Joy! Spider-Man 2 comes out today!

More joy! News I've been waiting for for a really long time has come! On Tuesday, September 7, we will finally see the release of the most anticipated DVD ever!

The Iron Giant: Special Edition

Warner Brothers has been teasing us with this since Y2K. It was supposed to come out a year ago, but the WB decided to push it back until now so they could piggy-back off the hype for director Brad Bird's next film, The Incredibles. Well, it was announced today that it finally comes out September 7!

We'll be getting: a brand-new digital transfer of the film, running commentary by Brad Bird and others on his crew, 8 deleted scenes, 13 featurettes, the original "making of" TV special (that was on the original DVD), concept art, notes from Ted Hughes (he wrote the book The Iron Man that served as inspiration for the film), and a couple of Easter eggs. FINALLY! Finally finally finally!

Wow. Sept. 7 is going to be a big DVD day for me. We got Clerks X, Star Trek Generations: Special Edition, and now this.

Oh, and I've been meaning to mention. I told you before that, on August 31, Disney was going to release their latest batch of Miyazaki films. Well, for some unknown reason, Disney has pushed back the release. The new release date is TBA.

Next Issue...The Iron Woman

Shit. Shit shit shit shit shit.

I've been doing so good keeping myself spoiler-free for Spider-Man 2, and tonight, I go and blow it. How, do you ask? Read on....

As I'm sure you know, I'm a big fan of Danny Elfman's. He, of course, has done music for tons of movies, including Spider-Man and Spidey 2. Well, his score album for Spidey 2 comes out on July 20, and one of my movie gossip sites had the track listing for the score album.

And lo and behold, Track #13 is named (big spoiler name withheld by me so you won't suffer the same fate).

Ahh! And I was so close too. You think I would have learned my lesson 5 years ago, when I was keeping myself spoiler-free for Episode I, and then I go and read the track listing for that soundtrack album. And there it was, track 18, "Qui-Gon's Noble End." That was a big spoiler for me back in the days leading up to Episode I.

And now, I just ruined Spidey 2 for myself.

Argh!

Next Issue...Remove the Knowledge

Well, it's over and done. We've got a Liberal minority government. Fun times ahead. A few things I saw on the election coverage last night struck me as scary. Any one else find it scary that Duceppe had to go out of his way to thank the good ol' boys of Quebec independence? Who else finds it scary that most Conservatives look like old good ol' boys? Yeah, I still think that we're going to need another election or two before the last radical remnants of the Reform/Alliance are culled out of the Conservatives.

And now, let's get ready to do it all over again! For those who haven't been following the Alberta media, Klein is getting everyone into election mode. Ever since he won the last election, he's been saying, "Next one in spring 2005!" But, just a few weeks ago, he started saying, "Ya know, I'm starting to think that a fall 2004 provincial election would be better!" Pundits are saying that this Liberal minority backed by the NDP will make Klein paranoid enough to do it. Gotta keep those lefties at bay!

Oh, and I"ve got to share this really cool DVD news. Makes me wish I were still in Japan, or at least had a region 2 DVD player. On January 11, 2005, Toho studios is releasing Godzilla Final Box: 50th Anniversary Perfect Collection. This massive 27-disc boxed set will contain EVERY Godzilla movie, including the American version of the original starring Raymond Burr and the 1998 American film from the creators of Independence Day. Plus, there'll be three discs of bonus material, and an empty spot to add the final Godzilla film when it finally comes out on DVD (It hits Japanese theatres in December). And it's all in a latex case that looks like it's made from Godzilla's hide. All for the low, low price of 100,000 yen! And only in Japan.

And now, to resume counting down the minutes to Spider-Man 2! Trouble comes home from China soon, so the tenative plans are to see it with her on Sunday, July 11.

Next Issue...Spidey 2!!

Damn it! Someday, I am going to have a real job and a steady income, and when that day comes, I am so going to buy real server space. I'm getting so sick and tired of Angelfire and their multitude of banners, pop-ups, and now, frames full of ads that they stick on the real site. Someday, soon. With a little hard work and a pinch of luck, this time next year.

