John Williams Oboe Concerto - Prelude

John Williams's Oboe Concerto was made available commercially on Williams's 81st birthday.  It was written specially for Boston Pops oboist Keisuke Wakao and performed with the accompaniment of the Boston Pops Orchestra, conducted by John Williams himself. The entire concerto is about 19 minutes long, but my comments will focus on the "Prelude" movement.

The movement starts with a jaunty theme from the strings before the oboe joins in. The oboe gives off a lighthearted vibe, akin to traipsing deer, flighty birds, or wispy grass.  As it proceeds, the accompanying strings take on darker overtones, and the oboe becomes more cautious sounding. The strings try to recapture the gentleness from the beginning before becoming even more ominous.

The strings give way to the oboe, which flits and darts musically while the strings slow builds again in the background. This time, the strings climax on a smoother, more melodic theme bringing back the calmer tone from the start of the movement. This calmer tone remains for the rest of the piece, ending on the oboe by itself.

I enjoyed listening to this movement.  It gave me both the feeling of optimism as well as a weariness or doubt as the middle of the movement has a more dissonant vibe.  With the oboe, I can't shake an image of nature, of some lone creature or plant in the middle of a large forest fending for itself.  The music itself is somewhat ambiguous so other interpretations could be read into it.

All My Heroes Wear Stetsons

I had the extreme pleasure of watching "Overland Mail Robbery" recently with my father. Besides having an extraordinary cast that includes "Wild" Bill Elliott, "Gabby" Hayes, Kirk Alyn, and Roy Barcroft, it has the very competent direction of John English.

There was one scene that really caught my attention. Kirk Alyn (the future Superman) plays a greenhorn city slicker who, with the help of Texas Ranger Bill Elliott, must help a struggling stagecoach  company he inherited from the constant attack of outlaws.

We meet Kirk Alyn's character as his stagecoach is held up, and Roy Barcroft proceeds to steal his money needed to keep the stagecoach company afloat. The stagecoach driver goes for his rifle and is promptly shot dead. At the sight of this, Kirk faints, and his prone body is saved by the timely appearance of "Wild" Bill Elliott.

After chasing off the bad guys, Elliott helps Kirk up. Kirk admits that he isn't much in a fight and that he's a coward through and through. To which Elliot replies, "It takes a lot of courage for a man to admit that he's a coward."

Despite everything, Elliott still finds something positive to say even after the self-confessed coward can't.  While not many men are depicted as fainters nowadays, think on what someone would say about a fella like that today. Now, try and find an example where someone goes out of their way to make a positive remark like Elliott's in today's media.  (Go on, I'll wait...)

Not so easy, huh?  I know that B-westerns aren't grounded in reality, but they provided great role models, correction, great MALE role models for boys to want to emulate. Kids today may laugh when they see Hopalong Cassidy tell children of yesterday to brush their teeth and listen to their parents, but what if Harry Potter did the same at the end of one of his books?

Well, in any case, it's a different era now, one without much compassion or responsibility.  I shouldn't blame the kids, they're just growing up in all this. So who's fault is it, then?

Supergirl by Rick Leonardi

I was listening to the "Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me" podcast and while doing so, I was playing around on Photoshop and colored this sketch by Rick Leonardi.  I'm not a huge fan of the 200X version of Supergirl's outfit, but I am a big fan of Rick Leonardi's art.

While coloring her costume, I was trying for some subtle hints at the character's femininity.  While her cape is a rich red color, the inside of the cape is a lighter, almost pinkish color. The blue in her outfit is a almost turquoise color. (I feel that Superman-related characters should have bright colors, not dark colors. Hollywood seems to disagree with me.) I also gave her a little pink on her lips and fingernails.

I also played a little with lighting on her shoulders and arms, but I'm not entirely sure if it works or not. Overall, though, I'm pretty happy with how it looks.  Hopefully, Leonardi doesn't mind too much.

Oh, and Happy New Year everyone!

Ultraman in the USA

Ultra Seven to be exact. I'm not sure how this got past my radar, but Shout Factory! released a Region 1 DVD set for the phenomenal Ultra Series, Ultra Seven.

Now, years ago, when BCI released the Region 1 set for the original Ultraman (1966) series, I had hopes that they would continue with Ultra Seven, but nothing came of it.  Despite the complaints that the masters probably came from Chaiyo and not Tsurabaya, I'm just happy to be able to see the entire series.

Except for that episode, which was also directed by Akio Jissoji. And I have a slight issue with the subtitles. (The timing's off sometimes. I question the accuracy a little, and already saw one or two typos.)

Overall, even if you're just a Kaiju junkie, this is a must see.  Hopefully, Shout Factory! will not drop the ball, and we will have a Region 1 "Return of Ultraman" release before 2020.  I don't even dare dream for a Taro or Leo set. Not yet, anyway.