Oh What A Cool Picture! 10:18 AM

Damn, that was too much fun.

Back to work!

Wide awake at 2a.m. 10:03 AM

I sorta slept last night, until 2a.m. or so. And then I was awake. Didn't really get back to sleep until 5 or so. Lucky me.

Badness 11:48 AM

Some bad stuff in my head recently. Maybe it was the storms that went through but last night had some badness to it. Like my head was trying to figure out something that it couldn't get around. Felt tired and alien when I got up. Like I wasn't in the right place or out of sync with everything. Very messy. Need to clear my head...

AnimeHELL returns with more of the same old bits and pieces of lost and forgotten video.

SEE! The video kindling that feeds the fires of AnimeHELL!
SEE! The end of the world that never ended!
SEE! The secrets of the orient revealed!

Crap. Where was all that good material I was coming up with as I was falling asleep last night? WHERE? It was gold! Argh. Can't use any of this, it stinks. Crud.

Watching SAILOR FUKU AND MACHINEGUN on the basis of it's name only. And it's pretty good. The concept is the unlikely story of a Japanese School Girl who becomes the leader of a Yakuza gang. It's part comedy and part drama and it's kinda fun in a dumb way. Gotta find some more good Jdramas...

Ueto Aya 12:03 PM

I thought about going to Fry's on Saturday, but ended up going on Sunday. I picked up a $50 160gig Seagate and proceeded to back up the Firelites and the Averatec. It was long over due, especially after what happened to Gavv. Maybe I should've gotten two?

Dave's posted alot about Marjoe Gortner lately. I'll be honest. I had no idea who that was. Then I noticed his name on my copy of STARCRASH, which is sorta like one of the better Italian Star Wars rip offs but not quite as good as MESSAGE FROM SPACE. So I sat down and watched it again. Marjoe plays the Wookie. I decided that STARCRASH wasn't a good example of Marjoe, so I did a search at NetFlix. The first thing that pops up is MARJOE, a documentary. And it won an Academy Award. I realize that don't mean much, but I figured what the hey, and rented it.

Lemme start by saying it much better then STARCRASH. Turns out Marjoe was once a 4 year old Evangelist. They've even got clips of him as a 4 year old marrying couples and giving hellfire sermons. And then it gets even weirder. We follow around the adult Marjoe on the Revival Tent circuit as he sings and lays hands on the masses. THIS IS SOME AMAZING WEIRD STUFF. It's a sideshow call and a hucksters scam and Marjoe shows it all. Kinda wrong how he gets all hippy drippy free love and how it's wrong to hurt others and yet he's busy bilking all those folks in the revival meetings out of their monies.

Oh yeah, I love Ueto Aya.

Commies will give you candy 11:22 AM

Some web weirdness. They posted a video clip from IF FOOTMEN TIRE YOU over at the WFMU blog. So I identified it in the comments section. Then the whole post disappeared for a day. Then it was reposted with more clips from IFTYWWHD, this time giving credit to Ron Ormond. But no credit to me for pointing out where it came from.

Ah well...

Toss it on the pile 10:02 AM

Went to BigLOTS after work and got some cheap "iPod remixer/beatbox" things. Played with 'em for awhile and filed them away for later use. If I can figure out how to use 'em in the show. Or if I'll throw 'me away. Welcome to the 21st Century. Cheap throw away tech, and no flying cars...

Awhile ago Dave and Shain were trying to figure out how to promote their online comics. Today Lea posted a bunch about how her online comics were better then published pamphlet comics. And there's bit and pieces about why some webcomics aren't popular and the whole webcomics business model. I find much of this amusing. I guess I don't take it all that seriously. But I don't feel like I've failed in my online comics. So, maybe I have failed.

The Grinch who stole HELL 11:42 AM

Somebody broke into Gavigan's apartment and made off with his computer and video camera and other bits of hardware. Most important were all the video content that Gavv had been building into HELLclips for his HELLshows. Stuff that took time to assemble and edit and now it's all gone. So it means no AnimeHELL at Anime Central this year and no AnimeHELL at Fanime in California. Well maybe we could talk Dave into doing Anime Central or maybe I could talk somebody into letting me do Fanime. It's a thought.

Found a blog backup service and set up an account to back up animehelll.org. If It works. It's free for now, don't know if they'll start charging when they get out of beta.

UPDATE: I PM'd Lyrical Dani Chan and she says there'd be no problem with me doing my HELLshow at FanimeCon. But it all depends on what Gavv decides to do.

Atsuicon in Houston 12:36 PM

On August 4th. It even looks like I got my requested 9pm to Midnight slot, right before a Rocky Horror performance. Better tell Katie.

I admit, I was surprised to hear back from Atsuicon. I didn't get any response from the e-mail I sent, so I figured they weren't interested. But it looks like a go. Have to get word to Bruce and Joshua and Michael. And maybe see if we can get a room at the con. That'd be nice if we could.

The OtakuHELL Manifesto 3:20 PM

This has been bubbling through my mind for a long time. Literally years in the making. And I'm sure I'm not done turning this stone over and over in my hands.

The idea of it started when I saw Dave Merrill do a clip show, live at Anime Weekend Atlanta. Or maybe it was at DragonCon. It was a simple set up: Dave had a VCR deck and a table full of tapes. The tapes were cued up to what he wanted to show, and Dave would simply introduce each clip and press play. These video clips where bits and pieces of funny and weird stuff that Dave had collected over the years of tape trading and and notably videos created by Corn Pone Flicks' Matt Murray and Christian Smith. I was hooked. I started tracking down and finding more funny and odd videos to contribute to Dave's shows.

By the time I'd moved to Texas and did my first HELLshow I'd built a small collection of Hell material. Like Dave's shows I had a box of VHS tapes and a VCR deck. But I also had Video CDs and a VCD player. I had been buying factory VCDs of weird Bollywood videos and Sentai shows dubbed in the Philippians and there were also homemade VCDs built from video clips on the Prelinger Archives. Eventually I'd buy a DVD burner and build DVDs specifically for the show. By the very nature of HELL being a live, free form show I needed to change the way I did the show compared to the way Dave did his show. And by strange coincidence the show developed in way similar to what happened in Brooklyn for a very different scene.

To be continued...

Keep your loving brother happy 9:06 AM

ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST was on TCM last night. I watched bits of it here and there. Not much I can add to what's an amazingly great movie. But I'm in love with the movie's score. I need to get that CD. But it looks like it's out of print. Swell. File that on my to find list.

One good dose of thunder 9:24 AM

Think I'm coming down with a cold. Throat's all scratchy. Crap, I hate feeling this rough. Maybe It'll make me sleep better. It feels like it should be Friday. I'm that off my game. Tired. Very tired.

Note to self: I need to scan some Dan DeCarlo.

Louis Prima - Wan'na Be Like You

Now I'm the king of the swingers
Oh, the jungle VIP
I've reached the top and had to stop
And that's what botherin' me
I wanna be a man, mancub
And stroll right into town
And be just like the other men
I'm tired of monkeyin' around!

Oh, oobee doo
I wanna be like you
I wanna walk like you
Talk like you, too
You'll see it's true
An ape like me
Can learn to be humen too

( Gee, cousin Louie
You're doin' real good

Now here's your part of the deal, cuz
Lay the secret on me of man's red fire

But I don't know how to make fire )

Now don't try to kid me, mancub
I made a deal with you
What I desire is man's red fire
To make my dream come true
Give me the secret, mancub
Clue me what to do
Give me the power of man's red flower
So I can be like you

You!
I wanna be like you
I wanna talk like you
Walk like you, too
You'll see it's true
Someone like me
Can learn to be
Like someone like me
Can learn to be
Like someone like you
Can learn to be
Like someone like me!

On Borrowed Crime 12:38 PM

Watching the whole Purple Pussy Plagarism deal. Funny it's not getting much mention on the Comic's Journal message boards. At least it's getting attention on the Journalista blog. Holy Cow!

Wonder how this'll end.

Seriously thinking about getting a PANASONIC WJ-AVE5.

On Specs 12:11 PM

Picked up my new glasses today. I think they look really good. Better then my old pair. I'm still adjusting to the new prescription, my depth of field comes in better focus, so I'm having a bit of vertigo. Then again, when I last got new glasses and a new prescription I had the same problem. I'm assuming my eyes will adjust and I'll be fine in a day or so. I did walk to the food court at the Parks just to give myself some time to get used to the new prescription. Once I got in the car I felt pretty good. Yeah, it was worth the $300. Cheaper then getting my teeth fixed...

Online and off track 12:21 PM

Hans was baptized Easter morn. I went and had Easter dinner at Bruce and Mundees and oohed and aahed over Hans. We had a good time and watched IF FOOTMEN TIRE YOU WHAT WILL HORSES DO? with Josh and Michael. Good fun for Easter. Had supper with J&M and caught up with what was happening with them.

Gotta work on Comix. No, really.

A Long Good Friday 2:27 PM

Ed's mixing booze with his pain killers and little Hans is being baptized this Sunday...

Hey Flamey! 12:02 PM

Attacku, Attacku, Num Buh Wan! 1:21 PM

The last couple of days I've been enjoying the crap outta ATTACK NO. 1! I had known about an anime called Attacker Number One, but I've never seen any of it. Not even the show opening, but I had heard the opening theme. The cool thing about this live action J-Drama version is that they kept the original opening theme. I need to track down the BGM for the show if only to hear the two love themes. One version is the opening theme played by a string quartet and the other is a weepy piano solo, very over the top and perfect in every way. And I can't get enough of Coach Weird Beard!

Bonus! I just found out that they did a live action J-Drama of AIM FOR THE ACE the year before they made Attack No. 1! Guess what I'm watching next week!

Way behind 2:00 PM

Gotta get the Mini Comic finished, deadline is looming. Grrr.

Missing Monday 12:35 PM