Just Closed

Come on over to

kanedax.livejournal.com

Sound The Trumpets!

RING THE BELLS!

BRING ON THE DANCING GIRLS!

SEND IN THE GIRAFFE!

Another Blog by Another Geek celebrates its one year of existence. That's right folks, one year as a drop of tap water in this vast ocean we call the internet.

Yes, tap water. Not exactly bad, not exactly good. It just is what it is.

So, how does one celebrate such a momentous occasion?

By getting the Hell out of Dodge.

That's right folks. This may be the last post on this here blog. Okay, second-to-last.

I'm moving.

I decided to take at least a test run at running a daily blog over at my sister blog, LiveJournal. Currently I've only been using it to post my little bits of fanfiction, but I figure I'll take a shot.

The reasons are six of one, half-dozen of the other, but it basically amounts to this: The few little things that I want to do on this blog, technicality-wise, are things that LJ can do and Blogger can't (at least within my limited techno capacity). So I thought I'd take a swing next door to see if the grass is greener, or if it's the same color, just patchy in different spots.

I'll be losing access to the HTML code of my blog, which means no more StatCounter and no more Hunter License. It may also mean a shortening of my links over on the sidebar, I'll get that figured out today when I start cleaning up over there.

In exchange, I'll be getting three things I've wanted from my blog for a while:

- Access to my avatars. Now that I know what the hell I'm doing with them, I wanna try them out, see if it's worth the hassle.

- No more big long "spoiler" gaps. Over at LJ I can take anything that people may not want to read and collapse them into a single phrase, to be clicked or not to be clicked. It may also come in handy for people who don't want to read my long, involved Transformers reviews. In both cases, I tend to keep writing other blog stuff after I'm done with those postings, so this way people won't have to scan past stuff they don't want to read to get to the stuff they do want.

- And, most important (although a rare occurrence with the amount of people reading this thing), the comments section on LJ has more of a message board feel than Blogger. If someone posts a comment, and I or someone else wishes to respond to it, that response is created as a separate thread. The initial commenter/commentor/whatever will get an email saying that someone has responded, and they can come back and read it and/or respond in kind.

It gives the comments section a much more conversational feel that the Blogger comments board is currently missing.

So... that's about it. There will be one more post here, put up at about the same time that I make my first post on LJ, just to let anyone who passes by know what's going on without them having to read all this dribble. May have more if Blogger decides that idle bloggers should be deleted, I don't know exactly how that works.

There will be a link over on the LJ page back here for anyone who wants to read the archives or get a look at the Links page.

And, hell, if I decide that it's not worth the hassle, then I may very well come back here. Right now it's just an experiment, and I don't necessarily feel like double-posting.

So, with that, I bid you a fond adieu, and I'll see you over on kanedax.livejournal.com later today or tomorrow. If you go over there before I make my final post here, you might very well see some funky stuff going on (I'm still trying to decide on a layout), but it should be all settled by the end of the day.

Nerd TV

So it's the time of year when the networks come out and try to get advertisers by the neck. I'm talking, of course, about the new fall schedule.

And, as your intrepid, um, blogger, likes to do when they're released, I skimmed through the new shows, looking for names that I recognize from old shows and movies that I'm a fan of. And also actors that I give a shit about.

So far, nothing too great, but there's a few potentials:

Benny & Joon... ummm... Jayne... are in a new drama together: Groundhogs Day, but with a murder framing involved.

Pyro's in a show about three high school kids framed for a terrorist bombing.

Josh Lyman, Chandler Bing, and the real Jack Torrance are in a drama about the behind-the-scenes workings of a TV variety show.

and Dr. Ian Malcolm is a cop who sees dead people.

No new Buffy sightings so far, beyond Miss Hannigan's show returning next season, but Fox and CW still need to announce.

Tomorrow: potentially big news in the blog.

Good Ol' Fashioned Baseball

You gotta hand it to Russ Springer.

The man's got balls the size of Barry Bonds' head.

Big Ol' Bonds walks up to the plate in Houston, and I'm assuming that the coach told Springer, a relief pitcher for the Astros, to walk him.

As pitchers are wont to do to Steroid Boy.

Allegedly.

Mr. Springer says "Hell, Bonds gets a free pass?

"He gets it my way."

First pitch sails behind Bonds' back.

Mr. Springer gets a warning from the ump.

Think that's the end?

Not bloody likely.

Pitch 2: Low and inside. Bonds has to skip out of the way.

Pitch 3: High and inside. Bonds turns to take the impact, and the ball hits the handle of his bat.

