Smart and Stupid Characters, Howitshouldhaveended.com
I realize that the past couple of posts have been a little “moody”, so I thought I’d give you guys something with a lighter tone.
Have you ever been watching a movie or a TV show, and start wondering why these characters are so stupid? You just want to yell at the screen, “Hey, morons! Why don’t you try that rocket launcher that you had a few episodes ago?!” Or maybe, “You idiot, how ’bout you don’t just run in there with only a toothpick for protection!?”
I know there’s a number of times when I’ve just been annoyed that the characters in films act so stupid for no reason whatsoever. I mean, who doesn’t love the scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark where the big, sword-swinging guy comes at Indiana Jones, doing an elaborate bunch of swinging and posturing, only for Indy to look at him, annoyed, before pulling out his revolver and shooting him before walking away. Of course, it’s one of the most clever scenes in movie history, but it was actually a joke.
Originally, there was a huge, choreographed fight between the two characters, with Indy’s opponent having an upper hand with his gigantic sword. But when it came time for the scene, the star wasn’t really up to it. See, Harrison Ford was sick with dysentery at the time, and so when the shot came up, he just pulled out his gun and fired. The crew liked it so much that that’s the final cut that was left in.
But not only is that good characterization, and an excellent scene, but it’s just plain smart. It’s a character using a bit of sense, and that seems pretty rare in films nowadays, at least from what I’ve seen. I mean, work smarter, not harder, right? We don’t need big fight for the sake of big fight. Have a reason already.
Anyway, I was at work the other day and randomly happened upon a little site called “How It Should Have Ended”. Basically, it’s a bunch of cartoons (of pretty decent quality, actually) detailing how certain movies should have ended, with a funny, witty twist, of course.
I would highly recommend checking it out. My favorites are the ones on Spider-Man 3, Lord of the Rings, and It’s a Wonderful Life. Just some really funny stuff. Alright, I’m out.
- Kyle
No Longer Superman
Growing up, I had a wild notion that I was some kind of superman. I believe its a common misconception for kids to think that they’re invincible. They jump out of trees, off the swings, do flips on trampolines, leap their bikes or skateboards off of everything and anything, and often dare one another to eat things that a dog wouldn’t touch. When nothing appears to hurt them, they begin to feel that nothing can hurt them. They may not say that out loud, or even verbalize it in their minds, but it’s there in the subconscious, alive and well.
For someone like me, who really hasn’t had a lot of injuries in my life, it’s hard to think that something so trivial or stupid might be the cause of a crippling injury, or that death might be waiting for me if I do something careless.
Last week, while playing some “group date” games with friends, we decided that we’d make our way to the park and fool around on the playground equipment. We started playing a strange game of tag akin to the games of the schoolyard, and though I found myself wondering how a bunch of twenty-somethings could be acting like kindergarteners, I decided to play anyhow.
I’m pretty competitive. I try to do anything I can to win, doing my best to stay within the rules, but my friends often comment on how I don’t lose very often, and some of them can attest to the times when I take something trivial a little too seriously. (Like, say, a stupid football game, for example.)
With that in mind, we were playing these games, and I found myself trapped on a pretty high part of the playground, and almost got tagged. So, I looked around, and noticed the platform down below, and without a second thought to what was going to occur when I actually hit the ground, I jumped.
Now it’s been a few years since I was the spry, wiry youth who could leap out of a twenty-foot tree and be perfectly fine when I hit the ground. In the instant that I landed, and the pain shot through my ankle, I realized that I was superman no more.
I limped to the parking lot, and later made my way home, icing up my swelling ankle and wrapping it up, hoping against hope that it wasn’t broken or anything. I suspected that it might be a strain, especially because the bruising was so bad, but as I felt it, and realized that the only pain was coming from pressure on my heel, I decided it was probably a bruised heel. I went and had it checked just to be sure, and after x-rays and the like came back, they told me that my suspicious were right, and the heel was bruised.
It was a sobering time for me. How could I have done something so stupid, and for such a stupid reason? How could I have just jumped? Was winning such a trivial game so very important? No, not really. But the illusion of invincibility was completely shattered upon impact, and so I think that’s the best lesson to take away from this. I’m not unbreakable, and my foot tells me so, despite my head telling me otherwise.
