Too Much Johnson

Tripping The Rift 1: The Critters In The Keep

2012-01-31T11:31:00.001-06:00

But wait! There's more!

Well, Gage and one of his friends managed to convene with me for more D&D in Thunder Rift (we lost one player due to a move). Previously I was going to run Rage of The Rakasta for just Gage but since his friend showed up I decided to run the kinda-prequel Quest For the Silver Sword and save Rakasta for later.

The party consisted of Logan Semester, cleric of Poseidon (Gage), Shadowkill the Elf (his friend Zack) and two NPC adventurers: Theodora Kelp a friend of Logan's and also a cleric of Poseidon and her other friend, Selper the Thief.

After the preliminaries (being contacted by the Burgormeister of Torlynn, offerd help, etc. - which, BTW, Logan refused any payment (the boy's got this Hero thing down pat))) the party arrived at Barrik's Keep. Seeing the front door hanging on one hinge, Logan and Shadowkill decides to...climb up to the roof to see if they can "sneak up on them." Who I don't know, but after a DEX check, they were on the roof. I told them there was a nice view of the area and a roof, with two towers. They climbed down and walked through the front door.

Instead of going straight up the hall they went right down a side hall to the kitchen. There they surprised four ratlingd and soundly trounced them. Shadowkill found a Bell of Sustenance and they proceeded to the kitchen, where they three more ratlings carving up a dead orc. They were also defeated.

Interesting thing about these ratlings - they only have one attack (I'm assuming a bite). Even the ones with the cleaver, so I added a second attack with the weapon. Personally, I don't even know why these aren't rat-men or were-rats. The author probably needed something with human-like intelligence but not as deadly as a were. I rolled with it.

That was about it, as by then it was suppertime. Should be playing again this week some time. Keep ya posted.

Bet You're Sorry You Asked, Huh?

2012-01-27T12:49:00.000-06:00

And for this I went to DM School?

Seeing as this little bit of quiz is making the rounds of the gaming community courtesy of Zak S., he of the Vornheim OSR supplement and the D&D With Porn Stars blog (thanks loads), I thought I'd take a whack at it. Dunno if it'll give you some insight into me or my game style but it's a cheap laugh at my expense for your entertainment. Don't say I never gave ya nuthin'. Enjoy:

1.If you had to pick a single invention in a game you were most proud of whatwould it be?

DeathKnights for my old 2E game. They get a+1 to hit/damage if they smear the blood of their freshly slain enemy onthem. Made the PCs go NUTS. Even the neutral cleric wanted theirheads. Ah, memories…

2.When was the last time you DMed?

Lastnight. Ran the first part of Quest forThe Silver Sword for my 8 Y-O grandson and his friend.

3.When was the last time you played?

Lastweek, DM Brian's 2E Mystara: three PCs, a dwarf myrmadon (me), a half-orcswashbuckler (DM FulOnGamer), and a half-elf mealiden (I have no idea what that is) (Allie, DM Brian's ex-fiance)plus a few others as NPCs. We'reheading to The Horror on the Hill. Ohboy.

4.Give us a one-sentence pitch for an adventure you haven’t run but would liketo.

ThePCs have to help a farmer save his druid sister from being kidnapped andgetting "hitched" shotgun-style by a clan of redneck/hillbilly orcs.

5.What do you do while you wait for players to do things?

Lookover my notes and keep an ear open in case they say anything"interesting.".

6.What, if anything, do you eat while you play?

Anythingfrom salt & vinegar chips to a full meal, although we usually pause thegtame for that.

7.Do you find DMing physically exhausting?

Yeah,unfortunately. Must be my age, althoughit doesn't make me anywhere NEAR as tired as running Champions. Those battles really take a lot out of me.

8.What was the last interesting (to you, anyway) thing you remember a PC you wererunning doing?

Awizard character of mine in a long-ago 2E Forgotten Realms game using theGrease spell on a set of stairs, waiting for the orcs to come down and landingin a heap at the foot of the stairs, and the DM determining that the Greasespell is flammable.

9.Do your players take your serious setting and make it unserious? Vice versa?Neither?

It'shard to take any games I run serious when you're dealing with a nutjob likeme behind the screen.

10.What do you do with goblins?

Boil 'em, mash 'em, stick 'em in a stew…

11.What was the last non-RPG thing you saw that you converted into game material(background, setting, trap, etc.)?

Nonethat I can recall, although I do like to add Steampunk elements into my world.

12.What’s the funniest table moment you can remember right now?

Arecent Labyrinth Lord Skype game DM Chrispy ran. A low-INT PC was fighting what he thought was a dragon but wasactually an illusion thrown up by another character. The character controlling the illusion dispelled it at the exactmoment the PC thrust his sword into the beast's breast. He is still convinced he defeated an actualdragon.

13.What was the last game book you looked at–aside from things you referenced in agame–why were you looking at it?

TheD&D Rules Cyclopedia, as I was prepping for the last game I ran.

14.Who’s your idea of the perfect RPG illustrator?

Atie between Jenell Jaquays and Jim Holloway.

15.Does your game ever make your players genuinely afraid?

Nope. Then again, they're about 8…

16.What was the best time you ever had running an adventure you didn’t write? (Ifever)

RunningGoblin Gully with my grandson and his friends. Nothing like watching fledgling gamers stretch their role-playingmuscles.

17.What would be the ideal physical set up to run a game in?

Myown game room with a nice big round table with plenty of room to walk around,all the dice I need and reference books at hand.

18.If you had to think of the two most disparate games or game products that youlike what would they be?

Lamentationsof The Flame Princess and TOON.

19.If you had to think of the most disparate influences overall on your game, whatwould they be?

FilmNoir and The Three Stooges.

20.As a GM, what kind of player do you want at your table?

Onewho likes being part of a great adventure and not afraid to contribute toit. A player who takes chances andthinks out of the box. It may be morework for me, but in the long run it makes the game all that better and more fun.

21.What’s a real life experience you’ve translated into game terms?

Nonethat I can think of...

22.Is there an RPG product that you wish existed but doesn’t?

I'msure there is, but nothing comes to mind right now…

23.Is there anyone you know who you talk about RPGs with who doesn’t play? How dothose conversations go?

Idon't. Aside from my grandsons, no onein my family has an interest in RPGs. My wife will occasionally listen to something, but on the whole I reallydon't talk RPGs around them. It wouldbe pointless.

I've Been Everywhere, Man...

2012-01-22T00:34:00.000-06:00

Run rodent run rodent run run run...

Now that the new year has begun it's time to think about starting up that Basic D&D game I'm running for my grandson and his two friends. Unfortunately, between one of his friends moving away and the other not coming around much the group is reduced to Gage and I. A minor stback, as I can keep him busy 'till more players can be acquired.

Give me a chance to work on the world. I've already changed my mind on the world they end up in (Mystara) once they poke their heads out of Thunder Rift, but that took a lot of dicipline. See, I tend to suffer from Toomanyworlditis. In other words, I have a hard time deciding which setting I want to use.

The main contenders were Mystara (I got the first Gazeteer - Karameikos - and it just whet my appetite for more), The Wilderlands (I'm a sucker for all things Judges' Guild), my own world of Skye and that map I found in that copy of the 2E PHB a while back. All of them had their pluses and very few minuses but in the end I went with Mystara. I'll keep looking at the others and maybe I can get some ideas off them. I'll keep the map I found in reserve for a future campaign and save Skye for a 2E game I may start up on Skype in the future.

It's difficult when you have too much of a good thing, but better that than not enough. Onward, player(s)!

On to 2012 or The Year I Went Splat

2011-12-29T20:26:00.000-06:00

O OSR, Where Is Thy Sting?

Well, before I get into the recap I just wanna say that, just for the record, I like the changes Blogger did with the interface except one - I want to use the cool Dynamic templates but they have NOT included a way to add my banner at the top. I guess I'll just be satisfied for now with a change in font. C'mon, Blogger/Google - get with the program.

Been some ups and downs this year, but I came out the other side. 2011 was actually a continuation of 2010 - namely, I managed to get myself into 3 stage shows in a row, ending in March. Being exhausted, I vowed to take the rest of the year off and I shocked myself by doing just that. I was sure I'd weaken at some point but here it is the end of the year and no shows. Sunuvagun.

Wish I could say I felt rested but the holidays sapped all the energy I had. After the "experience" of Christmas Day (I swear it looked like a toy store blew up in our house), we got to keep our two granddaughters for the last week of the year. While they're always a pleasure and delight the downside is we has to drive to Texas to get 'em and bring 'em home. Ah, the joys of grandparenthood.

Lots of stuff happening on the gaming front this year. I continue to co-host the Save or Die podcast and got one of my own: THAC0's Hammer, all about 2nd Edition AD&D. I host with my buddies Brian and FulOnGamer (we lost our great co-host Cory but we hope to have him back soon). We're up to episode (aka Splatbook) 30 with no sign of stopping.

In March I attended the North Texas RPG Con (my first convention in 12 years) and had a great time. Met a lot of the old TSR movers-and-shakers, got their autographs and got to hang out with Mike and Liz, my co-hosts on Save or Die. A great time was had by all. I'm already planning to attend next year.

I also got to DM Basic D&D with my oldest grandson Gage and his two friends. I have them stomping around Thunder Rift for now. He played a cleric of Posiedon and they managed to clean out an old slaver's pit that became infested with goblins. The campaign stalled over the holidays but I hope to start up again at the beginning of the year.

As for DVDs, not a whole lot but a few prominent ones. Picked up a few choice Criterions (America Lost and Found - The BBS Story Box Set, Island of Lost Souls, Sweet Smell of Success) the re-release of the complete run of Danger Man, that's about it. Not much but choice stuff.

As for the coming year, once again I resolve to blog more - might just stick this time.

That's about it for the year - oh yeah, the knee I puonded on so mercilessly when I did Fiddler on the Roof in 2010 came back to haunt me - pain pain pain. Time for a doctor's visit in January.

See you all on the other side...

GPS D&D-Style

2011-10-12T09:04:00.002-05:00

I'm the Map, I'm the Map...

One of the fun things about buying used game books is the ephemera left in said books: character sheets, notes on pages and in margins, etc. It isn't often that one finds something like this, though.

I recently purchased a 1st Printing of the AD&D 2nd Edition Player's Handbook and Dungeon Master's Guide from Half Price Books here in Oklahoma ( I have the 2nd printing, but I find the 1st printing easier to read and find info in). I checked them at the store for readability, etc., they looked fine so I got them. Perusing the PHB at home, a map fell out. Obviously a map of someone's campaign, it was crude but fascinating nonetheless. It was also pretty big, too big to fit in my scanner, so I took a picture, the one you see here (Here's a link to a copy with higher resolution, so you can read the place names).

One thing I can tell is that it was probably based on the Forgotten Realms as Torm is mentioned, although I have a feeling he may have just used the pantheon from the Realms.

I love things like this. Gives real insight to campaigns gone by, not to mention the mysteries that it leaves behind. Names like Satan's Forge, Mariah, The Wardog Providence and the Field of Kamchak stirs my imagination (especially if it says the Field is the Old Elven Plains - I'd like to know why he put elves on the plains and what they would be like). Where does the Upper Sea lead to? What is the area in the upper part of the map like, with it's description of "rebels, outcasts, wild tribes, malcontents, outlaws, giants, monsters, bandits, etc?"

Now a lot (if not all) used books come with the name of the previous owner in them. This has the name Jerry Rove. Mr. Rove, if you're reading this, thank you. This is a great map and I'll probably be using it for my grandson's Basic D&D campaign (I'm already thinking about making this the larger area beyond Thunder Rift).

Unless, of course, you want it back, which I would regretfully but dutifully return it (at least I got the picture - I can always recreate it). Until then, on my wall it goes.

The Thunder Rolls

2011-10-07T20:18:00.007-05:00

...and the Rift was never the same.

Well, it happened. I started my 8 YO grandson Gage on the Road to D&D. He and a couple of his friends wanted to learn and, Grampa being a sucker for new players (and Gage in particular), I said "sure."

My flavor of choice for these games (I hesitate to call it a campaign - yet) is Basic D&D via Messers Metzer and Allston aka the D&D Rules Cyclopedia. The first session was just Gage and another young friend. We rolled up a character for said friend (Gage had rolled up one with me previously - a Priest of Posiedon named Logan Semester) and we proceeded to play. Now Gage and I had a one-on-one session the day before so Gage was a bit more savvy about the system (and a bit is all he needs to tell his friend what to do) which made play a little smoother.

His friend rolled up an Elf that, for some reason, he didn't want to name. So Logan and The Nameless Elf (or "Hey You!" as he's also referred to) met in a tavern in Puddleton.(yes, I am not ashamed to start them off with that creaky old plot hook). This is how they joined forces:

DM (Me): Logan, you see an elf sitting at a table across the room looking at you (I had them describe their characters).

Gage: I go over to the elf. (to the Elf) Hi, I'm Logan. Wanna join me on my adventures?

Gage's Friend: Okay.

That was the actual conversation. If only all PCs were that easy to form into a group.

Anyway, after a short adventure with some orcs and an ogre (in which they were remarkably effective), I awarded them XP and we adjourned until tomorrow after school.

Next day, Gage brought over his other friend so we rolled up a PC for him and got down to it (his other friend also rolled up an elf, which he called Shadowkill - kids ain't subtle). This time I took a one-page dungeon I had had lying around (Goblin Gully by Dyson Logos) and had them be hired by the Puddleton sheriff to clean out an old abandoned slaver pit that became infested with goblins. They're in the middle of that right now.

Now, we've been going along, playing and they're having a ball, especially with the magic items I gave them (Gage got a Ring of Posiedon from the head of his order - blast of water 3x a day for 2D4 damage - one a Ring of Protection +1 and the other a Ring of Protection +2, 5' Radius - that ought to keep them alive for a while).

So, after two adventures that were pretty much ass-pulls by Yours Truly, they're up to their ankles in goblins. That's when I realized, I didn't know where they were (as in, they're in Puddleton, but everything else I haven't thought about).

A problem easily solved - put 'em in my world of Skye - except that I get lazy, not wanting to put in the work of building up the world. So, looking around at the PDFs and other things (I was awfully tempted to put them in the Wilderlands), I decided to plunk them in Thunder Rift. As a starting place, it's perfect. Hell, I wished I'd adventured in it back in the day. So, since Puddleton is on the shores of a sea, I plunked it down a few miles east of Melinir.

And we're off to the races. Stay tuned for more.

Lack of A Better Term...

2011-01-28T14:09:00.010-06:00

An RP...S?

The current stage show I'm involved in has got me thinking about role-playing and it's status as a game. I'm currently in a production of a play called Good N' Plenty by Jeffery Hatcher. It's a comedy/reminiscence/shaggy dog story about what happened to one new Civics and Government teacher circa 1976 when he wanted to do "something different" in his class instead of a "game" about writing the Constitution. He decided that the "game" the students get involved in would involve drug trafficking, enforcement and prosecution (the drugs being represented by Good N' Plenty candies). It starts out okay, but through mishaps, misunderstandings and outright treachery, the game falls apart and lands most of the faculty and student body in jail. The real one.

There are many good corollaries/commentaries of our Constitution/law enforcement/school system but for my money, the biggest point it makes is what the teacher character (Richard Miller) summarizes at the end. He says that any constitution or law-governing body has to take into account character because we all have a little crime in our hearts. When our own personal constitution fails, we have to resort to a higher one.

Good point, but what hit me (and to me this is the most subtle point the play makes) is that it was a mistake to call this exercise a game. This is underscored many times in the show. It's not obvious, but it's there. Games imply that there are winners and losers. After a while, it didn't matter to anyone that there was a lesson to be learned, they just wanted to win the game. This became so pervasive in the participants it even overwhelmed out narrator in the end.

Here is where I see a relationship with role-playing. We call it a game, but we (the creators/writers all the way down to the smallest DM) de-emphasize the aspect of winning and losing. No one loses the game, not the DM or the players (even though there will be PC deaths) and to win means to get better and rise in level/abilities to live and fight another day. Game means an adversarial relationship and, while there may be enemies and obstacles to overcome in the session, there should be (according to the hobby) no "us vs. them" mentality.

This, I feel, is a big part of the reason the hobby has a hard time reconciling itself with the public at large. Yes, the anti-D&D Christian feelings didn't help but most of the populace see games as a win/lose affair. Without those concepts, while I'm not going to say it'll be hard for Joe Average to understand them, it sure as heck be harder for him to care or invest any time or interest in it. Sports? No problem. Role-Playing? What's the point? That's why there's more Fantasy Baseball/Football players than RP gamers.

Once again, I think it boils down to calling it a game. But, on the other side of the coin, what do you call it (without sounding pretentious)? Event? Happening? Simulation? Damned if I can figure out another name.

To make a long point short, I don't think there is a better word for it. You use paper and pencils (like keeping score in Yahtzee), you sometimes play on a mat (kinda like Monopoly) and a lot of times you have pieces to represent your character (like Sorry!). To the public that equals "game." So be it. Game it is and game it will be.

It doesn't help that the producer of the most recognizable RPG in the world is made by a board game company. But that's just me.

Return With Us Now...

2011-01-24T14:29:00.011-06:00

You can almost see the dice
roll in your head!

This may not be news to most old skoolers but as I was skimming through my Rules Cyclopedia I found a little gem of a description.

As a gamer I, as most of us have, ran across the old "What Is Role-Playing?" blurb at the beginning of a core book. I know it's somewhat necessary since folks new to the hobby need some kind of explanation (my first instance coming across it was in the Holmes Blue Book my friend purchased at Waldenbooks in the day). This little blurb, which can go from a couple paragraphs to most of a page can be humorous at best, tedious and stupid at worst.

I've also had to try my hand at explaining role-playing to someone unfamiliar with the game. Let's just say those moments have not been my best.

So when I cracked open my RC, my eyes fell on this section. I was amazed. It was the best description of a role-playing game I've come across. Now I may be a bit biased as I am also an OTR fan but even if I was not, it's still great:

Before television, there was radio. Audiences earlier in this century sat in front of their radios and thrilled to the exploits of bigger-than-life radio heroes. Since it was radio, they couldn't see what was going on, but they didn't need to—all the action was described by dialogue, narration, and sound effects, and was translated by the imaginations of the listeners into scenes they could see, experience, and remember.

Role-playing games are much like radio adventures, except for one important detail: they're interactive. One player provides the narrative and some of the dialogue, but the other players, instead of just sitting and envisioning what's going on, actually participate. Each player controls the actions of a character in the story, decides on his actions, supplies his character's dialogue, and makes decisions based on the character's personality and his current game options.

Brilliant.

If I first heard about this type of game, I would have got it instantly, even if I never listened to old time radio. For the younger among us, you could substitute "podcast" or "audio drama" and it'd still work. This is now my default explanation for "What Is Role-Playing?" Oh Gygax/Metzer/Allston, you've done it again!

Map Rehab

2011-01-18T21:08:00.003-06:00

Scale?
We don' need no stinking scale!

I was rummaging through some RPG boxes in the garage and came across a folder with my old AD&D 2nd Edition campaign world (Skye). Well, not so much a whole world as a bunch of background notes and a map. I seem to recall running some fun scenarios and thought that I could use it for a Basic D&D campaign in the near future. Here's what I found:

A partially-written overview of the world.
A table with the pantheon of the world with a few god write-ups.
A background on Canas, one of the main nations in the world
A few NPC's
A hand-drawn map (by Yours Truly) of Skye (here's the full-size version)

I also remember I worked on this with my then-roommate who Wrote some of the stuff based on what I came up with (which is why I didn't recognize a few things).

Anyway, I thought I'd start with reworking the map. I could see that it's a bit overcrowded (mainly too many towns). Plus I'll have to relocate and delete a few places (Puddleton is in the wrong place and I seem to have a town named Specularum - imagine my surprise when I found out that was the capitol city of Karamekios). Yet, all-in-all it's usable. I'll let you know if anything comes of this.

Pimpin' Out The RC

2011-01-18T13:05:00.005-06:00

Levi Strauss's D&D.

Since I now have a copy of the Dungeons and Dragons Rules Cyclopedia, I feel the need to protect this Jewel of My Collection. Well, that and I had about 3 pairs of old jeans I wanted to cut up. So I got a small sewing kit, a tube of Liquid Stitch and got to work.

Viola! A denim cover, decorated by Yours Truly. Was a challenge and it's a bit on the sloppy side but it gets the job done. The pocket's handy too. I was so pleased with the outcome I did the same for my 1E AD&D PHB and DMG (the MM will have to wait until I blow the crotch out of the current pair I have - yeah yeah, I know, TMI). Next project for old jeans: dice bags, soon as I find a pattern for the Crown Royal-type bags (no, I'm not tearing apart mine). For those I'll break down and actually SEW them!

Oh, and no Liz, I'm NOT using a Bedazzler!

Update: I later outlined the words and such with white fabric paint and went ahead and sewed the edges. Just to make sure.

Here Come Da Judge

2011-01-11T08:42:00.005-06:00

Them DM dice rolls I may fudge
But that's the breaks when you got The Judge

On the Save or Die podcast I have been dubbed the "Judges Guild Expert." I find this an amusing title as I got it solely in virtue of the fact that I own a (as I refer to it) Big Box 'O Judges Guild. There's about 75 modules, supplements and back issues of JG's magazines in there. Now I've had this box for the better part of 20 years and I still have yet to delve very deep into it. Yet since I am in possession of this box that makes me the "expert."

How I acquired it is as follows: Flashback to the early 90's. I'm back home in Long Beach, CA, living in my mom's back room, having moved from San Jose after a bad breakup. I got myself a job and was trying to make some headway in getting back on my feet. I found out about a game store called The War House (one of the Last Great Old Game Stores, which is still operating in the same location as of this writing). I go in and the place is great - musty smell, thousands of minis hanging on the walls, games stuffed on shelves, a fatbeard behind the counter - everything a roleplayer could ask for, including a back room with two tables - one with a battlemat on it and one with wargame terrain set up on it. Nirvana.

I browse the shelves for a while and I end up in the back near the bathrooms. I see a tall wooden shelf, something like an old mail shelf with large slots, in which have stacks upon stacks of gaming material I hadn't seen for at least 20 years. I walk back up front and ask the fatbeard at the counter:

Me: What's with the Judges Guild stuff in the back?

FB: Oh, those are left over from when we used to be a Grenadier store.

Me: Oh. They for sale?

FB: Yeah, sure.

Me: How much?

FB: Half the cover price.

Over the next two days I came away with about three large piles of JG stuff. Thus the collection. I've added a few things over the years (like a copy of the CSIO Revised 3rd Printing I got off eBay) but it has pretty much remained intact through a myriad of moves. It's one of my most prized gaming possessions. I'll be rooting through this box in the weeks to come and reviewing selected items here. Stay tuned.

* For those of you unfamiliar with Judges Guild, check out this history of the company here.

Get Back To Where You Once Belong

2011-01-01T11:32:00.012-06:00

Do NOT collect 200 GP...

I've been out of pencil-and-paper tabletop role-playing gaming for about, oh, 5 years or so. With my increased involvement in stage shows, audio drama work, the rise of another edition of D&D I really didn't feel like shelling out the bucks for (plus the direction WOTC was taking the game - thank you no, I don't want to subscribe to to get content for a game that seems to be a bigger money black hole than all the other editions combined) and other odds and ends personal and otherwise, I just kinda drifted away from it. Did the RPGA thing for a while but with the changes at WOTC I left. Could never get a Champions game going (another game which has bloated out of proportion for my wallet) and with the apathy of Mutants and Masterminds around here, it just got to be more trouble than it was worth.

Until now.

I am now being led back to RPGs, specifically, D&D. Not the current trend, oh no. The Old Skool. You know, the one where you got five different saving throws. The one with descending Armor Class. Where the Dungeon Master makes stuff up on the fly and everyone is having a good time. You know, the fun one.

Two things conspired to get me into this state. A friend (hi Julie) got me in touch with a guy named Vince who hosts a couple of podcasts. He was looking for someone to write and produce short fantasy audio dramas for his 1st Edition AD&D show. I did and next thing I know I'm co-hosting a podcast for Basic D&D, the Save or Die Podcast. That got me interested in all things BD&D (when I started gaming, it was with 1st Edition AD&D so I had no knowledge of Basic). I found it close enough to AD&D to be understandable yet different enough to be a refreshing change. I also found out about the Retro-Clones: those RPGs who purposely mimic the Old D&D editions (through the OGL) so's others can play these (some long out-of-print) games. Not to mention the thriving community out there on the 'net in support of these games and this movement. I love it.

The other thing that got me back was the fact that my oldest grandson is 7 and he started to show an interest in what Grampa is doing with these games. I'd be tickled to get him started on a very satisfying hobby.

SO, I proceeded to seek out copies of these games. An uphill battle the best of times, I am unfortunately living in Oklahoma City, which seems to be not only game-dead but game-resource-poor. Fortunately, a couple of my co-hosts on SOD took pity on me and sent me a used copy of the D&D Rules Cyclopedia (a jewel of a book - thanks, Mike and Liz). I did manage to find a couple of things (the D&D Creature Catalog and X1 - The Isle of Dread) but something tells me I'm going to be trolling eBay and other websites for books or relying on retro-clones for my reading/playing goodness. My next hunt is for some of the D&D Gazetteer supplements (mainly Karamekios for now, maybe a few more). Wish me luck.

Anyway, that's where I am, here at the start of 2011, as far as gaming goes. My dicebag is dusted off and I'm ready.

2011: That's Gonna Leave A Mark...

2011-01-01T10:40:00.013-06:00

Hope everyone had a good Christmas/Hanukkah/etc. and a glorious New Year's.

Before we slam into 2011, let's reflect, shall we?

2010 was The Year of The Podcast. Julie, my good friend and producer/writer/actor for 19 Nocturne Boulevard, put me in touch with Vince, producer/host of the Roll For Initiative Podcast, a podcast about 1st Edition AD&D, who needed some voice work. I did it and got to talking to him. Turns out he needed a short audio drama for his show and asked if I could do that. I ended up doing The Lumpers, a 5 episode story that was very well-received. he also mentioned that he was looking for another host for the Save or Die Podcast which is about Basic D&D. That's how I ended up being DM Glen on the show. It's a lot of fun. Also, since The Lumpers finished up on RFI, it's being moved over to Save or Die as a regular feature. Oh the fun we have.

Also, stage work spiked up in the latter part of the year. I did Guys and Dolls over at the Poteet Theatre here in OKC and after the show opened, I was contacted by the director of a show called Good N' Plenty which was starting rehearsals at Carpenter's Square. She wanted to use me in that show so after G&D was over, I leaped into the new show. Now it looks like I'm going to be trying out for her next show at the Jewel Box Theatre. Haven't been this busy since college.

The DVD buying has slowed, almost to a stop, although there are some titles I want. The most I've added to the collection in a replacement or two (Crumb, which Criterion brought out on Blu-ray) and further completion of sets (Rocky & Bullwinkle and Friends Season 4 made it out, although it's unsure if the set will be complete since, as of this writing, they're getting ready to roll out The Complete Series with no sign of Season 5 in sight), although a good friend is getting me the complete Boris Karloff's Thriller, so that'll be fun.

One reason the DVD buying has slowed is an offshoot of the podcast hosting: I'm heading back into gaming. Old Skool Gaming. Yes, the OSR has hit me and I've been spending my $ scouring used book stores and game shops for Basic D&D material. I'll elaborate on this in my next post. Stay tuned...

Goin' Green

2010-03-17T08:31:00.003-05:00

I love that dirty water...

Long before Ed Begley Jr. and the other environmentalists, the Irish had the right idea. It won't save any rainforest or patch the ozone but their hearts were in the right place. (?) Happy St Pat's to everyone, as usual. Watch the flicks, drink the green beer, think about how the Good Saint drove the snakes out of Erie (probably after enough boilermakers not to feel the bites). If yer in Chi-town, enjoy the green river (I guess that's one way of disguising the algae). Makes me thirsty just lookin' at it.

2010: Easy For You, Deeficult For Me

2010-01-01T23:07:00.006-06:00

And another one rolls by. They say the older you get the faster they go by, but this one was like waiting for the Titanic to sink. Nevertheless, '09 wasn't without it's merits and potholes. Allow me to sum up:

Started the year in a usual funk. No shows to do, wintertime blues, you know the drill. Add to that the fact that, as stage plays go, I couldn't get arrested, let alone cast. A grand total of six auditions were attempted by me and I got to be in one. Damn right the ol' confidence was shaken. And stirred.

Fortunately, the Fates (and my friend Shawna) took pity on me so I got to portray Lazar Wolf in her production of Fiddler on the Roof at the Poteet Theater in August. THAT was fun! Tiring, but fun (I also came away with a sore knee, but waddya gonna do - the Price for Being Cast In A Musical). Then, to prove that I am a total masochist, another friend asks me to do a major supporting role in something called In Good Spirits, a Halloween Musical, which starts rehearsals immediately following Fiddler's closing. I had my doubts at first - it seemed to be one of those Cursed Shows, with people dropping out, getting sick (including Yours Truly), etc. But we persevered, and it turned into a nice little show. Kudos to Denise and all the great new friends I made at the Stage Door in Yukon, OK.

Then there was The Move. We pulled up digs again to move into a kind of worse neighborhood and a smaller house. The previous tenants trashed the joint, so in exchange for a reduction on an already inexpensive rent, we got to do paintin' and stuff (we still gotta lay the floor in the living room). On the plus side, we're already reaping the rewards of a rent cut in half and the playing-off of our Buick, which means we had a really nice Christmas (the highlight of which - mostly for the grandkids - was a new Wii machine, which stays here, as anything brought over to Mommy's house runs the risk of being trashed by others living there). Oh, and did I mention we now live next door to our grandkids? Becky sure likes that. I do too, as long as certain limits are maintained. We ain't no sitter service, y'know.

Speaking of Christmas, my big gift was a Blu-Ray player. Yes, I've dived into Blu thanks to a sweet wife. Unfortunately, we can't enjoy HiDef yet, as we now need to replace the T.V. It's am Element 32" I bought Black Friday two years ago from Circuit City (a red flag if there ever was one) and it refuses to use any kind of HDMI cable I've plugged into it. No matter what the setting on the player or set, no signal. SO, I guess a new set is in the future (not that we weren't thinking of a bigger set anyway - we need it, as our eyes are going). I'll keep ya posted on that front.

Aside from having a sabacious cyst removed from my neck (no biggie, but it was pressing against my nerves, giving me bad neck and shoulder pains) and making an appointment to have a black spot removed from my back in January (more on that, too), that about wraps it up. As for the usual yearly DVD roundup, not much to speak of, so I'll give you the highlights.

Replaced my copy of El Dorado with the Centennial Collection edition and finally picked up Chinatown and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (also Centennial Collection editions). Wagon Master, a John Ford western I always wanted to see, hit my shelves along with the Criterion edition of Ace in the Hole, Hobson's Choice and the excellent PBS series The Golden Age of Television (of which I'm preparing a review).

Champion is also finally coming to the collection (now I need The Harder They Fall and Fat City - I seem to be a sucker for boxing flicks) as is the RKO version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Fiddler on the Roof was got after I did the show in addition to a wonderful little British comedy called Our Man in Havana and finally, something I swore I'd never do (Lord forgive me), I double-dipped on Karloff's The Mummy only to get Kevin Brownlow's Universal Horror documentary. On the Blu-Ray front, I'm off to a good start with a copy of Star Trek.

Well, that's the year, 2009, for me. Thanks for reading and onward we go...

Playing Out The Plays

2009-11-21T09:12:00.012-06:00

Yeah, I know, pull my finger

There live not three good men unhanged in England; and one of them is fat, and grows old.

As an actor, I have a passing acquaintance with Sir John Falstaff, having played the rogue in a disastrous production of The Merry Wives of Windsor O so long ago. In the same regard, I have a passing acquaintance with The Bard, through said Shakespeare production. I do, however, have a deep knowledge of the work of Orson Welles, a filmmaker I admire.

As most people who know me know, I'm kind of slow on the uptake when it comes to discovering Classic Cinema. However, after finally viewing Chimes at Midnight, aka Falstaff, I now hunger for more of Mr. Welles's Shakespeare adaptions.

As some of you know, this is a pastiche that Wells assembled (based on a stage play he stitched together entitled Five Kings), combining scenes from Richard II, Henry IV, Henry V, The Merry Wives of Windsor and a few other bits of Willie's plays to create the Life and Times of Sir John Falstaff.

In a word, the film is glorious. From Gielgud's King, coldly rebuffing Worchester, Hotspur and Northumberland and lamenting over his wayward son to Hal and Jack Falstaff's hilarious tavern reenactment of Henry's court to the smoke and blood of the Battle of Shrewsbury (a sequence that has got to be one of the greatest battle scenes put on film, influencing other movies from Monty Python and The Holy Grail to Braveheart), Welles presents us with a pitch-perfect recreation of a Shakespearian world, majesty and bawdiness intact.The performances are also first-rate. John Gielgud's Henry IV hits the right balance of arrogance, coldness, melancholy and fatherly concern. Keith Baxter as Hal also hits the right notes of hedonism and abandon while showing us what goes on in the back of his mind. Norman Rodway as Hal's opposite number Hotspur is the embodiment of outrage and action. Margaret Rutherford's Mistress Quickly is a great foil to Falstaff, alternately haranguing and lamenting the Fat Knight. Doll Tearsheet, as played by Jeanne Moreau, gives a performance of lust and tenderness. Other roles, from Poins to Bardolph, play off each other, Sir John and Hal like pinballs, always coming back center to Jack and Hal.

As for Welles himself, what can I say? I agree with some critics out there who say that Sir John is his penultimate role. He occupies the expansive skin of the great Sack of Guts so perfectly he seems to always have exsited in that world. If Welles hadn't committed any other performance to film, his Jack Falstaff would still rise head, shoulders and belly over all all other portrayals of the character, nay, any other portrayal of any Shakespearean character.

As for the film, it moves. In the castle, quick editing and deep focus keep the pace and tension going. Other places the camera and characters are always in motion, swirling around each other, yet never losing their (and our) bearings. As with Welles pictures of this period, it was shot in Europe (here Spain) and was pieced together over a period of years (and the schedules of the actors - both Margaret Rutherford and Jeanne Moreau had to get their scenes in over a period of one week each). Yes, it's a Welles Patch Job with his usual smoke and mirrors but I'll take a Welles Patch Job over any two dozen major films, classic or contemporary. Yes, he could be indecisive when putting it together, but the man knew how to edit in his head and he wasn't afraid to change things in the editing room, even if it meant redubbing actors with his own voice or roughly matching two different location shots in the same scene. Yet it works. It's the kind of audacity a Trantino or Del Toro wished they had.

If you want to see Shakespeare on film, this is the one to start with. Unfortunately, for my brethren in the U.S. of A, that means (as of this writing) either ordering the Spanish disc from Amazon or (heaven forbid) not finding a torrent and downloading it (wink wink), as the film is tied up in copyright in America (if ever a film needed a Criterion release it would be this one). However you do it, if you like The Bard or Welles (or are just curious to see a great film), you owe it to yourself to see this one. It's a great ride.

Green Beer and Ham(s)

2009-03-17T12:26:00.006-05:00

Finished? (hic)
Now, my men, to the vomitorium!

I've got a film recommendation for you (and the picture should give you a clue what film it is), but that can keep until next time. Why? St. Patty's Day is today, good reason for even temperance folk to let loose, belly up to the bar and be Irish whether you are or not.

Now I know the folks over in good ol' Éire are either shaking or laughing their heads off at the Yanks who get all teary-eyed listening to Mother Machree or misty-eyed watching The Quiet Man while getting stinko but hey, it's the sentiment that counts and besides, there's booze. So shut up and have another round on us.

Besides, we can all pretend we're Mexican and down Modelos pretty soon.

Twit-Willow or The Face on The Bitroom Floor

2009-02-26T09:12:00.004-06:00

Social Networking,
Old Skool

Well, they got me. Social Networking. I knew I could resist, but I finally succumbed. made a solomn vow long ago to resist as long as I could and never register on MySpace (I heard too many bad things about it and besides, there's too damn many adolescents there), but, in the end, I fell to Facebook. Seems all my theater friends were Facebooking and, after checking it out, I took the plunge. It's sort of like plunging into a vat of hot oil as opposed to a vat of acid, but the die is cast. I was also talked into joining Twitter.

As one of these kind of sites go, it's pretty good. It's a lot tidier and I feel they screen folks better so don't worry about talking to some pedophile or mass-murderer. I also don't get propositioned for sex-sites and such (hey, they gotta make a buck too, but not off of me).

BUT, it's also a time-vampire (yeah, like I got anything better to do). Another thing you gotta watch out for: when you register, the floodgates open and everyone comes out of the woodwork. Remember Uncle Succotash who's always trying to borrow money or that jerk in the office you studiously avoid? I'll bet my last Somalian they're on Facebook somewhere and if they don't have the radar to ferret you out, the website helps. It runs up a red flag to all those folks and says "HEY! WE GOT ANOTHER ONE!"

Now, as way of disclaimer, I don't mean the folks I have as friends now. I was lucky enough that all the folks I talk to on FB are the best. I'm just warning you that EVERYBODY on FB will know you're on FB. Caveat Emptor.

Yes, you can always deny their "friendship", but that gets a bit tiring after a while (and nothing like how I used to get hit on for a "friend" on Orkut - seems they were all from Brazil, too - coincidence?).

So, you can find me on Facebook under my real name, Glen Hallstrom. You can also find me as Smokestack Jones on Twitter, a service I don't get at all. I own a really old cell phone, so it's practically of no use to me and I can update my status on FB, whereas Twitter, that's all it's for. Oh well, Mad Dogs and Netsurfers...

Getting A Heart-On

2009-02-05T09:45:00.007-06:00

How Godzilla Reproduces

February. Yep, it's here again. The time of year when Cupid shoots an arrow into a hole in the ground, a groundhog comes out, sees his shadow and goes back in the hole where he's sitting on his upholstered couch eating pizza and watching a good movie on his big plasma set (while trying to ignore the Super Bowl party going on in the hole next to him), afterwards nailing Mrs. Groundhog under the sheets. Yeah, sure. Punxsatawney Phil should have it so good. Hell, I should.

The general consensus of the Big Day (Valentine's) seems to be split down the middle with most of the populace. Either you like it or hate it. The opinions wavers, depending on A. your gender, or B. your degree of attachment with another. I remember I hated Valentine's when I was single, because I was single. Now I hate it because I'm married, but we're always broke around that time, so no celebration for us.

Actually, my stance on the holiday falls into the Secondary Holiday category, where I don't care about it, but it has a perk that makes it tolerable. There are three: Valentine's (candy), Easter (more candy) and St. Patrick's Day (booze). Well, the third one you really don't need a holiday for, but there's more happy drunks out and about (the Mexican version - Cuervo, uh Cinco de Mayo is an unoffical fourth Seconday for the same reason as St. Paddy's Day).

