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Thursday, May 31, 2018

Comic of the Week #21 Glub Glub Glub

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Comic of the Week has been on a long hiatus but I wanted to bring it back since I've been reading graphic novels and comics again. Every week I'm going to showcase a comic or GN cover- could be old, could be new- and share a few thoughts on why I think it's special. Do you like what I picked out? Let me know in the comments, and as always, if you have a favorite cover or piece of comic art, let me know! 

This week is Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers #3. A rather tongue-in-cheek title, this short series had amazing art. Here they seem to be sinking beneath the waves, to be met by Gigantor from the deeps? 

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Movies That Suck #11 - Urban Cowboy

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Movies That Suck is a feature where I watch a bad movie and share my reactions to it in real time. Sort of like live tweeting without the tweeting. I watch it so you don't have to! This will be spoilery I guess by definition but since you probably won't want to watch these anyway it probably won't matter? But heads up anyways. So get comfortable, grab a favorite beverage, and let me tell you about a movie that sucks. 

This week is Urban Cowboy. John Travolta riding a mechanical bull! And Debra Winger who rides it better than he does! This was fun, y'all. Seriously- yeah it's kinda dated, and there are some cringe worthy moments- trust me, we'll get to that, but this was entertaining and hey country music and Gilley's bar (a real place at one time)- what's not to like??? 

So Bud (Travolta) has moved to Houston to get a job at an oil refinery, and his uncle takes him lickety split to Gilley's to sample the nightlife. I love how there's a fight as they're going in, and his aunt is all like this place hasn't changed a bit. Bob (the uncle) advises "Keep walking. If they go to shoot, drop to the ground." Seems like good advice. Oh, and just at the outset- the uncle is played by Barry Corbin. If you know who Barry Corbin is, you know how awesome that is. Okay- onward. Bud is like shit, this place is bigger than my hometown. Uncle Bob helpfully points out that Gilley's is the biggest honky-tonk in the world. Now I don't care if you like country music or no, but Gilley's in its heyday- I'm just sayin. 

Bob's showing Bud around and introducing him to all the happening people, including Steve who works there. Bob asks Steve to "take good care" of Bud, which translates to Steve asking a couple of girls over. Next scene is Bud waking up in bed with both of them. Okay then! Welcome to Gilley's, Bud! And aunt Corene is a naughty thing! Bud's mom calls the next morning to check on Bud, and Corene tells her Bud must still be at church. Her and Bob have a good laugh at that one. And Sissy (Winger) takes notice of Bud. A few nights later he's at the bar again and Sissy waltzes on over and asks him to dance. 

So it doesn't take long for those two to get hot for each other. They're making out on the dance floor and all that. Bud, however, is kind of a tight ass and doesn't think girls can do certain things. Oh-oh. Then he slaps her after they have a disagreement- they're in a diner after hours and the two women he had the menage with stroll by all flirty like. Damn, he slapped her? Not cool, Bud. 



"I didn't hit you that hard." Really, Bud??? Oh shit, now they're married!!!! Um, see the clip above- it explains everything. So the reception's at Gilley's (do they live there??) and they got themselves a new home- a trailer! Marital bliss. But trouble's on the way- they go to a prison rodeo and watch a guy named Wes Hightower (Scott Glenn) riding a bull. And right after that Gilley's get a mechanical bull. See where this is goin? 

Bud of course has to give it a shot. And he ain't half bad! Course he's a little, um, sore down below afterward, if you catch my drift. Sissy says she wants to ride it and Bud freaks. He won't let Sissy ride, and she's none too happy about it. But he's riding the fuck out of it, and fancies himself quite the badass, until Wes shows up. Yup, the convict. Turns out he knows Steve, and he knows how to ride too. Sissy asks him if he's a real cowboy (the same question she asked Bud when they met) and he smiles at her. Trouble is a- brewin. 

Oh and Wes is wearing like a see-through muscle shirt too. I guess this was the 80's. He tips his hat to Sissy at the diner later and before long him and Bud are fighting in the parking lot. Bud's got himself a jealous streak- that and he's kind of an asshole drunk. Not that Wes is any better. Sure can pick 'em Sissy. Anyway Bud goes to work drunk and- surprise- gets hurt, while Sissy goes to Gilley's and learns how to ride the bull- with Wes' help. Afterwards they have a big ole fight after aunt Corene comes over and is like damn, y'all live like pigs. Food everywhere. Bud and Sissy are a mess, although Bud telling her to get him a beer constantly and expecting her to be all domestic-he's kind of an ass.  

