Wednesday – 25 June 2014
Totally missed “Team DiVa Tuesday” (again) yesterday. Hopefully, this will make up for it:
Hanging out at Wheeler Historic Farm
On the tiger statue at Hogle Zoo
On the elephant statue at Hogle Zoo
Oh, and John V. might want to stop reading now…
Is he gone? Okay.
The girls have taken a pretty strong liking to My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, since being introduced to it about a month ago. Last night was Vanessa’s night to choose what they watched before bedtime and she chose…. dun dun DUNNNNN…. MLP. No problem.
I found the first season on Netflix and fired up the first episode. (Why not start at the beginning, after all?) This episode introduces the main ponies and how they met. That’s pretty good for a first episode.
During the scene where Twilight Sparkle meets Applejack – yes, I actually have gotten to know the ponies’ names. I’ll just chalk this up to what my mother calls being a “Commendable Daddy.” – Applejack takes Twilight’s hoof and starts shaking it, vigorously. Diana, at this point, looked up and rather nonchalantly noted: “Ponies don’t have hands,” and then continued to watch the rest of the episode.
Sara and I just kind of stared at each other, with a “Did she really just say that…?!” expression on our faces.
Monday – 23 June 2014
I was a fairly faithful fan of Quantum Leap back in the day. I’ll still kick back and watch an episode or two, should I see it in the cable guide.
I was also a fan of Doctor Who in the ’80s. You know, before it really became “okay” to like it… some twenty years later. I grew up with Tom Baker’s Doctor and stopped watching (mainly because NC Public Television decided to play fast and loose with its schedule) around the Peter Davison era. Oh, and because of computers and video games, but that’s a tangent for another time. I got back into Doctor Who a couple of years ago, during Matt Smith’s tenure. Since then, I’ve gone back and watched all of the episodes from Malekith Christopher Eccleston’s debut through the introduction of Peter Capaldi. “Kidneys!”
With that said, I just had a question pop into my head: Could The Doctor have saved Dr. Sam Beckett?
The last episode of Quantum Leap ended with the statement: “Dr. Sam Beckett never returned home.” It’s pretty obvious that Sam is/was not a “fixed point in time…” or could it be argued that his first leap is/was a fixed point?
Tuesday – 14 January 2014
Life with kids can be interesting. It would probably be best to say that life with kids is often interesting. That’s not to say that it’s not fun. And exciting. And, all too often, very amusing.
Over the past couple of months, we’ve introduced the concept of “time out” to Team DiVa. It’s been met with mixed results. Most often, when one of the girls does something to antagonize her sister and I tell them they’re going to time out, they either:
Start saying “I not going to time out! I not going to time out!,”
Make a bee-line for Sara!,
Start crying,
Some combination of all of the above.
But, time out usually happens. (They do not like it.) And they stay there until they tell me why it is that they are in time out. Once they tell me that, I ask them what they need to do to get out of time out, which is usually finding their sister, saying they are sorry and giving their sister a hug.
So, you can imagine my surprise – and amusement – when I came home from work today to find that the girls had introduced something new to their toys. They have a handful of Fisher-Price Little People figures, including three Wonder Woman figures and a Batgirl figure. They would have the figures playing, hit them together, then tell one figure that it was going to time out.
Sara! and I have been watching the current/modern Doctor Who, starting with The Ninth Doctor and have just gotten back to The Eleventh Doctor. Until this, I’d not seen the Ninth or Tenth Doctor (outside of “Blink”). I really enjoyed Mr. Tennant’s Doctor, he may be my favorite after Tom Baker, of course… which made me enjoy this all the more.
I wish that this Indiegogo campaign had gotten more of a signal boost when it would have helped the cause; I would have enjoyed seeing something like this produced.
Wednesday – 30 October 2013
It’s been a while, but I do have a few things to talk about. Granted, most of them revolve around the past week and my birthday, go figure.
And, as I mentioned on Facebook: Thank you to everyone who took time out of their day to wish me a “Happy Birthday.” I truly appreciated it.
Last week wound up being very long, thanks – or “no thanks,” as the case may be – to Project: Cthulhu. I actually had a vendor rep on the phone for the better part of… six hours over two work days, trying to suss out what was wrong. And their documentation wasn’t much of a help; it was outdated and didn’t cover the correct procedure for what the vendor wanted us to do on the server. Yay. Late Friday afternoon, I had the brilliant epiphany to compare a working server to the one that was being “slightly difficult.” I found a discrepancy and started down a path to rectify it. Lo and behold, it worked. Work week: Saved.
I went home Friday evening tired and a little annoyed that finding the problem, even with the help of the vendor engineer, took so long. Those feelings melted away when I was greeted at the door by Team DiVa, bearing a box of RubySnap cookies and singing “Happy Birthday.” Sure, it was a day early, but it was very sweet. We had dinner and hung out that evening. Sara and I decided to watch A Nightmare on Elm Street after the girls were in bed; I started nodding off during the movie. I decided to go take a hot soak and call it an early night. I did and I did. In that order.
Saturday, I woke up not really feeling any older, but definitely glad to have completed another circuit of the sun without any dire encounters with the Dark Lady. Sara made her famous (at least around our house it is) coffee cake for breakfast. We hung out at home all morning until it was time for me to go play dolls HeroClix. Birthday Bonus: It was an Event Week, so I wasn’t judging, but actually playing. It was a sealed event – buy a couple of boosters and build a team from the figures in the boxes. I put together an okay team, but got completely wrecked in the tournament. Didn’t matter because I had a fun time gaming and talking trash with the other players.
