I'm dying

Here. Have some lemonade...

and I'll join you. at least it cools off a bit at night, and since we're relatively low humidity, it's a big relief.
cheeis k reist it's going to get up to 95 tomorrow.
I'll make mine a double, Z, if you're pouring....

da moth, on the rocks

the air is so bad having major smog nastiness and the sun is red at dawn and dusk . yesterday it was practically overcast but it was so muggy and gross.. and I believe its 32 degrees today plus the evil humidity...

doing a little rain dance

What can I say except...NYAH! It gets a bit warm here during the day, but it always cools off nicely at night. If I want to air out the apartment, I just open my patio door for a few minutes and let the fan circulate the air around. Then it's good for another several hours. Ahhhh...lovely. And here I was all concerned about having no air conditioner! (Ain't I a stinkah?)

- Zaranyzerak

and today its crazy windiness which I like... all the energy in the air.. and I like how people look in sunniness but with the wind blowing their hair about..

and I got myself a new cd today too.. mr bungle California.... coolness

Whatever you did, big D., it worked and my garden thanks you! About that windiness today...I love the feel of the wind through my hair but will regret not tying it back when I try to brush it tonight--I have long hair and yeah, since yur wondering, it's blond! The plants didn't like the windiness so much, though, and I had to tie up a lot of them that were bent over. Went to a BBQ with friends tonight and it was so windy at times we had to hang onto the plates, the wine glasses etc. Eventually, we ended up going inside to finish the meal. We're going away next weekend for about ten days at friends' cottage near Huntsville. What do you want to bet that as soon as I get near somewhere there's swimming, it will stay cold? Not to mention the torture of the bikini line waxing!

Not really doing too many festivals these days. I prefer to be with small groups of good friends than with large groups of revelers. As for Mr. Lastman what can you say--he never was one for tact, although his affair of 14 years shows he did have some discretion at one time--hard to believe no one ever picked up on that when it was happening. Fortunately, I'm not in the city so I don't have to vote/not vote for him.

Should be great sleeping tonight with the windows open, so long as Mr. Motorcycle doesn't take off in the middle of the night! Happy Canada Day, Big D. and Z.! Happy 4th, moth, in case I miss posting that day. cheers ta ya all, nightsword

hi, babe!
breaking 100 degrees every other day, but cooling down at night. hanging around home, working in the garden, no rain for ummmm....I can't remember since when.
getting some paintings finished now, did i say that before? three down, nine to go.

if Drunkard's interested in taking his naked rain dance on the road, I'd tuck a twenty dollar bill in his-- hmm, let's see, if he's naked, where WOULD I tuck a bill?... well, let's just say I'd pay to see it, and we could use the rain here in Denver.

moth, going for an iced coffee....

today was nice and warm and felt nice on the skin and kinda windy too... I loved it! and saw the aforementioned movie... which I think reaked of oversentimentality... those sappy spielburg archetypes for all the characters it coulda been so cool a premise if whatisface did it.... I dunno grr.. but anyway

heh well I like them big groups.. I like hanging out with a single person or a big group... being in a small group of friends... or small groups makes me uncomfortable... I think it is my friendship with my close group is rocky lately.. but thats another story...

and about my naked dancing heheh I think on that day after showing hung around at home in the nude since my roomie was away and I enjoyed the naked freeness as for a private shows of naked.. twenty bucks sounds good.. heheh and in denver I could visit my bro at the same time... no dancing for him though... heh I love the word pounce reminds me of the puma like pounce of tigger... just is very playful sounding... anyway...

I'm gonzo...

....so figured I'd skip it and maybe see it when it hits cable in a year or two--at least that way don't spend a lota bucks and then get disappointed. Although I love the kid--he was great in Sixth Sense and I think he'll be even more terrific as an adult actor if he doesn't let the Hollywood scene grind him up.

It was a great day today. My kinda day. Hot but not too hot and nice windiness keeping the bugs down and feeling nice on the skin. Trying to get a lot of house and garden stuff done before going away next week--then, I can actually relax a bit. Another project when I get back but not so involved as the last one--will still leave some time for enjoying the summer.

About those crowds--only place I don't mind them too much is the Ex--I've gone to that every year since I was a toddler. Sights, sounds, smells--wouldn't miss it for anything. It's a great old Toronto tradition.

