Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

This afternoon Amy and I went to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at the new Rave Motion Pictures cinema at the Northeast Mall in North Richland Hills (or is it Richland Hills... or Hurst?). This was my first time at a Rave cinema and it is quite an impressive complex with multiple sectors and levels. The most difficult part of seeing a movie at Rvae was determinign which half of the complex our movie of choice was playing in so that we could proceed to the correct atrium and hand over our tickets to get behind the velvet rope. To aid this process, Rave has erected two giant signs in the main lobby, one by the entrance to each atrium. One would assume that all of the movies listed on a particular sign would be playing in the theatres connected to that particular atrium, so if you see your movie listed on the right sign you proceed to the right atrium. But no, instead the movies are liste don the signs in seemingly random order with tiny arrows poiting left or right towards the appropriate atrium. So after crossing the lobby to the right where Charlie was on the right sign, we see the tiny arrow directing us back across the massive lobby to the left atrium (and presumably to the left ventricle and upstairs via the escalator aorta to where the movie is actually playing).

Anyway, I enjoyed the movie and the cute yet creepy nature of it. Compared to the origninal, which seemed more organic, the excessive use of CG in this version made seems less touchable and more dreamlike. Amy, who lists the original Willy Wonka as one of her favorite movies, if not her absolute favorite, had similar thoughts and was dissapointed at the opening sequence that featured a CG Rube Goldberg chocolate machine instead of a real one, and thought that the Ooompa-Loompa songs were either really odd or in the case of thr rock version, too had to understand. The addition of the legend of the chocolate palace in India, however, was met with a more positive reaction.

After watching the chocolate waterfall and river in larger than life size on the screen, we had no choice but to head over to Milwaukee Joe's Ice Cream in Bedford (yes I'm sure this one is Bedford) for some triple chocolate ice cream. Mmmmm.

Import Experience

I spent the afternoon and evening today helping a friend with judging and tabulation of results at the Import Experience car show held at Pennington Field in Bedford (or maybe it was Euless.. or Hurst?). It was a fairly large show with over 80 imports in attendance ranging from some pretty slick VW GTIs, to a brand new 2005 Lambo to various Honda and Nismo imports with completely built motors making insane amounts of horsepower. The car that won Best of Show was a Lexus IS300 with a fully built motor capable of, according to the dyno sheet son display with the car, putting down 700hp on race gas!

Since it was an outdoor show on an incredibly hot day and I was using sensitive high-tech Apple iBook computing technology, I spent most of the show working in an air-conditioned trailer. If that wasn't pleasing enough, it happened to be the same trailer that the import models and bikini and wet t-shirt contest particpants were using to change and cool off in between shifts at the autograph table. It's amazing how women that take their clothes off regularly for a livign have no problems changign right in front of you without even saying a word about it. So the gig was not without its perks besides the whole box full of Meguiar's detailing products I given for helping with the show.

Muderball

If it's at a theatre near you, go see Murderball, the documentry about quadrapalegic wheelchair rugby, and more specifically the rivalry between Canada and the United States in the sport. Or add it to your Nteflix queue when it comes out on DVD. It's just that entertaining. My favorite point in the film is when a former motorcross enthusiast who was injured in a motorcross accident gets to take one of the quad rugby wheelcharis (themselves quite the work of engineering) for a spin and immediately wants to start bumping in to other people and things, much to the protests of the nurses at the rehabilitation center. He was so stoked about the idea of being able compete in something motorcross-like again that they could barely get him out of the chair at the end of the team's visit. Lot's of movies claim to be toughing; that sequence truly is.

Vacation

Hit the road July 15-22... recap to come.

Wedding Bells

Congrats to Rodney & Stephanie, Tim & Karen and Kelly & umm... whatshisname.

Extra thanks to Rodney and Stephanie for sending home some cake for me with Amy. You two rock!

Fantastic Four

The Fantastic Four are some of my favorite comic book characters. For whatever reason, Mr. Fanatstic (Reed Richards), The Invisible Woman (Susan DStorm), The Human Torch II (Johnny Storm) and The Thing (Ben Grimm), and their mix of saving the earth through science and clever use of their cosmic abilities appealed to me. I am not alone, as the Fantastic Four were the Flagship of the Marvel line-up, launched in 1961 and published continuously, forming the cornerstone of the Marvel universe where they would be joined by Spider-Man and the X-Men, two of the more widly popular comic franchises (besides Batman, property of rival DC Comics).

The Fantastic Four story was ripe for a motion picture. The material and characters to work with are just that good. In the original 1961 story, the four decide to embark on a daring mission to "beat the Commies into space" on a rocketship hastily designed by Reed. Upon launch while travelling through the Van Allen radiation belts, the ship proves to be unable to protect the crew from cosmic radiation which tears through their bodies and alters their genes. Damaged by the storm, the ship crashes back to earth causing Johnny to spontaeously combust and discover that his body is now able to withstand and produce fame. Ben is reduced to a rocky pile of rubble at the crash site and Susan gives him the name The Thing. Reed and Susan soon discover their own cosmic abilities and the four agree to use their newfound cosmic abilities for the good of mankind as the Fantastic Four.

