Two Halloween Treatsl!!

I'll have a short story within the week, but for now, enjoy these.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DC6UtsPa13o&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1plioE-B0I&feature=related

Tomato

Tomato vs. the Very Very Very Very Very Large AVI File

So, you know how I always start projects but never finish them *coughBatmonthcough*? Well, I finished one today. Done. Finito. Kaput. Sealed. You get the idea.

The problem is that it may very well cannabalize my computer.

Happy Halloween!

Tomato

Jumping Tracks

Hi, guys!

Some of you may be familliar with my poem The Train. It was written about death, specifically a miscarriage my mom had between the birth of my older brother and myself. She was going to name him Kyle. Kyle's sixteen today.

Wish him a happy birthday.

The Train
By Tomato Surprise

I got on the train too early
As it sped up in the air
It started twisting, turning
Into a thundering place
I got on the train too early
Or was it too late?

I got on the train too early
As the thunder finally crashed
I clenched my fist and then
I thought
I’ve got a ticket to the train

I knew someone
Who got on the train too early.
The train picked him up
Even before he knew
All that was left
Was a shell

I know someone
Who got on the train
Too early
He was convinced
He approached the track too late
And ripped his ticket down the middle
I dove in front of the track
And tried to stop the train
But its gears kept grinding
And still do
To this day

At one time
I tried to stop the train
But as I’d seen before
Its gears kept grinding

So if you see the train
Don’t resist…
It’s your time


February 20, 2007

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Happy Birthday, Kyle.

Tomato

Life Is Crunchy And Delicious!

Like a breakfast cereal. :)

UPDATES, GO!

Really busy this week.

Monday: Choir Concert (still all muddied on the rapping!)
COMPLETE! - 10/19

Tuesday: OMGJOHNGREENWHOSMYFAVORITEAUTHORSCOMINTOMYLIBRARYANDI'MGIVINGHIMMYPORTFOLIO!

Wednesday: Physical Therapy

Thursday: I'm doing a poetry reading/presentation at my local civitan club! Email me for more info if you want it.

Friday: *breath* Relaxation. Sweet relaxation.

*phew*

BTW, there's a review of the new movie Where The Wild Things Are right below this post. Check it out!

Tomato

Where The Wild Things Are

Tomato here, coming out of the shadows for an imoprovised movie review of Spike Jonzes' Where The Wild Things Are. Let the wild rumpus start!

For those of you not aware, WTWTA was orginally a picture book written by Maurice Sendak. It was ten or so pages, and about as deep as one of those fancy white ketchup holders they have at resteraunts. It had an undeniable charm, but I'd never have thought it'd make a good film. Boy, was I wrong.

This movie is not made for kids. This isn't to say that the violence is gratuitos, although there is a severed arm, and it's not to say that you shouldn't take your kids to it, because you should. On the surface, this is an enjoyable family film. The thing is, though, Spike wrote this for adults. If you want to see an enjoyable, lighthearted talking animal film, you can. But, Spike leaves a passage to a deeper place in the film. Themes of change, power, and how we handle it. There's not a villian in this film, there are only flawed protagonists. For people who have seen the movie, think of the conversations about dust, the mud fight, and the sun conversation. Think of the dead kings. There's so much depth here, if you look. It's one of those fillms that leaves you with a puff of air in your stomach, an uncertainty. Nothing's clear.

I loved this film. It's one of the year's best, up with, well, Up. The animation's amazing. If you haven't seen it, please do. It's so different, such a breath of fresh air, that it needs to be supported.

More posts are coming soon! I'll see you then. If you've seen the movie, sound off in the comments!

Tomato

Updates!

I'm still alive. It's just that a ton of unrelated things in my life, mainly school, have decided to crunch on me. Very pleasant feeling. Plus, I've got a cold. GO H1N1 GO!

I WILL continue Batmonth, it'll just run into November. If all goes well, you'll be getting the latter half of my countdown tomorrow. Webgame Wednesday will also continue. Also, you can expect a post within the week about the Nobel Peace Prize. I also just got Inkheart (the book) from the library, so be ready for a new book review soon!

I hope you continue to enjoy the blog.


Thanks,
Tomato

Honest Time!

