So the latest thing I’m into, and I’m not entirely proud of it, is watching the Youtube videos posted by these guys from Nova Scotia who go by the names NovaWar and MaximusBlack. They commentate over online matches of Starcraft 2. Kind of nerdy – okay, super nerdy – I know, but they’re pretty funny guys and they highlight the strategy involved and can actually inject a modicum of drama into the matches. Here’s an example:

If you’re as nerdy as me, I think you’d better follow me on Twitter and we’ll talk about Zergling rushes and three-Gate forges together.

My Twitter Profile

This is where we started

Then I found this

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then, in honour of my blog banner, I mashed them together:

Get 'im fly!

I cropped ‘em, trimmed around the fly using the lasso tool, merged the layers and then brightened up the levels and altered the size.

Fun!

Hi Frank, How are you?

I’m good – I’m currently having my ass kicked in pool by my tour manager. I was expecting this to happen. I’m really not very good at pool so I have only myself to blame for getting into the game in the first place.

You’re not just hustling them?

No, it really is just not my forte in life.

Singer / songwriter Frank Turner, upset that you used all his plates and haven't washed any of them

“English Curse” – is that song based on a traditional English song, or did it require a little historical research on your part about William The Conqueror?

Stylistically, it’s very much written to sound like a traditional. But it isn’t one – I wrote the melody myself. But then, at the same time, it’s using a scale that a lot of traditional English songs do use, and then just little things like repeating the first verse at the end like pretty much all traditional songs use. It’s kind of written to sound like that.

I’m from near the New Forest, that’s kind of where I grew up and, because I’m literally the coolest person you’ve ever met, I was reading up on some books about local folk lore and myths and legend and that kind of thing and I found this story about ‘The Blacksmith’s Curse’ and the death of King William II. It was just one of those things that the minute I read it I was just like ‘man, I am going to use that in a song’. Then it just sort of came together, so, there it is.

When we last left Deadpool, also known as Wade Wilson, aka the Merc with a Mouth, aka the Crimson Comedian, he was being mentioned at the end of my previous blog as an example of a superhero that would make an excellent candidate for a film; one that would really speak to viewers in a relatable way that’s not possible with some of the chiseled from marble guys who are already lined up with release dates.

"You'd better have gotten that Batman reference in the title, scumbag"

I’m not alone. There is a definite cult devotion to this guy who seriously wants a true-to-the-source solid R Deadpool flick and who have felt that way since he first appeared on the big screen (kind of) in the X-Men prequel “Wolverine Origins”. A lot of people were disappointed by the direction he took in that film. After a promising introduction as the renegade sword-wielding mercenary on Wolverine and Sabretooth’s squad, Deadpool’s image was tarnished as his mouth was sewn shut and he was inexplicably given retractable arm swords ala Baraka.

As of late last year, the writing team of Rhett Reese and Paul Werneck – who were responsible for Zombieland – were the guys who were putting together a script for the Deadpool film. I loved Zombieland, thought it took on the zombie genre in a really innovative way, and think those two are a great fit for old DP. It also helps that Reese apparently feels the same way as I do about the character:

Ending a prolonged period without a blog post with – a blog post.

***

Having just read an article from Escapistmagazine.com about how peculiarly relatable Tina Fey’s character Liz Lemon is on the hit NBC show 30 Rock – which I highly recommend, both the show and the article - I couldn’t help but think about the ramifications of one line in particular from Ms. Grunewald’s piece:

“She’s a bastion of normalcy. She’s not like so many female characters on television today, police officers and doctors who may experience turmoil in their lives, but are designed without recognizable human flaws.”

… and I guess what I got from that statement is the notion of how similar some of my favourite DC and Marvel superheroes are to these female police officers and doctors: experiencing turmoil in their lives, but designed without recognizable human flaws.

Uh oh. Better get a new one

Okay, quick explanation. Sure, Tony Stark like-ie the booze in Iron Man 2. Bruce Wayne is slightly miffed over the tragic death of his folks one night in Crime Alley. Steve Rogers feels the occasional moment of alienation in these newfangled modern times. But these guys are still so high functioning in their day jobs (or night jobs, as the case may be) as to render these flaws moot.  A little alcohol dependency didn’t prevent Tony Stark from defeating Justin Hammer and Whiplash, or improving his life sustaining ARC reactor.

