30 January 2007

Anime, Shm-anime

...okay, okay. I know that anime is the only worthwhile animation around right now for kids and adult geeks alike, but I've gotta say--enough. I'm all for anime in it's best form, i.e. Samurai Champloo, Akira, Steamboy, Porco Rossi and Princess Monoke. But that's really about it. I find the rest of it pretty mundane at best and downright bollocks at worst. And I find the current craze amongst comic fans downright depressing. Instead of going after the best across the board, I see people picking up every mediocre offering out of Japan and worse, fake anime from domestic poseur creators, regardless of quality. Meanwhile I see a lot of worthwhile work being passed by and domestic comic and animation sales drying up.

Here's my take on it. Anime and Manga (the print version of anime) is the media incarnation of fast-food. Just like Micky-Dee's, you have basically the same flavor at every stop and the only difference comes down to individual stores being managed better or worse. From what I've seen, the stories are mainly redundant and the artwork looks so similar that you can't tell one creator from another with some rare exceptions.

Having said that, I have two notable home grown alternatives. First off, check out Avatar: the Last Airbender. Though the form takes liberally from Anime, there is definitely much more creativity and dimension given both to the look and the story, taking from several Asian traditions and mythologies and adding a healthy dose of technology and quest-type adventure, Avatar has strong maleand female characters, morally complicated story lines and three-dimensional villinas. The lessons the cartoon delivers are not only relevant and decidedly un-preachy (no "...and knowing is half the battle! Yo Joe!" in this afterschool offering) but also involve the viewer in the moral decision making.

The second reccommendation is actually two: Ben 10 and Teen Titans. As a fan of all things retro-futuristic, Ben 10 and the Teen Titans supply all the stylized, flashy and three-color glory of the pulps and comic books of days past. Both recall the era that gave us the originals from Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Seigel and Shuster, Bob kane and all the rest. Throw in a liberal dose of Cold War-era paranoia, giant monster chic and 50s pop illustration and you've got it. Both shows look fantastic, are genuinely engaging and strip away the convuluted, thousand-character casts of many of the comics out there right now.

24 January 2007

So Long 2006, You Damned Dirty Dog

I can't really say that I'm all that sad to see the Year of the Dog wind down to an end with a whimper, though we did have some high points. To wit: 2006 saw Maggie and Coltrane join the human race and shed their previous embryonic mantles, the Republicans get the boot in Congress (though I'm not real sure how I feel about a government run by a bunch of jackasses...I mean Donkeys), the Pirates gear up for another run at the Calder Cup and the car still runs, sort of...

...however, I found little of Dog's supposed loyalty, friendship and protection in 2006, but rather a dirty, foul-smelling, vicious little cur snarling out of the corner. I can't say I'm all that sorry to see it go and am looking forward to 2007.

But enough prattle about a zodiac I know far too little about to credibly rant about. I realize it's been a little while and we have some catching up to do. First: as I mentioned breifly, 2006 saw the entrance into the human race of my neice Maggie, native of Colombus, GA and nephew in spirit Coltrane, native of Las Vegas, NV. I wish them both long, happy, interesting lives and give their respective parents fair warning: the kid-sized drums are already in the mail, 'cuz that's hows I rolls! Think of it this way: a well-rested parent really isn't doing their job properly. And I'm just here to help.

Next up, WFC Dominion, as I'll forthwith refer to the team, finished Session 1 with a valiant record of 0 - 7 - 1 and came dangerously close to advancing past the first round of the playoffs. We suffered short rosters, too-large rosters, injuries all the way around and insult and injury. And had a pretty good time. This Session, three games in, has seen the defection of several key play-makers, a chronic groin pull (not to be confused with chronic pud-pulling), a sprained ankle, a bruised thigh, weak ankles, a torn Achilles tendon, several substitutions and one high-order humiliation at the hands of a mostly high-school age team that was far too polite for their own good or our own pride. Doesn't sound too promising, I know, however we have in three games managed to out-score our total "goals for" statistic from last session and despite a multitude of injuries are beginning to show promise in the teamwork, skills and drive departments.

As this post marks the first contribution to 2007 I will briefly address resolutions. I do not, as a rule make resolutions any longer and have not since breaking every single one of them in second grade. However I have resolved to write more, spend less time in front of the idiot tube and produce more work. How that's relevant to this, is it means there will be more to read. I started this to hone skills I have not used in far too long. As such, I welcome any criticism and/or comment you may have in following my seemingly pointless meanderings.

In any case...there will be more to follow...