From Chris's Invincible Superblog
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Chron Snob can't just "let it be"
Chronological Snobbery has an interesting post on the album "Let it be... Naked", a stripped down version of the Beatles' efforts formerly produced by Phil Spector.
I'm a fan of Spector's work with the Ronettes and others. I'm also in a cultural blindspot when it comes to the Beatles. You should check out the article.
I'm a fan of Spector's work with the Ronettes and others. I'm also in a cultural blindspot when it comes to the Beatles. You should check out the article.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Bug Comes to World of Blog
League pal Erica (aka: Bug) has come to the world of blogging.
She's a teacher in the Houston area, and so I look forward to seeing her tales of Zen-like-Calm in the face of chaos as she manages a herd of kids.
You can read Bug's blog here.
Welcome new blog: The Polka Dot Bug
She's a teacher in the Houston area, and so I look forward to seeing her tales of Zen-like-Calm in the face of chaos as she manages a herd of kids.
You can read Bug's blog here.
Welcome new blog: The Polka Dot Bug
Whip It! coming to a multiplex near YOU
Hey, Leaguers...
League-Pal Shauna is a screenwriter in Hollywood. Looks like her latest project is headed for a green light.
Read up on Whip It!
And they got Ellen Page from Juno. Kind of wild.
There's a chance they'll shoot in Austin, so I'm hoping I can catch up with Shauna (whom I have not seen since 2000) if she comes to town.
League-Pal Shauna is a screenwriter in Hollywood. Looks like her latest project is headed for a green light.
Read up on Whip It!
And they got Ellen Page from Juno. Kind of wild.
There's a chance they'll shoot in Austin, so I'm hoping I can catch up with Shauna (whom I have not seen since 2000) if she comes to town.
Monday, January 14, 2008
It Ain't Grey's Anatomy
Apparently Glenn Beck has never been to the ER.
I'm not dismissing the man's health issues, his misery or his concerns. And as much as I don't really think his show is... good... I will be curious to see what happens based upon his recent escapades at the hospital.
You can read Beck's account here.
You can read the story here.
But, from the description I see here, his visit is either par for the course for the average trip to the ER, or maybe marginally worse.
I'm not sure if Beck's surprise comes from his expectations of a clean and happy ER based upon years of TV shows filled with caring doctors who weep whenever someone has a boo-boo. Or, not to be a jerk, but it could also be that Beck has been living in a celebrity cloud long enough that he is shocked to find out about the sort of service the average person expects, even when in dire pain. In either case, the only thing in the story that surprised me was that they found dirty bandages in the shower. Which might just mean that they didn't get to clean the room between patients because they were running patients through so quickly.
The League doles out advice: By the way... if you start to think you need to go to the ER because you're in pain, go... Waiting at home just adds to wait time you're going to get when you get to the ER. We've done 8+ hours of just sitting in a waiting room before seeing so much as a nurse. There were reports of hospitals in Mesa with 16-24 hour waits in the ER.
Sitting for hours in the cheapest chairs the hospital could buy while you wait to get a room and talk to someone about your pain is not where you want to be when your eyes are bleeding out or whatever.
There's really nothing like the ER to remind you that you are not a special snowflake in need of special attention. No matter what you came in with, if you didn't come passed out in an ambulance or with a piece of metal in your head, 50% of the people sitting around you are as bad off as you are (or worse), and they've been waiting longer than you.
Here's what I want to stress, and where I think Glenn Beck is off-base: The people who work in hospitals have the hardest job in the world. I'm including them with combat soldiers.
No matter what these people are making, its not enough.
When you or I go off to work, we sit at a desk in front of a computer, or put on a tie and depose people all day. These people put on clothes specifically designed to be cheap and washable because they will be covered in blood, vomit, and other bodily fluids before they finish their 12-hour shift.
When I screw up at work, a project slips a day. When these people get a new client, which is every few minutes, their client could potentially die on them. And I've spent enough time in hospitals and ERs to tell you, most people walk out of the ER after they've been seen. But sometimes people, despite herculean effort, do not walk back out again. If things are taking a little while for you to get your shot of morphine, Mr. Beck, it could be because the guy on the other side of the curtain was in cardiac arrest and heading into the light.
I've seen kids with lite-brights shoved up their noses, people who had bugs stuck in their ears, people so constipated a doctor was going to have to go in manually, people who were in kidney failure and didn't know it carrying gallons of extra fluid around, knees completely shattered from a bad touch-football play, people with broken limbs, folks with mysterious stomach ailments that have lasted weeks and only now become unmanageable... And I do not work in the ER. I am an observer.
And these people do this every single working day. Every day.
On the regular hospital floor, its a bit different, but there it's often even more life or death. People check into the cardiac floor because their lives are at stake, not because they need some vacation time. These are people with dignity being asked to wear a flimsy robe and sit still for days while they're poked and prodded. Some of them have other ailments. Some are in pain.
Here's the other thing.... if you're not feeling well, and they keep asking you if you need more pain meds, and you keep saying "sure", they will give them to you right up to the point where you might slip into a coma. After all, they have no idea how much pain you're really in except by what you tell them.
If the employees seem a bit callous, you have to understand the wall they set up between themselves and their patients. I think that's more than understandable for people who live around misery every day of their professional lives. Ask a cop, soldier or even a person involved in criminal law if it doesn't all get sort of detached after a while... Glenn Beck can walk into a hospital and walk out again, in relative certainty he need not visit again for years. Doctors, nurses, techs, administrators, janitors... the people who keep the hospital working are the same folks who see thousands of Glenn Becks in a year, and will see just as many next year.
I can't say how much asking questions, and not expecting nurses to treat you like a customer, helps. They aren't working on tips or commission. You are not always right. Be nice. Say "please" and "thank you". If you think something is wrong, ask. But ask politely. These people are dealing with people in eight other rooms, each as sick or sicker than you. And before you start buzzing the nurse for a cup of juice for the tenth time, think about how you'd want other patients to be if you were in need of immediate help and/ or croaking.
I think this is also worth calling out: as scary as it is, medicine is not an exact science. No two people are alike, nor are the ways in which their particular ailment will be managed.
Glenn Beck may be an individual snowflake regarding body chemistry, and it may be true that his system did not know how to manage the meds he was given in order to help him. When you enter the hospital, they are making the best decisions they can based upon the best info available as it relates to the most people. Any time you take a pill, it can have unknown side-effects or known side-effects.
I don't think I'm telling anyone anything that you don't already know.
What I find ridiculous is that it took Beck having a bad few days of health to take notice that people can't be cured with a pill or that their problem won't be resolved in an hour, as if they were dropping clothes off at the dry-cleaner. Further, he's asking each and every hospital worker to care as much about his woes as he does, and, Leaguers... that isn't going to happen. Hospital staff do care or they wouldn't be there. The pay isn't good enough to put up with the day-to-day insanity of healthcare work if they didn't care (and I've personally talked to one young nurse who confessed he couldn't take it any more and was quitting after years of schooling).
I find it a bit unrealistic that Beck identifies the necessary emotional detachment required to work in stressful conditions day-after-day as a sign of a failing healthcare system. There's probably some grain of truth in that insofar as there are not enough hospitals and too many people going into ERs who could just as easily head to the local minor emergency center. And, yeah, the ER nurse didn't do everything exactly to Mr. Beck's satisfaction. The ER's are overcrowded, but it doesn't sound like Beck was seen any faster or slower than when you see other folks fast-tracked. The delays he experienced weren't done out of spite, they were part of procedure so each person is seen and given full attention. Further, "doctor's orders" isn't just a term from the movies. It's what nurses and techs must wait in before doing anything. It's procedural, and not always lightning fast. 40 minutes is fast.
The League doles out more advice: If you're as jacked up as Beck claims he was (and I believe he was that bad), call an ambulance. Beck has a lot of money and no doubt decent insurance. If you can get into an ER under your own power, the ER staff are going to make their own decisions. They aren't always the right ones.
But what Beck experienced was "Fast Tracking". That's the coveted position of the ER visitor. They saw he was messed up. They got him back second. He doesn't know how long the person who was seen before him was there, he doesn't know which nurse or doctor that person was going to see. Most often you do NOT go from triage into the back. That's what they do with you when they actually care ow you're doing.
If his wife had to hoist him, its because neither of them asked for a wheel-chair or help. Which is... not a great choice and doesn't tell anyone you're in the level of pain Beck was in.
They have these charts at the hospital with a pain scale of 0-10. They even have little descriptions and/ or faces for you to match your level of pain. I'm not sure "I'd lost all hope and wanted to die" is exactly how they put a 10 on the chart, but it also doesn't sound like they avoided trying to help beck outright. It sounds like he got the same treatment I see everyone else getting.
For an interesting response to Beck's rant, check out this nursing forum.
Of course a lot of what the nurses have to say about orders, side-effects of meds, etc... is going to get ignored by Beck, lest he admit he just had a bad experience as a side-effect of surgery and medication and not get a new cause to rant about.
I'm not dismissing the man's health issues, his misery or his concerns. And as much as I don't really think his show is... good... I will be curious to see what happens based upon his recent escapades at the hospital.
You can read Beck's account here.
You can read the story here.
But, from the description I see here, his visit is either par for the course for the average trip to the ER, or maybe marginally worse.
I'm not sure if Beck's surprise comes from his expectations of a clean and happy ER based upon years of TV shows filled with caring doctors who weep whenever someone has a boo-boo. Or, not to be a jerk, but it could also be that Beck has been living in a celebrity cloud long enough that he is shocked to find out about the sort of service the average person expects, even when in dire pain. In either case, the only thing in the story that surprised me was that they found dirty bandages in the shower. Which might just mean that they didn't get to clean the room between patients because they were running patients through so quickly.
The League doles out advice: By the way... if you start to think you need to go to the ER because you're in pain, go... Waiting at home just adds to wait time you're going to get when you get to the ER. We've done 8+ hours of just sitting in a waiting room before seeing so much as a nurse. There were reports of hospitals in Mesa with 16-24 hour waits in the ER.
Sitting for hours in the cheapest chairs the hospital could buy while you wait to get a room and talk to someone about your pain is not where you want to be when your eyes are bleeding out or whatever.
There's really nothing like the ER to remind you that you are not a special snowflake in need of special attention. No matter what you came in with, if you didn't come passed out in an ambulance or with a piece of metal in your head, 50% of the people sitting around you are as bad off as you are (or worse), and they've been waiting longer than you.
Here's what I want to stress, and where I think Glenn Beck is off-base: The people who work in hospitals have the hardest job in the world. I'm including them with combat soldiers.
No matter what these people are making, its not enough.
When you or I go off to work, we sit at a desk in front of a computer, or put on a tie and depose people all day. These people put on clothes specifically designed to be cheap and washable because they will be covered in blood, vomit, and other bodily fluids before they finish their 12-hour shift.
When I screw up at work, a project slips a day. When these people get a new client, which is every few minutes, their client could potentially die on them. And I've spent enough time in hospitals and ERs to tell you, most people walk out of the ER after they've been seen. But sometimes people, despite herculean effort, do not walk back out again. If things are taking a little while for you to get your shot of morphine, Mr. Beck, it could be because the guy on the other side of the curtain was in cardiac arrest and heading into the light.
I've seen kids with lite-brights shoved up their noses, people who had bugs stuck in their ears, people so constipated a doctor was going to have to go in manually, people who were in kidney failure and didn't know it carrying gallons of extra fluid around, knees completely shattered from a bad touch-football play, people with broken limbs, folks with mysterious stomach ailments that have lasted weeks and only now become unmanageable... And I do not work in the ER. I am an observer.
And these people do this every single working day. Every day.
On the regular hospital floor, its a bit different, but there it's often even more life or death. People check into the cardiac floor because their lives are at stake, not because they need some vacation time. These are people with dignity being asked to wear a flimsy robe and sit still for days while they're poked and prodded. Some of them have other ailments. Some are in pain.
Here's the other thing.... if you're not feeling well, and they keep asking you if you need more pain meds, and you keep saying "sure", they will give them to you right up to the point where you might slip into a coma. After all, they have no idea how much pain you're really in except by what you tell them.
If the employees seem a bit callous, you have to understand the wall they set up between themselves and their patients. I think that's more than understandable for people who live around misery every day of their professional lives. Ask a cop, soldier or even a person involved in criminal law if it doesn't all get sort of detached after a while... Glenn Beck can walk into a hospital and walk out again, in relative certainty he need not visit again for years. Doctors, nurses, techs, administrators, janitors... the people who keep the hospital working are the same folks who see thousands of Glenn Becks in a year, and will see just as many next year.
I can't say how much asking questions, and not expecting nurses to treat you like a customer, helps. They aren't working on tips or commission. You are not always right. Be nice. Say "please" and "thank you". If you think something is wrong, ask. But ask politely. These people are dealing with people in eight other rooms, each as sick or sicker than you. And before you start buzzing the nurse for a cup of juice for the tenth time, think about how you'd want other patients to be if you were in need of immediate help and/ or croaking.
I think this is also worth calling out: as scary as it is, medicine is not an exact science. No two people are alike, nor are the ways in which their particular ailment will be managed.
Glenn Beck may be an individual snowflake regarding body chemistry, and it may be true that his system did not know how to manage the meds he was given in order to help him. When you enter the hospital, they are making the best decisions they can based upon the best info available as it relates to the most people. Any time you take a pill, it can have unknown side-effects or known side-effects.
I don't think I'm telling anyone anything that you don't already know.
What I find ridiculous is that it took Beck having a bad few days of health to take notice that people can't be cured with a pill or that their problem won't be resolved in an hour, as if they were dropping clothes off at the dry-cleaner. Further, he's asking each and every hospital worker to care as much about his woes as he does, and, Leaguers... that isn't going to happen. Hospital staff do care or they wouldn't be there. The pay isn't good enough to put up with the day-to-day insanity of healthcare work if they didn't care (and I've personally talked to one young nurse who confessed he couldn't take it any more and was quitting after years of schooling).
I find it a bit unrealistic that Beck identifies the necessary emotional detachment required to work in stressful conditions day-after-day as a sign of a failing healthcare system. There's probably some grain of truth in that insofar as there are not enough hospitals and too many people going into ERs who could just as easily head to the local minor emergency center. And, yeah, the ER nurse didn't do everything exactly to Mr. Beck's satisfaction. The ER's are overcrowded, but it doesn't sound like Beck was seen any faster or slower than when you see other folks fast-tracked. The delays he experienced weren't done out of spite, they were part of procedure so each person is seen and given full attention. Further, "doctor's orders" isn't just a term from the movies. It's what nurses and techs must wait in before doing anything. It's procedural, and not always lightning fast. 40 minutes is fast.
The League doles out more advice: If you're as jacked up as Beck claims he was (and I believe he was that bad), call an ambulance. Beck has a lot of money and no doubt decent insurance. If you can get into an ER under your own power, the ER staff are going to make their own decisions. They aren't always the right ones.
But what Beck experienced was "Fast Tracking". That's the coveted position of the ER visitor. They saw he was messed up. They got him back second. He doesn't know how long the person who was seen before him was there, he doesn't know which nurse or doctor that person was going to see. Most often you do NOT go from triage into the back. That's what they do with you when they actually care ow you're doing.
If his wife had to hoist him, its because neither of them asked for a wheel-chair or help. Which is... not a great choice and doesn't tell anyone you're in the level of pain Beck was in.
They have these charts at the hospital with a pain scale of 0-10. They even have little descriptions and/ or faces for you to match your level of pain. I'm not sure "I'd lost all hope and wanted to die" is exactly how they put a 10 on the chart, but it also doesn't sound like they avoided trying to help beck outright. It sounds like he got the same treatment I see everyone else getting.
For an interesting response to Beck's rant, check out this nursing forum.
Of course a lot of what the nurses have to say about orders, side-effects of meds, etc... is going to get ignored by Beck, lest he admit he just had a bad experience as a side-effect of surgery and medication and not get a new cause to rant about.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
American Gladiators
Last week Jamie and I watched an alarming amount of American Gladiators. For this reason alone, I may be willing to kick in some extra dough for the writers so they'll end their strike.
While the current crop of Gladiators is every bit as ridiculous as the Gladiators of yesteryear, and the games are the same, I'm not sure I'm as into the show as I planned to be. It's one thing to wrap up your Saturday evening as a high-schooler watching American Gladiators because it's that or QVC (AG aired late at night in Houston when I was in high school). It's quite something else to realize you're 32 and spent your time from 7-8pm watching American Gladiators with your erstwhile Honey Bunny.
