tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20268893669077295202024-03-12T20:11:21.590-07:00fancollectorgeekCollectors, collections, collecting. Fans. And geeks, not the chicken-biting kind, but the "dilithium crystals don't work that way" kind.FCGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15531634381811523908noreply@blogger.comBlogger165125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2026889366907729520.post-7643279418624991592023-08-03T23:26:00.001-07:002023-08-03T23:26:20.753-07:00The curse of narrative thinking.<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFBsDFQLJeHiAOVSj4pfhzykLRbFlAfVda3bwSSnHKCR_ClkJPxJta5Ez5WxC6ebgBuPBnXRU7O8JvQKpmIaaqVi-DkvS8YP9uCa4YnpMp1wMowZgoCq8M2UbTEnLFDIMjeKMU8vw4crunQVYdDLCeuIQAu2UhIuZspeK4P0z8gcOBQHODpUU6GtITYddI/s894/41-YCwAgTjL._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="702" data-original-width="894" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFBsDFQLJeHiAOVSj4pfhzykLRbFlAfVda3bwSSnHKCR_ClkJPxJta5Ez5WxC6ebgBuPBnXRU7O8JvQKpmIaaqVi-DkvS8YP9uCa4YnpMp1wMowZgoCq8M2UbTEnLFDIMjeKMU8vw4crunQVYdDLCeuIQAu2UhIuZspeK4P0z8gcOBQHODpUU6GtITYddI/s320/41-YCwAgTjL._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>Hello again. I've been away from collecting for awhile, but it's not a bad thing. I've actually been more active in creative fields - both writing and cartooning. And more recently, I've been actively collecting with different focus, so I'll have more to write about shortly.</p><p>But right now, today, I want to ask if any writers out there, or even dedicated fans of TV and films, suffer from occasional bouts of narrative thinking paralysis.</p><p>Not sure what I mean? It can happen anytime. It happened to me recently:</p><p>I was talking with my friend Shelby - or texting, I actually don't remember which - and she asked if my wife and I had any plans for the weekend. We usually don't particularly, but this week we did. But before I could answer, narrative paralysis set in. I thought:</p><p><i>If this is a movie about me, Shelby asking what my plans are is a harmless exposition scene to establish the general path of the film.</i></p><p>...but...</p><p><i>If this is a movie about </i><i><u>Shelby</u>, her asking what my plans are will establish why I'm gone, then I come back in act III with either some terrible event from the weekend, or don't come back at all.</i></p><p>...or even...</p><p><i>If this is a <u>horror</u> film about me, something terrible is going to happen to me, AND Shelby is going to get pulled into it in Act III.</i></p><p>Crazy? Trained from structuring out dozens of stories, and also from watching and studying hundreds more, I applied Chekhov's gun to real life. Like, if I say plans out loud, there's a "narrative reason" for it, and something will come of it. </p><p><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_0ttEwg-jQDcKBXcWjJNVFcNzoUG2Ox7xlHNMBKkbNfBHwzd2cjCZmqhSMiTyg5evwkqT1c3YVnCtMZSaoKZmJNE2bgOzS9hgwaqo7T3RP497Ax0mxwOTwJA9O9T80fWLgy8edT2vXi4_nxT6db68R629TCu4gSZGqb41emzQ2JRC34DiVHcoyjwwxwK5/s500/Chekovs-Gun.jpg.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="497" data-original-width="500" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_0ttEwg-jQDcKBXcWjJNVFcNzoUG2Ox7xlHNMBKkbNfBHwzd2cjCZmqhSMiTyg5evwkqT1c3YVnCtMZSaoKZmJNE2bgOzS9hgwaqo7T3RP497Ax0mxwOTwJA9O9T80fWLgy8edT2vXi4_nxT6db68R629TCu4gSZGqb41emzQ2JRC34DiVHcoyjwwxwK5/s320/Chekovs-Gun.jpg.webp" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>You know that's not what I mean.</i></td></tr></tbody></table>I only paused a moment, and I did give a real "normal" answer, but I found the thought very interesting. And for the weekend, as we drove out of town in unfamiliar places down unfamiliar roads, I occasionally considered - am I in a narrative?<br /></p><p>Has this ever happened to you?</p>FCGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14529465687870986576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2026889366907729520.post-14351108788430698752019-09-11T10:55:00.002-07:002019-09-11T12:10:07.042-07:00In the beginning, there was Sealab. 2021.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #f3f3f3;">I've been think about the evolution in animation at Cartoon Network that led to the creation of The Venture Brothers, one of my favorite series. At times it seems like it's particularly aimed at a fan-collector-geek of my generation. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #f3f3f3;">So, Cartoon Network announced way back in the 90s they were going to start creating "Adult oriented" animation for their late night block. I was skeptical at the time, but quickly came to love it.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #f3f3f3;">Sealab 2021 begat Harvey Birdman Attorney at <span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit;">law, both of which were important steps in the de-sanctification of the networks animated archive, but also the rebirth of it as an age-appropriate appreciation of baby boomer and GenX Saturday Morning Nostalgia.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #f3f3f3;">One small but crucial element was "The Night of the Living Doo," this spin on the classic Scooby Doo Movies, with celebrities David Cross, Gary Coleman, and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. How 90's!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #f3f3f3;">I originally caught this only by literally changing the channel to Adult Swim just as it was starting to air, and franticly hitting my Tivo record button. I have a homemade DVD of this somewhere that's quite clear, but for online, this fuzzy Youtube video will have to suffice for the moment. Enjoy!</span></div>
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FCGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14529465687870986576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2026889366907729520.post-59607900202540474302016-02-09T23:28:00.001-08:002016-02-09T23:28:42.328-08:00What Is... the "Best" Romance in Comics? New Comics Eve 2/9/16<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LTM9BCN1aQw" width="459"></iframe>FCGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14529465687870986576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2026889366907729520.post-62666750022139989142014-07-14T00:05:00.001-07:002014-07-14T00:13:03.473-07:00The Curious Tale of Monkey IslandI was very sorry to hear "Dickie" Jones, best known as the voice of Pinocchio, passed away this week. I really only ever met him once, but surprisingly, it had almost nothing to do with Disney. <br />
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A few years back when I was very into "Searching Ebay For Cool Old Stuff," I came across this matchbook cover for Monkey Island:<br />
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This looked fascinating to me. "1000 Monkeys running loose! No Bars - No Cages - No Danger." Even better, the address put it pretty close to where I lived in Hollywood. Cahuenga Boulevard now has the 101 freeway alongside it through "The Pass," and this address put the site of Monkey Island very close to my home, and right near what is now the Barham Blvd. exit from that freeway.</div>
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A little Googling led me to sites like <a href="http://circusanonymous.blogspot.com/2008/06/monkey-island.html" target="_blank">this</a> that gave the history of Monkey Island: basically, it was a concrete island surrounded by a concrete moat filled with water. Here, as one account put it, "You paid a quarter to watch monkeys watch you watch them." Apparently, it was also a popular place for divorced Hollywood dads to take their kids on weekends. But most interesting to me it mentioned Dickie Jones as one of the celebrities who had visited.</div>
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Now, I happened to be reading on this on the day after one of the Disney Legend Ceremonies, where I had seen Dickie on the Studio lot, attending as a previous recipient. My curiosity to hear an eyewitness account of the place led me to track down his phone number, and I placed a call a few days later. I admittedly felt a little silly, and perhaps a little presumptive and rude, to be calling a stranger about something so obscure, so long ago. </div>
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His answering machine picked up, and after his cheery, slightly familiar but much more mature voice greeting and the beep, I left my message:</div>
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"Hi Mr. Jones, I saw you at the Studio the other day, but I'm not calling about Pinocchio. Uh, I saw an article that said you once visited 'Monkey Island' in Hollywood, and I was just wondering if you might remember anything about the place-"</div>
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I was cut off by a sudden clattering as if someone desperately grabbed for the phone. Then, a gravelly voice, fraught with drama, grimly rasped five words I will never forget:</div>
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Dickie: "<b>They learned how to swim!</b>"</div>
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Me: (a pause): "What?"</div>
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Dickie: "They learned how to swim! There were monkeys all over Cahuenga Boulevard when you drove up there. At night, they'd go back to the island to eat, but they were all over the place!" </div>
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A few months later he was at the Studio to record an interview, and I introduced myself as the guy who called. "Monkey man!" he happily named me, and shook my hand enthusiastically. He was very happy to receive printouts of the matchbook and other images I'd found of Monkey Island online. I was most curious about his reaction to this one. Another copy of it (which I can't find now, sorry) had the original caption attached which positively confirmed this is Dickie, "enjoying" an experience most visitors never had, of being on the island itself literally up to his knees in hungry monkeys:</div>
