Sunday, October 18, 2009

Balloon Boy

Judge Not, Lest Ye Be...

Ha ha. Just kidding. What kind of blog would this be if I weren't judging everyone who caught my attention for a split second? This means you, Emily!!!!

But, like everyone else, I've been thinking about Balloon Boy.

In case you had not heard, the Sheriff of Larimer County, Colorado has deduced that the entire balloon chasing production on Thursday wasn't just a hoax, but one intended to land the family involved a television contract. And apparently scrambling the air force, shutting down the Denver airport, involving a massive portion of the police force and untold numbers of public servants isn't exactly legal. Thus, the Sheriff is throwing the book at the Heene family.


Marshall had a post on this, responding to an article on gawker
.

My own brother had this to say.

Mostly, I'm admiring the entire scenario as a perfect encapsulation of how I believe a portion of the populace has viewed the post-Survivor/ Richard Hatch era of pointless celebrity. And, as countless other navel-gazers have concluded in regards to the sort of Z-level fame and meritless notoriety sought by the those such as Heene: this isn't actual celebrity.

There's no word for what this is, but if eskimos have a few dozenw ords for snow, for the number of fame-seeking jack-asses there are in the world, we need a word that better describes the Z-Level fame via reality show. You know... the kind of famous that earns you a life being known as "Juice-a-Licious" from your run on "Flava of Love" or assuming people will know or care who you are because you were a jackass on Survivor six years ago.

There's no real name for that kind of fame. Please send in your ideas.

What's so beautiful about the Balloon Boy story is how jumbo-sized hubris, ineptitude and counting on a six year old to keep a story straight spun out into a yarn that, if you made it up, people wouldn't buy it... And now, when and if the tale is folded into someone's TV movie of the week or Oscar winning picture, what with charges filed, nobody actually needs to pay Heene for his side of the story. And Papa Heene may well wind up in jail (and will most certainly go broke on legal costs).

Sounds like a Coen Bros. project to me.

The Gawker article blames "us", which I don't buy. If we hear a kid is pilotlessly drifting across the Colorado sky in a runaway balloon, we're going to tune in every once in a while to see if that kid is okay. The dimensions of our displays don't matter. Yes, "we" watched a balloon floating across the landscape (well, I didn't. I saw the headline and then walked into a two hour training presentation, and by the time I was done, it was all over). That's like blaming "us" for Baby Jessica falling down a well back in the 80's.

Yes, it was something exploited by Heene, but there is more than voyeurism in this, or guilt the media should feel for breaking a live story. "We" don't need to feel shame for clicking on a hyperlink to understand a headline in bright yellow at the top of CNN.com. I understand that because Heene fooled us, Gawker is trying to turn that into a "we should have known better" story of personal shame, but... I'm not buying it this time. There are a lot of things "we" should have known better than that nobody has bothered to shame anybody about.

Reality TV isn't what created someone like Heene, but it did make the myopic pursuit of fame-by-any-means-necessary seem like it may have a greater likelihood of success, once you realized you may lack any actual talent. And, it cut out the middle-man of asking people to love a character, and let them get right to the business of loving you directly. Had Heene's grasp not over-extended his reach, no doubt he would be cutting a deal with somebody right now to feature his wacky family and their exploits. Unfortunately, in believing he and his brood were smarter than, apparently, literally everyone in Colorado and/ or America, he screwed up. (Not to mention appearing twice before on TV, pitching shows about his family to basic cable networks, and leaving a trail of videos seemingly demonstrating exactly what sort of jackass he was molding his children into).

If any of the Heene kids wanted a chance at not ending up in the fail column, maybe humiliation and a little jail time for their old man on a national scale will give them a moment of pause before they decide they, too, can outsmart laws of physics and a background check.

Heene's actions weren't harmless (all the resources that had to be brought forth to deal with the situation), and had he succeeded, if he was willing to exploit his kids in this situation, what would have been next? If the book is thrown at him, so be it. And if it gives the next idiot inflating a balloon and actually sticking his kid into the balloon a moment of pause, all the better.

I think Jason posited that people were mad at the Heene's because they had become invested in the gripping story of danger that turned out to be false, but I'd suggest that was only part of the story. That may be true, but its also possible there is a population out there who doesn't buy the E! channels narrative, or that of the Insider, Entertainment Tonight, etc... and who have grown quite tired of the cult of celebrity and the past decade's insistence that we know about people like Richard Hatch, Kardashians, the awful New York woman of VH1, any Real Housewife in any city, Jon & Kate and a thousand just like them. And seeing someone cut down before they had an opportunity to pop up on our Yahoo News page, in our headlines on CNN.com, etc... that they somehow managed to take care of themselves sits okay with many of us.

Sorry your dad is going to jail, Balloon Boy. God bless you for doing what kids do so often and telling some part of the truth. Lord knows CNN barely bothers with it anymore. Heck, Wolf Blitzer was so baffled he didn't even have a line of questioning he could follow immediately when the cat was out of the bag and wandering around the table.

Disguise!

I would get this, but Jamie's patience with me is thin as it is.


Bully!

But, yes, I would like to see how far one could take a TR impersonation around town. Its too bad congress is no longer in session...

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Red River Rivalry 2009

Well, the Texas/ OU game is done for another year. Texas claimed a victory at 16-13.

I'll be curious to review the statistics later, and I am sure fans will have differing opinions as to what the game meant.

In my opinion, the Texas offense played mostly poorly, and it was clear OU's defense had done their homework in preparing for the offense. To compound things:

Passing game:

Whether its due to having an offense that can't run a pass play, or Greg Davis going senile, UT ran play after play aimed at passing for only a few yards. This included when UT would earn yet another penalty or sack and wind up with 20 yards between themselves and a first down.

The issue with running these short routes seemed to be that OU anticipated every route, meaning that our receivers could never truly get open, or do much more than wind right back up at the line of scrimmage.

At any rate, UT's passing game is looking a bit sad compared ot last year.

Running Game

If you give the ball to Fozzy every play, they will figure it out.

The Pitch Play


Greg Davis, it seems you are letting the kids with whom I played backyard football circa 1982 design your "trick" plays. They don't work, they make Colt look unhappy. Stop it.

