WEBmikey

La Boheme / Austin Lyric Opera : 5 of 5

2009-11-09T07:47:00.002-06:00

Although I would have to choose Mozart's operas if I were forced to listen to only one composer, Puccini's creations simply define what makes opera great. Everyone in the world, regardless of music preference, should experience La Boheme at least once, and if they saw a performance like Austin Lyric Opera's season opener this weekend, new opera fans would be born across the globe! La Boheme simply has it all - romance, comedy, tragedy - set to some of the most incredible, soaring melodies that completely say "this is how opera should sound". This production had a spectacular global cast, with a Russian Mimi and a French Rodolfo (all singing in Italian, of course!), as well as a massive chorus of all ages that completely filled the stage during the hilarious scene at Cafe Momus. The sets were wonderful, using brilliant forced perspective, and I especially enjoyed the huge window in the artists' apartment with its soft views of Paris outside. Rodolfo's voice was fantastic, and his chemistry with Mimi was perfect (in spite of an age difference in the actors, which completely disappeared as they became their characters), making for an especially believable and heart-wrenching final scene. I was particularly impressed with the philosopher's farewell song to his beloved coat before he sells it, which was touching and deserving of applause, though the audience was a little too wrapped up in the story at that point. Because this was opening night for the new season, ALO provided free champagne to everyone during the first intermission, which was festive and generous! I think everyone in the crowd fell in love with opera all over again, and even though I've seen La Boheme many times before, Austin Lyric Opera succeeded in making it a unique and moving experience!

Leave It to Beverly / DA! Theater Collective : 4 of 5

2009-11-08T05:53:00.005-06:00

This is a somewhat biased review, since the playwright and director Kirk German is my pal and bandmate in the Greatest American Heroes, but I have to say that it was fantastic to see Kirk display his talents in yet another way via DA! Theater Collective's production of Leave It to Beverly! While on the surface this play is a hilarious spoof of classic TV sitcoms like Donna Reed and I Dream of Jeannie, it also carries several interesting messages about gender roles and the effort to live a unique and genuine life in general. Gags that begin as funny (like ubiquitous canned laughter) sometimes become suddenly creepy, and the tension between humor and uneasiness really draws the audience into the story! But without over analyzing things, Leave It to Beverly is definitely a comedy, and every element from the incredible cast (who dance as well as act!) to the fantastic sets (which include special effects like magical kitchen utensils and surprise portals for characters' heads to poke through) all add to the hilarity. There are so many fun references to TV and other entertainment mixed into the story, ranging from Six Million Dollar Man sound effects to a brilliant use of Mickey Mouse Club ears (which are said to render the wearer "virtually brainless", which I loved)! It's obvious that Kirk loves this source material and found a way to pay tribute to it while expressing himself as a wonderful playwright. I was lucky enough to see the play on cast party night, and it was fun to play with the Greatest American Heroes right there on stage with a group of folks who had a special affection for TV show themes. It was a fantastic evening, and I'm definitely looking forward to the next production featuring my pal Kirk!

Life with Backpack & Satchel

2009-11-06T12:13:00.003-06:00

Although there are positive and negative aspects to living my life by lists (can you say control freak?), I've found that I'm simply happier just giving in to my desire to micro-manage my time. I've used several applications in the past for this purpose, but I've never been happier that I am with 37signals' Backback on the web, combined with Satchel on my iPhone! I literally use this website more than any other (even more than Google!), and I'm sure that I tweak my lists and notes (or at least glance at them) several times an hour, every day of the week. Since everything is on the web (rather than trapped on my hard drive), I can mess with it at home, at the office, or anywhere at all via my iPhone. I just love the simple, clean look of Backback, and the brilliant user interface (which allows be to drag around list items) is just my style. Backpack actually has tons of features I don't even use, since I keep my calendar using iCal and MobileMe. The funny thing is that I'm still using the free version after nearly three years of constant use! (I really should pay them something since they are kind of ruling my life.) Here's a quick look at how I use Backpack and Satchel to organize myself, all in five simple pages.

To Do: Of course, my first page contains standard things to do, using Backpack's awesome lists, which let me quickly order items or even move them between different lists. I have lists for Today, Weekend, Do Soon, and Goals (which are longer projects that I'm committed to working on daily, like organizing photos). First thing in the morning, I uncheck the usual things from my Today list (like studying Japanese and exercising), just for the joy of checking them again when I get them done. On Friday I uncheck my Weekend items (like laundry) and do the same thing.

Projects: I use this page mostly for ideas, so I won't forget when I'm inspired by some concept for a video or anything I'd like to create someday, along with detailed notes when I flesh something out. I also use this page for blog post ideas (like the one you're reading now).

Shopping: This is a pretty specific page, which is mostly a list of cool things I want to buy someday that don't really work on my Amazon Wish List (like obscure T-shirts or toys). There are also lists of gifts (ideas for things to buy for friends and family, or for keeping track of Christmas gifts and such), plus specific lists of collections I'm working on (like Planet of the Apes figures!) so I can remember which ones to buy!

Remember: This page is a catch-all for all kinds of random notes, but also has some specific stuff like my auto maintenance log (so I can keep the Acura service shop honest!), investment funds to check out, and plans for future vacations and trips. Backpack was especially useful for planning my latest Walt Disney World trip!

Thoughts: My last page is filled with personal notes, such as my last few years of New Year's resolutions (so I can see how I did!), affirmations that have helped me out, and other random stuff in the philosophical category.

Christmas Toys 1971

2009-11-05T11:53:00.002-06:00

This year's Christmas was pretty unique, since my parents and I spent the holiday season with my Dad's family in Ohio and Kentucky. This meant that my Santa-parents had to covertly hide all of my presents in the back of the car for the drive, and I never suspected since I was a dedicated Santa-believer who was convinced Santa knew where I would be waking up on Christmas morning! Along with my huge stocking, I received several classic games this year, including Don't Break the Ice and Operation, plus some kind of interesting battle tops game. But the best gift of 1971 was my Fisher Price Family Play Farm set! This gift was wrapped and under the tree before Christmas, and I would actually sit in the rocking chair with the huge box in my lap and kind of sing songs about how great this present was going to be (how embarrassing!). I loved toys that had a million pieces, so I was thrilled with all the farm animals, the family, fence pieces, the silo, and of course the giant barn with the classic door that made a cow moo when it opened! Lots of people have fond memories of this fantastic toy, but it's not easy to find really good photos of the vintage version (Fisher-Price still makes a similar set, but the design has been updated). But I was still able to find this great page dedicated to the vintage set, as well as some nice images on Flickr!

Final Cut Express 4 / Apple Pro Training Series : 4 of 5

2009-11-04T12:36:00.002-06:00

I've done a lot of video editing (mostly fun projects for friends and family, but some of it pretty advanced) in the past (from way back in my iBook days!), all with Apple's iMovie, and although it can be a lot of work, I really enjoy the art and process of editing. So a couple years ago I decided I needed to make the switch to Final Cut Express (the less expensive version of Apple's Final Cut Pro, which is actually used on Hollywood films), just to experience how the "big boys" do it, but it took me a while to find the time. This year I finally took the plunge, and since I'm always more comfortable with a goal in front of me, I bought this excellent book, which I followed to the letter as a full-fledged course. I can see why this particular book is sanctioned by Apple, since it has a beautiful layout with loads of screen shots, and comes complete with a disc of all the files needed (video, music, and projects) to work with each lesson. The lessons are extremely detailed, and always demonstrate multiple ways to do the same thing (such as completing a command via menu, command key shortcut, or contextual menu). They are so thorough that the actual editing doesn't even begin until after the sixth lesson! Everything before that emphasizes project organization, which might have been a little heavy, but definitely useful (and so incredible compared to iMovie). As I followed each lesson I constantly found myself totally amazed at what Final Cut Express can do, and I could see how each technique would dramatically help an editor based on my previous experience. I was thankful for the coverage of the slip, roll and slide tools, as well as simple keyframe animation. There are also excellent advanced lessons (and I did them all) that expand on the physical book, but these are only provided as PDF files on the disc (actually, it was so convenient to open the PDF on my second monitor that I wish the entire book had been included in PDF format as well). I know when I start working on my first Final Cut Express project I will forget some of the techniques I have learned, but I will definitely remember "I've seen that done before" so I can refer to this book. I can't imagine a better way to discover the power of this excellent editing software!

Disney's A Christmas Carol : 3 of 5

2009-11-03T17:37:00.003-06:00

It's nice to start getting into a Christmas mood with holiday movies, and I was able to see this new version of the Dickens classic at a sneak preview, thanks to my pal Melinda who is always lucky with preview passes! My opinion of this movie is right down the middle - there are things I love about it, and things I hate, which puts my review solidly in the center of my rating scale. I guess I'll get the hate out of the way - I am really against motion capture CG animation and Robert Zemeckis' bizarre opinions about the future of filmmaking! Although the characters in this film look much better than they did in The Polar Express, they still constantly look cross-eyed, with no attention to eye lines (they always seem to be looking "through" things), and might as well have been marionettes in most cases. Scrooge himself looks fantastic - I think they spent all their time getting him right and just let the computer crank out everyone else with no refinement. I was also appalled at Zemeckis' showboating floating camera moves, which only please himself and drive the audience crazy like they are stuck in a video game. Besides the opening sequence (which includes goofy moves like flying through a wreath), there's one sequence with the Ghost of Christmas Past that goes nearly 15 minutes without a single cut. I don't care if he thinks it's cool - it can only be special if it's hard to do in real life, so doing it in CG is just annoying. But now for some good points! I was really pleased and surprised that they stuck to all the original Dickens dialogue (most of the time I knew the line before they even said it), which prevented Jim Carrey (whom I dislike terribly) from ad-libbing and cheapening the whole thing. As I mentioned before, Scrooge does look incredible, and his exaggerated character design is great. I also liked all of the spirits, especially the creepy way that the Ghost of Christmas Future was mostly shown as a living shadow. The final scenes of the movie when Scrooge is filled with glee on Christmas Day are really well done, with just enough happiness to kick off the Christmas spirit in anyone. Overall I enjoyed myself, but mostly because I love Christmas movies and this classic story, not because of any of the filmmaking techniques that were being paraded on the screen. I only hope that audiences will enjoy the Christmas message while realizing that films using this technique have simply got to go!

