John Callahan passed away earlier this week. He was a true Pacific Northwest original – a twisted cartoonist that made the most of his self-created situation (he became quadroplegic from a drunk-driving car accident when he was only 21 and was in a wheelchair the rest of his life). While his cartoons were an acquired taste for some (and generated lots of funny – largely to fans like me – hate mail from others) he definitely had a unique take on life, and wasn’t afraid to spend a lot of political capital making fun of anyone, including even the disabled community (who often supported him stronger than the non-disabled).

Some examples of his humor are here. A few obits here, here, here and here.

And you can get his books at Powell’s – where else?

You will be MISSED – R.I.P.

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Saw one of these bad boys (Red-Tailed Hawk) sitting on the fence this am near the backyard. Made my day! Now if I can only convince him to eat those d*** pigeons hassling my bird feeders! I wonder if he’ll take a check…..

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we were at a family reunion in Southern Oregon this past weekend. There were many highlights, but the first one was a blast down the Rogue River on one of the “Hellsgate” jetboats. The one we were on had 3(!) 454-V8 engines in it, each powering a single jet. It’s basically a flat-bottom metal (steel or aluminum, not sure which), shallow box with bench seats across – then a raised podium deck at the back for the pilot. Our boat could hold up to 81 people (it was their biggest one, they have several) and it was all but full. Apparently these things can get up to about 55mph on the river – I truly believe that’s likely NOT the top end, but may be the ‘safe’ top end.

So, they get you in there, and you start blasting down the river. Then the guy starts talking up how wet you’re going to get – and then slams on the brakes, which makes the boat all but nosedive into the water and raises a huge wave over the front of the boat. Hence, water. Not unlike getting doused while whitewater rafting, but we weren’t in any rapids (at the first one, anyway). So on you blast down the river, and the guy does 360′s a few times, and alternatively tries to douse the entire boat through a series of maneuvers – none really crazy, all very fun. Then you get to a narrow canyon and the boat idles through that while he talks about your surroundings – the boat then turns around and heads back a short distance to a shore facility where you eat a big dinner – then you zoom back up the river (while your pilot and usually at least one other boat try to alternate at crossing each other’s wake and dousing each others boat from side to side, etc.).

It was great – our clan had about 34 people, the rest of the boat was filled with others – what’s also cool about this is that it’s truly an all-ages activity (unlike whitewater rafting!) where you have fairly old people on there all the way down to kids. And everybody is having a ball.

Besides the blasting around like crazy people, there was a lot of wildlife (several osprey, blue herons, ducks, swans and a bald eagle) around to see, and many people waving from the shore (I’m sure the residents who live along the top part of the journey aren’t near as ‘enthused’ about the jet boats as we were ). There was also a couple risque ‘floor show’ events that I won’t discuss here, but were pretty funny. The food feast was bbq chicken and pork with salad, beer/wine and some basic antipasti. Not fine dining, but definitely did the job.

it was a GREAT way to start the weekend – if you are ever in Grants Pass (or Gold Beach, for the one that comes up the river from there) – don’t miss out!

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Our neighbor has a pretty old cat. And apparently he had a stroke at some point in the not-so-distant past, so he walks normal in front and like a crab in back – at first glance we thought he had been hit by a car when he was on their lawn, until the neighbor came out and explained his situation – apparently he’s not really supposed to go outside but he manages to sneak out here and there.

Anyway, we got back from a bike ride and he was on their lawn – I checked to see if they were around but they were out, so kept an eye on the kitty for a while – he seemed content to hang in the yard or on the porch, so i let him be, he didn’t seem like he was going anywhere.

Later, we were headed out to go get a late lunch and two of the neighbor girls from around the corner were over there (that rare species of Seattle resident – children!) petting him and talking to him. I explained he was ok, that he lived there – they thought he was a stray. Their dad was coming back around the corner with a plastic cup of water for the kitty – I told him too. Later on, the neighbors were back, hanging on the porch with the kitty and I told them about the girls feeding him water.

Just goes to show you that when you think this country is going down the toilet faster than you can intermediate flush – something really nice happens and you end up smiling.

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It’s always cool when you find a new band you like. It’s VERY cool when you find a band that seems full of promise and you can’t wait for their next disc. But it’s the BEST when you find a band completely out of nowhere that just hits it way, way out of the park on the first try? Saw Manooghi Hi last night at the Crocodile and there’s only one way to sum it up. Wow.

Turns out they have been playing since early 2008 – where have I been? Anyway, GO see this band live when you can and on YouTube in the meantime. looks like the next local date is Neumo’s on Fri Aug 13 in Seattle.

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They are loose in Kirkland, WA and the greater Seattle area! I met their creators last night at the local ASIFA meeting and got to see the pilot DVD while quaffing a few at St. Andrews Pub – (Scottish pub of course, complete with pics of Rod Stewart and Sean Connery (same one twice?) on the wall – but where’s Jackie Stewart for the trifecta)?

Anyway, great stuff – The Ninjas are kind of a mix of Jackie Chan, Samurai Jack and Mike Myers’ dad in So I Married an Axe Murderer – and they fight EEEEEvil villains!

Check out their site and keep an eye out for them at a film festival near you!

Scottish Ninjas website

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(Re)watched the ancient sci-fi classic WestWorld late last night. It was shorter than I remember (in other words gets to the killing spree/chase scenes/etc. faster than I remembered), but definitely some classic performances in there, most notably Yul Brynner in the title role as The Gunslinger.

Since this is an old movie, even for me (in 1973, I was 6) let’s recap – a very expensive ($1,000/day), exotic resort (Delos) opens up in a distant desert (they never say where, but looks like the American Southwest), where there are three distinct ‘worlds’ people can visit – Roman World, Medieval World, and West(ern) World – each is tailored to fulfull guest fantasies based on advanced robots to cater to their every whim, within the theme of each ‘world’. In an early part of the film, an announcer talks about enjoying the ‘relaxed morality of earlier Roman times’ (meaning guilt-free sex with lifelike robots, let’s be clear here ) And this is consistent with the other ‘worlds’ – the main two characters (james Brolin and Richard Benjamin) visit WestWorld (and at least one brothel therein). Then, things subtly start to go wrong, and mayhem ensues in a variety of ways.

So, this is a pioneering and influential sci-fi film in many ways. It is very well made for its time, obviously a bigger budget than some of its contemporaries (yeah, Omega Man, i’m talking to you). The decor, sets and computers/effects are spartan, but still look decent, and unlike many sci-fi movies, don’t get in the way of the plot. Not on the level of the earlier 2001: A Space Odyssey – but almost NO movies (sci-fi or otherwise) compare to that one even now.

WW has to be considered one of the first ‘relentless, unyielding stalking killer’ movies – Yul Brynner’s Gunslinger – used to great effect many times later in countless horror movies but also every Terminator movie ever made, elements of The Matrix movies, etc. Even Javier Bardem in No Country for Old Men is reminiscent of this theme (and also very scary). In WW, this may be considered more remarkable because The Gunslinger stalks Richard Benjamin throughout the day – never at night – so his power over the intended victim grows not through cheap special effects or misdirection, but ultimately on the strong, almost silent performance of Yul Brynner (who hardly has more than maybe 3-4 sentences of dialog in the whole movie).

WW’s story also builds one of the earliest ‘no matter how perfect our technology gets, it will get us in the end’ themes – and does it about as subtly as the 16-ton weight from the classic Monty Python sketch. But the early ’70s was definitely a time of ‘man is doomed’ themed-sci-fi movies (Soylent Green, the earlier Omega Man, Silent Running, etc.) so not really surprising in hindsight.

Another thing that struck me this time around has to be the interaction between the resort guests and the robots who serve them. At one point after a barroom shootout, James Brolin remarks about ‘the beauty of the place is you never know if it’s real’ (or words to that effect). The guests feel free to just shoot the place up, start bar brawls, have sword battles (in effect act like a pillaging pirate – no Pirate World? ) etc. – and let someone else pick up the pieces. I guess at $1,000/day, i’d expect the same – but it’s interesting how easily they just slot into it and tear it up with no consequences (well, that was the Delos sales pitch anyway). Given that the director/screenwriter was Michael Crichton – author of this theme many times over (The Andromeda Strain, Jurassic Park, etc.) again, not a big surprise.