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This looks like a terrifying experience to me. Perhaps it was, worthy of repressing, because to my surprise Dickie looked at this photo and said with a deadpan face:</div>
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"I have no recollection of this at all!"</div>
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That's the whole story. Rest In Peace, Dickie.</div>
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Postscript: Awhile after that, my friend Dave Kooi and I visited the site of Monkey Island today, following vintage and current aerial photos to find the exact spot. It is now the <a href="http://studiocity.patch.com/listings/el-paseo-de-cahuenga-park" target="_blank">El Paseo De Cahuenga Park</a>, a tiny little square of green almost exactly the size of the original Island location. There's one tree in between the park and the freeway that's old enough to have shaded some monkeys.</div>
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FCGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14529465687870986576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2026889366907729520.post-71066119219283926402012-02-27T10:02:00.003-08:002012-02-27T10:11:36.515-08:00Nice to know<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; "><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; ">I like both George Takei and Penn Jillette very much, so I was quite glad to see Takei comment on meeting Penn on "The Celebrity Apprentice":</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; "><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; "><br /></span></div>He especially enjoyed working with Penn Jillette, whom he found to be "an extremely well-read person, a walking encyclopedia. Where most of us forget or bury details in the back of our minds, he has the ability to recall dates and places and historic elements in conversation. When he's interested in something, he really digs in and explores it, and when he talks about a subject like that, you feel like you're getting a college lecture." Takei expects to catch a Penn & Teller show "the next time I'm in Vegas."<br /></span>FCGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14529465687870986576noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2026889366907729520.post-35423313633748423772011-12-22T16:48:00.000-08:002011-12-22T18:25:14.660-08:00On the internet, nobody can hear you scream first.<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ICkFuTm_HoU/TvPc-4yR9vI/AAAAAAAACBU/UcIU-IjCe8o/s1600/Screen%2Bshot%2B2011-12-22%2Bat%2B4.52.59%2BPM.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 272px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ICkFuTm_HoU/TvPc-4yR9vI/AAAAAAAACBU/UcIU-IjCe8o/s400/Screen%2Bshot%2B2011-12-22%2Bat%2B4.52.59%2BPM.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5689133727252346610" border="0" /></a><br />I rarely try to be particularly timely in my posts here - to provide breaking news on geekdom happenings - but the look at the Prometheus trailer that premiered online today does make me want to jump into the pool of voices eagerly crying it's either a prequel or otherwise related film to the <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.imdb.com/find?q=alien&s=all">Alien</a> movies - and particularly to the 1979 classic that started the series.<br /><br />First, take a look at the trailer <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIBiimdaj3A">here</a>.<br /><br />Despite overall feeling like the Alien series - which could be simply dismissed as both being science fiction films from the same director - there are two dead giveaway elements from the first film.<br /><br />1) The space jockey.<br /><br />As he was called, the dead pilot of the alien ship found by the Nostromo in <span style="font-style: italic;">Alien. </span>His seat, at least, is clearly seen in the trailer at 0:39.<div><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kFB0lpJuP3M/TvPmSbt_WXI/AAAAAAAACCE/K2aGfRJMIdQ/s1600/jockey%2Bcomparison.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 92px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kFB0lpJuP3M/TvPmSbt_WXI/AAAAAAAACCE/K2aGfRJMIdQ/s400/jockey%2Bcomparison.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5689143958651754866" /></a>2) The ship.<br /><br />Several shots reveal the same horseshoe shaped spaceship that the Nostromo discovered crashed, and explored:<br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-698rRml0Qu0/TvPcSaWApCI/AAAAAAAACA8/DblnG-DvMJM/s1600/ship%2Bcomparison.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 107px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-698rRml0Qu0/TvPcSaWApCI/AAAAAAAACA8/DblnG-DvMJM/s400/ship%2Bcomparison.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5689132963166463010" border="0" /></a><br />Here's another image from Prometheus, clearly showing the whole horseshoe shape:<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-J1UPmCdBvpM/TvPcBnKwuAI/AAAAAAAACAw/NPxPZ2zkeLA/s1600/Screen%2Bshot%2B2011-12-22%2Bat%2B4.55.19%2BPM.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 164px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-J1UPmCdBvpM/TvPcBnKwuAI/AAAAAAAACAw/NPxPZ2zkeLA/s400/Screen%2Bshot%2B2011-12-22%2Bat%2B4.55.19%2BPM.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5689132674551166978" border="0" /></a>This is all news to me, but if you search the internet, you'll find plenty of references to the upcoming film, and even a quote from Scott confirming it is about the space jockey from the original film. I don't know how many of these are true, but I know I'm looking forward to this one with almost the same anticipation I felt for the first when I went to see it in theaters back on my 13th birthday in 1979.<br /><br />This also underlines how much movie making has changed since the first sequel <span style="font-style: italic;">Aliens </span>was released in 1986. Then, returning to the ship depended on the existence of the model, which had been stored somewhat exposed to the elements in a driveway in Burbank CA for several years.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Vl69S7gSs5Y/TvPjADf_ehI/AAAAAAAACBk/7SnHaCowi8c/s1600/Screen%2Bshot%2B2011-12-22%2Bat%2B6.08.30%2BPM.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 261px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Vl69S7gSs5Y/TvPjADf_ehI/AAAAAAAACBk/7SnHaCowi8c/s400/Screen%2Bshot%2B2011-12-22%2Bat%2B6.08.30%2BPM.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5689140344378063378" border="0" /></a>Damage to the model had lead to the idea that a lava flow had cut through the ship since Ripley had last visited, but now I can't recall if that appears in the film or just in the comic book / novel adaptations.<br /><br />The space jockey couldn't have appeared again without CGI (hence adding to the need for a path into the ship that didnt pass him). I'm told the original giant space jockey, sculpted out of foam, was on display in the forecourt of the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood when the film premiered, until a stray cigarette caught it on fire and destroyed it in a matter of seconds.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hmbGOD5UJvY/TvPkY0_F5dI/AAAAAAAACB0/awkrF-vPVjQ/s1600/AlienPremier.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hmbGOD5UJvY/TvPkY0_F5dI/AAAAAAAACB0/awkrF-vPVjQ/s400/AlienPremier.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5689141869490333138" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;">Egyptian Theater photo swiped from <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20onblur=%22try%20%7Bparent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully%28%29;%7D%20catch%28e%29%20%7B%7D%22%20href=%22http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hmbGOD5UJvY/TvPkY0_F5dI/AAAAAAAACB0/awkrF-vPVjQ/s1600/AlienPremier.jpg%22%3E%3Cimg%20style=%22display:%20block;%20margin:%200px%20auto%2010px;%20text-align:%20center;%20cursor:%20pointer;%20width:%20400px;%20height:%20267px;%22%20src=%22http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hmbGOD5UJvY/TvPkY0_F5dI/AAAAAAAACB0/awkrF-vPVjQ/s400/AlienPremier.jpg%22%20alt=%22%22%20id=%22BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5689141869490333138%22%20border=%220%22%20/%3E%3C/a%3E">here</a>.</span><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br />Next time: 'Tis the Season to Collect....<br /></div></div></div>FCGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15531634381811523908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2026889366907729520.post-2707101607710271522011-11-15T21:14:00.000-08:002011-11-15T21:39:19.929-08:00Apparently, we have a new theme.<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CLxJ_twoz_k/TsNHAmQ8GvI/AAAAAAAACAg/kTgEBuYaFco/s1600/Community-karaoke.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 257px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CLxJ_twoz_k/TsNHAmQ8GvI/AAAAAAAACAg/kTgEBuYaFco/s400/Community-karaoke.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5675458031014124274" /></a>It's "footage of 1970's TV spaceships that ends up in karaoke videos on new programs." Last week's episode of <a href="http://www.nbc.com/community/">Community</a> featured scenes of Joel McHale as Jeff Winger and Jim Rash as Dean Pelton (that's him on the left screaming) making karaoke videos in the mall. They break into a fight as another video starts rolling behind them, and there once again appears the <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078681/">Salvage 1</a> spaceship on network screens for the second time in thirty years. (See the last entry if you're confused at this point).<div><br /></div><div>Is this a new trend in television? Or the last time it'll ever happen? How odd.</div>FCGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15531634381811523908noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2026889366907729520.post-3389255991663949962011-09-27T23:03:00.000-07:002011-09-27T23:40:36.909-07:00Quark flies again - sort of...<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ioVBsZIzurQ/ToK5XwBoUOI/AAAAAAAACAU/LGmF58XhXwE/s1600/title.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 360px; height: 193px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ioVBsZIzurQ/ToK5XwBoUOI/AAAAAAAACAU/LGmF58XhXwE/s400/title.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5657287899610632418" /></a><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br />Just a few weeks ago I was watching <a href="http://www.amctv.com/shows/breaking-bad">Breaking Bad</a> - easily one of the best dramas on TV today - when something very unusual but very familiar caught my eye.<div><br /></div><div>Not to give away any spoilers, a side plot involved viewing a karaoke-style video one of the characters had made to the tune of Peter Schilling's <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEG7OzvSMBA">Major Tom</a>. Behind him ran mostly space themed stock footage.<br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bZ5S3-nvJ2A/ToK5QDNcxGI/AAAAAAAACAM/h4Qly7F3irQ/s1600/one.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 232px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bZ5S3-nvJ2A/ToK5QDNcxGI/AAAAAAAACAM/h4Qly7F3irQ/s400/one.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5657287767321527394" /></a>And, unmistakably, footage of the space ship from Quark.<br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KfH7xdTbAzs/ToK5PhnjRbI/AAAAAAAACAE/vLTPiM4T_wU/s1600/hole.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 224px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KfH7xdTbAzs/ToK5PhnjRbI/AAAAAAAACAE/vLTPiM4T_wU/s400/hole.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5657287758304200114" /></a>In fact, it was clearly from the episode "The Good, the Bad, and the Ficus," which is about the ship being pulled through a black hole and, with dazzling disco-y effect, splitting into two copies - one good one evil. (Ficus, being the emotionless Vegeton alien, is neither good or evil - hence the title). I recognized the ship right away not just because it's so distinctive -<br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_j4bL-VDdzs/ToK5Pj1LAGI/AAAAAAAAB_8/f9SEWKPl9ts/s1600/quark-model.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_j4bL-VDdzs/ToK5Pj1LAGI/AAAAAAAAB_8/f9SEWKPl9ts/s400/quark-model.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5657287758898200674" /></a>but because I had recently commissioned this model of it online, and had sent the manufacturer every angle of the ship I could find on the show. They built it with the garbage collecting door open, and the trash bag collecting arms extended. </div><div><br /></div><div>Once you're commissioning models, I think you have to admit to a certain obsession with a show - or at least, in this case, an obsession with collecting everything possible on the program. With this model, plus all the scripts (except one) and dozens of press stills and more, I think I can safely literally say what I once joked: I almost certainly have the largest collection of Quark stuff assembled.<br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zHoSnJlnoxw/ToK5PNkjg0I/AAAAAAAAB_0/vAvEQZ1JJ8M/s1600/Picture%2B6.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 227px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zHoSnJlnoxw/ToK5PNkjg0I/AAAAAAAAB_0/vAvEQZ1JJ8M/s400/Picture%2B6.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5657287752922923842" /></a>The music video also included footage from a show even more obscure than Quark, if only because it was never released on DVD.<br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-J7IrMv893EQ/ToK5PFhoOcI/AAAAAAAAB_s/s6G-diR3W_s/s1600/Picture%2B7.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 222px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-J7IrMv893EQ/ToK5PFhoOcI/AAAAAAAAB_s/s6G-diR3W_s/s400/Picture%2B7.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5657287750763166146" /></a>That odd 3-engined rocket is <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HODkJABWo08">Salvage One</a>, the ship from the Andy Griffith show by the same name. Griffith played an ex-astronaut who used NASA surplus to make his own rocket to go to the moon and salvage everything NASA had left behind, plus bring back his own moon rocks too. I don't remember much about the show, but I remember enjoying it.</div><div><br /></div><div>A bit of trivia: Quark may be about the only science fiction show that never named it's spaceship - all the scripts only call it "Quark's ship."</div><div><br /></div><div>More soon!</div></div>FCGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15531634381811523908noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2026889366907729520.post-41305093817457544912011-09-22T20:45:00.000-07:002011-09-22T21:11:33.905-07:00Big Bang 5.0<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-F5ZZSoqCepg/TnwBso8J9qI/AAAAAAAAB_g/3_CQiP280TU/s1600/season4-poster.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 286px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-F5ZZSoqCepg/TnwBso8J9qI/AAAAAAAAB_g/3_CQiP280TU/s400/season4-poster.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655397098486101666" /></a>I'm writing this up just as the season 5 premiere of "The Big Bang Theory" is recording on my DVR upstairs. Thinking back to the start, it's a tribute to the cast and crew that the show was 1) created in the first place, and 2) good enough to last this long. (Also notable, it garnered what I believe is still the best syndication deal ever for a TV show.<div><br /></div><div>I've been collecting stuff from the program since the beginning, and it's worth noting that without the San Diego Comic Con, there'd be a heck of a lot less stuff out there to collect. Probably the prize of my collection is the set of posters from each season, signed by the cast at Comic Con. These are all framed similarly and hanging near each other in the living room. </div><div><br /></div><div>Above is the latest, which for the first time is illustrated: a super-hero version of the whole cast. This one includes seven signatures, including both Mayim Bialik (Amy) and Melissa Rauch (Bernadette).<br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Uds6pFhc57o/TnwBk07fu-I/AAAAAAAAB_Y/MCEyB619Jeg/s1600/season-3.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 255px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Uds6pFhc57o/TnwBk07fu-I/AAAAAAAAB_Y/MCEyB619Jeg/s400/season-3.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5655396964265606114" /></a>Last year's poster featured the cast in a tribute to, um... the Beatles? Barbarella? Casino? I feel like there's a specific pop culture reference being made here that's eluding me. (If you know, please fill me in). In any case, they look cool. Signed by the 5 cast members.<br /><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-M0sM4QVen6I/Tnv_2ZvAw1I/AAAAAAAAB_E/8AqmrrIQ0Gg/s1600/season-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-M0sM4QVen6I/Tnv_2ZvAw1I/AAAAAAAAB_E/8AqmrrIQ0Gg/s320/season-2.jpg" width="261" /></a></div>Season two's art featured a "Usual Suspects" style line up, equating each character's height with their relative IQ - and Penny breaking the rank to come out on top. Five signatures.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-E5DkKeBS0M0/Tnv_pXw28EI/AAAAAAAAB_A/6S8oJ88YBv0/s1600/season-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-E5DkKeBS0M0/Tnv_pXw28EI/AAAAAAAAB_A/6S8oJ88YBv0/s400/season-1.jpg" width="278" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left;clear: both; ">Finally, the first year's art features Sheldon and Leonard in their Flash costumes, with the rest of the cast represented in small photos at the bottom. This one is notable because it's not only signed by the 5 cast members, but also producers Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady.</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left;clear: both; "><br /></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left;clear: both; ">I'm not sure how many of these they sign each year - maybe 100 at most? But I'm guessing the first is the rarest simply because they had no idea what to expect at the Con. According to Johnny Galecki at their second Con, it was the overwhelming response at the previous show that first showed them how big the show was catching on.</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left;clear: both; "><br /></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left;clear: both; ">More soon...</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left;clear: both; "><br /></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left;clear: both; "><br /></div></div></div>FCGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15531634381811523908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2026889366907729520.post-47909382980500784012011-08-10T18:04:00.000-07:002011-08-10T18:23:26.255-07:00Mystic Warlords of Ka'a comes to life!<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fBYCCfWi_W8/TkMtkyC1dQI/AAAAAAAAB-4/7UQIrE1Wn78/s1600/Screen%2Bshot%2B2011-08-10%2Bat%2B6.17.26%2BPM.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 302px; height: 254px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fBYCCfWi_W8/TkMtkyC1dQI/AAAAAAAAB-4/7UQIrE1Wn78/s400/Screen%2Bshot%2B2011-08-10%2Bat%2B6.17.26%2BPM.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639401268330198274" /></a>
<br />I didn't see these at all while at Comic Con, but that's easy to understand: it's a big place. Ultra big. Like, there was a full size recreation of the town of South Park across the street, and we didn't even notice it for the first two days. <div>
<br /></div><div>Anyways, these cards started showing up on Ebay and, after noticing the address on one and dialing in, I discovered there's a real live version of the collectible card game "Mystic Warriors of Ka'a" up on facebook!
