During my nearly daily viewing of the RPGNow online Roleplaying Download website, I found two good buys for those interested in the history (and the future) of the roleplaying hobby.
Roleplaying games, in their current form, have been around for a little over thirty years. During that time many good games have come and gone, as have many very bad games. One of the problems any market is that when it is no longer profitable for publishers to do new print runs of a game, they stop doing print runs of the game. Sadly, some products don't sell as well as their quality deserves and they fall to the wayside lost to the dustbin of history. The same is also true of games that aren't particularly good, in and of themselves, but have historical importance due to the subject matter and or systems innovations they attempt to bring to the milieu.
The games I located at the RPG Now site were the republication of Games Workshop's Golden Heroes, under the new name Squadron U.K. Golden Heroes was one of those games that wasn't a particularly good game in and of itself, but has historical importance as an attempt to expand the genre covered by the hobby. It also sought to create new mechanics in its simulation of superhero activities. In the early 80s, many of the games published had mechanics that were highly derivative of the D&D and AD&D mechanics. Surprisingly, many of the exceptions to that statement were published by TSR, the creators of the D&D roleplaying game. Golden Heroes was one of the games that made sufficient modifications from the D&D system, largely because of the subject matter it dealt with. Though Villains and Vigilantes did use a D&D inspired system, and Super Squadron (an Australian game) was almost an exact duplicate of Villains and Vigilantes. Hero Games' Champions was better than Golden Heroes, with regard to creating entirely new mechanics, but Golden Heroes did have innovations like Level-less character advancement. Golden Heroes is also important because it is one of the few times that Games Workshop published a roleplaying game, even more remarkable in this case because the mechanics didn't use Games Workshop's popular miniature rules as a foundation. Games Workshop's other "comic" RPG Judge Dredd did use the Warhammer miniature rules as a foundation.
The other game is far more recent, much better, often overlooked, and linked to the history of the hobby. RPGnow has a well priced bundle of Dying Earth RPG products. One of the things that makes the Dying Earth RPG so important for the RPG historian is that it is an attempt at a direct translation of a series of stories that were themselves inspirations for the creation of the Dungeons and Dragons game. The Dying Earth RPG is a licensed RPG which has as its source material the works of Jack Vance. Jack Vance's Dying Earth stories were extremely influential in the creation of the Dungeons and Dragons game. In fact, the "cast and forget" magic system used by D&D is called Vancian because of the Dying Earth influence. Robin Laws does a wonderful job of adapting the Dying Earth source material to RPG form without being D&D-ish. Most remarkable is the way Laws wrote the game in a tone similar to the writings of Vance.
Interesting stuff for those who want to know.
Monday, June 12, 2006
Friday, June 09, 2006
Hell in a Handbasket...Where Roleplaying Games are Headed?
Over at the Pelgrane Publishing website is a thorough discussion of the state of the Role Playing industry. The discussion has commentary by many gaming professionals who have access to inside information that I don't, nor likely will ever, have access. It's an interesting read that presents several perspectives on the state of the hobby. It is also interesting in my eyes, that is to say the eyes of a particular consumer of games, because of the assumptions that many of the discussants have about the hobby and why sales in the RPG arena have dropped. One thing I am noticing is the real lack in not addressing what I see to be the key pratfall that the RPG hobby has entered. More on that in a minute. Let's have a look at whether these professionals think that "the RPG industry is screwed" or not.
My thoughts, well if you haven't guessed I think that gaming needs good old Evangalism. Own a copy of Axis and Allies? Have you ever had a "gaming night" with your adult friends? Why not? Oh they only play Monopoly and Risk. Start with Risk, then Axis and Allies, then when everyone says..."but we're sick of arguing all the time" have them play Reiner Knizia's Lord of the Rings cooperative game. Then a movie night with "Bang!" Eventually you say, "you know I have this great game called Savage Worlds (or insert favorite RPG) I'd like you guys to try this game night. People will moan, sure, but one or two might say yes. Those who don't can participate in next month's Arkham Horror or Game of Thrones night. Don't have gaming space? Stop buying online and go to Titan Games (or your local FLGS) dammit! Have a local bookstore? Do a "Fantasy/SciFi" night. Bring Star Wars Minis and D&D Minis. Run demos. Go out there and meet new people and get them to game. Only some will become RPGers, but all will have more fun because of it.
Why do so many people play MMORPGs? Because people who play them talk about them excitedly. D&D, and Pen and Paper RPGs, are the brunt of jokes. We play them in dark basements where the crumbs of junk food have come to life. No one wants to go into a real dungeon, bring RPGs back into the light. We were getting better press when Tipper Gore said D&D was devil worship and killing kids. Better Press? Wha?! Actually we were getting press at all. Roleplaying should be that thing that the funny guy I know, who has a wife and kids, does instead of drinking beer and playing Playstation. He's that nice guy who puts together the "block barbeques" and has all those age appropriate games (like Kinder Bunnies and Kitty Chaos and ...) for the kids to play. He's the published author, the actor, the director, the politician, the priest. She's the lovely lady who has the best Halloween decorations. She's the woman with the MA who helped my daughter be the best Juliet.
Get out there and game people!
- The first discussant in the conversation is Mongoose publishing, who is represented as following the "Classic" model of RPG publishing. A statement that is only partly true, especially when one looks at the history of the hobby. Most "classic" companies did not base their industry on a combination of another company's product and add licensed products (like Mongoose's Conan or Lone Wolf roleplaying games). Did some classic companies do those very things? Yes and most of those went the way of the dinosaur. Where is Judge's Guild? How about the Mayfair "roleplaying supplements?" FASA?
To be fair, Mongoose is classic in the way it operates. It publishes books regularly and supports them with peripheral gaming "necessities." Which is to say that they sell games, miniatures, and for a time had a magazine. Mongoose's products tend, in my opinion, to run the gamut from average to excellent with only their pure splatbooks being poor. The Conan RPG is good, the Lone Wolf RPG better. The Lone Wolf RPG's adaptation of the d20 magic system is a remarkable system that even Chris Pramas of Green Ronin would be proud to attach his name.
What does Mongoose think of the state of the industry?At Mongoose, we believe that a good RPG book still has the potential to blow through entire print runs and that sales of 10,000+ units are still achievable with the right product.
According to the Pelgrane article the Starship Troopers RPG (based on the Heinlein Novel) has sold a solid number of copies, more than 6000. Mongoose is a company whose stock and trade is licensed products, which have the advantage of name recognition, but the disadvantage of higher production costs due to royalty fees. If Mongoose is a strong player, you can see how small the hobby market is. - Aldo Ghiozzi sees dilution in the market place as a part of the problem in the current environment. Simple economics, a glutted market will produce more than it can sell. Interestingly, due to the size of the market some companies like Malhavoc Press are aiming for extraordinarily high prices and quality to add interest and profit, but since as Ghiozzi points out one of the ways the market has expanded is in the PDF market the potential for dilution is nigh infinite. How is the prospective gamer to find a quality game for their limited dollar? Right now you have to search through a lot of product to find good product and often the good product is much higher priced. Though a high price doesn't guarantee a good experience, or even production quality, all of the time.
- Chris Pramas solidly observes that the market needs to redefine the marketplace, but offers no solution. He sees the need for change, is working for change, but knows that it may be up to someone else to be the visionary to bring change. This is surprising to me. When Chris Pramas, one of the more savvy publishers, isn't the one with the quick answer to solve the problem, you know there is a problem. Chris does a great job defining the problem and contrasting it with other industries, but once again no solution.
They eclipsed wargames and dominated the market for many years. Since then we've seen significant events in our own industry, the two most important being 'Magic: the Gathering' creating a whole new category of game, and Games Workshop hitting upon a business model that redefined miniatures games. In the same period we've also seen computer/console games become increasingly sophisticated and immersive, and the development of MMOs. In light of these events the old RPG business model has a tough time competing. Once players have a core rulebook, they don't need to buy anything else to enjoy the game. Contrast that with the collectible games, where not only can you sell people the same product over and over again, but also they have to keep up with each new expansion to stay competitive. Or MMOs, where players pay each month for the privilege of continuing to play.
Chris had the perfect opportunity here to criticize the RPG industry for mimicking the behaviors of the MMO, miniature, and Collectible Card Game (CCGs) marketplaces. Chris mentions the d20 flood, following the above excerpt, but he fails to compare the d20 flood and marketing practices to the CCGs. Right after the release of D&D 3rd edition various companies flooded the market with material, but Wizards (pre and post-Hasbro) in the early days of the d20 boom released products in a manner that can only be compared to new sets for the card game. As a game master, I was compelled to buy over 20 new softback books filled with gaming material just to keep up with my players who wanted to "explore" the new powers/abilities that the softback products offered. Compare this to 1st edition AD&D where there were a total of 9 books by the end of the 80s (produced in a decade's time), sure many softbound adventures, with no boom of softback "splatbooks." Those came with Second edition and the 90s. This excludes "settings," those are a different creature, I am talking just core rulebooks. Not one month has gone by where the total of d20 products available (just that month) that are also worth owning (in other words are of good quality) where the products have been within any reasonable person's budget. I make good money and even I can't buy all the gaming material I think is worth it. Packs of cards don't cost $40 in hardback.
All of which I think points to something Chris didn't mention here specifically, but hints at with his comments about the d20 flood. There is a lot of material and a lot of companies out there, but only so many consumers. Once again, how do we help the consumer? - Chad Underkoffler discusses the issue as only a part-time designer can. He talks about how he believes that the market is too small for too many big publishers and that some publishers ought to realize that and be satisfied with "extra income" rather than expecting a full-time job. He nicely completes my observations on the Pramas piece by coming out and saying that the market is small and that designers should treat the market as if it were small.
I found it hard to believe that Chad had only sold 525 copies of his Truth and Justice rpg. If only because I think it is a good game (I am one of the 525). But I guess it is more than the quality of the game that made me think he has sold more. I was thinking about the "buzz" the product has. Every "cool" gamer can at least talk about the game. If that doesn't speak volumes for the amount of piracy in the PFD market, I don't know what does. - Gareth-Michael Skarka talks about the decline of the number of retailers, or as I like to call them the Friendly Local Gaming Store. Mine recently went out of business and the owner complained about two things, a local weekly flea market who reduce the cost on Magic cards to near cost, and Paizo press for becoming a legitimate online retailer with no "store." I don't know if Paizo has a store or not, but I do know that they are a trusted name and have managed a few exclusives (like the British D&D Boardgame I am pre-ordering). The decline in the FLGS is related to why I think the RPG industry is in the state it is, the decline of the FLGS is a symptom.
- Of course so are people like Ben Lehman. Ben Lehmen views the traditional market model as a model that lessens the integrity of the product and drives costs up to the consumer. In Lehman's view the 3 (or as he calls it the 6) tier marketplace.
In the six-tier system, there is economic and creative compromises at every level. The end results is that both the game player and the designer get screwed -- the designer has to make artistic compromises and gets paid no money and the game player gets a watered down product and has to pay a lot of money, because each level in between needs to take their cut. [sic]
Lehman's attitude is that of the avant garde creator, games to him are art that require artistic integrity. Things that might make the game have broader appeal and profitability are "compromises." Even if you take out the anti-marketplace sentiments and view these merely from the aesthetic level, these are the sentiment of an immature child. Sorry, but it's the truth. Have you ever had that guy in your creative writing class who has just heard a criticism during the group discussion of his "work" who says, "but that's what would happen, that's my vision, and to change it would be to lessen the power of my point?" I have. They are irritating. I don't think that good editors cause "artistic compromises," sometimes they cause artistic improvements. Roleplaying, as a hobby, is by its nature collaborative so additional collaborators oughtn't be though of as watering down the process. I can assure you that I have run many pre-written adventures (I work, hence why I have a good income) but I have never run the pre-written adventures "as is." In fact, I tweak and manipulate at will. As a Game Master I assault the integrity of the roleplaying object, most GMs do, normally I view it as adapting it to the tastes of my group. I guess I was wrong, I was compromising Lehman's integrity.
I know, I know, some of you out there are going "ouch! That's harsh." Damn straight it is. Pretension like Lehman's assumes that the hobby is fine as a niche event. "The role-playing industry, if we evaluate its success based on how well it facilitates awesome play, is healthier than it has ever been, period." Awesome play, not widespread is what is important to Lehman. That is the artist's mindset and to be fair it is a worthy and good mindset. I know I have been hard on him, he seems to be a great guy. But I prefer Robert Howard's mentality. Give the gamers what they want and have more people gaming, if the game is lacking we will make it awesome. If it is awesome to begin with it will rise to the expanded marketplace.
