tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49383199287036531272024-03-13T03:22:04.788-07:00rantosaurus tntThis blog is just about my day-to-day musings on all things that interest me. These things include comic books, dinosaurs, movies, pop-culture, and everyday occurrences. A pretty wide range of things...tnthielenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00987561678868753828noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4938319928703653127.post-15444300452789099812012-02-08T06:17:00.000-08:002012-02-08T06:17:50.997-08:00A Review of Legend of Zelda:Skyward Sword I realize I might be a little late writing a review of this game that came out a while ago, but I just finished the damn thing now because I'm always too busy to play games. First off, I'm a little biased. I love Zelda games. I've played every one of them (except the horrifying CDi games). I wish I could say that I've beaten all of them, but a couple of them either gave me so much trouble that I couldn't or I thought were so weird that they didn't interest me. All this said, I'd like to propose that Skyward Sword is not the worst game in the franchise, but it's definitely nowhere near the best... and it should have been.<br />
To begin, I'd like to get us all on some sort of equal level here. My favorite game in the franchise is The Legend of Zelda:A Link to the Past for the SNES(or whatever other consoles they've put it on by now), but I will concede that The Legend of Zelda:The Ocarina of Time is probably the best game in the franchise. It has everything you could want out of a Zelda game (except top-down perspective). I just want to get that out of the way so we all have some even footing when thinking about a Zelda game. So, why does Skyward Sword not live up to these standards?<br />
<b>It's boring</b>. The conversational and expositional text scrolls at such a horrid pace. You can speed it up a little bit, but it's nowhere near enough. There are so many situations in the game that you will likely have to repeat, like falling off a cliff at home or talking with anyone at the Bazaar, that will give you the same canned text every time. This text becomes a grueling chore to sit through. Also, Phi, your companion for the game is made to talk like an emotionless robot. That's supposed to be her personality if you can call it one. The other companions in the history of the games have had emotions. They seem to get angry with you if you are ignoring what you should be questing for. Everyone who's played Ocarina of Time(Oot) remembers how annoying Navi's constant "Hey!" could be, but at least there seemed to be some kind of emotion behind it. The Kind of Red Lions (the boat) in Windwaker will berate you for doing something you shouldn't be. Ezlo (the bird hat) in Minish Cap is a very animated and opinionated character as is Midna in Twilight Princess. My whole point is, that no matter how annoying all those characters became you still began to care about them because they had a personality and they seemed to go through a lot with you. Phi is just annoying without many redeeming qualities. They try and get you to have an emotional moment with her at the end, but since she's so boring it's like having an emotional moment with a piece of cardboard.<br />
<b> The adventure is missing</b>. All Zelda games are a series of tasks to be carried out in a semi-ordered fashion. The thing that makes it fun is that there is a world to explore. You can travel from one part to another and see the country side along the way. You begin to notice areas that you can't get to and hope that you will receive an item, like a hookshot, that will allow you to get into those areas. You find hidden treasure or characters in unlikely places. You begin to know you're whole world by crisscrossing it multiple times. Skyward Sword breaks this up by putting you in the sky and allows you to go into each area of the surface world separately. The forest, the desert, and the volcano area are all kept separate. For example, you can't go to the forest from the desert even though they are on the same surface. They even show up next to each other on the map! But you can't reach the other with out first returning to the sky. I found myself disinterested in visiting these areas since it forced me to return to the sky and fly over there and descend into them. I never wanted to wander around in them because it was such a chore to enter or exit them.<br />
<b>It's trying to do too much</b>. This is also why I say that it should have been the best in the series. The game tries to be a prequel to all of the games in the franchise. Therefore, they have included something from every game. You get the Gust Jar like in Minish Cap, There is a part where you sail a ship like in WindWaker and Phantom Hourglass, The Wind Fish from Link's Awakening (another one of my favorites) makes an appearance, etc... But, because it takes on so many of these elements, the game fails to do anything original and memorable. The only thing I can think of that's original is the motion controls while flying and swimming and those are more a pain in the ass than anything. Even the sky world where you live is a lot like the ocean and islands in WindWaker. All these islands with their waterfalls to nowhere as well as the story about bonding with a flying mount when you reach a certain age, just made me think that the creators had watched James Cameron's Avatar movie too many times.<br />
Again, this is not the worst game in the franchise. There are some truly fun moments in the game. Sometimes I even laughed out loud. I understand why it's gotten a lot of good reviews, but I think some of the nostalgia for the other games in the franchise has clouded people's vision of this game on it's own. I recommend playing it if you enjoy Zelda games, but don't expect it to top any of your favorites from the series.tnthielenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00987561678868753828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4938319928703653127.post-54385161215215276182012-02-03T06:00:00.000-08:002012-02-03T06:00:59.771-08:00Comics for this weekThis week brought some really decent comics. I picked up Avengers:X-Sanction #3(of 4), X-Factor #231, Invincible #88, Clive Barker's Hellraiser #10, Betrayal of the Planet of the Apes #4(of 4), and finally Sergio Aragones Funnies #7.<br />
