A Thought About Remixes And Mash-Ups

I'm a pretty big fan of song mash-ups.  In fact, I plan on some near-future articles for the "Best of Booty" series that spotlights the best songs of the year as well as highlighting my personal favorite mash-up artist DJ Earworm.

There is one thing, though, that bothers me whenever I listen to the music long enough, and I don't know if it's intentional or if I'm reading too much into it.

Namely, is the mere act of creating a mash-up a commentary on how stagnant the music industry is becoming?

Chessmaster

When I was younger, I was in a chess club one year after school.  I didn't know any of the basic "strategies" that the other kids knew, I hadn't studied hidden rules or knew that you could perform En passant or other tricks, I just liked playing for the fun of it.  I had wild, crazy strategies that would involve sacrificing pieces you should never sacrifice, sweeping across the board on one side while sending one lone pawn the other direction to get to the King, and seeing how I could best turn my side of the board into an impregnable fortress.

Needless to say, I lost almost all the time.  But I still loved chess.

Which is why I was excited when I got this game for my birthday:

Look, I'm just going to leave my lunch money on this table over here now, you guys can just take it when you want, okay?

Ask Erik: Episode Thirty-Four

Here at Ask Erik we've spent a lot of time reading novels and comic books, playing video games, and watching television and movies in order to amass a deep vault of pop culture knowledge.  While constantly trying to still gather new information, it only seems prudent to share some of what we have learned to help solve some of the world's greatest questions.

Who invented the spiral notebook?  How hard is it to get your own patent?  Is selling "Hello Kitty" brand beer an attempt to market alcohol to children or just a reach-out to the adult fans?

Once a week Erik tackles a question asked to him and tries to answer it in a method that handles the topic with the respect and attention it deserves.  Failing that, he'll at least try to make it funny so you don't regret reading it.

The Never, Ever, Ever Ending Story Part Three Part Two!

So last night, due to a small hiccup with the blogger software I was using, I wasn't able to get the review of the final episode of The Neverending Story's animated series third episode complete.  But rather than dwell on the negative, let's just jump right back into the action with a child and a talking horse taking on the might of a flying ship!

The Never, Ever, Ever Ending Story: Part Three

I'm really sad to see this series slide back off my radar.  So far the cartoon version of The Neverending Story has really managed to recapture a wonder and sense of amazement that was lost in the second and third movie, and when someone can say "ho, hum, it's Fantasia" again then I really think that person is living their life incorrectly.

Now, it's not perfect.  It has a few characters from the later films that I've never been fond of (no fair guessing who, I made it pretty obvious), and some of the character designs have been a bit all over the place.  It also follows the unfortunately continuity error between the second and third story, where Bastian's father learned about Fantasia and that the stories were real and then completely forgetting it in the third movie.

Though, to be fair, he also didn't notice his son changed from Jonathan Brandis to Jason James Richter, so it might not be his fault, he might just be the most unobservant, absent-minded man who ever lived.

Also, we haven't seen the guy who owns the book store yet, we've only seen him leave cryptic notes to Bastian telling him to "lock up the store when he's done" and leaving messes of books lying around.  The guy must be really trusting to just leave his shop open when nobody's around and trust that nothing will get stolen.

So let's move on to the third and final episode on this DVD, "The Purple Buffalo."

Hey, anybody else remember that time...

...that Christopher Walken gave a deep, emotionally evocative performance that truly showed off his acting chops...on Hawaii Five-O?

That's just amazing.

Let's Talk: Perspective and Identity

Originally today I was going to do a retrospective look at the TV show Burn Notice, but for some reason the motivation to do that is just not present today.  Instead, I feel like just discussing a few random thoughts that are going through my head lately.

Ask Erik: Episode Thirty-Three

Here at Ask Erik we've spent a lot of time reading novels and comic books, playing video games, and watching television and movies in order to amass a deep vault of pop culture knowledge.  While constantly trying to still gather new information, it only seems prudent to share some of what we have learned to help solve some of the world's greatest questions.

What's the best way to eat interesting food on vacation without running the risk of spending half your trip in a hotel bathroom?  How does the credit rating system work these days?  Why do cats chase laser pointers?

Once a week Erik tackles a question asked to him and tries to answer it in a method that handles the topic with the respect and attention it deserves.  Failing that, he'll at least try to make it funny so you don't regret reading it.

