Saturday, November 27, 2010

Glyos Customs are Fun!

Custom Crayboth, Retnox, the Dice Heads, and Regent Phanost


I've been smitten with Onell Designs Glyos figures.  The concept is an open source toyline, inspired by 70's and 80's classics like Micronauts.  They're fantastic fun, reconfigurable, and made with a great deal of care and imagination.  The community also encourages customization.  I've always been artistically inclined, and these are a great way to work on something creative when one is low on space or funds.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Benefit from my Buyer's Remorse: Ebay

I just dumped a bunch of collectible flotsam on ebay.  Star Wars figures, Transformers (including my Classics Devastator), some Godzilla bits (Adowable Bullmark Mini-vinyls? Check!), and a few other miscellaneous items.

My my world of ebay wonders

A lot of that stuff, I have to wonder what I was thinking when I bought it, especially the Serenity Money pack.  I love Firefly, but what did I plan on doing with that thing?

Trekathalon TOS: 1-9 Dagger of the Mind

"Blue paper bits down three, yellow up one..."
Man, if Kirk isn't getting his shirt ripped off, he's being strapped to some mad-scientist's diabolical thingy.  Today's diabolical thingy is a mind-wiper designer to pacify criminals.

Guest stars include the lovely Marianna Hill (who may have been in Cheif Zabu, which may or may not actually exist, but she was neither Zack Norman, or Sammy, so who knows), as ship's psychiatrist and woman-of-action; and Morgan Woodward, who is seriously uncomfortable to watch, as he conveys the effects of the mind-wiper by gagging and choking painfully.

Star Trek sure started out heavy with the mad scientist, and intruders running amok on the ship.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Today's Entire Productive Output:

Hot Wolverine-scratching-Hulk's-back action!

Sticking Handful of Heroes figures on my monitor at work...  Ok, that wasn't my entire productive output, but it sure feels like it.  Day before a holiday, just enough people in the office working that I can't tinker with the license servers like I need to.  Not quite enough people to keep me busy with random tasks.

Other pathetic things: I had to buy four packs of these little buggers to get a color mix (and no duplicates) that I was happy with.

And buy double-sided tape specifically to stick these things up there.

And I don't really like superheros, or marvel in particular.

Yeah...

Onslaught's pose makes me smile though.

Trekathalon TOS: 1-8 Miri

Say G'rups again, and Imma smack ya.
Between the Twilight Zone, and Trek, CBS had creepy children down. Even as a kid myself, these kids irritated and unsettled me.  I was suprised how the scenes of unseen children taunting managed to raise the hairs on the back of my neck.

But then I start thinking about the episode, and it maked very little sense.  How come the planet was exactly like Earth?  Why did the town resemble Paramount Backlot Earth in 1950's America, complete with period cars?  What were the kids eating? How did they survive winters?  How come they hadn't even built a couch-cushion fort in 300 years?  Oh well, creepy kids are kreepy, and the whole G'rups (that's the only part of their speech that's devolved?) thing irritates me more then I'm willing to admit.  Bonk! Bonk! Bad Kid Indeed.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Trekathalon TOS: 1-7 What Little Girls are Made Of?

It's like a Postcard from my Subconscious.
Robot Parts?  Are little girls made of robot parts?  I think that's the theme of this episode, it's unclear though.  What is clear is my recollection of this episode from childhood: Naked Shatner on a spinning plate, with a haemonculous, beautiful women in revealing space overalls, giants in puffy costumes, bottomless pits, robots.  That's TOS in a nutshell.

Ted Cassidy is great as Ruk: big, menacing, yet stealthy, and he does a fantastic job with his dialog.  As well as being the original Addam's Family Lurch and Thing, he did a bazillion voices for Hana Barbara (Godzilla!), and the Martian in Angry Red Planet.  We'll see him again.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Portland has odd feelings on the Weather. Part 1

In my corner of the screaming moist  the Pacific Northwest, this is how we react to the prospect of snow:



Courtesy of The Portland Mercury.

Friday, November 19, 2010

1000x

Man or Astro-Man? is going to play the Doug Fir Lounge in Portland...  I may cry.  So beautiful...
Thanks to 16bit.com for the tip, more West Coast tour dates here.

