As should be obvious to any regular visitor to these parts, I haven't had all that much to say recently. Not to the degree of ignoring my blog for two months like somebody I could mention, but just not cranking out commentary at the rate I'd been doing for months. Even over this long weekend that's just hours from ending, I didn't have much in the way of inspiration for what to write about here. I've got another comic rant in me, wanting to come out, much like the one I did about DC's lapsed editorial judgement of late. Hopefully that'll see the light of day in the next week or so. I've also started a new short story that should end up being post # 900, as that rolls around in the near future.
The whole death by a thousand craps fiasco in our backyard has depressed me lately, as well. Trying to solve this particular problem has been occupying way too much of my dubious-to-begin-with brain power, I'm afraid. Such is Life in the Ecological Warzone.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Hulk Smash!
The toys Marvel gives us to play with...
Isn't this counting down to a Tuesday, though, rather than a Wednesday (when comics come out)? Am I doing the math wrong? Hinnnnnnnckley!
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Hitchcock Was A Prophet
This Spring, we here at Casa Kimota have been inundated with some dirty birds. Where normally we get a few robins, and the odd cardinal, along with assorted others I couldn't name, this year we've been saddled with a significant number of some larger avian species (crows? blackbirds? ravens?) that have taken to using our backyard deck and pool as their toilet. Every day we have to clean up 20 to 30 white, round droppings from where they've been deposited on the solar blanket and patio stones, each of them about the size of a marble. If we can ever manage to get rid of the buggers, we'll have to replace our solar blanket, as it's already stained to the point of being disgusting. As of right now, though, we're not even sure how to get the defecaters to leave.
In the reading I did last week on the topic, I saw such suggestions as bird of prey decoys and sonic or ultrasonic devices that emit sounds that mimic distress cries of various bird species. We've tried one instance of the former ploy - a life sized plastic owl, perched up on a pole near the pool - that seems to have had limited or no effect. That was a $20 expense; the sound boxes are more like $100 to $500, depending on the level of sophistication. I've also considered buying a pellet gun and giving them something to think about the next time they're taking a crap in our yard.
The most disturbing aspect of what I read, though, was the cause attributed to most of the bird anomalies in this area of Canada. Virtually everything I found on the Internet indicated, usually in passing, that the increased influx of birds into our towns and cities is tied to the rising temperatures we've been experiencing. The milder winters, it seems, have allowed their populations to grow beyond what they used to. Chatham had something like a quarter million crows to deal with in 2000, to the point where they spent $50,000 to have an expert come in and help scare the noisy and filthy pests off. Woodstock has had similar issues recently. And now we're having our own, albeit on a (so far) much smaller scale. What does this say about the direction the environment is heading?
As the planet warms up, we expect sea levels to rise and coastal land to be lost. Maybe New York City will end up under water, along with densely populated parts of Asia. But before we get to those apocalyptic events, though, which might still be a few decades away if they're not somehow averted, are we going to see more and more of these less drastic signs of natural unbalance? What other species are going to start being a problem in areas where they previously hadn't been? How would you feel about having a rat infestation in your neighbourhood? Or bigger and more dangerous spiders to have to contend with? Swarms of mosquitoes, bees or blackflies? Things like that are what I'm starting to think we're going to face first, before the big stuff, thanks to decades of treating our planet so carelessly.
In the reading I did last week on the topic, I saw such suggestions as bird of prey decoys and sonic or ultrasonic devices that emit sounds that mimic distress cries of various bird species. We've tried one instance of the former ploy - a life sized plastic owl, perched up on a pole near the pool - that seems to have had limited or no effect. That was a $20 expense; the sound boxes are more like $100 to $500, depending on the level of sophistication. I've also considered buying a pellet gun and giving them something to think about the next time they're taking a crap in our yard.
The most disturbing aspect of what I read, though, was the cause attributed to most of the bird anomalies in this area of Canada. Virtually everything I found on the Internet indicated, usually in passing, that the increased influx of birds into our towns and cities is tied to the rising temperatures we've been experiencing. The milder winters, it seems, have allowed their populations to grow beyond what they used to. Chatham had something like a quarter million crows to deal with in 2000, to the point where they spent $50,000 to have an expert come in and help scare the noisy and filthy pests off. Woodstock has had similar issues recently. And now we're having our own, albeit on a (so far) much smaller scale. What does this say about the direction the environment is heading?
As the planet warms up, we expect sea levels to rise and coastal land to be lost. Maybe New York City will end up under water, along with densely populated parts of Asia. But before we get to those apocalyptic events, though, which might still be a few decades away if they're not somehow averted, are we going to see more and more of these less drastic signs of natural unbalance? What other species are going to start being a problem in areas where they previously hadn't been? How would you feel about having a rat infestation in your neighbourhood? Or bigger and more dangerous spiders to have to contend with? Swarms of mosquitoes, bees or blackflies? Things like that are what I'm starting to think we're going to face first, before the big stuff, thanks to decades of treating our planet so carelessly.
Saturday, May 19, 2007
The Mess That Is The DC Universe
Lately I've been struck by the thought that many of the current DC titles are behaving very much likes ships without a rudder. That's not an easy revelation for me to accept, having been a big DC booster for most of the nearly 40 years I've been reading comics. And so many of my favourite stories, both of the Alan Moore variety and the rest, came from a DC that employed some of the greatest talent in comics history. I want DC to be great!
But some of the stuff coming out under the DC banner these days... Here are a few of the more odious developments that've really pushed my fannish loyalty to the edge, keeping in mind that I'm only covering titles I've bought (who knows how bad the others are):
1) All Star Batman & Robin the Boy Wonder - This sounded like a comic fan's dream come true when it was first announced: Frank Miller writing, Jim Lee providing the art, and an iconic take on the Caped Crusader. When an issue actually comes out, which isn't very often, we are getting a Miller/Lee extravaganza, alrighty! But the Batman within those pages is more ironic, than iconic. As in, "Wouldn't it be ironic if someone wrote Bruce Wayne as a total nutbar, instead of the man-on-the-edge that we're used to, and portrayed every female as a hooker?" I'm willing to accept a lot of different takes on Batman - after all, he's been re-imagined more times than just about any other fictional character - but this one: blechh!
2) Superman Confidential - Not only did it seem odd to add yet another monthly Super-title to the market, but the first storyline has been ridiculous: turns out Kryptonite is.. what?... intelligent? and has been aware of what's been happening to it since it first arrived on Earth? Where the Hell did that come from?
3) Batman Confidential - Again, a seemingly redundant title, and a stupid opening storyline. This time, we have Lex Luthor running afoul of Bruce Wayne, early in Batman's career. Which would be fine and good, except the most recent issues have Luthor attacking all of the U.S.'s military posts in a very aggressive, open manner. Wasn't the post-Crisis Luthor supposed to be the slimy businessman who manages to keep his public image clean by being smart? And yet we're supposed to believe he did something like that and stayed out of jail? Did that part of DCU history change again? Is there an editor on this title?
4) Hawkgirl - For its first couple of years, this title - or, rather, Hawkman, before the title change - was one of the strongest titles DC had. I'm sure writer Geoff Johns had a lot to do with that, and it's not like DC could force him to stay on it forever. But couldn't the subsequent writers, each of whom has been worse than the one before, have at least tried to keep some of what worked so well during Johns' run? Fortunately, Hawkgirl's been cancelled - or put out of its misery, as I like to say - but what a waste.
5) JLA Classified - It takes a lot to get me to drop a JLA title (it's only happened a handful of times in my life) but after about five or six issues, this flop was gone. I've sampled most of the storylines since then, but usually one issue is enough to put it back on the Discard pile. Its sister title, JSA Classified, while not consistently stellar, has at least managed to have more hits than misses. Is that so hard to achieve on a title with ever-changing creative teams?
6) Flash: The Fastest Man Alive - One of the worst developments of the past couple years has been the unceremonious replacement of Wally West by Bart Allen as the Scarlet Speedster. The story made no sense, including that they aged Bart through a contrived manner just so they could have the demographic they wanted for the lead. As much as I loved Barry Allen, I totally accepted Wally as the Flash. Bart? No. Then they put a couple writers from the old Flash TV show on the relaunch for the character, who, it turns out, couldn't write a good comic to save their lives! Luckily those bozos are gone back to TV land (or unemployment) and the current writer's better, but the damage appears to be done as this one's just messed up. Bart has barely any personality, they're throwing every rogue in the book at him, and they're trying their best to convince us that big things are coming... but is it really worth sticking around to find out?
7) Supergirl - Worst. Version. Ever! (And she's had some stinko series before this!)
8) Wonder Woman - Note for the future: Never do a major relaunch of a title with Allan Heinberg writing, unless you've got all of the scripts in hand already. The first four issues took forever to come out, and then eventually they gave up on ever getting the concluding fifth chapter, promising to deliver it to us someday, in a Wonder Woman Special. Maybe in 2011, for the fifth anniversary of Heinberg's debut issue?
9) Trials of Shazam - Whoever greenlit this series - in which Captain Marvel is reinvented as a hip magic-maker who meets up with modern incarnations of classic figures in a riff on the trials of Hercules - ought to be fired. Seriously fired. Fans of the original character will hate this; and the 21st Century equivalent to beatniks probably aren't reading comics, anyway. I tried two or three issues before I couldn't stand it anymore.
In all of these cases, I hold the editor more responsible than the creative teams. Writers always think they're spinning gold; it's the editor's job to tell the crap from the gold and keep the former from being published. If DC doesn't start cleaning up their act soon, I'm going to be as busy dropping DC titles as I've been reducing my monthly Marvel purchases. And that would be a sad thing.
But some of the stuff coming out under the DC banner these days... Here are a few of the more odious developments that've really pushed my fannish loyalty to the edge, keeping in mind that I'm only covering titles I've bought (who knows how bad the others are):
1) All Star Batman & Robin the Boy Wonder - This sounded like a comic fan's dream come true when it was first announced: Frank Miller writing, Jim Lee providing the art, and an iconic take on the Caped Crusader. When an issue actually comes out, which isn't very often, we are getting a Miller/Lee extravaganza, alrighty! But the Batman within those pages is more ironic, than iconic. As in, "Wouldn't it be ironic if someone wrote Bruce Wayne as a total nutbar, instead of the man-on-the-edge that we're used to, and portrayed every female as a hooker?" I'm willing to accept a lot of different takes on Batman - after all, he's been re-imagined more times than just about any other fictional character - but this one: blechh!
2) Superman Confidential - Not only did it seem odd to add yet another monthly Super-title to the market, but the first storyline has been ridiculous: turns out Kryptonite is.. what?... intelligent? and has been aware of what's been happening to it since it first arrived on Earth? Where the Hell did that come from?
3) Batman Confidential - Again, a seemingly redundant title, and a stupid opening storyline. This time, we have Lex Luthor running afoul of Bruce Wayne, early in Batman's career. Which would be fine and good, except the most recent issues have Luthor attacking all of the U.S.'s military posts in a very aggressive, open manner. Wasn't the post-Crisis Luthor supposed to be the slimy businessman who manages to keep his public image clean by being smart? And yet we're supposed to believe he did something like that and stayed out of jail? Did that part of DCU history change again? Is there an editor on this title?
4) Hawkgirl - For its first couple of years, this title - or, rather, Hawkman, before the title change - was one of the strongest titles DC had. I'm sure writer Geoff Johns had a lot to do with that, and it's not like DC could force him to stay on it forever. But couldn't the subsequent writers, each of whom has been worse than the one before, have at least tried to keep some of what worked so well during Johns' run? Fortunately, Hawkgirl's been cancelled - or put out of its misery, as I like to say - but what a waste.
5) JLA Classified - It takes a lot to get me to drop a JLA title (it's only happened a handful of times in my life) but after about five or six issues, this flop was gone. I've sampled most of the storylines since then, but usually one issue is enough to put it back on the Discard pile. Its sister title, JSA Classified, while not consistently stellar, has at least managed to have more hits than misses. Is that so hard to achieve on a title with ever-changing creative teams?
6) Flash: The Fastest Man Alive - One of the worst developments of the past couple years has been the unceremonious replacement of Wally West by Bart Allen as the Scarlet Speedster. The story made no sense, including that they aged Bart through a contrived manner just so they could have the demographic they wanted for the lead. As much as I loved Barry Allen, I totally accepted Wally as the Flash. Bart? No. Then they put a couple writers from the old Flash TV show on the relaunch for the character, who, it turns out, couldn't write a good comic to save their lives! Luckily those bozos are gone back to TV land (or unemployment) and the current writer's better, but the damage appears to be done as this one's just messed up. Bart has barely any personality, they're throwing every rogue in the book at him, and they're trying their best to convince us that big things are coming... but is it really worth sticking around to find out?
7) Supergirl - Worst. Version. Ever! (And she's had some stinko series before this!)
8) Wonder Woman - Note for the future: Never do a major relaunch of a title with Allan Heinberg writing, unless you've got all of the scripts in hand already. The first four issues took forever to come out, and then eventually they gave up on ever getting the concluding fifth chapter, promising to deliver it to us someday, in a Wonder Woman Special. Maybe in 2011, for the fifth anniversary of Heinberg's debut issue?
9) Trials of Shazam - Whoever greenlit this series - in which Captain Marvel is reinvented as a hip magic-maker who meets up with modern incarnations of classic figures in a riff on the trials of Hercules - ought to be fired. Seriously fired. Fans of the original character will hate this; and the 21st Century equivalent to beatniks probably aren't reading comics, anyway. I tried two or three issues before I couldn't stand it anymore.
In all of these cases, I hold the editor more responsible than the creative teams. Writers always think they're spinning gold; it's the editor's job to tell the crap from the gold and keep the former from being published. If DC doesn't start cleaning up their act soon, I'm going to be as busy dropping DC titles as I've been reducing my monthly Marvel purchases. And that would be a sad thing.
Friday, May 18, 2007
Farewell Hearty Traveller
Tammy was over for a visit tonight prior to leaving for Toronto tomorrow, and then Europe on Tuesday. She's modified her plans from what I'd heard months ago, most notably by increasing the # of days per city. At one point, she had a schedule where many of her stops were only a day or two in length, whereas now it sounds like she's averaging more like three days. Having done the Europe-between-university-and-working thing myself - 21 years ago now - I definitely worried that she'd wear herself out at too hectic a pace to make it through two months on the road. But now she's got a little more slack in the trip, which is great. And she's done a whole lot of research into everywhere she's going, so I expect she'll be better prepared for what awaits her than I ever was (I'd never even flown in a plane before; she's not only been to England, France and Ireland before, but travelled a lot within this part of the world).
Anyway, here's hoping she has lots of fun and is extra careful, in just the right measures.
Anyway, here's hoping she has lots of fun and is extra careful, in just the right measures.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Someday I Expect This Might Make Me Sad
It sounds like Veronica Mars isn't being renewed. I know a few people for whom this will be sad news, indeed. After sampling the first couple episodes of Season One, courtesy of Tammy, I couldn't really get into the bizarre blend of ultra-realism and Nancy Drew-ism. But I did say I'd give it another try at some future date, since it wasn't like I hated it or anything. And meeting Kristen Bell in Chicago last year, where Tammy got a signed autograph and was able to exchange a few words with her heroine, didn't hurt her case - Kristen seemed friendly, was gracious to her fans, and the half hour wait we had in line while she was "on break" probably wasn't entirely her fault.
Anyway, I figured I should share.
Anyway, I figured I should share.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
How Daunting Is Buffalo's Challenge?
The Sabres, down 3-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals going into tonight's game, have to do something that no other Eastern Conference playoff team has done this year: win, when facing elimination! That's right.. according to my research, all six series prior to this (four in the 1st round, two in the 2nd) have ended as soon as one team had a chance to close it out. In Round One, the Rangers swept Atlanta, the Sabres beat the Islanders in five with NYI winning Game 2, the Devils beat Tampa Bay in six after the series had been tied at 2-2, and Ottawa lost Game 2 to the Penguins but took the series in five. In Round Two, the Sabres prevailed against the Rangers in six after the series had been tied 2-2, and the Sens dispatched the Devils in five after losing Game 2. All in all, not a single win could be bought by a team facing elimination! That's pretty wacky, especially when you consider how many close games there've been! (And obviously this stat implies no Game 7's, which is also true.)
The Western Conference teams have fared better, with a 3-5 record when facing elimination, although no team actually came all the way back to win a series after being on the verge.
[Update:] The game's now over, and Buffalo managed to avoid elimination and force a Game 5 back at home. With the 3-1 series here and a 2-1 lead by Detroit in the other one, there'll be no sweeps in Round 3, just like there were none in Round 2. In fact, the only sweep so far in the 2007 NHL Playoffs was masterfully delivered by... you guessed it, the New York Rangers! If we don't have a sweep in the Final series - whoever makes it there! - then the boys will be the only broom-holders for the entire year! That's another nice feather in the cap of a great playoff year.
The Western Conference teams have fared better, with a 3-5 record when facing elimination, although no team actually came all the way back to win a series after being on the verge.
[Update:] The game's now over, and Buffalo managed to avoid elimination and force a Game 5 back at home. With the 3-1 series here and a 2-1 lead by Detroit in the other one, there'll be no sweeps in Round 3, just like there were none in Round 2. In fact, the only sweep so far in the 2007 NHL Playoffs was masterfully delivered by... you guessed it, the New York Rangers! If we don't have a sweep in the Final series - whoever makes it there! - then the boys will be the only broom-holders for the entire year! That's another nice feather in the cap of a great playoff year.
Even I Can Still Be Surprised With Comic News Like This
I always knew that Spidey's black costume had a convoluted history, having appeared first in Secret Wars # 8 as a convenient replacement for Peter's tattered red-and-blues, eventually morphing into Venom but only after escaping from the captivity Reed "Mr. Fantastic" Richards had engineered for it. And then today I read this and go, "Wow... that's really something!" Assuming this doesn't turn out to be a hoax, the real originator of the black duds has quite the tale, now that he's finally decided to tell is.
Heroes Coming To A DVD Player Near You
Sure, we all know it's only 5 days until the season finale for Heroes, but did you know that approximately 100 days after that, you'll be able to own Season One, if you want to? It's true!
August 28th was announced today as the release date for the Heroes Season One DVD. Price is expected to be $59.98 (one assumes that's the US price), or $99.98 for HD-DVD. Now, I'm all for better picture quality, but is the difference in quality between standard DVD and HD-DVD really worth a nearly 70% price increase? I just don't think so, personally. The difference between SD broadcast and HD broadcast is huge; between the two DVD formats in question? Not so huge. Even if a Blu-Ray version comes out, at that sort of pricing, I wouldn't be tempted at all. The studios need to come to their senses on this topic.
August 28th was announced today as the release date for the Heroes Season One DVD. Price is expected to be $59.98 (one assumes that's the US price), or $99.98 for HD-DVD. Now, I'm all for better picture quality, but is the difference in quality between standard DVD and HD-DVD really worth a nearly 70% price increase? I just don't think so, personally. The difference between SD broadcast and HD broadcast is huge; between the two DVD formats in question? Not so huge. Even if a Blu-Ray version comes out, at that sort of pricing, I wouldn't be tempted at all. The studios need to come to their senses on this topic.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Exciting Comics Coming Out Tomorrow (May 15th Edition)
Been a few weeks since I did one of these, so let's get right to 'er!
All Star Batman & Robin the Boy Wonder # 5 - So what's the bigger story here? That it's been about a year since the previous issue came out? That the series has been almost universally criticized for portraying an almost unrecognizable, not to mention unlikable, Caped Crusader amidst a bare bones story? Or that it's Frank Miller writing and Jim Lee on artwork, which - prior to this series, anyway - would seem to anyone with a brain to be a virtual license to print money?? I hate to say it, but this is the car crash you can't look away from. I'll certainly be buying # 5 tomorrow...
Batman # 665 - More Grant Morrison/Andy Kubert goodness to be found under the cover shown here, one hopes. But also a reminder of just how poorly DC has handled what looked like it was going to be a new Golden Age of the Big Three, between Action Comics, Superman, Batman, Detective Comics, All Star B&RtBW (ridiculed above), All Star Superman, and Wonder Woman. Not a single one of them has avoided significant delays or fill-in material, just in the last six months alone! Sometimes I think Marvel hasn't won the popularity contest so much as DC's handed it to them. Sigh.
Countdown # 50 - What multiversal wonders await us in Week Two? If I went to MySpace I suppose I could find out now via the preview of the first half of the comic there, but where's the fun in that?
Ex Machina # 28 - Last issue it really started to look like we might have a time traveller on our hands, as the mysterious figure behind the blackout of 2003 dropped more hints about his origins, and he was sure sounding like he was from the future! This continues to be one of the "under the radar" great comic titles of this era.
Justice League of America # 9 - Part 3 of the I've-lost-track-of-how-many-parts-it-is JLA/JSA/LSH crossover. I wish Meltzer and Johns were pacing this a little faster, as it really feels like not enough is happening each issue. But I guess that's just the genre as it exists today. Beggars really can't be choosers, it seems.
Mighty Avengers # 3 - Last issue was suuuuch a boring read, that this title's definitely on the bubble right now. It'd be really smart if they managed to make this one a bit more exciting. I'm just sayin'!
Ultimates 2 # 13 - The poster child for Series That Are Always Delayed, this long-awaited final issue concludes the 2nd volume of Ultimates stories. Writer Mark Millar and artist Bryan Hitch wrap up their association with these characters here, which not-too-coincidentally marks the end of my interest in them, as well. Quarter- to half-year delays in any future Ultimates series will fortunately mean absolutely nothing to me, for a change. But it certainly was a great ride, for 26 issues!
Wacky Weather
After nearly reaching 30 degrees today, the high temperature for tomorrow is forecast at 13 degrees, and that's in the morning! By the afternoon, the temperature's supposed to be down to 9 degrees. All of this in the middle of May, with our pool open and the water having already been warmed up once, to get it into the high 70s F. I swear we didn't used to have these wild swings of temperature like this back before we, y'know, got really good at screwing up the planet's ecosystem!
It also seems like a good time to ask: anyone want to go on record as predicting this won't be one of the top 20 Hottest Years On Record by the time it's over? Before you do, though, you should know that 19 of the 20 hottest years since 1880 have come since 1980, and 9 of the top 10 happened between 1995 and last year (2006 was the hottest year on record, replacing 1998 for that distinction).
It also seems like a good time to ask: anyone want to go on record as predicting this won't be one of the top 20 Hottest Years On Record by the time it's over? Before you do, though, you should know that 19 of the 20 hottest years since 1880 have come since 1980, and 9 of the top 10 happened between 1995 and last year (2006 was the hottest year on record, replacing 1998 for that distinction).
Monday, May 14, 2007
Hard To Believe He Wrote The Best Comics Ever
Alan Moore & Melinda Gebbie Getting Married 'In Style' (photo by Neil Gaiman)
Read all about it at Neil Gaiman's blog. And if that doesn't make you envious enough, read the previous entry where Neil offhandedly mentions having had dinner with J. Michael Straczynski prior to heading to the wedding (eat your heart out, PeterJ!)
Some people have all the luck... and all the talent... and all the fans...
Assorted TV News
As Tammy mentioned in a comment to another post, NBC's announced a Heroes: Origins miniseries for next season (sounded like 8-ish episodes). Coincidental with that good news, comes the sad proclamation of Studio 60's demise (boo), and a re-iteration/confirmation of the Bionic Woman series coming from NBC. I can't decide how I feel about that. You couldn't find a bigger Six Million Dollar Man/Bionic Woman fan than me (well, OK, you probably could, but why bother?) and yet I can't help but worry that they'll totally destroy the concept in attempting to modernize it. We do have Battlestar Galactica as a counter example of that, though, so maybe all I need is a little faith? Anyone else thinking about this stuff, or is it just me?
Click here for more details about NBC's fall schedule.
Comic and Lost writer Brian K. Vaughan has been quoted of late as saying that he now knows the big picture behind what's going on on the island, and that there's always been a master plan among the writing staff there. No big surprise to me, but some people have had their doubts. He also admitted that he's the one responsible for Charlie and Hurley's amusing Superman/Flash ponderings.
Click here for more details about NBC's fall schedule.
Comic and Lost writer Brian K. Vaughan has been quoted of late as saying that he now knows the big picture behind what's going on on the island, and that there's always been a master plan among the writing staff there. No big surprise to me, but some people have had their doubts. He also admitted that he's the one responsible for Charlie and Hurley's amusing Superman/Flash ponderings.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Small Comics Can Be Good, Too
During this period of "event comics", when DC and Marvel are battling it out to see who can publish the biggest intra-company throwdown - House of M, Civil War, Infinite Crisis, 52, JLA/JSA/LSH, Countdown, Amazons Attack and World War Hulk, just off the top of my head - a little standalone gem like JSA Classified # 25 comes along and really impresses the Hell out of me!
