15 Minutes with Michael Heide

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Welcome to Michael Heide's 15 Minutes

Welcome all to Michael Heide's 15 Minutes. Here are a few questions to get us started. Remember the more questions you answer the more people will participate and vice versa.

And....here...we......GO!!...

Current Favorite TV Show?

Which comic book universe would you live in?

Would you be an Earthbender, Waterbender, Airbender or Firebender?

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How bad should I feel about the fact that you are so fluent in English, while I can't really use any language BUT English, despite taking 6 years of Spanish classes?

What things of German origin (that haven't already spread here) do you think us folks in the US should really give a try (assuming, if it involves language, that it could be translated for us poor, lazy monolingual people)?

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Have you ever visited the United States? If so, what was the thing you enjoyed most about the country? If not, what's one thing you've heard about the country that you find odd?

What city in Germany do you live in? What's something interesting about that city?

What's the creepiest movie you've ever seen?

From what we know, speculate on the chances of WB's cinematic Justice League universe succeeding.

In their prime, Alan Moore or Frank Miller?

What decade houses your favorite films?

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Would you consider shaving your beard off again?

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What's your favorite German food?

Power Rangers or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?

Which episode of Community is your favorite?

Marry fuck kill: Annie Britta and Shirley

You wake up one morning and you turn on the TV and it's just snow. You go online and nothing on the internet has been updated since the last time you we on the net. All radio stations have dead air. You try calling people, but you get no answer. You look out the window and see no one; there is no movement of cars, animals and what not.

What do you do next?

If your closet/wardrobe could transport you to any magical land you could think of, where would you go?

Have you ever been in or bore witness to a kerfuffle?

Who's your favorite Ninja Turtle?

Freddy or Jason?

What's your favorite movie?

If you could have any super power what would it be?

What's your favorite color?

Who's your favorite actress?

What brand of soap do you use?

What's your favorite Schwarzenegger movie?

Who's your favorite Watchmen character?

What is your favorite musical?

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Current Favorite TV Show?

Whichever I'm currently watching. Since I'm watching different shows depending on who I'm watching them with (Game of Thrones with my girlfriend, Doctor Who with my mother, Community, 30 Rock and Avatar: The Last Airbender when I'm alone), it changes constantly. Probably one of those, though. Last one I watched was Game of Thrones, so I'm gonna say that one.

Which comic book universe would you live in?

Feels like I'm already living in the world of Transmetropolitan. Hmm... I guess Astro City would be nice.

Would you be an Earthbender, Waterbender, Airbender or Firebender?

Airbender. Flying around with that hangglider staff would be fun.

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How bad should I feel about the fact that you are so fluent in English, while I can't really use any language BUT English, despite taking 6 years of Spanish classes?

Don't feel bad. My Spanish is horrible. I was lucky in that I learned the basics of English very early on, that was a tremendous help.

What things of German origin (that haven't already spread here) do you think us folks in the US should really give a try (assuming, if it involves language, that it could be translated for us poor, lazy monolingual people)?

There is a brilliant tv show called "Der Tatortreiniger", which loosely translates into "The Cleaner". It's about a not-that-smart blue-collar guy with a heart of gold that cleans the scenes of crimes after the CSI has been there. Every episode, he meets a relative, or friend of the victim, or even the killer. And then they talk. About the deceased, about the world, about everything. It's a very smart show, with dialogues reaching from absurd to deeply philosophical. He's met a vegan, a nazi, an effeminate gay guy, a shaman performing a ritual, an old lady and many more. And he always challenges his prejudices (or theirs) and comes out a better person. It's a bit like a British sitcom, in that they only produce three to six episodes a season, and then you have to wait a whole year, but it's worth it. Highly recommended, if you can find a subbed version.

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holy shit, that sounds awesome

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Have you ever visited the United States? If so, what was the thing you enjoyed most about the country? If not, what's one thing you've heard about the country that you find odd?

I've been to the US three times. I had a great-grand-aunt who was a nurse/nun at St. Mary's Hospital in Huntington, West Virginia, and I visited her with my grandmother (who I grew up with) when I was two, four and five. The first time, my aunt came along, and we rented a car to drive cross-country coast to coast. I had my third birthday in Washington, DC, and I visited Disneyland shortly afterwards. I went to an American kindergarten for a while and got US toys like a Lite-Brite and a Mr. Potato Head. But eventually, I had to go to school, and a few years after that, my great-grand-aunt passed away. But I loved it in the US. I always wished I could have stayed there. I wonder how my life would have turned out.

What city in Germany do you live in? What's something interesting about that city?

I was born and raised in Cologne. It goes back to an ancient Roman colony (which is where the name comes from) and was founded in 19 BC. Over the centuries, it was the Rome of the North. Agrippina, the wife of Emperor Claudius and the mother of Emperor Nero was born here. During a civil war in the Roman empire in the first century AD, Legionnaires made Aulus Vitellius their Emperor for the northern half of the empire. It didn't last. Over the centuries, Cologne became an important trade city relatively close to the Netherlands and Belgium. Like Rome itself, we have buildings ranging from Ancient Rome, over medieval times to the 20th and 21st centuries, standing pretty much next to each other. The most famous building is the Cologne Cathedral, built from 1248 to 1888 (no typo), and housing the alleged relics of the three wise men, stolen by Cardinal Reinhald von Dassel from Milan in the early 13th century.

Photos don't do it much justice. When you're standing next to it (and Cologne central station is just 100 meters away), it's like you're standing in Gotham City.

What's the creepiest movie you've ever seen?

