Face, BA, Murdock, and Hannibal – on the big screen

In case you haven’t heard, a feature-length A-Team is scheduled for release this year. Color me stoked. Goofy, campy, more than a little silly, and unlikely to win any awards, this film still calls out to Young Me and I can’t wait. Check it out:

We’ll resume our standard programming momentarily

Until then, here’s something you should watch. Some people are so freakin’ talented it simply blows me away; and their pleasure at playing well and playing together is so clear and sweet you just can’t help but smile. Enjoy.

Thank you, Patrick Rothfuss, for posting.

The perfect Pina Colada

This might not be the most inspired post you’ll read today, but for reasons I absolutely cannot explain, the subject has come up twice in the last week. So just in case the universe is trying to tell me something, I offer the following for all of you Pina Colada lovers out there: 

Spend any amount of time in your local Specs, HEB, or liquor store and you’ll find dozens of mixes on the shelves, but the truth is you really only need a few items and a blender for a mixer that’s not only a breeze to make, it’ll absolutely knock your socks off. 

Start with 2 cans of Coco Lopez and one can of crushed pineapple. Pour all three into a blender and let it do its thing for about fifteen seconds. Once blended, pour the contents into a container and set it aside because you now have a righteous Pina Colada mix. See? That easy. 

For a single drink, pour about 1.5 to 2 inches of mix into the blender (depending on the size of your blending cup), a couple ounces of rum (more if you’re feeling daring), and your ice. FYI, a good rule of thumb is to fill whatever glass you’re going to be using with ice and dump that amount into the blender. Next, and this is the real secret, add a splash of half-n-half. This is going to make your drink wicked-smooth and creamy. 

Blend well and enjoy. Pineapple slices and cherries are optional.

Forever without a punch line

A naked blonde walks into a bar, a poodle under one arm and two-foot salami under the other. She lays the poodle on the table. The bartender says, “I guess you won’t be needing a drink.” The naked lady says…

Rest in peace, John Hughes.

Patriotism dies, part two

So, if you’ve seen spots for Will Ferrell’s new film, Land of the lost, you might have heard this line:

Danny: Do you ever get tired of being wrong?
Marshall (Ferrell): I do – I really do.

I can relate.

If you check out a few posts back you’ll see a nice long write-up about the Death of Captain America and how I was fairly certain they wouldn’t be bringing him back. More the fool me. But, for those of you that might find this good news (I certainly do, wrong or not) I offer the following:

You can get to the post you see in the Tweet here.

Han Solo, PI

If you were a fan of Magnum PI, you’re going to love this…

Teabagging, taxes, and Fox News

Admittedly, this isn’t fresh news. That being said – wow – this is funny stuff. Three questions: how did the writer manage to get this by, how did the anchor manage to get though it without cracking up, and finally, is there no one in the Republican party team who put this event together with a little marketing experience? Teabagging? Really?

Big, big thanks to Sarah Morgan for posting this on her site.

Patriotism dies (just a little)

As  superheroes go, I was always a bit luke-warm with Captain America.  I was an X-Men disciple from the jump, and the broad range of personalities and cool powers (combined with the struggle to find their place in a society that misunderstood or rejected them completely)  felt far closer to my reality as an early teen than fighting evil in the name of country ever did.

Nor did Cap have traits I liked in other heroes: the brooding conflict of the Dark Knight, the isolation of Dare Devil, or even the snappy banter of Spiderman. Instead, he was just a man: tall, broad, and muscled, and unquestionably tough. He also sported an indestructible, absolutely righteous shield. And while that combination pretty much did the trick in the days of single-fire weapons or a good-old knife fight, they didn’t really reach out and grab me the way a furry blue teleporter nicknamed ”Elf,” or a crazy-hot southern lass who couldn’t be touched, or a soulful Russian artist who transformed into organic steel and put himself in front of harm’s way, did every time I cracked open the cover of my newest issue of X-Men.   

Of all Captain America’s assets, however, I think his most endearing was a steadfast moral compass that most of us share only a marginal acquaintance. He didn’t have three razor-sharp adamantium claws popping out of both clenched fists (Snikt!), but this was a hero who always knew right from wrong and fought for the former - even when it cost him to do so. And I think I’ve come to appreciate his kind of heroism more and more as the years have passed.

Which is why I was surprised and actually saddened when I saw the “Where were you when Captain America died?” link on Twitter not long ago. It led to a page on the Marvel Website where industry players (writers, artists, execs, and on) wrote about their reaction to hearing the news that Captain America had died.  The page also had the issue’s cover art you see below.  

But killing off heroes for weeks, months, or even years and then bringing them back is hardly uncommon in comics – DC even did it to Superman in the early 90s. However, fairly quickly after Superman’s death a handful of limited series (one of which introduced the character “Steel” and later made it to the big screen in a fairly awful movie starring Shaq) were released that developed the plot for the Man in Blue’s return.

Unfortunately, I don’t think this one’s going to play that way.

Sure, there are a million things far more important than the death of a fictional character in a comic book. I get it. But I’m also not too old to remember just how important those stories were to me when I was young. He wasn’t my favorite good guy, nor was  he flashy, conflicted, or edgy, but the lack of those things didn’t stop me from collecting a stack of his comics right next to his mutant cousins on my bedroom bookshelf. 

All of which makes me think. I’ve written about this before, but comics seem to be far, far darker than they were when I was a kid. Hell, entertainment seems darker and scarier before.  Movies, television, music, and yes, comics, all seem a bit more real than they once did.  And while conflict and dark, brooding anger are great for a boy – as boys we were often mired in it - I’m left wondering. What comic is going to give my nephew what Steve Rogers gave to us? What hero will teach him doing the right thing even when it hurts is still the right thing?