I came home and helped get the girls ready for dinner. Shortly after that, Sara’s parents came over – they were kind enough to watch the girls while Sara and I went out for birthday dinner at Rodizio Grill. Added Birthday Bonus: October is Rodizio’s “Wild Game Fest,” so you can sample a few exotic meats. We tried the frog legs and one of my favorites: rattlesnake sausage. We checked out with our Seven Deadly Sins card punched for “Gluttony.” (So. Very. Worth it.) Next: A stop at the Cheesecake Factory for some celebratory dessert. Then it was back home for a movie. Since it was my choice and I wanted something light – and hopefully funny – I picked Iron Sky, which I’ve wanted to see for some time. It was not a great movie, in fact it was pretty ridiculous, but I had a blast watching it. Seriously, how could you not appreciate – if not love – a movie about Nazis on the moon where the heroic lead is a Black guy?!
Sunday was, again, pretty low-key. We didn’t do a whole lot during the day. There were a couple of shopping excursions prior to Sara’s parents, Galadriel, Angy and Dave coming over for dinner. Sara baked a pretty wicked Devil’s Food cake for after-dinner birthday fun. After the guests were gone and the girls were abed, we settled in for cocktails and The Walking Dead. We were not disappointed.
Monday, the work week reared its ugly head once more. I headed in to work for a 9:00AM meeting… only to find that I was a week early for it.
*grblsnrkx*
Had I bothered to confirm the time/date, I would have either come in late or just worked from home. Feh. Fortunately, the day passed fairly quickly. I confirmed that Friday’s server configuration was indeed viable and handed it off to the vendor’s engineers shortly before lunch. I picked up Team DiVa from daycare and ushered them home for snacktime (RubySnap Virginia cookie!) and dinner. Then, it was off to Guys’ Night Out with the usual suspects.
Tuesday, was a quiet day. This was a good thing. Especially as, Tuesday Night, I was going to enjoy Sara’s final birthday present: Living Colour in concert. That’s right. Living Colour. (Yes, Cult of Personality Living Colour.)
Living Colour at The Depot
I met up with Jeremiah and Zac at The Depot. They’d already scoped out a prime location about 5 or 6 feet from the stage. We were right in front of Vernon Reid (guitarist) the entire show. I also got to hang out with Robert V., Monica and Alessandro. Pictures (and some video) of the evening can be seen here.
It was an amazing concert, from start to finish. And they had the bass turned WAAAY up. Floor-shaking bass. They opened with Robert Johnson’s Preachin’ Blues (I think), and then went into Vivid. After Cult of Personality, Corey Glover joked, “And now, the rest of the fucking album…” You could tell that they were having a great time, both with the way they played and sang and the way that they interacted with each other and the audience. And if anyone was worried that these guys have lost a step or two…? Rest assured: They sounded fantastic. They started Open Letter (to a Landlord) by opening with a great rendition of Amazing Grace. Or, as I live-tweeted:
They finished out the set with Glamour Boys, What’s Your Favorite Color?, and Which Way to America. I was pleasantly surprised to discover just how much of the album I remembered.
After a spectacular drum solo by Will Calhoun, they closed the show with a great crowd-backed rendition of Lou Reed’s Walk on the Wild Side, Love Rears Its Ugly Head (which I was secretly hoping they’d do), Time’s Up, James Brown’s Sex Machine.
It was the perfect way to wrap up an extended birthday celebration.
Thursday – 22 August 2013
Another No Bad News Thursday is upon us. Amen.
Life’s been good. The family is doing well. Team DiVa continue to surprise us with things that they have picked up. And they are coming up – quickly – on their second birthday. Time does fly.
The family at Silver Lake
Vanessa (l) and Diana playing with Rokenbok Monorail
More monorail time!
And, speaking of Rokenbok, the girls were featured on the Rokenbok Facebook page, in a picture that Sara! took over the weekend:
Intense concentration…
Reeling by on Celluloid
Since Sara’s back has gotten better over the past few weeks, we’ve gotten back in the habit of Movie Date Night. Last week, Sara picked Gallowwalkers:
Wow. This was NOT a good movie. (Although, I still think I “win” the “Choose the Most Awful Movie” award with The Spirit.) Let me just say that there is no need for you to check out this movie — we took that hit for you. You’re welcome.
That’s right… I resurrected the lawn darts to show just how bad this movie was. (And for those who are keeping score at home, I just effectively gave this movie a -8 rating. Yep, “negative eight.”)
Tonight was my pick. I rolled the dice and came up with Trance, a film by Danny Boyle, starring James McAvoy, Rosario Dawson, and Vincent Cassel:
This… this was a good movie. It had suspense. It had some (not a lot, but “some”) action. There was an interesting twist – one that I thought I’d figured out about 1/3 of the way through the movie, but didn’t.
Seriously, though, if you are looking for an interesting movie that will keep you guessing, I give this a definite thumbs-up with an okay.
Stray Toasters
For months now, Sara and I have been humming John Williams’ Imperial March (from Star Wars) to the girls whenever we change their diapers. It often winds up getting vocalized as “Bum Bum Bum… Check your bum… Check your bum…” Hey, don’t knock it – it’s kept them entertained.A week or so ago, I played this version of the song, from YouTube, while changing one of the girls. This may have been a mistake. Why? Because whenever it’s diaper-changing time now, they ask for “Bum bum check a bum…”
Tuesday – 11 August 2013
It’s been a while.
Sure, that’s an understatement, but it’s my blog and there you go.