But as the Gladiators themselves are rarely given time to talk (the show is about clubbing weaker opponents, not chit-chat), how do we get to know the Gladiators? The Hater is here to help out.
My favorite Gladiators? All female. Why? Need you ask?
But I have a particular fondness for Hellga.
I've also decided that, if I were doomed to die and I got to choose HOW I was going to die, exactly how would I decide to go out...?
The Gauntlet, staffed by the ladies of the American Gladiators.
If you gotta go, you might as well make it interesting.
And, WB Execs... when casting for Wonder Woman for a movie...
Less of this and more of this.
While the current crop of Gladiators is every bit as ridiculous as the Gladiators of yesteryear, and the games are the same, I'm not sure I'm as into the show as I planned to be. It's one thing to wrap up your Saturday evening as a high-schooler watching American Gladiators because it's that or QVC (AG aired late at night in Houston when I was in high school). It's quite something else to realize you're 32 and spent your time from 7-8pm watching American Gladiators with your erstwhile Honey Bunny.
But as the Gladiators themselves are rarely given time to talk (the show is about clubbing weaker opponents, not chit-chat), how do we get to know the Gladiators? The Hater is here to help out.
My favorite Gladiators? All female. Why? Need you ask?
But I have a particular fondness for Hellga.
I've also decided that, if I were doomed to die and I got to choose HOW I was going to die, exactly how would I decide to go out...?
The Gauntlet, staffed by the ladies of the American Gladiators.
If you gotta go, you might as well make it interesting.
And, WB Execs... when casting for Wonder Woman for a movie...
Less of this and more of this.
Hey Leaguers, long time no post.
It's been a fairly busy weekend here at League HQ.
Friday night we met up with team Harms-Roth at Eddie V's down on 5th. It's definitely a sight nicer than the usual run to Casa Garcia's we might have on Friday, and the swordfish I got was fantastic. I'm a big fan of fish, but living in land-locked Austin, I'm frequently skeptical of most seafood at restaurants. You're always one bad clam away from a really tough 24 hours. Eddie V's delivered on food, drink and dessert.
More important than the food was the company, and as always it was great to catch up with Lauren and Steven. We're all fairly busy folks, and it was the first time we'd seen each other since the Holidays. I neglected to ask Steven about his experiments with Ruby on Rails, so that gives us an excuse to catch up for drinks in the near future. Lauren's been learning to sew. Like, really sew. She made a dress for herself. Then re-made the dress for herself. I Look forward to seeing what she cooks up. Also, I think she should start making all of Steven's clothes. And only use houndstooth and tweeds.
Saturday we ran an errand or two and took Mel and Lucy to the dog park at Riverside and I-35. Mel's getting up there, and he's not as healthy as we'd like, but... man. Set him loose at the dog park and he's as energetic and tough as any of the puppies out there. And not to brag, but Lucy is faster and more accurate than any other dog at the park when it comes to fetch. I know not everyone is a dog person, but there's a genuine pleasure in taking your dog down to the park and seeing them run with other dogs, but still wanting to keep near you, keeping the pack intact. I'm not ready yet for summer heat and swimming holes, so the dog park is a good substitute.
Saturday night we met up with Matt and Nicole at Maudie's on Lamar where Matt and I had the Rockin' Ruthann's and a few margaritas. Luckily, Jamie drove.
I should also mention Jason and I squeezed in not one but TWO practices this weekend. Our two-man band is on its way. We're trying to get a drummer, and so far two people have volunteered, my pal Julia from work (who didn't flinch when I said "well, you'll have to grow an afro..."), and Lauren, who I visualized in an afro, and I'm not sure it will work. Perhaps those novelty antenna deely-bobbers?
At any rate, Jason is incredibly patient with me, and I'm having a huge amount of fun. I must learn something called "12 bar blues". I'm also practicing from a book Cousin Sue gave me for Christmas. I think both Jason and Jamie are disappointed that I've named my bass "Lois", but... c'mon. Who couldn't see that coming a mile away?
Jason's been in a few bands, but since its him and me, and I have no idea what I'm doing, and so by default, he's sort of singer and guitarist. I think we're going to recruit Jamie to sing, at least harmonies. She's skeptical, but if we play Radiohead's "Karma Police", I think we can get her onboard. Now, she may need to hide in a box or something if we ever play out somewhere, but maybe not. She's got some stage-fright issues.
Today I went down to Reed's to get a look at his recently unearthed comic collection. It had been in a closet in his house for a while, and he was curious as to the value of the collection. Really, he's got a lot of key-80's era stuff and if he ever decided to sell, he could do pretty well. Stuff like "first appearance of Spider-Man black suit", "first Black Cat", and some Batman stuff that's worth something.
I really don't know what comic collections mean to folks to who don't hit the Ye Olde Comick Booke Shoppe anymore. I know what I'm doing to augment my Superman collection. If I quit buying comics, what would I keep? What would I sell? It's something to ponder.
This evening we met up with Stuart and Hilary at their place, roughly half-way between Jason's house and our place. Carla and David were supposed to make it, but unfortunately Carla wasn't feeling well, so they had to scrub plans to join us. While we missed them, we had a good time, ate some great food (I hear an exchange of recipes is imminent) and more promises were made that our living room will be painted at some point.
All in all, its been a busy, busy weekend.
Now Jamie's retired for the night, I've got our gas fire going, the dogs are asleep (Lucy sleeps inverted), and its back to work for a new week. Egads.
Hope your weekend was good.
It's been a fairly busy weekend here at League HQ.
Friday night we met up with team Harms-Roth at Eddie V's down on 5th. It's definitely a sight nicer than the usual run to Casa Garcia's we might have on Friday, and the swordfish I got was fantastic. I'm a big fan of fish, but living in land-locked Austin, I'm frequently skeptical of most seafood at restaurants. You're always one bad clam away from a really tough 24 hours. Eddie V's delivered on food, drink and dessert.
More important than the food was the company, and as always it was great to catch up with Lauren and Steven. We're all fairly busy folks, and it was the first time we'd seen each other since the Holidays. I neglected to ask Steven about his experiments with Ruby on Rails, so that gives us an excuse to catch up for drinks in the near future. Lauren's been learning to sew. Like, really sew. She made a dress for herself. Then re-made the dress for herself. I Look forward to seeing what she cooks up. Also, I think she should start making all of Steven's clothes. And only use houndstooth and tweeds.
Saturday we ran an errand or two and took Mel and Lucy to the dog park at Riverside and I-35. Mel's getting up there, and he's not as healthy as we'd like, but... man. Set him loose at the dog park and he's as energetic and tough as any of the puppies out there. And not to brag, but Lucy is faster and more accurate than any other dog at the park when it comes to fetch. I know not everyone is a dog person, but there's a genuine pleasure in taking your dog down to the park and seeing them run with other dogs, but still wanting to keep near you, keeping the pack intact. I'm not ready yet for summer heat and swimming holes, so the dog park is a good substitute.
Saturday night we met up with Matt and Nicole at Maudie's on Lamar where Matt and I had the Rockin' Ruthann's and a few margaritas. Luckily, Jamie drove.
I should also mention Jason and I squeezed in not one but TWO practices this weekend. Our two-man band is on its way. We're trying to get a drummer, and so far two people have volunteered, my pal Julia from work (who didn't flinch when I said "well, you'll have to grow an afro..."), and Lauren, who I visualized in an afro, and I'm not sure it will work. Perhaps those novelty antenna deely-bobbers?
At any rate, Jason is incredibly patient with me, and I'm having a huge amount of fun. I must learn something called "12 bar blues". I'm also practicing from a book Cousin Sue gave me for Christmas. I think both Jason and Jamie are disappointed that I've named my bass "Lois", but... c'mon. Who couldn't see that coming a mile away?
Jason's been in a few bands, but since its him and me, and I have no idea what I'm doing, and so by default, he's sort of singer and guitarist. I think we're going to recruit Jamie to sing, at least harmonies. She's skeptical, but if we play Radiohead's "Karma Police", I think we can get her onboard. Now, she may need to hide in a box or something if we ever play out somewhere, but maybe not. She's got some stage-fright issues.
Today I went down to Reed's to get a look at his recently unearthed comic collection. It had been in a closet in his house for a while, and he was curious as to the value of the collection. Really, he's got a lot of key-80's era stuff and if he ever decided to sell, he could do pretty well. Stuff like "first appearance of Spider-Man black suit", "first Black Cat", and some Batman stuff that's worth something.
I really don't know what comic collections mean to folks to who don't hit the Ye Olde Comick Booke Shoppe anymore. I know what I'm doing to augment my Superman collection. If I quit buying comics, what would I keep? What would I sell? It's something to ponder.
This evening we met up with Stuart and Hilary at their place, roughly half-way between Jason's house and our place. Carla and David were supposed to make it, but unfortunately Carla wasn't feeling well, so they had to scrub plans to join us. While we missed them, we had a good time, ate some great food (I hear an exchange of recipes is imminent) and more promises were made that our living room will be painted at some point.
All in all, its been a busy, busy weekend.
Now Jamie's retired for the night, I've got our gas fire going, the dogs are asleep (Lucy sleeps inverted), and its back to work for a new week. Egads.
Hope your weekend was good.
Friday, January 11, 2008
Here's our guy Ron Paul...
In case you missed it, there's an early 90's era newsletter making the rounds from Ron Paul (most likely written by one of his subordinates) that doesn't make Ron-o look too good.
Here
This sounds about right for the casually bigoted remarks I recall from living in the greater Houston area about that time.
Paul's defense?
"Libertarians are incapable of being a racist, because racism is a collectivist idea."
Wow.
Here
This sounds about right for the casually bigoted remarks I recall from living in the greater Houston area about that time.
Paul's defense?
"Libertarians are incapable of being a racist, because racism is a collectivist idea."
Wow.
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Political Apathy
I don't care about the Presidential Primaries, nor, really, about the Presidential election.
I suppose that makes me a bad American. Whatever.
Maybe its the news cycle and the same coverage of the same candidates you see over and over. (The first headline I've seen about candidate Bill Richardson was today when he dropped out of the race. Just sayin'.) The coverage of the elections on CNN and other outlets is full of breathless anticipation, but they don't ever seem to actually care as much about the candidates' records. They do care about how Candidate Y isn't doing as well as expected and what tricky maneuver they can pull or what volume of money they can drop on TV advertising in order to change opinions.
And here's the thing: the tricky maneuvers and the TV advertising seem to work well enough to sway those undecided voters.
I particularly don't care about the Primaries as I have a hard time believing that the Primaries in Iowa or New Hampshire are indicative of much but what people who bother to vote in Primaries, who happen to live in Iowa and New Hampshire, think.
Mostly, I'm just not sure that the best candidates ever get enough attention from the press to give them a fighting chance once the press decides which candidates make the best stories.
I guess I'm now old enough that years go by faster, and it just doesn't seem that long ago that we were enjoying stories about Swift Boats and falsified reports of the President's military service. I know its going to get a lot uglier before it gets better, and that there are a lot of people out there who are part of political campaigns (or who are not but who can afford airtime) who want to win so badly, minor issues like the truth aren't really something to worry about if they get in the way of winning.
I know democratic politics have never been clean. I'm not going to dwell under an illusion of some halcyon days of the American political process, believing the best man won, or, that, heck... the best person would even be willing to run for the job.
I think these days I'm much more interested in local politics and/ or state politics. I live in Texas, and I'm pretty darn sure that I know who is getting my electoral vote, and I'm fairly certain there will be an (R) next to their name on the ballot. It's not a secret I've not been a huge fan of the current administration, nor of the President when he was merely the Governor of Texas. So perhaps the fact that I've voted against Bush multiple times and never seen him lose sort of begins to make one wonder what the point is...
Locally, there's a lot less that seems like an inevitability. Bonds can be passed or turned down. Measures and ideas can be brought to ballot that I can feel effect me.
Unlike national politics, in local politics there's no pondering of things like "Why does the fact that the citizens in Sugarland keep electing Tom Delay mean that he has influence over the rest of the state, let alone the country?" Certainly that's a side-effect of the system, but it still seems kind of silly to me.
I'm not saying I don't want to live in an elected representative government. It beats an authoritarian dictatorship any day. But I'm not comfortable with the smirk people like to throw on when you grumble a bit about these things and say "What, you mean you don't like politicians and politics getting poltical?"
I guess my answer is: No. I really don't. The trust I'm being asked to place in the yahoos I'm sending to office is undermined by the fact that I don't believe half of what they're saying, and I have to be suspicious of the other half because I have to wonder if they're making claims just to get elected. If I suspected that someone I was interviewing for a job was lying to me just to get the job, I wouldn't hire them. And I certainly wouldn't want to trust them with my money, so why on earth would I think that's a good way to choose someone to be responsible for a nuclear arsenal capable of atomizing the planet?
The fact that there are folks who are willing to jump on a candidate's campaign is odd to me, too. I guess maybe I've just never been enthralled enough with the political process enough to want to wear a funny hat and cheer for some yahoo. I guess if someone came along who I didn't find at least a little sketchy, I might think about joining up. But I sorta think that by definition, anyone who thinks they know enough to make decisions for that many people, you kind of have to wonder. There are many ways to serve the public, so what's the drive that gets people to decide to hold office?
I know I'm being cynical and cranky. But if you see a lack of political coverage here, I thought I'd let you know why.
Here's the thing: I do believe in democracy, and I certainly believe in every citizen getting a say with their vote, and an opportunity to run for office if they meet minimum qualifications (and I don't find being 35 and born in the US to be too tough a standard for the guy who keeps their finger on the button). I just think we could probably expect a bit more out of our candidates, and, more importantly, our press. It's not a gameshow, but since that's how Wolf Blitzer seems to want to treat it, the candidates have all figured out their strategy for not getting voted off the island.
Anyhow, I'm tired and I'm going to bed.
I suppose that makes me a bad American. Whatever.
Maybe its the news cycle and the same coverage of the same candidates you see over and over. (The first headline I've seen about candidate Bill Richardson was today when he dropped out of the race. Just sayin'.) The coverage of the elections on CNN and other outlets is full of breathless anticipation, but they don't ever seem to actually care as much about the candidates' records. They do care about how Candidate Y isn't doing as well as expected and what tricky maneuver they can pull or what volume of money they can drop on TV advertising in order to change opinions.
And here's the thing: the tricky maneuvers and the TV advertising seem to work well enough to sway those undecided voters.
I particularly don't care about the Primaries as I have a hard time believing that the Primaries in Iowa or New Hampshire are indicative of much but what people who bother to vote in Primaries, who happen to live in Iowa and New Hampshire, think.
Mostly, I'm just not sure that the best candidates ever get enough attention from the press to give them a fighting chance once the press decides which candidates make the best stories.
I guess I'm now old enough that years go by faster, and it just doesn't seem that long ago that we were enjoying stories about Swift Boats and falsified reports of the President's military service. I know its going to get a lot uglier before it gets better, and that there are a lot of people out there who are part of political campaigns (or who are not but who can afford airtime) who want to win so badly, minor issues like the truth aren't really something to worry about if they get in the way of winning.
I know democratic politics have never been clean. I'm not going to dwell under an illusion of some halcyon days of the American political process, believing the best man won, or, that, heck... the best person would even be willing to run for the job.
I think these days I'm much more interested in local politics and/ or state politics. I live in Texas, and I'm pretty darn sure that I know who is getting my electoral vote, and I'm fairly certain there will be an (R) next to their name on the ballot. It's not a secret I've not been a huge fan of the current administration, nor of the President when he was merely the Governor of Texas. So perhaps the fact that I've voted against Bush multiple times and never seen him lose sort of begins to make one wonder what the point is...
Locally, there's a lot less that seems like an inevitability. Bonds can be passed or turned down. Measures and ideas can be brought to ballot that I can feel effect me.
Unlike national politics, in local politics there's no pondering of things like "Why does the fact that the citizens in Sugarland keep electing Tom Delay mean that he has influence over the rest of the state, let alone the country?" Certainly that's a side-effect of the system, but it still seems kind of silly to me.
I'm not saying I don't want to live in an elected representative government. It beats an authoritarian dictatorship any day. But I'm not comfortable with the smirk people like to throw on when you grumble a bit about these things and say "What, you mean you don't like politicians and politics getting poltical?"
