Cleaning Up

I noticed that I have a crapload of links that I've snagged and left in my bookmark folder and decided to clean a few of them out with a good ol' fashioned linkblog. Haven't done one of these in a while so I'll just get started and perhaps there may be something of interest to someone herein:

This post by Valerie D'Orazio is from her blog Occasional Superheroine. It's a couple of years old but I always loved the story and the punchline is gold.

A few months ago I was on a big Hannah Georgas kick and this Q&A grabbed my attention for some reason. It might have been the description of the song meanings or perhaps the story about the children vocalists. Either way, if you're a fan or a curious observer, there may be some tidbit of interest there for you.

This link will take you to a Rian Hughes video where he talks about his career in design and comics. If you're interested in graphic design, comics, typography, that sort of thing, it's worth checking out.

After The Golden Compass hit theatres, I found this interview with the author of the Northern Lights trilogy, Phillip Pullman. I quite liked the interview at the time and thought Pullman was an interesting subject.

The Cerebus: A Diablog site is the brainchild of Laura Hudson and Leigh Walton where they read and discuss each issue of Cerebus from #1 on. It's pretty interesting to read, to be honest. I think they are at #11 or #12 at the moment, I could be wrong. I suppose I could always click on the link to find out, couldn't I? Well, so could you if you were so inclined.

This is an article from RodSerling.com discussing the adaptation of Planet of the Apes from novel to film. It discusses changes made and what-not. I was on an Apes or Twilight Zone kick a bit ago and dug this up around that time. Kind of interesting reading for those interested in the film series or Serling. I also remember digging up Pierre Boulle's script for the proposed sequel, Planet of Men or something like that, but that's another link for another time.

The Magic of Shazam! blog was created by Mark Kunkel to document his experience while creating the first 5-or-so issues of that series. It's a good read if you care about that series or Kunkel in any way, shape or form.

io9 gives you 13 Alien Languages You Can Actually Read. 'Nuff said, I think.

John Adcock wrote an article called "Runyon on Herriman" which, if you recognize any of those names, is worth a read.

On a more recent note, Bryan Singer talks Matthew Vaughn and the upcoming X-Men: First Class movie over at AICN.

Eddie Campbell interview with Forbidden Planet International. He talks about the big Alec book and other stuff.

Hmmm, that's a few of the links that are cluttering up the ol' PC. I hope some of them are of interest to people. At the very least, they're not taking up space on my end and I can hit the blog whenever I want to check one of them out, which is the whole purpose of doing this anyways, isn't it? Perhaps I will attack with another set in the near future.

Cheers!

mike

Kudos To Red Hood

I gotta give credit where credit is due here, and the bulk of the success of Batman: Under the Red Hood lies in Judd Winick's screenplay which he adapted from his own work on the Batman comic books (I think it was in Batman but it could have been Detective, I don't know). I mean, sure, the show looks good, and has some good action sequences, and decent art direction, and great sound design, and pretty good music, and the cast is not bad, but I honestly think it's the pacing and structure of the story that really makes this thing work better than most of the D2DVD Warner/DC animations to date. Everything from Superman: Doomsday to Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths suffer in one way or another and never truly feel like a fully fleshed out and complete story. Every one of them, with the exception of Green Lantern: First Flight and Batman: Gotham Knight because of its anthological nature (is that even a word), feel compressed, rushed, and squeezed into their limited running times.

Despite my previous misgivings, I have to concede that Under the Red Hood was an entertaining experience and had many good moments in it. The only weak points it really has stem from some lame CGI and my own lukewarm reaction to the Red Hood storyline when I first read it a while ago.

Anyway, disjointed and rushed though they may be, those are my thoughts on the movie and I'm moving on to work on some other stuff. I just wanted to sound off while this was fresh in my mind.

Take care!

mike

Under the Hood

Not looking too forward to this although I cannot deny some curiosity:



Probably a renter rather than a purchase. Haven't really embraced any of the DC Animated films since Wonder Woman, which wasn't all that strong. Actually, Green Lantern: First Flight was pretty good, now that I think about it, but I haven't bought any of them since WW.

Anyway, time will tell. Released on July 27th, if I'm not mistaken.

Later!

mike

Not Sure What To Post...

...but I sort of have a bit of momentum going. I think I've posted something just about every day this week. Considering my previous output, I consider this nothing short of a miracle.

Anyway, not much going on right now.

I could mention I went to the Star Wars: In Concert show a bit ago, which was cool. The performance itself was solid and one tended to stare at the big screen as opposed to the orchestra so it wasn't much in the way of concert experiences, really. Seeing Anthony Daniels was a treat, though, and getting to see the traveling exhibits was also very, very cool.

Each case was incredibly crowded and it was almost impossible to get any photos of myself with them since I was alone, but I snagged a few and took straight shots of everything else for the ol' FaceBook album. I had to use my iPhone so they didn't all come out great, but at least I have a record of the event, which is more than I can say for many other things I've seen and gone to in the past.

If you're a FaceBook buddy of mine you can head over and check them out. If not, I'll maybe post more pics another time. For now, though, here's me and the Dark Lord of the Sith, himself.



Peace!

mike

Thank You BRMC

I've gotten a bit of a respite from my disastrously bad mood in the form of some kick-ass BRMC tunes. I don't know what it was, exactly, that lifted me from my funk, but lifted I am. It could be temporary, and I'm prepared to take that as it comes. For now, though, "Bad Blood", "Howl", "Promise", "Weight of the World", "Shadow's Keeper" and a few others are life-savers of the best kind. Whether it's the lyrics or the music or a combination of the two, I don't care. I've been enjoying the last few hours and this is good.

I just thought I would share.

And speaking of sharing:



Later!

mike

Something That Made Me Go Hmmmm

So, I'm sitting in the car after work, having just driven up in front of the house, and I started putting some touches on another poem that I started writing at work (yeah, don't even ask) and waiting for the rain to die down before going in. I had Death Cab For Cutie playing on the stereo because I had been listening to them all day, off and on. So, they're right in the middle of "The Ice Is Getting Thinner", right when that agonizingly lonely guitar comes in for the solo, and just as I stopped writing the sky opened up and down came the the rain in a torrent. I couldn't see out the windows, I couldn't very well get out of the car, and there was just me, the music and the weather. It was an interesting moment. I'd use the word poetic but that would just seem like a crass pun.

Although it is entirely unintentional, I'm also finding it not entirely coincidental that I'm in the middle of reading a Nick Hornby book and listening to a lot of DCFC. Hornby has always been the one writer who seems to know me better than I do. Alternately, Ben Gibbard has quickly become a favourite songwriter for writing many, many lyrics that seem torn from the pages of my life, thematically if not literally. I've always had a passing interest in the band but their Drive Well, Sleep Carefully DVD sort of put it all over the top for me. Now they are on heavy rotation in the ol' iTunes.

Anyway, I'm kind of trying to organize a snack run of some kind so I'm gonna blast.

Later!

mike

Recent Acquisitions

Among other things, this weekend involved some new acquisitions which I thought I would make mention of here. While out and about with Jen we hit a local used bookstore and I found a very nice copy of Nick Hornby's Fever Pitch, something I've been meaning to buy but never have gotten around to. I took the book out of the library once, years ago, and had to return it before finishing it so I look forward to taking another crack at it. Maybe I'll watch the movie when I'm done. Not the Farrely Bros. one, the one starring Colin Firth.