 Now The Epoxies just need to get back together, and everything is golden.

Trekathalon resumes next week, sorry about that, things got really busy at work.

Monday, November 15, 2010

Monday odds and ends

Dishwater, Despair, Disappointment...


  • Mini is doing it's best not to tempt me away from my 2006 Cooper S, the Countryman configurator went up, and it's glitchy.  The car itself appears expensive and dull.
  • Remember when The Amazing Race was still amazing?  It's been a while, I'll admit.  Reality Blurred mirrors my feelings on last night's episode: Clue-Eating Goat Most Endearing Part of Race.  Can we start a petition to ban awful dating couples from future races?  Also, I miss the old Television Without Pity.
  • Trekathalon should commence tonight.  I know you were all really missing it. 

Friday, November 12, 2010

McRib: The Liveblog

Blur-B-Q (TM James Lileks)
Once every three years, I try the McRib.  I'm due.  Hit the break for the full rundown.

Kolorful Kaiju!



Still waiting on Netflix.  How about some brightly colored mini vinyls to tide everyone over?

Bullmark legends, most of the HMV series 1, and all but the regular colored Hedorah from series 2.

Mogura is the only disappointment, he should be much chubbier.  Otherwise these are some of the most charming toys I own.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Oops!

Brief hiatus to the Trekathalon, as I wait on the next disc from Netflix, and haven't had time to watch an episode on IMDB.

To busy to watch TV on the internet?!  Unpossible!

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

The AutoExec!

Looks like we have a new 'Three Wolf Moon T-Shirt' on our hands.  Presenting: The AutoExec Steering-wheel mounted desk!

Amazon.com: AutoExec

The customer reviews and user pictures are hilarious.  The steering wheel in the product photo is also upside down.  Designed by a person who has never operated a car? Perhaps.

Monday, November 8, 2010

Trekathalon TOS: 1-6 Mudd's Women

I don't really want to know What Memory Alpha
has to say about this...
I really shouldn't be having this much trouble with an old Star Trek episode: The Enterprise burns out their lithium supply (when did it turn into dilithium?) saving the crew of an unidentified ship.  The captain is a conman, Harry Mudd, and three mail-order brides he was taking, errm, somewhere.  He's giving them a pill that makes them hypnotically beautiful (as I kid I thought it was an anti-aging serum, and that the women were incredibly old).  Mudd decides to marry (sell?) the women to the lithium miners where the enterprise is going to refuel.  Hijinks ensue, one of the women realizes she was beautiful without the pill, and Mudd is taken to jail. I think.

But the gals are still married (sold?) to uncouth dilithium miners (who performed the wedding, Kirk?), and I'm not sure what Mudd's scam was in the first place?  Was he human trafficking?  I don't get it.  And what did the 'Venus Pills' really do, since one of the women made Bone's medical scanner go wonky?  And Uhura is wearing  yellow uniform.  I haz a confusion.

Plus the new effects shots look terrible, jarringly so.

Friday, November 5, 2010

Trekathalon TOS: 1-5 The Enemy Within

ACTING!
This plot.  Jimminy, this plot.  A transporter accident [splits Kirk into a good but ineffectual twin and evil but charismatic twin], the crew has to [convince weak kirk and strong kirk to hug it out on a transporter pad] before [Sulu and an away team freeze to death]. A valuable lesson about [human nature] is learned.    Replace the variables, and you've got three dozen other Trek episodes over the next fifty years.  I shouldn't fault this one for being the first, but I can't help it.

Though we do get the cocker-spaniel-with-crap-stuck-to-it spacedog, and some very effectively creepy lighting and direction.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Trekathalon TOS: 1-4 The Naked Time

It's confirmed.  Death by flocking gun.
Star Fleet really needs to work on their hostile environment training.  While investigating a mysteriously perished science team, a redshirt takes his gloves off to pick his nose, and is immediately infected by evil red water.  Evil red water makes everyone act drunk, and is passed through physical contact.  Everyone but Bones (who is bright enough to wear gloves), and Scotty (who only touches control panels) are infected, and the Enterprise is going to crash!

