Friday, October 19, 2007

Free Form Comments

Say whatever you want to in the comments to this post -- random, off topic thoughts, ideas, suggestions, questions, recommendations, criticisms (which can be anonymous), surveys, introductions if you have never commented before, personal news, self-promotion, requests to be added to the blog roll and so on. If a week goes by and I have failed to add you to the blog roll TELL ME TO DO IT AGAIN, and KEEP TELLING ME UNTIL IT GETS DONE. I can be lazy about updating the non-post parts of this site.

ALSO. You can use this space to re-ask me questions you asked me before that I failed to answer because I was too busy (but now might not be). That is often the reason I fail to get back to people, and on a blog, after a few days, the comments thread dies and I just kind of forget about it. Let's use this space to fix that, because it does need to be fixed; I look like a jackass sometimes, leaving people hanging. I will TRY to respond to any questions here.

AND you can use this space to comment on posts that are old enough that no one is reading the comments threads anymore. For example, if you thought of a great quote for the great quote commonplace book, but now no one is reading that, you could put it here.You do not have to have a blogger account or gmail account to post a comment -- you can write a comment, write your name at the bottom of your comment like an e mail, and then post using the "anonymous" option.

If you think your free form comment here might be better as its own post, but you do not want it to be public yet, email it to me. My email address is availible on my blogger profile page. If I think it will work on this site, your post will be published here with your name in the title of the post. You can propose what you will, I am always looking for reviews of games, tv, movies, music and books. Captain America's new outfit, and the new Radiohead album are taken -- I hope we will see them both here soon.

15 comments:

Geoff Klock said...

Streebo -- how about a review of black summer?

Ping33 said...

the Radiohead is better than the last one. Not saying much. Not that it's bad... just not going to crack my Album of the Year Pre-noms:
Bloc Party: Weekend in the City
Fiery Furnaces: Widdow City
Explosions in the Sky: All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone

Anonymous said...

Weekly request: Do a "Chicken Run" blog entry!

Christian O. said...

Open question to everyone: have you guys read Human Target by Peter Milligan?

neilshyminsky said...

ping: I actually liked Hail to the Thief much more. Perhaps that's because it was lyrically more conceptual, whereas this one seems held together through an aesthetic that I don't always find particularly interesting. (And features vocals that I can't always discern.)

Streeborama said...

I'll work on it, Geoff. I'll try to get it finished over the next day. I'm nervous about writing for this crowd because you all won't accept anything half-assed. That's what I do best. . .

:)

Timothy Callahan said...

Christian,

Yes, I have.

Ping33 said...

yeah, I've read the first Human Target mini.

Ping33 said...

Geoff: as a fan of mixed genre, what do you think of Ween? Best band in the universe or stupid jokesters?

Elijah Fly said...

ween: blarney stone is my most favorite song ever.

I just read the end of the League of Batmen arc and realized it was a bunch of great ideas that fell apart in execution. I think if it was reined a bit, it could have been an excellent two part story arc.

The part I liked most about it was Batman (using Morrison's words) effectively states, "I don't think any of this is stupid." It's all about trying to bring FUN back to Batman. I liken it to bringing bright colors and sureness of Adam West, but keeping a sensibility that this is all quite serious to the characters themselves. (I can't quite state it the way I want to envision, but something along the lines of how every one is going realer, brutaler with spy fiction and Casanova is going the opposite way.) Batman wouldn't waste his time here if these people weren't worth it. I like how Batman clarifies this in the latter issues.

I also like how the villain wishes for the good ol'days of the death trap. I found myself wishing for the same thing. This over-the-top crazyness has been missed in the modern, street-level grind that batman has lived in. This all comes to the wonderful image of Batman with a jetpack. The art lives up to that moment quite well.

That said, the art fell into incoherence when it should have been intense, like the last few pages. A final countdown rescue, "because Batman would never leave them," was great in the words, but the visuals weren't quite there. Between this part and the robot knight attack, I think a nine panel grid, or something little more focused on storytelling at least, would have made for some great reading.

