or ramblings as it were (see? and you thought the blog title made no sense).
-First off, the party was great as usual Jim. You really know how to throw a shindig. (OK, that wasn't really pop culture, but it's my blog dang it!)
-The Harry Potter movie. Man, there is a big divide between those who have read the book (a lot apparently) and those who haven't (myself included). Those who didn't read the book seem to enjoy the movie for the most part. Nice story, good character development, and the story seemed to move forward organically. To those who read the book, opinions vary from an OK movie to an outright travesty that J.K. Rowling herself should rise up and slay Warner Bros. for putting this out. All I can say to those die hard Potterheads is the same thing I have said to the comic fans who are highly offended at certain changes in their favorite stories or characters: LIGHTEN THE HELL UP!!!! Cripes, if they included everything you wanted in the movie, we would have been sitting there for close to 6 hours. Changes have to be made in order to put a good coherent story on the screen. There was this same hue and cry from the comic world over the Watchmen movie over the epic disaster at the end. It worked in the movie and made sense. End of story. If it doesn't work as a movie, it would flop epically and only the fans, large and vocal you may be, would be the only ones enjoying the movie and the studios would not make another. From what I gather, the overall story and major plot points (who is the prince, what the deuce is a horcrux) did not suffer nor did the death of Dumbledore seem diminished. At least to me they didn't.
-I must pass along condolences to the family and fans of Steve McNair. I am a huge Ravens fan, and while I hated them playing against him, I respected his talent and desire. I remember being stoked when they signed him, thinking he was the final piece to the puzzle. For the 2 years he was here, he did not disappoint. He was a leader that the team needed on that side of the ball and commanded respect from his peers. It was truly shocking how he died, and I guess that we always seem to be that when someone we put on a pedestal so high becomes human after all. On a side note, there seems to be a lot of teeth gnashing about the fact the Derrick Mason announced his retirement suddenly last week, but not from me. He was very close to McNair, and the fact that his friend was taken so suddenly and relatively young had to play a part in it. All I can say is, for the fans and the team, give him some room. Let him grieve, and for God's sake, don't badger the man. I would think that we would want him to remember his time here fondly, not that we wouldn't let up on him.
-On to some comics. Everyone seems to be geeking on the new weekly by DC called Wednesday Comics. It's been a different take on comics and while I am enjoying it, I am also enjoying the fact that it's only 13 weeks long. The weekly comics have been a steadily progression downhill for DC. 52 was fantastic for the most part; Countdown was OK, but started to weaken to the end; and Trinity was a waste of Mark Bagley's talent, in my opinion.
The Blackest Night debuted this week and has just blown everything else away. Geoff Johns has become a masterful storyteller in my book, laying the foundation for this some 3 years before it was even announced. Ivan Reis' art looks tremendous and hopefully he can keep that standard up for the coming months.
Is it me, or is DC doing a much better job in handling it's universe than Marvel? The Batman universe relaunch has been really, really good and the Superman universe has some interesting things headed down the pike. What I find fascinating is that The Blackest Night will impact these characters, but in a mini-series, not in the core books. This is great. Not only will we not have to have an interruption of a story for a 2 issue "event" that may or may not have an impact on the book down the road, it will be up to the reader of those books if they want to pick up said minis. I have also heard that you don't have to pick up any of these in order to enjoy the main event, but I have heard that before. However, as long as it's Johns at the helm, I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. As for Marvel, this "Dark Reign" has taken over a ton of books but also has left some, like Thor and Captain America, alone for the most part. I personally am not happy reading about "Dark Wolverine". He was already dark in my book, they just lightened him up too much for the movie. Not all that comes out of Marvel is bad; Greg Pak is returning to Hulk as of issue 601. This got me back on the book, since I loved his work on "Planet Hulk" and dropped it as soon as he left it in Jeph Loeb's hands(ugh). The bad news is that with JMS (you know who he is) going over to DC, Thor will probably start to suffer. He did a terrific job on the relaunch and crafted stories that were really fun to read. I can only hope that he will return in time to this character he so carefully and artfully rebooted.
Well, that's about it for now. Please feel free to comment, good or bad on anything stated here. I promise to read any and all. Be good and take care of each other.
