Our third day in Washington was also spent in Seattle. We went on the Locks Cruise. This cruise starts at the Seattle waterfront and cruises around Elliott Bay before heading north through the Chittenden Locks and into Lake Union and Lake Washington. This was a great little cruise. It lasted three hours and gave us a nice amount of time on the water with a great unique view of Seattle.
The lock.
Here are some boats that were named after me.
I think living in Colorado makes me the Western Titan more that the Ocean or Alaska Titan.
On the way back to the hotel, next to the Space Needle, we see this.
The Science Fiction Museum! We were tired from walking around Seattle all day (minus the 3 hour boat ride) and only blocks away from the hotel, but I had to check it out. So, I drag Mrs Titan with me to pay $15 each to walk through the museum.
Wow, what a waste of money. I mean, I love SF as much as the next guy (obviously, have you read the blog?), but this was a pretty disappointing museum. It was sorta chronological, but not much. There were very few pieces besides some books and photos. Each section was in themes, but a lot of the themes make no sense, like Homeworld, Fantastic Voyages, Brave New Worlds, and Them. They attempted to pigeon hole different works of SF into one of these categories which really doesn't make sense when you consider the stories.
There were a couple of great things there. First, they had some great sections on Farscape, and even a little bit about Futurama, which was awesome. I did appreciate the emphasis on books, as that is where SF started and where it continues to thrive. My favorite part of the whole museum was a large screen and computer interface that allowed you to go through TV and film SF's famous space ships. There were many I loved, including Moya and the Planet Express Ship, and they were all animated along with detailed stats. No Star Trek ships though. So, while there were some things to get excited about, there wasn't enough to make it worth $15.
Okay, so we just had our first night with a great view of the Space Needle, so where do you think we are going for our first full day in the Emerald City? Thats right!
The Space Needle is great! About two blocks from our hotel, we walked there in the morning and were some of the first people up the elevators.
The views from the top are pretty great and they have all kinds of different facts and pictures of when it was assembled to peruse while walking around the top with all the other tourists. We were conisdering staying for brunch at the famous restaurant, but when it turned out to be $44 per person we decided to take a pass.
It was a humid and hazy day, so the city looks smoggy (it's not) and there was no view of Mt Ranier, but it was pretty great any way.
After the Space Needle we rode the famous Monorail to downtown and then walked back to Pike Place to do a little shopping and the waterfront to do a little more touristy stuff.
While on the water front we saw a most curious family. They were a young white couple with a little girl. They were all dressed in green, shabby clothes and all had dreadlocks. The parents both had backpacks which appearred to carry everything they owned. They were also carrying a giant sign. "Legalize It." Ah, hippies! Great! I love the west coast! I think that was the first four year old hippy I have ever seen. I kinda feel sorry for a little girl raised like that. Oh well.
We had lunch at the Ivars on the waterfront. Apparantly they only have Ivar's in Washington and California. It's a good little place that sells all kinds of fried seafood. I had the clam strips and Mrs Titan had the halibut. It was yummy, but someone liked it even more.
Yes, that is a french fry in his mouth, and yes, he jumped to catch it. This sea gull had to work darn hard to get food as there were so many of them. They were something else.
Along with the seagulls came these signs:
There was also this guy:
I totally tried to feed him, but I almost had my fingers bitten off by the gulls and he was almost pecked to death. Terrifying!
We also hit the aquarium before heading back to the hotel. It was great. I love the otters there. I didn't get any good pictures, but those things are some of the cutest, most fun-loving animals I have ever seen.
Well, as you know, Mrs Titan and I recently took time off of work to go to Washington and just have a great time. This is the first of many posts to show off some of the highlights.
We landed at SeaTac and headed straight to out hotel to check in and get our bearings. The first thing we see:
Cars! Traffic backed up all the way into dowtown Seattle. I still don't know why traffic was so bad on a Satuday afternoon, but we made it.
It was May 3rd, so I was anxious to see if I could find a comic book store to check out some of the free offerings of the day. Luckily, I was able to find one once we walked down to the famous Pike Place Market, where I found Golden Age Collectables. This is one of the biggest comic book stores I have ever been in (remember, I live in Colorado, not even in Denver). Anyway, Mrs Titan was very patient with me as I wandered around with my jaw dropped. They did have an odd Free Comic Book Day policy (at least I thought it was odd). You get one comic free and then if you buy something you get a second one free. That's it. As I understand it most stores will give people any number of comics to try to drum up some new business. Now, I kinda understand where they were coming from, as they are located in what is essentially a tourist mall, they may not be able to get any new lasting business from FCBD. Oh well, it was nice anyway. Luckily, Mike at my local comic shop set some aside for me so I could get some free comic goodness.
Pike Place is something different altogether. There are flowers everywhere. Mainly tulips (there will be more on tulips, don't you worry), but al kinds of bouquets. What was most amazing is that they are all so large, fresh and cheap. I saw great bouquets range from $5-$20. At that price I would actually buy flowers regularly. They were great!