Lehman just reminded me of all my friends who liked Nirvana, well until everyone else started liking them. They are too cool for that. And being to cool and becoming niche isn't good. Art had Andy Warhol for a reason, it was to help breakdown the pretentious and show that Art surrounded us. Punk happened because Rock became bloated and self important. Too bad so many punks today are like those bloated self-important rockers. - West End Games gives a purely Economics 101 discussion, diversify. Good, but not inspirational. I gotta give Lehman credit. I may disagree with him, but he got my juices going.
- Titan Games talks about the difficulty of being a destination store when other retailers, who carry the flavor of the month only and are diversified, offer big discounts. His tale is the tale of my local FLGS. I hope he doesn't change too much though, because I believe that only the destination store can save the hobby. Well, that or Conventions.
- Jeff Tidball's answer is good, direct, and true. It accounts for the decline in the industry. What it doesn't account for is the industry's failure to expand to new consumers, even while losing others.
My thoughts, well if you haven't guessed I think that gaming needs good old Evangalism. Own a copy of Axis and Allies? Have you ever had a "gaming night" with your adult friends? Why not? Oh they only play Monopoly and Risk. Start with Risk, then Axis and Allies, then when everyone says..."but we're sick of arguing all the time" have them play Reiner Knizia's Lord of the Rings cooperative game. Then a movie night with "Bang!" Eventually you say, "you know I have this great game called Savage Worlds (or insert favorite RPG) I'd like you guys to try this game night. People will moan, sure, but one or two might say yes. Those who don't can participate in next month's Arkham Horror or Game of Thrones night. Don't have gaming space? Stop buying online and go to Titan Games (or your local FLGS) dammit! Have a local bookstore? Do a "Fantasy/SciFi" night. Bring Star Wars Minis and D&D Minis. Run demos. Go out there and meet new people and get them to game. Only some will become RPGers, but all will have more fun because of it.
Why do so many people play MMORPGs? Because people who play them talk about them excitedly. D&D, and Pen and Paper RPGs, are the brunt of jokes. We play them in dark basements where the crumbs of junk food have come to life. No one wants to go into a real dungeon, bring RPGs back into the light. We were getting better press when Tipper Gore said D&D was devil worship and killing kids. Better Press? Wha?! Actually we were getting press at all. Roleplaying should be that thing that the funny guy I know, who has a wife and kids, does instead of drinking beer and playing Playstation. He's that nice guy who puts together the "block barbeques" and has all those age appropriate games (like Kinder Bunnies and Kitty Chaos and ...) for the kids to play. He's the published author, the actor, the director, the politician, the priest. She's the lovely lady who has the best Halloween decorations. She's the woman with the MA who helped my daughter be the best Juliet.
Get out there and game people!
Thursday, June 08, 2006
San Diego is Classy Even When I'm Not There
Please forgive the Ron Burgandy reference, but I will be unable to attend this year's Comic Con International in San Diego and it had become somewhat of an annual tradition. The reasons for it are simple, my wife and I moved to Glendale and our rent more than doubled thus I am unable to afford 4 days in a motel room. Okay, that and the three other people I was going to hang out with can't make it either. Really that has more to do with it, so if you want to go and share a room, I might just change my plans.
Why would you want to go to Comic Con, especially if you aren't a comic book fan?
As I have said many times, it is important to understand that comic book readership has fallen to an abysmal level. We are talking 1/10th of what it was 20 years ago. Not surprisingly Comic Con has adapted with this trend. They have adapted by turning the Comic Con from merely a comic book convention into one of the largest pop culture conventions in the country.
Do you like Tenacious D? They performed last year.
Are you interested in Science Fiction and Fantasy Films? The Con usually has great previews, often exclusive previews.
Are you interested in Scifi television? The cast of Battlestar Gallactica, and the writers/creators, fielded questions at last year's Con.
Fantasy books? Got those covered too. The great independent bookstore Mysterious Galaxy usually hosts four or five must attend panels for the fantasy fan. One of the co-owners is a prolific licensed property author. You would do well to read his recent "Age of Conan" series The Marauders.
Toys and RPGs? Wizards, Hasbro, and Wizkids usually have booths and there are usually tons of PS2 games (usually Comic related) demoing as well. This is the Con I discovered the Heroscape game at, and I have been greatful since. I also won free Axis and Allies minis, good times.
Oh, and did I mention Star Wars? Comic Con is usually the host to several signings and has historically offered an exclusive Star Wars action figure.
Last, but not least, one of the hardest working freelancers in the RPG industry (and a licensed fiction author himself) Matt Forbeck will be there. I am sure he will have a hectic schedule, but he usually tries to make time for fans. But don't go crazy and stalk him.
I remember, either last year or the year before, when Matt was promoting the Knights of the Silver Dragon Young Readers series for Wizards of the Coast. He was humorously self-depricating and praised the other authors on the panel for their wordcraft. Even when his publisher got into an argument about the appropriate term to describe 10-12 year olds, ("Is it 'tweens or something more sophisticated sounding?") he was able to move the conversation away from a sticking point without making either camp. If you want to hear what it is like to live in the trenches of a freelance lifestyle, Matt's your guy. His personal narrative is inspiring.
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
It's D-Day, Not "Devil's Day!"
Two things happened in the past ten minutes. First, a friend I game with every now and then reminded me that today was our annual D-Day deathmatch. Second, I read The Shelf, one of our community members and J.C. was lamenting the lack of discussion regarding D-Day on the news today. Add to that the discussion about this obscure invasion of Normandy in 1944 that was mentioned on NPR this morning and I realized that today is D-Day.
That's right today is the day we began taking it to those Jerrys seriously. Today is a day when we should all be watching The Longest Day and Saving Private Ryan. Though Turner Movie Classics seems to think that was Memorial Day, but we all know Memorial Day is all about the Civil War and not WWII. You know the whole "sacrifices that were made to keep our nation united" thing that cost untold lives. That's Memorial Day, D-Day is when we landed on a beach and got torn to shreds by Kraut machine guns.
Annual Deathmatch? However is it resolved? Knives? Guns? Wet noodle slapping?
No, no, no. We usually work out our Deathmatch using one of many games devoted to the topic to simulate the invasion of Normandy (as opposed to the Norman Invasion which we use different games to simulate). It depends on how much time we have to devote to the occasion. This evening we will be using Memoir '44 in our annual tradition. It's a fun game that can be played in a reasonable amount of time. If we had played this weekend we might have written up some scenarios for Pinnacle Games Fields of Honor which we have both been looking to play, a great system for our Axis and Allies collectible minis. At least Wizards of the Coast remembered D-Day. I only wish that Chris Pramas were there to pwn me.
That's right today is the day we began taking it to those Jerrys seriously. Today is a day when we should all be watching The Longest Day and Saving Private Ryan. Though Turner Movie Classics seems to think that was Memorial Day, but we all know Memorial Day is all about the Civil War and not WWII. You know the whole "sacrifices that were made to keep our nation united" thing that cost untold lives. That's Memorial Day, D-Day is when we landed on a beach and got torn to shreds by Kraut machine guns.
For those worried about my strongly anti-German language, remember that my Oma came over from Deutschland after the war and that Germany is my #2 team at the World Cup. America is #1.
Annual Deathmatch? However is it resolved? Knives? Guns? Wet noodle slapping?
No, no, no. We usually work out our Deathmatch using one of many games devoted to the topic to simulate the invasion of Normandy (as opposed to the Norman Invasion which we use different games to simulate). It depends on how much time we have to devote to the occasion. This evening we will be using Memoir '44 in our annual tradition. It's a fun game that can be played in a reasonable amount of time. If we had played this weekend we might have written up some scenarios for Pinnacle Games Fields of Honor which we have both been looking to play, a great system for our Axis and Allies collectible minis. At least Wizards of the Coast remembered D-Day. I only wish that Chris Pramas were there to pwn me.
Manga and Anime Transitioning to Live Action
In upcoming months many Anime and Manga titles will see production as live action movies and television shows according to ICV2. Most interesting is that those first down the pipeline will likely be some of the smaller names, at least to non-otaku. Everyone knows that a Transformers movie is on the way, and that Vince Vaughn is working on a Speed Racer movie, but Min-Woo Hyung's Priest will likely be released before any of these bigger budget films. Priest is a narrative that should appeal to those who like demon killers in the Old West. All you Deadlands fans should already be buying the manhwa.
Roy Lee (whose name is attached to almost every import from the East since The Ring is developing one of my favorite moody anime series as a live action television show. Lee hopes to turn Witch Hunter Robin (click here for official site) into a successful live action series and more power to him. While it is difficult for me to imagine most anime series being adapted successfully to live action on a budget, Witch Hunter Robin is one of the rare exceptions. The anime version combined religious symbolism, Supernatural style stories, and hidden government agendas (very X-Files) into a moody and interesting combination. I look forward to seeing an attempt to bring this to the silver screen.
If you want to get an idea of what I am referring to, add it to your Netflix queue or ask to borrow my DVDs. I thought the animation in Robin was fluid and remarkable, but be warned the stories are directed at a slow pace. On a side note, I would love to see a Samurai Champloo live action film.
Roy Lee (whose name is attached to almost every import from the East since The Ring is developing one of my favorite moody anime series as a live action television show. Lee hopes to turn Witch Hunter Robin (click here for official site) into a successful live action series and more power to him. While it is difficult for me to imagine most anime series being adapted successfully to live action on a budget, Witch Hunter Robin is one of the rare exceptions. The anime version combined religious symbolism, Supernatural style stories, and hidden government agendas (very X-Files) into a moody and interesting combination. I look forward to seeing an attempt to bring this to the silver screen.
If you want to get an idea of what I am referring to, add it to your Netflix queue or ask to borrow my DVDs. I thought the animation in Robin was fluid and remarkable, but be warned the stories are directed at a slow pace. On a side note, I would love to see a Samurai Champloo live action film.
Civic Duty and Bureaucracy
Since I work at a non-profit devoted to youth civic engagement, I always find narratives about voting experiences interesting. Sometimes they are even entertaining. Such is the case with Professor Nokes' account of his first voting experience.
His narrative masterfully displays both what is right and what is wrong with modern electoral practices. What is right is that precincts are local and run by volunteers. You will often find that the old women (it is usually old women) who work at the polling centers are people you know, especially if you grew up in the neighborhood. If you are 18, and thus it is your first time voting, they are usually thrilled to see you and smile as you sign into the register. In fact, when I was a volunteer at a precinct (the one male and only person under 30) the only time the women I was working with didn't kibitz about what party the person was registered in was when the voter was a young whipper-snapper. The Republican woman who scowled at all the Yuppie Democrats who came in beamed when the pierced and tatooed gothic teen Democrat signed in, and the Democrat woman who murmered curses at all the suit wearing "Banker" Republicans was downright giddy when the chino wearing College Republican signed in. It was endearing to see that the health of our republic was more important to my co-volunteers than partisan politics. Partisan politics were important, but the regime moreso. The local volunteer aspect of voting is a joy to watch.
The Bureaucratic process, on the other hand, can be a nightmare. There are so many genuine concerns Clerks and Registrars need to address that the regulations often become cumbersome, or even an obstacle. In fact, since the New Millenium Young Voters Project found that potential young voters found the process of voting itself to be intimidating, I would posit that a good reason for this intimidation is the bureaucratic, solemn, and sterile feeling that has come into being. Sometimes our voting process is too much about the rules and not enough about the joy of both "ruling and being ruled in turn." Professor Nokes account of the County Clerk who states boldly that it is possible that the precinct line bisected the young Professor's house horizontally is a perfect example of the overly bureaucratic mindset.
We need rules to ensure fair elections, but we also need to remember that when we are voting we are "ruling" by selecting those who will make the rules, or in California by sometimes actually voting laws into existance.
His narrative masterfully displays both what is right and what is wrong with modern electoral practices. What is right is that precincts are local and run by volunteers. You will often find that the old women (it is usually old women) who work at the polling centers are people you know, especially if you grew up in the neighborhood. If you are 18, and thus it is your first time voting, they are usually thrilled to see you and smile as you sign into the register. In fact, when I was a volunteer at a precinct (the one male and only person under 30) the only time the women I was working with didn't kibitz about what party the person was registered in was when the voter was a young whipper-snapper. The Republican woman who scowled at all the Yuppie Democrats who came in beamed when the pierced and tatooed gothic teen Democrat signed in, and the Democrat woman who murmered curses at all the suit wearing "Banker" Republicans was downright giddy when the chino wearing College Republican signed in. It was endearing to see that the health of our republic was more important to my co-volunteers than partisan politics. Partisan politics were important, but the regime moreso. The local volunteer aspect of voting is a joy to watch.