So even though he almost fell off a scaffold at work and is hopped up on codeine, they go to Gilley's and Sissy shows him she can ride. Bud's all jealous (shocking, I know) and rides - then challenges Sissy to ride again, even though she doesn't want to! Yeah Bud's an asshole at this point. And he ends up with a broken arm after getting thrown- thanks to Wes turning the bull up. Bud wants to go after Wes, who we see had a knife ready- yeah he's bad news. Bud and Sissy fight *sigh* and Bud hits her- again- and throws her out. Dang. Is Bud supposed to be sympathetic in this movie? Because no.  



Back to Gilley's! You know, it must get expensive? Sissy won't talk to Bud so he asks some hottie named Pam to dance, and she responds by dancing with Wes. Hands on asses and everything. These two are like kids. I mean maturity-wise. Bud and Pam leave to have sex and Sissy throws a bottle at them- the staff seem to take it in stride. Just another night at Gilley's. Pam asks Bud who that was, and he tells her his wife. Doesn't seem to slow Pam down. Is he doing this just to make Sissy jealous? He says yup, and Pam smiles. She likes a cowboy. Um, is anyone likable in this movie? 

Pam has a nice place, I'll give her that. Downtown with a nice view. So Sissy decides not to sleep with Wes, and when Bud gets home from his night with Pam she moves out. And moves into Wes' dump of a trailer. These two. Pam comes around and wants to make Sissy jealous some more- for some reason she likes Bud. They go to Gilley's with Bob and Corene and Sissy is there- she rides the bull all seductive like and Bud's like, let's go. So they go to an uptown place Pam knows, and Bud talks Bob into teaching him how to really ride, for the upcoming rodeo at Gilley's. Turns out Bob was a rodeo champ at one time. 



Sissy goes home and leaves Bud a note- she wants to get back together- but Pam walks in. Sissy says she was just leaving and Pam's like "Good." Dang. Why do I like Pam in this movie? I don't even know. I mean I like Sissy too, it's the men who are all assholes. Oh and Pam disposes of the note. Her and Bud seem to be doing swimmingly. What I don't get is what Pam sees in Bud??? Things aren't going so well for Sissy though- Wes cheats on her and gets rough with her. He's worse than Bud! Bob meanwhile gives Bud a little heart to heart about getting back with Sissy, and afterwards is killed by lightning at the oil refinery. Yes, really!  

So at the funeral Sissy shows up and tells Bud that Wes was fired for hurting too many people on the bull. Her and Wes are planning on going to Mexico with the prize money from the rodeo- Wes is going to ride and expects to win. Bud's like screw that and he goes to ride, and it's party time! I like Pam's vest, by the way. So we get a lot of bull riding here, and it will probably surprise no one that Bud wins. Wes is not happy, and hits Sissy when she says she's not going to Mexico with him. Man, is Sissy a pinata in this movie or what? Someone is always knocking her around. Wes wants that money and tells Sissy to keep the motor running while he goes to steal it.  

Meanwhile Pam tells Bud about Sissy's letter and how she got rid of it, and says she knows he still loves Sissy- but if he ever wants to make her jealous again, he knows where to find her. I think Pam is my favorite part of this movie. Bud goes to find Sissy and apologizes, all the way back to when he first hit her (what a gentleman!), and says he loves her. She loves him too but when he sees her face... he goes ballistic on Wes, who just happens to be walking out with the $5000 in prize money. Wes is busted! And our two lovebirds are back together again. And going home.  



Okay, so does this movie suck? Definitely! Although it has its moments. I'm sorry though, but John Travolta as a cowboy... no. Scott Glenn is quite good as the asshole Wes, and Debra Winger is a fine Sissy. This movie is pretty dated though, and Gilley's is the real star of the show. As an aside, I understand there's still a Gilley's in Dallas, but it's not a bar anymore- at least not exclusively. More for private events looks like? Kind of a shame, in a way. No honky tonk! This movie's also perhaps a little too long, clocking in at over two hours for whatever reason. Also, why kill uncle Bob? That wasn't necessary. I'm also not really feeling Bud and Sissy, in spite of the forced HEA at the end. Those two are not good together. But it was kinda fun, and it's got some good country music.  


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Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Jonny Quest 1x02 Arctic Splashdown

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Jonny Quest is a cartoon that originally aired during the 1960's, about the son of a scientist who uses his wits and the occasional gadget to foil evildoers and save the day. I've seen a few episodes over the years but have never watched the show all the way through, so I'm going to be doing a watch party of sorts and sharing my thoughts as I go. I've found this series to be a lot of fun, if somewhat dated, and I have lots of thoughts but will generally save them for individual episode reviews. So join me for a look back at what I think is one of the better cartoons of all time- Jonny Quest.  