Bones and Scotty save the day, and hurl the Enterprise away from a disintegrating planet so fast they go back in time.  That makes complete sense...  Wait, what?

Episode highlight: shirtless, fencing Sulu is subdued on the bridge, and Spock quips: "Take D'Artanina away!"  The writers needed to give Spock a sense of humor more often.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Trekathalon TOS: 1-3 Where No Man Has Gone Before

Attacked by Difference Clouds!
 It's yellow shirt day on the Enterprise, and special guest victims Gary Lockwood (two years to 2001) and the gorgeous Sally Kellerman (four years to MASH) get bad contacts and demigod powers after a trip outside the galaxy. Lockwood gnaws scenery something fierce, but the episode is entertaining. Shatner also gets to wield the nifty Phaser Rifle prop.

So did everyone with enhanced brains turn evil? It looks more like Lockwood is possessed at the end, after the fight with Shatner. Oh well, heavy handed point noted, absolute power corrupts...

Again, the enhanced Matte paintings on the planet are nice, but the space scenes look simultaneously cheap and over done.

I don't think ESPers are ever brought up again.  Probably for the best.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Atomic Toasters!

The nice chaps at Hooniverse started a new blog in October, Atomic Toasters.  I'll let them explain:

"We set this site up as a refuge; a hiding place for those who are tired of being harassed to buy the newest, the latest, the greatest, and the highest-tech. It’s a place for people to learn to love technology all over again. It’s a place for people like us. "

I didn't learn about it until today.  That's an oversight on my part, I've got some catching up to do...

Mystery Science Theater Volume XX Announced

Satellite News has announced the titles for Volume XX of the continuing Shout! Factory Mystery Science Theater releases:

Project Moonbase
Master Ninja I
Master Ninja II
The Magic Voyage of Sindbad

The two Master Ninja episodes are a surprise, as they were mashed together episodes of a failed TV series, and the studio that did the mashing has long disappeared.  They tend to put me asleep, but the riffing is solid.

Project Moonbase is kinda hard to watch, as the male characters heap abuse on the lone female space commander.  I love the Commander Cody serial though, and this one includes a double dose.

 Magic Voyage of Sindbad ("He's not Sindbad!") is one of the incomprehensible, but stunning Russo-Finnish productions that are some of the Best Brains most outstanding work.  Highly recommended.

Note - I completely stole the spaghetti ball globe from Satellite News. I hope that's ok.

Trekathalon TOS: 1-2 Charlie X

Go cry emo demigod!
Is it pronounced Charlie X, or Charlie 10?  Either way, a nice script completely undermined by Robert Walker's creepy Charlie, and the fact that he doesn't look 17.

I'm amused by the thought of ultra powerful aliens giving a child demigod-powers to entertain him; like a bachelor uncle jingling keys for a baby.

Something else interesting, Spock and Uhura are practically flirting here, so their relationship in the JJ Abram's Trek is less out of left field then I thought.

To be fair to Charlie, that was an irritating song...

Monday, November 1, 2010

Trekathalon TOS: 1-1 The Man Trap

Meanwhile...  In Photoshop.
Ah, the Salt Vampire.  Unique to me as one of the few TV monsters I wasn't terrified of.  I was scared of anything vaguely monstrous on TV, but more on that in later episodes.  It's an testament to the writing of the episode that even as a little kid, I got the point that the creature was more to be pitied then feared.

I shouldn't be surprised that William Shatner was actually a good actor, once upon a time.  But it's still a bit of a shock. His current person and parodies of such have overwhelmed my perception.

As for the updates, they're a mixed bag.  The new opening sounds to much like the TNG theme, and on my TV's speakers, Shatner's voice-over appears to be coming from a bathroom... In the next building.  There is definitely something off with the new CG space scenes, they look flat and cheap.  I haven't pinned down my objection.  On the other hand, the new enhanced matte-paintings look nifty, and I think they add richness and scope without being obtrusive.  The cleaned up picture makes everyone look sweaty.  Not sure that's a good thing.

Unanswered plot questions: Did the Salt-Sucker's build those ruins and shouldn't away team members be bright enough not to wander off by themselves?