Hey, Leaguers. Not too much to report.

Jamie was off to Houston today to see a cardiologist. It's all part of the work towards Jamie's transplant.

I had to come home a bit early today to let out the dogs, as Jamie was playing the jet-setter. The new job is coming at an odd time as I am actually wrapping up several projects at the same time. It doesn't mean there's no work, but it does mean I am not having to do as much to transfer projects as I thought. But, I do want to buckle down over the next few days and get things wrapped up and handed off.

I understand that my decision to shill for TimeWarner's release of Justice League: New Frontier is a bit odd. I'm hoping that things will shake out and this will mean good things for all Leaguers.

I am, in fact, fairly excited about the new movie. I don't know if you guys remember me talking about the comics or not, but its been one of my favorite DC projects of the past seven years or so. For some reason it hasn't taken off in huge numbers even amongst many comic fans. DC knows, however, that it has a good story on its hands. And with Cooke writing and drawing the story, it has the unique vision of a single creator bringing words and pictures together in the best way possible.

On the other hand, I don't know how anyone can be surprised that I'm playing carnival barker for a Justice league movie. I mean, really?

Anyhoo, that's it for tonight.

I'm going to go read some comics.

New Frontier Shilling Continues!

My controversial selling out to Warner Bros. Home Video continues! Here's an image readers of the comic, New Frontier, will remember.



Here Wonder Woman celebrates throwing off the shackles of male oppression with some formerly oppressed ladies. The scene is a favorite from the comic, and I'm glad to see its made the cut.

Justice League: New Frontier Week

Hey all...

Someone from a marketing company representing Time Warner was interested in seeing if I would shill for their upcoming movie, Justice League: New Frontier. The answer is a resounding "Yessir".

Here's the first of what is sure to be many more posts trying to convince you, the consumer, to purchase a copy of the upcoming "Justice League: New Frontier" on DVD February 26th.

Let's all take in a preview, shall we?



I'm looking forward to this film, and so should you. I loved the comic, and own the original issues and the Absolute Edition. I'm still thrilled this was the second feature DCU movie from DC's new animation partnership with WB.

I'm trying to partner with this marketing guy so I can do a give away this week. Let's see what happens.

Gone With The Wind

I've been watching the second half of "Gone With the Wind" on TCM.

For a Hollywood classic, these people have some seriously weird ideas about love and romance. I am also baffled by the adoration of the character of Scarlett O'Hara. She's a horrible, horrible person.

Really, Mammy is the only likable character in the whole thing.

Weekend Round-Up

It was a quiet weekend, for the most part.

Thursday we went to Ballet Austin. It was an interesting show, but I had no business being there. Ballet Austin is searching for a new choreographer, and so was having a weighted competition. Three choreographers were being given a shot, and so it was three separate short pieces and a vote. I, of course, know nothing about dance.

I wound up voting for a gentleman from Russia. He seemed well aware of the challenge and opportunity before him, and so asked his dancers to kill themselves for twenty-odd minutes of some proabably over the top choreography. He picked a universal, straightforward theme he could abstract from (the weather), and completely filled his timeslot.

The second choreographer put together a program that included a track of music which seemed too distracting (it was a re-mixed C-Span audio clip of some statesman discussing failure of the super powers in the middle-east and Afghanistan). It was intended to get you to think, but I wound up listening to the pre-recorded voice and analyzing the speaker's comments, and wound up ignoring what was on stage.

The third was similar to the first choreographer, but less focused. It was a tight decision, but, again, I voted for the first guy.

There were also judges whose opinion counted heavily. I will be watching to see who gets the job. Here's a note, Ballet Austin: I will actually pay to see the first choreographer's work again in the future.

Friday night we did our usual bit of staying in. It seems we went out to eat, maybe... Honestly, I don't really recall. It was a long week at work, and I'm wrapping several things up.

Saturday was rainy and awful. We went to see Persepolis, which I highly, highly recommend. It directly captured the graphic novel and used the animation of the images from the comic incredibly well. My hat is off to the director and Sartapi.

Later, we met up with Letty, Juan, Matt, Nicole and Jason at Habana on S. Congress. We had fun, but the drinks were ridiculously expensive, which... well, the League ran up a tab. And nobody liked my impression of Arnie on the side of the mountain in Total Recall (you know, his eyes bugging out and tongue waggling as he gasps for air).