The Bureaucratic process, on the other hand, can be a nightmare. There are so many genuine concerns Clerks and Registrars need to address that the regulations often become cumbersome, or even an obstacle. In fact, since the New Millenium Young Voters Project found that potential young voters found the process of voting itself to be intimidating, I would posit that a good reason for this intimidation is the bureaucratic, solemn, and sterile feeling that has come into being. Sometimes our voting process is too much about the rules and not enough about the joy of both "ruling and being ruled in turn." Professor Nokes account of the County Clerk who states boldly that it is possible that the precinct line bisected the young Professor's house horizontally is a perfect example of the overly bureaucratic mindset.
We need rules to ensure fair elections, but we also need to remember that when we are voting we are "ruling" by selecting those who will make the rules, or in California by sometimes actually voting laws into existance.
Monday, June 05, 2006
I Must Be In The Front Row...Too
It appears that Bob Uecker has a stalker. Studies have yet to determine if his stalker selected him because he tastes great or if it is because he is less filling.
Baseball Musings, June 5th
Although it is still early by baseball standards some interesting things happened this weekend on the diamonds.
Albert Pujols - As I previously mentioned, Albert was on his way to the best baseball season of all time for a hitter, a projected 79 homeruns and 202 rbi's, this would have broken both single season records. However, today Albert is undergoing an MRI on his right oblique for an injury sustained this weekend. It seems that Albert will miss 6 weeks or more with the injury based on the talking heads of ESPN. As a baseball fan I was looking forward to Albert chasing down both the RBI and Homerun records. It is a bit of let down, injuries happen but it is a shame.
Detroit Tigers - A comment to my post last week indicated that the Tigers hadn't played anyone and I should hold up a bit. They were a good story with the best record in baseball but I was premature in my elation for their play. They were knocked around in their own house by the Yankees and Redsox over their last two series. The Beast in the East still lives in the American League East. As a Red Sox fan I like to see them do well but I did want the Tigers to be legitimate just to mix things up a bit. I remember when the Angels won the World Series, they were a great team, lots of energy and just the feeling that they were never out of it even though they did not have the murderer's row of the Yankees. Just an all around great team. I though the Tigers could be a similar team - they have some good energy guys like Pudge Rodriguez. However, like origami they folded under pressure. Sad really.
Arizona Diamondbacks - The number one team in the National League West, currently the best division in baseball based on combined records of the teams, was remarkable this weekend. The D' backs went into Atlanta and swept the Braves in their own building. Atlanta is a good team, a top 10 team according to ESPN, and I respect them, pulling of division wins for the past 14 years running is good evidence of their quality. However, the Diamondbacks beat them every way possible this weekend. They won a 2-1 pitchers duel on Thursday, won a doubleheader on a 4-2 early game and a ball smashing 13-9 affair in game 2. Finally on Sunday, the Braves were embarrassed with a 9-3 loss. Besides having the best pitcher in the National League in Brandon Webb, it is hard a first glance to tell why they win. But they score runs and lots of them, they are the second highest scoring team in the National League and are third in runs allowed. I suppose this is simple, they score and they don't allow others to score. In the National League the D'backs are in the top 4 in batting average, runs scored, slugging, ERA, K's per 9 innings, and walks to strikeout ratio all in a tough division. All in all a pretty tough team, the only question being is if they are peaking or performing. The Rockies supersonic plummet gives pause for caution, but right now they are are fun team to watch play. Go, D'backs.
Top Performers over the Last Week
Jose Castillo (Pittsburgh, 2B) 8 runs, 4 homeruns, 15 rbis and a .478 batting average
Corey Patterson (Baltimore, OF) 7 runs, 2 home runs and 8 stolen bases
Jacque Jones (Chicago Cubs, OF) 6 runs, 3 homeruns, 8 rbis and a .458 batting average
Damion Easley (D'Backs, INF) 4 runs, 4 homeruns, 10 rbis and a .538 batting average
Chris Young (San Diego, SP) 2 wins, 12 k's, no earned runs and 3 hits and 3 walks over two games
Trevor Hoffman (San Diego, RP) 3 innings pitched, 3 saves, no runs, a 0.33 whip and 2 k's
John Rheinecker (Texas, SP) 2 wins, 1.10 era over two games, 1 walk and 10 strikeouts
Those are my baseball thoughts for the week ending June 4, 2006.
Albert Pujols - As I previously mentioned, Albert was on his way to the best baseball season of all time for a hitter, a projected 79 homeruns and 202 rbi's, this would have broken both single season records. However, today Albert is undergoing an MRI on his right oblique for an injury sustained this weekend. It seems that Albert will miss 6 weeks or more with the injury based on the talking heads of ESPN. As a baseball fan I was looking forward to Albert chasing down both the RBI and Homerun records. It is a bit of let down, injuries happen but it is a shame.
Detroit Tigers - A comment to my post last week indicated that the Tigers hadn't played anyone and I should hold up a bit. They were a good story with the best record in baseball but I was premature in my elation for their play. They were knocked around in their own house by the Yankees and Redsox over their last two series. The Beast in the East still lives in the American League East. As a Red Sox fan I like to see them do well but I did want the Tigers to be legitimate just to mix things up a bit. I remember when the Angels won the World Series, they were a great team, lots of energy and just the feeling that they were never out of it even though they did not have the murderer's row of the Yankees. Just an all around great team. I though the Tigers could be a similar team - they have some good energy guys like Pudge Rodriguez. However, like origami they folded under pressure. Sad really.
Arizona Diamondbacks - The number one team in the National League West, currently the best division in baseball based on combined records of the teams, was remarkable this weekend. The D' backs went into Atlanta and swept the Braves in their own building. Atlanta is a good team, a top 10 team according to ESPN, and I respect them, pulling of division wins for the past 14 years running is good evidence of their quality. However, the Diamondbacks beat them every way possible this weekend. They won a 2-1 pitchers duel on Thursday, won a doubleheader on a 4-2 early game and a ball smashing 13-9 affair in game 2. Finally on Sunday, the Braves were embarrassed with a 9-3 loss. Besides having the best pitcher in the National League in Brandon Webb, it is hard a first glance to tell why they win. But they score runs and lots of them, they are the second highest scoring team in the National League and are third in runs allowed. I suppose this is simple, they score and they don't allow others to score. In the National League the D'backs are in the top 4 in batting average, runs scored, slugging, ERA, K's per 9 innings, and walks to strikeout ratio all in a tough division. All in all a pretty tough team, the only question being is if they are peaking or performing. The Rockies supersonic plummet gives pause for caution, but right now they are are fun team to watch play. Go, D'backs.
Top Performers over the Last Week
Jose Castillo (Pittsburgh, 2B) 8 runs, 4 homeruns, 15 rbis and a .478 batting average
Corey Patterson (Baltimore, OF) 7 runs, 2 home runs and 8 stolen bases
Jacque Jones (Chicago Cubs, OF) 6 runs, 3 homeruns, 8 rbis and a .458 batting average
Damion Easley (D'Backs, INF) 4 runs, 4 homeruns, 10 rbis and a .538 batting average
Chris Young (San Diego, SP) 2 wins, 12 k's, no earned runs and 3 hits and 3 walks over two games
Trevor Hoffman (San Diego, RP) 3 innings pitched, 3 saves, no runs, a 0.33 whip and 2 k's
John Rheinecker (Texas, SP) 2 wins, 1.10 era over two games, 1 walk and 10 strikeouts
Those are my baseball thoughts for the week ending June 4, 2006.
Friday, June 02, 2006
Marvel Loses Avi Arad and Media Obsess About Superman's Sexuality
Avi Arad has left Marvel Comics to start up his own film production company. Arad was one of the key figures in Marvels recovery from bankruptcy and helped move the company away from comic books as a primary product and into a multimedia conglomerate. Arad's vision seemed finalized when Marvel opened their own production studios for films, an act Arad deemed necessary after conflict with Sony over Spider-man revenues.
The split, and subsequent creation of a company that will make Marvel licensed films, seems odd. Especially when you take into account that Arad has recently sold off $60 million in Marvel shares, 2/3 of his holdings in Marvel. The combination of Arad's apparent ability to convince Marvel to once again license their films out, in this case to him, with his own huge divestiture in Marvel interest leave the future of Marvel open in my mind.
In other news, it seems that the Los Angeles Times and everyone else can't stop talking about how "gay" Superman is going to be as a film. Personally, Superman is one of my favorite characters, Singer is one of my favorite directors, and I think the film will be great. Besides, I saw Christopher Reeve kiss Michael Caine in Deathtrap and you don't get any more homoerotic than that. Oh wait, sure you do, "Kneel before Bernadette." I mean Zod. Look at how fetish-wear the Zod getup looks? It looks like Zod is getting ready to molest Kal-El.
I don't know what the big deal is. I don't know why everyone is trying to politicize/tank what looks to be a fun movie.
I will be waiting in line to see Superman Returns and if I hear too much snickering in the line, I just may go Doomsday on their asses.
The split, and subsequent creation of a company that will make Marvel licensed films, seems odd. Especially when you take into account that Arad has recently sold off $60 million in Marvel shares, 2/3 of his holdings in Marvel. The combination of Arad's apparent ability to convince Marvel to once again license their films out, in this case to him, with his own huge divestiture in Marvel interest leave the future of Marvel open in my mind.
In other news, it seems that the Los Angeles Times and everyone else can't stop talking about how "gay" Superman is going to be as a film. Personally, Superman is one of my favorite characters, Singer is one of my favorite directors, and I think the film will be great. Besides, I saw Christopher Reeve kiss Michael Caine in Deathtrap and you don't get any more homoerotic than that. Oh wait, sure you do, "Kneel before Bernadette." I mean Zod. Look at how fetish-wear the Zod getup looks? It looks like Zod is getting ready to molest Kal-El.
I don't know what the big deal is. I don't know why everyone is trying to politicize/tank what looks to be a fun movie.
I will be waiting in line to see Superman Returns and if I hear too much snickering in the line, I just may go Doomsday on their asses.
Thursday, June 01, 2006
Food For Thought
So, I was watching Heavy: The History of Metal and The VH1 Rock Honors the other day. Yeah, I know...metal bah.
Heavy was a pretty good set of documentarys if you like the subject matter. But don't even get me going on the use of the term Glam to describe 80's "hair metal." Everybody, okay well at least Nick Hornby, knows that Glam is T-Rex, David Bowie, and the New York Dolls (Robert Palmer and Roxy Music too) and not Poison, but that is another story (you can always watch Velvet Goldmine for a fictional version). To make a long story short, I enjoyed the show, but what really capped it off for me was last night's Rock Honors. The highlight for me was Godsmack doing a Judas Priest medley. I normally hate medley's but Godsmack really adapted the music of Priest well. Their medley made a great opener for the Priest themselves.
On the weak side was the All American Rejects version of Def Leppard's "Photograph." To be honest the whole Leppard segment was pretty weak.
The irony of watching bands like Priest (Breakin' the Law and Hell Bent for Leather) hobble around on stage like geezers isn't lost on me, but Priest let the music do the talking and focused their performance on the music and it worked. The band's proficiency carried them through, they seemed to be genuinely enjoying themselves, and they rocked. Leppard on the other hand seemed lathargic and lazy when performing their own music. Their notes were flat and the guitar work harried. When Brian May, of Queen, came out with Leppard for their cover of T-Rex's "Twentieth Century Boy" they did liven up and appear to enjoy themselves. Kinda sad that they are more excited about other people's music than their own, though they were still overselling it. I don't know how you oversell a Glam tune, but they managed.
Back to Priest/Godsmack. A part of the Godsmack medley was the classic Electric Eye, which regardless of where you stand in today's political climate provides food for thought.
Heavy was a pretty good set of documentarys if you like the subject matter. But don't even get me going on the use of the term Glam to describe 80's "hair metal." Everybody, okay well at least Nick Hornby, knows that Glam is T-Rex, David Bowie, and the New York Dolls (Robert Palmer and Roxy Music too) and not Poison, but that is another story (you can always watch Velvet Goldmine for a fictional version). To make a long story short, I enjoyed the show, but what really capped it off for me was last night's Rock Honors. The highlight for me was Godsmack doing a Judas Priest medley. I normally hate medley's but Godsmack really adapted the music of Priest well. Their medley made a great opener for the Priest themselves.
On the weak side was the All American Rejects version of Def Leppard's "Photograph." To be honest the whole Leppard segment was pretty weak.
The irony of watching bands like Priest (Breakin' the Law and Hell Bent for Leather) hobble around on stage like geezers isn't lost on me, but Priest let the music do the talking and focused their performance on the music and it worked. The band's proficiency carried them through, they seemed to be genuinely enjoying themselves, and they rocked. Leppard on the other hand seemed lathargic and lazy when performing their own music. Their notes were flat and the guitar work harried. When Brian May, of Queen, came out with Leppard for their cover of T-Rex's "Twentieth Century Boy" they did liven up and appear to enjoy themselves. Kinda sad that they are more excited about other people's music than their own, though they were still overselling it. I don't know how you oversell a Glam tune, but they managed.
Back to Priest/Godsmack. A part of the Godsmack medley was the classic Electric Eye, which regardless of where you stand in today's political climate provides food for thought.
Up here in space
Im looking down on you
My lasers trace
Everything you do
You think youve private lives
Think nothing of the kind
There is no true escape
Im watching all the time
Im made of metal
My circuits gleam
I am perpetual
I keep the country clean
Im elected electric spy
Im protected electric eye
Always in focus
You cant feel my stare
I zoom into you
You dont know Im there
I take a pride in probing all your secret moves
My tearless retina takes pictures that can prove
Im made of metal
My circuits gleam
I am perpetual
I keep the country clean
Im elected electric spy
Im protected electric eye
Electric eye, in the sky
Feel my stare, always there
Theres nothing you can do about it
Develop and expose
I feed upon your every thought
And so my power grows
Im made of metal
My circuits gleam
I am perpetual
I keep the country clean
Im elected electric spy
Im protected electric eye
Protected. detective. electric eye
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Christian Johnson in Print Again
In my ever expanding quest to become a game designer, I have become an editor on the staff of the unofficial Savage Worlds Fanzine Sharkbytes. I am the 50 Fathoms editor. 50 Fathoms is Savage Worlds' piratical setting and I have had fun as the editor.
Long story short, my first edited article is in the newest issue (Volume 2, Issue 1).
If you have any interest...my first published article was in the February '05 Nibbles issue. It was an article on how to incorporate introduction, cutscenes, and flashbacks into game sessions.
After its long hiatus, it is good to see Sharkbytes back in print and I have already gone hard to work editing the next 50 Fathoms article. I am even writing a few, though not 50 Fathoms, of my own.
Long story short, my first edited article is in the newest issue (Volume 2, Issue 1).
If you have any interest...my first published article was in the February '05 Nibbles issue. It was an article on how to incorporate introduction, cutscenes, and flashbacks into game sessions.
After its long hiatus, it is good to see Sharkbytes back in print and I have already gone hard to work editing the next 50 Fathoms article. I am even writing a few, though not 50 Fathoms, of my own.
Baseball stories not currently being covered
With the Barry Bonds saga dragging on the national media seems to be mostly ignoring some of the better baseball stories going on throughout the league. This is not to say they are not being covered but not being given their due. The following list is in no particular order:
Albert Pujols: Now he is being covered but not to the degree that McGuire or Bonds were when they were on their record setting pace. Currently, he has 25 homeruns and 64 rbis at the end of May, if Albert keeps it up he will hit 79 home runs and have 202 rbi's by the end of the season. A mind boogling season - perhaps the best of all time.
Brandon Webb: Quietly leads the league with 8 wins. He has been dominant throughout the season and should start for the National League in the all star game. His ground ball to flyball ratio has been disgusting. His 2.18 ERA and 1.08 whip are nothing to sneeze at.
The Detroit Tigers: They have been in a word awesome. Jim Leyland has turned around a franchise in desperate need of a new direction. The pitching is good and their lineup produces runs. They are a nice change to the teams normally associated with the elite of the sport.
Nomar Garciaparra: After a couple of years of injury he has made a smooth transition to first base and is hitting lights out in Los Angeles. Nomar hasn't been playing as long as everyone else but he is hitting over .360 and has favorable rbi's with the league even with his time off for injury.
Johnathan Papelbon: The Boston rookie has moved into the closer's role and has given up one earned run all year. His microscopic whip and era (0.35 era and 0.58 whip) have helped Boston stay at or near the top of the AL East
Ryan Howard: This second year first baseman from Philadelphia is tearing up the National League with 18 homeruns and 47 RBI's through May. He simply crushes the ball - get used to the name it will be around awhile.
Hanley Ramierez: Rookie starting shortstop for the Florida Marlins is hitting .315 with 43 runs and 16 stolen bases in his debut season. He runs and scores, just what you want out of a lead off hitter. Additionally, he is a legitimate threat on the bases, rivaling Carl Crawford, Jose Reyes and Scott Posednick for steals. A true consideration for rookie of the year.
the National League West: After a season where only one team was above .500 for the year, after two months every team is .500 or better. Thats what I call a turn around.
Whatever your take on Bonds, he looks old these days and in my humble opinion now that he has taken the next hurdle lets see more of some other stories.
Albert Pujols: Now he is being covered but not to the degree that McGuire or Bonds were when they were on their record setting pace. Currently, he has 25 homeruns and 64 rbis at the end of May, if Albert keeps it up he will hit 79 home runs and have 202 rbi's by the end of the season. A mind boogling season - perhaps the best of all time.
Brandon Webb: Quietly leads the league with 8 wins. He has been dominant throughout the season and should start for the National League in the all star game. His ground ball to flyball ratio has been disgusting. His 2.18 ERA and 1.08 whip are nothing to sneeze at.
The Detroit Tigers: They have been in a word awesome. Jim Leyland has turned around a franchise in desperate need of a new direction. The pitching is good and their lineup produces runs. They are a nice change to the teams normally associated with the elite of the sport.
Nomar Garciaparra: After a couple of years of injury he has made a smooth transition to first base and is hitting lights out in Los Angeles. Nomar hasn't been playing as long as everyone else but he is hitting over .360 and has favorable rbi's with the league even with his time off for injury.
Johnathan Papelbon: The Boston rookie has moved into the closer's role and has given up one earned run all year. His microscopic whip and era (0.35 era and 0.58 whip) have helped Boston stay at or near the top of the AL East
Ryan Howard: This second year first baseman from Philadelphia is tearing up the National League with 18 homeruns and 47 RBI's through May. He simply crushes the ball - get used to the name it will be around awhile.
Hanley Ramierez: Rookie starting shortstop for the Florida Marlins is hitting .315 with 43 runs and 16 stolen bases in his debut season. He runs and scores, just what you want out of a lead off hitter. Additionally, he is a legitimate threat on the bases, rivaling Carl Crawford, Jose Reyes and Scott Posednick for steals. A true consideration for rookie of the year.
the National League West: After a season where only one team was above .500 for the year, after two months every team is .500 or better. Thats what I call a turn around.
Whatever your take on Bonds, he looks old these days and in my humble opinion now that he has taken the next hurdle lets see more of some other stories.
Joe Bob Briggs Imitates Cinerati
Look at the theme he chose for his blog!
In all honesty, Joe Bob's Week in Review has been long in need of the kind of interactivity that blogs allow. Go on over and give him a holler.
In all honesty, Joe Bob's Week in Review has been long in need of the kind of interactivity that blogs allow. Go on over and give him a holler.
Community Rundown
Here are the stories being covered by the Pop, Pop, Pop Culture Community this week so far.
We, of course, have discussed X3 and Xombies and will soon discuss the Wild Cards series in greater detail.
- Perrero has their usual blogburst, expect the unexpected.
- Shouting Into the Wind discusses why Taylor Hicks Matters.
- DISContent discusses Memorial Day and Hershel Gordon Lewis
- Monitor Duty discusses Strangers in Paradise
- News on the March discusses Google, the Simpsons, and Jules Verne.
- Gone Hollywood disses Michele Rodriguez for being released from prison and praises Naomi Watts for her philanthropy.
- Our friends at the Ziggurat of Doom discuss propaganda, X3, and how vampires are protesting hamburgers at White Castle
- The Shelf apologizes for the lack of a Memorial Day post on Memorial Day and has a few comments about his opinions regarding An Inconvenient Truth
- The Hungry Ghost reminds us to read the Axis of Time series and presents an opportunity for all you burgeoning 35mm Hong Kong Print collectors out there.
We, of course, have discussed X3 and Xombies and will soon discuss the Wild Cards series in greater detail.
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Added Community Members
Per Request I added Gone Hollywood to our community. I also added Monitor Duty, though they didn't ask.
We still need a "logo" for our community. Any volunteers?
If not, I'll have one up by the end of next week.
We still need a "logo" for our community. Any volunteers?
If not, I'll have one up by the end of next week.
Weekend Update and Recent Purchases
I, like 12 million other Americans (based on $10 a ticket), went to see X-Men III this weekend. Geek that I am, I had already read the novelization
by Chris Claremont (Chris Claremont!) so I knew what to expect which was both good and bad. My opinion of the film is largely the same as Bill Cunningham's over at DISContent so in the effort to avoid redundancy I will only describe where my opinion expands on his own.
Matt Forbeck has a recommendation post on "Jonny Magic and the Card Shark Kids by David Kushner. It’s the story of how Jon Finkel, a Magic: The Gathering player, went from high-school nerd to world champion, joined a casino blackjack card-counting team." Sounds like the next book to be added to my reading queue. I used to work at a casino, I play a lot of games as you know, and I am a fan of poker books.
As you may have noticed, I have updated the sidebar to include The Flash television series, a Cure anthology CD set, a novel by James Barclay, and a wargame based on Lord of the Rings. Quick rundown...
I loved The Flash television series when it came out and the life and death of Barry Allen frame my favorite era of comic books. When Barry Allen died in 1985 it, among other things, heralded the era of "important" comics and the slow death of comics that are fun. To often comics have lost their sense of providing pleasure and have replaced it with a desire to create "art." This has led to many very good series, but it has also relegated the medium to obscurity. The television show was a reminder of those old, good times. I hope when I get around to watching the episodes that they will hold up.
The Cure anthology is a collection of the band's B-Sides and it constitutes 4 of the six slots in my cd changer in my car.
James Barclay is one of the few authors who could base a series of novels on a roleplaying campaign and have it be entertaining. His Raven series is based on his old Dragonquest campaign. It is fun and imaginative fluff and I have "borrowed" liberally from it in my home campaigns.
War of the Ring is a very good wargame based on the Lord of the Rings series by J.R.R. Tolkien. You can play the game with simplified or advanced rules (I recommend advanced). The most innovative feature of the game is the need for both players to keep track of how well the Fellowship is doing, in addition to strategic decisions.
by Chris Claremont (Chris Claremont!) so I knew what to expect which was both good and bad. My opinion of the film is largely the same as Bill Cunningham's over at DISContent so in the effort to avoid redundancy I will only describe where my opinion expands on his own.As Bill states quite convincingly, the movie lacked texture. Where I most agree with this assessment is in the "cure" storyline. While Storm assures the audience, and her fellow mutants, that "there is nothing wrong with us," she is only correct with regard to a certain group of mutants. There is nothing wrong with mutants who have a beneficial mutation, like the X-men and the Brotherhood of Evil mutants. Her statement is important from a Civil Rights perspective, which has been the undercurrent of the X-men since day one, but from an evolutionary/medical one it is folly.
The movie attempted to show some of the potentially detrimental effects in it's highly underused Rogue narrative, but failed to represent the stakes properly. While there is tragedy in Rogue's inability to touch anyone without possibly killing them, she does also benefit by the temporary assimilation of their superpowers (if they have any) as well. Her mutation is a mixed bag, both benficial and detrimental. This lowers the emotional impact of any conflict she may be experiencing regarding wanting to "kiss her boyfriend." The impact is even less for fans of the comic series, in which Rogue has already "assumed" the power set of Ms. Marvel (Carol Danvers) in addition to her own and has fragments of Danvers' personality as well. The audience needed to see mutants with truly detrimental mutations, things that would make them evolutionary dead ends. While fear of power in wrong hands is one motivation for anti-mutant racism, mere difference is another and the most dramatically compelling. Thus the movie should have also included neutral, but cosmetically unappealling, mutations as well.
To be fair, the comics are rarely better than the movie was with this issue. In fact, the best example of this kind of social commentary is in the Wild Cards series edited by George R.R. Martin. In that series, there are three sets of mutations caused by an alien virus. The first creates what are known as Aces, your typical superheroes. The second creates Jokers, people with physically negative or even detrimental mutations. Lastly come the Black Queens, those who are killed by the mutation they acquire.
If not all mutations are beneficial, you have room for drama. If that is the case there is a legitimate reason for the creation of a "cure" but tension is created when that cure is then used as a weapon by intolerant leadership.
I also thought the movie dropped the ball on the tension hinted at at the end of X-men 2 where the Professor had essentially almost killed all non-mutants. That and a couple of editing/dialogue problems and the possible need for more creative use of special effects funds.
Other than that, good stuff. Fast, Furious, and Fun.
Matt Forbeck has a recommendation post on "Jonny Magic and the Card Shark Kids by David Kushner. It’s the story of how Jon Finkel, a Magic: The Gathering player, went from high-school nerd to world champion, joined a casino blackjack card-counting team." Sounds like the next book to be added to my reading queue. I used to work at a casino, I play a lot of games as you know, and I am a fan of poker books.