Over the past couple of weeks, there’s been a lot going on. The highlights include:
The Train Room is (mostly) finished; the only thing remaining is to choose and install some baseboard. The carpet went in at the end of July. It was a bit more of an adventure than expected. And by “adventure,” I mean that the carpet was installed; the same day, we started noticing a couple of problems:
It started separating from the step in the room,
There were patches were it appeared to have not been stretched and was coming up from the tack strips, and
There were spots where the tacks on said tack strips weren’t bent over… so you could feel them when you walked on those parts of the carpet.
Needless to say, there was a callback to have the job redone. When they asked if I wanted the same installers, I asked to have someone else come out, “to have another pair of eyes look at the job,” as I told the CSR. A few days later, the second installer came out and looked at the job. His comments included:
“I can’t believe they left it like this,”
“I’m taking pictures of this to send to my boss,” and
“This is the second time that I’ve had to go behind them and finish a job.”
When I came home after the fix, things were done properly… including adding a tack strip to the step to hold down the carpet. You know, the way it should have been done the first time.
But, the room is otherwise ready to go… as seen here:
Next up, was the Rush Clockworks Angels concert; my sixth Rush concert and fifth one I’ve attended in Utah. I went with Jeff (Galadriel’s stepdad) for his birthday. We were out on the lawn, just off-center to stage right, which afforded a great view of the venue and the crowd. The band played a show just shy of two-and-a-half hours, excluding a twenty minute intermission. The setlist included songs that I haven’t heard live in many years and some that I hadn’t heard live at all. It was a blast. I even ran into my friend, Jason and his son. Win-Win.
Usana Amphitheatre, waiting for the concert to begin
Ladies and gentlemen… Rush
Clockwork Angels tourbook and ticket
And, while not quite as grand in scale as a home improvement project or a concert – but easily as grand on the “cool factor” scale, I got to hang out with Melissa (Sib-4) last week. It was nice; it had been far too long since we’d done so.
Also, last week, I set up my monorail for the girls to play with. I’d expected them to “like” it; I didn’t expect this:
Totally worth it. In fact, it’s become their go-to spot between and after their nightly episodes of Team Umizoomi.
Saturday, we got up early and took the Team DiVa down to Stone Mountain Park for the Sandy City Hot Air Balloon Fest. The girls have been somewhat fascinated with hot air balloons and Sara! learned that the event was coming up, so it seemed like a perfect match.
Up, up and away…
We weren’t disappointed: The girls had a great time watching the balloons. They even got to see one landig, as we were driving away. On the way home, they kept asking for “More hot air balloons… More hot air balloons!”
Saturday night, Chris came over to play ‘Clix. We played a couple of games and he whupped my teams rather handily — I don’t think that I even managed to damage any of his characters in the first game. Yeah, it was that bad. But it was fun to play and well worth the drubbing I took.
Sunday was a good day. We started out with a trip to the Wasatch Front Farmer’s Market at Wheeler Historic Farm.
Quiet repose on a bench – Vanessa (l) and Diana
Here there be cows…
Hey! There are rocks here, too!
We ran into our friend, Diane, whom I don’t think we have seen in… a year or two. We also took the girls to see some of the animals.
Stray Toasters – Team DiVa Music Edition
Among the ladies’ top music requests these days are such diverse elements as:
Marvin Gaye’s Got to Give It Up – which they call “The Star Song,” because of the cover art that shows up with it on Spotify
Gorillaz’ 19-2000 (Soulchild Remix) – which they call “Baby Crying,” again because of the cover art. (Not sure exactly how they arrived at this one, but that’s what they call it.
The Monkey Song, from Animaniacs – their current favorite pre-bedtime song/video.
Sara! surprised me with the information that this wasn’t an original song, but was adapted from a song called Monkey, by Harry Belafonte.
Elmo’s Song, from Sesame Street (Hey, they’re kids. Go figure.)
Sunday evening, as we were leaving the house to go to Sara’s parents’ house, Diana started singing “I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my bike…” Neither Sara nor I taught her Bicycle Race, so we were stymied by her belting it out. It turns out that Sara’s mother taught it to the girls, singing it to/with them whenever they see a bicycle go by. Diana, seeing my bicycle in the garage on our way out, just did what her grandmother had taught her. “Clever girl.”
On the way home from dinner, the girls started singing “The Tra La La Song (Theme from The Banana Splits Show).” That one I take full credit/blame for.
Wednesday – 10 July 2013
Welcome to the middle of the week.
After a less-than-stellar start to the work week, things seem to be picking up steam. I’m good with that.
Today is also Movie Date Night… and it’s my turn to pick a movie. I should probably try to come up with an idea of what we’re going to watch.
This weekend, Sara!, Team DiVa and I are running participating in the Young Living Farms Run Through the Lavender 5k on Saturday. This year will be our fourth time doing it. (“It’s tradition!”) My time was better last year than in 2011 – even with my running buddy strapped to my chest…
…but I am fairly certain that I’m going to lose a few minutes this year, as my running buddy has gotten a little bigger. Not big enough to walk it herself, though – she’ll be on my back. Still, it should be fun. Aside from waking up at O’dark-thirty to be at the starting line on time. My goal: To not be the last person across the finish line. I’m Ivory Soap sure that I can accomplish this goal.
Speaking of “kids in backpacks,” we figured that we should test drive walking around with Team DiVa in their carriers as backpacks, rather than chest packs. It’s been… six months, at least, since they’ve been in the carriers. So, we expected some reluctance.
Vanessa made it immediately known that she was having none of this foolishness, with immediate cries of “Get down! Get down!”
*sigh*
Diana was a little more accommodating. A little. She made it about thirty seconds before she decided that she wasn’t going to put up with being in a carrier, either.
