Marvel Sucker talks Sentry, Spidey, Batman and Supes

A bit more ranting.



jej

Marvel Sucker Get Some New Video Toys

I've finally converted.

My folks bought me a new video camera for my bday (thanks:D), and when I tried to edit my comic vid today Windows Movie Maker didn't like the size of the video file I was using and crashed every two seconds. SO I'm finally learning how to use Sony Vegas.

Here's the first half of this weeks comic stash, with "awesome" effects.



jej

AOTW - Conor Oberst - Conor Oberst

Why is it that musicians feel the need to change their names and confuse us? Conor Oberst, aka Bright Eyes, has released a title under his own name. Not only that, he's called the album Conor Oberst. If I ever decide to record and release any more music I don't think I could call an album after myself, unless I was 're-inventing' myself or something ;/

I don't know why he's not Bright Eyes this time. Different band??

Anyway, it's a great album. No surprises really. It could be called 'Cassadaga Part 2', but I'm fine with that. I've only given it a couple of listens and I haven't pawed over the lyrics with a fine tooth comb yet, but here are my two fav tracks so far.

This one is 'Souled Out', which is a single:



...and here's 'Lenders In The Temple':



jej

Final Birthday Vlog

So this will probably be the final video post on the amazingvlogshow channel. I will continue posting thing on my other youtube channel and on here.




It's kind of a miracle that I've kept this blog up for as long as I have. I'm good at starting things and then changing my mind or thinking of something else or getting distracted by a shiny object or something, so it's kind of strange that I'm almost half way through a university degree in which I am doing mostly well, I'm married and happily, I have a crap part time job that I'll only lose if I choose to, etc. Things haven't become boring, but they have become kind of calm. It's nice.

I still have other ideas brewing for things to spend/waste my time on. Things like making webcomics, writing more music, making more films, watching nothing but films from the 1940s for a month, watching nothing at all for a month, reading all the Sherlock Holmes novels, reading ALL my comics again in the summer holidays, etc, and I think it's healthy to have all these things to do and think about that are all absolutely superfluous and unimportant. I may do none of them, but hopefully I'll do all of them. I guess it doesn't really matter.

I think I have a point, but I've forgotten what it was. I just wanted to add some text to this video post... and there it is.

OH, and I also wanted to say that the Swan Valley is like the undiscovered and much closer Margaret River for me, with more wineries and less beaches. It was great.

jej

Metallica - Knobs

Have you seen those Pantera videos? You know, the ones where they smoke weed, get really drunk and wasted, and break lots of things? Those videos were great. That was a metal band acting like knobs in the entertaining way. The Metallica "documentary", (because they refused to sell out and make a TV show), shows a metal band in a light nobody wants to see. Every time I think of James Hetfield all I can see is him slamming the door to the studio as he walks off in a huff like the big girl that he is. Then he has to take a break, because, you know, playing in a metal band and having millions of fans is 'so haaaard'. It proved to me that not only had their music started to suck, but they also sucked along with it. No wonder Jason Newsted finally left the band. He was probably still pissed off that they never released a version of ...and justice for all in which you can actually hear his bass playing. Also, as you can see in the doco, they really treat the guy like crap, paying him out for playing jazzy bass guitar. He's playing it in his own time, mind you, not during Metallica songs or anything. Maybe, MAYBE, if Metallica were really hardcore or something this would be a little less annoying. The fact that they've been playing half assed rocked for so long makes this complaint that much more painful and bitchy to endure.

Anyway, it appears Metallica have done the unthinkable and released a metal album. I just read this very poignant article about it and it reminded me of why I haven't bought anything they've produced since Load because Load was a load of crap.

Also, in let's-hate-on-Metallica-even-more news, they don't want bloggers to write about their album. That's right, internet fans, Metallica doesn't want any free publicity from anyone. They even asked people who wrote favourable reviews to take them down.

Man, F U Metallica. I regret wasting so many years listening to you. It makes me feel all ashamed and dirty. Maybe you should've released a metal album after ...and justice for all instead of waiting till now.

I'm avoiding the new album, but I urge you, if you're going to check it out, make sure you download it illegally.

jej

Marvel Sucker Goes Ape

Won't you take me to Monkey town!



jej

Birthday Excitement and Other Generalities

So, at the end of this week I will be 29 years of age.

It feels a little odd. I'm still 21, I'm sure of it. I'm pretty sure I'll be saying the same thing when I'm turning 40, so I'll just go with it.

I've had bucketloads of assignments to finish. I've spent the last week writing, re-writing, and re-writing again, an essay comparing Devil's Cub to Bridget Jones's Diary. It's ended up being about 600 words over the word limit. I just couldn't cut it back any more than that and still have it be coherent without completely changing it or missing out vital points. That's pretty much the opposite of the problems I had in first year uni, in which all my essays came short and I had to add to them. Perhaps I've turned into even more of an opinionated git since then so I have more to say in an essay.

I now have to write a pitch for a new television show for my TV studies unit. I have the whole idea in my brain. I just have to put it on paper now. I'll share what the idea is briefly in another post.

While having all this crazy work to do, I am EXTREMELY preoccupied with questions regarding my birthday. I have no idea what presents I'm getting. None. Noelene is making me a cake with some kind of surprise thing on it, but I have zero idea what it's going to be. Also, we're going away for a few nights to a SURPRISE DESTINATION! I'll be packing my bags with whatever I'm told I'll need and heading off into the wilderness. It's great! Surprises are awesome. They are also really distracting, so writing assignments and trying to not keep speculating as to the details of my birthday surprises is proving quite difficult.

I did get an early present the other day from my brother and his fambly. Along with a Neil Gaiman graphic novel (sweeeet) I got this awesome bizarro framed picture of me as Yoda.




You love it.

jej

AOTW - Bloc Party - Intimacy

When I bought the first Bloc Party album Silent Alarm, it was listened to over and over again for about 6 months. Their last album was still good, but it still didn't grab me like the first one. Intimacy is pretty much the same again. It's still great though. They've got a bit more of a electronic loop drum and bass-ish thing going on now. I like it.

Here's 'Mercury':



jej

The Second 2nd Tuesday Book Club - Bridget Jones's Diary

We are now 4. We are legion...for we are many....



This months' book was Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding. Corey refused to read it and just talked about what he'd chosen to read, but the rest of us got through it.

I found Bridget to be a likable enough character, which made the book an easy read. There is some fun intertextual stuff in there, like calling a character Darcy and a bunch of cultural references, from Bukowski to the TV show 'Gladiators'.

My only real problem with this book is that it feels a bit like a wolf in sheep's' clothing. The whole perception and the way that Bridget is represented is that she is a strong, single woman. The truth is that her one goal in the book is to be with a man. That's it. She has a career and friends, but her only interest is to be in a romantic relationship with a member of the opposite sex. That on its own isn't necessarily a bad thing. I just kind of have a problem with it being represented as the one true way to life fulfillment and happiness, because it obviously isn't.

Noelene and I watched the film too. It's so awful. All the redeeming parts of Bridget's character, and all the references to postmodernism, have been deleted. Bridget's group of friends in the book are all fairly different and have their own life issues and character traits. In the film they're turned into a group of simplistic cartoon characters. It's just really terrible. Admittedly, the casting is pretty good, but that's it. Compared to the book, I didn't like it at all.

Another book spoken of was another one I just finished reading for uni, Agatha Christie's Curtain. It's Poirot's final case. I used to read my Mum's Christie novels when I was in primary school. They're fairly tame really, and not particularly well written, but the puzzle element is cool. I enjoyed trying to figure out who the killer was, and the way she's structured her books, you don't really know for sure until the very final pages. I think I should probably finally read some Sherlock Holmes, considering Doyle is supposed to be the best at this sort of thing. Also, we've been watching Wire In The Blood, which is great, and it's based on a series of novels. Looks like my post uni holiday reading is all chosen already.

jej

My Current Favourite Transformer

I currently have not one, but TWO assignments to write, but we have a rent inspection today and I'm using the excuse that I'm too distracted to write anything serious right now for fear that it will be interrupted by a strange woman walking through my house and judging me and my cleaning habits. I spent the morning out of the house (picking up my sweet, sweet RTR triple vinyl prize WOOT) hoping that when I had returned the whole inspection would have taken place in my absence. Sadly, it did not, so let me take this opportunity to write something about the Transformers on the internet, because there sure isn't enough of that around here already.