Being from Colorado, seafood, expecially the fresh stuff, is not something we were entirely used to. There was fresh fish (and everything else) everywhere that the flowers weren't. We're talking crabs, clams, muscles, squid, and giant fish. The smells were pretty overwhelming, but they never got too bad.
That was about all we had time for the first day and it was back to the hotel to rest up for our next day in Seattle.
Well folks, the cold has hit much harder today. I had planned to start writing my welcome back posts today, but, after snot dribbled down my face during a presentation at work and I can't tell the difference between left and right (even worse than normal!!), I decided to just say hi to everybody real quick.
I did get to enjoy some pop culture on my trip. I found a comic book store in Seattle for Free Comic Day. I saw Iron Man, Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanomo, Amelie, and Galaxy Quest. I also finished 1 and a half books and generally enjoyed everything we did. Also, when I got home the new Death Cab for Cutie Album was released. Hurray!
I will write new posts again soon. Promise.
PS. I also promise I didn't get GTA IV yet. I wouldn't even have done this if I was busy playing that sucker.
We're back folks. It's Tuesday night and we just got in after a long (well, long enough) flight back from SeaTac to DIA. It was a great trip. I plan to update for the rest of the week with vacation photos and some commentary. It's not all pop culture related, but it should be fun anyway.
The trip was fantastic. Mrs Titan and I were going non-stop until today, so, I may actually be more tired now than before I left. Also, I caught some kind of bug yesterday, so I am feeling under the weather. I will do my best to bring the two of you readers (just one?) as much entertainment as I can. So, come back for more goodness.
PS. It's good to be back at an altitude where I am not smothered by air. Stupid sea level!
PPS. If I happen to purchase Grand Theft Auto IV I cannot guarantee regular updates. :)
Well everybody, it's time for a break. Not from you, but from work. Mrs Titan and I are getting the heck out of here and getting away from the work-a-day world of modern industry. We are going to the land of the space needles, coffee, and WTO protesters. That's right...Seattle! The northwest is a wonderful place and we are thrilled to go.
There will be no posts while we are gone because we will be too busy doing touristy things and eating way too much seafood. I will be back on the interwebs on Thursday, May 15th, when we return. You might even get a couple of Seattle related posts with pictures and everything! I regret that I will have a super late review of Iron Man and will miss Free Comic Book Day (be sure to check it out at your local comic shop tomorrow, May 3rd).
I hope you all have a great couple of weeks and miss me tons! See you on May 15th, unless I get eaten by an Orca or fall off the Space Needle.
Guess what?! I finished another book! It only took three weeks. That's not bad, right? Well, it's okay then. Anyway, this time I picked Eifelheim by Michael Flynn from the good ole giant bookshelf of unread books.
The first thing that I realized when I started reading this book was that it sure was a lot like the last book I read, Coalescent. Both books jump back in forth between two different characters, one in the past and another in modern times. However, the similarities were really only skin deep.
Eifelheim starts with a mystery. Tom, a modern historian with a great name, is researching the disappearance of a small German village in the Middle Ages. Turns out that the land was never resettled after the Black Plague, when all other abandoned towns were resettled shortly after the plague ended. So, what happened?
We then jump back to the time in question, 1348, and follow the character of Dietrich, a worldly and knowledgeable priest who leads the small town of Oberhochwald. This is where the book really starts to get good. Shortly after we first meet Dietrich, there is a loud boom and a shock of electricity. The next day he wanders into the forest and guess what? Aliens!
That's right, the main focus of this book is about aliens crash landing in medieval Germany! This, of course, has far-reaching results. The first thing the villagers assume is that these are demons. The priest, being worldly and knowledgeable, soon realizes that these are not demons, but men who did not descend from Adam. He has a difficult time convincing the villagers of this fact, but the Krenken (as he names them) eventually form an uneasy alliance the villagers and are partially accepted.
What really blew me away about this book (besides aliens in medieval Germany) was the level of intelligence it must have taken to write it. It's one thing to think about how cool it would be to see knights with swords fighting aliens with ray guns (this doesn't actually happen, sorry), but it's an entirely other thing to see it play out in a realistic way.
These medieval people have no concept, as we do now, of aliens, space, electricity, or any of the other science fiction tropes and cliches that we take for granted now. The way Flynn is able to show the interactions between the priest and the aliens is fantastic. They each do their best to explain their beliefs about their physical and spiritual worlds to each other, with many misunderstandings. These conversations are fascinating, even if at times difficult to understand, and were great fun to read.
Michael Flynn was able to weave in an amazing amount physics, history, theology, philosophy, and historical science and understanding. I wish I knew more than I do going into this book so I would be able to understand a little more of these sections. This is one of the best books I have read in a couple years and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to experience some really special science fiction.
A TV post. Huh. Well, I must say, I'm starting to get a little tired of TV. For the past week and a half or so Mrs Titan and I have been watching EVERYTHING we possibly could on the TiVo to free up some room for our pending 10 day vacation. Yeah, that's right, we've filled up out TiVo, what's it to ya?
