Pendleton Ward & Tom Kenny

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Steve

Pen on the left, Tom on the right showing off his iPhone

To wrap up my mini-comedy vacation, I took in the Alamo Drafthouse’s Adventure Time marathon and feast. The impetus for the event is a new gallery exhibition for the Mondo Tees artists. I’m waiting to hear from the PR person about the gallery’s hours since I would like to see the various pieces on display in my old neighborhood of Hyde Park (c. 1994-97).

It’s a good thing I read and followed through on the e-mail alerting me to the exhibition because there was an announcement about what I attended. When the description mentioned that the show’s creator Pendleton Ward and voice actor Tom Kenny (he’s the Ice King) would be in attendance, you know I was racing for my credit card! I also made it Jeremy’s birthday present.

First were the 10 cartoons making up the marathon. Alamo/Mondo showed the key episodes, namely if they coincided with the items on the menu. There were two I’ve never seen. We don’t have cable and the DVDs I have aren’t organized by season, a source of irritation with Cartoon Network’s recent strategies. Then came the surprise; they showed “It Came from the Nightosphere” to get everyone ready for the two-parter the rest of the world didn’t get to see until April 30th! Pretty sweet!

The food. Holy crap it was amazing! I’ve taken in several feast before and they’ve always been great. The chef for Alamo South Lamar (John Bollington) pulled off a miracle by recreating the items on this menu.

What a meal! Click on it to see the menu in greater, amazing detail.

The only menus I can think of that could be harder would be the alien dishes on Star Trek or the non-sensical things from Dr. Seuss books. Despite what the descriptions say, everything was edible and I wolfed it down. The rainbow hot dog was tricky. Much of the condiments got stuck in my beard. It was a meal any diehard fan of Adventure Time would give a vital organ to eat, hence this is why Austin blows away NYC, LA and Toronto! I thanked the chef in person. I had to tell him it was my first one in which I was stuffed instead of drunk (there was wine at Princess Bride, Julie & Julia). He laughed.

After the marathon, the MC brought up the house lights and open the floor to a Q&A with Pendleton and Tom. Sadly, this was the first breakdown in etiquette. I think there needs to be a high-school course taught to people on how to ask a question instead of boring the rest of us about their opinions and/or life story before the possible question. What did I learn? Pendleton Ward is originally from San Antonio and has only recently seen A Boy and His Dog. If you’ve followed Adventure Time long enough, you’ll see the clues about what happened to the World of Ooo.

With the Q&A concluded, everybody filtered out to pick up their unique Mondo poster to commemorate the evening’s festivities:

Pen drew an LSP on mine (next to the sword) and Tom's autograph is on the Ice King's beard.

Next came the second breakdown in courtesy. Pen and Tom could only do autographs for an hour. People were asked to be courteous, keep it brief so as many people as possible would have an opportunity. No dice, there were some sucking down five minutes. We were lucky as we drew what was becoming the cut-off point. I demonstrated what an old pro I am by asking for the photo, Jeremy being in position to do it, telling them thank you for their awesome stuff, namely telling Tom Kenny I loved his Wally on Mission Hill. He said thanks and I’m sure he doesn’t hear about that obscure cartoon much. Boom! Done in record time, giving a some people farther back a better chance.

Currently, the poster is in its plastic bag until we get a good coupon to have the fine people at Michael’s frame it. I want to have something which will make the poster accessible for more autographs, namely John DiMaggio (Jake the Dog). The menu is in a safe place too because when I lose some more weight, I want to see if Somara can replicate the everything burrito!

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Happy 106th Birthday Grandma

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Steve

I often wonder if Grandma would’ve lived this long given the other odds she beat; no other immediate relatives of hers made it as close and the diet my grandparents lived on would make my doctor wince. Although she died short of her 95th birthday from cancer, I feel Grandma could’ve made it another decade by listening to her doctors and not being a borderline shut-in.

Since it’s her birthday, I want to look back on the nice things my maternal grandmother did for me.

About 30 years ago, she and Grandpa gave me an unusual grade-school graduation present…a pair of binoculars (I don’t know when I lost them). Dad said something negative, like that’s a gift they wanted when they were teenagers during the Roaring Twenties. I was 13 so my reaction wasn’t exactly appreciative neither, I wanted a computer. The binoculars did come to the rescue whenever I had crappy seats at concerts which in the early years was all of them: Rick Springfield, Genesis, Duran Duran and The Cars. I lucked out with Adam Ant, 20th row.

The other great thing I will remember about Grandma was her emphasis on earning a higher education and having the foresight to help me attain it while my parents shafted me; I will never forget their “scholarship excuse” to justify their own selfishness. Anyway, I was very fortunate that she and Grandpa had money put away to assist Brian and me. They didn’t foot my entire $45,000 bill to attend Marquette ($78,000 in 2010 dollars), I did have my pride. I earned a partial scholarship ($5000), had CWS ($2000, I think) and borrowed ($14,000). They were generous enough to close a rather significant gap. However, I’ve never been insensitive to other people who don’t have such forward-thinking benefactors unlike Mitt Romney; gotta’ love his suggestions to us peasants on pursuing college.

On a superficial level, education was a class thing in Grandma’s mind but she was getting set in her ways/thinking during the years I knew her; Grandma was over 65 by the time I was old enough to have a conversation with her. When she was younger, going to college was a huge undertaking and she beat some rather nasty odds. Today, more women attend universities than men in the West. In the early Twenties, women were a minority and few degree programs were open to them. Despite being a brilliant student (graduated from high school at 16!) her family gave little support. Her father said she would either drop out and/or come home pregnant before the first semester ended. Seems to run in the family, Mom said I would die of AIDS. Grandma did receive one big endorsement from her Grandfather, he gave her $100 ($1300 in 2010) as a graduation present.

Not only did Grandma prove her father wrong, she earned a diploma and went on to graduate school. Afterwards, Grandma was a high school English and Latin teacher until her retirement. This made it funnier whenever she cursed because one would think Grandma had something more eloquent or creative to say. It also bursts the mythology about the “good old days” and people not using such language.

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Happy “prime number” birthday Jose!

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Steve

Before the overrated The Big Lebowski, Jose (aka the Hoser) was the original Dude namely for his frequent usage of the word. It was something that made him endearing in my clique of Marquette friends. Jose’s overall character, gregarious nature and generosity is another reason why I consider him a Best Friend. How he has endured a semi-needy, pseudo bully like me for 23 years is a mystery. I guess a Taurus and a Leo can get along despite the stereotypes claiming we’re both rather headstrong personalities; Lions have difficulty devouring bulls thanks to the large horns!

Meanwhile, I’m still bugging the bejeezus out of him to come down for my birthday. With the possible fun we can have during a long weekend in Austin, it could be a dual celebration.

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Paul Gilmartin

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Steve

For 16 years, you may recall him as the co-host of Dinner and a Movie on TBS and before then, he was a frequent guest on the Bob & Tom Show (an Indiana-based syndicated FM morning zoo show like Howard Stern). Paul is a pretty successful stand-up comedian in his own right. He just may not ring a bell in your mind because he doesn’t have a schtick like Steven Wright (slow talking) or Rita Rudner (staple of Las Vegas).

Last year, Paul started his own podcast but unlike many hosted by comedians he chose to go in a different direction. He took his recent experiences combatting depression and used it as the foundation for a show called The Mental Illness Happy Hour. Comedians fighting their inner demons is nothing new but Paul has a wider range of guests, sometimes they’re non-entertainment people. He sums it up best in the opening with what feels like a mission statement: this isn’t a substitute for professional treatment, get it if you need it; think of the show as the waiting room to see the doctor; and (here’s what hooked me) remember you’re not alone.

Anyway, I was touched by his story on Marc Maron’s WTF and chose to subscribe; besides, I too suffer from anxiety and a low-level depression, I can relate to Paul’s sense of doom and fear of failure. Since 2012 is the Maggi Republic’s experiment in charity, I found a way to send Paul some money to help his operation (I plan to send more when his turn comes up again). Then I found a link to write an e-mail. I told him, hey thanks for your show, I recommended it to my doctor and please come to Austin, I would love to thank you in person. Left it that. These people have Webmasters to filter out the crap/spam/nutjobs. Besides, I didn’t write to Paul with the expectation of a reply. Being human though I would always wonder if he did read my e-mail and thought, “Cool! Here’s one more person who likes my work and I’m helping the world be a better place.” Again, I’m comfortable with the unknown on an e-mail.

Within a couple hours I received a thank you message from him. Pretty nice! Regardless, I am going to do my damnedest to Paul should he come to Austin. He’s a Midwesterner so I know I will laugh due to our shared DNA.

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CapMetro train hits a car, one dead, two injured

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Steve

My friend Jeremy alerted me to the news yesterday because he depends upon the light rail for arriving at his current job. It was a damned shame and I was surprised, this was their third accident over the train’s two years of existence.

