Thursday, June 25, 2009
Hey, with how badly I've been neglecting the blog, you know what I've really missed? Five Things. I enjoyed the now-classic Five Things You Need To Know About Doctor Who, and the Five Things You May Not Have Known About Superman allowed me to combine my love of Superman with my love of pedantry. So everybody wins, really.
In the past year I came close a couple times; this year alone, I considered Five Things About Watchmen (including how the characters were based directly on the old Charlton Comics line), as well as Five Things About Red Dwarf. In 2007, I actually made notes toward Five Things About Harry Potter, which you still might see when Half-Blood Prince comes out next month. Stay tuned, true believers!
On a semi-related note, I've occasionally felt a twinge of guilt over my complete disdain (or dislike, antipathy, white-hot contempt, call it what you want) for the show Smallville. I gave it a chance, honestly I did; I downloaded and watched the first three seasons, until it became clear that their version of Superman's mythology was being made up as they went along. I kept checking in occasionally after that, but it never got any better, and the constant repetition of recognizable Vancouver locations just got old.
Oh, they dangled the occasional super-carrot; hey, look, the Flash! Bizarro! You kids love the Martian Manhunter, right? But no matter how long it goes on (nine seasons now, and counting), there's just no polishing this piece of brown Kryptonite. At this point, he's grown up, living in Metropolis, and working at the Daily Planet with Lois Lane and Jimmy Olson, so just fucking put on the tights already. Or just give it up.
So how did I get over the guilt? Easy. Look, Superman is one of the five most recognizable characters in the world, along with, at various times, Mickey Mouse, Sherlock Holmes, Santa Claus, and Darth Vader. He's always going to be around. It's not like DC will stop publishing the character if a movie or TV show flops. This ain't Swamp Thing we're talking about.
So I don't need to keep watching a bad TV show just to support Superman. Quite the opposite: if I keep watching bad Superman, you know what you get? More bad Superman. Which we don't need.
In the time Smallville has been on the air, we've had plenty of good Superman in multiple media. There's been Superman Returns, the animated Justice League Unlimited, Superman: Doomsday, and Brainiac Attacks and the current "New Krypton" story arc running through the comics line. So there's plenty of great Superman material out there, without having to sit through another iteration of "watered-down version of classic Superman villain/Clark investigates/villain targets supporting character/Clark rescues supporting character, who gets conveniently wanged on the head and forgets they saw Clark using his superstrength." We just don't need it.
So what do YOU want to know Five Things about?
In the past year I came close a couple times; this year alone, I considered Five Things About Watchmen (including how the characters were based directly on the old Charlton Comics line), as well as Five Things About Red Dwarf. In 2007, I actually made notes toward Five Things About Harry Potter, which you still might see when Half-Blood Prince comes out next month. Stay tuned, true believers!
On a semi-related note, I've occasionally felt a twinge of guilt over my complete disdain (or dislike, antipathy, white-hot contempt, call it what you want) for the show Smallville. I gave it a chance, honestly I did; I downloaded and watched the first three seasons, until it became clear that their version of Superman's mythology was being made up as they went along. I kept checking in occasionally after that, but it never got any better, and the constant repetition of recognizable Vancouver locations just got old.
Oh, they dangled the occasional super-carrot; hey, look, the Flash! Bizarro! You kids love the Martian Manhunter, right? But no matter how long it goes on (nine seasons now, and counting), there's just no polishing this piece of brown Kryptonite. At this point, he's grown up, living in Metropolis, and working at the Daily Planet with Lois Lane and Jimmy Olson, so just fucking put on the tights already. Or just give it up.
So how did I get over the guilt? Easy. Look, Superman is one of the five most recognizable characters in the world, along with, at various times, Mickey Mouse, Sherlock Holmes, Santa Claus, and Darth Vader. He's always going to be around. It's not like DC will stop publishing the character if a movie or TV show flops. This ain't Swamp Thing we're talking about.
So I don't need to keep watching a bad TV show just to support Superman. Quite the opposite: if I keep watching bad Superman, you know what you get? More bad Superman. Which we don't need.
