Some Non-Theories About When The Lord Will Return

Credit: Sojin

Some Non-Theories About When The Lord Will Return


More like nonsense theories. Shoot, the cockeyed armageddon fantasies the rapture bunnies espouse can be pretty ridiculous. So I'll just list three of my ideas for when JUDGEMENT DAY arrives.

1. Faster than light drive - It is my "theory" (dementia) that Heaven, hell and the universe (The "level" we're on.) are one and the same. We're "resonating" too slow to perceive the universe as Heaven and too slow to experience it as hell (Or Cleveland.).

Once a faster than light drive is developed, God will bring down the curtain and give us our respective verdicts. After all, I doubt He'd enjoy tripping over all those spaceships in Heaven.

2. The Infinite Improbability Drive - A variation on the above that I'd been inspired from watching The Hitch Hikers' Guide to the Galaxy (Book by Douglas Adams.) an '80s English sci-fi miniseries (Not to be confused with the much later movie of the same name.).

According to the book/series, the Infinite Improbability Drive would enable one to travel through or for that matter, be in all points of the universe at once. I don't think God would stand for that. There's room for only one transcendent being in the universe and he's it. Hence, Judgement Day to commence.

3. A "world brain" - This occurred to me from watching the anime Serial Experiments Lain, a real mind bender of a show. The program is a master mix of urban legends, theology, conspiracy theories and other "curious" stuff.

In one episode, collective human consciousness is discussed. Something interesting might happen if enough "compliant" minds on the planet equaled the average number of synapses in the human brain. Could a "world mind/brain" result?

In the "Tower of Babel" story found in the bibles' Book of Genesis (Chapt. 11, verses 4-9.), God confused all of then mankind in their speech making so they could not understand one another. The now various peoples banded together in their respective language groups and separated one from another.

This was done to prevent mankind from going "too far, too fast".

If enough souls could become "compliant" (Be it ideology, mental conditioning, "Mark of the Beast" or whatever.) would that overcome the language barrier thus getting around the "limits" set by God and create another "Babel situation"? It's interesting that the LaHaye/Jenkins Left Behind series of books had its' own "bablefish" set up for Christians of diverse languages to speak directly with one another.

Truly a reason for Christs' return.

The above is NOT to be taken seriously. Just some ramblings off the top 'o my head. This is what comes from too much time on ones' hands. So are some Hal Lindseys' and Tim LaHayes' whackness for that matter.

Jus' sayin' ...


Go to Jays' Tee Vee blog main page here. You don't have to click on this link or use any faster than light or Inifinite Improbability Drive if you see articles under this. It means you're already there.

Monster Movie Muzak!

Monster Movie Muzak!

For a while I've had some You Tube compilations of various assorted title music from a number of my favorite creature features from the '50s and '60s. I noticed a few (Lost Continent, Angry Red Planet, etc.) were missing from the selections.

On searching for them I decided to You Tube the whole film, Lost Continent (Lippert, 1951.) just for the opening credits music. I noticed the composers' name, Paul Dunlap, in the creds and decided to use the You Tube search option in the hopes I could get the isolated opening score. Much to my delight I found two compilations of Mr. Dunlaps' music, the first of which started off with the very selection I was looking for.

Below are links to the various Sci-Fi movie music compilations I've downloaded. If you want to save these selections (Or anything else from You Tube!) to your hard drive then go to savefrom.net and follow the instructions. I've found it to be a VERY handy online site for grabbing stuff from You Tube and Dailymotion.


Giant Monster Music here.

Classic '50s Sci-Fi themes here.

Classic '50s Sci-Fi themes pt. 2 here.

Film Music of Paul Dunlap pt. 1 here.

Film Music of Paul Dunlap pt. 2 here.

The Building

The Building

by

Jay Agan


It lies at the end of a street in an industrial park at the edge of town. Three floors, no windows, surrounded by TWO electrified chain link fences topped with razor wire.

Inside the fencing there are cars parked abound but no one is ever seen coming or going. In fact, there's no indication that the cars have ever been moved at all. Every so often, a nondescript individual is seen cleaning them.

Mounted remote cameras scan the immediate area.

About once a month a large black car is seen at the entrance. Two men in black suits are seen going from the car to inside. In a minute or so, they can be seen on the roof where they proceed to a large dish antenna. There, they open up the instrumentation box beneath and exchange what look to be electronic components of some kind.

Then they leave.

Just what is that building for?

Why the secrecy?

And after the sun goes down, why does that antenna track that part of the night sky where hardly any stars can be seen?

Curious ...

END

Story copyright © 7-14-14 Jay Agan


Go to Jays' Tee Vee blog main page here. Ifn' there's a buncha' articles under this 'un, then yer already there.

Some Walking Dead Humor

From my admittedly limited viewing, this is what I get out of it.

Some Walking Dead Humor


Having nothing better to do and presently suffering from creative bankruptcy, I decided to look up and share some stuff I found on a show I pretty much dislike. Reasons for which I will give later this week. For now ... Enjoy ...

This pre-dated Night of the Living Dead by a couple years.

Hmmm ... If it was like this I might watch it. Then again ... maybe not.

