A Few Thoughts on Comics from This Week

Big week so I'll focus on just a few books.

Fantastic Four #576 continues one of the best runs of this book in ages. The FF have had some rough times and some great times. In an era where stories run for six issues at a crack or are tied into some company-wide crossover, this run has seen stories that run for a single issue and have nothing to do with any big crossovers. The stories are interesting and well crafted, adventurous. The art is exceptional and detailed. This may well be the best book that Marvel is producing at the moment.

Three Generation One Transformer related comics were released this week. All managed to be different yet fit together enough. Last Stand of the Wreckers #2 continues a story set in outer space. Autobots and Decepticons continue to battle. Detailed mysteries continue to swirl around the Wreckers and the histories of the individual characters. Interesting stuff. Ultra Magnus appears in this story but is on his way to the subtitle-less Transformers book. Here, on duty and faced with a situation that he finds indefensible, he becomes more strict in his vocal patterns. The focus of the story here is on Hot Rod's breakaway group of Transformers, a mix of Autobots and Decepticons that (at least claim) to understand that the war is over and they need to find a new way. The key to the success of this issue is Thundercracker's observations of human life. At one point he reflects: "Even the youngest of us is thousands of years old. And for as long as we've functioned, we've fought the same battles in the same ways, held the same allegiances, lived the same lives. We call ourselves Transformers. Where's the transformation in THAT?' Fascinating. The Bumblebee series focuses on the earth Autobot group and Bumblebee's ability to make friends with humans, even when he has to do so for the wrong reasons and feels guilty about it. They're all different books and that's a good thing.

Muppet King Arthur #2 continues to feel weird but I think I have it figured out now. The earlier mini- series have been like Muppet movies but this story feels more like one of the themed episodes of the Muppet Show, like when they did 'Alice in Wonderland' with Brooke Shields. It's more silly than character based. This issue is filled with running gags and reality television parodies and really bad puns. That's really quite Muppety when you think about it.

Life is a Game

I don't generally post videos as updates (Music Monday doesn't count) but this is too fascinating to not distribute. The idea that there are more people playing Farmville than are using Twitter is astonishing. A future that has 'bonus points'? Well, watch the video. I don't think the future will be as he says, the past is filled with predictions that went nowhere, but I think he's onto something all the same.


http://g4tv.com/videos/44277/DICE-2010-Design-Outside-the-Box-Presentation/

You Probably Haven't Seen One of These Before, Unless I Showed It To You Yesterday

 

I like old technology. I think it's the 'Museum' in me. I'm going to guess most of you reading this have never, ever seen one of these before. It's not a Laserdisc. It's a VideoDisc or, more accurately, it's a CED. That logo does appear on the back.

 

 

 

CED appears in small letters in the corner. This is a demo disc and was probably used in a store like Sears to display the technology. This appears to be one of the earliest such disks as it's dated 1981, the same year the players were launched.

 

This was only the third time in my life I can remember seeing this technology. I saw it on display once in a store, probably Sears. As it was only in sale between 1981 and 1986 (more or less), that dates that experience somewhat closely. After I graduated high school, somewhere around 1993 or 1994 probably, I met someone that actually still had one, and it was set up! We didn't get to play with it though. Then Monday I saw this platter at Goodwill for $2 and figured I needed to snag it. 

The platter is a thin cartridge from the outside.

 

 

I don't have a picture of the disc inside as I'm not sure how to open it without breaking it. I had to look it up to remember how it worked as it's been years since I read about it. Wikipedia has a picture of an open one so I'll link to it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CED_player

For those of you who don't want to spend time reading all that, inside it's a record! It's essentially a large LP that can play back video and audio as a stylus reads it.

How wild is that?

LaserDiscs were already appearing at the same time and they were a better, if more expensive, experience. Between VHS and LaserDisc, there was no room in the market for these CEDs and that's why they died out so fast.

Still, it looks neat.

Music Monday - Guided by Voices

Ladies and Gentlemen! Children of Most Ages! It's Guided by Voices!



The Guided by Voices story is a simple one, a familiar one if you will: a bunch of guys from Ohio got together to be in a band, lead by fourth grade school teacher Robert Pollard. Following in the footsteps of their musical heroes, this ever changing group sought to make music, even if their early efforts were recorded in their basement. This is one of those earlier, less polished sounding songs.



But Lo! Their indy qualities were perfect for the mid-1990s and they were seen as being at the forefront of the 'low-fi' scene. Did production money destroy their sound? Presumably you already watched 'Bulldog Skin' from that later period, but see how this sounds to you.



Live even! I saw them live once at Summerfest. It was the afternoon of a sunny day. Maybe. I don't remember the weather, I just remembered enjoying the show. It was early yet so they weren't drunk yet. Rock stars like to drink I guess and by this point the guys were Rock Stars.

So of course a year or so after I saw them, they broke up. 2004 was the end of the band named Guided by Voices but since the mainstay of the band was always lead singer Robert Pollard, it's hard to say the band is really gone.  Bob still makes music and it sounds pretty much the same as it always did: catchy as hell.

A Few Thoughts on Comics from This Week

Amazing Spider-Man #621 continues developing characters, shifting them around, moving them into places (metaphorically speaking). I continue to dislike the story that brought us to this Brand New Day, that the Pete/Mary Jane marriage had to be sacrificed to get us here, but the amount of creative energy that it sparked cannot be denied. So much of it could have existed with the wedding intact but, you know, let's not harp on that. Black Cat visits to help Spidey gets something back from Mr. Negative. Aunt May is still suffering the effects of Mr. Negative's touch and is much more, well, negative for it. Old friends reunite. And the Lizard is soon to return. Yay!

Punisher #14 continues the FrankenCastle storyline, providing us with some information on our bad guy. 'Alps is cold. Perfect temperature for the dish I'm going to serve him.' Ha!

Incredible Hercules #141 contains feats of great bravery, great courage, as well as great treachery. Not everyone will make it out alive. Since they're already announced the 'Hercules: Fall of an Avenger' mini-series, that should be a hint, huh? The how though? Woo-boy. Did not see that coming and maybe should have.

The Tick - New Series #2 is laugh out loud funny. It's like watching a new episode of the 1990s cartoon show. 'Climbing a series of ladders didn't work for Donkey Kong, and it won't work for you villain!' Add some great cartoon art as well as a subplot with Chairface Chippendale and mmmm, tasty!

Then I read Simpsons Comics #163 and laughed out loud more. This issue is written and drawn by legend Sergio Aragones. To say that he gets the Simpsons is an understatement. Homer is responsible for saving the plant from meltdown yet again before accidentally setting it back to meltdown. The meltdown alarm goes off about three or four times during the issue, with Springfield assuming the end is here every time. Senor Ding-Dong reappears! This should be an episode. Really.

A Few Thoughts on the Movies I Saw This Weekend

The Wolfman - Loved it! The movie felt like an update of the Lon Chaney Jr original because that's what it was. Many updates or remakes drift from the original out of some interest in not repeating the entire original film or because aspects of the original no longer work (aka they are considered cheesy now). The Wolfman isn't a note for note remake like that Psycho they did about a decade ago. Lawrence Talbot is a Brit that moves to America as a young man and becomes an actor. It's 1891 in England. The movie starts with the 'even a man pure of heart' speech from the original. The makeup and effects are great, creating a creature that is part Wolf and part Man. One thing that people seem to miss is that the creature from these Universal films is not a werewolf as such, he's a Wolfman. He doesn't turn into a Wolf, he turns into a creature that's structurally human but with strong animalistic features.

There are some scenes where the accents aren't the same as they are for the rest of the film. The big 'twist' isn't really a twist as it's obvious for most of the movie. I'm sure that once I watch the movie a couple more times I'll find other flaws.

But nothing big stood out to me as annoying. It's a classic tale updated with some violence. Some muted but obvious violence. I liked it.

Die Hard - Bruce Willis! Alan Rickman! No shoes! Man that's fun.

Die Hard 2 - Bruce Willis! ... A plane! It's fun but not as much fun. Oh wait, Dennis Franz! Well, sort of.

The Hangover - I keep hearing that this movie is the best thing in ages and hilarious and ridiculous and whatever. After watching it I feel I must say that some of my friends do not get out much. It's not that the movie is not funny but it's not even close to being as funny as the hype presented. It's not that the movie is poorly cast or structured or anything like that. It's not bad. It is funny. I just didn't find it THAT funny. Comedy's like that though, and everyone's funny bone is different. I'm just glad I didn't buy it.

Music Monday - Seether

Sometimes I have a lot to say about the bands or songs I post on a Monday. Sometimes I don't. I suspect this will be more of the latter.

