You Light Up My Ass
Jul 11The new monorails at Disneyland apparently place supercool blue LCD lighting right where it belongs–at ASS LEVEL.
(via MiceChat)
Comic-Con: Still For You?
Jul 10Just in case ya missed it: here’s a great PW article by Laura Hudson, all about the monster that Comic-Con has become.
This week, I’ve had at least three people ask me what my plans are for the con. My plans are…to not go and read all the coverage on the internet. OMG! they say. How can this be?!
Truth be told, the last CC I attended was in 2006, and I’ve had mixed feelings ever since. I do think it can still be a whole shitload o’ fun — my favorite day was Sunday, when I spent a few delightful hours roaming Artist’s Alley, chatting up creators and purchasing an embarrassingly large pile of stuff from Raina Telgemeier. But the sheer…crush of the crowd is still seared in my memory, particularly the slightly frightening 20 minutes wherein I was squashed in the middle of a sprawling pseudo-line waiting for the Battlestar Galactica panel, the burbling of two guys arguing about “Light Sith” uncomfortably close to my left ear. And I know this has been addressed a ton, and is sort of a tiresome, indie rock kid-type argument, but something about the near-complete mainstreamification of the whole thing does bother me. I kind of hate myself for that, but it does. There are real Hollywood parties. There are panels for stuff that you can’t even really stretch to call genre, like Dexter (I know there’s Julie Benz, but I don’t think there will ever be a Dexter storyline where she dies and then shows up in a crate and then gets pregnant with a demon spawn who will grow up to become Vincent Kartheiser. Not until season six, at least). It’s a pop culture con, not a nerd con. The people who used to make fun of it think it’s cool now. It throws my poor little brain for a bit of a loop.
And yet…and yet. Every time July rolls around, I still get a little bit of the urge. I remember how much fun it is to run into people, the weird conversations that occur when you mix your fellow exhausted con-goers with alcohol, the limited edition Castewar Bill Murray shirts that you can’t find anywhere else (still gots mine!). I remember all the “Only at Comic-Con” things I’ve witnessed, like Steven Horn’s Amazing Shark Suit…but that’s a story for another time.
Maybe I’ll go back next year. But I know it will require the following things: months of preparation (just to find lodging…oof), a slight attitude adjustment (OK, there are Hollywood parties, but no swag suites just yet, right?!), and the ability to power my way through the crowd with Buffy-esque agility (probably all I need is some leather pants!). I can do this. Maybe.
"Turn left… turn right… Turbo Boost… you are at your destination, Michael."
Jul 09I’m surprised nobody did this sooner – for years now we’ve had in-car GPS systems and they’ve been talking at you for awhile. So if your car is going to talk at you, why not make it sound like William Daniels? Mio Technology has invented what they’re calling “Navi-tainment”, which is a dorky way of saying “GPS guidance system that sounds like a TV show.” Still, you have to admit, the symmetry makes sense. Fictional talking car lends voice to real-world talking cars.
But why stop there? Here is Alert Nerd’s top 5 list of other robot voices they should license for GPS units;
5) Old school Cylon Centurion. Awesomely creepy way to get directions, but the “By Your Command.” every time you enter a destination will be worth the cost alone.
4) Dr. Theopolis. Twiki would have been cool, but Mel Blanc is dead. Eric Server isn’t. Hence…
3) C3-PO. I don’t know that I’d want it, but from a business standpoint, this is actually one I expect to see happen, particularly if the KITT version does decent. If they can sell a lightsaber remote, they can sell Anthony Daniels as a GPS.
2) Robby the Robot. Will only really work if it yells “Danger! Danger! We are off course!”
1) Daleks. Not robots, strictly speaking, but c’mon… “YOU! WILL! TURN! LEFT! YOU! WILL! OOHHHH-BAAAAAAY!”
And no, I didn’t forget HAL. There’s creepy funny, and then just creepy. You shouldn’t fear for your life every time the system can’t find a particular location.
Dinner (and Comics) for Five
Jul 08Evan Dorkin has a nifty contest going wherein you must name the five comics-related folks you would like to have dinner with…and then the five who would “make for the worst night you can imagine.” Lots of interesting responses in both categories — so much so that Evan added a postscript asking people to please keep it civil (why is this always necessary, fellow fanpeople? Don’t we ever learn?).
Anyway, I decided not to enter the contest (I can’t quite bring myself to answer the second part of the question!), but putting together a Dinner for Five-type list is so simultaneously delicious and painful that I must at least do that part. This is not necessarily a “five favorite creators of all time” type of thing, but rather, who I want to have dinner with RIGHT NOW. This list would probably be different if I were to write it next month or even later tonight. Feel free to share your own picks in the comments (or go enter Evan’s contest and then post here as well).
Clones Have Feelings, Too
Jul 07I’m trying to keep an open mind about The Clone Wars…
Okay, who am I kidding? I’m not sure if I even give two shits about The Clone Wars. But I’ll go see it opening weekend. Such is life as a Star Wars geek these days.
Anyway, here’s a featurette. The story/character elements are intriguing; the animation? Still looks like ASS. On a movie screen, it will look like BIG ASS.