I like late '30s/early '40s period pieces with late '40s/early '50s cars. I also have
fun spotting vapor trails in westerns too. Then there's the one where one of the
three kings is seen wearing a wrist watch!

I always liked Christopher Walken. Even as Max Schreck.

I also like those films where the "last man on earth" keeps running into people.

That's it for the moment. Stay tuned Friday when I actually vent a little on the show itself.

Sees ya' ...


An "Honest Trailer" advertisement on You Tube for The Walking Dead here. Check these out! Better than Siskel and Ebert ever could have been. You'll laugh your keester off!

A Screen Junkies idiots' guide on You Tube to The Walking Dead, seasons' 1-3 here. More info than I cared but certainly saved a lot of time for me!

The Zombie Apocalypse That Never Was by C V Ford (Me!) here.

Fanfiction dot net link to C V Fords' (Me! Darn it!) profile page and stories list here.


Go to Jays' Tee Vee blog main page here. If there's a buncha' articles under this one then you're already there.

Starbuck: Lost in Castration

Dirk Benedict as Starbuck in Battlestar Galactica wields a couple of phallic symbols of male
domination. Ladies should always remember that to defend ones self with a gun is to give in
to male domination thus, the criminal/rapist has won. Yeah ... RIGHT!

The following is an excerpt from an article by Dirk Benedict decrying the sad PC state of affairs in mass media science fiction and (I feel.) the way things are in the entertainment industry in general. The article, written in the early years of the last decade, is to me, even more topical now than then.

The whole article can be read here.

xxxxx


Starbuck: Lost in Castration (excerpt)

by

Dirk Benedict


There was a time – I know I was there – when men were men, women were women and sometimes a cigar was just a good smoke. But 40 years of feminism have taken their toll. The war against masculinity has been won. Everything has turned into its opposite, so that what was once flirting and smoking is now sexual harassment and criminal. And everyone is more lonely and miserable as a result.

Witness the "re-imagined" Battlestar Galactica. It's bleak, miserable, despairing, angry and confused. Which is to say, it reflects, in microcosm, the complete change in the politics and mores of today's world as opposed to the world of yesterday. The world of Lorne Greene (Adama) and Fred Astaire (Starbuck's Poppa), and Dirk Benedict (Starbuck). I would guess Lorne is glad he's in that Big Bonanza in the sky and well out of it. Starbuck, alas, has not been so lucky. He's not been left to pass quietly into that trivial world of cancelled TV characters.

"Re-imagining", they call it. "un-imagining" is more accurate. To take what once was and twist it into what never was intended. So that a television show based on hope, spiritual faith, and family is unimagined and regurgitated as a show of despair, sexual violence and family dysfunction. To better reflect the times of ambiguous morality in which we live, one would assume. A show in which the aliens (Cylons) are justified in their desire to destroy our civilisation. One would assume. Indeed, let us not say who are the good guys and who are the bad. That is being "judgemental". And that kind of (simplistic) thinking went out with Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan and Katharine Hepburn and John Wayne and, well the original Battlestar Galactica.

In the bleak and miserable, "re-imagined" world of Battlestar Galactica, things are never that simple. Maybe the Cylons are not evil and alien but in fact enlightened and evolved? Let us not judge them so harshly. Maybe it is they who deserve to live and Adama, and his human ilk who deserves to die? And what a way to go! For the re- imagined terrorists (Cylons) are not mechanical robots void of soul, of sexuality, but rather humanoid six-foot-tall former lingerie models who f**k you to death. (Poor old Starbuck, you were imagined too early. Think of the fun you could have had `fighting' with these thong-clad aliens! In the spirit of such soft-core sci-fi porn I think a more re-imaginative title would have been F**cked by A Cylon. (Apologies to Touched by An Angel.)

One thing is certain. In the new un-imagined, re-imagined world of Battlestar Galactica everything is female driven. The male characters, from Adama on down, are confused, weak, and wracked with indecision while the female characters are decisive, bold, angry as hell, puffing cigars (gasp) and not about to take it any more.

One can quickly surmise what a problem the original Starbuck created for the re-imaginators. Starbuck was all charm and humour and flirting without an angry bone in his womanising body. Yes, he was definitely `female driven', but not in the politically correct ways of Re-imagined Television. What to do, wondered the Re-imaginators? Keep him as he was, with a twinkle in his eye, a stogie in his mouth, a girl in every galaxy? This could not be. He would stick out like, well like a jock strap in a drawer of thongs. Starbuck refused to be re-imagined. It became the Great Dilemma. How to have your Starbuck and delete him too?

The best minds in the world of un-imagination doubled their intake of Double Soy Lattes as they gathered in their smoke-free offices to curse the day this chauvinistic Viper Pilot was allowed to be. But never under estimate the power of the un-imaginative mind when it encounters an obstacle (character) it subconsciously loathes. "Re- inspiration" struck. Starbuck would go the way of most men in today's society. Starbuck would become "Stardoe". What the Suits of yesteryear had been incapable of doing to Starbuck 25 years ago was accomplished quicker than you can say orchiectomy. Much quicker. As in, "Frak! Gonads Gone!" And the word went out to all the Suits in all the smoke-free offices throughout the land of Un- imagination, "Starbuck is dead. Long live Stardoe!"

