SOA Too Racy for the PTC

So, the Parents Television Council is up in arms about the opening sequence in last week's Sons of Anarchy episode, as it featured a variety of characters coupled in the act of (I believe the technical term is) "gettin' it on".

I have three issues with this:

1. It was not pornographic, and actually did serve the story.  But actual content aside...
2. There is a rating of TV-MA in big letters before the show and at the return from every commercial break, telling you exactly what "mature" content you're getting.  Seriously.  There's a list.  Violence.  Nudity.  Adult situations. Language.  It's all laid out for you so that you can decide as a viewer, "maybe I don't want to see this content, and I sure don't want my kids watching it."
3. There exists magical technology called "parental controls" and your "remote control" (note the key word in both: CONTROL), both of which allow you to a) decide what your kids can and cannot view, and b) what you want to view, at a moment's notice.  Exercise this technology.

The PTC's complaint, as I understand it, is that the content on the FX network pushes the boundaries between basic cable and premium networks like HBO, and that they don't feel they should have to pay for content they find objectionable.

Sounds reasonable on the surface.  I mean, I'd rather not pay for the content coming from, say, Fox News (as it's far more damaging to the national psyche than any scripted drama), but we don't have an a la carte cable system, so there are a limited number of remedies to the situation.  First and foremost, use that remote and change the channel if it bothers you that much.  And if you're still up in arms about the content in a certain media outlet, boycott the show's sponsors.

But don't act shocked when a Kurt Sutter show depicts sex and violence.  That's like acting shocked that water is wet.

World Cancer Day

'Nuff said, really.

Seahawks Finally Bring it Home

Still euphoric.

Vindication.

Years of demeaning trash talk by the national sports commentators who are now forced to eat their words (with the exception of Howie Long and Michael Strahan, 'cause defensive players know what's up).  I love seeing them finally have to admit that it wasn't just about Denver not showing up - it's that the Seahawks showed up as a well-oiled machine (in every way) and took Denver behind the shed for a beating. 

Those of us who have followed the Seahawks through lackluster seasons but have seen the reconstruction of a great franchise under Allen, Carroll and Schneider knew what was up.  I get that unless you live here you don't truly appreciate the significance of what it means to the region. It's easy to dismiss a team with a lackluster history prior to the 2002 conference switch (into a division they would own to this day).  It's easy to dismiss an entire region because they don't represent an east coast media market.

But the stats don't lie, and the Hawks' performance last night was living proof that defense wins championships.  Manning is one of the best QBs to play the game, but no matter how good, quarterbacks don't single-handedly win games, especially when rattled.  And in both the preseason rout and the Super Bowl, it's clear that he's not used to what the current NFC West - and specifically the Seahawks - bring against him.  That said, the man is a class act.  One of the first things he did after the game was go to Richard Sherman and inquire after his injury.

I'm looking forward to seeing how the next few seasons shake out.  With competition hot and heavy between Seattle and San Francisco, it will only raise everyone's game in the NFC West - and continue our division's dominance nationally.

For now, I'm just savoring the collective joy exuded by my adopted hometown (where I've now lived half my life), and breathing a sigh of relief that the team we've invested so much time, energy, faith and money in executed their objective as expertly (and more so) as any in the game - and who do so much off the field for their fans, community and region. 

Well done, Seattle Seahawks!  Way to bring the Lombardi home.

Sweethearts, Rediscovered

For those of you still following this sporadically-updated blog of mine, I wanted to let you know that the project which has been taking so much of my energy and focus has just launched part 1.

I may have mentioned before that my great-grandaunts were radio pioneers in the 1920s, and that they recorded for Edison.  Not just the Edison Recording Company, but for Thomas Friggin' Edison himself.  Seems the old guy had a soft spot for Hawaiian music, and insisted on engineering a couple of their songs when they were recording at the New York studio.