As you may have noticed, I have updated the sidebar to include The Flash television series, a Cure anthology CD set, a novel by James Barclay, and a wargame based on Lord of the Rings. Quick rundown...
I loved The Flash television series when it came out and the life and death of Barry Allen frame my favorite era of comic books. When Barry Allen died in 1985 it, among other things, heralded the era of "important" comics and the slow death of comics that are fun. To often comics have lost their sense of providing pleasure and have replaced it with a desire to create "art." This has led to many very good series, but it has also relegated the medium to obscurity. The television show was a reminder of those old, good times. I hope when I get around to watching the episodes that they will hold up.
The Cure anthology is a collection of the band's B-Sides and it constitutes 4 of the six slots in my cd changer in my car.
James Barclay is one of the few authors who could base a series of novels on a roleplaying campaign and have it be entertaining. His Raven series is based on his old Dragonquest campaign. It is fun and imaginative fluff and I have "borrowed" liberally from it in my home campaigns.
War of the Ring is a very good wargame based on the Lord of the Rings series by J.R.R. Tolkien. You can play the game with simplified or advanced rules (I recommend advanced). The most innovative feature of the game is the need for both players to keep track of how well the Fellowship is doing, in addition to strategic decisions.
Saturday, May 27, 2006
Like Zombie Movies? Try Xombie!
Every now and again, I find some treasure that has been sitting in the interwebosphere for sometime. After finding these treasures, I am usually baffled at how I could ever have missed the treasure in the first place.
Xombie is one of those little treasures and I have Matt Forbeck (one of my favorite game designers) to thank for the introduction.
Xombie is a flash animation film about a world taken over by zombies and her search for who she is, where she is from, and where the heck other humans are. She is aided by a self-aware Zombie (and his dog), among others, in her journey. The self-aware zombie bit is very reminiscent of George Romero's comic Toe Tags (which featured awesome Bernie Wrightson covers) which featured a similar character. Though Xombie's first chapter predates the Romero comic series.
Xombie creator James Farr's release schedule is a little on the slow side, but all in all this is light-hearted zombie goodness.
Friday, May 26, 2006
When Fantasy Baseball Isn't Enough
I love Fantasy Baseball, as you know I put out a public invitation a while back for anyone who wanted to join my Yahoo! league. No, I'm not a master level rotiserrie player who plays for real money. I would be pwned so fast it wouldn't be any fun. I am, however, a person who likes to fantasize about being a big league GM like Paul Depodesta and Fantasy Baseball is one of the ways to meet this fantasy.
By the way, Fantasy Baseball, in no way encapsulates the fantasy of actually playing Major League Baseball. That fantasy is manifest in peoples obsessions with Orosco Numbers (the number of players your age or older still in the Major Leagues) and agressive participation in Fast Pitch Softball Leagues.
For all that I love the way Fantasy Baseball enhances the pleasure I get from watching baseball, it does have its weaknesses. For the past couple of years three pitchers in the Major Leagues have performed well, but been less useful than one would imagine in fantasy leagues. The pitchers are Brandon Webb, Tom Glavine, and Jake Peavy, especially Peavy and Webb. The fact is that these pitchers have "earned" an insuffient number of wins based on ERA performance. In other words, if they played for different teams they would have won more games. Take Jake Peavy 2004 and 2005, for those years he went 15 and 6 in 27 games and 13 and 7 in 30 games. Winning records to be sure, but his ERA's were 2.27 and 2.88 and these were with having to face a healthy Bonds in 2004 and make a few healthy visits to Denver for the duration. Sub 3 ERAs in the modern era are something to be awed by and shouldn't result in sub-20 win seasons. Chris Carpenter, who played for a better team, had a 2.85 ERA in 2005 and won 21 games. A similar story for Roy Oswalt who won 20 with a 2.94 ERA (though he also lost 12). As an aside, those who think great pitchers are a thing of the past you really ought to look at the birthdates on these guys, only Carpenter is over 30.
Needless to say, the pitchers stats don't reflect their individual quality, nor do they reflect how they would perform if they were backed by the supporting team I selected on my fantasy team. So Fantasy Baseball is a less than accurate simulation of GM activity, it is a great fan supplement, but not a fantasy fulfiller.
The diligent GM fantasist goes out and buys APBA baseball and/or Stratomatic Baseball, or one of a cadre of similar products. These are great products to be sure, but there is one step beyond these. There is a product that not only allows team selection, uses park modifiers, but also includes computer based trades and the ability to control concession prices. I am, naturally, refering to the excellent Baseball Mogul series of games.
I have been playing the Mogul series of games every baseball season for a few years now and I find it to be entirely engrossing. It captures not only the fantasy of being a GM, but of being an owner and on the field manager. Each season the program has evolved leaps and bounds over the previous season and the program was robust to start. At $19.95 the game is a steal.
When I first played the game you could make decisions about lineups on a day by day basis, make trades, and modify the financial aspects. Since that time the game has evolved so that you can "call" individual pitches for your pitchers to throw (with pitch placement) and have batters guess what pitch and where the opposing pitcher is going to throw. The level of detail is amazing and it is truly a fantasy version of being a GM. You can play "what if" seasons for the entire history of baseball (up to the year of the edition of the game) for the price of $19.95. To play prior years in APBA or Stratomatic you must buy prior year card sets, though they allow for inter-generational fantasy play which Mogul lacks as a "hard wired" function. You can use old players, but you have to enter their stats manually which takes about a minute.
Oh and if you fantasize about playing the game, you can enter your high school statistics and draft "yourself" onto the team you are managing.
Good stuff.
By the way, Fantasy Baseball, in no way encapsulates the fantasy of actually playing Major League Baseball. That fantasy is manifest in peoples obsessions with Orosco Numbers (the number of players your age or older still in the Major Leagues) and agressive participation in Fast Pitch Softball Leagues.
For all that I love the way Fantasy Baseball enhances the pleasure I get from watching baseball, it does have its weaknesses. For the past couple of years three pitchers in the Major Leagues have performed well, but been less useful than one would imagine in fantasy leagues. The pitchers are Brandon Webb, Tom Glavine, and Jake Peavy, especially Peavy and Webb. The fact is that these pitchers have "earned" an insuffient number of wins based on ERA performance. In other words, if they played for different teams they would have won more games. Take Jake Peavy 2004 and 2005, for those years he went 15 and 6 in 27 games and 13 and 7 in 30 games. Winning records to be sure, but his ERA's were 2.27 and 2.88 and these were with having to face a healthy Bonds in 2004 and make a few healthy visits to Denver for the duration. Sub 3 ERAs in the modern era are something to be awed by and shouldn't result in sub-20 win seasons. Chris Carpenter, who played for a better team, had a 2.85 ERA in 2005 and won 21 games. A similar story for Roy Oswalt who won 20 with a 2.94 ERA (though he also lost 12). As an aside, those who think great pitchers are a thing of the past you really ought to look at the birthdates on these guys, only Carpenter is over 30.
Needless to say, the pitchers stats don't reflect their individual quality, nor do they reflect how they would perform if they were backed by the supporting team I selected on my fantasy team. So Fantasy Baseball is a less than accurate simulation of GM activity, it is a great fan supplement, but not a fantasy fulfiller.
The diligent GM fantasist goes out and buys APBA baseball and/or Stratomatic Baseball, or one of a cadre of similar products. These are great products to be sure, but there is one step beyond these. There is a product that not only allows team selection, uses park modifiers, but also includes computer based trades and the ability to control concession prices. I am, naturally, refering to the excellent Baseball Mogul series of games.
I have been playing the Mogul series of games every baseball season for a few years now and I find it to be entirely engrossing. It captures not only the fantasy of being a GM, but of being an owner and on the field manager. Each season the program has evolved leaps and bounds over the previous season and the program was robust to start. At $19.95 the game is a steal.
When I first played the game you could make decisions about lineups on a day by day basis, make trades, and modify the financial aspects. Since that time the game has evolved so that you can "call" individual pitches for your pitchers to throw (with pitch placement) and have batters guess what pitch and where the opposing pitcher is going to throw. The level of detail is amazing and it is truly a fantasy version of being a GM. You can play "what if" seasons for the entire history of baseball (up to the year of the edition of the game) for the price of $19.95. To play prior years in APBA or Stratomatic you must buy prior year card sets, though they allow for inter-generational fantasy play which Mogul lacks as a "hard wired" function. You can use old players, but you have to enter their stats manually which takes about a minute.
Oh and if you fantasize about playing the game, you can enter your high school statistics and draft "yourself" onto the team you are managing.
Good stuff.
Thursday, May 25, 2006
An Image of Oreo
David Chute asked if my wife had drawn any pictures of our dog Oreo, so here is a picture Jody drew of her not too long ago. Jody drew the picture from memory. Oreo died on August 1, 2002 at the ripe age of 20, she would have been 21 in a couple weeks. We loved her very much and still miss her. Oreo would love Glendale.
My Anniversary Was Magical and So Was The Magic Castle
Last Thursday, as you all know, was my wife and my ninth wedding anniversary. Before I went to work my wife recommended that I wear a suit and tie to work so that I would be ready for our dinner. In years past I have planned the anniversary dinner, but this year Jody "demanded" the privilege. She then asked me if I was "excited" about our dinner. I responded calmly that I was very much looking forward to a romantic evening with my wife.
She scowled and said, "but are you excited about where we are going?"
I told her that I didn't know where we were going and I once again assured her that I was looking forward to a very romantic evening.
Once more the scowl.
So I asked, "okay...where are we going?"
"It's a surprise," she giggled, then she hugged me and skipped off to her car. All of which left me wondering what she had planned. Too be honest, I didn't put much thought into it for most of the day. It wasn't until I was on the road from Glendora to the Paramount Lot (the Marx Building for JC and Wolf) that I began to really attempt to guess at the surprise.
Jody called my cell while I was on the road, "any guesses?"
"Do you really want me to guess or do you want me to be joyously surprised when I get to your office?"
"I want you to be joyously surprised."
"Then I'll wait until I get to your office and react to the news." I can hear the grimmace on the other end of the cell.
All of this has finally caused me to really think about where Jody has planned for us to go to dinner. What could be this important? Think, think, think. We went to Spago for Jody's birthday and it was great, but even that wasn't as big a deal as Jody was making this evening. Hmm...other than Disneyland, for which one evening wouldn't be enough, what place would be special enough to make Jody giggle?
I finally decided that it must be the Magic Castle. I am a big fan of magic and have always wanted to go there. Jody received an invitation from a member over a year ago and we have been unable to use it. It was featured in a Columbo episode (Jody's favorite show ever). I hoped I was right and tried to brace myself for any disappointment.
I arrive at her boss's office and Jody is busy in the phones, but she has time to hand me a hand made anniversary card. She smiles broadly and says, "open it!"
This is what I see.
Well, this and the invitation to the Magic Castle. I had been right and I laugh out loud, "Awesome," I am Gen X after all, "I hoped this is where we were going to go."
"Good thing we are then," she laughed.
Jody's playfulness was fun, but the Magic Castle was better than I expected. We ate dinner at their steakhouse. It's no Spago, but eating there meant we didn't have to pay for the "Palace of Mystery" show.
When you go to the Magic Castle, which requires an invitation and reservations, there are basically four venues where performers baffle and amaze you. At least they try to baffle and amaze you.
There is the Close Up Gallery where magicians give performances every 45 minutes or so for the duration of the evening. This is where you will see card tricks, sponge ball manipulations, and coin tricks. You know what I am talking about, all the slight of hand trick you can imagine might be performed here.
There is the Parlour of Prestidigitation where everything inbetween close up and stage performance is done. In the Parlour you will experience Mentalism and the types of tricks you might imagine experiencing in a Victorian living room.
Then there is the Palace of Mystery where stage magic is performed. This can be everything from "large" slight of hand tricks and animal tricks to large mechanical tricks like the famous sawing the woman in half trick.
Finally, there is the W.C. Fields bar where the bartender does a continuous demonstration of barside magic. As you can probably guess the majority is close up magic, but humor is a big part of this experience as is drinking.
We had a great time. We watched two perfomers in the Close Up Gallery (Paul Green and David Stryker) one "early" performer and one "late" performer. At the Palace of Mystery show we saw Shoot Ogawa and George Saterial. We even hung out at the W.C. Fields bar for a while. Sadly, we weren't able to catch one of the shows at the Parlour, it was a Thursday and there was no midnight performance in the Parlour.
All the magic was excellent, but the magician who most impressed me was David Stryker. He performed a couple of "classic" manipulations, but with awesome fluidity. He was worth the very late stay and was not only a skilled magician, but an approachable and friendly one as well.
Oh...and before I forget. In addition to the magic, Jody and I were able to do some gawking as well. Neal McDonough was there with friends, as was Sam Jones III. If you are a comic book geek, you might appreciate that McDonough was the voice of Firebrand on an episode of Marvel Action Hour: Ironman and was the voice of Bruce Banner on the 90s animated series. Thought I was going to mention Smallville, didn't you.