But until that day, head on over to Angelfire to read the latest column! This week's offering is Flowers:

"My contempt for teenagers is best illustrated in what happened to me the other day. I was on my lunch break, and headed up to 7-11 to buy a snack. It was also lunchtime for the high school across the street, and thus the store was stuffed full of teens buying overpriced convenience food. I got my banana Slurpee and a Cajun chicken sandwich, and started to head out the door. Now, standing around the front doors was a gaggle of teenage girls. As I walked by their group, one of the girls – probably no older than 15 – noticed me. She had a small bouquet of flowers that she was intently ripping the petals off of. As I walked by her, she shoved the handful of stems in my face and said, “Would you like to buy some flowers?” Without breaking my stride, I glanced at the pitiful, brownish stems, looked the girl in the eye, and mumbled, “No thank you.” As I made a beeline for my car, I overheard her tell some joke about me to her friends, and they all laughed. I was driving back to work when I began to think, “Now, really, how should I have handled that differently?” This is where I really wish I was quicker on my feet. If she wanted to play, I could have played. "

First hit's free. The rest'll cost you.

And don't forget, GO VOTE TOMORROW!

Next Issue...Next PM

So tomorrow's the big election day. Ya know, I can't help but feel my vote is going to be wasted. Y'all know I'm not to keen on the Conservatives, but Yellowhead has been a true-blue right-wing riding for as long as I can remember. So, out here, it really doesn't matter who I'm voting for, Conservatives are going to win.

I'm still going to vote, thought.

Next Issue...Next Column

Just got a Gmail account. I don't know why. All my friends were getting one, so I thought I'd get one, too. Let's hope for my sake that they all don't go and jump off a bridge.

And I just finished one of my guilty pleasures. For those who don't know, Space: The Imagination Station now shows seaQuest DSV in reruns. I loved that show! I think we're now far enough removed from the 1990s where we can look at something and say, "That is sooo 1990s." seaQuest DSV is soooo 1990s.

For those who don't remember, seaQuest was a highly-hyped return to television for Steven Spielberg. (Highly hyped mainly because it premiered in the fall of 1993, fresh off the success of Jurassic Park.) It was set in the not-too-distant future, the year 2018. The human race had set up vast undersea colonies. These colonies were controlled by a UN-style organization called the UEO, the United Earth's Oceans Organization. The seaQuest DSV was the UEO's flagship: a massive submarine designed to stay underwater longer and dive deeper than any submarine before it. The show followed the adventures of the crew of the seaQuest as they kept peace in the UEO and explored the ocean's depths, under the command of Captain Nathan Bridger. It never really found an audience and struggled to make it through 2.5 years.

As I look back on it now, probably the only thing that made it ludicrous was Darwin the talking dolphin.

For those 2.5 years it was on, it clearly went through 2.5 different incarnations. It was best in its first year, when it tried to be a very realistic portrayal of life in this kind of world; what discoveries may really lie under the ocean and what the daily grind in an undersea colony may be like. They even had Dr. Bob Ballard, the man who found the wreck of the Titanic, as a scientific advisor. Then, in their second year, it all started to fall apart. They added psychics and genetically engineered soldiers and undersea alien bases, and it started to turn into the low-grade "Star Trek underwater" that many feared it would become. For that final 0.5 of a year, they tried to get back to its roots. Thanks to a timewarp, the ship was flung to the year 2032, and the show was renamed seaQuest 2032. This now offered a more contemporary view of the future, with corporations being the new planetary superpowers and seaQuest and the UEO trying to keep corporations from taking over the world. Gone was the quiet, reserved Captain Nathan Bridger. We got a new commander in the hard-ass, militaristic Captain Oliver Hudson, played by veteran Canadian character actor Michael Ironside!

So, yeah. I watch these reruns and I still love the show. It never really took off. One of the first action figures in my collection was a seaQuest figure: Lucas Wolenzeck, who was the ship's boy genius/Wesly Crusher, as played by Jonathon Brandis. He's dead now, committed suicide about a year ago.

I do wish I got the action figure of that talking dolphin, though. That's the one that's most valuable now.

Plus, I'm certain that seaQuest DSV has the most elegant theme song I've ever heard.

Next Issue...Beneath the Surface Lies the Future

Argh! This new job is so frustrating! I get home, and I'm so exhausted, I can't sit down and share the brilliant thoughts I have! But now, the weekend is here! So, let's take a moment to play catch-up. Here are my brilliant thoughts:

- Pizza spelled backwards is Azzip.

But seriously....

- So, I get TeleToon now, and I've been watching quite a few reruns of Rocket Robin Hood. You know, as cool as it was, think about it. It's a concept that was never taken as far as it could have gone. Let's look at the original legend of Robin Hood. Prince John came to power because King Richard the Lionhearted was off in Europe fighting in the Crusades. Now, what does this mean for Rocket Robin Hood? Is there a galactic Richard the Lionhearted? Is he off fighting a cosmic crusade? I don't know. When I'm rich and famous, Rocket Robin Hood is going to be the second cartoon I remake/re-imagine. First is still Visionaries.

- Here's the big comic book movie news you've been waiting for. It's official, The Punisher 2 ain't gonna happen. The original plan hammered out between Lion's Gate Films and Marvel was to go full-bore into a sequel immediatly. Well, The Punisher did OK, but, now as they take a second look at the numbers, they figure it didn't do well enough to warrant a sequel. So, the Punisher 2 has been put on hold.

- Here's another DVD to add to my wish list. Coming out on August 10: Late Night with Conan O'Brian: The Best of Triumph the Insult Comic Dog.

- Some sad DVD news. Disney was planning to release the next spurt of Hayo Miyzaki films on August 31. Now, for some unknown reason, they've been pushed back indefinitly.

I guess I should mention that Michael Moore's latest, Fahrenheight 9/11 hits theatres today! I can hardly wait to go see it. Let the controversies begin! Actually, I was just reading this online. Down in Texas, a right wing pro-Bush group is planning a film festival of pro-conservative, pro-bush films. Right now, they are in negotiations to see if they can have the world premiere of two anti-Michael Moore documentaries. The first one I've talked about before, Michael Moore Hates America. The second one they tell us is a much bigger budget effort. It's called Michael & Me, and it's the work of right-wing radio talk show host Larry Elder. Elder tells us that his film is a direct response to Bowling for Columbine. Elder says the highlight of his film is a take off of Moores's A Brief History of America cartoon. Elder's cartoon is a faux interview with Moore in which Moore, unable to answer "tough" questions about Bowling for Columbine, snaps, pulls a gun, and guns down the interviewer. I don't know, I think that's a bit nastier than the Brief History of America.

But still, I can't deny a rather large dose of curiosity about these anti-Moore films. Some movie critics are starting to call this a new sub-genre of documentary: the filmed op-ed (opinion/editorial. Yeah, I had to look it up.)

And Moore has even waded into the Canadian federal election here. At the Toronto premiere of Farenheight 9/11, Moore officially came out against Stephen Harper and urged Canadians to not vote Conservative. I believe his quote was, "I keep telling America to be more like Canada! So Canada, stop trying to be more like us!" And now, even Ralph Nader has come out against the Conservatives! Nader says that the Conservatives will erode Canada's social programs.

Now, you're going to hate me for saying this, but I found a part of the Conservative platform today that I like. Turns out that the Conservatives want to dump more money into the railroads. They figure that the railroads are a more efficient, cost-effective way to ship goods, so it just makes better business sense to have stronger railroads.

And, in today's paper, I see the Green Party has a similar platform. The Greens want to dump more money into Via. The soundbyte simply was, "Restore full Via service to all major cities."

Being a railroad junkie, I love this. Still ain't gonna vote Conservative, though.

Oh, and one last thing, I don't know about you, but I'm going to be watching the CBC's coverage of the election on Monday night. Commentary by Rick Mercer, baby!

Next Issue...Og ot azzip

June 22, 2004.

Wow. I've now officially been home from Japan for a year. I can still remember everything I did on that final day right down to the exact minute. It's strange. In my long term goals for Japan, I always pictured that I'd be coming home, well, now, or maybe three months ago. But to have already been home for a year....

Sometimes, I wonder what I did wrong over there. Especially when Mr. Anderson was there for darn near two years and made getting a contract renewal seem like the easiest thing in the world. I still wonder if I should sue someone, seeing as to how at my follow-up training the head of the Omiya Seminar house looked me square in the eye and said, "They will ask you to renew."

How did it all go so wrong? I showed up early, worked through my breaks, left late, and the students loved me. The only advice I was ever given when expressed doubts about my teaching was, "Low levels love you. Just be yourself." And I made sure all my I's were dotted and T's were crossed.

That's was probably the problem. Katakana doesn't have I's and T's. The most successful English Teachers are those who set out to become as Japanese as they possibly can. But, because I wasn't spending my off-hours studying Japanese and learing the intricacies of the prayer rituals at shrines, this misconception arose that I was violently opposed to all things Japanese. I spent my spare time as I always do - watching movies. I guess that didn't fit the company's mentality of a good teacher.

I should get off this. I've spent the past year picking this apart in my mind and it's gotten me nowhere. Nope, I should focus on the future! I should resume picking apart my choice to go into broadcasting and waiting for the day when it all falls apart before my eyes. I figure it'll start to fall apart around November, when no radio station will take me on for my practicum.

Next Issue...Harsh Reality

I'm in that rather melancholy state right now that usually comes at the end of love. You know, where you've looked each other in the eyes and you and her have decided that it's over. It's a few days later, and you have this urge to call her, but you know that it's in everyone's best interests if you don't. So, you wind up just sitting around the house feeling...bleh.

Kinda like that.

Anywho, let's get back to the election. I'm still undecided as to who to vote for, but I do know it will not be Conservative. My incumbent MP is Conservative Rob Merrifield. I was talking about this with my parents and I asked, "Seriously, what has Merrified done for us; done for Entwistle?" As far as my parents can remember, he's never even come to Entwistle. My Dad even started longing for the good old days of 25 years ago. Back then, Joe Clark was the MP for Yellowhead, and he had an annual town hall meeting. Once a year, he'd come out to Entwistle, book the community hall, tell the people what he's been up to and field questions. Nowadays, we have Merrifield, who's nowhere to be seen.

That kind of clinches the non-Conservative vote for me.

Anyways, now I have to figure out what to do with my cat. See, my cat used to sleep in the bedroom next door. But now, my parents are renovating said bedroom to convert it into a home office. True, while his kitty bed is still in there, my cat just refuses to set foot in that room now. Now, he insists on spending the night with me. I kick him out of my room, and that's good for a solid half-hour of him scratching at the door. (A half-hour because that's how long I put up with it.) Then, I let him in, and he proceeds to steal my pillow. I wouldn't mind so much if it weren't for two things: a) he always steals my pillow. 2) In this heat wave we've got right now, I may as well sleep with a hot water bottle.

So, I'm about to kick him out now and go to bed. Wish me luck.

Next Issue...Don't Call Her

So, one of my classmates got a job doing remotes for an Edmonton radio station this summer. I managed to catch her doing her thing on the air today.

Was it wrong for me to laugh my ass off because I think she did a really crappy job?

Anywho, latest column's up! This week's offering: The More Human Way to Travel:

"When did rail travel begin to die in Canada? I know, this is a question I’ve pondered many times, but it’s on my mind again today. It’s Father’s Day, and my Dad requested that we go some place that we hadn’t been in a long time: the Alberta Railway Museum. It’s a magical place, with dozens of restored rail cars and locomotives. And, on bright sunny weekends like this one, they fire up some of their restored locomotives and give train rides. Nothing fancy, mind you. CN has yet to give them permission to use the adjoining main line. So, they just go back and forth on their little strip of rail. When my family first visited the museum some 18 years ago or so, we were told that part of their long-term goals was to build a complete rail loop to have their trains running full time. 18 years later, and it’s still a long-term goal."

Extree! Extree! Read all about it!

Next Issue...War With the Cat

Success! I've got a lawn sign for every candidate! I can't believe that, when I went to the dump today, people had thrown out perfectly good lawn signs for the Greens and the Liberals! So, they were salvaged, and are now on my front lawn.

And, as soon as they were up, I started thinking, "Hmm... Which one will be defaced first?"

Next Issue...Something More Interesting

And we're entering the final week of the election! Looks like the Conservatives just shot themselves in the foot with this whole child porn thing. Despite what Stephen Harper says, it looks like a minority government is still the most likely outcome. That's what I'm finding weird about the polls. The polls now show the Conservatives with a slim lead, but the polls also say that Paul Martin will make the better prime minister! So, who will the people vote for: the party or the man in charge? As my Dad has been saying, it ain't over until the last ballot's counted.

Actually, some something interesting in today's paper that was election related. It was paid for by the Edmonton City Council and signed by mayor Bill Smith. But the ad wasn't in support of any one party or candidate. The ad said, "Look, these are the issues that directly affect how we run your city," and then it listed the issues. The ad then implored the people to find out where the candidates and parties stand on these issues, and gave the phone numbers for every Liberal, Conservative, and NDP candidate in Edmonton! Now that, I think, is cool.

And, seeing as to how I was busy all this week with the new job and all, I"m going to get back to trying to procure a lawn sign for every candidate in the Yellowhead riding. Liberals and Greens are still missing from my collection. I was hoping to put them all up on my lawn at the same time, but time is running short in this here election. Oh, well. Klein is threatening to have the next provincial election this fall, so I'll try again in the provincial election!

Next Issue...Rhinomania

Well, this just wouldn't be my blog unless I shared the latest and greatest in the world of Star Trek.

First, the bad news. It's been learned that, in order to make it to a fourth season, Enterprise had to cut its budget in half. Each episode used to cost $1.7 million. Now, they have to do it for just $800,000. Let's wait and see if it affects quality....

Now, the good news! We've known for a while now that the long-awaited, 2-disc super-special edition of Star Trek Generations comes out on September 7. Now, at long last, we get the list of bonus stuff! Here's what all we'll get:

- Text commentary by Michael and Denise Okuda (natch)
- Running commentary by Ronald D. Moore and Brannon Braga (the writers of Generations)

And tons of featurettes. The one I'm looking forward to is the one dedicated to the film's signature special effects piece: the crash of the Enterprise-D.

And, you get four cut scenes. The one cut scene that everyone is looking forward to is Kirk's original and more controversial death. Can't wait!

And now, I'd like to go sleepy

Next Issue...Mark Trek

Wow! I've got some interesting news about the film Super Size Me. You know, that's the documentary about the guy who eats nothing but McDonald's food for a month and what it does to him. I'm dying to see it. It's been playing at Edmonton's Garneau Theatre for about three weeks now, and I can't believe I haven't gone yet!

Anyway, it's been playing in Australia for about two weeks now, and McDonald's of Australia has decided to take a very active stance in fighting back. In a new ad campaign that started back on Wednesday, the CEO of McDonald's Australia is starring in 30-second spots in which he refutes the film. He tells the people of Australia that it's not a documentary about McDonald's, but rather "a documentary about a guy who chooses to overeat." The CEO also says, "In this film, he eats nothing but hamburgers for a month and discovers it's bad for him. Well, gee, I could've told him that!" McDonald's Australia says they're doing this because their polls showed that customers were wondering why McDonald's wasn't answering the allegations made in the film.

McDonald's Australia is going to start showing these spots in movie theatres right before Super Size Me on Monday. Movie theatres, however, shut down McDonald's proposal to have McDonald's employees give away free apples to people coming out of the theatre.

Speaking of other controversial documentaries, here's the latest on Farenheight 9/11. Seems that, while the White House is saying nothing about the film, a few pro-Bush groups are starting to go on the offensive. They've begun letter writing campaigns to movie theatres trying to get the film pulled, and they're starting work on TV spots that'll slam Michael Moore and some of the points the film has raised. I'll look up who these groups are and tell you more later.

Anywho, back to that thing about Super Size Me. That comes at a perfect time in my life. I find I'm eating at McDonald's more, again, thanks to this new job. I find that, after my shift, if I have the munchies there's nothing quicker than running through a fast food drive through and getting some nibblies. And, in Drayton Valley, my drvie through choice is limited to A&W and McDonald's. Oh, and the new Dairy Queen that just opened! Can't forget them.

But, my topic if I can stay on it, is this thing McDonald's has called "Make it Bacon!" For another 69 cents, McDonald's will slap bacon on any of their hamburgers for you. So, I often looked at that, looked at the McDonald's menu, and wondered, "What's the weirdest thing I can ask them to slap bacon on?" My answer was always the Fillet-o-Fish. But now, a new option has arisen. As we all know, McDonald's has their new "healthy choices menu" to promote healthier lifestyles. On that menu, they now offer a vegetarian hamburger: the McVeggie.

So, next time I go to McDonald's, that's what I'm going to say. "I'll have a McVeggie, please. Oh, and I'd like to make it bacon!"

Next Issue...Let's Try DQ

Ugh. I'm really starting to not like this job. I'm getting this vibe from my co-workers that they're getting kind of miffed that I've been doing this for 4 days now and I'm still bothering them with questions. One even snapped and said that I'd better start using my common sense because when I start working shifts on my own in three months, she won't be around to ask. Oh, well. What's to be expected from a job where, in the interview, my boss said, "And if you don't like it, you can alwasy quit!"

Thank God it's just for the summer. I don't think I'd last long.

Anywho, I have to share the big, BIG DVD news that came down the pipe a few days ago. I've heard rumours about the development of this DVD for a couple years now, and it's finally official. On September 7, you'll be able to buy...

Clerks X (aka Clerks: 10th Anniversary Edition)

This massive 3-disc set contains everything you wanted to know about Clerks but were afraid to ask. You'll get:

Clerks X (aka the Clerks 10th Anniversary DVD)

This massive, 3-disc set contains every thing you ever wanted to know about Clerks but were afraid to ask. You'll get:

- The original, 93 minute cut of the film, all digitally restored and with a brand new 5.1 sound mix. This cut of the film also features the running commentary that appeared on the laserdisc and original DVD.

- The 103 minute long "first cut" of the film. This is Clerks as it originally premiered at the Sundance film festival in 1993. (I'm pretty sure this is the version with the now-infamous "Dante dies" ending.) This cut of the film features an all-new running commentary with Kevin Smith, Scott Mosier, Jason Mewes, Jeff Anderson, and Brian O'Halloran.

- The Snowball Effect: The Story of Clerks. This is an all-new 95 minute documentary about the making of the film, how it launched Kevin Smith's career and how it helped usher in the era of independent filmmaking. Pretty much anyone ever involved with Clerks is interviewed.

- Mae Day: The Crumbling of a Documentary. This is Kevin Smith's first ever film which he made when he was a student at the Vancouver Film School.

- Clerks: The Lost Scene. This all-new 7 minute animated short film takes us inside Julie Dwyer's funeral and we find out how the casket got knocked over. Based on Smith's comic book of the same name, so I guess it's not really "all new."

- The Flying Car. The Tonight Show short film which showed Randall and Dante stuck in traffic.

- The Jay and Silent Bob MTV shorts. After the film's success, Kevin Smith did a bunch of spots and short films for MTV starring Jay and Silent Bob. On DVD for the first time!

- The Arclight 10th Anniversary Q&A. Earlier this year, the Arclight theatre in LA had a 10th anniversary screening with the complete cast, and a Q&A session followed. This is that Q&A session.

- The trailer.

- The music video for the theme song, Can't Even Tell

- The original audtion tapes for Jeff Anderson, Brain O'Halloran, and Marilyn Ghilotti (Randal, Dante, and Veronica)

- One of those pop-up trivia tracks. (You know, text pops up telling you factoids about the film)

- Kevin Smith's 168-page first draft of the screenplay.

- EVERY article Kevin Smith read on low-budget filmmaking that inspired him to make this.

- A few of the more glowing reviews of the film.

- A choice selection of articles analyzing the rise of independent films that focus on Clerks

- And brand new intros for everything.

September 7! Wow. I'm still debating whether I want this. Clerks was, quite literally, the first DVD I bought, I always said I'd never buy more than one version of a film on DVD.

Well, day 2 of working produce at IGA is done. Oy, I'm glad it's just a summer job. I really don't think I could make a living at this. Lots of heavy lifting, lots of running about, but at least I'm nice and far from idiot customers. I'm still in the training phase, so they're still taking it easy on me. I've still kept it secret that this is just a summer job and I'm quitting at the end of August. Which makes me feel like a dirty liar when they keep telling me about what kind of benefits kick in at the 1-year mark, the 3-year mark, and the 5-year mark. They really were looking for a career man for this. All I know is, after a nine-hour shift of hauling around boxes of apples, my feet are killing me!

Although, today, I had an interesting thought. I told you that Yves now works at a sex shop, right? I was thinking about this as I peeled lettuce today, and I thought, "Wow, she must have a story or two working that job." Then, I realized that everyone must have a story or two about their job. So, I devised this bit for my radio show. I go out and interview someone who does a slightly-above-normal job. You know, like a clerk in a sex shop, or the projectionist at the IMAX theatre. I produce this into a minute-30 feature for my radio show, and see how the listeners react. The working title is Gee, That Job Sounds Interesting.

And now, I should get to some of the big DVD news of the day. We've known about this for a while now, but an official announcement finally came down the line today. On August 21, Paramount Home Entertainment will finally release the long-awaited DVD boxed set:

Star Trek: the Original Series - Season 1

This 8-disc set contains all 29 episodes of the first season of the original Star Trek. For bonus bits, you get this complete series of featurettes:

The Birth of a Timeless Legend - The development of the show
Life Beyond Trek: William Shatner - An interview with William Shatner about the show.
Reflections on Spock - Same thing, only with Leonard Nimoy
To Boldly Go... - Discussion with cast and crew members about key episodes of Season 1.
Sci-Fi Visionaries - A recap of some of the famous sci-fi authors who contributed to the show at the time.

Plus, you'll also get a nifty text commentary by Michael and Denise Okuda on four episodes.

Sweet!

Next Issue...Gee, that's not as interesting as I thought

Dude, I just watched The Mask of Zorro on TV. First time I'd seen it since I saw it in the theatre...oh...6 years ago. God, Catherine Zeta-Jones is hot! This is now my goal; my life's quest to be as rich and powerful as Michael Douglas. I mean, he saw the Mask of Zorro and said to himself, "Dude! I gotta meet her." He sent out his agents to get his phone number, they got it, Douglas and Zeta-Jones met and now...BOOM! They're in the throes of happily ever after. So, if being rich and powerful can hook up a wrinkled old man with Catherine Zeta-Jones, just think about what it can do for a chubby little troll like myself.

Anywho, latest column's up! This week's: I, Robot:

"I just got a job. I don’t know why, but employment always gives me a twinge of sadness. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’ll be easy work. I’m a produce clerk in a grocery store, meaning I’ll have to make sure the lettuce is nice and fresh and that there are enough peaches and bananas on the shelves. But still, I’m sad. I don’t think people take enough time these days to realize what having a job means. At least, to me, getting a job means losing your independence. No longer can you sleep as late as you want and do whatever you feel like that day. Now your day is given up in servitude to the man. Or, even worse, the company. "

Read it all right here!

Next Issue...My First Day in Produce

Was having a little debate with Mr. Anderson last night. Nothing big. The question was, when it comes to your big sci-fi franchises like Star Wars and Star Trek, should deleted scenes be considered canon? (Canon, for those who don't know, means "official continuity," as in it's part of the real world and not my fanboy daydreams.)

This debate has arisen because a long-lost cut scene from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn was recently unearthed, and it backs up what the novels and comics have been saying for a very long time: the Lt. Saavik, the plucky young Vulcan in Star Treks 2, 3 and 4, is NOT really a Vulcan. She is, in fact, half-Vulcan and half-Romulan. So now, the debate is on in Trekkie-dom. Does this cut scene now officially make Saavik half-Romulan?

How was this scene unearthed, you may ask? Well, it's not on the DVD. This lost scene came from a 3-minute "sneak peak" that Paramount sent to movie critics in the spring of 1982. Another lost scene hints at a romance between Saavik and Dr. David Marcus (i.e. Kirk jr.), and it also has several "alternate takes" of scenes that were used in the film.

And now, I also have to remark on something I saw this morning that was really, really cool. When I first discovered this Internet-thingie, the first thing I started doing was looking for info on my favourite cartoons. One name that kept coming up over and over was Frank Welker. This guy is god when it comes to cartoon voices. He was a real master of villains, having done the voices of Megatron on Transformers, Dr. Claw on Inspector Gadget, and Gargamel on The Smurfs. Don't get me wrong, he did heroes, too. He was G.I. Joe's Wild Bill and both Ray and Slimer on The Real Ghostbusters. And, according to the running commentary on Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, he is also Hollywood's foremost animal expert. According to Paul Dini, whenever a director needs an animal to make a sound above and beyond what the animal is capable of, Frank Welker is called in. "He was the voice of that monkey that said 'Heil Hitler!' in Raiders of the Lost Ark," Dini points out.

But, his first big break into voice acting was doing the voice of Fred way, way back on the original Scooby-Doo cartoon in the late 60s.

Anyway, it's Sunday morning, I'm reading the paper, and for background noise, the TV is tuned into TeleToon. What's New, Scooby-Doo comes on. This is the all-new Scooby-Doo cartoon that came on in the wake of the success of the live-action movie. And what do I see in the opening credtis?

"Starring Frank Welker as Fred."

That just blew my mind! I mean, I had never seen a voice artist recognized that way in the opening credits of a cartoon. Yeah, it's happened for prime-time cartoons when the voice is some major celebrity, but as far as I know, it's never happened for a regular voice artist on a regular cartoon.

So, yeah! At long last, props to Frank Welker!

And I should also point out that the complete credit read "Starring Frank Welker as Fred & Casey Kasem as Shaggy." Casey Kasem is, of course, the world-renouned DJ who does voice acting on the side and originated the role of Shaggy way, way back on the original Scooby-Doo cartoon.

And after Scooby-Doo, I managed to catch the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon. This new one promised to be more faithful to the original comics that the original cartoon was, and they seem to pulling it off. You can see it in the episode I saw, which was the origin of April O'Neil. It's was dead-on accurate to her original origin. Quick comaprison:

Original cartoon: April is a TV reporter for Channel 6. When she does a story on the increasing crime rate, she's attacked by a roving gang and flees into the sewers for safety. The gang chases her. The Turtles rescue her.

New cartoon & original comics: April is the lab assistant for mad scientist Baxter Stockman. When April stumbles upon Stockman's true evil plans for the mouser robots, Stockman sends the mouser robots to hunt down April. April flees into the sewers for safety. The mousers chase her. The Turtles rescue her.

And, since I'm talking about voice artists, I should point out that, on the new cartoon, April's voice is done by Veronica Taylor, who's biggest claim to fame to date is doing the voice of Ash on Pokemon. I think April O'Neil is her first roll that isn't an anime dub.

Next Issue...Next Column

Here's the latest on my "Get a lawn sign from every candidate" scheme.

Only hold-outs right now are the Greens and Liberals. Greens tell me that their closest volunteer has my name + number, so it's just a waiting game now. The lone hold-out seemed to be the Liberals. I phoned them again this morning and got their voice mail again! That made 4 messages. Then, this afternoon, I went for a walk in the rain, and came back to find a message on MY voice mail. It was...the Liberal candidate himself! He apologized for not getting back to me, citing that the Liberals in this area are rather short-handed. Anywho, just like with the Greens, my name and number has been passed along to their closest volunteer, and, according to his message, I'll be getting my sign within the next few days.

This has been a rough day for me. I have this brilliant idea for a short story right now, and I'd love to sit down and write it, but I just feel like doing nothing. My parents are gone for the evening, so this is one of those few times where I can watch a DVD without my Dad bitching about me "watching this movie again." But I really should write this story! Argh! It's a horrible thing, to be blessed with unimaginable talents, but cursed with the lack of ambition to do anything with them.

And the folks took both vehicles, too. Meaning I've gotta cook something for dinner! I just can't drive to the grocery store in the next town and get something. More of the blessing/curse stuff.

Next Issue...The Nothing

Quick update on the scheme to get every candidate's lawn sign. Conservatives dropped theirs off yesterday. NDP dropped off theirs this afternoon. I thought the one that would be the most difficult to get would be Christian Heritage, but I stumbled across one of their signs abandoned in a ditch! I've done a little salvage job, and it's good to go.

So, that just leaves the Greens and the Liberals. The Greens tell me that they've passed along my info to their local agent, so it's just a waiting game at this point. I've got a gut feeling that this agent may swing by this weekend. And I keep getting Liberal voice mail. but I'm keeping at it!

Next Issue...Power of the People