Hell's Kitchen Episode 11 aka 6 Chefs Compete
Recap: Chef Ramsey in Canada, Blue Team wins the challenge, Teams create their own menus, Ariel drops the ball, Van and Sabrina fail on Fish, the Kitchen is shut down, no winners, Sabrina is eliminated.
Back to dorms. Van knows he can do better.
The contestants wake up to presents: the black coats that the final six receive. The contestants start to joke about not being able to be friends anymore.
Chef Ramsey is cooking as they come into the Kitchen. The dishes are passed around for the contestants to sample. This is the challenge! Now that they've seen in and tasted it, they need to recreate the fillet and truffles they've just eaten. He puts them in teams of two: Van and Ariel, Tennille and Kevin, Suzanne and Dave. Sous Chef Scott brings out another dish and this is the one they are to recreate.
There are four pieces to the recipe and we watch the teams run about trying to work it out. All three teams pick the fish correctly as turbot. All three teams also believe there is calamari involved in the dish. Ariel and Van believe the puree is a celery root. The other teams believe it's a parsnip puree. For the sauce, each team picks a different fruit. Ariel and Van – Star Fruit, Kevin and Tennille – Grapefruit, Dave and Suzanne – Passion Fruit. With seconds left, all the Teams rush to get their dish up.
Chef Ramsey goes through all the dishes, hearing what's in them, looking at them, and tasting them. Turbot – right. Puree was white onion, no hits. Kevin and Tennille forgot to add their garnish to the dish. They made it but forgot it. Fail. It's down to whomever got the fruit correct. Commercial, of course.
The fruit is... Passion fruit! Suzanne and Dave win! Reward: lunch in Chef Ramsey's LA restaurant with it being cooked by Christina, winner of Hell's Kitchen 4! Punishment: prepping for tonight's 'Couples Night' service.
Dave's not thrilled about spending the day with Suzanne. Van knows it and is amused by it in Interview. He's not thrilled he has to deal with 'whistle-britches' JP though. So, you know, balance.
Christina chats with Dave and Suzanne as they eat. The girls seem to be of a similar disposition, leaving Dave clearly displeased. Christina does give them good advice based on her experience and notes 'It's called Hell's Kitchen for a reason'. When they return, Dave enters a minute or so before Suzanne, allowing Van the opportunity to tease Dave with 'So how was your date?' Dave ignores him. Returning to the kitchen, he asks what needs to be done and he's ignored. Dave goes off in Interview, ending with 'they can sit and spin'. Wow!
Tennille finally says 'we need more scallions cut' and Dave gets on it. In Interview she notes that they still need some teamwork otherwise Chef Ramsey will get them.
On couples night, there will be table side cooking done, a tossed salad for two and a porterhouse steak for two. Kevin is assigned this duty. There are no winning teams, just winning chefs.
Suzanne is working the appetizer station. She needs to coordinate with Kevin if a salad is ordered at the same table as a hot app. She manages to mess this up on the first table. Kevin gets through it with his charisma but it means he can't trust her either.
Van is back on fish. He drops an entree before appetizers and then gets yelled at for sweating in the scallops. Well, it is hot.
Tennille gets them back on track. She communicates well from the Meat station, coordinates the team,and gets her order perfectly cooked. Chef Ramsey compliments her.
Van rushes and brings another raw fish order to the pass. Chef Ramsey starts pacing and muttering. In Interview, Van says he feels bad that something he's not done right has lead to Chef Ramsey being curled up in a corner of the kitchen. Chef Ramsey takes Van in the back, tells him he needs to do better, and the next time, he's out. Both men are surprisingly calm through this, even though Chef Ramsey is clearly mad. He returns to the kitchen, calls out an order, and sees a pan of burning garnish from Ariel. He's stunned. She notes in Interview that it was an accident and that she didn't think the burner was on. Chef Ramsey calls Scott over and they walk out of Hell's Kitchen. It's not worth it. We go to commercial with them walking down the street. Wow! I've been that guy and wanted to do that at times. Wow!
The chefs are stunned but Tennille keeps them moving. Ariel is struggling and is upset that they're not slowing for her. Dave tries to help but refers to her as looking 'defeated'. They get food ready, but without Chef Ramsey and Sous Chef Scott, there's no one to plate the food and decide it's good to go out. Kevin takes charge of this before popping back out to the floor. Suzanne is left behind to take change and she won't. Van takes the responsibility. He still struggles with fish but the Team continues to push.
Chef Ramsey and Sous Chef Scott return. Chef Ramsey calls them together and kicks Ariel, Van, and Suzanne out of the kitchen, leaving the other three chefs to complete service. Upstairs, Van is pissed because he's working hard and continues to catch flak. Van has had enough. As we go to commercial, it looks like he's decided to leave.
Well, he's not leaving as he's not a quitter. Van tries to calm himself down.
Kevin, Dave, and Tennille finish service. Chef Ramsey calls Tennille forward and compliments her performance. Speaking to Tennille, Kevin notes “I think we found the A Team”.
The post-service meeting is just Kevin, Dave, and Tennille. He compliments them, thanks them, and explains that his frustration tonight had nothing to do with them. None of them are going home tonight. As a group, they are to select two of the other three chefs as nominees for elimination.
