Are You Ready for the BIG GAME?

Have you heard the news? On February 7, 2016 there’s going to be something called the BIG GAME.

I’m not sure what exactly it is since the radio and TV commercials don’t give any details, except for referencing it as the “big game.” Apparently I need to buy a new sofa, a new television and a carload of Doritos. This sounds like an expensive endeavor, not to mention a lot of work to enjoy it. Instead I plan on watching something else which doesn’t require much preparation.

My “Big Game” Watch List Alternatives:

  • Super Fly
  • Super Troopers
  • Duck Soup
  • The Streets of San Francisco
  • Supervixens
  • The Best of Superfly Snuka
  • North Dallas Forty
  • The Return of Superfly
  • Police Story 3: Supercop
  • Superbad
  • Super Boobs
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A Real Ninth Planet Discovered?… No Love for Pluto! :-(

January 20, 2016 – Big news in the world of astronomy was announced this week.

Researchers at Caltech published their discovery on a “real” ninth planet.

The Real Ninth Planet

Too bad for Pluto. If you recall, the former ninth planet was demoted to the status of a dwarf planet in 2006. With this new discovery, there’s really no chance of Pluto ever reclaiming its place in our solar system as the ninth rock from the sun. Additionally, this recently discovered planet was possibily the culprit of Pluto’s destruction eons ago.

According to the researchers, this real planet has the mass of ten Earths and has an incomprehensible huge, elongated orbit. A full orbit around sun would take between 10,000 and 20,000 years to complete.

Wow! Facts like this make my head spin. To help to put this sort of timeline into perspective, here are some other interesting facts:

  • Around 20,000 years ago, the Stone Age (aka the Paleolithic Period) ended which began 2.5 million years ago.
  • Around 10,000 years ago, the last Ice Age ended.
  • Around 4,580 years ago, construction of the Pyramids of Giza began.
  • Around 2,230 years ago, construction of the Great Wall of China began.
  • Around 76 years ago, Chuck Norris was born.

What’s even more incomphrensible, is if a Twinkie was produced 20,000 years ago, it would probably be still edible today. After all, just like how the universe has no edge and has no center, a Twinkie has no shelf life. Yeah, facts like these make my head spin and my mouth water.

Long live Pluto, Twinkies and Chuck Norris!)

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And the winner is… MARNIE! (Hopefully)

On January 14, 2016 the Oscar nominations were announced, which included Studio Ghibli’s WHEN MARNIE WAS THERE for Best Animated Feature Film.

MARNIE is the movie I’ll be rooting for the most at this year’s competition. It was a remarkable emotional driven story, coupled with visually stunning animation and beautiful music. A true masterpiece!

When Marnie Was There Poster

Even though Disney distributes Studio Ghibli’s movies, MARNIE was not a Hollywood produced film. In fact, Hollywood is not capable of producing movies like this anymore. If it doesn’t have explosions, super heroes (or a super villain) or talking animals in it, forget about it.

Instead we get mind-numbing, stupid stuff like this:

(Warning: Watching this trailer may make you brain dead or mad enough to punch your computer monitor! Proceed with caution.)

Demand better. After all, life is too short to be brain dead.

Good luck to MARNIE and Studio Ghibli!

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“Tails” of a Frequent Flyer

Dogs to the left of me/ Dogs to the right me/ and I’m stuck in the middle with a turkey… and when I say turkey, that means you!

After several plane trips and thousands of miles, I survived the hectic Christmas and New Year’s travel season. Whew! I miss the days of half-filled planes and having plenty of elbow and leg room to stretch out.

Now we’re crammed in like cattle. To further complicate the not-so-friendly skies is the ridiculous amount of dogs and cats traveling in the main cabin, both in carriers and as “service” animals.

On my last trip, I counted at least ten dogs boarding my flight, which included two service pooches. Are you kidding me? What’s wrong with people and how do we stop this?

If you own a dog, sorry, it’s inconvenient and costly. Suck it up and put your dog in puppy camp while your away instead of smuggling it onto the plane.

If you need a dog for emotional support, sorry, take a bus or train instead of polluting the plane with doggy dandruff.

Perhaps I’m overreacting to this unpleasant trend. At least people are not traveling with turkeys as service animals. Oh wait, someone recently did that already thanks to a doctor’s note. Thanks, doc, for being a quack… or is it a gobble?… or maybe it’s a ruff ruff?…

And don’t get me started on “pet relief” designated areas in airports. It’s tough enough to find a unpolluted restroom in the terminals. I can only imagine what these facilities are like inside. Pepé Le Pew would probably be right at home me thinks.

Cheers!

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My Favorite STUDIO GHIBLI’s Animated Movies

As I wrote my movie recommendation for WHEN MARNIE WAS THERE — Studio Ghibli’s most recent release — I was thinking about all of its movies I’ve seen and how I would rank them.

Studio Ghibli Logo

As you might know, Hayao Miyazaki, the master animator behind Studio Ghibli’s thirty years of success, retired in 2013 after releasing his final film, THE WIND RISES. (I hope he was bluffing about his retirement.)

In any event, WHEN MARNIE WAS THERE (WMWT) is first production from Studio Ghibli where Miyazaki was not involved in any capacity. The helms have been turned over to Hiromasa Yonebayashi (Miyazaki’s protege) who directed the wonderful WMWT movie which I highly recommend.

Please note, remarkably there is not one Studio Ghibli a movie which I did not enjoy watching. Do not misconstrue the lower rankings to mean I did not like them. Instead, the higher rankings mean I’ll never get tired of watching these movies over and over, like WMWT which I’ve watched three times already. (Conversely, my comic book movie rankings include ones which I absolutely despise.)

WMWT is a tour de force like many of Studio Ghibli’s films. It’s a resumé of work which will never be repeated nor can ever be matched. (Sorry Pixar.) The degree of creativity, imagination and execution will be truly be a once-in-a-century happening.

Thank you Studio Ghibli for sharing your talents and producing movies which will inspire generations to come.

As of November 2015, here are my rankings:

1. SPIRITED AWAY (2001)
2. PRINCESS MONONOKE (1997)
3. HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE (2004)
4. WHEN MARNIE WAS THERE (2014)
5. FROM UP ON POPPY HILL (2011)
6. WHISPER OF THE HEART (1995)
7. MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO (1988)
8. GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES (1988)
9. ONLY YESTERDAY (1991)
10. PONYO (2008)
11. THE WIND RISES (2013)
12. NAUSICAA OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND (1984)
13. THE SECRET WORLD OF ARRIETTY (2010)
14. PORCO ROSSO (1992)
15. CASTLE IN THE SKY (1989)
16. OCEAN WAVES (1993)

Next up for me to watch:
THE TALE OF THE PRINCESS KAGUYA (2013)
KIKI’S DELIVERY SERVICE (1989)
THE CAT RETURNS (2002)
POM POKO (1994)

Cheers!

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