I'm not sure if a cigar in the mouth of Stardoe resonates in the same way it did in the mouth of Starbuck. Perhaps. Perhaps it "resonates" more. Perhaps that's the point. I'm not sure. What I am sure of is this…

Women are from Venus. Men are from Mars. Hamlet does not scan as Hamletta. Nor does Han Solo as Han Sally. Faceman is not the same as Facewoman. Nor does a Stardoe a Starbuck make. Men hand out cigars. Women `hand out' babies. And thus the world, for thousands of years, has gone round.


Whole article here.

Mr. Benedicts' web site here.

Wikipedia article on Dirk Benedict here.

Wikipedia article on Battlestar Galactica here. The real one. Not that abortion from 2004.


Go to Jays' Tee Vee blog main page here.

I Wanna Be A Protestant!





      The following is not about how I came to Christ. It's about an "incident" that pretty much got me to thinking of "getting out" of Catholicism at an early age.

      For info on salvation & certainty in eternity click here (Have a bible handy.). Skip over the first half as it's a satiric look at Harold Camping, Hal Lindsey & other date setters combined with material from the Neon Genesis Evangelion anime series.


                                             I Wanna Be A Protestant!

                                                               by

                                                                  Jay Agan

      Thanksgiving, 1967 & it's off to the grandparents in Elmira, NY. Alright! A solid week of TV shows/cartoons (This is how I really became cognizant of anime!) & scarey movies we couldn't catch in Ohio (Cable TV from New York City! For more on that click here & here.). One thing wrong. An aunt was getting married that week.

      Now what is it good Catholics have at a typical Catholic wedding? High Mass!

      Mass, or Catholic church services, entail a LOT tedious ritual including bell ringing, chanting, praying pre-set prayers aloud, "aerobics" (Kneel, sit, stand, beat your chest, sit, kneel, stand, genuflect, stand, kneel, sit, stand, kneel, cross yourself, sit, stand, kneel, etc.), and a long winded sermon all the kids & at least half  the adults didn't understand. Regular mass took at least more than an hour & high mass up to two. The spiritual effect on a thirteen year old? ZERO!

       This, coupled with a wedding, put most kids into a catatonic stupor. At least we got to unwind at the wedding reception.

Yes .... the resemblance is ..... uncanny.

       Next day, Thanksgiving. What do good Catholics do on Thanksgiving? Especially if they overslept from yesterdays' festivities thus missing the shorter services? High Mass!

       High Mass..... Twice ..... In as many days. Hhhhhhhnnnnnngh!

      A two day respite then Sunday. What do good Catholics do on Sunday? Especially if it took a while readying for the trip back home thus missing earlier services? High Mass ..... AGAIN!

      This was made doubly miserable by the fact we had an 8+ hour trip back to central Ohio plus a 90 minute + leg to military school for me.

      St. Aloysius Military Academy. Run by the Franciscan order of nuns. Though Vatican II was in effect, you couldn't tell if they knew it or not. V1 from before the word go. I was so looking forward to getting back there ..... NOT!

      It was soon after I resolved to become a Protestant. Whatever that was .....

                                      Article copyright © 11-8-2011 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 & backlink.

Starship Operators: One of the Better Anime Space Operas

Sinon Kouzuki leads the crew on a wild ride in
Starship Operators. Credit: J. C. Staff

                      Starship Operators: One of the Better Anime Space Operas

                                                               by

                                                                   Jay Agan

      For the 73rd graduating class of the Kibi Defense University on the flagship Amaterasu, there is no ceremony or diploma. No honors or comissions. No careers, nor for that matter, a home to go back to. What they have:

      Seems while out on a training/shakedown cruise, the planetary nation of Kibi was sucker punched by the Henrietta Planetary Alliance & the peace inclined government folded like a wet towel. With the regular crew jumping ship without the cadets the "Class of 73" has only a mission to look forward to: Carry on the fight!

      This plot has been done in sci-fi before, but it comes with some interesting twists.

1.    As they need financing/support/supply they can't just go off privateering. They get it in an exchange deal with the Galaxy Network, a Hollywood based transgalactic TV net looking for a reality show. With correspondent Dita Markov & anti-grav cameras in tow, it's off to the war!

2.    No giant robots!

3.    Let's see. A ship named Amaterasu (The founding goddess of Japan.), the planet Kibi (A kingdom of 4th century Japan.), a neutral planet Shu (A province of China with a long history.), enemy ships named after battles involving east vs west some from the Second World War ..... I wonder what that's about.

4.    No giant robots!

5.    "Realism." Battles in space are at extreme distances with the enemy not seen with the naked eye. Cost/damage factored in. The ships don't "fly" in airless space so no banking, "soaring", etc.

6.    In case I didn't mention it before, NO GIANT ROBOTS!

      Through various strategies thought up by XO Sinon Kouzuki (The tactical brains of the outfit.) they prevail. In one ingenious ploy, using the ships' gravity generating system, the ship is "converted" in effect, to a highly maneuverable/fast swiveling "gun turret", taking out a multiple enemy (Brings The Last Starfighters' "death blossom" to mind.).

