10,000 Hits!

Credit: Snorgtees.com

      10,000 Hits! Actually over eleven grand now. I find it amazing I've gotten this far since August of last year when I started this blog. Only had 496 for the month of last March then it spiked to 3497 in April (This was due to the "popularity" of a Call of Cthuhu review I did in February.). This dropped to 996 in May I think due to the bin Laden hit earlier that month (Everyone looking at that instead of just "net cruising".), but picked up to 2869 in June. Up to that time, the vast majority was due to the aforementioned article.

      July turned out to be an interesting month. The hits on the Cthulhu article dropped to a trickle, other articles (Particularly the Azumanga Daioh/Peanuts comparison. Over 600 hits!) took up the slack with over 2600 hits. It's gratifying to see other articles (Some written months ago.) being looked at.



More of the Peanuts gang as anime characters. L-R: Violet, Peppermint Patty,
Marcie, & Patty.

      
      I've learned a few things:

1. When using illustrations, rename them. They're more likely to be found on image searches with the name(s) of the show(s)/characters in the name. A lot more effective than say, 123xyz.jpg.Yeah, it does attract those only after pictures. But a hit's a hit & helps the "visibility" of ones' blog. I'm sure SOME of them actually stop to read the accompanying article.

2. Same for article titles. Putting the name of the show/subject in the title makes it easier for anyone interested in the subject to find it.

3. Be as complete with key/search words as possible. List as many titles, characters, episodes etc. mentioned in the article as you can. The more "clues 'n ques" the better for search engines to point out your article.

      Anime. I love anime. Or at least the anime I love. I'm quite selective & shie away from most of the "flavor of the month". If it's The Attack of the Angst Ridden Giant Robot Magical Lesbian Schoolgirl, I'm not interested. As Theodore Sturgeon is reputed to have said: "90% of everything is crap." That goes double for anime (And no, I'm not saying anime is 180% crap!).

      I became cognizant of this "artform" when I was just a kid in the 60s', long before it was even called "Japanimation". I knew there was something different/fascinating & what little I could get to view, I enthusiastically took in. Central Ohio TV offered VERY little in anime. As we couldn't get cable out where I lived, I was stuck with the rare movie (Panda & the Magic Serpent, Jack & the Witch, etc.), or Marine Boy Saturday mornings on Ch 10. Visits to the grandparents in upstate New York intro'd me to at lot of  it (Gigantor, 8th Man, etc.). It was in the early 70s anime trickled in on central Ohio TV. I was older & in the workforce then, not having much time for it. Come to think of it, I don't have much time for it now but I indulge anyway.

      Though I'm picky about the anime I view, I will say the artwork of even the dumbest of them to be usually superior to most of the crud U.S. animators serve up. There seems to be an ugly "aesthetic" prevalent in "our" cartoons that I can't bring myself to stomach. Spongebob, Chowder, Flapjack  & Sym-Bionic Titan are perfect examples. Even the work of a Bruce Timm I don't find appealing as much as I used to.

     
      Old movies. Pre 70s in particular. My first love & always will be. My criteria for a great flick: Black & white, & at least half the cast are long dead. The style. The fashion. The "sensibility" I can't get enough of. The good guys always win. True love never dies. Yeah, plenty of exceptions, but they were handled better. Oh yes. Old cars were popular then.

      If nothing unforeseen/traumatic happens in the future, I intend to keep this blog going. As for you, I hope you keep "watching".

Go to Main Page here.

DISCLAIMER: All images used on this blog are strictly copyrights of their owners. I do not claim credit/ownership for any images used here in my blog unless stated otherwise. If I have offended anyone by posting any images on my blog, please contact me via email and I will remove specified image(s) ASAP.

Krap I Bought This Week



Yeah. That's about right. Unfortunately, I figured the pattern out the
moment I saw it!



       With all these "stuff I bought this week" articles cluttering up anime blogs, I thought I'd try my hand at it. And so .....
                                  
                                             Krap I Bought This Week

                                                             by

                                                                Jay Agan

      Here's a list of goodies I got at a grocer in the METROPOLIS of Delaware, Ohio.

      One bottle of BLEACH.

