Comic Comments - UNCANNY X-MEN #304 So, about time I got back on this web thing really huh? The last year has been… Interesting. It has been like a big long training montage of ambition and self improvement but more on that later. It’s time to start talking cap o n the internet again. Mostly because it should cut down on how much people in the real world have to listen to my nonsense. So, Ross likes comics. Started with Neil Gaiman and before that X-men cartoons. Now I read about forty different ongoing titles, largely from the Marvel Universe. As part of this newest hobby I’ve also been trying to catch up know some of the back catalog, the history if you will. Most recently I’ve been reading through the complete original run of Uncanny X-men. Now, this is decades of publications and if I’m being honest some of it was really a struggle. Now though, I’ve reached th 21st century and it is really getting good. So, here is a classic moment I’d call a highlight. Issue 304 marks over three decades of X-titles, the death of a major character, the return of the greatest of all villains and the shocking breaking point of a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders. The art and the writing g have finally married up perfectly and this story shows everything you want from an X-men book, or any other title for that matter. I’very really enjoyed reading this title the whole way through. Seeing the miss-steps and the failures as well as the highlights. It has also been interesting to see the media evolve to this point. So yeah. That’s something I’ve been doing for fun…..

Comic Comments - UNCANNY X-MEN #304

So, about time I got back on this web thing really huh? The last year has been… Interesting. It has been like a big long training montage of ambition and self improvement but more on that later.

It’s time to start talking cap o n the internet again. Mostly because it should cut down on how much people in the real world have to listen to my nonsense.

So, Ross likes comics. Started with Neil Gaiman and before that X-men cartoons. Now I read about forty different ongoing titles, largely from the Marvel Universe. As part of this newest hobby I’ve also been trying to catch up know some of the back catalog, the history if you will.

Most recently I’ve been reading through the complete original run of Uncanny X-men. Now, this is decades of publications and if I’m being honest some of it was really a struggle. Now though, I’ve reached th 21st century and it is really getting good. So, here is a classic moment I’d call a highlight.

Issue 304 marks over three decades of X-titles, the death of a major character, the return of the greatest of all villains and the shocking breaking point of a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders.

The art and the writing g have finally married up perfectly and this story shows everything you want from an X-men book, or any other title for that matter.

I’very really enjoyed reading this title the whole way through. Seeing the miss-steps and the failures as well as the highlights. It has also been interesting to see the media evolve to this point.

So yeah. That’s something I’ve been doing for fun…..

Lol of the day.  Papa Johns seem to be having some confusion as to where Slough is. This makes me appreciate the UK Office so much more. All that paper selling and romance would be so much more exciting if it was off the west coast of the African Continent. Dare to dream  N.B. this store is presently closed, I am surprised. 

Lol of the day. 

Papa Johns seem to be having some confusion as to where Slough is. This makes me appreciate the UK Office so much more. All that paper selling and romance would be so much more exciting if it was off the west coast of the African Continent. Dare to dream 

N.B. this store is presently closed, I am surprised. 

#5 - Donald Glover As I mentioned already, everyone involved in community is excellent and without the rest of the cast and writers this show would be nothing, but I’d still probably watch it. Donald Glover is my new hero of this year. He wrote for 30 Rock, he and the rest of the Derrick Boys are responsible for some of the best College Humour has to offer (not to mention the film the wrote and starred in) and on top of that he’s an MC and Rapper like no other. Two mixed tapes, an EP and an Album in the last couple of years along side everything else he’s doing and he’s still one of the funniest things about TV just now. Tina Fey brought him up and he’ll be filling shoes an awful lot like hers some day not so far from now. Hero.

#5 - Donald Glover

As I mentioned already, everyone involved in community is excellent and without the rest of the cast and writers this show would be nothing, but I’d still probably watch it. Donald Glover is my new hero of this year. He wrote for 30 Rock, he and the rest of the Derrick Boys are responsible for some of the best College Humour has to offer (not to mention the film the wrote and starred in) and on top of that he’s an MC and Rapper like no other. Two mixed tapes, an EP and an Album in the last couple of years along side everything else he’s doing and he’s still one of the funniest things about TV just now. Tina Fey brought him up and he’ll be filling shoes an awful lot like hers some day not so far from now. Hero.

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#4 - The Others While the thing that I love most about the show is it’s main cast and how likeable they all are in their own, dysfunctional ways, the less likeable members of the cast are completely essential. Here we have: Chevy Chase as Pierce Hawthorne - Pierce, while a part of the group, is often the villain of the piece, and at best an offensive idiot who they can’t quite shake off. Chevy seems to be doing a caricature of himself. He’s old, he’s rich, he’s insensitive and it’s hilarious. Ken Jeong  as Ben “Señor” Chang - Spanish professor with a chip on his shoulder about… well.. everything. Whether it be his Asian heritage, his exclusion from the group, homelessness or his failed Keytar career, Chang is pissed. He hits the over acting mark perfectly, without crossing the line in the sand. He’s repulsive and offensive and you feel for the guy. Well played. John Oliver as Prof. Ian Duncan - John Oliver has made his career in the states by being the kind of British stereotype that people on both sides of the pond can find funny, he continues that here. The staff of Greendale are no more clued up than the students and all come with their own interesting little emotional issues, who better to guide the whole lot of them through it than a failed shrink turned college professor with a drinking problem? Jim Rash as Dean Pelton - Any excuse for a cross dressing costume party Jim Rash was one of two male NBC stars to go Gaga last Hallowe’en. He was, by far, the funnier of the two. at the end of the flash back episode he also voiced all the Characters in an animated short, his Jeff and Annie impressions were actually pretty spooky.

