But fear not, former Junior Ghostbusters! The real sequel is being released this year as Ghostbusters: The Video Game.  Its story is adapted from the greenlit-but-never-produced Ghostbusters 3 script by Aykroyd and Ramis, and nearly all the original cast is returning to do voice work!  Hooray! It will be made available on pretty much every platform in existence ( PC, Xbox 360, Sony PS3, Sony PSP, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS, possibly mobile phones) so chances are you won't have to shell out a bunch of money for a new game system just to play it.  If that trailer doesn't give you the warm fuzzies, I feel sorry for your bitter and jaded soul.

P.S.: Tokyopop is also releasing a new Ghostbusters manga, and IDW is publishing a four-issue comic mini-series.  The interesting thing about the manga is that while Tokyopop was able to secure the license for the property and characters, they were not able to license the likenesses of the original actors or the cartoon characters.  Check out the link to see the new designs that they came up with.

I love John Stewart.

I am a regular reader of our local Craig’s list, especially the “Farm and Garden” section.

And I have to say that I’m constantly amazed at the ads people place - or more accurately at the people who I imagine wrote the ads. These folks will be voting in the upcoming election, after all, and their vote cancels out mine (and yours).

Today, I’m puzzled by this listing (reproduced in its entirety):

“Tobacco Laths for sale, .06 each.”

There is no more to the ad. No hint at how many are available, or what size they are. No way to tell if they’ll fit in the trunk of my car. Or should I rent a trailer to pick up my lath? Can I get it Tuesday after work or can you mail it to me, parcel post?

I honestly have no idea what a tobacco lath is and yet I now have all sorts of questions that are bugging me like that little beeping sound that seems to be coming from the family room downstairs, but when I get down there and listen, I can’t hear it at all anymore.

For starters, what’s the going rate for a tobacco lath? Is “.06” a bargain price? Or should I be looking for a lath in the .03-.04 range (which is a savings of some 33-50%)? If I were in the market for such a lath (and I assure you that I am not), I wouldn’t want to end up yet another victim of a tobacco lath shark who you read about on page six of the morning paper, bewailing the fact that my life savings have been spirited away by some ne’er-do-well (there, I said it) who makes his fortune by dumping inferior lath on an unsuspecting public at premium prices.

And since you brought it up (you did, didn’t you?) what about quality? What does one look for in a good tobacco lath? Is there wood grain to be considered as when purchasing oak flooring? Or is rough-hewn the best, much like the prized barn boards I have used in my basement to fashion a sort of “bar” and “seating” as I like to call it. (Stop over tomorrow, if it fits your schedule – there’s always room for one more, we like to say. Free drinks for the ladies!)

And with that we close this installment of “What’s on Craig’s list today?” Tomorrow, we’ll examine the ad that really says, “Be different – own a mammoth donkey!”

In one of the smartest moves I could have possibly imagined, they enlisted the aid of superstar comic creator Scott McCloud (author of the landmark educational book Understanding Comics, among many other works) to produce a graphic primer/explanation/instruction manual for Chrome.  This works far better than any press release could have, going beyond the use of simple illustrations to genuinely create something that informs you seamlessly and equally with with both text and visual cues.  Much of the back-end information would have been incomprehensible to me as an end user, but McCloud and the Google Team make it accessible.

If Google Chrome is capable of delivering on its promises, then it will enable faster, more functional and more secure internet browsing while rivaling Apple for user-friendliness.  Are you interested?  Try out the beta and see for yourself!

There is a major trade-off taking place as far as Joss Whedon franchises are concerned, unfortunately.  Development of this new game has effectively cancelled all work on the previously-announced Firefly MMORPG, with its release date postponed indefinitely.  Still, it is possible that success with Whedon's more well-known and monetarily successful franchise will enable greater use of resources for production of the eventual Firefly release.

Because I simply cannot bring myself to pay for Austar, following these two shows means either watching a streamed version on the Comedy Central website, which is low res and means hooking my laptop up to the tv, or getting a copy downloaded to Mrsdave's Mac, which means I have to watch the shows in my bedroom. Neither of these solutions was ideal, but as election season is only once every two years I put up with it.

This week, however, I was saved from my torment by the power of geekiness. After our discussion of all things '80s a while back, I decided to get a copy of Star Blazers to share with Buster Boy. Again, I was left with the problem of having the videos on Mrsdave's Mac rather than in a format that could be viewed in the lounge room. But this time luck was on my side and I stumbled upon a great little piece of software called Rivet, which allows content from Mrsdave's Mac to be streamed over the network to our X-box 360 so that it can be watched on the TV. Added to this I have an app which automatically finds and downloads new episodes of shows I want to watch, meaning that I don't even have to go searching for content, so with a few button clicks on my X-box remote I now have all my favourite shows available to me.