I'm sure part of it is that I'm a sucker for the JSA to begin with, although most of the tales in this particular spin-off title have thus far managed to only bore me silly. And it may've helped that I had no particular expectations about a story written by Tony Bedard - recent successor to Mark Waid on Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes - and drawn by Dennis Calera - who I'd never heard of before this. But whatever the case, I thoroughly enjoyed this comic!
The story's full of human interest angles, as the original Green Lantern pays a visit to a long-retired ex-villain named Johnny Mimic. Mimic's game, for the short period of time in the Golden Age when he was still active, was that he'd recreate famous crime scenes... though we're not exactly sure why! He'd been caught in the act by a much younger GL, decades ago, as he broke into the JSA's HQ, but promised the hero that he'd quit if he could just avoid jail time. Both men had been as good as their word, until today, when Lantern has to ask him to use his abilities once more to help solve a classic "locked room mystery." I was drawn right in from about the second page on, because both Johnny and Alan "GL" Scott are so strongly characterized by their moral codes. The resolution of the mystery also pays off big-time, which isn't always the case (some of Paul Dini's recent "done-in-one mysteries" in Detective Comics have left me scratching my head, for example).
The cover sports a strking image (shown here), and the interior artwork by newcomer Callero is just beautiful. Chances are this comic flew under the radar of most comic fans, but that's a shame, if true. This is one of those books you can read and enjoy without having ever encountered any of the characters before, because everything you need to know is right there, on the printed page. In some ways, this is an example of a comic that you almost wish could be someone's first. Except, of course, that the next one they'd read would probably be part 3 of 7, and involve another series, as that's a lot more typical these days. (And, as I've blogged about previously, that's not necessarily a bad thing.)
Waid Does It Again!
Most summers, Vicki and I end up going to the big comic convention in Chicago, as our big "geek fest" for the year. Over the past decade, I've usually also been a panelist there, participating as one of the four fans in an annual "Pro Vs Fans" comic trivia contest that's about as geeky as you can get. A quartet of no-name victims, including me, gang up against longtime comic author Mark Waid in a battle to see who knows more minutiae about comics from the Silver Age (approx. 1956 to 1970). As luck would have it, Waid often wins... by often, I mean usually... and by usually, I mean, well, always. (One of these days we'll beat him. Or he'll drop dead at the microphone, and we'll grab the crown off of his still-warm, flop-sweat-soaked head!) Last year's almost-victory was posted on YouTube, so the truly-desperate-for-entertainment should search for "Pro Fan Trivia" there and lose an hour of their life that they'll never get back...
But anyway, Master Trivia Wizard Waid was interviewed recently about sundry comic book topics - all of which were of great interest to me, of course - but the comment he made that echoed exactly my own feelings came when the interviewer asked him his thoughts on Marvel's Civil War series. Waid said,
"Basically, what made me itchy about Civil War is that - whether intentionally or not - the message seemed to be "give up your civil liberties and stop fighting for the things you believe in and everything will be fine." I get enough of that from the Bush administration."
If you're interested, you can read the entire interview here.
I should also point out that, having sparred with Waid in person as many times as I have, that I can totally hear his voice whenever I read an interview with him. Note that I didn't say "his whiney voice." Really. I didn't!
But anyway, Master Trivia Wizard Waid was interviewed recently about sundry comic book topics - all of which were of great interest to me, of course - but the comment he made that echoed exactly my own feelings came when the interviewer asked him his thoughts on Marvel's Civil War series. Waid said,
"Basically, what made me itchy about Civil War is that - whether intentionally or not - the message seemed to be "give up your civil liberties and stop fighting for the things you believe in and everything will be fine." I get enough of that from the Bush administration."
If you're interested, you can read the entire interview here.
I should also point out that, having sparred with Waid in person as many times as I have, that I can totally hear his voice whenever I read an interview with him. Note that I didn't say "his whiney voice." Really. I didn't!
A Must Read For The Star Wars Enthusiast
I don't really count myself as a big Star Wars fan. I say this for a variety of reasons, the two most important of which are:
1) I only saw each of the original movies once at the theatre. Having seen each chapter, and enjoyed it as mindless entertainment, I had no desire to go back and see it again anytime soon. Your own experience, if you're old enough to have been around in the '70s and early '80s, may have been different. ;-)
2) I actually enjoyed the later 3 installments more than the original trilogy! Yes, blasphemy... I know! But there's just no comparison, in my mind. The effects are much better, the stories are more interesting, and the acting's better. People slam Episode I through III's dialogue, but I say: go back and watch the originals and stop mouthing along with the actors long enough to actually listen to the words being spoken! Most of it's campy as Helll! So basically that's a tie in my books. Similarly, complaining about Jar Jar Binks while gleefully loving the Ewoks - cute, cuddly teddy bears who also happen to be master warriors with hearts of gold! - just smells like denial to me! I also never gave a crap about Darth Vader, either as a villain or as someone who could find redemption, until I watched Anakin Skywalker's story unfold in Episodes I to III. That affected me! And to be honest: I don't really get all that excited about either trilogy, beyond (as PeterJ might call it) the popcorn fun they provide. None of them are likely to ever make my Favourite Movies of All Time list, but they're all just fine for what they are.
Having said all that, I do have a certain nostalgic fondness for the Marvel comic series that adapted and continued the original stories. For one thing, I had a letter published in one of the first six issues - the issues that provided the adaptation of the first film - and that provided a tie that I've never forgotten. Also, as the published letter describes, the only reason I ever wanted to see Star Wars at the theatre was that the comic had seemed interesting. The first two issues came out before the movie premiered, and considering the line-ups to see it in my hometown, I may've actually owned three or four of the comics prior to seeing the entire story on the big screen. Whatever the case, I definitely had more love for the comic version than the movie, and that's always been true (not surprising, considering my love for the genre).
With that as background, I read with rapt attention this article by comic writer Roy Thomas, as he recounted his own experiences leading up to providing the script for Marvel's comic adaptation of the first film. I think any die-hard Star Wars fan would find some of the early bits fascinating, unless of course they're common knowledge already. I'll leave that up to you to decide...
1) I only saw each of the original movies once at the theatre. Having seen each chapter, and enjoyed it as mindless entertainment, I had no desire to go back and see it again anytime soon. Your own experience, if you're old enough to have been around in the '70s and early '80s, may have been different. ;-)
2) I actually enjoyed the later 3 installments more than the original trilogy! Yes, blasphemy... I know! But there's just no comparison, in my mind. The effects are much better, the stories are more interesting, and the acting's better. People slam Episode I through III's dialogue, but I say: go back and watch the originals and stop mouthing along with the actors long enough to actually listen to the words being spoken! Most of it's campy as Helll! So basically that's a tie in my books. Similarly, complaining about Jar Jar Binks while gleefully loving the Ewoks - cute, cuddly teddy bears who also happen to be master warriors with hearts of gold! - just smells like denial to me! I also never gave a crap about Darth Vader, either as a villain or as someone who could find redemption, until I watched Anakin Skywalker's story unfold in Episodes I to III. That affected me! And to be honest: I don't really get all that excited about either trilogy, beyond (as PeterJ might call it) the popcorn fun they provide. None of them are likely to ever make my Favourite Movies of All Time list, but they're all just fine for what they are.
Having said all that, I do have a certain nostalgic fondness for the Marvel comic series that adapted and continued the original stories. For one thing, I had a letter published in one of the first six issues - the issues that provided the adaptation of the first film - and that provided a tie that I've never forgotten. Also, as the published letter describes, the only reason I ever wanted to see Star Wars at the theatre was that the comic had seemed interesting. The first two issues came out before the movie premiered, and considering the line-ups to see it in my hometown, I may've actually owned three or four of the comics prior to seeing the entire story on the big screen. Whatever the case, I definitely had more love for the comic version than the movie, and that's always been true (not surprising, considering my love for the genre).
With that as background, I read with rapt attention this article by comic writer Roy Thomas, as he recounted his own experiences leading up to providing the script for Marvel's comic adaptation of the first film. I think any die-hard Star Wars fan would find some of the early bits fascinating, unless of course they're common knowledge already. I'll leave that up to you to decide...
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Uh Oh, Buffalo!
Despite scoring yet another late tying goal - like they did in the pivotal Game 5 against the Rangers - the Sabres came up short in the second Overtime tonight, to fall behind 2-0 with the series now moving to Ottawa. As I said when they beat the Rangers in Round 2, anything short of a Cup victory will be considered failure for this year's Buffalo squad. And it's now going to take a comeback of epic proportions to avoid that fate. Or possibly it'll simply require Ottawa choking... again. I don't expect either to happen, but that's why they play the games!
I can't say as I'd be unhappy should Buffalo be ousted. They were pretty hard to take when they beat my boys, so the prospect of the shoe being on the other foot has some appeal. I'm always just happy when neither the Habs nor Isles are still playing at this time of year!
I can't say as I'd be unhappy should Buffalo be ousted. They were pretty hard to take when they beat my boys, so the prospect of the shoe being on the other foot has some appeal. I'm always just happy when neither the Habs nor Isles are still playing at this time of year!
Brother, Can You Spare A Dime?
Two recent events reminded me of things I'd hadn't thought of in awhile. The first occurred at the grocery store a couple weeks ago, when the couple in front of me had finished having their items rung through. The woman was rummaging through her purse, pulling out coin after coin, in an attempt to get to the total that the cashier had given her. She literally turned her purse upside down, in order to get the last few pieces of currency out, before finally admitting that they didn't have quite enough to pay the bill. They then started picking out the items to leave behind, and that continued until they got down to a figure that the small pile of paper and larger mound of coins could cover. I didn't have any small bills or coins on me, or I most definitely would've offered up the $2 or $3 they were short, if no for other reason than to speed up the proceedings! (I don't mean to sound heartless, and if you keep reading, you'll see this wasn't a first-time experience for me.)
The second, similar scene happened at a variety store, where I was waiting in line to pay for about $5 in gas that I'd bought for the lawn mower. The young guy at the head of the line had asked for a couple packs of cigarettes, along with a chocolate bar and several other items. When he attempted to pay for them via his debit card, the transaction got rejected. He didn't seem overly surprised, but instead, put the chocolate bar back and then tried again. This continued a couple more times, until he was down to just one pack of cigarettes, which he seemed to have enough in the account to cover. In this particular case, I didn't feel the least bit tempted to offer to help, since buying people cancer sticks isn't high on my list of Good Deeds I Might Do.
Both of these incidents reminded me of being a kid, and being out shopping with my mom. She was always (barely) living from payday to payday, so running out of money wasn't the least bit out of the question. In fact, it was a regular routine that, when we went to buy groceries, she'd ask me to keep a running total in my head, so that there wouldn't be any surprises at the checkout. I got really good at doing that, to the point where I'd be right, within a dollar or two, and she relied on that to make sure she didn't go the route of the people I described above. Knowing her as well as I did, I'm quite sure she did this because she'd have considered it both rude and embarrassing to get into that predicament. Rude, because you're slowing down the people behind you, and embarrassing, because.. well, I'd think that's obvious!
Having lived that existence, for years, while at the same time being a long, long way removed from that situation in the last couple decades, I have mixed emotions when I see it play out in front of me. I can, and did, certainly empathize with their plight, and I understand a lot of things beyond one's control can lead to running out of money. But I also couldn't help but remember my own past. My mother had every reason to be bitter when money was tight, and to think that the world owed her something, and yet she still acted in accordance with a belief that everyone around her was as important as she was. None of the people I observed recently being unable to cover their tab exhibited even the slightest concern for the fact that they'd brought their respective checkout lines grinding to a halt, nor the faintest embarrassment about it. Maybe this is just Grouchy Old Matt and nothing else, but that certainly reduced any sympathy I might've felt toward them. In fairness to them, I know nothing about their story. It's possible that, knowing more, I'd have completely understood their behaviour. But since none of them seemed to be wearing shabby clothes, or lacking in jewellery or other forms of discretionary spending, it just ended up seeming more like people living beyond their means, and getting in my way when the world called them on it.
The second, similar scene happened at a variety store, where I was waiting in line to pay for about $5 in gas that I'd bought for the lawn mower. The young guy at the head of the line had asked for a couple packs of cigarettes, along with a chocolate bar and several other items. When he attempted to pay for them via his debit card, the transaction got rejected. He didn't seem overly surprised, but instead, put the chocolate bar back and then tried again. This continued a couple more times, until he was down to just one pack of cigarettes, which he seemed to have enough in the account to cover. In this particular case, I didn't feel the least bit tempted to offer to help, since buying people cancer sticks isn't high on my list of Good Deeds I Might Do.