      Alas, toward the end, things get out of hand when the main Earth Federation/UN intervenes to take advantage of the situation in a power grab (Also violently shutting down Galaxy Network/the reality show & broadcasting BS propaganda. Sound familiar?), forcing the cadets to abandon ship in a bittersweet, open ended conclusion in episode 12.

      I recommend Starship Operators. It is one of the more intelligent/realistic of the sci-fi anime out there.

                                    Article copyright © 5-12-2011 Jay Agan

Interesting website on realism & space travel/sci-fi here. Be sure to see the Common Misconceptions section.

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 may be copied in whole or in part. Please cite proper credit & backlink.


      

Can Someone Tell Me What's Going On?

      When I started this blog I was hoping for a lot of hits as anyone would. It started slow & things began to "pick up" in February (380 hits.). Some were starting to notice. March started out at the same rate until Japans' crisis took precedence & peoples' attention diverted to that. When after it took a back seat to the fracas in Libya, the blogs' hit rate started to climb again though I doubted the last week and a half of March would get past 250 let alone the 380 of February.

      Then a strange thing happened & is still going on. I get home from work in the AM on the 28th of March & go online to check my stats. At the right end of the chart I see this flurry of activity. 43 hits for that day! (That was a  lot at that point. In February I got 25 one day & thought that was a big deal at the time.)

      Seems one of my articles got popular. I wrote Call of Cthulhu: One Really Worth Watching back on February 20 over a month ago. I'd like to think it's because it's a great article (Of course it is. I wrote it! My being humble prevents me from telling you how GREAT this GREAT article is. That's me, humble & proud of it!) about a great movie, but as just about all of the hits are coming from Google Image Search, I think it's because a lot of people want to snag that image, a demotivational poster I snagged from elsewhere. I hope some of these folks actually read the article (It's now over 500 hits on it!).
     
      The only connection I can see for such interest is the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society is putting the finishing touches on their latest film The Whisperer In Darkness & taking it to some film fests in Europe, thus the attention. I haven't found anything on a major studio releasing anything Lovecraft related.

      Anyone know what's going on?

You Tube link to Call of Cthulhu trailer here.

You Tube link to The Whisperer In Darkness trailer here.

You Tube link to The Whisperer In Darkness trailer 1 here.

You Tube link to The Whisperer In Darkness trailer 2 here.

Link to H.P. Lovecrafts' Dark Heritage article here.

Go to Main Page here.

Something On a Saturday Afternoon

                                       Something On a Saturday Afternoon

                                                                by

                                                                    Jay Agan

      As stated in previous articles, our local TV stations didn't have horror/sci-fi flicks on in the afternoons. This was something reserved for after 11:30 PM & on weekends at that. I suspect this was because of central Ohio being a conservative area & the stations didn't want to offend "bible belt" sensibilities.

      We kids weren't allowed to stay up past 11 PM so any chance of watching such kool stuff was less than minimal. Other kids were allowed to on weekends & I always felt left out in discussions at school or on the bus. All that great stuff they got to see on Chiller Theater (Ch 10, WBNS) & all I could do was ask annoying questions.

      This was "torture" to me & my only resort was in reading about these great movies that were out of reach. By the late 60s it got so I was very knowlegable of these flicks years before I got to see any of them. Thanks to Famous Monsters of Filmland & other sources, I was the "scarey" movie expert at school.

      One "bright spot" occured in those "wilderness" years on a mid-Saturday afternoon in '63. After a short session of comic book reading (There was no such thing as "graphic novels" or manga back then. I can't use that word. Sounds like some kind of fruit or veg.), I head downstairs to the fridge. I notice younger brother watching something on TV: An "army guy" (Oh boy! A war movie!) letting a babe pass through a roadblock to snap pictures of a devastated town. I sat down for a look-see.

      After a while we're introduced to a couple of scientists growing way oversized fruits & vegs using radioactive substances. It was starting to get interesting.

      The military allows babe reporter & nerd boys to examine the devastation again. When the giant grasshopper came over the wreckage & gizorped one of the whiz kids (Played by Ed Extra.) I was hooked! Hey! Some science fiction! All right!

      It later developes the grasshoppers were the inadvertant result of the plant experiments & the swarm is moving on Chicago. The flick: Beginning of the End.

"Uh, Peggie. Have you ever been inside a Turkish prison? Uh,
..... have you ever been in a crummy movie?" Peter Graves
& Peggie Castle in Beginning of the End. Credit: Republic

     
      It's not a very good film. A Bert I. Gordon hack job from 1957. The story is typical 50s schlock with laughable special effects. The kind of sloppy science fantasy you'd expect to find of that era.

      Yet. To a thrill starved "monster kid" as I was, this was a piece of HEAVEN!

      I didn't feel so left out at school that following Monday.