- K
Imagined Scenes
Sometimes, when I’m sitting at Taco Bell, or maybe when I’m waiting in line at the grocery store, my mind will start to wander a little bit. (And I’m sure that no one else has this problem, right?) For some reason, I suddenly visualize movie scenes, of running into someone at this random place, whose path and mine were destined to cross. Sometimes it’s a potential date, sometimes it’s an ally, sometimes it’s an enemy.
I’ll be standing there, just loading my groceries onto the counter, the teenage, thin, glasses-wearing male clerk waits behind the register, and then starts to beep in my purchases with his little red light. Suddenly another cart crashes into mine, sending me stumbling to the floor. I look up, and see a malicious grin bearing down on me from behind a cartful of protien powder and raw steaks.
“Mr. Brogan,” says the man, his height and girth easily doubling mine. “I want something from you.”
I scramble to my feet, and look him in the eye. “And what’s that?” I say with all the nerve that I can muster.
“Your pin number.” He says quietly, with a voice of low thunder.
“Huh?” I say.
“You have to put in your pin,” says the cashier, a little annoyed at my stupidity. I nod, type it in, take the reciept, and pick up my bagged groceries, heading for my car.
As soon as I open the door, though, I hear the squeal of tires. I look to my left to see a car barreling through the parking lot, speed rising. Right in front of me, though, is a woman, directly in the path of the car. I tackle her out of the way as the car misses us by inches, spilling my milk and eggs onto the sidewalk.
The car spins around, intending to finish the job, but I lift one of the carts above my head and throw it through the windshield, sending the car crashing into a lightpole. The woman praises me as her hero, and I say simply, “All in a day’s work, ma’am.”
Then I shrug, and pick-up my groceries, and load them into my car. The drive home is a car chase yet again, or perhaps a secret mission to get my groceries, which actually contain information that could compromise the security of the entire nation, to my home, where I can transmit them to the NSA without detection.
I don’t know. I know I have an overactive imagination. Perhaps that’s why it’s best for me to stick to writing. But all that inspiration has to come from somewhere, right?
- Kyle
Meeting the Eye
For some reason, we human beings have a strange aversion to looking each other in the eye. It makes us uncomfortable, annoyed, and a little scared when someone is actually looking right at us when they’re talking. It doesn’t matter that they’re the friendliest person on Earth, we’re still bothered. How come?
We would be perfectly happy if the person were to look just to the right or left as they’re talking, so that they’re looking towards us, but not at us. It doesn’t matter who they are. You ever notice that when you meet eyes with someone in the hallway, especially someone that you don’t know at all, you both have a tight-lipped grin and quickly look away? It’s like, “Oh, sorry we made eye contact, fellow drone.”
But you can’t be rude, so you grin lightly at them, but then pass by, breathing a sigh of relief that you didn’t actually have to talk to them. No matter that that person might be your next best friend, or your soul mate, or your long-lost brother, or perhaps your eventual spouse – you both met eyes in the hallway, and so the barrier was created.
I think, personally, that the reason that we avoid eye contact has to do something with the old adage, “The eyes are the window to the soul.” A lot can be determined from the eyes. I know some people who can look into my eyes and see straight through me. There are other people who I can read like a book simply because their eyes tell the whole story.
Maybe we avoid making eye contact because we’re afraid that the other person might be able to judge all of our faults and mistakes just by looking into our eyes, and they won’t like what they see. Maybe we’re just so self-conscious about ourselves and what others think about us that we’re afraid that we might not get a fair say with our mouths as our eyes share all of our innermost secrets.
For me, I’m going to start looking into the eyes. Uncomfortable or not, faulty or not, I’m going to look. And I’ll let others find in me what they may.
Being Painted
Now here’s a unique conversation starter: Paint yourself completely green, and then walk through a grocery store and a restaurant, pretending that nothing’s strange. Field the weird looks that you get, and let me know what happens. This is what happened to me last week, and I’ll tell you that it was one of the most interesting experiences of my life.
Before you start thinking that I just have some strange hobbies, though, let me explain. I was hired to do a commercial for my school, because they needed some extras and I’d worked with them on a few projects before. Little did I know what I was in store for.
I arrived on set at 6:00 AM, which is way earlier than I ever even wake up, parked my car, and made my way into the site we were using. We pretty much took over one whole side of the student center. I had some fun chatting with some of the different actors and actresses that they’d hired, as well as a number of the extras that were on site. And then the call came to get painted.