Avengers:X-Sanction continues our fight between Cable and Red Hulk. After a couple of funny bits courtesy of Blaquesmith we get a flashback that sheds some light on why Cable is so gung-ho against the Avengers. We see that (in the future) the Avengers have lots of tech that would be used to take down the X-Men. Cable blasts Rulk out the side of the ship, but it isn't enough. Rulk gets the upper hand and makes some vague threats until Cable lashes out and infects him with the Techno-Organic Virus. Cable then notices his virus receding in response, but no time to dwell on that because Hope and Cyclops show up to have words. This too is cut short because we need Spider-Man and Wolverine to show up and say something dumb. This book is pretty standard Event-fare. I'm just surprised that they are using Blaquesmith. A character that could have only come out of the 1990s and one that has largely been ignored ever since.<br />
X-Factor continues it's "they keep killing Madrox" story. I love this book. It doesn't always have the best art, but it's an incredibly fun read. I genuinely have no idea what's going to happen next from issue to issue. Right now, since MadroxPrime was killed, Jamie is jumping into the dead bodies of himself from other timelines. It's the same kind of thing we've seen recently in Batman books and Captain America books, but this time we get to see how Peter David would handle this type of story. This issue has Jamie stuck in a world where instead of saying "no more mutants", the Scarlet Witch said "no more humans." Tony Stark was in space when it happened, so he became one of the only humans to survive. He fought and killed nearly all the mutants using his technology and giant sentinel-like robot iron men. A Deathlok version of Captain America shows up and starts a battle with Iron Man. Jamie gets caught in the middle while trying to find out what's going on from the mysterious Mr. Tryp. Jamie almost gets flown to safety by one of his dupes and then dies in a humorous fashion only to wake up in the body of another Madrox. This time he's been killed by what looks to be Dormammu:the Sorcerer Supreme! I know all of that sounds confusing as hell, but it's such a fun book.<br />
Invincible brings us back to the stand-off between Alan and Invincible. Thragg shows up and tries to reason with Alan about why he shouldn't try to kill off all of the Viltrumites with his new virus. Some interesting dialogue happens and Alan is swayed by what Thragg has to say. Invincible's brother Oliver is not so easily swayed. Robot and some Gaurdians show up and a fight starts. Invincible tries desperately to control the situation and keep Thragg from killing all of them. In the confusion Oliver grabs the gun containing the virus and flies to Earth to finish what they came to do. Invincible flies after him and the two struggle over control of the virus until Oliver accidentally shoots Invincible in the face with the virus. Alan helps and tries to explain how the virus is spread to which Invincible just replies that he feels fine and his virus must not work very well, but we get a reveal at the end that it may be working better than he thinks. Bum bum bum. This book is consistently good every month. I love this book and implore everyone to read it.<br />
Hellraiser is like everything Clive Barker writes; some cool stuff happens and some incredibly confusing stuff happens. Kirsty has traded places with Pinhead. She believes that she can fight the good fight from within Hell. she, of course is finding that it's a little harder than she anticipated. Meanwhile, human Pinhead has been trying to remember who he is until Kirsty decides to let him have all his memories back. Human pinhead is flooded with all his memories of Hell. This book is strange. I love Hellraiser and having Clive Barker writing it makes this a must-have for me, but it's not the most exciting read every month. I would suggest waiting for a collections to read this book.<br />
Betrayal of the Planet of the Apes shows us why Dr. Zaius went from a human sympathizer to a human hater. This has been a good read and leads into another upcoming mini series. If you like the old films, you'd like this book. Get the collection when it comes out.<br />
Sergio Aragones Funnies delivers another fantastic issue. Aragones is one of the greatest cartoonists to have ever lived and this book is always full of poignant, touching, hilarious, and fun stories. Not to mention puzzles and fun stuff for kids. This book is a must-have for adults and children alike.<br />
This week delivered some good books. They aren't all the best that they can be, but I'll take it over the quality I sometimes get out of comics. Till next time, Taa Taa!tnthielenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00987561678868753828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4938319928703653127.post-23948051342331967562012-01-26T05:40:00.000-08:002012-01-26T05:40:00.529-08:00Comics I bought this weekThis week was another slow week for me. I tried looking around for anything that might catch my eye, but the only thing that ever does are large hardcover collections and I don't have the money or time for those right now. This week I purchases Godzilla:Kingdom of Monsters #11, Daken:Dark Wolverine #20, X-Men Legacy #261, and The Walking Dead #93.<br />
I'll start with Godzilla:Kingdom of Monsters because this seems to be the penultimate issue in a series that has quickly gone downhill. The first few issues seemed to have a direct purpose and an interconnected story between numerous characters. This issue is nearly incoherent. A huge battle has happened between our strongest monsters and now a couple of the lesser monsters have come to try and control Godzilla while he is weakened. They charge him up with a nuclear explosion, but instead of being grateful he takes them out and we end almost where we began: with a bunch of monsters knocked out and lying around. It's pretty lame. The fight scenes don't make much sense thanks to Victor Santos' rushed looking art. Victor Santos has been a poor choice of artist on this book. It just doesn't play to his strengths at all. I'm very ready for this title to end. It's too bad really because the other miniseries that have spun off from it, gangsters and goliaths and legends, have been strong stories and fun to read. OH, and Eric Powell, the guy who was the selling point of the series, didn't even write this issue. Lame<br />
Daken:Dark Wolverine #20 is the final issue of this series. I feel ok knowing that this was it. I know some people don't like the character for numerous reasons, but I thought he was very intriguing. However, this series has gone a direction that didn't much interest me for the last 10 issues. This issue finishes that up and gets the character ready to be put on the shelf for a while; ready to make cameo appearances whenever needed(or not needed). Writer Rob Williams has tried to further our sociopathic lead by making him mortal(getting rid of his healing factor at least for the time being) and having him (basically) fall in love with someone. Sadly, the love story was very rushed (due, in part, to the books cancellation) and we can already tell that his healing factor will be back. This doesn't do much to make him a stronger character because he gets his heart(?) broken and becomes a grumpy thug again by the last page. Sad. This series could have been so much better.<br />
X-Men Legacy #261 brings back the villain Exodus in a story that seems organic. It's a decent story with good characterization. Exodus has come back to reunify the X-Men one way or another. He wants Mutants to survive and thinks Wolverine's team made a mistake leaving Utopia. They battle and Rogue gets to have a stand out moment by taking Kid Gladiator's powers so she can throw down with Exodus on his level. They stop and finally talk about it and Exodus reads everyone's minds and notices their motivations for leaving Cyclops. Exodus agrees that they did the right thing. Then he says something about knowing what he must do and flies away. Rogue looks at Wolverine and asks "um... Did we just get Cyclops killed?" Wolverine replies "Damn it" as they all charge off together after Exodus. It's a truly funny moment that feels right for the book. This issue is a good mix of fun, excitement with a good amount of drama and tension. A really good read.<br />
finally, The Walking Dead #93. This is the first part in the "A Larger World" story arc that will likely lead us to whatever huge event Robert Kirkman has planned for issue #100. This book is always good. You should read it regardless of what I say about it. A man has shown up explaining that he comes from a large group that trades and barters with other large groups. He offers Rick and our group a chance to join up with them as another part of a large community. Rick, of course, ties him up and puts everyone on alert that someone might invade. He then goes in search of this group believing the worst about them. Given his history with other groups of people we are sympathetic to his point of view. However, Andrea, believes that this might not be bad. She challenges Rick (nicely) and gets him thinking. By the end of the issue Rick is pontificating about a larger world that maybe they should be a part of...or at least take everything from this world and leave them for dead. It's a truly chilling moment. Partly because you almost thought Rick had turned back into old Rick in a moment that seemed a lot like the hope he saw in the Prison when they found it, but then we quickly see the Rick he's become since losing most of his family and friends to murderers and zombies. Again, it's good stuff, you should read it.<br />
That's it for this week. Let me know if you agree or disagree or if you have no idea what i'm talking about. Later!<br />
PS don't forget to support your local comic shop. Go inside, look around, buy some stuff, you might be happy you did.tnthielenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00987561678868753828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4938319928703653127.post-73673772894879221622012-01-19T05:59:00.000-08:002012-01-19T05:59:46.539-08:00New Comics that I bought Lately I've been trying to make good decisions on what comics to buy. I tend to buy Marvel comics and some independents. I had started to buy DC comics, but then they did their "New 52" and I bailed. I've always been an X-Men fan because it's how I got into comics, but after the recent "Schism" I've had to muddle through a slew of first issues as they restart all the X-Titles. Ughh... I've finally decided which titles to drop and which to keep up with just in time for a new crossover event to (maybe) pull me back.<br />
Anyway, This week didn't offer me much in terms of worthy titles for reading. Uncanny X-Force #20, New Mutants #36, and Generation Hope #15. After the decent first 19 issues of UXF I've found my interest in the title waining. It's truly solidified itself as essentially a Fantomex solo book. That's all this title has been from the start with lots of recurring guests. This week Fantomex finds himself on trial by the Captain Britain Corps. Ugh... I've never been interested in Captain Britain and any of the characters that showed up in Excalibur back in the day. The only thing that is remotely interesting is the fact that we are trying to deal with the repercussions of Fantomex's decision to kill the En Sabah Nur child 17 issues ago. However, that's what the entire book has been about this whole time. So, we aren't exactly breaking new ground here. Meanwhile Captain Britain's Magic Land is at war with itself and X-Force fall head first into the battle. Yawn...<br />
Generation Hope #15 found the team back on Utopia with a Mindwiped Sebastian Shaw in tow only to find out that Cyclops (and others) are less than happy to see him again. This title has been very interesting to me from the beginning. I especially enjoyed the title when it steers clear of the rest of the X-Men and does it's own thing. However, since the title has introduced Shaw into the mix and moved more into continuity I'm finding myself cringe. This issue Hope challenges Scott (again) and shows off a bit more power than she's ever shown before. Of course, this is only to tease the Phoenix force storyline coming up entitled Avengers vs. X-Men. Ugh... The thing I don't understand is why the Phoenix force would even be interested in Hope in the first place. So far, all we've ever seen the Phoenix want out of a mutant is for it to be telepathic. Hope isn't telepathic or even all that powerful. The only reason I can see them doing this is because she has red hair and looks like Jean Grey. Ugh...<br />
New Mutants #36 finishes up the search for Blink storyline(thank god). This title has been limping along since the beginning. There hasn't been much to make this title stand out and I think it's been coasting on the nostalgia of people who grew up with these characters in the late 80s, but I think recently with the titles new direction that it's really settling into something that could be good. The characters are solidifying and it's tangential role to the other X-Titles is a good thing. I hope it can steer clear of too much continuity and do it's own thing for a while.<br />
I also picked up Ultimate Comics All-New Spider-Man #6. What a terrible title. Ultimate Spider-Man was such a better title for the book. So, six issues into Miles Morales taking over the title from Peter Parker and we finally have an issue where he actually fights some bad guys! In costume! Hooray! Bendis Ultimate Spider-Man(under any title) has been very consistently good. I've enjoyed every issue of this book. Every single one (i'm counting the almost a hundred and fifty issues preceding this restart), but it's been lagging recently for me. The Miles Morales storyline seems to be taking it's time getting anywhere. I think it's because we don't know enough about the character yet (not nearly as much as we knew about Peter) and we don't yet see the point of the title. It doesn't have a direction yet. No main antagonist(like green goblin was for Peter) or even a sub-antagonist(like Doctor Octopus was for Peter). I'm sure we'll be introduced to these elements soon, but it needs to hurry if it has any hope of keeping new readers.<br />
Rounding out my week is Planet of the Apes #10(BOOM! Studios). This title has been so good from the start. The art is great the story is interesting and each issue keeps me wanting to read more. It's weird. This title should have been terrible. It's supposed to fit into the old Planet of the Apes movies continuity. As hokey as those films became this title manages to keep all the good elements of those films while setting itself apart. We don't have the Star Wars Prequel problems of having to show the origin of every main character from the films. Instead we are given a whole new set of characters that we get to know and like. We get invested in these characters even though they aren't familiar at all. This issue gives us flashbacks from three of our main characters: Sully, Alaya, and Nix. We see how their paths first cross at a definitive moment in history. Our other main character, Bako, is absent until the end. A battle is fought between the White Troop and the Ghost Battalion that is very well presented. Just a great title overall. I highly recommend picking it up even if you don't know much about the movie continuity. If you can't find the issues, get the volume 1 TPB. <br />
I suppose I might start doing this weekly now that I have a little more time to devote to it, but I can't guarantee that will last. So, until next time!tnthielenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00987561678868753828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4938319928703653127.post-31424573266166438262011-11-11T05:22:00.000-08:002011-11-11T05:22:27.743-08:00My thoughts on Marvel's Digital Initiative<div class="p1"><b>I just read an interview on Comicbookresources.com with Peter Phillips, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Marvel's Digital Media Group, David Gabriel, Senior Vice President of Sales, and Arune Singh, Director of Communications, Publishing & Digital Media about their new digital initiative. Here are some excerpts and my thoughts.</b></div><div class="p1"><i>"Recently, Marvel canceled of a </i><a href="http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=35316"><i>couple</i></a><i> of </i><a href="http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=35301"><i>series</i></a><i> before they were published. Would you ever consider going digital first, or doing exclusive digital issues followed with a trade, as Archie is doing with its Jinx property?</i></div><div class="p1"><i>Gabriel: I wouldn't say never, but with the things that have been going on here in the past couple of weeks, we are not looking at any of those books that have been cancelled for various reasons [going to digital publication]. In the near future, no."</i></div><div class="p1">-<b>Why the hell not? This sounds like a fantastic idea. Marvel could publish good comics without having to worry about selling enough paper copies because it doesn't have to print them! Fantastic series like S.W.O.R.D. wouldn't have to be cancelled and many creators could continue working on their favorite characters.</b></div><div class="p1"><i>"One concern, especially by comic store owners, is that as digital distribution grows, print will suffer. How do you plan to encourage customers of your digital comics to visit brick-and-mortar retailers?</i></div><div class="p1"><i>Gabriel: We are working on some couponing programs that would be a digital </i><a href="http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=35385#"><i>coupon</i></a><i> that gets sent to digital customers. So the Marvel app digital customers would get a coupon for a dollar amount that they could print out and redeem at their local comics store. We will be talking to retailers over next few weeks, 15 to 20 retailers, about what is the best way to do it, the most fair way, how to help the customers find the closest store in their area and, if there is not a store in their area, how to drive them to an internet shop that would accept the coupon. I think we will be the first publisher to offer something like this in support of the direct market retailers. We both can exist side by side very healthily, and we are just starting to find ways to do that."