The Most Common Willikers

During this year's Blogging From A to Z April Challenge, I'm highlighting things more people should know about. For the most part, I'll be ignoring the most popular and widely known items (and sometimes my personal favorites) in order to promote the unfamiliar and underappreciated.

Here we go...

FILM

The Good, the Bad, and the Weird
It's the Wild West in the Far East: A "kimchee western." Three Korean gunslingers fight over a treasure map in WWII-era Manchuria, pursued by the Japanese army, their Manchurian counterparts, and a gang of Chinese bandits. Pays homage to the classic westerns while adding its own quirky flair to the genre. Weird? Perhaps. Good? Absolutely.

TELEVISION

The Great American Manhunt
I can guarantee you've never seen this one; it doesn't even premiere until April 19. Each episode, three experts will try to locate a mystery person somewhere in the U.S., working only from forensic tests of that person's anatomy, clothes, and mind. A pretty intriguing premise, right? See, I'm not just hyping it because one of the experts is my cousin.
(Airs Thursdays at 9pm on the National Geographic Channel starting 4/19.)

GAME

Guillotine
We’re back in the time of the French Revolution, and you've got three days to collect the most valuable heads you can. You heard me: heads. Each round, a dozen nobles are lined up before the executioner, while you and your friends vie for the best of the bunch. Use an action card to rearrange the line and claim Marie Antoinette instead of the lowly piss boy. Stick an opponent with the martyr, or even steal a head right out from under her nose. Great fun for the whole family! (No, really.)

MUSIC

Get Set Go
If there's one thing Get Set Go isn't, it's politically correct. Their music is so catchy and uplifting... and then you hear the lyrics. GSG’s songs are populated by hatred, murder suicide, death, and even improper sentiments regarding Lincoln and Mother Theresa. Dark lyrics combined with such joyful music (such as in their semi-hit "I Hate Everyone") make for a wry sense of humor which never fails to lighten my spirit.¹

LITERATURE

Good Omens by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
It's one week till Armageddon, people. The four horsemen motorcycle gangs of the apocalypse are on their way, and the forces of Good are amassing: Everything is going as planned. That is, until they realize when Good and Evil each sent an emissary to sway the Antichrist to their side when he was born twelve years ago, they got the wrong kid. The real Antichrist is out there somewhere, on his own, completely unaware of the power he's about to yield. The end of the world has never been so fun.

Well, I gotta go. That's what I've got for today. But if you have a recommendation for me, I'm game.


¹ Nor does their song about how when lead singer Mike TV grows up, he wants to be a fire truck.

Stop With the Camera

During this year's Blogging From A to Z April Challenge, I'm highlighting things more people should know about. For the most part, I'll be ignoring the most popular and widely known items (and sometimes my personal favorites) in order to promote the unfamiliar and underappreciated.

Feast your eyes on these fine five...

FILM

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
It's a farce. It's a musical. It stars Zero Mostel. With that, some of you are already sold... whereas others are undoubtedly thinking, "Who the hell is Zero Mostel?"¹ Anyway, Mostel plays Pseudolus, a lazy Roman slave who wishes to buy his freedom. He hasn't the money, but he has managed to work out a deal: If he can unite his master and the young courtesan with whom he is smitten, he shall be free. But of course, in the movies, nothing is ever that simple. (Useless Trivia: This also marks Buster Keaton's last film.)

TELEVISION

Fawlty Towers
Like yesterday's selection, this show also ended after 12 episodes. And frankly, I'm surprised it lasted that long. Not because it wasn't good — on the contrary, it's hilarious — but think about it. If you put John Cleese in charge of a hotel, would you expect it to still be standing weeks later?²

GAME

Fluxx
When this card game begins, the rules are "draw one, play one," and there's no way to win. But then you start playing rule and goal cards, and the next thing you know it's "draw two, play five" and you're about to win by making chocolate cookies, only your opponent plays a card forcing you to swap hands. It's a game that can take two minutes or twenty, and themed versions (such as Zombie Fluxx and Monty Python Fluxx) are even more fun (and even more insane).

