Earlier this week I wrote a post over at Comic Fodder about my disappointment lately regarding the editorial direction at DC Comics (its an ongoing theme. So sue me. Wait. Scratch that idea.).
The next day I received an e-mail from a gentleman questioning why I would stick with comics. He expressed how he had given them up several years ago, and as our conversation continued, I learned he'd experienced terrible family tragedy. And so, maybe, the promise of masked and caped do-gooders righting wrongs and saving the world rings a little hollow.
At the same time, I saw a post from Leaguer Lauren over at her site discussing that most complex of superheroes, Wonder Woman, in light of the animated movie coming to home video this spring. Lauren describes the Wonder Woman she'd like to see on the screen and it sounds very appealing. She also pulls a quote that describes the ongoing issues of gender equality in comics (I kind of flinched at the broad strokes, but it doesn't mean the quote wasn't a little accurate).
Where Superman cannot step from the screen or comic page to save the day in our real lives and personal tragedies, just as much, Wonder Woman may not be enough to carry the weight of expectation put upon a figure who was, in fact, intended to carry a philosophy and ideal of a world in which women were seen as equals. She must be proud of her body, but she must cover it. She must be strong, but serene. She must be able to fight, but peace-loving. I can think of few male archetypes who have that burden placed on them.
The truth is, these very contradictions have gone from being a problem with writing Wonder Woman comics to become the essence of the character. By necessity, she's become an Amazonian, battle-axe-wielding warrior on a mission to "man's world" to preach the values of peaceful co-existence. And, occasionally, she has to go stab a Gorgon or something.
There's also an insinuation in the LA Times piece that poo-poo's the second-class status of the straight-to-video distribution of the Wonder Woman project, ignoring the current home video animation strategies of DC, Marvel, Dark Horse and others (bottom line, Wonder Woman actually made it to video faster than I would have expected from the DCU line of characters). The title does not sell terrifically well on newstands, and DC's prior animated efforts have surrounded tried-and-true material.
But as I've debated for years with friends who are not neck-deep in this thing of superhero comics, these fictional characters wind up fighting "public perception" rather than the actual content of the material in which they appear. Naysayers seem to have never actually lifted a comic or read a single story (at least from the last 20 years of relevant publication). They cringe at straight-to-video releases and, with no context but what success means in Hollywood terms, fail to see what bringing ANY comic property to video as a feature length film might mean. And bring their own definitions of everything from feminism to what it means to save the day to these figures.
It's an odd thing, because the trio of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are American cultural icons. They do, in fact, command a certain power in the popular imagination far beyond their intended purpose as pulp characters. They've expanded beyond their contemporaries of Zorro, Doc Savage, The Shadow, etc... The gentleman I'd spoken with was not the first I'd read about to funnel his tragedy into superheroes. That's sort of the unspoken message of the documentary "Confessions of a Superhero", and I've seen articles on others.
Poor, long-suffering Wonder Woman has had her image co-opted as a feminine ideal by Ms. Magazine and Gloria Steinem, and has had her name co-opted to describe the ideal of the modern woman (particularly, and somewhat oddly, mothers) who feels that they must be busy or appear entirely too busy, but always keeping things in check. Meanwhile, her costume has become a sexy Halloween staple, and the none-too-threatening outfit of her first appearances has become increasingly less modest over the years (though DC has recently made moves on that).
And, of course, being fictional, its kind of hard for superheroes to speak for themselves. Especially when their only mode of speaking up is in a medium 90% of people believe is irrelevant and/ or not as important as "public perception".
My interests lie in those superheroes, so I hear about the tragedies that fall into the very real lives of people who may wind up channeling their own stories through the prism of the comic page. I do not hear the stories of people who were Simpsons nuts, or naval history enthusiasts, or who maybe knew every pro football statistic that was worth knowing. I don't know if that same emotional attachment forms during a tragedy, or if they roll their eyes at the co-option and debate over the "image" of figures in their area of interest, as if the code-breaking of single images were all there was.
What I do know is that there is a strange place in fandom of any sort where an invisible line exists, and you do well to enjoy your comics, but know that to take them too seriously, to put Faith (with a capital F) in the heroes within and the storybook crimes they fight is not a replacement for the world outside the page.
Superman can't stop your loved ones from illness, or stop the everyday stories that make the news.
Wonder Woman can't be the voice of whatever it means to be a woman in 2008/ 2009.
But I do think, if we can agree that they are cultural icons, that there's something there we can see behind the the promise of the characters. Superman's use of his abilities for others, Batman's unbending resolve, Wonder Woman's mission of peace AND strength...
It's just a thought.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Batman + Braniff = Believe It!
I think if I were to tell you that at one point in the hsitory of DC Comics, Batman might hop in a commercial airliner, cape, cowl and all and enjoy a Sprite and bag of peanuts, even folks who never picked up a comic might find the idea sort of cockamamie. But there was a weird period in DC lore when such a thing was possible.
Anyway, the original dialog has been replaced, but there's a comic meme that's started featuring The Dark Knight flying commercial, seated with little-known 70's era, post-Bruce Lee Kung-Fu master Richard "Dick" Dragon.
Here's the first post (recall all dialog HAS been replaced).
Here's the second.
Anyway, the original dialog has been replaced, but there's a comic meme that's started featuring The Dark Knight flying commercial, seated with little-known 70's era, post-Bruce Lee Kung-Fu master Richard "Dick" Dragon.
Here's the first post (recall all dialog HAS been replaced).
Here's the second.
RING THE (DIGITAL) BELL FOR SALVATION ARMY
CALLING ALL LEAGUERS!!!
Do you have a blog, website, etc...? Do you want to participate in a worthwhile cause?
League of Melbotis has started a Kettle Team for the Salvation Army! You can join our team, and/ or give to a worthwhile charity!
Now I'm basically like one of those dudes hanging out in front of the mall raising money for worthwhile Salvation Army charities. All without the actual loitering and bell ringing.
HERE'S THE LINK
Or: http://give.salvationarmyusa.org/goto/melbotis
The 21st Century is truly a grand place for those of us who are lazy, but have an internet connection and wish to make a difference.
This year is going to be tough on a lot of your brothers and sisters in the family of humanity, so if you can spare a little yourself, we'd really appreciate it.
Also, if you want to join the League of Melbotis Kettle Team, please click the appropriate box on the website to sign up. Then publicize the heck out of the kettle! We're trying for only $300, so hopefully we can raise that amount this year.
If you can, please give!
Do you have a blog, website, etc...? Do you want to participate in a worthwhile cause?
League of Melbotis has started a Kettle Team for the Salvation Army! You can join our team, and/ or give to a worthwhile charity!
Now I'm basically like one of those dudes hanging out in front of the mall raising money for worthwhile Salvation Army charities. All without the actual loitering and bell ringing.
HERE'S THE LINK
Or: http://give.salvationarmyusa.org/goto/melbotis
The 21st Century is truly a grand place for those of us who are lazy, but have an internet connection and wish to make a difference.
This year is going to be tough on a lot of your brothers and sisters in the family of humanity, so if you can spare a little yourself, we'd really appreciate it.
Also, if you want to join the League of Melbotis Kettle Team, please click the appropriate box on the website to sign up. Then publicize the heck out of the kettle! We're trying for only $300, so hopefully we can raise that amount this year.
If you can, please give!
We can watch Heroes, just for one day
So my only exposure to the program "Heroes" was watching about twenty minutes of the second or third episode of season 1. When I publicly said "Meh", everyone insisted I'd caught the worst twenty minutes EVER of the program and that I was missing out. But the whole "save the cheerleader, save the world" tagline made me burst into laughter the first time I heard it. I mean, really, out of context (or even with a bit of cultural osmosis context) it's the worst call to action for joining a TV show I can really think of.
So last night Jason and Jamie had both missed Monday's episode, which was waiting on our DVR, and so I figured I could sit through an hour of super-programming. After all, I made Jamie sit through Starship Troopers.
I have to say, that hour of Heroes was about the worst hour of TV I've borne witness to in quite a while, and I can see why producers are being shed from the show left and right.
Luckily for WB and NBC (and you, the lucky Leaguer!), I am happy to provide my analysis as a student of superhuman fiction.
1. Built in mythology - Sure, I'm coming to the show late in the game, but Heroes is one of the shows left-over from the post-Lost success that already had some multi-year mythology mapped out and is slowly, achingly revealing The Big Secrets. These shows/ comics/ what have you are painfully slow as they spend their energy pacing out the reveals like an antibiotic you have to finish.
Note that almost all of the shows depending on a mythology reveal but Lost have gone bye-bye. The format is unique to Lost. Do not attempt at home.
2. Robert Forrester as god-like corporate exec using business powers to manipulate everyone - I don't know if the "Super Old Man Potter" thing is really a creation of John Byrne and Marv Wolfman in their re-imagining of Lex Luthor as corporate mogul instead of super-scientist, but it seems like you see a heck of alot of this character, who threatens others, but nobody will just punch in the face. Even DC realized this was a tired trope and Lex is back to super-scientist, by the way.
Moreover, Robert Forrester just isn't very good. He sounds like he thinks he's playing a street-wise cop with every line. It's bizarre.
But I think the "evil corporation" bit has been so overplayed in so many ways that its tough to do anything new with it or buy into it at some point.
Terminator sort of has this problem, but they've really reigned it in.
3. The X-Men Internal Conflict Syndrome - What does Superman do? Superman saves the day. He interacts with mere mortals in his guise as Clark Kent. He plays at being one of us, so when the big action happens, we get what the threat is. A giant robot is trashing downtown, asteroids are headed towards Earth, and off he goes to save the day.
