Why The Hell Not: Dear John Theme On Ukulele

Dear John was a Judd Hirsch show in the late 80's, early 90's (Spanning two decades!). It was fairly awful, but I watched it as a kid. The theme song is one that stuck with me. I'm not sure why this happened, or what possessed this man to do this, but darn it, it's pretty dang awesome. The Dear John theme on Ukulele:

Clearly, this man is genius.

Check more of his ukulele covers at his Youtube channel: Uke of Carl (linked)

Weekend Movie Discussion: Star Trek Into Darkness

I'd like to think that in an alternate reality J.J. Abrams is a child. One that is in a world where they haven't got a vaccine for polio yet. There he fights day and night, managing to overcome the disease. His struggle is an inspiration to all who witness it. While mostly unscathed, he does spend the rest of his life with one stiff leg that gives him a bit of a limp. But he doesn't let that stand in his way of becoming the world's greatest doctor. The courses are hard, naturally, but that same fighting spirit that licked polio all those years ago drives him to the top of all his classes. Years later, when he's an old man, he'll stand over the body of a sick child, with a vaccine, he himself created, in his hands, ready to cure the child of a disease far worse than polio. Truly an inspired life. Tears all around. Lens flare.

I'm just saying, it'd be cool for that alternative world...

Speaking of alternative worlds and J.J. Abrams: STD is out this week. I know everyone wants to abbreviate Star Trek Into Darkness as STID, but I prefer the connotation of the other one. With the first series of movies way back yonder, it's always been widely held that there was a curse on them. Every odd Start Trek movie was bad, and every even movie, good. When Abrams released his reboot, despite the plot holes and spotty writing, he brought forth a fantastically entertaining film. It seemed the curse of odd numbers had been broken.

Or had it?

In the first film an alternative timeline is created. One that sheers off from the original line. It was a great device which allows for the freedom to take the same characters and create your own canon, free of the bind of previous continuity. However, like the alternate world that develops in the film, could we be looking at an alternate curse? I won't present any spoilers here or ruin anything, but there are a lot of negative opinions on the new film. Don't get me wrong, there's good too, but a lot of bad word of mouth. Could it be that for an alternative timeline of Trek movies, we might be looking at a curse that ruins even number films?

Only time will tell.

And by time I mean there'll pretty much be a general consensus by the weekends end.

What are your plans this weekend? Seeing Star Trek? Already seen it? What's your favorite film in the franchise? (Mine is 4)

Weekend Movie Discussion: The Great Gatsby, Peeples

How about that Gatsby people? Isn't he great? No? Well, surely he must be good? Yes? Okay, he's the good, but not so great Gatsby.

This joke was brought to you courtesy of every kid who had to read it in school, while thinking they were the original king of comedy. I should know, that kid sat beside me in most of my classes.

So the long anticipated film adaptation of The Great Gatsby is out. Longer anticipated since it got bumped last year till this weekend. If you don't know the plot of the film, I suggest turning of the computer, grabbing your keys, going down to your local bookstore, purchasing a copy of Gatsby; reading said copy, and then coming back here. The rest of us will wait for you to catch up.

...

Back? That took a little longer than expected. Did you-? You did, you stopped for tacos. I see, and did you get the rest of us any? I see. Wait, what's that in another tab? Is that Wikipedia? Darn it, you just wiki'd it and didn't actually read it didn't you? Zelda must be rolling around in F. Scott Fitzgerald's grave. What's she doing in his grave you ask? How would I know, she's crazy.

Anyhoo, Reviews lean towards up but with a few downs. Great performances, beautifully shot, faithful adaptation, but still missing the spirit of the novel. Mind you I don't care about reviews, I'm all about watching the film. Hopefully it will lead to other Fitzy adaptations (yes we're so close I call him Fitzy) like his infinite classic "Sir Archibald Nutmeg and the Dismal Serenity". 

You wiki'd it didn't you? Ha, caught you out.

Outside of the popular choice for the weekend we also have the Craig Robinson vehicle Peeples. It's a Tyler Perry joint, that's not written by, nor directed by, Tyler Perry. Frankly, it stands to reason than that it should be the best Tyler Perry film ever. Plus despite his attempts at to hit as many mediocre films as possible, I still enjoy Robinson in the right role. Could be good. Ya' know, not great, but good...

See how I brought that all back around? My 11 year old self would be so proud. Course my 13 year old self would probably kick that crap out him, while my 14 year old self looked on in disgust. I really should stop having these temporal reunions, they only ever get me into trouble.

So what's your plans for the weekend? Gonna Gatsby it up? Going to see that highfalutin Peeples film? Did you realize "highfalutin" was one word? Well, it is.  

Weekend Movie Discussion: Iron Man 3, Greetings From Tim Buckley

I know, I know, it's the personal touch you've missed this past month right? Short stories are all well and good but you've missed my exceptional commentary on new releases. Well, wait no more cause I'm back and fired up. Let's get to it shall we?

So... That Iron Man 3... Looks pretty good, eh?

Nope, that's all I have to say on the subject. I mean seriously, chances are if you're going out to see a movie this weekend, that's the one. But don't think I'm leaving the weekend at that alone.

There is also a plethora of limited releases this weekend, and while most of them are more than a little 'meh', a couple titles stand out. First up is Generation Um, starring Keanu Reeves. Okay, so it actually falls into the meh category and sounds pretty dreadful all around (an aging chauffeur for an escort service) but the title is dynamite. Seriously, it's like every Keanu joke rolled into one glorious title. Alright, that's out of my system.

The one limited release that's actually of interest is Greetings From Tim Buckley, a sort of biographical film focusing on Tim and Jeff Buckley. The true story has interesting notes (music joke) and depending upon how they choose to tell it, it could be good (mind you early word hasn't been favorable). That's coming from someone who's never been a big fan of Jeff Buckley. Expect the film to focus on the two things the Buckleys did best: Music and dying.

Too soon? It was too soon wasn't it? This probably isn't the right time to drag out my Bruce & Brandon Lee joke is it? No? Okay, glad I asked first.

So anyway, I'm back... Not sure if that's a good thing or not. Let the site fly on autopilot for awhile during the A-Z blogging challenge. Haven't quite decided if it'll spur me to post more short stories or less, here on out. Time will tell I guess.

So what are your plans for the weekend? Do they include a flying metal man?

Zebra Zebra

...Zebra did it.

"Ha ha ha," the club manager spat, "that has to be the most tired joke I've ever-"

His words cut out from beneath him as he stepped away from the stage to where the next performers should have been lining up. One of the members of comedy troupe currently on stage had just missed his cue and punchline. Instead the manager found the troupe member, dressed as the proverbial zebra, standing over the lifeless body of a makeup girl. In his hand/hoof he held a knife covered in blood.

"Holy hell," the manager exclaimed, "it really was the Zebra!"