Martian Rock Samples

2010 Film Releases

2010-01-10T20:49:00.000-08:00

I've been tracking some movies that are
slated for theatrical release this year.
There will be many more to add, and I've
probably made some mistakes--I'll correct
them over time. Please send me any info!
Thanks to www.aintitcoolnews.com and
www.imdb.com for all their help.

January
8---Daybreakers
15--Fish Tank
----Book Of Eli-dir: The Hughes Bros
22--Legion-dir: Scott Stewart
29--Edge Of Darkness

February
5---Frozen
12--The Wolfman
----Beauty & The Beast 3-D (Disney)
----Percy Jackson & The Olympians:
The Lightning Thief-dir: Chris Columbus
19--Shutter Island-dir: Martin Scorsese
26--Cop Out-dir: Kevin Smith

March
5---Alice In Wonderland 3-D-dir: Tim Burton
12--Green Zone-dir: Paul Greengrass
19--The Runaways
----Hot Tub Time Machine
----Chloe
----Season Of The Witch
26--Clash Of The Titans
----I Love You Phillip Morris

April
9---The Losers
16--Kick-Ass
----Piranha 3-D-dir: Alexandre Aja
23--Wallstreet 2: Money Never Sleeps
30--A Nightmare On Elm Street

May
7---Iron Man 2-dir: Jon Favreau
14--Robin Hood-dir: Ridley Scott
18--Jonah Hex
28--Prince Of Persia: Sands Of Time

June
4---Get Him To The Greek
11--The A-Team
18--Toy Story 3 in 3-D-dir: Lee Unkrich
30--The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

July
2---The Last Airbender-dir: M. Night
Shyamalan
7---Predators-dir: Nimrod Antal
16--Inception-dir: Christopher Nolan
----The Sorcerer's Apprentice
23--Dinner For Schmucks-dir: Jay Roach
30--Morning Glory

August
6---The Other Guys-dir: Adam McKay
20--The Expendables-dir: Sylvester Stallone
27--Priest

September
1---The American-dir: Anton Corbjin
24--Guardians Of Ga'Hoole

October
1---Your Highness-dir: David Gordon Green
15--Social Network-dir: David Fincher

November
5---Due Date-dir: Todd Phillips
19--Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Pt 1
24--Rapunzel
----Red Dawn

December
17--Tron Legacy-dir: Joseph Kosinski
----How Do You Know?-dir: James L. Brooks
22--The Green Hornet-dir: Michel Gondry

Lessons Learned From Life On The Road

2009-11-20T00:30:00.000-08:00

Spending roughly 400 minutes on the road every week allows
me to learn from the "professional" drivers. I'm grateful for
their teaching:

Lesson 1: It's always a good time to make sure your brakes work

Someone is waiting to turn onto the roadway, perhaps
50 yards ahead. The rear view mirror shows no one
behind me. The seconds tick by, "1, 2, 3..." and
the driver pulls out right in front of me.

Conclusion: My brakes do work! Thanks for helping me test them!

Lesson 2: The highway is like a NASCAR track, just less
elliptical

I'll be on the highway, and see in the rear view mirror
a fellow motorist weaving back and forth, gaining one
car length with each acceleration. If I was a trained
NASCAR driver like them, what would I do? I've lost
contact with my pit crew. Drats! That police officer
pulled them over for their autograph.

Conclusion: The rookie never wins.

Lesson 3: Drive really close behind someone so they can see
you more clearly.

Boy, that motorist behind me sure has bright headlights.
I'm glad they're not in my blindspot. Maybe if my car
stalled they could push me to safety at a moment's
notice. If my dome light didn't function the illumination
could help me read a map.

Conclusion: Don't utilize Lesson One here unless you're a
certified road rules instructor. When they do
eventually pass follow suite to demonstrate your
knowledge of Lesson 3, perhaps using high beams
for effect.

Lesson 4: A "Yield" sign doesn't count if you're late, you have
to use the restroom or your life is more important
than other motorists'.

With countless construction sites strewn all over the
highway, it is confusing to "Yield" when the sign is posted.
It is easier for everyone if a motorist just enters the
roadway when they want to. It saves them time, and also
reinforces Lesson 1.

Conclusion: Yield signs are make-believe, like Global Warming,
dinosaurs and Thank You notes.

Lesson 5: I don't use turn signals because you should know
when I'm turning and where I'm going. I'm "thinking"
at you right now...

Telepathy is a better alternative to turn signals. Some
people forget to turn their blinkers off--that shows how
ineffective they are. Don't you see what kind of car I'm
driving? I can turn when I want to, because I probably have
better lawyers and insurance than you. If I'm two lanes away
from my exit, my sense of entitlement allows me to cut
across the freeway and get to my destination. My phone
is in my left hand, I'm driving with my right--don't you see
me looking to the right. That means I'm going to turn to
the right--how simple, and no turn signal needed. If you're
waiting to pull out on the street, and I have my turn signal
on, this is a test of your telepathic skills. See, I didn't
turn, you pulled out in front of me and now I'm picturing my
lawyer. See how importantly I silently bluster? How I have
to draw my cellphone away from my face, in order for my mouth
to contort into a "WHAAAAATTTT THE" shape.

Conclusion: Until you develop advanced telepathic skills, you
should probably carpool with others, or take a cab.

What lessons have you learned recently?

Why Am I Blogging?

2009-05-27T23:35:00.000-07:00

With all sorts of new-fangled ways of self-promotion,
such as Facebook and Twitter, why keep up a Web Log?

I've always been a fan of written journals. Writing
down life's moments like a Captain's Log seemed to
give the present meaning, and the past resonance.
If someone happened to stumble across your secret
thoughts days or years later, you could communicate with
them in an archeological way.

In 2009 people have lost touch with reading between the lines.
Something happens to someone, and they post it (I am
guilty of this). What motivates people to do the
things they post about?

I expect the next step in digital voyeurism to be personal
24/7 webcams, like "Being John Doe" instead of Malkovich.
I would call it "SoloCasting".

Many computers have HAL9000-type electric eyes which sit
passively watching day and night, but what about a wearable cam?
No computer needed, it would use existing WiFi to send
a live video feed to anyone who was interested.
Don't want to broadcast some moment in your life?
Switch off the device.

This is similar to reality TV shows, which have been
around awhile. But the TV cameras never seem to capture
anyone doing anything creative, just reactions to each
other and the ensuing "drama".

How do artists create their masterworks? How do poets
come up with the next line? What urges someone to step
into the street and push/pull another to safety? Any
person or profession would be made more interesting with
SoloCasting. I have never seen these moments on reality TV
(COPS does manage to create respect for law enforcement, and
for the camera person running alongside the action).

There's the privacy factor--but "1984" is so 25 years ago.
This would be created as the next step in entertainment.
A SoloCaster would have to choose the "rating" of their SoloCast,
by editing out or including certain elements of their life.
But the goal would be to take away the power of the media
and the paparazzi, who seem to glorify lurid, provocative and
scandalous imagery. Celebrities would lose their wondrous
aura when compared with real people achieving real,
selfless acts--broadcast for free. Would someone run into
a burning building to help others faster if they knew their
SoloCast was beaming the act to millions of people?
Would there be a reduction in crime if would-be
criminals knew there were potentially thousands
of cameras ready to catch them in the act (including
their own SoloCast)?

Every moment we spend reading about other people's lives
takes us away from doing something ourselves, but there's
a feeling of community. That seems to be a reason things
like Facebook and Twitter thrive. Every second I spend
watching TV covering the Octomom or Paris Hilton I could
be writing a song or assisting someone in need. But
which is easier? That TV remote is so user-friendly.

Writing in a journal seems old-school, but I like it.
Blogging seems close to a journal, so I'm happy about that.
Hopefully someone perusing these pages 200 years from now will be
entertained, and they'll post to their friends on Verbosus 2209 or whatever.

What About The Metric System?

2009-02-16T23:11:00.000-08:00

February 17, 2009 was supposed to be the date that
digital television transmissions officially took
over for analog broadcasts. For some reason
the event has been pushed into June. It didn't
seem like a big deal to me.

Some possible events that WOULD be life-altering:

*Switching to the metric system--according to
Wikipedia, the United States, Liberia and
Myanmar are the only countries not using
The International System Of Units. Maybe
we'll adopt a love of soccer someday too.

*3-D TV broadcasts--would this future format
send countless MORE actors and actresses to
plastic surgeons?

*Real estate development in the Pacific Trash
Vortex--tons of plastic is trapped in a
swirling mass in the Pacific Ocean. A prime
suburban area for future generations?

*The first humans on Mars.

*The discovery of anti-gravity/hyperdrive/
time travel/teleportation technologies.

In the meantime I'll watch my black and white
TV for a few months longer.

Excavating The Eighties/Running On Fumes

2009-02-07T17:40:00.000-08:00

Looking over this summer's crop of movie titles,
it seems like filmmakers are still relying on
fossil franchises to fuel their flicks.
As with the actual 1980s, I will probably
have mixed feelings towards them.

Here are a few examples I've heard about:

Street Fighter: The Legend Of Chun-Li--
February 27, 2009
Director: Andrzej Barkowiak
Is a "Tekken" or "Soul Calibur" movie
too hard to ask for? Virtua Fighter,
Killer Instinct, Primal Rage, Streets
Of Rage or even Final Fight?

Watchmen--March 6, 2009
Director: Zack Snyder
The classic '80s graphic novel is brought to
life at last. Didn't take this long
for "30 Days Of Night," "Wanted" or "300".

Race to Witch Mountain--March 13, 2009
Director: Andy Fickman
Alien kids with strange powers?
Sounds like a 25+ year old concept.
At least they can digitally erase the
strings holding up the camper this time.

Star Trek--May 8, 2009
Director: J.J. Abrams
There was the original series,
an animated series, a Captain Kirk set
of films and sequels, a Captain Picard set
of sequels, four spin-off TV shows, an
excellent parody-homage film, and
yet the trailer portrays a cool world
to boldly go to. Curious.

Terminator: Salvation--May 22, 2009
Director: McG
According to the news an evil version
of Christian Bale arrived from the future
and made trouble on set, perhaps sent by
a future audience who saw the film?

Land Of The Lost--June 5, 2009
Director: Brad Silberling
The original show aired in 1974.
Perhaps the title fits the year
2009 better.

Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen--
June 26, 2009
Director: Michael Bay
My first impressions of the
first movie transformed upon
seeing the finished product.
Then "WALL*E" became my
favorite robot-based film.
There is supposed to be a
director's cut of "Metropolis"
arriving someday. Until then,
this could be the film to beat.

G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra--
August 7, 2009
Director: Stephen Sommers
I think a "Micronauts" movie
would have been a better choice.
What about "Shogun Warriors"?

It will be interesting to see
the remakes of "The Love Guru",
"Meet Dave" and "Starship Troopers"
in 20 years.

35 years of 'Hearts of Space'

2008-12-29T23:08:00.000-08:00

Today I was informed by NPR that the weekly "space music"
program 'Hearts of Space' was celebrating its 25th year
on the air. The show officially began in 1973, but was
not syndicated until 1983.

I remember listening to the show at night
during summers spent in New Jersey. It definitely
showcases sleep-inducing music most of the time, without
the sleepwalking side-effect of Ambien. It also doesn't
always have a clear message or agenda. Sometimes it is nice
to listen to music that doesn't pummel you, punish your
ears or push you into slaying small animals.

Host Steven Hill has hypnotic interludes between
songs, flatly informing the audience about songs
and artists.

Some artists that I've been introduced to on 'HOS':
*Philip Glass
*Andreas Vollenweider
*Oystein Sevag
*Brian Eno
*Isao Tomita
*david torn
*Ryuichi Sakamoto
*George Winston

Steven Hill and 'Hearts of Space', thanks for
lulling people into deep space and deep sleep
for the last 35 years!

Happy Birthday!

2008-11-10T23:42:00.000-08:00

It is my wife's birthday on
November 11.

Christmas On Mars

2008-11-10T23:36:00.000-08:00

The new album/movie from the Flaming Lips
arrives in stores on November 11, 2008.
It supposedly took Lips' frontman Wayne
Coyne about seven years to film this
epic.

If you have listened to and enjoyed their
music in the past, perhaps this will interest
you.

Eye Candy For Halloween

2008-10-30T00:16:00.000-07:00

Here are some suggestions for odd, strange
and interesting movies or shows that might
go well with Halloween, along with other
back-ups:

Mad Monster Party-1968
Directed by Jules Bass

The original stop-motion
nightmare that came before
Christmas. Maybe more of
a fever dream than a
nightmare.
Look for "Monster Squad" as
an alternate if you can't find
this one.

Face/Off-1997
Directed by John Woo

Not really related to the
season, but does involve
mask-wearing, so to speak.
Look for Nicolas Cage in "8mm" or
"Wild At Heart" as alternates.

The Dark Crystal-1982
Directed by Jim Henson/Frank Oz

The Muppets on mind-altering
drugs. So many practical effects
that still look cool.

If you're tired of this
one, go directly to "Labyrinth".

Mirrormask-2005
Directed by Dave McKean

Written by Neil Gaiman, produced
by Jim Henson's company. So many
unique CG effects that look cool.

Go to "Stardust" for a Neil-penned
alternate.

Frankenweenie
Vincent
Directed by Tim Burton

It's not possible to leave
Tim off the list. You've seen
"Edward Scissorhands" enough,
right?

For a more violent Burton, go
to "Sleepy Hollow".

Eraserhead-1977
Directed by David Lynch

Like eating a whole bag
of candy corn--do you feel
sick? Possibly a sugar rush?

Go to "Twin Peaks" or "Blue
Velvet" for other brushes with
weirdness.

Return To Oz-1985
Directed by Walter Murch

The definitive Oz movie.

Perhaps "The Neverending Story"
holds more memories for you.

The Fly-1986
Directed by David Cronenberg

More romantic and sad
then you might have
remembered. Still very
gory.

Go to "Dead Ringers" or
"eXistenZ" for more trippiness.

Amazing Stories-1985
"Mummy, Daddy" directed by William
Dear (Season 1)
"Go To The Head Of The Class"
directed by Robert Zemeckis (S2)

Go to "Twilight Zone-The Movie"
for more serialized twitchy tales.

The Frighteners-1996
Directed by Peter Jackson

A trick-or-treat bag cross-section.
Comedic, philosophical, gross,
chaotic.

Go to "Dead Alive" for more
funny/gory scares, or "Heavenly
Creatures" for murderers.

Of course there are so many
more. There's always next year.

