Cry Wolfenstein!

Happy Halloween!

Now that we done got that out the way.... What do you write about when you have nothing to write about.  It's not block, I don't believe in that, it's just muse, inspiration, ideas are missing for today.  So, instead of boring you with crap, I'll get right to some movie reviews.

MotD: Willard

George McFly as a crazy ass rat lover.  Never seen the original, I'd never even heard Jacko's song from it.  All I knew is there's a ton of rats and crazy karate kicker.  Standard schlub/loser gets picked on until he finds his means of revenge.  Crispin Glover is just perfect in this.  Creepy and obviously disturbed, his Willard is the guy you root for even after he goes off the deep end.  Plus, their use of "Ben" is perfect and it's really an odd song by a young Jacko.

MotD Bonus: Cry Wolf

This one is tough.  At times, I liked it a lot, at others it was too clever for it's own good.  Students in a prep high school start an urban legend of a serial killer that JUST MIGHT BE COMING TRUE!!!  Nothing mystical, it's treated as if someone seriously is doing this.  It's real interested in keeping a whodunit/whosdoingit vibe going, and in the process gets a bit lost in its own byzantine plots.  It does have Jon Bon Jovi in it, whether that's a plus or minus I leave to you, gentle reader.

Son of a Preacher Man.

Unexpected drinks on a Thursday night can only lead to good things, right?

Found a costume, it's one I've wanted to do for a few years.  Inspiration struck me last night as I was succumbing to the self inflicted roofies I take every evening to keep the night terrors in check.  Sadly, it's one that not many will "get".  It's sad because it should be more well known than it is.  It absolutely deserves a wider audience.  Huge among comic fans, but not translating to the masses.

Jesse Custer!

Here's a link to the Wiki.

Some links to get the Trade Paperbacks. 

I can't recommend this series enough.  The premise is...

Jesse Custer is a small town Texas preacher who sees his congregation destroyed by the same energy bolt from Heaven that grants him the "Word of God".  He now has the ability to command others to do "exactly" what he says.  He starts on a journey, joined by his great love Tulip and newfound friend Cassidy, an Irish Vampire, to find America's soul and see if God still gives a shit.  Along the way he encounters a collection of the most depraved and socially awkward characters that have ever been put to a comic page.

Garth Ennis is the writer, Steve Dillon the penciller (for most of the issues) and they are just brilliant.  It touches on some advanced topics and certainly isn't afraid to get graphic.  However, you will be hooked once you try the first collection.  Every issue has been compiled and they even did a hardcover of the Glenn Fabry painted covers.

MotD: Pumpkinhead

P-head as his friends like to call him, is one of those monsters that always showed up in documentaries about special effects.  Created by recently departed LEGEND Stan Winston, who also directed, Pumpkinhead tells the story of a demon summoned for revenge upon some city kids for the death of a country chillun.  Seriously, that's it.  Kid dies, city folk are dicks about it, Bishop calls forth P-head and regrets it pretty much right away, kids die, Bishop redeems himself a bit, movie over.  Not much there.  The effects are cool, an attempt to add an icon of horror to the genre, but ultimately a fail.

Zuvembie Madness!

Still completely stymied as to a costume.  However, I finished 10 more pages today, bringing me to 48, which is certainly more important!  I actually have one scene that I'm real excited to share with someone to get feedback.  I think it's the emotional lynchpin.

I'm from the South Side of Chicago.  Chicago Ridge to be precise and proud.  If you're familiar with the area, then you're familiar with Riley's Trick Shop on 111th and Ridgeland.  I cannot begin to describe the level of wonder this place held for a kid.  I haven't been there in years, so I cannot speak for it's current status, but in the mid 80's this place had everything. 

Walking in through the door, immediately to the left, there was a glass counter that stretched the entire length of the long, rectangular store.  This glass case had all the tiny trinkets and gags, specifically it held the Magic Tricks!  The older gentleman working, he may have been Mr. Riley, I'm not sure, was always ready to demonstrate a new magic trick for you.  I LOVED going there and he'd show a disappearing mummy, or slice off a finger, etc.  It was always something new and brilliant.  There were literally dozens of gags, no exaggeration.

On the wall behind the case was a collection of masks.  This was like you see in any costume shop, so you can understand the overwhelming sense of HOLY SHIT that took you over when you walked in and saw the Ewok mask from the "new" Star Wars movie. 

Across from them, above the eyeline of the room and stretching the length as well, were full on body costume, adorning the walls.  All kinds of costumes were hanging there, as you can imagine, but there was one Holy Grail that always sparked my imagination.  Batman and Robin, from the 1960's show now, as this was Pre Burton, Pre Dark Knight Batman.  My lord, those costumes always teased me, because I was just a kid, but they were adult costumes.  EVERY single year we'd go in, and I was never the right size for them.  I can still picture them hanging on the wall.

Pic from comicon of exactly the costume I wanted!

If you have the opportunity, go to Riley's and check it out.  If you're in the city, go to Fantasy Costumes, it's probably a larger selection, as it's a HUGE store, but there's something about Riley's charm that will keep it #1 in my heart.

NOT the costumes from Riley's.

UPDATE: After I wrote this, I saw they've opened a new store in Frankfort!  Good for them!  They're on Facebook if you're interested!

MotD: White Zombie

Bela Lugosi as a zombie master!  This is the movie that was shot on the same sets at the same time as the original classic Dracula!  It's a quick film, and lots of fun.  Lugosi is barely in it, but as expected he steals every scene.  Be especially aware when he does the hand *grip* move, which is great as he's just demonstrating his command over us all by shaking his own hands.

And since it's Lugosi, let us not neglect to "Pull the strings!"

Halloweenied

I'm stumped for a costume.  I have a good idea, but don't know if I want to do it.  No, that's not a call for suggestions, although they're welcome, I just usually come up with one on my own.  It's rare that a suggested one strikes my fancy.  I think I'm slow in getting this done because I usually spend some time at my desk, at work, brainstorming ideas.....  yeah, I don't really have a workdesk to brainstorm at nor company time to waste doing so now anyway.  So that's why I'm late.  But I only have 2 days to figure this shit out.

My next favorite thing about Halloween was going to Venture or Zayres to look through the costumes.  As mentioned yesterday, we rarely used off the shelf costumes, I still think they're a bit of a cheat.  However, I distinctly remember a visceral thrill when we'd walk into Venture and the "aisle" was up.  Back then, it was probably only the second week of October, maybe the first.  Now it's Labor Day.  But sometimes you'd be at the store, expecting it, and the lady would say "Nope, coming next week."  And when it was, there was SOOOO many costumes, all completely the same mind you, but the selection was mindblowing for a shorty.  The boxes with plastic mask and then flimsy plastic body suit is what I'm remembering. 

Most of the boxes themselves were standardized too, so you wouldn't know what kind of costume it was, until you looked through the clear plastic front to see the Planet of the Apes face, Batman or Wonder Woman face.  The boxes were piled up and just a potpourri of goodness. 