I also grabbed the first issue of what appears to be a new Batman Beyond series. I had not heard of this (which shows how unplugged I am from mainstream comics these days) but I curious and excited to explore what lies within. Writer Adam Beechen knows his animated properties and the artist, Ryan Benjamin, looks pretty decent so I have high hopes for reading it. I was, and still am, a huge fan of the television series this comic is based on and any chance to see Terry McGinnis again (as long as it's not complete shit, anyways) is a nice surprise.

Update: Just read it and I'm pleased! Art and story were well done. A little out of my comfort zone style-wise to really embrace it as 'of the series' but I'm very much looking forward to seeing how this six-issue series pans out.

I also grabbed an official guide to Battlestar Galactica which covers the relaunch, the mini-series and the first season, if I'm not mistaken. So far, from what I've read, it's pretty darn good. Moore is not pulling any punches and, short of covering all the failed attempts to bring the series back, it's an informative read coming from primary sources.

Nabbed a couple of albums by Pinback, which were recommended to me by Jen. The jury's still out on the band but so far I'm liking what I hear.

Kate picked up Lego Rock Band and we have been rockin' out for most of the evening to some cool tunes by some of our favourite bands. I have to say I'm happy to see The Kooks, Vampire Weekend, Glasvegas, Blur and Phoenix all represented amidst the Big Ones that you expect to see. It warmed the cockles of my heart.

Oh, and while she was doing that I picked up a discount copy of Mothra vs. Godzilla for, like, $5. I haven't opened it yet but I doubt I'll return it. Simon might have fun watching it with me, he's a bit of a Godzilla nut. I mean, he's 9, what do you expect?

So that's it. I could mention the cannelloni dinner I made today, which was fabulous, but that's less of an acquisition and more of a 'see what I DID today' kind of thing. Maybe post on it later. I'll be taking some samples in to work to let the proles sample some of my wares.

Anyway, on that note, I will depart. Take care, stay warm, keep fit and play safe.

mike

Packaging Fubars

For an explanation of what this is and means, click through to Jerry Beck's post at the Cartoon Brew blog.

This is almost as good as the "Rob Liefeld's Shaft: 7 Inches, fully poseable" ad that ran in Diamond Previews several years ago. Although, only comic book people saw that so I guess this is not as funny but more universal.

Anyway, 'til next time.

mike

To Airbend, or Not to Airbend?

I was planning to go to The Last Airbender this week (being a huge fan of the animated series) but the reviews are kind of scaring me off. I look at the Tomatometer and it has a 9% fresh rating right now. That's terrible. Still, the last X-Files movie had a 12% and I loved it to bits, so maybe TLA isn't that bad. But then I hear the fans responses, and Ebert's review which was painfully scathing in its dislike of the film (Ebert, btw, loved the last X-Files movie) and I have to wonder. The Avatar community is also pretty heated in its hate for the film. I don't know if it's just expectations that were too high or what but it's enough to keep me away, possibly until it hits the discount theatre or the kids push us to take them.

Every time I try and overcome a negative with this movie I always manage to find something to make me pull back and away, again. Maybe that's enough reason to stay away.

mike

On a Happier Note

I`ve been listening to a lot of Charlatans lately so I thought I would share this live version of `Oh! Vanity`.

The Charlatans@Ray Ban Unplugged Primavera Sound 2010 from VICE España on Vimeo.

And, if anyone cares, the mood is a little better today than yesterday.

Cheers!

mike

Seriously?

I'm not gonna explain why, or who is involved, or what it's about, but I'm so angry right now I want to break things. It's times like these that I wish I boxed or belonged to a gym or something and that I could just go and punish myself physically or beat on something for an hour until I couldn't muster the energy to bother anymore.

I don't remember the last time I felt quite this way. I suppose I could get a lot of cleaning done around the house with all this anger built up inside.

And with that I take my leave. I just had to verbalize it, or say it publically to help take the edge off and that mission is accomplished.

Hopefully there will be something more cheerful next time you hear from me.

mike

Surprise Return

Just when you thought you'd seen the last of me for another two months, here I am.

I'm kind of sitting here at my computer, doing not much. I'm waiting for someone to contact me who I'm beginning to suspect will not, in fact, contact me, so I decided to head over to NPR and stream the new Stars album which is bloody fantastic!!! I also figured I'd pop on and do another posting. Go figger.

I don't have much to say, really. A lot of weird stuff has been going on at Meanwhile... HQ and I'm still trying to figure out exactly what that is, but there's been some soul searching, some examining of life changes and choices, and lots of other boring stuff that nobody wants to read about, I'm sure. It's part of the reason that I haven't been blogging. I've never made this much of a personal forum, reserving it for my pop cultural predilections, so this end kind of gets neglected when I'm in one of these moods/phases.

Anyway, That's all for now. Will post again soon. Promise. Hopefully it will be more interesting than this.

I will leave you however with this:



mike

Been a While

So, yeah, like the title says, it has been a while since I've posted anything here. That's partly because of my other online social networking accounts, but also because I'm just finding I have less patience for sitting and posting on here. I figured I would pop on and do something, though, since I've left it to flounder for something like 2 months.

Since coming back from Ottawa I had this really strange dream which may or may not be slightly influenced by being at the National Gallery only days before. It was this weird amalgam of a Jacob's Ladder type surreal experience with a They Live like twist for flavour.

I was in this enormous gallery/mall where there were doors on certain levels that would take you to another dimension where everything was red or everything was blue or yellow exclusively, and each colour would correlate to a behaviour or mood. Red being aggressive, maybe yellow was passive or cowardly, I don't know what the rest were anymore. So, occasionally a person would slip through accidentally and they would be prized by the denizens of these alternate worlds because they wanted to use the openings that you accidentally created to slip through into our world and take your place.

I remember there was this large open area, like an arcade or square, that was enclosed in glass. There were these giant dancing female creatures with crazy twisted/monstrous features which I think only I could see. This may or may not have been an effect of what eventually led me to the other world or not. Possibly a precursor of the walls breaking down, or something. Now that I think about it, the gallery art and certain details would change as well depending on the world you were in.

I somehow slipped into the red world and everyone there had transparent skin so you could see the musculature and bones and eyeballs underneath. They knew that I was wrong when I reacted to their appearance. I'm guessing if I kept my cool thay might not have clued in but they ended up chasing me, trying to capture me, before I could get back to where I came from.

Sounds kind of silly typing it up but it was pretty weird and discomforting while I was in the dream.

Maybe there's a story there.

Anyway, that's perhaps not what one might expect from a comeback post but that is what I have got, so...

Take care and we'll see you later!

mike

You Gotta Take Your Medicine Where You Can Find It

Kinda rediscovered a little band by the name of Medicine not too long ago. They're probably most widely known for contributing a song, "Time Baby 3", to the soundtrack album for The Crow. It is, in fact, the first place I ever heard of the band. Their stuff is a pain-in-the-ass to find but I did run across these videos which give you a taste for what they sounded like (and looked like, I guess).


Medicine - The Pink (1993)

Medicine | MySpace Music Videos


Medicine - Never Click (1993)

Medicine | MySpace Music Videos

It was always difficult to listen to an album all the way through without getting a headache, but when the mood struck it was brilliant chaos blasting through the speakers. Still is, really.

Anyway, I'm so freakin' tired I'm falling asleep in my computer chair so I'm gonna sign off.

Cheers!

mike

Small Update to the Site

Just went in and updated the sidebar with new items from the Amazon store which, of course, is all stuff I have worked my grubby paws, eyes and ears through over the last little while. I've also added an old friend's blog to the sidebar links. Just check under Citric Sugar and click through to see my friend Carly's regular updates, projects and thoughts.