#4 - The Others

While the thing that I love most about the show is it’s main cast and how likeable they all are in their own, dysfunctional ways, the less likeable members of the cast are completely essential. Here we have:

Chevy Chase as Pierce Hawthorne - Pierce, while a part of the group, is often the villain of the piece, and at best an offensive idiot who they can’t quite shake off. Chevy seems to be doing a caricature of himself. He’s old, he’s rich, he’s insensitive and it’s hilarious.

Ken Jeong  as Ben “Señor” Chang - Spanish professor with a chip on his shoulder about… well.. everything. Whether it be his Asian heritage, his exclusion from the group, homelessness or his failed Keytar career, Chang is pissed. He hits the over acting mark perfectly, without crossing the line in the sand. He’s repulsive and offensive and you feel for the guy. Well played.

John Oliver as Prof. Ian Duncan - John Oliver has made his career in the states by being the kind of British stereotype that people on both sides of the pond can find funny, he continues that here. The staff of Greendale are no more clued up than the students and all come with their own interesting little emotional issues, who better to guide the whole lot of them through it than a failed shrink turned college professor with a drinking problem?

Jim Rash as Dean Pelton - Any excuse for a cross dressing costume party Jim Rash was one of two male NBC stars to go Gaga last Hallowe’en. He was, by far, the funnier of the two. at the end of the flash back episode he also voiced all the Characters in an animated short, his Jeff and Annie impressions were actually pretty spooky.

#3 - Weird and Wonderful Adventures Though some TV still believes in the polarity of comedy and drama, the best examples seem to find themselves somewhere on the sliding scale instead. The sitcom world is expansive and complex nowadays from How I Met Your Mother and Happy Endings to the more alternative 30 Rock and Big Bang Theory, but Community manages to stay fresh, by following a simple formula. Each week’s episode has a different theme, an often ridiculous premise, that causes some conflict and resolution. It sounds dull, but it works because they turn it on it’s head. They just ran their first flash back episode, which actually consisted largely of adventures not previously seen in the season. lots of ‘remember when we…’ that we couldn’t possibly remember. Risky strategy really, make a joke about how things are getting stale, to prove that they are not. It worked though. One of my favourite episodes of the season. 

#3 - Weird and Wonderful Adventures

Though some TV still believes in the polarity of comedy and drama, the best examples seem to find themselves somewhere on the sliding scale instead. The sitcom world is expansive and complex nowadays from How I Met Your Mother and Happy Endings to the more alternative 30 Rock and Big Bang Theory, but Community manages to stay fresh, by following a simple formula. Each week’s episode has a different theme, an often ridiculous premise, that causes some conflict and resolution. It sounds dull, but it works because they turn it on it’s head. They just ran their first flash back episode, which actually consisted largely of adventures not previously seen in the season. lots of ‘remember when we…’ that we couldn’t possibly remember. Risky strategy really, make a joke about how things are getting stale, to prove that they are not. It worked though. One of my favourite episodes of the season. 

#2 Something for the fans. Everything for the fans. This is a monkey named “Annie’s Boobs” which was a present given to Troy by Abed during an episode narrated by abed in the style of Goodfellas. The group, frustrated over never getting to the cafeteria in time to get chicken fingers, managed to corrupt the fry cook and started selling the chicken fingers around campus. Their new found power brings plenty of advantages, this monkey is one of them. Named by popular vote, the monkey is released later that episode only to resurface in the next series in a very brief shot where it steals a pen. The missing pen brings out a lot of tensions in the group and is never found, until eventually the monkey is found in the air vent with a whole treasure trove of memories from the last two seasons. The plots alone are enough to blow your mind right? It’s stuff like this that makes it so rewarding for fans, little things that you’ll miss if you blink that turn into plot points for later episodes. Abed once met, broke up and then reconciled a young couple before delivering their baby, completely in the background of a single episode. This is TV for people who love TV, it doesn’t play by the rules, it laughs at them and that makes me laugh

#2 Something for the fans. Everything for the fans.

This is a monkey named “Annie’s Boobs” which was a present given to Troy by Abed during an episode narrated by abed in the style of Goodfellas. The group, frustrated over never getting to the cafeteria in time to get chicken fingers, managed to corrupt the fry cook and started selling the chicken fingers around campus. Their new found power brings plenty of advantages, this monkey is one of them. Named by popular vote, the monkey is released later that episode only to resurface in the next series in a very brief shot where it steals a pen. The missing pen brings out a lot of tensions in the group and is never found, until eventually the monkey is found in the air vent with a whole treasure trove of memories from the last two seasons. The plots alone are enough to blow your mind right?

It’s stuff like this that makes it so rewarding for fans, little things that you’ll miss if you blink that turn into plot points for later episodes. Abed once met, broke up and then reconciled a young couple before delivering their baby, completely in the background of a single episode. This is TV for people who love TV, it doesn’t play by the rules, it laughs at them and that makes me laugh

Five things I love about Community - In Pictures #1 The Cast Community is a cult classic in the making, or rather one that’s already been made but once it’s been cancelled and then rediscovered it’ll reach that status for sure. It’s hilarious from week to week with some of the best and freshest comedy writing since Arrested Development. There are a hundred reasons why this is one of my favourite shows but I’ve picked just five of them to be getting along with. The number one reason that it really stands out has to be the cast. These are not, for the most part, big names. These are people who are incredibly talented and have an excellent chemistry and five years from now will likely be massive. When Joel McHale picks up his first Oscar, Community fans will say they knew it would happen. When Gillian Jacobs lands the female lead role in the next Sasha Baron Cohen film, Community fans will say that she’s just getting warmed up. When Alison Brie is already doing this and Mad Men, Danny Pudi has already shown an incredible range of skills and timing and expression that could rival the Frat Pack guys or find a home on SNL and Donald Glover basically seems to be the most talented person in the business today. Leaving aside the already established talent in the group for now, you have a list of people who are all great already and headed for even greater things, but that’s only the start.  The best thing about this group is that it they all have believable dynamics and chemistry. They are all loveable and flawed and relate to each other in a way that we all can relate to them. It’s a dysfunctional comedy that has, from the very beginning, been incredibly self referential and meta, and it works because of these people. 

Five things I love about Community - In Pictures

#1 The Cast

Community is a cult classic in the making, or rather one that’s already been made but once it’s been cancelled and then rediscovered it’ll reach that status for sure. It’s hilarious from week to week with some of the best and freshest comedy writing since Arrested Development. There are a hundred reasons why this is one of my favourite shows but I’ve picked just five of them to be getting along with. The number one reason that it really stands out has to be the cast. These are not, for the most part, big names. These are people who are incredibly talented and have an excellent chemistry and five years from now will likely be massive. When Joel McHale picks up his first Oscar, Community fans will say they knew it would happen. When Gillian Jacobs lands the female lead role in the next Sasha Baron Cohen film, Community fans will say that she’s just getting warmed up. When Alison Brie is already doing this and Mad Men, Danny Pudi has already shown an incredible range of skills and timing and expression that could rival the Frat Pack guys or find a home on SNL and Donald Glover basically seems to be the most talented person in the business today. Leaving aside the already established talent in the group for now, you have a list of people who are all great already and headed for even greater things, but that’s only the start. 

The best thing about this group is that it they all have believable dynamics and chemistry. They are all loveable and flawed and relate to each other in a way that we all can relate to them. It’s a dysfunctional comedy that has, from the very beginning, been incredibly self referential and meta, and it works because of these people. 

Enjoy Every Sandwich.

Right. The good ship Life’ll Kill You ran a ground, well, perhaps not. Maybe more just like ran out of steam. Yeah. It could, for the purposes of this metaphor, be a steam ship. It’s not in any real or mortal peril, it’s set anchor, it’s not far from the shore and it can just be a little floating island for now, a tourist attraction. If only i could figure out a way to trick people into paying admission. 

So, I had a point. I discovered that I just wasn’t presently capable of providing the same kind of witty and wordy cynicism that I’d been dishing out a year back. This is almost certainly a good thing, right? I keep up my general Irking and Confessing still, over on my Twitter Account but for now, let’s try something new.

You see, I miss my little web based rants about the things that I’m passionate about, that was always the point really, that and a small dose of venting and self improvement. So, to continue on that theme I’ve decided to correct another annoying habit of mine. Real life friends will have noticed my tenancy to ramble, at length, about the TV, films, music and comics I consume (binge on) on a weekly basis. Well, real life friends, good news. I have decided that this is a much more appropriate outlet for such expulsion. I’m not going to review things exactly, but express some positivity about the things I really do enjoy about the world and its media. 

Let me start off by explaining the title of this post. Warren Zevon was an american singer song writer, one of the best probably. He was all kinds of rock and roll and then he died of cancer. After his diagnosis he appeared on letterman and revealed his secret to living with the knowledge that he was dying. His soundbite was simple. Enjoy Every Sandwich. 

So I’m keeping on the sandwich theme, just bringing you some different kinds of nonsense. Anyone who hadn’t realised I was on a sandwich theme before, you have now. 

I just watched Thor, got up to date on reading Walking Dead and with Doctor Who this week and ALL of America’s TV offerings from last week I have plenty to ramble about soon enough. For now, watch this space.

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laughingsquid: Stormtrooper Down

laughingsquid:

Stormtrooper Down

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Just for fun.

My favourite movie moment ever is Joseph Gordon Levitt. Guesses please. points for the film. 3 for the scene. 5 for the exact quote.