Pop Culture Woman

Disney Digital 3-D - The Future

2006-11-02T12:54:00.000-08:00

The past few years I've been going to see movies less and less. At first, I thought this may be because the quality of movies was going downhill. They didn't entertain me as much, I thought.

Reading many magazine articles on the subject, I've changed my mind. The number one reason I don't go the theater is because I can get the best movie experience in my own home. Since we've gotten our HDTV with the crystal clear picture and superior surround sound, why do I need to suffer through the sub-par picture and sometimes sub-par sound quality of a movie theater? Especially as movie ticket prices have risen to about $9 for an evening film, $6.75 for a matinee. For the price of evening tickets ($18) I can get Netflix's upgraded DVD service (3 DVDs at once, unlimited) and watch approx. ten films on my beautiful screen a month.

Sure there are movies that I believe must be seen on the big screen and here in Florida movies on Saturday mornings before noon are only $4. Which is probably the only reason I've been going recently, good thing for that AMC promotion!

So today I saw the future of movie cinema - Disney Digital projection. We had to drive thirty minutes to the Muvico cinema where they have one of these expensive projectors. You can read more about Disney Digital 3-D here.

I am no fan of 3-D in theater. I saw Superman Returns on the Imax and thought the effects were distracting, poorly done, and incomplete. I didn't think much of the film but the 3-D effects certainly ruined the experience more for me.

Disney Digital 3-D though is different. For one, you get a brand new pair of plastic glasses, not some over-used and hastily washed pair like you get for Imax screenings. This means your lenses are not scratched (big plus!). Second, the 3-D is subtle. It is more about the screen having more depth than things popping out at you, meaning less eye strain. Not only that but the picture, for the first time I've ever seen, was as clear as my HDTV.

Drawbacks? The ticket cost for our matinee was $8.50/each. I can deal with paying that though if I'm going to get an A+ movie experience.

If you have a theater near you playing Nightmare Before Christmas in Disney Digital 3-D I highly suggest seeing for yourself. This should be the future of cinema.

Horror Movie Month

2006-10-11T08:57:00.000-07:00

Halloween is a big holiday in our household. I'm not sure why, maybe because everyone in my family has always embraced the supernatural. Or maybe because we all love candy more than vegetables. Whatever it is, when the beginning of October comes around we want to watch horror movies. So this year, armed with a Netflix subscription and free HBO/Showtime, my husband and I have set out to watch an unprecedented 2-4 horror films a week until Halloween. I have seen most of the classics through the years so we're trying to catch up on the modern stuff we have missed.

When I lived up north, I had a movie marathon on Halloween. Being that I have no family here down south, I've made it a tradition to watch horror films we've never seen before on Halloween. Last year it was House of 1000 Corpses. This year it looks to be Devil's Rejects.

The horror genre has always been popular in American culture. Wikipedia has an extensive exerpt on the history of horror in America. I was also facinated to read that these films are making a lot of money for American studios. Read the Entertainment Weekly article here.

So what have we seen so far?

The Skeleton Key (2005) - Much better film than I thought it would be. Centers around a hospice worker in New Orleans who gets sucked into Hoodoo. I liked it! 6/10

Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006) - Horrible movie. No plot, just torture scenes which get really tedious and boring. 1/10

Saw 2 (2005) - Better than the first film, with a great ending. This franchise has a great premise to keep it alive...and it's making big money. 7/10

Cursed (2004) - Cookie cutter tween horror with CGI werewolves. Probably terrifiying to 12-year-old girls, not so much for me. 3/10

So do I think I'm getting desensitized to violence after all these films (and more to come)? Nope. I've seen real blood and guts and these movies are nothing like the real thing.

I continue to be disappointed in Marvel....

2006-08-28T13:10:00.000-07:00

Several months ago I wrote about the comic industry in general, and mentioned why I wasn't buying into comic events like Civil War.

Oh it feels so good to be right. Marvel has pushed back issue #4 of Civil War, citing that it's artist, Steve McNiven, needs time to catch up on his art for the series. They don't want to compromise the story by putting in a new artist. Or, in other words, he's probably under contract and they don't want to eat his salary by hiring another artist to do the work. Meeting deadlines apparently is not a big deal in the comic book industry. If you think you're a great artist you just take your time. You can issue statements saying how "sorry" you are for the delay and how you're not a prima donna. How about this? You buckle down and work 12 hour days. Stop goofing off and wasting time apologizing. In other words, work hard and stop making excuses.

My husband's an artist. I know artists. If you've decided to be a commercial artist you need to meet deadlines and I think that should be more enforced in the comic industry. Personally, I think McNiven is a turd. I'm glad I never supported him or his not-so-great art by buying Civil War. And yea, I said it. His art isn't that great. He's not hand painting his stuff like Alex Ross, nor is his technique as refined. He's drawing characters with a pencil. Doesn't take as long as fanboys think. Considering all the starving artists out there who draw fast and work consistently I'm disappointed McNiven even has the gall to say how hard he's working.

