CasselbloggyCasselbloggyhttp://iancasselberry.com/blog/2013-05-17T19:24:40ZSquarespaceRemembering when 'The Office' was a pretty big deal herehttp://iancasselberry.com/blog/2013/5/16/remembering-when-the-office-was-a-pretty-big-deal-here.htmlIan Casselberry2013-05-16T13:00:00Z2013-05-16T13:00:00Z

With the series finale of NBC's The Office airing Thursday night (May 16), I've been getting a little bit reflective over how big a role the show played in my life at one point.

I don't know how many people reading this will remember, but I used to co-host a podcast dedicated to The Office titled That's What She Said. The show was created by my friend Matt Sommer, who had been dabbling in podcasting and decided to do his own thing before Season 3. 

This was — wow, has it been that long? — between 2006 and 2007. I was a casual fan, curious about an American adaptation of a British TV show. But I did get pulled in toward the end of Season 2, largely because of the dynamic between Jim and Pam. 

Matt asked me if I would be his co-host, astutely realizing that two people talking to each other, rather than a single host talking out to an unseen audience, made for a better podcast. I had a little bit of experience as a guest, thanks to Mike McClary and The Detroit Tigers Podcast. 

I ended up doing approximately 25 episodes, covering all of Season 2. When I love a TV show, I watch it very closely, constantly rewinding or rerunning an episode a couple of times. The Office became that kind of show for me, because we scrutinized every detail of every episode. The grudging running joke was that our podcast ran two to three times as long as an actual show. 

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But that's a testament to the work Matt put into each podcast, designing the format of the show and each individual segment and creating the intro bumpers for those segments. Even when he played the "tests" for me, it was pretty clear he had a good podcast on his hands.

Then there's the editing. Oh, God — the editing. I love podcasts and podcasting. I wish I was doing one myself. But editing audio is so tedious. 

I can only imagine editing was even more of a chore with me on the show, fully taking advantage of not being on live and cutting myself off when I couldn't complete a thought. Or just zoning out when we played a clip from that week's show. It's amazing that I can actually talk live for 10-15 minutes on the radio these days. 

Anyway, I decided not to do the podcast for Season 3. During the summer hiatus, I focused on writing at Bless You Boys and eventually realized that I couldn't blog about baseball full-time and devote some four hours a week to recording That's What She Said with Matt. Well, I suppose I could have. But I would have gone insane, and my work on either the blog or podcast would have suffered. 

I know Matt wasn't happy with my decision to leave the podcast. Having to find a new co-host wasn't easy for him.

But he found a good one in Kevin Crossman, and I think the show was much better with him because he brought another dose of creativity and passion to it. They covered another five seasons of The Office before closing the curtain last year. I don't know if they plan to do one last podcast for the series finale. I'm sure the listeners would love it if they did. 

I fell out of watching The Office after that second season. It's not that I didn't enjoy the show, but once I didn't have to for the podcast, it kind of fell off my radar. Ask my friends. Shows fall off my radar all the time, much to their frustration if we both shared interest in a particular program. But any incentive to go back was probably shelved when Steve Carell left the show. 

I did intend to tune in for the retrospective and series finale Thursday night. But a game between the Detroit Tigers and Texas Rangers featuring stud pitchers Justin Verlander and Yu Darvish was on at the same time. How appropriate. But I did DVR The Office. 

Actually, the baseball game turned out to be a dud, so I did watch the last 10-15 minutes of the series finale. What I watched was poignant, generating the kind of emotion that only comes with a show and set of characters that have been together for nine seasons. I look forward to watching the rest of it. 

So here's a slow clap for The Office. Maybe I'll go back and watch some of those past seasons someday. If so, I might just listen to That's What She Said along with those episodes. The podcast certainly made the show a lot more fun for me. 

]]>Space Oddity? How about Little Niece's oddity?http://iancasselberry.com/blog/2013/5/16/space-oddity-how-about-little-nieces-oddity.htmlIan Casselberry2013-05-16T11:00:00Z2013-05-16T11:00:00Z

By now, you've probably heard about Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield and the videos he's recorded from space. (If not, NY Mag's Daily Intelligencer has collected several of them in one post.) 

I don't know how, but while I was waiting in the car with Little Niece a couple of days ago, she started playing Hadfield's rendition of David Bowie's "Space Oddity."

I thought I was just giving her my iPhone to play with the PBS Kids app and watch Caillou. But then I hear "Ground control to Major Tom..." Hey, that's not Caillou. PBS Kids plays David Bowie? 

How did Little Niece just happen to pull up the internet's latest viral sensation? (OK, maybe she just opened the YouTube app.) What else could this kid be watching on my phone when I'm not paying attention? 

