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Tuesday, December 29th, 2009
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thehefner
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So this was to be a post about the "Hal Jordan tries to fix Harvey Dent" issue of THE SPECTRE, but that's gonna require a lot more essay writing than is possible right now. I'm gonna actually have to bring in a special guest commentator (i.e. my loyal Henchgirl) to parse out that particularly frustrating story.
So instead, let's tie in the new and old years with this Two-Face Tuesday two-parter on a guy named Paul Sloane... AKA Two-Face.
"A-bwUUUHHH?!?!?!" I hear you gasp?
Actually, Sloane is one of five different Golden Age iterations of Two-Face. ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) superfan1 was kind enough to post the original Paul Sloane story at my request a couple weeks back, along with another non-Harvey-Dent Two-Face. But Sloane is notable in that he's the only other Two-Face to actually return to modern continuity!
In Part 1, I present excerpts DETECTIVE #580 an #581, by Mike W. Barr (who writes one of the corniest Two-Faces ever, full of terrible, smackable puns) with art by Jim Baikie.
( The return of Paul Sloane: the OTHER Two-Face )
The idea of a new Two-Face is an intriguing prospect that should have been utilized while Harvey was "healed" in the years between HUSH and FACE THE FACE. A new Two-Face shouldn't be a carbon copy of the original, but should rather be used to explore themes of duality, fate, and justice in ways that Harvey Dent can't (or shouldn't), while Harvey himself could have gone on to have much more interesting character development as a wild card antihero. Not just for Harvey, but for Sloane as well, as you'll see soon enough.
Next week, Part 2: the great Ed Brubaker re-imagines Paul Sloane in 2003, published in a story that nobody noticed because everyone was reading HUSH instead.
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Comments: Add Your Own.
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Monday, December 28th, 2009
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thehefner
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When Henchgirl's in town, I rarely seem to ever do any LJ updating. Part of that is to do with the fact that anytime I feel the urge to rant or rave or ruminate about anything, she's already here to be on the receiving and responding end.
But even if that doesn't get it out of my system, I have a hard time writing in anything less than a vacuum. I need utter privacy and silence to compose my thoughts, otherwise the slightest distraction feels like being ripped awake after almost falling asleep. It's the kind of stress that gives birth to ulcers, leaving me feeling emotionally constipated, so that I'd rather avoid all writing altogether and drown out the nagging creative drive with booze, movies, and comic geekery.
That said, I have been finding myself using Twitter and Facebook more often for short nuggets of Hefwit and Wisdom, but even that's fallen to the wayside this week. Christmas stuff would be reason enough, but to top it off, Henchgirl's mother passed away. Needless to say, creative stuff has been put on the back burner.
But Henchgirl's ready to press onward, so I'm gonna get back on that horse as soon as I can. The 2010 Fringe Tour is starting to shape up, and she's gonna be with me every step of the way. We're already in the Rogue Festival in Fresno, CA, and the Indianapolis Fringe Festival, plus I've applied to Fringes in Minnesota, Cincinnati, and just yesterday, DC.
If we get into CapFringe, the new show will be called THE ROAD TO NOWHERE, rather than THE HEFNER TRAVELOGUES. It was suggested I go all-out and call it THE HEFNER TRAVELOGUES: THE ROAD TO NOWHERE, but there are two problems with this:
1.) I'm not Werner Herzog, and as such can't get away with titles like THE BAD LIEUTENANT: PORT OF CALL NEW ORLEANS
2.) It may confuse a lot of the same people who thought that THE HEFNER MONOLOGUES: HOW HEFNERIAN is the exact same show as the original HEFNER MONOLOGUES. In Orlando, Henchgirl kept hearing, "Oh, I've already seen that show last year!" Over. And. Over. Again. It's a different poster and everything, people, it... dang it, I'm establishing a brand name here, people! Feh, fine, I'm not taking any chances with this new show. At least with DC.
The title itself, THE ROAD TO NOWHERE, came because of one of the route in ROAD TRIP USA, even though I never actually traveled along the real Road to Nowhere. It's not meant to be a Talking Heads reference, although I do plan to use "This Must Be The Place," as my theme. Well, the Miles Fisher cover, anyway. I actually prefer that one. Besides, the Talking Heads' version is too "NPR" at this point.
So yeah, I have high hopes for this new show. I just need to finish writing the damn thing. Soon.
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Comments: Read 11 or Add Your Own.
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Thursday, December 24th, 2009
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ortugatay
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I'm a huge fan of Christmas anyway, but especially now that it means I get to hang out with my cutie pie nephew Aidan, who is three and a half. I love listening to him talk. Some noteworthy quotes include:
"Shhhh! Do you hear that? It's the winds of change!"
"Oh yeah? Well the moon says 'shut up' to your FACE!"
"It's metaphorical!"
Aside from that, he's a truly sweet and bright little kid, and I'm having a lot of fun relaxing in Lynchburg with him and the rest of Hubby's family. Merry Christmas, everybody! I hope all of your holidays are as relaxing and fun as ours have been so far!
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Comments: Read 2 or Add Your Own.
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Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009
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thehefner
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Got it just under the wire! For North America, anyway! Nya-ha!
Y'know, back when I was but a wee fanboy, I actually used to wonder if there was any feasible way the JLA could go up against Two-Face. It seems far-fetched to say the least, but I suppose the Joker's done it several times. So imagine my delight when, a couple months ago, I discovered this story existed!
In this two-part JLA story from 1975, our favorite bisected anti-villain teams up with the JLA to save the world from aliens inhabiting statues of Julius Caesar, Ben Franklin, and Napoleon! No, really.
( God, I love the Silver Age )
Some of the most interesting superhero stories occur when characters are taken out of their usual circles. Like, Ra's al Ghul being revealed as the big bad guy in a LEGION OF SUPERHEROES story! Or EMPEROR JOKER! It's a simple, engaging, and underused trope of comics. They're the kind of stories that require a bit of imagination and originality on the writer's part, which is probably why they're not done that often.
Me, I'd love to see more of characters like Two-Face being used outside of Gotham, pitted against characters who aren't part of the Bat-Family. We already got a taste of the possibilities between this and the TEEN TITANS SPOTLIGHT issue where he faced off against Cyborg. For one thing, I'm hoping that JMS actually does the Two-Face/Hawk&Dove issue of THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD that he talked about back in May 2008. That'd be a great start.
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Comments: Read 12 or Add Your Own.
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thehefner
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For the past week, I've been struggling to get something off my chest. I've been trying to compile examples, to formulate arguments, to try and put this long-standing frustration into words.
I didn't just want a rant. I wanted to write a goddamned manifesto. I wanted to write a rallying cry to artists and lovers of all art--from the highest of brows to the lowest--and issue a final "fuck you" to a widespread type of idiot who's been pissing me off more and more.
Especially within the superhero comic fan communities, oh god, they're the worst. These people seemingly dominate the fandom with their loud-mouth-breathing dismissals and assertions, and are in my opinion one of the worst things about comics as an industry today. And these asshats exist in droves for all forms of storytelling: TV, books (TWILIGHT fans are a perfect example), and most definitely film. Someone called what they do as spreading a "disease of thought," and it's about goddamn time someone called them out on it.
Thankfully for my procrastinating self, someone already did a few days ago, saying everything perfectly.
Joyless Bastard Devin at CHUD posted an editorial entitled "It's Okay to Think About Movies,". I now shall include Devin's introduction, and the actual core rant after that, in bold.
"You're overthinking it."
This is the rallying cry of morons across the internet. Of the mouth breathing folks who cringe at the idea of analysis that goes deeper than 'It rocked!' or 'It sucked!' For some reason they've come out in droves to decry thinking about Avatar, a movie that wears its 'subtext' on its sleeve and all but begs to be deconstructed, but they come out for pretty much every big movie. For these people movies are a narcotic, which I guess is fine - not everybody appreciates film as art the way we do - but they seem to be completely threatened that anyone would bother to take the time to think about (or, heaven forbid, think during) a movie.
Someone has actually summed all of this up much better than I can. I rarely - if ever - do this, but I'm reprinting a comment left on a recent io9 article that I think says just about everything that needs to be said on the subject. Thanks to Roger Ebert's Twitter for pointing me to a blog called Racialicious that initially pulled the comment out of the morass. The article at io9 was Annalee Newitz' absolutely excellent examination of white man's guilt/subconscious racism in Avatar ("When Will White People Stop Making Movies Like AVATAR?"); that kind of article will always get the most 'You're overthinking it' responses because not only is it about a blockbuster, it's about race in a blockbuster. The 'overthinkers' really hate it when people consider race, gender or class when discussing a film, and they'll bend over backwards to ignore any racism or sexism in a movie.