I will continue my boycott Civil War. And yea, I'm still supporting 52. It's on week fifteen, the art and story are superb, and it's meeting all it's deadlines.

Destroying An Iconic Character

2006-06-21T13:20:00.000-07:00

Sapph's favorite superhero? That's an easy one! Spider-Man. Always been. I've always loved everything Spider-Man. He adorned my dorm room in college and everyone knew what to get me for Christmas: Spider-Man stuff.

Once upon a time I was worried about my favorite character when Ultimate Spider-Man came out. Renumbering and redoing a series again? Blah. Then I fell in love. It was my favorite comic book for a long time before Bendis got lazy with it and began focusing on the big Marvel productions. It's currently struggling and has lost a lot of heart unfortunately. I've stopped buying it knowing that I can pick the missing issues up for $1 at a comic convention, or less on Ebay because the storyline is worthless. Harsh but true.

As for the regular "616" universe Spider-Man books they're honestly not that well done. I never was a fan of Strazynski's run. Then, in the last year , Spider-Man developed a new costume and powers. It's horrible. It's stupid. And everyone knows it's issues are headed for the bargain bin as well. All in the name of picking up some short-term sales.

Marvel has now decided to destroy my iconic character a bit more this past week by having Peter Parker reveal to the world that he is *GASP* Spider-Man. A bold move that has indeed bolstered sales and left me stunned. I'm sure Mary Jane will be dead in the near future. Or Spider-Man will become depressed or some kind of dark nonsense. Plus, in all their "teasers" Spidey is dressed in his old outfit. Shows you how Marvel stands behind the new look...

So have I protested this decision? Hell Yea! Not only have I not bought Civil War #2 I tell everyone to avoid it like the plague. I'm not buying ANY Spider-Man book either. No trades, no single issues, nada.

I'm sad to say that for now the movies and my old trade paperbacks are the only things giving me solace right now. My Mcfarlane Spider-Man poster from college now hangs in our spare "superhero" bedroom and that makes me feel better too. I'll be an old bitty I suppose and dwell on the past...on the good old days when Spider-Man was fun-loving and friendly.

How about a mini summer music discussion?

2006-06-19T14:36:00.000-07:00

I have a word for most of the music out today. "CRAPTASTIC." Meaning it's horrible yet strangely addicting. I think most hot singles are craptastic. This week it's Nelly Furtado's "Promiscuous" which is incredibly horrible with a terrible message. Like "Lady lumps," "The Thong Song," etc., this single is trash. And, yes, it's easy to dance to and hoochies everywhere are enjoying gyrating to it at the club much to the delight of the single sweaty guys looking for cheap feels. I remember those club days very well.

However what's on heavy rotation for me this week is the Gnarls Barkley single, "Crazy." It's for the adult crowd although it can't be too unhip because it's been all over MTV lately. It's an absolutely brilliant single. They lyrics are something I can relate to because I went crazy once. I'm still pretty crazy but in a much more positive light. These are some good lyrics and the beat is A+. Highly recommend it for those of you out there looking for something that isn't just craptastic but truly fantastic.

Gnarls Barkley Crazy

I remember when, I remember, I remember when I lost my mind
There was something so pleasant about that place.
Even your emotions had an echo
In so much space
And when you're out there
Without care,
Yeah, I was out of touch
But it wasn't because I didn't know enough
I just knew too much

Does that make me crazy
Does that make me crazy
Does that make me crazy
Possibly [video version]
Probably [CD version]

And I hope that you are having the time of your life
But think twice, that's my only advice
Come on now, who do you, who do you, who do you, who do you think you are,
Ha ha ha bless your soul
You really think you're in control

Well, I think you're crazy
I think you're crazy
I think you're crazy
Just like me

My heroes had the heart to Lose their lives out on a limb
And all I remember is thinking, I want to be like them
Ever since I was little, ever since I was little it looked like fun
And it's no coincidence I've come
And I can die when I'm done

Maybe I'm crazy
Maybe you're crazy
Maybe we're crazy
Possibly

Pop Culture Pet Peeve

2006-06-06T13:40:00.000-07:00

So the past few years I've become a member of several messageboards. This stems from the fact that I mainly work on a computer now and have plenty of downtime in between emails and phone calls to browse the messageboard world. I've browsed plenty of boards and I've come to realize a female presence is very small compared to that of men. I'm sure there are lots of sociological reasons for this, including that woman are watching babies or in jobs that aren't on a computer as much as men. I really have no idea and I don't even want to hypothesize why they are not on them.

My post today is for the woman that ARE on those messageboards and how little I tend to get along with them. Here are my reasons why:

1. Their avatar is that of their boobs/butt. While this is an attention grabber it's also saying "hey, don't respect me."

2. They flirt outrageously in the board threads. This usually throws off the thread topic and makes it extremely uninteresting to read. Unless it's a dating service, use PMs to flirt ladies.

