Filed under: BSG, Dragon con, PHOTOS, TV, batman, battlestar, battlestar galactica, books, carny life, cartoons, comic books, comics, cosplay, culture, entertainment, family, fiction, film, games, graphic novels, halloween, holiday, humor, joker, lord of the rings, love, magazines, media, movies, news, official list, photography, picture, pictures, pop culture, sci fi, science fiction, scifi, television, toys
Dragon Con, or any con I guess is like a dive into your grandmother’s attic. Full of weird stuff that your inner kid finds irresistible. Only without woman wearing bustiers and guys dressed as Captain Hammer. Or maybe it is. I don’t know. I don’t know what your grandma is into. She might be freak.
Honest to goodness I met a lot of very nice people. Sincerely very nice and likable people. Even those dressed as furries (though I generally gave them a wide berth so really, they could be as terribly disturbed as they seem). Everyone beat the image of the nerd disconnected from reality, although perhaps because they were surrounded by so much un-reality they seemed comfortable. One didn’t have to dress up to have fun. That just seems to have enhanced it for everyone.
I spent a good amount of time documenting the costumed as they were available, fun and in legion. There are a few naughty photos to follow. The camera phone held out long enough to take a lot of decent photos of almost any star I could reasonably get close to (without paying $70+ bucks. (No I’m not kidding.) Or really bothering them). Patrick Stewart, Leonard Nimoy, Felicia Day (no photo. I’ll explain later), Scott Adsit, the Battlestar Gang to name a few. And a few friends along the way.
If I had any problems adjusting to reality afterward I can probably blame that on my wife. It’s weird to have a hot wife that likes nerd stuff and really enjoyed the convention. In the past I’ve might have had one but rarely the other. My dreams have become reality.

Terry Gillium of Brazil, The Fisher King, Monty Python's Flying Circus and soon The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. Heath Ledger's last film. The previews were amazing

Shatner was equal parts egotistical & self effacing. He came across as slightly weirder than I expected but his stories were hilarious. I've always wanted to meet Leonard Nimoy. I was prepared to sing his praises & buy him a drink. Then I found out he and the others charge hundreds of dollars for a photo, autograph and about 1 second of their time. Evidently actors don't want fan grovelling for free, anymore. He missed out on some good fawning.
Evidently George Lucas invited them to a private screening of Star Wars. They got to make fun of it in front of him. Too bad it wasn't The Phantom Menace.
Michael Hogan and Kate Vernon of Battlestar Galactica. The distance panel shots turned out terribly. That's why I've got so many shots on the big screen. Edward James Olmos literally phone in to say if the TV film "The Plan" goes well there could be more Battlestar films. We'll see.
I do declare I had a case of the vapors when Captain Charles Luc Xavier walked on the stage not but 15 feet yonder from me. I almost had a swoon. He remembered almost nothing from the Star Trek:TNG but swears it was best time of his life. We believed him.
Scott Adsit of 30 Rock, Moral Oral. Another famous bald guy. No matter my bravado I really didn't want to bother these poor people. He was there in person and was very nice about taking a picture. Then I ran away.
Luciana Carro call sign Kat from Battlestar Galactica & the L Word. So smoking hot in real life it was surprising. She touched my arm as she left which, of course, means we're married. (Maybe this is why guests charge for photos? To weed out future spouses? No wonder right wing kooks say that Hollywood is anti-family)
One of my wife's favorite tracks - Skeptics. My wife attended most if not all of the discussions. Anyone could have a track for almost any point of view so long as you were willing to pay the fee, I imagine. Again most everyone was really very nice.
Also saw Ellen Tigh (real name Kate Vernon) and Felicia Day (real name Felicia Day) in real life. Kate Vernon seemed frightened of everyone so I left her alone. Also the restraining order said I had to. Felicia Day stood 2 feet away, ordering food after me. Rather than bother her, I left her alone too. I was already married to Luciana Carro and there were no FLDS elders around to officiate the ceremony. Oddly they do have standards for stuff like that. But at Dragon Con consolations abound. A mix of the naughty bits and random fandom to round out the set.
So yeah. There was a lot of this: Cute girls in costume. All over the place. So much so that it was disorienting. I've no idea who she is supposed to be and I don't recognize the style of dress. Which means it's probably anime. So yeah, anime.