One thing this commenter didn't touch on: analyzing a movie is fun. I really have fun doing it. I like talking with friends about the meanings of things in films, books and other art. It's like a puzzle, and it's intriguing to work a movie over in my mind and ferret out the small bits that - consciously or unconsciously - the author left in there. It's fun to analyze works in the context of the time when they are created as well as in the context of the present moment; art is timeless and can say things about the world we live in even if it was created decades or centuries ago. I know it sounds crazy, but it's actually fun for me to use my brain.
Anyway, here's commenter Moff laying it all down for you:
Of all the varieties of irritating comment out there, the absolute most annoying has to be “Why can’t you just watch the movie for what it is??? Why can’t you just enjoy it? Why do you have to analyze it???”
If you have posted such a comment, or if you are about to post such a comment, here or anywhere else, let me just advise you: Shut up. Shut the fuck up. Shut your goddamn fucking mouth. SHUT. UP.
First of all, when we analyze art, when we look for deeper meaning in it, we are enjoying it for what it is. Because that is one of the things about art, be it highbrow, lowbrow, mainstream, or avant-garde: Some sort of thought went into its making — even if the thought was, “I’m going to do this as thoughtlessly as possible”! — and as a result, some sort of thought can be gotten from its reception. That is why, among other things, artists (including, for instance, James Cameron) really like to talk about their work.
Now, that doesn’t mean you have to think about a work of art. I don’t know anyone who thinks every work they encounter ought to only be enjoyed through conscious, active analysis — or if I do, they’re pretty annoying themselves. And I know many people who prefer not to think about much of what they consume, and with them I have no argument. I also have no argument with people who disagree with another person’s thoughts about a work of art. That should go without saying. Finally, this should also go without saying, but since it apparently doesn’t: Believe me, the person who is annoying you so much by thinking about the art? They have already considered your revolutionary “just enjoy it” strategy, because it is not actually revolutionary at all. It is the default state for most of humanity.
So when you go out of your way to suggest that people should be thinking less — that not using one’s capacity for reason is an admirable position to take, and one that should be actively advocated — you are not saying anything particularly intelligent. And unless you live on a parallel version of Earth where too many people are thinking too deeply and critically about the world around them and what’s going on in their own heads, you’re not helping anything; on the contrary, you’re acting as an advocate for entropy.
And most annoyingly of all, you’re contributing to the fucking conversation yourselves when you make your stupid, stupid comments. You are basically saying, “I think people shouldn’t think so much and share their thoughts, that’s my thought that I have to share.” If you really think people should just enjoy the movie without thinking about it, then why the fuck did you (1) click on the post in the first place, and (2) bother to leave a comment? If it bugs you so much, GO WATCH A GODDAMN FUNNY CAT VIDEO.
In the original Racialicious blog entry, this has been proposed as "Moff's Law." I second the motion. Much as I would have loved to have had this called "Hefner's Law," at least this way I'll think of Peter Cushing whenever I want to tear these assholes a new them.
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Comments: Read 17 or Add Your Own.
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Sunday, December 20th, 2009
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thehefner
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After years and years of searching and hoping, someone has FINALLY posted the entirety of Derek Jacobi in CYRANO DE BERGERAC (with the translation by Anthony Burgess of A CLOCKWORK ORANGE fame):
This just barely surpasses RICHARD II as my favorite Jacobi performance of all time. The balcony scene never fails to bring tears to my eyes once he gets to, "Oh GOD how I love you!" Furthermore, this is possibly my personal favorite ever production of CYRANO DE BERGERAC, above the Ferrer and Depardieu film versions and the lovely Geriant Wynn Davies stage version here in DC a few years back. Anyone seen the Kevin Klein version with Jennifer Garner?
I'm hoping to talk Henchgirl into cuddling around the laptop to watch this sometime. She fears it'll be too depressing, but I'm like, "No, no, it's a tragedy, granted, but one that sweeps the soul in grand dramatic swashbuckly flair! CYRANO isn't just depressing! It's magnificently depressing!"
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Comments: Read 15 or Add Your Own.
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ortugatay
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Alas, our multiple Christmas party plans were canceled, but I have still had two magnificent snow days so far.
When I was a child, I loved snow days because that meant I got to PLAY and sled and wrestle in and out of my layers and throw snowballs. Now, I love snow days because I get a break from everything. I was supposed to work on Saturday and instead awoke to a phone call telling me not to bother coming in. Instead of working, I got to sleep in and have a beautiful day with Hubby and Oscar the Pug.