3. They're defensive. Disagree with them and they whine, thus bringing the men that are enamored with their boob avatar to their defense. Also a boring thread read and totally off topic.

Anyway, I thought I would throw that rant out there. It's just a pet peeve of mine and if there is a messageboard that lets the above happen, I'm definitely not a member.

May Sweeps Wrap Up

2006-05-30T12:51:00.000-07:00

I thought I would take some time to recap the best and worst of May Sweeps this season. See my past May Sweeps blog for a formal introduction into what I'm talking about.

The Best of May Sweeps:

The Office - Casino night rocked! Penned by Steve Carrell this episode delivered a lot of awesome moments. I almost cried when Jim and Pam kissed. Even my husband was touched. It also was one of the most talked about season enders wherever I went.

Lost - While I felt "blah" about the entire episode as a whole, the best scene of all my May Sweeps dramas was the four-toed giant foot statue remnant on the other side of the island. It was so Rod Serling. I loved it.

Saturday Night Live & Mad TV - Both provided me with fantastic cry-out-loud laughs for their season enders. Very memorable in their own ways. Almost all the sketches were spot on in both shows. A+ comedy.

Scrubs - Surprise pregnancies galore! The girl in me likes those surprises.

Prison Break - They did break out! That's all I ever wanted. Looking forward to next season.

The Worst of May Sweeps:

American Idol - Taylor Hicks? C'mon! Again I'm reminded that America is dominated by the older generation. The contestants were all so-so for me this year honestly and no one delivered a really memorable performance. Hicks does indeed look like a drunk dad at a wedding and I really hate that image. No "SOUL PATROL" for me. The results show had just-alright musical guests. It also had the most uncomfortable moment of the TV season: Mary J Blige and Eliot singing together. Yikes. Viewership was up however, probably to laugh at (not with) Hicks.

ER/OC/Lost - Can the trend to shockingly kill off a main character end please? I find that so cliche and boring.

Grey's Anatomy/ CSI Miami - Can the trend to shockingly kill off a non-main character or love interest please end? That is such a cop out to character development.

Survivor - Terrible season finale. Aras? B.O.R.I.N.G. It was the worst season I've watched and it may have convinced me to stop watching this show next season altogether. It's just not as fun as I used to think it was, kind of like Real World. Maybe I've outgrown it.

Wasn't Great/Wasn't Bad:

Supernatural - A bit of an unsatisfying season finale but still I was okay with it. I did JUMP from fright a few times.

24 - The ending was long and predictable. It's unfortunate considering the beginning of the season was quite shocking.

CSI - The ending made me say "yikes!" I'm referring to the moment when you see that Gil is casually sleeping with Sara. Joe and I were kind of grossed out actually. I prefer Lady Heather.

Napoleon Dynamite Story & SE DVD Review

2006-05-22T09:29:00.000-07:00

There will always be a place in my heart for Napoleon Dynamite. I'll give you a little background as to why so that even if you perhaps hate the film you will understand my position. I give a brief review of the DVD as well at the end (so skip down if you want) with all the special features.
It's very apt to discuss it here on my pop culture section of my website because this movie HAS invaded our pop culture. Love it or hate it, it's everywhere.

2004, Spring. My dad calls to tell me that he has gotten free tickets to see this movie called Napoleon Dynamite and asks if Joe and I would like to tag along with him and my sister (who at the time is about fifteen). Sure, no problem, I say. It was quite a drive to get to the screening theater- over an hour I'm sure - and I honestly am not sure why we even went when I think back. Still, the point is, we went. We were greeted by some young MTV-hipsters who gave us free T-Shirts, stickers, and buttons. Cool, I thought, although I had no idea why I would want a pin that said "Vote for Pedro." The screening was before all the funny MTV promos and previews so we really had no clue what we were going to watch.

So we settle in, the movie starts, and it's the most bizarre thing I've ever seen. No one in the theater really laughs, except when Napoleon takes his bike off a "sweet jump" and crashes. I giggled once or twice but overall when I left the theater I was kind of unsure of the whole thing. Joe, of course, loved the entire movie. Dad, my sister, I, and dad's friend Steve left the theater dazed and parted ways to mull over what we had seen.

Fast forward a week. Joe and I have begun talking about the movie to death. We imitate Napoleon's voice (now way overdone by the youth of today I may add) and my dad, sister, and I all begin quoting the movie. Then the MTV promos begin to air and we call each other to ask "Did you see the one where Napoleon calls the zoo about Ligers?" Then the extended ending was added and Joe and I went to the theater to see it again. This time, the theater was pretty full and people were BUSTING out laughing.

I'm not quite sure how that phenomenon works. Why did I not "get" the film at first? How has it become so popular and so quoted today? That doesn't really matter I guess. This will always be a classic film for me, especially when I consider that I saw it before most people did and how it really brought my family closer. Plus, it's so refreshing to watch a comedy where the "F" bomb isn't thrown out there every few sentences. There is no cursing, no serious adult themes, nothing that would make this movie "bad." Some would say it has no plot. What movie did they watch? Work hard, be sincere and maybe your wildest dreams will come true.....