A while back, X-Men became a book not about mutants trying to co-exist with one humanity, but became this book where the X-Men were simply fighting one mutant group or another who wanted to kill the X-Men. Their agenda was not a threat to the general populace, it was, pretty specifically, the X-Men (which led to all sorts of questions about being more trouble than they were worth, but whatever...)
If a show is called "Heroes", it seems that the show might want to strive for more than "saving your own skin", which is great, but not exactly the heroic ideal. Heroes get out there and DO something for others. They do not skulk around worrying about magic formulas, etc... They use their blinky powers for the betterment of mankind.
Apparently this season, Heroes introduced some villains, which, you would expect would do the opposite. They would want to use their powers for taking advantage of the general populace. Instead, they spend their time skulking around trying to hassle the semi-heroes.
The bottom line, very little of what happens episode-to-episode seems to affect the world at large, and seems to hinge and circle melodramatically around this tiny group. The show should really expand its world-view.
4. What is the deal? - I could have spent three hours stopping and starting the show asking "what is the deal with this guy?" or "so what's their story?" as the show didn't see fit to fill me in with much in the way of exposition.
I don't want to tell NBC how to run their show, but if you're having a problem with viewership, maybe an impenetrable storyline and characters who are caught up in a bajillion plot lines isn't how you bring in new people to bring in viewers to replace those you lost.
X-Files knew that it had to spend a lot of time with episodic stories and building an audience, but that lesson seems lost on the producers of "Heroes".
Anyway, I probably won't be tuning in. Mostly for the same reasons I didn't tune in when the show started. I still find it derivative, the acting as hokey as any Sci-Fi original. It just isn't my bag.
So last night Jason and Jamie had both missed Monday's episode, which was waiting on our DVR, and so I figured I could sit through an hour of super-programming. After all, I made Jamie sit through Starship Troopers.
I have to say, that hour of Heroes was about the worst hour of TV I've borne witness to in quite a while, and I can see why producers are being shed from the show left and right.
Luckily for WB and NBC (and you, the lucky Leaguer!), I am happy to provide my analysis as a student of superhuman fiction.
1. Built in mythology - Sure, I'm coming to the show late in the game, but Heroes is one of the shows left-over from the post-Lost success that already had some multi-year mythology mapped out and is slowly, achingly revealing The Big Secrets. These shows/ comics/ what have you are painfully slow as they spend their energy pacing out the reveals like an antibiotic you have to finish.
Note that almost all of the shows depending on a mythology reveal but Lost have gone bye-bye. The format is unique to Lost. Do not attempt at home.
2. Robert Forrester as god-like corporate exec using business powers to manipulate everyone - I don't know if the "Super Old Man Potter" thing is really a creation of John Byrne and Marv Wolfman in their re-imagining of Lex Luthor as corporate mogul instead of super-scientist, but it seems like you see a heck of alot of this character, who threatens others, but nobody will just punch in the face. Even DC realized this was a tired trope and Lex is back to super-scientist, by the way.
Moreover, Robert Forrester just isn't very good. He sounds like he thinks he's playing a street-wise cop with every line. It's bizarre.
But I think the "evil corporation" bit has been so overplayed in so many ways that its tough to do anything new with it or buy into it at some point.
Terminator sort of has this problem, but they've really reigned it in.
3. The X-Men Internal Conflict Syndrome - What does Superman do? Superman saves the day. He interacts with mere mortals in his guise as Clark Kent. He plays at being one of us, so when the big action happens, we get what the threat is. A giant robot is trashing downtown, asteroids are headed towards Earth, and off he goes to save the day.
A while back, X-Men became a book not about mutants trying to co-exist with one humanity, but became this book where the X-Men were simply fighting one mutant group or another who wanted to kill the X-Men. Their agenda was not a threat to the general populace, it was, pretty specifically, the X-Men (which led to all sorts of questions about being more trouble than they were worth, but whatever...)
If a show is called "Heroes", it seems that the show might want to strive for more than "saving your own skin", which is great, but not exactly the heroic ideal. Heroes get out there and DO something for others. They do not skulk around worrying about magic formulas, etc... They use their blinky powers for the betterment of mankind.
Apparently this season, Heroes introduced some villains, which, you would expect would do the opposite. They would want to use their powers for taking advantage of the general populace. Instead, they spend their time skulking around trying to hassle the semi-heroes.
The bottom line, very little of what happens episode-to-episode seems to affect the world at large, and seems to hinge and circle melodramatically around this tiny group. The show should really expand its world-view.
4. What is the deal? - I could have spent three hours stopping and starting the show asking "what is the deal with this guy?" or "so what's their story?" as the show didn't see fit to fill me in with much in the way of exposition.
I don't want to tell NBC how to run their show, but if you're having a problem with viewership, maybe an impenetrable storyline and characters who are caught up in a bajillion plot lines isn't how you bring in new people to bring in viewers to replace those you lost.
X-Files knew that it had to spend a lot of time with episodic stories and building an audience, but that lesson seems lost on the producers of "Heroes".
Anyway, I probably won't be tuning in. Mostly for the same reasons I didn't tune in when the show started. I still find it derivative, the acting as hokey as any Sci-Fi original. It just isn't my bag.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Jim Parsons interview thing
I'm still getting used to the idea that Jim isn't just appearing on TV, he's actually becoming a bit of a celebrity thanks to hsi role as Sheldon on CBS's "Big Bang Theory". Kind of bizarre, but well deserved, I think.
Here's Jim answering fan mail on the Variety.com website via streaming media. Now here's the weird part:
One of the letters Jim reads from is from Brownie High, who was a drama teacher at our high school my sophomore year. Ms. High actually left at the end of Jim's senior year amidst bad-blood and UIL drama scandal, which seemed like just a super-huge deal at the time. Meredith may recall the incident.
Anyway, I hadn't thought about that in years. And I am sure Jim had not either. But I would love to know what was playing in his mind when he saw she'd written him the letter and he had a camera in his face.
Weird Al and Shatner
I'm watching this thing on Bio that's an hour-long documentary on the life of Weird Al.
yeah. Go ahead and laugh. How many albums has your favorite band put out and how long has their career lasted?
I also have to admit that I've long been oddly fascinated by Judy Tenuta, who keeps showing up in this doc. And I don't know how I feel about having a crush on Judy Tenuta. I guess I just like a woman with an accordion shouting at me and calling me a pig. I guess its an acquired taste.
But to my point, it looks like Shatner is getting a talk show on the Biography network.
SHATNER!!!
The prospect of the minds of our time coming face-to-face with The Shat is, for me, equal parts mind-boggling and gratifying. I was the guy who actually watched Lauren Hutton's short-lived talk show in which I learned each show far more about what a freak Hutton was than anything about her guests (I use freak in the most loving way possible. Let's just say the woman is an enigma). And I hope to get even more of this out of The Shat.
He's named his show "Shatner's Raw Nerve". I am so there.
MUSIC
I FINALLY got around to downloading Girl Talk's "Feed the Animals". Thanks to JAL for the suggestion.
Of late I'm not too sure what I like and don't like in my music. But I do really like Feed the Animals. It may not be your bag, but here's the link to the site.
I'm not sure how they got around paying royalties, or expect to avoid lawsuits. Perhaps the sample used from each song meets some minimum sampling duration, but it doesn't seem like it. I just don't really know.
Comix
May I recommend "Tales Designed to Thrizzle"?
I can't guarantee it will be your cup of tea, but I find it funny.
For free online comix hilarity, try Achewood. And, btw, Chris Onstad will be at Austin Books on December 6th. I think I'm joining the Shoemakers for the signing, if you want to go. (That's "The Great Outdoor Fight" I'll be getting signed)
I checked our hits at Comicblogelite.com, and Comic Fodder did something like twice its normal traffic today following my admittedly negative critique of the state of things at DC Comics these days.
It's not too tough to see trends when you've done this for a while. I meant everything i said, and I certainly wasn't trying to just generate hits (after all, I don't make a dime from blogging). But usually when you go off on a bit of a rant, you seem to see a spike as folks check in to see what the freak is saying.
I'm still getting used to the idea that Jim isn't just appearing on TV, he's actually becoming a bit of a celebrity thanks to hsi role as Sheldon on CBS's "Big Bang Theory". Kind of bizarre, but well deserved, I think.
Here's Jim answering fan mail on the Variety.com website via streaming media. Now here's the weird part:
One of the letters Jim reads from is from Brownie High, who was a drama teacher at our high school my sophomore year. Ms. High actually left at the end of Jim's senior year amidst bad-blood and UIL drama scandal, which seemed like just a super-huge deal at the time. Meredith may recall the incident.
Anyway, I hadn't thought about that in years. And I am sure Jim had not either. But I would love to know what was playing in his mind when he saw she'd written him the letter and he had a camera in his face.
Weird Al and Shatner
I'm watching this thing on Bio that's an hour-long documentary on the life of Weird Al.
yeah. Go ahead and laugh. How many albums has your favorite band put out and how long has their career lasted?
I also have to admit that I've long been oddly fascinated by Judy Tenuta, who keeps showing up in this doc. And I don't know how I feel about having a crush on Judy Tenuta. I guess I just like a woman with an accordion shouting at me and calling me a pig. I guess its an acquired taste.
But to my point, it looks like Shatner is getting a talk show on the Biography network.
SHATNER!!!
The prospect of the minds of our time coming face-to-face with The Shat is, for me, equal parts mind-boggling and gratifying. I was the guy who actually watched Lauren Hutton's short-lived talk show in which I learned each show far more about what a freak Hutton was than anything about her guests (I use freak in the most loving way possible. Let's just say the woman is an enigma). And I hope to get even more of this out of The Shat.