The past two days have been complete heck for me. Math took three and a half hours both today and yesterday because the software requires me to manually drag each character into a problem. No typing= no accomodation. I've got a Health quiz tomorrow that I can't study for because the teacher thinks it's a suitable accomodation to stuff me in a coner and make me manually glue everything. I've been doing homework since 3:15. So, I don't feel like finishing the post. Will later.

I emailed the superintendant personally eleven days ago. He still hasn't responded. You don't have to respond. I'd advise against it.

Tomato

Post later

^^^

Batmonth: Top Ten BTAS Episodes, Part One

EDITOR'S NOTE: Blogger just put me through heck and back. Early installment. Excuse formatting errors.
Mrs. N., I've found something I hate more than Powerpoint.....


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I've already covered why Batman: The Animated Series was so groundbreaking, both for Batman the character and animated shows as a whole. But, what were the finest episodes in the serie’ss run, and why were they so excellent? Let's dig in and find out! These are the Top Ten Best BTAS Episodes!

#10: Never Fear

Part One Part Two

That one visual is enough to sum up the entire episode; gloomy, fearful, dark, and twisted. This episode isn't the best written, not by a long shot, and not even the best of TNBA, but the atmosphere the character Scarecrow brought as well as an an interesting premise is enough to put this on the number ten spot. You see, the character of Scarecrow had already been explored thoroughly in Fear Itself, an episode of BTAS. And in truth, the Scarecrow is a villain who’s pretty much one note: he has fear gas, heroes overcome it, etc. And yet, the TNBA producers had a new Scarecrow look bound for a toy release, so they needed to advertise. This episode could easily have been a phoned-in one, but the writers turned it into what I think is the sleeper hit of TNBA. In this episode, the Scarecrow creates a gas that removes fear, causing people to jump off of rooftops, drive recklessly, etc. And then, Batman is dosed. Enough said.
Props must also be given to the character designers, who created a truly chilling Scarecrow. He went from this:

*snicker*

To this:

Yes, you may go change your pants.

Scary, gutsy, and original, Never Fear comes in at #10

#9: Legends of the Dark KnightPart One Part Two
I really think this episode should get a medal just for being so polarizing. I hate it with every fiber of my being, and yet I love it so much. In this episode, the writers pen a love letter to three definitive eras of Batman using three short stories told by three regular kids: the sixties era, characterized by a goofier Joker (why so serious?) and "Holy bad puns, Batman!" Think of Adam West and you'll get the idea. The second era it pays homage to is the mid-eighties brooding and dark Batman that inspired BTAS by adapting a scene directly from the comic The Dark Knight Returns. Lastly, they pay homage to the Denny O'Neil Batman, the modern incarnation. It certainly is an odd package, but it's both an enjoyable anthology and a breath of fresh air in the series. That's enough for Legends of The Dark Knight to come in at the #9 spot in the list.


#8: Mad Love

Part One Part Two

This episode, barring the one in the second-place spot, is probably the one that has had the most impact on the modern day Batman mythos. An earlier BTAS episode, “The Joker’s Favor”, introduced a one-note lackey for the Joker, named Harley Quinn. She was funny, sure, but about as memorable as the Kraft cheese on white bread sandwich you got in my elementary school cafeteria if you forgot your lunch. That is, until Paul Dini wrote her an absolutely depressing origin in an episode of TNBA called Mad Love. It’s too good to spoil here, but I can drop a few hints. Harleen Quinzel, a slightly naïve psychology major, gets in over her head when she tries to get inside the head of the Joker. It’s very Silence of the Lambs-like. Both Hamill and Arleen Sorken, who plays Harley Quinn, are in top form, leading to a romp that you’ll fall madly in love with. Plus, this episode was so good that Harley immigrated to the comics as well, and continues to appear today. That’s more than enough to let Harley’s origin episode drive right into the #8 spot.

#7: Beware The Gray Ghost

Part One Part Two

Almost every series on television, animated or not, has at least one episode with a “special guest star”. A good 11/12ths of them make me want to take a spork and jab myself in the eye (why do you think they built it to scoop?). Beware The Gray Ghost stars Adam West alongside Kevin Conroy, and handles the experience with class and grace. West plays the Gray Ghost, a retired actor who Batman idolized. When a criminal starts bombing buildings in Gotham, patterned after a plot from Gray Ghost’s own show, Batman and the Ghost team up to stop him. I know it sounds gimmicky, but it works really well, and I feel that it’s the “dark horse” of BTAS. That’s why this episode can go west, straight to number 7.

