the Best Defence is a Good Offence

Here's the latest reason why I'm not a fan of the Conservative Party.

It's been talk all weekend that the Tories are preparing a whole new series of attack ads against the Liberal party and their new leader, Stephane Dion.

They're launching attack ads. Why the hell are the Tories launching attack ads?

1) Last time I checked, the Conservatives were still the ruling party in the government.

2) There's no election in sight.

So, why the hell do the Conservatives feel it necessary to run attack ads against the opposition?

Now, it's true, it is a minority government, and lots of folks have been talking that the government might collapse and we'll have another election this year. So, this could be seen as the Conservatives getting a free ride.

Another reason that the Conservatives are doing this has been given by the Conservatives themselves in various panel shows over the weekend. As we all know, the Tories are kinda paranoid about the press. So, they're saying they have to do this because the press has been giving Dion a "free ride" when it comes to environmental matters, so they needed to expose "the truth" about Dion.

And, of course, the Tories are acting all high and mighty, saying, "We're not attacking him! His own caucus is!" They say that because all of the "attacks" are taken from the Liberal leadership debate from back in November.

All I know is this is symptimatic of the same problems that the PC's have here in Alberta. There's something about the whole Tory mentality that doesn't like to be questioned. And in our form of government, where there's a full-blown opposition party, well, the Tories tend to take things personal kinda quickly.

Or maybe it's because the Tories were the opposition party for so long, and made such a career out of questioning the Liberals that they just can't stop themselves.

All I know is that these attack ads are paranoid and unwarranted.

Here, I found one on YouTube already:



They start airing during the Super Bowl, in 6 days.

Latest Targ's Up!

Got this week's episode of The Targ up! This week, we've got Episode 36: Romance and Junk. In it, I share some of my views on, well, romance and junk.

Give 'er a listen

T-U-R-T-L-E Power!

I've made it now secret that I'm getting kind of jazzed about the new computer animated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie. I've been waiting for some kind of announcement as to who'd be voicing the Turtles. I've read in many interviews with the director that he didn't want celebrities voicing the turtles, so I was expecting a lot of voice actors. And since I like cartoons and follow the careers of certain voice actors, I was waiting to see if it was anyone I'd recognize.

Leonardo is being voiced by James Arnold Taylor. One of Taylor's best-known roles right now is that of Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars: Clone Wars cartoon.

Michelangelo is being voiced by Mikey Kelley, who's done a bunch of stuff I'm not really familiar with.

Raphael is being voiced by Nolan North, a soap opera actor, who also did the voice of Henry Pym/Ant Man in the Ultimate Avengers straight-to-DVD movies.

Donatello is given voice by Mitchell Whitfield, a perpetual guest star on many TV shows.

March 23. I'm counting down the days!

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Wow! I can't believe I found a picture of this online. This is one action figure that came out when I first started collecting, but was never able to find it.

Now, you're probably asking yourself, "How did this train wreck happen?" Quite easy, really. Back in the early-1990s, Playmates Toys held the toy licenses for both TMNT and Star Trek. Ya just knew it was a matter of time before someone held up his hand in the board room and said, "Hey! How about we stick in the Ninja Turtles in Starfleet uniforms?"

Wow. Reminds me of a line from The Simpsons: "Remember ALF? He's making a comeback...in POG form."

The List of Oscar Picks

There you go, super happy fun gang. My complete list of Oscar picks is up!

Check them out!

Oscar Nominations!

One of the best things about working in a news room is the Oscar nominations coming down the news wire as soon as they're announced!

Everyone's already offering up their lists and their predictions and all that, so, as always, I'm going to offer up my picks in my favourite category...the category I've been able to successfully predict every year since its inception...Best Animated Film!

This was one of the most cutthroat years for Best Animated Film, as we had the maximum number of qualifying films for a 3-nomination year. The 3 nominees for Best Animated Film are:

Cars
Happy Feet
Monster House

The one nomination that surprises me is Monster House, seeing as to how reviews were kind of "meh" and it did similarily at the box office. I'm still tempted to rent it, though. The nerds online say that Monster House is a throwback to all the great kids adventure films of the 80s, like The Goonies.

Anyway, my "never wrong in the five years this category has existed" prediction for Best Animated Film is....

Happy Feet

Why? It's cleaning up at the box office, and the reviews are mostly positive...two factors that always guarantee a win in this category.

As always, when I'm off work, I'll have a complete list of nominations and my picks in my favourite categories over at my main site.

I love the new Doctor Who

Have I mentioned lately that I love the new Doctor Who? Seriously, that show rocks. Last night's fare, an episode entitled Love & Monsters, was one of the best to date. Don't beleive me? Here's a clip:





Is that not some of the most brilliant sci-fi you've ever seen?

Justice

Nerd that I am, one TV show I do enjoy is Smallville. As I've blogged in the past, what makes that show compelling for me isn't watching Clark Kent grow up to be Superman, but rather, Lex Luthor's painfully slow descent to the dark side. Sadly, I haven't been watching Smallville all season, because the Athabasca cable company doesn't have a channel that carries it.

Until last night, when I stumbled across it as I was heading off to bed.

So, naturally, I had to stay up late to watch one of the most anticipated episodes of all season, Justice.

Let me bring you up to speed: the creators of Smallville have been bending their rule of "no superheroes in costume" in rescent season, as over the past two years, we've had Clark Kent cross paths with Bart Allen (who, in the comics, just picked up the mantle of the Flash), Arthur Curry (Aquaman) and Victor Stone (Cyborg of the Teen Titans). Well, things came to a head this season with a 10-episode arc featuring Oliver Queen. In his third appearance, Queen showed up in his classic green tights and introduced himself as Green Arrow. Turns out Queen's old prep school classmate Lex Luthor has a secret project going called Section 33.1, where he's been experimenting on humans with superpowers to figure out what makes them tick. Queen doesn't take to kindly to this, so he went all vigilante to shut Luthor down. Quite early on Queen discovered Clark Kent's powers, and invited Clark to join him on his quest.

And now, the rest of the story....

Clark runs into his old buddy Bart Allen, and Bart's got a secret. Turns out Bart's now working for Queen, and using his super-speed to steal intel from Section 33.1 instillations. Well, Luthor eventually sets a trap for Bart, Luthor captures Bart, and Luthor proceeds to experiment on the fastest man alive. Clark discovers this, tells Queen, and Queen opens a door to reveal that Arthur Curry and Victor Stone are also in his employ, travelling the world, doing good, and shutting down Lex Luthor. Queen doesn't have a name for his team yet, but he's leaning towards the Justice...something. Clark then joins the team and "the Justice...something" goes off to rescue Bart and shut down this particular 33.1 instillation.

Yeah, that's right, the Justice League was on Smallville.

Needless to say, this episode was one massive geek-fest, as it was filled with references to the Justice League, climaxing in the end, when all 5 memebers walk away from the exploding building, and it recreates the opening shot of the opening credits sequence to the Justice League cartoon.

I really, really enjoyed it, and I can start watching Smallville again.

Latest Targ's Up!

Wow! Acccording to the stats, my 1200th post is the announcement of this weeks episode of The Targ. I'm offering up Episode 35: Hopeless Addict. I just bought lots and lots of new DVDs, ande I offer up some reviews.

Listen, if you please

Friday Night Rants

Just browsing through Wikipedia, as I'm bound to do when I'm bored, and I came across this interesting fact.

Now, about 6 or 7 years ago, when DVD first started getting mainstream, a lot of my friends were floored when I explained to them that the whole concept of the special edition DVD actually started with special edition Laserdiscs, going all the way back to the mid-1980s.

The very first running commentary was recorded for a special edition Laserdisc of King Kong back in 1984. It was by film historian Robert Haver. These were the first words ever spoken on a running commentary:

"Hello, ladies and gentlemen, I'm Ronald Haver, and I'm here to do something which we feel is rather unique. I'm going to take you on a lecture tour of King Kong as you watch the film. The laserdisc technology offers us this opportunity and we feel it's rather unique — the ability to switch back and forth between the soundtrack and this lecture track..."

Not quite "Watson, come in here. I need you," but it has its place in history.

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Speaking of DVDs, have I ever mentioned that one of my favourite premiums these days is the free DVD?

I got Blast from the Past from Kraft Mac and Cheese. I got Spy Kids out of Fruit Loops. I don't like popcorn that much, but the other day, I bought a box of microwave popcorn for a free DVD containing episodes of Las Vegas, Miami Vice, Battlestar: Galactica, The A-Team and Magnum PI.

Now, even though these are freebies, I treat them with the same care and respect that I treat all my DVDs. I even buy empty DVD cases from Staples, and use my incredibly primative Photoshopping skills to make incredbily primative covers.

The first free DVD I ever got was from the final issue of Total Movie magazine. Total Movie was truly an idea ahead of its time. It was a movie magazine, and each issue came with a free DVD, loaded with theatrical trailers, featurettes from about-to-be-released DVDs, and some of the hottest independent short films circulating the 'net.

As I said, the DVD is from the final issue, dated April 2001. For theatrical trailers, there's Tomb Raider, Shrek and Memento. For DVD previews, there's a featurette from Gladiator and the blooper reel from Dogma.

Spectacular idea.

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Most of you also know that I love trains. So here's a little bit of news I think is cool.

Via Rail has just launched a new service called the Snow Train Express. It's essentially a commuter train, running weekend skiiers out from Edmonton to Jasper and back.

You can buy all your lift tickets on the train, and it includes your reservations at Marmot Baisin.

Since it cuts right through Entwistle, I'm going to have to head home for a weekend to see if I can catch a glimpse.

Compare and Contrast: Two Comic Book Movies

Let's take a look at two of the biggest movies that'll be hitting cineplexes in 2007.

First up, the one that'll rule it all, Spider-Man 3:






And next up, another sequel based on a Marvel comcis, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer:





Now, here's three reasons why Spider-Man 3 will be, hands down, the better film.

1) The time involved. Spider-Man 3 started film in January of 2006 to come out in May of 2007. They took their time, doing re-shoots, crafting the speical effects, and doing everything to craft an ideal film. Fantastic Four 2 started filming in August to come out in June. 16 months for Spidey, vs. 10 for the FF.

2) Location filming. Both of these films take place in New York City. Spider-Man 3 was filmed in New York City, Cleavland, and on soundstages in Hollywood, all to create an idealized New York. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer was filmed completely on location...in Vancouver. No offence to Vancouverians, but Vancouver is not an idealized New York City.

3) The talent behind the camera. Sam Raimi, director of all three Spider-Man films, loves Spider-Man, hands down. Tim Story, director of both Fantastic Four films.... Now, no offence to Mr. Story. He's made a couple of good films, but Mr. Story is very much a "working director." Not much passion for the source material. He's just handed the script and gets to work.

Doesn't really matter. I'm just a sucker for comic book movies, and I'll be first in line for both. Just that I've got bigger expectations for the wallcrawler than for the world's greatest superheroes.

Spider-Man 3 hits on May 4.

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer is June 15.

Oh! I almost forgot the third Marvel comics movie this year. It's one month to Ghost Rider

Latest Targ's Up

Got this week's episode of The Targ up!

This week, it's Episode 34: Music to Change Continents By.

See, my friend Jo is moving from Scotland to Australia. Her Internet gets disconnected this week, and she jets off a week from Monday. Anyway, I promised her something special to drop into her iPod and listen to on the plane.

This...is that episode.

Give it a listen

Little Mosque on the Prairie

I feel I have to take a moment to offer up my review on the latest Canadian pop culture offering, couretesy of the CBC. It's been gaining a lot of headlines around the world, because it's, apparently, the first sitcom about Muslims. Yup, I'm talking about Little Mosque on the Prairie.

When I first saw the commercials, I thought, "Hmmm...." When they started showing commercials with actual clips from the show, I started thinking, "Huh. This looks kinda like Corner Gas with Muslims." But I was intrigued enough to tune in for episode one last night.

The show takes place in the small Prairie town of Mercy. The Muslims in the town have finally gotten their own mosque (they're actually leasing the parish hall from the Anglican church, and that becomes a plot point). So, of course, a lot of the humor comes between the culture clash between the Muslims and the rednecks. And, culture clash between the older, more traditionalist Mulims, and the younger, more liberal Muslims.

The main character is shaping up to be Amaar, once a successful Toronto lawyer. He had himself a spiritual awaking, and moved out to Mercy to be the mosque's imam (according to the exposition in the pilot, an imam is a Muslim preacher). Naturally, of course, he's the one caught between the rednecks and the Muslims...and, being a younger, more liberal Muslim, he also finds himself at odds the older tradtionalists.

Those who are hoping for a South Park-style skewing off all the negativity towards Muslims will be sadly disappointed. If anything, as sitcoms go this is very...conventional.

If anything, those who are portrayed with negative stereotypes are the small town rednecks. Especially the character of Fred Tupper, who's the announcer on the small town radio station, and the main "voice" of paranoia towards Muslims. Working at a small town radio station myself, I find it highly doubtful that a small town radio announcer would be able to get away with the sh*t that this Tupper fella says about the new mosque.

My final assesment: it's a cute little show. While the subject matter may be groundbreaking, the plots aren't.

For those who missed the premiere last night, it's going to be rerun tonight at 8 on the CBC. Next week, it moves to its regular timeslot, Mondays at 9.

Hey, look! It's the official website! Click to read a far better description of the show.

2 Avatars and an Idiocracy

Wow. Got lots of really cool movie news today. Let's start with the big one.

After all these years, James Cameron is finally back in the director's chair. Cameron, of course, the man responsible for such classic films as Titanic, Aliens, and Terminator 2: Judgement Day.

Cameron's next film is called Avatar. It's a gigantic sci-fi film about a war on an alien planet. And, the thing is, it's being done all motion capture, like The Polar Express.

That's kind of why Cameron has been taking it easy since Titanic 10 years ago...he's been waiting for the technology to catch up.

James Cameron's Avatar hits theatres summer 2009.

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But wait! That's not the only filmed named "avatar" in development.

It's also been announced today that M. Night Shyamalan will be writing and directing a live-action movie version of Avatar: The Last Airbender

For the un-initiated, Avatar: The Last Airbender is one of the hottest cartoons on TV right now. It takes place in a very Asian world full of martial arts and mysticism. Key to this world is the art of "bending," martial arts that involve the manipulation of your four basic elements: Earth, Air, Fire, and Water.

This world has been conquered by the Fire Nation...those people who can firebend. Our adventure focuses on Aang. The airbenders have been hunted to extinction, except for Aang. And, it turns out that Aang is the Avatar...the only one who can master all four kinds of bending, and thus bring peace to the land. So, Aang is off on a quest to master all forms of bending.

Aang is joined on his quest by Katara, an aspiring young waterbender, and Katara's brother Sokka. Sokka can't bend...he's just a plain ol' warrior. And, of course, they are pursued by the agents of the Fire nation at every turn.

I'll admit, I watch the show. It's probably the best attempt by an American cartoon to duplicate all that's good about anime. It has a fairly in-depth ongoing story, and some very appealing characters.

And now, the man still best known for The Sixth Sense is going to be writing and directing a live-action trilogy about it.

No word on when film #1 comes out.

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Plus, I have to take a moment to highlight one of the bigger DVD releases of the day.

Idiocracy is out on DVD today. Idiocracy is the latest project from Mike Judge, the man who gave us Beavis and Butt-Head, King of the Hill, and the cult-classic comedy Office Space.

For those who haven't heard of it, Idiocracy was Judge's comment on the dumbing down of society. It follows the adventures of Private Joe Bauers (played by Luke Wilson), an average joe. Bauers gets caught up in a government experiment, where he's frozen for 500 years. He wakes up in the future and discovers that, thanks to the dumbing down of society, the USA is now filled with morons. The President is a masked Mexican wrestlers, Starbucks is now called "Starf-cks," where you purchase sexual favours, and the #1 film is Ass, which is just a picture of a butt for 3 hours. It won 7 Oscars. Surrounded by this Bauers quickly becomes the smartest man on Earth, and proceeds to find a way back to the past.

Well, what can I say? In test screenings, the film was so offbeat, that no one knew what to make of it. It sat on the shelf for 2 years. It finally got a very limited theatrical release back in the fall (only in 6 cities), and it unceremoniously gets dumped on DVD today.

But, from what I read online, it's just freakin' hilarioius.

Give it a rent. I'm going to.

Latest Targ's Up!

Got the latest episode of The Targ up. This one is Episode 33: Hippity Dippity. I run into an old friend at West Edmonton Mall, extol the virtues of Clone High, and say hi to my Mom, who's now a listener!

Giver a listen

DVD Maniac

Once upon a time, a long time ago, I was watching a TV special about collecting. And said TV special said that there's only one form of collecting that leads to a diagnosable psychological disorder: book collecting. Book collecting can lead to what the professionals call "bibliomania," which is a flat-out obsession with books. Bibliomaniacs have been known to do things like break into libraries and make off with the books.

But, after watching that, I wonder if there are other variations like that. For example...can someone be a DVD-maniac?

I often wonder if I suffer from some form of DVD mania. When I first bought my DVD player, 6 years ago this month, I went nuts buying DVDs. You know how, at HMV, they have those cards? Buy 10, get the 11th free? Yeah, i got the card for the DVDs. Filled up one in a week. The free disc I got was the 2-disc mega-ultimate edition of The Sound of Music. What can I say? It's tradition in my family to watch it every Christmas. Getting it for free on DVD seemed logical. I watched it just two weeks ago during the holidays. Shut up.

Anyway, back in those days, it was quite common for me to blow a whole paycheque on DVDs. And, I know, if I don't watch myself, I could quite easily revert to that.

In my current home of Athabasca, I only tend to get down to Edmonton at least once a month. And, each time I do, I wind up blowing at least $100 on DVDs. I know. I"m horrible. At least I still have enough to buy groceries and pay the rent and all that stuff.

I just came back from Edmonton. On this trip out, I bought the 2-disc mega-ultimate edition of Superman Returns (was holding back on that one in case someone felt like giving me a DVD for Christmas). That was the primary goal of this mission...but then, I started sifting through HMV's "2 for $30" bin. Out of that, I grabbed Fantastic Four and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory...two DVDs I wanted for Christmas last year but didn't get. And then, as I wandered through West Edmonton Mall, I stopped in at Zellar's and got The Simpsons: Kiss and Tell. This DVD contains 4 episodes of The Simpsons, focusing on the love between Homer and Marge. What possessed me to buy that? One of those 4 episodes is the "Weird Al" Yankovic one.

And my DVD collection continues to grow. Next time I'm in Zeller's, I'll have to buy another bookcase. The one I have is just about full.

I don't think I'm a full-blown DVD maniac, though. I mean, I haven't plotted any big movie rental store heists or anything like that. At the very least, I'm not as a bad as a friend of mine.

It was Y2K. I was down visiting an old college buddy in Camrose. The Camrose Wal-Mart had just opened up, and it was the biggest thing to hit the Rose City since they dammed that creek to make Mirror Lake.

I was hanging out with my buddy, and there, on his coffee table, was the brand-new DVD release of the Mel Gibson historical epic, Braveheart. It was one of the bigger DVD releases of the day.

Me>> Dude! You got Braveheart!
Him>> Yeah! Isn't that great? I went into Wal-Mart on opening day, and some stock clerk messed up and put it out on the shelf! I got it a week before anyone else!
Me>> But, dude, that was all three months ago. Why is it still in its shrink wrap?
Him>> Oh, well, I just haven't had time to watch it yet.

Last time I saw him about a year ago, it was still in its original shrink wrap. Unopened. 6 years it sat, unopened and unwatched.

Well, i can tell you, that all my DVDs are open and watched. I don't collect for the sake of having.

Well, except for those Pokemon movies. Gotta catch 'em all, after all.

Eat the Rich

It's a slow minute at work, and I just have to take the time to share this news story that came down the wire.

I share it mainly out of nostalgia...10 years ago now, in my time at university, I knew people who read a statistic like this and be enraged by it...no doubt, it would lead to a scathing editorial in the Dag, and a protest, if the Social Justice Club were up to it.

I also do it because a part of me, a remnant from university, is kind of enraged by it.

As I post this, it's just after 9:46 AM on January 2. What's so significant about this time and date?

By this time, the top 100 corporate executives in Canada have made as much money as your annual salary.

The top 100 corporate excutives in Canada have made, in their first 46 minutes of work in 2007, as much money as you will make all year.

By the close of business, they will have quite easily have made more money than you will all year.

All collage aged folks out there...start your protests.

New Targ's Up/New Movie Review/I Still Love Titanic

First and foremost, got this week's episode of U62: The Targ up. This week, it's Episode 32: Aftermath, in which I reflect on the Christmas that was.

Give 'er a listen

Secondly, over my Christmas break, I indulged in my curiosity and saw Rocky Balboa.

And I wrote a review about it

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And, today, I indulged in the completely-made-up tradition I started a couple of years ago. On New Years Day, I watch Titanic.

I know it's not New Years Day but, surprise, I have plans tomorrow.

I watched the super-mega-ultimate edition DVD, and when the movie was done, I switched over and watched the original ending. When I first got the DVD, I watched the original ending, and was quite taken with it.

We all remember how the film ends, right? Once the story is done, we see treasure hunter Brock (played by Bill Paxton) give up on his search for the diamond, and then we see Old Rose toss the diamond overboard, showing us, the audience, that she had it all along.

Well, in the original ending, Brock actually catches Old Rose throwing away the diamond! Brock tries to talk her out of it, but Old Rose says no, and gives a "money isn't everything" speech. She allows Brock to hold the diamond just once, and then tosses it overboard. And then, Brock is able to let it go and lead a more carefree existence.

On the running commentary for this orginal ending, director James Cameron explains why he cut it. 2 reason:

1) Old Rose's "money isn't everything" speech got too close to beating people over the head with the message.

2) In test screenings, he discovered that, by the end of the movie, people had gotten so caught up in the Jack and Rose romance, that people didn't care about Brock and his search for the diamond anymore.

But, I was one of those few who still cared about Brock and the diamond at the end, and watching the cut scene helps give me closure.

Hey, look! I found the original ending on YouTube!

It's Official: Indy 4

Wow. After I write yesterday's gushy ode to Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, it gets all official.

Yesterday, George Lucas sent out the official news release.

Indiana Jones 4 starts filming in 2007, for a release in May of 2008.

See you in line.

Reflctions on The Temple of Doom

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I finally bought myself The Indiana Jones Trilogy on DVD. Last night, I finally had the opportunity to sit down and watch Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. I have fond memories of Temple of Doom.

I'm not quite sure what to call it, but I'm sure that you'll agree that, in our childhoods, we eventually reach a point where we become...aware of pop culture. We realize that there's more to life than Sesame Street and Saturday morning cartoons and we discover that there's this great big world out there. There is that point where we suddenly realize there's so much more out there....

Well, Temple of Doom came out right when I was developing that awareness. I tell ya, it was a turning point in my maturity.

---

One of the first comic books I have clear memories of is issue number 2 of the comic book adaptation of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

Granted, I did own comic books before that one, but Temple of Doom is the first one where images stand out...I identified with the characters...where I remember reading it over and over again. In many of my distorted memories, I often call it the first comic book I ever had.

I ran out and bought issue number 3. It was a 3-issue mini-series. I never found issue number one.... By the time I finally got around to seeing Temple of Doom, I was intimitly familiar with the final two-thirds of the film...seeing the film was more about seeing how it began.

You don't see a lot of comic book adaptations of big summer blockbusters any more. I"ll have to ask my aspiring comic book artist friend why that is.

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The soundtrack for Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom has been out of print for many years. Finding a copy is near-impossible. Finding a copy on CD is even more difficult, as the CD was only ever released in Japan.

I have the soundtrack for Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. On CD.

I tell ya, when I just randomly grabbed it off the shelf at that little music shop in the Kumagaya train station, I damn near shit my pants when I realized what I was holding. I prayed no one else would buy it as I ran across the street to hit the ATM for more cash.

I played it over and over in my tiny apartment in Kumagaya. That film score is an integral part of my "soundtrack of Japan."

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I simply must get that movie poster for Temple of Doom.

I've often told the story of the movie poster for Return of the Jedi, and why it's significant to me. The movie poster for Return of the Jedi used to hang in the lobby of the West Edmonton Mall movie theatre West Mall 5, where I saw a lot of movies in my childhood. I'd stare at the poster for Return of the Jedi for what seemed like hours as I waited to get into a movie.

But, what I rarely share was that, right next to the poster for Return of the Jedi was the poster for...Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

I have the poster for Jedi. It'd be nice to hang the two next to each other again.

---

Rumors still persist of a fourth Indiana Jones movie. One of my big fantasies about Indiana Jones 4 would be getting some Hong Kong action star - like Jet Li maybe - to play a grown-up Short Round.

Apparently, the only thing holding back Indy 4 right now is the fact that George Lucas has became a totaly anal perfectionist towards the script. Which isn't a bad thing.

While it doesn't have a fandom on the level of Star Wars, the Indiana Jones films still represent quite a bit to a lot of people.

And I'm one of them.

No Targ This Week

Well, here I am in Red Deer, chillin' with my cousin, getting ready to unleash a whole can of Christmas cheer.

Needless to say, because of the holiday craziness, never had time to sit down and pump out an episode of The Targ.

What can I say? I'm on vacation.

I'll be back next week, though, as I'm always alone on New Years...so sadly alone...so I'll have lots of time.

Happy Holidays!

Heroes in a Half Shell

So, for those who may not recall, there's a brand new, all computer animated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie coming out in the spring. Promising to be darker and closer to the original Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird comics.

When this was first announced, we were told there would be no celebrity voices, aside from Japanese character actor Mako, who'd be doing the voice of Splinter. This was announced shortly before Mako passed away, actually, so this'll go down in history as his final film.

Well, guess what? More of the voice cast was announced the other day, and it's chock-full of celebrity voices! No celebrities are voicing the Turtles, however. It's nothing but celebrities for the familiar support cast...and the new villains. Who do we have?

Sarah Michelle Gellar, still best remembered as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, is giving voice to the Turtles' bestest and closest human friend, April O'Neil.

Chris Evans, whom we all saw as Johnny Storm/the Human Torch in Fantastic Four, is giving voice to Casey Jones, the hockey-mask-wearing, baseball-bat-swinging vigililante. Remember, Casey Jones was actually a big part of the original Eastman/Laird comics.



Hong Kong actress Ziyi Zhang, who rocketed to fame in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and made her English-language debut last year in Memoirs of a Geisha, does the voice of Kairi, a bad-ass female ninja who's the new leader of the Foot Clan. That's right, in this film, Shredder is missing and presumed dead. So, that means a new villain.

In the film, the villain in Max Winters, a billionaire industrialist who's trying to unleash an army of monsters to take over the world. The evil Max Winters is voiced by none other than Professor X and Capt. Picard himself, Patrick Stewart.

And, voicing a small, but important role, is my favourite filmmaker, Kevin Smith. Smith voices a clerk (what else?) in a fast food place that the TMNT frequent.

So, what's the plot in this film? Well, it's like this. The Shredder is missing and presumed dead. With no unifying threat, the Ninja Turtles are starting to drift apart...go their own way. Leonardo is walking the Earth. Raphael is becoming a vigiliante, beating up random muggers in NYC. Michaelangelo does kids' birthday parties. And, thanks to the miracle of outsourcing, Dontallo sits in the sewers all day working the tech support lines for some computer company.

And then...strange occurances draw our four heroes back to New York. Max Winters is getting ready to unleash his army of monsters. And the TMNT must unite once again and stop Max Winters.

March 23, 2007.

Why I'm Evil

A friend of mine recently posted this video at her LiveJournal. Along with it, she provided a dissertation on how this not only perpetrates stereotypes against women, but it also demeans men by once again re-enforcing the stereotype that men are sex-crazed loons who are ruled by their hormones.

But me? Having read up on the tech specs for the PS3 and the Nintendo Wii, I just think it's as funny as hell...which is where I'll be spending eternity for laughing at such things.

Latest Targ's Up!

Got this week's episode of The Targ up. Today, we have Episode 31: One Week to Go. It's a real CanCon Christmas, as I play some Christmas tunes by Barenaked Ladies and Sarah McLachlan. Plus, I was poetic about the DVD release of Clerks 2!

Listen, if you please

Favorite Quote of the Day

"Didn't this show have an all-female cast? Ya think, maybe, it turned a whole generation of women into lesbians?" - Our morning show announcer, as we had a discussion on cartoons of the 1980s, specifically, She-Ra.

Casino Royale Review

Hey! When I was doing my Christmas shopping on the weekend, I stopped at a theatre and checked out the new James Bond movie, Casino Royale! Long story short: it rocked.

Read it!

Latest Targ's Up!

This week, it's Episode 30: For Real. As promised, it's the highlight reel from my frist time doing the morning show at my job.

Check it out

Look at the Nerd!

In case you were curious, here's my Possum Lodge membership card and patch. As I said I would, I framed it and hung it on my wall. Don't worry...only spend $2 on a frame at the dollar store.

Today's Time Waster

One of my favourite cartoons right now is Robot Chicken. Nothing but a gilgamesh of pop culture references, brought to life through stop-motion animated action figures.

And here's their brilliant riff on Inspector Gadget. Dr. Claw finally does what I always wondered why he never did, thanks to some technology from Cyberdyne and SkyNet.



And yes, that's Penny's original voice, Cree Summer, reprising her role of Penny, and the god of voice acting, Frank Welker, reprising his role of Dr. Claw.

Fulfilment

Ya know, out of all the terms that have been coined by marketing people, I think my favourite is "fulfilment centre."

Buy anything online lately? Or in the more old-school way of sending away a money order and waiting 6 to 8 weeks? Well, next time you do, take a close look at the return address. It didn't come from the "warehouse." it didn't come from "shipping dept." It came from "the fulfilment centre."

Now, we all know that, in reality, the fulfilment centre is staffed by a bunch of big sweaty guys making minimum wage. But, by calling it a "fulfilment centre," it conjures up the image of pixies floating around, with magic wands, making dreams come true!

Your probably asking youself, "Mark, what did you receive from a fulfilment centre today?"

Well, you're looking at member number 690917 of Possum Lodge.

That's right, I went to the official Red Green website, sent off my money order, and joined Possum Lodge. The membership kit gives you a membership card, and a Possum Lodge patch, suitable for sewing onto your fishing jacket.

Me? I'm gonna frame mine, and hang it up. An artifact of Canadian pop culture, preserved forever.

Now, let's see if there's anything worth picking up at the Corner Gas online store....

---

Well, it's Tuesday. New DVD day! There's a couple of releases I want to highlight....

Most Overrated Summer Blockbuster
A lot of people look at me like I'm on crack when I say that Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest was very, very lame. I thought it was a dull and confusing movie. Anyway, it's out today on 2-disc special edition. DO NOT stuff this in my stocking.

Holy Moly! I can't believe they released this!
When the whole "boxed sets of entire seasons of TV shows" revolution, there were certain TV shows that seemed...unfeasable for the format, but there were those devoted few that hoped they would come out in complete season boxed sets someday. And, the #1 show on the list is out today. Saturday Night Live: The Complete First Season comes out today. All 24, 90-minute episodes from SNL's first season back in 1975. Most of this material hasn't been seen since it was first broadcast.

Childhood Nostalgia Moment
My sister, being a few years younger than me, has misty, nostalgic memories more for the cartoons of the early-1990s, rather than the 1980s like me. When my sister was just a lass of 10, she was totally mad for Garfield, and, as such, her favourite cartoon was Garfield and Friends. Now, the entire series of Garfield and Friends is on DVD, so what more could there be to offer?

Garfield and Friends: Behind the Scenes is a collection of Garfield creator Jim Davis's top 15 episodes. Davis was actually quite involved with the cartoon, even serving as dialogue director on several episodes.

So, that might be a nice thing to get sister...except for the fact that she's promised to throw the king of all hissy-fits if I give her a DVD for Christmas, in retaliation for my teasing her to tears last year for giving me Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide for the 12th year in a row.

Of Block Heaters and Long Underwear

Ya know, it's been so long since I've done a blog about my life. Let's do one!

Cars are one of those pieces of technology that we take for granted. We use them far too much, failing to take care of them, and when we fail to take care of them, they fail us.

I wake up this morning, all gung ho to head into Edmonton and do my Christmas shopping. I know, some people think I'm insane. I've had dozens of people say to me, "It's December 1! You're just now starting your Christmas shopping? That's insane!" Well, I am in a bad position here. Most of what I want to get people is only available in Edmonton, and, being a news reporter, I'm far too afraid that I'll miss something that I wind up working a lot of weekends when I really don't need to.

So, here we were. Saturday, December 2. I head outside. I see that it hit -35 in the night. But I'm unafraid. After all, I plugged in my car! I jump in the car, I put the key in the ignition, I turn the key and...

The car doesn't start.

I try again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

My car just wouldn't start.

I start freaking out. I needed help. And, I'm still enough of a family-oriented guy, that when I need help, I call home. I explain the situation to my dad, and he tells me to try it again in a little bit, and then update him.

An hour later, I head out to the car. Once again, I put the key in the ignation. Once again, I turn the key. And once again, the car doesn't start.

So I try again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

Nuthin.

I update Dad. Dad says he's jupming in his pick-up full of tools and coming up to check things out. Dad also tells me to start calling around for garages.

I'm starting to worry a bit, and when I worry a bit, I find that a nice, long walk relaxes me. Besides, I don't have a phone book. So I walked to the radio station. It takes me about half-an-hour, as it usually does. When I get to the station, I check the weather websites and see that temperatures in Athabasca have climbed to a balmy -33.

I flip open the phone book to find that Athabasca has a woeful lack of garages. I call the boss and co-workers for which the best ones are. I start calling around, only to find that Athabasca is just small enough that a significant portion of its businesses close on weekends...including all the garages.

When I was asking my co-workers for help, one of them suggested that maybe all my car needed was a boost. I took him up on his offer, but asked that he pick me up at the station. I didn't want another walk through the -33 weather. We tried boosting my little car, but to no avail.

Nothing to do but wait for Dad.

Yay! Dad's here! Dad and I chat for a bit, I share my problems, and Dad and I get to work. After hearing the sounds the car makes when I try to start it, Dad figures that maybe it just needs a boost. So, we try boosting it again. Nuthin. We try again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

Nuthin.

Now, while we were trying all this, we flooded the engine pretty bad. And, as it was now 1pm, we decided we should take a lunch break. Once again, we made sure all the block heater connections were nice and tight. The car was never unplugged through all this.

Dad and I went and had lunch. then, we tooled around Athabasca for a while, visually confirming that yes, all the garages are closed on weekends.

We head back to try one more time. We hook it up to the pick-up to once again boost it. All the juice we can get, Dad reasoned. I put the key in. I turn the ignition. The engine turns over, but fails to take off. I turn the key again. The engine turns and turns and turns, but doesn't take off. Dad says, "Just keep it turning. It just might warm up and take off on its own."