He's named his show "Shatner's Raw Nerve". I am so there.
MUSIC
I FINALLY got around to downloading Girl Talk's "Feed the Animals". Thanks to JAL for the suggestion.
Of late I'm not too sure what I like and don't like in my music. But I do really like Feed the Animals. It may not be your bag, but here's the link to the site.
I'm not sure how they got around paying royalties, or expect to avoid lawsuits. Perhaps the sample used from each song meets some minimum sampling duration, but it doesn't seem like it. I just don't really know.
Comix
May I recommend "Tales Designed to Thrizzle"?
I can't guarantee it will be your cup of tea, but I find it funny.
For free online comix hilarity, try Achewood. And, btw, Chris Onstad will be at Austin Books on December 6th. I think I'm joining the Shoemakers for the signing, if you want to go. (That's "The Great Outdoor Fight" I'll be getting signed)
I checked our hits at Comicblogelite.com, and Comic Fodder did something like twice its normal traffic today following my admittedly negative critique of the state of things at DC Comics these days.
It's not too tough to see trends when you've done this for a while. I meant everything i said, and I certainly wasn't trying to just generate hits (after all, I don't make a dime from blogging). But usually when you go off on a bit of a rant, you seem to see a spike as folks check in to see what the freak is saying.
If you're wondering why there's no post today, I put my energy last night into my Comic Fodder weekly ramblings. You can read my post here.
Not much else to report. I think Jamie has a cold of some sort.
Not much else to report. I think Jamie has a cold of some sort.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Trek could be awesome
Here's a pirated copy of the new Trek trailer, which I have not yet seen in good quality as I did not see Bond this weekend. Probably next week.
Be prepared for low-quality.
Awesome.
It will be up at the official site by lunchtime.
Be prepared for low-quality.
Awesome.
It will be up at the official site by lunchtime.
It seems like Jamie and I have been running around a LOT lately, and with the Holidays bearing down upon us, I think we're going to be pretty crazy until January 2nd, 2009 or so. That's okay. It's sort of what I expect out of the year's end.
For those of you keeping score, Thanksgiving is in only a week and a half, and I have not even STARTED on my Pilgrim suit, nor has Jamie finished her Green Bean costume.
I still think The Addam's Family movies are underrated.
The temperatures cooled a great deal yesterday, and I think it feels more like fall in spirit than a few days ago. All in all, its turning into lovely weather. Anyway, we watched the UT game yesterday and cooked out some nice items we picked up at Central Market (I recommend their chipotle marinated chicken).
UT played very well starting in the 2nd quarter, and pretty much ate Kansas's lunch. I was mistaken, however, that Tech was playing Baylor. A&M played Baylor and it didn't go terribly well. Sorry, Ags. Maybe next year.
Only one more regular season game for UT, and we ARE playing A&M on Thanksgiving, which sounds great in theory, but A&M somehow manages to summon SuperAg strength whenever they play UT. Out only discernible advantage going into the game is home field advantage. Should be a great game, so if your Thanksgiving evening looks like it's going to be a quiet night in, tune in.
Also, if you're a Leaguer and will be in Austin during Turkey Day and are lacking any plans, let me know. We can make room for you.
Today we actually started our Christmas shopping, which I think Jamie had some mixed feelings about. Sure, we're starting early and will hopefully be done with time to spare (which is an illusion. You always forget somebody and have to run out and buy an extra present for somebody you didn't account for). But I also started singing carols to Jamie as we drove around, which is bad enough, but in the past eight years, I've completely forgotten all lyrics to all carols.
I suspect she'd like for me to stop, but, you know, once you're moving into Christmas territory, I think you're morally obligated to squeeze in "Walkin' in a Winter Wonderland" as often as possible. Especially in 70 degree Texas.
Also, Barack Obama takes great delight in bumper cars:
For those of you keeping score, Thanksgiving is in only a week and a half, and I have not even STARTED on my Pilgrim suit, nor has Jamie finished her Green Bean costume.
I still think The Addam's Family movies are underrated.
The temperatures cooled a great deal yesterday, and I think it feels more like fall in spirit than a few days ago. All in all, its turning into lovely weather. Anyway, we watched the UT game yesterday and cooked out some nice items we picked up at Central Market (I recommend their chipotle marinated chicken).
UT played very well starting in the 2nd quarter, and pretty much ate Kansas's lunch. I was mistaken, however, that Tech was playing Baylor. A&M played Baylor and it didn't go terribly well. Sorry, Ags. Maybe next year.
Only one more regular season game for UT, and we ARE playing A&M on Thanksgiving, which sounds great in theory, but A&M somehow manages to summon SuperAg strength whenever they play UT. Out only discernible advantage going into the game is home field advantage. Should be a great game, so if your Thanksgiving evening looks like it's going to be a quiet night in, tune in.
Also, if you're a Leaguer and will be in Austin during Turkey Day and are lacking any plans, let me know. We can make room for you.
Today we actually started our Christmas shopping, which I think Jamie had some mixed feelings about. Sure, we're starting early and will hopefully be done with time to spare (which is an illusion. You always forget somebody and have to run out and buy an extra present for somebody you didn't account for). But I also started singing carols to Jamie as we drove around, which is bad enough, but in the past eight years, I've completely forgotten all lyrics to all carols.
I suspect she'd like for me to stop, but, you know, once you're moving into Christmas territory, I think you're morally obligated to squeeze in "Walkin' in a Winter Wonderland" as often as possible. Especially in 70 degree Texas.
Also, Barack Obama takes great delight in bumper cars:
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Fireside chats
There's an odd mix of admiration and fear in this report. Speaking to Jason recently, I said I thought Obama should learn from the problems that stemmed from the Bush administration's lack of communication and look to FDR's fireside chats as we face numerous challenges as a nation. I had honestly forgotten about Reagan's radio addresses, even though I have memories of sitting on the floor, playing with Legos and listening to the Gipper circa 1984.
Anyhoo, its kinda funny that you can hear the puzzlement in the report regarding this mysterious tool called the interweb.
Anyhoo, its kinda funny that you can hear the puzzlement in the report regarding this mysterious tool called the interweb.
Friday, November 14, 2008
Kickin' it up a notch on Smallville
Looks like Doomsday, the living plot device, has made his way to Smallville.
Curiously, it appears that this may be the first (and only) on model representation of a DC villain on the show.
With control of the show wrestled away from the show's originators this season, they're actually making in-roads back to some semblance of the comics and Superman. I'm not saying the show is great, because... Tess Mercer is a ridiculous character, almost nothing ever makes sense on the show, and just get to the Superman part already...
But its something.
Curiously, it appears that this may be the first (and only) on model representation of a DC villain on the show.
With control of the show wrestled away from the show's originators this season, they're actually making in-roads back to some semblance of the comics and Superman. I'm not saying the show is great, because... Tess Mercer is a ridiculous character, almost nothing ever makes sense on the show, and just get to the Superman part already...
But its something.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
In my Element @ 10K
I was driving home the other night in Babar (my light blue Honda Element) and looked down to see my odometer was at 9999. I've been through four cars in my life, and I never, ever saw the odometer turn any kind of significant whole number.
I have hit 10,000 miles without a hiccup. That is all.
Yes, I love Babar. Some days I want to hug him, but that would be weird.
Meatgrimage, Day 3
Jamie's childhood pal and our mutual current pal, Rebecca, returned to Austin today with her mother, Dr. Kinslow, in tow. They took us to Flemings down by the convention center where we all enjoyed a wonderfully terrific meal.
I have always been a steak guy, and while I am a fan of the backyard grilled steak, I am also a fan of the white-table cloth, let-them-work-their-magic steak. I highly recommend this joint. Especially if the Kinslows are taking you out on the town.
There are many good restaurants down by the convention center which cater to folks with an expense account. However, as Jamie and I are rarely in Austin for a convention, we tend not to make our way to those restaurants or some of Austin's other finer establishments.
Places I would like to go:
Lambert's
Hudson's on the Bend
And of the places that opened on Congress during our four year Arizona sojourn
I am scheduled to hit Mesa Ranch this evening, provided nothing goes off-kilter. Which means: even more meat.
If you want to go see The Flyin' A's with me Thursday evening, give me a shout.
UT @ Kansas
I shall be watching with a mix of exhiliration and trepidation. Tech plays Baylor this weekend. Poor Baylor.
UT Basketball
I park about a block from the Erwin Center, so I am pondering going to some UT home games this year. If you want in on that, let me know.
Ghost Hunters
I am increasingly convinced that, based upon the 100 hours or so of Ghost Hunters I've watched, Jason and I could totally do this.
Anyone want to grant us $25,000 in start up funds? We need money for:
-team shirts
-motion detectors
-flash lights
-EMF detectors
-video equipment
-a FLIR
-Ghost Juice (ie: enough beer per ghostly investigation to limber up the mind)
-uniforms for the Lonestar Paranormal Club dancers
I was driving home the other night in Babar (my light blue Honda Element) and looked down to see my odometer was at 9999. I've been through four cars in my life, and I never, ever saw the odometer turn any kind of significant whole number.
I have hit 10,000 miles without a hiccup. That is all.
Yes, I love Babar. Some days I want to hug him, but that would be weird.
Meatgrimage, Day 3
Jamie's childhood pal and our mutual current pal, Rebecca, returned to Austin today with her mother, Dr. Kinslow, in tow. They took us to Flemings down by the convention center where we all enjoyed a wonderfully terrific meal.
I have always been a steak guy, and while I am a fan of the backyard grilled steak, I am also a fan of the white-table cloth, let-them-work-their-magic steak. I highly recommend this joint. Especially if the Kinslows are taking you out on the town.
There are many good restaurants down by the convention center which cater to folks with an expense account. However, as Jamie and I are rarely in Austin for a convention, we tend not to make our way to those restaurants or some of Austin's other finer establishments.
Places I would like to go:
Lambert's
Hudson's on the Bend
And of the places that opened on Congress during our four year Arizona sojourn
I am scheduled to hit Mesa Ranch this evening, provided nothing goes off-kilter. Which means: even more meat.
If you want to go see The Flyin' A's with me Thursday evening, give me a shout.
UT @ Kansas
I shall be watching with a mix of exhiliration and trepidation. Tech plays Baylor this weekend. Poor Baylor.
UT Basketball
I park about a block from the Erwin Center, so I am pondering going to some UT home games this year. If you want in on that, let me know.
Ghost Hunters
I am increasingly convinced that, based upon the 100 hours or so of Ghost Hunters I've watched, Jason and I could totally do this.
Anyone want to grant us $25,000 in start up funds? We need money for:
-team shirts
-motion detectors
-flash lights
-EMF detectors
-video equipment
-a FLIR
-Ghost Juice (ie: enough beer per ghostly investigation to limber up the mind)
-uniforms for the Lonestar Paranormal Club dancers
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Meatgrimage
Today I headed to Baylor for what I thought was a productive and instructive meeting. Liked the guy I met there, and I think its going to be good working with the dance-less folks of Waco.
Apparently there's an unwritten rule that lunch is involved in these trips, which is great for me. I get a little annoyed when I've traveled in the past and my boss, etc... decides we don't need to eat because they're on some crazy diet of water and carrot sticks or something. Not going to be a problem with this bunch as we headed to Waco's "Jasper's", a side-road BBQ joint that had all you can eat ribs for $9. Plus, Dublin Dr. Pepper, which I tasted for the first time. And, yes, Dublin Dr. Pepper is completely different and much, much better than regular Dr. Pepper (Dublin uses Imperial Cane Sugar rather than corn syrup). So I can confirm that legend.
Jasper's wasn't screwing around with its portions. Despite the "all you can eat" promise, I ate three ribs and was done. Maybe because I was still reeling from Monday's lunch and then winding up at Threadgill's for dinner.
It turns out that the meat at City Meat MArket in Giddings is supplied by a friend's meat company. I'm going to look into whether or not I can get a map of the place Mikey's company supplies meat to, and see if that isn't one way for this to play out.
Also, Jason and I are already talking about a short trip to Elgin for sausage.
Sadly, I am bypassing food and friends on Saturday. Juan and Letty e-mailed me to see about hitting Snow's BBQ in Lexington on Saturday. Now, here's the weird part:
Snow's was recently voted "best BBQ in Texas" by Texas Monthly, a publication that doesn't screw around when it comes to food. Especially Texas cuisine. But... supposedly they sell out of their meat by 10:00 or so on Saturdays. Which means you have to BE THERE before 9:00 to get a meal.
I love BBQ, but getting up at 7:00 to eat BBQ at 9:00 on a Saturday somehow robs the Meatgrimage of its joy.
Terminator
The Fox Terminator TV show (The Sarah Connor Chronicles) must not be doing very well in ratings. I hear its being shuttled off to Fridays.
I've been enjoying the heck out Terminator. As much as I dig sci-fi, I don't jump on too many sci-fi TV shows. Stuff like the Stargate franchise doesn't do anything for me, or the semi-popular "Highlander" series from the 90's. I think it helps that the Terminator premise is deceptively straightforward. Robots from the future are trying to kill John Connor.
Now you've inserted time travel, plus re-programmed robots, which all hangs from the central conceit of the first two terminator movies.
What really helps is that the rest of the world around our band of un-merry adventurers is very set in reality. Whenever a robot does start shooting, its not as if the populace is aware of what's going on, or would come to the logical conclusion that there are killer robots on the prowl.
Anyhow, I'm a little sad that the show is being moved to the death zone that is Friday night on Fox. But perhaps two really good seasons of a show is infinitely better than the bizarre, slow death spiral that we've seen out of "Smallville" (a show I quit watching for years, but came back to watching to revel in the badness).
Big Bang Theory
The show has taken a decidedly better turn this season, and I liked it last season. The decision not to further pursue the "it's a sitcom" romantic path of Leonard and Penny has been hugely helpful, and its given Kaley Cuoco a much wider range to play with instead of "pleasantly unaware of Leonard's affections".
Anyway, kudos to Jim and the cast of BBT.
One disturbing trend. It seems Jim is becoming a bit of an item of lust for nerd girls on the internet. See the comments on this post at Lady, That's My Skull.
Edit: The Office I should note that I have recently officially quit watching "The Office". As noted above, I do not find the "will-they-or-won't-they" romantic entanglements of sitcoms interesting or funny. They always stink of the suits forcing their way into the process. The Office has managed to drag the concept out, painfully, for several seasons. I was pleased they'd resolved the issue to some extent, and had hopes they were finally just going to @#$%ing move on with it. Last weeks episode proved that was not so.
I feel guilty, because Jamie and I really don't have that many shows we watch together, and The Office has long been one we can agree upon. That is no longer so. Worse yet, I lack the ability to just sit in the room on a laptop and quietly ignore a show. I must make comment upon it, which detracts from Jamie's enjoyment.
Anyway, we have a DVR. I guess we'll put it to use.
Today I headed to Baylor for what I thought was a productive and instructive meeting. Liked the guy I met there, and I think its going to be good working with the dance-less folks of Waco.
Apparently there's an unwritten rule that lunch is involved in these trips, which is great for me. I get a little annoyed when I've traveled in the past and my boss, etc... decides we don't need to eat because they're on some crazy diet of water and carrot sticks or something. Not going to be a problem with this bunch as we headed to Waco's "Jasper's", a side-road BBQ joint that had all you can eat ribs for $9. Plus, Dublin Dr. Pepper, which I tasted for the first time. And, yes, Dublin Dr. Pepper is completely different and much, much better than regular Dr. Pepper (Dublin uses Imperial Cane Sugar rather than corn syrup). So I can confirm that legend.
Jasper's wasn't screwing around with its portions. Despite the "all you can eat" promise, I ate three ribs and was done. Maybe because I was still reeling from Monday's lunch and then winding up at Threadgill's for dinner.
It turns out that the meat at City Meat MArket in Giddings is supplied by a friend's meat company. I'm going to look into whether or not I can get a map of the place Mikey's company supplies meat to, and see if that isn't one way for this to play out.
Also, Jason and I are already talking about a short trip to Elgin for sausage.
Sadly, I am bypassing food and friends on Saturday. Juan and Letty e-mailed me to see about hitting Snow's BBQ in Lexington on Saturday. Now, here's the weird part:
Snow's was recently voted "best BBQ in Texas" by Texas Monthly, a publication that doesn't screw around when it comes to food. Especially Texas cuisine. But... supposedly they sell out of their meat by 10:00 or so on Saturdays. Which means you have to BE THERE before 9:00 to get a meal.
I love BBQ, but getting up at 7:00 to eat BBQ at 9:00 on a Saturday somehow robs the Meatgrimage of its joy.
Terminator
The Fox Terminator TV show (The Sarah Connor Chronicles) must not be doing very well in ratings. I hear its being shuttled off to Fridays.
I've been enjoying the heck out Terminator. As much as I dig sci-fi, I don't jump on too many sci-fi TV shows. Stuff like the Stargate franchise doesn't do anything for me, or the semi-popular "Highlander" series from the 90's. I think it helps that the Terminator premise is deceptively straightforward. Robots from the future are trying to kill John Connor.
Now you've inserted time travel, plus re-programmed robots, which all hangs from the central conceit of the first two terminator movies.
What really helps is that the rest of the world around our band of un-merry adventurers is very set in reality. Whenever a robot does start shooting, its not as if the populace is aware of what's going on, or would come to the logical conclusion that there are killer robots on the prowl.
Anyhow, I'm a little sad that the show is being moved to the death zone that is Friday night on Fox. But perhaps two really good seasons of a show is infinitely better than the bizarre, slow death spiral that we've seen out of "Smallville" (a show I quit watching for years, but came back to watching to revel in the badness).
Big Bang Theory
The show has taken a decidedly better turn this season, and I liked it last season. The decision not to further pursue the "it's a sitcom" romantic path of Leonard and Penny has been hugely helpful, and its given Kaley Cuoco a much wider range to play with instead of "pleasantly unaware of Leonard's affections".
Anyway, kudos to Jim and the cast of BBT.
One disturbing trend. It seems Jim is becoming a bit of an item of lust for nerd girls on the internet. See the comments on this post at Lady, That's My Skull.
Edit: The Office I should note that I have recently officially quit watching "The Office". As noted above, I do not find the "will-they-or-won't-they" romantic entanglements of sitcoms interesting or funny. They always stink of the suits forcing their way into the process. The Office has managed to drag the concept out, painfully, for several seasons. I was pleased they'd resolved the issue to some extent, and had hopes they were finally just going to @#$%ing move on with it. Last weeks episode proved that was not so.
I feel guilty, because Jamie and I really don't have that many shows we watch together, and The Office has long been one we can agree upon. That is no longer so. Worse yet, I lack the ability to just sit in the room on a laptop and quietly ignore a show. I must make comment upon it, which detracts from Jamie's enjoyment.
Anyway, we have a DVR. I guess we'll put it to use.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Many items
Football Update
Well, we can mark another win up for UT from this weekend. We're ranked #3, which is odd. Of course, we've only lost to Tech who seems headed for all kinds of glories this season.
Colt still looks great, but its clear someone or something is keeping him from running. And something has rattled him and keeps him from attempting passes further than a few yards at a time.
I am still rooting for my Horns, and I think we're set for a great bowl game this year, provided we can win our next two and do well if we're in the Big 12 Championship (if we so land). But I sincerely hope Mack brown has plans to build up our secondary for next year.
Good BBQ in Giddings
Today we met the A&M contingent of our office halfway between Bryan and Austin in Giddings where we ate meat. Leaguers, if you're on 290, I HIGHLY recommend the City Meat Market. That was some top-notch grub served in true Texas fashion.
And, hell, there were honest to god old school cowboys in there. The kind who could choke the life out of you if the notion so took them. Awesome.
It was one of those places where the smoke is cooked into the walls and you start salivating a bit just walking through the door. And the food totally matched the ambiance and first-smell guesses as to what you would get.
I need to use this winter to begin making BBQ pilgrimages around the state. Meatgrimages, if you will. I want to eat Elgin Sausage in Elgin. I want to eat ribs and beef in Lockhart. Shall I go to New Braunfels for Wurst? Or to Kerrville? What meats did our Czech forebears cook up? What about our Mexican forefathers?
So many meats. So little time.
Unfortunateness
Swedish dance bands from bygone eras.
For some reason I think I linked to an earlier version of this, like, four years ago.
Yeah, go ahead and laugh. Then ask yourself: who had better luck with swinging Swedish women, you or the dudes in "The Schytts"?
That, Leaguers, is the sound of the universe having a good laugh at you.
Beat it!
So I employ Technorati to help me track responses to blog posts. They track, somewhat imperfectly, whether or not someone has linked back to your posts.
A long time ago, I used to get linked around the net. When I don't post on comics, those links tend to dry up. But when I write for Comic Fodder, I notice that I get linked to a lot more often from sources of note (in the comics blogosphere, which is like being a big wheel on the island of misfit toys, I guess). Anyway, it gives me a little thrill to see myself linked elsewhere because (a) it lets me know others are going to come read whatever I wrote, and (b) it lets me know people I care about reading have actually read whatever I wrote. And that, Leaguers, is the blogging circle of life.
One of my fave-rave sites for YEARS has been Heidi MacDonald's "The Beat". So, I was thrilled to see in the links of Technorati that Heidi had linked back to a Comic Fodder article I'd written for last week about the economy and what comic publishers could do to save their skin in these troubled times. But at Technorati, when I clicked on the appropriate link... the article was no longer there.
I was sad. Heidi may have had good reasons for either pulling or never posting the article, but my fifteen minutes of Heidi-powered linked fame was gone, and I was left with nothing but a small reminder of what could have been.
Oh, Heidi... why hast thou removed my linky link?
Okay... yeah, the article was kind of weak.
That said, the guy who wrote the article that spawned my article DID link back (it's the line about "longish think piece"). Which is pretty huge in my world. Unfortunately, Spurge wasn't in the mood to elucidate on what he had in mind. Would have been interesting. Anyway, he's been covering comics and the economy for a few days and its good reading.
New Years Party Update
In case you missed it, here's the official flyer for the Melbotis New Years Hullabalunacy:
To see the invitation, go here.
Well, we can mark another win up for UT from this weekend. We're ranked #3, which is odd. Of course, we've only lost to Tech who seems headed for all kinds of glories this season.
Colt still looks great, but its clear someone or something is keeping him from running. And something has rattled him and keeps him from attempting passes further than a few yards at a time.
I am still rooting for my Horns, and I think we're set for a great bowl game this year, provided we can win our next two and do well if we're in the Big 12 Championship (if we so land). But I sincerely hope Mack brown has plans to build up our secondary for next year.
Good BBQ in Giddings
Today we met the A&M contingent of our office halfway between Bryan and Austin in Giddings where we ate meat. Leaguers, if you're on 290, I HIGHLY recommend the City Meat Market. That was some top-notch grub served in true Texas fashion.
And, hell, there were honest to god old school cowboys in there. The kind who could choke the life out of you if the notion so took them. Awesome.
It was one of those places where the smoke is cooked into the walls and you start salivating a bit just walking through the door. And the food totally matched the ambiance and first-smell guesses as to what you would get.
I need to use this winter to begin making BBQ pilgrimages around the state. Meatgrimages, if you will. I want to eat Elgin Sausage in Elgin. I want to eat ribs and beef in Lockhart. Shall I go to New Braunfels for Wurst? Or to Kerrville? What meats did our Czech forebears cook up? What about our Mexican forefathers?
So many meats. So little time.
Unfortunateness
Swedish dance bands from bygone eras.
For some reason I think I linked to an earlier version of this, like, four years ago.
Yeah, go ahead and laugh. Then ask yourself: who had better luck with swinging Swedish women, you or the dudes in "The Schytts"?
That, Leaguers, is the sound of the universe having a good laugh at you.
Beat it!
So I employ Technorati to help me track responses to blog posts. They track, somewhat imperfectly, whether or not someone has linked back to your posts.
A long time ago, I used to get linked around the net. When I don't post on comics, those links tend to dry up. But when I write for Comic Fodder, I notice that I get linked to a lot more often from sources of note (in the comics blogosphere, which is like being a big wheel on the island of misfit toys, I guess). Anyway, it gives me a little thrill to see myself linked elsewhere because (a) it lets me know others are going to come read whatever I wrote, and (b) it lets me know people I care about reading have actually read whatever I wrote. And that, Leaguers, is the blogging circle of life.
One of my fave-rave sites for YEARS has been Heidi MacDonald's "The Beat". So, I was thrilled to see in the links of Technorati that Heidi had linked back to a Comic Fodder article I'd written for last week about the economy and what comic publishers could do to save their skin in these troubled times. But at Technorati, when I clicked on the appropriate link... the article was no longer there.
I was sad. Heidi may have had good reasons for either pulling or never posting the article, but my fifteen minutes of Heidi-powered linked fame was gone, and I was left with nothing but a small reminder of what could have been.
Oh, Heidi... why hast thou removed my linky link?
Okay... yeah, the article was kind of weak.
That said, the guy who wrote the article that spawned my article DID link back (it's the line about "longish think piece"). Which is pretty huge in my world. Unfortunately, Spurge wasn't in the mood to elucidate on what he had in mind. Would have been interesting. Anyway, he's been covering comics and the economy for a few days and its good reading.
New Years Party Update
In case you missed it, here's the official flyer for the Melbotis New Years Hullabalunacy:
To see the invitation, go here.
Sunday, November 09, 2008
New Year Party Invitation
Hey, everybuddy!
We're officially doing New Year here at League HQ. Consider this your warning/ invitation.
We would love to see all of you. No need to get all fancied-up, but if that's how you want to roll, then I applaud the extra-effort.
The past few years hosting the League Christmas Heckstravaganza has meant a few things:
1) We kind of peak on Christmas cheer about 1:00 AM the night of the party. Getting revved up for actual Christmas again after the party becomes a sort of work-out.
2) We miss other peoples' parties. I know, we're pretty unpopular. But we have received invites in the past.
3) We rarely have much of anything to do on New Year. This year, we will have an Alpha Plan.
Anyhow, consider yourself invited. Expect an electronic invite soon!
We're officially doing New Year here at League HQ. Consider this your warning/ invitation.
We would love to see all of you. No need to get all fancied-up, but if that's how you want to roll, then I applaud the extra-effort.
The past few years hosting the League Christmas Heckstravaganza has meant a few things:
1) We kind of peak on Christmas cheer about 1:00 AM the night of the party. Getting revved up for actual Christmas again after the party becomes a sort of work-out.
2) We miss other peoples' parties. I know, we're pretty unpopular. But we have received invites in the past.
3) We rarely have much of anything to do on New Year. This year, we will have an Alpha Plan.
Anyhow, consider yourself invited. Expect an electronic invite soon!
Friday, November 07, 2008
DITMTLOD: Ellen Greene as Audrey in "Little Shop of Horrors"
I've actually mentioned I should do a post on this person/ character three times here at LoM. Here, here and here, so I figured I owed her a post.
When I was in sixth grade, my middle school experienced a bomb scare.
There was, of course, no actual bomb. But administrators were required to clear the school in the extremely unlikely occurence that we were victims of a Mad Bomber whose only real demands could have been adding a Slush Puppy machine to the cafeteria.
What I remember most is that the call came late in the day, so the principal had to send us home before we could re-enter the school and grab our bags, etc... So no homework. I learned to love a good bomb threat.
That night we were sort of left staring at one another at the Steans house as not having homework on a school night was a completely alien concept. The Admiral, looked out from behind his copy of the paper long enough to ask if anyone wanted to see a movie. Jason by-passed the chance, and so The Admiral and I headed off to Showplace 6 to catch "Little Shop of Horrors".
I grew up going to a lot of plays, and so, unlike a lot of my counterparts, I did not grow up thinking musicals were weird. And that may have been around when I figured out that musicals are not everybody's cup of tea.
To the point of a "DITMTLOD" post, "Little Shop of Horrors" didn't just feature music I liked, or a huge, talking plant (which I recall The Admiral imitating upon occasion after seeing the movie with a "Feed me, Seymour!" non-sequitor or two), it also featured Broadway star Ellen Greene as Audrey, Seymour's love interest.