</i></div><div class="p1"><b>-coupons? Coupons are gonna save the brick & mortar stores? Everyone can calm down and quit worrying about their business going under because the customers have coupons! This is a sad, sad effort on their part…</b></div><div class="p1"><i>"Will your graphic novels stay available digitally when they go out of print on paper?</i></div><div class="p1"><i>Gabriel: Sure, unless we don't want them to."</i></div><div class="p1"><b>-What the heck is that supposed to mean? </b></div><div class="p1"><i>"What will be the price of the digital comics?</i></div><div class="p1"><i>Phillips: It's funny we are asked this question; we have a year and a half of established pricing.</i></div><div class="p1"><i>So, same as print, then. Any plans to mark them down after some period of time?</i></div><div class="p1"><i>Arune Singh: Marvel does 99 cent sales every week [on comiXology], so there is a lot of fluctuation of [prices] for the consumer's benefit.</i></div><div class="p1"><i>Gabriel: We will make a </i><a href="http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=35385#"><i>book</i></a><i> completely free if we are trying to promote something else. There are a lot of opportunities for different pricing strategies. Again, we are looking at the model of a comic shop: A store owner wouldn't have a comic on his shelf that was $2.99 for four weeks and then mark it down to 99 cents. They would have it at $2.99 for as long as they could, and when the trade comes out, most retailers put those into back issue bins and generally the price goes up a bit. I'm not saying we are doing that, we are not copying everything they do, but we may not reduce the price."</i></div><div class="p1"><b>-this is the most infuriating part for me. Why on earth do they cost the same? I love how they pull it around to what the comic shops are doing to let you know that they have an excuse to RAISE the price if they really wanted to. So, you see, they are really doing you a favor by having them cost the same as a printed book that you can physically hold onto and keep and pass down(literally) to your children or friends. How many shops have you been in that didn't have a $.99(or lower) bin? There are very few comics that actually get marked up and even fewer that sell at a marked up price.</b></div><div class="p1"><b>I hate to read interviews like this because they always make me mad. I can't think of a time when they made me excited about anything.</b></div>tnthielenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00987561678868753828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4938319928703653127.post-44677364288439955982011-10-25T16:52:00.000-07:002011-10-25T16:53:19.824-07:00Random Thoughts on Television Stuff<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Recently it was announced that <i>Beavis and Butthead</i> would be returning to MTV. Mike Judge has mentioned that one of the main reasons for this return was watching <i>Jersey Shore.</i> He stated that after becoming aware of the show it was like a “godsend”. He knew he had to bring back <i>Beavis and Butthead</i> for this. He would have them watch reality television instead of music videos (since music videos are essentially dead. At least on MTV they are.) On the surface this sounds like a great idea, but after having it roll around in my noggin for a while, I think he’s completely wrong. <i>Beavis and Butthead</i> was a big deal to me in my younger years. I enjoyed the hell out of that show. To me, it seemed that having Beavis and Butthead make fun of music videos was more because the videos <b>had </b>to be there. MTV didn’t show anything without having music videos in it. That’s why they were called Music Television. This started to change around the time that <i>Beavis and Butthead </i>was at its peak. The show didn’t simply watch bad videos. They watched any and all videos. Some they loved. Some they hated. Some they didn’t even talk about, instead going off on some non-sequitur or hitting each-other. The videos served a purpose of making fun of youths in general. Beavis and Butthead are supposed to be exaggerations on 1990s youths. I’m not so sure that relates to 2011. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Also, reality television is probably old-hat by now to make fun of, isn’t it? Especially making fun of <i>Jersey Shore. </i>Isn’t that the whole point of the show in the first place? I thought the show existed as a joke. No one watches it because they are seriously invested in it. They watch it to laugh at it. Do we really need Beavis and Butthead to show us how to laugh at it? Besides, isn’t that why <i>Talk Soup</i>, now called simply <i>The Soup</i> exists? <i>Beavis and Butthead</i> are probably best left in the past.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">On a separate note, I’ve been watching Fox’s <i>Terra Nova.</i> It’s a show about our possible future where we’ve destroyed our ecosystem, but luckily have found a way to go back in time. So, we follow a family back in time to the time when dinosaurs walked the earth. Humanity gets a new start. Luckily, to avoid any Butterfly Effect, we are told that this is an alternate timeline. This also opens the door for the show to make up their own dinosaurs. It’s apparent from the first episode that they are going to ignore most of science just to fit in made up monsters. They introduce us to a Brachiosaurus, a Carnotaurus, and a “slasher”. Wait, a what? Oh, you made it up… so stupid. They live in a refugee camp of sorts, but it’s incredibly clean. It doesn’t look lived-in at all. Where’s the mud? Where is the dirt? Another complaint I have is the time-period. Is it 85 million years ago or is it 85 million b.c.? The show uses both interchangeably and I can’t help thinking that that can’t be right. The show had some promise, but quickly(second episode) became bad SyFy channel crap. We have each episode being reminiscent of the 1990s <i>Outer Limits</i> mixed with ABC’s <i>LOST.</i> I will continue to watch it simply because it has dinosaurs, but I highly don’t recommend it. </div>tnthielenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00987561678868753828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4938319928703653127.post-64335652693498348452011-10-19T05:02:00.000-07:002011-10-19T05:02:36.743-07:00Super-Power Psych 101<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:DocumentProperties> <o:Template>Normal.dotm</o:Template> <o:Revision>0</o:Revision> <o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime> <o:Pages>1</o:Pages> <o:Words>587</o:Words> <o:Characters>3347</o:Characters> <o:Company>TNT-138</o:Company> <o:Lines>27</o:Lines> <o:Paragraphs>6</o:Paragraphs> <o:CharactersWithSpaces>4110</o:CharactersWithSpaces> <o:Version>12.0</o:Version> </o:DocumentProperties> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]> <style>
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<div class="MsoNormal">I’ve been thinking about the perennial question that gets asked all the time: What super-power would you like to have? I’ve answered nearly the same way since I was first asked. I want to fly, but probably not the way most people would think. I would like to have wings. I want big feathered wings. I would also take the power of super-human agility. Like Spider-Man, but without the sticking to walls part.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span> </span>I’ve heard many different answers to this question, but I usually hear three more than any others: Flying, Telekinesis/Telepathy, and Invisibility. Flying is used more often than not, but I think it’s dwindling as it becomes easier and cheaper to fly anywhere. Telekinesis, if you don’t know, is the ability to move objects with your mind. Telepathy is the ability to read people’s thoughts. These are normally presented together because they are mind powers. Comic books group them together, so people tend to group them together.<span> </span>These powers can say a lot about the individual that chooses one. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span> </span>Flying can be seen as active. To propel oneself through the sky is quite a feat. Whether you choose Superman-style flight or Angel-wings, both are very physical. Superman always looks like he’s straining when trying to fly faster. So, the individual is either a physical person or wishes to be. After thinking about this for a while, I realize that there is another reason for the flight answer. It could simply mean that you are a dreamer. You have your head in the clouds. Literally as well as figuratively. I think nearly everyone has had a dream in which they are flying. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span> </span>Telekinesis/Telepathy is a bit harder to explain, so I’ll split it up. Telekinesis, to me, seems like laziness. You’d like the world to revolve around you as compared to flying around the world. You sit on the couch and think a soda out of the fridge and into your hand. Then again, if you think of telekinesis like you saw it in the <i>Star Wars</i> movies, then you might think of it as a little more active. The Jedi and Sith use it to hurl objects at each other or throw people around. In the film <i>Carrie</i> she uses the power to kill people, but this almost seems involuntary; A moment of passion. It’s provoked and almost not very deliberate. She could plead insanity. Still, the thought of sitting in one spot and making the world move around you just seems self-centered and lazy. We all are capable of this. I’d love to sit inside on a blistering hot day and mow the lawn with my brain. <span> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span> </span>Telepathy, kind of, falls into the same category as invisibility for me. It’s an invasion of privacy. People love the idea of hearing something they weren’t supposed to hear, seeing something they weren’t supposed to see, knowing something they weren’t supposed to know. People love secrets. Telepathy allows you to get at these secrets. You can find out all those awful things someone has done against you. If you can turn invisible, you can go anywhere and see things that you shouldn’t see. It would be nice to slip into the boss’ office during a meeting and overhear conversations about who is getting fired. Of course, these powers also slip into depravity. With Telepathy, you can find out the secret desires of someone. You can find out all the dirty secrets someone keeps. With Invisibility you can go into the opposite sex’s locker room. Be behind closed doors when a couple is being intimate. I don’t think I need to give many examples here, they are already too numerous in your mind at this moment. We are all capable of wanting this. It’s based in desire and sexuality. Maybe you wouldn’t have thought of that right away, but it’s a possibility. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span> </span>All of these powers represent something inside of us all. The ones that rise to the surface show some of the more dominant traits we have. I’m a bit of a dreamer and wish I were more active. I know this about myself. I’m also a bit lazy and depraved. So, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that I would want to be an invisible, mind-reading guy who likes to float around and make snacks float into my mouth. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">(p.s. On a side note, I hope to be more regular with my posts. I'm gonna shoot for twice a week. Just so you know how often to look forward to a new post.)</div><!--EndFragment-->tnthielenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00987561678868753828noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4938319928703653127.post-63812230239838462212011-10-11T09:48:00.001-07:002011-10-11T09:48:47.718-07:00where have all the Giants gone? I think one of the hardest lessons learned while growing up is that your idols are flawed people. The geniuses of the world are just human. My father always talks about the 1940s, 50s and 60s as a time “when giants walked the earth.” He talks about baseball players, musicians, writers and actors that were exceptional. That no one will ever compare to those people. They were, essentially, gods to him. I marveled at the things they accomplished. I wondered about all of these lost giants whom we’ll never see equal to again. Yet, now I can’t help but notice that they were all regular old flawed people.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal"> </div><div class="MsoNormal"> A friend of mine grew up when Ozzy Osbourne was considered a scary person. He was a god of Heavy Metal music. He was dangerous. He was crazy. He was something really cool to a teenager. This was all shattered when my friend saw behind the veil years later. <i>The Osbournes</i> debuted on MTV and showed the world how mundane, goofball and seemingly feeble Ozzy had become. It made light of it in nearly every episode. Now, it’s difficult for my friend to listen to the same rock music of his youth and not think about Ozzy spending an hour feebly trying to use a remote to turn on his television. The Hero-Myth completely busted. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"> Today the internet has made it very easy to debunk any Hero-mythology that might start. People relish in tearing down any person that might get hoisted onto a pedestal. In fact, sometimes it seems like they intentionally put people on pedestals just to tear them down I can’t help but get in on a lot of it myself.. Children, who are ruthless and mean, are in on it more often than not. When I say children, I mean everyone under the age of 18. Message boards, Comment threads, blog posts, Facebook status’, Twitter feeds are all rife with kids potty-mouthing people. They are picking apart everything anyone does. No one is safe from crimination. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"> Lately, I’ve thought about it more and more. I liked having idols and heroes while growing up. I liked the thought that there were once “giants” who walked this earth. I like to believe that “giants” may again walk this earth someday. I understand that these pedestals that we place them on are bound to be toppled over at some point in our lives, but can we try and keep it from happening to children at such a young age? </div>tnthielenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00987561678868753828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4938319928703653127.post-62949061238605303902011-10-10T05:07:00.000-07:002011-10-10T05:07:27.240-07:002nd verse different from the firstI wrote this a while ago and didn't know what to do with it until now.<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">I like Lady GaGa. I genuinely enjoy listening to her music and watching her music videos. I’m a near thirty-year-old man who owns a few GaGa t-shirts as well. I’m not afraid to admit it. However, since the album <i>Born this Way</i> was released and I’ve been reading the reviews I’ve been considering what Lady GaGa means to music. Is she merely a media spectacle? Is she just a talentless attention whore? Is she the second coming? Is she just a Madonna clone? Is she really a genius? What is Lady GaGa?</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">I, at first, was repulsed by Lady GaGa and her poker face. The teenage metalhead in me instinctively reviled the pop music she was spewing. The hipster in me hated how much everyone loved it. It’s something I’ve been doing for many years. I can remember a number of bands that I “discovered” and later totally abandoned once everyone else knew who the hell they were. I hated all the popular music. I hated it because it was popular. I’ve since calmed down and learned to accept what I responded to by its actual content rather than its popularity. I started listening to all kinds of music. Some of my friends didn’t understand. Some still don’t. My point here is that I, like a lot of people, can be very closed minded. I think it’s easy to dismiss Lady GaGa as some media whore without much talent. I think it’s easy for people to say that she just wants to be Madonna. This reminds me of a time in the 90s when Marilyn Manson started becoming popular. People at first thought that his…shtick, for lack of a better word, was an Alice Cooper rip-off. He was essentially a more bombastic version of Cooper; a 90s version, for those that might understand what that means. By the end of the 90s he had shown that he was a little bit more than that, or at the very least, something else entirely. He used MTV to the fullest extent to get his face and music out there. The controversy that surrounded him only fueled the fame he received. Marilyn Manson became, what can only be called, a Rock Star. He was perhaps the last one we will have, but that’s a different discussion. Lady GaGa has essentially done the same thing. Love it or hate it. Now, in 2011, MTV is essentially meaningless. GaGa has used the internet and mobile phone applications to get her face out there to the masses since her initial breaking onto the scene. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">The other point I’d like to make about Lady GaGa is that I don’t really see her as a musician. She’s more like an Artist. I was going to say that she is a Performance Artist, but I don’t think that’s so much the truth as she IS the artwork. She uses herself as a canvas for numerous works of art. Her music is only one part of that artwork. The songs, taken alone, are catchy pop/disco tunes, but not much more than that. To take the music without the full package that is Lady GaGa and her stage show is missing the point.<span> </span>She is silly. She is awkward. She can be beautiful, but most times chooses to the strange over the pretty. I commend her for this. It challenges people. A lot of people will rail against it. A lot of people will love it. Some people won’t know what to think about it, but it will make them uncomfortable. This is what any artist can truly hope for. I like Lady GaGa. She has come very close to achieving something I have always wanted to achieve. She has found a way to meld her artwork (or someone else’s) with music to present a complete work of art to which people really respond.</div><!--EndFragment-->tnthielenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00987561678868753828noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4938319928703653127.post-89730513187303172292011-10-07T05:04:00.000-07:002011-10-07T05:04:50.848-07:00First Rant about comics<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:DocumentProperties> <o:Template>Normal.dotm</o:Template> <o:Revision>0</o:Revision> <o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime> <o:Pages>1</o:Pages> <o:Words>664</o:Words> <o:Characters>3787</o:Characters> <o:Company>TNT-138</o:Company> <o:Lines>31</o:Lines> <o:Paragraphs>7</o:Paragraphs> <o:CharactersWithSpaces>4650</o:CharactersWithSpaces> <o:Version>12.0</o:Version> </o:DocumentProperties> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing> <w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing> <w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery> <w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/> <w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/> </w:Compatibility> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 10]> <style>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Hello and welcome to my blog. I’ve been told numerous times by friends that I needed to start one of these, so now I’m finally doing it. I want to say, up front, that I don’t always have perfect grammar and I know my wife will loathe me posting anything that isn’t perfect, but it’s going to happen. I’m going to screw up.<span> </span>Expect run-on sentences, comma-splices, poorly worded sentences, and all of it written in a conversational style. I hope this won’t detract from what I’m saying or drive anyone away. So, without further ado…</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Lately I’ve been reading a number of back-issues of <i>Marvel Comics Presents. </i>I noticed a lot of talented creators getting their start in those pages as well as some established creators doing some nice work. People like Joe Madureira, Jae Lee, Sam Keith, Peter David, Tim Truman, etc… I started thinking about how there isn’t a good anthology book on the newsstand today. Scratch that…Dark Horse has revived <i>Dark Horse Presents</i> which is attracting a lot of great talent. However, it stands alone and I have no idea how well it’s doing in terms of sales. I picked up a recent issue because it had a Ricardo Delgado story; A new <i>Age of Reptiles </i>tale. It was great. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><span> </span>I started thinking about the state of comics today. They don’t sell as well as they used to, but they also seem to be more in the public consciousness. We’ve seen a number of comic book based movies do very well at the box-office lately. So, how is Marvel welcoming new readers that might want to check out an Avengers comic once they see the upcoming movie? They can go to their local comic shop and find…Avengers, New Avengers, Secret Avengers, Avengers Academy…wait…what the hell? How the hell is that a good thing for a new reader to find? X-men comics are known for having many different titles since the late 1980s. <i>X-Men: First Class</i> fans can go to their local comic shop and soon find 8 different X-titles to choose from. Not to mention one-shots or mini-series that may be out there. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><span> </span>What if they could have one book called Avengers and one book called X-Men? They could have a back-up feature that would showcase stories of the other teams. Make the issues have a higher page count. Hell, make it a double sized book containing two complete issues. My other idea is that you could have an anthology book outside of the main title. You could have an Avengers ‘family’ anthology. It could contain stories of the Secret Avengers, the Avengers Academy, and the New Avengers. Deadlines could easily be met by the authors and the artists because they are only doing eight pages or so every month! You could do a special issue every now and then that might focus more on one of the particular titles. Do the same thing with the X-family of books. Fans of the movies can go to the store and find the Avengers comic or the X-Men comic and not feel daunted by the thought of 8 different titles from which to choose.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span> </span>It just seems strange, to me, that with comic books selling less and less that the big companies are putting out more and more titles. Where is the promotion? Where are the commercials on Saturday mornings? Where are the banners and ads on the internet? The only places I see comic books promoted are on comic book websites. Do you know where I see promotions for pills, anti-aging creams, cat litter, mops and brooms, etc…? They are EVERYWHERE online. I see them when I look at the weather, video game news, world news or just silly videos. I see ads for all the things previously listed and more. Where are the comic book ads? Comic books try and sell more books by bagging them or having variant covers, but the only people who are buying those gimmicks are the people buying comics in the first place and that pool is quickly drying. </div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span> </span>I bought my first comic book at the E-Z Mart gas station by my house. It was the last chapter in a story arc. I loved it. I bought more. I was a little confused by things, but I made my way through it and bought more. I still buy comics today because of that issue. I wish companies would put comics back in front of children. Distribute them to places people go; the grocery store and the convenience store. I also wish comic book companies would quit rebooting things and putting out new number one issues to try and get new readers. It didn’t matter to me that my first issue wasn’t a number one. Trust your creators to be able to make an interesting story that will entice readers whether it’s the first chapter or the last chapter of a story. If people know about it, they will buy it. If it’s good, people will continue to buy it.</span><!--EndFragment-->tnthielenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00987561678868753828noreply@blogger.com5