You see, Seether is one of those bands I'm familiar with due to a friend so I don't have a long history to fall back on and go 'oh I remember when', even though I've seen them play live in concert. Sort of anyway. I couldn't actually see them much through the crowd.

This first song wins for the video if nothing else.



The video does connect with some of how I react to the band though. It's filled with pop culture references from the 1980s, even down to the animation style being similar to the video game graphics of the day. The band makes me feel old and yet young. Old because the band is referencing music from the early 1990s, the era when I was first really getting into music, and that just feels weird in a way. This song feels much more like Nirvana, not so much in the sound, but in the themes.



And yet it makes me feel young because, for whatever it is or isn't, it is fresh enough to feel new, to sound enjoyable. It may not be the most experimental thing in the world, it may not be steering music into fantastic new directions, but it's catchy and it sticks with you. There's some depth to be found.

Like this. Peppermint Schnapps my friend.

A Few Thoughts on Comics from This Week

Light week this week with only five new comics for me! Let's see if I can find something to say about each one.

Amazing Spider-Man #620 provides the wrap-up to the Mysterio storyline of this month. One of the things I really enjoyed about this story, and indeed about how Mysterio has been treated of late, is that he's no longer a goofy joke character, he's a serious threat. Mysterio is a special effects master that turned to crime. For a long period of time he was a joke, a relic of 1960s comic silliness as it was unclear how the character should evolve with the times. Mysterio is once again Master of Illusion and you can't be sure what is truth and what is lies. Pete's friend Carlie sees her dead father return. Was his death an illusion to go undercover or is this a robot claiming to be her father? The story keeps you guessing who is what. Fun art, silly Spidey wisecracks, some character building moments, a tease for another story - this was a good book and a good storyline.

Walt Disney Comics #703 does not feature the next part of the Ultraheroes storyline as they've been spun off into their own book. To this I say boo and hiss. Launching a storyline in one book and not having it finish there is bad form I say. Thankfully, this replacement storyline looks interesting: 'Mickey Mouse and the World to Come'. The cover is a homage to the movie 'Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow'. Doc Static's past inventions come back to haunt him and it's up to Mickey and Minnie to save the day! This story starts out in Antarctica, there are some spy-like passwords and double passwords, and once the story starts running after a comedy double-act opening, it just picks up the pace. This looks like it'll be a lot of fun.

Groo - The Hogs of Horder #3 featured no cheese dip. It does feature cheap imported goods, unemployment, banks looking for loans, and other financial perils. While sounding like the business section of the local newspaper, this is intentionally funny. There is also much vanquishing. 'Froo likes a real war! Not that there is anything wrong with the other kind!' Always good stuff.

Muppet King Arthur #1 starts the next 'movie'. The art is very wacky and cartoony, not by any means bad, but does jar slightly after the 'realistic' art of Muppet Peter Pan. The writing style feels a bit light, with frequent 'this is a comic and we're making jokes about it being a comic', similar to Muppet Robin Hood but to the next degree. Miss Piggy is cast as Morgane Le Fey which just seems weird. All in all, this is still funny, but seems a little more out there. If Muppet Robin Hood didn't do it for you, you might want to skip this one and reread Muppet Peter Pan again.

The Muppet Show Comic Book #2 gives me TWO Muppet Comics in one week! Can my heart stand the excitement? The Muppets are still on the road, touring while the Theatre is rebuilt. As Fozzie stayed behind to test himself on his own, the group picks up a temporary comedian who works the Don Rickles style of insult humor. This doesn't go down well with the gang but the audience doesn't mind. To lift the tone, the Muppets try to get him out of that style or, barring that, get him out of the show. The story takes some twists and turns from there. I won't spoil it. A good issue with a 'musical number' page that isn't a musical number but is at the same time. Writer/Artist Roger Langridge uses Rowlf so perfectly for these types of things. It's seems so effortless that it's magical. That's Muppety.

It's Nice to Be Known

I was told this today and it seems unlikely but not impossible and I see no reason to not trust the source so here we go.

I and a couple of my friends went to the Milwaukee Public Museum today. We saw the new 'Dead Sea Scrolls and the Bible' and it was interesting. We wandered around for a bit and then it was time to go but not before visiting the gift shop. There was an igloo of furry doggies that needed to be collected by my friend. Fair enough. I wandered over to the books as normal.

According to my friend, she went to purchase her items. The gal at the register asked if she had a membership, as there's a discount. No, my friend noted honestly, but she pointed to me and asked if she could use my membership discount.

This is the part I want to believe.

The museum employee looked at me and reportedly said 'Oh yeah, he's here all the time.'

That's awesome.

Let's Talk About the Formerly Secret Project a Bit Then

Some years ago, I created a storyline, a universe really, where I could tell whatever kind of story I wanted. In short, the concept was that the world's myths and legends, even those that exist today that wouldn't be considered myths and legends, were real in some way or another. In jest, I refer to this as the 'Steve-verse' and the bulk of my fiction since then is set there, whether obviously or not.

The original piece that started all this was an idea for a novel told in the first person, from the point-of-view of a young man named Patrick Thompson. He reads a lot, knows a few people of interest, but has no abilities beyond that of a normal human. The hope is that the general audience will identify with him as he gets into the occasional bit of trouble that's far over his head. The novel took years to finish as I wrote it in chronological order from Patrick's POV and sometimes I'd get stuck. Once it was done, I realized it needed a lot of work to be finished and needed a certain...something. The something eluded me and the manuscript sat waiting for inspiration.

The character and the universe he inhabits didn't wait idle. Patrick is in the thick of one of El Hombre de Silla's adventures but that story is currently unfinished as well. This is also the situation of another idea for a novel with other characters but set in that universe. 'Unfinished' is a trend of sorts at the moment.

A few months ago while pondering the original Patrick novel, I considered the writing style I'd used and the goals associated with it. The file names are titled 'Daily' because my original goal was to write about a page a day for the story. Hmm, first person storytelling, on a regular basis, with short updates that could tell a longer story when put all together?

Lightning bolt of an idea! That's a blog!

Patrick's been blogging since December of 2009. Some weeks are a bit mundane, some more exciting. My current goal is for him to update at least four times a week and we've hit that, most weeks anyway. The unfinished novel did happen to him, in some form or another, and I do plan to use bits of it as time goes on. He might even tell some stories he hears from his friends, if any occur to me. Overall, the goal is to give you something you can catch up with while on a coffee break but not so much at once that it feels like homework.

http://talesofnormality.blogspot.com/

I hope you like it.

And that's my excuse for not blogging much last week as I was writing a lot of Patrick's story. Wasn't lazy just otherwise busy.

Music Monday - Macnee

Patrick Macnee that is! The gentleman of gentlemen turned 88 last week and it occurred to me that his connection with music, slight as it may be, should be celebrated along with the man. Huzzah!

Mr. Macnee is perhaps best known for his role as Mr. John Steed in the 1960s television programme 'The Avengers'. As part of that programme, he and Honor Blackman, who also appeared on the programme at that time, recorded a rather... strange song. Thankfully someone was clever enough to match it up to some footage from 'The Avengers' to create a video!



As I enjoy the theme music to the show, I have to include it as well.



Make you want a proper umbrella just to be able to slug people with it!

Patrick Macnee would go onto all sorts of other great roles, he's in 'The Howling', he's been Dr. Watson to Christopher Lee's Sherlock Holmes, he's in 'A View to a Kill', he's in 'This is Spinal Tap', he's even the voice of the evil Imperious Leader of the Cylons in the original 1970's version of 'Battlestar Galactica' for goodness sake! But he can't escape Steed and I don't think that bothers him too much. If it did, would he appear in music videos as the character?





Okay, so he appeared in clips in the Pretenders video. It's still Steed!

To Patrick Macnee, may you live a long healthy existence yet. Hurrah!

Some Thoughts on the about-to-start Super Bowl

I'm not planning to watch it.

Instead I will watch television programmes nearly as old as myself or put music on in order to facilitate the writing that continues to pour from me this week.

I would probably cheer for the Saints, as the 'underdog' if nothing else.

I already watched the Who mime once today, on a programme called 'Pop Goes the Sixties' and all four fellows were still alive there.

The Colts will probably win.

Tomorrow I'll go online and see all the 'interesting' ads. The only one I know about that I'm interested in features Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo as the Griswolds from the 'Vacation' movies. It doesn't seem worth it to sit through what's likely to be a lousy football game just to see that brief item.

It's nothing against either team that makes me say that the game is likely to be lousy. That's just odds. It seems like many Super Bowls are blowouts.

There is work yet to be done.

