E.R. Torre's Blog, page 147

:DRYVRS, Ep. 1

Actor/Producer Jack Dishel has posted the first episode of his webseries :DRYVRS on YouTube.  The premise of the series (I’ve only seen the one) appears to be the humorous encounters Mr. Dishel has with the people working for :DRYVRS, a UBER-like service he uses to transport himself from location to location.

Cleverly, the first episode features Macaulay Culkin as the :DRYVR come to pick him up.  Mr. Culkin’s character, we quickly find, is a grown up and whacked out version of his Kevin McCallister from the Home Alone films…

As humorous as the premise was, is it just me or did the whole thing ultimately feel rather…I dunno…depressing?  Don’t get me wrong: The adult Kevin having some serious issues regarding what happened to him when he was a child and growing up to be a seriously deranged individual makes a certain sense, but still…

Regardless, kudos to Mr. Dishel.  He couldn’t have found a more intriguing guest for his his premiere webisode.  That alone guarantees many people -obviously including myself- got to see his work.

Perhaps we can see more of this Kevin in the future?

While this is undeniably cool to watch…

…its also an incredibly crazy stunt:

The whole purpose of this exercise was apparently to fly between those two buildings and, from the reaction of Roberta Mancino, the woman who did the fly/glide-by, it looks like either the winds suddenly picked up and pushed her closer toward the building than she wanted or perhaps she simply drifted there without realizing it.

Regardless, and again, as cool as this video is, I hate to sound like Mr. Sober Un-Fun Adult and ask: What if she had hit the building?  Perhaps even a glancing blow?

She’d likely be dead or, if not, unconscious and soon to be dead from the fall.

But she’s gliding over a city.  A city I’m assuming has people walking and driving around the streets.  If she were to hit the building and fall to the ground, I can’t help but think of the others she might have injured and/or killed had her stunt failed.

In spite of all that, it’s still a cool video.

John Cleese Picks His Favorite Monty Python Skits…

The title says it all:

John Cleese Picks the Most Gut-Busting Monty Python Sketches

Who am I to say otherwise?

Good list, by the way.  I’d like to have a similar list from the remaining members of the troupe.

Alan Moore Q & A on Goodreads…

I’ve had this site on my tablet computer for a while now and figured it was time to share.

Alan Moore, one of the most talented and influential -and controversial- comic book writers perhaps ever, opened up a Q & A session over at Goodreads.  The questions were plentiful though a few of his replies were obviously cut and pasted.  Still, a fascinating read:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/3961.Alan_Moore/questions

I remain a great admirer and equally frustrated/annoyed fan of Mr. Moore’s.  There is no doubt the work he produced, particularly for DC comics in the 1980’s, was like nothing that came before it.  His work on Swamp Thing and Watchmen alone would lift anyone’s reputation to the stratosphere.  He also was responsible for the excellent V for Vendetta, Marvel/MiracleMan, D.R. & Quinch (a hilarious series, proving he could do comedy as deftly as horror/action/drama), and “Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow”, a “last” Silver age Superman story.

On the negative side, he was also the writer behind The Killing Joke, a beautifully drawn -by Brian Bolland- Batman graphic novel whose story was…not all that good, IMHO.  In fact, the story was sadistic and needlessly grim.  Of course, there are those who would argue that point with me.

Soon after the release of Watchmen Alan Moore grew furious with DC comics and left them, never to return.  Based on the Q & A his negative feelings haven’t diminished one bit.  My understanding of the situation, based on interviews Mr. Moore has given over the years, involved the rights to Watchmen.  Though I’m probably oversimplifying things (Alan Moore alone knows how much more is involved), the original contract with Mr. Moore stated the rights to the series would revert back to him as soon as the book was out of print.  However, because the series was so successful DC was able to retain the rights to it and have done so since its initial 12 issue run was completed in the late 1980’s.

While I sympathize with Mr. Moore, a part of me is greatly troubled by what I can only call his hypocrisy regarding creative ownership.

As I have mentioned in the past, the Watchmen series was originally supposed to feature the Charlton Heroes that DC had at the time just acquired.  Because of the nature of the story Mr. Moore was telling, it was felt that rather than use these characters he should come up with pastiches and use them.  Thus the Charlton heroes…

…became the Watchmen.

In his time at DC, Mr. Moore had little problems using other people’s creations to tell his stories.  Yet he gets hung up on the concept of creative ownership even when some of his most famous stories involved characters he either didn’t come up with (Batman, Superman, Swamp Thing, etc.) or came up with thinly veiled pastiches of the same (Watchmen).  After leaving DC comics one of his higher profile works was Supreme, a tissue-thin “homage” (I would call it a rip off) of Superman…

Yeah…

Mr. Moore would follow this up with such series as League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (which used copyright free characters such as Alan Quatermain, Dorian Gray, etc. etc.), Promethea (which was a Wonder Woman type), and Tom Strong (a Doc Savage/Pulp type hero).

I’d be the last to blast Mr. Moore’s writing talents but it bothers me that his best known post DC works (there are others, I’m not forgetting them) have largely involved either using copyright free characters or thinly veiled versions of other, more famous characters.

And still he’s angry with DC for retaining their copyright on Watchmen?

Regardless, the Q & A is interesting if you want to get into the mind of Mr. Moore.

Dragnet…

…or perhaps I should invoke one of Judas Priest’s best known songs?

Two tales of people running afoul of the law caught my eye these past couple of days.  First up is “Pharma bro” Martin Shkreli who has been arrested for securities fraud as reported in this article written by Scott Eric Kauffman and presented in Salon.com:

“Pharma bro” Martin Shkreli Arrested For Securities Fraud

Is Mr. Shkreli’s name not familiar to you?  This bit of information, pulled from the above article, tells you just about all you need to know about the right honorable Mr. Shkreli…

Shkreli vaulted into the public eye in September, when he boasted about raising the price on a life-saving toxoplasmosis treatment for unborn babies and people with HIV or cancer by 5,455 percent. Although he insisted the drug “was still under-priced,” he promised that he would return it to its original level — a promise he reneged on the last week of November. His despicable behavior has prompted everyone from Donald Trump to Hillary Clinton to condemn him.

Quite a comeuppance, no?

The second story involves Ethan Couch, who was on probation and is now on the run from the law (both he and his mother cannot be found) and facing “real prison time” for violating the terms of his probation.

Mr. Couch achieved notoriety back in 2013 and following killing four people and seriously injuring two others while driving drunk at the ripe old age of 16.  As terrible a crime as that was, what happened during his trial was even worse: His lawyers stated the underage man was suffering from “affluenza”, that he was so spoiled by his wealthy parents that he didn’t have a clear concept of right and wrong.

Incredibly, the judge bought the argument and Mr. Couch was sentenced to ten years probation.  However, a video posted on twitter showed him participating in a party which clearly had liquor.  This violates the terms of his parole and could land him in jail.

Oops.

So he and his mother are on the lam and you can read all about it in this article by Mary Elizabeth Williams and also found on Salon.com:

Spare us the “affluenza” defense this time: Ethan Couch faces real prison time for violating parole

The commonality between the two stories appears to be two young, entitled men who can no longer game the system.

One hopes they eventually learn from these troubles and make more of their lives than they have so far.

Let’s see…what to talk about today…

Star Wars, again?  While Rotten Tomatoes has the film scoring an incredible 97% positive, I’m getting the feeling many of those positives (at least those I’ve read) have been somewhat half-hearted.

Which in some ways is not all that different from many of J. J. Abrams’ works.  I actually admire the man quite a bit: He knows how to create something that, while you’re watching it, is compelling and interesting.  But after the fact, when you stop to think about what you’ve just seen, doubts form and secondary opinions pop up.

Will this happen for Star Wars VII?  It happened, after all, with the “prequels”.  There was plenty of good cheer and great critical ratings until the warm glow of nostalgia lifted and people got a better look at the product.

By the way, I’m as prone to changing my mind as the next person.  I enjoyed Star Trek: Into Darkness when I caught it in the theaters but after thinking about it for a bit, realized the film was very flawed.

We’ll see what happens.

What else is there to talk about?

Politics?

Yesterday we had the 1,993,320,123,432th GOP debate and, like all the others, I dutifully avoided it as best I could.  Of course afterwards all those news stations (why, WHY!?!) had their anchors/analysts go over who did what and to whom and, like some morbid all enveloping black hole I couldn’t help but be sucked in.

It appears, at least to my eyes and based on what little was highlighted, that I didn’t miss all that much.  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I wouldn’t vote for this version of the Republican Party if my life depended on it (check this chilling article by William Saletan which posits this question: Who would you elect President if your only choices are Trump, Cruz, or Carson?).  The latest debate -what little I saw of it- didn’t change my mind in that respect.

So forget Star Wars and forget Politics.  How about…

Football?

Bob Costas Says Football’s Biggest Problem Can’t Be Fixed

I’ve gone down this road before a few times but, like the self-driving car articles I so dearly love, this is rapidly becoming an issue I’m also intrigued with.

I’ve written about this before so excuse me while I (briefly) repeat myself:  When I was young, I had no interest in sports at all.  Let me be clear: AT ALL.

I was forced to play games I didn’t care to play (usually soccer…why the hell couldn’t you use your hands?!?).  TV was very limited and where I was there wasn’t a whole lot of spots aired on it.