      A carton of CREAM LEMON soda.

      A gallon of STRAWBERRY MARSHMALLOW ice cream.

      M&Ms, Snickers, Zagnut, can't forget my CANDY CANDY.

      Small jar of PAPRIKA.

      Latest issue of Famous MONSTERs of Filmland.

      I'm racking my MEMORIES but I can't seem to recall anything else. As it was, I ran my card at the U-Scan & INITIALeD my X in the little window. Prices these days. I've a good mind to tell the grocery chain to go fly a KITE!

      Yeah, I know. Lame. Articles like this happen when you're hard up for material. Shoot, anime wasn't even mentioned. There'll be better posts in the future. See ya .....

                                    Article copyright © 7-29-2011 Jay Agan

Go to Main Page here.

DISCLAIMER: All images used on this blog are strictly copyrights of their owners. I do not claim credit/ownership for any images used here in my blog unless stated otherwise. If I have offended anyone by posting any images on my blog, please contact me via email and I will remove specified image(s) ASAP.

This article (only) may be copied in whole or in part. Please cite proper credit & backlink.
     

The Vulture

Pretty much illustrates what I saw that day.




                                                     The Vulture

                                                             by

                                                                Jay Agan

      Back in the 70s, for about a period of four years, Mt. Vernon was without an indoor movie theater. No big deal I guess, just go to the next town if you wanted to take in a flick. Trouble was, the "next" town was Newark, Columbus or if you lived in northern Knox County, Mansfield, 25+ miles away.

      During the warm months there was the Knox Auto Theater (Now sadly gone.) but until the Colonial started operations downtown (They scored The Empire Strikes Back as their opener. How they did it, I've no idea.), you were hit with a trip mid-Fall through early Spring.

      As an objectivist (Small o. I don't believe EVERYTHING Ayn Rand says. Only 99.99%.) I really can't fault the former owner of the Vernon Theater. A bank wanted the property, cable TV was cutting into ticket sales & the place needed repair. So the old man sold it. O ..... K ..... I guess.

      Sentiment. What kind of a price do you put on it? (In Delaware County, it's 150 grand taxpayer bucks to restore the Strand.) I mean, I spent many an afternoon matinee at the Vernon. Mom & Dad Disneyed us to death there. I remember Dad bothered by three bucks a head when we saw Patton. There was the Romeo & Juliet controversy (Zeffirelli version. Didn't bother me. I'm not turned on by guys butts.). It was at the Vernon I was traumatized by Old Yeller. I was further traumatized on my first date there. Memories .....

      My last memory of the Vernon is not a good one. I was on my way to Brinings' News Stand (Down the alley & across Vine.) passing the skeletal carcass of the torn down theater. There, standing in the midst of the wreckage, was ..... HIM!

      Clad in a BLACK business suit & contrasting white shirt. Hunched shoulders, arms extended & clutched in the liver spotted leprousness of his talons ..... window glass. The elderly scavenger was salvaging window glass! Looking ..... for all the world ..... like some foul carrion bird ..... picking at road kill.

      That glass is probably laying in some barn or shed collecting about as much dust as he is. Sad.

                                         Article copyright © 7-27-2011 Jay Agan

Go to Main Page here.

DISCLAIMER: All images used on this blog are strictly copyrights of their owners. I do not claim credit/ownership for any images used here in my blog unless stated otherwise. If I have offended anyone by posting any images on my blog, please contact me via email and I will remove specified image(s) ASAP.

This article (only) may be copied in whole or in part. Please cite proper credit & backlink.

How To Murder Your Wife: Martini Movie, Killer Comedy

Terry-Thomas, Jack Lemmon & Virna Lisi have a housekeeping
disagreement in How To Murder Your Wife. Credit: United Atists

                         How To Murder Your Wife: Martini Movie, Killer Comedy

                                                                 by

                                                                     Jay Agan
     
      It's 1960s New York City, a mans' world & successful cartoonist Stanley Ford (Jack Lemmon) has his corner of it. With the assistance of his erstwhile "gentlmans' gentleman"/storyboard photographer Charles Firbank (Terry-Thomas), his "Bash Brannigan-Secret Agent" comic strip is popularly syndicated all over the world. He has a Manhattan bachelor townhouse, a membership in the citys' most elite mens club, & hob nobs with the rich & powerful. Truly a master of his fate & possessor of destiny.