                                     Article copyright © 3-15-2011 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 Drexel North, A Place On High Street

                                  The Drexel North, A Place On High Street

                                                                by

                                                                    Jay Agan
    
      The Drexel North (Originally the Beechwold Theater then later the Camelot North.) was a "neighborhood" theater (One big screen.) that specialized in "alternative" films. Lesser knowns, foriegn, indies, etc.

      I was somewhat apprehensive in initially attending. The usual crowd was not what one would call normal. Pancake makeup, eyeshadow/lipstick all the colors of the rainbow, spandex stockings, sheer mini-skirts, tight, TIGHT, leather jeans ..... And that was just the guys! OK, I exaggerate. However, they weren't the types you'd find at your local multiplex. In spite of their strange appearance, I've found the crowds at the Drexel North to be the most well behaved of audiences I've ever encountered. They were there to SEE the movies!

      And such movies. Thanks to the Otani Film Fest I got to take in Seven Samurai & many another Kurosawa flick. Rands' We The Living. Various animation collections. Citizen Kane on the big screen! Even miscelaeneous "B" actioners from other countries. Akira rekindled a more than passing interest in anime.

      I'll always fondly remember the 1990 24 hour Sci-Fi marathon. Couldn't sleep after that one. I was up 36 hours straight!

      Sadly, the Drexel North is now a gym, its operations having been moved to Grandview. Studio 35 (On Indianola avenue.) seems to have taken its place in function in the area. Maybe I should check that one out.

                                  Article copyright © 3-8-2011 Jay Agan

This article may be copied in whole or in part. Please be sure to cite proper credit & backlink.

Long Ago, Not So Far Away

                                                         
                                                        Long Ago, Not So Far Away

                                                                            by

                                                                               Jay Agan
    
     Returning to Ohio from Jersey back in '88, I hoped to gain employment soon after arrival. Turned out no & I worked through temp agencies for awhile & not in my chosen field as a data systems operator. Three of these brief temp jobs were to exclusively help small businesses sort out their files.

     It's amazing, the number of people out there who can't alphabetize. You'd think with that song being so prevalent (You know. The one that rhymes with Twinkle Twinkle Little Star?), most everyone could. Not so.

     A lot of folks can alphabetize only so far. Subsequent letters after the first in a name seem to confuse them. It's reasonable to think they could figure out Wallace comes before Ward or Lowe after Lawrence but they can't. So they throw all the Ws together, Ls in one place, etc. Makes for quite a mess. Shoot. A lot of 'em can't even spell their own names.

     There are other protocols for alphabetizing. If a book/album/movie title has A or The as the first word, you drop it & go the next. Example: The Brain From Planet Arous would be shelved right under B. A Man Called Horse would under M. Some folks don't get that (I just noticed. Neither does the Blogger labels indexer!).

     One mid 90s winter day, I was wandering around the Sawmill Rd. Media Play north of the I270 outerbelt, when I ran afoul of a Trek weenie who worked there. We're talking science fiction when, out of the blue, he decides to try out his mastery of Klingon on me. Out of disgust, I mention how some folks have too much time on their hands.

     He gets this frown on his face & decides not to talk to me anymore (Yay!), when a lady walks up to him with a question.

     "Young man, I seem to be having trouble finding A View To A Kill. Could you show me where it is?"

     I'll give Trek boy some credit. He did leap to his job. Unfortunately it was to the A section.
After a few seconds, I suggested they go to where the V titles were shelved. SHE found it rather quickly.

     Trek weenies .....

                                                       Article copyright © Jay Agan

Strange Young Lady, Strange Little Movie

                                           Strange Young Lady, Strange Little Movie

                                                                           by

                                                                              Jay Agan

      I was cashiering at an unmentionable, cut rate, regional, merchandising, chainstore where I met an unusual co-worker. I noticed she would dye her hair (Death black, Chernobyl red, Jolly Ollie orange.) at regular intervals. Didn't think much of it at first though it certainly got the attention.

      A couple months into her employment, I found, through a chance discussion about movies, that she liked anime. (That certainly explained the interesting hair colorations.) This rekindled an old interest I had in the genre. By that time I had been collecting movies for a couple years & was seeking to expand in another direction. Anime seemed a colorful way of doing so & I haven't looked back scince.

      It wasn't only anime she was into, but all things Japanese. And she seemed such an intelligent person. She could speak German, & her Japanese was quite good. Not your typical anime geek, otaku, or Japanophile or whatever it was she considered herself. She told me she had Japanese ancestry (Which I found VERY hard to believe.) A chance meeting with her dad in the checkout line revealed she was about as Japanese as Irish stew.

      Getting to know her better as time went on, I would kid her about her interest in "them there furrin' cartoons". At times she would act rather sensitive about it. I'd say "cartoons", she'd say "anime" (Sometimes "ANIME ---- it!"). I'd say "comic books", she'd say "manga". She'd say "Banzai!", I'd say "John Wayne". You get the idea.

      We had this informal, on again/off again, semi-friendly feud for quite some time. I rather enjoyed it though she wasn't always receptive &, at times, rather peeved.

      One day. She did something ..... awful.

      Knowing I was into sci-fi & horror, she suggested I check out a certain Japanese made horror film. As it was a recently made flick, I was somewhat reluctant. I have an aversion to "modern" horror as they go for the gore, leaving plot & story behind. Most of my flicks were made before 1980 as I'm pretty much "old school" when it comes to horror (Price, Lugosi, Karloff, etc.)

      Knowing the Japanese do things differently, (As one fellow stated on the Universal Monster Army message board: "The Japanese are 30% weirder than the west. And I mean that in a good way."), I bought the flick cold, sight unseen. Something I rarely do. Oh yes. Name of the film: Audition.

      This is not a review, but I will say this film is not so much a horror film as it is a horror. The first 3/4 is a slow building psycho-drama. the last 1/4 ..... excriutiating. Agonisingly, tooth watering, ..... excriutiatingly PAINFUL to view.

      I'm there ..... watching. Hands gripping armrests, fingers convulsingly impressing prints into the wood. Sometimes, sitting sideways, hand over one eye. No screaming or yelling. Only little mewling squeals & gurgles welling up from the bottom of my throat, sometimes spasming into "Oh ..... my .....GOD!". My teeth & jaws hurt so much from all that gnashing & clenching.

      I know the guys' intentions were less than honorable, but ..... did he really deserve ..... that? I will never listen to the prelude of Bizets' Carmen the same way again. If you want to find out what happens in this movie, by all means, see it for yourself. Better yet, by all means, DON'T!

      For days (Weeks!) after, my workplace "friend" would taunt me with that weird little sound the movies' psycho-babe made while manipulating acupuncture needles:

      "Deeki deeki deekideeeee!" (Subtitles said, "deeper! deeper!)

      My usual procedure with flicks I'm less than satisfied with is to either give them away (I'd rather a movie is appreciated elswhere, than sit on a thrift store shelf.), or in this case, throw it out (Save the cases when you do that. They come in handy if you're a collecter.). As I was about to toss it, a thought occured to me (Yes, it does hurt when that happens!). I'll give it to a close friend.

      This friend is an interesting guy: Been in the service over twenty years. Well read/educated, PHD in history. Works for the government (So he's not ALL good, what the hey.). Part time college professor. Traveled the world, "Been there, done that." (At least twice.) Seen some combat (Doesn't care to talk about it.) The closest I've seen to a "Renaissance Man".

      So it was with some fascination/amazement/amusement I saw this guy get unhinged over a viewing of The Silence of the Lambs some years before.

      "Jay? ..... Jay! What's happening next!? What now!?"

      Gave him a sing songy, "not gonna tell ya, har har har!"

      "C'mon Jay!"

      "No way! Snicker, chortle!"

      "Agan ----it!"

      "Hee hee hee hee!" So it went. At times, my mind is not well.

      On one of his travels through, I dropped a bag of movies on him, making it a point to see this particular flick.

      Two weeks later, he calls me up for the express purpose of telling me what a vile piece of crud I am. Seems he made the mistake of watching it with his newly married wife. Now she has more doubts about me than before. (Due to the machinations of aforesaid merchandising chain, I missed their wedding & never met her. What George told her about me must have been interesting enough. Audition did not help.)

      Later, he got the urge to "share the love" & lent the disc to someone at his place of work. Now he's looked askance of by a couple other people.

      The world can be a brighter, better place if even only a few of us "pass it forward". I know it has for several other folks. All thanks is due to a rather strange young lady I met at work.

      You didn't think I was gonna blame myself ..... did you?

                                                       Article copyright © Jay Agan

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.

Not So HOTD



Photo Credit: Madhouse



                                                                Not So HOTD

                                                                            by

                                                                              Jay Agan

     I've come to dislike the zombie genre. Zombies are "easy", making the movies are"easy", & look it. These flicks get a lot of hype & raves but I don't see much in this genre seemingly starving for a gimmick. The only ones I have in my collection are the original '68 Night of the Living Dead & Return of the Living Dead (A funny, yet very disturbing film. And I'm not referring to Linnea Quigley!)

     It was with some trepidation I took a look at High School of the Dead (Gakuen Mokushiroku or Apocalypse Academy. Produced by Madhouse. Directed by Tetsuro Araki.) Was'nt as bad as I thought though not as good as I'd have liked. As this show is an anime, suspension of disbelief is doubly required, which helped a lot.

     Starts off well enough. First three eps cover the unexplained breakout of the plague & its seemingly instantaneous escalation. The protagonists (angsty guy, his spear/staff wielding occasional girlfriend, dark haired kendo chick (my favorite), military nerd, self proclaimed girl genius, &.....Nurse Bubblehead (not my favorite). ), meet up & bust out of the school.

     Fourth ep is the "budget" chapter. Lotsa rehash & repeat of earlier scenes. Kind of reminiscent of those movie serials from the 40s.

     5th - 7th. It gets dumb. The good guys hole up in Nurse Bubbleheads' apartment (With a full military Humvee parked outside!) & "fortuitous" things happen. Seems the vacant ones' room mate is a special ops type (Who is elsewhere, clearing airport runways as a sniper.) with an easily broken into gunsafe full of goodies. The girls start acting drugged/drunk & compare breast sizes in the bath. Two try coming on to the angsty guy. Kendo chick parades around the kitchen in apron & thong. The excuse being they had to wash their clothes. All that blood.

     As if there weren't enough "fanservice" already. I haven't seen this many bums 'n boobs scince I attended a Three Stooges film fest in the early 90s. It goes back to a "reasonable" (For the series.) level after. This is partially redeemed with the rescue of a little girl & a dog.

     In ep 8, things getting precarious, the band leaves the apartment & fall in with a large group occupying a huge estate, by becoming trapped by a crowd of the undead against a titanium wire fence strung accross a street. Tense moments as the group takes out the the closing horde one by one while seemingly unable to figure out they can easily bend down & step through the fence. In another of those cartoon non-coincidences, their rescuers are led by the group genius' mom.

     Ep 9 & 10. It's not clear how Mr. & Ms. Genius aquired their wealth but it seems "counter cultural" activities & violence may have been involved. Here, the kids rest up & assert their rights to the weapons they "borrowed" earlier when some of the henchmen try to appropriate them (Mr. Genius backs the kids' play.).

     Some of the citizenry squatting on the estate, are in "denial" & want to get back to "democracy" as in right now. Their fantasies are shattered in eps 11& 12: The U.S. president launches nukes, Russia replies in kind. As the worlds militaries are too far gone, few nukes leave their silos thus WWlll is sparse. One does an EMP burst over Japan & communications go dead.

     The zombie horde breaks through the estate gate & the final battle is on. The protagonists make their escape. After the closing credits, our group is last seen crossing a bridge on foot in the hopes of finding family members. T.S. Elliots' quote from The Hollow Men appears: "This is how the world ends. Not with a bang, but a wimper." So does the series.

     I've left quite a bit out of this summary. A vile, manipulative, teacher (Who must have gotten a lot more "face time" in the manga series.). Angsto gets separated from the group twice, with a "girl of his choice". The series also depicts civil unrest/social collapse, breakdown of authority, confrontations with demented survivors, etc. One very brief but disturbing scene in ep 1 has a friend turning on another. Both "get theirs".

     I am less than happy with this series, but it does come accross as "different" from the Romero school. Perhaps it's because the show is an anime that I get that "feel". I doubt I'll buy it but I'd keep it if it was given to me (No. That's not a hint.) If it weren't for all that excessive (& exagerated!) T & A.....

                                                       Article copyright © Jay Agan

Go to Main Page.

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.

A Twilight Zone Moment

Photo credit: Cayuga Prod., CBS Television

                                

A Twilight Zone Moment
                                                                 
by
                                                                 
Jay Agan

    
Twilight Zone. Man, who can forget that classic tv show. Rod Serling scared the bejabbers out of millions of kids & warped their little minds forever. Bent mine for sure ... And someone elses'.

"It'll scare you & you'll have nightmares." Mom was rather adamant about stuff like this. We weren't allowed to watch TZ, Outer Limits, or any other cool stuff. According to her, Lassie was the stuff of darkness. I think she was being overly protective.

"Don't play with that beach ball. You'll put your eye out!" You get the idea.

Maybe it was a lapse in judgement. Maybe at Dad's urging, Halloween coming up, or some kind of cosmic disconnect. But one Friday in October of 63, we got to see The Twilight Zone. Gilligans' Island (Good grief!) ended & Zone started up. Cool!

"Nightmare at 20,000 Feet", starring some obscure scene chewer who was to become a lot more familiar a few years later. (We all love ya, Bill!)

"Twas a dark & stormy night, etc." Twin engine Convair plowing through the gloom. Dramatic buildup as the poor slob becomes cognizant of the fuzzy gremlin tampering with the port engine, no one believing him. We kids, glued to the tube, not once taking our eyes off the screen. Watching.....watching.

I think we held up pretty good. That is, until.....

Tension at its peak. Window curtains closed. Shatners' character, fresh out of the loony bin, trying in vain to convince himself that what he's seeing couldn't possibly be real. There's no plushy critter out on the wing messing with the engine. No demon bringing passengers & crew to their doom. An illusion, an hallucination. That's what the docs back at the booby hatch would say.

Finally, he can't take it any longer. Hands slowly reach for the curtains & he whips them open.

And peering ... right back in at him ... it's ... "Mr. Weird"!

A very high pitched keening sound came from behind, then a thump! splat!, vibrations ran through the floor & up my back.

I turned to the left, finding Mom trying to peel youngest brother off the wall. She almost needed a spatula! He wasn't going to let some formidable barrier get in the way of getting away! If this was a 'toon, he would have left a kid shaped hole.

Fast forward. Christmas of 95. We draw names out of a hat to economize on gifts. I drew youngest brothers' & get him a couple of vhs tapes. Zone episodes. One of which was his "favorite".

He looks at them. Then at me with that toothy smile of his:

"Gee ... thanks ... PRICK!"


Article copyright © Jay Agan


Go to Main Page.

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.

