Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Captain Elias' Favorite Things

The ol' birthday is comin' up, and coupled with the new social attempts, street fairs, Pride and French Open, and a strange lack of any comic/tv news that is remotely interesting, my writing material feels downright gossamer.

So I shall opine on trivialities, which is a blogger's rightful resource, starting with this thing that I love very much and want to cherish in person: The Super Pint Glass.


Frothy foamy fun wrapped in a cape never looked so tasty. Click onward for more favorite things, including the return of To Wong Foo into my life and the magic of the red clay.

The Avengers:  Definitely still up there. Need to see it again soon. It recently passed both Harry Potter and The Dark Knight to be the third biggest movie of all time. We're coming for you, Titanic and Avatar. James Cameron, psha. The worldwide Whedon love even made me revisit his Astonishing X-Men run which I hadn't read in awhile, specifically the issue where Emma/Cassandra brainwashes Kitty and fills her head with a believable life and family she could have had, just to manipulate her into doing what she wants. Classic Joss--heartbreak, diabolical plans, perfectly in character fantasies, and heroes like Kitty, who you know he loves as much as we do, getting tortured.


To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar:  I stumbled upon this classic film the other night on the Logo channel (goes to show how thin viewing material was, that I even checked on Logo) and I can hardly express my joy. I hadn't thought of it in years, but it's a really great movie. No one ever talked about it, but Patrick Swayze is fantastic. He is graceful and statuesque (his word for Julie) utterly believable and sympathetic and can lead a movie with one well-manicured pinky behind his back. Wesley Snipes is fantastic too, filling his niche creditably and managing a perfect high voice on numerous occasions. John Leguizamo is also incredible, nailing the body movements better than either (his walk is ridiculously wonderful), killing it on the dialect and then surprisingly having the best character arc of the movie. And by God does ChiChi look stunning in the last scene of the film; like a true beautiful Hollywood actress. The movie is well written, superbly acted, with easy, succesfull comedic timing between the three leads, and a heartening story. I could watch it over and over and encourage you to give it a try if you haven't. It'll make you want to be a Drag Queen...and if we're being honest, everyone wants that at some point.


Scramble With Friends:  I was obsessed before, but now I'm pretty much a professional. Consistent beatings by superb anonymous players has improved my word count and eye speed. If you wish to challenge me, find Captain Robin. (Yeah, I have a lot of Captaincies, what can I say. I'm a merc with an iPhone.)


French Open:  Last but certainly not least, is the current Grand Slam being played in Paris on the red clay. While it may not be my absolute favorite Slam, it's clearly got it's own major history and particular feel, and the drama has not been kept solely for the second week. Both Djokovic and Federer have been severely tested in the first week, and only Rafa has looked entirely untouchable. This year of tennis is insanely interesting not only because we get two Wimbledons and a chance for a Golden Grand Slam (thanks Olympics!) but because we get to watch Novak follow up what was possibly the best year in professional tennis ever. Winning here at the French will give him a career grand slam and make him the title holder of all four slams at once, not to mention breaking Rafa's streak and avenging his biggest loss of 2011. But more importantly it will set the stage for him to surpass what he did last season and really include his name in the discussion of Greatest Player Ever.

Even without the future expectations, the truth is men's tennis has never been better. And after a life of watching Sampras, the rise of Federer, the rise of Nadal, the rise of Novak, that's saying something. Today for instance features two incredible matches: Novak vs. Tsonga, the French golden boy, slayer of Roger, first burst on scene as runner-up to Nole at Australian years back and has only gotten better, and Federer vs. Del Potro, who actually beat Roger in the US Open Finals in 09 to be the only man besides our top three to win a slam in the past insert-ridiculous-number-here of years.

I don't know about you, but I'm gonna be watching those matches. And I won't let a little thing like being-at-work stop me. God bless live streaming internet video (I suppose I should thank Jake Kane for that.)



Have a good 'un folks. See you in Paris.

1 comment:

  1. Hey Capt'n! Pay attention: Scott Walker is a superhero today!

    ReplyDelete