The Butcher Shop

Friday, June 30, 2006

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posted by Matt Butcher @ 2:58 PM 0 comments

We've had a couple of crappy weather weeks here in Nome. Amy's mom came up the absolute perfect week weather-wise. It has been foggy for days on end and has not gotten much above 45 degrees. This is nice, actually. I've always hated the hot weather during the sweltering Chicago summers. Seattle was a good switch because hot was only 90 degrees or so. We like it here, wearing light jackets. Sure, it has gotten cold during the winters, but it is fun most of the time. Morgan got her full share of snow that she always wanted. In fact, in late May, she said she was sick of snow. We really like it here. We like the small town. We like the fact that we can't just run out for fast food burgers when we're hungry. Look at that wonderful family--who wouldn't be happy with that?

posted by Matt Butcher @ 1:38 PM 0 comments

Morgan plays on the beach.

posted by Matt Butcher @ 1:32 PM 0 comments

Madison and Daddy just enjoying time together during the summer.

posted by Matt Butcher @ 1:29 PM 0 comments

There is still debris on the beach from old sluices and dredge machines of long ago here in Nome. The area around Nome is actually still littered with old wooden and metal structures resulting from the Gold Rush at the beginning of the 1900s.

posted by Matt Butcher @ 1:28 PM 0 comments

Gold miners. They still come to Nome every year. This is a picture of one of their little floating dredges off the shore (taken a few weeks ago). Talking to locals, they supposedly make $1,000 a week on good, hard-working weeks. Of course, the season is short here.

posted by Matt Butcher @ 1:25 PM 0 comments

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Graphic Novel vs Trade Paperback

Over at the Comicon messageboards, we are discussing the semantics between the comic book terms GRAPHIC NOVEL and TRADE PAPERBACK. I and some of the other posters always sort of considered the graphic novel to be a presentation of original material and a trade paperback a collection of previously published stuff.

But then a poster mentioned the serialized works of Dickens. That also immediately made me think of the serialized stuff of Dumas and even Stephen King's The Green Mile.

I wrote this as a response:
Most of the actual definitions for NOVEL includes wording like: "Strikingly new, unusual, or different" or in adjectivial form: "of a kind not seen before". Only one definition calls it what we know of novel as: "A fictional prose narrative of considerable length, typically having a plot that is unfolded by the actions, speech, and thoughts of the characters" (all from dictionary.com)

This site: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/dickens/life_publication.html says that Dickens worked serially as well, only writing new chapters as stuff was being published. "He not only published serially but wrote serially too, planning each installment carefully."

We have to also remember that serials were popular because the cost was prohibitive to be a new novel rather than a series of installments. I have balked at paying for full-priced graphic novels over individual comics, haven't you?

Does it become a novel when the story is collected? I think ultimate length names the piece.

In college, I studied English. I was always given these general guidelines:
Short story: less than 50 pages (very rough here)
Novella: about 50-100 pages in length (HUGO and NEBULA awards classify this as 17,500-40,000 words)
Novel: anything longer

Not to be outdone, Dictionary.com also lists this definition for GRAPHIC NOVEL:
"A novel whose narrative is related through a combination of text and art, often in comic-strip form."

posted by Matt Butcher @ 2:43 PM 0 comments

Ugh. Roger Ebert pretty much hates Superman Returns. What a horrible review. A few too many comparisons to the 1978 movie. Will everyone compare? Can this movie stand on its own?

posted by Matt Butcher @ 12:31 PM 0 comments

If I were in Anchorage or the lower 48 right now, tonight, I would be getting in line somewhere to view the new Superman movie. Sigh.

posted by Matt Butcher @ 1:56 AM 0 comments

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

Which Superhero are You?

Your results:
You are Superman

Superman		90%
Spider-Man		65%
Green Lantern		65%
Catwoman		65%
Robin		60%
Hulk		60%
Iron Man		60%
Supergirl		50%
Batman		45%
The Flash		40%
Wonder Woman		35%

You are mild-mannered, good,
strong and you love to help others.

Click here to take the Superhero Personality Test

posted by Matt Butcher @ 8:37 PM 0 comments

Fantastic Four #534 (March 2006) and #535 (April 2006)

I was never a supreme Fantastic Four fan. I was huge into Marvel in the 1980s and very early 1990s, especially the X-Men. I think the X-Men fanaticism came from all my friends loving the group and Chris Claremont's absolutely fantastic writing. I also read my friend's Avengers books. As a kid devouring those comics back then, I still remember most of them by cover alone. I can still tell you what happened in most of them if you give me the issue number. Somehow, Fantastic Four never really made that list.

I picked up these two new books simply because the grocery store where I live in Nome, Alaska, had them. I don't have a comic store to just wander into. The store only has a limited supply and those are mostly Marvels for some reason. The only DC title they carry is Batman. Not a single Superman comic to be found. I liked last year's FF movie. I wanted a comic. I grabbed what is still dubbed "The world's greatest comic magazine!"

However, issue #534 started off swinging. The Hulk versus The Thing. I normally don't mind a quick start but there must have been something that happened in issue #533. The Thing does give a quick little synopsis that he has to bring The Hulk in because he has gone crazy again (apparently a recurring problem in the Marvel Universe from when I devoured them in the 1980s). But, and there is a big "but" here, the comic does not say "Part 2." It doesn't even have The Hulk on the cover, just a group shot that never happens in the actual comic because the four never actually appear together.

It is a pretty good fight though. The Hulk is seeing things in his brain, past events that he is fighting in his mind. The Torch is helping. It's pretty neat. Fun, slam-banging action that Marvel is good for. Unfortunately, it is "To be continued..."

So I had to pick up the next issue #535. I had to find out what happened. Luckily, my grocery store got it. I picked it up as my family and I were shopping and brought it home (another plug for getting the comics back into the grocery stores so kids-and kids at heart-can talk their families into snagging one every once in a while when at a regular store, but I digress).