I guess my answer is: No. I really don't. The trust I'm being asked to place in the yahoos I'm sending to office is undermined by the fact that I don't believe half of what they're saying, and I have to be suspicious of the other half because I have to wonder if they're making claims just to get elected. If I suspected that someone I was interviewing for a job was lying to me just to get the job, I wouldn't hire them. And I certainly wouldn't want to trust them with my money, so why on earth would I think that's a good way to choose someone to be responsible for a nuclear arsenal capable of atomizing the planet?
The fact that there are folks who are willing to jump on a candidate's campaign is odd to me, too. I guess maybe I've just never been enthralled enough with the political process enough to want to wear a funny hat and cheer for some yahoo. I guess if someone came along who I didn't find at least a little sketchy, I might think about joining up. But I sorta think that by definition, anyone who thinks they know enough to make decisions for that many people, you kind of have to wonder. There are many ways to serve the public, so what's the drive that gets people to decide to hold office?
I know I'm being cynical and cranky. But if you see a lack of political coverage here, I thought I'd let you know why.
Here's the thing: I do believe in democracy, and I certainly believe in every citizen getting a say with their vote, and an opportunity to run for office if they meet minimum qualifications (and I don't find being 35 and born in the US to be too tough a standard for the guy who keeps their finger on the button). I just think we could probably expect a bit more out of our candidates, and, more importantly, our press. It's not a gameshow, but since that's how Wolf Blitzer seems to want to treat it, the candidates have all figured out their strategy for not getting voted off the island.
Anyhow, I'm tired and I'm going to bed.
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Monday, January 07, 2008
How Much is that Robosaurus in the Window?
Oh.
My.
God.
Robosaurus is on the auction block.
For the first time, I know exactly what I want to do with my life.
Read here.
Thanks to Randy for sending the link.
The object of my affection...
My.
God.
Robosaurus is on the auction block.
For the first time, I know exactly what I want to do with my life.
Read here.
Thanks to Randy for sending the link.
The object of my affection...
2007 Wrap-Up Part Three: Sports
And we're back.
Sports
UT Football
Well... It's tough to say it was a building year for the Texas Longhorns. This was Year 2 without Vince, and Year 2 when I cringed my way through the multiple personalities of Colt McCoy at QB. Add in an offensive line which didn't always look that interested in protecting Colt and a secondary that seemed to slow, too small and often perplexed by every offense which they faced.
And, of course, UT lost to an A&M team for the second year in a row. An A&M team which, on paper, they should have manhandled. The bottom line is that A&M wants it more when UT faces them down.
The Holiday Bowl brought me some small feelings of good cheer as UT walked all over ASU in the first half and kept it up pretty well in the 2nd. Once again, and this is just my feeling, but I sorta still believe the Big 12 is just a lot tougher conference than the Pac-10. This year I would put virtually any Big 12 school up against ASU and I'd expect pretty much the same result.
Dallas Cowboys
Oh, the season held such promise. And then Romo started "dating" Jessica Simpson.
My Superbowl dreams of Cowboys v. Pats now seem in a great deal of jeopardy.
My God, TO was getting along with the team... it was going to be great...
Spurs
The Spurs won. Again.
Suns
Did not win. Again.
Baseball and Steroids
For some reason, I'm completely in denial about Roger Clemens taking steroids. Bonds? Sure. But Clemens? No reason it couldn't be true, but I thought he was just a guy who liked to eat a lot of red meat and pasta or something.
Alas.
As much as everyone wants to freak out about the list of names, what they should really be looking at is why Selig and MLB have ignored the rumored use of steroids and not asked the players to do so much as pee in a cup for their million dollar salaries. After all, high school athletes have to do the same, as do employees at Subway.
Sports
UT Football
Well... It's tough to say it was a building year for the Texas Longhorns. This was Year 2 without Vince, and Year 2 when I cringed my way through the multiple personalities of Colt McCoy at QB. Add in an offensive line which didn't always look that interested in protecting Colt and a secondary that seemed to slow, too small and often perplexed by every offense which they faced.
And, of course, UT lost to an A&M team for the second year in a row. An A&M team which, on paper, they should have manhandled. The bottom line is that A&M wants it more when UT faces them down.
The Holiday Bowl brought me some small feelings of good cheer as UT walked all over ASU in the first half and kept it up pretty well in the 2nd. Once again, and this is just my feeling, but I sorta still believe the Big 12 is just a lot tougher conference than the Pac-10. This year I would put virtually any Big 12 school up against ASU and I'd expect pretty much the same result.
Dallas Cowboys
Oh, the season held such promise. And then Romo started "dating" Jessica Simpson.
My Superbowl dreams of Cowboys v. Pats now seem in a great deal of jeopardy.
My God, TO was getting along with the team... it was going to be great...
Spurs
The Spurs won. Again.
Suns
Did not win. Again.
Baseball and Steroids
For some reason, I'm completely in denial about Roger Clemens taking steroids. Bonds? Sure. But Clemens? No reason it couldn't be true, but I thought he was just a guy who liked to eat a lot of red meat and pasta or something.
Alas.
As much as everyone wants to freak out about the list of names, what they should really be looking at is why Selig and MLB have ignored the rumored use of steroids and not asked the players to do so much as pee in a cup for their million dollar salaries. After all, high school athletes have to do the same, as do employees at Subway.
Sunday, January 06, 2008
DITMTLOD: Sean Young as Rachael in Blade Runner
I dig Blade Runner. Depending on my mood, its easily one of my favorite movies. Sure, it's clunky in parts, and there are multiple cuts with different meanings, but this isn't a post about the arcane magic of Blade Runner. This is a post about a 13 year-old League raising an eyebrow in honor of Sean Young as a robotic noir love interest.
It's not accurate to refer to the Rachael character in Blade Runner as a Femme Fatale. In fact, for a noirish crime drama, there is no woman trying to take Deckard out unless you count both Pris and Zhora, neither of whom use seduction in the "kill Deckard" technique and so aren't really femme fatales in the sense I understand the term.
I saw Sean Young as Rachael before I was aware that Ms. Young had an odd reputation in Hollywood circles. And I am positive I had seen the movie before the Catwoman debacle. In all likelihood, I didn't know who Sean Young was when I saw Blade Runner the first time.
Rachael the replicant is smokin'.
Not to belabor a point, but I might add this movie also had Daryl Hannah in punk-aesthetic and Joanna Cassidy running around in nothing but glitter. But I guess, you know, the whole "trying to kill you" thing was a bit of a turn-off when I was 13.
The character of Rachael was (spoiler alert) of course a "replicant", ie: a synthetic human. More human than human, if you will. And, of course, that lent a certain odd, doomed mystique to the character as she progresses down her character arc and adds her to the distinguished line of Lady Robots of Interest (we can begin with the robot Maria from Metropolis and follow through Ghost in the Shell).
Mostly, though, Rachael personified the elitist ice-queen of the detective flicks, sometimes the wife or daughter of a shady millionaire in Chandler novels. Like other good ice-queens, Rachael was tough on the outside, but once past the frosty exterior, she falls for the bedraggled detective.
And, of course, what guy doesn't want to see himself as a tough guy detective (no, it doesn't matter how young or old)?
Rachael examines a note from Rick. She will check "Yes, I like you".
Or, more to the point, what wanna-be hard-boiled detective doesn't also want to think that if he finds the right angle, the lovely but generally unpleasant girl will fall madly for him and will no longer be so unpleasant? (My suspicion is that this generally does not really work out.)
Aside from a shot or two of Sean Young's thigh when Deckard and Rachael get their groove on, Rachael is always dressed in throwback outfits, lifted from the Lauren Bacall gowns and dresses, particularly the big-shoulders-era. I think we were to understand the wardrobe suggested what the script did not explicitly mention, that the suggested social role Rachael had been placed into was of the elite, living above the squalor of the streets. After her introduction, Rachael's huge fut coat seems oddly out of place on the streets of LA versus how it might look among the heights of the Tyrell pyramids.
Whether Young developed Rachael's mannered speech and movements, I really have no idea. Certainly the casting away of those behaviors becomes part of the movie and character as she finds out the truth about herself.
But, there's that toughness to Rachael that's necessary to a film like Blade Runner or, in fact, a believable love-interest for a hard-boiled detective film of any stripe. Rachael does, after all, pick up Deckard's gun and save the day when Deckard faces off with Leon. She does decide to take her life into her own hands once she realizes that her memories were nothing but implants.
Depending upon your preference for which cut you want to watch, Rachael may or may not have much time. Let alone Deckard (late breaking spoiler. Sorry).
Raccoon eyes for Rachel
So, a salute to Sean Young's portrayal of Rachael. That's a Replicant in the Media the League Once Dug.
It's not accurate to refer to the Rachael character in Blade Runner as a Femme Fatale. In fact, for a noirish crime drama, there is no woman trying to take Deckard out unless you count both Pris and Zhora, neither of whom use seduction in the "kill Deckard" technique and so aren't really femme fatales in the sense I understand the term.
I saw Sean Young as Rachael before I was aware that Ms. Young had an odd reputation in Hollywood circles. And I am positive I had seen the movie before the Catwoman debacle. In all likelihood, I didn't know who Sean Young was when I saw Blade Runner the first time.
Rachael the replicant is smokin'.
Not to belabor a point, but I might add this movie also had Daryl Hannah in punk-aesthetic and Joanna Cassidy running around in nothing but glitter. But I guess, you know, the whole "trying to kill you" thing was a bit of a turn-off when I was 13.
The character of Rachael was (spoiler alert) of course a "replicant", ie: a synthetic human. More human than human, if you will. And, of course, that lent a certain odd, doomed mystique to the character as she progresses down her character arc and adds her to the distinguished line of Lady Robots of Interest (we can begin with the robot Maria from Metropolis and follow through Ghost in the Shell).
Mostly, though, Rachael personified the elitist ice-queen of the detective flicks, sometimes the wife or daughter of a shady millionaire in Chandler novels. Like other good ice-queens, Rachael was tough on the outside, but once past the frosty exterior, she falls for the bedraggled detective.
And, of course, what guy doesn't want to see himself as a tough guy detective (no, it doesn't matter how young or old)?
Rachael examines a note from Rick. She will check "Yes, I like you".
Or, more to the point, what wanna-be hard-boiled detective doesn't also want to think that if he finds the right angle, the lovely but generally unpleasant girl will fall madly for him and will no longer be so unpleasant? (My suspicion is that this generally does not really work out.)
Aside from a shot or two of Sean Young's thigh when Deckard and Rachael get their groove on, Rachael is always dressed in throwback outfits, lifted from the Lauren Bacall gowns and dresses, particularly the big-shoulders-era. I think we were to understand the wardrobe suggested what the script did not explicitly mention, that the suggested social role Rachael had been placed into was of the elite, living above the squalor of the streets. After her introduction, Rachael's huge fut coat seems oddly out of place on the streets of LA versus how it might look among the heights of the Tyrell pyramids.
Whether Young developed Rachael's mannered speech and movements, I really have no idea. Certainly the casting away of those behaviors becomes part of the movie and character as she finds out the truth about herself.
But, there's that toughness to Rachael that's necessary to a film like Blade Runner or, in fact, a believable love-interest for a hard-boiled detective film of any stripe. Rachael does, after all, pick up Deckard's gun and save the day when Deckard faces off with Leon. She does decide to take her life into her own hands once she realizes that her memories were nothing but implants.
Depending upon your preference for which cut you want to watch, Rachael may or may not have much time. Let alone Deckard (late breaking spoiler. Sorry).
Raccoon eyes for Rachel
So, a salute to Sean Young's portrayal of Rachael. That's a Replicant in the Media the League Once Dug.
Saturday, January 05, 2008
Marvel Officially Much Better at Interwebs than DC
I while back The League took a look at the Marvel online comic experience with their Digital Comics Unlimited effort.
Today I saw their new marvelkids.com website, and its really, really cool. They have some major nav issues to work out, and having Cap prominently displayed at this point is a bit... well. But there's potential here.
DC's efforts for kids are not so good. Category before characters? What are they selling, anyway? And, really, you can't actually BUY anthing off the site, so the whole point of the site is sort of up in the air.
I'm probably just really jazzed by the Iron-Man CG feature, but I think Marvel is taking a step in the right direction.
If only I could get this excited about the actual Spidey and Iron-Man comics...
Today I saw their new marvelkids.com website, and its really, really cool. They have some major nav issues to work out, and having Cap prominently displayed at this point is a bit... well. But there's potential here.
DC's efforts for kids are not so good. Category before characters? What are they selling, anyway? And, really, you can't actually BUY anthing off the site, so the whole point of the site is sort of up in the air.
I'm probably just really jazzed by the Iron-Man CG feature, but I think Marvel is taking a step in the right direction.
If only I could get this excited about the actual Spidey and Iron-Man comics...
Friday, January 04, 2008
Comics 2008
In trying to create a new Ryan for 2008, I dropped a few titles when I went to the store this week. I dropped:
This is after I'd already dropped:
1) I was simply getting overwhelmed. I wasn't finishing my stack each week.
2) I kept getting vaguely depressed about money I'd spent on comics I didn't like. For every two or three bad comics, that was a Jimmy Olsen, Superman, Adventure, Action or Lois Lane back issue I could be picking up.
3) I wasn't picking up and trying anything new. Why did I spend money on Arena and not try the hipsterish "Umbrella Academy" they interwebs are liking? Or trying stuff I'd never heard of.
4) As much as I like the characters, there's no joy in seeing them go through the paces in mediocre stories.
I certainly haven't lost love of super-hero comics. There are still lots of titles on the list of what I will pick up. I just don't want to buy comics any more that aren't consistent or well done, hoping they get better. Comics are too expensive any more to justify following a series because you keep forgetting to purge it from your pull list.
There are a few substandard series I'm sticking with until they wrap, just because I'm curious. "Countdown" and "Death of the New Gods" (seriously... this series has been two issues two long already, and Starlin's "everyman" dialog for the New Gods is awkward and misplaced. He's a fine artist, but he needs an editor like nobody's business.) are on that list.
I'm hoping as the events of 2008 unfold, I'll find new titles to stick with. We'll see. In the meantime, I'd also like to do some exploring of comics I haven't given a chance.
Oh, and by the way, Jim Shooter's issue of Legion of Super-Heroes was the single best issue of Legion I've ever read. Just saying. That guy still has it.
- JLA: Classified
- Amazing Spider-Man (I'll pick it up again when they eventually ret-con One More Day out of existence)
- Some Countdown tie-ins that I totally don't care about (Mystery, Adventure)
- Wildstorm titles
- Black Panther
- Birds of Prey
- Teen Titans
- ...and a few more
This is after I'd already dropped:
- Batman: Classified
- Welcome to Tranquility
- Godland
- ...and a few more
1) I was simply getting overwhelmed. I wasn't finishing my stack each week.
2) I kept getting vaguely depressed about money I'd spent on comics I didn't like. For every two or three bad comics, that was a Jimmy Olsen, Superman, Adventure, Action or Lois Lane back issue I could be picking up.
3) I wasn't picking up and trying anything new. Why did I spend money on Arena and not try the hipsterish "Umbrella Academy" they interwebs are liking? Or trying stuff I'd never heard of.
4) As much as I like the characters, there's no joy in seeing them go through the paces in mediocre stories.
I certainly haven't lost love of super-hero comics. There are still lots of titles on the list of what I will pick up. I just don't want to buy comics any more that aren't consistent or well done, hoping they get better. Comics are too expensive any more to justify following a series because you keep forgetting to purge it from your pull list.
There are a few substandard series I'm sticking with until they wrap, just because I'm curious. "Countdown" and "Death of the New Gods" (seriously... this series has been two issues two long already, and Starlin's "everyman" dialog for the New Gods is awkward and misplaced. He's a fine artist, but he needs an editor like nobody's business.) are on that list.
I'm hoping as the events of 2008 unfold, I'll find new titles to stick with. We'll see. In the meantime, I'd also like to do some exploring of comics I haven't given a chance.
Oh, and by the way, Jim Shooter's issue of Legion of Super-Heroes was the single best issue of Legion I've ever read. Just saying. That guy still has it.
Hey, fever!
Everyone is sick. Not just Jamie and me and Nicole. EVERYONE. People from my office were either at home or going home to be sick. I feel funky, and not in the James Brown approved manner. Jamie feels bad. Nicole wasn't doing great. Jason is usually so full of allergies, he didn't really notice anything different.
Jamie is in full-blown denial regarding her allergies and is insisting she's got a cold, which is possible, but it seems odd that she has exactly the same reaction to the spores in the air as the rest of us, but hers are coming from another source.
