Chew the Fat: A Simple Summer Survey of Style and Sentiment!

 

Redartz:  Almost done with June already; seems as if this year just started. And late June means that we are in the heady days of High Summer! This time of year is nice, as generally the scorching heat of later Summer hasn't arrived yet (although where I live, the heat and humidity is already pretty oppressive). At any rate, it seemed a good time to offer a salute to those lazy, hazy, crazy days of Summer (a bonus hat tip to the first to identify that old chestnut's performer). Plus, it's been awhile since we did a quiz, so here we go with a little Summer Survey. Pour yourself an iced tea and let's get started...

1. Name your favorite "Summer Song". Yes, a challenge to start off with. There are sooooo many perfect possibilities for this, but my pick will be Bananarama and "Cruel Summer". A great song, and it always evokes that art school Summer of 1984; burgers grilling in the lot between our apartment houses while that song played on somebody's boombox. Oh yeah...

 

 

2. Share a comic that has specific Summer memories for you. For me, this one's easy. Amazing Spider-Man 161 (you remember, the issue with Nightcrawler). That Summer of 1976, I was taking Driver's Education at school. Our High School was located near downtown, a short walk from the store where I got my weekly fix of comics. The day that book came out I had class scheduled, so I stopped and picked it up on the way to DE. I subsequently sat and read it , sitting in the shade of the school building while waiting for class to begin (perhaps not the coolest image amongst the other future drivers, but hey, it was Spider-Man. Nuff Said).

3. Name your favorite Summer Blockbuster film. Here's another possibly challenging question, but I'll have to go with "Raiders of the Lost Ark". Perfect fun, perfect adventure, perfect music, perfect cast. And a perfect way for a pack of college students to spend a Summer night in air-conditioned comfort (our apartment building had no A/C, so we loved to get out on those sultry evenings).

4. What's your favorite Summertime edible and / or potable?  I'll go with a tasty Hot Dog, red hot, with Cheese and Mustard, preferably with a ballpark around it. And wash it down with an icy cold lemonade, fresh squeezed...

5.  Describe a feature of Summer that is uniquely appealing to you personally. This I can answer in one word: fireflies. Or, as they were called in my neck of the woods, "lightning bugs". Fascinating little insects, fun to watch and they don't bite. In fact, they often like to land on you and crawl down your arm. Seeing a bunch of these little illuminated wonders flickering on a late June night turns me into a ten-year-old all over again...

 

Okay, my survey is done; yours is just beginning! We all await your Summery summations...

Follow the Leader: Your Classic Film / Book 'Bucket List'...

 

Redartz:  Wow, almost a month into the new  year and we haven't let the Leader out of the box! It's been awhile, so for the benefit of anyone new to the routine , here's the deal: 

The first commenter to check in gets the honor of naming the topic for the week! We're all pretty easygoing here, so the subject matter is wide open. Comics or film, music or popular culture,  dinosaurs or dragons; it's up to you, You, the one sitting there with a hot topic on your mind. We know, you've been holding it in memory for weeks. Well, now's your opportunity. BitBA Assembled awaits...

Chew the Fat: Transitions...

Redartz:  Good day, everyone. Most of us who share a presence (whether actively participating or following along) here have numerous things in common. One factor which we probably all are experiencing is a transition from 'middle age' to...well.....let's just say 'veteran' status. If we're not undergoing it now, we will be before too many years pass. I certainly am, breaking the '60' barrier this year. It got me thinking about other transitions we make in our lives, particularly from childhood to adolescence. For instance, can you recall when you were little, and your parents made the choices about what movies you saw, or what tv shows the family viewed each night? When I was a kid, that was just 'the way it was'. It never really occurred to me to think otherwise, until I got a bit older. It was about the age of 8 when the first crack appeared in my parental wall: my folks allowed me to pick out my own comics (superhero books, that is; they had no problem with me reading Casper). 

 

But it was a couple more years before my siblings and I were able to assert any decision-making about the tv. By the time I was 10 we could, at least, take over the set for Friday night ( Brady Bunch, Partridge Family and the ABC lineup). At this point I was becoming aware that my entertainment choices weren't always matching up with everyone elses'. 

 





The final brick in the wall broke away when I was 15; the first time I was allowed to pick a movie to watch without supervision. We were at a motel on vacation, and we had two rooms. My folks gave the ok, and I watched my first 'R' film (actually, practically the first movie I'd seen that wasn't a Disney film): "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest". Boy, that was a departure from "The Apple Dumpling Gang"!










So that made my departure from childhood complete. I never really recognized the transition, but was aware of a changing of interests (including an increasing attraction to the girls around school; as of 7th. grade). Therefore my personal 'transition' probably ran from age ten to twelve. Guess I was pretty much on schedule.

How about you? Were you conscious of a shift away from your childhood pursuits? Do you recall when you were allowed the occasional entertainment choice? And was I the only one still watching Disney flicks at 14?  Go ahead and 'chew the fat'...

 

Short Cuts: Films that Floored You from the First !

Redartz:  Good day to one and all! Here's a quick, but fun, topic to mull over on this Monday. What film, or films, have you seen that absolutely KNOCKED YOU OUT from the start? You know how some movies start out slow, and take awhile to build up interest and momentum. Other films grab you by the shirt from the opening scene and never let you go. That's the kind we're looking for today. 

As for your humble host, one such film was "Raiders of the Lost Ark". I can still recall the experience of seeing it for the first time, with a college friend at the mall theater. That opening sequence with the pitfalls, traps, boulders, snakes and arrows had me shellshocked from the start. You can bet I was glued to the seat for the next two hours, and spent the rest of the evening raving about how incredible it was. That initial few minutes still stands as one of the best film beginnings ever. Lucas and Spielberg hit lightning with a hammer...

Now how about you? Any stellar starts, inspiring intros or overpowering openings? Pass the popcorn and let's share... 

 

Two Questions: Generational Communication and Cinematic Initiation...

Redartz:  Welcome, friends: here's a couple of questions for you to ponder...

1.  How would you convince a potential fan today of the greatness of Bronze Age comics? Our hobby seems to be growing in recent years, attracting interest from people way too young to remember the Bronze age of comics. Perhaps it's the film franchises, maybe it's the television series. Could be the attraction of the Walking Dead and other popular series. Anyway, if you wanted to persuade one of these 'rookies' to sample some Bronze age bounty, what would you say? Is there a particular story or series you'd point them to? Or is there some feature of the era that helps it stand out? How would  you bend them towards Bronze, as opposed to sampling Silver, going Golden or craving Copper?

2. Do you remember the first movie you saw at the cinema?  Think back to when an outing to the movies was a pretty special event. Can you recall that first time you entered a theater, sat transfixed in the darkness, and was dwarfed by the Big Screen? In my case, it was "Mary Poppins": my parents took my brother and I to the Circle Theater in Indianapolis ( an hour's drive from home) to see Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke in 1910 London. We both loved it, so much so that we were soon gifted with the soundtrack LP (which Dad was forced to play pretty frequently). 
What was your introduction to the magical world of film?