The Fantastic Four comic book was equal parts action and soap opera, with a lot of emphasis given to the feelings and interaction between the characters. As the FF story begins, Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman are engaged and then married. Later on The Invisible Woman twice become pregnant, and during the first prenancy the FF are forced to battle an evil villain in order to obtain the cure for an illness that befalls Sue during the pregnancy, while the second preganancy results in a miscarriage. When Reed is apparently killed, Sue assumes leadership of the Fantastic Four, a position she is very unwilling to give up when Reed returns and the ensuing power struggle can be likened to the career working woman who is suddenly expected to become a stay at home Mom. Sue also periodically lapses into a sinister and even sexier alter-ego named Malice who turns on her team members before regaining control of her mind. The other members of the team have equally interesting characters. Johnny the Human Torch is the brash teenager of the group, looking to use his cosmic abilities to obtain wealth and fame. He fights with the other members of the group, pulls out constant one-liners, tries to hog the spotlight and even leaves the group for a time to make a bigger name for himself on his own. he also brings a series of flashy girlfriends to the group with their own super-powers and cosmic abilities. The counterpoint to Johnny is Ben The Thing, who is the most tragic member of the group. Unlike the others who can turn their cosmic abilities on and off, Ben is forced to assume his heavy rocky persona at all times. This causes him to feel anger, resentment, sadness and frustrtation as he had to completely give up his former life, a heavy price to pay to become one of the Fantastic Four. Ben's solace is in Alicia, a blind sculptor who falls in love with him, as to her he is the perfect man despite his horrible disfigurement. Reed theorizes that Ben could control his rocky appearance but that his subconcious mind knows that his rocky appearance is why Alicia loves him so his subconcious mind prevents him from having control over his cosmic ability. On one particular planet, Ben is able to control his ability and change from his rocky form to his normal human form at will, and he often leaves the group for short periods to visit this planet and recapture some of the life he has been robbed of.

In the comics, when not arguing and fighting amonst themselves, the Fantastic Four spends most of it's time exploring the universe and defending the earth on a cosmic level against super villains from the Earth other worlds. Dr. Doom is a brilliant genius who invents a suit of nuclear armor which protects him and gives him the ability to shoot pulses of energy at others. He also uses his super-intelligence to develop an army of robot-like clones of himself that he uses to wreak havoc on earth and across the galaxy, and keeps the FF guessing as to wether or not they've ever got the real Dr. Doom. With these tactics and traits, and a similar costume and mask, Dr. Doom is often seen as the inspiration for Darth Vader and his army of Stormtroopers. Dr. Doom also clashes with the likes of Spider-Man and the Silver Surfer while the FF are preoccupied with other things.

So from this universe of possibility we were delivered a Fantastic Four movie that was less than spectacular. The story is updated, rewritten, warped and told in a choppy manner with no flow. An unecessary love triangle is created between Reed, Sue and Dr. Doom. Some scenes are pointless and others fail to make sense. There are blatant editing and continuity errors. Mr. Fantastic and Dr. Doom are portrayed terribly (could we please give Dr. Doom a menacing voice when he puts the mask on?). The Invisible Woman looks hot in her FF suit but doesn't do much with her invisibility. It is Johnny who steals the whole movie and his brash and recklessly youthful character is the best at capturing the essence of his namesake in the comics. The Thing suit looks awesome and his tragedy is highlighted in several scenes, however we don't ever learn enough or make enough of a connection with Ben to really feel his loss and pain. It is true that in this movie, the charaters are just developing into the FF personas, and it is not until the final shot of the movie, after enduring a plot that never really gets going, that we see the Fantastic Four in their classic group pose. Then, as a final slap in the face, the film has the audacity to fade to black and a "The End" card before slipping a final teaser scene in before the credits in which it is suggested that Dr. Doom will return in a sequal.

Gah! Someday an awesome Fantastic Movie will be shown in theatres. Unfortunately it is not this summer.

Who would have thought...

From http://www.namestatistics.com/

tyler is the #198 most common male name.
0.089% of men in the US are named tyler.
Around 109025 US men are named tyler!

But wait...

tyler is the #2663 most common female name.
0.002% of females in the US are named tyler.
Around 2550 US females are named tyler!

Whoa.

chance encounter on Midway

I was feeling really lousy this morning. I wasn't sure why I had such a really restless feeling. I wanted an adventure and I wanted to go driving. So I convinced Amy that we should go try Krystal, the almost White Castle that opened in Addison/Carrolton a few months back. We hopped in the Mini and I had a blast zipping over to that side of the Metroplex. As we are heading up Midway, I notice that there is an SUV darting through traffic and tailing me. How dare that SUV try to keep up with the Mini, I think to myself and scoot over a lane and dlip past a few more slower vehicles. Eventually the SUV pulls alongside and it happens to be one of Amy's coworkers. Amy uses her fingers to give him her cell number and the passenger in the SUV calls. Turns out her coworker is having a Kaboomtown fireworks watching party at his airplane hanger at the Addison airport and we just got an on the road invite. What perfect timing. And thank goodness that she has a very, very distinctive car.

