And now... The bi-weekly, sometimes weekly, ocasionaly semi-annual, rarely tri-daily new feature: Eddie P Speaks on Comics

Eddie P speaks on Comics
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Binary code translation vol. Face Smash

Ex Machina

Brian K. Vaughan

This is an interesting take on the superhero concept written by acclaimed author Brian K. Vaughan. (Y: The Last Man, Runaways, Lost Seasons 3-4) The story is about a man who gets superpowers from an accident with a shard of alien machinery that allows him to “speak” to machines. This is an interesting ability that has been touched before with characters in X-Men and even on TV’s Heroes, but Vaughan has mastered the depth of what is really possible with such a power. Actually the story isn’t about the man and his powers, but rather what the man does after he’s given up adventuring and hung up the cape. Mitchell Hundred used hide his identity behind a mystical helmet and wear a winged jet pack he created while asleep. He called himself The Great Machine and would fly around New York City attempting to protect it’s helpless citizens below. This often led to many blunders and failed attempts of heroism. This is, in my opinion, an awesome take on the superhero tale. Many stories flourish in their character’s ability to “save the day”, you hardly read about the guy who fucks up. These moments as The Great Machine are shown in a series of flashbacks. In present time, Mitchell is the Mayor of New York City. Mitchell is neither democrat nor republican. His views span all across left and right boundaries and many of the characters within his office debate both sides of serious issues. A major concept that Vaughan illustrates is the tendency of citizens to rely on their government to save them. Much like how the citizen’s of Gotham or Metropolis rely on their costumed guardians, New York’s citizens look to their Mayor to save the day. This is eerily similar to how US citizens look towards President Elect Obama in this current crisis to save the day. In essence Ex Machina is primarily about Politics, Superheroes and New York City. This is a brainy, wordy story with enough action to keep it fun. I recommend it to people who are politically open-minded and are looking for a superhero story that is less about the cape and cowl heroics and more about the human ones.

E.P.

Ok, here are some short reviews of the last few things I've read, all of which I enjoyed.

The Yiddish Policeman's Union
By Michael Chabon
One of the most enjoyable books I've ever read. Chabon is a master, the man in unrelentingly clever. The protagonist, Meyer Landsman should be remembered with noir P.I. greats like Marlow and Spade. The novel is set in Sitka Alaska, 60 years after Jewish refugees, displaced due to the Holocaust and the fictional destruction of Isreal were sent to live. It is an alternate history detective story in the realm of some classic noir but completely takes its own path. Absolutely loved everything in it from beginning to end.

Anna Karenina
By Leo Tolstoy
This one took me a while. Tolstoy's talent is undeniable when creating huge, sprawling, epic stories involving many main characters, each of which are very layered. The novel is very meticulously crafted from beginning to end and had moments of literary perfection. The way in which he develops characters is something to admire, but I must say a negative to being so thorough are the 100page chunks in which nothing of any real substance transpires. Very glad I read it but its light years away from light or exciting reading.

Me Talk Pretty One Day
By David Sedaris
Definitely one of the funniest books I've ever read. Never before have I had to put a book down numerous times because I was laughing too hard to continue reading. If you havent read David Sedaris or heard any of his essays on NPR or anywhere else, you're missing out

Wanted
By Mark Millar
A twisted, sick assault on conformity. Raw, visceral and nothing like the terribly watered down film of the same name. How that is even called an adaptation is beyond me.

Sandman vol-1 Preludes & Nocturnes vol-2 Doll's House
By Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman's classic series of which I have slept on for a very long time. Granted I am only 2/11ths of the way into this story but I am impressed with what I've read thus far. A very cerebral tale, wildly visual, extremely creative and undeniably trippy.

The Killing Joke
By Alan Moore
Alan Moore is a genius weekly? I will subscribe to that publication. A great little story that delves deeper into the relationship between Batman and The Joker.

The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat
By Oliver Sacks
If you like clinical stories of neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders like visual agnosia, Korsakoff's syndrome, Autistic savantism and many more, this is the book for you! I love this guys work, my sister and brother in law bought me another one of his books, Musicophilia and since then I've been hooked. So, a hearty bowl of gracias to them.
Up next, An Anthropologist on Mars

Question freaks.

You know those people, those dolts, those incessantly annoying beings who possess the innate need to ask pointless question, after question, after question in any public forum. It is easy to spot a question freak, they're always on the edge of their seats acting like listening is a physical act. However, it is readily apparent that acting like you're listening 'hard' roughly translates to... I didn't hear a word you just said. These specimens usually will interact, in a way resembling this:

Professor- The paper will be due on Friday, it should be between 5-7 pages in length, double spaced. If you have any questions, email me.
Q.Freak- Professor, would it be ok if we triple space it?
Professor- I would prefer it double spaced.
Q.Freak- I need to take my cat to the vet tonight, I wont be able to email you tonight, can I do it Tomorrow?
Professor- ...yes, its Tuesday; email me tomorrow.
Q.Freak- So we need to hand this paper into you on Friday?
Professor- Yes.
Q.Freak- This friday?
Professor- Yes.
Q.Freak- ok.
Professor- moving on, the answer... 1+1 is...2.
Q.Freak- wait so the answer is 2? How did you get that? its 1 + 1?
Professor- Yes, 1+1= 2
Q.freak- You added them? together?
Professor- YES

Meanwhile...back in my head, there is a dwarf, he is an extreme steroid abuser and he is livid, jumping up and down screaming at the top of his lungs
'SHUT UP, SHUT UP! Holy god, is there a 1 legged hamster on a wheel in your head? Has your cerebral cortex been soaked in battery acid and hit repeatedly with a wrench? Are you actually unable to deduce anything resembling a rational answer in your head to this horrific question, only equaled in its incoherence by its fitful, inept, idiocy. When you are about to ask a question...is there no security block, no alarm that sounds
'BEEP! BEEP!WOAH, hold up, maybe this is not that smartest thing that can fall out of my face at this moment, maybe he/she just answered this, maybe I should wait until he/she is done speaking before I blurt out this nonsense, like a blender operating without a lid.'

I know my better half Lindsay has had horrifying experiences with question freaks, she has expressed them to me in ways vastly less verbose but still as volatile.
If you have had experiences with QF's leave me some words.

Margaret Thatcher= That Great Charmer

Due to my recent and time consuming fascination with anagrams
(Ex. my name= Machine Jeans Ices- A Ninjas Emcees Chi- A Ice Ninjas Scheme)
I thought I'd share this list I came across.


Motley Crue: Me Cruel Toy
Bob Marley: Marble Boy
William Shakespeare: I'll make a wise phrase
Jay Leno: Enjoy L.A.
Gene Simmons: Immense Song
Mother-in-law = Woman Hitler
The Morse Code = Here Come Dots
Microsoft Windows = Sown in discomfort
John Mayer = Enjoy harm
Belgium = Big mule
The eyes = They see
Barbie doll = Liberal bod
George Bush = He bugs Gore
Waitress = A stew, Sir?
Guinness draught = naughtiness drug
Breasts = Bra sets
The Titanic disaster = Death, it starts in ice
Apple Products = Support Placed
Western Union = No Wire Unsent
Bruce Springsteen = Creep brings tunes
Tom Cruise = So I'm Cuter
vegetarian = ate in grave
graduation = out in a drag
Dick Cheney = Needy Chick
Debit card = Bad credit
A Decimal Point = I'm a Dot in Place
Jennifer Aniston = fine in torn jeans
Achievements = Nice, save them
Clothespins = So Let's Pinch
Christine = Nice Shirt
Spice Girls = Pig Slices
The Cincinnati Reds = Indecent Christian
Dormitory = Dirty Room
Confessional = On scale of sin
David Letterman = Nerd Amid Late TV
Princess Diana = end is a car spin
President W = Newest Drip
Statue of Liberty = Built to Stay Free
Laxative = exit lava
Evangelist = Evil's Agent
George W Bush = he grew bogus
Beavis and Butthead = Thus, be a bad deviant
Astronomer = moon starer
Apple, Inc = Epic Plan
San Francisco Giants- Fascinating, No scars
Pre Calculus = Call up curse
Stupid Girl = Drips Guilt
madonna louise ciccone = one cool dance musician
The United States of America = Attaineth its cause, freedom
Desperation = A Rope Ends It
Dancing with the stars = Winners had tight acts
Sherlock Holmes = He'll mesh crooks
Frito Lay = Oily Fart
Baseball = Babes All
Christina Aguilera = Ugly Satanic Hair
Conversation = Voices Rant On
ASTRONOMER: MOON STARER
THE EYES: THEY SEE
Geologist = Go Get Oils
Christmas = Trims cash
Why do you care? = Hey you coward!
President Bush = Burnished Pest
Action man = cannot aim
The Simpson's = men's hot piss
Year two thousand = a year to shut down
Debit card = Bad Credit
shower time = where moist
Santa Monica = satanic moan
goodbye = Obey god
ipod lover = poor devil
Narcissism = Man's crisis
Actor Sylvester Stallone = Very cool talentless star
Funeral = Real Fun
comfort is = microsoft
Hot water = Worth tea
Television programming = Permeating living rooms
Margaret Thatcher = That great charmer
Darling I love you = Avoiding our yell
The Country Side = No City Dust Here
Flamethrower = oh, felt warmer
Clint Eastwood = Old West Action
Ronald Wilson Reagan = Insane Anglo Warlord
Saddam Hussain = Humans sad side
Sheryl crow = her slow cry
Howard Stern = Retard Shown
Ladybug = bald guy
Astronomers = No more stars
Snooze Alarms = Alas! No More Z's
A Gentleman = Elegant Man
I hate school = oh so ethical
No admittance = contaminated
Microwave = Warm Voice
Austin Powers = power us satin
T.S. Eliot = toilets
A telescope = To see place
Elvis = lives
Justin Timberlake = im a jerk but listen
Mel Gibson = Big Melons
The Apple Macintosh = Machines apt to help
Eleven plus two = Twelve plus one
Christmas = Trims cash
The Meaning of Life = The fine game of nil
Schoolmaster = The classroom
A shoplifter = has to pilfer
listen = silent
Chemistry = shit, me cry
Gene Simmons = Immense Song
A Domesticated Animal = Docile, as a Man Tamed it
Garbage Man = Bag Manager