This wasn’t a surprise, because they’d told us beforehand, but it was still a strange activity. They had me take my shirt off, and close my eyes as they took some acrylic paint and airbrushed it onto me. At first, I thought that this wasn’t going to take very long. In fact, they had told us that it shouldn’t. But the girl who was working on me… Well, it was her first time, and she was layering the paint on thick. And I mean thick. She went over the same spot multiple times, and my face alone took over an hour. Then she went over my arms, shoulders, and neck, making sure that every part of my skin was covered in a bright, gleaming green.
When I finally got a hold of a mirror two hours after she’d started, I realized that I was the exact same color as the Incredible Hulk™. The other painter had gone through three actors as I’d sat there, and of everyone, I was definitely the most green. I think you could have pinpointed me from the space shuttle, as a moving green speck.
The commercial went pretty well, (I can’t really discuss it until it gets broadcast this next month), but it was what happened on the way home that really made me think.
First, I had a class after my commercial, and since I didn’t have enough time to drive home and shower before it started, I just walked up and went to class green. Some laughed, some didn’t even notice, and most didn’t even ask, until one man finally couldn’t take the curiousity any longer. He asked, and I told. But the looks and the stares were just so funny to me, especially in a class that I’ve been attending for over two months now. You’d think that people would be a little more comfortable just asking, “Um, why are you all green?”
I was hungry afterwards, so I headed over to Taco Bell™ to grab something. In all honesty, I’d been green all day, and so I hadn’t really considered how weird it would be to just go in and order. I got a good number of weird looks as I walked in, stood in line, and then ordered. Though I usually get it to go, I sat down and ate right there, just to see what would happen. There were a couple people close to me who asked me why I was green, and I told them, but what cracked me up most were the workers behind the counter who couldn’t stop staring. It just made me want to laugh.
After I left, I was going to go home and wash it all off, but I was still a little curious. I needed a couple things from the grocery store, so I pulled into a nearby Albertsons™ to see what would happen. The place wasn’t too crowded, but there were still a decent number of people shopping. There was a definite “buzz” in the store, with people talking at normal level, that simply disappeared when I walked into the store. Suddenly there were a ton of whispers.
People began muttering under their breath, and I heard phrases like, “It’s not Halloween yet,” and “Why in the world…?” But no one got up the gumption to just ask me. Anyway, I took my milk, drinks, and cereal to the check-out, and finally the cashier asked me. I told her, and she smirked, but then nodded.
“I figured it was something like that,” she said. “I used to do commercials, too. People would ask me why I was wearing shorts and a tank top in the snow, or would make fun of me as I was walking to my car after the shoot. As if I didn’t know that what I was wearing was a little strange.”
I laughed, paid, and walked out, still pretending that nothing was different. I got fun waves from girls as I drove home, as well as some really weird looks from older people. The whole thing was really an interesting ride. I had a good laugh all the way until I spent two hours scrubbing the stuff off of my face.
But on a slightly more serious note, why don’t people get up the nerve? Why is it that people are so frightened by something out of the ordinary that they can’t get up the courage to ask? When you see a person walk in who’s a little “different”, be it in hairstyle, clothing, or even skin color, do you instantly look away? Or do you seek to understand?
I don’t like to go too deep into it all, but that’s just something that I’ve wondered about. Why do we shun the different? What if someone were to actually be born with skin that was tinted an unnatural color? Would we be afraid? Or would we try to befriend them? I hope that I would be understanding.
The Small World is Too Small For Fat Folks
Here’s a fun little tidbit for you. Did you know that It’s a Small World, the infamous Disneyland™ attraction that has remained virtually unchanged since its opening in 1964, is to be closed for renovation? Now, this isn’t because it’s going to be revamped. It’s not going to be visually enhanced, and no, it’s not going to be replaced by a different version. The reason for the 10 month closure is pretty straightforward: The guests are too fat.
When the ride was originally conceived by Walt Disney and company, it was planned with the average 40+ American weight in mind. But what has happened since then is that Americans have become steadily, ahem, larger. The boats and the flume that passes them along simply can no longer handle such a load, (puns totally intended here), and so we’re looking at some monumental changes.
For 43 years, there’s been relatively few problems, but now America’s weight gain has finally caught up. The boats are starting to bottom out, causing them to get stuck halfway through the ride, freezing everything for up to three hours as the Disney Cast Members struggle to extract the helpless guests. (Apparently, the Pirates of the Carribean ride has similar problems on the initial flume drop, but so far it hasn’t been to “large” of a problem. I say, give it a few years.)
Can America just not exercise? Can we just not stop ourselves from at least working out to earn the right to eat fried chicken and doughnuts every night? Apparently not.
And so, the ride is closing for the better part of the year. And I think it’s being redesigned with an elephant’s average weight in mind.
- Kyle
Homestar Runner
This has got to be about the most well-known flash animation in the world. In addition, it’s definitely the most clever. To be able to put together a website that is all about a cartoon, and then to make money off of it… How much more clever could you be?
For those of you who’ve been living under a rock, and haven’t seen the t-shirts, stickers, satchel bags or even the website, here’s a quick summary. Homestar Runner was created in 1996 by Mike Chapman and Craig Zobel, two students at the University of Georgia. (On another note, why is it that all the interesting things are created in college? Facebook was created there, too…)
It started out as just a kids’ book, but then through the use of Mario Paint™, was created into its first cartoon incarnation. As they started to learn Adobe Flash™, the brothers found the old book they’d created, and by the beginning of 2000, homestarrunner.com was up and running. They did the voices themselves, with the help of a friend, Missy Palmer, for the voice of Marzipan.
Fast forward to now, and you’ve got a site that averages several million hits a day, has been featured in a whole slew of magazines, and that has its own product line. The songs from the site have even been featured in Guitar Hero™. I mean, this is one freaking awesome pop-culture icon! You’ve got all these original characters, from Homestar himself, to Strong Bad, Strong Sad, Marzipan, The Cheat, Coach Z, Bubs, Pom-Pom, and several more.
I was introduced to the site in 2003, by one of my college instructors. He showed us one of the Strong Bad emails every day, I used to just laugh and laugh. Now, I still check it every once in a while, just to see if there’s something new up. Thing is, I still see people with shirts and hats and bookbags… Someday, I hope I might create something that cool. Something that really hits into the vein of viral advertising. Someday. Someday.
- Kyle
Jupping
While I was in Hong Kong, we used the word “Jup” a lot. Basically, it meant to claim something that someone had left behind, and therefore didn’t want, so was up for grabs. So, we would “Jup” it. Because I shared apartments with up to six people at a time, and we kind of had limited space as we travelled around, lots of items would be lost and found throughout my two-year journey. There were things that I needed for a time, and then left behind, and then someone might come along and use it after me.
In any case, I’ve kind of taken an attitude on life in the same respect. While you should never steal anything from someone, I feel that you can gain a lot from “jupping” things from the personalities and qualities that you see in the people around you. Let’s say that your good friend is really outgoing, and you want to emulate that. Observe him, and “jup” that quality from him. Or maybe you want to be better at math, and don’t know how to go about it. Talk with someone who is, and “jup” that skill from them.
In my personal life, I’ve found that in jupping things from others, I gain a lot, and learn more about myself than if I would have only examined my own life. Jupping is extremely useful. Anytime that I want to learn something, I’ll go and find someone who’s good at it, and ask questions, observe, and keep on trying. It’s always the best way to learn. Sure, you can try to figure it out on your own, or even figure it out with a buddy, but really, you gain experience by leaps and bounds when you jup from somebody that you already know is good.
So to everyone out there, let’s get jupping, eh? Share with others, and don’t be afraid to emulate.
- Kyle
Viewtiful Joe
Yesterday I was walking through the mall, and stopped by GameStop. Now, I’ve been a gamer for who knows how long, but I’d like to think that I’ve tempered my “obsession” over the past few years. I have yet to get on the whole “next-gen console” craze, and so I only own a Playstation 2. But don’t let that fool you into thinking that I’m not a gamer. It’s just that I’m not done with the good games of yesteryear yet.
In any case, as I was browsing through the old PS2 titles, especially the used games that were in the “$9.99 or less” rack, I came across a game that I had played when I was in high school over five years ago. It was called Viewtiful Joe. It looked liked it was in pretty good shape, and for $5.99, I figured it would be worth a play. I mean, a rental at Blockbuster is around seven bucks anyway, so I figured if I didn’t like it, at least I could trade it in for something else later.
That night, after my last class, I put the disc into the system, and was immediately blown away. Not exactly by the graphics, because though they were unique, they were about as far from “realistic” as possible. It was a very cel-shaded look, akin to the style of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. To me, it looked as if the characters had been pulled right from a comic book. All the proportions were cartoony, from the big heads and small bodies to the accompanying “SMACK” and “POW” feel of hitting your enemies.