Downton Abbey Season Three

I'm late to the party when it comes to Downton Abbey, people know this by now.  However, that doesn't make me any less a fan, I think.  Maybe I don't spoil myself on upcoming plot threads, maybe I don't try to watch episodes immediately after they air on the BBC, and maybe I don't know the name of every actor or actress to make an appearance, but I still feel a strong connection to these characters.  I've watched them go through war, through heartache, and through personal demons that real people would have as opposed to standard soap opera characters (I'm yet to see an evil twin or anybody return from the dead, for example).

Having just completed the third season of the series, I feel it's only appropriate to give my impressions and discuss where I think the series could go from here.

Which is rather moot, since I think the new season has already mostly aired.  But still, it's my column and I'll type what I want.

The Never, Ever, Ever Ending Story: Part Two

Sometimes it's amazing what you can find in a clearance bin.  For instance, I found a copy of the Reb Brown Captain America movie sequel once on VHS in a rental store bargain bin.  I used to regret not buying it, but now I don't feel so bad since both films came out on one DVD.

But possibly the best example of something I did buy from a clearance bin that's been surprisingly good has to be the animated series based on The Neverending Story.  Well, so far at least, we're only one episode in and there's only three on the disc.

Let's dive right in to episode two titled "The Meek And The Mighty."

From Erik's Kitchen: Asparagus

Just a simple hint if you're a fan of asparagus like me.  Take a pound of asparagus, trim off the ends, place them on one end of a few paper towels that are still together.  Spray some water on the paper towels (or soak them first and wring them out so they're just damp).  Wrap the paper towels around the asparagus like a paper towel burrito.  Microwave for 3 to 4 minutes, and you'll get perfectly cooked asparagus that' still crisp, bright green, and delicious.

Top Eleven: Silly Crushes

We all have them.  It's that actor or actress whose movie you'll sit through even if it's complete garbage.  It's the athlete or sports star you cheer for even if you know they won't win.  It's the model you recognize from several advertisements based just on a familiar smile or twinkle in their eye.  It's the television star or reality program personality whose program you might not really like, but you'll sit through it just to see if that person shows up.  It's the individual who catches your eye from the magazine rack at the grocery store and you feel compelled to pick up that issue just to learn more.

It's your silly little crush, and don't pretend you don't have one.  In fact, don't pretend you don't have more than one, because we all do.  We're genetically built to find them, though we're now evolved enough that we don't let those urges control our daily lives.

Well, most of us are, anyway.

Ask Erik: Episode Thirty-Two

Here at Ask Erik we've spent a lot of time reading novels and comic books, playing video games, and watching television and movies in order to amass a deep vault of pop culture knowledge.  While constantly trying to still gather new information, it only seems prudent to share some of what we have learned to help solve some of the world's greatest questions.

Will the Xbox One or the Playstation 4 win the next console war, or will the Wii U suddenly surge up?  What are simple ways to save money while eating great food?  Are the basil flavored Cadina pea snacks the best snack food ever?

Yes, they are the best snack food ever.

Once a week Erik tackles a question asked to him and tries to answer it in a method that handles the topic with the respect and attention it deserves.  Failing that, he'll at least try to make it funny so you don't regret reading it.

Oz: The Great And Powerful Versus Wicked

This past weekend I was fortunate enough to get a chance to enjoy the musical show Wicked in Boston, and from the moment it began to the moment it closed, I was once again revisiting a familiar and welcome sensation.  Watching a story be presented live before you, seeing how the actors become stagehands and watching drama and comedy be connected to the audience so it can be properly paced gives an experience few movies have ever been able to capture on their own.

Now, I know that the show Wicked is very different from the book.  It has a more bittersweet ending, many characters and plot threads are dropped, and the fates of certain characters completely changed.  The stage show strips out a lot of the sex and politics (seriously, the book could be the next Game of Thrones series on HBO), However, when the person who wrote the book has attended the show dozens of times in the first four years it opened, I think it's safe to say that the edits aren't really all that bad.

There was another prequel to The Wizard Of Oz that came out not too long ago, so I guess the question is which one did a better job telling a good story?  Let's break the two down and see where each one went right and where each one went wrong.

The Never, Ever, Ever Ending Story: Part One

When I look back on my childhood and movies that shaped me, there are a few that come up quickly that made me the person I am today.  I took in the heroic behaviors of the leads, the roguish but overall benevolent behavior of the scoundrel, and the dastardly behaviors of the villains.  Throughout everything I picked up on extremely common themes, such as that the strong should help the weak, people work better as a team, and that it's okay to be afraid, but don't let the fear control you.  However, they also opened my eyes to things that I only really appreciate as an adult.