Proposition 8.

For those of you who don't know, Propostion 8 is a California State prop. aiming to amend the state Constitution to once again revert back to the archaic ideology that marriage should only be between a man and a woman. California recognized same-sex marriage as a fundamental right and when Prop 8 passed on Nov.6th, same-sex couples were once again denied the right to marriage.
In a Supreme Court case Sarah Palin, undoubtedly has never heard of, Pace .v. Alabama, held in 1883 ruled that Alabama's anti-miscegenation statute was constitutional, thereby making it a crime for an African American to marry a Caucasian American. Sounds insane that people would think like that right? You wonder if there were many people back then going 'Am I the only one who thinks this is completely insane?' It was insane, it was ignorant, it was a rock-solid imploding rocket of rampant bigotry. It was disgusting, and so is the idea that a same-sex couple cant, by law, get married. And dont give me the 'they cant reproduce' argument, Christ, be progressive people. Actually, Christ may be the wrong word; lets leave him out of this.

Heres what Melissa Etheridge had to say about it and I completely agree.

Okay. So Prop 8 passed. Alright, I get it. 51% of you think that I am a second class citizen. Alright then. So my wife, uh I mean, roommate? Girlfriend? Special lady friend? You are gonna have to help me here because I am not sure what to call her now. Anyways, she and I are not allowed the same right under the state constitution as any other citizen. Okay, so I am taking that to mean I do not have to pay my state taxes because I am not a full citizen. I mean that would just be wrong, to make someone pay taxes and not give them the same rights, sounds sort of like that taxation without representation thing from the history books.

Okay, cool I don’t mean to get too personal here but there is a lot I can do with the extra half a million dollars that I will be keeping instead of handing it over to the state of California. Oh, and I am sure Ellen will be a little excited to keep her bazillion bucks that she pays in taxes too. Wow, come to think of it, there are quite a few of us fortunate gay folks that will be having some extra cash this year. What recession? We’re gay! I am sure there will be a little box on the tax forms now single, married, divorced, gay, check here if you are gay, yeah, that’s not so bad. Of course all of the waiters and hairdressers and UPS workers and gym teachers and such, they won’t have to pay their taxes either.

Still cant believe it.

Unforgettable night.
President Obama

Now for his staff
Chief of Staff: Rahm Emanuel, a well respected former Clinton man and very high ranking Democrat known for 'getting things done' and a big proponent of providing Health care to all who need it.

keep em coming Mr.President

Let's move forward.

The last ditch effort of the Grand Old Party had been a simply vile and pathetic attempt to scare people into voting for Sen. McCain. I know your candidate has not performed well, and that his soul selling attempt to dramatically alter everything he believes in to fit into his parties archaic mold may have backfired. Instead of coming across as an unflinching patriot , a war hero, a maverick, he's been looking more like the archetypal cranky old neighbor who refuses to throw your soccer ball back over the fence, choosing instead, to flatten it, proclaiming things like 'you kids stay the hell outa my yard ya hear!.' Sen. McCain has really sunk so far, it truly is a sad decline in character. Let's move forward.
A disturbing and terrifying reality is that many Americans, are racists; not in the hate spewing, hood wearing way in which some display it, but racists nonetheless. They are new age racists, if you will, people who don't openly say racist statements but have thoughts that fester beneath the surface. Its sad but, many Americans will not vote for a candidate based simply on the color of their skin, regardless of a solid agreement in their policies. America needs to progress past these vividly ignorant thoughts. McCain knows this, and instead of being honorable, instead of showing the American public why we should choose him as our leader over Sen. Obama, he's preying on some Americans racist insecurities and fears by spewing complete fallacies at an alarming rate. Robo-calls which state nothing about himself or his campaign, or their plans, just simply speak in complete lies and inaccurate statements in a last fleeing attempt to cash in on 'the Bradley Effect.' DO NOT BELIEVE THE THINGS YOU'RE READING IN EMAILS OR HEARING FROM THESE CALLS. Racist and ignorant people will always be around, but if we can elect a black man as President we are showing the youth of America that skin color should not be an issue. Not to mention the undeniably progressive message to the black youth of America that anything is attainable. let's move forward.

You can wade through the bullshit by checking FACTCHECK .ORG
A non-partisan site that debunks all the lies and inaccuracies told on either side.
This election could be a turning point for us, don't let these scare tactics sway your decision.
Lets be progressive, let's move forward, lets stop the malignant selfishness which has placed us where we are today, health care should be a right not a privilege, we need to improve our global reputation, please do not be scared away, don't let dirty politics sway your vote. If you don't agree with Obama, then don't vote for him but please, do not cast an opposing vote out of fear. Let's move forward.

JCVD

A new film starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, titled JCVD and it looks... good?
For a while, it seemed like the name Van-Damme and quality film was a recipe for a tasty oxymoron.
Maybe Dylan was right 'the times they are a-changin.'

Check the trailer HERE

Synopsis below
When the life of Jean-Claude Van Damme collides with the reality of a hold-up in Brussels, Belgium, suddenly the huge movie star turns into an ordinary guy, filled with fears, contradictions and hopes. How can he be up to the legend he has built? What can a film hero do when the gun pointed to his temple isn’t charged with blanks? JCVD finds himself at the turning point of his “hero” life

Nickelback

I will uncharacteristically shy away from saying anything negative about Nickelback because it feels like the equivalent of mocking a 3 legged dog for its inability to jump a fence. I would, instead like to give them some props, for never has a group sailed through on the winds of generic mediocrity with more raspy and passionate zest than Chad Kroeger and Co. Never has a group been so talented at being talentless. Nickelback are to rock, what 'Loopy Fruit Circles' with the Pelican instead of the Toucan on the box are... to rock.

PS- what kind of a dog cant jump a measly fence?

Let the Right One In (Låt den rätte komma in)

I have been reading nothing but great things about this film for a while now, and after viewing the trailer HERE, I am substantially more geeked out. Let the Right One In is a fresh off the vine vampire tale by Swedish director Tomas Alfredson, based on the novel of the same name. It has already won the Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature at the Tribeca Film Festival and the European Fantastic Film Festival's Méliès d'Or (Gold Medal) for the "Best European Fantastic Feature Film" not to mention a current 100% rating on rotten tomatoes.