As for casa Jozic, not a lot happening around here right now. Spent a lazy Saturday watching Hot Fuzz with my eldest daughter and a late night last night watching (500) Days of Summer, which is now also my absolute favourite rom/com of all time. Just trying to keep things on the downlow, overall.

There may be some news to share soon but until then I'm gonna keep mum on the subject.

Oh, and I guess I could mention that I've been writing a bit these days. Even tried my hand at writing song lyrics, but that proved painful and I abandoned it after a day or so. Still, I've made some progress on the forever unfolding Smitten and look forward to seeing where things go from there.

And last, but not least, I just went and spent a schwack of dough on some comics at a big sale at my LCS. I completed a number of sets including Seaguy: Slaves of Mickey Eye, Savior 28 (although the 5th issue has a buggered cover), Agents of Atlas (the proper monthly as well as the X-Men cross-over), got current with Mike Allred's Madman up to #17, I think, most of the first year of X-Statix, X-Men: First Class: Finals, some issues of Incognito, B.P.R.D. 1947, the last three issues of Millar and Hitch's FF run (although Hitch didn't actually finish it), and some random singles and magazines. It was a good haul. Gonna be reading for a while, I think.

I guess I could mention that I purchased the new Gorillaz album and The Flash Season 1 for a steal, but I'll maybe comment on those at a later date.

So, until then...

mike

"I am not a number!"

I know it's yet another video post but I've started watching AMC's Prisoner remake and it's got me in a McGoohan state of mind. AMC is also streaming the original series and I thought I would link to it here.



Cheers!

mike

Made Me Jump Up & Down With Jubilation File

The only thing better than a new album is the fact that they'll tour it and I get to go see them again. Woot!



Peace!

mike

Made Me Smile File

Saw this when Ebert tweeted it. Love Phoenix and this arrangement is pretty cool.



Hope you like it as much as I do.

Later!

mike

Tweet Tweet

Yes, as the title suggests, I've begun a Twitter account. I'm still not sure what practical application Twitter serves, but seeing as how most of my blog posts, if I wrote down every idea that popped into my head, would be about 140 characters long I figured I would give it a go. More often than not, I'll get an idea while driving, at work or just wandering around in public and by the time I get home and start thinking of how to put it together in a blog post, I've already lost interest. Fickle, I know, but the cold, hard truth of the matter.

I'll still be writing meatier bits here, but when the lightning strikes me, I'll probably fire it off there first and see what happens.

Cheers!

mike

Send In the Clones

So, a little while ago I bought the first season of the Clone Wars animated series on Blu-Ray and apart from being just amazed with the overall quality of the presentation, I have kind of been rediscovering these early episodes and seeing them in a slightly new light.

Stories that seemed a little 'meh' on first viewing stand a little taller when watching them in a clump on this set. I've started to really appreciate the writing more, especially in light of where things have gone with the next season. I also think I've started appreciating their time and dollar budgets a little more and have been cutting them some slack for any early missteps. Again, when you see how far they've taken things in season two, you start to see these things from a certain point of view.

One of my favourite things that has really stood out have been the textures on the show. Everything from the characters skin to the sides of buildings and the clone armour have been textured in such a way that they have a very painterly feel to them. And when I made the connection between the crews love of early Star Wars production artwork and the look of Ralph Mcquarrie's artwork, it was like a lightning bolt to the head. Everything on the show is, essentially, a three dimensional, walking and talking Mcquarrie painting. It's great.

And there are so many other tiny details and minutia that make this show a truly underrated effort. I know it is popular, but it doesn't get talked about much outside of Star Wars fandom and the playground. I would actually love to see someone who has lost their Star Wars mojo post-prequels try this show out and see what they think of it, to be honest. I think they might be surprised.

Anyway, that's my Lucas-related post for the month.

As always, more later.

mike

ILM on CNET discussing the future of special effects in film and television. It's a 30 minute clip but I enjoyed it so...



Later!

mike

To Return Or Not To Return

Last week I ordered a couple of books through Amazon.ca and they both arrived today, albeit in a damaged box. There was a big gaping wound in the corner, probably from someone putting a heavier box on top of it and it just popped. As a rsult of this packaging malfunction, the corners of my book are a little beat up and I'm trying to decide whether or not to return the book and, hopefully, get a new un-crunched version, or if I should just suck it up and keep the book as is.

I'm sure most people would look at the 'damage' and just shrug it off, but I'm a little anal with my stuff and it was an expensive coffee table book, so my expectations are a little higher than if it was a $5 paperback. I'm dying to rip the plastic off and check it out but I need to make the call before I do that, which leads me to this post and my very public ruminating on the subject.

I may leave it 'til the morning to decide.

In the meantime, I think I'm gonna go watch some Fringe or Clone Wars or something. I may even play the new AvP demo I downloaded.

Take care!

mike

Absolutely Smitten by Jenn Grant

A few days ago I went to a local watering hole and saw the inimitable Jenn Grant perform. I could go on at length about how amazing the show was, and how personable and funny she was, and how she and her band came off the stage to perform an acoustic number which happened to land her inches away from myself and my friend, and how she was so great after the show to sign some CDs for us and chat, and how I got my picture taken with her, and how I caught her as she proceeded to fall off a chair she was standing on, but I won't. Mostly because, if you have been anywhere near me within the last 120 hours, you have probably already had to endure my endless nattering and praise about the show, and the artist, already.

I managed to record a few of the performances but the audio gets a little buzzy since it was recorded it with my iPhone. I'm sure to ears that didn't attend it would sound terrible, but I still like to revisit the few tracks I caught. A couple of them were newer, unreleased tracks, too, so that was kind of cool. Still unsure if I should post any of them to YouTube, as a result, but you never know.

My only regret of the night was when I erroneously thought I was recording the aforementioned acoustic performance but wasn't. A malfunction of the finger, perhaps, relegating the experience forever to my memory. I think the song was "Rainy Day", but I can't be sure. Truly one of the most sublime experiences I have ever had at a concert.

Here's a video of hers for the song "You'll Go Far" which she says is about going away and having to come back because you've run out of money.




Cheers!

mike

It's Coming

More on this later.

mike

Kevin Smith on Prince

We all have guilty musical pleasures and one of mine happens to be the that I like Prince. Ever since '83, I think, when I saw the video for "Little Red Corvette" (not my favourite Prince song, btw), he's always been on my radar to some extent. I'm not fanatical or anything, and I have nothing close to all of his albums, but there is a body of work within his discography which I think is bloody brilliant. I think he's a great composer, has some fantastic moments lyrically, and he's a hell of a showman.

I remember a while back he announced that he would be coming to Saskatchewan Place for a show, which was pretty cool. I also remember the ticket prices as being pretty steep, even at the lowest of three tiers. Still, I was totally going to figure out a way to go and see him because it wasn't the kind of act we normally got around these parts, and how often was I going to get the chance to see the guy perform?

Before I even had a chance to figure out a way to afford a couple of seats, he cancelled the show almost as quickly as it was announced. An article in the paper the next day spoke of how Prince's representation informed them of how he operates. He likes to do shows like an army does a beach landing. He comes in quickly, makes a splash and before you know it, it's over. They also said he could just as easily cancel on a whim because he felt the vibe was wrong or some jive like that. It maintained the spectacle of a Prince show, and shone a spotlight on the strange quixotic personality of his royal badness.

The point of that story is just to lead in to this Kevin Smith bit from his Evening With Kevin Smith DVD where he talks about his week up at Paisley Park and his experience with Prince and a documentary they were supposed to produce together.