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Arctic Splashdown is the second episode and starts off in a lighthearted manner with polar bear cubs at play in the frozen north. Their play is soon interrupted, however, by an errant rocket that crashes into the ice. The rocket apparently went off course due to the meddling of a foreign power, and Dr. Quest is already on the case. One of his colleagues warns that others may be trying to reach the rocket first, and that he'd best be careful, and to accentuate that possibility we see a submarine en route to the crash site- a sub filled with nefarious characters, naturally. What's more, the sub crew are aware of the Quest expedition and receive word from their base that the Quest ship will be destroyed. Guess they're not playing around. 

We have the usual hijinks with Bandit before the action starts, and in addition to a polar rover we see that they have a skimmer for quick trips back to the ship. Why do I think that will be crucial? Good thing for the Quest expedition that they have air support, since an unidentified plane tries to missile them, and then the evildoers' submarine fires a torpedo at the ship. Luckily for the Quests' the bad guys are incompetent, as their torpedo hits an iceberg instead of the ship. Idiots. Later that night the sub surfaces and an assassin is dispatched to kill Dr. Quest, but fails. They're not very good at this?  

The lookouts on the Quest ship aren't very effective either though, as our assassin once more approaches the ship, and this time drops a bomb on board. Luckily Bandit has his shit together and barks a warning, bringing the bomb to Race Bannon. Race of course promptly hurls the bomb away, where it rather conveniently hits the ice and rolls right into the assassin's raft, blowing him up. Right. The bad guys give up and instead break through the ice with their submarine, to get the missile before the Quests do.  

The next day the Quests set off in their ice rovers to retrieve the missle, but find their way blocked by a walrus. Race says they can't go around it- why not???- so they try to nudge it out of the way. I feel like PETA would disapprove if this were a modern cartoon. Anyway Race assumes that Dr. Quest doesn't want him to shoot the animal- um, that would be correct- so Jonny manages to shoo it away by yelling into a bullhorn. Why do they have one along? It's a mystery. At any rate they reach the missile and find it intact, and the military personnel with them build a catwalk to reach it. This happens offscreen and I imagine involves a bit of work, but whatever. Meanwhile Race and Jonny take the skimmer for a ride- why?- I guess just to have fun while grown-ups work, and meanwhile the villains are observing from nearby. . 

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Race and Dr. Quest are captured once the military escort leave (where exactly did they go?) but the boys are still free- and remember those polar bear cubs? Yup, Bandit is chasing them, but flees back to Jonny when he encounters the mother bear! Jonny then sees a seal and decides to catch it- because why not, the local wildlife has nothing better to do than provide amusement for a couple of asshole kids, right?- but the seal mother objects and Jonny ends up in a snowbank. Ah fun times. They're not gonna last though, as the bad guys show up and capture Jonny and Hadji.

Hadji escapes though after judo throwing his captor, and takes off in the skimmer. I knew it. The submarine launches a plane (huh?) and the race is on!  Unfortunately Hadji is recaptured after a game effort, and the boys are thrown into captivity with Race and Dr. Quest. But not to worry! Dr. Quest lets on that he armed a destruct mechanism onboard the missile before they were hauled away- he's got a surprise planned for the bad guys. Only problem is, the bad guys need his help with the parts they're trying to steal, and take Dr. Quest back aboard the missile. Oops.

Not to worry though, Dr. Quest breaks free and runs for it. And then in one of the more ridiculous things I've seen, even in a cartoon, he slips and is about to fall in the water, but a killer whale happens to come by and shatter the catwalk, helpfully sending Dr. Quest flying onto the ice. Convenient! The bad guys of course can't hit the broad side of a barn so they shoot at the doctor for a while til the missile blows. Game over.  

You know, I can't see taking your kid into a danger zone like this, but I know it's a cartoon. And Jonny takes the skimmer for a spin on the way back- it goes 100 mph by the way- yeah nothing bad will happen there. At any rate this one's over, and honestly- it kinda sucked? Not as good as the premiere, and I hope the third one is better. Hadji did appear in this episode though, after being absent the first time around, and he adds a welcome dimension to the cast- someone Jonny's own age. This episode also put me in mind of old Cold War thrillers like Ice Station Zebra, with the whole polar setting and submarine bits. Still, not a very good one.  

