A Few Thoughts on Comics from Last Week

I'm catching up! Sorta...

Avengers #1. The book gets relaunched yet again. Bendis and JR JR. Bendis has been criticized over the years for being whatever with the Avengers but this issue just FEELS big time. The building of the teams. The joy the characters feel for being in their 'proper' place again. Thor not hesitating to smack Kang around. Great art, good subplots, it feels like an old school Avengers comic and updated at the same time. I hope this is how it stays for awhile. Loved this.

Invincible Iron Man #26 continues the 'reboot' of Tony's life. 'Captain America doesn't do razzle-dazzle on my schedule.' Honestly, I can't beat that line.

Transformers - Last Stand of the Wreckers #5 is the end of the series. I can't say much without giving away the story but will point out that 'last stand' is in the title for a reason. Lots of things go boom.

Simpsons Comics #166 in which the Simpson men decide to join forces and cheat to win a local bike race. It's a reasonably well done plot, more character based than gag based. It actually could have used a few more gags. It was good but not as funny as I felt it should have been somehow. There should be a couple of really good lines in the story and there's maybe one. Homer breaks a bike during training and notes he needs a beer. Bart states 'I think what you need is a tetanus shot.' Combined with the visual it's amusing but it lacks a certain 'I ate all my caps.' repeatability.

Muppet Snow White #1 just wasn't coming together for me. Art that was a little too wacky, a story that was too close to the style of King Arthur rather than Peter Pan, I just wasn't feeling it... until we meet the Dwarves. It's the Electric Mayhem and they sing their song in the mine over a two page spread. I read it, got near the end of the pages, it clicked, I got shivers and reread it. The song is apparently titled 'Seven Dwarf Hop' and it's clearly meant to be to the beat of the Ramones' 'Blitzkreig Bop'. Animal yelling 'Heigh! Ho! Go! Go!' You have my attention again. Please continue. Oh yes and I need this song as a single. Now.

Music Monday - 'The Phantom of the Paradise'

You ever forget things? I do. I forgot that I had a lot of music in lossless format on my external hard drive. I started going through it the other day, putting it onto CD so I could travel with some of it. Amongst these things I found the soundtrack to 'The Phantom of the Paradise' and I'd forgotten how much I love that movie. Basically, it's a rock update of the Phantom of the Opera story with a heavy dose of the Faust tale thrown in. It's better than it has any right to be because the music is by Paul Williams who also plays the bad guy in the film.

...yes, that Paul Williams. Here's the trailer.



Talented writer Winslow takes his songs to publisher Swan and signs away his life's work. When Swan butchers those songs to maximize their commercial potential, Winslow freaks and attacks the record pressing plant (it was 1974 afterall), becoming badly injured but is believed dead. He resurfaces under a mask, haunting the concert hall, and demanding only Phoenix, whom he loves from afar, sing his songs. Swan talks him into rearranging the songs for her and, of course, gets screwed by the publisher yet again. It all get problematic from there.



Yes that was Archie Hahn.



The songs range from wickedly satirical, like the first song, to heartfelt love songs to mean spirited attacks. It's a musical and the music is good. Sometimes it's GREAT Music.



'If I could live my life half as worthlessly as you, I'm convinced that I'd wind up burning too.' Wow! That's a lyric!

Where's my DVD? I need to watch this again.

Phantom of the Paradise (Ultimate Edition) [Blu-ray]  Phantom of the Paradise  Phantom Of The Paradise: Original Soundtrack Recording

A Few Thoughts on Comics from Last Week or So

Siege #4! Finally the wrap-up to the storyline! Years in the making! Nothing can live up to all that and this didn't. It wasn't actively bad but the way the main villain is dealt with is meant to be a desperation move and a cool action moment but it comes across as a Russell T. Davies moment. Russell was the showrunner of Doctor Who, bringing the show back, but he had a few stories, 'The Sound of Drums' springs to mind, where the villain gets the upperhand and things are Very Serious Indeed and suddenly you get the impression he doesn't have a good way for the good guys to resolve the situation so it sort of fixes itself. I'd be more condemning of this but I have the bad feeling I just did it myself. This issue plays out as big action moments and excitement but there are a few 'really? that was the plan?' parts and apparently things are so serious that it's okay for Spidey to swear. I'm happy that we are where we are now in general. This wasn't awful but it wasn't as awesome as it might have been.

Dark Avengers #16 ends the book, wrapping up what happens to the team post-Siege. I rather liked this. It could have been two pages at the end of Siege #4 but it would have been rushed and not as effective. Good wrap-up.

Avengers: The Initiative #35 ends this book as well. The main characters are wrapped up before the book gets relaunched with a new title. Not as exciting as Dark Avengers but solid.

The New Avengers Finale wraps up the last of the storyline elements from Siege and lets the characters have a happy before this Avengers title also gets relaunched. It's a double sized issue and was a bit on the long side but, you know, this title has been known for stretching out its storylines so, really, why should the last issue be any different? Not sure Bryan Hitch knows how to drawn Wolverine out of his costume though. Besides all that, it was a good ending.

Web of Spider-Man #8 made me laugh out loud. While trying to flush out a bad guy, Pete creates a picture blog with Spidey 'bloopers'. At the bottom of the page is a panel with JJJ announcing it as the best web-site he's ever seen, written as if in a hushed tone. The main story was actually a good combination of funny, mysterious, and character based. Just as I was wondering how Pete had figured out how to do internet stuff as he's been portrayed as clueless in the past in this regard, we get a conversation with Betty when he thanks her for helping him set it up. Thank you Mr. Writer! Thumbs up.

Savage Dragon #160 is the final part of the Dragon War. Many Bad Things happen. Lots of characters die. I'm really wondering what's next.

The Marvels Project #8 was grand. In the Marvel Universe, the Axis attacked the Allied on a secret front the same day as Pearl Harbor. Somehow this works. The original Human Torch and Toro aren't enough to stop Pearl Harbor. The main characters are all but in a 'place' as they should be at the beginning of WWII. I really enjoyed the art and story in this miniseries. I would recommend getting it in trade paperback.

Prince of Power #1 begins a quest to bring back Hercules. That's all you need. Standard but fun storyline and clear crisp art. Solid comic.

Transformers - Ironhide #1 has, well, Ironhide in it. Except he's dead. Or not. There's a lot of flashback in this issue and it's not clear what's going on at this point. This would be bad if I didn't think that was the writer's goal. More solid robot art.

The Amazing Spider-Man #631... did the Lizard just do what I think he did? Oh my. That's not right.

Vincent Price Presents #17 has a great CGI cover picture of Vincent Price done by Pixar artist Bill Zahn. The story inside has scraggy art and a story that has more build than payoff. Not awful but not impressive either.

Iron Man Legacy #2 confuses me a bit. The story is fun and the art is good but is this set in the movie continuity or what? It's not quite clear and I don't know. Maybe I shouldn't worry about it. That would be wisest.

A Few Thoughts on Comics from a Couple Weeks Ago

Yes I'm behind, yes time is limited, yes let's get to this!

Amazing Spider-Man #630 continues the Gauntlet storyline with the return of the Lizard. Long term storylines get nudged forward. The Lizard seems bigger and less human than ever before. Nice creepy start to this part of the story.

The Spectacular Spider-Girl returns in a new number 1! Yay! Since soliciting the book, it's gone from a series to a four part limited series. Boo! The gang war that's been heating up in the various Spider-Girl appearances of late is hitting a pinnacle here as a retired 'player' returns to the game in this issue: the Punisher. Even as a white haired older man, Frank Castle still kicks butt. This should get messy very fast.

Uncanny X-Men #524 deals with the fallout of the issue previous in the 'Second Coming' storyline. It seems to be a breather issue to build importance around the tragic event that just occurred, to give it depth. I thought it succeeded in that but am forced to wonder how long it'll be before this tragic event gets reversed.

Walt Disney Comic #706 features the fourth and final part of the 'World to Come' storyline. Will Mickey and Minnie be able to stop the Rhyming Man from reshaping the world to his liking? Well, it's a Disney comic so an unhappy ending is unlikely. This was a good, solid storyline and I really enjoyed it. It was clever, it had action, it brought up some complicated thoughts in a simple way. It was a good story told in a sweet but not sugary way.

Muppet King Arthur ends with issue #4. While I wasn't completely on-board with this story, the end 'battle' where Kermit and Robin fight with bad puns is funny and very Muppety. Kermit gets a good Kingly speech and everything turns out okay, even if it's because the script demands it. A certain Scottish gargoyle that gargles Gershwin makes a brief appearance at the end. I think the ending was good enough to raise the series up a notch. Still no Muppet Peter Pan but this was okay.

The Muppet Show Comic Book #5 continues the Family Reunion storyline (there's even more? Yay!) with the reappearance of Randy and Andy Pig from Muppets Tonight. The 'Genius' (aka Scooter's 'unnamed' twin sister) is still around and helping out. Unsurprisingly, the dimwitted Randy and Andy mess things up, annoy their aunt Piggy, and get into trouble. They try to make up for everything and succeed at failing. This job is too hard! Classic. Hilarious. Get this.

Music Monday - Jim Henson

Yes, I'm aware that we had Music Monday with the Muppets not too long ago but yesterday, May 16th, was the 20th anniversary of Jim's death and, well, I can't let that pass completely without saying something. I mean, MuppetVision 3D just reopened from its refurb in time for this past weekend. That just can't be a total accident. If they can do a nod, we should too.

Much of Jim's work was tied to music. Early sketches on 'Sam and Friends' involved puppets miming to records. This no doubt made it easier for him to perform along to a recorded track later during the Muppet Show for things like this:



Those guys look familiar at all? Take another look to be sure. Yup, the Muppets are caricatures of the performers: Jim Henson, Frank Oz, and Jerry Nelson. Neat way to 'appear' on your own show, huh?

Musically the Muppet Show was also educational as I heard many different types of music that I wouldn't otherwise have been exposed to on my own. Was I drawn to Gilbert and Sullivan? Only so much that one of my favorite records had one of their songs on it. Sure it's Rowlf and Sam singing it but that's still cultural, right? Why is it Rowlf the Dog, Sam the Eagle, Kermit the Frog, but not Fozzie the Bear? Hmm.



I softened you up with silly songs for this moment. At least the intro sequence is trimmed back because the couple minutes leading up to this are the Saddest Thing Ever.



One more silly song? Yes, I think that sounds like a good plan.



Once again, thanks Jim. That was swell.

