Posted 9:30pm
pst, Wednesday, June
22, 2005
Stranger
Danger
By now,
you've probably heard about that lost
Boy Scout in Utah who was rescued earlier
today after being missing for four
days.
My first
thought is how awlful that must have
been; that poor child. Then you read
the details of why it took
so long to find the kid:
After
reading this, I thought that kid deserved to
be lost. I mean, what a dumb ass. You're
out there alone, without food, cold.
You hear people approaching so you
get off the trail and hide?
Apparently, his parents taught him
something called "stranger danger".
This
might be excusable if the kid was 6
or 7 years old, but this boy was 11.
ELEVEN. I'm sorry, but if you lack
the common sense for survival instinct,
maybe nature is just weeding you out.
What
an idiot. When this kid gets back
to school, someone should kick his
ass for being so stupid.
::Permalink::
Posted 8:15pm
pst, Sunday, June 19, 2005
Men
in tights
Saw Batman
Begins last week. Thought it was pretty
good movie, but not a great comic book
movie. Which is to say, it was not
entirely faithful to the material.
I know
a lot of folks will say I'm being a
geek; that being faithful is not that
important to making a great movie.
I think it's entirely important. The
spirit of a comic book is what Hollywood
hopes to capture.
For example,
I think director Christopher Nolan
glossed over the whole detective part
of Batman's persona. This is a superhero
who investigates and deduces. He has
no superpowers, so he has to rely on
his wits to solve crimes. So far, every
movie carnation of the Caped Crusader
has played up the gadgetry and hardware.
I also
am not a fan of Batman/Bruce Wayne's
whole Tibetan training program. The
Batman I know learned his moves form
the school of hard knocks on the streets
of Gotham. This was what writer Frank
Miller (Sin City, Ronin, The Dark Knight
Returns) captured so well in his Batman:
Year One series.
One thing
that every Batman film suffers from
is the lack of action when it comes
to the fight scenes. It's not Hollywood's
fault. Batman, unlike most superheroes,
is human. He doesn't have adamantium
clams, he can't shoot webs or leap
tall buildings in a single bound. He
doesn't engage in fisticuffs while
dropping from skyscrapers. He's mortal,
so his battles are all earthbound,
thus, the lack of spectacle.
Invariably,
after every comic book flick that comes
out, my friends and I geek out and
go into "which comic film is best" discussion.
I will shamefully reveal my list here:
5. X2
4. The Rocketeer
3. Spider-man
2. Superman
1. Spider-man 2
I have
chosen to only include superhero films.
If I included all movies based on comics,
the list would include Ghost
World and American
Splendor.
One film
not on the list is Mark Steven Johnson's
Daredevil, recently released as a director's
cut. I have a lot of admiration
for this picture because Johnson hewed
pretty closely to the source material,
even duplicating shots in many scenes.
I think
this movie is unfairly maligned because
of Ben Affleck, who I think does an
okay job of portraying the blind crimefighter.
It certainly doesn't help this movie
that they spun-off the terrible Elektra
movie from it.
The director's
cut restores a subplot, some additional
violence and language. While it probably
won't change anyone's mind about the
movie, it's definitely a better version
than the release one.
::Permalink::
Posted 10:40pm
pst, Sunday, June
12, 2005
The
Hedgehog
Last
Friday, I tried to go see Ron Jeremy,
who was making an appearance at an
adult book store near the office on
Broadway.
I sat
at my desk contemplating whether to
go. What the Hell am I going to do
with Ron Jeremy's autograph? I tried
to talk myself out of it, but my buddies
at work were adamant. I started thinking:
how many offices in the vicinity had
guys just like us, psyched to see the
Hedgehog (his nickname)?
Essentially,
this guy is famous for fucking. And
he's crossed over to the mainstream
doing it. I reluctantly agreed to go.
As we approached the store, we could
see a long line outside. He had not
arrived, but was on the way. After
seeing the line, my work friends were
all for bailing.
Alas,
my buddy Jesse Golden did snap the
photo above as Jeremy arrived.
::Permalink::
Posted 12:00am
pst, Wednesday, June
1, 2005
Conquering
my fears
This
past weekend. I went to the start of
the season at Santa
Cruz Beach Boardwalk. The weather
was fabulous and the beach and boardwalk
were packed.
One of
the main attractions: Laffing Sal.
Sal is an old coin-operated attraction
from the old playland at the Beach
at Ocean Beach. The Boardwalk recently
bought Sal at auction and refurbished it.
Now I
have no recollection of this, but my
dad told me that Sal used to scare
the shit out of me when I was a kid.
Playland was gone, but the arcade still
stood in the early 70's and apparently,
I was petrified of Sal.
Who knows
why... the mechanical cackling, the
jovial movement of her rusty joints.
She just scared the crap outta me.
::Permalink::