<br /><div><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--h-I4QCQ0mY/TkMtfU9vXCI/AAAAAAAAB-w/G4_QH8GeJRI/s1600/Screen%2Bshot%2B2011-08-10%2Bat%2B5.58.31%2BPM.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}">
<br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; "></span></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--h-I4QCQ0mY/TkMtfU9vXCI/AAAAAAAAB-w/G4_QH8GeJRI/s1600/Screen%2Bshot%2B2011-08-10%2Bat%2B5.58.31%2BPM.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="text-align: left;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 298px; " src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--h-I4QCQ0mY/TkMtfU9vXCI/AAAAAAAAB-w/G4_QH8GeJRI/s400/Screen%2Bshot%2B2011-08-10%2Bat%2B5.58.31%2BPM.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639401174624853026" /></a></div><div>While it seems to be a little buggy, it's kind of fun, as the characters from the show appear to teach you the rules and then, play against you.</div><div>
<br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Cm_4ugAAtYk/TkMtYcUChPI/AAAAAAAAB-o/PdBZEwSX9M4/s1600/Screen%2Bshot%2B2011-08-10%2Bat%2B6.05.27%2BPM.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 321px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Cm_4ugAAtYk/TkMtYcUChPI/AAAAAAAAB-o/PdBZEwSX9M4/s400/Screen%2Bshot%2B2011-08-10%2Bat%2B6.05.27%2BPM.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639401056338347250" /></a>I'm still checking it out myself, but go try it out and have fun! Link <a href="http://apps.facebook.com/mysticwarlords/">here</a>.</div></div></div>FCGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15531634381811523908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2026889366907729520.post-11925211917752646432011-08-08T19:30:00.000-07:002011-08-08T19:30:01.114-07:00Stan in the picture...<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-U0lQQ4pAjFw/TkB4BgV2L0I/AAAAAAAAB-c/31sslkdGBfg/s1600/stan.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-U0lQQ4pAjFw/TkB4BgV2L0I/AAAAAAAAB-c/31sslkdGBfg/s400/stan.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5638638700724629314" /></a>Just a quick update here - last season, Stan "The Man" Lee made an appearance as himself on The Big Bang Theory. But did he enjoy it? This image shot off a monitor at SDCC proves that indeed he did. Confirming what my good friend Josh Shipley from <a href="http://www.joshandcroz.com/">The Josh and Croz Show</a> told me after he was lucky enough to interview the Man himself, "The Man" has a photo of himself on the set of BBT right by his desk in his Beverly Hills office. (Upper right). And just in case you can't make it out, he's in the living room with the whole cast, and it looks like Kaley is giving him a smooch! Who said comic book guys don't get girls?FCGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15531634381811523908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2026889366907729520.post-47940722442860830112011-07-13T12:28:00.000-07:002011-07-13T12:33:56.825-07:00The Oversized Carry-all Anticipation<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Hopefully, I'll be using Comic-con to jump start my regular posting here again. For now, though, I just want to preview the new Big Bang Theory Bag that'll be at this year's con:<div><br /></div><div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 280px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-89tqRXe7XUw/Th3yx8gZ_TI/AAAAAAAAB-Q/ZUvAIfPpDA0/s400/Big%2BBang%2BTheory%252C%2BThe-CBS.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5628922049152548146" /></div><div><br /></div><div>You can see the rest of the bags for this year <a href="http://collider.com/comic-con-collectible-bags-warner-bros/101939/">here</a>.</div>FCGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15531634381811523908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2026889366907729520.post-70911263535505783252011-03-30T01:06:00.000-07:002011-03-30T01:06:55.136-07:00The Second Final Frontier<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7gPsc5eqBAU/TW3SKEOFqKI/AAAAAAAABdE/vugpQmwYBeI/s1600/ph6kz68c8vpz99.jpeg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 217px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7gPsc5eqBAU/TW3SKEOFqKI/AAAAAAAABdE/vugpQmwYBeI/s320/ph6kz68c8vpz99.jpeg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5579346583755270306" /></a>I recently viewed the latest Star Trek film for the second time. First was in the theaters, second at home on Blu-Ray, much later, much removed from all the hype about whether or not J.J. Abrams was destroying the franchise, or broke the Prime Directive, or any of that. I was watching it as pure entertainment, as a science fiction fan but also a lifelong Star Trek fan.* ("Spoilers" follow if you're actually reading this before you've seen the film).<div><br /></div><div>I thoroughly enjoyed the film. Abrams played it safe - or smart - by setting his Trek in an alternate universe created when the uber-Romulan villain bounced back in time and attacked the USS Kelvin, just as one James Tiberius Kirk happens to be born. So, everything we see in this timeline is completely new and therefore free from any continuity scrutiny you can apply.</div><div><br /></div><div>Ordinarily, a film set in the formative Star Fleet Academy years of our heroes would require - at least to the hardcore continuity buffs - a look somewhere between Captain Archer's <i>Enterprise</i> and Captain Pike's Enterprise as seen in the original pilot "The Cage" or the two-part episode "The Menagerie." But since the film starts with a disruption to the time stream - a huge, deadly attack by an unknown enemy that never happened in "our" Trek history - all bets are off. Assuming a greater focus on offensive and defensive power for starships after that, there's no reason to insist anything in this film has to match anything we've seen before. Only that brief scene on the Kelvin needs to fit into the original timeline,** and I'm surprised on close inspection to believe that it does:</div><div><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OGSF86006eI/TZLXIuJzTiI/AAAAAAAAB90/pLXC1Wv2UnE/s1600/enterprise%2Bcontrols.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 106px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OGSF86006eI/TZLXIuJzTiI/AAAAAAAAB90/pLXC1Wv2UnE/s400/enterprise%2Bcontrols.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5589766632348274210" /></a>On Captain Archer's Enterprise (left), the controls are large manual slides and hard buttons, like on a 1980's stereo console. By the time of Kirk's Enterprise (right), controls are very simple and very solid, like a 1960's cassette player. The detail of the Kelvin shuttle from the film (middle) shows nice, hard-wired type toggle switches, like a 1970's mixing board (Ok, I'm guessing on that one). To me, a believable intermediary step. (It was already interesting to note, once the original series was placed in a timeline between the movies produced in the 80s+, and "Enterprise" produced in 2001-2005, both with greater detailing to the sets, it implied there was an intentional decision around the time Captain Pike came along, to make the starship corridors very plain and straight, and consoles made up of simple hard buttons. Maybe one too many "Fire torpedoes" apps froze up when they pressed their touch screens...)</div><div><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-m5J9gt33VrA/TW3R-zS0btI/AAAAAAAABc8/EM8-CmWE3wM/s1600/kirks.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 176px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-m5J9gt33VrA/TW3R-zS0btI/AAAAAAAABc8/EM8-CmWE3wM/s400/kirks.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5579346390233149138" /></a>That's the really picky, tech analysis of the film. In any case, I found it very entertaining, and most of the performers captured just enough nuances of the original characters to feel true to them without just spewing bad imitations of the originals.<br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5VINYojVfNA/TW3R03WTC1I/AAAAAAAABc0/Is0gGdmzrZs/s1600/scotts.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 204px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5VINYojVfNA/TW3R03WTC1I/AAAAAAAABc0/Is0gGdmzrZs/s400/scotts.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5579346219522788178" /></a>Simon Pegg's wry half-smile perfectly evoked James Doohan's good-natured performance as "Scotty."</div><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8-UWmPpQT5g/TZLXeTDg6aI/AAAAAAAAB98/lDSRzpjJ1dU/s1600/McCoy.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 158px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8-UWmPpQT5g/TZLXeTDg6aI/AAAAAAAAB98/lDSRzpjJ1dU/s400/McCoy.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5589767003031267746" /></a><div>It's an interesting study of the nature of "suspension of disbelief" what is the only part of the whole movie that, as a Star Trek fan, gave me pause: the size of Engineering, when Kirk and Scotty beam into it. It's HUGE.</div><div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UB73bKRa51Y/TW3Rk4sL7nI/AAAAAAAABcs/o4-b-ZTCqJs/s1600/engineering%2Bmovie.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 226px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UB73bKRa51Y/TW3Rk4sL7nI/AAAAAAAABcs/o4-b-ZTCqJs/s400/engineering%2Bmovie.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5579345945005125234" /></a></div><div>Huge, with lots of empty space, and apparently a lot of it constructed out of concrete, as well. I know the Enterprise is big, but this amount of space looks like it should literally take up the entire secondary hull and then some. (Some of this concrete construction is seen on the Kelvin, too).<br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zkQRv3CHBZ0/TW3RcsqLOaI/AAAAAAAABck/5Kj4ikL4cnU/s1600/engineering%2Btv%2Bshow.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 238px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zkQRv3CHBZ0/TW3RcsqLOaI/AAAAAAAABck/5Kj4ikL4cnU/s320/engineering%2Btv%2Bshow.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5579345804336511394" /></a><br /></div><div>On the original series, Engineering looked big, but believable. You could at times see a couple levels, and maybe a ladder poking up higher, but it looked like it was built with an economy of space (no pun intended) in mind.</div><div><br /></div><div>This kind of detail shouldn't pull you out of the narrative, but it often does. The truth is, they found some kind of real - world refinery or such to film in, and decided it looked futurey enough to be the Enterprise. Money saved on building a set or even rendering one.<br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ITT_UMBaNp4/TW3RWCMPg0I/AAAAAAAABcc/cbPsj-GWUWU/s1600/red%2Bdwarf.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 149px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ITT_UMBaNp4/TW3RWCMPg0I/AAAAAAAABcc/cbPsj-GWUWU/s400/red%2Bdwarf.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5579345689857459010" /></a>It's not as if the Enterprise is the size of the Red Dwarf, which is established as having thousands of levels, a Huge prison system entirely hidden from the normal crew, and cargo bays big enough to dwarf T-Rexes. Anything goes there, and they often shot in real world industrial plants that looked perfectly like part of the ship.</div><div><br /></div><div>Not that this is a review, but I enjoyed the film even more the second time than the first, and watchign it at home gave the chance to look closely for all those details of design and performance that you miss on first viewing.