My eyes have honestly felt sort of weird for three days, and yesterday I took something called Alavert. Which made me feel better, but which made me have the attention span of a hamster on crack. It was impossible for me to focus for more then five minutes at a time yesterday.
It would be great if we'd get some rain and wash some of the stuff in the air away, but forecasts aren't really calling for any of that.
Jamie is in full-blown denial regarding her allergies and is insisting she's got a cold, which is possible, but it seems odd that she has exactly the same reaction to the spores in the air as the rest of us, but hers are coming from another source.
My eyes have honestly felt sort of weird for three days, and yesterday I took something called Alavert. Which made me feel better, but which made me have the attention span of a hamster on crack. It was impossible for me to focus for more then five minutes at a time yesterday.
It would be great if we'd get some rain and wash some of the stuff in the air away, but forecasts aren't really calling for any of that.
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
Three Movies I saw
During my days off, I saw some movies...
Juno: Occasionally you wander into a movie and realize that the movies aimed at the hip, the young, the with-it, the tastemakers... are no longer aimed at you. And that movie has unintentionally informed you that you are either too old, too unhip or too cynical to enjoy the movie in the way it was meant to be watched.
People love this movie. I thought it was okay, but I don't really get why people are falling over each other to praise the flick. At best, it seems like a good starter vehicle for star Ellen Page.
I found the dialog oddly stilted and stylized for a fairly concrete sort of movie, and I was sort of having trouble buying the hipper-than-thou'ness of the lead character and references that seemed to place the movie about ten to fifteen years ago. Toss in a nigh-lack of consequence for the lead characters, and a somewhat insidious cry for conformity, and the movie just didn't work for me.
Walk Hard: Is Exactly what you think it is. Only a little less funny. I do wonder if it would be funnier on a second viewing as the movie is terribly quotable. Unfortunately, in spoofing a film like "Walk the Line", the characters need to follow the same path as the late, great, screwed up Johnny Cash, you have to pretty much follow the many beats of the source material. This makes the movie seem a bit bogged down, and occasionally those familiar with Walk the Line or Cash's bio may not find much humor in scenes as they're played.
A renter for a boring Friday night, I'd say.
And, I know I am alone in this, but I think Tim Meadows is one of the most under-appreciated comedians on TV or film. That guy cracks me up. And, yes, I have both seen and ENJOYED The Ladies Man.
I am Legend: If Juno was not aimed at me, I am Legend is pretty squarely targeting me directly. Part action movie, part character piece, part Zombie flick, and featuring explosions and the affable Will Smith, they might as well have written "with The League in mind" right on the poster.
That said, the movie left too many gaps that I filled in from viewings of The Omega Man, but successfully changed the "mutants" into something far more frightening than the albino goobers of Omega Man.
Still, one feels that the movie seemed like it could have been larger in scope somehow, and that the movie seems too often like its trying to get you to jump and too seldom like there's much past the spookiness in the shadows.
Probably worth seeing in a dark theater at matinee. Or go rent Omega Man for an ending that has a really grim downer before the credits, the kind that you just don't get any more thanks to the suits wanting to offer the audience either hope or a chance of a sequel.
Juno: Occasionally you wander into a movie and realize that the movies aimed at the hip, the young, the with-it, the tastemakers... are no longer aimed at you. And that movie has unintentionally informed you that you are either too old, too unhip or too cynical to enjoy the movie in the way it was meant to be watched.
People love this movie. I thought it was okay, but I don't really get why people are falling over each other to praise the flick. At best, it seems like a good starter vehicle for star Ellen Page.
I found the dialog oddly stilted and stylized for a fairly concrete sort of movie, and I was sort of having trouble buying the hipper-than-thou'ness of the lead character and references that seemed to place the movie about ten to fifteen years ago. Toss in a nigh-lack of consequence for the lead characters, and a somewhat insidious cry for conformity, and the movie just didn't work for me.
Walk Hard: Is Exactly what you think it is. Only a little less funny. I do wonder if it would be funnier on a second viewing as the movie is terribly quotable. Unfortunately, in spoofing a film like "Walk the Line", the characters need to follow the same path as the late, great, screwed up Johnny Cash, you have to pretty much follow the many beats of the source material. This makes the movie seem a bit bogged down, and occasionally those familiar with Walk the Line or Cash's bio may not find much humor in scenes as they're played.
A renter for a boring Friday night, I'd say.
And, I know I am alone in this, but I think Tim Meadows is one of the most under-appreciated comedians on TV or film. That guy cracks me up. And, yes, I have both seen and ENJOYED The Ladies Man.
I am Legend: If Juno was not aimed at me, I am Legend is pretty squarely targeting me directly. Part action movie, part character piece, part Zombie flick, and featuring explosions and the affable Will Smith, they might as well have written "with The League in mind" right on the poster.
That said, the movie left too many gaps that I filled in from viewings of The Omega Man, but successfully changed the "mutants" into something far more frightening than the albino goobers of Omega Man.
Still, one feels that the movie seemed like it could have been larger in scope somehow, and that the movie seems too often like its trying to get you to jump and too seldom like there's much past the spookiness in the shadows.
Probably worth seeing in a dark theater at matinee. Or go rent Omega Man for an ending that has a really grim downer before the credits, the kind that you just don't get any more thanks to the suits wanting to offer the audience either hope or a chance of a sequel.
Melbotis Reading Club: All the Pretty Horses
Hey, Leaguers...
I've had a question regarding what I'm actually reading. I picked up a three book Cormac McCarthy collection of the Border Trilogy.
It's just over $20 for three books in hard cover, and that ain't bad.
Here.
There was also some talk of some sort of reading circle. Well, I'm reading All the Pretty Horses, and I'm on about page 95 right now if you want to catch up.
Before I read my next book, I'll be listing the book and version of it I'll be reading before I crack the cover. And if you want to play along at home, feel free to do so.
I've had a question regarding what I'm actually reading. I picked up a three book Cormac McCarthy collection of the Border Trilogy.
It's just over $20 for three books in hard cover, and that ain't bad.
Here.
There was also some talk of some sort of reading circle. Well, I'm reading All the Pretty Horses, and I'm on about page 95 right now if you want to catch up.
Before I read my next book, I'll be listing the book and version of it I'll be reading before I crack the cover. And if you want to play along at home, feel free to do so.
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
The League's New Year's Resolutions
1) Play the bass guitar. It is shiny. It is blue.
2) I'm going to read more books this year and watch less TV. This year my book intake was probably the lowest of my entire life, and I'm deeply embarassed of that fact. So, hope to do better in 2008.
3) Consider getting rid of a portion of my comics collection. And maybe some toys. Rather than try to just sell them en masse, I may enlist Jamie to work with me to get set up with eBay. I am not going to read large portions of my collection ever again, and many series and issues hold no sentimental value. I think it may be more work, but I am sure a better price for much of my collection could be got by not trying to foist my collection upon the few remaining comic shops in Austin.
I will not be getting rid of any Superman, Batman, JLA, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, etc... In fact, I have no idea where this leaves me.
4) Quit eating so much sugar and salt.
5) Drink more water.
6) Play two shows this year with Jason and anyone else who wants to join the band. (Hurry up if you want to join. We'll need to get fitted for our matching suits.) Even if these two shows are in my living room, it's a goal.
I think that's a pretty good list.
2) I'm going to read more books this year and watch less TV. This year my book intake was probably the lowest of my entire life, and I'm deeply embarassed of that fact. So, hope to do better in 2008.
3) Consider getting rid of a portion of my comics collection. And maybe some toys. Rather than try to just sell them en masse, I may enlist Jamie to work with me to get set up with eBay. I am not going to read large portions of my collection ever again, and many series and issues hold no sentimental value. I think it may be more work, but I am sure a better price for much of my collection could be got by not trying to foist my collection upon the few remaining comic shops in Austin.
I will not be getting rid of any Superman, Batman, JLA, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, etc... In fact, I have no idea where this leaves me.
4) Quit eating so much sugar and salt.
5) Drink more water.
6) Play two shows this year with Jason and anyone else who wants to join the band. (Hurry up if you want to join. We'll need to get fitted for our matching suits.) Even if these two shows are in my living room, it's a goal.
I think that's a pretty good list.
Toys That Should Not Be: Welcome to 2008
I'm not even sure what to say about this one.
It's Cathy the Cowgirl... a topless, bovine, humanoid... I'm wearing myself out thinking about this.
I warn you, this is just weird and wrong. Here's Cathy the Cowgirl.
It says one thing about tis English fellow who designed Cathy the Cowgirl. It says something completely different about you if you feel you need Cathy the Cowgirl added to your home decor.
Somehow I am just waiting to hear Mr. Harms' opinion on this one.
It's Cathy the Cowgirl... a topless, bovine, humanoid... I'm wearing myself out thinking about this.
I warn you, this is just weird and wrong. Here's Cathy the Cowgirl.
It says one thing about tis English fellow who designed Cathy the Cowgirl. It says something completely different about you if you feel you need Cathy the Cowgirl added to your home decor.
Somehow I am just waiting to hear Mr. Harms' opinion on this one.
HAPPY 2008, LEAGUERS!!!
Hey, Leaguers!
Not much to report about my New Year's Day Eve. Below you can read the fruits of my labor regarding a comic end of year commentary. Most of you don't read comics, and thusly will not care.
In the afternoon Lucy and I met Jason and Cassidy at the dog park off Riverside. We thought about maybe going to Austin's First Night festival, but decided that it would be easier, and maybe it would just be better to wrap up 2007 in the same mellow spirit I tried to deal with the year. Just playing with dogs seemed like a good idea.
Jamie and I met Matt and Nicole for dinner at Thai Tara, a place we'd been before. The food was still good, but clearly they weren't ready to deal with a New Year's Eve crowd. The service was unforgivably awful.
We then went to Jason's to ring in the New Year. And I got a smooch from Jamie.
And, if I may, a $4 bottle of spumante is exactly as bad as you think it might be. Not even funny bad. It's just... bad. Jason called it when he said "I'm not starting off 2008 with the cheapest champagne money can buy." He is wise, he is.
I want to wish all Leaguers a Happy New Year. Health, happiness and all the best to you and yours in 2008.
Not much to report about my New Year's Day Eve. Below you can read the fruits of my labor regarding a comic end of year commentary. Most of you don't read comics, and thusly will not care.
In the afternoon Lucy and I met Jason and Cassidy at the dog park off Riverside. We thought about maybe going to Austin's First Night festival, but decided that it would be easier, and maybe it would just be better to wrap up 2007 in the same mellow spirit I tried to deal with the year. Just playing with dogs seemed like a good idea.
Jamie and I met Matt and Nicole for dinner at Thai Tara, a place we'd been before. The food was still good, but clearly they weren't ready to deal with a New Year's Eve crowd. The service was unforgivably awful.
We then went to Jason's to ring in the New Year. And I got a smooch from Jamie.
And, if I may, a $4 bottle of spumante is exactly as bad as you think it might be. Not even funny bad. It's just... bad. Jason called it when he said "I'm not starting off 2008 with the cheapest champagne money can buy." He is wise, he is.
I want to wish all Leaguers a Happy New Year. Health, happiness and all the best to you and yours in 2008.
Monday, December 31, 2007
2007 Wrap-Up Part Two
Comics
Last year I think I swamped you guys with a lot of unfortunate year-end reflecting regarding comics. Well, this year I have a job, and am no longer reviewing comics. Also, I honestly had a lot less time to spend thinking about comics.
MARVEL
Civil War, Death of Captain America, World War Hulk, One More Day... and I'm sure there's tons of stuff going on in the X-Books, but I haven't read those very much in the past several years.
Mainstream Marvel saw a year of chaos, and, generally the storylines were intriguing. Recognizing that an adult audience is looking for character development and plot development (often if they do not realize it or will admit it), Marvel took the liberty this year of actually changing the status quo in the Marvel Universe.
Masks and capes are now either federally regulated or outlaws, Captain America was taken down by a sniper's bullet and the Hulk took mainstays of the Marvel U to task for their perceived crimes, and there was nothing cute about it. One More Day is turning out to be Marvel's big goof of the year, and I foresee the results being reversed within a calendar year or two. Daredevil continues to be the most interesting "super hero" comic on the stands, but I recommend picking it up in collected formats. Strictly for adults, and the only title I can think of that seems to have a fully dysfunctional but believable super hero in the lead... Anyway, Daredevil continues to be a hell of a comic.
Add in Annihilation, and my faith in the Marvel U is once again piqued. (Especially since one of the post-Annihilation books featured Rocket Raccoon.)
I believe Quesada and Buckley are doing their best to make sure that when you buy a Marvel comic, you get something beyond "fight, chase, fight", and I'm not sure either DC or smaller publishers are painting their universes with such a diverse set of brushes right now.
DC COMICS
After a few good years, this was the year DC seriously shook my faith. The "One Year Later" event of 2006 collapsed back into a status quo by early 2007 in virtually every title. "52" had a satisfactory ending with a world of promise for the DCU as a whole, which editorial seemed to take in exactly the wrong direction. "Countdown" was simply unreadable from Week 46 to Week 26, and still, week 18, shows almost no signs of actually going anywhere. (I'm still not sure what I;m supposed to be getting out of the Piper/ Trickster storyline.)
Didio pretty clearly had a slate of writers who were willing to follow his mandates and hand in multiple scripts per month. The unfortunate part is that many of them (Bedard, Gray, Palmiotti) can't tell an intertesting story to save their lives, even with an outline in hand. Further, Didio's friends Bilson, Matteo and Green handed in stories that had a tremendous impact and were simultaneously DOA. The horrendous reboot of Flash ended with issue #13 this year and the pointless aging and death of Bart Allen (from Kid Flash to Flash in 13 easy issues). Meanwhile, Green decided he could outdo "The Killing Joke" and wrote an awkward and somewhat pedestrian re-imagining of the origin of The Joker.
Several key DC titles were running behind at the beginning of the year, including Action Comics, Batman, Wonder Woman and others. It does seem DC managed to get these titles back on track for the foreseeable future, and with the exception of the "Return of Ra's Al Ghul" storyline, they're some of the first books I read out of the stack.
Kudos this year go out to Geoff Johns (and Tomasi) for his work on the spectacular "Sinestro Corps War" in Green Lantern and the always engaging Justice Society of America.
The oddest bit of 2007 was that DC seemed to realize Things Are Not Working, and they semi-publicly seem to be taking steps to clear that up. Tony Bedard is no longer writing half of the DCU books, Countdown suddenly seems to be going somewhere, books are coming out monthly (even if storylines are wrapping up in annuals), and all titles are no longer beholden to Countdown. Furthermore, Didio saw a genuine success with the Sinestro Corps War, and I expect more events like that will be the status quo rather than Universe Wide events.
Oh, and while Supergirl still isn't very good, it's a hell of a lot better now that Berganza is no longer editing the books.
In 2008 I will be clearing a lot of titles off of my pull list. More announcements about that later.
In the meantime, go read Blue Beetle. He's the teen-age protector of El Paso! It's a darn fun comic.
Superman
2008 will be the 70th anniversary of Superman's publication, and so we may see some small events in publishing, etc... I'd expect 2013 will be the big year, with 75 years of Superman. And I'll be 38. Christ.
Anyway, 2007 saw Geoff Johns' work on Action Comics with the not-quite finished "Lat Son" storyline, the Bizarro Worls three-issue run with Eric Powell (a fun read. Highly recommended.) and the Legion story currently taking place in Action. Johns' work is fantastic, and while some of the folks who came to Superman in the Byrne age might be put off by the Bronze-Age flair the comics have, I'm really enjoying them.
Kurt Busiek has been writing his own mini-events in the oft-overlooked "Superman" title. What's intriguing to me about Kurt's run is that he's making a conscious effort to establish the elements of Superman's life and tell stories in a manner which went out of fashion about ten to fifteen years ago. In short, while he's writing self-contained stories, there's a general backdrop that doesn't seem linked only to six-issue stories aimed at a trade collection. He's in it for the long-haul, and its helping out the mainstream Superman books immeasurably to have that context.
Mr. Busiek is telling engaging stories with a greater thematic vision than "Superman meet bad guy, Superman fight bad guy" and taking a look at Superman's place within his universe in a way that other writers have tried to do (including Azzarello) and haven't necessarily succeeded. I did feel the "Fall of Camelot" storyline had a satisfactory ending, but felt it had been cut a bit short.
Looking forward to upcoming issues.
That said, Kurt... more Subjekt 17.