We continued on to Krystal and it was pretty good. I kind of liked it a little more than White Castle, but they didn't have the White Castle krinkle fries. I think I'll stick with Steak n' Shake.

After Krystal we went and killed soem time at the Willow Bend mall, drueling all over the products in the Apple Store. Then we went to target and purchased some wedding presents. We hope we got the right stuff and Target really needs to get their act together with their conflicting item numbers and names. Starbucks was the next stop for some Frappacinos before heading over to the hangar.

Amy's coworker dave has a very cool WWII style plane, actually a Russian/Chinese copy of a WWII style trainer built in the early 1980's, but it looks perfect in it's green and silver paint with D-day stripes beneath the USAF insiginia on the fuselage. he also has a super-cool grill and can throw a good tarmack cookout as their were non-stop goodies until the sun went down. The hangar is essentially right on the taxiway flightline at the Addison Airport. Prior to the airport being closed for the fireworks, a dozen or so WWII aircraft were given the run of the place, making runs in formation up and down the field. Eight T-6 texan trainers in close formation behind a C47 makes for an impressive sight and sound as it thunders overhead, seemingly low enough to clip the tops of nearby power poles. The Kaboomtown fireworks are set off from two semi-trailers parked at the south end of the runway a couple hundred feet from the hangar. Close enough that if the wind had been a little bit more from the east we would have been showered with magnesium and other burning embers. The fireworks were amazing from this vantage point and it was a great, if unexpected, way to celebrate the 4th.

Fishboy @ Sons of Herman Hall

Openers: The Tah-Dahs, Cordelane, The Happy Bullets

I went to the Fishboy CD release show at the Sons of Herman Hall in Deep Ellum tonight with Amy, her sister and one of her sister's friends. Fishboy's new CD is called "Little D" and is a tribute to and inspired by Denton, Texas. At the beginning of the Fishboy set, he brought out a bunch of his friends dressed up as the landmarks of Denton, Texas. There is something incredibly funny about a person dressed up in a cardboard box made to look like a building with their arms sticking out the side. Fact: the film Necessary Roughness was filmed in Denton. I think that movie is only notable for the role played by supermodel and SI swimsuit covergirl Kathy Ireland and her flirty shower scene.

The Fishboy set was great, Sons of Herman Hall is really groovy and if you don't know who Fishboy is, you really need to check out his CDs. He has a full band on this album, so keyboardist Sweatpants and drummer Slapbracelet are joined by High-C, who plays bass and tube among other instruments. Seriously. It's good.

Polyphonic Spree @ Fort Worth Botanic Gardens

The Polyphonic Spree playing outside in the Fort Worth botanic gardens accompanied by fireworks. It's pretty hard to beat that. Great show and lots of fun little blinky things at the merch booth located a few yards across the grass from our blanket.

It's Canada Day up Canada way...

What I would do for a Caramilk bar right now. And an A&W hamburger from a real Canadian A&W.

On this day 138 years ago, a plan to save the fledgling Grand Trunk Railway created by a group of investors went into effect. These investors also happened to be some of the most prominnent politicians of the day in the colonial government of Britsh North America, so if the plan also happened to advance their own political careers, all the better. Originally hatching the plan at Charlottetown in 1864 and killing two birds with one stone, the investors decided that traffic on the railway could be increased by breaking down the trade barriers between the struggling colonies and promoting travel by uniting all of the colonies as a single Confederation, to be called the Dominion of Canada. Although the agreement would be passed by the British parliament in February 1867, the plan, known as the British North America Act was not set to be enacted until July 1st, which is now marked as the day the "Fathers of Confederation" created the independent nation of Canada with it's own parliamentry system of Government. Though like a dog with one end its leash firmy tied to the British throne, Canada would not truly be independent from Britain for some time and to this day the official head of the Canadian government is the reigning British monarch. The plan worked as traffic on the Grand Trunk boomed, rewarding its politician investors handsomely. The creation of Canada eased fears of Western annexation or a complete invasion by the United States which was still stirring from the end of the Civil War in 1865, during which the confederacy attempted to use the British Colonies in Canada as a base to stage raids against the North.

A historical footnote is that Canada was originally to be called the Kingdom of Canada. Fearing that this title would anger the United States, the British denied this request. An alternative, "Dominion," was suggested by Samuel Leonard Tilley, from a line in Psalm 72 of the Bible: "He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth." And thus the Dominion of Canada came to be, with the ideo of "dominion from sea to sea" serving as a point of national pride and leading to a focus on western expansion and an ambitious plan to build a railway to the Pacific Ocean that would bring down one government in scandal and bankrupt another before being completed on November 7, 1885, which some view as Canada's true independence day.

With that I close today's history lesson.

Long live Stompin' Tom.