Damn, people. Legend of the Seeker, perhaps my favorite show aside from Better Off Ted and Parks and Recreation, has been canceled. If Better Off Ted is canceled, I might as well stop watching TV. I do look forward to Bridget Regan being more open for other projects, and I'll be sure to follow her career, as well as Tabrett Bethell. No longer do I get to see Bridget Regan be badass in a corset.
But we have another fantasy show to look forward to this summer, right? I'm TRYING to look on the bright side, folks.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
Site of the Week: Sassy Gay Friend
Comedy Troupe Second City Network provides us with a twist on Shakespeare. What if the ladies in distress, about to be killed or commit suicide, have an intervention by a sassy gay friend who wears a sparkly scarf and an undersized shirt to show off his muffin top? Clearly, they would be talked out of being stupid. So far, we have Ophelia from Hamlet, Juliet from Romeo and Juliet, and Desdemona from Othello. The only complaint; they don't come out quickly enough! I want to see Portia from Julius Caesar and Lavinia from Titus Andronicus! And imagine if they expanded to real-life people like Sylvia Plath or other literary characters like Lily Bart in House of Mirth by Edith Wharton or Edna Pontillier in The Awakening by Kate Chopin.
Imagine the Sylvia Plath one..."What, what, what are you doing? Step away from the oven, sister. You've got two kids and a writing career. Do you think just because you die, your writing suddenly becomes famous and likable? Think again. You've already written your last words on a scratch piece of paper on the back of your grocery list. And keep it at that. Nobody wants to read about your dancing with your drunk daddy. Everyone's got daddy problems! What makes yours any different to where you get to off yourself? What are you doing? You don't want kids to bake cookies for their reading club bake sale in the shape of an oven with your head in it! I said turn the damn oven off, you stupid bitch! She's a stupid bitch."
Enjoy and wallow in the pain from not seeing another Sassy Gay Friend yet.
Imagine the Sylvia Plath one..."What, what, what are you doing? Step away from the oven, sister. You've got two kids and a writing career. Do you think just because you die, your writing suddenly becomes famous and likable? Think again. You've already written your last words on a scratch piece of paper on the back of your grocery list. And keep it at that. Nobody wants to read about your dancing with your drunk daddy. Everyone's got daddy problems! What makes yours any different to where you get to off yourself? What are you doing? You don't want kids to bake cookies for their reading club bake sale in the shape of an oven with your head in it! I said turn the damn oven off, you stupid bitch! She's a stupid bitch."
Enjoy and wallow in the pain from not seeing another Sassy Gay Friend yet.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Party Down Season 2!
Season 2 starts tomorrow, you guys!
I've seen the first two episodes, and I can tell you that the dynamic is still the same without Jane Lynch. With Megan Mullally stepping in, it's hard to notice. She fills in the bright spot that Lynch played. The core cast has moved on in the show, but they return to their old selves. Unfortunately that means, they're still failures in terms of their goals in life. But if they succeed, that means they wouldn't be regulars, right?
Expect reprisals from Jane Lynch for her "new age wedding" as Mullally stated it and Kristen Bell in episode 7. She is Henry's lady friend, so we're bound to run into her, right? Steve Guttenberg will be guest starring in a role as a guy who puts on an orgy party. No one shows up but the caterers. Hilarity will ensure; I promise. This season will be epic. Pick up season 1 while you can; it's only 15 dollars almost everywhere you go! Good deal for a cable network show!
On a side note about Megan Mullally, she's developing a musical as a spin-off starring Karen Walker? Could be awesome, could be epic fail. We'll have to see, I suppose. And there was going to be a Karen spin-off TV show, co-starring Martin Short and Alec Baldwin....that would've been CLASSIC!
I've seen the first two episodes, and I can tell you that the dynamic is still the same without Jane Lynch. With Megan Mullally stepping in, it's hard to notice. She fills in the bright spot that Lynch played. The core cast has moved on in the show, but they return to their old selves. Unfortunately that means, they're still failures in terms of their goals in life. But if they succeed, that means they wouldn't be regulars, right?
Expect reprisals from Jane Lynch for her "new age wedding" as Mullally stated it and Kristen Bell in episode 7. She is Henry's lady friend, so we're bound to run into her, right? Steve Guttenberg will be guest starring in a role as a guy who puts on an orgy party. No one shows up but the caterers. Hilarity will ensure; I promise. This season will be epic. Pick up season 1 while you can; it's only 15 dollars almost everywhere you go! Good deal for a cable network show!
On a side note about Megan Mullally, she's developing a musical as a spin-off starring Karen Walker? Could be awesome, could be epic fail. We'll have to see, I suppose. And there was going to be a Karen spin-off TV show, co-starring Martin Short and Alec Baldwin....that would've been CLASSIC!
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Movie of the Week...or less so.
Clash of the Titans was gods-awful. It was like a bad Sci-Fi channel flick. Unfortunately it was all about men. I thought maybe with the update, we'd get badass ladies, like Athena, Hera, etc get nice parts, but I suppose Andromeda and Io could be considered a forward step, but Io turned out to be a trophy wife. Andromeda showed great will power to do the right thing among insanity and hubris.
The comic relief duo was not very comedic. The best comedic parts were possibly by Liam Cunningham's Solon.
The creatures looked like the ripped off of Guillermo del Toro films and Cloverfield too much. I could have sworn the Krakken was just reused from the creature in Cloverfield. The Witches look like creatures straight out of Pan's Labryrinth or Hellboy II.
I did notice upon watching how similar all religions really are, especially Christianity and Greco-Roman paganism. Zeus sounded an awful lot like the Christian God, especially when he was planning on sending disasters to make humans fear him again, to get them under control and make them worship him again. Didn't God essentially do this in the Old Testament, like, every page? The Djinn represented the Middle-Eastern cultures that we are so ignorant of. These two cultures were at war with each other for so long simply because they never bothered to understand and respect each other.
I saw the film in 3D, as I had no choice. But I don't think it would've made a difference. I did watch half of it without my uncomfortable, bulky, painful, 3D glasses on, and it didn't look different, so 3d was rarely used, and for no good reason was it used. The 3D sequences were completely messy. I had no idea what was going on in some of the 3D battle sequences. This was my first 3D movie experience, and it's made me want to never, ever see a 3D movie again. If I want 3D, I'll go see a stage performance....in 4D! If companies are going to make us spend money on 3D movies, make them worth our money. Don't just put 20 minutes of a movie in 3D (nd 5 of which are actually decent in 3D), and advertise it as being in 3D.
There was overall a lack of substance and depth. I was glad to see that there was a lack of sex and romance as a plot developer, but what happened was not a coming-of-age film, but rather a hollow action film. The lines of good and evil were very clear-cut, and Ralph Fiennes' voice as Hades helped in taking that route. Don't go see this; I'm sorry I promoted it.
But look on the bright side! This weekend is Kick-Ass (and Chicago's comic convention C2E2)! And that's a guaranteed good movie!
The comic relief duo was not very comedic. The best comedic parts were possibly by Liam Cunningham's Solon.
The creatures looked like the ripped off of Guillermo del Toro films and Cloverfield too much. I could have sworn the Krakken was just reused from the creature in Cloverfield. The Witches look like creatures straight out of Pan's Labryrinth or Hellboy II.
I did notice upon watching how similar all religions really are, especially Christianity and Greco-Roman paganism. Zeus sounded an awful lot like the Christian God, especially when he was planning on sending disasters to make humans fear him again, to get them under control and make them worship him again. Didn't God essentially do this in the Old Testament, like, every page? The Djinn represented the Middle-Eastern cultures that we are so ignorant of. These two cultures were at war with each other for so long simply because they never bothered to understand and respect each other.