In any case, the MacDowell Sisters (we're not sure where the Mac came from, since they'd gone from Mac to Mc during the previous generation and were McDowell on all official records) were known by the nickname "Sweethearts of the Air" and at their zenith were the #2 radio variety act in America.  And in 1930, they finally put their memoirs on paper - the history of everything they'd done to get to be the #2 radio variety act in America.  Including: their early lives as the middle sisters of seven children, the sons and daughters of literal pioneers in the backwoods of Ohio and the sandy dirt farms of Kansas; putting themselves through business college to be able to provide for themselves and help the family finances; going into business for themselves as public stenographers; traveling the country by rail and making their living in each new city by setting up shop and providing steno services for local businesses; working as secretaries to Congressmen and war correspondents for the Daily Oklahoman during WWI; traveling to Hawaii and falling in love with native music - then learning to play said native music and help bring it to the mainland at the beginning of its heyday as the dominant popular music in the States.

Yep, these gals were wicked cool.  There was no such thing as too great a setback, too large a challenge.  Though their reign was short, their history is fascinating.  And now it's here.  In their own words.  Only 80+ years in the making.

Here We Go Again

I don't know what meaning the decision to return to the blog on what would have been Samantha's 46th birthday actually holds, if any.  But here we are.

The holidays were busy, projects professional and domestic galore.  And another February 11th has rolled around and left me somewhat confused at my own emotional reaction.  I know that grief isn't linear, and a wave can hit you at seemingly random times when you least expect it.  But on the flip side, I'm very happy in my marriage with Rae and have relatively great relationships with my kids.  I want for very little on an emotional level.  So when this year's 2/11 rolled around and the grief-bus ran me over, I was pretty confused.

Some of it is that I've been missing my dad a lot.  Between Sam's birthday on the 11th, Valentine's Day on the 14th (which is when our house burned down) and Dad's on the 27th, February is not my most favorite month ever.  It just also happens to be the month that Raechelle and I are doing a pretty big 28-day liver cleanse, which means my body is detoxing like a mofo -- caffeine and sugar withdrawal especially -- which further means that I'm feeling not-in-control.  And the entire reason we decided to do this was because of Raechelle's liver issues... so not being in control and having a wife with a liver illness are both kind of enormous triggers.

I guess I probably just answered my own question.  Hooray for blogging.

Sting, play us off...

Overload Update

Now that Seattle's annual two-week heatwave is over and the temps are now in the "reasonable" zone (with lots of lovely sunshine left to go around), I can take a break from the maelstrom of projects that is my life and update y'all on what's been going down in Toddwannaland.

Mystic East: A World Resource for Arrowflight is available.  It has gone live on DriveThru RPG and RPGNow.com, and is going up on other stores soon.  We're currently scrutinizing print proofs as well.

Cover draft

Editing is proceeding on All Aboard!, the MacDowell Sisters' memoir.  I'm simultaneously adapting it to screenplay, which means I'm studying the historical record as well.  It's very interesting what Edie and Grace left out - but the memoir is, after all, a PR device, so mentions of their marriages and children who died are given little mention.

Did another pass on Green Light and passed it along to three trusted film associates.  We'll see what they think about the revised third act.

Boo!

Shriek X is almost done with layout.  It will go live just in time for fall/Halloween roleplaying sessions.  Mark Bruno wrote an outstanding skeleton several years ago, and Gavin and I stitched an unholy monster together over his framework. 

Meanwhile, discussion has begun on the subject of The Collectibles season two.

And that's the scoop.

I'm on a Train

Okay, so I've been on a train before. A few times, in fact.  And at least one overnight excursion.  But this was my first business trip taking almost two full days and crossing three states.  That's right.  Landon and I took the Coast Starlight to San Diego Comic Con.

What better train to take to a comic convention?

