE ALAMO SOUTH LAMAR for

ROBOSAURUS + TRANSFORMERS = AWESOME

Yeah, I've already got tickets! Do you...? Can you really afford NOT to see Robosaurus (and Transformers?)

EDITORIAL ADDENDUM: We will be attending the 7:00 show! It seems the Alamo was aware of the onslaught of folks who would want to see Robosaurus, plus Transformers. Anyhow, we're doing the 7:00 show so I can go to work the next day with as much time between me and Robosaurus as possible.

It seems a number of you are also down for the awesomeness, so I will be posting soon in regards to a potential meet-up.

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Superman/ Doomsday Trailer,German Krypton, Drama Chipmunk



I like how the voiceover narrator basically breathlessly tells us:

"More bad ass and less of a wuss than you tend to think of him! It's Superman gettin' killed and that makes him extreme!"

You kind of get the feeling the marketing person who wrote the copy more or less didn't like Superman to begin with. Awesomely, the Supermullet remains intact.

I am very nervous about this flick.

Mostly because it can never be as good as German Fanboy Krypton. Also featuring a Supermullet. The planet may be exploding, but at least those Kryptonian trains are running on time.



but can anything rival the awesomeness of... Drama Chipmunk?

It's Gonna Blow

I wasn't really paying attention to the TV while I was doing other things, but AMC will be running the much panned volcano film "Dante's Peak" from about ten years ago. Apparently the guys in production who are tasked with making promo spots have a pretty good grasp as to the quality of some of AMC's movie choices.

In big white letters on a lime green screen were the words "IT'S GONNA BLOW".

Indeed.

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

More Batman


Der Batpod

More interesting stuff coming out from the new Batman flick. Looks like how the last film's Batmobile was ostensibly a car, this must be a Batman moped.

Also, I just remembered that Maggie Gyllenhaal is in the upcoming film. I know Gyllenhaal is one of those polarizing forces for dudes... She's just not everybody's cup of tea. But I come down on the pro-Maggie side of the fence.

Viva la Gyllenhaal. And the Batpod.

Monday, June 18, 2007

New Batsuit


Click on picture for higher resolution/ bigger image. You can read the text.

Thanks to Randy and others who sent me this pic.

Sunday, June 17, 2007

The League Surfs with the Alien

Saturday I wound up going to see Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.

I might also add that due to logistical reasons, this was the first time in months I've been to a movie anywhere by the Alamo, and while the crowd was really good, it just isn't the same going to a movie when I can't drink a beer and eat a pizza.

Anyhow, the past few years have seen superhero movies which have defied all previous expectations, merging special effects, well crafted stories and respect for the source material to bring terrific entertainment to the screen. In no way should you make the mistake of believeing FF: RotSS, is to be included among these films.

FF: RotSS is a bit of a throwback to 80's era comic adaptations wherein the source material was briefly glanced at, and a few production designers who may have done their homework slipped in a bit or two from the original comics, but otherwise, the movie was pretty clearly not taken terribly seriously as producers cashed in and tried to keep a straight face when reporters asked them about what drew them to the material.

In this movie, any memory of Sue Storm as a brilliant scientist is swept under the rug as she's offered the task of Reed's girlfriend/ administrative assistant, while mostly whining a lot about a fancy wedding (oh, you girls and your romantic notions!). Sue is one of my favorite Marvel characters, and its disappointing to see her reimagined as an "E! Network" watching girl who has defined herself by her relationship with Mr. Fantastic. Reed is unable to remember he's about to get married, the Thing is... uncharacteristically happy throughout the film, and Johnny comes to some sort of nebulous conclusion about not being a jerk. I think.

The whole thing has the production value of a late 90's TV movie, with some upped CGI. That said, a lot of Reed's stretching looks... not good. And Michael Chiklis as Ben Grimm is hammy enough that one expects a trombone after each line to blurt out a "wahhh-waaahhhhhhh". Plus, man, that makeup sucks. If we can have a CGI Surfer, why not a CGI Thing?

The threats in this film are double as Victor Von Doom returns from the dead and... I dunno. That guy is nowhere close to the Von Doom of the comics, although the script does play toward Doom's tendency to always try to tilt the game in his favor. But this Von Doom is like a smarmy Owen Wilson character more than an Eastern European monarch hellbent on worldwide domination.

For being mostly a well mimed CGI effect (thank Pan's Labyrinth's Doug Jones) The Silver Surfer seems to be partaking in a completely different, far less stupid movie. Based loosely on the original FF comics featuring Galactus and the Surfer, the Surfer arrives ahead of Galactus as his herald, preparing Earth for his master's arrival. The Surfer seemingly believes he has no choice in the matter, and goes numbly about his tasks until confronted by the FF.

From here, things sort of go downhill for the FF as the bravery of their task from the 2/3rd points in the movie mostly seems to consist of breaking the Silver Surfer out of jail and then getting their butts handed to them by Doom. The actual presence of Galactus and mode of defeating the planet eater from the comics (which didn't leave the FF acting like slack jawed yokels, but Reed figuring out how to freak Galactus out by threatening existence if Galactus didn't back off) isn't invoked. Instead, it's a bit more abstract, and nebulous. It works, but it means that at no pint in the movie do the FF actually succeed at anything they attempt aside from running away. They just don't seem all that competent. And the final plan when Johny Storm does leap into action actually contradicts everything we thought we knew about the problems we believed he was having with his powers.