Both of these incidents reminded me of being a kid, and being out shopping with my mom. She was always (barely) living from payday to payday, so running out of money wasn't the least bit out of the question. In fact, it was a regular routine that, when we went to buy groceries, she'd ask me to keep a running total in my head, so that there wouldn't be any surprises at the checkout. I got really good at doing that, to the point where I'd be right, within a dollar or two, and she relied on that to make sure she didn't go the route of the people I described above. Knowing her as well as I did, I'm quite sure she did this because she'd have considered it both rude and embarrassing to get into that predicament. Rude, because you're slowing down the people behind you, and embarrassing, because.. well, I'd think that's obvious!
Having lived that existence, for years, while at the same time being a long, long way removed from that situation in the last couple decades, I have mixed emotions when I see it play out in front of me. I can, and did, certainly empathize with their plight, and I understand a lot of things beyond one's control can lead to running out of money. But I also couldn't help but remember my own past. My mother had every reason to be bitter when money was tight, and to think that the world owed her something, and yet she still acted in accordance with a belief that everyone around her was as important as she was. None of the people I observed recently being unable to cover their tab exhibited even the slightest concern for the fact that they'd brought their respective checkout lines grinding to a halt, nor the faintest embarrassment about it. Maybe this is just Grouchy Old Matt and nothing else, but that certainly reduced any sympathy I might've felt toward them. In fairness to them, I know nothing about their story. It's possible that, knowing more, I'd have completely understood their behaviour. But since none of them seemed to be wearing shabby clothes, or lacking in jewellery or other forms of discretionary spending, it just ended up seeming more like people living beyond their means, and getting in my way when the world called them on it.
The Countdown Has Begun
The first thing you need to know is: DC's new weekly series, Countdown, is being numbered like a true countdown. The first issue, which debuted this week, was # 51. Next week's will be # 50. And so on, right down to a penultimate # 1, before concluding with a # 0 issue (Hinckley would approve, I'm sure!) There are a couple reasons why this works for me: first, as mentioned previously, it reflects what the series is; second, coming the week after its predecessor weekly sibling, 52, finished with # 52, it provides the semblance of symmetry with that title. (1, 2, 3 through 52, and then back down through 1 again, plus that crazy 0 issue a year from now.)
The second thing you need to know is: this is being called the spine of the DC Universe over the next year. Unlike 52, which covered a "missing year" in the history of that world, Countdown's going to reflect whatever significant events are going on in the rest of DC's titles each week, while continuing to advance its own stories. I'm not sure how that's going to play out yet, but that's DC's claim. I'd take that to mean that, for example, the feverish violence of Amazons Attack, should show up in Countdown sometime over the next several months. We'll see if that happens.
The last important facet of the new weekly title, it seems to me, is that it promises to be at least one place where the new Multiverse will be explored. Certainly that's confirmed in issue # 51, as one of the characters showcased makes the offhand remark that she's from a neighbouring universe, like you or I might say we're from a nearby city or town. Also, we're shown a couple of very powerful Monitors - the original of which was prominently featured two decades ago in Crisis on Infinite Earths - who apparently are in charge of tracking down and... taking care of... beings who move from one Earth to another. (As one reviewer noted, this makes them the Border Patrol of the DCU, and that comparison of course reminds me of John Sayles' excellent film, Lone Star, and what happened to poor Eladio Cruz.)
In reading other reviews of this issue, it seems many readers were most impressed by the inclusion of Darkseid in the opening pages. Unlike the vast majority of my brethren - apparently - I've never gotten much of a thrill out of Jack Kirby's Fourth World characters, including Darkseid. Part of it is just that reading any of those original Kirby creations from the early 70s is more likely to induce cringes from me than oohs or ahhs, and the rest stems from the various interpretations since then. Even when the characters showed up on the Superman animated series a few years back, I couldn't drum up much enthusiasm. Maybe if Alan Moore had ever left his mark on Apokalips and the rest of Darkseid's entourage, he'd've shown me something more interesting than "evil guy who rules evil planet with iron fist and has scheming sycophants and an endless supply of cannon fodder soldiers at his disposal." It could just be that I don't get Darkseid. At any rate, that angle's hardly a draw for me.
But I'll certainly give the series another several weeks, in order to see where the multiple Earths storyline is going, before bailing on it. The first issue was okay, but not much better than that.
More Musings On The DC Multiverse
More than a week after my previous post about it, the return of DC's multiverse continues to be a hot topic among comic fans on the Internet. You can see some of that here or here or any number of other places where DC geeks mingle (including... right here, I suppose).
If DC's plan was to get everyone talking, then they should be happy! As is always the case where the Internet's concerned, people are jumping to lots of conclusions based on minimal data. Because the few panels shown in 52 # 52 raised more questions than they answered, everyone has been enjoying creating their own interpretations. One of the foremost questions seems to be: is this the old DC Multiverse, returned, or simply a return of the concept? My reading of the final issue of 52 was that these are brand new worlds that bear a striking resemblance to some old friends, but they aren't them. Having said that, they are amazingly familiar...
The next biggest topic of discussion revolves around how DC will use these 52 (51?) new, alternate universes. Personally, my concern is that they'll employ them willy nilly, without rhyme or reason, and it'll quickly become apparent that they were introduced simply to provide a vehicle to explain away all of the inconsistencies bred of bad editing. I'm not assuming that will happen; I worried it may. And the main reason for that concern is DC's history for playing fast and loose with continuity. Will DC do better this time around? One can only hope. A suggestion made somewhere that appealed to me was that DC clearly mark any tale that's set on an Earth other than "New Earth" (the main one) with something... Maybe a DC-2 bullet for Earth-2, and so on. One of the reasons I like this idea is that it reinforces the notion that, these worlds aren't just there to explain away stories you no longer feel like standing behind!
Bottom line for me: I'm excited about the return of the Multiverse. But most of what DC's done lately, starting with Infinite Crisis and continuing through 52, has been filled with potential that seldom got realized (for me, anyway). That certainly wasn't the case back in the days of Watchmen, Crisis on Infinite Earths, Sandman, Preacher, Starman, and The Dark Knight Returns, among others. This is a company that's reached some dizzying heights in the arena of superheroic/fantasy fiction... though not so much lately.
Friday, May 11, 2007
Did Anyone Else Notice Rena Sofer Was On Against Herself Last Monday?
It almost happened months ago, but this past week it actually came to pass: Rena Sofer had a brief appearance on Heroes, on NBC on Monday at 9:00, as Nathan Petrelli's wife returned with her children from some visit, while Jack Bauer's sister-in-law was among the hostages within CTU when it was attacked by bad guys, on Fox's 24, during the same timeslot. Both characters, of course, are played by the same actress, the lovely Rena Sofer! You'd think there'd be some sort of clause in the actors union by-laws to prevent that from happening, as it hardly seems fair to have to compete with yourself for ratings!
Ah well, it's not like the fans of either show are going to complain...
Ah well, it's not like the fans of either show are going to complain...
Why Do I Love NHL Statistics So Much?
I don't know why.. but I just do!
So, when a friend and former co-worker commented today, over e-mail, that he believed the Ottawa Senators had never won a Game 2 in a playoff series, I smelled a rat. The stat that Boneman and I'd been hearing was slightly different: Ottawa had never won a Game 2 after winning Game 1, in a series. Or, as Boneman would tell you, the Sens had never managed to go up 2-0 in the playoffs. And yet here was this Sens fan in Ottawa claiming that the stat was more incredible, namely that the modern day Sens had never won a Game 2. It didn't smell right to me, and so I just had to do some digging.
I went to a frequent source of NHL info for me, hockeydb.com and started poking around. I know that site is particularly handy for seasonal final standings (going back to 1918) and playoff series results, over the same period. I started with 1995/96, since I figured that's around the time Ottawa started making annual trips to the post-season. That particular year they finished with 41 points in 82 games, so there was no need to check the playoff results. But the following year, the Sens had improved to a respectable 77 pts, which actually got them into the playoffs at a time when 8 out of 13 teams would qualify in the Eastern Conference.
When I started looking into the series results that year, there was Ottawa playing Buffalo in the first round. Here's what was shown:
" Apr 17 Ottawa Senators 1- 3 at Buffalo Sabres
Apr 19 Ottawa Senators 3- 1 at Buffalo Sabres
Apr 21 Buffalo Sabres 3- 2 at Ottawa Senators
Apr 23 Buffalo Sabres 0- 1 at Ottawa Senators 00:02:34 OT
Apr 25 Ottawa Senators 4- 1 at Buffalo Sabres
Apr 27 Buffalo Sabres 3- 0 at Ottawa Senators
Apr 29 Ottawa Senators 2- 3 at Buffalo Sabres 00:05:24 OT
Buffalo Sabres win series 4 games to 3"
Now, this would appear to indicate that Buffalo won Game 1 by a 3-1 score, and then Ottawa returned the favour in Game 2, also 3-1. Assuming this data is correct, there, on my first playoff series review, was Ottawa winning a Game 2. Of equal interest was the fact that, while they won Game 2, they hadn't won Game 1, meaning that the stat Boneman and I were hearing - Ottawa had never won a Game 2 after winning Game 1 - was still intact.
Now that I'd come this far, I figured I'd finish the search. Moving forward, year by year, I saw that Ottawa had won another Game 2, this time in 2002, when they beat the Flyers 3-0, after losing Game 1 by a 1-0 score in O/T. So once again, no 2-0 lead in the series, but a clear Game 2 victory. The following year, they won Game 2 against the Islanders (3-0 again) after losing the series opener (by another 3-0 mark).
And that was the complete list of Game 2 victories by the Sens: 3 of them, all coming after dropping the series opener to their opponent. Clearly the friend in Ottawa had been hoodwinked completely, and just didn't bother to look into it. Which is hardly surprising, but as I say: I love NHL stats, so I felt obliged to track this one down!
(And yes, this is exactly the sort of thing Boneman and I talk about all the time! For nearly twenty years now...)
So, when a friend and former co-worker commented today, over e-mail, that he believed the Ottawa Senators had never won a Game 2 in a playoff series, I smelled a rat. The stat that Boneman and I'd been hearing was slightly different: Ottawa had never won a Game 2 after winning Game 1, in a series. Or, as Boneman would tell you, the Sens had never managed to go up 2-0 in the playoffs. And yet here was this Sens fan in Ottawa claiming that the stat was more incredible, namely that the modern day Sens had never won a Game 2. It didn't smell right to me, and so I just had to do some digging.
I went to a frequent source of NHL info for me, hockeydb.com and started poking around. I know that site is particularly handy for seasonal final standings (going back to 1918) and playoff series results, over the same period. I started with 1995/96, since I figured that's around the time Ottawa started making annual trips to the post-season. That particular year they finished with 41 points in 82 games, so there was no need to check the playoff results. But the following year, the Sens had improved to a respectable 77 pts, which actually got them into the playoffs at a time when 8 out of 13 teams would qualify in the Eastern Conference.
When I started looking into the series results that year, there was Ottawa playing Buffalo in the first round. Here's what was shown:
" Apr 17 Ottawa Senators 1- 3 at Buffalo Sabres
Apr 19 Ottawa Senators 3- 1 at Buffalo Sabres
Apr 21 Buffalo Sabres 3- 2 at Ottawa Senators
Apr 23 Buffalo Sabres 0- 1 at Ottawa Senators 00:02:34 OT
Apr 25 Ottawa Senators 4- 1 at Buffalo Sabres
Apr 27 Buffalo Sabres 3- 0 at Ottawa Senators
Apr 29 Ottawa Senators 2- 3 at Buffalo Sabres 00:05:24 OT
Buffalo Sabres win series 4 games to 3"
Now, this would appear to indicate that Buffalo won Game 1 by a 3-1 score, and then Ottawa returned the favour in Game 2, also 3-1. Assuming this data is correct, there, on my first playoff series review, was Ottawa winning a Game 2. Of equal interest was the fact that, while they won Game 2, they hadn't won Game 1, meaning that the stat Boneman and I were hearing - Ottawa had never won a Game 2 after winning Game 1 - was still intact.
Now that I'd come this far, I figured I'd finish the search. Moving forward, year by year, I saw that Ottawa had won another Game 2, this time in 2002, when they beat the Flyers 3-0, after losing Game 1 by a 1-0 score in O/T. So once again, no 2-0 lead in the series, but a clear Game 2 victory. The following year, they won Game 2 against the Islanders (3-0 again) after losing the series opener (by another 3-0 mark).