<br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TKQe8wtxKLI/AAAAAAAABb8/KxKSnlvhaFI/s1600/laughingvulcan.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TKQe8wtxKLI/AAAAAAAABb8/KxKSnlvhaFI/s400/laughingvulcan.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5522573072280922290" /></a>Plus, you gotta love outtakes where you get to see the Vulcans crack up...<div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">*That's, right, Star Trek fan. Not a Trekker, or a Trekkie, just a fan of the whole franchise.</span></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">**Okay, bonus points if you wanted to point out that Ambassador Spock's ship is from our timeline too, but since it's from the farthest future point we've ever seen in that Universe (and perhaps ever will?) it's safe from scrutiny too.</span></div>FCGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15531634381811523908noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2026889366907729520.post-70067011953902799182011-01-17T23:13:00.001-08:002011-01-17T23:24:34.979-08:00I don't like yer mug.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TTU9qwsS5sI/AAAAAAAABcI/ajfIJWv4wkU/s1600/Mugs-prop.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 217px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TTU9qwsS5sI/AAAAAAAABcI/ajfIJWv4wkU/s400/Mugs-prop.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563420719520605890" /></a>Mugs strike me, personally, as generally uninteresting - probably because I rarely drink hot liquids, and usually intake a larger quantity than your typical mug can hold. Still, a few mugs made it into my collection and stay there permanently. From left to right:<div><br /></div><div>Bluth Company: Fox made this available on their web site early in the third season of Arrested Development, just as Michael Bluth began sipping from one at his desk on the show. Remember an easy way to build on your prop budget is to develop merchandise that works on screen as part of the show. Even so, I don't think there're too many of these around. </div><div><br /></div><div>Oceanic Airlines: This belongs to the airline from Lost, and like the Bluth mug above, appealed to me as a prop replica. If it's something a character on the show would hold, I usually want one.</div><div><br /></div><div>Drew Carey: This, on the other hand, appears to be a cast and crew gift, meaning there are very few around. Found it in a Salvation Army store in Pasadena. </div><div><br /></div><div>MST3K: I inherited 2 Mystery Science mugs, one with Mike and one with Joel. Interesting, and just meaningful enough to hang around.</div><div><br /></div><div>Oh - and Happy New Year! Hoping 2011 is a considerable improvement over 2010; it's already looking like an improvement.</div>FCGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15531634381811523908noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2026889366907729520.post-53777140413213510472010-10-07T10:45:00.000-07:002010-10-07T10:45:47.969-07:00'Big Bang' creators given science honors<a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i97370d68f17e6f27c013b526b6cc463f">'Big Bang' creators given science honors</a>FCGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15531634381811523908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2026889366907729520.post-86368811123243471332010-09-09T21:40:00.000-07:002010-09-09T21:51:53.419-07:00French Fries Parmesan, please?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TIm3BuXgQrI/AAAAAAAABbE/hn8x-YCgvyc/s1600/fry-guys-1.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TIm3BuXgQrI/AAAAAAAABbE/hn8x-YCgvyc/s400/fry-guys-1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5515140458946249394" /></a>I have been very neglectful of this blog of late, but for good reason. I recently started a new job after 17 years in the same place. The curious thing is that, in my old position, I enjoyed writing at home for a change of pace. Now, I write in the daytime - incredibly satisfying, but it does burn up that creative urge. 'Nuff said.<div><br /></div><div>In any case, I wanted to take a moment to share these images from my visit to Syracuse earlier this year. My mother and I went out to dinner to a small Italian restaurant in Liverpool (north of Syracuse) that she had long liked. While eating, I happened to notice something odd about the stained glass windows in the front of the restaurant. Take a look.</div><div><br /></div><div>That's right - Fry guys from the old McDonaldland characters of the 1970's. At some point, plastic windows from a McDonalds were salvaged and placed in this restaurant. they make a nice enough accent, as long as you don't take close notice of the bug-eyed little sneaker wearing freaks jumping around in them.</div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TIm24DJFs5I/AAAAAAAABa8/7ZkcgOvAeZQ/s1600/fry-guys-2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TIm24DJFs5I/AAAAAAAABa8/7ZkcgOvAeZQ/s400/fry-guys-2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5515140292724241298" /></a>That's all. More of a placeholder and a hello than anything real to say. I hope to be back soon.</div>FCGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15531634381811523908noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2026889366907729520.post-75358456704123857472010-08-07T20:45:00.000-07:002010-08-07T22:54:35.468-07:00Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: No Spoilers, and a lesson in swag<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TF4pODVf7wI/AAAAAAAABas/p7sfSfoXyaw/s1600/01+Scott-Pilgrim.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 324px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TF4pODVf7wI/AAAAAAAABas/p7sfSfoXyaw/s400/01+Scott-Pilgrim.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502881116083711746" /></a>About a week ago, I had the opportunity to see the new movie <a href="http://www.scottpilgrimthemovie.com/">Scott Pilgrim vs. The World</a>. This is a good time to state my Rule #1 for this blog: no spoilers, ever. I have no interest in seeing something early to run home and write out my synopsis of the movie or show. If I like it, I like the way they told the story, and I don't think you're going to appreciate it better by reading my truncated summary. The most you'll get from me is "it's good. I think you'd like it if..." In this case, gamers, comic book fans, and music fans are all likely to enjoy this film. From the director of <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0365748/">Shaun of the Dead</a> and <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0425112/">Hot Fuzz</a>. 'Nuff said.<div><br /></div><div>The funny thing is, only after leaving the theater and seeing the poster in the lobby did I realize I had picked up a ton of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Promotional_item">swag</a> for the film at Comic Con. in fact, my fiancee and I stood in a line across from the convention center to each get a bag of stuff:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TF4pGAdGnuI/AAAAAAAABak/CXf2HhVT83o/s1600/02+scott-pilgrim-party.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TF4pGAdGnuI/AAAAAAAABak/CXf2HhVT83o/s400/02+scott-pilgrim-party.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502880977871347426" /></a>See? Stuff. They were giving it away right at the "stuff" sign. I didn't make it upstairs, so I don't know what kind of party / immersive environment they had going on up there, but it looks like more t-shirts were involved. Here's the free stuff they gave us:</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TF4pFmUcDEI/AAAAAAAABac/tnbQ6DM4Dig/s1600/03+scott-pilgrim-swag.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 298px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TF4pFmUcDEI/AAAAAAAABac/tnbQ6DM4Dig/s400/03+scott-pilgrim-swag.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502880970855681090" /></a>T-shirts, a bag, post cards, free online stuff - all sorts of things. notice the bag says "Scott Pilgrim vs. Comic Con." These are the kinds of things a completist collector of Scott Pilgrim will be wanting to track down.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TF4o35PZPXI/AAAAAAAABaU/vxj4cVxRi3Y/s1600/04+scott-pilgrim-badge.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 265px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TF4o35PZPXI/AAAAAAAABaU/vxj4cVxRi3Y/s320/04+scott-pilgrim-badge.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502880735416630642" /></a><br /></div><div>In fact, if you were really serious about wanting to collect all Scott Pilgrim stuff, you'd have to track down the Comic Con badge from somebody who stood on that line, because they stamped your ID with an oh-so-neat Scott Pilgrim rubber stamp to make sure you didn't come back in line the next day and get another bag of stuff.</div><div><br /></div><div>If it sounds ungrateful of me to not know I already had all this stuff from Scott Pilgrim (or at least, maybe, that their promotion was unsuccessful in my case) it may help to consider all the free stuff that is given out at the San Diego Comic Con. To help, I laid it out on the living room floor and photographed it:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TF4oxyuLFFI/AAAAAAAABaM/XmlB_XB8G6c/s1600/05+all-swag.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 313px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TF4oxyuLFFI/AAAAAAAABaM/XmlB_XB8G6c/s400/05+all-swag.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502880630587462738" /></a>Free comic books, cards, magazines, buttons, t-shirts, patches, Dexter cheek-scar tattoos, trading cards, Mad Men paper dolls, Archie wedding invitations (both Betty <i>and</i> Veronica), etc. Somehow, I managed to be given four copies of a comic called "radical" over the week without realizing it. Granted, much of these are advertising flyers and catalogs, but it shows how the stuff adds up.</div><div>(Collectors note: even though I am not particularly interested in collecting the "Showtime" buttons for Dexter, Weeds, Nurse Jackie, and Californication, it does bug me that I got 3 Weeds buttons and no Nurse Jackie. Just a little bit of OCD manifesting itself...)</div><div><br /></div><div>A lot of stuff, right? But that doesn't include all the bags I was given there, shown below (with a t-shirt from the "Green Hornet" car garage that I forgot to include above):</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TF4oxRdLiXI/AAAAAAAABaE/WSDfGbE5GRo/s1600/06+swag-bags.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TF4oxRdLiXI/AAAAAAAABaE/WSDfGbE5GRo/s400/06+swag-bags.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502880621657819506" /></a>Some people list their Comic Con swag on Ebay and try to sell it all for 50, 100, even 200 dollars to recoup their expenses for attending - and I guess people do pay it. Let's face it, if you collect Mythbusters, there isn't all that much different stuff out there to collect, so you'll be wanting their oversized Comic Con bag.</div><div><br /></div><div>Oh - and to be fair, the above didn't include the free stuff for The Big Bang Theory that I already pulled out into that collection:</div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TF4ow0oBruI/AAAAAAAABZ8/AfHYPdpIt-0/s1600/07+big-bang-swag.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TF4ow0oBruI/AAAAAAAABZ8/AfHYPdpIt-0/s400/07+big-bang-swag.