The producers also decided that of all the things in the FF comics to scrap, the one thing which just wouldn't work was Galactus' physical appearance. So, he's a cloud. Which is very Star Trek Next Generation, but not very satisfying. The movies are already horribly devoid of the Kirby styling which defined the comics for decades, so it would have been nice to see our guy, who has one of the most stylized appearances in comicdom... but, no... we get a sort of silhouette glimpse of his helmet.

BTW, I also think Ultimate Galactus blows. Bugs? Come on, man...

The movie is full of cute/dumb moments, meant to play to the same crowd who really likes Rob Schneider movies and who roared at the trailer for "Daddy Day Care 2: Daddy Day Camp" (Eddie Murphy was apparently too busy for this sequel, so cue Cuba Gooding "My Career is Over" Jr.). You can almost imagine the story session in which the writers thought NOTHING would advance the story like a dance sequence featuring Reed "stretch-o" Richards. It's funny 'cause he's strechy and stuff.

Oh, and the product placement... including a "It's got a hemi!" joke during some awkward Dodge product placement.

I really didn't have high hopes for this movie, and it still stunk. Weirdly, the portions featuring The Silver Surfer operate on a whole different level that, had the rest of the movie shown that sort of care, might have made for an enjoyable film.

This, however, is not that movie.

Saturday, June 16, 2007

A SUPER FATHER'S DAY




You will travel far, my little Kal-El.

But we will never leave you, even in the face of our deaths. The richness of our lives will be yours. All that I have, all that I have learned, everything I feel, all of this and more I bequeath you, my son. You will carry me inside you all the days of your life. You will make my strength your own, see my life through your eyes, as your life will be seen through mine.
The son becomes the father, the father becomes the son.

This is all that I can send you, Kal-El.


-Jor-El
Superman: The Movie


Happy Father's Day to the Admiral, my very own Jor-El and Jonathan Kent all wrapped up in one. You're a great dad, and a great sport for putting up with my shenanigans all these years. My hat's off to you.

I know raising me wasn't always easy.

Happy Father's Day. We'll chat on the phone, I'm sure.


Pat bought a new camera last week. I was leaving work and found him playing around with his camera and taking a picture or two of my car. Anyway, this is my car in daylight. In the parking lot where the Arby's once proudly stood on Guadalupe, just south of campus.

Thursday, June 14, 2007

More Bankston in the News

It's late and I have to go to bed, but it appears that KB continues to be in the news. And so much for Google's easy policy regarding requesting that your image be taken down... they're now collecting driver's license information in order to have your pic removed.

Read here

BTW, this blog is published on a Google product, and if you e-mail me, it'll come to GMail. If they ever decide to merge with Time Warner, we will know the Eye of Sauron is upon us.

Thanks to Amy, Pat and/ or Jeff for the link.

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

I have a new car


Buenos noches, little Forester. May Howdy Honda's used car department find you a rad new home where you will be loved.

I picked up the Element tonight. It's blue, as I mentioned, but the color is NOT actually described as ATOMIC blue, it is described as Arctic blue or some such... I think that Atomic thing is left over from a different model.

If in Austin and buying a Honda, let me mention that Howdy Honda not only has a great name for a dealership, they had great customer service. When at Howdy, ask for Helen Frink, super car salesperson. We like Helen.

Apparently Howdy Honda was selling a lot of cars today as the financing people were way backed up and it took a while for us to get in the car and get going. Oddly, Jeff and Keora were also there, and I think Keora was picking up a Honda Fit. I do think they were getting the car, because Jeff had that face on he gets when he's about to spend money. I saw this face many times, including when we co-signed a lease in 1996.

Anyhow, the rest of the night was documented pretty well by Jason. Go here.

I was going to call the car "Ted" in honor of slain Superhero, Ted "The Blue Beetle" Kord. But I'm not sure. Is this what Ted would have wanted? And then there's the whole fact that it's not a blue VW... I dunno. The Forester was usually The Krypton Kruiser. I need to find some other alliterative moniker or at least something which speaks about the car.

My first car (a maroon/ red '83 Honda Accord) went by The Badger, as it was dangerous when cornered. My next car, a '92 Eclipse, was called "Hero", for pulling my fat out of the fire and out of reverence for the horse of pulp hero, The Phantom.

So, we'll see. It'll come to me.

Randy's Kid

Randy's kid! Look at her go, Leaguers!



See, Randy, I'm happy to post a pic of your kid. I find it curious you let her drool all over you, but when I asked, you got all upset.

I can't properly type Esme's name as it's a lot of work to add the tilde dealy. But that's her.

Monday, June 11, 2007

For the geeks...

Monty Python + Trek = Awesome

Another pretty good weekend.

Friday night Jamie and I stayed in, are buffalo wings and watched "The Life Aquatic", which I'd never seen. It's definitely a Wes Anderson movie, and its certainly charming, but its a bit of a mess. At some point Anderson is going to need to move beyond the trick of having his characters deliver dialog in a flat and practiced manner, including non-sequiters regarding the unfortunate fate of various pets. What worked very well in his faux-Glass household somehow didn't work quite as well on the high seas.

Also, watched the first half of Superman III, which, if it did not feature Annette O'Toole, would be somewhere near the same level of unwatchability as Superman IV. Director Richard Lester clearly believes Superman can't be taken seriously as even an action film, and so heaps on slapschtick, beginning with the credits. Superman can be fun, but poor Richard Pryor is asked to play to the kiddies instead of his built in audience, and its just a poor, poor decision. You kind of feel bad for the guy.

Saturday we continued with Car Hunt 2007. The whole thing wound up with me picking out a Honda Element and taking on a car payment. Yes, the Honda Element is the boxy SUV/ mini-van. But it matches my needs, it fits my bulky frame, I can get the dogs into it with no problem, and it sort of looks like a Transformer.

Yes, it is blue. I pick it up Tuesday night.

Saturday night we headed to Pat's for his birthday party. Chatted with Amy C. and Billy Jo quite a bit. Billy made a great cake with peanut butter frosting, which sounds gross, but is actually really good. Also met Pat's mysterious brother. Jamie was droopy, so we headed home a bit early. And then i stayed up until 3:00 AM watching the 1994 film "Richie Rich" starring MacCaulay(sp?) Culkin. It wasn't a good movie, and it sadly lacked the robot maid, Irona, from the cartoon, but Butler Cadbury totally hooked up with Gloria's mom. So that was weird.

Sunday we returned to Threadgill's for breakfast and to meet cousin Sue, mom and Uncle Donald. Always good to see Uncle Donald, but I think I committed to visiting the Upper Peninsula of Michigan with him next summer. That's fine. It's been 13 years since I've been up there.

Sunday night we met up with Carla Beth and her husband, David. They moved into a house down near Riverside and Congress, and its one heck of a place. I think if they keep the house as is, David could go totally Miami Vice villain, but he's going to need some Chinese jackets and a lot more swords on the walls. And henchmen.

Carla made some amazingly good pizzas from scratch and we sort of hung out in the kitchen. It's sort of remarkable, because I haven't seen much of Carla after she moved briefly to Kentucky and we relocated to Arizona, but some folks you've known so long you just sort of pick up where you left off.

Anyhow, Xander made no appearance as he'd already been put to bed for the night when we showed up. We'll catch up with that dude later.

A grand weekend, all in all.

Sometimes I reflect upon how much more full our weeks are here than in Arizona and I'm a bit stunned.

Thursday, June 07, 2007

I'm healthy again

RANDY SPREADS HIS GENOME ABOUT WITH NO REGARD TO THE SAFETY OF OTHERS

In case you didn't know, Loyal Leaguer, Randy, and his lovely wife, The Mysterious M, have had a baby.

Congratulate Randy. He is 50% of the face of a new generation.


THE INTERWEB IS WATCHING


I can only assume that Technorati, etc... are to blame for why so many people are finding The League in reference to themselves. I had another person find me.

Here. Read the comments.

I don't know who posted the original bit about Dave Ramsey, but you've helped to make the world a little smaller.



TOTALLY LAME


Blogging about blogging is totally lame. But...

As much as I understand WHY visitors to the site may wish to remain anonymous, I'm not a big fan of anonymous posts to the comments. In a perfect vacuum, I suppose it shouldn't matter who you're speaking to, but that's just not reality.

Without exception, I like and respect the folks I consider to be Loyal Leaguers. And I think you'll find that even in the most heated debate, I tend to try to pick my words carefully when I'm talking with someone I consider a pal, no matter how far on the other end of an ideological spectrum. That's just common courtesy. Also, if I know with whom I'm speaking, I always have the option of taking the conversation off the blog and into an e-mail conversation.

But I also don't really want to block out the random folks who roll by. If they want to drop a comment, that's okay.

I'm a bit baffled by the recent exchange which took place in one of the posts. Not that someone disagreed with me, because that's par for the course, and I'm cool with that. I just had no idea with whom I was speaking, and that's a bit odd. Obviously this person became upset with me, but I also sort of felt like this person hadn't been around for some of the more colorful debates which have occurred here at The League.

At some point when someone is posting anonymously and failing to identify themselves, you don't necessarily feel as if you've got to put on the same "we're all friends here", game show host face. There are certainly times when i know exactly who "anonymous" is, but I choose to behave with some bizarre gentleman's agreement that I will not reveal the identity of "anonymous". In this case, I don't mind as much, but it does make debate a bit difficult at times as part and parcel of this gentleman's agreement is that one not reveal the identity, even when certain revealing examples could be relevant. But, as I tend to like these folks... I mostly play along.

But the truly anonymous posters...

In no small part, truly anonymous posters are a bit like a person who has crashed a party and then decides to pick a fight with the host. It's a bit baffling to me when a poster such as the one from this week's debate takes umbrage and declares I'm standing on a soapbox. While I'm writing on my personal blog.

In this instance, I sort of think that "anonymous" wasn't anyone I know. At this point I recognize the writing of most Loyal Leaguers, and, moreover, most of you know me well enough to know what my opinions are and where I'm going to draw lines and how I'm going to debate. I'm still not sure what "academic" debate this guy was trying to have, but he didn't get it, I guess.

What was most downright hilarious was the insistence that Anonymous was so busy, so pre-occupied with higher minds than my own that he didn't have time to actually debate with me. But he had time to keep coming back. And surf sites mostly dedicated to nonsense, while leaving lengthy comments.

Anonymous, I salute you.



Tori Amos and school children...

This is incredibly sweet. And with all you Leaguers dropping kids onto the face of Mother Earth, I thought I'd share a moment of brightness and hope that makes me think kids aren't just small, stinky, stupid people...

Skip to the 4:00 countdown mark

Wednesday, June 06, 2007

SICK!

dang it! I'm sick!

I noticed when I got up, I didn't feel terribly well, but due to Jamie's jimmy leg and Matt Mangum in the guest room, I wound up sleeping on the couch last night. Being a little extra groggy after a night of couch sleeping didn't seem like a big deal, and so my plan included a Starbucks Double Shot while en route to work.