      Then he gets married ..... by "accident".

      While snockered at a bachelor party, he marries the babe (Virna Lisi) who pops out of the cake, a tipsy judge (Sidney Blackmer) officiating the vows. It's legal (No grounds for divorce.) thus unbreakable.

     With his new bride, Stanleys' life falls apart. His townhouse is hit with the "feminine touch". The new wife can't speak a lick of English & learns it in a variety of distracting methods while getting "Americanized" in the worst way. The Italian cooking has Ford putting on weight he can't work off. Firbank can't function in the same house with "that woman" & takes up employment elsewhere. Oh yes, "mother is coming to stay".

      Desperate for material, Stanley commits his now domestic situation to his work & Bash Brannigan transforms into a bumbling family man making Dagwood Bumstead seem like a paragon of professionalism. Needless to say, the comic strip achieves a new height of popularity.

      It all comes to a head when Stanley is expelled from his last refuge at the club when "she who must be catered to" crashes it. What to do? Kill her! And "kill" her he does. At least in the comic strip if not in "real life".

      Coming up with a wild plan to change the course of his comic strip & use it as a temporary escape from his domesticity, Ford has Bash Brannigan kill his wife to restart his career as a secret agent.

      With his system of photographically "storyboarding" the strip, it actually involves Ford drugging Mrs. Ford before disposing of her (Brrrrrrrup! Blaaaaap!). Of course he doesn't kill her, substituting a mannequin at the last moment. This is lost on Firbank as most of the photos he takes are longshots thus thinking Ford has actually done her in. This haunts Stanley later as Charles enthusiastically praises him on the witness stand!

Brrrrrrup! Blaaaaaap! Says it all!

   
      With the use of an electronic "tuning fork" to operate machinery, the "body" is dumped into the cement poured by the "globbita globbita machine" at the construction site next door. Later, the "late" Mrs. Ford revives back at the townhouse & sees the finished strip for the next day. Not amused, she heads back to Italy & mother. As she can't be found/contacted, the world thinks Stanley Ford killed her.

      At the trial, it looks like curtains for Stanley. Charles has implicated him. His incompetant, henpecked lawer (Eddie Mayehoff) is about to throw him to the wolves. The now sober, wife dominated judge is going to have him hung by the neck strapped to the electric chair in a gas chamber before a firing squad. The also harpy harangued all male jury is ready to pronounce his guilt.

      In a "brilliant" about face, Stanley more than admits his guilt. He proclaims he did what he did as not only self defense, but also for striking a blow for all of the male species who have had their lives curtailed & put on its ear by marriage. Men have been crushed & their dreams put on hold due to the oppressive institution. He did what most married men only dream of. "Pressing the button" on their wives.

      After an excriutiatingly lengthy deliberation of only a few seconds, the jury proclaims Stanleys' fate: NOT GUILTY! A strike for the emancipation of men the world over has been struck, the women in the courtroom not at all happy.

      Possible? With the OJ & Anthony trials behind us, one can only wonder what legal precedence may be set in the future.

      All's well that ends well howsomever. Stanleys' bride returns with mother (Firbank takes an "instant liking' to her.) in tow, & the film ends on a prurient note.

                                    Article copyright © 7-24-2011 Jay Agan

Go to Main Page here.

DISCLAIMER: All images used on this blog are strictly copyrights of their owners. I do not claim credit/ownership for any images used here in my blog unless stated otherwise. If I have offended anyone by posting any images on my blog, please contact me via email and I will remove specified image(s) ASAP.

This artcle (only) may be copied in whole or in part. Please cite proper credit & backlink.

The Endless Eight Of Haruhi Suzumiya: C'mon, It Wasn't THAT Bad!

Just think guys! We only have about 15,000 more to
go! Credit: Kadokawa Shoten

                The Endless Eight Of Haruhi Suzumiya: C'mon, It Wasn't THAT Bad!