You see, the TiVo is our friend. We can set it up to record every episode of a particular show that we like and just watch whenever we feel like it. Yeah, shades of my TV Addiction are coming back, but, thankfully, the TiVo has limited (albeit huge) space. So, what are the shows that I watch "on the side." These are shows that I like, but don't have to see every episode of. If I have to delete some to free up some room for the good stuff, I will. Let's look at some, shall we?
Ax Men
This is a fun show on the History Channel. I think it's a little like Deadliest Catch on the Discovery Channel, but I have not seen that show. Anyway, this show essentially follows four logging crews in Oregon as they cut and haul timber. It's really interesting to see how the four companies approach the business with different strategies, and to see how successful or not they are. There is also a sense of adventure and danger that plays out in every episode. Along with tons of bleeped cussing. Loggers!
The Universe
This is another great History Channel program. This one is really fun and interesting because they take really very complex physics and science and boil it down to the simplest basics using great metaphors to help morons like me to figure out what is going on. These metaphors, along with great commentators and some really neat animations and pictures make this a great show. The one unfortunate drawback to this show is the narrator. He has a really nice, soothing voice. This is a problem. Mrs Titan cannot stay awake for more than 10 minutes of this show and even I, myself, can get heavy-lidded at times while watching it.
Big Brother
There, I admitted it. I've exposed my shame. Please, keep the razzing and mocking to a minimum. I have watched way more seasons of Big Brother than I am willing to admit. There is something about this show that is very intriguing. It is interesting to see how people act while they are locked in a house for three months. I just wish that every once and a while CBS would cast someone with some redeeming moral value. Guess that just won't bring on the viewers. Also, I have to say, I usually watch this series in the summer when the rest of the shows are in hibernation, and I watched the most recent season because of the writer's strike. But, it's over now, so please forgive me.
Free Radio
This little half hour, improvised show isn't too bad. It has a very simple premise. There is an idiot who filled in at a popular LA radio show and the audience loved him so much that the station had to hire him on full time to host Moron in the Morning. Lance Krall is the improv genius behind this show and he plays the stupid moron main character. Each episode has about three celebrities (or semi-celebs) that Lance and his cohost, Anna, interview, much of the times with mixed results. Some of these episodes are just not funny, but every once and a while there will be a celeb who comes on and is fun enough to make this show work.
There are a few others that are just so-so shows that we tune into on a regular basis, but these were the ones that popped into mind after this long week and a half. I will say that none of the other shows I watch are as embarrassing as Big Brother. I wouldn't keep secrets from you.
Now, I am sure many or most of you may know about the comic, Fables by Bill Willingham, but for those who haven't, boy are you in for a treat.
Fables is a great fun mash-up of fantasy and modern story-telling. Very basically the comic is about fable, fairy-tale, nursery rhyme, and fantasy creatures forced to live in the real world after being kicked out of theirs by an unspeakable evil force. These creatures and characters do not age (although they can be killed), and work to keep their existence secret from normal people.
The leader of the Fabletown, their secret community, is Snow White, of course, and her sheriff is none other than the Big Bad Wolf, who can change into human form (all the better to blend in now, dear). Many, many characters from your favorite old stories show up, and all interact with each other in new ways due to their unual circumstances.
One of the most interesting aspects of their new existence is the fact that they don't all look human and, therefore, can't all fit in. There are giants and dwarves, talking pigs and all sorts of other animals that just don't fit in with normal folk. So, the Fable community purchased a large plot of land in upstate New York for them to live together in peace and comfort away from prying eyes and ears. This is the Animal Farm and the second Fable adventure takes place there.
What really makes Fables unique, instead of coming off like Enchanted with more characters, is the fact that it is written for mature audiences. So, what does this mean exactly? Well, the Fables are kinda violent in their new environment. The first issue open a story about the violent murder of Red Riding Hood, and by the end of the second story at least one of the beloved characters is dead.
My favorite character, also, why I need a scanner.
Anyway, as you can see from Mr. Bunny up there Fables is awesome, and should be read by anyone who loves old fables, fairy-tales, nursery rhymes, and/or fantasy stories. You can check out the first trade by clicking below. With over 10 trade paperbacks out and a spinoff in Jack of Fables, this series is going to entertain me for a very long time.
Another light movie weekend. We only watched two this weekend, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and the new movie Baby Mama.
First, if you have read my movie post from last week, you will know that I am trying to watch the first three Indy movies before I go see the next movie in about a month. What I remember most about Temple of Doom is being terrified. Pulling hearts out of chests, freaky mind-controlling blood, giant bats, and, of course monkey brains. And, yeah, that's pretty much what this movie is all about.
I didn't like it as much as Raiders of the Lost Ark. There was no archaeology, no relics (unless you count a stone), and, most importantly, no Nazis. I think what makes Indy so fun is his discovering tombs and mysteries from the past. Temple of Doom does not do much exploration of the past, it deals with a modern cult. No, don't get me wrong, it is still a great movie. It is a ton of fun and the action set-pieces are phenomenal. This sounds bad, but these set-pieces made me even more excited for the upcoming Lego Indiana Jones (coming June 3rd!!).
I was afraid that I would be annoyed by Short Round, but I wasn't, I thought he made a great addition to the movie and he was fun to watch as he kicked butt and helped Indy. Kate Capshaw as Willie, on the other hand, was not nearly as entertaining as Karen Allen as Marion, and I look forward to seeing Allen again in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. This movie is great fun, and if for some reason you haven't seen it, then what the heck is wrong with you?! Check it out! Okay, on to the new movie, Baby Mama. Again, as you remember, this was one of the 5 movies I was most looking forward to. Well, I have to say, I was slightly disappointed. I was under the impression that Tina Fey wrote the script, not Michael McCullers, the man who wrote such gems as Undercover Brother, Austin Powers in Goldmember, and Thunderbirds. The script wasn't bad, it just wasn't quite at the caliber of say, Mean Girls, by Tina Fey.
Baby Mama stars Tina Fey as a very successful business woman who wants a baby, but is infertile. So, she goes to a company that hooks people up with surrogates to carry their babies. This company, by the way, is owned by a crazy (and crazy-fertile) Sigorney Weaver, in an awesome role. Now, obviously, Tina's surrogate is Amy Poehler. The movie really doesn't get good until Amy moves in with Tina, when we start to get some fun Odd Couple scenarios (assuming Oscar was pregnant with Felix's baby). I have to say, Poehler's character is hilarious and truly acts like a child the way only Amy Poehler can.
The film does have one twist about half way through that was pretty surprising to me and changes the dynamics of the characters. There was also another "twist" at the end that I saw coming for at least half an hour. I don't like, and probably never will like, Dax Shepard who had a slightly too big role in this movie. But, I will say, Steve Martin, as Tina Fey's boss, was fantastic. He played such a fun and unique character that I think he needs to star in something again. I was very happy to see him be so great in this movie.
Baby Mama was a really good movie. As usual for me, my expectations were quite high, so I think I was a little disappointed, but ultimately, this is a really good movie and I would recommend it to you all.
A lot of my pop culture went un-experienced this week due to one simple thing: Call of Duty 4.
I played the first Call of Duty when it came out on the PC in 2003. At the time, this was a really revolutionary game because you weren't just some lone soldier fighting WWII all alone. You had friendly soldiers that fought with you and they actually helped. This kind of became the series' "hook."
I remember really loving the first and second games, but I was pretty upset when I found out the 3rd chapter in the series would not be released on PC. Luckily, my brother-in-law picked it up for the XBox 360, so I was able to enjoy it anyway. Although, there really is no replacing the mouse and keyboard setup.
Now, the first three Call of Duty games were set during WWII, so they had a common theme (along with teammates who actually help), so, when I heard that CoD4 was going to be set in modern times, I was a little surprised. And, to be honest, I thought it was just to copy all of those Ghost Recon/Rainbow Six games. But, when my brother-in-law picked it up (thanks again, Scott!) he let me try it out.
Turns out, I was wrong. Call of Duty 4 really is an extension of the series. Yes, it's based in the modern era, with nuclear weapons, high powered hand-held weapons, RPGs, and flashbangs, but it still has teammates who help you. They can get you out of a jam and save you in a minute. This is one of the best first person shooters I have played in a long time, even if it was on the XBox. I have spent the last week and a half playing it every free minute I got, and one of my biggest disappointments about this game is that it ended too quickly!
One of my favorite levels was controlling the weapons system on a helicopter to protect a crew on the ground. You look through a view-finder and can switch between 3 different shell sizes. The view looks just like real military view finders (heat is white, cold is black), allowing for a realistic looking level. This is a fantastic game, just a little short, but well worth it.
Check out the original WWII games on PC or get Call of Duty 4 for PC or XBox 360, they are all great games, and can really allow you to ignore everything else of value in your life.
I'm sure none of you are surprised to find out that even after two weeks, I still haven't finished another book. I am half way through Eifelheim and am loving it, but that's not what we're here to talk about today.
I really want to talk to you all about why this kind of blogging is difficult. It seems that most blogs out there really have a theme. They are about comics, or even more specifically manga, they are about TV, or movies, or music, or whatever. I am trying to do all of that here on my little blog, and I am not an expert in any of it. I am truly just trying to share things that I enjoy with my readers and try to share with my readers the things in pop culture that are truly enjoyable and worth experiencing.
I enjoy all of the things I blog about immensely, but enjoying a broad variety of media doesn't allow me to delve too deeply in anything. I enjoy it all and have a pretty eclectic taste in all of in (although admittedly with a geeky bent). I also am really digging blogging and writing about this stuff daily!
I hope this broad overview is as appealing to my readers as it is to me. If there is something I write about that you really enjoy or really hate, please leave me a comment. I definitely want this blog to be a place that you check out every day.
