Does everything a spider can

For several weeks in July, August, and September, I watched every episode of Spider-Man, the animated series that was on FOX from 1994 to 1997. I had seen most of the episodes growing up, but seeing them again now, I realize how much this cartoon series respected children as an audience.

I see respect for the audience in several aspects of the show:

1. Complex characters. Peter Parker is consistently an intelligent and flawed character. We see how smart he is in figuring how to defeat villains, and when he makes mistakes it's because his  arrogance, carelessness, or anger. Everything Peter does makes sense, though. His actions are logical reactions to what happens to him and around him. The villains are relatively flat compared to Peter, but even they have logical motivations. Doc Ock needs resources for his research. The Green Goblin sabotages the King Pin's work so that Norman Osbourne can keep a clean reputation.

2. Multiple story lines at the same time. Episodes often contain one problem for Peter Parker and one for Spider-Man. Besides those, we see plot developments with Mary Jane, Harry, and Aunt May.

3. Multi-episode stories. Spider-Man often carried a story over several episodes. Recaps at the beginning of every episode probably helped children follow along, but even so, children had to pay close attention to make sense of the larger story. Characters and other elements from early seasons came back in the final season of the show. That's a lot of detail to ask children to remember.

4. Crossovers. I'm impressed with the number of Marvel characters Spider-Man features. I started keeping track after I realized crossovers were a recurring theme. The X-Men, Punisher, Daredevil, Iron Man, War Machine, Captain America, Blade, Red Skull, and Fantastic Four all teamed up with or fought against Spider-Man in the series.

Spider-Man respected its child audience by offering entertaining, complex stories. The banter and action scenes so typical of superhero cartoons are there, but so are deeply emotional scenes, like when Peter loses Mary Jane. The creators of the series must have felt that children could follow and enjoy these stories. Or else, why would they bother writing such developed plots and characters?

I feel like today's creators of children's television have much lower expectations for their audience. Children today are lucky to watch characters who behave rationally, let alone see complicated and satisfying story lines.

Facebook so you don't have to

Facebook is supposed to make social interaction easier. You post status updates and photos. All of your friends see them. Your news feed shows you everything your friends have been doing lately. It makes sense: friends update each other all the time. We have a central hub that shows what's happening in each others' lives.

But more and more, I find that Facebook gives me less of a reason to talk to friends, or to catch up with those I haven't seen in a while. Facebook has taken on the effort of maintaining relationships so we don't have to.

Before Facebook, if I wanted to ask a friend how she's doing at her new job, I'd pick up the phone and call her. Or we'd hang out sometime and chat. With Facebook, all I have to do is read her status updates to know if she likes her job or not.

It's not just status updates. I don't have to remember birthdays anymore. We don't print photos and share them. Job promotions, accomplishments, and even wedding announcements are on my news feed before I talk to the person offline. 

But reading a Facebook update is not the same as talking to the person and, for some reason, there's still an unwritten rule about Facebook conversations crossing over into "real life." That leaves us in an odd place.

Say I wish a friend happy birthday on Facebook. Then I see that friend over the weekend. Does my birthday message on Facebook replace me saying happy birthday in person? If I say happy birthday in person after saying it on Facebook, am I repeating myself? Should I mention the Facebook message when we talk in person? Or is that a faux pas?

Maybe I'm over-thinking it, but Facebook is changing the way people interact and I don't think it's an improvement.

A network model for children's television?

I don't know a lot about how the television industry works, but it seems like children's shows don't start the same way as adult dramas. For a show like House, they figured out the cast and characters, story lines, and a pilot episode. Then they pitched it around to network executives until they found one (FOX) that wanted to add the show to its fall line-up.

Children's television isn't treated the same way. We've got two superpowers, Disney and Nickelodeon, that host most of children's programming. Cartoon Network, Fox Kids, Kids WB, and PBS have a few original shows too, but they've been on a decline since Saturday Morning TV faded away.

Why can't we give children's programming the same treatment as network dramas? Have an idea, do the leg work, produce a pilot, and pitch it around.

In the current system, the best chance to make children's programming is on Disney and Nickelodeon. Maybe if those networks had outside competition, we'd have better programming for children to watch. Kids definitely deserve better entertainment than what's on TV right now.

Meanwhile on Etsy

About two weeks ago, I started a shop on Etsy to sell beaded jewelry that I make. This happened for a few reasons.

1. Job searching is frustrating, and I needed to do something fun and productive when I wasn't combing through job postings, submitting resumes, and writing cover letters.
2. I've been making beaded jewelry for a while and I enjoy it, so spending more time doing that is a plus.
3. There's potential to make my hobby self-sustainable.

I listed my tenth item in my shop today. When I have 15-20 items, I'll focus on listing one or two items per week, instead of each weekday.

I usually work with beading wire, elastic cord, and glass beads. Here's a screenshot of my shop, Beaded Thoughts, so far:

I've been spending more time on Etsy looking at various crafts and shops, and there's so much to see. When you make an Etsy account, you can rate items according to your taste. Then the site generates lists of items that match your taste, but that's only one way to browse Etsy. You can navigate by categories, most recent items, and items made by people in your local area.

I like that I'm able to incorporate my hobby with a site like Etsy and have exposure to so much creativity.

Chameleon Circuit's Still Got Legs

Image from dftba.com

Chameleon Circuit released their second album, Still Got Legs, last week. The band makes music inspired by Doctor Who with well-written lyrics, catchy melodies, and enough variation to make distinct tracks but a cohesive album.

I've been listening to Still Got Legs for the past six days. I could write about each track, but I'd rather write about my three favorite songs on the album.

Regenerate Me sounds like the Doctor's victory song. A Gryffindor Rally Cry for the last Time Lord. My favorite part is from 1:11 to 1:28, a five-part chorus that quotes the Doctor Who soundtrack. This is the second song on the album (after a twenty-three-second instrumental track), and it serves as an introduction to the Doctor. From the lyrics:

Ten personas, I've walked the earth
Sole protector of the human race
You will know me by the big blue box
But you may never know my face

Mr. Pond is from Rory's perspective, about his concern for Amy's safety around the Doctor. My knowledge of classic Doctor Who is limited, but I think Rory and Amy are the first married couple to travel with the Doctor. We've seen companions' friends and families voice concerns about traveling with the Doctor, but never a husband. This track captures Rory's feelings perfectly.

I've loved The Doctor Is Dying since Alex Day posted an acoustic version of it on his channel. The song is about the Tenth Doctor's death. Like many of the songs on the album, the lyrics quote lines from episodes. The Tenth Doctor's emotions as he approaches his end are all here: his fear when the Time Lords return, his anguish when he realizes he has to die to save Wilfred, and his serenity when he visits past companions.

This is a sampling of the songs I like the most on Still Got Legs, but all of the songs on the album are fun to listen to (and addicting, you've been warned).

You can listen to all of Still Got Legs for free on Alex Day's website, buy the physical copy from DFTBA Records or download tracks from iTunes.

Other things of interest...a video from Chameleon Circuit about the album release and a handy graphic that shows who did what on each track.

Venom to his Spiderman

Since Netflix added Spider-Man, the animated series (1994-1998), to instant streaming, I've been watching season 1 and remembering what a great show it was.

"The Alien Costume" is a three-part story in the middle of season one. The symbiote comes to Earth with a space shuttle and attaches to Spider-Man. Peter fights it off, and it takes over Eddie Brock to become Venom. This story is the animated version of everything Spider-Man 3 should have been. But I don't want to talk about the film's emo Peter Parker.

I want to talk about how Venom is a reflection of Spider-Man and why that makes him such an interesting villain.

I'm going off the animated series here (which I expect is close to the original story in the comics). Venom knows everything about Spider-Man and Peter Parker because the symbiote tried to bond with Peter first. This gives Venom a few advantages.

1. Venom can block Spider-Man's spidey sense. Venom is the only thing that can sneak up on Peter, and we see how jumpy and paranoid Peter feels because of that.

2. Venom has Peter's memories, so he knows Mary Jane Watson and Aunt May.

3. Venom has all the same powers as Spider-Man, except he's stronger.

Venom matches and beats Spider-Man in strength and ability. He plays mind games. He threatens to expose Spider-Man and hurt his loved ones. Venom is dangerous because he knows how to fight Peter Parker and Spider-Man. He can attack both identities.

This idea of a villain who is a reflection of the hero reminded me of "Amy's Choice," a series 5 episode of Doctor Who. The Dream Lord is a mocking version of the Doctor (Time Lord) that comes from the Doctor's mind. He hates the Doctor, he taunts Amy, and he puts Amy, Rory, and the Doctor in a cruel test of distinguishing dreams from reality.

But there's an important difference between the Dream Lord and Venom. Venom is a reflection of Spider-Man, but a separate entity. The Dream Lord is part the Doctor, the dark thoughts about issues the Doctor doesn't want to face. Venom's threat is in being able to match Spider-Man. The Dream Lord's threat is in the Doctor torturing himself.

These types of villains are compelling because they aren't simply evil: they're evil that comes from the hero. That complexity shows a flawed side of the hero, and that's good storytelling.

Merlin Fan-made Trailer

I'm consistently impressed by the quality of some fan-made videos on YouTube. Not only are they well-made in terms of sound editing, selection of clips, and special effects, but they go beyond the content of the original source to create something new.

Today via tumblr, I saw this fan-made trailer for season four of Merlin by jenskii.



Jenskii used clips from previous seasons to create this trailer that shows Arthur's rise to becoming King, Merlin at his side, and Morgana as their adversary. Everything in the video is a logical extension of what we've seen in the series so far.

Jenskii did such a good job in putting the video together that it looks like it could be official promotional material from the BBC. I'll be happy if the official trailer is half this good.