Dispatches from Olympus

Updates to the Audio Lounge

2009-03-29T07:07:00Z

I had no idea until I did an update today that the music in ther jukebox stopped playing after a few seconds. I fixed it, then added two updated tracks and a new one.

I had the good fortune to find impeccable vinyl conversions of the Wonderland Band album and the Geoff Love album, so those tracks which once were crappy are as good as I think they can get.

Then we have Lane Kincaid...

Okay... Leif Garrett.

This is the song he performs on the Wonder Woman episode My Teenage Idol Is Missing. It's now on the jukebox for thy listening pleasure.

Yeah, it does feel like paradise.

2009-03-29T05:06:00Z

After much work converting my vinyl copy of Lynda's debut, Portrait, I now have a page on the site devoted to it where you can hear all 10 tracks.

Portrait

Polite comments about her work or constructive criticism about the new page will get posted on here as/if it comes in.

Don't it feel like paradise?

2009-03-10T16:43:00Z

Thirty years after Lynda's debut album Portrait, two new CDs will be released.

comes out in June

The second CD, Lynda Carter Live doesn't have a release date yet, but I'm figuring it might be released around the same time.

She's also touring which you can get more info at: http://www.lyndacartersings.com.

I'm sure DC loved this...

2009-02-27T18:55:00Z

I figure they were torn between sending a Cease and Desist and not wanting to seem insensitive.

How many kids saw this and figured Superman gave it to her?

Oh, I WANT... (LUST LUST LUST LUST)

2009-02-24T17:07:00Z

It comes out on September 23, 2009 and will be $89.99 with free super saver shipping from Amazon.

The Wonder Woman movie on DVD

2009-02-20T10:36:00Z

Streetdate: March 3, 2009 There are three versions:

The standard single disc version

Includes the feature movie, commentary by the creative team, and a first look at DC/Warner's next animated feature project 'Green Lantern'.
The Two Disc Special Edition

Disc 1: Includes the feature movie, commentary by the creative team, and a first look at DC/Warner's next animated feature project 'Green Lantern' Disc Two: “A Subversive Dream” will explore the rich history of Wonder Woman and her inspiration on American culture. “The Daughters of Myth” is a riveting documentary explaining the archetype and tradition of the female DC Comics Super Hero. Next Upcoming DCU Sneak Peak (10 min) First Looks of Batman Gotham Knight, Justice League New Frontier & Wonder Woman 4 Bonus Episodes of Justice League
The Blu-Ray version

Has everything from the two disc set, except the feature movie is in high definitiion.

An experiment.

2009-02-18T15:43:00Z

I've been experimenting with making a Flash/HTML version of a book & record combination. My first effort is:

Read Book

Press the play button at the top of the page and use the navigation above the comic page to move the images forward with the audio.

After you've finished listening, close that wndow/tab and leave some feedback on here about how it worked for you. Clicking the ads at the bottom once or twice would be apppreciated too.

It's tricky.

2009-02-15T23:39:00Z

Just did a major revision to the Audio Lounge by ripping out the section with the theme songs recorded in Real Audio.

The new player is Flash based and the music is not only higher quality, but there is more of it.

About the Geoff Love Orchestra from Wikipedia:

Geoff Love (4 September 1917, Todmorden – 8 July 1991, London) was a British easy-listening orchestra leader.

His father was a mixed race American born guitarist and dancer, and his mother an actress. As a child Love began to learn to play the violin but then switched to the trombone. He played with Jan Ralfini's band and then embarked on a solo career before military service during World War II in the King's Royal Rifles. After the war he played with Harry Gold.

He recorded at least two albums with Shirley Bassey in 1959 and 1960.

Love also recorded under the name Manuel & The Music of The Mountains in which guise he released many an opus on EMI's Studio 2 Stereo record label. He released another album on MFP named Glad with Love - Mrs Mills and Geoff Love singaglong together - with studio audience participation. Mrs. Mills was an insider piano player in the 1960s, who became famous on disc, radio and television.