And this isn't a "better in the old days" rant, it was just different.  They still have that, a magic aisle at Target where dozens of varied costumes just hang there for the taking.  It's so cool. 

Today's pic is probably the real reason why I'm having trouble choosing a costume this year.  I'm gonna say it, my costume last year was FANTASTIC.  I was a dead ringer for Walter Sobchak.  I love this costume.  I had a prop pinkie toe with green nailpolish, Larry Seller's homework in a bag, gun, Donny's Ashes.  It was such a fun costume.

MotD: Trilogy of Terror

Karen Black stars in 3 short stories, as 3 (spoiler alert *maybe it should be 4?*) different ladies in 3 wildly different horror tales.  Not planned to have another anthology movie on the heels of Creepshow 2, but glad it did, because this was vastly superior.  Made for TV, if I'm not mistaken, it's 2 so-so stories and one awesome one.  The last story is great just because it's insane.  Child's Play in the 70's.  Karen Black is good, but one of those actresses that doesn't POP out, but neither does she bury herself in the characters.  It's like she was almost the same person in all 3 stories, but different looks and certainly differing adventures.  Recommended for a cable view.

Is that a Pez in your pants or do you have another kind of candy sticking out phallicly?

I love Halloween, always have.  I know you're shocked if you've read the last week or so.  I'm going to devote this week to Halloween memories, or just times when I shook down strangers for candy.

My Mom used to do the best costumes for us as kids.  Nothing too crazy or overproduced, although she certainly could sew with the best of them, but just really inventive and fun.  My two older sisters and I were, in our youth, a variety of themes that won multiple contests at the neighborhood grocery store.  I do not have pictures of these, tho they exist, they're all at my family's house.  The ones that stand out were when I was still an infant, the three of us were a Grocery Checkout lady, a Shopper and I was the Butcher in my stroller.  Obviously, I only know of this from pictures, I don't have memories of that time, that would be frightening.  Another was a dental theme, I think someone was a Tooth, Toothpaste and Toothbrush.

The one that I'm most fond of was we all went as Pez dispensers one year.  She made cardboard rectangles for each of our bodies, covered in cloth with big PEZ on the sides.  We each got a different color cloth to match our mask.  We then chose whatever kind of mask at the store.  I was a Batman Pez Dispenser.  I wasn't Batman, I was a BATMAN PEZ, how sweet is that.  I'm pretty sure that's where my desire to be off center costumes began, now that I think about it.  I prefer not to be "Superman", but to be Clark Kent, with a S t-shirt underneath. 

Or, as you can see in today's Halloween pic, I was Bruce Banner, JUST as he's changing back to from being The Hulk.  I wasn't the Hulk, and I wasn't Bruce Banner.  I was that mid change look, with green shading, torn clothes, etc.  Mat made me a badass professional looking nametag from Gamma Base, which I still have hanging from my fridge.

As you can see, I've been blessed enough to be surrounded by some fabulous friends, who also partake in the Halloween foolishness.  Doug as the Dago Stereotype, Suzanne as some kind of Skank, me as Banner, Kerri as Pimp, her husband Steve as her Bottom Bitch, Saskia as a Cat and finally Derek, as an Overworked Proctologist.  You might recognize Steve as Axl Rose from a few years ago.  He actually tries to use that same wig in every costume.  It's downright amazing.

MotD: Creepshow 2

File this in the completely unnecessary films of all time list.  This movie brought nothing to the table.  It wasn't scary.  It wasn't thought provoking.  It wasn't exciting.  And worst of all, it wasn't good.  What a piece of crap.  Shame on everyone involved.  Shame!

WKRAP!

The Bengals?  The Bengals did that to us?  You know what the Bears looked like today?  Mid 90's Bears.  Take that!  If that isn't a slap in the face to my favorite football team, I don't know what is.  I can't break down what befell the Beloved, but I can point you, my fine reader, to the best radio analysis of what did happen to the Bears.

This is the Buffone/O'Bradovich Podcast. Go. Here. Now.

Line stunts, Dougie.

They have the most vitriolic, angry radio show you've ever heard.  And we get it after every Bears game, whether they win or lose.  Just awesome.

Feeling on the mend, finally.  I plan on being more productive and prolific this week.

Today's Halloween retrospective pic is from about 10 years ago, Matt Foley, Inspirational Speaker...

As an added bonus, you get my brother-in-law guest starrring as Fat Bastard!  Fantastic!

MotD: Black Christmas

Imagine my surprise when I sat down to watch a Horror movie called "Black Christmas" and it did NOT involve Tyler Perry.  This flick is great.  Wonderful performances by Margot (pre-Lois, always-crazy) Kidder and Juliet from that 70's Romeo & Juliet, this was one of the first slasher flicks.  POV shots, mystery killer, creepy as hell phone calls.  A sorority house gets stalked at Christmas time and the race is on to find the missing girls and stop the killer!  It's like Facts of Life meets Halloween.

Description a Day: The Ridge Edition!

That's right kids, I'm in the mother fucking Ridge.  Deal with that.  Let it soak in.  The Ridge.  R-I-D-G-E.

Have you stopped shaking yet?  Ok then, I'll get into the exciting description of the day.  Sweet christ this is the last one, so I'm going to go retro on your ass and drop some knowledge on my old studio apartment, lived in from 1999-2002.  Kablaam!

White walls, white ceilings and a white carpet adorn this single room dwelling.  To the immediate right is a walk in closet, which leads directly to the kitchen nook.  Inset from the main room roughly 3 feed deep, the electric stove is next to the one sink countertop.  A set of cabinets sit above the sink and range.  To the left of the kitchen is the bathroom, which butts up against the windowed wall.  A heater spans the length of the windows.  A couch sits at a ninety degree angle with the window, in front of a drawer chest, with television resting on top.  To the right of the TV is a computer desk, with assorted computer equiment atop it.  To the left of the TV is an industrial shelf of comic books.  Beyond that, and immediately to the left of the front door is the bed.

That's all I can handle.  My eyes hurt from these descriptions.  I know, a bad omen for my supposed career path, but seriously, this gets old quickly.  I feel like I'm writing product descriptions for The Price is Right.

One more Halloween pic today, here you go, the greatest Blaxploitation superhero, Luke Cage: Power Man!

MotD: Return of the Living Dead Part III


Surprisingly entertaining for a grade B horror flick.  Zombies, grunge and the ever present military industrial complex converge to tell the story of young love interrupted by the pesky undead.  It does, however, feature the lovely URSA from Superman II! 

Awesome.  The true story here is the misfired movie of the day.  I saw On Demand a movie called Resurrection Mary.



Now, being from the South Side, I've heard the RM story a million times, a million ways.  So, I figure, this would be fun, I'm assuming they shot it here on Archer Ave. and all that stuff.  This is so close to The Room that it hurts.  Not good.  Not entertaining, not scary.  I only got about a 1/2 hour in and I turned it off to watch Return of Living Dead III.  Let's go over that again, I turned off this movie to watch Return of the Living Dead III.  Avoid this movie like you would a ghostly apparition you run across on Archer Ave.  Or don't and lie to your friends about how awesome it was.

Description a Day: Kitchen

The back end of the condo is where the kitchen is found. Gold paint adorns the walls, broken up by a soutward facing window. A black valence hangs over the window. Black speckled marble countertops sit on tan cabinets. Along the windowed wall, a washer/dryer combo unit is at the far left end. Next to that a series of drawers and cabinets are bracketed by the black and chrome stove. Above the stove a microwave sits among another set of cabinets, all of which lead into the corner. In this corner is a Superman cookie jar and porcelain kitchen pots. To the right of those, lies the sink, where the towel rack hangs above it. To the right of that, juts a countertop island, resting atop the chrom faced dishwasher. On this area, rests a coffee machine, toaster and small radio. To the far left wall, is the chrome refridgerator/freezer unit, with yet another set of cabinets above it. On the wall behind the door, hangs a black framed Superman II movie poster.

I got to tell you, I'm getting bored out of my mind describing my condo. If you're reading this, god bless you. If I had any to spare, I'd send you each a dollar. I absolutely see the value in this, but Jesus I'm bored.

Still sick today, but did manage to get out and write. By the way, another reason to say motherfuck Starbucks, they don't have free wi-fi. WTF is that? You have to have an ATT Account. My fucking ass. I found I can't focus and write at home, too many distractions. I know, I need to get over that but screw off, for now it's working for me. Borders was all full so I slipped over to Starfucks. Some serious bullshit. Anywho, I've now gotten 38 pages done. Let's not confuse activity with accomplishment, but it's 38 pages more than I had a month ago, so that's pretty cool.

As promised, here is a picture of my Jack Knight Starman costume from about 10 years ago! The pic also includes Steve as Axl Rose!  I still have the Cosmic Rod and every time I have people over, someone asks "WTF is that thing."  I like to not miss a beat and say, "My Cosmic Rod, why do you ask?" Enjoy! Tomorrow, Luke Cage: Power Man! 

MotD: House of 1000 Corpses



Every once in a while, we get a movie that tugs on the heartstrings and reminds us what it's like to love. If you're a complete sociopath, this is that movie. As horror movies go, it's entertaining and chock full of sick shit. As visuals imprinted on your brain go, you'll need a mental douching after this. It's really Rob Zombie's version of Texas Chainsaw Massacre, no better way to describe it. Fucked up is an understatement.

Description a Day: Living Room

Part 3 in my weekly saga of detailed room descriptions to fulfill a class requirement!  Please, try not to fall off the edge of your seats!  However, there is a treat for readers that make it to the end.

The Olive Green walls surround an room brimming with tiny details.  Hardwood floors throughout, the first item you encounter is a wooden bookcase, 3 levels, primarily stocked with Comic Book Graphic Novels and Trade Paperbacks.  Atop the shelf is a small radio and rubber chicken.  Beyond that, the door to the bedroom, and next to that is a wall mounted DVD case.  Two cases, to be precise, bracket a mounted TV, which sits above an entertainment center.  Various video game systems, DVD player and cable box rest here.  Atop the entertainment center is a Bobblehead Ditka, some family portraits and a replica of the Fertility Idol from Raiders of the Lost Ark.  In the far corner of the room, sits two Guitar Hero controllers.  Along the north wall, 3 windows open up to the park across the street, adorned with light tan curtains.  In the far left corner, an end table sits, with a lamp, porcelain E.T., Batman & Robin Gumball machine, and a collection of knick knacks.  The tan couch resides along the long wall, next to a multil shelf media center.  Above the couch is a framed Star Wars: A New Hope poster.  On the near wall, to the left, is a bookshelf and computer desk.  The walls are covered in framed comic art, an illuminated shelf with multiple busts, action figures and comic books.  The entire room is lit by a ceiling spotling fixture and 3 wall sconces.

Ok, not thrilling, but whatever.  Fighting a shitty sinus infection this week, so grumpy and uncomfortable.  Slept most of the day, or tried to, can't focus on much.  As promised, here is the Escapist pic from a few Halloweens ago.  I think I'll dig up a bunch of Halloween costumes and post them.  Tomorrow you'll see the best damn Jack Knight Starman costume ever!

Notice the attention to detail, with the Key around the neck that grants him his uncanny abilities!  I would love to see someone dressed as the Escape-Goat.

MotD: Bug

I understand this was originally a stage play.  I can see that, for about the last 45-60 minutes.  I don't know for sure, but I'd wager the first 45 minutes of this movie were what the screenwriters added to make a movie.  Because the first 45 minutes absolutely sucked termite balls.  Seriously.  Tiny little termite testicles get sucked right off in the first boring ass 45 minutes.  The rest of the movie is a study of hillbilly crackheads getting paranoid, and there's really some good cringe inducing stuff, but overall this is a pass.  No need to waste your time on this.  And *SPOILER* WTF was up with the "psychiatrist" taking a hit on the CRACK PIPE?

MotD EXTRA!: Tyson

I'm glad I watched the extras on this dvd, because the director answered some questions that I had.  Primarily, it's a series of interview with Iron Mike Tyson, telling his own story.  It's gripping, especially anyone that watched him rise and fall over 2 decades, even if you have no interest in boxing.  I'm not a fan of boxing, but am fascinated by Tyson, as he's a truly messed up dude.  At the end of the credits, they run a "Persons depicted are fictional and do not represent real people..." blah blah disclaimer.  And it throws you off, because you thought you just watched a documentary.  Then upon reflecting you realize no, you just watched one man tell his story, with no conflicting opinions.  It's then you realize that the frank honesty that he discussed his various issues makes you feel as if you're listening to the truth.  Because if it isn't, and his version is sugar coated, well...  wow.  The director discusses that, saying that he really wanted it to be like a written biography, in Mike's own words.  I recommend this movie with two thumbs and an earlobe up.  It certainly glosses over some phases, but it's very revealing in others.

And here's a picture of Cecily Tyson, for those of you who read this far, hoping that she was the special surprise.

What do you want for nothin?

Rubber Biscuit?