In the time Smallville has been on the air, we've had plenty of good Superman in multiple media. There's been Superman Returns, the animated Justice League Unlimited, Superman: Doomsday, and Brainiac Attacks and the current "New Krypton" story arc running through the comics line. So there's plenty of great Superman material out there, without having to sit through another iteration of "watered-down version of classic Superman villain/Clark investigates/villain targets supporting character/Clark rescues supporting character, who gets conveniently wanged on the head and forgets they saw Clark using his superstrength." We just don't need it.
So what do YOU want to know Five Things about?
Friday, June 19, 2009
Do ya like pop music? I mean the kind they don't make anymore, with catchy melodies, and lyrics that tell a bittersweet story? Like Harry Chapin used to do, or Billy Joel, or Randy Newman, before he started oozing treacle? Of course you do. That's why you should check out one Andy Werth. Andy and his 14-piece band do some amazing stuff, that would make Burt Bacharach roll over in his grave, if he was dead. And soon, he's going to have a killer video, made by an award-winning director.
We all knew that Pixar's movies are filled with warmth and emotional honesty. You know how they do it? By being fucking human beings, that's how.
Excuse me, there's something in my eye...
Excuse me, there's something in my eye...
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Fresh content? On MY blog? It's more likely than you think!
Yes, I've been neglectful again. Yes, I'm sorry. I'm trying to pick it up again, especially with Scott and Debbie moving away. Heretowith, then, a few things that have been on my mind lately:
It sickens me that David Letterman had to apologize to Sarah Palin, but in doing so he's proving himself to be the better person. In pushing the issue, and especially in claiming to speak for "all women," Palin is once again proving what a classless attention whore she is.
Having said this, I will now say that I'm actually trying to back off from the angry-leftie posts. It's hard, though, when the right wing has started resorting to actual armed terrorism to accomplish their goals. I'm not afraid of al-qaeda, I'm afraid of some dipshit who STILL clings to the "Obama won't show his birth certificate" meme deciding to shoot up someplace I just happen to be. And working at the Very Big Software Corporation Of America, I'm afraid of some deranged Ken Hutcherson follower deciding to pull a von Brunn.
And speaking of THAT guy, I gotta say, the apology his son posted is the most incredibly tragic-and-classy thing I've ever read. I can only imagine what it took to stay sane with the upbringing he must have had. At least I have a blueprint for the day my Dad shoots some teenager walking past his house, or one of my brothers shoots someone whose car radio is too loud, or, well, someone in my family shoots someone. Because at this point I'm considering it an inevitability.
Fuck, I did it again.
Okay, moving on to better news, a few keywords:
The Brave and the Bold
Musical Episode
Neil Patrick Harris
Is "heretowith" a word?
It sickens me that David Letterman had to apologize to Sarah Palin, but in doing so he's proving himself to be the better person. In pushing the issue, and especially in claiming to speak for "all women," Palin is once again proving what a classless attention whore she is.
Having said this, I will now say that I'm actually trying to back off from the angry-leftie posts. It's hard, though, when the right wing has started resorting to actual armed terrorism to accomplish their goals. I'm not afraid of al-qaeda, I'm afraid of some dipshit who STILL clings to the "Obama won't show his birth certificate" meme deciding to shoot up someplace I just happen to be. And working at the Very Big Software Corporation Of America, I'm afraid of some deranged Ken Hutcherson follower deciding to pull a von Brunn.
And speaking of THAT guy, I gotta say, the apology his son posted is the most incredibly tragic-and-classy thing I've ever read. I can only imagine what it took to stay sane with the upbringing he must have had. At least I have a blueprint for the day my Dad shoots some teenager walking past his house, or one of my brothers shoots someone whose car radio is too loud, or, well, someone in my family shoots someone. Because at this point I'm considering it an inevitability.
Fuck, I did it again.
Okay, moving on to better news, a few keywords:
The Brave and the Bold
Musical Episode
Neil Patrick Harris
Is "heretowith" a word?
