Blast from the Past: Star Wars, Nothing But Star Wars! (5/20/02)

While I'm away for the weekend, let's fill in the time with reruns and have another installment of the frightfully enjoyable feature on my B(ul)LOG called:

BLAST FROM THE PAST!

...in which I will re-present some of my old website entries for an all new, blog-savvy audience. This new one is from May, 2002, when I first saw the wonderful, wonderful film Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones. So hope in your Delorean time machine, crank up your flux capacitor and let’s all go…back…to 2002!:

---

YAY!!!! I went on Tuesday to see Star Wars: Episode II—Attack of the Clones! Thanks to the wonderful Miss Emily, I got to go to an advance screening two days before the movie opened! Only the most very special people got to go to an advance screening of this movie! I am so lucky! Oh, and John went, too.


(L-R) Jedis, Padmé Amidala, Me, More Jedis.

I was waiting for this movie forever! You might think you are the biggest Star Wars fan in the world but that is me! You would have known I am such a huge fan of this movie because I was the one in the Count Dooku costume waiting on line. Except all I had was a black cape. So I was "Count Dooku on Laundry Day." Marshall wanted to be Chewbacca. Hee hee hee! Chewbacca is not in this movie, Marshall!...NO HE ISN'T!

It was a very fun movie. The special effects were really great and Natalie Portman is very very cute and I loved all the lightsaber fights. Anakin Skywalker frightens me! Brrrrr! He seems like he is going to turn out evil or something! Do you think that will happen? No, I bet not.

There were many fantastic bits in the movie. Here are My Top Ten Favorite Scenes in Star Wars: Episode II—Attack of the Clones:

10) Alfred Hitchcock cameo in the clone breeding scene.
9) The guy in the stands of the arena with the big sign that said "We Watch the Arena Games on ABC: Always Be Crushin' Jedis!".
8) Little Boba Fett versus Little Han Solo fight.
7) Amidala kissing a Wookiee behind Anakin's back.
6) The atomic-powered Yoda-Mobile!
5) Mace Windu slamming back a frosty can of Colt .45.
4) Ten minute-long apology by George Lucas for The Phantom Menace.
3) Jar Jar Binks's haunting rendition of the Love Theme from Attack of the Clones.
2) Amazing detail of Ewan MacGregor's computer-animated beard.
1) The burning and sacking of Atlanta by General Grant and his troops.

I cannot wait until I can see it again! In the meantime I am surfing the web and looking through all my favorite Star Wars related websites. Why don't you look at them with me? C'mon, it'll be fun!

• The Official Star Wars: Episode II--Attack of the Clones Website!
• My favorite Star Wars: Episode II--Attack of the Clones tie-in merchandise!
• The Star Wars Kids website. This is for little kids. Like Marshall. Hey Marshall, I bet there are pictures of Chewbacca on this website!
• Queen Amidala. She's my favorite! She is sooooo cuuuuuute!!!!!!! "I will not condone a course of action that will lead my people to war, Senator." Hee hee hee!
• Star Wars toys and action figures by Hasbro. Collect 'em all! John did!
• Star Wars Legos. I like to build Legos! I just have to remember they are not for eating. They just look so yummy and candy-licious! Mnmmmmm...Legos.
• The Injuries of Darth Vader page. Ouch! That looks like it hurts, Mister Vader.
• Christmas with Chewbacca!

Yayyyyyy! I loved Star Wars! Clones...attack! Hooray! Thanks, Miss Emily!!!! XOXO, Bully

Umm, Miss Emily...can you get me a ticket to see Episode III? I would like to see it next week, please. Thank you.

---

A PS from the 2005 Bully: I didn't get to see Episode III that next week, but I saw it this year! Boy, was that exciting! I can't wait until Mister Lucas makes Episode IV! Maybe I will stand in line for it right now! What do you think happens to Anakin? Do you think he has a future career in his big clumsy black armor? Well anyway, in the meantime, you can get Episode III (and II, too!) from Amazon.com! Amazon.com, where excitement and adventure is only a click away! Yay!

The bullest skies I've ever seen are in Seattle.

Hi hi hi! Wanna see photos of my trip to Seattle? Sure, we all do! Well, then, click here! And once you do, I highly recommend the "slideshow" option!

Adventures in Bullhattan: Cloud Graffiti

(12th Street between University Avenue and Broadway)

Superman's Amazon.com Wish List

Alan Moore asked the musical question: "What do you get for the man who has everything?" Why not look on his Amazon.com Wish List?:

Farmer Boy (book) by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Adventures of Lois Lane (CD) by Lois Lane

Songs for the Daily Planet (CD) by Todd Snider

How to Write Articles for Newspapers and Magazines (book) by Dawn B. Sova

Great Caesar's Ghost (book) by Cynthia Sterling

The Hidden Fortress (DVD) directed by Toshirô Mifune

I Love Kansas (book) by Richard Taylor

Take Off Your Glasses and See (book) by Jacob Liberman

Streisand Superman (CD) by Barbra Streisand

Still Me (book) by Christopher Reeve

Showcase Presents: Big chunks o' fun

I'm no penny-pinching little stuffed bull, but I do 'preciate value for money. That's why I have to tell you that if you like fun comics and great values, run, don't walk, to get the first two books in DC's Showcase Presents series!

The first two are Showcase Presents: Superman, Volume 1 and Showcase Presents: Green Lantern, Volume 1:

Each book is a big chunky collection (over 500 pages!) of consecutive reprints from the Silver Age, reprinted in fabulous black-and-white (but hey, you already know what color Green Lantern is, don't you?). I can hear you all saying: "Oh, yeah, these are just DC's version of Marvel's Essentials series. That's nothin' special!" You think that, don't you? Don't you? Well, you're just plain wrong, buster! Don't get me wrong: I love the Marvel Essentials. But so far with just these two first volumes DC has done a lot of things right that Marvel got wrong with the first batch of Essentials:

• These two introductory volumes are only $9.99 each! (Future volumes will be $16.99, same price as Marvel's Essentials.)
• The black-and-white linework reproduction is very sharp and distinct. No badly-scanned pages that look like photocopies of old color comics, no way! Here's a riddle: what do DC's Showcase volumes have in common with 7-Up? A: They're crisp, and clean, with no caffeine!
• Each one only costs $9.99!
• Each page has a page number on it! So, f'r instance, when I tell you there's a really weird but fun cover to Action #251 on page 327, you don't have to guess what page I mean!
• Only $9.99 for each book!
• Whiter paper than the Essentials...paper that doesn't look like newsprint!
• Nine...ninety...nine!

The Superman volume was 'specially fun because it features consecutive Action and Superman comics starting in 1958 with some of the goofiest but most fun Superman comics from the Silver Age: back when Lois was trying to trick Superman into marrying her, when Jimmy Olsen choppered around in the Daily Planet Flying Newsroom, when every two-bit crook planning a Metropolis crime spree had a chunk of Kryptonite the size of a canned ham, and when Supergirl, Superman's cousin, came to Earth and got left behind in an orphanage so she wouldn't blow Superman's secret identity. Well, at least she didn't have a belly shirt, big Michael Turner soupplate eyes, and scary Susan Powter abs. The Green Lantern book is a little slower to get off the ground but these are still big, wild, fun cosmic and earth-bound adventures of the man who was without fear even before Matt Murdock didn't look where he was going when he was crossing the street! I liked how even though his powerful GL ring doesn't work against the color yellow, and apparently every threat in the Silver Age was yellowy or yellowish or maybe a nice pleasant shade of goldenrod, Hal Jordan could always come up with a way to defeat the menace anyway! That's my Hal! (Not this guy.) Hooray for the Silver Age! Hooray for DC Showcase Presents! Hooray for fun comics!

Adventures in Bullhattan: Little Subway People

Everybody in New York City is in a big rush: people rushing from here to there, hopping on the subways and zooming off to work or home or the theater or shopping or the Hamptons or someplace else, whew! I feel sorry for these people because they're so busy rushin' from place to place they don't see some of the weird and wonderful and pretty and fun things along the way on their journeys. Since I'm a little stuffed bull who likes to stop and smell the roses (or the popcorn, if that's what's along the way), let me be your pers'nal guide to some things you might have passed by every day and never realized was even there!

I bet you all know that there are millions of people who use the subway every day, right? Well, I bet you don't know that little people use the subway too! Don't believe me? Well, you're wrong! All you have to do to see otherwise is to head down to the 14th Street subway station on the    line and look carefully...


Do y'see 'em? Little Subway People! They're everywhere! They re just about as big as I am and they're bronze-colored and they have big round heads. And if you look carefully in the 14th Street station, you'll see them on the floor, on benches, near posts, on the ceilings—just about any place you look there's a little subway person hangin' out!


This one is collecting money. Do you think he makes big money?


Oh wow! That is big money!!!!!!


Whatcha readin', little miss subway person? Is it Harry Potter?


Golly! This is a good book. It's all about little gilded people in New York City!

Do you want to read, hear or see more about the little subway people, from people who also noticed them? Sure you do! So until next time, fellow Bullhattanites...enjoy the city!

Snakes on a Plane update: Samuel L. Jackson speaks!

Like I've said in the not-too-distant past, I can't wait for the 2006 blockbuster motion picture Snakes on a Plane starring everybody's favorite star, Samuel L. Jackson!

If like me, you too want to find out more about Snakes on a Plane, Mister Jackson recently gave an exclusive interview to Collider.com in which he tells how he didn't want to work on the film unless it was titled Snakes on a Plane! (Click on the link to find out more!) That's my man Samuel L. Jackson, that is!

I can't wait for this movie!

Our next President!

I'm too young to vote, but if I could, I'd vote for this guy for President in 2008!

I support his urban renewal program. I'm not as big a fan of his Superman-killing policy. But that platform didn't seem to have hurt the last guy any during his term as President.

Don't nod, back Zod!

What kind of Batman am I?

What kind of Batman are you?

You're 1950s Batman. Sure, you're still a scourge of criminals and all that is evil, but you don't forget to have a fun time battling crime as well. You have a sidekick that you support and joke with, not that you use as a pawn in an unholy bloody crusade against the underworld. Your adventures include giant gorillas, space aliens, multi-colored Batman outfits for all occasions, time travel, immense typewriters, and multi-dimensional imps. You're the Batman with a Bat-Hound. You're not merely 1950s Batman, you're fun Batman. Your likes will never be seen again in modern comics.

What kind of Batman are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Comic books this week/Some are fun, some are not so/But I read them all.

Hi hi hi! It's me.
Gonna try something diff'rent.
All posts are haiku.

ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR ANNUAL #1:

Goodness Miss Crystal
Put some clothes on. You look cheap.
Low pants are no fun.


JSA CLASSIFIED #3:

Best cover this week
What tie-in is it? Who knows?
The comic's fun too.


TOP TEN: BEYOND THE FARTHEST PRECINCT #2:

He's no Alan Moore
But fun to spot the in-jokes.
Herbie...Popeye...Wasp!


RUNAWAYS #8:

Skrulls are boys or girls.
They don't care who they marry.
Girls like girls? That's fun.


MISTER MIRACLE #1:

Seven Soldiers? Cool!
Morrison's most fun this week.
Kirby would be proud.

Blast from the past: Set your phasers on fun! (8/14/02)

Hi hi hi everybody! In additiona to talkin' 'bout fun comics, one of the things I want to on my blog is let you re-read the wonderful adventures I made before I had a blog! So every once in a while I will be presenting a special feature of Comics Oughta Be Fun entitled:

BLAST FROM THE PAST!

...in which I will re-present some of my old website entries for an all new, blog-savvy audience. This first one is from August, 2002, when I had just returned from Las Vegas, Nevada. Take it away, Bully of the past!:

---

Hi hi hi everyone! As you all know (if you have been paying attention to this webpage, and if not, shame on you!), I was supposed to go to Steven Spielberg's Lego™ Filmmaking Fantasy Camp this summer. I got on the wrong bus, however, and I wound up in Las Vegas! It was real pretty and everything. I liked all the flashing lights, and there were many cute showgirls and Elvis impersonators who were very sweet to me. I don't know why people call it "Sin City," though. It was pretty fun!

Through a series of bizarre and unusual coincidences, the exact sequence of which remain mysterious to me even today (instead I will let Mr. Steven Spielberg explain it all here), I wound up at the Las Vegas Hilton and spent the summer working at "Star Trek: The Experience"!



It was lots of fun! I started out be being a bartender in Quark's Bar, serving Romulan ale to all the tourists. They all thought I was very cute! The Klingons were even nice to me, even though I looked something like a tribble. But watch out for those Ferengi! They are not good tippers. But if you get a chance to serve Mr. Wayne Newton, by all means, do so! I highly recommend it! He is a very pleasant guy and an excellent tipper. No wonder they call him "Mr. Las Vegas."



Here are some of other jobs I got to do while working at "Star Trek: The Experience":

• Official Tribble-feeder. (Actually, you're not supposed to feed them! I sure found that out the hard way! By the way, tribbles especially love chicken salad sandwiches!)
• Klingon bat'leth polisher. That's hard work!
• Trill spot-counter. Trills sure have lots of spots! I kept losing count.
• Assistant stylist, Mr. Shatner's Toupee.
• Fetched tea (Earl Grey, hot) for Captain Picard.
• Negotiated groundbreaking treaty with Romulans: Romulans can come over Sunday afternoons to play Nintendo, but Federation can't go over to the Romulans's house after school until they finish their homework.
• Vulcan-ear sharpener.
• Reblocking Whoopi Goldberg's big hats.
• Making certain nobody put out their cigarette in the urn of Mr. Roddenberry's ashes.
• Telling everyone not to miss Star Trek: Nemesis, coming this fall to a theatre near you! Whee!
• Escorting fans dressed as Wookiees and Jango Fett to the 'out' door.
• Smoothing out any wrinkles in Miss Jeri Ryan's costume. That was fun!
• Romulan ale taste-tester. Hic!
• Piloted U.S.S. Defiant in all-out victorious battle against the combined forces of the Borg and the Dominion. (Captain Sisko gave me a cookie afterwards!)

Eventually John found me there (I told you there were a lot of coincidences happening this summer! We had a fun few days seeing all the sights before I returned home. He got to meet all my new friends!



We hung out with Captain Kirk and Mister Spock and Doctor McCoy!


And then we went travelling with the crew of the first Enterprise! (Captain Archer told me to stop calling him "Dr. Beckett", though!)


Finally Captain Picard let us sit on the bridge of the Enterprise-D! (John is wearing his Scotty uniform! He needs more power, Captain!)


It was all so much fun! But I was happy to go home, even though I will miss all my new Vulcan and Klingon and Trill and Borg pals. They were so grateful for my help all this summer at "Star Trek: The Experience" that they let me take home my favorite tribble. His name is Pickles. Or maybe Pickles is a she. (I can't tell!)

Oh well! Live long and prosper, everyone!

The best present a magazine ever gave me!

So there's an article on the Magnolia Bakery versus the Buttercup Bakery in this week's New York magazine...



But wait! What's this on the right-hand page?!?!:



Whee! Thank you, New York magazine! I'll eat it now. Mmmmmmm!