"Hey Bill."
"Oh, hi Bob! Good to see you again. What's going on?"
"Oh, I just had this great idea for a new superhero and I wanted to run it past you."
"Sure, sure. Let's see it."
"See he's called Batman. Doesn't he look awesome? I thought the red and black would go well together."
"Hmm...Well to be honest Bob I'm not so sure it works. Plus he looks an awful lot like Superman. Why don't you go with a gray costume; more mysterious and all."
"You mean like this?"
"Yeah, that's great. And what about a full cowl instead of a domino mask. It'll keep his secret identity better."
"That's a great idea Bill! Boy, that domino mask sure looks silly now! Like something a sidekick would wear. Haha!"
"Oh! You should give him gloves to prevent him from leaving fingerprints. Maybe some cool spiky gauntlets too. And those wings don't make sense, they'd be really cumbersome. How about a ribbed cape?"
"Yeah! This is looking great now. What would I do without you Bill? You know, I've been having trouble with a secret identity too; any ideas?"
"That's a tough one...How about Bruce? You know, after Robert the Bruce. And something colonial for the last name...Adams? ...no...Hancock? ...no...I've got it Wayne! Just like 'Mad Anthony.'"
"Wowee Bill! How do you do it?"
"Oh, I'm just trying to help a friend Bob."
"I want him to be like Zorro. You know, because he has a mask and all."
"We could also make him a super-sleuth like Sherlock Holmes, and a Jack of All Trades like Doc Savage."
"Yeah! And he's like Zorro because of his mask!"
"uhh...yes. Yes he is Bob."
"Hey, do you think you could make some cool villains and story lines for Batman?"
"Well...um...sure."
"Great! Hey everyone! Come look at the awesome new superhero I came with ALL BY MYSELF!!!"
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Monday, April 19, 2010
Nicholas cage: perfect father figure
Leigh Ann and I went to see Kick-Ass this past weekend and it was...well...okay.
Oh and spoilers below: you have been warned.
I wish I could say that it was kick-ass, but unless we're referring to the title, that would make me a liar. The movie was more violent than I expected, but that's not why I'm saying it wasn't great. I simply felt like the movie didn't really know what it was doing for two hours. It was like somebody looked at the movie and said:
"Here's the general plot, just do whatever feels natural to fill in the spaces so we can get the full length out of it."
I still maintain that the general idea is a good one. A young man simply decides to become a superhero and turns out to be an average guy in a costume just doing the right thing. He realizes in the grand scheme of things that he's nothing special, but here's the thing: he is special. I think so at least. My favorite part was during a fight with three thugs, one pulls a knife.
Thug: The fuck is wrong with you, man? You rather die for some piece of shit you don't even fucking know?
Kick-Ass: Three assholes laying into one guy while everyone else watches? And you want to know what's wrong with me? Yeah, I'd rather die...so bring it on!
A great moment that really looks into why some teenager would risk his life, but they never expound upon it. They never bother to make a point in the movie. Good guys get the bad guys, and that's all well and good, but that can't be all there is. If I wanted violence and action, I'd rent a Michael Bay film. If I wanted vulgar language, I'd watch a Die Hard Movie. If I wanted to watch silly modern teenage antics, I'd go buy Juno. But I don't want those things. I wanted a superhero movie. I wanted a point. I wanted all of the above woven together well as opposed to shifting the focus from scene to scene.
Don't get me wrong, I didn't hate the movie. I was just really disappointed in how it performed. I do want to look into the comic, to see if it fills in the holes left behind by Hollywood. If you have huge sums of disposable income, go watch Kick-Ass, it's worth that. Otherwise wait until you can rent it because there is no point in paying for an incomplete movie.
My rating: 6.8/10
My Second Favorite Quote: "Fuck you Mr. Bitey!"
Oh and spoilers below: you have been warned.
I wish I could say that it was kick-ass, but unless we're referring to the title, that would make me a liar. The movie was more violent than I expected, but that's not why I'm saying it wasn't great. I simply felt like the movie didn't really know what it was doing for two hours. It was like somebody looked at the movie and said:
"Here's the general plot, just do whatever feels natural to fill in the spaces so we can get the full length out of it."
I still maintain that the general idea is a good one. A young man simply decides to become a superhero and turns out to be an average guy in a costume just doing the right thing. He realizes in the grand scheme of things that he's nothing special, but here's the thing: he is special. I think so at least. My favorite part was during a fight with three thugs, one pulls a knife.
Thug: The fuck is wrong with you, man? You rather die for some piece of shit you don't even fucking know?
Kick-Ass: Three assholes laying into one guy while everyone else watches? And you want to know what's wrong with me? Yeah, I'd rather die...so bring it on!
