John Hughes, gone already?

Looks like awesome Eighties iconic film director John Hughes has passed away today. That really sucks.I was five minutes away from leaving for a camping trip when the news came through, and I thought I might have had enough time to write a few words.

If you were a teenager in the 1980's, you were aware of John Hughes, whether it was from the films, or the people he made stars through his films, or the music on the soundtrack (and the radio). He spoke to that generation in a way no one else did. People felt he understood the children of the Eighties, respected them, even liked them.

And his films were fun. Fun, intelligent, romantic, clever, relevant, and funny.

The news says he went out for a walk and had a heart attack in the middle of it. He was fifty-nine. And fifty-nine does not seem that old. My parents are both older than that, and by the time Sting puts out another album (of actual music), I will probably be that old as well.

My friend Ian and I had several conversations about John Hughes, and felt his absence in teen entertainment of the Nineties and Ohs. We even made a short film our Senior year that was a tribute to John Hughes and our own bad luck with romance. We won a couple awards for it too.

It saddened me to hear of Hughes's untimely death, one of my all-time favorite* filmmakers. Why "untimely?" you may ask. Because I always hoped the man would write and direct again, and maybe bring more laughs and heart to the cinema, which often provides one, and just as often fails to provide the second.I was a teenager in the 1980's. He will be missed.

Rish Shermer Outfield

P.S. Let's not remember the man for BABY'S DAY OUT, okay?

*Yeah, I spelled it without a "u." As of today, I'm done with all that.

Impressive, most impressive

So, at the last day of Comic-Con, as it is every year, the hucksters at the various dealer booths are too tired and/or lazy to want to pack up everything and take it home, so they start trying to make deals, drop their prices, or get really loud, so people will take it all off their hands. I was surprised to see that one of the booths--

Oh, I forgot to say first that I got lost in Oceanside (which is about thirty miles north of San Diego, infuriatingly enough) on Friday night, and while stuck at a red light, I saw a little four or five year old Mexican kid waving a lightsaber around. I thought, Wow, a lightsaber would be a cool present for my one year old nephew, Merrill's kid, maybe even my niece.

So, I was surprised to see that one of the booths was trying to get rid of their lightsabers, and had them marked down to half price. They had red, green, and blue, so I bought one of each, plus an extra red one in case . . . well, I can't remember why I bought that one, except that I was going to get five for a minute there.

I did have a pseudo-lightsaber when I was a lad, pretty much just a flashlight with a piece of white plastic glued to it and a cellophane over the bulb to make it look pretty. It was the cheaper knock-off of the official one Kenner made, but I had bought it with my own allowance, and I preferred it. Even though it was pretty lame in retrospect.

Well, not this one. No sir. Holy cow, for two-thirds of what I paid in 1984, I was able to get this child-sized lightsaber that may not be sturdy or long-bladed or official . . . but looks awesome.

How awesome?

I have not touched up this photo in any way.

Rish "Where Does He Get Those Wonderful Toys" Outfield

Comic-Con Pics 4

Subtle, no. True, yes.


Really, this sums up Comic-Con perfectly (and I didn't want to end on a photo of yet another line).

Rish Archemedes Outfield

Comic-Con Pics 4

Another thing to take pictures of every year are the celebrities (or "celebrities" in some cases) that are there to form lines around. So, here are a bunch.

Michael Hogan and James Callis from "Battlestar Galactica."

Adam Baldwin.
James Cameron.
The creepiest ever Hayao Miyazaki photo (unintentional).
"Dollhouse" cast members Eliza Dushku, Fran Kranz, Dichen Lachman, and Enver Gjokaj.
Doug Bradley.
Robert Picardo.
Nicole DeBoer.
Jasika Nicole, John Noble, and Josh Jackson from "Fringe."
Zack Snyder.
Kevin Sorbo.
"True Blood"'s Deborah Ann Woll, Sam Trammell, and novelist Charlaine Harris.
Margot Kidder.
The normally much less wacky Brian Cox.
The normally much more wacky John Lasseter.
Danny DeVito.
That American guy from "Torchwood."
Michelle Forbes and "True Blood" creator Alan Ball.*

Joshua Jackson and Anna Torv.
Joss Whedon and Eliza Dushku.
Stephen Moyer and Anna Paquin.
Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman.
Nichelle Nichols (I'm not sure, my pic was pretty bad).
Mark Hamill and Paul Dini.
Leonard Nimoy.
Jim Cameron and Sigourney Weaver.


*Which I wrote here just to infuriate my pal Jeff. If the TV show is based on a series of novels, but you didn't write the novels, are you really the show's creator?

Comic-Con Pics 3

The outlandish and/or great costumes are usually a big thing to take pictures of at the San Diego Comic-Con. Here are a handful.



















The photo doesn't really do justice to how much the guy on the left actually looked like the current Doctor Who.

Except for the hair, this guy had a great Lt. Commander Data costume I've ever seen. Oh, and the eyes.
And the skin color.
And the uniform.

Comic-Con Pics 2

This is a typical sight on the San Diego streets every July.
I've now gone to Comic-Con enough times you'd think I'd know my way around and not get lost, say, three of the four days I was there. But ah well.

San Diego has a specific geography, and it should be obvious where North, South, West, and East are. Yet somehow I still fail to grasp that.
I was hoping that with Obama in the White House our nation's racial mentality would have improved.

But no, this poor family was quickly escorted out.
And there goes his plausible deniablity.

It ain't always about logic

When I saw Leonard Nimoy stand up to autograph a woman's breast, well . . . I just had to take a picture.
It's certainly not something I see every day, but then, I don't get out much.