And that was the complete list of Game 2 victories by the Sens: 3 of them, all coming after dropping the series opener to their opponent. Clearly the friend in Ottawa had been hoodwinked completely, and just didn't bother to look into it. Which is hardly surprising, but as I say: I love NHL stats, so I felt obliged to track this one down!
(And yes, this is exactly the sort of thing Boneman and I talk about all the time! For nearly twenty years now...)
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Three Of The Most Hectic Days Of The Year (So Far)
Today was the third consecutive day spent with an Agile consultant at work. My days were typically about 9 hours long, which doesn't sound all that bad except that there was almost no "down time" whatsoever to be found! (Examples of what I mean by "down time" at work: reading e-mail, visiting buddies just to shoot the breeze, surfing the Web, blogging.. in other words, either things I get to do by myself, or activities not directly related to work.. or both!) I find days like that utterly draining, and having three of them in a row has left me the proverbial empty shell. And it's no coincidence that I managed a measly one entry here over the past two evenings!
However, the consultant is quite good at her job. She works in an Agile fashion without being silly about it - some of my co-workers could learn a lot from her on that score - and she absorbed an incredible amount of information in a short period of time. One of the realities of my job is that some of the people I work with respond better to expert opinion than they ever will to any other kind. I don't mean to imply by that statement that I think this consultant will simply point out all the same issues that I've already highlighted, or suggest all the same solutions that I've already proposed - neither of those is the case - but rather that, if she did, it would immediately carry more weight than it ever had coming from me! That's a perspective I can't relate to, because I tend to judge information as information, and couldn't care less if it came from a janitor or the president of the company. I'm as likely to buy into what the janitor's saying as anything out of the president's mouth, and every bit as inclined to challenge what the president puts forth as I would any proposal from the janitor. Valuing data based on where in the hierarchy it came from is a much more common approach at work, as well as assuming that anyone who's published a book on the subject must have better advice than anyone who hasn't. All of which means that, when the higher-ups arrange to have an expert consultant brought in, there's at least some reason to believe she'll be listened to. Which is a good thing.
Most of the three days this week was spent talking to product and project people to help the consultant gain an understanding of our environment and largest pain points, and then planning what to do the next time she's here (two and a half weeks from now). I was happy to see that this wasn't one of those deals where the consultant is busy trying to figure out how to drum up more business with us, but instead was focused on how to maximize the value we get out of her during the 5 3-day weeks we'll have her. That sort of thing goes a long way toward building trust, which is undoubtedly a strong pre-requisite to allowing an outsider to walk in and poke holes in our current processes.
She also paid me the compliment of saying that she thought, from what she'd heard, that I'd done a very good job with the Feature Teams in my role as Agile Manager. One of the ideas we floated was having another role like mine - but not me! - who'd be as involved with the various management teams as I've been with the Feature Teams. In other words, a second Agile coach within the organization, but focused more on the higher levels of the company instead of the ground troops. I love that notion, for a couple of reasons: first, we need it; and second, it'd give me a peer at work to compare notes with, bounce ideas off of, and generally ally myself with in the never ending battle against Waterfall Wally. The problem, of course, is imagining that we could find another person in the company who'd be willing to put his or her job on the line on a daily basis, like I do. Clearly that's not the sort of position you'd want to fill with someone who has career aspirations, because as I blogged about ages ago now it's hard enough finding Feature Leads who're comfortable having to occasionally stand up to their Product Owner, let alone locating someone who'd make a living at telling management and the executive team where they've screwed up!
However, the consultant is quite good at her job. She works in an Agile fashion without being silly about it - some of my co-workers could learn a lot from her on that score - and she absorbed an incredible amount of information in a short period of time. One of the realities of my job is that some of the people I work with respond better to expert opinion than they ever will to any other kind. I don't mean to imply by that statement that I think this consultant will simply point out all the same issues that I've already highlighted, or suggest all the same solutions that I've already proposed - neither of those is the case - but rather that, if she did, it would immediately carry more weight than it ever had coming from me! That's a perspective I can't relate to, because I tend to judge information as information, and couldn't care less if it came from a janitor or the president of the company. I'm as likely to buy into what the janitor's saying as anything out of the president's mouth, and every bit as inclined to challenge what the president puts forth as I would any proposal from the janitor. Valuing data based on where in the hierarchy it came from is a much more common approach at work, as well as assuming that anyone who's published a book on the subject must have better advice than anyone who hasn't. All of which means that, when the higher-ups arrange to have an expert consultant brought in, there's at least some reason to believe she'll be listened to. Which is a good thing.
Most of the three days this week was spent talking to product and project people to help the consultant gain an understanding of our environment and largest pain points, and then planning what to do the next time she's here (two and a half weeks from now). I was happy to see that this wasn't one of those deals where the consultant is busy trying to figure out how to drum up more business with us, but instead was focused on how to maximize the value we get out of her during the 5 3-day weeks we'll have her. That sort of thing goes a long way toward building trust, which is undoubtedly a strong pre-requisite to allowing an outsider to walk in and poke holes in our current processes.
She also paid me the compliment of saying that she thought, from what she'd heard, that I'd done a very good job with the Feature Teams in my role as Agile Manager. One of the ideas we floated was having another role like mine - but not me! - who'd be as involved with the various management teams as I've been with the Feature Teams. In other words, a second Agile coach within the organization, but focused more on the higher levels of the company instead of the ground troops. I love that notion, for a couple of reasons: first, we need it; and second, it'd give me a peer at work to compare notes with, bounce ideas off of, and generally ally myself with in the never ending battle against Waterfall Wally. The problem, of course, is imagining that we could find another person in the company who'd be willing to put his or her job on the line on a daily basis, like I do. Clearly that's not the sort of position you'd want to fill with someone who has career aspirations, because as I blogged about ages ago now it's hard enough finding Feature Leads who're comfortable having to occasionally stand up to their Product Owner, let alone locating someone who'd make a living at telling management and the executive team where they've screwed up!
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Character Development 101
If Lost has taught us anything, it's that people are actually much more complex than they're usually portrayed on TV. This week's insight into Benry's origins, as well as the revelation that Juliet had already ratted herself out to Jack - yay! - both point to depths that we've been trained to not expect in our television friends.
I had to hit Rewind and then slow-advance it forward to show Vicki that we did, indeed, catch a glimpse of Jacub, tonight. It was pretty freaky that Benry could hear and see him when it was all empty air to us, and yet couldn't hear the two words he said to Locke. Being responsible for the death of his own father, as well as an accomplice in the murder of dozens - hundreds? - more seems not to weigh much on Benry's mind these days, especially as he blithely added Locke to the mass grave he'd helped create. It's amazing how many of the people on the island have parent issues... maybe that's the real message of the show: work harder to get along with mommy and daddy!
Season Three, I'm happy to say, continues to rock!
I had to hit Rewind and then slow-advance it forward to show Vicki that we did, indeed, catch a glimpse of Jacub, tonight. It was pretty freaky that Benry could hear and see him when it was all empty air to us, and yet couldn't hear the two words he said to Locke. Being responsible for the death of his own father, as well as an accomplice in the murder of dozens - hundreds? - more seems not to weigh much on Benry's mind these days, especially as he blithely added Locke to the mass grave he'd helped create. It's amazing how many of the people on the island have parent issues... maybe that's the real message of the show: work harder to get along with mommy and daddy!
Season Three, I'm happy to say, continues to rock!
Monday, May 07, 2007
Critics Come Down Hard On Spider-Man 3
We watched this week's Ebert & Roeper review of Spider-Man 3 tonight, and it received 2 Thumbs Down. What struck me about their reviews, as well as some others I've read, is just how much they compared it to its predecessor! Spider-Man 2 is generally considered to be one of, if not, the greatest comic book movies of all time! So what are the odds of topping, or even matching, that the next time out? I went into S-M 3 expecting that it wouldn't be as good as S-M 2, and it wasn't. But that didn't really detract from my enjoyment, because it was still a very good movie based on a comic book character. It was better than Superman Returns, and better than the third X-Men movie. It was light years better than Ang Lee's Hulk nightmare, as well as Daredevil, the first Fantastic Four film, and either of Joel Schumacher's Batman bombs. Maybe all of the bad comic movies over the years have lowered the bar, in my mind, but that's no worse than comparing it to the last movie in the franchise, when that film's considered the top of its genre.
The other criticism I've heard repeated is that there were too many villains. Perhaps that didn't bother me because I know who they are, why they're there, and tons of backstory that wasn't even in the movie. It's possible that, coming in cold, having that many characters was too confusing to some. But I guess I struggle with understanding why three is "too many." What if they'd decided to adapt the story from Amazing Spider-Man # 1, which is the introduction of the Sinister Six? Oh. My. God. Six. Villains!!! There'd be so many that we couldn't even count them, to know if it really was the Sinister Six or not! That just seems like a silly complaint to me. Will Watchmen - if it ever gets made - flop because the audience will be expected to follow - and tell apart - Nite Owl (both of them), Silk Spectre (two, again), Rorschach, Dr Manhattan, Ozymandias, Molloch, and the Comedian... not to mention Dollar Bill and the Hangman, if they manage to include them? Are people that limited in their ability to follow multiple characters? (I follow about 40 monthly comic titles, and manage to keep their stories straight from issue to issue. Does that make me superhuman?)
Granted, there were some flaws to be found in S-M 3. I mentioned the comedy being over-the-top, and some of the more comic book-ish moments, involving Harry in particular, may turn people off who weren't raised on the genre like I was. But all things considered, the experience was way in the positive for me, and I'm looking forward to buying it on DVD in six months, and watching it many more times. It'll never compare to the genius of Doc Ock vs Spidey in the 2nd one, but who expected it to?
The other criticism I've heard repeated is that there were too many villains. Perhaps that didn't bother me because I know who they are, why they're there, and tons of backstory that wasn't even in the movie. It's possible that, coming in cold, having that many characters was too confusing to some. But I guess I struggle with understanding why three is "too many." What if they'd decided to adapt the story from Amazing Spider-Man # 1, which is the introduction of the Sinister Six? Oh. My. God. Six. Villains!!! There'd be so many that we couldn't even count them, to know if it really was the Sinister Six or not! That just seems like a silly complaint to me. Will Watchmen - if it ever gets made - flop because the audience will be expected to follow - and tell apart - Nite Owl (both of them), Silk Spectre (two, again), Rorschach, Dr Manhattan, Ozymandias, Molloch, and the Comedian... not to mention Dollar Bill and the Hangman, if they manage to include them? Are people that limited in their ability to follow multiple characters? (I follow about 40 monthly comic titles, and manage to keep their stories straight from issue to issue. Does that make me superhuman?)
Granted, there were some flaws to be found in S-M 3. I mentioned the comedy being over-the-top, and some of the more comic book-ish moments, involving Harry in particular, may turn people off who weren't raised on the genre like I was. But all things considered, the experience was way in the positive for me, and I'm looking forward to buying it on DVD in six months, and watching it many more times. It'll never compare to the genius of Doc Ock vs Spidey in the 2nd one, but who expected it to?
2007 Swimming Season: Now Officially Open!
Only a little more than 48 hours after starting the pool opening activities, there I am doing my first set of laps! The water was around 72 F (21 C), the air was slightly cooler than that, and the sun was shining (though low-ish in the sky). I'd had a gorgeous day off, sitting by the pool for part of it and reading many pages of Neil Gaiman's Anansi Boys novel. I even took a couple comics out poolside, and read them there! Does it get any better than that?
Photo taken by Vicki.
(Neighbour dog, Darby, patiently waits for someone on our side of the fence to throw his ball. Later, while cutting the grass, I put him out of his misery.)
(By which I mean, I threw the damn ball several times!)
52 Covers of 52
Comic Book Resources has posted a collection of the 52 covers, all by the same artist - J. G. Jones - that adorned the weekly 52 series. Why don't you take a few minutes, click here, and then come back and let the rest of us know which one's your favourite. There's some real beauties in the bunch!
Hmmm, A Slightly Different Story
In the official announcement today, ABC reports that Lost will run for six seasons, not five. (I'd previously linked to article claiming that it would end after Season Five.) However, with each of the remaining seasons limited to 16 episodes - as opposed to the 24-ish that the first three seasons have had - it amounts to about the same number of future episodes. It'll just take us three more years to get there, instead of only two. Personally, I'm fine with that (delayed gratification and all that). It's also mentioned in today's announcement that each upcoming season will run uninterrupted, which is great news!
That leaves us about 50 new episodes of Lost to look forward to, as of now. And believe me, I am!