MUSIC

Five Iron Frenzy
Yes, this Jewish atheist is touting a once-dead Christian ska band recently resurrected. What can I say? I'm a sucker for horns. Their songs overflow with energy and cover topics from consumerism to hypocrisy to video games to turning 29. And yeah, they mention God once in a while, but they do it with a snazzy tune, so who am I to judge?³

LITERATURE

Feed by M.T. Anderson
Titus has grown up with the feed: TV and internet all rolled into one and implanted into his brain. Yet when he and his friends are hit with a virus during a trip to the moon, he's forced to face reality. (For a few hours, anyway.) It's there he meets Violet, a weird girl who thinks for herself and causes Titus to begin to question the world around him for the first time. Feed is a biting satire of our media- and consumer-driven world, a superb blend of humor and seriousness. Seriously.⁴

And even though I didn't choose a French film... Fin.
(Do you have some suggestions for me? Fire away.)


¹ Among other things, he's been known to produce.
² Even more astonishing: The kitchen only served the egg part of the SPAM SPAM SPAM egg and SPAM.
³ Hi, I'm Nate, and my rulings are tough but fair. For embracing their religion, FiF's penance is to watch Flags of Our Fathers and throw six Hail Marys.
⁴ For even crazier humor, try M.T. Anderson's excellent Whales on Stilts! (complete with fake interview in the back). For even more serious fare, pick up his Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation (vols. 1 & 2).

The Gad Preceder

During this year's Blogging From A to Z April Challenge, I'm highlighting things more people should know about. For the most part, I'll be ignoring the most popular and widely known items (and sometimes my personal favorites) in order to promote the unfamiliar and underappreciated.

E is ever so evil. It took me forever to settle on these first few...

FILM

An Evening With Kevin Smith
Admit it. Some of you scoffed when you saw this pick. Others may have even guffawed. Don't worry, I get it. Although fanboys adore him, and airlines love him twice as much, most find his movies a bit too sophomoric (and they're not wrong).¹ But here's something you might not know: Smith is funnier — and more insightful — than his movies. And this compilation of Q&A sessions with the director of Clerks, Dogma, et al. proves it. If you like any of his films, or simply enjoy hearing directors discuss their craft, take an hour (or four) and check this one out.

TELEVISION

Exit 57
I've only seen multiple episodes of 3 shows that begin with E. One was far too popular for this list, one is going strong in its fifth season, and one was cancelled after a dozen episodes. (I'll give you three guesses as to which one this is.) Sketch comedy is always uneven, so of course some skits were better than others, but this is the show that started the careers of Stephen Colbert and Amy Sedaris. Alas, you won't find it on DVD (or even VHS) anywhere, but luckily for us, we have the Tube of You.

GAME

Euchre
Of all the E games I've played (that's E games, not e-games), I've only played one more than twice in the past 15 years.² And that's Euchre. It's quite popular in some areas (such as where my wife grew up) and completely ignored in others (such as where I did). Played with the 9s through Aces of a standard deck of cards, it's a trick-taking game wherein the Jack of the trump suit is the highest card, and the Jack of the same-colored suit the second highest. Easy to learn the basics, but the strategy... yeah, that could take you a little while.

MUSIC

Eels
What better for today than a band fronted by a man named E? They've been around for a while, but other than a couple minor hits and some play on soundtracks, they've remained on the fringe of mainstream. How to describe their music? Quirky, catchy, crazy, wonderful. Among my favorite tracks: "Fresh Feeling", "Mr. E's Beautiful Blues", and "Saturday Morning".³

LITERATURE

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
In this alternate version of 1985 Britain, dodos still exist, the Crimean War rages on, and minor characters have started disappearing from books. But when Jane Eyre gets kidnapped and her story starts to unravel without her, literary detective Thursday Next must go into Brontë's novel to set things straight. This is the first of a series, and Fforde is a master at messing with the English language.⁴ Whether you're a fan of English lit or offbeat humor or crazy wordplay, or even if you simply like to chuckle at disposable characters with names like Kannon and Phodder, you're in for quite the treat.

The End. Got any E's for me?


¹ Penis.
² If I'd said 16 years, Egyptian Ratscrew would have also been on the table. That's why I didn't say 16 years.
³ The music video for this one started with a guy making dozens of pancakes in a shack in the woods, and ended with him surrounded by dancing zombies in the back of an 18-wheeler. True story.
⁴ He makes my wordplay look like Child's Play. You know, that movie with the murderous doll. Yup, next to Thursday's, my attempts at grammatical wit are bloody horrible.

The End of the World

During this year's Blogging From A to Z April Challenge, I'm highlighting things more people should know about. For the most part, I'll be ignoring the most popular and widely known items (and sometimes my personal favorites) in order to promote the unfamiliar and underappreciated.

Let's delve into these, shall we?

FILM

Death at a Funeral
No, not the bland American remake with Chris Rock, Martin Lawrence, and Peter Dinklage. The original British version, with a bunch of blokes you've never heard of... and Peter Dinklage.¹ We're treated to an afternoon filled with sibling rivalries, blackmail, unexpected death, and what every dark comedy should have: a hallucinating Alan Tudyk. As you might expect, the funeral spirals further and further toward unmitigated disaster. (Directed by the wizard F. Oz.)

TELEVISION

Dead Like Me
After being killed by a falling toilet seat, college dropout George Lass learns she has become a grim reaper, tasked to claim the souls of those who are moments from death. Sadly, she can't get out of it, and doesn't get paid for it, so she also must take a temp job to pay the bills. Oh, and did I mention her motley crew of reapers is helmed by Mandy Patinkin? That's right: In this show, even if you haven't killed his father, when you see Inigo Montoya you'd best prepare to die.

GAME

Dominion
If I could only recommend one game, this would be it. Every single person I've introduced it to, whether novice or hardcore gamer, has enjoyed it and come back for more. Even if they lose horribly every time — I did when I first started — they always want more. The base set has 25 varieties of kingdom cards, yet each game only uses 10 chosen at random, so it plays differently every time. You start with the same cards as everyone else, then build your deck as you go, buying and acquiring cards as you strive for the best combination to gain victory cards (and/or harm your opponents). If you like strategy games, you owe it to yourself to give Dominion a try. (There are also currently 6 excellent expansions.)

MUSIC

The Dandy Warhols
I'll say it: "Bohemian Like You" is the best song ever with "bohemian" in its title.² An alternative rock group — and the first Americans on my A-to-Z list so far — the Warhols can do catchy pop tunes (such as "We Used To Be Friends") or just sit back and groove. Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia is excellent, weaving an array of song styles together into one cohesive album. And Come Down's no slouch, either.

LITERATURE

The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham
In this sci-fi classic from 1951, people have been cultivating triffids worldwide for their rich oils, even though the plants can shuffle around and have the ability to kill (and eat) people when not controlled. All is well until everyone who witnessed a glorious meteor shower goes blind by morning. As the few whose sight remain try to band together and restart society in this altered world, the increasingly aggressive triffids take this as their cue to rise...

Well, I'm done for the day. But if you have some suggestions for me, I'd be delighted.


¹ What's that? You haven't heard of Peter Dinklage, either? Well, I'm glad I could fix that for you.
² That is, unless you count the Muppets' version of "Rhapsody".

A Body Off the Coast

During this year's Blogging From A to Z April Challenge, I'm highlighting things more people should know about. For the most part, I'll be ignoring the most popular and widely known items (and sometimes my personal favorites) in order to promote the unfamiliar and underappreciated.

Seven C's Edition!
Why add two more than usual? Because I play by no man's rules... including my own.

FILM

Cidade de Deus (City of God)
Children in the slums of Rio struggle for survival amidst the violence of competing drug gangs, with much of the young cast recruited from the slums of Rio themselves. One of the best films I have ever seen. Period.

La Cité des Enfants Perdus (The City of Lost Children)
Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Amélie, Delicatessen, Micmacs) is one of my favorite directors. His movies are often wonderfully quirky and filled with a colorful array of characters, and this one's no different. A scientist unable to dream is kidnapping children to steal theirs. A man named One (Ron Perlman) sets out in search of his little brother, and tries to save the rest of the children. Surreally good.

TELEVISION

Community
The pilot is horrible except for its last thirty seconds, and it takes another half-dozen episodes before the show really starts to come together. But when it does, holy cow. With great interplay between the characters, and copious pop culture references, never has a community college study group been this funny.¹ "Modern Warfare" (episode 1.23), with its college-wide paintball contest, is easily one of my favorite episodes of anything ever. (And coming soon to my DVD player... the paintball double-episode from season two!)

Carnivàle
This is like no other show I've seen on television. Set in the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, a young man with healing powers joins a traveling circus and soon learns there are greater forces at work, with he and others (including a local minister) pawns in a coming battle of good vs. evil. Excellent writing, a fantastic cast, and beautifully shot, but sadly, cancelled before its time. Absolutely brilliant.

GAME

Carcassonne
On your turn, randomly choose a tile and place it, perhaps adding one of your pieces ("meeples") atop it. Build onto a city, continue a road, or maybe block an opponent from completing one of theirs. With the right placement, you can even steal some of their property. This was one of the first of the recent wave of German-style board games to gain popularity worldwide, and deservedly so. (It also has a multitude of expansions and spin-off games.) Great for both kids and adults.

MUSIC

The Cat Empire
This Australian band's sound is a mix of jazz, reggae, ska, hip-hop, funk, and rock, infused with strong Latin influences. In a word, it's fun. A good bass beat, a guitar riff, a trill of brass, and my feet just start a-tappin'. My personal favorites: "Sly", "Fishes", and "Til The Ocean Takes Us All".

LITERATURE

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
Ignatius J. Reilly is not your typical protagonist. He's fat, ugly, loud, lazy, rude, slovenly, self-centered, hypocritical, and entirely unlikable. Everywhere he goes, he completely fouls things up and blames the mess on everyone else. Yet, somehow, it works. It's a book that only exists because Toole's mother made it her mission to get it published after his suicide, and I admit it's not for everyone. But for me, it's genius.²

Now that I've sailed a few ideas past you... have you got anything for me?


¹ Memo to other community college study groups: Go ahead. Prove me wrong.
² Not genius like the Geniuses you'd find at an Apple store. I'm talking real genius.^3
3 Not Real Genius as in the Val Kilmer movie, either. It's a decent flick, but not as duncetastic as this.

That Buzz in Your Ear

During this year's Blogging From A to Z April Challenge, I'm highlighting things more people should know about. For the most part, I'll be ignoring the most popular and widely known items (and sometimes my personal favorites) in order to promote the unfamiliar and underappreciated.

Let us begin...

FILM

Before Sunset
I stopped watching My Dinner With Andre after 25 minutes. It's just two people talking.¹ Why do I mention this? Because Before Sunset is just two people talking. But it's so good. Nine years after their first chance meeting (in the nearly-as-good Before Sunrise), Jesse and Celine (Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy) walk around Paris and discuss work, politics, love, where their lives have taken them, and how perceptions change between your 20s and 30s. A truly beautiful piece.²

TELEVISION

Boomtown
One crime per episode, with the truth revealed piece by piece as we see the events from the different points of view of everyone involved (e.g. cops, detectives, paramedics, criminals, the Deputy D.A.). It veered a little away from this premise near the end of the 1st season — and was cancelled in its 2nd due to ratings — but it had an excellent cast and intriguing plot twists and story lines. Well worth a watch.

GAME

Bang!
It's a spaghetti western card game! The outlaws want to off the sheriff. The sheriff and deputies want the outlaws dead. The renegade wants to kill everybody. Yet, without a weapon you can only shoot those next to you, and only the sheriff reveals his role. A barrel may protect you, Indians could be allies or enemies, and beer heals all wounds. Oh, and forget the "I shot the sheriff" jokes; with the right gun, you can bang everyone at the table.
Plays best with 6-7 players (or 8, with the Dodge City expansion).

MUSIC

The Beta Band
Do you know that scene in High Fidelity when John Cusack's character says he's going to sell five copies of an album just by playing one song? Well, that song is "Dry the Rain" by The Beta Band. The album is The Three EPs. Take a listen. You might be sold as well.

LITERATURE

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
In Germany during World War II, a young girl finds solace in the books she steals, as she struggles through bombings with her friends, foster parents, and the Jewish refugee hiding in her basement. Personally, I find Zusak's choice of Death as the narrator to be a bit gimmicky, but it doesn't detract too much from this otherwise powerful story. (my full review)

Well, that's the buzz. Tell me what's happening.


¹ Actually, that's stretching things a bit. It's just one person talking, and Wallace Shawn occasionally saying, "How interesting. Go on." But it was not interesting, and I could not go on.
² Or, if that doesn't convince you, maybe this one's more your style: Bubba Ho-Tep. A still-alive Elvis (Bruce Campbell) teams up with a still-alive JFK (Ossie Davis) to battle a still-quite-dead mummy who's been taking the souls of fellow patrons at their retirement home. Campy? You bet. But these two guys certainly do more than talk.