They return to the dorms and explain the situation. Tennille jumps on Suzanne for not plating at the pass. She tries to defend herself by saying she wouldn't know if it's right but Kevin believes she should know by this stage. He offers Suzanne and Dave agrees. They've selected one. Tennille mentions Van but Dave mentions Ariel as the burnt garnish was the last straw for Chef Ramsey. Dave uses the logic that he's trying to pick 'who Chef wants to see up there' but notes in Interview that eliminating a strong chef like Ariel is a good strategic move. Tennille agrees both in public and in Interview, using the logic that Chef Ramsey expects better from Ariel. They select Ariel and Suzanne.
Nominees for elimination: Suzanne for refusing to push things out and Ariel for the burnt garnish. After Dave reports this, Chef Ramsey seems a bit surprised. He asks Tennille is she thinks they are the weakest chefs in the kitchen and she answers honestly, stating that Ariel is not the weakest chef in the kitchen, that it should be Suzanne and Van. Commercial.
Chef Ramsey notes that he has mixed feelings about all three of them and calls them all forward. Ariel's defense is that she's disappointed with herself and wants the chance to redeem herself. Suzanne blames her failings on her 'nerves' which Chef Ramsey doesn't think much of as a reason. He believes she's out of her depth. Van flips out a bit, expressing his frustration with his failings, knowing he's better than this, and how he's tired, tired of being on the chopping block and being yelled at and just tired. It's a passionate outburst.
Ariel is sent back in line. Van is eliminated. Chef Ramsey shakes his hand and compliments him. Van still has confidence in himself, He's still young and feels he can do it. Good man. It's not a 'Chef Ramsey is dumb for cutting me exit' or a 'I don't care what anyone says I can cook' exit but a simple ' I will get better and can do this' exit. Very nice.
Chef Ramsey thanks Tennille for being honest but we see she's crying at this point. Emotions run high in Hell's Kitchen! In Interview, Dave expresses his displeasure with Tennille for 'blindsiding' him. In Tennille's Interview, she expresses a lot of love for Van but that she had to be true to herself.
Trailer: Dave and Tennille fight. Kevin works to get in Dave's head. Dave knows that the others are hoping his wrist will give out. Service does not go well. Another bad week for Chef Ramsey.
I'm not sure who's going to win this anymore. Ariel's been dropping off. Tennille's been rising. If Dave can gut through it he has a chance. Kevin is solid and could do it. Suzanne... yeah, that isn't happening.
03 October 2009
02 October 2009
A Few Thoughts on Comics from This Week
Amazing Spider-Man #607 wasn't unpleasant but it did sum up one of my problems with the whole Brand New Day concept. In the last issue, the Black Cat returns and with it returns the on-again, off-again relationship between her and Spider-Man. I do mean Spider-Man because they originally broken up because she didn't like Peter Parker, only Spider-Man. The idea behind 'breaking up' Peter and Mary Jane was to tell stories that they couldn't with them married. Spidey and Black Cat fooling around with Cat's bad luck powers suddenly working again... it just feels like the Spidey books I was reading twenty years ago when I started reading comics. One step forward and two back. Again, it's not that the story was bad or anything, just that it felt too familiar. I supposed it was new to someone.
Thor #603 starts the wrap-up of JM Straczynski's run on the book. Things are moving quickly now. Sif's back. Loki and Doc Doom are working together. The mortal fellow that went with the Asgardians when they moved to Latveria shows how hardcore he can be. The Warriors Three take over his diner while he's gone. Good stuff.
Secret Warriors #8 is a lot of running. A lot. Norman Osborn is not happy.
Mickey Mouse and Friends #296 is the first issue of the title from Boom Kids! It's also the first title of the series in...years! We get a translated story from Italy, maybe, featuring Mickey as a Sorcerer's Apprentice that fails in his duty when he's tricked by Peg-Leg Pete, also a magic user in this world. Mickey goes to the big city in order to retrieve the crystal that Pete stole and ends up needing to enter a a tournament to do so. He needs a team and happens to bump into magic users Goofy and Donald, both of whom have a reason to join the tournament as well. So they form a team. It was a fun book but nothing too special.
Thor #603 starts the wrap-up of JM Straczynski's run on the book. Things are moving quickly now. Sif's back. Loki and Doc Doom are working together. The mortal fellow that went with the Asgardians when they moved to Latveria shows how hardcore he can be. The Warriors Three take over his diner while he's gone. Good stuff.
Secret Warriors #8 is a lot of running. A lot. Norman Osborn is not happy.
Mickey Mouse and Friends #296 is the first issue of the title from Boom Kids! It's also the first title of the series in...years! We get a translated story from Italy, maybe, featuring Mickey as a Sorcerer's Apprentice that fails in his duty when he's tricked by Peg-Leg Pete, also a magic user in this world. Mickey goes to the big city in order to retrieve the crystal that Pete stole and ends up needing to enter a a tournament to do so. He needs a team and happens to bump into magic users Goofy and Donald, both of whom have a reason to join the tournament as well. So they form a team. It was a fun book but nothing too special.
