Wow! I really should swing by the Kevin Smith Message Boards way more often. That's where all the big Kevin Smith news seems to break. Anyway, in case you're like me and want to know:
- An Evening With Kevin Smith 2 will be coming out in August, to coincide with the release of Clerks 2.
- the unrated director's cut of Jersey Girl is actually a long ways off. (On the running commentary for Jersey Girl, he said it was coming in 2005)
- We've had Clerks X, Mallrats X and rumours of a Chasing Amy X, so I guess it was just a matter of time before he started talking...Dogma X. Smith says that Columbia/Tri-Star (who owns the home video rights to Dogma) has expressed interest in doing a new special edition. Columbia/Tri-Star is even willing to finish the special effects for some scenes. Smith says that a Dogma: Unrated Director's Cut would probably run 3 hours.
- Wow. Turns out Smith is thinking about writing a children's book. He says he's had the idea for about 5 years, all he needs to do is sit down and write. That, and hire an illustrator.
Oh, and don't forget, Smith does a voice in the computer animated film Doogal, which comes out today.
Friday, February 24, 2006
Dude, I need a girlfriend....
So, I was watching some reruns of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine yesterday. Specifically, I was watching the 2-part episode In Purgatory's Shadow and By Inferno's Light.
Now, I know a lot of people say that DS9 hit its stride with the opening of season 4 and when Worf joined the crew. I don't think so. I think DS9 hit its stride with this 2-part episode, which happened about 2/3rds of the way through season 5.
For those who don't remember, this is the 2-part episode where Cardassia joined the Dominion, and the Dominion War began.
I think that this episode is when DS9 hit its stride because, with this episode, DS9 finally found a focus. There had been many attempts at finding a focus in the past: the Dominion, the reconstruction of Bajor, the Maquis and the battles in the DMZ, and even a war with the Klingons. But with In Purgatory's Shadow and By Inferno's Light, it's like the writers finally said, "OK, the focus will be the Dominion War."
I came to this realization about halfway through part 2, when Gul Dukat, as the new head of the Cardassian government, outlines the plans for the Dominion/Cardassian alliance. And what are his plans? Reclaim Bajor. Eliminate the Maquis. Re-conquer everything that the Klingons took. In response, the Klingons re-allied themselves with the Federation, ending the Klingon War. When Dukat said all those things would be eliminated, it was like the writers saying, "OK, here's everything that's been distracting us the whole time this show's been on. We're getting rid of it!"
Voyager never had an episode like that. Enterprise desperatly needed an episode like that. One where it's like the writers standing up and saying, "This will be the show's focus."
Many books have been written analyzing Star Trek. I'm fairly certain I could write my own.
Now, I know a lot of people say that DS9 hit its stride with the opening of season 4 and when Worf joined the crew. I don't think so. I think DS9 hit its stride with this 2-part episode, which happened about 2/3rds of the way through season 5.
For those who don't remember, this is the 2-part episode where Cardassia joined the Dominion, and the Dominion War began.
I think that this episode is when DS9 hit its stride because, with this episode, DS9 finally found a focus. There had been many attempts at finding a focus in the past: the Dominion, the reconstruction of Bajor, the Maquis and the battles in the DMZ, and even a war with the Klingons. But with In Purgatory's Shadow and By Inferno's Light, it's like the writers finally said, "OK, the focus will be the Dominion War."
I came to this realization about halfway through part 2, when Gul Dukat, as the new head of the Cardassian government, outlines the plans for the Dominion/Cardassian alliance. And what are his plans? Reclaim Bajor. Eliminate the Maquis. Re-conquer everything that the Klingons took. In response, the Klingons re-allied themselves with the Federation, ending the Klingon War. When Dukat said all those things would be eliminated, it was like the writers saying, "OK, here's everything that's been distracting us the whole time this show's been on. We're getting rid of it!"
Voyager never had an episode like that. Enterprise desperatly needed an episode like that. One where it's like the writers standing up and saying, "This will be the show's focus."
Many books have been written analyzing Star Trek. I'm fairly certain I could write my own.
Thursday, February 23, 2006
And the big day is....
August 18, 2006
According to the official Clerks II website, the further adventures of Randal and Dante will be hitting the big screen on August 18, 2006.
In the rest of the update, Smith reveals that a temp sound mix is in place, and it'll be having a test screening in New York on Monday. He also reveals that James L. Venables (he who did the music for the Clerks cartoon, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, and Jersey Girl) has already written 10 minutes worth of score for the film, and will probably do a little bit more. (I wonder if that Clerks cartoon theme will get worked in?)
Smith also mentions that he went down to "the trailer house" to give a final look at the first theatrical teaser and, with any luck, that first teaser will be in front of Scary Movie 4. Yes, there's already been an Internet-only teaser circulating the 'net for about a month now, but that was Internet-only and made by Smith himself in his basement.
According to the official Clerks II website, the further adventures of Randal and Dante will be hitting the big screen on August 18, 2006.
In the rest of the update, Smith reveals that a temp sound mix is in place, and it'll be having a test screening in New York on Monday. He also reveals that James L. Venables (he who did the music for the Clerks cartoon, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, and Jersey Girl) has already written 10 minutes worth of score for the film, and will probably do a little bit more. (I wonder if that Clerks cartoon theme will get worked in?)
Smith also mentions that he went down to "the trailer house" to give a final look at the first theatrical teaser and, with any luck, that first teaser will be in front of Scary Movie 4. Yes, there's already been an Internet-only teaser circulating the 'net for about a month now, but that was Internet-only and made by Smith himself in his basement.
Olympics and more about Klein
I wish I had an opinion to share on the failure of the men's hockey team. If I have an opinion, it has to be that we take our hockey - at least on the men's level - way too seriously.
Oh, well. We lick our wounds, we learn from our mistakes, and we come back in Vancouver in 2010.
I have to run into Edmonton today, so I'm wondering if I should swing by a Bell Mobility store.
We've all heard the story by now. A little over a week ago, in one of the cross-country skiing events, Canada looked poised to win the gold. But then, disaster struck! The Canadian skier broke a pole, and, with only pole, slipped back to fourth place. But then, miracle of miracles, a Norewegian coach ran out onto the field and gave the Canadian a spare pole. The Canadian was able to fight her way back up and won the silver.
Ever since, there's been a massive outpouring of good will from Canada to Norway. And, Bell Mobility, the cellphone people, are getting ready to ship cases and cases of maple syrup to Norway to say "Thank you!"
So, if you go to any Bell Mobility store right now, and make a donation of $2.50 to the Canadian Olympic team, you'll be able to write your name, e-mail, and a message of thanks on one of the labels of these bottles of maple syrup.
It's been two days since Klein's annual provincial address, and the controversy over it is heating up.
One of Klein's big announcements in the address was Alberta's investment in "clean coal technology." This is the technology that makes coal environmentally-friendly to use. Klein even went on to say that over half of Alberta's energy is made using clean coal technology, to which the entire province responded with, "Uh...no." It is true that more than half of Alberta's energy comes from coal, but that's using old-fashioned, "burn the coal and release lots of nasties into the air" technology. There is no clean coal technology being used in Alberta to generate energy.
Afterwards, we were told that Klein meant to say, "the cleanest burning coal."
Actually, I'm surprised that no one picked up on something about Klein's address that I noticed. For those who may have missed it, Klein was more of an announcer, and lots of proud Albertans gave their testimonials as to why this province is so great. There was this one teenage girl who was talking about why Alberta is so great. Her segment was full of inspiring images of her on the front steps of the legislature, and I couldn't help but think, "Hey! Wasn't that the girl on the news right before the address? You know...the unwed teenage mother who's suffering from an STD?"
And it was!
Klein's address came after the 6 o'clock news. On the news was the story that unprotected sex among teens is on the rise again. And, in that news story, they talked to a teenage mother suffering from an STD lamenting that she didn't use protection. And there, a half-hour later, she was on Klein's provincial address, extolling the joys of living in Alberta.
Do we live in a party province or what?
Oh, well. We lick our wounds, we learn from our mistakes, and we come back in Vancouver in 2010.
I have to run into Edmonton today, so I'm wondering if I should swing by a Bell Mobility store.
We've all heard the story by now. A little over a week ago, in one of the cross-country skiing events, Canada looked poised to win the gold. But then, disaster struck! The Canadian skier broke a pole, and, with only pole, slipped back to fourth place. But then, miracle of miracles, a Norewegian coach ran out onto the field and gave the Canadian a spare pole. The Canadian was able to fight her way back up and won the silver.
Ever since, there's been a massive outpouring of good will from Canada to Norway. And, Bell Mobility, the cellphone people, are getting ready to ship cases and cases of maple syrup to Norway to say "Thank you!"
So, if you go to any Bell Mobility store right now, and make a donation of $2.50 to the Canadian Olympic team, you'll be able to write your name, e-mail, and a message of thanks on one of the labels of these bottles of maple syrup.
It's been two days since Klein's annual provincial address, and the controversy over it is heating up.
One of Klein's big announcements in the address was Alberta's investment in "clean coal technology." This is the technology that makes coal environmentally-friendly to use. Klein even went on to say that over half of Alberta's energy is made using clean coal technology, to which the entire province responded with, "Uh...no." It is true that more than half of Alberta's energy comes from coal, but that's using old-fashioned, "burn the coal and release lots of nasties into the air" technology. There is no clean coal technology being used in Alberta to generate energy.
Afterwards, we were told that Klein meant to say, "the cleanest burning coal."
Actually, I'm surprised that no one picked up on something about Klein's address that I noticed. For those who may have missed it, Klein was more of an announcer, and lots of proud Albertans gave their testimonials as to why this province is so great. There was this one teenage girl who was talking about why Alberta is so great. Her segment was full of inspiring images of her on the front steps of the legislature, and I couldn't help but think, "Hey! Wasn't that the girl on the news right before the address? You know...the unwed teenage mother who's suffering from an STD?"
And it was!
Klein's address came after the 6 o'clock news. On the news was the story that unprotected sex among teens is on the rise again. And, in that news story, they talked to a teenage mother suffering from an STD lamenting that she didn't use protection. And there, a half-hour later, she was on Klein's provincial address, extolling the joys of living in Alberta.
Do we live in a party province or what?
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
From All Around the World
yay! I love this Postcrossing thing. Today, I got a postcard from a random stranger in Portugal.
Not only am I getting all kinds of groovy postcards from around the world, it's also a good geography lesson. The postcard is from Lisbon, which I always thought was in Spain. But no, it's in Portugal. Colour me corrected!
I also got a very concerned e-mail from a fellow in Bangladesh the other day. He wanted to know if I'd gotten his postcard yet. I told him no, but then I got to thinking, "Where the heck is Bangladesh, anyway?" It's by India.
So, yeah. This is a really cool thing.
Not only am I getting all kinds of groovy postcards from around the world, it's also a good geography lesson. The postcard is from Lisbon, which I always thought was in Spain. But no, it's in Portugal. Colour me corrected!
I also got a very concerned e-mail from a fellow in Bangladesh the other day. He wanted to know if I'd gotten his postcard yet. I told him no, but then I got to thinking, "Where the heck is Bangladesh, anyway?" It's by India.
So, yeah. This is a really cool thing.
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Slick Ralphie/the T-Shirts are Right
Ah, I love Alberta. The province, not its government.
I just watched Ralph Klein's annual provincial address. Forget the fireside chats of old, his provincial addresses now are very slickly-produced infomercials for the PC Party.
There, as he was at the the Telus World of Science (formerly the Odysseum, formerly the Space & Science Centre), he surrounded himself with kids and talked about the future.
As always, he really did little more than regurgitate stuff he's already announced.
I dunno. Even since Klein "paid off" the debt, his message has been "more of the same." The same what? We need now a leader with a vision, with a plan for the future, and Klein doesn't have any of that.
Just like his infomercials, Klein is all style, no substance.
Wow. Those T-shirts are right. Canadian girls DO kick ass.
I am, of course, talking about yesterday's 4-1 victory over Sweden to get the gold medal in hockey.
And now, we all sigh, sit down, and go, "Why can't the boys do that well?"
I just watched Ralph Klein's annual provincial address. Forget the fireside chats of old, his provincial addresses now are very slickly-produced infomercials for the PC Party.
There, as he was at the the Telus World of Science (formerly the Odysseum, formerly the Space & Science Centre), he surrounded himself with kids and talked about the future.
As always, he really did little more than regurgitate stuff he's already announced.
I dunno. Even since Klein "paid off" the debt, his message has been "more of the same." The same what? We need now a leader with a vision, with a plan for the future, and Klein doesn't have any of that.
Just like his infomercials, Klein is all style, no substance.
Wow. Those T-shirts are right. Canadian girls DO kick ass.
I am, of course, talking about yesterday's 4-1 victory over Sweden to get the gold medal in hockey.
And now, we all sigh, sit down, and go, "Why can't the boys do that well?"
Monday, February 20, 2006
Housekeeping
There! In case you're interested, I just did some housekeeping over at my main site, Chaos in a Box. Essentially, I figured it was time to add a new archive to Chaos in Print, my weekly opinion column. This new archive is called "Welcome to my Midlife Crisis," and it contains the articles from August 2003 to December 2005.
In case you're curious, I got the name for this section from an annonymous NAIT student, who didn't take too kindly to some of my articles in the paper and told me to "have my midlife crisis on my own time."
In case you're curious, I got the name for this section from an annonymous NAIT student, who didn't take too kindly to some of my articles in the paper and told me to "have my midlife crisis on my own time."
%$#@ Alberta Government
So, today, I finally got an answer to that question I've been asking for a week.
"Where's my prosperity bonus?"
The Government told us that, if we didn't have it by February 10, that we should panic, as the 10th was the day they were to be mailed out. So, on the 17th, I finally decided to push the panic button. Cuz hey, I got plans for my $400.
I called the 1-800 help number. 1-866-209-8903, in case you haven't got yours. I got a friendly man who asked the usual questions.
"Did you file your 2004 taxes?" Yes.
"Were you an Alberta resident as of Sept. 1, 2005?" Yes.
And then, the unusual question. "Were you living outside the country recently?" Yes, I was in Japan from June 2002 to June 2003.
"What's the exact day you returned from Japan?" June 23, 2003.
"Ah, here's the problem. Our data says you're still in Japan."
So, according to the guy, everything's been fixed now, my Alberta residency is assured, and I should be getting my prosperity bonus in April.
Let me say what everyone else has been saying: the Alberta Government is so messed up, they can't even give away money.
"Where's my prosperity bonus?"
The Government told us that, if we didn't have it by February 10, that we should panic, as the 10th was the day they were to be mailed out. So, on the 17th, I finally decided to push the panic button. Cuz hey, I got plans for my $400.
I called the 1-800 help number. 1-866-209-8903, in case you haven't got yours. I got a friendly man who asked the usual questions.
"Did you file your 2004 taxes?" Yes.
"Were you an Alberta resident as of Sept. 1, 2005?" Yes.
And then, the unusual question. "Were you living outside the country recently?" Yes, I was in Japan from June 2002 to June 2003.
"What's the exact day you returned from Japan?" June 23, 2003.
"Ah, here's the problem. Our data says you're still in Japan."
So, according to the guy, everything's been fixed now, my Alberta residency is assured, and I should be getting my prosperity bonus in April.
Let me say what everyone else has been saying: the Alberta Government is so messed up, they can't even give away money.
Happy Family Day!
I always like to take a moment on Family Day to point out the history of the holiday, mainly because it's a blatantly manufactured holiday, and I was around for the manufacturing. Plus, it serves as an introduction to Alberta to non-Albertans. When I was doing my practicum at K-Rock last year, we started getting a lot of notices for the events for the "February Long Weekend." The newly-hired announcer-from-Ontario once remarked to me, "Gee, that's weird. We don't get Valentine's Day off back home...." So I had to explain that Valentine's Day is not a holiday in Alberta. But, instead, we have our own special holiday called Family Day.
It has long been argued that Canada needs a statutory holiday in February. It's been said that a day off would be a helpful deterrent against seasonal affected disorder. (Or, as one beloved Edmonton radio announcer used to call it, "the February blahs.") Besides, the gap between New Year's Day and Easter is just far too long for, well, everyone. While the occassional backbencher stands up and talks about making a "Prime Ministers Day," there have never been any serious plans from Ottawa to form a February holiday. So, in the grand Alberta tradition of "if Ottawa won't do it, we'll do it ourselves," the Tory Government of Don Getty brought about the Family Day Act.
People started growing suspicious of Family Day when they first saw the day chosen - the third Monday in February. See, Family Day coincides with the American holiday of Presidents Day. Well, that is no coincidence. As we know, a lot of American oil companies do business in Alberta, and a lot of those American oil companies have their Canadian offices in Calgary. The Americans working in those Calgary offices used to grumble that they didn't get Presidents Day off because they were in Canada. So, bowing to pressure from the oil companies, the third Monday in February was chosen as "the new, Alberta-only holiday."
I also think a lot of opposition came about because of the name. "Family Day." Seriously, doesn't that sound made-up? What, was "Love Day" taken? But no, the intent of Family Day was to be a day off for people to celebrate - and spend time with - the family. When the first Family Day was celebrated in 1990, a mini-scandal errupted when Don Getty's son was arrested on charges of dealing cocaine. A popular joke at the time was that Getty just wanted a day off to go visit his son in prison.
And besides, look at the time at when Family Day came about. Taking a day off to spend time with the family seemed to fly in the face of the workaholic, "greed is good" mentality of the 1980s. Indeed, the opposition at the time was simply from yuppies going, "Why do I want another day off when I could be working?"
The most compelling argument though came from the Alberta Teachers Association. Yes, the ATA opposed Family Day. They went to the government and said, "Look, we always have our 2-day teachers convention in February, giving a 4-day weekend. Lots of families plan vacations for that 4-day weekend. So, really, there's already a 4-day Family Weekend in February."
