Signal Watch Watches: Giant (1956)

The first time I tried to watch Giant (1956) was in 1998.  It came on one of our local affiliates as the Sunday afternoon movie, and I sat down on what passed for a sofa in the living room of what passed for an apartment and started watching.  For some reason the audio was messed up, and was broadcasting too quietly.  I tried calling the station about a half-dozen times over the course of an hour, but nobody was answering the line at KTBC that day, and so I eventually gave up.

Later I'd rent the movie on Netflix and fail to watch it.  I once went to the Paramount Theater in Austin to see the movie, and had gotten my dates wrong and saw Black Sunday instead.  I didn't know I was in the wrong movie until the first frames rolled, and, boy howdy, was I confused.

Last year Jason's lady-friend, AmyD, loaned me the DVD, and somehow we just never watched it.  But it came on cable a few weeks back, and I finally DVR'd the movie.

Lazy post for the end of the weekend

Wow.  That was one full weekend.

I won't rehash, but its left me feeling a wee on the worn-out side.

Some items:

• Nashville people - I hope all is well.  Holy smokes.  Why do you keep living in the path of horrible weather?  That's Galveston's job.
• I'm slowly making my way through Archer in order on Netflix.
• I am watching Giant in chunks.  I DVR'd it off TCM in February and I'm finally watching it.  My history of trying to watch Giant and failing is as lengthy as Giant itself.  I'll most definitely be writing the movie up when I'm done.  But, boy howdy, Elizabeth Taylor.  Amirite?
• We have entered into the period in Austin where it is just ridiculously gorgeous out.  I usually miss it thanks to work and various obligations.  But, trust me.  75 degrees.  Blue skies.  The grackles aren't even hanging out with their beaks open because its too damn hot yet.  That'll be May.  
• Austin's 6th Street is now just kind of embarrassing.  As are most of the dudes I see down there.  And the return of the microskirt in the age of KFC Food Bowl.
• My gym was sort of 24 hours, but only M-F.  It just went 24-7.  This changes everything for Sundays.  Sweaty, hang-over workouts, you will be happening later.
• Last night, I was hilarious.  But, anyway, its good to catch up with friend you haven't seen in a while.  Even if it leads to sweaty, hang-over workouts.  Actually, not so much hung-over as really ashamed about what I did to that enormous piece of carrot cake intended for two around 12:00AM.
• How awesome would it be to just go ahead and name your kid "Maud'dib Usul Kwisatz Haderach Jones" or whatever your last name is?  Man, see, this is why its best we'll never have children.

It is really nice out today

So its, like, 75 degrees out, sunny and 0% humidity. We were going to try to do the Austin Kite Festival, but, man, the traffic was insane. So, we headed down to the green belt under MoPac.

Jamie hobo's it up under the bridge

me and my pals

Happy Birthday, KareBear!

The King and I wish you a very, very happy Birthday.

Signal Watch attends: Staple! - The independent media expo

So, every year since moving back to Austin I have wanted to attend the Staple! Independent Media Expo.  That's the name, but its really mostly about self-published comics on a regional level.  That doesn't mean that Austin's KO-OP radio didn't have a table, and a few others things like The New Movement Theater.

But, mostly, self-published (and self-stapled - thus the name) comics.

I have mixed feelings on the whole thing, but a few caveats:

1)  I attended by myself

2)  I have mild social anxiety issues, so I really didn't talk to anybody there

3)  As at all conventions (including the ones I've attended for work), I am not a huge fan of the table approach.  I don't know how to improve it, but there's really no polite way to approach a table and explore what is on said table without clearly raising the hopes of the seller or without feeling like you need to buy something.  There's some weird desperation going on there.  And if its not, then there's just a very bored person sitting behind the table contemptuously eyeing you for spending time at their table and not buying anything.

You cannot win.

But I figured if I was going to be serious about sticking around comics even if I'm pulling out of the monthly  superhero thing, I should probably check out what's going on with indie books.

