TediVillasor.com

The passing of an artist

July 3, 2010.

How time flies when you are busy with the everyday happenings that make up one’s life.

I am no different.

Well, as I was going about some research online, I was suddenly reminded of the 2nd death anniversary of Aspen MLT Inc. founder Michael Turner.

Here is a tribute I wrote two years ago.

In Memory of Michael Layne Turner (April 21, 1971 – June 27, 2008)

Michael Turner.

Much has already been detailed with his eight-year battle with chondrosarcoma, so this tribute would basically be one that celebrates his life.

Early history

From what I recall, Turner and a family member took a year off (commonly known as a “gap year” in the United States) before entering college to pursue medicine.  The duo decided to move closer to the beach as Turner had a loved being around water despite living all the way in Crossville, Tennessee.  During this time, the pair waited on tables to make ends meet and soaked up the sun and waves whenever they could.

Eventually, Turner–a gifted artist– turned to the comic book industry to provide supplementary income.  He eventually dropped out from school and immersed himself in his craft.  Among his most notable works at this stage of his career was the co-creation, covers, and interiors of Top Cow’s Witchblade.

By the turn of the century, Turner had gone full circle and founded his own company–Aspen MLT Inc. which was bannered by several of his creations: Ekos, Soulfire, and Fathom—the latter being a story of a heroine who is constantly in the water.

Fathom was one of Michael Turner’s finest creations.  It is also possible that he may have lived vicariously through her (Fathom) as cancer treatments had left him unable to engage in his true passion—surfing and diving.

In 2004, Turner signed several deals with giants D.C. Comics and Marvel Comics to either write, do cover illustrations, or interiors of some of the industries most popular characters: Superman, Batman, The Flash, Wonder Woman, Captain America, Spider-Man, Wolverine, etc.  Turner was also responsible for bringing back into continuity Kara Zor-El, who is better known as Supergirl.

Meeting the man

In 2006, I had the opportunity to meet Michael Turner at the Wizard World Tour in Los Angeles, California.  The lines were long, our meeting was brief, but in that short time, he was gracious and generous—signing everything that I brought—including the Turner inspired Supergirl shirt I was wearing.

Michael Turner passed away yesterday at the Santa Monica Hospital in California due to complications brought about by his bout with cancer.

He was 37.

Michael Layne Turner (April 21, 1971 – June 27, 2008).

It took awhile but I was finally able to find the time to update my planned Villasor Collection website.

Thank you Flash and Tumblr.com for helping me get this “work in progress” started.

“It might extend Steve’s career five or six years if Dragić keeps playing like that.” – Greg Popovich (San Antonio Spurs Head Coach)

I remember when I used to have the time to watch almost every NBA game scheduled for the week on television.

But work, coupled with our version of an NBA channel moving into a pay-channel format, has limited my options to enjoy NBA Basketball.

But not today.

Game 3: 2009-2010 Western Conference Semi-Finals – Phoenix Suns @ San Antonio Spurs

As I tuned in, I see Suns backup point guard Goran Dragić throw up one of the most awkward three point attempts ever and it goes in!  Subsequent replays showed that Dragić had intended to initiate contact from the outstretched arm of his defender (most likely San Antonio Spurs guard George Hill) and go to the free-throw line for three shots.  But he got something better—the three-point basket and a foul—for the possibility of a rare four-point play.

The television announcers then fill me in on game.

The San Antonio Spurs were down by about nine points after the 24 year-old Dragić’s And 1 free-throw and were playing catch-up basketball.  The Spurs had given up a considerable first-half lead with the heady play of Goran Dragić —who spelled Suns starter Stephen John Nash with about two or three minutes left in the third quarter.

After a time out several possessions later, I see the Dragić masterpiece unfolding through several replays: post up-and-under moves, jump shots, drives into the lane.

The native of Ljubljana, Slovenia was certainly in the zone.

Being in “The Zone”

In their book entitled “Flow In Sports” (1999) by Susan Jackson and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi describe “The Zone” as a heightened level of performance that every athlete aspires to reach.  It is a moment that cannot be attained at a whim—rather an instant that an athlete prepares for when that moment does arise.

This is one of the reasons why athletes practice.

So that they know what they have to do when they are fortunate enough to be in “the zone.”

That special moment wherein “everything seems to fall into place” and “they can do no wrong.”

All Dragić in the 4th

In less than 18 minutes, the 6’4’’ Goran Dragić was simply on fire.

He hit 9 of 11 shots on an assortment of hard drives to the basket, step-backs, post-moves, and cold-blooded three-point shots (Dragić connected on 4-4 from downtown in the 4^th).

It was a performance that allowed the Phoenix Suns to stick with their second unit—comprised of Leandrinho Barbosa, Jared Dudley, Louis Amundson, Channing Frye, and Dragić —for most of the fourth quarter.

On a night where Suns center Amar’e Stoudemire only scored 7 points.  Dragić, who coming into Game 3 had only averaged 7.9 points in the regular season and 5.6 points in the playoffs, had a perfect game (outside of those two missed foul shots and heat check jumpers) to lead his team to victory.

Here is his stat line for the game:

Goran Dragić – 17:27 minutes, 10-13 FG%, 5-5 3PFG%, 1-3 FT%, 3 (1) rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block and no turnovers.

Arrival into The Valley of the Sun

Touted as the second-best point guard after Memphis’ Derrick Rose in the 2008 NBA Draft, Goran Dragić impressed Suns’ Director of Player Personnel Todd Quinter and Suns’ senior vice president of basketball operations David Griffin with his speed and quickness in a camp held in Treviso, Italy, two weeks prior to the NBA Draft.

The Arizona Republic’s Paul Coro shares that the Phoenix Suns were ready to take Dragić with the 15^th pick in the draft had Stanford center Robin Lopez not been available.  Fortunately, the Suns were still able to snag their man after working a deal with the San Antonio Spurs to trade second-round picks (An agreement that involved giving the Spurs $500,000 and a future second-round pick that turned out to be Pittsburgh’s DeJuan Blair).

After drafting Dragić, the Suns then bought out the point guard’s contract with his Spanish ACB club CB Murcia and rewarded him with a lucrative $7.6 million dollar contract spread over four years.

Tonight, that financial investment certainly paid off.

Category: Movies
Genre: Action & Adventure

“I am Iron Man. The suit and I are one.” – Anthony Edward “Tony” Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.)

As the comic pages turn to reveal the famed Marvel Logo, we hear the voice of Anthony Edward “Tony” Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) and gradually news snippets of him flubbing through his Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division (S.H.I.E.L.D.) cover story before announcing to the world that he is indeed Iron Man.

It is breaking news that reaches millions of viewers worldwide.

Some respond in cheers, while others with questions.

But to disgraced and dying physicist Anton Vanko (Yevgeni Lazarev), it represents yet another reminder of what should have been his legacy, and not that of the Stark family.

Anton Vanko passes, but not before leaving his son—physicist Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke)—with the knowledge necessary to bring the Stark legacy to its knees.

The opening credits roll as Anton proceeds to create a miniature arc reactor based on the 1960’s designs of Anton Vanko and Tony’s father, Howard Stark (John Slattery).

Six months pass…

Set six months after the events of Iron Man, a number of themes have been set into motion by Director Jon Favreau and screenwriter Justin Theroux.  Among them are Tony’s failing health (a fallout of the crippled arc reactor technology that stops shrapnel imbedded in his chest from reaching his heart), his increasing dependence on alcohol as a short-term solution to pain, flippant behavior that he deems philanthropical (e.g., donating his entire art collection) or stimulating (e.g., deciding to drive his Grand Prix race car minutes before the start of the Monte Carlo race), the ascension of Virginia “Pepper” Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) as CEO of Stark Industries, the pilfering of the Mark II armor by Lt. Col James “Rhodey” Rhodes (Don Cheadle) and its evolution into the Variable Threat Response Battle Suit known as War Machine, the laughable and youthful antagonist in Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell), S.H.I.E.L.D. undercover agent Natalia Romanova a.k.a. The Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), and the expanding roles of Colonel Nicholas Joseph “Nick” Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and surprisingly driver Happy Hogan (Director Jon Favreau) who got about five or six big scenes in this sequel.

Hey! It pays to be the king!

This is just for starters.

Enjoy the movie guys!

I’ll flesh this out in the coming days!

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Now playing: AC/DC – Back In Black
via FoxyTunes

For this exuberant price tag (a death sentence in this economic climate), Bridgeport, Conneticut’s own John Mayer had better not bring any of that heavy blues or Battlefield Studies experimental stuff onto Philippine Soil.

That would be just…wrong…

Mayer invades Manila, Philippines on May 16, 2010.

Addendum:

Around this time last week, I got word that the John Mayer concert would be canceled due to “unforeseen scheduling conflicts” (which I sincerely doubt!).

In my mind, the exuberant ticket prices had a lot to do with it.

Mayer “may now” invade Manila, Philippines on October 1, 2010.

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Now playing: Incognito – Don’t Turn My Love Away
via FoxyTunes

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” is the first squeal of director Oliver Stone (Platoon, JFK, Wall Street) and stars Michael Douglas (Wall Steet, Fatal Attraction), Shai LeBeouf (Transformers, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull), Susan Sarandon, Josh Brolin, Carey Mulligan, Eli Wallach, Frank Langella, and Charlie Sheen who will briefly reprise his role as Bud Fox.

Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps opens in cinemas on April 21, 2010.

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Now playing: Incognito – Can’t Get You Out of My Head (Latin Project Remix)
via FoxyTunes

Category: Movies
Genre: Drama

Just wanted everyone to know that a Bruce Campbell sighting (he portrayed eccentric director William Roberts) was the only reason why I watched this “what if?” production.

Now down to business.

November 22, 1963.

Some say that the events that transpired in Dallas, Texas not only marked the end of the campaign of President Kennedy and devastated a nation, but also brought forth (among other things) the uncontested advancement of United States troops on Vietnam soil.

In 92 minutes, Director and Writer Robert Dyke explores just that possibility, “What if President John Fitzgerald Kennedy had not died on that sunny afternoon in 1963?” A non-linear roller coaster follows with stops through time in the 60’s, 70’s, 90’s, 2000, and 2001. It’s quite an adventure (and a story…if this is your line of interest), filled with riveting details that is sure to discourage bathroom breaks—least you would be willing to forgo chunks of important information that piece this whole production together.

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Now playing: Global Communication – 5:23
via FoxyTunes

Category: Movies
Genre: Horror

Directed by: Darren Lynn Bousman
Screenplay by: Patrick Melton & Marcus Dunstan
Story by: Patrick Melton, Marcus Dunstan, & Thomas H. Fenton

Setting: A morgue. Saw IV opens with a pathologist mouthing the words into a portable recorder, “Subject’s name is John Kramer. 52 year old male; Caucasian. He’s seen better days.”

Word of caution boys and girls, I was eating a bowl of cereal as this was going on…learn from my mistake. Don’t!

After watching the SAW Trilogy, I have grown to admire the character of engineer John Kramer (played by actor Tobin Bell) and his twisted quest to provide others with a sense of realization as to the value of their existence. Sure, there are the ingenious “traps and tricks and plot twist” but who is really John Kramer? What was he prior to his days as the media christened Jigsaw? Did he have a family?

Saw IV gives us all the answers.

In an interview with Wizard Entertainment prior to the release of the aforementioned film, Bell gives fans some insight into his Kramer character.

“The world has changed and Jigsaw’s troubled by a lot of things. He has one foot in Nietzsche and the other foot in today’s New York Times, and then another foot in Jesus, and one more in Shakespeare. He listens to Mahler, Beethoven and Mozart.”

Bell added:

“So as long as we have writers and directors and the cast and crew that we’ve had…I mean, the crew is amazing. We’ve had the same director of photography since the first “Saw,” the same scenic designer since “Saw II,” the prop guys, gaffers, our sound guy, all those guys are the same guys. It’s just such a pleasure to work collaboratively with a team like that.”

Familiarity. Cohesion. Perspective. And a great product.

SAW IV has got to be synonymous with success.

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Now playing: Shai – During the Storm
via FoxyTunes

Category: Movies (Direct-to-video)
Genre: Animation

14 years after—arguably—the most publicized and grieved “death” in the comic book industry, comes the first PG-13 direct-to-video animated adaptation of “The Death of Superman” entitled Superman/Doomsday.

Directed by Lauren Montgomery, Brandon Vietti, and Bruce Timm (the latter who was also responsible for other animated projects such as: Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series, The New Batman Adventures, Batman Beyond, Justice League, and Justice League Unlimited), Superman/Doomsday is an unprecedented animated movie having been conveyed a PG-13 rating by the Motion Picture Association of America for its action violence. Superman/Doomsday pushes the envelope in its interpretation of the death of the Man of Steel, his rebirth, and eventual ascension back as the guardian of the city of Metropolis.

Actors James Marsters (Buffy The Vampire Slayer) and Adam Baldwin (Turistas) take over from Superman: The Animated Series voice talents’ Clancy Brown and Tim Daly and give a “new voice” to the maniacal and cunning Lex Luthor and Superman. Actress Anne Heche (Six Days Seven Nights; Psycho (1998); and Men In Trees) seems to also hold her own as reporter Lois Lane.

Overall, if you are willing to divest yourselves from established comic book cannon, this DVD is highly recommended!

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Now playing: Hiromi’s Sonicbloom – Softly As In A Morning Sunrise
via FoxyTunes

Category: Movies
Genre: Horror

Originally proposed as a short film by neophyte filmmaker Michael Bartlett to Director Kevin Gates, The Zombie Diaries was eventually made into a non-linear feature length film using an ensemble of relatively unknown actors and an impressive make-up crew.

At the onset, The Zombie Diaries seems to pay homage to other horror films as Directors Gates and Bartlett take elements from celebrated cult classics such as “The Blair Witch Project” (filmed as a documentary using a hand-held video camera), “Night of the Living Dead” (Zombies inspired by Director George A. Romero’s interpretation of zombies), and “Shaun of the Dead” (a British themed zombie flick) in creating their fictional post-apocalyptic zombie infested rural England.

Overall, I found great difficulty in watching the Gates and Bartlett opus in a single sitting, as I would constantly get migraines brought about by the camera’s rapid movement. On top of this inconvenience, character development also left much to be desired.

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Now playing: Rick James – Ghetto Life
via FoxyTunes