  Some observations on taking the train:

• It's far more civilized than the circus air travel has become.
• There is no TSA to frisk you when you get on board; no cancer-causing backscatter machines, no invasive pat-downs.  Instead of being treated like a criminal, the passenger is treated like a paying customer and guest.
• The carbon footprint for rail is similar to or lower than air, depending on the trip.
• Our sleeper tickets (first class) were comparable in cost to coach air tickets, and afforded us a shared private cabin which converted to dual bunks.  Plus all of our meals were included.
• The seating is far more comfortable than coach air seating, and the overstuffed swivel armchairs in the parlor car puts even first class air seating to shame.
• Complimentary champagne upon embarking.
• Unlimited access to luggage.
• A dedicated steward to administer each car.
• Free WiFi - which was spotty at times but allowed us to work from the luxurious parlor car.
• Said parlor car has a dedicated steward who offers full bar service as well as meal service with selected menu items.  And while the dining car accommodates all passengers, the parlor car is only for sleeper passengers and therefore is less crowded and generally more comfortable to take meals in.
• Showers.
• A movie theater.
• An arcade.
• A pretty impressive menu of excellent food.
• Reasonably unrestricted movement about the cars to stretch one's legs or whatever.
• Amazing scenery.
• Meeting and talking to fellow passengers.
• Wine and cheese tasting.

Parlor car is the shizzlepants

 The only advantage air travel has over rail is speed.  So if you have the time, and slowing down a bit seems like a nice change, I highly recommend rail.  As a nation, I think we should do more of it, and should invest in updated, more modern trains (like Europe and Japan).  That would make it more energy efficient AND reduce some of the time factor.

Work proceeds in the sleeper cabin

So yes.  I'm a fan of the train.

The end of the line was at Union Station in Los Angeles.  From there, we took the Surfliner (commuter train) to San Diego.  We got in at almost 1AM to discover the hotel had mis-booked our reservation as starting the following day, but they found us a room at a local HoJo*.  It was clean and quiet, and a little more comfortable than a sleeper bunk.

Throngs

In the morning, we set out for the trolley, headed over to the Convention Center, and there we encountered 140,000 geeks.  It was packed, both inside the center and within a six-block radius outside.  We killed time waiting for our new hotel room to be ready by wandering up the streets and locating the U.S. Grant Hotel, where my great-great aunts set up shop as public stenographers in 1915-1916.  We talked to a very enthusiastic concierge, took some photos, then headed back to the con to meet up with our contact, the guy who does the film programming.  We secured our passes and headed to the hotel to drop off our luggage, then took the free shuttle back to the con.

San Diego Convention Center

Ended up at the information booth standing right next to high school buddy and fellow filmmaker Mark Allen, and we made plans to meet up for dinner.

A place of honor: following The Princess Bride and leading into JourneyQuest

The Collectibles screening had a small but enthusiastic audience, and the season looked really nice on the big screen in 1080p.

The Collectibles full season screening

We spent the next day walking the main floor, catching up with friends or making new contacts.  By the end of it, however, I was ready to be away from people.  We met up with one of Landon's film friends who now lives in San Diego and she took us out for drinks before dropping us back at the hotel, where Landon and I proceeded to close down the hotel bar.

Inside the Convention Center

View from the Hilton restaurant

Needless to say I felt like crap the next morning, and decided my last day in San Diego was going to be an actual vacation day.  I slept and lounged by the pool while Landon took in the con for one more afternoon.  We left early the next morning and repeated the train trip in reverse.  When all was said and done, Landon and I arrived home safely having spent an entire week together without wanting to kill each other.  That's the kind of camaraderie long film shoots under hot lights creates.

Union Station/Santa Fe Depot, San Diego

I've now been to Wonder Con, Dragon*Con, Dragonflight, GeoCon, Gen Con, Comic Con International, every Jet City Comic Show, every Emerald City Comicon, and the first two E3 shows.  At 44, I'm pretty much done with long lines, sensory overload, huge crowds of people and the smells that accompany same, especially in high heat and humidity.  I love visiting conventions and trade shows as a professional and enjoy making contact with fans like at The Collectibles world premiere at ECCC.  But this trip reinforced the fact that I'm really not the hardcore fanboy I once was.

By the power of Grayskull!

And that's probably okay.

*HoJo = this, not this.

The Collectibles Comic Book

We've begun work on the assets for The Collectibles season 1.5 comic book.  Originally we were thinking about shooting actors in costume in front of the green screen and then digitally filtering to get our graphical look*, but then we decided it would be more effective in the long run to generate the characters in 3D.  We can then pose them in any hazardous situations we require, and post-process for a graphical look.

Here's a little sneaky at the cover...