                                                                by

                                                                    Jay Agan

      When Endless Eight was broadcast & later put to disc, a LOT of fans were not happy. So much so I understand Aya Hirano & some folks at Kyoto Animation made an apology. But was it as bad as all that? I disagree.

      Those who saw the initial broadcasts in Japan & on the net "gave warning". Others, after the discs came out, had their gripes too. Wether one saw it in "bite size" pieces of an ep or two or all at once (Masochists!), the howls & whines were uniformly strident.

      "It's too long!"

      "It's all the same!"

      "My brain hurts!"

      Yeah. They all complained. But they STILL watched it. There had to have been SOMETHING about it they liked.

      Then there's me. I like it. Not all at once though. As I got my copy of the "second season" months after the controversey died down, I was "forewarned" & knew what to expect. Thus was able to relax & "take it as it came".

      Aside from the superficial differences ("Camera" angles, outfits, minor variations in dialogue, etc.), there were the "executions". The first ep. being a nice, happy story of some kids having a blast of a summer vacation then subsequent eps "deteriorating" into Hitchcockian or Stroheim-like, semi-surreal madness at points. Sometimes even seeming noirishly "dark". It was "deja vu all over again" & again & again. With the characters being slowly ground down &, in Kyons' case, to despair towards the end of the last ep.

      There was definite room for improvement. Fewer episodes. Dialogue varied more. Events replaced with others &/or the order of them changed. It could be the directors may have been instructed to stick exactly with the script but given lee-way on everything else. A little more "flexibility" would have been nice.

      A few years from now this may become a "cult classic". The story arc everyone HATED but watched anyway.

                                         Article copyright © 7-22-2011 Jay Agan

The Head Trip of Haruhi Suzumiya Pt. 1 here.

The Head Trip of Haruhi Suzumiya Pt. 2 here.

The Head Trip of Haruhi Suzumiya Pt. 3 here.

The Sexual Harassment of Haruhi Suzumiya here.

Go to Main Page here.

DISCLAIMER: All images used on this blog are strictly copyrights of their owners. I do not claim credit/ownership for any images used here in my blog unless stated otherwise. If I have offended anyone by posting any images on my blog, please contact me via email and I will remove specified image(s) ASAP.

This article (only) may be copied in whole or in part. Please cite proper credit & backlink.
     

Flash! Killer Chihuahua Chases Off Robbers!

The Chihuahua breed. An uncomfortable mix of canine, rat & pirana. Grrrr
rrrrrrr! Arf! Arf! Rowf! Chomp!

     
     
      Paco's the name. Chewing the bad guys butts is his game. No quiero Taco Bell for this little guy. It's evil doers' posterior he wants! Sic 'em, Paco! Git 'em! Bite their butts off! EAT 'EM UP BOY! Good dog! A truckload o' Scooby Snacks for ya! God likes little fighters. Way to go!

      A bunch of You Tube entries on Pacos' brave stand here.

      Info on the breed here.

      For Azumanga Daioh fans, a sorta kinda related You Tube entry here.

      Another one here.

Auto Scam Turnaround: You Meet the Nicest People In A Honda

Yeah. I'd hit that.

                  Auto Scam Turnaround: You Meet the Nicest People In A Honda

                                                                by

                                                                   Jay Agan

      Jersey in the late 80s. She had an older Honda. She wanted a Camaro. The trade in wouldn't have been near enough for a down payment. She figured the insurance return, should it be wrecked or stolen, would be more than enough.

      So she removes all personal items, & has her boyfriend follow her across the Hudson to Harlem. Yes THAT Harlem.

      Parking it on a busy street, she leaves it unlocked, keys in the ignition. Then it's back to Jersey with her boyfriend. After a while she calls the police & reports her car missing.

      A couple weeks later, she gets a call from the local constabulary. New York City Impound called with the "good news". Her car had been found (Oh joy! Oh rapture!).

      On inquiring where it was found she was told the exact location. Where she left it. Sitting for almost two weeks in Harlem, doors unlocked, keys in ignition & no one had touched it!

      She drove the Honda a while longer & finally did get her camaro. Hopefully she doesn't look down on some folks as much as she used to.

