We're flying out of Houston in a few hours and leaving for the airport in an hour, I think.
No doubt I'm going to be feeling even more useless in Phoenix than I've felt in Houston over the past couple of days.
Jason has been up at the hospital quite a bit with Jeff, but as he's in ICU, he can't stay in the room for any length of time. He's made two posts on Jeff, Kim and Sigmund's status, and I suggest sticking with Jason's blog to get updates.
Meanwhile the Austin media has picked up on Jeff's story. They've done their due diligence and located Jeff's blog. And they're quoting from it.
here.
I'd feel worse about what I feel is a bit of an invasion of Jeff's privacy, but they are getting across Jeff's incredible energy and his determination to make the most of his life. Sort of. And Joe Turner (who I don't know) had some spot on things to say.
Oddly, the Steanso/ CrackBass band "Crack" also gets its first public mention in the article.
We're back to Phoenix as of tonight. I'll be pointing back to Jason's blog on a regular basis as events warrant.
Thursday, July 06, 2006
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
NEWS
If you've been keeping up with "League of Melbotis" or "Adventures of Steanso", you are probably familiar with Jeff Wilson. You may know him as CrackBass.
Last evening, while leaving a concert outside of Austin, Jeff and several others (including, I believe, Sigmund and Kim Bloom) were struck by a motorist. Jeff is in critical condition in the intensive care unit at one of Austin's finest hospitals. Sigmund received several injuries, and I believe Kim has a broken leg and is under observation for possible internal injuries.
At this time, I don't have many details. Jeff is not conscious. My brother, Jason, left Houston at 8:00 this morning to get back to Austin.
Jeff has many, many friends, including folks on this website. As I understand it, there has been a stream of visitors from all over Austin to see Jeff and lend his wife, Mandy, a hand.
I'm asking that you guys keep Jeff and the others in this accident in your thoughts and prayers over the next few days.
And for the love of God, please remember Jeff, Sigmund and Kim when you decide to get behind the wheel after you've had a drink.
***UPDATE***
Steanso has updated his blog.
More after the jump.
Here.
If you've been keeping up with "League of Melbotis" or "Adventures of Steanso", you are probably familiar with Jeff Wilson. You may know him as CrackBass.
Last evening, while leaving a concert outside of Austin, Jeff and several others (including, I believe, Sigmund and Kim Bloom) were struck by a motorist. Jeff is in critical condition in the intensive care unit at one of Austin's finest hospitals. Sigmund received several injuries, and I believe Kim has a broken leg and is under observation for possible internal injuries.
At this time, I don't have many details. Jeff is not conscious. My brother, Jason, left Houston at 8:00 this morning to get back to Austin.
Jeff has many, many friends, including folks on this website. As I understand it, there has been a stream of visitors from all over Austin to see Jeff and lend his wife, Mandy, a hand.
I'm asking that you guys keep Jeff and the others in this accident in your thoughts and prayers over the next few days.
And for the love of God, please remember Jeff, Sigmund and Kim when you decide to get behind the wheel after you've had a drink.
***UPDATE***
Steanso has updated his blog.
More after the jump.
Here.
Monday, July 03, 2006
Friday, June 30, 2006
JAPAN'S LEADER HAS EXCELLENT MUSICAL TASTE
Bush plays tour guide at Graceland? Koizumi the karaoke champ?
Hail to the King, baby.
read more here.
Bush plays tour guide at Graceland? Koizumi the karaoke champ?
Hail to the King, baby.
read more here.
...DO THE HOT DOG DANCE...
I like pirates!
On Saturday the good ship HMS Melbotis lifts anchor and heads for the glittering shores of Spring, Texas.
The League and Jamie will be spending Saturday through Wednesday at the Admiral and KareBear's country manor, tucked amidst the pines and live oaks of their sprawling estate. I believe Steanso and Cousin Sue will be joining us for what is sure to be a delightful few days. Just what a gentleman needs to rejuvenate himself.
Blogging may be light, Leaguers. If you are in Houston, feel free to pop by. We don't really have any plans to actually leave the house. Well, that's not true. On Tuesday we have a baseball game to attend (go Astros! Wait, who is pitching that day..?), and I am sure there will be a cook-out led by the courageous Admiral.
In lieu of fireworks, I plan to buy several bottles of Diet Coke and a few packs of Mentos. I've seen evidence that combining these two items causes an amazing display.
Monday and Wednesday night are now, unfortunately, no longer up for negotiation. Jamie has dialysis scheduled for both evenings.