Round 1 – Carriers: 0, Team DiVa 1
We were eventually able to convince Diana to try again. And she stayed put. Not surprisingly, Vanessa was more willing to get in her carrier after seeing that it wasn’t as doom-laden as she had made it out to be.
And with that, we set off for a lap around the block. It went pretty well. By the time we completed our circuit, we decided to walk a little further, so we walked over to the cul-de-sac a block over. Still no problems. In fact, the girls seemed to have a decent time of it.
After getting the girls to bed, I watched another episode of David Tennant’s Doctor Who and stayed up later than I should have watching Leon: The Professional. Good movie.
Stray Toasters
Some days, you need a good laugh. I thank my friend, Jeremiah, for providing one this morning.
While looking for a post I did about concerts I’ve attended, I came across this post. It brought a smile to my face, not just because it ragged on the Steelers, but because it reminded me of my late friend, Dave.
I’ve finally gotten around to creating a music playlist based on The Endless (from Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman):
Dream: Dreams (Van Halen)
Death: She Talks to Angels (The Black Crowes)
Delirium: Purple Haze (The Jimi Hendrix Experience)
Desire: The Principles of Lust (Enigma)
Despair: Sorrow (David Bowie)
Destiny: Tomorrow Never Dies (Sheryl Crow)
Destruction: War (Edwin Starr)
I’m craving doughnuts now that a Dunkin’ Donuts franchise has opened locally. Go figure.
Wednesday – 26 June 2013Thursday – 27 June 2013 Friday – 28 June 2013
I finally saw Man of Steel Monday night.
Many of my friends who saw the movie – and know that I am a Superman fan – were kind enough to not spoil the movie for me. They also asked that I give them my opinion of the new film when I saw it.
The first part will be more of a synopsis and spoiler-free.
The second part will be more in-depth.
Consider yourselves duly warned.
Part One: Synopsis
I liked this movie.
That said, it is not your father’s (or your grandfather’s) Superman. It’s a modern retelling of the tale. One that’s not campy or that contains a ludicrous land-grab plot by the villain. The movie presents a man on a quest to determine who he wants to be. And, oh yeah, he’s really strong, too. And he gets to punch things. That’s something you don’t often get to see in a Superman movie/show, unless it’s animated and he’s fighting robots.
The movie is also far more serious and… heavy… in tone than the 70’s and 80’s movies. The premise being: How would people react if a being like this existed in the real world. (Or, at least the silver screen’s interpretation of “the real world.”)
(Possibly 8.5, but I don’t have a half-shield icon…)
Part Two: In-Depth Observations
You’re still here.
That obviously means that you want to know what I thought about different aspects of the movie.
Bully for you.
As I mentioned above, I’m a Superman fan. I have been since I was a kid. Yes, other heroes/teams may have supplanted the Last Son of Krypton as my “favorite,” but I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for him in just about every incarnation that’s come along:
And I should also include the Legion of Super-Heroes animated series of the late 2000s, as well.
And we won’t even go into how long I’ve been collecting Superman comics. Let’s just say “a long time” and leave it at that.
I’ve been looking forward to this movie since it was announced. When Zach Snyder was identified as the director, I was a little leery, but I was willing to give him a bit of latitude since I enjoyed 300, Watchmen and Sucker Punch. I wasn’t sure how his style would work with DC’s flagship hero, but I was curious to see how things would play out.
I wasn’t disappointed.
Zach Snyder brought a new Superman to the screen. He did something that I liked: He showed a Clark who learned at a relatively young age of his heritage and then spent the twenty years trying to figure out what to make of this knowledge. In most previous incarnations of the character, the gap between “Hey, son, you’re really from space” and “Hey, I’m Jor-El, your space-dad” has been pretty brief. In this movie, you watched as Clark tried to find his place in the world. And, even more important, what it cost him to make certain choices as he made his journey.
As to the (major) performers:
Henry Cavill: I found him to be a solid choice for Clark Kent/Kal-El/Superman. He conveyed the sense of a man doing the best he could to help people while trying to figure out who he was and who he wanted to be. He also had an air of a man who wanted to help, but wanted to stay out of the spotlight. Viewers also got a little insight into what it cost him every time he saved someone — having to drift from place to place, being leery of using his powers openly, out of concern/fear of how people might react.
Amy Adams: I’ll preface this by saying that I’m a fan of hers and was quite happy to hear that she was cast as Lois Lane. David Goyer gave me the Lois I wanted to see: A capable, unafraid to get her hands dirty reporter. She was dogged in her pursuit of the mystery man who acted as guardian angel to so many in many different places. I appreciated that she wasn’t just in the movie to be rescued from falling helicopter (which is actually one of my favorite scenes from the 1978 movie) or caught in an earthquake; she was in the thick of the action. And held her own, in a couple of cases.Even Margot Kidder, Lois Lane from the ’70s and ’80s movies, even liked Ms. Adams’ performance:
“I thought [Man of Steel] was wonderful and I thought that young Amy Adams was just terrific. I wanted a lot more of her, I wish they had more scenes for her.”
Michael Shannon: I know that many people are familiar with him from Boardwalk Empire; I do not count myself among them, so I didn’t know what to expect. I quite enjoyed his performance as General Zod. I like that they gave him more motivation than “Son of our jailor, we will hunt and kill you.” Zod was, in my opinion, fully realized as the leader of Krypton’s military. He was the epitome of the quote “The villain is the hero in his own story.” Everything that he did was due to his breeding, caste and training:
No matter how violent, every action I take is for the greater good of my people.
I found him to be a worthy adversary for this Superman, possibly even more so than Terence Stamp‘s Zod. Possibly. I’ll have to rewatch Superman II to make a fair call on this one.
Russell Crowe: I wasn’t sure how I felt about him being cast as Jor-El; he can be kind of hit-or-miss for me. I think that this role was “hit.” And, as much as I love the ’78 movie and Marlon Brando, his Jor-El just seemed… too old… to have an infant son. Crowe seemed more believable in the role of father to a newborn. He also conveyed the sense of a scientist who realized that his world was doomed and wanted nothing more than his son to have a chance at life… even at the cost of his own. I even liked his take on the Jor-El simulacrum in the Kryptonian scout ship.
Kevin Costner: This was another hit-or-miss casting choice for me. I was hopeful when I heard his voiceover in the early trailers for the movie. I also noted that a lot of my friends were leery of a later trailer when he told a young Clark that maybe he should have let the students in a bus crash die. I didn’t take that as a failure of morality on Jonathan’s part. I saw it as a father trying to protect his son from public scrutiny and possible government intervention. I think that Clark summed it up, rather nicely in this quote:
My father believed that if the world found out who I really was, they’d reject me… out of fear. He was convinced that the world wasn’t ready. What do you think?
In thinking about it later, I also think that part of it may have been him thinking of it in terms of “Perhaps it was their time” or “We don’t know if that was part of God’s plan.” And, the scene where Jonathan died? It was just a different spin on the same situation in my eyes, only this time it was Jonathan showing that he was willing to sacrifice himself to protect his son’s privacy and life.
Diane Lane: I don’t feel that the audience (or, at least, I) really get to see enough of her Martha Kent. That notwithstanding, I think that she had a fantastic scene – hinted at in the trailers – when she was trying to calm Clark down after his powers got the best of him in school. You could believe that she was a mother who loved her son.
Laurence Fishburne: Good casting, as if that really needed to be said; I just wish that he had more screen time.
I am aware that many people didn’t like the fact that Clark spent most of the movie figuring out who/what he was going to be. I think that many people expect a Superman who always knows what to do and act accordingly.
This wasn’t that man.
And I think that this is one of the things that stuck in peoples’ collective craws.
I, on the other hand, was alright with seeing a conflicted man. Even a conflicted Superman. Why? Because it allowed for growth and maturity, even in the compressed timeframe of the movie. Clark had to choose not only to accept his Kryptonian heritage, but also to live up to the potential that his both of his fathers saw in him. Did I think that he completed that journey in this movie? Possibly not, but I think that by the end of the movie he was a lot farther down the road than most people give him credit for.
Now let’s get to the elephants in the room: I know that many people were surprised and even disappointed that this movie gave us:
…not only a Superman who killed, but also
…a Superman who left A LOT of collateral damage in the wake of his fights with Zod and his lieutenants and the seeming nonchalance of the loss of life.
To the first point: It’s not the first time that Superman has killed.
Mull that one over. I’ll give you a few moments to ponder it.
Still here? Good. Okay. As I said: This wasn’t the first time that we’ve seen Superman kill someone. There are three incidents that came pretty quickly to mind when I thought about it:
At the end of Superman II, Superman dispatches General Zod and Non in the Fortress of Solitude, after depowering them; Lois is the one who takes care of Ursa.
NOTE: Apparently, in the Richard Donner cut of the movie, the villains weren’t killed, but were taken into custody by the Arctic Patrol. I will have to watch this to determine the veracity of this.
In the Post-Crisis on Infinite Earths DC Universe, Superman killed a parallel universe’s version of General Zod, Zaora, and Quex-Ul.
These three Kryptonians destroyed the Earth that they were on, killing all humans in the process. When they learned of Superman’s home dimension, they vowed not only to find it, but to conquer/destroy it as well. Doing the math, Superman realized that they were serious in their threat and decided that he would act as judge, jury and executioner.This wasn’t without any cost, however. Upon returning to his home dimension/Earth, Superman started having what was effectively a mental breakdown. It even went so far as him creating third persona… one that neither Clark nor Superman was aware of. (He got better, though.)
Doomsday, the beast that slew Superman was also killed – for a while – by the Man of Steel.
Since I knew that I wouldn’t be able to see the movie opening weekend, I tried to avoid as many spoilers about it as possible. Despite this, I couldn’t help but hear things about “the controversial ending.” I remembered that Zach Snyder had said that there was no Kryptonite in the movie. With that in mind, I more or less guessed what would/might happen.
So, fast forward to me in the theatre, watching the movie’s climactic battle… and there it was: Kal-El vs. General Zod, with Zod making his final declaration that the battle would only end with one of them dead. A few times during the fight, Superman tried to sway Zod’s thinking and convince him that he could live with/among the humans. But, Zod was having none of it. He went on to threaten the family in the train station and effectively say that there was nothing that Superman could do to keep him from slaying them.
As Zod bore down on the family, Kal-El killed him.
It was his last resort.
You could see in the look of anguish, tinged with rage, on Superman’s face that it was farfrom the option that he would have chosen. You could see that it cost him a little piece of himself to do it: With Zod’s death, Kal-El lost his last living contact with his people… and would have to live with the fact that Zod died by his hand.
As for the second item, the destruction of property: Give. The. Man. A. Break.
He’d been “Superman” for all of, what… two minutes2… before Zod and company started smacking him around? And let’s face it, it was the first time – EVER – that he’d fought anyone in his proverbial weight class. I’m not sure that he was prepared for the level of ruthlessness that he faced in Smallville. Also, he was kind of busy getting beaten down not just by Kryptonians – bred and trained to be soldiers – but the U.S. military, as well, so he might have been slightly distracted.
