Thursday, June 30, 2005
Jackie Chan's Revenge 9:46 AM
And how Buffy helped.
There seems to be a trend emerging from the new crop of cartoons. And it seems to me that it's got to do with Jackie Chan and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. How's that? Lemme walk you through it.
JACKIE CHAN ADVENTURES came out a few years ago and dispite being based on an actor like MISTER T and yet not being voice acted by it's namesake it did well. Really well. So well that when WB decided to have a new BAT MAN cartoon in conjunction with the release of BATMAN BEGINS they used the same production team from JACKIE CHAN.
I'm sure the exectutives at WB are all happy that THE BAT MAN is a big hit. Putting it on the schedule as the lead-in to YU-GI-OH helps, but there's something else, right? Recently Disney begain airing AMERICAN DRAGON JAKE LONG and it has similarities to JACKIE CHAN. Asian American tween fights supernatural evil, in a sort of cross between JACKIE CHAN ADVENTURES and BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER. Then WB's Cartoon Network premires THE LIFE AND TIMES OF JUNIPER LEE which features an Asian American tween who also fights supernatural evil except in this case it's a tween girl with a younger brother in a fictional city of Orchid Bay instead of a tween boy with a younger sister in New York. Yeah, I know I'm spliting hairs here. Still the mark of both Buffy and Jackie are there. Add to this Marathon's MARTIN MYSTERY on Nickelodeon (although it debuted on THE FOX BOX) where we find the production crew from TOTALY SPIES doing a sort of cross between Buffy and MEN IN BLACK. All it's missing is the Asian American.
More thoughts as I get my head together...
There seems to be a trend emerging from the new crop of cartoons. And it seems to me that it's got to do with Jackie Chan and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. How's that? Lemme walk you through it.
JACKIE CHAN ADVENTURES came out a few years ago and dispite being based on an actor like MISTER T and yet not being voice acted by it's namesake it did well. Really well. So well that when WB decided to have a new BAT MAN cartoon in conjunction with the release of BATMAN BEGINS they used the same production team from JACKIE CHAN.
I'm sure the exectutives at WB are all happy that THE BAT MAN is a big hit. Putting it on the schedule as the lead-in to YU-GI-OH helps, but there's something else, right? Recently Disney begain airing AMERICAN DRAGON JAKE LONG and it has similarities to JACKIE CHAN. Asian American tween fights supernatural evil, in a sort of cross between JACKIE CHAN ADVENTURES and BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER. Then WB's Cartoon Network premires THE LIFE AND TIMES OF JUNIPER LEE which features an Asian American tween who also fights supernatural evil except in this case it's a tween girl with a younger brother in a fictional city of Orchid Bay instead of a tween boy with a younger sister in New York. Yeah, I know I'm spliting hairs here. Still the mark of both Buffy and Jackie are there. Add to this Marathon's MARTIN MYSTERY on Nickelodeon (although it debuted on THE FOX BOX) where we find the production crew from TOTALY SPIES doing a sort of cross between Buffy and MEN IN BLACK. All it's missing is the Asian American.
More thoughts as I get my head together...
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Buttons and Banners 2:38 PM
Yesterday I was trying to make banners to put on the animehell.org site. Today I find an online button maker and knock everything out with some tweeking. I think it works. And I can add more as needed.Got Gavigan's DVDs from Mundee last night, there's alot of good stuff I need to encode for future OtakuHELL shows...Thanks Gavv!
Bonus: Here's a map to the new Gun Compound on Tucker BLV:
![[ Yahoo! Maps ]](http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/mp/gr/mplogo.gif){kind=small}
Map of
Arlington, TX 76013-5107
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
More Lawyerific Fun in the new world... 1:38 PM
This weekend I post the Space Heino CafePress site to AnimeHELL.org, which to my knowledge has been on the CafePress server for years, 2 or more, at the very least. Today I get an e-mail from CafePress that I've violated their TOS because I haven't licensed the images from Heino and they've been removed from my CafePress image libary. Swell. Took you long enough to notice. Makes me feel like going out and breaking a few more laws, casual like.
Apparently the concept of parody means jack to these people. Or their lawyers. Oh wait, you can't use parody for commercial products. What? That makes no sense at all. This is the kind of shit that drives me mad!
Apparently the concept of parody means jack to these people. Or their lawyers. Oh wait, you can't use parody for commercial products. What? That makes no sense at all. This is the kind of shit that drives me mad!
