pedestrian saga

Apparently I was supposed to be mourning former President Ronald Reagan this past week. One media report suggested that I should be grateful for his comforting address to the nation after the Challenger space shuttle exploded. That’s funny, I can picture clearly Principal Shaw and almost hear his kind voice speaking over the elementary school intercom, but the president’s speech? Nope, nothing filed away on that. Instead, my most vivid and immediate memory of the Gipper puts him in the form of an ugly rubber puppet swaggering around in cowboy costume and carelessly launching nuclear missiles from his bed – all from the Genesis video for ‘Land of Confusion’ that used to mesmorize me. What limited political awareness I had back then was channeled through MTV!

Seeing as Reagan was a bad actor before becoming a lousy president (did I just say that?), I think it’s appropriate to take a moment in this important election year to celebrate some fictitious presidents. Let’s meet the contenders! (more…)

Maybe it’s due to social influence that I’ve grown up to be a teenage boy trapped inside a 18-34-year-old female. That’s got to be what’s happened to my Aunt M., who lives in a family of Weird-Al-and-Dr.-Demento-listening-Star-Wars-toys-collecting-Lord-of-the-Rings-obsessing-Magic-card-playing boys and who, as my faithful filter of the great TORN news, sent me the following juicy links a couple months back. I relish them still.

First is an extremely strange (yet so catchy!) ode (turn on your speakers) to one of my very favorite scenes in the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy: Sam and Gollum debating the coney stew. I have no idea who did this, but the folks at TORN do.

Second is a sort of "Frodo’s song", lovingly composed and performed by the Moist Biscuits. They must like the coney stew scene too, for it won a line in their loony synopsis of Frodo’s quest.

Ah, Tuesdays. The Onion publishes a new edition in the afternoon, and I indulge in un-pc satire that cracks me up and makes me feel alive! Calling all fans of the trilogy of trilogies who need a good laugh – come read this hilarious pseudo-academic/scientific crunching of LOTR, Star Wars, and The Matrix. As a self-loathing American liberal, I particularly enjoy the English(?) jabs at Americans, but this is good on so many other levels – "Jackson’s insulting portrayal of women…" Thanks to The Force.net and TORN for sharing the link.

Thanks to my sister Emily for this link! It’s Dave Barry condensing The Two Towers script to newspaper column size, similar to what Bob has recently threatened to do with The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. Hmm…"Weasel Feet" and "Combat Alfalfa" are ok names for a band, but I’ve heard better ideas.