We finally got all of our Christmas presents wrapped, munched on holiday treats nonstop, watched a ton of movies, and made a huge heaping pot of buffalo chili. We'll be doing much of the same today, and I'm very content. I can't even remember the last time that we had this much snow.
Plus, I periodically get to play outside whenever Ozzy needs to go out. I have a pink snow shovel, and Hubby and I have had to dig him a trench to walk in because he is literally shorter than the snowpiles in our yard.
Happy Snow Day, everybody! I hope yours is as blissfully quiet and snuggly and sweet as mine has been.
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Comments: Read 2 or Add Your Own.
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Saturday, December 19th, 2009
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thehefner
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( The final photos of this trip )
That wraps up the photos of my travels, but the story is not yet finished. I'm working on a big Monologue post, one which may well prove to be the basis of my next show, exploring the real reasons behind this trip, the goals I made, and what happened upon my return to DC. Hope you dig it.
I'm still trying to figure out what to call the new show. Henchgirl favors THE ROAD TO NOWHERE, but a part of me is considering THE HEFNER TRAVELOGUES.
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Comments: Read 11 or Add Your Own.
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Friday, December 18th, 2009
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Thursday, December 17th, 2009
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ortugatay
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Well folks, I successfully made it through another year of Book BINGO. This past year, I read 48 books set in different states, and I was lucky enough to be selected a prize winner again (I have unusually good luck in drawings!). Here's the master list of what I covered this year, and the last few book reviews will be forthcoming once I get a chance to write them up.
Alabama: Mockingbird, by Charles Shields
Alaska: Into the Wild, by John Krakauer
Arizona: Life is Like a Sailboat, by John Grogan
Arkansas: Manhood for Amateurs, by Michael Chabon
California: Free for All, by Don Borchert
Colorado: The Tie That Binds, by Kent Haruf
Connecticut: Unaccustomed Earth, by Jhumpa Lahiri
Delaware: Alice in the Know, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
District of Columbia: Dangerously Alice, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Florida: Anansi Boys, by Neil Gaiman
Georgia: Gone With the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell
Hawaii: The Year of Magical Thinking, by Joan Didion
Idaho: Housekeeping, by Marilynne Robinson
Illinois: Intensely Alice, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Indiana: A Girl Named Zippy, by Haven Kimmel
Iowa: Dewey, by Vicki Myron
Kansas: In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote
Kentucky: Year of Living Biblically, by A.J. Jacobs
Louisiana: Dead Until Dark, by Charlaine Harris
Maine: 21 Dog Years, by Mike Daisey
Maryland: Three Willows, by Ann Brashares
Massachusetts: The Wordy Shipmates, by Sarah Vowell
Michigan: The Longest Trip Home, by John Grogan
Minnesota: Schulz and Peanuts, by David Michaelis
Mississippi: Club Dead, by Charlaine Harris
Missouri: In Search of Mockingbird, by Loretta Ellsworth
Montana: The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet, by Reif Larsen
Nebraska: Isn’t It Romantic? by Ron Hansen
Nevada: Wishful Drinking, by Carrie Fisher
New Hampshire: The Secret Lives of Great Authors, by Robert Schnakenberg
New Jersey: The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, by E. Lockhart
New Mexico: Half Broke Horses, by Jeannette Walls
New York: Goldengrove, by Francine Prose
North Carolina: Fragile Things, by Neil Gaiman
North Dakota
Ohio: Dramarama, by E. Lockhart
Oklahoma: Take the Cannoli, by Sarah Vowell
Oregon: Twilight Director’s Notebook, by Catherine Hardwicke
Pennsylvania: Sellevision, by Augusten Burroughs
Rhode Island: The Unlikely Disciple, by Kevin Roose
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee: How to Build a House, by Dana Reinhardt
Texas: Living Dead in Dallas, by Charlaine Harris
Utah: Places to Look for a Mother, by Nicole Stansbury
Vermont: My Life in France, by Julia Child
Virginia: Ghosts of Williamsburg, by L.B. Taylor, Jr.
Washington: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
West Virginia: Rocket Boys, by Homer Hickam
Wisconsin: Dairy Queen, by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
Wyoming: The Laramie Project, by Moises Kaufmann
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Comments: Read 3 or Add Your Own.
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tired.
geeky.
FUCK YEAH.
hungry.
accomplished.