Double gig Halloween 2009

2009-11-02T12:57:00.002-06:00

Just like last year and the year before, my band The Greatest American Heroes (Austin's favorite TV theme song band, of course), rocked the Carousel Lounge at our special Halloween show this weekend! We wore our official uniforms from the show that inspired our name, and nearly everyone in the crowd was in costume, too! There were so many great outfits, and we were able to get lots of people "into the show" by asking them to participate during an appropriate song. The Blues Brothers showed up for our introduction to Good Times (which has a Blues Brothers feel), Gomez & Morticia Addams led the crowd in snaps for The Addams Family, a couple of Brokeback cowboys were there for Dukes of Hazzard, Wilma danced during The Flintstones, Wonder Woman was there for Wonder Woman (of course), and we even played a surprise version of Old Time Rock & Roll (which we learned on the spot) for our friend Grace who was dressed as Tom Cruise in his undies from Risky Business (the band claims no responsibility for heart attacks caused by this incident)! One of our former vocalists Dana was visiting in town from Washington DC, so she was there to sing several of her old tunes, wearing an awesome GAH-TV remote control costume (so clever). We gave the best costume prize to a guy who did a completely perfect Chris Farley impression, and the crowd was totally generous with tips (and they threw some Blow-Pops in the tip jar, too).

The next night, my jazz combo Casa del Swanko played at Satellite Bistro, which was totally relaxing and fun, especially since it had been quite a while since our last show. Since it was officially Halloween, Matt wore his Yuri Gagarin costume and did all of his banter in a hilarious Russian accent (thankfully, he sang with his usual smooth voice). Kumiko showed up in her Tricia Takanawa (from Family Guy) costume with some other friends who were dressed up as well. The band had a delicious free meal, a couple drinks, and a great time with our friends, which is the real reason we love to play!

View photos: Halloween 2009

Death Note / Re-Light Vol 2 : 3 of 5

2009-10-31T14:50:00.002-06:00

I know you're wondering how I could possibly watch even more Death Note, but since I kind of enjoyed the first Re-Light DVD, which condenses the entire anime into a movie-length story, I pretty much had to watch this second part of the saga. While the first movie did its best to cram nearly all the major plot points into two-hours, this time around they went crazy with editing and simply chopped out huge sections of the story! I have to admit that while I was watching it I just decided to enjoy it and not worry about it, but afterwards I couldn't believe that giant dramatic segments like the death of Light's dad and great character backstory like Mikami's childhood were completely missing. Although it's a shame that so much good material was lost, Re-Light Vol 2 moves along at a much more even pace than Re-Light Vol 1, even finding time for things like Misa's dinner with Takada (one of my favorite scenes). Some of the editing may have been a good thing, since I kind of liked the way Near's SPK members are killed through Light's actions, rather than by Mellow's somewhat overly complex mafia subplot. There are only a couple of truly new scenes (not nearly as effective as the new material in Re-Light Vol 1), including L talking with some kids at the Whammy House (plus a look at Near's thought processes as he plays with a million dominos), and of course the new SPK killings (which is pretty intense). As always, I enjoyed the animation and Japanese voice acting, but it was a little obvious that the new scenes didn't have quite the same quality of the original anime. This DVD doesn't include any bonus material with the editors - it would be interesting to see if the same team worked on this film, since their methods are so entirely opposite. I've always thought the first half of Death Note is better than the second, so I guess the butchering of this half didn't bother me as much as it will some fans, and I still had a good time watching such a fantastic anime in a new way. As far as I know, there's no other Death Note incarnations left for me to see, so I guess this is truly the end!

Christmas Toys 1970

2009-10-30T10:43:00.002-06:00

Christmas this year was dominated by probably the physically largest gift I ever received! My Santa parents figured a four-year old should learn how to drive, so they got me a kiddie-sized dune buggy! It was a beautiful, red, battery-powered monster (none of those crappy pedal cars for me!) with real working headlights, and it could actually go forward and reverse. I remember driving it around the house (mostly from seeing myself in home movies), and I think I was stunned speechless by the whole thing! In addition to my "real" wheels, I also got a set of several Hot Wheels cars, a wind-up walking Charlie Brown (that I always made Mom wind-up for me), and another toy piano (I either needed an upgrade, or maybe I had broken the piano I got in 1967). There was also a toy rifle and William Tell dart game, and finally my highly anticipated stocking. According to the video evidence, apparently I was super excited about getting Chuckles candy this year!

Astro Boy : 3 of 5

2009-10-29T11:12:00.002-06:00

As soon as I first heard the rumors about an Astro Boy movie, I immediately had mixed emotions about it, since I knew that a modern "hip" American version of this classic Japanese character could never live up to what I've enjoyed in manga and anime. Of course, that wasn't going to stop me from seeing the film, and I definitely had a great time watching it! This movie is filled with things done right, but also riddled with things done wrong (especially for a serious Astro Boy fan). I guess I'll begin with the bad elements, starting with the bizarre changes to the story, which is now set in Metro City, a floating paradise above a WALL-E-esque trash heap Earth (which cruelly still has human outcasts living on it!). Dr. Tenma is now heavily involved with the military, and even the president of Metro City is a completely one-sided, ridiculously shallow warmonger. Astro ends up on junkyard Earth and makes friends with some orphan kids, who are unfortunately typical cookie-cutter "cool kids" found in way too many animated films. Even the music is a little obvious and heavy-handed, since even simple conversations are over-scored with dramatic themes! Finally, Nicolas Cage and Donald Sutherland deliver some of the worst voice acting I've ever heard (I wish studios would quit booking voices on celebrity recognition). Now it's time for the good stuff! The action sequences are excellent, and Astro's first flight through the city and in the clouds, as well as the discovery of his powers, is breathtaking! The design of Metro City architecture is really cool (quite a bit like the manga), and I really enjoyed the Tezuka Easter eggs (including a glimpse of the original Astro blueprints, and even a Hyoutan-Tsugi on the side of a building). And to counter those terrible voices, Freddie Highmore is fantastic as Astro himself! Without his sensitive and authentic performance, this movie would have been dismal! I suppose the filmmakers tried their best to Westernize this story (most likely under marketing pressure), but as an Astro fan I have to feel a little disappointed at what could have been an awesome addition to the world of Astro Boy. But if you're looking for some great animated action and a mild introduction to this fun character, don't hesitate to check it out!

Music Moments 10.09

2009-10-28T11:09:00.003-06:00

Morning Musume / All Singles Coupling Collection: I love special CD sets, and this three CD collection of all of Morning Musume's B-sides is fantastic for several reasons! There are lots of songs here that are entirely new to me (since I only have singles starting with Sexy Boy, and sometimes these extra tracks weren't part of their full-length albums), plus many songs that I have enjoyed in concerts but never had on CD until now. I also love having the recent B-sides (many of which are excellent) all together! The limited edition bonus photobook (which is actually hardback and great quality) is filled with cute shots, too!

MC Frontalot / Nerdcore Rising:
Being an mc chris fan, I'm no stranger to nerdcore (basically hip-hop/rap with geek-inspired lyrics), but until now I hadn't experienced the guy who invented the genre. After watching an excellent documentary about his career, I decided I had to get MC Frontalot's first album, which is hilarious and totally kickin' as well! The production quality is amazing, and while some of the songs are a little out-there, I can listen to this CD over and over and discover new funny references each time.

Lee Morgan / The Sidewinder: I was first introduced to the jazz standard The Sidewinder back when I played with Stone Bluff in Tulsa, and recently this song kept popping up on Last.fm, which brought back good memories. I hadn't bought a jazz CD in a while, so I decided I needed this best-selling, must-have jazz classic from 1963. I love listening to these long tunes (some 10 minutes or more) while I'm driving, and they're awesome on my iPhone while I'm walking, too!

Sarah Chang / Dvorak Violin Concerto & Piano Quintet: After seeing Sarah Chang play with the Austin Symphony, I wanted to have at least one of her recordings in my collection, so I decided on this CD after listening to some samples. I don't have much Dvorak, but these are wonderful pieces, full of emotion, which Sarah Chang expresses beautifully (I love her extremely controlled high notes!).

Metric / Live It Out: I've listened to Metric's Old World Underground album so many times that I figured it was finally time to buy another CD. Live It Out is their next release from 2005, and although it's not quite as good, it still has the same awesome feel with driving guitars and just the right amount of keyboards, as well as interesting and provocative lyrics (Poster of a Girl is pretty shocking!).

Caprica : 3 of 5

2009-10-27T10:57:00.002-06:00

I think it was a great idea for the modern Battlestar Galactica series to come to a natural conclusion (even with its bizarre ending, which I enjoyed), but it doesn't surprise me that the creators immediately jumped on the prequel bandwagon to grab some more cash! I haven't been totally excited to see Caprica (I rented the pilot on DVD, but the actual TV series begins next year), but now that I've finally watched it, I think it paints a pretty interesting picture of the twelve colonies (before they are under a single government) and especially the creation of the original Cylon. The story is set 58 years before "the Fall" (when the Cylons nuke the colonies at the start of Battlestar Galactica), against a backdrop of a really cool, semi-futuristic (but quite believable) civilization with awesome architecture, beautiful sets, simple servant robots, and personal computers that can be folded up like a sheet of paper. Eric Stoltz plays a scientist working on a prototype Cylon for the military, whose daughter Zoe gets involved in a radical group called Soldiers of the One, dedicated to a monotheistic religion. The religious ideas that were so prominent in the original series are even more obvious in Caprica, since there's lots of talk and debate about polytheism versus monotheism (and actually, the story provides fantastically clever clues into why the Cylon race is so militantly monotheistic!). There's far too much plot to get into here, but it involves the death of Zoe and her avatar's survival in a virtual world, as well as the Tauron mafia (with a shady lawyer who's son turns out to be a certain Battlestar commander) who steals a Meta-Cognitive Processor so the prototype Cylon can "think". I really enjoyed the nods to the classic Battlestar Galactica, from the glimpse of a professional Pyramid game to the traditional Cylon red eye (with appropriate sound) and even the awesome voice (that actually says, "By your command")! This DVD version of the pilot has a surprising amount of nudity (that will probably get cut for TV), but overall I really enjoyed the tone, the acting, and the plot of Caprica (though I still harbor a twinge of skepticism), so of course I'm ready for the series in 2010.