Getting there

Yup, still tired and worn out from New Things. Also from being stuck at work until 6pm. I hope this is not a trend. On the plus side, I get an hour for lunch and have gotten some nice progress done on Patrick's story. It just needs the time and energy to get it typed up.

A pick-me up is required. The Leprechan Brothers will surely lend a hand.



Not to say this is the inspiration for the late 80s/early 90s sketches from SNL, but it reminds me a lot of Tarzan, Tonto, and Frankenstein 'singing'.



I miss Phil Hartman. Maybe some Rocket Fuel Malt Liquor will cheer me up.



It has!

Music Monday

Here's the deal folks. I started a new (temp) job today and am just beat tired from all the new learning and thinking and such. The reason for the lack of entries here of late has been related to this new (temp) position as I had a lot of paperwork to print, scan, and email as well as just being busy these past few days. They got filled up. When days get filled up, you need a piece of something to relax you, let you ease back on track a piece. The Man in Black poking fun at his friend the King seems pretty perfect for that to me.



Enjoy. We'll get back to 'normal' soon enough.

Doctor Who - 'Flesh and Stone' review

Synopsis:

The Angels are coming. Amy Pond has something in her eye. There is a crack in the wall and it's getting wider...

Thoughts:

The story keeps motoring along, moving forward not only in location, but also in explanations. We get to find out more about River Song. We get to find out more about the cracks in reality. The Doctor thinks aloud through most of the episode, feeding us information as he goes along.

The fate of Octavian and his men is quite sad indeed. There are a couple of great sequences surrounding Amy's affliction. The ending comes to us logically with the pieces fitting together nicely as you suddenly realize that you'd forgotten all about one of those pieces for the bulk of the episode despite it being right there. At least I forgot.

The post story wrap-up or coda or whatever you want to call it gets very interesting indeed. It was one of those things I should have suspected but had seen reason to not think that way but yes. If that helps because it won't. The Doctor gets to be very Doctorly and lies about his age yet again. Unless something's happened there, which it might have done.

This was an exciting episode and the feeling that we're building to something big is strong. I rather like that.

A spoiler-less review is difficult but there you go. Good stuff.

Music Monday - Social Distortion

I forget what came first. Was it the print ad that showed the album cover, featuring a jumping guitarist? Was it the description of the band's sound, that they were like good ol' straightforward rock n' roll? Was it the WARP?

I bet it was the WARP. The AM radio version of Laser 103, broadcasting a string of 'alternative' radio. 'Cold Feelings' got played a lot.



As I mentioned a couple weeks ago, I saw them open for the Ramones. I believe this was after I already owned the album with the jumping guitarist on it ('Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell') as I knew many of their songs. What I remember most about their performance was lead singer Mike Ness yelling at us to get out of our seats and mosh a bit, within the incredibly limited parameters that the Riverside security allowed us.



Years later the following song became popular again. Something about being in a video game? Please note: if this is the only song you know by Social D, expand your knowledge! They are too awesome to be ignored.



There was a cover song then did during that concert. I couldn't say that I'd ever hear a cover of that performer before, not done that well anyway. I wonder what had ever happened to him...



Social Distortion    Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell     Greatest Hits

'A Nightmare on Elm Street' (2010) review

Synopsis:

A bunch of 'kids' are stalked in their dreams by a mysterious burned figure in a red and green sweater.

Thoughts:

Remakes are just going to happen. They've been around since the early days of cinema. They happen. Sometimes they work out well, providing a different perspective on a familiar story. Sometimes they're a waste of time.

This movie was the latter.

Now, I'm not trying to argue that the original Nightmare from 1984 was the Best Movie Ever. I don't have it memorized or anything like that. I do enjoy Robert Englund's performance as Freddy in general and going into the film, that was my biggest concern regarding it. As it happens, Jackie Earle Haley's spin on Fred Krueger is a solid one. He's a little too quiet and a little too sane for my tastes, but he works well as the type of Freddy he's playing.

It's the rest of the movie that's the problem.

Now, I understand the concept of the formula. Certain types of movies tend to follow a pattern because the pattern works. This remake starts out acceptably, following the standard horror pattern, and then it just gets in a rut. It fails from the beginning by both following the standard pattern too closely, trying to be itself, and trying to reflect the original source material too strongly. It doesn't get the mix correct. It doesn't seem to know if it should be a movie that stands on its own or something that will only be watched by existing Freddy fans that will want to cut to the chase, so to speak.

As the original, the movie starts with a dream attack but the remake goes further. Instead of establishing the weird world we're getting into, it goes right for the throat, literally. It blunts the impact of the moment because it happens to a character we don't know and, therefore, don't care about.

This process continues for most of the film. We have characters that are just there, ever so loosely sketched in, and their eventual demises lack impact. While we meet the main characters in the first scene of the film, they rarely appear on screen until about halfway through the film. As a result, it's difficult to like them. The characters aren't built up together, giving the film a certain 'Psycho' reference point as well. It feels like two stories slightly connected instead of one arc.

The casting is poor as well. One of the main characters is supposed to be 17 but looks over 30. Most of the characters are that 'I'm 25 playing a teenager' look and that's fine. None of them fit together. Even the adults are a rough bunch. No one's too awful but no one really clicks. Our two main characters do a little by the end of the film but it's too little too late.