A great moment that really looks into why some teenager would risk his life, but they never expound upon it. They never bother to make a point in the movie. Good guys get the bad guys, and that's all well and good, but that can't be all there is. If I wanted violence and action, I'd rent a Michael Bay film. If I wanted vulgar language, I'd watch a Die Hard Movie. If I wanted to watch silly modern teenage antics, I'd go buy Juno. But I don't want those things. I wanted a superhero movie. I wanted a point. I wanted all of the above woven together well as opposed to shifting the focus from scene to scene.
Don't get me wrong, I didn't hate the movie. I was just really disappointed in how it performed. I do want to look into the comic, to see if it fills in the holes left behind by Hollywood. If you have huge sums of disposable income, go watch Kick-Ass, it's worth that. Otherwise wait until you can rent it because there is no point in paying for an incomplete movie.
My rating: 6.8/10
My Second Favorite Quote: "Fuck you Mr. Bitey!"
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Nathan Lane owes me millions.
Tonight's Wiki Wednesday is brought to you by my good friend Reed who directed me to this:
The Lions Sleeps Tonight has an interesting history.
Originally called "Mbube" by it's writer (and initial recorder) Soloman Linda it has been sung by many over the years. Linda was given the shaft and payed a one time fee instead of normal author royalties. The famous chorus of "Wimoweh" is actually a mistake, caused by a mishearing of the original chorus "uyimbube" which means you're a lion. This means Timon and Pumbaa are stupidly singing "You're a lion, You're a lion" in horribly mistranslated African during the movie. Stupid jungle animals, listen to Elton John.
The song is based on an old African legend about the king Shaka Zulu whose pro-wrestler name was "The Lion." They say that when the Europeans invaded he simply fell asleep (instead of dying) and will awaken some day to exact his Buffalo Loined Vengance. Of course, if my leader decided at the critical moment to go to sleep while his people were being conquered, I would probably prefer thinking he was dead. You know, instead of being a jerk who abandoned everyone for 40 winks.
In 1982 the most popular version this song ever was performed and released by the group "Tight Fit." And this is why it was so popular:
Now if you'll excuse me, I have a sudden urge to go and make some bread.
The Lions Sleeps Tonight has an interesting history.
Originally called "Mbube" by it's writer (and initial recorder) Soloman Linda it has been sung by many over the years. Linda was given the shaft and payed a one time fee instead of normal author royalties. The famous chorus of "Wimoweh" is actually a mistake, caused by a mishearing of the original chorus "uyimbube" which means you're a lion. This means Timon and Pumbaa are stupidly singing "You're a lion, You're a lion" in horribly mistranslated African during the movie. Stupid jungle animals, listen to Elton John.
The song is based on an old African legend about the king Shaka Zulu whose pro-wrestler name was "The Lion." They say that when the Europeans invaded he simply fell asleep (instead of dying) and will awaken some day to exact his Buffalo Loined Vengance. Of course, if my leader decided at the critical moment to go to sleep while his people were being conquered, I would probably prefer thinking he was dead. You know, instead of being a jerk who abandoned everyone for 40 winks.
In 1982 the most popular version this song ever was performed and released by the group "Tight Fit." And this is why it was so popular:
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
When life gives you sardines...
Yo folkses.
Here's a new recipe (if you can call it that) that I threw together (literally) yesterday (the day before today). I call it Davy Jones's chowder.
Ingredients:
Pasta
Sardines
Water
Salt
Pepper
Oregano
Soy Sauce
Bacon
Garlic Powder
Onion
Olive Oil
Corn
Directions:
These directions are to the ones I used to make a small pot of soup (about 3 bowls) so if you want to expand it, multiply!
Here's a new recipe (if you can call it that) that I threw together (literally) yesterday (the day before today). I call it Davy Jones's chowder.
Ingredients:
Pasta
Sardines
Water
Salt
Pepper
Oregano
Soy Sauce
Bacon
Garlic Powder
Onion
Olive Oil
Corn
Directions:
These directions are to the ones I used to make a small pot of soup (about 3 bowls) so if you want to expand it, multiply!
- Pick your favorite type of pasta (remember, it's going in the soup so plan surface to volume ratios accordingly) and cook it. In a pot. With water. Leave enough water to make the broth of the soup. It might affect pasta cooking time, so be aware.
- Dice one onion. Wipe the tears out of your eyes. Season with salt and peppa. Sautee the diced onion. Set cooked onion aside
- Cut the bacon (about five strips) into pieces about a cm wide. Season with pepper and oregano. Cook until golden and crispylicious.
- Prepare your corn (open the can or cut it off the cob). If you bought creamed corn, slap yourself.
- Is the pasta done yet? Okay, wait for it to finish.