Okay, Thursday is book day, so let me change it up a little bit. This isn't going to be a full review because I read the book so long ago. It is also different because for once I won't be praising something. I read Case Histories by Kate Atkinson about a year ago. First, let me say that I don't usually read crime novels, but I checked this one out because of a glowing review in Entertainment Weekly and from my favorite author Orson Scott Card.
This was one of those occasions where I was quite disappointed with the book after the reviews. The story is basically about a detective who tries to solve three cases. These are all crimes that had taken place in the past and I had assumed they would somehow be connected. They were also all graphic and disturbing crimes. I have nothing against crime novels and stories. I do watch the occasional movie (but skip the procedural TV shows, they all bore me), and the graphic nature of most pop culture doesn't bother me most of the time.
However, this book had long sections that bored me and was overall very depressing. It wasn't moving emotionally as I had hoped. I didn't feel an emotional connection to any of the characters. I also tend to lean toward books with antagonists with a strong moral background (which is part of why I like OSC's books so much), but I didn't really feel that in this book. Anyway, feel free to check it out if you are in to mysteries and crime novels, I guess it is a pretty good one, as these things go. But, it really wasn't for me.
First, I have to say: new Flight of the Conchords album out today! Check it out! This makes me very happy.
Well, I have to admit something today. I am a really big fan of The Big Bang Theory on CBS. This surprises me as much as it does you, I mean this show is by the same guys who created and wrote for Roseanne, Dharma and Greg, and Two and a Half Men, bill Prady and Chuck Lorre. I could stand Roseanne and Dharma and Greg had some funny episodes, but I really don't like Two and a Half Men. However, I think these guys have really done something great with this show.
I will admit that I came to this show with low expectations. I mean, the creators did not have a great track record in my mind. But, it was on right after How I Met Your Mother, so I thought I would give it a shot. This show is a very basic sitcom. Just two uber-geek, physicists, Sheldon (Jim Parsons) and Leonard (Johnny Galecki) rooming together across the hall from a good-looking neighbor (Kaley Cuoco) that Leonard has a crush on but won't ask out. Honestly, it sounds kinda stupid.
However, there are two things that bring this show up to must-watch status for me: Jim Parsons' Sheldon and pure geekiness. While sometimes a little over the top, Sheldon is always fun to watch and steals every scene he is in. He is the ultimate geek genius who has no understanding of normal social interactions. He is like all of us, just taken to the extreme in his anti-social behaviors.
The geekiness factor is also a ton of fun. Most shows (sitcoms especially) that feature a geek character portray him as someone who literally cannot function in the real world, has no friends and no understanding of the real world (while Sheldon can occasionally seem this way, he is still a sympathetic character). The geekiness in Big Bang, however, is real. These geeks know real geek facts, they care about technology and geek culture. They are smart and even if they struggle socially, they still have friends and a real, believable place in their world as researchers.
Okay, one YouTube clip combining my love for Superman and crazy geek science that only this show can provide:
If you are a geek like me, you should check this show out, you will enjoy it.
Well folks, I read my first manga comic! Are you proud of me? Do you care? Is anyone there? Does anyone reading this even know what manga is? According to Wikipedia Manga is "the Japanese word for comics and print cartoons." More specifically "Manga as a term outside of Japan refers specifically to comics originally published in Japan." Well, so I guess I didn't actually read manga, I read "In the U.S., manga-like comics are called Amerimanga, world manga, or original English-Language manga (OEL manga)." So...close enough.
I picked up Mail Order Ninja by Joshua Elder, which was recommended by Dave Campbell over at Dave's Long Box (you will be missed by the way). I bought it only because it was cheap, at only $6, and I read a couple of comic strips in the Denver Post a couple of years ago by the same name, which I enjoyed. While it was cheap, about the cost of two standard comics, what I got was $6 of the funniest and awesomest comics I have ever read and at about the length of about four comics, this is quite the bargain.
It's a classic story, a young boy, Timmy, of course, is picked on by bullies at school, so he sends away for a ninja. Sure enough, the Ninja, Jiro arrives 2-3 weeks later to serve little Timmy. Timmy uses Jiro to defend against bullies and to generally make his life awesome. The writing is hilarious and non-stop fun. The book is really for all ages but can be seriously enjoyed by everyone.
Now, I don't have a scanner yet, so I am stealing some of Mr. Campbell's scans, because this comic really has to be seen to be appreciated.
Here's Timmy getting his brand new Ninja!
It's like the time I brought that puppy home:
This may be the best ad for toys anywhere ever!If you liked these, pick up this book, it is seriously all like this: non-stop funny and fun. Mail Order Ninja vol. 2 will be the next manga I buy and vol 3 is out in October! Joshua Elder is a great, witty writer and I hope he keeps it up. If all manga or "Amerimanga" is like this then sign me up!
PS. Dave, I'm sorry I stole your scans, but you quit blogging, so it's okay, right? Right?
Watched two movies again this weekend. Probably would have been more, but Mrs Titan and I are trying to clean up the TiVo to make room for a vacation coming up in a couple weeks. There better be room to record everything we want to watch!
We watched Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark and Forgetting Sarah Marshall. It has been years since I have seen Raiders, but every time I watch it I am reminded of how great it is. We decided to go back and watch the first three Indiana Jones movies before May 22, when The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull comes out. The movie came out a year before I was born, but I can only imagine how incredible it must have been to see in theaters. I'm sure I don't really need to review the movie for everyone, but I will say that my favorite scene by far was where Indy is in Cairo and the huge Arab man comes out swinging a sword. Just as we all get ready for a big fight, Indy pulls out his gun and shoots him dead. Classic.
As you all recall Forgetting Sarah Marshall was on my Top 5 films I am looking forward to list. It was the first one released and in fact everything but Pineapple Express is out in the next two months. Oh well, good for us! Well, this was the first film ever written by Jason Segel, the star, and I must say, it does not disappoint.
The story is pretty obvious from the trailer. Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell), an actress, dumps Peter Bretter (Segel), a musician. Peter is devastated, so to clear his head and try to move on, he heads to Hawaii. And, who should be there? Well, Sarah Marshall, of course, and with her new boyfriend no less. Romantic and uncomfortable hijinks ensue.
The overall film was pretty darn hilarious. Some of the plot was kind of easy to see coming from miles away, but I have to admit that about 15 minutes before the climax of the film the ending was really not obvious to me. This kinda surprised me with as many movies as I watched, but Jason Segel was really able to write something that felt real enough that it might not have that happy Hollywood ending.
What surprised me most about this film was the way Jason Segel was able to write the characters. Each character had redeeming qualities, and frankly, all of them were likable. Mila Kunis, who I didn't even realize was in the movie beforehand, almost had "quirky girl"syndrome, which is something I see a lot in romantic comedies. This is essentially the cute, odd girl, usually damaged in some way, who comes along and forces the guy to open up and come out of his shell while being almost perfect herself. This archetype always annoys me, probably because I met a couple of girls like that in the past and they are never the way they seem in the movies, the damage is real and is not fun to deal with. Thank goodness Mrs Titan came along. Ok...where was I? Right, Mila Kunis' character almost fell into this stereotype, but was able to avoid it in my eyes. I really loved the side characters as well, especially Russell Brand, who played Aldous Snow, a sexed-up rock lothario and Sarah's new boyfriend who can and does sleep with anyone he wants too. I also really liked Paul Rudd as Chuck, the 44-year old surf instructor who has spent his whole life smoking pot and laying on the beach and really can't function in the real world anymore (as a side note, when Mrs Titan and I were in Hawaii for our honeymoon, there were guys like this, scary, but hilarious). I also liked Jonah Hill as the waiter who is not-so-secretly in love with Aldous Snow and Jack McBrayer (from 30 Rock) as the virgin on his honeymoon who hates and is terrified by sex.
Also, I really hope that someday they really make "A Taste For Love," Peter Bretter's Dracula musical using puppets. Yes, you read that right, there are scenes of the Dracula puppet musical, and really that is pure awesome!
Alright everyone, it's Friday (Happy Friday!!), so I just want to try something a little different. Let's go over some of the searches people have used to get to my site. Seriously, they are a little weird, and looking through the searches is kinda fun.
Google Searches:
"flight of the conchords" - not too shocking, I mean, this is a pop culture blog. What is weird is that I have gone through the first 10 pages of the Google search and still didn't find my page, this person must have read everything ever written about Flight of the Conchords
the last man comic - again, this isn't too surprising. However, this was a search from the Mexican Google site and I am listed sixth on the search! Score one for me. Just call me Tomas!
hugh jackman - ok, this is a little odd. I mean, I only mentioned Hugh Jackman once, briefly, in my Fountain review, it's not like I went on about him. Again, I went through 10 pages of Google links, and most of them were about Hugh Jackman shirtless (that will up my hit count) of his new comic book, so who knows why that person came here.
men's haircuts geek - alright, this is just starting to get odd. Haircuts? This one was really odd, but I figured out how it happened. When I wrote about The Areas of My Expertise, I mentioned a chapter name "History's Worst Men's Haircuts" and the word geek in the same sentence. Ah.
foot deformities - okay, okay, that's it. The internet is freaking weird. Why would someone come to a pop culture blog based on foot deformities? Well, turns out it was the same reason as the haircuts, it was a chapter title in The Areas of My Expertise. It's official, John Hodgeman is my hero and the king of the internet.
how i met your mother catch phrase - okay, things are getting back to normal again, this is a reasonable search.
the sims 2 - whew, also normal, although again, how many pages did this person go to to get to me?
orchestration music - from the Philippine Google. Huh, I must be an international superstar now. Huh, who knew?
when did comic prices jump to 12 cents - I'm the #1 search result for that exact search! Wow! My mom saved me again. I would like to thank all the little people for making me the #1 search result. Thank you. Thank you.
titan bonus - I think this has something to do with poker, as all of the other sites linked to are for poker. Hmmm...how can I take advantage of this?
movie - alright, where do I even start with this one? First, who the heck just searches "movie", and second, how many millions of pages did they go through before getting to me? I mean, there are only 132 million hits. Sheesh!
secret invasion theory - # 1 search result again! Weird, I don't even have any theories? Doesn't anybody else have theories that that guy can link to? Poor guy with no good Secret Invasion theories.
blog flight of the conchords - back to the basics. Add the word blog and I am # 5.
the fountain movie - this one is from Russia! Anyone read Cyrillic?
the office nbc - hurray for the Office! Did you watch last night?