"All Star Superman" is a critical darling for a reason, and if I were to recommend picking up one Superman comic, this would be it. From Quitely's refreshingly metitative art work to Morrison's larger-than-life scripts, it's a comic that seems to have a bit of something for anyone. It does feel a bit like the Superman comic you always wanted to pick up and read, but just never existed until now.
I don't foresee All Star Superman making it past issue 13 or so as Morrison moves on, but I imagine it will live on in collected formats for some time.
Superman also starred in the straight-to-DVD movie "Superman Doomsday", which has little to nothing to do with the original Death of Superman comics from the early 90's. As DC's first PG-13 animated feature, it was a lot of fun to see Superman cut loose on the screen the way he occasionally does in the comics. Unfortunately, I'm not sure the second half of the movie lives up to the promise of the first half.
That said, it also doesn't seem to go off in the "all-action, no logic" direction of the original "Return of Superman" comics.
DIGITAL COMICS
Two big stories wrapped up the year in digital comics.
Firstly, Marvel launched Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited. Their service, for $60 a year, would give readers access to a partial library of Marvel comics. The project has been widely criticized for the lack of completeness, as runs of series currently available as collections are not available as part of the site. In short, Marvel seems to be asking readers to pay for a marketing tool.
At $60 a year, I'm not sure this is a bad deal or worth complaining about. After all, the cover price on most Marvel comics is $3, and trades run about $18 for around siz issues worth of comics. But as I have as of yet to pay $60 myself for the service, I can't say whether it's worth the money.
DC is watching Marvel closely, but they seem content to continue to publish printed collections of older material. I suspect DC's marketing research has told them that their audience is older and seems willing to pay for printed collections. As DC spent 2006 and 2007 ramping up their trade collections department, they've done a great job of bringing collections to their audience, and that audience has been happy to pay the fairly low prices associated with the collections.
One day, perhaps, DC will have a stronger online effort. I've heard in 2008 the Archives Editions may disappear in favor of another model. I'll be keeping an eye open for what they'll do next. But I suspect it won't be online.
The other big story was that DC and Marvel jointly began asking the sites which were illegally carrying scanned copies of comics to knock it off. Honestly, I have no idea what the sites were thinking. Their activity was pretty clearly illegal, and they were getting a lot of hits.
There is an argument in the comic community that the free comics online were nothing but great marketing for the print collections. From an informal poll I took at work (and we have lots of guys and girls at work who read comics), this is sort of true, but not really. The truth seems to be that the $3 cover price for comics is simply too steep for what they're willing to pay for comics they'll read once. And I'm increasingly in agreement. What they do not do very often is actually purchase any comics whatsoever.
What I personally found ludicrous were the voices online who were outraged that the free comics sites had been shut down. For people who read comics every day about de facto law enforcement, the understanding of legal v. illegal and what is stealing and what is not is a little shakey. If you're going to illegally download comics, at least know what you're doing.
2007 saw the rise of popular web strips such as Achewood and Perry Bible Fellowship, which give me a lot more hope for comic strips (in print OR online) than, say, Fred Basset. And I continue to enjoy the hell out of Daniel Fu's action comic "The Retriever" (bookmark it and check weekly for updates).
That's it
No list of my favorite comics. This went on way longer than I expected. Hope you kids enjoy. More comics in 2008!
Last year I think I swamped you guys with a lot of unfortunate year-end reflecting regarding comics. Well, this year I have a job, and am no longer reviewing comics. Also, I honestly had a lot less time to spend thinking about comics.
MARVEL
Civil War, Death of Captain America, World War Hulk, One More Day... and I'm sure there's tons of stuff going on in the X-Books, but I haven't read those very much in the past several years.
Mainstream Marvel saw a year of chaos, and, generally the storylines were intriguing. Recognizing that an adult audience is looking for character development and plot development (often if they do not realize it or will admit it), Marvel took the liberty this year of actually changing the status quo in the Marvel Universe.
Masks and capes are now either federally regulated or outlaws, Captain America was taken down by a sniper's bullet and the Hulk took mainstays of the Marvel U to task for their perceived crimes, and there was nothing cute about it. One More Day is turning out to be Marvel's big goof of the year, and I foresee the results being reversed within a calendar year or two. Daredevil continues to be the most interesting "super hero" comic on the stands, but I recommend picking it up in collected formats. Strictly for adults, and the only title I can think of that seems to have a fully dysfunctional but believable super hero in the lead... Anyway, Daredevil continues to be a hell of a comic.
Add in Annihilation, and my faith in the Marvel U is once again piqued. (Especially since one of the post-Annihilation books featured Rocket Raccoon.)
I believe Quesada and Buckley are doing their best to make sure that when you buy a Marvel comic, you get something beyond "fight, chase, fight", and I'm not sure either DC or smaller publishers are painting their universes with such a diverse set of brushes right now.
DC COMICS
After a few good years, this was the year DC seriously shook my faith. The "One Year Later" event of 2006 collapsed back into a status quo by early 2007 in virtually every title. "52" had a satisfactory ending with a world of promise for the DCU as a whole, which editorial seemed to take in exactly the wrong direction. "Countdown" was simply unreadable from Week 46 to Week 26, and still, week 18, shows almost no signs of actually going anywhere. (I'm still not sure what I;m supposed to be getting out of the Piper/ Trickster storyline.)
Didio pretty clearly had a slate of writers who were willing to follow his mandates and hand in multiple scripts per month. The unfortunate part is that many of them (Bedard, Gray, Palmiotti) can't tell an intertesting story to save their lives, even with an outline in hand. Further, Didio's friends Bilson, Matteo and Green handed in stories that had a tremendous impact and were simultaneously DOA. The horrendous reboot of Flash ended with issue #13 this year and the pointless aging and death of Bart Allen (from Kid Flash to Flash in 13 easy issues). Meanwhile, Green decided he could outdo "The Killing Joke" and wrote an awkward and somewhat pedestrian re-imagining of the origin of The Joker.
Several key DC titles were running behind at the beginning of the year, including Action Comics, Batman, Wonder Woman and others. It does seem DC managed to get these titles back on track for the foreseeable future, and with the exception of the "Return of Ra's Al Ghul" storyline, they're some of the first books I read out of the stack.
Kudos this year go out to Geoff Johns (and Tomasi) for his work on the spectacular "Sinestro Corps War" in Green Lantern and the always engaging Justice Society of America.
The oddest bit of 2007 was that DC seemed to realize Things Are Not Working, and they semi-publicly seem to be taking steps to clear that up. Tony Bedard is no longer writing half of the DCU books, Countdown suddenly seems to be going somewhere, books are coming out monthly (even if storylines are wrapping up in annuals), and all titles are no longer beholden to Countdown. Furthermore, Didio saw a genuine success with the Sinestro Corps War, and I expect more events like that will be the status quo rather than Universe Wide events.
Oh, and while Supergirl still isn't very good, it's a hell of a lot better now that Berganza is no longer editing the books.
In 2008 I will be clearing a lot of titles off of my pull list. More announcements about that later.
In the meantime, go read Blue Beetle. He's the teen-age protector of El Paso! It's a darn fun comic.
Superman
2008 will be the 70th anniversary of Superman's publication, and so we may see some small events in publishing, etc... I'd expect 2013 will be the big year, with 75 years of Superman. And I'll be 38. Christ.
Anyway, 2007 saw Geoff Johns' work on Action Comics with the not-quite finished "Lat Son" storyline, the Bizarro Worls three-issue run with Eric Powell (a fun read. Highly recommended.) and the Legion story currently taking place in Action. Johns' work is fantastic, and while some of the folks who came to Superman in the Byrne age might be put off by the Bronze-Age flair the comics have, I'm really enjoying them.
Kurt Busiek has been writing his own mini-events in the oft-overlooked "Superman" title. What's intriguing to me about Kurt's run is that he's making a conscious effort to establish the elements of Superman's life and tell stories in a manner which went out of fashion about ten to fifteen years ago. In short, while he's writing self-contained stories, there's a general backdrop that doesn't seem linked only to six-issue stories aimed at a trade collection. He's in it for the long-haul, and its helping out the mainstream Superman books immeasurably to have that context.
Mr. Busiek is telling engaging stories with a greater thematic vision than "Superman meet bad guy, Superman fight bad guy" and taking a look at Superman's place within his universe in a way that other writers have tried to do (including Azzarello) and haven't necessarily succeeded. I did feel the "Fall of Camelot" storyline had a satisfactory ending, but felt it had been cut a bit short.
Looking forward to upcoming issues.
That said, Kurt... more Subjekt 17.
"All Star Superman" is a critical darling for a reason, and if I were to recommend picking up one Superman comic, this would be it. From Quitely's refreshingly metitative art work to Morrison's larger-than-life scripts, it's a comic that seems to have a bit of something for anyone. It does feel a bit like the Superman comic you always wanted to pick up and read, but just never existed until now.
I don't foresee All Star Superman making it past issue 13 or so as Morrison moves on, but I imagine it will live on in collected formats for some time.
Superman also starred in the straight-to-DVD movie "Superman Doomsday", which has little to nothing to do with the original Death of Superman comics from the early 90's. As DC's first PG-13 animated feature, it was a lot of fun to see Superman cut loose on the screen the way he occasionally does in the comics. Unfortunately, I'm not sure the second half of the movie lives up to the promise of the first half.
That said, it also doesn't seem to go off in the "all-action, no logic" direction of the original "Return of Superman" comics.
DIGITAL COMICS
Two big stories wrapped up the year in digital comics.
Firstly, Marvel launched Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited. Their service, for $60 a year, would give readers access to a partial library of Marvel comics. The project has been widely criticized for the lack of completeness, as runs of series currently available as collections are not available as part of the site. In short, Marvel seems to be asking readers to pay for a marketing tool.
At $60 a year, I'm not sure this is a bad deal or worth complaining about. After all, the cover price on most Marvel comics is $3, and trades run about $18 for around siz issues worth of comics. But as I have as of yet to pay $60 myself for the service, I can't say whether it's worth the money.
DC is watching Marvel closely, but they seem content to continue to publish printed collections of older material. I suspect DC's marketing research has told them that their audience is older and seems willing to pay for printed collections. As DC spent 2006 and 2007 ramping up their trade collections department, they've done a great job of bringing collections to their audience, and that audience has been happy to pay the fairly low prices associated with the collections.
One day, perhaps, DC will have a stronger online effort. I've heard in 2008 the Archives Editions may disappear in favor of another model. I'll be keeping an eye open for what they'll do next. But I suspect it won't be online.
The other big story was that DC and Marvel jointly began asking the sites which were illegally carrying scanned copies of comics to knock it off. Honestly, I have no idea what the sites were thinking. Their activity was pretty clearly illegal, and they were getting a lot of hits.
There is an argument in the comic community that the free comics online were nothing but great marketing for the print collections. From an informal poll I took at work (and we have lots of guys and girls at work who read comics), this is sort of true, but not really. The truth seems to be that the $3 cover price for comics is simply too steep for what they're willing to pay for comics they'll read once. And I'm increasingly in agreement. What they do not do very often is actually purchase any comics whatsoever.
What I personally found ludicrous were the voices online who were outraged that the free comics sites had been shut down. For people who read comics every day about de facto law enforcement, the understanding of legal v. illegal and what is stealing and what is not is a little shakey. If you're going to illegally download comics, at least know what you're doing.
2007 saw the rise of popular web strips such as Achewood and Perry Bible Fellowship, which give me a lot more hope for comic strips (in print OR online) than, say, Fred Basset. And I continue to enjoy the hell out of Daniel Fu's action comic "The Retriever" (bookmark it and check weekly for updates).
That's it
No list of my favorite comics. This went on way longer than I expected. Hope you kids enjoy. More comics in 2008!
Sunday, December 30, 2007
2007 Wrap-Up Part One
I'm not going to monkey with top 10 lists. Inspired by Jamie's random Top 10 list, I'm just going to highlight several things I found to be of import in 2007.
Movies:
I didn't see 95% of what came out this year. I'm moving into a period in my life where trailers tell me nothing about why I should drop my hard-won clams on a movie, movies aren't aimed at my demographic, or I feel like I've already seen the movie before.
My favorite movie of 2007: No Country for Old Men
It's probably Cormac McCarthy who deserves the real praise here, as from what I hear, the movie's greatest achievement was sticking close to the book. But for once, a movie managed to surprise me, have uniformly excellent performances, stark but fantastic cinematography and told a story with no fear. Still, adaptations are difficult at best, and to truly do the source material justice may actually be more difficult than creating a movie from the ground up where the audience has no foreknowledge and/ or no expectations.
Moreover, it's no secret that the Coens were a huge part of why I was enamored enough with film when I started college and remained a tremendous influence throughout much of my teens and 20's. Unfortunately, of late, I had felt they were no longer making movies I really cared about. This movie proved me wrong.
The movie took a plot that could have been a standard "package" movie, and, instead managed to make a coherent statement upon the nature of evil in the world and what becomes of good men who spend their lives fighting something they can't ever really understand.
Anyhow, it did lead to me buying a three-novel collection of McCarthy's work I'm going to crack here before the New Year.
Least Favorite Movie of 2007: So many to choose from!
Probably the most cynical and bankrupt of the movies I watched this year was "High School Musical 2", which I watched half of one night with Wagner. Calculated and intentionally stupid, but bright and shiny as a 52" Plasma Screen's demo disc, this movie was intended to give elementary and middle school kids who think high school is going to be AWESOME something to aspire to. Made Saved by the Bell look nuanced. Heck, it reallyw asn't any different than "From Justin to Kelly", except that this movie was somehow even more chaste. But, then again, it is for little kids.
Also, "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer" was... it was just a failure on so many levels, I don't have the time. Pair it with the nuttily bad "Ghost Rider", and Marvel had a rough year at the movies. Both will have sequels, I am sure.
As I mentioned, we really didn't see a lot of movies this year, and while many of them didn't do much for me, I can't say it was that the movies were bad, per se. They just weren't that great. But I think that's pretty typical.
True standouts:
Had we not had tickets to see Robosaurus after Transformers at the Alamo, I would have walked out. It was that bad. Oh, yes it was. The entire center thirty minutes of the film was embarrassing and nigh-unwatchable. If you weren't bored and squirming in your seats during the "Transformers sneak around Spike's backyard" sequence, I cannot help you.
But above all stands Tarantino's "Death Proof", the second half of the Grindhouse double feature. Yes. I do, in fact, get it. I am not against paying homage o exploitation movies, bad movies, etc... I think it can be nifty. But I do think that believing that whatever dialog you put in the character's mouths is interesting and needs no editing is a fallacious assumption. Tarantino's post "Pulp Fiction" career seems to be a test to see exactly how much he actually does need Roger Avary as the years go by.
Whatever Tarantino once added to the movies he made by recycling old bits from cheap movies and polishing them up has drained away. Now we're left with endless, pointless dialog and modestly directed action sequences. The movie was not (a) exciting, (b) funny. And it was easily thirty minutes too long.
Bleh.
Television
My favorite TV show of 2007: 30 Rock
For probably snooty reasons, TV reviewers (who have absolutely no ground to stand on being snooty) thought Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip was going to be the winner in the contest between the shows about a comedy sketch show. After all, Studio 60 was moody and joyless and featured alcoholics and other staples of the TV landscape of adult programming. But a show where absolutely nobody is funny or even cracks a smile about a sketch comedy show?
30 Rock stepped up to the plate and gave a writer's-eye view of working on a sketch comedy show owned by a mega-corporation and the goofiness the disconnect between the two worlds creates. Like all good jesters, Tina Fey is able to comment by making a joke, on everything from politics to star theatrics to the very suits who have made her career possible. The show may not be for all tastes, but with every episode a bit different, and without getting bogged down in any pointless "will they or won't they?" romantic plotlines, it's been a standout show that seems to get better all the time.
Also, due in large part to Alec Baldwin, it's possibly the most quotable show on TV any given week. Thanks to JAL and a certain sketch featuring "Paul Schwetty", I was quite glad to see Baldwin take on the role of Jack Donaghy, and they show has found it's voice in the schizm between the idealistic Liz Lemon and corporate shark Donaghy.
Add in Tracy Morgan, Jane Krakowski and Jack McBayer (as well as any of the rest of the show's multitude of characters) and it's a lot of fun.
Honorable Mention: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
The premise of the show: people are awful, especially when they're looking for an advantage.
There's no real story here other than a bar run by family and friends and their various misadventures from starting a band to trying out for the Eagles. In the current trend set by HBO programming, basic cable is waking up to the fact that shows with characters who are more morally ambiguous are inherently more interesting. And, in this case, a lot funnier.
