Happy Birthday, Opus!

Bloom County, arguably (I said ARGUABLY) the greatest traditional comic strip ever*, turns 30 this year. That's mind-boggling enough, but even more mind-boggling is that USA Today decided it was a good idea to honor the event with creator Berkeley Breathed's handpicked favorites, complete with commentary. How this fits into the USA Today brand of editorial I am not sure, as it feels a little out of left field. But fans will certainly be eager to see it.

Bloom County was an eye-opening (mind-altering?) experience for me, cementing my love of art and comedy at a young age. I distinctly remember ripping off Bloom County jokes for 5th grade creative writing assignments. It was like Bloom County came from another dimension where everything was weird and off-center, much like the creator himself, Berkeley Breathed -- if that is your real name -- he of the photo on the back of the book. If that photo wasn't there, I seriously would have doubted this man's existence, as the strip did not seem to be of human origin.

Side question: why are comic strip artists such a strange and secretive lot? Has anyone ever really seen Bill Watterson, Jim Davis, Gary Larson, et al. in public? Are they even real? Do they simply exist to license their gags to coffee cup manufacturers/bumper sticker people/greeting card companies and suck up the money that spills over? I haven't a clue...but I do know that the comic strip creation process is a largely solitary and mind-numbingly repetitive process ideally suited for shut-in misanthropes and the socially retarded. (That said, I met Mort Walker once, and he was really nice. He even signed a book for me. Thanks, Mort.)

In any event, Bloom County was awesome, and, despite the Michael Jackson and Ronald Reagan jokes, still feels fresh if you read it today. I didn't follow the "sequel" strip Outland nearly as closely, but Bloom County was and will remain a stalwart pillar of the pop culture landscape, and a personal favorite.

*Yeah, yeah. Peanuts, Calvin and Hobbes, Doonesbury, there are many. But Bloom County is right up there.

My Esoteric Musical Tastes

Here are some (completely made up) bands that I am totally into at the moment. Maybe you've heard of them? If not, well, you're probably an idiot or something.

1. Chain on a Rope
2. SpAtula
3. Egg Crate Code
4. Ojai, California
5. They Believe In Ghosts
6. Fluffernutter
7. Ashtray Kaleidoscope
8. Ports of Call
9. Meatmouse and the Meatmice
10. Today I Met a Pickpocket

Hilarious Spam

I've been getting a lot of spam at work lately. Not sure why; maybe because I have been signing up for some random MMOs. Anyway, receiving spam is rarely worth it, but then along comes stuff like this:

Whatever merits you have, if your lever goes down at the important moment,
you are no more than a common loser for women.

Lucky for us, nowadays a man can change his potential to absolute macho in
three single steps:
1. Ordering pilules on our site for $1 each. (as many, as you like)
2. Damn take it!
3. Now you can nail broad for hours!

Yikes.

Well, how about this?

Holy Contract Negotiations!

Fans of the 1960s Batman TV series starring Adam West and Burt Ward: in case you were wondering (or didn't already know), this legendary series is not going to come to DVD any time soon. Rumors swirl as to why, but TV Shows on DVD has a very thorough (and probably accurate) explanation. So unless you want to wait a VERY long time, you're gonna have to infringe on some copyrights. (Not that I would endorse buying a bootleg set of DVDs at Comic-Con or anything.) In fact, I have spoken to various folks at Warner and DC who have also said not to hold our collective bat-breath.

Oh well. Until next episode, you will have to be satisfied with this.

2012: A Crap Odyssey

Roland Emmerich: "Und zen ze aircraft carrier rolls right over ze White Haus!!" And the executives respond: "Oh, man, this is going to be the awesomest movie of all time ever!!" And everyone ejaculates in unison.

Meanwhile, the rest of us wonder when bigger became better and good storytelling got thrown out the window.