                               Article copyright © 7-20-2011 Jay Agan

Go to Main Page here.

DISCLAIMER: All images used on this blog are strictly copyrights of their owners. I do not claim credit/ownership for any images used here in my blog unless stated otherwise. If I have offended anyone by posting any images on my blog, please contact me via email and I will remove specified image(s) ASAP.

Last Exile: One Pound In A Two Pound Bag



The show didn't seem near as colorful to me. Credit: Gonzo


                                 Last Exile: One Pound In A Two Pound Bag

                                                                 by

                                                                     Jay Agan

      I Can't give a detailed review of this anime as I saw it only once & have no desire to see it again.

      I got Last Exile at Anime Punch/Armageddicon 6 back in April at the Fast Food Anime booth. I was all set to like this & prepared to dislike the two Evangelion Rebuild flicks I also got from the same. Turned out to be the other way around.

      A young "vanship" pilot and his navigator working as airmail couriers in an overritualized guild are caught up in a war involving two nations & an advanced but decadent, sky dwelling, elf eared aristocracy holding a monopoly on technology. They're all going for the ultimate prize:  Exile, a lost "colonizer" ship (With formidable defenses of its own.) floating in a vortex known as the "Grand Stream". A certain little girl is needed to say the magic words (Abracadabera, alakazam. Hocus pocus, flippity flam! No, not quite.) & presto! The right people win out & we end up with an "all is bright & beutiful" ending. I'll never get back the time I wasted on this.

      Boring, drab, overlong. A 13 ep series stretched out to twice as long. You would expect some stand alone eps in 26 but each one hinged upon the others. Just how many do you need to tell a simple story? The artwork, an OK blend of hand & CGI is offset by its dinginess. Dark, dull with "swimming pool" green & gray alternately predominating. It made Kinos' Journey (Which I like.) seem kaliedescopically technicolor in comparison. The backdrop, the steampunk world of Prestor, had "depth" but wasn't helped by the aforementioned coloration. Greek/cyrillic is the alphabet of the various cultures. Not really complaining. I can't read Kanji either.

      Sorry this review is so short. I just couldn't get into this show & couldn't wait for it to end.

                                        Article copyright © 7-14-2011 Jay Agan

Go to Main Page here.

DISCLAIMER: All images used on this blog are strictly copyrights of their owners. I do not claim credit/ownership for any images used here in my blog unless stated otherwise. If I have offended anyone by posting any images on my blog, please contact me via email and I will remove specified image(s) ASAP.

This article (only) may be copied in whole or in part. Please cite proper credit & backlink.

RKO 281: The OTHER Citizen Kane

Orson Welles (Liev Schreiber) & Herman Mankiewicz (John Malkovich)
toast their "success" in RKO 281. Credit: HBO Pictures.

                                     RKO 281: The OTHER Citizen Kane

                                                                by

                                                                    Jay Agan

      This is a "sequel" I watch more often than the original. Maybe 'cause it's faster moving & more amusing.

      A young Orson Welles (Liev Schreiber), following on his success/fame in the New York City show business world, goes to Hollywood & signs up with RKO Radio Pictures. After some fits & starts, he settles on doing a thinly veiled expose' of publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst & his power brokering ways (This supposedly stemming from the two trading barbs at a party at the Hearst "castle". I think there had to be more to it than that.). With a treasure trove of related notes by his reluctant friend, writer Herman J. Mankiewicz (John Malkovich) he sets out to create one of cinema historys' great masterworks.

      This made for HBO film does devote some time to the making of Citizen Kane, but the main attraction is in the aftermath. Mr. Hearst was definitely not happy with the finished product & did what he could to suppress it, preassuring one & all in Hollywood. Going so far as to blackmail some of the biggest names in cinema.

      The conflict between Welles & Hearst (Two opponents not unlike one another.) is "offset" by the conflicts in front of, behind, & off camera. Melanie Griffith is great as Marion Davies counter to James Cromwells' Hearst. Schreibers' Welles is seen as a relentless prick, casually putting friends, actors & crew in danger & even resorting to violence.

      As with all "docudramas", I would not rely on this film as an historical document. The actual documentary it's based on, The Battle Over Citizen Kane would be more appropriate.