Anime Series I Don't Have Anymore & Why

                                Anime Series I Don't Have Anymore & Why: Mini Reviews
  
                                                                           by
         
                                                                             Jay Agan

  1. Hellsing- I liked the Anglican vs Catholic angle but it couldn't carry what was a rather disjointed series. Seems they wanted to cram as many story arcs as they could to satisfy as many fans of the manga as possible. The best one was Vicky Seras getting used to her new life or rather death (Should have kept the first disc.). After that it's just lame. Heard the OVA to be better.

   "What a beutiful night to go out for a bite to drink!"

  2.  Irresponsible Captain Tylor- What a .......goofball! A slacker with a way past irritating manner/outlook joins the military for what he figures to be an easy way through life. Instead of reality slapping him down, he dumps on reality. I know, it's supposed to be a comedy, but this character really set my teeth on edge. Beetle Bailey is a paragon of reserve & industriousness compared to this guy. I gave this one to someone who is sorta/kinda like this character. He even skipped basic training! A story in & of itself.

   "Pecko! Pecko!"

  3. Gunslinger Girl- What started to look like an interesting series soon falls into repetition with similar characters with different firearms doing pretty much the same story arc over & over: Traumatized lolitas with personal issues are cybernetically altered as enforcer/asassins & paired with older male counterparts (What's up with that?). Upbeat/downbeat ending of the series doesn't help.

   Bang! Bang! You're bored.

  4. Planetes- Several story arcs involving a group of specialists who clear orbiting space junk to make travel safer. A more realistic space series that I liked but not loved. Would have kept it if it hadn't taken a tacked on, hokey, philisophical stance the last three episodes.

   "Everything's connected!" Yeah. I guess so (yawn).

  5. Trigun- Oh geez! Capt. Tyler with guns.

   Vash the Stampede has a sixty billion double dollar reward out on him as he's reputed to leave untold high levels of death & destruction in his wake. I think it's because he's a whackjob so irritating, hardly anyone can stand to be around him. This character, to me is a downer & a half. It's pretty bad if the main reason to watch a series is to spot the random cat. I couldn't finish this & gave it to the same guy who got the Tyler series.

    "LOVE!.....AND!.....PEACE!" Oh go away, could you? Fast? Please?

                                                Article copyright © Jay Agan

Go to MAIN PAGE.

Just Who IS This Guy? The Head Trip of Haruhi Suzumiya Pt. 3

Credit: Kyoto Animation

                                                      

                                               Just Who IS This Guy?

            
                                     The Head Trip of Haruhi Suzumiya Pt. 3

                                                                    by
         
                                                                       Jay Agan

     In this third & last installment I'll go into what I think is the biggest head whack of all in The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. No it's not Endless Eight. While a bold experiment, it fell rather flat with the fans in Japan (So much so, Aya Hirano & the studio made a public apology.). A lot of U.S. fans weren't too happy with it either. Eight eps (Weeks?) of the "same" thing? Could have been worse. Be glad it wasn't Endless EighTEEN! Maybe Kyoto Animation could come up with a "third" season. Take out 5 or 6 of Endless Eight, replacing them with eps from an untouched story arc(s) from the light novels.

    For me, the biggest trip/mystery of the series is that Kyon person.

    Who IS this guy? Kyon (A nickname given him by an unseen grandparent.) isn't even his real name. No older relations are ever seen (Adults being peripheral, at best, in this series.). His little sister doesn't have a name at all (Every one else refers to her as "little sister". Even in the closing credits.)

    Though not the title character, he is the main one. As "narrator", everything is seen from his POV, filling in & keeping things rolling.

    You're not sure at times if he's narrating, thinking, talking to someone, or just mumbling/whining to himself. These things run/meld into each other. It always takes me aback when another character unexpectedly replies. (Itsuke claims an inability to read minds & it's not certain Haruhi can either. At times they "respond" when it seems Kyon wasn't talking to anyone at all.)

    Sometimes he acts surprised when something strange happens. Other times not. Does he know more than what he lets on? Is he really the hapless mortal he's playing?

    In spite of his "ordinaryness", he figures greatly in Haruhis' scheme of things. He did, after all, get the ball rolling (ep 1) when he suggested she (who must be obeyed) be more of a mover & shaker in life. (Coming from a guy who wanted to coast & slide through life, don't you find that a bit.....odd?) For some reason she has "chosen" him & her jealousy is, at times, evident.

    Kyon is the only one who stands up to Haruhi. The others are "forced" to go along as they're observers for their respective factions (Could they actually be there to observe Kyon & not Haruhi?). In spite of Haruhis' self centered obnoxiousness, she actually listens to him & takes  his  advice.....sometimes.

    I wonder about this guy. Is he more of a force in the proceedings than we're led to believe? (Here's a guy who had all given up on anything wondrous happening in life, reduced to a jaded cynic (ep 1), only to have "IT!" dropped right in his lap.) Could he be the one making things happen & not Haruhi? Is this all nothing more than some fantastic form of (sub)concious wish fullfilment on his part?

    Maybe I'm thinking too much. When it comes down to it, it' only a "cartoon", right, right?

Article copyright © 10-22-10 Jay Agan

The Head Trip of Haruhi Suzumiya Pt. 2

The Head Trip of Haruhi Suzumiya Pt 1

Go to MAIN PAGE.

                                                   
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.