]]>Almost Human: Yeah, I might watch this showhttp://iancasselberry.com/blog/2013/5/15/almost-human-yeah-i-might-watch-this-show.htmlIan Casselberry2013-05-16T01:00:00Z2013-05-16T01:00:00Z

Perhaps it's not one of my best qualities, but when I look at the upcoming slates for the new TV fall seasons, I end up checking off the shows I think will be canceled first

However, I think FOX's Almost Human might have a shot. J.J. Abrams' name being on it seems promising. I dig Karl Urban. He's Bones McCoy and Judge Dredd! And the whole concept seems like a different take on the buddy cop dynamic with a sci-fi twist that we've seen in stuff like Robocop and Alien Nation. 

I think I might watch this show. Would you watch this show?

(via ... the deadline)

]]>Ender's Game: When to give up and just wait for the moviehttp://iancasselberry.com/blog/2013/5/14/enders-game-when-to-give-up-and-just-wait-for-the-movie.htmlIan Casselberry2013-05-14T23:00:00Z2013-05-14T23:00:00Z

My friend A. has been on me for years — years — to read Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game. 

I've purchased it. The novel taunts me from my bookshelf. I know it's a classic. I know I should read it.

Even a cashier at Greenlife (which is a local version of Whole Foods — at least it was until Whole Foods bought it, so now it's basically a Whole Foods) has gotten on my case to read Ender's Game.

She was one of those excessively talky cashiers who's nice to encounter when you're in a mood to have a conversation but annoying when you just want to buy your shit and get out of the store.

The first time, she asked me how I was doing; I asked her how she was doing. She told me she was happy because she just finished Ender's Game. I admitted I hadn't read it, which prompted a gasp and a finger-wag. 

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"You should read it," she said.

"I know," I said. "I've been meaning to for years." 

"You will not regret it."

I went home, reminded myself that A. has been telling me to read Ender's Game for years and rationalized that she might be hurt or a little pissed that I finally decided to start reading a book because a total stranger asked me to, rather than following the recommendation of a dear friend. 

So I didn't open the book. Out of consideration to A., who's only been telling me to read Ender's Game probably since I first met her. I think that was more than 15 years ago. 

Now a movie adaptation of the book is coming out. It's set for a Nov. 1 release. 

On one hand, that still gives me plenty of time to read the book. I always feel like a better person if I've read the source material before seeing an adaptation. Maybe so I can just say, "Ah, the book was better." As if anyone wouldn't guess that response. 

But honestly, as a writer, I'm fascinated by adaptation from book to movie. What did the screenwriters cut out of the story for time purposes? Are the characters any different? Above all, was the movie faithful to the book even if it didn't follow every word of the text? 

Over the years, however, I've come to believe such things might take me out of the movie-watching experience. Am I really enjoying the movie for what it is if I'm too busy thinking about the book? 

Of course, that's surely just a lazy rationalization for not reading. 

At this point, maybe I should just wait for the movie and judge that on its own merits. (By the way, that includes not holding a grudge against the film — or the book — because of Card's abhorrent views on homosexuality and same-sex marriage.) 

That approach worked out for me fine with Game of Thrones. A. has also nudged me many times to give George R.R. Martin's books a whirl, but I just never got around to it. Then HBO came along to help me out. Now A. and I can talk about the series!

Unfortunately, I haven't watched a single episode of Season 3 yet. And we're eight episodes in, with only two left to go. 

I am a terrible friend. 

]]>The Rock, not at his besthttp://iancasselberry.com/blog/2013/5/14/the-rock-not-at-his-best.htmlIan Casselberry2013-05-14T21:30:00Z2013-05-14T21:30:00Z

I hated Stephen Sommers' "Mummy" films. They were soulless CGI crapfests and Indiana Jones knockoffs. 

Just look at this scene from The Mummy Returns involving The Scorpion King. He happened to be played by The Rock, making his screen debut.

Well, sort of. His likeness was there, but the actual Dwayne Johnson wasn't. Unless he was running after Brendan Fraser and Arnold Vosloo in a motion-capture suit. 

Anyway, look how bad these CGI effects were. To be fair, the movie came out in 2001 and digital effects have come a long, long way in the past 12 years. But still... yeesh.

Did I already say soulless CGI crapfest? Ray Harryhausen could do scorpions so much better with his stop-motion creations. 

I also hated Sommers' "Mummy" movies because they had absolutely no resemblance to Universal's original Mummy film starring Boris Karloff. I was a big fan of the Universal monster flicks as a kid and was excited to see them remade, only to see Sommers ruin them with his schlock. Van Helsing probably drove the final stake in the coffin. 

Fortunately for him, The Rock escaped this humble debut and has become an international superstar, conquering both the professional wrestling and motion picture industries. 

How did this come up? Yahoo! Sports Dr. Saturday is doing a series on college football players who became famous. Did you know The Rock was once a defensive tackle for the University of Miami Hurricanes? Not being a football star ended up working out pretty well for him. 

]]>The drumbeat is getting louder for the Cleveland Indianshttp://iancasselberry.com/blog/2013/5/14/the-drumbeat-is-getting-louder-for-the-cleveland-indians.htmlIan Casselberry2013-05-14T18:30:00Z2013-05-14T18:30:00Z

Though I try to be objective in my baseball writing — and maybe try too hard sometimes — I am a Detroit Tigers fan. (You surely know that, if you're a regular reader or follow me online.) 

So it's not easy for me to say something nice about the Tigers' division rival, the Cleveland Indians. Yet that's exactly what I did in my latest post for The Outside Corner. 

But entering Tuesday's slate of games, the Tribe is a half-game behind the Tigers for first place in the AL Central. They're also a half-game behind the Baltimore Orioles and Boston Red Sox for a wild-card playoff spot. 

The Indians are 10-3 thus far through May, pushing themselves into playoff contention. That follows what had to be viewed as a relatively disappointing first month of the season, which left them with an 11-13 record and fourth-place standing in the division. 

Here is a link to the full article. 

Cleveland has held early leads in the AL Central in each of the past two years, only to collapse spectacularly once the season moved into June.

Yet I do think this year's edition of the Indians could be different. I'm not saying they'll beat out the Tigers, but I feel like the Tribe could hang in the race longer than they have. 

]]>What would movie special effects be without Ray Harryhausen?http://iancasselberry.com/blog/2013/5/7/what-would-movie-special-effects-be-without-ray-harryhausen.htmlIan Casselberry2013-05-07T20:00:00Z2013-05-07T20:00:00Z

I don't know if I could go so far as to call myself a Ray Harryhausen fan. I didn't deliberately seek out the films he worked on, study his career or anything like that.

However, he was responsible for the stop-motion monster effects on one of my favorite childhood movies, the original Clash of the Titans. 

I don't think I'll ever forget Perseus' fight with Medusa. The creature creeping in the dark — with the tentacles on her head writhing as she shot that lethal bow and arrow — had Young Ian shaking in his seat. 

Here's a YouTube clip with the scenes edited together. 

I'll also never forget Medusa's blood pouring out, which seemed like so much tomato sauce. 

Another scene I remember involved the giant scorpions. Between those monsters, Bubo the mechanical owl and the demonic Calibos, there was a lot for Harryhausen and his team to put on screen. It was pulled off masterfully, though.

Seriously — does anyone prefer the Louis Leterrier remake with its CGI effects to Harryhausen's stop-motion wizardry? Of course, the new one has Liam Neeson...

Actually, I can call myself a Ray Harryhausen fan if I got excited when I noticed that a restaurant in Monsters Inc. was called Harryhausen's, right? 

Ray Harryhausen passed away today at the age of 92. Rest in peace, sir. 

]]>The end of the Phillies as we know them?http://iancasselberry.com/blog/2013/5/7/the-end-of-the-phillies-as-we-know-them.htmlIan Casselberry2013-05-07T18:00:00Z2013-05-07T18:00:00Z

One of the most compelling recurring storylines in sports is the slow downslide from success into failure. 

Well, "failure" is probably too strong a word, but nothing lasts forever in sports. Athletes and teams who once dominated fall prey to age and decline, and eventually face physical deterioration in their skills that brings that prosperity to an end.

The Philadelphia Phillies have been one of the most successful teams in baseball for the past eight to 10 years, winning the World Series in 2008 and losing it in 2009. But that run seems to have come to an end, as I write about in my latest post for The Outside Corner.

Yet the Phillies have scored 119 runs, the fourth-lowest total in the National League. Their 149 runs allowed are the league's highest total. That -30 run differential is the NL's third-worst, behind only the Miami Marlins and Los Angeles Dodgers. Those are not the numbers typically associated with a playoff team. 

Here is a link to the full article.

An aging roster is now showing plenty of cracks and holes, developing them faster than general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. can patch them up.

This decline is embodied by pitcher Roy Halladay, once the best pitcher in MLB. But he may have finally succumbed to a shoulder injury that could end his career. It could be a sad end to what has been a great career. 

 

]]>Iron Man, Iron Man does whatever an iron canhttp://iancasselberry.com/blog/2013/5/4/iron-man-iron-man-does-whatever-an-iron-can.htmlIan Casselberry2013-05-04T15:00:00Z2013-05-04T15:00:00ZYes, I do believe this is how I'll be spending my Saturday afternoon.

If only The Ramones could have recorded that tune, as they did with the original Spider-Man cartoon theme song. This could've been even cooler. 

At the very least, it's better than the theme from the 1990s Iron Man cartoon.

I wonder if Robert Downey Jr. saw that and worried that he would have to grow a ridiculous mullet to play Tony Stark?

OK, let's end this with a classic.

]]>The life of a writerhttp://iancasselberry.com/blog/2013/5/3/the-life-of-a-writer.htmlIan Casselberry2013-05-03T17:30:00Z2013-05-03T17:30:00Z

Well, the life of a fiction writer anyway. 

Not that I would know, since it's been many, many years since I've submitted a short story to any contest or publication. I should probably get on that. 

I suppose this could also apply to magazine articles and essays, print or online. 

(via The Millions' Facebook page)

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