Heres the synopsis

12-year-old Oskar is a fragile boy living in a village just outside Stockholm. He is regularly bullied by his classmates during the day and, while he never strikes back, he spends the nights dreaming of revenge, rehearsing knife attacks outside his apartment complex. There he meets and befriends Eli, an apparently 12-year-old girl, who has recently moved in next door to Oskar with her father. Eli is a pale girl who only comes out at night and doesn't seem affected by the freezing temperatures.
Coinciding with Eli's arrival is a series of disappearances and gruesome murders. Victims are found with broken necks and drained of blood. Oskar fills a notebook with stories of the killings and realises that Eli is a vampire. Eli helps him to fight back against his bullies, while Oskar reawakens her hunger for love: Eli is trapped forever in a 12-year-old's body, with all the confused emotions of an adolescent. Despite the new beginning, Eli knows that she needs to keep on moving to survive.

Nobody cares.

So apparently the 'new' Guns and Roses* album, Chinese Democrazy has a release date. At this point I'd be considerably more amped at the news of a new Wham! album. Mr.Rose finally deems the public ready for his masterpiece, he is so rock n' roll looking like a 90's hip hop video extra threw up their fashion sense on his dreaded ginger head. Did I mention the pre-order is available exclusively through Wall Mart, now that...is... ROCK. Axl thinks Wall Mart is where rock LIVES! I think, its where it goes to die.

*Axl Rose with random artists is not Guns and Roses.

The Wrestler

I know Mickey Rourke looks like Bobo the clown after a hearty meth binge, however, I'm very glad to report that Aronofskys praised new film, 'The Wrestler' starring the aforementioned Rumble fish has a release date.


12.19.08

Recycling CO2

Using Biocatalysis, a procedure used by employing natural catalysts to perform chemical transformations on organic compounds, a group of scientists have made a breakthrough which they believe can transform CO2 back into the basic building blocks of fuel. This process, commonly utilized by the pharmaceutical industry to create fine chemicals from man made organic material, has apparently, effectively transformed CO2 into methane, propane and Ethane, all which can be used to make higher grade fuels.
The organization is called Carbon Sciences.

On September 1st 1928, Philo Farnsworth displayed the first working television which was made commercially available in the late 1930's. Now, as we rapidly approach 2009, the average American watches between 2-5 hours of television a day. The role the boob tube plays in our everyday lives, however evil it may be, has rapidly transformed since its inception. A recent scientific breakthrough ensures that the television has just begun its technological evolution.
Since 1990, a team of scientists at the University of Arizona have been studying holographic projection technology and have made their first major step forward in making it a plausible reality. In the next 20 years, it looks like we could be watching movies with the characters in vivid 3d, popping out of our wall or being broadcast on our coffee table. Fascinating stuff.
check out the article

Winking away the world.

Dear Miss Wasala 1983,
In no way is it cute, that you know nothing about politics, US history, Americas economy, the global economy, newspapers, the Supreme Court, life in Washington, your opponent, minorities, women, any human being residing outside of Alaska, Russia; despite as you've mentioned, you're close proximity to them which thereby, apparently grants you Foreign policy experience through osmosis, teens, tweens, fiends, the bailout, forming rational thoughts and expressing them without shifting from transitional phrase to transitional phrase without actually stating ANYTHING, Geography, genetics, stem cells, or the definition of having a CHOICE, in no way is this cute, well; its kind of cute if you were applying for a position at Barnes and Noble. You're unfortunately not, thus its mind-numbingly frightening.

Sincerely scared,
AcitizenInsane

Unbreakable 2

M. Night Shyamalan is apparently done making horrendous new films, he's going back to ruin decent old ones by adding a new concentrated dose of hack serum. I am in the process of writing a script in which the ghost of Charles Foster Kane haunts the aforementioned, slackwitted filmmaker and teaches him the roots of film making, all along creating an unlikely friendship. However, at the end, when Kane feels M.Night has learned his lesson, he will go in to give him a hug but abruptly stop, grab Shyamalan's head, and effortlessly twist it off his body thus teaching him his final lesson. A twist is only a twist if the audience doesn't expect it.

Unbreakable 2

NYG

Soon they'll be referring to Peyton as 'Eli's older brother.'

44-6

In case you didnt believe me.

As I mentioned previously, Ernie Hudson who played Winston Zeddmore, the only black Ghostbuster was left off the front and back cover of Ghostbusters 2. The proof is in the pudding, and this pudding defintely tastes vanilla.

I'm it.

I've been tagged by the Superhero herself to state seven random factoids about myself.
Prepare to be enthralled.