And this isn’t a 3D game, though you’d really be hard-pressed to notice. This is a side-scrolling, fast-paced brawler akin to Double Dragon on thirteen double-latte cappuccinos. The action is fast, furious, and sucks you right in, even if it does get a little too wild for me to handle at times. (I mean, there are moments when there are over thirty little baddies all over the screen, and I’m just struggling to keep the hero alive.
But it’s the unique, tongue-in-cheek story that really sets this game apart from the crowd. We’re introduced right off to Joe, just an average movie-loving guy, and his girlfriend, Silvia, who clearly doesn’t want to spend her date night at the movie theater, again. But, just as Captain Blue, Joe’s favorite superhero, falls to the the movie’s antagonist, Joe is busy trying to get Silvia to take the film more seriously.
Then, as cheesy as it may sound, the antagonist reaches through the screen, kidnaps Silvia, and takes her back into movieland. Joe, the wisecracking little film nut that he is, gets pulled right in, and ends up entrusted with a superhero “V-Watch”, courtesy of Captain Blue’s “essence”. As soon as you can say “Henshin-a-go-go, baby”, Joe is off to defeat the Jadow, the group of villians who have kidnapped Silvia, and get his girlfriend back.
Now, I never played the game all the way through, and I’m only on the beginning stages, but man am I having a great time with it. More games need to be given the care and time and creativity that I’m sure this one was given. There are countless references to pop-culture, especially old movies and video games. The entire story is riddled with little jokes and references, along with the constant barrage of Joe’s personal dialogue.
So, if you’re up for some laughs, and want to get lost in one of the best Playstation 2 games every made, or even, one of the best games ever made, period, see if you can track down a copy of Viewtiful Joe.
- Kyle
That's What She Said
While widely popularized by The Office, the phrase “That’s What She Said” has been around for quite a long time before that. It’s been a catchphrase among teenagers for years, along with such gems as “Your mom…” and “You’re so…that…”
I think that only recently, however, in the past 10-15 years, has innuendo become such a commonplace practice when it comes to jokes and humor. Obviously, dirty jokes have been shared privately for quite a long time, but there was a time when I was younger that you’d never hear that kind of a joke from anyone, and frankly, if my mom were to have heard me say that, I’d have probably gotten the belt. (My mom was also completely against The Simpsons, saying that it was a bad influence.)
Now though, it’s so commonplace that jokes such as “That’s what she said” are actually fairly mild, when compared to the more blatant references that are placed in the faces of anyone who dares to turn on a television. If you compare The Simpsons to The Family Guy, you can understand what I’m talking about. While The Simpsons has plenty of subtle innuendoes and more than enough irreverent humor, it’s also a great look at the way that society works at large. (I had a history professor once who hailed Simpsons as the most accurate portrayal of American life on television. You be the judge.)
Shows like The Family Guy use sex as their main vehicle for humor and laughs, and after a while, it just gets annoying. When a joke is clever, it’s funny. But when it’s just blatantly perverse, it crosses the line from funny to disturbing, and you don’t get as many laughs.
I think that’s why, while The Office offers plenty of off-color humor, it stays mostly in the innuendo level, because that’s what makes people laugh. Sorry, didn’t mean to go off on that, but it kind of struck me as a good topic, and it always makes me smile.
…That’s what she said.
- Kyle
Sydney White
I love watching movies. (Now let’s hear a collective “duh” from everyone.) Something that has always bothered me, though, is that theaters tend to only show the “popular” or seemingly “well-advertised” films, in order to guarantee a large initial audience, regardless of whether the film is actually worthwhile or not. I remember walking into the theater, and looking to buy tickets to Ressurecting the Champ, which I’ve read some really great reviews for, but it wasn’t shown anywhere near my zip code. The same could be said for King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, or a number of other films with original thought.
But every once and a while a film will be released quietly, and sheer word-of-mouth will help to spread it. It happened a few years ago with the classic My Big Fat Greek Wedding, where it was only shown in a few selected theaters, and the sheer unique nature of Tom Hanks’ film allowed it to generate quite a following. (And I still wonder if Windex sales were affected by it.)
Recently, I read a review about a film called Sydney White, explaining that it was just such a film. I searched throughout my area, and there was no showings, and I feared I might miss yet another interesting piece. But I was able to find a single screening about 30 minutes up the freeway at 6:50 PM, which was one of the most awkward times to hit a movie. Regardless, I’m glad that I took the time because this movie was definitely worth the effort.
Amanda Bynes (Hairspray) is Sydney White, a tomboyish college freshman who was raised by her father, a plumber, and the construction crew that he works with. As such, she has a much more practical view of life, especially compared to the social ladder-focus of her peers. Through a wonderful turn of events, though, she earns a scholarship to the same university that her mother attended, leaving a legacy at Kappa Phi Nu, the most popular sorority on campus for her daughter Sydney to follow.
Through a twist of events, however, she denounces the sorority, and is taken in by a lovable group of seven guys who are by all definitions of the words, dorks. Each unique and memorable in his own way, you’ll quickly draw the parallels in this adaptation of the classic tale, Snow White, as Sydney and her friends attempt to usurp the control that the “greek society”, led by Rachel Witchburn (I wonder who she could be?), has on the campus.
While it’s obvious that the filmmakers drew much of their inspiration from the Disney version, as opposed to the Grimms’ version, the references do nothing but enhance an already robust and well-written story. (Besides, its so interesting and fun how the writers used each reference.)
Bynes does an amazing job as Sydney, playing the part of the lovable tomboy so well that you can’t help but like her. There was one part of the film where Sydney is talking with Tyler Prince, (again, can you figure out who this character is?), and the subject turns to sports. Where most girls would have been lost in such a conversation, Sydney knows the subject intimately, and makes an obscure reference. Immediately, Tyler’s eyes widen, and he exclaims, “Marry me.” I’d have to agree.
It’s kind of hard to explain what exactly it was about the film that I loved so much. Each of the characters was played so well, they were unique and interesting, and the dialogue and one-liners were simply amazing. I don’t know if you’ll always be able to find it, but if you can, I encourage you to definitely track down Sydney White.
- Kyle
Pre-Marriage Wedding Reception
Recently, I went to the wedding of a good friend of mine, but was a little confused that we were supposed to meet at someone’s house the night before for the reception. Now, I’ve always expected the reception to be after the ceremony, so that we can pretty much “party all night” and no one really minds. The bride and groom leave before the rest of us, of course, but that’s just always been the way it goes.
This reception, however, took place before the wedding the next morning, and so around 11:00 or so, everyone began to leave out of propriety, and because they didn’t want to wake up late for the wedding. It was just really weird.
Is it wrong? Not really. I mean, it’s their wedding, they can do pretty much whatever they want, can’t they? But it seems like a pretty strange thing. After all, it’s just inviting trouble, I think. Everyone knows that the reception is the bride’s party, while the groom’s starts during the honeymoon. When you have the reception before, and everyone has to clean up the night before so everyone can get to the wedding…
Maybe this one isn’t making a ton of sense, but the whole subject doesn’t make sense to me. Oh well, that’s just the way things go sometimes, I guess. I’m gonna go watch a movie to bring some sanity back into my life. Maybe something like Eternal Sunshine and the Spotless Mind. That seems a lot less mind-bending, right?
- Kyle
Nickelodeon Classics
As I was surfing on the web the other day, I kept trying to find some old TV episodes for sale on DVD. I remember, back during my childhood, watching some of the most interesting shows ever. I’ve complained a little about the quality of cartoons now, but I can recall some classic shows, especially on networks like Nickelodeon, that you just don’t see anymore.
For example, does anyone remember Doug? How about Hey Dude? Or maybe Salute Your Shorts, or My Brother and Me, or Are You Afraid of the Dark? These were shows that I used to watch all the time when I was a kid, and to compare them to today’s “kid fare” is just unfair. These were classic shows that were entertaining, usually quite clever, very kid-oriented, but not just a mishmosh of flashy animation, some CG wizardry, and cliché dialogue.
The most interesting part was that often times, they even had… (hold your breath) …values! They would actually have a lesson hidden amongst the humor and hijinks. Honesty, integrity, loyalty, and friendship were actually shown to be good things, as opposed to just ways of manipulating people. There were unique characters that had unique personalities, and whose actions actually had consequences that they had to deal with. We watched as these characters dealt with the pressures of life, including acceptance, vanity, family and peers. And we actually cared!
Well, after searching, I stumbled across a site called nickclassics.com. I don’t know where the company is based, or what they do, exactly, but they’ve managed to find and format every episode of the seasons of “The Golden Age of Nickelodeon.” These DVD sets include a good number of classic shows that most any child of the 90′s television age would recognize. As for me, I’ve already ordered the Doug DVD set. (It was always one of my favorites.) I’m pretty excited.
- LATER EDIT – I got the DVDs, and they’re great! Broadcast quality, pulled right off the TV. Fun stuff.
- Kyle
Red vs Blue: What are we doing here?
I don’t know any gamer who hasn’t at least heard of the cultural phenomenon known as Red Vs Blue, or RvB. As for myself, I’d seen one of their “Public Service Announcements” a few years ago, and while I thought it was funny, it didn’t really strike me to go look up anything else about it. Instead, I just passed it off as one of those “funny internet things” and moved on.
Fast forward to the present, where I’ve had a brief liason with the series yet again. I happened to stumble across another film, this time one of the actual “episodes” of the series. I laughed so hard at it that I thought I was going to fall out of my chair. Quickly, I did some research, and tracked down the downloads for every episode that I could find, eventually putting together the entire 100 episodes, as well as a good number of PSAs. While that may be a dubious achievement to most, it was a fun little project to take up a few hours of my day and a few GBs of memory.
The “show” is essentially a story about the soldiers of Blood Gulch, one of the multiplayer maps found in the original game of Halo, for the X-Box. They question, ridicule, prod, misinterpret, and joke about everything and anything, including each other, military protocol, games (of course), philosophy, and society in general.
What makes it funny, at least to me, is that these are widely accessable, not only to gamers exclusively, but really anyone with a fun sense of humor. The characters are so well-portrayed, and extremely unique, that it makes for a fun show to watch, and you forget that you’re just watching a video game.
The series is made with a technique that has been dubbed “machinima”, which is the use of video games as animation tools for other entertainment. The characters are filmed through the use of an observer, matched to the voices and sound effects already recorded, and voila! You’ve got a very unique brand of entertainment.
The creators of RvB, a company known as RoosterTeeth, while obviously not the first to create films with video games, are arguably the most well known and influential group in the genre. Their work has really pushed them to the forefront of this questionably legitimate genre, and they have a good number of fans to prove it.
The series is definitely not for younger viewers, mostly because they simply wouldn’t get it, but also because there are a number of innuendoes and a good amount of language to deter any careful parent from endorsing such a title. However, if you can look past that, it’s some of the most clever hilarity on the internet, hands down.
- Kyle
Welcome Back, Potter
I only recently discovered the ’70s sitcom “Welcome Back, Kotter,” which was the big vehicle for John Travolta, and I absolutely love it. I keep on trying to find the DVDs somewhere, because I really think it represents a time when delinquent kids could be made funny without it all being about “how much we can represent sex on screen.”
In any case, in my search, I came across this funny little YouTube clip. It should be funny for Kotter and Potter fans alike.
- Kyle
MsDewey.com – A new step?
We’ve all watched the movies or tv shows where the characters can actually talk to a computer persona who hears and understands. (Think any sci-fo show, and you’ll understand what I’m talking about.) But we’ve always played it off as just science fiction, and “it’s never going to happen.” Well, someone’s taken a step in that direction.
I was in class yesterday, and we were reviewing the differences between websites. I’m sure anyone that surfs the web is used to ridiculously over-crowded sites, sites with just plain bad color choices, or pages that don’t make any sense.
Then we started into sites that are interesting, but are designed badly. One site that we came across was msdewey.com, a Microsoft search engine featuring an attractive young librarian, played by Janina Gavankar, who will make comments and such as you ask her to help you find things.
It’s much like the search engine Ask.com, but with a clever wit and personality akin to Dex, from the phone book commercials of the same name. Ms. Dewey will get bored, play video games, talk on her cell phone, continually grab props and say funny things. Plus, she’s cute to boot, which is definitely a plus over an old butler.
It’s an interesting concept, but the site takes a while to load, has a somewhat limited search base, and is a little hard to navigate. (It’s all run in flash, which is something that I’ve never really enjoyed about any website. However, it is a fun little goofy site that should provide a little goofy enjoyment.
While it’s not exactly a sci-fi computer, and the responses are nothing but 600+ film clips strung together, it just might be a step in the right direction. It’s a good thing, though, that they already named her something respectable, or you might have a bunch of nerdy teenagers setting it as their homepage, and calling her Lola.
- Kyle