Later!

mike

Omar's Garage

Went over to a friend's place tonight to watch Raiders of the Lost Ark and I noticed something for the first time. Omar's Garage is part of a scene that I've seen millions of times but, for some reason, I never managed to connect the dots. In the scene prior to the truck chase, Indy says to Sallah and Marion that he'll meet them back at Omar's. After the truck chase, they drive the truck with the Ark in it into Omar's garage and hide it. Why have I never noticed this before?

It's also an entertaining little tidbit because Sallah's brother-in-law gets another mention in Last Crusade during one of the chase scenes. I know, the whole movie is a chase scene, but it's in the desert, involves camels to repay his brother-in-law for the car that got blown up.

Anyway, that's what's on my mind right now.

mike

"If you have a problem, if no one else can help..."

I'm honestly not sure what to think.



mike

Women Drivers

Now, before I start a lynch mob here, I just thought I would post this article because it sort of ties in with my last post since they are both related to driving. Well, this article is about parking but you get the picture. Anyway, apparently it was scientifically proven that men are better at parking than women. I thought it was cute. Judge for yourself.

mike

Trucks and Traffic

I hate coming on here and ranting about other drivers but the last few days have made me angry enough (and the blog has been silent enough) that I thought I would come on and do a quick rant and retreat.

Why is it that if you have a truck, you have to drive like an asshole? I've had many, many, many bad experiences with trucks and SUVs over the years where the drivers of said vehicles have absolutely no consideration for anyone else on the road. They treat it as if they are the only ones there and it is their God-given right to drive wherever and howsoever they pleaseth. I hate to stereotype (since there's always the exception to the rule) but when I'm driving home from work on a two-lane freeway and there are three or four trucks all around me and their all speeding, following ech other and others too closely, changing lanes regularly and just generally driving recklessly, I can't help but make the statement that people who are predisposed to buying these types of vehicles must be assholes, or the vehicles make them that way. It has to be one or the other because the trend is just far too consistent. It stands up to the scientific method.

I know this will probably kill any chances of anyone ever helping me move furniture that won't fit into my wagon, but I just had to let that one go.

I now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.

mike

Chris Murphy on Being in a Band

A few years ago when Sloan released their album Never Hear the End of It they released a handful of making of videos on YouTube. While browsing around looking for the video to "Someone I Can Be True With" I ran across this, one of my favourites of the bunch, and I thought I would share.



Later!

mike

Bad Weather

Frickin' car won't start again today. Couple of days ago it got pretty cold overnight and the car froze. I didn't have it plugged in so when I went to start it there was no joy. I finally ended up getting it boosted and it worked fin for me the rest of the day (although she was a little rough on starting when I was leaving work yesterday).

I made sure I plugged it in last night because I knew it would be cold again and went out to dutifully start it and get it warmed up and ready to take Jen into work and do some errands, and the damn thing won't start again. It's actually 7 degrees warmer than the other night but my freakin' car is still frozen. I'll have to get another boost when my father-in-law swings by later today so I can get my errands done. Until then I guess I'll continue to sort the house and make it somewhat presentable for the appraiser who will also be coming in today. Life is so full of fun things.

Later!

mike

"I Have Something on the East Lawn You Should See"

Considering the last week has been full of Lucas-themed fun (played Lego Indy, watched Clone Wars Season 2 episodes, checked out some cool Star Wars stuff online), I recently ran into this clip from MadTV on YouTube (one of my brother's favourites), and my current desperation in drumming up content, leads me to believe that posting this video is not just all kinds of groovy fun, it's a good idea.

Hope you enjoy it!



Take Care!

mike

Been Awhile

I've been playing the endlessly entertaining Lego Indiana Jones with the kids this week and it has me in a bit of an Indy state-of-mind. As a result, I thought I would post this article from the LA Times talking about the Young Indiana Jones Chronicles around the time of the Volume 1 DVD release. The show remains one of my favourite television programs of all time and any chance to read or learn something new about it is a good day for me.

Later!

mike

Return to the 'Verse

A friend sent me this and I thought it was cute.



Later!

mike

Live at the Rose Bowl

Here's the U2 concert that was broadcast off of YouTube if anyone is interested.



Later!

mike

When It Rains It Pours

For anyone zooming by this post there was a live streaming Foo Fighters concert here, but after they stopped streaming it, they had the video for "Wheels" going on a constant loop and it fired up every time you came to the page, which was kind of annoying. So, I took it off.

Later.

mike

U2 at the Rose Bowl

Just finished watching the U2 concert that was broadcast live online via YouTube and I have to say that I'm not as disappointed as I thought I might be. In fact, I would go so far as to say it was actually pretty good.

As a huge U2 fan through the late '80s and the following decade, I've found myself less than appreciative of their current output. Where I used to skip school to run down to the record store to buy the singles when they came out, now I wait months, sometimes years before picking up their 'latest' album. I grabbed Atomic Bomb long after its release date for $9.99 and I have yet to buy No Line on the Horizon (although I did buy two songs off of iTunes). I'm sure it must be a reaction similar to the backlash they suffered from old school fans when they unleashed Achtung Baby! on the world but, if you ask me, the songwriting just hasn't been as strong as it used to be. Their post-Pop material has been a little too...transparent and obvious. When Bono used the line "the air was heavy/heavy as a truck" in the song "Electrical Storm" I knew it was a love affair that had ended.

I jokingly told my wife tonight when the streaming broadcast begun that U2 and I broke up a few years ago but we've agreed to have coffee tonight, and I think that was a pretty apt description of the affair. The evening was spent with reintroductions, reminiscing over old memories and times spent together, and talking about what's been going on with each other since last we spoke.

To continue the metaphor, I think there was still enough good to agree to start seeing each other again on a trial basis. I may even spring for the new album on iTunes and give that a whirl. I'll definitely be revisiting my back catalogue of albums over the next few weeks and conjure up some warm fuzzies.

The rebroadcast of the concert is playing as I type this, so if you catch this and wanna check it out, hussle on over.

Peace!

mike

I Was Just Wondering...

...where is David Bowie these days and why haven't we seen any new material out of him in the last three or four years?

I can't be the only one wondering.

mike

'Porky's Shell Game'

Here's some more Pogo goodness courtesy of YouTube:



I wish I could find the full-length feature this was clipped from. Hell, I wish I could find most any Pogo merch without having to embark on a major expedition but such is not the case. I covet the two Pogo treasuries I have and what little scraps I can dig up.

Enjoy!

mike

World of Disappointment #3467

[This post may contain small bits of hyperbole]

I saw this in the bookstore today and, after briefly catching my eye as a possibly interesting thing, I set it down again and walked away disgusted.

Originally I thought to myself, "WTF, yet another Dracula edition?" before having my eye caught by the Jae Lee cover and the promise of an illustrated text. This could be a cool little thing to have, especially at the bargain price they were offering it for. I opened it up and saw that virtually every single image that Jae drew was a figure drawing with no background and very little detail in anything but exposed bits like hands, faces, etc. Any item of clothing being shown is just a grey tone shape and anything that is not humanoid in shape is a silhouette. How cheap is that.

I know he did some astonishing work on the Dark Tower comics and I've followed the guys work in the past so I know he's just totally phoned these images in. It probably shouldn't, but it bugs me.

Anyway, if you see this item and get tempted to pick it up, buyer beware! Flip through before purchasing. Or better yet, ignore it and grab the one illustrated by Ben Templesmith.

