This week: It’s Conan time! Audra talks Ewok orgies. And we get down and deep on two more Firefly episodes: Out of Gas and Ariel. We also run down the week in geek, including KITT’s Kwik Fit commercial debut, Felicia Day’s Wolf Hunter gig, Twlilight’s eclipse of Potter in the most-banned-book battles, and Shrek’s last-minute 3D jaunt.
Film project: Ewok orgies. So let it be written, so let it be done.
Lucas will never allow it.
Of course she does…
Jub jub, indeed.
Audra, if the education thing does not work out, you have a backup career. Spanish language soccer (football) announcer:
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAL!!! GOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAL!
NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWS!
I’m totally okay with a 3 hour podcast:cool:
Agreed, let’s strap them to those chair and let them talk until they fall asleep 
and hook up a red bull drip
Cool podcast thing as always, and now I have to carry around a pocket notebook to make notes on while I listen to the cast.
Chuck talking about the Black Panther’s means of succession, that anyone can challenge him to take up the role. Really reminded me of Afro Samurai. Basically, in that world, there is a system of headbands (#1 #2 #3 #4 etc) and the ‘best’ warrior in the world has the number 1, and everybody is always trying to move up in rank. The only way to do it is to kill the person with the headband above you. The whole series is about the main character (titular afro samurai, voiced by Samuel L Jackson). ALso has a lot to do about revenge and not letting go of your past, which ties into Conan a bit.
The other thought that came to mind about Conan, (just listening as I’ve yet to find a copy of either Conan while in China), was where that comparison can be made. He isn’t like Oedipus at all, Oedipus is doomed from the get-go, and there’s really this question of fate and free will and prophecy. Beowulf is closer, but not motivated by vengeance. And I really have to say that Beowulf losing in the end is a lot different than what I was hearing about Conan. Yes Beowulf becomes a king then dies in battle with a monster, but he’s gotten OLD in the mean time, and he only dies because all his men desert him and he has to face a Dragon on his own. And he still kills the monster.
Tying the Conan and the past bit to another show I’ve watched through recently, especially considering Sean’s remarks about how Conan could have walked away a number of times, it is worth looking at Cowboy Bebop, which is a futuristic bounty hunting show centering around a small crew on an old beat-up ship who hunt (and mostly fail) various bounties. All of the characters have to deal with/are confronted by their pasts, and how they deal with it has a great influence on what they do in the future and how their fate comes out. Spike, one of the bounty hunters, used to be an enforcer for what is essentially the solar system mob, who got out by ‘dying’. Yet, throughout the show, he comes face to face again and again with his past and fighting his own battles. The final episode of the series has him going again in a final battle with the syndicate because he won’t just walk away and live his life. He says that he’s not going there to die, but to see if he’s alive, but I really think the case could be made that he isn’t living in the present, which is why he’s hung up on this. Similarly, Conan can’t let go of the things that have happened in the past, so he can’t find happiness in the present in just being.
Got to throw in again that Ariel is my favorite of the Firefly episodes, along with Out of Gas. And if I ever want to audition mechanics for my ship, being able to diagnose engine problems while in the heat of the ‘moment’ is definitely a great qualification 
. Kaylee is definitely my second favorite character on the show, after Book. And while Sean may look for a shield-maiden warrior woman, I’d take Kaylee first.
Talking about Serenity as a character, and then trying to make the jump between that ship and the Enterprise is a bit of a leap for me. Serenity has personality, the same way an old car has personality, and they don’t get that personality without history. Starfleet has regulations, check-ups, refits, and new missions that keep the Enterprise up to date and always in tune (under Jordi). With Scotty, they’re out for five plus years with little leave time, constantly having to make repairs as they go, and he works a lot more closely with having to make things work on the spot. I think it would be more fair to compare Serenity to the Millennium Falcon. Both are small, cargo ships. Both are used for smuggling. Both are famous/infamous for their mechanical issues. The Falcon has guns, which I consider a great plus. Both ships are their respective crew’s real homes. Serenity is a lot more personified than the Falcon, but I think that may do more with the crew than the ship.
Audra… Ewok orgies… hangs head WHAT HAS BEEN SEEN CANNOT BE UNSEEN! Ahhh!
laughs
So I’m going to make it my goal to try to get a hold of Conan this week to try to catch up on things. At the worst, I’ll catch up on Wikipedia.
The soundtrack to Conan by Basil Poledouris deserves some special acknowledgement. That is an awesome tune.
I’ll keep an eye out for the “Krom has forsaken me” bumper sticker in the GWC store.
I said something similar when I lost at Risk once. During the game I was like “I will crush my enemies and listen to the lamentation of their women”.
Krom forsakes no man as long as that man is willing to fight for his life. He is the strength of Conan’s blade, the courage of Conan’s heart and the fear in the eyes of Conan’s enemies. Were Conan to require assistance from Krom then he is rewarded with his greatest challenges so that when he might overcome them and learn how truly great he is. That is the power of Krom.
The perfect example is the buzzard. Right when Conan is at his weakest he is still fighting and then what happens? Dudes show up and rescue him that’s what. You saying Krom didn’t do that!
Krom laughs at your four winds. Laughs from his mountain.
Be careful what you wish for…
http://www.zazzle.com/forsaken_me_bumper_sticker-128638836954903260
We’ll see if Zazzle knows who Crom is.
Um…isn’t it spelled Crom? At least it is in the Howard stories I’ve read. :o
Edit - ebook example http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks06/0600811h.html
Hmmm, it seems you should never trust your spelling when notes were scribbled down after 3am… ah well. Fixed.
LOL…we could have considered it the GWCification of Conan’s God.
I’ve always wondered about this… the lyrics for the Metallica songs, “Unforgiven” and “Harvester of Sorrow”…don’t they describe Conan’s childhood?
Out of Gas is my favorite episode of Firefly. I love the way we get to see all of the characters at their best, all of the characters at their worst, and see how some these characters met. I also love the structure of the episode, the cutting back and forth between the beginning, the end, and the flashbacks. Don’t forget the final flashback, where Mal “meets” Serenity. (And the twist, that the man talking in the flashback wasn’t talking about Serenity). Its bloody brilliant.
Now I’ve made myself want to go and watch it again when I have work to do, good job self.
Unforgiven definitely sounds like Conan. Harvester though? Iunno
This isn’t Austrian Death Machine’s best Schwarzenneger song – they’re all Schwarz songs – but it’s definitely about Conan: