Happy Frickin Holidaze: "Santa mode"

Four calling birds...~

In response to some feedback I've gotten about not making it to the "win" screen in this year's Santa misadventure, I thought I'd offer peeps the option of a "cheat code" of sorts...

First, tho, I'll throw the basic rules at you again:

1. Control Rudolph's altitude using your mouse. Note that you have to keep your cursor on the game stage for it to be detected by Rudolph.

2. Santa follows Rudolph's trail, and depending on the shape of that trail, he can sometimes be launched into the air.

3. Gifts appear at various heights, but the ones that float in/above the clouds are special. These contain letters of the alphabet, and once you collect the eight different ones, you finish the game!

4. These letters spell out the password that will unlock your... well, let's just call it a "reward." =)

So, with that in mind, please give it another whirl if you're game!

OR...

Skip the gaming bit and click to view the "reward" at Vimeo or play it here, embedded below...

I hope you dig SANTA (drop a comment or like at Vimeo to chime in), and a Merry Post-Apocalyptic 2013 to one and all! =)

SANTA from cabin boy on Vimeo.

Keep on keepin on~

Happy Frickin Holidaze =)

Seasons Greetings, Programs!

You can now cease with the fretting and pacing! It's arrived! My latest Santa Clausical digital fruitcake!

(Skip down to the P.S. for mostly-just-the-how-to-play... =)

Freshly half-baked from the easy-bake-mind-oven—light bulb! And, like most analog fruitcakes, this digital one is made of bits of various fruity and nutty items suspended in a spongey medium of indeterminate and perhaps questionable taste. And, if it's all hardened properly, very likely in just the mix and ratio that will cause your teeth to hurt and your stomach acid to churn.

Yay! Fruitcake!

This year's is a two-layer jobber that first (layer #1) has Santa Claus dealing with an aeronautical mishap and the giftastic fallout that results. Perhaps it's this very incident that turns out to be the last, final straw that then prompts him to try exploring a new career path (layer #2)...?

Yeah, that won't mean anything until you CLICK to PLAY!

And actually, even then it probably won't mean that much in a sensical way.

In any case, I hope these dopey clusters of zeros and ones find you enjoying your first post-Apocalypse Solstice season. Frankly, I'm finding it not nearly as exciting as I'd hoped PoPoc life would be. It's got more of a... post-Rapture vibe, y'know? And THAT was pretty frickin underwhelming, right?

O well. =)

Happy Frickin Holidaze!

Keep on keepin on~

P.S. A nitty-gritty guide to the 2012 Holidaze experience...

1. Point your look-at-the-internet thingie here. Note that this bit features musicks, so adjust your speakerphonia to desired levels. Also, it requires Flash, so it's no good on iOS gear. Boo on Apple or me, your call.

2. Once you click "start flying" you control Rudolph's altitude with your mouse. No clicking needed, just moving the mouse. Note that it has to be positioned within the game's stage to be detected.

3. Santa follows Rudolph's path and you want him to pick up gifts. The presents that appear above the clouds are special. When Santa collects eight (8) different special gifts, you win the game.

4. If you don't collect those gifts, the game will continue until the post-PoPoc, or until Flash crashes. Hopefully the two events will not be connected.

5. When you collect all eight special gifts, a "win" screen will appear. Please read the instructions on the "win" screen before clicking "Santa."

6. The "Santa" thing... Well, you're just gonna hafta watch.

7. As I stated above, this sucker is not quite fully-baked, so please try to forgive any glitchiness. At least the music is nice, right? For the flying portion of the evening, I mean.

8. Please direct any complaints, comments, or joyous exaltation to this office. Thank you, and Enjoy!~

=)

Holidaze 2012: video spiel & thanks!

* Not sure what this post is about? Click here and maybe you'll figure it out... eventually. =)

Santa's sick of everyone's poop! He gives and gives, and what does he get? Not a lot is the frickin answer. Oh, no—That's not why he's in his biz, of course. Not for reward! (But the cookies do hit the spot.) He got into it out of generosity and faith (in humanity). But, as the years roll by, the one list gets longer and longer and the other one, shorter and shorter. You know which list is which...

So! Santa's looking to be a little more proactive, looking to get lessons out there. Not carrot or stick, but examples, y'know? Stories. Sure, holiday songs and specials are fine. They get the word out, but by their nature, the *are* only once a year. He's going for a new platform, something, well, timeless...Syndication. A new show, starring himself and about himself. No—NOT reality TV crap. Boo. Not real stories. But, while they may not be real, they will be true... if you get my meaning.

Good crack.

Whatev. You stopped reading three paragraphs ago, didn't you? Bah humbug!

Also—Happy frickin holidaze.

-----------------------------------------------

Of course, Louis C.K.'s LOUIE is the inspiration for this hot mess. The show stars C.K. and is about a kind of alternate reality C.K. The guy who does and goes to and says all the difficult things that everyone wants to do/go/say or wishes they knew to do/go/say. It really is Remarkable and Wonderful.

If your'e not watching the show, you may be a real dum dum.

The music—and the opening credits sequence all together (or is that altogether? : P)—is brilliant all on its own, too. LOUIE's music is a version of "Brother Louie" recorded by Ian Lloyd exclusively for the show. He originally recorded it with his band The Stories in 1973 and they covered the original by Hot Chocolate, released six months earlier. The television show them is an excellent mix of Hot Chocolate's original with Ian Lloyd's vocals.

I think it's serendipitous that C.K. ended up casting the African-American actress he did to play his ex-wife on LOUIE. If you listen to the original song, Brother Louie is "whiter than white," a guy who's fallen in love with a black woman. He and his girl each try to introduce his/her true love to their respective families and meet with less-than-joyous excitement. In the show, their skin color doesn't (or at least, hasn't so far) come into any kind of controversial play, but I still feel like the show and the song have aligned in a sympathetic way.

I make stuff up like that sometimes.

Anyway... The incredibly professionally recorded and produced version of the song that accompanies SANTA is a composition Frankenthemed from pieces of the LOUIE theme, sections of a karaoke version of the Hot Chocolate recording, and, obviously, a number of howling stray cats.

Also, some jingle bells. =)

Note that nothing here is used with permission, but also that its use is certainly not for any profit. Except maybe to push the Goodness of the Brattle, LOUIE, and "Brother Louie," so... Not for any of my profit. : P

Keep on keepin on~

* Not sure what this post is about? Click here and maybe you'll figure it out... eventually. =)

-----------------------------------------------

If you're having trouble making out the "dialogue" in the movie theater bit...

Dialogue/audio from IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE is audible, accompanying the film playing on screen. Over the course of this segment the film moves from the early scene in which Clarence is talking to his heavenly superiors to the introduction of young George Bailey in holy flashback.

Jack A. (always whispering, too loudly): Is that a talking star?

Jack: Is this a cartoon?

Jack: What's with the talking stars?

Santa (to himself): Really?

Jack: Oh... Those are AN-gels!

Santa (to himself): Allright. That's it. You made the list.

Jack: I thought you said Jon Stewart was in this.

Santa (to himself): Seriously...?

Santa SIGHS.

Jack: Hey... Is the whole thing in *black-and-white*?

Santa CRUMPLES.

Holidaze 2012: tunes!

Music to sky-ski by...

"Dance Of The Sugar Plum Sprites"
8-Bit-w0nder
Christmasasaurus Vol. 2

"It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year (A Shrift Remix)"
Andy Williams
Christmas Remixed

"Snowfall"
Esquivel
Merry X-Mas From The Space-Age Bachelor Pad

"Christmas Don't Be Late"
Mafialligator
A very 8-Bit Christmas

"Christmas Time Is Here"
Vince Guaraldi Trio
A Charlie Brown Christmas

Happy frickin holidaze! =)

Keep on keepin on~

EMPIRE STRIKES BACK uncut!

Keep on beepin on~

Dear Colbert SuperPAC...

After watching coverage of the context clippage by the right (by talking heads and in campaign ads) of Obama's very reasonable, fundamental, and completely correct description of how any business gets started in America, I got in my head that Colbert's superPAC might float an enlightening demonstration of the ridiculousness of the tactic...

Dear Colbert SuperPAC---

In regards to the out-of-context-taking of "You didn't build that" by the Romney campaign (or supporting superPACs?), would the Colbert SuperPAC consider producing a response ad that stitches together word- and phrase-sized soundbites of Romney set to a beat to re-create "Call Me, Maybe?"

"Con-Text Me, Maybe?"

Or maybe it could be a sorta non-partisan issue ad that stitches together bites from both Romney and Obama to re-create... I dunno... "Summer Lovin'?" Something from ROCKY HORROR? Or the original/complete "This Land Is Your Land?"

Or... go non-musical and re-create Gekko's "Greed" speech or Jack Nicholson's "You can't handle the truth" tirade, with an end-credit "We don't need no sticking badges"...? I'll take my answer off the air. Thanks for your continued awesomnitude!

THE DAILY SHOW - "Back In Black" - 7/24/2012.
THE DAILY SHOW - 7/25/2012.

Also, *love* the Daffy Duck cameo in the "Moment Of Zen" =)

Keep on keepin on~

pre-PROMETHEUS crazy talk

So I was surprised when someone recently described PROMETHEUS as a "maybe-prequel" to ALIEN. I've done everything possible to keep my distance from any PROMETHEUS intel, basing my desire to see it on the rep of the director, the series, and what I've seen in the first couple of trailers.

From that, I was pretty certain that this movie would reveal to us how the shipwreck that Ripley and company discover in ALIEN came to happen. The scale of that shipwreck, along w the fossilized, chest-bursted, remains of the alien pilot(?), seemed to point to a race of giant humanoid dudes. This ship and its crew apparently fell prey to the Alien. I was never quite clear on whether the Alien eggs were cargo or the worst kind of luck for the giant guys, laid in a subterranean chamber of Acheron (or whatever it was called - can't remember) that the ship's crash/landing exposed.

For now, I'm gonna go with cargo.

Jumping back a bit in time... Human archaeologists uncover a message left by extra terrestrial visitors in ancient times, found in the remains of cultures from all over the globe. They decipher it as a map and an invitation. The map leads them to this planetoid and an outpost of the Giants. It being an invitation, they expect to be warmly received. Not exactly what happens. Their arrival wakes the Giants and their outpost from a long sleep. Their mission: return to Earth and wipe it clean of its intelligent spacefaring race so that they can pillage it for its resources and tech (no pesky radiation or the like). Their tool of choice: the Alien.

Hrmm... I wonder if the Giants have an anti-Alien? Or maybe there's some later form of the Alien that is more dormant or docile and we've never lived long enough to observe it...?

Or maybe what they need a race of intelligent hosts - humans - to turn into an army of mature Aliens for use in some star- and centuries-spanning war with another species or culture...? Predators? Hrmm...

Anyhow, the invitation turns out to be bait. A puzzle, a test that only spacefaring cultures can pass. The Giants, for whatever reason, have judged other space travelers to be threats, perhaps to themselves or their dominance, perhaps to the well-being of the galaxy in general. So, they once their outpost fully powers up, it launches its massive ship of eggs at Earth. The naive humans figure it out, almost too late, and end up sacrificing themselves, and probably their beautiful ship, to knock the Giant ship out of the sky.

I wonder who triggers the warning beacon that lures the Nostromo down in the first movie... The humans, or that actual Giant pilot we see fossilized.

This sort of p/re-appearance of the misinterpreted message has me feeling like there may be a motif/plot-resonance between PROMETHEUS and ALIEN the way there was between TRON: LEGACY and the original. Also, the Company regulation android - Fassbender's whoever / Holm's Ash. I could see him being a stealth android, like Ash was. That would fit in the prequel world easily, right?

But hey, like I said at the start, someone called this a "maybe-prequel..."

That got me thinking... What if this happens between ALIEN and ALIENS? Would the Company know anything about what happened in ALIEN before they recover Ripley's shuttle? Well, Mother and Ash communicated enough or had enough classified protocol to follow that they were ready to put an infected member into cryosleep in order to bring a sample of this weaponizable biology back home. We've gotta believe that the Company KNOWS. I mean, establishing Newt's colony before ALIENS is no coincidence, right?

So, when these archaeologists find out that their invitation points to this planetoid, the Company happily underwrites the mission. Maybe these guys visit the Giant ship after Kane and friends, but have the tech and know-how w them to power it back up, or inadvertently trigger it.

Hrmm... And Kane and friends disabled the warning beacon, right? They'd have no clue.

Interrresting. Doesn't change all that much, except maybe on their way in they might encounter some log or record of the Nostromo's encounter that they only decrypt after they land and probably just about when the Giant poop hits the Giant fan, eh?

Right, well, I guess I'll found out later today! =)

In space, no one can hear you scream... Woo-hoo!

Keep on keepin on~

Setting up for the next AVENGERS...

Holy crap! Okay, can we say that Coulson died heroically?

Can we say that he died at Loki's hands?

Where do heroes go when they die, in Asgardian lore?

Valhalla!

It seems a stretch given that we don't see a lot of development in the relationship between Thor and Coulson, but there's definitely camaraderie and respect, right? Perhaps even something of a debt, as Coulson pulled strings to keep Jane Foster out of harm's way during AVENGERS...

It really seems that it's Iron Man/Stark who has the strongest relationship with Coulson, but maybe it's at his behest that Thor journeys in search of Coulson in the Asgardian afterlife. His death, while heroic, was brought about by his half-brother's machinations and meddling in Midgardian affairs. A Wrongful death. In order to right that, he would recover Coulson...

This could be part of the next IRON MAN and maybe all of the next THOR, in whichever order. Would be nice to have Stark get to tinker with some Asgardian magic/tech at the source, no? Or maybe get a look at Odin's vault, maybe be there when they discover that Loki has scarpered away with the Gauntlet, leaving behind some cheeky note... "Avenge this, pretty boys!"

Actually, I've got to rework this a bit. Maybe it's double wrong because instead of Valhalla, Coulson has been consigned to Hel. Why this would have happened...? Loki's magicks? The corruption of the spear? Bleah. I don't know, but I really want this to be the case because we need to have Hela introduced as a Big Bad in the solo movie/s before we reveal that SHE is the manipulating Death that Thanos courts!

=)

Keep on keepin on~

post-AVENGERS crazy talk: Mr. T

Okay, I haven't made it to a screening number three yet, but I'm not dead, so obviously, I'm still thinking about THE AVENGERS. Again - *SPOILER ALERT!!!*

If you'd like to reacquaint yourself with my earlier rambling:

• AVENGERS crazy talk 1
• AVENGERS crazy talk 2

This one is going to be a little focused on a character from the first epilogue. which is to say, I've got a crazy/great thought about that ultimate, cosmic Goth, Big Purple, the Capital T, Death's number one stalker, the Mad Titan... Thanos! =)

What if he's the Red Skull??

The case for:

1. At the end of CAPTAIN AMERICA, I wanted to believe that the Cosmic Cube, aka Tesseract (when did it get that WRINKLE IN TIME name? - that really pushes its definition as a wormhole-opener over reality-bender), somehow assimilated the Skull's essence, maybe against his will, or maybe following a loose interpretation of the Skull's unspoken/subconscious wish - "ultimate power" or "superior being?" But, what we *see* -seventy some years in the past- is the first manifestation of the Cube's power as a portal. A rip in spacetime opens above the Cube and we see a different part of the cosmos thru it, and as the Cube seems to amp up in power in the Skull's hand, it "beams" him to some point on the other side of the portal. So, who do we know who present-day-ly lives over there on the "other side of the galaxy" (Hawkeye's words)? Why, it's Thanos, and his Chitauri cronies. So, I put forth that the Skull arrived in Chitauri space via Tesseract, perhaps driven mad(der) and transformed and perhaps supercharged by it, fought/negotiated his way up the Chitauri food chain, and became their Death-worshiping Main Man. To make it a bit more interesting, I *want* to add that the Tesseract also displaced him in time, sending him a couple centuries into the past, which could make him ancient, having lived many human lifetimes Out There, managing Tesseract-invasion campaigns (assuming there are multiple Cubes throughout the universe, and the Thanos and the Chitauri are "tuned" into their energy) for hundreds of years, waiting/hoping for Earth's to one day be activated again. (In the Marvel comics universe, multiple cubes have been created, and some of them have evolved into sentient beings.)


2. This retcon of Thanos's origin would avoid having to explain the long-lived and twisted comic book history of the character, which at the very least would involve creating/introducing the Eternals of Titan.
   
   Oh! Also, it would ground Thanos in a character we've already met. Also also, while Thanos could be all CG, it would be great to have Hugo Weaving back, no?
   
   a. Crazy thought of a crazy thought: Would this open up the possibility for Captain America to don the Nega-Bands (I kind of not-love the idea of turning Odin's vault into a candy shop, but has anyone seen them there? There's always Project Pegasus, too, right?) and become Captain Marvel to fight him?
   
   b. Would the movie tackle the idea of an actual avatar of Death? An aspect that can be seen/detected by more than just Thanos? Or does she only appear to him, leaving her real-ness ambiguous. Hrmm... Maybe it's actually Asgard's Hela! She could be in a legit worshipful relationship, or manipulating the Mad Titan. Hrmm... We could see Hela appear in the shadows of solo hero movies for a while to set her up, maybe even flashback to scenes with her from movies we've already seen...? But, how often can we go to the Asgardian well, right...? Hrmmm...