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502880613918682850" /></a>No, I don't need four copies of the TV Guide - I'll probably end up giving or trading some to other collectors. But looking at all of this stuff, it occurs to me someone could have a very interesting collection of stuff if all they ever did was go to Comic Con every year and save all the free stuff they got. That would be an interesting cross-section of pop culture.</div><div><br /></div><div>Hmm. I wonder where those free pogs I got there back in '93 are now...</div>FCGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15531634381811523908noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2026889366907729520.post-89745709343723527742010-08-02T00:20:00.000-07:002010-08-02T01:17:43.702-07:00Post# 150: Our "Secret" Identity RevealedFor our first 149 posts, fancollectorgeek has been curiously anonymous - "curiously" because the only people who likely noticed it was anonymous all knew who was writing it, and no one else likely cared. It has been easy enough to figure out who's writing, either from my Dad's obituary recently linked, or from the many links from the excellent (and personally inspirational) blog of Jim Fanning, <a href="http://jimattulgeywood.blogspot.com/">Tulgey Wood</a> that identify me by name.<div><br /></div><div>The reason for this (however transparent) anonymity has currently been suspended, making this an excellent time to share the collectible, below, which bears my name:<br /><div> </div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 318px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TFZyNVJh3AI/AAAAAAAABZs/cxRn7cAeOok/s400/Edgar-Mitchell-astronaut.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500709568220617730" /></div><div><br /></div><div>Astronaut Edgar Mitchell was the sixth person to walk on the moon, in 1971. It also happens that his first and last name are the same as my first and middle - a coincidence, I'm named after my father's uncle, Edgar Mitchell Davis. Still, that coincidence was enough to make me very interested in the space program when I was a kid. I was only four years old when Mitchell walked on the moon during the Apollo 14 mission, but I vividly remember watching it on TV while visiting my grandmother's house in Akron, NY that summer. I had never heard of anyone that had any name in common with myself (well, unless I had heard of Edgar Allen Poe by that age), so I was very interested in his exploits.</div><div><br /></div><div>When I heard that you could order an autographed photo from Mitchell's <a href="http://www.edmitchellapollo14.com/">website</a>, I decided I wanted to own one myself. Like actors like <a href="http://shatner-store.stores.yahoo.net/autmer.html">William Shatner</a> and <a href="http://www.junelockhart.com/">June Lockhart</a>, many astronauts charge a premium for signed items. The high demand from fans who want to be sure they're getting the real thing makes it a very lucrative sideline for them. It's my understanding that for years Lockhart didn't do autographs at all until finally, in the early 90's, she acquiesced to sign at a Lost In Space convention in Los Angeles for the then unheard of price of fifty dollars a pop. Fans lined up by the hundreds keeping her busy the whole time she was there.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TFZ99JfeeMI/AAAAAAAABZ0/YpSvAccVY6w/s1600/MickeyRooneyhonestly.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 208px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TFZ99JfeeMI/AAAAAAAABZ0/YpSvAccVY6w/s320/MickeyRooneyhonestly.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500722484353071298" /></a><br />Now, if she was signing at the same rate that Mickey Rooney was (every 12 seconds, five signatures a minute) when he put his scribble on a Fox and the Hound photo for me, she cleared about fifteen thousand dollars an hour that day - slightly less if she took a break to stretch her wrist or get a drink of water. </div><div><br /></div><div>Nice work if you can get it!</div><div><br /></div><div>(Just for the record, Mickey Rooney charged 20 dollars a signature, and for charity. not bad).</div>FCGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15531634381811523908noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2026889366907729520.post-81412455143090714212010-07-22T02:02:00.000-07:002010-08-02T21:32:08.317-07:00Bazinga-fest 2010<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TEgJswzlObI/AAAAAAAABZM/YWLNail4WJQ/s1600/bazinga-shirts.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TEgJswzlObI/AAAAAAAABZM/YWLNail4WJQ/s400/bazinga-shirts.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496654009825835442" /></a>San Diego Comic Con 2010 is officially here, with preview night done and gone. Regular readers know I always enjoy the con, and right now I'm glad to be able to update you on The Big Bang Theory's presence at the show. Judging by the t-shirt vendors, licensees are putting a lot of stock in the show, expecting Sheldon's face to move much merchandise. This is amazing - these t-shirt dealers are a regular feature of the SDCC, and I don't ever remember a single theme dominating so much of their stock all at once - not Star Wars (well, to be fair I wasn't going back in the late 70's), not Harry Potter, nothing. While "Bazinga" far outnumbers the rest, "Sheldon Cooper Supervillain," "Knock Knock Knock Penny," and the friendship algorithm are well represented too. (I have to confess to being a t-shirt snob. I prefer, if I can, to wear a shirt almost nobody else is likely to be wearing. I was given an "Oh My God, they Killed Kenny!" South Park shirt ten years ago, and I'm saving it to wear at least eleven years after the show is off the air.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TEgJm_0S7lI/AAAAAAAABZE/87VsE_6Ki-M/s1600/big-bang-bag-2010.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 368px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TEgJm_0S7lI/AAAAAAAABZE/87VsE_6Ki-M/s400/big-bang-bag-2010.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496653910776147538" /></a>I wasn't sure if I'd get the new BBT bag at the con, and was prepared to go to Ebay for it, when good friend (and regular reader of fancollectorgeek) Jason Ryan showed up - he had traded his Batman bag for the BBT one just as a favor for me. (Note: good advice to collectors is to know good people. It makes it much easier). The bag is shown here next to the Khan Mego-sized doll I picked up today for size reference. (It's well known that Mego-sized dolls are the <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/Sm0Dd2yD_FI/AAAAAAAABH4/xUBLRB5Vv58/s1600-h/IMG_0750.JPG">standard unit of measurement for oversized bags</a>). If it goes like the past two years, this will be the artwork on the season 3 DVD set (first season to also be available in blue ray!). Does anyone out there know if they're parodying a specific film poster or album cover or something here? Penny vaguely re minds me of Barbarella, but I can't place it...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TEgJmSlU_6I/AAAAAAAABY8/sM8io1uUfd4/s1600/big-bang-sharpies.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 249px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TEgJmSlU_6I/AAAAAAAABY8/sM8io1uUfd4/s400/big-bang-sharpies.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496653898633772962" /></a>Jason also nabbed for me these sharpies on lanyards that were given out at the CBS booth to promote the show's move to Thursday night. They made sharpies because, um...I guess smart people like to write with things tied around their neck?<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TEgJl82hYZI/AAAAAAAABY0/C2FSbqkxDfc/s1600/big-bang-cbs-booth.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TEgJl82hYZI/AAAAAAAABY0/C2FSbqkxDfc/s400/big-bang-cbs-booth.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496653892800307602" /></a>Just the back of the CBS booth. Odd expressions on all the actors. There's supposed to be a signing here tomorrow - we'll see if I get in, or if it turns into another huge siege like last year. Yikes. I'll keep you posted, probably after the show.<div><br /></div><div>Take care!</div><div><br /></div>FCGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15531634381811523908noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2026889366907729520.post-53529752709812997322010-07-16T06:22:00.000-07:002010-07-16T06:22:00.475-07:00Cheers! (Pretty clever, huh?)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TD_-tUBx-QI/AAAAAAAABYs/azteqrN8OnU/s1600/CHEERS-TICKET.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 220px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TD_-tUBx-QI/AAAAAAAABYs/azteqrN8OnU/s400/CHEERS-TICKET.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494390124839041282" /></a><br />I have been a huge fan of the show <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheers">Cheers</a> </i>since I first found my parents watching it late one night during its first season - we're talking late 1982 here. (Dates me a bit, huh?) To be honest, I don't really remember if I liked it right away, but I did get into it pretty quick. Back in those days, if you missed an episode, you just might never see it again, and I soon began taping it on Beta tapes, and trading with others who had taped episodes I missed. (It's funny: tapes were expensive then - as much as 10 dollars apiece - so pretty much everybody paused during the commercial breaks to save tape. It was a valued skill to be able to anticipate when the show was coming back on and start up without missing the first seconds of act 2 and so on. Now, in the days of DVD series releases, it's the commercials that everyone wishes they had recorded).<div><br /></div><div>Generally for a sitcom, it's rare for there to be much to collect. The shorter the show runs the rarer (explaining why I treasure everything I've ever found for the 7 episode show <i><a href="http://fancollectorgeek.blogspot.com/search/label/Quark">Quark</a>. </i> Cheers lasted 11 seasons, so eventually it was not hard to find games, t-shirts, and of course beer glasses emblazoned with the series logo. Of more interest to me is ephemera (which I define as "stuff nobody meant to be saved for long) like the unused show ticket, above. When I first moved to Los Angeles I lived one block from Paramount Studios, and before I had a job I'd wake up early to stand online trying to get into that night's show. I went three or four times before I made it in (<i>Cheers Has Chill, </i>aired March 14 1991 - Rebecca wants to turn the pool room into a tea room). I saved the tickets from the times I didn't get in, I also got to see the Arsenio Hall show once when I was too late for Cheers tickets, with musical guest Iggy Pop.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TD_7v9yQrPI/AAAAAAAABYc/kpDGMYama-c/s1600/Cheers-button.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 299px; height: 299px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TD_7v9yQrPI/AAAAAAAABYc/kpDGMYama-c/s320/Cheers-button.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494386871873088754" /></a>Back to collecting: also collectible are items from the Bull and Finch pub in Boston, which served as Cheers in the exterior shots of the bar during the credits. I got to visit during my tour of duty as a knee brace salesman soon after I came to LA, a job that let me travel most of the country. This button was a little freebie giveaway, and I know I have a matchbook or two from the pub somewhere. (Sadly, I didn't have a beer when I was there - I had a hamburger. )</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TD_7nYrSZPI/AAAAAAAABYU/6MKXCLbcZ3A/s1600/Cheers-catalog.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 314px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TD_7nYrSZPI/AAAAAAAABYU/6MKXCLbcZ3A/s400/Cheers-catalog.