Anyway, onto my review...

Napoleon Dynamite - Like, the Best Special Edition Ever! DVD Review
The case for this edition is fun - a goofy lenticular of Napoleon's dance, which almost was worth the price of the DVD alone. The commentary is okay (done by the director, and all the major actors). Nothing that is crack-up hilarious but it's still interesting and not as dull as I thought it may be. The best part is the second DVD with all sorts of goodies: ALL the MTV promos, Jon Heder's SNL monologue and appearances by Napoleon all over the place. The best "treasure" is probably Napoleon and Pedro promoting the Utah State Fair, something that you would never have seen unless you 1.lived in Utah or 2. bought this DVD. All the goodies from the first film are here as well so no need to have both editions. The transfer looks about the same as the first edition visually and the sound is perfectly acceptable. Overall, for a hardcore Napoleon fan, a must-have. I sold me old DVD on Ebay to upgrade, and I'm glad I did.

52 #1

2006-05-15T08:15:00.000-07:00

DC Comics
Written by Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, Mark Waid, and Keith Giffen
Art by Joe Bennett, Ruy Jose, Jad Jackson

I did not read Infinite Crisis which left me at a major disadvantage picking up this series. Thank goodness for wikipedia and their recap (and eBay which will procure me the issues!). Read a synopsis of that arc here.

52 is a comic book series that is a little different. For the next 52 weeks there will be a new issue of 52 every week. A WEEKLY comic, something pretty rare in the industry today. Needless to say, with that small fact alone I was very excited. No more waiting six weeks to know where a mediocre story is going! And at a price point of $2.50 an issue I couldn't resist picking up the first one.

My thoughts? Didn't love it. Definitely liked it. The first issue is a nice set up for six main characters who are probably going to become very dominant in the next year. Ralph Dibny, Black Adam, The Question, Booster Gold, John Henry Irons (Steel), & Renee Montoya all briefly make an appearance. None of those, well besides The Question, who I only know about because of Justice League Unlimited on Cartoon Network, is particularly a fantastic character. But I think that's the point of the story because when the major three turn up missing (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman) some people have to pick up the pieces. I think I could very easily become invested in these less-than-super super heroes.

The art is done in my favorite style, with lots of lines and not overly colored and blended (something that Marvel is very guilty of recently). It's almost up to Jim Lee standard and I loved it. For that alone I would pay $2.50 for every week.

So DC's gimmick is going to work on me. Every week I'm going to go into the comic store and buy one comic. My only worry is that they will miss a deadline and the book will not come out weekly. If that happens DC may lose me and I'll sell off my single issues in protest. But for now I remain idealistic and Wednesday, the day comics come out, is only two days away. I'm ready for week #2!

Clever, Clever Marvel

2006-05-12T13:46:00.000-07:00

Marvel has these banners on their website so you can proclaim whose side you're on for their "Civil War". Apparently, most comic fans are on Captain America's side right now. That's pretty ironic considering in the comic most people are on Iron Man's side. Personally, I'm with Iron Man on this one.

For the record I still don't like the comic. But I do love the fact that with all the media coverage of this one I've actually been able to talk to people about comics again.

Next week I'll be reviewing DC's big summer (and year long) blockbuster "52." Stay tuned...

Civil War #1

2006-05-08T09:14:00.000-07:00

Civil War #1
Written by Mark Millar
Art by Steve McNiven
Ink by Dexter Vines, Colorist Morry Hollowell

Marvel is desperate to compete with DC. What Marvel refuses to embrace though is that it's universe isn't as dark as that of Batman and the Justice League. Never has been in my opinion. There is a huge difference between characters in these two worlds, so the superheroes should in theory react to a similar situation very differently.

Apparently though, when you're trying to compete with DC, you have your Marvel superheroes act completely out of character just so they can be "dark" like Batman. And that is why I absolutely hated Civil War.

First off, the premise is old. A "superhero" villain explodes a whole town killing hundreds of innocent civilians, causing politicians and us regular humans to decry a superhero registration system to help monitor their powers. Uh....been there done that with the X-Men how many times? Just because you substitute the word "superhero" for "mutant" doesn't make this story different. So I have an issue with that because it should be addressed that mutants have been fighting a registration act for a long time. Millar tends to rush a storyline or make it a tad bit crazy to get to his major character kicking ass (read his run in Wolverine for example). So I'm a bit disappointed he resorts to his same tricks in this book.

So who is the major character serving up a can of whoop ass? Captain America. Except he isn't fighting bad guys, he's suddenly fighting SHIELD agents. WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA??????????????????