This is the show that made me like Danny DeVito for the first time in more than a decade, made me want to join a band, and gave us Kaitlin Olson as Sweet Dee (a tie for my favorite female character in TV, right there with Liz Lemon).
Least Favorite Show of 2007: Any show that asked me to get invested (while providing nothing in return)
Dear TV,
I have only so many hours in my week. I know most people now seem to love getting wrapped up in the complicated mythologies of hour long dramas. I am not one of them.
There was a time when TV shows were good first, and then lasted long enough to build up a backbone and larger plots. These days, you take a fairly benign concept like "The Bionic Woman" and load it down with fifteen tons of dead-weight in the first two episodes with massive conspiracies, fractured families, precocious teenage sisters with criminal records, huge San Francisco apartments owned by bartenders and overly complicated backgrounds for Harvard-bound future bionic women.
Thanks to shows like X-Files (which eventually built a mythology), and the break-away success of shows like "Lost", every show has to have a built in mythology. This ignores the fact that probably, at some point, a better idea could come along but the show will be locked into whatever angle they put in the pilot. And trying to write around whatever was in the pilot will just make things even more awkward.
I dunno.
I wonder if I am not a bit jaded regarding the "instant mythology" bit from seeing too many comics that believe they need to cram potentially interesting ideas down your throat in the first issue or two, but when you get down to it, there's nothing there beyond the mythology. The characters don't behave from an area of honesty, they become walking plot devices or behave in ways that serve plot while providing no real motivation of their own that I can buy.
In the deepest, darkest places in my heart, I am secretly hoping that the writer's strike and lack of programming for a year or so will mean that in 2008 I will no longer see the look of shock on people's faces when I admit I am not interested in Show X, or that I have no plans to watch Show Y, no matter how good it is. Especially if I have 40 episodes to watch in order to catch up.
Where do you people find the time?
Sophomore Slump 2007: Friday Night Lights
Formerly a show about the pressure cooker of kids growing up in the spotlight of high-school football, as well as the strain on a coach in a town where football is king... this year Friday Night lights became a show about inappropriate relationships between those above and under the demarcation of high school graduation.
This is not what I signed up for.
Last year, even when the show had a bad week or flimsy plotline, it would be wrapped up quickly. This year, it seemed as if they brought in the writers from Felicity and set them loose upon formerly interesting characters.
Once the plotlines were used up from the Peter Berg movie (and the book? I've not read it.), the writers knew too little about their own subject to know what to do. Even the potentially interesting "finding Jesus" storyline started for one of the characters was dropped without comment, while the implausible "murder" storyline took up an inordinate amount of screentime when the ending was really never in doubt. And while Connie Britton and Kyle Chandler both deliver great performances each week, the TMU coaching storyline was awkward and somewhat unbelievable. Probably too believable was Julie's storyline about a high school girl acting out and feeling misunderstood. It just wasn't interesting.
It'll be curious to see what happens when/ if the show returns.
Music
I really didn't buy many albums this year. I think the real story for 2007 was that fissures in the music industry became visible cracks as Radiohead tried it's own distribution experiment and pretty much proved that whatever labels once offered (especially for established artists) is no longer relevant. The interwebs have compltely repainted the picture as of two or three years ago, and effects are now becoming obvious.
Musical Celebrity of the Year
Suck it, Steve Jobs. I know you wanted this, but it ain't happening.
I choose Amy Winehouse. It's not often we get a musician who is such a public trainwreck as part of the package BEFORE they've really taken a toe-hold on the American music scene. But Winehouse was already a celebrity in the UK, and came to our shores pre-packaged as a bee-hived chanteuse who was so deep in the sauce, she might just pass out at any time.
We didn't even need to watch the inevitable rise and crash of a starlet. Winehouse came to us in "Britney, Career Year 6" mode, so there was no suffering through the peppy teen-years, awful movies or ghost-written books.
Nope, we went right for the "I have to cancel my ACL Fest appearance because I'm drying out" phase shortly after I'd downloaded Rehab to iTunes.
Plus, her album isn't half bad, IMHO.
ACL Fest
Surprisingly lived up to the hype. It was a perfect way to watch music for those of us with attention deficit problems, and I saw a lot of good shows. And walked away from a lot of shows I just wasn't interested in.
I will definitely be attending again in 2008.
What the @#%$??? goes to the Hannah Montana phenomenon and all of the psychotic parents raising a generation of entitled sociopaths by dropping thousands of dollars on tickets to watch a modestly talented little girl lip-synch.
Just imagine if those parents, instead, wrote checks to Doctors without Borders, Habitat for Humanity, the Red Cross or some other worthy organization and told their children what they were doing with the money, and then bought their kid a Season 1 DVD set of the TV show.
Yes, I am judging. It's what I do.
I also liked the LCD Soundsystem album
That's it for this post. Next time we'll get into some other items of import. Maybe the news, politics, comics and space travel. Who knows?
Movies:
I didn't see 95% of what came out this year. I'm moving into a period in my life where trailers tell me nothing about why I should drop my hard-won clams on a movie, movies aren't aimed at my demographic, or I feel like I've already seen the movie before.
My favorite movie of 2007: No Country for Old Men
It's probably Cormac McCarthy who deserves the real praise here, as from what I hear, the movie's greatest achievement was sticking close to the book. But for once, a movie managed to surprise me, have uniformly excellent performances, stark but fantastic cinematography and told a story with no fear. Still, adaptations are difficult at best, and to truly do the source material justice may actually be more difficult than creating a movie from the ground up where the audience has no foreknowledge and/ or no expectations.
Moreover, it's no secret that the Coens were a huge part of why I was enamored enough with film when I started college and remained a tremendous influence throughout much of my teens and 20's. Unfortunately, of late, I had felt they were no longer making movies I really cared about. This movie proved me wrong.
The movie took a plot that could have been a standard "package" movie, and, instead managed to make a coherent statement upon the nature of evil in the world and what becomes of good men who spend their lives fighting something they can't ever really understand.
Anyhow, it did lead to me buying a three-novel collection of McCarthy's work I'm going to crack here before the New Year.
Least Favorite Movie of 2007: So many to choose from!
Probably the most cynical and bankrupt of the movies I watched this year was "High School Musical 2", which I watched half of one night with Wagner. Calculated and intentionally stupid, but bright and shiny as a 52" Plasma Screen's demo disc, this movie was intended to give elementary and middle school kids who think high school is going to be AWESOME something to aspire to. Made Saved by the Bell look nuanced. Heck, it reallyw asn't any different than "From Justin to Kelly", except that this movie was somehow even more chaste. But, then again, it is for little kids.
Also, "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer" was... it was just a failure on so many levels, I don't have the time. Pair it with the nuttily bad "Ghost Rider", and Marvel had a rough year at the movies. Both will have sequels, I am sure.
As I mentioned, we really didn't see a lot of movies this year, and while many of them didn't do much for me, I can't say it was that the movies were bad, per se. They just weren't that great. But I think that's pretty typical.
True standouts:
Had we not had tickets to see Robosaurus after Transformers at the Alamo, I would have walked out. It was that bad. Oh, yes it was. The entire center thirty minutes of the film was embarrassing and nigh-unwatchable. If you weren't bored and squirming in your seats during the "Transformers sneak around Spike's backyard" sequence, I cannot help you.
But above all stands Tarantino's "Death Proof", the second half of the Grindhouse double feature. Yes. I do, in fact, get it. I am not against paying homage o exploitation movies, bad movies, etc... I think it can be nifty. But I do think that believing that whatever dialog you put in the character's mouths is interesting and needs no editing is a fallacious assumption. Tarantino's post "Pulp Fiction" career seems to be a test to see exactly how much he actually does need Roger Avary as the years go by.
Whatever Tarantino once added to the movies he made by recycling old bits from cheap movies and polishing them up has drained away. Now we're left with endless, pointless dialog and modestly directed action sequences. The movie was not (a) exciting, (b) funny. And it was easily thirty minutes too long.
Bleh.
Television
My favorite TV show of 2007: 30 Rock
For probably snooty reasons, TV reviewers (who have absolutely no ground to stand on being snooty) thought Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip was going to be the winner in the contest between the shows about a comedy sketch show. After all, Studio 60 was moody and joyless and featured alcoholics and other staples of the TV landscape of adult programming. But a show where absolutely nobody is funny or even cracks a smile about a sketch comedy show?
30 Rock stepped up to the plate and gave a writer's-eye view of working on a sketch comedy show owned by a mega-corporation and the goofiness the disconnect between the two worlds creates. Like all good jesters, Tina Fey is able to comment by making a joke, on everything from politics to star theatrics to the very suits who have made her career possible. The show may not be for all tastes, but with every episode a bit different, and without getting bogged down in any pointless "will they or won't they?" romantic plotlines, it's been a standout show that seems to get better all the time.
Also, due in large part to Alec Baldwin, it's possibly the most quotable show on TV any given week. Thanks to JAL and a certain sketch featuring "Paul Schwetty", I was quite glad to see Baldwin take on the role of Jack Donaghy, and they show has found it's voice in the schizm between the idealistic Liz Lemon and corporate shark Donaghy.
Add in Tracy Morgan, Jane Krakowski and Jack McBayer (as well as any of the rest of the show's multitude of characters) and it's a lot of fun.
Honorable Mention: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
The premise of the show: people are awful, especially when they're looking for an advantage.
There's no real story here other than a bar run by family and friends and their various misadventures from starting a band to trying out for the Eagles. In the current trend set by HBO programming, basic cable is waking up to the fact that shows with characters who are more morally ambiguous are inherently more interesting. And, in this case, a lot funnier.
This is the show that made me like Danny DeVito for the first time in more than a decade, made me want to join a band, and gave us Kaitlin Olson as Sweet Dee (a tie for my favorite female character in TV, right there with Liz Lemon).
Least Favorite Show of 2007: Any show that asked me to get invested (while providing nothing in return)
Dear TV,
I have only so many hours in my week. I know most people now seem to love getting wrapped up in the complicated mythologies of hour long dramas. I am not one of them.
There was a time when TV shows were good first, and then lasted long enough to build up a backbone and larger plots. These days, you take a fairly benign concept like "The Bionic Woman" and load it down with fifteen tons of dead-weight in the first two episodes with massive conspiracies, fractured families, precocious teenage sisters with criminal records, huge San Francisco apartments owned by bartenders and overly complicated backgrounds for Harvard-bound future bionic women.
Thanks to shows like X-Files (which eventually built a mythology), and the break-away success of shows like "Lost", every show has to have a built in mythology. This ignores the fact that probably, at some point, a better idea could come along but the show will be locked into whatever angle they put in the pilot. And trying to write around whatever was in the pilot will just make things even more awkward.
I dunno.
I wonder if I am not a bit jaded regarding the "instant mythology" bit from seeing too many comics that believe they need to cram potentially interesting ideas down your throat in the first issue or two, but when you get down to it, there's nothing there beyond the mythology. The characters don't behave from an area of honesty, they become walking plot devices or behave in ways that serve plot while providing no real motivation of their own that I can buy.
In the deepest, darkest places in my heart, I am secretly hoping that the writer's strike and lack of programming for a year or so will mean that in 2008 I will no longer see the look of shock on people's faces when I admit I am not interested in Show X, or that I have no plans to watch Show Y, no matter how good it is. Especially if I have 40 episodes to watch in order to catch up.
Where do you people find the time?
Sophomore Slump 2007: Friday Night Lights
Formerly a show about the pressure cooker of kids growing up in the spotlight of high-school football, as well as the strain on a coach in a town where football is king... this year Friday Night lights became a show about inappropriate relationships between those above and under the demarcation of high school graduation.
This is not what I signed up for.
Last year, even when the show had a bad week or flimsy plotline, it would be wrapped up quickly. This year, it seemed as if they brought in the writers from Felicity and set them loose upon formerly interesting characters.
Once the plotlines were used up from the Peter Berg movie (and the book? I've not read it.), the writers knew too little about their own subject to know what to do. Even the potentially interesting "finding Jesus" storyline started for one of the characters was dropped without comment, while the implausible "murder" storyline took up an inordinate amount of screentime when the ending was really never in doubt. And while Connie Britton and Kyle Chandler both deliver great performances each week, the TMU coaching storyline was awkward and somewhat unbelievable. Probably too believable was Julie's storyline about a high school girl acting out and feeling misunderstood. It just wasn't interesting.
It'll be curious to see what happens when/ if the show returns.
Music
I really didn't buy many albums this year. I think the real story for 2007 was that fissures in the music industry became visible cracks as Radiohead tried it's own distribution experiment and pretty much proved that whatever labels once offered (especially for established artists) is no longer relevant. The interwebs have compltely repainted the picture as of two or three years ago, and effects are now becoming obvious.
Musical Celebrity of the Year
Suck it, Steve Jobs. I know you wanted this, but it ain't happening.
I choose Amy Winehouse. It's not often we get a musician who is such a public trainwreck as part of the package BEFORE they've really taken a toe-hold on the American music scene. But Winehouse was already a celebrity in the UK, and came to our shores pre-packaged as a bee-hived chanteuse who was so deep in the sauce, she might just pass out at any time.
We didn't even need to watch the inevitable rise and crash of a starlet. Winehouse came to us in "Britney, Career Year 6" mode, so there was no suffering through the peppy teen-years, awful movies or ghost-written books.
Nope, we went right for the "I have to cancel my ACL Fest appearance because I'm drying out" phase shortly after I'd downloaded Rehab to iTunes.
Plus, her album isn't half bad, IMHO.
ACL Fest
Surprisingly lived up to the hype. It was a perfect way to watch music for those of us with attention deficit problems, and I saw a lot of good shows. And walked away from a lot of shows I just wasn't interested in.
I will definitely be attending again in 2008.
What the @#%$??? goes to the Hannah Montana phenomenon and all of the psychotic parents raising a generation of entitled sociopaths by dropping thousands of dollars on tickets to watch a modestly talented little girl lip-synch.
Just imagine if those parents, instead, wrote checks to Doctors without Borders, Habitat for Humanity, the Red Cross or some other worthy organization and told their children what they were doing with the money, and then bought their kid a Season 1 DVD set of the TV show.
Yes, I am judging. It's what I do.
I also liked the LCD Soundsystem album
That's it for this post. Next time we'll get into some other items of import. Maybe the news, politics, comics and space travel. Who knows?
Congrats to Denise and Ryan (Kudva)
Hey, you might be interested to know Denise and her husband, Ryan, are now proud parents of not one, but TWO new Kudvas.
Please welcome young Grace and Dylan Kudva to planet Earth. They were born, I believe, on December 20th. Denise is a tough lady, but, geez... twins. You are a superwoman, Denise.
Anyhow, Denise and Ryan will do a great job. And I have no doubt they will have a couple of molecular biologists or something equally sciency on their hands in a couple of decades.
For more info and pictures of the cute little nippers, go to the Bambino Blog.
Please welcome young Grace and Dylan Kudva to planet Earth. They were born, I believe, on December 20th. Denise is a tough lady, but, geez... twins. You are a superwoman, Denise.
Anyhow, Denise and Ryan will do a great job. And I have no doubt they will have a couple of molecular biologists or something equally sciency on their hands in a couple of decades.
For more info and pictures of the cute little nippers, go to the Bambino Blog.
Jamie's Top 10 of 2007
Hi, Leaguers! I've asked Jamie to come up with a list of her Top 10 of 2007. Here it is. Enjoy!
Totally Random Top Ten 2007 List
1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
2. Superbad
3. Holiday Heckstravaganza '07
4. Swimming at Gus Fruh
5. Robosaurus
6. LOST season finale
7. In Rainbows
8. My new CR-V
9. Starting dance classes again
10. My awesome game at Peter Pan Golf
**Extra special bonus item: Mom's medical scare was a false alarm. We love you, Mom!!
Totally Random Top Ten 2007 List
1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
2. Superbad
3. Holiday Heckstravaganza '07
4. Swimming at Gus Fruh
5. Robosaurus
6. LOST season finale
7. In Rainbows
8. My new CR-V
9. Starting dance classes again
10. My awesome game at Peter Pan Golf
**Extra special bonus item: Mom's medical scare was a false alarm. We love you, Mom!!
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Rockin' Out 2007
As I mentioned, I received a bass for Christmas. It is shiny. It is blue. I have no idea how to play it. I do know that no matter how long I sit down and play the thing, Jamie says "You didn't play your bass very long." I'm not sure she really wants me cranking away on it for hours when I know exactly one bass line (U2's "With or Without You").