Being unable to care about the characters made the story that much more obviously muddled. There's an attempt to add more backstory to Freddy but that just made it more complicated. The premise is that Freddy was a groundskeeper (like Willie, who played him in that Simpsons Treehouse of Horror?) at a pre-school. He was accused of being a child molester and the parents hunted him down and burned him alive.

So, why does Freddy wait 12 years or so to get his revenge on these people? Just because the adults all stopped talking about Freddy, how does that mean that 20 or so kids in the class forgot all about this as well? Not only that, but it turns out that all the main characters forgot they went to pre-school together. I understand that they wouldn't all remember, I mean who remembers everyone they hung out with at age 5, but one of them doesn't? Why is the preschool still standing all these years later? If the adults were that bothered by the events and wanted to blot Freddy out, wouldn't they have the building torn down? In Milwaukee, we had a situation with an individual that killed a bunch of people and the apartment building he lived in was torn down within a year. The kids spoke about Fred's 'secret cave' but the adults couldn't find it. Once the main characters visit the pre-school basement, they find it in two minutes. In their defense, they've been there before, not that they remember it, but it's not exactly well hidden. Did the adults just not look? If they've tried to blot these memories out, then why did Nancy's mom keep a copy of their pre-school class picture? It's hidden but looks brand-new. It also conveniently has a list of everyone's names on the back. In typewritter. It looks like it's from the 1970s, not the 1990s.

One of the dream sequences explains much of Freddy's backstory. It starts as a dream attack sequence but then the character being attacked disappears. In theory he's supposed to be watching all this happen but he's not around to see anything. We see him briefly, the flashback starts, and he disappears. It looks like it was supposed to be just a flashback sequence and they tried to edit it into a dream sequence.

To wrap up, the movie is a mess.

There are bright spots. One attack in a pharmacy works well, being both stylish and creepy. There's another excellent effect near the end involving a hallway that works well. There's a haunting moment involving floating and a white dress as well. There's a neat moment when Freddy's voice floats around the speakers like the Ghost Host in the Haunted Mansion. These moments are too far and few between. The remake does try to reflect the original but the original version of those references are generally scarier and more solidly performed. In fact, after seeing the remake, we returned to my buddy's house and watched the original. It was better all around. The characters are developed. The attacks are creepier. The story fits together a bit better.

Honestly, skip this in the theatre. If you're really curious, wait until you can see it cheap. That way you're wasting more time than money.

Recommendation to avoid.

A Few Thoughts on Comics from This Week

This was a rather sizable week for books so I'll be focusing my attention on a few rather than trying to touch on everything. The 'everything' way is fun though. Well, we'll see.

I believe the book of the week for me was Invincible Iron Man #25. One of a number of books to feature at least a scene set after the events of 'Siege' (which is awkward as that series is not yet complete), this issue seeks to set up Tony Stark's post-Siege status. He admits to some stupid mistakes (just because he's one of the world's smartest men doesn't mean he's perfect), works to restore his company, and starts restoring some of his good-will amongst his older friends that haven't trusted him in awhile. The book also features a new suit of Iron Man armor as well as a tie-in of sorts to the upcoming 'Iron Man 2' movie. I found it to be an excellent starting point for the upcoming future, one part remembrance, one part starting anew, without flushing away the stories we'd been reading of late. Very excellent.

Transformers #6 features a Combiner that can't quite get it's head together and Optimus Prime stomping some tail. The overall situation of the Autobots changes but things still aren't rosy and happy. This is good stuff. Every issue makes that live-action Transformers movie more of a distant memory.

Secret Warriors #15 pushes things forward on a number of different fronts. One of the early complains of the book was that the shock ending of issue #1 changing everything we knew about certain spy agencies that had existed in the MU for years. As the book has gone on, the details (the 'true' details if you will) have been fed out so that the 'shock ending' seems more and more fleshed out and reasonable. The change may still be annoying (like the erasing of Peter and Mary Jane's wedding in Spider-Man) to some but the stories we've gotten from the change have been solid and entertaining. I'll admit I'm surprised that i'm still enjoying this and that the book has managed to survive this long.

Hack/Slash #32 is the end of the 'superhero' storyline. The twists are good and the ending is, well, not bad, not impossible given the story, but just kinda 'whoa'. I think part of my increasing ambivalence towards the title is the main character's attitude. She's dark and brooding and has every right to be so but her 'tough-gal' style is getting a little old.

The Mighty Avengers ends with issue #36. The Ultron storyline is wrapped up in a clever manner, different from earlier encounters with the robot consciousness. There are some additional 'wow!' ideas to be explained and it still feels full of concepts. A scene near the end of the book seems to give away a twist from Siege #4. Boo to that. Otherwise very enjoyable.

Fantastic Four #578 does a few things. It explains the text endings of late. It re-introduces another classic concept, fleshing it out for future use. It also starts to move forward some of the concepts from recent issues, moving them towards the 'epic' mode I've been expecting. Love it.

Encouraged

Over the past few months, one of the things that's been a source of irritation for me as been the amount of time I spent writing on a daily basis. I'd read articles about other writers, most of which I admire to some degree, talking about setting aside this period of time or that period of time during the day or night to write. Eight hours a day. I'd compare it to the time I snagged for it and worry. Was I not working hard enough? Was I not capable of more? Maybe I can't do this?

Then I read another interview with one of the writers that I'd seen multiple interviews with before. He talked about days where he got nothing done or had a hard time getting work done. It wasn't just eight hours of putting words on paper; it was work.

