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From the Editor-in-Chief:
More Maniacal Changes
From the Graphics Editor:
The Night of the Multiple Messages
From the Editor-in-Chief:
More Maniacal changes
Sadly, I am not projecting myself into the past during Xena: Warrior Princess' heyday when in the latter years almost every other episode would test our sensibilities! No, I am talking about changes right here at Whoosh!. Sometimes I feel this website is older than dirt, but it has only been a little over 6 and a half years! THAT'S 45.5 YEARS IN DOG YEARS!!!! But, I digress. The news I wish to convey is that here at Whoosh Labs, we are embarking on yet another experiment. We are going to attempt to issue at least one article a week on the 1st, 8th, 15th, and 22nd of every month. The issue will still be associated with the month, so we will have for issue #77, 4 releases. I hope this is not too confusing. The bi-monthly print schedule was too long, and preparing for a monthly issue was eating up too much time, so we are hoping that releasing an article a week will be less stressful on our delicate systems here in Whoosh World.
My Computer Problems of the Past
The past few months have been a test. I had three computers and a backup crash on me. I was able to recover some html, xls, and doc files but no text files which was how I usually saved data for the website. All that is gone, but I have been able to recover some of it. I am missing the submissions from the following people: oklak (many questions); oneill (I will always love you); and thores (amazons). If any of those people are reading this, please send me a copy of your paper at your convenience. I would appreciate it.
Kym Masera Taborn
Editor-in-Chief/Publisher
Executive Committee
Calabasas, CA
April 26, 2003
From the Graphics Editor:
THE NIGHT OF THE MULTIPLE MESSAGESSo much has happened over the last month or so, within the world of television and without.
As regards the ever dwindling set of syndicated action adventure shows still in production, one can remove yet another from the "current" list. Farscape has proven that Xena: Warrior Princess does not have the monopoly on disturbing series finales.
To be fair, from the look of it, it would appear the episode aired as the Farscape series finale was made before the production staff got the word the show was canceled. It had all the appearance of a season-ending cliffhanger, leaving the two main characters, if not dead, in a state of serious disrepair.
And yet it would have been so easy to end the episode on a positive note with at least a sense of closure. All that would have had to be done was end the episode about 10 minutes earlier than it did, and pad the front with an expanded set of montages from the entire series. Not one extra frame of film would have needed to be shot. It could all have been done in the editing room with extant footage.
It was a dismal whimper of an ending for what had been an interesting, inventive, and intriguing series, alas.
It's been good to know ye
Moving on to other parts of the world (but not too far - Farscape was made in Australia after all) Lucy Lawless could be seen all over Auckland for the entire month of March. Well, her picture could anyway. She occupied the cover of Metro magazine and gave an interview for that publication that set off a bit of spirited conversation in some of the few remaining circles of fandom that care to wax nostalgic on the series in general and FRIEND IN NEED in particular.
You know you have made it when you are on the back of a bus!
And of course we have the other business of the war in Iraq. It's interesting to see the reaction of people in another part of the world to such events. At least at its inception, the war was not popular with many people in New Zealand, although a significant percentage supported U.S. action as well. I saw no demonstrations for the conflict but I did see a couple against it.
In fact, I was inadvertently caught up in an antiwar march -- I was coming out of my hotel and they were marching literally right in front. The salmon were all going downstream, so I had to as well. They were a pretty mellow crowd, most of them being kiwis or those who have lived here for a bit. They must not have been too caught up in their movement though, for as the crowd went down the middle of Queen Street, some of them peeled off from time to time to visit a shop or pub. At Aotea Centre, where they have the quaint little "market day" every weekend, I saw what was obviously one of the protesters (she had a "No Blood for Oil" bumper sticker stuck to her bum) picking over bargains at the "nothing over $40" tent.
xxx
As the protesters (a friend here calls them "professional protesters" since she says it's almost always the same group protesting whatever the cause of the week is -- Save the Whales, no Genetically Modified foods, no war, etc.) made it to the intersection of Queen Street and Wellesley Street they seemed mixed up as to which direction to go. Some split off in the direction of the casino, some went the opposite direction to Albert Park, and the rest just blended with the downtown shoppers.
xxx
Finally, in the Post Academy Awards season, one result of the awards ceremony is a benefit for those seeking fine entertainment. Miyazaki's SPIRITED AWAY garnered an award or two and as a result the film is being released in certain major markets. Initially seeking to rescue her parents from the clutches of a spirit world, a young girl learns a lot about herself as well as the strange world around her, and must overcome a number of obstacles to accomplish her goal and return to her own place and time. The animation is stupendous, the music delightful, and I strongly recommend you see this film if it comes your way on the big screen or small.
xxx
Bret Ryan Rudnick
Whoosh! Executive Committee
2 April 2003
Aukland, New Zealand