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494386724472775922" /></a>This catalog that I picked up there is full of merchandise, and could be considered a collectible now itself. I have always naturally saved stuff like this, and you have to wonder, almost 20 years later, how many of these exist. Either a handful of them or spread out with tourists around the globe like myself, or someone in Boston has hundreds of them in mint condition in boxes in their basement or store room. Either way, they're only a thing of the past, as merchandise is now available online from the pub's <a href="https://www.cheersboston.com/storeindex.htm">website</a>.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TD_7m2vTOMI/AAAAAAAABYM/7yp9IMpT1zA/s1600/Cheers-catalog-2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 258px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TD_7m2vTOMI/AAAAAAAABYM/7yp9IMpT1zA/s400/Cheers-catalog-2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494386715362801858" /></a>Of special interest to anyone who liked my now-classic post on the dilemma of saving and collecting <a href="http://fancollectorgeek.blogspot.com/2008_04_01_archive.html#7616445154346926425">food</a> is this page offering Cheers logo chocolate bars. I wonder if any of these still exist? (And does hanging out in Cheers t-shirts really make you that happy?)</div><div><br /></div><div>Up next: Penny's last names (Big Bang Theory) and just around the corner, San Diego Comic Con 2010!</div>FCGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15531634381811523908noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2026889366907729520.post-48902431845700385642010-07-12T22:43:00.000-07:002010-07-12T23:00:27.346-07:00The Mega-Merchandising Initiation<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TDv9otkiqEI/AAAAAAAABYE/dA17SAXMsPo/s1600/big+bang+hats.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TDv9otkiqEI/AAAAAAAABYE/dA17SAXMsPo/s400/big+bang+hats.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493263046377908290" /></a>I'm running exactly a week late with my promised "every Monday a Big Bang Theory" entry. Those close to me know why and I thank you for the support - the rest of you, I apologize if you've been waiting. I'm afraid this first one isn't much, but I just wanted to finally note that just as the show was wrapping their third season on the Warner Brothers lot last May, they finally had Big Bang Theory merchandise for sale in the Studio store. I was lucky enough to receive one of these caps for my birthday. I haven't seen them anywhere else - is it possible they're studio exclusive? Please let me know if you've seen them out in the world.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TDv9oam1a8I/AAAAAAAABX8/cazE6_dBkCY/s1600/big+bang+shirts.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TDv9oam1a8I/AAAAAAAABX8/cazE6_dBkCY/s400/big+bang+shirts.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493263041287252930" /></a>Otherwise, all they had was a wrack of t-shirts that seem to be everywhere - several odd images of Sheldon with Klingon or Bazinga! references, and the one I like best, reproducing Sheldon's Friendship algorithm, above.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TDv9oL-j9NI/AAAAAAAABX0/cviOCVDgWio/s1600/jim+Parsons+cookies.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TDv9oL-j9NI/AAAAAAAABX0/cviOCVDgWio/s400/jim+Parsons+cookies.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5493263037360239826" /></a>I also had the opportunity to try the peanut butter cookies from the Warner Studio commissary that Jim Parsons said he loved back in the 5 questions interview I reproduced previously (click Big Bang Theory over on the right to see it and earlier entries). While the first one in the pack of three was unimpressive, the other two were delicious - a slight taste of toffee in them, adding a little extra chewiness. Oh, and the pizza was quite good too. <div><br /></div><div>In the next Big Bang Theory entry in a week, I'l recount the Museum of Television & Radio's first BBT event from a year ago January. (Do you see why I'm forcing myself to do a weekly BBT entry? I have many backed up!) I haven't seen the info presented anywhere else, so it may be of interest to fans. For example - do you know any of the potential last names for Penny? They named three of them that night!</div><div><br /></div><div>Be well.<br /><div><br /></div></div>FCGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15531634381811523908noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2026889366907729520.post-72208196636906105952010-06-28T22:46:00.000-07:002010-06-28T23:36:57.642-07:00Shambling soon on a TV near you...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TCmKcp7cuFI/AAAAAAAABXs/iz3Gg6wlqmo/s1600/Frank+Darabont+Walking+Dead.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TCmKcp7cuFI/AAAAAAAABXs/iz3Gg6wlqmo/s400/Frank+Darabont+Walking+Dead.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5488069845823830098" /></a>I'm lousy at getting information out there in a timely manner. For example, at the simplest, I have been meaning to write up and recommend <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Walking_Dead">The Walking Dead</a> comic book, and talk about collecting comic art, since I first started this blog. Since that time, about 40 more issues have come out, and the book has gone from incredibly popular to mega-super-popular. (Those are my estimates; industry standards may actually label it ultra-super popular). On top of that, it's now being adapted to the small screen on <a href="http://blogs.amctv.com/the-walking-dead/">AMC</a>. Given that creator Robert Kirkman wanted to essentially tell in comic form a "zombie movie that never ends" (because when a typical zombie movie ended, he always wondered what happened next to the characters)... given that, a series is a natural way to develop the story. Given that AMC is creating the best dramas on TV now - Mad Men and Breaking Bad - I am really looking forward to the series.<div><br /></div><div>So - I'm way late for any of the above to be news to Walking Dead fans, but I think I'm first with an image of the director <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001104/">Frank Darabont</a> with the comic book (above). I'm not a friend of his, but I could claim to be an acquaintance. We have mutual friends in common, and I often would be at the same events - usually at or related to the legendary Creature Features store in Burbank. I would never expect him to know my name, but the few times we've run into each other he has recognized me slightly, enough to let me say hi and remind him who I am. The last time I saw him was just a few days after he was pegged to direct The Walking Dead series, in <a href="http://www.artoffiction.com/HOS_index.html">The House of Secrets</a> comics in Burbank. He was buying every copy of The Walking Dead available for reference, and he graciously let me take this photo provided I promise not to put it online until a date was announced. I assume he meant a shooting date, and since they're now shooting and it's been announced to air in October, I think I'm safe running it now. Permission is granted to reproduce anywhere provided you leave the copyright notice attached, and please (if possible) link back to this site.<div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TCmKLpNW4dI/AAAAAAAABXk/15TXH5bYgZs/s1600/Walking-Dead.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 262px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TCmKLpNW4dI/AAAAAAAABXk/15TXH5bYgZs/s400/Walking-Dead.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5488069553572733394" /></a>Walking Dead was such a good comic it got me into collecting original comic art much more than I had before. Buying the art for pages is a curious thing to collect: it's taking something you already own and bought for a few cents (a page of a comic) and buying it again, for much, much more money. I got interested in the book just about as issue #24 was on the stands, and it was a great time to buy up some really good pages - like above from Issue 19, the first I bought - for a good price.</div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TCmJ9TFf3iI/AAAAAAAABXc/5NVsBrY1i6E/s1600/1-Outside+cardboard.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TCmJ9TFf3iI/AAAAAAAABXc/5NVsBrY1i6E/s200/1-Outside+cardboard.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5488069307116019234" /></a><div><br /></div><div>One danger of buying online of course, is having a one of a kind piece damaged. I got page 2 of issue 2 - the only piece I ever saw from Tony Moore's original 6 issues at an affordable price, and a great full page splash of main character Rick. It was in Canada, and it arrived, as you can see to the right - with a hole all the way through the outer cardboard, a layer of inner cardboard, an envelope,</div><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TCmJ8tpldqI/AAAAAAAABXM/8H4p4trdF68/s200/Art-3.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5488069297066833570" /><div> and the ART ITSELF. I promised myself I wouldn't write negative opinions here, but I have to tell you, when I tried to file an insurance claim with Canada Post, they eventually just stopped answering my phone calls. Thanks, Sandro...</div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TCmJZikUHTI/AAAAAAAABWk/vSq0p_OOJbI/s1600/Art-4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TCmJZikUHTI/AAAAAAAABWk/vSq0p_OOJbI/s400/Art-4.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5488068692796513586" /></a>The funny thing is, I got this for such a good price, it's still a good price even with the damage, and it will display just fine. Oh well.</div></div></div><div><br /></div><div>Starting next Monday, this blog will be updated regularly every Monday and Thursday, with each Monday entry being Big Bang Theory themed until I run out of topics. Thanks for reading!</div>FCGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15531634381811523908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2026889366907729520.post-1677458491537838582010-06-20T12:34:00.000-07:002010-06-20T13:45:07.130-07:00My Father<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TB53h1c4L0I/AAAAAAAABWc/wcfRQoNoIe0/s1600/Dad-1.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 289px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TB53h1c4L0I/AAAAAAAABWc/wcfRQoNoIe0/s400/Dad-1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5484952819351433026" /></a><br />My <a href="http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20100530/OBIT01/305309957/-1/obit">father</a> passed away last month. Besides being a great <a href="http://blog.syracuse.com/opinion/2010/06/central_new_york_loses_lyall_s.html">Dad</a>, he was a world class collector of Theodore Roosevelt. Memorabilia, writings, everything. If Roosevelt was on it, he wanted it, I remember as a kid happily finding a Richie Rich comic I had contained an imaginary story where Dollar the dog helped Roosevelt dig the Panama Canal and happily giving it to m Dad - it went on the bookshelf in the dining room right with the "real" Roosevelt books. (For years my Mom sacrificed the dining room to the Roosevelt library, until us kids moved out and an upstairs room became my Dad's office). It was always exciting to find something for Dad, even game pieces at McDonalds when they had a presidential game in the 70's. The Roosevelt figure you see fallen above was made in 1941. I just found it at the San Diego Comic Con last year, and sent it to my Dad at Christmas. He loved it, and it was amazing to find something that was around since he was a kid that he hadn't come across yet.