Jennifer Susannah Devore's Blog, page 6

Mary Pickford: Sink Nap

Because I find this snapshot of Mary Pickford, washing her hair in a sink, quiet, relaxing and soothing. As comic-convention season approaches (WonderCon, San Diego Comic-Con and all the costuming, writing, socializing and cocktails that accompany this glorious time of the year), a nap in a Hilton sink may very well be in my future.

Happy Thursday, everyone!

Happy New Year from Moi! Keep on Truckin', Folks!

Happy New Year to all! 2K15 portends to be as chock full of beachwalks, historical-scribblings, road trips, California wine, cosplay, comic conventions and all the general geeky goodness (at GoodToBeAGeek, of course!) as usual. What 2K15 does not hold, for Yours Truly anyhow, are resolutions. Setbacks and respites may occur, but forging ahead each day, approaching personal betterment and progress with the rise of every lapping tide is a lifestyle, not a temporary, guilt-driven, New year's Eve promise to oneself.

When I was wee, one of my first bookmarks was a homemade deal of Tiffany-blue construction paper, too much Elmer's glue and a Robert Crumb cartoon cut out of one of Mom and Dad's periodicals, probably MAD magazine: the iconic Keep on Truckin'. Five years old, maybe six, and I knew straight away that this was the way to live: mellow, groovy and carefree. Having a mellow, groovy, Norcal, psych-grad school father sporting corduroy, denim and suede desert boots certainly helped set a quiet, reflective and cheerful childhood. Sure later, after college, I would adopt the more Gothic and wary, Addams Family motto: Sic gorgiamos allos subjectactos nunc. Still, the mellow hippy chick is still deeply embedded under the Morticia guise. That would explain my penchant for VonZipper sunglasses and suede floppy hats mixed with Manson boots and jet beads.

For 2015, as for every year I can recall, French and German will always be my second- and third-languages; yet I will always strive to make them as obedient as my mother tongue, English. Writing and researching historical-fiction (Savannah of Williamsburg Series) will always be my metier; yet I will always endeavour to write more like Michener and Twain. Working out and keeping fit will always be second-nature for me; yet I will always fall short of my ideal and that will keep me, happily, working toward physical, and hopefully psychological, success.

As it pertains to conventions (not to mention fitness, so I can select any character to portray I like), cosplay will always be my sartorial love; yet I will always watch the other girls, along with my Con cohort and shutterbug Dr. Lucy, and together we will log new ideas in our noodles for better costumes, this year and beyond, at WonderCon, San Diego Comic-Con and on Hallowe'en: Mirana, the Mad Hatter, Maleficent, a steampunk Han Solo? Who knows?

The inimitable Benjamin Franklin pontificated, "Be at war with your voices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man."

Mom asserted, "There will always be someone prettier, taller, wealthier, more educated, more everything than you. That's true for everyone, even Princess Diana. Just be happy with yourself and do the best you can do."

Daddy advised, "Whether you're digging ditches or you're a hospital administrator, give it a hundred percent."

Miss Piggy claimed, "Moi's hair has natural curls. So does my tail."; but, more importantly, "Many people think money is something to be set aside for a rainy day. But honestly, how much money do you really need for a dozen or so hours of inclement weather?"

Well said, Piggy! Live large and keep on truckin', folks!

 

 

Bloody Mary, Don't Roast Me Tonight: A Thanksgiving Sing-Along

In this season of family, good friends and, of course, the annual roasting of a grand feast, whatever that may be (Tofurkey is always nice!), I thought I might proffer a wee excerpt from the upcoming Savannah of Williamsburg: Washington's Folly and the Western Frontier, Virginia 1754. Though originally written as a springtime campfire song, Bloody Mary, Don't Roast Me Tonight makes for a great family sing-along, no matter what the occasion! One might hear it 'round an 18thC. Appalachian campfire, or 'round your own Thanksgiving table, anywhere across this great country. Happy Thanksgiving, America!

(Excerpt and song below!)

 

Excerpt from Savannah of Williamsburg: Washington's Folly & the Western Frontier, Virginia 1754

 

Dante turned his attention to Jeremiah, whom was tuning his cittern: a small, medieval-era, stringed instrument. It was similar to a mandolin, but with a longer neck and a flatter back. Usually played with a quill or a plectrum, Jeremiah needed neither. His claws were the perfect, natural plectrum. Cincinnatus was sitting up straight, lengthening his diaphragm as he prepared to sing. Both Mason boys had removed their trail hats, leather tricorns, and replaced them with what they called their 'fficial sing-songin' hats, which looked very similar to simple Robin Hood hats. They were green wool and sported an interesting and plentiful collection of feathers, one feather collected on each adventure they shared. The current adventure with Lt. Col. Washington had yet to provide the perfect find.

Jeremiah and Cincinnatus had an affinity for medieval music and their feathered hats helped them get into that frame of mind. In between them, staring dumbly into the campfire they'd built outside their tent, sat Sparky. He did not possess a 'fficial sing-songin' hat, but was always eager to join whatever the scene was. So, he took one of his neckerchiefs, one which happened to be of a thick, olive-green linen, and tied it around his head. He pulled it backwards into a point so it approximated a Robin Hood hat and sported it proudly as he awaited the music. When he tore he gaze away from the fire, he realized Dante was in the camp and yelled out to him, a little too loudly.

"Dante! Dante! Over here! Come sit with us! Jeremiah and Cincinnatus is playing themselves music! We's having ourselves a mee-dee-vull sing-salong!" he patted the empty space on the log next to him.

Dante happily obliged. This was easily more fun than editing his reports for Washington and Governor Dinwiddie. He settled onto the log and crossed a boot over his other leg, the way Washington did. It turned out that the earlier argument he'd heard between the two ermine brothers was about a song. More precisely, it was about the title of a song. In the end, Jeremiah ceded to Cincinnatus' choice: "Bloody Mary, Don't Roast Me Tonight".

 

Bloody Mary, Don't Roast Me Tonight

lyrics by Jennifer Susannah Devore

 

Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary,

Why is your heart so black tonight?

The sky is so clear, the stars so bright.

Why is your heart so black tonight?

Summer of 1553 began your Terrific Reign of Might.

Oh, why is your heart so black tonight?

Your hair gleams like a raven, your smile faint like a ghost.

'Tis a beauteous evening for a campfire,

But not for a Protestant roast.

 

Note: As with previous songs, in previous titles, Bloody Mary, Don't Roast Me Tonight is inspired by the author's many musical friends. Thank you, pals!

 

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Excerpt from Savannah of Williamsburg: Washington's Folly and The French & Indian War, Virginia 1754, Book IV of the Savannah of Williamsburg series of books, by Jennifer Susannah Devore. All rights reserved. Property of KIMedia, LLC. Excerpt may be shared digitally for entertainment,  non-commercial purposes only and may not be reprinted in analog format or sold in any format, digital, analog or otherwise.

 

Nom, Nom! Zombies, Monkeys, Plagues and Space Terror: Happy SyFy Thanksgiving, America!

 

Sometimes you just want black goo instead of gravy on your Tofurkey. Luckily, there's the SyFy Thanksgiving weekend marathon ... starting with the Helix Black (Goo) Friday Marathon.

Leave the Tofurkey carcass, and that annoying cousin visiting from Cal Tech, on the front porch as a decoy and enjoy a horrific, Holiday weekend of persistent pestilence from SyFy: Arctic goo, King-sized Troubles, a cross-country zombie muster and so much space turmoil. Just in case football, Free Birds, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and a Friends Thanksgiving marathon don't fill up your plate, unbuckle your pants, America; SyFy is serving up a heaping, fleshy platter of Helix, Haven and Z Nation. To boot, because there's always room for pie, SyFy's got a steaming side-board groaning under the weight of a two-day gorge-fest of seminal silver-screen sci-fi.

The gooey, geeky, goodness all begins Thanksgiving morning, Thursday, November 27th at 9:30a.m. (EST/PST) with 2001: Space Odyssey. Pour some more Baileys in your Sbux Italian Roast, tie on the apron and then fire up the kitchen viewing device to watch Star Trek Nemesis, Space Cowboys, Stargate and Poseidon while you help Grandmama boil the cranberries and glaze the yams. Be careful, though and don't fill up on all that cheese; there's so much more to come!

After everyone's had a crowded but good night's sleep, heat up a big bowl of leftover succotash and get ready for all-day heebie-jeebies on Friday, November 28th, 6:00a.m.-6:00p.m. as SyFy runs The Black Goo Friday Marathon: Helix S1 in its entirety, including cast interviews and a never-before-seen sneak-peek of S2, which will premiere Friday, January 16, 2015 at 10:00p.m. So many monkeys!

By Friday night, you'll probably want to go to bed early. Fight that urge, schlubs, and stir up your adrenaline with WWE wrestling, viral zombies and New England supernatural scares the Puritans failed to notate in their daily journals of weather and midwifery. Original episodes of Haven (7:00p.m.) and Z Nation (10:00p.m.), plus WWE SmackDown (8:00p.m.), comprise your SyFryday primetime line-up.

Now it's Saturday and if you haven't devoted yourself to a gym-day by now, you're not going. Just own it, pull on your fave Quiksilver surf poncho and drawstring pants, grab a heaping helping of Mom's baked cheesy potatoes and claim your Sheldon-spot on the couch.

SyFy's weekend film-fest commences Saturday, November 29th at 10:00a.m. and then again on Sunday, November 30th at 10:30a.m., giving you an extra half-hour to crawl out of bed and beg one of your visiting relatives to make you coffee, probably that Cal Tech cousin. Filmic treats to nosh all weekend will include Fifth Element, Terminator 2, Blade: Trinity, The Happening and, just to get you in that festive, snowy, cozy-indoor, Christmas spirit, 30 Days of Night.

Happy Holidays, Freaks!

 

FYI:

Syfy is a media destination for imagination-based entertainment. With year round acclaimed original series, events, blockbuster movies, classic science fiction and fantasy programming, a dynamic Web site (www.Syfy.com), and a portfolio of adjacent business (Syfy Ventures), Syfy is a passport to limitless possibilities. Originally launched in 1992 as SCI FI Channel, and currently in 96 million homes, Syfy is a network of NBCUniversal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies.  NBCUniversal is a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation. (Syfy. Imagine Greater.)

Original press release info provided by Garrott Smith, Digital Publicist, MXM #ContentMarketingAgencyoftheYear

Want some inside-Helix ? Enjoy Jennifer Susannah Devore's Helix S1 review, including an interview with Catherine Lemieux (Dr. Doreen Boyle) and Mark Ghanimé (Major Sergio Balleseros). Follow/Tweet @JennyPopNet @GoodToBeAGeek @SyFy #scifi #ThanksgivingTV

Sir Arthur C. Clarke's 3001: The Final Odyssey: The SyFy Adaptation

Hold on to your tether lines, space cadets! SyFy is adapting 3001: The Final Odyssey for TV!

