Entertain me

Got the Super Bowl on in the background as I write this. The commericals seem pretty lame this year. And am I the only one who thought the Stones looked like a bunch of old men pretending to be rock stars? I mean, Mick can still move, but Keith and Ronnie shaking their hips just makes me feel sad. Charlie Watts still appears to be the coolest man alive, though. I don't think I've ever seen that dude break a sweat. Anyway, in between Big Ben's turnovers, I'll catch y'all up on a few things that I've been enjoying lately.

Fables
OK, this may be a little tough to explain, but I'll give it a shot. Fables is an absolutely genius comic book created by a guy named Bill Willingham. The basic idea is that all the fairy tales that we know and love exist. Any fairy tale kingdom from the Brothers Grimm, Mother Goose, or any story that's ever been made into a Disney movie is out there somewhere (sort of like Shrek in a way, but much darker and sexier). But some as-yet-unknown-to-me evil force called The Adversary gathered armies of all the fairy tale monsters and started conquering all these kingdoms. So the characters became refugees, and fled to the real world, where they established a hidden community called Fabletown in New York City for the human "Fables", and a farm in upstate New York for the non-humans. The series mainly follows the exploits of Bigby Wolf (of Red Riding Hood fame—get it? Big B[ad] Wolf?), now Sheriff of Fabletown, and Snow White, the deputy mayor, as they try to keep the communities together under the constant threat of invasion by The Adversary. It's such a fresh idea, and with an almost unlimited supply of characters and backstory to mine, it's easy for Willingham to continually provide an interesting twist on well-known folklore. There are currently 6 paperback collections of the ongoing series, and I just finished #4 this afternoon. I can't wait to read #'s 5 and 6.

Brokeback Mountain
Strip away all the hype and controversy around this movie, and you have a very familiar story: two people in love who have a lot of obstacles keeping them apart. The only reason it's any different this time is that the two people in love are both guys. But this film proves itself worthy of the hype, and what makes it worthwhile is two things. One, it's superbly acted, all the more so considering there were probably 1,000 total words of dialogue in the movie. Incredible performances from a lot of actors, but Heath Ledger was undoubtedly the standout. And two, as with all Ang Lee movies, Brokeback is visually stunning. Montana has probably never looked so beautiful, but Lee is even able to find the beauty in a dingy apartment kitchen. Regardless of the gender of the romantic leads, it's totally deserving of its Oscar noms.

Andrew Bird, Andrew Bird & The Mysterious Production Of Eggs.
Gorgeous, catchy alt rock from a classically trained violinist who's into jazz and European folk, and has also performed with alt-swing outfit Squirrel Nut Zippers. How's that for a resumé? My brother Jeff gave me this album around Thanksgiving, but I'm just coming to appreciate it now. It's been on heavy rotation this past week. There's a definite Radiohead influence here, and some songs owe a debt to Cake as well, but Bird makes it a distinct sound of his own, and he certainly can turn a lyrical phrase. Perfect music for a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Well, as a fellow Miami alum, it's nice to see Ben get a ring. But, man, what a yawner of a game.