I saw the film in 3D, as I had no choice. But I don't think it would've made a difference. I did watch half of it without my uncomfortable, bulky, painful, 3D glasses on, and it didn't look different, so 3d was rarely used, and for no good reason was it used. The 3D sequences were completely messy. I had no idea what was going on in some of the 3D battle sequences. This was my first 3D movie experience, and it's made me want to never, ever see a 3D movie again. If I want 3D, I'll go see a stage performance....in 4D! If companies are going to make us spend money on 3D movies, make them worth our money. Don't just put 20 minutes of a movie in 3D (nd 5 of which are actually decent in 3D), and advertise it as being in 3D.
There was overall a lack of substance and depth. I was glad to see that there was a lack of sex and romance as a plot developer, but what happened was not a coming-of-age film, but rather a hollow action film. The lines of good and evil were very clear-cut, and Ralph Fiennes' voice as Hades helped in taking that route. Don't go see this; I'm sorry I promoted it.
But look on the bright side! This weekend is Kick-Ass (and Chicago's comic convention C2E2)! And that's a guaranteed good movie!
Friday, March 26, 2010
Feminist Feature: The Avengers!
Remember my post on the X-Men being feminist? Well, despite Marvel's amazing female characters, they are largely invisible, especially in the upcoming Avengers. Of three core teams: Avengers, New Avengers, and Secret Avengers, we have approximately one female per team right now with five members released, but the Secret cast is still shadows (but one seems to be female).
Ms. Marvel is shown on the New Avengers cover for June, but the first five team members were revealed to be Wolverine, Spider-Man, Thing, Luke Cage, and Jessica Jones/Jewel. I love this team. I really do. But I want more females. Is Ms. Marvel really going to be on it? Why not have Jewel and Spider-Woman be on the same team? They're supposed to be friends from Jessica's days as a P.I. And Carol is supposed to be Jessica's best friend.
And Spider-Woman is part of the adjectiveless Avengers team. I love her like crazy, especially after the series she just had, which got cut to be a mini. So she's on a team with Thor, Iron Man, and Captain America. So the three biggest names of the Avengers will completely overpower her or bring her up in status. We'll see how this plays out. But there are plenty of female Avengers, and I think we could have more on a team. I know. We should just care about good characters. And I do. But you can turn a crappy character into a good character (usually) if given to a different writer. I love Bendis's writing, and I think his women are fantastic, but I wish he'd write more of them to maybe help being in even more female fans and show equality among the sexes. It's ridiculous!Once this will happen, maybe more races will be represented in the Avengers. Like Wolverine, Storm could totally be on the Avengers. Or sexuality differences. Bring Wiccan and Hulkling to the forefront. Integrate the Young Avengers into the Avengers, and maybe we'd get them some more respect. I still love the Avengers, and I'm all for good characters, no matter what, but I think it'd be nice to have some diversity to draw in readers and help some people who need to relate to something.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Site of the Week (3/15-3/21): Rehabilitating Mr. Wiggles
Rehabilitating Mr. Wiggles essentially two characters: Mr. Wiggles, a drunken sex-addicted teddy bear, and the cartoon exaggerated version of the nerdy and slightly insane creator Neil Swaab. Enjoy the extreme dirtiness and nerdiness. A good combination, if you ask me!
Monday, March 15, 2010
Celtic Corner: St. Patty's Playlist!
St. Patrick's Day...a day when everyone seems to be Irish. My problem is that why don't you claim and celebrate your Irish heritage every day? I do, and I have very little Irish in me. My great-great grandma. That's it. And that's apparently where I get my red hair. I listen to Irish music every day, read something about Ireland nearly every day. I let people know about Ireland and its troubles, its art, and its wonder, but I don't romanticize it. So I party on St. Patty's Day because it's the one day I feel somewhat normal. I don't care for the origins either: a man from Roman Britain converts pagan Ireland to Catholicism...by force. Not cool. I'm not a fan of colonialism (and I know the U.S. did and still does that, and I hate it). I hate that I see people asking for bibles for starving Africans, rather than food. Bibles will not save them from death; food will. Apparently we still try to save the heathens from eternal damnation. For St. Patty, though it may not have been him directly, converting was not a choice: you convert or die.
I tried to narrow it down to 23 tracks: around the normal amount for a full 80-minute CD. It was tough. I chose the more upbeat songs I know and love, which was also tough. There's plenty of traditional drinking songs sung by the Clancy Brothers or The Dubliners, but I'd like to open you to the ancient land of Erin, with centuries of turmoil and striking beauty. From traditional tunes to modern folk to modern rock I give you my list of tunes to download for St. Patty's Day. Yes, The Cranberries are from Ireland.
Malinky
"The Light Dragoon" from the album Last Leaves
Seth Lakeman
"The Hurlers" from Poor Man's Heaven
Cara Dillon
"Here's a Health" from After the Morning
"The Streets of Derry" from After the Morning
"The Hill of Thieves" from Hill of Thieves
Karan Casey
"The King's Shilling" from The Wing Begins to Sing
"When Will We All Be Free?" from Chasing the Sun
Solas
"The Wind That Shakes the Barley" from Sunny Spells & Scattered Showers
"Pastures of Plenty" from The Words That Remain OR Reunion: A Decade of Solas
The Cranberries
"Dreams" from Wake Up and Smell the Coffee
"Free to Decide" from To the Faithful Departed
Tommy Sands
"Let the Circle Be Wide" from Let the Circle Be Wide
"There Were Roses" from Singing of the Times
"Don't Call Me Early in the Morning" from Singing of the Times
Fionn Regan
"Put a Penny in the Slot" from The End of History
Tim O'Brien
"Wagoner's Lad" from The Crossing (feat. Kathy Mattea)
"Demon Lover" from Two Journeys (feat. Karan Casey)
Damien Dempsey
"Colony" from They Don't Teach This Shit in School
"Great Gaels of Ireland" from Seize the Day
"St. Patrick's Day" from Shots
Emer Kenny
"Parting Glass" from Parting Glass
The Chieftains
"Raggle Taggle Gypsy" from Further Down the Old Plank Road (feat. Nickel Creek)
Dolly Parton
"We Irish" from Alive and Well
I tried to narrow it down to 23 tracks: around the normal amount for a full 80-minute CD. It was tough. I chose the more upbeat songs I know and love, which was also tough. There's plenty of traditional drinking songs sung by the Clancy Brothers or The Dubliners, but I'd like to open you to the ancient land of Erin, with centuries of turmoil and striking beauty. From traditional tunes to modern folk to modern rock I give you my list of tunes to download for St. Patty's Day. Yes, The Cranberries are from Ireland.
Malinky
"The Light Dragoon" from the album Last Leaves
Seth Lakeman
"The Hurlers" from Poor Man's Heaven
Cara Dillon
"Here's a Health" from After the Morning
"The Streets of Derry" from After the Morning
"The Hill of Thieves" from Hill of Thieves
Karan Casey
"The King's Shilling" from The Wing Begins to Sing
"When Will We All Be Free?" from Chasing the Sun
Solas
"The Wind That Shakes the Barley" from Sunny Spells & Scattered Showers
"Pastures of Plenty" from The Words That Remain OR Reunion: A Decade of Solas
The Cranberries
"Dreams" from Wake Up and Smell the Coffee
"Free to Decide" from To the Faithful Departed
Tommy Sands
"Let the Circle Be Wide" from Let the Circle Be Wide
"There Were Roses" from Singing of the Times
"Don't Call Me Early in the Morning" from Singing of the Times
Fionn Regan
"Put a Penny in the Slot" from The End of History
Tim O'Brien
"Wagoner's Lad" from The Crossing (feat. Kathy Mattea)
"Demon Lover" from Two Journeys (feat. Karan Casey)
Damien Dempsey
"Colony" from They Don't Teach This Shit in School
"Great Gaels of Ireland" from Seize the Day
"St. Patrick's Day" from Shots
Emer Kenny
"Parting Glass" from Parting Glass
The Chieftains
"Raggle Taggle Gypsy" from Further Down the Old Plank Road (feat. Nickel Creek)
Dolly Parton
"We Irish" from Alive and Well
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