There are only three movies that stayed with me even when they were over.
The Horror of Dracula (starring Christopher Lee), when I was twelve. The Evil Dead (the original), when I was seventeen. And The Ring (US remake), when I was 22. I've been trying to replicate the horror ever since, but nothing comes close to those three.

From what we know, speculate on the chances of WB's cinematic Justice League universe succeeding.

Unless they get their shit together really fast, it's not going to work. Which is so frustrating, because I know I could do a better job than them. I think I could do a series of DCU films on par with Marvel's or better. It's not that hard. You've got talented writers dying to work on these characters. Once you've got the scripts in the bag, it's all in the casting.Be sure to cast characters that are able to work together for decades without a massive age difference, unless it fits the characters (Kyle Rayner should be visibly younger than Batman. Superman should not be). And don't go for cheap digital FX (like in Green Lantern), do practical FX if you need to, and wait for the audience to cum in their pants when Luthor (played by Daniel Day Lewis) appears in an after-credits-scene to recruit the Joker (played by Sam Rockwell) for his Legion of Doom.

In their prime, Alan Moore or Frank Miller?

Moore. Easily. Miller was always more entertaining, but Moore was more thought-provoking. Miller was backwards-oriented, combining aspects of pulp heroes, Eisner and Japanese master storytellers to create an excellent stew. But Moore kept pushing the medium forward, reinventing everything as he went along.

What decade houses your favorite films?

Hard to say. My favorites range from the fifties to today. If I had to pin it down to one decade, probably the nineties. Back then, you had inventive science fiction movies (Total Recall, 12 Monkeys, Strange Days) epic gangster movies (Miller's Crossing, Goodfellas, The Usual Suspects, early Tarantino and Guy Ritchie), not-too-idiotic comedies (Kevin Smith's movies, Grosse Pointe Blank) and a few really brilliant thrillers (Primal Fear, The Game). Spielberg made Jurassic Park and Schindler's List, Terry Gilliam made The Fisher King and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, The Coen Brothers made Barton Fink, Fargo, and The Big Lebowski. Cameron made Terminator 2 and True Lies. Hayao Miyazaki made Princess Mononoke, Disney Studios made The Lion King. Fight Club, From Dusk Till Dawn, American History X, Cube, throw a rock and you are going to hit a cult movie. Hollywood has never been this good again this constantly.

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Would you consider shaving your beard off again?

Only for Carnival or Halloween. But then, in a heartbeat.

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What's your favorite German food?

Semmelknödel. They look disgusting, but they are delicious.

I can make them from scratch, even in a vegan iteration.

Power Rangers or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?

Power Rangers came out when I was just a tiny bit too old for them. I watched them sometimes, but I never found the enthusiasm I had for the Turtles, for which I even built a highly complicated board game.

Which episode of Community is your favorite?

I really liked the recent episode with the social networking app. I think it beats even the western paintball two-parter, the Pulp Fiction episode, the Hot Lava episode and "Professor Professorson".

Marry fuck kill: Annie Britta and Shirley

Yes. That order.

You wake up one morning and you turn on the TV and it's just snow. You go online and nothing on the internet has been updated since the last time you we on the net. All radio stations have dead air. You try calling people, but you get no answer. You look out the window and see no one; there is no movement of cars, animals and what not.

What do you do next?

Walk to the next store and look if they're open. I might stock up on supplies depending on what it looks like.

If your closet/wardrobe could transport you to any magical land you could think of, where would you go?

Wonderland.

Have you ever been in or bore witness to a kerfuffle?

Yeah. If you mean rolling around on the ground, beating each other up. I had severe temper issues as a kid.

Who's your favorite Ninja Turtle?

Freddy or Jason?

Which one is cooler? Freddy. Landslide.
Which one would I want to hunt me, if I had to pick one? Jason.

What's your favorite movie?

If you could have any super power what would it be?

Splitting myself into clones, Multiple Man style. I have very bad time management and I'm easily distracted. This could improve things a lot. If I'm doing one thing and get distracted by something else, I could do both at the same time. I could work three jobs and still have time to write novels, play video games and watch movies.

What's your favorite color?

+ YouTube Video

Who's your favorite actress?

All-time? Audrey Hepburn.
Still alive? Probably Scarlett Johansson. She's extremely versatile and stunningly beautiful. I truly think that she is the last true screen goddess in the vein of Sofia Loren, Liz Taylor or Gina Lollobrigida.

What brand of soap do you use?

My girlfriend picks our soap. Eco-friendly liquid soap from the nearest Drugstore chain. She likes to cycle through scents to avoid getting sick of one, but I prefer mango.

What's your favorite Schwarzenegger movie?

Total Recall.

Who's your favorite Watchmen character?

They all have fatal flaws. I'm curious what it would be like to perceive the world like Doctor Manhattan. But I would want to be able to change back to human if it gets too overwhelming. Who would I want to hang out with? Ozymandias.

What is your favorite musical?

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. Runners up include Repo! The Genetic Opera, South Park: Bigger, Longer, Uncut and Pitch Perfect.

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Marry fuck kill: Annie Britta and Shirley

Yes. That order.

Who's your favorite Ninja Turtle?

Freddy or Jason?

Which one is cooler? Freddy. Landslide.

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Can't tell what that gif is. Could you post it there about 6 more times?

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I'm just expressing my enthusiasm for his answers but ok I'll fix it

[Lantern A-train Guardian of the Universe Find all posts View Profile Close Lantern A-train]

Just busting your chops dude. You daon't have to change it