There is no way super soldier Captain America, who has served this country since WWII and beyond, would ever oppose super hero registration. Captain America is no liberal! He's an all-American brain-washed conservative soldier who would gladly embrace the opportunity to make sure no more innocent civilians get hurt by out of control superheroes. He's never hid his identity from the American people and I'm sure he would agree no one else needs to either.

Instead though, Captain America is for no good reason opposed to the registration. He goes on this violent rampage (!) and thus starts the "Civil War." Ironman Tony Stark is somehow the voice of reason (also out of character) and states after the rampage,"You idiot, we were trying to save lives." Somehow Captain America is the Hulk now? An "idiot?" No way.

So, I hated it.
Do NOT recommend it to comic book fans. Somewhere I read the line "If you like Identity Crisis, you'll love this." My response to that? No you won't. This isn't written by a novelist who knows how to write a tight story. This is written by a guy who writes his stories around splash pages of Captain America surfing on a fighter plane. BIG difference.

And if you want to read some fantastic Captain America, may I suggest the Ultimates 1 & 2, also written by Mark Millar. That is a really great read, and obviously where Millar puts his best ideas. Civil War is sensationalist crap, meant in to bring in the suckers who fall for fanboy junk.

Oh yea, I should mention the art? Pretty good. Seen better. The coloring isn't as crisp as it should be and I believe the colorist is to blame. Plus McNiven gives Captain America high watered bell bottoms which is kinda stupid considering how impractical they are in a fight. Not as polished as I expected and hopefully all the issues come out on time to make up for the rush job. Doesn't matter to me though. I will not be reading another one.

The Da Vinci Code

2006-05-01T10:18:00.000-07:00

I thought to myself, "I really need to write about some popular fiction in my blog" and there is no better time to write about Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code than the present. This book is so infused in our modern pop culture you cannot escape it's influence anywhere. Go to cnn.com and you'll find a news story about how Brown has been sued, then sued again, for 'stealing' ideas. Look at the fiction bestsellers list and see what's number 1 and 2 every week. See previews for the movie based on the novel starring Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou. Not to mention The Da Vinci Code knock-off novels (they should be the ones being sued), the unauthorized companion novels and the History Channel exposes on why his book is still just fantasy. Oh, and of course, the board game.

First off, at UPenn I had a minimester class on Leonardo Da Vinci and there was no mention of the Knights of Templar when I took that class. Mostly the subject matter was boring stuff about his life and all the crazy invention ideas he had, and how he made mad money from the church with his art. So I picked up The Da Vinci Code over two years ago when my college knowledge was pretty fresh. I can say everything I read in the book was never covered in my college class, so for me it really was pure fiction.

The hook of the first chapters is amazing - intrigue, murder, art history. All the stuff I could ever want in a fluff novel. The characters are interesting, the villain unknown.....

and then comes the ending.

Soooo cheesy. Soooo unbelievable and eye-rolling bad. It reads a bit like a Jerry Bruckheimer movie, which isn't a compliment. The main character, the scholar, suddenly turns into Indiana Jones and does some crazy ass stunts and acts of violence by the end. I thought that was pretty ridiculous considering this is a nerdy bookworm type character, much like my real minimester professor, who probably hadn't worked out in a long time. Not to mention the last chapter is just kinda painful to read and totally deflated. The 'conclusion' just didn't do it for me. Brown's first novel Angels and Demons was more of the same. I haven't read another one of his books since because I realized he's a one-trick pony. Interesting hooks but no sweet pay-off endings.

My two cents on why The Da Vinci Code is a phenomenon? The subject is controversial and religious and you feel like you're getting a history lesson (although you're not really) without the snoozing you may remember from history class. It's a smooth read, not too many big words or fancy talk, so anyone can pick it up with any kind of reading level. That's okay with me, I'm glad there is some book I can talk to people about, although I do wish it was Case Histories instead.

What's funny is that of all the people I've talked to about this book not one person is ever blown-away by it. They usually say the same things I do like "it was really good at the beginning..." or "I really liked the art history stuff." I'm sure there must be plenty of people proclaiming "this book knocked my socks off!" but I haven't met them yet.

What's also funny is that when I mention to someone one of my pastimes is reading, the first thing they ask me is, "Have you read The Da Vinci Code?" I usually laugh at this, and say yes, of course. How could I not? It's part of adult American pop culture and I'm the Pop Culture Woman.

May Sweeps

2006-04-25T10:17:00.000-07:00

Let's talk about May Sweeps...

"May Sweeps" is the spring period when the networks pull out all the stops to get viewership. Not knowing why this is, I did a little research. I discovered that Nielsen mails out "diary" packets across the nation to in an attempt to measure smaller local market audiences in areas that are not covered by their samples already. Programmers make unusual efforts to attract additional viewers during these periods, including airing mostly first-run programming as opposed to repeats, airing more special broadcasts, and including special content in programming such as guest stars, controversial and unexpected plots or topics, extended episodes, finales, and increased competition in advertising.