I thought about myself again. I can sit down most days and write for an hour, maybe two, with limited interruptions. The time I spend typing up those handwritten pages counts as writing. For that matter, so does my writing here, on this blog. I wasn't counting that.

Maybe I wasn't sitting down for eight hours a day but the time I was spending was fruitful. Maybe I was using my time efficiently, that was good, right?

My perception of myself changed. There was still work I could do to improve but perhaps I'm not as far off as I thought.

For that, as much as anything else, thank you Steven Moffat!

Music Monday - The Misfits

Some time ago, I threw up a Misfits video and called that a day for Music Monday. I don't remember why I did that so today let's do it properly.

The Misfits start as part of the punk rock boom in the late 1970s. Taking their name from Marilyn Monroe's last film, the band's core was singer Glenn Danzig and bassist Jerry Only. Taking the style of 1950s and 60s rock as punk had, as well as the speed and energy of punk, Danzig fused in the imagery of monster movies. While not seen as such at the time, Horror Rock was largely born out of the efforts of the Misfits.



The band falls apart in the early 1980s. Danzig would continue on in Samhein as well as the band named after him with an even dark style of lyrics and an increasingly metal sound. By the 1990s, Jerry Only was ready to try again. With his brother Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein, he got permission from Danzig to restart the Misfits and did. Just like the vampires and wolfmen of old, you just couldn't keep these monsters in the grave. With imagery 'borrowed' from movie serial 'The Crimson Ghost', they were back!



After a few years and a couple of albums (as well as some time appearing on WCW was that ever weird), that fell apart as well. Doyle got hurt, the new drummer and singer left, and there was only Jerry. Currently Jerry's lead singing with drummers and guitarists that will hang out with him for months or years at a crack. There's talk of a new album. I give him credit for hanging in there and doing what he loves but I'm not all that fond of Jerry's singing voice. To the point where I say, why put a video of that up when I can post another song I like?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGUWla4OVrY

Perhaps there will always be a place in the world for punk rockers that dress up as old school monsters. There may not be a place for this however...



The Misfits Box Set     Famous Monsters     Project 1950

Doctor Who - 'The Time of Angels' review

Synopsis:

After saving River Song, the Doctor and Amy find themselves wrapped up in her adventure, exploring a crashed spaceship that held in its hold... a Weeping Angel. They seek to shut it down but are stuck in the dark, underground, with more danger around them.

Thoughts:

It's fun to watch how irritated the Doctor becomes when River's around. She's fun, flirty, and forceful. It's unclear as to why she gets on his nerves. Is it her knowledge of his future? Is it his knowledge of hers? Is it just that he feels 'forced' into dealing with her because their timelines aren't synced up? It doesn't seem personal, apart from her ordering him about and calling him 'sweetie'.

The Angels were creepy in 'Blink' and that doesn't change here. We barely see them and that makes them all the more frightening. The dark doesn't help. The cave they find themselves exploring would be creepy without the Angel in it.

Amy gets to sulk, be playful, and be very, very clever. She seems amused by the concept that River and the Doctor may be husband and wife at some point. Perhaps she's confused. She doesn't seem offended, as if she was claiming him, which is good. Amy also gets to be very afraid, which is good against the Angels.

The Doctor continues to be the sort of guy that speaks, realizes what he's said and who to, and then apologizes. A bit. This is entertaining when the apology isn't accepted.

This episode gets really creepy as it goes along. This is a good thing.

No crack in reality this episode but the trailer for next week does show one as well as the Doctor noticing it. Good! That thread won't be ignored by our favorite Time Lord for the bulk of the Series and wrapped up in two episodes. At least that's what I'm guessing, I don't know.

If some of the earlier episodes in the season felt breezy to you, then halfway through this episode things get Very Serious Indeed.

Excellent stuff.

(Post 700)

Hero to Drunk Girls in Parking Lots

The game had not been a good one. The Brewers had faced their fierce division rivals the Cubs. The Brewer pitcher had never kept the team in the game. We had people in our assigned seats and we ended up just wandering around the ball park, watching the game from different angles around the field. Certainly we COULD have made those people move or just sat in available seats but our pre-game entertainment hadn't put us in that kind of mood. By the time the game was over and we headed back to the car, it was drizzling on and off. Things were wet but not soaked. We got Saxophone guy to play a different song, tipped him, and laughed back to the car.

Since it was not actually raining, it had been decided it was not yet time to depart. The trunk was opened and then my buddy went to start up the radio. I intended to start extracting the chairs from the trunk but I was suddenly approached by a stranger. "Do you have an extra beer or two?" She'd appeared as if from nowhere. While I'm not good with determining age, she did look to be of the legal drinking age and was rather attractive with her dark hair and blue eyes. I popped open the cooler enough so that I could see inside and do some math. "Wait, you are a Brewers fan, right?" She checked my shirt and saw that I was here to cheer for the home team before making her request again with sad but hopeful eyes.

Whatever. I still had a few beverages remaining and handed over two. "Wow, PBR!" I'm not sure if she was being sarcastic or not. I'm going with not. She gave me a warm hug, thanked me a few times, and they wandered off. I shrugged my shoulders and returned to getting the chairs set-up.

Later, after we were comfortable, some of our pre-game entertainers returned. A large group of college aged girls had parked near us and we semi-watched the Worst Game of Beer Pong Ever. I don't know that there was a successful completion in the game as the ping pong ball seemed to always be bouncing on the ground, headed our way. Now, I know what you might be thinking, maybe this was their clumsy way of being able to come say hi to us? I'm going with no. They would have stayed and chatted rather than apologize and run back to their game.

We did interact with two of them more than the others. One was a gal of rather slender frame that my buddy recognized from a former workplace and made the mistake of telling her so. This made her visit us more frequently. Due to her limited stature, she had gone from zero to drunk in the words of her friend that apologized for her. This friend was not drunk, friendly, and an attractive blond from Minnesota that nearly attacked me with violence when I stated that the Twins should-a put-a roof on their new stadium.

They returned to depart and had some packing up to accomplish before they could do so. They greeted us as they went past and then there was some fumbling. A lot of fumbling. Finally we got up to see what was going on.

The vehicle belonged to the drunk thin girl. She had no plans to drive it as that task had already been handed off to Minnesota. However, they needed to get the trunk open to store the grill. There was some trick to the trunk handle that the drunk girl could articulate but not accomplish. After they fumbled with it again, I stepped it. She unlocked the trunk, I rolled the hidden part of the latch forward and then popped open the trunk. Success on the first try! We received thanks but no hugs this time. They packed up, we sat down. They drove past, we waved to each other.

That's how I played the Hero to Drunk Girls last night.

A Few Thoughts on Comics from The Past Couple Weeks

Walt Disney Comics #705 explains the premise of the 'World to Come' storyline now that we're in the third part. Much of the mystery is peeled aside. The story is so gloriously Disney sci-fi that it's beautiful. Well meaning scientists. Giant computers. Fixing the world. Too much power for any one person. This is great!

Hack/Slash #31 continues the super-hero godbox storyline. It's great and dreary at the same time. I'm not sure why I'm not enjoying this more. The characters are well defined. It's a traditional slasher set-up. There's a twist in the end of the episode. It's just not clicking for me for some reason.

Hercules - Fall of an Avenger #2 does a number of things. It features a team selection sequence straight from the schoolyard. It takes a big time villain and dismisses him in seconds. It sets up the next stage of these characters and hints that Hercules is still alive. Should have been better, could have been worse.

The Tick #3 explains that the Tick is not good at plumbing. He also fights feral mimes in a sewer. That's how bad at plumbing he is; he ends up in a sewer. Funny!

Transformers - Last Stand of the Wreckers #4 features explanations, trouble, and things getting very, very deep. Still engrossing.

Simpsons Comics #165 gets points for having an ad for the new series of Doctor Who inside its front cover. The story is standard Homer and Marge have a tiff. Not bad but nothing special.

The Muppet Show Comic Book #4 features a character that goes nameless. She referred to as a lot of things but, apparently due to some licensing issues, never gets named. She's Scooter's twin sister and is clearly meant to be an older version of Skeeter from Muppet Babies! Wow! The art is by the lady that drew the Muppet Peter Pan series that was so awesome. Great issue!

Doctor Who - 'Victory of the Daleks' review

Synopsis:

World War II! Churchill needs all the help he can get and seems to have gotten it in the secret weapon they call 'Ironsides'. The Doctor knows them by another name: Daleks...

Thoughts:

One story on contemporary Earth, the next on a spaceship related to a damaged Earth, and the third set in Earth's past with an historical figure. The first two stories are written by the showrunner and the third by Mark Gatiss. Is it 2005 or 2010? It's not that these new stories really resemble the first three stories of the revived series but it is interesting how this 'pattern' repeated itself.

Much like 'The Beast Below', the basic story doesn't feel all that complicated. The Daleks are doing something weird as part of a devious plot to protect their future. It's 'Power of the Daleks' only half as long and without Patrick Troughton. While the story can be boiled down to a few words, the story never feels simple. Churchill is grand. The Doctor has to walk a line between encouraging him and avoiding telling him that things will work out in the end.

Traditionally, the Daleks have been short, squat little things, about five foot tall, not unlike Tom Cruise. In 2005 they were 'upsized' a bit in order to go eye to eyestalk with Billie Piper. Karen Gillian doesn't look all that tall until she leans over a Dalek and suddenly she's a giant. What happens? They redesign the Daleks to make them taller again. The Daleks will not be denied!

It's a rattling adventure that flies by at top speed. The Doctor makes a tough decision and believes that, in victory, he has still lost.

We have one trend for the series now: the cracks. The one in the first episode was part of the story but both episodes since have shown a crack in existence after the TARDIS departs. This has to be leading to something. It's probably tied to Amy's inability to remember the Daleks. The Earth was stolen! She remembers none of it. What happened? Is it just her or has something happened? Or will something have happened? I'm blaming the Daleks. They are so mean.

More good stuff. Three episodes in and things are going well.

Doctor Who - 'The Beast Below' review

Synopsis:

Starship UK. The remnants of the mighty empire fly through space while the Earth burns. Yet there is something no one talks about, no one mentions the Beast Below.

Thoughts:

From the first moment that we see Starship UK, I was reminded of Mega City One and 2000AD comics in general. It just screamed of that type of sci-fi to me. For the most part, I was right. It's exciting Doctor Who, moving quickly and slowly at the same time, full of high concepts and crazy crazy events that mean Very Serious Things for the people involved.