1. I have a crush on Tina Fey
2. Sometimes when I'm at work I write 80081355(BOOBLESS) on the calculator then proceed to chuckle and say to myself 'how clever.'
3. I saw the Kevin Williamson penned film The Faculty 6 times in the movie theater.
4. I am one of the only Americans who is still a fan of Silverchair. (yes they're still around, check out the album Diorama)
5. The best gift I ever received was a signed Radiohead book from Lindsay.
6. I'm going back to school in Jan. to study Biomedical Science and then Cardiovascular Perfusion.
7. I can leap frog people standing up.

Undeniable eloquence and straight talk reveal an unparalled mastery of Foreign Policy.

COURIC: Why isn’t it better, Governor Palin, to spend $700 billion helping middle-class families struggling with health care, housing, gas and groceries? … Instead of helping these big financial institutions that played a role in creating this mess?

PALIN: Ultimately, what the bailout does is help those who are concerned about the health care reform that is needed to help shore up the economy– Oh, it’s got to be about job creation too. So health care reform and reducing taxes and reining in spending has got to accompany tax reductions.

New Kaufman film. Synecdoche, New York

New Charlie Kaufman film, his directorial debut and it is (as his work always is) indisputably intriguing.
Watch the trailer here
If you are not familiar with Kaufman, he wrote the following :
Being John Malkovich
Adaptation
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Ghostbusters 3

More rumblings on a possible Ghostbusters 3 film. As you may or may not know, the writers have apparently been chosen, Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky of the US version of The Office are going to give the script a go. Harold Ramis and Dan Akyroyd have both said they've been interested in possibly filming a third film to complete the series. Of course nobody mentions the one black Ghostbuster, Ernie Hudson aka Winston Zeddemore, but one would have to assume he wouldn't mind rocking the tan jump suit one more time. You know they didn't even put him on the front or back cover of the VHS for Ghostbusters 2. Do Ramis, Akyroyd and Reitman hate black people or was the omission due to something else, you be the judge. With that said, the one main piece of the puzzle that was unknown until today was the status of the man who seemed to be the most apprehensive, Peter Venkman himself, Billy Murray. During a Q&A at Fantastic Fest Murray was asked about his interest in doing another film and for the first time expressed excitement about the idea saying he'd heard that some writers from The Office were working on it and he'd "definitely be into doing another Ghostbusters movie." Lets hope they don't nuke the fridge on this one like Indy 4. Fingers crossed.

Tony Stark you will rue the day you stepped on my sneakers and didnt apologize.

If you read the graphic and vivid disappointment on my face you'd know that my powers have yet to manifest and therefore I am not currently labeled a 'superhero' by society or the media. Nor am I a billionaire with the technological know-how or appropriate connections to fight crime without certain genetic benefits or mutations. I don't have a last name that will ever be used as a fashionable first name ala Parker or Kent and despite the fact that I seek out accidents involving radioactive material it has yet to yield any positive effects. With all that said, the sticker to my right displaying the fact that 'I am a Superhero' is but a mere rouse, however the blog in which is it appropriately linked to is, about as close as a blog can get to being a Superhero. I don't know what that means but...its true nonetheless.

Look at Colbert's face and try not to laugh.
Glorious stuff.

Sarah, you Palin comparasion.

http://www.pbs.org/now/polls/poll-435.html

The fact that some Americans, lets not even touch on the majority, think this woman is qualified makes me want to twist my head around until it pops off, grab my spine like a balloon string and float skyward to spend the rest of my days living within the clouds with the cloud people.

Go to this link and vote and if you're voting yes, I would love to hear your logic behind that decision.

