Did The Wizard of Oz inspire Lord of the Rings? "The first film version of L. Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz was released in the summer of 1939, less than a month before World War II officially began. Though started as early as 1937, The Lord of the Rings was largely composed during the war years, but not published until somewhat later. Therefore, it is by no means impossible that J.R.R. Tolkien saw the magnificent MGM movie before he wrote most of his magnum opus. Could Oz have influenced his tale somehow, consciously or unconsciously?"
posted by Joey Michaels on Apr 7, 2005 - 35 comments

My Little Justice League "Here you can enjoy the sight of your favorite heroes--well, MY favorite heroes, really, but maybe some of yours will overlap--as ponies."
posted by Joey Michaels on Oct 21, 2004 - 14 comments

Spiderman Reviews Crayons (via YesAnd.com)
posted by Joey Michaels on Aug 31, 2004 - 9 comments

The Late Graham Chapman and the curse of Yellowbeard. Yar, don't be making fun of a pirate captain, even a fictional one. The curse of the film eventually claimed the lives of actors Graham Chapman, Madeline Kahn, Peter Cook, James Mason, Spike Milligan and Marty Feldman - the only one of them who died while filming the actual movie. Harry Nilsson wrote an unused ditty for the flick and soon visited Davy Jones' locker. It didn't exactly do wonders for the careers of Cheech and Chong or Martin Hewitt, who played Yellowbeard's son. Watch it and feel like you too have been cursed. (More Inside, Yar!)
posted by Joey Michaels on Sep 19, 2003 - 22 comments

I'm Michael Jackson - No, I'm the real Jackson. All you other Michael Jacksons are just imitators. So won't the real King of Pop please stand up please stand up please stand up.
(Warning: Angelfire and Geocities links = extreme pop-up action)
_{With apologies to Eminem. Deep apologies.}
posted by Joey Michaels on Sep 9, 2003 - 9 comments

Avast, ye scurvy dogs! It's the pirate image archive! Here there be dozens of period prints of privateers! Highlights include monk riding, pirates forcing a man to drink to excess, and, of course, a fine selection of actual pirates. Craving more rich pirate booty? Visit The Pirate's Hold, The Pirates Site and, a personal favorite, The Pirates of the Spanish Main. Yar!
posted by Joey Michaels on Jul 8, 2003 - 34 comments

A real man would stay. But of course you're merely an inadequate simulation. Yes, its robot improv! Who needs a human brain to be funny? Certainly not these rascally robots! Titter to the sample scripts! Chortle at the architecture overview! Nod your head sagely and pretend you understand the paper, "Robot Improv: Using Drama to Create Believable Agents" (MSWord doc)!
posted by Joey Michaels on Jun 20, 2003 - 2 comments

The Republic of Cascadia. "The former American states of Oregon and Washington and the former Canadian province of British Columbia must join together as a sovereign nation. Only then can we have self-determination and take our rightful place in the Global Community."
posted by Joey Michaels on Feb 23, 2003 - 35 comments