      It goes without saying, watching Citizen Kane is mandatory before seeing this film. RKO 281 is a fun watch & makes a great companion film to Kane. With this & Warners' Citizen Kane two disc special edition (With all the extras including the aforementioned documentary.), you can take an all afternoon Kaning.

      If you don't have it, grab it & put it on the shelf next to Kane.

                                     Article copyright © 7-13-2011 Jay Agan

This article (only) may be copied in whole or in part. Please cite proper credit & backlink.                                  

Go to Main Page here.

DISCLAIMER: All images used on this blog are strictly copyrights of their owners. I do not claim credit/ownership for any images used here in my blog unless stated otherwise. If I have offended anyone by posting any images on my blog, please contact me via email and I will remove specified image(s) ASAP.

Urban Legend: Emasculation by Auto? Yes It DOES Happen!



The Automobile: Mans' second best friend. Sometimes not.


                     Urban Legend: Emasculation by Auto? Yes It DOES Happen!

                                                                by

                                                                    Jay Agan

      We've all heard of "urban legends". You know. Idiots putting small dogs in microwave ovens in order to dry them off after a bath with horrendous results. Fools boiling gasoline in the hope their cars will start quicker. Weirdos/criminals spotted in the back seat ready to pounce. These & other stories we only hear about & are usually unsubstantiated. It's always, at best, tertiary sources. "A friend of a friend of a friend told me ..... " etc.

      I do howsomever, remember over the years of actually reading newspaper accounts of stuff like the above, complete with names & dates, so there is something to these stories. I've concluded that, human beings being what they are, "it" probably did happen at least once.

      I recollect some snarky guest on The Joey Reynolds Show (WNBC AM 660 Khz) back in the 80s was "debunking" these "legends" & daring callers to offer real proof. This ticked me off slightly as I thought of the news articles I read up to that time. As no one (Including yours truly.) ever saves these clippings, this guy was probably going to get away with his smugness. Of course now, there's the net & snopes.com.

      One "urban legend" that always stuck in my mind was the (To me.) horror of, to put it politely, "orally produced emasculation". To wit: A woman is "orally stimulating" her boyfriend in a parked car when it is struck from behind & the poor guy "losing it". A painfully tragic story indeed.

      It's understandable if there was seemingly no way to substantiate such a story. I mean, would you want to talk about it if it happened to you? I certainly wouldn't announce it to the world.

      A Sunday co-worker at the shooting range in Powell, Ohio was a full time insurance adjustor by profession. It occured to me that if anyone was in a postion to know about the veracity of such a tale, it would be him. So I asked. I'm with holding his name so this will probably come across as another "tertiary" source. Can't be helped. I myself am at least satisfied that this is true.

      In his then 25 years as an insurance adjustor, he encountered only cases that had occured in moving vehicles. The victim would lose control & end up in a field or running into something. He had handled five such cases. Four mutilations & one complete sever. Now you know.

                                     Article copyright © 7-10-2011 Jay Agan

Go to Main Page here.

DISCLAIMER: All images used on this blog are strictly copyrights of their owners. I do not claim credit/ownership for any images used here in my blog unless stated otherwise. If I have offended anyone by posting any images on my blog, please contact me via email and I will remove specified image(s) ASAP.

This article (only) may be copied in whole or in part. Please cite proper credit & backlink.

FLCL/Fooly Cooly: It's A Weird 'Un



Watch it! That babe is sizin' ya up for a whackin'! L-R Mamimi Samejima,
Naota Nandaba, Haruko Haruhara & Kanti. Credit: Gainax Production IG.



                                      FLCL/Fooly Cooly: It's A Weird 'Un
                                                                        
                                                               by

                                                                   Jay Agan

      FLCL is the anime that answers the question: Huh? Actually it doesn't answer anything. I don't think it questions anything either.

      There's this kid, Naota Nandaba, & he's got a problem. A whole buncha problems really. About 12, just hitting puberty, & like any guy that age, is kinda messed up. His dad has little time for him, running a business & publishing a scandal sheet 'n all. His brother's away in the States playing pro baseball.