Penalties

For a game that, at last check, wound up with 215 yards in penalties, I didn't think the refs were particularly whistle-happy. Whatever thought might have once been a part of football that meant "just let them play" has been scrapped, but apparently nobody notified Texas's line, who had multiple holding calls, costing us 5-10 yards on what seemed to be a play per drive (at least), and which injured almost every opportunity Texas had all game to move the ball.

OU was responsible for what had to have been an equal or greater number of penalties, leading to UT's victory, as UT moved the ball almost entirely off of penalties during some drives.

UT's Defense

Played very well. Aside from a few mistakes, which are just inevitable, I don't think I've seen those guys play this well all year. If they can keep that up, its going to help make up for the weak offensive line, and whatever is going on with the 5 yard offense.



Colt

It's hard to tell if Colt McCoy is struggling, or if he simply has no help. In the first half, the line was offering him no time to find a receiver, but whether the receiver was open or not, he wasn't able to make much happen until he decided to start running. Unless he's a threat to do more than pass, it seems like the opposing defense isn't having too hard of a time shutting Colt down and/ or sacking McCoy.

But...

Look, OU didn't look any better than UT. At least not after Bradford went down with an injury early on. I am of the opinion that, had Sam remained healthy, UT would have gone down in flames.

I am happy that UT won. I'm just not impressed at all with how UT's offense played. I like a "W" as much as the next guy, but as this isn't as straightforward playoff situation, and this widely-televised game is going to be considered by voters, how the game was played is an issue.

The bottom line is that UT hasn't had a game where they looked terrific this season, and I remember laughing out loud along with everyone else when I saw the cream-puff schedule Mack brown got for his team.

When UT won the Rose Bowl and took the 2005 Championship, part of what made the year so amazing was that expectations were not for a championship, UT had a rigorous schedule, and right up til the week of the game, ESPN (who is always looking at Pete Carroll with dewy eyes) didn't think UT stood a chance. Getting a soft schedule and looking bad when you win those games doesn't make the ranking feel terribly legit.

There's a lot of season left yet for the Horns to either make it or break it.

UT fans have a reputation, I guess, for being fair weather fans because of the nature of the fan base to be critical. Yes, its easier to be a fan when they are winning and playing well. But find me a UT fan who doesn't find a reason to complain about Greg Davis once per game, and I'll show you someone who doesn't watch the games and care.

A truly great Texas team is still fresh in the minds of many UT fans, and, unfortunately for the team, every play is compared a bit with WWVYD? And, of course, the knowledge that when you're on top and there's this much season left, there's nowhere to go but down.

I, personally, don't want to see UT wind up in another Texas or Alamo Bowl. And certainly don't want to see another team we've beat wind up ahead of us in the rankings once again.

Let's all also hope Sam and other injured players get healthy soon.

Texas Fight!!!






Friday, October 16, 2009

Policy: JimD or Randy?

A thinly disguised Leaguer recently asked the policy question:

JimD or Randy?
Well, this question is obviously tough to answer, and will change from scenario to scenario.  But I think a few illustrative examples might be useful:
  • Trapped on an island with?  JimD (wouldn't feel as guilty about eventually killing and eating JimD)
  • Produce my folk/rap album?  JimD
  • Choreograph my videos?  Randy
  • Screen and hire the skanks for my videos?  Randy
  • Write the NDA's for the skanks in my videos?  JimD
  • Would win in a duel (foil)?  Randy
  • Would win in a duel (pistols)?  JimD
  • Would win in a lightsaber duel?  JimD
  • Used to bullseye womp rats in his T-16 back home.  They're not much bigger than two meters?  Randy
  • Is a loose cannon?  JimD
  • Is getting too old for this shit?  Randy
  • Executor of my will?  Randy
  • Will be asked to take on my debts?  JimD
  • Looks great in a thong?  TIE
  • Sends me a constant stream of stuff via email which leads me to wonder what, if anything, he does for a living?  Randy
  • No longer actually reads LoM?  JimD
  • Would want as my backup when we're going to have to shoot our way out?  Neither.  Maybe Emily.
  • I would gladly hand over to the police?  Randy
  • Whom I would gladly trust to start a new government, and then immediately exploit the very loopholes he'd created?  JimD
  • Jazzy Jeff to my Fresh Prince?  Randy
  • Carlton to my Fresh Prince?  JimD*

*Yes, summer of 1997, I watched a lot of Fresh Prince and drank cheap beer.  I was also only partially employed.

    Wednesday, October 14, 2009

    NTT asks... POLICY

    NTT asks:



    1. Why does this blog use a length of measure not officially recognized by any nation?

    I think the Yurgh will really catch on as measure of both definitions of volume.


    2. Did you order the Code Red?

    Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be protected by men with guns...


    3. What does Didio have on you to give Final Crisis a good review?

    Nothing. Any story that ends with Superman eliminating the threat of an arch villain by singing the song of the vibrational frequency of the multi-verse is just going to find a warm place in my heart.

    I still sort of feel that if readers could not find a bit of love for "Final Crisis",  they're not seeing the meta-story of the DCU as put down since Barry met Jay and Jimmy Olsen met the Newsboys.

    4. Would you rather have a bottle in front of you or a frontal lobotomy?

    The Ketel One drip.



    5. If the League has an arch-villain, what are the rules of engagement?


    The League is usually a bit dim and does not realize that anyone considers him "The Cursed League".  Somehow, as far as I know, I've made it this far without anyone setting out to destroy me.

    However, the number of people who find me annoying knows no bounds.


    Because its likely sooner or later my madcap ways will, indeed, draw the ire of someone who seeks to destroy me, I would do the following:

    1)  be down about it for a while
    2)  try to sort out what I did
    3)  be down some more
    4)  pledge to change
    5)  utterly fail to improve any behavior
    6)  kind of forget about it
    7)  be passive aggresive
    8)  get drunk and call the arch-villain and try to see what's up
    9)  wait until an awkward social moment with lots of witnesses, and then insist "you never liked me, anyway"
    10)  eat a lot out of stress

    No.



    America,

    I saw this ad in my Facebook sidebar (why American Apparel thought I was buying "Disco Pants" should make the evangelists of targeted advertising weep).

    There is a slim 4-5% of the age-appropriate demographic that will make these pants work. The same population that almost made Uggs work (they don't, they're dumb), and who can generally pull off any trend to come down the pike, good idea or no.