And some peeks at the character models in progress...

* Such as the top banner graphic at www.the-collectibles.com or the faux comic book page we used in the SIFF trailer...

More Chop Socky Boom!

Episode 3 of Chop Socky Boom is up!  This one is particularly funny for anyone who has ever worked on an indie film set.  And yours truly gets quite a bit of screen time as surly DP Guy.  Also watch for Landon Salyer, Conor Hogan and the Gore Sisters as on-set personnel.  Quite a few Collectibles peeps were on the Chop Socky.  And do you recognize Eric Stevens from Ordinary Angels?  Check it!

Episode 10: In Case of Emergency, Press Here

And scene.  Be sure to watch through the end of the credits.  Season one of The Collectibles is done.  Next up, the season 1.5 comic book, Breakout!, a screening of the entire season at San Diego Comic Con, the commercial DVD production, and scheduling/budgeting for season two: Divide & Conquer.

Episode 9: In the Bored Room

The three-part climax of the season continues, starting with death-by-PowerPoint!  We've all been in that meeting at least once (and some of us on a weekly or daily basis).

Episode 8: Hostile Takeover

For the last three episodes, we brought in some heavy hitters from Seattle's indie film scene.  Lisa Coronado was quick to sign on as Evil Hand (in fact, we'd written the role pretty much with her in mind), and the roles of Choking Hazard and Dr. Flaming Skull were given to two actors with whom I'd worked previously (and both traveling from different parts of the country).  When events conspired to take both gentlemen out of the picture at varying degrees of last-minute-ness, we had to cover our bases - and I daresay we came out far better than we could have hoped.

Josh Truax is a fixture in Seattle indie film.  I first became aware of his work through the West Seattle project The Divine Marigolds and Ali Mohsenian's Sequential Art, although he's been at it longer than that.  We asked him directly, and he accepted, bringing a delightfully frustrated quality and human dimension to a character that is on the surface not much more than a play on words.  Fantastic.

Paul Eenhoorn has likewise been a fixture of Seattle film, both commercial and indie.  He plays the patriarch of the Marigold family, and a host of other roles, from hit men to the mayor of Renton.  And as Dan Heinrich says, the man held a friggin' clinic every time the cameras rolled.  He embraced the ridiculous and made Dr. Flaming Skull into a far more paternal figure than we'd initially imagined.

Episode 7: How Does That Make You Feel?

For this episode, we called in our friend Devielle Johnson (whom you may have seen gracing your television set on any number of prime time shows - the dude is workin' it!) to play the narcissist "hero" Shrink Ray, who proceeds to reduce everyone at Power Posse HQ into a puddle of emotional goo (and Receiver for all the wrong reasons).

The show creators had fun playing other supers in the bar scene.  As in the On and On video, we shot at the Mop & Bucket, and got our old Nightcrawler Michael Fairbanks to portray Raoul the Time-Traveling Bartender.  If you watch closely, you'll see that just about every shot Michael is in he is wearing a hat from a different time period.

That's Raechelle in the trio of ladies in the back - the one in the long black wig.  I'm the big guy with the goggles, fedora and trench coat.

Episode 6: With Grrrl Power Comes Grrrl Responsibility

Episode 6 examines gender treatment in the workplace, as Vance introduces the latest applicants for the vacant team position, The Sisters of Might.  Played by two of my favorite actresses to work with, Trin Miller and Angela DiFiore, Mighty Girl and Brain Pan try to use sex appeal to help their case, while the female Power Posse members bristle at their mere presence.  In the end, victory goes to the Power Posse girls, who then prove as piggish as the guys had been when hunky Shrink Ray arrives for his interview.

Episode 5: Ninja, Please.

Episode 5 introduces Death-Wish's faithful (and annoyingly cute) sidekick, Ennui (played marvelously by Elizabeth Daruthayan).  It also includes guest performances by Ben Andrews (of Ordinary Angels) and Darlene Sellers.  Darlene reprises the role of Daisy, whom she plays in her own webseries, Chop Socky BOOM.  CSB just premiered, and I'm proud to help promote it, not just because I play the annoyed Director of Photography (aka DP Guy), but because Darlene is an amazing performer and collaborator, and our shows happened to share several cast and crewmembers.

