What is wrong with Japan?

I read in the NYTimes today about a wacky new fad in Japan, Going out with pillow's with anime characters on them.... or as the Times said "Nisan is part of a thriving subculture of men and women in Japan who indulge in real relationships with imaginary characters. These 2-D lovers, as they are called, are a subset of otaku culture— the obsessive fandom that has surrounded anime, manga and video games in Japan in the last decade."

Japan used to be to a feared world power and now men in Japan are making love to pillows. But yet we have another sad twist to this story.

"Okayama was an early adopter of 2-D. He discovered anime about two decades ago when he was new to the work force and feeling suicidal. “I was having a lot of trouble,” he told me over coffee, making a slicing gesture with his hand by his neck. That’s when he encountered Sasami, ablue-haired, 10-year-old cartoon character from the anime “TenchiMuyo!”"

Yes not only is this guy hooking up with a anime pillow, he is hooking up with a ten year old anime pillow. Plus that is such a ripoff of the movie Garden State. Just replace Natalie Portman with Sasami, a blue-haired, 10-year-old cartoon character from the anime “TenchiMuyo and it is the same thing.

If you want to read the rest of this sickness you can here

Patrick Duffy is a man of many talents

When doing reserch on Step by Step I cam across this video of the Duffy singing his pop hit (He has a hit in Europe)

Step By Step Part 1

In the history of the now world famous Friday sitcom block TGIF there have been huge hits that have characters who have since become pop culture icons, and much like I have posted about before on this blog there have been full-fledged flops on TGIF but there is only one TGIF show that seemed to last forever without being special or liked in anyway and that show was Step By Step.

The show stared Patrick ( Dallas in the shower)Duffy and Suzanne (Three's Company) Summers in their second most well known TV show's respectively. Duffy had just finished with Dallas And Summers was just a year or two out of doing the world famous show She's the Sheriff, when they got together to make television mediocrity. The show also stared Staci Keanan who like her TV parents was more well known for another sitcom (My Two Dad's) than this one.

Step By Step was sort of a 1990's version of the Brady Bunch the set up was this dude named Frank Lambert (Duffy), a divorced guy that liked belt buckles who had three children from a previous marriage (Yet they were all alone), Married Carol Foster (Suzanne Somers), who has three children of her own (The youngest one not in curls). The show usually was in between more successful TGIF shows and it lasted for seven whole seasons even though I don't think there was ever a time in America where someone said "Oh shit I need to get home Step by Step is on!!!!

In Part 2 I think I will talk about the rest of the people in the show. For now just look at the opening sequence. (Check out that CGI Ocean)

RIP Les Lye

Actor Les Lye died on Tuesday at the age of 84. People in the age group most likely to read this site will remember him as the man who played all the male adult roles and the very popular 1980's Nickelodeon show You Can't Do That on Television. I liked the show's snarky dark edge and I still like to think the show is what living in Canada (Where the show was made) in the 1980's was like.

The most notable legacy of the show is the recurring bit they made where a character would say "I don't know" and then have some slime from the heavens fall on the poor suckers head (Maybe God hates indecision) Nickelodeon has used that gimmick for years separate from the show.

Here are some clips from the show

I love the hip dialogue in the Spider-Man comic strip. Do weather girls even exist anymore?

Double T's strange finds in the quarter bins 4

Ahhh the WWF comic series from Valiant. Not a well known series,sorta like the Marvel WCW comic,but it is still collected somewhat. I got this one at the late lamented Lynn's comics in Port Arthur TX. Was close friends with the owner and got it for free. Now onto the review. First story is Every man has his price starring The Million Dollar Man and Virgil. Story by Laura Hitchcock and Art by David Lapham and Don Perlin. Starts off with a tabloid style TV show interviewing the MDM's former personal accountant. The accountant is mad and has a tape he secretly made during his last visit to the MDM's estate. Here we see Virgil working out with Dibiase's 24 karot gold weights. Ted enters the gym and gets mad at Virgil for using his equipment and throws one of the weights at him. This starts off a brawl that goes all thru the mansion and last about 7 pages before Ted ends up in his very Uncle Scroogeish Money bin.Virgil and Ted's dog enter the money bin. Were the fight continues for at least 4 more pages. The story ends with the accountant getting a package while still at the tabloid show. Turns out Ted has sent him a huge check,so the accountant says that he doctored the videotape and was lying the whole time.

Second story is Pain or peace. Written by Jim Shooter art by Steve Ditko. First thing i must admit is I am a huge Ditko fan. And will buy almost anything with his name on it. So when i found out he did a story in this title I was majorly hyped. This story is about Undertaker and Paul Bearer have just moved into a new home. And Big Bossman is conducting some off the books surveillance on them. One of the neighbors is going to welcome Taker and Paul to the neighborhood. So Bossman using the bugs he has previously planted in the house listens in. All kind of wacky hi jinx happen. Most of them are of the "Oh no Undertaker is gonna kill the poor neighbor!" But it turns out he is just working on a tombstone or cutting her some cheese. Finally Big Bossman has had enough and he storms into the house. They have a huge brawl that last about 3 pages. And in the end they bust threw a door and Bossman discovers that Undertaker is having a funeral in his house. Bossman is all kinds of flustered and leaves in a huff. Overall neither story is anything amazing ,but this comic is saved by the great Ditko artwork on the second story.

The forgotten TGIF shows part 2

Getting By: this show was about two families that bought the same house by mistake and then they live together anyway WTF. It starred Cindy Williams from Laverne and Shirley and Thelma Hopkins who was Rachel on Family Matters. (she left Family Matters without even being written off the show and when Getting By was canceled she went back to Family Matters) Unlike most shows on this list Getting By had a full 31 episodes to spread it's art.



Baby Talk: This show was "loosely based" on the Look who's talking movies. On the show the baby (who's thoughts we can hear) is voiced by Tony Danza and the person who played the mother changed like 7 times. The only other notable think about this show is that Scott Baio was on it at some point



On our own: Started about the same time that Party at five premiered this was also about a group of kid's/young adults who's parents just sort of died (I guess there was a "orphan " trend going on at the time. What i remember from this show is the teenagers giving the little kids bologna and mustard for lunch in the opening minutes of the first episode.

Sarah Palin resigns as Alaska Governor! puts out bad memo!

So Sarah Palin just resigned from the governorship of Alaska. Here is part of the memo her office gave to the press (hat tip to TNR ).

"It is my duty to always protect our great state. With that in mind, my family and I determined that it is best to make a difference this summer, and I am willing to change things, so that this administration, with its positive agenda, its accomplishments, and its successful road to an incredible future, can continue without interruption and with great administrative and legislative success. "

Also

"It hurts to make this choice, but I've given my reasons. I'm reminded of a sign on my parents' refrigerator, 'Don't explain; your friends don't need it, and your enemies won't believe you anyway.'"

Huh?

2003 TMNTs to meet 1987 TMNT..... huh?

So I was reading the Internets the other day and I found out that for the 25th anniversary of TMNT (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles like I needed to type that) a crossover show will happen featuring the the four turtles of the modern series meeting the same four turtles from the 1987 original series cast.

WTF? Will the 1987 Turtles have bad 80's cartoon animation? The one Turtles personality that is different on both shows Is Raphael who in the 1987 cartoon instead of being the loose cannon of the group is kind of like Chandler Bing as a Ninja Turtle. I bet loose cannon Raphael will kick his ass.

The only question is when will both teams meet up with the "coming out of our shells" rock band era TMNT?