There is also a third category which is all the other holidays such as Columbus Day, MLK's Day and things like Flag and Arbor Day that don't mean anything to me because usually the only folks who get them off are govamint workers.

So Happy February Holidays, folks. I'll be thinking nice thoughts while breaking my dentures on Conversation Hearts (damn, those things are addictive).

The Short Bus to '09

2009-01-31T09:24:00.005-06:00

Wow, 2008 is gone. Felt the breeze of that one go over my head (not having much hair up there, I feel a lot of breezes). And here it is, end of January and I'm just getting to the End of Year recap. Ahhh, I been busy (sort of). And therein lies a tale...

Not much of a tale, really. Been trying to get an audiobook read and out the door, not an easy task when you got the holidays upon you and fighting the blues. I get depressed a lot during the year, but I actively fight it during the Thanksgiving/Christmas holidays. I love that time of year too much to let me ruin it. So Get Back Satan! You ain't gonna get me down with Santa and a turkey in front of me!

Well, let's see...had the Vegas trip in March (you guys know all about that one), had to cancel SoCal with the grandson(s) due to time and money constraints, had a temp job for about four months (it was supposed to be for the Cal trip, but too many people holding out their hands) aaaand that's about it. Oh yeah, my audiobook adventures have taken a turn for the better. I got hold (via Librivox) of a chap named Simon in th UK who produces audiobooks and I did one for him (allong with some Lovecraft). It led to some folks in Canada wanting me to do a book for them, which I finished this month. It's getting my name out there and some of it might actually pay real money. Keep you posted.

Well, I don't really have a rundown of my DVD purchases this time, as the one place I was keeping my info (DVDSpot) decided to pull the plug. That still hurts; I liked that site. So, here's some highlights:

It's been a year for completing collections: Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 6 finishes off that series (although WHV sez more titles will come outside that set), Got all the Walt Disney Treasures I've planned of with the release of The Chronological Donald Volume 4, Popeye the Sailor Volumes 1-3 were released, which completes the black and whites, which is as far as I'm gonna go with it (I don't like the color series), The Three Stooges Collection is up to four volumes, which pretty much covers the Curley years (next is the Shemp Era, then I stop - Besser and DeRita will not darken my video shelves). Traded in my Best of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello set for the new Abbot and Costello: the Complete Universal Collection box (and a gorgeous box it is). Finally got around to getting Pirates of the Caribbean 2 and 3, TCM Archives: The Buster Keaton Collection was got over the holidays, as was The Marx Brothers Collection, a nice companion to my Marx Brothers Silver Screen Collection,the 50th anniversary set of Touch of Evil replaced my old copy and, oh yes, I have added a collection of the Great Man, with Universal's The W.C Fields Comedy Collection Volume 1 and 2 plus Criterion's W.C. Fields: 6 Short Films. The Godfather: The Coppola Restoration was another holiday gift and, also on the Criterion front, The Thief of Bagdad. Dark City was replaced with the Director's Cut and The Day The Earth Stood Still (the original) makes a surprising appearance in the collection.

There. Not bad, going from memory. Oh, one more thing: I'm on Facebook (under my own Name Glen Hallstrom) and Twitter (under SmokestackJones). Don't ask...

Vegas Part 3: Ditties And Dykes or Dumbo #5

2008-07-14T10:38:00.016-05:00

A wrenching experience

Okay, one final Vegas story:

One thing I like to do when in Sin City is sing, and that means Kar-A-Oke (as opposed to a singing Okie, which I'm not). Somethng about the glitz of the city makes even the smallest karaoke dive seem special - I can actually fool myself into thinking I Made It. Plus, I meet a lot of nice folks.

So, Wednesday night we go out to get a bite to eat and end up (after a little brush with the ultra-fancy B&B's) at Battista's. If you like Italian, I highly recommend it. It's pricey (it averages about 30 bucks a person), but you get a complete Italian dinner. It's also a real "joint" as in a Fun Place. This is the kind of eatery where your folks and relatives like to eat and have a good time: small booths and tables and bric-a-brac all over the place, menu on the walls, autographed pictures, that kind of thing. And the house vino is great.

Anyway, the upshot was that it's popular and we didn't get there all that early, so we had to wait for a while, which means we didn't get to Ellis Island (My karaoke place from two years ago ) until about 10. The list was kind of long, so I said the hell with it and we left - not after making some coin on their big Wheel of Fortune machine, though.

SO, fast-forward to Thursday. We just get out of the early performance of Jersey Boys (an excellent show, BTW - I highly recommend it) and we're looking for something to do. In the room, I hop on the Net, find out that Dino's Place up the Strip is doing karaoke tonight so I change my shoes and we go.

Dino's Place is a bar up north Strip. Typical bar set-up, pool tables in the back, stage for live performances, regular clientele, the usual. I feel at home already. I give my name and selections to the KJ and order drinks, margarita for Becky and Meyer's Dark and Coke for me. About Drink #3, we strike up a conversation with a youngish gal, who think Becky's "fantastic - and so are you" referring to me and my Golden Tonsils.

Meanwhile, the KJ (after my lament that I can never find certain songs I want to sing) showed me another songbook he had, one that had titles but no disc numbers. I asked him where the numbers were and he says "that's okay - just write the title down." I perused the book and was astonished to find a lot of songs I couldn't find elsewhere. After picking out and singing Artificial Flowers, I asked him where he got these. He replied (in a guarded monotone) "sorry, I can't tell you..."

Meanwhile, a couple are taking Becky up and I came back for more booze. Becky herself was buzzed, but coherent - not so with me. I was on R&C #5 and I was flyin' (except onstage - when I sing, I'm stone-cold sober - actor's training). I'm totally oblivious to what Becky and them are talking about.

As the night wears on, we split, me vowing to come back tomorrow night (we never made it). In the car on the way back, Becky was happy and I was feeling no pain. After realizing she was jovial over something other than the alcohol, I asked her what's up. "You didn't notice what happened back there?" I answered in the negative. "I was being hit on by a lesbian and another couple." I blinked. "Really? Cool!"

"Cool? I thought you'd be upset because of what Anne did to you."

"Nah, " I said, attempting to right myself, "I got over that quite a while ago. I just like the idea that my wife can get someone of either sex. Kind of a thrill."

"You're not jealous?"

"Nope. I may be stinko, but I know that one, you don't go in for that stuff and two, I know who you're going home with." I said these things with a "come hither" look in my eyes, although Becky later said I looked like I was rolling them back into their sockets.

"You know what?", Becky said with a smile as we pulled into the Palazzo valet, "You're right."

That night we had a real good time with the lights out. My turn to make Becky sing, heh heh heh...

Vegas Part 2: The Deuce You Say

2008-06-15T23:33:00.015-05:00

De Double Deuce

Okay, more Vegas things.

Thursday, with Becky off to meetings, and bored with the casino thing, I decide to go aaaaaall the way down to the South of the Strip (cue Mexican music) to visit Fry's Electronics. Now this will be the first time I've stepped into a Fry's in ten years after doing a short cashier gig for them in their Palo Alto store.

Since I don't have use of our rental, I hop The Deuce. What's that, you (non-Vegas folks) say? None other than Las Vegas Rapid Transit, or to be more specific, the LVRT line that services The Strip. See, they got these double-decker buses (like in the picture) that travel up and down, all day and night. For a couple bones, it'll take you one-way and a fin will get you a day-pass. I opted for the latter.

Now let me say that I haven't been to Merrie Old England or any other places that have these type of buses, but if this is an example of a hard-top DD, I'll pass. Here's the Complete, Middle-Of-The -Strip Experience (as opposed to the Star Trek Experience, which I missed...again): I get on. It's crowded. Check that: packed is more like it. The back of the bus is where most of the seats are, due to the rig for handicapped folks. Still. if the Wheeled Brigade is not riding, it's got lots of folks standing and holding onto the straps, poles, change machine, your buddy, anything to keep from being thrown onto the floor as it's moving.

Okay, maybe there's room upstairs, so I push my way through to the stairs, climb them, and get clocked on the top of the head. By what? The roof. Yes, the upper deck works for kids and midgets, but not for a 6-6 All American Slob like me. So, doubling myself over, I find a seat close by and sit. Sitting, I'm okay.

Now, let's examine the trip. I'm going from the Palazzo (kind of middle north) to the Town Square Mall, alllll the way at the end of the strip. Of course, it wouldn't be a bus ride without a couple dozen stops, so we move down the strip, picking up and dropping off willy-nilly, Well, more like lurch. It just so happens that there's a lot of construction going on on the Strip right now, with two new casino-resorts and (just so Mr. Trump isn't lonely) five new condo-towers going up, so traffic is of the stop-and-start variety.

About fifteen lurches later, I ring the bell, unfold myself (making sure to bump my head a couple more times), climb downstairs and exit. I see a mall before me and to the left (far to the left), Fry's, my destination. The surrounding area can charitably be described as desolate. Brown as far as the eye can see, with the occasional small tree and bush, with brown mountians in the background. By the way, did I mention it was hot? Something like 90 degrees?

While the taking short (?) walk to Fry's, I hallucinate I'm Harry Dean Stanton in Paris, Texas. Finally, I'm at the front door. I hang out for about an hour, looking at stuff, purchasing a DVD set, eating lunch. Time to head back. Taking a short-cut by the mall (thus avoiding Wendersland), I'm at a hot bus shelter. The bus comes soon after, and it's pretty much Same Song, Second Verse back up the Strip.

Minutes later (quite a few, actually - I went through The Venetian as to get away from the heat) I'm lying on the couch in my suite, contemplating what I just went through. I came to the conclusion that There's Gotta Be A Better Way.

Oh yeah, there is. Wait for Becky and use our rental next time.

Face Time In Vegas or The Doofus Doubles Down Deux

2008-06-10T12:30:00.004-05:00

Where are we again, Hon?

Spring cleaning time here at TMJ. Time to dump the junk, clear out the cobwebs and start with the writing again.

Also, time for a recap: At the GEM awards, Arsenic and Old Lace won nada, Becky got a new laptop (which I'm using at this moment), Older Stepson moved out of girlfriend's apartment (surprise surprise) and moved in with his brother and not with us (a genuine surprise). I also got a temp job to get some vacation money together later (still wanna got to California with Becky and Gage).

Oh yeah, I'm now on Facebook. I resisted and resisted, but a lot of my theater friends are on there and I wanna keep in touch.

BTW, I'm writing this from a beautiful suite in the Palazzo resort/casino in the heart of The Strip on a gorgeous Tuesday, about 12:30ish. Behind me is a big window with a spectacular view of Las Vegas.

How did this happen, you ask? Well, Becky got tapped to go to some sort of Leadership Seminar through Boeing and we decided to take me along for the ride. It was a struggle, But I said "sure, I'll go". :-)

We got here Sunday morning and I'm already exhausted. I knew I'd be walking a lot, so I got some walking shoes and sandals before I left, but it's still a pain. First day here we get corralled into listening to a timeshare presentation. I hate these things, no matter how good it sounds (and this one sounded damn good). However, they waived cheap tickets to Mystere in front of our faces and hooked us.

The presentation was nice, but when it came down to it, Becky was the Bad Cop and said no. I owed her one, so last night when we went to eat, we ended up in an ultra-fancy Italian joint that, even with Becky's per-diem was way too high. So we left, Becky claiming I was a "fussy eater" Truth be told, I am, but I hate it when people say that about me. This is something I never could understand. With the myriad sins in this world, being a "fussy eater" is a very minor one. Yet, when
someone says I'm a "fussy eater", all of a sudden I'm Pontius Pilate, Robbie Rotten and Hannibal Lechter all rolled into one. Sheesh.

Anyway, Mystere was fantastic, I'm up 40 bucks at the casinos and Becky will be off later so's we can go have more fun. Hope I get to do karaoke tonight. I also hope Becky's luck changes; she hasn't won any large amounts yet and she's waaaaay overdue.

Splenda In The Glass

2008-01-22T20:12:00.000-06:00

Hauling ass in the fridge

Two months ago, my sister-in-law Kristi moved in with us, which is a good thing (we could use the $). Another good thing is that it gives Becky someone in her family to talk to on a regular basis. The best thing (to me) is that last week they started a low-carb diet along with a couple more of their sisters, which means I don't have to.

Now anyone who was still reading this knows that last year I made a commitment to lose weight by GenCon (September), which I didn't follow through on. I wasn't really surprised, as my history of dieting is spotty at best. If someone pushed hard enough, I'd try to lose weight, but I backslid very easy. Started when I was a kid with my mom trying to get me to diet, something I didn't really take seriously, but it did give me a lil' gremlin at the back of my mind, telling me my body was too fat (a few years ago I found some pictures of a show I did in colleges and the first thing I thought was "Ye cats, I wasn't fat - why the heck didn't I date?"). That and I grew to be 6-6 and my parents were average size (and in the case of my mom, a bit below average). But, it's gotten a bit worse since I turned 50 and now have grandkids - I wanna be around to see them grow up.

So, while I'm glad she has someone besides me to diet with, I also feel myself being pulled toward the diet thing. And, once again, that really isn't a bad thing. I find myself not drinking soda as much as I used to, eating their foods more often, etc. Who knows, I may lose some weight (and I definitely will if I start up with the gym again).

0-8-0-8-Oy

2008-01-01T18:59:00.001-06:00

Nuthin' like the end of the year to bring me out of my cave and back into blog-land. I'm looking ahead into the new year and I see the usual: sea-poop. Yes, the future is murky but I do know that ahead are some trips to who-knows-where (hopefully one to Long Beach and one to Vegas - Becky owes me 'cuz we had to put the kibosh on Con On The Cob at the last minute), at least one more stage show and much-needed financial prosperity. Let's see what residue I left behind in '07, shall we?

The year started off with a bang by 1). not working at Renda anymore and 2). getting to play Murray in the Jewel Box Theatre production of The Odd Couple (not to mention winning a Gem award for said role). In other entertainment areas I was continuing with the karaoke including a brief stint on the other side of the mike. I signed up with a producer who hires out KJs and had a short stint (think weeks) at a local bar. That ended when the manager decided I was "too old for the crowd." I'm still with the producer and I probably should call him, but I'm not in that big of a hurry.

On the Librivox front, I managed to add Lovecraft's The Statement of Randolph Carter to the catalog. I was also contacted by a gent in the UK to do a radio drama with a couple other Librivoxers of said story. It turned out so well he asked me to do The Beast in The Cave for him, which I did. It's in editing on his end, I'll let you know how it turns out.

Also, I did a reading of A Christmas Carol for LV last year I forgot about (because I didn't get it done until February seeing as I had a cold through the holidays). Anyway, I've been getting quite a few nice emails (and a few comments here) on them. To those of you who have downloaded them from Librivox and enjoyed them, thanks. It was a pleasure to do it.

This was also the year I entered into the Wonderful (?) World of WebBlogging at YouTube. I did about a half-dozen, I'll pick out back up soon.

Later on I proved what a glutton for punishment I am by reprising a role I did at the Jewel Box in 2000. I played Jonathan Brewster in their revival production (their 50th season) of Arsenic and Old Lace. Packed houses and rave reviews with a kink in the tail when we had to cancel the final Sunday performance due to an ice storm that swept through the area (left us without Cox for four days - no internet, no phone, no cable - good thing I have a large DVD collection).

Speaking of DVDs, it's time for the Annual What I Bought Disc-Wise for 2007. ReadySetGo:

Airplane!
Animaniacs: Volume 1
Batman: The Animated Series - Volume 3
Charlotte's Web*
A Christmas Carol (Alstair Sim)
City of Lost Children*
The Classic Sci-Fi Ultimate Collection: Volume 2
The Complete Monty Python's Flying Circus 16-Ton Megaset (upgrade)
Eraserhead
F For Fake: Criterion
The Fallen Idol: Criterion
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: Criterion (3rd time!)
The Film Crew: Killers From Space
The Film Crew: The Giant of Marathon
Film Noir Classic Collection
Film Noir Classic Collection: Vol. 2
Film Noir Classic Collection: Vol. 3
Film Noir Classic Collection: Vol. 4
A Fistful of Dollars
For A Few Dollars More
Fox Horror Classics
Hard Boiled
Harry and The Hendersons
Help!
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Disney)
The Invisible Man: The Legacy Collection
The Iron Giant (replacement copy)
Jonah: A Veggie Tales Movie*
Jonny Quest: The Complete First Season
The King Kong Collection
Les Miserables: Cinema Classics Collection
Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 5
Looney Tunes: Back in Action*
The Love Bug
Matt Helm Lounge
Monsters and Madmen: Criterion
Nero Wolfe: The Complete First Season
The NeverEnding Story*
Night at the Museum
Not Just The Best of The Larry Sanders Show
Peter Pan Platinum Edition (Disney)
Popeye the Sailor: 1933-1938
The Princess Bride (upgrade)
Raging Bull Special Edition
Red Green Stuffed and Mounted Six-Pack
Reservior Dogs 15th Anniversary Edition
Rio Bravo Ultimate Collector's Edition
Sin City - Recut, Extended, Unrated
Strangers on A Train Two-Disc Edition*
Superman Returns*
Talking Heads: Stop Making Sense
The Third Man: Criterion (upgrade)
The Three Stooges Collection: Volume One - 1934-1936
Transformers: The Movie
Transformers (Michael Bay)
The Triplets of Belville
True Grit: Special Collector's Edition
The Twilight Zone: The Complete Definitive Collection
Universal Horror Classic Movie Archive
Vincent Price: MGM Screen Legends Collection
Walt Disney Treasures: The Chronological Donald Volume Three
The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Classic Cartoon Collection

* The result of Becky joining Columbia House

Oooo-eee. I count 62 discs and/or sets. Makes for a nice assortment along with enough noir to choke Mr. Ed.

Well, looks like my stepson and his kids are staying with us for a while. The stepson is suffering from strep and just had a fight with his live-in girlfriend and mother of his two boys, so time for them to camp out here for a while. Guess the holiday stress isn't quite over. Until next time, lemme leave you with a hint of coming attractions - Becky may get a professional "bump." Cross your fingers...

Vidiot Savant

2007-06-24T21:01:00.000-05:00

NOT a prostate exam

Hey, haven't tossed my voice into the void for a while. How's everyone?

Time for a big steamin' pile o' update. As you can see by the picture, I'm videoblogging now. Got me a Logitech vidcamera for notebooks and launched my face into YouTube. Here's the real deal if you want to watch a middle-aged white guy go off about stupidity (there's a thought). More of those to come, as it was actually fun.

Major DVD Purchase: The Twilight Zone: The Complete Definitive Collection landed in my mitts courtesy of Walmart.com. This set is great: all five seasons (on 28 disks) of the original show with tons of extras like interviews, commentaries, etc. If you're a fan of sci-fi, Rod Serling or the show, check it out (MSRP is $299.99US but Walmart.com has it for $169.88US and if you use their Site to Store option, no shipping charges - sweet deal). This is gonna take a good long time to get through and I'm lovin' every minute of it.

I'm about a week away from vacation in New Mexico with Becky and Gage. Lookin' forward to this, if we can find a place (or places) where we can just get up in those mountains and Forget Civilization Exists for a while.

Oh, and looks like I'll be embarking on another business venture: Karaoke Host. Met the guy who runs a lot of the shows around here and we signed contracts so pretty soon I'll be making (alleged) money for something I enjoy doing (twice in my lifetime? Be still my beating heart).