While that sounds pretty boring I have to say I LOVE May Sweeps! Season finales of all my favorite shows are in May which I was reminded of last night. At the end of Prison Break the first commercial flashed the word "MAY" with a voice over that proclaimed "the moment you have been waiting for has arrived..." YUP, they're finally putting the 'break' in 'Prison Break!' SWEET! Not to mention 24 afterwards continued to be absolutely ridiculous in true comic book form - in such a manner I don't know what the hell will happen in the final episodes. It will conclude in May of course.

Other Season finales include American Idol, Survivor, The Office, My Name is Earl, Supernatural and Lost. I may pick up a few shows too (like Smallville, for example) if the premise sounds interesting enough because mediocre shows are just better in May.

I have to say that this TV season was one of the best for myself. Not only did we finally have the HDTV hooked up, most of the shows were amazing. My husband and I barely went to the movies in the past eight months. Why see a horror movie when I can watch a one-hour Supernatural? Why see a boring ass 120 minute action flick when I have Kiefer Sutherland kicking ass every week on 24? Not only is the picture better in my house, I get all the snacks I want and no people screaming and acting stupid during the show (unless someone is over that's drunk).

I look forward to the May Sweeps this year more than any other year I've ever watched TV. I can only hope it lives up to my expectations.

Star Wars + Lego = FUN

2006-04-18T14:31:00.000-07:00

I don't want to become redundant and write about video games too much but I was reading Gamespot today and knew I just had to write about my favorite game of last year: Star Wars Lego.

When examining the top ten best selling games of 2005 there is one of the list that stands out - a kids game that should never have sold that many copies. That game is Star Wars Lego by Eidos. Why am I recommending this game? And why would it have sold that many copies with reviews in the mediocre range?

1. Anyone can play this game. If you're a mom who doesn't know how to handle an Xbox controller you'll be able to pick one up and play this game. The harder goals - like collecting pieces of ships - don't need to be completed to "beat" the game. This leads me to ....

2. The game is for 1-2 players with "drop-out" feature. This means that if there is a hard part, one of the players can drop out while the other person completes the task. Then, later, they can reenter. So few games have great cooperation modes. This is one of the best two player games I've ever played. You really "cooperate" to complete tasks. And if you get into an argument, you can just drop out of the game without any penalty.

3. You can't die. While I'm sure a small minority of gamers think this is lame I think it's one of the best qualities of the game. Little kids can't get frustrated when Grievous kicks their butt over and over. Your character regenerates after a few seconds after getting smacked down. You do get penalized by losing some coins but it's really not that big of a deal.

4. You can be 30 characters by the end. Which is just awesome. Nuff said.

5. The replay factor. You must replay missions to officially unlock all the features of the game. To find collectible ship pieces you must use different, unlocked characters to find all the missing parts which will eventually unlock a hidden level. So the game has lasting power, something a lot of games don't have nowadays. Plus, it's not like you start the whole game over because you get to pick which missions you feel like replaying.

6. It's cute. Yup, it's cute. Which means girls will want to play it but it's still "cool" enough guys will want to play it.

7. It's Star Wars. Which was the #1 movie last year (two other SW games were on the top ten list of 2005).

8. It's Lego. One of the best selling toys of all time. Now, one of my friends kept saying "I just don't get why it's Lego." Besides being an idiot I don't think he realizes how recognizable the brand is and how much a kid will point to that cute video game cover and say "I want to play Lego!"

9.It's cheap. We picked ours up on sale at Target for $15. It's currently a "greatest hits" meaning it's only $20, for any console. Considering Xbox 360 games are about 60 bucks each, that is a real bargain.

10. It's just plain, clean fun. No blood or guts or horror.

If you haven't checked out this game and you're a family type of guy I would say buy it without one bit of hesitation.

Pop Culture Impact - Animal Crossing

2006-04-12T12:20:00.000-07:00

Animal Crossing. If you don't know what that is, you're not in-the-know in video games. I don't care if you're the most hardcore first-person shooter gamer in the world, you would still know what Animal Crossing is - and if you don't I do not mean to insult you. I'm just saying you should know because it's a game so addicting, so cutesy, and so much fun that even the manliest of men have admitted to playing it. It is also a game that crosses the gender line, therefore I think it deserves as much recognition as possible.

You can read about it here.

As for myself, I have the Gamecube version from 2001, which still weekly ranks on the Gamecube's top ten selling games every month. For Christmas I received the Nintendo DS version Animal Crossing: Wild World. With a little research I discovered it's already sold over 2 million copies since it's release (those were numbers from March 2006, so it's probably more now). The beauty of this game is that you can play with your friends over Wi-Fi, free of charge. Take that Xbox 360 suckers (and I hear Xbox live is full of jerks anyway). Nintendo eliminated the "jerk" factor by having you have a friend code and invitation system so only people you like and want to enter your town may join you.

I'll just tell you my own little personal story with Animal Crossing and how it's benefited my life and brought my sister and I closer than ever before.