That leaves us about 50 new episodes of Lost to look forward to, as of now. And believe me, I am!
Sunday, May 06, 2007
This Was Pool Opening Weekend
A good chunk of our Saturday was spent in the Spring ritual known as "opening the pool." This involves getting the winter cover off - which can range from mildly entertaining to extremely frustrating - and then making all of the various equipment work once more (pump, filter, electrolytic cell for the salt, heater). We used to pay skilled professionals to do the latter task, but in recent years have taken on the whole kit and kaboodle ourselves. Complicating this year's plan was that Vicki had hurt her back last week and wasn't really up to doing any lifting or straining. We were lucky enough to have our next door neighbour come over to see how it was done, and then she volunteered to help with the cover removal. Also, we couldn't have asked for a nicer day, weather-wise, than Saturday proved to be.
Things went reasonably well this year, in that the cover came off without dumping any dirty water into the pool, I was able to get the pump hose re-attached without incident, and the heater didn't require a service call to get working as has happened twice before. Water temperature the first time I stuck the thermometer in was 47 degrees F (around 9 degrees C). As of when I turned the pump off tonight, it was up to 64 F (approx 17 C). I'm hoping to get it into the 70s tomorrow, as I'd probably brave it around that point, especially if it's warmer than the air (which it likely will be, tomorrow).
At one point I thought that I should grab the camera and take a photo, but never came of that. Maybe I'll get one tomorrow on my day off. In the meantime, you'll just have to use your imgination - or memory, if you've seen it before!
Things went reasonably well this year, in that the cover came off without dumping any dirty water into the pool, I was able to get the pump hose re-attached without incident, and the heater didn't require a service call to get working as has happened twice before. Water temperature the first time I stuck the thermometer in was 47 degrees F (around 9 degrees C). As of when I turned the pump off tonight, it was up to 64 F (approx 17 C). I'm hoping to get it into the 70s tomorrow, as I'd probably brave it around that point, especially if it's warmer than the air (which it likely will be, tomorrow).
At one point I thought that I should grab the camera and take a photo, but never came of that. Maybe I'll get one tomorrow on my day off. In the meantime, you'll just have to use your imgination - or memory, if you've seen it before!
The End Of A Great Run
With their gutsy 5-4 Game 6 loss today, the Rangers finally ended their impressive run through the 2007 NHL Playoffs. It might've gone differently if they hadn't given up that tying goal on Friday night, with 8 seconds left in the 3rd period, but we'll never know now. As it stands, they finished with a post-season record of 6 wins and 4 losses, meaning they won 60% of their games. By pushing the Sabres to six games in this Conference Semi-Final, they also managed to continue playing hockey longer than all but five other teams! When you consider that 12 teams finished the regular seson with more points than the Rangers, that says something about how they did this Spring! In fact, here's the list of teams who finished their 2006/07 campaign before the boys in blue did:
Philadelphia Flyers (finished 15th in the East)
Phoenix Coyotes (finished 15th in the West)
Los Angeles Kings (finished 14th in the West)
Washington Capitals (finished 14th in the East)
Chicago Blackhawks (finished 13th in the West)
Edmonton Oilers (finished 12th in the West)
Columbus Bluejackets (finished 11th in the West)
Boston Bruins (finished 13th in the East)
St. Louis Blues (finished 10th in the West)
Florida Panthers (finished 12th in the East)
Carolina Hurricanes (finished 11th in the East)
Montreal Canadiens (finished 10th in the East)
Toronto Maple Leafs (finished 9th in the East)
Colorado Avalanche (finished 9th in the West)
Atlanta Thrashers (swept by the Rangers in the 1st round of the playoffs)
Calgary Flames (lost in the 1st round of the playoffs)
Minnesota Wild (lost in the 1st round of the playoffs)
NY Islanders (lost in the 1st round of the playoffs)
Tampa Bay Lightning (lost in the 1st round of the playoffs)
Nashville Predators (lost in the 1st round of the playoffs)
Pittsburgh Penguins (lost in the 1st round of the playoffs)
Dallas Stars (lost in the 1st round of the playoffs)
Vancouver Canucks (lost in the 2nd round of the playoffs, in 5 games)
New Jersey Devils (lost in the 2nd round of the playoffs, in 5 games)
Whew! That's a lot of teams who had worse runs than the Rangers this year!
Good luck to the Sabres, Senators, Ducks and either the Red Wings or Sharks (whoever wins that series), as it's only going to get harder from here! In the Rangers' great run to the Cup in 1994, it was the last two series that really pushed them to the edge, so it should be interesting to see how the two Conference Finals play out. Definitely Buffalo vs Ottawa should be amazing to watch! And we could end up with # 1 vs # 2 in the West, if Detroit prevails against San Jose.
Philadelphia Flyers (finished 15th in the East)
Phoenix Coyotes (finished 15th in the West)
Los Angeles Kings (finished 14th in the West)
Washington Capitals (finished 14th in the East)
Chicago Blackhawks (finished 13th in the West)
Edmonton Oilers (finished 12th in the West)
Columbus Bluejackets (finished 11th in the West)
Boston Bruins (finished 13th in the East)
St. Louis Blues (finished 10th in the West)
Florida Panthers (finished 12th in the East)
Carolina Hurricanes (finished 11th in the East)
Montreal Canadiens (finished 10th in the East)
Toronto Maple Leafs (finished 9th in the East)
Colorado Avalanche (finished 9th in the West)
Atlanta Thrashers (swept by the Rangers in the 1st round of the playoffs)
Calgary Flames (lost in the 1st round of the playoffs)
Minnesota Wild (lost in the 1st round of the playoffs)
NY Islanders (lost in the 1st round of the playoffs)
Tampa Bay Lightning (lost in the 1st round of the playoffs)
Nashville Predators (lost in the 1st round of the playoffs)
Pittsburgh Penguins (lost in the 1st round of the playoffs)
Dallas Stars (lost in the 1st round of the playoffs)
Vancouver Canucks (lost in the 2nd round of the playoffs, in 5 games)
New Jersey Devils (lost in the 2nd round of the playoffs, in 5 games)
Whew! That's a lot of teams who had worse runs than the Rangers this year!
Good luck to the Sabres, Senators, Ducks and either the Red Wings or Sharks (whoever wins that series), as it's only going to get harder from here! In the Rangers' great run to the Cup in 1994, it was the last two series that really pushed them to the edge, so it should be interesting to see how the two Conference Finals play out. Definitely Buffalo vs Ottawa should be amazing to watch! And we could end up with # 1 vs # 2 in the West, if Detroit prevails against San Jose.
If You Like Those Mac Vs PC Commercials
There's a whole series of these Marvel Vs DC parodies on YouTube. They're all pretty hilarious!
Thanks to the boss for pointing me in this direction...
Saturday, May 05, 2007
Ode To Gwen
Of all the Spider-Man 3 reviews I've read since getting home from the theatre yeaterday afternoon - and I've read a lot! - this one is my favourite so far. Warning: It contains many plot spoilers, so don't follow the link unless you want some stuff spoiled! What I liked most about it were the comments the reviewer had to make about Gwen, and her place in the Spider-Man mythos. Here're a couple spoiler-free excerpts that nearly made me cheer:
"Indeed, Spider-Man 3 betrays loudly the fact I suspect all Spider-Man fans know to be absolutely true: Mary Jane sucks and Gwen Stacy rules. In not one of the Spider-Man films - and even the Spider-Man comics as far this writer is concerned - is it ever made clear why Peter is so unflinchingly obsessed with Mary Jane Watson and her relentless narcissism and whining..."
and
"On the other hand there's Gwen Stacy, portrayed by Bryce Dallas Howard as intelligent, kind, compassionate and of upstanding character. Also, she's really hot and works as a model because people actually enjoy seeing her, unlike the apparently talentless and much-reviled Mary Jane Watson."
Amen, brother! Here's hoping Spider-Man 4 restores Gwen's rightful place and is subtitled Peter Finds True Love!
"Indeed, Spider-Man 3 betrays loudly the fact I suspect all Spider-Man fans know to be absolutely true: Mary Jane sucks and Gwen Stacy rules. In not one of the Spider-Man films - and even the Spider-Man comics as far this writer is concerned - is it ever made clear why Peter is so unflinchingly obsessed with Mary Jane Watson and her relentless narcissism and whining..."
and
"On the other hand there's Gwen Stacy, portrayed by Bryce Dallas Howard as intelligent, kind, compassionate and of upstanding character. Also, she's really hot and works as a model because people actually enjoy seeing her, unlike the apparently talentless and much-reviled Mary Jane Watson."
Amen, brother! Here's hoping Spider-Man 4 restores Gwen's rightful place and is subtitled Peter Finds True Love!
Lost To End After Season 5
For some reason, I always thought this had been established from the get-go: Lost was intended to run 5 seasons, and then be done. All mysteries would be resolved by then, and the show would have a definitive conclusion. I've even said as much to people, in conversation, though over time I wondered if I had just made all that up.
Now word comes that yes, indeed, Lost will stop after Season 5, and a formal announcement of that fact is coming shortly. Maybe it's the Babylon 5 fan in me, but 5 seasons feels about right to tell a complex story without allowing it to flounder. With Season 3 almost done, it doesn't seem like it's asking that much of fans to stick around for another two, assuming the stories continue to be of the high calibre we've seen recently.
Now word comes that yes, indeed, Lost will stop after Season 5, and a formal announcement of that fact is coming shortly. Maybe it's the Babylon 5 fan in me, but 5 seasons feels about right to tell a complex story without allowing it to flounder. With Season 3 almost done, it doesn't seem like it's asking that much of fans to stick around for another two, assuming the stories continue to be of the high calibre we've seen recently.
Friday, May 04, 2007
The Balance Of The Universe
Just as I was feeling extremely low about the outcome of a certain, just-completed sporting event, I paged through today's Blog@Newsarama offerings and saw myself being quoted in this week's Point/Counterpoint column!! For me to say that this pretty much counterbalances the Rangers' heart-breaking loss tonight should give you some sense of just how exciting this really is to Your Humble Blogger! (I'll also shyly admit that, upon seeing "Kimota94" in that context, my initial split-second reaction was: "Gah! Someone else is using my online alias!")
The quote in question - and accompanying link - came from my post about the DC Multiverse's return, which we all know is a topic near and dear to my heart. The whole Earth-1/Earth-2 JLA/JSA crossover tradition of my childhood probably contributed more to my interest in doppleganger stories than anything else, after all.
So, to the Universe (or whoever's running the show): thanks for taking the bite out of that silly hockey game, by giving me something back to soften the blow!!
P.S. Am I the only one who, upon reading the words "Point/Counterpoint" every week, always thinks, "Jane, you ignorant slut!"??
The quote in question - and accompanying link - came from my post about the DC Multiverse's return, which we all know is a topic near and dear to my heart. The whole Earth-1/Earth-2 JLA/JSA crossover tradition of my childhood probably contributed more to my interest in doppleganger stories than anything else, after all.
So, to the Universe (or whoever's running the show): thanks for taking the bite out of that silly hockey game, by giving me something back to soften the blow!!
P.S. Am I the only one who, upon reading the words "Point/Counterpoint" every week, always thinks, "Jane, you ignorant slut!"??
Yeah, That'll Leave A Mark
Nothing like giving up a goal with 8 seconds left when you're leading 1-0, and then losing it in O/T. Oh no, wait, that's exactly what tonight's game was like!
I think I actually prefer when the Rangers lose them early, than when they lose them late. For whatever stupid reason, I actually had my hopes up in those final seconds, that maybe they could win this game and grab the home ice advantage going into Game 6. As with pretty much every such experience in my life, it just doesn't pay to think something's in the bag before the final buzzer sounds. I even dared to hope it'd be like Game 7 against the Devils in 1994, where New Jersey tied it at 1-1 with 7.7 seconds left, but the Rangers were able to pull it out in double overtime. Again, I should know better than to even let a thought like that enter my head!
Oh well, now I have to somehow get back to my happy place: they're still greatly exceeding expectations this playoff year!
I think I actually prefer when the Rangers lose them early, than when they lose them late. For whatever stupid reason, I actually had my hopes up in those final seconds, that maybe they could win this game and grab the home ice advantage going into Game 6. As with pretty much every such experience in my life, it just doesn't pay to think something's in the bag before the final buzzer sounds. I even dared to hope it'd be like Game 7 against the Devils in 1994, where New Jersey tied it at 1-1 with 7.7 seconds left, but the Rangers were able to pull it out in double overtime. Again, I should know better than to even let a thought like that enter my head!