As the Indian annoyed by the Indians, I would also like to say that Morrison redeems these characters. I was impressed with it.

I can see how this relates to the pop art museum, there is still gold in the exploding island of crazy deathtraps and killers with black gloves. I just wish there was more extravagant deathtraps and nods to the readers a little sooner on what exactly one is in for. The wait for the next issue for Batman to say and later confirm that these super heroes are good characters worked to the detriment of the story. One was left too long to stew with the stereotypical introductions before we saw their value later on. Like I said, a good two issue arc that was stretched into three.

On another note, EXTREMELY glad they were able to save Cyril.

Elijah Fly said...

ween: blarney stone is my most favorite song ever.

I just read the end of the League of Batmen arc and realized it was a bunch of great ideas that fell apart in execution. I think if it was reined a bit, it could have been an excellent two part story arc.

The part I liked most about it was Batman (using Morrison's words) effectively states, "I don't think any of this is stupid." It's all about trying to bring FUN back to Batman. I liken it to bringing bright colors and sureness of Adam West, but keeping a sensibility that this is all quite serious to the characters themselves. (I can't quite state it the way I want to envision, but something along the lines of how every one is going realer, brutaler with spy fiction and Casanova is going the opposite way.) Batman wouldn't waste his time here if these people weren't worth it. I like how Batman clarifies this in the latter issues.

I also like how the villain wishes for the good ol'days of the death trap. I found myself wishing for the same thing. This over-the-top crazyness has been missed in the modern, street-level grind that batman has lived in. This all comes to the wonderful image of Batman with a jetpack. The art lives up to that moment quite well.

That said, the art fell into incoherence when it should have been intense, like the last few pages. A final countdown rescue, "because Batman would never leave them," was great in the words, but the visuals weren't quite there. Between this part and the robot knight attack, I think a nine panel grid, or something little more focused on storytelling at least, would have made for some great reading.

As the Indian annoyed by the Indians, I would also like to say that Morrison redeems these characters. I was impressed with it.

I can see how this relates to the pop art museum, there is still gold in the exploding island of crazy deathtraps and killers with black gloves. I just wish there was more extravagant deathtraps and nods to the readers a little sooner on what exactly one is in for. The wait for the next issue for Batman to say and later confirm that these super heroes are good characters worked to the detriment of the story. One was left too long to stew with the stereotypical introductions before we saw their value later on. Like I said, a good two issue arc that was stretched into three.

On another note, EXTREMELY glad they were able to save Cyril.

Streeborama said...

My girlfriend and I went to see 30 Days of Night this weekend. As a result, I was pulled into several discussions on the film. I know there aren't really any horror fans on this board and it seems anathema to Geoff's idea of fun - but it is comic related so I thought I would post a link for you.

30 Days of Night Review on IMDb.

I'm still working on my Black Summer review.

Geoff Klock said...

Ping: I have not actually heard enought ween to have an opinion.

Streebo: Lets be super clear: mostly, horror movies are not my thing. But my objections to them are personal (they are not what I like to watch generally) -- I do not think they are anathema to fun. Horror movies can be lots of fun, if you are into them. But my interest in horror generally stops at hybrids like Shaun of the Dead and Alien: Resurection.

You know, maybe you should do a top five fun horror movies post...(rather than stuff like Hostel, which I do not know anything about but which does not seem, from over here, like much fun -- I know Tarantino thinks it is fun).

Streeborama said...

Shaun of the Dead is a great film. I can do a top five horror comedies post. I follow Roger Corman's assertion that horror and humor often go hand in hand. Often when an audience reacts to a horrific moment - they immediately laugh afterwards. There is a certain relief - and at times - joy that comes from experiencing frightening events by proxy. A film like Hostel mostly relies on a one trick of gross-out after gross-out instead of creating suspense or tension. Gross-out driven films can feel extremely unpleasant. They're certainly not my favorite sub-genre.

Geoff Klock said...

I know no one cares about this but me, but I am posting it anyway -- Roger Corman went to Balliol College Oxford. Balliol only has like 500 people in it at a time so its cool. Because I said so.