Regardless of who was at fault, probably the car driver since trains can’t turn or change course, it does strengthen the argument for gates at every crossing.

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Muppet Winner 2012

Posted on April 29, 2012 by Steve

Thanks for all the submissions, suggestions and ideas.

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Backyard kitten update for month’s end

Posted on April 29, 2012 by Steve

As the movie demonstrates, when these little critters aren’t sleeping, they’re practicing how to walk and run. They prefer to hide out in the “cave” of an old cat gym we left for them but we decided to lock them up in a cat carrier overnight. This is to protect them from their father (Tomcats are known to kill kittens because they’re a future threat) and possible coyotes. The quartet can’t get out, nor can anything get in, unless the predator has developed opposable thumbs. Normally their mother is locked up with them too. Princess was nowhere to be found last night though.

Their current names are temporary placeholders. I pushed for The Thundercats (the Eighties version, not the ongoing re-imagining). It’s not hard to feminize the names of the key characters in my opinion. Due to their mother being mis-labeled Buttercup, I considered The Princess Bride yet gave up since those names don’t convert as well.

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Marc Maron

Posted on April 28, 2012 by Steve

For day two of Austin’s inaugural Moon Tower Comedy Fest (more on this another time) I went to see the man who is synonymous with podcasting in my mind. Sure I take in others: On the Media, ONN and Sound Opinions; but they’re just repurposed NPR or cable TV content. The remaining ones are skits in the ONN vein. Lastly, the ones I’ve ditched were getting hard to keep up with: Coverville, Astronomycast and the crappy Five Hundy by Midnight. And for the nitpickers, I know, I know, the dude with all the hair in the Eighties from MTV had more to do with being a podcast pioneer. My point about Marc is that he may not have been the first (WTF started in late 2009) but he is the person who found a way to make this form of media/entertainment his. The same way how the iPod became the de facto MP3 player even though numerous others preceded it.

To me, Marc’s show WTF is a great interview show with comedy, reflection and surprises. There are obvious reasons why it can’t be on the radio: frankness, profanity and the airwaves belonging mostly to the Right Wing Noise Machine, ergo, nothing intelligent is allowed. Since the majority of Marc’s guests are comedians, I feel he has become the heir apparent to Alan King who used to do a cable show focusing on “the comic mind.” I’m a comedy geek so I dig the technical language and anecdotes thrown around.

I also followed Marc’s career off/on over the last two decades. During the off years, it was due to him falling off the radar or I was pre-occupied with other matters. Over 20 years ago I recall him fondly as the host of Comedy Central’s Short Attention Span Theater. He was stronger, wittier and funnier than who he replaced…Jon Stewart.

When the doomed and mismanaged Air America launched about a decade ago, I was thrilled to see Marc as co-host of Morning Sedition. His brief tenure demonstrated he had the chops to be a solid, engaging host. I often endured the horrible reception on 1600 AM in Austin to catch Marc, especially on Friday when he’d transform into Right-Wing bombthrower Marc the Shark for a few minutes. More on this skit later.

Afterwards, he was on the periphery of my mind and thanks to On the Media, Marc was brought in for segments regarding humor over 9/11 ten years later and the whole Gallagher incident. Last Summer I scored his latest album This Better be Funny to get re-acquainted with his primary job, stand-up comedy. He’s still got it.

Now Austin is trying to jumpstart its own comedy festival amidst a dozen other cities having better organized, more well-established setups. We have too many annual invasions of locusts as it is with my adopted home: SXSW, ACL Fest, Staple, Fun Fun Fest, Harry Knowles’ birthday celebration, and the state legislature’s regressive policies to keep WASPs in charge. Comedy and the slightly older comic book convention aren’t unique, more like “me too” gatherings which exemplify the homogenization in America.

However, I missed out on Marc’s recent appearance at SXSW when he interviewed Jeffrey Tambor due the city’s growing caste system so the Moontower was my true opportunity to really enjoy what he does live. Compared to other comedians, Marc Maron is an impressive performer and belongs to the amorphous minority camp. Let me explain what I consider his “camp.” Normally when you see comedians, they often have a set they follow. Some are to the letter (Bill Cosby, Steve Martin), others tweak their sets slightly as they travel or current events affect it (George Carlin, Richard Pryor) and a few go by the seat of their pants armed with just a couple ideas (Robin Williams). The end result is that many only come to town every couple years because they have new material; plus most audiences like it this way. Marc being amorphous means his work appears to be constantly evolving, changing and adjusting. Unlike the numerous comedians I’ve seen in Austin for the last decade, he used little from the recent album (this is neither bad nor good). I think he’s also pretty mindful of how many people catch his podcast, thus, he has to continue surprising people. Lastly, Marc has a very sharp wit and can react to the audience/environment instantly. The Mohawk demonstrated it: the crummy “seating” arrangement, the Feist concert in the background and playing off his opener’s set (former Austin resident, Lucas Molandes).

