Wolfman's Got Nards!

Monster Squad.

Damn, I love this movie. It started a path in my life that was inalterable. I was a horror fan already when I saw this as a youngster. I had already seen all of the Friday the 13ths and Nightmare on Elm Streets that were made up to '87 but this movie, campy as it is, made me want to seek out the Universal Monster movies. It actually gave me an appreciation for film at 8 years old (I'm assuming I didn't see it the moment it came out on video but rather a few months later and therefore, 1988).

My grandfather was impressed that I liked movies that he saw as a kid and showed me other stuff: Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, John Wayne, Orson Welles, Kirk Douglas. I was probably the only pre-teen whose favourite movie was Angels with Dirty Faces.

It's funny how a PG 13* young adult horror movie can send someone in such a direction. I was young, really young. So young that at one point early in the movie it announces (via a subtitled message) that it is now Present Day and I thought that was an American holiday but couldn't understand why no one in the movie was giving each other presents!

Anyway, do us all a favour and go here to sign a petition to get this movie on DVD, please!!!



*Now they'd probably have to cut so much stuff from this to get a PG rating it would be a nonsensical commercial for garlic sandwiches! Not sure what I'm saying? Sign the petition and rent the DVD when it comes out my friends

Left field thought for the day:

What did Anton Chekhov think of red herrings?

Wow...A year in review + a big reveal!

Stick around to the end of the post and you'll be let in on some great news. Don't cheat!

Well, a year ago a few days ago we decided that if our unborn child was a boy we would name it Cade. Sure enough...

In the past year there have been more changes in my life than I ever thought would happen in such a short time. Last year I was going to post-grad school and tending bar in Glasgow. We moved to Port Alberni (a new, small town) in August and dove into our careers until a teacher's strike derailed our finances so badly that we're still feeling the sting today.

Having finally passed through the strike era, school got under way.

Along came Cade around Christmas time and it was the greatest present I ever got. Bye bye sleep. I used to be an insomniac. This carried over into not really needing to sleep all that much every night. Now, well...it's a different story. But I digress.

The new year brought a full time job teaching at the local alternate school which, funnily enough, has become a bit of a calling for me. Between that and the boy there hasn't been a lot of time for much else.

As I mentioned in the last post, we just bought our first piece of real estate and will be moving into the illustrious townhouse at the beginning of September.

Why am I repeating myself you might be asking. Well, we just got some news that puts the whole thing in a new light:

Yesterday Meg went to the doctor while I took the recycling to the depot. When I picked her up at the doctor's office she mouthed the words "I'm pregnant."

Now, roughly 40 hours later, that my heart has finally left my throat we're all still reeling from the news. We're excited and find the prospect of having two children graduated high school by the time we are 50 a little delightful.

Go here to see pictures of the future big brother.

Holy Shit!

We bought a house*. A townhouse. You thought you were in debt. Pictures to follow when we take posession in September.

*If the finances clear.

Akira Kurosawa said:

"It is the role of the artist not to look away."


Just thought more people need to read that.

Eureka!!!

About a year ago I feared I had lost some important stuff in the move from Glasgow to Port Alberni.

Today Megan cleaned up her kindergarten classroom and came home with a trunkload of curricular stuff. She mentioned that a binder of mine is in the load. Not trying to get my hopes up, I was delighted to find that the binder contained: the plot to the first 100 or so pages of my novel, the plots to 5 issues of an ongoing project with Dav (I never realized they were lost), ideas for several sequels to an upcoming short story being published any day now by Vicious Circle Project and various other goodies including the issue of Cerebus that parodies Sandman signed by Dave Sim and an issue of Rue Morgue Magazine.

Me ams happy.

In other news....

How come it never shares with me?

My blog is worth $4,516.32.
How much is your blog worth?

Superman Returns

was the whitest movie I have seen since Birth of a Nation*. In the earlier installments there were at least racial stereotypes (remember "Hey Jim, nice OUTfit!!!!?). Richard Pryor was in Superman III and he alone counts as three or four black people. Listen to his stand-up and you'll understand.

"What about Kal Penn?" you ask? Well that's fine. He had a lot of screen time as one of Luthor's henchmen. He was simply there to show that Luthor was not as evil as other CEO types in his willingness to hire minorities. Penn is a great comedic actor in a movie with lots of comedy WITHOUT ANY LINES!!!!!!!!!

I'm done.

Oh yeah...the movie was lacklustre at best. Bring on the giant robots and Doomsday for the sequel to sate my desire for mayhem!


















*I haven't actually seen birth of a nation.

Deal Howie!

We've got a deal.

Last night the BCTF agreed to a pay raise of 16% over 5 years and a $4,000 signing bonus. The money doesn't really matter to me. What I'm glad about is the avoidance of a strike come fall. The last strike greatly delayed the beginning of my teaching career and I hardly wanted to do the same.

Yay!

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In other news: my iMac is on its way and I'm counting down the seconds. Bye bye HP! Bye Bye!!!