Into the long weekend. Here we go.
1. The mother-in-law, Judy, has returned home! This is big news. She'll be receiving rehabilitation at home for a while, and then, I guess, maybe at a clinic. But watching her progress over the last 20 days or so has been absolutely stunning. And, if I can step back a pace, it's also been completely fascinating.
Judy had damage in her speech center, and so in the days immediately following her surgery, she couldn't say much. And then more words came, and she could sometimes communicate what she wanted, but not very often. It's this slow build up. You can tell all the words are on the hard drive, and her thoughts are complete, but she's having trouble accessing a lot of her vocabulary. So while she isn't slurring not is there any loss of that fashion, she might not remember a word like "California". Even after you say "California".
The really interesting bit is what is there. A lot of phrases are there completely intact, and if you want her to sing a song she knows, she can do it from beginning to end. I sat with her last week and a commercial came on which used "Blue Skies", and when it ended, she sang the whole song. She does this with great regularity. Apparently, songs and phrases are in an easy-to-reach part of the memory bank.
Anyway, Jamie went down today and worked with her and hung out. I think I'm going down Sunday. But it's great to have Judy home and I am sure my father-in-law, Dick, is pretty pleased to not be sitting on the couch or chair in the hospital. Kudos to him for all the hard work.
2. The RNC is on but I haven't watched a minute, just as I haven't watched a convention since high school, so no news there. I'm not really following the election except via Factcheck.org, and, people... it's not pretty coming from either side. Let's just say I think we had a good run with this "democracy" idea, but we may need to move onto the Philosopher-King model.
I would also pitch the notion that we just let a council of scientists who would judge you via videoconference rule us. The one flaw in this plan would be if they ignored crucial, planet-saving scientific evidence. Which would never happen.
3. The annual sale is on at Austin Books and Comics, so if you're in town and want half-off on back issues or to go raid the back-issue store, they're open all weekend.
I had dinner with PalKevin who does not read comics, but he wanted to go with me to ABC afterward, and it was fun walking around with him. I found out he's read all the John Carter books (we agreed to disagree on the movie), but I had a harder time actually selling him on any comics.
As a man who already owns a lot of comics, I do have a strategy. I basically knew of a bunch of back issues I wanted that I didn't want to pay full-price for, and I just waited until this week, and then I bought them. I didn't really look for anything new, and yet, somehow, I was able to spend money. I was a bit more impulsive at the Sidekick Store, but not too much. I realize I am getting picky about the conditions of my Jimmy Olsen and Lois Lane issues, and I'm not ready to start with reader copies unless its a book I've just not seen out before.
Came home with a lot of Joe Kubert drawn comics, including Tor, Our Army at War and others. And I picked up the DC Christmas Special with the John Byrne drawn Enemy Ace story which I've had in reprints, but, you know. Enemy Ace.
Film. Comics. Sci-Fi. Superheroes. Pulp. Noir. History. Superman. 20th Century Archaeology.
Friday, August 31, 2012
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
TL; DR: The New 52 - This Reader's One Year Later
In September of last year, DC Comics relaunched their line of comics for the first time since Crisis on Infinite Earths back in 1986. In general, comics fans my age grew up considering Crisis to be a necessary step in the evolution of superhero comics and enable them to reach a wider and more adult audience.
The relaunch of 1986 gave DC Comics a chance to give their intellectual property a fresh start where they felt necessary (ie: Superman and Wonder Woman), and continue telling the stories about their characters that didn't seem to need a rejiggering (Batman).
What nobody ever really talks about is that: DC spent more than the next two decades trying to fix all the messes they'd created in their half-baked relaunch effort. The gaps in planning and execution led to numerous attempts at editorial clean-up and we were treated to numerous in-narrative attempts to "fix" the problem, from Zero Hour to Infinite Crisis and, finally, to Flashpoint with dozens of other hiccups along the way. In short, after 20-odd years of fixing the problems created by the reboot, DC had more or less reset their universe to very much reflect the DCU that existed prior to the "necessary" change.
My initial response last June on seeing the information that DC planned another relaunch - which I read on my phone in the back of a crowded ballroom at a conference I was supposed to be managing - was absolute surprise.
In 2007, I was reading over two dozen different DC Comics titles, and, of course, other titles, too... but DC was my bread and butter. I firmly believed that Infinite Crisis - leading into 52 and One Year Later (DC's linewide narrative jump forward a year) were going to be well executed, well realized attempts to finally merge the old, Pre-Crisis DC with the current DC, and we had a chance to enter into a new golden age at DC. For a long, long time I had believed that DC was working on a mega-narrative intended to pull together a DCU that kept the history of the company intact in its entirety, merging Pre and Post Crisis continuities and celebrating the 75 years of publication history.
Nope. They were sort-of scrapping the work and works of the past 7.5 decades in order to draw in an audience that had been daunted by DC's history and the internet chatter about how confusing DC had become (that was, at best, half true), and a lot of misconceptions about DC's stable of characters.
I don't know exactly how soon it hit me, but the realization slowly sunk in that, at age 36, I had just passed out of the 18-34 demographic in a final and unceremonious fashion. DC Comics was happy to have had my money (a LOT of my money) the past few years - but they were going to do something else now.
Over the years I've had email chatter with a few older and former readers of comics, and I watch folks at the comic shop. I was aware that there is some point many, many comics readers hit where they hang up their guns and declare themselves done with the characters and worlds they loved - at least in trying to keep up in the Wednesday shopper fashion that the Big 2 cater to. I'd see these older guys on comment threads, sighing and saying "it's been ten years since I picked up a new comic, and this is why I don't miss it", and sometime about four or five years ago I went from writing them off as old, grumpy men to know that this was an inevitability of the hobby. Something made all of these people move on.
The relaunch of 1986 gave DC Comics a chance to give their intellectual property a fresh start where they felt necessary (ie: Superman and Wonder Woman), and continue telling the stories about their characters that didn't seem to need a rejiggering (Batman).
What nobody ever really talks about is that: DC spent more than the next two decades trying to fix all the messes they'd created in their half-baked relaunch effort. The gaps in planning and execution led to numerous attempts at editorial clean-up and we were treated to numerous in-narrative attempts to "fix" the problem, from Zero Hour to Infinite Crisis and, finally, to Flashpoint with dozens of other hiccups along the way. In short, after 20-odd years of fixing the problems created by the reboot, DC had more or less reset their universe to very much reflect the DCU that existed prior to the "necessary" change.
My initial response last June on seeing the information that DC planned another relaunch - which I read on my phone in the back of a crowded ballroom at a conference I was supposed to be managing - was absolute surprise.
In 2007, I was reading over two dozen different DC Comics titles, and, of course, other titles, too... but DC was my bread and butter. I firmly believed that Infinite Crisis - leading into 52 and One Year Later (DC's linewide narrative jump forward a year) were going to be well executed, well realized attempts to finally merge the old, Pre-Crisis DC with the current DC, and we had a chance to enter into a new golden age at DC. For a long, long time I had believed that DC was working on a mega-narrative intended to pull together a DCU that kept the history of the company intact in its entirety, merging Pre and Post Crisis continuities and celebrating the 75 years of publication history.
 |
| I have no idea if DC ever rolled out the promised additional characters in the sidebars. I do know Wonder Woman is no longer in leggings. |
Nope. They were sort-of scrapping the work and works of the past 7.5 decades in order to draw in an audience that had been daunted by DC's history and the internet chatter about how confusing DC had become (that was, at best, half true), and a lot of misconceptions about DC's stable of characters.
I don't know exactly how soon it hit me, but the realization slowly sunk in that, at age 36, I had just passed out of the 18-34 demographic in a final and unceremonious fashion. DC Comics was happy to have had my money (a LOT of my money) the past few years - but they were going to do something else now.
Over the years I've had email chatter with a few older and former readers of comics, and I watch folks at the comic shop. I was aware that there is some point many, many comics readers hit where they hang up their guns and declare themselves done with the characters and worlds they loved - at least in trying to keep up in the Wednesday shopper fashion that the Big 2 cater to. I'd see these older guys on comment threads, sighing and saying "it's been ten years since I picked up a new comic, and this is why I don't miss it", and sometime about four or five years ago I went from writing them off as old, grumpy men to know that this was an inevitability of the hobby. Something made all of these people move on.
Happy Birthday to Jack "King" Kirby
Today would have been the 95th Birthday of Jack Kirby, the greatest comics creator of the 20th Century.
Kirby's family is supporting The Hero Initiative, a non-profit that helps support veteran comics creators facing tough financial times (there isn't much of a retirement or healthcare plan for freelancers).
We recommend checking out The Hero Initiative website and maybe donating a bit to the fund. Make Jack proud.
Kirby's family is supporting The Hero Initiative, a non-profit that helps support veteran comics creators facing tough financial times (there isn't much of a retirement or healthcare plan for freelancers).
We recommend checking out The Hero Initiative website and maybe donating a bit to the fund. Make Jack proud.
Monday, August 27, 2012
The Wonder Woman/ Superman Kiss
Apparently even the ladies on The View have weighed in on Wonder Woman and Superman having passionate smoochy-time in the pages of Justice League coming on Wednesday.
Sigh. I suppose that means that, as a blog that likes to talk about both of these characters, I should also put in my two cents.
The problem is that I gave up on the Geoff Johns/ Jim Lee Justice League comic 6 issues ago, so I have no idea what led to the smoochies on the actual page - so I won't comment on that.
Here's what I will comment upon:
Sigh. I suppose that means that, as a blog that likes to talk about both of these characters, I should also put in my two cents.
 |
| credit to Diane Nelson for remembering her company owns half of telecommunications and getting this stunt some publicity |
The problem is that I gave up on the Geoff Johns/ Jim Lee Justice League comic 6 issues ago, so I have no idea what led to the smoochies on the actual page - so I won't comment on that.
Here's what I will comment upon:
Trek Watch: s1e3 - Where No Man Has Gone Before
There's really endless commentary out there on Star Trek, but I really do want to watch the whole original series in order, so you may see some comments from time to time.
Technically, "Where No Man Has Gone Before" is episode 3 of Season 1. It features a young and terribly fetching Sally Kellerman as Dr. Elizabeth Dehner. Rumor has it this is the episode that the filmmakers may be basing part of the plot on for the next film. I have no idea if that's true, but the episode is a pretty great Trek story, even if Sulu isn't on the bridge, Scotty is a bit part, and there's no Dr. McCoy to be seen. And absolutely no Uhura, which is ALWAYS a mistake.
In fact, this episode was intended to be the pilot, but as so often happens - the episodes were aired out of order making this Episode 3.
confession: I'm still envious of Shatner's haircut from Trek. That and "The Draper". Man, I could never really pull either off.
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| Some Trek nerd actually knows how this game is played |
The Enterprise enters a strange field at the edge of the galaxy that imbues Kirk's pal, Lt. Commander Gary Mitchell, with awesome mental powers. And we face the age old dilemma of a man losing his humanity as he gains super powers.
I'm shocked at how strong the show was coming right out of the gate as fairly potent sci-fi, even if they have to resort to fisticuffs to solve the problem.
Also, they were still figuring out the uniforms. Command is in gold, science is in blue, but they have funky collars and Spock is in command gold. Do not approve.
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| SPACE MUTANTS!!! |
The formula isn't there quite yet, but the solid foundation for the Enterprise is taking shape quite nicely.
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Noir Watch: Killer Joe (2011)
So. No one will be seated during the amazing chicken leg sequence!
I can't recommend KiIller Joe (2011) for a general audience, so let's get that out of the way first. The movie made the hard choice to (a) get made and (b) not water itself down, and that meant an NC-17 rating. I can't even remember the last time I saw a movie with this rating, but even R-rated movies generally have a few swears these days and its mostly intended to keep people from bringing their kids with them to the 9:00 show of the latest Scorsese picture. Basically, nobody really has the guts to do a Hard R movie these days (except the Hangover guys, I guess) and so an NC-17 should be box office death.
The movie is based upon a play by Tracy Letts which ran off-broadway some 14 years ago. Its been adapted here to the big screen by Letts and directed by William Friedkin, director of The Exorcist, The French Connection and a host of other films, but the last movie of his I saw was Blue Chips (which I actually quite enjoyed).
It's a deep-fried southern noir in the darkest corners of white trash America, and reads somewhat like one of those news stories you can both believe occurred - predicated on the notion that all of the players were unsympathetic, near-illiterate dopes whose grasp was further than their reach when it came to planning - and still find the fact that someone ever started this plan to begin with stupefying.
But, like I say, it feels a hell of a lot like a true-crime story, in its way.
I can't recommend KiIller Joe (2011) for a general audience, so let's get that out of the way first. The movie made the hard choice to (a) get made and (b) not water itself down, and that meant an NC-17 rating. I can't even remember the last time I saw a movie with this rating, but even R-rated movies generally have a few swears these days and its mostly intended to keep people from bringing their kids with them to the 9:00 show of the latest Scorsese picture. Basically, nobody really has the guts to do a Hard R movie these days (except the Hangover guys, I guess) and so an NC-17 should be box office death.
The movie is based upon a play by Tracy Letts which ran off-broadway some 14 years ago. Its been adapted here to the big screen by Letts and directed by William Friedkin, director of The Exorcist, The French Connection and a host of other films, but the last movie of his I saw was Blue Chips (which I actually quite enjoyed).
It's a deep-fried southern noir in the darkest corners of white trash America, and reads somewhat like one of those news stories you can both believe occurred - predicated on the notion that all of the players were unsympathetic, near-illiterate dopes whose grasp was further than their reach when it came to planning - and still find the fact that someone ever started this plan to begin with stupefying.
But, like I say, it feels a hell of a lot like a true-crime story, in its way.
Signal Watch Watches: Man or Gun (1958)
It's hard to describe what this movie is about without making it sound like a movie full of crazy people, but maybe that's the remarkable thing about this flick... the movie actually makes the idea work.
Man or Gun (1958) finds a drifter coming to a rowdy frontier town - one who won't say who he is - who seems to have a seemingly supernatural power with a gun, leaving the townsfolk to ask "is it the man or the gun?" And, of course, a whole lot of people get shot in that bloodless manner of a 1950's western.
The drifter no sooner arrives than stumbles upon (of course) a powerful family that rules and harasses the townfolk, making the tiny berg unsafe for women and children. Powerful enough that one of them is wanted for $2000 and is still living publicly in the town - until he crosses paths with the drifter, that is. The drifter won't give up his name, and comes to first be called "'Maybe' Smith", and falls under the watchful eye of Audrey Totter as Fran Dare (that, people, is a hell of a name). Fran sees a chance to use the man or gun to push back against the dastardly Corleys.
I actually quite liked the movie for a small western that I'd not heard much about. It's a story about superstition versus reality versus what you see with your own eyes. And, in no small way, its about whether guns are any way to answer a dispute in a civilized world, even when you're trying to make a better world against others waving guns in your face.
Macdonald Smith does a good, straighfaced hero - even is he feels a bit long in the tooth for the role, and Audrey Totter is in top form as the woman running the local saloon who has a lot invested in the stranger. Unlike FBI Girl, it felt like the director knew what he had in Totter and let her show her range a great bit more.
Anyway, not groundbreaking, but one of those movies you're a bit surprised how enjoyable it was when you really haven't heard anything about it before.
Man or Gun (1958) finds a drifter coming to a rowdy frontier town - one who won't say who he is - who seems to have a seemingly supernatural power with a gun, leaving the townsfolk to ask "is it the man or the gun?" And, of course, a whole lot of people get shot in that bloodless manner of a 1950's western.
The drifter no sooner arrives than stumbles upon (of course) a powerful family that rules and harasses the townfolk, making the tiny berg unsafe for women and children. Powerful enough that one of them is wanted for $2000 and is still living publicly in the town - until he crosses paths with the drifter, that is. The drifter won't give up his name, and comes to first be called "'Maybe' Smith", and falls under the watchful eye of Audrey Totter as Fran Dare (that, people, is a hell of a name). Fran sees a chance to use the man or gun to push back against the dastardly Corleys.