    Much like the muffin-top and whale-tail looks of circa 2004, these pants are going to inflict us with a generation of people in clothing which they will attempt to adopt as its in all the magazines, but which will end in failure once worn out to the Red Box DVD rental outside Walgreens.

    I now know I'm going to walk across campus with sad looking undergrads squeezed into these monstrosities on a pedestal of those rain-slicker boots that have to be giving our nation's young women the worst case of athlete's foot since the trench war of 1917.

    Stop the disco pants madness.

    Tuesday, October 13, 2009

    Enemy Ace Says Nuts to Your Aerial Superiority


    Child-Free American cont'd

    actually a lot closer to what I assumed was going on in the endless sea of DVD-outfitted SUV's in Chandler.





    Stolen from Calvin

    Monday, October 12, 2009

    sometimes its time for Enemy Ace


    JackBart in Baltimore: Poe at Geppi Entertainment Museum

    This is an official press release from Boom! Studios


    October 12, 2009 – Los Angeles, CA - Come meet BOOM! Studios writer J. Barton Mitchell and artist Dean Kotz, of the horror/detective thriller POE, as they appear at Geppi's Entertainment Museum for a one-day-only signing!

    "We're very pleased to host writer J. Barton Mitchell and artist Dean Kotz, creators of Boom! Studios' exciting mini-series POE, one of the most insightful and interesting takes we've ever seen on one of Baltimore's most famous residents. With Halloween fast approaching and with our city's year-long celebration of POE, it's the perfect time for our friends and patrons to come meet this talented team," said Melissa Bowersox, Executive Vice-President of GEM.



    Many know Edgar Allen Poe as not only the father of modern horror, but also the creator of the detective genre. But did you know he was a detective himself? Enter the world of POE and follow the famous author of darkness as he tracks a supernatural killer ravaging the streets of Baltimore!


    Where:
    Geppi's Entertainment Museum
    301 W. Camden Street
    Baltimore, MD 21201
    (410) 625-7060
    www.geppismuseum.com


    When:
    Saturday, October 17th, 2009 from 12pm - 4pm



    Map: Google Maps 

    Happy Canadian Thanksgiving Day!/ Columbus Day


    Do you guys get some sort of default Holiday in November that we don't get? I don't know how this works.


    It's not actually a "New World" if people are already living there. Here's to 500 years of poor decision making and syphilis. Don't go to the post office.

    Sunday, October 11, 2009

    Light Monday

    Item #1:

    Randy sent this item:

    Apparently somebody (possibly the California Dairy Council?) put together a Rock Opera about... a sci-fi future in which milk has made everything better. Look, I can't explain it. But if you've got 20 minutes or so, be prepared to have your world rocked.

    Milkquarius

    Seriously, you need to watch this thing. Its mind boggling.


    Item #2:


    I think the McBride siblings will appreciate this most of all:

    Bacon Narwhal

    Stolen from Calvin

    Item #3:

    Apparently, Dr. Robert Bakker, one of the most famous of paleontologists, is now at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. I have no idea how long he's been there, but I just saw him on a NatGeo documentary, and that's where he's at. Who knew?

    I read Bakker's book "The Dinosaur Heresies" partially in high school and then all the way through in college. He's an interesting guy, and I'd be curious to know what's going on at that museum that they landed Bakker. Sounds like they've upped the ante since I used to go there in high school every few months.

    here

    I'm not sure about Bakker's reputation these days, but the way I was told in college (back in the mid-90's): he was not loved by the dino-community as he had sort of by-passed the usual route of scientific research, publishing and debate via journals and conferences, and instead went straight to a publisher and got his book out there to the public. "The Dinosaur Heresies" title was a reference to Bakker acknowledging that his hypotheses weren't accepted by the dino-community, but he wasn't letting that slow him down. And in the end, some of what he proposed is now widely accepted as theory.

    More milege may vary.

    I don't have an opinion on the whole thing, and I don't even know if my facts are correct.

    I really, really hope a mention of Bakker doesn't accidentally draw a bunch of angry paleontologists in the comments section.


    Item 4:



    I'm going to get an Aye-Aye, and I'm going to put it in your kitchen.

    When Jamie is Gone

    This weekend I:
    • hung out with Jason, ate dinner, sort of watched TV
    • went to a midnight movie, "Paranormal Activity"
    • watched the last half of "Evil Dead 2"
    • watched the last half of "Reality Bites"
    • slept 4 hours
    • watched "The Longest Day" (which was really very good, and I'd recommend it to anyone. Glad I finally saw it.)
    • wrote official "nakedness" policy for League of Melbotis
    • Went to post office - learned you can do all your postal stuff online these days and there's no reason to go to the post office
    • Backed up line at post office talking to clerk about "Death of Superman" and various Justice Leaguers and DC Animated cartoons
    • Went to: Target, Spirit: The Halloween Store, Home Depot, Lowe's (neither had what I was looking for), HEB (a local grocery)
    • Watched the UT/ Colorado game with Matt and Nicole
    • Hung out
    • Re-did shelves
    • Slept 7.5 hours
    • am drinking coffee and considering more sleep
    • Scout is asleep and laying on her back. She's dreaming she's running, so her feet and tail are moving. Its hilarious.
    • am going to go into my office and do some comic-collecting-related activity

    Saturday, October 10, 2009

    This is happening: Marge Simpson in Playboy





    Apparently, this is actually happening.

    I am dumbfounded/ amazed/ amused/ probably still not buying Playboy.

    Policy: Nakedness

    editor's note: I actually started on this prior to reading this installment of Achewood. It was far more inspired by a diagram I had been working on at work for determining levels of tech support.

    So Steven has asked:

    What's your policy on nude blogging?

    And what about nude reading?


    Fair enough Steven.

    To the first point, The League does, in fact, have a policy on his own nudity while blogging!

    Blogging nude here occurs only after the third scotch has been imbibed.

    The math works out thusly for common reviews:

    Movie reviews: 2nd paragraph
    Comic reviews: 4th paragraph
    Television: 1st paragraph
    Superman posts: stone cold sober
    Political posts: before I even start, I've usually been nude and drunk for an hour

    Leaguers who are into dudes are no doubt curious as to what the magnificent physique of The League actually looks like. Well, lucky you, I have decided to include a rather sexy shot of myself that Jamie usually keeps tacked to her bathroom mirror. Attempt to contain yourself.


