Yo ho - ow!

While Howard and Billy try to defuse the cross-time thingamajig, let's not forget that the Consultant (none other than Tommy, the old stock boy at Sketchy Shoes!) is ready to skewer Jibidy's crew if he doesn't hand over the artifact:

Captain Jibidy 82

Newsflash! Chuck and Reaper are the same show.

Are you interested in a genre show about a classic underachiever turned hero? NBC and the CW hope you are. I have now seen the first eps of both Chuck and Reaper and they really are basically the same show. I kind of liked both, didn't love either. Which do I watch? I don't have room in my busy tv schedule, so I figured I'd throw them head-to-head as see what happens.

Main character:

• Chuck: This guy reminds me way to much of Jimmy Fallon. I don't like Jimmy Fallon. At least this Zachary Levi guy can finish a scene without cracking up.
• Reaper: Hey! It's that Guy from the Loop! I kinda liked that show. What's Sarah Mason doing these days?
  

Edge: Reaper

Genre convention/pitch:

• Chuck: Remember Marshall from Alias? Let's make him less smart, put him a big box store, and team him with a hot chick and have them fight terrorists together.
• Reaper: Remember Xander from Buffy? Lose the slayer and make him save demons by himself (while working in a big box store).

Demons > Terrorists. Plus a ghostbusters-like device (this week it was a dirt devil) to take down demons is much cooler than lots of flashy pictures edited together quickly.
Edge: Reaper

Big Box Store:

• Chuck: Our hero is a member of the Nerd Herd at a Best Buy-clone.
• Reaper: The Work Bench - which I thought was like Home Depot (and the CW describes as a home improvement store) but I thought I saw a big enough variety of stuff (TV's, first aid stuff, fire extinguishers) that you'd almost have to go to Target or Walmart to find together. Get your bland store identity together CW!

Edge: Chuck

Female Lead:

• Chuck: Yvonne Strzechowski may be the hottest person on TV right now. Plus, Sarah Lancaster is great as Chuck's sis.
  
• Reaper: Isn't that the girl from Stick It? Oh yeah, and Heroes. I definitely recognized her from Heroes, not a movie about gymnasts.

Edge: Chuck

Abrasive Sidekick:

• Chuck: Like Seth Green, but less funny
• Reaper: Like Kevin Smith, but on network TV

Edge: Reaper

Antagonist:

• Chuck: Adam Baldwin as a take-no-prisoners NSA assassin. Jayne from Firefly, but all dressed up and licensed by the government to kick ass.
• Reaper: I didn't think anything could top Adam Baldwin, but Ray Wise as the friendly, chicken-fried steak lovin' devil? We'll call it a draw.

Edge: Tie

Other Stuff:

• Chuck: From the OC guy. Boo. But on a real network (NBC) that hopes it will feed of of Heroes' popularity.
• Reaper: From Kevin Smith. Yay! But on the network (CW) that canceled Veronica Mars (Bastards).

Edge: Chuck

Hmmm. 3-3 eh? I guess I'll have to check out the seocnd episodes of each show and return to this dilemma next week.

Real Donkey Kong looks like a lot of fun.

This looks amazing.

Arrrrr! And other piratical stuff!

Ruth: By the way, was that a definite no back there?
Frederic: Ruth, I don't want to hurt your feelings, but tell me honestly. Now, compared to other women, are you beautiful?
Ruth: Oh, I've been told so.
Frederic: Ah, but lately?
Ruth: Yes, by Sam. 'Course, he was drunk.

Happy TLAPD! That's Talk Like A Pirate for you heathens. Have I been doing anything piratical? I did hang a pirate flag in my office. And had several rum drinks after work. And watched the pirate movie this evening. I have a little crush on Kristy MacNichol now. Despite her mullet.

In honor of the day (and because it is that time of the week) I've posted a new Jibidy:

Captain Jibidy Issue 81.

The Pirate King: It's a beach party and I'm Frankie Avalon.
Bosn'n: And I'm Annette Funicello.

The Dragon has passed

"The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. In one Age, called the Third Age by some, an Age yet to come, an Age long past, a wind rose.... The wind was not the beginning. There are neither beginnings nor endings to the turning of the Wheel of time."