I cannot tell you how cool this is. For a geek like me, who spends their working life seeing technology not working, it is really awesome to see people making stuff like this work so well. So now you know why there's been nothing on the blog for a while, the Argo has just passed Saturn, and Jon and Steven are whipping Sarah Palin back to Alaska, who has time to write?

The church was more than a service agency or advocate for political or social change, but had been charged with preaching the saving news of Jesus Christ, Dr. Chew said, and must be lead not by a desire for comfort, but by the cross.

"Until we know the cross, in these days and age, we will not have anything to offer, so may the Lord bring back the glory to the Church; His glory, not the glory of men, so that we on His behalf can offer this and hopefully we can, as a result of this, at least in Singapore, we don't need to go through the last hour," the primate of the Church of the Province of South East Asia said.

In his presidential address to members of the National Council of Churches of Singapore (NCCS) at the annual National Day of Thanksgiving Service on August 28 at St. Andrew's Cathedral in Singapore, Dr. Chew drew upon the Gospel of John's account of the wedding at Cana to illustrate his theme.

Dr. Chew likened the wedding guest's consumption of wine to the heady consumerism and materialism of Southeast Asia. Just as the wine ran out at the wedding, so to had Asia's economic "miracle" burst in 1997. Churches also had been through periods of boom and bust, fixating on growth for growth's sake---becoming fascinated with numbers that masked a spiritual shallowness.

The modern world, including the church, demanded immediate answers to every problem. However, lasting answers were not created on the spur of the moment, and too often ignored the deeper spiritual issues at play.

The church had failed to respond to the challenges of the Prague Spring of 1968, and the Fall of Communism in 1989, and it appeared to be missing the opportunity of responding to the crisis of globalization today, he said.

Materialism, consumerism, ethnic, social and religious tensions all demanded a response, he said. However, the church should focus its energies on answering the question, "What are people really needing in their lives?"

That answer had not changed, he said, and it remained the cross of Christ.

Jocelyn (or "Joss," as she prefers to be called) is a reasonably typical Canadian college coed. She's terrified of her mounting student loan debt, is enamoured with British culture and positively obsessed with zombie media. She claims to know all of "the Rules" of zombie fiction, though she has a much harder time remembering to study her actual coursework. On an otherwise ordinary day, her most exciting dreams and worst nightmares are realized as zombies overrun the campus! Joss quickly barricades herself and her friends (studly, dimwitted jock Robyn and sardonic mall-goth Sonnet) in her dorm room where they plan to use Joss's knowledge of "the Rules" to survive until help arrives.

Will Robyn, Sonnet and Joss survive the zombie outbreak? Will Joss still have to face the nightmare of insurmountable debt? Will she ever get to realize her dream and visit Merry Olde England? And what's the deal with the zombies, anyway?! The answers to all these questions and more are waiting to be read by you in Zombies Calling!

Judging by her love for the subjects in this book, Faith Erin Hicks must be nearly as zombie- and British-obsessed as I am. There are dozens of homages to the great creators and works of the sub-genre, from the first pair of zombies exclaiming "Grr! Arrgh!" to Joss's scathing derision of the lone "fast zombie." Pay close attention to the posters on Joss's dorm room wall for a few more nods. Joss longs for a zombie-destroying cricket bat, but has to settle for a change jar and, later, a spork (which makes for some of the best humor in the book!) And what would a piece of zombie fiction be without some form of social commentary? The zombie master puts things into a very humorous perspective that anyone can understand, but college students will especially appreciate.

It took until nearly the end of the book for me to stop judging it by standards that do not apply. Zombies Calling is not cut from the same cloth as any of its predecessors, with the possible exception of Shaun of the Dead. If you are expecting a dark tale about the collapse of society in the face of rampant consumerism (of flesh!) or any other heavy social metaphor, you are looking in the wrong place. This is a light-hearted look at zombies that stabs the fourth wall with a mighty jab from its blood-covered spork. Its ideal adaptation (in my mind) would be an animated prime-time special on Cartoon Network. I say a special rather than a movie because it is rather short in length, only taking one hour at most to read through (if you're not hunting for homages.)

Faith Erin Hicks not only wrote Zombies Calling, but pencilled, inked and lettered it as well. She admits that her style is reminiscent of Bryan Lee O'Malley (Scott Pilgrim) and Andi Watson (Clubbing, Glister, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and I completely agree. In particular, Sonnet bears a striking resemblance to Charlotte, the protagonist of Clubbing. The characters each have their own unique looks (Sonnet notwithstanding) and the action is kinetic and dynamic without being graphic. Also, it's very funny to watch Joss fend off packs of zombies with nothing but a hybrid utensil. The panel layouts are straightforward and easy to follow, which is perfect for an all-ages (or at least ages 8 and up) book.