Sorry to hear you're having probs with your friend group. Happens sometimes, especially when others don't listen or when they want to change you. Don't know if that's the problem or not but in my experience those are the two most common things that create problems in relationships. Learned long ago that when someone wants to change me (into what? what he/she thinks I should be instead of what I am?) that's the time to think about changing relationships. I'm not perfect (who is?????) but when it's time to change something that's for me to decide!

Gawd it's after 10 pm and I haven't eaten yet (just some vino!) so I'll say cheers for now, Big D., huggs, nightsword

cats and dogs is coming out today.. and as far as cheesy movies goes thats the kind I like it just looks so silly and funny.. but I dont think I'll be seeing it today..

but I do intend on seeing a concert tomorrow.. woo woo.. but as far as that kid actor goes.. well I guess you don't see him snortin' coke in about 5 years eh? I dunno has any kid actor turned out normal? or rather not maladjusted...

well I dont go to the EX each year I think I've gone once and that was the year I moved to canada I believe... but I do go to toronto beer festival every year since its inception... haha!

and about my friends...well.. hmm.. its not about them wanting me to change.. its more to do with all of them with everyone in the group. ya know if I knew what it was it might be easier to cope with... I dunno its kinda complicated... and very screwy.. thats all I can really say about it

Just snuck into the computer room to post a few messages before going on hols. Supposed to be packing so we can leave early tomorrow (he thinks we're leaving early; she knows we're leaving when I'm damn well ready--not like we're catching a plane!!!!!)

About cats and dogs--did you see it? It did look kinda cheesy-funny. Also heard that one out awhile ago, Best in Show (?) was quite funny--it has the guy who was second banana on Fernwood Tonight. Last night I watched Pay It Forward on pay tv. Was expecting a cheesy light comedy sorta thing (from what I'd seen on the commercials) but was pleasantly surprised. It was more of a drama and had some very intense moments--I bawled like a baby about half a dozen times (maybe just the mood I'm in, I dunno). Haley Joel was terrific but so was Kevin Spacey--got to say I've liked Kevin Spacey in every role he's played so far. What can I say, I like those quiet, understated guys with deep rivers of passion waiting to gush out (your word, Sphinx!) and overwhelm the lucky gal!

About those friends, Big D., I'm sure it will sort itself out in time. It usually does between friends even when sometimes familiarity becomes...what?...too familiar?...irksome?...predictable? Take care until I return on the 16th........cheers, nightsword

I dont know best in show or fernwood tonight... and haven't seen cats and dogs yet.. but Iheard reviews and it sounds just like what I'm expecting so yuppers I will see it... but I'd also like to see planet of the apes.. MAYBE... and final fantasy which just looks cool.. the people look almost real kinda creepy I think

yup I think it may very well be familiarity... I find I'm frustrated with them very easily.. and I think its due to the fact I may be around them too much... and its over I think things that I would normally overlook

anyway seeya later nutball.. err nightsword

(Gawd I'm gabby tonight--because I know I'll be in the boonies with no technology for 10 days!) I wanted to respond to your comment about him (the actor) snorting coke in 5 years. All I can say, is I hope not. I think he's special--not just a good actor, but he has a real spirituality about him--something very good and sensitive. I saw a documentary on kid actors awhile back and you're right, most do end up maladjusted, on drugs, suicides or not-so-cute adults and out of work but a few do manage to escape all that. Ron Howard,for example--okay he's not acting anymore but he directs and seems like a good guy. Jodie Foster is another, who blossomed from a cute youngster to a very lovely and gifted adult actress......really is bye for now.....the suitcases cry out to be abused with too many things I'll prolly never even wear.....cheers, nightsword

...on a newsgroup someone described A.I. as Spielberg's Howard the Duck. Which of course, I personally took GREAT offense at, as Howard the Duck is one of my all-time favorite movies. (runs away before the tomatoes start flying)

tomato, that is! Just kidding, Z. Never actually saw Howard the Duck...can't even recall ever hearing of a movie by that name...but that may just mean I'm ignorant in the movie dept. Hey, ya likes what ya likes so when the tomatoes start flying make ketchup or spagetti sauce........cheers, nightsword