My sister is 21 years old and has been having some serious personal issues involving dating a 40+ year old man. We've had some falling out over this issue and it's tough talking to her since she had previously begun to become quite co-dependent on this old guy. I'd reached a point where I just felt sick every time I heard about him, especially how he was taking advantage of her money and youth.

Fortunately, the Animal Crossing/Nintendo DS bundle pack entered her life. I saw it on an online gaming store, emailed her the link, and she pre-ordered it. Once it arrived on her doorstep at the beginning of March I saw a change in her. It's like this magical world of little friends woke her up out of her trance. Once she got hooked up to the Wi-Fi feature and she visited my town for the first time we were giggling and laughing like old times. Suddenly, I am getting calls from her that weren't full of fret like, "I think Old Man is cheating on me" and "He won't quit smoking for me." I was getting calls that went something like this "Want to visit my town? I got you the coolest present!" I even visited her town on her birthday for a virtual birthday party! This was a blast for me and once the initial "this game is fun" wore off after a week we started talking about other stuff. Like how she decided she was going to start riding horses again.

Then, yesterday, I got a phone call from her. I figured she wanted to visit my town or vice-versa like usual. I call her back, my DS in hand and turned on, ready to go into Wi-Fi mode. But she didn't call to play, she called to talk. And she didn't call to cry or whine or tell me about her problems. She called to giggle and laugh and tell me how she came in first place at her Equestrian event this weekend - the first she had entered in almost a year. She talked about the pictures she took, the glory she received, and then how she was heading into work. I haven't heard her happier in a long time.

Now, if Animal Crossing:Wild World hadn't jump started our relationship or woke her up out of boyfriend-coma I'm sure something else would have. But this is a good example of how pop culture "stuff" isn't as useless as you think it is.

And three cheers to Nintendo for making a game for two sisters to rediscover their inner kid.

Coca-Cola Blak

2006-04-10T11:17:00.000-07:00

One of the email forwards I seem to be getting a lot of recently is the homepage for the new "Coca-Cola Blak"

Check it out here.

The comments for it are generally positive, like "sexy," but I did get one that said "gross."

So this weekend at Target the word-of-mouth buzz got to me and I picked up a 4-pack for $4.99. The bottles are small (red bull size) but made of glass and are covered from top to bottom with plastic so you can't see the liquid inside. Does look pretty sexy. It has all the same ingredients as regular Cola except for the inclusion of "coffee extract." "Caffeine" is also on the list. Double whammy of stimulants. I love coffee drinks but the thought of coffee and cola mixed together didn't sound too appealing to me.

How is this supposed cola drink that I spent way too much money on?

Surprisingly, not too bad. I thought I was going to HATE this stuff. Instead, I got to admit I like it. When you sip it, it tastes like cold, mild, sweetened Columbian coffee. The aftertaste is that of regular Coca-Cola. A very strange mix for sure but one that I wasn't too adverse to.

Would I buy it again? Yes, but not for $4.99.

Some other observations: Somehow it's only 45 calories. The color is the same as Coca-Cola classic. The bottle is 8 oz. It does have quite a good amount of caffeine (I feel VERY AWAKE after drinking it).

I have a feeling this is a gimmick that will be failing in the near future. Still, Pop Culture Woman says this is something worth trying.

Comic Book Rant

2006-04-06T10:15:00.000-07:00

Some history: I have read comics my entire life. I learned to read because of Casper: The Friendly Ghost and Richie Rich. I graduated to Archie, then Spider-Man, then Sin City, then Sandman & the Ultimate line, with many in between. My dad managed Geppi's Comic World stores, which closed it's last branch last year (this was a chain owned by Steve Geppi, owner of Diamond Comic Distributors).

My opinion? The comic industry is hurting. While they may have gotten some CPR from such titles as Identity Crisis, they still are hooked up to IV fluids and a heart monitor with no signs of discharge from the hospital.

I've left buying individual comics. Which is hard to say and admit because I LOVE COMICS. Now if I've left comics how many more have probably left as well? I can't justify spending $3-5 on a single issue anymore and then be left wondering "when will the next issue come out? - three months from now?" or, even worse "Will this issue be any good?" I was willing to pay comic book prices as long as they deliver to me and unfortunately the writers, artists, and companies have not. The last great story I read was Identity Crisis - written by not a comic book scribe but by a published novelist. This was very successful for DC comics from what I understand and I was on the edge of my seat every issue - I bought every single one when they came out. I even couldn't wait for that last issue to come in the mail (I was doing mail-order) and I braved visiting the sexist, smelly, and rude comic book store to buy the last issue when it came out. That is the excitement that Marvel comics of course wants to duplicate in it's fan base and does so badly. Their Avengers Disassembled story was poor and their new gimmick, to destroy as many mutants as possible, is just plain desperate and boring. Now they have this "Civil War" nonsense that I haven't even bother to pick up. So it may be great but somehow I doubt it.