01 October 2009
Hell's Kitchen Episode 10
Hell's Kitchen – Episode 10 aka 7 Chefs Complete
This episode is from last week, when they aired two episodes. I accidentally saw a spoiler for this week's episode today and it gives away so much! Grrr!
Recap: Crepes don't go well, Dave's dessert loses the challenge for the Blue Team, during the French themed evening, Suzanne, Sabrina, and Andy all get kicked out of the kitchen, but the other complete service. Andy goes home and Suzanne to the Blue Team. Kevin insists he'll be the winner.
Everyone returns to the dorms. Tennille is thrilled to be rid of Suzanne. Kevin is very clear to Suzanne that the Blue Team does not want her, does not like her, and will not tolerate her messing up their sync. She claims that she received her wake up call. Red Team does their best to bond but Ariel expresses concern over Sabrina's recent performance.
Next morning, the contestants are greeted by Sous Chef Scott who explains that Chef Ramsey wants a word with them. A television drops from the ceiling and links up with Chef Ramsey in Whistler, British Columbia, the location of the restaurant that is this season's prize. Via the video link, Chef Ramsey gives them a tour of the place. The contestants get pumped. Chef Ramsey also explains the challenge: 15 ingredients local to Whistler have been flown into Hell's Kitchen. Each Team put create 3 entrees from the ingredients, using all of them only once. He's returning to Hell's Kitchen with 'special guests' to help him judge the challenge. They have about 2 and a half hours before they arrive.
Both teams take the ingredients and start planning things out. Sabrina and Suzanne are both ignored by their teammates. Sabrina laughs in Interview that Tennille and Ariel keep referring to the one meat as 'lamb' when its venison. Since they won't listen to her, she doesn't bother to try correcting them. With seconds left, the Teams finish plating up their entrees.
Chef Ramsey returns and introduces the guest judges: Olympic silver medalist Sasha Cohen and gold medalist Jonny Moseley. Since the Winter Olympics are in Whistler, this makes sense. Kevin vs Ariel to start. Both medalists vote Blue as Ariel's sauce was considered too heavy. Dave and Tennille approach the table. Tennille identifies her 'lamb' dish and stumbles once Chef Ramsey questions her. Once it's clear that the dish isn't lamb, she's totally thrown off. Commercial. Ha!
After a moment's stumbling, Tennille identifies the meat as venison. Chef Ramsey is clearly disappointed by this and checks that they knew it was vension. Ariel and Tennille insist they knew and that it was a slip of the tongue since they work with lamb all the time. Ariel remains silent, except in Interview where she relishes the situation. Both medalists vote Red as it was more complex.
Van and Sabrina are last. Sabrina is fine. Van's brain locks up and he sounds like a complete knucklehead. Both medalists vote Blue and the Blue Team wins!
Reward: fancy lunch and presents from Canada. Punishment: a day spent on a local farm, milking cows, cleaning out a pig pen, etc. This is rough cause pig mess is pretty much the worse smelling stuff you can be around.
A New day. Chef Ramsey rips up his menu and announces that it's time for each Team to develop their own menu. The Blue Team clicks, even Suzanne. The Red Team is not in sync with Tennille. Sabrina and Ariel don't find her ideas gel with the idea of fine dining. As time runs out, the Blue Team is ready, the Red Team is not and aren't pleased. Commercial.
Van walks Chef Ramsey through their menu. He approves. Ariel walks Chef Ramsey through the Red Team's menu. When he asks if they're happy, Sabrina answers honestly about one of Tennille's suggestions, adding conflict. Chef Ramsey tactfully states that he's not something he'd enjoy but if the spices are balanced right, it could work. See? And you people think he's just rude all the time.
The guests in Hell's Kitchen have the option of choosing from either the Red or Blue menu tonight. The Blue Team is very confident. The Red Team isn't. The announcer points out that everyone on the Blue Team has an idea on their menu. On the Red Side, Sabrina suggested nothing. Ouch! Sous Chef Heather tries to fire up the Red Team but it doesn't seem to work. It's as if now that they don't have Suzanne to hate, they've lost their focus.
The majority of the early tickets are for the Blue Kitchen. Since individuals at each table can order from different menus, the kitchens need to work together to have food go to the tables at the same time. I feel this will not go well.
Tennille starts slow, cooking something she's never cooked before. She clearly states she has no way to tell if it is right and looks for help from Ariel as it was her idea. Ariel can't spend time on it and Tennille incurs a tongue lashing from Chef Ramsey because of it.
Van's first order of scallops has an extra one in it. Chef Ramsey tries to explain what happened and Van gets all confused leading to a 'Yes, I can count' moment in Interview. Van's looking a little simple today. It doesn't help that his next order is scorched.
Ariel has a order return. Then another. Then another. And it's her dish. Chef Ramsey is legitimately ticked off.
Blue Kitchen is rocking so it's clearly time for something bad to happen. Dave lifts a heavy pan too far out over the stove while twisting a little, the sort of thing that clearly looks stupid from our angle but probably made sense to him at the time, and it hurts him. He describes it as a pinched nerve. He hustles out to see the medic, leaving his Team confused and shocked. The pain is in his already damaged hand. We go to commercial while he winces in pain 'backstage'.
Dave sucks it up and returns to the kitchen to muscle through the pain. Hardcore!
Sabrina gets busted for being slow. Tennille decides to start sweeping up in the middle of service. Not a quick 'get some of this out of our way' but a clean sweeping. This gets her a big 'what the heck?' from everyone else.
Van spills some sauce while coming to the pass. Chef Ramsey chastises him for not cleaning it up promptly and it becomes a THING very quickly. Van can't look at Chef directly in an effort to keep himself calm and that becomes part of the THING. It doesn't help that the next order of fish he brings up is undercooked. Kevin and Suzanne check his next order, note it's not close, but he takes it up anyway. Van cooks fish all the time, he feels confident he has this. Chef Ramsey notes it's not even close and slams his hand into it, sending bits of fish everywhere. Van's spirit is visibly fading.
Sabrina can't cook fish either. Chef Ramsey is well ticked now. He calls Van and Sabrina forward. Commercial.
Both kitchens have ground to a halt because of the fish problem. Chef Ramsey closes down the kitchen because of this.
No one won tonight. Chef Ramsey is very disappointed. Each Team needs to volunteer someone for elimination. Kevin logically points out that Van screwed up the most tonight so he should go up. Van volunteers Suzanne but she doesn't want to go up just because she's the newbie to the Team. Behind her back, Van lobbies for Suzanne. Neither Dave or Kevin has an issue with that. Sabrina and Tennille argue for each other. Ariel becomes the tie-breaking vote.
Nominees for elimination: Red Team – Sabrina. Since she is volunteering the information she notes that she believes it's due to her past work, not so much tonight. Blue Team – Commercial.
Dave identifies the nominee as Van based on his performance tonight. He also identifies Suzanne as the weakest chef on their Team. Sabrina and Van step forward. Van tries to defend himself, that he's not a quitter. He shows some energy. Sabrina is much calmer but generic.
Sabrina is eliminated. Chef Ramsey shakes her hand and thanks her. He compliments her but says she's not his head chef.
Chef Ramsey warms the remaining contestants that tomorrow will be their most difficult challenge yet.
Trailer: Presents! The Black Jackets arrive which normally mean one Team. After that, it's all out war. Things get so bad that we see Chef Ramsey and Sous Chef Scott walking out of the restaurant completely and out into the streets. Wow!
- Ariel and Kevin seem to have the biggest chance of surviving to the final at this point. Dave still has the hand to overcome and it seems to affect him more than Kevin's ankles. Van is stumbling. Tennille is fading a bit.
This episode is from last week, when they aired two episodes. I accidentally saw a spoiler for this week's episode today and it gives away so much! Grrr!
Recap: Crepes don't go well, Dave's dessert loses the challenge for the Blue Team, during the French themed evening, Suzanne, Sabrina, and Andy all get kicked out of the kitchen, but the other complete service. Andy goes home and Suzanne to the Blue Team. Kevin insists he'll be the winner.
Everyone returns to the dorms. Tennille is thrilled to be rid of Suzanne. Kevin is very clear to Suzanne that the Blue Team does not want her, does not like her, and will not tolerate her messing up their sync. She claims that she received her wake up call. Red Team does their best to bond but Ariel expresses concern over Sabrina's recent performance.
Next morning, the contestants are greeted by Sous Chef Scott who explains that Chef Ramsey wants a word with them. A television drops from the ceiling and links up with Chef Ramsey in Whistler, British Columbia, the location of the restaurant that is this season's prize. Via the video link, Chef Ramsey gives them a tour of the place. The contestants get pumped. Chef Ramsey also explains the challenge: 15 ingredients local to Whistler have been flown into Hell's Kitchen. Each Team put create 3 entrees from the ingredients, using all of them only once. He's returning to Hell's Kitchen with 'special guests' to help him judge the challenge. They have about 2 and a half hours before they arrive.
Both teams take the ingredients and start planning things out. Sabrina and Suzanne are both ignored by their teammates. Sabrina laughs in Interview that Tennille and Ariel keep referring to the one meat as 'lamb' when its venison. Since they won't listen to her, she doesn't bother to try correcting them. With seconds left, the Teams finish plating up their entrees.
Chef Ramsey returns and introduces the guest judges: Olympic silver medalist Sasha Cohen and gold medalist Jonny Moseley. Since the Winter Olympics are in Whistler, this makes sense. Kevin vs Ariel to start. Both medalists vote Blue as Ariel's sauce was considered too heavy. Dave and Tennille approach the table. Tennille identifies her 'lamb' dish and stumbles once Chef Ramsey questions her. Once it's clear that the dish isn't lamb, she's totally thrown off. Commercial. Ha!
After a moment's stumbling, Tennille identifies the meat as venison. Chef Ramsey is clearly disappointed by this and checks that they knew it was vension. Ariel and Tennille insist they knew and that it was a slip of the tongue since they work with lamb all the time. Ariel remains silent, except in Interview where she relishes the situation. Both medalists vote Red as it was more complex.
