This week I achieved a feat to be envied by all the lonely zit faced nerds in basements everywhere...I watched the entire 9 seasons (202 episodes) and two movies, in order from start to finish, of the fantastic X-FILES. This has been a ridiculous goal of mine since I was a wee-tot, o.k., more like a teen-tot.
I have never enjoyed a series as much or launched myself so fully into its mythology. My wife and I have watched
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER,
ANGEL,
FIREFLY,
HARSH REALM*,
JERICHO*,
TAKEN*,
THE LOST ROOM,
DRESDEN,
POINT PLEASANT,
PETE & PETE,
FREAKS AND GEEKS,
SEX IN THE CITY**,
MY SO CALLED LIFE**,
RENO 911,
and SIX FEET UNDER in order as well.
We have also kept up with BONES, DEXTER and CSI. (BOW TO US LAMEOIDS, FOR WE ARE THE CHOSEN ONES). I am now working on a series from 1967 called THE INVADERS. This is a fantastic pre-X-files mythos of an Alien plot to wipe out humanity so they can inhabit the earth. I highly recommend it!!


*only I have watched these
**only my wife has watched these

More Comedy thoughts...

I am in my early thirties and was raised on Video, like so many my age. Before my generation I think the idea of watching films more than once was not as prevalent. Like reading a book most people saw a movie once and that was it. With the advent of the wonderous VCR, however, movies could be viewed again and again and again....(much like my copy of BEETLEJUICE which I wore out).
All of this rambling is just to set up that I have seen TONS of older (mostly 70's-80's) comedies. They seemed to be my parents favorite. I was raised with JOHN CANDY, BILL MURRAY, GENE WILDER, TERI GARR, STEVE MARTIN, BERNADETTE PETERS, JOHN BELUSHI, etc. etc. etc.
and that style of comedic film is my favorite, but now with a new generation beginning to make films a new style is emerging. Comedies now are MUCH different then they were back then. This is the age of SUPERBAD and the offensive, irreverent, "stand up" style comedies with little plot/character and ALOT of jokes.
I am not saying that this is bad...I find alot of these films very funny, but I get nostalgic for the old style.
SO WITHOUT FURTHER ADO here are a couple more fun lists...

My TOP 5 old style comedies:
1. FLETCH
2. YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN
3. ANIMAL HOUSE
4. FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH
5. BLUES BROTHERS
- honorable mention goes to NEIGHBORS

MY TOP 5 new style comedies
1. SUPER TROOPERS
2. HALF BAKED
3. GRANDMAS BOY
4. HAROLD AND KUMAR GO TO WHITE CASTLE
5. POSTAL

Japanese mod

YOU WANNA KNOW ME? WATCH THIS VIDEO.

TOP 10 Favorite Comedies

1. SUPER TROOPERS
2. FLETCH
3. YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN
4. BILL & TEDS BOGUS JOURNEY
5. BIG LEBOWSKI
6. PEE WEE'S BIG ADVENTURE
7. BRAIN CANDY
8. HALF BAKED
9. MALLRATS
10. SO I MARRIED AN AX MURDERER

- AND HONORABLE MENTIONS GO TO...

JOHNNY SUEDE, MY BLUE HEAVEN, CHEECH AND CHONG: THE CORSICAN BROTHERS

Hopelessly devoted...

I know I've mentioned it before...that I love my wife and to the avid reader (ha ha) I'm sure you are like "Oh man, another schmalzy, mushy rant". But hell, why not I say. It is rare that one finds someone that just fills in all the gaps and makes everything feel whole.
I've had alot of girlfriends in the past, nearly all were really great chicks, but none of them made me feel like Stacy does. There was just always something missing.
Our first date was to a museum and it was one of the funnest times I ever had. Stacy has a degree in art so she explained all sorts of things to me from symbolism to history of the pieces. It was really magical. I remember looking at her and thinking she was the most beautiful thing in the gallery and feeling like I didn't want to be with anyone else.

BEATNIK (n.)