<div><br /></div><div>Dad's collection was truly world class - arguably the largest, most complete on Roosevelt privately assembled. One of the guiding philosophies of his collecting was that, if something said it had nothing to do with Theodore Roosevelt, it belonged in the collection. </div><div><br /></div><div>As far as I'm concerned, Dad absolutely "won" as a collector - he not only created something valuable (the best place to research one of our most influential presidents) but he kept the collection together and sold it for a good amount to New York State, where it now resides <b>under his name. </b>A legacy. (The postcard collection alone is linked <b><a href="http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/msscfa/pri5399.htm">here</a>)</b>. His collection was unquestionably relevant - it is a real pleasure now to see Dad's name listed as a source in documentaries and books about Roosevelt.<br /><div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TB5usWsNGPI/AAAAAAAABWM/rT8ZgANEN-E/s1600/flea-market.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TB5usWsNGPI/AAAAAAAABWM/rT8ZgANEN-E/s400/flea-market.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5484943104468130034" /></a>Dad loved going to the Flea Market in Syracuse every Sunday he could. I've often noted that part of the appeal of collecting is the hunt, and that was definitely true for him too. My sister said she might go to the Flea Market today in honor of him, and I hope she (and any other family back there into it) does.</div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TB5ur_ZfnyI/AAAAAAAABWE/N5zDAAla9O4/s1600/dadstoys.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TB5ur_ZfnyI/AAAAAAAABWE/N5zDAAla9O4/s400/dadstoys.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5484943098215636770" /></a>Like, I would say, most collectors, Dad started when he was a kid. He treasured the books he had a child, like the one above, and still had many of them in his office now. The top on the left, and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Tomaini">giant's</a> ring on the right (quarter shown for size reference) were treasured possessions that were amongst a very few things he kept atop his dresser or in the top drawer. I will continue to treasure them.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TB5tx3tOlkI/AAAAAAAABV8/9-mV5zFUkno/s1600/room-for-roosevelt.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 275px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TB5tx3tOlkI/AAAAAAAABV8/9-mV5zFUkno/s400/room-for-roosevelt.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5484942099718510146" /></a>After he sold the collection to New York, he went right on collecting Roosevelt and amassed a fairly decent collection again. A pleasant find as we were looking through this was the book <i>Room For Mr. Roosevelt</i> which is about a family in Syracuse NY that was inspired by TR during his life after the presidency. I'm currently reading it, and finding a surprisingly personal connection to Dad, who also was always somewhat a local historian too.</div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TB5twb-K3yI/AAAAAAAABV0/4DAqZeBv0ys/s1600/planes.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/TB5twb-K3yI/AAAAAAAABV0/4DAqZeBv0ys/s400/planes.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5484942075093507874" /></a>Late in life, Dad acquired an interest in antique, mostly wooden tools, especially planes - and quickly acquired over 400 of them. For anyone else it would have easily passed as a lifetime, sole obsession, but that just underlines the zest with which Dad embraced his interests. (I swear, one of the last times I was home we went to a book store together and Dad found a wooden plane to buy. Seriously.)</div></div></div><div><br /></div><div>One of the reasons I started this blog was to explore the question "Why do people collect?" I know the answer in part for me: I'm a collector because my Dad was.</div><div><br /></div><div>I miss you, Dad. Happy Father's Day.</div>FCGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15531634381811523908noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2026889366907729520.post-25830480427815314782010-04-19T19:36:00.000-07:002010-04-19T19:48:10.730-07:00We interrupt these messages...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/S80V0m8VSBI/AAAAAAAABVs/_g67V-EDv3M/s1600/spiderman.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/S80V0m8VSBI/AAAAAAAABVs/_g67V-EDv3M/s400/spiderman.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462045916621260818" /></a><br /><div>Sorry folks, I was really on a roll to start posting every three days, but my plans have been put on hold while I return to Syracuse for my Dad, who's in the hospital. He's doing better.</div><div><br /></div><div>I should be back in Los Angeles pretty soon, and I intend to continue posting twice a week - every Monday and Thursday, I think. Until then, here's this completely non-ironic look at the Spider-man 3 version of Operation. (Spotted in a thrift store in Syracuse).</div>FCGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15531634381811523908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2026889366907729520.post-52344924962507105452010-04-05T22:31:00.000-07:002010-04-06T10:20:42.431-07:00From Springfield, WIth Love<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 284px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/S7LflNtu_uI/AAAAAAAABVc/ycLiIDGcCI0/s400/01.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454667929128730338" /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>A recent episode of <a href="http://www.thesimpsons.com/">The </a><a href="http://www.thesimpsons.com/">Simpsons</a>, "Stealing First Base," Bart experienced his first kiss, or something like that, while receiving mouth to mouth resuscitation. I thought he had his first kiss about fourteen years ago, but since he's only ten years old, maybe that episode doesn't count anymore...</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyways, the kiss set off a great little montage of iconic cinema and TV kisses. It's interesting how easy they all are to recognize, even with the characters Simpsons-ized and no other context or sound included. I'm sure of all of them except the third - it looks like John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara in <i>The Quiet Man</i> - but I don't recognize the setting. Did they kiss in some church ruins at one point? I only saw the film once.</div><div>Enjoy.</div><div><br /></div><div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/S7LgHEYJ4xI/AAAAAAAABVk/dQ9iy9Wdg2A/s400/02.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454668510737851154" /></div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/S7LfX8GWcvI/AAAAAAAABVM/ubdV3QBK8yI/s1600/03.jpg" style="text-decoration: none;"><img style="text-align: left;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 147px; " src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/S7LfX8GWcvI/AAAAAAAABVM/ubdV3QBK8yI/s400/03.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454667701061841650" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/S7LfXfmCjpI/AAAAAAAABVE/k-On_EKIz38/s1600/04.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 284px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/S7LfXfmCjpI/AAAAAAAABVE/k-On_EKIz38/s400/04.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454667693410127506" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/S7LfXCBONMI/AAAAAAAABU8/ENcVfIsaVDU/s1600/05.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 283px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/S7LfXCBONMI/AAAAAAAABU8/ENcVfIsaVDU/s400/05.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454667685471073474" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/S7LfWTgzInI/AAAAAAAABU0/qFCVE35ZS2E/s1600/06.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 292px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/S7LfWTgzInI/AAAAAAAABU0/qFCVE35ZS2E/s400/06.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454667672987050610" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/S7LfWGGs9zI/AAAAAAAABUs/DRAccNKbqdM/s1600/07.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 293px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/S7LfWGGs9zI/AAAAAAAABUs/DRAccNKbqdM/s400/07.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454667669387933490" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/S7LfFtgOZVI/AAAAAAAABUk/U-nJA4OfgaU/s1600/08.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 293px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/S7LfFtgOZVI/AAAAAAAABUk/U-nJA4OfgaU/s400/08.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454667387906188626" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/S7LfEx1SMOI/AAAAAAAABUc/N56IknPpOqo/s1600/09.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/S7LfEx1SMOI/AAAAAAAABUc/N56IknPpOqo/s400/09.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454667371888390370" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/S7LfEcNaEgI/AAAAAAAABUU/1mLFhuhvdjY/s1600/10.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 148px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/S7LfEcNaEgI/AAAAAAAABUU/1mLFhuhvdjY/s400/10.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454667366083990018" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/S7LfEBQ0VEI/AAAAAAAABUM/kV_w1zHb3K8/s1600/11.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 297px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/S7LfEBQ0VEI/AAAAAAAABUM/kV_w1zHb3K8/s400/11.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454667358850536514" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/S7LfDplaz7I/AAAAAAAABUE/PRJWR0GsFcY/s1600/12.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/S7LfDplaz7I/AAAAAAAABUE/PRJWR0GsFcY/s400/12.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454667352494493618" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/S7LesI8_qfI/AAAAAAAABT8/Q7153tKMKFY/s1600/13.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 291px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/S7LesI8_qfI/AAAAAAAABT8/Q7153tKMKFY/s400/13.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454666948598016498" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/S7Lerv-RRGI/AAAAAAAABT0/CsnaZw9bZqI/s1600/14.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 150px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/S7Lerv-RRGI/AAAAAAAABT0/CsnaZw9bZqI/s400/14.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454666941892478050" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/S7LerMVhhtI/AAAAAAAABTs/vUTd4jzLHlw/s1600/15.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 280px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/S7LerMVhhtI/AAAAAAAABTs/vUTd4jzLHlw/s400/15.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454666932326336210" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/S7LeqGrs2DI/AAAAAAAABTc/GoypnyDsb7M/s1600/17.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 297px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Zh_c9MvuJuY/S7LeqGrs2DI/AAAAAAAABTc/GoypnyDsb7M/s400/17.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5454666913628870706" /></a>This last one is my favorite. If you're old enough to remember this, it was probably one of the biggest laughs ever on television.</div>FCGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15531634381811523908noreply@blogger.com3