Currently Watching Emperor of the North By Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Keith Carradine, Charles Tyner, Malcolm Atterbury see related

So here it is, 4:30 in the freaking morning, and I'm up working.  On the bright side, I'm working from the comfort of my own home, sitting in front of the digital cable on my HDTV.  Put on a random channel and set in to work.

Serendipitously, a movie called "Emperor of the North" came on.  It's a film from the early '70s in which Ernest Borgnine, eyebrows aflare, plays a railroad man who bludgeons train-hopping hoboes to death with a ballpeen hammer.  It also features hoboes bludgeoning other hoboes with a live chicken (they were fighting over the chicken -- that's the best part).

All this and it's only rated PG.  Man I hate how the modern-day's MPAA has castrated movies as a storytelling medium.  Hobo violence makes working in the wee hours so much more bearable.

Currently Watching Millennium Actress By Miyoko Shôji, Mami Koyama, Fumiko Orikasa, Shôzô Îzuka, Shouko Tsuda see related

So I got a new job that's keeping me super-busy.  I'm in the same office, just all promoted and supervisory and stuff.  Finally got my first new paycheck (now on a monthly pay schedule as opposed to twice-monthly) and was mildly disappointed -- I forgot that the more money you make, the more Uncle Sam takes away from you.

Still, mo' money is mo' money.  It's a far more interesting and challenging job that my old one.  I started during what is probably the busiest and most stressful time of the year and I survived, so I think I'll be okay.

Anyway, since I was in the habit of blogging during the downtimes at work, and suddenly there is a lot less downtime, there will likely be a lot less blogging as well.  We'll see; things are starting to slow down some...

Currently Watching Star Wars - Clone Wars, Vol. 2 By John Di Maggio, Kevin Michael Richardson, Cree Summer, Tatyana Yassukovich, Wanja Gerick see related

Because I like to look on the brighter side of things, here are the things I liked about the new Clone Wars movie:

- No Jar-Jar.

- Giving Anakin a padawan apprentice is, in my opinion, a worthy plot point; it shows that he understands what it means to be a Jedi, enough so to train one.  It makes his turn to the Dark Side a little more poignant by illustrating that he is, despite his foibles, a capable and legitimate Jedi knight and potential Master.

- Christopher Lee is still alive!

- I actually really like the character design and modeling, for the most part.  If you look at the models and trick yourself into believing you're watching claymation, they're pretty okay.  If nothing else, they're well lit.  I like the "clay" textures used for Obi-Wan and Count Dooku's hair.  The 3PO protocol droid in Jabba's palace looks particularly good, too.

That said, I don't think the character design comes close to the 2D animated Clone Wars 2003 series.  Doesn't hold a candle to it.  And the animation in the 3D one is abysmal in comparison (brighter side brighter side brighter side).

Korine and I watched the aforementioned 2D series this week in preparation for this movie.  It was her first time watching them (and is actually probably her greatest exposure to the Star Wars universe so far; I think she's only seen Episodes III and VI -- expect that to change soon) and it was my first time watching the third season of the 2D show.

If you want my humble opinion, here it is: unless you're a parent and your young'un really wants to see the new 3D movie, don't bother with it.  Go watch (or re-watch) the 2D series instead.  It is a work of art, and in my opinion, I mean that in the purest sense.  I think Genndy Tartakovsky's direction and design has a lot to do with that.  He's something of a genius, and his omission from the 3D project is noticeable and detrimental.

Currently Reading The Walking Dead Volume 8: Made To Suffer (Walking Dead) By Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, Cliff Rathburn see related

SDCC 2008 post-script.

There were some other highlights I wanted to mention, but I digressed into rhetoric and neglected to do so.

I haven't had the funds to go to a comic shop more than once or twice in the past year, so I did a little catching up at the Con.  Got caught up on The Walking Dead (phenomenal!), and picked up some other zombie comics.  Doug TenNapel had two new books out; I've read one of them so far and was very happy with it.  Korine found some anime she'd been looking for, and we enjoyed watching that very much.

This may sound a little hypocritical in light of yesterday's post regarding disillusionment with the big Hollywood previews, but I did go to the making-of / preview panel for Street Fighter IV.  Street Fighter is one of those franchises that is right up there with Final Fantasy and Star Wars for me.  There's something about those character designs and the storyline that I find simply magical.  SFIV looks freaking fantastic.  I cannot wait to play it.  Too bad it's not going to be released for the home systems until next February, but man, I think it'll be worth the wait and then some.  I'm groovin' on the game trailer big time.  I downloaded the trailer they showed at Comic-Con in full resolution on my PS3, and you can pause it just about anywhere in the playback and what's on the screen when you do looks like a fully-painted work of art.  Capcom is outdoing themselves.

On a related note, since last year was the 20th anniversary of Street Fighter, Udon (the comics studio that does the North American Street Fighter comics) put together a tribute book showcasing the works of many, many talented artist's depictions of the Street Fighter characters.  It's a fine, fine piece of print and a welcome addition to my bookshelf.

Re: DA's question on my previous post, yes; it was super-crowded this year.  It's gotten progressively more crowded every year, but this was the first year that every day of the Con sold out prior to the doors opening on Wednesday night.  I believe I heard an estimate that there were over 100,000 people there on Saturday.  As far as the smell is concerned, I don't know if I've just gotten used to it, or if the nerds are becoming more hygiene-conscious, or if the appeal of more mainstream (Hollywood) entertainments is attracting a more washed group of attendees, or what, but the smell wasn't bad considering the quantity of people there.  In fact, I didn't really notice it at all this year, whereas certain past years have been particularly... fragrant.

Finally, I would be remiss to mention the dog who played in the fountain right across from the convention center right after the show ended on Sunday.  Korine and I saw him on the way to the trolley station from the pub, and I LMAO'd hardcore.  There is a YouTube vid of it online, and while the clip is only around two minutes, that dog kept it up for at least an hour.  I seriously thought if was going to collapse from exhaustion at one point, but it seemed to be enjoying itself.  I don't know who shot and uploaded the vid, but they must have been standing fairly close to us; you can hear me laughing in the background here and there as the clip plays.