All posts by ERTorre

E. R. Torre is a writer/artist whose first major work, the mystery graphic novel The Dark Fringe, was optioned for motion picture production by Platinum Studios (Men In Black, Cowboys vs. Aliens). At DC Comics, his work appeared in role-playing game books and the 9-11 Tribute book. This later piece was eventually displayed, along with others from the 9-11 tribute books, at The Library of Congress. More recently he released Shadows at Dawn (a collection of short stories), Haze (a murder mystery novel with supernatural elements), and Cold Hemispheres (a mystery novel set in the world of The Dark Fringe). He is currently hard at work on his latest science fiction/suspense series, Corrosive Knights, which features the novels Mechanic, The Last Flight of the Argus, and Chameleon.
General

New York filmed in 1929… with sound!

Fascinating article by Richard Kaufman and presented on boingboing.net and concerning the above…

New York filmed in 1929 with sound

Ok, I’ve provided the link and I hope you give the site a look see.

Now I’m about to spoil the whole thing and present the two videos from the article.  First up, filming from the back of a truck (it appears) while going down the street.  Interesting to hear all the horns and see all the signage…

Next up, some more driving but hang on (or fast forward) to approximately 11 minutes and you get some high angle views of New York, including a distant shot of the Statue of Liberty…

If you’re at all like me, this stuff should be absolutely fascinating.

The sad thing to realize?  Considering this was filmed 89 years ago, it is more likely than not that everyone in these two videos, including the youngest children you can spot (here and there) are all dead.

I know, I know, a very grim thought but it does give you pause, doesn’t it?  Make the most of your lives for eventually, time takes us all.

General

This ‘n that… beware: Politics be here!

A few stories from yesterday:

First up comes the fact that despite being given a memo which, in all caps, warned “President” Trump DO NOT CONGRATULATE Vladimir Putin for his election, our fearless leader did just that in a phone call to him.  This caused a mini-furor because details of the “do not congratulate” memo and what Trump said on the call were leaked to the press some two hours afterwards and clearly involved some of Trump’s very closest staff.

Over on CNN.com, Chris Cillizza offers the following fascinating article regarding this latest brew-ha:

The real problem for Donald Trump in the DO NOT CONGRATULATE story

It is Mr. Cillizza’s opinion that:

I think the real motivation for the leaks is that some within particularly the national security apparatus have decided that leaking things to the media is the only way to a) get the President’s attention and b) possibly change his mind.

Mr. Cillizza goes on to say this is no way to run a White House.

Huh.

Tell me something I don’t know! 😉

*****

Second story: Joe Biden, in a speech, stated that if Trump and he were in High School, he’d have “beaten the hell” out of him.  This was in relation to his many sexist statements and alleged sexism.

Sigh.

Look, I like Joe Biden.  I do.  He seems like a decent guy and all.  But, come on Joe.  The line might be good to rouse the crowds before you but the sentiment is at best silly and at worst the type of reaction that feeds a ghoul like Donald Trump.  Witness this article, by Lee Moran and found on Huffingtonpost.com:

Donald Trump taunts Joe Biden: “He would go down fast and hard, crying all the way.”

Sheesh.

It was a dumb line by Biden -and an expected response by Trump- and Mr. Biden should know better.   As they say online: Don’t feed the trolls.

*****

Finally, over at Fox “News”, Lt. Colonel Ralph Peters, a longtime Fox News analyst, is leaving the network but not quietly.  As Oliver Darcy notes on CNN.com…

Fox analyst blasts network as “propaganda machine” while announcing departure

For those like me (there are a few of you out there, I hope?!), this is hardly news.  Fox “News” IS propaganda, a place where you can find two consistent things: Praise for all things/people Republican and scorn for all things/people Democratic.

However, Lt. Colonel Peters is a very prominent, very conservative voice, one that is at times incredibly strident against anything Democratic (he was once suspended for two weeks from the network for saying President Obama was a “pussy”).

For someone as fiery as he to leave the network and to leave it with such accusations suggest something that’s been brewing for a while: There are conservatives out there, rabid or not, who are deeply uncomfortable with the “Presidency” of Donald Trump.

Peters’ criticism is directed at the fact that Fox’s opinion arm is too effusive in their praise of Donald Trump and, he clearly feels, this is hurting the country and many of the institutions that Trump and his underlings are trying their best to slam.

This is also, apparently, exposing a rift within the walls of Fox, as noted Oliver Darcy also notes in this subsequent article for CNN.com:

Behind the scenes: Fox News Analyst’s note hit the network “like a bombshell”

The point of this second article is that there are employees at Fox who genuinely want to be “news” reporters (who knew?) and don’t want to engage in the opinion game.  They take reporting seriously even if they do skew right and try to present the news fairly.

However, there is a large (very large) part of Fox “News” that is clearly opinion based and this section of the network has fawned on Trump’s reign so far as if it were the greatest thing evah.

Will this split become more pronounced?  Will it lead to further problems?

Stay tuned!

Movies

Justice League box office…

News came yesterday of the final box office take of Justice League aaaaaannnnddddd… things aren’t all that great:

Justice League ends Box Office run as lowest grossing DCEU movie

The film’s final worldwide total was $657,924,295, a handsome sum certainly but the least amount made of the five films that were part of the DC “universe” of films, which includes Man of Steel, Batman v Superman, Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman, and, of course, JL.  Ironically enough, the film that made the most in this group is the much reviled (by some, not me) BvS.

In retrospect, I suspect people should have seen this coming.  The circus and negative reactions to both BvS -which I feel were deeply unfair at times- and Suicide Squad -more deserved, the film’s story was a mess and the only thing that “saved” the film, if such a term can be used, was the acting by the principles- created in the fan community so much negativity that even DC/Warners knew they had to put up a brave front to get people to come back to their side.

They trotted out director Zack Snyder and had him assure people JL would be a brighter affair.  They even had reporters and fans come to the active set and were shown props and scenes meant to give them a taste of the better film to come.

But then came word that Snyder left the project some six months or so before its scheduled release, ostensibly due to the tragedy of the suicide of his adopted daughter.  Joss Whedon took over the film and was doing re-shoots -which the studios stated were approved of/OKed by Snyder- and would finish the film.  Given the film we finally received, I can’t help but believe those statements were lies.

Mr. Snyder, it was revealed much later, had likely been fired from the production and, it should be noted, he stepped down when the re-shoots were beginning.  In other words, Mr. Snyder finished Justice League’s principle photography, reportedly presented a 3 hour cut (which some felt was “unwatchable”), and then was gone when the re-shoots began.

Could it be -and this is rank speculation on my part- that Snyder had no interest in doing the re-shoots?  He’d been a “good soldier” for DC/WB, allowing the clipped theatrical version of BvS to be released when the much better Ultimate Cut was out there.

Could it be the studio meddling had finally become too much for him and, if he wasn’t outright fired, then maybe the studios and he decided it was time to part ways amicably?

Regardless of all that, the film essentially limped into theaters, the source of plenty of negative speculation and feelings that there was no way it could be a coherent work, given the speed in which it was released and the fact that the original director was gone.

When the film was released, it earned generally better reviews but not spectacular ones.  There was more ridicule regarding the fact that Superman actor Henry Cavill had to keep his mustache due to contractual obligations with the latest Mission: Impossible film and the mustache was digitally removed after the fact (not well, to many).

When I saw the film, I liked it well enough, though at times it felt like I was watching a tug of war between the Snyder stuff and the Whedon stuff.  I still hold out hope -perhaps misguided, given the box office figures- that DC/Warners will eventually allow Snyder to go back and release his version of the film.

Why do I say “misguided”?  Because maybe DC/Warners wants to close the book on the Snyder run of movies and have no interest at all in reminding anyone of them.  Given the weak box office they have every reason to close that particular chapter of the book, especially if completing the Snyder “cut” of the film might result in further expenditures to finish any effects.

Which is really too bad.

For better or worse I would have loved to see what Mr. Snyder was planning with Justice League.  At least based on some of the trailers and scenes that never made it to the Whedon cut of the film, it appeared there was more stuff there with the ancillary characters, including Flash and Cyborg.

Truly, its too bad.

Computers/Electronics, General

Facebook and internet culture…

Hard to believe, given today’s news, the situation regarding Facebook and, specifically, Cambridge Analytica and the way they -let’s be blunt here- weaponized personal data through Facebook. (You can read more about that here.  As for Cambridge Analytica, read about how its CEO was filmed talking about using bribes and sex “traps” here).

Here’s the thing: People are vulnerable.  People are willing to think the best of others, sometimes when they shouldn’t.  People are also suspicious but perhaps not suspicious enough depending on circumstances.

I recall a few years back when a new type of crime was being perpetrated: Criminals would go on Facebook and see when people there noted they were traveling/on vacation and would then go to the people’s homes and, upon verifying they were indeed not home, rob the place.

The fact that there are companies out there like Cambridge Analytica taking vast swaths of data (not illegally, it appears) and using it to sway people’s opinions and -at times- make them believe things which are not true is far, far more worrisome.

Perhaps I’m the naive one as I’ve always felt people would be suspicious about information being sent their way.  Nowadays, thanks to things like Fox News and, obviously, the information presented above, I’m far more worried that people can be pointed in directions by those clever enough to do the pointing.

If there is a silver lining to this particular black cloud, its that these systems are being revealed for what they are and, hopefully, parent companies like Facebook will be proactive in shutting down these people.

Now, if only someone would do the same to Fox “News”.

General

Time to get the butterfly nets…

For those who think all I ever do when I talk about politics is slam Republicans, here goes some equal time.

From Ed Mazza and presented on the (oh so liberal) Huffingtonpost.com, a report about a DC lawmaker and his… strange… statement regarding the late winter storms we’ve been having.  The lawmaker, Trayon White, is a Democrat…

DC Lawmaker blames winter storms on Jewish bankers who control the weather

I mean, where do you start here?  The lawmaker later on apologized for his statement but… come on, how does one simply apologize when making a statement that’s that alarming and the people this lawmaker represents just let it go at that?

Sheesh.

There’s been a joke going around that the election of Trump proves we’ve entered into some kind of bizarro alternate universe.

I’m beginning to think this isn’t much of a joke anymore.

E. R. Torre Art

Sketchin’ 56

Way back in the 1950’s there was a film that… nah, just kidding.

The subject matter this time around is your’s truly.  A self portrait, as it were!

Comic Books/Graphic Novels

Michael Fleisher, R.I.P.

The name may not be terribly familiar even to those who have followed comic books, but writer Michael Fleisher, who I just found out yesterday had passed away on February 2nd, was an amazing talent who left behind at least two series of stories I absolutely love.

The first, and probably his best, work ran only some 10 issues/stories.  While I lament the fact that it lasted such a short period of time, in retrospect it might have been just long enough.  These stories featured the Spectre, a character who to that point was never terribly well written even though he’d been around since the “Golden Age” of comics.  Mr. Fleisher made him a vengeful spirit who gave evil doers their just -and often very icky- reward.  The stories were found in Weird Adventure Comics and drawn by the always amazing Jim Aparo…

Image result for jim aparo spectre

Image result for jim aparo spectre

Image result for jim aparo spectre

His other great series lasted a much longer time -over a dozen years!- and many, many issues, and involved DC’s western anti-hero Jonah Hex.

Image result for jonah hex comic book

While Mr. Fleischer wasn’t the man who created the character, he was the one who handled him the longest and, in my opinion, offered the best take on him as well.  Jonah Hex has gone on to appear in his own -not very good- movie as well as on DC’s TV shows on the CW.

Perhaps the most fascinating story Mr. Fleisher wrote regarding the character appeared in the book presented below, Jonah Hex Spectacular.  Within this issue we learn the ultimate fate of Jonah Hex and it ain’t pretty.  Years later other writers at DC would return to the story and present a happier ending, but I like the grim one.  It’s somehow fitting…

Image result for michael fleisher jonah hex

Later on, Michael Fleisher would be bad mouthed in an interview by noted sci-fi author Harlan Ellison and in The Comics Journal.  In that interview and among other things Mr. Ellison stated Fleisher, based on some of his works and especially his Spectre stories, was a “lunatic” (he would offer other derogatory descriptions, some even more foul mouthed).  Mr. Fleisher sued for defamation and eventually lost the case while Mr. Ellison claimed the things he said were in jest and not meant to be taken seriously.  Regardless, the interview and the subsequent lawsuit effectivelly spelled the end of Mr. Fleisher’s career in American comic books.

He would leave comics completely by 1995 and after doing some stories for the British comic series 2000 AD.  His later career was spent in studies and college and he was 76 years old at the time of his passing.

Tonight I’ll have to go through my books and re-read some of those Spectre and Jonah Hex stories.

For those intrigued by what I’ve written above, the Spectre stories were collected in a TPB called The Wrath of the Spectre…

Image result for the wrath of the spectre comic

As for his Jonah Hex stories, DC released two black and white (and 500 some pages long) Showcase volumes which feature quite a bit of Mr. Fleisher’s material…

Image result for jonah hex showcase

Image result for jonah hex showcase volume two

Again, if you’re at all intrigued by what I’ve written above and curious to read some of Mr. Fleisher’s stuff, get these three books.

They’re that good.

Movies

The Presidio (1988) a (very) belated review

I’ve always been kinda/sorta fascinated by the works of director Peter Hyams.  While he may not be a terribly well known director, he’s made some pulpy films that have lingered in my mind over the years.  They may not always be the most original works, they do have their interesting elements.

Among the many films he’s directed is the Mars landing conspiracy thriller Capricorn One, the remarkably not all that bad 2010 (a sequel to the classic Stanley Kubrick directed 2001: A Space Odyssey), and two of Jean-Claude Van Damme’s better movie outings, Sudden Death and Time Cop.

Mr. Hyams also made two films with Sean Connery, the Alien set/visuals-inspired and High Noon story-inspired Outland and The Presidio.  Here’s the trailer to The Presidio:

I have to say up front: Unlike the many Peter Hyams directed films I mentioned above, there was little I recalled about The Presidio, which I only saw once many, many years ago.  The things I remembered about the film were a) Meg Ryan looked really attractive and b) the characters played by Sean Connery and Mark Harmon were constantly arguing.

Anyway, fast forward to a few months ago and the film was airing on some cable channel and I recorded it to my DVR.  It lingered there, recorded but unwatched, until yesterday when I had a little bit of free time and decided to give the film a go.

The first thing that struck me about the film, and you can catch glimpses of it in the above trailer, is the appearance of Jenette Goldstein as the victim of a murderer -this happens quite literally in the movie’s first few minutes so I don’t feel its a terribly big spoiler- and that sets off the movie’s story.  I point her out because she’s only a couple of years removed from her role as Private Vasquez in Aliens and, because she’s dressed in military green, still looks very much like that famous character.

Anyway, so we have her mysterious murder within the Presidio, the famous San Francisco military academy, and that in turn leads to Mark Harmon’s detective Jay Austin meeting up with Sean Connery’s Lt. Col. Alan Caldwell, the head MP of the Presidio and the man in charge of the case there.

The two have, we soon find, a history.  Austin used to be an MP under Caldwell and at some point he broke from the academy and became a police detective.  He doesn’t care for Caldwell much and the feeling is mutual.

However, because the murder occurred on the Presidio’s grounds, of course the two are eventually forced to partner up.  And it is when Austin heads to Caldwell’s home that he finds the man’s daughter, Donna (Meg Ryan, natch) and the attraction is instant.

Things move on and the conspiracy is eventually exposed but the fact that I couldn’t recall much of the film all these years later becomes more evident as I watched it.

To be blunt, the film isn’t all that good, even though it features a typically strong Connery performance, a charismatic turn by Ms. Ryan, and a so-so turn by Harmon.  I can’t be too harsh regarding Harmon as his character is pretty one note as written: Brash and handsome, handsome and brash.  What may be interesting to some is to see Mark Harmon play essentially a younger, brasher version of his character on N.C.I.S.

The story turns out to be a rather uninteresting one with one “big” surprise regarding one of the ancillary characters that is so obvious that even newborns should see it coming (though, of course, our leads didn’t).

Worse and especially early in the film it seemed we were jumping forward, story-wise, to the point of near incoherence.  I feel like there were scenes missing which were meant to elaborate on Donna and Austin’s relationship.  Perhaps they were filmed and clipped from the final cut or perhaps they were dumped in the screenwriting stage, but nonetheless there were times it felt like I was missing something.

For example, there is a scene which suddenly occurs where Austin and Donna are at an officer’s/military dinner and her father is at another table, seething as he watches them.  Donna acts up and provokes Austin into a fight.

There is no lead up to this scene -either that or I fell asleep for a moment or two and missed it.  One moment Austin and Caldwell are investigating the murder and suddenly they’re all at that military party and Donna’s acting like a crazy person.

A little before that scene there is one where Austin and Donna are walking on a beach and Austin very clumsily states his love for Donna, noting how he’s come to feel this way after seeing her all this time.  At that point in the film I believe we only had them together twice, the first time they “meet cute” and then when they first go out!

Weird, huh?  As I said, I get the feeling there was more to the whole Donna/Austin relationship but romance was torpedoed in favor of action/mystery.

Anyway, I can’t recommend The Presidio, even to hard core Peter Hyams (there are some of you out there, no?), Sean Connery, Meg Ryan, or Mark Harmon fans.  There simply isn’t enough “there” there to justify the time.

Too bad.

General

Assorted (political) musings…

…you’ve been warned!

Based on many of my political comments, one can rightfully surmise I don’t think much of “President” Donald Trump.  This feeling has extended into the Republican party and that’s because, IMHO, the party has been moving more and more toward having just such a Frankenstein’s monster of a leader for many years now.

The fact that so many prominent Republicans, the pundits in print and on TV now shake their heads and wonder what happened to “their” Republican party amuses and saddens me.

For example, I’ve written before that I liked what Michael Steele, ex-head of the Republican Party, had to say about the hypocrisy of Evangelicals in the way they looked away from all the dark moral actions Mr. Trump, noting that from now on they shouldn’t ever have anything to say about morals to anyone.

Kudos for that statement, Mr. Steele, but I have a long enough memory to remember when he was in charge of the Republican Party and during that time he said plenty of stupid crap that, sadly, has led the party to the point where it now is.

Another guy who laments where the Republican Party currently sits is Steve Schmidt.  His comments, whenever he appears on political shows, is sober and there is a genuine lamentation of what has become of the Republican party.  He has no kind words at all to say about Trump and wonders when any of the Republicans in office will finally stand up to him.

Based on these comments, he is another Republican I find myself in agreement with, but, again, there’s that pesky little memory of mine.

Wasn’t Mr. Schmidt the man who ran John McCain’s presidential campaign?  You know, the campaign that eventually gave us Sarah Palin?!

Yikes.

Anyway, my point is not to rub all these people’s noses in their past, though frankly those who so lament the state of the Republican Party and the “presidency” of Trump should really, really look hard in the mirror as he didn’t just come out of nowhere.  He was, I feel, part of a long and torturous process that took years to become realized.

Having said that and despite all the dark news regarding the current political state of the nation, I find myself of late remarkably optimistic.

It’s been said that the Great London Fire of 1666. a great tragedy that took the lives of many and destroyed much of medieval London, nonetheless allowed much of the city to rebuild from scratch and better than it was, perhaps leading to eventual greatness.

So too it feels with the state of the current Republican Party.

Yesterday in a special election in Pennsylvania there was a special election in what people have long considered a Republican stronghold.  The election, to be sure, means little as whoever wins stays in power only until November, when new district lines come into effect and an election will again be held throughout the state.

However, at this moment and at this time and thanks to now declared illegal gerrymandering, the district where this election was being held, as I mentioned before, was considered a “lock” for Republicans.  In the presidential election, Trump won by 20 percent over Clinton.

And yet, as of today it appears the Democratic challenger, Conor Lamb, has apparently won the election.  His margin of victory is razor thin, amounting to a little over 600 votes, but considering where the election was held, this can’t be a happy day for Republicans in general.

Mind you, I’m not anti-Republican.  I’m old enough to have *gasp* once been on the fence regarding party affiliation, one of those independents who could at times be for a Republican candidate as easily as I could be for a Democratic candidate.

Things changed, for me, during the Clinton years.  During this time the right wing, frankly, began to scare me.  I don’t like guns and scratch my head at this country’s fascination with them.  I like social services such as the police, fire-fighters, infrastructure workers, and scratch my head at the need to keep offering tax breaks to the rich when we need revenue to build and maintain the structure of this country.  Further, I want the government to fund science and technology.  I want more public transport and better schools.  All these things require tax money and while I hate seeing my salary go this way, the reality is that the investments have paid off.

Even worse, I hated, hated, hated the way many Republicans kept going after candidates on the other side as if theirs was a moral imperative.  They pursued Hillary Clinton for years over Benghazi yet they feel there is no more to investigate regarding Trump and Russia?

Wow.

Anyway, the election in Pennsylvania, whether it stands or not (there are calls by Republicans for a recount, something I can’t blame them for given the very close results), could well be the best example of how things just might be changing.

Today there’s a big protest from school kids regarding gun control, and suddenly, after far too long, it appears maybe people are finally starting to wake up to the fact that having such lax, pro-NRA elected officials in office may not be such a good thing.

After going so far over the bend with someone like Trump, could it be that the pendulum is finally swinging back?

General

What more need be said…

Sad news yesterday of the passing of Stephen Hawking, an intellectual giant who, despite physical limitations, soared like few others.

Known as a theoretical physicist, cosmologist, but was also a best-selling author and, perhaps most incredibly, celebrity, Mr. Hawking will be missed.