Signal Watch Re-Watches: DUNE (1984)

A few years back I finally read Frank Herbert's Dune, and then watched the David Lynch film adaptation that's a bit of a cult movie, but which showed up DOA in 1984.

The Alamo Ritz had a late night screening of the movie, starting at 11:30 PM on Friday in glorious 35mm which Jason recruited me for (the man likes his Dune).

Whether you're a fan of the book or not, when seen on the big screen, you have to admire the sheer audacity of the movie, of trying to bring the insanely detailed world of Herbert's Arrakis to a 2.5 hour movie.

It's a bit telling they try to start explaining themselves starting on the poster

Signal Watch Watches: Justice League - Doom

A few items before we begin.

1.  This movie was based on Mark Waid's tremendous Tower of Babel storyline in JLA that was amazing enough that it was adapted for the movie.  The story was powerful enough that it crept into the entire DCU, and launched us into Infinite Crisis circa 2006.

Oddly, this story is rarely discussed, and Mark Waid is featured not-at-all on the Blu-Ray, and in my viewing, I missed his name, and I was looking for it.

2.  This was also the final work by writer Dwayne McDuffie, who adapted Waid's story.  It shows his trademark ability to translate continuity-heavy DC work into much more workable stories for the 85 minute films.  It also demonstrates his ability to make the dialog sound plausible and build genuine character moments.  And I am going to miss the hell out of seeing his name on motion pictures, television and comics.

3.  On the heels of yesterday's post, I am reminded that there will be no shortage of DCE material for me to enjoy, and the small fee I paid for this Blu-Ray was less than what I'd pay for a tradepaperback.  I believe I paid about $15.


So, yesterday I purchased and read Justice League #6 by Geoff Johns and Jim Lee*, and I'd submit to them that they wrote just about the least interesting Justice League story I'd paged through since...  I dunno, maybe the 80's.  While I am torn regarding my loyalty to Mark Waid and my love of the original comics the movie Justice League: Doom was based upon, I can say - Johns and Lee did nothing over 6 issues but demonstrate that they don't know how to put together a compelling story with stakes, character or motivations, nor did they seem to understand that a hallmark of Justice League stories since Grant Morrison took the Pepsi Challenge circa 1997 was a constant ratcheting up of stakes and intensity.  I give you Morrison's insane epic, World War III or, for that matter, Final Crisis.

Thanks to Randy!

The Amazing Rando, our own RandyT, sent me a surprise package in the mail.  No idea what inspired this outpouring of generosity, but with two Jill Thompson books and a vintage Planet of the Apes book, Randy wins the week for being my favorite person with whom I do not share a house or who is not related to me in some way.

Way to go, Rando!

 Step it up, Jim.

TL; DR: On Giving Up Superhero Comics

Over the past few months I've started and stopped writing the same post a dozen times, but as March arrives and marks the 7th month of DC's New 52 effort, I had always planned to talk a bit about where I landed vis-a-vis DC Comics after half a year, so I've just held on to the mega-post on the topic.

And then, today, I read this blogpost from Bags and Boards.  He's been a writer on superhero comics and other comics for years, including working for Variety.  But in the post, he states that he's given up on the habits of superhero comics reading, and tied to that, the weekly trip to the comic shop.

I don't know that I'm giving up superheroes altogether, but the tone of the article and the white flag raising certainly resonates.  Frankly, if you're reading the site regularly, or you don't find all of my comics posts "too long; didn't read", none of this should come as a huge shock.  But I'm also starting to drift away from habits so ingrained that I am sure that for many of you who know me primarily through this blog or social media, you'd begin to think something was wrong.  And in some ways, I have to do some self-evaluation to wonder:  superhero comics, is it you or is it me?  And like all great romances that fail, we're likely both to blame.

Happy Leap Day, People

You think of leaping how you want to.  I'll be thinking of it as in "tall buildings in a single bound".

Also - today is one of the many days listed as Superman's B-Day.  So have a slice of cake in honor of The Man of Steel.