I would recommend Zombies Calling for anyone who enjoys zom-coms and can laugh at their better-known conventions, but doesn't require layers of subtext underneath the menace of flesh-eating undead. It may still be a bit too much of a horror book for younger readers, but I would put it on par with your average R.L. Stine book in terms of scariness. As joss would say, it's bloody brilliant!

Jocelyn (or "Joss," as she prefers to be called)  is a reasonably typical Canadian college coed.  She's terrified of her mounting student loan debt, is enamoured with British culture and positively obsessed with zombie media.  She claims to know all of "the Rules" of zombie fiction, though she has a much harder time remembering to study her actual coursework.  On an otherwise ordinary day, her most exciting dreams and worst nightmares are realized as zombies overrun the campus!  Joss quickly barricades herself and her friends (studly, dimwitted jock Robyn and sardonic mall-goth Sonnet) in her dorm room where they plan to use Joss's knowledge of "the Rules" to survive until help arrives.

Will Robyn, Sonnet and Joss survive the zombie outbreak?  Will Joss still have to face the nightmare of insurmountable debt?  Will she ever get to realize her dream and visit Merry Olde England?  And what's the deal with the zombies, anyway?!  The answers to all these questions and more are waiting to be read by you in Zombies Calling!

Judging by her love for the subjects in this book, Faith Erin Hicks must be nearly as zombie- and British-obsessed as I am.  There are dozens of homages to the great creators and works of the sub-genre, from the first pair of zombies exclaiming "Grr!  Arrgh!"  to Joss's scathing derision of the lone "fast zombie." Pay close attention to the posters on Joss's dorm room wall for a few more nods.  Joss longs for a zombie-destroying cricket bat, but has to settle for a change jar and, later, a spork (which makes for some of the best humor in the book!)  And what would a piece of zombie fiction be without some form of social commentary?  The zombie master puts things into a very humorous perspective that anyone can understand, but college students will especially appreciate.

It took until nearly the end of the book for me to stop judging it by standards that do not apply.  Zombies Calling is not cut from the same cloth as any of its predecessors, with the possible exception of Shaun of the Dead.  If you are expecting a dark tale about the collapse of society in the face of rampant consumerism (of flesh!) or any other heavy social metaphor, you are looking in the wrong place.  This is a light-hearted look at zombies that stabs the fourth wall with a mighty jab from its blood-covered spork.  Its ideal adaptation (in my mind) would be an animated prime-time special on Cartoon Network. I say a special rather than a movie because it is rather short in length, only taking one hour at most to read through (if you're not hunting for homages.)

Faith Erin Hicks not only wrote Zombies Calling, but pencilled, inked and lettered it as well.  She admits that her style is reminiscent of Bryan Lee O'Malley (Scott Pilgrim) and Andi Watson (Clubbing, Glister, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and I completely agree.  In particular, Sonnet bears a striking resemblance to Charlotte, the protagonist of Clubbing.  The characters each have their own unique looks (Sonnet notwithstanding) and the action is kinetic and dynamic without being graphic.  Also, it's very funny to watch Joss fend off packs of zombies with nothing but a hybrid utensil.  The panel layouts are straightforward and easy to follow, which is perfect for an all-ages (or at least ages 8 and up) book.

I would recommend Zombies Calling for anyone who enjoys zom-coms and can laugh at their better-known conventions, but doesn't require layers of subtext underneath the menace of flesh-eating undead.  It may still be a bit too much of a horror book for younger readers, but I would put it on par with your average R.L. Stine book in terms of scariness.  As joss would say, it's bloody brilliant!

There is futility (Wall-e is earth’s last robotic trash compactor whose job is to collect, compact, and stack the mountains of trash left behind after the environmental end of the world); loneliness (his only friend is a cockroach who is as impervious to his environment as is Wall-e); nostalgia (his only entertainment is an old VCR playing ‘Put on Your Sunday Clothes’ from ‘Hello, Dolly’); tenacity (Wall-e hitches a ride to the Axiom, one of earth’s Titanic-like permanent spaceships where, true to its name, the rotund remnants of the human population are suffering from disuse atrophy); rebellion (Wall-e and his robotic companion, Eve, incite the captain and subsequently the ship’s passengers to get off their butts and on their feet again); and hope (a la ‘2001: A Space Odyssey,’ the captain is rejuvenated by a single live plant from earth, rejects his Hal-like robotic eye, and steers his passengers home).

As with all of Pixar’s anthropomorphic (and often mechanical) characters, Wall-e has a love interest, a space probe on a mission with the hugely resonant name of Eve, who sustains the baby plant as she journeys back to the Axiom. They express affection, in true Pixar fashion, by a simple touch of their robotic hands. A couple on board the spaceship follows suit with an electric hand touch – resonant of the intimacy that has been largely forgotten by those alienated from their homeland, their bodies, and their feelings.

I knew I wanted to see ‘Wall-e’ when I heard director and co-writer Andrew Stanton’s interview on PBS recently. What I remember most about the interview is his comment on attending CalArts and joining Pixar to find “that we all thought our bike was cold in the rain, that our fish was lonely in a fishbowl, that a leaf would be afraid of heights when it fell.”

Stanton also says in the interview, “There’s almost nothing you can’t convey without dialogue.” This is a minimalist lesson he and the Pixar team learned well from the likes of Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and Harold Lloyd, and it is perhaps the most resonant quality of all in this old world/new world parable of sin and redemption.

Now, back on to the album. Anyone who has seen Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog and loved it should buy the soundtrack. These songs are infinitely catchy and sing-alongable. I know. I sang them twice all the way to work and at least 4 times through all the way back from work (I got stuck in some traffic, and then got myself a little lost). Anyone who hasn't seen Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, that's okay -as long as you rectify that immediately by going to Hulu.com and watching it, and then of course buying the soundtrack. It is an on-line musical by Joss Whedon about a wanna-be supervillain. What more could anyone possibly want out of life? On my end, only heading to a better job could possibly improve an already wonderful CD full of witticisms and harmonic angst done well.

Starting Friday and over the long Labor Day weekend the twitterstream was full of a new meme, "Little Known Fact, Sarah Palin" It was a gambit that started to fill in the lack of information on the new McCain ticket running mate, Sarah Palin, with disinformation and humor. Within three hours of the announcement the meme started, and thousands of tweets were submitted by every corner of the twitterverse. It was a spontaneous gag that kept getting better or worse, depending on how you view the sophmoric humor. It was a "Saturday Night Live" skit that took off with the collective contributing at a furious pace. In most cases it kept to the humorous bend, but ranged from critical to fawning. Here are some selected tweats; where attribution is missing they were pulled from PalinFacts.com:

Brand Promise (bringing it back to digital marketing for a second)

@podcastmama Little known fact: Sarah Palin softens your hands while you do the dishes.

@diabolos: Little Known Fact: Sarah Palin isn't qualified for VP, but she did stay in a Holiday Inn last night.

@MovableHype: Little Known Fact: Sarah Palin knows how many licks it takes to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop.

@kevinbinversie: Little Known Fact: Sarah Palin knows what's in her wallet.

Sarah Palin will pry your Klondike bar from your cold dead fingers.

Strength/Endurance

@JonHenke - Sarah Palin’s enemies are automatically added to the Endangered Species List

When Sarah Palin booked a flight to Europe, the French immediately surrendered.

Sarah Palin plays Whack-a-Mole with her forehead, and always gets a perfect score.

Omniscient:

Sarah Palin knows who was on the grassy knoll.

@stuartturner: Little known fact: There is no 'ctrl' button on Sarah Palin's computer. She's always in control. Too bad McCain doesn't have a computer

@podcastmama Little known fact: Sarah Palin know's what it's like to be the sad man behind blue eyes.

Little Known Fact: Sarah Palin knows how old the Chinese gymnasts are.

@markaiken: Little known fact: Sarah Palin IS RIGHT BEHIND YOU

Chuck Norris Comparisons (follows the "fake Chuck Norris" meme format and consumes it)

@DarkAdapted: Little known fact: Chuck Norris backs down from no man. He does back down from Sarah Palin.

@brennanm: Little Known Fact: Sarah Palin blows her nose with Chuck Norris.

@steezydeezy: Little Known Fact: Sarah Palin and Chuck Norris together in one room would create a black hole!

@miketrap: Little Known Fact: Sarah Palin once kicked Chuck Norris' ass, just because he thought about looking at hers.

@conblog: Little Known Fact: There are only 2 forces Chuck Norris recognizes: brute force & Sarah Palin. He practices one & lives in fear of the other

Pop Culture

@neoskeptic: Little Known Fact: Sarah Palin's milkshake brings all the boys to the yard. She could teach you, but she'd have to charge.

cheesie_67: Little Known Fact: Sarah Palin is the last daughter of Krypton.

@wolfcat: Little known fact: Sarah Palin will eat the twitter fail whale for breakfast if elected

@I_aint_Eddy: Little known fact: Sarah Palin is never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down, never gonna run around and desert you.

Political:

@cscan:Little known actual fact: Sarah Palin has been governor for less time than John McCain has been running for President.