Later!
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Sticking my toe in the water
Hey gang.
I'm back.
I haven't really gone anywhere, just hiding in the dark corners of the internet watching the downfall of mankind as a human race. Seriously, I'm surprised that we don't have cannibals running amok eating their own here. But after some thinking and wondering about whether or not to shutter this blog and move on, I thought that I still would need a place to vent and rant about things that I care about. Everyone else seems to prattle on about nonsense, so why shouldn't I add my voice to the din?
So keep checking back in so often and I'll try and make it at least interesting.
I hope.
I'm back.
I haven't really gone anywhere, just hiding in the dark corners of the internet watching the downfall of mankind as a human race. Seriously, I'm surprised that we don't have cannibals running amok eating their own here. But after some thinking and wondering about whether or not to shutter this blog and move on, I thought that I still would need a place to vent and rant about things that I care about. Everyone else seems to prattle on about nonsense, so why shouldn't I add my voice to the din?
So keep checking back in so often and I'll try and make it at least interesting.
I hope.
Friday, May 8, 2009
My thoughts on STAR TREK
Hey there.
I know that the interweb has been abuzz about how bad or good this movie is going to be. The old schoolers seem to hate that it's a big budget flick without any of the stars (well, there is one, but you already know that). The new schoolers seem to think that this was a waste of time rebooting a wheezing, decaying franchise that had been past it's prime for a long time. Well, here's some news for both of you and anyone else:
You're wrong.
This is a terrific movie.
Before I go on, I must observe something, so please indulge me. My brother-in-law, JR, who passed away earlier this year was a huge TREK fan. He was excited to see the movie after I showed him the pictures of Zachary Quinto as Spock. He talked about how much he was looking forward to this movie. So it was with a strange mix of excitement and morose that my wife and I approached the movie. I noticed a couple of times that she had tears and I must admit that the first time I saw the Enterprise I got choked up, and found myself again choked up during the final part before the credits (won't spoil). I miss having him here to talk about it. OK, enough about me, onto the movie.
This was what any good TREK fan would love, a mix of action and story. I don't really get why TOS people are clinging to their hate on this story. We never really learned back in the day how this crew came together. This story told it from a perspective of the two main leads; Kirk and Spock. I can't say enough about the job Quinto did as Spock. My wife said it best when she saw him on the screen for the first time;"uncanny". There may be some plot holes (again, refuse to spoil) and the fact that Scotty didn't appear until almost halfway through are little nitpicks on my part. What I can say is that the action did not disappoint, the actors nailed the motivations and inflections of their (older) counterparts, and that this was a tremendous reboot.
In my opinion, this crew has earned their stripes and should fly at least a couple of more missions.
GRADE: A+
I know that the interweb has been abuzz about how bad or good this movie is going to be. The old schoolers seem to hate that it's a big budget flick without any of the stars (well, there is one, but you already know that). The new schoolers seem to think that this was a waste of time rebooting a wheezing, decaying franchise that had been past it's prime for a long time. Well, here's some news for both of you and anyone else:
You're wrong.
This is a terrific movie.
Before I go on, I must observe something, so please indulge me. My brother-in-law, JR, who passed away earlier this year was a huge TREK fan. He was excited to see the movie after I showed him the pictures of Zachary Quinto as Spock. He talked about how much he was looking forward to this movie. So it was with a strange mix of excitement and morose that my wife and I approached the movie. I noticed a couple of times that she had tears and I must admit that the first time I saw the Enterprise I got choked up, and found myself again choked up during the final part before the credits (won't spoil). I miss having him here to talk about it. OK, enough about me, onto the movie.
This was what any good TREK fan would love, a mix of action and story. I don't really get why TOS people are clinging to their hate on this story. We never really learned back in the day how this crew came together. This story told it from a perspective of the two main leads; Kirk and Spock. I can't say enough about the job Quinto did as Spock. My wife said it best when she saw him on the screen for the first time;"uncanny". There may be some plot holes (again, refuse to spoil) and the fact that Scotty didn't appear until almost halfway through are little nitpicks on my part. What I can say is that the action did not disappoint, the actors nailed the motivations and inflections of their (older) counterparts, and that this was a tremendous reboot.
In my opinion, this crew has earned their stripes and should fly at least a couple of more missions.
GRADE: A+
Saturday, March 28, 2009
The Future of Comics?
Hey gang.
Got involved in an interesting conversation at the comic shop yesterday. Marc Nathan, the man who runs the Baltimore Comic-Con came into the shop to talk to the owner Rusty (most of you know that, duh) and was discussing a meeting he attended in Memphis. The subject turned to the price point of comics, which I'm sure most of you have seen or heard about. For those who haven't, it seems that the price of comics has moved from 2.99 to 3.99. This is not done for every comic, just among the big 2 (Marvel and DC).
At the meeting, the Marvel president said the the price change was "something they were testing the waters on to see if there was a market for it" if memory serves. DC said the price change would affect those books that added more story, so you'll get more bang for the buck (in theory). In the course of this discussion, a motive for Marvel seemingly arbitrary price increase is to try and kill the market was posed. To drive the price so that people wouldn't want the books, I guess. There appears to be some facts behind this theory. Recently there was an announcement at a con about SPIDER-WOMAN preview or #1 being released only online for a period before heading to the comic shops. The only way to see this comic is to be a subscriber to Marvel's digital comics line, which costs an amount per month. You'll have to forgive me if I'm not completely and totally factual. I remember a time about a year or so ago that Marvel announced this and at the time, I was financially unavailable to do this. It sounded like a great idea at the time. You would eventually have access to the entire back catalogue of Marvel comics, stretching back now 70 years.
Now, I love a good conspiracy theory as much as the next guy, but the idea that Marvel would eventually go totally digital and no longer have current material at the brick and mortar stores sounds....suicidal to me. I am old enough to remember when Marvel tried to make a power play to have their own distribution (breaking away from behemoth Diamond) in the early '90s. It was a disaster and left customers and retailers confused and angry. They abandoned it in a short period of time and returned to Diamond's fold. This doesn't sound like that, but in a roundabout way, could be just as disastrous. Most of us comic fans read our books in other places, like the bedroom, in a comfortable chair in the living room, or even the bathroom. We don't sit for hours on end staring at a computer screen catching up on the events in Spider-Man or Batman's lives. We like being comfortable when we are transported to another world, not hogging the computer at home (work would be another matter). I think that Marvel underestimates comic fans (no big surprise here). There would be a large section of fans who would follow them into the internet. That's why they're called Marvel Zombies. However, I think a large section of fans would head somewhere else. They would give IDW or BOOM a try. They would pick up something from DC, Image or Dark Horse instead.
What I'm trying to say is that while there is a demand and marketplace for comics on the internet, to totally remove yourself from what made you who you are is to cut your off at the knees for no good reason. I say this while also being sad that a few months ago, Scott Kurtz announced that he was cancelling his brilliant PvP book at #50. But, in fairness to Scott, he did start out as a webcomic and is still continuing to do a 5 day a week strip. They just wont be collected in true comic form. Sad, yes, but I'm sure that there will be trades from time to time.
So, what is your opinion? Think Marvel's idea is brilliant or sucks on ice? Drop me a comment and if I should get enough of them (more than 1) I'll post with either a comment or a polite rebuttal. Thanks!
Got involved in an interesting conversation at the comic shop yesterday. Marc Nathan, the man who runs the Baltimore Comic-Con came into the shop to talk to the owner Rusty (most of you know that, duh) and was discussing a meeting he attended in Memphis. The subject turned to the price point of comics, which I'm sure most of you have seen or heard about. For those who haven't, it seems that the price of comics has moved from 2.99 to 3.99. This is not done for every comic, just among the big 2 (Marvel and DC).
At the meeting, the Marvel president said the the price change was "something they were testing the waters on to see if there was a market for it" if memory serves. DC said the price change would affect those books that added more story, so you'll get more bang for the buck (in theory). In the course of this discussion, a motive for Marvel seemingly arbitrary price increase is to try and kill the market was posed. To drive the price so that people wouldn't want the books, I guess. There appears to be some facts behind this theory. Recently there was an announcement at a con about SPIDER-WOMAN preview or #1 being released only online for a period before heading to the comic shops. The only way to see this comic is to be a subscriber to Marvel's digital comics line, which costs an amount per month. You'll have to forgive me if I'm not completely and totally factual. I remember a time about a year or so ago that Marvel announced this and at the time, I was financially unavailable to do this. It sounded like a great idea at the time. You would eventually have access to the entire back catalogue of Marvel comics, stretching back now 70 years.
Now, I love a good conspiracy theory as much as the next guy, but the idea that Marvel would eventually go totally digital and no longer have current material at the brick and mortar stores sounds....suicidal to me. I am old enough to remember when Marvel tried to make a power play to have their own distribution (breaking away from behemoth Diamond) in the early '90s. It was a disaster and left customers and retailers confused and angry. They abandoned it in a short period of time and returned to Diamond's fold. This doesn't sound like that, but in a roundabout way, could be just as disastrous. Most of us comic fans read our books in other places, like the bedroom, in a comfortable chair in the living room, or even the bathroom. We don't sit for hours on end staring at a computer screen catching up on the events in Spider-Man or Batman's lives. We like being comfortable when we are transported to another world, not hogging the computer at home (work would be another matter). I think that Marvel underestimates comic fans (no big surprise here). There would be a large section of fans who would follow them into the internet. That's why they're called Marvel Zombies. However, I think a large section of fans would head somewhere else. They would give IDW or BOOM a try. They would pick up something from DC, Image or Dark Horse instead.
What I'm trying to say is that while there is a demand and marketplace for comics on the internet, to totally remove yourself from what made you who you are is to cut your off at the knees for no good reason. I say this while also being sad that a few months ago, Scott Kurtz announced that he was cancelling his brilliant PvP book at #50. But, in fairness to Scott, he did start out as a webcomic and is still continuing to do a 5 day a week strip. They just wont be collected in true comic form. Sad, yes, but I'm sure that there will be trades from time to time.
So, what is your opinion? Think Marvel's idea is brilliant or sucks on ice? Drop me a comment and if I should get enough of them (more than 1) I'll post with either a comment or a polite rebuttal. Thanks!
Friday, March 13, 2009
Some Random (or Randumb) Thoughts
Thought I would throw some things at the internet and see what sticks.
-Saw WATCHMEN last night, finally. I had read some of the reviews and thought Shawn was closest to the mark. I liked it, but found myself feeling "meh" after it was over. Maybe it was because I was in a small theater with sound for a larger theater that at times pinned my head to the back wall. Couldn't get out fast enough. My wife, who never read the book, enjoyed it and thought that Rorschach and Dr. Manhattan were excellently done. I agree, and thought that at times it was a spectacularly done thing. But something I haven't seen a lot of; the fascination that Snyder has with slo-mo. Man that was totally overdone at times and seemed to almost stop the movie for me. Will be interested in seeing the director's cut when it's released on DVD.
-on the comics front, I found that my choices of books has been dwindling down without really noticing it. I stopped reading Spider-Man, Punisher, Titans (old not Teen) and the Hulk books. It hit me the other day that these were my entrance back into reading way back in the early '90s, but they have lost me. I have picked up Spawn again (sorry Shawn, I'm an addict) and have been enjoying that. I am giving Iron Man a chance again. I have kept my mainstays in the DCU, Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Flash but they are being changed again. Other than the GL event due in the summer, what is happening in these other books has me sort of apprehensive about my continued patronage. Buffy is still a good read and I like where things are starting to go there. It really does feel like the series. They will get off the main story arc from time to time, but those detours are interesting and add to the color of the characters.
-on the WoW front, I finally hit 80 with my char. Now I look forward to doing some of the other ancillary things that make that game so freaking addictive. Like killing and maiming. Those are always fun.
See ya! =)
-Saw WATCHMEN last night, finally. I had read some of the reviews and thought Shawn was closest to the mark. I liked it, but found myself feeling "meh" after it was over. Maybe it was because I was in a small theater with sound for a larger theater that at times pinned my head to the back wall. Couldn't get out fast enough. My wife, who never read the book, enjoyed it and thought that Rorschach and Dr. Manhattan were excellently done. I agree, and thought that at times it was a spectacularly done thing. But something I haven't seen a lot of; the fascination that Snyder has with slo-mo. Man that was totally overdone at times and seemed to almost stop the movie for me. Will be interested in seeing the director's cut when it's released on DVD.
-on the comics front, I found that my choices of books has been dwindling down without really noticing it. I stopped reading Spider-Man, Punisher, Titans (old not Teen) and the Hulk books. It hit me the other day that these were my entrance back into reading way back in the early '90s, but they have lost me. I have picked up Spawn again (sorry Shawn, I'm an addict) and have been enjoying that. I am giving Iron Man a chance again. I have kept my mainstays in the DCU, Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Flash but they are being changed again. Other than the GL event due in the summer, what is happening in these other books has me sort of apprehensive about my continued patronage. Buffy is still a good read and I like where things are starting to go there. It really does feel like the series. They will get off the main story arc from time to time, but those detours are interesting and add to the color of the characters.
-on the WoW front, I finally hit 80 with my char. Now I look forward to doing some of the other ancillary things that make that game so freaking addictive. Like killing and maiming. Those are always fun.
See ya! =)
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Where I've Been
Hey there everybody. Thanks for checking back in.
Missed me?
I thought not. I wouldn't have missed me either.
Well, time to come clean with everyone. I promised in my last post that I would reveal why I had to go away for a while. There was a time that I didn't think I was ever coming back, but things have settled down for the moment and I can tell you what happened.
On January 3rd, at 8:30 in the morning, my brother-in-law and probably one of my closest friends, JR Evens, died from a heart attack. He was 42 years old.
He was about as close to a brother as I have had in the world, other than my sister's husband, but JR was closer in age. There was nothing that I couldn't talk about with him, from cars and comics to relationship issues. He was funny, personable, and if you got the chance to know him for more than a few hours, you left feeling better for the experience. I miss him terribly.
As bad as it has been for me, this has been totally devastating for my wife. She was very close to him and we even bowled as a team. They had their nights when they watched Doctor Who, either on BBC, Sci-FI, or MPT (which used to run late night on Saturdays). They would spend the time talking about the episode and what was going on in each other's lives. I would occasionally watch along with her, but never interfered with their moment. When he was having some money troubles lately, she paid for his bowling until he got back on his feet financially. I would try and help out with some food or snacks so we know that he would have something substantial to eat. It wasn't much, but he appreciated any little bit. We thought that he had turned a corner and started back on the road again, and we were all hopeful that 2009 would be a good year for us all.
Then we got the call from his sister, who he was living with.
We hightailed it to Carroll County General, where he was taken. We got there, and a nurse said that someone would come to get us. I had to pee and found a bathroom. I stood there for a minute and heard a wailing that at first, couldn't understand. A nanosecond later, I realized where the wailing was coming from. It was my wife. She was being told by her sister and father about JR. She was inconsolable. I grabbed her and hugged her and tried to comfort her and her father. I was about as useful as broom trying to beat back a tidal wave.
This was about a month and a half ago. In that time, I have tried to stay as close to my wife as possible. For the first couple of weeks, I just about never left her side, except for a few things. She would sleep, but everytime she awoke, the memory of what happened would come rushing back to her and she would cry. This has diminished over time, and I think I can say that she is doing much better, but she still has her days. The first time we went back to bowling was very difficult for her, and she couldn't bring herself to bowl that night. But she promised him that she would keep doing it (he was the reason we got into it in the first place) so she went last week and did very well, both in bowling and emotions.
I am going to go now, but before I do there are some people I need to thank. My family, especially my mom and sister have been terrific in both talking to Boo and trying to be there for her. I've said it before and I'll say it here; I am a very lucky man to have family like this. I love all of you. On a lighter note, Rusty kept my comics warm for me (man were they the escapism I needed at the time) so thanks bud. A very big thank you goes to our friends. Cathy, Tom, Dan, Tammy, Sara and Cory, you guys have been so helpful and loving toward Boo that I can't begin to thank you enough. You were there from the moment you heard, offering unwavering love and support that even now, there are no words to accurately convey my appreciation, so the simple (but insignificant) "Thank you and we love you" will have to suffice.