I was very glad to see Marc nowadays. The podcast rejuvenated his career after a very publicly known rough patch. He’s a rare case of how the Internet helped someone truly connect to his fan base. The Onion debated if we are hitting a critical mass period, something akin to the comedy club bust in the early Nineties. Maybe. The best will endure and lead the way. I completely agree with Chris Hardwick who is quoted in the story for saying podcasts are the successors to comedy albums. Few ever had memorable sales numbers, a reason why the industry and mainstream fell all over itself with Dane Cook (I have no opinion of him to be clear).

As the picture shows, I did get some face time. Despite the intimacy Marc has through WTF, I felt level-headed enough to keep a respectful distance. No one wants to be that fan who scares the crap out of him. I totally spaced on letting him know about the pineapple I brought to protect him from T-Rexes during his visit. I was just super, super glad to have the opportunity to thank Marc for the years of entertainment he has given me and I wanted him to know, I am happy he didn’t give up. I think he hears the latter often but by his reaction showed me he truly appreciates it. I closed with asking if he Marc the Shark would ever return. He chuckled, said, “That takes me back” and mentioned how he feels he has been turning more into him. Based upon the direction WTF has taken him, I doubt it means Marc will be doing a political 180 like Dennis Miller, David Zucker or Victoria Jackson. It may have to do with aging, less than his disillusion with Air America. Maybe he can elaborate in the future.

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Backyard kittens compromise and safe haven situation

Posted on April 27, 2012 by Steve

Princess hid her kittens again the other day. She may be determined but she isn’t bright. Somara found them in the same location and received permission from neighbor to retrieve them as needed. Cristina says the cats use her backyard as a rest room. I suspect it’s additional cats and small dogs based upon the descriptions given.

I hope Princess has gotten the message because they’ve remained on the back porch for a couple evenings. One thing I have also started doing is locking them all up together in a carrier for the night. It’s a tad crowded so I may buy a larger one over the weekend. I really do this more as something for their safety. Princess and the unnamed kittens can’t leave/move but hostile cats (namely the father) and other animals can’t get to them. They’re released immediately in the morning for food, water and stretching.

The vet’s assistant gave me some flea-killing advice today. Wipe the kittens down with dishwashing soap and a rag/cloth. This won’t poison the mother since she will go right to grooming them afterwards.

Now the safe haven aspect. It appears that we have another mother cat with some older kittens relocating to the yard. We spotted the mama poking her head out from under the fence watching her children (an orange tabby, a black one and another I couldn’t completely make out) romp around. These cats appear to be more feral unlike Princess. Should we spot them again, I’m putting on the shoes and pants I don’t mind getting covered in burrs.

The long-term solution will be cutting down the “forest” in order to reduce the number of hiding spaces. I don’t want the GOP accusing me of harboring illegal aliens as well, these cats do belong to the Hispanic families behind the fence. Contrary to what the SCLM and Faux News claim, I think these people are citizens and/or have the proper paperwork.

I plan to post a new movie next Sunday, show how much the little buggers have grown.

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RIP Pete Fornatale

Posted on April 27, 2012 by Steve

I had never heard of the guy neither but I recognize his contributions to what some may call the golden age of FM. To me Pete would be the anti-Lee Abrams despite his show being similar to the navel-gazing ego exercises you can hear on KUT today. However, it was the Sixties and FM radio had to start somewhere when the FCC used to do its job protecting the nation’s resources.

The other matter of note was Fornatale’s career beginning at Fordham University. I find it hard to believe the Jesuits let this guy do what he wanted on the radio. The Jesuits at my alma mater of Marquette were such control freaks and tightwads…unless it meant keeping the basketball out of jail.

I do want to praise the man in Fornatale’s passing. My tastes and programming strategies may be very different from his yet we would be in complete agreement about what an excellent DJ’s role is. They should be tastemakers with wide a knowledge, passion and/or appetite for music. Now they’re just “talking heads” obeying orders from clueless corporate shills. It’s a small wonder why Clear Channel is strapped with enormous debts as people flee to their iPods.

My cousin Matthew attended Fordham, maybe he can answer some questions I have.