Sunday we had our first rehearsal with our new power trio. Jason on guitar and vocals, Lauren on drums, myself on bass. We are ready to play SXSW. I also bought a new and amazing strap for my guitar. I have to salute Lauren. She sounded great, and it was doubly fun to play with a drummer keeping the beat.

We aren't going to be sent to get any Kennedy Center Honors quite yet, but I'm looking forward to our next practice.

Anyhoo... hope everyone had a good weekend and President's Day.

Oh, yes. I had to work today. Hope you had President's Day off and made the most of it.

Dudes in the Media Jamie Once Dug

Never let it be said that The League is not one to let the scales of fairness tip back into balance. If I can get an opportunity to pontificate upon dames in the media I once dug, should Jamie not receive the same opportunity?

Jamie's turned on the Way-Back Machine and identified several specimens whom she once dug.


Hi everyone - Jamie here. Steanso mentioned in the comments section recently that he was interested in finding out who were the Dudes the in media Mrs. League once Dug. This is not a complete list and I honestly had a hard time remembering who I fancied back in the day, but I gave it a shot. Here goes.



1. Bruce Willis - Moonlighting


Bruce Willis' finest role in my opinion will always be David Addison in Moonlighting. Moonlighting was my favorite show when I was 12. That is of course before they ruined it with a baby, but that is neither here nor there in regards to this list. I hadn't seen anything like it before - they did theme episodes, story arcs, and would randomly break the 4th wall and talk to the camera. I think David Addison was my first real media crush. He was cute, hilarious, and a total smart ass. At the age of 12 all of these things added up to the ideal imaginary boyfriend.


Pre-Hudson Hawk.

2. George Michael

So what if he plays for the other team. We didn't know that back then and even if we had so what. Boy did we love the Faith video, though, right up until Dana Carvey ruined it for me on SNL.


Butt maintenance is very important.


3. Greg Louganis (this counts, right? - the Olympics were on the TeeVee)

I know he's more of a sports figure and again - plays for the other team, but boy did we think he was super-fine when we were watching the 88 Olympics! Does anyone else remember when he smacked his head on the diving board on one of his dives? For some reason I remembered this as having been way more dramatic than it actually was. In my memory, he was on one of the high platforms and was knocked unconscious and had a concussion and it was oh so thrilling. When I watched it on YouTube just now? It was a springboard and he climbed out of the pool himself. Not so impressive.


FAIL

4. Kyle MacLaughlin in Twin Peaks

"Damn fine coffee. And hot!" Indeed, Special Agent, Dale Cooper. Kyle MacLaughlin had to deal with some crazy crap in Twin Peaks and he did it all while maintaining his perfectly coifed 'do. I was in high school during Twin Peaks entire run and never missed an episode, even if I had to tape it on my prehistoric Video Casette Recorder. The show was fantastic (1st season), and it was a bonus that Kyle and his jawline were in every episode.


Diane, never drink coffee that has been anywhere near a fish.


5. Rob Morrow on Northern Exposure

I'm a bit embarassed about this one, but if we're being honest, yes, I had a crush on Rob Morrow. Don't know if I just bought the whole cute fish out of water scenario more than I should have, but I thought his bundled up New York doctor stranded in Cicely, Alaska was adorable. There, I said it.


I will be cute for approximately 14 more months.

6. Blur

I already mentioned the rockin British foursome in the comment section, but they played such a large part of my college music collection that I felt they deserved a second mention. In the mid 90s I believe there was some sort of rock- n-roll feuding going on between these gents and Oasis (albeit rather half-hearted on Blur's part). So silly. In addition to being dreamy, they made groovy tunes, and should you be interested I can recommend some albums. They are way better than their radio hit "Song 2" would lead you to believe.


Pleased to meet you


7. David Duchovny on X-Files

"They call me Spooky". League viewing of the X-Files was not fueled solely by the League's fascination with Gillian Anderson. Duchovny had his own following among nerdy ladies such as myself. I tried to continue watching X-Files upon Duchovny's departure, but it was never the same without 'Spooky's' deadpan delivery.


When I panic, I make this face.

8. Ralph Fiennes in Quiz Show

Curiously the same movie which buried for good my silly high school Rob Morrow crush, Quiz Show reintroduced me to one of the best actors of his time, Ralph Fiennes. Yeah... that's what I took away from the movie - his acting...really... Okay, have you SEEN Ralph Fiennes in Quiz Show? He smiles a lot. Sigh.


More personable here than in Schindler's List.