I still couldn't shake the general feeling of fatigue after arriving and trying to get some work done. I went and grabbed a coffee, and then got cranking, but during my 10:00 phone conference, I began drooping. By the time we were fifteen minutes into the call, I felt a bit like I was hearing things through glass and I just wanted to put my head down.

By 11:15 I was pretty sure I was getting sick, and by 11:45 I was headed home feeling feverish and awful.

Anyhow, I feel not great. Hopefully better tomorrow.

Off to go lay very still.

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

Monday, June 04, 2007

Adventures of Superman DVD's on Sale!

Never in the history of man has there been greater news. Well, that's not really true at all, but this is good news.

Amazon has all the George Reeves DVD's on sale! HALF OFF!!! (Come on, Randy... you're having a baby. You have plenty of time to watch these episodes!)

Anyway, here's the story from the Superman Homepage.

Bankston in the News

My former roommate, KB, has made the news.

Here's the article.

Well done, KB.

Honestly, I think that's the first time I've seen him in a baseball hat.

Time and Time Again...

So back when I didn't feel like blogging for a few days, I asked for Loyal Leaguers to submit questions. And one Loyal Leaguer asked the following super-related question:

If you could go back in time and convince yourself not to become a fan of Superman, would you? Why or why not? If not, what would you go back in time to tell yourself, and to what year would you go?


Aside from how Superman has made me sort of poor... I can't think of a compelling argument for why I would convince myself not to become a fan of the Man of Steel. My Superfandom has sort of served as a funnel to contain a lot of my smaller tics and obsessive tendencies that I am absolutely certain would have manifested in other ways. And as I honestly believe that the ideas behind Superman are kind of neat, if not merely benign, I'm not sure if I can form a compelling argument as to why I wouldn't be a Superman fan.



I think my Superman fandom sort of forms out of this perfect storm of how Superman intersects at so many of my areas of interest. There's film, TV, comics, pop-culture history, a passing interest in mid-20th Century sci-fi, somewhat more substantive history (as in the context of Superman's genesis and how subsequent portrayals have reflected the attitudes of the time, as well as corporate culture). Add in my love of mentally categorizing things, date-stamping items, cataloging, etc... (I've often thought I should get a master's in Library and Information Science). As well as the sheer vastness of not just the DCU, but 70 years of Superman media... There are literally over a thousand Superman comics I'll never own, maybe thousands of stories I'll never read. Whole television programs I may never have a chance to see (every episode of Smallville, Lois and Clark, the Adventures of Superboy, the many iterations of Super Friends and the various Superman cartoons that have hit the air...)

So, yeah, there's sort of an endless realm of discovery within the character and franchise, brand, what-have-you.

And in some ways I almost think I need Superman to occupy the portion of my brain that enjoys worrying about those sorts of things. As I said before, I am pretty sure if it weren't Superman, it would be something else such as airplanes or cars, sports or music or something.



The source of the Superfandom has a few crucial moments, and I have no idea where the cut-off would be. Would it be The Admiral taking me to see the first movie when I was a little kid? When I saw the second movie? The third? Watching SuperFriends? Tying on handmade capes received as gifts from my grandmother and playing SuperFriends in our basement when I was three or four? (I always got to be Batman or I pitched a fit. The Superman thing came along later).

Would it be when I saw Superman: The Movie on TV one night (the first time I'd seen it in years) when I was 14 and was blown away by how genuinely good it really was? Would it be when I saw internet bulletin boards for the first time in college and was reading Superman forums? When Bruce Timm and Paul Dini launched the Superman animated series? When I crossed the line from picking up the occasional Superman comic in college to picking up the full line? When I started reading up on some of the randomness of the Superman comics in order to make sense of Big Blue, sometime around 2000? When I hung that enormous Alex Ross poster in our living room in our first house and poor Jamie had just seen the tip of the iceberg?

Like any other memory, the idea of erasing some part of your mental make-up can be a bit horrifying. Who would I be if not for the Man of Steel? Much different? I've no idea, but like any icon from our youth, it's difficult to imagine what we'd be if it were stripped away.



Perhaps at the root of the question may be the possibility of whether or not I think I would be a more successful person, a kinder person a more decent person if I were not a Superman fan. I don't think so. Do I think Superman has made me more successful, kinder, more decent...? I can say that surely my interest in the character was based at least in part upon a representation of what I felt reflected my ideals, especially once I no longer found myself as interested in some of the more extreme elements in comicdom. Whether Superman reinforced those ideals or not..? maybe you could ask Jamie. There's nothing mystical there. I just happen to think we tend to seek out those things which have a ring of the familiar.

I'm fairly certain that at this point it will be a long road ahead for me as a Superman fan. I enjoy picking up vintage back-issues, enjoy reading up on Superman's many incarnations, track the movie franchises and look forward to the release of Superman material on home video. Jamie's been plenty patient with the whole thing and has nary batted an eye as whole sections of the house have been given over to Super-Memorabilia.

So, yeah, we'd probably be driving gold cars and living in a mansion now were it not for Superman. But, you know, we have our fun.

The funny thing is that I know I'm not alone. There's a Superman Museum in, of course, Metropolis, Illinois. The Superman Homepage is very well trafficked, and Superman through the Ages, the Supermanica Wiki is cool, and there are a slate of other encyclopedic-style web sites dedicated to the Man of Steel.

We are among you, and our numbers are legion.

This was a tough question. Hope you don't mind that I took so long to answer it.
Hey, Leaguers!

Busy weekend. These days I'm finding that the most tired I am going into work is on Monday mornings, which means I need to start taking it a little easier on Sundays.

Friday night Jamie and I headed to the Alamo South to see "Knocked Up", which was preceded by a reel of sex-ed clips from the 1960's and earlier, each creepier than the next. Mix in some Judd Apatow clips and deleted scenes from "40-Year Old Virgin" and it was a good show. It was also Matt Mangum's birthday, and so I bought him a beer at the show.

I liked "Knocked Up", for the record.

As some Leaguers know, the Krypton Kruiser has seen better days and we're now looking at trading her in. I'm a lot sad about the idea of giving up on my car, but I think Jamie and I are now at the point where we're throwing good money after bad with that car, and we'd actually save money by taking on a car loan and a 3 year warranty. No, seriously. That's the kind of money the damn car is costing me.

Jamie was supposed to be in the market for a new car two years ago, but she never bothered to look, so we're both looking at cars with a strong chance we'll both be in new cars by the end of the summer. I'm a Consumer Reports believer, so I'm only looking at cars with a minimum of a check mark (as in recommended), and looking a lot at fuel consumption and safety features.

Anyhoo, Saturday was mostly spent looking at cars and standing out on the pavement in the sun. There are a lot more options in the arena of the Forester (small SUV/ station wagon) than when I was looking seven years ago, and we have fairly good options within our price point. But I haven't come anywhere close to making a decision yet. It's not like when I got the Forester seven years ago and had been researching the heck out of that car for months before I walked into a dealership. I actually really still like the Foresters, and it has the head room and safety features your League needs, but it's a little weird to think I'd be driving an updated model of the same car, putting me in the same auto from 2000 until past 2014.

Saturday night Nicole was sick, so we took Matt out on his lonesome for his brithday margarita and dinner. A tough trick as it was both the Republic of Texas biker rally weekend and Gay Pride weekend, which meant many restaurants were hopping both in town and out as restaurants on Manor (down near where Matt is living for the moment) seemed more packed than usual. We wound up at El Mercado, which was Omega Man empty, had some margaritas and then went back to Matt's to check in on Nicole.

My folks also needed to get into our house Saturday night as they'd been tubing the Blanco river, so we returned home and they were snugly asleep in the guest room.

Sunday we headed to Threadgill's for the Gospel Brunch (which is fun if you're in town on a Sunday), said our good-bye's to The Admiral and Karebear, and then Jason and I hit Barton Springs for a while with Kim Bloom. I am pale, hairy and chubby, which isn't really the demographic for the shirtless of Barton Springs, but I braved the sunshine, anyway.

Barton Springs hasn't changed much since I first visited prior to even moving to Austin in 1984. It's a great summer-time sort of place, with water at a constant 68 degrees, a nice lawn to throw down your towel, and you mostly don't need to worry about anybody stealing your stuff while you're swimming. Jamie was grabbing some much needed sleep, so I don't know if she's ready to take on the Springs once again.

Grabbed a sno-cone on my way out, then ran home and did the front yard.

Last night we got pounded by a fairly serious storm, and our program was interrupted by predictions of tornadoes. Last week marked the ten year mark since Jarrell was leveled by an F5 killing two dozen people, and the meteorologists around here still take this stuff very seriously.

Once the storm passed I got some comic reviews done, which meant I also stayed up too late.

Hope everyone had a good weekend.

Friday, June 01, 2007

Southside! RIP

Yesterday I went to my comic shop and saw the manager, Ty, standing in the doorway.

"What's up?" I asked. During most of my previous trips to Southside, Ty was stationed at the counter, balancing on the stool or sort of pacing behind the display cases.

"We're closing," he said, looking a bit nervous.

"Oh, I'll just grab my stuff and get out of your hair, then," I nodded, looking at my watch and seeing it was 5 til 7. I didn't want to keep him around if he was ready to go home...

And then I put one foot inside the door and realized... Ty was not closing for the night, he and the folks dismantling a few bookshelves were closing the doors of the shop for good.

I guess my expression said it all. "You didn't think we were actually closing," he said.

It was kind of weird. Southside doesn't even really have all that many fixtures. It had shelves on the walls and some folding tables for gaming in the back room, but that was about it. At some point Ty had made the decision to run the shop sort of lean and mean, so it was never littered with the usual unsold action figures and other comic-related merchandise madness that begins to fill a lot of shops.

I have no idea what was to become of the back issues I'd raided on FCBD, nor the comics lining the walls of the shop. I guess Ty is being transferred to the store way, way up North, so that's about the last I'll see of him.

He's transferring my subscription to Funny Papers, which is the same shop I used from Freshman orientation at UT in Fall of '93 until I moved in '02. It's actually about a block and a half from my office, so in some ways, it's more convenient than going to Southside, which was literally on the road on my way home. But, you know, Jamie wasn't too crazy about those hour-long delays I'd have on my way home when I'd address the issues of the DC Comics day with Ty and other comic geeks.

I think the shop I frequented in Tempe, Pop Culture Paradise, has also shut its doors.

The comic game is a tough one, from working as a creator down to keeping the doors open on your shop. And I can't blame folks for closing their doors when the rent goes up. Unfortunately, all those geeks who hang about all day don't actually spend all that much money to keep the place open.

At this point, I think the only comic shop left in South Austin may be Juniors Comics, and that's kind of sad.

Thursday, May 31, 2007

The End of Humanity a Good Idea?

As much as The League wants to put on a happy face and love all of humanity, there often seems to be someone out there who wants to make me sort of think the inevitable rise of our robot masters is going to be for the best.

Or, you know, if LA did just fall off into the ocean. That would be a good start.

Because I love doggies and aardvarks, I don't wish for the doom of all life on Earth, but if there were to be a comet coming which was only going to smush humans, I just might think this clip informs my opinion of why this would be a good thing...

Thanks to Randy for both links.

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

The Lameness Continues...

Hey, all. Welcome back to the lamest blog, ever.

Last night was surprisingly quiet. I caught up on some much needed Comic Fodder work (I mean, needed for me... not the general populace). With no Matt nor Doug and Kristen, the house was stunningly quiet. I think the dogs were just flat-out tired as they just weren't interested in harassing me at any point during the evening.

Really, not much to mention, which is why this is the lamest blog ever.

DC Rehabilitates the Supergirl Re-launch


The 2004 re-appearance of Supergirl wound up looking like this.

She will now look like:



here's the article.

In other words, Supergirl's flailing re-launch is going to make Supergirl into a girl once again and not a bratty LA party rat. Writer Tony Bedard is also a name writer with some good stuff behind him, so I'm looking forward to the new artistic and story direction. Not enough of a change to have to write a whole story around it, but also DC isn't insisting that they're giving the readers a version of the character we want, when, clearly it is NOT the Supergirl readers want. More than anything, it's a Supergirl that fits into 70 years of Superman comics and more than fifty years of Supergirl without seeming to alter the character so radically that it's no longer recognizably Supergirl.



the Astros' slide continues...



Blogging Countdown.

In addition to my usual Comic Fodder duties, I'm partnering with a gentleman from my office named Jason (no relation to my brother of the same name) to write a series of columns discussing DC's new weekly comic, "Countdown" and how it relates to DC, Comics in general, etc...

Check it out if you have the time. Hopefully the discussion will be entertaining.



I think I'm supposed to blog on some Jack in the Box commercials, but since I never saw them except on You Tube, I've not really developed an opinion of them. Sorry, team.



Lauren posted this, but it's so good, I must repost. Rejected Wii games.



Whenever I feel like comic geeks are weird, there's always Star Wars fans.



This weekend was the 30th Anniversary of Star Wars, which meant a massive Star Wars Celebration in San Diego, where they finally answered the question: No, you cannot have too many Princess Leia's.

More pics here.

Monday, May 28, 2007

A Memorial Weekend to Remember

Doug and Kristen have been here this weekend. Doug is, of course, Jamie's brother, and Kristen, Doug's ladyfriend.

It's been a really fun weekend, and I think we've done a good job of playing tour guide. I also have come to realize, in driving around town, how I have an anecdote for almost every 200 yards of vast stretches across town.

Saturday we took Doug and Kristen to the Alamo Drafthouse to see Pirates III. (Eh.) On Saturday night we took them out to "Esther's Follies", which I assume is an experience replicated somewhere in the Bay Area from which they hail, but, anyhow... it was fun and I think they liked it.

Sunday we rolled to Green Pastures for the Sunday brunch, which was amazing. Including the "Milk Punch", which should really be called "Satan's Secret Sledgehammer". Smooth, delicious, sweet, and then all of a sudden-like, you realize you'd best hand over the keys and let Jamie drive. Much like a pirate, I like my rum.

We tidied the house, hit the grocery, and by 5:00 we had a few people trickling in for a cook-out that wound up lasting until 12:00. Lots of folks came and went. A good time was had. Unfortunately, I also got a Wii this week, which meant Doug and I stayed up very, very late making disturbing Mii's and talking comics.

Got up today and Doug and Kristen suffered through Ryan's unofficial tour of Austin (which involved pointing out places that had caught on fire, and one place where I had caught on fire).

We wound up passing my old neighborhood where I grew up, so I decided to detour and pass my old house. The current owner was out in the yard, so I jumped out of the car to say "Hi". The guy happily welcomed us in to the house to see what became of the house where a young league had once spent many an hour pouring over his X-Men and Batman comics.

It was really, really weird going back in. (a) whomever lived in the house since we moved out in 89 has put in really nice fixtures, redone the kitchen, put down nice tile and put in wood floors in the foyer and all through the upstairs. (b) Hello flashback city. There was the corner Jason used to hide behind to leap out and terrify me. Here were the windows I totally forgot were at the top of the living room. And as much as had changed, it wasn't hard at all to see it as it was in my mind's eye. Except for the expansive backyard which now is filled with a pool.

Oh, and that damn hill in the front yard? That you had to mow at an angle? It's been cut up into tiers and turned into nice planters. However, the tree in the front yard, that was struck by lightning? I think it's gone. Or else it wasn't ever where I remember it sitting.

We also toured the Capitol, ran down by Lake Travis, zipped past the re-born Oasis restaurant (it's going to be pretty cool when they finish), and ate dinner/lunch at Hoover's off Manor. At Hoover's we saw a wheelchair bound Harry Knowles and at the Capitol we saw Rick Perry wandering out of the front doors and headed toward the governor's mansion. If he weren't on his cell phone, I totally would have flagged him down and made him welcome Doug and Kristen to the state.

I don't know how much Doug and Kristen got out of it, but we saw Austin from Slaughter Lane to Windy Point, and that's kind of cool. Austin's a small town, even when it's not, and even when it's growing.

Friday, May 25, 2007

SUPERMAN AT THE PARAMOUNT

hey, Leaguers!

I was just checking the summer movie schedule at The Paramount (and, seriously, it's like someone asked me exactly what movies I might want to see on the big screen...)

July 14th and 15th "Superman: The Movie" will be showing at the Paramount!

I'm thinking I'll take in the July 14th, 3:00 PM showing. Anyone who wants to come, we should form some sort of expedition! (This means you, JimD).

For the totally great summer line up, click here.