Subtext

2008-10-29T22:28:00.000-07:00

I have observed many people "texting" each other,
and have wanted to follow suit but it is not
in my cellphone plan. So that makes it an
upgrade product for me, along with digital
cable, HD radio, premium gas and "Super Sizing".

I like the idea of sending abbreviated thoughts,
but I think it would be cooler if it was based
on Morse Code, Latin or stenographer's shorthand.
You would have to learn how to text in school,
like typing. Then the skill could crossover
into a real-world application or career,
like a court position or the medical field.

I wonder what the text abbreviations look like in
other languages.

It would be cool if you could switch to other
text "fonts", like 'hobo signs', 'Greek alphabet',
'wingdings' or 'punctuation only'. Then people
would be forced to think about how to communicate
without plain letters. Emoticons are about
the closest text messaging gets to creativity.

I think Prince should get royalties from
the texting community, because song listings
from his albums reveal the foundation of
the form.

It would be cool if future phones could
use their internal camera to recognize
American Sign Language (faster to sign
than type, plus no keyboard needed).
This would allow texters the chance
to learn a whole new way of communicating
with their fellow humans, not just
an abbreviated form of one they know.

The Hulk Goes Ape In NYC

2008-10-22T23:09:00.000-07:00

Watched "The Incredible Hulk" on DVD recently.
Thought it was a solid effort, with CG that
reminded me of Peter Jackson's "King Kong"
in some spots. There's a sequence with
the Hulk and Betty Ross that reminded
me of the sunset sequence in Kong.

Add this movie to the growing list of
cinematic smash 'em ups in NYC (all three
Spider-Man movies, Cloverfield, I Am
Legend to name a few.)

Some nice nods to the TV series,
such as Bill Bixby appearing on television
in Bruce Banner's Brazilian apartment, Lou
Ferrigno making a quick appearance, along with
the haunting "Lonely Man" theme in the
soundtrack. I also thought I heard a
campus reporter referred to as "McGee".

A brief reference to purple stretch pants
was funny, and a close-up of Banner's
glowing green eyes during transformation
brought back memories of the TV series
as well.

This past summer Hulk was the id,
Iron Man the ego. Perhaps we'll see
Captain America as the super-ego soon?

Marvel Studios seems to be on a roll,
but I'm still looking forward to the
"Watchmen" along with Frank Miller's
version of "The Spirit".

HMD

2008-10-18T00:13:00.001-07:00

October 18th is "Home Movie Day" for many people
around the world. This occasion celebrates
the classic 8mm, Super 8 and 16mm films that
families produced during the past 40 years.
These movies have chronicled epic birthday parties,
breathtaking trips to the beach or Disney World and
other life events. Inevitably there was a lot of waving
at the camera because the films lacked sound.

One of the most fun parts of watching a home
movie was rewatching it backwards after the
film had ended. This is hard to simulate
with modern video cameras, because a celluloid movie's
playback is at the correct frame-rate, not "rewound" or
"fast forwarded" like video, which loses frames.

A cool example would be someone diving into a
pool. Backwards, the person emerges from the
water like a missile from a submarine.

Here is a link to the official HMD website for the
whole world:

http://www.homemovieday.com/locations.html

BAM! SPLAT! CRASH!...RIP

2008-10-18T00:06:00.000-07:00

Neal Hefti, composer, arranger and jazz trumpeter passed away
on October 15, 2008. He wrote the theme for "The Odd Couple"
as well as the 1960's Batman TV series title tune, along with
many other compositions for TV and cinema.

She Blinded Me With Candles

2008-10-17T23:52:00.000-07:00

Thomas Dolby turned 50 on October 14th.
He talks about it in his Blog:

http://blog.thomasdolby.com

Happy birthday, Thomas!

Duplicity

2008-09-11T23:52:00.000-07:00

I recently found out that "Harry Potter and the
Deathly Hallows" and "The Hobbit" are going to be
two-part cinematic adaptations of their respective books.
I started doing some math to find out how much value
we received from the previous HP film versions.

I used the page count for the 1st edition
hardcovers for Harry Potter and the standard
DVD run times. The ideal should be a 1:1 ratio,
to get the best value for our hard-earned money:

Sorcerer's Stone
Book--309 pages
Movie--152 minutes
Pages/Minute ratio: 2.03

Chamber of Secrets
Book--352 pages
Movie--161 minutes
Pages/Minute ratio: 2.19

Prisoner Of Azkaban
Book--448 pages
Movie--142 minutes
Pages/Minute ratio: 3.15 We're Getting Less Value...

Goblet Of Fire
Book--734 pages
Movie--157 minutes
Pages/Minute ratio: 4.68

Order Of The Phoenix
Book--870 pages
Movie--139 minutes
Pages/Minute ratio: 6.26 We've lost quite a bit...

Half Blood Prince is 652 pages. A movie
version that is 200 minutes long would
yield a 3.26 Pages/Minute ratio, improving
upon the "Order of the Phoenix" figure.

Deathly Hallows is 784 pages, but will be
two movies. Suddenly 784 pages is too
long to be one film.

The average length of the
five previous movies is 150 minutes.

"Deathly Hallows" 784 pages divided by 2 is 392,
divided by 150 minutes is 2.61 Pages/Minute.
We've regained our value, but we should
have had a two-part "Prisoner Of Azkaban",
"Goblet of Fire", definitely a multiple
"Order Of The Phoenix" and a To Be Continued
"Half Blood Prince" using the studio's logic
(any book over 392 pages?)

This is not even taking into consideration
that many pages were left out in the
movie adaptations, decreasing the
Pages/Minute ratio value substantially.

But beware the fan-produced HP lexicon
concocted in Grand Rapids, Michigan...

Pop Culture Nodules

2008-09-11T07:51:00.000-07:00

Just some nuggets of thought on
several different items from the
Summer:

*MTV VMAs--what videos?

*WALL*E--where were the doctor bots?
Were the robots programmed with any
"laws"? Perhaps there were nanobots
working inside the humans, helping
keep processes going. There were no
graveyards on the ship, so the space
cruisers must have been thriving.

*"The Fall"--new movie on DVD from
director Tarsem Singh. This could
have been an M. Night film, but it
actually resonated and seemed worth
the trip. Happier than "Pan's Labyrinth"
by just a bit (double spoiler).

*"Viva La Vida" by Coldplay--got pretty
good towards the middle of the album.

*Palin for VP--I always think of "Michael"
when I hear that last name. Think of his
character's bureaucratic potential in the
movie "Brazil" (probably a Republican in that
one too).

*The Olympics in HD--the visual technology
portrays healthy individuals rather well.
What will the 2009 switch show the world
about the plastic surgeon carved visages
of Hollywood? Time for the HD filters!

*HD radio--with digitized static for free?

*The "Watchmen" trailer looks good--
we will watch the Watchmen.

*Blu-Ray technology--wants to oust the DVD,
but still priced like Laser Discs.

Turning Down The House

2008-07-16T21:27:00.000-07:00

Whilst listening to NPR on the 45 minute
commute to work, I heard mention
of David Byrne rigging up a building
for musical purposes. He has created
a giant architectural instrument:

www.davidbyrne.com/art/art_projects/playing_the_building/index.php

Now I just need to get to New York to play it!

Goodbye Stan Winston

2008-06-18T00:38:00.000-07:00

Stan Winston, giant of the creature effects
industry in Hollywood, has passed away.

Some favorite works that Winston was
involved in:

*Iron Man (2008)
*A.I. (2001)
*Galaxy Quest (1999)
*T2 3-D:Battle Across Time (1996)
(featured at Universal Studios Florida)
*Terminator 2:Judgement Day (1991)
*Amazing Stories:Go To The Head Of The
Class (1986)
*The Thing (1982)
*Heartbeeps (1981)

Rock the Vote!

2008-04-23T22:53:00.000-07:00

Check out a remix Thomas Dolby did of a
Radiohead song:
http://www.radioheadremix.com/remix/?id=1825

If you like it, vote for it.

Perhaps check out the official Dolby
site for the latest musings after that:
http://blog.thomasdolby.com/

Year Of The Rat

2008-02-16T23:32:00.000-08:00

Finally had a chance to watch "Ratatouille"--
viewed the first half on Blu-Ray at my brother
and sister-in-law's, and the second half on
Standard Definition DVD at home. On BD,
you can see a tiny Maynard Krebbs-ish
stubble on Linguini's chin, and also minute
details such as uneven matting of rat fur
and complex reflections in sloshing water.

It contains some ambitious animation, and
some interesting twists and turns. There
are also some "old school" humor sections,
relying on vaudeville-type slapstick,
versus the brain melting content of programs
on the Disney Channel (Why does every line
seem like it's shouted on those TV shows?
What's with the mugging, the guffawing?
It's like "Hee Haw" with more obliviousness
and less banjos. If Clark Kent just changed
his hair color to become Superman, I'm sure
Lois Lane would have caught on faster than
a concert could sell out of tickets).

Some lessons:
*"Anyone can cook!"
Also:
Always wash your hands (or paws) before
preparing food (this probably would have
helped during The Black Plague)
*Not all food comes from behind a counter
wrapped in festive packaging, in various
super-sizings
*Your hair follicles are linked to your
motor skills--maybe not
*For some reason the US cut The Dixie Chicks
slack for hating on Bush and the war.
How about some warmed-up leftover love for
the French? The movie avoids jokes about
mimes and body odor, which is refreshing.

I still enjoy Brad Bird's "The Incredibles"
more, but "Ratatouille" definitely deserves
the Academy Award this year.

I remember seeing a Disney animated short
called "Ben and Me" (1953) when I was a kid.
It involved a mouse's influence on Benjamin
Franklin during some of history's most
momentous events (and it sat under his hat!).
I don't think I read any national reviews for
"Ratatouille" that cited this appetizer to
the main course.

Look for a hilarious short on the DVD
that defends rats--including why the
Bubonic Plague was not all their fault!

Some other famous Rats:
Mozart, Winston Churchill, George Washington,
Truman Capote

Driver's Edge

2008-02-08T14:36:00.000-08:00

Commuting back and forth from Grand Rapids and
Holland has brought the harsh reality of modern
driver's training into focus for me.

Some new rules of the road that I've noticed:
*Turn signals are out--blindspots are in.

*A 4-way stop means--you stop, then go, no
matter your time of arrival at that juncture.

*Doctors and dentists have bought cars with
headlights ported over from their examining
rooms (eye doctors have handheld versions). These
lights probably beam through aluminum and fiberglass
when they're switched to "high beam". When viewed
in a rear view mirror, there is a risk of
temporary blindness or retinal bleeding for
the focal driver. Maintain a minimum distance
of a foot behind your fellow drivers, to increase
business for the medical profession.

*To "merge" now means forcing your way into
traffic at any cost. If road rage ensues,
utilize driving within a few feet's distance,
along with the doctor's headlights mentioned
above.

*If an extremely expensive stereo system is
installed in your car, it is illegal to listen
to classical music.

*Never fully stop your car, for fear that Newton's
Law may stop working. If you appproach an
intersection or turn, keep your proverbial "foot
in the door" to show others you could easily
intersect their path.

*At a traffic stop, Yellow is now Green, as is Red
if you are more late or important than your fellow
drivers. You can also decide to turn in front
of oncoming traffic when the light changes to Green,
to improve your cellphone reception.

*If pedestrians get in your way, especially in
parking lots, lunge at them and motion vigorously
showing them you have airbags and they don't.

*If yellow lines are present on the pavement,
treat them like suggestive graffiti.

If a handicapped spot
exists, use the "Finders, Keepers" motto.

*If a fellow driver is waiting for your
spot at the gas station, go inside instead
of paying at the pump. Look around the
store for awhile, talk to the clerks,
complain about the coffee, peruse all the
papers on the stand, and then shrug when
climbing back into your vehicle 30 minutes
later.

Blues In (H)D

2008-02-08T14:02:00.000-08:00

I noticed a
Toshiba HD DVD player in Circuit City's ad this week
for $149.99, which also includes 7 HD DVD titles.

Very cheap. Very tempting.

Other gadgets that successfully managed to tempt me:
*Sega Genesis in 1991--$129.99
That gets played quite a bit these days--
by dust bunnies.

*Sega CD ROM a few years later--$199.99
It stopped recognizing Sega CDs; currently hibernating in
some box, along with the Menacer, 32X and Activator.

*HiFi VCR in 1994--$229.99
It started eating tapes in the late 90s,
so it was destroyed like a rogue tiger.

*Laser Disc player in the mid 90s--$299.99
It decided to stop recognizing discs in disgust
of my DVD player, purchased in 1999.
What a great price for a paper weight.

I was really eager to buy a MiniDisc player,
but never got around to it. I was watching
the price of one at Walmart, but it was
clearanced out. Now it's probably deep fried
in the oily MP3 crooning of twangy tarts and
towtrucks.

A sidenote:
It's strange that our local TV listing still includes
the Plus codes for all the shows--who is still
using that technology?

For some reason the Blu-Ray players haven't
dropped in price at all. I bet Sony's thinking:
"Who's the Beta now?"

Perhaps I'm not as tempted as I thought.

Dangerous Daze

2008-01-30T23:39:00.000-08:00

Finally had a chance to dig into Blade Runner:
The Final Cut 4 disc set that I got for Christmas.
I considered asking for the 5 disc Blu-ray version
(even though we don't have a BD player yet) because
the price would have been comparable for either
item on Amazon.com!

I skipped to the second disc to view the making-of
stuff, which interests me quite a bit. I knew
that there was plenty of controversial bickering
and arguing between everyone involved, but
other stuff came to light as well:

*One of the original working titles for the movie:
"Dangerous Days"

*Dustin Hoffman was considered for the Rick Deckard
role

*The top of the police station was a model part
reused from "Close Encounters Of The Third Kind:
Extended Cut"--interior of the mothership

*All the effects were in-camera or optical--
matte paintings, multiple passes, models,
miniatures--refreshing to see looking back
in an age of pixellated polishing

*Edward James Olmos concocted the city speak
language on his own, mixing many dialects
including Hungarian

*Rutger Hauer ad-libbed the "Tears In Rain"
ending line for his rooftop requiem

I'm intrigued by the "work print" that is
included on disc 5 of the other Ultimate
Collector's Edition--worth another $30.00?
Oh right, there's a metal briefcase included
as well.

I also watched the first disc--The Final Cut--
and it looks and sounds excellent on Standard
Definition. The Vangelis score alone is
worth the investment.

I hope Blade Runner is unable to be cloned--
there isn't a need for a remake considering
the four versions of the movie to choose from.
Maybe something will be improved upon in the
future Green or Yellow-ray editions.

Apology To Hyperlinks

2008-01-08T16:46:00.000-08:00

Sorry, hyperlinks; you're cool.

