Ramblings On Xmas Eve 2012...

I've been enjoying a few days of doing absolutely no writing. When I go through these (intentionally) fallow times, I always remember Harlan Ellison's conviction that real writers HAVE to write.  I guess he's on to something, since I'm taking a break from sorting my music collection to bang out this blog entry... does that count?

It's probably just a mental thing, but I love the sense of peace that sinks in over the holidays.  I took a drive down the Pacific Coast Highway last week, just doing some errands, and it was an absolutely perfect day.  Sunny.  Not much traffic.  I stopped for a cup of coffee and the folks at the shop seemed smiley-er than usual.  As I left, a lady wearing a Santa cap looked over at me and smiled.  Dropped by a magazine stand, picked up the new issue of "Mojo" and thought to myself, well, isn't this grand?  I can bitch and moan and whine up a storm when the gloomy feelings hit, so it seems only fair to acknowledge and appreciate the world when things are actually okay.

Of course, after my drive, I made the mistake of watching the NRA's unctuous spokesman pontificate on "Meet The Press." There went all those good feelings.  This guy's idea of dealing with the ridiculous proliferation of guns and high capacity ammo magazines remains to a), put an armed officer in every school in America and b), create a national database of "the mentally ill" (whom he generously refers to as "lunatics" and "monsters") which will allow the always unidentified someone to do the always unspecified something which will theoretically end these shooting sprees.  If this medieval list ever does come to pass, I look forward to the squeals when the clinical paranoids who think more guns are the solution to our nation's gun problem find themselves classified among the "lunatics." 

Nothing more to do after that than to thread up director William Friedkin and writer Tracy Letts' "Killer Joe", a fine picture that I'm sure fits onto the NRA guy's third to-do list, which is to clean up all the violent movies and video games.  I've said my piece on that particular subject in an earlier blog post, and anyway I rather doubt "Killer Joe" will send anyone out on a murder spree.  Rated NC-17 for reasons I don't quite understand, "Killer" tells the sad story of a family of Texas cretins who hatch a plan to kill "Mom" for the insurance money.  They make the mistake of recruiting "Killer Joe", a Texas cop who moonlights as a hit-man, played by Matthew McConaughey.  Joe takes the family's sweet little daughter as down payment for the murder and things go downhill from there.  If you get the feeling this entire clan would wind up on Mr. NRA's "Mentally Ill" list, you'd be right.  But despite the description, "Killer" is an extremely black comedy that actually generates some genuine laughs from the grotesque situation(s).  If you ever wondered what it would look like to be bashed in the face repeatedly with canned pumpkin, this movie is for you!

Now back to doing nothing... except enjoying the holidays!

On Violence In The Media...

Another horrible mass shooting, another round of pundits raising the specter of "violent video games and movies" and suggesting curbs, restrictions and limitations.  On games, of course, not on guns, because we've got to have our guns. 

Not to be too simplistic about it, but unless you smash an X-Box over someone's head, video games will never kill anyone.  An "accidental discharge" of Grand Theft Auto will never blow someone's head off.  No one will ever be cut down by a Matrix blu-ray disc with a 100 round magazine.  Does violent media contribute to the coarsening of society?  Probably, but then so does cutting funding for public schools, eliminating mental health programs, making it difficult-to-impossible for people to maintain medical coverage and a host of other societal factors.  The mother of the shooter in the Connecticut massacre was evidently stock-piling weapons out of fear of a coming financial/societal collapse.  I doubt she got those ideas from watching The Transporter. 

So can we please call this for what it is?  That it's a lot easier for these pious hand-wringers to pick on "Hollywood" and/or video games than it is for them to buck the N.R.A.?

The Fear Record VS Fear The Record

THE FEAR RECORD:  Singer Lee Ving has re-recorded the truly amazing first album by his band Fear and now the updated 2012 results are now available from the fine folks at "The End" records.  I was lucky enough to catch Fear back in the day (late *cof* 70's), when for some reason punk crowds showed their appreciation for a band by spitting on them.  My own Fear experience was memorable less for the endless expectorations, and more because my pal and I arrived so early for the show that we found ourselves sitting next to Lee at the bar.  Where we proceeded to "have a beer with Fear" (also the title of their second excellent album).  Lee seemed like a good guy... good show, too.