Monday, June 27, 2005
AnimeHELL or OtakuHELL 2:25 PM
I just got an e-mail from Laura Jenks, who runs AnimeFEST, and she's asking if the show is called AnimeHELL or OtakuHELL. Well, which is it? So, right now I'm writing up the copy for the show's entry on the AnimeFEST website and trying to remember if this is the 4th or 5th year I've done a show at AnimeFEST and trying to make it sound like the fun show it is. I just wish I was a better copywriter.
The deal is that I've been calling my show OtakuHELL for at least a year if not more. I'm pretty sure I called it OtakuHELL at last year's AnimeFEST show, and I guess I'll tell Laura Jenks that it's called OtakuHELL with affiliations to AnimeHELL, or something like that. It's only a show, right?
The deal is that I've been calling my show OtakuHELL for at least a year if not more. I'm pretty sure I called it OtakuHELL at last year's AnimeFEST show, and I guess I'll tell Laura Jenks that it's called OtakuHELL with affiliations to AnimeHELL, or something like that. It's only a show, right?
Sunday, June 26, 2005
Web Comix and you 2:49 PM
I want to do a webcomic. Problem is I don't have any stories to tell. I love to draw, and I've had a Keenspace account for years. Hell, I had it before I moved to Texas. So I've been sitting and stewing and scribbling and trying to work out a concept that I can develop into something that I want to draw. So far I've only got a stack of sketchbooks to show for it. No comics to speak of.
Saturday, June 25, 2005
Richard Baseheart 2:16 PM
One of my favorite movies. Richard Baseheart as a serial killer. And the movie finale is in the same sewers as the atomic age THEM! Anthony Mann directs and Jack Webb acts in a supporting role. What's not to like?
Friday, June 24, 2005
Out behind the barn 1:30 PM
Posted the new AnimeHELL Clip of the Month, it's the Flintstone Winston Commercial. An old favorite. I'm thinking about moving it to the MEGAUPLOAD hosting site for about a month. That'd keep the bandwidth down.
Thursday, June 23, 2005
Buy U.S.Bongs 4:18 PM
I got Bruce and Mundee to the airport on time for their trip to JAFAX. I got a few hundred buttons punched out and 10 AnimeHELL DVDs for Gavv for the trip. But they had Mundee's ticket under Lewis, and her ID sez Henderson. So she needed a new ticket issued, and in the process Bruce and Mundee missed their flight. They should be on the way to MPL/SP right now...
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
Fight for it 11:53 AM
Only one thing to do today, work on buttons. Yeah, with any luck, and with no interruptions I can actually get some work done. I hope. I need to get a few hundred buttons made, and I can do it if nobody bothers me.
Yeah, like that'll happen.
A digital stash of Shaw Brother's movie posters. I see a remix/mashup in my queue of art projects...
Yeah, like that'll happen.
A digital stash of Shaw Brother's movie posters. I see a remix/mashup in my queue of art projects...
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Monday, June 20, 2005
Moving targets 1:11 PM
Spent a signifigant part of Sunday either encoding the last DOCTOR WHO episode for Josh or boxing up stuff for the move. At some point Josh and Michael show up and take me to the new place on the end of Tucker Street. We walk around the place and I take mental notes of all the stuff that'll have to be fixed. It's gonna be alot, and the first thing that'll have to be done is the purchase and installation of an air conditioner in what will be my room.
Then I gotta rip up that carpet.
Too bad we'll only have a day to move out of the Gun Compound and into Tucker. I guess the closing date is on a thursday, and the way Ed talks we need to be out the next day. I think I need to confirm this with him...
Of course I really can't afford to buy an air conditioner right now. But hey, maybe I'll make enough from JAFAX to buy one.
Then I gotta rip up that carpet.
Too bad we'll only have a day to move out of the Gun Compound and into Tucker. I guess the closing date is on a thursday, and the way Ed talks we need to be out the next day. I think I need to confirm this with him...
Of course I really can't afford to buy an air conditioner right now. But hey, maybe I'll make enough from JAFAX to buy one.
Saturday, June 18, 2005
TV with a kick 6:40 PM
Got my copy of the Disinformation TV series from Overstock, and it's even better then I'd hoped for. Ah, if only I could produce something that slick with OtakuHELL...
Friday, June 17, 2005
It's Mundee's birthday... 3:07 PM
And I haven't gotten her present, yet...
