Just remember 'What Is Recoil' has been your SotS source for 2 years...

posted by RICK : 6:08 PM

Here are some others joining the game.

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The Summer Comic-Book Blockbuster

posted by RICK : 5:45 PM

I saw Superman Returns last night. It was good. It was good in the same way that Batman Begins was good and Spiderman 2 was good and X:2 was good and so on and so forth. While Hollywood has been drowning in comic-adaptations since 2000, every summer has given us a comic-hero (with the exception of The Hulk) that has proven to be THE BIG MOVIE of that summer. I suspect this is because those movies have attracted A-list directors, which in turn have produced a-list features.

The question then becomes, at what point will THE BIG SUMMER MOVIE not be based on a comic-hero? Next summer we're promised another Spiderman and another Batman will come a year later. And based on this weekend's release, I can only imagine that another Superman is two to three years away.

With seemingly endless comics to film (though limited characters with demographic-reaching name-power) it seems like this trend of hero-establishing/sequel-powering business could go on for the foreseeable future.

I'm okay with this.

The fact of the matter is these films make for great summer fare. The cater to enormous budgets and lots of effects and explosions and yet also provide enough character and emotion to keep critics at bay. More importantly, its exactly what a mainstream audience wants to see in the middle of the hot, hot summer.

Really, its surprising it took this long for Hollywood to realize the key to their success was being held in the hands of comic fanboys. Of course, there's enough crappy adaptations produced each year to suggest they really have no clue what the hell they're doing (Elektra? Catwoman?). None of that matters, like the music biz, a years worth of bombs can be offset by one HUGE SUMMER BLOCKBUSTER-- and as long as the right directors are attatched to these projects, they're going to succeed.

X-Men 3 was a big hit, but I have no doubt that it could have been a bigger hit had Singer no left for Superman. At this point he seems to be the Orsen Wells of the genre, with Sam Raimi and now Christopher Nolan the prominent underclassmen.

I say let's keep it up. Who needs pirates and dinosaurs between May and August, when you can get spandex and capes?

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How to catch pneumonia

posted by RICK : 7:17 PM

1) Get a job in the television industry, or similar profession that involves industrial cooling systems.

2) Live in a town with high heat and humidity in an apartment with a window air conditioner that cannot regular its output.

3) Wear only t-shirts between May and October no matter what the forcast or living conditions.

4) Then you just wait for your body to become confused, put its guard down, and catch some sort of godawful respiratory virus.

5) Rinse. Repeat.

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TOP 20 ROCK STARS* AS COMPILED BY MYSELF AND THREE OTHERS WHILE AT WORK (presented in no particular order)

posted by RICK : 6:31 PM

Jon Bon Jovi
Mick Jagger
Ozzie Osbourne
Steven Tyler
Billy Joel
Dave Matthews
Elton John
David Bowie
David Lee Roth
Gene Simmons
Paul McCartney
Bob Dylan
Madonna
Gwen Stefani
Bono
Neil Young
Bruce Springsteen
Eric Clapton
Pete Townshend
Stevie Nicks


*Based on record sales, touring and media attention.

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Two mixes for a Monday

posted by RICK : 12:36 AM

• The Gay 90s -- all the fun of the greatest decade, compressed into 20 songs.


• Omaha Rock City -- I don't live in Omaha anymore, but this is how I'd like to remember it (with MP3s!).

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I am worldly.

posted by RICK : 6:50 PM

This afternoon I took in the USA/Italy World Cup soccer (futball) match at a watering hole in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The excitement was palpable. If you aren't enjoying the World Cup, do yourself the favor and watch it.

Unrelated: could one of this blog's Omaha contributors please report back later this weekend about the Bright Eyes show at Memorial Park? That would be keen.

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SAVE SCREECH (or at least his dignity)!!!!!

posted by Anonymous : 11:00 PM

Well, apparently he has come upon financial woes and he wants us, the common people, to rally behind the Screechster one last time.

But, you know what? I'm not going to.

What do I owe him? I've got problems of my own. There are starving children across the world, I can barely pay for my own cost of living, and there's countless other ways I'd like to spend my money.

What if there was a foreclosure on my house looming over my head? Do I have the convenience of semi-celebrity power to have people rally behind me? Would an e-mail to Screech or a call to Howard Stern get me anywhere? How am I supposed to sympathize? Even he admits in his story that he has terrible credit, probably because he spent all his money funding a fledgling (at best) stand-up comedy career after his TV fame ended. God forbid that he, like the rest of us normal people, actually has to deal with the day-to-day struggle of working for money and then budgeting it wisely.

But, I digress. "Screeched" is the longest one-syllable word in the English language. And that's because Snapple said so.

Audi.

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A couple pics for the end of the world

posted by RICK : 3:03 PM

The funny thing is I think I know Gary but would not use him to describe today.


OMG! Look at the size of that PS3! It's freaking huge! That's like plugging a Hundai into your television. I'll be sticking with the Wii.

NY1 Pic via Gawker
PS3 Pic via Engadget

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666

posted by JDM : 10:52 PM

Before the earth swallows us, and before the fires of hell digest our souls tomorrow, I want to say that contributing to this blog with so many other fine individuals has been an honor.

Have mercy on us.

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