Questions that need answers
In Goof Troop, what was Pete's last name?

What ever happened to Goofy's wife? I'm guessing divorce, but maybe she died. Died like all the women in Disney films.

Keith Loh has been reviewing the Vancouver Film Festival
Since I'm not there this year, it's a great look at what I'd be missing. Check these out. They're well worth reading.

How fucking hard is it to order a graphic novel?
I think that comic shop owners in the North have some sort of deficiency when it comes to customer service. When I moved back to Fort St. John back in April, one of my first orders of business was to set up a box at Encore Books and ask for some trade paper backs. I found out a month ago that although I had made it *very* easy for them to order my stuff (I showed them the page on the order list, showed the specific company, et cetra) that they hadn't even made the effort to get my stuff. Shouldn't this be a priority for Encore Books? If they get my order, I'll be putting more than 200 dollars into their pocket. Since they're a business, one would think that making money would be a top priority, right? Unfortunately, it seems that isn't a problem that was isolated to Encore Books. I had the same problem when I lived in Grande Prairie. What makes it so tough to help a customer out? If they can't order my books, why can't they give me a phone call? They have my number on file.

Right now Encore Books has an opening for a part time position. I'm temted to take it, just so that I can insure that my books are ordered. Either that, or do re-consider my father's plans to open a comic shop in town. Surely it needs one where people actually take the time and effort to get your stuff.

Orson Well's Batman film

Gathering many of his old friends and colleagues together from "Citizen Kane," he proposed "a cinematic experience, a kaleidoscope of heroism and nightmares and imagery seen nowhere save the subconscious of Goya or even Hawksmoor himself." Welles planned Batman to be an adult psycho-drama, but combined with what he described as the "heart-racing excitement of the Saturday morning serials, given a respectable twist and a whole new style of kinetic direction unlike anything ever attempted in American cinema."

More in link.

Grant Morrison on the end of New X Men

"Each of the stories has a different feel which keeps it all fresh for me. 'Riot at Xavier's' was every school story I could think of mashed into one 'comicsclash' in the '2 many DJs' style. 'Murder At The Mansion' was a kind of mutant Columbo murder mystery. 'Assault On Weapon Plus' was a boy's action story with Wolverine and Scott running around blowing things up and being funny. 'Planet X' is my dissolution of the classic X-Men dialectic, and the final arc is a big, biblical future apocalypse epic. Each of these arcs should work like a different drug, each targeting different pats of the brain. I'm hoping readers will go back and read the whole thing at once to see how all the little clues and nuances fit together. I'm very proud of my X-Men graphic mega-novel."

More in link.

Things that I’m looking forward to in October
-Kill Bill: I’m not a huge fan of Tarintino, but I love how this movie looks. It’s a B film on a half a million dollar budget with killer actors and hopefully great dialog. I’m looking forward to this movie more than the Matrix film.

-Viewtiful Joe: One of the five exclusive Capcom games for the GameCube. I really enjoyed the demo during the summer and I’ll probably end up buying it. Gotta love old school meets new school side scrolling beat ‘em up action.

-Castlevania: Yeah, I know, I’m a new convert to the series. From what I’ve read, it’s like Devil May Cry, only better. Another game that I’ll end up buying, if only for the soundtrack that’s included.

-Mid term exams: Well, not really.

So you want to know who’s going to the moon?

Today it was announced that the Europeans are heading to the moon. Add them to the Japanese and the Chinese and you have what seems to be the beginning of a second space race.

Interesting new board game: Zombies!!!

Your heart pounds in your chest and you are finding it very hard to breathe. The zombies are everywhere and seem quite intent on making you lunch. With so many of them, it's hard to tell if the scraping footsteps and moaning are down the hall or just around the corner. One thing is for sure, they are too close for comfort, you are almost out of bullets and your luck seems to have just about run its course!

Zombies!!! puts you in the middle of the action as you try to escape the ever advancing zombie hoard. Players must use a combination of wits and brawn to be the first to the heliport and certain escape. The only problem is, the zombies are everywhere, they appear to be very hungry and your opponents would really prefer if you didn't escape.

My brother will be picking up this game this weekend. Hopefully he'll bring it back during the holidays so that I can partake in zombie killing action.

Metal Gear Solid 2 and post modern gaming

Mother set the mark for postmodern games. It was obviously postmodern. Mother is a Yoko Ono teacup-cut-in-half. It’s Takako Minekawa's song “Kangaroo Pocket Calculator,” in which the only lyrics are: “47 is a magical number. 47 plus 2 equals 49. 47 times 2 equals 94. 49 and 94. 94 and 49. The relationship between 47 and 2: It's . . . magic.”
We hear this, and think: “Funny. Cute.”
MGS2 is another level of postmodernity. MGS2 is Yasuharu Konishi’s seven-minute remix of the one-minute Son of Godzilla march. For four minutes, we hear a Brazilian woman narrate a Godzilla movie in Portuguese, with ambient sounds in the background. For three minutes, we hear the Godzilla march, techno beats laid down in the background.
We hear this, and think: “What the hell?”

More on this facinating topic in link. I, for the record, think that we need more post modern gaming. More fourth wall breaking like Eternal Darkness, please.

Need I say more?

More rumoured changes to the original Star Wars trillogy
Check the link for the list, but here's a couple that makes me shake my head.

From a New Hope
12. When the Death Star destroys Alderaan there's a new scene of Yoda's reaction to the disturbance in the Force that is created by all those deaths and then it cuts to Obi-Wan reacting to it as well.


18. The Obi-Wan/Vader duel has been spruced up. It is much more epic and there is much more movement. A modified version of Duel of the Fates is being considered for the scene.


From Empire Strikes Back
08. A new scene was shot in which the stormtroopers, after they capture Han, Leia and Chewie, bring Vader the box containing C-3PO in pieces. Vader orders the stormtroopers to bring the broken droid to Chewbacca's cell so that he can fix him.

And from Return of the Jedi

12. Sebastion Shaw who played Anakin when he was unmasked has been replaced with Hayden Christenson in make-up to make him look older. Anakin has much more dialogue. He apologizes for the destruction he caused, he thanks his son for turning him back to the light, he tells his son to rebuild the Jedi and he says he loves him and his sister. Just before he dies he says, "It is finished...".

I await your rage.

Researchers say that dogs cam predict earthquakes

A Japanese researcher claims that dogs can sense imminent earthquakes and that observing their behavior could improve prediction efforts.

Kiyoshi Shimamura, a public health doctor, said that during years of practice he noticed a jump in dog bites and other dog-related complaints around times that earthquakes occurred.

Shimamura said his observations prompted him to examine the records of such complaints from 12 public health centers in parts of western Japan affected by a 1995 Kobe earthquake that killed more than 6,000 people

More in link.

The Console Wars heat up
Good God, man, the Gamecube is now as expensive as a GBA SP. Pretty bold move for Nintendo. Hope it gives them a leg up during the holiday season.

Canada is a nation of fakers

Nearly half of Canadian lovers fake orgasms -- far more than in most of the world, says a new survey from a condom maker. And a lot of men are among the fakers.

Meanwhile, half of Canadians have had sex by phone or even by sending wireless text messages, whereas those hot-blooded French lovers shun fancy gadgets and prefer, um, face-to-face methods.

More in link

Island of Lost Souls
In the late 90s, Richard Stanley, the cult favorite director of Hardware was to direct the Island of Dr. Moreau. After 4 days of filming, because of clashes with Val Kilmer, he was fired from the set. Since the project was one that he had tried for years to get to screen, he did what any self respecting director would. He suited up as one of Moreau's animal creatures and watched what happened to the movie through the eyes of an extra. This is his story.

My friend Lara is studying photo journalism, but she's staying in Fort St. John due to a broken leg. This is an example of her work.

And interests of fairness, the transcript of Bush's speech to the UN

Bush calls on UN to help rebuild Iraq

U.S. President George Bush has asked the United Nations General Assembly for help in reconstructing Iraq, saying it's time to set aside past differences over the U.S.-led war.

Bush said he recognized that "some of the sovereign nations of this assembly disagreed with our actions" when the U.S. led an invasion of Iraq six months ago. But he said the war was justified by what has been learned about the cruelty of deposed Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

More in link.

What do you guys think?

Rumour has it that the Global Frequency will become a television show

A Mighty Wind
Quick thoughts.

-Out of the trilogy of Christopher Guest's mockumentaries, I rate it as second best, right after Best in Show.

-I thought that Eugene Levy his best performance as Mitch. It was like he was channeling the speech patterns of Christopher Walken and putting in Hunter S. Thompson's drug addled brain. Fred Willard was great too, but he didn't have that spitfire intensity that he had in Best In Show as the announcer.

- I don't think so!

-Loved the fact that the Folksmen had all the actors from Spinal Tap. Am I the only one that was put off by Harry Shear's voice?

-The concept for W.I.N.C is too good not to exist.

What my dream told me last night
As some of you may or may not know, Canada is famous for having big things in smaller communities (David, think that you can provide me with a link?). If you travel cross country, you'll find the world's largest skies, the world's largest egg, et cetra. Acording to my dream, the reason that entity of Canada was doing this was because it was over compensating for it's small (read, negative) temperature. Who would have thought that the psyche of Canada would be so Freudian?

The line between genius and insanity is measured only by success.

I think that this will interest you, Mike and Heather
The Isotope Comic Lounge is sponsoring a competition for the best mini-comic. All you have to do is send five copies of your comic to this address by December 31st 2003.

Special Director Kirsten Baldock
1635 Noriega St
San Francisco California
94122

There’s more details in James Sime’s Comic Pimp.

Cheers!

I think that this is worth checking out

Kathleen Keller's Wildcats 3.0 review

Okay, I pick up this comic in the floppies, and I think it fucking rocks.

This is for all of you wait for the trade people. Run, do not walk, to the LCS or Artbomb or Kephri and get your hands on it.

The trade collects issues 1-6 of the series and is one of the most "duh! that's so obvious and cool, why didn't I think of it?" takes on the superhero ever to come sliding down the pike.

Do not let the word "superhero" frighten you. It's really a science-fiction comic whose events revolve around Halo Corp. But it is a superhero comic, because the corporation is the superhero.

Lets step over to the mainstream DCU for a moment.

Every night Bruce Wayne puts on his cape and tights and fights a never ending war against crime. Every day Bruce Wayne walks into a large office complex and is more or less in charge of a billion dollar enterprise.

Imagine what a different place Gotham would be if Bruce Wayne poured the resources of Waynecorp into Gotham by revitalizing its economy, starting huge, city wide after-school programs, and even very discretely putting some money into the right places to find and root out corrupt politicians, policemen, etc? What if Waynecorp and not Batman was fighting the war to make Gotham a better place?

What kind of opposition would Waynecorp face? What kind of press would it receive? How would Waynecorp market itself? (And WTF does Waynecorp make anyway?) And what would Waynecorp do behind the scenes to grease its path as it hid in plain sight on its way to making Gotham (and the rest of the world a better place?)

And doesn't what I've outlined make a hell of a lot more sense than putting on a cape and tights? Wouldn't it be ripe with potential for a nice drama? Industrial espionage, conflicts with management, lawsuits, "cola wars", locking horns with goverments? (Because believe you me, if your product is batteries that never need to be recharged the OPEC people are not going to be happy when you start building cars powered by your batteries, are they?)

Okay, so Brand Building doesn't have all of that in it -- but it sure gets the ball rolling on it. (First rule of great drama, start small and build.) And it's got some great dialog, good character moments, intrigue up the wahzoo, plenty of action, and a few great gut buster funny moments.

And if the story's not enough to completely entertain your brain, the art in it is some really beautiful stuff.

I'm sold. I plan on picking this up after I get the Invisibles, Box Office Poison and Blankets.

David is now archiving his movie reviews
Now you have another reason to go to his site instead of gawking at his ex Taiwanese girlfriend. Check it out.

The Global Frequency #9

The Global Frequency, summarized in 20 words or less is the comic book equivalent of a 10 million dollar episode HBO miniseries directed by the world’s greatest directors. Think of the internet based BMW shorts, and add some ultra violence and explosions. The Global Frequency is high concept at it’s best; a mix of world class professionals, nerds and various odd and ends form an international rescue team connected via a net work of highly specialized cell phones. Each issue begins with an emergency and Miranda Zero, with the help of the Frequency’s operator, Aleph, acts on it. They don’t deal with pissant problems, like fires or robberies. The Global Frequency come in when the stakes are always highest and the lives of billions are on the line.

The first two issues of the Global Frequency really set a high bar for the series. The first issue being a Bay actioner with a Cold War spy with a malfunctioning brain that can teleport a nuclear bomb. The second being a claustrophobic Ridley Scott film with the world’s deadliest cyborg. Unfortunately, despite the initial high concepts, the subsequent issues weren’t up to par. Sure, one had a Tykwer inspired run though England and another one was about the affects of an angel, written to the tune of Sigur Ros, but the end rest lacked the impact of the initial first two issues. That is, until issue #9.

Like the other issues of the Global Frequency, #9 has the feel of being directed by a famous international director. As this issue is in Japan, it reminds me of the work of the director of Tetsuo and Tokyo Fist, Shinya Tsukamoto. Like the director’s films, #9 deals with the visceral subgenre of film called body horror. Being a fan of the genre as well as the new wave of Japanese horror films, Ellis peppers the issue with nods to the newest crop of Japanese shockers like Battle Royale and Suicide Club. Fans, like myself, will appreciate the ending, which is reminiscent of any of Beat Takeshi’s yakuza films.

If you’re not a fan of Japanese film, pick up the issue for the brilliant artword of Lee Bermejob with David Baron’s colours. The two as a team work incredibly well together, making for the most visiably stunning issue of the Global Frequency. If you’re looking for a manic pop thrill, I buy the issue. Compared to Ellis’ other recent work, it’s a surefire hit.

Powerless on a Saturday night
What happens when you don't have power and you sleep in a cabin that's heated by electricity? You have shitty sleep and you wake up with blue toes. On the bright side, the lack of power in our area meant for great star gazing. The sky was souless black and the stars looked like candy. For freezing my ass off, it was worth it.

Why Once Upon a Time In Mexico is the best movie I've seen in the last three months
"Are you a Mexican, or a Mexican't?"

"Why don't I take off your eyepatch and skull fuck your eyesocket?"

"Cut, scored and shot by Robert Rodriguez"

The fucking hand!

Hans Blix: Iraq Destroyed WMD 10 Years Ago

"The more time that has passed, the more I think it's unlikely that anything will be found. I'm certainly more and more to the conclusion that Iraq has, as they maintained, destroyed almost all of what they had in the summer of 1991."

More in link

Policewoman arrested for putting dead baby in fridge

A policewoman was arrested Thursday for hiding her dead newborn baby inside a refrigerator at the police single women's dormitory.

Miho Watanabe, 27, a member of the traffic division in the Shakujii Police Station in Toshima Ward, was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of abandoning a corpse, a police spokesman said. Apparently, she gave birth to a baby boy in the dormitory and then disposed of the body in a fridge after he died two days later, police said.

More in link.

It burns! Oh God, it burns!

Michael Moore's new book comes out next month

I know you want this, Stephen

All the clues for NeW X MeN's revelation laid bare
Don't read it unless you want the issue spoiled.

Warren Ellis reviews the first Enterprise episode of the season

"Well... Spock. I've considered the.... situation. And. I. Think it would be best if... we turned around, went back home and got a lot of soldiers todothefightingforus."

"Dr McCoy, please observe. The Captain's entire penis has broken off at the root. Fascinating."

Basic rules of serial storytelling: don't totally fucking undermine your protagonists unless you have a damn good story-driven reason for doing so that leads to a decent conclusion without pressing the reset button.

There's more that I took from Aint It Cool. After reading this, it makes me want to subscribe to Bad Signal again.

I can't sleep
For the last 6 days I've had nothing but bad sleep. Lots of my mind. Hopefully this weekend, the tide will turn.

Chong gets 9 months for selling bongs

Tommy Chong, who played one half of the dope-smoking duo in the Cheech and Chong movies, asked for leniency from a judge Thursday but was sentenced to nine months in prison for conspiring to sell drug paraphernalia.

Chong's attorneys argued for no jail time, saying the actor and comedian would use his celebrity to become a role model against drugs and would dedicate his life to public service.

The 65-year-old apologized to the court and his family, saying he "got carried away" with his movie character.

More in link. When I first read the headline, I thought that Chong was selling *bombs*. Wouldn't it be wild if he was a terrorist?

Christian Bale is the new Batman
Since Noland is directing, wouldn't it be cool if they got Guy Pearce to play the Joker?

Camp Delta inmates will talk for burgers

American interrogators here have come up with a few new weapons as they try to pry loose the secrets of prisoners captured on the battlefields of Afghanistan.

"It could be cupcakes, it could be Twinkies, it could even be a McDonald's hamburger," says Warrant Officer James Kluck, who, as the ranking food service officer, helps supply some of the unlikely ammunition.

"Sometimes, they go up on the base and get [the prisoner] a Happy Meal."

A McDonald's Happy Meal?

"Oh, yes, from what I'm told. It's got a toy and everything."

More in link.

Maybe Ronald MacDonald should be Chief Interogation Officer.

Possible Zelda 5-pack in the works

Sources today have indicated that Nintendo may be planning a console bundle that will have gamers drooling and Nintendo loyalists wishing they didn't already own a GameCube(Rob says: No fuck! This is the best deal I've ever heard. Why didn't I hold out longer for the 'Cube?)...
The bundle is said to include:
The Legend of Zelda

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link

Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

A Zelda Documentary

More in link, if you excuse the pun.

This is what I remember about September 11th 2001
I was in the shower when Mike phoned me up about the news of September 11th. At first I didn’t believe Mike, thinking that this was a farfetched joke at my expense. After getting off the phone, and drying off, I turned on my radio (I never bothered with a television while I lived in Victoria) and listened to the news. At that point, there wasn’t that much information, only that either a bomb had exploded in the World Trade Center and that a plane might have possibly hit it. Not wanting to be late for school ( I was behind schedule as it was), I ran out and took the bus. One of the guys that I went to school was on the bus, and we started to talk about what we had heard earlier. I joked, saying that chances were that Bush had orchestrated some sort of missile attack on one of the towers so that he could get more money for the Star Wars 2 system. A woman interupted us and told us that she thought that it was terrorists and that it was the start of a new war.

There wasn’t that many people at school that day. The obvious reason being the news, but the other reason was that half the teachers didn’t get paid for the work that they were doing and decided to walk out. The teacher that taught the acting course stayed outside, in the smoking pit with a bunch of students, getting his nicoteen fix with the others. We talked about the attacks, listened for news trickling in and made plans to go to a bar later that day so that we could watch the news. Lots of paranoid thoughts were tossed back and forth, with the predominant notion that a nation, most likely a middle eastern one, would be bombed into oblivion by that time next week. It felt like a dream, and every word felt like weights.

We had two classes that day. The first one didn’t involve any work at all. Mark, our editing teacher had brought the footage of the attacks that he had taped on the television earlier. I hadn’t seen anything ip to that point and I was shocked by how surreal it was. It was blockbuster verité. All throughout the day, the BBC World service would blare in the hallways and we’d get updates during our breaks.

I don’t remember much of that day, until the evening. I suppose that we went through the motions, like we normally did. When I got home, I phoned my family, asked if they heard the news and what they had thought. My mom was understandably concerned, and she told me to pray. My dad and I discussed the possible socio-political implications. After that, I phoned up my girlfriend and I told her that I missed her and I loved her.

I went to see Moulin Rouge for the third time that evening, escaping the world for a while, with a half enthused audience. As I walked home that evening, the air was quiet, with no jets flying over, and everyone seemed a little shell shocked, like zombies. I went to bed that evening, listening to the CBC. The last thing I remember before going to bed was a pilot saying that what happened was impossible and that things like this never should have happened.


What do you remember about September 11th?

