hooray for Friday. Friday is a good day.
but not as good as next Friday. next Friday is good in the way that people will be giving me gifts and buying lunch and dinner for me.
won't you be one of those people who'll buy me something? pleeease buy me something! i like gifts, and I like people who buy me gifts! really, i do. i'll stop talking bad about you behind your back, i'll stop selling your email address to spammers, i'll stop calling members of your family at 3 a.m. and hanging up on them, and i promise that i'll stop pretending to be you when i send threatening email to members of Congress and the President. scout's honor.
Friday, October 25, 2002
Wednesday, October 23, 2002
Breathtaking. It's like somebody slaughtered an Abercrombe and Fitch catalogue. - D'Hoffryn, commenting on a dozen dead frat boys.
Last night's Buffy, "Selfless" was both fun and sad. Fun with the peeks into Anya's past, including OMWF Revisited; sad in Anya's lonliness and confusion about who, if anyone, she is now.
All summer long, ME said that this season would be lighter than last, a return to Buffy: Season One. I think a lot of people expected it to be mostly good times and happy, triumphant endings (or "Oh, the high school's back. More high school stories!"). So far, there has been some of that, but it's been thoroughly mixed with dealing with the consequences of last season.
That's a good thing. I wouldn't want for Willow to be completely over Tara's death, the flaying of Warren or almost destroying the world. I don't want Spike and Buffy to be over Spike's attempted rape of Buffy. I don't want Buffy to get off scot-free for being so dead last season, even if it's understandable. I don't want Anya to take up Vengeance Demoning again without four years of regained humanity and her near-marriage to Xander having some effect on her conscience and heart. I don't want Dawn to be completely absolved of her incredible self-centeredness, uncompassionate behavior toward her dealing-with-resurrection sister, and general rebelliousness. (In)Actions have consequences, and sometimes those consequences last a long time.
The first season wasn't about high school. High school was the setting and the spark for Buffy and co.'s adventures, but a lot of what the first season was about was the gang beginning to establish who they were, getting to know each other and how they fit in together. The seventh season will be doing the same.
Things have changed, not only the changes that go along with moving into adulthood, but as a consequence of the last few years, particularly the last two. The gang is working on discovering who they are in the post-Joyce-Giles-Tara-Resurrection Sunnydale, they have to rediscover how they relate to each other (by dealing, finally, with lies and things overlooked in past seasons) and how or whether they can be a gang again. Last season was "Growing Up." This season is "Growing Pains." There's been a lot of pain lately, and this season is going to take care of it. If this is indeed the last season, this will be the way to end it, with their friendships smoothed out and reestablished (even if there's a big Apocalypse that kills everyone) and the Scoobies going on in a world without us watching.
Last night's Buffy, "Selfless" was both fun and sad. Fun with the peeks into Anya's past, including OMWF Revisited; sad in Anya's lonliness and confusion about who, if anyone, she is now.
All summer long, ME said that this season would be lighter than last, a return to Buffy: Season One. I think a lot of people expected it to be mostly good times and happy, triumphant endings (or "Oh, the high school's back. More high school stories!"). So far, there has been some of that, but it's been thoroughly mixed with dealing with the consequences of last season.
That's a good thing. I wouldn't want for Willow to be completely over Tara's death, the flaying of Warren or almost destroying the world. I don't want Spike and Buffy to be over Spike's attempted rape of Buffy. I don't want Buffy to get off scot-free for being so dead last season, even if it's understandable. I don't want Anya to take up Vengeance Demoning again without four years of regained humanity and her near-marriage to Xander having some effect on her conscience and heart. I don't want Dawn to be completely absolved of her incredible self-centeredness, uncompassionate behavior toward her dealing-with-resurrection sister, and general rebelliousness. (In)Actions have consequences, and sometimes those consequences last a long time.
The first season wasn't about high school. High school was the setting and the spark for Buffy and co.'s adventures, but a lot of what the first season was about was the gang beginning to establish who they were, getting to know each other and how they fit in together. The seventh season will be doing the same.