Van and Sabrina are last. Sabrina is fine. Van's brain locks up and he sounds like a complete knucklehead. Both medalists vote Blue and the Blue Team wins!
Reward: fancy lunch and presents from Canada. Punishment: a day spent on a local farm, milking cows, cleaning out a pig pen, etc. This is rough cause pig mess is pretty much the worse smelling stuff you can be around.
A New day. Chef Ramsey rips up his menu and announces that it's time for each Team to develop their own menu. The Blue Team clicks, even Suzanne. The Red Team is not in sync with Tennille. Sabrina and Ariel don't find her ideas gel with the idea of fine dining. As time runs out, the Blue Team is ready, the Red Team is not and aren't pleased. Commercial.
Van walks Chef Ramsey through their menu. He approves. Ariel walks Chef Ramsey through the Red Team's menu. When he asks if they're happy, Sabrina answers honestly about one of Tennille's suggestions, adding conflict. Chef Ramsey tactfully states that he's not something he'd enjoy but if the spices are balanced right, it could work. See? And you people think he's just rude all the time.
The guests in Hell's Kitchen have the option of choosing from either the Red or Blue menu tonight. The Blue Team is very confident. The Red Team isn't. The announcer points out that everyone on the Blue Team has an idea on their menu. On the Red Side, Sabrina suggested nothing. Ouch! Sous Chef Heather tries to fire up the Red Team but it doesn't seem to work. It's as if now that they don't have Suzanne to hate, they've lost their focus.
The majority of the early tickets are for the Blue Kitchen. Since individuals at each table can order from different menus, the kitchens need to work together to have food go to the tables at the same time. I feel this will not go well.
Tennille starts slow, cooking something she's never cooked before. She clearly states she has no way to tell if it is right and looks for help from Ariel as it was her idea. Ariel can't spend time on it and Tennille incurs a tongue lashing from Chef Ramsey because of it.
Van's first order of scallops has an extra one in it. Chef Ramsey tries to explain what happened and Van gets all confused leading to a 'Yes, I can count' moment in Interview. Van's looking a little simple today. It doesn't help that his next order is scorched.
Ariel has a order return. Then another. Then another. And it's her dish. Chef Ramsey is legitimately ticked off.
Blue Kitchen is rocking so it's clearly time for something bad to happen. Dave lifts a heavy pan too far out over the stove while twisting a little, the sort of thing that clearly looks stupid from our angle but probably made sense to him at the time, and it hurts him. He describes it as a pinched nerve. He hustles out to see the medic, leaving his Team confused and shocked. The pain is in his already damaged hand. We go to commercial while he winces in pain 'backstage'.
Dave sucks it up and returns to the kitchen to muscle through the pain. Hardcore!
Sabrina gets busted for being slow. Tennille decides to start sweeping up in the middle of service. Not a quick 'get some of this out of our way' but a clean sweeping. This gets her a big 'what the heck?' from everyone else.
Van spills some sauce while coming to the pass. Chef Ramsey chastises him for not cleaning it up promptly and it becomes a THING very quickly. Van can't look at Chef directly in an effort to keep himself calm and that becomes part of the THING. It doesn't help that the next order of fish he brings up is undercooked. Kevin and Suzanne check his next order, note it's not close, but he takes it up anyway. Van cooks fish all the time, he feels confident he has this. Chef Ramsey notes it's not even close and slams his hand into it, sending bits of fish everywhere. Van's spirit is visibly fading.
Sabrina can't cook fish either. Chef Ramsey is well ticked now. He calls Van and Sabrina forward. Commercial.
Both kitchens have ground to a halt because of the fish problem. Chef Ramsey closes down the kitchen because of this.
No one won tonight. Chef Ramsey is very disappointed. Each Team needs to volunteer someone for elimination. Kevin logically points out that Van screwed up the most tonight so he should go up. Van volunteers Suzanne but she doesn't want to go up just because she's the newbie to the Team. Behind her back, Van lobbies for Suzanne. Neither Dave or Kevin has an issue with that. Sabrina and Tennille argue for each other. Ariel becomes the tie-breaking vote.
Nominees for elimination: Red Team – Sabrina. Since she is volunteering the information she notes that she believes it's due to her past work, not so much tonight. Blue Team – Commercial.
Dave identifies the nominee as Van based on his performance tonight. He also identifies Suzanne as the weakest chef on their Team. Sabrina and Van step forward. Van tries to defend himself, that he's not a quitter. He shows some energy. Sabrina is much calmer but generic.
Sabrina is eliminated. Chef Ramsey shakes her hand and thanks her. He compliments her but says she's not his head chef.
Chef Ramsey warms the remaining contestants that tomorrow will be their most difficult challenge yet.
Trailer: Presents! The Black Jackets arrive which normally mean one Team. After that, it's all out war. Things get so bad that we see Chef Ramsey and Sous Chef Scott walking out of the restaurant completely and out into the streets. Wow!
- Ariel and Kevin seem to have the biggest chance of surviving to the final at this point. Dave still has the hand to overcome and it seems to affect him more than Kevin's ankles. Van is stumbling. Tennille is fading a bit.
30 September 2009
Comics Aren't Just Super-heroes
It's not often I buy a 200+ page graphic novel and read it that same day but it happened today. I went to flip through 'Johnny Cash - I See a Darkness' and could not put it down. Wow.
It's a biography of the man told primarily in flashback from the point-of-view of Glen Sherley, writer of the song 'Graystone Chapel' and former Fulson Prison inmate. Leading up to Johnny's famous concert in Fulsom, Glen works to get a copy of his song to Johnny and explains his fascination with the man to a fellow inmate, going through the history of John R. Cash. We see his childhood, the death of his brother, his first marriage, forming the Tennessee Three, recording at Sun Records, his growing addiction to uppers, accidentally burning down a national park, and so much more. An entire chapter is dedicated to the concert at Fulsom and Johnny playing 'Graystone Chapel' in front of Glen for the first time. The main story ends there, wrapped up by a coda section which is mostly an old man Johnny speaking with producer Rick Rubin as they record some of Johnny's last works, filling us in one what happened to certain people.
The art is of a sketchy style but totally works, capturing the emotions of the moments, and accurately rendering the people in a way that a photographic reproduction wouldn't achieve. While song lyrics are used, more fascinating are the graphical versions of some of Johnny's songs, some as little 'movies', others as a series of 'snapshots'. Certain classic photographs are used as reference, intentional reproductions of familiar moments from the history of the Man in Black.
This was well worth the $18. In fact, I'd go so far to say it was a steal at that price.
Very recommended. Thank you Reinhard Kleist!
It's a biography of the man told primarily in flashback from the point-of-view of Glen Sherley, writer of the song 'Graystone Chapel' and former Fulson Prison inmate. Leading up to Johnny's famous concert in Fulsom, Glen works to get a copy of his song to Johnny and explains his fascination with the man to a fellow inmate, going through the history of John R. Cash. We see his childhood, the death of his brother, his first marriage, forming the Tennessee Three, recording at Sun Records, his growing addiction to uppers, accidentally burning down a national park, and so much more. An entire chapter is dedicated to the concert at Fulsom and Johnny playing 'Graystone Chapel' in front of Glen for the first time. The main story ends there, wrapped up by a coda section which is mostly an old man Johnny speaking with producer Rick Rubin as they record some of Johnny's last works, filling us in one what happened to certain people.
The art is of a sketchy style but totally works, capturing the emotions of the moments, and accurately rendering the people in a way that a photographic reproduction wouldn't achieve. While song lyrics are used, more fascinating are the graphical versions of some of Johnny's songs, some as little 'movies', others as a series of 'snapshots'. Certain classic photographs are used as reference, intentional reproductions of familiar moments from the history of the Man in Black.
This was well worth the $18. In fact, I'd go so far to say it was a steal at that price.
Very recommended. Thank you Reinhard Kleist!
29 September 2009
Ramble
I think people get stuck using certain words for certain actions or things. They have a problem rewriting their brains to the new verbiage. I am not any better or worse at this than anyone else.
For instance, in conversation the other weekend, my buddy used the word 'taped' to refer to something he'd recorded on a DVR. There's no tape involved in that process. It's the sort of word that probably dates us to the age of the VCR. I also come at the tail-end of the generation that still talks about going to 'record stores' in order to buy music. Of course, they were going to buy CDs at the time. Most of those stores weren't carrying records anymore and, when they started again, called them 'vinyl' instead.
I was at one of those type stores the last couple days: Best Buy. Some might have called it a record store before because of all the music it offered but I wouldn't now. The music section shrunk again. I think it was four half racks of CDs at each store. Man, Target has more music available than that.
I'm sure it's due to online sales, either of the CD type or the download type. I do a lot of that myself. Part of it is price and part of it is selection. A big online warehouse type retailer can do better on both of those. Alternatively, with mainstream music being so stagnant of late, I've been buying a lot of used CDs again as they can be so cheap. Downloads work good for that as well. If you only like one song, you can just get one song. It's probably not healthy for music in general, but it's healthy for the customer. There are a lot of CDs I've bought over the years that I didn't like that much the first time listening but did the second or third time. You don't get that option when you download a song.
That said, I need to stay away from the used haunts for awhile again. I filled some gaps of late and, unfortunately, started a few gaps. The itch to fill them is getting overpowering. Must...slow...down...
Stupid multiple interests...
For instance, in conversation the other weekend, my buddy used the word 'taped' to refer to something he'd recorded on a DVR. There's no tape involved in that process. It's the sort of word that probably dates us to the age of the VCR. I also come at the tail-end of the generation that still talks about going to 'record stores' in order to buy music. Of course, they were going to buy CDs at the time. Most of those stores weren't carrying records anymore and, when they started again, called them 'vinyl' instead.
I was at one of those type stores the last couple days: Best Buy. Some might have called it a record store before because of all the music it offered but I wouldn't now. The music section shrunk again. I think it was four half racks of CDs at each store. Man, Target has more music available than that.
I'm sure it's due to online sales, either of the CD type or the download type. I do a lot of that myself. Part of it is price and part of it is selection. A big online warehouse type retailer can do better on both of those. Alternatively, with mainstream music being so stagnant of late, I've been buying a lot of used CDs again as they can be so cheap. Downloads work good for that as well. If you only like one song, you can just get one song. It's probably not healthy for music in general, but it's healthy for the customer. There are a lot of CDs I've bought over the years that I didn't like that much the first time listening but did the second or third time. You don't get that option when you download a song.
That said, I need to stay away from the used haunts for awhile again. I filled some gaps of late and, unfortunately, started a few gaps. The itch to fill them is getting overpowering. Must...slow...down...
Stupid multiple interests...
28 September 2009
A Few Thoughts on Comics from This Week
Pile of books this week and two of them have Muppets in! Yaaaaaaaay!
Some books don't need a lot of discussion.
Nova #29 was good fun. Same excellent writing team, a different artist, but certainly a good artist, and the return of a character that I barely remember. Wow! I remain happy.
Avengers: The Initiative #28 continues the upward trend of the book, showing me why it deserves to exist post: Secret Invasion. One of the teams in the 50 States Initiative figures out Norman Osborn is up to no good and secedes from the Initiative. Norman doesn't care for that and orders a buttwhupping. The team of resistance Avengers goes to lend a hand. The twist at the end of the issue elevates it to that next level.
Issue #57 of The New Avengers features a new artist. The old artist was perfectly acceptable but I'm fond of Stuart Immonen's stylized but clean artist style. Another 'elevate to the next level' type change.
I'm really enjoying the storylines running through Incredible Hercules right now but am not sure what to say about it. The book is currently coming out twice a month with one storyline following Hercules and the other following his buddy Amadeus Cho. Both are wild stories. Both have humor in them. Both are building to something. I'm enjoying the ride.
Fantastic Four #571 has a lot of Reeds in it. A lot. This is a good thing.
Just when Peter Parker thought his love life couldn't get more complicated, Amazing Spider-Man #606 features the return of the Black Cat. Pete just goes with it. I can't blame him.
This week saw the appearance of both the Muppet Show Comic Book #3 and Muppet Peter Pan #1. Can I like one more than the other? Yes, barely.
The Show Comic finally delves into the history of who Peg Leg Wilson, the collection of the treasure that's being searched for, is and he immediately becomes Gonzo's hero. We also see Animal continue his search towards a higher consciousness. That's the only problem I had with this issue. It's still funny as everything but the main storylines for the mini series stall out here, waiting for the next issue to get wrapped up.
Muppet Peter Pan has the advantage of being a beginning and contains all the excitement of a beginning. The story is moved to Boston at Sam the American Eagle's insistance and it just goes from there. Little Kermie becomes Peter Pan. Piggy as Tinkerbell. Scooter, Janice, and Bean Bunny (yes, Bean!) are the kids Peter invites back to Neverland to not grow up. We still have the excitement of seeing Neverland and all that casting ahead of us. The art for this book is sharp, looking very, well, Muppety. There's comical stretching of the characters, but they look a lot like themselves, as opposed to the stylized versions that appeared in the other books. These books just keep getting better and better.
Some books don't need a lot of discussion.
Nova #29 was good fun. Same excellent writing team, a different artist, but certainly a good artist, and the return of a character that I barely remember. Wow! I remain happy.
Avengers: The Initiative #28 continues the upward trend of the book, showing me why it deserves to exist post: Secret Invasion. One of the teams in the 50 States Initiative figures out Norman Osborn is up to no good and secedes from the Initiative. Norman doesn't care for that and orders a buttwhupping. The team of resistance Avengers goes to lend a hand. The twist at the end of the issue elevates it to that next level.
Issue #57 of The New Avengers features a new artist. The old artist was perfectly acceptable but I'm fond of Stuart Immonen's stylized but clean artist style. Another 'elevate to the next level' type change.
I'm really enjoying the storylines running through Incredible Hercules right now but am not sure what to say about it. The book is currently coming out twice a month with one storyline following Hercules and the other following his buddy Amadeus Cho. Both are wild stories. Both have humor in them. Both are building to something. I'm enjoying the ride.
Fantastic Four #571 has a lot of Reeds in it. A lot. This is a good thing.
Just when Peter Parker thought his love life couldn't get more complicated, Amazing Spider-Man #606 features the return of the Black Cat. Pete just goes with it. I can't blame him.
This week saw the appearance of both the Muppet Show Comic Book #3 and Muppet Peter Pan #1. Can I like one more than the other? Yes, barely.
The Show Comic finally delves into the history of who Peg Leg Wilson, the collection of the treasure that's being searched for, is and he immediately becomes Gonzo's hero. We also see Animal continue his search towards a higher consciousness. That's the only problem I had with this issue. It's still funny as everything but the main storylines for the mini series stall out here, waiting for the next issue to get wrapped up.
Muppet Peter Pan has the advantage of being a beginning and contains all the excitement of a beginning. The story is moved to Boston at Sam the American Eagle's insistance and it just goes from there. Little Kermie becomes Peter Pan. Piggy as Tinkerbell. Scooter, Janice, and Bean Bunny (yes, Bean!) are the kids Peter invites back to Neverland to not grow up. We still have the excitement of seeing Neverland and all that casting ahead of us. The art for this book is sharp, looking very, well, Muppety. There's comical stretching of the characters, but they look a lot like themselves, as opposed to the stylized versions that appeared in the other books. These books just keep getting better and better.
