Friday, October 31, 2014

Wander Over Yonder - The Liar

Here we see Sylvia in "Loch Ness Monster mode" as she rescues some little Tiki guys. They are trying to escape from an erupting volcano which is about to blow it's top. She swims away frantically as giant flaming boulders rain down from Mount "Krak-yer-big-toa".

(Spoiler Alert) 

Having reached the mainland, Sylvia thinks the excitement is over and heads to a beach side bar. She's unable to relax when she sees that Wander has gone back to rescue a momma bird and her chicks.

In a tree.

Right over the mouth of the volcano.

Sylvia can only mutter to her drink: "Wait for me, tiny umbrella".

 (copyright Disney)

The action really begins as they struggle to rescue the family of birds from the volcano. When Sylvia says trying to save the birds is impossible, Wander chastises her with "I smell a big pile of  'can't do-do'".

The running gag is the momma bird keeps biting them to protect her young. (She thinks Wander and Sylvia are attacking her chicks.) The bird also delivers an electric shock which illuminates their skeletons. 

One baby bird runs off ("Gary") and hides in a hole in the side of the hill. Naturally, Wander and party pursue, and only to fall into some caves underneath the volcano.

 I kept wondering who the Liar was in this episode. It turns out that it's Wander. He swore that no one would die this day. Instead, it is Wander who turns out to be the Liar when they become trapped. 

Fortunately, Sylvia does not succumb to despair. She notices the hazards they faced before, and gets an idea. She makes a literal leap of faith, and takes them to safety riding one of the giant flaming boulders as Mount "Krak-yer-big-toa" finally blows itself to bits.

Their boulder crashes back on the beach, which also knocks over the bar. Fortunately, one of the little Tiki guys brings Sylvia her drink, complete with little pink umbrella. But before she can take a sip, she gets shocked by the birds one more time, only this time they jump on her out of gratitude.

Wander compliments Sylvia on her bravery and ingenuity.
Sylvia smiles and walks away, saying: "I never doubted it for a second".
With her back turned, her smile turns into a grimace of worry.

Thanks again to-

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Jack-O-Lantern

Finally gettin' my Ghoul on!


Happy Halloween!

Monday, October 27, 2014

Here there be Dragons...

Made from large sheets of styro my neighbor was throwing out, wood glue and tooth picks.



And Cobras!
She's actually on a rod to support plants, styro for the head and a "water worm" for her body.
Happy Halloween!


Monday, October 13, 2014

Leo the Tech Guy

 I still listen to AM radio, and Leo the Tech Guy has something interesting to listen to on those slow Sunday afternoons. When I'm tired of sports radio, Leo has callers asking about Windows, hard drives, apps, cell phones, you name it. It just takes a while for them to get on topic I'm interested in.

I'm usually in the car, and not ready to use the phone while driving. It's more of a nuts and bolts program than Digital Village on KPFK, but Leo is a much more genial AM radio host than the others these days...


(photo copyright Leo the Tech Guy, photographer unknown)


Friday, October 10, 2014

Guardians of the Galaxy - Animated Series

(Updated 10-12-14)
Hope this is a real scoop, it looks good.

First, via email from a friend,
Then, a post on Facebook,
Now, through the Animation Guild blog,

 http://animationguildblog.blogspot.com/2014/10/newer-marvel-animation.html

Next, the Hollywood Reporter...

 http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/guardians-galaxy-animated-tv-series-739981

So don't tell anybody!


 "Bigger blasters?"




(copyright Marvel/Disney)

Sorry about the small size, had trouble with the embed.

Wednesday, October 08, 2014

Marvel settles with Jack Kirby estate



(Photo taken by Suzy Skaar for "The Art of Jack Kirby" (Blue Rose Press, 1993)

It's taken me more time than I thought to comment on this news item, and I hope I've learned a bit more about the artist/employer relationship. When it comes to Jack Kirby, and all the work he has produced, it stirs up a lot of passion in comic fans.

And that's not a bad frame of mind, but it may not be useful when dealing with our current business climate. (My commentary will naturally be biased towards the artist.)

When Disney acquired  Marvel Comics, it seemed like mixing oil and water. I could not see how Disney's wholesome, family image could be balanced with Marvel's gritty superhero themes. Except for the profit motive, of course.

Marvel Comics had been owned and passed along by quite a few different corporations over the years since the first Lee/ Kirby days.The issues of who created which characters, and who signed their rights of ownership away as work for hire seemed to settled.

No one knew who would create the next Mickey Mouse or Superman, so these guys cranked this stuff out just to earn a paycheck. Comics were considered disposable, like old newspapers. Case closed, or so it seemed.

However, I learned recently from a debate on LinkeIn that the families of Siegel and Shuster, the creators of Superman, had been getting some kind of royalties, or share of the profits that the Superman character had generated for DC comics over the years. 

"With great power comes great responsibility"

(Simpsons copyright Fox)

Even though I'm a comic fan, I missed this information somehow. My assumption is the public having an image of the families of the creators of Superman being "left to starve" created bad press. And so a new arrangement was made to cut the heirs of Shuster, if not Siegel, in for some of the profits. Guess I need to hang out at more comic conventions. 

Oi.

Getting back to the settlement with the Kirby estate, a commentator on LinkedIn noted that this Lee/Kirby feud may have been old baggage that Disney did not want to lug around anymore. I can just picture their reluctant hands going down a little ways into those deep pockets and tossing the Kirby descendents a few bones. 

Whether the DC/Siegel and Shuster settlements set some kind of legal precedent will take more digging on my part. (Hooha!) But knowing the image Disney wants to portray may have spurred them into pouring oil on these troubled waters, even though it's quite late in the game.

Another thing that surprised me was how a faceless organization like Time/Warner could have made such a "warm and fuzzy" move with the Superman heirs. By faceless I mean that Disney had Walt, and Marvel had Stan Lee. But Time/Warner has no real "faceman", other than Bugs Bunny. 

Rant time: Business is business, and a deal is a deal, but maybe the world is getting tired of these huge media conglomerates winning ugly. Or else these corporations just want to avoid any more embarrassment.

But here's to Jack, still the King!

Sunday, October 05, 2014

Godzilla and Ultraman - The Amazing World of Japanese Special Effects



(copyright NHK and Tsuburaya Productions)

Godzilla and Ultraman - The Amazing World of Japanese Special Effects
It's fun sneaking around "backstage". I missed the beginning, but in Godzilla and Ultraman - The Amazing World of Japanese Special Effects  they displayed their techniques for making miniatures that went back to traditional Japanese gardens. And just good old forced perspective. The host was a westerner who seemed to love Tsuburaya, and even was allowed on a miniature set to pose with Ultraman Victory(?) The special effects people added the classic energy beams coming out of his hands to blast a monster.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-vdH86F6ZQ

They also talked to the pyrotechnics guy about his wiring set ups. He had something like the western studios have, sort of an electric xylophone. He could "play" the device so the squibs would go off with the proper timing. They also talked about Manga, and a car commercial using Tsuburaya's techniques where the car has to outrun giant monsters on a twisting canyon road.

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/tv/special/201408.html

I don't know if they will run this again, hopefully it will appear on the net somewhere. It's always great to see "old friends"!