I think I've just heard the
words "Britney" and "Spears"
strung together on the news
one too many times, and it
caused some side-effects,
including the need to diss
non-living objects.

Temporarily.

Hyperlinks Stink

2008-01-02T16:11:00.000-08:00

I don't like to hyperlink sites
I refer to.

I have found myself reading other
Blogs, clicking on a link and then
not returning to read the rest of
the post.

That seems rude.

Perhaps I'll put any links at the
bottom of text--but then there's
the temptation to skip ahead, click
on the link and move on.

Cutting and pasting never hurt anyone.

"Switch off the mind and let the heart decide..."

2008-01-02T15:58:00.000-08:00

I've been reading Thomas Dolby's Blog for the past few
years, and I'm always struck by his down-to-(flat)
earthiness.

For example, he recently purchased an old lifeboat
to convert into a studio. Not a yacht, or some other
million-dollar sailing behemoth, but an ancient wooden
vessel.

The purchase and transportation of said craft
is chronicled a few posts back, here:

http://blog.thomasdolby.com

He still performs and releases albums, and always
surprises his Blog readers with clever posts and
official and fan photos.

Make a habit of checking out his site this year!

Commodore gx

2007-12-21T21:51:00.000-08:00

The sleeper has awakened...

The Commodore brand is back!

http://www.commodoregaming.com/pcshop/Game+PC/Commodore+gx.aspx

Their flagship product seems like it wants in
on the Alienware market action--and also has
an emulator that plays 50 C64 games!

A three-finger salute to the new reign of
Commodore!

Goodbye, V'GER 2

2007-12-12T06:40:00.000-08:00

I saw an article about Voyager 2, the
space probe sent out to boldly go into
the final frontier, and so forth.

http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/

NASA scientists have determined that
it has passed outside of our solar system,
just as Voyager 1 did awhile back.

The sixth outer space tourist in this
series catches the collective eye of
the Borg.

They scoop up Voyager 6 and fashion it
into a world consuming supermachine
known as V'Ger. (see "Star Trek:TMP")

Sort of like Galactus meets the Death Star.

So long Voyager 2, and thanks for all the
dish.

Rubik's Robots

2007-10-16T06:43:00.000-07:00

In the 1980's there was a line of toys that had everyone
scrambling to own--they were simple yet complex. There
were different combinations, but only one solution.
This was the Rubik's Cube (and its kin), and it made
someone a lot of money.

"Transformers", arriving today on DVD and HD-DVD is
another attempt to perplex, entertain and the make
the wealthy studio system wealthier.

The modern filmmakers at Dreamworks had a puzzle similar
to Rubik's, with their Transformers license. How could
they match up at least six different sides to perfection?

The various factions they seem to be dealing with:
1. The fanbase (the story has spread from toys to comics,
animated series, animated feature films, graphic novels)
2. CG junkies who must have their fix of photorealistic
effects
3. Attention deficited mainstream America
4. The non-fans--"Transwhat?"
5. Hasbro and Takara (makers of the original toys)
and their various toylines
6. Advertisers (supposedly product placement helps
reduce the ballooning budget for this type of movie)

After viewing the film in the theater, and also a couple
times on DVD, it seems like most of the surfaces align
well. The robots themselves seem to have been rolled
in scrap metal, Katamari-style. They change form
effortlessly, thanks to ILM and their army of computer
graphicians. These artists have come a long way from
"Roger! Roger!" and Jar Jar in The Phantom Menace.
Look for a reference to Jurassic Park featuring
a bad human's transportation.

It is interesting that the Autobots
(good guys) all take the form of automobiles/trucks,
and the Decepticons are primarily imitating military
vehicles. Does that cast an evil shadow over
armed forces? Cars are quite villainous--mine
breaks down regularly.

The story would have been a lot shorter
if the Autobots landed in the military base, and
assumed shapes from the American arsenal. But then
would the evil Decepticons have chosen cars, or
maybe construction equipment? The original fans
might have cried "foul", but there were other
liberties taken (Bumblebee reassigned from his VW
bug design).

The original cartoon had many robot variations,
including dinosaurs. There was even a cool computer
animated "Beast Wars" TV show. The Transformers
are portrayed with a "blending ability" in the
new movie--how about multiple forms for the same
character? Maybe Optimus Prime could have arrived
with his flat-nose truck design, and been pressured
into something different. Using Bumblebee's color
scheme and size he could probably pull off a
taxi cab, bulldozer or short bus.

With the Rubik's Cube, you couldn't just solve one
plane without changing the others. Sometimes the
film seems to use the "screwdriver" method (who
would do that to a harmless Rubik's Cube?) to solve
plot situations. The military is all over a
Decepticon helicopter overseas, but meteors landing
on Earth are met with people toting camcorders,
dissing "Armageddon". There is a good showdown at
the end, assembling military and civilian
forces. There is a Crazy Taxi approach to harming
humans who are in the way, but I did see Megatron
flick a bystander like a bug. Optimus races past
a crashing helicopter to save the hero, King Kong-
style--why not help out both situations? Cityscapes
under attack are still touchy--I think "Spider-Man 3"
featured a skyscraper with several floors exposed,
with the inhabitants scrambling to stay inside.
Transformers handles the collateral damage much
better--one scene shows an Autobot leaping over
a woman in the street in slow-motion, to engage an
evil opponent yards away. Visually pleasing and PC!

The story, like toys, MTV, and fast food, is meant to
please average tastes. Think "Battle Royale with
Cheese". As an upsell, look for the new live-action
"Iron Man" trailer after the closing credits. It
looks sharp.

So most of the puzzle is complete, the movie looks
great, but does the non-believer feel compelled to
give in and buy the DVD (or related merchandise/toys)?
Could the move to only release the title on HD-DVD
alienate those who have spent thousands on a Blu-Ray
home theater experience?

The HD-DVD format could bring certain things into
focus--the Mountain Dew/Burger King/auto ads strewn
throughout the film; the director's love of lens flare,
and using blazing light sources as transitions.

Is HD-DVD a Decepticon or an Autobot? In twenty more
years, what will remain as a treasure from this age--
the Transformers, Blu-Ray, or the Rubik's Cube?

A Little On The Lot

2007-09-11T00:04:00.000-07:00

I really hoped that the show "On The Lot" was
going to be ultracool. It had potential. It
had Steven Spielberg, who has done some
excellent things in the past. It was just
so disappointing.

The series has been finished for several
weeks now, and I've been thinking
about ways it could've been better:
*Guest directors/judges bring along a clip
of a student film or movie from early in
their career.
*Contestant's movies could be shown in
an actual theater, with the director
in the crowd (like a test screening).
*Find a way to avoid the whole "American
Idol" Vote For Me close-up, with the
contestant's number on the screen,
while the director apes the phone-hand
and holds up their number in fingers.
*Have judges visit the sets, and rate
different categories for the directors--
technical skills, patience, organization
*Give the directors a budget, to determine
if they can come in under/over.
*Fox should have broaccast the show in
true HD vs the vertical letterboxing
format

I guess I liked it better the first
time when it was called "Amazing Stories."

Goodbye Madeleine

2007-09-10T23:45:00.000-07:00

Before there was Harry Potter and Hogwart's there
was "A Wrinkle In Time", with Meg Murry and
Camazots.

Good bye, Madeleine L'Engle and thanks.

Traffic and Weather

2007-07-15T22:51:00.000-07:00

Great new album from Fountains Of Wayne--
"Traffic and Weather"

*Well-crafted songs and quirky lyrics abound
*Great production; excellent stereo soundscape
usage
*No big hit singles like "Stacy's Mom" but that
might be a good thing, considering America's
taste in music
*Melissa Auf Der Maur pops up in Track 1; James
Iha plays guitar on Track 14--is Billy Corgan
jealous?

I've seen Adam Schlesinger's writing credit appear
in strange places (theme song for "Crank Yankers"
on Comedy Central?)

Anyone else remember a recent Adam tune outside a
"Fountains Of Wayne" album?

Mars Needs Moms!

2007-05-04T22:20:00.000-07:00

Look for a new illustrated storybook
from Berkeley Breathed at your local
Barnes and Noble--"Mars Needs Moms!"--
a title I wish I had come up with first.

http://www.penguin.com/youngreaders

Hopefully Bill Watterson is scheming
up something interesting as well.

Animatus

2007-05-04T21:50:00.000-07:00

A few interesting animated DVD offerings,
coming soon for rental/purchase:

*Arthur and the Invisibles--May 15, '07
Computer-generated effort from Luc Besson
(he could've taken the easy road with
Leon--The Professional 2 or The Sixth
Element...) The publicity photos
make the characters look Trollz-like.
Could a big-screen Smurfs movie be
far off?

*Afro Samurai--May 22, '07
Samuel L. Jackson lends his voice to
a cool animated character--again (see
also "The Boondocks")

Releases will include an "Edited" version
(as seen on SPIKE TV)and a "Director's Cut".

*Highlander--The Search For Vengeance--
June 5, '07
Any Highlander incarnation is welcome at
this point. The anime format should win
over those who doubted the series'
longevity, or turn their stomach like
a meal of haggis.

*Hellboy:Blood and Iron--June 12, '07
Have you watched the previous animated
Hellboy release yet? Missed both of the
Cartoon Network airings? Catch them
both on DVD (perhaps there will be a
two-pack packaging for purchase).

Listen for Doug Jones' voice as Abe
Sapien, and also his unique blend of
mime and the macabre in "Pan's Labyrinth"
(May 15, '07) and as Galactus' herald
in "Fantastic Four:Rise Of The Silver
Silver" (June 15, '07).

Peter Ellenshaw

2007-02-15T21:48:00.000-08:00

Peter Ellenshaw, a skilled
matte painter and special
effects innovator has passed
away. He was 93 years old.
www.imdb.com/name/nm0254002/
www.ellenshaw.com/peterellenshaw.htm

Some of the movies he
contributed to:
20,000 Leagues Under The Sea (1954)
Mary Poppins (1964)
The Black Hole (1979)

His son, credited in some
movies as "P.S. Ellenshaw"
(such as "Star Wars Episode
IV" (1977)) and later as
"Harrison Ellenshaw" (in
"Tron"(1982) for example)
www.imdb.com/name/nm0254001/
carries on the family tradition
of exceptional movie effects.

Matte painters are called
upon to expand horizons and
create settings when actual
locations fall short.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matte_painting

For some reason this family
is not being covered in the news,
perhaps being overshadowed by the
legendary Smiths and their eerie
Bahamian/Floridian freakshow.

Pan's Labyrinth Nominations

2007-02-09T21:01:00.000-08:00

How many statuettes will Pan's walk
away with on February 25th?

Six potentials exist:

Best foreign language
film of the year--
Mexico

Original screenplay--
Guillermo del Toro

Achievement in art direction--
Art Direction: Eugenio Caballero
Set Decoration: Pilar Revuelta

Achievement in makeup--
David Martí and Montse Ribé

Achievement in cinematography--
Guillermo Navarro

Achievement in music
written for motion pictures
(Original Score)--
Javier Navarette

Go To Hellboy

2007-01-31T14:45:00.000-08:00

Just finished watching "Hellboy:Sword Of
Storms" on DVD, plus some of the extras.
The switch to animation is very well done.
The project was sent overseas for the
finishing touches, so it might get
compared to the Saturday morning fare.
But it falls more in the realm of
"Samurai Jack"--not so much in style,
but in the way that there's an
underlying mythology to everything.
You want to dig deeper into the
Hellboy comics, and maybe even rewatch
the movie after viewing this. It also
retains the humor of the film and comic,
which should appeal to adults and kids
(is it possible to make animation that
kids don't groove to? Don't say
"Ralph Bakshi", I just thought of that).

The San Diego Comic Con panel discussion
in the extras is very informative. I
thought I heard them talking about a
live-action "Hellboy 2" along with
another animated feature, and Mike
Mignola mentions a comic mini-series
arriving in stores soon.

Some interesting tidbits:
*Doug Jones, who portrayed Abe Sapien
in the live-action movie, supplies
the voice for his character vs.
David Hyde Pearce (Doug was also
key to "Pan's Labyrinth")
*Peri Gilpin, who worked with
Hyde Pearce on "Frasier" also
voices a role.
*Phil Lamarr is the voice behind
a couple characters--he was
also in the three "Samurai Jack"
seasons. This Hellboy story
unfolds in Japan, both past and
present--curious.
*Guillermo Del Toro drops a few
F-bombs in the panel discussion--
"Oh Crap!" Maybe he'll drop a
few at the Academy Awards when
he accepts his "Pan's Labyrinth"
Oscars (it's up for six).

If you're a casual or fanatic
Hellboy follower, this DVD is
worth a look!

Cinema 2007

2007-01-09T00:36:00.000-08:00

I've been looking around the Internet, gleaning
some info on movies that will be arriving this year.
The release dates are probably not set in stone.

Which ones to throw money at?
Which will be better as rentals?
Which to abhor altogether?

*The Messengers--February 2, 2007
Directed by Oxide Pang Chun and Danny Pang

*Ghost Rider--February 16, 2007
Directed by Mark Steven Johnson ("Daredevil")

*Smokin' Aces--March 2, 2007
Directed by Joe Carnahan

*Grindhouse--April 6, 2007
Directed by Robert Rodriguez and
Quentin Tarantino

*Spider-Man 3--May 4, 2007
Directed by Sam Raimi

*Shrek The Third--May 18, 2007

*Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End--
May 25, 2007

*Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer--
June 15, 2007

*Ratatouille--June 29, 2007
Directed by Brad Bird ("Family Dog", "Iron
Giant")

*Transformers--July 4, 2007
Directed by Michael Bay

*Harry Potter and The Order Of The Phoenix--
July 13, 2007

*The Simpson's Movie--July 27, 2007
From the mind of Matt Groening ("Life Is Hell")

*His Dark Materials: Golden Compass--
December 7, 2007

Others worth mentioning, but no dates:
*300--based on Frank Miller's graphic novel
*Aqua Teen Hunger Force Movie--rumor
*Beowulf
*Live Free or Die Hard--Die Hard IV
*Meet The Robinson's--Disney CG movie, but
not Pixar-created!
*Mr. Bean's Holiday
*Mr. Magorium's Magic Emporium
*National Treasure 2
*Sin City 2
*Sweeney Todd--directed by Tim Burton
*TMNT--a reboot of the franchise--not IV?
*Zodiac--directed by David Fincher

Two cool movies that aren't officially
from 2007(released overseas previously),
but I'd like to see them:
*Pan's Labyrinth--directed by Guillermo Del Toro
*Arthur & The Invisibles--from the mind of Luc Besson

Marathon Of Marathons

2006-12-27T23:09:00.000-08:00

Set your TiVOs for Cartoon Network's Marathons all this week:

Tuesday December 26--
The Boondocks Marathon 10:30 pm to 5:30 am

Wednesday December 27--
Robot Chicken Marathon 10:30 pm to 5:30 am

Thursday December 28--
Squidbillies Marathon 10:30 pm to 5:30 am

Saturday December 30--
Bleach Marathon 11 pm to 5:30 am

Sunday December 31--
Metalocalypse Marathon 10:30 pm to Dawn (?)