Fantagraphics to publish the complete Peanuts

Fantagraphics Books will be publishing the complete PEANUTS strips in deluxe editions designed by cartoonist Seth, it was revealed at this weekend’s SPX. A posting on the Comics Journal message board confirms the plan, although details will be announced later this week. Fantagraphics publisher Gary Groth had been in negotiations with creator Charles Schulz before his death, and has been dealing with his widow, Jeannie, and syndicate United Media since.
Charles Schulz’ strip features such beloved characters as Charlie Brown and Snoopy and is among the greatest achievements in comic strip history.

Taken from the Pulse.

What happens when you overdose on Prozac

There has also been a number of well-publicized cases where patients taking Prozac “went postal” and committed murder-suicides. Increased aggression can be a side effect of Prozac but Lilly attributes these cases to poor diagnosis and follow up by psychiatrists prescribing the drug. Lilly’s stance on product liability is that as the second-most widely prescribed drug in the US Prozac is more likely to wrongly prescribed and more likely to be blamed in cases of unknown pre-existing psychoses.

Found here, because I'm oh so bored.

Pudgy Pets are Putting on Pound

The saying goes that people start to look like their pets. Turns out it's the other way around: Our pets are starting to look like us - overweight.
As many as one-fourth of cats and dogs in the Western world are overweight, according to the National Research Council in the first update since 1986 of its "Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats." While aimed at veterinarians, pet-food makers and scientists, the report also contains useful pointers for pet owners

More in link.

Ronald MacDonald promoted to Chief Happiness Officer

Commenting on Ronald's promotion, McDonald's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jim Cantalupo said, "Ronald has brought joy to everyone he's ever met, and this promotion is a way of saying thanks for all the great work he's done. Everything good about McDonald's is embodied in Ronald -- he is forever young -- and he's taught us there's a little bit of Ronald in all of us."

More in link.

Unknown To No One

A five-strong Iraqi boy band are aiming to become the country's second-biggest export after oil.

Unknown to No One have to rehearse in an old car - and a CD they once recorded sold less than 2,000 copies.

But they think with professional help they could make the international big time.

...""If people attack us for being in a band, that's terrorism."

More in link.

Police Call in Ghostbusters

Stumped by mysterious sights and sounds in their own headquarters, who did police call? Ghostbusters.

In the still of night, doors rattled and stairwells creaked in the city's police department. In the light of day, a secretary's desk drawer opened on its own. A city worker who toured the building late one night even reported feeling something grab her leg.

So the police took the probe to another dimension. "The way I treat it is not that there is a ghost, there's just things that I can't explain," said Officer John Wilson, who contacted the Scientific Investigative Ghost Hunting Team, based in Louisville.

The team of professional paranormal investigators gave the brick building a preliminary review and will return this fall for a thorough probe. The group will set up cameras and tape recorders as well as infrared thermometers to capture any temperature variations.

The goal is to try to prove the strange occurrences aren't caused by paranormal forces, said Kay Owen, vice president of the nonprofit ghosting hunting team, which doesn't charge for its services.

"We'll go in and try to recreate everything that they are experiencing," she said. "If they can recreate it, it's not paranormal. It can be explained. It's a process of elimination."

More in link.

Dreams
In one of the dreams that I had last night, my younger brother Simon had teamed up with a character from a popular comic strip in a newspaper that reminded me of For Better Or For Worse. The two had decided that they'd team up and attempt to defame me using nefarious methods. One of their ideas to get me incarcerated involved Simon urinating on my bed. When the cops came to take me away, I told them that I wasn't the culprit. A guy from CSI did a quick exam and found out that I was innocent. Simon was sent to jain and the comic strip was canceled.

I also had a dream about Heather last night as well. Pretty vivid.

Forced To Become a Human Bomb?

"Why is nobody trying to come get this thing off me?" Wells said.

A desperate Wells was shouting to police that someone had strapped a bomb around his neck, and that time was running out.

"He pulled a key out and started a timer. I heard the thing ticking when he did it," police said.

And before the bomb squad arrived, the bomb detonated, killing him.

More in link.

Sounds a little like Battle Royale, doesn't it? Or Swordfish.

Depp Speaks on America
"America is dumb, it's like a dumb puppy that has big teeth that can bite and hurt you, aggressive."

More (but not much) in link.