Description a Day: Bathroom

A strong blue covers the walls.  This is the hue of Superman's uniform, accented by a bright red shower curtain.  Tan tiles surround the shower area, and stop at the edge of the whirlpool bathtub.  To the left, a white wall hung medicine cabinet sits full of typical bathroom amenities, visible through the glass doors.  Below that lies a red towel hanging from a brushed nickel towel rod.  Behind the white door is a singular hanging hook, currently holding a white towel.  Above the towel is a tin sign with a classic Superman adorning it.   Across from the wall cabinet is the bathroom sink, white porcelain sitting on a white floor cabinet.  Above it hangs a mirror.  Immediately to the right of the door, is the toilet, with a yellow lid cozy and a red floor mat surrounding it.  A blue floor mat lies next to the bathtub.  Above the toilet is a hand towel hanging from a hook and above that, a white shelf with knick knacks atop it.  Hanging on the wall above, are four framed pictures, all of Lois Lane.  There is one of Margot Kidder, Noel Niell, Kate Bosworth and Erica Durance.  Along the doorway wall is a Spanish Language Lobby Card for "Superhombre", a Bizzarro "S" Shield and a replica of the 1948 "Superman" Serial.

For all my faithful readers out there, that is not an invented description.  That is my bathroom and it is awesome.  Rejoice in it and one day, you too may be lucky enough to drop duece in it's hallowed halls.

Saw Michael Chabon speak tonight at The Harold Washington Library.  Readings from his new book, very entertaining.  Had him sign a copy of the Escapist comic book and showed him pics from Halloween a few years back when I was the Escapist.  He got a kick out of those.  It was either my costume, or Fil next to me dressed as a douchebag for a costume. 

What's pretty sweet serendipity this week is my Netflix queue is naturally leading me to horror movies for the next 10 days.  This was not by design.  I setup these movies a year ago, I don't reorder the list, except to occassionally prioritize a specific movie.  But just through sheer luck, I'm getting a bunch of horror movies leading up to Halloween!  Woot me!

MotD: The Fog

Normally, I enjoy John Carpenter's movies quite a bit.  Escape from New York, Halloween, They Live, The Thing and the list continues.  Oh, Big Trouble in Little China!  Never seen The Fog, and I don't feel like I missed anything.  Not really very scary or compelling.  Cursed church, cursed town, creatures in the fog that do you dirt.  Not much to see here.  Will see the Tom Welling remake, but in no hurry.  If you're looking for a movie about killer weather patterns that reduce visibility, I highly recommend the much overlooked "The Mist" by Frank Darabont, starring Thomas Jane.  That movie is REAL solid and also has fog in it.  For all you fog lovers out there.

Description a Day: Bedroom

First in some exercises wherein I describe the room I'm currently in, in excrutiating detail.  Also, exercise is a word that I CANNOT spell, ever.  That and Wed. the middle of the week day.  I can't spell it, can't pronounce it.  Also, the second month of the year, Feb.  I cannot, for the life of me, spell that correctly or, more importanly, pronounce it right.  Seriously, not exaggerating for effect, can't spell it, can't pronounce it, can't do it.

The first noticeable thing about the bedroom is the 8 foot high, five story industrial bookshelf.  Approximately 5 feet wide and 3 feet deep, this shelf holds 25 long boxes, each holding 250 -300 comic books in them.  This sits adjacent to the doorway, with a Superman III poster hanging from the side, facing the doorway.  Behind the open door is a sliding closet door, with the light switch directly next to that.  A black and white pencil sketch is above that, hung on the olive colored wall.  In the center of the room, a Queen sized deep brown wooden bed sits, four pillows and a striped comforter resting atop it.  An end table sits along side the right side of the bed, host for a telephone and some assorted books strewn about.  On the left of the bed is another end table, of a different style than the right, taller in height and with a sliding drawer.  On top of this table is a small lamp and alarm clock.  Directly above the bed hangs a black framed poster for "Superman: The Movie", flanked by two framed original pages from the X-Factor comic book, illustrated by Walter Simonson.  Along the north wall, 3 windows face the city park across the street and are bracketed by floor length brown curtains.  Across from the bed is a dresser and drawer set.  The drawers sit below a high mounted "Born To Run" poster, with a television resting on top and a Sega Genesis attached to that.  These drawers sit directly next to the mirrored dresser.  On the dresser top is a vanity and some unsorted clothes.  To the left of the dresser is a framed original cover to Showcase #22, which is Green Lantern's first modern appearance.  This is also where the main light switch and remote control for the ceiling fan resides.  The Ceiling fan is a standard five wooden blades with adjustable light and speed controls. 

MotD 10/19/09 - The Crazies

I've got a lot of respect for George Romero.  He broke so many lines and stayed so true to his roots, what little I do know about him strikes me as a genuine guy who really cares about issues... and Zombies.  I really love that most if not all of his movies are in PA.  "The Crazies" seems to me as if he crossed his own "Night of the Living Dead" with "Dr. Strangeglove".  Govt. testing goes awry, as it always does, and drives people INSANE!!!  Not like zombies, but CRAZIES!  Lots of social statements for the 1970's, really quite enjoyable.

MotD: 10/20/09 - Bolt

You get a double dose today, to play catch up.  I watched "Bolt" this morning, an animated tale about a hollywood acting dog who thinks he's REALLY a superhero dog, gets fish out of watered when he's sent to New York and teams up with a sassy cat and a hamster.  Totally forgettable animated fare.  I saw John Lassetter from Pixar was an Executive producer on this, I can only imagine he's responsible for the few cool scenes.  Otherwise, the basic story is blah and been done before in, let's count off only the animated ones... Toy Story, Madagascar, Cars and that's only the ones that jump to mind.  It's not horrible, certainly kids would like it, but it just doesn't have that magic ingredient that true Pixar movies have.

Hold me closer, Tiny Details....

Tonights class was about the devil that's in the details.  We wrote, extensively, on descriptions of the same location, digging further and further into the story behind the images.  It was EXTREMELY helpful.  The main idea is to write in a 3rd person narrative, removing objectivity and distilling the essence of what you are looking at.  This was truly an envigorating excersize.  My homework for the week is to describe the rooms that I'm in, so I'll be using this blog to do so, because my god damn hand hurts from writing in a book!  It's crazy how used to not writing by hand you can get.

Followed up class by watching the improv set on the main stage.  I'm looking very forward to going to more shows, really talented people can make me laugh quite a bit.  I love the free pass I get as a student at the school, fantastic. Also posted my first 4 pages of the script in my other class today.  Nervous about the feedback, but I already see a bunch of things I need to improve on, so that's really encouraging.  I still need to prioritize reading the books I've gotten, but all things in due time.

MotD: 10/18/09 - Dirty Pretty Things - Watching today's movie as I write this.
Very well done tale of immigrants doing whatever it takes to find their place in the world.  Excellent performances by Amelie and the lead who I can't pronounce his name, it's an African name who's done some good things since.  Favorite line of the movie was at the end, which really felt like it was the kind of line where the screenwriter came up with it early on in the project, and possibly based the movie around it.  Paraphrasing here immensely, "We're the ones you don't see, the ones that do your laundry, wash your floors and suck your cocks."  Brilliant.

Da Bears will never go hungry again!

Bears vs. Atlanta is in halftime right now, and the Bears are down.  They started REAL strong and whether it was the Cutler picks or the Falcons going to the no huddle, something turned The Beloved around and I'm hoping they get their feet back underneath them for the second half.  I'm no expert, so I won't pontificate on what should or shouldn't be done.  What I will talk about is how I would improve TV Football Analysis.

