Detritus of the Mind

I wanted to put the old Toonami "Watch This Space" screen here, but Google has both failed me and insulted me with a bunch of Adult Swim crap. To say I do not like Adult Swim is an understatement. Anyway... You may have noticed that I haven't done squat here. I had plans, but here's what happened to them: - There are better nostalgia comic reviewers out there, the books I had planned either have gaps I can't fill or low interest rates, and frankly, lately the whole field of nostalgia comic reviewers attract people from a campaign that think having a character come out as gay is "character assassination". So between respect for people doing it better over more interesting titles and not wanting to have my comments filled with Comics Dudes, those aren't getting done. - The Legion essay and some of the points therein was permanently dropped, thanks to DC Comics devoting itself to wasting all of its best ideas, doubling down on its worst ones, and ...

I have a deep guilty fondness for Captain Planet . It's cheesy, super-simplified with how it handles major issues (especially the social ones), and it wears its intentions not so much on its sleeve as on its chest in day-glo neon. But there's something about it I always enjoyed. I don't know if it's the "international team" setup (which I've had a fondness for from reading years & years of X-books) or the sheer sincerity of it all in trying to teach complicated things at all. Or maybe I like a lot of the VAs they used to replace most of the celebrities once they got bored. But it's something I like, and its reputation as a cultural laughing stock even among those of us who agree with its messages kind of makes that embarrassing to admit. When I was trying to do MSTings (back when they were formatted like USENet conversations) back in college, I'd go through different fandoms that weren't being used as regular subjects by other writers, an...

I'm on Twitter a lot, so I have a couple of recent tweet storms to share that I archived on Storify. First, thoughts on my idea for a hidden object game that will never exist.  Mostly because that genre is becoming weirdly allergic to humor, showing that there is still little difference between those into AAA games & those into casuals.  Thanks, Blogger, for making these non-embeddable. Real cool. Next, this morning's epic tweet storm detailing my theory/evidence about a Jonny Quest multiverse.  This is what my brain is like, folks.   Again, wanted to embed a slideshow, but Blogger won't play along. Feel free to check out my Twitter if you want complaining about TV, comics, public transit, & who knows.  It's basically a bite-sized version of what I've done here, albeit usually with more swearing.

Yes, we're talking the new TV show, so if you're worried about spoilers for what's basically a workplace sitcom & whose whole hype campaign is built around spoiling key elements, you might wanna avoid this post. As you may remember, I am pretty darn passionate about Muppets. But given my reaction to the revival movie (where it put me off to the point I couldn't bring myself to watch the sequel), I was worried about the new show. Would it be more flailing to prove they're still part of the pop cultural landscape without any sincerity or would it actually be, y'know, good ?  So I noted my reactions and concluded that it is... decent. First, the Pros: - There is no flailing around and begging for relevance; the show follows the Muppets as the crew of a TV show, not as sad relics. The lack of "OMG, you guys, remember this" posturing alleviated one of my biggest fears. - Second, they don't try to tie things into the movies, which I was convinced the...

For a number of reasons, I've been thinking lately of old Sailor Moon fan senshi series.  I created some (they're down, so don't bother looking), and they're still one of my favorite things about the online Sailor Moon fan world.  So I decided to list off a few that are gone or dormant that left an impression on me.  If any of these are still standing or you can fill in any blanks, please let me know.  These are strictly ones that no longer exist; good stuff like the  stories at Sailor Astera ,  Tower of Time , and even the inactive  Sailormoon Millennia Trilogy   are still available to read. The one I cannot remember the name of no matter how hard I try:  This is what I mean about filling in info blanks. There was a fan series built around the premise of a now-grown Chibi-Chibi, who had become a separate person, traveling to other worlds and gathering a new team of senshi to fight with her against a great threat.  One was an elf-like ...