Christmas Toys 1969

2009-10-26T11:08:00.002-06:00

I'm sure Santa brought me lots of other toys for my third Christmas, but the space under the tree was dominated by three big ones! I got a classic red wagon with cool wooden sideboards (my huge teddy bear from 1967 was sitting in it), and a fantastic school desk with an attached seat and a flip-top that was filled with art supplies, plastic alphabet letters, and all kinds of other fun (and educational) stuff. But the best gift of all was my Show'N Tell Phono-Viewer, probably one of the most entertaining toys ever (and I'm not the only one who feels that way - my pal Barron also loved his Show'N Tell). I guess kids today would get a portable DVD player, but in 1969 this was serious tech! The Show'N Tell looked like a TV with a record player on top, but it played filmstrips that were vertically inserted into the top. As the record played, the filmstrip would advance to the next frame in sync with the story, so it was like a magical TV show! I know I spent hours and hours watching the same things over and over, but what is truly amazing is the titles that were available. Believe it or not, I had filmstrips of literary classics like Moby Dick and even Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, and I can actually remember them (I know for a fact I was a little spooked by watching Juliet die). I'm really thankful that my Santa parents gave me such a wonderful gift, and I'm proud to have been a Shakespeare fan at only three-years old! By the way, I discovered some fantastic scans of an old Show'N Tell catalog, so you can see the incredible variety of filmstrips that were sold. I wish I could watch these today!

Manga Mentions 10.09

2009-10-24T18:16:00.003-05:00

Black Jack Vol 1: Even though I've read every bit of Astro Boy, the Phoenix saga, and the epic Buddha, there's still so much more Osamu Tezuka for me to enjoy! Tezuka's classic renegade surgeon Black Jack used to be difficult to find in English, but now Vertical is publishing beautiful editions of this cool series. This first volume contains the origin of Pinoko (the little girl who lives with Black Jack who has a past too complicated to describe here), and a great assortment of wild transplant stories with lots of gross detailed medical illustrations!

Black Jack Vol 2: These new editions are pretty thick (printed on excellent heavy stock paper), but I had to continue with the next volume right away, which includes more of Black Jack's interesting past, such as the story of his facial scars and skin grafts. Pinoko decides she wants to go to school, Black Jack treats a killer whale, and one plot about a broken needle in a patient's bloodstream is filled with more disgusting detailed artwork!

Kaze Hikaru Vol 14: I still enjoy this series, especially because of the exhaustive historial research that went into it (evidenced by a bonus feature on ancient Japanese hairstyles!), but I have to admit that things are getting a little boring plot-wise, since everyone is just sitting around. There's a new character named Goro who sees through Kamiya's disguise as a boy, and Kamiya gets some serious training from Okita, but there needs to be a battle or something!

Nana Vol 1: I've already read the equivalent of the first several volumes of Nana in Shojo Beat magazine (before it was cancelled), but I couldn't resist picking up a few volumes on PaperBack Swap. Of course, I wanted to start over from the beginning, and I'm glad I did, since some scenes definitely seem longer (and less censored) than they did in the magazine! The first volume contains fantastic background stories about both Nana's before they meet.

Nana Vol 2: It doesn't matter how many times I've watched the movie (though I still need to see the anime!), I still enjoy the magical moment when the two Nana's meet on the train, then eventually get their apartment together by fate. This volumes ends with the arrival of Nobu and Nana's singing on top of the table (such an awesome scene), and I can't wait to keep reading, even though I know what's going to happen.

Christmas Toys 1968

2009-10-23T11:50:00.001-05:00

Moving on to my second Christmas, Santa continued to focus on some classic toys that every kid should have. The biggest gift of 1968 was my red tricycle, which I rode both inside and outside! Of course, I peddled it around on Christmas morning, and I know throughout the year I often tried to ride it in the backyard, where it would always get stuck in the grass. I also got the usual wooden board with pegs that could be hammered through, as well as a plastic horse (that one seems a little unusual, but I'll just call it my first action figure!). Another interesting gift that year was a toy phone - of course, kids today get toy cell phones, but mine was a big rotary model! I'm sure I pretended to call Santa Claus or someone like that with it. This year marked the start of my love for "giant mesh Christmas stockings full of junk", which always had a million little plastic toys and all kinds of candy, and I started getting one of those every year after that (it seemed like they kept getting bigger, too!). I wonder if they still sell those?