I started watching the original Transformers animated series around Xmas 2007. I have some vague memories of specific episodes that I saw when I was a kid, but it was such a long time ago that it's mostly all new to me. I've finally watched all of series one and two, all 65 episodes of them. I'm now at the point where the first animated movie fits. It's set in the 'future', 2005, half the main characters get killed off and replaced by new ones in order to sell more toys, and the whole thing takes a more serious turn. I have yet to see what series 3 and 4 are like, but I'll blog on them at some point.

Anyway, other than procrastination, the purpose of this post was to share with you the joy of the Combaticons, otherwise known in their collected form as Bruticus.

The last 4 episodes introduced one of the greatest characters yet. Starscream, always trying to beat Megatron, is exiled to some island in the middle of the ocean, Guadalcanal, where he finds a group of old worn out World War 2 vehicles that have just been left to rust. He decides that he will use them to defeat Megatron. He uses the space bridge to go back to Cybertron and release some robot personalities from a prison. Their personalities are pink cubes and their prison is a filing system set of drawers. Back on Earth, these prisoners awaken in their new bodies. When they join together, they make Bruticus, who is impervious to shots at the groin.




Vortex, the helicopter that makes one Bruticus' arms, has a handy copter blade that can be used to attack robots while lazing around on the floor.
















Sooo cooool.

Just one more thing. The finale of Transformers, before we flash to 2005, is entitled 'B.O.T.'. Two smart ass boys are too smart for their science class, so their teacher tells them they had better get a blue ribbon in the science fair or they will get an F. They must work together with a nerdy girl who they both hate. They end up building a robot that goes haywire, and it's all very amusing. The Transformers help them, and in return, the smart kids help the Transformers. The episode ends with a final chuckle conversation, which is pretty much an '80s standard. Someone says or does something foolish and everyone laughs, fade to black, roll credits. The final chuckle of this episode had me crying from laughing so hard at how awfully wrong it was. The Transformers thank the kids for all their help and say that if they ever need anything just ask. The nerd girl of the kid trio asks if they have any spare parts lying around because she wants to try making a robot again for the science fair, despite the disastrous results of the last attempt. The two boys look at each other knowingly, one pulls out a roll of tape that he CARRIES AROUND WITH HIM, they tape the girls mouth, and drag her away. As she struggles to get loose the Transformers all have a chuckle.


Look at the faces of these guys! Look at the expressions! Har de har har!

Sweet, sweet, crazy Transformers. I love this show.

jej

Gilbert Whyte - Madness

My mate Gilbert recorded this song, and my brother Corey made this music video. It was on 'Rage', which is Australia's national music video program, in between a Josh Pyke video and a Fleet Foxes video. It stars, among others, my wife and my sofa :)



jej

Telly - Fringe

No, it's not a reality show about hairdressing. Fringe is the new show from J.J.Abrams. Just like Lost, it opens with a plane flight. This one guy on the plane looks all nervous and crazy. He reaches into his suitcase, grabs a syringe of some kind, and jabs himself. He's diabetic or something, right? No, he throws up into the face of a stewardess and starts to melt, and then all of a sudden the whole plane seems infected with people whose skin is turning to sludge. One guys jaw starts to drip off his face. Great opening. Probably best to stop watching after that. Then we cut to this super cheap looking opening title sequence.


Seriously, this is from the team that made Lost. I was surprised at how cheap and 'straight-to-video' the opening title looked. Denham, this foxy-smart-cop-chick with attitude, is in a motel bed with chin-man, who is so boring and generic looking that you just know he will either a) die, or b) turn out to be a bad guy.


Besides, how is Denham going to get together with Pacy with chin-man around. Chin-man ends up fulfilling both A and B. Woot! Generic cops gather at an airport where the crazy melty people plane has landed all by itself for some reason involving SCIENCE! Denham and chin-man act like they didn't just have lots of sex in a motel with each other minutes earlier. I don't really know why having a relationship with someone you work with is such a problem, but they act like they're married to other people or something. It was kind of stupid.

Black-bald-tough-guy-with-attitude is in charge of the case. He works for Homeland Security??? which turns out to mean he works for some secret organisation involved in SCIENCE! He tells generic cop team what the situation is and he's not taking any crap from anybody.He tells Denham that she's as useless as a donut.



Chin-man and Denham follow a 'lead' that sends them to some storage facility. There they find a bunch of lab rats and computers and test tubes and SCIENCE! Mysterious guy runs out of one of these shed things and then blows up chin-man using a mobile phone and SCIENCE! Chin-man ends up all melty like the plane people, and Denham needs a band aid.


She does some 'research' by typing random words into a search engine, and finds a 'scientist' who did some tests in the 1970s that may help chin-man. Crazy science man is in a mental institution because he broke the law ages ago and that's where he was sentenced to stay. Bald-black-attitude man says 'FBI won't support this. You'll have to get his son to take you to see him, because that's the only possible way we can get Pacy into this show'.


Denham flies to Iraq where her and Pacy have some kind of banter and he comes with her back to the U.S. of A to see his Dad who he hates and she can only see by taking him for some reason. Turns out crazy science man works in an area called 'Fringe Science'. WOAH! Turns out crazy science man is CRAAAZY! Well, we have to get him shaved and out of here so he can save the day with SCIENCE, even though he is crazy. They set him up with some basement filled with SCIENCE stuff, including a cow, because a cow is closely linked to humans in their DNA or something, which Pacy knows because he "reads books".


Generic cop comes in to see what's going on, looks at the cow. He then asks, 'Is that a cow?'. Denham replies, 'Yeah, that's Gene'. Gene moos on cue. This show will be watched by millions. Denham is going to take acid (seriously), have some science things attached to her, and go into a water tank thing so she can communicate with chin-man in his mind using SCIENCE! She has to do this in her underwear, showing us all the reason she got hired to play this role.


She gets to see the guy who blew up chin-man in her mind so she can use computers and SCIENCE to find him. He's linked to a huge corporation called 'Massive Dynamics'. She follows the lead and meets a woman there who pulls the skin off her arm like in 'Terminator 2' to reveal a robot arm. Apparently the idea of artificial limbs is totally crazy and scary and futuristic for some reason.

Generic cop team finds mobile phone bomb guy and they chase him. Denham is Jackie Chan all of a sudden and jumps from a rooftop, across a chasm, onto a fire escape on the building next door. They catch bomb man and fix chin-man. But then chin-man kills bomb man and runs away because he is bad. There's a car chase, and chin man dies. Bald-black-attitude guy tells Denham she should join his super secret SCIENCE team. Pacy is going to stay in town and his Dad doesn't have to go back to the mental institution where a court of law said he should go, for some reason. The sexual tension and super fun will continue in next weeks' exciting episode.

On paper this all looks like it would be kind of entertaining. 'The X-Files' but cheesier. The problem is that Denham, who we spend 90% of the show watching, is annoying. Really annoying. She's very attractive and everything, but so what? I'm not watching a fashion parade. I'm watching a show about SCIENCE!

I'll be interested to see how popular this show ends up being, and whether it reached the huge fan base that 'Lost' has. I think I'm done with it though.

Boy, am I looking forward to the 90210 tonight though! WOOT!

jej

AOTW - Secret Machines - Ten Silver Drops

I heard this song on the radio:



..and it was just really distracting. I had to stop what I was doing and dance around the house like I was in an '80s movie. It just really grabbed me for some reason. The whole album is really great, but this one song is the most 'excited '80s dance/bopping/early '90s emodrama' for me. Love it. Ten Silver Drops came out in 2006, and they have a new self-titled album coming out this October. Hopefully they'll tour with it, because seeing them live would be a sweet night out.

jej

RAGE TONIGHT!!!

My mate Gilbert Whyte, musical genius, recorder of many great songs, now has a music video, recorded and put together by my brother, and starring (among others) my wife, and a bunch of animated creatures. It's on Rage tonight! Friday the 5th of September at 2am (so Saturday morning), straight after a Josh Pyke video. So tune in to ABC1 and check it out. It looks killer :)

jej

Marvel Sucker - 3D, Kick Ass

Comics in the 4th Dimension



jej

Marvel Sucker - 2 Weeks of Secret Invasion!

Comics!



jej

Monday 20 - Uncle Ben

I'm an uncle again!



jej