I actually quite liked the movie for a small western that I'd not heard much about. It's a story about superstition versus reality versus what you see with your own eyes. And, in no small way, its about whether guns are any way to answer a dispute in a civilized world, even when you're trying to make a better world against others waving guns in your face.
Macdonald Smith does a good, straighfaced hero - even is he feels a bit long in the tooth for the role, and Audrey Totter is in top form as the woman running the local saloon who has a lot invested in the stranger. Unlike FBI Girl, it felt like the director knew what he had in Totter and let her show her range a great bit more.
Anyway, not groundbreaking, but one of those movies you're a bit surprised how enjoyable it was when you really haven't heard anything about it before.
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Neil Armstrong Merges with The Infinite
Astronaut Neil Armstrong, possibly the most well known of all astronauts, has passed at the age of 82.
Armstrong was part of the Apollo 11 team that reached the moon, and was the first human to cross the great void and touch foot to moon soil.
That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.
Armstrong's family on his passing:
That's a pretty damn good epitaph.
Godspeed, sir.
Armstrong was part of the Apollo 11 team that reached the moon, and was the first human to cross the great void and touch foot to moon soil.
That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.
Armstrong's family on his passing:
While we mourn the loss of a very good man, we also celebrate his remarkable life and hope that it serves as an example to young people around the world to work hard to make their dreams come true, to be willing to explore and push the limits, and to selflessly serve a cause greater than themselves.
For those who may ask what they can do to honor Neil, we have a simple request: Honor his example of service, accomplishment and modesty, and the next time you walk outside on a clear night and see the moon smiling down at you, think of Neil Armstrong and give him a wink.
That's a pretty damn good epitaph.
Godspeed, sir.
Well, I found MY candidate
My choice for POTUS?
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of course, it can't go worse than the guy I voted for in the gubernatorial election 2 years ago...
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of course, it can't go worse than the guy I voted for in the gubernatorial election 2 years ago...
Friday, August 24, 2012
Noir Watch: FBI Girl (1951)
I'm going to spoil the ending, but there are two great things in this movie.
In the post WWII-era FBI director J. Edgar Hoover did a fine job of getting Hollywood in line and making sure movies about the FBI almost invariably celebrated the DOJ as a machine so powerful that even when infiltrated or somehow compromised, the power of righteousness would prevail. And, if you were a red-blooded movie exec looking to stay away from HUAC, you could do worse than promoting J. Edgar's little club.
FBI Girl (1951) spends no small amount of energy establishing the flawless nature of the FBI's fingerprint department - something criminals and lawmen alike in mid-century crime fiction seemed to worry about. I've never understood how the whole fingerprint mechanism worked before computers, and this movie does nothing to shed light on why it was even an issue for criminals (I mean, with a million prints on record, and requests coming in all the time, how do you even know where to start with a comparison?).
- Lots of Audrey Totter
- Raymond Burr in a moving speedboat shooting at Cesar Romero who is shooting back from a helicopter. Heck. Yes.
In the post WWII-era FBI director J. Edgar Hoover did a fine job of getting Hollywood in line and making sure movies about the FBI almost invariably celebrated the DOJ as a machine so powerful that even when infiltrated or somehow compromised, the power of righteousness would prevail. And, if you were a red-blooded movie exec looking to stay away from HUAC, you could do worse than promoting J. Edgar's little club.
 |
| nothing like what you see of Audrey Totter here ever happens in the movie |
FBI Girl (1951) spends no small amount of energy establishing the flawless nature of the FBI's fingerprint department - something criminals and lawmen alike in mid-century crime fiction seemed to worry about. I've never understood how the whole fingerprint mechanism worked before computers, and this movie does nothing to shed light on why it was even an issue for criminals (I mean, with a million prints on record, and requests coming in all the time, how do you even know where to start with a comparison?).
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