      It doesn't help his brothers' 17 year old girl friend, Mamimi Samejima, is hitting on him. Even if she's a year under what the law would call a pedo, it's still creepy as all get out. Oh yeah. She may be an arsonist. There seems to be some connection between her & mysterious fires happening in the area.

      Then there's a girl in his class, Eri Ninamori, who's quite fond of him. Jealous too. Not happy at all with an "older woman" pursuing the object of her affections.
     
      As if it wasn't strange enough, there's this space alien chick, Haruko Haruhara, who's also seemingly hot after his underage bod. Turns out she's just rankin' on him to keep him off balance so she can use him as a "portal" to draw her enemies out into the open for battle & find her actual "boyfriend" (We are to assume that incredibly strange creature is in her age group.). It doesn't help the situation any when she takes up residence at the kids' home as a live in maid/menace sleeping in the same room as he. Wholesome family fare indeed.

      Oh yeah. The space babe is an ultraviolent whacko using her Vespa scooter & bass guitar to beat the krap not only out of the "enemy" but of the kid as well. A mandatory prelim to luring the "bad guys" latest manifestation to a fight. By the way, the enemy appears by emerging out of the kids' fore head. You gotta see it to know what I'm sayin'. The first enemy, Kanti the robot, eventually sides with psycho chick & and also stays at Naotas' house.

      Seems corporate intrigue is also involved, with the medical profession, government, & large eyebrows. What the ..... ?

      I guess the ultimate goal is not to decipher or read anything into it (The opportunities are endless.) as much as you are supposed to "enjoy" it. I don't know about that. Maybe you're supposed to get into the confusion. Not sure if I want to .

      The title, FLCL, is pronounced Fooly Cooly (Furi Curi). It's sorta kinda explained in comic book form in episode 1. Not clear, but may have something to do with an old rock song and/or "gettin' jiggy down there". Wether this show is part of a plot to make pedophilia more acceptable or is just a confusing jumble of anime weirdness is not clear. I do know this is not the kind of anime you'd intro neophytes with. Or church groups for that matter.

                                     Article copyright © 7-8-2011 Jay Agan

Go to Main Page here.

DISCLAIMER: All images used on this blog are strictly copyrights of their owners. I do not claim credit/ownership for any images used here in my blog unless stated otherwise. If I have offended anyone by posting any images on my blog, please contact me via email and I will remove specified image(s) ASAP.

This article (only) may be copied in whole or in part. Please cite proper credit and backlink.
    

Reborn On the 4th of July

                                           Reborn On the 4th of July

                                                              by

                                                                  Jay Agan

      The fellow I worked with at the shooting range in Powell, Ohio was an interesting guy. Former serviceman (Said he dodged the draft by enlisting.), he monitored Soviet military radio traffic in Alaska in the '60s. Insurance adjuster full time, avid shooter all the time. Every year, he followed a specific schedule for July 4th.

      First the flag went up on the porch. Then he & the wife would head on down to the Short North of Columbus (A neighborhood between 5th Ave. & I 670.) to catch the Doo Dah Parade. The Doo Dah is a sort of "anti-parade" consisting of humor/satire. Regular groups such as The Marching Fidels, Close Order Drill Lawnmower Team, The Parade of Holmes, etc. There's even the Fashion Police patrolling the route giving out tickets to badly dressed folks. I especially remember one "act" consisting of seven men & two women dressed as the Supreme Court. A tenth person had to keep grabbing & guiding them to the center of the street as they kept meandering to the right side. I'll never forget the float comemorating a murder in northwest Ohio in the '90s: "Give your wife an anniversary gift she'll never forget. A new basement floor!"

      Then they'd grab the one in Upper Arlington that crossed Lane Ave. A LARGE suburban parade with a small town feel. Afterward, an afternoon of barbecue & socialisation. He'd set a 5 platter CD player loaded with SoUSA, etc, on the porch, setting it on random play. Passersby seemed to like that.

     As the sun went down, the couple would head to the Park of Roses in Clintonville for the fireworks display. Clintonville is home to Columbus' best cheap thrill: Riding fast on Cooke Rd. A real "roller coaster". With the fireworks done, they'd head on home, take down the flag & relax.