Another problem is how they spread writers out very thin. I used to love Marvel's Brian Michael Bendis, who wrote Ultimate Spider-Man. Unfortunately, he did so well writing that Marvel decided to let him write as many titles as possible to sell their books. Result? His writing has suffered drastically. Ultimate Spider-Man is a tough read for me. His other titles complete crap. I could dissect them individually but I won't - I just know he is spread too thin. He will never admit it of course, he's making cash and I'm sure he thinks he is capable of much, but he's not. And people have stopped buying comics because of this, and the industry continues it's decline. Marvel knows popular writers sell comics in the short term though and has begun spreading another author quite thin that I used to love - Dan Slott. Robert Kirkman is next I'm sure. Plus, they are so desperate to have a certain artists name on a comic that if that artist doesn't meet deadline they let him get away with it, which I think is just disgusting. If an artist doesn't meet deadline he should be fired because there are plenty of starving artists to give the job to instead (exception: Alex Ross). BUT companies decides that making the book 1-7-12 months late is acceptable. It's not. Example? The Ultimates - continues to ship later and later. I've stopped buying it.

I guess I'm ragging on Marvel a bit but those were the stories I used to love the most. DC has definitely had more depth recently but they have so many titles coinciding together that I cannot buy, read them all and remain sane. Simply, they are better read in trade format.

Anyway, I can't gamble my money away anymore on knowing what issues will be good or bad or on time. And by the time I hear about if something truly is fantastic, it's most likely sold out at my comic book store anyway because distribution is very poor. Example? Marvel Zombies. Can't wait to read it. All the issues are sold out around here (except the latest one). This system is so frustrating that I have said "I surrender!" So I pre-ordered the trade and will patiently wait.

I just want Marvel and DC to just start releasing trade paperbacks and be done with it. Stop triple dipping into fans pockets with a comic, hardback, and paperback release all of the same story. If you can deliver a comic book on time, with decent distribution numbers, than okay, triple dip. If you can't, do us all a favor and just release it in a hardback book (like Neil Gamain's Sandman:Endless Nights), promote it heavily in book stores and make a lot of money. The industry would make so much more money if they did that because they would be marketing to 100 percent of the population, not just 50 percent. In that I mean, they would be appealing to both men and WOMEN. That's right, women. Long ignored and ready to read comics. Go into a book store and you won't see a standee with anything by Marvel or DC. You will see standees for Anime, a lesser and cheaper form of comic that girls eat up. They want pictures and words and depth. You just have to tell them comics have all that.

The industry as a whole sucks and no one is saying that loud enough. Comic book stores are closing, Diamond is hurting, and all because fans are leaving it behind for better writers and artists in other mediums. They need a consultant bad to tell them to fix some things but, unfortunately, it's full of egos that wouldn't be able to take the critisism an outsider could offer. I await the day changes are finally made and perhaps I will then again buy an individual comic again. Until then I protest where it will hurt the industry most: with my wallet.

What prompted this blog: I had ten dollars in my pocket to burn. I went into the comic book store and could find no single issue of anything to pick up.

Let's start with a definition of pop culture.....

2006-04-03T09:41:00.000-07:00

I wanted to write my own blog on pop culture mainly because I read so many other people's blogs on pop culture and it's getting hard to just voice my opinion in their 'comments' section.

I want to make sure I stay true to form, so I asked GOOGLE (Jeeves can have soooo many ads) "What is popular culture?"

First answer: The opposite of high cultural art forms, such as the opera, historic art, classical music, traditional theater or literature; popular culture includes many forms of cultural communication including newspapers, television, advertising, comics, pop music, radio, cheap novels, movies, jazz, etc.

Now everyone knows most novels aren't cheap. (Well unless you're reading those Harlequin romance novels...my grandmother loves those). Cheap = 3 dollars. Good luck finding that at the bookstore. You can't even buy a comic book for that cheap anymore (with tax). So I scrap that definition.

I look at the next one on the GOOGLE list:

A shared set of practices and beliefs that have attained global acceptance and which can be normally characterized by: being associated with commercial products; developing from local to national to global acceptance; allowing consumers to have widespread access and are constantly changing and evolving.

Wow. BORING. I didn't even make it through reading that one before I went to the next:

contemporary culture as defined by the objects, images, artifacts, literature, music, and so on of "ordinary" people.

Much better! I'll stick to that one. So you can rely on a woman's perspective on all things 'contemporary' in this blog.

I've been writing blogs on my myspace account but I realized a lot of people were actually reading those entries that actually knew me and that was kind of weird. I prefer to remain anonymous out on the world wide web I think when it comes to my pop culture dealings.

And if you are really bored you can read Wikipedia's definition here which was the fourth on the list.

(I love Wikipedia FYI - someone emailed me about one of my Ebay auctions and asked "What's PVC stand for?" - I type it into Wikipedia, BAM, "polyvinyl chloride.")

So welcome to my blog. Next discussion? Comic books and my perspective on the state of the industry.