What Republicans Saw on Broadway

NPR ran a fantastic segment this morning on the shows to which Republican delegates were given tickets by the New York Times. (Cliff's Notes Version: nothing too controversial, which left out just about anything that was popular this year.) Of special interest to me was the interview with Rod, the gay Republican puppet from Avenue Q. There's some subtle skewering of the party going on here, so if you're part of the GOP, try not to take too much offense.

The new iMac G5

Apple released another triumph of industrial design this morning, the new iMac G5. Personally, I didn't see what was wrong with the old iMac with its retro desk lamp design and "floating" display, but the name of the game in industrial design -- at least when it comes to computers -- is constant change. Still, I'm not sure I see any clear advantage in having the CD/DVD drive on the side of the monitor, though it is nice that they kept the ability to swivel the display. I'll have to check out the real thing at the local Apple store soon so I can see how it fares in terms of stability on a desk.

Personally I'm waiting for the latest revisions to the iBook line, as the next computer I buy for myself personally will definitely be a Mac laptop of some sort. Can't suckle at the office teat forever.

Pro Bowling revived

Here's a wonderful Wired News article about the revitilization of the Professional Bowling Association after Rob Glaser and some of his pals at Microsoft bought the whole damn sport for $5 million. Here's my favorite paragraph:

To run the show, the threesome hired Steve Miller, former head of global sports marketing relations at Nike, where he'd negotiated endorsement contracts with elite pro athletes including Michael Jordan. Miller is everything the Microsoft crowd isn't - loud, profane, swaggering, and charismatic. His philosophy is best summarized by the phrase he often uses to get people on board: "Either we're in this together, or you can kiss my ass."

Even better, there's a documentary slated for theaters later this year that chronicles the turnaround: A League of Ordinary Gentlemen.

Insomniac with Dave Attell: Sloshed in Translation (Tokyo)

Remarkable, isn't it -- how quickly Dave Attell's show fell victim to its own success? In what I can only interpret is an attempt to escape the frat boys jockeying for camera position when they first catch a glimpse of Attell's shiny dome, the up-all-night wandering surreality series has been forced to leave the States. Presumably those countries where the show doesn't air provide better results from the denizens of the dark, to whom Attell is merely an amiable drunk with a camera crew.

"Sloshed in Translation," in which Attell visits Tokyo, retains even the most tiresome elements of the series (Attell's opening stand-up act, which hasn't gotten any better), but also features its star in continuing good form. Attell has always been a better "on the spot" comedian than stand-up, at least if the clips aired on his show are a truthful indication. He handles the carousers of Tokyo with the same aplomb as in any other city, and if those carousers don't quite understand his jokes, they are at least polite/drunk enough to laugh, in that nervous way that comes naturally to the Japanese.

The real kudos, however, must be given to the producers and researchers who find such marvelous events for Attell to attend, and who dig up Attell's unusual guests. Most prominent in this episode were the Penis Festival featured at the show's end (kind of a cheat since it clearly takes place during the day) and the visit to Kenji Kawakami's workshop. Kawakami is the founder of the "chindogu" movement, which practices the art of creating (almost) useless inventions. Attell engages him in a match of "neck pong" -- ping pong paddles attached to the forehead -- but only editing can make it seem as if the ball actually moves back and forth between the two contestants. The Wooden Penis Festival, a ritual fertility event, evokes the expected jokes from our host, but does eventually lead to the discovery of a "sleeper" gag that runs through the entire episode. Of course I was happy to see Dave make a stop by the commemorative statue of Godzilla in his travels.

It's nice to see that there's still mileage left in the Insomniac concept, even if Attell and crew must travel further and further from their viewing audience to get it to work. Dave still seems to be a willing participant in the show, though the decreasing frequency with which new shows appear makes me wonder just how long Comedy Central will let him keep what must be one of the best jobs in television.

Solely Based on Monsters

When Cold Fusion Video's Nathan Shumate mentioned in his blog that a 'zine called "Solely Based On Monsters" interviewed him, I sent off my well-concealed cash for a copy. I like to support my friends' efforts (even in a roundabout way like this), and I was curious about how an interview with an Internet film critic would read.

Rightly, the interviewer focuses on Nathan's other more creative writing (screenplays, fiction, etc) as much as he does on the film criticism. If you've not enjoyed the adventures of Avalon and Company, you could do a lot worse during the workday than to spend some time reading through the archives. (Your boss might argue, but what does he/she know?) There's some sly stuff going on in the dialogue, though I'll admit that first-person narration has always sort of put me off. The important bit is that Nathan seems to be a creative writer at heart. If that could support his online ventures in the same way that his movie reviews do, I suspect he'd abandon criticism for such creative writing full time. It's a shame that the web doesn't foster the writing of fiction the same way it does pop culture journalism and (in the case of some of those "journalists") fanboy invective, but there you have it.

(Feel free to use the comments link below to leave your own thoughts about online fiction. I could probably write a few hundred words on the subject off the top of my head, but I don't want to digress even further.)

This is kind of the long way around to getting to the point, which is a comment Nathan left on this blog a few weeks back in response to the news that Scott and I would be hosting a sci-fi movie night at the Orlando Science Center. Someday, he wrote, we must teach him the secrets of self-promotion. Scott, ever the wag, wrote back that shame must be suppressed. (Not that he's wrong, mind you.) My belated reply is: have good friends.

When I say that, I'm not just referring to the fact that the Orlando Science Center's director of PR is none other than Jeff "Filmboy" Stanford, though I am indeed referring to that. I also refer to the fact, however, that Nathan mentions Stomp Tokyo twice in one answer to a particular question in the interview. Flattering, no? So that's basically it, Nathan: have good friends. And bribe them, if necessary.

If you're interested in obtaining your own copy of the zine "Solely Based on Monsters," e-mail this_monster_island@hotmail.com.

New Stomp Tokyo review - Mothra

Over on the main page of Stomp Tokyo, you'll find a link to our new review of Mothra (1961).

Stomp Tokyo HQ weathered the hurricane just fine, thanks for asking. Charley made that hard right turn just before hitting our area, so we didn't experience so much as a glitch in power service. Other areas just south of us were not so fortunate, and even our friends in Orlando (like Jeff "Filmboy" Stanford) have had their lives turned upside-down by uprooted trees, lost power, and flooded roads. If you've a mind to help out those who were blindsided by Hurricane Charley, please consider donating to the Red Cross.