Foul ball. Two balls, one strike.

Pitch 4: Inside pitch.

Pitch 5: Bonds gets plunked and takes his base.

The ump stands up, tosses Springer, along with Houston's manager, Phil Garner.

As he walks to the showers, the Houston crowd gives Springer a standing ovation.

...

Baseball used to be a sport for tough men. Back when the DH was unheard of, and pitchers pitched complete games with incredible regularity, beanballs would be tossed out of venegance, hatred, or pure spite on a regular basis, and bench-clearing brawls meant something.

The rules have made it a hitter's game, and now the pitcher doesn't even get the opportunity to accidentally plunk a guy before he hits the locker room, let along intentionally.

You gotta hand it to Russ Springer. He played it the old-fashioned way, even if he gets a fine for it.

Hmmm.... Wii...

So I just read an article about the new Smash Brothers game coming out for the Wii (I think). Sounds like it should be a really fun game, what with all the new characters they're adding into the mix.

They're bringing in Pit. Friggin Kid Icarus, the black sheep of the Nintendo family! As some of you may or may not remember, when I handed in my pairing list a few months back, KI was one of my 25. Should be fun to see him finally brought out of the 8-bit universe.

Well, unless you're counting Captain N. That Kid sucked-icus.

Beyond that, they're adding Wario, Metaknight from Kirby, and are also bumping up the feminine factor by giving us a battlesuitless Samus Aran. I have a feeling adding a blonde in a tight body suit will probably help sales a little bit.

Everyone's all pumped because Solid Snake is going to be in the game, too. Me, not so much. I was never a big fan of the Metal Gear series, so it doesn't do anything for me one way or the other. It does open the door for plenty of other third-party crossover in the future. Smash Brothers Brawl 2 featuring Mega Man? Cloud? The Prince? We can only cross our fingers.

The most interesting part for me, personally? Well, beyond Pit?

The Nintendogs make an appearance.

Weird.

Nothing too much new to talk about beyond that. Super Mario comes out today for the DS, but I'm content to wait to get it used. Too many other things occupying my time and money right now.

Finally, The Rock Has Come Back!

Ummm... okay, so maybe he's not technically The Rock. I don't know if he has a nickname. And I know the 93X guys called Lohse The Rock, cuz he looks like him.

And, well, he's not technically coming back as much as arriving for the first time, but...

"Finally, has come!"

...

Screw you.

Liriano's finally in the rotation.

Too Much Nerd

So, if someone posts a comment on a blog, and the word verification code sparks your brain into nerd thoughts...

that's a bad thing, right?

I just posted a comment on someone's blog entry, and the verification was such:

tfnukess

TF Nukess.

A female transformer named Nukess? Possibly a bomber or a rocket launcher?

That would be sweet.

She'd be like a shellbot like Chromia, but without the huge wings.

Unless someone wants to go the "bulky female" route.

Hey, they did it with Overdrive.

Note how I don't say "It worked for Overdrive," a male character that the American translators decided to make female, because "we need more girls!"

Actually, Nukess could be a damn good name for a female Seeker.

See, yeah, that's my brain functioning on a Monday after a weekend with far from enough sleep.

I had another weekend where I had so much nothing planned, and in the end it turned out to be quite a bit more than expected.

Between Mom's Day shopping, Mom's Day itself, a wedding and reception of which I was the last one to leave (except for the DJ and cleaning crew), and my total inability to put down the controller while playing Kingdom Hearts II...

Well, you can understand why I didn't get to that desperately-needed Fem Slash story.

So this week I have a get-together with a friend tonight, an audition tomorrow, and two nights of rehearsal.

This weekend, though... seriously... I have a slight chance of getting to it.

Motivation?

The second part of the Pairing List has yet to be posted.

No one's posted a story since April 25th.

Someone needs to get out there and kick some ass.

Take some names.

I might have to be that man.

Do I write Lionel Luthor and Mr. Tumnus?

Or do I go for Ethan Rayne & Emmett Brown?

Or do I, dear sweet merciful God, take a shot at fem slash?

Comic Ramblings

I wanted to talk bout something I don't get to very often in this blog.

As many of you know, I like comics. Back in my heyday (middle school, high school, college) I would put down $10-20 on comics on a weekly basis. I know that, compared to others, that's not an huge amount, but it was a thing. I loved the various X-Men series, and I also tended to latch on to any major "event" comics that came and went. Joe Maduiera was close to royalty for me.