One the Road to be adapted by Walter Salles

Just came across this news, very interesting to me for a few reasons. The first being my surprise that it took Hollywood this long to get a green light on this adaptation and the second being that once it was, they gave a lesser known Brazilian director the reigns. Walter Salles directed The Motorcycle Diaries, a precise and expanding film that follows the early days of Ernesto 'che' Guevara on a motorcycle trip which leads him to find his true calling. This was also an adaption from a book of the same name and stayed very true to it from top to bottom, was executed with grace and respect and created a serene open air atmposhere that sculpted the tonality of the film flawlessly. The man knows what he's doing, however, On the Road is one of those books with such a cult following spanning many different generations and will, no doubt make for an extremely difficult transfer of essence to the screen without making some sacrifices and changes. It always a gamble to take classic novels and transpose them to create a visual component that comes from one minds interpretation of the work. However, in my opinion you could not ask for a better director to attempt the feat of capturing On the Road on the silver screen, I mean lets face it...this man knows road trips like Sarah Palin knows ice hockey. (Shouldn't she know foreign policy? Nah, Hockeys enough.)
Now the question of the casting, I remember reading about an On the Road film being made about 5 years ago with Brad Pitt to play Dean Moriarty; which obviously never happened. Still seemed like a solid choice for the cult hero. Really no matter who they do end up casting, its a risky move to attempt this film, but hey, The Spirit, Watchmen and Fahrenheit 451 are all being released within the next 2 years so...well see how they, and On the Road fare.

The Polarizing Alan Ball

When Writer, Director, Producer Alan Ball's work touches the screen it hits its viewers heads with a polarizing ray. The odds are, if you're between the ages of 18-35 you saw and enjoyed American Beauty and you're parents...didn't feel the same. Its a trend that I've noticed ever since the film was released. The people of my generation, Y, seem to think of the film as an uncompromising piece of art that meticulously exposed many common issues that exist within the fabric of the Rockwellesque, plastic, suburban unit. There is a vivid gap between the films that defined our parents generations and ours and it is readily apparent on their reaction to this film. A work that seemed to hit so close to home for parents living mirror image lives to that of the Burnams and having the holes in their picture perfect American dream exposed, appropriately, didn't sit right with them. Generation Y, as a whole, seems to be much more open to finding beauty and light in the darkness of the world. There is evidence of this in every facet of art that's been created by and for us. Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails and TOOL are some of the biggest rock groups in the world, not exacty Frankie Valley and The 4 Seasons; Darren Aronofskys Requiem For a Dream and Richard Kellys Donnie Darko became some of the most popular films for younger people in the last 10 years. The Baby Boomers were fans of some dark tales too but all of those films were rooted from a place of pure fantasy. Many of the films in our generation are intent on being as real and raw as possible to create a world that is easily relatable.
Ball's work always tackles issues that, on mere plot description, most would rather shy away from then see a film about. His new film, Towelhead, is set during the onset of the gulf war and follows a 13 year old Arab girl, Jasira who is sent to live with her father in Houston Texas. The story follows Jasira as she struggles with her Father, her racist classmates and her realization about the bleak view people have of her as an Arab American. Amidst all this, Jasira develops a sexual obsession with her 40 something bigot of a next door neighbor and must wade through all this to live a "normal" life. Ah, the never ending search for normalcy, a constant theme in Ball's films. People repressing the need for true happiness to fit into a mold of which they believe their lives should fit when in reality, happiness is happiness no matter what way you cut it. Every character in American Beauty was searching for something that wasn't there but from the eyes of an outsider they were the classic family unit devoid of any 'real' problems. There were many cracks in that white picket fence, there are cracks in lots of suburban families that develop because so many things are buried, repressed and their lives become material in nature as everything is left to fester until they implode and do some of the incorrigible things that happen in an Alan Ball film. These films have messages that generation Y seems to eat up and our parents seem to dismiss without true recognition. Maybe its because these films are as raw as they can be mean in the depiction of the subjects they portray and some parents may take this as an insult to the life they have built for their family. Maybe its the fact that the younger generations have developed more of an appreciation for harsh art or most likely its a combination of the 2 that separate our views on works like this. What I'm wondering is, will my children and I differ as much in our appreciation of art as my parents and I do? Will art continue to get more harsh and dark or had it hit its apex, and will soon regress back to happier times? Was the reaction of our Grandparents generation to Kubrick films the same as our parents to Ball, PT Anderson, Aronofsky and Kaufman. That would mean that these films will also be enjoyed by the next generation just as we enjoy Kubrick, Lumet, and Polanskis work.

The Goon

For those who don't know The Goon is a two time Eisner award winning comic series written by Eric Powell and soon to be a feature length film penned by the aforementioned writer, produced by David Fincher and created by Blur Studios. Label me pumped.

Charles Foster McCain

I came across this picture and it could in no way be more perfect. It features the lifeless puppet senator McCain as Charles Foster Kane of the film Citizen Kane. The same film in which, as you may or may not know this blog is named after. A match made in heaven one might say, most wouldn't, but one...might.