Somewhere that's green
At age 12, I was not privvy to some of the jokes of the film, but I do recall getting the extended gag of "somewhere that's green" of Audrey's dream of living inside a Better Homes and Gardens magazine. I also didn't really understand the coding of Audrey's slinky dress, bouffant 'do, etc... but that didn't mean I did not appreciate the slinky dresses.
It takes seeing Greene in other roles to understand that (a) Audrey is a complete cartoon manifestation Greene put on, and (b) she's actually a talented actor and doesn't just play the same role over and over a la Tom Cruise or Arnie. She popped up in the recently reviewed "Pump up the Volume", ABC's "Pushing Daisies" and a whole bucket of other stuff, including Leon (aka: The Professional).
The character of Audrey, like Seymour, believes herself to be a loser due to the circumstances which landed her on Skid Row. It's kinda non-specific, but it makes the audience pull for her as someone so down, she doesn't think she deserves any better than a nitrous-abusing sadomasochistic dentist (played awesomely by Steve Martin in the film). She, of course, is terribly sweet and doesn't think she's good enough for our film's hero, Seymour (who also thinks he's not good enough for her. Go figure).
Ellen Greene has a terrific voice, which is terribly divergent from the lilting, post-Marilyn voice with a minor speech impediment she affects as Audrey. You might remember this scene:
Suddenly Seymour!
Anyway, I still think Ellen Greene did a great job with the role, which she'd originated on Broadway and would take to LA and, I think, London. And, she may have set in motion an interest in skinny blonds that continues to this day, but who knows... I am sure, as a tuba playing comic dork, I sorta felt that if a dame like Audrey could secretly dig on Seymour, there was hope for me yet. I just was far less likely to uncover those feelings in song.
Greene (who is not blond) continues to perform in TV, films, cuts records and is generally still very busy. Because she is rarely in anything with robots or ninjas, our paths don't often intersect. However, you can hear more of her on her website (beware the automatically loading audio file). The website hasn't been updated in a long while, but I assume that's because Greene is otherwise occupied.
When I was in sixth grade, my middle school experienced a bomb scare.
There was, of course, no actual bomb. But administrators were required to clear the school in the extremely unlikely occurence that we were victims of a Mad Bomber whose only real demands could have been adding a Slush Puppy machine to the cafeteria.
What I remember most is that the call came late in the day, so the principal had to send us home before we could re-enter the school and grab our bags, etc... So no homework. I learned to love a good bomb threat.
That night we were sort of left staring at one another at the Steans house as not having homework on a school night was a completely alien concept. The Admiral, looked out from behind his copy of the paper long enough to ask if anyone wanted to see a movie. Jason by-passed the chance, and so The Admiral and I headed off to Showplace 6 to catch "Little Shop of Horrors".
I grew up going to a lot of plays, and so, unlike a lot of my counterparts, I did not grow up thinking musicals were weird. And that may have been around when I figured out that musicals are not everybody's cup of tea.
To the point of a "DITMTLOD" post, "Little Shop of Horrors" didn't just feature music I liked, or a huge, talking plant (which I recall The Admiral imitating upon occasion after seeing the movie with a "Feed me, Seymour!" non-sequitor or two), it also featured Broadway star Ellen Greene as Audrey, Seymour's love interest.
Somewhere that's green
At age 12, I was not privvy to some of the jokes of the film, but I do recall getting the extended gag of "somewhere that's green" of Audrey's dream of living inside a Better Homes and Gardens magazine. I also didn't really understand the coding of Audrey's slinky dress, bouffant 'do, etc... but that didn't mean I did not appreciate the slinky dresses.
It takes seeing Greene in other roles to understand that (a) Audrey is a complete cartoon manifestation Greene put on, and (b) she's actually a talented actor and doesn't just play the same role over and over a la Tom Cruise or Arnie. She popped up in the recently reviewed "Pump up the Volume", ABC's "Pushing Daisies" and a whole bucket of other stuff, including Leon (aka: The Professional).
The character of Audrey, like Seymour, believes herself to be a loser due to the circumstances which landed her on Skid Row. It's kinda non-specific, but it makes the audience pull for her as someone so down, she doesn't think she deserves any better than a nitrous-abusing sadomasochistic dentist (played awesomely by Steve Martin in the film). She, of course, is terribly sweet and doesn't think she's good enough for our film's hero, Seymour (who also thinks he's not good enough for her. Go figure).
Ellen Greene has a terrific voice, which is terribly divergent from the lilting, post-Marilyn voice with a minor speech impediment she affects as Audrey. You might remember this scene:
Suddenly Seymour!
Anyway, I still think Ellen Greene did a great job with the role, which she'd originated on Broadway and would take to LA and, I think, London. And, she may have set in motion an interest in skinny blonds that continues to this day, but who knows... I am sure, as a tuba playing comic dork, I sorta felt that if a dame like Audrey could secretly dig on Seymour, there was hope for me yet. I just was far less likely to uncover those feelings in song.
Greene (who is not blond) continues to perform in TV, films, cuts records and is generally still very busy. Because she is rarely in anything with robots or ninjas, our paths don't often intersect. However, you can hear more of her on her website (beware the automatically loading audio file). The website hasn't been updated in a long while, but I assume that's because Greene is otherwise occupied.
WANT
It is true that many League family members (despite the wide array of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Spider-Man and Galactus related goods out there) do not know what to get me come the yuletide gift giving holiday. They often suspect that I'd just get it for myself as I try to calm the OCD voices in my head.
Not always so.
I say:
What better way to celebrate the Holiday Season than with the gift of the 2.5 hour harrowing Dark Knight experience on Blu-Ray?
This two-disc gift set also comes with a model of the Batpod, that motorcycle-y thingy that appears in The Dark Knight's stunning car chase sequence.
Also:
Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk and Batman Begins are always good.
Not always so.
I say:
What better way to celebrate the Holiday Season than with the gift of the 2.5 hour harrowing Dark Knight experience on Blu-Ray?
This two-disc gift set also comes with a model of the Batpod, that motorcycle-y thingy that appears in The Dark Knight's stunning car chase sequence.
Also:
Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk and Batman Begins are always good.
Thursday, November 06, 2008
Get Off My Lawn: The League is a Grumpy Neighbor
So...
I awoke around 2:30 AM to the sound of 80's era new wave-ish dance music blasting from somewhere outside. I sort of recognized the song, but it was one that I'd long ago forgotten who performed it. I lay frozen, face down, convinced that the person playing the music had accidentally turned on a stereo and was even now, madly dashing to find the power button to shut it off.
After five minutes, I realized that, no... this was, in fact, their game plan. They were going to rock their backyard at 2:35 AM. And I knew exactly who it was as I'd looked out my blinds and could see my rear window neighbor was up and moving around, his lights on, the back door open, the stereo he keeps outside rocking the hits of 2 decades back. It looked like he had a visitor.
We'll call him Ted... But I was quite excited when Ted moved in. Prior to Ted, a family of five had lived behind us who home-schooled their kids. If, by home school, you mean "mom kicks the kids outside all day where their only toys are those pool noodle things, which they use to spend all day whacking each other in the weakest duel ever".
This, by the way, was busily driving nails into the coffin of how I think the State of Texas manages home schooling, but that's not really relevant. But we kind of grew a serious dislike of those kids because, well... why weren't they in school instead of whacking one another with noodles while the toddler did nothing all day but walk up and down the precarious staircase from their backdoor to the backyard?
That's relvant, too. We live on a hill. The hill slopes downward from the back of their house to our house. So if you stand on the backporch of their house (now Ted's house), you're about 7 feet higher than our back door and can look directly in on us at all times. Not really a worry, but it makes the privacy fence seem sort of ineffectual. And we can kind of see into their yard back up the hill.
Anyhow, right before the noodle whackers moved out, I was surprised to let Lucy back into the house on a completely clear day and find her dripping wet. About six months before that, I'd seen Dad Noodle Whacker throw a bowl of water over the fence at Mel who was being a dog and barking a bit, but who we rarely let out for more than 20 minutes at a time as Mel much prefers the comfort of the end of the couch. I stared for a minute from inside, then decided "hey, I'm neighborly. If he's been having a problem with Mel and Lucy, I should talk to him about it." So I opened the door, at which time Dad Noodle Whacker dashed back inside and did not come back out.
Seeing Lucy dripping, and knowing the Noodle Whacker kids ALSO often played with the hose, spraying each other, I decided to not be mad, but I could probably get a lot of mileage out of the kids and parents if I went ahead and talked to them. I went out into the yard to see if I could get their attention, but no dice. So I wandered around the block, rang their doorbell and waited. I could hear them inside talking about me, but nobody answered the door.
"Hey," I finally said out loud, "I know you're in there."
And then things got very quiet. I rang the doorbell a few more times, pondered the likelihood of them opening the door for a 6'5" dude they probably believed to be irate, and then headed home.
It was, in my opinion, all pretty cowardly on their part.
They moved out a week later. I don't know what the story was, but my guess is they knew they were leaving, so why talk to this guy? I'm not sure that was the best option for the Noodle Whacker family, but that's not for me to say.
Ted moved in shortly thereafter. Incredibly nice guy. But he couldn't work his sprinkler system. As I mentioned, we live on a hill, and every night one zone on Ted's system was going off for an hour and flooding our yard. The dogs were consistently covered in mud during a drought, and the whole thing was just dumb.
"Hey, uh... could you take a look at your sprinkler system?" I said upon meeting Ted over the fence. "It's running for an hour every night and flooding my yard. See how high and green my grass is?"
"Wow. Yeah, it's pretty complicated. I never lived in a house of my own, so I'm figuring all this out."