To my friends (Jim, Matthew, Shawn) I can only say that I will be back but just be patient. There are days that it's the old me, but sometimes there aren't. I promise to be around more as I can.
Oh, one last thing. I will be posting a picture of JR at some point. Sorry, I don't have a scanner so it will take some doing.
Missed me?
I thought not. I wouldn't have missed me either.
Well, time to come clean with everyone. I promised in my last post that I would reveal why I had to go away for a while. There was a time that I didn't think I was ever coming back, but things have settled down for the moment and I can tell you what happened.
On January 3rd, at 8:30 in the morning, my brother-in-law and probably one of my closest friends, JR Evens, died from a heart attack. He was 42 years old.
He was about as close to a brother as I have had in the world, other than my sister's husband, but JR was closer in age. There was nothing that I couldn't talk about with him, from cars and comics to relationship issues. He was funny, personable, and if you got the chance to know him for more than a few hours, you left feeling better for the experience. I miss him terribly.
As bad as it has been for me, this has been totally devastating for my wife. She was very close to him and we even bowled as a team. They had their nights when they watched Doctor Who, either on BBC, Sci-FI, or MPT (which used to run late night on Saturdays). They would spend the time talking about the episode and what was going on in each other's lives. I would occasionally watch along with her, but never interfered with their moment. When he was having some money troubles lately, she paid for his bowling until he got back on his feet financially. I would try and help out with some food or snacks so we know that he would have something substantial to eat. It wasn't much, but he appreciated any little bit. We thought that he had turned a corner and started back on the road again, and we were all hopeful that 2009 would be a good year for us all.
Then we got the call from his sister, who he was living with.
We hightailed it to Carroll County General, where he was taken. We got there, and a nurse said that someone would come to get us. I had to pee and found a bathroom. I stood there for a minute and heard a wailing that at first, couldn't understand. A nanosecond later, I realized where the wailing was coming from. It was my wife. She was being told by her sister and father about JR. She was inconsolable. I grabbed her and hugged her and tried to comfort her and her father. I was about as useful as broom trying to beat back a tidal wave.
This was about a month and a half ago. In that time, I have tried to stay as close to my wife as possible. For the first couple of weeks, I just about never left her side, except for a few things. She would sleep, but everytime she awoke, the memory of what happened would come rushing back to her and she would cry. This has diminished over time, and I think I can say that she is doing much better, but she still has her days. The first time we went back to bowling was very difficult for her, and she couldn't bring herself to bowl that night. But she promised him that she would keep doing it (he was the reason we got into it in the first place) so she went last week and did very well, both in bowling and emotions.
I am going to go now, but before I do there are some people I need to thank. My family, especially my mom and sister have been terrific in both talking to Boo and trying to be there for her. I've said it before and I'll say it here; I am a very lucky man to have family like this. I love all of you. On a lighter note, Rusty kept my comics warm for me (man were they the escapism I needed at the time) so thanks bud. A very big thank you goes to our friends. Cathy, Tom, Dan, Tammy, Sara and Cory, you guys have been so helpful and loving toward Boo that I can't begin to thank you enough. You were there from the moment you heard, offering unwavering love and support that even now, there are no words to accurately convey my appreciation, so the simple (but insignificant) "Thank you and we love you" will have to suffice.
To my friends (Jim, Matthew, Shawn) I can only say that I will be back but just be patient. There are days that it's the old me, but sometimes there aren't. I promise to be around more as I can.
Oh, one last thing. I will be posting a picture of JR at some point. Sorry, I don't have a scanner so it will take some doing.
Monday, January 5, 2009
I have to go
Due to circumstances beyond all control, I am putting this blog on a hiatus. Things are so far out of control that I cannot even begin to focus on something as trivial as this.
I don't know when I'll be back, hopefully soon. When I do come back, all will be explained.
Please keep checking back from time to time and please, keep me and my family in your thoughts and prayers.
We'll need them.
Later
I don't know when I'll be back, hopefully soon. When I do come back, all will be explained.
Please keep checking back from time to time and please, keep me and my family in your thoughts and prayers.
We'll need them.
Later
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