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Garbage at Record Store Day

Posted on April 26, 2012 by Steve

Javier and his wife came all the way from Eagle Pass, TX for this

This year’s Record Store Day was the coolest ever. In past years, I tend to show up in the afternoon because I’m usually working or had other plans. When Waterloo Records stated that Garbage would be there for autographs and only 300 people would get the opportunity, well I had to be there before the place opened. I totally spaced on getting tickets to their sold-out show at La Zona Rosa, a much better venue than Austin Music Hall; coincidentally, I almost got my ribs busted seeing Garbage there in ’98. So this autograph opportunity was an even better chance. Besides, when would I ever get to meet Butch Vig and Shirley Manson up close again?

Upon arriving (about 8:30 AM due to Somara needing a ride to work, cursed one-car situation), there was a line around the corner. I cursed, posted something nasty about the Hipsters ahead of me giving their buddies cuts but decided to take my chances. One thing I wasn’t going to do was beg my friend Chip for yet another favor.

The doors opened around 10 AM (sooner I think), the crowd filtered in and my charmed life came to the rescue. The majority came early to gobble up the RSD vinyl specials! There were some treasures/special pressings: the soundtrack to Empire Records, Iggy’s Raw Power (RSD was his birthday so he was made the official ambassador), Lou Reed’s Transformer, Fleetwood Mac’s Rumors, a live 1981 album of Devo (not the King Biscuit show, I have this on CD thanks to Rhino), tons of 7-inches; they’re not all 45s, some are 33 1/3 rpm discs. I was tempted to get this reprinted Buck Owens coloring book to join my Aquabats trinket (A Day at the Rodeo!) yet passed. Below is a movie demonstrating how chaotic it was:

While 90 percent of the people in the store were descending over the vinyl goodies, I got to walk right up to a vacant checkout spot and receive my wristband! There was a condition, I had to buy the 7″ single or pre-purchase Garbage’s upcoming CD Not Your Kind of People…as if I would balk at that! I’ve been pretty stoked about the band’s return after their 2007 single “Tell Me Where It Hurts” showed me they got their collective mojo back. Butch contributed to the last Foo Fighters record and Shirley sang something for Prometheus Bound in the last year which contributed to my jonsin’ for new Garbage.

With my wristband secured, I had to find a way to kill a few hours. Garbage wouldn’t appear until 3:30.

There was some bad news. Their concert had been canceled. Duke’s mother is sick and he wanted to see her. (Duke plays guitars/synths.) It was quite a bummer for some; I met a couple who came all the way from San Francisco and Eagle Pass to see them. Garbage did earn points with me by honoring their promise to appear at Waterloo Records. Think about it. The show’s kaput/postponed (I’m hoping they’ll move it to a larger venue should they swing back here), the band could take the day off, touring is an exhausting grind. I know I would be tempted if I were a rock star.

The time came, the queue was formed, the rules were laid out, etc. I had been pondering for a couple weeks about what I would ask Butch Vig. The man is a legend to my generation. For those of you who don’t recognize his name, Butch was the producer on Nirvana’s breakout Nevermind which propelled him from being just this guy with a studio in Madison, WI to the most-sought-out producer throughout the Nineties: Smashing Pumpkins owe him a debt of gratitude. Butch went on to contribute his skills on stuff by Sonic Youth, Depeche Mode, L7, Crash Vegas, Soul Asylum, Helmet and U2. You may not see Butch as often yet whenever I see his name on contemporary stuff as producer (Jimmy Eat World, Goo Goo Dolls and Foo Fighters), my reservations on buying it are lowered considerably. My ’98 tour shirt did get noticed, mostly for how pristine it looked. I explained my technique: cold water, inside out, air dried and stored away for at least a decade.

Back to actually meeting the band, less hero worship.

Shirley enjoying her Diet Coke, fat guy on the right is me!

Garbage in person was fantastic! All of them were really nice, pleasant and engaging. I think this often surprises people thanks to the West’s obsession with celebrities, schadenfreude and the media’s need for conflict to sell ad space. We know the standard narrative on VH-1’s Behind the Music, Aerosmith would the template while Weird Al’s story is the polar opposite, thus probably isn’t played as often. How bands/artists allegedly behaved up through the Nineties have colored our expectations. Most fans are pretty level-headed too. The overwhelmingly rude or psycho are few and far between. I think the Internet, the major labels losing their iron grip and the decline of Arena Rock have helped erode the barriers for the better.

What did I ask Butch? I couldn’t come up with a question (damn it). I thanked him for making the Midwest cool again, let him know I attended Marquette in the Eighties, a nadir decade for the Midwest scene in my book; and thanked him for showing my Nineties detractors on how Macs were vital in making music. I think he was taken aback by my spouting off which hardware was used for Version 2.0; PowerMac 8600 with ProTools. Butch smiled, said computers are a big help nowadays, especially with Logic and all the tracks you can store. He gets these other people wanting to use tape, why?

I thanked Steve (guitars/synths) for coming, have a great tour and please come back to visit. Same for Shirley. Her Scottish accent is charming. Shirley is a trooper to be so nice and smile throughout all these people wanting some facetime like me. I would be exhausted, a bit irritable too, probably afraid of the psychos offering marriage proposals. Below is what they put in my CD insert:

To answer any questions about the fourth autograph in light of Duke being absent, it is Eric Avery. Eric was the original bass player in Jane’s Addiction. He is currently touring with Garbage and appears on the upcoming album. Getting to meet him briefly was an added bonus!

I do want to close with a quick plea for courtesy based upon something I overheard during the autograph session. Somebody skipped Eric intentionally. I suppose the person didn’t recognize him. Butch intervened by passing the item back to let Eric sign it. All I ask is let all the people at the table sign your stuff. They’re present because they contributed. It might be on the recording, it may be a member of the touring band, something. It’s rude and impolite to ignore them. Sure I felt like a tool when I didn’t know immediately who Eric was but I knew he wasn’t present arbitrarily. After I did my homework, getting his John Hancock on the booklet made me happier and makes the story better.

There may be additional pictures from some other people I gave my e-mail address. They may show up, they may not like Nada Surf.

Garbage’s fifth studio album Not Your Kind of People hits the streets in May.

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The Cabin in the Woods: Worth Seeing*

Posted on April 26, 2012 by Steve

* – This receives a “Worth Seeing” rating if you’re familiar with most Horror movie tropes from the last 35 years. As for me, I went because it received two major endorsements from Horror experts I respect and when a movie gets the Jarrett or Lester Seal of Approval, I’m willing to take the chance despite the name Joss Whedon being displayed in the production credits.

There isn’t too much to write about without it being full of spoilers (maybe there can be a discussion held elsewhere). In my opinion, Cabin is a successor to Scream because it takes the audience to the next level: Scream is ironic, Cabin is meta (Webster.com oddly doesn’t have this definition). I feel my point about the movie being meta isn’t a strong spoiler though, you can tell something is off with the plot after the opening credits.

The premise? Five attractive people in their early twenties are off to spend a long weekend at some cousin’s summer place…the infamous cabin in the woods, the setting used in other classics: Evil Dead 2 and Friday the 13th. Each person is the stereotype from the Slasher flicks or the Scooby Doo gang. Then comes the catalyst event which triggers the killing action. Unlike its source material, Cabin is supposed to solicit laughter without making you feel sick or in need of therapy. Laughing at misfortune is alright; laughing at a person’s gruesome death is worrisome. I was also impressed by the non-Hollywood ending.

The last act could’ve been edited down since it drags on and gets repetitive but Whedon’s story decided to pull out the stops over pacing; diehard Horror fans will be busy counting/figuring out the references. This criticism is a minor due to the overall movie succeeding at amusing, scaring and tricking the audience.

Additional Alamo Drafthouse perks: snippets from Evil Dead 2, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV), Firefly, trailers from a really awful Sixties flick and the original Buffy and some super dull hypno-wheel.

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On a comedy-based, mini-vacation

Posted on April 25, 2012 by Steve

But there should still be (overdue) updates since I am not at work and can enjoy the time off doing what I like to do! Write, read, play pinball, pet the cats, run on a treadmill (mine remains busted because the service company is unresponsive) and watch old movies on Netflix…hoping to finish Bad Company, the 1972 Western with Jeff Bridges, not the unfunny flick made more recently.

Be ready for another cool thing though.

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Mucha-esque design for The Princess Bride

Posted on April 24, 2012 by Steve

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Backyard kittens found, moved back

Posted on April 24, 2012 by Steve

When we came home from dinner tonight, I spotted my neighbor Cristina working on her yard so I told her about the suspected catnapping from last evening. She responded, “Oh, were they like the kittens hiding in the tree trimmings in my backyard?” There was one of the tigers, mewing. I underestimated Princess and her willingness to move her brood.

They’ve been safely gathered back up and are on the porch. Let’s see how long this lasts.

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