The Futile Podcast

It seems that, despite X3 being sort of a kill ‘em off end the franchise total departure from the ensemble approach of the comics, some of the people making comic book movies might “get” them and how to do them justice. Superman Returns had some weird plot elements that for my money are still open and not conclusive. However Singer started the film proper with the original 70’s style cheesy credits and the dramatic John Williams theme that is iconic of Superman. By doing this he ensured a better connection between the previous movies and properly placed Superman Returns as the fifth movie.

A while back I posted about the upcoming Transformers film and just recently heard that it was announced at the San Diego Comic Con that the original voice actor Peter Cullen will be returning to do the voice for Optimus Prime in this movie. Both this and the Superman thing are superficial to be sure but they are important none-the-less and I like that these details are being taken into account. Surely the studio could have opted for some big name star power actor for the voice like they have in so many of these talking animal pictures but to go to the man who is Prime shows an understanding and appropriate reverence for the source material. I just hope that is also reflected in the script.

The Spiderman 3 trailer playing with Superman Returns looks pretty cool! I think we will be getting some Venom, Sandman as the incidental villian, and Harry will become the new Green Goblin (this is the climax which is the best part of any story to be sure). They are bringing the black suit out but it is a different design. Still I think Rami is going to be putting some of his personal touches on this film which looks to be much darker (usually cooler) than the first two.

On a sad note the actor Mako who was the wizard in the Conan films and did the voice for Aku on Samurai Jack and more recently Uncle Iroh in Avatar: The Last Airbender died at the age of 72. I’m not sure how many more episodes of Avatar he had recorded but this will certainly change some element of the story as Iroh was becoming more important in the second season. He had a unique voice in cartoons R.I.P.

The weekend prior to the 4th of July was the first Saturday of the Month is when the local art galleries and shops remain open serving commerce and art (punch) while the local people and tourists (but who really comes to Humboldt Co. to see Eureka) move about and check stuff out; it’s called Art’s Alive! The last evening like this back in June was quite auspicious as my brother and mum had paintings that were featured in one of the local galleries. Since they have both been painting for a few years it was a nice chance for them to get to show their stuff. Then here about 2 weeks ago they ended up with a half page article that included two large full colored images of painting that they had done. This recently local fame coincided with my brother’s band the Never Too Betters wining round 1 of an online battle of the bands competition. Anywho capitalizing on these two events my family decided to open clean up a run down old Victorian house that my Dad bought a few years ago. All part of an eventual plan to transform the downstairs of this house into a full time art gallery featuring many artists they began by featuring some of the paintings of my brother and my mom. I was there for Art’s Alive and along with a friend we got some images of the festivities as the band played to promote their candidacy in the battle of the bands which you can link to and vote for the Never Too Betters Wednesday July 12th between 8:15 AM and 10:00 AM PDT. I don’t know if they will find artistic success or maybe they already have but this counts as a festive evening around these parts so I felt obligated to post about it to spread the word onto the net.

My Brother doing his Jimi Hendrix impression. Ironic since they both usually play/played guitar.

The Band had a pretty sweet set up on the backside of the old Victorian. Behind the drummer Kevin Blevin (I kid you not I’ve know him for like 17 years) you can see a piece of wood that is supporting the delapitating stairs. The guy in green showed up with his gal and was just there to check it out; I’m the guy in the gray looking on like an A and D rep. for some indie label.

The two kids came into the showand my mom showed them a few of her paintings.

Here are a few of my brother’s paintings, I like the 3 part one on the left. My dad made the frame for him custom and it’s pretty cool.

I recently discovered a nice little show on PBS. I liked Jazz music primarily the Bebop and Bossa Nova styles and so I was delighted to find Legends of Jazz with Ramsey Lewis a half hour show each week that usually focuses on 2 musicians that have a common style or instrument. The musicians will talk briefly about their careers, inspirations, etc and then play a few songs (usually one per musician then one with both musicians). It’s a quick show that has some nice music and culture and all that stuff that PBS does really well if you know when to look. At it’s best the show has a sublime quality in viewing that I have not encountered since watching old episodes of Bob Ross. I’m pretty sure the show is syndicated nationally and may only have the 13 episodes but hopefully they will make more. Most PBS stations will probably play it in the evening (it’s on Thursday nights at 8 PM here in Humboldt). If you enjoy this sort of stuff you should check your local listings. Since it’s PBS I don’t think you need cable, to watch it just a TV and some tinfoil.