27 September 2009
The last Brewer tailgate of the Year
The Brewers home season ended today. The regular season ends for the Brewers next weekend. For our attendance purposes, the season ended on Friday. There was one last tailgate, one last game, and one last post-game celebration to be had.
Thankfully it wasn't a standard evening.
We got there as early as we could in order to maximize the entertainment value of the evening. We got the fire started and curled up in front of it with beer, chit-chatting until it was time for food. The past couple times we grilled we had issues with the fire. Whether it was the charcoal, the fluid, or something we were doing, probably the latter, the fire had a habit of going out. It did so on Friday, a couple of times. As I'd forgotten matches, restarting the fire took a little more risk than it should have. I think my arm hair is mostly intact. Eventually the fire stumbled towards warm and we used the trick we've used the past few times: put food on the grill and let the food juices stimulate the fire. A couple pounds of wings got things slightly going. Some baked potatoes wrapped in foil started warming as well. We had some food related hopes.
The weather was also a concern. Rain had been predicted. Checking in on the radar showed distressing news: there was a band of rain heading for us. With a bit of luck it wouldn't hit until we were already ready to go in or it wouldn't last long. Yeah, no.
Wings had been consumed and the sweet corn was ready to be eaten as well. As I bit into the buttery goodness, the rain started. I'd hoped for a couple minutes of light rain in order to enjoy the corn properly but the rain quickly grew heavier. I ate it quickly, was thankful it was still good, and quickly got sick of being this wet. Burgers were thrown on the grill and I went in the car. My official excuse was that I didn't want my beer to get watered down. Moppy soon hopped into the back seat. He chose this for two reasons: drinking beer in the driver's seat would just be wrong and the windows of the car had started to fog up and he figured that looked bad enough without him sitting in the front seat too.
It poured. The potatoes and burgers managed to get done eventually, almost accidentally. It didn't help that we were parked in an area near a storm drain so it was like being in the middle of a stream. Empty cans and other assorted litter swirled past the car. So much for getting in on time.
By the time the rain had settled down, the game was off and running already. By then we were both stuffed having taken in about a pound of wings, two baked potatoes, an ear of corn, and two hamburgers each, along with assorted beers. There was still some picking up to do before we started the three beer walk and filled up even further.
In the midst of all this, the lights in the parking lot went out. I dunno if they always do and we never noticed because it's generally not that dark when we head to the stadium or what but it added an extra element to the evening, especially after we noticed the lightning in the distance.
In the end, we made it inside relatively dry. The Brewers won. We played some bad Frisbee in celebration. I was full for all the next morning. Woof.
Thankfully it wasn't a standard evening.
We got there as early as we could in order to maximize the entertainment value of the evening. We got the fire started and curled up in front of it with beer, chit-chatting until it was time for food. The past couple times we grilled we had issues with the fire. Whether it was the charcoal, the fluid, or something we were doing, probably the latter, the fire had a habit of going out. It did so on Friday, a couple of times. As I'd forgotten matches, restarting the fire took a little more risk than it should have. I think my arm hair is mostly intact. Eventually the fire stumbled towards warm and we used the trick we've used the past few times: put food on the grill and let the food juices stimulate the fire. A couple pounds of wings got things slightly going. Some baked potatoes wrapped in foil started warming as well. We had some food related hopes.
The weather was also a concern. Rain had been predicted. Checking in on the radar showed distressing news: there was a band of rain heading for us. With a bit of luck it wouldn't hit until we were already ready to go in or it wouldn't last long. Yeah, no.
Wings had been consumed and the sweet corn was ready to be eaten as well. As I bit into the buttery goodness, the rain started. I'd hoped for a couple minutes of light rain in order to enjoy the corn properly but the rain quickly grew heavier. I ate it quickly, was thankful it was still good, and quickly got sick of being this wet. Burgers were thrown on the grill and I went in the car. My official excuse was that I didn't want my beer to get watered down. Moppy soon hopped into the back seat. He chose this for two reasons: drinking beer in the driver's seat would just be wrong and the windows of the car had started to fog up and he figured that looked bad enough without him sitting in the front seat too.
It poured. The potatoes and burgers managed to get done eventually, almost accidentally. It didn't help that we were parked in an area near a storm drain so it was like being in the middle of a stream. Empty cans and other assorted litter swirled past the car. So much for getting in on time.
By the time the rain had settled down, the game was off and running already. By then we were both stuffed having taken in about a pound of wings, two baked potatoes, an ear of corn, and two hamburgers each, along with assorted beers. There was still some picking up to do before we started the three beer walk and filled up even further.
In the midst of all this, the lights in the parking lot went out. I dunno if they always do and we never noticed because it's generally not that dark when we head to the stadium or what but it added an extra element to the evening, especially after we noticed the lightning in the distance.
In the end, we made it inside relatively dry. The Brewers won. We played some bad Frisbee in celebration. I was full for all the next morning. Woof.
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