- How about now?
- Okay, good. Turn the pasta water down to a low setting (2 or three). We don't want to cook it anymore, but we do need it warm. Open your can of sardines. They look disgusting, no? Too bad, we're using them anyway.
- Mash up the sardines into a paste. They should already be halfway there. Take three tsp. of paste-ified sardine and stir it into the pasta water. It should start to smell fishy seeing as you just added fish.
- Season broth with salt, pepper, garlic powder and oregano as desired. Pick your own measurements, I can't do everything for you people. Add more sardine if you want.
- Add the corn and bacon (and bacon grease of course). Stir and let equilibrate at a hot temperature.
- Ladle into a bowl and enjoy!
I was actually surprised at how this turned out. The entire time I was adding stuff to it I kept thinking "Holy Crap, Holy Crap, What am I doing?" But I've had three bowls in two days and I still think it turned out well. The only thing I didn't like was that I added too much pepper.
Monday, April 12, 2010
The return of Soup Boy!
Hey kids,
I'm back. Mostly. It's been really busy around here. Classes and research are both picking up and they are heavy mistresses to bear (bare?). Anyway, I'll try to get something up according to schedule but I warn you: it may not be pretty.
Any-whojamachalit, Leigh Ann and I went to see HTTYD this weekend. For those of you who failed your acronymonics midterm that stands for How To Train Your Dragon (not to be confused with Happy Turtles Take Your Drugs). It is the newest computer animated movie from dreamworks.
The story revolves around a young viking named Hiccup and his encounter with a dragon who he dubs "toothless." Hiccup does not hiccup and Toothless has teeth which begs the question: Who picked these names?
Answer: Cressidia Cowell (I don't know if that's spelled right and I don't right care at this juncture of my life).
Yes, it is a movie based on a series of books by author Cressidia Cowell. The movie is absolutely amazing and is going on my list-of-movies-to-buy-when-they-come-out-and-I-have-the-money-list. Not only is the computer animation very good, but the story and voice actors were great as well.
As with any movie based on a book, it did not follow the story at all. From what we could determine after watching the movie and looking up information on the book, however, the book sucked and should be thankful that Dreamworks made it awesome. I didn't actually ever read the book, which means that I am definitely justified in making this wide, sweeping assumption.
Also, while in the movie a mother with two young children was sitting behind us. Her son decided he would start voicing his opinion about everything on the screen about halfway through the film (when the action started picking up). This all came to a climax when a really badass dragon came on screen to which he excitedly yelled, "Holy Crap! That thing's a dinosaur!!!" as if that explained why it was so awesome. I kid you not, I almost snapped right then.
To this moment I still don't know what's worse: the fact that I wanted to yell at a 5 year old, or the fact that I wanted to yell:
"DRAGON'S ARE WAY COOLER THAN DINOSAURS YOU STUPID $#!%!!!"
I'm back. Mostly. It's been really busy around here. Classes and research are both picking up and they are heavy mistresses to bear (bare?). Anyway, I'll try to get something up according to schedule but I warn you: it may not be pretty.
Any-whojamachalit, Leigh Ann and I went to see HTTYD this weekend. For those of you who failed your acronymonics midterm that stands for How To Train Your Dragon (not to be confused with Happy Turtles Take Your Drugs). It is the newest computer animated movie from dreamworks.
The story revolves around a young viking named Hiccup and his encounter with a dragon who he dubs "toothless." Hiccup does not hiccup and Toothless has teeth which begs the question: Who picked these names?
Answer: Cressidia Cowell (I don't know if that's spelled right and I don't right care at this juncture of my life).
Yes, it is a movie based on a series of books by author Cressidia Cowell. The movie is absolutely amazing and is going on my list-of-movies-to-buy-when-they-come-out-and-I-have-the-money-list. Not only is the computer animation very good, but the story and voice actors were great as well.
As with any movie based on a book, it did not follow the story at all. From what we could determine after watching the movie and looking up information on the book, however, the book sucked and should be thankful that Dreamworks made it awesome. I didn't actually ever read the book, which means that I am definitely justified in making this wide, sweeping assumption.
Also, while in the movie a mother with two young children was sitting behind us. Her son decided he would start voicing his opinion about everything on the screen about halfway through the film (when the action started picking up). This all came to a climax when a really badass dragon came on screen to which he excitedly yelled, "Holy Crap! That thing's a dinosaur!!!" as if that explained why it was so awesome. I kid you not, I almost snapped right then.
To this moment I still don't know what's worse: the fact that I wanted to yell at a 5 year old, or the fact that I wanted to yell:
"DRAGON'S ARE WAY COOLER THAN DINOSAURS YOU STUPID $#!%!!!"
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
