'Best of TBH Politoons'
Baron Dave Romm
Happy Feet
By Baron Dave Romm
Shockwave Radio Theater
podcasts
2007
Minnesota Fringe Festival -- the early days
2007
Minnesota Fringe Festival -- Final Report
Happy Feet!
Chinstrap
Penguin, Bailyhead Island, Antarctica, December 1, 2005
photo by
Baron Dave Romm
Thumbs up on the antarctic terrain, thumbs down on penguins dancing
Happy Feet gets a lot right: Antarctica is that beautiful. For the most part, the ice formations glacier ledges and packed snow are just like depicted. The opening sequence at the Emperor Penguin rookery is straight out of the documentary March of the Penguins, and is quite authentic. This takes place many miles inland, with drifts and packed ice. Antarctica is a large place, more than twice the land mass of Europe, and the driest continent. Inland, on the plateau, it doesn't rain. The pole gets 2-3 inches of snow a year all of which is moisture freezing out of the atmosphere. Most of the life on the continent -- and most of the action in the film -- takes place along the coast.
Gentoo Penguins on ledge
Peterman
Island, Antarctica, December 4, 2005
photo by Ethel G. Romm
Penguins move like that... on land. Penguins are birds, and they fly underwater. Unlike the movie, penguins usually swim in schools, not individually (and not choreographed). I never saw one dive off a cliff, they usually just wade into the water or make a shallow diver from very close. Penguins are built to dive and swim, and are awkward on land. They travel short distances on solid ground, and it's an awkward pain. I'll allow some cinematic tinkering with anthropomorphizing the movements, but seeing an actual penguin school underwater is amazingly beautiful... and brief.
Needed better development to make a stronger story
Mary Poppins developed out of a series of stories, and the Disney Development Team did a spectacularly good job bringing them together into a whole movie. No villains, just character development. Happy Feet doesn't do quite so well. The villains are all contrived. Skuas eatpenguin eggs not penguins. Penguins have no natural enemies on land, and mainly have to worry about seals. Penguins eat fish, seals eat penguins (some of them, anyway). The main danger in the movie and real life is the disruption of the food chain by humans, but the film oversimplifies the problem. There is very little pollution (so far) on the continent, and seamen hunt whales, not fish.
Skuas eating penguin
egg
Baileyhead Island, Antarctica, December 1, 2005
photo by
Baron Dave Romm
Penguins have distinctive voices. Chicks can find their parent even in a crowd. It's not at all a stretch to have the penguins in the film admire singing as the highest art form. It is a stretch to have any penguin tap dancing. It's not just the lack of knees, it's the lack of a surface to tap on. The filmmakers do a wonderful job making penguin movements believable, but this stretches the imagination.
The vocal talent is pretty good. Elijah Wood as Mumble hits the right note of innocence and determination. Robin Williams plays a couple of ethic parts without taking over the film. The singing is great, very Moulin Rouge: no song is ever completed, to make the music a part of their lives. The Animation is really nifty, but no, I don't buy a tap dancing penguin.
Shockwave broadcast which includes a recording of penguins I made with my iPod.
The Ugly Duckling story starts off well but gets involved with an ecological storyline that doesn't really work. Penguins are dying not because "aliens" (i.e. humans) are leaving beer can rings and overfishing the Antarctic, but because the ocean temperature is changing the krill habitat. I greatly appreciate that the issues are being raised, but I wish they'd spent a bit more energy to get it right.
I'm going to round the DVD up a bit because of the extras. A deleted segment with Steve Irwin as an albatross is fun. I don't know why they threw in the 1936 Warner Brothers cartoon I Love To Singa (thematically similar, though very different in most respects) but I'm happy to see it again. Various other bits are good. No commentary, though that doesn't bother me for this film.
In the Shockwave Radio Theater scale from 9 to 23, I'll give Happy Feet about an 18. Recommended as a secondary children's film: The animals are very well done, the scenery is gorgeous and there's enough action to keep the kids interested and enough music for parents and children to appreciate.
Penguin Love
Gentoo Penguins, Neko Island, Antarctica,
December 3, 2005
photo by Baron Dave Romm
Baron Dave Romm is a conceptual artist and a noble of Ladonia who produces Shockwave Radio Theater, writes in a Live Journal demi-blog, plays with a very weird CD collection and an ever growing list of political links. Dave Romm reviews things at random for obscure web sites. You can read all his music recommendations from Bartcop-E. Podcasts of Shockwave Radio Theater. Permanent archive. More radio programs, interviews and science fiction humor plays can be accessed on the Shockwave Radio audio page.
Thanks to everyone who has sent me music to play on the air.
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Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Marriage bill to go to Schwarzenegger - again (advocate.com)
By a strong 22-15 vote, the California senate on Friday sent a marriage equality bill to the desk of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who pledged this year that he would veto such legislation. The bill passed the state assembly in June with one vote to spare.
Nat Hentoff: The Constitution of a Jazzman (villagevoice.com)
Max Roach, at 83, left us on August 16, but his liberating presence lives on in his music.
Interview by Dena Ross: 'We're All in a Process' (beliefnet.com)
Amy Grant talks about pop music, her upcoming tour, the Bush family, and why she never criticizes Madonna.
Catherine Plato: Inside the Director's Studio (curvemag.com)
In 1986, years before The L Word, Ellen, Ani or curve hit the scene, Donna Deitch broke some major ground with her now-iconic tale of lesbian love in the 1950s. One of the few lesbian films of the time that proved its staying power beyond the immediate years following, Desert Hearts set the bar and is still arguably the standard par excellence in lesbian film.
Anthony Daniels: Another side of Paradise (newcriterion.com:81)
On the questionable legacy of Jack Kerouac and "On the Road."
There's only one mystery ... (books.guardian.co.uk)
Laura Thompson's biography of Agatha Christie finds clues to her popularity in the quality of her prose, says Rachel Cooke.
Tom Ruffles: Black and White and Blue (nthposition.com)
It's always nice to see a man enjoy his work, and Dave Thompson clearly enjoyed the hours he must have spent closely analysing his chosen subject, the history of the stag film.
Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: Equality before the Divine (jewishworldreview.com)
In human terms, there can be superior or inferior. We are finite beings, and we can see the wide gap between a person of great achievement and one of little, or even no achievement. But G-d is infinite, and before infinity, a fraction of a millimeter and a million miles are both equally significant or non-significant.
Tom Tomorrow: The Difference Between Larry Craig and Bill Clinton
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny and cool.
Here's the Complete List Of Creative Emmy Winners (And A Complete List Of Primetime Emmy Nominations)
Britney Blows Comeback
MTV Awards
An out-of-shape, out-of-touch Britney Spears delivered what was destined to be the most talked about performance of the MTV Video Music Awards - but for all the wrong reasons. Kicking off the show Sunday night with her new single, "Gimme More," Spears looked bleary and unprepared - much like her recent tabloid exploits on the streets of Los Angeles.
She lazily walked through her dance moves with little enthusiasm. It appeared she had forgotten the entire art of lip-synching; and, perhaps most unforgivable given her once taut frame, she looked embarrassingly out of shape.
Even the celebrity-studded audience seemed bewildered. 50 Cent looked at Spears with a confused expression; Diddy, her new best friend, was expressionless.
MTV Awards
Creative Emmys Winner
'Dick In A Box'
An off-color "Saturday Night Live" video featuring Justin Timberlake and strategically placed gift boxes was honored at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards.
"(Blank) in a Box," last December's fake music video performed by Timberlake and "SNL" cast member Andy Samberg, is about wrapping a part of the male anatomy and presenting it to a loved one as a holiday present.
"I think it's safe to say that when we first set out to make this song, we were all thinking 'Emmy!'" Samberg said in accepting the award Saturday for best original music and lyrics.
"The other thing we were thinking was, 'Hey! Here's this young up and comer, Justin Timberlake, who is clearly very talented and could clearly use a break,'" Samberg said. "So, Justin, if you're out there, congrats to you, kid.'"
'Dick In A Box'
Complete List of Creative Emmy Award Winners
New Lake Wobegon Novel
Garrison Keillor
Maybe it's that he's hit retirement age, but Garrison Keillor wasn't afraid to admit that his latest novel was easy to write.
"For me, that was manageable," Keiller said of "Pontoon," his 248-page return to Lake Wobegon. "I'm telling my publisher I want to write a series of short novels. Now that I'm suddenly a senior citizen, I'm don't want to spend years reading a book."
The novel will be published Tuesday, the same week that Keillor begins a new season of his long-running Minnesota Public Radio show, "A Prairie Home Companion." The new book is his fifth set in the fictional town of Lake Wobegon, and its storyline will sound familiar to longtime followers of Keillor's homespun tales.
Garrison Keillor
Brings Back TV Teaching Program
Bill Cosby
Bill Cosby announced last week that his animated series, "Little Bill," which is aimed at getting preschoolers interested in learning, is returning to television on cable's Noggin network. It previously was part of the Nickelodeon cable network's "Nick Jr." programming bloc for preschoolers.
In an era where the education reform act No Child Left Behind dominates education, the comedian complained recently, "The high school dropout rate in some cities is as high as 55 to 75 percent. While the behinds are moving forward, some of the minds are left behind."
Beginning Monday, Cosby's show will air weekdays on Noggin at 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. EDT. It will be broadcast at 1:30 p.m. EDT on the weekends.
Bill Cosby
A Natural For Faux News
Eva Herman
A German public television network on Sunday sacked a popular talk show host and former news presenter after she had praised the Nazi's family policies at a news conference for her new book on child-rearing.
NDR television program director Volker Herres said on the NDR website the network had fired Eva Herman, 48, with immediate effect for her comments "that we deemed to be incompatible to her role as a television presenter and talk show host."
Herman, who was a news presenter for the network's flagship "Tagesschau" news program for 18 years to 2006, has also hosted several other talk shows on NDR.
While presenting her book "Das Prinzip Arche Noah - warum wir die Familie retten muessen" (Arche Noah principle - why we must save the family), she said family values that were nurtured in the Nazi era were cast away by the turmoil of the late 1960s.
Eva Herman
Memorial Services
Tammy Faye Messner
A memorial service is planned for Tammy Faye Messner at the Victory Christian Center in Rancho Mirage on Monday.
The former TV preacher attended the church for almost 20 years, it was reported today.
The public is invited to attend the service, which will be held 7 p.m. at the church, which is located at 34500 Bob Hope Drive in Rancho Mirage, the Desert Sun reported.
Another event is scheduled for Nov. 18 in Palm Springs, where friends and celebrities -- including CNN talk show host Larry King -- are expected to appear.
Tammy Faye Messner
Thousands Of GIs
Brain Damage
The war in Iraq is not over, but one legacy is already here in this city and others across America: an epidemic of brain-damaged soldiers.
Thousands of troops have been diagnosed with traumatic brain injury, or TBI. These blast-caused head injuries are so different from the ones doctors are used to seeing from falls and car crashes that treating them is as much faith as it is science.
"I've been in the field for 20-plus years dealing with TBI. I have a very experienced staff. And they're saying to me, 'We're seeing things we've never seen before,'" said Sandy Schneider, director of Vanderbilt University's brain injury rehabilitation program.
Doctors also are realizing that symptoms overlap with post-traumatic stress disorder, and that both must be treated. Odd as it may seem, brain injury can protect against PTSD by blurring awareness of what happened.
Brain Damage
Campaign Rocks Italy's Political Classes
'Vaffanculo-day'
An Italian comedian's campaign using a rude word to tell off politicians has won the support of more than 300,000 Italians who signed petitions to sweep away a generation of lawmakers they say are corrupt and ineffective.
Popular comic Beppe Grillo has sent shock waves through the political system with the level of support for his campaign which, if successful, would bar convicted felons from parliament and would limit politicians' careers to two terms in office.
An estimated 40,000 people attended Grillo's rally in Bologna on Saturday and many more went to hundreds of similar "Vaffanculo-day" protests around the country. The word is the Italian equivalent of the "f"-word in English.
Gaining grassroots support via his website, one of Italy's most popular blogs, the 57-year-old comic said Italy needed a radical break from what he said was the political mismanagement of Italy since the end of fascism and World War Two.
'Vaffanculo-day'
OK In Oakland
Naked Carpenter
A carpenter caught hammering nails and sawing wood in the nude has been found by a judge to be not guilty of indecent exposure.
Alameda County Superior Court Judge Julie Conger ruled Thursday that although Percy Honniball of Oakland was naked, he was not acting lewdly or seeking sexual gratification.
The carpenter has said he likes to work in the nude because it's more comfortable and it helps him keep his clothes clean.
Honniball earned two years' probation in 2003 after being caught three times working naked in Berkeley, which prohibits public nudity. Oakland does not have a similar ban.
Naked Carpenter
Jerry Springer's Empire Building
'The Steve Wilkos Show'
With Monday's launch of spinoff talker "The Steve Wilkos Show," Jerry Springer is building himself a TV empire that arguably parallels that of Oprah Winfrey. But the daytime syndication veteran, whose own talk show kicks off its 17th season September 17, laughs off any comparison to the queen of daytime.
Still, it's hard to deny the similarities in the TV paths forged by the two Chicago-based talk show hosts, including introducing cable extensions of their daytime series, having presences in musicals and films and spinning off talkers. Springer also recently had a good run on ABC's "Dancing With the Stars" -- he's now mulling the idea of releasing a dance-themed DVD -- and will return next summer as host of NBC's "America's Got Talent."
But the likable host -- who is worlds removed from his guests, whom he regularly warns that he would never go on his own show -- is modest about his international success.
The Steve Wilkos Show
Weekend Box Office
'3:10 to Yuma'
The critically acclaimed Western "3:10 to Yuma" outgunned the fright fest "Halloween" to become the weekend's top box office draw.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.
1. "3:10 to Yuma," $14.1 million
2. "Halloween," $10 million.
3. "Superbad," $8 million.
4. "Balls of Fury," $5.7 million.
5. "The Bourne Ultimatum," $5.5 million.
6. "Shoot 'Em Up," $5.5 million.
7. "Rush Hour 3," $5.3 million.
8. "Mr. Bean's Holiday," $3.4 million.
9. "The Nanny Diaries," $3.3 million.
10. "Hairspray," $2 million.
3:10 to Yuma
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