I give this one two stars. 

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Tuesday, May 29, 2018

Can't Wait #24/ Midweek Stuff


 So here's a midweek round up of what I'm reading watching, etc. Plus Can't Wait Wednesday, hosted by Wishful endings. So sit back, raise a cuppa, and see what's new! And share what you're up to.  

This week my Can't Wait pick is Echoes by Alice Reeds.    


Echoes

What I'm Reading

Strange New World (Brave New Girl, #2)

What I'm Watching




Listening 


Misc Stuff

  This week Movies That Suck will feature Urban Cowboy!!!    

Top Ten Book Worlds I'd Never Want To Live In

  

 Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by 
That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week a new Top Ten list will be posted. Everyone is welcome to join. Link back to The Broke and the Bookish so everyone can check out other bloggers' lists. It's a fun way to get to know fellow bloggers.

This week is Top Ten Worlds I Wouldn't Want to Live In.  


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Westeros, clearly! 

The Complete Land that Time Forgot (Caspak, #1-3)

You know, dinos. 

Time Siege (Time Salvager #2)

This world's messed up. 

Logan's Run (Logan, #1)

Game over at age 21? No thanks!

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Mushroom Kingdom would be fun... at first.

The 100 (The 100, #1)

Mt. Weather might not be bad...

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Maybe just for a visit...

The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1)

Probably rather obvious, but Panem= bad news. 

Divergent (Divergent, #1)

I'm sorry but Chicago is a mess here...

Monday, May 28, 2018

Tuesday Tagline #93

Glass Houses (The Morganville Vampires, #1)

Peer pressure sucks. So do vampires.  

Discussion - Sexy (?) Song Lyrics II

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This is part two of a discussion about sexy (or not) song lyrics. I was musing in the first post about whether popular music is overwhelmingly about love and/ or sex, and I found a wide array of songs that fit both categories. So here's my second go- around of songs with a decidedly sexual nature.  

Let me know what you think. Love 'em? Or hate 'em? What are your faves? And what are your thoughts on sex in music?  


Led Zeppelin- The Lemon Song  



Squeeze me baby, til the juice runs down my leg
Squeeze me baby, til the juice runs down my leg 
The way you squeeze my lemon 
I'm gonna fall right out of bed 

Yes those are actual lyrics. 

Justin Timberlake - Sexyback  



You see these shackles, baby 
I'm your slave
I'll let you whip me if I misbehave 

Van Halen - Beautiful Girls

 

Sit down right here 
Ooh la la
Think I got it now 

Now I'm a seaside sittin just smoking and drinking at ringside 
on top of the world 
I got a drink in my hand I got my toes in the sand 
All I need is a beautiful girl 

Runner Ups

Everybody Wants Some 
Ice Cream Man
Hot For Teacher
Drop Dead Legs

Maybe just all their songs?

Billy Idol - The Cradle of Love 



I hear you moan 
It's easy, I know how to please me yeah 

If you tease me tonight 
If you sleaze me all right 
If you appease me tonight 
And let me ease you
Cradle of love, alright, yeah

Runner Ups 

Flesh for Fantasy

Miley Cyrus - We Can't Stop 


It's our party we can do what we want
It's our party we can say what we want 
It's our party we can love who we want 
We can kiss who we want
We can see who we want 

INXS - New Sensation  

 

Sleep baby sleep
Now that the night is over 
And the sun comes 
Like a god into our room
All perfect light and promises  

I don't actually know that this is about sex at all but I just like those lyrics.   

Joan Jett - Do You Wanna Touch 



All you do is sit and stare
Begging on my knees 
Baby won't you please 
Run your fingers through my hair 

Rihanna - S & M 

  

Cause I may be bad but I'm perfectly good at it 
Sex in the air, I don't care, I love the smell of it 
Sticks and stones may break my bones 
But chains and whips excite me 

Halestorm - Love Bites 

 

I slither like a viper 
And get you by the neck
I know a thousand ways to help you forget about her 
That bitch can eat her heart out 
Love bites but so do I, so do I 

Lzzy scared me in this video lolol. 

Great White - Lady Red Light 



Lady red light, rock me tonight 
Baby's got a way to make it alright 
Lady red light, rock me tonight 
She knows how to move me 

Deep Purple - Knocking At Your Back Door

 


 This whole song basically?  

Foghat - I Just Wanna Make Love To You 



I don't want you to be true 
I just wanna make love to you 

Here's a nice cover of the song too via Halestorm and Dorothy