Batman: The Brave and the Bold

Batman is back! And this time he’s brought some friends with him. Batman: The Brave and the Bold are all new exciting adventures of the Caped Crusader and his friends.

Created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger in 1939, Batman has appeared in many films, radio shows and cartoons. Some of the Batman movies, including last summer's The Dark Knight, have proven to be great successes at the Box Office, whereas others, such as Batman and Robin, have received poor reviews.

It is a different story with the animated incarnations of the Batman Cartoons. These include Batman: The Animated Adventures, Batman Beyond and The Justice League, and most recently, The Batman. Whereas previous shows have gone on to highlight Batman, his dazzling gadgets, his utility belt and the Batmobile, this show is different.

Each episode is dedicated not only to a different villain but also to a different hero from the DC Comics universe. Also, the tone of the show here feels a lot like the 1960s Batman TV show, where the stories were simple and the action was campy.

Heroes like Green Arrow, Blue Beetle, Question, Plastic Man, Booster Gold, Huntress, Catman, Aquaman and Atom, to name a few, join Batman to hunt down villains like Sinestro, Joker, Gorilla Grodd, Despero, Gentleman Ghost, Mongul and Major Disaster. This is probably the best aspect of the show, to see Batman with a different hero, side-by-side, in every episode as they tackle the many villains of the DC Universe.

The makers of the show have deliberately chosen lesser known villains and heroes from the DC Universe to accompany Batman on his adventures, rather than known ones. This means that you won’t be seeing Superman any time soon, but you will be seeing other great heroes and dastardly villains of the DC Universe alongside Batman. This makes each show exciting and different from each other, because of the colorful sidekicks and menacing villains.

The voice of Batman is provided by comedian Diedrich Bader, he starred in the comedic series The Drew Carey Show, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Cheers. He has also starred in shows like Star Trek: The Next Generation and Quantum Leap. He has voiced for many animated feature films and TV series, such as Ice Age, The Simpsons, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, and The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy. Bader has lended his voice to four different Batman cartoons as both heroes and villains: Batman Beyond, The Zeta Project, The Batman (TV series), and in Batman: The Brave and the Bold he voices Batman himself.

So tune in to Batman: The Brave and the Bold and join in the fight and enjoy the adventures of the Caped Crusader and his friends!

From Rome to Dhaka – Fuzon Rocks the East and West

Fuzon have been living up to their second album's title by journeying across the globe for various concert performances for bureaucrats, dignitaries and even the general public.

The band recently performed concerts in Rome and Dhaka, where they enthralled their audiences. These shows come in the heels of their recent India tour which was also very successful.

"It was an amazing experience," recalls Shallum. "Rome was a dream and so was Dhaka." Emu states that both the cities caught him off-guard, "I wasn't expecting the crowd to actually know of the songs and sing along as loud as they could; which they did!" Emu said. He added, "Both cities welcomed us with open arms, and we've made fans abroad." Rameez replied, "It was a fun experience, especially for the fact that we were performing for the ambassadors and all the dignitaries." And is Rameez at home now as the lead singer? "I'm much more comfortable now," said the singer, acknowledging the fact that he's not worried anymore about filling anyone's shoes. "The fans have accepted me and that's all that matters," said Rameez. Shallum added, "He's been getting great feedback from all over, even when we went to India before this and now Rome and Dhaka."

The band was one of three Pakistani acts performing at the Pakistani High Commission at Rome. "We were invited to Rome by the Pakistani High Commission to perform at a special concert highlighting the modern Pakistan and its music for western audiences. It was an honor to do so and exciting at the same time," Shallum explained about the Rome concert. Emu further explained the nature of the performance at Rome, "As Pakistani musicians or entertainers, it is our responsibility to promote a positive image of Pakistan, something that they don't see every day, especially on the news." Rameez added, "We just had to give them the best of us, as Pakistani muscians, and that's why we played the songs that we did." They performed Neend Na Aye, Tere Bena, and Dewanay.

In Dhaka, they performed two shows, back to back, one show for dignitaries whereas the other for the general public. Again, the band was met by positive feedback, from both audiences, but it was the second concert which had a very special performance by the band for the Bangladeshi audience. "We performed a very special song in Dhaka and the crowd there just went nuts," recalls Shallum. "Rameez's performance was a key factor there, he worked especially hard to get it just right," says Emu about Rameez's performance. The singer himself was quite shocked at the reaction, "The crowd wasn't expecting us to play a Bengali song, so when I started singing the first few lines, they just erupted with jubilation." The song they performed was a Bengali version of an old Indian tune, Dil Mein Hon Tum, Ankhon Mein Ho Tum, a version performed by the great Kishore Kumar entitled, Shoone.

Finally, after so much, what is next for the band? "We have a US tour coming up soon," says Shallum. "And after that we'll start focusing on our next album," says Emu. Which when they do, Fuzon should release their third album sometime in mid 2010.

Who Killed Bill? Obit for David Carradine.

David Carradine was part of a dynasty of actors that included his father, John; brother, Bruce; half-brothers Keith and Robert; and nieces Ever Carradine and Martha Plimpton.

The actor credited with over 100 feature films with directors such as Martin Scorsese, Ingmar Bergman and Hal Ashby was also nominated four times for the Golden Globes. His claim to fame, however, was the TV show Kung Fu, which aired from 1972-75.

In the series Carradine played Caine, an orphan raised by Shaolin monks and who flees China after killing the emperor’s nephew in retaliation for the murder of his kung-fu master. Pursued by revenge assassins from China, Caine wanders the American West in search of his half-brother Danny. His conscience forces him to fight injustice wherever he encounters it, fueled by flashbacks to his training in which his master famously refers to him as “Grasshopper.” Carradine reprised the role in a mid-1980s TV movie and played Caine’s grandson in the 1990s syndicated series Kung Fu: the Legend Continues.

It was around this time that career had been in the doldrums when Quentin Tarantino cast him in the title role of Kill Bill Vol. 1 and 2. Tarantino is known for reviving careers, most notably John Travolta’s in Pulp Fiction, and with Carradine it was no different.

Carradine as Bill was formidable and dominating, but at the same time his personality leaned towards the maverick outsider. He expressed that Bill was a part closest to him. Tarantino had thought of him for some time: “He wanted it to be a revelation to the world that he would show me like people don’t know me,” Carradine explained. Tarantino drew inspiration from Carradine’s huge autobiography, Endless Highway. More recently, he appeared in the sequel to Crank along side Jason Statham.

His death comes as a shock to those that have worked with him. Director Martin Scorsese said he was “deeply saddened” by the news and called him a “uniquely talented actor.” He added “We met when we made Boxcar Bertha together, almost 40 years ago. I have very fond memories of our time together on that picture and on Mean Streets, where he agreed to do a brief cameo.”

Actor Michael Madsen, who co-starred with Carradine in Kill Bill and worked with him on a number of films after, said about the star, “David was one of the first actors I ever worked with when I started my career and the closest person to a brother that I ever had in my life.”

Carradine was in Thailand working on his latest film called Stretch when he was found dead in his room at the Swissotel Nai Lert Park Hotel. Police told reporters that it was unclear whether the star took his own life, or if he died of suffocation or heart failure. Though local authorities have begun their investigation into the matter, the actor’s family has asked the FBI to help investigate his death. The family does not believe he committed suicide and is troubled by conflicting accounts about the circumstances of his death.

David Carradine died on June 3, 2009, in his Bangkok hotel room. He was 72.