#6: The Man Who Killed Batman

Part One Part Two

This episode is on the list just for being so hilarious! I’m not too much of a fan of dark comedy, but this is too good to pass up. So, you’ve got your lowlife mobster, who’s at the bottom of the totem pole. In a freak accident, he kills Batman and is hailed as the greatest mob boss in, like, all of history. He, of course, is probably the meekest, nicest guy you could ever meet. His reaction to the fame he gets is just priceless. If I haven’t sold you yet, the Joker delivers the eulogy. Delivering a script that’ll make you die of laughter, The Man Who Killed Batman seizes the #6 spot.

Well, that covers the first half of my countdown. I hope it’s spurred you to check the series out! Come back tomorrow as I reveal the top five episodes of Batman: The Animated Series!

Tomato

The DeLorean: Batman The Animated Series

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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "I am darkness! I am the night! I am Batman!"

Those seven words sent shockwaves throughout the world.

On September 5th, 1992, three men named Paul Dini, Alan Burnett, and Bruce Timm, collectively flipped the bird to the concept of the usual Saturday morning cartoon. On that date, a groundbreaking show named Batman: The Animated series hit the airwaves. At the time, a show like itself was unheard of: a dark, cerebral, occasionaly violent action show. Sure, nobody could be murdered on camera, and there was no gore, but it was deep. Villians weren't mustache-twirling maniacs who wanted to be evil, they were men who felt lost in the wake of their wife's death, or men who, frustrated about how life seemed so random and harsh to them, decide their choices by the flip of a coin. They were women who started to sympathize with madmen until they got in over their heads, or women who'd do anything to make things happen the way they always wanted. Every single character on the show was superbly multilayered. The show dealt with very real themes: death, power, fate, choice, ethics. It was easy to forget it was about people in spandex.

The voice casting was also superb. Kevin Conroy played both Batman and his civilian identity, Bruce Wayne. The Wayne voice was clumsy and almost slimy, perfect for Wayne's playboy act. His Batman voice had a timber, almost seeming to slide across the words like a skater on ice.

But no hero is complete without a villian, so the time came when the shoes had to be filled. And by shoes, I mean clown shoes. I have a little saying that the best villians can turn the corner of a coffee table, doing nothing else, and make you jump in anticipation. Your eyes are glued to his every move. That is totally true of Mark Hamill's Joker. Listen to him, as well as other staff on the show, talk about the role of the Joker.

It's so true, what they're saying. The writers and Hamill really balanced the clown and the convict, the prankster and the psycho. In fact, I'll go out on a limb and say that Hamill is the definative Joker, not Ledger, Romano, or Nicholson.

The animation itself was great, too. It still holds up 17 years later. Fight scenes are fluid and the whole presentation is pitch-perfect. This is one of those time's where a series grabs your neck solely on the atmosphere alone. It has a very The Sting-ish gangster vibe.

The last thing I want to gush over is the music. Listen. Composed by the late Shirley Walker, it's simply breathtaking.

In fact, the show was so good that it was renewed for another noticably lighter series called The New Batman Adventures. The same team went on to produce Batman Beyond, Justice League, Superman: The Animated Series, and Justice League. The mind blowing thing? All of these shows share continuity, meaning that the legacy of BTAS continued from 1992 until the end of Justice League Unlimited in 2006.

*whisperwhisper*

WHAT'S THAT?!!! You think I'm just gloating? Just nostalgic? Well, I'LL SHOW YOU! I'll spend an ENTIRE DAY, no, TWO ENTIRE DAYS, counting down my favorite episodes of BTAS/TNBA! I'll even provide links so I can PROVE it!

So there!

Hmph.

Go stub your toe somewhere.

Tomato

Batmonth: Earning Your Wings, Part Three

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Welcome to our last installment of Earning Your Wings, your Batmonth crash course! Yesterday, we talked about Batman in the Silver Age, in which Robin is introduced, bringing with him some pesky baggage that caused some pretty big changes to Batman's world, including Batgirl. But, as I foreshadowed yesterday, these changes caused a bit of a darker rebellion down the line. Unlike the firestorm created by Seduction Of The Innocent, however, the changes were more gradual, and and came in several "waves", if you will.

