Sunday, July 27, 2003

Like Professor Farnsworth says, "Great News!" Except this time it really is.

There's an article over at Newsarama which focuses on Paul Grist's Jack Staff, the latest issue of which is a bit overdue, and provides an explanation as well as a look ahead at what's coming up from the innovative Grist.

Also, if you've got the cash, you can now pre-order the Firefly DVD from Amazon.com!

Attack of the Puppet People, one of those great old 50s drive-in horror flicks that I love so much, is coming on in about 30 minutes. It's been 30 years since I've seen this one, I'd bet.

Speaking of Prof. Farnsworth, there's a new Futurama coming on Fox tonight at 6 central. Only 2 more new episodes to go after this one...

And speaking of TV, right now I'm still enjoying the new series Teen Titans (watched the second new eppy last night; it was better than the first) and Dead Like Me-they're really beginning to explore the situations inherent to the premise, and doing so quite cleverly. The season premeire of Kim Possible on Disney was as clever and fun as the first season was, so no decline in quality there. I think KP gets overlooked sometimes because of the misconception that it seems to be aimed at the pre-teen crowd, but the writing is sharp and the animation's fine as well so I heartily recommend it to anyone looking for something new to watch. I've recently seen a newish cartoon on Nickelodeon as well, named Chalkzone, which is also worth a look.

Spent the day yesterday working at an auction for my father-in-law. If you've ever done anything like this, you'll understand when I tell you that whoever tought up the phrase "one man's trash is another man's treasure" was a genius. Saw a classified ad in the paper this morning for a pre-media operation based in Ohio, called Phototype. They seem to be looking for a wide variety of skillsets and personnel, so what the hell, I'll send 'em a resume. Whether or not I can actually pack up and move there remains to be seen...

Found another website whch features an article on those Warner Bros./Reprise Loss Leaders promo albums that fascinate me so. Go here for the intro, go here for a detailed list. Most, but not all of the covers are reproduced, and all the tracks are listed on every album. As someone who has made, and tried to make, multitudes of mix and sampler CDs and tapes for both personal use and as gifts for people, and been frustrated when you have one great song then another great song which sounds good on its own but totally sinks the compilation when you stick them together, it amazes me how the people that assembled those compilations could take such varied artists and types of music and set them so comfortably next to each other. Of course, some sides were given to themes and such, but it wasn't unusual to have a lineup like this:

Deep Purple: Strange Kind of Woman
John Baldry: It Ain't Easy
Labelle: Shades of Difference
Redeye: Beginning to End
T. Rex: Hot Love
Randy Newman: Last Night I Had a Dream
Jackie Lomax: Helluva Woman
Paul Stookey: Sebastian
Norman Greenbaum: Circulate
Ron Nagle: Marijuana Hell
Gordon Lightfoot: 10 Degrees and Getting Colder
The Beach Boys: Feel Flows
Fanny: Soul Child
The Kinks: Animals in the Zoo


This is two sides' worth of the two-fer! Boy, I wish someone at WB or Rhino would re-issue these things on CD, or I could afford to get the originals on eBay. And this is despite the fact that I own many of these tracks on the original albums!

OK, almost movie time and I've rambled enough for a Sunday. Maybe I'll ramble more later. Coming up soon: that long awaited Roxy Music overview from my twisted viewpoint, and another Vinyl-O, and God knows what else.

No comments: