Robot Sweatshop Podcast: "Watchmen" Movie Review & Discussion

Hi folks,

In addition to my pop culture ramblings here at Like Television, I also host a pop culture themed podcast called Robot Sweatshop. Since we've had some discussions and posts here about movies and comics, I thought I'd let you know about our newest episode, which may be of interest.

Co-host Chris Bacolo, special guest Jen Giarratana, and myself sit down for a discussion on Watchmen, the film and the comic, minutes after seeing the movie for the first time. I've read the comic twice; Chris finished reading it literally just before seeing the film; and Jen has never seen or read even a panel of it.

Three points of view. But are there three different verdicts on the film? Listen and find out.

Here are some handy links, if you're interested:

Download this episode


Discuss this episode


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Scooter is Alabama Bound

Check out the Scooter's journey during Lent. Today... Alabama Bound. You can track him as he rolls down the highway, just send a request to track at lentjourney@gmail.com and wait for a bit fro Scooter to approve you. After approval, go to google.com and click the igoogle link in the upper right corner of the page to see a map, with Scooter updates as he heads down the road.

You can also read about the trip at:
http://www.lentenjourney.com. Happy Trails.

Cinematic Titanic Live in Boston

Our love of all things Mystery Science Theater 3000 on this site is well documented, and that love definitely includes Cinematic Titanic, MST3K creator Joel Hodgson's new B-movie riffing venture. For Cinematic Titanic, Joel gathered several MST3K vets, including Trace Beaulieu (Crow, Dr. Forrester), Frank Conniff (TV's Frank), Mary Jo Pehl (Pearl Forrester), and J. Elvis Weinstein (the original Tom Servo). It's been great to have them back, wits as sharp, biting and hilarious as ever.

Cinematic Titanic visited Boston on February 20th and 21st as part of a live riffing mini-tour; we deemed this Too Awesome To Miss, and made the trek from Brooklyn for the Saturday show. The movie being riffed, as we learned right before it began, was a '70s Kung Fu-sploitation wonder called The Dynamite Brothers. It was racist and nonsensical and features a scene where one dude handcuffed to another manages to somehow take his shirt off. 'Nuff said.

I was curious as to how it would feel to see movie riffing done before an audience -- after all, MST3K and Cinematic Titanic are relatively quiet shows -- and whether or not it would really work.

But I need not have worried; in short, it was hilarious and an overall awesome experience. The theater was packed (I'm guessing it was sold out), and the audience was among the warmest I've ever seen. We were laughing at the riffs and at the movie itself; best of all, we got to meet the whole cast after the show, all of whom were insanely nice and took time to chat, take pictures, and sign autographs. Photo report below -- but in case you were wondering -- Cinematic Titanic live scores an easy A.


The Somerville Theatre marquee. This was a beautiful, old fashioned theater with a very warm look and feel. It was just the type of place we were hoping it would be in our pre-show, overly-excited, geeky discussions.


Inside the lobby a few minutes before showtime. The place was packed.


Comedian David "Gruber" Allen -- you might know him as the guidance counselor from Freaks and Geeks -- warms up the crowd. Dave's not a member of the Cinematic Titanic crew, but has appeared in some episodes, and was awesome.


J. Elvis Weinstein took the stage, armed with a bass, and performed a routine with Dave about a radio station that only plays the catchiest moments of songs for our short-attention span culture. The name of the station? K-ADD, of course!


Next up, Frank Conniff -- who I think is possibly one of the funniest people alive -- greets the crowd.


Joel received the biggest ovation, and even brought with him an invention exchange: a small sampler that only plays "Happy Together," torn out of a Valentine's Day card. When played by one's zipper, it creates a "party in your pants." Genius. The Mads could never top that one!


The lights go down before the Cinematic Titanic crew does what they do best.


At the end of the show, the cast bowed to a standing ovation. But they weren't done! For an encore, they performed "a best of Cinematic Titanic" to clips of the show's funniest moments, with scenes taken from every Cinematic Titanic episode. Even watching them out of context, it was very, very funny.


The line forms, which I'm all but sure included the entire #$@%ing audience, for the post-show meet-and-greet. (It actually moved at a pretty decent clip, and everyone was really friendly.)


