#but to get back to Porky it's so fascinating. when he said that he's the 'same old boy at heart' in M3

[rustedleopard]

In reference to this post.

@twothpaste​ The especially rich thing about people who justify their cruelty by saying that “The world is screwed up anyways” and “People who are kind are actually stupid, I’m just seeing the world as it is and acting accordingly” (or whatever excuses they conjure up so they can act like an asshole with no sweat off their conscious) is that it’s self-fulfilling.

Like, yeah, sure there are things in the world that are terrible and unavoidable like natural disasters and disease. There’s no amount of “being nice” that can make cancer stop existing. But people’s actions are controllable and if you’re being a terrible person, then you’re part of the reason why the world is terrible. What you do impacts the universe around you, and there is nothing you can do to isolate your actions from the rest of the world, so if you’re being a dick then: Congrats! You’re feeding into your stupid worldview and making everyone else around you miserable, you Ouroborus motherfucker!

[thebrownssociety]

Across The Serververse Chapter 3

Hey! I'm back. Firstly, thank you to @thatsalotoftoons​, @preciouslittletoonette​ and @ananicoleta​ for commenting and reblogging this. 

Secondly, this chapter is what I like to call the 'explanation chapter'. I've tried not to info-dump, and I've edited it at least 3 different times trimming it down, so hopefully this is not to complicated, but I must admit the Serververse really intrigues me as a world and I'm really looking forward to exploring it through this.

See chapter 1 for the disclaimer and let's crack on.

Every other time Bugs had been to WB Central it had been buzzing, characters from all properties walking around, a few friendly arguments, a few hard-core fights, even a few drag races [usually the car kind, not the Queen kind] 

Now however, it was quiet. Vewy, very quiet as a certain well-known hunter would say. There were quite a lot of characters milling around the place, but none of the energy that usually accompanied them. Also, it was dark, Bugs realised, not pitch-black, but darker than usual. Like someone had placed a cover over a still-turned on screen. 

“Eh...what happened?” Bugs asked Pepe and Penelope.

They looked just as confused as him. “We do not know.” Pepe admitted.

“We’ve been on that cruise for 6 months, we’ve not been back here.” Penelope said, looking close to tears. “This iz awful”“ She added, tears springing to her eyes.

As Pepe started to try and calm her down, a familiar voice lifted Bugs’s spirit.

“Bugs, Pepe, Penelope! How lovely to see you all again!”

“Marvin!” Bugs exclaimed in delight, running over to the little Martian, picking him up and swinging him round joyously. “Am oi glad ta see you! What’s happened here? It’s like someone’s cut de power!”

“You’re more correct than you might think.” Marvin said, when Bugs had put him down. “Warner Brothers have seen fit to disable the entire system until they can get access to it again. Theirs's a problem, you understand. It appears the ‘famous Looney Tunes characters-” Here here made air quotes. “- have been put into different worlds. None of the humans can figure out why and are attributing it to a virus. They’ve called in multiple Information Technology people, but none of them can figure it out. Then again.” Marvin conceded. “I highly doubt any of them have dealt with a sentient A.I. before. All we know is it’s causing panic in the human verse - you can hear it if you get close enough to the portal - and what they’ve done is essentially put the worlds the other Looney’s have gone into into ‘freeze mode’ so they can’t shift or do anything else until they figure out what’s going on.” At the end of that rather lengthy explanation, Marvin sighed. “They may be there for quite some while.”

“So...lemme get dis straight.” Bugs said, thoughtfully. “We can’t get to the human world?”

“That is correct. Rhythm has blocked the portal into the human world to all WB characters.”

“And we can’t get in and out of the other worlds the rest of the fam are stuck in?”

“That is correct.” Marvin said, again. “Although-” He added. “-I think that may change now. Might I enquire how you guys got here?”

Bugs explained the events leading up to this moment - including how Rhythm had flung the toons to the other worlds - and Marvin nodded. “Interesting. I think I understand, but it requires a bit more explanation. Please walk with me while I fill us all in. Now, you may be wondering how I knew where to find you? I simply used my Tracker-3000 from Mars-” Marvin waved the device in the air. “-to track where you were. It’s a device I had gifted for me from the King Of Neptune. I had hoped I would never need to use it, but unfortunately I have-”

“-You’ve tracked us?” Bugs echoed, more than slightly disturbed. 

Marvin blinked. “Yes. Was that not clear? Please, do not think I did this idly. I hoped I wouldn’t need to ever use the trackers, but unfortunately I have had to. Anyway, I could see that you, Bugs, were in Tune Town, but none of us could get to you. I made further investigations with some of the more technically advanced characters here and it looks like Rhythm has placed a block on all current WB characters. None of us can enter or leave any of the other worlds. You may be able to see where I’m going with this?” he added, as an aside.

“Pepe isn’t a current character.” Penelope said, softly.

Marvin nodded eagerly. “Correct, sister. As Pepe isn’t a current character it seems he can travel between the worlds, and - judging by the fact you are here as well and the boat showed no issue with travelling - it seems that anything he is travelling on or with is likewise given ‘a free pass’, so to speak. Now-” Marvin cleared his throat. “I wish to seek clarification on this point, so please forgive my impertinence - but at the exact moment you and Pepe travelled through to Toon world were you...” A faint blush adjured the Martians cheeks. “...touching at all?”

“We were holding hands.” Penelope said, easily. “We were the second time as well.”

“Hold on, oi wasn't holdin’ hands with them.” Bugs said, quickly.

“No, but you were in ‘Big Chungus’ form, so that was probably what allowed you access. Now, with that information in mind, I would guess, Pepe, that anything you are touching - be it an inanimate object or another toon, will travel through as well. Or maybe it’s just everything that is on something you’re touching can travel as well?” Marvin added, thoughtfully. “That would explain how the captain of the boat could travel-”

Bugs groaned and ran a hand across his forehead. “Look Marvin, as fascinating as all dis is, it’s a bit much. Can you jus’ tell me where de others are so we can get going?”