I am looking forward to the endless and meandering storytelling which will occur as Mum and Dad relate the tales of their trip to Milan and Rome. I've heard they bought a picture book of Rome, so hopefully they can tell me a little bit about what's in there.
Mostly I plan to just float in the pool, hit Bedrock City Comics, eat some Tex-Mex and BarBQ, and convince Susan that Pierre could be the ultimate dog fighter. If, you know, Steanso wants to see Superman Returns during a late showing, I'm up for that.
Don't hesitate to get in touch with me via comments or e-mail. Or phone, you know, if you know how to find us.
Happy Days, Leaguers. Now get out there and celebrate your independence.
I like pirates!
On Saturday the good ship HMS Melbotis lifts anchor and heads for the glittering shores of Spring, Texas.
The League and Jamie will be spending Saturday through Wednesday at the Admiral and KareBear's country manor, tucked amidst the pines and live oaks of their sprawling estate. I believe Steanso and Cousin Sue will be joining us for what is sure to be a delightful few days. Just what a gentleman needs to rejuvenate himself.
Blogging may be light, Leaguers. If you are in Houston, feel free to pop by. We don't really have any plans to actually leave the house. Well, that's not true. On Tuesday we have a baseball game to attend (go Astros! Wait, who is pitching that day..?), and I am sure there will be a cook-out led by the courageous Admiral.
In lieu of fireworks, I plan to buy several bottles of Diet Coke and a few packs of Mentos. I've seen evidence that combining these two items causes an amazing display.
Monday and Wednesday night are now, unfortunately, no longer up for negotiation. Jamie has dialysis scheduled for both evenings.
I am looking forward to the endless and meandering storytelling which will occur as Mum and Dad relate the tales of their trip to Milan and Rome. I've heard they bought a picture book of Rome, so hopefully they can tell me a little bit about what's in there.
Mostly I plan to just float in the pool, hit Bedrock City Comics, eat some Tex-Mex and BarBQ, and convince Susan that Pierre could be the ultimate dog fighter. If, you know, Steanso wants to see Superman Returns during a late showing, I'm up for that.
Don't hesitate to get in touch with me via comments or e-mail. Or phone, you know, if you know how to find us.
Happy Days, Leaguers. Now get out there and celebrate your independence.
Thursday, June 29, 2006
SUMMER OF SUPERMAN: SEEN THE MOVIE NOW
Let me just start by saying that I may never go to an opening weekend show ever again.
I bought my tickets several days ago online. When I ran my card through the machine, it coughed up a receipt that said "We're sorry! This theater has been cancelled!" Panic set in immediately. I walked back to the box office and showed them the stubs, and asked what I could do. The guy behind the glass with the dumb light bulb hair that all the teen-age boys are now sporting proceeded to treat me like an idiot as he got me tickets for a different showing (at the same time, natch) and I tried to pay for them.
"You've already paid, sir..." he groaned as I pushed my debit card through the little coin tray window. I don't honestly think I DID pay. I think the machine had refunded my money, but, you know, whatever...
The theater was pretty full already half an hour before the show. Lots of families. Lots of families with small children, as it should be, I guess. The lesson I learned is that Disney isn't screwing around by limiting their features to 80 minutes. The constant squirming, whining and general noisiness in the theater was constant for every moment that something on screen wasn't exploding or shattering, or, in general, assaulting the senses.
The family of five behind us started out the film by chatting away until I shushed the mom, but I was glad I did it then rather than let the frustration grow. The mind-boggler was the three-year old they'd brought who seemed interested in the movie as he kept his own ongoing narration, parroting lines and telling us what we were seeing. I gave him the "adult stink-eye" three or four times, and each time he'd quiet down for a few minutes. Luckily his older sisters kept shushing him. Dad just ignored junior. It was kind of fascinating.
The kid next to me spent half the movie playing with a handful of coins, until I finally asked him to stop.
Look, I HATE having to ask others to exercise common courtesy, but I also want to enjoy a movie without constant interruption. I'm amazed how few people feel the same way. In some ways, I absolutely knew this was going to happen if we went to a 7:00 show on opening day, but I also didn't want to wait two weeks to see the movie. There's got to be a happy medium in there somewhere.
Also, people, for the love of God... Why are you checking to see who called you on your cell? Yes, yes... you've put it on vibrate, but when you check to see who called and your dinky 1" x 1" screen lights up, we can all see the bright blue light in the otherwise very dark theater. And, teenagers, same goes for texting.
I'm fully in support of theaters using cell-phone blocking technology. The many, many stupid people have officially overcome the needs of the few who might actually need to take a call in the middle of a movie.
okay... the movie
The movie was very enjoyable. It had a few logic problems and should have been longer in the beginning and shorter at the end, but overall, yeah..! I liked it.
Brandon Routh, despite the seemingly endless desire to compare him to Christopher Reeve, handles the dual roles with a lot of charm and does own the role. I would have liked to have gotten to see a bit more in the way of Superman being Super about town, but the moments you do get are amazing. Just beautifully executed. Singer and Co. have done a remarkable job of thinking through scenarios and the use of technology, and Routh manages to more than fill the Man of Steel's red boots. That plane scene from the trailers? It's stunning.
The bottom line is this: I really enjoyed the movie. You always feel a little odd telling people you really believed something was that good, even when you saw the flaws. One man's Matisse is another man's messy canvas. I've heard varying reports on different actor's performances, and I am sure there will be some serious debate among comic geeks as to certain elements in the film... but as a separate entity from the comics, from the TV shows... Yeah. Yeah, I enjoyed every minute of it.
And, yes, if it's been twenty years since you watched Superman I and II, I highly recommend watching them again on DVD before hitting the theater. This movie is a sequel in every conceivable way.
I'm very much looking forward to the next installments. Singer did such a good job of building upon what he'd established in X-Men with X2, that the scope of Superman Returns sequel seems almost limitless.
In the meantime, just prepare to sit back and enjoy the spectacle.
Let me just start by saying that I may never go to an opening weekend show ever again.
I bought my tickets several days ago online. When I ran my card through the machine, it coughed up a receipt that said "We're sorry! This theater has been cancelled!" Panic set in immediately. I walked back to the box office and showed them the stubs, and asked what I could do. The guy behind the glass with the dumb light bulb hair that all the teen-age boys are now sporting proceeded to treat me like an idiot as he got me tickets for a different showing (at the same time, natch) and I tried to pay for them.
"You've already paid, sir..." he groaned as I pushed my debit card through the little coin tray window. I don't honestly think I DID pay. I think the machine had refunded my money, but, you know, whatever...
The theater was pretty full already half an hour before the show. Lots of families. Lots of families with small children, as it should be, I guess. The lesson I learned is that Disney isn't screwing around by limiting their features to 80 minutes. The constant squirming, whining and general noisiness in the theater was constant for every moment that something on screen wasn't exploding or shattering, or, in general, assaulting the senses.
The family of five behind us started out the film by chatting away until I shushed the mom, but I was glad I did it then rather than let the frustration grow. The mind-boggler was the three-year old they'd brought who seemed interested in the movie as he kept his own ongoing narration, parroting lines and telling us what we were seeing. I gave him the "adult stink-eye" three or four times, and each time he'd quiet down for a few minutes. Luckily his older sisters kept shushing him. Dad just ignored junior. It was kind of fascinating.
The kid next to me spent half the movie playing with a handful of coins, until I finally asked him to stop.
Look, I HATE having to ask others to exercise common courtesy, but I also want to enjoy a movie without constant interruption. I'm amazed how few people feel the same way. In some ways, I absolutely knew this was going to happen if we went to a 7:00 show on opening day, but I also didn't want to wait two weeks to see the movie. There's got to be a happy medium in there somewhere.
Also, people, for the love of God... Why are you checking to see who called you on your cell? Yes, yes... you've put it on vibrate, but when you check to see who called and your dinky 1" x 1" screen lights up, we can all see the bright blue light in the otherwise very dark theater. And, teenagers, same goes for texting.
I'm fully in support of theaters using cell-phone blocking technology. The many, many stupid people have officially overcome the needs of the few who might actually need to take a call in the middle of a movie.
okay... the movie
The movie was very enjoyable. It had a few logic problems and should have been longer in the beginning and shorter at the end, but overall, yeah..! I liked it.
Brandon Routh, despite the seemingly endless desire to compare him to Christopher Reeve, handles the dual roles with a lot of charm and does own the role. I would have liked to have gotten to see a bit more in the way of Superman being Super about town, but the moments you do get are amazing. Just beautifully executed. Singer and Co. have done a remarkable job of thinking through scenarios and the use of technology, and Routh manages to more than fill the Man of Steel's red boots. That plane scene from the trailers? It's stunning.
The bottom line is this: I really enjoyed the movie. You always feel a little odd telling people you really believed something was that good, even when you saw the flaws. One man's Matisse is another man's messy canvas. I've heard varying reports on different actor's performances, and I am sure there will be some serious debate among comic geeks as to certain elements in the film... but as a separate entity from the comics, from the TV shows... Yeah. Yeah, I enjoyed every minute of it.