I might allow for the argument about the destruction in…? of…? Metropolis, however. You would think that knowing that he was fighting someone who was just as powerful as he was, he might have led Zod off to a more remote location for their showdown. And, yes, there possibly should have been some points deducted for kissing Lois in the middle of the downtown Metropolis wasteland, too.
While some might say that it was a case of “too little, too late” when we see Superman trying to save the family in the Metropolis train station from Zod’s heat vision, we did see him try and save people earlier in the movie. Most notably on the oil rig and on the school bus.
So, in the final analysis, I will say that the movie wasn’t without flaws, but it was an enjoyable bit of cinema.
And there you have it.
Namaste.
1 – Anyone who says that there was a III and/or IV is lying to you. They. Never. Happened. Period. Full stop.
2 – Okay, longer than two minutes, but you get my point.
Saturday – 08 June 2013
“Good afternoon, Mr. President. Sorry I’ve been away so long. I won’t let you down again.” -Superman1
Life’s been good. And busy. All things considered, that’s not a bad combination.
Yesterday, Diana turned 21 months; today, Vanessa did the same. Yesterday was also my mother’s birthday.
It’s hard to believe that this was almost two years ago…
Pictures of the Adventure Toddlers from a few weeks back.
I’m looking forward to having only two (2) more days of work before I’m on vacation. (Cue: Sunblock, by emmet swimming) We’re heading eastward for my youngest sister’s wedding. I’m sure that by the time we get back, we’ll need a vacation to recover from our vacation, but somehow, I don’t see that happening. On the other hand, in talking with Sara!, we realized that it’s been roughly three (3) years since we headed to the Right Coast. It will be good to catch up with family and friends – including some old classmates – in person, rather than just over the phone or online.
Reeling By on Celluloid
Some of the movies we’ve watched over the past few weeks:
Another group of four movies that are quite different and for which I had different expectations.
Gangster Squad
This was a cops versus the mob period piece, set in 1940s Los Angeles. The fashion and style were good; the movie was okay. Nothing stellar, but nothing that made us want to claw our eyes out, either.
The Last Stand
Arnold is back, this time as a sheriff whose small town is in the path of an escaping high-profile fugitive, making a run for the border. This movie harkens back to chase movies of the 60s and 70s as well as “small town sheriff fights outside of his weight class” movies.
It wasn’t a great movie, but it had some fun moments. If you’re looking for a fun, “turn off your brain and enjoy the ride” kind of movie, this might not be a bad way to go.
Superman: Unbound
This movie was based on Geoff Johns’ “Brainiac” story arc from Action Comics in 2008. Given that – and the fact that it was such a good story AND the fact that it had some good voice talent behind it AND the fact that I’m something of a Superman fan – I had rather high expectations for it.
Unfortunately, it didn’t live up to it. I wasn’t overly thrilled with the animation. And the ending was very anti-climactic, to say the least.
Mama
This was Sara!’s last Movie Date Night pick. We hadn’t seen a good horror flick in a while and Guillermo Del Toro’s name attached to a project – even if he’s not directing it – usually means that you’re in for a good ride.
I wish that was the case with this movie. It had moments of genuine creepiness, but they were more situational and psychological than anything else. The visual effects were… meh. And ,if I had to give a “Best Performer” award to anyone in the cast, it would probably go to young Miss Isabelle Nélisse for her performance as Lilly… with only about five lines of dialogue in the whole film. Why? Because she was probably the most creepy kid in a film since Damian Thorne. Or the twins in The Shining.
And the ending? I don’t even know what to say about the ending. (Not in a good way.)
Stray Toasters
Imperial Grand Admiral Thrawn. He should be in the next series of Star Wars movies.
Monday – 20 May 2013
So, it’s been slightly longer than I’d intended since the last non-Team DiVa post. Time somehow manages to just slip away.
It’s been a good couple of weeks, for the most part. Home life has been good and, aside from spending far too many Saturdays in the office – it’s the best opportunity for server maintenance in a couple of cases – work’s been good. This past weekend was something of an exception since the maintenance that I requested and called back to verify on fell through. The service company shipped the wrong part AND didn’t review the error report I sent. Monkeys.
After the failed maintenance window, I headed back home. Sara! and I, thanks to the help of our friends, Dave and Angy, managed to put another nail in the coffin of a landscaping project that’s been long talked about and a tad slow to come to fruition: We got rid of the shrubs in the front yard. Dave and Angy brought over a stump grinder and, after about 75 minutes, the stumps of the shrubs were turned into mulch.
The girls have been doing well, for the most part; Diana had a brief bout of some food not agreeing with her over the weekend, but seems to back to her usual form again.
Reeling by on Celluloid
Over the past two weeks, I’ve seen four movies:
Four very different, but very entertaining movies. So let’s dive in:
The Cabin in the Woods
This movie was made between the time that Chris Hemsworth got on Hollywood’s radar as George Kirk in JJ Abrams’ Star Trek and was bulking up to play the God of Thunder in Kenneth Branagh’s Thor.I was recommended to watch this by a coworker. The only thing that he told me about it was that it was a horror movie. Okay, fair enough. Or so I thought.
Yes, this was a horror movie, but it’s also something… else. Something different. The first few scenes of the movie don’t, at first, give you a sense of what’s to come. I was quite confused when the movie started — to the point of wondering if I had the right disc in the player. Just as the confusion was peaking, the opening credits came on-screen. But it still left a little bit of a disjointed feeling.
The rest of the movie was entertaining. And strange. Very strange. But, I have to say that the strangeness only added to the movie’s appeal.
Star Trek Into Darkness
As just about anyone who knows me is aware: I’m a Star Trek fan and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is one of my all-time favorite movies. I think that it’s not just a great Star Trek movie, but a great movie in general. In fact, I usually refer to it as “…a great movie, with Star Trek trappings,” because it’s so well-done. When rumors first started appearing that Into Darkness was possibly going to feature a variation on that story, I was pretty much ready to line up and tell the ticket seller, “Take my money!”Then, word broke that it wasn’t going to be a take on the original ST II. Okay. Fine. I can live with that. When I started watching the trailers, I caught hints of something else. Something familiar. But I was a little hesitant to think that Mr. Abrams and company would pull that particular trigger. Why? A couple of reasons:
1) As much as I’m a fan of Star Trek: TOS, I’m an even bigger fan of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. And the inkling that I was getting was something that was first seen on DS9.
2) Abrams’ movies have reset the timeline, effectively, meaning that everything I knew about [REDACTED] never happened… or at least never existed in the way I knew.
So, I went into the movie with as open a mind as my Trek-loving self could allow. Turns out, I could allow a lot. Abrams did a good job of expanding upon the story he started in the first movie. This movie was very upfront about showing young Captain Kirk’s penchant for flouting – or just outright ignoring – regulations. And, it was no less upfront about showing the consequences of those actions.
We were then introduced to the movie’s antagonist, John Harrison. A man who is not what he originally appears to be; there’s something about him that just rang a little “off.”
And, with that, the chase was on. Abrams took viewers on an action-packed, explosion-filled ride.
Crazy, Stupid, Love
This was another coworker recommendation. To be honest, I didn’t have an interest in this movie when it was out and wouldn’t have given it a second thought had he not suggested it. Having watched it, I must admit: It was a lot of fun. More so than I would have expected.Steve Carell portrays a Cal Weaver, a man who finds that his wife wants a divorce. He accepts it, as best he can, and tries to get on with his life.
Enter Jacob, a young man who seems to have it all and seems to have no problem meeting attractive young ladies. Jacob then becomes Cal’s mentor and the two begin a journey to get Cal back in the proverbial game.
Bittersweet hilarity ensues.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
I never read The Hobbit nor the Lord of the Rings Trilogy growing up. I own the Trilogy; it was given to me as a gift a few years ago, but I haven’t made the time to read them. So, when this movie was announced, I was interested in seeing it, but had no idea what to expect.It was a beautifully rendered film. Peter Jackson once again brought the world of Middle Earth to lush life. Again, having not read the books, I was surprised to see some familiar faces in the film.
And there you have it.
Stray Toasters
I’ve been reading and listening to The Sword of Truth series. One of the recent books focused not on the usual characters, but on a couple of supporting characters. It was set basically between a couple of books that I’d already read; it was a little disconcerting to try and figure out the sequence/time frame. It also took me until about two-thirds of the way through the book to really warm to the new characters. But it wasn’t a necessarily “bad” book. I’m just glad to be back with characters I’ve been reading about for the prior six books.
One of my coworkers’ sons did a report on The Battle of Antietam for school. He not only did a report, but he made a stop-motion LEGO video to go along with it. I just saw this video and was duly impressed by it. I asked how old he was, just for reference. He’s 14.
Friday – 03 May 2013
It’s almost the weekend. Thankfully, as this has been a somewhat busy week.
Last night, I was asked to attend an Iron Man 3 premiere… as Nick Fury. Having dressed as Nick Fury before and having all of the parts of the costume already – except for being unable to find my eyepatch, of course – it was an easy thing to agree to do. This time, I asked my friend Melody if she’d mind helping me make one modification to my costume: Scars. With a little latex, some eye shadow, some foundation, and a few pieces of tissue, she went to work.
Less than 45 minutes later, I was good to go.
I headed up to the Megaplex Legacy Crossing theatre to for the “Iron Man 3 Red Carpet Party.” The event included a “Make Your Own Armor” (out of cardboard boxes, glow sticks and other ephemera) workshop, trivia games, an obstacle course event, and photos with those of us in costume. I was a bit surprised that there weren’t as many young kids as I had expected, but that didn’t keep the older kids – and some of the older not-kids – from having a good time:
I actually remembered to get a semi-close picture… at the end of the night.
And then, it was time for the big show:
After the disappointment with X-Men: The Last Stand – franchise’s third movie, but with a different director and going in a different direction than its predecessors – I was a bit leery about Iron Man 3. Things that helped to mitigate my trepidation were:
John Favreau was attached to the film as executive producer
I’ve seen some of Shane Black’s work… and liked it.
The lights went down, the trailers rolled (and, let me say: The Man of Steel trailer in IMAX 3D was pretty fantastic) and then the movie began…
Two hours and some change later, it was over. It held up very well with the other two movies in the series, while having a slightly different tone — it felt a little lighter, overall, without being comedic. Robert Downey, Jr. was… Robert Downey, Jr…. and seemed very comfortable climbing back into Tony Stark’s shoes once more. I was happy to see Don Cheadle get more screen time as well as seeing Rhodey interact more with Tony. Gwyneth Paltrow’s Pepper Potts had… decent screen time and had some very good moments. Guy Pearce’s Aldrich Killian was an interesting character and an interesting business counterpart/foil for Tony. Ben Kingsley’s Mandarin was not what I expected, but was creepy in his own right.
And the post-credits scene? I’d argue that it’s the best one that they’ve done yet. Yes, even better than Thanos. Or schwarma.