In the 1970s he appeared with the singer Max Bygraves in the Thames Television music show (for ITV) SingalongaMax.

Also in The (early) 1970s, under the name 'Mandingo', Love worked with session musicians to produce a lively approximation of African rhythms according to a plan by record company executives intended to capitalise on a surge of interest in African music.

About the Wonderland Band:

A1 Thrill Me (With Your Super Love) (8:02)
A2 Superman (6:22)
A3 Wonderland Love Theme (7:08)
B1 Paradise Island (7:18)
B2 Wonder Woman (7:16)

From 4.bp.blogspot.com:

I recently heard the studio disco band, The Wonderland Band for the first time when I came across their 1979 twelve-inch record Paradise Island. This disco cut was originally included on their solid 1979 LP, Wonder Woman which was produced by Morrie Brown. Most of the group's cuts were disco versions of superhero style themed songs. That being said, I'm unsure how the "Paradise Island" track fits into all of that, however there is definitely something about the song, possibly the fact that listening to it makes me think of a outdoor disco party on a tropical beach somewhere, that I can't seem to get enough of. Regardless, as the days grow colder as we enter the fall, here is a song to remind you of those warmer disco nights a few months back!

About the song 1da Woman by Tricky from Wikipedia:

Tricky (born Adrian Thaws 27 January 1968) is an English musician. He is noted for a whispering sprechgesang lyrical style. As a producer and a musician, he is noted for a dark, rich and layered sound. Culturally, Tricky bridges white and black England, particularly in his fusion of rock and hip hop, high art and pop culture. His debut album Maxinquaye was nominated for the Mercury Prize and voted Album of the Year by NME Magazine.

Tricky has also acted in various films. He appeared in a significant supporting role in the 1997 Luc Besson film The Fifth Element, playing the right-hand man Michael to evil businessman Mr. Zorg. He reportedly put off actor Gary Oldman (who played Zorg) because, while he had his back to the camera, he was eating a Twix bar, to Oldman's anger ("He's facking eatin' a Twix!"). He also appears briefly in both the 1997 John Woo directed Face/Off (his single "Christiansands" is also played during his brief cameo) as well as the 2004 Olivier Assayas film Clean, playing himself, and had a large role in the music video for "Parabol/Parabola" by Tool.

About Carol Medina from Weblo.com:

Pop singer and songwriter Carol Medina began her professional recording career with the release of "The Tears I Cry." The debut single hit store shelves in 1989. Throughout the '90s, Medina completed many other singles and a full-length album. Her works resulted in a number of hits and a couple of nominations for the coveted Juno Award in Canada.

Carol Medina was born in Melbourne, Australia, in 1966. Even before she hit her teens, the young beauty was stepping onto the stage as both an actress and a singer, many times combining both talents at one time. In the beginning of the '80s, her family decided to make a big move to Canada. Medina, not yet 20, went along. She found steady work there in the theater. She already had plenty of experience in performing when, a short time later, she began working and touring with the USO. It was around this time that she teamed up with songwriter James Collins.

In 1989, Medina released a debut single under the Marigold Records label. A few first-class singles later, and she landed a deal with Quality Records, where she recorded tunes like "Had a Dream," "You Never Done It Like That," "Let the Music Play," "Tell Me You Love Me," "I'll Just Say Goodnight," "Wait 'Til My Heart Finds Out," and "You Don't Know (Where My Lips Have Been)."

Carol Medina finally completed a debut album, Secret Fantasy, in 1995, also on the Quality Records label, which later folded. The offering contains a number of original songs, as well as some favorites made popular by other artists.

Woman Wonder

2009-02-11T13:33:00Z

I'm expanding the parody section past just video to include print parodies starting with:

Introducing the tijuana bible.

2009-02-11T12:08:00Z

From Wikipedia:

"Tijuana bibles (also known as f**k books,[1] eight-pagers or dirty little eight-pagers) were pornographic comic books produced in the United States from the 1920s to the early 1960s. Their popularity peaked during the Great Depression era. The typical "bible" is 4 by 6 inches (approx. 10 x 15 cm), with black printing on cheap white paper, and eight pages long. In most cases the artists, writers and publishers of these tracts are unknown. The quality of the artwork varied widely and sometimes included racial caricatures (Black people are portrayed with huge lips and protruding eyes). Their subject is explicit sexual escapades usually featuring well known cartoon characters, political figures or movie stars, invariably used without permission."

Why do I mention this? Well, I recently found...

I'd show more, but I'd rather not get a reputation for posting porn as I already had to censor part of page two.

Point/Counterpoint

2009-01-31T19:50:00Z

Back in 1993, Debra Winger appeared on Letterman. Recently I found a better copy of the interview. In it, Debra was catty about discussing her time on the show.

View Clip

Much later, Lynda appeared on Larry King and rebutted Debra's remarks.

View Clip

Foldees

2009-01-31T18:51:00Z

This series of 44 cards folds out to a size of 2-1/2" x 4-11/16": "Make 9 Funny Pictures with Every Card". A larger (folding out to 3-1/4" x 6") set was produced later, without card #44 or the wording "Printed in U.S.A." after the Topps copyright mark.

The Complete List

Speedy Flash / Western Explorer / Evil Devil
Jimmy Olsen Cub Reporter / Graceful Dancer / Grubby Beatnik
Super Hero (Superman) / Fat Lady / Pistol-Packin' Marshall
Youthful Kid Flash / Viking Warrior / Flea-Bitten Dog
Heroic Green Arrow / Beautiful Starlet / Crying Baby
Riddler / Bear Named Sam Escapes from Park Zoo! / Slugger Hits 8 Balls out of Baseball Bark
Speedy Old Flash / Evil Witch Doctor / British Queen
Powerful Green Lantern / Scary Frankenstein / Beautiful Bathing Beauty
Atom / Mahatma Gandhi / Fido the Pooch
Handsome Green Lantern / Cross Eyed Clod / Beautiful Betsy Ross
Super Krypto / Clucking Chicken / Dancing Elephant
Wonder Woman the Amazon / Wanda the Witch / Babe Ruth the Slugger
High-Flying Supergirl / Roman Emperor / Sloppy Hobo
Mischievous Imp (Mxyzptlk) / Western Marshall / Snappy Hot Rodder
Martian Man Hunter / Loud Singer / Indian Chief
Saturn Girl The Legionnaire / Ulysses S. Grant The General / Pork Chops The Pig
Crime-Fighting Batman / Honest President / Fanged Dracula
Penguin the Evil Villain / Sinbad The Sailor / Lawrence of Arabia
Gold, the Metal Man / Oriental Criminal / Leo, the Lion
Alfred the Bulter / Blackbeard the Pirate / Hoppy the Kangaroo
Evil Joker / Bucking Bronco / Pretty Skater
High-Flying Hawkgirl / Dutch Governor / Western Cowboy
Adventurous Supergirl / Silent Comedian / Russian Politician
Batmobile / Bath Tub / Jack-in-the box
Crusading Editor (Perry White) / Decaying Mummy / Fighting Soldier
Superman / Jet Plane / Spotted Pup
Sharp-Shooting Green Arrow / Mysterious Secret Agent / Barnyard Pig
Ugly Bizarro / Russian Dancer / Shouting Paul Revere
Evil Penguin / Charity Raffles / Scientist Finds Cure...
Leader of the Blackhawks / Queen of the Egyptians / Mangy Rats
Robin Boy Wonder / Benjamin Franklin / Metal Robot
Winged Hawkman / Prehistoric Cave Man / Aging Scrubwoman
Beautiful Wonder Woman / Rock n Roll Singer / Dopey Dunce
Scheming Riddler / Hawaiian Dancer / Bizarre Martian
Leering Luthor / Happy Singer / Pretty Actress
Stretching Hero (Elongated Man) / Kiddie Bicyclist / Smiling Pianist
Metamorpho the Element Man / Balancing Bicyclist / Swimming Dolphin
Elastic Plastic Man / Graceful Giraffe / Chief Sitting Bull
Comic Book Reporter (Lois Lane) / Cuban Dictator / 18th Century President
The Aquaman / Beautiful Starlet / Ugly Monster
Flash / Ape Man in the Jungle / Astronaut in Space
Spectre / 19th Century Champion / Bad Tempered Hermit
Catwoman / DeGaule the General / Tipsy Drunk
Superman / Baseball Hero Autographing Ball / Boy Eating Ice Cream Cone

I Can Haz Wonder Cheezburger?

2009-01-24T00:15:00Z

Yet another new Wonder Girl costume?

2009-01-12T02:16:00Z

Lynda Carter finds dead body?!?

2009-01-12T02:01:00Z

While this is from June 5, 2008, I figure if I missed it so did most people.

From the NY Daily News:

Wonder Woman is still fighting crime, after all these years.

Lynda Carter, 56, who played the superhero on TV, discovered the dead body of a woman floating in the Potomac River while canoeing Thursday.

The actress flagged down nearby boaters and they called rescuers, who pulled the body from the river, a spokesman for the Washington D.C. Fire Department said.

Paramedics performed CPR on the victim, but she was pronounced dead.

Carter abruptly left the private Potomac Boat Club on Water St. in northwest D.C. without commenting to reporters.

The body was discovered near the Virginia side of the river and authorities think the may have slipped and into the water while hiking.

The unidentified victim is described as a white woman, around 40-years-old, 5 foot 4, with brown, shoulder-length hair. She was wearing pearl earrings and a silver wristwatch, and had keys to a Chevrolet in her pocket.

Beyoncé is ready for an Amazon-sized challenge. eyeroll

2008-11-15T21:50:00Z

From the LA Times:

"Beyoncé is ready for an Amazon-sized challenge -- the pop superstar wants to be the first actress to wear Wonder Woman's famed red, white and blue bathing suit on the silver screen.

"I want to do a superhero movie and what would be better than Wonder Woman? It would be great. And it would be a very bold choice. A black Wonder Woman would be a powerful thing. It's time for that, right?"

Beyoncé says that she has met with representatives of DC Comics and Warner Bros. to express her interest in a major role in one of the many comic-book adaptations now in the pipeline following the massive success of "The Dark Knight," "Iron Man" and the "Spider-Man" and "X-Men" franchises. Beyoncé's acting to career to date has included a comedic role in "Austin Powers in Goldmember" and two notable music world roles, the first as a quasi-Diana Ross character in "Dreamgirls" and as the defiant and heroin-addicted Etta James in the upcoming "Cadillac Records."

"After doing these roles that were so emotional I was thinking to myself, 'OK, I need to be a superhero,'" Beyoncé told me this week when I met her for an interview in a suite atop the Rivington Hotel in New York. "Although, when you think about the psychology of the heroes in the films these days, they are still a lot of work, of course, and emotional. But there's also an action element that I would enjoy.""

*sigh*

No, Bouncy. You were not meant to be Wonder Woman.

It's not because you're black, it's because you're a mediocre actress.

In humor there is truth...

2008-11-09T09:05:00Z

What the hell???

2008-11-08T22:39:00Z

For those of you who want to purchase a truly special garment for someone we now have for women:

And for men:

Look, in the sky... THE WONDER SIGNAL!

2008-11-08T22:21:00Z

Available now for under $10.00 USD is a new flashlight that can be found at Hot Topic, Superhero Stuff, and other retailers.

And this is what the flashlight projects:

WTF Woman?!?

2008-11-07T23:59:00Z

A few days ago, a website called Wonder Who put up this poster:

Then four days later came this faux poster:

You've got to be kidding. Is turning Wonder Woman into a live action bimbo ever going to stop?