As an addendum, I wanted to add that some good did come from my bookstore trip since I grabbed a copy of Pullman's Once Upon a Time in the North, a copy of Christopher Golden, Stephen Bissette and Hank Wagner's Neil Gaiman wankfest, Prince of Stories: The Many Worlds of Neil Gaiman and the lavishly illustrated and very eye-catching children's book, Varmints. I almost walked out of there with Hornby's new one, Juliet, Naked, but I have to finish The Beautiful and the Damned before getting into a new book. I read the first chapter sitting in the bookstore waiting for my daughter and I just knew I would get home and keep reading it with Fitzgerald odyssey of love and excess feeling the full on force of how fickle I can be.

Later!

mike

How Cool Is This?

Need I say more?

mike

Clone Wars Season 2 - Not Disappointing

I've been posting a lot of negative thoughts on the ol' blog of late, which may be bad juju since I'm trying to do the whole 'Hey, I'm back and blogging regularly' thing, so I'm going to change gears briefly and throw out some positive thoughts regarding the second season of The Clone Wars.

If you saw season one, you probably were very aware of the various limitations of the show. Not a lot of characters, not a lot of settings/environments, characters whose models were a little stiff and whose faces did not move quite right, and the usual first season stumbling around and finding your rhythm kind of thing. With season two a lot of that has changed. Subtle bits of acting are not uncommon, better mouth movements to match the voice actors, humongous improvements to details, textures, editing and story. Most of all the stories.

Before there were a lot of two or three part arcs that were generally interesting, but there was a rhythm to the storytelling that felt off. Whether that was due to budget and time restrictions, I'm not sure. But lately I've just been feeling that I am, indeed, watching Star Wars, or a logical extension of it. Plus, watching the relationships develop is nice because it gives some context that was missing from Revenge of the Sith and, at the end of the day, may just make the prequel series a little bit better than it was a couple of years ago.


I'll leave you with the trailer for season two. There's some nice teaser stuff in there if you've yet to see any episodes, and other than that, it's just fun to watch.



May the force be with you.

Mike

Grisms

I was posting a message on a friends blog and I was prompted, both times, to verify that I was, indeed, a living breathing entity by punching in the random set of 7 letter combinations they provided. Looking at the two 'words', meaningless and random though they be, it reminded me of Douglas Adams and John Lloyd's wonderful little dictionary of non-words, The Meaning of Liff (an online version is available here). Wikipedia describes the book as 'a "dictionary of things that there aren't any words for yet"; all the words listed are place names, and describe common feelings and objects for which there is no current English word.'

Looking at the two 'words' I was prompted with - Wizizi and Grisms - I can't help but wonder what possible meanings they could have if they existed as real words. It is very early in the morning for me right now and I have a splitting headache, so I'm not going to venture a guess. I will, however, open the floor to anyone out there who is interested in kicking it Liff-style. If nothing comes of it, I'll return at some point and take a crack at it myself.

Either I am really reaching for blogging content or Meanwhile... just got mondo interactive.

Later!

mike

No Control

This is going to be a self-indulgent rant, so you've had your warning if you want to bail now.

Jen has been bugging me to watch some Burn Notice and I, honestly, have just not been in the mood. I love the show to bits and we were watching season three for a while but we got derailed when the second season of True Blood came on HBO and that was 'the show' we watched for the next few months. There are many shows that we like and watch separately when we have the chance (because we are notorious for not agreeing on just about anything) so, when we find a show like Burn Notice, something we both enjoy, we try and hold off and watch it together.

Recently, though, I've been accused of holding the television hostage since I'm not overly interested in watching what she wants to watch right now (meaning BN). This is partially true, but only in the sense that, if I give her any episodes to watch, she will be unable to stop herself until she hits the end and then I either have to catch up, give up, or shut up. I'm sure it's obvious which option she would suggest I take.

Take tonight, for example. I went out with some friends and conceded an episode as a gesture. One episode is not a hard thing to catch up on. Heck, I could watch it when I got home before bed and nobody would know the difference. We could pick it up again together any time. She'd be happy, I'd be happy and there would be happiness all around. However, me being the idiot I am, left her with 3 episodes at her disposal and she watched every damn one of them. I came home and 'walked in' on her watching the last one. "This is one of the best episodes of the series yet," she says to me.

sigh

So, now I'm pissed, she thinks I'm retarded, I'm aware of the level of self-pity but am feeling burned on the 'the show we watch together' factor (something that has happened at least three times in as many years), and now we're not talking to each other.

Another wonderful day in the corps.

We now return you to our regularly scheduled programming.

mike

Will the Disappointments Never Cease?

One of my most enjoyable moviegoing experiences this year involved going to Sam Raimi's Drag Me To Hell with a couple of friends at a second run theatre here in town. I figured I would enjoy the movie but had no idea just how much. Like almost all the critical reviews, I felt that Raimi had put together one of the best horror movies in the last ten years and effortlessly recaptured the low-budget scare-fest that introduced him to cinema goers across the world.

Today marked the release of Drag Me To Hell on DVD and Blu-Ray and, like a good little soldier, I went out and bought my copy (in Hi-Def since having a PS3 now means I have no excuse not to). On my lunch break, no less. I wanted to be able to grab my copy, get it home and not have to stop anywhere between the end of work and sliding that puppy into my PlayStation.

Browsing through the disc I discovered that, with the exception of some production diaries, there are no meaty features to speak of. No commentary (which I was pretty sure would be there), no sizable documentaries, just 30-odd minutes behind-the-scenes clips showing how they created the nose-bleed scene or the maggot scene. I should probably check if they're branching, now that I think about it, because that might make them a little more entertaining. But, the point is, this is a 50GB disc and that's all you have to offer?

Argh!

On the plus side, the video is flawless and the audio is source audio, so I don't regret the Blu-Ray purchase in the slightest. I'm especially looking forward to the movie night some friends and I are putting on where we'll watch it on a 52" plasma screen with the sound pumping out the roaring soundtrack. I just wish that there was a bit more in the extra features department to satisfy the features whore in me.

Anyway, watch the movie if you haven't, check out the DVD if you can.

Until next time...

mike

Why Does Larry Niven Know So Much About Kryptonian Sperm?

I've been away from the blogosphere for some time (as I'll elaborate on in a future post) and, having some free time on my hands, took the opportunity to browse around and reacquaint myself with various and sundry online places and happenings. Along with hitting all the usual haunts, I took it upon myself to try out some new blogs, one of them being Steve Thompson's BookSteve's Library. Thompson is a pop culture enthusiast (as so many of us are) but he's operating on that Jedi-blogger level like Mark Evanier, so the deeper you go, the richer the rewards.

Among other things, I found the most amazing embedded videos on his blog. I'm talking about stuff that I have searched for extensively in the past but came up woefully empty-handed. Now, thanks to Steve, I'm buzzing over the fact that I found a long sought after Pogo special (one of two, I believe) that was directed by Chuck Jones and written by Kelly himself. I had long since given up on trying to find it online and then - BAM - there it was. Just sitting there and waiting to be watched.

Unfortunately, I haven't had the chance to this evening, but I'm thinking maybe after work tomorrow.

Another video I ran across on Steve's site is this 1981 Superman documentary. It sort of covers the history of Superman through interviews with Siegel and Shuster, shows some behind-the-scenes footage over at DC Comics circa 1981, and gives some face time to Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder who gave their perspective on Superman through their involvement in the film series. They also talk to a psychiatrist, some amateur filmmakers who made a Superman spoof, and Larry Niven who, by the way, comes off as an incredibly unusual and creepy guy. His segments are some of the stranger elements of the doc, but when he starts talking about Kryptonian sperm (in Part 4 or 5, I think)...I just kind of tuned the guy out from that point on.

Anyway, Thompson claims that it's the best superhero doc ever made, but I've seen dozens that have been done better. I'm not sure what the yardstick is on this one, but just off-hand I can name Moebius Redux: A Life In Pictures, Comic Book Confidential, Tales from the Crypt: From Comic Books to Television, and In Search of Steve Ditko just off the top of my head. For the time, however, this was probably the the tippity top as far as production values, the quality of the overall presentation, and the analysis given to a comic book subject.

You can be the judge:



Up, up, and away!

mike

Obi-Wan Insider

I took my daughter to the 7-11 this evening and along with our Big Gulps I purchased the latest issue of Star Wars Insider (#112) that puts the spotlight on my favourite Prequel Trilogy character (meaning Ewan McGregor), Obi-Wan Kenobi. It was an impulse buy but I've been in a Star Wars mood lately and I'm a sucker for Obi-Wan stuff. Whenever I see a clearance figure at Wal-Mart or some other Kenobi curio in my travels I can't help but pick it up. I know, it's probably a sickness, but I've learned to live with it. Anyway, this issue of Insider, with it's bold action shot of Ewan on the cover, was no exception to the rule.

When I got it home and cracked it open, though, I was disappointed to find that there was very little of substance inside. I mean, I'm not a regular reader but I've purchased issues of the Insider in the past and never regretted doing so. There has always been enough material (promotional fluff though it may be) to at least keep me entertained for 20 minutes or so. Usually there is some rare photos, trivia or a decent enough interview to serve as a pleasant distraction and feed my Star Wars craving. This time around they focused on the voice actor for the Clone Wars series, James Arnold Taylor and included random quotes from Ewan and Sir Alec who each got a single page bookending the Taylor interview. There is a history of Obi-Wan which seems fraught with EU inconsistencies and a couple of articles on the Death Troopers novel and the Mandalorian comics that DHC will be putting out, neither of which I am interested in exploring.

I probably should say that claiming there was nothing of substance was a bit of hyperbole since there is a piece on the newspaper strip that ran in the late '70s, and anything about Al Williamson or Russ Manning is worth a few minutes of my time. Also, there was an article on the exhibit of rare Star Wars artifacts that is travelling with the In Concert tour right now that may prove to be mildly interesting. Both articles are also accompanied by a number of pretty cool images, too.

I guess I'm just feeling burnt by the lack of useful Obi-Wan material.

Bah.

For the record, I would one day like to see someone take a franchise like this and really go to town on a behind-the-scenes magazine. Instead of fluff pieces like you see here or in any of the other myriad licensed magazines you would have some in-depth commentary, interviews and behind-the-scenes reporting that would make it more than an all-in-one-sitting kind of read. You would have to come back to that puppy one or two more times to dig through the articles and features.

Pipe dream, I know, but I still foster dreams of one day being a content developer for someone. I'll probably have to start something on my own if I ever want to fulfill that particular dream.

May the Force be with y'all!

mike

Is the Dude Being Rude?

Now, I'll go on record right off and say that Steve Rude is one of my favourite artists currently working in the comics industry. His seminal work on Nexus with Mike Baron has endured for two decades and remains, not only one of my top 5 comic book series of all time, but also relevant. Over the last little while I've been re-reading my Nexus collection from The Capitol issues to the most current Rude Dude issues and I'm continually amazed at how much of the '80s is reflected in those stories but how little they have dated over the years. So, when Steve Rude announced that they would be returning to the character and self-publishing new stories...well, let's just say that the return of Nexus to comic book shelves was one of the single most exciting things to happen for me in many, many years of collecting comics.

I was so pumped to have the book back and to have Rude and Baron working together again that I was willing to put out a little extra just to show my support. When they released the Free Comic Book Day book, Nexus' Greatest Hits, as a regular Rude Dude release, I bought it even though I already had it because I know self-publishing can be a tough racket. Then, when they released the Nexus Origin book I grabbed that one also, even though I already owned it from back when Dark Horse launched Nexus. Then, when Steve re-released it as a squarebound book with a new cover and 'extra pages' for a buck more, I bought that, too. It was supposed to be completely remastered and have extra stuff so damn the torpedos, right? Well, it was exactly the same as the previous Origin they published and featured 'extra' material that had been published elsewhere. I wasn't going to complain, though, because losing Nexus again was something that I did not want to see happen.

Lately I've been reading Rude's blog posts where he's been asking people to buy stuff at his store so he can pay his bills and how his brief return to comics was a failure and I can't help but be a little pissed. Not only have we, as readers/consumers, bit our collective tongues while waiting for each issue of "Space Opera" to come out (invariably late, it should be stressed) and spent money on materials we probably all already owned being Nexus fans, but now we're being asked to go and spend $250 at his online store for the privilege of having an original sketch?

When I think of how the 'failure' of Nexus may have had something to do with the irregularity of its schedule, and how opportunity and momentum was likely lost to whatever issues were being played out behind the scenes, I cringe. One of the lessons I thought most publishers learned throughout the last ten years was that when a book is solicited to come out, it better come out because, beyond just looking bad, readers are fickle and don't have a lot of money to spread around. Certain marquee books can weather that storm but, ultimately, if your book is not on the shelf readers will likely spend it on something else that is there.

Once retailers have lost confidence in your publishing schedule they will likely look at your book in Previews and pass you over because who knows if it's really going to show up. They'll order enough for their file customers and that's all she wrote. All the interviews, good faith, nostalgia, hype and media attention can't save you from general apathy once it sets in.

So, to be as supportive as I can as a consumer towards Rude Dude Productions and then have them tell me that not only is Nexus done but that I really should come by and give them some more money, has me just a little ticked.

Later!

mike

Kathy F***ing George!?!

So, I'm sitting on the crapper reading the latest issue of John Constantine: Hellblazer - which may be more information than you need to know but is a disturbingly apropos place to have been reading it - when I get to a part near the end where John is stumbling through some public bathroom in Hell and comes across two individuals. The first is a red-headed, grungy looking, bad-mofo kind of guy and he is sitting next to an attractive, sad looking girl with dark black hair. Upon seeing them, John mutters, "Kathy? Kathy...George?"

WTF!!!!!

At that precise moment, I barked with one of those surprised but happy one note laughs - "Hwah!" - which I'm sure must have had the poor wife thinking I'd dropped something terrible or torn something somewhere. Once my business was done and hands were washed and all that, I ran to my wife who was in our room and I held the page in front of her and said, "Look at this page until you see it. You'll know what it is." She stared at it for about a minute and a half when a smile, big and wide, crept across her freckled face.

If you don't know who Kathy George is, Peter Milligan, the current writer of Hellblazer blazed his trail in American comics by writing a weird little mature readers title called Shade the Changing Man (of which both the wife and I possess complete runs). It ended years and years ago but it was one of my favourite comic series of all time and Kathy was one of the main characters, along with Rac Shade and another female character named Lenny. To have her show up again, in any capacity and after reading her dialogue where she says, "You can't help me. Not now. Not yet..." it sounds like we will be seeing the cast of Shade yet again, which is just a real mind-blower. So completely unexpected, although not entirely unprecedented.

There's actually a John Constantine connection with these guys since the four actually met during a cossover where they are sent back in time and have to deal with some puritans and Shade is turning into a tree and Lenny and Kathy are going to be hung as witches. John takes a particular shine to Kathy, as most people who meet her do, and it was something left unresolved at the end of the storyline, if I'm not mistaken. Clearly Milligan never forgot and I have every confidence that it will have something to do with where that call-out is going to lead in future issues of Hellblazer.