Nowadays, between rent/mortgages, toy budgets, and just overall confusion resulting from storyline changes, artistic directions, etc, I've limited my comic reading to maybe 2 or 3 comics a month, mostly one-shots and miniseries, along with as many trade paperbacks as I can get my hands on at the local library. I still like to keep up, though, see what I'm missing.

Which is probably the reason why I picked up the two books I picked up yesterday, and I'm sorely tempted to keep up with them. They're both introductions to "events", both of which seem just too intruiging to pass up.

First off is DC's 52, the followup to the Infinite Crisis mini/maxiseries. For the past year or so, DC's been hyping Infinite Crisis, and while most would agree that the series paid off in the end, it's also fairly common knowledge that it was one of the most frustrating company crossovers in the history of company crossovers. It started with four four-issue miniseries, then a Infinite Crisis mini-series with tie-ins to every book in the DC universe. Fortunately, anyone reading the IC series itself (which I did) had a fairly decent idea of what was occurring without having to pick up any other comics, but it did leave the full-scale collectors beating their heads and their wallets.

If anyone wants to know the summary of Infinite Crisis, here's the wikipedia link. Massive, since it has links to entries that chronicle the four miniseries, as well as a chart of who lived, who died, who changed as a result of the Crisis.

The main repercussion of IC is a time leap in all DC comics (Vertigo not included). Every comic now takes place starting 1 year after IC. That may not seem like a lot, but if you consider that maybe a year's worth of comics in our clock equals, oh, 2 weeks of DC time, it's a big deal. New directions, new heroes, new villains, and, in many cases, new continuities (Infinite Crisis created a new Earth. Read the wiki, it might help).

52 #1 is the first of 52 weekly comics to be released in the next year that should, in real time, explain what happened to get the DC universe to the point it is in now. Every issue covers one week of the DC universe, and promises to discuss not only the big five (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern) but as many others as they can get in.

Issue number 1, for instance, focuses on Elongated Man, Booster Gold, Steel, Black Adam, Renee Montoya, and The Question. The only view of any of the big guys comes in one frame, as Booster accidentally knocks into Clark Kent, giving him a bloody nose (Superman was depowered in IC. Read the wiki!).

I'm really interested in keeping up with this series. at $2.50 a pop, it's not a HUGE monetary commitment, but if I eventually decide it's not worth the money, I'm still going to try to keep up on the wiki and on the 52 website, which is written in the style of a news service site. It's a nice setup.

The other comic I bought is a lot less confusing, but hopefully can live up to the potential that it's promising.

Civil War #1 is the first issue of Marvel's company-wide cross-over. It starts out with the New Warriors, who are currently a group of superheroes on a TV reality show, coming across a supervillain hideout. Seeing a ratings bonanza, the Warriors jump into action without calling for any necessary big guns. The fight spills into the outskirts of a school, where supervillain Nitro ignites himself, resulting in the death of most of the Warriors and hundreds of innocent bystanders, mostly children.

In the resulting aftermath, the government takes action. Calling for an end to costumed vigilantism, they call for a superhero registration act. This act would require all superheroes to be registered as federal employees, complete with proper training, proper salaries, proper health benefits. All superheroes who refuse to file would be subject to the same laws and punishments as all other US citizens for their actions. No more beating people up, no more destruction of property, no more flying around without proper air clearence, no more firing weapons without a permit. Screw up, and you're going to jail, just like the rest of us.

If you're powerful enough to be considered a human weapon of mass destruction, well, some worse things might happen.

Along with this new law, public sentiment for super-powers begins to turn. In the most extreme case of the issue, Johnny Storm (Human Torch of the Fantastic Four) is knocked unconscious and beaten up by a mob outside of a night club.

In the face of these new events, super-heroes are split into two camps. The side in favor of superhero regulation include such names as Iron Man, Mr. Fantastic, and Hank Pym, while those opposed include Captain America, Namor, and Dr. Strange. As the series progresses, most of the heroes in the Marvel universe will take sides, and hero vs. hero slugfests are sure to follow.

How this will affect the Marvel Universe is still up in the air. When Marvel promises huge changes through these crossovers, they usually don't deliver, so I'm holding my breath. But the series has me hooked already, so I'll be keeping up with it.

They Change The Questions

Just when I think I have this state figured out...

Today is May 11th.

Tomorrow is May 12th.

Tomorrow they're forcasting snow.

Snow.

Snow.

Not Snow.

Snow!

So...

Here I am.

I didn't write yesterday because... ummm...

Do you really wanna know?

Brief summary: My abdomen has been hurting the last few days. I took yesterday off work to go to the doctor. He gave me something to fix it.