"Well," I nodded. "My grass is growing like crazy, my yard is flooded all the time and my dogs are muddy. If you could just take a look, that'd be awesome."
"It's pretty complicated..."
"I can look at it. This is my second system."
"Nah."
"Oookay."
I found out later Ted finally took a look at his complicated system when he received a $400 utility bill.
When I was in college I lived in an apartment near 290 and I-35 (where we had a police shootout this morning, btw). We lived in a standard apartment block. My bedroom touched three other apartments, and every night for a month, one of my neighbors would play The Vapors' "Turning Japanese" on repeat. I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but PTSD will do that to you.
I don't mean they played it once a night. I mean, they turned it on repeat and played it, like, 10-15 times every night.
I banged on the wall in the classic apartment house style, but I began to suspect that they weren't listening to the song in their bedroom, but in their living room, and it was just on that loud. Loud enough not to hear the neighbor banging on the wall between 12-2 AM. I sincerely couldn't tell if it was the person above me, their neighbor, or the person on the ground level next to me. Anyway, I still don't hate the song, but it does conjure up some nights of frustrated disbelief.
For a while I tried to sleep in the hallway, but could never sleep well on the floor. I don't know if I eventually tuned out the Vapors or if they got tired of the song or what... but it did stop.
I went out to the backyard and leaned over the fence. Ted's backdoor was open, and so when the album hit a quiet moment between songs, I yelled for Ted over the fence. I don't know where he was, but neither he nor his visitor noticed me yelling. A few neighborhood dogs did notice and began barking.
Defeated, I went back inside.
I lay there for a few more minutes, really, really not wanting to call the cops. And eventually decided... Oh, screw it. I put on my walking shorts and wandered around the block, hearing the music most of the walk. I also saw several neighbors had lights on, which is unusual for 2:40 AM in my neighborhood.
2 factors here:
1) The band factor: Hey guys and gals in bands! Did you know that when you play music loudly, not everyone wants to hear your music? Be it all the neighbors of your house party or a patio at a restaurant, I may not have signed up to hear your noise. Musicians will, of course, be angry to hear this. You are wrong.
2) Living in the Burbs is Tricky: We're surrounded by, I'd estimate, 1/3rd rental properties. Part of the real estate boom in Austin translated to people dashing into new neighborhoods and buying houses for rent. We bought our house. We have a lot of money sunk into that house. If the neighbors are jerks, we can't just move when our lease is up. Rental houses also means a lot of houses in Austin go to younger folks who see a house and the first thing on their mind is: I shall have many parties.
I am just grateful I don't live about four blocks over where a bunch of frat dudes have set up shop.
Ted is actually older than me, but as I mentioned, its his first house on his own. He was in a band and toured. He loves his music. But, oddly, has no understanding of acoustics and that sound does not stop at a fence post, or even at a wall or window. And the areas between houses tend to act like an echo chamber.
I made it around the block and identified Ted's house by the rocking tunes as I got closer. All of Ted's lights were on, and I could see through a window and straight through the house. He and his guest had moved to the back porch now, and couldn't hear me ringing the doorbell. So... I had to go around the side of his house and through his gate, which, I think, scared the shit out of him.
"Hey. Can you turn it down?"
There was kind of a slack jawed silence.
"It's 2:30 in the morning and I have to go to work tomorrow."
"I didn't realize it was that loud."
"It's waaaay that loud," I was really snippy. "Look, it's 2:30 in the morning, and I don't want to call the cops, but I can hear everything through my window."
He looked confused.
"Where do you live?"
I have talked to Ted many times. I have loaned him my fire pit. But I imagine as a shadowy figure in glasses at 2:30, I may have looked kind of spooky.
I pointed Grim Reaper-like at my own home.
"The sound goes right into my house."
Ted turned off the stereo.
"It's off."
"Okay."
"Okay."
"I just... it's 2:30 in the morning."
"It's off," now it was his turn to get snippy. I couldn't tell if things were about to get ugly or not, but, yeah... the stereo was off.
I turned around and exited through the gate.
I thought about all those lights on in all of those houses. I know his next door neighbor has kids. I know Courtney next door is not usually up at 2:45 or whatever it was with her lighst burning. And I often wonder, are people just unaware of the problem their causing? Do they really not care if they're ruining a night's sleep for the people they live beside?
And why was I the only one pointing out the obvious? You do not play a stereo full-blast in suburbia on a Thursday morning between 2:00 AM and 3:00 AM. It's bad form.
Am I a jerk? A bad neighbor? Ted seems like a decent guy, but why do you know in the back of your mind that when you ask someone to do something that's so obviously and totally okay, you have to be ready for an argument, if not a fight of some sort?
After college, Jamie and I lived very close to campus on the edge of the conveniently located Hyde Park neighborhood. After a year of living under a girl who walked on her heels (we called her "stompy") a bunch of dudes moved in. Within two weeks, they were starting to throw a kegger on a Thursday night about 10:00. I know this, because Jamie had dialysis at 4:30 AM the next day.
I knocked on their door and pleaded for mercy. "It's a week night. She has to get up at 4:30. I have to get up at 6:45."
I was given assurances, returned downstairs, and immediately heard the chanting begin: "chug! chug! chug!".
I banged on the wall.
"chug! chug! chug!"
I called the cops.
For about a month the guys gave me dirty looks, but... screw 'em.
Until one night about 10:00 they started in with a stereo at full blast. I banged on the ceiling to no avail. Then I headed upstairs.
The four of them met me at the door, clearly ready to get into a fist fight. "Seriously?" I looked at them. "She needs to sleep. What are you doing?"
That moment of "oh hell, here we go..." was quickly disappated, but was playing their stereo at full blast at 10:00 really such a defensible act that it was worth kicking my ass?
These guys thought so.
That's the nature of living amongst people. My Psych 301 class taught me one thing: we're all the heroes in our own stories. That is why we have such a hard time understanding when someone points out that we're wrong. To the point, yeah, of violence.
So weird that we would fear not just the consequences of our own requests for civility, but the long term results of ruining a relationship that was already so non-existent that the other party didn't think anything of waking you up for an hour in the middle of the night. Let alone getting dressed and semi-illegally entering their yard.
What I find interesting is that when I mention that I have no problem asking people to turn it down, or calling the cops at some point, people look at you like you're a bad guy. You ruined someone else's fun. I'm used to that reaction now, and I've quit trying to justify my actions. I guess many people associate asking for civility with old man stuffiness and/ or imagine themselves on the other side of the door when the fuzz shows up.
But I'm also the guy who dreads going to the movies because I get sick of asking people to turn off the iPhone which is putting light in my eye, asking them to get off the phone, quit talking, what have you... it's just a pretty wretched experience most days. I simply get tired of getting to that point where if I don't take some action I know I'll miss 90% of the movie thinking about how that dumb guy won't shut his yap. This way I'll simply not enjoy the movie because I had to go through that whole routine of the perpetrator's disbelief and defensive posturing that always follows after asking someone to shut their pie hole for an hour and a half.
And whenever you do ask, you have to know that no matter how unlikely, you're playing a game of Russian Roullette. Sooner or later, someone is going to decide he's just embarrassed enough to be angry and start a fight. Sooner or later, its going to happen.
But that isn't what happened with Ted.
This evening I reached the house, and Ted was in the driveway. He'd stopped by before heading out to meet some friends. As I said, Ted's a good guy.
"What were you guys up to?"
They'd been out. Sounds like maybe there was a recent break-up. A friend had come home to hang out with him. They made a few more drinks.
Anyway, we exchanged numbers. He felt simply awful, and I felt pretty badly for making him feel so awful, but, yeah...
I'm glad we resolved it. I'm glad I didn't just sit up losing sleep and fuming. Sometimes you realize that other person isn't just being a jerk, and its just one of those things. We'll be better neighbors for it.
And it makes me glad that sometimes things do sort out, that some of those folks really are okay, and that asking is sometimes all you really have to do.
I awoke around 2:30 AM to the sound of 80's era new wave-ish dance music blasting from somewhere outside. I sort of recognized the song, but it was one that I'd long ago forgotten who performed it. I lay frozen, face down, convinced that the person playing the music had accidentally turned on a stereo and was even now, madly dashing to find the power button to shut it off.
After five minutes, I realized that, no... this was, in fact, their game plan. They were going to rock their backyard at 2:35 AM. And I knew exactly who it was as I'd looked out my blinds and could see my rear window neighbor was up and moving around, his lights on, the back door open, the stereo he keeps outside rocking the hits of 2 decades back. It looked like he had a visitor.
We'll call him Ted... But I was quite excited when Ted moved in. Prior to Ted, a family of five had lived behind us who home-schooled their kids. If, by home school, you mean "mom kicks the kids outside all day where their only toys are those pool noodle things, which they use to spend all day whacking each other in the weakest duel ever".
This, by the way, was busily driving nails into the coffin of how I think the State of Texas manages home schooling, but that's not really relevant. But we kind of grew a serious dislike of those kids because, well... why weren't they in school instead of whacking one another with noodles while the toddler did nothing all day but walk up and down the precarious staircase from their backdoor to the backyard?
That's relvant, too. We live on a hill. The hill slopes downward from the back of their house to our house. So if you stand on the backporch of their house (now Ted's house), you're about 7 feet higher than our back door and can look directly in on us at all times. Not really a worry, but it makes the privacy fence seem sort of ineffectual. And we can kind of see into their yard back up the hill.