It's hard to get good football analysts.
1. They see new teams every week, so the guys discussing the teams can't know the team as well as, for example, the local radio broadcasts.  They rarely have the kind of depth or insight that you get from a baseball broadcast, simply because of the nature of their vagabond nature.
2. Football can be so complex, whether it's the schemes or simply because you have to know what 22 positions are doing each play, that it's incredibly difficult to translate easily to the viewer and be everything to everyone.
3. Finally, some people you just don't identify with and for whatever reason, an announcer can really get on your nerves and drive you, the viewer, just absolutely CRAZY for the 3 hours you're watching your team.  That makes it real tough to do a good job in a football booth.

So, here's my idea.  And I'm sharing this with you, the Interwebs because I'd like to see this be implemented sooner rather than later, and I don't see me cobbling the resources to make this my moneymaker, so you, the world, can have this for free.

THE NFL NEEDS TO START STREAMING ONLINE MULTIPLE BROADCASTING TEAMS FOR EACH GAME, DESIGNED TO SUPPORT THE TELEVISION SIGNAL.

1.  You stream it, with your player having a built in, customizeable delay to allow each listener to synch with their picture delay.
2.  NFL has multiple "extra" commentaries running on every game, for every team.  Each team would have a different slant to their coverage.  How about a couple of housewives commenting on the game?  Professional Comedians being allowed to let go and be funny?  High School kids doing a kids centric broadcast?  All veteran booth, with all ex Bears/Falcons/Lions/etc?  You get my drift here.
3. Training ground for main teams.  How many HORRIBLE broadcasters have we seen on major network games?  JUST HORRID broadcasters, many times ex players, who get the job because they were a "name" or maybe are very knowledgeable but just don't have the broadcast chops.  This way, the NFL can try out dozens of extra "talent" on the Online Streamcasts and they can winnow out who sucks!

That's all the justification I'll put out there for now, I think you all know what the right thing to do here is.  Let's get the word out to TPTB and make this happen.  Just remember you heard it here first.

MotD: Retro entry today, as I haven't watched one yet: 2/26/09: Tremors
This is one of those that I'd heard was "cult classic" and surprisingly good!  Christ it spawned 2 sequels, so someone liked it.  I'd count me in that group, it was enjoyable, but ultimately just blah.  Small desert town gets invaded by giant worms who track you underground by the sound you make by walking on the ground, or the "Tremors" that travel through the ground.  Fun performances, you can see the actors having fun with this.  I like the old school special effects, very handmade effects, working perfectly with the setting of the movie.  Fun watch, but avoid the sequels.

I never meant to cause you any trouble...

Jesus, it happened AGAIN!  2nd week in a row, someone passed out at spin class.  Same teacher too.  I'm going to refer to her only as The Black Widow now.  This time, the victim tried to stand up off her bike, but the teacher saw it happening and stopped her.  Crazy.

Writing early today due to scheduling, so not much of a reflection on the day.  I will say this, however.  Did you know that Wendy & Lisa, formerly of The Revolution, score the soundtrack for Heroes the TV show?

The lesson here is there is a world of shit out there for you to be doing.  It may be out of the limelight, it may not be something that is known to others or exactly what you envisioned when you set out to make your mark in this world.  However, there seems to always be ways for you to accomplish your goals and fulfill your passions if you look hard enough and are talented.

Be so good that they can't say no.  That is not mine, that is Nietzsche.

MotD: Purple Rain
Prince lives in his own world, certainly a violet tinted one, and we're just occassionally allowed to glimpse it.  The closest I ever came to seeing this movie was when it first came out on VHS and Beta, I include Beta because it was at my friends house, Bobby and Brian Powell, and their dad owned a Beta only video store.  It was on during one of their birthday parties, I was real young, but I remember all the older kids being just geeked about watching Purple Rain.  I'm glad that I didn't see this at that time.  Why?  Because it's fucking awesome and it would have resulted in me wearing frilly shirts, purple heels and wanting to drive a big purple batcycle.  Seriously, I think they repainted one of the old Batman Batgirl Motorcycles for his ride in this movie.  Horrible acting, but magnetic musical performances and Morris Day is a P.I.M.P.

You be the judge.

It's Alive! It's Alive!

In almost every treatise on writing, I've come across the idea that characters begin to make their own decisions.  Countless authors have written about it, and I'll just add my name to that long list.  (Audacity here of calling me an author, but I'm the one writing this so go screw)  It's totally true, and here's some examples.

First time I personally discovered this, was back in college, when I was writing/drawing Freelance Justice.  This was a pretty plot driven storyline, with character based comedy.  About midway through the second semester of adventures, the gang, consisting of Kid Justice, The King, and Barry Pope, took an excursion to Hollywood.  I don't recall having this be an exit point for Barry, but as I neared the story and started creating it, I realized that this was a perfect jumping off point for Barry.  He didn't have much else to do for the next few arcs, he just completed a personal "origin" arc, and his story was pretty much done for now.  I hadn't planned on it, but he decided to stay in L.A. and the other two went on their own.  The most disservice I think I did to his character, actually, was bringing him back at the end.  On one hand, he absolutely would have shown up to help his best friend, KJ, but on the other hand, his story was done.  I guess it was his Han Solo moment. 

Anyway, that was the first time I recall it happening to me.  It happened again today, as I was working on the "Ushers" screenplay.  I'd just finished plotting out, and had been ironing out the plot in my head for weeks, the story structure.  None of it involved a plot turn where the two adversaries "team up" to accomplish a goal.  It never entered my mind.  Yet, there I was, writing out the dialogue between my protagonist and another secondary character, and the secondary character put forth that proposition, and by damn it made sense.  Sense enough for my protagonist to agree to it, and it has now altered the direction of his goal.  The target of his quest is still the same, but now there's an added wrinkle.

I'm not convinced I like this, but I have to say, it makes sense, given the characters as I've established them so far.  A lot of work to do, but this was one of those moments where your creation gained that spark of life and I wanted to share.

MotD: Zardoz
Ok, so Planet of the Apes met Logan's Run in a bar one night.  They have a few cocktails, Planet starts sweet talking Logan, and next thing you know, Planet is dry humping Logan's run and snorting YaYo off Michael York's ass.  The product of this alcohol and drug filled one night stand is Zardoz.  THE craziest sci fi movie I've ever seen, at least the craziest that includes the phrase "The Penis is Bad" multiple times.  There is so much casual nudity in this, you truly don't see it after a few minutes.  Except of course for Sean Connery, who had more chest hair on than he did clothing.  I ALMOST want to watch it again with the director's commentary, but that would require me to WATCH IT AGAIN, which I can't do in good faith.