The first major changes came about under a man named Dennis O'Neal. You see, later in Kane's tenure as Bat-writer, sales took a steep nosedive. Kane was quoted as saying that DC Comics was considering canceling the title. I suspect this was because of all the cookie-cutter campy crud brought upon by Wertham's criticisms. At the same time, the Adam West TV series was dying slowly, and with it, the campiness of the Silver Age.Under editor Julius Schwartz, writer Dennis O'Neil, and artist Neal Adams, Batman returned to his gritty roots, together with a new, modern look that's a heartbeat away from today's. The comic addressed more social issues, like drugs. Other major changes included killing the second Robin, (if you're confused about either the fact that there's more than one Robin, or wondering about how he died, store that factoid in your brain for now. We'll get to it in a future post.) and adding darker villains such as Ra's al Ghul, who you may remember from Batman Begins. The Joker also became less of a kooky klutz, and returned to his homicidal roots.

But it would take three other men to bring us the Batman we know today. The first was a man named Frank Miller, writer of the aptly named The Dark Knight Returns.



This was the equivalent of dropping an atom bomb on the franchise. Set in a post apocalyptic world of terror, Batman must prowl endlessly fighting criminal delinquents. Regardless of the story's quality, one thing was for sure:

It was new, it was fresh, it sold like hotcakes, and it was insanely dark.

I've read it. It's not exactly my cup of tea, but its impact on the Batman mythos is undeniable. Batman became brooding, and darker than ever. This set the stage for a Gothic-esque feature length movie, directed by Tim Burton.

The thing is, the movie itself wasn't what has impacted the mythos. It's what came afterward that made the biggest impact. This portrayal has gone down in history as the definitive Batman, shaped so many writers, and extended its reach to even the recent movies and mainstream comics.

Thing is, I'm sure you've never heard of it. So, as such, come back tomorrow, as I rev up the DeLorean and dive into Batman: The Animated Series.

See you then,
Tomato

This Week In Poetry

As I sit here munching on chicken teriyaki
I'm reminded of how much I hate Subway
So instead of wallowing in sandwich based dismay
I thought I'd take a few minutes
To recap the last seven days

It took me a second, but then I began to think
This really has been a busy week
For one, I'm this close to being on the board at Pedal-with-Pete
Find out more, just click on this link.

There are flies in my house
And I really hate 'em
I hope an explosion will obliterate 'em

Speaking of, I need to learn to talk like MC Hammer
In choir class, with all of its musical yammer

Plus I had a bit of a scare yesterday
It's hard to describe it, but I'll try anyway
Imagine if you went to a crappy county fair
Went to the top of the ferris wheel
And got stuck there
Only it stays there for the better end of night
And your muscles all lock up and get really tight

While we're on the subject of things that I hate
We can add to that list John and Kate
It'd please me so much to come over there
And barrel over their feet with my power chair

But David Letterman's earned respect from me
One-upping his blackmailer on live TV
I mean, sure, he did some bad things
Not as bad as Bill Clinton, though, if you know what I mean.

I still hate the flies and I wish they would die
If you liked this post, why not reply?
Just hit the comment button and you're good to go!
Batmonth continues tonight, just so you know!

Batmonth: Earning Your Wings, Part Two

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Welcome to another installment of Batmonth. Today we'll be continuing our look at the character's roots as he undergoes a change in order to adapt to a lighter era.

As Batman continued to gain popularity, there was more pressure to target the comics he appeared in towards a younger audience. As a result, in April of 1940, the character of Robin was introduced in the Batman comics . This was definitely a risky move, and it served to plagued the character for a long while. This wasn't because the quality of the writing was poor, or that public reception to the character wasn't warm, but that the introduction of Robin created some unintentional overtones that caused a fair bit of controversy.

In 1954, a psychologist named Fredrick Wertham published a book titled Seduction of the Innocent which insisted that not only were Batman and Robin gay, but that they were turning the youth of America gay. This, combined with a backlash against some of the violence seen in the comics, caused the '50's and '60's to adapt a lighter, friendlier style. Among the changes brought upon by this controvery were the introduction of love interests for Batman and the introduction of a Batgirl. The character of the Joker also became less of a homicidal maniac and more of a comic relief villian.