And that's exactly what I do. It turns and chugs and turns and chugs and finally....

My car starts.

By now, it's 3 in the afternoon. Dad and I let it run for a long time to let it warm up. We then go driving around Athabasca, to make sure nothing else is wrong.

Based on the problem, and the sounds the engine was making, Dad came up with two hypotheses:

1) The starter is on its last legs, and I should get it looked at ASAP.
2) The block heater is shot, so even though it was plugged in, it did no good.

Either way, the solution is the same: get it staright into a garage as soon as they open on Monday.

As I write this, I'm at work. Since my day of Christmas shopping never happened, I volunteered to work tonight's Oilers game. My car is in the parking lot. Whether it'll start when it's time to go home, I have no idea. As I check the temperature, it's been warming up all day and is now a toasty -18.

But I am prepared! When my car started going, I went crusing around Athabasca, and stopped at Fields, and I bought...long underwear!

That's right. For the first time since I was 7 years old and heavy into tobogganing, I'm wearing long johns. This is in case I'm reduced to foot again and have to walk home.

I hate being a grown up. No one told me I'd have grown up problems.

Tuesday News

So, as I'm watching TV, I stumble across a fast food giveaway that I haven't seen since the days of the Atari 2600.

This holiday season, Burger King is giving away video games. XBox 360 games, to be precise.

"That's not new," you're saying.

And I say, "Ah! But, these games were made exclusivly for Burger King...and they star that Burger King guy and that Subserviant Chicken that's in all their commercials."

And you say, "Oh! Well, then, that is new."

There's three games, each one if $4.99 with the purchase of a burger. And those games are:

Pocket Bike Racer - Good ol' Mario Kart style-action, only on those mini-motorbikes, and featuring all kinds of Burger King mascots.

Big Bumpin' - Same thing, only with bumper cars.

Sneak King - You're that Burger King guy, and you have to sneak up on hungry people and give them burgers.

Almost enough to make me want an XBox 360 for Christmas.

---

And today's a massive day in DVD for us Kevin Smith fans!

First, of course, is the 2-disc, mega-ultimate edition of Clerks II. Gotta get it to complete my Kevin Smith collection!

And it's got three running commentaries: one with the cast and crew, a technical commentary (featuring Smith, producer Scott Mosier, and Director of Photography Dave Klein as they talk the technical stuff), and the infamous podcast commentary.

You may remember this. Smith was talking that they were going to make a podcast running commentary. When the movie came out, they would post the commentary online. then, you download it, drop it in your MP3 player, and go see the movie again. Hit "play" when the opening credits start, and voila! A running commentary.

Well, it was recorded, but never posted...never made available for download. Why? Too many movie theatre owners objected. They felt it would be disruptive. For example, it's a somber, quiet moment, but at that moment, Smith says something funny on the running commentary, prompting the person to laugh. Everyone else in the theatre goes, "Why's that guy laughing? Oh, now I can't focus on the film!" So, never posted.

but, it's on the DVD! In case you're curious, everyone on the podcast commentary is Smith, producer Scott Mosier, and Jeff "Randal" Anderson.

But ya know what? Don't bother getting me that one for Christmas, as I'll be buying it for myself momentarily.

Also out today is An Evening with Kevin Smith 2: Evening Harder. Another Kevin Smith concert film, as the tells more stories about making his movies and other adventures. Unlike the first one, which was edited together from about 6 different apperances, this just contains 2: disc 1 is one in Toronto, and disc 2 is one in London.

And, as I had to explain to my friend, the title is a parody of the movie title Die Hard 2: Die Harder.

And also out today is Superman Returns. That one you can get me for Christmas. The 2-disc special edition, please.

Latest Targ's Up!

Got the latest episode of The Targ up. This week, it's Episode 28: Epics. I play a couple of epic, 5-minute songs, and share my thoughts on the PC Leadership, Buy Nothing Day, and panda mating.

Give it a listen!

Buy Nothing Day/Corner Gas News

Today is Buy Nothing Day!

I always take a moment to remember Buy Nothing Day. It was the pet protest of a few politically active sorts I knew back in university, so it's part "for the cause" and part nostalgia.

Started by Vancouver artist Ted Dave, Buy Nothing Day is a way to protest the rampant consumerism of our society. It was the Vancouver-based magazine Adbusters that took the ball and ran with it.

Participating in Buy Nothing Day is quite simple: buy nothing today. It's also become a day to have very creative anti-consumerist protests. I just read about a new one called a Whirl-Mart. You and a bunch of friends head to the big box retailer of your choice, grab an empty shopping cart, and form this train of empty shopping carts that circles throughout the store for hours. Call me crazy, but that actually sounds like fun.

Buy Nothing Day always falls on "Black Friday." Today is Black Friday, the day that all the big retailers in the USA start their Christmas sales. It's the busiest shopping day of the year.

Of course, Buy Nothing Day gained noteriety in 2001, when the whole concept of "buy Nothing" ran counter to the rampant patriotism of "If you stop buying stuff, the terrorists win." Not so notorious anymore.

For more information on Buy Nothing Day, consult these local websites:
The Wikipedia entry on Buy Nothing Day
Adbusters' Buy Nothing Day website

---

And speaking of buying, today the hit Canadian sitcom Corner Gas acheived the Holy Grail for Canadian TV shows.

It got sold to a US network. Well, cable channel actually.

Starting in 2007, Corner Gas will be shown on Superstaion WGN, a cable channel that reaches over 70 million American homes...and is on most Canadian basic cable packages.

Said creator/star Brent Butt about the sale, "American provides so much television for Canada. It's nice to be able to give something back."

In fact, Corner Gas has been sold to 26 countries, including Australia, Finland and, the most surprising one, Iraq.

The PC Leadership Race: My Thoughts

Well, in just two short days, members of the PC Party of Alberta will be heading to the polls and voting for a new leader for their party. A leader who will quickly become the next premeir of the province of Alberta.

I know a lot of people have been criticizing this "election" as dull...with no single issue dominating the fore. Well, I'd like to propose that it's been so dull because these are the kinds of elections we idealists want. There's no one issue at the fore because all the candidates released relativly well thought out platforms that take weeks to digest...very difficult to condense into soundbytes. The debates have been about the finer points of these platforms. Cuz at the end of the day, don't forget, they're all Tories, so the pretty much agree on a lot of things.

If anything, this has been highlighting to me some ignorance of our electoral system by the people. When this whole thing started, I did have to explain it to quite a few people around Athabasca. "No, you can't vote NDP...only Tories are running." "It's not really open to everyone, because you have to be a member of the Tory party to vote." "Yes, that means you have to pay $5 to vote."

To sum up: this "election" is to choose a new leader of the PC Party of Alberta. Therefore, only members of the Party are allowed to vote. If you want to vote, you have to buy a membership and join the party. Memberships cost $5 and expire at the end of the year. Memberships were being sold over the past year by the candidates, and they'll be on sale at the polling stations. However, you should be able to buy one at any well-run constituency office.

Notice how I keep putting "election" in quotations? That's because this isn't a true election...in that not everyone is able to vote. You want to vote, you gotta join the party.

---

This has been a good experience for me. 7 of the 8 candidates came up to Athabasca University to conduct town hall meetings. They were invited up by Athabasca University. Like every other university, Athabasca University wants to see more funding for post-secondary education. On a more local level, the Athabasca University building is full to the brim with faculty and staff, and they really want to start expanding their campus. So, they've been bringing up all the cadidates, showing them exactly what they do up here, and pleading their case for more cash.

Which led to the town hall meetings...and, good reporter that I am, I was on-hand to cover them. Eventually, the University was also kind enough to start setting up press time, so me and my learned colleagues from Athabasca's newspaper could interview the candidates. It was a great way to meet the leaders...sitting down and interviewing them all. I wish everyone could do it. It's a great way to actually get to know all the candidates and what they're about.

---

The first one that came up to Athabasca was Mark Norris. If there's one thing that struck me about him is that he's slick. He's a very well-polished and well-rehearsed politician. I didn't realize that myself until I downloaded my interview into my computer at work and said to myself, "Wow! Look at the waveform for his interview. Everything is so clearly measured out...this is the easiest interview to get soundbytes from...almost like he planned it this way...."

As part of that slickness, he also sent me a thank-you note. "Mark. Good to have met you. Mark Norris." That was all the note said. It was scribbled on a desk pad, and I could tell by the divots in the paper that he must have spent a morning writing out those notes and mailing them to small town reporters all over. I have it tacked to the bulletin board at work.

---

Next up was Ed Stelmach. The good parts: he's in tune with rural Alberta. The bad parts: he's in tune with rural Alberta. No matter what question you asked him, he'd always steer it towards his agricultural platform. The man's a farm boy, through and through.

---

Dave Hancock. Wow. I've completley blanked out on this guy. I remember absolutly nothing of what he said...I can't pull any good soundbytes out of memory...not good for him, eh?