A little A/B comparison between old and new recordings make it clear that the 2012 version is true to the spirit of the original, but has a much fatter sound.  The ever-critical reviewers over at Amazon hate this release with a passion, but what the heck.  The glorious thing about our media-savvy world is, you can still have both versions.  Now if Lee would only release a few more live shows...

What th -- ? Mark's Back!

This "posting every week or so" thing has got to end.  Well, it doesn't HAVE to end... but you get the drift.  I continue to be busy with the ever exciting HEMLOCK GROVE (from Netflix, probably next Spring, keep watching the skies!) and various other entrepreneurial enterprises, but between that, there's always time for some NEW MUSIC and MOVIES...

ARGO: Finally caught this the other night (thank you, WGA screeners!) and count me among the film's many admirers.  Exceptionally well made, great cast, great script -- just a blast.  Even though considerable liberties were taken with the actual historical story, when a movie's this good I don't really care.  (It's only when the movie blows AND totally misrepresents history that I get testy.)  I also very much enjoyed the fact that besides being an edge of the seat thriller, it also offers a very funny peek "inside Hollywood" riff via the (fictional) producer played by Alan Arkin and the (non-fictional) John Chambers make-up artist played by John Goodman. The droll way Arkin's character makes a deal to option the Argo script is hilarious and, sadly, probably not that far from thousands of similar exchanges.  Not sure the "Warren Beatty" power broker gambit would work every time, but it was still funny.  Anyhow, the Hollywood side of the story (which I have to imagine was probably a smaller part of the overall rescue effort than the film suggests) gives Argo some bonus fun points.

FLIGHT: I'm halfway through, but wow, that's some flying, Denzel!

KILLING THEM SOFTLY: I don't publish bad reviews very often... I know what goes into making movies and TV shows, and even a misfire represents a whole lot of hard work by everyone involved.  But this Brad Pitt vehicle just doesn't come together, and that's too bad, because everyone here has done excellent work in the past. SOFTLY aims (I think) to be a examination of how the criminal world has become as regimented and dysfunctional as politics, but in fact it's a rather tedious series of conversational interludes punctuated by (admittedly well staged) extreme violence.  Adding up to... well, not much. Oh well.  Looking forward to the next one!

INFINITE CRISIS OMNIBUS: Diving into the world of comics, I picked this monster of a book up because I heard one of my Superman stories was reprinted therein.  Sure enough, a Superman/Wonder Woman crossover I did -- which evidently kicked off some massive DC-wide storyline -- is featured inside. It's a very well produced book, but I hope it's not a sign of early-onset Alzheimer's that I literally can't remember writing this story.  I remember the CIRCUMSTANCES of the crossover, but that's about it.  Anyway, if you have an extra $99 lying around and a very sturdy bookshelf, this is one big helpin' o' superhero action.

SPACEHAWK: I love Basil Wolverton, actually spoke with the man back in the early 70's (as recounted in an earlier blog post, my Uncle knew Mr. Wolverton through some long forgotten connection) and so any new collection is on my "must buy" list. Fantagraphics has done BW proud with this over-sized volume, full color with excellent reproduction. I've heard Wolverton compared to Fletcher Hanks, which, I'm sorry, is like comparing Orson Welles to Ed Wood.  Both had idiosyncratic styles and their work could be enjoyed in various ways, but Orson was a genius and Ed was just out there sluggin'.  Wolverton was a true genius and deserves every ounce of acclaim being heaped his way.  We live in a golden age of exquisite reprint volumes and YOU NEED THIS.

Hemlock Grove: First Image!

Here you go -- the first authorized image from HEMLOCK GROVE, my on-going Toronto adventure!  No spoilers, but I was there the night this photo was taken, and moments after this shot the sky opened up with an incredible rain/lightning storm.  Was it the Gods telling us something?  Or mere meteorological coincidence?  Only time will tell...

http://www.fangoria.com/index.php/home/all-news/1-latest-news/8175-grave-first-image-from-eli-roth-series-qhemlock-groveq

More New Ditko!

"#17" (I can't find any other title) is the latest from the amazingly prolific pen of Steve Ditko, who at age 85 continues to write, draw and semi-self-publish (with publisher Robin Snyder) his own on-going comic book series.

This ish opens with a written editorial from the man himself.  He tells of the time he met a couple of fans in the DC Comics office.  The (apparently very considerate) fans apologized to Ditko for intruding on him, because they had heard that he doesn't like to talk to fans.  Apparently this irritated Mr. Ditko, because the rumor he doesn't like talking to fans was something these folks had uncritically picked up from the fan press, hence "...they turned their minds, their integrity, over to some outsider, a non-factual, non-objective source."  The fans were also "pre-programmed like parrots."  Reading this editorial, I have to agree with Ditko -- how could these fans have ever have gotten the idea that he was not open and generous with his admirers?

Stand out stories: Another adventure of Ditko's female crimefighter "Miss Eerie" in a story set in the 1930's.  A sad Grandma believes she's being robbed by her grandchildren Fred and Sally.  Miss Eerie goes into action, employing her power, which appears to be contorting her face into a weird Mr. Hyde snarl while jamming a big gun in the face of whoever she's interrogating.  No spoilers here... you'll have to read the book to learn if Fred or Sally were responsible.

One of the quirkier stories stars "The Distorter."  We begin with three industrialist types engaged in a seemingly innocent conversation.  "Hash out our differences." "Come to a consensus." "We all agreed on one industry." "Agreed so far." "A good choice!"   But after a night's sleep, fissures erupt between the three over who should run the non-specific enterprise.  The Distorter (I think) shows up and punches all three to bring them to their senses, but it doesn't work.  The end!

I will say there seems to be a running theme against the idea that "might makes right", but stories frequently end with a guy (or distorted-face lady) socking everybody.  But so what?  As I've said every time I've reviewed Mr. Ditko's latest, these feverish story explosions are fascinating, quirky, unexpected and totally individual.  Chances are you won't find these are your local comic shop, but you can mail-order them from the website below.  And good news!  #18 is right around the corner!    

http://ditko.blogspot.ca/1990/01/recent-ditko-via-paypal.html

Marvel The Untold Story

I've been gradually working my way through Sean Howe's "Marvel Comics, The Untold Story", a very readable but ultimately somewhat sad historical take on "The House Of Ideas."  Like a lot of kids of my generation, I grew up reading Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four and came to regard the creators of my favorite books almost as pals.  "Stan's Soapbox" had us all imagining that the Marvel bullpen was filled with a feisty bunch of cut-ups with nicknames like "Jolly" and "Rascally" trying to produce the best darn comics they could.  Of course, I was 10 at the time.  With age comes a bit of unfortunate wisdom, and in truth the folks at Marvel were indeed wildly talented, but also had mortgages, bad marriages, problems with alcohol, shitty bosses and all the other plagues of adult life.   Because Marvel was always a business first... a very cool business at times, but still a business. 

And that's the sad part.  Because a lot of creators invested a lot of themselves to make Marvel's characters as cool and interesting and iconic as they are.  And when business conditions changed, or editorial positions shifted, or the business went through a down turn, or some outsider bought the company and started making demands, some of those creators had their hearts broken when it became clear they were ultimately expendable.  It's one of the odder conundrums of writing comics (or movies or TV) -- to do a good job, you have to invest emotionally in the project.  But if you invest too deeply and something goes wrong -- i.e., you're off the project -- it can be crushing.  Learning to deal with that rejection is one of the many skill sets required to make a living without going insane in these crazy rackets.

I never did much work at Marvel -- basically one book (Stalkers) for the Epic line way back when.  But over the years I met several of the players mentioned here, and had several fun meetings with Stan the Man Lee himself regarding various projects. Maybe this history concentrates more on the troubles than the good times, but the ten year old still in me wants to hold on to my earlier, fun view of Marvel.  So I think I'll put this book down for now.

The Latest From Toronto

It's a sunny and cold Saturday, perfect weather for sitting back with a cup of Folgers and staring at the Sean Connery print in my hotel room's living room.  Production continues at lightning speed on Hemlock Grove as we near the production finish line.  Episodes are being cut, scored, mulled, discussed while otherwise rocketing toward completion.  I visited yet another lovely graveyard yesterday (seems like a running theme!) where scenes were shot and actors acted.  They happened to be performing an episode written by yours truly, and I hope I never ever ever get over the thrill of seeing really great performers speak "my" words. 

Anyway, I'm sure you will be hearing much more about all this very soon...