She scowled and said, "but are you excited about where we are going?"
I told her that I didn't know where we were going and I once again assured her that I was looking forward to a very romantic evening.
Once more the scowl.
So I asked, "okay...where are we going?"
"It's a surprise," she giggled, then she hugged me and skipped off to her car. All of which left me wondering what she had planned. Too be honest, I didn't put much thought into it for most of the day. It wasn't until I was on the road from Glendora to the Paramount Lot (the Marx Building for JC and Wolf) that I began to really attempt to guess at the surprise.
Jody called my cell while I was on the road, "any guesses?"
"Do you really want me to guess or do you want me to be joyously surprised when I get to your office?"
"I want you to be joyously surprised."
"Then I'll wait until I get to your office and react to the news." I can hear the grimmace on the other end of the cell.
All of this has finally caused me to really think about where Jody has planned for us to go to dinner. What could be this important? Think, think, think. We went to Spago for Jody's birthday and it was great, but even that wasn't as big a deal as Jody was making this evening. Hmm...other than Disneyland, for which one evening wouldn't be enough, what place would be special enough to make Jody giggle?
I finally decided that it must be the Magic Castle. I am a big fan of magic and have always wanted to go there. Jody received an invitation from a member over a year ago and we have been unable to use it. It was featured in a Columbo episode (Jody's favorite show ever). I hoped I was right and tried to brace myself for any disappointment.
I arrive at her boss's office and Jody is busy in the phones, but she has time to hand me a hand made anniversary card. She smiles broadly and says, "open it!"
This is what I see.
Well, this and the invitation to the Magic Castle. I had been right and I laugh out loud, "Awesome," I am Gen X after all, "I hoped this is where we were going to go."
"Good thing we are then," she laughed.
Jody's playfulness was fun, but the Magic Castle was better than I expected. We ate dinner at their steakhouse. It's no Spago, but eating there meant we didn't have to pay for the "Palace of Mystery" show.
When you go to the Magic Castle, which requires an invitation and reservations, there are basically four venues where performers baffle and amaze you. At least they try to baffle and amaze you.
There is the Close Up Gallery where magicians give performances every 45 minutes or so for the duration of the evening. This is where you will see card tricks, sponge ball manipulations, and coin tricks. You know what I am talking about, all the slight of hand trick you can imagine might be performed here.
There is the Parlour of Prestidigitation where everything inbetween close up and stage performance is done. In the Parlour you will experience Mentalism and the types of tricks you might imagine experiencing in a Victorian living room.
Then there is the Palace of Mystery where stage magic is performed. This can be everything from "large" slight of hand tricks and animal tricks to large mechanical tricks like the famous sawing the woman in half trick.
Finally, there is the W.C. Fields bar where the bartender does a continuous demonstration of barside magic. As you can probably guess the majority is close up magic, but humor is a big part of this experience as is drinking.
We had a great time. We watched two perfomers in the Close Up Gallery (Paul Green and David Stryker) one "early" performer and one "late" performer. At the Palace of Mystery show we saw Shoot Ogawa and George Saterial. We even hung out at the W.C. Fields bar for a while. Sadly, we weren't able to catch one of the shows at the Parlour, it was a Thursday and there was no midnight performance in the Parlour.
All the magic was excellent, but the magician who most impressed me was David Stryker. He performed a couple of "classic" manipulations, but with awesome fluidity. He was worth the very late stay and was not only a skilled magician, but an approachable and friendly one as well.
Oh...and before I forget. In addition to the magic, Jody and I were able to do some gawking as well. Neal McDonough was there with friends, as was Sam Jones III. If you are a comic book geek, you might appreciate that McDonough was the voice of Firebrand on an episode of Marvel Action Hour: Ironman and was the voice of Bruce Banner on the 90s animated series. Thought I was going to mention Smallville, didn't you.
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Sofia Coppola Panned at Cannes
Anyone who has seen Lick the Star will not be surprised to read that her latest film, Antoinette, was booed at Cannes.
I have always wondered why anyone could have liked the Oscar Award Winning film Lost in Translation, which I always thought would be bettered titled Sofia Coppola Thinks Japanese Are Weird. I found it to be an almost intolerably shallow and self-centered film. Some of the "deep thoughts" I was taught by the film include:
Bad News Bears Go To Japan showed a more sympathetic and subtle representation of Japanese culture than Lost in Translation. In fact, if you seen Lick the Star you see that the themes of Translation are pretty much the same as those of Star, namely alienation and loneliness. Translation was directed at the same slow, dull, pace as Star and I have never thought that drawn out and boring meant subtle. The Academy obviously disagreed.
When I first saw a preview for Antoinette, I was watching Tristan and Isolde, I burst out laughing at how absurd the film was advertised to be. What I saw was a pretentious couple of minutes of direction in the style of Star that was supposed to be about Marie Antoinette. I guess my imaginings of the film were not far off base, given the reaction at Cannes. I don't know. I'll have to see for myself. The question is whether the "rollicking rock-n-roll" soundtrack is enough to get me to see it in the theater or whether I will wait for Netflix.
Hmm...I wonder if this film will be about a young woman who feels alienated and alone?
I have always wondered why anyone could have liked the Oscar Award Winning film Lost in Translation, which I always thought would be bettered titled Sofia Coppola Thinks Japanese Are Weird. I found it to be an almost intolerably shallow and self-centered film. Some of the "deep thoughts" I was taught by the film include:
- Look Japanese go to weird strip clubs that make Sofia feel uncomfortable.
- When in one of the most exciting cities in the world, it is best to stay in your hotel room and mope.
- Even your Japanese friends are weird.
- Bill Murray is a good enough actor to make people like a poorly directed film
Bad News Bears Go To Japan showed a more sympathetic and subtle representation of Japanese culture than Lost in Translation. In fact, if you seen Lick the Star you see that the themes of Translation are pretty much the same as those of Star, namely alienation and loneliness. Translation was directed at the same slow, dull, pace as Star and I have never thought that drawn out and boring meant subtle. The Academy obviously disagreed.
When I first saw a preview for Antoinette, I was watching Tristan and Isolde, I burst out laughing at how absurd the film was advertised to be. What I saw was a pretentious couple of minutes of direction in the style of Star that was supposed to be about Marie Antoinette. I guess my imaginings of the film were not far off base, given the reaction at Cannes. I don't know. I'll have to see for myself. The question is whether the "rollicking rock-n-roll" soundtrack is enough to get me to see it in the theater or whether I will wait for Netflix.
Hmm...I wonder if this film will be about a young woman who feels alienated and alone?
British Computer Animation Company Opens Santa Monica Office
Image Metrics (founded in Manchester, England), the leading provider of computer-based facial animation solutions to Hollywood and the digital entertainment industries, announced their arrival in North America on Tuesday with the opening of a new office in Santa Monica, CA. Image Metrics technology has been used in many motion picture and gaming projects including Polar Express and Grand Theft Auto. Company CEO Andy Wood discussed the growth of Image Metrics.
"Over the Past 7 years, Image Metrics has quickly evolved from a company providing image analysis solutions for the medical industry into a specialist in entertainment facial animation technology. The opening of our offices in Santa Monica signifies our commitment and desire to be a part of the future of digital animation and to share our technology and knowledge with those who also seek to push the boundaries of this ever-evolving space," said Wood. "We provide the actor and director the missing tools they need in the animation process to communicate with a strictly non-creative entity such as a computer."
The company was founded in Manchester, England and has developed the only technology that digitally maps a human performance to an animated character. This technology supersedes contemporary motion capture systems because it is not reliant upon traditional techniques such as markers that restrict the performance of an actor and limit the creative control of the director. Image Metrics claims their technology "has simplified a traditionally labor-intensive, time-consuming, and expensive process while enhancing the artistic skills that exist within that process."
"Over the Past 7 years, Image Metrics has quickly evolved from a company providing image analysis solutions for the medical industry into a specialist in entertainment facial animation technology. The opening of our offices in Santa Monica signifies our commitment and desire to be a part of the future of digital animation and to share our technology and knowledge with those who also seek to push the boundaries of this ever-evolving space," said Wood. "We provide the actor and director the missing tools they need in the animation process to communicate with a strictly non-creative entity such as a computer."
The company was founded in Manchester, England and has developed the only technology that digitally maps a human performance to an animated character. This technology supersedes contemporary motion capture systems because it is not reliant upon traditional techniques such as markers that restrict the performance of an actor and limit the creative control of the director. Image Metrics claims their technology "has simplified a traditionally labor-intensive, time-consuming, and expensive process while enhancing the artistic skills that exist within that process."
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Pop, Pop, Pop Culture Community Membership Rules
Cinerati is looking for a few good websites devoted to the discussion of popular culture, in all its beautiful forms. To become a member of our Truth Laid Bear Community all you need to do is apply and meet the following criteria:
- Your site must focus on some aspect of popular culture. It doesn't matter if you have a site that tries to cover everything, or one that just talks about the Nintendo Wii. All that matters is that your site cover an aspect of popular culture as its primary focus.
- You must post on a semi-frequent basis. By this I mean that you must post at least once a week.
- You must link to the other sites in the Community and it would be great if you read them as well.
- You must be willing to participate in a cross-blog discussion once a month. Each month Community members will nominate and select a topic related to popular culture to discuss and will write a piece related to said topic. If the subject is out of your field, your post can be brief but should direct traffic to other sites in the Community.
- You must post the Community Banner prominently and proudly on your page (when it is available.
- If you have "non-family friendly" material, a disclaimer would be nice.
- The Community Administrator reserves the right to add additional criteria.
Pop, Pop, Pop Culture Community Established
I have begun the set up process for the Pop, Pop, Pop Culture Community. We are designated in the Culture category on the Truth Laid Bear Community Page. I have taken the role of community administrator and that means I need to solicit and delegate. So first things first, here is a list of the current community members:
I have already made some updates to the community, but the page only updates every few hours so be patient.
With the creation of a new community there are a couple of things that still need to be done.
First we need a "homepage" for the community.
Second we need someone to design the homepage and include links to all the member sites and an RSS feed of all the posts coming from our individual sites, a kind of news hub if you will. We could even add a message board, if we wanted, but I think comments sections are sufficient.
Third, we need to solicit more members. So if you know a site that discusses pop culture get them to shoot me an email and if they meet the criteria (I will post that above) then I will gladly add them.
Fourth, we need a "community banner" to be posted on the TTLB website, our own websites, and the community website.
With that in mind I am asking for volunteers and making the following proposal. We can if everyone wants use http://cinerati.net as our hub page.
I have already made some updates to the community, but the page only updates every few hours so be patient.
With the creation of a new community there are a couple of things that still need to be done.
First we need a "homepage" for the community.
Second we need someone to design the homepage and include links to all the member sites and an RSS feed of all the posts coming from our individual sites, a kind of news hub if you will. We could even add a message board, if we wanted, but I think comments sections are sufficient.
Third, we need to solicit more members. So if you know a site that discusses pop culture get them to shoot me an email and if they meet the criteria (I will post that above) then I will gladly add them.
Fourth, we need a "community banner" to be posted on the TTLB website, our own websites, and the community website.
With that in mind I am asking for volunteers and making the following proposal. We can if everyone wants use http://cinerati.net as our hub page.
Monday, May 22, 2006
Cinerati: The Origin Continue...The Last Samurai and Thomas Hibbs
As I mentioned in the first origin post, I had wanted to create a blog to discuss movies and popular culture, but in order to commit to writing commentary (even inane commentary) on a semi-frequent basis.
March 15, 2004 I re-read an article by Thomas Hibbs, author of Shows About Nothing, which really set my low art loving furnace aflame. I had to respond to Hibbs degredation of the Last Samurai and the films of Quentin Tarantino (whose work I firmly find to be high art, not low). Without further ado, here is that first article.
I didn't mention in the article, because I didn't think of it at the time, while Hibbs is right that Kurosawa influenced American Film, let us not forget that Yojimbo was a Samurai version of Dashiell Hammett's story Red Harvest.
March 15, 2004 I re-read an article by Thomas Hibbs, author of Shows About Nothing, which really set my low art loving furnace aflame. I had to respond to Hibbs degredation of the Last Samurai and the films of Quentin Tarantino (whose work I firmly find to be high art, not low). Without further ado, here is that first article.
In the Shadow of Kurosawa
By Christian Johnson
I can still remember the first time I saw Rocky Horror Picture Show. There I was, a “virgin” watching rolls of toilet paper flying and getting wet from squirting water when I realized that I was sitting surrounded by an audience that didn’t “get it.” Here they were talking, mocking, and interacting with a film that was hilarious on its own merits. Somewhere in all the chaos I managed to watch a parody of some of my favorite classic Hollywood horror films. I had a similar, though drier, experience when I watched John Water’s Cecil B. Demented in a theater full of people who didn’t know who William Castle was.
I experienced the same frustration when I read Thomas Hibbs’ recent article regarding Quentin Tarantino’s most recent film Kill Bill vol. 1 and the Tom Cruise blockbuster The Last Samurai ( Kurosawa Kills Bill). In particular, I took issue with his claim that “despite their critical acclaim and their purported desire to be faithful to Japanese sources, these films are but vulgar distortions of Japanese film culture, especially the work of Akira Kurosawa.” I was surprised by my reaction because I have more respect for Professor Hibbs than I do for most of the celebrated “cinerati” who, like me, enjoyed these two films. You see, I think that the Distinguished Professor of Ethics and Culture is on to something with regards to America’s elites having a disturbing affection for nihilism. So my reaction did not originate from a disagreement about the merits of these films with regard to virtue or an expression of human excellence. To be fair, I don’t know what his opinions are regarding The Last Samurai as a film about virtue, but I have a fair idea regarding Kill Bill. My frustration stemmed from his accusation that these films were “distortions” of a genre “especially” the work of Akira Kurosawa.
This leads me to ask two questions. First, are these films a “distortion of Japanese film culture?” Second, are these films “especially” referencing the work of Akira Kurosawa? I refuse to address any other of the statements made in Hibbs’ article because they provide a wonderful introduction to the works of an inspirational filmmaker. Though I do think that Hibbs was remiss in not mentioning Chushingura by Hiroshi Inagaki as another wonderful film about feudal Japan.
Kill Bill is exactly what it purports to be, a celebration of Japan’s b-movies in the Chambara genre (and to some extent the Wuxia and Kung Fu films of Hong Kong). While Akira Kurosawa’s films (among them Sanjuro, Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, Ran) are great films about Samurai culture, they do not stand alone nor are they in the b-list of this genre. Tarantino’s film is closer in tone to the Lone Wolf and Cub and Zatoichi films, but he adds the bloodiness of the films of Kinji Fukasaku whose recent film Battle Royale (based on the book of the same name) is a brutal combination of Lord of the Flies and the Survivor television show. One need only watch a few Sonny Chiba (who stars in Kill Bill and is referenced in True Romance) films to understand that Japan, like America, has an appetite for graphic violence. You cannot claim that a film is a vulgar distortion of a culture based on a case study, a more random sample is needed. I think that if Professor Hibbs takes a random sample of Japanese cinema post 1970, he will find more Hanzo the Blade than Throne of Blood.
Typical of Tarantino, any celebration requires examples of a genre’s influence on Western film. So we have a perverted “Charlies Angels,” called the DiVAs, based on the Five Deadly Venoms by the Shaw Brothers. We have the exaggerated camera use of Sergio Leone used in the fight scene between Uma Thurman and Lucy Liu (the snow covered ground of which directly references the final fight in Chushingura). Tarantino gives us the Tokyo of Black Rain and Godzilla visually reminiscent of the Los Angeles of Blade Runner. We hear the theme song to The Green Hornet and Uma Thurman dressed like Bruce Lee in Game of Death. Through his director’s eye the audience sees the way Western movies, largely b-movies, have influenced Japanese b-movies, which have in turn influenced Western b-movies. We are presented with a dialogue, not a distortion, between two arguably vulgar cultural representations of the action genre.
The Last Samurai is more difficult to defend from Professor Hibbs’ criticism. While the film is infinitely less vulgar than Kill Bill, Edward Zwick appears to be imitating rather than celebrating what he thinks a film about feudal Japan should look like. The palette is reminiscent of Ran as is the tragic nature of its Japanese protagonist. The Last Samurai isn’t a film about feudal Japan, rather it is a film about how an American reacts and views feudal Japan. The framing device makes it apparent that we are watching the memories of an American Civil War veteran struggling to understand Japanese culture. The director has the difficult task of combining genre and cultural messages. How do you balance the need to show both Western and Eastern concepts of military virtue? How do you do this through the eyes of a character who has forgotten Classical virtue and is a product of Machiavellian prudential virtue?
The conflicts for Cruise’s character prevent the director from fully utilizing the Japanese cultural setting and so he abbreviates it. There are moments in the film when Cruise’s character is given advice from the Book of Five Rings a classic samurai text. The advice given him to him regarding sword fighting mirror advice from the 2nd chapter of the Hagakure (published in 1716 at a time when Japan’s Samurai class had experienced 100 years of relative peace), “There is surely nothing other than the single purpose of the present moment. A man's whole life is a succession of moment after moment. If one fully understands the present moment, there will be nothing else to do, and nothing else to pursue. Live being true to the single purpose of the moment.” The Last Samurai converts the advice into a physical representation during one particular duel between Cruise and a number of ruffians. The camera’s eye captures a perfect combination of single-minded concentration and void.
In the end though, these arguments regarding the merits of Kill Bill and The Last Samurai as examples of Western art encountering Japanese art may be unconvincing to the viewer who might believe that these films represent how we have come to “prefer sorrow over pain, suffering over peace.” To that viewer I can only offer the following.
My first example is one of hope. It is the moment in The Last Samurai when Katsumoto tells Nathan Algren that one could do worse than to spend one’s life looking for the perfect blossom. In this moment, we are told that the pursuit of beauty is a better profession than the pursuit of war.
The second example is one of caution, for it shows that man’s love of pain and suffering over peace isn’t a new one. It is a quote from the 10th chapter of the Hagakure, “If you cut a face lengthwise, urinate on it, and trample on it with straw sandals, it is said that the skin will come off. This was heard by the priest Gyojaku when he was in Kyoto. It is information to be treasured.”
If the first moment is merely a pretentious effort to seem profound, maybe we truly have abandoned the pursuit of a summum bonum. I dread a world in which it is “not the natural sweetness of living but the terrors of death [that] make us cling to life.”
I didn't mention in the article, because I didn't think of it at the time, while Hibbs is right that Kurosawa influenced American Film, let us not forget that Yojimbo was a Samurai version of Dashiell Hammett's story Red Harvest.
I Have Attempted to Create A Pop Culture Community
I received an exciting email a couple of days ago. It appears that with the new design format, The Truth Laid Bear has created a submission form for the creation of blog communities. As you know I have desired to create a community of exceptional magnitude for some time and I am hopeful that my request will be recognized. So far, I have include The Shelf, Pererro, Shouting Into The Wind, The Ziggurat of Doom, Cinerati, and Hungry Ghost as examples of blogs I desire to be a part of the online community.
Obviously, I won't limit membership to those sites, but those were the ones whose "users" I have contacted in the past about a community. I have used the tentative name "Pop, Pop, Pop Culture" as the name of the community.
Here's to wishing us luck.
Obviously, I won't limit membership to those sites, but those were the ones whose "users" I have contacted in the past about a community. I have used the tentative name "Pop, Pop, Pop Culture" as the name of the community.
Here's to wishing us luck.
Friday, May 19, 2006
Netflix and Friends
As you all may or may not know, I am a Netflix member. I am also a Netflix member in search of "friends."
If you are a Netflix customer, shoot me an email at the address in my profile and let's share our intimate movie choices. How far down your queue is Roll Bounce?
If you are a Netflix customer, shoot me an email at the address in my profile and let's share our intimate movie choices. How far down your queue is Roll Bounce?
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Happy Anniversary Jody!
Nine years ago today Jody Lindke and I were married in a lovely ceremony which was followed by an equally lovely, but totally breakneck, honeymoon. Since we were friends for a couple of years before we actually started "dating," it has been a swift nine years filled with adventure.
What about that breakneck honeymoon? What do you mean breakneck?
Okay, okay, I'll tell you.
I could go into greater detail, but you can only write so much during a fifteen minute break.
What about that breakneck honeymoon? What do you mean breakneck?
Okay, okay, I'll tell you.
Jody and I planned our wedding for a year, honeymoon and all. We were to get married at Arlington Gardens, Arlington Gardens Country Garden catered the wedding, a local nursery/small shop area that has a beautiful central area. Our cake was from Josef's conditerei and our honeymoon was going to be at Disneyworld.
But then Jody decided, rightly so, that she wanted to bring her childhood pet into our household. Our apartment let us have cats, but Oreo was a lovely 14 year old and 10 pound dog. Jody missed Oreo, who had lived in Nevada City with Jody's father, and Oreo missed Jody. Oreo was a wonderful addition to our lives, she was love personified, so finding a new place to live was not a burden. It did mean finding a place that allowed dogs and in a short timeline. We found a place and the necessary number of roommates (some friends), but given the short notice our friends couldn't pay the deposit up front. They were able to pay it rapidly after moving in, but not the day (May 1) that we were moving into the new place. This meant Jody and I had to put down the deposit, and this meant no Disneyworld. We still have yet to go to Disneyworld, but that is another story and the perfect gift for a future anniversary.
Having no place to go for our honeymoon turned out to be more of a blessing that a curse. Unbeknownst to us Jody's mother and step-father had arranged for us to spend a few days in the Napa Valley and at Fort Bragg. Both places that have significant emotional importance for Jody. It was a lovely gift. Fort Bragg, BTW, is where they filmed both Overboard (with Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn) and Kindergarten Cop (with der Governator), and a lovely Northern California Costal community. The only drawback was that the arrangements Jody's mom made started on Sunday and we were married on a Saturday. What to do, what to do?
Jody immediately booked us a room at a Hotel Casino up at Lake Tahoe (not the view from our hotel room). We had a wonderful night, watched a magic show, had an exquisite meal and prepared for Napa and Fort Bragg. Family members had also given us spending money for our honeymoon, in addition to the money they gave us for our Wedding. So we planned additional days away, in fact we decided to continue our journey up the coast and to finish our honeymoon in Seattle at the Seattle International Film festival. We drove the north along the California coast and continued to Washington and Seattle. It was a wonderful, and long, drive through redwood forests.
Of course, Jody and I, being who we are we watched a ton of movies along the way in preparation for the festival. We also watched Twister and inordinate number of times. We were gone for about two weeks in total and when we were done we had not a dime to our name (we still had Wedding checks for beginning our lives, but none of those were in the bank) and prayed that the gas in the car would get us back to Reno safely. It took us many days to drive to Seattle as we meandered along seaside roads, but we made it home in a single day. Along the way we learned some interesting facts of life.
- The rain in Washington is very hard to drive in.
- There are apparently no 7-11s in Oregon. A lot of convenience stores, but no 7-11s. We looked frantically, longing for Slurpees, but to no avail. We might have missed them, but it was eerie.
- You cannot pump your own gas in Oregon.
- Twister is a great road trip movie and pretending that you are in the film while driving on the highway is fun.
- Jody didn't really want to go to Law School, rather she wanted to make movies.
- Jody has the uncanny ability to make me smile, inside and out. She still does.
- Oregon rest stops serve free coffee.
- Most importantly, you can make a wonderfully romantic honeymoon from scratch and a spontaneous honeymoon is far more romantic, in my experience, that a prepackaged vacation.
I could go into greater detail, but you can only write so much during a fifteen minute break.
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
FTP Annoyances
I have decided I want to host this blog over at cinerati.net, but alas my skillz as a hacker are severely lacking. I have managed to get the information up at ftp://ftp.cinerati.net/cinerati.net/public/index.html, but not at cinerati.net.
Whoever in our community can help me migrate our little blog over to cinerati.net will receive my undying gratitude. Oh, I have made it so we can all have cinerati.net email addresses as well. That was much easier to accomplish.
Whoever in our community can help me migrate our little blog over to cinerati.net will receive my undying gratitude. Oh, I have made it so we can all have cinerati.net email addresses as well. That was much easier to accomplish.
Monday, May 15, 2006
TV Upfronts
FYI, I'm blogging up a storm regarding the TV Upfronts over at my blog.
The upfronts are when the networks unveil their fall lineups to woo advertisers to buy ad spots for their shows. NBC released their schedule today and will be followed by ABC, Fox, CBS and CW.
The upfronts are when the networks unveil their fall lineups to woo advertisers to buy ad spots for their shows. NBC released their schedule today and will be followed by ABC, Fox, CBS and CW.
Sexual Predators Use the Mail, Congress Says, "Hey Let's Close Down the Post Office!"
Tuesday May 9, Congress introduced H.R. 5319 which will restrict access by minors and students to social networking sites on the internet. Sites such as Myspace, Friendster, Facebook, and Essembly would be affected by such legislation as would the potential for internet networking by young people. Such networking has been one of the most exciting events of the past few years, from a political observer standpoint.