    Like Daniel Craig in "Casino Royale", The League rises from the water, revealing his form.

    But the real question, then, is: Does The League have a policy for reading League of Melbotis au natural?

    I was certain I'd shared this chart with you before as a helpful hint. In fact, I keep a printed copy folded up in my attache case to hand out to anyone who springs me with this very question.

    The abbreviated decision chart looks like this (the full chart has more than 180 decision branches, but this usually works in a pinch and doesn't require 41 sheets of paper to print):


    Please click for full flow chart


    We suggest you print your own copy and keep it framed somewhere near where you might need to do some decision-making.

    The League watches: Paranormal Activity

    (editor's note: I just re-read this, and I came off rather harshly. I'm adding some content, because I really didn't think the movie was bad.)

    You may or may not have heard about the movie "Paranormal Activity". It's currently in release and showing at the Alamo South in Austin.

    I recommend reading about Paranormal Activity rather than viewing the trailer as the trailer probably gives away more than was wise to reveal, and certainly spoiled one or two of the film's tricks for me.

    The biggest thing that this movie has going against it is that its been released about a full decade after "The Blair Witch Project", and to not draw a comparison would be sort of ridiculous. Like "Blair Witch" or the more recent "Cloverfield", "Paranormal Activity" purports to be "found footage" of a series of uncanny events, with a small, tight cast acknowledging that there is a camera on and running.*

    I suppose my one miscue from the trailer was in believing the movie was about "Ghost Hunters"-style paranormal investigators, when it is really about a couple recording events in their own amazingly plush San Diego home (the most paranormal thing about the movie is how unlikely both the size of the house and "decorate with all the taste of a model home" look the place has).

    Like Blair Witch, there also only about four characters in the movie, and that works in the context of the movie. In fact, I'm not really clear on who some of the people listed on IMDB are supposed to be. I suppose there are cut scenes?

    I just never really got the same thrill from this movie that I got from Blair Witch. Perhaps because there's so much less geography? Perhaps because Blair Witch truly felt as if the actors were being toyed with, and here, our fiend feels like he's almost just a pest for part of the movie? Maybe because the thing really does have a "been there, done that" feel in its own way?


    hope you like this shot, because you will see A LOT of it

    In a lot of ways, it's kind of a low-budget "Blair Witch" meets the 1960's version of "The Haunting", and so in that way, the movie isn't half bad, all while not really bringing anything entirely new to the table. In fact, the filmmakers depend so much on their pretense of the "first person" camera shooting that they clearly were worried more about story or, in many ways, character.

    There's a lot of pressure on the talent in this movie, as they're left to practical lighting, running their own camera and behaving like people caught on tape rather than actors playing out a scene. I can't really fault them for scenes that seemed like an improv class from time to time, and they certainly carried off the spookier scenes very well. By and large, they carried the enormous weight put upon them. Actor Micah Stone does a good job, but Katie Featherstone has more acting challenges, which she handles relatively well, without becoming oddly unsympathetic a la "Heather" from The Blair Witch, while bringing "production value" to the movie.

    I am not a true horror fan. It's not that I dislike horror, but whatever gene sequence one needs to truly appreciate horror (like our friend, Wings) I simply lack. But there are certain things I find myself liking in horror movies. I think every Halloween I mention my love of "The Haunting", and because this movie replicates that same brand of fear, I can salute it. And I do feel the director and producers understood what makes a horror movie work without relying on a factoryline of teens getting it in a grizzly fashion.

    But you do wish you had a better feel for who the characters are, and maybe that's what made "Blair Witch" work for me, but less so this movie, and not at all "Cloverfield".




    The League's Verdict:
    It's possibly a renter, or a great option if you're in a Halloween mood, and you're not a fan of slasher pics, the latest Saw installment, etc... It does have some genuinely creepy parts, even if the ending feels completely telegraphed from the first frame.



    *It should be noted that I did have the passing thought that the immediacy of self-documentation as a trope in horror is nothing new. After all, Frankenstein and Dracula were written as journals and self-narration. Adding a video camera may be just the natural evolution of that idea.

    Friday, October 09, 2009

    Planet Hulk to DVD

    It seems Marvel has upped the ante a bit in their animation efforts.

    I tried their first few movies and... not good.

    Now they are bringing the last story I remember reading and really enjoying from Marvel to the small screen.



    No, I do not remember how Hulk becomes articulate. Hopefully the movie will remind me.

    Thursday, October 08, 2009

    Interactivity time: Policy Questions?

    I always need topics to write upon. I have just written what I consider to be my first policy statement.

    Ever wonder why things are the way they are at LoM? Why I may be maddeningly consistent or seemingly wildly inconsistent? Why I don't drop the f-bomb?

    After several years of this blogging business, I suppose I must have several policies in place that I haven't ever really expressed.

    What are some topics upon which The League should have a policy, or do you wonder if one already exists?

    Put your questions and suggestions into the comments section! It'll be good fodder for a future post.

    Full Disclosure: Blogging and Shilling

    It most likely did not make a blip on your radar, but apparently the FTC is asking bloggers to report when and if the items they are reviewing are free, if they've paid to receive and review the item, etc...

    Read more here for clarity or here.

    We might as well take this opportunity to set some house rules for reviews/ criticism, free content and how we plan to handle this at League of Melbotis.

    In short, my policy isn't going to change aside from me adding boilerplate. And I'll get to why momentarily.

    1) League of Melbotis will accept review copies of comics, movies, etc...
    2) We will not accept payment from the producer or marketing company of the item being reviewed. This includes financial incentives, unrelated giveaways, etc...
    3) If a physical copy of any media is received, we will alert readers if we seek to divest ourselves of the review copy. We may keep items at our discretion. bear in mind, sending you a copy costs us something.
    4) From this point forward, we will note when and if the item received in a review came through any means but our own pocket. We will note format, etc...
    5) If we just watched, bought, paid for an item ourselves, without a review copy, we will not make mention, as this is literally 99.5% of the reviews, mentions, etc... we're currently doing. So, seriously, guys. Unclench.
    6) Were something really wild to happen that were to change the status of LoM as a free website being run with absolutely no moneymaking capacity and as a complete waste of all of our time and energy, I will be the first to at least acknowledge a change of status as the big dollars start rolling in and I forget all of you people (sorry, Randy. As soon as the big bucks roll in, I'm replacing you with Fred Savage.). But, really... 6 years in, I'm pretty realistic about this blogging business. It's in no way lucrative, and its not even really a good idea for a grown man to do anymore.


    However...

    What gives the timing of the FTC's decision an interesting twist is that LoM was, just this week, added to become "press" according to a rising star comic publisher. This means I am to receive electronic copies of this company's comics.

    Being no dummy, and knowing how some of you like to freak out about this sort of thing (JimD), I had planned to mention the slight change in status prior to any reviews down this pathway, as you would notice a certain spike in my reading and reviewing. Now, I'm not just ethically obligated to make mention, but legally as well. And I have enough legal problems, anyway (smuggling illegal parrots into the US in your baggy cargo pants turns out to be more toruble than one would guess).

    Rest assured: They are not plying me with money and women at this time (yet).

    A while back I was receiving copies of DVD's for review from a marketing company, and was charged by several Leaguers (joking or not) that I was now a shill. I good naturedly put up with your baseless whining, and I think the matter resolved itself once we reached the "Speed Racer" incident which ended that particular gravy train.

    But, yes, it does not take a genius of marketing to figure out I might view and enjoy a Justice League DVD, and write about it on my blog. And, if you recall, I gave away my copy of the DVD.

    I should also point out that its standard practice for media companies to send review copies of movies, books, etc... to professional reviewers. While LoM is not The New York Times, as long as I play by the rules and fairly review media, and keep you posted as to where I got the media, I have no problem accepting review copies. We'll strive to do our best to remain neutral with the possibility for limited access in the face of a bad review hanging over our head.

    For the record, I am in agreement of the spirit of the FTC's decision, and hope that disclosures are taken seriously. In an industry as small as comics, its often difficult to determine the relationships going on between readers, reviewers, creators, and the engine of the industry. Whether it has much effect on who buys what, I don't know, but there's always room for not being a bought loser.

    Fist bump for the common welfare!



    Apparently, CNN is endorsing the "fist bump" as a means of preventing us from spreading H1N1. Intriguingly, they point out that greeting each other with terrorist fist bumps will save lives as its less likely to spread contagion than the traditional handshake.

    As The League could really do without H1N1, and also really enjoys a good dap, we're taking up the fist-bump as our new greeting.

    But not only does the leader of our fair nation endorse the fist bump (although I think when Michele Obama tells you to fist bump, you darn well better fist bump), someone we all like, who may not divide us down party lines, would also like for us to greet in a hipper fashion for better health.


    Superman is your friend, H1N1 is not

    Wednesday, October 07, 2009

    Too Many Comics

    Not only was it a Wednesday, necessitating a trip to Ye Olde Austin Books, but a few items I'd ordered long ago online showed up.

    My copy of "The Life and Times of Martha Washington in the 21st Century" showed up. For you kids who weren't around in the late 80's, imagine in the wake of "Dark Knight Returns" and "Watchmen", the writer of DKR (Frank Miller) and the artist of Watchmen (Dave Gibbons) teamed up for a near-future tale of an America gone wrong and how the least among its citizens overcomes everything thrown at her.

    As a kid, I have no doubt that this work influenced my malleable impressions of life in these United States, and that it ossified into at least some part of the super structure of my current world view. Because it wasn't Batman, not as popular as Dark Knight or Watchmen.



    The book, and absolutely massive tome, includes the complete story of Martha Washington, of which I missed a part as it came out during a period when I was only sporadically picking up comics. So I get to read "Martha Washington Goes to War" for the first time in the phenomenally presented oversized pages.

    I've not talked too much about this series in the past as I didn't own a collection of my own. And, quite literally, when I was considering what a weird hole it was in my collection, this collection was announced. So there you have it.

    Also making an appearance, the release of Absolute Promethea, Vol. 1.



    We've absolutely talked about about Promethea before, so I won't dwell on it, but I'm a fan of this comic. The art is, I do not exaggerate, some of the absolute best to appear in modern comics (which is why, if you're currently missing Rucka and Williams' run on Detective... why?), and this is where Williams made a splash in American comics.

    Writing, by the way, is Alan Moore being didactic, hilarious, grim, etc... and generally upsetting a lot of comic readers who couldn't just enjoy this thing for what it is/was.

    Anyway, a couple of great books, and I am glad to have them in the best editions comic companies generally release.

    Tuesday, October 06, 2009

    Barely a new look and Krypto

    You may have noticed I changed the banner.

    I was trying to relearn some Photoshop, but actually wound up using the www.pixlr.com, a free imaging software.

    We're not taking a vote on whether to keep this look or not. It's just a banner. I don't know if I want to really monkey with the thing a whole lot more. So expect to see Krypto up there (our patron saint of dogs and comics here at League of Melbotis) for quite a while.

    I considered having a Jimmy Olsen image up there, but, man... I wasn't sure Turtle Boy Jimmy or Elastic Lad was where we wanted to be every day for the next year if you visit the site.

    The Alex Ross painted image is of Superman's dog, , from the cover of Superman issue 680.




    Krypto was introduced way back in Adventure Comics #210 in 1955 as a pal for Superboy.

    He's still kicking around DC Comics and Superman comics (and in the newly relaunched Adventure Comics). And if you want to know why Superman is my kind of superhero: He has a super dog, with no sense of irony. While, yeah, the idea of a super powered dog is silly and fun, there's a certain logic to Krypto (he's a Kryptonian test subject, like Laika). Sure, its kitschy and old school, but I like that DC is finding ways to keep Krypto around.

    And for us people who love our dogs and our comics, I tip my hat to Ross for a painting of Krypto the way I tend to think of the character in the context of today's Superman comics, as sort of the world's coolest dog.

    That said, I'm a fan of Amanda Conner's portrayal as lovable super-powered goof, too.

    Anyway, when there isn't room for Krypto in comics because somebody decided that Krypto wasn't "cool" enough or whatever, I'm not sure I'm going to want to read my Super-comics anymore.

    I've also long ago adopted Krypto as my IM and comment icon of choice, and I guess, being a bit brand conscious, I figured we might as well go-Krypto across the board. Heck, back in Arizona, I dropped $20 on a vanity plate that read "KRYPTO". No, its true. I'm not ashamed.