Things have changed, not only the changes that go along with moving into adulthood, but as a consequence of the last few years, particularly the last two. The gang is working on discovering who they are in the post-Joyce-Giles-Tara-Resurrection Sunnydale, they have to rediscover how they relate to each other (by dealing, finally, with lies and things overlooked in past seasons) and how or whether they can be a gang again. Last season was "Growing Up." This season is "Growing Pains." There's been a lot of pain lately, and this season is going to take care of it. If this is indeed the last season, this will be the way to end it, with their friendships smoothed out and reestablished (even if there's a big Apocalypse that kills everyone) and the Scoobies going on in a world without us watching.
Tuesday, October 22, 2002
I have to get to Carly Simon's house, or I'll never know if that song was about me!
Which Animaniacs Character are You?
You don't like to show your true self. This is somewhat understandable, considering that when you do, people often try to kill you! Instead of being open and honest, you tend to wear "masks," disguising the "real you" from almost everyone. You sometimes give yourself away to others whom you feel are also outsiders, though. Inevitably, someone will realize you've been deceitful, and then it's time to move on again. You don't like to admit it, but in some ways you are a giant chicken.
Which Animaniacs Character are You?
You don't like to show your true self. This is somewhat understandable, considering that when you do, people often try to kill you! Instead of being open and honest, you tend to wear "masks," disguising the "real you" from almost everyone. You sometimes give yourself away to others whom you feel are also outsiders, though. Inevitably, someone will realize you've been deceitful, and then it's time to move on again. You don't like to admit it, but in some ways you are a giant chicken.
I'm talking cartoons, so why not?
Animaniacs
Scooby Doo (all incarnations except A Pup Named Scooby Doo).
Tiny Toon Adventures
Duck Tales
Darkwing Duck
Batman: the Animated Series
Pinky and the Brain (and "Is The Brain Really Orson Welles?")
Rocko's Modern Life (FAQ)
Inspector Gadget
Dungeons & Dragons
- My Favorite Cartoons
In order of favoriteness
"I think the hallmark of Warner Bros. cartoons is a certain kind of sarcasm and sly humor," said Steve Bernstein, a Warner Bros. composer who worked with Mr. Stone. "You know, if there was a bucket of glue on the screen, the music was 'The Old Gray Mare Just Ain't What She Used to Be.' Carl Stalling created that language, and Richard was a master at speaking it."
Stone was widely considered the modern-day successor to Carl Stalling, the legendary composer who wrote hundreds of wacky musical scores for such Warner Bros. classics as "Looney Tunes" and "Merrie Melodies" from the late 1930s to the 1950s.
When watching cartoons, I was much more aware of the animation than the music, so I never gave a thought to the composer or musical director. Now, after reading about Richard Stone, I'm a little embarrassed that I didn't notice. He composed the theme or scored episodes (or did both) for a few of my favorite cartoons of the 90s. He worked on Tiny Toon Adventures, my high school favorite, before moving to Animaniacs, my all time favorite. His theme songs are some of the catchiest, and certainly the most memorable for me. It was his theme that got me watching Tasmania, and it was, without a doubt, the music the got me hooked on Animaniacs (I still sing songs from the show, probably much more often than is healthy in someone approaching 30).
I couldn't find much on Stone online. Other than a mention in credits, most information consists of his obituarty (he died in 1999). Here is the IMDb entry.
Stone was widely considered the modern-day successor to Carl Stalling, the legendary composer who wrote hundreds of wacky musical scores for such Warner Bros. classics as "Looney Tunes" and "Merrie Melodies" from the late 1930s to the 1950s.
When watching cartoons, I was much more aware of the animation than the music, so I never gave a thought to the composer or musical director. Now, after reading about Richard Stone, I'm a little embarrassed that I didn't notice. He composed the theme or scored episodes (or did both) for a few of my favorite cartoons of the 90s. He worked on Tiny Toon Adventures, my high school favorite, before moving to Animaniacs, my all time favorite. His theme songs are some of the catchiest, and certainly the most memorable for me. It was his theme that got me watching Tasmania, and it was, without a doubt, the music the got me hooked on Animaniacs (I still sing songs from the show, probably much more often than is healthy in someone approaching 30).
I couldn't find much on Stone online. Other than a mention in credits, most information consists of his obituarty (he died in 1999). Here is the IMDb entry.