I thought EVERYONE had at least HEARD of Howard the Duck! My mind is boggled... Well, put simply, Howard the Duck started out as a comic book in the mid-late 70's. I picked up the set as back issues in the mid-80's. I thought the comic was gut-bustingly funny - it's actually the first comic that I found myself laughing OUT LOUD while reading! It was very intelligent, witty humour, and something of a bitingly satirical look at the crazy world we live in. Anyway, George Lucas got it in his head that the concept had potential for a live action movie. So, he executive produced a film adaptaion of it, which hit the screens in 1986. It bombed. BIG TIME. It bombed SO horribly, in fact, that MCA/Universal (the studio that backed it) BANNED all mention of "Howard the Duck" from the lips of their staff, under penalty of instant dismissal. (This is likely a myth, but it makes a cool story, and certainly illustrates just HOW BADLY the movie bombed).

Personally, I didn't think it was THAT bad a movie. Maybe it comes from being a fan of the comics beforehand. Granted, it played more as PARODY than SATIRE, and not a terribly witty satire at that, but I thought it had some moments. Hell, Thomas Dolby did the soundtrack, and that's a definate plus in my books. (It had quite a catchy theme tune...) Well, needless to say, I snagged the Laserdisc of it when I found it a while back, and it will always be a guilty pleasure for me to drag it out and fire it up from time to time. Guess I'm just a sucker for cheese...

- Zaranyzerak

I have one or two Howard the Ducks stashed away in my boxes of comics. Might be the first two. There were only just a few ever published, weren't there?
If there had been more, I would have bought them, I'm sure. But I've never seen the movie--

Time to crank up the old phonograph for background music, while I lay out the history of Howard the Duck for y'all...

Howard the Duck first appeared in issue #19 of a comic entitled "Adventure into Fear." It was primarily a horror comic, with it main featured character being Man Thing. Steve Gerber, the writer of the comic, had been rather tired one night while writing the latest issue. He finished writing the script for the comic, and sent it off to the artist to be illustrated. When he got the finished artwork back from the artist, he realized to his horror that he had just written a TALKING DUCK into a HORROR comic. The boys upstairs were not amused, and ordered the duck axed. So, by the end of the issue, Howard was cast into an interdimensional abyss, supposedly never to be seen again.

Until the letters started pouring in. Some weren't just letters. One packaged consisted of the rotting remains of a duck carcass, with a note attached which read, "Bring back the duck." Mr. Gerber's sleep-induced hallucination-cum-horror story had inadvertently created a character that people were responding to. Big time.

Adventure into Fear vanished shortly thereafter, and good ol' Man Thing was given his own series. There were several special issues of Man Thing, much like Annuals, entitled, "Giant-Sized Man Thing." Howard made his triumphant return in a couple of backup stories that ran in issues 4 and 5 of those. The first of which, of course, explained how he survived the interdimensional portal. Naturally, as one would expect (I mean, it's COMPLETELY logical and makes PERFECT sense), he survived by landing in Cleveland, Ohio.

Once again, the people responded. "Give the duck his own book!!!" So, not wanting to disappoint the fans (or turn up the chance to make a fast buck), Mr. Gerber was signed on to write the ongoing adventures of Howard the Duck in his very own series. The comic ran for 31 issues, 1 annual, and a Marvel Super Special (you know, one of those HUGE comics that Marvel made a lot of in the 70's, consisting of pages that were, well, HUGE. Apparently, they were pretty close to the actual size artists use to draw comics. Comics art is then reduced in size considerably o the "standard" comic size, thus making it appear to have more detail. Clever idea.)

The comic was nothing short of brilliant. An absolutely hilarious satire of modern living, and many of the pop-culture icons of the time. Hell, even KISS made an appearance or two! There was a parody of the Exorcist, Howard ran for president, and he even went out and looked for a job. I think my favorite stories were the small-scale ones, where it was pretty much just Howard trying to cope in this crazy world of "hairless apes" that we all call home. Not only to see how people reacted to HIM, but how HE reacted to our world and the bizarre people in it. I think the writing had a lot of edge to it mainly due to the fact that Steve Gerber drew a lot on his personal experiences and various personal problems he was having at the time.