But it was an end.

I'm sure I'm only one of thousands who are posting that this week, as we all mourn the death of Robert Jordan. In an industry where world-building is a mark of your craft, Jordan created a world more real and vibrant than any other I've ever seen. His stories were complicated to the point of infuriating - but he was a major creative force that inspired me to start writing fantasy. I was lucky enough to meet him a few years ago, and he was probably the only author to ever have to give a pronunciation lesson at a book signing. Hopefully someday we'll know what your endgame was for Rand, Perrin, and Mat. Until then, thanks.

Who is the consultant?

Find out here:

Captain Jibidy Issue 80!

Pirates > Robots

Jibidy just went head to head with a giant killer robot lab assistant. Pete, Lou and the crew broke out of their viking prison. And the consultant looms ever closer:

Captain Jibidy 79

My 500th post!

I'll have a new issue of Jibidy up on Friday, but in the meantime, enjoy this hint of things to come:

Wordiest. Jibidy. Ever.

There's a lot going on here, but after a month off I figured that I should get the plot (plot?) moving.

For those who don't remember:

• Howard and Jake managed to get into the fortress where Jibidy is being held. And by get in, I mean they were captured by the vikings that seem to populate the castle.
• Scared of the sadistic Consultant (he just showed up, btw), the mad scientist set Jibidy loose in return for help with an escape plan.
• The heretofore innocuous lab assistant didn't much like that and has morphed into a massive killer mech. He plans on blowing Jibidy to smithereens.
  

Jibidy 78! - Lots of Loud Explosions!

Holy Cow! Where did I go for a month?

Yeah, I know it's been over a month since I last added my ruminations to this digital repository. What have I been doing? Well, I'll tell you.

• I spent a week in lovely Bethany Beach DE, mostly being terrorized by my future nieces.
• Been busy at work - went sailing during our national sales meeting. Someone was dumb enough to let me steer:
• I've caught a couple good films, notably Superbad. I've also got a new obsession with the Bollywood blockbuster Dhoom 2. Check it out if you haven't seen it yet.
• Last weekend was the 5th annual Smith Pirate Party! The event was another big hit, with all kinds of piratical behavior going on:

• Incidentally, if anyone is interested in the shirt above, you can buy it here.
  
• It's football season again! Penn State got off to a great start (I know, I know, it was FIU). Michigan is already out of the title hunt with a loss to App State, and Notre Dame's loss to GT yesterday gives me a bit of confidence about the big ND/PSU rematch next week. Still haven't decided what to do about it yet.
• I'm working on the next batch of Jibidys - so hopefully they will be live soon.
• Happy Labor Day!
  

Transformer Noises!

I tried to onomatopoeia the sound but it just came out cheechoochoochachee:

Captain Jibidy Issue 77

He can stay and guard the base!

Of all the Autobots to survive...

Maybe the best Youtube videos ever:

More Jibidy

This time with real Jibidy (and maybe some Spongebob):

Captain Jibidy 76

A bunch of random cool stuff

Here's a roundup of a few links over the past couple weeks that you may not have seen yet:

www.Zudacomics.com - DC's newest foray into webcomics. Not sure if Jibidy could work with something like this.

www.someecomics.com - a great online greeting card website. For when you really want to tell someone that they aren't too good for online dating or it's been too long since we threw up on each other.

Some really great fake magazine covers: Pirate Life! Thomas Today Buddha Monthly

A Moment on Earth Mosaic - really neat photomosaic - Mom sent this to me today.

Mentos Intern - certainly an interesting summer job.

More Jib-jib-Jibidy

How are our heroes going to get out of this one?

Captain Jibidy 75

Robots blowing stuff up!

My updated movie list (a note: I retired Pan's Labyrinth, as a friend mentioned it was theoretically a 2006 movie - I just happened to see it Jan 2 or something. This will allow for some action/movement at the top of the list)

1. Hot Fuzz (new #1!)
   
2. Pirates III (new to list)
   
3. Transformers (new to list)
   
4. 300
   
5. Grindhouse
6. Knocked Up (new to list)
   
7. Live Free or Die Hard (new to list)
   
8. Black Snake Moan
9. The Host
10. Spider-Man 3
11. Zodiac
12. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Guy (new to list)
    
13. Shrek 3
14. Ghost Rider (sadly still at the bottom)

Still on the list to see this summer: Harry Potter 5, Ocean's 13, Bourne Supremacy, Stardust, Superbad

Happy 7.7.7! Your present? A new Jibidy

I wonder how the plan with the Trojan Penguin is going:

Captain Jibidy 74

New Jibidy

Sorry for the long delay between issues - but here is the next chapter of the epic "Rescue of Jibidy":

Jibidy Issue 73

The TV Season: A Report Card

New Shows (either to tv or just me):

Heroes - I waited and waited for this show to be the show I wanted it to be all season long as it built toward a monumental end that I just didn't find at all monumental. I really hope it relies less on its serialized nature and focus on telling good stories in the world it has built next season. C+
Studio 60 - this was the little show that couldn't. I think it got better and better as almost every episode passed and Sorkin's preaching really played well with me (as it didn't in West Wing), but it was never able to create and maintain the kind of momentum it needed to survive. B+
Veronica Mars - this was new to me. I watched seasons 1 and 2 over the summer and got hooked. It's bittersweet to start watching a show that I think was probably doomed from the start of the season. At the very least, it got me hooked on my number 1 crush, Kristen Bell. A-

Returning Faves:

24 - Where do you go after detonating a nuclear bomb during the season premiere? The writers of 24 struggled to answer that question over and over and at one point even rebooted the series with a lame Chinese subplot. Powers Boothe as VP Daniels sweated intensity and was maybe the real reason I kept watching. C-
Grey's Anatomy - I really liked a lot about this season. There were a couple things I didn't (George/Izzie for example) but I still really enjoy the interplay of these immensely fragile and imperfect characters. I thought the season finale was particularly great. B
Lost -Best show on tv, bar none. The show started slowly but really picked up pace and never let up. I can't say enough good things about it. A
Prison Break- I didn't know how this show would reinvent itself outside of the walls of Fox River (I mean, what show needs to reinvent itself in year 2?) But William Fichtner made this over the top thrill ride beat 24 at its own game. B
Sopranos - say what you want about the now infamous series finale, Sopranos managed to do in its last season what it did during its entire run - keep people talking. Was it disjointed? Yes? Gimmicky? Yes. But it continued to capture the human psyche better than anything else on tv. B-

Others:
Dancing With the Stars - My guilty pleasure gets better and better with each season!
Blade the Series - I still miss this. When will it come out on DVD?
Entourage - Still loving it.
Scrubs - Completely tired of it. I think syndication killed this show for me.

Busy Beaver

Sorry for the lack of updates - it's been raining a lot. Yeah, that's my excuse. Seriously - I had no plans last night and tonight but to write by the pool and both nights I've gotten caught in the rain. We even lost power tonight!





Went up to the mountains last weekend for a father-son fishing weekend. I fished for about 5 minutes and managed to catch a rock. Lot of fun though - nice to hang with the fam, eat food cooked over the fire and play a lot of cards and as always with my cousins, an unorthodox game of Risk. I also saw a really ugly amish baby and a sign that said "Mini Donkey 4 Sale" I wanted to stop and see just how mini it was. I guess like this. Beware the bad midi music.




Saw this crazy picture of a house with a tunnel through it today. More pics there.

Been really into the Danish band called the Breakers. You might have heard their song"Tried So Hard". And if you haven't yet, check out the Amy Whinehouse/Ghostface Killah version of "I'm No Good".

Sopranos finally ended and most people either think the finally was brilliant or stupid. I udnerstand why Chase did what he did (and it does work as a finale), but I still think of it as a betrayal to the fans who've followed this show despite massive delays for close to ten years. You're on notice Lindelof/Cuse! Now that the tv season is officially over, look for my tv season report card here soon.

Not new but still funny: Washington, Washington

If you don't have anything to do tomorrow at 6PM be sure to check out the last night of Tiny Ninja Theater at the Kennedy Center's Millenium Stage. It's a free (and hilarious) take on Romeo and Juliet