@YooPlaceTop: ★ Little known actual fact: Sarah Palin tried to ban book ...http://tinyurl.com/5e6ke3

@Trudaluck: Little Known Fact: Sarah Palin is simply the best....better than all the rest

@fpaynter: Little known fact: Sarah Palin shot the state trooper, but she did not shoot the deputy.

Sarah Palin’s finishing move in the VP debate will be pulling Biden’s still beating heart from his chest & taking a bite.

Impact:Like a lot of internet memes and one-hit-wonders, this one lived strongest for about 24-36 hours getting discovered at varying points by MSM and bloggers. I wouldn't be surprised if this catches fire a few weeks from now when another media discovers it. I'm also confident that these results will game the search engines and take over top search results, perhaps even influencing some votes. The good news about these memes is that they eventually fizzle out. They're the equivalent of Sunday Funnies for those that remember, or a good Sienfeld/Simpson's line that crept into popular culture. They serve their entertainment purpose for the moment, then need to go away.

If you liked any of this, you might also like:

http://sarahpalinisyournewsegway.com/

Lunch Lady Action Figure. Image source: Stupid.com

Just in time for the return to school we have the Lunch Lady Action Figure. As a public high school graduate I well remember the stern demeanor and terrifying glare of the lunch room ladies. A tough job as I learned from my wife's cousin's husband's mother who, unknown to me, worked as a lunch lady in my school cafeteria for many years.

The 5-1/4" tall, hard vinyl figure comes with a scoop, a food tray, a serving station and a sticker sheet featuring images of delicious hot entrées. Available as a professional development fundraiser via the New York School Nutrition Association.

Now let's raise the level of our action figure cultural discourse with the Librarian Action Figure. With Amazing push-button Shushing Action!

Librarian Action Figure via Stupid.com

Actions figures have been part of American culture for decades. I played reenacted military battles with my G.I. Joe dolls action figures for hundreds of hours in my youth.

1960s Action Soldier via Wikipedia

To raise the cultural level of this post even more Shakespeare's Den gives us Van Gogh and Da Vinci as:

Artist Action Figures & Dolls

Exceptional gifts for the art lovers in your life. But check first to see if the Van Gogh action figure comes with a miniature severed ear.

~MadSilence

]]> http://greatwarfiction.wordpress.com/?p=876 Tue, 02 Sep 2008 20:48:34 +0000 George Simmers http://greatwarfiction.wordpress.com/?p=876 When I had my mini-holiday in London a few weeks ago, I read, with great enjoyment, the script of the anarchic farce Khaki, by Ernie Lotinga (T.S.Eliot's favourite comedian.) Now I've been back to the British Library to read the file of comments about the play preserved in the archive of the Lord Chamberlain, the theatre censor.

The Chamberlain's reader (G.S.Street) did not share Eliot's admiration for Lotinga's brand of comedy. "The play is a farrago of idiocy, vulgarity and sham sentiment."he wrote. His summary of the plot is more or less accurate:

The period is in the War. The villain, Partridge, was a solicitor before the War and is now a Colonel, who can do anything he likes. There is a sub-villain, Spencer, in the RAMC who is in Partridge’s power. Partridge knows that Kitty, wife of Lieutenant Graham, the hero, is coming into a fortune, and determines to get rid of Graham and marry her. He sends Graham on a certain-death expedition, but he is captured by the Germans and imprisoned. Partridge meanwhile is cashiered for drunkenness. He tells Kitty that Graham is dead and that he was cashiered for trying to save him from danger; she believes this, but exhorts him to enlist. Graham escapes and loses his memory, and by Partridge’s machinations is kept by scoundrels in Paris. His comic servant, Josser, after a scene in a hospital in which Partridge and Spencer try to poison him, rescues graham and they appear just as Partridge is going to marry Kitty and he is arrested, and all is well. All this is overlaid by the antics of the low comedian, Josser, who insults the Colonel in several scenes, plays cards with a comic German, outwits the commandant of the internment camp and so on.

Street considered whether the play should be banned:

It might be possible to ban this play as insulting to the Army (1) in the characters of Col. Partridge and Captain Spencer and (2) in the antics of the comedian, a private, who continually insults the Colonel with impunity. The worst passages, apart from the general scheme, are in Scene III pp 3,8,17 (privates not wanting to volunteer) and 24 and 25 (the colonel getting drunk.)

As against this, the audience can hardly take the villain Partridge as a real colonel, or representing military dignity in any way. The whole thing is so preposterously silly that the most ignorant audience could not think it represented reality in any way. As for the characters (sic) of the Colonel, we have had, in a serious play, an officer sending a rival to death, which is possible however unlikely. In the present case, of course, the colonel is a wildly impossible figure.

On the whole, I do not think that there is sufficient ground for banning the play, but that a strong caution against the vulgarity of the comic business (which runs all through; there are no salient instances except those given) being made excessive.

It is therefore, though reluctantly,

Recommended for licence.

The Lord Chamberlain himself was even more hostile:This is the sort of play I abominate & before coming to a decision as to how to deal with it, I sh^d be glad of the State Chamberlain’s advice.

The State Chamberlain was Sir Douglas Dawson, a member of the censor's advisory board, and a ferocious soldier who seems to have regarded most drama with suspicion. When asked his opinion of Noel Coward's This was a Man he growled: ‘Every character in this play, presumably ladies and gentlemen, leads an adulterous life and glories in doing so. I find no serious “purpose” in the play, unless it be misrepresentation. At a time like this what better propaganda could the Soviet instigate and finance?’

He regarded Lotinga's anarchic comedy with equal suspicion:

Reading through this play confirms the sympathy I often feel for the “Reader” who has to frequently wade through such rubbish.

I concur with Mr Street’s comments as to “a farrago of idiocy and vulgarity” but if asked I would not even recommend reluctantly a licence as the play now stands. For two reasons, both already mentioned in synopsis.

(1)the slur cast on the officer class in the characters of Partridge and Spencer. A Com^dg Officer drunk in his own orderly room is to my mind an impossibility, and I would be very sorry to think of the Lord Ch. Making himself responsible for such a travesty of reality to go out to the public with his cachet.
It may be argued that in the play slurs are cast on all classes. Why should the officers be exempted? With this I deal later.

But far more important are the impossible relations between the officer and private soldier. The conversations especially the remarks of the private to his C.O. convey a totally false impression of actual fact as regards relationships between officers and other ranks, as example of which Scene III is much the worst. See pp 3, 4, 8,9,12, 13, 14. Possibly the few remaining scenes might require small revision. Scenes IV to IX are in this respect harmless but idiotic. I should ask consideration of the importance at this moment of upholding the good name of the army. Revolutions only become serious when the soldier refuses to obey his officer. “A l’heure qui l’est” the agitator is at work with propaganda subversive of discipline, and winked at if not supported by the Govt. in office.

Is this the moment for a play to appear the moral of which is to cast ridicule on what may ere long be the only buffer left between us and revolution.

I may be talking from a soldier’s point of view, but if the Lord Chamberlain should think fit to consult the advisory board, those are my views.

The "Govt in office" in September 1924 was, of course, Ramsay Macdonald's Labour administration. Dawson's dark talk of revolution suggests that he is envisaging a situation in which the Army might have to step in to protect the country from revolutionaries - and maybe even from the elected govenment. In the early twenties, he would not have been unique in holding such views.

Dawson's view prevailed and Lotinga was told that the play as it stood could not be performed. The prospect left him understandably distraught. The theatre had been booked and the scenery ordered.  He faced financial ruin if the play was not produced.

In a long letter to the Chamberlain's office, he pleads innocence of any subversive intention, and points out that during the war he had performed a naval comedy H.M.S. Perhaps at Southsea, Portsmouth and Chatham. He pointed out that:

“Theatre audiences in these towns consist mainly of Naval officers and other ratings. I can assure you they screamed with delight at my burlesque and also at the cheeky answers which I addressed at the other actors in the play who represented Admirals and other officers of the Navy.”

Lotinga willingly agreed to changes in the play, in order to save his investment. The main ones were:

• The main villain was made a Captain only, not a Colonel
• A decent Colonel was introduced
• The repartee was toned down.
• The officer was no longer shown as drunken (was drugged instead).A line was cut in which Lotinga (as Josser) claimed that he was going to Buckingham Palace to play shove-ha'penny with the King.

Rather plaintively, Lotinga pointed out that:

My burlesque is pure harmless fun, and as I am solely a burlesque comedian, the only way I can obtain my laughs is by doing or saying something absurd.

I find it most interesting to see the weight of the Establishment come crushing down on a farcical and rather silly play like Khaki.

The touchiness of the Army is interesting, too. One starts wondering - why could the Chamberlain have licensed the naval play but come down heavily on the army equivalent?

Maybe the answer is that the Navy was non-political - in internal British terms at least. They threw their weight around abroad, with gunboats sent to recalcitrant colonies, and so on, but in Britain did nothing controversial. The Army, by contrast, were a force that might be mobilised internally, to break strikes or put down riots. Having a more sensitive political role, they could not afford to be so relaxed about their image.

What I want to discover now is - did that great Lotinga fan T.S.Eliot see Khaki? And if he did were Partridge and Spencer in any way models for that disreputable pair of officers Wauchope and Horsefall in Sweeney Agonistes? I shall keep on investigating.

Remembering Don LaFontaine (1940-2008)

You may not know the name Don LaFontaine, but I’ll bet you know his voice. And I’ll bet you know his famous line: “In a world where…” Now that voice has been quieted. LaFontaine passed away on September 1 at age 68.

Don LaFontaine was the well-known voice  heard in about 5,000 movie trailers, and he kept busy with other voice-over work in Hollywood, as well. ( Britain’s Daily Mail paid tribute to him here. ) He was at the top of the voice-over world for two decades and was much sought after by studios looking to promote their newest films.

In more than a few cases, his wonderful, distinctive voice gave many of the scripts he read a good deal more class than they might otherwise have had. In fact, I think he was a contributing factor — there were also others, of course — in making many movie trailers better than the movies they were promoting.

I, for one, will miss his voice authoritatively telling us about Hollywood’s latest releases. And I definitely think that his line “In a world where…” should be retired.

By the way, I don’t think LaFontaine was ever recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, but looking back at his career, that's an oversight the Academy should correct.

--GA

Get this--I read four books in the month of August. That's a record for me, if you don't count reading books in college for my literature classes. And honestly, most of those I had to skim over because the assignments were just two long to read in a two-day period (thank you, Spark Notes!). The books I read were the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. It's young adult fiction, but I had been hearing about it for about a year now and my friend Morgan finally convinced me to read the first book even though I'm not really a fad reader. I read it in less than a week. Then I borrowed the second one, New Moon, which took me four days to read. Then MK bought me the last two--I read Eclipse in less than a week and the final book, Breaking Dawn in THREE days. I couldn't put the last book down; it was divided into three "books" and I read each in one day. The series is definitely compelling, even though it got annoying at times. The protagonist is very self-deprecating but what do you expect from a 17-year-old girl? There are some negative things I can say as well as positive things, but overall, I was oddly intrigued by this human/vampire love story with quite a bit of werewolf thrown in. I think a lot of the fan girls were upset with the final book but I really enjoyed it and was happy with the outcome. I don't want to give too much information and spoil it in case anyone wants to read the series.

On November 21st, the movie will come out. My best friend Les and I are going to see it for her (dreaded) 30th birthday...if 50 is the new 30, then we are still "tweens"! So, I told her we should live it up and act like 20-year-olds--or 10-year-olds if you use the 50/30 ratio--on the last night of her 20s (her birthday is the 22nd). I just hope the movie stays true to the book because I enjoyed it so much.

So, if I don't post for awhile, you'll know I'm absorbed in another book. I'm on a reading kick again, which could last awhile since I tend to go through phases. Reading takes dedication and I don't always have that; sometimes I get "Book ADD" and just can't dedicate that much time to one book. However, I've really felt a sense of accomplishment lately even though what I've read has been YA lit. Oh, well. A book is a book is a book. And reading approximately 750 pages in three days is a pretty big deal for me. :)

Until next time...stay classy.

The story begins with 39-year-old Andy Wicks seeking the help of a professional hypnotherapist to cure his addiction to smoking.  A prematurely balding mid-level manager at a moderately successful software company with a wife and two daughters (one from his wife's previous marriage), Andy's life is about as mediocre as can be imagined.  He has had no luck kicking his addiction to cigarettes, and so agrees to put his skepticism aside and attempt hypnotherapy for the sake of his wife's (and children's) health  Under the hypnotic light, he is getting very sleepy...

...When he wakes up, he finds himself (much to his surprise and alarm) in his old high school.  As if that wasn't odd enough, people seem to be reacting to him very differently.  When he checks his reflection in the bathroom mirror, he is shocked to find that not only is he back in his high school building, he is sixteen years old and back in high school! Is he doomed to repeat the most awkward and embarrassing years of his life all over again?  Will he be able to return to the future without making drastic changes to history?  Will he learn why any of this has happened?  Well, I don't want to spoil it for you.  You'll have to read it for yourself to learn the truth.

I will gladly tell you, however, that the book is a joy to read from start to finish.  Hollywood executives, if given this premise, would probably have turned out a typical drek-fest ("It's 13-going-on-30 BACKWARDS meets Never Been Kissed!  We'll cast We'll cast Jennifer Garner and Miley Cyrus as "Andie Wicks," take out the smoking angle, and make it a musical!!!")  Thankfully, Alex Robinson refuses to go down that road.  The result feels much more like a combination of Superbad and Garden State, with a spoonful of generic John Hughes thrown in to give it that distinctive '80s flavor we all know and love.  Speaking of that '80s flavor, Alex stuck to actual high school yearbooks for his stylistic inspiration instead of the more "traditional" movies of the era.  He remarked in an interview that, "I don't know how it was for other people but I was really surprised looking back at how un-eighties [kids in the eighties] actually looked. There were still a lot of kids with long hair, almost more seventies looking, instead of the spikey, new wave look that Hollywood featured at the time."