After the regular series ended, Howard graduated to the (then new) "adult" black and white magazine format. This had bene quite successful with some of Marvel's other, edgier titles such as Savage Sword of Conan, Bizarre Adventures, and Rampaging Hulk. But they did something rather silly - they handed the writing chores over to Bill Mantlo, taking all creative control AWAY from the Duck's father. Now, don't get me wrong, Mr. Mantlo has written some fine stuff in the past. My all-time favorites probably being ROM: Spaceknight and The Micronauts (one of the first comics ever written based on a toy!). But that was the problem - Bill was a terrific DRAMATIC writer, but he couldn't write a funny joke to save his life. The magazine format series was canned after 9 issues.

Howard re-appeared briefly in the mid-80's with a 32nd issue. Still without Steve Gerber, however. Then, when the movie came out in '86 a 33rd issue came out, as well as a 3-issue adaptaion of the movie (which also appered in a single, magazine-sized Super Special).

After Steve was booted off the book in the late 70's, he was SO furious that Marvel had stolen his creation outright from him, that he actually SUED Marvel for the rights to the character! He created another Duck character, "Destroyer Duck," in retaliation. This was a dark, gritty (and very funny), ultra-violent view of the world. Think of Rambo as a Duck. And to make things even better, Jack "King" Kirby provided the artwork! Talk about hitting MArvel where it HURT! I mean, 'ol Jack was one of the FOUNDING FATHERS of Marvel! The proceeds from the first few issues of Destroyer Duck went towards the lawsuit. Alas, Steve ultimately lost. Something to do with Marvel automatically owning whatever anyone in their employ creates. One may consider this to be one of the reasons they founded their Epic Comics line a few years later. Epic was notable in that it gave creators free reign to do whatever they wanted, AND Marvel let the creator's keep the rights to their work.

Steve Gerber eventually made peace with Marvel, and as a peace offering he came back to write a Howard guest spot in a couple of issues of Generation X. Apparently, Marvel felt enough time had passed since the travesty of the movie that the felt it was safe to attempt a revival of the character. And who better to revive him than Mr. Gerber himself! But it wasn't all roses - While Steve was writing HIS Howard story, another writer was writing ANOTHER Howard story that was slated to come out around the same time. Marvel had seen fit NOT to mention this to Steve at the time. Needless to say, when he found out, he was furious. And that marked his final association with Marvel. He felt it was nothing short of underhanded, sneaky, and just plain RUDE to invite him back under the pretense of once again having control of HIS character, onlt to be SIMULTANEOUSLY stabbed in the back once again. Kinda like Marvel was saying, "Hey, it doesn't matter what has gone before, and what you say or think now. We'll let you write this story. But Howard always has been, and always WILL be OUR character. HA! Here, have some coffee we just pissed in." And that was that. Howard has made a few other appearances since, all in the hands of different writers, but as far as I know there hasn't been a revival beyond thos few guest spots.

Whew! Well now, if anyone had ANY questions about Howard the Duck, I hope that answers 'em!

- Zaranyzerak

three solemn kow-tows, to He Who Knows Much About Ducks.
now I've got to brave a stifling closet & wrestle out a box or two & make sure I've still got Howard comics. Jeepers, I don't have time to crack open a box of comics & get dragged into reading old Conans & Scrooge McDucks....
what have you started????? !

da moth

eheheh I especially remember the begining scene with the naked female duck.. wooo! heheh and I remember the theme song... howard the duck.. waaa waa waaa... and I remember singing in the playground of thomas jefferson elementary school

kinda on a tagent here but hey sean.. I saw fear factory last night pretty cool huh? tic tic tic tic tic

Hi sphinxie! I'd pay to see the nekkid rain dance too...but the last rain a few days ago didn't go too far. Still had to water tonight! Worked in the garden all day today--amazing how fast the day goes when you're busier than a bee (a few of which buzzed by me but I just duck and say go pollinate something!). My dahlias are going crazy, though--last year I put in some already grown plants from the garden centre and they did fairly well. This year I mail ordered six from a place in TO and started them from scratch a couple of months back (well, not really from scratch--they look like a swirl of dog poop with nubs when you plant them)--two of them are now about four feet high with lots of buds--the rest are still only about 18 inches high but the bugs have been bothering them. Still there's a lot of summer left so hopefully they'll keep growing too. My lilies--both Asian and day lilies are also gangbusters right now--so long as the bunnies don't get at the Asian ones like they did last year......argh!!!!!! Rabbit stew anyone? Luck with the paintings, moth, though I'm sure you don't need it. Cheers, nightsword