More fighting. More slam-bang action. There's a sub-plot of Mr. Fantastic and his wife the Invisible Woman having to send their kids (when did they have the second one? I only knew about Franklin) to foster care due to some court order. The Hulk's inner monologue talks about the possibility that he "can never be free of the monster." The Thing gets whupped (which in itself is important to Marvel fans as you always wonder who would really beat who when it came down to it) and the Torch goes nova to protect him. Mystically, that pain shocks The Hulk back to his normal self. "I'm all right now," he says.

The fun little sub-plot with the kids and a switcheroo helps to prove Mr. Fantastic's point that his kids are safe by his side only. The Hulk and The Thing talk about "the end" and life goes on.

I could see myself being twelve and reading this. I could see showing my buddies and talking about it. I could even see me interpreting the discussions about the end and the being of a monster. It was a fun story and I didn't even have to have issue #533 to understand it. I don't have to read issue #536 now either. The story is over and done with. It was a good read.

But it's not for me anymore. I'm not twelve but twenty-one years older than that. Watching The Hulk and The Thing go at it and then a simple snap back to reality just didn't do it for me any more. I saw the switcheroo coming with the kids, either because of the absolutely phenomenal number of comics that I have read during my lifetime or the fact that I'm an English teacher and understood the plot structure and foreshadowing.

Some comics are good at twelve, like this one. Some are good at thirty-three, like the 1980s Hellblazers I have been getting into lately. I wouldn't have liked the Hellblazer comics back in the 80s. Sometimes, we can go back, and sometimes we can't. I guess there are age ranges, and limits, to some comics.

posted by Matt Butcher @ 7:15 PM 0 comments

Old Dating Tips

Popular Romance #17

This if from a ten cent comic from February 1952. Geared towards girls, it provided some dating tips. Are they still applicable? Were they ever applicable? I found this while looking for old sci-fi comics at the website called Science Monster.

If you'd like to keep the boys you date calling you, you should know just what's right to wear, say and do! Suitable clothes, good manners and a pleasant personality will keep your phone a-ringing.

FOOTBALL GAME

When you attend your first football game, don't make a pest of yourself by asking your escort to explain every play as it happens. You won't be giving him a chance to enjoy the game. Read up on the sport beforehand so you have a general idea of what it's all about. Your date will appreciate it and you'll get much more fun out of it. It isn't bad manners to root enthusiastically for your favorite team, so cheer them on! And don't keep sending your date to get you something to eat. He wants to SEE the game!

ICE SKATING

When your crowd of friends plans to spend the day out-of-doors ice-skating, daon't say "no" if you've never skated! It's fun to learn and even though your ankles may feel wobbly after the first time you'll enjoy yourself. One of the fellows will always be willing to help you around the ice until you get the swing of it. But dress wisely! It's more comfortable to wear three light-weight wool sweaters instead of one heavy, bulky sweater. And don't go in for a fancy skating outfit for your first time on the ice. You'll be more at ease and better protected wearing ski pants or slacks tucked into your skating shoes. To top the day off, invite the crowd to your house for hot chocolate.

PROGRESSIVE PARTY

If your friends are tired of the usual type of party, why not plan something different and very amusing--a progressive party? It's always a success! Each girl will concentrate on one course of the meal, so it will be extra-special! First on the menu can be small party snacks and a lovely fruit cup. Then chicken a la king and hot biscuits. For a truly fancy dessert the girl serving the last course could have ice cream sundaes! These dishes are just suggestions but there are endless possibilities. Besides being a lot of fun this type of party offers an excellent opportunity for each girl to experiment with a new dish and add it to her "specialities." The old saying that "the way to a man's heart is through his stomach" has worked more than once. But if you're not too good at cooking I'm sure your Mom will be ready with a few pointers.

Have fun and be fun to be with. That'sthe key to popularity!

posted by Matt Butcher @ 6:07 PM 0 comments

Monday, June 26, 2006

Insurance marketing campaign

As I always try to incorporate some media savvy into my classroom, I just can't help but think of the Progressive Insurance Company ad campaign recently. Actually, all insurance company advertising is somewhat informative on the subject of advertising right now.

Progressive's main scheme is going to their website and not only getting a Progressive car insurance quote but also getting quotes for at least three other companies. They make sure to tell us that sometimes they are the lowest and sometimes they aren't. Then they tell us that if Progressive is this helpful when shopping for insurance, imagine how wonderful they will be when we're customers.

In a roundabout way, they are being extremely smart here. They know they aren't the best priced all the time. They can't get into a price war all the time and simply advertise that they sell for less all the time. They apparently know they are middle of the road on pricing. What's good about it is that they have suckered us into accepting their median pricing because they are so noble in telling us about it. "We know we aren't cheap, but at least we're honestly telling you about it up front! Doesn't that make you want to use our company?" I am not knocking it because the ad campaign seems to be working. And they have a nifty jingle.

Now Geico is actually coming out and giving away advertising secrets. Lately, they have given this gecko mascot of theirs a London accent and having him on talk shows. He openly tells the audience that he is there for entertainment value, for a little show. People like a cute gecko. This one, opposed from the Progressive campaign, actually chaps my hide as an educated individual. This gecko is saying, without telling us really anything about the company other than a slight possibility of saving money on car insurance, that he is there to draw us in. You know, I didn't mind when they were just using the gecko--mascots are everywhere. But when the mascot comes out and tells me that he is there for entertainment value and to get my attention, I find that insulting. It is almost like the advertisers are spitting on me. "Ve vill dangle dis gecko in front of you and you vill jump at it, you pathetic consumer! And ve vill also tell you ve are going to do it!"

posted by Matt Butcher @ 8:07 PM 0 comments

Steinbeck

I swear that I have to start remembering this when I undertake a work.