Also, they're showing Hellboy: Sword Of Storms on Saturday
at 9:30 pm.

Weird Al Yankovic

2006-10-03T22:00:00.000-07:00

Weird Al Yankovic has a new album in stores now--
"Straight Outta Lynwood".

His website has a free song to download that didn't
make it on the new disc--"You're Pitiful", a James
Blunt song parody.

There is also a link to his "Weird Al Show" on DVD.
Does anyone remember this odd TV creation?

Space-Age VHS?

2006-10-02T00:43:00.000-07:00

I have read a few things about Amazon.com's
new Unbox offering, and found this link:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/video/help/faq.html/ref=atv_dp_cdl_faq/

Downloading content--movies, TV shows--
seems to be the next big step for civilization?

I liked it better when it was called
"setting a VCR."

Thou Art You

2006-10-01T23:47:00.000-07:00

For some reason I found myself looking at Wikipedia's
entry for Grammatical person, and there was a reference
to a "second-person shooter" videogame, which sounded
interesting.

Why are people so comfortable with the first- and third-
person perspectives? I've been playing a lot of videogames
recently, and I thought it would be great if games broke
that tradition.

A bit of Googling produced this link:
http://blog.game-play.org.uk/?q=2ndPersonShooter

It details a game created by Julian Oliver, in which your
character is viewed from the perspective of an enemy,
or "as others see us".

It seems like the early Doom games for the PC had a face
icon on-screen, that would show the player's deteriorating
health, almost like having a rear-view mirror
aimed at yourself. Most games have switched to
lifebars/gauges with maps and radar for extra fun.

Sometimes driving games have a button designated
to reverse the camera angle, to show the challengers
racing up behind you, like you're sitting in the back
of a classic station wagon. Try keeping it in this
perspective for awhile and steering--more of a
challenge! Is that a "second-person" scenario?

I also thought of situations in horror movies in which
the camera moves through a scene, behaving and responding
to an actor as if the camera is the creature/threat. Usually
the character is oblivious, until the POV is just inches away.
The audience prepares for the character's response to this
slinking, hovering presence, as if we are the about to be
set upon actress (usually) or actor--"Turn around!"

Perhaps that is not an exact example of the concept.

I wonder if anyone dreams in the second-perspective?

Anyone else have any examples?

KBTV

2006-09-24T22:33:00.000-07:00

We allow TV to open its cyclopean eye a
few times a week. Here are some shows that might
be worth your time:

Monday--
On September 25th NBC will present the viewing public
with "Heroes". This might be a new, cool look at the
genre, or it could be an X-Men wannabe.

Wednesday--
"LOST" officially begins its third season on
October 4th, but there is a clips show on
Wednesday September 27th--
LOST--A Tale Of Survival.

This show brought back the 'story arc' concept,
which is a nice change from the scattershot
approach of most shows (new writers and
directors every season, with new ideas and
plans). Desmond is supposed to be a major
character this time around. There will
reportedly be much less of The Hatch.
Perhaps there will be a higher "answers"
to "mysteries" ratio this season.

A place I go for LOST spoilers:
http://www.spoilerfix.com/lost.php

Thursday--
"My Name Is Earl" is like a buddhist
"Dukes Of Hazzard" with an El Camino
instead of the General Lee.

There are hillbillies, they have good
intentions, they get into trouble, they get
out of trouble, and there's usually some
cleavage involved. There's a voiceover,
there's no laugh-track and there are enough
random humor moments to make it all
interesting.

Another show lacking the cursed laugh-track
is "The Office". We rented the original
with Ricky Gervais on DVD, and the
American version has done quite a good
job recreating its parent.

The show has a nice ad-libbed feel,
almost like "Arrested Development" did.
Lot's of looking at the camera, and non-verbal
communication. It covers some squirmy topics
which is always fun.

It is nice to know that "South Park" isn't the only
place to go for controversial content.

Another tidbit: Rainn Wilson (Dwight) was
reported to be Robert Anton Wilson's son,
in an article I read. But Wikipedia does
not firmly support this, so it might be
just Robert Wilson, who I have no link for.

Speaking of conspiracy theories, could
"Grey's Anatomy" be a reference to
extraterrestrial life?

Adult Swim is just so smugly cool,
so self-aware of its own power on
people like me. This doesn't bother
me, so I constantly soak-up hours
of it at a time.

G4TV is a lot more interesting
now that I have a PS2, but there
isn't any listing for it in the TV Guide.
It's kind of time-consuming to check
the schedule on the Internet.

Comedy Central always has a "Reno 911!",
"Mind Of Mencia" or "Drawn Together"
episode to boggle the senses. Sometimes
they're duds (like the last couple seasons of
SNL,) but on occasion they're comedic gold.

Anything dealing with doctors/plastic surgeons,
lawyers, CSI/law enforcement teams, house-
wives or anti-terrorism groups seems played out.
Where are shows extolling the common 30-
something man? The clerks? The meek that
shall inherit the earth?

TV, like Polyphemus, has been blinded
to fleece the masses.

Synth--You've Been Gone

2006-09-21T22:39:00.000-07:00

Turned on "The Jimmy Kimmel Show" after work tonight and
caught The Human League performing "Don't You Want Me"
LIVE!

I had lowered expectations as the performance began, thinking
they might have given in to a "remix" scenario. More drums?
A rap interlude? A bevy of gyrating bikini-clad dancers? Nope.

It sounded the same as when I first heard the song in the early
80's. Phil Oakey's voice sounded the same. It seemed like the
same women were back--Joanne Catherall and Susan Ann Sulley.
There was a keytar onstage! Electronic drum pads! No guitar or
bass guitar!

It appears that they have a new album and tour--supporting
"The Very Best Of The Human League" being released on CD.

Jimmy Kimmel's show has some sort of streaming download of
the performance, that I'm not going to link, because I don't recall
the address.

Maybe it's time to replace those Human League cassette tapes
I've been holding onto all these years...

Reanimator

2006-07-28T23:12:00.000-07:00

I read an article recently saying that the
Star Trek animated series will finally be released this
fall/winter. I don't remember many of the episodes
distinctly, but it might be fun to revisit on DVD.
The Amazon page had mention of the series running
from 1973-1975. Has it really been 33 years?

Possible release date: November 21, 2006
4 discs, 22 episodes

* * *

Another animated series that I recall a bit more is
Dungeons & Dragons. I found a page on Amazon showing
a DVD that is available, but I have heard a comprehensive
set is going to be on sale in the fall/winter. It's too bad
there weren't any toy tie-ins for this show. I guess the lead
miniatures that I painted obsessively were as good a toy
substitute as any.

It seems like there was some sort of stink raised by
certain groups when the show first aired. I think
the lead figurines posed more of a hazard.

Possible release date: November 7, 2006
4 discs, 27 episodes

The (Extortion) Ring Must Be Destroyed!

2006-07-14T23:06:00.000-07:00

I was looking through some Web articles and noticed a piece
on NEW The Lord Of The Rings DVD releases--scheduled
for August 29th, 2006.

Here is a link to Amazon's write-up of TLOTR: The
Fellowship Of The Ring.

It sounds like there will be two discs in each movie's set.
Disc 1 will be the Extended Edition, Disc 2 the
theatrical.

Each disc will be double-sided, with each side being a
dual-layer (they call it a DVD-18). It also seems that
the viewer will have to flip a disc to continue each movie
(reminds me of the old Side A and Side B on vinyl records).
With the previous Extended Editions there was some
disc swapping going on, so I guess that's not so annoying.

Supposedly George Lucas will be doing this same sort
of sleight-of-hand with his OT Star Wars movies,
on September 12th, 2006.

As if to say, "Those DVDs in your collection,
they're not the versions you're looking for..."

The studios will be eager to see if this sort of trick works,
so they can pull it over and over, with Back To The
Future, The Matrix, The Terminator and others.

It would be cool if George Lucas could ship actual
movie reels in the Episode IV set, because that would
be a closer approximation to how I originally viewed it
in 1977. I would also need my "cool" polyester clothes
back, and an "eye-widener" (a la Clockwork Orange)
to equate the feeling of that first viewing.

New links in sidebar!

2006-07-10T23:31:00.000-07:00

I added two new links to my sidebar:
Jim's excellent "Jim's Brain Online" and Thomas Dolby's personal Blog.
Both are loaded with great content. Plus they're fun to read.

For some reason I didn't abandon Thomas Dolby after the '80s
were over, and I'm glad. He just finished a tour, celebrated his
18th wedding anniversary (to Kathleen Beller--go find the movie
"The Sword and the Sorcerer" for perspective) and he always has
cool things to muse about.

Read and enjoy!

From Russia With Blood

2006-06-21T22:45:00.000-07:00

I recently rented an interesting movie--Nochnoy Dozor
or Night Watch. It reminded me of several American
films, including The Matrix, Constantine, a bit of Harry
Potter and Underworld. There was also a unique quality
to it as well. The plot has to do with supernatural beings
having some nasty scuffles in Moscow-- that seems
worth a look, right?

Some of the cinematography seemed to quote David
Fincher movies (let's follow wires with the camera!) I
read a factoid stating that it is part of a planned trilogy.
Please Hollywood, don't remake this movie series. The
current version is very cool on its own. Be sure to check
the flipside of the DVD--the original Russian language
cut of the movie is there, with excellent "active" English
subtitles. The captions float in and out of scenes, change
color and pop up in odd places. Maybe after a few
viewings this will be annoying, but it was a great change
of pace from the generic approach.

* * *

As a sidenote, there is a movie out now that is not good,
but still a fun time. Beyond The Wall Of Sleep, based on
a very short story by H.P Lovecraft manages to be very
funny and creepy (see ReAnimator and From Beyond
for more of this good-badness). Follow these simple steps
to decide if this is a movie for you--
1. You know H.P. Lovecraft's work
2. You are tired of the same, overwrought horror movies
of this century
3. You don't mind throwing a small amount of money away
for a movie that seems to have been cobbled together
by a group of friends in their spare time (worked for The
Blair Witch Project and Peter Jackson's Dead Alive.)

I repeat--this is not a good movie, but for the H.P.L.
completists out there, it is a must-see.

Thomas Dolby on Tour

2006-04-20T09:14:00.000-07:00

Thomas Dolby is currently on TOUR!

Thanks to Joe for the heads-up.

Check out the cool T-shirt/poster design!

MySpace--The Final Frontier?

2006-04-13T23:47:00.000-07:00

To prepare for my next album, "Free Refills On Mars," I signed-up at
MySpace. I wanted to just appear in the Music section, but I messed
up and appear in another part too--

www.myspace.com/warlordofmarz Music
www.myspace.com/70881567 Other section

This will probably be the next Geocities/Graffiti/Yahoo/AOL/MSN/
ICQ-type web presence for me (filling in useless fields: Who would
you most like to watch eat dog food? What is your favorite visible
color? What bands have you wasted good money on only to sell
their CDs at a yard sale?)

Meaning I will forget the log-in eventually, and it will just be another
chunk of data taking up room on a server somewhere.

My dream goal: I would love to write the music for Japanese
commercials, or maybe create ringtones (one of the last modern
vestiges of MIDI) or holding music for AT&T.

As a hobby, maybe.

If anyone would like to fill up the pages with all sorts of "cool clutter"
comments, feel free! ("Trepanning should be brought back, it rocks!"
or "I think Metallica--the original lineup--rulz, IMHO LOL")

I will be sending out promotional (free) copies of the new CD soon.
Do you want one? Let me know!

Hopefully I can figure out how to get a few MP3s onto MySpace
as well...

Weather Man

2006-03-30T21:20:00.000-08:00

Graphically Novel

2006-03-29T12:36:00.000-08:00

I remember one of the first comic adaptations I read--for the
original "Star Wars". Marvel hired Howard Chaykin to portray
George Lucas' "Episode IV--A New Hope" (1977) in comic form. I
bought that "adaptation" as soon as it was released. I recall thinking,
"Howard's art seems to be different from the movie I just watched a
couple weeks ago." Now take that concept and reverse it, and you'll
have Hollywood's current approach to adapting graphic novels. They
just aren't that similar to the source material. Is that really so bad?

A couple examples:
I just read through Alan Moore and Dave Lloyd's "V For Vendetta",
and Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill's "The League Of Extraordinary
Gentlemen Volume One." When I watched the accompanying filmed
versions, I understood why Alan Moore was grumpy. Conversely, I
wonder if Howard Chaykin was disappointed that people didn't like
his version of "Star Wars Episode IV"as much as the film? Is there a
hard, fast rule that 'whatever the first version was, it is always
better', when movies are involved?

Should a bit of forgiveness come into play?

Some of the comparisons that I've been thinking
about to test the theory--
"Star Trek--the original TV series" vs.
"Star Trek-- The Motion Picture" (1979)
The TV series was better, unless battling "Star Trek II--The Wrath
Of Khan." But then Star Trek:The Next Generation arrived on TV,
and I think that was able to surpass the original TV series and ALL
the Star Trek movies up to that point, looking at all seven
seasons.

"Shrek" the book vs. "Shrek" the movie (2001)
Find the original Shrek book at the library. It is a short, concise work
but I would judge the film "better" overall.

The original videogames vs. the filmed counterparts
Think about Mortal Kombat and Super Mario Brothers--the 16-bit
videogames were probably a bit more cool. The "Final Fantasy--
The Spirits Within" (2001) looked awesome, but the movie seemed
distant from its origin. "Resident Evil" (2002) the movie was fun
and fast-paced, with a lot less puzzles than the games (a plus?).

I bet "Pong--The Movie" would be great, if the Wachowski Brothers
were onboard.

Chris VanAllsberg books vs. accompanying movies--
Jumanji, The Polar Express, Zathura
The books are quick reads, and the movies are very "caulked"--lots
of things added to the originals. I haven't heard that Chris is as
grumpy as Alan Moore. Perhaps they should compare royalty
checks.

The Star Wars movies vs.
The Clone Wars animated series on Cartoon Network
Limit the comparison to Episodes I, II and III and the Clone Wars are
triumphant (cue appropriate John Williams' music).

Frank Miller's Sin City graphic novels vs.
"Frank Miller's Sin City" the movie
This would be one of the rare cases of a "tie". I ordered all
the graphic novels from the library (go do it online today!)
and the on-screen portrayal of the stories was eerily close.
It will be interesting to see the rest of the tales adapted.

Is there really a need for judgement? This is a comparison
of entertainment, versus judging someone's deeds in life or
a politician's career. Would it be fair to compare everyone
with their parents, siblings, or cousins?

So you say you're an individual; you're unique.

Write in with comparisons of your own!

Mirrormask on DVD

2006-02-10T23:46:00.000-08:00

Mirrormask is a great movie, from the minds of Neil Gaiman
and Dave McKean--it's too bad so few people went to see it in
the theater.

When the DVD arrives on February 14th, go rent (or buy) it!
It represents a creative approach to telling a story--versus
rehashing a previous effort--that needs to be encouraged in
the 21st century.

Some things I was reminded of when viewing it:
-Early Henry Selick animation (pre-Nightmare Before
Christmas) on MTV in the early 90's
-The CG series Reboot--especially Hexadecimal, a villainess of
many masks and powers
-The movie The City Of Lost Children
-The computer game Myst
-The movie Return To Oz

A contrasting film would be "Zathura," spawned by a similarly
talented artist, with effects wizardry from The Henson Group as well.
The problem I have with Zathura is: the two kids involved take such
a long time to warm-up to the idea of their home floating around in space.
That's a cool concept! Go with it! But there are the usual scenes of
"freaking out" and lots of "arrrgghhs" as limbs flail. The only female
character in the movie is frozen in place for the whole second reel.

Helena, the heroine in Mirrormask, instantly groks to her situation
and begins putting the pieces of her puzzling dreamworld together.
Is this realistic? Probably not to many short-attention span hellions,
but it's better than waiting for squabbling siblings to finally work
together an hour into a work of fiction (I've had enough of that in
real-life).

Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean have collaborated on many
projects before, but I think Mirrormask is a bold step for them
in a great new direction. They present family values without the
annoying Disney aftertaste, and offer problem-solving without
guns or explosions. Parent groups should uphold good movies
like this versus dissing the obvious targets--insert shoddily crafted
movie's title here.

Be sure to watch the extras too, including interviews with Neil and
Dave at a comic convention. The filming process is revealed to be
similar to that of Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Sin City
and Star Wars Episode III but with such a different and unique result.
See for yourself on February 14th!

Oh yeah, there's also some cool juggling.

Movies 2006

2006-02-01T20:50:00.000-08:00

Get ready for these cinematic gems in 2006:

*Ultraviolet--release date February 24, 2006 (according to amazon.com)
Update (2-15-06)--saw a commercial saying March 3rd is the real date--sorry
Director: Kurt Wimmer Rated: PG-13
Kurt made an interesting movie in 2002 called "Equilibrium."
I saw the trailer for "Ultraviolet" before viewing "Underworld:
Evolution." It looks like another attempt to take us back to the
Spring of 1999, when "The Matrix" stunned many filmgoers.
This movie could be The One, or perhaps just "The Fifth Element 2."

*V For Vendetta--release date March 17, 2006
Director: James McTeigue
Another movie that hopes to lure the Matrices crowd (The
Wachowski Brothers are behind this Alan Moore graphic novel
adaptation). But a lot of the original source material reads like a
Sergio Aragones' strip--what's going on? The Brothers will fill in the
blanks, no doubt. Maybe a return to "The Professional" form for
Natalie Portman?

*Ice Age 2:The Meltdown--release date March 31, 2006
Director: Carlos Saldanha
I liked the original. I liked "Robots." Neither were perfect products
from the 20th Century Fox Computer Animation appendage, but they
were good. This will probably be just 'good' as well. (Have you ever
looked at the word good--it's a strange word)

*edoC icniV aD ehT--I mean The Da Vinci Code--
Release date May 19, 2006
Director: Ron Howard
I accidentally typed "The Da Vinci Coed" and thought, "Well, that
could be a movie of an entirely different nature!"
Tom Hanks stars in this novel-to-film version, probably done in a
Monster Maker(remember that toy?) fashion--add ingredients
and shake well until the resulting product resembles the
"action/thriller" mold it is trapped in.

*X-Men 3--release date May 28, 2006
Director: Brett Ratner
With Jackie Chan as Sunfire--I keed, I keed!
Maybe they'll include the Danger Room this time around?

*Cars--release date June 9, 2006
Director: John Lasseter
Will any of the characters fly end-over-end into a crowd of onlookers?
Who did Disney write their $7.4 billion check to? Could you deposit
said check at an ATM?

*Superman Returns--release date June 30, 2006
Director: Bryan Singer
Kal-El Soze (misspelled I'm sure)

Some others I couldn't find the release dates for--

Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest; director: Gore Verbinski

Red Nails (see Joe's site)--on DVD
A Conan movie without Arnold Schwarzenegger?
It should be good then, right?

Arthur and the Minimoys; director: Luc Besson

Imitari Simia

2005-12-14T23:43:00.000-08:00

To prepare for a viewing of Peter Jackson's King Kong, I decided to do some research into the whole Kong phenomenon from 1933 to the present.

My first step was to rent the original "King Kong" from 1933, as well as "Son Of Kong," "Mighty Joe Young" and the 70's version of Kong as well. The older movies were interesting slices of film history. Watching classic cinema is similar to listening to classical music--you really have to watch/listen to the items uninterrupted. This is evidenced by the Turner Classic Movies channel--very few commercials.

Everyone seems to know little pieces of old movies by sight, and can recognize major themes from overtures and concertos. It is the in-between stuff that is often skipped. I refrained from chapter surfing. "Mighty Joe Young" had the most polished stop-motion animation, along with a slightly more upbeat storyline. The 70's Kong was a bit more painful to watch, but I did notice Carlo Rambaldi's name in the credits. He also worked on "E.T.", "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and the original "Alien." I was really won over by his extraterrestrial work, but the gorilla was not as convincing. What was it about E.T. that I connected with?

I skipped the Japanese takes on Kong (battling Godzilla and such). The newer "Mighty Joe Young" was rented out by someone else, but I have heard it contains passable CG work.
I feel slightly guilty about judging a movie's versimilatude based on something as petty as effects. What about the story, acting quality of the stars and overall message? Why is watching the original "Terminator" so distracting now? What about the original untouched "Star Wars" (if you can find it)? The movies haven't changed, I have.

I ordered "King Kong--Jean-Luc Ponty plays the music of Frank Zappa" from the library. Very jazzy. After listening to it, I didn't have any enlightenment about giant gorillas. But I do want to hear more of Zappa's work. Ponty plays a mean electric violin!

I hooked-up my ColecoVision and played a few levels of "Donkey Kong." There was a time when videogames were ruthlessly hard yet graphically simplistic, and I was instantly transported back to that age after about five minutes. Would a "gamer" from 2005 appreciate the historical significance? Who thought up that little mushroom joystick anyway? Pure evil.

I have read many reviews of the new "King Kong," and it seems that the current version contains a more believable main character, due to life-like CG work and performance capture.
I really liked Jackson's "The Lord Of The Rings" trilogy, and have high hopes for his new film.

Perhaps in 2077 the world will look back and scoff at how unrealistic the 2005 ape seems, just as some have done about the 1933 original. Have we reached a point where if something is less than perfect, it isn't worthy? I remember feeling excited/distraught/joyful throughout many parts of "E.T." in 1982, but now when I watch I think: "big rubber turtle". What was I bringing to the movie that wasn't there back then? Do filmmakers now have to use sharper and sharper CG scalpels to excise their audience's disbelief?

Some people listen to classical music, and they're bored. Some viewers of older movies are quick to criticize the "cheesy effects" or "wooden acting". When I watched George Lucas' Episode III, it reminded me of a 1930's movie as seen by hundreds of computer animators and a couple actors. Maybe his next project could be a remake of "Metropolis."

I am guilty of not being able to let something just "be" what it is. I have lost the ability to believe in something that doesn't seem real. Even videogames and TV shows are feeding into the "ultra real" mentality. But doesn't reality TV feel fake now?

Why do we demand so much from our illusions?

A Moment Of Shill

2005-12-06T15:40:00.000-08:00

Usually the weekly ads are very mundane, but I had to post this item from a recent Target flyer. If I had all the quarters back from the arcades I spent them in twenty years ago, the amount would probably cover the cost of this beast.

My first reaction was, "I would take this over an XBOX 360," but that's probably just my nostalgia talking.

Snowball Fight

2005-11-30T22:32:00.000-08:00

Everybody Was Leaf Fu Fighting!

2005-11-04T23:10:00.000-08:00

If A Blog Posts In A Digital Forest...

2005-11-01T23:56:00.000-08:00

This blog will be one year old soon.

So have I changed the world? Probably not.

Have there been any significant changes over the past 365 days here?
*I have four readers (maybe) instead of the two I began with.
*Those fake comments come in after every post now--
they're so complimentary (but disappointing), and signify nothing.
*I don't think I've posted any Nostradamus-like predictions that have come true.
I'll have to go back through the archives to check.
*I've been posting more photos; hopefully the readers have enjoyed those.

It kind of feels like a magazine subscription that is about to expire--should I do it another year? (It's free, so I guess that's a plus.) Supposedly there's money to be made with ads embedded within a Blog. I found a $20 bill on the ground a couple months ago, so I'll probably not resort to those blipverts yet. Finding money blown by the breeze seems more reliable.

The Blogging community reminds me of a giant unedited "Letters To The Editor" section of the Web. After awhile it resembles those bulletin boards you see on college campuses, with several layers worth of flyers, stapled on each other haphazardly. If that many people are put in a room with their own individual thoughts (and Internet access), are they bound to repeat others' "original" ideas and musings?

Do you want to put your leaflet over mine? That's cool. Do it.

It's kind of nice to just have a digital journal.

Thanks Blogger! Nice site you have here. I'll definitely bookmark you. By the way, I have a great link for you: www.theressomuchmoretolife.com. Keep up the good work!

Samhain Eve/Oidhche Shamhna/ Féile na Marbh

2005-10-30T22:37:00.000-08:00

All Hallow's Eve as well...

Depeche Mood

2005-10-06T21:43:00.000-07:00

I was looking over my CD collection the other day, after hearing that Depeche Mode has a new album due to arrive October 19th. I realized that somehow I had purchased three of their releases without remembering a single song from them--"Songs Of Faith and Devotion" (1993), "Ultra" (1997) and "Exciter" (2001). Money well spent, right?

I decided to listen to Depeche Mode's efforts, from "Black Celebration" to "Exciter" back-to-back, without skipping a single track. The process was long and not 100% enjoyable, similar to a trip to the DMV.

"Black Celebration" was the most fun. I remember memorizing the songs after playing the cassette tape over and over, and then belting out the tunes with friends during my freshman year at college. For some reason, the songs seem upbeat now even though the lyrics say otherwise.

"Music For The Masses" also still takes up quite a bit of drive space in my brain. It introduced the interludes--odd musical non sequitars squeezed in between real songs. This was a practice that continued all the way up to "Exciter". I remember buying the vinyl remixes, that were being spun in cool clubs far away from my neighborhood. I think Seph and I went to a concert in this album's accompanying tour. Afterwards, we still had no idea what Andrew Fletcher actually does in the band--tambourine player?

I have to remove items from the surfaces on and around my speakers when I listen to "Violator", because it can only be played really LOUD. I'm still not tempted to skip any tracks.

Now in the case of "Songs Of Faith and Devotion" I had heretical thoughts--"Must...go...to the...next song." But I resisted. I was looking at the liner notes for all the discs, and realized this was Alan Wilder's last album with the group. Also, check out the Uileann pipes on "Judas" and the introduction of lots of acoustic/electric guitar stylings, as well as Brian Eno's quirky contributions. I recalled listening to the first two tracks, but after that it all seemed new.

"Ultra"--did I actually buy this? Now I realize why people are so eager to shovel MP3s into their computers from the Net for free. Check out Keith Le Blanc and Doug Wimbish on "Useless"--what's my mission now? Don't you dare skip a single song. There was actually a secret song tucked away at the very end (you can tell there's something there because the CD player keeps going). Alas, just an interlude. Only one more album...

"Exciter" was the just the opposite. I wonder what it would've been like to have other members write songs instead of Martin Gore alone? I know David Gahan had a solo album, I wonder what that was like. I guess it's good that I don't have all these albums saved into my memory, because I had room for U2, They Might Be Giants, Sting, Thomas Dolby and Roland Orzabal efforts. These are all Depeche contemporaries, who have gone through changes for the good, over the years (let the angry posts ensue).

It would have been cool for DM to appear on MTV's Unplugged series, to show they're capable of playing instruments vs. sequencing synths. Of course Martin plays guitar and writes all the tunes and lyrics, but what do the others do? Maybe they could mend the rift with Alan Wilder, and craft a few new tracks.

"Playing The Angel" may end up being really good, but after this I'm going to defragment my mind to rid myself of the DM-athon after-effects. Perhaps "Next Track" is a good invention after all.

Postal

2005-10-04T23:19:00.000-07:00

Recently I realized I haven't written an actual letter to anyone in a very long time. That kind of bums me out, because I used to love scribbling correspondence to others. Plus it was great to actually get mail back--e-letters tend to be tossed off and underwhelming.

Some ways I'd like to start using the postal service again:

*McDonald's is starting their Monopoly game again, and I'd really like to win something (besides a burger or two). It would be cool to set-up a network with others in the USA, and send missing game pieces back and forth. Obviously you'll horde the best properties for yourself. It just seems like it would level the playing field if everyone shared, and a lot of more people might win things that way. Does anyone know of folks putting the game pieces on eBay? If I end up with six Marvin Gardens, I'll send out five, no charge! Who is with me? Let's beat the system and win!

*Postcards--there isn't an equivalent in the electronic world. Perhaps someday Disney World will have kiosks set-up so you can send out cards whilst on vacation. They could be personalized--carry around a reusuable digital camera, transfer the pics to the kiosk, grandparents can print out the results. I've noticed postcard vendors at antique shows; their collections are impressive.

*Musical collaboration--I'm working on my next "album," and I feel like I'm hermetically sealed from others' input. I go to work, arrive home, work on a few tracks, come up with a few tunes. I miss the days when I had all my musically inclined friends around to help refine my efforts. If you are interested, I will send you a CD in the mail (standard audio or MP3) for FREE! You can e-mail back with ideas or criticism. How about lyrics or vocals--those are not my forte. There is nothing to buy; you will not experience any side-effects such as nausea, shingles or blurred vision. Perhaps some drowsiness may occur (my music tends to be sedate vs. jarring) but how will you know if you don't act now? File transfers are OK, but getting stuff in the mail is fun!

The post office awaits...

Shenanigans!

2005-09-29T00:15:00.000-07:00

I recently snapped this picture at the Allegan County Fair.

Later, as I studied the shot, I began to relate it to the modern Internet. Both the Web and the vendor offer much candy (for the eyes and mouth respectively) but little of substance for the soul.

So to the Internet, I call--shenanigans!

Netvibes

2005-09-27T22:52:00.000-07:00

I was watching Attack Of The Show on G4, and they mentioned www.netvibes.com.

With Netvibes you can set-up a home page and add lots of content very quickly. It seems to be programmed using Ajax, which I don't know a lot about (I'll have to do some research).

Perhaps Vard has a thought or two about the coolness of Netvibes.

More Panning For Gold

2005-09-23T22:25:00.000-07:00

The riverbeds of modern culture have been very dry recently. Here are a few sparkles in the pan:

*Ben Folds--Songs For Silverman
With so much of Ben's output to choose from, it was hard to know where to begin. This caught my eye because of the additional DVD side of the disc, with the "entire album in Surround Sound." The songs do sound more natural using a Dolby Digital output. For some artists, this may be unwanted. Also, check out Ben's own photos in the CD liner. Plus William Shatner and a chimp appear in a video segment detailing a recent music video shoot!

*Death Cab For Cutie--Plans
I don't usually like trendy stuff, but after reading some good online reviews of their work, I decided to give this group a try. The lead singer's voice reminds me of Neil Tennant from the Pet Shop Boys (a plus?), and the music is solid. Their stuff deserves a spot in your iPod nano.

*Robots on DVD
Do we really need another film about automatons? This is a pretty fun take on our metallic friends, and everything onscreen looks like recycled playground equipment (paint peeling, dinged and dented). Many of the images deserve a big screen, but benefit from a pause button as well.

*Corpse Bride--theatrical release
I remember sitting in the theater circa 1993, waiting for "The Nightmare Before Christmas" to begin. "What does Tim Burton know about stop-motion animation?" I wondered, not having seen Vincent yet. "What kind of songs will the leadman of Oingo Boingo think up for a kid's movie?" I wondered. Then the movie started, and I was whisked away to Jack Skellington's domain, and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer never seemed the same again. Corpse Bride was not as awe-inspiring or intricately plotted as Nightmare, but still something worth handing Tim Burton $10 of my money for.

Another bonus--my wife and I were the only ones in the theater! It was like being at home in the living room, except bigger and including a ton of empty chairs with cupholders plus a floor that smelt of popcorn oil.

Upstream--
November 1st--DVD release of Star Wars Episode III--another opportunity for George Lucas to release the original untouched version of Star Wars Episode IV

The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, theatrical release--hopefully more faithful to the source material than "The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy" was.

Check out the Harry Potter and The Goblet Of Fire and King Kong trailers online as well!
(I have no links to bring, pa-rum-pa-pum-pum)

Serenity, theatrical release--now!

Robert Moog--R.I.P.

2005-08-30T23:37:00.000-07:00

Dr. Robert A. Moog (rhymes with "vogue") passed away on August 21st.

Wikipedia has an excellent entry on his achievements: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Moog

I can remember wanting to buy the official Star Wars two-record soundtrack set in 1977, but having to purchase the "Moog Orchestra" version instead, for lack of funds. It was a passable rendering of the orchestral pieces, but not anything like what was found in the movie. I liked the sound of the synthesizers though, an interest that has stayed with me.

It is interesting that synths took a turn in the late 80s and 90s towards a more realistic sound, and now the old Moog sound is sought after again.

Molting

2005-08-23T23:42:00.000-07:00

Who has noticed a new trend in computer generated images, that involves the peeling off of layers within a sequence (usually a commercial). I call this look "Molting" (vs. Morphing), because it usually involves the sluffing off or changing of a surface. Sometimes it resembles taking a box of puzzle pieces, flinging them in the air, and having them fall perfectly fitting together (it could happen).

Some examples I've noticed on TV (I probably don't have the advertisers 100% correct):
*A woman's whole world folds up neatly into her cell phone (Hello Moto?)
*A kid gets a Mountain Dew from a vending machine, and turns his jalopy into a "bitchin' Camaro" or somesuch, and his male friend into an uninhibited lady!
*Cars zoom down the street, and undulate through various skins (is this a feature offered as standard?) Scion automobiles, I think (see below).
*A HumVee vehicle is suspended in pieces in mid-air, and sort of magnetically comes together to make an oil baron's dream ride.

I thought of another name--"Matroishka"--in reference to the Russian dolls within dolls, but it doesn't quite sum up the effect.

Of course Hollywood is bound to grasp onto this eye candy, but what will come of it?
*Utilized for vampire deaths/werewolf transformations? (I am so unconvinced by everything so far--they don't seem realistic)
*Cooler James Bond cars?
*A movie based on Escher's works?
*The latest alien technology, hidden for years in Area 51, now revealed for a "My Favorite Martian" sequel?
*A spiffier-looking They Live remake
*Having unattractive no ones "molt" into sleek, sexy people--no, that only happens if you become a movie star with a lot of money, or smoke (darn Joe Camel and the Marlboro Man).

Quite by accident, I was looking for myself on the Web (see past posts), and found that my name was involved in the creation of the Scion ads--http://www.boardsmag.com/articles/magazine/20040801/toyota.html

This is rather strange synchronicity.

Mission Accomplished

2005-08-16T00:27:00.000-07:00

Every year I try to catch one praying mantis, feed it some crickets or grasshoppers, and send it on its way. I am disappointed by the number of them that I find throughout the summer, crushed by cruel feet.

Adopt a mantis today!

Hot Rods

2005-08-09T00:20:00.000-07:00

Panning For Gold

2005-07-30T23:26:00.000-07:00

I've been looking for treasures in the mighty stream of pop culture.

Here are some nuggets I've extracted:
*"Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots"--a quirky assortment of songs released by The Flaming Lips in 2002. Wayne Coyne's voice has to grow on you (Billy Corgan and Robert Smith come to mind as similarly challenging vocalists), but once it does the album keeps getting better and better after every listen.

*"Kung Fu Hustle"--directed by Stephen Chow. I missed this movie at the theaters, but I'm sort of glad I waited for the DVD. I've watched it twice, once with original Cantonese dialogue with English subtitles, and then again with the commentary track subtitles. That last feature is cool--the participants ramble a bit, but you learn about some of the homages to martial arts movies from the past, and that "American food sucks". Set in China circa 1930, it has a funny, surreal and ultimately warm-hearted story to tell. If only The Matrices had been this fun.

*"5 Children and It"--a British film, with creature effects by Henson's crew. Based upon a story by English author E. Nesbit (literature J.K. Rowling read as a young girl?). I'm hoping The Chronicles Of Narnia will be handled this well by Disney...

*Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper--does it remind anyone of how Dr. Pepper tasted 20 years ago? Maybe I'm remembering it incorrectly.

*Bleem! for the Dreamcast--so far I have the discs that allow Tekken 3 and Gran Turismo 2 (originally for the PlayStation) to be played on a Dreamcast. You do have to own the original games, which seems redundant when you have a perfectly good PlayStation around! Emulation just can't get any respect these days. Nintendo may offer online downloads of ROMs from previous titles in their catalog for the Revolution. Microsoft might have to do some fancy flying to have the XBOX 360 (November 2005 streetdate) be compatible with previous XBOX titles. Sony hated Bleem!'s efforts to offer PS emulation for the PC--did anyone get that software to work? Sega doesn't seem to care as much about the Dreamcast versions. There is one more disc out there, that allows Metal Gear Solid to be played successfully on the DC--I will continue panning.

*Charlie and the Chocolate Factory--as I watched the movie it was kind of strange having a picture-in-picture image of the original playing in my head simultaneously, but the new version seemed closer to the book. Which is good, right?

People comparing the two movies seem to have missed the point--that the original film was not a faithful effort and could be considered loosely adapted. Why didn't Tim Burton continue Charlie's story instead? I have "Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator" on my bookshelf, Roald Dahl's own sequel. It includes Wonka-Vite, the great rejuvenator! (could some be administered to the movie industry?) I don't know if that story will ever be cinematized.

I thought it would be funny to have "outtakes" as the credits rolled, of the Oompa-Loompas practicing the songs--some of them out of sync or forgetting the lyrics, having to begin again, with Wonka berating them. Maybe they could reveal an unused "Charlie" song too (in case he failed miserably). I guess sham digital bloopers are played out. Also, subtitles for the songs during the movie (with a bouncing gobstopper) might have cleared up some of the wordy, over-dubbed vocal bits. I'll have to look over the lines in the book again.

*I've been trying to keep as many old videogame systems from going to the landfills (to join the millions of dirty diapers, years of Christmas wrap, unfinished models and meals, couches, bubble-wrap and ice--who throws out ice?) as possible. I recently found two Sega Genesis units (the older, larger version) at Goodwill for $1.99 each, with all the needed cords. I paid $129.99 for my original in the early 90's! I am hoping to find an Intellivision or Odyssey 2 someday, but I believe a large digging device may have to be employed in Coopersville (the local dump). I'm sure eBay has a few, but where's the adventure in that?

Perhaps all of this is Fool's Gold.

Cat Juggler

2005-07-26T23:30:00.000-07:00

A recent Photoshop effort--

I've Forgotten To Laugh

2005-07-22T00:13:00.000-07:00

The world has been woven with surreal sights and sounds for me recently.

1. Teenagers Laughing
I wish that things were still giggly-funny. Walking around in the mall, I passed many gaggles of giddy youngsters. They erupted in bursts of laughter, like Handel's Messiah written for chucklers. I wondered what could cause this, and then I remembered back--single words repeated, with secret double-meanings; the nervousness of youthful infatuations; being able to blame everything on overbearing parents. What have I become? Old.

2. Two Diners At A Restaurant
A couple was seated at a small table in a local eatery. Both of them had meals in front of them. One diner was consuming their food, while the other was talking on a cellphone. Not just a quick, to the point conversation. A rambling, switching ears to relieve pressure discourse. I watched as the eater finished their food, and sat quietly waiting for the talking to cease. For some reason this seemed funny--I should quiz the #1 group to see if they feel the same.

3. Witchcraft Celebrations
I went to Barnes and Noble on Friday July 15th to experience the pre-Harry Potter hullabaloo. It was a scene similar to Halloween (one of my favorite holidays), but with less candy. Some children in costume were getting impatient, and rolling around on the floor, others were in various states of agitation. I looked for the Cliff's Notes on Arthur Miller's The Crucible, but couldn't find it. Perhaps Cliff has been usurped by another literature taxidermist. I hope Greek mythology finds favor with the public next--perhaps polytheism isn't as endearing, though. It is comforting to know people will be buying the books, not burning them. It seems like folks were incinerating Dixie Chicks albums awhile back. That sounds funny now.

Laughter is the best medicine, but I have lost my prescription.

Another Passenger

2005-07-14T23:00:00.000-07:00

Early morning, July 12th, 2005--my wife's sister had a baby girl!

Welcome aboard, Luna!

Welcome To Earth!

2005-06-20T22:18:00.000-07:00

At 9:19 am on June 19 my brother's wife had a baby boy!

It is amazing to interact with a fresh passenger of Earth.

Congratulations to the new parents.

Welcome aboard, Eli!

The Lee Of The Stone

2005-06-06T00:00:00.000-07:00

Recently I began wondering about certain celebrities/icons, and why I haven't seen them in the "news" recently. This is in contrast to those that are in a constant "cud" form, being regurgitated and existing in a bland state for many years. I know my favorite stars of old need to eat and make a living--what are they doing?

I respect the fact that some former celebrities want to remain out of the spotlight, while others appear on "Hit Me Baby One More Time" (a recent show on NBC) and VH1's "The Surreal Life".

I did some research to gain insight on those individuals or properties that for some reason I think are cool, but presently no one else does:

Thomas Dolby has been releasing albums for years, but few people can name his more recent ones (does 'Astronauts & Heretics' ring a bell?) His website is rather neat. He has a company that is involved in cellphone ringtones and more--www.beatnik.com. Thanks to Vard for sending along an article! On the Flat Earth Society site, he offers an address so that musicians can send him their work. He also says that there is no way he can respond to everyone, so I just have to imagine him with headphones on, jamming to my "Mars Rocks!" album (surrounded by test tubes?)

Ryuichi Sakamoto is an excellent Japanese composer, who has won an Academy Award (for "The Last Emperor") and was also a founding member of YMO (Yellow Magic Orchestra). I listened to his soundtrack for "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence" on tape for hours (thanks to auto-reverse). Here's his website. Wikipedia states he divorced his wife Akiko Yano in 2002--I didn't realize he was married! He did music for a short-lived TV show "Wild Palms" as well,
and some Brian De Palma movies.

Some other interesting composers/musicians:
Jane Siberry --formed her own production company (to avoid bargain bins?)
Howard Jones--not the hotel chain
Wendy Carlos--who can forget the stirring music of "TRON"?

Erno Rubik's Cube was more than a toy for me in the early 80's--it was an obsession.
What is he up to now? Why don't we have "Rubik's Toilet Seats" or "Rubik's Rotisseries"?
(for some reason I think of Ron Popeil as being the anti-Rubik). Rubik is still creating puzzles and toys--www.rubiks.com

This summer, the cineplexes will be filled with acid-reflux movies--haunting reminders of ideas that Hollywood has swallowed before. I'm thinking of "Bewitched", "The Honeymooners", "The Dukes Of Hazzard", "Charlie and The Chocolate Factory", "The Bad News Bears", "The Longest Yard", "The Fantastic Four" (there was a previous movie made!) and "The War Of The Worlds".

For some reason there are a few "lima bean" properties that Hollywood has a hard time swallowing:

The Silver Surfer--I remember seeing Terminator 2 in 1991 and thinking "The Silver Surfer movie can't be far off". For some reason The Incredible Hulk and Man-Thing (check out Amazon, there's a movie!) have been digitally rendered for film ahead of Norrin Radd (not that I'm ungrateful).

Doc Savage--no one has any ideas for "The Man Of Bronze"? Arnold Schwarzenegger doesn't come to mind? Doctor Clark Savage Jr. was the "surgeon, scientist, adventurer, inventor, explorer, musician" (thanks Wikipedia) precursor for Buckaroo Banzai and The Venture Bros(Adult Swim). I guess no one else read the books--at least not movie producers.

Who among us can convince Bill Watterson that we really desperately need some sort of "Calvin and Hobbes" fix?

Garfield had a major movie made about him, and not the Bloom County gang? Opus and Bill the Cat are much cooler.

Who wants to begin chanting with me: "Aeon Flux--The Movie, please be good!"

Side note--what happened to Virtual Reality? The XBOX and PS2 don't come packaged with head-mounted displays. The local Hot Topic is probably more immersive than any VR set-up I've seen (I employ the "clueless spectacled white man" avatar in that particular clothing store). I'm thinking of getting a "Vote For Pedro" shirt at some point, though.

Send me other names of people/places/things that have been unjustly forgotten! The ones that even the "Where Are They Now?" shows don't cover. I will try to research them, and give them the credit they deserve.

I guess I'm resigned to another summer of predictability.

Where's the Pepto Bismol?

448

2005-05-12T00:17:00.000-07:00

I visited "Ain't It Cool News" to see what Harry Knowles had to say about Revenge Of The Sith. It was an interesting post, but what I found amazing was the 448 posts in response (yeah, it took awhile to count them all!)

I didn't read every one, but what can really be said about a review to a movie not even witnessed yet? I thought about a snarky Blog post, blasting these "knee jerk" reactions. But their existence seems to be ironic/sad on its own.

I thought about if I went back in time to my school in 1977, pre-Star Wars. It would be an assembly in the gym, with the all the students sitting on the bleachers (roughly similar to Harry's 448). I would deliver a speech in front of them, explaining that I've seen a movie they're about to witness, starting May 19th of that year. Here are a few bullet-points from my hypothetical review:

*There will soon be thousands of toys in local stores, tied-in to this "Star Wars" movie. DO NOT open them. Put them in a safe, dry place. You will be able to sell them for big bucks to the kids who grew up actually destroying theirs for backyard re-enactments of their favorite scenes, on something called "eBay". You'll be tempted to cut-up the backers to send away for a Boba Fett action figure that fires a rocket, but it will never be made.

*Some of you will become zealots--obsessed with all things "Star Wars". You will argue endlessly about minutiae from the upcoming films, on what will be called "The Internet".
You may be tempted to even dress up as the characters for weddings and further movie viewings. This may be perceived as odd.

*Start composing letters to a man named George Lucas right now! Tell him to let other directors helm what he'll call Episodes I and II (he does OK with Episode III). Also, remind him that he originally planned to do nine movies, so he shouldn't wait 15 years between trilogies! This will allow him to do Episodes VII, VIII and IX before he's 60 years old. Also, have him make a mental note--Just Say "No!" to Jar Jar Binks and Howard The Duck.

*Invest money in future companies called Lucasfilm Ltd., ILM and Kenner (eventually Hasbro). Remember those names. Also, buy tons of Apple computers and products. This may speed up the development of something to be called an iPod, which is to become the ultimate invention and may lead to the fall of Darth Gates.

*Write to Mel Brooks, and suggest that he parody this "Star Wars" phenomenon right away vs. waiting ten years.

*Do not be tricked into buying four or five versions of the same movie on five or six different formats (examples: VHS, Beta, Laser Disc, DivX, DVD, BluRay DVD)

*A quick fashion note: Think twice about wearing brightly striped shirts with brown, red or green pants--the resulting photos of you with this garb will be a bit garish. Maybe suggest black and white film to your parents. Also, don't buy the Kodak disc camera--it's evil.

*Keep your Star Wars pajamas far, far away from candles and other flames.

*If you think you have an idea for an awesome movie, become a director and make it happen. Do not become one of the thousands that fling themselves on the Internet and writhe around, moaning about the lack of good Hollywood films. Unfortunately "Star Wars" will become the template for a money-making motion picture.

May The Force Be With YOU

Revenge Of The Skip

2005-05-03T21:45:00.000-07:00

Listening to "Revenge Of The Sith" soundtrack right now, which I purchased today (included a bonus DVD!)

I'm still convinced that this movie will be "good" to many, versus the few or the one. It will be nice to squelch all the nay-saying, too.

Some other pop culture items that folks are still wasting time grumbling about:
*"The new Classic Coca-Cola formula just isn't the same as the old 'classic' Coke flavor"
*"You have the DVD version, but it's not available on VHS? Inconceivable!"--embrace the disc
side
*"The Atari VCS (2600) was the ultimate video gaming system"
(I have one; it gets old pretty quick)
*"Twinkies are smaller than they used to be" (I agree on this one)
*"The classic horror movies were scarier than today's fare" (not always true)
*"Jolt cola was better than any Red Bull or Full Throttle energy drink" (I liked Jolt cola, so I agree)
*"Full screen is better than widescreen" (okay, walk around with a paper bag over your head with a square cut out to see life through, and let the pan-and-scanning begin)
*"Erasable ink pens should make a comeback" (no way--remember the hand smudge?)
*"Hollywood is tapped out of original ideas" (Could be? Become part of the solution!)

I think it would've been cool if George Lucas released the Revenge Of The Sith soundtrack on vinyl--two records, of course! The sleeve would open up and have a bunch of stills and notes on the new movie, with Vader's helmet laser-etched on the discs. This would satisfy those who crave the old days, before the dark time, before the special editions.

He could also release the entire first trilogy (original versions) on Betamax cassettes, specially marketed to those who fear change.

Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster

2005-04-19T23:01:00.000-07:00

Only 42 minutes give or take (depending upon showtimes) until the total destruction of...
most of the memories/opinions we've had thus far about
"The Hitch Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy." The newest, latest incarnation arrives in theaters on April 29th, unless the Earth explodes before then.

So far my opinions have been based on--
*A radio drama (excellent)
*A BBC TV mini-series (very determined attempt to capture the zany essence of the material)
*Several books by Douglas Adams (quite good)

There was also a stage play produced, which I've never experienced.

So much seems to have been influenced by "Hitch Hiker's" (introduced in 1978) perhaps unconsciously:

*The phrase "Resistance is useless!" is first uttered by a Vogon--
meanwhile Patrick Stewart is answering casting calls for "Lifeforce" and "Dune" (circa 1983-84)

*The idea is put forth that Earth is really a "living" computer, with everyone linked for a single purpose--that sounds like "The Matrix"!

*Aliens can be silly ("Explorers", "Galaxy Quest", "MIB", "Futurama"; Jar Jar Binks, not so much)

*Planets can be made to order, such as Earth, and are hand-crafted by artisans ("Time Bandits"--released in 1981, I guess that's considered a tie)

*Low budget+heretical thoughts+bits of naughtiness--sounds like the humble beginning of "South Park"!

*Dolphins are pretty darn smart ("Johnny Mnemonic," anyone?)

The radio drama was so good because the listener provided all the missing visuals. Now everything will be spoon-fed to audiences with the latest computer graphics auto-piloting their imagination.

Perhaps the old memories should go away. Other creative persons have tended to tinker with their creations endlessly (George Lucas) but now Douglas Adams is no longer with us (perhaps he is dining at Milliway's?) Hopefully this version is closest to how he wanted it.

I requested the CD set of the radio series from the library, just to listen to it one more time.

I'm sure there will be many new fans who walk out of theaters on April 29th. That experience will become their reference point. Hopefully they'll walk to the nearest bookstore and seek out the novels, memorize the dialogue and supplant the "Napoleon Dynamite"-isms of today with bits of Adams' wit, for tomorrow.

Fun With Google

2005-04-03T22:54:00.000-07:00

I was concocting a game based on Google results the other day. This has probably been explored by other Blogs, but here's my premise:

Two players use Google to battle each other
in two separate searches.

Using a six-sided die, you determine the
type of your search selection--
1*Opposites
2*Mythos
3*Symbiosis
4*Synonyms
5*Persona
6*Wild

A typical game:
I rolled a "1"--Opposites. I chose "Love" for my search. I had 266,000,000 entries found. My opponent chose "Hate," which resulted in 31,500,000. Kevin: 1 Nivek: 0

Nivek rolled a "3"--Symbiosis. He chose "Sex"--317,000,000; I picked "Disease"--113,000,000. Kevin: 1 Nivek: 1

I rolled a "2"--Mythos. I chose "Yoda"--1,800,000. Nivek decided on "Chewbacca"--425,000.
Kevin: 2 Nivek: 1

Nivek rolled a "5"--Persona. He used his name--"Nivek," which had 48,200 results. "Kevin" produced 39,300,000. Kevin: 3 Nivek: 1

I rolled a "4"--Synonyms. I decided on "www."---4,490,000,000 (the number one entry was www.yahoo.com) Nivek used "http://"--1,360,000,000 (the number one entry was www.microsoft.com) Kevin: 4 Nivek: 1

Nivek rolled a "1"; "God"--133,000,000. Kevin picked "Satan"--6,600,000 (it's true!)
Kevin: 4 Nivek: 2

Kevin rolled a "2"; "Scheherazade"--254,000. Nivek, "Sinbad"--873,000
Kevin: 4 Nivek: 3

Nivek rolled a "3"; "Truth"--51,400,000. Kevin, "Lies"--30,600,000
Kevin: 4 Nivek: 4...

And the fun never stopped!

Some other interesting results:
"Fact"--148,000,000 vs. "Fiction"--64,800,000
"Jabberwocky"--268,000 vs. "Snark"--576,000
"Life"--596,000,000 vs. "Death"--117,000,000

Let me know about any variations you've discovered/played!

Is there really any other use for the results past the first few pages of a Google search?

The Future In Movies

2005-03-21T22:55:00.000-08:00

I started tracking the dates put forth by science fiction movies (probably chronicled elsewhere more accurately) as their time periods. I thought it would lead to some breakthrough into "the ultimate relevance of good stories" vs. historical accuracy, but I haven't had any Bloggian brainstorms yet. Here are a few films (with release dates), listed in the order of their futures:

Strange Days (1995)--1999
2001:A Space Odyssey (1968)--2001
2010:The Year We Make Contact (1984)--2010
Back To The Future II (1989)--2015
Blade Runner (1982)--November 2019
Mission To Mars (2000)--2020
The Terminator (1984)--2029
Demolition Man (1993)--2032
I, Robot (2004)--2035
Event Horizon (1997)--2047
Minority Report (2002)--2054
Red Planet (2000)--2057
Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)--22nd Century
Logan's Run (1976)--2274
Buck Rogers In The 25th Century
Battlefield Earth (2000)--3000
Barbarella (1968)--41st Century

If someone wants to help out, I still have A.I., Metropolis, The Matrix Series, The Alien Series, Dune, The Mad Max series and Planet Of The Apes (original) unresearched! Maybe you've done some investigation of your own...

Originally I imagined a Blog entry that chastised writers for being too small in their scope, but then I realized these movies shouldn't suffer just because their predictions were off. Who is to say L. Ron Hubbard and James Cameron weren't "creative" enough to envision their futures perfectly? Those Blog entries are probably existant already. What is a fresh take?

Just like hair positions and beverage levels in different takes/shots, there are conflicting cinematic foretellings that lack "continuity". What are the messages put forth that seem to bind everything together?

*Robots are not to be trusted
*Gravity is not a big deal--vehicles will float off the ground, humans in spaceships usually won't
*Flying spaceships is still pretty complicated, but more like flying an airplane
*The English language will never be replaced, modified much or forgotten
*Advertisers will use every surface of the future
*Aliens are definitely out there
*Nuclear weapons are still considered a big deal
*A computer is always considered wise, but not to be trusted totally
*Must we be referred to as "Earthlings"?
*Resistance is futile
*As long as there is Surround Sound, there will be sound in outer space
*Anything recorded will be incriminating
*Evolution of the human race will be minimal (people still wearing glasses?)
*People are rarely pictured viewing movies showing their future--what does someone in 2050 think 2080 will be like? It's almost as if they think "We are the ultimate future"!

It would be interesting to view someone sick of anti-grav cars, ho-hum on cloning, tired of space exploration and disinterested with laser guns--"All of this is so old-fashioned. I'm sick of traveling at lightspeed. I don't want to meet any more alien races. Who cares about a crime-free society? Where's the excitement? I hope the future isn't this boring."

That sounds sort of modern. So yesterday.

A British take on Star Wars

2005-03-16T00:24:00.000-08:00

My brother slid me a copy of Empire magazine,
a British publication. It has a lot less fawning
over movie stars and their fashions (unlike one
of my old favorite magazines, EW).

Here is a funny bit, quoted from Empire,
about the upcoming Star Wars movie,
riffing on the fact that Episode III is a
sequel AND prequel, with an odd Brit slant:

Other things that have to happen before
A New Hope include...

1. The infant Luke has to be delivered to
the Lars' crib on Tatooine
2. The infant Leia has to be handed over
to Bail Organa
3. Like Late Review merging with Newsnight
(?) the Trade Federation has to be
subsumed into the Empire
3a. All the bad guys have to stop talking in
Japanese dialects and start talking
with English accents
4. Obi-Wan Kenobi has to find a property in
the Dune Sea
5. R2-D2 and C-3PO have to have their
memories wiped
6. Palpatine's face has to go all gammy
7. The hairstyles have to look like Toni & Guy
(?) circa 1976
8. Yoda has to bog off to Dagobah
9. All the hardware has to become scuffed-up
and used-looking
Look for Empire magazine at your local Barnes & Noble!

Free GR Wi-Fi

2005-03-15T23:57:00.000-08:00

The Grand Rapids Press had an interesting story concerning
free citywide Wi-Fi that will be starting this Spring. There are
several companies that are going to be involved, but the article
didn't specify all of them.

A snippet:

For eight weeks, large sections of Grand Rapids will become free "hot zones" for wireless Internet connections.
It's part of a pilot project in which at least six Wi-Fi companies will try to prove they can build a wireless network that would serve the entire city, said Sally Wesorick, of the city's Information Technology department.
The demonstration, which will run in May and June, will allow each company to show off its technology over a quarter-mile area, Wesorick said.
Each provider will be expected to offer free and open access to its network during the test, she said. "This is a chance for us to see if all these promises the vendors have made to us are true," Wesorick said.

Insert Coin

2005-02-26T23:23:00.000-08:00

Recently Comcast added a few channels to their bare-bones service (for free?), including G4 TV--devoted solely to video games! This made me happy.

Sometimes it borders on a Home Shopping Network clone, but it still retains some allure for those inclined toward the modern golden calf--electronic games.

Sometimes I miss the irony and cynicism that could be produced by having hosts that were around to appreciate the "crash" circa 1983. These talking heads would also talk fondly of the days when "quarters were essentially thrown on the ground" at arcades, as Joe used to say.

I guess today's households are just a series of cubicles, with the occupants vacantly staring at monitors of some sort, pushing buttons (on controllers, remote controls, keyboards).

I think it would be amusing to have a show on G4 that asks viewers to set aside a day when they don't play games at all (to honor the crash in the 80s). It would be a day of rest--to let your retinas heal a bit, and allow your fingers to uncurl out of the "controller claw" position.

Play a fun game at home--look for a book to read (is it possible some homes have none?)

The show could detail the other belief systems of the world, such as
"board gamers" and "role-players". There could be a story on the cult
of "virtual reality"--why aren't we all wearing immersive headsets in
2005? Conspiracy? What about all the programmers who aren't
receiving funds from the exchange of ROMs from extinct games?
The parallel to MP3s and their corresponding musicians seems
relevant.

Cynicism could be cool again. It is different from satire or
"mocking", which seems like the path most taken these days.

Blipverts

2005-01-31T23:19:00.000-08:00

I have been thinking of downloading Lipton Cup A Soup's "Beat the 3 pm Slump," to see what the fuss is all about.

Advertisements merging with video games is not new. I remember playing a 7-Up "Cool Spot" game for the Sega Genesis, as well as "Mick and Mack:Global Gladiators" which seems like it referenced to McDonald's.

Another example: Red Bull billboards appearing in the futuristic cityscapes of the Wipeout racing games for the Playstation. I always thought it was a make-believe beverage.

I started thinking about the World War II-era Warner Brothers cartoons, that embraced America's part in that conflict. For some reason today's animated characters do not lend their visages to any militaristic side-taking. Comic book characters are still major players in world events, though.

Video games tied into current movies are largely embraced (Spider-Man 2, Van Helsing, The Chronicles Of Riddick). This kind of marketing doesn't seem far from the "product placements posing as past-times" at the Lipton website.

Anything ad agencies want us to consume seem to sprout arms, legs and a mouthy attitude. I think I saw Mr. Peanut sporting "bling" on TV the other day. I don't want my M&Ms to have any "last words" before they are snacked on. I prefer not to think of chicken nuggets as sentient.

Ad characters I haven't seen in awhile/
video games they could star in:

Twinkie the Kid--
A first person shooter of some sort. Goal: assassinate King Don

Digum the Frog--
A Frogger-type game, with drivers in SUVS talking on cell phones

The Scrubbing Bubbles--
Your objective: clean major cities, state-by-state-- sequel could be set in Europe

Cavity Creeps--
Player must keep a dammed river of Mountain Dew from bursting and flooding Toothville

Smokey the Bear--
RPG

Kool Aid Man--
Tom Clancy-type adventure, involving stealth

Pet Rocks--
Japanese horror movie-influenced puzzle game

Thanks Ron Miller

2005-01-31T22:10:00.000-08:00

I have noticed several DVDs showing up at the store recently that take me back about 20 to 30 years, with titles such as "Escape To Witch Mountain," "The Cat From Outer Space," "The Watcher In The Woods" and many others. I was wondering if there might be a string-cheese theory to bind all these cheddary titles together, and I think Ron Miller is the key.

I checked out the Internet Movie Database and found that Ron was the Producer or Executive Producer of all these old Disney movies, and more. He married Walt Disney's daughter too--good thinking!

I am thankful most of all for "TRON" and "The Black Hole," from which the record album versions were produced (superior in their own way?) and listened to endlessly by my brother and I. Without Ron, these movies probably would have never been made.

One misstep he made was not identifying Tim Burton soon enough. Tim was an animator who worked on "The Fox and the Hound" and "The Black Cauldron" in the early 80's, but the Disney corporation didn't take a shine to him until later. It would have been interesting to see Tim's versions of "Condorman" or "The Devil and Max Devlin."

By the way, Tim's directorial efforts for 2005--"Charlie and The Chocolate Factory" and "Corpse Bride"--seem very surreal/creative. I wonder how many childhoods they'll shape, and in what way?

Sad News For Comic Fans

2005-01-17T22:35:00.000-08:00

I was looking through a recent Entertainment Weekly, and found
an article revealing bad news--Wil Eisner passed away

This is probably something better covered by The Blog That Goes
Ping; I was able to glimpse just some of Mr. Eisner's work, and was
very impressed.

The EW article spells his first name "Will" but I believe he went
by "Wil" sometimes as well. Interesting.

I have always considered him the "father of graphic novels"--
I will have to look into finding more of Eisner's masterworks.

Vard, do you have a fitting eulogy?

Persevere/Cease

2004-12-30T23:35:00.000-08:00

Here is a list of things I think should persevere into 2005, and a few that should cease to be--

PERSEVERE

The TV show "Lost" on ABC
Cartoon Network's Samurai Jack--we need new episodes
Pitch Black Mountain Dew--savory
The bands Modest Mouse and Franz Ferdinand
The four or five programmers worldwide who are still writing programs for the Sega Dreamcast--The Dreamcast Lives!
Classic videogame emulators for PC
Pixar Studios--keep surprising and delighting audiences
Ame Agaru and The Blog That Goes Ping!
Superior sequels such as Spider-Man 2 and Shrek 2
Good news
The Truth

CEASE

"Reality" TV shows
Hybrid soft drinks--except for Pitch Black Mountain Dew
The use of the phrase "ATM machine"
The use of the suffixes "-gate" and "-aholic"
Knee-jerk reactions
Influx of spam on the Net
Rising gas prices
Throwing away ice cubes into trash cans
The release of four or five versions of the same movie on DVD
Road construction in Michigan
Bad news
Misinformation

Plecostomus Of Society

2004-12-13T01:58:00.000-08:00

During this gift-worshipping time of year, I would like to reflect on the humble Thrift Stores/Goodwill shops. These places are cool, because you can find "economical" deals.

I've checked eBay, and that system seems so bogged down and unrealistically priced.

Some recent good "thrifty" finds:

A Hi-Fi 4 Head VCR for $10.00
An Atari 2600 system/games/controllers for $10.00
Cool "alterna-80's" music on cassette for 49 cents each! (my car just has a tape deck)
Games that people have tired of--Pictionary, Boggle, Scrabble--may be missing pieces, but many of the big companies will send you replacement items through the mail.
Groovy old record albums--a working record player is also needed, unfortunately.
Old movie cameras--do they work? I'll have to get some film cartridges someday.
Wooden hangers--they're sturdy!
File cabinets

These items defy society's notion of what is cool and hip (trendy and expensive), yet have an inherent "nostalgic" appeal. Plus the money is supposed to go to needy folks. How can you go wrong?

Most of the stuff on eBay seems like it was found at garage sales/flea markets/thrift stores anyway.

AICN Moment

2004-12-09T22:09:00.000-08:00

I was going over some info on upcoming movie releases, and wanted to share some release dates:

Electra--starring Jennifer Garner January 14, 2005

Constantine--starring Keanu Reeves February 11, 2005

The Ring 2 March 17, 2005

Sin City--directed by Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller April 1, 2005

Star Wars Episode III--Revenge Of The Sith May 19, 2005
"PLEASE BE GOOD!"

Batman Begins--starring Christian Bale June 17, 2005

The Fantastic Four July 1, 2005

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory July 15, 2005

Wallace and Grommet October 7, 2005

Harry Potter and The Goblet Of Fire November 18, 2005

King Kong--directed by Peter Jackson December 14, 2005

I may eventually hyper-link these films to their "official" websites.
But I have found the studio generated URLs to be overly fancy and dense, and may contain elements too intense for my system's CPU. They may also contain spinning and prancing graphical doo-dads, which may provoke a BSOD on computers like mine.

Circuit Bending

2004-11-29T09:18:00.000-08:00

I recently found a site devoted to Circuit Bending. This is the process of taking low-end electronic musical instruments and altering them to create new, odd-sounding devices.

Speak 'N' Spells are prime candidates for this process, but are hard to find.

You will probably not end up with Uilleann Pipes, but it may save thousands of Casios from ending up in landfills!

There is beauty in decay.

Atari=Temple Of Doom

2004-11-27T22:45:00.000-08:00

I visited a local thrift shop recently, and found a box containing an Atari 2600 (VCS if you like)for $10.00! Also included were: 15 cartridges, 4 joysticks, 2 paddles, power adapter and TV switch. I plugged it in at home, and it works!

Using an Indiana Jones system, the Atari 2600 is a "Temple Of Doom" level find for me. A "Lost Ark"-type treasure would be a working Dragon's Lair arcade game. A "Last Crusade" caliber discovery would be a working Vectrex system. This is related to my rankings of the Indiana Jones movies, so your "Lost Ark" might be different than mine.

Many of the Atari games involve "shooting" or have war themes (Combat). Q-Bert uses such foul language, and Frogger is a very bad role-model for children. It's hard to think of future videogames becoming any more violent or explicit than these.

Binary Books

2004-11-19T01:13:00.000-08:00

Check out Project Gutenberg's version of "The Warlord Of Mars". They are making available books, such as Edgar Rice Burrough's Barsoom series, that were incendiary devices for my youthful imagination.

Also available are "A Princess of Mars", "The Gods of Mars", and "Thuvia, Maid of Mars" --
others will be formatted and made available as (and if) they are released.

Don't read my Blog, read a book!

The Moons Of Mars

2004-11-15T22:18:00.000-08:00

I've started working on tracks for my third album--"The Moons Of Mars"

If anyone would like to contribute a sample, riff, sound effect, sound byte, utterance, quote or such, please send to: warlordofmarz@gmail.com.

You will appear in the liner note credits! (and share in the profits?)

Diversity

2004-11-15T22:06:00.000-08:00

I've been scouting around to different Blogs, checking out what others have displayed.

Some Blogs seem to have been overrun by an Ad Bot--nothing but links to a "theme"
Many are written by people living in Malaysia, The Philippine Islands, Australia and Canada. I've only just started randomly visiting sites, so this is just an initial observance.
A lot of the Blogs are complex--tons of doo-dads and whatsits all spinning/flashing and there is background music--cool! Blog envy...

If someone comes across my page randomly, leave a comment! I admit I haven't done much of that yet, but it would be nice to know if I've had visitors.

Netiquette/Heretic

2004-11-12T23:42:00.000-08:00

I was using the button in the upper-right hand corner of Blogger to
check out other Blogs (NEXT BLOG>>). I was curious about other
people's takes on a Web Log.

Is proper grammar essential? Are we being graded?
Do people maintain a "phantom" Blog that reveals their truer feelings, knowing that friends and family may be reading their "nice" one?
Does anyone like seeing the links? Is it better to link a word? It looks nicer, I guess.
I see a lot of "zero comments"--is this typical?
Do people suppose others will pay for the book form of a Blog when there has been free access up to that point?
Do Blogs satisfy some voyeuristic need in humans?

I came across several Blogs in foreign languages, which was cool. It would be great to have a Blog translator someday, so all pages could be read by everyone.

Digital Doppelganger

2004-11-12T08:15:00.000-08:00

A fun game I like to play is finding alternate "Kevin Bloms"
on the Internet--"Digital Doppelganger".
How many people can I find with the same nomen as mine?

I usually accomplish this with Google, but you can choose your own adventure.

Recent results:
http://www.fhp.state.fl.us/PhotoGallery/PG101804.htm
Regards go out to Sergeant Kevin Blom in Florida

http://www.jimwhitney.com/cgi-bin/calendar.cgi?view=Month&calendar=music&amp;year=2004&view=Event&event_id=4594
I can play the fiddle? Cool.

I wish I could concoct some Bloggian essay on how
interesting and revealing this process is, for future
publication in my book version of this page (The Martian
Rock Collection?) but I'm tired.

Revenue From Addiction

2004-11-12T07:41:00.000-08:00

This link--

http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-18/110018970488970.xml

leads to a Grand Rapids Press article about a local person
who is playing video games professionally--well, just one in particular.

I remember the first death of video games, and their subsequent rebirth.

It is nice to know that their future is a bit brighter than it was in

the mid-1980's.

Now if I could just play "House Of The Dead 2" for $22K a year...

My Wife's Birthday

2004-11-11T22:17:00.000-08:00

November 11--Happy Birthday to my wife!

A Moment Of Shill

2004-11-09T23:44:00.000-08:00

I was looking over some upcoming items on Amazon.com and noticed two interesting releases:

The Lord Of The Rings-- The Motion Picture Trilogy
(Special Extended DVD Edition)
$77.98/12 discs/total time of the actual movies: 682 minutes/
street date 12-14-04

The Ultimate Matrix Collection Limited Edition Collector's Set
The Matrix/Reloaded/Revolutions/Revisited/The Animatrix
$90.04/10 discs/street date 12-7-04

If I didn't already own the SEEs of The Fellowship Of The Ring
and The Two Towers, I would be tempted by The Lord Of The Rings set.
No strand of Aragorn's wig or Gollum's loincloth replica included?
Perhaps it is for the best. This is clearly the superior collection.

The Matrix movies started so well, and then seemed to muddle in the middle. Perhaps if The Wachowski Brothers had written books first, and then had movies made from those, fans could have said, "The films were vastly inferior." Then extra footage would be added on DVD to make up for the deficiency.

Hopefully no one mistakes books for movies, and movies for books in the future...

Song Fight!

2004-11-09T22:08:00.000-08:00

Song Fight! (http://www.songfight.org) is a great site to spend some time in and around.

Some of my favorite artists:

TV's Kyle (http://www.songfight.org/artistpage.php?key=tvs_kyle)
Hentai Kitty Death (http://www.songfight.org/artistpage.php?key=hentai_kitty_death)
MC Hawking (http://www.songfight.org/artistpage.php?key=mc_hawking)
Josh Woodward (http://www.songfight.org/artistpage.php?key=josh_woodward or
http://www.joshwoodward.com)

There are so many other cool artists to choose from--have a listen sometime.

I have submitted one song so far (http://www.songfight.org/artistpage.php?key=warlord_of_mars), and hope to send in more soon. So if you feel I'm worthy,
send a vote my way in the future!

Chainsaw

They come day and night, and want you alone.

They don't use a door or window, they use a phone.

It sounds like a story from the Twilight Zone--

But they come day and night, and want you alone.

Spinning their webs like spiders, hoping to catch

Someone to talk to, maybe their perfect match.

Laying their eggs inside you, hoping they'll soon hatch.

They come day and night, and want you alone.

Gabbing, groping, gasping, gaping, mouth open wide.

Try to run away but you are trapped here inside.

A twisted game of seeking and there's no place to hide.

They come day and night, and want you alone.

Always making you an offer, ID says "UNKNOWN"

"Free vacations!"..."Change to us!"--big bargains are thrown

At the unsuspecting person answering the phone.

Telemarketers, like chainsaws, shredding your home.

They come day and night, and want you alone.

They don't use a door or window, they use a phone.

It sounds like a story from the Twilight Zone--

But they come day and night, and want you alone.