Oh, and next Sunday I will try to see "The Big Sleep". Because (a) it's a great movie, and (b) because it's Lauren Bacall at her foxiest.

Then, on the 12th and 13th I'm heading down to see the two Thin Man movies, schedules permitting.

Ghost Chimp MD

I can only point you to this... and you're either going to like it or not.

Thursday, May 24, 2007

STAR WARS ANNIVERSARY

There's been some buzz about Star Wars' 30th anniversary lately. So now's as good a time to talk about it as any.

Like probably millions of other American kids, my childhood is intrinsically mixed up with the Star Wars franchise. There's no beginning of my memory of childhood that is really separated from my first memories of Star Wars. My earliest memories include falling down some carpeted stairs at an apartment complex where we briefly lived and a matinee showing if Star Wars that The Admiral took me to when I was two (during which the @#$%ing Tusken Raiders scared the living @#$% out of me). I have a fragment of a memory of staring wide-eyed as the Death Star exploded into a million, billion sparks (back before that odd pressure wave was added to the effect). Others have suggested that, no, I did not see the movie in the theater until some re-release. I confirm that I saw the movie during it's initial release.

By the time i was three, the bedroom I shared with Jason had one wall covered in wallpaper featuring photos of the Star Wars characters, as did bedspreads and books scattered around. Every Christmas and birthday meant the arrival of a landspeeder, or X-Wing or one of those little 12"x18" playsets for the Star Wars gang to hang out.


@#$% YEAH!!!

The kids will be amazed to hear this, but we couldn't go and rent a movie six months after its release, and so you didn't sit down and watch the movie whenever you liked. We had the kid's Star Wars storybook that we'd page through and look at the pictures and figure out the words, and wonder why this scene featuring this guy "Biggs" telling Luke to leave Tatooine was in the book, but nobody remembered seeing it in the movie. So Star Wars was there while I was learning to read.

When we played outside, we had Han's blaster, and a Stormtrooper blaster (they weren't "guns" when you were playing Star Wars. They had to be "blasters".) And one Halloween I was Han Solo, Jason a Jawa, the kid down the street was Luke, and his little sister... an adorable panda bear.

It was unlikely you hadn't seen Star Wars, but if you hadn't, then you were either not born in the US or were, literally, a girl. Usually it meant you were a girl whose mom didn't think girls needed to see movies about space cowboys and samurai in order to be a proper young lady. And whose dad had probably gone to go see the damn movie, himself, anyway.

But Star Wars also gave us ideas about girls, or at least Princess Leia made us believe that girls were supposed to carry blasters, and that their whiplash insults were really just a prelude to smooches we'd get in the engineering bay of the star cruiser we'd eventually win in a hand of cards.

And, poor Carrie Fischer, will always be seen in the mind's eye of a generation of Americans as the girl who launched a thousand hormones when Lucas put her in a metal bikini and made her sit next to Salacious Crumb. (Of course we just as quickly learned that sexiness doesn't equate to helplessness when Leia took Jabba out with the very tools of her imprisonment. So there.)


Most certainly a dame in the media the league once dug

And was there anyone better to teach us that dads can make mistakes, too, than Darth Vader? or Palpatine to teach you that putting a bottomless pit in your living room in an architectural bit of hubris you might not want to consider?

And Yoda taught is it is not the size of the person who matters... not when you really want to move that X-Wing. For years The Admiral would quote to me from Yoda, either fancying himself to be a wizened Jedi Master or knowing that I was far, far more likely to buy the words of Yoda than whatever other advice he might give me. "There is no try..." was oft quoted in the halls of Steans Manor.

It's sad to dwell on the eventual limping fate of the series, but especially with the first two movies... We were kids who still grew up with fantasy lands full of dragons and giants. But we were also kids who had robots and slug gangsters and giant, mechanical quadrupedal death machines to fill our fantasy worlds. Mystic knights of virtue (as well as their brethren who'd gone wrong and needed redemption) populated our consciousness, and, hell... my 4th grade teacher used both Episode IV and Episodes IV-VI to illustrate the Aristotelian three-act structure as well as the various literary themes of Man vs. X.

I have no idea what kids today have latched on to. Power Rangers or Yu-Gi-Oh or something, I guess. But it was a smaller world, and pondering this other universe was something we all had in common.

That's it. I'm not editing this thing.

You guys chat about Star Wars amongst yourselves.

Batman is crazy

I confess...

I am still not sure I got Frank Miller's "All Star Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder". At least not until issue 5, which came out last week. And I'm still not sure I get it.

But Miller's decision between "Batman: Year One" and "Dark Knight Strikes Again" to portray the Justice League as a bunch of maniacs is sort of interesting, even when you feel like the comic is mostly out of control. And, no, I don't think Jim Lee is the right choice to draw the book. Except when he is. But I still sort of wish Miller had drawn this page himself.


Click on the pic to see the page full sized.

Anyway, for some reason I went from "?" to "...really?" on this book last week.

Because somehow the Justice League all being a bunch of nutjobs is a good idea, even if it doesn't work in Earth-1 continuity. It's sort of like getting in a car with a bunch of guys you don't really know very well and driving around at 100 mph on dirt roads. It's probably a terrible idea, and you start out kind of freaked out, but after a while, you either start laughing with everyone else or just make yourself miserable.

Like it or not, comics needs Frank Miller's Batman.

update

It's been an odd couple of days.

Today Doug and Kristen will be here to visit Jamie and me. I think we're also soft-selling them on Austin, but I'm not sure that's still the plan.

For the past two days Matt Mangum has been staying with us. He's waiting for his new condo to be finished, and is trying not to wear out his welcome with his girlfriend's roommate/ landlord. It's nice to have Matty around, but it also puts a huge, glaring spotlight on the odd behavior Jamie and I have come to expect as normal. Example: Last night I had to complete bagging, board, sorting and inventorying five months worth of comics, plus back issues.

This was in order to get the house "tidied" for Doug and Kristen who probably don't care, but I wanted to do it, anyway. Anyhow, that sort of procedure is usually something that I do on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, or when nobody is looking. So it was an odd feeling to let my creepy, obsessive side out in the open.

I have no idea what Matt is going to do with himself while Doug and Kristen are here. We do have an inflatable mattress, so it might involve that.

Also, my Uncle had some health issues over the weekend, so I've been worrying about him a lot. Especially as the folks are out of the country (they're touring Italy). So for about 24 hours I thought that maybe I'd be flying into Dulles to go see him in the hospital. The good news is that he's out of the hospital, doing okay and has a plan for treatment. He just managed to give us and Aunt Linda a nasty scare.

We're pullin' for you, Bobbo. Stay healthy.

Anyhow, that's about it.

Monday, May 21, 2007

Harvey Dent and Answering Questions

Hey, Leaguers.

Would you vote for Harvey Dent for DA? If this means anything to you, I'd click on the link and then let the image roll over.

The weekend was very busy as weekends tend to be when one is employed. Friday was dinner and margaritas with Matt and Nicole. Saturday was Spider-Man 3 with the Shaws. And Saturday night I began Wii Quest '07. There are no Wii's for sale in South Austin.

Sunday we did some serious yard work, I hung my flag for Memorial Day, and then crashed for a bit. We wound up at Nicole's house for dinner with the Garcia's. It seems Letty is now sporting dual French/US citzenship. So Letty is now one of us Amerikaners. God help her.

And that was it. Busy weekend. I ot four months worth of comics bagged and boarded, but not sorted and entered into the database (that has top happen sooner or later this week). Matt might be staying at our house in the evenings as he sorts out his condo/living situation.

And that's about it.

I am amazed at all of the traffic from my short post asking for questions.

1) Que tegusta hacer cuando jugar con unicornes?

I like to take them in the tub.

2) What's wrong with your stats? An average of 244 visitors/day not enough for you?

The high number is deceptive. It's literally a 95+% looking for pictures. Mostly of naked Supergirl. (Hello Google pre-verts!)

3) Why do you worry so much about how many people are reading your site?

I don't worry about how many people are reading. I worry about people returning. And participating. Or just saying "hi".

4) It all comes down to: do you enjoy it?

Sometimes. Most of the time. But sometimes not.

5) I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the new CBS show, Kid Nation.

I think it's a concept that should have been explored with Survivor, but instead they turned Survivor into Double Dare.

6) The bit about the girl who I couldn't date because she was really into mountain biking....

I know it was confusing, but Jamie + mountain biking = unlikely.

No, that was a my analogy for my former, short lived job. We had very different ideas regarding what I would be doing for a living.

7) I think the RSS stuff has worked itself out.

8) If the only people that read are your Loyal Leaguers and a few randoms that stumble across it, does that make it less fun?

I guess I would compare hosting this blog to, oh, say... dinner theater. It's kind of hacky and dumb, but people show up, if just for the spaghetti. But I'm sort of flying solo up here on the creaky stage, trying to put on a performance every evening. I don't know how many of you have been in a play, but when you're in a show, you can't see the audience. All you can see are the lights. And that's sort of what it's like running this joint. I have no idea who is out there, if I know the people, what sort of people they are. Sure, a few friends said they'd show up, but I can't see them and I don't know where they are.

And every once in a while there's a stretch where the audience doesn't give you so much as a polite cough to let you know they're out there. You think you can kind of see the outline of a few heads, but you finish a big show-stopper, and all you can hear is yourself breathing a bit too hard. Or else you can hear someone in the audience arguing with the wait staff.

That's not to say I'm seeking applause, but as I often say, it's the Leaguers who make it all worthwhile. And sometimes when you've gone for a stretch and you have no idea if anyone is even showing up (or else the place is being flooded with senior citizens for the Tuesday Night $2.00 special, who aren't going to watch the show, anyway), you sort of want to say, "Okay, let's not run the show tonight."

And, anyway... Blogging takes time. And it's work, even when it's fun.

So, yeah, sometimes you want to take a look out form behind the curtain to see how many are in the house before you bother to get into costume.


9) Maybe you should have guest host, like they do occasionally on the Late Show or Tonight Show. So you start to feel burned out...turn it over to Stephen Harms for a week. Or Randy or Jim D.

I dunno. It's sort of a personal journal. That's a bit like letting your borther fill in your diary because you're out of town for a few days.


So, anyway, I hope this answers some questions.

Hope everyone is doing well.

From All Star Superman, which you should be reading...

Sorry for no Monday post. It's late and I had Comic Fodder work to do.

Hope your weekend was good.

Friday, May 18, 2007

Too Close to Home

Sometimes you see something on TV that makes you sort of do a bit of soul-searching, even when it was never intended to cause that bit of soul-searching. Or not.

As I mention here upon occasion, I am well aware of my low-level, basic social dysfunction, but part of that awareness is also the awareness that there is absolutely nothing you can do about it.

And so I was watching VH-1's Acceptable TV a while back, and saw this sketch. And as funny as I find it, when I mentioned to Jamie that maybe I identified a bit too much with Gar, she certainly didn't argue.

So, as it turns out, I'm "Gar the Unbearable".