The prospect of seeing these characters again has me very excited. I never thought I would see them again. If ever there was a way to hook me in to a series so thoroughly that I wouldn't dare drop it so long as a single particular writer was guiding the destiny of said book, Milligan has found it.

I will be waiting with bated breath.

Later!

mike

The Ballad of G.I. Joe

This reminds me of the unofficial, unreleasable "David Duchovny, Why Don't You Love Me" video. I mean, Julianne Moore is playing Scarlett? Also sounds a little Flight of the Conchords-ey.

Anyway, enjoy...

The Ballad of G.I. Joe from Olivia Wilde

Cheers!

mike

The Fixer

Listening to Pearl Jam's new single and I have to say I'm enjoying it a great deal. It's been a while since I've paid any attention to the band.I think Vitalogy was the last time I really knew what they were up to, even though I do remember having Yield at some point. I don't know where the appeal left me back then as they were clearly one of the best things to emerge out of that whole Seattle boom back in the early '90s.

Anyway, judging by the quality of this first single, I'm seriously considering picking up the new album when it comes out. That didn't work out so hot when I returned to another old fave, but I've got a good feeling about this one.

Oh, I should also mention that I've been listening to the new album by Jet, Shaka Rock, and I'm enjoying it quite a bit. I was hoping for more of the same but there have been a few stylistic changes. Not enough to be really jarring, just interesting.

If you have a chance to check out either I would give them my official Meanwhile... seal of approval.

Later!

mike

I Aint Afraid of No Ghost

Considering how I felt about the last Ghostbusters comic book effort from IDW, I wasn't going to try and usher in the new mini with any kind of fanfare. The art looks okay, but the writer, Scott Lobdell, is an unknown quantity here. I thought his work on the X-Men franchise over at Marvel in the '90s was absolute crap but I did very much enjoy his run on Buffy, High Roads was fun and his Wildcats work was decent, also.

The question remains, however. Can he write a decent and faithful time-travelling Ghostbsters story? We'll see when the new mini, titled "Displaced Aggression", debuts in just a little bit.

Could be crap, could be awesome. It doesn't have to live up to the films, just the excellent Ghostbusters: Legion comic book published by 88Mph a few years ago.

i09 has some artwork displayed at their website if you wanna have a look see.

Cheers.

mike

Joe Hill

At the library the other day I saw a copy of IDW's Locke & Key. For those of you who don't know, the book is written by Joe Hill and features artwork by Gabriel Rodriguez. It's the story of a family who survive a major tragedy and move to a relative's house that has some special characteristics. At Keyhouse, there are certain keys (if you can find them) that will open certain doorways that lead to other places and states of being. Within the grounds of Keyhouse exists an entity that wants these keys and uses its influence to achieve its goals. This is where most of the action and drama come into play.

In the introduction, there is some discussion on how the writer, Joe Hill, is a brilliant young novelist in the genre and everything he touches is golden. Well, seeing as I thought the first few issues of the comic reprinted in the collection were pretty good and not absolutely astonishing, I took these comments with a grain of salt.

A few days later I was shopping at Indigo! and I noticed a collection of Hill's short stories called 20th Century Ghosts. It was on sale for $7.99 and Christopher Golden (one of my favourite genre writers) spoke incredibly highly of him and the work in the introduction. I thought if everyone seemed to be praising everything Joe Hill does, I might as well try out this short story collection and see where that leads me.

Well, I'll tell you where that leads me. I am now a huge fan of the work of Joe Hill. This guy is everything they say about him. I have yet to read his full-length novel, Heart-Shaped Box, but these short stories are superb. His expert handling of the genre is a refreshing surprise considering so many of his contemporaries (literary and cinematic) go for the jugular and try to give you as extreme an experience as possible while sacrificing mood, and story. Hill knows what it means to build to something and make the reader an active participant in his storytelling.

Finishing Locke & Key I was treated to some of the same surprises that I had seen in his short story work. I assumed that L&K was going to trade on the nasty bits with lots of killing and abuse and cruelty, but that's just not the case. There's a mood to it, a quality that feeds off of the darker points but also shows a lot of humour and sensitivity and I'm really looking forward to seeing where this story goes. I have another storyline to catch up on ("Head Games") and then I'll be up to date.

Oh, and if you haven't read his short story "Pop Art" then you must go out and do so now. You really, really must.

Later!

mike

Reading The Unwritten

It kind of surprises me that I'm still engaged with Mike Carey and Peter Gross' new Vertigo series, The Unwritten. I wasn't overly impressed by the $1 first issue, finding it slow to get moving and somewhat predictable, and I was skeptical as to whether or not the metatextual premise of the series would be sustainable over a long run. In most of the interviews I've read Carey addresses, and diffuses, the obvious comparisons to Rowling's cash cow, but whether you were comparing it to Harry Potter, Tim Hunter or any other fictional boy wizard creation was irrelevant to me. I just felt like the similarities, period, would sink the general appeal of this book sooner than later.

Four issues in, though, and I'm still buying it, still reading it, and it looks like I'm going to be in for the long haul on this one.

What's keeping me intrigued so far is the fact that Carey hasn't fallen back on as many 'obvious' devices as I had expected him to. Going for the shock reveal that the reader expects has little appeal. If they revealed right out in the first issue that yes, Tommy Hunter was a fictional character brought to life by his creator or by some other means and raised as a real boy in our world, I would have been gone right then and there. Heck, I was dicey on whether that same reveal on periphery characters was going to be make or break for me. Carey seems to be trying to keep things ambiguous on that point, however, and the true origins of everyone are still shrouded in mystery 48 pages or so into the tale.

There have been some interesting thoughts that Carey has put to paper on the ideas of language and fiction, and I have a growing curiosity regarding the character of Mr. Pullman whose motives are unclear as anything else in the book. The artwork by Peter Gross is stellar, as always, and while the first story arc has reached a conclusion there is very little closure. What that means is that it reads like an ongoing serialized story and not a 'paced for the trade collection' that so many other books are.

I was genuinely excited when I saw the fourth issue on the racks today and eagerly snatched up the last copy my LCS had. It was a deliciously macabre issue (much like the last one) that I read as soon as I got home. I figure that's as good a sign as any that I'm on board for the first year at the very least. I'd be curious to hear what, if any, opinions anyone else has on this series to date.

Later!

mike

There is a CD, Burn, Burn, Burn

I've been in a bit of an Our Lady Peace mood and I decided to pick up their new album, Burn, Burn, Burn. I heard some good pre-release press and was interested in seeing where exactly the band had landed after several years of spinning their wheels and producing yawn-worthy power pop.

Well, I can't say as it is a terrible album, but they certainly haven't left their current comfort zone. The first single, "All You Did Was Save My Life", is catchy, driving, and gets under your skin after a few listens but, so far, none of the other songs on the album have managed to equal that. I like some of them just fine, but I will find myself humming the new track from time to time. It does require a few more sit downs and listens before I give it my final verdict, but I'm not holding out hope for it making its way into the same category as their first four efforts which defined their sound and writing so expertly that anything since has seemed trite.

One of my favourite songs from the band, and one of my all-time favourite videos, is a track called "Thief".



Later!

mike

Sort of SDCC Related

In 2000 I made a Comikaze trip down to San Diego with my buddy Karl. It was the first time I ever attended the con, and I was going under the auspices of doing some coverage for FEARS Magazine, a web publication that I was writing for that was run by a very cool cat named Ed Flynn. Almost on a whim (I think we decided the same day we left on the trip), Karl and I rented a car, loaded up our stuff and drove 33 odd hours from Saskatoon to San Diego (with a few stops in-between for sustenance and one stop in Vegas which was more curiosity than anything else).

I have a lot of fond memories of that con. I met Chris Carter whose shows I have been loving for the last 15 years or so, and even got to ask him a question on the X-Files/Lone Gunmen panel that made all the news sites by the time I got home (I asked him about Millennium, what the future holds for the series and was he truly happy with the 'closure' they gave the character of Frank Black in the New Year X-Files episode, "Millennium"). I met Will Eisner and got to shake his hand and thank him for all of his excellent work over the years, not to mention getting my Spirit Archives Volume 1 autographed. I did some great video interviews including one with Jill Thompson that I especially enjoyed. Nobody has ever seen the video outside of me (although the text for which has been transcribed and published) which I may remedy in the future. I had a chance to talk to Jose Ladronn and Sylvain Despretz (who, when I asked him for a sketch, wanted to clarify that I actually knew who he was since he wasn't really a comic book guy), met Walt Simonson, Sergio Aragones, Bob Burden, Brian Azzarello, Stan Sakai, and Mike Mignola. It was good times.

Outside of the con, Karl and I hung around with friends Kaare Andrews (who was living in town while doing work for Wildstorm), Trevor McCarthy (who taught me how to talk like a New Yorker should I ever find myself in the City), and a retailer out of Edmonton named Kelly (whose last name I shamefully forget). Karl played pool with Howard Simpson, we crashed the Wizard party, and closed the show down with an extra day in SD, spending most of it on the beach to recharge before making the epic trek back home.

At the con I managed to snag a sketch by Duncan Fegredo which remains one of my most prized possessions. Shade the Changing Man was an important series for me during the Peter Milligan run and Fegredo did some of the most amazing painted covers for that book. I loved them all. It was one of the things I looked forward to every month. So, I stood in line and when it was my turn I asked Duncan to either draw me one of two characters: one whose identity escapes me at the moment, and the other was a Mad, Mod, Poet God. He chose the latter and I was ever so happy he did.

I always intended on framing some of the sketches I acquired at SDCC and I never got around to it until tonight when I finally set it up and hung it on the wall. Jen has been pushing to finally start putting up some art or posters or pictures or something to beautify the homestead a bit, so we put up one of my favourite Moonshadow posters and the Shade image, so far. I've attached images of them (taken with my shitty phone, I know) below so you can get an idea of what I'm talking about.



So, yeah, I just wanted to share that little tidbit. I'll be framing my Usagi Yojimbo, Scary Godmother, Sylvain Despretz rendition of Maximus from Gladiator and a Mike Mignola Hellboy sketch as soon as I get some matte boards for the frames. Until then, I'll have to enjoy ol' Shade for a while, which shouldn't be hard because the image gives me a lotta joy.

Take care!

mike

Music Quest

Canadian rock band, Our Lady Peace, just released their new album and it got me buzzing around iTunes checking out some older OLP material that I, for some reason, do not own. Not even in one of those 'less-than-legal' ways, either.

While buzzing around I was reminded that Raine Maida, frontman for the band (and husband to Chantal Kreviazuk, for anyone who cares about that sort of thing), put out a solo album a couple of years ago (called The Hunters Lullaby) which I remember pretty much ignoring at the time it was released. In fact, he was even here playing at a local pub and I decided it wouldn't be worth my time to go see him without the whole OLP ensemble and anthemic rock music. I had yet to hear any of his solo material and just assumed I wouldn't care much for it. It is possible that someone might have told me he got all folky, or something.

So, looking at it in the online store I was also reminded that Jen had bought a song or two off of it and I remembered kind of liking the song she played for me. She just started playing it off of her laptop one afternoon and asked if I could guess who this artist was, which I did. "Who's This?", by the way, is a 'game' we 'lovingly' play in our household but the question is usually directed at Jen and not me.

Anyway, I got the title from her, downloaded it myself and I've been listening to it ever since. Here's the video I found for it off of the YouTube:



I'm just loving the song and I think the idea behind the video is kind of neat, too. Wandering around Toronto busking for War Child. Works for me. I do feel a little special needs for letting my snobbishness get in the way of discovering some cool new music, though. Everything in its time, I guess.

Well, I hope you enjoy the track as much as I do. I'm heading back into the iTunes store to search for more goodies. I found a Sloan song I didn't even know existed and some previously rare Chapterhouse stuff, so I'm kind of jazzed right now.

Take care!

mike

Happy Belated Birthday, Bob Burden!

I sort of missed this one a few days back but one of my very favourite funny book people, Bob Burden, just had a birthday and I wanted to give a proper Meanwhile... shout out to him. Anyone who has been buying/reading comics for the last few years should know about his wacky creation, the Flaming Carrot, and the crazy surrealist joy that his characters have brought to many a fan (this one included).

One of my favourite stories involving Bob came from an interview we did a few years back where he outlined what he would do if he was allowed to work on some Marvel heroes. This was a period where editor Axel Alonso was bringing in talent like Peter Milligan, Jim Mahfood, Mike Allred, and a number of names nobody could have predicted would work on a Marvel book. It had something to do with Iron Man and Dr. Doom, a beach and someone's vacation being ruined. It sounded like a winner in my book.

Anyway, Bob turned 57 on July 19th, so Happy Birthday, Bob!

Later!

mike

Who You Gonna Call?

First the game, now this. I'm in freakin' heaven these days!



I'll have some comments on the aforementioned game in the near(?) future as I am 3/4 of the way through as of this writing, and it's just too cool to not rave about it in a post sometime soon.

Until then, enjoy!

mike

Road Rage

There are few things that bother me like someone who is already breaking one or more traffic laws looking at you like you're an asshole if you're somehow making it difficult for them to break another.

This is why I want a rocket launcher mod to my Focus.

mike

Jon J Muth

I've been on a bit of a Muth kick of late (some of that has to do with the reasons why my mind has been blown, if you're curious) and I ran across these neat videos of Jon that I thought I would share...



...and this one is a bit of an EPK style promo discussing his latest Zen book...



That's all for now. Catch you later!

mike

I've Just Completely Blown My Mind

But I can't talk about why or how just yet.

mike

Clone Wars Decommissioned?

So, I'm on a bit of a Star Wars kick as a result of the tenth anniversary of the release of Episode I and I've been trying to get a look at the new Clone Wars: Decoded episodes and I've discovered that the show has disappeared from the airwaves. I'm not sure how long ago this happened, but neither CTV (who are supposed to have the broadcast rights) or our local Sci-Fi channel, Space: The Imagination Station, are showing it. I've searched the guide and there are plenty of Stargates, Star Treks and Starship Troopers, but, sadly, I must go without the Wars. In a desperate act, I even checked the more unconventional methods of acquiring shows that we do not get here, and it's not available in that format either.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to wait for the DVD release on this one.

Later.

mike

Human Target

I apologize again for not being very frequent with the posting, but you know how it is. I did want to pop on and mention that there are some promo videos for the new Human Target series that will be debuting next January on Fox. I remember watching the original Rick Springfield version of the show from 15+ years back, although I had forgotten that it was developed by Bilson and DeMeo, known for their much admired Flash series on CBS. That series lasted all of seven episodes, I think, and disappeared. You can't even find Torrents of those online, although I did manage to find a video on YouTube which I'll post below.



And the old one...



I'm honestly surprised that it took so long to get this concept back on the small screen. Saddened as I am that Terminator will not be returning next year, I'll be looking forward to seeing some Human Target action.

Later!

mike