Oh well, now I have to somehow get back to my happy place: they're still greatly exceeding expectations this playoff year!
Tomorrow Is Free Comic Book Day
For the last several years, the comic industry has picked one Saturday - usually coinciding with a big comic book movie premiere - to designate as Free Comic Book Day. This means that you can go pretty much any comic store and there should be free comics for you! Each of the major publishers provides some sort of free title - sometimes a reprint or subsequent printing - that's intended to pique the interest of someone who's never read that series - or comics in general! - before. It's a big deal for the comic store owners, as they get an incredible amount of walk-in traffic on that day, and often pick up a new customer or three as a result.
If you're out and about tomorrow and find yourself anywhere near a comic store, I'd suggest you stop in and see what you can get!
If you're out and about tomorrow and find yourself anywhere near a comic store, I'd suggest you stop in and see what you can get!
The Inevitable Spider-Man 3 Review
Although this write-up won't contain any significant spoilers, I'm going to assume some may not read much past the first sentence prior to seeing the movie for themselves, so let me just say upfront: it was very good!
In terms of quality, I'd put it somewhere between the first two movies in the franchise. It seemed better than the Spidey debut, but not up to the level of the masterful sequel. Each of the three villains were done very well, making it the proverbial comic fan wet dream to see Venom, Sandman and "Goblin Junior" represented so well on the big screen. Some good tension was introduced into the Peter/MJ relationship, which we knew had to happen since things were left entirely too happily-ever-after at the end of Spider-Man 2.
For this fan, though, the highlight of the movie had to be the introduction of Gwen Stacy. I've made no secret of the fact that, along with DC's Silver Age Supergirl, Gwen pretty much stole my heart at a young age and never gave it back. I had serious reservations about the casting of Bryce Dallas Howard - Richie Cunningham's daughter - as the young Miss Stacy, simply because I couldn't quite picture her in that role. Having seen the film now, I'd say she's nearly perfect for it! The sad part is that the character's already been supplanted by MJ, as the movie version has Petey in love with his red-haired neighbour from childhood on. In the comics, Miss Watson was always the consolation prize, and anyone who thinks differently can take it up with yours truly! Had the Goblin not killed the lovely Gwen in Amazing Spider-Man # 121, there's no way he'd ever have settled for flighty MJ.
Here, Gwen's portrayed as smart but not brainy. She's Pete's lab partner in science (how come I always got stuck with the guys who only bathed on Saturday night?) and he makes some sort of offhand comment to MJ about how science isn't Gwen's strong suit... but we have to remember this is coming from a mega nerd! One of the things that always appealed to me about Gwen in the comics, after all, was that she could hold her own in any argument with Parker. Although the character's not given a lot of screen time in this movie, she does have one scene that's absolutely perfect, in which Peter uses her to try to make MJ jealous. Gwen's reactions, first to Pete, and then to MJ, were heartbreaking to me.
I'll admit to getting a little tired of seeing the female leads in these movies taken hostage, usually somewhere up high, and then plummeting to their death unless the hero can catch them. Maybe it's because that's how Gwen died in ASM # 121, but I wish the writers would try some other tricks. We've endured that scene in Superman movies, Batman movies, and now I think it's been in each of the three in this series! In this one film alone, both of the girls are put in that predicament, individually!
About the only other quibble I'd have is that the comedy was a bit too broad this time around. I laughed out loud at a lot of it, but it doesn't feel like the sort of thing that'll stand up well on repeat viewings. I did enjoy the Bruce Campbell and Stan Lee cameos, although Sam Raimi's brother Ted had an appearance that left me cold.
While we wait to find out if Sam, Tobey, Kirsten, and (please!) Bryce sign up for the next one, I feel confident in saying that the first three films in this franchise have set an incredibly high bar for comic book movies. If you travelled back in time a dozen years and showed these gems to a 1995 comic fan, you'd probably give him a heart attack! Only the X-Men trilogy has come anywhere close to this level, although I remain hopeful that The Dark Knight will provide similar thrills to what we got from Batman Begins. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: this is a great time to be a comic fan!
In terms of quality, I'd put it somewhere between the first two movies in the franchise. It seemed better than the Spidey debut, but not up to the level of the masterful sequel. Each of the three villains were done very well, making it the proverbial comic fan wet dream to see Venom, Sandman and "Goblin Junior" represented so well on the big screen. Some good tension was introduced into the Peter/MJ relationship, which we knew had to happen since things were left entirely too happily-ever-after at the end of Spider-Man 2.
For this fan, though, the highlight of the movie had to be the introduction of Gwen Stacy. I've made no secret of the fact that, along with DC's Silver Age Supergirl, Gwen pretty much stole my heart at a young age and never gave it back. I had serious reservations about the casting of Bryce Dallas Howard - Richie Cunningham's daughter - as the young Miss Stacy, simply because I couldn't quite picture her in that role. Having seen the film now, I'd say she's nearly perfect for it! The sad part is that the character's already been supplanted by MJ, as the movie version has Petey in love with his red-haired neighbour from childhood on. In the comics, Miss Watson was always the consolation prize, and anyone who thinks differently can take it up with yours truly! Had the Goblin not killed the lovely Gwen in Amazing Spider-Man # 121, there's no way he'd ever have settled for flighty MJ.
Here, Gwen's portrayed as smart but not brainy. She's Pete's lab partner in science (how come I always got stuck with the guys who only bathed on Saturday night?) and he makes some sort of offhand comment to MJ about how science isn't Gwen's strong suit... but we have to remember this is coming from a mega nerd! One of the things that always appealed to me about Gwen in the comics, after all, was that she could hold her own in any argument with Parker. Although the character's not given a lot of screen time in this movie, she does have one scene that's absolutely perfect, in which Peter uses her to try to make MJ jealous. Gwen's reactions, first to Pete, and then to MJ, were heartbreaking to me.
I'll admit to getting a little tired of seeing the female leads in these movies taken hostage, usually somewhere up high, and then plummeting to their death unless the hero can catch them. Maybe it's because that's how Gwen died in ASM # 121, but I wish the writers would try some other tricks. We've endured that scene in Superman movies, Batman movies, and now I think it's been in each of the three in this series! In this one film alone, both of the girls are put in that predicament, individually!
About the only other quibble I'd have is that the comedy was a bit too broad this time around. I laughed out loud at a lot of it, but it doesn't feel like the sort of thing that'll stand up well on repeat viewings. I did enjoy the Bruce Campbell and Stan Lee cameos, although Sam Raimi's brother Ted had an appearance that left me cold.
While we wait to find out if Sam, Tobey, Kirsten, and (please!) Bryce sign up for the next one, I feel confident in saying that the first three films in this franchise have set an incredibly high bar for comic book movies. If you travelled back in time a dozen years and showed these gems to a 1995 comic fan, you'd probably give him a heart attack! Only the X-Men trilogy has come anywhere close to this level, although I remain hopeful that The Dark Knight will provide similar thrills to what we got from Batman Begins. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: this is a great time to be a comic fan!
Thursday, May 03, 2007
4 Guys And Spider-Man 3
I just bought the tickets for 4 of us work geeks to take in Spider-Man 3 tomorrow afternoon. To say that I've been looking forward to this movie for a long time would be... well, accurate, but also an understatement. However, I suspect my anticipation pales to insignificance beside that of the Boneman. Since he's one of the other three amigos going tomorrow, I have to hope and pray that he'll remember to bring his drool bucket, because I really don't want it getting on my shoes....
The Return Of DC's Multiverse
Spoilers for 52 # 52 follow, in case anyone cares...
I just finished reading the final issue of the weekly series 52. It was an odd year-long series, in my opinion, because my interest waxed and waned pretty significantly over the course of it. If you cared deeply about the characters who were given the spotlight in 52 - Adam Strange, Starfire, Animal Man, Renee Montoya, John Henry Irons, Black Adam, Ralph Dibny and Batwoman, among others - then you probably loved the book, since their stories were told very well. For me personally, I'd say I'm an Animal Man fan, and a casual observer of the rest, so many of the developments were mildly interesting, on average. But I give them major credit for getting 52 consecutive issues of a comic out on time, which is something that I doubt many monthly titles could claim, and then consider that this sucker was arriving weekly! If for no other reason, that would make 52 a big success in my book.
But in the end, the biggest accomplishment of the series came in the final issue. Amidst a bunch of bizarre gobbleygook involving a mutated Mr Mind, Booster Gold and his present-day ancestor, and some multiversal energy left over from Infinite Crisis, the DC Multiverse was reborn! They did it in a way that wasn't what I expected, and it remains to be seen what the real disposition of it is. But here's what I understand:
52 identical universes were created, because the multiversal energy from the tampering that occurred in Infinite Crisis had to go somewhere. (OK so far!) When Mr Mind, in his Mothra phase, interacted with these universes, somehow he transformed each one into a variation on the main universe. So we get a glimpse of an Earth-2 that has a JSA on it that looks slightly different than the one we're currently seeing (and more like the one that used to reside on... you guessed it: Earth-2!), and Earth-3 with an evil JLA that's clearly the Crime Syndicate from the pre-Crisis Earth-3, and so on, including a universe for Wildstorm's titles to exist in, another to hold a version of the Marvel Family (Captain Marvel, Mary Marvel, etc.), one for the Charlton heroes (Earth-4) and even my fave (in terms of variance): the Nazis-dominated Earth-10 (previously Earth-X).
And that's all we know at this point. Which raises the obvious question: what's the point of having these worlds? In most cases, the characters shown already exist on "Earth-1" (the regular universe version) so I assume this means that those folks now have dopplegangers on other Earths, allowing DC.. what? To tell more "out there" tales about those versions, ala the Marvel Ultimate Universe line? In other words, the Earth-2 JSA could be featured in a mini-series in which they decide to take over the world, which would clearly be a tough thing to do in the main DCU. Is that where this takes us?
I guess the followup to 52, called Countdown, will expand on this. At least, I think it will. But buying another 52 comics, most of which are going to be about Jimmy Olsen, Mary Marvel, Donna Troy, and Jason Todd (again, few of whom I really care much about), seems like a Hell of an expense just to find out what's going to happen next. The fact that DC hasn't even revealed what Countdown is counting down to... makes me even less likely to spend that kind of money! On the other hand, it could be something very cool, and as it was with Marvel keeping the lid on Captain America's death, the fact that they're not giving anything away could end up being a good thing! I guess I'll try a few issues and see where it goes from there.
I just finished reading the final issue of the weekly series 52. It was an odd year-long series, in my opinion, because my interest waxed and waned pretty significantly over the course of it. If you cared deeply about the characters who were given the spotlight in 52 - Adam Strange, Starfire, Animal Man, Renee Montoya, John Henry Irons, Black Adam, Ralph Dibny and Batwoman, among others - then you probably loved the book, since their stories were told very well. For me personally, I'd say I'm an Animal Man fan, and a casual observer of the rest, so many of the developments were mildly interesting, on average. But I give them major credit for getting 52 consecutive issues of a comic out on time, which is something that I doubt many monthly titles could claim, and then consider that this sucker was arriving weekly! If for no other reason, that would make 52 a big success in my book.
But in the end, the biggest accomplishment of the series came in the final issue. Amidst a bunch of bizarre gobbleygook involving a mutated Mr Mind, Booster Gold and his present-day ancestor, and some multiversal energy left over from Infinite Crisis, the DC Multiverse was reborn! They did it in a way that wasn't what I expected, and it remains to be seen what the real disposition of it is. But here's what I understand:
52 identical universes were created, because the multiversal energy from the tampering that occurred in Infinite Crisis had to go somewhere. (OK so far!) When Mr Mind, in his Mothra phase, interacted with these universes, somehow he transformed each one into a variation on the main universe. So we get a glimpse of an Earth-2 that has a JSA on it that looks slightly different than the one we're currently seeing (and more like the one that used to reside on... you guessed it: Earth-2!), and Earth-3 with an evil JLA that's clearly the Crime Syndicate from the pre-Crisis Earth-3, and so on, including a universe for Wildstorm's titles to exist in, another to hold a version of the Marvel Family (Captain Marvel, Mary Marvel, etc.), one for the Charlton heroes (Earth-4) and even my fave (in terms of variance): the Nazis-dominated Earth-10 (previously Earth-X).
And that's all we know at this point. Which raises the obvious question: what's the point of having these worlds? In most cases, the characters shown already exist on "Earth-1" (the regular universe version) so I assume this means that those folks now have dopplegangers on other Earths, allowing DC.. what? To tell more "out there" tales about those versions, ala the Marvel Ultimate Universe line? In other words, the Earth-2 JSA could be featured in a mini-series in which they decide to take over the world, which would clearly be a tough thing to do in the main DCU. Is that where this takes us?
