Friday, July 13, 2001

Sooner or later, I was bound to tip my hand and show what a huge sci-fi and superhero fan (read: geek) I am. I was just hoping it would be later.

I wanted to play it cool for a while, talk about my favorite baseball team, my observations as a political junkie living (barely) inside the DC Beltway, or the triumphs of my various theatrical forays. You know, things that wouldn't automatically label me as a drooling fanboy. Sadly, that plan must now be tossed in the ol' Dumpster.

I have just seen the preview for Smallville, and it is awe-inspiring to a hardcore, life-long Superman fan like myself.

Smallville is a re-imagining of the Superman legend, set in the present and centering around a sixteen-year-old Clark Kent whose powers are just beginning to manifest themselves. You won't see the guy in tights and a cape on this show; he's years away from that yet.

The premise is actually very similar to a recently-departed WB show (moving to UPN this autumn) that's one of the best things on television: Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In each, a young person must navigate the tumult of the teen years while learning to master powers and responsibilities that s/he never asked to have. Given the potential inherent in Clark's backstory and the switch from a female perspective to a male one, I figured it would have enough differences to make it more than just a retread of Buffy that wasn't as subtle about the superhero angle.

Up until now, I've been cautiously optimistic about Smallville's prospects. My hope was that it would be as engaging, intelligent, and fresh as Lois & Clark was during its first season. In the back of my mind, I feared it would emulate the banality and over-the-top campiness that characterized L & C's teeth-gnashingly bad downward spiral, a disheartening plummet that started with Lex Luthor's shark-jumping death plunge.

Now, those fears have been quieted. It certainly will be worth giving Smallville a look, and if the show's creative team can deliver on the promise hinted at in the preview clip, this could end up being a great addition to the Superman mythos.

Thanks for the indulgence, folks. If you need me I'll be over in the corner, trying on an "I Grok Spock" t-shirt.
1:10 PM  < To return to this entry, save this link

Wednesday, July 11, 2001

My first piece of unsolicited e-mail has arrived in the House of Cheer mailbox, courtesy of my friend, OtherTim (as we call him to avoid confusion in a particular group of mutual friends). He had kind words to say, and they were most appreciated.

Tim has a 'blog-like page of his own that you would do well to check out. It's full of pithy observations, many of which I would blatantly steal were I a less honest man.

---

Speaking of stealing from OtherTim, he made an observation a couple of weeks back that opened my eyes to a similar situation in my life...

The comic shop I go to is right next door to a tanning salon. There cannot be another place on the globe where two cohorts more diametrically opposed in their attitude toward and amount of UV radiation exposure come so close to co-mingling.
2:26 PM  < To return to this entry, save this link

Monday, July 09, 2001

Is anyone else as disturbed as I am by the singing belly button ad that Levi's recently unleashed on an unsuspecting populace?

I caught this thing for the first time last Sunday, and hoped against hope that it was merely a blot-of-mustard induced hallucination. Alas, there it was on my screen again last night, and me with only healthful, blameless pasta and shrimp on my stomach.
12:45 PM  < To return to this entry, save this link

Sunday, July 08, 2001

Come on in. Make yourself at home. I'm really not ready for guests yet, but I'm happy to have you here. Pull up a box and have a seat. Just make sure it's not marked "fragile."

(If you found your way here from my bio in the big program, the additional information I promised is right here.)

Welcome to my little corner of the 'Net. It doesn't look like much right now, but in the coming days this place will see a lot of expansion. And just in case you're wondering, I first posted this on Friday, July 6, 2001. If I haven't gotten a few more sections up and running by, say, Bastille Day, feel free to write me and this place off.

What can you, the House of Cheer visitor/viewer, expect in the near future? Well, if you're reading this, I'm blogging now, for one thing. This will allow me to post updates to the site frequently, from anywhere, and loose my stream-of-conscious ramblings upon the world. This sounds good, to me and in theory. We'll see how it all goes in practice.

The blog promises to be the main event around here, but it will by no means be all there is to see. There will be longer pieces, mostly op-ed type stuff and fiction (I can say this with some assuredness because I've already got two items in the can, just waiting to be coded). I'll also be pointing you to some of the footprints I and my friends have left in the soft, fertile ground of World Wide Web.

So, if you'd be so kind, check back every now and again to see what's up around these parts. It's my aim to be a gracious host, and I can't do that very well without pleasant company like yourself.
5:17 PM  < To return to this entry, save this link