Here are the first two episodes of Chop Socky BOOM.  Enjoy!

Episode 4: Location, Location, Location

The next several episodes feature guest stars as superhero applicants and, later, villains.  The first applicant, Graviator, was played by rising star Conner Marx, who brought a delightful awkwardness to the role.  We've all been in the position of interviewing in a situation where the company is not well prepared, and that lack of preparation somehow reflects badly on the person who doesn't even work there.  There is also a reference to being put on the spot and tested on one's skills (and being unprepared to do so).

This episode not only marks the change of location, but also of a shift-around in some crew positions, and a step up in production value.

Episode 3.5: Moving Day

So, right after we shot the first three episodes of The Collectibles back in August 2011, Arc Media lost their lease, leaving us without an office in which to shoot.  Fortunately, through connections with our Ultrafemme actress, we were able to secure Chubb Security in Bothell, WA for episodes 4 through 10.

To ease the shock of a totally different environment in episode 4, we were able to shoot a brief scene in the Arc Media space literally days before they moved out, and wrote the office move into the next batch of episodes.

Episode 3: The Views Expressed...

Rob and Joel (Kyle and Jim of Kirby Krackle) are back as guest stars in the third episode.  In a sequence reminiscent of Office Space, the team members of the Power Posse meet with the corporate tools to justify their jobs.  And no, we're not too proud to go for the pee joke.

Episode 2: Tool Time

For this episode, we enlisted the talents of Jim Demonakos and Kyle Stevens of Seattle nerd rock band Kirby Krackle to portray Joel Bradavky and Rob Schufeld, a couple of tools from upstairs at "corporate" (meaning where the actual decisions regarding the Power Posse are made).

Some trivia:

• Kirby Krackle are responsible for the end title track on each episode of The Collectibles.  "I Wanna Live in a World Full of Heroes" is exactly the vibe we wanted for the show, as it's about throwing off the mundane yoke of an office job or flipping burgers for the exciting world of superhero crime fighting.
• Jim Demonakos has done some improv, but has no formal acting experience, and it is his rehearsed delivery that makes him so painfully believable as a corporate manager.
• As the chief songwriter and front man for Kirby Krackle, Kyle Stevens is the literal voice of the band, while lyricist Jim Demonakos stays more behind the scenes.  For episodes 2 & 3 of The Collectibles, we reversed their roles.  Jim does the talking while Kyle remains silent.
• Jim's character, Joel Bradavky - what does it mean?  "Joel" is a reference to Joel Schumacher, the movie director who many Batman fans say ruined the 1990s movie franchise.  Batman the Animated Series contained an episode where an overly-flamboyant kid is fantasizing about how he would tell his Batman story, to which the other kids reply, "Shut up, Joel."  This has become comic book jargon for addressing any bad idea.  Among Schumacher's many perceived sins was putting nipples on the batsuit.  "Bradavky" is nipples in Czech.
• Kyle's character, Rob Schufeld - what does it mean?  "Rob" is a reference to Rob Liefeld, a comic book artist in the 1990s whose hyper-stylized drawing bore little to no resemblance to the human form.  "Schufeld" is an amalgam of Schumaker and Liefeld, two extremely divisive personalities in comic book franchise history.

The Collectibles Goes Live

I can't believe I haven't posted anything new since Sam's birthday, but I assure you there was good reason.  The Collectibles premiered at Emerald City Comicon on April 1st, and went live on the interwebs the next day.  We're releasing a new episode every Monday.

As great as the reaction has been, some friends and family are hesitant to jump in because they "don't get" superheroes or comic books or that kind of thing.  But The Collectibles is not about comic book superheroes.  It's about every cube farm in which you've ever worked, and the co-workers just happen to be superheroes.  You don't watch shows like The Office because you work in commercial paper sales.  You watch it because everyone has had a boss like Michael or a co-worker like Dwight.  If you've ever worked in a soul-sucking corporate environment (show of hands?), you'll "get" The Collectibles.

Here's the pilot: