Review: Flight of the Conchords: Episode 13 (no spoilers)

I scanned through my list of free On-Demand HBO episodes and saw it, my dream.

The immortal Flight of the Conchords' 1st Episode to their new and 2nd Season was there, gleaming before me, a comic "new" logo next to the title.  Episode 13 was finally at my fingertips.

Flight of the Conchords was easily the Best Comedy of last year, of a long time, even counting The Office, maybe. The brilliantly funny songs and situations along with genius dialogue and characters of gold has had everyone excitedly telling their friends about the 'new show everyone needs to hear about', and has seen something of on YouTube or the Radio.  

Instant cult-following and dedication.  The first show to get me dressed up for a theme party.

Critic-acclaim and mass obsession by fans memorizing dialogue and song lyrics only grew to millions across the globe, for the very first time, spending their days becoming accomplished at speaking with the New Zealand accent.  

Even in strictly conservative circles fans of the Conchords found each other publicly enjoying their comical inheritance.  Standing in line for some "We Serve Starbucks Coffee" at Briercrest College, I overheard a college kid humming the first part of the "Business Time" chorus, and saw another kid passing by finish the line and turn to the other with a look of "you know!" on their face.  It was beautiful.

Episode 13 began and i enjoyed the new Opening Credits, and thought about the many shows like The Office and Dexter that haven't updated their Opening Credits.

I wont give away the show's content but here are my first thoughts:

1. ...Maybe i shouldn't have watched this alone, maybe i needed my friends with me to make it funny.

2. The dialogue and Story and Characters are all there and good, but...

well....

The songs weren't funny, lacked that certain magical "something", and the episode was easily the worst episode yet. Let's hope it's the worst episode they'll ever make.

Two of the songs had potential, but i sat wondering at how the boys lets it slip by.

The budget was obviously a LOT bigger, and maybe their salaries were big enough that they didn't care.  It doesn't make sense: it was written by James Bobin & Jemaine Clement & Bret McKenzie, just like most of Season 1 was, including the awesome "Sally" Opener. 

Still, i am sad to say i expected more (even after being warned that everyone was disappointed by it) That was supposed to be the big Season 2 Premiere? I hope its not a sign of things to come.

The opening song especially put a damper and spin on the whole episode that sadly swallowed up the great story-line and a number of amazing dialogue bits.

Most Critics i've read on the episode, so far, all liked it and didn't see the great divide I found between Season 1, and this opening.  They admit it wasn't the best-written, but not as nearly disappointed as the crowd of fans i know.

Who knows... maybe when I watch it with Carrie Hilderman and my other devoted Conchord fanatics we'll all laugh and fall in love with it.

Maybe not.

Toys and Interpretation

As I study the Art and Ideology of the 20th century, i've been musing on the 'meaning' of toys and art and stuff

my favorite toy:

Those who know me know I've never really thought in terms of favorites, but if pressed (and i guess i am) I'd have to lay the burden on the amazing G.I. JOE toys. The crazy amount of movement allowed with the arms, legs, knees and waist, still keeps them as the all-time best action figures... says me. Of course some might complain that the rubber-band-waist-holder-together-thingy broke too easily, but i thought they just gave you a chance to have war-amps in your battles. Did playing with G.I. JOES teach me anything about myself and culture? That's the question right there. It certainly taught me that i viewed things in terms of images and conflicts, and i often found myself making mental-films of conflicts, closing one eye to control the images i played with, not even realizing i was pretending to make movies. I would control my perspective, while playing with the toys and wasn't satisfied with "pretending", but needed the playing with G.I. JOEs to look "good" to me. The cultural teaching might be the importance of imagination, pride, war, and fun, as underlined by the proliferation of such toys, and me being allowed to play with them so much. It subtly painted the subjects of War and fighting in terms of bravery and story. It encouraged me to stand out and fight for things, or at least that those were good ideas worth imagining.

Why do i care about Toys?

Toys are art. Consumer-art might be different than "Fine Art" but it's also much the same. Both communicate things to us in varied and complex ways. What is communicated and how it gets interpreted is also quite important. It is vital, both as artists (everyone is one) and consumers, that we understand interpretation, and understand how pop-culture teaches us and strives to communicate with us (usually the message is "BUY!").

Since interpretation concerns meaning, and as artists we invest a lot of meaning into our works, it becomes increasingly important to understand how interpretation works, as we seek to better accomplish our artistic goals in communicating meaning. We are always communicating something in art, and so, if we aren't aware of the complex array of factors affecting the meaning of an artwork, then we are flying blind and aren't in control of the messages we are making, and the spectrum of interpretations our art is open to. One of the "reasons" (if we would ever put it like this) we make art is so that people interpret them in certain ways, wether a single way, or many. Understanding interpretation allows us to make informed decisions every step of the artistic journey.

I’m Angry That

I came into the Leptich’s house, went in the kitchen, Oprah was on, overweight teens confronting their emotions, so I watched for a moment.  They went into this exercise led by this woman called “I’m angry that”  which can be used find out what people are really angry about deep down.

She pulled a kid out of the group and asked to finish the sentence and yelled “I’m angry at !” at her and the girl went off.  Soon these deep feeling of rejection, self-consciousness, suicidal thoughts, and all else came out and she was crying and venting a volcano of repressed feelings. Another Kid did it, and soon I was crying right along.  

I can be like a middle-aged wife left home alone to clean the floor and cry over Oprah in the afternoon.  I can’t handle the whole ‘standing in the face of other human’s real sorrow’ thing.  I get it from my mom, who bawls over movies about real wars and battles, where people really did lose their lives.  The reality of what it must be like hits me and, in my empathy, I soon breakdown like a weenie of the month.

But I’m not angry that I can breakdown over this stuff.

I’m angry that people have to go through such nightmares.

Moose Jaw Restaurant Review: by Tony and the Critics

I felt we needed a public account of some kind, to cover the 60 or so establishments selling food in Moose Jaw, so i drew with up a quick list with Dave Le Nouail, and asked some other friends, and here is the consensus we came to, I hope we didn't miss any restaurants... 

Please feel free to state your own opinions, and i might consider them, if they are worth considering (some people have bad taste, why deny it?).  

the "unknown" ones i have yet to try, and so i ask you to tell me about them. 

**Please know this is for Moose Jaw locations only, i'm sure Houston's Pizza in other cities would get a much higher rating.

*******Best to Worst******

--TOP level----

Bobby’s Place (best burger in town, best fish and chips) 

Copper Cafe Yvette Moore Gallery (best sandwich’s) 

Nits (best Pad thai)  

Harwood’s 

Quiznos

BP’s (great service award) 

-- GOOD level-----

DejaVu (best value award= most for the cash)

Cornerstone Pub and Eatery 

Chillers 

Hickory Smokehouse 

The Burger Cabin (only summer)  

Western Pizza (most underrated)

Jaime’s Kitchen

Larry's Car-wash 

Urban Apeel 

Landscape 

Java Express 

Coffee Encounters 

Smitty’s (ranked higher in the days it was open 24/7)

Hopkins Dining Parlor (most overrated) 

The Mad Greek  (great food, but a slum atmosphere)

Amuze (Most Over-priced) 

Renate's Tea

The Cactus Lounge  

Dooly’s  

Cordova Bistro (most mixed reviews, some love, many hate: horrible service, food you could make at home better, but great desserts)

Charlotte’s Catering/take out 

-- 'OK' Level------

 

Pita Pit 

Taco Del Mar 

Dominos 

Pizza Hut 

Family Pizza 

A&W 

McDonald’s 

Burger King 

Subway 

Dairy Queen 

Calico Junction 

Mr. Subway 

KFC 

Tim Horton’s  

--Not So Good Level (But not Crap)------  

Houston’s Pizza 

Rodo’s

Overseas 

Prairie Oasis 

Ukrainian Borscht 

Four Seasons 

Morningsides Cafe (at spa, 4th floor) 

Champs

--CRAP LEVEL-----Low quality food.

Big Al’s 

Zellers 

Co-op Market Place 

Humpty’s 

Uptown Cafe 

The International Cafe 

Jade Garden 

Saigon 75 / Veroba’s 

Nick’s Place 

Joe’s Only Seafood 

Bonanza 

Alaska Andee’s  

TJ’s pizza 

The Patio/The Dancing Moose 

The Ambassdor 

Putter Inn Bar and bistro  

UnKNOWN-------- 

Bills Cafe, 

Hillcrest dining room 

Kwangton Cafe 

Carol’s Catering

Video of the Week "WTF Award"

This week's WFT Video award goes to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCFJ3LURCtc

do it. I know you want to,

tell them Tony sent you.

The Inn at the End of the Universe

This week I’m Teaching a Modular at Briercrest College, and staying for free at the Pilgrim Inn, in Caronport.  Tonight, I arrived from a dinner in Moose Jaw to a dark hotel, courtesy to a power outage of all Caronport.  I used the emergency lights to find my Room, went into the darkness and pulled open the curtains to let the full moon light my room up.

This is my life right now, I thought.  Living in Hotels.

I left the crushing summer I had, to return to Canada, end of August, to a time of waiting, and eventually an end of a visa, which forced me to return to USA, where I went to spend November and most of December with my Pops in Fontana, CA and work on my MFA.  I didn’t really know more than one or two people down there, and didn’t see them.

Half of December I spent in Hawaii with my Mom at her place, then back to Fontana, two days later Utah, two days later Moose Jaw, and now the Pilgrim Inn.

Good thing my laptop’s battery was charged.

I don’t feel too horrible, but the thought crosses my mind that I am completely alone, but not utterly alone.

  I have friends I get to visit, talk to on skype, girls who react well to me, want me for a while in many ways, I get to be loved by some of the most amazing people ever. I’m not utterly alone.

But I don’t have a place to call home, I’m living as a wanderer, with my roots yanked up from the soil I wanted to plant them into in Moose Jaw by the loss of my Visa, and now I’ve only a couple days to decide what move to make yet. I’m so tired of making moves.  I’m tired of being ripped from my community.  I travel alone, and I return to my room at the Inn alone. My friends can’t share that constant presence humans were designed for, girls don’t stay or are knocking on the wrong door with me. Anywhere I go I will be only visiting, and here, in my home of the past ten years, I’m forced to only visit.

I’m tired of moving, I thought the end of college would end that too, I want to settle down and build into something that really matters: a community: a family of my own.

I’m not complaining, but need to express my weariness and, like Abraham before me, look up at the stars and wonder if I trust myself that God has called me to follow him into the Promised Land.

Not sure how much I believe in the Promise Land anymore. Travel has a way of chipping away at it.

Can I be allowed to return to my apartment in the Upper Room and take a rest for a while, and catch my breath?

There is only peace in us where there is peace between us and heaven, and when there is peace between us and heaven, we have peace abundant in all calamity.

Is the peace I’ve had in college and Moose Jaw shown now to not be the peace of God, but of people?  Was it never God’s peace that held up my head, but rather the security of a community?

There is a peace I got when I left Moose Jaw for Fontana in November, or maybe that was the awesome freedom of giving up.  

I’m at The Inn on the End of the Universe, trying to figure out what giving up, being a wanderer, and peace, all really mean. 

I’m sorry God that I don’t expect anything from you.

I argue with myself and fall asleep in the darkness.

Now, in the morning, I press on and get on with asking myself what we’ll do today.