TONIGHT!
"Goo goo ga joob." "From the month-long Bothan raves to the seemingly endless lines of "Correlian Marching Powder" he would snort, Walrus Man thought the decadence of 1977 would last forever. He was wrong. Tragically wrong. His collaborater and best friend, Snaggletooth, would never even live to see how bad things would get by the 80's..."
-from Inside the Cantina: a tale of scum and villainy
He buried most of his friends in the 80's, Benari. But was the Times reporting THAT?! WHERE was their evolved sensibility then?!
There were numerous plays written about it throughout the 80's and well into the 90's, including "Tauntauns," "...And the Cantina Band Played On," "Love! Ewoks! Compassion!" And of course, the sprawling epic "Angels in Alderaan" by noted bounty hunter-turned-playwright Dengar.
We kind of had fireworks last night...what with the rocket/mortar attacks. Yay, Independence!
To Independence, Freedom, Democracy, Mom, Apple Pie, Truth, Justice, and the American Way!
Happy Day AFTER "Victory over America" Day!
Yep. They love us.
Funny how the new Iraqi government is now taking pot shots at us for essentially creating the circumstances which allowed for them to take power in the first place.
Also, the Iraqis celebrate events by indiscriminately shooting weapons into the air.
Hm. We've basically just turned Iraq into Texas.
Please note: My views and opinions do not in ANY WAY, shape, or form represent those of the Army, the US, it Government, its citizens, its subsidiaries, its share holders, its global assets, or any combination thereof.
No one could have predicted that Steve Rogers would once again triumphantly return from the dead!
But yes, Steve Rogers will once again be shield-slinging in the familiar Red, White, & Blue. And when he once again throws his mighty shield, all those who chose to oppose his shield must yield.
Welcome back, Cap.
Here's a quick round-up of what I've been up to this week:
The Lowell Sun has a nice mention of me in the Sunday Column:
STAND-UP COMIC and Army Sgt. 1st Class Benari Poulten rubbed elbows recently in Baghdad with political satirist and Comedy Central star Stephen Colbert.
"He was in Iraq for a few days for a USO tour, and I managed to end up in his makeshift writers room during part of the visit," Poulten e-mailed The Sun from Iraq. "Just think, I had been in NYC for 5 years, and I had to go all the way to Baghdad to end up in Colbert's writers room."
Colbert's visit has been widely reported, because he declared the war in Iraq officially over and had his head shaved, Army-style, after a videotaped order from President Barack Obama.
Poulten, who grew up in Chelmsford, is part of a multinational force in Baghdad specializing in civil and public affairs as a liaison to the Iraqi media.
Before being deployed in January, Benari was in New York, where he most recently worked in a comedy club show with Liz Winstead, a co-creator of The Daily Show, where Colbert got his start.
Benari has also rubbed elbows with Lowellian Mehmed Ali, an arts/culture liaison with the Iraqi government.
"They're on different sides of Baghdad, but have seen each other when Benari goes to the American Embassy," said Sam Poulten, Benari's father.
When he returns, "hopefully by Christmas," Benari will likely return to New York to resume his comedy writing and stand-up career.
He hopes his backstage brush with Colbert, who taped four episodes of his show there, opens doors.
"He's a terrific guy and the shows were hilarious -- and he was nice enough to take a pic backstage," Benari e-mailed.
Weather today: 115℉.
Weather tonight: sand-stormy.
I can't figure out why so many people in this country are angry .
So, what does it mean when you have a dream...
With FALCOR in it. You know, Falcor? The Luck Dragon? From The Neverending Story?
So, what does that mean when you dream of Falcor?
Not flying, mind you. He was curled up. On a couch. Yawning. Totally chill. I think he smiled.
He wasn't even a main character in the dream. He was a background piece, a bit player in a larger dream, the details of which I can't remember. And it wasn't even some outrageous, fantastical trip through the imagination. The locale was far from extraordinary. I think we were in a study...it may have even been a psychiatrist's office. Analyze THAT.