How
How in the name of all that is labeled holy by the bible thumping, coke enthusiasts that run this sphere could anyone in America show blatant discontent for our current affairs and say that McCain has their vote. 95%, he voted with our current empty headed, socially, mentally and intellectually inept dolt of a commander in chief 95% of the time. I'm no mathematician but thats a whopping 5% of issues in which he differs. Their whole new 'change' platform is laughable and Americans really need to be more educated on these subjects. That way, when Sen. McCain, that vapid, cracked shell of his former self takes the stage you will have the acute and near superhero ability to smell bullshit through a television screen.
One more thing to ponder, McCain in 72 years old, if he kicks the proverbial bucket were looking at a small town beauty queen turned hockey Mom Governor who has never even heard of the Bush Doctrine running the free world. How do things like this ever even have the faintest chance at coming to fruition? How does this happen? How?

Burn After Reading

Burn After Reading was a film I'd been waiting to see since I heard about the project simply because, well its a Coen Bros. film and I'm always one of the first to line up for their work. I thought No Country for Old Men was a pretty brilliant film but at the same I was very pleased to hear that Burn After Reading would be a return to the cat and mouse, dark-screwball farce infused with the token Coen quirk that just emanates throughout all their films. The film has quite the ensemble cast, John Malkovich, Tilda Swinton, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, the always genius J.K. Simmons and my personal favorite, multiple Coen collaborator and wife of Joel Coen, Frances McDormand.
The film begins following Osborne Cox (Malkovich) who in the opening scene is demoted from his job at the CIA due to his excessive drinking and subsequently quits. From there the film follows 4 different groups through a maze that half of them don't even know there in and the other half have no idea how to get to the end or if there is anything at the end. Pitt is completely hilarious as the bumbling personal trainer Chad. He's dialed up to 10 and miles over the top the entire time but it works and succeeds to make for most of the funnier scenes in the film. J.K. Simmons and David Rasch are the highlight of the film as the CIA officers following everything thats going on with complete head scratching confusion at the lunacy of the whole situation. Clooney is good, Malkovich is good but the film as a whole slightly misses the mark. It was very good at times but at the end I just had the feeling that it would've worked much better as a short film. Cut the story down to bare bones, 35-40 minutes and incinerate the excess fat. The people in which you're following throughout the brief but not brief enough 97 mins are such complete dolts that when everything crashes and burns its just the conclusion you figured, and maybe hoped, would happen. The film has some good moments but it just wasn't up to par with most of their previous work.
Bottom Line: On the Coen comedy spectrum, more on par with The Ladykillers than Fargo, Big Lebowski or O Brother Where Art Thou?

Sarah, you Palin comparasion.

Young Guns 3: Fabregas, Walcott and Nasri

Last year was a rather disappointing one for Arsenal supporters. The first Thierry Henry-less season started off very promising and the Gunners continued to thrive until the injury to Eduardo seemed to derail the squad. They crumbled in the last month after leading the league for the entire season, fell to Liverpool in the Champions League in heartbreaking fashion on a questionable call and seemed to hit their stride for a moment, only to viscously deflate when they needed the points.
The off season headlines were dominated by the news that both Mathieu Flamini and Alexander Hleb were leaving the Gunners for Barcelona and AC Milan. Despite these massive losses to the infrastructure of the midfield and the disappointment of last season I think Arsenal will be back with a rabid vengeance. The emergence last season of Theo Walcott as a force to be reckoned with accompanied by the signing of another young gun with tremendous upside Samir Nasri should help lighten the load. The re-signing of Adebayor along with a healthy Fabregas and Van Persie and I dont know how one could not be looking at Arsenal to be a big contender.
Lets not forget Walcott started for England last week in place of one (washed up) David Beckham and ended up being the youngest player (19) to net a hat trick in international play.
Arsenal Gunners 08/09

the very antithesis of an outroduction

So, heres a blog.
Destined to be filled far beneath the brim with random ramblings, blatant moments of savagery (politics) head knocking revelations of euphonious ecstasy (music) thoughts on films, books, comics, art,sports, people, products, and palindromes.
I know...revolutionary.

Sham Wow, you'll say wow every time.

Stay tuned.