And this was the first one where the university had scheduled some press time. I did what I thought was a clever thing. In my interviews I asked "the job interview question." I call it such because, hey, I'm always asked this question in job interviews. And that question is, "Why do you want this job?"

Dave Hancock: “I've been passionate about government all my adult life. I've been involved in the political party since I was 15. I got involed in the '71 election, up in Fort Vermillion where I grew up. I guess I grew up with the concept that you have an obligation to give back to your community in the best possible way. I'm not a very good soccer coach, but I can do this, and I can make a difference doing this, and I think it's important to make that difference....Why do I want the job? It's not to go out and say I know everything, cuz I don't. But it is to say that we need to be changing the focus a little bit. We need to be talking about the big picture and the long term.”

I'd like to point out that he rambled on for about five minutes in answering this...I just edited it down to the good parts. Every other answer you'll read is verbatim.

---

Next up was Ted Morton. On a perfectly technical view of things, I'd like to say that my interview with Morton was probably the best one I did. As they taught me at school, a good interview should just be a conversation with the guy. And Morton and I, we actually had a conversation.

That being said...Morton is old school Reform party. All his answers were "Blame Ottawa" this and "The West Wants In" that. And as my mother said about this kind of mentality two federal elections ago, "I'm sick and tired of this regionalist BS." As I say about this kind of mentality, "Pierre Trudeau hasn't been in office for 20 years...and he's dead. Can we stop blaming him for everything?"

Mr. Morton, why do you want this job? "Our party needs new leadership and fresh ideas. We've been in power for 35 years, we have a lot to be proud of, but we've developed some bad habits. Our party membership is way down, our vote totals were down in the last election. So we need somebody who can bring reform to the party...reunite the party. I think I bring the background, and the policy and the character to the job that will allow the party to renew and reunify."

---

How can you tell that Jim Dinning has all the money? Well, his town hall meeting started a half-hour late. Why? His plane was too big for our airport, and they had to divert him to Lac La Biche. Gee, Mr. Dinning, (or, as I call him around the office, "The Big Dinner"), everybody else just drove up from Edmonton....

On another note, Dinning's town hall meeting was the best-attended of them all. It was only the second one that the mayor of Athabasca came out to...along with most of town council. The county reeve was there, along with a good portion of the county council. And it was the only one that Athabasca's own MLA, Human Resources Minister Mike Cardinal came out to, and it was here where he revealed to the press (me and my learned colleagues from the Athabasca newspaper) that he's backing Dinning.

That being said...because I want to be a radio announcer, I've received coaching on public speaking, how to be conversational, and all that stuff. Dinning's coaching was showing.

Mr. Dinning, why do you want this job? "Alberta is so uniquely positioned today to take on the rest of the world. And we need a new approach to leadership, one that says, 'We're going to raise the bar in Alberta! We're going to do what it takes to get there!' And I'm convinced that Jim Dinning is the guy that can take us there.”

Yes, he actually referred to himself in the third person. This is what I mean by coaching...he knew this was going to be for radio so, like when writing any good radio spot, he got the name of the product out there.

---

Victor Doerksen stepped on my foot. Don't worry. Now that winter's here, I was wearing my steel-toed boots and I was fine. But then, rather than apologize, he tried to make a lame joke about it. And it was all downhill from there....

Now, I've grown pretty agnostic in my young-but-getting-close-to-middle age. However, I'd like to think that I'm also quite tolerant when it comes to people who have a strong faith. I also know that there's a place to preach, and a place not to preach. The election podium is a place where you do not preach. So when Doerkson started drawing analogies between the government and creationism, I kinda tuned out.

Mr. Doerksen, why do you want this job? “Cuz I'm the best candidate for the job.”

---

On the flip side, Lyle Oberg bought me lunch. Well, not just me. He had his town hall meeting fully catered, so it was free beef-on-a-bun for everyone. It was kind of funny actually, as the Assistant to the President of Athabasca University was afraid that no one would show up to eat all the food, so she scrambled around to all the offices, grabbing anyone who wasn't eating to come eat all this beef. Apparently, she couldn't find enough, as I got to conduct my interview with Mr. Oberg as he ate the leftovers for his lunch.

And ya know? I actually kinda like Lyle. He seemed to be the most thought out and the most...well-put-together of the bunch. (But, on the flip side, he was the Minister of Education when my mother was serving her final term as Chair of the Parkland School Board, and oh, does Mom have some stories about Mr. Oberg.)

Mr. Oberg, why do you want this job? “I've been in politics for 13 years, and I feel that I have the ideas about numerous topics that can help Alberta and help Albertans. It's been a wonderful campaign, cuz I get to talk about everything, as opposed to your own department. So it's about ideas, and direction and goals that makes a leader."

---

The only one who declined the invitation to come to Athabasca Univeristy was Gary McPherson. Too bad, cuz Athabasca University is wheelchair accessible and everything. I know it politically incorrect to say that, but that's how everyone I talk to has been identifying Mr. MacPhearson: "Oh, he's the guy in the wheelchair, right?" Yes. He is.

---

And ya know, if you'd like to hear the town hall meetings that I had to cover, Athabasca University has been podcasting them, so their students from all over the province could participate. Click here for the Athbasca University podcast feed, so you can listen to all the town hall meetings.

---

Now, I know when this whole thing started, I was oh-so-passionate about buying my $5 membership and going to vote, but I don't think I will now. Now that I've met pretty much all of them, I realize that they're all the same middle aged man with similar ideals about how to run this province.

I think I'll just hang back and wait for the next provincial election, when I have a real choice.

Various News Bits

Joy and Jubilation!

The podcast, The Targ, has been accepted into the iTunes podcast directory! Now, when you go into iTunes and surf through all the podcasts, you can surf to U62: The Targ. This'll make it much easier for people to find now, I think.

Or, ya know, you can click on this link right here, and iTunes will pop up, and take you straight to The Targ!

And, ya know, if you want to write a glowing customer review or two, I wouldn't mind.

---

In other news, I finally broke down and bought my slew of Christmas albums today. After thinking about it for many a year, I finally broke down and bought Pokemon Christmas Bash. That's right, the Pokemon Christmas album. Featuring that new holiday classic, "I'm Giving Santa a Pikachu for Christmas."

When that album comes, I'm going to have to talk to my bosses to see if I can play "I'm Giving Santa a Pikachu for Christmas" on the air. Just once...for the "what the heck was that?" factor.

Ah, Pokemon Christmas Bash. Sure to join The Star Wars Christmas Album as one of those "What the...?" Christmas albums.

More Trek on DVD

Well, Trekkie that I am, I have to take a moment to acknowledge the big DVD release of the day...for trekkies.

The average nerd on the street generally has to be reminded that Star Trek was briefly resurrected as a Saturday morning cartoon in the early 1970s. It ran for two seasons (1973-1975), lasting 22 episodes. They were able to bring back the entire original voice cast to do their own voices. In fact, James Doohan (Scotty) got to fall back on his experience as a voice actor for CBC radio to do a multitude of voices for all kinds of aliens. It was made by Filmation, the same animation house that my generation remembers best for bringing us He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. While the show was generally derided for its wooden animation, it was applauded for its writing. Just like the original live-action series, they were able to get a whole bunch of big name sci-fi authors (as well as writers for the original live-action show) to come back and write scripts.

And it sat for years as the last bit of Star Trek that had to be released on DVD...until today.

That's right, today, Paramount Pictures releases Star Trek: The Complete Animated Series. This 4-disc set contains all 22 episodes of the animated series. You also get a couple of featurettes about the show (including one that tries to answer the age old question that fans have always asked, "Is this canon?"), and some of those wonderful pop up trivia text commentaries, compiled by Michael and Denise Okuda.

In other DVD news today, the new holiday classic Home Alone gets re-released today in a brand new, 2-disc special edition. You get a running commentary with star Maculay Culkin and director Chris Columbus, featurettes about the making of the film (both new and made back in the day), cut scenes, bloopers, the trailers, and all the trimmings.

And no, your eyes didn't deceive you. Home Alone was directed by Chris Columbus, who went on to direct the first two Harry Potter movies.

Latest Targ's Up

This week's episode of the Targ is up! This week, it's Episode 27: My Shiny New DVDs. I gotta show off what I'm playing right now.

Give it a listen

Long Time, No Blog

I'm certain I've said this many times before, but I'll say it again. My friend once told me, "Blogs are for people who have nothing to do, and even less to say." Well, the blog only goes for a few days with no entries when I'm really, really busy.

but here I am again, oping another hockey game, and I got nothing but time in the world.

In case you haven't heard, Edmonton's brand-new WHL team finally got a name. The Edmonton Oil Kings. That name is no surprise whatsoever. In case you don't really give a darn about hockey, let me explain that Oil Kings was the name of Edmonton's legnedary WHL team back in the 1960s.

The new Oil Kings are going to be the minor-league affiliate of the Oilers (duh) and will play in Rexall place. First season is 07/08.