While most of my time has been spent on the show, I've been winding down in the evenings reading some kindle-ized books.  Most recently, a new biography on Mr. Bruce Springsteen (another surprise!) that digs deeper than some of the earlier attempts I've perused.  I'm actually loathe to read biographies of folks who do work that I appreciate, because sometimes you discover they aren't always the nicest folks.  That can color my appreciation of their material going forward.  This new Springsteen bio presents a few warts, but overall it's the story of a talented and extremely driven guy who focused on his dream and achieved incredible success.  People who only know the politically astute multi-millionaire who flies to concerts on his own private jet may be intrigued by the younger,  apolitical Bruce who played hundreds of shows for $35 a week.   

But as life lessons go, what you learn from this bio is that making a living in the arts is mostly hard work, with no guarantee of financial success regardless of talent.  But the rewards, even if a private jet isn't in the cards, always outweigh the negative...

Election Update!

I was going to open with some semi-witty "so I hear there was an election last week" quip, but in fact I was sitting in a Toronto bar with BSG star Aaron "The Chief" Douglas glued to the TV, so why even pretend? From my perspective, President Obama's election produced these three happy results.  A), the affordable health care act will be implemented, b), if there are replacements needed on the Supreme Court, B.O. will make them and c), the billionaires throwing huge money at massive ad campaigns didn't get much (any?) bang for their buck.  Yay. 

Now, for 2016...

I'm Voting For Obama

I don't imagine this will come as a surprise to anyone who has read this blog for long, but I might as well put it on the table as we careen toward election day.  Actually, the headline is wrong, I've already voted for Obama via an absentee ballot.  So sorry, Mr. Romney, even if you could conjure up an ad that impressed me (essentially reversing virtually ever one of your major policy planks) it's too late.

I am not a blind advocate of President Obama and his policies.  For every policy that I cheer (the Health Care bill) there's one I don't (detention without trial).  But the choice between Obama and Romney is as stark a one as I've seen since Nixon/McGovern.  Romney represents a massive leap backward, rolling back women's rights, gay rights, turning Medicare into a voucher system, and imposing tax hikes disguised as "closing loopholes" on the middle class to pay for tax breaks for the rich.  For all his faults, President Obama doesn't do all that.

I often scratch my head at the Romney supporters on medicare, or with kids under 26 still on their health insurance, or who have depended on some form of Government aide in the past.  These folks who seem hell-bent on voting against their own interests because... well, because they don't like paying taxes.  Or have some vague (absurd) feeling that Obama is a "socialist." 

But then I realize that by their thinking, I'm voting against MY interests.  Under Obama's plan, my taxes would go up.  But wild-eyed liberal that I am, I am willing to cough up the bucks to provide a basic safety net for folks who run out of luck or suffer some calamity not of their making (disease, storms, earthquakes, floods, etc.). Selfishly, I want a vast swath of people doing well because then some might watch my little teevee shows and I can keep making a living... 

And that's how I see it.  Nov. 6 oughta be interesting...

I Like These...

Famous comic book covers COME ALIVE.  Check it out --

http://kerrycallen.blogspot.ca/search/label/Animated%20Comic%20Covers

Various...

* Stirring around on a Saturday morning in lovely Toronto, where the Winter chill is careening in on us at meteorological speed.  At the same time, something called "Frankenstorm" is barreling down on the East Coast.  But the on-going production of a little thing called "Hemlock Grove" continues nonetheless.  Because neither rain nor sleet nor... well, actually, we're not the U.S. Postal Service, so nevermind.  Actually, one of the more exciting nights production-wise) on "Hemlock" was spent at a remote graveyard location where the skies opened up around 1AM with torrential rain and one of the most impressive (some would say scary) lightning storms I've ever experienced.  And yes, we did pack it up...

* AMC is running a "Fest Fest" this weekend in honor of Halloween and this morning featured the George Pal "War of the Worlds" from the early 1950's.  This was one of the seminal movies that fried your author's youthful brain pan in adolescence (in a good way) and damn if it still doesn't work.  Ruthless, more or less faceless invaders, check!  Ineffectual military, check!  Determined pastor trying to win over the aliens with a message of peace getting blasted, check!  Earnest scientists trying to find a defense being beaten by enraged mobs, check!  Why, over at Falling Skies, I/we even doffed our chapeau to the scene in W of the W where a hapless gent with a briefcase full of cash laments that he can't buy a ride "for the love of money." On Falling Skies, we had our hero Tom Mason warm himself over a bonfire of now useless bank notes.

But besides all that, the Martian death machines are among the most iconic "space invasion" designs ever, and that crazy sound they make when blasting away at pathetic humans remains unnerving.

* Some noisy person named Ann Coulter called President Obama a "retard" in a tweet.  When she received a bit of push-back, she disingenuously said that everyone knows "retard" means "loser."  I guess that makes her a miserable hose-bag, which, according to my own alternate world dictionary, means "lovely, lovely lady."

* Some harsh looking fellow named John Sununu went on the teevee after African American General Colin Powell announced his endorsement of African American Barack Obama and asserted that Powell was not actually backing Barack's policies (though during his announcement, Powell ran down those policies at length and why he supported them), but was simply backing up a brother.  I suspect someone is the Romney campaign is thanking God or their lucky stars and/or the on-going and utterly ignored issue of global warming for the upcoming Frankenstorm, which will hopefully distract attention from some of the outright racism being spewed by his campaign surrogates...     

Head, Consider Yourself Scratched

I am not an advertising executive nor do I proclaim any special insight into the collective mind of the American/Canadian consumer, but I don't understand how an ad featuring a bunch of 15th Century warrior goths running an amusement park ("Whack A Goth!") translates into someone seeking out a specific company's credit card.  In fact, I would be less likely to get that card, just as I would be less likely to buy auto insurance from a company that spends more time producing amusing anecdotes involving a cartoon gecko than explaining why their insurance is better than company #2...

But that's just me...

Mickey, Monkees, Soundalikes...

Back for the weekend, gathering up mail and goodies before heading back for the final two month stretch on Hemlock Grove.  A pile of goodies awaited, including:

Sugar, da da DAH da da da, ahh honey honey... yes, "Sugar Sugar" by the Archies managed to impress itself on my cerebrum from the moment I cut the single off the back of a Corn Flakes box (!) and slapped it on my semi-toy record player (pennies taped to the needle!) back in the day.  And today I'm listening to Mickey Dolenz of The Monkees do a rocked up version on his new CD "Remember."  Mr. Dolenz has released several solo records since the demise of the Monkees, and on his latest he covers songs ranging from The Beatles' "Good Morning Good Morning" to Bread's "Diary" (what a weeper!) to, yes, a rocked up version of "Sugar Sugar."  He also redoes a few Monkees hits, like "I'm A Believer."  What can I say.  I loved the Monkees when I was a wee lad and the Mick managed to hit my sweet spot with a bunch of these covers.  In other words, I like it...

On the other hand, in head scratching fashion, I was wandering through Amazon the other day looking at varied and sundry, and noticed there are a lot of generic "tribute" albums for sale, usually as Mp3 downloads.  These kind of baffle me.  For instance, there are at least a half dozen "Tribute to Bruce Springsteen" selections that, when sampled, prove to be mostly bland recreations of the original tracks.  Now, going WAY back, there was a market for cheap soundalike recordings of the hits... these recreations would be packaged on (vinyl) albums like "15 Top Hits By Today's Superstars!" and sell for half the price of regular albums at discount stores.  But are there really a lot of folks out there who would rather pay $8.99 for a soundalike album as opposed to say $9.99 for the real deal?  Or maybe I'm missing something entirely... maybe there are enough uninformed consumers who just click and buy before reading the fine print to make these "tributes" profitable.  Or collectors insane enough to want every possible permutation of tune from their fave artist?

It's still a baffler...

The Latest!

Not to descend into broken record land (a "record", for you young people, was a sound delivery system made of black vinyl which, if bent, could break) but it's been awhile since I dropped into FMVOF.  And I take full responsibility for this lapse.  Whatever that means.

As for the reason, well, I've been clawing my way through scripts on HEMLOCK GROVE (for Netflix, out next year, more to come soon!) along with the usual production hoo-hah. I have been allowed a very pleasant room in Toronto (where we're shooting HEMLOCK) and when not on set I find myself spending quite a bit of time at the keyboard.  Interestingly (sort of), from what I can tell, every room in this hotel has the same wall art prints of Sean Connery as James Bond and Marilyn Monroe as, well, Marilyn Monroe.  Deciding which icon to face while writing has become one of the bigger management decisions of the day.  (For what it's worth, it's Sean at the moment.)

But in those brief moments away from the keys, I've watched a little tube and seen a couple DVDs.  AMC just ran another "all Westerns" weekend and I caught dribs and drabs of OPEN RANGE, TOMBSTONE and JOE KIDD.  As as western fan, I've seen each of these more times than I should admit... in fact I find myself quoting JOE KIDD on occasion ("I should have knocked your damn head off!"), while rather enjoying the sheer cold-bloodedness of Clint's character.  At least twice in the movie he sends some unfortunate to his maker and punctuates the demise with a flicker of a smile.  Damn, Clint, that's a man's life you're tittering about!  But Joe Kidd doesn't care.  When Kidd and a gaggle of guys he doesn't like (long story) ride into a town that is festooned with riflemen ready to take them down, Kidd asks one of the riders he REALLY doesn't like to "ride ahead."  The poor dope rides out a hundred feet and gets shot off his horse.  Kidd shrugs.  "Thought we were gettin' too close."  Then the smile.

OPEN RANGE I like because it has a great performances by Robert Duvall and Kevin Costner, and a quirky story rhythm that doesn't fit the usual cowboy movie mold.  Aside from that, there are odd cutaways, fade outs and transitions that are either trying for a different mood, or covering some sort of editorial mistake that I can't figure out.   My only tiny critique is that the movie seems to end about four times, but the really great shootout at the end more than makes up for that.

And TOMBSTONE?  Well, that's just sheer pleasure.  Kurt Russell is dandy, but Val Kilmer is amazing as Doc Holiday. Again, the story sort of peters out toward the end, but the ride is great and I could watch this ten more times.

There were several other Westerns during Western weekend, including a couple of astonishingly sexist John Wayne movies. I may not have the details exactly right, but it appears that McLINTOCK ends with Wayne chasing Maureen O'Hara (in her underwear) around town, paddling her butt in front of the entire (laughing) populace, then SHE chases HIM as he leaves town, and the movie ends a minute later with the two of them silhouetted in a bedroom turning the lights out.  No sir, they just don't make 'em like that anymore.

BTW, there was another recurring motif that arose from my paralytic viewings during Western weekend.  Which is: badly injuring/maiming someone (especially if they're a significant cast member) but leaving them alive because "ahh, he can't hurt anybody now" or "if I see you again, I'll finish ya" is a big mistake.  Actually, my favorite scene in this category was from the otherwise forgettable movie WARLOCK, where a bad guy smashed Richard Widmark's hand but allows him to scuttle away because "that hand's not good for anything."  Yeah, buddy, but he's got two, and you don't need a lot of hand/eye coordination to toss a stick of dynamite or shove a shotgun (as opposed to a Colt 45) into somebody's face.  When I write my villain's handbook (right after I finish my collection of limericks involving guys named "Peter"), rule #1 is going to be, "if you've got a chance to finish off your deadliest opponent, do it, dumbshit!" Actually, maybe I should call that the Joe Kidd rule...

Besides the westerns, I spent a moment checking out the recent blu-ray release of TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2.  We're talking the 1987 Tobe Hooper film with Dennis Hopper, not the more recent remake(s).  This movie was more or less trashed at the time, but I think time has been kind and it has survived to be regarded as a truly creepy, unsettling and quite funny masterpiece.  And (*gasp*, prepare for the heresy) far more entertaining than the original.  The opening bridge chase scene between some gun toting college brats and a saw wielding Leatherface (hidden behind a mummified corpse) is jaw droppingly weird. Leatherface's brother "Chop-Top" is a supremely bizarre and totally original character, with his "Sonny Bono" wig, crappy teeth and a predilection for heating the tip of a coat hanger so he can scratch pieces of raw flesh (!) from around the plate in his skull (!!) and then nibble on the pieces (!!!). And then finally there's Dennis Hopper as "Lefty", the Texas lawman determined to bring the "Sawyer family" to justice, strapping two chainsaw holsters to his belt as he prepares to deliver righteousness.  This is about as deranged as it gets, and I doff my chapeau (sans coat hanger) to the old Cannon crew for financing this freak-show.

And now, play time is over!

40 Worst By 40 Best

The SF Gate lists the 40 worst albums by 40 (usually) great bands/performers.  I'm not super-fan enough to have an opinion on many of these, but pul-ease!  I happen to like REM's "Monster", the Beatles "Yellow Submarine", Springsteen's "Working On A Dream",  Elvis Costello's "Brutal Youth" and Wings "Back To The Egg."  Yes, they were looking for the worst album by great acts, so it's a skewed situation, but Costello's released more forgettable music than "Brutal" and I'd castigate Springsteen's "Lucky Town" before "Working On A Dream."

Or, in other words, it's all just individual taste...

http://blog.sfgate.com/loaded/2012/08/30/40terrible/#7113-21

Bootstraps

If there's anything in the recent tumult over Mitt Romney's "unguarded comments to zillionaires" flap that raised my shaggy eyebrows, it was his assertion that he didn't inherit anything, that he made his fortune on his own.  There seems to be a stubborn blind spot in some wealthy folks when it comes to admitting that, yeah, they may have had a leg up on the average joe.  In Romney's case, he was born to a fellow who was the head of a major American automobile company and eventually became the Governor of Michigan.  Romney himself attended private school and Harvard on his Dad's dime.  Yes, later, Romney the Mitt gave his family inheritance to charity, but that was after he had used the stepping stones (excellent education, political and financial contacts, seed capital in the form of a trust) provided by Dad to start a business and get rich.

Nothing wrong with any of that, of course.  Some folks are lucky and still fail.  I am sure Romney worked very hard at Bain.  But this personal myth-making is a little absurd.  Hey, I grew up in a middle class household, went to public school and attended a State college (go, go, Portland State University!) while working at McDonalds, tending bar, driving a truck and other odd jobs. Yes, I've worked hard, but I never forget how fortunate I was to have had a stable home-life, supportive parents and enough money to buy 53 cent quarts of beer and other basic necessities.  That Romney doesn't want to accept that he had plenty of help becoming a multi-millionaire strikes me as a tragic character flaw and an almost frightening empathy negative zone...  

Another Week Goes By...

Or is it two?  Developments: the weather is changing in lovely Toronto, cooling off finally after a very warm Summer.  I spent the Fall/Winter in Toronto working on Falling Skies back in 2010 so I am well versed in just how cold it can get, but right now, ahhh.  Nice.

Details are still under wraps, but we're well into filming Hemlock Grove and it's great to see how it's all coming together.  Great cast and crew, and that really fun sense of doing something outside the cookie-cutter.  It's one of those shows where the crew is eager for the next script because they really want to know what's coming next.  That wow-factor is actually pretty rare in my experience, and it's a good feeling when it happens.  Anyhow, "coming soon." 

Gearing up this morning by watching an episode of Hell On Wheels on AMC... this episode featuring BSG and Falling Skies alum Ryan Robbins.  I haven't managed to keep up with this show so I'm a little unclear on who's who.  But I did learn that frontier life was tough, crime doesn't pay and I would not want to be shot and then operated on without anesthetic.  Last night I caught yet another showing of Casino, also on AMC, with some of the best euphemisms ever inserted to replace naughty words.  "You told my friend to stuff himself?  You stuffin' greaseball!"  I'd like to say that the message of Casino is that crime doesn't pay, but actually, for the main characters anyway, it paid pretty well for quite some time.

And now back to it!

No One Does Run-On Sentences Better...

...than former Gov. Sarah Palin.  Here she is on Fox News, responding to John Kerry's jab during this week's Democratic National Convention...

"How does he even know my name? I mean aren't these guys supposed to be these bigwig elites who don't waste their time on the little people like me, me representing the average American who yeah I did say in Alaska you can see Russia from our land base and I was making the point that we are strategically located on the globe and when it comes to transportation corridors and resources that are shared and fought over, Alaska and I as the governor, had known what I was doing in dealing with some international issues that had to do with our resources that could help secure the nation," Palin said. "So it's funny that he would take a little pot shot like that, but it's funny he even knows my name. "

Sometimes punctuation really IS our friend...

For Pete's Sake, Think Of The Production Value!

Bemused woman reads newspaper and bemoans Obama supporting gay marriage for no objective reason except "marriage is between a man and a woman."  Dullard Husband agrees, music rises, and they're all votin' for Romney.  

Okay, whatever, but would it kill these guys to at least give their political ads a little style?  I've seen Sham-wow ads with more panache... 

http://www.queerty.com/no-its-not-an-snl-skit-its-a-new-anti-gay-marriage-attack-ad-20120904/