The main problem is that I did not want a bass guitar for Christmas. I wanted a delicious bass. Oh well. Some things get lost in the translation.
Jason and I played some tonight, and he showed me some other bass lines. It seems Adam Clayton may not be the genius I have often given him credit for if I can already play two U2 songs.
Anyhow, its fun. I may not get a chance to pick up chicks playing bass (unless Jamie starts throwing the house keys at me while I'm playing), but it is fun. Sooner or later, we will need more than just me and Jason, but for right now, it's kind of cool to be able to play with him and try something he's into after all the trips to Austin books he's suffered through to amuse me.
So look forward to more future rockin' announcements in these pages.
The main problem is that I did not want a bass guitar for Christmas. I wanted a delicious bass. Oh well. Some things get lost in the translation.
Jason and I played some tonight, and he showed me some other bass lines. It seems Adam Clayton may not be the genius I have often given him credit for if I can already play two U2 songs.
Anyhow, its fun. I may not get a chance to pick up chicks playing bass (unless Jamie starts throwing the house keys at me while I'm playing), but it is fun. Sooner or later, we will need more than just me and Jason, but for right now, it's kind of cool to be able to play with him and try something he's into after all the trips to Austin books he's suffered through to amuse me.
So look forward to more future rockin' announcements in these pages.
Friday, December 28, 2007
More LA Crime
It seems that JAL has uncovered a lost collection of Chandler's famous "Melbotis Mysteries", dealing with a similar theme to the current traffic ticket crisis we're experiencing at League HQ.
Never Been to Los Angeles (and now I never will)
It's becoming increasingly likely that if I ever return to the State of California or ever actually make it to Los Angeles, that I will be arrested.
I think as far back as October, I received a notice of a parking citation with the City of Los Angeles. An oddity as I have never actually been to Los Angeles, and certainly not in my own car. I once went to Anaheim, but there I took cabs and never left the Disneyland Resort area.
It seems that when I traded in the Forester, the car made its way out to Los Angeles either as part of a fleet deal, or as a rental. I'm not sure. At any rate, at some point in September, someone driving my former ride received a parking violation. And as the City of LA doesn't maintain updated State of Texas tax records or whatever, they've sent me the violation.
Not wanting to pay someone else's $70 ticket, I sent the City of LA a letter saying "I didn't own this car at this time. Thanks for playing." This, of course, did nothing. And so Jamie sent in a copy of the trade agreement. Here's where things get wacky and where bureaucracy falls apart.
About two weeks ago I called to follow up after receiving a letter that essentially said "Oh yes, you do too own that car." I talked to a person named Lupe on the phone who said "Oh, yes. We do have the right documentation. Call back n 3 to 5 days and we'll get this straightened out."
I called back in seven working days to give them time (hey, I'm busy... they're busy...). Apparently the state of California looks for some document called a "Transfer of Liability" which we don't have in Texas. Because I didn't submit this document, the city of LA doesn't seem to know what to do. In addition, because the transfer of title wasn't from California, Lupe (who I happened upon again) said she couldn't read the document, but from what she described, she was looking at the right document. At the time, I agreed to send in a copy of some other documentation, but upon returning home figured out that I HAD sent in the right documents.
I called back today to check on things and tell them what I had sent them, and today Jessica said "Sir, you said you'd send in the documentation..."
"Yeah, that was before I realized you had my paperwork. You have all the paperwork I have. That's all we have in Texas."
"But you said-"
"I know what I said. Now I'm telling you, you HAVE the paperwork you asked for before. I was calling from work and wasn't sure."
"You said you'd send a FAX-" (I actually never said that)
"It doesn't MATTER what I said before. You have my documentation."
"All I have from you is a letter and two pieces of blank paper".
"Why would I send in two pieces of blank paper?"
"Sir, I don't know."
"I can't help it if your scanner doesn't work, but you guys had this documentation before."
"I don't see it, sir."
So I am kind of wondering what the @#$% is going on at the City of Los Angeles Parking Violations Bureau.
I do know its run by nitwits, and that in order to speak to a supervisor, I will have to wait 72 hours. 72 HOURS.
But here's the kicker. I could hear people discussing my situation in the background during the call. I kept hearing "Austin" and "Texas". Pretty clearly whatever system they have going isn't working. And has already passed some deadline which means I will have, at best, an arrest warrant out for my name in LA. At worst, they could put this against my credit score.
What I am trying not to do is spend a huge amount of time on this problem, but I am increasingly frustrated with my inability to prove I did not own a car the City of LA's least impressive public servants claim I owned.
If an attorneys want to start sending letters on letterhead, I can send you the address.
I think as far back as October, I received a notice of a parking citation with the City of Los Angeles. An oddity as I have never actually been to Los Angeles, and certainly not in my own car. I once went to Anaheim, but there I took cabs and never left the Disneyland Resort area.
It seems that when I traded in the Forester, the car made its way out to Los Angeles either as part of a fleet deal, or as a rental. I'm not sure. At any rate, at some point in September, someone driving my former ride received a parking violation. And as the City of LA doesn't maintain updated State of Texas tax records or whatever, they've sent me the violation.
Not wanting to pay someone else's $70 ticket, I sent the City of LA a letter saying "I didn't own this car at this time. Thanks for playing." This, of course, did nothing. And so Jamie sent in a copy of the trade agreement. Here's where things get wacky and where bureaucracy falls apart.
About two weeks ago I called to follow up after receiving a letter that essentially said "Oh yes, you do too own that car." I talked to a person named Lupe on the phone who said "Oh, yes. We do have the right documentation. Call back n 3 to 5 days and we'll get this straightened out."
I called back in seven working days to give them time (hey, I'm busy... they're busy...). Apparently the state of California looks for some document called a "Transfer of Liability" which we don't have in Texas. Because I didn't submit this document, the city of LA doesn't seem to know what to do. In addition, because the transfer of title wasn't from California, Lupe (who I happened upon again) said she couldn't read the document, but from what she described, she was looking at the right document. At the time, I agreed to send in a copy of some other documentation, but upon returning home figured out that I HAD sent in the right documents.
I called back today to check on things and tell them what I had sent them, and today Jessica said "Sir, you said you'd send in the documentation..."
"Yeah, that was before I realized you had my paperwork. You have all the paperwork I have. That's all we have in Texas."
"But you said-"
"I know what I said. Now I'm telling you, you HAVE the paperwork you asked for before. I was calling from work and wasn't sure."
"You said you'd send a FAX-" (I actually never said that)
"It doesn't MATTER what I said before. You have my documentation."
"All I have from you is a letter and two pieces of blank paper".
"Why would I send in two pieces of blank paper?"
"Sir, I don't know."
"I can't help it if your scanner doesn't work, but you guys had this documentation before."
"I don't see it, sir."
So I am kind of wondering what the @#$% is going on at the City of Los Angeles Parking Violations Bureau.
I do know its run by nitwits, and that in order to speak to a supervisor, I will have to wait 72 hours. 72 HOURS.
But here's the kicker. I could hear people discussing my situation in the background during the call. I kept hearing "Austin" and "Texas". Pretty clearly whatever system they have going isn't working. And has already passed some deadline which means I will have, at best, an arrest warrant out for my name in LA. At worst, they could put this against my credit score.
What I am trying not to do is spend a huge amount of time on this problem, but I am increasingly frustrated with my inability to prove I did not own a car the City of LA's least impressive public servants claim I owned.
If an attorneys want to start sending letters on letterhead, I can send you the address.
Holiday Bowl
Not many people get to watch their two former employers duke it out on the gridiron, but last night I watched UT play ASU in the Holiday Bowl. I was a bit nervous about the game going in as UT's performance toward the end of teh regular season hadn't been anything to write home about, while ASU had their best season in recent memory. Add in the disdain most folks in Arizona have for Texas in general, plus the bad taste in their mouth about Ut beating USC a few years back in the Rose Bowl, and I wasn't sure what to expect.
Well, I needn't of worried. UT came out strong and scored on their first drive. The UT defense, which had looked less than intimidating all season, came out of the gate pummeling ASU's quarterback Rudy Carpenter, and more or less had him on the ropes through the first half. There was an odd play that should have buried ASU and ended the game early on when Carpenter fumbled and the ball came loose. UT picked up the ball near the sideline after some crazy bobbling, and got the turn over with great field position. However...
A mysterious figure on the sideline for UT decided to get involved and, according to the refs, touched the ball. This wound up giving the ball back to ASU in a 4th and goal situation, which, sadly, led to ASU's first touch down.
It looked like momentum might swing back to ASU, and had it done so, the name Chris Jessie would have been mud in Austin for the next ten years. However, on review, its hard to say that Mr. Jessie actually touched the ball. It certainly didn't make the ball dead, and it never seemed to, in any way, effect the momentum or trajectory of the ball. But, nonetheless, Mr. Jessie would have been responsible for one of the most unfortunate plays in UT history.
Here's highlights, the play, etc...
And poor Chris Jessie
Fortunately, UT pulled it out with a solid win against ASU, 52-34.
Well, I needn't of worried. UT came out strong and scored on their first drive. The UT defense, which had looked less than intimidating all season, came out of the gate pummeling ASU's quarterback Rudy Carpenter, and more or less had him on the ropes through the first half. There was an odd play that should have buried ASU and ended the game early on when Carpenter fumbled and the ball came loose. UT picked up the ball near the sideline after some crazy bobbling, and got the turn over with great field position. However...
A mysterious figure on the sideline for UT decided to get involved and, according to the refs, touched the ball. This wound up giving the ball back to ASU in a 4th and goal situation, which, sadly, led to ASU's first touch down.
It looked like momentum might swing back to ASU, and had it done so, the name Chris Jessie would have been mud in Austin for the next ten years. However, on review, its hard to say that Mr. Jessie actually touched the ball. It certainly didn't make the ball dead, and it never seemed to, in any way, effect the momentum or trajectory of the ball. But, nonetheless, Mr. Jessie would have been responsible for one of the most unfortunate plays in UT history.
Here's highlights, the play, etc...
And poor Chris Jessie
Fortunately, UT pulled it out with a solid win against ASU, 52-34.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Christmas Wrap-Up
Hey, Leaguers
Well, we had a small hiccup in our plans and Jamie's dialysis unit sort of had a problem with the dialysis she was supposed to have in Houston/ Spring. So, we returned this afternoon/ evening.
I am a weird sort of tired.
Mel came with us on our trip, and he is sacked out now, taking up the whole couch. Poor little Lucy spent Christmas away from the family at doggy resort Austin Pet Ranch, and Jeff stayed home to keep guard over our valuables. Luckily, Cassidy was also able to make the trip, so we had her eager little face following us around during our stay in Spring.
We arrived in Spring on Sunday afternoon, the last folks to show up at my parent's house. Jason had taken point and gone in on Friday, and my grandparents got into Houston an hour or so before Jamie and I arrived. My grandparents live in Florida, and as we don't travel much, and as we didn't make it it home for Christmas the last few times my grandparents were in Houston, it had been a few years since we'd seen each other. Luckily, ain't none of us change too much, so it wasn't too tough to pick up where we left off.
Christmas Eve day the Bridenstines came over as Wayne and Jane were in town, and it was my first chance to see Cousin John and Julie's baby, Brandy. She is cute and babyish, but still very tiny and not yet up to much other than looking at you with big eyes and occasionally sticking her tongue out. Christmas Eve was lovely, with a dinner we ran out and grabbed from Rudy's BBQ. We hit one of the 5 Christmas Eve services at my folk's church, then came back and had some egg nog and played Cranium. Yes, Team Steans Bros. won.
Christmas morning we enjoyed Jamie's famous roll-wreath, and then the gifting of loot began.
Here's the big news, I suppose: I received a bass guitar and amp for Christmas from my folks and Jason. So, really, the clock is ticking on me quitting my job and Jamie getting used to being the wife of a musician, what with me touring and rocking all the time. It's a lovely, shiny blue Yamaha, and I plan to be rockin' out on the thing under Jason's tutelage. Really, I'm very excited. It's something totally new for me that I've always wanted to try. So if anyone wants in NOW on joining the Ryan Steans Bass-heavy Experience, let me know.
From Jamie came the big surprise present. I got a copy of Superman #199, the first race between Superman and The Flash (before Randy asks: they tie). This is one of maybe five comics that I've always wanted a copy of, and I had no idea it was coming. Well done, Jamie.
Jason had to leave to be back at work for today (your tax dollars at work, Travis County tax-payer), and so he left after watching me down about two pounds of ham at Christmas dinner. Not much else happened.
Anyhoo, this morning we had a trip to IHOP with the family, loaded ourselves into the car and were home by evening. Jamie had dialysis tonight, and aside from that, we laid low. I also just saw I missed a call from JAL, and we WERE supposed to meet up tonight. Sorry, man. My phone turned off and I didn't notice. It's been doing that. Hope you and Gene had fun.
So... that was Christmas. I could also talk about how I worked with the Admiral to hook-up the wireless router in their office, or the walk I took with Mel, but, you know... who cares?
I did not make it to Bedrock City, but I am headed down to Austin Books on Saturday, if anyone wants to go. I'm going to limit myself strictly to cheap Superman back-issues, so we'll see what happens.
Oh, and when we got home, a present was waiting in the mail for me from Jamie's brother, Doug. Somewhere, somehow, he'd found a lunchbox with images "Superman: The Movie" on it. It still had the thermos and none of that weird lunch box smell you sometimes find in vintage lunchboxes. So, yes... I now have a lunchbox with an image of Marlon Brando on it. Where's your Streetcar Named Desire luncbox? Hmmmmmm?
Hope you had a good few days off, and, if you celebrated the day, I hope you had a good Christmas. Also, Merry Christmas to Judy and Dick, who are currently in Portugal. Live it up, in-laws. Next year we're in San Marcos.
I'm sort of off for a few days, so I'm hoping to have time to read comics and maybe crack this Cormac McCarthy book I picked up.
Well, we had a small hiccup in our plans and Jamie's dialysis unit sort of had a problem with the dialysis she was supposed to have in Houston/ Spring. So, we returned this afternoon/ evening.
I am a weird sort of tired.
Mel came with us on our trip, and he is sacked out now, taking up the whole couch. Poor little Lucy spent Christmas away from the family at doggy resort Austin Pet Ranch, and Jeff stayed home to keep guard over our valuables. Luckily, Cassidy was also able to make the trip, so we had her eager little face following us around during our stay in Spring.
We arrived in Spring on Sunday afternoon, the last folks to show up at my parent's house. Jason had taken point and gone in on Friday, and my grandparents got into Houston an hour or so before Jamie and I arrived. My grandparents live in Florida, and as we don't travel much, and as we didn't make it it home for Christmas the last few times my grandparents were in Houston, it had been a few years since we'd seen each other. Luckily, ain't none of us change too much, so it wasn't too tough to pick up where we left off.
Christmas Eve day the Bridenstines came over as Wayne and Jane were in town, and it was my first chance to see Cousin John and Julie's baby, Brandy. She is cute and babyish, but still very tiny and not yet up to much other than looking at you with big eyes and occasionally sticking her tongue out. Christmas Eve was lovely, with a dinner we ran out and grabbed from Rudy's BBQ. We hit one of the 5 Christmas Eve services at my folk's church, then came back and had some egg nog and played Cranium. Yes, Team Steans Bros. won.
Christmas morning we enjoyed Jamie's famous roll-wreath, and then the gifting of loot began.
Here's the big news, I suppose: I received a bass guitar and amp for Christmas from my folks and Jason. So, really, the clock is ticking on me quitting my job and Jamie getting used to being the wife of a musician, what with me touring and rocking all the time. It's a lovely, shiny blue Yamaha, and I plan to be rockin' out on the thing under Jason's tutelage. Really, I'm very excited. It's something totally new for me that I've always wanted to try. So if anyone wants in NOW on joining the Ryan Steans Bass-heavy Experience, let me know.
From Jamie came the big surprise present. I got a copy of Superman #199, the first race between Superman and The Flash (before Randy asks: they tie). This is one of maybe five comics that I've always wanted a copy of, and I had no idea it was coming. Well done, Jamie.
Jason had to leave to be back at work for today (your tax dollars at work, Travis County tax-payer), and so he left after watching me down about two pounds of ham at Christmas dinner. Not much else happened.
Anyhoo, this morning we had a trip to IHOP with the family, loaded ourselves into the car and were home by evening. Jamie had dialysis tonight, and aside from that, we laid low. I also just saw I missed a call from JAL, and we WERE supposed to meet up tonight. Sorry, man. My phone turned off and I didn't notice. It's been doing that. Hope you and Gene had fun.