Pop Tv old tom - this one from the UK. This is the only one where I have no idea what they were searching for. I am # 6, but the first link is for a Diet 7up commercial with a peeping tom. Nice.
"secret invasion" - my most popular search hit. I think this will now be Tom the Secret Invasion Titan's blog.
sex titan.tv - uhhhh...this is from Morocco and is a search all in Arabic. I am the # 1 result for that seach and also very very uncomfortable.
Well, that's it folks, that's how people get to my blog. How do you get to my blog? I hope you enjoy the site, and feel free to link to me so that people can get here from some other, more legitate means. Anyway, have a great weekend and I will be back for a fun-filled next week!
Well, I've been teasing the guest post all week, and now, here it is. Shockingly, I decided to request a guest post for a Thursday. As we all know (at least those of us who regularly read this blog), I have a hard time finishing enough books to fill my Thursday book posts. But, you're all in luck, because I found someone to write a guest post for me!
I am sure you are all dying to know who I got. Well, it's none other than my Mom! I know, you were all probably expecting somebody important and well known, right? Well, too bad, she reads more books than anyone I know, so I turned to her for a post. You all should know, she is the person got me into comics and sci fi, so technically this whole blog is her fault! So check it out, and leave a comment so my Mom knows how awesome she is! ___________________________________________________________
Tom asked me if I’d be willing to write a post on my favorite science fiction author and his impact on my life. I agreed to do it, but I told Tom that it would be really hard to fit it into only 800 words or so. I decided avoid reviewing specific books and focus on the impact of reading the whole body of work. So here goes.
The author is Robert A. Heinlein and he had a huge impact on my thinking and, therefore, my life. I started reading his books when I came across a copy of “Have Spacesuit – Will Travel” in my Junior High School library (it sounded like a corny title even then). That must have been in about 1965 and I would have been 11 years old. I enjoyed the book so much, I started looking for other Heinlein novels. I had soon exhausted everything I could find in the school library and the local public library, so it was on to the used bookstores. By the time I graduated high school I had read every one of Heinlein’s published books that I could find and was then required to await new publications, which I did with great eagerness until Heinlein’s death in 1988.
So why did I like these books so much? At the time I would probably have said that they were great adventures, in exciting environments, and that I learned a lot of science while reading them. All that is true. But what I would say now in hindsight is that they gave me far more than just an exciting read, and that what I learned went deep. Here are some examples of what I learned: I learned tolerance for people who are different; I learned that my cultural norms are not the Truth; I learned that women can be strong and smart and beautiful all at the same time; I learned that study is important and not going to a great school is no excuse for not learning; I learned the importance of critical thinking – get the facts; I learned that human beings should be capable of and competent at many different things (“specialization is for insects”); I learned that individual liberty is paramount and that we owe a duty to our fellow human beings; I learned that promises to friends must be kept; I learned that color, creed, social status, wealth, or education level are not the ways to judge others – behavior and principles are; and I learned that “there ain’t no such thing as a free lunch” (TANSTAAFL).
I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that I would not have had the confidence to pursue an engineering degree in the early 70’s if not for the interest and passion generated by reading Heinlein for years. As it was, I did enter an Aerospace Engineering Sciences program (after crashing the “Father-Son Open House” with my Dad). I graduated with honors.
Much later, I went on for a Ph.D. in Strategy, Organization, and Management. I had passed my written comprehensive exams and was nearing the end of the 2-hour grilling that was my oral comprehensive exam. Near the end, one of the professors asked me what author had had the most influence on my thinking. I’m sure he was expecting me to say the name of some academic in the field. Instead I said, “This might sound strange, but the author who had the greatest impact on me was Robert A. Heinlein, a science fiction writer.” And I went on to explain how and why. I don’t think it was my reference to Heinlein that did it, but I passed comps with distinction!
I’d encourage anyone who likes speculative fiction to check out the works of Robert A. Heinlein. I have many favorites, including “The Moon is a Harsh Mistress,” “Stranger in a Strange Land,” “Glory Road,” “Citizen of the Galaxy,” and “Time Enough for Love.” Most of his books are still in print, years after his death. This is perhaps the most telling accomplishment of the first Grand Master of science fiction. Enjoy!
Things are looking up for the Titan household! Not that they were really looking down. After a couple of days focusing on things most certainly not pop culture related (sprinkler system repair, a job that actually pays cash money, and general out-doorsy things) we finally get to get back to the things we love.
