Breaking my own rule on celebrity deaths.

I am not quick to heap praise on celebrities when they past away, especially if they have taken their own life or abused substances to the point that it kills them. I don't want to add to the mystique of the tragic famous person that died too young. They are just people after all, they had talent and got a series of lucky breaks and perhaps worked very hard... But that makes them no different or better than the people in my life that I personally know and love. Those are the people I want to reserve my admiration for.

The death of Robin Williams however, presents a special case for me and makes it difficult to stay within those guidelines. He was a friend to a sad little boy, a like minded deep thinker to a maturing young man, a crusader for truth to someone who wanted the world to be honest and true, and a constant reminder to a cynic that the world and the bodies we live in are ridiculous, hilarious, and beautiful... At least the characters he played were all those things. He was the near perfect mixture of white faced and red nosed clown. He skillfully took the words and direction of very clever people and turned them into unforgettable performances that reminded us of our mortality and then let us know that it was OK to be mortal... I can't say I will miss him, because I never knew HIM, and I still have all the gifts he gave me. I can only say that I am somewhat selfishly sad that I will not be receiving any more of those amazing gifts, and that I never got a chance to personally say thank you.

Here is a partial list of the Robin Williams movies that I love him in. Not all are great movies but I still enjoyed him in them. People tend to ignore some of them… I see that as a mistake.

The World According to Garp (See this film, don’t question me… just do it!)

Moscow on the Hudson (Not bad, I recall being moved want to see it again)

Good Morning, Vietnam (Great and everyone knows it)

Dead Poets Society (Great and everyone knows it)

Awakenings (Brain oddness is a personal interest to me, in a "there for the grace of god" sorta way)

The Fisher King (I fully expect I would go mad the same way his character had in this film. Its hard for me to watch because I feel it hitting so close to home)

Hook (Made me emotional when I first saw it, now as a father it hold even more meaning, who else could have played that role? I wish I could edit it and take out some of the cheesy stuff but, still)

Toys (Hey, don’t judge me!)

Good Will Hunting (Great and everyone knows it)

What Dreams May Come (Sappy and bombastic, sure…. do I love it. YES! Can you imagine watching this film NOW while thinking about his own passing. I think that would turn me into a mess)

Bicentennial Man (Screw you haters! Hard speculative fiction! Bite it and love it!)

One Hour Photo (Freaky)

World's Greatest Dad (Also one that will be hard to watch again now… great film).

Bakery Lies

Muffins are merely cupcakes that offer the person consuming them some measure of plausible deniability.

I remember these!

They came on right after the smurfs, but it only lasted for like one season.


Just kidding... Its a parody, add it to the collection with Watchnuts and Watchmen babies. : )

I had to reconstitute myself at a subatomic level after an experiment! Arrrrrggggggg!

I would like to spend a moment today paying homage to someone who cracked me up mightily.

Another Doc no less! Evan "Doc" Shaner. He created this hilarious culture bomb you see to the right... visit his blog to get the story and a MUCH larger than thumbnail version. (Being respectful of other artists I am cautious not to step on someone's toes while trying to popularize and praise them)

"What if Charles Schulz created the Watchmen?"

According to his post, it has been brought to his attention that someone else had the same Idea back it the 80's. So I am on a quest to find that art as well... maybe I can also get a thumbnail still of the "Watchmen Babies" comic from the Simpsons. : )

***Update***

Found it!

This was done by Jeff Parker sometime in the 80's

Here is Jeff Parkers take on Watchnuts from his blog...
Great Minds, Thinking Alike

Ahhh, what fun. : )

My Insane Venture Brothers Predictions

Well, It all fell into place last night... I watched the new venture Brothers online and my fun/crazy theories seem to have more weight today than they did before...

If you haven't seen it because you still watch "TV" then there are spoilers ahead.... *****SPOILER ALERT*****

A few weeks back I told a my wife that I though Henchman #21 was secretly a super scientist... Now I am almost sure of it, or at least I am sure I WANT it to be true. Some major events happened in the season finale and I will cover how I think they will effect the show.. Read on...My wacky ideas will be revealed. Who knows by posting this at adult swim a while ago maybe I just contributed major plot points to the next season! Who would ever know? They could just say "Yeah man, you sure called it!" Ah the internet...

Venture Brother Season Finale Ramifications and Fun Time Speculation:

1. The clones were mentioned as being "illegal" I don't think Rusty will be allowed to start up that process again, he is now under scrutiny for such activity. Also keep in mind the time frame needed to develop the slugs... he had a "stash" of Hank and Dean clone slugs, one would assume it took years to grow the slugs to maturity in the clone farm... Why else would he keep so many? They are gone. The boys are mortal.

2. Brock IS actualy quitting, he needs to get away, He is missing something from the relationship with the ventures. When he has been saying stuff like "we arent a family" I think he really feels that way, but its not because of the boys. I do think he cares for them... Its Rusty. He is sick of Rusty's crap and the fact that he saves his ass on a daily basis and gets no respect for doing it. Rusty needs to redeem himself to Brock for him to come back. They need to admit that they are friends and work on a new relationship from there. If Brock comes back he should not be merely a body guard but a partial partner in venture industries. (with a osi mission and license)

I think Rusty will have to realize and admit that he needs and even loves Brock, he will have to admit that he wants him as a permanent member of the family and I also think he will have to prove this to Brock by using his skill (maybe even going beyond what he his normally capable of) and saving Brock from some peril in the same way Brock has always saved him.

3. Yes, I think they killed 24... and for good reason. Drama. We like these guys, hell we LOVE these guys! Because they represent us in a way. But what better way to bring us INTO the story than to give us something to fight for.