So... that was Christmas. I could also talk about how I worked with the Admiral to hook-up the wireless router in their office, or the walk I took with Mel, but, you know... who cares?
I did not make it to Bedrock City, but I am headed down to Austin Books on Saturday, if anyone wants to go. I'm going to limit myself strictly to cheap Superman back-issues, so we'll see what happens.
Oh, and when we got home, a present was waiting in the mail for me from Jamie's brother, Doug. Somewhere, somehow, he'd found a lunchbox with images "Superman: The Movie" on it. It still had the thermos and none of that weird lunch box smell you sometimes find in vintage lunchboxes. So, yes... I now have a lunchbox with an image of Marlon Brando on it. Where's your Streetcar Named Desire luncbox? Hmmmmmm?
Hope you had a good few days off, and, if you celebrated the day, I hope you had a good Christmas. Also, Merry Christmas to Judy and Dick, who are currently in Portugal. Live it up, in-laws. Next year we're in San Marcos.
I'm sort of off for a few days, so I'm hoping to have time to read comics and maybe crack this Cormac McCarthy book I picked up.
Monday, December 24, 2007
Merry Christmas from League of Melbotis
Merry Christmas from all of us at League of Melbotis to all of you and yours.
-Ryan, Jamie, Melbotis, Lucy and Jeff the Cat (Jason, Cassidy, KareBear and The Admiral)
Hope yours is a Merry Christmas
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Christmas: Gettin' out of town
Hey Leaguers,
We head out a little later today for Spring, Texas, which is sure to be a winter wonderland.
We planned on being back on Thursday evening, but something got screwed up with Jamie's dialysis schedule, and so we're having to come back a day early, right after Christmas. The biggest impact is that now we'll not get to see any friends while in Houston, so my apologies to Randy and Family, as well as Shannon and Josh.
Yesterday we wrapped presents and packed, as well as did some last minute shopping with Heather Wagner for her family. And, yeah, the stores were crazy. Which made my trip to go pick something up for Cousin John's new kid something I knew I'd have to brace myself for. I also bought myself a pair of pants for goin' to Church, and even the fat-guy store was busy. Mostly full of fat guys buying pants for church, I think.
This is probably my last post for a few days. So Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to one and all! We wish you and yours the best this season. May the days be merry and bright. Be safe. We'll see you on the other side of Christmas.
We head out a little later today for Spring, Texas, which is sure to be a winter wonderland.
We planned on being back on Thursday evening, but something got screwed up with Jamie's dialysis schedule, and so we're having to come back a day early, right after Christmas. The biggest impact is that now we'll not get to see any friends while in Houston, so my apologies to Randy and Family, as well as Shannon and Josh.
Yesterday we wrapped presents and packed, as well as did some last minute shopping with Heather Wagner for her family. And, yeah, the stores were crazy. Which made my trip to go pick something up for Cousin John's new kid something I knew I'd have to brace myself for. I also bought myself a pair of pants for goin' to Church, and even the fat-guy store was busy. Mostly full of fat guys buying pants for church, I think.
This is probably my last post for a few days. So Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to one and all! We wish you and yours the best this season. May the days be merry and bright. Be safe. We'll see you on the other side of Christmas.
Friday, December 21, 2007
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Green Lantern
The stuff that has been going on in Green Lantern since "Rebirth" is some of the best thought-out and most engaging comics coming out of DC. I highly recommend picking up both the Johns-penned GL comics as well as the Gibbons and Tomasi-penned GL Corps.
Not only did Johns take us from kick-starting a formerly dead Hal Jordan and returning him as a major force in the DCU, he made a Corps that made sense and has expanded the scope of the Corps and their universe by several degrees. He also set up the need for four Lanterns and embraced all of them as equals, a scenario which works well for the GL fans who usually prefer to bicker over which Lantern should get the spotlight. And all since 2004. Well done.
But I also really wish DC would put the GL Corps stuff from around issue 200 - end of series back in print. I may have to start picking up back issues.
If you've ever read a GL comic, the panel above is absolutely huge. And is why I plan on reading GL Corps until 2010. The conclusion of the Sinestro Corps War went ahead and told us in 2009 we'll see the beginning of an event called "Blackest Night", and we'll begin to see the other Corps begin to form in the coming year.
Weird, wild stuff.
Reading List:
Rebirth
No Fear
Revenge of the Green Lanterns
Wanted: Hal Jordan
GL Corps: Recharge
GL Corps: To Be a Lantern
GL Corps: The Dark Side of Green
Sinestro Corps War Volume 1
Not only did Johns take us from kick-starting a formerly dead Hal Jordan and returning him as a major force in the DCU, he made a Corps that made sense and has expanded the scope of the Corps and their universe by several degrees. He also set up the need for four Lanterns and embraced all of them as equals, a scenario which works well for the GL fans who usually prefer to bicker over which Lantern should get the spotlight. And all since 2004. Well done.
But I also really wish DC would put the GL Corps stuff from around issue 200 - end of series back in print. I may have to start picking up back issues.
If you've ever read a GL comic, the panel above is absolutely huge. And is why I plan on reading GL Corps until 2010. The conclusion of the Sinestro Corps War went ahead and told us in 2009 we'll see the beginning of an event called "Blackest Night", and we'll begin to see the other Corps begin to form in the coming year.
Weird, wild stuff.
Reading List:
Rebirth
No Fear
Revenge of the Green Lanterns
Wanted: Hal Jordan
GL Corps: Recharge
GL Corps: To Be a Lantern
GL Corps: The Dark Side of Green
Sinestro Corps War Volume 1
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Christmas 2008
I know you're already done buying and sending me presents for Christmas 2007, but if you're looking to get a jump on next year:
Hal Jordan/ Sinestro bookends. Only $300.
Hal Jordan/ Sinestro bookends. Only $300.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Dark Knight Trailer is now up
You can see a trailer for Dark Knight here.
Personally, I'm looking forward to the movie. It's interesting to see the "toyetic" parts of the Batman franchise coming to a crossroads with the post-Crisis/ first appearance of Joker interpretation of the Clown Prince of Crime. That's more or less what I want my Batman to be on the screen. Now, if they could just work in a Norm Breyfogle designed Batmobile.
If only they had taken a page from Morrison's book and done the Joker a bit more like the chap in "Arkham Asylum".
Anything is better than the Joker now appearing in Salvation Run. It's like Willingham wasn't even really trying.
Personally, I'm looking forward to the movie. It's interesting to see the "toyetic" parts of the Batman franchise coming to a crossroads with the post-Crisis/ first appearance of Joker interpretation of the Clown Prince of Crime. That's more or less what I want my Batman to be on the screen. Now, if they could just work in a Norm Breyfogle designed Batmobile.
If only they had taken a page from Morrison's book and done the Joker a bit more like the chap in "Arkham Asylum".
Anything is better than the Joker now appearing in Salvation Run. It's like Willingham wasn't even really trying.
More Northcross Mall Coverage
Jason also waxes nostalgic regarding our trip to the mall. He discusses it a bit more throughly than myself and makes some comment as to the why's and wherefore's of how the place may have begun to spiral.
Plus, he liked Golden Compass better than me, so give his comments a quick review.
Plus, he liked Golden Compass better than me, so give his comments a quick review.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
I've Got a Golden Compass...
Well, the big news is that I think my folks have signed paperwork and will be building a house in North Austin. Super huge news as far as Jamie, Jason and myself are concerned. I will now be surrounded by parents on all sides. No getting out of town in the dark of night now.
We're very happy to have the folks coming to town for a multitude of reasons, just as we were quite pleased when Jamie's folks announced their intention to relocate to San Marcos. I tell you this much Leaguers, its going to make traveling during the holidays a heck of a lot easier.
Yesterday high school and college pal Erica Foster and her husband, Scott, happened to be in town, and so they swung by. It's really been a while since we've seen Erica, unless you count her wedding. Which I sorta do, but, you know, she didn't really get much of a chance to chit-chat, and we only met Scott briefly. It's always nice to see your friends married a good guy, and Scott is that. So... Well done, Bug. Jamie and I were quite impressed.
Hope to see you over Christmas.
Speaking of KOHS folks, former high school lab chum Jeff Wilser popped up in the old e-mailbox on Friday. Sounds like Wilser is doing very well. He's landed an editorial job for a NYC-based entertainment and nightlife review website. Not a bad gig, and its kinda cool to hear the guy you used to play lacrosse with and dissect the occasional pig fetus has done pretty darn well for himself.
We met up with my parents at Houston's Restaurant on Anderson Ln., but had an hour or so to kill before we were to see The Golden Compass at the Village Alamo. And so, we headed over to Northcross Mall to see if any of the shops were still open.
I wouldn't say Northcross was the busiest mall in Austin, but it's located in the middle of a good neighborhood, there should be a lot of traffic around it, and, hey... it had an ice rink.
I recall seeing "The Muppets Take Manhattan" at its movie theater in 1984 or so, and continued seeing movies there through the first year or two of college. I bought my copy of Cure's Disintegration at the Sam Goody there, and, I believe, Beastie Boys' License to Ill. It wasn't a huge mall, being Austin's first mall, but there wasn't anything really wrong with it.
But now, aside from a fairly dumpy video game shop, that almost seemed to be begging people to steal from it, a Sports Authority where Oshman's had once built a huge sports-plex/ store, and a still functional ice rink, there really isn't anything there. Well, oddly, there's still one of those places where you can go in and record a song in a booth.
There also seems to have once been a church congregating in a part of the mall, but they're gone. The food court and a whole wing of the mall are covered in drywall, so you can't really go there. The wing where the movie theater once stood may or may not be used for conferences now. I couldn't tell if that operationw as still functional.
But as we had time to kill before the movie, I really didn't know what to do but hang out there and sort of soak in the vibe. They're supposedly going to plow the whole place under next year and put in a gigantic Wal-Mart, despite the protests of the areas' residents. No doubt the Wal-Mart would do better than the tomb of a building that remains (I walked through the middle of the dried out fountain), but it seems like its wrong for such an old neighborhood to play host to a Wal-Mart that would be serving people not actually from that neighborhood.
I dunno. Maybe a Thunderdome?
The whole thing had a weird feel of saying good-bye to a place, if not a thing. I don't have a lot of memories tied up in a mall. But I do recall the puppies at the PetLand. And I remember Jason admitting to me (he being 17 and me 15) that he really hated Christmas shopping at the mall, a sentiment that I remember finding odd. I hadn't really thought about it until then. It was just something you had to do, like going to the dentist. But as he now had his own wheels (a swanky Camaro), I think he had a little more time to ponder what sort of shopping horror he would face down in the weeks leading to Christmas.
We watched some adult players knock a puck around the ice for a while (I don't think they were heating the building), and finally crossed the street to go see the Golden Compass.
The Golden Compass isn't bad, per se. It is very, very heavy on exposition for the first half of the movie, and you certainly get the feeling stuff is happening because that's how it happened in the book, not because the director and editor were able to get the momentum of the book culled from the footage. It's an odd disconnect, because the movie is really pretty, the performances are great, and the animal CG performers are terrific and seamless.
In part, the movie suffers because it feels the need to explain everything to the viewer like a manual rather than letting the characters discover anything, or else by letting us know what the deal is with their fairly complicated world by dialog and having a bit of faith in the audience. In setting up the world, the plot itself gets somewhat lost, and, honestly, I can't really piece together much, but it seems the Golden Compass should have just been called Deus Ex Machina for a goodly portion of the film.
Oh, also, the film is a big, poorly disguised allegory that I don't see a lot of America embracing.
I'm not sure how balloon-driving cowboys fit into the allegory exactly. Or Polar bears.
The girls sitting next to me certainly liked the movie. They cheered every time an animal appeared on the screen. Which is pretty much every other shot. They also found Daniel Craig dreamy. I did have to ask them to please keep it down, but they mostly were just really into the movie in a way in which I was not.
I guess if you're on the fence, the polar bears are pretty cool.
We're very happy to have the folks coming to town for a multitude of reasons, just as we were quite pleased when Jamie's folks announced their intention to relocate to San Marcos. I tell you this much Leaguers, its going to make traveling during the holidays a heck of a lot easier.
Yesterday high school and college pal Erica Foster and her husband, Scott, happened to be in town, and so they swung by. It's really been a while since we've seen Erica, unless you count her wedding. Which I sorta do, but, you know, she didn't really get much of a chance to chit-chat, and we only met Scott briefly. It's always nice to see your friends married a good guy, and Scott is that. So... Well done, Bug. Jamie and I were quite impressed.
Hope to see you over Christmas.
Speaking of KOHS folks, former high school lab chum Jeff Wilser popped up in the old e-mailbox on Friday. Sounds like Wilser is doing very well. He's landed an editorial job for a NYC-based entertainment and nightlife review website. Not a bad gig, and its kinda cool to hear the guy you used to play lacrosse with and dissect the occasional pig fetus has done pretty darn well for himself.
We met up with my parents at Houston's Restaurant on Anderson Ln., but had an hour or so to kill before we were to see The Golden Compass at the Village Alamo. And so, we headed over to Northcross Mall to see if any of the shops were still open.
I wouldn't say Northcross was the busiest mall in Austin, but it's located in the middle of a good neighborhood, there should be a lot of traffic around it, and, hey... it had an ice rink.
I recall seeing "The Muppets Take Manhattan" at its movie theater in 1984 or so, and continued seeing movies there through the first year or two of college. I bought my copy of Cure's Disintegration at the Sam Goody there, and, I believe, Beastie Boys' License to Ill. It wasn't a huge mall, being Austin's first mall, but there wasn't anything really wrong with it.
But now, aside from a fairly dumpy video game shop, that almost seemed to be begging people to steal from it, a Sports Authority where Oshman's had once built a huge sports-plex/ store, and a still functional ice rink, there really isn't anything there. Well, oddly, there's still one of those places where you can go in and record a song in a booth.
There also seems to have once been a church congregating in a part of the mall, but they're gone. The food court and a whole wing of the mall are covered in drywall, so you can't really go there. The wing where the movie theater once stood may or may not be used for conferences now. I couldn't tell if that operationw as still functional.
But as we had time to kill before the movie, I really didn't know what to do but hang out there and sort of soak in the vibe. They're supposedly going to plow the whole place under next year and put in a gigantic Wal-Mart, despite the protests of the areas' residents. No doubt the Wal-Mart would do better than the tomb of a building that remains (I walked through the middle of the dried out fountain), but it seems like its wrong for such an old neighborhood to play host to a Wal-Mart that would be serving people not actually from that neighborhood.
I dunno. Maybe a Thunderdome?
The whole thing had a weird feel of saying good-bye to a place, if not a thing. I don't have a lot of memories tied up in a mall. But I do recall the puppies at the PetLand. And I remember Jason admitting to me (he being 17 and me 15) that he really hated Christmas shopping at the mall, a sentiment that I remember finding odd. I hadn't really thought about it until then. It was just something you had to do, like going to the dentist. But as he now had his own wheels (a swanky Camaro), I think he had a little more time to ponder what sort of shopping horror he would face down in the weeks leading to Christmas.
We watched some adult players knock a puck around the ice for a while (I don't think they were heating the building), and finally crossed the street to go see the Golden Compass.
The Golden Compass isn't bad, per se. It is very, very heavy on exposition for the first half of the movie, and you certainly get the feeling stuff is happening because that's how it happened in the book, not because the director and editor were able to get the momentum of the book culled from the footage. It's an odd disconnect, because the movie is really pretty, the performances are great, and the animal CG performers are terrific and seamless.
In part, the movie suffers because it feels the need to explain everything to the viewer like a manual rather than letting the characters discover anything, or else by letting us know what the deal is with their fairly complicated world by dialog and having a bit of faith in the audience. In setting up the world, the plot itself gets somewhat lost, and, honestly, I can't really piece together much, but it seems the Golden Compass should have just been called Deus Ex Machina for a goodly portion of the film.
Oh, also, the film is a big, poorly disguised allegory that I don't see a lot of America embracing.
I'm not sure how balloon-driving cowboys fit into the allegory exactly. Or Polar bears.
The girls sitting next to me certainly liked the movie. They cheered every time an animal appeared on the screen. Which is pretty much every other shot. They also found Daniel Craig dreamy. I did have to ask them to please keep it down, but they mostly were just really into the movie in a way in which I was not.
I guess if you're on the fence, the polar bears are pretty cool.
Friday, December 14, 2007
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