John Steinbeck once said, "When I face the desolate impossibility of writing 500 pages, a sick sense of failure falls on me, and I know I can never do it. Then gradually, I write one page and then another. One day's works is all I can permit myself to contemplate."

posted by Matt Butcher @ 7:40 PM 0 comments

Picture of Dorian Gray

I recently read The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde online. Yes, actually online. It wasn't bad at all. My eyes didn't seem to get as heavy since my hand was moving the cursor arrows or mouse-wheel anyway. And I was always sitting straight up and not lying on my back like I usually read a book. I read a chapter a day, about ten pages. I never read it before. After League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and the fact that I have an English degree, I thought I should read it for myself. I enjoyed it. Most of it is told in dialogue. That’s all right because there isn’t much action in it really, only psychological thinking.

“He got up, and locked both doors. At least he would be alone when he looked upon the mask of his shame. Then he drew the screen aside,and saw himself face to face. It was perfectly true. The portrait had altered.”

posted by Matt Butcher @ 7:35 PM 0 comments

Another film class post

I think this will always be a hard question to define art with the advent of photography and film. It’s kind of like the old adage that lawmakers used to define obscene and indecent materials: “I know it when I see it.” How does Ansel Adams’ photographic work while he was working for the Department of the Interior now get considered art and hang on our living room walls when I could technically take a picture almost exactly the same? I don’t know, but it is. Why is that new foreign film considered an “artsy” film over a summer blockbuster? I don’t know, but it is.

When photography came, anyone could now be an “artist.” Reproducing an image became too authentic. Painting a still life of a bowl of fruit was art; nobody photographs a bowl of fruit (at least not to hang on their living room wall).

With film, many believe that true acting has disappeared. Multitudes of re-takes to get the scene done just right when a stage performance has to be as perfect as it can be the first time. This does not make film any less, however, as an actor eventually showcases his best performance and then goes on a promotional tour to plug the movie.

Film and photography all of a sudden gave us a way to view life one image at a time, over and over again. A painter could touch-up a painting and interpret the actual image but originally the photo would show the bruise. Photos show us too much, revealing it all. It’s like the way that psychology terms shed light on everyday things in people. They were always there but these new terms cause us to notice them. Now we apply psychology on ancient events to gain further insights, even though it was already there—we now though can see it more clearly and have the terms to talk about it. Shakespeare may not have known the terms, but he was a master of psychology—but how? Should he then be the father of psychology? Does it go back even further?

Politics then plays into film and the filmmaker doesn’t even have to understand the terms of politics. It especially works that way on an unknowing audience. If I watch Fahrenheit 9/11 without knowing politics or any of the facts, I am going to probably think exactly like the director thinks about President Bush. The film is a great tool for debate but you cannot let it be your only source of information.

Oliver Stone’s JFK works the same way. Laymen (including myself) have not studied the Warren Commission, so then, these seeming experts have to be telling the truth. However my bias may appear, the movie does spark interesting debate. There are many things that need to be looked at again from this new perspective. Both sides may not have thought about these aspects of the assassination and the new stuff that this movie talks about (and in 1991 conspiracy theories flourished on this), much like we now perceive psychology as mentioned above.

Any other filmmaker is quite capable of making a film on the contrary position, with or without proof. They could make one called The Lone Gunman. They could be more or less objective or subjective. The problem with that though is it came second and will always be subjected to more criticism.

posted by Matt Butcher @ 7:31 PM 0 comments

Thursday, June 22, 2006

Ah, another classic comic book ad! A gun! What every growing boy needs! I bet you couldn't advertise these in comics anymore. By the way, you'll shoot your eye out, kid.

posted by Matt Butcher @ 1:51 PM 0 comments

Another classic ad from old comic books. Look at this! One hundred pieces for only $1.75! Phenomenal! I had a couple sets of these. We used to set up our armies and then pretend to throw the bombs and shoot. I remember that the bombs would go up and when they came down you were allowed to put your whole palm out for the destruction. Whatever flattened got taken off the battlefield. Ah, wanton destruction and mayhem!

posted by Matt Butcher @ 1:29 PM 0 comments

The Super Naturals Review

My review is up at Independent Propaganda for Jam Packed Production's new comic entitled THE SUPER NATURALS. What a great little comic!

posted by Matt Butcher @ 12:10 PM 0 comments

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Going through my older comics, I came across this old SEA-MONKEYS ad! Remember when we thought they actually looked like those little cartoons?

posted by Matt Butcher @ 1:15 PM 0 comments

Hitchcock Review: Under Capricorn

I had never gotten around to renting this one before. Somehow, it has always slipped under my radar. It came up finally under my Netflix queue and voila!

From 1949, Under Capricorn pairs up two of my favorite screen stars so this is another wonder that I had never seen this one yet. An uncharacteristic historical novel set to the screen for director Alfred Hitchcock, it stars Joseph Cotten and Ingrid Bergman as a married couple in 1830s Australia. You know what they say about Australia being populated by nothing but criminals. That is why Cotten was sent there from his home country of Ireland. Bergman followed him, foolishly in love.

The story starts with some Irish git gentleman that has not a penny in the world and wants to find his stake. He finds Cotten who is now one of the richest men in New South Wales. When he finally meets Bergman, and small world that it is as she was once his sister’s best friend, she is drunker than a skunk and can barely stand.

That starts the slight mystery. There is a wicked staff employed by Cotten and some little things to figure out along the way, such as Bergman seeing things that aren’t there. I was watching, waiting for it to get better.

It was worth watching. I was enthralled at the characters. Cotten and Bergman again did supremely excellent jobs, although I thought Bergman overacting a bit during one emotional scene, making it the same acting job as in her movie Gaslight. The actor who played Charles the Irish gentleman, Michael Wilding, was okay, I mean, he played the role well, but I think it needed to be someone bigger, with a greater stage presence and rugged good looks. Maybe that is why I did not see the love triangle as anything but forced because he did not seem suave enough. That might just be my tastes there.

I just don’t see why Hitchcock did this one. I will have to research that. He wasn’t under his contract with David Selznick anymore. It had the feeling of a very well done made-for-tv movie. The soap opera elements made it interesting to watch. I had to keep watching just to find out how it would all explode.