9. Ewan McGregor in Moulin Rouge

I already knew Ewan McGregor was a looker pre-Moulin Rouge, but then he wore a tuxedo and sang to me. Shhhh!!! He wasn't singing to Nicole Kidman, he was singing to me! Swoon.


Pretty.

10. Hobbits - Lord of the Rings movies

What? Shut up!! Hey, at least I didn't say Orlando Bloom. Who looks like a girl.


4-Pack of cute Hobbits.

Well, that's it for Jamie's post. And, hey, it keeps me from having to do any real work for a Sunday night post.

Hope you enjoyed the equal time from Jamie.

Dear Santa...

Every day, heading to and from work, I cross Ben White at South First. Usually on the way home, I would see Santa. Santa was a homeless guy with a white beard, who often wore a red hoodie pulled up over his head, even in the worst heat.

I mentioned him in passing once to Jason, because I was curious as to why he would do that in summertime. Jason knew who Santa was as his former employer was officed just a block away. Jason had heard that inappropriate clothing was a sign of mental illness. And many mentally ill people can find themselves on the street, this I know.

Every day when driving home, I'd look for Santa. He lived, I finally determined, under a blue tarp in front of Chuck E Cheese on the North East side of the Ben White/ S. First intersection. I think it was supported by a few shopping carts. He'd always be at a bus stop, or walking along the street. He never had the obligatory cardboard sign asking for a donation, and he never seemed much interested in either the cars or pedestrians.

As winter came down, I was a little worried for Santa. Even with all the coats, and the beard to keep him warm... you know?

A while back, when headed into work, I saw someone leaning down to Santa's makeshift home and talking to him. The person wore a plastic ID badge of some sort, and was dressed like a professional. I wondered what might be going on. I'd hoped that it was a homeless advocacy group checking up on him in winter.

Not so long ago, I saw Santa in a new hoodie, walking from the southside of S. First.

And then Santa was gone. It was a few days before I noticed I wasn't seeing him. And then I saw his shopping cart/ tarp home was no longer there. Just a patch of dead grass and some refuse to suggest he'd ever been there.

But every day, both coming and going from work, I'd look for Santa. But every day, I kind of suspected... You know he wasn't the healthiest looking guy. He lived near heavy traffic. Sometimes things happen. Maybe that lady wasn't there to help him as much as I hoped she was...

And then yesterday when I was driving in to work, there was this weird, ghostly image of Santa, sitting, waiting for the bus. It looked like him. Legs out, hood pulled down. But inside, he was a shadow. He was all in white, but inside... was nothing. Someone had made a sculpture of some sort of Santa. Someone else was looking for Santa, too.

The image of the empty hood bothered me. When I go to work, I e-mailed Jason. "Have you seen Santa? I haven't seen him in a while. I think he might be dead."

You don't make statues to homeless guys who've just moved on.

On the way home, I saw the statue was still there, sitting as Santa would in the weather, hood pulled down. But with no Santa inside. Instead, in his arms he held flowers. And people were there, paying respects.

And just like I did every day, I drove home, and I didn't think much about Santa once I was home. Until I woke up this morning, and that image came back to me. The white hoodie statue, with nothing to look back.

This evening Jason sent me this article.

Apparently I am not the only one who looked forward to seeing Santa twice a day as we headed up and back S. First on our way to work and home. Or who wondered what happened to the face we saw every day, but whose name we didn't know... so how are you going to look after him?

I don't know what's become of Santa/ Jerry. I hope the story has a happy ending. Most often, these kinds of stories don't.

It's odd that so many, myself included, felt some sense of confusion when Jerry disappeared. And I am not alone in the sense of loss when I saw the statue on the side of the road.

I am reminded of one morning, now several years ago, when stuck in traffic headed south on Lamar beneath the train tracks just before 5th street, I looked at the memorial painted on the support beam for the bridge, the same way I had, literally hundreds of times before.

"Fair Sailing, Tall Boy".

The words had been there as long as I could remember. Even when the bridge was repainted, the memorial graffiti found its way back to the bridge within a week.

Some days things mean more than on other days.

In time the statue of Jerry will be taken away. Or melt in the awful weather we've had the past few days. But I wish it wouldn't. It would be nice to know that the statue can be there for us all to remember Jerry for just a minute every day, just as we watched him with curiosity each day on our way to work. Just checking in to see what he was doing this morning. Or maybe this evening. And to remind ourselves that we maybe should have had more to say to Jerry before he was gone.