I won't get into details about what it involved, since you don't wanna hear, but I'll just say that I'm all cleaned out.

Let's continue...

Since I was at home for most of the afternoon, I'm sure I probably COULD have posted an update, but since most of the time was spent in front of the TV playing Kingdom Hearts II, there probably isn't a lot to say.

All I can say is that so far I'm doing a good job making my way through the game this second time through. In order to get the super-duper-secret ending you have to complete the game on Proud Mode (Hard difficulty) or complete Jiminy's Journal on the medium difficulty. I chose the latter option, which means I need to:

- Talk to everyone
- Get x points on every mini-game
- Find every map & every treasure chest

I might have to beat Sephiroth, too, which is quite possibly going to be a huge pain in the ass.

So far I've been doing well. I've been focusing on two things this time: the treasure chests (100% so far) and the Drives. Drives, for those who haven't played the game, are kinda "dual" attacks, where Sora combines with Goofy, Donald, or both to add certain attacks for a set amount of time. Drives, as well as Summons, can be levelled up like a regular character, with each levelling adding new techniques to both the Drive/Summons as well as Sora in regular mode.

Unfortunately, I didn't realize 1) how to level Drives properly and 2) how important the levelling was until far too late in the game. So I made sure levelling them was a priority this time around, and I've been doing well so far. I maxed out Valor Form before I received Wisdom Form, and maxed out my Summons before I picked up the second Summons (in both cases, you can only level up to a certain level until you recieve more Drives/Summons). I'll be maxing more after I recieve the other two Forms, Master and Final.

In other, less video-game-centric news, my small theatre group is attempting to get into the Fringe Festival this year. Fringe Festival is a 10-day theatre festival here in the Twin Cities, with a couple hundred shows being put about a dozen venues around the city.

My group is currently on the waiting list. In the top ten on the waiting list.

And we haven't moved at all in the past 3 weeks.

Come on, people, quit! We wanna be in the mix!

Quickie

A nice quote from an old ISB post (which I linked to a few days ago) in reference to Harry Potter:

"Wherever he goes, Harry Potter is constantly followed by death and mistrust. In short, his life sucks. But considering that his best friend, his best friend's dad, his boss, and Dr. Doom have never tried to kill him, it's still better than Peter Parker's."

How true.

Whattan Anniversary

Ever been reading a book when you suddenly realize that the date during which the book occurs is the same date as you're reading it? Maybe not the same year, most likely, unless you're reading sci-fi, but the calendar date?

How about reading a book when you suddenly realize that the date and time during which the book is occurs is almost the exact time that you're reading it?

For those of you who read Dark Tower, you'll get it. For those who haven't... well, here ya go:

On May 9th, 1977, at 8:25 am Eastern Standard Time, John "Jake" Chambers is pushed into the street by Jack Mort, hit by a car and is killed.

On May 9th, 1977, at 8:25 am Eastern Standard Time, John "Jake" Chambers is not hit by a car and does not die. The paradox slowly drives him insane until he is rescued by Roland and his ka-tet.

On May 9th, 2006, at 7:25 am Central Standard Time (8:25 Eastern), I was on the bus reading the chapter in which John "Jake" Chambers was supposed to get hit by a car, but doesn't.

What are the odds of that happening?

Failure

Okay, so that didn't work. I don't even think I had five hits on this thing.

Well, rehearsals have begun in earnest for Oz. I think. If your definition of "earnest" means "blocking starts tonight, and it's only two or three rehearsals a week, but, hell, at least it's the only show you're doing right now," then, yes, it's begun in earnest.

I bought a new Transformer on Sunday after wedding 1. Not much to write home about, except to say that Shortround has a cool alt-mode, freakishly long and poorly-built arms on an otherwise cool robot mode, and is apparently named after the kid from Temple of Doom.

Beyond that, there's really nothing new to report except that my body's been giving me problems in the last week or two. Trust me, you all don't want detail, but I'll just say that there's a good chance I'll be attending a doctor's office tomorrow.

Good times. Good times.

An Experiment, If You Will...

Still getting a kick out of this Hit Counter thing. And I'm learning a thing or two, as well.

On Friday I wrote about a lot of movies. Put up a lot of famous names. 30 hits by the end of the day.

Today, I wrote about my friend's wedding.

One hit so far.

So, in the interest of science (or boredom) I bring you the following experiment.

*ahem*

*brings my arms out, moving all aside*

*cracks my neck in preparation*

lalalalala

...

Tom Cruise.

...