So. Yeah. I had a dream and in that dream I saw Falcor curled up on a couch like a puppy.
The End.
...or is it...?
I will be memorializin' the HELL out of this weekend.
Also, Star Wars premiered 32 years ago.
When Radiohead refused to meet Miley Cyrus and Kanye West at the Grammy Awards last month, the starlet threatened to "ruin" them and the rapper refused to stand for their performance. Now the In Rainbows band is fighting back.
Somehow I don't think we're that far off from this actually being a cartoon...
I think the Bubastis-as-Snarf/Scooby might be my favorite...
I cannot believe that I'm missing out on WATCH-MANIA, the geekiest cultural event since Episode I.
Here's a quick look back at the unpublished WATCHMEN musical Ross and I once joked about writing.
And when they finally DO make the musical...well, the joke will be on us.
Good joke. Everybody laugh. Roll on snare drum. Curtains.
In honor of this year's Hallmark-sponsored celebration of love and romance, I offer up this slice of awesome.
For the ladies.
This is the grand finale (spoiler alert!) to Alyas Batman en Robin, a bootleg Filipino spoof of the beloved caped crusaders as they battle their fearsome foes in an epic battle of good vs. evil.
Good buddy Ross is really the one to blame for this, as he once described this Bollywood-esque fever dream to me... and I then spent four years trying to track down this flick; I finally found a bootleg copy at Midtown Comics in NYC in '03 and proudly presented Ross with, what I think, is one of the best birthday gifts ever.
So, if you want to see the full-length feature (and I defy anyone to actually make it through the entire thing in one sitting), go bug Ross or swing by Midtown Comics.
I think the entire thing might even be on YouTube... *shudder*
For anyone who hasn't seen it (and that probably includes most everyone, except Ross. And maybe this guy), Alys Batman en Robin is a foreign flick that inexplicably slips into song...sung in English. I mean, here you are, enjoying an incomprehensible bank heist sequence, entirely in (I think) Filipino, when all of a sudden, the Joker and the Penguin burst into a rousing rendition of "We steal," sung to the tune of Chuck Berry's Lucille.
This goes on for about 2 hours, culminating in...this...ending:
It's a way more upbeat ending than The Dark Knight. And it's catchy, too!
Let's be good, not bad/
Let us not be bad!
(That's better)
Let's be good, not bad/
Let's be AFRAID OF GOD!
aaaahhhhhhh
aaaaahhhhhhh
Let's believe in LOVE!
Way to go, Israel!
No, I'm not talking about the recent elections or the stand-off with Hamas.
I'm referring to Bar Refaeli, who became the first Israeli to grace the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue. If ever there was a chance to bring sustained peace to the Middle East, Israel has finally provided an offering I think the entire world can get behind.
Although, the victory may be bitter-sweet for the Tribe, as she's dating Leonardo DiCaprio. DiCaprio...that's Sephardic, yes?
Still.
Nice job, Jews!
I did not see the Grammys, but I enjoyed this on the YouTube this morning.
The audio quality is crummy, but the performance is still fairly awesome.
Also, didn't everyone watching find it just the slightest bit hilariously ironic that Gwyneth Paltrow (married to Coldplay's Chris Martin) introduced Radiohead with glowing affection? Well played, Gwyneth.
When I have some down time, I think about what I would do if I ran things.
Which leads to our new series here at Number 9:
WHY I SHOULD...
In today's installment, we take a look at why I should be put in charge of making that scrapped HBO Preacher series. Sure, a Preacher movie is currently being developed, but we (and by we, I mean, Geeks) all know that it should be an HBO series.
So, here's reason number one why I should make a Preacher series for HBO.
The theme song would be Johnny Cash's version of Personal Jesus.
..a Jew gets six more months of Baghdad. or something.
Hey. Also. It's Hug a Jew Day. Apparently.
