"Lost" season finale confirms worst fears

Seriously? If you don't think the shows creators are full of shit, then why does the show end only after Jack unclogs the toilet?

At least Jimmy Kimmel was able to bring us this:

R.I.P Ronnie James Dio 1942-2010

Ronnie James Dio, an originator of the genre of music known as "Heavy Metal", and one the greatest rock vocalists of all time has died at the ripe old age of sixty eight. I finally got to see RJD a few years back, and this new(to me)info regarding his age really comes as a shock. The guy was still belting it out as recently as a year ago touring with the Sabbath spin-off Heaven and Hell, still "reaching the high notes." Now Ronnie is gone.

As a prepubescent in the early eighties, the imagery of the band Dio could not possibly have been more alluring, but listening to the bombastic guitars and Ronnie's incredible vocal delivery for the first time was an experience that cannot be duplicated. Usually straight forward enough songs about teenage alienation got dressed up as tales of wizards and dragons, mysterious strangers, or run-ins with spooks, weirdness, and evil doers in general. In fact, no one sang the word "Evil" better than Ronnie and he knew it, and so he sang it over and over, and over. Ronnie kept the high camp value going into his elaborate stage presentation, and is famous for using the "Devil Horn Salute" most prominently (actually his Grandmother's old trick for reversing hexes- Thanks Ronnie!)As a young man coming of age in the early part of the Reagan years, no one individual could be more rightly accused of creating the socially maladroit currently writing this blog than Ronnie James Dio.

Naturally, I grew out of Dio by my late teens, as the coolness Dio pervaded could only truly be understood by pimply faced virgins. Dio would would fall out of favor like all the rest of the hair bands, and eventually become something as a joke for adhering to strict Metal tradition. I was amazed to learn that Dio, like all the great metal bands, had been recording through the 90's and even into this decade, but I guess it shouldn't come as a surprise. By the time he appeared in Tenacious D's Pick of Destiny, there was no doubt that Ronnie was in on the joke, and when I finally got to see him play live and hear how good he still was it become clear that he probably had the most to laugh about. It was like he couldn't age and for a minute his golden pipes allowed me to feel that youthful optimism that I didn't know I had back then or even today. His abilities were such that I had to renounce my cynicism and embrace the goofy elf one more time, and I was looking forward to seeing another performance soon.

It wasn't meant to be, so I'll take what memories I have, crank up some "Holy Diver" and make a Devil Horn Salute in honor of the man on the silver mountain.

This is what it's like to grow old, just watching your heroes die.

Mattel Electronics Sci-Fi Box Art

Hand painted production art circa 1978-82






and you know you're getting psyched for the new movie!

RIP Carl Macek 1951-2010

If you don't know who Carl Macek is, you can check out the wiki on your own. Here, in the meantime, is the official press release.

If you were a kid back in the early eighties and liked "Japanimation" then you have Mr. Macek to thank. If you like Anime at all it would not have been possible without the success of shows like ROBOTECH, no matter what your opinion of the program itself is. Sure, Macross is better, but under the circumstances the man was quite successful in developing a continuity across three distinctly different shows, resulting in a sweeping story the likes of which had not been scene during after school programming since Starblazers.

I got to meet Carl at a ROBOTECH convention in '85. It was one of those Creation Cons, the same people who promoted the traveling Star Trek conventions of that era, so it was a decent sized affair with guests and a killer dealers room. Some time between ogling model kits and anime books I went to see Mr. Macek give a presentation which included footage of the upcoming (not really) ROBOTECH movie. He spoke and took questions, and was generally a busy, but decent enough fellow with the public. If it wasn't for that guy so many people wouldn't get to enjoy their hobby of hording neat knick-knacks based on beloved (and localized) Japanese characters they sit in front of a screen watching for hours without end.

I imagine in real life Macek pulled a dick move or two, which would explain the amount of contempt so much of the fan community has for him. Anyone who's been into J-pop for a few decades is aware of the level of animosity directed towards the man, yet so much of it has always been fan boy posturing. It's okay if you get how the original Macross is a masterpiece of entertainment. It's not okay to bash Macek because he tweaked it enough to create an entirely new market for anime in the western hemisphere. I'm pretty sure he didn't personally screw over so many of twenty-somethings who love to slag him on the internet bulletin boards. I'll never know what this guy did wrong, but I know what he did right.

Lots of fascinating stuff in the press release that I didn't know about the man. The video is great, too. No matter what kind of person he was in private, he was the guy that made an entire, currently desperate, industry possible. Thank you Carl Macek for the thrilling adventures.

New Dirty Pair manga in Japan

The Lovely Angels, Kei and Yuri are back, appearing in the pages of Monthy Comic Ryu. Let the chaos, destruction, and cheesecake ensue!



As an early supporter of anime, I can't describe what a relief it is to see these two icons return. By now the animated adventures of The Dirty Pair are widely known but disregarded by the contemporary anime fan, seeming clunky and dated. The reality however is that these two characters pushed the media's limits early on, with swashbuckling sci-fi tales laced with violence and sexuality. As an 80's preteen absorbed with ROBOTECH and Voltron, The Dirty Pair served as a proper white rabbit leading to years of discovery via VHS tape trading networks like the CFO.



Apart from a Joji Manabe Doujinshi I once flipped through, the Pair never quite looked this sleazy, which is understandable given the current state of the anime industry. Frankly, I can't understand what took so long for this series to happen. Kei,in particular, looks to have received the biggest makeover. It might not be "wolf hair", but at least it's not Dirty Pair Flash.

I predict that this incarnation will be successful enough for the inevitable anime adaptation, and then this and every previous generation of anime fan will know the madcap glory of The Dirty Pair!

Olympic Report 2010

At first I was worried about the raunchy conditions, worries that were almost confirmed by the Men's Snowboard event. Then I realized that it was snowboarding, and that with snowboarding it's totally acceptable for Olympic calibur athletes to be flopping around on the course like drunks. Ah, Snowboarding... snObOardNING.... Skiing ...I'll never get it. Actually, this years Olympic coverage has warmed me up to Women's SNBX, were the athleticism seems to be in spades. Skicross didn't impress me either.

So this time around, Body Miller avoids the Beaster and comes through. I like the man, although I get the feeling he's that guy they're trying to represent in those MCDonald's commercials which claim that Olympic athletes are lining up for McNuggets.

The U.S. Women's Ski Team isn't being hurt so much by a supposed popularity contest as it is being hurt by sculpted eyebrows. I'm also not sure I should feel like I'm eavesdropping, in a reality TV kind of way, when a hopeful faces his/ her event standing, so I just leave the room. The microscope is what is stressing out the athletes.

So far I've enjoyed the coverage and events. Too bad the great conditions are in the east this year. I'll expect to find lots of newbies on the slopes in the coming weeks.

Super Shogun Stormtrooper

Here's a little bit of super coolness to brighten up your day. This news is so awesome that it's become my sole purpose in life for the immediate future.



Super 7 has announced the Super Shogun Stormtrooper, a fine tribute to both George Lucas and Go Nagai, two creative luminaries from the '70's, operating on polar opposite sides of the world, forever dominating the imaginations of generations of children young and old. Whatever your leanings, this classic Shogun Warrior/Jumbo Machinder reworking has the confidence and style to stand proudly along side either Jumbo Kamen Rider or Kenner Bionic Big Foot. Maybe you like both types of toys; Super Shogun Stormtrooper is quite likely to mix it up a little so that things on the shelf could start to get freaky. The infamous "Toy Pirates" even went as far as to create a new website in his honor.



Is it normal to have a sexual response to a toy?



The blaster doesn't shoot red missles, which sucks, but it comes with a foil sticker sheet for the things belly!

All in all, Super Shogun Stormtrooper appears to be an instant classic, and even at $300 a pop, getting one is going to take some luck.