Like the Fonz Always Said

During this year's Blogging From A to Z April Challenge, I'm highlighting things more people should know about. For the most part, I'll be ignoring the most popular and widely known items (and sometimes my personal favorites) in order to promote the unfamiliar and underappreciated.

So, without further ado...

FILM

Arsenic and Old Lace
One character thinks he's Teddy Roosevelt. Another insists he's not Boris Karloff. Plus, it's got Cary Grant, Peter Lorre, and two cute little murderous old ladies. Sure, it's a little over the top at times, but to top it all off, the film's based on events that took place less than 2 miles from where I live.¹

TELEVISION

Avatar: The Last Airbender
Pretty much the same as the M. Night Shyamalan movie of the same name, but with one small exception: This one is good.² Young Aang must master his power over the four elements to save the world from the wrath of the Fire Nation. Every character (with the possible exception of Momo) is complex and flawed, the story arcs are excellent, and best of all, they have a sky buffalo. Who could ask for anything more?³

GAME

Agricola
Sure, you and your spouse are nothing but flat wooden discs, and your cows resemble bullion bouillon cubes. But oh! the strategy! New actions are available each round as you try to improve your farm, though your opponents will undoubtedly grab exactly what you need right before your turn. Do you focus on improving your house? Do you feed your family nothing but carrots? Maybe have your sheep go at it like rabbits? They're all viable strategies, and the game plays differently every time... just one of the reasons it's consistently in the top 3 at Board Game Geek. But be warned: Agricola is not for casual gamers. (Don't fret, casual gamer: Over the next month I'll be highlighting plenty of "gateway" games to cut your teeth on first.)

MUSIC

The Arrogant Worms
If you haven't heard of these guys, clearly you don't listen to enough humorous Canadian musical trios. For the past twenty years, they've alerted us to hot-topic items ("Carrot Juice is Murder"), tackled religion ("Jesus' Brother Bob"), performed national anthems ("Canada's Really Big"), and sung perhaps the only song ever written about sponges ("Sponges"). I have it on high authority, however, that they are neither arrogant nor worms. Discuss.

LITERATURE

Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman
Lately, there have been many books in which the young protagonist learns his/her father/mother is a god/goddess/wizard/cyborg/Australopithecus and is thrust into a whole new world he/she didn't know existed. What makes this one different? Well, for one, Fat Charlie is a grown man. For two, he's known his dad (apparently a West African trickster god) his whole life, and didn't inherit any godlike powers, since they all went to his brother — who he also didn't know existed. And for five, this book was written by Neil Gaiman. Enough said. Gaiman, set, match.

One last thing. Last year, I anagrammed all the hosts' names, so it's only fair I do the same again. Allow me to present to you the hosts of the 2012 Blogging From A to Z April Challenge (large log-rolling zombie at PF Chang):

Arlee Bird (real bride)
Damyanti Biswas (Wasabi Mints Day)
Alex J. Cavanaugh (ax jug avalanche)
Tina Downey (yeti, no wand)
Karen Jones Gowen (anger's new--no joke)
DL Hammons (hm... almonds)
Jeremy Hawkins (men jerk his way)
Shannon Lawrence (war channels: none)
Matthew MacNish (snitch met WHAM)
Elizabeth Mueller (I rule the bell maze)
Jenny Pearson (one's penny jar)
Konstanz Silverbow (now A to Z verbs slink)
Stephen Tremp (perps net them)

Well, that's all I have to offer up today. But of course, I'm always looking for more. Do you have any A recommendations for me?


¹ Okay, technically it's based on a play based on events that took place less than 2 miles from where I live, but whatever. It's not like anyone watches plays anymore. (They should, though. Plays are awesome.)
² Okay, technically they don't have the same name; the film dropped the "Avatar" part to avoid having James Cameron force his way onto the set with a bunch of 9-ft tall animated smurfs. But whatever. It's not like anyone watches M. Night Shyamalan movies anymore.
³ Okay, technically you could also ask for music and rhythm, but whatever. It's not like you didn't see this joke coming a mile away.