It is interesting to note the progression of these changes because it seems as though Batman always goes through darker and lighter periods. The period following whatever period you're talking about will always be an exact reverse of the previous ones. The modern Batman is as grim and dark as his original incarnation.

Also, these Silver Age stories were noted for introducing more sci-fi elements, such as aliens and time travel. Batman also had started surrounding himself with more sidekicks, such as Ace the Bat Hound and the aforementioned Batgirl. This era also brought about the Adam West Batman show, something that continues to impact the icon to this day.

But, with every sunny period comes a cloudy one. As such, tomorrow, we'll conclude our retreat into the Bat mythos by looking at the modern age. Then, we can get into reviewing that huge stack o' books!

See ya then!

Tomato

Batmonth: Earning Your Wings, Part 1

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It's a fluke at worst, an anomoly at best. How does a splash of ink and a few pencil scratches become such an icon, an earworm in the head of pop culture?

I can't tell you exactly how, but I sure know where to start. A full on autopsy of the biggest icon. You're about to earn your wings, and bear witness to the dissection of the Batman.

It all starts with a man named Bob Kane in 1939. Hot off the heels of the sucess Superman, National Comics, now DC Comics, wanted a new costumed hero. In comes Bob Kane. His prototype was a tad different than the one we are familiar with today. First of all, instead of the "cape and cowl" look that he has today, he had more of a domino mask like the one that's traditionally associated with, say, the Riddler or Robin. Secondly, his costume was actually purple. I guess that was changed because the editor thought the criminals would find purple more hilariously weird than scary. The traditional "bat symbol" with the insignia of a bat in a yellow circle on the chest didn't come about until Dennis O'Neil's tenure as Batman writer in the '70's. The most notable difference between our modern day Batman and Kane's prototype was that instead of a cape, Batman had DaVinci style flight machine paper-mache-esque wings instead of the sleeker cowl.

So, who brought the changes that made this prototype into the character we love today? That credit goes to a man named Bill Finger. Bill took Kane's prototype, axed the huge wings and domino mask for the now traditional cape, and made what would eventually turn into the original incarnation of the Joker. In essence, if Finger had been taken out of the equation, Batman would have faded out of the public eye like all of his other counterparts at the time. And yet, Finger received no byline in the title or credit from Kane himself. This caused somewhat of a feud between the two that sadly was never resolved before Finger's passing. To this day, although Kane always receives credit (contractually mandated, I might add) on all Bat-related projects, it appears that Finger's influence has been taken to the grave. I have no idea whether or not Kane has left us yet, but I doubt he'd set aside any time to acknowledge Finger as more than a partial insignificant influence, even if he was.

The origin of Batman and the stories themselves were actually pretty dark for their time. In case you don't know the classic origin of Batman, it goes a little something like this: Bruce Wayne heir to the rich fortunes of his dad, Thomas, and mother, Martha, a doctor and a socialite respectively, went to see a movie one night with his parents. Coming back from the movie, his parents were gunned down in front of his eyes. Taken in by his parents' butler, Alfred, he trained for many years in different disciplines to eventually be able to fight crime for himself and avenge his parents in his own way.

Usually the stories would involve mainly street criminals, your garden-variety muggers. But, as time went on they gradually expanded their horizons to include more off-beat costumed villians like the Joker and Catwoman. I'll be delving more into them in a future post. Tomorrow we'll look at Batman's transition into a lighter age of comics called the Silver Age in which he loses some of his edge, but gains a side-kick in the process. I'll see you then!

Thanks,
Tomato

Batmonth Extra: The Stack Of Dread

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Well, now that Redmoon's secret is out, I can share this with you. On September 26th, it came. No, not an alien probe, or a spaceship, but a stack of books. An exceedingly large stack of books that, if my calculations are correct, will eventually kill me. These are 27 days worth of material for Batmonth. Enjoy my pain.

I present to you: the amazing gravity-defying desk! ooooooh!

Fun game: Identify as many titles as you can in this picture!

Why we need a good health care system ^^^^

Deforestation, ladies and gentlemen.

Behold, the world's first paper paperweight! MWHAHA!

Now, if you'll excuse me, I've gotta go read. And read. And read.....

Tomato

Dusk

The Red Moon Has Fallen.