Swinging back around to my Judd Apatow and Zach Braff comparisons, I would say that Alex shows in Too Cool To Be Forgotten that he has the same talent for giving characters realistic voices for both comedy and drama, letting them show more personality and depth of character than the average teen story.  The book gets a bit emotionally heavy toward the end, but it is handled in a way that reminds me of the most human parts of Garden State (specifically the conversation between Andrew and his father near the end of the film.) I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the exceptional quality of TCTBF's artwork, which manages to capture the feel of vapid teenageriness as easily as it expresses deeply powerful emotional imagery, though the transitions between the two are sometimes less than seamless.  Still, there are pages that will stick in your memory long after you read the book, and ones where you'll understand the emotions of the scene before you even start paying attention to the panels themselves.  I'll throw out three other (wildly different) artists that I was reminded of at turns: Webcomic superstar Scott Kurtz (of PVP fame), legendary (and somewhat legendarily awkward) comix artist R. Crumb, and king of unusual panel layouts J.H. Williams II.  I'll warn you, though, visual art is not really something I have as much familiarity with.  When it comes to those comparisons, your mileage may vary.

I highly recommend Too Cool to Be Forgotten to anyone who enjoys character-driven stories that feature light-hearted humor mixed with real, touching moments.  I especially recommend it to anyone who has ever woken up in a cold sweat, panicked that they didn't study for that final exam or that they'll have to go stag to the prom (even when they know their prom happened years ago.)  Those nightmares may never go away, but maybe TCTFB will help you appreciate how lucky you are to have gotten out of high school alive.

P.S.: It's worth noting that TCTFB is a very quick read.  If you're determined, you can probably read it from start to finish in under two hours.  I recommend that you take your time, though, since some of the more subtle bits of dialog and artwork are what make the book such a joy to read.

Take a trip down Memory Lane with me!

Recommend this post at Progressive Bloggers

Turning 40 gives one pause for reflection and a weekend away, without the children, permits that river of thought to flow reasonably unimpeded into a blog post by the sea.

The original notion of a birthday weekend in Melbourne came from seeing a program about the celebrity chef, Shannon Bennett and his French restaurant, Vue de Monde, while travelling through Western Australia earlier this year. The degustation menu – spellchecker just insisted on ‘de gestation’ – looked exquisite and the attention to the detail of the fine dining experience something special, something excellent.

We were not disappointed on Saturday night with our fine dining experience, it was truly superb and made us desire, strangely enough and I am sure you will understand, to have more experience at living in the style one is unaccustomed.

Bryan Lloyd, the manager of Vue de Monde, is clearly excellent at his job and skilled with people in a way that warrants discussion by Educators, especially those interested in how a business harnesses the individual to the success of the endeavour.

Towards the end of our 3&1/2 hour meal we told Bryan of our feelings of nervous anticipation about the night. ‘We were nervous too’ was his response, ‘when someone books several months ahead’ the pressure to deliver excellence is extraordinary. We talked about how comfortable we felt at the restaurant and how Vue de Monde operates successfully with such excellence.

The staff are fundamental to this success and under great pressure to perform. Bryan employs people who have ‘the right attitude’ and says the whole thing can come undone by choosing someone who is not right for the team. Also, it is important, he says, to provide for staff what they need and I assume there is flexibility in employment. Can one travel for six months and return or have time off to study? All the staff had a twinkle and were good at responding with humour and wit – they seemed to be having fun. Everyone was working hard and attention to detail evident. The expense of an evening would permit nothing less than a champagne experience. It reminds me, that we who work in educating the young endeavour to provide a champagne education but are on a beer budget.

Earlier in the day we enjoyed the Art Deco Exhibition (1910-1939) at the National Gallery of Victoria before revelling in the splendour of the Wicked set at the Regent Theatre.

The ubiquitous iPod was the medium the art gallery employed as an audio guide and the woman staffing the counter was relieved she didn’t have to explain how to use one for the ‘ten thousandth time’. The curating of the exhibition is excellent and I particularly enjoyed how film interspersed the artwork. The minute or so of Josephine Baker dancing and hamming it up for the camera was a delight.

Superb food and wine accompanying quality art and performance, could only add to the joy of time spent with one’s Significant Other. Kate had a great time too and hardly mentioned Lucy and Sarah…well, less than expected. We didn’t talk much about her 40^th birthday celebrations…but that’s years and years – well three away. [gallery]

Finally, I took the opportunity to have a local street artist sketch me, she took about 15 minutes and you see (the rather flattering) result as well as the photo of the sitting in the gallery above.

Thanks to Kelli for the link.

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