Katie Holmes.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.

Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu.

...

The Paris Hilton Sex Tape.

...

Alyson Hannigan FHM Shoot.

Charisma Carpenter Playboy.

Kate Winslett Charlize Theron Halle Berry Colin Farrell.

...

Will Ferrell.

Steve Carrell?

...

Jewel Staite naked wrestling Amber Benson in a giant bowl of tapioca pudding!!!

...

THEN MAKING OUT!!!!

...
...
...

*GASP*

...

Biff Tannen.

whuh?

I thank you.

Relief

Weekend One of Two-Obligation weekend is out of the way. KMK is off the boards, and for that I can only say *happy dance!*

And I attended what I thought was a wedding, then just a reception, then it turned into a wedding again when I arrived. Pretty good deal, the wedding was a Christian/Jewish coupling (wow, that came out wrong). Since they didn't want to decide between a priest and a rabbi (no punchline) they ended up with a Justice running the ceremony. That made for a nice short ceremony, which was nice.

Considering I knew exactly two people in the entire ceremony, both of whom were at the head table, it was sort of slow for me overall. I got to talk to one girl for a while, the best looking girl in the place, who also didn't know anyone else but one of the guys holding the huppah (her boyfriend, curse my eyes). And the table I was seated at was full of the bride's college buddies, all physics/chemistry/poli-sci folks.

Good folks, but it could have been mathier.

Plus I helped one of my friends finish up his film for some website contest that I couldn't link you to, since I don't know the site. So that's out of the way.

Next weekend I have wedding number 2 and Mother's Day.

The weekend after that? Freedom!

I think. Knowing my luck...

Getting Thicker

Wow. That's a title that'll garner some hits, I imagine.

I speak, actually, of my list of "movies I wanna see this summer."

At first glance, there have only been two movies that have really stuck out in my head as must-sees: X3 and Superman. Partially because I'm not the movie afficianado I used to be, partially because my memory's gone to crap.

Now that M:III, or however they're selling it, is coming out today, newspapers and magazines are starting to put out their "here's what's coming out" lists. Which certainly helps make my life more frenetic in the next few months.

So, here's what I got that I like, and will probably see in the theatre, in order of release:

The DaVinci Code: Enjoyed the book well enough, but it wasn't exactly the huge must read that everyone touted it as. That being said, the film's looking pretty decent, but might come out a bit slow if they stick to the book.

X3: 'Nuff said.

Cars: I had sworn this wouldn't be coming out until this winter, as most Pixars do, but they always do a good job, so I'm in.

A Prairie Home Companion: This movie could just as easily infuriate me as entertain me, but it has enough names in it that I'm game.

Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties: Just kidding.

Nacho Libre: I heard about this one a few months ago, and the premise is just too good to resist. Jack Black and his mustache moonlight as a Mexican wrestler in order to save an orphanage. Hilarity ensues.

Superman Returns: This movie may suck eggs, but as long as Kevin Spacey is Lex Luthor it will get a thumbs up in my book.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest: Almost guaranteed to not be as good as the original, I will still see it because Depp's a kick-ass character actor. Plus the character designs for the bad guys are just creative creative stuff.

Super Ex-Girlfriend: This one will probably be a cheap theatre or a rental, but it's another premise that has so much potential. Luke Wilson breaks up with his girlfriend Uma Thurman. Thurman, who hid her superhero identity from Wilson, seeks revenge.

Talladega Nights: Anchorman on the NASCAR circuit.

Clerks II: It has Dante, Randall, Jay, Silent Bob, Jason Lee, and a bespectacled Rosario Dawson. Sweet.

Snakes on a Plane: Yes yes yes. No. Yes yes yes.



Future posts will probably bring up movies that I have to shake my head at, or films that sound pretty damn tempting, but not enough to spend my movie dollars on (ie Idlewild & A Scanner Darkly).

It Worked!

So far I've had 18 views of this page since last night (half of them seem to be from the same place. Thanks Jenn). Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, California, New York, London.

One of them? Someone who searched blogs looking for the words Britney Spears.

Told you it would work.

In other news, this weekends looking like a weekend full of obligations, with not a lot of free time to work with.

That being said, I'm debating whether to restart KHII now that I know what I'm doing, or starting up Final Fantasy VII again.

This is my free time.

Easily Amused

Hey, look what I can do!!!

I done figured it out all by myself!!!

Where's he going now?

Oh, there he is!!!!

Look at him scoot!!!!

Man... makes one wonder how a catch like me can still be single, huh?