Anyhow, right before the noodle whackers moved out, I was surprised to let Lucy back into the house on a completely clear day and find her dripping wet. About six months before that, I'd seen Dad Noodle Whacker throw a bowl of water over the fence at Mel who was being a dog and barking a bit, but who we rarely let out for more than 20 minutes at a time as Mel much prefers the comfort of the end of the couch. I stared for a minute from inside, then decided "hey, I'm neighborly. If he's been having a problem with Mel and Lucy, I should talk to him about it." So I opened the door, at which time Dad Noodle Whacker dashed back inside and did not come back out.
Seeing Lucy dripping, and knowing the Noodle Whacker kids ALSO often played with the hose, spraying each other, I decided to not be mad, but I could probably get a lot of mileage out of the kids and parents if I went ahead and talked to them. I went out into the yard to see if I could get their attention, but no dice. So I wandered around the block, rang their doorbell and waited. I could hear them inside talking about me, but nobody answered the door.
"Hey," I finally said out loud, "I know you're in there."
And then things got very quiet. I rang the doorbell a few more times, pondered the likelihood of them opening the door for a 6'5" dude they probably believed to be irate, and then headed home.
It was, in my opinion, all pretty cowardly on their part.
They moved out a week later. I don't know what the story was, but my guess is they knew they were leaving, so why talk to this guy? I'm not sure that was the best option for the Noodle Whacker family, but that's not for me to say.
Ted moved in shortly thereafter. Incredibly nice guy. But he couldn't work his sprinkler system. As I mentioned, we live on a hill, and every night one zone on Ted's system was going off for an hour and flooding our yard. The dogs were consistently covered in mud during a drought, and the whole thing was just dumb.
"Hey, uh... could you take a look at your sprinkler system?" I said upon meeting Ted over the fence. "It's running for an hour every night and flooding my yard. See how high and green my grass is?"
"Wow. Yeah, it's pretty complicated. I never lived in a house of my own, so I'm figuring all this out."
"Well," I nodded. "My grass is growing like crazy, my yard is flooded all the time and my dogs are muddy. If you could just take a look, that'd be awesome."
"It's pretty complicated..."
"I can look at it. This is my second system."
"Nah."
"Oookay."
I found out later Ted finally took a look at his complicated system when he received a $400 utility bill.
When I was in college I lived in an apartment near 290 and I-35 (where we had a police shootout this morning, btw). We lived in a standard apartment block. My bedroom touched three other apartments, and every night for a month, one of my neighbors would play The Vapors' "Turning Japanese" on repeat. I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but PTSD will do that to you.
I don't mean they played it once a night. I mean, they turned it on repeat and played it, like, 10-15 times every night.
I banged on the wall in the classic apartment house style, but I began to suspect that they weren't listening to the song in their bedroom, but in their living room, and it was just on that loud. Loud enough not to hear the neighbor banging on the wall between 12-2 AM. I sincerely couldn't tell if it was the person above me, their neighbor, or the person on the ground level next to me. Anyway, I still don't hate the song, but it does conjure up some nights of frustrated disbelief.
For a while I tried to sleep in the hallway, but could never sleep well on the floor. I don't know if I eventually tuned out the Vapors or if they got tired of the song or what... but it did stop.
I went out to the backyard and leaned over the fence. Ted's backdoor was open, and so when the album hit a quiet moment between songs, I yelled for Ted over the fence. I don't know where he was, but neither he nor his visitor noticed me yelling. A few neighborhood dogs did notice and began barking.
Defeated, I went back inside.
I lay there for a few more minutes, really, really not wanting to call the cops. And eventually decided... Oh, screw it. I put on my walking shorts and wandered around the block, hearing the music most of the walk. I also saw several neighbors had lights on, which is unusual for 2:40 AM in my neighborhood.
2 factors here:
1) The band factor: Hey guys and gals in bands! Did you know that when you play music loudly, not everyone wants to hear your music? Be it all the neighbors of your house party or a patio at a restaurant, I may not have signed up to hear your noise. Musicians will, of course, be angry to hear this. You are wrong.
2) Living in the Burbs is Tricky: We're surrounded by, I'd estimate, 1/3rd rental properties. Part of the real estate boom in Austin translated to people dashing into new neighborhoods and buying houses for rent. We bought our house. We have a lot of money sunk into that house. If the neighbors are jerks, we can't just move when our lease is up. Rental houses also means a lot of houses in Austin go to younger folks who see a house and the first thing on their mind is: I shall have many parties.
I am just grateful I don't live about four blocks over where a bunch of frat dudes have set up shop.
Ted is actually older than me, but as I mentioned, its his first house on his own. He was in a band and toured. He loves his music. But, oddly, has no understanding of acoustics and that sound does not stop at a fence post, or even at a wall or window. And the areas between houses tend to act like an echo chamber.
I made it around the block and identified Ted's house by the rocking tunes as I got closer. All of Ted's lights were on, and I could see through a window and straight through the house. He and his guest had moved to the back porch now, and couldn't hear me ringing the doorbell. So... I had to go around the side of his house and through his gate, which, I think, scared the shit out of him.
"Hey. Can you turn it down?"
There was kind of a slack jawed silence.
"It's 2:30 in the morning and I have to go to work tomorrow."
"I didn't realize it was that loud."
"It's waaaay that loud," I was really snippy. "Look, it's 2:30 in the morning, and I don't want to call the cops, but I can hear everything through my window."
He looked confused.
"Where do you live?"
I have talked to Ted many times. I have loaned him my fire pit. But I imagine as a shadowy figure in glasses at 2:30, I may have looked kind of spooky.
I pointed Grim Reaper-like at my own home.
"The sound goes right into my house."
Ted turned off the stereo.
"It's off."
"Okay."
"Okay."
"I just... it's 2:30 in the morning."
"It's off," now it was his turn to get snippy. I couldn't tell if things were about to get ugly or not, but, yeah... the stereo was off.
I turned around and exited through the gate.
I thought about all those lights on in all of those houses. I know his next door neighbor has kids. I know Courtney next door is not usually up at 2:45 or whatever it was with her lighst burning. And I often wonder, are people just unaware of the problem their causing? Do they really not care if they're ruining a night's sleep for the people they live beside?
And why was I the only one pointing out the obvious? You do not play a stereo full-blast in suburbia on a Thursday morning between 2:00 AM and 3:00 AM. It's bad form.
Am I a jerk? A bad neighbor? Ted seems like a decent guy, but why do you know in the back of your mind that when you ask someone to do something that's so obviously and totally okay, you have to be ready for an argument, if not a fight of some sort?
After college, Jamie and I lived very close to campus on the edge of the conveniently located Hyde Park neighborhood. After a year of living under a girl who walked on her heels (we called her "stompy") a bunch of dudes moved in. Within two weeks, they were starting to throw a kegger on a Thursday night about 10:00. I know this, because Jamie had dialysis at 4:30 AM the next day.
I knocked on their door and pleaded for mercy. "It's a week night. She has to get up at 4:30. I have to get up at 6:45."
I was given assurances, returned downstairs, and immediately heard the chanting begin: "chug! chug! chug!".
I banged on the wall.
"chug! chug! chug!"
I called the cops.
For about a month the guys gave me dirty looks, but... screw 'em.
Until one night about 10:00 they started in with a stereo at full blast. I banged on the ceiling to no avail. Then I headed upstairs.
The four of them met me at the door, clearly ready to get into a fist fight. "Seriously?" I looked at them. "She needs to sleep. What are you doing?"
That moment of "oh hell, here we go..." was quickly disappated, but was playing their stereo at full blast at 10:00 really such a defensible act that it was worth kicking my ass?
These guys thought so.
That's the nature of living amongst people. My Psych 301 class taught me one thing: we're all the heroes in our own stories. That is why we have such a hard time understanding when someone points out that we're wrong. To the point, yeah, of violence.
So weird that we would fear not just the consequences of our own requests for civility, but the long term results of ruining a relationship that was already so non-existent that the other party didn't think anything of waking you up for an hour in the middle of the night. Let alone getting dressed and semi-illegally entering their yard.
What I find interesting is that when I mention that I have no problem asking people to turn it down, or calling the cops at some point, people look at you like you're a bad guy. You ruined someone else's fun. I'm used to that reaction now, and I've quit trying to justify my actions. I guess many people associate asking for civility with old man stuffiness and/ or imagine themselves on the other side of the door when the fuzz shows up.
But I'm also the guy who dreads going to the movies because I get sick of asking people to turn off the iPhone which is putting light in my eye, asking them to get off the phone, quit talking, what have you... it's just a pretty wretched experience most days. I simply get tired of getting to that point where if I don't take some action I know I'll miss 90% of the movie thinking about how that dumb guy won't shut his yap. This way I'll simply not enjoy the movie because I had to go through that whole routine of the perpetrator's disbelief and defensive posturing that always follows after asking someone to shut their pie hole for an hour and a half.
And whenever you do ask, you have to know that no matter how unlikely, you're playing a game of Russian Roullette. Sooner or later, someone is going to decide he's just embarrassed enough to be angry and start a fight. Sooner or later, its going to happen.
But that isn't what happened with Ted.
This evening I reached the house, and Ted was in the driveway. He'd stopped by before heading out to meet some friends. As I said, Ted's a good guy.
"What were you guys up to?"
They'd been out. Sounds like maybe there was a recent break-up. A friend had come home to hang out with him. They made a few more drinks.
Anyway, we exchanged numbers. He felt simply awful, and I felt pretty badly for making him feel so awful, but, yeah...
I'm glad we resolved it. I'm glad I didn't just sit up losing sleep and fuming. Sometimes you realize that other person isn't just being a jerk, and its just one of those things. We'll be better neighbors for it.
And it makes me glad that sometimes things do sort out, that some of those folks really are okay, and that asking is sometimes all you really have to do.
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