2 by 2. Cult of Blue? The Snuggie Cult won an award for best costume idea or something like that. Those are flip phones strapped to their heads for some unknown reason. Very funny & clever
Marcus from Gears of War. One of my favorite games. There were a bunch of Halo troopers running around as well. Cool

Wonder Girl & Black Manta. Black Manta had a voice distorter worked into his helmet that would scare the shit out of you even if you were expecting it.
R2-D2. Not Lucas approved. Someone built this him/herself. It did everything, rolled, spoke, reacted.
See. This is why Batman changes out Robins' out every few years. So as not to embarrass him later. Otherwise they get the Jason Todd treatment. Still, this guy is braver than I'll ever be.

Some sort of late night party/contest involving the Goon with Goon creator Eric Powell in attendance. Hellboy creator Mike Mignola is somewhere in the background. He fell under my non-harrassment of most celebrities clause so no photos of him.
A more or less complete set of all the Dragon Con photos can be found here for anyone interested. Happy Halloween. Be safe.
Filed under: Dragon con, TV, carny life, comic books, comics, culture, film, graphic novels, media, movies, pop culture, sci fi, scifi, television
Live blogging from my phone,Dragon Con 2009. The title about sums it up.
Please check the Twitter feed for updates on the fever feed dream/nightmare that it is. I hate the crowds & massive, characteristic Dragon Con disorganization. As much as I love it.
Hopefully great pics of hot costume clad nerds at the Twitter.
See ya and thanks
madmonq
Filed under: BSG, PHOTOS, TV, art, battlestar, battlestar galactica, broadway, entertainment, fiction, film, movies, music, picture, pictures, pop culture, sci fi, science fiction, scifi, video
All of this has happened before. And all of this shall happen again TV, film and music edition.
It’s more than a little premature for yet another remake of Battlestar Galactica. Leave it to Hollywood to drain the well if they think there is money to be made. Bryan Singer originally wanted to do a version in 2001. He is talented but 2 different versions of the same story in a relatively short time is a little ridiculous. His take on Superman wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t well received. Reboots and remakes seem to be more common now-a-days. That’s compared to out and out theft of ideas. That’s always existed too.
Original TV show producer and “creator” Glen Larson is known for such ‘80s era gems as the original Battlestar Galactica (Star Wars), BJ & the Bear (Smokey & the Bandit), Automan (Tron). More like cubic zirconias than gems. It’s rumored Mr Larson wasn’t happy with the modern, successful and critically acclaimed version of his version of Star Wars and now wants to see it done right. Er, make that redone right.
In other words he was mad that the remake of his rip off wasn’t as good as his original rip off of another rip off, that was ripped off of Dune. I think I’m dizzy.
IF one is done by Bryan Singer, Ian McKellen would make a great Adama or Baltar. He brings the required gravatas and acting chops for any part and is a good start for casting. Starbuck should be a gay male. This’ll bring the 2 previous versions together and more importantly piss off the whine baby Dirk Benedict. In any incarnation, the character should be a bad ass mofo, of course. Although all this may be a bit premature at this point.
While most of the 2003 series was overall, amazing, I’d like to see is if anyone could redeem it from it’s unexpectedly startling, amazingly alarmingly, terrifically bad confusing mess of a disaster that was the show’s finale. It was horrible. Just horrible. Even if it included an Adama/Tigh love scene (which would be awful considering the two actors we’d have to see naked) it would still make more sense than the actual finale (Adama’s big ole mustache, Tigh’s eye patch, the naval uniforms are a giveaway), Slash fan fiction would beat the hell out of what they came up with. If so, bring it on.
If the point of the Battlestar finale was built around the notion of eternal recurrence, brilliant. It’s hard to tell as it was horribly executed and a little too shallow to have made such a grand point. Leaving out much of the substance and good will built up over 5 plus years, very few ends tied up and giving us a rushed package of a mess. Perhaps The Plan will make up for it though it’s too soon to tell.
(By the by. To speak out, however civilly, against The Franchise is frowned upon by many fans and by some over at Galactica Sitrep, though maybe for more commercial reasons I think. I’ve been blocked a time or two. Some hosts are better than others, the improbably titled ProgGrll has blocked me before, behaving less proggrressive-ly and with a more Dirk Benedict-like conservatism / original franchise fanaticism then one would be led to believe. A certain Coo-Coo’s Nest mentality overall at the Sitrep where we the inmates are meant to be appreciative of the facility and work toward rehabilitation, under their supervision. I, Chief Bromden, delusional though I may be, prefer to go through a wall and escape altogether.)
Moving on.
A new Buffy the Vampire Slayer without Joss Whedon. The show ended in 2003. A “darker” version to compete with Twilight etc? Leaving aside that Twilight is not at all dark but “dark lite”, Buffy made much of this possible. Again TV setting the tone for a film franchise is a reversal of the paradigm for money’s sake. It should be the exception rather than the rule. Buffy was an excellent TV series but there is more money grubbing here than interest in recreating something with meaning. I don’t wish it poorly but if expectations are based on another franchise, not on it’s own strengths it’s destined to fail .
Another needless remake of a completely disposable 80’s movie.
Doesn’t this kind of thing happen a lot nowadays? Crappy films on Broadway? Older songs and film remakes? BAD older song and film remakes at that, worse than the original – 20 yrs+ earlier.
Yet people are still paying (overpaying) for media they can find or see cheaper. Or free! Hell, old band names with new line ups are going out and doing their hits with the integrity of a tribute band. Tweens through baby boomers are paying for the mangling of their own recycled memories. It is rare when Hollywood’s penchant for remakes are little more than regurgitated reruns. Again more TV than film. Who wants more of the same?
P.S. I don’t want to give anyone any ideas, but the next thing you know someone is going to remake “One Flew Over The Coo-Coo’s Nest” as a musical. Remake, reboot, regurgitate.
See also:
http://madmonq.wordpress.com/2008/03/06/reimagine-repackage-repeat/
http://madmonq.wordpress.com/2008/08/22/reimagine-repackage-repeat-2-the-sequel/
Filed under: PHOTOS, TV, art, culture, entertainment, fiction, internet, media, music, news, picture, pictures, pop culture, sci fi, science fiction, scifi, video
How I Became the Bomb played town last week. Updated 80s style new-wave pop combined with video game music hook addictiveness and sincere lyrics about relationships etc. Really good and fun.
Everything doesn’t have to be filtered through sarcasm. I think it’s OK to do an older style of music so long as it’s unaffected and something new is brought into the mix. It sort of proves it’s long standing qualities if someone else is able to run with it.
How I Became the Bomb does that with tongue in cheek and less of the irony that still informs a lot of pop and pop culture. A musical version of ”The Guild”. Though Felicia Day seems to have taken care of that as well.
HIBTB have a polished video but it’s this song that should / will be a hit someday. Yeah. He looks goofy. After about 2 seconds worth of this you’ll find yourself trying to sing along. It’s good.
To take you into your weekend I’ve found this song from Way Back by Positive K. A classic and a one hit wonder. If the ad companies have their way this’ll be the next one mined for overuse in chewing gum and weird laundry detergent commercials. As long as Positive K is happy I guess.
I’m not tryin to hear that see
I’m not one of those girls that go rippin around
I’m not a dog baby, so don’t play me like a clown
I’ll admit, I like how you kick it
Now you’re talkin baby, dats da ticket
Now don’t get excited and chuck your own in
I already told ya, I got a man
What’s your man got to do with me?
I got a man
I’m not tryin to hear that see
I got a man
What’s your man got to do with me?
I got a man
I’m not tryin to hear that
I think I might make this the theme song for this blog. Silly and braggadocious, kinda catchy, kind of funny. Strangely hypnotic but mostly bad. I could be wrong.
You don’t like me, my blog or choices of song?
You know what’s the problem, ya not used to learnin
I’m Big Daddy Longstroke, and your man’s Pee Wee Herman
So there.
Filed under: business, carny life, cars, cartoons, comedy, entertainment, facebook, film, internet, pop culture, rant, twitter, video
For some reason my blog is not showing the videos I have lovingly, painstakingly posted for your multimedial enjoyment. I have no explanation for it at this time. The glitch has also caused all spelling and grammar errors and is to blame for the half baked ideas and overall poor blog execution.
I’ve been trying to fix the problem, but so far no good. My neighbors must’ve heard the cursing and called the police to help. They weren’t any help at all. Even with all that extra cursing it still wasn’t enough to fix the computer. I guess because it was mostly directed at me. My next bit of trouble shooting will involve smashing the computer to bits. I don’t think I’ll need police assistance with that as I don’t want it to get out of hand like maybe the yelling thing did.