      His backyard adjoined about five others & was the perfect set-up for the last ritual.

      It's between 10 & 11 PM. All's quiet except for the crickets. Everyone's inside. Taking a revolver loaded with blanks, he'd sneak out, point the gun to the night sky and ..... BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! then slip back in.

      People would run out, "what the heck was that!"

      He also dashing out, "what the heck was that!"

      He was sure the neighbors suspected he was the one, but he was never caught.

      The last time he did that was a year before cancer took him. I miss him.

                                       Article copyright © 7-6-2011 Jay Agan

Go to Main Page here.

This article (only) may be copied in whole or in part. Please cite proper credit & backlink.

DISCLAIMER: All images used on this blog are strictly copyrights of their owners. I do not claim credit/ownership for any images used here in my blog unless stated otherwise. If I have offended anyone by posting any images on my blog, please contact me via email and I will remove specified image(s) ASAP.

New Perspectives On Movie Watching

                                    New Perspectives On Movie Watching

                                                                  by

                                                                      Jay Agan

      Back in the day (Yeah, the old guy's gonna reminisce, so pay attention.) before what we know as home video, we were pretty much resigned to whatever the TV stations were going to air at any given moment. When it came to older films, one was stuck with watching lots of defective prints (cuts, burns, splices, etc.) with low quality sound. This was in the days before the film restoration movement wasn't even a glint in Ted Turners' eye.

      The BIG drawback (To me.) was & still is commercials. Tons of em'! Make no mistake. The primary purpose of commercial TV is NOT to entertain you. It is to induce you to buy stuff. Always keep that in mind. It's one of the reasons I don't watch commercial TV.

      Ads can really drag out a movie. Nothing like getting into a flick & BAM!, having to cool your jets for 5+ minutes as they try to sell you junk. I was turned off to a lot of films thinking they were slow paced & dragging. Later, when I started collecting tapes in '91, I noticed how a film I originally disliked would, without ads, pick up & come alive, "magically" transforming into a fast paced actioner.

      I'll use Tohos' The Mysterians as an example (Space alien scum want earth women! Oh yeah!? Bring it on!) Yeah, it's a cheesy (By todays CGI ridden standards.) little time waster. Chs 10 (WBNS) & 4 (WLWC now WCMH) would show this Japanese sci-fi flick off & on during the 60s & 70s. I always tried to see it even if it was a bit (To me.) overlong. Once, in 1965, I had to stop watching it & come to dinner. Half hour later I went back & noticed I hardly missed anything. That's how big  the number of commercials could get. In '92 I snapped up a VHS of it (I think it was a Goodtimes tape.). I was amazed at how much "peppier" it was without the ads.

      After a brief bout with cancer in '94, I got rid of my VHS collection & didn't touch home video again until 2001. When I did ..... Advancements in film restoration & technology opened up new things to me.

      I was cognizant of aspect ratio back in the 80s but I wasn't concerned with it overmuch. A movie was a movie as far as I was concerned. When I started on discs however, I made sure a film made after 1950 was in its correct ratio before buying & found it did make a difference.

Lobby card for The Mysterians. Credit: Toho Co. Ltd.

      Back to The Mysterians. Media Blasters/Tokyo Shock puts out an excellent example (Got it at Best Buy on impulse.). Had to have been gotten from a superior print. I was also pleased to recognize several "anime" names in the English dub cast. Campared to the Goodtimes VHS & past viewings on TV in bygone years, I marvel at what an expansive, colorful film it is. Instead of the washed out, cheesy, claustrophobic little mess I was used to, I was seeing it as it was meant to be without the constraints television has put on it.

      The Mysterians is but one example of the difference this technology has made for me in viewing movies. There are dozens of others. It has made "bad" ones good, & good ones even better.

                                            
                                          Article copyright © 7-1-2011 Jay Agan

Go to Main Page here.

DISCLAIMER: All images used on this blog are strictly copyrights of their owners. I do not claim credit/ownership for any images used here in my blog unless stated otherwise. If I have offended anyone by posting any images on my blog, please contact me via email and I will remove specified image(s) ASAP.