I sent an e-mail back to Suzi Manuel about doing OtakuHELL at AnimeFEST. I'm sure the details will be worked out in the next month or so. Time to start moving video from the VHS tapes to DVD...
It occurred to me that it'll be the one year anniversery of NINJA SQUAD. I premired it at last year's AnimeFEST, so I was thinking about doing something to mark the passing. Like a raffle for a copy of NINJA SQUAD on DVD or something like that. Maybe a doorprize? I dunno. Got to think about it.
I sent an e-mail back to Suzi Manuel about doing OtakuHELL at AnimeFEST. I'm sure the details will be worked out in the next month or so. Time to start moving video from the VHS tapes to DVD...
It occurred to me that it'll be the one year anniversery of NINJA SQUAD. I premired it at last year's AnimeFEST, so I was thinking about doing something to mark the passing. Like a raffle for a copy of NINJA SQUAD on DVD or something like that. Maybe a doorprize? I dunno. Got to think about it.
An Eternal Thought in the Mind of Godzilla 11:34 AM
An Eternal Thought in the Mind of Godzilla
Thanks to Dave for pointing out Patrick Macias's new blog.
And I own 3 of these 5 books, I never knew I was such a fan.
Thanks to Dave for pointing out Patrick Macias's new blog.
And I own 3 of these 5 books, I never knew I was such a fan.
AoG.2y.net -> Children's drawings in the subway! 9:16 AM
AoG.2y.net -> Children's drawings in the subway!
Holy crud!
I probablly should've posted this to the PGaijinBLOG, but nobody really reads that. My fault really. I haven't devoted the time and energy to the PGBlog that I could.
It's really amazing to see what amounts to propaganda created by school children. It's a glimpse into some raw images created with a simple message. And it's an angry message. I wonder if any one has done something similar after NineEleven...
Holy crud!
I probablly should've posted this to the PGaijinBLOG, but nobody really reads that. My fault really. I haven't devoted the time and energy to the PGBlog that I could.
It's really amazing to see what amounts to propaganda created by school children. It's a glimpse into some raw images created with a simple message. And it's an angry message. I wonder if any one has done something similar after NineEleven...
Thursday, June 16, 2005
Sonic Outlaws 2:31 PM
Remember that clip from GLEN OR GLENDA, the one with the buffalo stampede superimposed with Bela Legosi shouting, "PULL THE STRING, PULL THE STRING!" And the moment in ED WOOD when Johnny Depp sez something to the effect of "I could make an entire movie out of this (stock) footage." That's what I think of when I watched SPECTRUM. I haven't seen SONIC OUTLAWS yet, but since it's made by the same person I figured I'd post it here, too.
Codes that break me 2:24 PM
Working on the code for the AnimeHELL.org template. Cleaning to up, moving and changing bits. Tweeking, and I probablly don't need to. But I got it working and fixed a few things and it needed to be fixed.
But there are other things that need to be done. Like finish boxing and loading the P.O.D.S. and I need to pay for car insurance for the next 6 months and I need to get the car inspection sticker but I also need to get the car fixed and worked on. Oh yeah, I need new glasses, too.
On the up side I got my Sima Video FX ED/IT 4 mixer that I bought on ebay and the 5inch video monitors that'll make OtakuHELL that much more easy to VJ at AnimeFEST, which is months away. But then I may be able to work on some more HELLgimicks over the summer, like the HELLpuppets...Laughing HELLpuppets...
But there are other things that need to be done. Like finish boxing and loading the P.O.D.S. and I need to pay for car insurance for the next 6 months and I need to get the car inspection sticker but I also need to get the car fixed and worked on. Oh yeah, I need new glasses, too.
On the up side I got my Sima Video FX ED/IT 4 mixer that I bought on ebay and the 5inch video monitors that'll make OtakuHELL that much more easy to VJ at AnimeFEST, which is months away. But then I may be able to work on some more HELLgimicks over the summer, like the HELLpuppets...Laughing HELLpuppets...
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
The OtakuHELL Working 1:17 PM
I posted the first 20minutes of the AKonHELL PodCAST on AnimeHELL.org. Listening to the MP3 is interesting, to say the least.
My first reaction is that I sound like Ray Romano, except angrier. But It's interesting to go over and decipher. I don't always announce what I'm gonna play, so sometimes it's a trick just to figure out what's playing in the background. Even though the recording is only 2 weeks old I've forgotten alot of what happened.