For the Hitchcock fan, or a Cotten or Bergman fan, it was well worth watching. It is not one of Hitchcock’s better movies, but then I am comparing this to some of his really supreme movies out there. Now that I have seen this once, I can check it off my list of Hitchcock movies and leave it at that. I will give it three out of five stars because I was interested in this the first time around, but unlike his other movies, I don’t think I will go out of my way to see this one again.

posted by Matt Butcher @ 3:11 AM 0 comments

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

SUPERMAN RETURNS has "artistic elegance." The reviews so far are extremely positive for the movie. I have waited so long for this movie that I am glad it isn't supposed to stink!

posted by Matt Butcher @ 12:40 PM 0 comments

Monday, June 19, 2006

Paul Horn, creator of the COOL JERK comic that I reviewed a little while ago, cited my review on his website. Check it out by clicking the picture here!

posted by Matt Butcher @ 7:50 PM 0 comments

Hilariously, we were walking a beach a ways outside of Nome with Amy's mother when Morgan came across two rocks. "They look identical," she said. Grandma said, "They look like eggs." Just then an Arctic Tern proceeded to accost us all and threatened to peck at us like that Hitchcock movie The Birds. It was quite funny. Morgan was shocked and actually started crying for a while. Now we are all laughing.

posted by Matt Butcher @ 4:10 PM 0 comments

Tundra swans on the Safety Sound.

posted by Matt Butcher @ 4:07 PM 0 comments

A yellow warbler in midflight.

posted by Matt Butcher @ 4:05 PM 0 comments

Wanting to see how well my camera zoomed in, I got a shot of this bird sitting on her nest in a small lagoon near the Last Train to Nowhere.

posted by Matt Butcher @ 4:04 PM 0 comments

This is a closeup shot of the map on one of the information plaques next to the Last Train to Nowhere. You can see their grand ambition of how much railway they were looking at doing. This is hundreds of miles of track that they had planned to accomodate the gold. The signs go on to say that lack of planning and loss of financial support doomed the entire project.

posted by Matt Butcher @ 4:03 PM 0 comments

More of the Last Train to Nowhere. Two engines are fading away here. There is now a deck of sorts that goes around the train so visitors can get a closer look. There is nothing really around this for miles.

posted by Matt Butcher @ 4:00 PM 0 comments

Thirty-three miles outside of Nome is the Last Train to Nowhere. This rusting behemoth is left over from the old gold rush times when they had visions of blanketing the Seward Peninsula with railways. Now this train just sits out here to rust away. It is in the middle of nowhere. No tracks remain, just this hulking piece of metal. You can slightly see the settlement known as Solomon in the distance.

posted by Matt Butcher @ 3:58 PM 0 comments

On the way out and about this week, we came across this structure. This is about 25 miles or so out of Nome. Some of these little beach house settlements are secluded and have lots of privacy.

posted by Matt Butcher @ 3:56 PM 0 comments

I got new glasses by the way. Three pairs actually. We went online through Zenni Optical and not through the hospital. For only $88 I got two pairs of my regular prescription and one pair of these prescription sunglasses. Nice. I saved $200 from going through the hospital.

posted by Matt Butcher @ 3:53 PM 0 comments

Madison as Bono.

posted by Matt Butcher @ 3:51 PM 0 comments

It's a pretty nice view from the top of Anvil Mountain.

posted by Matt Butcher @ 3:48 PM 0 comments

Madison at the bottom of one of those White Alice things.

posted by Matt Butcher @ 3:47 PM 0 comments

Leftover from the Cold War days are these installations known as White Alice. They are on the other little peak of Anvil Mountain and were used for early detection purposes. Remember, the shortest distance between Alaska and Russia is only 56 miles.

posted by Matt Butcher @ 3:45 PM 0 comments

Amy's mother was here last week for a little visit. We went up to the top of Anvil Mountain for a good view.

posted by Matt Butcher @ 3:38 PM 0 comments

There goes Morgan in her blue sweater with her friend Dawn in the white sweater. They are getting close to the bank to get a good view of the bank robbery.

posted by Matt Butcher @ 3:33 PM 0 comments

One of the bank robbers.

posted by Matt Butcher @ 3:31 PM 0 comments

Then they had a bank robbery. Wells Fargo lets themselves get "held-up" by some actors wearing old-time Nome clothes.

posted by Matt Butcher @ 3:28 PM 0 comments

I also got to shake hands with Alaska gubernatorial candidate John Binkley.

posted by Matt Butcher @ 3:27 PM 0 comments

The man in the top hat is Richard Benevile, Nome's Citizen of the year last year. He works at the elementary school for programs and runs Discovery Tours of the area. He is quite a character. His catch phrase is "Hello, Central!"

posted by Matt Butcher @ 3:24 PM 0 comments

Nome--Midnight sun is an understatement. It is daylight right now almost 24 hours.

posted by Matt Butcher @ 3:23 PM 0 comments

We had a little parade in town yesterday for the Midsummer Folk Festival for the summer solstice. This is Miss ANB, the native parade queen that won a pageant this week.

posted by Matt Butcher @ 3:20 PM 0 comments

More people jumping into the Bering Sea during the Polar Swim. Morgan is in the center in a black t-shirt, still halfway underwater. Her friend Dawn is in the blue t-shirt to Morgan's right.

posted by Matt Butcher @ 3:16 PM 0 comments

Polar Swim

Morgan went and did her annual Polar Swim again. This is the official one, the one that all the tourists come to see, what with it being the summer solstice and all. The tourists come to dip into the Bering Sea too. With the summer solstice, although we will officially tonight, June 19, have a sunrise of 4:22 am and a sunset of 1:41 am, the twilight stretches the whole interval inbetween. There is no real dark, per se. You can honestly see the sunrise and sunset in one short sitting.

posted by Matt Butcher @ 12:53 PM 0 comments

Thursday, June 15, 2006

My review is up for the trade paperback called CHILDREN OF THE GRAVE, a horror comic. It's really good. See, this reviewing is paying off--I got a .pdf file of this whole book sent to me to review. Check out the review at Independent Propaganda. Oh, and the author emailed me about the review: "Matt, Just wanted to send you a huge thanks for the great review you posted at I.P. for CHILDREN OF THE GRAVE. Your kind words are truly appreciated by artist Casey Maloney and me -- thanks!!! Best, Tom Waltz Writer/Creator: CHILDREN OF THE GRAVE www.idwpublishing.com"

posted by Matt Butcher @ 10:20 PM 0 comments

The DaVinci Code

Just saw The daVinci Code here last night. Amy's mom
watched the kids and allowed us to slip away for the
9:30 movie. (Odd getting out of a movie after midnight
and it still being bright daylight, but I digress.)