Look, I have no problem with big budget disaster movies. I love them. But there is no doubt in my mind that the movie 2012 is going to be terrible. Watch the trailer and see for yourself. How can those poor human actors compete with the bloated and hackneyed ideas on display? I have never seen a trailer try so goddamn hard in my entire life.

Pictured: "Look up, John Cusack! The tidal wave of crap is coming!"

I Like It

TV Everywhere is on the move. I like it; it makes sense. Let's see if it works. (But isn't everything on the Internet free?) Nice that Bewkes has the guts to take this stand. Of course, it certainly helps when you have the largest content catalog on the globe.

Awesome Shirts

I'm blogging about Glennz Tees because they are awesome. You should buy some.

Linguistic Pet Peeves

Grammar patrol top three:

- "on accident"
- "anyways"
- saying "unsatisfied" when you mean "dissatisfied"

Grrr.

Hot Sauce Committee

It's nice to know that the Beasties are putting out a new rap album called Hot Sauce Committee, and it's also nice to know that they still kinda kick ass. You know, for old dudes:



Word.

I Wanna See Juliet's V

OMG, you got Lost in my 80s sci-fi mini-series! Juliet (and Scott Wolf, back from the dead) show up in a remake of V, yet another not-new idea from the Hollywood development executives who grew up in the 80s. This could be sweet. Looking forward to the Alf crossover on Melmac.

Screw You, Weather

Grrr.

Stone Gods

Because I am a grown-up that doesn't know what is going on anymore, I didn't realize that the Darkness had morphed into a new band called Stone Gods in the wake of their lead singer's departure. That dude was awesome, but man he must've had some real drug issues to screw up that gig. Stone Gods are not released in the US, and they sound a little too generic for my taste, but nice to know that those guys continue to rock. I saw the Darkness perform back in 2004 or whatever and it was one of the most dynamite rock shows that I've seen.

More Image Fun

Whee! So here's a little web app that lets you make Warhol-ish images. Not as robust as Obamicon...probably predates that one, by the looks of it. But still pretty fun, especially if you're Photoshop impaired like I am.

Something About History and Being Doomed to Repeat It

Here we go...Real Networks and the Hollywood studios go to court today over RealDVD. Check out the NPR report here. I totally understand the content holders' desire to protect their stuff, but seriously? Were these guys asleep the last ten years? You can't stop the bum rush. Gee, maybe if the studios figured out how to make a digital storefront for movies, and maximized their distribution deals with partners like Netflix, they won't end up like the record companies. Instead, that's EXACTLY where they are headed.

Sigh...

Kids Research

Here is an interesting NY Times article about Disney's marketing and research efforts surrounding Disney XD. Some people get prickly about the "Big Brother" aspect of media corporations doing this kind of research, but I don't see why it's weird for a company to want to gather information about its audience or consumer. I suppose there is an additional "creepy factor" when your consumers are kids. But what really gets my goat is that the "expert" that is profiled in this piece does not have any kids of her own. I find that hard to swallow. But whatevs!

Phew

It's a relief to learn that TNT, TBS and Cartoon Network are still securely in the top 10 of all cable networks. Damn that USA!!

Regarding Vampires and Other Cults

There's a very nice article in the recent New Yorker about vampires. The writer discusses the vampire myth in general, and how books like Bram Stoker's Dracula have maintained its popularity throughout the modern era. Truth is, since Stoker, vampires have enjoyed a cult following in fiction, movies, television, etc. In explaining cults of this type (there's a "culture" pun here that I am missing), the author, Joan Acocella, says that "cults often gather around powerful works of the second rank. Fans feel that they have to root for them."

I thought this was a great way to put it, explaining fandom very succinctly. I'll remember that one!

Thanks, Internet

Did I mention this was fun?

Obamicon

This is fun. Make your own "PROGRESS" poster in the Obama style at Obamicon.me. Warning: the site is a bit slow. Thanks to Eric for bringing this to my attention!

Cat-22 Fanart!

.: Calling Cat 22 :. by ~pollo-chan on deviantART