Curiosity Kills Me

I just entered a hit counter onto my blog. I'm curious to see how many people actually read this, how many come back, where they're coming from, that sort of thing. This program, from StatCounter.com, is gonna do that for me.

We shall see how popular I REALLY am.

Wait, I know how to increase my viewership.

Watch...

Paris Hilton Britney Spears Jenna Jameson Jessica Simpson Jennifer Lopez Mandy Moore porn breasts nuts tits balls

Sweet.

Yub Yub

In what can either be viewed as a great move, or a shrewd marketing tool, Lucasfilm is releasing the original Star Wars Trilogy, digitally remastered but otherwise unaltered, on DVD this fall.

When I first heard it, I had the expected reaction. "Woo hoo! The original Ewok ending! Anakin's ghost is a middle-aged man! Han shoots first!"

But the more I think about it, the more frustrated I am. It was stated in the past that Lucasfilm would never release the original trilogy, which is why so many people shelled $50 for the Special-Special Edition. We figured it was the best we were gonna get.

Now this.

Asking for another $50 bucks, and leaving us with our dust-gathering Super-Duper Special Editions in order to get what we wanted in the first place.

Which leaves me with these choices:

1) Being a goat, and buying both trilogies when the new one is released this fall.

2) Being a shrewd goat, posting the fantastically-super-spectacular Special Editions on eBay now, before everyone else starts posting. I could get what I can from selling it, and pick up the new version when it is released.

3) Don't sell the Goddamn-Miraculous Special Edition on eBay, and pray to God that I can find the original on discount someday.

*sigh* The things we nerds have to go through.

Well, at least I still haven't given them the prequel money yet.

Overdose

You know you played too much Guitar Hero when "Bark At The Moon" comes on the radio, and the only thing you can think of is that painfully large amounts of notes flying down the screen at you.

Damn, that song's a toughie. Those solos are absolutely finger-numbing, and the syncopation in the verses suck.

April Fools Reality

Back when I was in college I interned at a newspaper in my college town. One of those independent, free papers, the editor liked to describe the paper as "City Pages without the phone sex ads."

Aside from the occasional straight article, opinion column, and my usual assignment of handling the community calendar, I did a lot of movie reviews for the paper. Back in early 2001, I handled the good (Crouching Tiger), the bad (Tomb Raider) and the incomprehensible (AI).

For the issue on the week of April 1st, my editor and publisher decided that they wanted some bullshit in the paper. Since, you know, April Fool's Day and all. Some of the columnists handed in their fake articles, as did the newsies. We injected a few fakes into the calendar, if I remember right.

And, being the creative soul that I am, I went to town on the movie section. I wrote a full-page article about the upcoming summer blockbuster "Pancho Pierre: Action Hero," and tossed a few little quick hits about upcoming films.

I have clippings laying around somewhere, not here in the office, but one of them was definitely "Cast Away 2: The Return of Wilson," or something like that, featuring Tim Allen as the voice of Wilson. This one also included a picture of Wilson's new family, a bunch of tennis balls with smiley faces on them.

I would dig it up, link it up, but unfortunately they didn't start archiving their articles online until, it appears, December of 2002.

Anyway, another one that I had written actually recieved some positive feedback. Not feedback as in "Wow, that was hilarious," but feedback as in "You know, that's actually a good idea. You cast that thing well."

Now the movie that I had faked in April 2001 is coming close to reality.

They're planning to make a live-action Jetsons movie.

Now, don't get me wrong, as soon as they released the live-action Flintstones movie in 1994, we all knew that the Jetsons would eventually happen. It was just, you know, too easy.

And they've been trying. The article states that they've been trying to get this thing going for 10 years now, and now they're taking another swing with a reputable comedy writer (if you consider a "Revenge of the Nerds" remake as reputable comedy, that is).

If it happens, it has the potential to be hilarious. It also has the potential to be as head-shakingly bad as other cartoon to live action ventures, like Flintstones, Rocky & Bullwinkle, and Scooby Doo. I would also put Josie & The Pussycats on that list if I didn't have friends that would kill me for calling it a bad movie.

Anyway, when I wrote this article back in 2001 I included a cast list. I tried to play it as seriously as possible, and it turned out alright. So I figured I'd re-write it here, or at least re-write as much as I can remember, and also give any updates if I feel they're necessary.

So here I give you The Jetsons Dream Cast:

George Jetson: William H. Macy. Just your typical average typical everyman, trapped in a world gone mad. His only wish is for Jane to stop this crazy thing.

Jane Jetson: Gillian Anderson. Because I couldn't think of a better redhead for the part. I think she'd still work today, but you could always throw in someone like Susan Sarandon if you need em.

Judy Jetson: The first major change. I had originally had Jennifer Love Hewitt in the role. But, you know, 5 years ago and all. Today I'd have to aim for someone like a Michelle Trachtenberg or an Amanda Bynes. Maybe an Alexis Bledel, but she's pushing it for age, too.

Elroy Jetson: Five years ago, Haley Joel Osment. Not anymore, obviously. If you cast today, I'd maybe have to go with Angus T. Jones from Two and a Half Men. More likely it'd be a newcomer, though.

Mr. Spacely: Jeez, is there even a debate? Danny DiVito begins and ends this conversation.

Fine, fine, fine. Want alternatives? Someone taller? Dennis Franz. Jason Alexander. Tom Wilkinson. I'm done arguing this.

Mr. Cogswell: This one's a little tougher. I think I had Robert DeNiro in this role, and I still like him as a front-runner. Failing that, possibly a Philip Seymour Hoffman or Nathan Lane. Or, ooh, Dennis Farina, I like that.

Astro: You can go nuts with the voice of Astro. Since the cartoon version is pretty much Scooby Doo with a different lisp, you can either go with it or throw it out the window completely. It would be a hoot to have an Al Pacino, a John Malkovich, a Kelsey Grammer in this role.

Rosie: Hell, she's already got the name. Rosie O'Donnell IS Rosie the Robot, no question.

So, what do you think? Would this movie suck, or what?

A Good Point

I've been reading a blog titled Chris's Invincible Super-Blog, and in a post from March 2005 he makes the case for something that may sound, well, outlandish. But he makes a good case, especially with his last point.

The Karate Kid is one of the most influential movies of our generation.

Because everyone, whether they've seen the movie or not, has attempted the Crane Kick, or at least the Crane Kick stance, at some point in their lives.

I like this guy. I think I'm gonna blog-roll him. W00t.

And the blog I found him at.

Cuz, well, I need more blogs on my Blogroll.

Rrrgh...

So they caught this sex offender guy, who's been in the news here in the Cities for almost a month now. Caught him yesterday, so why is it so tough to find the article on any of the local news websites? Why is a new stamp or American Idol top-line news, but not this?

Actually, forget I asked, I don't wanna know the answer...

And, once again, I come into a post knowing what I'm going to talk about, then find out that my friend CJ is writing in a similar vein... curses.

But here's something that she's almost guaranteed not to be writing about.

I got my Soundwave last night.

Oooooh, baby.

I haven't done any reviews on these pages for a while, so here goes.

Soundwave is one of those original characters that has been shortchanged over the years. While Optimus Prime, Megatron, and Starscream have had figures in almost every Transformers line since the original, ol' SW's been sitting on the sidelines. Heck, even Wheeljack, Prowl, and Shockwave have gotten more play over the years.

Despite this, Soundwave has remained a constant favorite amongst fans. If you put up a fan poll anywhere, asking "who's your favorite Transformer," Soundwave would be in the top three of any poll, easily.

Why is that? It could be way he was characterized in the cartoon. Voiced by Frank Welker, Soundwave was devised as a emotionless, calculating, cold-blooded Decepticon. Always speaking in the third person, with his inflection-free voice warped into the prototypical 1980's computer voice, he would toss out phrases like "Soundwave superior, Autobots inferior." He never became annoying like a lot of other characters on the show, because he never over-acted.

Another reason for his success probably deals with a creative alt-mode gimmick, one which is probably the same reason why he hasn't been recreated time and time again. A character that personified the Transfan term "mass shift," Soundwave's alt-mode was a tape recorder. While in both modes, this allowed him to carry what were termed "Cassetticons": Cassettes that would turn into human-sized robots. His cassettes, along with those of his eventual Autobot nemesis, a boombox named Blaster, went beyond the biped (eg Rumble and Rewind), giving us birds (Laserbeak & Ratbat), predators (Ravage & Steeljaw), dinosaurs (Overkill & Slugfest), and vehicles (Grand Slam & Raindance, who combined to form Slamdance).

These cassette figures led to some very cool battles between Soundwave and Blaster. A one-on-one confrontation could quickly turn into a battle royale if the two stepped back, pressed the button on their shoulders, and allowed their cassette comrades to join the fray. Kids loved that. Hell, I have a poster in my living room of Soundwave and his Cassetticons, and it's one of my favorites I've ever owned.

But, as I said, Soundwave's alt-mode is probably the reason why we haven't seen much of him in the later sets. Optimus could keep transforming into a truck. Starscream could keep finding newer and flashier fighter jets to become. Even Megatron, whose gun alt-mode became politically incorrect over time, had a vast array of imposing vehicles and beasts to become.

Soundwave, on the other hand, would soon fall to technology. Cassette tapes led to CD's. CD's led to mp3 players. Making a Soundwave figure transform into a Discman wouldn't be nearly as cool without his little army alongside him. So he quickly faded from the shelves.

Thank goodness someone finally decided to take action. While no longer a media player, the new stealth bomber style Soundwave (like a sonic boom, get it?) gets to show off some new digs while still retaining a lot of what made him great in the first place. Cool colors, cool head, and the return (albeit a minor return) of Cassetticons. I'll be putting up the pictures of the new version along with comparison shots of the original, so you can all see what I'm talking about.

SW's alt mode is, like I said, a stealth bomber style spaceship. It hangs on to plausibility, but since the character isn't supposed to be hiding himself on Earth, it's fine if it's not a direct translation. The color scheme of blue and silver is nearly identical to the original version. If nothing else, it's an even brighter blue, similar to the look achieved in the cartoon.

In the Cybertron version, the cassettes are replaced by hexagonal barrels that are supposed to be bombs. Of the three that come with the figure, the two that are most important for this mode are the weapons bombs. Both turn into guns, and both connect to Soundwave's wings. The third is contained in his chest compartment, which is a Planet Key-activated bomb bay in this mode. I'll be getting to that third bomb shortly.

The weapons were a little difficult to attach to the wing, and when they're there they don't necessarily bring anything too thrilling to the party. But for the sake of storage, it was one of two choices: Attach them to the wings or make the chest three times the size that the decided on. I think they made the right choice. Hell, G1 Soundwave could only carry one tape at a time in his toy form, anyway. It's better, less kibbly, this way.


Robot mode is where this puppy shines. This figure IS Soundwave, pure and simple. The designers of this toy retained so much of the original look: The head and face, the chest-plate, right down to the red striping on the limbs. At the same time, he's definitely designed in the 21st Century. A little choppy in his joints, he still has a lot more articulation than the original figure. The wings and the shield are both necessary for the alt-mode, but they just enhance the look of this new Soundwave. Despite the fact that he's not a very dark figure, color-wise, he is by far the most imposing figure to come out of the Transformers line in a long time. Maybe ever.

The weapon "bombs" continue with the homage, taking the place of the battery weapons from the original figure. One is mounted on the right shoulder, the other is held in his hand. They both have the Energon-like look, with clear purple plastic, but it's forgivable.

The third bomb is my favorite feature of this figure. Contained in Soundwave's chest plate, which opens in Planet Key mode, it can be pulled at any time.

Laserbeak's back. The Cassetticon that came with the original SW is packaged with this new figure, being touted as a Mini-Con. This Mini, however, can only junction with SW (and maybe Megatron/Galvatron, haven't tried yet) since he doesn't have any of the Powerlink points that the other Mini-Cons have. Only a peg on the bottom of his body.

This peg allows Laserbeak to perch, either on SW's arm or his wing, as well as Mega/Galvatron's arm. The wings and legs are both flexible enough to accommodate, but it's also the best Mini-Con figure I've ever seen, so I have no problem showing him off by himself.

Yeah, this one was friggin' long. I don't care. Soundwave was my favorite Transformer as a kid, and he still remains near or at the top for me. This figure is the best Transformer in the price bracket to come along in all the time I've been collecting, and will probably be on my top five in all brackets for years to come.

My only hope, either from Hasbro, Takara, or some intrepid kit-basher, would be the rest of the Cassetticons reproduced to go along with this figure. Rumble is already somewhat in the Cybertron line (Scrapmetal in the US), and Ravage has shown up in various forms over the years (biped-to-panther, panther-biped-to-Corvette, etc). But it would be one of the coolest ideas to see a Mini-Con three pack consisting of Ravage, Frenzy, and Buzzsaw or Ratbat, all created in Soundwave bomb-fashion.

This will probably never happen, but it's wishful thinking. All said and done, I LOVE THIS FIGURE!

Yupyupyupyupyupyupyup

BRRRRRING!!!!

I'm back. I took the day off work yesterday. Now I have a refrigerator to not turn everything into blocks of ice.

Had my first read for Oz last night. This thing should be a blast to end all blasts, and if the director is able to implement a quarter of the ideas he has for this thing, it's gonna be one hell of a show.