Raguet Elementary School's menu is people...

Raguet Elementary School--Nacogdoches, Texas

"It's people. Soylent Green is made out of people. They're making our food out of people. Next thing they'll be breeding us like cattle for food. You've gotta tell them. You've gotta tell them!"

Lego Star Wars The Video Game

I realize I'm late to the party on this one (it came out March 29, 2005), but Lego's Star Wars: The Video Game is such a fun and awesome game that I felt compelled to do a quick review. This one brings out the dorky techno-nerd in me. Lego Star Wars offers a kind of off-kilter immersion in the world of the three Star Wars prequels. You will feel at moments as if you are in one the movies. True fans of the series will be amazed at the accuracy and attention to detail each of the levels provide. You will do almost everything that was "good" about the prequels. This entails things like not only being able to play against Darth Maul, the coolest new character in the whole prequel, in my opinion, but be him, as well.
I must compliment Lego on getting the subtleties of the actors' movements down to surprisingly nuanced imitations. The Qui-Gon Jinn "Lego figure" swings and moves pretty much like Liam Neeson did in The Phantom Menace.

But, as I've said, the attention to detail and subtlety is pretty remarkable, considering each character is a Lego version of the movie character. Playing as Yoda feels uncannily like what it must be like to be Yoda. When his lightsaber is drawn, the Lego Yoda spins around in a whirlwind of movement that pushes the limits of the Playstation 2 technology. When his lightsaber is off, he walks frustratingly slow, with a cane. That experience is but a very small example of one of many moments in this game that drop you right into the middle of various scenes from the prequels.

This scene from Attack of the Clones:

is one of the coolest levels in the game:

It's not all adventuring--many of the missions involve space battles
and pod races as well.

Most of these are extremely difficult, and will probably take you more than a couple of attempts in order for you to make it through them.

Anakin's pod race from The Phantom Menace is one of those that'll make you throw the controller across the room in a fit of rage because it's so challenging. Some of these races and space battles feel like something from an arcade, while some of them remind me of old Genesis games like Subterrania.

In addition to the beautiful graphics, the game uses the same sound effects as used in the films. A huge part of any of the episodes, for me, has been the scores of John Williams. The movies would not be the same without his music. Many of the familiar themes are taken from each prequel and used throughout the game, adding a cinematic element.

On a side note, the first three or four times I rented this game, I couldn't get the it to load on my Playstation 2. I would keep getting the dreaded "disc read error" that occurs to users of the early SCPH-30001 Playstation 2 model, with a U serial number. I'd been having this problem from time to time when playing Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Newer games often don't load on the earliest Playstation 2s. To compound this issue (as far as playing Lego Star Wars is concerned), Lego Star Wars was made on a blue disc, blue being the hardest color for even the latest Playstation 2s to load. I came across this site which offers a step-by-step way to correct this error. It requires opening up the Playstation 2, so you'll void your warranty if you do it. Mine was old enough that the warranty period was long over. I followed each step, precisely, and can now play both blue discs and San Andreas with no problem.

Lego Star Wars: The Video Game is a tremendously fun game--fun if you pick up the controller and play for just a few minutes, or a couple of hours. Lego now needs to apply this concept to the original trilogy.

The return of Mr. Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang

As you may or may not have heard, the the pieces are falling together for the production of the 21st James Bond film to be done by the Broccoli family film production company EON ("Everything or Nothing"). Set for a 2006 release, Casino Royale will be the first Bond film to take its title from an Ian Fleming novel or short story since The Living Daylights (1987). Casino Royale was the first Bond novel, released in 1953.

So the new film version will bring the franchise full circle, back to its origins. This will mark the third live-action version of the story. CBS made a TV version in 1954, for which Fleming was paid $1,000.
The great character actor Peter Lorre starred, in effect becoming the first Bond villain.

A 1967 film version followed. The film was made by the producer of What's New, Pussycat?, and it became a Bond spoof after a serious film version was rejected by EON.

Casino Royale (1967) was generally considered to be an unfocused mess of a film, what with its five directors and all. It reflects the times in which it was released, and had to have been a contributing inspiration for the Austin Powers movies.

In addition, I'm sure you're aware, Pierce Brosnan was unceremoniously dumped by EON, making Die Another Day (2002) his last Bond film. Every mid-late thirtysomething actor with even the hint of a British accent, including

has been rumored to be the next 007.

Any way you look at it, Cubby Broccoli's spawn would appear to have the proverbial cards stacked against them. To be honest with you, other than for the pursuit of a buck, I don't see the point of making any more Bond films. It's a dead franchise. I haven't sat through an entire recent movie version since 1987's The Living Daylights. I've only seen bits of Brosnan's on TV, being a lot more interested in Goldeneye, the videogame, than the actual film.

Bond belongs to the 1960s.

Bond belongs to The Cold War.

Bond belongs to "Camelot".

And, though it's been said before, and many would disagree, Bond should have ended with:

Neon nights 'n' Nac

SFA (Stephen F. Austin) Theater (closed in 1990)


Lone Star Feeds plant (still in operation)

Moog music

"Robert A. Moog, whose self-named synthesizers turned electric currents into sound and opened the musical wave that became electronica, has died. He was 71."--AP


"Keyboardist "Walter (later Wendy) Carlos demonstrated the range of Moog's synthesizer by recording the hit album Switched on Bach in 1968 using only the new instrument instead of an orchestra."--AP Oh, the irony.
"The arrival of the synthesizer came just as the Beatles and other musicians started seeking ways to fuse psychedelic-drug experiences with their art. The Beatles used a Moog synthesizer on their 1969 album, Abbey Road."--AP

About a month after the recording of Abbey Road, George recorded an entire album of Moog music for The Beatles experiemental record label Zapple. That album was called Electronic Sound. It featured two lengthy improvisations (only two?) on the Moog.

Proof the Beatles had too much spare time and insanely good "recreational party favors".

Released in May of 1969, it failed to chart in Britain (imagine that), and peaked at #191 on the American Billboard charts (thank God for Haight Ashbury, huh, George?).

"A Moog was used to create an eerie sound on the soundtrack to the 1971 film A Clockwork Orange."--AP

It had been a wonderful evening and what I needed now, to give it the perfect ending, was a little of the Ludwig Van.

Walter/Wendy Carlos (who used the Moog for his/her performance of the Beethoven compositions on the soundtrack) explained the significance of the Moog in this 2002 interview: "The typical electronic music setup of the '60s was a cluttered lab bench and a technician wearing a lab coat. It was hard to make music...with these setups. Many of these technicians were not trained musicians, so we heard funky sound effects...Bob Moog combined many of these devices into a cabinet with a touch-sensitive keyboard. A composer or pianist who knew something about electronics and the properties of sound could create real music."

And tell Tchaikovsky the news?

"The popularity of the synthesizer and the success of the company named for Moog took off in rock as extended keyboard solos in songs by Manfred Mann, Yes, and Pink Floyd became part of the progressive sound of the 1970s."--AP

"The sound defined progressive music as we know it," said Keith Emerson, keyboardist for the rock band Emerson, Lake, and Palmer."--AP

We'll forgive you for the progressive rock, Dr. Moog, particularly for the Floyd, but in no way can I, at least, ever, never excuse the Emerson, Lake, and Palmer.

R.I.P.