It also may take place around the same time as the Fourth Doctor adventures 'The Ark in Space' and 'The Sontaran Experiment'. It's a continuity reference that you don't need to understand for the episode but adds detail for the long time fan, which is how this should work.

I must have slipped a spoiler into my head at some point recently because I figured out too much of the story too quickly. I'm pretty sure this was me and not the story being too basic. Normally I can read spoilers so long as they are months in advance as I will forget them. For this episode, I felt I knew too much. That said, there was a thing or two I figured out quickly but that was mostly because we were given information before it reached the Doctor and Amy.

How about that Amy? This is her first 'proper' adventure and she goes at it like she's been practicing since she was young. Perhaps she has been. The Doctor gives her some advice early in the episode and it proves key to resolving the situation. That twist I hadn't expected and rather enjoyed.

Matt Smith continues to shine as the Doctor. He feels like the Doctor to me. He has moments where he seems to look like Peter Davison. Not like twins or anything like that, but like they could be related, as if he 'took after' that incarnation of himself.

I'm not so sure about the Smilers. The name comes out of nowhere. I may have missed something but it seems like the Doctor just starts calling them that. I don't recall a scene where that name is established. Again, could just be me but it jarred. I also have no real understanding how they work. They just are there and do stuff. Not that I want a list of rules but it's not clear what their parameters are or what they are or anything.

Big crazy concept that works. The small stories are cute. The Doctor only interferes when children are crying? Sure, whatever.

Pleasantly enjoyable.

Music Monday - The Ramones

The first concert I ever went to was on October 30th, 1992. Overwhelming Colorfast was the opening band (feel free to ask 'Who?'). Then came Social Distortion, great band. The main event was the sonic attack of the RAMONES!

I'd found them a couple years before while in high school. They were funny looking. They had played for ages. The music was simple at first listen. The lead singer's style was unique, to say the least. The lyrics were either very direct or confusing. There was a sense of humor to the band, as if they knew exactly what they were and wanted to let you know it would be okay for you to join them. It sounded like 50's rock played twice as fast. I quickly fell in love with them.

How can you not love a song that expresses the need for sedation?



You see, in high school, my geekdom was not considered to be as awesome as it might be now. I didn't care to be seen as cool and the majority of the people around be were willing to go along with that assessment of the situation. The Ramones were also outcasts, freaks, geeks. 'Gabba Gabba, we accept you, one of us' is the line they cribbed from the movie 'Freaks'. It was one of their credos: all are welcome here. They were geeks too. Who else would write a theme song for a Steven King movie?



During its existence, the band never really got the recognition (or money) it truly deserved. Bands during the 1990s identified the Ramones as their inspiration but it was too late for the group. They had toured hard and worked hard. The albums still weren't selling. In 1996 they called it quits.



Since then, the band was voted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Founding members Joey, Johnny, and Dee Dee Ramone have all died. The band is gone, but wherever someone starts a song with the cadence of '1 2 3 4', they will always be remembered.

GLCW - 'Hell Froze Over' Review

Last night was the next event in our local federation's calendar. Actually, they snuck in a card on Friday night as well, in Racine rather than Waukesha. The back-to-back shows seemed to impact the attendance at our show. There were people but the place wasn't as packed as we were used to seeing it.

Our pre-show promo involved local radio personality (apparently, I had never heard of him and I suspect that was the situation for most of the crowd) Mike Richter (spelling?) and 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper. The Scot had been on Mike's show and Mike had threatened to beat him up. Roddy got a little excitable and all was made well. Roddy told a story or two to the crowd's delight and the crowd sang Happy Birthday to him.

As was well until Dakota Darsow came out to confront Piper. Dakota was essentially explaining why he attacked his Dad at Blizzard Brawl 5: he was always on the road as a wrestler, out there more for the fans than his own son. Now it was Dakota's time. A young man came out to defend Roddy (I think it was Colt Toombs, Roddy's son, but that was never made clear and we didn't see him again that night) and got beat up a bit on his behalf. Roddy talks about refereeing the main event.

To drag things out a bit, Roddy was brought back to the ring for a formal singing of 'Happy Birthday' and a cake. This was poorly timed after Roddy leaving the ring and considering the crowd already sang to him. The gal who sang the National Anthem also sang to Roddy now, in a Marilyn Monroe to JFK style. It was creepy. This would have fit better right before the Intermission as Roddy spent that in the ring taking pictures. The crowd was getting a bit hot for the wrestling to start at this point.

Match One: Bobby V/El Vato (faces) vs Justin James/Dysfunction (heels)

Hot tag match to open. Local guys getting the crowd worked up. Exciting match, a few double teams, a couple of crazy bumps. Eventually a heel double-team backfired, Bobby V hit a splash from the top, and the faces got a double pin for the win. Good match.

Match Two: Electric Eric Freedom (face) vs Ryan Rogue (heel)

Really? The dirty Froot Loop throwing hippie is a face now? How? We had no issue cheering for the heel on this one. Rogue is a better wrestler all around and gave the hippie a good beating. Eric Freedom busted out a couple of armbreaker and I mockingly expressed my shock as I thought that Freedom knew no moves. A top rope reversal followed by a flying elbow drop from the top rope gave Ryan Rogue a clean win. Which was odd for a heel. Unless I missed something. Good finish but unexpected.

Match Three: Tony Scarpoini (heel wearing Cubs jacket) vs The Skullcrusher (face with taped ribs that were 'broken' last night)

Oddly slow match. Both are big men that I know can move. The 'taped ribs' gave the heel the advantage but some of Tony's punches to the ribs looked so light it made me wonder if Skullcrusher was injured to some degree. Another top rope reversal led to Skullcrusher hitting a massive frog splash from the top rope for the win.

Intermission:

Ring announcer has spent the entire show telling us that Road Warrior Animal and Piper will be in the ring together for pictures during Intermission. Animal gets nowhere near the ring. Did no one tell him? Fail.

We've seen Demolition 3 or 4 times now. Every time Brad gets at least one signed picture from them as they are his favorite. Before the show he bought three. At Intermission, he asked them if he could get a picture taken with them using my camera. 'Sure. You buy enough stuff from us, just come behind the table.' Awesome.

Piper was in the ring getting his picture taken with people and the line faded quickly. The batteries in my camera were running low but we should be okay for four pictures: one with each of us individually and a fourth with us altogether. We explained things, handed over the money, and got in the ring. Love being in the ring. Walked up, shook hands with Piper, got my picture taken, got out of the way for my buddies. I retired to the corner and leaned back on the turnbuckle, my arms stretched over the ropes. It felt so natural. Soon enough, it was time for the group picture and we got together.

Of course the batteries in the camera then went dead.

I had back up batteries and fumbled to load them into the camera. Of course they were dead too. Crap! Thankfully, the lady offered to take the picture with their camera, the one they were printing pictures from, at no additional charge. Nice lady! All ended well.

Match Four: Ladies Championship: Traci Brooks (face, Champ) vs Melanie Cruz (heel)

The radio announcer claimed to have set this match up and was suddenly playing the heel commissioner. Where did that come from? Cruz was playing the 'giant' which was odd as she wasn't all that tall or big. Muscular? Yes. Tall? Certainly. Attractive? Sort of. But no creepy giant gal. Traci stuck and ran to avoid the 'giant' offense. For a GLCW Ladies match, this was actually really good as opposed to the comedy match that they normally are played as. Traci hits a big DDT for the win. Big crowd reaction.

Radio Announcer 'guest host commissioner' guy claims to have been on the phone backstage with the real heel commissioner. He can set up any match he wants, declares himself number 1 contender to the Ladies Championship, and has them start the match now!

A surprise roll-up gets an easy three count on the confused Traci and this guy is now Ladies Champ. Crowd is PISSED. Seriously. I didn't like it because they had just gotten done with the 'skinny male radio guy is Ladies Champ' story and now they jump back into it. This was even weaker considering that the Ladies match had been solid. I'm going with Bad Decision on this booking, more for the repeat of the storyline than anything else.

Match Five: GLCW Heavyweight Championship: Al Snow (face Champ) vs Road Dogg vs Xpac

Crowd relaxes a bit as they can at least cheer for Al Snow. Crowd tries to encourage the beating of ring announcer. I agree. Ring announcer is in sweatpants and sweatshirt. Very tacky. We can tell Road Dogg is heeling it up as he won't go through his normal entrance chatter. Xpac gets a moment of reaction and then nothing. Which is normal. He's a heat vacuum.

Good three way match follows but the crowd is a bit quiet for most of it. The ending sequence I loved! Xpac gets a sleeper on Al Snow but Road Dogg walks up and slaps a sleeper on Xpac. Triple decker. The ref comes by to check on Al and the Snowman grabs the ref and buts him in a sleeper. After some applause and laughter, Al drops the groggy ref, Xpac drops the groggy Snow, and hits Road Dogg with a jawbreaker. All four men in the ring are out on the mat. More applause.

The wrestlers all come to at once, dive out of the ring to collect a chair, and return. (Road Dogg: 'We ALL had the same idea?') The ref starts to wake up. All three wrestlers slam their chairs into the mat and fall down as if hit. The ref wakes up and has NO idea what happened. He collects the chairs and starts pushing them out of the ring, making a mess of it. Road Dogg sneaks over to the timekeepers table, grabs the Championship belt and slugs Xpac with it. Meanwhile, Al Snow collects Head and waffles Road Dogg with the mannequin. Three count. Al Snow retains. Good stuff.

Match Six: Demolition (Ax and Smash)/Road Warrior Animal vs McCoy/Longtime/Blaze/Darsow (Dakota)

The story here is that Dakota is sore at his Dad (Demolition Smash aka Barry Darsow) for not being around enough when he was a kid. Reasonable idea. He spends the match playing the chicken heel, only entering the match when he has a clear advantage, cheating, and running his mouth while avoiding his Dad. Good solid match, Ax has face in peril, crowd was into it. In the end, Smash chases his son to the back (setting up a singles match in the future?) as the ring gets cleared. Ax and Animal hit the Hart Attack style clothesline on Chase McCoy for the victory.

Roddy didn't ref the main, despite it being set up. There were a number of little things that may normally have not meant much but built up during the show to irritate. It was by no means a bad show but it didn't quite click like earlier shows have for us. We walked out a bit disappointed despite having a good time. Something was missing.

Next show is Blizzard Brawl 6 on Dec 4th. There is another show they were advertising in June that is scheduled to have Baron Von Raschke at it. That would be cool.