A Few Thoughts on Comics from This Week

I enjoyed Siege #2 much better than issue #1. I'm beginning to wonder if some of that could be due to the preview pages that appeared for issue #1 before its release. Did that spoil too much of the beginning for me? There wasn't that much shock left in that first issue after the beginning. The second issue has no problem in this regard. The story moves quickly without juttering forward in an awkward fashion. While this is a ginormous story from an amount of characters perspective, we are focusing our primary attention on just a few from each group, some Dark Avengers, some New Avengers, some of the Asgardians, etc. It allows the story to continue to look massive while keeping the focus tight. I had no issue following the story. There was one 'holy crap he did that!' moment and a few 'oh cool!' shots. Writer Brian Bendis is often criticized for dragging out a story beyond its plot but that doesn't look like that's going to be the case here. I like where may be going.

The Invincible Iron Man #23 manages to complicate Tony Stark's life and he's still not even awake yet! There is some comparing of notes amongst his friends, Doc Strange has the toughest time talking to him, and the Ghost is ready to kill his body. Better get it together quickly!

I really, really enjoy the Lone Ranger book that Dynamite puts out but it doesn't feel like the issues are coming out regularly any more. I didn't mind that the creative team takes breaks between storyarcs in an effort to keep everything running smoothly, but it feels like this six issue arc has been running for ages. Going back through my list of purchases, I find that the previous issue came out in mid-November of last year. That would explain it. C'mon fellas! Despite my grumblings, I did remember last issues cliffhanger and this issue was up to the usual standard so there were no problems in that regard.

Doctor Who #8 was fun. The posing in the art style is still a bit weird but the original style console room makes an appearance so all is forgiven! There appears to be the seeds of a big time storyline being sown here so I hope that turns out well and not like 'random quest #38'.

Terrible Tuesday Meets Music Monday

Yesterday's very productive day was derailed by some 'vision is impared! I cannot see!' type issues that, thankfully, seem to be subsiding. As last week's Music Monday was far too perfunctory with nary a hint of text to be found about it, I felt the need to at least bebop and scat a little before slugging the video in here, in an effort not unlike my DJ days of long, long ago. There's not too much to say about this band or the song they perform other than that this must be what Nebraska does to a person.

A Few Thoughts on Comics from This Week

Originally Captain America Reborn was scheduled to run for 5 issues. That was extended to 6 but the surrounding books weren't rescheduled, meaning that we've had Steven Rogers running around for the last month our time without getting to see the details of his return. Did this blunt the impact of this last issue? I don't think so. Once the crazy briefly giant Red Skull has been dealt with and the buzz grows within the crowd that 'It's him! It's Captain America!' there's excitement to be had. I think it paid off well. Great mini and a good 'charge' with which to go into Siege.

One of the things I've been enjoying about the Fantastic Four of late is that their book has been focusing on them being a family of adventures moreso that super heroes. As issue #575 explored Subterranea, it felt comfortingly familiar while still seeming new and fresh, that there were still new elements to be found in existing territory. That's not easy to do without a reboot but that's what this book feels like to me. Excellent stuff.

Since turning into 'FrankenCastle', the Punisher has become a crazy 80s action flick mixed with a 40s monster film. You may argue the merits of turning the mobster-killing Frank Castle into a patchwork being, but when FrankenCastle throws Man-Thing at a bad guy in a 'fastball special' type move so that Man-Thing can grab the bad guy in the air and 'whatever knows fear burns at the touch of the Man-Thing!', well, that's just crazy over-the-top fun.

Secret Warriors #12 and Avengers: The Initiative #32 both provide us with some back story but in very different ways. Secret Warriors takes a breath to explain where some characters come from, some origin moments if you will, while the Initiative continues to expand the our understanding of the Taskmaster's mindset while providing alternative perspectives on the events of Siege #1. Both play out well to accomplish these goals.

Transformers - Last Stand of the Wreckers #1 is set in the current 'G1' type continuity of the Transformers line but takes place in outer space instead of focusing on Earth. While there are a number of characters to take in, most of them will be familiar if you've been reading the books and only a few are new. The art is solid and the robot designs are clear enough that one character can easily be identified from the next, unlike some of the current movie Transformers. The story has a feeling of history to it while having enough mystery to go around without it feeling like 'everyone has a secret dark past if we did but know about it'. It looks like this will be exciting.

Stuck in the Middle with Myself

Sometimes a deadline can be galvanizing.

At work, projects can be easy to delay until suddenly it's the end of the month and you realize you'll get flack for your lack of progress. Around the home, it's easy to let things sit when there are more 'important' things to do. It arguable that Conan O'Brien did his best work on the Tonight Show when it looked like his time was ending.

Most of my deadlines are self-imposed these days. I push myself forward as best I can every day yet it never feels like enough. Often I feel like I'm in a big middle, close to no conclusion. That is tiring.

Some of that is down to how I react to my situation. I continue to regiment myself after a fashion in the event an opportunity for employment presents itself and yet I wonder if I should give myself over to older habits, staying up later and sleeping later, in an effort to get more done.

Would it work? Is it worth trying? Do I really have the time?

Maybe I just need a second notebook.

A Brief Return

I got to wander the halls of my old employer a bit today. Well, wander in a supervised fashion. I waved at people I haven't seen for over a year and chit-chatted happily with people that I was pleased to see still have jobs. There are still such people. Who knew?

It was odd noticing how my feet still knew where to go. It was interesting to have my stomach turn over in a nervous fashion as I grew near the building. It was great to see so many people happy to see me.

It was nice. I needed that.

Misfits Monday

A Few Thoughts on Comics from This Week

Let's start this week with the big favorite: Muppet Peter Pan! Issue Four came out this week and it easily lived up to the promise of the first three issues. Great art? Check. Great story? Check. Heart tugging moment? Check. A moral that's not heavy handed in its delivery? Check. 'Lady and daredevil and hippie in distress!' Kermit Pan is the 'bad guy' only because he's been selfish. He needs to get past that to succeed and help everyone else. Janice remains a main character. Gonzo gets to shine as well. The ending isn't necessarily the ending one might want, but it's the ending that should be there, especially given the theme of the story. Quite simply, this is the Muppet comic that any Muppet fan MUST have. I don't need to explain it as 'it's good once you accept...' or 'it's funny even though...'; this is just flat out good Muppetness.

G-Man Cape Crisis #5 also completes this series. I'm keen to have a kid read this story. It strikes me as the sort of thing that I would have loved as a kid. There's adventure and excitement and some danger but nothing too dangerous. It's funny and the relationship between the super powered brothers is a highlight. Good stuff.

Transformers: Bumblebee #2 was interesting. There's a lot of stealth and intrigue involved in this post 'All Hail Megatron' world and the way things are playing out is interesting. The Autobot and Decepticon factions are largely gone in the fight to survive against the humans that want to capture the remaining Transformers and shut them down. Bumblebee struggling to becoming a leader is a more interesting story than I expected.

Simpsons Comics #162 was surprisingly solid. These comics are generally good but this was more of a 'why wasn't this an episode?' issue than most. 'Take Your Parent to Work Day' leads to Homer and Mr. Burns becoming brothers. Meanwhile, Bart's substitute teacher is Mrs. Skinner, a prank master whom Bart cannot defeat. The issue builds the story well and the final page punchline was completely unexpected but so in character. Good stuff.

Hello, I must be going...

For one show and one show only, Frank Ferrante's show came to town. Brookfield anyway, which is close enough to count. I got to see 'An Afternoon with Groucho' and it was time well spent.

I dressed up a bit for a show in a theatre with a stage rather than a screen. I was briefly concerned that my sportscoat and slacks would be too dressy but that was not the case. I was not over dressed but I was a bit underage. I think there may have been three people in the audience under the age of forty. Maybe. Lots of older folks but, at one in the afternoon, what do you expect?

There were still tickets available at the door when I arrived a half-hour before show time. I managed to get a seat on the aisle, three rows back. Outstanding.

The Kuttemperoor Auditorium in the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts is lovely. It looks brand-new. There's all this light colored wood and simple but attractive decoration. Up on the ceiling near the lights are a flock of carved pale white birds. It makes for a very warm environment.  The seats are comfy as well.

The curtain was open to reveal the set, such as it was. A Steinway piano. A rose. A plant. A comfy chair and matching couch. An old candlestick phone. A couple books. A Pith helmet and stethoscope hanging from a hat rack. A small writing table with a mirror on it. A decorative rug.

To start the show, accompanist Jim Furmston emerged to sit at the piano. Applause rang out when he tried to sit, causing him to stand and bow. This happened three times, letting me know that Frank was in the audience. Jim played a medley of songs sung by Groucho over the years. At the end, Frank popped up from the audience to introduce the show. As he walked across the stage to the writing table, he shed his jacket, revealing his Groucho clothes, as well as his hat, revealing the Groucho haircut. He continued his speech as he sat before the mirror on the table and painted on the Groucho mustache and eyebrows. He tossed on a pair of glasses, picked up a prop cigar, and, BAM!, when he stood up, he was Groucho.