I guess the followup to 52, called Countdown, will expand on this. At least, I think it will. But buying another 52 comics, most of which are going to be about Jimmy Olsen, Mary Marvel, Donna Troy, and Jason Todd (again, few of whom I really care much about), seems like a Hell of an expense just to find out what's going to happen next. The fact that DC hasn't even revealed what Countdown is counting down to... makes me even less likely to spend that kind of money! On the other hand, it could be something very cool, and as it was with Marvel keeping the lid on Captain America's death, the fact that they're not giving anything away could end up being a good thing! I guess I'll try a few issues and see where it goes from there.
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Sometimes Murder Deserves A Standing Ovation
As Vicki can attest to, I was cheering during tonight's Lost as Sawyer did in the old man with the chain, even moreso than when Jack Bauer pulled the same trick on his Middle Eastern nemesis just a few weeks ago. At first I was bugged that Locke couldn't do it himself, but once the connection between the characters became clear, it made way more sense to have Sawyer pull the trigger (so to speak). This was a stellar Sawyer episode, showing a more vulnerable side to him than we usually get. The look on his face when the letter was wripped up would've broken Kate's heart, if she'd seen it. The events in "The Brig" also position Locke well to finally achieve his real potential in the future, in stark contrast to the wishy-washy side we all too often see out of him. I'm hoping this truly exorcised his demons, and that it doesn't turn into a "oh, why oh why did I get my father killed?" soap opera.
Rousseau wandering into the scene, sizing up Locke as he sat outside a locked room from whence strange sounds came, and then leaving with a box of dynamite... perfect! I said I Vicki, "I can just hear people whining, 'But now there's another mystery around what she wanted the dynamite for...' but me, I love it!" If I'd been Locke, though, I'd have been a little worried that the French woman would've thought I'd gone crazy, like her expedition did! We all remember what she did when that happened!
And speaking of mysteries... what's the secret between Jack and Juliet?
Finally, the whole notion of their plane having been found in the Pacific, dead bodies intact, is sure starting to sweep across the island! Won't be long before even Rose and Bernard have heard about it! Oh wait, are they even on the island anymore? For that matter, are any of them really on the island? What a great season this has been!
Rousseau wandering into the scene, sizing up Locke as he sat outside a locked room from whence strange sounds came, and then leaving with a box of dynamite... perfect! I said I Vicki, "I can just hear people whining, 'But now there's another mystery around what she wanted the dynamite for...' but me, I love it!" If I'd been Locke, though, I'd have been a little worried that the French woman would've thought I'd gone crazy, like her expedition did! We all remember what she did when that happened!
And speaking of mysteries... what's the secret between Jack and Juliet?
Finally, the whole notion of their plane having been found in the Pacific, dead bodies intact, is sure starting to sweep across the island! Won't be long before even Rose and Bernard have heard about it! Oh wait, are they even on the island anymore? For that matter, are any of them really on the island? What a great season this has been!
What's Peter Up To Now?
I can always count on music genius Peter Gabriel to be on the bleeding edge of something... At various points in the past, it was interactive content from his music library that you could explore on your PC, as well as a plan for an amusement park-style ride animating his delightful "Kiss That Frog" song from Us.
Now, he's announcing a new Digital Rights Management-free music service that uses pre-song ads to tie revenue to the music. I'll be interested to hear what others think of this. I'm a well-known hard-ass when it comes to people pirating the work of others, but clearly most of the people around me think that's OK. So it's apparent some sort of alternative approach is needed for this broken business model. I wonder if PG's onto something, or just flailing in the wind?
Now, he's announcing a new Digital Rights Management-free music service that uses pre-song ads to tie revenue to the music. I'll be interested to hear what others think of this. I'm a well-known hard-ass when it comes to people pirating the work of others, but clearly most of the people around me think that's OK. So it's apparent some sort of alternative approach is needed for this broken business model. I wonder if PG's onto something, or just flailing in the wind?
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Luck Ties The Series!
The Broadway Blueshirts dodged a bullet in Game 4 tonight, and perhaps got the Karmic payback they deserved after being cheated out of a goal on Sunday. With only a few seconds left in the game, and up 2-1, Lundqvist wandered behind the goal to intercept a shoot-in and then left it for a teammate, only to have it land on a Sabre's stick with a wide open net. Lundqvist slid a pad across and knocked the shot back out of the crease at the last second, possibly after it had already crossed the goal line! No video evidence could conclusively reverse the "no goal" call on the ice, though, so after a lengthy review back at NHL headquarters in Toronto, the call was upheld! And the game ended a few seconds later, 2-1 Rangers.
And what would a Rangers playoff year be without a little controversy? I'm sure Lindy Ruff, Sabres coach, wasn't nearly so animated in Game 3 when the "kick in" goal was overturned, despite that being a case where it should've counted (there was no kicking or directing action, guys!)
Anyway, the game featured the first 2-goal lead the Rangers have managed in the series, although that only lasted - again - less than a minute! In fact, the MSG announcer was still calling out the 2nd Rangers goal as Buffalo drew back to within 1.
Full points to the Rangers for their effort in the last 2 - really, 3 - games, but tonight's Sabres didn't look like their A team. If it came out that half the team had the flu today, it wouldn't surprise me in the least. Game 5 goes on Friday night and I expect we'll see the Game 1 Sabres again, once they're back home. Regardless, though, how about the Rangers evening the series and making it a best-of-3? Good on 'em, I say!
And what would a Rangers playoff year be without a little controversy? I'm sure Lindy Ruff, Sabres coach, wasn't nearly so animated in Game 3 when the "kick in" goal was overturned, despite that being a case where it should've counted (there was no kicking or directing action, guys!)
Anyway, the game featured the first 2-goal lead the Rangers have managed in the series, although that only lasted - again - less than a minute! In fact, the MSG announcer was still calling out the 2nd Rangers goal as Buffalo drew back to within 1.
Full points to the Rangers for their effort in the last 2 - really, 3 - games, but tonight's Sabres didn't look like their A team. If it came out that half the team had the flu today, it wouldn't surprise me in the least. Game 5 goes on Friday night and I expect we'll see the Game 1 Sabres again, once they're back home. Regardless, though, how about the Rangers evening the series and making it a best-of-3? Good on 'em, I say!
Comics That Make You Go, "Huh??"
First off, here's what I liked about Amazons Attack # 1, which came out last week or the week before: the art is pretty good, the events in it were quite shocking, and it had enough DC Universe cameos (eg. Batman, Black Lightning) to make me all shivery in my Superfriends Underoos. So I'll definitely be buying # 2 when it comes out later this month.
But what really struck me was how strange the storyline was! Admittedly, right now I'm 2 issues behind in the regular Wonder Woman series - they're right there in the bedroom, just waiting to be read - and maybe I wouldn't be so out of it if that weren't the case. But bear with me as I enumerate the ways in which I was confused:
1) Wonder Woman's mother, Hippolyta, died a few years ago. Apparently, she's now not only back among the living, but also has been brainwashed/conned by the evil sorceress Circe into believing that her daughter Diana (WW) is a prisoner in Man's World and needs rescuing/avenging.
2) As a result, rather than attempting any form of diplomacy like, I don't know, contacting anyone in Man's World, Hippolyta instead launches a fullscale war against mankind without warning!
3) Despite being armed with swords, bows and arrows, and apparently a few cave trolls left over from Lord of the Rings, the Amazons are somehow a serious threat to the U.S. And really, all the American government can possibly counter with are 21st century artillery like fighter jets and tanks, about a million superheroes, and.. oh yeah, a whole bunch of nuclear bombs.
4) When the attacking Amazons arrive in Washington, D.C., they begin indiscriminately killing innocent bystanders, such as a dad and his small son who are visiting the Lincoln Memorial. And then, in case that didn't seem insane enough, they slice the head off of Lincoln's statue! I must've missed those tactics in How To Make War For Dummies.
5) These are the same Amazons who sent Diana out into Man's World to teach them about peace, right? Is war the new peace?
Anyway, I can't remember the last time a comic jarred me as much as this one did. Before it arrived, I wasn't even really sure I was going to buy the whole mini-series - this was just # 1 of 6! - but I thought I'd at least give it a try. It's definitely got my attention now.
And I guess I can add this to the still-growing list of war-themed comic series Marvel and DC are cranking out right now.
Getting Started With Agile
One of the things I've read about regarding moving from Waterfall to Agile is that it's a good idea to do it slowly. Best case scenario appears to be that you have one team that feels passionate about it, and they "go Agile" all on their own, while the rest of the company goes on about its Waterfall business. Then, when that team starts hitting its stride, you seed a 2nd team with some of the members from the original, let them establish a rhythm, and then repeat, until eventually everyone's Agile.
Needless to say if you work with me or have followed the Agile posts here, that's not what we did in my current workplace. Instead, we did a Big Bang approach, kicking off about a dozen Feature Teams at the same time, as well as converting some of our supporting groups over, all at once (last August). In our defense, we did pilot some practices before that, in order to gather data and try to start everyone off on a better footing. And I think we did get some significant value out of those trial activities, so I'm not belittling that work in the least. But as I'm starting to get greater exposure to more and more of the teams at work, I'm coming face-to-face with the reality of just how much diversity there is in terms of progress made. Literally every team I interact with is at a different point, with some possibly even stalled, with little idea how to get going again (or even recognition of the fact).
And that's what got me thinking today about the preferred "start small" approach. The value of having one or two experienced and enthusiastic members to build a team around was probably under-estimated by those of you who engineered our transition. We started everyone off cold, and hoped that within each team just such a person - or persons! - would emerge. Now I'm left to ponder how much better it would be going now, nine months later, if we hadn't left that so entirely up to chance?
Clearly we can't change history - who do I look like, Hiro?? - but I thought I'd post this for posterity, and in case anyone reading it is considering making a move to Agile. This probably falls under the category of, "No duh, Sherlock... why didn't you just listen to the experts?" but there it is.
Needless to say if you work with me or have followed the Agile posts here, that's not what we did in my current workplace. Instead, we did a Big Bang approach, kicking off about a dozen Feature Teams at the same time, as well as converting some of our supporting groups over, all at once (last August). In our defense, we did pilot some practices before that, in order to gather data and try to start everyone off on a better footing. And I think we did get some significant value out of those trial activities, so I'm not belittling that work in the least. But as I'm starting to get greater exposure to more and more of the teams at work, I'm coming face-to-face with the reality of just how much diversity there is in terms of progress made. Literally every team I interact with is at a different point, with some possibly even stalled, with little idea how to get going again (or even recognition of the fact).
And that's what got me thinking today about the preferred "start small" approach. The value of having one or two experienced and enthusiastic members to build a team around was probably under-estimated by those of you who engineered our transition. We started everyone off cold, and hoped that within each team just such a person - or persons! - would emerge. Now I'm left to ponder how much better it would be going now, nine months later, if we hadn't left that so entirely up to chance?
Clearly we can't change history - who do I look like, Hiro?? - but I thought I'd post this for posterity, and in case anyone reading it is considering making a move to Agile. This probably falls under the category of, "No duh, Sherlock... why didn't you just listen to the experts?" but there it is.
For The True Heroes Enthusiasts
There's a regular feature at Comic Book Resources that PeterJ mentioned in the previous post's comments, called "Behind the Eclipse." A new set of Q&A with the creators of Heroes comes out each Monday whenever there's a new episode of the show scheduled to air. The questions are generally about last week's episode, as well as giving you a peek and some teases about the new episode premiering that night. You can read this week's here and it contains a link to the previous editions of "Behind the Eclipse" at the end. (For future editions, just go to the main CBR page, linked to at the start of this post, and click on "The Comic Reel" link.)
For anyone who's really into the show, I'd almost call this required reading! A lot of very interesting questions are asked each week, and sometimes they even get answered! It's pretty good for not spoiling stuff beyond what's shown in the aired episodes, so you don't need to worry that you'll read anything revealing, except those things you already missed spotting! And even some of the questions raised here get tackled there, such as "aren't you ripping off Watchmen, dudes?"
For anyone who's really into the show, I'd almost call this required reading! A lot of very interesting questions are asked each week, and sometimes they even get answered! It's pretty good for not spoiling stuff beyond what's shown in the aired episodes, so you don't need to worry that you'll read anything revealing, except those things you already missed spotting! And even some of the questions raised here get tackled there, such as "aren't you ripping off Watchmen, dudes?"
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