******Wild speculation for fun begins here********
For a long time now I have had a pet theory about #21 that I will now share for the first time publicly... I think he is secretly a super scientist! The best part is that he himself is not aware of it. You know how he is always saying "HOW DID I NOT KNOW ABOUT THIS!" I think its because he was the one (working alongside Dr. Girlfriend) who reverse engineered the stolen technology from sergeant hatred and also created many original technologies, but the Monarch erases his memory regarding these projects on a regular basis to keep him under control. Only the Monarch and Dr. Girlfriend knows that he is a savant. The only give him access to the tools and technology that spur his talents as needed. Am I insane? Yes... but I like to think I am a fun kinda crazy. And it would explain a LOT. He is always talking about how he worked on this or that but didn't know about all its features, also his physical condition doesn't seem like it would be tolerated unless he had something else to contribute. Also, his crush on Dr. Girlfriend may play into this... perhaps thats part of the way they get him to do what they want and those two would have had to work closely together... even if he doesn't recall WHY he loves her it could be because he has spent a lot of time with her.

Now with that in mind... I think the death of #24 is the catalyst for a rebirth of #21! I think with nothing to ground him he falls into himself and becomes something darker, maybe something even dangerous. I think he begins a quest to resurrect #24! He KNOWS that Hank and Dean "cant die" and he has seen the army of clone slugs. So maybe he strikes out on his own and attempts to get Rusty to clone #24, perhaps by force. Maybe along the way he realizes that he is every bit as smart as Rusty and can do it himself if he just steals the money/equipment he needs. At some point maybe he even gets visited by Dr. Henry Killinger and a new villain is born. All this would put him in conflict with Rusty, Brock, JJ (he needs to steal stuff from spider skull), and even the Monarch as he realizes how he has been manipulated all these years!

It could even return to the status quo after... because once #24 is alive again, he will be happy and want to be placated. He never wanted to be the hard ass. He was just doing what he had to do to save his friend.

Hows that for wacky!

One person on the Adult Swim boards read my post and remind me that he has been talking about becoming "The Viceroy" for a long time, He seemed to think my theories might fit with this. : ) Fun stuff indeed.

Who wouldn't want to see a trimmed down 21 fighting for the life of his only true friend, seen by the world as a villain but on the most noble of quests, willing to do almost whatever it takes to bring... him... back... and maybe even bringing Brock to his knees if he were unlucky enough to get in his way. Can they stop him? Should they stop him? Will 24 be 24?... or some horrible 24 like, thing!

Hell thats the friggin VB movie right there if you ask me!

When Does Construction On The Lair Begin?

And for that matter, can you even get real estate in a volcano these days? Maybe a dark swamp or a skull shaped island will have to do for now. Its a sellers market for prime "lair" properties I bet.

Regular visiter BENDER BENDING RODRIGUEZ has burst onto the blog-o-sphere for hacking a child's toy into an evil robot minion...

gizmodo.com
www.destructoid.com
blog.makezine.com

Let his career in supper science/costumed aggression Begin! (We won't judge his lifestyle choice. Villain or good guy, we will still support and nurture him as he carves the turkey at thanksgiving time with his superscience lasers.)

Way to go!

Latest Video:

Darth Needs a Makeover

Here are my favorites...








Oh my god... you have to give love to "Darth Fink!"


Be sure to go check out the rest here..

*Update*
BBR pointed out that this photographer doesn't link back to the artists or the project website, so if you would rather have the WHOLE story... Here is the home of the project: The Vader Project They of course list all the artist and have many more pictures!

Sorry for the sloppy reporting in the first place my friends!

Japanese Office

This is just to make my wife laugh, she is more a fan of the show than me, but I also enjoy it...

Other people can look at the clip too I guess. : )



By the way, allow me to whip out my crystal ball regarding the office...

Don't read this if you don't want to hear my prediction of how the office series will/should end.

A few nights ago I told Katy that I had come up with the perfect way to do a series finale of the office. I think when it has all run its course, and maybe as a central plot point Jim and Pam have still not gotten engaged because of several missed opportunities and misunderstandings. Pam should have a bit of a breakdown in an interview, just talk about how she thought things were supposed to be "different" (Jim could have also had an emotive interview as well) and the "camera" will start to move like its trying to decide what to do.

Then suddenly, not able to hold his tongue any longer Ricky Gervais steps out from behind the camera revealing himself to have been the director of the documentary the whole time. He consoles her and once he lets slip a bit of confidential information that he thinks will make her feel better... he starts to lose all objectivity and starts spill the beans about lots of things to everyone because he can't stand to see them hurting.

The "director" could then take on a role of the great and powerful OZ, showing them how much they really care for each other by running the tapes that they have never seen. Like explaining to Pam that Jim intended to propose to her on the night of Toby's party and showing her all the lengths that he went through to make it perfect. I can even see a perfect comedic moment were he could be scrubbing the tape back and fourth at the point he is almost certain Jim was about to ask.

We could also start seeing more of the camera crew in a more loose style as a "character itself" bringing quite a bit of comic relief about how they have been doing this over the years and why... it might be funny to hear Ricky Gervais mention off handedly that he used to manage an office before getting into doing these documentaries.

If I am in anyway right... please give me a dollar for being psychic. : )

Clearly Bowie is Evil

I have a friend (who shall remain nameless) who has never seen the venture Brothers, so I collected a few of the clips involving fun music references for him. The show is full of stuff like this and I highly recommend it for anyone who is of a certain age and likes having their pop culture served a bit blacken and on a skewer.

It's clear to me that these guys that created the show are big fans of Johnny Quest, David Bowie, comics and cartoons and everything that gets parodied on the show in general... but like a lot of us, they just can't help being smart asses... I like that.

Enjoy!

The new season begins in June if I am not mistaken.