The show can loosely be summed up in this way: singing a Groucho song, performing a sequence from a movie, interacting with the crowd, telling a story of Marx Brothers history, repeat in some mix of those elements. I think there's about a dozen songs in the show. This mix also means the show moves at a good clip and it's hard to tell what's going to happen next. 'Groucho' also flies about the stage with all the manic energy you would expect from someone recreating the man from those early films.

The couch was dusty. In mid-story he flops down on it, generating a cloud of dust to emerge. The crowd laughed and he visibly fought a chuckle. Still as Groucho, he joked about it, and smacked it, causing more dust to fly. Later visits to the couch were made with excessive care, which caused more laughs.

In mid-Captain Spaulding routine, in mid-joke even, he abandoned the stage for the audience. Wandering about, he chatted with people, joking with them ala Groucho on 'You Bet Your Life'. He talked to a couple that had been married for 61 years. He flirted with ladies.  He teased someone that was dozing. And then he came to my side of the theater. I was sitting on the aisle. He walked past me but stopped at the man behind me. That gentleman, also follicly challenged was urged to lean forward. I did as well, seeking to elude the spotlight, but Groucho had me lean back. Forward, back, forward, back, until our heads were near each other's. 'Ladies and Gentleman, my impression of Mae West!' We laughed.

For some reason, he name checked Pewaukee at one point and a whole side of the audience exploded in applause. A large group was from that city. Their response was so great that he would use them as a 'cheap pop', regularly saying 'Pewaukee!' to get them to react.

The first act ended with 'Lydia the Tattooed Lady', a song I learned first from its appearance on the Muppet Show album as performed by Kermit the Frog. Years later I was fascinated to learn it was a Groucho song and that his version has an extra verse, one that I still haven't memorized 100%. Still, I mouthed along the words with Frank and loved every second of it. I actually got one of the jokes in the song for the first time thanks to Frank's performance. I'm so used to knowing the words that I stopped thinking about what they meant. As he gestured, I went 'Oh!' in my head. Then I felt silly for not getting it before.

After the show itself was done, Frank took the glasses off and told one more story before we left. He spoke of the time he met Groucho at a book signing when Frank was young and Groucho very old. Groucho was physically quite ill and couldn't react as he used to do. As he took questions and mumbled responses, Frank noted that the crowd was rooting for Groucho to be, well, Groucho. An audience member asked "Are you working on any more Marx Brothers movies?" Since Harpo and Chico were long gone, this was an odd question to say the least. Groucho looked at the man and rasped "No, I'm here answering stupid questions." With that, it was better.

Most of the time when a performer is signing and selling merchandise after the show, they rest a bit before emerging. Frank's last act in the show was to bolt up the aisle of the auditorium as Groucho and head for the table in the lobby.

The DVD he was selling is his life of Groucho show, covering the man from 15 to 85. It's a 2001 release and I'm wondering if I already have it. If so, I didn't have it signed by Frank and Jim. Both were very friendly and warm gentlemen. I appreciated meeting them and discussing that which brought us together: Mark Evanier's blog. http://www.newsfromme.com/

Good times. Now if the guy that does the Jack Benny show would just come around...

Someone Agrees With My Premise So Maybe I'm Right

http://blogs.laweekly.com/ladaily/city-news/conan-versus-leno-a-generation/

Okay, One More Late Night War Post

Sometimes a detail can elude you. It remains tucked away until it pops out at you. Sometimes you wonder if the detail is really there. Sometimes you can seen nothing but that detail. Right now I have both.

While discussing the Jay/Conan conflict last week, I got hung up on the declaration that Jay had promised to retire in 2004 when it was announced that Conan would take over the Tonight Show in 2009 and that he had somehow reneged on that deal. Earlier posts on this subject have sought to find details about the situation but I'd spent no real time pondering the support.

Conan has traditionally appealed primarily to the 18-49 demographic. It's the age group of which he himself is part. I get the impression that the bulk of those supporting Conan are in that 'key demo'. Age wise, Jay is of the group older than that.

On a surface level, this is about the variation in comedy styles. Deeper down, could this be a lashing out at the baby boomer generation? Due to the economy, many older people are now expecting to retire later in life. To some eyes, they could be seen as in the way, perhaps keeping younger people from advancing to positions of authority or even just jobs in general. Conan then becomes the champion, the symbol, of all those younger people waiting for their turn at the top and hoping that they'll get a 'fair shake' when their turn comes.

Now that I've thought it, I can't unthink it so I think there's something to it. I think.

Music Monday - The Judybats

This is one of those bands that I've loved since the first moment I heard them. I am still annoyed at myself for not seeing them live as they played in Milwaukee more than once. Oh well.

The Judybats appeared from Tennessee in the early 1990s and got lumped into the 'alternative' umbrella. 'Alternative' music at that time is the same as most 'college radio' music from the 1980s: pop songs that weren't popular at the time. This is not meant to be a cut. It is not to say that they weren't inventive or anything like that, it's just that the music wasn't avant-garde or impossible for people to get into unless they were 'arty', they were just good songs that most people never heard and, therefore, didn't get played 7 Billion times a day on some Top 40 station to make you sick of them.

But I digress.

Their songs tend to be about relationships, mostly sad or failing ones. The lyrics are intelligent and show signs of being carefully crafted. They are like little plays, telling stories that come alive in your mind. 'Our Story' is a song filled with longing, regret, and love. A long-time relationship nears its end, or at least another in a series of ends, and the singer reflects on the problems and promises that occurred during it, of the love that held them together and the problems that tear them apart. It's not an official video but it works.



I can't embed 'Being Simple' due to the settings on YouTube but it's another favorite so I'll put up the link for it as well. The video features the single version of the song and has echo effects that don't feature in the album version. Considering it looks like the video takes place near a pool, I suppose the echo 'makes sense'. I do like the song this way as well. I love the way the song builds verbally, walking down a clever path and then suddenly they twist and you see what the point of the previous cleverness was all about. The beginning of the first verse also sounds like something I'd write or should write.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cdu1ea4j7-A

At the same time, the band had quite a sense of humor. Later albums would feature covers of Bee Gees songs and things like that. They broke up, got back together again, broke up, and got back together for a brief tour a few years ago. It's hard to keep track of them.

It's been a while since I last checked but their two 'big' albums, 'Down in the Shacks Where the Satellite Dishes Grow' and 'Pain Makes You Beautiful', tend to haunt discount bins and can probably be picked up rather cheaply.

This is good stuff. I still need to find the single version of 'Being Simple'...

Late Night Wars - additional

Aware of the fact that yesterday's post may have sounded more pro-Leno than I would have liked, my intent for today was to talk up Conan a bit, try to balance things a bit. As I said yesterday, I don't watch the late night talk shows much because I don't find them all that amusing. If you do, good for you. I'm happy for you. I've seen Leno and Conan be amusing away from the Tonight Show and I feel that they are more entertaining away from the show. The format seems to control them more than they control the format.

I had planned to go into more detail than that but, really, not watching the shows, that's all I've got. Mark Evanier knows more about these things and broke down the whole thing much better than I could, going back to before Johnny Carson retired. so read that instead: http://www.newsfromme.com/archives/2010_01_17.html#018381

While I see nothing to indicate the deal is done at this moment, it's possibly a matter of minutes before it's officially announced that Conan has left NBC and Jay is back in charge of the Tonight Show. The last I read stated that Conan would get paid $30 million and his non-compete clause would be up by the fall. The details may change but that sounds done.

If you think Conan got hosed in this whole deal, you may be right. Or not. This was a matter of simple ratings not getting it done. If Conan was getting a monster rating, none of this happens. I'll close on another nugget of wisdom from Mr. Evanier: 'You know, if everyone who's now behind Conan O'Brien had been watching his show at 11:35, he'd still have it.'
 

Late Night Wars

I'm finding the whole Jay/Leno/Tonight Show argument very amusing. This is mostly because I don't really have a side in the fight. I don't really watch late night television unless there's a guest I find particularly interesting. In all honesty, I'm surprised that some of these shows still exist. In the days of cable TV and DVDs and DVRs I'd think people would be watching something more interesting than moderately amusing but poor interviews with movie actors and the like. Then again, that's when most people are relaxing for bed and likely want something calming that they don't have to really concentrate on.

Part of the fight seems to surround Jay Leno's intention to 'retire' from the Tonight Show. I'm seen it argued that Jay decided to step down and his recent 'unretirement' is poor form and Favre-like. I believe that Jay's attitude near the end of his term and his 'new' show reveal the truth regarding the situation: NBC pushed him to quit. During the course of the five years between that decision and the execution of the deal, Leno's position changed. His ratings improved. Suddenly, it wasn't NBC politely pushing him aside for the new blood, they were taking a gamble with Conan and felt the need to keep Jay around as insurance.