The Office came back last week, the new Kooks album came out yesterday, and you all get a special guest post tomorrow. Things couldn't be better!
I might have mentioned this before, but I am mentioning it again here and now. The Office is the best show on TV right now (well, maybe in a tie with How I Met Your Mother and Lost). Anyway, it may be the most real and cringe inducing. Just how awkward can things get on that show? That's a rhetorical question, they can get pretty darn awkward. Did you see last week's episode "The Dinner Party"? It was one of the most uncomfortable things I have ever seen on TV (unless you count Curb Your Enthusiam). It was also one of the funniest and most real.
You see, the Office, and the original British series, thrives on awkward and uncomfortable situations. Michael Scott (Steve Carell), as the manager a small New Jersey branch of a paper company, can say some of the most offensive, stupid, and annoying things. However, he usually comes off as real. I could see a desperate and/or pathetic manager doing most of the things Michael does. He is desperate for attention, friends, and love, and will do whatever it takes to get those things. Just look at how Jan treats him. Yet, he still puts up with it, because it's "love."
All of the characters on the Office come off as flawed and genuine. While this can lead to uncomfortable and awkward moments, they are also very real, and in my mind, this makes the best comedy. I would rather watch realistic situations with realistic characters over some of the weird and stupid spoof movies any day.
Now, I think you need to watch this show if you haven't. I know, I know, I say this all the time, but come on, don't you want to see the great things that pop culture has to offer, and not just whatever is easiest to see. I value my free time, away from the sprinkler systems and jobs, away from the things that we all have to do in this life just to get by. Why would I waste my spare time on junk like According to Jim or by flipping through the channels for hours on end? Why should you?
Check out the Office on DVD to catch up, on NBC Thursday nights for new episodes, or, if you are cheap and still not sold on the show, check out hulu.com and watch full episodes, including the episode from last week "The Dinner Party". Yes, these are full episodes that you can watch for free, with minor and unobtrusive commercial breaks. And the best part is, it's legal! Have fun and don't forget to come back tomorrow, remember, we have a very special guest post!
Just like the rest of the world (well, not really) I picked up and read through the first issue of Secret Invasion last week. I moved it to the top of the pile just so I could read it for this post! Anyway, I haven't heard great things about Marvel's latest event. Or really any of the events lately. Most bloggers and fans, etc, seem to be kinda annoyed at Marvel and just don't like what is going on.
I usually think of myself as having good taste in popular culture. I mean, I did start a blog and call myself The Pop Culture Titan, so I must think I know what I am talking about. However, I haven't really agreed with most of Marvel's critics. I truly enjoyed Civil War and World War Hulk, and I am looking forward to Secret Invasion. I think that Tony Stark, while pretty arrogant with maybe a hint of God-complex, is just trying to do what he thinks is right. I really have liked just about everything Marvel has done lately (with the exception of One More day).
So, why then do I like this stuff which most of the other critics and fans (well, vocal ones at least) don't like? I have spent the last year trying to figure this out, and the other night it just came to me (just in time for this post it seems ; ).
I have a theory as to why I enjoy these turns of events while other fans do not. I am not a life long Marvel fan. For those of you who have read this blog in the past, you will know that I grew up reading my mom's old DC books from the Silver age. I grew up with them and really cared about them and their world. That's why when I tried to read them a couple of years ago I was frustrated and confused. They were not the characters I grew up in. There was a lot of mythology and history that I did not understand.
Not so with Marvel. I had no history with these characters. I had no emotional connection to them. I don't care if the status quo changes or if main characters die or are reborn or whatever. While I knew the basics of who everyone was and what their powers were, I did not have 40 years of continuity to turn to and look back on nostalgically. I am able to experience all of this as if it were new. Because to me it is. I like the overall world and universe of Marvel. I like that the world really does seem to change in the "world changing" events.
Now, I may grow into a fanboy at some point. One who feels that Marvel owes me something for being a loyal reader (besides great stories and art). One who gets upset and threatens the lives of comic book company employees for what they do with a copyrighted character that exists solely to make that company money. One who decides to boycott a company because it killed off a character or decides to change direction with another. But, I doubt it, that's all pretty stupid. I doubt I will ever become the kind of person who gets angry, bitter, resentful, or moody because of a comic. They are pure pop culture and that is all they will ever be.
Now, trust no one, the Skrulls are everywhere. Make Mine Marvel, and whatnot. Tune in tomorrow where we welcome back The Office (where I'm pretty sure Jan and Andy are Skrulls by the way). And don't forget to show up on Thursday for a special guest post!
I think living in Colorado makes me the Western Titan more that the Ocean or Alaska Titan.
with more characters, is the fact that it is written for mature audiences. So, what does this mean exactly? Well, the Fables are kinda violent in their new environment. The first issue open a story about the violent murder of Red Riding Hood, and by the end of the second story at least one of the beloved characters is dead.
Okay, on to the new movie, Baby Mama. Again, as you remember, this was 
If you liked these, 
Oh Snap! Tom the Titan is a Skrull!!