MotD Extra: Audition
Disappointed with this movie.  I'd heard a lot of good things about this Takashi (sp?) Mike film, where a widower has a literal audition for a new wife, and she turns the tables on his sexism.  Much like "Hard Candy" from a few weeks ago, I was intrigued by the revenge, table turning events.  That anticipation was overwhelmed here by a stunning sense of boredom.  It takes a slow burn approach to the story, which isn't helped by the language barrier.  That said, the delusion scenes were well done, just too little too late.

The Industrial Revolution!

I made some serious progress today!  I got six full pages written and most importantly moved the story along.  Not sure of the quality, but as I've said before, it's more important for me to get this DONE and then to go back and tweak, than to get gold from the first swing of the pick.

I worked on character today, which was part of the homework for class that I pretty much finished too.  Like I said, real productive day.  Spent 4 hours at Borders!  So, character is the name of the day, and my assignment was to describe how I get to know my characters.  I realized that I had done a lot of character thought all through my comic strip stuff.    This was a revelation to me, as I hadn't really put that together in my head.  But really, back then I was always developing characters, quality of that development will be left to my critics, but I fondly recall my process.

I took someone I knew, then had them make some choices.  The choice they made may not have been exactly what the person would do in real life, but my perception of them would translate to the characters choice.  Since that decision should serve the story, that character would quickly begin to take on a life of their own, and develop further from teh original template.  If I thought far enough ahead of publication, I could take that decision and backtrack it into the story. 

This last part was much harder to do with a daily strip, because I was making it on the fly, but with a complete story, I'll be able to go back and sow the seeds into the early part of the tales.  I like that.

MotD:  The Bucket List
I was expecting to dislike this movie simply for cheese purposes.  And certainly, it was cookie cutter and predictable.  With any other actors, it would have sucked.  However, they managed to find the PERFECT actors for this role.  Nicholson and Freeman could re-enact "I've Heard the Mermaids Singing" and I'd watch that.  It was real enjoyable, if toothless.

Zip Zap Zup

First Improv class tonight!  Fantastic stuff.  I feel like a freshman all over again.  Really enjoyable class, but I can see that the habits are going to be hard for me to learn. They're going to need to be things that I bring into each day, all day long.  I need to immerse myself in this plan for it to work.

I listened to the teacher tonight speak with such passion about his art, and I know what that feels like and I want to describe my life with that zeal.  I've felt that way about comics and I know I can feel that way about my life, my purpose, my goals.  I know I can do this.

Also, a great place to learn characters for my writings. You can read the stories on peoples faces, demeanor, etc.  It doesn't mean I'm right about them, but the skill of reading the cues that a person puts out will serve me well.  Very happy, tired but happy.

MotD: Inside Deep Throat
Very entertaining doc about the cultural impact that the movie Deep Throat had on America.  It felt, and there's a word for this I recently learned from the Patton doc, but can't recall it, it felt like it overemphasized the importance and put the world on the axis of a good blow job.  Seems to assign too much importance, but then again it's called Inside Deep Throat, not Inside All Kinds of Sexual Revolution Events That Possibly were Affected by Deep Throat.  Still, I've never actually seen DT so it was neat to see what the "plot" actually was!

By Crom!

Today was a long, productive day.  Started with coffee with an old friend, knocked out a spin class and went to my first writing class at 2nd City!  Here's what I learned, writing hurts your hand.

Not much to rant on today, as I just wrote for 3 hours in class!  Hah, gonna have to compensate for that.

MotD: Conan The Barbarian
Why did it take me so GD long to watch this movie?  I'd seen bits and pieces over the years, but never all in one sitting.  That movie is badass!  Seriously, so much cool shit.  Of course Arnold is a horrible actor, but credit to Milius for finding a way to tell the story where the main character has like, 9 lines and can hardly emote, yet you know what he's going through.  Obviously, the best line is Arnolds "Vanquish your enemies, Drive them before you and hear the lamentations of their women" line, but after that ringer of a line, here it is.

"He is Conan the Cimmerian, he won't cry, so I cry for him."

A shower a Day...

Keeps the testosterone away.

Went to my friends Baby Shower today and had an enjoyable time.  Yes it's a baby shower, so it's a bunch of women sitting around talking about babies, but this was very painless.  Always enjoy spending time with his family, they're real good people.

Big day tomorrow.  Brunch with my ex and my first writing class at 2nd city.  Not sure which is making me more nervous.  Hah!  This is the week I need to buckle down and get some serious work done on the writing, as my "workload" is about to triple, with the two classes.  Not sure the kind of homework levels will be involved, but at any rate, I need to act on it. 

MotD: Underworld - Rise of the Lycans
Watching this now, so no real opinion, instead I'll discuss the series as a whole.  Fun concept, I've enjoyed the previous two, but as many of these movies go, they often get too wrapped up in their own mythology and it's rare that the mythology is very interesting.  Matrix, I'm looking at you.  Instead of focusing on delivering a fun, action movie with crazy vs. fights, scenes are spent showing the backstories of how certain people came to power and really who gives a flying fuck?  Christ, look at the Star Wars prequels.  There is no other more beloved modern fable than Star Wars, this cannot be disputed, and yet all the "political" backstory just kinda blew ass.  Just as filmmakers have been told not to lose story in special effects, they should also remember not to lose entertainment within exposition.

Make Up Post!

Didn't blog yesterday because I had some friends over, and they didn't roll out until after 2 am.  Tired Joe.  I didn't knock one out earlier in the day because I thought nothing of note had happened to me, but in retrospect...

In Spin Class, a girl worked too hard, felt ill, got up from her bike and promptly passed out.  Not that victorian pass out where her arm goes to her forehead and knees buckle and she says "I declare!".  Nooooo, this was an old school, stiff as a board, head hit the floor OUT!  By all accounts, she'll be fine, she hadn't eaten breakfast, tho I'm sure her head will hurt today.

However, in the moments after she fell, which everyone witnessed, NO ONE STOPPED SPINNING.  I'll include me in this too, for the moment.  She fell, it was obvious she fainted, and everyone kinda went, wha? and kept spinning for about 5 seconds or so.  What ran through my head was "Move the Drill" and "Do you want to be one of those people that say they just kept spinning when someone was dying in front of you?"  So I stopped, got off the bike and went over to "help".  I did absolutely NOTHING to assist, who the fuck am I Marcus Welby?  But I felt compelled to do something only to say that I wasn't one of the dopes who just stared and spun.

An odd occurrence, totally threw off the rythym of they class too, not blaming her just saying I personally couldn't get back into gear.

MotD: Patton
Great movie, it felt like a teenage war movie.  Let me explain.  There was a theatricality to the office scenes, or character scenes, which seemed to mark it as an old Hollywood production.  The sets weren't "aged" very much, everything was just clean and staged.  Nothing wrong with that, but it evoked older movies, and older war movies in general.  But when they cut to some of the battle scenes, it took on a more modern warfare feel.  It's like this was a stepping stone movie for war films, not entirely of the modern age and not a throwback.  Great movie.

You've got a friend in me...

Man, I just got home from the Toy Story double feature tonight and was reminded how amazing those movies are.  Just simply PERFECT films.  I'm not the first to say it, but Pixar has a record of perfection that is equalled by no other studio.

The thing that stood out most for me as I rewatched these tonight was conflict.  The lesson of conflict in story is SO important and it was on display tonight.  Every single scene in those movies put some obstacle in front of our heroes and that is something I need to drill into my head.  EVERY SCENE!

They couldn't even cross the street or open a door without there being trouble.  Just brilliant.  I think I need to put the term CONFLICT somewhere in eyeshot, much like I had the Ego Check sign at work.  A constant reminder of what I need to continually introduce into the stories.

CONFLICT!

MotD: The Long Goodbye
A quite enjoyable 1970's update of Raymond Chandler, by Altman.  I have a soft spot in my heart for young Elliot Gould.  He just seemed to exude such a fuck you attitude that it's hard not to like him.  Nothing sticks to him, not even his own opinions.  He's such a treat to watch.  I think I need to do a Gould research project and dig up more of his work, to see the progression.  Decent film as noir goes.  Typical twists upon twists, loved the resolution.  Great cameo by Schwarzeneger, especially in the moment when he looks DIRECTLY AT THE CAMERA.  Governor Awesome.

Ready or not, come what may

Wrote my first 4 pages of an actual script today.  I'm sure that it's utter crap, but I know it's not worse than my first lay, and that got better so should this.  Excited about it, and it does have a building, layering satisfaction to it.  Time consuming tho. 

Final issue of Planetary FINALLY came out this week.  Man, that was a long wait.  10 years for 27 issues.  That is not very prolific.  However, I was reminded how amazing a book it is.  I only found it in the waning years, but picked up all of them on back issue.  I will be rereading them all now that it's completed.  Mind blowing, meta commentary on comic books?  I'm in.

MotD: Following
A short, b&w independent British film about a writer who "follows" people around to see interesting things to write about.  Of course this leads to hijinx and he gets mixed up with a B&E man.  Eh, ok.  Sorta the same premise as Midnight Meat Train, except without the gore and demons.  So short that I can't hate on it, but so short that there just isn't a lot of "there" there.  It did look like a Depeche Mode video, which was kinda funny.

If you love somebody (or something) set them free!

Smallville  debuted at a time in my life where I needed Superman.  I know this sounds, well, whatever, but fuck off, it's true.

Living alone in a tiny studio, had LITERALLY no money, struggling with a lot of personal demons, it's safe to say that I was at a person nadir, but on the rise.  This would have been in 2000.  Now, I was on the move up, and any growth I've had has NOTHING to do with Smallville, but that show hit at a memorable time for me.

It gave me something to look forward to, to plan some time around.  I made sure that I was going to be in front of the tv every week to watch the adventures of a young Clark Kent.  I needed structure in all kinds of things, still do, and this was a small piece of the puzzle.  As an aside, my need for structure is one of the reasons I resist getting TIVO.  If there is something that is so important for me to see, I should be able to either reorganize, reprioritize or simply live with missing it. 

I have been passionate about this show over the years and tonight I just finished the final ep of last seasons DVD's.  I'm so torn about this show.  It has been sooooo good to the fanboys and girls of the world, treated us with a ton of respect and wink and nods over the years.  The production values have stayed pretty consistent and the performances have only gotten better.  However, it's time to go.

It's cliche' to say "go out on top" because really, when do you know when "top" is?  The opportunity for this show to mature was missed a few seasons ago.  They waited too long to transform it into "Metropolis", I'm sure for branding identification reasons, and now they're stuck in adolescence and I see no way out. 

It's like the Use Your Illusion of TV shows.  Every few episodes there is an AWESOME ep, but then the next one is just mediocre or poor.  However, if you were to shrink it down (don't do the double album GNR) and get to the point they're at today, two seasons ago, it would have been amazing!  As it is, we're dragging on way too long.  End it already and I think this season seems to be the final one.

So long Smallville, I'm literally missing you already.

MotD: Murder on the Orient Express
No, this isn't a movie about Fil's cock killing people.  70's adaptation of the Christie Poirot novel of the same name.  All star cast from the Seventies as well!  Tony Perkins! Sean Connery! Michael York! Albert Finney! Lauren Bacall! Sir John Gielgud! That one guy from a TON of movies!  Good flick, not recommended simply because there's a LOT to get into here, and with 12 people for Poirot to investigate for the murder (SPOILER ALERT: There is a murder on the train, which is named the Orient Express, hope that didn't ruin it for you.) most of the meat of it is him just interviewing people and asking them questions, then aha!  I'm sure the book reads better, but the movie seemed like it had so many suspects to identify that it just ran out of time to tell a good story.

Exit Light, Enter Night

Wow, today was almost non-existent.  Seriously.

Didn't get to be until around 3 last night, and was up by 8, so was exhausted.  I watched a movie right away, then "planned" to spend the afternoon on my class.  Read the syllabus until about 3, and then decided to nap, so I could make good use of a 6:30 spin class.

SO, at 9pm when I woke up, my day was effectively over.  WTF.  So nothing to report, but did watch a great movie today.

MotD: Brick
Raymond Chandler goes to high school.  Fantastic dialogue, a typical twisty noir mystery and wonderful performances.  Really enjoyed it as I LOVE old school Bogey/Sam Spade/Big Sleep dialogue.  Recommended.

Nothing to See Here, Move Along

Long day, went to the South Side to move El Jefe, but then the moving truck never showed up with his stuff, so I helped him hang a door and we had lunch.  Always good to see Jeff, just too bad I wasn't able to help him move!

Then went directly up to Rosemont for a PS3 launch party.  LONG time at the theater for this, but worth it.  I walked out of their with 2 games, both of which look BADASS.  Also got to hang out with my old work friend, Marty, and that was a real pleasure.

The party was for Uncharted 2: Among Thieves.  Somehow I missed the first Uncharted game, apparently my mistake.  Because the sequel looks and plays AMAZING.  It's like Tomb Raider, but fun.

Late, and just getting to bed now, so signing off.

No movie today, but I leave you with this thought....

Larry Miller is not funny.  Mahalo.

Bears Victory Day!

The Bears tore UP the Lions today, a needed win going into the bye week.  That's all for sports, but awesome.

Sent in my first homework assignment for Screenwriting class today, officially doing Ushers, which is exciting.  However, I was reading a magazine at the gym tonight and had a GREAT idea for a story.  I'm not going to go into details, but it's a horror thing with a little SEVEN in it.  Which brings me to the point of the writing tonight.

I so want to get to a point where I have the skills and more importantly work ethic to take these stray thoughts and formally put them down.  Whether it's in a journal or a note here or there, I don't know what that will look like, but I've done stuff like this forever and they usually drift off into the ether.  On the machine, and my mind just fleshed out whole story beats and character motivations and what not, bursting out of my skull, but I always just feel crippled in being able to express them.  Not writing this for any self pity or anything, more just to get it out there and admit it to take the power from it.

Funnily enough, stuff like this I don't feel comfy putting in the blog, simply because it's public and the thoughts are too new and unformed to express publicly.  Funny that the writing I've commited to do doesn't include the writing I feel I HAVE to do.  Jason, have fun with that diagnosis.

Got a cell phone call from an area code today that could only have been from an ex.  Had about 10 seconds of "Wha?" then answered and realized it was for a confirmation on a gaming survey I'm doing tomorrow night.  Funny gotcha moment of the day.

MotD: The Last Detail
I feel like my movie waters run pretty deep.  Deeper than your average bear.  Prior to adding this to my Netflix queue at some point this year, I had never, EVER heard of this movie.  Nicholson and Randy Quaid in a Midnight Run kind of escort a prisoner movie.  Awesome movie, really enjoyable characterization and performances.  Nicholson is a trip, awesome as always.  So glad I watched it.  But the question remains why have I NEVER heard of this movie?  Recommended for all!

The Checker Playing Ghost

That sounds like a Don Knotts movie and I so wish it was.  That would be awesome.

My nieces just got out of bed to tell me their stuffed animals know karate.  I said awesome, but if they don't go to sleep, the ghost that lives in my house will come and say hi.  He's a checker playing ghost who only bothers you if you're up past your bedtime.  If you're sleeping, he's cool and lets you be. If you're awake, he barrages you with...

*knock knock*

"Hey, uhh, you wanna play checkers?"
"Seriously, wanna get a game of checkers?"
"As long as you're up, let's play some checkers?"

And he only leaves if you go to sleep.  So, at one point, if they don't go to sleep, I think I'm gonna leave a checkerboard outside the door. 

Ok, holy shit, as I'm typing this, Piper just got out of bed, knocked on the door and said to ME "Hey, you wanna play some checkers?"  HOLY SHIT I haven't laughed this hard in a LONG TIME. 

So, I don't think short people should be allowed to teach spin class.  They just have a smaller radius or whatever the fuck you call it, so when they stand up on the bike for 45 minutes it's not as much.  Holy crap I wanted to pass out this morning.  Good, but jesus christ.

No writing today, but plan on wrapping up my assignment tomorrow and finishing some of the story documents too.  Looking forward to it.

MotD: Hard Candy
Juno takes revenge on Nite Owl in this twisted, gripping two character study.  Very entertaining and well acted.  A bit long, but cool.

Her Name is Rio and She Dances on the Sand!

Happy Olympic Bid day everyone!

I truly feel this was a great day for Chicago.  It's kinda like when the US troops rolled into Baghdad and deposed Saddam.  It took an outside force, The IOC, to walk into downtown Chicago and tear down Mayor Daley.  He finally doesn't get something that he wants. It also was painful for a portion of the populace, to see outside liberators tell you how you should be.  Oh frabjous day, callou callay!

Now, I can't wait to see Daley's post mortem interviews.  Frankly, I doubt he'll even give one.  How much money was on this fruitless venture?

Also, can we all agree that last month, Daley gave Oprah Michigan Ave. in exchange for her stumping here?  Transparent.

Now, let's get the cops a contract!

MotD: The Beatles: Help!
In Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Chris Rock yells out "George Lucas is gonna sue somebody!" when Cockknocker shows up.  I can only think that would have been his reaction if he had been around for the first episode of The Monkees, "George Harrison is gonna sue somebody!"  Having never seen any of the Beatles movies, I only had read about how much they influenced THE MONKEES show.  Holy crap, Screen Gems stole everything from Help! and put it on the small screen.  Substitute Ringo's ring (love that macguffin too, a ring for Ringo) for the Monkey's paw and you have one of my favorite Monkees eps.  Crazy narrative, but way entertaining.  And that music is just so wonderful.

Doomsday +1

No, not the Charlton comic that gave us John Byrne.  I'm talking about the Olympics.

At this time tomorrow, we'll know if Chicago has gotten the Olympics, and all signs are pointing to yes.  This makes me VERY sad, for a few reasons.

1.  Chicago is the most corrupt city in the U.S.  Pardon me, let me amend that.  Chicago POLITICIANS are the most corrupt in the U.S. and the Olympics has always had corruption problems.  It had problems in Salt Lake, Utah.  That's UTAH a state made for and run by MORMONS.  Mormons got in trouble for running a corrupt Olympics.  What chance to we have?

2.  Congestion in the city will go crazy.  I know this is 7 years off, but traffic and costs of parking and tolls will only go up and cars on the road will only multiply.  Too many people descending on the city will be insanity.  Can we handle it, yes, we're very capable people, but will t be enjoyable, no it won't.

3.  City taxes will go to funding this, guaranteed, and that's a problem.  To my recollection, this has never been voted on by the public.  I may  be totally wrong there, so I'll not hinge my point on the fact that the voters never had a say.  What I will say is that our taxes will go up, and we're already one of the highest taxed people in the US. 

4. New construction is the biggest argument that people are making for these games.  Here's my problems with that.  The money for this construction will be coming from #3 above and a budget built on numbers that will absolutely be eclipsed by overruns.  Therefore, when the supposedly privately funded dollars run out, the money that would come from the govt. and donations, Daley will dip into Chicago's wallets.  This won't be exterior funds coming into the city making us rich.  We'll be stealing from our left hand to pay our right. 

4.5 The new construction, while I'm sure will be competentely built, won't be long lasting structures.  They cannot be, not unless the budgets go higher than they are.  So we'll be building locations that are either MEANT to be temporary or just won't be as high quality as a private business venture would provide. 

5.  Finally, the flat out benefit to the city, as reported on by MULTIPLE outside sources, Anderson Accounting being one of them, is well below the projection that Daley and his cronies have put out there.  Just like the clusterfuck that was the Parking Meter scam, Daley is being shortsighted with the money.  He could have gotten more for the parking meters than they did, but whether he's too stupid to get it or just to shortsighted, he didn't.  And by all accounts, we, the denizens of Chicago, are paying 4x for it.

I'll have to wait at least 7 years to find out whether I'm right or not, and I'll have to listen to all kinds of bullshit for that time.  I guess this is how people who were against Obama feel now.  A lot of parrallels there, passion on both sides, some very geographically delineated viewpoints.  Oh well, I'm not going to launch into a comparison here.  I just wanted to get my thoughts down prior to the announcement, to go on the record.

MotD: To Live and Die in L.A.
William Friedkin is a pimp.  I cannot think of another movie, tho maybe if I sat down and put my mind to it, that more screamed 1980's than this movie.  Really exciting film, with great performances and exciting set pieces.  SCREAMS 80's, which makes me chuckle.  Surprisingly the only thing missing is a giant mountain of blow somewhere.