Photo Credit: User Paul A. Roid via Flickr

So, to kick off a new feature on the Canasian & Friends blog, here’s a fresh summertime beat that takes you back to back in the day. It’s just a looped beat but man, I could sit outside with some lemonade and just enjoy the day, maybe shoot some hoops. It’s nostalgic and ephemeral.

On My Block – Scarface (Instrumental)

Doogie Howser just got a whole load scarier. And awesomer.

Update!: Watch it all right here right now!

That’s Neil Patrick Harris dressed up as a mad scientist supervillain singing a song in a Joss Whedon (creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, Serenity and the upcoming FOX series Dollhouse) written and directed free web series. Did I just die and go to nerd heaven? I think I did. If you’re not already there now (the website, not nerd heaven), you should watch Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog and then come back and read why you did what you just did.

The Setup: Joss Whedon (from all those credits above) wrote these three musical webisodes with his brothers Zack and Jed earlier this year during the writers strike.

Neil Patrick Harris (best known for being Doogie Howser but I bet he hates that) stars as the titular Dr. Horrible who is trying to sum up the courage to speak to the girl of his dreams (Felicia Day – Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Guild) who he met/saw from afar at the laundromat, defeat his arch-nemesis Captain Hammer (A cheesy on  the outside Nathan Fillion - Captain Mal on Firefly) and gain entrance into the ‘Evil League of Evil’ (for which he submitted an application).

"This here salsa's from New York City!"

According to Joss, Dr. Horrible is kind of an experiment in finding a new medium in which to tell stories that differs from the current system which is subject to crippling strikes every few years. He gives an analogy here on his FAQ for Dr. Horrible.

Once upon a time, all the writers in the forest got very mad with the Forest Kings and declared a work-stoppage. The forest creatures were all sad; the mushrooms did not dance, the elderberries gave no juice for the festival wines, and the Teamsters were kinda pissed. (They were very polite about it, though.) During this work-stoppage, many writers tried to form partnerships for outside funding to create new work that circumvented the Forest King system. 

Frustrated with the lack of movement on that front, I finally decided to do something very ambitious, very exciting, very mid-life-crisisy. Aided only by everyone I had worked with, was related to or had ever met, I single-handedly created this unique little epic. A supervillain musical, of which, as we all know, there are far too few. 

The idea was to make it on the fly, on the cheap – but to make it. To turn out a really thrilling, professionalish piece of entertainment specifically for the internet. To show how much could be done with very little. To show the world there is another way. To give the public (and in particular you guys) something for all your support and patience. And to make a lot of silly jokes. Actually, that sentence probably should have come first. 

A caption could not make this any funnier. 'Do not bounce' ha ha.

The Good: It’s quirky, it’s fun, it’s hilarious and the music is even good (actually very good – especially in Act II – but that’s all I’ve seen so far). NPH is both comic and tragic and so likable as the villain in the story, as Fillion does an excellent job of being both heroic and smarmy. Day is a good tempering balance between the two and everyone sings well. It’s quite the treat. An in-depth analysis really doesn’t do Dr. Horrible justice. It’s full of wit, heartedness (of the light variety), laughs and funny new takes on the comic-book genre. Really, I love it.

The Bad: Honestly, I can’t think of any downside except for the fact that it’s only going to be online for a week. The first Act debuted on the 15th, the second today – the 17th and the third and final act will be on Saturday the 19th. Then it all comes offline on the 20th. So you need to catch it quick before it goes away. (But it will still be available on iTunes and there is going to be a DVD release later according to Mr. Whedon.)

It's like that scene in Mission Impossible 2, but with vans, and songs, and not crappy.

The Skinny: Watch it! Watch it now! When I do, I can’t help but with that someone would give it money and make this into an ongoing TV series because I could watch this stuff all day (but then that would undermind the whole point of the exercise). It hits me in just the right spot and it’s so much fun and it’s got a’ Ph.D in Horribleness’.

9.85/10 (I’d give it a 10 if it were going to stay online longer.)

Watch it Online: Check out the whole series on Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog (drhorrible.com) or click on the image below!

Also, if you want to know more about how this series works and who is involved. This blog has gathered an inhuman amount of information about it. Whatup!

If you’re one of those people who surfs the internet solely for the purpose for checking your ‘electronic mail’ and looking up the weather, then you are probably unfamiliar with the web fascination/amusement with FAIL. And if you’re going to spend much time here on the internet, you may as well get to know it a little better.

Think of FAIL as the internet community’s special brand of satire. I have yet to completely understand it as I have yet to understand other nuances of internet culture. For example, on popular social bookmarking sites (where users submit content and other users vote for it if they like it) often times you’ll see a handful of items about the latest video games, films and Linux deployments, some pro-Obama (or earlier on in the election cycle Ron Paul) items, a few things about how the GOP is ruining the world and then a picture of a kitten snuggling a baby duckling. As much as I don’t understand it, internet culture proves most times very amusing. One component of this culture is pointing out when things fail. And it’s nearly always hilarious. Here are some classic examples.

(I love this one.)

Whereas we used to rely on pundits and public figures to point out the ridiculous things that people do and how absurd life tends to be; it’s only appropriate for individuals to do the same now that the internet has given us all a larger platform to speak from. And that means it’s so much harder to keep our own stupidity private than it used to.

FAIL is so much more concise than saying to one’s self, ‘Oh my, look at the irony of this situation.’ But it’s completely applicable to all situations. It’s not necessarily better but it’s another way to say the same thing, and it’s not like the world isn’t giving us enough material to work with.

Credit goes to Failblog.org for the images.

Next time: Lolcats

And a few more for the road.

Looks like a photo from my family reunion. I would be the squinty one.

Okay, in the interest of full disclosure, this blogger has not yet had the opportunity to see Pan’s Labyrinth (aka Guillermo Del Toro finally becomes liked by people other than complete nerds). That being said, onto the review.

I am a child of the eighties. And early nineties. That means Ninja Turtles, Fraggle Rock, He-Man, Really Bad He Man Movie, G.I. Joe, Transformers, Dino Riders (oh for the love, Dino Riders!), Never Ending Story, Willow, Star Wars, Indiana Jones and David Bowie creeping the living bejeebers out of me in Labyrinth. I am a child of the era of pure imagination. This was before the airwaves were desecrated by reality TV and other programming that catered to the lowest common denominator. This was a time where we didn’t need drugs as kids because all the people making TV and Movies were taking them for us.

This is what Hellboy was like.

I really didn’t know what to expect from Hellboy II: The Golden Army. I had seen the first one, all the way through once and then in pieces about a dozen more times (Chances of seeing it on TNT if you turn it on right now: 1 in 12) and I enjoyed it. It didn’t ring my bell, but I didn’t not like it either. It was a fun, check your brain out kind of film. Oh how Mr. Del Toro has stepped up on this effort.

"Oh no, you're looking for Dwayne Johnson. I get that all the time."

Whereas other recent comic book films have been intent in setting their mythology in a believable reality, Del Toro takes those notions and completely goes in the opposite direction. He abandons the constraint of reality for something completely fantastic and full of life. Hellboy 2 takes place completely in its own world, because it would take its own world to suit the myriad of colorful characters that inhabit its celluloid walls.

Perhaps the film’s greatest asset is the marked humanity in it’s characters. They all have been shut out by their human standards yet in them we have intimate moments that we never get to see their human counterparts share. An example, a lovesick Abe Sapien (played by the ever-present Doug Jones) commiserates with Hellboy with cheap mexican beer (When I saw Tecate on the side of the can, I laughed out loud.) and Barry Manilow. It could have been cheesy, but Del Toro allows the moment to be poignant and so very true to real life. There is so much character and heart and emotion in these characters, and it all moves to serve the story. And let me just say that a drunken fish person is funnier than a drunken real person.

"I hate putting in these stupid contacts"

In a film about the real world destroying the fantasy one, it surprises me as to how much I loved being in the world of the fantastic, and how disappointed in the return to the real one. In the Troll Market sequence, there is so much going on, so much attention to detail that the eye cannot possibly follow it all. The whole film is dripping with detail and imagination that it’s a playground for the mind of the viewer. Del Toro has an amazing talent for making the grotesque so beautiful and compelling to watch. For me it hearkened back to the days when Terry Gilliam was great, with Brazil and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. This film sucked me right in, as has this review. I haven’t cracked a joke in what? Two paragraphs? This is how much this film captured my imagination. This movie was so good that it broke my sense of humor. But in a good way.

Scene from Flubber 2 - Flubber Gets Pissed and Kills a Lot of People

This an excellent film. And it totally caught me off guard. Oh yeah and there’s a real love story, lots of beautifully staged action set-pieces, big guns and explosions, and Seth McFarlane voicing the most hilariously german accented ectoplasmic scientist. It’s great. If you weren’t going to see it before, I hope that you’re now curious, and if you were curious before, I hope this got you a little excited to see it. It won’t disappoint.

9/10

So, it seems to me, as compared to the last two elections (I can only remember so far back) that religion seems to be quite the talking point this time around. And the more and more I read/watch/osmosify I find more and more of a mention of a ‘Religious Right’, some hyper-powerful conglomerate of voters that needs must be appeased in order to… blah blah blah etc.

Now, I for one don’t really identify with any of the published ideology of the so-called ‘Religious Right’ (Are they self-declared group and I’m just missing an invite?). From what the mainstream media tells me about their antics, I’m far too liberal for their tastes, but in my own sphere, I consider myself to be quite the moderate. Yes, I am a religious man, and a faithful one at that, but does that place me into the ranks of intolerant, bigoted, closed-minded Christians that the pundits and the internet tell me make up my voting demographic?

This is what I’ve been ‘told’ so far: (And when I use the term ‘we’ I refer to the entire group)

Name: ‘Religious Right’, ‘Christian Conservatives’, ‘Evangelicals’, or just plain ol ‘Christians’

Character Traits: An undying love for President Bush; vehement defenders of the second amendment; a love of war (if we’re spreading democracy and the word of Jesus); intolerant of gays, blacks, muslims, jews, etc. (but we love Israel and everything that they do); We would rather persecute and kill abortionists rather than write an intelligent response to the issue of abortion; We give our money blindly to people who often glibly claim to be speaking for God; believing in Jesus is somehow an excuse to be ignorant or discriminatory against those who aren’t religious; we want this country to become some sort of Theocracy, nevermind that there are people who believe other things in it; we would rather legislate our morals than have to tolerate opposition in opinion; and mostly, we don’t read books or something because we’re just so ignorant.

Political Endorsements: We like Mike Huckabee, if for nothing else but he was a preacher and he stands ‘for people who believe in God’. And sometimes we like John McCain because he’ll keep our military strong and proud.

Home Life: We’re white and we have large families. We like public education unless they teach evolution; endorse art that has naked people in it; or if they don’t teach abstinence-only education. Oh yeah, we hate science too. All of it. Y’know what, we’d rather homeschool our kids or teach our kids to not play with unbelievers.

My response:

I for one, resent the notion that my belief of Jesus Christ as the Savior of the World automatically makes me ignorant and intolerant of others. Who says that I can’t hold my Christian belief to be sacred and still act in an understanding and tolerant (and most of all, loving) manner as I reside in a pluralist society. Just because I disagree with obscenity in films doesn’t mean I have to protest and picket and label filmmakers and degenerate. Is it not possible to believe that I would support their first amendment right to make such a film and simply choose not to see it and teach my children that they have the choice to not see it too?

How come it is so far-fetched for me to allow others to believe in other deities? It doesn’t mean that I won’t try to share what I believe with them, but if in the end, they feel fine the way they are, I’m not going to force it on them. I think it’s good to have political opposition, it should raise the level of discussion and debate in the country. And only good things can come from informed and good-spirited discussion. Both sides may well learn a thing or three. It is completely in the realm of possibility that I can become a better Christian by watching how a good Jew lives their faith. I think the political debate in America is so focused on ‘beating the other guy’ that changing one’s mind on some things (not core principles) is considered to be a defeat. Shouldn’t the debate be focused to making the country work better by presenting the best of the best arguments and having enough wisdom and humility to compromise?

Yes, there are ignorant ‘Christians’ out there whose attitude and behavior are completely contrary of the ideals of Christ. Yes, they give the rest of us a bad name. Yes, they share in the blame. But it takes an equally tolerant liberal mind to acknowledge that there is a difference between me and Bob the Bigoted Believer.

There are other factions of faith that exist.

So, mainstream media, please pull your head out and understand that there are more kinds of people than you say exists. And yes, we would like to be represented in the national forum of public debate.

There are those sweet memories that you have, like from a favorite teacher who would always give more to make sure that you were okay, and who you would follow anywhere they would lead you because you could sense their honesty, their sincerity and their love. Then they would teach you to stand on your own so you could see for your self the self-evident truths that lay before you in life. They would teach you how to learn rather than what to learn. They would love you as you did and speak encouraging words when you fell short. You simply wanted to be better because they lived what they spoke and you knew the truth of what they said because now you had tested it and experienced it for yourself. You saw them and simply wanted to be better.

I can see how people grew so attached to Moses after he had led them through the wilderness for the better part of their lives (in many cases their whole lives). I can see that they were resistant to accepting Aaron as their new leader. The experiences of learning are experiences that bind; and whoever was there to teach became a large part of those lessons. I am who I am in large part, due to what I learned while President Hinckley led the Church. I have learned from a multitude of sources, people of all faiths, from experiences with the Divine in prayer and otherwise. I have at times become frustrated by my own progress (or lack thereof). Always, as I have heard the words of the Prophet, has my vision been expanded and I become more humble and grateful.

It is remarkable the impression that one man, speaking truth from our Heavenly Father, can make on a boy’s life. I will miss President Hinckley and I am grateful for his influence on my life. I look forward to what the next Prophet has in store. I will continue in trying to live more and more like Christ, learning the same principles over and over, deeper and deeper and someday I’ll have something to show for myself. I’m just glad that I got to grow up when I did, being taught by who I was taught.

P.S. The NY Times had nice things to say about President Hinckley.

P.P.S. As did the Deseret News (along with a fairly extensive rundown of everything that happened while he was Prophet).

In an effort to provide our readers with exciting cultural tidbits to make them more well rounded. I’ve started a new feature called Culture Watch. And here’s the first installment. Enjoy.

So, a recent video published by election watchdog group blackboxvoting.org illustrates the security with which the primary ballots were kept before counting. As I watched this it became clear to me that my comic book collection is better guarded than this. Not only do they ‘interview’ (more like confront) the NH Secretary of State (who looks like a deer in headlights the entire time) but they test a spare ’seal’ that is used to make sure the ballots aren’t tampered with. I’ll tell you, we’re better off keeping the ballots in any random ten year old’s Trapper Keeper. (Do they even use those anymore? I have stock in Lisa Frank).

‘No Child Left Behind creates schools obsessed with test preparation’

My dog could have told you this 4 years ago.

I’m working on a few plans to fix this though, I’ll run them by all of you on here.

Citizenship describes a way of life in which people pursue shared goals for society, recognize limits to government powers and participate in political processes; where people are entitled to pursue economic well-being and loyalty and solidarity among people is nurtured. A collective sense of citizenship takes account of diversity and protects the legal and human rights of each person especially members of minority groups. As democratic societies evolve, so does their understanding of citizenship.

Citizenship is the legal status of belonging to a state, but equally important citizenship also is about how we live together in our communities and the larger society. Schools are essential to the ongoing development of democratic ways of life. They must educate each generation in the ways of citizenship. Educating citizens is a core purpose of public education, one that is pursued explicitly through curriculum studies and implicitly by providing students opportunities to practice the skills and of democratic participation. The goals of citizenship education at any particular time usually reflect the prevailing societal views about the nature of citizenship. As concerns arise about important societal issues – for example, racism, environmental sustainability, social cohesion, inclusion, political participation – we look to schools to educate the young in ways that will strengthen our social fabric. But such expectations are never without contention. In this period of rapid global integration the tension between education goals of benefit to the wider society may conflict with the private goals of individual families.

Thoughts?

Post them in the comments…

Bonus: Guess where the quote is from.