My concern is mostly for you, THE VIEWING PUBLIC. Deprived of my HILARIOUS Dukes of Hazard / Smokey & the Bandit embellishments. Because they are just that good.
I hope you, the viewing public, have the good sense to yell at your computer until it obeys your wishes and shows you funny pictures of proper redneck hijinks mixed with political commentary on my damn blog.
Thank you.
Filed under: Sarah Palin, atheism, carny life, catholic, christian, christianity, christians, church, conservative, court, crime, culture, faith, family, god, great american god complex, islam, jehovah's witness, jesus, lds, legal, mental health, mormon, muslim, politics, quiverful, quiverfull, religion, the great american god complex, twitter, witchcraft
Exhibit A
7 year old steals parents’ car, runs from the po-po to avoid church.
Sorry. Wrong outlaw running from the law. Here it is.
With driving skills like that this kid has to be descended from bootleggers.
You know how the religious and/or other negligent parents are always blaming the media for the terrible things their kids do? This kid probably saw one of those idiot bumper stickers that said “Warning: In Case of Rapture this Car will be Unmanned” and hoped it’d occur while he was driving. This way he’d avoid getting into trouble, going to church but would go to heaven. Bonus points for the spectacular fiery car crash when he went extra-vehicular.
Of course it was a dumb idea. No dumber than going to church in the first place. Fortunately no one was hurt. Had the kid not been 7, not stolen a car he was unable to drive, his logic was sound. In this case it won’t be the police who’ll treat him like Rodney King…it’ll be his mom. Poor thing.
The part when he jumps out of the car and runs like hell is brilliant.
Misplaced faith will make you believe and do some crazy things. As evidenced in…
Exhibit B
In some parts of the country it is now legal to kill a man in church. Or rather that is what some are really really hoping for by passing legislation along those lines. Pastor Sundance here is a perfect example of the Great American God Complex. Even though God has obliterated entire cities and killed his own sun, the faithful still need a gun to protect themselves (from Him, sounds like). Only way to guarantee your opponent is dead, right? Don’t wanna show any qualities of that mercy thing. Ew.
“God and guns were part of the foundation of this country,” Mr. Pagano, 49, said Wednesday in the small brick Assembly of God church, where a large wooden cross hung over the altar and two American flags jutted from side walls. “I don’t see any contradiction in this. Not every Christian denomination is pacifist.”
Then why doesn’t he string an AK 45 around His neck?
If the church doubled as a deer preserve that might make sense. Person’s gotta eat. If it were known for a fact that the place were lousy with terrorists and/or escaped lunatics (Must be. Why else would Exhibit A was drive away from it like Bo and Luke Duke?) that’d sort of make sense. I wouldn’t even have a problem with this if we didn’t have a god/gun/psychopath relationship in this country. Because increasingly it’s people with this pastors’ mentality who are doing the shooting.*
Owning a gun is no different than driving a car. You should be responsible, licensed, you should be capable and you shouldn’t be an asshole. Though the last bit is difficult to test for maybe the licensing process will weed a few out. Want to avoid being shot? Keep your mouth closed. Best thing, really.
Exhibit C
Wis. Dad Trusted God to Heal Sick Daughter
“We just trusted the Lord for complete healing,” he said. “We didn’t really sense it was like a life-and-death situation. We figured there was something really fighting in her body. We asked people to join with us in prayer agreement.”
Neumann said it never crossed his mind that his daughter might have lost consciousness.
“She was just sleeping,” Neumann said. “I didn’t believe at all that the Lord would even allow her to pass.”
Neumann also told the detective that “sickness is a result of sin” and that his daughter’s death had not shaken his faith
Of course the sin was his, not his daughters’.
The best that can be said for this is, this father is lucky he didn’t attend the above pastor’s church. Otherwise justice might have been served old West style. Or he would have been congratulated for letting his daughter die. Fortunately for him the secular courts demonstrated some mercy. More than what his God would’ve provided. More than he deserved.
So here is the Great American God Complex question for all great Christians, Christian Americans, American Christians, any idiot who proclaims monotheistic faith, gun owners and/or those who do not understand these can be mutually exclusive:
Why go to the hospital when faith is supposed to be more than enough?
If God does issue you a plague, should you pray to him for healing? Doesn’t that sort of contradict his previous orders?
What about bullets?
Does our nose go off when God he pulls a hollow point from our funny bone?
Is that where the game “Operation” came from?
Why own a gun when placing your faith in Him is dangerous enough in the first place? Isn’t this the guy who is famous for plagues, wiping out entire cities with fire, drowning armies in the Red Sea waters and killing His own Son?
Isn’t that proof enough proof that He can defend you? Isn’t that the reason (fear) you put your faith in Him?
I’ll patiently await your answers.
*It should be noted that I am pro-gun. Not pro-NRA.
Filed under: TV, art, broadway, business, culture, entertainment, fiction, humor, mash up, media, movies, music, news, pop culture, relationships, television, twitter, video
I am too lazy to reword what I’ve already said. So I’ll let Twitter do what I can’t: Rant and rave in the short and the sweet. The extended screaming of some genuinely talented, some spoiled and overly dramatic people which was the Tony awards. Sponsored in part by Folgers Coffee. Folgers Coffee? If you are watching a Folgers commercial doesn’t that mean you are up way past your manditory bedtime at the senior center?
Beginning with
Billy Elliot on Broadway? Let’s pair him versus The Lord of the Dance Micheal Flatley & see who gets their ass kicked.
The death of Rock and Roll.
What the fuck is this crap on my television? Rock of Ages? I didn’t think (80’s) hair band rock could be dumbed down any further. Christ this hurts
Bret Micheal got knocked down during the Tony openers. You will hear about it for the next 6 months. He didn’t get killed so I’m not interested
Ah. Now Gandolfini will kill Bret Micheals on live television…
Rock of Ages. I almost prefer the church hymn to songs of my youth recycled through someones lower intestine.
Re: Hair - The Broadway revival
Fucking Hippies.
I believe I can smell them through the television
(Singing) Fuck. Old hippies. That’s why your kids tell you to shut the fuck up
OK. Not really the death of Rock & Roll. Rather the exhumation of parts best left buried. Most of those bands were honestly very terrible or short lived. I do love Journey in an un-ironic way, though.
Wanna see good media about a flash-in-the-pan trend, watch any of the 70s disco movies (“Thank God It’s Friday” or “Car Wash”. Although Car Wash would probably make an awesome Broadway show). The chronological pop culture equivalent to 80’s hair bands is the “Porky’s” movies. Though I don’t want to give anyone anymore Broadway ideas.
A revival of “Hair” is last masturbatory gasp of the failed Boomer generation before their last Viagra causes that inevitable final heart attack, rendering them completely impotent. Note to the past about Free Love and “Hair”: That’s why 90% of porn stars now shave themselves bald.
Some praise
Dolly Parton is a saint. A giant boobed saint. What was I saying? Oh yeah. A saint
It’s Dr Dougie Horrible (Neal Patrick Harris). Another f’in saint.
Less praiseworthy
Tim Meadows is in Shrek? Should have never left SNL. Oh. AND WHY IS SHREK A BROADWAY PLAY?
The girl from Spaced got beat out by Angela Lansbury? C’mon. At least she’ll be on hand to solve the Bret Micheal murder.
If your going to have Uncle Jesse & Bret Micheals on Broadway, why not have “Full House” as a crappy play?
Austen Powers:The Musical! The zany energy of Austin Powers & the awesome grrl “power” of Jane Austen.& it’s British so it’s classy! Get it?
How do overly dramatic people handle other overly dramatic people?They seem to have an average life span.Not dramatically enough evidently.
“I love legitimate theater!”
How could I have forgotten this Simpson episode? Sort of sums things up nicely.
Does it bother no one that reruns are replacing new content? I love escapism and I love nostalgia. But I’d rather be pulled out of myself to a different world. Or at least a new take on a familiar theme. Not more deeply ensconced in my own fantasies. “Wicked” versus “Wizard of Oz”. Battlestar Galactica 1978 versus Battlestar Galactica 2003. ”Redbelt” by David Mamet and less “Glengarry Glen Ross” or “Speed the Plow” though it looks well done.
As of this blog entry Bret Michaels is still alive and being mistaken for a rock star. And a Broadway star.