These are supermen (by reputation, if not by name) and I think they’ve always had the kind of appeal that they have because of their abilities that set them above us: their discipline, their athleticism, their bravery. And that’s where my realm of interest diverges from that of Ms. Grunewald’s. As she puts it (in a different article, but with some similar themes and ideas):

In one of lauded video game critic Ben ‘Yahtzee’ Croshaw’s recent reviews he addressed Nintendo’s habit of occasionally, you know, using its intellectual property to repeatedly remake the same game. He made the remarks in reference to Super Mario Galaxy 2, which, as a sequel, he saw as somewhat of a missed opportunity considering the freshness and advancements added to most previous entries into the Mario franchise. He made a quick jab at Pokemon, another series of games guilty of recycling worlds (and characters), before returning to lampooning Super Mario Galaxy 2. ‘But wait,’ I couldn’t help but say to myself, ‘Star Fox is another one of those intellectual properties that Nintendo loves to reuse and recycle! Poke fun at them for that too!’

Sadly, my pleas for criticism of Fox McCloud and his Arwing crewmates went unfulfilled… until now.

Like anyone who’s ever played one of the Star Fox games, I know that when you want something done right, you’ve got to do it yourself… because Slippy sure as hell won’t be taking care of business.

(Gridlock)

We're heading to Aquas!

Back in 1997, when I first heard that Star Fox would be coming to the N64, I imagined that the transformation from SNES to the new system would involve a switch not unlike the one that took place between Super Mario Kart and Mario Kart 64; that is, new characters, new levels, and new power ups in order to bolster the already strong core of characters and story; and, of course, better graphics. While my expectations were not fully met in that regard, I was impressed how the same recycled worlds, characters, objectives, and power ups merged so well with just a couple new planets, vehicles, enemies, and cool 3D features to result in a compact and almost infinitely re-playable space shooter that still felt distinct from the original.

While watching Late Night with Jimmy Fallon recently I became aware of Entertainment Weekly’s 100 Greatest Characters of the last 20 years list. (http://community.livejournal.com/ohnotheydidnt/47322667.html) Jimmy brought it up on his show to congratulate his guest and former SNL cast-mate Molly Shannon for her inclusion in the list at number 70 for her awkward Catholic school girl ‘Mary Katherine Gallagher’ who appeared regularly on SNL and in her own film, ‘Superstar’ in 1999. I always thought that film was most notable for relegating Tom Green and Will Ferrell to the realm of supporting actors, but Shannon wasn’t bad in it either and I don’t dispute her spot on the list.

I don’t feel that way about the rest of that deeply flawed travesty, however.

 

My Goodbye column, to be printed in my last issue as reporter for the Walkerton Herald-Times, May 26, 2010:

Despite the best advice of my travel agent, girlfriend, family,  attorney, editor, friends, and my own common sense, I’ve decided that I simply can’t wait any longer to embark on my exhaustively well-planned journey of the Earth.

It will be a perilous trip — I’ve no doubt of that — and it will mean that I will have to leave my post as reporter for your fine local newspaper, but it’s a promise I have made to myself that I intend to keep.

Taking advantage of the sunny summer weather that is approaching us, I’ll begin my journey by hitchhiking due north, deep into the Canadian Shield. Placing all my trust on the truckers who frequent those lonely rock-cut highways, I’ll make my way to Medicine Hat where I’ll hopefully be able to stowaway on a bushplane bound for the furthest arctic reaches of the territories.

I figure I’ll get kicked out somewhere around Baffin Island. From there, I’ll travel by polar bear to Alert, Nunavut — the northernmost permanently inhabited place in the world. My appearance, which will bolster the settlement’s population to six, should guarantee me some sort of hero’s welcome.

 

‘A Worthy Lad’, a horse driven for two years by Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductee and Walkerton native William ‘Bud’ Fritz, is living up to his name.

The sensational trotter was recently nominated to be inducted into the hall of fame for his incredible run of 30 consecutive wins in the early nineties.

“He won every race he ran as a two-year old and as a three-year old,” Fritz said, “30 straight races.”

 

I have a pet peeve with new rock radio these days. I understand they have their hands tied to a certain degree, in terms of Canadian content, and they can’t help which songs listeners phone in and request — but the time has come to turn our backs on Nickelback and all the soundalikes that are crudding up our airwaves.