The Human Vapor : 3 of 5

2009-10-22T12:09:00.002-05:00

After enjoying The H-Man recently, I wanted to watch another one of Toho's "mutant" films right away, so I tracked down a copy of the 1960 classic The Human Vapor (unfortunately not officially available on US DVD, but you can find it if you keep your eyes open!). Although this movie doesn't typically get good reviews (mainly due to a butchered edited US version, which thankfully I didn't have to endure), I really enjoyed it, especially since director Ishiro Honda creates a masterful slow-build with the plot. In my opinion, this is one of Honda's strengths (also present in my favorite Godzilla films), since this movie is able to keep the audience interested even though there isn't a real special effects shot until the 40-minute mark! The story is about Mizuno, a man who can transform into mist or smoke, who uses his strange power to rob banks (and even commit murders) and gives the money to his beloved Kasuga, a traditional dancer who dreams of holding a big recital. In many ways the plot reminded me of Phantom of the Opera (especially because of the tragic ending), but most of the film unravels like a good detective movie. The Gas Man (as he is known in the original Japanese) is pursued by a cop and his journalist girlfriend (who has some great spunky lines and nice conversation scenes), and they eventually decide to destroy him via combustible gas in the dance recital theater (making for an intense, emotional ending!). Tsuburaya's special effects shots are truly incredible for 1960, showing Mizuno transform into smoke as his suit billows to the floor, and he even throws objects and suffocates his victims (via an animated effect) before our very eyes! Yoshio Tsuchiya is totally creepy as Mizuno, driven by his love for Kasuga (that she helplessly returns as if by fate) to an almost maniacal state. There are several long dance sequences which are interesting to Japanese culture fans, and the way the final dance is integrated into the film's finale is fantastic. The list of Toho films I still want to see keeps growing with no end in sight!

Where the Wild Things Are : 5 of 5

2009-10-21T17:10:00.002-05:00

Although my parents showered me with Dr, Seuss and other classics when I was learning how to read, somehow Maurice Sendak's 10-sentence masterpiece never made it into my library. But I was still super-excited to see this movie after watching the cool trailers and reading the good reviews, so I quickly enjoyed the book at the store to get ready for the film. Truthfully, the movie only uses the book as a seed, because the filmmakers have created an entirely new, deep, thought-provoking story that is an art film in every sense of the word. Yes, there are creatures amazingly created via live-action costumes and brilliant CG-animated faces, but there are simply no other aspects of a children's film to be found anywhere. Where the Wild Things Are is an adult movie, filled with real emotion and moments that I can't imagine a kid sitting through. But for me, this film was absolutely wonderful, giving me that beautiful melancholy feeling I get with other favorite films like Lost in Translation (I know that's a stretch!). The scenes of Max at home really help to setup his character, who simply struggles with the overflowing energy of childhood in a not-so-perfect world. When he interacts with the Wild Things, it's almost immediately obvious that each one is a part of Max himself, and by becoming their king and confronting each of them, Max sees what's going on inside and learns how to deal with it (just like real life, there's no "solution" - only a way to enjoy life and make it meaningful). Although the script uses a few lines from the book (which is cool), most of the Wild Things' dialogue is purely psychological and philosophical, and I ate it up! Along with the amazing animation effects, the cinematography (especially the prevalent use of hand-held shots) was gorgeous, and I loved how everything was always dirty, matted, and covered in dry leaves, as well as snot and tears. The voice work was astounding, too - James Gandolfini was perfect as Carol (and his trademark loud nose-breathing worked perfectly for this creature!). My opinion may be different from other film-goers since I didn't have a childhood connection to the book (plus I like weird movies!), but Where the Wild Things Are was truly incredible, and I have a feeling I'm going to want to watch it at home on a rainy day sometime!

Christmas Toys 1967

2009-10-20T12:29:00.002-05:00

It might be a little early to start writing about Christmas, but I thought I'd get started on this series of posts just to be sure I finish it before December 25th! Since my dad used to be a real home movie buff, I'm extremely lucky to have tons of magical childhood events captured on film, which includes reel after reel of me ripping open toys in my pajamas on Christmas morning. It's so much fun to study these Christmas movies and try to figure out what all the gifts are (which is sometimes difficult due to film quality), and I absolutely love reminiscing about all the fantastic classic toys I enjoyed, thanks to my extremely generous Santa parents! So I'm going to mention the main toys of each of my early Christmases, and I plan to cover at least 1967 through 1978.

I was born in January 1967, so by December 1967 I was old enough to do more than gurgle, and I got lots of classic baby toys that most people will remember, starting with the standard Fisher-Price Corn Popper (I can't believe they have been making that toy since 1957 and you can still buy it!). I also had the typical pole with rings on it (which I kept trying to eat like doughnuts), a wind-up music box "radio", a pretty cool fire engine to push around, a weird ball filled with chickens that would peck as you moved it, plus a huge teddy bear that was bigger than me! I also got a toy piano and a wind-up drummer boy, which no doubt got me interested in music right away. Of course, during most of the morning I ended up playing with boxes and Christmas ornaments more than the toys. As I "grow up", I'll have lots more to say about my beloved toys, but 1967 was just about the best first Christmas anyone could ever want!

Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny Vol 3 & Vol 4 : 3 of 5

2009-10-19T12:26:00.001-05:00

I'm still really enjoying this Mobile Suit Gundam series, and it moves so quickly that a DVD full of episodes is over before I know it! Although SEED Destiny is certainly cool, it's definitely not as moving as the original SEED, but it seems this sequel is becoming more and more like the first series all the time, especially since most of the original characters have returned, and they're even on the old Archangel together now. Volume 3 focuses mostly on Cagali, who is being politically manipulated to the point of allowing Orb to break their neutral ways and join an alliance, and she even agrees to marry a total weasel for the sake of her country. Thankfully, she's rescued (or kidnapped, depending on your point of view) by Kira piloting the classic Freedom Gundam, and she joins her old allies (including the Dessert Tiger, Lacus, Kira, and the original Archangel captain). They also introduce an awesome new opening theme by High & Mighty Color, which has been in my iTunes collection for years already! Volume 4 is full of battles, which are particularly exciting this time around, since they include some underwater action as well as some great cinematography as the mobile suits maneuver in and out of thick banks of clouds. Some of the best character development so far occurs when Athrun (who has now rejoined Zaft as an elite FAITH member) has a serious conversation with Shinn, and this series certainly needs more of those moments! Unfortunately, the super-long Impulse Gundam launch sequence animation gets reused a few times too many (even though it's definitely cool to watch), which comes across as filler to me. But SEED Destiny has just started to warm up, so I'm totally looking forward to watching it to the end!

Walking and observing

2009-10-16T12:28:00.001-05:00

I've been walking twice a day for several weeks now, and I've pretty much settled on the same 1.5 (almost) mile route in the neighborhood behind my office, so I see a lot of the same thing day after day. I have a lot of time to think and look around during these walks, and it's interesting to me the things I notice if I just take the time to observe (and I definitely have time during my walk!). When I first began, it seemed like every house was getting a new roof (thanks to a big Austin hailstorm a while back), so I got to watch them all going up, as well as observe which crews seemed to be doing a great job and which ones were sloppy. Two houses I pass have been getting some kind of fancy garage floor coating, so I get to see the same truck everyday with a guy whose job is just to sit there watching big fans dry the coating while he smokes. I seem to have the same schedule as the mailman for this neighborhood, so I've discovered that he's always puffing on a pipe while he works, which is kind of cool (and smells great)! I know that some kid on the block just turned eighteen, thanks to a yard full of streamers and all kinds of slogans written on their car. Just being observant also plants lots of details in my head, too! I realized that I pass three different houses with the same address number as my parents and I even know which houses have little barking dogs in them. A couple of times I have gotten some waves, probably because people are used to seeing me walking down their street at the same time every day. I'm really thankful for my walking time, not only because it's helped me lose weight, but because it helps me to relax and take notice of the little details of the world!

Sold Separately / Classic Kids Commercials : 2 of 5

2009-10-15T12:37:00.002-05:00

I don't remember how I found this DVD on Netflix, but it was probably because somehow they know I'm into old TV commercials (especially now that I'm seriously middle-aged), so I rented it to take an anime break. The DVD is organized into three sections: Cereal & Snacks, Toys & Games, and Celebrity Commercials, and there's about three hours of material, which is awesome at first, but gets a little old by the end. I also really would have preferred to watch these in chronological order, but instead they jump all over the place, from black & white to color and back again. There are lots of interesting ones that I really enjoyed, some totally new to me! I liked the old 1950s animation, and it was cool seeing cereals I had never even heard of (with free offers where you send your box tops to an address that didn't even have a zip code!). Some of the cereal commercials I remembered were great - I sang the Honeycomb song and loved seeing the free terrarium that came in Alpha Bits! The toy commercials are filled with war toys and baby dolls, so I got to see a three-dollar Barbie, original GI Joe toys, and even Big Jim (which was a toy I had, though now he looks pretty fruity!). It was nice to see the classic Connect Four spot ("Pretty sneaky, sis!"), and I had no idea the original Mr. Potato Head required a real potato! But overall, I was a little disappointed with the toy selection, since so many were from way before my childhood. The final section of celebrity commercials was okay, but way too long in my opinion, and actually has no business being on a DVD of "kids commercials". But it was still neat to see the Three Stooges sell car wax and the Beverly Hillbillies sell corn flakes! For someone who really wants to see classic toys of the 70s and 80s, I would recommend buying the excellent DVDs available at Plaid Stallions instead of watching this DVD, but if you're a tad older (or a fan of the 50s), you'll definitely enjoy this collection of commercials!

Whiz kid Emiliano

2009-10-14T17:11:00.001-05:00

Every few weeks or so I get to spend some time (and eat a free dinner) with my pals Chris & Eliza, which means I get to visit with their almost two-year-old, Emiliano! He was the first (and only) newborn I've ever held, so I really like playing with him and watching him grow up. I get to be his pretend-Uncle Mikey, and I'm glad he's my pretend-nephew! Last night he was pretty impressive, and Chris took every opportunity to show off his son. We played with dinosaurs (Emiliano can do a great roar), then banged on the drums for a while (it's amazing when he gets alternating hands going). Next Chris got out these alphabet letters, and Emiliano can actually make the sounds just by looking at them! Hold up a B, and he says "Ba!" Hold up a G, and he says "Ga!" He can also recite the last word of every sentence in one of his favorite books. Later he had a bath and I was watching TV by myself, and suddenly Emiliano ran into the room pantsless. I just laughed and said "You're naked!", so he decided to prove his nakedness by taking a whiz on the carpet (after kicking his toys out of the line of fire). It was hilarious! I haven't taken a photo of Emiliano in a few months, so check out Chris & Eliza's Flickr photostream for more recent pictures of my pretend-nephew.

State Fair weekend

2009-10-13T17:52:00.002-05:00

This past weekend was packed with three events for me, starting with the symphony, then a gig with the Greatest American Heroes, and finally my first ever trip to the State Fair of Texas! The Heroes played at the MS Walkathon at the Dell Diamond, and it was a great experience (nice and chilly outside, but we could play as loud as we wanted!), plus it was fun to hang out for free lunch (and a free T-shirt). Super-early the next morning, my pals Matt & Kumiko and Jonathan & Anne-Marie squeezed into Matt's car to drive to Dallas, and we made it to the fair by 10:00 AM (the ride was fun since we all made different mix CDs)! Matt was the tour guide for the day, so I had a blast not worrying about a thing, wandering around and soaking it all in. We tried lots of snack samples in the Food & Fiber pavilion, then did some browsing for Arts & Crafts (where we almost saw Oprah, who was filming at the fair, but we didn't care enough to keep waiting). Next we "met" Big Tex, who was huge and bizarro looking (but cool and historic, too)! After some nachos for lunch (this was not a day for healthy eating!), we saw the Birds of the World show, which was definitely the highlight of the entire fair. I couldn't believe they could let birds go from all the way at the top of the Ferris Wheel, where they would swoop right down over the audience to the trainers on stage! The next show was "dog dancing", which was cute and especially cool when we saw one dog walk on his front legs like a handstand! Then we looked at a million chickens, ate a delicious corn dog (necessity of the day), and finally saw the US Marine Drum & Bugle Corps perform. They were so precise and the sound quality was amazing, so we were all blown away and enjoyed it! Soon we were getting tired, so we started heading back to the car, and the timing could not have been better since the rain started coming down. We had a nice wet ride home (thanks to Matt's skillful driving), ending a really fun day with wonderful friends!

View photos: State Fair of Texas 2009

Austin Symphony / Chee-Yun : 4 of 5

2009-10-12T20:17:00.002-05:00

I was looking forward to the latest concert of Austin Symphony's 99th season for quite a while, since I love Mendelssohn's famous violin concerto and I was interested to see the soloist Chee-Yun for the first time. Maestro Peter Bay began with some friendly, insightful comments - although there were technical problems with his microphone, it was a good opportunity to show off the acoustics of the Long Center, since he was easily heard just speaking normally from the stage! He mainly spent time preparing the audience for Bruckner's 4th Symphony, which was entirely new to most of the audience (including me). But first was the Mendelssohn, and I thoroughly enjoyed it! I've always loved the first movement the most because of its emotional intensity, and Chee-Yun brought that out beautifully. I tend to enjoy hearing the "mechanics" of the instrument, and I enjoyed the somewhat "rough edge" feeling to her playing (not to mention that her 300-year old Stradivarius violin was fantastically resonant!). After a beautiful second movement, the incredibly difficult third movement was executed wonderfully. Although I'm always astounded at the technicality of this movement, unfortunately I've heard it so many times that it's hard to just sit back and enjoy it anymore. It was time for Bruckner after the intermission, and even though the piece wasn't something I would want to listen to everyday, I was happy to be exposed to it. Everything Peter Bay mentioned was certainly true, with each section playing lots of rhythmic unison like parts of an organ, and the full brass section sounded particularly spectacular (I just wish there had been more percussion than tympani). I had trouble appreciating Bruckner's extensive repetition, but I had a nice time watching all of the musicians and enjoying their intense concentration as they played. As usual, it was another great night at the symphony and I'm looking forward to the rest of the season!

Three Small Things 10.9.09

2009-10-09T12:49:00.002-05:00

Lately it's been a nice time to be a Morning Musume fan! Their 41st single Kimagure Princess is coming out soon, so the song and video are all over the web. While I prefer their last two singles to this one (I don't like the chipmunk voice effects on the verse, but the chorus is nice), the video is full of attitude and glamor and I can't believe how great everyone looks! I can't wait to get their new All Singles Coupling Collection, which has all 40 B-sides (many of which I don't have in my collection), and I'm really excited about receiving my first order from the new HelloStoreUSA. It's so cool to be able to buy Momusu goods that were next to impossible to get before! Of course, I'm not looking forward to Koharu's graduation, but only because of the effect it will have on the current line-up (Koharu is my least-favorite, so that makes it easier on me). I'm seriously dreading the day Ai-chan decides to graduate, but even then Sayumi should be around a few years longer!

Although I still study Japanese everyday, I don't spend much time writing Japanese essays like I used to when my pal Kumiko was tutoring me. So since my separate Japanese blog was pretty much stagnant, I've moved those essays into the flow of the main WEBmikey posts, and you can easily find them using the renshuu (Japanese for "practice") label. But speaking of Japanese, I've really been enjoying it lately, and I can kind of feel my vocabulary is substantially growing, so I've decided I want to take the JLPT again in 2010! Next year will be the first year with the new levels, so I'm excited about trying N3 (which is between the old Level 3 and Level 2, meaning it's a nice progression for me). That means I'll be re-focusing my studies next year (under Kumiko's tutelage), and I'm looking forward to it!

Finally, I wanted to mention that as of yesterday I've finished with this year's Christmas shopping! That may be a new record for me, but I have to order things early to give them time to ship, so I can wrap them and pass them off to my parents at Thanksgiving. On the subject of buying, using my Amazon Visa for everything (and always paying it off) has really raked in the bonus Amazon dollars for me. I've already earned over $425 bucks this year!