But, the Family Day Act was passed, and the first Family Day was celebrated on February 19, 1990. Opposition was still strong in those early years. In fact, when Ralph Klein was elected as Getty's successor in 1992, one of Klein's first promises was to abolish Family Day. But, you know, by that time, people had warmed up to the idea of a February long weekend. And besides, who really wants to be known as the premier who abolishes holidays?
This is the 16th Family Day now, and it's become firmly entrenched in the Alberta culture. If you look around, you'll find the requisite pancake breakfasts and all kinds of Family Day activities in your community. So, dude, get out there, and enjoy your day off!
It has long been argued that Canada needs a statutory holiday in February. It's been said that a day off would be a helpful deterrent against seasonal affected disorder. (Or, as one beloved Edmonton radio announcer used to call it, "the February blahs.") Besides, the gap between New Year's Day and Easter is just far too long for, well, everyone. While the occassional backbencher stands up and talks about making a "Prime Ministers Day," there have never been any serious plans from Ottawa to form a February holiday. So, in the grand Alberta tradition of "if Ottawa won't do it, we'll do it ourselves," the Tory Government of Don Getty brought about the Family Day Act.
People started growing suspicious of Family Day when they first saw the day chosen - the third Monday in February. See, Family Day coincides with the American holiday of Presidents Day. Well, that is no coincidence. As we know, a lot of American oil companies do business in Alberta, and a lot of those American oil companies have their Canadian offices in Calgary. The Americans working in those Calgary offices used to grumble that they didn't get Presidents Day off because they were in Canada. So, bowing to pressure from the oil companies, the third Monday in February was chosen as "the new, Alberta-only holiday."
I also think a lot of opposition came about because of the name. "Family Day." Seriously, doesn't that sound made-up? What, was "Love Day" taken? But no, the intent of Family Day was to be a day off for people to celebrate - and spend time with - the family. When the first Family Day was celebrated in 1990, a mini-scandal errupted when Don Getty's son was arrested on charges of dealing cocaine. A popular joke at the time was that Getty just wanted a day off to go visit his son in prison.
And besides, look at the time at when Family Day came about. Taking a day off to spend time with the family seemed to fly in the face of the workaholic, "greed is good" mentality of the 1980s. Indeed, the opposition at the time was simply from yuppies going, "Why do I want another day off when I could be working?"
The most compelling argument though came from the Alberta Teachers Association. Yes, the ATA opposed Family Day. They went to the government and said, "Look, we always have our 2-day teachers convention in February, giving a 4-day weekend. Lots of families plan vacations for that 4-day weekend. So, really, there's already a 4-day Family Weekend in February."
But, the Family Day Act was passed, and the first Family Day was celebrated on February 19, 1990. Opposition was still strong in those early years. In fact, when Ralph Klein was elected as Getty's successor in 1992, one of Klein's first promises was to abolish Family Day. But, you know, by that time, people had warmed up to the idea of a February long weekend. And besides, who really wants to be known as the premier who abolishes holidays?
This is the 16th Family Day now, and it's become firmly entrenched in the Alberta culture. If you look around, you'll find the requisite pancake breakfasts and all kinds of Family Day activities in your community. So, dude, get out there, and enjoy your day off!
Sunday, February 19, 2006
Latest Column's Up! (It's the Kevin Smith one!)
Finally, at long last, you can read all about MY Evening with Kevin Smith:
"I’ve been a fan of Kevin Smith ever since I first saw Mallrats back in university. By following Smith on the Internet, I’ve became quite well-acquainted with his near-legendary Q&A sessions. No holds barred, ask him any question, and he will answer! His sessions became so legendary that it led to a concert DVD, An Evening with Kevin Smith, which came out in 2003. I thought I’d never be able to see one of his shows for myself. And yet, on the evening of February 6, 2006, there I was, at Edmonton’s Winspear Centre, waiting for Smith to take the stage."
Read it all!
"I’ve been a fan of Kevin Smith ever since I first saw Mallrats back in university. By following Smith on the Internet, I’ve became quite well-acquainted with his near-legendary Q&A sessions. No holds barred, ask him any question, and he will answer! His sessions became so legendary that it led to a concert DVD, An Evening with Kevin Smith, which came out in 2003. I thought I’d never be able to see one of his shows for myself. And yet, on the evening of February 6, 2006, there I was, at Edmonton’s Winspear Centre, waiting for Smith to take the stage."
Read it all!
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
A Grand Adventure/The Last Good Year
Wow. Looks like I'm off on a grand adventure.
Just hanging around the house tonight, and then I get a call from one of my old instructors at NAIT. Does anyone out there know about the MuchMusic VJ Search? Well, this year, MuchMusic decided to take their annual contest and turn it into a lame-ass reality TV show. And, they're coming to Edmonton to shoot some stuff. According to my instructor, they needed a driver; someone to ferry the crew around Edmonton and help lug around camera equipment. And, lo and behold, I'm the only one of the list of recent graduates who's old enough.
Long story short, I'm spending the next 3 days as a crewman on the MuchMusic VJ Search. It pays $175/day and it gets me out of the house.
Don't worry, I'm sure I'll find some way to screw it up.
I was kicking back and watching some Deep Space Nine reruns this morning, and I managed to catch Trials and Tribble-ations. You know, the classic 1996 "Star Trek 30th Anniversary Tribute" episode that featured time travel hijinks and the DS9 crew mucking about in the background of The Trouble with Tribbles. Ya know, I'm surprised no one's tried to edit the two episodes together yet. Nothing fancy...just take The Trouble with Tribbles and splice in the scenes of Sisko and Dax tiptoeing around in the background.
But then, that got me to thinking about 1996. Pierre Burton, Canada's favourite historian, declared 1967 to be "Canada's last good year." I think many a Trekkie will agree that 1996 is "Star Trek's last good year." Star Trek: First Contact was about to hit theatres, Deep Space Nine was hitting its stride, and Voyager was still new enough to warrant the benefit of the doubt. And, with it being the 30th anniversary, there was a celebratory air to the whole thing.
And, of course, who could forget the live, 30th anniversary special? As one critic put it, "an awards show without the awards." It was really, really...lame. When you know the headlining musical act is Kenny G, it's lame to the ultimate.
However, I do remember Ben Stiller being part of the special. Back in 1996, he was still a B-list celebrity, but on the rise. I'll never forget what he said. "When I was a kid, people called me a nerd because I liked Star Trek. And now, I'm on stage with Captain Kirk and Kenny G. WHO'S THE NERD NOW?"
Just hanging around the house tonight, and then I get a call from one of my old instructors at NAIT. Does anyone out there know about the MuchMusic VJ Search? Well, this year, MuchMusic decided to take their annual contest and turn it into a lame-ass reality TV show. And, they're coming to Edmonton to shoot some stuff. According to my instructor, they needed a driver; someone to ferry the crew around Edmonton and help lug around camera equipment. And, lo and behold, I'm the only one of the list of recent graduates who's old enough.
Long story short, I'm spending the next 3 days as a crewman on the MuchMusic VJ Search. It pays $175/day and it gets me out of the house.
Don't worry, I'm sure I'll find some way to screw it up.
I was kicking back and watching some Deep Space Nine reruns this morning, and I managed to catch Trials and Tribble-ations. You know, the classic 1996 "Star Trek 30th Anniversary Tribute" episode that featured time travel hijinks and the DS9 crew mucking about in the background of The Trouble with Tribbles. Ya know, I'm surprised no one's tried to edit the two episodes together yet. Nothing fancy...just take The Trouble with Tribbles and splice in the scenes of Sisko and Dax tiptoeing around in the background.
But then, that got me to thinking about 1996. Pierre Burton, Canada's favourite historian, declared 1967 to be "Canada's last good year." I think many a Trekkie will agree that 1996 is "Star Trek's last good year." Star Trek: First Contact was about to hit theatres, Deep Space Nine was hitting its stride, and Voyager was still new enough to warrant the benefit of the doubt. And, with it being the 30th anniversary, there was a celebratory air to the whole thing.
And, of course, who could forget the live, 30th anniversary special? As one critic put it, "an awards show without the awards." It was really, really...lame. When you know the headlining musical act is Kenny G, it's lame to the ultimate.
However, I do remember Ben Stiller being part of the special. Back in 1996, he was still a B-list celebrity, but on the rise. I'll never forget what he said. "When I was a kid, people called me a nerd because I liked Star Trek. And now, I'm on stage with Captain Kirk and Kenny G. WHO'S THE NERD NOW?"
However, Flag Day ROCKS!!
Happy Flag Day!
I think that we've got to work harder to help get the word out about today being Flag Day. It was on this day in 1965 that Canada's original flag was symbolically lowered from Parliment Hill, and the Maple Leaf was first raised, thus officially making the Maple Leaf the new flag of Canada.
It had been argued for years that Canada needed a new flag, one without the Union Jack on it. That way, we would show to the world our independence from the UK, and help promote federalism. But, when Lester B. Pearson came to power, he finally resolved to do it. See, as we all know, Pearson won the Nobel Peace Prize for inventing the Peacekeeping Force. The Peacekeeping Force was invented because British military involvement in the Suez Canal crisis just happened to make things worse. However, when Canadian troops showed up in Egypt to help in the first Peacekeeping Force, they were turned away by the Egyptians. The Egyptians (one of the main parties in the Suez Canal crisis) saw the Union Jack on the Canadian flag and said, "Get out of here, you lousy Brits!"
Needless to say, Pearson took it be a kick in the nuts, and he made it one of his top priorities to get a new flag for Canada. Upon his retirement, Pearson called Canada's new flag his proudest accomplishment as PM.
So, back in 1996, today was declared to be Flag Day, and thus began Heritage Minister Sheila Copps's controversial program to give away one million free flags by the second Flag Day. "Waste of taxpayer's money!" people said. I don't care, I got mine!
There are some who argue that Flag Day should be made a stat holiday, because Canadians need a day off in February. It's often been argued that the gap between New Years Day and Easter is just far too long to go without a holiday. Of course, we here in Alberta have Family Day, but that's a rant for Family Day.
I would like to call for patience in regards to our Olympic team.
I know, I know, that the Canadian Olympic Committee promised us 25 medals, and that the games have been going for 5 days now and we don't have 25 yet. I think we only have 4. And I know it upsets people when you've got people like Emily Bryden, who I heard on the news this morning. She was ranked best in the world in alpine skiing, expected to bring home a gold, but came in 20th. "What didn't happen today is I didn't perform to my ability and to my expectations and to what I know I can," she said, close to tears. "Why I didn't, I don't know. I went in 100 per cent prepared."
It's kind of funny. In the past, we'd always target our frustrations on the Olympic Hockey team, cuz hockey's our sport and all that. But now, that we won the gold last year, and are expected to win gold this year (just won our first game against Italy, 7-2), and our women's hockey team have just been throughly humiliating the competition (16-0 againt Italy, 12-0 against Russia, 8-1 against Sweeden), we just need someone new to vent our frustations on.
But my point is, remain patient. Our team is doing its best. And there's still lots of days left.
I think that we've got to work harder to help get the word out about today being Flag Day. It was on this day in 1965 that Canada's original flag was symbolically lowered from Parliment Hill, and the Maple Leaf was first raised, thus officially making the Maple Leaf the new flag of Canada.
It had been argued for years that Canada needed a new flag, one without the Union Jack on it. That way, we would show to the world our independence from the UK, and help promote federalism. But, when Lester B. Pearson came to power, he finally resolved to do it. See, as we all know, Pearson won the Nobel Peace Prize for inventing the Peacekeeping Force. The Peacekeeping Force was invented because British military involvement in the Suez Canal crisis just happened to make things worse. However, when Canadian troops showed up in Egypt to help in the first Peacekeeping Force, they were turned away by the Egyptians. The Egyptians (one of the main parties in the Suez Canal crisis) saw the Union Jack on the Canadian flag and said, "Get out of here, you lousy Brits!"
Needless to say, Pearson took it be a kick in the nuts, and he made it one of his top priorities to get a new flag for Canada. Upon his retirement, Pearson called Canada's new flag his proudest accomplishment as PM.
So, back in 1996, today was declared to be Flag Day, and thus began Heritage Minister Sheila Copps's controversial program to give away one million free flags by the second Flag Day. "Waste of taxpayer's money!" people said. I don't care, I got mine!
There are some who argue that Flag Day should be made a stat holiday, because Canadians need a day off in February. It's often been argued that the gap between New Years Day and Easter is just far too long to go without a holiday. Of course, we here in Alberta have Family Day, but that's a rant for Family Day.
I would like to call for patience in regards to our Olympic team.
I know, I know, that the Canadian Olympic Committee promised us 25 medals, and that the games have been going for 5 days now and we don't have 25 yet. I think we only have 4. And I know it upsets people when you've got people like Emily Bryden, who I heard on the news this morning. She was ranked best in the world in alpine skiing, expected to bring home a gold, but came in 20th. "What didn't happen today is I didn't perform to my ability and to my expectations and to what I know I can," she said, close to tears. "Why I didn't, I don't know. I went in 100 per cent prepared."
It's kind of funny. In the past, we'd always target our frustrations on the Olympic Hockey team, cuz hockey's our sport and all that. But now, that we won the gold last year, and are expected to win gold this year (just won our first game against Italy, 7-2), and our women's hockey team have just been throughly humiliating the competition (16-0 againt Italy, 12-0 against Russia, 8-1 against Sweeden), we just need someone new to vent our frustations on.
But my point is, remain patient. Our team is doing its best. And there's still lots of days left.
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Valentine's Day Sucks
I hate Valentine's Day, if only because I've never been able to take part in it. Never bought gifts for a girlfriend, never had a girlfriend lavish gifts on me...never even got a pity valentine in high school from the girl whose bitchiness hid a heart of gold.
Well, Seba never had any girls whose bitchiness hid a heart of gold. Just a lot of bitches.
Anyway, I just finished writing my article about seeing Kevin Smith! It came it at 15 pages. According to the document statistics, 15 pages, 102 paragraphs, 645 lines, 7194 words. And I spent 229 minutes writing it.
Because I still have some time before publishing it this weekend, I hope to do some revisions still. Like a lot of my articles, I'm not too happy with the ending, so I definitly hope to change that within the next few days.
Well, Seba never had any girls whose bitchiness hid a heart of gold. Just a lot of bitches.
Anyway, I just finished writing my article about seeing Kevin Smith! It came it at 15 pages. According to the document statistics, 15 pages, 102 paragraphs, 645 lines, 7194 words. And I spent 229 minutes writing it.
Because I still have some time before publishing it this weekend, I hope to do some revisions still. Like a lot of my articles, I'm not too happy with the ending, so I definitly hope to change that within the next few days.
Monday, February 13, 2006
It's Gonna Be a Doozy
Wow.
I often find that my high-speed Internet connection can be incredibly distracting. So, when I'm serious about writing something, I'll unplug my laptop and take it to some other place in the house.
I just spent the last 2 hours at the kitchen table, writing my article about seeing Kevin Smith. It's currently at 8 pages. And only about half-done.
My best friend is the one who's really wanted to see this when it's finished, but sadly, since it's already 8 pages and only half-done, I already know what his reaction is going to be. "Ugh. It's so long, I get a headache reading it." Apparently, he can only tolerate me in small doses.
So, once it's done, I guess i'll be chopping it into three articles and running them over three weeks.
Man, I was going good, too. I didn't want to stop. But Dad wants to go to Swan Hills tomorrow, so I should probably get some sleep.
But to tide you over, here's a picture for you. I took a friend to Kevin Smith, and my friend brought his digital camera. It was a crapy camera, so here's a blurry, slightly out-of-focus picture of Kevin Smith on stage.
I often find that my high-speed Internet connection can be incredibly distracting. So, when I'm serious about writing something, I'll unplug my laptop and take it to some other place in the house.
I just spent the last 2 hours at the kitchen table, writing my article about seeing Kevin Smith. It's currently at 8 pages. And only about half-done.
My best friend is the one who's really wanted to see this when it's finished, but sadly, since it's already 8 pages and only half-done, I already know what his reaction is going to be. "Ugh. It's so long, I get a headache reading it." Apparently, he can only tolerate me in small doses.
So, once it's done, I guess i'll be chopping it into three articles and running them over three weeks.
Man, I was going good, too. I didn't want to stop. But Dad wants to go to Swan Hills tomorrow, so I should probably get some sleep.
But to tide you over, here's a picture for you. I took a friend to Kevin Smith, and my friend brought his digital camera. It was a crapy camera, so here's a blurry, slightly out-of-focus picture of Kevin Smith on stage.
Sunday, February 12, 2006
Latest Column's Up!
This week's offering I like to call A Chick Flick Diguised as an Action Film:
"It’s always kind of amazing to go back and re-visit an incredibly popular film. No matter how much loved they are in the time they are released…no matter how many awards they win…they soon fade from public consciousness, save for a few members of a fanatical cult following. And then, when you dig out your dusty old DVD that you bought in the last spurt of mania over the movie, it becomes a time capsule, reminding you of the time when the movie came out. I’ve been going through this quite a bit lately, as I’ve been buying a lot of brand- new special editions of these films. And the one I’m talking about specifically seems to sum up the 1990s and its times: Titanic."
Read it all!
Sorry that it's not about Kevin Smith. I plan to definitly sit down and write it this week.
"It’s always kind of amazing to go back and re-visit an incredibly popular film. No matter how much loved they are in the time they are released…no matter how many awards they win…they soon fade from public consciousness, save for a few members of a fanatical cult following. And then, when you dig out your dusty old DVD that you bought in the last spurt of mania over the movie, it becomes a time capsule, reminding you of the time when the movie came out. I’ve been going through this quite a bit lately, as I’ve been buying a lot of brand- new special editions of these films. And the one I’m talking about specifically seems to sum up the 1990s and its times: Titanic."
Read it all!
Sorry that it's not about Kevin Smith. I plan to definitly sit down and write it this week.
Friday, February 10, 2006
Friday Means Nothing When You're Unemployed
I was finally going to sit down and write my article about Kevin Smith this afternoon, but I got wrapped up in the Olympic Opening Ceremonies on the CBC. Great show as always.
February's always a crappy time for movies, but there's one coming out today that I"m mildly curious about, and that's the new movie version of Curious George.
There was an article in today's Edmonton Journal about it. Ron Howard's company Imagine Entertainment bought the movie rights back in 1990, and have been trying for the past 16 years to do a movie version. At one point it was going to be live-action, with Curious George being a real monkey. Then, it was going to be a live-action/animation blend, with George being all special-effects. Then, it was going to be all CGI. But it finally opens today, in traditional, hand-drawn animation.
Over the past 16 years, 42 different writers took a crack at it. Pat Proft, writer of the Naked Gun movies and the first Police Academy wrote a script. The producers admitted that, while it was very funny, it didn't quite capture the feel they wanted. My hero, Brad Bird, writer/director of The Iron Giant and The Incredibles, was once attached to direct. The producers called Bird's script "brilliant," but once Pixar greenlit The Incredibles, Bird quit the project.
Anyway, it finally comes out today. Curious George was directed by Matthew O'Callaghan, an ex-Disney animator who directed a lot of their stright-to-video sequels. Will Ferrel does the voice of the Man in the Yellow Hat, and voice-acting legend Frank Welker provides George's monkey sounds.
February's always a crappy time for movies, but there's one coming out today that I"m mildly curious about, and that's the new movie version of Curious George.
There was an article in today's Edmonton Journal about it. Ron Howard's company Imagine Entertainment bought the movie rights back in 1990, and have been trying for the past 16 years to do a movie version. At one point it was going to be live-action, with Curious George being a real monkey. Then, it was going to be a live-action/animation blend, with George being all special-effects. Then, it was going to be all CGI. But it finally opens today, in traditional, hand-drawn animation.
Over the past 16 years, 42 different writers took a crack at it. Pat Proft, writer of the Naked Gun movies and the first Police Academy wrote a script. The producers admitted that, while it was very funny, it didn't quite capture the feel they wanted. My hero, Brad Bird, writer/director of The Iron Giant and The Incredibles, was once attached to direct. The producers called Bird's script "brilliant," but once Pixar greenlit The Incredibles, Bird quit the project.
Anyway, it finally comes out today. Curious George was directed by Matthew O'Callaghan, an ex-Disney animator who directed a lot of their stright-to-video sequels. Will Ferrel does the voice of the Man in the Yellow Hat, and voice-acting legend Frank Welker provides George's monkey sounds.
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
Postcards That Kick Ass
I saw this postcard in Chapters today, and instantly thought that it was the coolest postcard in the world. I naturally had to buy it for my collection. And at $2.50, it's one of the priciest in my collection.
If there's one thing that I truly miss about Japan to this very day, that's the Japanese stationary shop. It wasn't quite the simple repository of paper, pens, and blank floppy discs like over here. The Japanese stationary shop was also home to some truly beautiful greeting cards.
And racks and racks of postcards just like this one.
My postcard albums are full of postcards similar to this, which I got in Japan. Pages and pages of them.
Man, I miss postcards like this.
Looks like I"ve got nothing scheduled for tomorrow, so I'll be able to sit down and write my article about Kevin Smith. I starting to discover that, even though it was two nights ago, I can't force my memories of it. I kind of need to sit back and let my mind wander, and bit by bit, it comes back to me.
Here's another tidbit. Earlier in the night, Smith was asked the question, "Now that you've achieved your dream, what are your dreams now?" That question kind of took him off guard, and he'd revisit it throughout the night. After the intermission, he said this,
"Actually, when I was younger, I dreamed of opening a deli. It had to do with the fact that I worked in a sandwich shop, and I became really good at making sandwiches. So, I think I'd like to open a deli. It would be a "Jay and Silent Bob" themed sandwich shop, just so I could make a grilled chicken sandwich and call it 'The Cock Smoker.'"
The Working Stiff
God, I want to sit down and write about Kevin Smith, but I haven't had the time yet. In the oil patch all day yesterday, and now I must run yesterday's samples into the lab today. When can a guy sit down and write?
Oh, well. Since I'm going into the city, I'll probably do something foolish like buy Tim Burton's Corpse Bride and Wallace and Grommit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. I really shouldn't, but I'm going to.
Oh, well. Since I'm going into the city, I'll probably do something foolish like buy Tim Burton's Corpse Bride and Wallace and Grommit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. I really shouldn't, but I'm going to.
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Wow
"I'm one of those guys who, when he learns something new, just has to learn EVERYTHING about it. So I read up on the Mall, and I find that it actually divided Edmonton. Edmonton used to have this really vibrant downtown, and then all the businesses got sucked to the west end, and I started thinking, 'Wow. Edmonton is a town divided. It's a town divided by a mall.' I figure that there's a movie in that some where. Then I remembered the last movie I made about a mall. Didn't go over so well."
And thus began my evening with Kevin Smith. Of course, that was just the end of a half-hour tale about his impressions of Edmonton, which was used to kick off the show.
All I can say is that seeing Kevin Smith live was truly one of the greatest experiences I've ever had.
And now, I'd love to rant more about, but I've got to be up in 4 hours to go sump sampling.
And thus began my evening with Kevin Smith. Of course, that was just the end of a half-hour tale about his impressions of Edmonton, which was used to kick off the show.
All I can say is that seeing Kevin Smith live was truly one of the greatest experiences I've ever had.
And now, I'd love to rant more about, but I've got to be up in 4 hours to go sump sampling.
Monday, February 06, 2006
KEVIN SMITH!!
YES YES OH GOD YES! Kevin Smith comes to Edmonton tonight! And I have tickets!
I'm really, really excited about this. Firstly, I've never, ever been to a concert before, so this'll be the closest I've ever come. (Technically, I guess, it's a lecture.) Secondly, I just love Kevin Smith. I"m currently sitting here, trying to think of a really good question to stand up and ask him during the Q&A that makes up most of his show. Right now, I'm leaning towards this one:
"OK, now, we all know the story of how you were working in the QuickStop until you finally decided to get up there and go for it and pursue your dream of making a movie. Now, I've learned from personal experience that, when you work a minimum wage shit job like that, you have this nasty tendency to get comfortable, and it sometimes takes a kick in the ass to make you go, 'Fuck this! I'm going to pursue my dream!' So, if you don't mind me asking, what was your kick in the ass?"
Right now, I'm only wondering how long his show will go. Apparently, his show in Indianapolis back on Thursday ran 6.5 hours. I'm only concerned because, at 7AM on Tuesday morning, I've got to be on the road to go sump sampling in Fox Creek. I would like to get at least a little sleep in....
In a perfect world, I'd have Tuesday off and I'd spend all Monday night writing a column about the show for my website.
I hate the double standard in our political system.
Steven Harper's cabinet has just been sworn in, and with it came the surprise that former Liberal Cabinet minister David Emmerson has just crossed the floor and become a Conservative. Under Martin, Emmerson was the Minister of Industry. Under Harper, Emmerson is going to be the "Minister of International Trade & Minister for the Pacific Gateway and the Vancouver Olympics."
Now, where's this double standard?
Are we going to see any angry editorials portraying Emmerson as a traitor and a turncoat? No.
Are we going to see any cartoons portraying Emmerson as a whore who sold himself to the highest bidder? No.
Are the Conservatvies forcing him to resign and then re-run in a byelection like they promised in the election? No.
Are we going to continue saying it all about Belinda Stronach, just because she's a woman? Yes.
I'm really, really excited about this. Firstly, I've never, ever been to a concert before, so this'll be the closest I've ever come. (Technically, I guess, it's a lecture.) Secondly, I just love Kevin Smith. I"m currently sitting here, trying to think of a really good question to stand up and ask him during the Q&A that makes up most of his show. Right now, I'm leaning towards this one:
"OK, now, we all know the story of how you were working in the QuickStop until you finally decided to get up there and go for it and pursue your dream of making a movie. Now, I've learned from personal experience that, when you work a minimum wage shit job like that, you have this nasty tendency to get comfortable, and it sometimes takes a kick in the ass to make you go, 'Fuck this! I'm going to pursue my dream!' So, if you don't mind me asking, what was your kick in the ass?"
Right now, I'm only wondering how long his show will go. Apparently, his show in Indianapolis back on Thursday ran 6.5 hours. I'm only concerned because, at 7AM on Tuesday morning, I've got to be on the road to go sump sampling in Fox Creek. I would like to get at least a little sleep in....
In a perfect world, I'd have Tuesday off and I'd spend all Monday night writing a column about the show for my website.
I hate the double standard in our political system.
Steven Harper's cabinet has just been sworn in, and with it came the surprise that former Liberal Cabinet minister David Emmerson has just crossed the floor and become a Conservative. Under Martin, Emmerson was the Minister of Industry. Under Harper, Emmerson is going to be the "Minister of International Trade & Minister for the Pacific Gateway and the Vancouver Olympics."
Now, where's this double standard?
Are we going to see any angry editorials portraying Emmerson as a traitor and a turncoat? No.
Are we going to see any cartoons portraying Emmerson as a whore who sold himself to the highest bidder? No.
Are the Conservatvies forcing him to resign and then re-run in a byelection like they promised in the election? No.
Are we going to continue saying it all about Belinda Stronach, just because she's a woman? Yes.
Sunday, February 05, 2006
Latest Column's Up!
This week, it's a Dead TV Show-palooza:
"I’ve said it many times before. One of my favourite aspects of the DVD phenomena is how those dead TV shows that barely lasted for 6 episodes soon get a super-special edition DVD boxed set preserving the series for the fans that became so dedicated to it. This is starting to become an accepted practice, as many studios see it as a way of recovering losses from a failed TV show. I, too, have fully embraced this practice, and have bought many DVD boxed sets that have the subtitle “the complete series.” So, I’m going to take a minute to rattle them all off and recommend them to you."
Click Here to read it all!
And a big special thanks to this week's special guest publisher for making it look all purty.
"I’ve said it many times before. One of my favourite aspects of the DVD phenomena is how those dead TV shows that barely lasted for 6 episodes soon get a super-special edition DVD boxed set preserving the series for the fans that became so dedicated to it. This is starting to become an accepted practice, as many studios see it as a way of recovering losses from a failed TV show. I, too, have fully embraced this practice, and have bought many DVD boxed sets that have the subtitle “the complete series.” So, I’m going to take a minute to rattle them all off and recommend them to you."
Click Here to read it all!
And a big special thanks to this week's special guest publisher for making it look all purty.
Where is this week's column?
Nerd: Spends his free time reading articles on Wikipedia.
Super Nerd: Spends his free tim editing articles on Wikipedia.
I couldn't help it! I was bored. There were some interesting trivia facts I knew about that one thing, so I clicked on "edit," and before I knew it, I was editing an article.
Anyway, I'm just kicking back right now, waiting for my best friend to e-mail me this week's column. No, he didn't write it. He knows some new tricks in HTML, and he wanted to try them out on this week's column. He wanted to be my "special guest publisher," as he put it. He e-mailed me back on Wednesday to tell me that it was pretty much done, just that he needed to do a couple more things to it.
but of course, the clock is ticking down on Sunday and it hasn't arrived yet. I got so used to uploading them on Sunday afternoon just out of boredom.
and the weird thing is, I kind of new this was going to happen. We he first approached me about doing this a week ago, I spetn 24 hours of e-mail going, "It'll be ready by Sunday, right? I'll be ready by Sunday, right?" and he said, "Sure it will!" And, here it is, Sunday, and it ain't here yet.
Oh well. I have a back-up primed and ready to go. Plus, I have that little disclaimer "New one posted by Monday 9AM MST" just to cover my butt in situations like this. there will be a column this week. It just might be up a little later than you're used to.
Super Nerd: Spends his free tim editing articles on Wikipedia.
I couldn't help it! I was bored. There were some interesting trivia facts I knew about that one thing, so I clicked on "edit," and before I knew it, I was editing an article.
Anyway, I'm just kicking back right now, waiting for my best friend to e-mail me this week's column. No, he didn't write it. He knows some new tricks in HTML, and he wanted to try them out on this week's column. He wanted to be my "special guest publisher," as he put it. He e-mailed me back on Wednesday to tell me that it was pretty much done, just that he needed to do a couple more things to it.
but of course, the clock is ticking down on Sunday and it hasn't arrived yet. I got so used to uploading them on Sunday afternoon just out of boredom.
and the weird thing is, I kind of new this was going to happen. We he first approached me about doing this a week ago, I spetn 24 hours of e-mail going, "It'll be ready by Sunday, right? I'll be ready by Sunday, right?" and he said, "Sure it will!" And, here it is, Sunday, and it ain't here yet.
Oh well. I have a back-up primed and ready to go. Plus, I have that little disclaimer "New one posted by Monday 9AM MST" just to cover my butt in situations like this. there will be a column this week. It just might be up a little later than you're used to.
Saturday, February 04, 2006
Workin' On Saturday
I was going to do stuff this evening, but I'm just so tired. Spending all day marching across frozen oil leases does that to guy....
Actually, do you want to know what really freaks me out? Really dense forests. I've run into this several times working with my Dad in the oil patch. You go to this oil lease in the middle of nowhere. And, surrounding you on all four sides are really dense forwards. You can only see about 1 metre into the bush, and then it gets as black as night in there.
It gets freaky after a while. Espeicallly when you reach this point by travelling 5km by quad.
In much happier news, I finally found what happened to Rick Moranis! And no, he wasn't in the really dense forests.
You remember Rick Moranis? The Canadian comedian. He was in such fine movies as Ghostbusters, Spaceballs and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. His best known role is still Bob McKenzie (as in "Bob & Doug McKenzie") from SCTV.
Anyway, he stopped making movies around 1996 and just kind of dropped off the face of the Earth. Well, he didn't disapper completely. Around 1998 or so, Bob & Doug McKenzie became the spokesmen for Molson Canadian in the USA, and Bob & Doug were resurrected for a series of TV spots in the USA. (God bless cable.) And then, he did a voice in the Disney animated film Brother Bear. Needless to say, his career has been decidly low-key.
Moranis is enjoying a bit of a comeback right now. As he's been explaining in interviews, his wife passed away in 1991, and, around 1996, he started realizing that working and being a single dad was too hard. So, since he made millions from all his movies, he retired to be a full-time dad. Very cool.
But now, why is he enjoying this comeback? He actually has a country music album out right now. As he explains in interviews, his kids turned him on to bluegrass, and from there, to country music. And, since he's always been a musician, he broke out his guitar and started goofing around. He ended up writing a whole bunch of country music songs - each with his own distinct brand of humour.
The end result was an album called The Agoraphobic Cowboy. Moranis recorded it independently and sold it exclusivly through his website.
And, it's made headlines because, despite this very limited release, it's gotten a Grammy nomination for Best Comedy Album. Because of all this added hype, it's getting a mainstream release this Tuesday.
After I heard all this, I had to go looking. In case you're curious, here are this year's nominees for Best Comeday Album:
the Agoraphobic Cowboy - Rick Moranis
Family Guy Live in Vegas - The cast of Family Guy
Luther Burbank Performing Arts Centre Blues - Lewis Black
Never Scared - Chris Rock
the Right to Bare Arms - Larry the Cable Guy
Actually, do you want to know what really freaks me out? Really dense forests. I've run into this several times working with my Dad in the oil patch. You go to this oil lease in the middle of nowhere. And, surrounding you on all four sides are really dense forwards. You can only see about 1 metre into the bush, and then it gets as black as night in there.
It gets freaky after a while. Espeicallly when you reach this point by travelling 5km by quad.
In much happier news, I finally found what happened to Rick Moranis! And no, he wasn't in the really dense forests.
You remember Rick Moranis? The Canadian comedian. He was in such fine movies as Ghostbusters, Spaceballs and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. His best known role is still Bob McKenzie (as in "Bob & Doug McKenzie") from SCTV.
Anyway, he stopped making movies around 1996 and just kind of dropped off the face of the Earth. Well, he didn't disapper completely. Around 1998 or so, Bob & Doug McKenzie became the spokesmen for Molson Canadian in the USA, and Bob & Doug were resurrected for a series of TV spots in the USA. (God bless cable.) And then, he did a voice in the Disney animated film Brother Bear. Needless to say, his career has been decidly low-key.
Moranis is enjoying a bit of a comeback right now. As he's been explaining in interviews, his wife passed away in 1991, and, around 1996, he started realizing that working and being a single dad was too hard. So, since he made millions from all his movies, he retired to be a full-time dad. Very cool.
But now, why is he enjoying this comeback? He actually has a country music album out right now. As he explains in interviews, his kids turned him on to bluegrass, and from there, to country music. And, since he's always been a musician, he broke out his guitar and started goofing around. He ended up writing a whole bunch of country music songs - each with his own distinct brand of humour.
The end result was an album called The Agoraphobic Cowboy. Moranis recorded it independently and sold it exclusivly through his website.
And, it's made headlines because, despite this very limited release, it's gotten a Grammy nomination for Best Comedy Album. Because of all this added hype, it's getting a mainstream release this Tuesday.
After I heard all this, I had to go looking. In case you're curious, here are this year's nominees for Best Comeday Album:
the Agoraphobic Cowboy - Rick Moranis
Family Guy Live in Vegas - The cast of Family Guy
Luther Burbank Performing Arts Centre Blues - Lewis Black
Never Scared - Chris Rock
the Right to Bare Arms - Larry the Cable Guy
Friday, February 03, 2006
Little Mermaid on DVD
Yay! It was announced today that Disney is finally giving The Little Mermaid the 2-disc special edition treatment! Work has only just begun, but you can expect a digitally remastered picture and sound, plus a whole new swack of bonus materials including deleted scenes, unused songs, storyboards, concept art, brand new retrospective documentaries, and running commentaries. It's penciled in for an October 3 release.
I bring this up because I already have the 2-disc special editions of Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King. Once I have The Little Mermaid, the quartet will be complete! You know, when Disney was making good animated films, and before they settled on a formula and started pumping them off an assembly line.
I bring this up because I already have the 2-disc special editions of Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King. Once I have The Little Mermaid, the quartet will be complete! You know, when Disney was making good animated films, and before they settled on a formula and started pumping them off an assembly line.