Things changed back in/around 1984.  I started watching -and admiring- football, specifically the incredible talents of one Dan Marino.  He almost single handedly got me interested in football in general and the Dolphins specifically.

But I didn’t stop there and eventually became a full fledged sports fanatic.  I not only watched football, but also basketball, baseball, and hockey.  This all ended the year after I watched almost every single game of the 2003 World Series winning season the Marlins played.  I realized I was extremely lucky to see a team go from game one to winning the series and the likelihood of repeating this was very slim.

I also realized I had wasted waaaay too much time before the TV seeing this.

So I cut back dramatically.  In more recent times the most sports I’ve followed were probably the LeBron James Heat, but I only watched some of those games and more closely followed the playoffs.

Though it all, my favorite sport to watch remained football, in spite of the fact that since Marino retired the Dolphins haven’t done much of anything.

Having said that, I agree with Mr. Costa: Football is at heart a game that destroys not only the athlete’s body, but also, and more frighteningly, his mind.  Yes, some people come out of the game better but at this point I feel that even those who most want football to prosper cannot with a straight face say that it is a “safe” sport to play.

True, basketball, baseball, and hockey wear down athletes’ bodies as well, but the fact is that these sports don’t feature what is the staple of football: Athletes running at full speed into each other.

It happens now and again in basketball.  It happens now and again in baseball.  It may happen a little more frequently in hockey.

But the reality is that every play in football involves athletes running into each other at top speeds.  While a well-toned body may be able to absorb the hits, there is no training or helmet padding great enough to protect a person’s brain.

I’m not going to lie: I still love watching football.  But as each new study on brain trauma resulting from playing in the sport is released and the reality of what playing the game does to the athletes’ bodies is understood, I don’t know how much longer it can exist.

Yet more Star Wars…

Last night was the premiere of Star Wars: The Force Awakens and I was curious to see how the exclusive crowds reacted to the premiere.  It would appear they left mostly happy:

From CNN:

Star Wars: The Force Awakens gets positive early reactions

Over on twitter:

First reactions suggest “overwhelming experience”

The Guardian likewise reported the same.

So for all those looking forward to the film’s formal release tomorrow (it is being released on Wednesday, right?) looks like you’ll like what you’ll see.

Star Wars…nothing but Staaarr Waaarsss…

It’s just about here and we’re way beyond fever pitch.  In a few short days, the latest Star Wars film is released and I…

…Well, I’ll pretty much ignore it.

Don’t get me wrong: If you love Star Wars and are rabid to see this latest film, then by all means do so (yeah, like you need my permission!).

And when you do, I sincerely hope you have an absolute blast.  In this life, one needs to get their pleasures as they come and if Star Wars scratches that itch, then more power (and fun!) to you.

If you’re new to this blog and haven’t read some of my posts regarding the phenomena that is Star Wars, the above should clue you in on the fact that no, I’m not a fan of Star Wars.

I stumbled upon this article by Todd Leopold for CNN and it contains many of the same feelings I have regarding the movie, though Mr. Leopold goes one step too far in condemning the whole franchise:

Please, Stop Forcing Star Wars On Me

A couple of points regarding that article:

I think Mr. Leopold was acting like a big jerk way back when he yelled out Spoilers to the crowds waiting for the next showing of the just released The Empire Strikes Back.  First, its just plain rude.  Secondly, if he didn’t care for the franchise to begin with, why did he bother to go see the sequel?

Like Mr. Leopold, I was of the right age (I was 11, he 12) at the time of the original release of Star Wars and, like him, the film simply didn’t turn me on like it did so many others.  However, unlike Mr. Leopold I was so unimpressed with Star Wars that I skipped The Empire Strikes Back when it was first released to theaters and first saw it years afterwards when it aired on TV.

But, again: While Star Wars and the films that followed it didn’t particularly rock my boat, at this point in my life I don’t feel the need to berate people who do love this work.  After all, there are things I love dearly that others wouldn’t (I’m looking at you, Supernova).

Having said all that, what does irk me about Star Wars fans and may explain -to some degree anyway- why the whole Star Wars thing never really appealed to me is explained beautifully in this very positive article by Forrest Wickman for Slate.com:

Star Wars is a Post-Modern Masterpiece

Let me be very clear here: the above article DOES NOT in any way/shape/form tear down the original 1977 Star Wars film and instead heaps praise on how the film was the ultimate pastiche, masterfully borrowing so many elements from so many different films (various westerns to Flash Gordon to The Hidden Fortress to The Damn Busters) to create its own experience.

Interestingly, this may be the very reason why I’ve been so (ahem) lukewarm to Star Wars.  It’s because even as a young child seeing the film I recognized so many of these elements (the western influences, Flash Gordon, War films) and therefore couldn’t “see” the film as being an original work.

In some ways this reminds me of my equally muted feelings towards the Kill Bill movies.  While technically these movies, like Star Wars, are very well done, they are as much a pastiche as Star Wars.  With Kill Bill, director/writer Quentin Tarantino attempts to create a Kung Fu version of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly and to my mind, why would I want to see a “homage” to that superb film when I can see the original?

So too it is with the original 1977 Star Wars.  Why would I be interested in seeing this (admittedly well done) pastiche when I can watch the better, IMHO, works that it took from?

Again, this is just my subjective opinion and, again, I absolutely do not begrudge everyone’s desire to catch the latest Star Wars film (and films) when they are released to theaters.

While I may not have jumped aboard that particular cultural train, I recognize I’m among the very, very few.

The legality of posting spoilers…

As an author, if there is one thing I can appreciate is the desire to “surprise” your audience with your new work(s).  You spend considerable time coming up with your story and massaging it until it is worth releasing and the very last thing you want is someone to post spoilery information about what you’ve done and render you work pointless.

Fortunately, as an author who works alone I am a self-contained unit.  Whatever scenarios and stories I come up with reside in my head and, unless I get hacked, my computer.  Until my latest work is officially released, no one other than I know what I’m up to.  At this point, I’ve finished the second full draft of my latest novel and, apart from this one hint I offered a little while back, at least with regard to when the story takes place, you have no idea what awaits you.

Because creating a movie involves many, many people both in front of and behind the cameras, the possibility of leaks is a very real one.

A while back a very early draft of the script to Quentin Tarantino’s latest movie, The Hateful 8, was leaked to the internet and Mr. Tarantino, overcome with anger, stated he would abandon the film entirely.  He eventually changed his mind and the film will be released this December, but I totally get where he’s coming from.

Again: When you create a story, you want viewers/readers/what-have-you coming into your story knowing the bare minimum.  You want to surprise, shock, amuse, etc. them with what goes on.  How can you do that if they already know what they’re in for?

Unfortunately, because of the internet and the ability to instantly “talk” to the world at large, spoilers are becoming a big problem in the movie industry.  I recall when The Dark Knight Rises was in the process of being filmed and, when exterior shots were taken, people on the streets who happened to be close by produced videos of what was going on.  On the very day scenes involving Batman fighting Bane or Catwoman riding around on a Bat-Cycle were shot, the world at large was able to see what was going on.

Let me repeat and emphasize this: The world got to see scenes from a movie many months away from being released, much less finished, the same day they were being filmed!!!

Which brings us to the latest bit of spoilery territory.

Perhaps the most anticipated film of December (maybe even of this year) is the latest Star Wars feature.  Director J. J. Abrams and company have been extra careful in trying to keep the movie’s plot under wraps and, to my eyes, have been for the most part successful.

But spoilers come in all shapes and forms and someone at a Walmart in Iowa accidentally displayed for sale some Star Wars action figures tied to this film.  These figures, including that of the female character Rey, had potentially spoilery information.  A photograph of the toy was taken and released on the internet and…

Couple Takes Pics of Star Wars Figure They Bought, Gets DMCA Notice From Lucasfilm

Yikes.

For those who don’t know, big stores like Walmart, Target, Costco, etc. etc. receive merchandise sometimes a week or two before its “official” release date.  They hold this material and, on the date said merchandise is to be released, it is pulled out of their warehouse section and put up for sale.

As you can see from the article above, sometimes errors are made.

I’ve experienced the early release of materials before, though nothing quite as “exciting” as this.

A few years back (try to contain your excitement when you read this awe-inspiring story) I wandered into my local Costco and found the first BluRay release copy of the classic Bruce Lee film Enter The Dragon for sale.  I wound up buying it and smiled while I did, knowing that the BluRay edition wasn’t scheduled to be released until the following week and someone at Costco had mistakenly put it on sale early.

I’ll give you a few minutes to catch your breath after reading such an earth shattering story.

All jokes aside, I can’t fault Disney/Lucasfilms for being upset that a potential spoiler has found its way into general release before the film.  But neither can I fault those who posted pictures of the toy on the internet -they did legally buy the items, though it was mistakenly put on sale too early- nor the staff of the Walmart, who probably committed what was ultimately a very innocent mistake.

Just goes to show…there are many, many ways to spoil a story.

Feeling frustrated…?

Then play…

Slap Kirk

Ok, not the ‘deepest’ of games available (for free!) on the internet, but a clever stress reliever anyway.

Just don’t hurt Capt. Kirk too bad, ok?