The telescopic future has arrived. Sir Arthur C. Clarke's 1997 novel 3001: The Final Odyssey will be adapted into a TV-miniseries, Syfy announced from New York on November 3, 2014. The engines powering this adaptation are H-town legends Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner, Killing Lincoln) and David W. Zucker (Numb3rs, The Good Wife, Killing Kennedy). Scott Free Productions and Warner Horizon Television will helm this spaceship; whilst Stuart Beattie (Pirates of the Caribbean, Collateral) will pen the series and serve as executive producer alongside co-executive producer Clayton Krueger.

Epic science-fiction in the man-versus-nature vein, Sir Clarke's final "Odyssey" tale puzzles out the human tale first regaled with 2001: A Space Odyssey. With the initial discovery of protag Frank Poole's frozen body floating alone in space, 3001: The Final Odyssey proffers a pendulous swing of personalities, most at-odds and combines character dissonance with a backdrop of mesmerizing, visual stimuli and the maudlin motives behind Mankind's final chapter.

Publication of Sir Clarke’s “Odyssey” series spans nearly thirty years: 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968); 2010: Odyssey Two (1984); 2061: Odyssey Three (1989); and, 3001: The Final Odyssey (1997).

The original film, Oscar-winner 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) directed by Stanley Kubrick, won an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects and was nominated thrice for Best Director, Best Writing, Story and Screenplay and Best Art Direction. 2010, was the only other novel to be adapted to film: 2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984), written, directed and produced by Peter Hyams and starring Roy Scheider, Bob Balaban, Helen Mirren and John Lithgow. Kubrick and Clarke family estates extend full support for SyFy's 3001: The Final Odyssey series.

“I have always been a fan of Clarke’s extraordinary ‘Odyssey’ series, and certainly Kubrick’s adaptation of 2001. I am thrilled to be part of bringing that legacy to audiences and continuing the great cinematic tradition that this story and its creators deserve,” said director and producer Sir Ridley Scott.

“Arthur C. Clarke is the father of modern science fiction,” Syfy president Dave Howe stated. “We couldn’t be more excited to be working with Scott Free and Warner Horizon Television to bring to the screen, for the very first time, the final chapter of this extraordinary masterpiece.”

Additionally and apropos, Syfy revealed a greenlight on another Clarke novel: Childhood’s End. Production begins late-2014.

 

Production Company Particulars:

SCOTT FREE

Scott Free Productions was formed in 1995 and is the film and television production vehicle of acclaimed film directors, brothers Ridley and Tony Scott.  Scott Free Television produces the Emmy® and Golden Globe®-nominated, Peabody-acclaimed drama, The Good Wife for CBS which just began its’ sixth season. Earlier this year, Scott Free produced Klondike, Discovery's first scripted miniseries, and the Emmy nominated Killing Kennedy for National Geographic. Upcoming, Scott Free is in prep on The Man in the High Castle for Amazon Studios, and in post-production on Halo: Nightfall, a digital feature for Xbox Entertainment. With offices in Los Angeles and London, Scott Free works closely with RSA Films, one of the world largest and most successful commercial production houses in the world.

WARNER HORIZON TELEVISION

Warner Horizon Television (WHTV) is one of the entertainment industry’s leading producers of scripted series for the cable marketplace and primetime reality series for both network and cable. A division of the Warner Bros. Television Group, WHTV was founded in 2006. WHTV’s current scripted programs are Rizzoli & Isles for TNT; Ground Floor, Sullivan & Son and the forthcoming Buzzy’s for TBS; and Pretty Little Liars for ABC Family. Its unscripted series are The Voice for NBC and The Bachelor franchise — which also includes The Bachelorette and Bachelor in Paradise — as well as the upcoming 500 Questions for ABC.

SYFY

Syfy is a media destination for imagination-based entertainment. With year round acclaimed original series, events, blockbuster movies, classic science fiction and fantasy programming, a dynamic Web site (www.Syfy.com), and a portfolio of adjacent business (Syfy Ventures), Syfy is a passport to limitless possibilities. Originally launched in 1992 as SCI FI Channel, and currently in 96 million homes, Syfy is a network of NBCUniversal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies.  NBCUniversal is a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation.  (SyFy. Imagine Greater.)

 

Thank you to Jessa Phillips of GoodToBeAGeek.com and Garrott Smith, digital publicist for MXM, (#ContentMarketingAgencyoftheYear) for press release info.

Follow and/or Tweet @JennyPopNet @GoodToBeAGeek @SyFy #SyFy #3001

 

Fer Them Folks Hankerin' Fer A New, Kid-Friendly, Halloween Standard: The Halloween Kid by Rhode Montijo

Our standards are firmly in place. Like veering away from Starbucks to try a new, Mom & Pop coffeehouse, or opting for a period, Danish-language film when one could just watch another episode of The IT Crowd, it often takes a strong tug of the leash to venture away from our favourite fire hydrant, no matter how bright and shiny our favourite is. Holiday seasons especially bring about a kind of good ol' stand-by comfort. The paths of tradition and convention are followed innately and without question, usually with good reason. The standards are so because they are simply the best. We love and revere our fave films, fabled tales and customary characters during Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Still, just because your BFF is sitting at the head of the holiday table, doesn't mean you can't have fun talking to the new kid at dinner ... in this case, The Halloween Kid.

Peanuts, The Addams Family, Ichabod Crane, Jack Skellington, Edgar Allan Poe et al, be they fictive or not, rest dearly within our hearts, year after year as Hallowe'en rumbles down the block, announcing the start of the full, holiday season. For some of us, these cherished characters and their creators will continue to stick around, well after the Christmas trees are down and the New Year's glitter has worn. As much as we love Snoopy and the gang, it is nice to widen our circle of friends and invite in others, sometimes. Rhode Montijo has moved into town and his Halloween kid is a rough 'n' ready, mummy-bustin', vampire-quashin', werewolf-vanquishin' rowdy boy born in the oh-so-American vein of Howdy Doody and Spin and Marty: a now-kitchy, black-and-white, kid-cowboy drama made popular on the original The Mickey Mouse Club. Montijo's The Halloween Kid is a joyful, pleasing blend of the 1940s/'50s cowboy craze and man's timeless terrors hiding under the bed, in the back of the closet, up in the attic and down the alley.

For centuries, Hallowe'en has been a celebration of autumn harvest and a time to let loose before a punishing winter can set in with surprising speed and brutality. Hallowe'en is also the one night of the year the spirits may cross over from the netherworld and mingle with the mortals and muggles, like a great, spooky cocktail party. We, as said-mortals and -muggles play dress-up in our best efforts to confuse the spirits and protect our souls. In our contemporary day, Hallowe'en and all its accompanying fright nights leading up to October 31st can, sometimes, go a tad  far for some, where the realm of gore and purposeful, obligatory, instigated terror are concerned.

Modern psychology deems that our psyches and we, in our cozy, comfy, cushy 21stC. lives of heated BMW seats and Peet's organic coffee, need a little cage-rattling now and then. Hence, there exists the quizzical, überpopular appeal of zombies and serial killers as subject matter: note The Walking Dead, True Blood, The Originals, Game of Thrones. All quality productions with unarguably impressive fanbases. Nevertheless, the table is somewhat crowded with voracious zombies, mythical Barbarians and ravenous vampires; it's nice to keep seats open for not just Greg Nicotero (The Walking Dead's exec. prod./SFX designer) and Bill Johnson (The Originals' SFX makeup artists), but the traditional likes of Walt Disney, Charles Schulz and, now, Rhode Montijo.

For this girl's take, I find it wonderful that Hallowe'en has become a welcome domain for adults. Some of us have never outgrown the joy of October and, unlike many a day past, those of us whom have transferred the holiday to adulthood can find far more ephemera and moral support today for our spooky penchant. Even so, some enthusiasts might take Halloween to an uncomfortable level, especially for neighborhood children. When trick-or-treating is just too terrifying for the tiniest of fairy princesses and fearsome pirates, your decorations might be too much.

Case in point: enthusiastic homeowners in the Minnesota suburb of Eden Prairie have been asked to remove some of their more realistically disturbing designs, including a bloody torso in a cauldron, a hanging man and a headless corpse. It seems to be a bit much for the wee ones in the neighborhood. Local police, though, state there is no ordinance forbidding such special effects. Maybe the neighbors draw the drapes, light some candles and read The Halloween Kid instead.

Besides the Leave it to Beaver, rolled-up jeans, all-American, good-time tale of good vs, evil in The Halloween Kid, Montijo's happy style of illustrations, kind of a Candy Corn-meets-Dennis the Menace, is pure visual contentment. Pages of goblins, ghosties and suburban streets full of kids dressed as clowns, superheroes and pirates await you: Hallowe'en at its Americana best! If you met someone from, say, Siberia or Mars and they said, "Vhat ees zis Halloveen?", (Yes, they have Eastern European accents on Mars.) to best describe it, you might invite them to watch It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and Hocus Pocus, then give them copies of Halloween by Jerry Seinfeld and The Halloween Kid by Rhode Montijo.

Now, after you've read The Halloween Kid to your Hallowe'en kid, or to yourself over a very figgy-noted bottle of Black Mountain Fat Cat Cabernet Sauvignon, the book deserves a key spot amongst your holiday décor. Leave it closed on a side table with a glowing candle nearby, or open it to your fave page; mine is the Giant Miami Werewolf, natch, being Miami-born. The best thing about Montijo's charming black-and-orange artwork? There are bushels more available at his website: portraiture of Victorian Jack o' Lantern ladies, orphaned skeletons to adopt, art postcards, children's books, the comic book adventures of Pablo's Inferno and even antique jars of "Wind for Indoor Kite Flying" and various Halloween Kid related goodies.

Besides The Halloween Kid, my fave bit of Montijo is a fleeting bit of fantasy which, sadly, eludes me online. Fortunate enough to have met and spoken with the elusive Rhode Montijo at San Diego Comic-Con this year, he told me the inspiration behind a certain artwork. It is a giant, friendly sort of pumpkin-moon with glowing, orange eyes and a chipper glowing, orange smile; the rest of the pumpkin-moon is painted all the beautiful colours of The X-Files: blacks, pewters and navy-blues, all set against a starry, stormy autumn night. The piece is, in his words, Montijo's "vision of what The Great Pumpkin looks like as he's coming to town". Splendid! (Mr. Montijo, if it comes available again, before next year's SDCC, please do LMK @JennyPopNet!)

Fortunate I was indeed, to chat with Mr. Montijo at SDCC, as he is a bit like a republican at WeedCon: out there, but hard to find. Even according to the official Montijo website, "Very little is known about children's book author and illustrator, Rhode Montijo; he was discovered at the front steps of the Elden Library."

Were I able to chat with Mr. Montijo again, I would thank him for a cherished new addition to my treasured collection of Hallowe'en books. May The Halloween Kid feel right at home, in our home, with Poe's raven, Morticia and Gomez, The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror comic books, Cranberry Halloween, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Seinfeld's Halloween, The Teeny, Tiny Witches, Cinderella Skeleton and so many more of my fave, autumnal friends of childhood as well as my childlike adulthood. (I suppose I can tell him next year at Comic-Con.)

As The Halloween Kid exclaims, "Y'all keep trick-or-treatin' now, ya hear? Yee-Ha-lloween!"

 

For a full list of JennyPop's fave Halloween films, TV specials and books ... voila!

Follow or Tweet @JennyPopNet #Halloweenbooks #TheHalloweenKid #RhodeMontijo

 

"Worst. Chicken Fight. Ever." Or, Not: The Simpsons/Family Guy Crossover

Chris: Yay! A crossover always brings out the best in each show! It certainly doesn't smack of desperation. The priorities are always creative and not driven by marketing...
Stewie: Okay, that's enough.

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The first taste was doled out in an almost masochistically small dose, like a wildly-anticipated Beaujolais delivered via medicine-droppers used to feed baby squirrels. Magnanimously proffered to those willing to wait hour-over-hour at a Family Guy Q&A panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2014, The Simpsons-Family Guy crossover episode sneak-peek was released for semi-public consumption. After that, after July of 2014, it seemed an eternity before it would eventually air. Late-September? Narf! That's so far away! Still, patience endured and summer passed by and September 28th hath come, and now gone, at long last: Family Guy's S13-premiere, "The Simpsons Guy", was easily the highlight of the annual, autumnal, FOX Animation Domination kick-off: minus American Dad and Bob's Burgers, both to air their season-premieres in October.

Like an easy-peasy, light clean-up of an early-autumn backyard in Connecticut, "The Simpsons Guy" (S13e1) raked in 8.4 million viewers, a whopping 73% increase over last year's premiere, "Finder's Keepers" (S12e1). "The Simpsons Guy" hit a ratings jackpot, at least compared with Sunday night's competition, nailing the #1 entertainment-slot amongst the advertiser's drool spectrum of 18-49, 18-34 and 25-54-year-olds.

In addition, airing at 8p, before the well-marketed crossover at 9p, was the less-marketed season-premiere of The Simpsons: "Clown in the Dumps" (S26e1). In an episode wherein a long-time Springfield resident dies, it culled the same 8.4 million as Family Guy's premiere would one hour later. In between the two premieres, it seems some 3 million folks left for pie during Brooklyn Nine-Nine (garnering a mere 5.4 million), but came back for the big crossover event. Sadly, and not like funny-clown-sad, the best bit of "Clown in the Dumps" was the couch gag: a brilliantly abstract, odd and futuristic, nearly-alien, maybe singly-cellular, microscopic take on the Fave Yellow Fam by filmmaker and animator Don Hertzfeldt (Bitterfilms.com).

 

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Crossover efforts, similar to reunion shows, are oft just that: efforts. They take Uncle Scrooge vaults of gold to produce, they must tempt the talent on a variety of facets, they endure countless hours of human toil and tug mercilessly on heart-tethered artistic vision. In the end, inevitably, the effort pleases the diehards and pisses off swaths of critics, antis and Hakken-Kraks. "The Simpsons Guy" was a full-frontal effort and, by early accounts across social media and professional and amateur reviews alike, this one was well-executed and, if not to be repeated, a welcome visit to Springfield.

Lois: Oh, this Springfield place looks nice. We should visit here again.
Brian: I dunno, Lois. This seems like a one-shot deal.

In sly, Seth MacFarlane style, he and writer Patrick Meighan take the sword at an angle in addressing popular rants and accusations aimed at Family Guy for one thing or another. In this case, the masses debate whether or not Peter Griffin and crew, and maybe even, to further the matter, American Dad's Stan Smith and upright, uptight family, are direct rip-offs of Homer Simpson and his brood. Probably.

Peter: That's pretty good, right?
Homer: No. It's not good. This beer tastes exactly like Duff. It's just a lousy ripoff.
Peter: Hey, whoa whoa whoa! It's not a ripoff of Duff! It may have been inspired by Duff, but I...I like to think it goes in a different direction.
Homer: No, this is just the same as Duff, but, like, worse.
Peter: Hey, come on, now, this is my favorite beer you're talkin' about. Hell, I work for the company. It's my livelihood.
Moe: Oh, yeah? Well, your livelihood is based on fraud.

Deftly, metaphorically played out in a Springfield courtroom during the trial of Duff Brewery vs. Pawtucket Brewery, a plethora of evidence is set forth for the jury of viewers to contemplate: did Pawtucket steal Duff's formula? No matter how much you may love Pawtucket Patriot Ale, if it pleases the court, Duff Beer was here first. Within the trial, the courtroom-scene is a curious stage all its own, with Simpsons characters sitting next to their FG counterparts: Carl and Cleveland (Yes, b/c they're the two funniest guys in their towns.), Lenny and Quagmire, Springfield James Woods and Quahog James Woods, et al. In the end, after thirteen years of speculation, months of anticipation and :43 of running-time, Judge Fred Flintstone finds that the defendant, Pawtucket Brewery did indeed rip off the plaintiff and that Duff Brewery is victorious; he also declares both beers are pretty darn similar to his favourite brew, BudRock. Ha HA!

"The Simpsons Guy" was a chortling good hour of old catchphrases, new references and B-story character pairings that work far better than one might of thought: Lisa and Meg, Marge and Lois, Bart and Stewie and a beautifully done, Algonquin Dog Bowl summit of Santa's Little Helper and Brian. To boot, because it's just good fun to toss them into the mix, American Dad's Roger the Alien takes a spaceship ride with Kang and Kodos; whilst Bob's Burgers' Bob Belcher takes a vintage plane ride with Homer and Peter, "because we have to carry that guy".

Homer introduces the Griffins to donuts, Lisa introduces Meg to the soul-lifting power of music and Bart introduces Stewie to the prank phone-call, the playful nature of the prank escaping Stewie. (Note that both Bart's and Moe's telephones are landlines. Classic.)

Moe: Moe's Tavern, Moe speakin'.

Stewie: Hello, Moe? Your sister's bein' raped!

Still, if there is one complaint, it is only one, if not terribly long: the legendarily exhaustive, time-enough-to-brush-your-teeth, Peter-and-the-Chicken-(insert-Homer-here)-Fight. If it helps to understand the overbearing Chicken Fights, Seth MacFarlane noted in a 100th-episode, behind-the-scenes interview that he admired Steven Spielberg films and, notably, his lengthy fight scenes, particularly in Raiders of the Lost Ark, between Indy and the Nazis. The Chicken Fights, including the nearly five-minute run-times, are odes to Mr. Spielberg.

Comic Book Guy: Worst. Chicken fight. Ever.

Now, for all the applause and general pleasure over "The Simpsons Guy", keep in mind the numbers. Sobering as it might be, Family Guy's 8.4million-viewer premiere, whilst better than anything most of us have produced, is still embarrassingly low compared to, say, the season premiere for CBS' The Big Bang Theory, bringing 18.1m to its Monday night, double-premiere: "The Locomotion Interruption" and "The Junior Professor Solution". Even CBS' abominably bad, contrived and belaboured, wannabe geek-drama Scorpion debuted with a strong 13.8m viewers, all according to Nielsen. Meanwhile, back at FOX, the BAFTA-worthy, überbrilliant Gotham quizzically garnered even smaller numbers than Family Guy at 8.2 million: likely the same demo though and with healthy support from the 18-49 crowd. Of course, all these ratings are outstanding, given the modern competition. Come on, kids! Everybody into Stewie's time-machine!

In the days of yore, from TV's beginnings in 1941, with RCA's WNBT (now WNBC) and CBS' WCBW (now WCBS-TV), through the '70s and '80s heyday of cable/satellite TV, to FOX's birth as a TV broadcast network in 1986, a 25%-market share (of approx. 80m TV-viewing households), was cause for celebration; even a 10%-share was a big deal. Today, with approx. 115m TV-viewing hh and more content than choice can comprehend, anything north of about 5m viewers is considered work well done! For reference, the most-watched series-finale ever is M*A*S*H's "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" (S11e16: 1983), with 125m viewers, a 77%-share of the then-83m hh; the most-watched broadcast ever is "Super Bowl XLVIII" (2014) with 111.5m viewers and spikes of 167m viewers, a 69%-share of today's 115m hh.

Apropos to our interests, Sleepy Hollow's S2 premiere lured a respectable, but lightweight 5.5 million into its catacombs and graveyards, though down staggeringly from 10.1 million for its series premiere, last year. As much as some of us love an inky dark, Gothic mixture of American Colonial fantastic-history, 18thC. imagery, 19thC. literary foundations, 21stC. cop dramas and Tom Mison's well-chiseled, posh, theatrical rants on the deplorable state of contemporary America, perchance 2014 is not the year for a dark drama based, fundamentally, on a headless, satanic minion hell-bent on beheading his foes. Perchance just not right now.

 

Now, because this stuff is important, especially if your name is listed:

Family Guy (S13e1) "The Simpsons Guy"

Production companies: Fuzzy Door Productions, 20th Century Fox Television

Directors: Peter Shin, Dominic Bianchi (supervising dir.)

Creator: Seth MacFarlane

Developers: Seth MacFarlane and David Zuckerman

Writer: Patrick Meighan

 

BTW, in the courtroom scene of "The Simpsons Guy", Matt Groening sits somewhat obscured in the very back row, directly behind Bonnie and Joe. Upon close inspection, in the spirit of Carl and Cleveland, James Woods and James Woods, etc., I searched for the Seth MacFarlane counterpart to Mr. Groening ... did I miss him? Did anyone out there see him? If you did, LMK @JennyPopNet or @GoodToBeAGeek #FamilyGuySimpsonsCrossover!

Next week, October 5, 2014, is the Season 5 premiere of Bob's Burgers ! Thank goodness I was way off four seasons ago! Meet me back here for my S5-premiere review. Need more animation and JennyPop until then? Read her Bongo Comics article, Bartbarians at the Gate: 20 Years of Bongo on the Digital Frontier, from the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con Souvenir Book!

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# FamilyGuySimpsonsCrossover

A Savannah of Williamsburg Poem: by Jannie Funster

Huzzah! Labor Day has come and gone and, for this girl, that means Autumn is nigh! Over-the-knee boots, homburgs and Burberry velvet blazers to be sported with Edgar Allan Poe baby-tees and J. Crew plaid pants wait patiently in the wings as Yours Truly waits patiently for the SoCal weather to cool. (It will. It just has to.) The end of Labor Day also means the beginning of the school-year; that, in turn, means my Savannah of Williamsburg titles begin to sell raw-ther well. (Yea!)

Elementary-age children, tweens and open-minded adults tend toward Savannah of Williamsburg: Being the Account of a Young, London Squirrel, Virginia 1705 (Book I). College-age (especially William & Mary students) and more serious historians -those with a sense of humour, anyway- drift toward the later books: Savannah of Williamsburg: The Trials of Blackbeard and His Pirates, Virginia 1718 (Book II) and Savannah of Williamsburg: Ben Franklin, Freedom & Freedom of the Press, Virginia 1735 (Book III). Whatever your historical poison, Savannah of Williamsburg has a tincture for you.

One of my fave readers is also one of my fave writers/songwriters/poetesses: Ms. Jannie Funster of Texas. You may recall previous posts of mine about Jannie, as well as reviews of her lilting, songbird-styling music. If you have yet to acquaint yourself with Ms. Jannie, do so! She doesn't post regularly, but when she does it's like finding a five-dollar bill in the laundry or an unopened bag of Swedish Fish in an old beach bag. It's awesome!

On this day, more fortunate I could not be. Jannie has penned a wee poem about Savannah of Williamsburg! If you follow Jannie, you'll note her wordsmithing and formatting is as whimsical, unconventional and abstract as she is. I love this best about her! What a wonderful, cozy, weirdly beautiful Autumn this shall be! Thank you, Ms. Jannie of Texas!

 

“Anticipation” for Jennifer Susannah Devore

I just ordered
a real live book
to hold in my hands,
off amazon.com,

“Savannah of Williamsburg: Being the Account of a Young London Squirrel, Virginia 1705 (The Savannah Series,Tales of An American Squirrel.)”

breath is
now suspended
in air like

a
skipping
stone

that will drop
into the water
as i drop into
this cozy chair
to lose myself
in the ruffle
of the pages.

 

by Jannie Funster 2014

Con Crud and The Comic-Con Blues: JennyPop's SDCC 2014 Wrap and Dr. Lucy's Slideshow

"Normality" reigns once again: only the corset welts remain and, thankfully, those are fading fast. (Beach parties are never far off around here; always lurking in the shadows, like Homey the Clown with a sock full of nickels in a dark alley. Ka-pow! Gues what? You're going to a luau, girl! Damn it. Where's my parasol?)

Similar to Christmas or Hallowe'en, 'tis not just the actual week of San Diego Comic-Con that excites, 'tis the weeks of preparation and anticipation which makes the event all the sweeter. Planning travel itineraries, organizing in-town logistics, scheduling Meet-and-Geeks, making costumes and booth-lists, plus purchasing all the necessary goodies which accompany any upcoming fete is truly half the fun. Once the big day arrives, it's a nonstop party rife with too much fun, too little sleep and oft a severe deviation in one's usually healthy lifestyle: unless you're Don Draper, a body does not need that many G&Ts in a four-day period. In Con-speak, the condition is known as Con Crud, as in, "I'm so sorry, sweetie. I would love to meet you in Vegas for your birthday, but I still have a serious case of Con Crud."

Even the best of Comicchanalian carousing must end: a.k.a. Comic-Con Blues. Again, like Christmas or Hallowe'en, when it's all over, there remains naught but feelings of sadness, satiation and, in some cases, corset welts. Happily (or, sadly for some) there also remain photos! Thanks to our Dr. Lucy and her Canon EOS, we have a plethora of Poison Ivy and a wealth of Doctor Who, yet, oddly, a dearth of Darth. After you've scrolled through our slideshow here, find even more of Dr. Lucy's snaps at Twisted Pair Photography: featuring photographic variety ranging from surfing and skateboarding to The Renaissance Faire, WonderCon Anaheim and, naturally San Diego Comic-Con.

 

 

Briefly, as promised amidst this year's coverage for GoodToBeAGeek, a quick S/O to a few vendors of SDCC 2014. As longtime readers will already know, I love to treat myself at these things (all year-round, really) and help support artists as well as the economy, local or otherwise. After all, as I say, Mom can't buy all our art; we need others! As tradition dictates, I like to highlight those Con vendors from whom I purchase. This year's goodies came from the following:

Sighco (a.k.a. ArkhamBazaar): Lovecraftian Novelties & Other Weird Oddities: Poe and Lovecraft gear aplenty, mostly tees ... mostly. (In fact, a very special raven led us there. Thank you, Dante! We love and miss you dearly!)


JefBot: The True Sci-Fi Adventures of a Nerd in Hollywood: Led by the head-bot himself, Jeff Schuetze, Jefbot is "a multigenre, multidimensional and multiethnic comic strip"; Jeff and his cohort Joe are also the purveyors/artists of International Beatsro t-shirts, like "Mouthfuls of Madness Ramen House" and "Casa del Chalupacabra Restaurante y Cantina". If you find yourself craving a bowl of Ramen overflowing with Cthulhu, seaweed and spring onions, Jefbot's the right place.


The Bonebreakers (f/the artist known as "O"): Balls Deep: When Nobody's Weird, the Weirdo is You: Artist and publishers of "The Bonebreakers" graphic novel. My purchase? A whimsical portrait of Mr. Moon! (A character who would fit well within my own Savannah of Williamsburg circle of friends!) Mr. Moon is a portly, Holmesian kitty in tweed with a calabash pipe, mutton chops and, what I surmise is, a churlish attitude tolerated strictly due to his preternatural brilliance. I believe he also harrumphs a great deal, especially when dealing with underlings. Mr. Moon patiently awaits framing and I thank O for his creation, as well as apologize for asking him to sign Mr. Moon on the back, then on the front of my print. (Bellatrix, btw, does not apologize. She's quite mad, you know?)

Finally, if you’ve kept track (of course you have) … this girl's Hellboy article was published in this year’s official SDCC Souvenir Book! That’s #4, kids! Fun times! Past years’ books included J.S. Devore articles on Peanuts, Tarzan and Bongo/Simpsons Comics.

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Adrianne Curry Bullwhips Tigra Panty Offenders at SDCC 2014: Party's Over, Kids.

San Diego's annual invasion of dapper Doctor Whos, mysterious Batmen, chubby Lolitas and steampunk Poison Ivys has ceased; the marauders having retreated to their workaday lives and quiet homes, wherever those might be. (In fact, roughly fifty per cent of those homes are right here in San Diego, based on attendee registration info.) No one throws a Con quite like America's Finest City and the financial handshake between Comic-Con International (CCI) and the City of San Diego is hearty, healthy and mutually-beneficial.

According to CelebrityNetWorth, San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) 2013 infused the local economy with approximately $163million; hotel reservations alone, some 40K, bring in nearly $30million alone. 2014's figures are expected to be even more impressive. The crush of con-goers, as well as curious looky-loos, is a healthy boon to not only the city, but the Golden State, not nearly as golden as it was in its namesake, 1849 heydays. Perched on the edge of western civilization, California in currently in the pains of drought, immigration woes and incompetent, unfathomably wasteful, Sacramento politicians. If anyone needs a profitable, notable party, it's California.

Of course, out of every notable party comes an obligatory fool, the dude who drinks too much and is best left on the cool, bathroom tile for the night. SDCC 2014 was no exception: a Zombie Walk Hit-and-Run; and the Tigra Panty Raiders. Also, out of any notable party gone nuts, there comes a hero: ours was #superherobadass Catwoman, a.k.a. Miss Adrianne Curry.

Where there's Comic-Con, there are hot chicks; where there are hot chicks, there are boys; where there are boys, there is booze and, often, trouble.  Too much booze and testosterone makes for a sketchy situation. Even San Diego CBS8 field reporter Shawn Styles was nearly shaken to pieces by a rowdy, seemingly buzzed, buff group of Outlander promo models as he covered the Con from the always bar-soaked Gaslamp District. Leaving the safe confines of the San Diego Convention Center and venturing into the Gaslamp is risky, even on the best of Saturday nights, but all the more so in a Mardi Gras atmosphere and in costume. The Con floor might be a sardine-packed muddle of geekage, but it's navigable and friendly. If something goes down in the Con, even just a drop-kicked smartphone, there's always a Superman nearby to help!

CCI has very clear rules about harassment; then again, so does the San Diego Police Department. Someone -naturally it was a zombie- chose not to heed those rules and attacked one Alicia Marie Bellanger, a.k.a. Tigra, in the Gaslamp District, well outside the Con.

 

Partial post from Alicia Marie's Facebook page:

 

YESTERDAY, myself, dressed as Tigra, was ... in the super crowded San Diego Comic-Con International Gaslamp area taking photos with #SDCC peeps and fans. Some total A$$H0LE came up behind me and tried to stick his hands in my bottoms and then yanked my tail and pants down. I just freaked out, screamed trying to keep my bottoms up -- but Adrianne Curry literally took off after dude WITH her Catwoman whip and chased him down, beat his ass. Punched him across the face with the butt of her whip -- he had zombie blood on his face - got on her costume. I have to thank #superherobadass "Catwoman" Adrianne Curry Poison Ivy Katrina and Todd for being such EPIC friends.

Clearly, the offenders were unfamiliar with masked #superherobadass Catwoman, Adrianne Curry.

Adrianne Curry's Facebook reply:

I beat the shit out of his face with the butt of my whip .....which is a real bullwhip

As of this post, there is no update as to any pending arrests, or the condition, of Miss Bellanger's attacker.

Even well-mannered zombies can fall prey to the bedlam of the Gaslamp. Amidst an otherwise well-organized Zombie Walk through the Gaslamp District, a hearing-impaired motorist, his car idling at a crossing area and waiting for the zombies to pass, eventually used his car as a zombieplow to escape the Walk, pushing through the crowd and knocking down a number of pedestrians: zombies and humans alike. Whilst some bystanders surmised he simply grew impatient, the driver later told police his small children  were frightened by the crowd and he, being hard-of-hearing, was confused. Video shows two rather big guys settling on the hood of his car and it was at this point he plowed through said-bedlam.

S.D.P.D. Officer David Stafford stated, "The car windshield was shattered by the crowd. The family was scared so the father drove forward again trying to get away from the angry crowd.’

In the end, three people suffered injuries; one of those leading to a hospital stay, the other two being of minor concern. The driver was not arrested and, thus far, no charges have been filed.

After quite a few years of covering SDCC for GoodToBeAGeek, my cohorts and I ventured into the Gaslamp a number of nights this Con. Most years have been spent either in the Convention Ctr. or the lobbies, patios and bars of the Hilton Bayfront and the Omni Hotel. The only exposure to the outside world being a short walk along Front Street to Santa Fe Depot in order to hop a train back to the calming balm of our wee beach burg. My takeaway? Unless you're a frat boy at heart, stick to the hotels and Conv. Ctr. Traffic, booze and boys rule the Gaslamp night and for this oft socially awkward, pale and quiet geek girl, the crowds inside the Con are plenty of hustle-and-bustle for me.

SDCC 2014 was far more bonkers, it seems, than previous Cons. WonderCon, for all its discounted stigma as Comic-Con's Little Sister, is a lovely and elegant tea party, comparatively. As I noted in my pre-Con post, Boobs Are Not Bunnies, CCI makes very clear their rules of conduct. Obviously, as Miss Bellanger noted further on her Facebook page, these rules are becoming more and more necessary:

Continuing post from Alicia Marie's Facebook page:

I was very VERY upset because as many times as I have attended #SDCC, I have never experienced this behavior. Just the day before, one of the Trek Bunnies, Amanda Orion) had to have a guy kicked out of the con for being lewd and disgusting and shoving his camera lens between our legs when 3 of us were walking out. This event is supposed to be a fun, light-hearted, exciting, and yes over the top time for everyone. That does not mean start disrespecting people and thinking you can act like an IDIOT just because they have a costume on.

Then again, if you have #superherobadass Adrianne Curry by your side, have a drink, be safe and if someone does trifle with you, let Catwoman whip some butt!

Through all the absurdity of this year's Con, it was still, as always, an absolute blast! Miss Bellanger summed it up perfectly:

%$^$-tards aside, it's still the best time I have all year -
Right now, I am just thankful and happy I have friends that don't even have to put a costume on to be superheroes.

Well said, Tigra! Very well said! Cheers!

 

Abyssinia next at WonderCon, kittens!

 

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