"Get yer stinkin paws off my Jack Sack, you damned dirty Bauer!"
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
24: The Movie Poster Concept #1
Picking up from last week's announcement of a "24" film, we suggest 20th Century Fox take a similar approach here to what it did with the well-worn "Apes" series. Get your prequel on, FOX! Show us where the Bauers came from once and for all!
Friday, January 13, 2012
Getting Your Blog Back On
I've been out of this blogging gig so long that I've returned to find that no one blogs anymore! You people with all of your tweeting, friending, tumblring, linkedining, etc. Well, throw on your White Stripes albums and imagine a world where a movie ticket cost $10, where no one knew of Kim Kardashian and where this site threatened to shoot you in the kneecaps if you didn't watch "24."
It's good manners to say where you've been when having been silent for such a long time. Here it is: I was at work being a lawyer.
My friends and family can confirm this statement. I was at work, losing my creativity and energy in an attempt to catch up on my career. I went from watching films and making pot roasts to playing corporate politics and eating tinned fish for dinner. Somewhere along the way, I wrongly brought my moral compass to work and began to get truly upset with the things I was witnessing. Don't get me wrong, I've not found anyone breaking the law (well, except one guy, but that's not something I can talk about until the case is adjudicated, stay tuned, seriously). What gnaws at me is something less pressing but more disheartening: a lot of people lack a conscience. It's a defect that doesn't appear during casual chit-chat or even formal meetings. Unfortunately, it shows up with the larger things: a layoff that wasn't necessary or justified, an expense report that covers a $5,000 sofa, or two or three of them, and a complete lack of accountability for the really bad things that people do to each other on a regular basis.
If I thought my group was somehow uniquely dysfunctional, I would be fine with everything I mentioned. But this is not nearly as bad as other places I know and many more I've heard of from my associates. Simple tasks are made difficult because things not having to do with the work involved become priorities: who takes credit? Who gets to fly out to the event? Who cares!
And then there was The Jack Sack™- emptied of its excellent contributors and readers, the site stood silent, asking me to write once more. I made several attempts to publish something, ANYTHING, to show you signs of life. I would start a review of a movie and then stop and delete the whole draft. I prepared a commentary on the whole Mosque at the World Trade Center because I was impassioned to speak to those ideals our leaders were failing to articulate. I was also trying to make you laugh- drafting a story of "Where is Jack Bauer at this VERY moment" and couldn't piece together one funny idea regarding his whereabouts.
Instead of writing to fill space, I chose to put this operation on hold. And while I am sure I made the right choice given what was going on in my life, I also know that I greatly missed writing. Goofing off is my escape. This site was created on a goofy notion- to honor and perpetuate the legend of a tough guy's manpurse. "24" fans understood the absurdity of this fixation. We made friends, and competed to be as ridiculous as the show eventually became.
The show's end in May 2010 made my desire to write about Jack Bauer almost disappear. I'd said everything I thought about the character- serious and ridiculous ideas both! I forgot how to draw out the silly shit from the show into the open to exploit for comedic purposes. My show walked away from us. Who wants to talk about a friend that beats it out of town and doesn't write back?
I do, apparently. When Cirroc posted a comment the other day about a new "24" film, I finally started to care. And now that the film is looking to film in a couple of months, I think this site is ready to resume. Hey, we may even show these kids what more than 140 characters of copy will get you. Jack Bauer is so good at killing bad guys that if he tweeted about it, he would force Twitter to give him a special account that knows no rules. And then there's the Doctor from Doctor Who- always changing, always upbeat-- I'll take note of those habits in particular.
It's good manners to say where you've been when having been silent for such a long time. Here it is: I was at work being a lawyer.
My friends and family can confirm this statement. I was at work, losing my creativity and energy in an attempt to catch up on my career. I went from watching films and making pot roasts to playing corporate politics and eating tinned fish for dinner. Somewhere along the way, I wrongly brought my moral compass to work and began to get truly upset with the things I was witnessing. Don't get me wrong, I've not found anyone breaking the law (well, except one guy, but that's not something I can talk about until the case is adjudicated, stay tuned, seriously). What gnaws at me is something less pressing but more disheartening: a lot of people lack a conscience. It's a defect that doesn't appear during casual chit-chat or even formal meetings. Unfortunately, it shows up with the larger things: a layoff that wasn't necessary or justified, an expense report that covers a $5,000 sofa, or two or three of them, and a complete lack of accountability for the really bad things that people do to each other on a regular basis.
If I thought my group was somehow uniquely dysfunctional, I would be fine with everything I mentioned. But this is not nearly as bad as other places I know and many more I've heard of from my associates. Simple tasks are made difficult because things not having to do with the work involved become priorities: who takes credit? Who gets to fly out to the event? Who cares!
And then there was The Jack Sack™- emptied of its excellent contributors and readers, the site stood silent, asking me to write once more. I made several attempts to publish something, ANYTHING, to show you signs of life. I would start a review of a movie and then stop and delete the whole draft. I prepared a commentary on the whole Mosque at the World Trade Center because I was impassioned to speak to those ideals our leaders were failing to articulate. I was also trying to make you laugh- drafting a story of "Where is Jack Bauer at this VERY moment" and couldn't piece together one funny idea regarding his whereabouts.
Instead of writing to fill space, I chose to put this operation on hold. And while I am sure I made the right choice given what was going on in my life, I also know that I greatly missed writing. Goofing off is my escape. This site was created on a goofy notion- to honor and perpetuate the legend of a tough guy's manpurse. "24" fans understood the absurdity of this fixation. We made friends, and competed to be as ridiculous as the show eventually became.
The show's end in May 2010 made my desire to write about Jack Bauer almost disappear. I'd said everything I thought about the character- serious and ridiculous ideas both! I forgot how to draw out the silly shit from the show into the open to exploit for comedic purposes. My show walked away from us. Who wants to talk about a friend that beats it out of town and doesn't write back?
I do, apparently. When Cirroc posted a comment the other day about a new "24" film, I finally started to care. And now that the film is looking to film in a couple of months, I think this site is ready to resume. Hey, we may even show these kids what more than 140 characters of copy will get you. Jack Bauer is so good at killing bad guys that if he tweeted about it, he would force Twitter to give him a special account that knows no rules. And then there's the Doctor from Doctor Who- always changing, always upbeat-- I'll take note of those habits in particular.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
24 Movie News: Sutherland Declares He's "Back In Sack!"
Or, and this is a long-shot, this is a film that will continue the television series "24" which served as a post-September 11th thriller depicting the life of (sometimes) Federal Agent Jack Bauer as he spends precisely 24 hours trying to stop multiple louses from hurting our fine nation. Kiefer Sutherland, fresh off of not doing "24" for a few years, made an announcement that the film could begin production in the Spring of this year. Mr. Sutherland also stated that the new film will take place 6 months after the last episode of the TV series, which aired in May 2010 (when this blog was as popular as that middle Brady girl from the "Brady Bunch").
Assuming they get this film going, "24" could be in theaters by Summer 2013. Or, if 20th Century Fox wishes to torture us, they could delay it until that Winter, by which point I will be retired and living in Cozumel with no internet access. I guess there are worse fates to be had...
Saturday, January 07, 2012
My TARDIS At The Office
It's bigger on the inside. I made it out of foamcore a few months ago. My superiors have not demanded that I take it down yet, so I think we're in the clear.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
THERE WILL BE ABE!
Just a little silliness to close out the year- as Daniel Day-Lewis is filming "Lincoln" for Steven Spielberg, and idea popped into my head to mashup history with some good 'ol fashioned pop culture. Happy New Year!
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
DOCTOR WHO: How I came late to yet another party
I didn't start watching "24" until its fifth season- and through the miracle of DVDs, I caught up on the entire series within a few weeks. It was during that time that this blog was created-- five years ago almost to the day (5/2/06)!
Well, it's fitting that I show up late to another popular TV show-- one that I disliked for years out of complete ignorance, DOCTOR WHO. The show just appeared so... British, and inaccessible for its goofiness and very long history (nearly fifty years). Imagine picking up STAR TREK today-- and having to go back through the entire run. It's intimidating; it's a friggin' side job, in fact!
Nevertheless, it took one episode of the current series to draw me in- the Series 6 (in England they call seasons "series"-- see, really British!) premiere, which aired 4 weeks ago. The show follows a time traveling being, The Doctor, who takes along a companion (or two) and engages the most offbeat and complicated aliens throughout the Universe. The show hits almost every genre- horror, sci-fi, historical fiction, etc. It appeals to anyone with some degree of attention deficit disorder. After a handful of episodes, I was hooked.
Thankfully, Netflix has a lot of the episodes available for streaming. That means my girlfriend and I get to watch nearly all 60 or so episodes starting from 2005 (this is the "modern" DOCTOR WHO era) before we roll up our sleeves and get into the old-school doctors from way back when (50 years of The Doctor... yeah, we have our summer TV planned out).
If any of you have watched the show, please jump in. I'm considering doing episode reviews (at least the current episodes to start) and maybe retro reviews as my viewings mount up. And if you've never watched the show before, I strongly recommend you give it a look.
New episodes air on BBC America Saturday nights. This week, fantasy writer Neil Gaiman pens a special episode. Advance reviews say new viewers will be able to join the series relatively easily this week. So, who's interested?
Well, it's fitting that I show up late to another popular TV show-- one that I disliked for years out of complete ignorance, DOCTOR WHO. The show just appeared so... British, and inaccessible for its goofiness and very long history (nearly fifty years). Imagine picking up STAR TREK today-- and having to go back through the entire run. It's intimidating; it's a friggin' side job, in fact!
Nevertheless, it took one episode of the current series to draw me in- the Series 6 (in England they call seasons "series"-- see, really British!) premiere, which aired 4 weeks ago. The show follows a time traveling being, The Doctor, who takes along a companion (or two) and engages the most offbeat and complicated aliens throughout the Universe. The show hits almost every genre- horror, sci-fi, historical fiction, etc. It appeals to anyone with some degree of attention deficit disorder. After a handful of episodes, I was hooked.
Thankfully, Netflix has a lot of the episodes available for streaming. That means my girlfriend and I get to watch nearly all 60 or so episodes starting from 2005 (this is the "modern" DOCTOR WHO era) before we roll up our sleeves and get into the old-school doctors from way back when (50 years of The Doctor... yeah, we have our summer TV planned out).
If any of you have watched the show, please jump in. I'm considering doing episode reviews (at least the current episodes to start) and maybe retro reviews as my viewings mount up. And if you've never watched the show before, I strongly recommend you give it a look.
New episodes air on BBC America Saturday nights. This week, fantasy writer Neil Gaiman pens a special episode. Advance reviews say new viewers will be able to join the series relatively easily this week. So, who's interested?
Monday, May 02, 2011
Usama Bin Laden- Dead.
I don't think my personal views on Usama Bin Laden or September 11th are that noteworthy or novel- I'm like many of you in that I remember the day of the attacks vividly and have been absorbing the effects of such for many years thereafter.
My initial reaction to the terrorist attacks of 2001 was intense- a deep sense of sadness and loss of faith in the security of this country. Living 15 miles away from NYC and having worked at the Twin Towers through November 2000, I had a connection to those events. There was a hole created by Usama Bin Laden and his subordinates- time fills it in to an extent, but the crater's ridge will always remain visible.
Upon learning of his death today, I was mostly curious as to the details. I certainly didn't feel patriotic or "proud to be an American." I'm already proud of our history and its principles. We live in an age of deconstructionism, pessimism and divisiveness. The past ten years- where Bin Laden's legacy is its most concentrated-- only served to prove that fact. Yes, we can find many faults in what we've done since September 11th, but do those mistakes negate the many great achievements from our larger history? I've grown very tired of the negative piling-on. We can be a great people and we're also screwed up. We're human-- get over it and move on.
I hope that, beyond the damage it would cause Al Qaeda, this day marks a psychological turning point for us- that we don't have to wonder if this person is still around to set in motion further attacks. In terms of justice, killing him is a drop in the bucket towards putting things back into balance. He's one guy- an innovator at his business, but no more important to his organization as Ray Kroc was to McDonald's. The worldwide business of terrorism is not undone.
This doesn't mean we diminish the death of a criminal who caused great harm to citizens throughout the world. We should take comfort in knowing that, despite many obstacles and leads going dead cold, we remained loyal to fulfilling the justice owed to this person. Now, we should think about the bigger issue- does Bin Laden continue to define us or do we find a way to really bury the son-of-a-bitch by uniting to do bigger things again?
My initial reaction to the terrorist attacks of 2001 was intense- a deep sense of sadness and loss of faith in the security of this country. Living 15 miles away from NYC and having worked at the Twin Towers through November 2000, I had a connection to those events. There was a hole created by Usama Bin Laden and his subordinates- time fills it in to an extent, but the crater's ridge will always remain visible.
Upon learning of his death today, I was mostly curious as to the details. I certainly didn't feel patriotic or "proud to be an American." I'm already proud of our history and its principles. We live in an age of deconstructionism, pessimism and divisiveness. The past ten years- where Bin Laden's legacy is its most concentrated-- only served to prove that fact. Yes, we can find many faults in what we've done since September 11th, but do those mistakes negate the many great achievements from our larger history? I've grown very tired of the negative piling-on. We can be a great people and we're also screwed up. We're human-- get over it and move on.
I hope that, beyond the damage it would cause Al Qaeda, this day marks a psychological turning point for us- that we don't have to wonder if this person is still around to set in motion further attacks. In terms of justice, killing him is a drop in the bucket towards putting things back into balance. He's one guy- an innovator at his business, but no more important to his organization as Ray Kroc was to McDonald's. The worldwide business of terrorism is not undone.
This doesn't mean we diminish the death of a criminal who caused great harm to citizens throughout the world. We should take comfort in knowing that, despite many obstacles and leads going dead cold, we remained loyal to fulfilling the justice owed to this person. Now, we should think about the bigger issue- does Bin Laden continue to define us or do we find a way to really bury the son-of-a-bitch by uniting to do bigger things again?
