Solar System Coolness

Planets viewed from Earth as if they were at the distance of our moon.

A Guilty Pleasure

Yes, I know...pure crap. But what excellent, fun crap it is! Like my love for John Carter of Mars, Conan holds certain pleasures and attractions not to be found in your typical Merchant-Ivory or Masterpiece theater endeavor. This kind of stuff allows me the vicarious thrill of slaughtering my enemies without lifting a finger - kind of like the phoney danger of a roller coaster. And it belongs to one of my favorite genres of film and fiction: fantasy. Of course, "The Lord of the Rings" lives on a much higher plane, but it, too, has its escapist and brutal allure - enough to piss off literary critics. This type of entertainment exists to take us out of ourselves Plus, like all other fantastic fare, it disguises its more serious intent: to analyze and explore grand human themes in the most imaginative and entertaining way possible (although it's really disguised here!). In fact, this type of story-telling existed far earlier than the serious, character-driven stuff which has established itself as legitimate art. Sure, this isn't "The King's Speech", but it has it's place as well. Besides, it features a hot, near-naked man. So, enjoy!

Monkey Business

I don't know about anyone else, but I'm getting heartily sick of the bad news coming out of our dysfunctional government and economy (and wingnut repubs) - too much bad news and speculation doesn't make for much serenity. One can, indeed, be overwhelmed by the media's obsession with selling itself through emphasizing bad news. Thus, I am taking a break, and shifting my attention to some fun stuff, like the following:

Yes, I know: another retread from a Hollywood bereft of ideas. However, this is getting great reviews (an 80 on Rotten Tomatoes.com and a good review from the L.A. Times' Kenneth Turan), and the effects look interesting. And, as with all great SciFi, important issues can be examined in an imaginative way (treatment of animals, drug experimentation, enhanced intelligence drugs and genetic manipulation, etc.). Plus, another Andy Serkis CGI performance...

Given the record of humanity, maybe it's time to give the simians a chance! ;-)

John Carter of Mars

I remember reading these novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs during my teen years and being enthralled by the fictional Martian world they portrayed. My budding sexuality was stimulated by the descriptions of John Carter's magnificent physique and the nudity on display among the Martian people (never mind that the big romance was with the beauteous Dejah Thoris - the hidden subtext was quite homoerotic - LOL). Burroughs is, of course, better known for the creation of Tarzan, but to my mind, the Mars novels are more interesting and entertaining. I can also partly ascribe my lifelong love of science fiction to these books (also my obsession with reading - although that started earlier).

Imagine my joy when I heard that these great stories are being filmed! They see tailor-made for the big screen, as they are quite cinematic. Of course, the images and adaptations of our favorite books rarely meet our imagined worlds, but I'm still looking forward to seeing they measure up. Here's the teaser trailer, and, though it doesn't match what I'm carrying around in my mind (no nudity, for instance - big surprise), it looks intriguing...

Can't wait!