“Certainly. Could you just remind me who actually got teleported, please?”

That was no issue for Bugs as the images would forever be burned into his mind. “Daffy, Porky, Lola, Elmer, Sylvester, Tweety, Granny, Speedy, Wile.E, Road-Runner, Foghorn, Taz, Yosemite Sam, Gossamer and Witch Hazel.”

“Well, I can help you with one of them.” Marvin said, as they finally approached the ‘Toon-Town’ section of W.B.C. “Just through here.” And he pressed open the door.

Inside the door was a world that was exactly like the ‘Toon Town’ from ‘Who framed Rodger Rabbit’ but without the Disney characters.

Marvin led Bugs, Pepe and Penelope through Toon Town until they reached Foghorn Leghorn’s barn.

“Look, I say, look who came back!”

Bugs’s grin threatened to split his face as he saw the rooster heading towards him, arms outstretched in welcome. 

“Foghorn!” The rabbit leapt on his younger brother and hugged him tightly. “Oh, I thought you was a gonner!”

“It, I say, it takes more than some computer to get rid of me.” Foghorn said, proudly. “I always come back!”

“Of course.” Dawg’s [AKA George.P.Dog’s] dry voice said, from about two foot away. “It ‘elps that your ‘random location’ was here and not - say - Game Of Thrones.”

Foghorn put Bugs down and said - as an aside. “That, I say, that’s a shout out, readers.”

“I think they got that, Foggy.” Dawg said, rolling his eyes.

It was at this point that Penelope interrupted, asking if Foghorn had just been transported to W.B.C or if anything else had happened.

“No, I just, I say, I just woke up here.”

“Woke up?” Bugs echoed.

Foghorn looked a bit sheepish and looked at Barnyawd.

George explained that 5 and a half months ago Foghorn had just literally dropped out of the sky and onto Dawg’s head. “Once I got da fat lump off of me, I saw he was unconscious and not funny unconscious-” Dawg clarified. “But actually unconscious. He was like dat for about a day or two before he woke up ag’in-” Dawg took a sharp breath as the memory hit him. He steadied himself and then continued with. “-And when he woke up he told us all what had happened. By that point though we knew something bad was going on because not only had this happened-” Here George indicated the dark surroundings. “But a few of us toons had tried to get through to the Human World and couldn’t. All it took was Marvin then double-checking the trackers he’s put on us-”

“-Yeah, cahn we go back to dat at some point?” Bugs asked.

“-An’ he saw the different worlds our family’s been split up into and then when Foggy woke up he confirmed the entire thing.” Dawg sighed and ran his hands over his face. “It’s been a nightmare worrying about them all dis time, because we’ve had no idea where they are or what they’re doing or if they’re bein tor-”

“Yeah, Oi did that spiel back in chapter 2.” Bugs said impatiently. “Right. Oi think oi get it now. Let’s go, Martian-” Bugs grabbed Marvin's arm and pulled him away. “We got a family ta save!”

“Wait, oh wait!” Bugs and Marvin skidded to a halt to see Junior [Sylvester's son] running towards them. 

“Eh...what’s up kid?” The rabbit asked, getting down to Juniors level.

Junior stopped sharply - accidently kicking a cloud of dust into the two toons faces - and, with one arm dramatically flung across his face, said. “Oh, Uncle Bugs, I know you have a lot of toons to get, but may I PLEASE request you start with my father? He is silly and often doesn’t think things through, but he’s my father and I love him so. May I please request you start with him and bring him back? I miss him.” At the end of Junior’s spiel, Bugs burst into noisy sobs and, getting a large handkerchief out of his pocket, wiped his eyes with it before wringing it out into a random bucket. 

“Of couirse I will.” he promised. “Jus’ watch me. Oi’ll aim to have him back as soon as possible. Now-” Bugs stood up and signalled to Marvin.  “-Let’s go, short-stack.”

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

“Now we wish to make this simple.” Marvin said, as he Bugs, Pepe and Penelope entered the spaceship. “So, if I just pull up a list-” He did so. “The trackers I put on you all will enable me to see exactly where you all are at any given moment.”

“Yeah, can we go back to dose trackers at some point?” Bugs asked.

Ignoring him, Marvin continued. "So, as you can see,  Sylvester is here." He pointed to 'Cartoon Network World'. "I'll just see if there's anyone with him. Bear with." A few moments of typing later and the trackers for Tweety, Yosemite Sam and Taz lit up. Marvin's eyes went wide and typed again. The screen zeroed in on Cartoon Network planet, showing a breakdown of the different sections of it. "Okay." Marvin said, slowly. "That is interesting. Sylvester and Tweety are both in Coolsville, AKA 'Scooby-Doo World' and it seems like there in the 1960's universe."

"Eh...it would hav' ta be Coolsville." Bugs muttered. "What wiv it's population of crazy crooks an' all."

"You just need to change into Chungus and then we can go." Marvin said, pointedly.

Bugs slapped his forehead. "Oops, I forgot!" He transformed into Big Chungus and gave Marvin a thumbs up.

Nodding the Martian pressed the 'arrive as close to as possible' button and the spaceship faded away.

[abybweisse]

@gkrosental Oh, I’ve blogged about this before, but it’s split between various posts. So, it might be hard to find. You can check my blog, though, for #advanced technology, #medical technology, #technological advances, #medical advances, #reaper technology, etc. Oh... and stuff like #george and #giygas....

For one thing, that’s not Sebastian’s mobile; it’s the one Vanel’s thugs have. He just takes it from one of them to talk to Vanel.

The other thing is that modern technology shows up in the manga quite frequently, and Yana-san explained once that it’s an alternate universe to begin with, and these things are, therefore, only... slightly anachronistic. Let’s not forget that our earl has some kind of television; it’s been vaguely mentioned by our earl and Finny, and much more directly mentioned by Soma. Funny thing about the TV is that our earl must not be the only one to have one, since John Brown mentions the same TV program to the crowd at the Crystal Palace; he promotes the rumor that the show is based on Queen Victoria! But yeah... some of them are definitely still anachronistic, even for the Kuroverse.

The reapers (and their superiors) have advanced technology. We know this for a fact; even ages ago, when Othello was newer to the reaper organization, he’s seen carrying around a box of computer parts, like a keyboard. Othello says that humans can get ahold of such knowledge through demon contracts, etc. Even though Sebastian hasn’t been told (that we know of) to “invent stuff for me” by our earl, we can pretty well assume that Funtom’s innovative toys come from a combination of our earl’s imagination and Sebastian’s demonic abilities. Funtom is best known for its Bitter Rabbits and candies, but they also sell video game consoles... with game controllers connected by wires. Indeed, Funtom sells a few things that you’d only expect the reapers to have. But it doesn’t end with Funtom, not even regarding video games. How else would Chlaus show up in ch1 with that game cartridge packaging for “Mouse3”? It was actually full of the drug evidence he’d brought back from Italy... but the packaging is probably legit.

I suspect that reapers, like Undertaker, also have an effect on the advancements that humans make... accelerating the process of innovation. Those dialysis machines are a perfect example. I’m not sure yet who actually built them. Perhaps Druitt, since he has a medical license? And because Undertaker saved him on the Campania for REASONS...?

At one point, during the murders arc, Charles Grey makes a comment that Germany’s about ten years ahead of where it should be; I’m not sure how he learned that (perhaps from John Brown?!?), but this means that the Kuroverse is dealing with an accelerated timeline for its technological advances. Characters like Grey and Othello acknowledge something is amiss. But, it’s complicated why it’s happening. Germany might have some reaper or demon/angel intervention, too, but they also have/had prodigies, like Sieglinde Sullivan. She managed something her parents, with all their learning and training, had failed to do. SuLin was the result. Idk how they got the rest of the advanced technology they are using, like radar and tanks. Divine intervention? Other geniuses? Since coming to Great Britain, Sieglinde has continued to shock and amaze with her latest inventions... which seem to be financially backed by the queen....

The reason I mentioned #george and #giygas is because of my main theory regarding Black Butler... that’s it’s largely based on a Nintendo game called Mother3. I mean, that’s what “Mouse3” by “Ninkyodo” refers to, after all. But, as I’ve said in many of my posts about this, it’s not just Mother3 being used for the manga series; it’s the entire game series. And this topic is one of those situations that requires going all the way back to the first installment: Mother. In the US, it was titled EarthBound: Beginnings.

In Mother, a young alien, named Giygas (the translation varies, but this is one of the common ones), is traveling from their home planet, populated by this technologically advanced civilization. Their spacecraft crash lands on Earth and they are taken in by a couple, named George and Maria. They raise them as their own, and they later manage to travel with Giygas back towards their home planet, and Maria stays there... but George returns to Earth... with stolen technology, which he continues to research... and spreads around to other humans. Giygas is sent by their superiors to stop George, because the alien race is worried that humans will eventually use their own technology against them. However, George has died by the time Giygas returns to Earth, so they decide to target George’s descendants. Humans have started to incorporate the knowledge that George brought back; it’s even showing up in some humans’ natural abilities, as if it’s being genetically inherited. We meet one of those descendants, Ninten. He, with the help of friends, has to collect melodies from a song and sing it to Queen Mary, who is... kind of like Maria... but on another plane of existence, called Magicant.

Later, Ness (in Mother2, aka EarthBound) and his pals have to fight people who are under Giygas’ power, including a rather bothersome and wholly self-centered boy named Pokey Minch. By now, Giygas has been driven mad by his futile attempts to stop the spread of this stolen technology and knowledge. Then they have to fight Pokey Minch again, but Pokey has been drastically changed by time-traveling equipment he stole from a human inventor (Dr. Andonuts). Ness and his friends have to fight not just this futuristic version of Pokey but also an unhinged and unleashed version of Giygas; the alien has lost their physical form and now exists as an evil force of immense power. Through prayer (mostly), Ness and his friends are able to banish ... perhaps truly destroy... Giygas, but Pokey escapes to cause problems yet another time.

With Mother3, which never got a worldwide release (which is why Chlaus says in Black Butler that “Mouse3” [and the drugs] were hard to get ahold of in Italy), mirror twin brothers Claus and Lucas get separated after their mother is killed (and their father is too full of grief to help them). Claus ends up missing (he’s dead at the bottom of a cliff), and Lucas and the family dog, Boney, go on a quest to avenge his family. Lucas, Boney, and friends they make have to defeat King Porky; King Porky is what the time-traveling Pokey Minch decides to call himself when he travels to this future setting and settles down to become a tyrant. Giygas seems to be gone, but King Porky still follows Giygas’ destructive life path. King Porky is obsessed with popularity and technological advances. And, at some point, the lifeless body of Claus gets turned into a Fascinating Chimera, and the mirror twin brothers have to compete to fulfill a prophecy... of waking the Dark Dragon. Dr. Andonuts was previously forced to help King Porky, but even he eventually gets revenge.

I have a lot of posts about Mother3 theory, and I’m trying to focus here on a particular aspect, so here are some parallels, particularly regarding technology:

Our earl — Lucas

Real Ciel — Claus

Sebastian, under contract — Boney, the loyal family dog

Sebastian, aka the “Black Butler”, once the contract is fulfilled — Dark Dragon, particularly once the prophecy is fulfilled

Undertaker, bringing otherworldly technology to humans — George

Reaper superiors and/or John Brown — the original manifestation of Giygas and that alien race

Reapers, in general — Magypsies, in general

Prince Soma — Pokey Minch

Prince Soma with the Right Hand of Kali — Pokey Minch with the unhinged Giygas (This parallel would be further strengthened if Prince Soma ends up stealing anything out of Sieglinde’s lab or convinces her to make any sort of contraption for him.)

Queen Victoria, who demands unwavering loyalty and is trying to increase Great Britain’s power through technology and new infrastructure — King Porky, who demands the same and is also focused on infrustrucfure, technology, innovation, etc.

Queen Victoria with John Brown — King Porky drunk on unbridled power, basing his actions on what he thinks Giygas would want of him.

Undertaker, inventor of Bizarre Dolls — Dr. Andonuts, inventor of Fascinating Chimera

Sieglinde, chemist and inventor of various contraptions — Dr. Andonuts (also his younger version, Lloyd), inventor of various contraptions

There are so many other parallels, not just in characters and plots, but also in their timelines. However, like I said... I’m trying to focus on your ask regarding technological anachronisms.

TL/DR: It’s definitely supposed to be the Victorian era, but it’s an alternative universe to our own, so it took some different paths along the historical timeline. Add to that the fact that reapers and demons/angels (or other supernatural beings, like gods) have been intervening in human lives, and advanced technologies and innovations have been introduced along the way because of it.

There are lots of examples of this throughout the series, including the mobile phone used by Vanel’s thugs (Sebastian grabbed theirs; he doesn’t have one of his own). Other examples include TVs, video game consoles, war tanks, radar, and all the contraptions Sieglinde makes for herself and for others, like the Phantom Five.

This all works just dandy with my theory that the manga series is largely based on Nintendo’s Mother game series, since both deal quite a bit with “stolen” technology and runaway technology/innovation.

Thanks for the ask and for letting me screenshot the message to answer in a post. 😊

[ducktracy]

136. porky’s pet (1936)

release date: july 11th, 1936

series: looney tunes

director: jack king

starring: joe dougherty (porky), billy bletcher (conductor)

the first of MANY, MANY cartoons to flaunt porky’s name in the title. this is also jack king’s second to last cartoon at warner bros—he headed back for disney as early as april 1936, leaving the rest of his films to run on. porky’s moving day, released in september, would be his last. for now: porky and his pet ostrich lulu are broadway bound, but trouble arises when the train forbids any animals to board. it’s up to porky to find a way to hide his extremely noticeable and indiscreet pet.

a telegram boy is pedaling along on his bicycle, determined to deliver his envelope, bumping all along the way. i didn’t include a photo thanks to the 10 photo limit, but you’ll notice some signs in the background, such as “malaria motel” and “buy burton’s burpo beer”, a reference to producer john burton. the scene runs a little long, yet it’s deliberate so as to show off the syncopation between the animation, music, and sound effects of intermittent bike horn honking.

nevertheless, the telegram boy arrives at his destination by crashing into the sidewalk. unscathed, he jauntily hops onto the porch and rings the doorbell a few times. out comes porky, who answers the door. a telegram just for him. he accepts the envelope and signs off. an amusing little detail as he tucks the envelope in the lip of his sweater, taking it out and tearing off the side.

the telegram reads:

MR. PORKY PIG

CAN USE YOU AND LULU IN MY NEW SHOW $75 WEEK. STOP. (that’s how you ended a sentence, considering there was no morse code equivalent to a period) COME NEW YORK AT ONCE

J. BOTTS

PRODUCER

remember when i said porky would never say “WHOOPEEEEE!” again after gold diggers of ‘49? well, that’s one bet i lost. i totally forgot, but he says his famous “WHOOPEE!” here, too. i THINK this is the last time he says it, unless porky’s moving day has a surprise waiting for me. regardless, porky is ecstatic. he dashes upstairs, telegram in hand, skidding to a halt into his bedroom.

he approaches a birdcage, where we see the beginnings of a big bird head inside. porky shows off the letter to his pet, stuttering “look, lulu! look!” a clever pan reveals that lulu is, in fact, a giant pet ostrich with her head in the birdcage and the rest of her body perched in a rocking chair. lulu gives her approval by squawking hilariously and incomprehensibly. “we’re broadway bound, lulu! we’re gonna be big shots!”

porky hardly wastes any time tying a rope around lulu’s neck and freeing her from the confines of her arbitrary birdcage. with his hat on his head and a couple of oddly places train whistle imitations, porky declares “let’s go!” and together they fly down the staircase, lulu sliding down on the banister. good animation that’s easily mesmerizing. lulu hits the end of the banister while porky runs ahead, nearly choking her as he flies back towards her from the impact. nevertheless she gets down, and porky’s so excited he whips out the door, the door closing on lulu and hitting her right in the face. she chatters porky out furiously, but manages to recover.

some time later, porky and his prized lulu arrive at the train station, seeking out the nearest train. after hearing the sound of the all too familiar whistle, porky attempts to flag down the train, waving his hand and his hat to get it to stop. we then get a shot of the train, hurtling down the tracks at frightening speeds. so fast that the conductor doesn’t take note of porky and his very obvious bird companion. the train speeds by, spinning porky, lulu, and the entire station around like a top, a sequence that would be perfected and stronger in tex’s the village smithy.

both porky and lulu attempt to recover from the impact, porky stuttering “stop!” all too late while lulu has her head buried in a hole in the floorboards. nevertheless, they both recover quickly when the sound of another train approaches. this time, porky thinks ahead. he pulls a lever that flashes a stop sign, and the speeding train literally jolts to a stop on the middle of the tracks. good timing and amusingly stark visuals make the gag work. there’s an intriguing angle from inside the station as we view porky and lulu happily board from outside. silence... until a yokel train conductor yells “YOU CAN’T BRING NO BUZZARD ON THIS TRAIN!”

lulu and porky are promptly kicked out, landing right inside the station. (if you notice, one of the flyers posted advertises millar manor, a reference to story man tubby millar) porky signals for lulu to bend down low, and he whispers a plan in her ear. the plan: lulu wait by the tracks while porky boards, and he’ll pick her up as the train passes by. lulu gives her squawks of approval. porky signals for lulu to go to her post, and he himself boards the train.

sure enough, the train begins to chug, the wheels turning. lulu waits patiently, and just as porky promised, he sticks his hand out the window and grabs her by the neck. her neck is so long that the rest of her body lags behind, flopping in the wind, much to the surprise of one of the passengers looking out the window. porky wrestles her inside, and everything’s good to go.

here we have it, folks! the infamous “porky stuffing an ostrich up his ass” scene. porky realizes he didn’t quite think things through. an ostrich is a pretty damn noticeable bird. he signals under the seat, trying to stuff her in, ordering “hurry up, lulu! get under the seat before the conductor sees ya!” another push, and her head pops out of the crack in the seat, giving some happy squabbles. treg brown’s sound effects turn a puzzling scene into an amusing one with nonstop honking, porky wrestling with how to get both ends of her body under the seat. it’s still a relatively awkward scene, but the sound effects certainly add humor to it. eventually porky opts to sit on the seat himself, stuffing lulu’s body under and hoping he can conceal her head. but, as to be expected, lulu pecks him right in the butt and he jumps up in shock. another stuff beneath the seat, and she’s about as concealed as she’ll get. porky grins at the camera, clearly accomplished with his feat.

but, as birds will do, lulu hardly stays in one place long. she wrangles herself out from beneath the seat and swallows the toupee of a sleeping passenger’s from behind. ham or ex makes one final appearance! if only there was any indication as to how to tell them apart. the little pup turns the propeller of a toy plane and watches it whirl around in fascination. the plane makes its way towards lulu, who promptly swallows it. of course, the plane is still on, and works its way up from her throat all the way to her head, giving her “dog ears”. amusing animation as lulu’s neck loops around itself, the plane in her head directing her uncontrollably as she loops around her own body, flipping and flying around. she crashes right into a door, where the plane just... disappears. she doesn’t spit it out or anything of the sort, it literally just... melts away. nevertheless.

lulu now has her sights set on an accordion, which she also deems a delicious snack. and, predictably, her neck moves up and down and sounds like an accordion. a very predictable gag that isn’t all that hilarious, but porky’s look of pure horror as she strolls past his seat is totally priceless.

just in time for the conductor to ask for tickets. panic-stricken, porky snags a guitar case out from under the seat in front of him and stuffs lulu inside. her accordion neck blares loudly and noticeably, and he grabs her neck and wrings it out, sliding the accordion down to her body where it disappears. first a plane and now an accordion! maybe lulu’s act on broadway is “The Bottomless Ostrich”. she now fits in the guitar case... except for her feathers, which prominently stick out of the bottom. porky steals someone’s pair of scissors (what a thief!) and cuts off the fluff, and instead of returning the scissors hilariously throws them out the window instead, hiding the feathers under the seat. instead of just, you know, tossing them out instead.

the conductor approaches porky for his ticket, but lulu suddenly grows rowdy, giving herself away immediately as the guitar case begins to jolt around and squawk. she wrestles her legs free and barrels into the conductor, who now rides on top of the guitar case like some sort of twisted steed. lulu barrels into the end of the cabin, freeing herself from the case. porky goes to wrangle back his bird, but it’s too late. the conductor furiously throws her out the window, and then throws porky out himself. nice service!

they reconnect on the tracks, porky shrugging dubiously. fortune smiles upon them when they spot a handcar. they both board at opposite ends, preparing to push their way to broadway, yet a cow blocks their path. no matter! porky positions himself on the handles and grabs the cow’s tail like some reins, and they’re off. soon they even manage to pass the very train they were booted from, much to the bewilderment of the conductor, who passes out as porky tips his hat and lulu squawks her greetings. iris out.

with a lot of these rewatches of the jack king cartoons, i’ve softened my perception of them and appreciated them more, but they’re still relatively below average. nevertheless, this cartoon was, if anything, amusing. not particularly funny, but amusing to watch porky’s plight as he works so hard to hide his Very Obvious pet. lulu’s squawking is hilariously obnoxious, which works in her favor and against her at the same time. the animation was very smooth and fun to watch for sure, especially with lulu sliding down the banister and lulu swallowing the toy plane. lulu would make one more appearance in porky’s moving day, which is kinda funny. i wonder, if jack king stayed longer, how many more cartoons she would have popped up in. overall a decent cartoon but nothing to write home about. it wouldn’t kill you to watch it, but i think you’d be fine if you went without.

link!

[daggerzine]

Teen Movie Hell author, Mike “McBeardo’ McPadden speaks!

Ok, so the second I saw the title I was hooked. I mean, come on, Teen Movie Hell: A Crucible of Coming-Of-Age Comedies From Animal House to Zapped. Having been born in the mid-60’s I came of age right when many of these movies were being released and of course I had to see every single one.

But, I didn’t see every one, not even close. I thought that because I watched Class and Zapped a few decades ago that it made me some kind of expert? Well, I was dead wrong.

Mike “McBeardo” McPadden is the real deal. In this 350 plus page tome McPadden reviews hundreds of movies, many ones I had never heard of. He digs deep. He really gets to the meat of it all. 

I was so curious about the origins of the book and his fascination with this genre of movies that I had to toss some questions his way and being the true gentleman that he is was more than happy to answer them.  Read below and in the meantime pick up two copies of this book (because you’ll wear out the first copy).

 Thank you again to Mike McPadden!

 Do you remember where you were and when it was that you decided you wanted to write this book?

It was in 1994. I was at the Tail o’ the Pup hot dog stand with my great friend Aaron Lee. We were on a lunch break from our editorial jobs at Hustler magazine.

 One of the most profound bonding elements in my early friendship with Aaron was our devotion to the movie review compendiums that so impacted and shaped who we were—particularly the annual Leonard Maltin guides, the Medved Brothers’ Golden Turkey Awards books, Michael Weldon’s Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film and, above all, the work of author Danny Peary, in particular his series of Cult Movies books.

 Aaron and I just sort of hit on the idea at the same moment—“Let’s write a book about teen sex comedies!” In time, our paths split professionally. I moved back to New York. Aaron went into stand-up comedy.

 Over the next 25 years, I kept at the teen sex comedy book in one form or another. Aaron went on to a terrifically successful Hollywood writing career and was an Executive Producer of Family Guy. But—hey!—I got to write Teen Movie Hell!

 Why the title- Teen Movie Hell?

I’m a fan of calling the book what it’s about, as in the case of Cult Movies. That’s why Heavy Metal Movies is titled just that. So, initially, the name of this book was. There was a time when that might have flown. Now is not that time.

 A version of the book almost got published in 1999 under the title I Lost It in the Locker Room!, an allusion to Pauline Kael’s I Lost It at the Movies. At the eleventh hour, the publisher shut down the division that was handling my book and laid off my editor, so ILIITLR got scuttled.

 At Bazillion Points, the books started life as Going All the Way. Then publisher Ian Christe came up with the almost perfect title Last American Virgins.

 Finally, as we were doing edits, I came up with the idea to have an art show as the book’s release party and I thought—“How can I make the idea of participating in the show palatable to all these subversive artists I know and admire, beyond just saying, ‘It’s about Porky’s movies!’?”

Anne Elliott of the mighty Sideshow Gallery in Chicago offered to host the show. Sideshow specializes in witchy-groovy-occulty iconography, and I’d recently attended a show there full of devil imagery. That’s when the name “Teen Movie Hell” hit me. And, in short order, it just made perfect sense to apply that to the book—these movies took me through the hell of adolescence and they may well have sent society to hell at the same time.

 In addition, Bazillion Points specializes in books about heavy metal, hardcore, and punk rock, and it has a very metal aesthetic. So calling the book Teen Movie Hell automatically made it feel like it was more of a piece with the other Bazillion titles.  

  From an intro in the book it appears that music and film zines both played a part in your inspiration (Conflict, Rollerdeby, two of my personal faces, etc.). How do they play a part?

 I discovered zines in 1980 by way of The Uncle Floyd Show Gazette, a Xeroxed newsletter dedicated to a brilliantly hilarious and self-aware kiddie show that aired from New Jersey. I got a subscription.

 A year or two later, the New York Daily News ran a profile of Rick Sullivan, publisher of the horror zine, The Gore Gazette, also from New Jersey. I love New Jersey. I ordered a Gore Gazette and it blew my 12-year-old mind.

 From there, it was a short leap to tracking down The Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film and understanding that it, too, had started as a zine. Then, leaning into punk culture as a teenager, zines became a crucial element of my existence, though they weren’t always easy to track down at first.

 At the end of the ’80s/dawn of the ’90s, zines erupted with people doing surprising, personal things beyond just reviewing movies and music. I found that very inspiring. Gerard Cosloy’s hilarious, backhanded brashness in Conflict was a huge influence. Lisa Carver’s Rollerderby made it clear to me that anything was possible.

 All that led to me publishing my own zine, Happyland, in 1991.

 Aaron Lee and I met by mail after he sent me his zine Blue Persuasion in 1993. It was the best.

 What was the criteria for inclusion of the movies in the book?

 In cultural terms, the book covers the 20 years between American Graffiti in 1973 and Dazed and Confused in 1993, with a little smudging on either side into the years around them.

 What the movies have in common is that they’re about teenagers and were made specifically for a teenage audience looking for a good time. The marketing angle has a lot to do with it—“Hey, kids! There’s a party raging up on the screen here and you’re invited! All you have to do is buy a ticket or take that VHS box cover to the rental counter!”

 Exceptions exist. Bachelor Party, for example, is about clowns in their mid-to-late 20s, but they act like teenagers and it’s essentially just transferring the format to another setting. Same with Police Academy.

  How long did it take you to complete the book?

 In one form or another, I worked on it in spurts over 25 years. But, in earnest, once I got the Bazillion Points contract, it took three years.

 For those of us around when these movies were being released why do you think they play such a huge part in our brains? Is it just the sex or something else?

 What comes to mind is a bit of wisdom from Lorne Michaels. He said that anytime somebody tells him what they think were the best seasons of Saturday Night Live, it’s almost always the period when they were in high school—because you’re allowed to stay up late enough to see it, you’re watching the show by yourself or with friends rather than with your parents, and you’re getting jokes that maybe even just a year earlier would have sailed over your head.

 I think it’s the same with these movies. Fast Times at Ridgemont High opened in theaters on the very first Friday of my freshman year of high school. Ferris Bueller opened four years later the exact day after I graduated. That period represents the very heart of the teen sex comedy genre and I was there, being a teen. These movies were made about us and, more importantly, for us.

 How did Bazillion Points respond when you told them of your idea for the book?

Bazillion Points published my book Heavy Metal Movies in 2014 and did a superhuman job with it. Bazillion honcho Ian Christe and I have long talked about teen comedies and, back in the ’90s when I was pitching a book on the topic, it turned out he actually was too! I’m glad our knuckleheaded dreams got deferred and we were able to make it a reality together.

 How was the response been so far?

 So far, so cool.

 Of all the movies you reviewed what is your personal favorite?

 The two best-made films in the book are American Graffiti (1973) and Risky Business (1983), followed closely by Animal House and Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982). Those are legit classics of cinema I love each one of them.

My heart truly belongs, however, to lunatic outliers on the order of King Frat (1979), Zapped! (1982), Joysticks (1983), Screwballs (1983), The Party Animal (1984), and Hamburger: The Motion Picture (1986)

  What’s next? Care to spill any upcoming ideas?

Back in 2015, I announced Teen Movie Hell way earlier than I should have. Lesson learned. There’s more to come, but I’m playing it close to the coconut buttons of my Hawaiian shirt.

 The man himself 

  www.teenmoviehell.com

https://www.bazillionpoints.com/product/pre-order-teen-movie-hell-the-crucible-of-coming-of-age-comedies-from-animal-house-to-zapped-by-mike-mcbeardo-mcpadden/

 Here’s my review of the book, posted earlier in the month

https://daggerzine.tumblr.com/post/184504282732/teen-movie-hell-a-crucible-of-coming-of-age

[thebeerlibrary-blog]

WASTE NOT, GRAIN NOT

From beer to boar and back again

Words by Ben Addicott / Photography by Kirsty Burge

Quick question, readers. What do you reckon this...

Has to do with this?

Well, if you’re not sure don’t worry because we’re going to tell you. Incidentally, this blog ties neatly into our last, so if you haven’t read it (plug plug) why not do so now.

...

Ok. So now you’re all caught up, you’ll be well aware that brewing has a long tradition of making the most. Historically, brewing was zero waste before zero waste was a thing. Good yeast can be transferred between brews and less good yeast can be made into food. Cold water used as a coolant is saved for the next brew and spent grains… well you’ve probably know where we’re going with this.

Spent grains is the brewers’ name for what’s left over after a mash. In order to make beer, brewers extract as much sugar as possible from their grain, but once this is done the grain itself is left over. A lot of it. Even at the conservative scale of The Totnes Brewing Co, a typical brew will use around 50kg of malted grain. Brewing four times a week that’s 200kg of waste, and we’re no fans of waste. Luckily there’s a long standing solution. We don’t want our spent grain but we know some four legged folk who do. 

Enter Alan. 

For the last few months, our spent grains have been going to supplement the diet of Alan’s rare breed pigs. While we’d all seen and, in fact, talked to Alan, we had yet to meet his herd. So, we thought, what better excuse for a TTBC excursion.

Our away team consisted of The Captain (Richard), The Headbrewer (Gary), Head Writer (Me), and The Secretary of Social Media (Kirsty, who’s holding the camera). After donning our most convincing farming attire, we set off to meet the pigs.

It would be hard to imagine a better place for a pig to find itself than Beenleigh Copse. Perched on a hill on the outskirts of Harberton, the farm surveys a picture perfect Devon landscape, dotted with cottages and fellow farms. Given the bountiful good grace of a crisp winter morning, we collectively toy with dropping this whole brewing nonsense and joining the farmers. Until Alan helpful describes the mud-caked, wind-whipped challenges of feeding pigs on a less clement day. 

That said, the pigs are certainly charming. For obvious reasons, the young ones, destined for plates, don’t get names. But we meet Cabbage, a three year old sow, as she wonders around on the hunt for food. Now her piglets have dropped the -let and left off weaning, she’s due for a move and, to reduce the stress, has been given free reign of the farm. Alan tells us that the farm’s boar is called Davey Brown and the other two sows are known as Orange and Briar. We’ll meet them soon.

But first things first. Never one to pass up the opportunity to inspect some grain, Gary inquired about the pigs regular feed: biodynamic grain, mixed with pig nuts and peas to boost the protein and thereby the pigs.

While not certified, Alan’s farming practices are generally organic or better. He explains the odd bind put on small producers. “Getting certified costs about a grand a year. We’re always a bit aggrieved that we have to call ourselves organic when it’s actually the pesticide farmers who should call themselves pesticide farmers.” They’re also debating whether to stick with the certified biodynamic grain or switch to local producers. As with anything done properly, there are always hidden confusions to master. Either way, after a sample, Gary approved.

Just behind us was the farrowing stall where the sows come to give birth to their piglets. Kirsty enquires as to litter size. “Commercial breeds will go to 16 or 18,” says Alan, “and then they’ll eat two or three because they can’t feed them.” Taking a moment to digest that, if you’ll pardon the expression, we’re heartened to hear that things are a bit different at Beenleigh. “Ours, because they’re rare breed, will do 7-12.” 

Which, I think you’ll agree, sounds more sensible. But enough chat, the pigs were waiting.

While spent grain is a welcome supplement for the pigs, Alan explains, it is only a supplement. Given that we’re putting out 200kg a week, that struck us as surprising. That was, until we met Davy Brown.

As big as that pig looks in that picture, you’ll have to trust me when I say, it’s even bigger than that. Davy seemed to enjoy the meal, though his somewhat rugged eating style meant that a good portion of the grain ended up in the mud rather than his mouth.

So taken were we with this mighty boar that we resolved to mark the meeting in some way. And brewers know the best way to mark any occasion is with a beer. Hopefully you agree, because Gary’s been busying himself at the brewkit and we’re glad to announce that the resulting beer is a corker. Named for our porky pal, Davy Brown is a full flavoured Smoked Porter coming in at 5.4% ABV. It’s oh so nearly ready, so you won’t have to wait long to see it on the bar. 

With the meal finished and our minds full of fascinating new information, we decided it was really time to let our host return to his work. But before we bid our last farewell, Kirsty took the chance to pitch a pet idea of hers. We certainly can’t promise anything, but there’s a chance you might see another Beenleigh Copse product arriving at TTBC. If you’re a fan of pork scratchings you might want to cross your fingers, for fear of jinxing it we’ll say no more.

If you’d like to follow the Beenleigh Copse story further then check out their Instagram page. And if your a restauranteur looking for the finest pork around then feel free to give Alan a bell on 07736777533.

[abybweisse]

According to your Mother3 theory, what are the most upcoming events in the manga? Can you predict, in which circumstances we'll see Undertaker again in our time? Remember the coachman who brought the real Ciel to the country house? Many of us included you suggested that it was Undertaker. But how it fits with your assumption that the queen is behind everything, and that Undertaker even secretly penetrated into the rCiel's bedroom?

The idea of Undertaker being the coachman who drove real Ciel (Lord Sirius) and his butler (Lord Polaris) around doesn’t mesh well with my Mother3 theory well, no. But there are two possible explanations that could bring this back in line with the theory.

The first is that it could be someone impersonating Undertaker, and we only see this person from the back, and from some distance… the same way whoever answers the door (Soma, in this case) will see him. Just enough to give the *impression* that it’s Undertaker driving the carriage.

The second is that it really is Undertaker, and he’s being coerced, somehow, into helping the sect. It’s just that when he gets the chance, he sneaks around and does things to sabotage their efforts. And this is the version that actually fits best with Mother3 theory, since Dr. Andonuts had been coerced into helping the Pigmasks and King Porky. But he hid in garbage cans (rubbish bins) in the lab and found ways to help Lucas defeat the Pigmasks and the king. The only thing that’s hard for me to believe about this scenario is the idea that Undertaker could be coerced into anything by anyone… unless it’s because his own grandson (cough cough) is involved, and he’s trying to protect what’s “his”. So, perhaps he is “helping” to gain easier access to real Ciel, but he’s hindering whenever he can. The only other way I can see him being talked into working with them is if the person truly in charge is somehow stronger than him. An angel? A… “superior”?

According to the theory, some things will need to happen, but the details of exactly when, where, how, and why (and even to some extent who) are up for grabs. However, I’ll put forth some of it. And some of this can already be found by searching my blog for #mother3 predictions.

1. Our earl and Sebastian need to confront Undertaker and learn the true importance of those lockets. In Mother3, Lucas and his pals came upon Dr. Andonuts by accident, but our earl and Sebastian might actively seek Undertaker out. Undertaker should give them *some* sort of information that can help them defeat the queen and her servants, even if it seems like minor intel. Here, Undertaker fills the role of Mother3’s Nippolyte, the eccentric Tazmily Village gravedigger. Nippolyte handed Lucas a “Courage Badge” and said it was something Lucas’ father always “treasured”. It’s later revealed to be the legendary Franklin Badge (once a Mr. Saturn polishes it). It reflects/deflects electrical/lightning attacks….

2. According to the Mother2 “overlay” in the theory, our earl (and Sebastian) will have a confrontation with Soma, and it should end with Soma’s defeat (but probably not death). It might involve some invention Soma got (or stole) from Sieglinde. This would go with the Mother2 incident where Ness and his pals confront Pokey Minch, who had stolen a prototype from Dr. Andonuts and then somehow got the doc to provide him with a *spider leg mobility mech* that’s *weaponized*. Here, Dr. Andonuts’ parallel is Sieglinde. The theory states that Dr. Andonuts’ role is split into two and filled by Undertaker (Bizarre Dolls vs Fascinating Chimera, and possibly being manipulated by the monarch) and Sieglinde Sullivan (inventions [like the spider legs] and obviously being manipulated by the monarch). Really, don’t be surprised if the next time we or our earl sees Soma, that Soma is sporting some invention that he somehow acquired from Sieglinde. Like the time traveling prototype Pokey stole, hopefully it will malfunction somehow or cause lasting side effects. (Sorry, Soma, but it would just make the parallel stronger.)

3. Sieglinde might also be able to give our earl important intel, since she’s openly working for the queen. Some of the stuff the sect is using might even be based on her own blueprints or designs. Again, a Dr. Andonuts parallel.

4. Sieglinde and Undertaker should both get some sort of revenge against the queen. This could merely be by helping our earl, or they could also get more direct revenge. Dr. Andonuts manages to seal King Porky into a chamber (a capsule) that cannot be opened from the inside or from the outside. King Porky is stuck in there for eternity. Dr. Andonuts playfully rolls the spherical capsule around as he explains how it’s not just protecting the king; it’s also trapping him. If Sieglinde and Undertaker end up working together against the queen, that would be absolute perfection, to me.

5. Our earl and some others (I suspect Sebastian, Gregory Violet, and Edward… with or without Lizzie) should run into real Ciel again, later, and the only person able to confront him head-on should be our earl. The others will either be injured or occupied by fights of their own. Sebastian might be too busy fighting some supernatural/preternatural being, like a reaper, angel, or demon. Our earl might not have the heart to fight, much like when confronting Madam Red, his aunt. Back then, Sebastian was fighting Grelle; this time it’s unlikely to be Grelle and more-likely to be Lord Polaris (whoever he is), John Brown, or Undertaker. Those lockets might really come in handy then… just like Lucas’ father’s “Courage Badge” (Franklin Badge) passed to him by the eccentric gravedigger (Nippolyte) saved Lucas from an attack by *his* dead and reanimated older mirror twin brother, Claus….

I’ll add to this later, but I have to save this and take care of other business for a while.