Piranha - 3D

Something very few people know about me, but the Piranha series is one of my favorite 'B Movie' series. I remember watching all of them, when I was a kid, and I loved the fact that they got just kept getting worse. I think I enjoyed it so much because I realized it was supposed to be bad.

I won't be going to the theater to see this one, but I do love the fact that they did it.

Newbies Star Trek Uniforms

Wahoo! This one is AWESOME.

My neighbors across the street just had a baby boy in December, and one of these would be perfect.

Yes, yes. I realize that he is the ultimate sports fanatic, and if you did not know it already, he is also a Baseball Coach at the local High School. When we discuss geeky things, his eyes glaze over, his feet start moving, and some how I never get to finish my story.

He (and his wife) accepts my geekiness. I accept the fact that he is interested in some of type of outdoor activity, but that does not mean that his son is lost cause. There is hope, which is why I should start early.

What the.....16 Port Hub!!!!

But it makes perfect sense. You can never have enough toys plugged into one socket. It really doesn't look that cool, which is rather disappointing, but it hits the geek radar. Only problem is that it is $159.99, and I would rather buy something else. I can live with the wires and other hubs

The Graveyard Book

Looking through past postings, I came across Robert’s reference to Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book.

Gaiman’s novels are strange disconcerting affairs. Stardust, Neverwhere, Coraline, and American Gods all create a sort of magical realism in which the everyday world exists adjacent to a magical, darkly beautiful world. His works offer us an alternative to our world, which has become too big and too small all at once.

The Graveyard Book is slightly different. It follows the first half of an orphaned boy’s life. The Gaiman twist is the adoptive family. The boy—Nobody, an Everyman—is raised by the inhabitants of a graveyard—ghosts and a vampire (perhaps).

The tale is filled with drama, romance, adventure, fantasy, and villains.

At times the book slows to a crawl. And at times it skips, alluding to battles and histories we do not get to see. All of this may be what Tolkien terms “sub-creation,” the extension of the fantasy world beyond the boundaries of the narrative. Literary terms and analysis, though, need to be put on the shelf—as do the comparisons with Kipling.

Gaiman moves beyond the macabre and beyond the storybook trick. He ventures into the realm of fable and fairy tale. We learn with Nobody what it means to be a part of a community, to be a part of a family, to be human. We watch him grow. And as he does, we love him. That is Gaiman’s trick on us.

I reread the ending twice—telling myself that I could be the father that Silas was.

Buy The Graveyard Book and read it knowing you are going to be heartbroken.

Bayard

(A movie?)

Iron Man 2 - Trailer 2

Yes. YES! IRON MAN 2.

Everyone has their favorite superhero movie, and I think mine is Iron Man, which makes the release of Iron Man 2 just a tad bit exciting for me. I'm not an Iron Man collector or avid reader. In fact, I am embarrassed to say that I don't even own an Iron Man statue.

Yeah, yeah. Leave me alone. My finances at the time were a tad bit stretched, so I had to pass on the one that I wanted. Hmmm.....note to self: surf net for possible sale item.

Sorry to ramble.

So, when I got back to my hotel last night, turned on the TV and saw the new trailer. I realized that I had to post! I had to share! I had to oooh and aaah.

Blackest Night Conclusion

Sorry about the delay in my posts. Traveling and starting a new project can really take a toll on a person.

First off - this is not a spoiler or a review of the final Blackest Night books. This is a simple observation of why I have enjoyed the series for so long.

For those following the series over the last few years, I picked up this series with the start of the Sinestro Wars. I understood the concept.

The Sinestro Corp Wars were not going to be about Yellow vs Green Lantern, or Sinestro revenge against the Guardians. No, this war was over something simple. Sinestro's hatred of Hal Jordan. Hal replaced Sinestro's friend, and then Sinestro took Hal took on the task of training Hal to be a Green Lantern.

As we all know, that turned into an incredible disaster. Sinestro gets thrown out of the Green Lantern Corps, and Hal is a hero.

But the wars grew into even more, as the Blackest Night dawned. (How did you like that one?)

Anyhoo-ha (and to finally get to my point), the Blackest Night is a story about the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Hal and Sinestro are forced to work together, while still despising each other. Two "friends" constantly competing to outdo the other. Hal can never be better then Sinestro, while Sinestro could never do anything good.

While some have enjoyed the intergalactic war, I have enjoyed these two characters. I guess that's why I still have trouble picking up Green Lantern Corps, and while I have enjoyed Blackest Night, I am uncertain about Brightest Day.

Star Wars Legacy

Knights of the Old Republic put me off of Dark Horse's Star Wars series (especially after Robert's comments). I was determined not to return—until a free copy showed up in my mail. And even then, Legacy went to the bottom of the pile.

I finally gave into my curiosity. The draw was too strong.

It is not Fables or Dark Knight. And although the narrative moves quicker, more smoothly than League, it lacks some of the complexity. May be.

Some of the costumes are outlandish, and the characterizations unoriginal (the shapely females, the hulking men, the bizarre super villains reminiscent of death and demons). Nevertheless, the drawings are rich, almost thick on the page.

Thing is, the narrative catches me even as it echoes the original Star Wars trilogy. (Did they have to include R2 and a Wookie? Show some discipline guys.) In the same vein, I overlooked and continue to overlook the shortcomings of Hamill’s wooden performance in the original trilogy.

Lucas’s original coming of age story is intriguing, complex. And the same appears to be true with Legacy.

A young Jedi’s epiphany leads to a denial culminating in a bold new direction. At least, that seems to be the direction the graphic novel is headed. Based on Joseph Campbell’s theory of the monomyth, Luke operates as a mythic hero. Luke’s battle with the dark side and his reconciliation with his father dovetail with Campbell’s description of father atonement, one of the supreme ordeals a hero must undergo in the process of his quest. The hero comes to terms with his past, reinvigorating it even as he does so.

The work is a myth. (Nothing new here.)

So where does this leave Cade and Legacy? I am not sure. It is still too early. I am in the midst of his battle with the Sith and emperor (volume 3). Will he go through a similar supreme ordeal? No way to tell.

My fear is, though, that the graphic novel will bog down in a drawn out series that refuses to reach or recognize its conclusion. The quest must end—with success or failure. The hero can only remain on the journey for so long before he is lost in the other world, the world of adventure. Even if he capitulates, Parzival-like, the hero must either find the grail or oblivion.

Yes, I know the series has been out for a while, and some of you know the answer to all of this. For me, though, it is intriguing. Will this work transcend pulp fiction in the same ways Lucas was able to transcend his genre? Will it capture the mythic?

Or will it just keep rambling on like an Oscar recipient?

Bayard

BBC: Survivors

I really can't say much about this series. I neither hate it nor love it. The only thing that really captivates me is the concept.

Since I was about 12, I have always planned and prepared for an emergency. Something that very few people have realized over the years. In high school, I carried an emergency can opener on my key chain. In college, I had my "Batman" emergency tool belt. (It included everything from a water filtration straw to a hammock.) Today, I have a 72-Hour emergency kit.

So while the BBC: Survivors series interests me, I really haven't connected with any of the characters.

While there a couple of underlining plots, the ones that I have been forced to endure include:

• The corporation that created the virus.
• The convict who is part of the "Family" and hasn't told anyone. Yet.
• The mother trying to find her son - who may or may not be dead. Yawn.
  

Positive: Villain is a mighty corporation, which supports some of my theories.

Negative: Characters. I can't latch onto any of them. Tom Price, the convict, is about the only interesting one, as you are constantly waiting for him to "show his colors".

Overall: It is scheduled on the DVR, so I will be watching it.

League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

Okay. So I bailed on Ghost Hunters for League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Having seen the movie too many times on AMC, I assumed I had a feel for the graphic novel.

Not so. The movie was a comic book version of a strange, uncomfortable text.

Surprisingly, the League is neither headed up nor staffed by gentlemen. Miss Murray, who has had a troublesome year prior to the start of the narrative is a miss, a woman. She runs herd on an opium addict (Quatermain), a pirate (Captain Nemo), a sex offender (The Invisible Man), and a schizoid (Dr. Jekyll and Edward). No gentlemen.

The narrative emerges slowly—like a Kurosawa movie. You have to give this one some time for the story to get underway. (Thankfully not as much time as The Seven Samurai or Rashomon.)

Deciphering the graphics held my interest until the narrative hook set. The men all vaguely resemble zombies, except for Nemo, who seems an extension of his complex industrial sub. The structures dwarf and dehumanize the humans, reducing them to small incomplete sketches. The people of the novel are simply another detail in the gigantic landscape of an industrialized, polluted empire. Like gods glancing down from the heavens, we have to squint to see what these creatures are up to. The tiny figures are often engaged in violent, erotic, ominous acts. Watching, we become voyeurs in their diseased world.

And that decadence seems to be the point. The empire is corrupt. The men short-sighted and fallen. The graphic novel is most engaging when the point is made subtly—as Quatermain and Edward enter the opium den. In the same vein, the story becomes tired and sophomoric when the authors and artists feel it necessary to emphasize the dehumanization (the guestroom in the girl’s boarding school).

With its drawings, fliers, games, and posters, the work can be a busy, sometimes tiring affair. And poking holes in imperialism or deconstructing machismo in this day and age is like shooting dead fish in an empty bucket.

With all of that said, the adventure is there. And I will continue. I want to know what has happened with the cavorite, and I am curious to see what other familiar characters I run into in this unfamiliar world.

Bayard

Bishoujo: Phoenix and Dark Phoenix

Both Phoenix and Dark Phoenix! wow. Really, how hard was it to provide Phoenix and Dark Phoenix. (Note sarcasm)

Distributor Marvel
Creator Shunya Yamashita
Size 9"H
Release August 2010
Price $64.99

Zimm's Two Cents
Do I really have to? Can't I just skip this one? I'll admit it. I'm not a fan of the Bishoujo line, but then again, I'm not a teenager.

Points in Favor

• Great colors.
• Love the flow. Hair, belt and flames - all are part of the same flow.
• Got to love the price too. You can find it on sale for $49.99. Click here.
• Beyond the costume, there are little differences in the pieces. My niece would point out the eyes.
• At first, I wasn't thrilled with the pose, but after thinking about it, it reminded me of clubbing and someone dancing. (Or is that the insufferable music that Jamie is playing the background.) Either/or - I like it.
  

Points Against

• In-plants....again.

Recommendation: Neutral. While this one is just not for me, it still looks like a cute piece. If I had to get one, I would recommend Dark Phoenix. click here.