---

when I made a trip into West Edmonton Mall last week, I was sure to pick up my copy of Pixar's Cars. I love Pixar and own all of their movies on DVD. Gotta catch 'em all, after all.

Now, Cars was a controversial DVD release for some. It was the first Pixar movie that wasn't a loaded-to-the-nuts 2-disc special edition. The official release was that they decided to pare things down to the most popular bonus features. That is, the original short films. No more feature-length documentaries about making the films.

And that's sad. There is a featurette about the making of Cars, and the research that Pixar did. Pixar always does their research. Since a good portion of Cars takes place on Route 66, director John Lassetter and a bunch of the other directors, producers and writers, all hopped in a car and went on a road trip down Route 66. And, they brought with them one of the most renouned historians on Route 66.

And, since the main character is a race car, they also went to a lot of race tracks, talked to a lot of race car drivers, and hung out with a lot of racing experts.

You just know that, with all the footage they shot, Pixar could have made a really cool documentary about Route 66...or racing.

But I'll get over it. It's still a cool movie.

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I also bought Pokemon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew. Movie #8! So I've started reading up on the newest versions of the Pokemon franchise: Pokemon: Diamond and Pearl Editions. they came out in Japan a few months ago. North American release is TBA.

The cool thing about these is where they take place. Each region that a Pokemon game takes place in is based upon a geographical region of Japan. Diamond and Pearl take place Sinnoh, which is based on the Japanese island of Hokkaido. And, since Hokkaido is Japan's frozen north, Sinnoh is the Pokemon world's frozen north, and is the first game where you can go hiking through snow-covered areas.

It's going to be available for the Nintendo DS hand-held.

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A popular thing about DVDs right now is the in-store exclusive. That is, when you buy it at a specific store, you get some kind of free gift. In that case, I'm going to have to buy Clerks II at Best Buy. Best Buy is the only place where you can get the "Mooby's Fun Meal."

Inside the Mooby's Fun Meal box, you get:

• A plastic Mooby's collector's cup
• A Mooby's name tag
• A Mooby's visor
• And, of course, the 2-disc special edition of Clerks II

Dont' forget, Clerks II hits DVD on the 28th.

The Third Best Movie of the Summer of 2007

In case you missed the world premiere on TV last night....

Latest Targ is up!

Got this week's episode of The Targ up! This week, it's Episode 26: ET Phone In. As the title suggests, I really phone it in this week, but it features my first ever co-host! Check that out!

Give it a listen!

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And hey! I saw a movie over the weekend! Head over to Chaos in a Box to read my review of The Prestige, the really cool movie from the guy who did Memento and Batman Begins.

And I also picked up the DVD of the eighth Pokemon movie, so you can also read my review of Pokemon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew

D-D-DVD Day!!

Lots of DVDs out today that have piqued my interest. Let's break it up into categories.

Succumb to the Double Dip
As I've blogged in the past, one of the most heinous crimes in the DVD world is double-dipping. This is when a DVD comes out, and then, some time later, an even newer version comes out, with all new bonus material, thus forcing you to buy it again. I try to stay strong. I've only succumbed about 5 times to the double-dip. And usually, I only do it if it's a movie I really, really, really, really like. And I'll be doing it this week.

The Transformers: the Movie - 20th Anniversary Edition is brand-new, 2-disc mega-ultimate re-release of this classic from my childhood. This set contains the film in both widescreen and full screen, running commentary with director Nelson Shin, writer Flint Dille, and voice actor Susan Blu, pop-up trivia track, the trailers and TV spots, a whole bunch of featurettes on the making of the film, test animation, storyboards, deleted scenes, and yes, the trailer for the live-action film coming out next year.

Succumb to the Double-Dip: Honorable Mention
With a new James Bond movie coming out next week, today is the customary re-release of all the James Bond films.


Oh my God! I can't believe they released this!
We all grew up with the classic Naked Gun films, starring Leslie Nielsen as the brain-dead police officer Frank Drebin. Well, what you may not remember was that the Naked Gun films were based on a sitcom called Police Squad!, where Leslie Nielsen first originated the role of Frank Drebin. Police Squad! was on in 1982, and only lasted 6 episodes. But, it developed enough of a cult following to eventually be resurrected as The Naked Gun trilogy.

So today, we finally get Police Squad!: The Complete Series. All 6 episodes, digitally remastered and preserved for the ages. You get running commentary on all 6 episodes by the show's creators, a new retrospective interview with Leslie Nielsen, and a whole slew of other stuff.


Ikea Nesting Syndrome
I love Pixar. They made the Toy Stories, A Bug's Life, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles.... They invented the medium of the computer animated film, and continue to push it's boundaries.

Which was why Cars was a bit of a letdown. Don't get me wrong, it's a really good film compared to all the other CGI movies now flooding our multiplexes, but it felt like it didn't go the extra mile like other Pixar films.

But I'll still be picking up Cars on DVD, out today. I need to complete my collection of every Pixar film. For bonus features you get a featurette about the making of the film, and a whole slew of animated short films.

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Now, moving away from DVD, and into the realm of a franchise that just won't die.

Shrek was a pretty good movie. A fairly clever sarcastic fairy tale. But then, Shrek begat Shrek 2, one of the most pointless, lackluster sequels ever made. Shrek 2 begat Shrek the Third, which will hit multiplexes next summer. Shrek the Third begat the Shrek prequel, which is slated for theatres in the summer of 2010. And, some time after than, we'll be getting the Puss in Boots solo film, Puss in Boots: Story of an Ogre Hunter.

Are you ready for even more Shrek?

Production has started on the Shrek Christmas special, entitled Shrek the Halls. This half-hour animated special will feature Shrek and the gang doing their sarcastic send-up of animated holiday specials. It'll be on TV Christmas next year.

As one of my co-workers said today when I told him this news, "Hi! My name is Shrek. I'm a dead horse. STOP BEATING ME!!"

I'm Sorry

Well, I guess some apologies are in order.

When I sent out my monthly newsletter yesterday, I said that, yesterday, during their annual Halloween special, you could catch the new trailer for The Simpsons Movie.

And, if you were like me, you sat down, watching Treehouse of Horror XVII in eager anticipation, only to see a TV spot saying that the trailer is going to be on next week.

I got some bad intelligence on that one. Sorry.

But, at the very least, it was a very solid Halloween special for the Simpsons. A lot funnier than some of the recent ones, although it did have a rather preachy ending. And, it is always fun to hear voice actor Maurice LaMarche bust out his Orson Welles impersonation/Brain voice.

And, speaking of trailers, I do have solid intel on this one, and on this, I'm 100% certain.

The new trailer for Spider-Man 3 goes online on Thursday! For you yankees, it's going to premiere on MTV on Thursday night. Therefore, it goes online shortly afterward.

but if you want to wait to see it on the big screen, it'll be in front of the new James Bond movie, Casino Royale, hitting theatres a week from Friday.

Latest Targ's Up

This week, we've got Episode 25: BoredBeatleMania. The kind of combination of Beatles songs and reflections on Christmas and the Red Green show that only come out of being gripped in melancholy.

Wow. If that's not a great sales pitch, I don't know what is.

Giver a listen!

The Week in Review

It's just been one of those days. Try as I might, I can't get going. I know I should do all the "start of the month" maintenence to my website...I know I should send out my e-newsletter...but I just can't get going. I'm enjoying sitting around doing nothing. And our society has taught us that, sitting around doing nothing makes you a horrible person.

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You know I love animated movies, and you also know how I loathe that animated films have become nothing but talking animals making fart jokes. However, there is one that's come out this weekend that I really want to see. That would be Flushed Away.

Flushed Away is set in London, and it's about a pampered pet rat named Roddy (voice of Hugh Jackman). One day, he's flushed down the toilet and gets stuck wandering the sewers looking for a way out. In doing so, he teams up with the fiesty and spirited Rita (voice of Kate Winslet), and they have to watch out for the machinations of an evil frog (voice of Ian McKellan).

Now, why does this one have such appeal to me? Easy. It's from Aardman Studios, the British animation house that brought us those very funny, funny films Chicken Run and Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.

Aardman does quality work, and I want to see their first dip into CGI. And the reviews have been pretty good, too.

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Speaking of animation, here's some news I read today.

When we have the Oscars in the spring, there might be 5 nominations in the Best Animated Film category.

For those who don't remember, this is how the Best Animated Film category works. If there's more than 15 animated films released in a year, then there's 5 nominations in the category. If there's between 15 and 8 animated films released, then there's 3 nominations. If there's less than 8, then they skip the category that year.

And, those who watch these things have sat back and done the math and, ya know what? It looks like there'll be 16 animated films released this year!

We already know two films that'll make the nomination list: Cars and Flushed Away. Those films are from Pixar and Aardman, respectivly. Both studios do quality work...and are Oscar darlings. Over the Hedge will probably make the list, too, because it was a huge hit and the reviews were kinda good.

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I know the pumpkins are just barely thrown out, but I'm getting really, really, really excited about Christmas.

Now that November's here, all the Christmas stuff is on the store shelves. Well, as I've been saying in my podcast, up here in Athabasca, the Christmas stuff went on the store shelves around the start of September. I guess it would be more accurate to say, "The amount of Christmas stuff on the shelves has tripled" or "The GOOD Christmas stuff is on the store shelves."

I think I"m so excited because this is going to be my first Christmas on my own. My times at Augustana don't count because I was always so wrapped up in finals come December that a person could barely notice Christmas, and Japan doesn't count because, when the whole country around you doesn't get wrapped up in it, it's difficult to get wrapped up in it yourself.

But yeah. I'll be buying my own tree...my own decorations for said tree...my little ol' basement suite will be all Christmased up.

I see Extra Evil has a nice little 4" artificial tree for $20. That'd be about all I need. But then, up the road at SAAN, I can get a 6" one for the same price.

Christmas can't get here soon enough.

Weird Al on the Tonight Show

Ah, another hockey season, more Oilers games, and more late evenings of broadcasting said Oilers games. Lots of time to blog!

Anyway, I gotta pass on the litte reminder that, tomorrow night, "Weird Al" Yankovic will be the musical guest on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Weird Al will be doing his first live performance of White and Nerdy, his new hit single. This is Weird Al's first time on The Tonight Show in 21 years, and his first appearance on Jay Leno's Tonight Show.

Ah, fond memories. I haven't seen Weird Al on a talk show in...ages. The second time I saw "Weird Al" Yankovic on a late-night talk show was 1992. Batman Returns was in theatres, Nirvana was introducing us to grunge, and the late-night talk show people fought to be on was The Arsenio Hall Show.

Like any kid of the era, I was glued to Arsenio Hall. And, when I heard Weird Al was going to be on, I just had to tune in. And, imagine my surprise when Arsenio dedicated not one, not two, but three segments of his show to Weird Al! Arsenio cut his opening monologue short so he could bring out Weird Al to sing Smells Like Nirvana. Weird Al then came out as the second interview guest of the nigth. And then, when it was the usual segment for the musical guest, Weird Al sang the second single off his album Off The Deep End, which was You Don't Love Me Anymore.

That was a great night in television.

In case you're curious, the first time I saw Weird Al on a talk show was, again, on The Arsenio Hall Show. It was 1989. Weird Al wasn't a musical guest that night...he was there as a movie star, plugging UHF. I'll never forget one exchange between Aresnio and Weird Al...

Arsenio>> So, we're gonna play a clip from you movie. Would you like to set it up?

Weird Al>> Sure! (Al looks directly into camera, and speaks very excitedly) HERE'S A CLIP FROM MY MOVIE!!

So, don't forget to set your VCR's for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno tomorrow night, and let's see if magic will happen again.

Latest Targ's Up

Got this week's episode of The Targ up! This week, it's Episode 24: Halloweentown. Yup, a Halloween show, complete with Christmas music!

Give it a listen!

Dinner at Jam's

When I was in Kumagaya, a popular hang-out for all the foreign teachers was Jam's American Diner. As one of my Yankee coworkers explained to me, "This is where you go for a burger when you get sick of McDonald's." It was the USA-themed bar and grill. We were having the welcome party for one of our new Yankee teachers there. When she walked in, she stared in awe at the juke box in the corner, the Harley-Davidson on the stage, and the walls covered with pictures of Elvis. I turned to her and said, "Kinda weird to see your own culture filtered through another, isn't it?" And she nodded.

So, it's in the spirit of Jam's, that I bring to you this video.







If you're thinking to yourself, "Wow. That looks like The Powerpuff Girls remade as an anime," you'd be right.

Back on July 1, Demashita! Powerpuff Girls Z debuted on Japanese television. A co-production of Toei Animation and the Cartoon Network, it is The Powerpuff Girls re-invented as an anime...more specifically, the "magical girl" kind of anime, of which the best example is still Sailor Moon.

To answer your first question, Powerpuff Girls creator Craig McCracken had nothing to do with this. Those responsible are the entire creative team responsible for Sailor Moon. Seriously.

The revised origin goes like this. Ken Kitazawa is the son of the renowed Professor Utonium. One day, while experimenting with "Chemical Z" (a more potent form of his father's Chemical X), Ken lets loose the Chemical Z on a glacier, in an attempt to stop a weather machine. The resulting explosion unleashed several balls of light. Those who embraced the Dark Light became super-villains...several of which are anime re-creations of the Powerpuff Girls rouges gallery.

And three teenaged girls embraced the White Light. Given awesome superpowers, these three girls took the superhero names Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup, and use their powers to fight crime and the forces of evil...mainly, those who embarced the Dark Light.

Ya know what? For how everything got re-invented, and the new characters and all that, I'll just point you to the show's entry at Wikipedia, which has all that good stuff.

The long term plan is for the Cartoon Network to dub this some day and show it in North America...but if you can't wait that long, there's a whole slew of fan-subbed episodes up on YouTube.

But I just had to share this.

ooo! Before I go, it's just not an anime without a transformation sequence!

Life's Little Disappointments

In case you haven't heard, one of my favourite movies, the Nightmare Before Christmas, is currently back in theatres.

And, if that wasn't enough, Disney went through a special process to convert it into 3D. The 3D-ification process was developed by ILM.

But I'm not going to be able to see it. Ya know why?

Because it's only running in select theatres and, according to the website, the only select theatres in Canada are in Toronto and Montreal. Can't really afford to hop a plane to Toronto to see a movie.

But I'm still going to pick up the soundtrack album, featuring the songs of The Nightmare Before Christmas covered by Marilyn Manson, Fiona Apple, and Fall Out Boy.

It's Another Useless Fact

Here's today's useless fact:

Pele's Soccer for the Atari 2600 holds two video game firsts:

1) First soccer game for a console

2) First sports game endorsed by a pro athelete

Latest Targ's Up!

Just your friendly reminder that this week's episode of The Targ is up.

This week, it's Episode 23: A Bit of This, in which I talk about Christmas albums, Participaction, and draw correlations between Disney's The Little Mermaid and sex toys. Yes, sex toys. I'm putting the "not safe for work" stamp on this one. Oh, and I pad it out with some songs I really like.

And I'd just like to say that, from a purely technical standpoint, this episode sets up the model to follow. It's only 15 minutes long, which I've been told is the maximum length a podcast should be before it starts getting annoying. It's only 6M, making it a nice, easy download. And, on top of it all, it's mildly entertaining!

So, yeah. It may not be my best in terms of content, but in terms of a technical formula for doing these things, this is the model to follow.

Listen to this formulaicly perfect, mildly amusing episode!

Playing Catch-Up

Wow. I was just delivered some information that I'm still trying to process. It's of a personal nature, and I've learned my lesson about sharing information of a personal nature on this blog.

Let's just say a day I never thought would come has come.

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But let's talk of happy things here. I tell ya, one of the TV shows I really love right now is the new Doctor Who. We're two episodes in to season 2 on the CBC, and I just love it. If you enjoy sci-fi, the new Doctor Who is something that's decidedly different.

I mean, last night, they went back in time to Victorian times, and they had to save Queen Victoria from a werewolf. There was one episode I missed last season that involved fighting zombies alongside Charles Dickens.

And that's what makes the show so cool. From it's mere premise, it's all about going anywhere and doing anything.

I'll admit, I tried to watch a few of the classic episodes from the 70s and 80s and could never get into it. It always struck me as kind of weird. But I'm loving this new version, and when I catch the old one in reruns, I give it a chance.

Long story short: watch Doctor Who, Mondays at 8 on CBC. 8:30 in Newfoundland.

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And even though I'm getting rather obese, this little bit of news made me smile. And icon of Canadian pop culture is making a comeback.

As their latest weapon in the war against childhood obesity....

the Conservatives are bringing back Participaction!

That which introduced "Just Do It" into our lexicon before Nike co-opted it...that which introduced Hal Johnson and Joanne McLeod into our cultural landscape...yes, Participaction is back, baby!

Participaction was a Crown corporation founded in 1971 to try to get Canadians more active and healthier. The plug was pulled back in 2001, simply as a victim of government cutbacks.

This new Participaction will have a new twist though...instead of being a Crown corporation, the Conservatives are going to contract it out.

As long as the contract doesn't go to McDonald's. That would seem...counter-productive.

Hee hee! I can hardly wait to hear the new PSAs on the radio! There was this one back in 1998 involving sexy running shoes that I played constantly on the original Chaos in a Box.

Latest Targ is Up!

I got the latest episode of The Targ!

This week, it's Episode 22: The Weird Al Show 1. I celebrate Weird Al's new album, Straight Outta Lynwood, by playing nothing but cuts from the new album!

Enjoy!

Give 'er a listen!