Beatnik (n.) -- sarcastic term for a beat. Derived by Herb Caen in 1958 as a combination of Beat and Sputnik

Dig it man, I ain't no clyde, I wear my cogs at night and always dig a wild wail coming from my box from early black to early bright. But damn, dad, I never really did dig the fore-runners of the whole scene see. I've read Ginsberg, Burroughs and Kerouac but they never really did it for me. I did however really like Neal Cassady's "First Third" that book blew my motor man. The real beats though were the ones who never got that label but lived exciting and wrote exciting. I prefer things more interesting than Kerouac talkin' 'bout putting a hole in the ground and...um...putting his....you know...becoming "one" with nature. Of course Bukowski always raised my brows. He was a damn dirty ape, but great to read. It's like tapping into the deepest darkest parts of yourself without actually having to have the psychological residue of committing the atrocities he did.

I do have to say that I consider Jim Thompson the first REAL Beat. Sure he's my favorite writer, but damn he lived an exciting life. Starting in high school he became a bellboy during prohibition helping rum runners and dodging house dicks. He drank so much and didn't sleep that at one point he walked into his house, paused, fell down and blood rushed from his mouth. From that point on he had the DTs, traveled on trains, hopped trains, worked trains, stayed in derelect hotel rooms, took odd jobs, dealt with odd people and created the BEST Goddamn Pulp ever written. He was BEAT man!

Sadly however, I think that the whole beatnik thang is totally male-centric and what little work of the beat women I've read didn't do it for me. I find that the rebel yell of ladies came later with Patty Smith, Lydia Lunch, and Exene Cervenka who pioneered what I would consider BEAT PUNK.

SO WHY ALL THIS BLAH BLAH BLAH about BEAT...ONLY because I wanted to tell you to watch ROGER CORMAN'S "BUCKET of BLOOD". It's a sarcastic horror/comedy about a busboy who works at a beatnik coffeeshop. He longs to become an artist and showcase his art in the shop. He soon discovers that murdering people and covering them with plaster is the HIPPEST thing he can do to become a REAL GONE CAT and crash the IN CROWD. My favorite part of the film is when the upper escelon beatnik fellow with a beard wears a tuxedo with burkenstock sandals. hahahaha. I LOVE ROGER CORMAN!

HEAVEN

Nerd x2

I'm not sure if any of you know this. But my wife Stacy and I are CSI junkies! We just freaked out because BRASS almost died and SARA and GILL were in the same hotel room in robes! WHoe!
Seriously we started out watching the show because I worked at a library and it had the first three seasons on DVD and I must say those seasons sucked! Still somehow we got hooked and we enjoyed the cheese factor. BUT then season 4 was AWESOME. Written well, directed well, and the character development really took off.
SO now we are up to the end of season 6. We've watched every episode so far. So if you call us you may hear me say "I can't talk now...I'm watchin' my stories."

PUNK ROCK GRRLS

Finally after after 14 years got to see the film "THE FABULOUS STAINS". I absolutely loved it. It is a sardonic look at male-centric bands and the struggle to find musical fame. It is more precisely the story of a punk rock girl who pioneers an all girl band who refuses to "Put Out". In her words that means she refuses to be taken advantage of and sell out. This film was one of the influences for the RIOT GRRLS movement of the 90's. The story is of the Stains rise to fame while touring with a punk band called the LOOTERS (who included the drummer and guitarist from the SEX PISTOLS and the bass player of the CLASH).

THIS IS A MUST SEE NOW THAT IT IS FINALLY RELEASED ON DVD!

Night of the Living BABY

Man I love being a Dad. I am now officially a "stay home dad", and I am having a BLAST! Violet is the cutest, craziest baby in the world. Sometimes she will do these strange little things or make strange noises and I will laugh harder than I have in years. Big belly laughs. It is ALOT of work though...It's actually really hard to entertain a little person all day long and even when she sleeps she demands that I hold her so it's hard to get anything done. I am in the slow movement toward starting a new band but I don't want to push my responsibilities right now. I have written quite a bit of random material but no songs...I'm thinking about trying to create a new sound by adding them all together into very short songs that all blend together to make one long one. A sort of Rock Opera style but with Garage Punk...as far as I know it hasn't been done. I'm taking alot of inspiration from MODEST MOUSE and the way they compose music but with a very different sound. We will see.
Right now I've got my hands full with the QUEEN of my life, little miss VIOLET. Oh, man, she is cute. I don't want her to grow up at all...but then I can't wait to read to her without her simply wanting to taste the edges of each page. BEING A POP IS AWESOME.HERE IS PIC OF MY TWO LOVES!