The original Star Wars movies absolutely blew me away, because up to that point I never really imagined all the strange and wonderful things that could be in space.  It wasn't just huge weapons the size of moons and swords made of light that blew my mind, it was all the different worlds they traveled to and what they could look like.  You might have a floating city over a gas giant, an entire planet of ice, or a habitable moon.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit gave me a fresh appreciation for the hard work that goes into making an animated film.  Until I looked at other mixes of live action and animation (looking at you, Space Jam) I didn't get just how much effort needs to go into making something like that seamless, from the live actors to the voice actors to the animators to the musicians...it's mind-blowing.

From movies I learned that it's important to have hobbies, because you never know when you'll be presented with an opportunity to take what other people view as "meaningless" or "silly behavior" and turn a rich life out of it, like Matthew Broderick's character in Wargames (granted, that movie also taught me that I could accidentally cause nuclear wars), a stage magician's training could help the allied forces win World War 2 in a documentary about Jasper Maskelyne, or that BMX racing could be the foundation of an entire town like in the movie Rad.

...that last example didn't really stick with me through life.

But the movie that always stuck with me, that taught me about needing to persevere when things get hard, about the dangers of getting swallowed up in feeling bad or sorry for myself (something that actually helped when I started feeling the affects of depression later in life), and even something simple like the importance of reading was The Neverending Story.

Last Chance To See

I know I haven't talked much about books I've read, and that's probably quite unfair of me.  There are a lot of times I'll simply curl up with a good book (or even a bad book) and read it, taking time to flip back and forth between pages and develop the world the author intended in my own mind.  I'll find a paragraph or two that excites my imagination and dwell on them, picking apart word usage and using vague details to create a large canvass that my mind can then fill in the details on.

In a fantasy world, a science fiction universe, or even an exotic location, this can use up a lot of my reading time, but there's something else that gets my mind racing just as much: a personal story, especially one with a touch of adventure.

Such is the case with Douglas Adams' book Last Chance To See, I book I think everybody should read and keep on them if they do any traveling.

From Erik's Kitchen: 10 Egg Tips

It's said that the 100 folds in a chef's toque (read: hat) are all different ways the chef has learned to cook and/or prepare an egg.  And yet, for many people I know, cooking a decent egg is really hard to do.

So, in an attempt to type up something quickly an attempt to help people prepare better eggs, I'm providing ten tips that I've found have greatly increased my ability to make a decent egg.

Ask Erik: Episode Thirty-One

Here at Ask Erik, we've spent a lot of time reading books and comics, watching movies and TV shows, and browsing through the Internet in the hopes of finding the answers to life's biggest mysteries.  Is there any way for the "good guys" to "win" in the current situation in Syria?  How soon will we be able to use nanotechnology to combat forest fires for us?  Why would anybody want to eat a chicken egg that didn't come from a chicken?

Having instead amassed a vault of useless knowledge stored in his head, Erik instead tackles your questions and tries to find the answers you care about (or a reasonable facsimile).  Or, if you don't care, he'll at least try to make you laugh and forget you just wasted time you could spend doing anything else.

Knights of the Dinner Table

If someone were to ask me "what's your favorite comic book," that'd actually be a pretty hard question.  It's not that I wouldn't have one that would come immediately to mind, it's that I don't really know if I'd call it a "comic."  See, while it might have started as more of a traditional "comic book" it has since grown into being a "magazine," with additional articles to accompany the comic strips.

However, seeing as how it just recently celebrated its 200th issue, I figure now's as good a time as any to discuss the one "comic" I've been loyally collecting since the 90s: Knights of the Dinner Table.

Plumbing Shallow Waters: Episode Nine (The final episode!)

Well, I guess I've put this off long enough.  Time to bite the bullet, face the music, cross the Rubicon, and use a bunch of other tired expressions while I watch the final episode of the Best Of The Super Mario Brothers Super Show.  The fact that this says "The Best of" will never be lost on me, because this might be some of the absolute worst animation I've seen in my adult life.

The only high points of the series so far has been the depth of characterization in King Koopa and Luigi, and so far King Koopa is the only one who hasn't come across as being either a) inconsequential, b) oblivious, or c) selfish to the point of being a villain themselves.

Also, I'm starting to understand why they don't give Mario a personality in the video games, any attempt to make him more than just a two dimensional character is probably still tainted by this show.

I'm just thankful I don't have to look at any of the terrible live action bits of the show.  For now, anyway.

So let's get this over with.