Anyway, spoilers abound here so if you don't want to
know anything about the movie, don't read any further.

I haven't read the book yet. Amy brought it back from
Anchorage last week and it took her all of two and a
half days to read it. Man, I wish I could read as fast
as she does. My comments are about the movie itself,
and I only know off hand information from what Amy has
told me about the book tonight.

First of all, I thought the cops seemed like complete
idiots throughout the whole thing. I thought it was a
disservice to the whole plot that could have been
handled with a much better cop. The movie did try to
portray the detective known as Vache as a man that was
almost too obsessive but I think that would have made
him tougher. I dunno--jury's still out on this one.

Secondly, there was a major plot element that made no
sense to me. After Amy explained how it was handled in
the book, it made a lot more sense. When they are all
in the Temple Church in England, Silas came in and
took Sophie hostage. Then comes in the servant/driver
of the cripple, Lee, who was played by Ian McKellen.
The servant/driver slaps Lee down and takes the
keystone. Not long afterwards, the movie tries to fake
out that the servant/driver is the Teacher, the man of
mystery behind the whole thing. All good so far, but
soon thereafter we learn that the servant/driver was a
pawn for the real Teacher and he ends up being the
cripple, Lee. What I don't understand is this: if Lee
and the good guys, Sophie and the Tom Hanks
characters, were already working with, why would Lee
set things up to steal the keystone? They would have
solved the puzzle together and opened the flipping
thing without Lee having to wave a gun and threaten
death unless they opened it. Lee should have played
along and after they opened the keystone and got the
map and then should have started waving guns around.
He could have taken the map then. Lee knew he was
going to need help with the flipping keystone because
they were playing around with it on the plane (and if
he was faking there, why would he have needed to wave
a gun at them to try to open it??). This area of the
movie just makes no sense to me. The betrayer picked
the entirely wrong moment to jump ship.

I did not like the camera work for the most part. A
lot of erratic camera jostling seemed to be the norm.
Now, I understand the chaotic filming during the
really cool car chase scene. I understand the
fuzziness of the flashbacks. That was all good. Some
of the normal scenes seemed erratic. However, Amy gave
me a wonderful reason for this: maybe it was to
increase the tenseness of the movie. I did feel tense
during most of the scenes I was supposed to. That is
extremely plausible. That may be one of those
subliminal ways a camera can get to the audience.

All in all, I thought it was interesting. I loved
Silas the flagellant monk character. It started fast
and never let up, which I extremely liked for a movie
that was almost three hours long. I was able to follow
it and was very interested as to where it was going.

I just can't get past that one plot point of taking
the keystone too quickly. For all that this character
knows and does and how flamin' smart he is, he
wouldn't have done it. The book supposedly did much
better on this. I am off to read the book.

posted by Matt Butcher @ 4:03 AM 0 comments

Saturday, June 10, 2006

webcomics

I have been reviewing quite a few web comics for the website Independent Propaganda. I am actually really enjoying this independent stuff. These are diamonds in the rough and I feel that I can give a good boost to the stuff that's well done.

But I have one issue so far with web comics that I don't know how to fix.

I recently did an interview for a pretty cool web comic called Bub's World. The only problem that I have so far with Bub's World is not Bub's World ís alone. In the time since it started, more than a year, the archive has only produced 48 strips in the series. This Mr. Patrick tries to do a page every Monday, once a week. I know he is probably a very busy guy and he is putting these up for free, for strangersí enjoyment. A lot of webcomics are doing this. Sometimes the schedule is more erratic than that. The issue overriding here is the fact that there has yet to be a complete story in the comic. It is a series of adventures and I will be following them in the future. Will I remember to come back? Will my RSS feed work every time? because a lot of times the RSS feeds do not work on my My Yahoo! page. When I do remember, will I have to go spend time going through pages to find where I left off?

Should these webcomics only put up one page at a time? Should they wait and put up several? A whole series? How many pages are good? If the story does not end after 48 strips, and if it doesn't that's fine, how big would the file be that you would have to download? Will we download a 10 + MB file?

This may be resulting in that same technological infancy of when the internet started. I remember logging on to a World Wide Web page in the mid-90s and found it excrutiatingly slow when graphics were involved. I remember that The Simpsons did a parody of this when that guy that runs the comic shop would talk of downloading nude pictures of the Star Trek cast and we see one pixelated line at a time slowly forming on the page. Web comics will become more prominent and easier to access as speeds get higher again.

I think the best way that I like to see these comics is when they have an episode or issue to download one at a time. They don't have to be complete stories and can be continued. They should only be about ten-twenty pages maximum. I think that would be small enough to download a zip file and read the comic. But here we go again with accessibility. Not a ton of people know how to manipulate a zip file. Then it gets hard and technical for some readers when all they want to do is read it.

posted by Matt Butcher @ 12:02 PM 0 comments

Review of graphic novel Retribution

My review for the graphic novel RETRIBUTION is up at Independent Propaganda. IP actually sent me a copy of the book to review--I feel like a real journalist/reviewer! Check it out!

posted by Matt Butcher @ 12:00 PM 0 comments

Bub's World review

My review for the webcomic BUB'S WORLD is up at Independent Propaganda. Check it out! The author of the webcomic even emailed me about the review:

Just wanted to drop a line and say thanks for the great review and the
kind words. I put a lot into my comic and Im glad when someone sees it
as more than just monsters and dirty words. Also, a buddy of mine is
helping me set up an RSS feed, and hopefully well have it up sometime
soon.

Again, thanks.

posted by Matt Butcher @ 11:53 AM 0 comments

Friday, June 09, 2006

Enter a Superman Returns contest for a chance to win a watch and a signed copy of the script!

posted by Matt Butcher @ 9:12 PM 0 comments

This website from the Economic Times reprints much of the same article as from below's Kansas Star but includes much more detailed information on the Orpheus cult.

posted by Matt Butcher @ 8:50 PM 0 comments

The Derveni Code. This papyrus that they found in the grave of an ancient nobleman is over 2400 years old. In it, it is supposed to detail ideas of the Orpheus cult which helped to influence monotheistic ideas. Details are supposed to be published by the end of 2007.

posted by Matt Butcher @ 8:48 PM 0 comments

Thursday, June 08, 2006

The PC of my Eye

I would do just about anything for this new Superman laptop from Alienware. Drool...

posted by Matt Butcher @ 1:48 AM 0 comments

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

The Return of Death Lurker

Looks like I spoke just too soon on the DEATH LURKER comic submission I made. They are doing it! They are producing the comic and have started work on my little eight-page story! The artist appears to be from Hungary.

yes sir..yet the slot may have changed....either up or down...once I get the inker on, I will send you and the parties involved the aggrement form to be digitially signed an sent. Instructions will be included of course and questions are welcomed

From: "Séber László"
Date: Sat, 3 Jun 2006 16:39:39 +0200

Hi!Sending the first two pages one day later, sorry
bout that (but i hope you like 'em!). I already
started page 3, but can't continue working until i
don't know what does a DL gear look like :)Can you
send a pic ASAP?(page 2 is in the second mail, it's
A3 format, 150 dpi resolution should do it for the
inker, but if not lemme know)Thanks!
_________________________________________
Hírkeresõ.hu - Mindig friss hírek, toplisták,
sztárpletykák. A legfontosabb 70 hírforrás közel
2.500 cikke naponta!Ha egy lapon akarsz mindent
áttekinteni KLIKK IDE! - http://www.hirkereso.hu/

posted by Matt Butcher @ 8:34 PM 0 comments

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

From my film class:

Phenomonology is the science of the description of appearances, so does film accomplish this? Does film describe appearances or does it appear to describe reality? Bazin’s notion of the “ontology of film images” is the REALITY of film images. I think we need to keep in mind that Bazin wrote in the 1940s and 1950s, keeping in mind that this was long before the current computer-generated era of movies. Film images are either aesthetic or psychological, “the duplication of the world outside.” Total cinema is then a myth to Bazin because what we consider today as film requires technical innovations that were not present 80 years ago or less. The same will be true in the future, as technical innovation arises to meet the needs of directors and the demands of the audiences, movie making will change. I am a fan of the superhero genre and I keep saying how we finally have the technology to do the films properly, especially if you’ve ever compared 2002’s Spider-Man to its 1970s predecessor. Early filmmakers just wanted to recreate the world by combining photograph and phonograph, the new technologies of their day, like computer geeks nowadays do something just to see if it can be done. (In computer infancy, one college hooked up to the Coke vending machine down the hall to see if it was empty before they bothered walking. Little did these computer geeks think past this to the applications this could do now for inventory systems.)
Metteur-en-scene is French for director or filmmaker but it has largely been replaced by relisateur (according to The Film Encyclopedia). Looking at the word relisateur shows the root of realize so it looks like realizer. The actor must “be before expressing himself.”
Kino-pravda tries simply to duplicate real-life as it happens, saying it is giving the ultimate truth. Unfortunately, with Kino-pravda, you are always aware of a film camera in the scene. Metteur-en-scene does better by duplicating life and then filming, forgetting the presence of the camera.
I believe that Kino-pravda can never be true because of the known presence of the camera. It’s like taking home videos and telling your mother to “say something.” There was an experiment once where researchers were studying the effects of light on the productivity of workers. The workers were told that they were being tested, once with extra light, once with no light. The workers worked extremely hard in both circumstances and the researchers realized that telling the workers made them work harder, no matter what circumstances were involved, simply that they were being watched. Kino-pravda is like that.
The Wizard of Oz could never be filmed with a camera this way. It would take away the adventure and the fantasy. I think Kino-pravda still does exist though—as reality TV.

posted by Matt Butcher @ 9:19 PM 0 comments

From my film class:

Dialectics is all about conflict and its resolution.

Montage is an arrangement of shots in film. Pudovkin thinks of montage as “the means of unrolling an idea through single shots” (26). Eisenstein disagrees, saying that “montage is an idea that DERIVES from the collision between two shots that are independent of one another” (26)

This collision of ideas gives the viewer a new meaning. Eisenstein was especially successful in representing this idea in the era of the silent film, with hardly any technical innovations. The film showcases a woman in pince-nez glasses and with barely a flutter of film later, the glasses are smashed and blood trickles from the eye, signifying a gunshot. As I think of this, I can’t help but think of more modern uses of this, with disappearances in the TV show Bewitched and the transport beam in Star Trek. Motion is made by the overlap of two images.

When the images lay over each other, the viewer cannot help but think of them together. The sole images do not invoke the meaning, rather, the juxtaposition of these images create the meaning. The most startling example of this idea is the one advanced in the text book of the shooting down of workers and the slaughter of a cow in Strike. Equating the horrid end of a cow to these workers produces a new meaning to the viewer that is stronger than simply seeing the workers gunned down.

Japanese Kabuki theater breaks down movement of the actor to its constituent elements. This can be used through slow motion photography in a film. When you highlight one action at a time, the whole is drawn out, emphasizing the action in greater detail.

An ideogram is one image. Two sole material images combined together achieves a concept that transcends the sole images, a “transcendental result” (27).

Eisenstein thought that sound would act negatively against the images on film. However, Eisenstein failed to realize that sound could be an ideogram itself. Sound can play over an image, or several images, causing another result. A movie soundtrack can greatly add or detract from a scene.

posted by Matt Butcher @ 9:16 PM 0 comments

Death Lurker

A few months ago, I did this little eight-page story after a solicitation from Midnight Comics Studios. They appear to be a small time comics outfit that does a few fighting mags. Plenty on splash and action.

They emailed me after the submission and said the story would make it into issue #3.

Unfortunately, they never emailed back. Even after I emailed them a month and two later, they never responded. So I present this little story that I wrote, with pictures from the Death Lurker series that it was supposed to be in.

THE UNASSUMING DEATH LURKER

Page one:
Splash page
Panel One:
Fat Chubby man sitting in a chair, in a messed up apartment. (Ideally, the guy should look like that short stocky guy from Spawn—wasn’t he the Violator?—just no face makeup). Tray of half-eaten food by his side. TV on and sports of some lame kind on it, BOWLING. To his side, there must be a little boom box radio. It is not playing music now, but must be visible and present for the ending to come together.
Text box: Meet Edward Narton. His neighbors know him as just your average sewer worker. He likes to come home at night with his 40 oz. Schlitz and his TV dinner and sit back and watch TV.
Text box #2: To look at this man, one would think that there was nothing special about him. In fact, he’s disgusting and rude, devoid of manners.
Text box #3: Looks can deceive…

Page two:
Five panels
Panel one: Closeup of TV. The bowling picture shows a bowler ready to bowl.
Dialogue of announcer on TV: Jeff Richards steps up to the line, ready to see if he can tie the game with four straight strikes. He has to dig down deep and see what he’s made of--
Panel two: TV fritzes to static, sound effect of a loud buzz.
Panel three: We see Edward’s face now grumpy, the lights from the TV static illuminating his face weird. Dialogue: Awww, nuts!
Panel four: Closeup of Edward pressing buttons on remote control, to no effect. Dialogue: Reception’s out again!
Panel five: Edward throwing the remote control at TV. We should see the remote harmlessly thudding off the TV. Dialogue: They’re at it again!

Page three:
Three panels, panel three being the biggest at the bottom.
Panel one: We see Edward get up out of his chair and walking into kitchen, stomping if possible, looking mad. Remember, the apartment should be a mess. Dialogue balloon: (Smoldering text, illegible, with some swearing asterisk symbols).
Panel two: We see him reaching for a cabinet next to the fridge. Dialogue: This time, I’ll send them back!
Panel three: Opening the cabinet, we see his stash of Death Lurker gear. There is a machine gun roll (you know, the bullets that go through the machine guns, the “whole nine yards”), a short sword, some vials of unknown chemicals, a few guns—new shapes and sizes not normal looking, a large brass ankh, a large brass cross, and any other implements artist may find neat. I also think we should add a skull of an ALIEN from the Alien movies.

Page four:
Sequence of panels of Edward putting on gear. At minimum, he must be wearing that machine gun roll around his body, sort of like the sash of Chewbacca. He must pick up a machine gun, not a real machine gun, but something fanciful. It should show it being loaded with not “bullets” per se but little water tubes, hopefully a bright color. He should be lighting up a cigar on this page. The last panel on the page should show a full body shot of the Death Lurker, Edward Narton. The artist will have a lot to do with the success of this page.

Page five:
Five panels
Panel one: We see Edward outside now, hefting a ladder over his shoulder.
Panel two: Looking down the ladder, we see him climbing up. His face should be absolutely pissed off. Dialogue: I’ve told these guys that if they messed with my reception anymore there would be hell to pay!
Panel three: Coming off the ladder, bringing his machine gun to bear. Dialogue: And I’m just the Death Lurker to do it!
Panel four: From right over Edward’s shoulder, we see the satellite dish on the roof a little ways in the distance. It is a bigger dish than DirecTV. It is not absolutely huge though. Medium-sized. There are faint wisps of a greenish-grey smoke coming out of it.
Panel five: Menacing shot of Edward, pointing his machine gun directly at the “camera” of the shot. Dialogue: Hey, you bums! Haven’t I told you to stay outta my satellite dish?

Page six:
Four panels
Panel one: The wisps of the alien ghosts are coming out of the dish. Should not be menacing looking at all. They should be puffy soft-looking. The slight faces that blend into the smoke should look like cute aliens. I leave this to artist’s discretion. Dialogue: We are the Sarenitti. This is our new home.
Panel two: View of Edward with machine gun, loaded, aimed at the ghosts although we do not see the ghosts in this shot, straddling the roof and the cigar hanging out of a corner of his mouth. Dialogue: I’ve been nice up ta now! But I’ve told ya and told ya—Ya can’t live in my satellite dish!
Panel three: We should be behind the dish, seeing the further spread of the wisps of the alien ghosts and we should be able to see Edward’s face, still aiming his machine gun. Dialogue from aliens: We know your kind, Death Lurker. It is because of your kind that we were made to leave our planet.
Panel four: closeup of the alien wisps. We should see soft and sulking faces. Make us feel sorry for these guys. Dialogue: We are the last of our kind. Because of you Death Lurkers. You never understood our race.

Page seven:

Panel one: closeup of Edward’s face, munching on the cigar. His look should appear softer now, as if he is contemplating something and listening to the aliens.
Panel two: close up of aimed machine gun now going down to his side, no longer to point towards the aliens.
Panel two: Same picture of Edward from panel one, but mouth open a little for dialogue. Dialogue: I was a Death Lurker. Once. We had a disagreement.
Panel three: closeup of Edward’s midsection, showcasing his big gut. Make it look sort of like those “before” pictures in the workout ads. Dialogue: But look at me now. I ain’t been a Death Lurker for years. They abandoned me when I grew a conscience. I’ve seen species like you before.
Panel four: Looking again at the aliens. Dialogue: What does your conscience tell you to do now?

Page eight:
Six panels, equal distribution on the page.
Panel one: A hand is seen flipping on a lightswitch. Text box: Eight minutes later…
Panel two: We see the back of Edward walking away out of the kitchen, shedding his Death Lurker stuff and just leaving it on the ground.
Panel three: We see a closeup of the TV and the hand that is switching it on. The TV should be coming to life, but no picture can be seen yet.
Panel four: From behind the chair, we can see Edward plopping back into the chair with a (plop) sound effect. A picture of the bowler comes back onto the screen. TV Dialogue: Jeff Richards going for his fifth straight strike and the win…
Panel five: Same shot as panel four. This time the TV goes out again, same as before. Dialogue from Edward: Sigh!
Panel six: From behind chair, we see him turn on the boom box. Music comes out.

The End.

posted by Matt Butcher @ 4:32 PM 0 comments

Iron Chef Mom

We watch a lot of Food Network here in the Butcher household. It is amazing that out of the myriad channels we have on our GCI Cable system that nothing much is ever on. I always think of that Bruce Springsteen song "57 Channels": "Fifty-seven channels and nothing on...Fifty-seven channels and nothing on." Food Network provides easy entertainment most of the time, especially easy entertainment that with our busy and hectic life we don't have to watch every single second of the shows. Watch for a minute, play with the kids for a minute. Watch for a minute, do something else. You don't miss much. It is a lot easier than watching a movie in this house, that's for sure. Plus, the whole family likes it.

Morgan and I always liked watching IRON CHEF. The original Japanese one is great, especially with the "Chairman" biting into that pepper with that smug grin. Then they came up with IRON CHEF AMERICA with Iron Chefs that seem to get beaten pretty regularly. It's fun stuff.

I have an idea. Instead of the menus with some strange and rare ingredient, why don't they do normal stuff? I saw an Iron Chef America the other day with hamburger, which is close to what really goes on in households. I want more of that. What I really want is them to take it one step further and kind of combine IRON CHEF AMERICA with Rachel Ray's 30 MINUTE MEALS.

I want them to make IRON CHEF MOM.

Wouldn't that be something? Regular moms having to make a meal for their family in 30-or-so minutes with whatever ingredients are provided to them? The judges could be a real quasi-family with a spouse and kids (they could change it to IRON CHEF DAD when appropriate).

That would give me some real ideas on what to do when at 6 pm I am looking around wondering what to create for dinner.

posted by Matt Butcher @ 4:03 PM 0 comments

Monday, June 05, 2006

She lays her weary head upon the beach.

posted by Matt Butcher @ 4:51 PM 0 comments

Madison fluffs her pillow on the beach

posted by Matt Butcher @ 4:49 PM 0 comments

Madison on the beach

posted by Matt Butcher @ 4:48 PM 0 comments

Madison did the strangest thing on the beach the other day. As we were walking along looking for beach glass, she found a rock and laid down on her belly.
She kept putting sand on the rock as a sort of pillow. She would put her head down and sort of relax.
The weirdest thing is that it is usually so hard to get her to keep still! Normally, laying down is not her favorite position. She likes to get up and go. She's always moving.

posted by Matt Butcher @ 4:45 PM 0 comments

My review for the webcomic STEEL ANGEL from Terrible Lizard Comics is up at Independent Propaganda. Check it out!

posted by Matt Butcher @ 11:23 AM 0 comments

Sunday, June 04, 2006

In the middle of town is a welcome sign to Nome, representing, of course, a gold pan. Also in the square, called the Anvil City Square, are three statues of the Three Swedes who first discovered gold here in Nome.

posted by Matt Butcher @ 4:17 AM 0 comments

Thursday, June 01, 2006

You lucky bastards down in the lower 48 will be able to see Superman return to the big screen two days earlier than originally scheduled. The new date for the opening of Superman Returns is June 28, 2006.

posted by Matt Butcher @ 6:27 PM 0 comments

Today's random thoughts

Boy, summer vacation is great.

For some reason, I have the song "Too Shy" by Kajagoogoo running through my head.

Kaja Foglio linked to my review of her webcomic Girl Genius here.

Michael Charlie linked to my review of his webcomic The Afterlife here.

I read a fascinating little article from Space.com about SETI being like a religion here.

I also read the coolest little webcomic called Clockwork Creature here because I got an email from the head honcho over at Independent Propaganda, Wesley, recommending it.

Madison and I have been playing Barbies. Morgan has been reading and right now she is going on a little field trip with the Wehdes to the museum downtown.

According to the weather, we are supposed to get showers late here in Nome today and tomorrow is slated for a "wintry mix" of snow and rain. (Not kidding--it was called a "wintry mix.")

A wintry mix in June.

posted by Matt Butcher @ 6:10 PM 0 comments

My review for the most cool webcomic SUPER SPY is up at Independent Propaganda. Check it out! This comic is well worth your time to read.

posted by Matt Butcher @ 11:34 AM 0 comments

It's not exactly the same as that Oxyrynchus papyrus that I have been following the news on, but the technology is the same. The scientists were able to read more sections from a 2,400 year old book that was found in a nobleman's grave in Greece. The papyrus sheds some new light on religious beliefs in the time of Alexander the Great's father. With time, we are going to be finding out so much more of the world with this new technology. What's the most interesting to me is the paragraph here that describes the old papyrus that examined the Judas Gospel and the idea that Judas was not the ultimate betrayer but rather a confidante of Jesus and was put up to his role.

posted by Matt Butcher @ 10:40 AM 0 comments

Portrait of Mommy by Madison, 5/23/06

posted by Matt Butcher @ 1:54 AM 0 comments

Portrait of Morgan by Madison, 5/23/06

posted by Matt Butcher @ 1:53 AM 0 comments

Another Madison self-portrait, 5/23/06

posted by Matt Butcher @ 1:53 AM 0 comments

Madison self-portrait, 5/23/06

posted by Matt Butcher @ 1:52 AM 0 comments

Portrait of Daddy by Madison, 5/23/06

posted by Matt Butcher @ 1:49 AM 0 comments

Random thoughts about all that I can muster. As William Shatner once said, "Get a life!"

The Butcher Shop

Name: Matt Butcher
Home: Normal, IL, United States
About Me: An English teacher with a zest for life. Family. Comic books. Stuff.
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