Climate

Two people just happen to be standing in a lobby waiting for the same elevator. After a few uncomfortable minutes of trying to avoid the other’s eyes, accidental eye contact occurs and the first one blurts out “ah… hi!” Great, now he’s done it, now person two feels as if he is required to say something too, but it can’t just be the same “hi”, no, he needs to say something a little more, you know, to show that he’s not a jerk. “What’s up” says person two, fearing that person one will take it as a question and not simply a statement requiring absolutely no reply. “Um, not a lot… just waiting for my ride” says person one, motioning to the elevator that seems to be taking forever, and smiling, hoping person two finds his retarded statement to be at least a little witty. “yeah, tell me about it” replies person two smirking, and then realizing that he has again posed a rhetorical question that may very well be answered. Another silence. Not a totally uncomfortable silence, in fact it feels much better than the awkward conversational small talk. “Some weather we’re having huh?” says person one. “hmpf” grunts person two, trying to kill this one before it turns ugly again. “Have you ever heard of it being 60, then snowing, then being 80 and then 50 and rain? Crazy huh?” This guy just won’t give up… what’s the deal? Ding! Finally, the elevator of salvation. Both step on board. Person two punches 64. “Floor?” he says, not wanting to start another uncomfortable situation. “65” replies person one, “64 huh? You must work in accounting”

It seems as if there are only really two types of people in this world. Well, perhaps three. Person ones, person twos, and person three who would tell person one to shut up. One of my favorite past times is to sit in the mall or to sit on a bench downtown and watch people. I don’t know if people watching is really considered a serious hobby, but it is so much fun and so interesting. Watching the interaction between perfect strangers and seeking to uncover their hidden agendas or motivations is my favorite pastime. Try it some time, when you are waiting for someone or simply looking for a way to pass the time, watch people. In seeing them you will begin to see yourself. Anyhow, just another random thought of my day.

Ramblings

One of the first songs that Dude 222 ever recorded was called Ramblings. The lyrics went something like, “there is nothing wrong with me, except I can’t hear, feel, or see. There is nothing wrong with you, except that you’re cold and your face is blue.” But is this truly ramblings, or does it have some deep meaning? D222 has always been one of my favorite bands and their lyrics have often made me wonder if some modern art does actually have subliminal significance. As I listen to a lot of music I first can’t figure out what the guy is saying, then, when I have read the lyric sheet, I can’t figure out what the words mean. Like the lyrics from the Stone by Dave Matthews… “Unholy day, If I leave now I might get away, This weighs on me, As heavy as stone and as blue as I go” Sounds good, but what in the world is he talking about. “As blue as I go”? I hope this doesn’t mean something obvious that I just don’t get. I think a lot of lyrics are like this. The “feel” of the song has more bearing than the actual lyrical content. Nevertheless, check out D222’s newest album, The Time Was Now (2004) and see what the Dude has to offer | Dude 222

Super Sleuth

I have been getting a lot of questions recently about the legendary Super Sleuth. Questions like, "were you really the Sleuth?" and "is the Sleuth really that cool in person?" and "who the heck are you talking about you raving lunatic?!?" Needless to say, some explanation is needed. Many of you will remember the exploits of the Sleuth in such mysteries as The Super Sleuth and the Freak and The Super Sleuth and the Freak (part 2). The Sleuth was more than just a comic book hero who had mechanical arms, he was the mold by which the whole orange rots.
When the first Super Sleuth comic was released back in 1997, many critics said that it was too much like the Stock Bond comics to be truly considered "original" or "even remotely funny", yet despite all the scrutiny of the press, the comics designer (me) continued his pursuit of the perfect comic-book hero. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of creating a comic-book character, for me, is that I had never read a comic book before. This meant that the only knowledge of comics that I had was gained through my conversations with the creator of the comic, Stock Bond. Thus, similarities between Stock Bond and the Super Sleuth inadvertently arose. For example: Stock has a mechanical arm, Super Sleuth has mechanical arms and legs (thanks to the Freak). Stock Bond is unnecessarily violent as is the Sleuth. And they both have British accents. Check out the re-release of the Super Sleuth comics, coming soon!

State Props II

What film event could possibly be big enough to bring together Bennie Sigel, N.O.R.E, Damon Dash, Cam’ron, the ODB, Kanye West, M.O.P, Freeway, Bernard Hopkins, Winky Wright, Oschino, Omillio Sparks, Young Gunz, Loon, Juelz Santana and Jimmy Jones… I don’t know, and I don’t think I have ever heard of any of these people (except ODB). Well, supposedly the only thing that could bring them all together is a Damon Dash film (yet another name I have never heard). So here’s how this one goes down.