Even more interesting is hearing the crowd's reaction and laughter. This recording lets me listen to the highs and lows and analyze what's happening. Like people leaving immediately after playing Forklift Driver Klaus. I guess that's all they came for...
I have to do it again, and this time I'm gonna bring the mix board and more mics, do a stereo set up with me and Bruce and pre-amp the sound into the iriver recorder. I want to hear what I'm missing.
And if that works I may set up one of those cameras that Ed bought at Sam's Club and record the audience, too. Or set it over me and Bruce and document the show from my P.O.V.
Now how do I work puppets into all of this?
My first reaction is that I sound like Ray Romano, except angrier. But It's interesting to go over and decipher. I don't always announce what I'm gonna play, so sometimes it's a trick just to figure out what's playing in the background. Even though the recording is only 2 weeks old I've forgotten alot of what happened.
Even more interesting is hearing the crowd's reaction and laughter. This recording lets me listen to the highs and lows and analyze what's happening. Like people leaving immediately after playing Forklift Driver Klaus. I guess that's all they came for...
I have to do it again, and this time I'm gonna bring the mix board and more mics, do a stereo set up with me and Bruce and pre-amp the sound into the iriver recorder. I want to hear what I'm missing.
And if that works I may set up one of those cameras that Ed bought at Sam's Club and record the audience, too. Or set it over me and Bruce and document the show from my P.O.V.
Now how do I work puppets into all of this?
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
Idiot Toys: 458 Japanese women holding things! 5:29 PM
Idiot Toys: 458 Japanese women holding things!
That is sooo hot....
That is sooo hot....
Everybody's gone home 12:48 PM
Well, almost everybody. Bob and Emily caught their flight home last night. And shortly afterwards Brett and E.K. headed back to Austin with Bob and Dini. Not sure when Justin is heading back to Arizona. Still, even with Justin still around it's starting to feel empty over at Bruce and Mundee's house.
I finally spent the last of my AKon mad money today, on an iced cafe americano. AnimeFEST is a long ways away...and it looks like I need to contact AnimeFEST to find out if I'm doing an OtakuHELL show this year.
I finally spent the last of my AKon mad money today, on an iced cafe americano. AnimeFEST is a long ways away...and it looks like I need to contact AnimeFEST to find out if I'm doing an OtakuHELL show this year.
Monday, June 13, 2005
Cowboys and Witches 1:40 PM
Caught the ending of DESTRY RIDES AGAIN on TCM last night, one of Jimmy Stewart's best Westerns. Well, second best after THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE. It's a nice bit of movie, and it's also the source of a number of jokes in BLAZING SADDLES. After the credits rolled I switched over to watch the end of HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN. I'm happy to report that I enjoyed it much more then the last Harry Potter movie, and I hope that they continue to keep the darkness and danger that was here but absent before...
And finally I want to say that I find Ed's Saturn V DVDs to be a cool collection of Rocket Porn. Worth it for it's space age moments alone.
Town & Country update. Ed got the contract for the new house knocked out on saturday. He got a July 7th closing date. So now I've got a rough idea on the move-in date. And Tony came and fixed my brakes today, so I'm back on the road. Nice way to start the week.
Saturday, June 11, 2005
Friday, June 10, 2005
No Brakes! 1:30 PM
Yesterday I'm on my daily mail run and the brakes on the MyRage go all mushy and the CHECK BRAKES light comes on. I make it home ok. Today coming into work I step down and find nothing. I end up using the hand/emergency brake to make it into the lot. Half the day is gone and no word from Tony the AutoDrive Mechanic.
Never a dull moment.
Never a dull moment.
Thursday, June 09, 2005
Straight to HELL 12:05 PM
One of the movies that shaped my ideas and musical taste was Alex Cox's REPO MAN. I unspooled the vhs quite a few times and lost or borrowed out my cassette of the soundtrack many times. When STRAIGHT TO HELL came out I bought a number of copies of the cassette soundtrack, but I never rented the movie. Until now.
What can I say about a movie with Joe Strummer and Evis Costello and the Pouges in it? Or Courtney Love dying in a firey wreck? Ok, I'll be honest, it's a really uneven film. When it's good, it's fun. When it's not so good, it's really not so good.
Ok, the truth is it's a disjointed mess of a movie, but the soundtrack is worth a listen...