So, in case you wanted some supplemental links and side opinions to go with the Pilot Program, I've created this endnotes page.  It's a little sparse - for some reason, even the internet doesn't care about 80s failed toy-derived cartoons even as its wallows in nostalgia for them - but what I can share is pretty entertaining. For anyone interested in watching the Pilot Program subjects,  I've compiled a YouTube playlist in order of the write-ups.   The only multi-part subject is Poochie , but the rest are the full shows.  Enjoy and then let me know your impressions of the subjects, if you feel like it. In what may be a case of "something in the water", this past month has seen two of my favorite video game related places cover the last two subjects on their respective platforms. First, we have  the Retronauts podcast and a career review of Rare , starting with their ZX Spectrum days as Ultimate Play the Game. As someone who knows little about British...

The Pilot Program is a look at various merchandise-centric cartoons that were released as specials in the 80s & 90s; while they were clearly set up to go to series, they never did.  Every entry will look at a new show, who made it, what it was selling, and whether it would’ve made a good series. BATTLETOADS (1992) SUMMARY: Morgan, Dave, & George are the biggest losers at Oxnard, CA’s Waldo P. Oxnard Junior High; they’re deemed a bad influence on each other, and at the principal’s insistence, they try & fail to find new social circles.  After failing miserably, they retreat to the Stop-N-Scarf to play games; suddenly, the screen glows and out come Princess Angelica & her friend, Professor T-Bird.  Their entire galaxy has been conquered by the vicious Dark Queen, who wants to steal the Galactical Amulet Angelica wears to gain more power.  After asking the boys for help, he sprays them with “the genetic essence of the ancient Battletoads”...

The Pilot Program is a look at various merchandise-centric cartoons that were released as specials in the 80s & 90s; while they were clearly set up to go to series, they never did.  Every entry will look at a new show, who made it, what it was selling, and whether it would’ve made a good series. FLUPPY DOGS (1986) SUMMARY: The Fluppies are dogs that talk like humans, can switch between being bipedal & quadrupedal, and come from a land of ice with a perpetual aurora borealis (a “rainbow sky”, as they put it).  A band of five, however, have been pulled from their home and are stuck bouncing around dimensions.  Using a crystal key & Ozzie’s ability to sniff out the doorways, they eventually make their way to Earth.  Once there, they are caught and taken to the pound, where their leader Stanley is adopted by a woman.  This woman, Mrs. Bingham, is getting her son Jamie a dog for his birthday, but Jamie is disappointed that his new dog...

The Pilot Program is a look at various merchandise-centric cartoons that were released as specials in the 80s & 90s; while they were clearly set up to go to series, they never did.  Every entry will look at a new show, who made it, what it was selling, and whether it would’ve made a good series. STAR FAIRIES (1985) SUMMARY:   Princess Sparkle lives in the land of Wish-Come-True; from her home at Castle Wishstar, she receives every wish desired by a child who has ever wished on the first star of the evening (you know, the “star light, star bright” rhyme).  However, she’s getting overwhelmed from the sheer volume of requests, so she petitions the Wishing Well for a helper.  It directs her to Mount Wishmore to make her own wish with her magic wand on a shooting star; the magic from the wand then turns into five new helpers for her – Spice, Jazz, Nightsong, Whisper, and True Love.  Each sets out to help a child with their wish, and all but Spice ...

The Pilot Program is a look at various merchandise-centric cartoons that were released as specials in the 80s & 90s; while they were clearly set up to go to series, they never did.  Every entry will look at a new show, who made it, what it was selling, and whether it would’ve made a good series. ROSE PETAL PLACE (1984) SUMMARY:   A long time ago in a Victorian mansion named Rose Petal Place, the owner’s daughter cried over her beloved garden and wished her flowers could live forever despite her family’s impending move away from the mansion.   Her tears brought the flowers that they touched to life as little pixie-like girls, with their leader being Rose Petal.   Thanks to Rose Petal’s magical voice, the garden continues to thrive even though the mansion itself is falling to pieces.   However, an evil spider named Nastina wants the garden to wither & die so she can take it over.   She first tries to kill Rose Petal & her friends duri...