All-in-all, it was a fun ride and one that I recommend.
25 April 2013
It’s another sunny – and moderately warm – NBN Thursday in the valley.
Last night, was not only Movie Date Night, but it was Sara!’s turn to pick a movie. The only things that she would say about the night’s fare was that it required – REQUIRED – popcorn and that it was “the greatest movie ever made.” I was intrigued by these comments, to say the least.
After a messy dinner (Two toddlers with Greek food… and rice. Do the math.) and some clean-up, it was time for the movie. And I was, to say the least, surprised by her choice:
That’s right: Superman. My all-time favorite movie.
Best. Wife. Ever.
So we sat on the couch, ate popcorn, and watched Christopher Reeve, Gene Hackman, Margot Kidder and company bring a small slice of the DC Universe to life. And, once again, I was transported to a happy place in my childhood. I was also able to pick out a few things that I’d never paid attention or associated with the movie before:
Faster than a speeding bullet: Clark snatches the bullet out of mid-air during the mugging.
More powerful than a locomotive: This one comes up twice:
Teenaged Clark is races the train through rural Kansas
Superman subs in for a missing rail as an Amtrak train approaches
Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound: This one’s a given – he flies throughout the second half of the movie.
Who can change the course of mighty rivers: Not so much changing the course of a river, but he creates a makeshift dam to stop a river from destroying a town
Bend steel in his bare hands: Again, another two-fer:
He tears the door to Lex Luthor’s lair off it’s hinges
He tears off the door to Lois’ rental car after the California earthquake
At the end of the movie, Sara! admitted: “You know, I hadn’t thought about it the last time we watched it, but that was actually a pretty good movie.” (I simply nodded and smiled at this. Hey, I’m biased… not stupid.) I did have to correct Sara!’s misconception of the “spinning the world in reverse” visual and explain that it wasn’t him turning the world backwards, but that it was simply a representation of him going back in time. (For which there are a great many references in the comics…)
Monday – 22 April 2013 It’s been a bit and I have some time (at least I did last night), so I figured that I should get in a new post. Today is Earth Day. Last week, Sara! and I finally got around to watching Django Unchained.
It was a very Tarantino take on a “historical movie” in the same way that Inglorious Basterds was a “historical movie.” (With this in mind, I’m not really sure what everyone’s beef with it was. It’s not Roots, but it’s not trying to be Roots, either.) I found it to be a fun – and funny – movie. It entertained. It told a story. And it didn’t take itself overly seriously in doing so. This weekend was a good one. Saturday morning, Sara!, Team DiVa and I had breakfast with our friend Steve, who was in town with the touring production of West Side Story. We went to The Other Place, not just because it’s a good place for breakfast – and was close both to where Steve was staying and the theatre – but also because it’s a kid-friendly place. As an added bonus, I was able to scheme with our friend, Josh, to get him (and his wife, Aly and their very cute five-month-old daughter) to surprise Sara and Steve. Sara suspected that something was afoot, but Steve was surprised. I’ll still take that as a “Win.” After breakfast, we came back home and I played with Team DiVa for a bit before heading out for a ‘Clix event: Month Five of the WizKids’ “No Man’s Land” event. It was a sealed booster draft – buy two booster packs and build a team – and my packs were not really full of “awesome.” But, I built a team and I played. I wound up going 1-4, but since I normally don’t get to play (and I already had the prize support for the event), I was just there to have fun. And I did. After the game and dinner, Sara! went to see West Side Story; I stayed home with Team DiVa. We watched some Team Umizoomi. We read Moo, Baa, La La La and Barnyard Dance. We put money in their banks. We got them ready for bed. All things considered, they took great mercy on me. After post-bedtime cleaning, I played a bit of DC Universe Online and then watched my first episode of David Tennant’s Doctor Who. I liked it. I look forward to seeing more of his Doctor. Sunday was a fairly low-key day. Breakfast. Shopping. Hanging out at home. I also mowed the lawn for the first time this season. Hell, the first time this year. Sara’s parent’s came over for dinner. Sara! and I also watched Disney’s Tarzan; I haven’t seen it in years, but Sara! had never seen it. It’s not necessarily the best movie ever, but I enjoy it. I also watched my second Tennant Who episode. Stray Toasters
While watching Tarzan, we realized just how dark some of it was. This makes it not-so-watchable for toddlers. We started trying to come up with any modern (post-1980) Disney movies that are kid-friendly. We couldn’t. (Although, now that I think about it, Lilo & Stitch may be okay…) We think that Disney/Pixar may have some options, though.
Wednesday – 17 April 2013
Midweek.
Movie Date Night.
NBN Thursday Eve.
Sunday, Sara! suggested that we take Team DiVa to Wheeler Farm to see the animals. The girls had fun looking at and identifying them. After we walked through the “farm” part, we went to the playground area. They even went down the big kids’ slide… on our laps. But that’s not the point. They – and we – had fun.
Speaking of the ladies: The girls’ vocabulary is growing, as well. And they are starting to put two- and three-word phrases together. It’s been neat listening to them express themselves.
Monday, I finally got around to mudding and taping the last two corners of the train room closet. It still needs sanding. And there’s a chance that I’ll have to go over things with a second coat of joint compound before putting on the topping compound, but it’s that much closer to being done.
Stray Toasters
If you’re in the SLC Metro area, you should check out the Broadway Across America production of West Side Story.
Somehow, I’d managed to forget just how good an album that Roll the Bones is.
While I think that the theme from Jonny Quest is, quite possibly, the best cartoon theme of all time, the theme from the original Mission: Impossible is one of the all-time greatest TV themes.