3. Skull-Thanos (or is ThanoSkull better?) would have a familiarity and appreciation of Loki's pedigree. As a true believer in Asgard and Asgardian magic-science, it would make sense that he would recognize Loki's value, as an agent and as a pawn, and perhaps use his intel to learn how to reach and ultimately sack the Shining City for its power and vault of cosmic weaponry, including his beloved Infinity Gauntlet, which we see in THOR (next to the Evil Eye?). Hrmmm... Maybe when we see Loki manipulating Solweig at the end of THOR, he's already in Thanos's thrall, sent to ensure that the Tesseract gets activated on Earth.

The case against: Well, there's nothing that really dings the idea too badly (in my mind =), but...

1. If he was the Pokemon-evolved form of the Skull, wouldn't Thanos want to see to an invasion of Earth personally? Or rather, Titanically? But, y'know, it's been (at least) 70 years, so maybe the Skull's learned a bit about patience, and, assuming he's managed invasions of other Tesseract-tech-developed worlds, maybe he's made it his policy to only show up once the planet is secured by his minions, a la Vader on the Blockade Runner at the start of A NEW HOPE. He also has absolutely no reason to believe that his super-soldier nemesis would still be around, so there's no personal stake in it.


2. An explanation as to the transformation from Skull to Thanos. Not all that tough if you ask me. Schmidt had Erskine's proto-super-soldier serum in his system. We saw that "Vita-Rays" activated the final serum for Steve Rogers - who knows what direct exposure to Tesseract radiation (which includes the gamma spectrum, apparently) would do to the Skull, right? And again, if we go by what we *see* at the end of CAP, the Cube basically takes the Skull apart, bit-by-bit, and them modems him across the galaxy. Who knows how it might have tweaked him in transit. And again again - the Marvel movie universe has not explored or even acknowledged this aspect of Cube-ness, but - if reality-bending *is* in the Tesseract's wheelhouse, well, if the Skull wished to become the "superior man" capable of wielding the Cube as its master, might the Cube not transform him into a Thanos?


3. Would Loki willingly serve a transformed human? Certainly not without some persuasion, but maybe he doesn't see or know Thanos's origin? Or, having seen ThanoSkull's great Death-worshiping works (which we have yet to see), he has been persuaded.

Anyone wanna punch some holes or help shore this up? Do. =)

Keep on keepin on~

post-AVENGERS crazy talk 2

Again with my post-movie rambling, this time after a second screening, so, again - *SPOILER ALERT!!!*

When Cap comes back from the helicarrier warehouse where the Ark of the Covenant is stored, the "Phase 2" weapons he throws on the lab table have the Hydra insignia. Did *not* notice that before. A nice touch, as it makes his righteous outrage extra righteous.

I tried but could NOT make out what was on screen that dismayed Banner so much. But "GAMMA" was definitely prominently featured. So, maybe his detection algorithm picked up on Loki's spear radiating in the gamma spectrum? OR, maybe Hawkeye's arrow had some kind of gamma emitter in its arrowhead payload? Or a dirty gamma bomb? and THAT's what was detected?

* 120507. After a bit of discussion with Joe, I think I've got it figured out. Joe and I realized that if the detector was successful in aggregating gamma spectrometer readings blah-blah-blah, it would reveal that the Tesseract was in or near NYC, its destination: Stark Tower. It would have *nothing* to say about an attack on the carrier or an imminent explosion. That's just brilliant/horrible timing of an attack designed to cripple SHIELD and recover Loki.

The important points that emerge from or refer back to Banner learning the Cube's whereabouts:

1. Banner knows that the Tesseract is in or bound for NYC, and probably Stark Tower, given that he knows about the Arc Reactor.

2. No one else knows this fact when the attack on the carrier happens, and Banner never has the chance to relay the info (he Hulks out before he can). Stark (and Cap) talk out the logic of it later, tho.

3. Stark tells Cap and the others to let him know when Banner arrives because he's realized that Banner would have seen the NYC/Stark Tower location on the detector. It *does* sound perfectly logical that Banner would roll into Manhattan after having seen a news report about the attack, realizing that the Hulk could actually help, and then owning it and finding it in himself to "suit up." But, his having learned the location from the detector does give him a good and smarter head start from that warehouse in Jersey or wherever he landed.

Maybe.

After Hulk smacks Widow into that machinery and Thor saves her from a killing blow, we definitely do not see her until Fury radios the APB about Hawkeye being on his way to the flight deck or wherever, presumably to escape. It strikes me that the important thing could be that it's the mention of Clint Barton that snaps her out of her post-Hulk-stress-disorder. Still, I would've liked a bit of reinforcement of the notion that she hasn't left that spot/position for all that time. But then... why? Did she go up against the Hulk before? A similar overpowering outmatching opponent?

Gotta say, on second screening, Natasha gets almost as much time and focus as the other guys put together. Not a bad thing, really.

Something I forgot to mention in my previous ramble, something that is sort of a flip side or complement to the "Liberty Bell" move. What to call it, tho...? "Lightning Rod?" "Jump Start?"

In that same Black Forest battle, Thor does his God of Lightning thing vs. Iron Man, not knowing that Stark's armor is built to store and use such energy, allowing him to blast it right back at him. Pretty sweet move, and something that would be fun to see in a battle where Iron Man's repulsors, or maybe even speed, is of more value than Thor's lightning for some reason.

Also, also, forgot to say how much I *love* another actual combo that was used in the battle for Manhattan: Iron Man blasts a few Chitauri while Cap beats a couple down when Cap braces himself with his shield facing Iron Man and Iron Man blasts his shield, causing the beams to bounce back at targets that are behind him. Too frickin fun! =)

Coulson squeezed a couple of tears out of me again. Dammit.

I didn't make the connection the first time, but when Thor and Loki are up on that German mountaintop going on about their brotherly love ("He's adopted."), two black birds wing their way thru the scene. Didn't realize the significance on first viewing (altho it did flash me over to CABIN IN THE WOODS, nothing conspicuous is done without a reason, a plan, remember?) but this time, they registered as Muninn and Huginn, Odin's ravens. So Odin's keeping an eye on his boys, but I wonder if they appeared in any other scenes in the film. Maybe they slipped thru the Tesseract portal to Chitauri/Thanos space? Odin sent them to check out the Burning Galaxy, right? And Surtur and Malekith dispatched them with extreme prejudice, slashing at them all the way to Bifrost, turned away by Heimdall.

Maybe Odin wants to keep an eye on the humans, realizing that Fury and SHIELD's Tesseract weapons development was a logical next step in Midgard-Asgardian "relations" after Thor's throwdown w Loki and the Destroyer in the first THOR movie.

Or perhaps they're checking up on other Asgardian droppings, left behind on Midgard when the Norse gods decided to go laissez faire with their meddling in human civilization... 

I want to say that the ravens can pierce the veils between worlds/dimensions on their own, but maybe the Marvel movie universe rules don't allow that. Makes sense that they would have hitched a ride with Thor when Odin conjured up the "dark energy" whatzit required to beam him to Midgard.

I didn't realize the first time that when Loki spear-skypes with the Chitauri that when the alien starts to lecture him he's referring to Thanos in a very sideways way. Stuff like, "He who gave you the power to defeat all who stand against you" or some such, y'know? He's talking about the Big Purple Guy.

Is this a fair assessment, SAT-question style?

     Thor : Hawkeye :: Thanos : Thor

They're gonna hafta write in or uncover some vulnerability or generally downgrade Thanos's power levels *or* introduce some Power Cosmic-ally charged Avengers ally or allies. Quasar? Captain Marvel? I *did* notice that Project Pegasus had their name on the Dark Energy Research Lab where SHIELD was conducting Tesseract development. Maybe they've already got some aliens there? Sympatico or as captives? Roswell, anyone? Hrmm... Asgard's Bifrost connection on this end was in New Mexico, wasn't it...?

Maybe the Chitauri tech that's fallen all over NYC can be reverse engineered? Or maybe it allows Omni-Wave communication with other aliens who have faced Thanos or the Chitauri already...?

Too bad they blew Galactus and the Silver Surfer on the FF movies already...

Maybe other Heralds are game, tho?

The Infinity Gauntlet would be a lot of fun as several quests spread out over multiple hero films, but we've already seen all(?) the gems on the gauntlet in THOR, right? I'd rather not have every cosmic threat that assembles the Avengers to come from Odin's storage unit, y'know? It's kind of too convenient, donchathink?

Hrmm... Maybe Thanos has some Earthling disciples or emissaries? I mean, he's the ultimate Goth, right? He could easily turn some demotivated nihilistic Earthicans into worshipers, provided he could communicate or broadcast to them across the galaxy.

The Tesseract is an Asgardian artifact, isn't it? Thor says that its use is a signal to other worlds that Earth and humanity are ready for a "higher form of war." A pretty awesome statement. I'd mixed-uppedly thought that the Tesseract was a creation of the Red Skull and Hydra in CAPTAIN AMERICA, but that was a mis-remembering, right? Cuz what must've happened was that the Red Skull tracked down the already created (but inert?) Tesseract hidden in that Norse temple or whatever it was.

But I like the idea that humans created it. And that Out There in the Cosmos are beings who can detect Tesseract development and energy, and see this energy as a sign of a world's or race's advancement, but not so much in a positive light. Only a few civilizations survived the creation of a Tesseract and these few have taken it upon themselves to judge and either guide or destroy the civilizations that develop them in the future, justified by the idea that even one misused/misdirected Tesseract threatens whole stars systems and perhaps galaxies.

Kinda like PLAN NINE FROM OUTER SPACE and Solaranite or whatever it was called.

But but, it seems that the Tesseract was not created by humans. It might not have been created by Asgardians, either, but it was definitely under their protection (but carelessly left behind on Midgard once the Gods retreated to Asgard?). So, is there one and only one Tesseract? Thanos and the Chitauri track it and manipulate any race that finds it into opening a portal, enabling them to invade and conquer and sacrifice that race to Death?

Hrmmm...

Oh! The Tesseract is already *known* to be a portal creator at the beginning of this movie. Solweig's research since Thor might have revealed that I suppose. Hawkeye explains so matter-of-factly, "This thing is a door to the other side of the galaxy, right? Doors open from both sides." So, it's a power source and a gateway. Also, according to Solweig's tripping self, it has "behavior," perhaps a will. That was the origin of the Shaper of Worlds, right? He's an evolved cosmic cube...?

Oh, I *would* like to see Asgard plagued by a Tesseract-fueled Red Skull. If he could subdue Asgard, maybe during the Odinsleep (too convenient?), then he could launch an attack on Midgard and attempt to establish a Fourth Reich. Wheee!~

Something I look forward to seeing in a future Cap, Thor, or Avengers flick: Captain America lifting Thor's hammer. "Whosoever be worthy..." or whatever, right? I can't remember when it happens, but I recall that Cap manages such a feat in Marvel's comic book universe as well as in the Ultimate universe. Superman was able to do it once in JLA/AVENGERS. Beta Ray Bill has done it repeatedly. Anyhow, I think it would be a great moment to stage in front of Odin and/or other Asgardians, to demonstrate the worthiness of humans/Midgardians.

Maybe more after screening number three, yet to be scheduled... =)

Keep on keepin on~

post-AVENGERS crazy talk

I'm just gonna unload about what I loved, was thinking, think now, about the movie (which I wish would never end) and generally scat and ramble about whatever comes to mind in the process, so *SPOILER ALERT!!!*

I *love* Coulson's fate. Everything about it. Not that it *should* be all he's known for, but it *is* Joss, so everyone's game, right? But, it's Marvel, so everyone's gotta make it to the next sequel or cross-over. But, it's Joss, so...

I *knew* that something like that, a horrible/wonderful death, a sacrifice, would happen, but I just didn't see it being Coulson. The math is perfect, of course, but I got swept up in all the awesome and was totally disarmed (which is really not a bad thing - I sometimes wish I could shut off my anticipating movie mind and watch like a 7 year-old (which is the age at which I first saw ALIEN - yeah, my mom's awesome =)) And done so well! Loki, doing his trickster thing and striking in his weaselly way, just when Coulson is at his most courageous and as-always-steadfast-and-subdued. And then, "So, *that's* what it does..."

Brought a tear to my eye.

I *like* the way Fury plays the Captain America trading cards. A hint of the Fury you see in Ultimate Marvel.

I *love* that Stark threw "Life Model Decoy" out there.

I *love* the banter. Each superguy sizing up the other. Setting them up one-against-all, and then in dyads, and in a melee, having the snarky remarks and put downs layer one on top of the other in different combinations... It was kind of musical.

And it only gets better once they've sized each other up and we see the mutual respect. The meeting of the minds in the lab - Tony, Bruce, and Steve - and the follow-up - Tony and Bruce getting the gamma detector up, but also hacking into SHIELD's encrypted whatnot, and Steve busting into the secure storage area on his own - played out wonderfully. Of course, it helped that they had a mutual enemy/challenge - Nick and "Phase 2" development of the Tesseract.

OH! I *love love* Coulson's final words. Or rather, what's left, sadly, unspoken. "They need something to..."

Sadness at the moment. Joy at the storytelling. *sigh*

A flash now - what if Coulson was an LMD? All the time? Or maybe just when he challenges Loki? Nah. I wouldn't put it past Nick, but it detracts from the power of his facing up to Loki and his passing.

I *love* the helicarrier. I honestly just didn't think of it ever sitting in the ocean and then taking off. Just didn't cross my mind. I don't remember if I've seen that in a comic book or not, but seeing it on the big screen was just FUN! And I already knew it was coming of course. There's a lot of goofy fuzzy memories associated w that hunk of junk that just can't stop getting knocked out of the sky. I mean, sure, it's frickin cool, but is a helicarrier PRACTICAL? Eh. Guess you focus on the cool, right?

What goofy fuzzy memories? Well, goofy fuzzy comic book memories. You know what I thought of when that was happening on screen? Godzilla. Yeah, Gozilla, King Of All Monsters. The GODZILLA comic book was where I first encountered S.H.I.E.L.D. and the helicarrier. Might've been my introduction to many of the Marvel superheroes, actually. Thor vs. the big G with the Empire State Building between them! =)

When they cut to the interior of the bridge right after take-off, when we see the giant curved glass windowframe, I thought of Romita, Jr.'s helicarrier from X-MEN, when Rogue takes a silver dollar (or is it a quarter? a Susan B.?) and chucks it, ballistically, thru the carrier's sensors. That was an eye-opening little trick for me when I read it.

Oh, one other goofy fuzzy memory, a reminder of a reminder of one. Seeing the helicarrier in the sky gave me a momentary flash to DOCTOR WHO and U.N.I.T.'s Valiant, which, when I saw it caused me to flash to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s helicarrier. Heh. That's the first time I've noticed that the two acronymtastic organizations have similar tastes in airborne command platforms.

I *love* the first epilogue. I would *never* have guessed that the next Big Bad for the Avengers would be the big T! Perfectly written (if a bit forced) dialogue for it, too. The Chitauri guy is like, "To challenge the humans is to court death." "Court death." That was the gimme, all of three seconds before the actual reveal, heh. Cuz who do we know who looooooooves Death, right? But hey, so... I *sort of* guessed that, tho, right? By the transitive property? Cuz if you've got Captain Marvel, you're gonna have Thanos! Right? Right? =)

But MAN, that is boxing above your weight class, isn't it? I was kind of amazed that this first Avengers movie went with the Chitauri (aka Ultimate Skrulls). Maybe I'm too conservative and cautious in my story-brewing. I mean, we've already been given magic and gods, right? If the audiences buy into that, let's hit them w the aliens right away, right?

But damn. Thanos. That's more like... AVENGERS 4, maybe? I mean, even if they build up to it in bits in IRON MANs and THORs, it'll be a leap to make it happen in A2. MAYbe A3. The Tesseract would be a worthy prize for Thanos if it could be shown to be Cosmic Cubey and reality-altering. But I suppose as "just" a portal-creating tesseract (assuming that teleportation is otherwise highly risky and nigh-impossible), it WOULD be valuable to cross interstellar gulfs and sacrifice billions of souls at a time to Death, right?

But, hey, the Tesseract isn't the only toy in Odin's chest, remember? I do believe the Infinity Gauntlet/Gems were in an Asgardian safety deposit box adjacent to the Casket Of Ancient Winters, or whatever they called it in THOR. But, damn! That is a *LOT* to introduce... I hope they don't rush it. Maybe they could throw a time traveler at the Avengers in a second movie and wait til the third for the Mad Titan. What time traveler, you ask? How about the Maestro? Or maybe Iron Man 2020? Or maybe Kang, who is trying to prevent the Avengers from ever forming, but in a J.J.Abrams-style-STAR TREK story, they *always* form. They are *FATED* to in timeline after timeline...

I *love love love love* the second epilogue! Shwarma! Maybe more than any other scene in the film, this feels like a Joss signature scene. Something that doesn't only develop characters, but brings you closer to them in an unexpected way. A joyful follow-thru. I'm guessing this is the scene that Robert Downey, Jr. boasted they were going to shoot after a press conference or convention panel. I heard today that the second epilogue was not part of the UK cut/release, so wow - they shot it and edited it in for this cut. Sweet and soooo worth it! =)

I *love* the Avengers prime battle in the Black Forest or wherever it was in Germany. Iron Man takes on Thor and Loki watches, amused, from afar. Then Cap steps in and, thanks to the vibranium-adamantium allow that Tony's father developed, and his augmented strength to some degree, he takes a blow from Thor's hammer. The impact of the irresistible force meeting the immovable object creats a shockwave that levels the forest around them. I was sure, in a superhero/action movie cliche model way, that we would see that move again in a crucial moment later in the film. However, I was disappointed and gratified that we did not. Disappointed because I would've been really happy to see it, but gratified because Joss and the film chose to buck the cliche and -I hope!- save the maneuver for the next AVENGERS, or maybe a Cap or Thor flick. Needs a name, a la "Fastball Special," but alas, the only one that springs to mind is "The Gong." Not very cool, but maybe its thuddishness will have an appeal delivered by one of the superheroes in the midst of battle? Hrmm... "Liberty Bell?" Of course, Iron Man could deliver the line/name snarkily and sell it.

I *missed* the significance of the gamma-rad detector alarm going off just when Hawkeye and co. blow Engine Number Three. From Banner's reaction to the readout, he seems to see that there must be a gamma radiation source right on top of the helicarrier, right? Something like, "Oh sh---!" And then Hawkeye's boom arrow blows. I was thinking that maybe Hawkeye had a device that might emit gamma as a way to induce the Hulk transformation against Banner's will. That would fit right in with Loki's strategy to use the Hulk, right? Loki's amusement at seeing Banner in his lab was a perfect setup for that. Just seeing his smile as he's escorted down that corridor says it all, really.

Loki's spear *seemed* to be responsible for relaying or emitting some Psycho-Man style emotional screw wave, causing all of the Avengers to bump egos and butt heads in its proximity, but that was never spelled out. Is there a logic to that, tho? The spear seems to channel a portion of the Tesseract's power, typically in destructive blasts, and presumably some limited sympathetic teleportation energy, in sync w the Tesseract proper. How does something like that mess with human/demi-god behavior?

Hrmm... Loki does use the spear to "possess" his minions, a la Hawkeye and Solweig. Is the emotional tweaking an extension of that? Was the spear Loki's to begin with (gotta re-watch THOR I guess)? As God of Mischief I'd be willing to grant him the ability to mess with human thoughts and emotions, but we never see him use such an ability in a direct way when it would benefit him.

So, there's no great logic to the spear messing with the Avengers' minds, even tho it certainly looks like that's what's happening.

I kind of like my gamma emitter theory better. Would also help explain how Hulk's first appearance was all about unfocused rage, but his second, Banner-willful one, is more directed.

I *rolled with* the Hulk being able to reign in his chaotic nature to focus on an actual battle. It totally works with the momentum of the film, and offers so many rewards in its execution, but I would have liked more of a set-up for it. An admission from Bruce that when he *chooses* to transform, it makes a difference. Or that Tony's pep talk about how each of their burdens is actually something that saved or saves them, and for something more and greater. A *truly* great comparison in the context of the Marvel movie universe. It reminded me of how I dug ULTIMATE HUMAN (Ultimate Hulk + Ultimate Iron Man) because it demonstrated how Hulk and Iron Man are manifestations of the same or similar pursuits - improving human beings. I honestly can't remember the details of the story now, but I liked that idea.

I *filled in* some stuff on my own in regards to Black Widow, post-Hulk attack. I think in contrast to every other situation she finds herself in, she has the least control of the scenario when facing the Hulk. The wallop he gives her that bounces her off some helicarrier machinery is a true shock to her system. The Hulk is raging at that point, and ready to vaporize her with his next blow, when Thor hits him and sends them both into another sector of the ship. Several minutes later, Fury radios that Hawkeye is heading for some part of the carrier, looking for agents to respond and intercept. We see Widow still in the same place the Hulk left her, closer to catatonic than her usual hyper-aware self. For me, her apparent state tells me that she's dealing with this brutal, horribly mismatched, defeat in a very bad and personal way. I think a lot of it is about control (compare to her intro scene with the three Russian arms dealers) but some may about guilt and what punishment she might think she deserves (the red in her book). In any case, I feel like I had to do some of the lifting to make that work for me. Did anyone else? Or am I reading more than is meant to be there? To really sell it, a couple of cuts to Natasha after Thor tackles Hulk and before she responds to Fury's radio message would've been good.

I still would've liked to have seen some SHIELD dossiers on other potential Avengers recruits. A "Peter Parker," a "Logan," a "Henry Pym."

Did they retcon the creation of the Hulk to make it a failed attempt at recreating the super soldier serum? Is that what the first two movies suggested? Frack. Really can't remember. Blerg.

Didn't love Miss HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER as Maria Hill, but then again, didn't hate her. Made a decent enough foil for Fury. Before she was addressed as Hill, I thought she might've been an Agent 13, Sharon Carter, but that's probably too soon for Cap, right? Maybe she'll get written into that role as Maria Hill, tho. She did seem to take eyebrows-raised notice of Rogers on the bridge, eh?

Allright, enough (otherwise known as way too much) for now. I'm gonna see it again tomorrow. =)

Keep on keepin on~

pre-AVENGERS crazy talk

I've done a pretty solid job of avoiding spoilers, news, trailers, and interviews for the movie. I kind of hate that there was a pre-premiere already - that there are people walking around with AVENGERS in their head already - when/who/how does that happen? Is that typical for a summer blockbuster film? Grah!

Well, I'm gonna see it today and just wanna get down some of my crazy thoughts to look back on once the afterglow fades...

Sometime in 2014, I guess? =)

Okay. We know it's Loki behind whatever's going on. Or at least, he's the manipulator, the mischief maker. Whether he's actually in control in the end/throughout, I kind of hope not. I want the Cosmic Cube and the Red Skull's soul or whatever passes for it, trapped within or imprinted upon the Cube, to step up and smite Loki about a bit. I don't know who's got the brawn to actually stand up to the Avengers in combat, but I think we'll get some pretty great legally required crossover smackdowns between the Avengers themselves, mettle and metal testing and all, right? Loki can easily recruit or manipulate an army of Asgardian types - giants, trolls, beasties. And whoever holds the Cube can easily create or time-jump whole armies and technologies. So, there'll be fodder for melees, beatdowns, go-on-without-mes, and general chaos.

The Cube can be a huge temptation. Thor, banished from Asgard (he is, still, right? I've forgotten details *). Cap, a man out of time. Tony, a futurist who (believes he) sees how to bring about a technological utopia. Hawkeye, a guy with good aim in a team of gods and supermen. Bruce, a Jekyll. Hulk, a Hyde. Nick Fury, entrusted with the security of the free world. Black Widow, heh. She'll probably be the only one who's not gonna be overwhelmed by it. She'll wish for unlimited bullets and never having to shave her legs again and be done with it. Whaddyathink, Joss?

* 120506. Joe reminded me that Bifrost was destroyed at the end of THOR, preventing Asgardians from traveling to Midgard without, apparently (as Loki expositionally taunts Thor in AVENGERS), massive "dark energy" effort on Odin's part.

I wonder how much time the movie could spend on visiting these fantasy worlds - presented as temptations by Loki, or maybe as actual waves of rewritten reality, as the Cube is handled by the Avengers. Probably not enough time/reason to explore, but if they were "Monkey's Paw" wishes, with downsides, it would be great to see how those ripple. Or maybe one of them, or a subconscious one of them, actually sticks...

What if Cap wishes that Bucky survived? Maybe that rewrites reality so that Bucky survives his fall into the abyss (which I already think he did =) and sentencing him to his non-life as "Winter Soldier."

Blerg. It's too easy for me to stroll down too many comic book conventional paths. *sigh*

I'd still love for there to have been a Cap-Thor encounter back in the 40s. An untold tale, y'know?

And I would LOVE to see hints of other heroes/franchises. Maybe Fury's got a file on Peter Parker? Or we hear that Loki is running into some trouble with Latveria. Or -and this would be pretty sweet- we get a glimpse of an Ultron that Stark is working on or just completed. I know it's Pym who creates him, but I saw that in AVENGERS NEXT, the animated flick, they retconned things so that Stark is his "father." Would be a nice thing to continue into a next IRON MAN flick, and then into a next AVENGERS with the creation of Vision...

But... I've already heard that there are some big-name humans in line for the next IRON MAN. If one of them was Nick Cage, than I'd love to say that they'll try to create a Mandarin nemesis for him (remember him in GRINDHOUSE? =). But really, I never loved the idea of those frickin rings. Still... There *would* be a great basis for them now that Asgardian tech/magic is part of the Marvel movie universe... Hrmm...

Could they work in the notion that the super-soldier program was the start of mutation? Did the Invaders ever exist? Does Nick Fury have the Infinity Formula coursing thru his veins? Was he one of the prisoners that Cap freed from the Skull's prisons?

How/when will they bring aliens into the mixx? Wow. Could you imagine Hawkeye being killed in final battle - having apparently sacrificed himself, or maybe killed by the enemy when he inexplicably turns on the Avengers and makes a mad dash for the Cube- and then reverting to a Skrull?! =)

Enter: Captain Marvel! =)

Heh.

Allright, enough rambling...

But not really, of course. Frack. I wish I had some comic book friends to bounce and ricochet all this crazy talk off of. *sigh*

Keep on keepin on~

IFFBoston 2012 opening night: SLEEPWALK WITH ME:

IFFB opening night festival droppings =)

IFFB | site

An EXCELLENT opening night film! Funny, earnest, relate-able, and I don't know if it's Boston, or the IFFB, but having Ira Glass in the room amped it all up a bit, even for opening night. =) The film is a cinematic adaptation of comedian Mike Birbiglia's true story about a time in his life in which he made some radical changes and decisions regarding his career and relationship, a time which happened to coincide with an escalating sleepwalking problem. He's presented this as a stage show and collection of essays as well as as a segment on THIS AMERICAN LIFE. I'm not exactly sure whose head the light bulb went off over, but TAL's Ira Glass joined forces with Birbiglia to make the film happen. The result: a thoroughly entertaining film about a somewhat wishy-washy comedian whose bouts of sleepwalking may be an expression of his unacknowledged issues and anxieties connected to his relationship with longtime girlfriend Abby (the lovely Lauren Ambrose) and the (lack of) direction of his career.

At the start of the film, Mike Pantamiglia (Mike B.) and Abby are getting their first place together after a dozen years of, well, "going steady." (Do the kids still say that?) We then follow them to his sister's engagement party at their parents' home. Sis and her husband-to-be have been together for two years. You can imagine how the conversation turns when Mike's mother (Carol Kane) not-so-absentmindedly asks Mike and Abby how long they've been dating now. Mike feels like things are just fine the way they've always been, and believes (or needs to believe) that Abby feels the same way. For her part, Abby voices neither agreement nor disagreement but we know that she's ready for a next step.

Hrmmm...

When the subject of baby-making comes up after a night out with a couple of friends who have recently become parents, Mike automatically turns the subject into a joke, dodging the serious discussion bullet with some morbidly funny tangents. Their relationship continues to tread water. However, when Mike's sister's wedding day arrives, treading will no longer suffice. Wacky fun ensues.

Well, continues to ensue. =)

I couldn't help but be reminded of Louis C.K.'s series LOUIE, as SLEEPWALK peppers the unfolding drama of Mike and Abby's relationship with his live performances, from emceeing community college talent shows to debuting breakthru material on the road. It's only a barely a formal resemblance, really, and for me, not a bad thing at all for my experience of the film (I *love* LOUIE). The evolution of his comedic material, along w the material itself, is very funny and clever, and is actually a great manifestation of how he comes to understand his worries, doubts, and nature when it comes to committing to Abby.

*SPOILERS* follow as I just ramble a bit about the film...


*SPOILERS* follow as I just ramble a bit about the film...


*SPOILERS* follow as I just ramble a bit about the film...

SLEEPWALK WITH ME: Q&A with Ira Glass!

I would have liked to have been caught by surprise by more sleepwalking scenarios. We see Mike obviously experiencing unreal dream situations several times, but only once (that I can remember) are we led into what appears to be a a dramatic exchange between characters that is revealed to be a surreal vision of Mike's overactive REM sleep.

Oh, there is a fun bit of not-a-gotcha surreality when Mike is on the road, driving late at night, overtired, and listening to a book-on-tape about sleep disorders. He begins talking back to the book and finds the book talking back to him, with the book's reader/author joining him in the passenger seat, his voice modulated just as it is thru the car's speakers from the cassette tape. That's good crack! (Craic, I know, but crack is still how I hear and see it =)

During post-show Q&A with co-producer/co-writer Ira Glass, I had one question that I didn't think to ask until Ira announced, "Three more questions." Alas, mine was not one of those three. The question: when/how did Abby learn about Mike's breakthru material, which was based on his doubts about his relationship and the institution of marriage as demonstrated by his parents' 40 years together. It's not necessarily unflattering to Abby --he *does* love her-- but he ends up being more honest with rooms full of strangers than he ever is to his most loyal partner and lover. The film shows us their break up, but does not reveal if/when Abby learns about how their relationship has been fodder for laughs at the Comedy Barn. In the film, years after the break up, when Abby has married and had children, Mike explains that he visits her, his friend, to talk about why she/they stayed together as long as they did. Maybe she supported Mike's mining his real life and honest thoughts for comedy? Or maybe she resented it for years and then forgave him and moved on? Or perhaps the WAY she found out shaped her reaction to the revelation...? Perhaps I'll never know...

That visit DOES lead Mike to an explanation and an insight into human nature, tho. When he asks Abby why she didn't leave him, why she instead agreed to get married, even tho she knew that he could never marry her, she explains that she didn't want to hurt Mike. Mike turns that around and explains that he begged her to marry him because he didn't want to make her mad.

During the Q&A, Ira Glass reveals that this idea was originally encapsulated in a line delivered by Mike's sister that had to be edited out. Ira recognized the significance of this kernel of truth (which Meghna Chakrabarti identified as being very THIS AMERICAN LIFE) and got Mike to bring it back in as part of the closing of the film. What truth? Well, I don't know quite how to best put it into the words of a rule or truism, but I think you can capture it in the question: How many couples stay together when they shouldn't just because they don't want to hurt each other's feelings?

Followed by the evaluation: That's just crazy.

Ayep.

Although Mike's instinct to dodge and avoid keeps him from facing his sleepwalking as a legitimate health issue for too long, he *does* ultimately get medical help and direction to cope with it. In the process, he learns about many sleep disorders, including narcolepsy. This, of course, gets worked into his act...

There's this kind of narcolepsy that afflicts women... It's triggered when they achieve orgasm. So, when immediately after one of these women climaxes, she falls asleep. I've got a name for them: men.

It's funny cuz/and/but it's true. SLEEPWALK WITH ME. =)

Also from Mike B's material in the movie:

I can't heeeear you...!

That's a lip sync joke.

=)

Keep on keepin on~

p.s. Ridiculous confession/bonus round. Until I saw Meghna Chakrabarti's name in the festival's film blurb copy, I always believed her name parsed out to Meghnachak Rabarti. I'm certain I've *never* heard her addressed by just her first name (would she answer to "Meg?").

Boston Comic Con!

I've been a major slacker on the blogging front. How about I cheat making up for it with 240,000 words...?

Oh, you know, do the math:

1 picture = 1,000 words

So...

240 pictures = 240,000 words

Right? Plus all these bonus words right here! Yeah, I'm too good to you. You totally don't deserve me.

Umm... You understand that last bit is supposed to *flatter* me, not inspire a moment of clarity within you that leads you to dump me...

Yes, you're right. It was better when I was saying nothing. Got it.

In any case, enjoy the 'con artistry! =)

Keep on keepin on~

P.S. Also — video of the costume contest group photo and awards!

BTIES: The Two Tenorts!

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Placido Domingo & Stephen Colbert - "La Donna E Mobile"
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog Video Archive

Keep on opera-in on~

Oscars picked

Green indicates the winner and a correct prediction. Yay! Blue indicates the winner and an incorrect prediction. Boo.

And the winners are...

[OSCAR WINNER] [PREDICTED WIN] [SEEN IT]

BEST PICTURE
[X]......[X]......[X]......“The Artist”
[ ]......[ ]......[X]......“The Descendants”
[ ]......[ ]......[ ]......“Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”
[ ]......[ ]......[ ]......“The Help”
[ ]......[ ]......[ ]......“Hugo”
[ ]......[ ]......[X]......“Midnight in Paris”
[ ]......[ ]......[X]......“Moneyball”
[ ]......[ ]......[X]......“The Tree of Life”
[ ]......[ ]......[ ]......“War Horse”

COSTUME DESIGN
[ ]......[X]......[ ]......“Anonymous”
[X]......[ ]......[X]......“The Artist”
[ ]......[ ]......[ ]......“Hugo”
[ ]......[ ]......[ ]......“Jane Eyre”
[ ]......[ ]......[ ]......“W.E.”

Frack. Shoulda stuck w THE ARTIST.

ORIGINAL SONG
[X]......[X]......[ ]......“Man or Muppet” from “The Muppets”
[ ]......[ ]......[X]......“Real in Rio” from “Rio”

Yay! I still can't believe I still haven't seen THE MUPPETS. *sigh*

LEADING ACTOR
[ ]......[ ]......[ ]......Demián Bichir in “A Better Life”
[ ]......[ ]......[X]......George Clooney in “The Descendants”
[X]......[X]......[X]......Jean Dujardin in “The Artist”
[ ]......[ ]......[X]......Gary Oldman in “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”
[ ]......[ ]......[X]......Brad Pitt in “Moneyball”

DIRECTING
[X]......[X]......[X]......“The Artist”
[ ]......[ ]......[X]......“The Descendants”
[ ]......[ ]......[ ]......“Hugo”
[ ]......[ ]......[X]......“Midnight in Paris”
[ ]......[ ]......[X]......“The Tree of Life”

ANIMATED SHORT FILM
[ ]......[ ]......[X]......“Dimanche/Sunday”
[X]......[ ]......[X]......“The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore”
[ ]......[X]......[X]......“La Luna”
[ ]......[ ]......[X]......“A Morning Stroll”
[ ]......[ ]......[X]......“Wild Life”

Pretty and well crafted, but so far from economical. I mean, it felt slow and it's a short film, y'know?

SUPPORTING ACTOR
[ ]......[ ]......[ ]......Kenneth Branagh in “My Week with Marilyn”
[ ]......[ ]......[X]......Jonah Hill in “Moneyball”
[ ]......[X]......[ ]......Nick Nolte in “Warrior”
[X]......[ ]......[X]......Christopher Plummer in “Beginners”
[ ]......[ ]......[ ]......Max von Sydow in “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”

Good for him!

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
[ ]......[ ]......[ ]......“Hell and Back Again”
[ ]......[ ]......[ ]......“If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front”
[ ]......[ ]......[ ]......“Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory”
[ ]......[X]......[ ]......“Pina”
[X]......[ ]......[ ]......“Undefeated”

LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
[ ]......[ ]......[ ]......“Pentecost”
[ ]......[ ]......[ ]......“Raju”
[X]......[ ]......[ ]......“The Shore”
[ ]......[?]......[ ]......“Time Freak”
[ ]......[ ]......[ ]......“Tuba Atlantic”

LEADING ACTRESS
[ ]......[ ]......[ ]......Glenn Close in “Albert Nobbs”
[ ]......[ ]......[ ]......Viola Davis in “The Help”
[ ]......[ ]......[X]......Rooney Mara in “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”
[X]......[ ]......[ ]......Meryl Streep in “The Iron Lady”
[ ]......[X]......[ ]......Michelle Williams in “My Week with Marilyn”

Yeah, I was a fool to go in against the Streep, wasn't I?

DOCUMENTARY SHORT
[ ]......[ ]......[ ]......“The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement”
[ ]......[?]......[ ]......“God Is the Bigger Elvis”
[ ]......[ ]......[ ]......“Incident in New Baghdad”
[X]......[ ]......[ ]......“Saving Face”
[ ]......[ ]......[ ]......“The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom”

SOUND EDITING
[ ]......[X]......[X]......“Drive”
[ ]......[ ]......[X]......“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”
[X]......[ ]......[ ]......“Hugo”
[ ]......[ ]......[X]......“Transformers: Dark of the Moon”
[ ]......[ ]......[ ]......“War Horse”

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
[ ]......[X]......[X]......Bérénice Bejo in “The Artist”
[ ]......[ ]......[ ]......Jessica Chastain in “The Help”
[ ]......[ ]......[ ]......Melissa McCarthy in “Bridesmaids”
[ ]......[ ]......[ ]......Janet McTeer in “Albert Nobbs”
[X]......[ ]......[ ]......Octavia Spencer in “The Help”

FILM EDITING
[ ]......[ ]......[X]......“The Artist”
[ ]......[ ]......[X]......“The Descendants”
[X]......[ ]......[X]......“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”
[ ]......[ ]......[ ]......“Hugo”
[ ]......[X]......[X]......“Moneyball”

SOUND MIXING
[ ]......[ ]......[X]......“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”
[X]......[ ]......[ ]......“Hugo”
[ ]......[ ]......[X]......“Moneyball”
[ ]......[ ]......[X]......“Transformers: Dark of the Moon”
[ ]......[X]......[ ]......“War Horse”

ANIMATED FEATURE
[ ]......[ ]......[ ]......“A Cat in Paris”
[ ]......[ ]......[ ]......“Chico & Rita”
[ ]......[ ]......[ ]......“Kung Fu Panda 2”
[ ]......[ ]......[ ]......“Puss in Boots”
[X]......[X]......[X]......“Rango”

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
[ ]......[ ]......[ ]......“Bullhead”
[ ]......[ ]......[ ]......“Footnote”
[ ]......[ ]......[ ]......“In Darkness”
[ ]......[ ]......[ ]......“Monsieur Lazhar”
[X]......[X]......[ ]......“A Separation”

VISUAL EFFECTS
[ ]......[ ]......[X]......“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2”
[X]......[ ]......[ ]......“Hugo”
[ ]......[ ]......[ ]......“Real Steel”
[ ]......[X]......[X]......“Rise of the Planet of the Apes”
[ ]......[ ]......[X]......“Transformers: Dark of the Moon”

ART DIRECTION
[ ]......[X]......[X]......“The Artist”
[ ]......[ ]......[X]......“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2”
[X]......[ ]......[ ]......“Hugo”
[ ]......[ ]......[X]......“Midnight in Paris”
[ ]......[ ]......[ ]......“War Horse”

MAKEUP
[ ]......[X]......[ ]......“Albert Nobbs”
[ ]......[ ]......[X]......“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2”
[X]......[ ]......[ ]......“The Iron Lady”

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
[X]......[ ]......[X]......“The Descendants”
[ ]......[ ]......[ ]......“Hugo”
[ ]......[ ]......[X]......“The Ides of March”
[ ]......[X]......[X]......“Moneyball”
[ ]......[ ]......[ ]......“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”

CINEMATOGRAPHY
[ ]......[X]......[X]......“The Artist”
[ ]......[ ]......[X]......“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”
[X]......[ ]......[ ]......“Hugo”
[ ]......[ ]......[X]......“The Tree of Life”
[ ]......[ ]......[ ]......“War Horse”

ORIGINAL SCORE
[ ]......[ ]......[X]......“The Adventures of Tintin”
[X]......[X]......[X]......“The Artist”
[ ]......[ ]......[ ]......“Hugo”
[ ]......[ ]......[X]......“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”
[ ]......[ ]......[ ]......“War Horse”

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
[ ]......[ ]......[X]......“The Artist”
[ ]......[ ]......[ ]......“Bridesmaids”
[ ]......[ ]......[X]......“Margin Call”
[X]......[ ]......[X]......“Midnight in Paris”
[ ]......[X]......[ ]......“A Separation”

For those playing at home, that's 7 out of 24. Weak!

=)

Keep on keepin on~

Oscar picks

A few hours before the Academy Awards, here are my picks for the major categories. I hafta say, I've done a very poor job of consuming the supposedly creme de la creme films this past year. Except for DRIVE and Dujardin, I really don't feel all that passionately about any film or category below. Should've been more DRIVE. No TROLL HUNTER. No INTO THE ABYSS. No THE GUARD. No TABLOID. No SUCKER PUNCH...

There are two columns of checkboxes next to each nominee. The first one is for who/which film I think will win the award. The second is for whether I've seen the film or not.

If I've got something to say about my choice or the nominees, it'll appear after the nominees. It'll probably be very vague and I'll avoid anything spoilery.

And the nominees are...

[PREDICTED WIN] [SEEN IT]

BEST PICTURE
[X]......[X]......“The Artist”
[ ]......[X]......“The Descendants”
[ ]......[ ]......“Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”
[ ]......[ ]......“The Help”
[ ]......[ ]......“Hugo”
[ ]......[X]......“Midnight in Paris”
[ ]......[X]......“Moneyball”
[ ]......[X]......“The Tree of Life”
[ ]......[ ]......“War Horse”

THE ARTIST is irresistibly charming, but if you turn your head slightly, it might be cloying. I did not turn my head slightly. I wish I'd seen WAR HORSE. I can imagine Spielberg doing amazing things with the story, but I just can't make that call not having seen it and having seen THE ARTIST. Wouldn't be surprised if it won, tho. I'm just not seeing what others see in THE DESCENDANTS. MIDNIGHT IN PARIS is another charmer - very fun, but a little thin on substance.

COSTUME DESIGN
[X]......[ ]......“Anonymous”
[ ]......[X]......“The Artist”
[ ]......[ ]......“Hugo”
[ ]......[ ]......“Jane Eyre”
[ ]......[ ]......“W.E.”

Shakespeare's always got great costumes, right?

ORIGINAL SONG
[X]......[ ]......“Man or Muppet” from “The Muppets”
[ ]......[X]......“Real in Rio” from “Rio”

I can't believe I still haven't seen THE MUPPETS. *sigh*

LEADING ACTOR
[ ]......[ ]......Demián Bichir in “A Better Life”
[ ]......[X]......George Clooney in “The Descendants”
[X]......[X]......Jean Dujardin in “The Artist”
[ ]......[X]......Gary Oldman in “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”
[ ]......[X]......Brad Pitt in “Moneyball”

I think I saw Brad Pitt do his best work this year in MONEYBALL and TREE OF POOP, but I think that THE ARTIST couldn't have happened without Dujardin.

DIRECTING
[X]......[X]......“The Artist”
[ ]......[X]......“The Descendants”
[ ]......[ ]......“Hugo”
[ ]......[X]......“Midnight in Paris”
[ ]......[X]......“The Tree of Life”

It's just ridiculously charming, and altho I have little firsthand experience with silent films, FEELS so authentic and of the time and style. I'm gonna give Mr. Director-man the credit for that. Altho it brought some very real family relationships, interactions, and rituals to big screen life, I think TREE OF POOP fails to use them to evoke the kind of message and observation/s that the director wished to convey.