Note: “I was very surprised Jay was forced out of The Tonight Show,” says veteran Letterman Executive Producer Rob Burnett. “It was surprising to me that the guy who has been at it for as long as he has and is still hosting a profitable show, that NBC would decide out with the old and in with the new.”

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/106051-Midnight_Madness_Late_Night_TV.php

Already in 2006 people didn't believe it wasn't Jay's decision to quit. Another article from 2006 points to Jay being the 'good soldier'. It also makes this comment: 'there's reason to believe O'Brien would attract a narrower niche than the current occupant.'

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117952095.html?categoryid=1682&cs=1

It seems reasonable to say that there was some concern that Conan and the Tonight Show weren't a good fit. By 2008, the 2005 decision to remove the fading Jay and replace him with the strong Conan was starting to look less and less solid. Jay's ratings were on the upswing and Conan's weren't.

http://www.newsfromme.com/archives/2008_04_25.html#015123

As these articles remind us, Jay was expected to be a free agent at the end of his time on the Tonight Show. Speculation had him reviving his show on another network as no one expected him to continue to play the 'good soldier' role by continuing his show on the same network but at an earlier time.

http://www.newsfromme.com/archives/2008_12_09.html#016325

Conan's first week as host of the Tonight Show garnered a lot of curious eyes. The bulk of those eyes left immediately. By his second week as host, Conan's rating was lower than Jay's had been. Jay had been beating Letterman. Conan couldn't do that.

http://www.newsfromme.com/archives/2009_06_12.html#017259

NBC had trapped themselves in a corner and it's still not clear at this moment how it will be resolved. At this point it certainly looks like Jay will soon be back on the Tonight Show and Conan will no longer be employed by NBC but will be well paid to not work for them. NBC has to scramble to fill five hours of prime-time programming. No matter what happens, they are hosed to some degree.

I think that's what interests me the most about all this. This is television history, one way or another. Even if it becomes nothing more impactful than changing the host of the Tonight Show, that's still something. It seems more likely that it will damage NBC from a long-term perspective. Could this be the first step in the demise of the network? Probably not. If it is, it shouldn't be a surprise.

A Few Thoughts on Comics from This Week

There was a week where nothing shipped, there was the New Year's Sale, I don't know what else prevented me from doing some comic reviews. Most likely there was nothing exciting to talk about during those weeks. Let's not worry about those weeks. What happened this week?

The Marvels Project #5 came out this week. The art is still great, the story is still great, and, perhaps most interesting, this issue looks back on an early adventure of the original Captain America. Very exciting. Good reading.

Invincible Iron Man #22 features the next step in the process to revive Tony Stark: bring in Doctor Strange. There's a great two page spread near the end of the issue showing Doc Strange using his abilities to dip into Tony's head. It's this great mix of motion and hand gestures and energy. Loved it.

Amazing Spider-Man #517 brings us a new Rhino. We also get to see the old Rhino working to move on with his life. The art's a little dark and grimy at times, not always in a good way. The original Rhino trying to be a gentleman of sorts is an interesting twist. I'm liking it so far.

My copy of Transformers #3 has a badly printed cover, one that has a hint of Doctor Who #7 to it. I'm really wondering what the point of the humans collecting Transformers will be. I can't see the storyline going on forever but I think I've said something similar about Dark Avengers more than once and that book's still coming out so what do I know? Seeing some of the Autobots and Decepticons working together is interesting.

Speaking of Doctor Who #7, we get a new artist for the interiors of the book, or the old artist back again. It looks better but he has a habit of posing the characters in weird ways, ways that do look very 'snap shot' but are the sort of poses that you might delete from your digital camera and try again.

The Muppet Show Comic Book #1 is a great rebound from the #0 issue that I didn't care for much. The Muppets take the show on the road for awhile as the Theatre is rebuilt. The structure of the book remains similar to an episode of the Show, with the occasional song and familiar skits but with the added complication of the various temporary sites where the show will be presented. Thankfully Statler and Waldorf have cousins in this town that show up to heckle. In an almost frightening development, when the Muppets hit the road, one member remains behind in the city. Fozzie decides he needs to stand on his own for awhile. The issue makes it clear we'll be following him until he rejoins the group but Kermit's understanding sadness as Fozzie explain this to him is heartbreaking. I'm back on board with this book.

Good stuff.

'Spidey 4' No More

I'm assuming you may not have heard the news yet but here it is: Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire are no longer associated with the next Spider-Man movie. Details at the link:

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=24380

I'm not comfortable with this move.

Despite people's concerns and comments on the first two Spider-Man films, they were generally well received and made a boatload of cash. The third movie was less well received. Interviews seem to point the blame at Sony for that drop off. From what Raimi has said, his plan was for Spidey 3 to have Sandman and Vulture in the film. Replacing Vulture with Venom was the studio's idea as 'everyone' wants to see Venom. In interviews from the time of the original movie, Sam paints a picture of himself as a big Spidey fan as a kid. His connection with the character seems to go up to 1980 or so. Venom doesn't appear until the very late 1980s. It makes sense then that he would gravitate to villains he is familiar with from his youth. While the overall Venom storyarc is similar to the comics, the details are weird and the storyarc doesn't feel part of the rest of the movie. They don't click together well.

Reportedly Sam wanted to use his Vulture ideas in the fourth movie and Sony wanted any villain except Vulture. They also wanted Black Cat, another character that pops up for the first time in the 80s, as well. Within a week of that information getting out, Sam was off the movie.

Now, if all of the above is true, or at least mostly true, I'm concerned. The first two films seem to be more Sam's vision and, again apart from the details, they work quite well. Once Sony starts expressing their opinions more obviously, there are more issues. I'm uncomfortable with what Sony will accomplish all on their own.

This is not to say that this next movie can't be good. Perhaps they'll get a director and a story together that both does what Sony wants and still tells a good Spider-Man story. Perhaps the characters will be cast 'better' this time around. Perhaps they'll reboot the series and perhaps not.

Based on 'Spider-Man 3', I'm just not expecting an improvement in things.

Clever Fellows and Computers Means Restored Television Programme

For years, decades even, the pilot episode of the British programme 'Are You Being Served?' was only retained as a black and white telerecording (simply put this is a means of transferring video to film by pointing a film camera at a flat television screen and filming it) of the original colour videotape. It existed, which is more than can be said for a number of programmes, but always stuck out as it was the only episode not to be retained as the original colour videotape.

A few years ago, a clever fellow worked out a way to have a computer look at the frames in a telerecording and generate a frame between two existing film frames. By adding this extra information to the recording, it gave it more of the look of the original video.

A couple years ago another clever fellow realized that the fuzzy quality of some telerecordings was due to the colour information being retained on the telerecording in the form of dots. He whipped up a way for a computer to decipher the dots into colour information, testing it with telerecordings that still had an original colour videotape in existence so that he could hone the technique.

I believe both processes have been applied to the pilot episode of 'Are You Being Served?' and it was broadcast in Britain around Christmas time. The motion still looks a bit like film but the colour is impressive indeed.

Ah computers and clever fellas. If they could only get all those bored fellas that write computer viruses to work on restoring old Television, who knows what they could accomplish?

Music Monday - Kirsty MacColl

A pretty lady, a cute funny song, and an unfortunately sad ending. Not to the song, to the pretty lady.

http://www.justiceforkirsty.org/

RAW and Impact from last Monday Night aka Wrestling is Dead

This past Monday night saw the 'revival' of the period of time referred to in wrestling circles as the Monday Night Wars. The period from 1995 to 2001 saw two competing wrestling programmes on at roughly the same time on Monday night, both fighting for the same viewers. Ratings were through the roof for both shows. This period of time ended with the ending of one programme and the subsequent closing down of one of the promotions. It could easily be argued that wrestling has not been the same since. It has been less interesting, less creative, less watched. This past Monday saw a company, TNA wrestling, the spiritual successor to the cancelled WCW, run a special show up against the WWE's long time Monday night show RAW. TNA was celebrating the fact that Hulk Hogan was showing up in their promotion and 'pulled out all the stops' to make it a special show. This was to compete with the fact that Bret Hart, long estranged from WWE owner Vince McMahon and WWE star Shawn Michaels, would be guest hosting on RAW. I DVRed both shows with the intent of watching, or at least skimming, through both on Tuesday and reviewing them. Instead I watched bits and pieces of both shows, mostly TNA's Impact show, on Monday night.

I have yet to go back and watch either show.

What I saw of RAW was the same old show that I stopped enjoying and watching a few years ago. While I give them credit for not acknowledging their competition by bothering to do anything more special than Bret Hart, there was still nothing out there for me to care about. The incident that caused the conflict with Bret Hart was a little over twelve years ago. Is it nice to have him 'back', even though the man can't wrestling anymore? Sure, I guess but the WWE has been aiming their programming primary at a younger audience again. Most of the fan base they are aiming at weren't alive when this happened! So, whatever.

Impact was a train wreck. Poor storytelling, random cameos by wrestlers, dumb ideas, poorly developed ideas and, apart from the main event, poor displays of wrestling. It was like an episode of WCW's Nitro from near the end of the run when the promotion was desperate for something to stick, desperate to find a direction and willing to try anything until they found something that worked. It was entertainingly bad but otherwise just bad.

There was nothing in either show that made me want to watch another episode. For that matter, there was nothing in either show that made me want to watch the full episode! As a result, I consider them both failures.

That doesn't mean I didn't learn something from the shows.

For more than a year now, I've been working on a short story collection featuring my character El Hombre de Silla. He is a wrestler that also gets involved in different adventures. While there are wrestling related storylines in some of the stories, he's not constantly in the ring. After 'watching' the shows on Monday it occurred to me that by writing was filling most of my 'need' for wrestling, in a way similar to the 'Doctor Who' fan fiction I'd written when the show was off the air in the 1990s. Rather than suffer through something I wasn't enjoying, I was creating something I was enjoying, with the hope at the end that others will enjoy it as well.

In the end, it wasn't a completely wasted Monday night afterall.

Bring on the Muppets!

Lesson Learned

I need to remember to blog before I go to the comic book store on Wednesdays. I talked all the thoughts out of my head.

Bother.

Quick review of Siege #1 - nicely assembled beginning but not very exciting.

'I may be Dumb but I'm not Stupid'

We all have our own personal bag of expressions that is filled up with things we heard as a kid, things we made up with our friends, things from the media we enjoy, and things from our local environment. The title of this entry is one of my favorite expressions and receives regular use. I believe I got it from my dad but don't know its origin beyond that.

On the surface, the expression is clearly a lie. All humans do things that are dumb and things that are stupid. I believe the difference between the two is some things we do although we know better and some things we do out of our ignorance regarding a situation. The point of the expression, or at least the way I'm used to using it, is that the speaker is not claiming to be the smartest person in the world but that they're not the dimmest brain either. I will honestly tell you that I do a lot of dumb things.

Some times those dumb things turn out to be not so dumb.

Years ago when the concept was relatively new, I saw one of those TV commercials for an ab exerciser, the sort of thing that claims to sculpt your muscles while you sit on the couch. The principle was sound enough: the belt supplied an electric charge that caused your muscles to flex. I bought one, not so much expecting to melt the belly, which was considerably smaller at the time, but more from the idea of 'taking the dare'. What the heck?

Feel free to chuckle at this point if you are not already. 'Steve bought something as seen on TV! Mock him!' Fair enough. Dumb idea as I knew better.

However, upon receiving the item, I saw that it had value. Not as exercise 'equipment' but the charge was enough to engage the muscles and flex them as advertised. It did wonders for loosening up stiff muscles. It had a therapeutic value. Maybe not so dumb.

I found the thing this afternoon while tidying up. My back's been stiff for the last month or so and I aimed it at the muscles that seemed to be causing the most discomfort. After a half-hour or so at varying intensities, I went to warm up a heating pad. While the microwave worked its magic, I walked a little and stretched. My back cracked about three times, just the sort of thing I'd been trying to make happen but the muscles had been too tight to allow it. I'm not magically all better but I do feel more relaxed already.

A dumb purchase? Perhaps. Stupid? Perhaps not.

Music Monday - 9mm Solution

These guys are from Milwaukee. I used to work with the guitarist and bassist. I'm Facebook buddies with the lead singer. I'm at the show on display below, not that you can see me.

So, you know, it took me long enough to get to them. They are full of THE ROCK! Or maybe THE METAL! Or both.

From One Basement to Another

I get out of the Archive for awhile today and what do I do? I spent the afternoon in the basement of Collector's Edge South, a branch of the comic book store I visit on a weekly basis. I hung out with a group of guys I don't get to see often, dug through boxes looking for treasures, and cheered for the Packers. It was a good time.

The highlights of the haul, limited as it might be, were a replica animation cell from Disney's Peter Pan and a wrestling magazine cover dated the month of my birth. Andre the Giant, Dick the Bruiser, Jack Brisco, Dory Funk Jr and others adorn the cover. This looks like good stuff.

I got to hear the stories from Celebration again and was reassured that our 'brilliant' idea to transform one into a comic had been considered and was being worked on. Good stuff.

Doctor Who - 'The End of Time' Part Two

Trying to be spoiler-less story notes:

He will knock four times and then the Doctor will die. SomeTHING, not someONE is returning today. Desperate times call for desperate measures. A song will end but the story will continue on. Geronimo!

Thoughts:

Whereas I had issues with the pacing of the first part, I have no such problems with this part. With the basic concepts put in place by Part One, the story flows on by here with 45 minutes disappearing before I knew it. The other half-hour or so is gone in another snap of the fingers. Big things are occurring here and the pieces fit together nicely.

With all that, there's still lots of time for the little moments. While there is this big science-fiction plot to tell, Russell T. Davies has never shown a great grasp of them. He does interactions of people, even alien people, much more effectively than, say, the machinations of the Daleks or whatever. The more important story thread is the Doctor's knowledge of his impeding doom and how that affects him. He is somber throughout much of the story, especially as certain events come and go. It's the story of a man, alien or not, who has been told his time is coming and what he might consider to stave it off. Will he remain true to himself or will he betray his core beliefs in the attempt to survive? Tennant's Doctor is here a man with a heavy weight on his mind and it shows.

When we get to the circumstances surrounding the regeneration, the reasons are again more important than the actual cause of the regeneration. The somber 'victory lap' that Tennant takes is more effective than the 'wrap-up' sequence at the end of Series Four, not feels so 'let me get these characters in place'. The moments surrounding the regeneration are very sad indeed for a number of reasons I don't want to spoil. There's also a weird moment that I'm not sure I grasp at this point. Whatever.

There are quiet moments. There are 'whoa, really?' moments. There are even a couple crazy action moments. It's a crackling good story that moves along at a good clip. It's good, it may be great, but it's still no 'The Caves of Androzani', which remains awesome.

It's a suitable end for a fantastic Doctor. Thank you David Tennant and I expect we'll see you in the coat again at some point.

It may be brief, but Matt Smith's few moments as the Doctor provide a lot of reason for hope. His surprise and concern about his longish hair ('I'm a girl?') is amusing and his post-regenerative euphoria is a bright dash of colour after the somber story we've been watching.

The man has work to do. Geronimo!

Thumbs up.

It's been swell

A moment of silence, please, for the Tenth Doctor.

...

Geronimo!

Florida Trip Nov 2009 - Magic Kingdom

Just a note for the future - don't go to a theme park on Friday the 13th. It doesn't go well. We went to visit Pirates first as we've decided that's our tradition. Broke. Just as we were about to give up, it opened and we got to ride it. We were stuck at the top of Splash Mountain for at least a half-hour. And it just kept piling up. We had a running count of 'things not working' and it became a source of amusement. The 'creepy' Haunted Mansion was fine. That seemed oddly appropriate.

Walt Disney World Railroad - Once. You ride a train around the park seeing the sights as well as a few displays set up only for the railroad. The train stops at the main station at the front of the park, in Frontierland, and in ToonTown. I like trains. It is relaxing. If you're going to be at the parks for several days in a row, I'd recommend saving it for later in your trip as that's normally when you start to tire a bit. At that point, a brief ride on a train can be restful.

Swiss Family Treehouse - Once. You walk through the house that the Swiss Family Robinson set up. It looks like they just left it behind. Go through it at night and take in the view at the top. It's fun but it's not the sort of thing I'd visit a lot. There's just not that much going on.

The Enchanted Tiki Room Under New Management - Once. You sit in a room that has a South Sea type decor to it. Once the doors close, the room comes alive, filled with singing birds and tiki gods. The fact that you feel like you're in the middle of the show, as opposed to being separated by a stage or water or a ride car, adds to the show's appeal. It's fun. Iago and Zazu have been added to the original Tiki room and their presence makes the show move quickly. I dunno that I'd want to sit through it multiple times on a trip, but it's very enjoyable. There's also sitting, which is nice.

Jungle Cruise - Once. Classic. Silly. Fun. Do it at night when the animatronics don't look so obvious.

Pirates of the Caribbean - 6 times. Still good stuff. Yo ho!

Splash Mountain - Once. You ride a log through Chikapin Hill and observe the story of Brer Rabbit. The ride is fascinating as it's based on a movie that hasn't been legitimately released in America in over a decade. Very colorful, lots of ups and downs until you get thrown into the briar patch near the end and drop 5 stories! Yipes! You will get wet. I'm not sure I liked the drop (they scare me!) but the ride is outstanding from a story perspective. Good stuff.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad - 3 times. Fun coaster. Nothing too extreme, fast but not too fast. Beautifully lit at night.

Haunted Mansion - 5 times, including once on my own. Creepy but not so scary. The song is great. Narration is great. Love this. It just works.

'it's a small world' - Once. The show from the 1964 World's Fair still exists. It's cute. The song will get stuck in your head. It never leaves...

Peter Pan's Flight - 3 times. Riding in a Spanish Galleon or Pirate Ship of some sort, you fly through the Darling children's bedroom, out of the house, and high over London! As you pass the moon, you see Peter and the children's shadow and find yourself in Neverland! You fly over that, taking 'fire' from Hook's ship. Soon, Wendy is about to walk the plank and all looks dire, but Peter defeats Hook and saves the day. As we leave, Smee is trying to rescue his Captain from the ticking Croc. Looks of fun. Moves quickly. Still not sure why the line runs to 50 minutes on a slow day but there you are. Popular.

Mickey's PhilharMagic - Once. Why did we do this only once? 3D movie that bounces through Disney history. Fun.

Snow White's Scary Adventures - Once (at least that's what I have written down, I believe it was actually three times). A speedy ride through the first animated feature film. One of my favorite but simple tricks is in this ride. You approach the Wicked Witch from behind, seeing her glamorous reflection in the mirror. As she turns to face you (the reflection spins as well), we see her in her scary old lady form. Nice! It's a quick fun ride.

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh - Twice. Another speedy ride through the events of the story. Lots of great touches make this ride fun. As you speed through Owl's house, you see a picture of him receiving a deed from Mr. Toad, as the Mr. Toad's Wild Ride was originally on this site. As you meet Tigger, the track is set up so that the car 'bounces' with him. The effect for Pooh's dream, as the animatronic falls asleep as its dream self floats away is impressive. The Heffalumps and Woozles that follow are suitably weird looking. I really enjoyed this ride.

Mad Tea Party - Once. Change places! We made it spin good. Lots of fun.

The Barnstormer at Goofy's Wiseacre Farm - Once. A speedy coaster similar in style to the Woody Woodpecker coaster at Universal. Fun but it's over too fast.

Tomorrowland Speedway - Once. You drive a 'slot car' around a track. Fun for kids, not so much for adults that can already drive.

Space Mountain - 3 times. It was in test mode after being fixed up. The updated lighting is nice. The ride itself is the same. When my eyes weren't adjusted to the dim lighting in the queue, it was great, a smooth ride with awesome lighting effects. When my eyes were adjusted, I could see the track like last time and became aware of the track. I tensed up and it made my back hurt. It is fun but it is what it is.

Tomorrowland Transit Authority - Once. A futuristic 'train' ride around Tomorrowland, going through the buildings. It's very much a smaller version of the Railroad as you get a great view and see things you can only see on the ride. Fun. Weird.

Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin - Twice. Target shooting. Fun but nothing too special.

Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor - Once. An interactive show where the Monsters work to fill a canister with Laugh energy. The video screens show computer animation but much of it is set up to interact with the crowd in the theatre at the time. They quickly explain that you may get put on screen. So many people that wouldn't play along, so sad... until they put the camera on me. As they retold the story of the movie, I was cast as the bad guy, Randell. The only joke I remember was that they said I went invisible and, thinking quickly, I covered my face with my hands to order to be 'invisible'. I looked like I was playing Peek-a-boo. "Awww," the monster on screen noted, "aren't they cute at that age?" Another of those things I enjoyed but would probably only visit once a trip.

Pictures:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2044688&id=1353274305&l=f87259cb85

And that's the end of that chapter.

Briefly in Time

For the un-clever out there, and there do seem to be a lot of you, the end of 2009 does not bring with it the end of a decade. That is the job of 2010. As there was no year 0 (our calendar went from 1 BCE to 1 CE or AD however you like), we count decades from 1 to 10.

If someone asked you to start counting, would you start '0, 1, 2, 3'? I'm inclined to think you'd say '1, 2, 3, 4'.

This is not complicated. I understand that the Y2K bug may have confused you. Please get this figured out by 2019/2020.

Yours in Time,

-SMW

Doctor Who - 'Fire and Ice' Review

Before I dig too deeply into this, I want to point out that it's a fan-made production. While this means the production should be given some leeway, I still intend to be honest with my opinion.

Story in brief:

Alice is a normal enough college student in the US. Running late for class, she drives through the rain, gets distracted by something running across the road, and almost runs over a man, a man who seems to stare right through her before running off. The event haunts her and she later investigates the area. She gets lost in the woods. She gets found by the 'watch dog' that ran across the road earlier and is saved from it by the man she almost hit, a man she will find later is called the Doctor. Life gets much less normal after that.

Thoughts:

Let me get one this out of the way: I liked this. It was a good show in general. Let me nit-pick a bit for a while.

The sound is solid. I believe much of the audio was re-recorded in post and this makes it generally easy to listen to and make out the words being spoken. Unfortunately, the music (yes, it's got music) was often mixed a bit loud during dialog sequences and drown out some of that good work. The music is in the style of the new series and, to be honest, I didn't care for all of it. I didn't always think the music worked for the scenes, sometimes being too 'spooky' for its own good. It's also of the 'woman vocalizing randomly' style which is not my favorite. There is also one sequence that appears to have had an encoding problem as the audio and video don't match. It's a brief problem.

There are special effects. Some of them are quite good. The 'watch dog' is really not. A couple of sequences near the end are a little awkward as well but all credit for trying. One scene has effects missing but it is a brief moment.

There is a LOT of good in the story. Alice and her friend feel very natural in reacting to each other (apart from a sequence or two that feels awkward but, again, minor). This is important as the bulk of the first half or so of the episode is these two characters interacting. This is good and bad. It is good because there is great effort made to make their reactions credible, to show why they would start to believe that weird things are happening. It's bad because we only see the Doctor in passing during this part of the episode and the show is only named after the character. It's well constructed but it's too long.

The pacing of the episode is a bit off. The episode runs to about 70 minutes and probably should be ten minutes shorter. There are a few early sequences that don't add much and could be shortened or eliminated. Once the Doctor and Alice meet to become companions, the story shifts into exposition mode and all the weird things we've seen hints of through the episode to that point are explained. This gets a bit tedious. As some of this information gets repeated during a later sequence, it becomes more annoying. I understand that the crew was trying to get across why Alice would decide to accompany the Doctor at this point, trying to make her seem realistic, but it doesn't flow well. There is too much sitting and talking at this point.

While trying not to give away the ending, it's different and not so good at the same time. The downside to spending all this time with Alice and seeing the story from her point of view is that the ending is a bit rushed. We don't get to spend much time with the antagonists. Their point of view is laid out in a couple of lines and it's over.

I'm not so sure about the Doctor. There are attempts to make him interesting and his 'faux-hawk' is different but I'm not sure I liked him. There's not enough of him to make a decision on. His reaction to the events of the ending is either meant to be a character note or it's just poorly written. I'm not sure which.

Alice seems to be named such in order to use one line at the end of the episode. There's also an 'alternate' title mentioned during the story that's better than the actual episode title.

Grouching over, the acting is solid. The production is excellent for a fan video. They appear to have a physical TARDIS prop. The physical events in general are solid. Alice's friend is very cute (not that Alice isn't pleasant looking herself). It looks and sounds good. It looks like they shot most of it around their college and house and the woods near it so the locations look good.

Despite all my 'complaints', I enjoyed watching this and would watch another. I'm curious to see if they can generate another planet or have a space for sets. I haven't gone looking for more information on the group yet because I didn't want to color my opinions at this point.

Available to be downloaded from the Internet. Recommended.

Quiz Time

You are on a two lane highway. You are in the middle of nowhere. Traffic is light. You are in the right lane and are traveling at a pace you find comfortable. There is no inclement weather to hinder your progress.

About a mile down the road you see a work truck, not a semi, not a pickup, but something that might have a plow attached or be a garbage truck. As it quickly becomes larger, you realize that it is traveling at a much slower pace than you are traveling.

What will you do?

1) Verify that the left lane is clear using your mirrors and checking your blind spot. Signal the lane change and change lanes while still a significant distance away from the truck. Pass the truck with care. Once safely ahead of the truck, signal your lane change and return to the right lane. Continue on your trip.

or

2) Continue driving until you are tailgating the truck and have to slow down to avoid hitting it. You are now in the truck's blind spot but that does not concern you. Follow the truck for another mile, becoming irritated by the fact that the truck has not sped up to meet your desired pace. Signal briefly a lane change and swing around the work truck. Travel blissfully in the left lane for multiple further miles, only changing lanes when another vehicle 'suddenly' approaches you from behind while traveling at a high rate of speed and is forced to pass you using the right hand lane.

Man I hate people.

Doctor Who - 'The End of Time' Part One

Story teaser: The Doctor has been summoned by the Ood who warn him of many things, including the oncoming darkness that seems to be the End of Time. They also show him a face, a face that all humankind has been dreaming, the face of a man that is dead: the Master. The disciples of Harold Saxon attempt to put Humpty Dumpty back together again but all does not go well and the Master is incomplete. While the Doctor attempts to trace down and assist his former friend/enemy, he remains unaware of the full scope of the situation...

Thoughts:

This did not need to be an hour long for one. There's a lot of running around and yelling and jumping in the early sections of the episode that would look silly in a X-Men movie. Very disappointing. I started reflecting on the episode of 'Planet of the Spiders' that is one long chase scene.

Then the Doctor bumps into Wilf and it all begins to settle down. There's all this weird information that's being flung at us, goofy almost random events, then we start to see Wilf and Donna and the story starts to take shape. Russell is writing people talking and communicating normally and he's comfortable again. Unfortunately it takes about twenty minutes to get to this point, especially as the story only starts to gel at this point. This means the first half or so of the episode is Not Good.

While Russell has done some interesting things to explain and fill out the character of the Master, I wasn't all that fond of John Sims' Master when he first appeared. It's not completely fair to judge him here as he's not really playing the Master, he's playing this vampire-like Master, feeding to stay together. As such, more on the edge, he is a bit sympathetic. At some point in the future, I'd like to see a 'normal' Master again. The character was good, fun even, and this version has just been mental.

There are a couple bits to the cliffhanger, neither of which I will mention here. The first bit goes on a bit too long, kind of beats the 'joke' into submission to a point where it begins to get tedious. It's a good 'wow' moment but gets too dragged out.

The other bit of the cliffhanger? That's a big 'HOLY CRAP!' moment. I squeaked and covered my mouth with my hand like an old woman. It's awesome bit looks like a Bad Thing.

Can't wait until next week.

Home Theatre Update

Tore apart my home entertainment center today looking for the point of failure. I unplugged this and plugged in that, then unplugged that and plugged in this. Quite the mess. After awhile I noticed that when my PS3 was connected to the television and was plugged into the power strip, I had feedback. When it was unplugged, no feedback.

This depressed me greatly. I haven't had the PS3 all that long and losing it would mean that I'd have limited or no access to my DVDs, video files, and the few blu-rays I own.

I kept testing. Unplugging the cable from the cable box into the television also removed the feedback. With it out, I could plug the PS3 in with no problems. Excellent! Except now I have no cable.

This opened a number of new questions. Was it the connector on the TV? The box? What? Luckily it's a nifty new type box with multiple input and output connections and I had a network cable running from the gateway to the area of the TV for the Mac mini that's also in that area. I still saw feedback using an alternate output method. Once I unplugged the cable coming into the box and replaced it with the network cable, I was good again.

So it looks like it's the input cable. Considering we didn't replace this cable when we changed cable providers earlier in the year, it's very possible that the cable just went bad. Or it could be another connector. I'll follow it back later. It took me most of the day to find this problem.

The best part about this is that I spent all this time working to improve my video quality and I'm using it to watch scratchy old video from the 1960s.

Yes, I am ridiculous.

Brief grump

Hate complaining but I'm going to do so briefly to get it over and done with.

Determined that my right contact lens was in inside-out the other day and went to fix it yesterday. Intense pain that I mistook for my eye readjusting instead of foreign materials. When it just didn't go away, I eventually wised up and removed the contact. Went about a day only sort of being able to see. Got a new contact in there this afternoon and it went in all comfortable and smooth, like it should. Much better.

Unfortunately that makes it easier to see the problems with my TV. It has bands of visual interference that slowly climb and distort the picture. It's accompanied by audible feedback. It's worse on certain inputs. I'm wondering if there's a bad cable that's leaking back and forth. Another theory is that my recent use of the component input for the first time since getting the TV overloaded something inside the TV and it's blowing out. Maybe it's something crossing over with the old receiver I also have plugged into the TV. I'm hoping to have time tomorrow to tear the home theatre apart and see if I can uncover the problem. I'm really hoping it's just a cable. I really don't want to get a new TV at this time. Not if I can help it anyway.

Florida Trip Nov 2009 - Disney's Hollywood Studios

We spent a LOT of time here and that was reflected in the amount of pictures I took. I believe they are all posted now.

The Great Movie Ride - 3 times. You take a guided tour through movie history. The animatronics are of a generally high quality. The ones that are good (Gene Kelly, Julie Andrews, James Cagney, John Wayne, etc) are really good. The ones that aren't (Sigourney Weaver, Harrison Ford) aren't good but that's likely due to likeness rights and contracts and such. The highlight is the Wicked Witch of the West animatronic near the end of the ride. It's one of the higher level animatronics and moves impressively. It ends with a montage of clips from movie history in a 'theatre' of sorts. While there are some really fun sections to the ride, the tour guide script is very dull, intentionally so I believe. If you don't get into the classic old Hollywood scene, then there isn't much to see here. I enjoyed it a lot but I can see how others in my group got bored with it.

Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular - Once and we missed the beginning stunt. Doh. Fun, great look into how stuntwork works but it's a little long. Not sure I'd want to watch it over and over again on one trip. Highly impressive though.

Star Tours - 5 times. Chances are this version of the ride will be gone by the next time I go to Florida. It's getting refurbed and changed. While the hydraulics might need some work (or I just get queasy on simulator rides) I'm wondering how the update will go. I've heard rumours. Could be awesome or could be too much prequel stuff. That would lack cool.

MuppetVision 3D - 5 times. I still love this thing. It's getting remastered. I like that idea.

Studio Backlot Tour - Once. There's a brief show, some stuff to walk through, and a tram tour where you get to see a lot of old props. It's fun but another of those things that I'm not sure would be neat for multiple trips.

Toy Story Midway Mania - Once. Fun game. I won. :)

Walt Disney: One Man's Dream - Once. Lots of historical stuff regarding Uncle Walt. Props, photos, reconstructions of things, models, all sorts of neat stuff. I didn't watch the video at the end. This is a lot of fun for me. I think this works for me over the Backlot Tour because it's not a guided tour. I can pop in for a few minutes or linger, it's not that I'm locked into something for a half-hour.

The Magic of Disney Animation - Once. Got my picture taken with Sorcerer Mickey but the picture didn't turn out darn it.

Rock n Roller Coaster featuring Aerosmith - Once. It's a dark coaster inside a building. All I knew about it going in was that it launches at 60MPH and goes through two loops where you are upside-down. The going upside-down is what stopped me from going on it last time. This time I talked myself into it. You're latched in all sorts of tight and the first loop is right after you launch so you're through it so quick you don't even notice. The second one I noticed and it freaked me out to see the floor. When we got off the ride, my reaction was kinda like my reaction to the Mummy ride the first time: 'I dunno if I liked that.' I was giggling as we walked out. It was fun. Pity we did it after our days at Universal because it might have helped me talk myself into going on the Hulk. It's fun. I'd ride it again. I think.

The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror - 10 times. This also gives me hope that I'd like Rock n Roller Coaster more if I rode it a few more times. The first couple times I rode this during this trip I was still uncomfortable, like I was the first trip. Knowing we had more time to spend at Hollywood Studios than last time, I was inclined to ride it more. As I rode it, I got more comfortable with it. By the end of the trip, I went from clutching onto the handles with a deathgrip to having both hands in the air for the entire ride, hooting and hollering with excitement. This is good stuff.

Fantasmic! - Once. Laser, firework, water, fire, projection, and character show. Mickey falls asleep and his dream gets hijacked by Disney villains. He fights back and everything ends well. A fun show but more of it was video projected onto water than I expected. Now that I know what to expect, I'd see it again but the process to get into the theatre is a pain in the butt, especially when the group gets separated on the way inside. It's another of those things you have to set aside time to accomplish and I like keeping the days a little more loose than that. I know, I'm lazy.

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2045438&id=1353274305&l=aed1d0bf37

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2045580&id=1353274305&l=3fb2bd9827 

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2045416&id=1353274305&l=91863074c5

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2045041&id=1353274305&l=6af1844553

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2044910&id=1353274305&l=e870c31594