Superman Stuff
This has been news for about a week now, but I have to report it.
Do you know the whole story of Superman, the now-classic 1978 film? See, originally, they were making Superman and Superman II at the same time, with the idea that they'd come out within a year of each other. You know, like The Lord of the Rings. But, the two films were constantly running behind schedule, and, when about 80% of Superman was done and 60% of Superman II, the producers went up to director Richard Donner and said, "Ya know what? We're going to put #2 on hold. Just focus on finishing #1." And that's what was done.
Now, Superman comes out and makes a ton of money. Naturally, they all said, "Great! Now let's go finish #2!" But, did they ask Richard Donner to come back and finish directing #2? NO! See, the producers always wanted the movie to be kind of silly and campy, like the ol' Batman TV show. Donner wanted to make a version more faithful to the comic. And they had constantly huge fights on the set about that. So, when it came time to do #2, the producers told Donner to go to hell, and they brought in British director Richard Lester to film the remaining 40% of Superman II.
And, from that point on, it's always been a bit of a geek fantasy to see Superman II: The Richard Donner Version.
And you know what? We're finally going to get it!
With Superman Returns slated to come out this summer, Warner Brothers has begun work on a massive boxed set containing super-special editions of the first 4 Superman films. And, as a special bonus, you're finally going to get Superman II: The Richard Donner Version. Donner himself has declined to participate (still some bad blood over all this), but they're going to be assembling the Donner edit using Donner's editor and all of Donner's notes.
This is very, very cool.
Oh, and I've got an interesting bit about Smallville. Last year, young Clark Kent met up with the teenaged Flash. Back in November sweeps, he met up with the teenaged Aquaman. Which DC Comics superhero will young Clark Kent be meeting in February sweeps?
Why, it's everyone's favourite Teen Titan, Cyborg!
In the comics, young Victor Stone was the child of STAR Labs scientists who was victim to a lab accident, and in order to save his life, his father turned him into a cyborg. On Smallville, Victor Stone is a victim of a LuthorCorp experiment, thus turning him into a cyborg.
The episode will be on in the next couple of weeks.
But, as we all know, there's still one superhero we're all dying to see on Smallville. We're all still waiting for that one episode were Clark bursts in on Lex Luthor and Luthor says, "Ahh, Clark. Here, I want you to meet an old prep school friend of mine. Clark Kent, meet...Bruce Wayne."
Do you know the whole story of Superman, the now-classic 1978 film? See, originally, they were making Superman and Superman II at the same time, with the idea that they'd come out within a year of each other. You know, like The Lord of the Rings. But, the two films were constantly running behind schedule, and, when about 80% of Superman was done and 60% of Superman II, the producers went up to director Richard Donner and said, "Ya know what? We're going to put #2 on hold. Just focus on finishing #1." And that's what was done.
Now, Superman comes out and makes a ton of money. Naturally, they all said, "Great! Now let's go finish #2!" But, did they ask Richard Donner to come back and finish directing #2? NO! See, the producers always wanted the movie to be kind of silly and campy, like the ol' Batman TV show. Donner wanted to make a version more faithful to the comic. And they had constantly huge fights on the set about that. So, when it came time to do #2, the producers told Donner to go to hell, and they brought in British director Richard Lester to film the remaining 40% of Superman II.
And, from that point on, it's always been a bit of a geek fantasy to see Superman II: The Richard Donner Version.
And you know what? We're finally going to get it!
With Superman Returns slated to come out this summer, Warner Brothers has begun work on a massive boxed set containing super-special editions of the first 4 Superman films. And, as a special bonus, you're finally going to get Superman II: The Richard Donner Version. Donner himself has declined to participate (still some bad blood over all this), but they're going to be assembling the Donner edit using Donner's editor and all of Donner's notes.
This is very, very cool.
Oh, and I've got an interesting bit about Smallville. Last year, young Clark Kent met up with the teenaged Flash. Back in November sweeps, he met up with the teenaged Aquaman. Which DC Comics superhero will young Clark Kent be meeting in February sweeps?
Why, it's everyone's favourite Teen Titan, Cyborg!
In the comics, young Victor Stone was the child of STAR Labs scientists who was victim to a lab accident, and in order to save his life, his father turned him into a cyborg. On Smallville, Victor Stone is a victim of a LuthorCorp experiment, thus turning him into a cyborg.
The episode will be on in the next couple of weeks.
But, as we all know, there's still one superhero we're all dying to see on Smallville. We're all still waiting for that one episode were Clark bursts in on Lex Luthor and Luthor says, "Ahh, Clark. Here, I want you to meet an old prep school friend of mine. Clark Kent, meet...Bruce Wayne."
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
It's Midnight...I'm Rambling...and that's how this blog got its name
So much going on I want to share:
- So, tomorrow morning, Northlands is expected to announce major changes to Klondike Days. For about a decade now, they've been talking about changing the theme, and the finally did it. If the rumors are true, then tomorrow morning, it will be so long, Klondike Days! And hello...Capital Ex. As in "The Capital Exposition." Sounds like a rejected X-Men title.
- Something that was announced yesterday. Highway 21 and 63, the two roads that lead to Fort McMurray. Considered to be the most dangerous highways in the province, especially with a number of large-casualty car accidents along it. People are calling for the highway to be twinned. The government is saying, "No, the highway doesn't need to be twinned. What needs to happen is for people to finally start obeying the speed limit on that highway. Failing that, we need more cops on that highway." So, yesterday, the government announced that they would be hiring 10 special constables to patrol the highway. And, says the government, if it works well, they'll expand to put more special constables on other dangerous highways. In essence, the Alberta Government is creating a highway patrol.
Now, for as long as I can remember, there have been rumours of the Klein Government forming an Alberta Provincial Police force. I first heard the rumour about 11 years ago, when Fish and Wildlife officers were finally cleared to carry sidearms. It was whispered again about a year ago, when Klein announced that the government would be starting its own police academy, to make sure that county mounties, First Nations tribal police, and other smaller police forces get the same training.
I definitly see it happening. I say, in the next 10 years, there will be an Alberta Provincial Police.
- And hey! The second Gomery Report came down today. This report lists the way that the federal government can fix the system, so something like the sponsorship scandal will never happen again. Just think! If the Liberals had their way, we'd be calling an election now, because Paul Martin always maintained that he'd call an election when the second report came down.
- So, tomorrow morning, Northlands is expected to announce major changes to Klondike Days. For about a decade now, they've been talking about changing the theme, and the finally did it. If the rumors are true, then tomorrow morning, it will be so long, Klondike Days! And hello...Capital Ex. As in "The Capital Exposition." Sounds like a rejected X-Men title.
- Something that was announced yesterday. Highway 21 and 63, the two roads that lead to Fort McMurray. Considered to be the most dangerous highways in the province, especially with a number of large-casualty car accidents along it. People are calling for the highway to be twinned. The government is saying, "No, the highway doesn't need to be twinned. What needs to happen is for people to finally start obeying the speed limit on that highway. Failing that, we need more cops on that highway." So, yesterday, the government announced that they would be hiring 10 special constables to patrol the highway. And, says the government, if it works well, they'll expand to put more special constables on other dangerous highways. In essence, the Alberta Government is creating a highway patrol.
Now, for as long as I can remember, there have been rumours of the Klein Government forming an Alberta Provincial Police force. I first heard the rumour about 11 years ago, when Fish and Wildlife officers were finally cleared to carry sidearms. It was whispered again about a year ago, when Klein announced that the government would be starting its own police academy, to make sure that county mounties, First Nations tribal police, and other smaller police forces get the same training.
I definitly see it happening. I say, in the next 10 years, there will be an Alberta Provincial Police.
- And hey! The second Gomery Report came down today. This report lists the way that the federal government can fix the system, so something like the sponsorship scandal will never happen again. Just think! If the Liberals had their way, we'd be calling an election now, because Paul Martin always maintained that he'd call an election when the second report came down.
It's February!
Yay! I got a second Postcrossing postcard today! I'm going to have to sit down and send out some more. I'm sure they'll love me at the post office when I walk down there with $5 and buy a bunch of those postcards that have the stamps already on them.
Oh, and I was able to get to the bank today and I got my lucky Olympic loonies. Huh. Yesterday, I sent a purely platonic Valentine of friendship to a friend of mine, and I was hoping to throw in a lucky loonie. Since I didn't have one yesterday, I opted for an extra Alberta Centennial quarter instead. I hope she likes it....
And I have to share the big movie news of the morning. Genndy Tartakovsky is going to be directing the long-awaited sequel to the cult classic The Dark Crystal. Tartakovsky is the animator extrodinare who brought us Dexter's Lab, Samurai Jack and Star Wars: Clone Wars. This sequel, currently titled The Power of the Dark Crystal is going to once again be all with puppets, but with computer-generated sets. So, think Sin City, but with Muppets. Filming begins this summer for a 2007 release.
Now, to have some lunch, and then I'll get to my "start of the month maintenance" to my website this afternoon.
Oh, and I was able to get to the bank today and I got my lucky Olympic loonies. Huh. Yesterday, I sent a purely platonic Valentine of friendship to a friend of mine, and I was hoping to throw in a lucky loonie. Since I didn't have one yesterday, I opted for an extra Alberta Centennial quarter instead. I hope she likes it....
And I have to share the big movie news of the morning. Genndy Tartakovsky is going to be directing the long-awaited sequel to the cult classic The Dark Crystal. Tartakovsky is the animator extrodinare who brought us Dexter's Lab, Samurai Jack and Star Wars: Clone Wars. This sequel, currently titled The Power of the Dark Crystal is going to once again be all with puppets, but with computer-generated sets. So, think Sin City, but with Muppets. Filming begins this summer for a 2007 release.
Now, to have some lunch, and then I'll get to my "start of the month maintenance" to my website this afternoon.
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Oscar Picks Up and Other Stuff
There you go! I've got this year's list of Oscar picks up! You can head on over to the main page to check them out.
Oh, and do you notice something different about the blog? Since I was doing all this, I decided to switch the background image to the nice, new "starry atoms" background that my best friend in the whole wide world made for me.
Oh, and do you notice something different about the blog? Since I was doing all this, I decided to switch the background image to the nice, new "starry atoms" background that my best friend in the whole wide world made for me.
Oscar Nominations!
Hoo-rah! the Oscar nominees have just been announced! As you know, I always do a "Scarecrow's Oscar Pics" over at the main website, and I'll probably get around to doing that tonight. but, in the mean time, let me throw up a rough draft here at ye ole blog. As always, there are only three categories I tend to care about:
Best Visual Effects
the Chornicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe
King Kong
War of the Worlds
Gee, I have to agree with some other websites...what's with Episode III getting snubbed? Anyway, hands-down, it's going King Kong. When you got the hat-trick scoring team that did The Lord of the Rings, there is no guessing.
Best Original Song
In the Deep from Crash
It's Hard Out There for a Pimp from Hustle and Flow
Travelin' Through from Transamerica
Let me say two things right off the bat. First, damn the rules of this category! Thanks to the rules, all of Danny Elfman's songs from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory were completely ignored! (At least, I think it was because of the rules.) Second, darn the state of Disney animation! My whole strategy of "it's the song from Disney's latest animated film" has been somewhat failing in the past few years. My guess? It'll be the one from Crash, as that's a pure Oscar favourite.
And now, my new all-time favourtie category, the one category I've been able to successfully predict since the category started....
Best Animated Film. The nominess are:
Howl's Moving Castle
Tim Burton's Corpse Bride
Wallace and Grommit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
First, I just want to say HA HA!! For the first time ever, there are no computer animated films in the running. IN YOU FACE, EVERYONE WHO SAYS CGI HAS KILLED ALL OTHER FORMS OF ANIMATION!! Now that that's out of they way, I'd say that the safe bet is Wallace and Grommit. The Oscars just love Wallace and Grommit, as well as director Nick Park. Don't forget, 2 of the 3 Wallace and Grommit shorts and the classic Nick Park short "Creature Comforts" all took home a best animated short film Oscar. Plus, it's long been rumoured that the Best Animated Film category was created because Nick Park's last film, "Chicken Run," was inelligible for any nominations, but still greatly loved by the Academy. With all this behind it, I'm definitly putting my money on the Curse of the Were-Rabbit.
The Oscars are on March 5.
Best Visual Effects
the Chornicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe
King Kong
War of the Worlds
Gee, I have to agree with some other websites...what's with Episode III getting snubbed? Anyway, hands-down, it's going King Kong. When you got the hat-trick scoring team that did The Lord of the Rings, there is no guessing.
Best Original Song
In the Deep from Crash
It's Hard Out There for a Pimp from Hustle and Flow
Travelin' Through from Transamerica
Let me say two things right off the bat. First, damn the rules of this category! Thanks to the rules, all of Danny Elfman's songs from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory were completely ignored! (At least, I think it was because of the rules.) Second, darn the state of Disney animation! My whole strategy of "it's the song from Disney's latest animated film" has been somewhat failing in the past few years. My guess? It'll be the one from Crash, as that's a pure Oscar favourite.
And now, my new all-time favourtie category, the one category I've been able to successfully predict since the category started....
Best Animated Film. The nominess are:
Howl's Moving Castle
Tim Burton's Corpse Bride
Wallace and Grommit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
First, I just want to say HA HA!! For the first time ever, there are no computer animated films in the running. IN YOU FACE, EVERYONE WHO SAYS CGI HAS KILLED ALL OTHER FORMS OF ANIMATION!! Now that that's out of they way, I'd say that the safe bet is Wallace and Grommit. The Oscars just love Wallace and Grommit, as well as director Nick Park. Don't forget, 2 of the 3 Wallace and Grommit shorts and the classic Nick Park short "Creature Comforts" all took home a best animated short film Oscar. Plus, it's long been rumoured that the Best Animated Film category was created because Nick Park's last film, "Chicken Run," was inelligible for any nominations, but still greatly loved by the Academy. With all this behind it, I'm definitly putting my money on the Curse of the Were-Rabbit.
The Oscars are on March 5.
Monday, January 30, 2006
Of Postcards and Small Town Banks
Yay! I got my first Postcrossing postcard today! Postcrossing is this website that a friend of mine mentioned in her blg once. Essentially, it's this set-up where you can mail postcards to complete strangers all around the world, and complete strangers send postcards to you, so you can get all kinds of nifty postcards for your collection.
I was always kind of curious about trying it. And then, in that week between Christmas and New Years, I was cleaning my room and I found a fistful of Alberta Centennial postcards. They were giving them away free at the post office...when they eventually got sick of having them around, they'd give a fistful to anyone who bought a stamp. So I had all these postcards, and I wanted to use up the rest of my stamps because the price went up about two weeks ago. So I thought, "Let's give this Postcrossing thing a try."
I sent out 4. According to the Postcrossing website, three of them arrived. And today, I got my first one! From Brazil!
Cool.
Tis a sad state of affairs in the small town bank.
Because I'm all commemerative coin crazy, I went to the Evansburg Royal Bank today in an attempt to get some of these new Olympic Loonies.
The Evansburg Royal Bank is a case study of the decline of a small town. When I was a kid, the Evansburg Royal Bank was a thriving bank, with at least a half-a-dozen tellers on staff all the time and a dozen offices in the back for all kinds of loan-giving and financial planning and other bank stuff.
Not the case today. Now, it's stripped down to a skeleton crew. All the offices are gone, giving the building a big, empty appearance. There's only one teller on duty, and she makes it quite clear that she's only there to assist seniors who can't figure out the ATM.
However, I discovered that, because of this situation, they're the best place to go to get the latest commemerative coins, mainly becase they don't move a lot of coins.
Sadly, though, the pension cheques must have just come in or something. There was a line of about a dozen seniors wanted to cash their cheques and I didn't feel like waiting. Tomorrow, then.
I was always kind of curious about trying it. And then, in that week between Christmas and New Years, I was cleaning my room and I found a fistful of Alberta Centennial postcards. They were giving them away free at the post office...when they eventually got sick of having them around, they'd give a fistful to anyone who bought a stamp. So I had all these postcards, and I wanted to use up the rest of my stamps because the price went up about two weeks ago. So I thought, "Let's give this Postcrossing thing a try."
I sent out 4. According to the Postcrossing website, three of them arrived. And today, I got my first one! From Brazil!
Cool.
Tis a sad state of affairs in the small town bank.
Because I'm all commemerative coin crazy, I went to the Evansburg Royal Bank today in an attempt to get some of these new Olympic Loonies.
The Evansburg Royal Bank is a case study of the decline of a small town. When I was a kid, the Evansburg Royal Bank was a thriving bank, with at least a half-a-dozen tellers on staff all the time and a dozen offices in the back for all kinds of loan-giving and financial planning and other bank stuff.
Not the case today. Now, it's stripped down to a skeleton crew. All the offices are gone, giving the building a big, empty appearance. There's only one teller on duty, and she makes it quite clear that she's only there to assist seniors who can't figure out the ATM.
However, I discovered that, because of this situation, they're the best place to go to get the latest commemerative coins, mainly becase they don't move a lot of coins.
Sadly, though, the pension cheques must have just come in or something. There was a line of about a dozen seniors wanted to cash their cheques and I didn't feel like waiting. Tomorrow, then.
Sunday, January 29, 2006
Latest Column & Other Sunday Stuff
Latest column's up! This week, I talk about Going to the Movies:
"But, for this past year, people have been lamenting that people don’t go out to the movies as much anymore. In 2005, the media made much fuss over the “box office slump.” Many reasons were floated as to why people weren’t heading out to the theatre. Some said that a night at the movies had gotten too expensive. Other analysts pointed to the steady stream of sequels and remakes and said that it was a lack of originality. The one thing that everyone latched onto, though, was the advent of DVD. The logic was why go out to the theatre when you can watch it in the comfort of your own home?"
Read it all right here!
Just kicking back, and getting ready to enjoy the Olympics. I'm starting to do some reading up on the merchandising push.
So here's the mascots for the 2006 Winter Olympics. The organizers of the Tornio games call them "the most original Olympic mascots ever!" We have Neve (the one with the round head), and she's a snowball. And we have Gliz (the one with the square head) and he's an ice cube. Interesting.
Here's some other wacky facts about Olympic mascots:
First Mascot - Schuss the Skier, the mascot for the 1968 Winter Games in Grenoble, France.
First Summer Games Mascot - Waldi the Daschund, mascot for the 1972 Summer Games in Munich, Germany.
Only Disney-Owned Mascot - Sam the Eagle, who was the mascot of the 1984 Summer Games in LA. Yes, he was designed by, and is currently owned by, the Walt Disney Company.
First Twin Mascots - Heidi and Howdy, twin polar bears in cowboy outfits. The mascots of the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary.
Most Hated Mascot - Izzy the Whatizit, an abstract cartoon character. Mascot for the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta, Georgia.
Most Mascots - the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing. Currently slated to have 5 mascots.
Oh, and despite what that Simpsons episode says, the mascot of the 1976 Olympics in Montreal was NOT a vampire. It was Amik the Beaver.
Speaking of the Olympics, the Royal Canadian Mint is having another commemerative Lucky Loonie!
We all know the legend by now. 4 years ago, a loonie was buried at centre ice at the Olympic Hockey Rink in Salt Lake City, and both the boys and girls Canadian hockey teams went on to win the gold medal. Ever since, the loonie has been seen as a good luck charm for atheletes. And the Royal Canadian Mint has been there to cash in!
Two years ago, for the Athens games, the RCM released a special Olympic Lucky Loonie. It was just like a regular loonie, only the Olympic rings and the logo for Team Canada were imprinted above the loon.
But now, they've gone all out! The new commemerative Olympic Lucky Loonie depicts a loon in flight, with the traditional prive of an olive wreath clutched in the loon's talons. Oh, and the Olympic rings and the logo for Team Canada are imprinted on it.
Watch for it in your change! Or, just do what I do, and go get it from the Royal Bank.
"But, for this past year, people have been lamenting that people don’t go out to the movies as much anymore. In 2005, the media made much fuss over the “box office slump.” Many reasons were floated as to why people weren’t heading out to the theatre. Some said that a night at the movies had gotten too expensive. Other analysts pointed to the steady stream of sequels and remakes and said that it was a lack of originality. The one thing that everyone latched onto, though, was the advent of DVD. The logic was why go out to the theatre when you can watch it in the comfort of your own home?"
Read it all right here!
Just kicking back, and getting ready to enjoy the Olympics. I'm starting to do some reading up on the merchandising push.
So here's the mascots for the 2006 Winter Olympics. The organizers of the Tornio games call them "the most original Olympic mascots ever!" We have Neve (the one with the round head), and she's a snowball. And we have Gliz (the one with the square head) and he's an ice cube. Interesting.Here's some other wacky facts about Olympic mascots:
First Mascot - Schuss the Skier, the mascot for the 1968 Winter Games in Grenoble, France.
First Summer Games Mascot - Waldi the Daschund, mascot for the 1972 Summer Games in Munich, Germany.
Only Disney-Owned Mascot - Sam the Eagle, who was the mascot of the 1984 Summer Games in LA. Yes, he was designed by, and is currently owned by, the Walt Disney Company.
First Twin Mascots - Heidi and Howdy, twin polar bears in cowboy outfits. The mascots of the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary.
Most Hated Mascot - Izzy the Whatizit, an abstract cartoon character. Mascot for the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta, Georgia.
Most Mascots - the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing. Currently slated to have 5 mascots.
Oh, and despite what that Simpsons episode says, the mascot of the 1976 Olympics in Montreal was NOT a vampire. It was Amik the Beaver.
Speaking of the Olympics, the Royal Canadian Mint is having another commemerative Lucky Loonie!
We all know the legend by now. 4 years ago, a loonie was buried at centre ice at the Olympic Hockey Rink in Salt Lake City, and both the boys and girls Canadian hockey teams went on to win the gold medal. Ever since, the loonie has been seen as a good luck charm for atheletes. And the Royal Canadian Mint has been there to cash in!
Two years ago, for the Athens games, the RCM released a special Olympic Lucky Loonie. It was just like a regular loonie, only the Olympic rings and the logo for Team Canada were imprinted above the loon.
But now, they've gone all out! The new commemerative Olympic Lucky Loonie depicts a loon in flight, with the traditional prive of an olive wreath clutched in the loon's talons. Oh, and the Olympic rings and the logo for Team Canada are imprinted on it.
Watch for it in your change! Or, just do what I do, and go get it from the Royal Bank.
Runnin, Runnin
I had the house largely to myself today, which is good. I got to watch a lot of DVDs...and, more specifically, some running commentaries.
Now, when it comes to DVD, I do love a good running commentary. Sometimes, you can learn quite a bit from them.
First up was Sin City. I watched it with the running commentary by director Robert Rodriguiz, special guest director Quentin Tarintion, and star Bruce Willis. That one was...OK. You can tell that Rodriguiz really loves digital filmmaking, because all he can talk about in that running commentary is how great digital filmmaking is.
Next up was Titanic. I watched that with the running commentary by writer/director James Cameron. Now that is a good one. Since I know that Cameron is a director that gets bogged down with the details, I was afraid it would be a very dry, technical commentary. But no. Cameron is a fairly lively guy who talks quite a bit about the actors and shares stories of the filming...and yes, lots of the technical details.
Each film still has more running commentaries for me to listen to. Sin City still has a commentary with Rodriguiz and Sin City creator and co-director Frank Miller...Titanic still has two running commentaries: one with various cast and crew members (including Kate Winslet) and one with two noted Titanic historians.
Acutally, you know, watching these films tonight, I couldn't help but think one thing: God, I still want that boxed set of The Matrix trilogy. Last time I was in Future Shop, I pulled it off the shelf and saw it marked down to $39.95. I could have gotten it for cheaper than the DVD I was there that day to buy (The Flash: The Complete Series, which was $42.95). But I swore, I'd get it with my first radio paycheque, and I'm going to stick to that.
Oh, and before bed, let me learn something cool about Titanic that I learned from the running commentary.
Rose was ultimatly saved by...Mr. Fantastic.
Yup. The sailor who returned in a lifeboat to pull survivors out of the frigid waters was played by Ioan Gruffudd, who went on to play Reed Richards this last summer in Fantastic Four.
Now, when it comes to DVD, I do love a good running commentary. Sometimes, you can learn quite a bit from them.
First up was Sin City. I watched it with the running commentary by director Robert Rodriguiz, special guest director Quentin Tarintion, and star Bruce Willis. That one was...OK. You can tell that Rodriguiz really loves digital filmmaking, because all he can talk about in that running commentary is how great digital filmmaking is.
Next up was Titanic. I watched that with the running commentary by writer/director James Cameron. Now that is a good one. Since I know that Cameron is a director that gets bogged down with the details, I was afraid it would be a very dry, technical commentary. But no. Cameron is a fairly lively guy who talks quite a bit about the actors and shares stories of the filming...and yes, lots of the technical details.
Each film still has more running commentaries for me to listen to. Sin City still has a commentary with Rodriguiz and Sin City creator and co-director Frank Miller...Titanic still has two running commentaries: one with various cast and crew members (including Kate Winslet) and one with two noted Titanic historians.
Acutally, you know, watching these films tonight, I couldn't help but think one thing: God, I still want that boxed set of The Matrix trilogy. Last time I was in Future Shop, I pulled it off the shelf and saw it marked down to $39.95. I could have gotten it for cheaper than the DVD I was there that day to buy (The Flash: The Complete Series, which was $42.95). But I swore, I'd get it with my first radio paycheque, and I'm going to stick to that.
Oh, and before bed, let me learn something cool about Titanic that I learned from the running commentary.
Rose was ultimatly saved by...Mr. Fantastic.
Yup. The sailor who returned in a lifeboat to pull survivors out of the frigid waters was played by Ioan Gruffudd, who went on to play Reed Richards this last summer in Fantastic Four.
Friday, January 27, 2006
Check Out my Fancy Titles
I think it was time to add fancy titles for every blog post. Now that I've got the whole XML feed, I think this'll make things look nicer in your live bookmarks or RSS Feeds or whatever you use.
OK, my e-mail seems to be working OK...it's just ungodly slow. There's about a 12-hour lag time between when you send it and when I receive it. So, if it seems like I'm getting back to you really slow, that's why.
Anyway, I just did my crazy thing today. As you may recall, about a week ago, I decided to put an ad on Milkman Unlimited begging for work. Well, today I got my first response to that ad.
It was for the radio station out in Edson.
So, I thought, "Hey! Edson's real close to Entwistle. Why don't I drive on out there and give them my resume and demo in person?"
So I did.
Sadly, though, when I arrived, I was told that the guy who's doing the hiring was out in Whitecourt for the day, so I couldn't drop it off in person like I'd hoped.
But they have it. And hopefully, this'll lead to a job in Edson.
Anyway, I just did my crazy thing today. As you may recall, about a week ago, I decided to put an ad on Milkman Unlimited begging for work. Well, today I got my first response to that ad.
It was for the radio station out in Edson.
So, I thought, "Hey! Edson's real close to Entwistle. Why don't I drive on out there and give them my resume and demo in person?"
So I did.
Sadly, though, when I arrived, I was told that the guy who's doing the hiring was out in Whitecourt for the day, so I couldn't drop it off in person like I'd hoped.
But they have it. And hopefully, this'll lead to a job in Edson.
Thursday, January 26, 2006
OK, I'm all paranoid now.
I don't seem to be receiving any e-mail....
Help me test my e-mail. Just click here and drop me a quick note.
I don't seem to be receiving any e-mail....
Help me test my e-mail. Just click here and drop me a quick note.
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Well, I guess there's some good news about this Disney buy-out of Pixar. You may remember that I reported yesterday that, as part of this deal, several Pixar staffers got promoted to similar positions in Disney Animation.
Today, as their first official act, they cancelled Disney's plans to make Toy Story 3.
You know, the more I read online, the more it seems that I'm in a minority when I say, "Disney buying Pixar is a bad thing." Most everyone else is saying, "Yay! Look at how many Pixar staff members are now running Disney animation. Maybe Disney will start making good animated films again!"
One can only hope.
Anyway, now with the election done, I can turn my attention to another of my obsessions: the Olympics! The 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy start in, like, two weeks!
There was a bit of controversy around Team Canada last week. Right now, the Team Canada organizers are deciding who will carry the flag into the stadium at the opening ceremonies. And, several atheletes came forward and said, "You know what? Don't bother asking ME to carry the flag, because if you ask me, I'll say no."
I'm not making that up. Several Canadian atheletes have refused to carry the flag inot the stadium for the opening ceremonies. Their logic is? Carrying the flag actually eats up a lot of time, as you wind up doing a whole bunch of interviews and stuff. Carrying the flag, they say, would totally throw off their mindset, distract from their training, and maybe, just maybe, cost them the gold.
Of course, several people are pissed. They're calling them unpatriotic and all that. I thought so too, when this story broke a week ago, but it's such a non-issue now.
Today, as their first official act, they cancelled Disney's plans to make Toy Story 3.
You know, the more I read online, the more it seems that I'm in a minority when I say, "Disney buying Pixar is a bad thing." Most everyone else is saying, "Yay! Look at how many Pixar staff members are now running Disney animation. Maybe Disney will start making good animated films again!"
One can only hope.
Anyway, now with the election done, I can turn my attention to another of my obsessions: the Olympics! The 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy start in, like, two weeks!
There was a bit of controversy around Team Canada last week. Right now, the Team Canada organizers are deciding who will carry the flag into the stadium at the opening ceremonies. And, several atheletes came forward and said, "You know what? Don't bother asking ME to carry the flag, because if you ask me, I'll say no."
I'm not making that up. Several Canadian atheletes have refused to carry the flag inot the stadium for the opening ceremonies. Their logic is? Carrying the flag actually eats up a lot of time, as you wind up doing a whole bunch of interviews and stuff. Carrying the flag, they say, would totally throw off their mindset, distract from their training, and maybe, just maybe, cost them the gold.
Of course, several people are pissed. They're calling them unpatriotic and all that. I thought so too, when this story broke a week ago, but it's such a non-issue now.
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Well, it's official. An era of really good, really high-quality computer animated films has come to an end.
Disney just bought Pixar. The final price? $7.4 BILLION.
Pixar will now be folded into Disney's animation division. And, a lot of the big muckety-mucks at Pixar get big positions at Disney:
- Pixar's CEO (and Apple Computers president) Steve Jobs gets a seat on Disney's board of directors.
- Pixar's president and co-founder Ed Catmull is now the president of both Pixar and Disney's animation division.
- Pixar's creative director (and director of the Toy Story films) because the "cheif creative officer" of both Pixar and Disney animation, and the creative director of Walt Disney Imagineering. (Walt Disney Imagineering is the Disney division that builds the theme parks.)
So, that's it. The once proudly independent Pixar now gets crushed beneath the heel of the Mouse. It was nice while it lasted.
Disney just bought Pixar. The final price? $7.4 BILLION.
Pixar will now be folded into Disney's animation division. And, a lot of the big muckety-mucks at Pixar get big positions at Disney:
- Pixar's CEO (and Apple Computers president) Steve Jobs gets a seat on Disney's board of directors.
- Pixar's president and co-founder Ed Catmull is now the president of both Pixar and Disney's animation division.
- Pixar's creative director (and director of the Toy Story films) because the "cheif creative officer" of both Pixar and Disney animation, and the creative director of Walt Disney Imagineering. (Walt Disney Imagineering is the Disney division that builds the theme parks.)
So, that's it. The once proudly independent Pixar now gets crushed beneath the heel of the Mouse. It was nice while it lasted.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Gives me goosebumps. And not the good kind.
Paul Martin has already said that he's stepping down as leader of the Liberal Party, so we're going to have a Liberal leadership race very soon.
Some other election notes:
- Jack Layton's wife Olivia Chow finally got elected.
- Belinda Stronach was re-elected. I'm really happy to see that. I know that I'm a minority when I say this, but I think Belinda got a lot of unneccessary shit for crossing the floor just because she is a woman.
- There's one independent. He's from Quebec City. I forget his name but he is described as "an immensly popular radio shock jock."
And, the sad news.
Anne McLellan lost. The only Liberal in Alberta got swept out in the tide of Conservative support.
What did one pundit say last night about this Conservative win? "When Alberta tires of the Liberals, they vote in the Conservatives. When Alberta tires of the Conservatives, they create a new political party."
And now, let's take a look at Alberta politics. Early next month, Ralph Klein's "prosperity bonus" cheques of $400 will be arriving in mailboxes. Many companies are already taking advantage of this and are offering their "Thanks, Ralph!" prosperity packages. The Fairmont Hotel chain (which owns Edmonton's Hotel MacDonald, the Banff Springs Hotel, the Japser Park Lodge, and the Chateau Lake Louise) are offering their "Thanks, Ralph! Prosperity Packages," weekend getaways priced at...$400 per person. The Brick is starting to advertise their "Thanks, Ralph!" specials; new furniture packages for...$400.
Ah, stupid, stupid Ralph. I still think these prosperity bonuses are a stupid idea. Rather than giving $400 to everyone, wouldn't it have been smarter to use that money to, oh, I don't know, RE-INVEST IN HEALTHCARE? Or Education?
But I'm not going to turn away my cheque when it comes.
Oh, and I have to share the scariest news to come out of Hollywood.
It looks like Disney is on the verge of buying Pixar. I seriously do not want that to happen. I think that part of Pixar's charm and success has always been that they are this little independent company way up there in northern California, so far from Hollywood. I think that Disney buying them will crush their creative spirit.
And, let's wrap up with two bits about straight-to-DVD movies:
- It's official! Futurama is making its comeback! At his official website, Futurama star Billy West (the voice of Fry) announced that he just got the call. Futurama will be returning as a series of four straight-to-DVD movies. Production begins this summer.
- Tim Daly will be reprising his role of Superman for a new Superman straight-to-video animated movie called Superman: Braniac Attacks. You may remember that Daly was the original voice of Clark Kent/Superman on Superman: The Animated Series that ran from 96 to 2000. Daly bowed out of reprising the role for Justice League because he was busy doing a new TV show. For Justice League, Superman's voice has been done by George Newburn, who's been doing a really good job, too.
I have more to rant about, but this is running long.
Paul Martin has already said that he's stepping down as leader of the Liberal Party, so we're going to have a Liberal leadership race very soon.
Some other election notes:
- Jack Layton's wife Olivia Chow finally got elected.
- Belinda Stronach was re-elected. I'm really happy to see that. I know that I'm a minority when I say this, but I think Belinda got a lot of unneccessary shit for crossing the floor just because she is a woman.
- There's one independent. He's from Quebec City. I forget his name but he is described as "an immensly popular radio shock jock."
And, the sad news.
Anne McLellan lost. The only Liberal in Alberta got swept out in the tide of Conservative support.
What did one pundit say last night about this Conservative win? "When Alberta tires of the Liberals, they vote in the Conservatives. When Alberta tires of the Conservatives, they create a new political party."
And now, let's take a look at Alberta politics. Early next month, Ralph Klein's "prosperity bonus" cheques of $400 will be arriving in mailboxes. Many companies are already taking advantage of this and are offering their "Thanks, Ralph!" prosperity packages. The Fairmont Hotel chain (which owns Edmonton's Hotel MacDonald, the Banff Springs Hotel, the Japser Park Lodge, and the Chateau Lake Louise) are offering their "Thanks, Ralph! Prosperity Packages," weekend getaways priced at...$400 per person. The Brick is starting to advertise their "Thanks, Ralph!" specials; new furniture packages for...$400.
Ah, stupid, stupid Ralph. I still think these prosperity bonuses are a stupid idea. Rather than giving $400 to everyone, wouldn't it have been smarter to use that money to, oh, I don't know, RE-INVEST IN HEALTHCARE? Or Education?
But I'm not going to turn away my cheque when it comes.
Oh, and I have to share the scariest news to come out of Hollywood.
It looks like Disney is on the verge of buying Pixar. I seriously do not want that to happen. I think that part of Pixar's charm and success has always been that they are this little independent company way up there in northern California, so far from Hollywood. I think that Disney buying them will crush their creative spirit.
And, let's wrap up with two bits about straight-to-DVD movies:
- It's official! Futurama is making its comeback! At his official website, Futurama star Billy West (the voice of Fry) announced that he just got the call. Futurama will be returning as a series of four straight-to-DVD movies. Production begins this summer.
- Tim Daly will be reprising his role of Superman for a new Superman straight-to-video animated movie called Superman: Braniac Attacks. You may remember that Daly was the original voice of Clark Kent/Superman on Superman: The Animated Series that ran from 96 to 2000. Daly bowed out of reprising the role for Justice League because he was busy doing a new TV show. For Justice League, Superman's voice has been done by George Newburn, who's been doing a really good job, too.
I have more to rant about, but this is running long.
Sunday, January 22, 2006
Hey! I Got Fancy Titles Now!
Latest column's up! This one's all about the Lotto:
" My all-time favourite book is George Orwell’s 1984. There are a lot of interpretations to that book, and you can learn a lot from it. Most of what I learned came from where I originally read it: Mr. Johnson’s English 30 class. I remember there was a hint of desperation in the air when the class read it. It was one of Mr. Johnson’s favourite books to teach, and my grade 12 year was the last year he could teach it. No big “book banning” scandal here…every couple of years the list of novels that fit the needs of the English curriculum is revised, and back in 1995, 1984 didn’t make the cut. Granted, he could keep on teaching it, but it now involved filling out forms and excess paperwork and it all wasn’t worth the hassle. So, it was the last year for 1984."
Click here to read it all!
" My all-time favourite book is George Orwell’s 1984. There are a lot of interpretations to that book, and you can learn a lot from it. Most of what I learned came from where I originally read it: Mr. Johnson’s English 30 class. I remember there was a hint of desperation in the air when the class read it. It was one of Mr. Johnson’s favourite books to teach, and my grade 12 year was the last year he could teach it. No big “book banning” scandal here…every couple of years the list of novels that fit the needs of the English curriculum is revised, and back in 1995, 1984 didn’t make the cut. Granted, he could keep on teaching it, but it now involved filling out forms and excess paperwork and it all wasn’t worth the hassle. So, it was the last year for 1984."
Click here to read it all!
Saturday, January 21, 2006
The Confederation Bridge. It starts on the mainland at Cape Jourimain, New Brunswick, and it ends at Borden-Carlton, PEI. It is the world's longest bridge over waters that are ice-covered for part of the year. It is the longest bridge in Canada at 13km. The designers put a bend in the middle and a hill 2/3 of the way through so drivers do not get bored.
Man, why didn't those designers build Alberta highways?
Highway 22, from Rocky Mountain House to Drayton Valley. 97km. Perfectly straight. At night. Nothing to see past your headlights.
Now THAT is a boring drive.
Man, why didn't those designers build Alberta highways?
Highway 22, from Rocky Mountain House to Drayton Valley. 97km. Perfectly straight. At night. Nothing to see past your headlights.
Now THAT is a boring drive.
Friday, January 20, 2006
I gotta share one of the coolest news stories of the day.
Do you watch The Daily Show with Jon Stewart? One of the funniest shows from the USA, and probably the most satirical.
Anyway, here in Canada, it's on every night at midnight on the CBC, so Stewart decided to do a whole bit on the election! Nothing like watching an American take on the Canadain election. Favourite line:
"What? You call those attack ads? Don't any of these guys have a war medal or a lesbian daughter they can go after?"
And, Stewart posted the whole thing on his website! You can watch it online!
Just go right here and watch the video labeled "New Osama Tape." Yeah, it starts with a 2 minute bit about the Osama Bin Laden tape. But past those first two minutes, it's all Canada.
Three things I learned about Sin City today, thanks to the super-special edition DVD:
- Frank Miller collects Hot Wheels cars. Every car in Sin City (the graphic novels and the movies) is actually a Hot Wheels from Miller's collection.
- As you may recall, Frank Miller actually wrote RoboCop 2 and RoboCop 3. To pay homage to this, several characters in Sin City are seen brandishing RoboCop's distinctive gun. When it came time to make Sin City: The Movie, they actually went to Hollywood, tracked down RoboCop's gun, and used it in the movie.
- Miho uses Hatori Hanzo swords. When they were making the movie, Quentin Tarintino brought some leftover swords from the Kill Bill movies for Miho to use. (Tarintino had been keeping the blades in his garage.)
Do you watch The Daily Show with Jon Stewart? One of the funniest shows from the USA, and probably the most satirical.
Anyway, here in Canada, it's on every night at midnight on the CBC, so Stewart decided to do a whole bit on the election! Nothing like watching an American take on the Canadain election. Favourite line:
"What? You call those attack ads? Don't any of these guys have a war medal or a lesbian daughter they can go after?"
And, Stewart posted the whole thing on his website! You can watch it online!
Just go right here and watch the video labeled "New Osama Tape." Yeah, it starts with a 2 minute bit about the Osama Bin Laden tape. But past those first two minutes, it's all Canada.
Three things I learned about Sin City today, thanks to the super-special edition DVD:
- Frank Miller collects Hot Wheels cars. Every car in Sin City (the graphic novels and the movies) is actually a Hot Wheels from Miller's collection.
- As you may recall, Frank Miller actually wrote RoboCop 2 and RoboCop 3. To pay homage to this, several characters in Sin City are seen brandishing RoboCop's distinctive gun. When it came time to make Sin City: The Movie, they actually went to Hollywood, tracked down RoboCop's gun, and used it in the movie.
- Miho uses Hatori Hanzo swords. When they were making the movie, Quentin Tarintino brought some leftover swords from the Kill Bill movies for Miho to use. (Tarintino had been keeping the blades in his garage.)
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Last one, homies! I'm done with this!
Flash Review!
Final Episode: The Trial of the Trickster
Summary in 5 Sentences or Less: The Trickster is back, and it's time for his trial! But, he breaks out of jail with help from his female sidekick Prank, and then he brainwashes the Flash into being his accomplice!
Guess who's back...back again: Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker to you and me) is back as the Trickster!
What's Good: Ye gods, watching the Trickster and Prank is probably the closest we'll ever get to a live-action Joker and Harley Quinn. Just like in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Hamill is so dangerously close to breaking into his Joker voice. (And this was a full year before he got the part of the Joker, too.) Plus, you have to love the brainwashed Flash's very Tick-like line: "Guns don't kill people! It's these little hard things!"
What's Not so Good: Nothing.
And this is the way the series ends, not with a whimper but a bang.
Flash Review!
Final Episode: The Trial of the Trickster
Summary in 5 Sentences or Less: The Trickster is back, and it's time for his trial! But, he breaks out of jail with help from his female sidekick Prank, and then he brainwashes the Flash into being his accomplice!
Guess who's back...back again: Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker to you and me) is back as the Trickster!
What's Good: Ye gods, watching the Trickster and Prank is probably the closest we'll ever get to a live-action Joker and Harley Quinn. Just like in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Hamill is so dangerously close to breaking into his Joker voice. (And this was a full year before he got the part of the Joker, too.) Plus, you have to love the brainwashed Flash's very Tick-like line: "Guns don't kill people! It's these little hard things!"
What's Not so Good: Nothing.
And this is the way the series ends, not with a whimper but a bang.
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Just gotta take a minute to share the big movie news of the evening:
Gwen Stacy is in Spider-Man 3!
For those who don't remember, Gwen Stacy was Peter Parker's first true love. She was engaged to Peter before being savagly murdered by the Green Goblin in one of the biggest comic book plotlines ever.
Gwen Stacy will be played by Bryce Howard, the rising young star who was first in The Village. Howard just also happens to be the daughter of director Ron Howard.
Ye gods, May 3 2007 can't get here soon enough.
Gwen Stacy is in Spider-Man 3!
For those who don't remember, Gwen Stacy was Peter Parker's first true love. She was engaged to Peter before being savagly murdered by the Green Goblin in one of the biggest comic book plotlines ever.
Gwen Stacy will be played by Bryce Howard, the rising young star who was first in The Village. Howard just also happens to be the daughter of director Ron Howard.
Ye gods, May 3 2007 can't get here soon enough.
Managed to squeeze one in before supper:
Flash Review!
Episode 21: Alpha
Summary in 5 Sentences or Less: It's a story as old as the hills. Boy meets girl. Boy and girl fall in lust with each other. Girl turns out to be an android assasin built by the government and is now on the run because she's become self-aware and doesn't want to kill anymore. Boy turns out to be a superhero who pledges to help girl.
What's Good: Good action sequences. And the Arnold Schwarznegger wannabe who plays the evil android is hilarious.
What's Not so Good: Another superhero cliche, isn't it?
Final Verdict: So-so.
Oh, and speaking of dead TV shows, Law & Order: Trial by Jury - The Complete Series comes out on April 25. No word yet on bonus material. I just might get this one, because it's gotta be my favourite remix of the Law & Order theme in the opening credits.
Also in your DVD news, a brand-new 2-disc special edition of the American Godzilla comes out on March 28, along with several episodes of the American Godzilla cartoon.
Flash Review!
Episode 21: Alpha
Summary in 5 Sentences or Less: It's a story as old as the hills. Boy meets girl. Boy and girl fall in lust with each other. Girl turns out to be an android assasin built by the government and is now on the run because she's become self-aware and doesn't want to kill anymore. Boy turns out to be a superhero who pledges to help girl.
What's Good: Good action sequences. And the Arnold Schwarznegger wannabe who plays the evil android is hilarious.
What's Not so Good: Another superhero cliche, isn't it?
Final Verdict: So-so.
Oh, and speaking of dead TV shows, Law & Order: Trial by Jury - The Complete Series comes out on April 25. No word yet on bonus material. I just might get this one, because it's gotta be my favourite remix of the Law & Order theme in the opening credits.
Also in your DVD news, a brand-new 2-disc special edition of the American Godzilla comes out on March 28, along with several episodes of the American Godzilla cartoon.
Well, I didn't get a new parka today. It's tough. Just about every store is in the midst of tossing out its winter stock in favour of light jackets for spring. I hope I'll be able to survive until next winter.
Besides, my mother told me that my budget for a new parka was rather cheap, anyway, so maybe I can afford one next winter.
However, I have re-entered the age-old debate of whether or not to open a nice, new action figure.
There's this new line of action figures called "DC SuperHeroes." At long last, it's a DC answer to Marvel Legends: highly detailed, super-posable action figures of your favourite DC characters.
And there, staring at me from the toy store shelf at Zellers, was the brand-new, highly-detailed, super-posbable version of....
The Scarecrow.
Ah, to open or not to open....
Besides, my mother told me that my budget for a new parka was rather cheap, anyway, so maybe I can afford one next winter.
However, I have re-entered the age-old debate of whether or not to open a nice, new action figure.
There's this new line of action figures called "DC SuperHeroes." At long last, it's a DC answer to Marvel Legends: highly detailed, super-posable action figures of your favourite DC characters.
And there, staring at me from the toy store shelf at Zellers, was the brand-new, highly-detailed, super-posbable version of....
The Scarecrow.
Ah, to open or not to open....
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
I set a new record today. The shortest amount of time between applying for a job and being rejected for a job. I applied for a writer's gig and, exactly 10 minutes after I e-mailed off my application, I got the rejection letter in my inbox.
That was kind of bummer. That, and, the zipper's shot on my parka. It's falling apart anyway. Besides being shot, the zipper itself is actually about to fall off and I've got holes in my pockets. I'll probably go by a new one tomorrow.
So, to cheer myself up, I've been re-living past glories...surfing by the websites for NAIT and Augustana. Sometimes, it seems like the only thing I've ever been able to succeed at is slapping right answers on tests. In these months of unemployment, I've seriously considered going back to school. For what? It doesn't matter. Just cuz I want to be able to succeed at something again.
I was actually quite tickled at the Augustana website. That was the biggest list of clubs I'd seen in a long time. And I was happy to see that the anime club is still in existence. I wasn't a founder of the anime club, but I was a member in its inaugural year. Heh...I wonder if they still have a supreme-dictator-for-life.
See, back in my day at Augustana, it was in the student association bylaws that clubs needed five executives. So, for the anime club, their 5 executives were: president, vice president, treasurer, secretary, and supreme dictator for life. That was funny.
I always wanted to start a club at Augustana. I had wacky ideas for clubs. Everything from a club dedicated to staging phony accidents for America's Funniest Home Videos to "the CLCR Fan Club." That's right, a club dedicated to promoting the radio station.
In retrospect, I think I should have formed a normal club...you know, like a movie club.
Maybe the next time.
Anyway, I have to rest up for a fun, full day of parka shopping. Oh, and I need a new colour cartridge for my printer, too....
That was kind of bummer. That, and, the zipper's shot on my parka. It's falling apart anyway. Besides being shot, the zipper itself is actually about to fall off and I've got holes in my pockets. I'll probably go by a new one tomorrow.
So, to cheer myself up, I've been re-living past glories...surfing by the websites for NAIT and Augustana. Sometimes, it seems like the only thing I've ever been able to succeed at is slapping right answers on tests. In these months of unemployment, I've seriously considered going back to school. For what? It doesn't matter. Just cuz I want to be able to succeed at something again.
I was actually quite tickled at the Augustana website. That was the biggest list of clubs I'd seen in a long time. And I was happy to see that the anime club is still in existence. I wasn't a founder of the anime club, but I was a member in its inaugural year. Heh...I wonder if they still have a supreme-dictator-for-life.
See, back in my day at Augustana, it was in the student association bylaws that clubs needed five executives. So, for the anime club, their 5 executives were: president, vice president, treasurer, secretary, and supreme dictator for life. That was funny.
I always wanted to start a club at Augustana. I had wacky ideas for clubs. Everything from a club dedicated to staging phony accidents for America's Funniest Home Videos to "the CLCR Fan Club." That's right, a club dedicated to promoting the radio station.
In retrospect, I think I should have formed a normal club...you know, like a movie club.
Maybe the next time.
Anyway, I have to rest up for a fun, full day of parka shopping. Oh, and I need a new colour cartridge for my printer, too....
To celebrate a successful morning of job hunting, I sat down and watched more Flash over the lunch hour:
Flash Review!
Episode 20: Good Night, Central City
Summary in 5 Sentences or Less: A small time crook has stolen a sleep-inducing machine from his scientist cousin with the plan to use to hit the big time. And, a weasly Internal Affairs officer is trying to pin it on Barry! It's up to the Flash to clear his name and bring in the crook.
What's Good: Some great special effects.
What's Not so Good: Cliche, cliche, cliche.
Final Verdict: Not bad. Not good, but not bad.
Oh, and I also have some news about some of the more popular sitcoms. Mainly, they're ending.
May 18 will see the final episode of That 70's Show. Yes, the 70s are finally over. Which is good, because it's been 1979 on that show for about four years now. The show was on for a total of 8 years, and the final episode will also coincidentally be the 200th episode. Here's hoping they pay the big bucks to get former stars Topher Grace and Ashton Kutcher back for the finale. (they both left at the end of last year.)
And, just a few days before on May 14, will be the final episode of one of my favourite sitcoms, Malcolm in the Middle. That one was on for a total of 7 years, and the finale will coincidentally be the show's 150th episode. I don't watch it as much as I used to, but it's still one of the sitcoms that I find consistently funny.
Flash Review!
Episode 20: Good Night, Central City
Summary in 5 Sentences or Less: A small time crook has stolen a sleep-inducing machine from his scientist cousin with the plan to use to hit the big time. And, a weasly Internal Affairs officer is trying to pin it on Barry! It's up to the Flash to clear his name and bring in the crook.
What's Good: Some great special effects.
What's Not so Good: Cliche, cliche, cliche.
Final Verdict: Not bad. Not good, but not bad.
Oh, and I also have some news about some of the more popular sitcoms. Mainly, they're ending.
May 18 will see the final episode of That 70's Show. Yes, the 70s are finally over. Which is good, because it's been 1979 on that show for about four years now. The show was on for a total of 8 years, and the final episode will also coincidentally be the 200th episode. Here's hoping they pay the big bucks to get former stars Topher Grace and Ashton Kutcher back for the finale. (they both left at the end of last year.)
And, just a few days before on May 14, will be the final episode of one of my favourite sitcoms, Malcolm in the Middle. That one was on for a total of 7 years, and the finale will coincidentally be the show's 150th episode. I don't watch it as much as I used to, but it's still one of the sitcoms that I find consistently funny.
Monday, January 16, 2006
Had to squeeze in one more today:
Flash Review!
Episode zz: Done with Mirrors
Summary in 5 Episodes or Less: One of Barry's old friends turns up in town, and she's run afoul of master theif the Mirror Master. It's the Flash vs. Mirror Master!
What's Good: Another member of the Flash's rouges gallery makes an appearance. His gimmick is switched from mirrors to holograms. Some great special effects.
What's Not so Good: The subplot is a whole angst-ridden reconcilliation between Tina and her mother.
Final Verdict: So close....
Flash Review!
Episode zz: Done with Mirrors
Summary in 5 Episodes or Less: One of Barry's old friends turns up in town, and she's run afoul of master theif the Mirror Master. It's the Flash vs. Mirror Master!
What's Good: Another member of the Flash's rouges gallery makes an appearance. His gimmick is switched from mirrors to holograms. Some great special effects.
What's Not so Good: The subplot is a whole angst-ridden reconcilliation between Tina and her mother.
Final Verdict: So close....
*sigh* I'm not getting any work done! But I've still got my afternoon. Guess what I wasted my morning doing?
Flash Reviews!
Episode xx: Captain Cold
Episode Summary in 5 Sentences or Less: It's another of the Flash's rougues gallery! Captain Cold, the assasin who uses a variety of freezing weapons, comes to town to eliminate the Flash.
Hey! I Know that Guy! The crime boss who hires Captain Cold is none other than Jeffery Coombs, the B-movie star who's had a ton of recurring roles on various Star Treks.
What's Good: A solid action episode with some great special effects.
What's Not so Good: Is there some unwritten law that all super-villains with freezing-based powers have to attack during a heat wave?
Final Verdict: A good Thursday Show.
Episode yy: Twin Streaks
Episode Summary in 5 Sentences or Less: A mad scientist clones the Flash! Now, there's a second super-speedster on the streets, but with the mentality of a child. Sadly, it's not the origin of the Reverse-Flash.
What's Good: John Wesley Shipp does an amazing performance as Pollux, the child-like Flash clone. Great special effects, too. And everyone needs a message about slowing down and relaxing.
What's Not so Good: Not much.
Final Verdict: One of the better episodes.
Episode xx: Captain Cold
Episode Summary in 5 Sentences or Less: It's another of the Flash's rougues gallery! Captain Cold, the assasin who uses a variety of freezing weapons, comes to town to eliminate the Flash.
Hey! I Know that Guy! The crime boss who hires Captain Cold is none other than Jeffery Coombs, the B-movie star who's had a ton of recurring roles on various Star Treks.
What's Good: A solid action episode with some great special effects.
What's Not so Good: Is there some unwritten law that all super-villains with freezing-based powers have to attack during a heat wave?
Final Verdict: A good Thursday Show.
Episode Summary in 5 Sentences or Less: A mad scientist clones the Flash! Now, there's a second super-speedster on the streets, but with the mentality of a child. Sadly, it's not the origin of the Reverse-Flash.
What's Good: John Wesley Shipp does an amazing performance as Pollux, the child-like Flash clone. Great special effects, too. And everyone needs a message about slowing down and relaxing.
What's Not so Good: Not much.
Final Verdict: One of the better episodes.
Sunday, January 15, 2006
Had to do one last one before bed:
Flash Review!
Episode (I've lost count): Deadly Nightshade
Episode Summary in 5 Sentences or Less: A new, murderous vigilante calling himself Nightshade is on a killing spree. It's up to the Flash and the original Nightshade (last seen in Ghost in the Machine) to bring him in!
Hey! I Know that Guy!: Who's that frightened heiress that the Flash rescues in the opening scene? Why, it's Jeri Ryan! Who's the somewhat frigid psychiatrist who's trying to discredit the Flash? Why, it's Denise Crosby! Trust me, this is the only place you'll ever see Seven of Nine and Lt. Tasha Yar on screen together.
What's Good: The fact that there's a bit of a mentor/student relationship between the Flash and Nightshade. A nice, psycho villain and some decent action.
What's Not So Good: Not a lot.
Final Verdict: One of the better episodes.
Oh, and just one thing I'd like to point out. In his costume and methodology, Nightshade (the good one) seems to be heavily inspired by the Golden Age hero the Sandman.
Flash Review!
Episode (I've lost count): Deadly Nightshade
Episode Summary in 5 Sentences or Less: A new, murderous vigilante calling himself Nightshade is on a killing spree. It's up to the Flash and the original Nightshade (last seen in Ghost in the Machine) to bring him in!
Hey! I Know that Guy!: Who's that frightened heiress that the Flash rescues in the opening scene? Why, it's Jeri Ryan! Who's the somewhat frigid psychiatrist who's trying to discredit the Flash? Why, it's Denise Crosby! Trust me, this is the only place you'll ever see Seven of Nine and Lt. Tasha Yar on screen together.
What's Good: The fact that there's a bit of a mentor/student relationship between the Flash and Nightshade. A nice, psycho villain and some decent action.
What's Not So Good: Not a lot.
Final Verdict: One of the better episodes.
Oh, and just one thing I'd like to point out. In his costume and methodology, Nightshade (the good one) seems to be heavily inspired by the Golden Age hero the Sandman.
Latest column's up! This week, I tell you about Lawn Signs:
" Here we are, once again in the throes of a federal election. As I write this, there’s still about three weeks until the big day, and the election campaign is just going to get nastier and nastier. It reminds me what I did during the last federal election, just a short two years ago. Now, I’m fairly certain that I talked about this to death over in my blog, but when I recently re-told it to my best friend, it was all new to him. So then, let me remind you of how I got a lawn sign for every candidate. "
Read it all here!
And you know, I've been so busy with my Flash reviews that I've been neglecting some other bits of news.
Right now, I'm all sad that I haven't been able to watch season 5 of Justice League. It's been on the USA since September, but not so in Canada yet. True, with my high-speed Internet, I could open it up and pirate the new episodes, but at 180M per episode, that's still a long time to download, even at high speed.
So, I e-mailed YTV to ask them when season 5 starts in Canada. Now, in the past, I've noticed that YTV has one of the friendlist and most responsive customer service departments ever when it comes to TV channels. You e-mail them, you will always get a polite response.
And I got my response! Season 5 of Justice League starts in Canada on Wednesday, February 1!
But, the e-mail from YTV had more information. In essence, the rest of the e-mail said, "It's safe to assume that your next question will be about season 5 of Teen Titans. Season 5 of Teen Titans starts in March. We don't know the exact date yet...check back with us at the end of January."
So there ya go.
Now, last week, I told you that The Weird Al Show looks to be coming to DVD. Are you ready for even more "Weird Al" Yankovic on DVD?
On February 7, the DVD The Simpsons: Kiss and Tell comes out. This DVD contains several Simpsons episodes that focus on the romance between Homer and Marge. And, yes, one of the episodes on that disc will be Three Gays of the Condo, which featured special guest voice "Weird Al" Yankovic. Amazon.ca is already advertising it for $12.95.
And one tiny little bit of movie news.
Acclaimed actor and political activist Tim Robbins is planning on doing a new movie version of George Orwell's classic (and my favourite book) 1984. Robbins himself is adapting it for the big screen with designs on directing it. No word yet on who he'll get to star.
I don't think a new movie version is needed, as the film that came out in 1984 is about as close to the book as you could get. But still, I'm cautiously optimistic.
" Here we are, once again in the throes of a federal election. As I write this, there’s still about three weeks until the big day, and the election campaign is just going to get nastier and nastier. It reminds me what I did during the last federal election, just a short two years ago. Now, I’m fairly certain that I talked about this to death over in my blog, but when I recently re-told it to my best friend, it was all new to him. So then, let me remind you of how I got a lawn sign for every candidate. "
Read it all here!
And you know, I've been so busy with my Flash reviews that I've been neglecting some other bits of news.
Right now, I'm all sad that I haven't been able to watch season 5 of Justice League. It's been on the USA since September, but not so in Canada yet. True, with my high-speed Internet, I could open it up and pirate the new episodes, but at 180M per episode, that's still a long time to download, even at high speed.
So, I e-mailed YTV to ask them when season 5 starts in Canada. Now, in the past, I've noticed that YTV has one of the friendlist and most responsive customer service departments ever when it comes to TV channels. You e-mail them, you will always get a polite response.
And I got my response! Season 5 of Justice League starts in Canada on Wednesday, February 1!
But, the e-mail from YTV had more information. In essence, the rest of the e-mail said, "It's safe to assume that your next question will be about season 5 of Teen Titans. Season 5 of Teen Titans starts in March. We don't know the exact date yet...check back with us at the end of January."
So there ya go.
Now, last week, I told you that The Weird Al Show looks to be coming to DVD. Are you ready for even more "Weird Al" Yankovic on DVD?
On February 7, the DVD The Simpsons: Kiss and Tell comes out. This DVD contains several Simpsons episodes that focus on the romance between Homer and Marge. And, yes, one of the episodes on that disc will be Three Gays of the Condo, which featured special guest voice "Weird Al" Yankovic. Amazon.ca is already advertising it for $12.95.
And one tiny little bit of movie news.
Acclaimed actor and political activist Tim Robbins is planning on doing a new movie version of George Orwell's classic (and my favourite book) 1984. Robbins himself is adapting it for the big screen with designs on directing it. No word yet on who he'll get to star.
I don't think a new movie version is needed, as the film that came out in 1984 is about as close to the book as you could get. But still, I'm cautiously optimistic.
Flash Review!
Episode xx: Fast Forward
Summary in 5 Sentences or Less: Pike, the evil biker from the pilot who killed Barry's brother, is released from prison on a technicality. This, naturally, leads Barry into all kinds of self-doubt about the Flash and if he's really doing any good. And then, Pike's big revenge scheme accidentally propels the Flash 10 years into the future, where Pike is a ruthless mayor/dictator! Can the Flash get back to the past and stop this future from happening?
Hey! I Know that Guy! Pike's henchman, Kelso, is played by Robert O'Reilly, whom the Trekkies best know as Gowron, Chancellor of the Klingon Empire.
What's Good: I was really looking forward to re-watching this episode. It's one of the ones that I have very vivid memories of. The special effects are really above average for the show. The acting is great. My memories of it have really held up over the years. The future Central City really kind of resembles the Gotham City we saw at the start of Batman Begins, if only on a TV budget.
What's Not so Good: Yeah, it is fairly cliched that most superhero sagas have to do at least one storyline where the hero has a crisis of faith and questions if he's really doing any good.
Final Verdict: One of the best the series has to offer.
And now, if you'll excuse me, I think I'll follow what I wrote yesterday. I'm going to go outside and play, come back, write a couple of brilliant columns for the website, upload this week's column, and just get away from the TV for a while.
Saturday, January 14, 2006
I really should go outside and play this weekend. Or something.
Flash Reviews!
Episode 13: Tina, Is That You?
Episode Summary in 5 Sentences or Less: Tina (the hot scientist who helps out the Flash) accidentally gets a jolt from her biofeedback machine, and it turns her into a homicidal punk bent on destroying the Flash!
What's Good: It's just always fun watching familiar characters go nuts and insane and all that. A few good comedic moments, too.
What's Not So Good: I don't think the concept was taken as far as it could. Oh, and spandex wasn't good in any decade.
Final Verdict: You walk away going "meh."
Episode 14: Be My Baby
Episode Summary in 5 Sentences or Less: Barry meets up with a woman whose daughter was fathered by a mob boss. The mob boss is hunting for his baby. Flash must save the baby!
Hey! I Know That Guy! The mob boss is Bryan Cranston, the dad on Malcolm in the Middle!
What's Good: A few good action scenes. A few good comedic moments, too, as Barry uses his super-speed to quiet a whole roomful of babies.
What's Not so Good: The "big tough guy stuck caring for a cute little baby" is one of the biggest cliches in action shows. Even way back when this first aired in 1991, the jokes were routine.
Final Verdict: Good, but cliched.
Episode 13: Tina, Is That You?
Episode Summary in 5 Sentences or Less: Tina (the hot scientist who helps out the Flash) accidentally gets a jolt from her biofeedback machine, and it turns her into a homicidal punk bent on destroying the Flash!
What's Good: It's just always fun watching familiar characters go nuts and insane and all that. A few good comedic moments, too.
What's Not So Good: I don't think the concept was taken as far as it could. Oh, and spandex wasn't good in any decade.
Final Verdict: You walk away going "meh."
Episode Summary in 5 Sentences or Less: Barry meets up with a woman whose daughter was fathered by a mob boss. The mob boss is hunting for his baby. Flash must save the baby!
Hey! I Know That Guy! The mob boss is Bryan Cranston, the dad on Malcolm in the Middle!
What's Good: A few good action scenes. A few good comedic moments, too, as Barry uses his super-speed to quiet a whole roomful of babies.
What's Not so Good: The "big tough guy stuck caring for a cute little baby" is one of the biggest cliches in action shows. Even way back when this first aired in 1991, the jokes were routine.
Final Verdict: Good, but cliched.
Guess how I spent my Saturday afternoon?
Flash Reviews!
Episode 8: Shroud of Death
Summary in 5 Sentences of Less: An assasin is picking off the members of the police force who arrested her father. One of them just happens to be the Flash's boss. So, he's off to stop an assasin!
What's Good: Some really nifty explosions and death-traps. And the final scene in which Barry convinces his partner - Julio Mendez - that he's not the Flash is priceless.
What's Not So Good: A lame "don't be consumed by hate" message.
Final Verdict: A good Thursday show.
Episode 9: Ghost in the Machine
Summary in 5 Sentences or Less: The Ghost, a super-villain from the 1950s, walks out of his cryo-tube and is ready to conquer the future of 1990! The Flash has to team up with Nightshade, a 1950s superhero, to deal with the threat.
What's Good: I love technology-themed villains from old TV shows. Even though this was at least 5 years before the Internet went mainstream, they managed to get it right. And you have to love those "villain is still out there" endings.
What's Not So Good: Not much
Final Verdict: A fun and exciting romp.
Episode 10: Sight Unseen
Summary in 5 Sentences or Less: An invisible man steals a deadly virus and threatens the city. Meanwhile, Tina is infected with that virus and is left to die in Star Labs. Can the Flash save Tina and the city?
What's Good: I really enjoy it when a hero and a villain actually sit down and talk about their differing philosophies. It makes the villain a little more dimensional. Plus, great use of not only the Flash's superpowers, but his skills as a scientist.
What's Not So Good: Is there, like, some unwritten law saying that every superhero has to meet up with an invisible man?
Final Verdict: Good, but not exceptional.
Episode 11: Beat the Clock
Summary in 5 Sentences or Less: A famous jazz musician was framed for murder, and is slated to be executed in 1 hour. But, the Flash just got evidence clearing the guy's name. Can the Flash blow the lid off this conspiracy in one hour?
Hey! I Know that Guy! The murder victim (who we learn was not really murdered) is Oscar-nominated actress Angela Bassett!
What's Good: Supporting character Julio Mendez finally gets an episode. The Flash taking out a bad guy by crashing cymbals against the bad guy's head at super-speed. And I always loved that image of the Flash running into the execution chamber at the last possible second to turn off the electric chair.
What's Not so Good: Rather cliched plot, don't you think?
Final Verdict: Pretty good.
Episode 12: The Trickster
Summary in 5 Sentences or Less: Halfway through the series, we finally start meeting the Flash's rouges gallery! Psychotic mass murderer James Jessie has an encounter with the Flash, and is inspired to don his coloured costume and gimmicks. He is reborn as the Trickster, and starts going on a rampage in Central City.
Hey! I Know that Guy! Ladies and gents, this is why this show gets a whole paragraph in the Geek Handbook and not just a footnote. The Trickster is, in real life...LUKE SKYWALKER!! That's right, Mark Hamill plays James Jessie.
What's Good: Everything. It's like they finally took everything you like about comic book movies and managed to make a proper TV show about it. Healthy doses of action, some much-appreciated humour without seeming forced, a truly psycho villain, and a knight in shining armor.
What's Not so Good: Nothing.
Final Verdict: One of the best episodes so far.
Flash Reviews!
Episode 8: Shroud of Death
Summary in 5 Sentences of Less: An assasin is picking off the members of the police force who arrested her father. One of them just happens to be the Flash's boss. So, he's off to stop an assasin!
What's Good: Some really nifty explosions and death-traps. And the final scene in which Barry convinces his partner - Julio Mendez - that he's not the Flash is priceless.
What's Not So Good: A lame "don't be consumed by hate" message.
Final Verdict: A good Thursday show.
Summary in 5 Sentences or Less: The Ghost, a super-villain from the 1950s, walks out of his cryo-tube and is ready to conquer the future of 1990! The Flash has to team up with Nightshade, a 1950s superhero, to deal with the threat.
What's Good: I love technology-themed villains from old TV shows. Even though this was at least 5 years before the Internet went mainstream, they managed to get it right. And you have to love those "villain is still out there" endings.
What's Not So Good: Not much
Final Verdict: A fun and exciting romp.
Summary in 5 Sentences or Less: An invisible man steals a deadly virus and threatens the city. Meanwhile, Tina is infected with that virus and is left to die in Star Labs. Can the Flash save Tina and the city?
What's Good: I really enjoy it when a hero and a villain actually sit down and talk about their differing philosophies. It makes the villain a little more dimensional. Plus, great use of not only the Flash's superpowers, but his skills as a scientist.
What's Not So Good: Is there, like, some unwritten law saying that every superhero has to meet up with an invisible man?
Final Verdict: Good, but not exceptional.
Summary in 5 Sentences or Less: A famous jazz musician was framed for murder, and is slated to be executed in 1 hour. But, the Flash just got evidence clearing the guy's name. Can the Flash blow the lid off this conspiracy in one hour?
Hey! I Know that Guy! The murder victim (who we learn was not really murdered) is Oscar-nominated actress Angela Bassett!
What's Good: Supporting character Julio Mendez finally gets an episode. The Flash taking out a bad guy by crashing cymbals against the bad guy's head at super-speed. And I always loved that image of the Flash running into the execution chamber at the last possible second to turn off the electric chair.
What's Not so Good: Rather cliched plot, don't you think?
Final Verdict: Pretty good.
Summary in 5 Sentences or Less: Halfway through the series, we finally start meeting the Flash's rouges gallery! Psychotic mass murderer James Jessie has an encounter with the Flash, and is inspired to don his coloured costume and gimmicks. He is reborn as the Trickster, and starts going on a rampage in Central City.
Hey! I Know that Guy! Ladies and gents, this is why this show gets a whole paragraph in the Geek Handbook and not just a footnote. The Trickster is, in real life...LUKE SKYWALKER!! That's right, Mark Hamill plays James Jessie.
What's Good: Everything. It's like they finally took everything you like about comic book movies and managed to make a proper TV show about it. Healthy doses of action, some much-appreciated humour without seeming forced, a truly psycho villain, and a knight in shining armor.
What's Not so Good: Nothing.
Final Verdict: One of the best episodes so far.
Oh, I have to play catch-up. I got a load of more....
Flash Reviews!
Episode 5: Double Vision
Summary in 5 Sentences or Less: The Flash is injected with a microchip, thus allowing a mad scientiest to control the Flash through virtual reality.
What's Good: Love that trippy dream sequence where the Flash tries to uncover his suppressed memories of what he did while under the mad scientist's control.
What's Not So Good: Hey! Just like all action shows, it's the token "episode set in a city's ethenic community," so we can have all kinds of "get out of here, stranger!" and "you don't understand our problems!" scenes.