And, yes, if it's been twenty years since you watched Superman I and II, I highly recommend watching them again on DVD before hitting the theater. This movie is a sequel in every conceivable way.
I'm very much looking forward to the next installments. Singer did such a good job of building upon what he'd established in X-Men with X2, that the scope of Superman Returns sequel seems almost limitless.
In the meantime, just prepare to sit back and enjoy the spectacle.
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
SUMMER OF SUPERMAN: All that's left is the waiting.
By the time you read this, some of you will have already seen Superman Returns. I haven't gotten to see the movie yet, but I've been waiting a long time. A few more hours won't hurt. It seems like yesterday I was looking at a countdown ticker telling me I had a year left before the movie was released.
At this point, I guess the honest question to ask ourselves is this: Can Superman Returns possibly live up to the hype and expectations?
I don't think so.
I don't really expect to be disappointed in the movie, but I'm also aware it's a movie. Possibly a film made by folks with the best of aspirations, but there are going to be flaws. There are going to be portions and performancess that don't quite hit the mark. There are going to be things that don't stick with Superman canon.
Whatever.
After all the opportunity for a movie which was not, in any way, representative of the 70 years of Superman comics, I'll take a flawed movie which at least respects the ideas and ideals behind the character.
Superman, unlike any other superhero and unlike many other fictional characters, is an icon. Trying to capture the wonder and grandeur of any superhero is tough, but some ideas are more easy to translate than others. Capturing an icon, putting them to film, is like lightning in a bottle. When it doesn't work, somehow the disappointment is all the greater. Everyone knows who Superman is supposed to be, and we're unforgiving when he somehow doesn't meet out expectations.
From the trailers I know the screen writers and director have taken the challenge head on. They're well aware that journalists have spent a lot of ink pondering Superman's irrelevance in a world that, they believe, has outgrown the need for Supermen. We need, these journalists insist, our heroes tarnished and barely functional. Who can believe in a Superman who deflects bullets?
I eagerly await Singer and Co.'s answer to that question, especially as the reviews, both good and bad, never raise the question.
I'm looking forward to my time with Jamie tonight, standing in line for popcorn and a Diet Coke. I'm looking forward to the titles and the music. I'm also looking forward to the quiet ride home where we don't say too much to each other.
I have no idea how to make the perfect Superman movie, and even if I did, someone else would find problems with whatever I wanted to do. So all I can do now is end the anticipation and hope for the best.
Up, up and away...!
By the time you read this, some of you will have already seen Superman Returns. I haven't gotten to see the movie yet, but I've been waiting a long time. A few more hours won't hurt. It seems like yesterday I was looking at a countdown ticker telling me I had a year left before the movie was released.
At this point, I guess the honest question to ask ourselves is this: Can Superman Returns possibly live up to the hype and expectations?
I don't think so.
I don't really expect to be disappointed in the movie, but I'm also aware it's a movie. Possibly a film made by folks with the best of aspirations, but there are going to be flaws. There are going to be portions and performancess that don't quite hit the mark. There are going to be things that don't stick with Superman canon.
Whatever.
After all the opportunity for a movie which was not, in any way, representative of the 70 years of Superman comics, I'll take a flawed movie which at least respects the ideas and ideals behind the character.
Superman, unlike any other superhero and unlike many other fictional characters, is an icon. Trying to capture the wonder and grandeur of any superhero is tough, but some ideas are more easy to translate than others. Capturing an icon, putting them to film, is like lightning in a bottle. When it doesn't work, somehow the disappointment is all the greater. Everyone knows who Superman is supposed to be, and we're unforgiving when he somehow doesn't meet out expectations.
From the trailers I know the screen writers and director have taken the challenge head on. They're well aware that journalists have spent a lot of ink pondering Superman's irrelevance in a world that, they believe, has outgrown the need for Supermen. We need, these journalists insist, our heroes tarnished and barely functional. Who can believe in a Superman who deflects bullets?
I eagerly await Singer and Co.'s answer to that question, especially as the reviews, both good and bad, never raise the question.
I'm looking forward to my time with Jamie tonight, standing in line for popcorn and a Diet Coke. I'm looking forward to the titles and the music. I'm also looking forward to the quiet ride home where we don't say too much to each other.
I have no idea how to make the perfect Superman movie, and even if I did, someone else would find problems with whatever I wanted to do. So all I can do now is end the anticipation and hope for the best.
Up, up and away...!
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