That's all I got for now. Hope to update on the road so cross yer fingers.

And The Hunk O' Plastic Goes To...

2007-05-16T22:52:00.000-05:00

I did WHAT to the award?

Okay, it's over. Had my day in the sun, howled at the moon and have a memento of a great show. The Odd Couple is a wonderful, funny piece of theater and I'm glad I did it. Even if I had not won the GEM Award for Best Featured Actor I had one of the best experiences in my life, on or offstage (Warning: lots of back-patting ahead).

Seldom do I get to work with such seasoned actors, ones which fit their part so well the whole cast works like a finely-tuned machine. Jon Haque, Rob May, Kevin Logan, Shawn Hicks, Joe Moore, Shawna Linck (my fellow GEM Award-winner) and Renee Pitts, pros all. This was truly an ensemble piece. Same with the crew: these ladies had the show down so well the production flowed like water, all led by the sure hand of Amy Ackerman, our great Stage Manager. I was happy and proud to work with every one of them.

Despite the great talent all of it would have been a mess had it not been for Don Taylor, Herr Director. The man has the best eye and ear for comedy I have seen, not to mention a real feel for the material, a sense of fun and a razor-sharp wit. I hope I get to do more stage work with him.

I got a great role, an award and a bunch of great friends to boot. Not bad.

I'll reflect back on this show, and the effect it had on my performance, later on...

What 50 Looks Like

2007-04-28T14:07:00.000-05:00

We'll have to do this again in 50...

Here's the look of a half-century of living. This was taken last night at Oldie's Blues Saloon with my wife and some of my friends, all of us (except for Becky) cast members of The Odd Couple. The folks are (l-r) my lovely wife Becky, Jon (Oscar), Yours Truly (Murray), Sean (Roy) and Rob (Felix). Great night, apple pie shooters, dancing and me getting loaded on Smirnoff Ice. What can I say? I'm a cheap drunk.

Many Happys Returned, or It Flipping Hurts

2007-04-26T23:18:00.000-05:00

Dawg days indeed

Aaaaaaaand, we're back. Things keep on rollin' along here. Kind of gloomy outside, getiin' ready to rain (like we don't need it here). Got the show to do tonight and all. Life is adequate.

So, I turn 50. Feels like 49 only later. I had a lot of well-wishers online and off, got a nice card, an electric razor from Becky and I generally had a mellow time here at home. I don't have that Middle-Aged Blues I heard about, just same ol', same ol'. Becky says we'll do up a party right after the show finishes it's run (around first of May). Until then, time for some drinks after the show.

One gift I got is a copy of Not Just The Best Of The Larry Sanders Show, a 4-disc DVD set with 23 of the best shows along with lots of extras. Great set. I love this show but as I've been working my way through it, I'm getting this sense of sorrow. See, I love the satire of talk-shows and the entertainment business in general, but, as I'm going through the last few, it just kinda pains me to see this whole show get torn down by a bunch of network weasels with their own agendas. Yeah, I know it's reflecting the reality of it and yeah, I know it's just a show but I've come to care about the characters (flaws and all) and about the show itself. I guess that's a testament to Gary Shandling and all the other creative writers, actors and others who worked on it. It's just a show but the end is starting to feel like The Fall of The Roman Empire.

I may have to sell it after I'm done because it's just too much. Bravo to Gary and everyone else, but I don't think I can watch this again. So long Larry, Hank, Artie and all the rest. You're best as a memory, one of better times. One that I'll never forget.

This In From Rumson Beach: Whale Of A Mess

2007-04-19T14:17:00.000-05:00

No blubbering here

Got an email from my bud Dence McCloud from Rumson Beach, CA. Cool place, about 25 miles south of Santa Barbara. I spent a couple summers there during my young-adulthood and Dence was a college chum who, being moslty ho-daddy, decided to stay. He opened a 'dog stand (Dence's Dense Dogs), got married and settled down there.

Anyway, there was an emergency town meeting to decide what to do with the blue whale that beached itself and promptly died last week right in front of the shallow end of the beach. So they weren't overrun by newspeople and enviromentalists, the mayor had Hal Scrupio, town treasurer and owner of the Rumson Beach Gravel Company throw a couple tons of sand on top of it. Woulda been okay if local artist and sand sculptor Perry Funnel hadn't gotten "inspired" and sculpted it into the shape of a dead blue whale. That and the smell. Next thing you know they were hearing on the news about some kind of giant skunk stinking up PCH.

Ross Plunkett, who captains the live-bait boat Chum-Chum Cheree offered to haul it out to open water using his bilge pump as sort of a suction device, but before anyone could consider the merits of that move, the damn thing exploded. It happened at the Annual Chum Festival and Weenie Roast and, according to Dence, he was just finishing up cooking the last batch of Dense Dogs when there was a huge explosion and next thing it was raining whale parts. After convincing Ol' Ben Farragut it wasn't one of the Seven Plagues, Dence ran over to investigate. Seems that Frank Sawtelle and Gull Buckett got potted and decided to play Captain Ahab with a lit kelbasa on a skewer, which ignited the built-up methane inside the big guy.

No serious injuries,but three people were treated for blubber. Ross towed the rest of it out to sea the next morning, freeing Willy for good. Dence commemorated the incident by introducing the new Whale O' A Dog (It Expoldes With Flavor!). Consists of a kelbasa covered with hash, with a lit spear in the middle. Yummy.

Break An Egg

2007-04-09T11:30:00.000-05:00

I want YOU to go get me some of those
Cadbury chocolate eggs!

Finished with Easter, approaching mid-April and time for me again. Jesus came out of the cave and saw his shadow so I guess that means baseball season starts. I'm sitting in the peace and quiet of the local library posting this, something which I wish I could've done a long time ago. Now with my new ally, an Averatec laptop I recently purchased off a friend, I'm mo-bile (emphasis on the bile). Finally, blogging done in a comfortable place away from home distractions.

This Thursday (the 12th), The Odd Couple opens at the Jewel Box Theatre, to mostly sold-out crowds. No pressure, right? To tell you the truth, not really, as we got a crackerjack cast who are pumped and ready to go. Of course, this doesn't mean there won't be butts in seats before opening night. Tonight, for instance, we have the GEM Awards (Jewel Box's Tonys) Nominating Committee watching and the next two nights we got the Shriners at the show. The director tells me Shriners are great audiences and always bring good food, but I hope they don't drive around in tiny cars in front of the box office before the show...

For me, the best part is, during the run I turn 50. Hence the laptop (early present). Who needs a pony?

Thick As Sea-Poop

2007-03-10T08:31:00.000-06:00

Thick as sea-poop

It's nice and quiet this morning. Good time for catch-up.

Just came off a rather persistent depression, black mood, what-have-you. Started around the first of the year and ended Wednesday. During that time I found everything uninteresting, not being motivated (more than usual) to accomplish anything and finding things I enjoy too much trouble. I didn't take my blood pressure meds and was just feeling generally lousy. My doctor was getting ready to prescribe pills for depression.

Then the thing that changed all that happened.

I had a colonoscopy.

It wasn't the most enjoyable experience, but seeing as I'm hitting 50 next month it's all part and parcel of the "make sure you don't have anything terminal" check-up that's supposed to happen about now. Believe it or not, the worst part was doing a clear liquid fast the day before while chugging a couple of bottles of chromium citrate to get me cleaned out reeeeal good. Now every time I see that particular shade of green I'll be reminded of my bathroom.

Anyway, the procedure was routine and I had some pretty good anesthetics (that stuff that makes you forget with a Demerol chaser). Now here's the good part: the next day, after all that stuff had worn off, I woke up feeling great. Alert and rested with a desire to Do Stuff. I haven't felt that way (or had that good a night's sleep) for a long time. I'm looking forward to doing things again, got back on the BP meds and I'm starting back on the diet/exercise thing Monday. I've returned to the living. Man, I love being 50!

I now plan on doing the fast/purge thing on a regular basis, probably once a month. I wanna stay this way.

So remember: sometimes life shoving a finger up your ass is a great motivator.

2006: A Beer And Review

2007-02-09T09:13:00.000-06:00

Last time we saw me, I was recuperating from my California Trip, done with Getting My Kicks with wife and grandson in tow and letting the holidays wash over me like the wave at the beach that managed to knock down Gage while he wasn't looking (we still hear about it from him, bless his heart). Here, from the vantage-point of mid February, I can finally think clear enough on the last few months and look at what happened in my part of Okie City circa 2006.

Well, Christmas was simultaneously interesting and miserable. We spent it in Arkansas with the rest of Becky's family, at my brother-in-law Doug's new place. Beautiful home. The interesting part was Doug's new digs: a multi-room house on a sloping hill in the middle of Wal-Mart City. It was gratifying to see Gage playing with other kids and, since we brought my other grandson Gavin, everyone enjoyed taking care of the 9-month-old ball o' love.

The miserable part was that on Christmas Day I got one mother of a cold, one that lasted a good two-and-a-half weeks, temporarily robbed me of my voice and seriously jeopardized my ability to attend auditions for the Jewel Box Theatre's production of The Odd Couple (fear not, I went and was cast as Murray). I was running a high fever all afternoon and took to my bed once the road trip was over.

Well, that was then and this is now and Now I'm reflecting over the year with a faint smile upon my puss. The highlights of 2006 for me were (in no particular order), Gavin, my second grandson being born in March, my trip to the GAMA Trade Show in Vegas (and actually coming back $200.00 ahead), discovering LibriVox on the net, thus giving me another performing outlet and our trip to Long Beach with Gage. The low points: having to move almost immediately after I get back from Vegas, failing at my Weight Loss Vow (you heard it here first, folks), having to miss Con On The Cob in Kent,Ohio (something I'll make up for in 2007) and a minor bummer of buying the new Star Wars Original Trilogy release Best Buy boxed tin and trying to lie my way out of it to Becky (note to self: don' do dat again).

Another major event last year was my relinquishing (mid-December) of my duties at Renda Broadcasting. I told my supervisor that, after a certain date, she can use me as a fill-in, but don't feel obligated to schedule me hours. Last time I dropped in, I noticed they gave my mailbox to someone else. I guess that's it then.

I don't know how to classify that last one: it hurts a bit being out of radio, but the hours were getting impossible, seeing I was getting as little as 6 hours a week. I knew that would pick up when football and basketball started up, but Becky didn't like the fact I had weird hours that interfered with time off she wanted us to take. So it was with reluctance that I said farewell to radio. Good thing I got a stage show to do soon.

As last year, the DVDs I managed to pick up in 2006 (in no particular order - this is the part in the entry where I stare at my DVD collection and try to figure it out): the aforementioned Star Wars set, Hollywood's Legends of Horror box set, the two Boris Karloff sets (The Boris Karloff Collection and Boris Karloff: Icons of Horror Collection), Preston Sturges: The Filmmaker Collection, Red Green Stuffed And Mounted Six-Pack, Scrooge (finally), March of The Wooden Soldiers/Babes in Toyland, My Big Fat Greek Wedding (replacement copy), A Prarie Home Companion, The Triplets of Belleville, Police Squad! The Complete Series, The Maltese Falcon 3-disc Edition, Cars, Monty Python And The Holy Grail (double-dip to get the soundtrack CD), Back to The Future: The Complete Trilogy, Chronicles of Narnia, The Classic Sci-Fi Ultimate Collection, 14 Hours, Shock, Jim Henson's The Storyteller: The Definitive Collection, The Big Sleep, Corpse Bride, M: Criterion, Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow, Disney's Treasure Island, The Killers: Criterion, The Mummy Collector's Set, The Ed Wood Box, Unbreakable, The House On Telegraph Hill, Bluebeard, Pleasantville, The Return of The Pink Panther, The Pink Panther Collection, House of Strangers, The Life and Death of Peter Sellers, I Wake Up Screaming, Fallen Angel, The Third Man: Criterion, Polanski's Oliver Twist, The Aristocrats, The Buster Keaton Collection, Crumb, The Complete Mr. Arkadin: Criterion, Secondhand Lions, The Wolf Man: The Legacy Collection, Big Fish, Batman: Mask of The Phantasm, Where The Sidewalk Ends and Wallace & Gromit: Curse of The Were-Rabbit.

There y'are. Nary a clinker among 'em. Looking back, it seems that I did a lot of filling-in of the gaps, along with a headlong dive into the Film Noir genre. Well, Noir is a lot of fun and filling in collection gaps is a good sign that your collection is becoming lean and mean: no fat, no filler.

Looking ahead, 2007 has already started out on a good note, as I start rehearsals next month for a mid-April run of the show (this means no Vegas trip this year, hence the reason why I'm going to Con On The Cob in November). In the ensuing months my current projects are to do the show, get some employment and keep writing this-here blog. Hope you stick around. Interesting times ahead.

Surf & Turf

2006-11-29T11:47:00.000-06:00

Oranges optional

Well, it's pouring outside and my nose is doing the same in here. I dunno, I hit it with Afrin and Claritin and it still pretends like it's Hoover Dam bursting. Think I'll give Ol' Doc Sudafed a shot.

It's been three days since returning from out Long Beach road trip, Becky, Gage and myself. I now feel I have enough distance from it to look back with a clear mind. I thus come to the same conclusion I did last time we did this:

Next time, we fly.
Lemme 'splain. It's nothing to do with the fact that it was a fun trip, even with the grandson along. Nor it has nothing to do with the fact that the scenery and places we stopped at weren't fun. It's just grueling, that's all. And this is aside from the fact that Gage behaved a lot better then I thought he would. But 2-3 days in a small car with nothing but the radio to keep you company wears me out, plain and simple. I'm gettin' too old for this.
That said, we had a pretty good trip. We got to see my Mom and my brother Mike, went to the Aquarium of The Pacific in Long Beach (IMO, probably the best aquarium I've ever been to - yes, that includes Monterey's) and, best of all, I got to give Gage his first ever experience at Disneyland. he didn't quite get it at first, but after Star Tours he got into it. I've never seen a happier little boy. His favorites were Star Tours and the Jungle Cruise, but he loved every minute of it (even the lines - plus he got a lightsaber out of it). I was one proud grandpa.

He also had his first experience with the ocean. We took him to Laguna Beach and let him frolic in the surf (a mighty cold surf, I might add). He went in up to his ankles but Grandpa went out deeper and entertained him by getting knocked down by waves (something that even happened to him).

My Mom loved him and he bonded well with Mike (they were buds by the time it was over). Even Becky had a good time at the ocean and Disneyland (which was kinda crowded - typical). After a nice Thanksgiving dinner, we headed home the next day.
Looking back from Pudunk-Land, I find myself cracking a smile when I think of the trip. Yeah, I hope we fly next time but, truthfully, I'd do it again the same way. Why? Check out that last picture. 'Nuff said.

We'll Always Have Greedo

2006-11-09T13:50:00.000-06:00

A useless debate

This last week I picked up The Star Wars Trilogy: Special Edition at Best Buy (they have all 3 films in an exclusive cool-looking metal tin). For those unaware, this is the recent 2-disc releases with Disc 1 being the current Lucas-revamped release and Disc 2 being the original release of the corresponding film, warts and all. I never had a burning desire to own them for my collection, but I felt it was time for Grandson Gage to be exposed to one of the most influental film series of all time. Yes, he's 3, but he loves action films (within reason, although I'm slightly more leinient in this respect than Becky is).

Before I let him watch 'em, I watched the originals. Pretty much what I remembered. No rapture, no geeking out, Nostalgia didn't smack me down, just a great, well-made hunk of storytelling that engaged me. Then I watched to recent Lucas-doctored releases. First thing I noticed is that the films were cleaned up. A lot. The originals (expecially Part IV) had a kind of grime that was characteristic of films of that period (I chalk it up to the film stock used at the time). I could really see stuff in these versions, especially shots in the Milennium Falcon cockpit. I also appreciated the cleaned-up mattework. No longer did some of the shots of TIE fighters have what looks like this piece of black cardboard following them. So, let's break it down; here's my impressions (in raw form) of the revamps:

A New Hope: I see the Imperial troops "went native" looking for the driods, riding some kind of lizard-beast...hey, new creatures in Tatooine...cool, cool...they do blend in nice...hmm, Greedo shot first (more on that later)...Interesting scene with Jabba, but they ended up repeating lot of what Greedo said to Han....get to see a scene with Luke and Biggs, nice...the final trench-fight looks tightened up, really flows...say, now the Death Star blows up reeal good...

The Empire Strikes Back: Bespin looks the same...basically looks cleaned up, didn't notice any more tweaks outside of a few more aliens in Cloud City...

Return Of The Jedi: Now this is interesting...more aliens in Jabba's Palace...I like the new number the band does, especially the new singer, plus the other singer can actually move now...good cleanup on the Rancor...funky new mouth on the sand creature...

All in all, a good time. I also listened to the commentaries on these films and I understand what Lucas was trying to do. I don't damn him for it, although previously stating that the original theatrical versions will never again see the light of day was probably not a good PR move. Glad he backtracked here. I have to say that, while the originals are good, the cleaned-up ones are better. My take is that Lucas wanted to add stuff he always wanted to put in but couldn't at the time, due to budget, current technology, etc. It's also an effort on his part to bring the original trilogy up to match the polish of Parts I-III, so the whole story flows better.

So where does that leave us? With the "Han Shot First" debate. I heard all the arguments pro and con (and I can add one of my own, but it's more like a technical goof - I didn't see any laser scorching on the wall behind Han when he got up) and as far as it goes, it ranks as the Second Stupidest Fan Argument Of All Time. No, let's make that the Stupidest. It ranks right up there with the gamer's "do female dwarves have beards" argument (BTW, they don't, and if you don't like it, bite me ). Ya got both versions now, so watch the one that floats yer Pleasure Barge, okay?
Anyway, Gage loves 'em, no matter which version it is, which is all that matters around here. Lucas, I salute you for your noble effort, even if some want to burn you in effigy. You're aces in my book... ...unless you come out with something like Star Wars VII: Ewoks vs. Gungans. Don't jump that shark, man.

The Spooky And The Goofy

2006-10-28T18:48:00.000-05:00

Glad I never got braces...

Like Agatha Christie, I disappear and return with no reason or excuse. Well, maybe a small one: the usual ennui. BUT, I return to bring you DVD recommendations for the Halloween season.

Like a lot of my film bretheren and sisteren (cistern?), I'll be viewing horror films sporadically in the days to come, to top it off with a marathon (how long remains to be seen - it depends on how well I can pretend not to be home Halloween night). With me, it's Classic Horrors all the way. Aside from The Count, The Monster and Hairy Talbot, I enjoy other not-so-well-known frights. With that in mind, I stocked up this year on such fare. My recent aquisitions being Universal's The Boris Karloff Collection (a bit thin - I bought it because it included Tower of London, one of my favorites, but managed to find another good one, The Strange Door), Icons of Horror Collection: Boris Karloff (four Columbia pictures he did in the day - faves out of that set: The Black Room and Karloff and Peter Lorre in a great Arsenic and Old Lace variant The Boogie Man Will Get You). More on them another time. The best buy (which, ironically enough, I got at Best Buy) was Warner's Hollywood Legends of Horror Collection. Four MGM and two Warners fright-fests which run the gamut from inspired to silly, all with at least a slight air of preposterousness. But that's part of the fun. Allow me to walk (shuffle, shamble, ooze, whatever floats yer boat) you through the set:

Mark Of The Vampire - The set kicks off with one of the best of Tod Browning's efforts, a great satire on 30's horror movies in general and his own Dracula in particular. Bela Lugosi's back in the cape to threaten Elizabeth Allen, Lionel Atwill, Jean Hersholt (he of the Humanitarian Award) and Loinel Barrymore (pre-wheelchair, one-upping Edward Van Sloan in the Van Helsing department). Is the nearby abbey infested with vampires and did one of them kill Sir Karell Borotyn and turn him into a vampire? A bit implausable, but a lot of fun.

The Devil-Doll - Speaking of Barrymore, he's back here (again before he was debilitated) as Paul Lamond, a convicted French banker, framed and sent to Devil's Island, now escaped and wanting revenge. He finds the means through his partner-in-escape and his wife, who have been working on minitiurizing animals and people. After Dr. and Mrs. Cyclops show their handiwork to him, the male half of the team drops dead. Now he moves to Paris with the crippled Mrs. Shrinker and sets up in a toy shop, disguised as an old woman. While dodging police and exacting his revenge, Lamond tries to reach out to his estranged daughter (Maureen O' Sullivan, one of the Most Irritating Heroines In Film History). Works out as more melodrama than fright (whaddya expect, it's MGM) and probably the weakest of the bunch. Still it's interesting watching Barrymore drag it up and seeing Rafaelo Ottiano as the Most Demented Female Mad Scientist In Film. Tod Browning directs again.

The Mask Of Fu Manchu - Rohmer and Karloff - how can ya lose? Straight outta Frankenstein and The Old Dark House, Boris dons the Occidental duds as the Big Ol' Yellow Peril. This time, he's after the mask and sword of Genghis Kahn. Ol' Fu is convinced he's the next in line and, with these artifacts he can (dare he say it?) Rule The World!! Needless to say it's up to Nayland Smith (Judge Hard- eh, Lewis Stone) to stop him. He'd better hurry: Fu has already tortured Nayland's friend, noted archeologist Sir Lionel Barton (Lawrence Grant) to death (tortured by bell - what a novel concept). Sir Lionel's daughter Sheila (Karen Morley) has something to worry about, too: Fu's seductive and somewhat kinky daughter Fah Lo See (Myrna Loy) who has her sights set on Shiela's beau Terrence (Charles Starrett). This one's good in an Saturday Serial/Indiana Jones way. The makeup department laid it on a bit heavy on Karloff (looks like they plastered over his eyes) but he relishes every minute of screen time in this, his first speaking role. The man is totally evil. In all, pure 30's excitement, with a Parade of Deathtraps you'll really get a kick out of.

Doctor X - Here's something different, a film in two-strip Technicolor (wich means everything tends to be on the red/green side) directed by no less than Michael Curtiz. Lionel Atwill stars (no, that's not him in the picture) as the crusading Doctor Xavier, trying to find out who's the serial killer plaguing New York. Pre-Kong Fay Wray is his daughter and Lee Tracy is the annoying reporter who falls for her (this is the first time I've seen the male ingenue double as the "comic relief"). If you dig scientific equipment, you be agog at Dr. X's "lie detector". The damn thing takes up a whole room and has enough buzzing, sparking and gurgling stuff to make Dr. Frankenstein jealous. No wonder lie detector tests aren't admissable in court. By the time the killer shows up, all semblence of reality is thrown out the window and you disbelief will be suspended to the breaking point. But you won't care. And I bet if you watch this with friends or loved ones you'll come away with a great "inside joke" that will last a looooong time. Just remember: synthetic flesh...SYNTHETIC FLESH....

The Return Of Dr. X - Okay, let me clear this up right now: this is no more a sequel than Star Wars is to The Sound Of Music. The only thing in common with the previous film is the title. Here we're dealing with a scientific vampire story. Doctor Xavier (Humprey Bogart) was convicted and hung quite a while ago for experimenting on young kids. So how come Dr. Flegg (John Litel) has a doctor assisting him who's a dead ringer for the late Dr. X (except he's real pale and has a shock of white hair)? Well, Dr. Dennis Morgan and reporter Wayne Morris is gonna get to the bottom of it. Yes, this is the infamous horror film that Bogie made before he hit it big (he's really more of a supporting player here). Aside from that, he does the creepy bit well (his part was written for Karloff and the Flegg character for Lugosi, neither of which Jack Warner was able to get) and the picture comes off more as a buddy picture with horror overtones. Still, some good snappy dialogue and Bogie Taking One For The Team makes it a real jaunt.

Mad Love - Ah, the jewel of the collection. Karl Freund directs a tale of Stephen Orlac (Colin Clive), famous pianist and husband of singer Yvonne (Francis Drake), who suffers a terrible accident which permanently damages his hands. Enter brilliant (and obsessive) surgeon Dr. Gogol (Peter Lorre) who, in an effort to find favor with Yvonne (whom is object of said obsession), grafts the hands of a knife-thrower recently hung for murder onto Stephen's stumps. While the operation is a success, no dice with the wife, Doc. But maybe he can convince Stephen that his new hands are possessing him and causing him to commit murder...
Say what you want about M (and practically all of it is justified), this is the film that cemented Peter Lorre in the Crazed Homicidal Manic pantheon, and he delivers in spades. Even before he goes completely off the deep end in the final reel, his intensity and subtlety combine to give the audience a bad case of the jibblies. Even some misplaced comedy relief (mostly supplied by Ted Healy as a - what else - wisecracking reporter) can't hurt this film. Plus, there's Dr. Frankenstein himself doing his tourtured scientist/artist bit, a small part by Ed Brophy as the condemmed man and a cameo by Billy Gilbert. Watch it - you won't be sorry.

Okay, this set runs about 40 bucks American, which works out to about 6.75 per film, so it's not a bad bargain. Go forth and enjoy. Me, I'm gonna hole up in my living room, ignore the front door and try to get that phrase out of my head...synthetic flesh...

It's gonna be a long week.

Out, Out Damn Thoughts!

2006-09-27T08:24:00.000-05:00

Human pyramids never last

Hey, two Marx Brothers pics in a row. Wonder what Freud would make of that...
Okay, boredom and frustration setting in. Things have turned dull around here, so time for a recap:

Due to the way my supervisor is doing the work schedules because of OU sports (I still have weekends, but she's assigning specific board-ops to specific sports - I drew OU Women's Basketball, which doesn't start for another 1 1/2 months), my hours fluctuate wildly, prompting Becky to commence with a fresh round of quit-this-place-it's-not-worth-your-time. This time though, I'm starting to agree with her. OTOH, I don't want to quit without having something else lined up, preferably in radio. So, I commence with the Looking. I'm whipping my resume into shape while at the same time trying to hook up with at least one temp agency in the meantime.

The younger of my two stepsons is moving to Florida, to live in a trailer with one of his buddies and see if he can make it as a tiler in the Katrina-ravaged area. I wish him much success. Of course, this leaves a room unoccupied so, since Nature and my wife's family abhor a vacuum, my oldest stepson wants to move in on us, leaving his girl and two kids. I don't want him to, as it will just encourage him to not work and stay out all night, not to mention leaving my daughter-in-law and us to pick up the slack in regards to caring for our grandsons. Becky says she has some Expectations that must be met in order for him to be here, but I have my doubts. More as I get it...

I'm stalling, creatively. I got artwork for a Wanderer's Guild D20 supplement due and I can't seem to get it started. Too many distractions (like this blog). Also doesn't help that Gage is here a lot of the time, which means my time is limited. Guess I'll have to lock myself up in the bedroom naked with just a pad and pencils and pens. Hell, if those monkeys can write Hamlet, I can do the damn art.

Whew, good to get all that out. Had a story about Gage, but now this is sounding like a friggin' blog entry, fer cripe sakes. Guess it happens sometimes. Sorry, folks. Just so this isn't a total loss, here's some upside stuff that happened lately:

Got some good recordings done for Librivox. The best one was The Music of Erich Zann by H.P. Lovecraft. I sent it to a few web friends and they loved it.

We got to take Gage to the Oklahoma State Fair again this year. I dunno who has a better time, him or me watching him have a blast. I tell ya, if it was just Becky and I, we probably wouldn't go every year but with grandkids, we gotta go. Fantastic memories.

Recent DVDs: Since we're tight on money, I opted to fill in the holes in my collection with used discs. Got Corpse Bride, Sky Captain And The World Of Tomorrow and Narnia. Corpse Bride is fantastic, of course, Sky Captain is pretty good, but a little of it goes a long way and I saw Narnia in the theater, so I know Gage will like it.

Movie catch up: finally saw Pirates of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest a couple weeks ago. I liked it, but I wasn't too crazy about some of the character development, especially Will Turner's (I thought he turned on Jack a little too quick). On the plus side, the entire cast was back (with a whopper of a cameo at the end, leaving the audience with a great Han-Solo-In-Carbonite cliffhanger for the next film), the story was fun, the SFX outstanding and of course, there's Captain Jack Sparrow.

Our next sojourn into the darkened multiplex will be to see Hollywoodland. Promises to be good.

Well, let's see if I can get this ship righted and back on course next time. Till then, smooth sailn' mates.

Open Mic, Insert Foot

2006-09-06T10:36:00.000-05:00

Is this thing on?

Well, that was a nice little speech in the last entry, wasn't it? It's been a while now and Reality has set in for a long stay. Right now I'm hovering around 300, having lost about 5 pounds due to backsliding. Seems like I need to jump back on the wagon. Time to regroup and give my commitment more "oomph."

In Other News, I found a happenin' place on the web (for me, anyway). For quite a while now I've been wanting to do books-on-tape/CD/whatever. I'm not acting all that much, so this is a good outlet for me. Besides, I haven't been on the air and I thought it'd be a good way to keep my voice sharp.

I stumbled on to Librivox while looking up something on Wikipedia, and I love it. It's a bunch of volunteers reading Public Domain literature and offering it for download as MP3's, podcasts, etc. The readings range from okay to professional quality (belive me, there's quite a few readers on there I wish I could be as good as). They've got a big selection which is growing all the time. I've done a couple of stories and poems for them (click here if ya wanna find out what ol' Smokestack did for 'em so far, under his real moniker, Glen Hallstrom - I got more short stories to come) and I'm having a ball. BTW, they're always looking for volunteers, so if you like to read, come on by and check out their messageboards. There's a lot of great people there who love what they're doing.

As for me, back to the diet. Becky's off this week, so she can help me toe the line.

Damn The Doritos, Full Stevi-Ahead

2006-08-14T14:00:00.000-05:00

I had orcs for you guys to fight
but I ate 'em

Another week. Seems like I was doing this just a couple of weeks ago. Waitaminute...

There's a part of my life I've not been talking about here, and that's my interest in role-playing games. The fact is, I've been playing D&D and other games of that stripe since the mid-80's, but this blog seems to be dedicated to (besides the joke that is my life) more, shall we say, cinematic pursuits.

Alright, I'll say it: I've been ignoring my RPG hobby in favor of my film/DVD collecting.

There's a few reasons for this. For one, when I started this my head was more into my video pursuits because that's what I was doing. I felt my fellow film buddies would be the main audience, so that's what I was leaning towards. Another is that I wasn't gaming at the time I started TMJ. I was going through a looooong dry-spell due to my work schedule. Lastly, I just felt none of my homies over at the gaming boards would be interested in what I had to say if it wasn't RPG-oriented (something that may be partially true).

Well, that's gonna change.

While I'm not gonna drop film, DVDs or chit-chatting, I'm gonna talk more about my other pursuits, too. I hope this don't cheese-off some of my film-folk (all 1 1/2 of them), but rest assured it'll all be balanced out Fair and maybe balanced. :-)

I know, I know, you say "Smokestack - wha' hoppen? What's with the change?" Actually, it's not really a change, more like an addition.

Okay, in other news, I've established a Goal. Something I think is attainable. Something to give my damn life a bit of meaning - and have some fun along the way, by gum.

Okay, here's the deal: GenCon just finished up this last week and again I didn't go (what's GenCon you say - the first and grandaddy of all gamer conventions, that's all). While I've been to some rather big cons, I've never been to The Big One. I think it's time to change that.

This coincides with one of my funks, a rather serious one, where I don't feel like I have direction in my life. Oh yeah, I've survived lo these 49-50 years, but it's more like existing. I have a piddly-ass job and that's about it. Add to that I'm not in the best of health and my eating habits suck like a Hoover. Besides, I feel like crap.

After reading my RPG boards about what fun everyone had this year at GenCon, I really want to go. Then I find out next year is GenCon's 40th Anniversary. That was the straw that broke this gamer's back. I want to go. I want to have fun. Not just have fun, but I want to feel younger than my years. I want to really enjoy myself and there's no conceivable reason why I can't get off my tookus and make it happen.

It's time.
This is the day I commit. The resolution is as follows:I, Smokestack Jones (and my real-life alter-ego Glen Hallstrom) resolve to go to GenCon 40 in 1997 and when I arrive at said convention be at least fifty (50) pounds lighter than I am at this moment (I currently weigh in at about 320 lb.). I will do whatever it takes to achieve this goal, be it regular exercise, good eating (including forgoing the regular ingestion of favorite foods) or any other means in the course of my normal life to achieve this goal. Furthermore, I resolve to maintain said lighter weight and healthier lifestyle until GenCon 2007 and as far beyond as I can manage it (preferably to the grave).

So there. It's up here so's all can see. It's another way to motivate me to do it. Besides, if I'm going to declare this to the whole of the Internet, it'll keep me from backsliding (in other words, you guys will keep me honest).

To achieve this goal, Becky and I will be sitting down this evening and outline some sort of battle-plan to make it happen (including drinking a lot more - shudder - WATER!) and make sure I don't go off half-cocked (there is the small issue of my high blood pressure and past CHF to consider). In addition, I'll be consulting my doctor. We're already going to be heading for the gym Wednesday, trying to get off to a good start.

I'm pumped for this. I've done it before in the short-term. Let's see how I do this time. I'll be posting my progress here. I'm hoping I can do more than 50 pounds.

Okay, sorry about the dramatics, but I feel that I have to shake myself up out of my complacency from time to time. In a way, it's kind of an oxy-moron. Who ever heard of a healthy gamer?

Oh well. More interesting stuff next time...

Mainlining With A Laser Needle

2006-08-04T14:17:00.000-05:00

He's a lot gutsier than me

Well, after a deep funk followed by a head and chest cold that left me temporarily partially deaf, I'm back to pontificate. Haven't quite got over the illness (or my loss of hearing), but I got some industrial-strength prescription drugs on my side so let's see if I can work this lack of auditory stimuli to my advantage. To paraphrase Pink Floyd, blog on, you crazy diamond.

Among the recent purchases I've made is a book, The R. Crumb Handbook. Aside from a mighty-lak-a-rose CD of Crumb music he's made with several bands over the years (which I am listening to while composing this) included with the tome, the book is a fascinating read on the life and times of (as he somewhat jokingly dubbed himself) America's Favorite Underground Cartoonist (Every Picture A Masterpiece!) and how he's adjusted living in this world he's stuck in.
One portion of this book that had intrigued me was how he feel a compulsive need to collect old blues 78's (he has, arguably, one of the biggest private collections in the world). Between that, watching the Zigoff documentary Crumb and Harvey Pekar's American Splendor (another artist who feels compelled to collect, his drug of choice being jazz 78's), it got me thinking about my own collection of DVDs. While I don't begin to rival the core of DVD Verdict's members, it is a lot larger than the average layman's movies on disc assortment. Yet I always am on the lookout for more. I can now relate to the collecting bug. I insist it's a "hobby", as I do have a true love for film (I had about the same number of VHS tapes at one time, before that it was Super 8) and I do pride myself in my ability to find hard-to-find discs and/or getting something at a bargain, yet I wonder if there's ever gonna come the day where I'll say "enough is enough - I got all the film I'll ever want to watch, fer cripesakes!"

The thing that pushed it over the edge into Questioning Myself About This was when I started to think of my DVD collection as an "investment." Now before I started collecting DVDs I never had anything of real worth and when I started to collect I did so with one eye towards Handing Down The Collection To My Progeny (namely, my grandsons). It's when I started tracking the collection on three different websites that it started to hit home that I had Something Of Value. I'd gleefully enter in my latest discs at DVD Spot, where you can (among other things) see what the MSRP Value of your collection vs. what you actually paid for those bits of plastic and shiny stuff. "lessee." I'd say to myself "hmmm...oh wow - my collection has jumped up $1500.00 in value! I'm hot taters now!"

And so it went, adding to the collection until last night, when I added my current haul and immediately checked the worth of the collection. That's when the Lil' Smokestack in my brain said "Oh Gawd! You're a speculator! You know those guys ruin any field of collecting they get their grubby paws into! Remember the Action Figure market? Good gravy, remember what they did to Magic: The Gathering? What are you thinking, man?"

Leave it to my lovely wife Becky to snap me back to reality. I asked her about it and she came back with "well, have you bought any movies you don't like?"
"Well," I stuttered, "I just sold a few I didn't care for anymore..."
"I mean ones that you didn't like when you bought them?"
"No, why would I do that?"
"Because," she went on in her infinite wisdom, "that's what speculators do. They don't care if they like what they buy, as long as it appreciates in value over time."
Boy, I love her. Once again, Becky performs the feat that makes her invaluable to me: telling me something I already know that I need to hear again. I gave her a big kiss and thanked her.

After we talked, I breathed a sigh of relief and went to look over my collection. I finally came to the conclusion that hobbies (the normal, legal kind) are just harmless, highly organized and motivated obsessions. If it floats yer boat and keeps you sane, that's good enough. I went to bed that night and before I drifted off, I realized that does my heart good to know that, in some corner of every person's life, they go a bit nuts over something.

Bye George

2006-07-19T10:51:00.000-05:00

The fellow in the picture is George Hatch. I know him as a reviewer for DVD Verdict, probably one of the best they've had. George recently passed away and the DVD community is all the poorer for it. While at DVD Verdict he contributed some of the best, most insitghful reviews I've ever read. His specialty was Film Noir, and I have some wonderful Noir discs in my collection thanks to his reviews. I can't really do him justice, so I refer you to the links to Dan Mancini's blog and DVD Verdict for the full scope of the man.

Farewell, George. I'm sure you're up there spinning the discs. Damn, we're gonna miss you.

One Noir For The Road

2006-07-06T14:00:00.000-05:00

Y'know, if you're a lover of classic film like I am, you have a bit of an advantage over the more current-release-minded folks out there. Sure you waited patiently for that Special Edition of The Adventures of Robin Hood to finally get a release or plunked down some serious do-re-mi for that Val Lewton Horror set but, pound for pound, between major studio series releases and good ol' Public Domain, if you know what to look for you will find riches beyond your wildest dreams at a low price (not to mention occasionally finding that Forgotten Classic you've heard of but never seen).

That said, if you like film noir, duplitious dames, wise-cracking heroes and all, you've recently had an embarrassment of riches. With WB releasing in one but two Noir box sets (with a third in the way), other studios have been bellying up to the bar with their offerings - None more thoroughly than Fox. I say "thoroughly" because about half the films in the Fox Noir line are borderline noir at best.

And this is a bad thing? Uh-uh. Where else are you gonna find the breadth of drama at the prices they're charging (MSRP $15 but you can easily find them for $10)? And every one of them includes a commentary, most of which are done by Eddie Muller (author of film noir books, president of the Film Noir Society and a damn fine raconteur) These films may not all be noir but most of 'em are still damn good dramas, a lot of which are new to DVD. Here's a few recent examples I picked up for a song:

Laura - One of the two seminal noirs (the other being Double Indemnity - which is due out on DVD soon), Otto Preminger directing noir staple Dana Andrews, cracking wise and getting obsessed over Gene Tierney while Vincent Price makes with the charm and Clifton Webb drinks while tossing barbs hither and yon. This was the one that launched the Fox Noir line, so they give it a little more oomph in the extras department - two commentaries, one by composer David Raskin and Film professor Jeanine Basinger and another by film historian/author Rudy Behlmer, a deleted scene, two A&E Biographies on Gene Tierney and Vincent Price and the theatrical trailer. A fine way to launch a series and, as the rest of the series, a real entertainment bargain.

Fallen Angel - Dana Andrews again, this time with the likes of Alice Faye and Linda Darnell. Darnell's a tough waitress whom everyone with a fly on their pants is trying to get to know. Andrews is a small-time grifter who falls under her spell and develops a cockeyed plan to marry the younger of two rich spinsters (that would be Ms. Faye) so's he can con her out of the dough and run off with Darnell. This one's jam-packed with great character actors (Percy Kilbride, Charles Bickford, Bruce Cabot, Anne Revere and the Great John Carradine) plus Eddie Muller and Dana Andrews's daughter Susan doing the commentary chores.

Nightmare Alley - You heard me talk about this before. All about Stan Carlisle (Tyrone Power), a carny who wants something more. He has an affair with the carnival psychic (Joan Blondell) in order to learn the code she uses in order to move up in society as Mystic to The Rich And Famous - until he meets his match in a duplicitous psychiatrist (Helen Walker). A gripping ride down into the depths of noir with Stan ending up lower than he began. This one features commentary by film historians James Ursini and Alain Silver.

Somewhere In The Night - This was the first film Joseph Mankiewicz helmed. A John Hodiak starrer, he plays a returning war vet stricken with amnesia with nothing but a "Dear John" letter in his wallet and another from a guy named Larry Cravat. On his journey he meets a lot of folks (Harry Morgan, Sheldon Leonard, Whit Bissel, Fritz Kortner) who want to stop him from finding out about Mr. Cravat, and a few (Nancy Guild, Lloyd Nolan, Richard Conte) who want to help him. Eddie Muller goes solo with the commentary duties here. This one's a personal favorite, being a classic example of the "amnesia" noir.

I Wake Up Screaming - Okay, laugh at the title, but this is noir, straight-up. Frankie Christopher (Victor Mature) is a promoter who finds Vicky (Carole Landis), a hash-house waitress and decides to do a Henry Higgins on her for a lark. Too bad she gets bumped off, with all the evidence pointing to Frankie. Good thing he's got Vicky's sister (Betty Grable) on his side. He'll need all the help he can get because if he ain't careful, he's gonna be up the river, courtesy of a police detective (Laird Cregar) who's determined to pin it on him. The plot has more twists than a pretzel and the dialogue absolutely crackles. Add a deleted scene, an alternate opening, stills and Eddie Muller's commentary and this one is a great night at the movies

House of Strangers - This is one of the "barely noirs" I mentioned earlier, but boy is it fun. Noir with an Arthur Miller twist, Edward G. Robinson stars as Gino Monetti, the patriarch of an Italian banking family who is so concerned with business, he doesn't see the resentment and anger under his own house. Three of his sons, who work at the bank, hate his tyrannical rule while his fourth son (Richard Conte in, IMO, his best role), is a slick lawyer, wants nothing but to settle down with a nice Italian girl (Debra Paget) - until Susan Hayward waltzes into his life, that is. This is like taking one part Joseph And His Bretheren, one part King Lear, add a drop of noir (in the wonderfully-written scenes between Conte and Hayward), shake, and watch. Joseph Mankiewicz is in the director's chair again (some of the dialogue sounds like a warm up for All About Eve) with Robinson and Conte at the height of their talent. This time the commentary is by author/film hisorian Frasier Hirsch - a bit dry and spotty, but informative nevertheless. To paraphrase Nick Monetti, it's a great drama - period!

Those are just a half-dozen from a DVD series that looks like it's gonna go for at least 25 titles. If you like noir, or just a good ol' drama, you can't go wrong with these.

I Whip Out My 19 Inch...

2006-06-25T07:41:00.000-05:00

Time for some update. Took longer than usual but looking at the blogs of others I don't feel so bad (yeah I mean you Dunny, Sara and Manti - but I love yew guys anyway). Smokestack's Grindhouse seems to have given way to general film talk/recommendations so I'm gonna go with the flow on that.

It's slump-time at the station. Summer, no collegiate sports to broadcast so it's time for the Powers That Be to cut my hours back. And it's also for Becky to once again try to talk me into quitting (various reasons - gas, one car between the two of us, incompatible schedules, etc.). And, once again, I resist. This year, though, I'm going to see if I can broker a layoff for the summer, so's I can come back when the football-basketball season start up again. We shall see.

Got in a lively discussion over at DVD Verdict about how a lot of folks of a more current generation see films of an earlier era as "dated" and consequently harder to watch (if at all). I gave my 25 cents (usually just 2 cents but this one lit my rump on fire a bit) then yielded the floor to others who are making very good points. If ya wanna check it out, check the Links section on the right.

Friday was a milestone in my career as Grandpa - took Gage to his first movie in a theater. The film was Cars and he was great. No yelling, no crying, no restlessness and he loved it. Not bad for 2 1/2 years old. I'm proud of him.

Next on my Must See list is A Prarie Home Companion. I always meant to listen to the show (at least to get some background on it) but never did, so I'll go into it cold. Besides, Altman's directing it. Can't beat that.

One of the best things that happened recently is that I'm now blogging (and doing everything else PC-related) on a 19-inch monitor. A friend (thanks Don) gave it to me since he's got all he needs. It's old and the power switch is touchy (an easy work-around since my PC stuff is plugged into a main power unit) but it's great. I set it to 1280 x 1024 res and now I have enough real estate to really go to town with Paint Shop Pro. Now if I can only get my Graphire tablet to work with my Logitec Marble Mouse trackball...

Hmmm, I was working on a pretty good depression, looks like I've worked myself out of it. Thanks for listening. You're a great help. More interesting stuff later.

The Stars Are Sooooo Right!

2006-06-10T12:52:00.000-05:00

I was handed a disc at my weekly gaming group by player who shares my love of the works of H.P. Lovecraft. I asked him what it was. "It's a film of the story Call of Cthulhu by the H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society. I groaned a little. While I had heard of the group and visited the website (they do a series of LARPs - Live Action Role-Playing Games - inspired by Lovecraft), I've sat through my share of "fan films" and a lot of them were a waste of my lifetime at best, eyeball-stabbingly bad at worst. So I smiled, thanked him and promised him I'd return it ASAP.

The next day, in a deep funk over the lack of creativity, I popped it in the machine, figuring this stuff will make me feel better about my artistic fumbling, mumbling something like "oh boy, here we go..."

I was stunned. Pure and simple.

It is black and white, filmed in MythoScope and runs about 47 minutes. For that time I was riveted to the screen, following the story of a man in an asylum asking his friend to burn personal papers of his and his great-uncle, an archeologist, a tale of great evil, madness, degenerate swamp-folks, brave, doomed sailors, an unknown island which holds a dream-like city and the great cosmic being that it houses.

I was raptured by the look of the thing. Since the story takes place in 1927, it was filmed like a silent film, title-cards and all. The crisp,stark images (lovingly aged) are a wonder to behold. The performances are great, right down the line. The site of sunken R'lyeh is something right out of German Expressionism (Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, anyone?) and Great Cthulhu himself is a fantastically Harryhausen-ish creation. Afterward, I was convinced that I had seen something extroardinary. This is probably the best adaption of a Lovecraft story I have ever seen, one of the greatest, truest literary adaptions I have ever seen. Not to mention a damn good tale.

I returned to the group's website and found out that this film was two years in the making and played at Sundance where it was well recieved. They have also planned more films, including a feature-length one with sound.

Even if you're not a Lovecraft fan, if you're a student of film (especially silent film), you owe it to yourself to see this film. So go, order the DVD, watch it and revel in a grand horror story made in a grand way.

Oh, and while you're at it, check out the HPLHS website. It's a lot of fun.

Let's Drink To Character... The Tale of Mr. Arkadin

2006-06-01T22:46:00.003-05:00

You first hear what sounds like a harmonica, then the screen fades in on a female body on the beach

The screen then fades to black, only to be replaced by a quote, which reads:

"A certain great and powerful king once asked a poet 'What can I give you of all that I have?'

He wisely replied, 'Anything, sir...except your secret.'"

Then another fade-in on a small private airplane, flying high over Spain.

The inimitable voice of Orson Welles tells us that:

On December 25^th, an aeroplane was sighted off the coast of Barcelona. It was flying empty. Investigation of this case reached into the highest circles, and the scandal was very nearly responsible for the fall of at least one European government. This motion picture is a fictionalized reconstruction of the event leading up to the murder, and to the appearance, last Christmas morning, of the empty plane.

Thus begins the “Comprehensive Version” of Mr. Arkadin, one of the most puzzling and intriguing films in the history of cinema. You soon find yourself watching a tale of power and the past, a powerful man who is himself mysterious and takes great pains to keep it that way. The tale is of one Guy Van Stratten, globe-trotting “entrepreneur” a smuggler, adventurer, gigolo and wanna-be tough guy, someone who is more resourceful than bright, who is granted the gift of two names from a dying man. The names, Van Stratten figures, will perhaps give him some leverage with the powerful and mysterious Mr. Gregory Arkadin, multi-millionaire and overprotective father to a strong-willed young girl. Arkadin soon hires Van Stratten do make a “confidential report” all about Gregory Arkadin for, with all his might and power, Gregory Arkadin does not know who he was prior to 1927. The resulting investigation and what happens next may prove the end for Mr. Van Stratten when he realizes, maybe too late, the lengths to which Arkadin will go to keep the past buried from his daughter.

There’s also another tale, one that has been told before, of a director, one of great creative power and perhaps an even greater reputation, having his work removed from his hands in the editing room only to watch as his work goes out into the world in several misshapen forms.

Both tales are told again, perhaps with more insight, for Criterion has released The Complete Mr. Arkadin, a 3-Disc DVD set which includes the two most complete versions and a “Comprehensive Version”, which was reconstructed using the best from all existing edits of the film, following, as close as can be determined, Orson Welles’s original editorial concept and wishes. Add to this stills, cut scenes, a full length commentary for the Corinth version, three radio broadcasts that formed the basis of the resulting movie and three short documentaries, plus a paperback copy of the novelization by Welles (which was, in all probability, ghostwritten by Maurice Bessy, based on Welles’s screenplay).

I first “met” Mr. Arkadin on VHS, under the title of Confidential Report which was included in a two-pack (along with The Third Man) of VHS tapes from Madacy, a public domain film distributor. Now I’ve always been a Welles fan, even though I have to still see some of his major works (The Magnificent Ambersons, Journey Into Fear and F For Fake are still on my “must watch sometime” list) and I remember seeing Criterion’s laserdisc edition (Confidential Report, which I learned later, was the European cut) so I plunked the 10-15 bucks for it. It was disjointed. It was very roughly dubbed. But I was hooked. The story was like something out of Eric Ambler (the plot has been compared to The Mask of Dimitrios) but it also seemed to get through it’s plot it’s own peculiar way. It is unmistakably an Orson Welles film and even in it’s reedited state (more on that later) I could follow it. The fantastically odd characters. The hero who doesn’t know when he’s getting in over his head (he seems to me like a slightly less bright, slightly more crude cousin of Jack Nicholson’s J. J. Gittes in Chinatown). The dense post-war Europe atmosphere. And at the center, a phenomenally rich, omnisciently powerful man-monster. An old-fashioned barbarian with the veneer of old-country charm and the soul of a poet. A man so adept at pulling the strings of someone as low-life as Van Stratten he can do it by memory. Van Stratten never had a chance. Unless…

You see, the Ogre (as his daughter Riana calls him), feels very protective of this progeny. So much so that it would devastate him for her to think anything but good of him. And that could be his undoing, so Van Stratten better wise up - fast.

This is also the story of one Orson Welles, former wunderkind of Hollywood, working as he can in Europe, trying to make films with his own unique vision, destined to be tossed off of films and being recut ad infinitum.

The story of Mr. Arkadin starts in 1954. Welles has had been wildly successful portraying Harry Lime in Caroll Reed’s film The Third Man and has been approached by a radio producer to do a radio series with the character for the BBC. One of the scripts for the show was one titled Man of Mystery, about a multi-millionaire Gregory Arkadin, who hires Lime to do a “confidential report” on him. Welles, impressed by the story, decides to make it the basis of his next film, becoming partners with a somewhat shady and socialist-leaning man named Louis Dolivet. After shooting, Welles proceeds to edit the film but, furious at Welles for taking so long, Doliviet breaks up the partnership and bars Welles from the cutting room. Doliviet then proceeds to have it cut with others, and Mr. Arkadin/Confidential Report goes out into the world. This means that there was never an “official director’s cut” of the film.

When I got this set I was ready for a great experience, but I didn’t realize the profound effect it would have on my film viewing. This film, to me, is the Dead Sea Scrolls of motion pictures. The pieces are there; what others have made with it is open to debate.

One thing I came away with was a new appreciation of the art (and it is an art) of film editing You truly can make or break a film in the editing room. Another thing that struck me is how, through all the permutations (the Corinth version, which is probably the truest version up until this set, Confidential Report, with it’s partial dismantling of the flashback structure), through all the cuts, the story still makes sense. From what I found out, Welles was constantly changing his mind, on set and in the editing room, partially as a ploy to keep others from trying to piece it together in any other way except his way. While he wasn’t completely successful in that regard, what he did give us is a story that doggedly tells it’s tale the way it wants to – the way Welles wanted to.

There are some that say that Welles tried to dazzle the audience with flash, mirrors and that Wellesian barnstorming, that what lied at the heart of this film was a third-rate pulp novel.

And what’s wrong with that? It didn’t stop him from taking another potboiler (Badge of Evil) and use the patented Welles Style to turn it into the first-rate noir Touch of Evil. It also never stopped Hitchcock to take a minor horror story and turn it into the classic Psycho. It was known that Welles loved pulp fiction and it probably amused him to take such mass-market material and try to turn it into Art.

Now as to the supplements, they’re surprisingly meaty, even for a Criterion set:

Three versions of the film, all in newly restored high-definition digital transfers; the Corinth Version (newly found by Peter Bogdonovich), Confidential Report and the “Comprehensive Version”. Aside from a few instances of dust (which looks like that was from the original negative) all three look pristine and in 1:33:1 aspect ratio.

Audio Commentary on the Corinth Version by Welles scholars Johnathon Rosenbaum and James Naremore. They know their stuff and provide a lively, in-depth look at the writing, direction and production, not to mention info about some of the (in)famous people in front of and behind the camera (they also make a great point that Welles saw himself as a failed Hollywood director when, in actuality, he was a successful independent director).

A half-hour interview with Welles biographer Simon Callow, featuring an audio interview conducted in 1980 with Robert Arden (Guy Van Stratten). Callow’s a bit cold, but it’s a good place to start for those unfamiliar with the story behind the film. The Arden interview gave a good insight on Welles working methods. He comes across as very warm and happy to be talking about this significant point in his career.

Three half-hour BBC radio episodes of The Lives of Harry Lime, the show which was the springboard for the film. The audio isn’t great on them, but they are a fun listen.

An interview with Harry Allen Towers, the man who produced The Lives Of Harry Lime for the BBC, on how that was conceived and how he got Welles involved. This was fun. The guy is getting on in years, but he’s still sharp and has some wonderful stories to tell about the BBC, Welles and The Third Man.

A new documentary about the Comprehensive Version featuring the two gents who put it together, Stefan Drössler and Claude Bertemes, with a few comments by Peter Bogdonovich. This (and commentaries) is why I love DVD extras – it was fascinating learning what they went through to keep it true to Welles. A bit of an odd way of doing it (they basically interview each other), but great nonetheless.

Still Gallery – a lot of shots on the set and elsewhere.

Outtakes – now this is great – among these are clips (with sound) of Welles directing Robert Arden and Paola Mori. How often do you get to see examples of a great director at work? Priceless.

This one could easily be the DVD of the Year. Only someone like Orson Welles could see the potential of a slightly cliché script and then have the cojones to treat it like Kane. A lot of films present us with a Director’s Cut; Welles gives us The Director’s Puzzle. And, like all good puzzles, half the fun is in putting it together.

Powered By Dieselbilly

2006-05-26T06:44:00.000-05:00

I just read Steve Powers's review of Kingdom Of Heaven: 4-Disc Director's Cut DVD and, humbled as I am by such a bodaciously awsome review, I think I'll put off my review of The Complete Mr. Arkadin: Criterion so's I can polish it up a bit (although I'll have to go a long way to beat Steve's KoH review - if ya don't believe me, check it out with the link above). In the meantime, lemme tell ya 'bout a kickin' CD I picked up.

I was out with Becky last night getting some grub and we ended up at Cracker Barrel. For those of you not familiar with this chain, the menu is good down-home cookin' with the plus of a general store/gift shop in the front selling all manner of gifts and munchies (some of which are recreations of treats of the past - Mary Janes, anyone?).

After some really good chicken and rice, we preused the general store and I found a really good CD by Bill Kircher. The title: Dieselbilly Road Trip. Bill was a singer and lead guitarist for Commander Cody And His Lost Planet Airmen (that's his axe on Hot Rod Lincoln). He's a Master of The Telecaster and boy howdy does this disc tell ya. From flat-out rockabilly to country and beyond, the guy's got some serious chops. Here's the layout:

Hollywood City
Pittsburgh Stealers
Is Anybody Goin' To An Antone
California Cotton Fields
Streets Of Baltimore
The Promised Land
Buckaroo
Detroit Diesel
Midnight In Memphis
Sleepwalk
Eight More Miles To Louisville
Guitar Boogie Shuffle

From the first track I was captivated and by the time Sleepwalk hit the speakers (hands down my favorite slow instrumental) I was a Believer. This disc becomes part of my permanent collection of Drivin' CD's. It's great for toolin' down the highway.

Okay, I'd tell ya all to go out and get this great disc but here's the catch: it's part of a special series produced by Cracker Barrel and you can only find it in their stores - I checked their website and they don't sell it online. So if you have a CB in yer area, go pick this bad boy up. If not, try going to Amazon and finding Bill Kirchen's other albums (he's done about seven of his own, not to mention the ones he did with Commander Cody). You won't regret it.

LATEST DEVELOPMENT: For those of you wihtout a local CB you can order the CD from Kirchen's website. Just click on the "Order Stuff" button and yer on the road!

Loritab Monday

2006-05-15T10:24:00.000-05:00

Got just a few things on my mind so it's a grab-bag today.

To quote Dr. Smith, oh the pain. Yesterday at work, while trying to do two things at once (board-op a Sooner baseball game while trying to burn a couple of talk shows onto CD) I trip over a chair and manage to twist my right foot. I've done this before but it doesn't make it hurt any less. So it's a couple of days hobbling around and taking painkillers while trying to stay off it. A challenge when yer home alone.

Saturday I was also running board on Sooner baseball and women's softball games and I run across one of those "you can't make this stuff up"-type of names. Now the Lady Sooners were playing Kansas and the Kansas shortstop's name is (I kid you not) Destiny Frankenstein. Surely that's a stage name. Not that I don't believe that there isn't folks with the last name Frankenstein in this world, but I'm having a hard time believing that this poor girl's parents would make it even harder for her to get through childhood by christening her "Destiny."

Besides, I couldn't shake the image of a female Boris Karloff in a girl's softball uniform shouting "HEY BATTERBATTERBATTER!"