Final Verdict: That mad scientiest was actually a pretty cool villain. I give it a thumbs up.
Episode 6: Sins of the Father
Summary in 5 Sentences or Less: An old bank robber that Barry's father put away has escaped from prison and is gunning for revenge! It's up to the Flash to save his father!
What's Good: The Flash busting up a bar.
What's Not So Good: When it comes to 1-hour action shows, those "redemption between father and son" plots always seem kind of weak.
Final Verdict: A wholly unremarkable episode.
Episode 7: Child's Play
Summary in 5 Sentences or Less: A young runaway has stolen an incriminating article designed to put away a 60s drug lord who's been hiding underground. Naturally, the 60s drug lord is all pissed off, because this'll put a cramp in his big comeback. It's up to the Flash to stop the drug lord and redeem the kid.
Hey! I Know That Guy! The young runaway was early-90s teen sensation Johnathon Brandis, who went on to greater fame as Lucas the boy genius on seaQuest.
What's Good: This episode contains two of my all time favourite Flash moments: the Flash uses his super-speed to catch bullets and hurl them back at a villain, AND, while high on the 60s drug lord's new drug, the Flash discovers that, when he vibrates his body at super-speed, he can pass through solid objects. Plus, one of the more accessible DC comics in-jokes. As the Flash, in his civilian guise as Barry Allen, passes a movie theare showing a double feature of Superman and Batman, he remarks "Haven't we had enough of these guys?" (In this scene, show composer Shirley Walker even slips in a little of Danny Elfman's Batman theme.)
What's Not So Good: The villain is like a bad guy from the 1960s Batman TV show, what with him being a hippy and all and having all his henchmans dressed as hippies and saying things like "groovy" and "far out, man." That, or when the Flash finally stops the villain by strapping on an electric guitar and playing a super-fast version of Purple Haze.
Final Verdict: This episode rocks. It's got healthy doses of comedy and drama.
Flash Reviews!
Episode 5: Double Vision
Summary in 5 Sentences or Less: The Flash is injected with a microchip, thus allowing a mad scientiest to control the Flash through virtual reality.
What's Good: Love that trippy dream sequence where the Flash tries to uncover his suppressed memories of what he did while under the mad scientist's control.
What's Not So Good: Hey! Just like all action shows, it's the token "episode set in a city's ethenic community," so we can have all kinds of "get out of here, stranger!" and "you don't understand our problems!" scenes.
Final Verdict: That mad scientiest was actually a pretty cool villain. I give it a thumbs up.
Episode 6: Sins of the Father
Summary in 5 Sentences or Less: An old bank robber that Barry's father put away has escaped from prison and is gunning for revenge! It's up to the Flash to save his father!
What's Good: The Flash busting up a bar.
What's Not So Good: When it comes to 1-hour action shows, those "redemption between father and son" plots always seem kind of weak.
Final Verdict: A wholly unremarkable episode.
Episode 7: Child's Play
Summary in 5 Sentences or Less: A young runaway has stolen an incriminating article designed to put away a 60s drug lord who's been hiding underground. Naturally, the 60s drug lord is all pissed off, because this'll put a cramp in his big comeback. It's up to the Flash to stop the drug lord and redeem the kid.
Hey! I Know That Guy! The young runaway was early-90s teen sensation Johnathon Brandis, who went on to greater fame as Lucas the boy genius on seaQuest.
What's Good: This episode contains two of my all time favourite Flash moments: the Flash uses his super-speed to catch bullets and hurl them back at a villain, AND, while high on the 60s drug lord's new drug, the Flash discovers that, when he vibrates his body at super-speed, he can pass through solid objects. Plus, one of the more accessible DC comics in-jokes. As the Flash, in his civilian guise as Barry Allen, passes a movie theare showing a double feature of Superman and Batman, he remarks "Haven't we had enough of these guys?" (In this scene, show composer Shirley Walker even slips in a little of Danny Elfman's Batman theme.)
What's Not So Good: The villain is like a bad guy from the 1960s Batman TV show, what with him being a hippy and all and having all his henchmans dressed as hippies and saying things like "groovy" and "far out, man." That, or when the Flash finally stops the villain by strapping on an electric guitar and playing a super-fast version of Purple Haze.
Final Verdict: This episode rocks. It's got healthy doses of comedy and drama.
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Here, I think, is the best illustration of Alberta's near-fanatical devotion to the Conservative Party.
I saw this report on CTV NewsNet this morning. It's the story of Rob Anders, the Conservative incumbent for the riding of Calgary West.
Now, as soon as the writ was dropped, Anders dropped off the face of the Earth. He hasn't shown up for any candidates forums, he hasn't done any door-knocking, and his people have declined all requests for interviews. When the media asks about his current whereabouts, the media is told that Anders is out in BC, helping out a Tory campaign in one of those all-important BC swing ridings. Calls to the that BC riding office say that Anders was there, but he's gone now.
It's becoming a great mystery in Calgary. Where is Rob Anders? People are starting to grow cynical with this man. How can the person be so arrogant that he'll do no campaigning in his own riding? On the CTV NewsNet story I saw, they had footage from a candidates forum where all the candidates attacked him for not showing up, and many a voter walked away going, "I'm not voting Conservative, seeing as to how he can't even come out to meet his constituents."
Anders, however, is expected to get re-elected in a landslide.
And let's not forget the exciting story of Edmonton Centre. As I'm sure you know, the incumbent in Edmonton Centre is Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan; the only Liberal in Alberta.
There's a bit of a mini-scandal brewing in Edmonton Centre. I'm surprised that even Edmonton's most devoted Conservative supporters called it a nasty and underhanded blow.
Laurie Hawn, the Conservative running against Anne McLellan, sent everyone in Edmonton Centre an envelope. Inside was a little note saying, "If you were a friend of the Liberals, this would be stuffed with cash! Stand up for Canada. Vote Conservative."
McLellan called it an attack on her integrity. Hawn called it a light-hearted reminder of the Gomery inquiry. And, shockingly, most people are siding with McLellan.
And, you know, with all these crazy attack ads going on, probably the best spoof of them happened on the Rick Mercer Report back on Tuesday.
It was an ad attacking the Communist Party and it was paid for by...the Marxist-Leninist Party. As the announcer says at the end, "Bet you didn't know that Canada has two Communist Parties. The Marxist-Leninist Party. Splitting the lost cause vote."
Head on over to the Rick Mercer Report website and watch it. You want to click on the big picture of the leader of the Communist Party.
I saw this report on CTV NewsNet this morning. It's the story of Rob Anders, the Conservative incumbent for the riding of Calgary West.
Now, as soon as the writ was dropped, Anders dropped off the face of the Earth. He hasn't shown up for any candidates forums, he hasn't done any door-knocking, and his people have declined all requests for interviews. When the media asks about his current whereabouts, the media is told that Anders is out in BC, helping out a Tory campaign in one of those all-important BC swing ridings. Calls to the that BC riding office say that Anders was there, but he's gone now.
It's becoming a great mystery in Calgary. Where is Rob Anders? People are starting to grow cynical with this man. How can the person be so arrogant that he'll do no campaigning in his own riding? On the CTV NewsNet story I saw, they had footage from a candidates forum where all the candidates attacked him for not showing up, and many a voter walked away going, "I'm not voting Conservative, seeing as to how he can't even come out to meet his constituents."
Anders, however, is expected to get re-elected in a landslide.
And let's not forget the exciting story of Edmonton Centre. As I'm sure you know, the incumbent in Edmonton Centre is Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan; the only Liberal in Alberta.
There's a bit of a mini-scandal brewing in Edmonton Centre. I'm surprised that even Edmonton's most devoted Conservative supporters called it a nasty and underhanded blow.
Laurie Hawn, the Conservative running against Anne McLellan, sent everyone in Edmonton Centre an envelope. Inside was a little note saying, "If you were a friend of the Liberals, this would be stuffed with cash! Stand up for Canada. Vote Conservative."
McLellan called it an attack on her integrity. Hawn called it a light-hearted reminder of the Gomery inquiry. And, shockingly, most people are siding with McLellan.
And, you know, with all these crazy attack ads going on, probably the best spoof of them happened on the Rick Mercer Report back on Tuesday.
It was an ad attacking the Communist Party and it was paid for by...the Marxist-Leninist Party. As the announcer says at the end, "Bet you didn't know that Canada has two Communist Parties. The Marxist-Leninist Party. Splitting the lost cause vote."
Head on over to the Rick Mercer Report website and watch it. You want to click on the big picture of the leader of the Communist Party.
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Ya know, I really should be focusing my energies on that job hunt instead of pissing around doing this:
Flash Review!
Episode 4: Honor Among Theives
Summary in 5 Sentences or Less: An all-star team of the world's greatest theives converge on Central City to pull a museum heist. It's up to the Flash to stop them! Meanwhile, Barry has...issues with the director of the museum.
What's Good: The Flash chewing down on a turkey leg after rounding up the last of the crooks.
What's Not So Good: Special effects kind of take a nosedive in this episdoe.
Final Verdict: Not too shabby.
Flash Review!
Episode 4: Honor Among Theives
Summary in 5 Sentences or Less: An all-star team of the world's greatest theives converge on Central City to pull a museum heist. It's up to the Flash to stop them! Meanwhile, Barry has...issues with the director of the museum.
What's Good: The Flash chewing down on a turkey leg after rounding up the last of the crooks.
What's Not So Good: Special effects kind of take a nosedive in this episdoe.
Final Verdict: Not too shabby.
Yay! It's time for more....
Flash Reviews!
Episode 2: Out of Control
Episode Summary in 5 Sentences or Less: A mad scientist is experimenting on homeless people. The mad scientist is an old boyfriend of Tina McGee, scientest and confidant to the Flash. Oh, and thanks to genetic experiments gone wrong, the Flash fights a werewolf and...the Hulk?
What's Good: Now that the show has gone to series, production values have gone up. The special effects make-up on the werewolf and the Hulk-like monster are quite good. And Shirley Walker's score is still spectacular. You can tell that their goal was to try to do Batman in a one-hour weekly format. Plus, this episode contains the one gag that stands out the most in my mind from when I was 13 years old: Barry Allen, at a party, using his super-speed to down an entire tray of h'ors douvers in under 5 seconds.
What's Not So Good: Ye gods, I think this episode was edited with a chainsaw. And I'm not to sure about Amanda Pays, who played Tina Her acting seems a little...off.
Final Verdict: A pretty good second episode.
Episode 3: Watching the Detectives
Episode Summary in 5 Sentences or Less: A sleazy DA learns the Flash's true identity and starts blackmailing the Flash to do his dirty work. Meanwhile, the Flash tries to convince the private eye who uncovered his true identity the error of her ways.
What's Good: The scene where the Flash uses his super-speed to rig every game in a casino. All the lead actors are starting to settle into their roles, and the acting is just getting better.
What's Not So Good: All the sleazy mafia types gets you confused really easily.
Final Verdit: Really, really good comic book entertainmnet.
Flash Reviews!
Episode 2: Out of Control
Episode Summary in 5 Sentences or Less: A mad scientist is experimenting on homeless people. The mad scientist is an old boyfriend of Tina McGee, scientest and confidant to the Flash. Oh, and thanks to genetic experiments gone wrong, the Flash fights a werewolf and...the Hulk?
What's Good: Now that the show has gone to series, production values have gone up. The special effects make-up on the werewolf and the Hulk-like monster are quite good. And Shirley Walker's score is still spectacular. You can tell that their goal was to try to do Batman in a one-hour weekly format. Plus, this episode contains the one gag that stands out the most in my mind from when I was 13 years old: Barry Allen, at a party, using his super-speed to down an entire tray of h'ors douvers in under 5 seconds.
What's Not So Good: Ye gods, I think this episode was edited with a chainsaw. And I'm not to sure about Amanda Pays, who played Tina Her acting seems a little...off.
Final Verdict: A pretty good second episode.
Episode 3: Watching the Detectives
Episode Summary in 5 Sentences or Less: A sleazy DA learns the Flash's true identity and starts blackmailing the Flash to do his dirty work. Meanwhile, the Flash tries to convince the private eye who uncovered his true identity the error of her ways.
What's Good: The scene where the Flash uses his super-speed to rig every game in a casino. All the lead actors are starting to settle into their roles, and the acting is just getting better.
What's Not So Good: All the sleazy mafia types gets you confused really easily.
Final Verdit: Really, really good comic book entertainmnet.
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Here's your first one, folks:
Flash Review!
Episode 1: Pilot
Summary in 5 sentences or less: Barry Allen's in a lab accident and gets super-speed. Barry's brother is killed by a murderous biker gang. Barry becomes the Flash and brings in his brother's killer.
What's Good: John Wesley Shipp (Barry Allen/The Flash). He struts around and mugs for the camera like he's the poor man's Bruce Campbell. Some of the special effects have actually held up very well. Subtle references to the whole Flash mythos. It's a comic book show in the best sense of the term.
What's Not So Good: A fairly routine superhero origin plot. Some of the special effects have NOT held up very well. The laboratories look very low-budget. And Shipp doesn't know how to fight yet. Seriously! I'm no fighter, but I know when a guy doesn't know how to throw a punch.
Hey! I Know That Guy! Richard Belzer, best known as Det. John Munsch on Homicide: Life on the Street and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, pops up as TV news reporter Joe Klein. If memory serves, this is a recurring role.
Final Verdict: I still see the cool bits, but I'm also noticing some healthy bits of cheese.
Flash Review!
Episode 1: Pilot
Summary in 5 sentences or less: Barry Allen's in a lab accident and gets super-speed. Barry's brother is killed by a murderous biker gang. Barry becomes the Flash and brings in his brother's killer.
What's Good: John Wesley Shipp (Barry Allen/The Flash). He struts around and mugs for the camera like he's the poor man's Bruce Campbell. Some of the special effects have actually held up very well. Subtle references to the whole Flash mythos. It's a comic book show in the best sense of the term.
What's Not So Good: A fairly routine superhero origin plot. Some of the special effects have NOT held up very well. The laboratories look very low-budget. And Shipp doesn't know how to fight yet. Seriously! I'm no fighter, but I know when a guy doesn't know how to throw a punch.
Hey! I Know That Guy! Richard Belzer, best known as Det. John Munsch on Homicide: Life on the Street and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, pops up as TV news reporter Joe Klein. If memory serves, this is a recurring role.
Final Verdict: I still see the cool bits, but I'm also noticing some healthy bits of cheese.
If there's one thing I love about DVD, it's this trend of every TV show that barely lasted 13 episodes getting a super-special edition boxed set, preserving the series forever. And, of course, when one of my favourite TV shows of all time finally gets said treatment, I darn near wet my pants.
It was the fall of 1990. My brother and I were still on the high of Batman from the year before. Everyone was predicting a huge tidal wave of comic book movies and TV shows, thanks to Batman. Naturally, when we started reading about The Flash, we just had to tune in.
Based on the classic DC character of the same name, The Flash followed the adventures of Barry Allen, a forensic scientist with the Central City Police Department. One freak accident in the lab, and he was given the power of super-speed. Naturally, he decided to use these powers to become a superhero, and thus the Flash was born.
My 13-year-old-self absolutley LOVED this show. It was fun, exciting, and action-filled. Everything about it screamed "Batman light," from the sculpted rubber Flash suit to the Danny Elfman-composed theme music. But all good things must end. After one year and 22 episodes, it vanished.
Of course, the explosion of comic book movies didn't happen until now. And with the teenage Flash having made a guest appearnace on Smallville last season, his new prominence as one of the main characters on Justice League, and rumors of a Flash movie to be written and directed by David Goyer (writer of Batman Begins and the Blade trilogy), I guess it was just a matter of time for the series to come out on DVD. But, I was awash in shock, amazement, and excitement when the announcement was made late last year. The Flash: the Complete Series.
I've been counting down to this day. I ran into Edmonton today just to buy this. I know I really shouldn't be spending my money on DVDs - especially 6-disc sets containing complete TV shows - but I just had to get this.
I haven't seen any of these episodes since they were first on TV some 15 years ago. I sure hope it's still as good as my 13-year-old-self thought.
So, here's what I'm going to do. I don't know why I didn't think of this earlier with every other dead TV show I bought. Over the next couple of weeks, as soon as I finish watching an episode, I'm going to post a review of said episode right here on the blog.
Man o man. I am just so happy right now.
It was the fall of 1990. My brother and I were still on the high of Batman from the year before. Everyone was predicting a huge tidal wave of comic book movies and TV shows, thanks to Batman. Naturally, when we started reading about The Flash, we just had to tune in.
Based on the classic DC character of the same name, The Flash followed the adventures of Barry Allen, a forensic scientist with the Central City Police Department. One freak accident in the lab, and he was given the power of super-speed. Naturally, he decided to use these powers to become a superhero, and thus the Flash was born.
My 13-year-old-self absolutley LOVED this show. It was fun, exciting, and action-filled. Everything about it screamed "Batman light," from the sculpted rubber Flash suit to the Danny Elfman-composed theme music. But all good things must end. After one year and 22 episodes, it vanished.
Of course, the explosion of comic book movies didn't happen until now. And with the teenage Flash having made a guest appearnace on Smallville last season, his new prominence as one of the main characters on Justice League, and rumors of a Flash movie to be written and directed by David Goyer (writer of Batman Begins and the Blade trilogy), I guess it was just a matter of time for the series to come out on DVD. But, I was awash in shock, amazement, and excitement when the announcement was made late last year. The Flash: the Complete Series.
I've been counting down to this day. I ran into Edmonton today just to buy this. I know I really shouldn't be spending my money on DVDs - especially 6-disc sets containing complete TV shows - but I just had to get this.
I haven't seen any of these episodes since they were first on TV some 15 years ago. I sure hope it's still as good as my 13-year-old-self thought.
So, here's what I'm going to do. I don't know why I didn't think of this earlier with every other dead TV show I bought. Over the next couple of weeks, as soon as I finish watching an episode, I'm going to post a review of said episode right here on the blog.
Man o man. I am just so happy right now.
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