The aforementioned line keeps going.


We finally make it to meet-and-greet area, catch a glimpse of the cast...


...and are psyched.


Me and the great Trace Beaulieu. Trace was really, really nice, and took time to actually ask me about my shirt. Are all Minnesotans this cool? (We're not used to things like "eye contact" and "friendly conversation" here in Brooklyn.)


Joel and Frank with a very happy fan. The end!

New York Comic Con 2009: Photo Report!

New York Comic Con, a very fun yet maddeningly crowded pop culture gathering, took place at the Javits Center last week, from February 6-8. The show was filled with comic book publishers, video game companies, artists, writers, memorabilia dealers, bad food and fans (many of which were dressed up as their favorite characters, as these are some of the only days of the year that you can dress like a superhero, game character, or whatever and get away with it in public...though I do think I spotted a furry, which is never, ever okay).

We here at Like Television (and some friends) made it out to the Con, and brought back these photos as official documentation of the weirdness and fun for future generations. (Unfortunately, my camera is in its twilight years and had trouble focusing in some of the photos below. Sorry 'bout that.) Enjoy!


Oh, New York Comic Con crowds. What are we going to do with you?


Here's a view of the crowd from Hobbit Height (i.e. my view).


This awesome statue of He-Man -- I mean, Faker (he got me!) -- greeted attendees at the show floor entrance.




This is a shot of the convention floor on Friday, the most sane day of the show, where one can actually walk around comfortably.


Snake Eyeseseses!


A bunch of fans pose for a picture with an attendee who dressed up as a Huge Nerd.


Playmates had a great booth set up for the 25th anniversary "Shellabration" of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which included an original, playable arcade cabinet of the great Turtles In Time game.


The aforementioned TMNT booth.


The aforementioned TMNT booth with Chris.


Atari pulled out all the stops in promotion of their upcoming Ghostbusters game, including this awesome Slimer ice sculpture.


Even Ghostbusters had to wait in line to play the game! (Side note: there were a ton of people dressed up as Ghostbusters this year.)


Mattel's "MattyCollector" panel, where they unveiled new Ghostbusters, He-Man, and DC action figures. The two dudes on the left are half of the super-talented Four Horsemen, sculptors of many of Mattel's great action figure lines.


Mattel revealed Hordak -- my favorite He-Man villain -- as the latest entry in their Masters of the Universe Classics line at the MattyCollector panel.


Ghostbuster Ray Stantz as an action figure! I will own this.


Slimer returns. Hopefully Ecto-Cooler Hi-C is not too far behind!


Prototypes of the 6-inch Ghostbusters figures.


We came. We saw. We kicked its ass!


Chris and Caroline frighten the dude in yellow with their enthusiasm for panel discussions.


The new X-Force team in Superhero Squad form. Very cool!


The new line of toys from the Wolverine and the X-Men animated series. These look terrific.


X-Men Origins: Wolverine toys. I'm lukewarm on these.


Now this is dedication. This fan is dressed up in a Wolverine costume designed by Alex Ross, which only appeared once in Wizard Magazine.


Gamers got to try out the new "Ready 2 Rumble" for Wii. Was it fun? I have no idea.


The creators of the excellent indie comics, The Sentinels and Neverminds.


Green Lantern (John Stewart) -- complete with green contacts! -- and me, Super PizzaBagel.


This photo was a victim of my camera's blurriness, but I had to include it here. This girl really looked like Chun Li (of "Street Fighter") come to life.


Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles co-creator Peter Laird. Kneel before Laird!


Longtime TMNT artist Jim Lawson draws for a fan.


Club Namco was one of my favorite dealers at the show. All retro Pac-Man stuff -- how could you go wrong?


Wonder Woman poses for the camera.


I have the power. The end!

A Tale of Two Worms

The Tale of Two Worms

Once upon a time there were two worms, one was named Daryl and the other was named Kerry. The names, like the worms were not gender specific. Worms are hermaphrodites, meaning they contain both sex organs. When they mate, worms lie next to each other, and fertilize each other. Each leaves pregnant. The story is told this way, so no one would ever think their gender is better than the other. In their humility, so low to the ground, that was an easy lesson for the worms to understand.

Daryl and Kerry were very different worms. Daryl began each day at 4 am, and went out of its hole to the ground above looking for food. I know, worms don't do this, it is a story. Get over it. Anyway, Daryl woke each day at 4 am, and went to sleep each day at 4 pm. Meanwhile, Kerry woke up each day at 11 am and went to bed at at 11 pm.

When Daryl and Kerry first fell in love, they were fascinated by the insights they learned about the world from each other. Both of them felt complete, gaining so much from the other worm, and also feeling good about themselves as the things they shared about the world generated a profound interest in the other worm. They listened to each, and were fascinated by what the other worm knew of life. It wasn't long before they grew madly in love each other. Each of them felt like the other worm was the most amazing worm in the world. They were very happy.

And then one day, Daryl was looking to share something with Kerry, and felt like he had a profound insight, so he was eager to share it. He told Kerry that world was getting warmer. Of course Daryl felt this way, because it was what he knew from his life. Most days, it kept getting hotter and hotter, and at 4 pm, he was hot & tied and went to sleep. But Daryl's insight was not profound to Kerry at all. From her viewpoint - the world was getting colder every day. Each night when she went to bed, she was shivering because it was getting colder & colder, and she went to sleep with a chill in her wriggly little worm body.

Now Daryl had shared this insight, because he thought it was important. His feelings about himself had grown so big from Kerry's interest, he began to think he was very wise sage. Even though he was still just a worm. And the same thing happened to Kerry. At first, Kerry gently told Daryl that she thought his observation was incorrect. And she explained why. Then, She also began to question how Daryl could be so wrong... and Daryl did the same thing as he listened to Kerry. Each of them began to grow so wise of their own opinion, they began to dislike each other. It wasn't long before each of them felt like the other was an idiot. And yes, sadly, it wasn't long before they were no longer in love with each other.

As time passed, and seasons changed from spring to summer and fall to winter, each of the worms went through a period where the world was proving them right. And then wrong. And they'd say... just wait it will get hotter, or colder. And for a time they were right, and then wrong. Silly worms.

And that made both of them sad, but also angry. They stayed this way for a time, until they both realized, they lost something much more precious than what they felt about the climate trends. They had lost what each of them cared about most. No one knows whether it was Kerry or Daryl who first decided to forget their own opinion and really listen to the other worm, but one of the two worms made the first move. And said I am sorry. I don't care about the climate as much as i care for you. Forgive me and tell more about why you feel the way you do. I wasn't listening well at all, and got all caught up in my own experiences and views. I am so sorry. i love you.

Well the other worm at first didn't know what to do. But initially, they were flattered, and explained in earnest their views. They thought they had won the argument. But it wasn't long, before they saw the other worm seemed happier than themselves, and decided that being right wasn't all that great. They now wanted to get their love back, and that hadn't happened yet. It wasn't long before they felt badly enough to get humbled. And after that, they apologized, and said how terrible they were feeling, and asked for forgiveness. They realized they were wrong to care about the hot or cold issues, when it got in the way of their love, which was much more precious.

It took some time to heal the wounds they gave to each other, but not so long that it was impossible. As they listened, more eager to understand than to promote their own view, they learned that wisdom began with the words - I don't know. After many days spent listening with love in their hearts, they soon learned about day and night... and the seasons of the year. And over time, they shared this story with all the little Daryls and Kerrys that were created in this great love they had for each other. And their knowledge of the world grew in lock step with their growing love. Eventually, they learned that something outside of themselves had helped them on their journey. The learned the greatest lesson of all. They learned about God, and they learned to love Him, and thank Him (Her), for the gift of love. And they knew in their hearts, that God was love.

To their surprise, they also were no longer worms. They were people. And oh, how deeply they loved each other, and how profoundly they thanked God each day for this wonderful gift. Indeed, their joy was now complete.

Friday the 13th Cartoon

Popeye has his hands full on Friday the 13th, as Bluto tries to spoil a date with Olive, using every superstitious trick in the book. Lots of fun, thank Goodness for spinach, even when it gets stuck between your teeth.

you can go to Popeye's Friday the 13th page to watch the cartoon in a larger video window, or just view it below.


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