Also, I'm no sports fan but the girls lost to Kansas, not to mention the Sooner Men getting a royal ass-kicking by OSU in all three of the Bedlam games (two of which were played at the Brick - almost in OU's backyard). Boy that was ugly.

My mind is also turning back to my novel. Trevis, a good net friend, read it and loves it but thinks it's kinda short (as a Word document it comes up to about 104 pages). He suggested that I add about 50-150 more pages to it. I'm kind of hesitant, not because I think it's perfect, but I'm afraid of messing up the pace with a lot of padding. So if anyone wants to look at it and give me their opinion, email me at smokestackjones@gmail.com.

With luck, next entry will be my treatise on Mr. Arkadin. Gotta do something while waiting for my foot to stop swelling...

Rooty-Hooty-Pile-O-Doody

2006-05-07T14:09:00.000-05:00

Hoot
Flapjerks
Plot - Produced by Jimmy Buffett (who also has a role in it), the story goes-a some-a-thing like-a this: Kid Roy Eberhardt and his family moves to Florida where he gets involved with a bunch of local kids who are trying to prevent the really stupid guy from O Brother Where Art Thou? from building a tropical IHOP in the middle of the wilderness, thus keeping the indigineus burrowing owls from ordering a short stack with a side of sausage while waiting for de volcano to blow, mon.
The Studio Sez - Packed with surprising plot twists, quirky characters and offbeat humor, HOOT is a classic story that's fun for all ages.
The Critics Sez - "Hoot" has its heart in the right place, but I have been unable to locate its brain. Here is a movie about three kids who begin by disliking or fearing one another, and end up as urban guerrillas sabotaging the construction of a pancake house that will destroy a nesting ground for burrowing owls. -Roger Ebert
Smokestack Sez - Let's see, Misfit Kid Who Moves To New Town? Check. Other Misfit Kids Who become His Best Friends? Check. Evil Adult Protagonist? Check. Clueless Law Enforcement? Check. Doesn't The Hallmark Channel have the corner on this kind of stuff? C.mon, Jimmy! You can do better than this!

Jerko de Offo

2006-05-05T09:35:00.000-05:00

Happy Cinco De Mayo, folks. Aside from the fact that I'm still kinda ticked off over the illegals trying to blackmail us U.S. citizens last Monday into keeping the borders open, letting them stay and get benefits, I'll still give 'em their due for this holiday. Even though nobody gets the day off for it, it's compensated by the fact that it's another excuse to get plastered at a bar somewhere with a lot of others doing the same thing. Sort of like an extra St. Patrick's Day with a pinata. So do what this Gringo do: raise a bottle of Corona, eat a chimichanga and think of the Frito Bandito. Arriba.

Anyway, I wanted to expand on the manifesto for Smokestack's Grindhouse. The Reviews of Films I Haven't Seen is just one facet of the feature. Due to my lack of attention span I'll also talk about Movies I Have Seen, DVD releases I've gotten and are looking forward to and other stuff like that. I just want to make sure that the RoFIHS will be front-and-center amongst all that stuff.

Have I Seen Me?

2006-04-29T19:33:00.000-05:00

Bet ya never thought you'd hear from me again, didja? That makes two of us. So far, 2006 has turned into Interesting Times. Whether that is good or not, I haven't figured out yet.

Okay, recap: shortly before I left for the GAMA Trade Show, my daughter-in-law gave birth to Gavin, Grandson #2. GAMA in Vegas was a blast, got to meet a lot of interesting folks, talk shop RPG-wise and not lose my shirt at the slots. A week after I got back, I go into the hospital for an outpaitent procedure so my doctor can cut out polyps in my sinuses. Much gauze and blood later I'm fine and breathing somewhat normally (one upside is getting a nice large prescription for Loritab). In the meantime, after two months of waiting, COX finally gets me hooked up for phone, cable and (most importantly) high-speed internet.

Oh yeah, I also hit the 49 mark on April 26th. The highlight was receving a gift of money from my mother which was used to purchase The Complete Mr. Arkadin: The Criterion Collection. I'm still going through it and am once again being blown away by Mr. Welles. But more about that in another entry...

My current activities have been editing my novel and pushing myself towards doing more artwork. The book's on it's third draft so I feel a nice sense of accomplishment. The artwork, not so.

My problem is...well, I don't know what it is. Laziness, prhaps? If I was truly lazy I wouldn't want to do anything. Ambition? Ditto. The truth is, I have never had any kind of direction I wanted to go. My mind is a muddle of destinations without the slightest clue of how to get there. I've been forever looking for someone to look at where I want to get to and point me in that direction.

Part two of that is the lack of confidence in what I do. While in Vegas I had my friends say I was one of The Wanderer's Guild's "great artists." I replied that the only reason I'm an artist is because you guys say I'm an artist.

Now I'm talking about me enough to make me uncomfortable. Besides, I seem to be just dumping stuff out of my head and onto this blog, which is not really entertaining, informative or both. Tell ya what: next entry I'll give ya something worthwhile to read. Deal? Done and done.

Baby Drop

2006-03-09T15:50:00.000-06:00

Hey, just a quickie to say Smokestack's Grindhouse will be delayed for another week or so as we're finishing up moving (it may be longer than that depending how soon I can get web access at the new place) and me flying out to the GAMA Trade Show Saturday.

But I did want to let you know that Gavin Boyd Conatser, Smokestack Gandson #2 made his debut in the world at 1:15 AM on March 9th, all 7 lb. 8 1/2 ounces of him. No formal pics yet, but I'll see about that when I get back. Everyone be safe. Later...

DeNutted or Nothing From Nothing Leaves...

2006-02-23T09:07:00.000-06:00

I've had an okay week; got a C-T scan of my head, my sinus doctor tells me I have polyps in my nose and he needs to go in there to clean 'em out (I scheduled it for mid-April), he's got me on allergy shots and got in an extra day of work this week covering for my bud Randy at the station. Oh, and Becky got her bonus, so it's time to book that Vegas flight. The bummer of the week: my main message board, Nothingland, is shutting down on the 28th.

I know that it's not earth-shattering, but before you stick your nose (or whatever appendage you use) in the air and tell me to Get A Life, lemme 'splain. As much as I like DVD Verdict, it was #2 on my list. Nothingland (formerly known as Nutkinland) has been my 'net "homebase" for going on 5 years. It's the first site I checked (after email) and the last one at night. I made many friends, got in interesting discussions and laughed along with a great community. So this is something of a tribute to that place that kept me informed, entertained and amused for quite a while.

It started as an offshoot of the EN World board by a guy named Christopher, also known as Squirrel Nutkin. He and others wanted a board where they could talk RPG's and other things without such a heavy-handed admin presence. Thus, Nutkinland was born. I came to it through an offhand comment on another gaming board. A lot of folks warned me not to go: "oh don't go to Nutkinland! They're nasty to people over there!" But curiosity got the better of me. What I found is a community who were adults engaging in interesting conversations about all sorts of things and did not Suffer Fools Gladly (Yours Truly excepted - actually, a small group excepted; seems if you were good at making folks laugh, it went a long way in making it there). Nutkinland/Nothingland went a long way towards thickening my Internet skin.

And it was pretty much self-policing; the admins knew it, and only stepped in when they absolutely had to. Remarkable place. Then this happened.

A few days ago, it was offline, with a message saying that don't worry, no one's banned, we'll be back soon. They did come back up a day or two later with bad news: seems that some idiot got hold of some of the Chief Admin's private information. He didn't go into detail, but there were threats of loss of the board (and his employment) so he decided to pull the plug.

We all commiserated and got angry. A lot of the members went out and started other boards. Some will just fade away into the ether. I put a nicely-worded goodbye post, said I'll be lurking around just to see how it comes down and left. To show you the kind of community we had, there are now no less than five boards started in the last two days for folks to go to.

So this is my salut to Squirrel Nutkin And Margo Shreck (the founders), Thomas Heretic (the current, and last, Chief Admin), all other admins and the great community I was proud to be a part of. Hope to see you all again elsewhere.

And to the little jerk who was responsible for the downfall of this site: you better not let anyone know you were responsible. That's a warning, not a threat. I'm not going to do anything because I don't like to stand in line...

Smokestack's Grindhouse: The Manifesto

2006-02-19T12:45:00.000-06:00

Hokay, despite coming down with a cold (it's going through work), I'm gonna outline how this feature works.

Here's the premise: every so often I'll pick a current (or not so current) film or video I haven't seen. I'll give you all the info I can glean from (mostly net) sources. Then I'll give you my opinion on it. That ought to get you going on deciding whether it's worth it to plunk down that admission, rental fee or put it in the rental queue. Occasionally I'll throw in a changeup: a film/video I have seen, just to keep it interesting (I'll let you know upfront).

Now it's my opinion that no criticism is unbiased so here's my preferences/opinions I filter these flicks through:

I feel movies/videos should, first and foremost, entertain. I know that's casting a wide net, but my tastes are eclectic so I hope to hit with you more often than miss.
A corollary to that is that I may recommend what I think is a terrible film as long as it fills the criteria of #1, as we all know that stuff like Plan Nine is terrible in an entertaining way.
My favorite genres are Animation* (Looney Tunes, Disney, some current stuff), Comedy (everything from Laurel and Hardy to The Three Stooges to Preston Sturges), Classic Horror, Film Noir, Good Drama No Matter When It Was Made with a chaser of Westerns and Fantasy. Indie and cult films I take on a case-by-case basis.
Speaking of comedy, while I love slapstick and screwball-type comedies, I am also a fan of what someone at DVD Verdict termed Tonal Comedy. So, yes, I like and "get" stuff like Napoleon Dynamite and Wes Anderson's stuff. I also realize this type of comedy is an acquired taste so Your Mileage May Vary.
On the opposite end, I really don't care for the Formula Romantic Comedy and what has been referred to as "chick flicks." No, my testosterone is fine, thank you, they just don't do anything for me (I have also been proven wrong).
To swing wildly, I also have no use for Lethal Weapon-type Arnie/Stallone/Willis macho fests. I will make an exception on occasion (Chow Yun-Fat, I'm looking at you) but on the whole, they all look alike to me. I will also steer clear of splatter-fests and paranoia/political thrillers.

There are exceptions to these, but that's pretty much my state of mind when I examine a film. My main requirement is: how does this film immerse me in it and let me forget myself in the film for 1-1/2 to 2 hours.

Format:

Here's how I'm gonna break it down:

Title - Self explanatory. It'll be in the header

Subtitle - Something that sums up the film in as few words as possible. If I'm lucky, it may even be funny.

Plot Summary - Once again, in as few words as possible.

The Studio Sez - Anything I get off the Official Site, press releases, etc.

The Critics Sez - Again, self-explanatory. I'll try to get quotes from the Heavy Hitters (Ebert, Maltin, etc.) and any other interesting and appropriate.

Smokestack Sez - What I think.

Here's hopin' it'll help you decide whether to fork over the long green.

*Pardon me, Art Form. My apologies to Brad Bird (yeah, like he ever reads this thing).

The Doofus Doubles Down

2006-02-14T10:54:00.000-06:00

It's now, oh, four weeks before the GAMA Trade Show in Vegas and I'm nervous. This will be, for me, the closest thing to a convention for me this year BUT...

...we also have to move around that time, my daughter-in-law will be giving birth and not one, but BOTH step-sons moved back in (when we move only one will be with us). On top of that, Becky has to go to Long Beach for software training about 2 weeks after I get back. I, for one, have NO idea how this is all going to get done. If I live past March, it'll be a miracle.

However it is Vegas. Not only that, I'll be there with my peers so it looks like I'll be getting both types of gaming in. As a bonus, my bud, Chief Editor of the book we're publishing and Illustrator Supreme Andy Hopp will be there and we can swap art critiques (something I sorely need). The problem is that, as I've mentioned before, I haven't been to Vegas since1976-77. I'm expected to be bombarded with stuff to do when I get there since The Strip changed so much. To that end I'm trying to go online to check out what's to do while I'm there.

One thing I know I'm gonna do is sing. To me, karaoke in Vegas should be a blast. I can haul out all my old Sinatra/Martin/Bobby Darin tunes and belt away. It'll be great.

Oh, if you're gonna be in Vegas for the GAMA Trade Show (or just around Vegas at that time), look me up. I'll be staying at the Riviera. Ask for Glen Hallstrom. If you're at the trade show, I'll be working at the 3AM Games booth.

On the health front, I have an appointment with my cardiologist next week to talk about running the dye in me to See What's What heart-wise. Plus I start my allergy shots Monday and Tuesday I get a C-T Scan of my head to see how bad it is in my sinuses. More nasal fun.

I actually sat down and watched a Chick Flick last night and it wasn't bad. The kids rented Just Like Heaven and Becky threw it in the machine for a spin. Reese Witherspoon and Mark Ruffalo were good, the story wasn't dumbed-down and kept my attention. Plus Jon Heder was in it.

Okay, I've pretty much got it figured out, so next entry will be about how Smokestack's Grindhouse will work. Since I post roughly every week, I'll alternate the Grindhouse with a regular entry.

Got a rough weekend comin' up but I hope to post it sometime before Monday. For now, as a Parrotthead-In-Training, I'm retreating to Margartiaville for a while and make my Vegas plans. I need it.

Playing To The Haircuts

2006-02-08T12:13:00.000-06:00

Y'know, I really don't wanna know how he gets that duck to quack...

Seems like this is one of those throwaway week review-type of blog entries. Goes down easy. Great taste-less filling. So be it. We all need some fluff now and then (not that the topics get heavy around here).

One question I had when I saw that Mohammed cartoon was: that's Mohammed? I thought it was either a caricature of Bin Laden or some generic terrorist. Now I haven't followed this one too closely but, unless someone at the newspaper came out and said it was Mohammed (or the picture was labeled as such), how did the Muslims know it was their prophet, since (according to them), no one has ever depicted Mohammed? I mean, if didn't recognize it as such, how did they? Far as anyone knew, it coulda just been Joe Terrorist in the paper. Ah, the mysteries of the Muslim mind...
---
I found out last Wednesday that the Program Director of my station (aka My Boss) has resigned, effective in two weeks. He's to be replaced by an "AM Coordinator" who takes care of all the administration stuff, leaving the programming and day-to-day production in the hands of ken, our News Director. Never seen a radio station run like that before. I'm hoping the coodinator job will be filled by my lead Sandy, since she's pretty much doing that now.
---
Okay, why the duck? Well, that's a still from a new DVD my best friend Bruce gave me (thanks buddy) as a late Christmas present. It's a documentary called Vaudeville. It's part of the American Masters PBS series. It's narrated by Ben Vereen and it traces the history of vaudeville from it's origins as an import from the British pantos to it's eventual demise and the influences it had on entertainment. It covers all the aspects from the acts to the producers to child acts to race issues with a lot of clips of performers of the time and great interviews of former vaudeville performers. It's one of the best documentaries I've seen and I highly recommend it. So much so that here's the Amazon link. If you like show business, it's a must.
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Coming Soon Department: I'll soon be starting a weekly movie review here called Smokestack's Grindhouse. Here's the twist: I'll be reviewing films I haven't seen but am thinking about seeing based on advertisements, websites, reviews, word-of-mouth, etc. I'm basically gonna be in the same boat as the regular guy or gal who is trying to decide what to go see. Whether I see 'em or not is not important (although I will report on the ones I do see, either on video or theaters), the important thing is helping you to make up your mind about the films in question. That and encouraging folks to See More Movies. Haven't decided on what day or the format, but it'll be here soon.
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Okay, time to go. Gage's little friend is here now and I gotta wrap this up before the lil' rug monkeys drive me bats. Toodle-oo 'til next time.

Obscene The Best Words Of My Gesticulation...

2006-01-30T21:15:00.000-06:00

Hey, late post again. I gotta be a bit more diligent at this. No reason, I just need more personal discipline. Well, that and I don't wanna disappoint Mr. Mancini. :D

With the DVD release of the film The Aristocrats, the recent events at DVD Verdict and dealing with Nothingland in general, my mind of late has turned to the nature and use of profanity and what it means to me. In my youth, I wondered what the big deal was. I still ask that question, but now I have a bit better understanding. Let's see if I can elaborate.

See, I've always been a "live and let live" type of person (in my mind that translates to "hey, I don't bug you when you do your thing, leave me alone about my thing, m'kay?"). Add to that the fact that I grew up around profanity most of my life (my machinist dad would cuss a blue streak at home but it was verboten for the kids - do as I say, not as I do of course).

Yes, I went through the "cussing-for-cussing's-sake" phase (some never get out of it) and I still have a fondness for the double-entendre but, through the combination of moving to the Midwest, the Magic of Age, having a two-year-old grandson running around the house, the bombardment of talk-shows at work and the fact that I feel the Internet has actually raised my intelligence level, I don't use much profanity. While I haven't swore off the cuss words completely (see below), my speech has been scrubbed with a mental steel-wool pad.

As anyone who knows me will attest to, while I'm not exactly a Rebel, I'm far from a Goody Two-Shoes either (usually, their description of me is something akin to a crackpot). The reason I'll never give up the Seven Words (and their relatives) is many-fold. Here are some of the reasons I have been able to come up with:

In some situations, profanity is a good release valve - You folks who work on autos know what I'm talkin' about. A high-school friend's mother gave that description and it went a long way towards explaining my dad's potty-mouth.
Profanity, used judicially, is a good comedy tool - it's something that some folks (and some comedians) don't seem to get. Rather than sounding like some stricken with Tourette's, the right cuss word at the right time can take your audience aback enough that it'll make your joke more effective. The trick is knowing which one and when.
Profanity, used judicially, will make your heated point more effective - Face it; sometimes the only way you can make that idiot understand you're serious is with a well-placed vulgar word. Now your point is packin' heat. As it said (I believe) in the EN World FAQ, Profanity is a spice, not the main course.

This has had a curious effect on me in places such as my normal hang-out, Nothingland. For those who don't know, Nothingland (or NTL as the regulars call it), is kind of an intellectual and verbal free-for-all where the four-letter word insult has at times risen to an art and the folks there can cut a n00b a new one faster than it takes for me to save this entry. While I don't ordinarilly participate in the fights that erupt there (I stay out of the Religion and Politics forum as I can't really stand arguing over those things - besides, I have more fun making wisecracks in the General Discussion forum), I have had been on occasion "called out" for one thing or another, usually with the saltiest words possible. I'm not afraid of a fight, but my first move is to make a joke out of it or try to turn it around on the protagonist. If that doesn't work, I come back with insults, the kind Dickens liked to use: "Listen, you cretin. If you entertain the notion of engaging in verbal fisticuffs with me, this will just expose you as the lowest multi-celled organism to ever slide across the face of this earth. Your friends, nay, the entire virtual community will see you exposed as the basest, most vulgar creature who ever decided to climb out of the primordial soup. You will have no support, no allies, just a bitter longing to walk among intelligent creatures in cyberspace. I pity you, for you will be alone in your bile-filled mind. You are nothing and I plan to make it so if you persist in following this line of insult." This usually has one of two effects. Either they give up and go away or ask me what the hell I just said.

If it goes past this, that's when I just walk away rather than stoop to that level (now if he persists in PM's that's when I get the Admin involved). So the net result is either he backs off or I get his keister warned or banned. Oh yeah, and I retain my dignity.

So, while I find profanity useful, I refuse to let it take over my vocabulary. In Chris Scott's book The Moose That Roared (about the Jay Ward Studio), he wrote that Jay Ward, if he didn't like someone, would describe someone as a "bum" or "dirty bird." Jay felt that the use of profanity betrayed a lack of intelligence. There's a lot of truth in that.

One Hit To The Body

2006-01-15T16:53:00.000-06:00

It's been a while and let me tell ya why. Had a slight heart scare (I'll get to that in a minute) but since it didn't kill me, my monitor decided to die in sympathy. Either that or it Gave It's Life So's I Could Live (pretty noble for an electronic device). Either way, that's why I haven't been updating as often as I wanted to. At least I can update here at work.

So Thursday I woke up weird. Ache in my chest and arms and shortness of breath. I guess if I had morning wood I wouldn't have noticed it. Anyway, I immediately went to take my heart meds and the pain in the chest subsided. I called ny cardiologist and eventually she told me to go to the ER if it gets worse. I guess that's what you get when you have a co-pay.

Since I caught my breath a bit I started making a ziti casserole and called Becky. We finally decided I should go to the ER (something I'm loathe to do, but my doctor got her shot at it). Becky came home, we went and they tried some nitro spray under my tongue, which relieved the achy-breaky arms. Next thing I know, I'm in a hospital room with an IV in my hand and a nurse taking an EKG.

The bottom line: it was a message my body sent me which was "HEY! SOMESTACK YOU MORON! TAKE YER MEDS EVERY DAY! WADDA YOU, AN IDIOT OR SOMETHING?" So, Lesson Learned. I'm back on my Lisinopril and I have the nitro spray Just In Case@ .

That's all for now. I had some stuff I wanted to talk about, but I figured you guys needed to know.

Oh, and the casserole was delicious.

More next time...

The Long And The Flux Of It

2006-01-05T20:52:00.000-06:00

Well I'm working my way through Æon Flux: The Complete Animated Collection and I'm liking what I see. I remember seeing the original pilot on MTV's Liquid Television but I missed the second season episodes. So was surprised that they actually made a series out of it (albeit a short one). The work of Peter Chung always interested me (especially when I found out he did some art for some RPG books; if you can find a used copy of Mayfair Games' defunct game Underground you'll find his work all over it). So I was happy to see the entire Flux output on DVD.

Not that I haven't had problems with the concept. I'm a pretty tolerant guy and if an artist has a "concept" or "vision", I'll usually at least hear him out. I'll even go along with some things I don't readily understand or the things the creator does that is supposed to provoke me to "think" or "come up with my own conclusion" (an attitude that has come in handy in the past - The Prisoner, anyone?).

So Chung has a certain points he wanted to make like:

The futility of violence
How there are different perspectives on a situation

etc., etc. Anyway, I can hang with most of that. I can also handle the running themes he has in the show such as Æon and Trevor being polar-opposite lovers, Æon having her own agenda, Æon always dies at the end (except for the series, where she dies at the end of the ten eps), but the one thing that really bugs me about it is that (and I'm mostly talking about the pilot and shorts here), when she dies she always fails he mission. See, to me that questions her whole competence as a spy or an agent provocateur. I mean, yeah, it's okay if she wins some, she loses some, but how good can she be if, at the end, there's no point to it? Yes. I know, this is probably a point Chung is making, but it gets frustrating watching the shorts and knowing that everything she does is all for naught.

Funny, I can handle Number Six being defeated and still ending up in The Village but I have an issue with this. Go figure...

Now having said all that, go check it out. Not for the young 'uns, but enough great art and fascinating animated weirdness for five David Lynch films.

Stix Nix Hix Pix 2006

2006-01-01T14:36:00.000-06:00

Well looks like '06 is gonna be a mixed bag. I just hope there's better quality stuff in the bag.

First, resolutions. Becky's is: after February, No More Payday Loans. I can get behind that.
Mine: To update this blog regularly (I may not always have something to say but hey, that doesn't stop 90% of the bloggers out there), try to exercise and eat healthier and find a way to up our financial situation.

In March I'll be heading to the GAMA Trade Show in Vegas. I'm really looking forward to see how much has changed since I was there last (circa 1977). This is also the closest I've gotten to a game convention for about 6 years. I'm chompin' at the bit, to say the least.

And of course this wouldn't be the blog it is if I didn't tell you what DVDs I'm looking forward to. The big one is Criterion's February release of Orson Welles's Mr. Arkadin. I've got a couple of crappy copies on VHS but this release is supposed to be something special. I just hope it won't be pushed back on the schedule.

And finally, I'm looking forward to editing the fantasy novel I wrote during NaNoWriMo last November. I'm sure with Becky's help I'll be able to come up with something readable (if you wanna read it in all it's glory, email me at smokestackjones@gmail.com and I'll send ya a copy. It's only about 100 pages and it's a lot of fun).

Now I've got my helmet and armor on. I'm ready for '06. Let's roll.

Next!

2005-12-31T11:36:00.000-06:00

Should auld aquaintance be forgot...Boy, I wish I could forget some of the stuff that happened in 2005. From Schiavo to Sheehan, it's been rough.

And that, kiddies, is about as political as I am going to get. :D

Okay, while Howlin' Smaug serenades us with a smokin' rendition of Clifton Chenier's I'm A Hog For You Baby let's look back: another year in the same house and we actually are trying to keep it in good repair. We still have April and my grandson Gage with us, which I consider a blessing. Becky and I hit the big five year mark with our marriage which I consider an achievement (for me at least). We both toured northern New Mexico which I enjoyed but it was a mixed blessing for Becky (still don't know why).

My DVD collection also has swollen: 2005 saw me acquiring (deep breath) Batman: The Animated Series Volume 1&2, The Bela Lugosi Collection, The Best of Bud Abbot and Costello Volumes 1-4, Beyond The Sea, Bob Clampett's Beany and Cecil, Brain Donors, The Castle of Cagliostro, Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, two versions of A Christmas Carol, A Face in The Crowd, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (Criterion) (again), Fractured Flickers: The Complete Collection, Freaks, The Front Page, How The Grinch Stole Christmas, The Incredibles, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 3, The Marx Brothers Silver Screen Collection, My Darling Clemintine, Napoleon Dynamite, National Treasure, The Producers, Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends Season 3, Slacker (Criterion), The Sting, The Tales of Hoffman (Criterion), Top Secret!, The Truman Show, The Val Lewton Horror Collection, Walt Disney Treasures: The Chronological Donald Volume 2, Walt Disney Treasures: Disney Rarities, Wizards and a whole buttload of Fox Film Noirs.

Oh yeah, 2005 will be remembered as The Year Smokestack Got Off His Duff And Wrote A Novel. As part of November's National Novel Writing Month, I came out of it with a nice, fun fantasy tale. Now to rewrite...

Still with me? Good. Now Smokestack's bad stuff of 2005:

The main pain was my older stepson going ballistic, attempting to beat me up and taking off to Dallas. The guy just didn't get the fact that staying out drinking, doing drugs and philandering while his girl and son were staying at home with us was not the way to run your life. The best thing coming out of this is he's been prospering in Dallas and is ready to come back. From what I've seen he's improved enough where I can give him the benefit of the doubt, but I'm going to make it quite clear to him that after this I'm out of cheeks to turn. We shall see...

As I've said before, Becky's Ru-N-Y has been quite traumatic for her. She's gradually getting better and I'm hoping she gets where she wants to be weight and health-wise. At least that's what I pray for.

And then there's my teeth. Or I should say my former teeth. I'm finally in a position where the dentures are comfortable. Now it's a matter of being able to eat withouthaving my uppers and lowers flopping around in my mouth. Someone pass the Poly-Grip...

DVD Bummers: I won Kinsey from DVD Verdict. Not a bad film, just not all that great. Guess I'll be trading that soon.
The last pain of 2005: someone ripped me off, taking my copy of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (Criterion). Only the second time it happened for that title. I guess the lesson learned is: don't buy that title.

Okay, let's cool down a bit. I'm looking forward to 2006, but I'll discuss that next time. In the meantime I hope everyone has a Happy new Year and I'll see you on the other side.

Whoa! Christmas!

2005-12-27T07:31:00.000-06:00

Haven't updated in a while, so let's do a catch-up:

Becky had her Ru-N-Y and, after some really rough recuperating, she's doing fine. She's lost about 50 pounds so far and I'm proud of her.

Next big news: new teeth. Yup, I got 'em. A full set. It's been rough the first month with mouth sores, learning to chew all over again, etc., but I persevered and now I'm more or less used to them. I finally got that dazzling smile I've always wanted. Now time to make a New Year's resolution to get healthy and lose some poundage. Gotta look good fer my smile...

BTW, the other Resolution is to update this blog regularly. I like to hear myself write.

I completed the NaNoMo competition in Novenmber so I'm now the proud owner of a novel: The Lumpers: When The Fat Orc Sings, a Hard-Boiled Fantasy. After the first of the year I'll have a go at editing it to see if I can actually get something publishable out of the mess. I also made some new friends doing it.

It was pretty uneventful going into the latter half of 2005. Halloween and Thanksgiving flew by (although I had to work on Turkey-Day, as I did on Christmas and will on New Year's). Gage, as usual, is a joy and blast to have living here. He's not quite gotten the idea behind Christmas but he does know it involves getting presents. He'll probably understand the Jesus and Santa notions next time. In the meantime he was overjoyed to get a new bed shaped like a firetruck (but he has yet to sleep in it - I think he thinks it's only for playing in).

As for my swag, I got a nice acoustic guitar from Becky and she got a jumbo George Foreman Grill from me (something I don't think she was too thrilled about; it was something she wanted, but she really wanted a sewing machine - however, she kept waffling on it so I went the safe route). The guitar was so's I could entertain Gage, who likes music in general and gui-tars in particular. Now comes the practice...

No DVDs under the tree this year. Surprised? I was too, but not disappointed, as I've pretty much got all the titles I really wanted this year (aside from The Val Lewton Horror Collection I told you about last time, my final planned purchases were the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 3 and two of the Walt Disney Treasures series: The Chronological Donald Volume 2 and Disney Rarities) so anything else was gravy. However, I found my collection woefully sparse as far as Christmas films were concerned. I rectified the problem by purchasing two versions of A Christmas Carol (the George C. Scott and Patrick Stewart versions - still can't find a copy of Albert Finney's Scrooge in retail shops) along with How The Grinch Stole Christmas (the Chuck Jones version) for Gage. That, along with a blind-buy of Charlie and The Chocolate Factory concluded my DVD buying for the year. I'll elaborate on what I'm looking forward to in 2006 in my next entry.

Oh yeah, I still got fifty bucks from my mom I need to spend. It'll probably be either the Aeon Flux box set or The Ed Wood Box. I'm leaning towards Ed Wood (I've long been wanting to add it the collection), but the other one looks mighty nice. Decisions, decisions...

Of Cat People and Cabman Grey or Write, Damn You!

2005-10-07T18:41:00.000-05:00

Hoo boy. Got my mitts on The Val Lewton Horror Collection. All nine of the horror films Val produced at RKO, including three of Boris Karloff's best performances and some of the best early work by directors Jaques Tourneur, Robert Wise and Mark Robson. The set also includes a nice documentary with interviews from the likes of Harlan Ellison, Robert Wise, Ramsey Campbell, George Romero and Richard Matheson among others. Included is two personal favorites of mine (The Body Snatcher and Bedlam). Just in time for Halloween, too. Here's the Amazon lin k (no I'm not afilliated either Amazon or WB). If you're a classic film and/or classic horror fan you owe it to yourself to get this set. Worth it for the Karloffs alone. Elsewhere, I dood it. I committed myself (no, not that kind). I guess this blogging went to my head because I signed up to write a novel at the National Novel Writing Month website. Here's the way it works: you sign up starting in October and you start writing November 1st. You have until November 30th to write 50,000 words (approximately 175 pages, the size of a novella). If you make the deadline, you win. Win what, you say? Well, first off you get, uh, well...here's what it says in the FAQ: Write like crazy for thirty days. If you write 50,000 words of fiction by midnight, local time, November 30th, you will be added to our hallowed Winner's Page, and receive a handsome winnerÂs certificate and web icon. The adding of your name to the Honor Roll of Winners requires that you send in a version of your novel in text format (scrambled for security) to our site to be counted.
That's about it. You write like crazy. Don't matter if it's good, bad or ugly. Don't matter if it's not finished after 50,000 words. You don't even have to win. The point is, you tried. I, who doesn't even like to sign my name, think it looks like fun (we'll see). Anyone else wanna try, you can sign up at the website. It's free, too. If you do it, remember, you can plan, outline whatever you want before Novembe1st but you cannot start writing before November 1st. That's all for now. More interesting stuff later.

Marty vs. The Geek

2005-10-04T09:31:00.000-05:00

Looks like Shemp on a bender...

Hey it's Tuesday. Just like Monday . Go figure.

Last night, after a stimulating exchange of messages on DVD Verdict, I got the urge to watch Nightmare Alley, a great film noir. It's got everything: carneys, con-men, double-crossing dames, a neat morality play and Tyrone Power as a carnival geek. What more could you ask for? It comes Highly Recommended by me. Money in the bank, man.

Anyway, for some reason I don't understand, I ended up watching Marty. A great film, but a 180 from Nightmare Alley. I dunno what happened. Instead of a classic noir full of shady people and morality, I watch a heartwarming tale of a lonely butcher finding love.

I thought about it today, how my mind gravitated toward Marty. I've always loved the story. I also have it on VHS, along with a tape of the original TV production starring Rod Steiger. I've always said that if there's a stage version being done somewhere, I wanna do it. Then it occurred to me I mentioned it on DVD Verdict, as film that deserved a better release on DVD. That, combined with me being alone in the house probably contributed to it.

Thinking a little deeper in my brain (which a lot of times amounts to a Major Dig), I wondered why that story resonated so strongly in me. Probably because that epitomized my dating experiences when I was single (in all it's incarnations). It also seems that I'm not alone in that identification (it did win Best Picture in '55 after all). A lot if guys (and not a few gals) saw themselves in that film, even today. This, IMO, is the meaning of the universality of film. How worldwide, folks like me can see the story for what it is, no matter where it takes place or what time period it is set in. The feelings are real. To me, it meant a reaffirmation of why I like Movies.

So the geek was put on hold. The Bronx Butcher was my hero for the night.

Picture Time

2005-10-03T16:36:00.000-05:00

Almost 3-D, too!

Here's an interesting one from the archives. Early Lojak, done by me. Enjoy.

It's All Downhill From Here, Folks

2005-10-03T11:55:00.000-05:00

Weeeell, it's Monday. Got the stuff for my surgery out of the way, got a load of laundry in, now I can write. Then draw, right Smokestack? Yes Inner Me (who I refer to as Lil' Smokestack). Becky (Mrs. Smokestack) read the previous entry and got all mushy (although she was slightly miffed that I announced her weight for all the world to see). Ah, it's Good To Be King... Let's see, what else is going on? I should have a new copy of Mutants and Masterminds, Second Edition in my mitts by the end of the week, something I'm really looking forward to. I'm also looking forward to converting the few characters I have over to M&M 2nd Ed. Now if I can only find an M&M game, preferably one I don't have to GM. Farther afield, Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 3 is due out at the end of the month. I'll snap that up, of course. And around December I should have a couple more tins of the Walt Disney Treasures collection. That, aside from maybe one or two surprises, should wrap up my DVD buying for the year. Speaking of December, Becky goes into the hospital for her Ru-N-Y stomach surgery on November 24th and on December 1st Yours Truly will be in hospital (outpatient - thank you Lord) for the extraction of my teeth. Yes, Smokestack The Toothless will emerge with bright shiny new dentures. My plan is to wear them for at least a year (gotta get those puppies paid off) then it's teeth implants for me. Believe it or not, I'm actually looking forward to this, as it'll be the first time I've ever had straight teeth. Worth the trouble, if ya ask me. On the Creative Front, I submitted a D&D critter (The Moobit) to the Wanderer's Guild last week. It's for posting on the site. Trevis and I collaborated on it. Hopefully I'll see it up this week, as a lot of WG folks have been asking about it. It also looks like I'll be going to the GAMA Trade Show in March. I'm gonna be part of the 3AM Games group and will be hawking the WG's new book Explorers Of All: The Wanderer's Guild Guide to The Wanderer's Guild, which I got to be one of the coordinators (I was the Monster Wrangler). It's in Vegas and I'm really looking forward to seeing how much has changed (last time I went there was 1977). Wow. I guess I had more on my mind than I thought. Gotta go do the dishes. More interesting stuff later...

About My Little Sweetie

2005-10-02T13:43:00.000-05:00

Lemme tell ya about Becky. We're coming to our 5th anniversary, known each other for about 6 years. My Little Sweetie's 5' 10", 284 pounds (yes, I know and watch yer mouth - I'm 6-6 and 340 lb., so she's My Little Sweetie). Her hair is white, turned prematurely gray (through what she's had to put up with over the last 6 years, no doubt). She has twinkly blue eyes, a sweet smile and a gentle disposition. She also drives me crazy.

We have acknowledged that we have little in common - I'm a Gamer, she's a Christian (well, I am too, but as a former Catholic, it has made me quite a cynical Christian). She likes family, I don't mind family, but I'm more inclined to like my friends. She's from here (Oklahoma), I'm from SoCal. She's Conservative, I'm a Former Liberal currently a Moderate (I take what I want and leave the rest - like your salad bar). So, we have problems finding common ground. Fortunately it doesn't get in the way in day-to-day things, but it rears it's ugly head occasionally.

One thing that we're somewhat opposed on is that she's a Practical, Common-Sense Person, I'm a Dreamer and Recovering Stupid Person (I'm not really stupid but I've been doing a real good imitation for so long - for survival/coping reasons - it's a hard road). That gets in the way bigtime occasionally. I also don't always see the use in arguing most of the time. As a result, she gets frustrated with my way of "arguing."

These things are not the reason she drives me crazy.

She drives me crazy because she still loves me and I don't understand why. I know why I love her. Aside from the fact that she helped me when I was at one of the lowest points of my life, always encourages me even though I don't feel worthy of it and, despite the above, joins me on ventures that she obviously is not interested in, I love her touch, her voice, her smile, her caring, the fact that she's a wonderful bedmate and several other things I can't put into words right now.

But the one grievance, the one nitpick, the one thing that drives me crazy about Becky is that, my opinion of myself, my self-esteem and my faults is pretty low but she sees. She sees something deep down inside me that's good and right. Something I'm unable to see. Something I just can't wrap my brain around.

And she loves me for it.

That's what drives me crazy about Rebecca Jane. And I thank God for it.

Breakdown Cruise

2005-10-01T12:51:00.000-05:00

Well, here we are. If the page looks different from time-to-time that's because I'm still trying things to see what I can live with.

Anyway, here I am. My real name's Glen and I'm stuck in a Sooner State. Those who live there know what I mean so for the rest, it means I'm unfortunate enough to live in Okalhoma City, OK. Yet it also seems to be a State Of Mind, something I try to avoid (I'm from SoCal and Don't You Forget It! :D ). The feeling has a few facets to it, one of which usually revolves around Football, OU/OSU Football to be exact. Now anyone who knows me knows I Hate Sports of any kind so having to deal with these obnoxious truck drivin' people takes a certain amount of finesse. On top of that , I work for Renda Broadcasting, specifically Talk Radio 1520 KOKC-AM as Weekend Honcho. Usually that involves running various pre-recorded syndicated conservative talk shows but now it's Football Season, something else I get to deal with. Fortunately, a co-worker runs all the Sooner Football games, so I handle the Coach's Show and the Moore Lions (HS) Football games. It also gives me most of Saturday off which, while it hits the wallet, I can relax with my family on the weekend.

Looking back on this it seems to be turning into a rant. Time to take a break.

More later. Stay tuned...