Stepping back (to a soapbox) it’s also interesting here is that despite continually warning us of the dangers of technology and how we overreach ourselves far too often in his books and films – MC was one of the biggest global warming deniers on the planet, right up there with Big Oil and James Inhofe! Like Mel Gibson of recent past, MC shows that many times in Hollywood – appearances can be VERY deceiving. Was he having fun at our expense on either side of the issue? I’ll have to look around to see if anyone ever asked him that question – he’s dead now (2008) so we may never know. End soapbox.

All symbolism and soapboxes aside – WestWorld is still an entertaining movie despite being now almost 40 years old. Yul Brynner makes the movie for me – without him, i don’t think WW would have been near as effective – his Gunslinger really is a Hollywood icon, sci-fi or otherwise.

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The Nation is revisiting this question, and asking for comments – I haven’t written mine yet – but that shouldn’t stop you? Happy 4th of July!

What Is Patriotism?

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kerewin sent me this today – I am not sure what to think, save that the Four Horsemen have to be galloping around the corner not long from now…

Beef Bacon Hot Dog Turtle

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As seen elsewhere on this blog, i’ve become a fan of anime in the past several years. I think there’s several reasons:

a) I’ve always liked animation, whether movies, TV cartoons, and in many cases, even ads;

b) the diversity of animation just keeps on getting better and more interesting, even if increasingly computer-based. Of course, just as seen in video games over the past 15-20 years, there is no substitute for actual plot, good writing and coherent themes with good character development. The best looking animation(s) can still end up boring and predictive without them (yes, Appleseed Ex Machina – I’m talking to you!);

c) I think in part anime is also interesting because so often the characters are written in a more over-the-top sensibility (certainly every Initial D episode i’ve ever seen qualifies on that score, but many others are right behind) and often have characters act as if they are in ‘life or death’ struggles (which in many cases isn’t true, but they act that way anyway).

d) Anime just has a different take on things. It’s not usually glorified sitcom situations or plots (at least not the anime I watch) and often has crazy inclusions for characters (Poipodor in Mars Daybreak comes to mind) or fantastical futures that all but make no sense (IGPX) but somehow still manage to entertain.

Which brings me to Initial D. This is an anime series about a school kid living in Gunma province in northern Japan, whose father runs a tofu shop and is an ex-street racer. The father, Bunta, subtly encourages this trait in his only son by having him deliver tofu to several accounts in the early morning over a mountain pass. The kid, Takumi Fujiwara, is fairly dense but seems to have a talent for racing and surprises older 20-somethings who race more seriously. In the first several series, we see Takumi’s talents develop until he’s the equal or better of most other racers in the area and beyond. In Stage 4, ‘Project D’ – he’s now become part of a traveling race team led by a former rival, Ryosuke Takahashi, who dreams of conquering japan’s many mountains and street racing teams with his brother Keisuke and Takumi as the two ace racers on the Project D team. They travel around Japan, challenging team after team in tough and varied races.

What’s appealing about this series is as mentioned before – the characters take themselves VERY seriously, which in some cases comes across as laughable but endearing in a way. You’d think the world would end if this kid doesn’t win a given race by the way they act in posturing against each other up to and during each race.

Also cool is simply the thought of blasting down mountain roads in souped up cars at clearly WAY illegal speeds – watching it on animation is about the only way i’d ever do THAT – I don’t like driving SLOW on cliffside roads – ask kerewin about that one when we were driving around on Crete or Santorini last fall!

Also amusing is how no matter where they go, everyone (racer-wise, anyway) knows about them and keeps putting the best racers up against them. Yet no cops ever show up to THROW THEM IN JAIL for such blatant mountain-racing at nearly every mountain pass they encounter? This was amusing in Wangan Midnight too – although in that series they are largely blasting around highways IN THE CITY at ridiculous speeds but also apparently immune to police (or at least, invisible)?

Anyway, Initial D is pretty entertaining – don’t expect detailed character development or much valid social commentary – it’s pretty focused on one thing, blasting down mountain roads in the middle of the night. But it does a good job of handling that story over and over. Hoping there will ultimately be a Stage 5, but time will tell…..

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