    In the end, Krypto is up there because Melbotis and I could always agree upon the necessity of Krypto in the Superman comics, and so, as a tribute to my pal, and his taste in the finer things, we're shaking things up a tiny bit.


    Mel always approved of dogs in capes

    By the way, I've asked Scout, jeff and Lucy about who they would nominate.

    Lucy: Apparently a fan of Proty II from Legion of Super-Heroes
    Jeff: a fan of Starro the Conqueror

    Scout: Ace the Bathound

    Monday, October 05, 2009

    Guest Post: Simon talks Irredeemable on the iPhone

    Brief break from the hiatus as Simon has taken up the recent challenge to download an issue of Mark Waid's comic, "Irredeemable", to the iPhone.

    Readers may know, I do not have an iPhone. And as such, I can't check out some of the attempts to bring comics to everyone's favorite brick of technology.

    I very much like the idea of electronic comics, and so like to see what's going on in different formats. The ideal reading format is the Kindle, Sony Reader or much-rumored Apple tablet. Actually, the Apple tablet seems hard to beat, if they can sort it out.

    In the meantime, I'm glad companies like Boom! are looking at the possibilities for eComics instead of what DC is doing and experimenting with motion comics, which isn't reading and isn't really a cartoon, and so satisfies nobody.



    Issue #7 of Irredeemable is coming out on Wednesday, and its a series I'm enjoying quite a bit.

    Anyway, this is Simon's show, and as he was good enough to step away from the coffee pot long enough to type this up, I will hand over the reigns to him:

    Hey,

    I took you up on the iPhone nerd challenge. I've wanted to check out Irredeemable for a bit now and I was planning on downloading them when I saw they were released on comiXology.

    My first thought is that $1.99 is too much for a digital comic. I'd prefer my digital downloads to be a the $0.99 price point. That way I don't feel like I've wasted so much money when the eventual trade rolls around. Now the dollar amount is set by the publisher so maybe BOOM! Studios will come around on this point.

    Story wise the two issues I read were very good. Although I don't find it as earth shattering as it was made out to be as I feel we've seen this kinds of thing before with Black Adam and Marvelman. Mind you I'm not complaining as the plotting and dialog was done very well but I expect that out of Mark Waid.

    One could tell the art was good. Even shrunk down to the iPhone size. The biggest downside I found was the constant switching between portrait and landscape modes. I had to do this as it was hard to read the text in some situations. That took me out of the flow of the book. I think this is something that comic book creators will have to keep in mind in the future. I'd suggest that they try to keep a high percentage of the panels in landscape mode like Atomic Robo or portrait mode like Elephantmen.

    Something I wish they would add to the books are the letters page. Mind you not a static letters page but I link to the on-line forum discussing the particular issue you are reading. I should probably go add that feature request.

    The convenience factor was great! If your local comic shop is anything like mine they are bringing in less and less store copies. They only way I'd get to pick up and issue of a book I haven't pre-ordered is through a service like this. The ability to shop on-line for books is a real winner.

    My verdict on Irredeemable is that I'm going to wait for the trade. The sole reason is price. I don't want to pay $12 for six issues only to turn around and get the dead tree version for $17. This is in contrast to Atomic Robo which I continued getting at the $0.99 price point and Elephantmen where I grabbed both hard covers at the Windy City Con.

    Simon


    Thanks, Simon! Your reimbursement is en route, which... you know, I wasn't sure what currency you guys use in Canada, so I'm sending you some shiny rocks and a Coke bottle I found in a parking lot. You can still put stuff in it if you don't turn the bottle over.

    Saturday, October 03, 2009

    Hiatus



    Finally going to take that hiatus.

    Friday, October 02, 2009

    The League Sees: Whip It

    If you've been following this blog, then you know I'm unlikely to be terribly objective in regards to the new Drew Barrymore directed movie, Whip It. League-Pal Shauna C. wrote the thing, and we're just terrifically happy for Shauna this evening.

    I also have some unusual insight into the thing as I read the script a long time ago, and thought it pretty darn good.

    On the screen and having been developed with a particular vision, I'm happy to say, I enjoyed the final product even more than I'd expected, based on what I'd read.



    I won't dwell on the changes, largely because its irrelevant, but The League gives the movie, like, 7 thumbs up.

    Roller derby as a sport is a bit confusing at first, but the movie's exposition seems to cover the necessary bases so the play of the sport isn't baffling. And that's a good thing, as I know the first time Jamie and I attended a bout, there was a lot of confusion. But the storytelling of the film more or less makes it easy to follow, at any rate.

    Roller Derby players will probably be able to spot irregularities and "whatever" moments, but by and large, the movie seems to capture the toughness, athleticism and fun inherent in what I've seen when I've gone.

    But the movie, like all good sports movies, uses the sport as a framework for the characters and their arcs. And in this case, its a story about a girl coming into adulthood and coming into her own in a way that her parents hadn't planned on, and really aren't going to understand.



    The cast is very good.

    I'm going to admit something here: I didn't like "Juno", so I had no opinion in regards to whether Ellen Page would be good in the role of Bliss, the high school aged protagonist. But, indeed, Page is quite good, and has the rare quality of appearing to actually be the age of the high school character she's portraying.

    Juliet Lewis and the rest of the cast are excellent, but the real stand outs are going to be Daniel Stern and especially Marcia Gay Harden as Bliss's parents, who the movie does an excellent job of making nuanced, believable characters with believable motivations when they could have been far, far less. That said, I'll also be surprised if Kristin Wiig doesn't find herself landing a new range of roles thanks to her role in this movie as well.

    Anyhow, Austin audiences will get a kick out of the odd intermingling of scenes shot in what is clearly NOT Texas (the film was shot 97% in Michigan), but seeing a few bits in Austin, including the very theater I was sitting in during the screening (which was met with great applause) was a lot of fun. It was interesting to see Austin portrayed as the destination point for getting out of the lives parents would have preferred for their kids, which is a bit glossy in this movie, but there's also a certain truth to it, even as the town expands and becomes ever more homogenized.* So while I sort of cringed after a while that they made damned sure we knew the characters were in hip, hip Austin, it is useful to tell the story of one of those kids in high school who was pretty sure they were dissatisfied with the way things were going and was looking for their outlet. And I'm glad Shauna was the person to tell that story.


    Angry mother of a high schooler asking for an explanation when you walk in the door? Hoo boy. Does that bring back some memories.

    I'm not going to suggest that "Whip It" is experimental art-house cinema that's going to change the world of movie-making, but I do think if the audience is coming, expecting a movie aimed at tween-agers, they're going to be pleasantly surprised. As the vast majority of the characters are actually adults, the gap between adulthood and the expectations of the high schooler as they reach for adulthood, is part of the point. Unlike most media these days, the movie does not pretend the characters are already adults, as we've come to expect in the era of the ridiculous teens of "Gossip Girl", the all-new 90210, The Hills, 16 and Pregnant, and even the shiny kids of Glee (whom I love and will beat you up of you say anything bad about them, but high school is mostly just a backdrop to get these characters together).

    It should be mentioned: not just for a first effort, but in general, Drew Barrymore's direction was impressive. There were a lot of ways this movie could have gone wrong, but rather than take a script which could have easily become a dull family comedy, she managed to respect and care for all of the characters. And, some of the camera decisions were downright inspired.



    Anyhoo, we recommend. Go check it out.

    *I had a co-worker in who lives and works elsewhere in the state this week, and it was a reminder that some people still find Austin a bit much

    These are a few of my favorite things...



    Thank you, anonymous YouTube poster with too much free time on your hands. You've made this chubby nerd very happy.

    iPhone Nerd Challenge

    The League does not have an iPhone, and won't (a) for about two years so he can get the most out of the Blackberry he just bought, and (b) if they have made the move to Verizon by that point.

    But we are very interested in the reading experience on the iPhone.

    At long-last, comics are moving to the iPhone, and hopefully soon they'll also move to the Sony Reader and other technologies.

    Anyhow, I am willing to send a check to reimburse the costs of the first Leaguer who purchases the first two or three issues of Mark Waid's "Irredeemable" and writes a review of the experience for reprint here.

    More on the "Irredeemable" comics for iPhone topic
    .

    Thursday, October 01, 2009

    Offered without comment

    Halloween List

    It's October!

    That means its time for one thing!



    Wait, no...

    Well, maybe. But that's not where I was headed with this.



    RIGHT!!! Halloween.

    The point is, it's almost Halloween, and our pal Caffeinated Joe (aka: Wings), has put together a more than complete list of Halloween STUFF.



    I suggest you check it out. It's amazingly thorough.

    Please do yourself a favor and click over.

    But, you know, as long as we're already here, we may as well look around.



    It IS the most magical time of the year!

    Wednesday, September 30, 2009

    Apologies to Nicole

    and to a lesser extent, Matt. Who knows what he did, and deserves no apology.

    Jamie informs me that my post bemoaning the aspect ratio issue with my TV was "a little mean" and "they're never going to house sit again, you jerk."

    So. What was intended to be a little good-natured ribbing for Nicole and Matt didn't wind up that way, and for that, I am greatly sorry.


    even this adorable puppy thinks I was sort of a @#$%

    I am also to communicate how grateful we are for their assistance, etc...

    Anyhow, I was in no way actually upset with either, and feel awful that the post suggested otherwise.

    October Creepiness


    hey, hey... the gang's all here!

    In lieu of an actual post, I'm going to kick off October with something creepier than Michael Meyers in a tutu:

    Vintage Halloween stuff

    I don't know what it is that makes vintage Christmas classic and endearing but vintage Halloween stuff terrifying, but there you are.

    I don't know.


    yeah, there's a little kid in blackface in there. Classy.

    All my life I've mostly lived in relatively new structures, but when I sleep in a place like, say, the Olema Inn and consider how old the place is, and how many generations have slept in that room, and you look at the vintage light fixture and molding and wonder how many people have stared at that... and then think about all the kids over all the years who trick'or'treated before you ever put on a Chewbacca mask... all those kids who are nowhere to be seen, and in masks that were seemingly made in Hell's Novelty Factory...

    Anyway.


    Broom. Bike. Whatever.

    The League has very specific issues.






    Maybe I get a little sad looking at all these pictures, thinking of all these people who lived and had Halloween and trick or treats, and now they're most likely gone, and does anyone know who these people are anymore?





    Is it the outdated ideas of the costumes? That its not colorful princesses and ninjas and Buzz Lightyear?





    I have no idea. But the sort of static faces of the masks, and a lifetime of horror movies certainly isn't helping.





    dang, yo. even if a headless guy with a hatchet was standing at the foot of my bed (my recurring fear when I was in 3rd grade), it would not freak me out as much as if these kids were on my doorstep.



    I'm going to go hide under a blanket with a flashlight now.

    Tuesday, September 29, 2009

    The League watches: Flash Forward

    Meh.

    I'm not sure I'm ready to commit to a humorless series in which 9/10ths of the characters have already shown us the bleak future they're headed towards in the next 6 months.

    I was also very not impressed by the seeming "check off the boxes" that seemed to fill the episode.

    Roguish, drinking law-enforcement guy with a marriage on the rocks? check
    Idyllic morning scene to establish the characters, complete with them rising for the day in a massive suburban LA home? check
    Doomed sidekick? check (only, we already know that ain't gonna happen)
    Creepy kids? check
    Overblown disaster scene trying to top pilot of Lost (I expect this will be a new prime-time series standard)? check

    There's the mystery of "what happened" which can't be much of a mystery for long as there's a novel out there upon which the series is based. That said: I presume the "why" will be changed, just as the protagonist is no longer a physicist, but an FBI agent.

    yeah.

    Anyway, the show did have a good hook (everyone passed out for 2 minutes!), with a sort of awkwardly revealed twist (and saw their future. sort of!). But the producers saw to it that the characters started off as generic TV characters, and not particularly interesting ones at that. So knowing where they're headed doesn't actually add a whole lot of appeal.

    And, while I'm sticking with ABC's Lost to the bitter end, Jason said it best when he rolled his eyes and began to complain about how common time-travel/ glimpses of the future/ etc... have become in TV these days. Which is interesting, considering what a pain time-travel is in any medium or genre, and how badly its usually executed.

    I might also mention (and I'm a little ashamed I know this), but Smallville is basically doing the same thing this season by giving Lois a flashback/ flashforward for the season.

    Blame Nicole.

    If there's no post this evening, you can blame Matt and Nicole. Mostly Matt. Or Nicole.

    As you may know, Matt and Nicole house sat for us this weekend, for which we are enormously grateful. And during that time, they watched some TV.

    Over the past three days, and a while this evening, I spent some time trying to figure out what was wrong with my TV. I don't know what those two crazy kids were up to, but they wreaked havoc on the aspect ratio on my TV and seemingly were bouncing it out of its HD-ness.

    The biggest problem was that we'd had that problem with the TV when we got it, and I knew I'd stumbled upon the solution a year ago while doing something completely unrelated.

    Anyhow, I finally figured it out (the issue was not with the TV or a setting thereupon, but in an option on the cable box remote of all the darned things). And I'm documenting here, so that when it happens again, I can possibly remember what I did and not lose untold hours tearing apart my AV set-up.

    (It's a display option in the "settings" on the cable remote, Future Ryan).

    So, yes, the Samsung manual was probably better than I thought, and I should not codemn it to a firey, firey fate in manual hell.

    Monday, September 28, 2009

    Whip It Interview with Shauna C (and Juliette Lewis)

    Hey Leaguers. "Whip It" opens Friday at a theater near you! If you're in Austin and want to see the movie this weekend, e-mail me or say something in the comments. We'll have to hit The Alamo downtown.

    Anyhow, Shauna C. was interviewed while in Canada for the Toronto Film Festival. Thrill to Shauna smiling politely! Chill to the awkward questioning style of the interviewer! Be dazzled by an interviewer asking the interview subjects to fulfill his sort of odd obsession with Drew Barrymore!

    Click here to see the interview.

    The League Reads: A Princess of Mars

    So on the plane to San Francisco I decided to read a book I'd picked up on a whim at Half Price Books, the first of the John Carter of Mars series, "A Princess of Mars".

    I did not pick up the book just because there was a boob on the cover, but because the John Carter novels are occasionally discussed in the deep-dive-geek-circles, as a sort of watershed of fantasy and science fiction, or, more accurately, one of the early works from which all other sci-fi flows. There was also a glimpse of Carter in one of the "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" graphic novels and it looked neat, but I had no idea what was going on.

    Written by Edgar Rice Burroughs, whom you probably think of as the creator of Tarzan, the first John Carter novel was released in a serialized format starting in 1912. What is genuinely shocking is how little the genre of sci-fi has changed in the ensuing 100 years, and how much of an effect the John Carter novels must have had on the readership, leading to everything from Superman (1938) to Flash Gordon (1934) to Buck Rogers (1929).



    It should be mentioned, the first in the series that I read, "A Princes of Mars" would be better served categorized as a fantasy novel, as there's little in the way of "science" in the book. The how's and why's of technology do exist, but aren't the focus, as the Mars portrayed is a clannish, barbaric world more akin to a Robert E. Howard novel than Asimov. And, certainly, one can see the various races of the Moons of Mongo and the arrival of Flash Gordon, swashbuckling swordplay, and flirtations with the princess as a direct descendant of "A Princess of Mars".

    Wikipedia is helpful in trying to figure out what may have spawned some of Burroughs' concepts, but its nothing I'm terribly familiar with. By today's standards (of which much of fantasy and sci-fi, I'd guess, is a 20th generation copy of a copy of copy of a...), the book can feel a bit dated and off, but its also like seeing a 1935 Duesenberg Phaeton and just marveling at how this sort of thing was put together in comparison to today's autos. There's some passion and artistry, even if they don't have the cup holders, iPhone drop and electric heating seats.

    While it was often difficult to buy the astounding luck and superhuman genius of our hero, the book does a great job of defining the cultures of the various Martian people, and glimpses of their history. And, he provides an interesting mechanism for how, pre-Werner Von Braun, Burroughs conceived of how his character would appear upon the surface of a neighboring planet. A concept I suspect Adam Strange comics have lifted, most notably in the recent run in Wednesday Comics.

    Carter is, by the way, a Virginian gentleman who has served a tour of duty in the Civil War. Who has something going on with possible immortality prior to even arriving on the Red Planet. Its interesting to see a sci-fi hero from a by-gone era, and its an interesting juxtaposition with the Barsoomians, and how Burroughs frames' Carters relations to them.

    Readers should recognize the books is both well ahead of its time in many ways, even as it's oddly chaste in its depiction of romance, and only occasionally shows glimpses of alternate ideas to gender roles as the author may have felt most comfortable in 1912. And, of course, the earthly virtues of a gentleman of Virginia often win the day for our hero in the barbaric Mars.



    There's also a scene in the book during which Carter lays a kiss on the titular princess, and I thought "well, man... I can totally, totally see this as a movie". Which, you know, in 1912, its entirely unlikely Burroughs was envisioning crazy CGI FX and a screaming Queen guitar solo.

    Clocking in at around 160 pages, as a slow reader, I got through the book in two plane rides and maybe an hour in the hotel. So even if its making you miserable, the book is a quick read by normal human standards.

    I have several other books to read, including a couple of Dune books (which I think was an interesting book for comparison), but I am interested in reading a few more of these John Carter books.

    By the way, Pixar is supposedly working on a John Carter movie.

    Anyone else read this book?

    Sunday, September 27, 2009

    We're back...

    Well, we're back from sunny Olema, California where we spent the past few days getting Doug and K married.

    Lovely ceremony. Met a lot of great folks. Ate entirely too much food.

    We spent Thursday night in Berkeley, then drove up to Olema on Friday for a rehearsal, to meet some people, and get settled in. The wedding was at a lovely B&B that we more or less took over for a couple of days.

    K is doing very well in spite of the surgery, and she made it through the wedding and attendant activities with flying colors. Doug, perhaps because of basic training with Jamie, handled the situation very well.

    K's family (immediate and extended) was a lot of fun, and I really enjoyed meeting those of Doug and K's friends we hadn't met before, and seeing again those we had. And, of course, it was great to see Jamie's cousins who were able to attend, her Aunt and Uncle and others.

    It was a fun weekend, and it was nice to just go along for the ride.

    Had a bit of adventure getting out of Olema as we took a wrong turn and wound up going a way that worked, but took us on a route that was a lot more interesting than we'd intended, including a jaunt across the Golden Gate and a cruise through San Francisco.

    Anyway, we're home. I'm tired. I think the dogs are now settled.

    BTW: thanks to Nicole (and Matt, I guess, from the beer I found in the fridge) for taking care of the dogs this weekend. It certainly made things a lot easier.