State Property 2 (originally called, Other Boyz in another Hood) features Theo from the Cosby Show as a crime lord trying to rule his empire from the inside of a prison cell. He realizes that he had it so much better living with Pop (Cliff) and Mother (Claire) in the burbs and so enlists the help of his good friend Jazz (played by Old Dirty) to carry out his hair-brained scheme (hatched by sister Roody, played by that latino lady). The scheme lands all his “broz” in the slammer and he finds himself in the witness protection program (posing as the half-brother of the Young Gunz) and living in a trailer park in Detroit (special guest appearance by Eminem, played by Winky Wright).

Sounds like a real winner to me.

My Rating: 4/10 – The soundtrack won’t even be good.

Another Blog

You know how people say that every day you learn something new? Well, I don’t know if it’s really true, I think sometimes it hold true for some people, nevertheless I did learn something new today. I learned that there are actually other Blogs out there, other than my own, that are worth reading.

Today I stumbled upon the Blog of Nathan Alberson (and some others) and it is really good. In fact it is so good that I am devoting an entire post simply to them. And, you are reading that post. Instead of simply reading, you should click here and check out their blog for yourself.

My rating: I don’t think I have ever sat down and rated a blog (heck, they also say there’s a first time for everything! – they are so smart). 8 stars.

Animation

It seems as if every year we get a slew of animated that should never have been made. Shrek, the biggest animated film of 2002 was retarded and simply overshadowed the far superior Monsters Inc. So what will be the big animated hit of this summer and will it be worth seeing? We’ve got a couple of lousy looking films in the runnings.

First: Cars – Opens June 9th. I really don’t know what to think of this one. The preview makes me think of Thomas the Tank Engine (actually I don’t even really know anything about Thomas, but I think he is a train with a face). This really doesn’t appeal to me, but, being from Pixar this is sure to be well made, funny, and family friendly (which all animated films should be, but are not as we have found with the Shrek films).

My Rating: 7/10 – This might be higher if they were not advertising for the kids of Nascar fans.

Second: Chicken Little – Another Disney movie not-worth-watching. This may have its funny moments, but for the most part it is a movie about a queer little chicken who whimpers and accidentally saves the world… oh yeah, and he also has annoying side kicks.

My Rating: 3/10 – This one only gets points for having R.E.M. in the preview (despite being cliché).

Third: Madagascar - May 27th – Has there ever been a funny animated movie from Dreamworks? Well, lets see… Shrek - funny but crude – Shrek 2 – not very funny, more crude – Shark Tale – pardon my French, but…gay. Could this movie be good…well if you base that on the previews… possibly, but we all can imagine the stupidity that will ensue when this movie actually hits the big screen. Yet another Dreamworks animated film to avoid.

My Rating 3/10 – No good.

And Finally: Wallace and Gromit – Finally these two are making it to the big screen. But will this be a masterpiece like their shorts were? First we should think about the quality of the W&G short films. The first one, A Grand Day Out, featured not-so-splendid claymation, but incredibly hilarious plot, dialog, and visuals. Next came The Wrong Trousers, in my opinion the best of the short films. Great animation, great plot, great character development, great everything. A Close Shave was also funny but lacked the charm of the first two. We can also look at the film Chicken Run to get an idea of what Nick Parks motion pictures are like. I don’t think we will find the Wallace and Gromit motion picture to be spectacular, but it will no doubt be one of the best animated films of the year.

My Rating: 8/10 – I sure hope I am wrong.

The Year of the Yao

Okay, so I must admit, when I saw the title for this one I thought it was gonna be a kung-fu flic (as far as I know it still could turn out to be just that). Here is what I have found out about this one so far: "We are going to take you on a journey of adventure, mystery and romance" says Lextor Hamilton of Fine Line Features. "I don't have any idea what he was talking about" says Yao, assisted by translator Jimmy Ho "I thought it was a kung-fu flic."

As everyone who follows Pro basketball should know, Yao Ming is the 7'5" superstar from China. I however do not follow Pro b-ball (or Kobe-ball as I like to call it) so I had to ask Taylor who he was. Supposedly he started out in China as a 3'7" baby, and has grown into his shoes to become one of the greatest chinese basketball players playing pro ball in america currently.


Some may not like Yao, I am not really sure why they would not, and I am not saying that I don't... why would you think that I was saying that I don't like him? What kind of person do you think I am? I don't understand why you can't simply let me tell you what's on my mind without interupting me and calling me racist or something. Thanks a lot... all I was gonna say is that Yao is a cool guy...

My Rating: 6.5/10 - I don't know, maybe it will have kung-fu!