ANIMATED SHORT FILM
[ ]......[X]......“Dimanche/Sunday”
[ ]......[X]......“The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore”
[X]......[X]......“La Luna”
[ ]......[X]......“A Morning Stroll”
[ ]......[X]......“Wild Life”

I loves me some Pixar! A wonderfully realized rite of passage story that also explains the waxing and waning of the moon. The two brooms are just a crazy and perfect visual win. One among many. My next pick would've been "Sunday." The others are all a distant third. "Morning Stroll" has an ingenious concept behind it, but the styles it adopted for its second and third segments were just a little too much. I felt like the near-future bit tripped over itself while showing off. I know the temptation to throw everything you can into an animated short is difficult to resist, but its typically for the best. "Flying Books" was a sweet idea, but with an overlong execution. An end card mentioned that the film was dedicated to two people who had spent their lives making books come alive (paraphrasing, I think that was the message), added a welcome additional dimension to the experience, but I wish some of that could have been injected at the start.

SUPPORTING ACTOR
[ ]......[ ]......Kenneth Branagh in “My Week with Marilyn”
[ ]......[X]......Jonah Hill in “Moneyball”
[X]......[ ]......Nick Nolte in “Warrior”
[ ]......[X]......Christopher Plummer in “Beginners”
[ ]......[ ]......Max von Sydow in “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”

Going w the gut and picking the grizzled guy. Last thing I saw him in on the big screen was THIN RED LINE, by Terrence Malick. He's great, if somewhat despicable, in that.

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
[ ]......[ ]......“Hell and Back Again”
[ ]......[ ]......“If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front”
[ ]......[ ]......“Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory”
[X]......[ ]......“Pina”
[ ]......[ ]......“Undefeated”

I don't see a LOT of documentaries, but I usually end up seeing at least one that makes it as a nominee. Boo. Boo on me. I was way off my game in 2011. *sigh* PINA because it's 3-d filmmaking applied to dance. Reviewing the other titles, I can't remember reading or seeing a trailer for any of them. Foo. Why isn't THE INTERRUPTORS here?

LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
[ ]......[ ]......“Pentecost”
[ ]......[ ]......“Raju”
[ ]......[ ]......“The Shore”
[?]......[ ]......“Time Freak”
[ ]......[ ]......“Tuba Atlantic”

Total guess. Couldn't make any of the showtimes for this at the Kendall. Foo.

LEADING ACTRESS
[ ]......[ ]......Glenn Close in “Albert Nobbs”
[ ]......[ ]......Viola Davis in “The Help”
[ ]......[X]......Rooney Mara in “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”
[ ]......[ ]......Meryl Streep in “The Iron Lady”
[X]......[ ]......Michelle Williams in “My Week with Marilyn”

I like Michelle. She won a GG for this. I think it's funny that if you didn't know who Glenn Close was, and only read "Glenn Close in ALBERT NOBBS" there's no reason for you to think that the movie would be focused on the life of a cross-dressing woman. =)

DOCUMENTARY SHORT
[ ]......[ ]......“The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement”
[?]......[ ]......“God Is the Bigger Elvis”
[ ]......[ ]......“Incident in New Baghdad”
[ ]......[ ]......“Saving Face”
[ ]......[ ]......“The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom”

Total guess. Elvis!

SOUND EDITING
[X]......[X]......“Drive”
[ ]......[X]......“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”
[ ]......[ ]......“Hugo”
[ ]......[X]......“Transformers: Dark of the Moon”
[ ]......[ ]......“War Horse”

DRIVE is awesome. And memorable for its squishy explosions of violence juxtaposed with singsongy music and extended silences. I refuse to give the Michael Bay TRANSFORMERS franchise anything.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
[X]......[X]......Bérénice Bejo in “The Artist”
[ ]......[ ]......Jessica Chastain in “The Help”
[ ]......[ ]......Melissa McCarthy in “Bridesmaids”
[ ]......[ ]......Janet McTeer in “Albert Nobbs”
[ ]......[ ]......Octavia Spencer in “The Help”

She is like a sexy Carol Burnett in this. And that's a good thing. You should check out the OSS117 films for more of Bejo and Dujardin. =)

FILM EDITING
[ ]......[X]......“The Artist”
[ ]......[X]......“The Descendants”
[ ]......[X]......“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”
[ ]......[ ]......“Hugo”
[X]......[X]......“Moneyball”

SOUND MIXING
[ ]......[X]......“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”
[ ]......[ ]......“Hugo”
[ ]......[X]......“Moneyball”
[ ]......[X]......“Transformers: Dark of the Moon”
[X]......[ ]......“War Horse”

ANIMATED FEATURE
[ ]......[ ]......“A Cat in Paris”
[ ]......[ ]......“Chico & Rita”
[ ]......[ ]......“Kung Fu Panda 2”
[ ]......[ ]......“Puss in Boots”
[X]......[X]......“Rango”

It's has some of those annoying anthropomorphized animals otherwise living in our real world logic issues that always bug me when the movie's over, but it is a pretty wonderfully crazy western at heart, and I dig me some crazy westerns. I loved Rango's vision/encounter with the Spirit Of The West. His cheeky identity and the choice of talent to voice him (Olyphant) were a great treat for me. =)

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
[ ]......[ ]......“Bullhead”
[ ]......[ ]......“Footnote”
[ ]......[ ]......“In Darkness”
[ ]......[ ]......“Monsieur Lazhar”
[X]......[ ]......“A Separation”

From everything I've heard - an excellent film.

VISUAL EFFECTS
[ ]......[X]......“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2”
[ ]......[ ]......“Hugo”
[ ]......[ ]......“Real Steel”
[X]......[X]......“Rise of the Planet of the Apes”
[ ]......[X]......“Transformers: Dark of the Moon”

I ate up the new APES movie. It's hard to determine if it is as awesome as I think it is, tho, cuz it pushed a lot of my love-for-the-original-movies buttons, y'know? Eat it, TRANSFORMERS.

ART DIRECTION
[X]......[X]......“The Artist”
[ ]......[X]......“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2”
[ ]......[ ]......“Hugo”
[ ]......[X]......“Midnight in Paris”
[ ]......[ ]......“War Horse”

MAKEUP
[X]......[ ]......“Albert Nobbs”
[ ]......[X]......“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2”
[ ]......[ ]......“The Iron Lady”

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
[ ]......[X]......“The Descendants”
[ ]......[ ]......“Hugo”
[ ]......[X]......“The Ides of March”
[X]......[X]......“Moneyball”
[ ]......[ ]......“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”

The movie got me interested in a story about baseball stats. That's some pretty good writing.

CINEMATOGRAPHY
[X]......[X]......“The Artist”
[ ]......[X]......“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”
[ ]......[ ]......“Hugo”
[ ]......[X]......“The Tree of Life”
[ ]......[ ]......“War Horse”

ORIGINAL SCORE
[ ]......[X]......“The Adventures of Tintin”
[X]......[X]......“The Artist”
[ ]......[ ]......“Hugo”
[ ]......[X]......“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”
[ ]......[ ]......“War Horse”

I remember marveling at the adventure-ness encoded in the John Williams score as I watched TINTIN, but as a silent film, the score of THE ARTIST did a lot more work, and quite successfully.

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
[ ]......[X]......“The Artist”
[ ]......[ ]......“Bridesmaids”
[ ]......[X]......“Margin Call”
[ ]......[X]......“Midnight in Paris”
[X]......[ ]......“A Separation”

Again, from everything I've heard.

That's all I've got. I'm probably gonna be sitting out most of the wingding this year. I've got dinner plans and then, I dunno... Maybe I'll go see a movie. =)

Keep on keepin on~

BTIES: two minute rally (volleyball! =)

Keep on diggin on~

black tuesday: Io, Anna-Howard-Shaw-lia!

Happy frickin Valentine's Day, programs!


Ok, I guess that doesn’t have to be weird.

Are you in need of a clue on this day of romantifying? If the answer is aye, please avail yourself of the latest in magical clue-doling technology: the Magic <3-Ball!

Yeah, I'm not gonna tell you how to pronounsticate that, but I will tell you that it just barely won out over "Magic H8-Ball" - heh.

H8 is such a weak word, after all.

You know the drill:

1. Think of your partner, lover, inspiration, cellmate, barrista, sister-wife, or plaintiff. Hold the vision of her/him/them in your mind.


2. Click on the magic less-than-three ball.


3. Your clue will be dispensed.

Clue to what, exactly, I cannot say. That's up to you. Good luck, primitive screwheads!

Keep on keepin on~

BTIES: I say DOWNTON - You say ABBEY!

Some awesome from Phil Noto...




And a bit of spot-on backhanded love from SNL (hopefully one of these is still actually live)...




=)

Keep on pippin on~