What does this have to do with popular culture? Considering that mainstream entertainment sites have been integrating material on to the sites and using them to promote artists and television shows, a great deal. One of the moves Fox was developing was My Network Television which would use MySpace as a promotion and distribution vehicle. In other words, Fox was already viewing social networking sites as alternative/supplemental television networks.
The implications of the bill are large and the legislation is being rushed through Congress. This is one of those cases where a real world serious problem, pedophiles stalking children via the internet, might lead to questionable policy outcomes. I have yet to decide my thoughts on the regulation of social networking sites, but I do believe that laws rushed through Congress are often not the best thought out legal documents.
If you are upset by the legislation you can go to Mobilize.org and follow the steps they offer. If you are in favor of the legislation, you can follow their recommendations but with opposing content.
What are your thoughts?
Below is a copy of the legislation, the Thomas link (the official government link) is above.
What does this have to do with popular culture? Considering that mainstream entertainment sites have been integrating material on to the sites and using them to promote artists and television shows, a great deal. One of the moves Fox was developing was My Network Television which would use MySpace as a promotion and distribution vehicle. In other words, Fox was already viewing social networking sites as alternative/supplemental television networks.
UPDATE: Fox and Burger King are partnering to release episodes of 24, Pinks, and First Hand on MySpace.
The implications of the bill are large and the legislation is being rushed through Congress. This is one of those cases where a real world serious problem, pedophiles stalking children via the internet, might lead to questionable policy outcomes. I have yet to decide my thoughts on the regulation of social networking sites, but I do believe that laws rushed through Congress are often not the best thought out legal documents.
If you are upset by the legislation you can go to Mobilize.org and follow the steps they offer. If you are in favor of the legislation, you can follow their recommendations but with opposing content.
What are your thoughts?
Below is a copy of the legislation, the Thomas link (the official government link) is above.
Deleting Online Predators Act of 2006 (Introduced in House)
HR 5319 IH
109th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5319
To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to require recipients of universal service support for schools and libraries to protect minors from commercial social networking websites and chat rooms.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 9, 2006
Mr. FITZPATRICK of Pennsylvania (for himself, Mr. KIRK, Mrs. MILLER of Michigan, Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania, Mr. ENGLISH of Pennsylvania, Mr. DAVIS of Kentucky, and Mr. CASTLE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
A BILL
To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to require recipients of universal service support for schools and libraries to protect minors from commercial social networking websites and chat rooms.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Deleting Online Predators Act of 2006'.
SEC. 2. CERTIFICATIONS TO INCLUDE PROTECTIONS AGAINST COMMERCIAL SOCIAL NETWORKING WEBSITES AND CHAT ROOMS.
(a) Certification by Schools- Section 254(h)(5)(B) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 254(h)(5)(B)) is amended by striking clause (i) and inserting the following:
`(i) is enforcing a policy of Internet safety for minors that includes monitoring the online activities of minors and the operation of a technology protection measure with respect to any of its computers with Internet access that--
`(I) protects against access through such computers to visual depictions that are--
`(aa) obscene;
`(bb) child pornography; or
`(cc) harmful to minors; and
`(II) prohibits access to a commercial social networking website or chat room through which minors--
`(aa) may easily access or be presented with obscene or indecent material;
`(bb) may easily be subject to unlawful sexual advances, unlawful requests for sexual favors, or repeated offensive comments of a sexual nature from adults; or
`(cc) may easily access other material that is harmful to minors; and'.
(b) Certification by Libraries- Section 254(h)(6)(B) of such Act (47 U.S.C. 254(h)(6)(B)) is amended by striking clause (i) and inserting the following:
`(i) is enforcing a policy of Internet safety that includes the operation of a technology protection measure with respect to any of its computers with Internet access that--
`(I) protects against access through such computers to visual depictions that are--
`(aa) obscene;
`(bb) child pornography; or
`(cc) harmful to minors; and
`(II) prohibits access by minors without parental authorization to a commercial social networking website or chat room through which minors--
`(aa) may easily access or be presented with obscene or indecent material;
`(bb) may easily be subject to unlawful sexual advances, unlawful requests for sexual favors, or repeated offensive comments of a sexual nature from adults; or
`(cc) may easily access other material that is harmful to minors; and'.
(c) Definitions- Section 254(h)(7) is amended by adding at the end the following new subparagraphs:
`(J) COMMERCIAL SOCIAL NETWORKING WEBSITES- The term `commercial social networking website' means a commercially operated Internet website that--
`(i) allows users to create web pages or profiles that provide information about themselves and are available to other users; and
`(ii) offers a mechanism for communication with other users, such as a forum, chat room, email, or instant messenger.
`(K) CHAT ROOMS- The term `chat rooms' means Internet websites through which a number of users can communicate in real time via text and that allow messages to be almost immediately visible to all other users or to a designated segment of all other users.'.
(d) Disabling During Adult or Educational Use- Section 254(h)(5)(D) of such Act is amended--
(1) by inserting `OR EDUCATIONAL' after `DURING ADULT' in the heading; and
(2) by inserting before the period at the end the following: `or during use by an adult or by minors with adult supervision to enable access for educational purposes' .
(e) Establishment of Advisory Board- The Federal Communications Commission shall establish an advisory board, which shall consist of 8 members appointed by the Chairman of the Commission. Four of such members shall be representative of the private sector and four of such members shall be representative of the Commission, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the Crimes against Children Research Center, school boards, and primary and secondary school educators, respectively. The Commission shall provide administrative and clerical support to the advisory board, but members of the board shall serve without compensation. The advisory board shall be terminated at the direction of the Chairman of the Commission.
(f) Publication- After consultation with the advisory board established under subsection (e) and appropriate agencies with experience regarding procedures and actions to prevent minors from being target by adults for predatory behavior, exploitation, or illegal actions, the Federal Communications Commission shall annually publish a list of commercial social networking websites and chat rooms that have been shown to allow sexual predators easy access to personal information of, and contact with, children.
SEC. 3. FTC CONSUMER ALERT ON INTERNET DANGERS TO CHILDREN.
(a) Information Regarding Child Predators and the Internet- Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Federal Trade Commission shall--
(1) issue a consumer alert regarding the potential dangers to children of Internet child predators , including the potential danger of commercial social networking websites and chat rooms through which personal information about child users of such websites may be accessed by child predators ; and
(2) establish a website with a distinctive Uniform Resource Locator to serve as a resource for information for parents, teachers and school administrators, and others regarding the potential dangers posed by the use of the Internet by children, including information about commercial social networking websites and chat rooms through which personal information about child users of such websites may be accessed by child predators .
(b) Commercial Social Networking Websites- For purposes of the requirements under subsection (a), the terms `commercial social networking website' and `chat room' have the meanings given such terms in section 254(h)(7) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 254(h)(7)), as amended by this Act.
Friday, May 12, 2006
Cinerati: The Origin.
Regular reader, JC Loophole, wanted to know how Cinerati got started and what our superpowers and secret origins are.
Let me turn the dial back on the wayback machine, step into the Tardis, sit in the Time Machine, and wiggle my fingers going "Wheeeooo, wheeeooo" like Wayne and Garth...
We find ourselves in March of 2004, blogs have been around for some time but have yet to "explode" as they will during the 2004 election cycle. Still Christian is far from cutting edge when he decides to band together with a group of friends to create an online community dedicated to the discussion of popular culture. Christian's plan is to have a pop culture version of National Review's Corner or The New Republic's &c. This website is to be a place where conversations occur, among friends, sometime disagreements will arise, but the conversations will be fun and engaging.
With this dream in mind Christian Johnson, calling himself Number One referring to the television series "The Prisoner," looks to his friends to find possible recruits. The first name that comes to mind is John (Jay) Ford. Not only does Jay share a name with one of the great Western film directors, he is also possessed of a vast database of film obscuria. From AIP to Oscar Award winning films, Jay has a vast knowledge of film. Jay was also Christian's writing partner of a Film Critic column in the Sparks Daily Tribune titled "Celluloid Say-So."
Next in Christian's Mind was Sean Mattie and his Wife Elizabeth. Sean and Elizabeth are an intelligent couple who like watching good movies and have strong opinions. Their more "cultured" tastes would serve as a balance for Christian's agressively "pro-low-art as high-art" philosophy. Christian is pretensiously anti-pretension. Sean and Elizabeth were a good, but shortlived addition to the blog.
Next in the line-up was Christian's good friend Rob. Christian and Rob went to "dealer school" in Reno where they both learned how to steal old ladie's Social Security checks for sleazy accountants and old school thugs. Rob and Christian had also played roleplaying games together and both are huge Saints fans. From Tecmo Bowl to Perfect Weapon to D&D, Rob and Christian have had some good times together experiencing pop culture. His inclusion was a natural.
Meanwhile...back at the Ranch.
Any blog would have to include my co-worker Fritz. Fritz has an affection for the movie Hackers and a love of Formula 1 racing. In addition, he is a fan of 2000 AD and would serve, in some capacity, to internationalize the popular culture references at Cinerati.
Christian's wife would be invited, as would his (and his wife's friend) Colleen would round out the "founders."
A quick rundown of the founders is:
Let me turn the dial back on the wayback machine, step into the Tardis, sit in the Time Machine, and wiggle my fingers going "Wheeeooo, wheeeooo" like Wayne and Garth...
We find ourselves in March of 2004, blogs have been around for some time but have yet to "explode" as they will during the 2004 election cycle. Still Christian is far from cutting edge when he decides to band together with a group of friends to create an online community dedicated to the discussion of popular culture. Christian's plan is to have a pop culture version of National Review's Corner or The New Republic's &c. This website is to be a place where conversations occur, among friends, sometime disagreements will arise, but the conversations will be fun and engaging.
With this dream in mind Christian Johnson, calling himself Number One referring to the television series "The Prisoner," looks to his friends to find possible recruits. The first name that comes to mind is John (Jay) Ford. Not only does Jay share a name with one of the great Western film directors, he is also possessed of a vast database of film obscuria. From AIP to Oscar Award winning films, Jay has a vast knowledge of film. Jay was also Christian's writing partner of a Film Critic column in the Sparks Daily Tribune titled "Celluloid Say-So."
Next in Christian's Mind was Sean Mattie and his Wife Elizabeth. Sean and Elizabeth are an intelligent couple who like watching good movies and have strong opinions. Their more "cultured" tastes would serve as a balance for Christian's agressively "pro-low-art as high-art" philosophy. Christian is pretensiously anti-pretension. Sean and Elizabeth were a good, but shortlived addition to the blog.
Next in the line-up was Christian's good friend Rob. Christian and Rob went to "dealer school" in Reno where they both learned how to steal old ladie's Social Security checks for sleazy accountants and old school thugs. Rob and Christian had also played roleplaying games together and both are huge Saints fans. From Tecmo Bowl to Perfect Weapon to D&D, Rob and Christian have had some good times together experiencing pop culture. His inclusion was a natural.
Meanwhile...back at the Ranch.
Any blog would have to include my co-worker Fritz. Fritz has an affection for the movie Hackers and a love of Formula 1 racing. In addition, he is a fan of 2000 AD and would serve, in some capacity, to internationalize the popular culture references at Cinerati.
Christian's wife would be invited, as would his (and his wife's friend) Colleen would round out the "founders."
A quick rundown of the founders is:
Real Name: Christian Johnson
Secret ID: Number One (Christian has since gone public)
Superpowers: Has a Flash Ring, a Green Lantern Ring, and a Phantom "The Ghost Who Walks" Ring. Superspeed, Super Will, and the ability to "Slam Evil."
Skills/Subject Areas: Christian has opinions about everything, even things he knows absolutely nothing about.
Real Name: Sean Mattie and Elizabeth Mattie
Secret IDs: Cinemattie and Elizabeth
Superpowers: Divine Miracles (Cinemattie) and Objectivist Obfuscation (Elizabeth)
Skills/Subject Areas: Movies and Comic Books.
Real Name: John Ford
Secret ID: (Lurker Only)
Superpowers: Ability to channel the Norse hero Hrafenkel gaining superstrength and a big axe. He also has the ability to look cool in Roy Orbison glasses.
Skills/Subject Areas: While Christian has opinions about everything, Jay actually knows some things.
Real Name: Fritz Hemker
Secret ID: Fritz (yes Liberal Avenger his name really is Fritz)
Superpowers: Lived in New York and liked it, Height (like Giant Man), Superstrength and the ability to crush the faces of evil doers with hurled Water Polo balls.
Real Name: Robert Barker
Secret ID: Rob
Superpowers: Ninja Skillset. Rob is the "Dark Knight" of the crew with Snake Eyes and a kick like a Storm's Shadow. He could kick Michael Dudikoff's butt.
Skills/Subject Areas: RPGs, Movies, 80s Television Shows and the Saints Football.
Underfut ("All she has is the power cosmic yet somehow...it is enough") and Colleen (Phoenix Force) wish to remain anonymous.
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