Weekend of Nerd!

Howdy!  Its Sunday, May 6, 2012, I'm getting my geek on, no surprise, and this is The Side.  Got a bunch of reasons to be nerding out this weekend.  Yesterday was free Comic Book Day and I took the girls up to Kings.  We got up there pretty late so most of the free releases were already gone.  Heard they went fast too.  Still, there were some boxes of old comics out and you could grab 10 each.  The girls loaded up, quite pleased with their hauls.  I didn't grab anything, because I think Free Comic Book Day should be about getting new readers, not guys like me who already have a pretty regular reading list.  Sure, if there were some of the releases out that looked interesting I'd have grabbed one to check it out and maybe add something new to my reading list, but first come, first serve, and I certainly wasn't early.


Other big reason for nerding out.  SHERLOCK season two is coming on PBS!





If you haven't seen season one yet, shame upon you.  Netflix instant streaming is your friend, however, and you can watch them on there.  Brilliant series, and I can't wait to sit and enjoy this new season.


So that's more nerding out.  Wasn't there something else?  Some movie coming out this weekend?

MOVIE REVIEW: MARVEL'S THE AVENGERS

Which I'm glad they clarified in the title because I might have gone in expecting more adventures with Peel and Steed.  But no, this is indeed Marvel's big guns gathered together for the movie fans have been waiting for.  Now, at this current time, we are at a point in which we have multiple comic book based movies coming out in theaters every year.  This was absolutely not the case for me growing up, so unlike in my youth I'm not as forgiving of them.  I used to feel a definite need to defend comic book movies even if they weren't very good, because I feared they'd become fewer and further between.  Now, they're a hot property, and they don't seem to be slowing down, so I have no qualms about calling out a movie's flaws, even if the majority of comic book fans loved the films.  Its refreshing to be able to be completely honest about a movie and reviewing it based on its merits, and those alone.


So I can be completely honest in my opinion of this movie.  Let's face it: this is an unprecedented move by a any studio.  They've released separate films introducing these characters to movie going audiences.  They made these movies with big budgets, and very talented actors, writers, and directors, not sparing anything in terms of quality if they could help it.  Multiple individual franchises have been launched, and the intent has been there since they really started rolling with this to eventually make the movie that was released here in the States this weekend.  Expectations from fans were through the roof.  Joss Whedon was signed on as writer/director.  Expectations rose higher.  It was to the point that there did not seem to be any way that the fans' expectations could be met.  I had to make a conscious effort to go into this movie and try to leave my personal expectations for what I'd want this movie to be in the lobby and try to form an honest opinion of the work.


So, with that out there I can say completely honestly, and checking my nerded up expectations at the door: this was one damn fine piece of work.


Let's start this out with the writing and directing from Whedon.  What he did that was really amazing here is take these characters from their separate franchises and place them in one film and still had them ring completely true to how they were depicted in their separate films.  This didn't feel like Whedon's take on these characters.  It felt like the separate writers all had gotten together to handle their particular characters.  At the same time, Whedon managed to have these character playing of of each other beautifully.  It was as if he had had a hand in everything from the beginning of Marvel's big movie push.


This is a long movie at two and a half hours long.  It didn't feel like it because of the excellent pacing.  Its kinetic, without being rushed.  The quiet moments are still packed with juicy, fun conversations that really give you a good feel for these individuals.  Certainly you have to have suspension of disbelief when in this genre, but that's not taken for granted here, as Whedon keeps the story on track.  Its fairly straight forward. Loki is back and he's ticked over what happened in the THOR movie and he's got a plan for some big time revenge and looking to take Earth in the bargain.  There's not a lot of twists, but that's fine because the speed this roller coaster moves at, any hairpin turn in things could easily send it right off the rails.


On to the performances, and here's where this movie shines.  Everyone brought their "A" game to this.  There's been a lot of buzz about Mark Ruffalo coming into to playing Bruce Banner.  Initially there was some dismay from fans who were miffed about having a different actor for the role when every other role was being reprised by the actors from the separate movies.  This has shifted to glowing praise of Ruffalo in his work in this role, and that praise is completely justified.  He was remarkable, especially in his scenes with Robert Downey Junior.  Downey delivered the Tony Stark that the fans love with style, wit, and panache.  Chris Evans was a really fun Captain America.  Chris Hemsworth gave us the Thor we know and love, albeit with a bit less humor than in his movie.  That's easily forgiven considering the circumstances of the story.  I didn't get quite enough Jeremy Renner.  It seemed like Hawkeye got the short end of the arrow this go around, although he did have some really cool moments.  Scarlett Johansson was amazing in this.  Whedon shines at writing strong women, and his Black Widow is no exception.  Some fans have sort of rolled their eyes at her inclusion in this with a "What's she gonna do?  Flash her boobs at the bad guys?" attitude.  To say she holds her own in this is an understatement.  Samuel Jackson's portrayal of Nick Fury is slick and stylish with enough gravity to it to really anchor the film.  We can't forget Tom Hiddleston as Loki.  He's gotten a lot of praise for his performance, and its well earned.  This is a very nuanced character, and and it shows down to every little facial expression.


Big props to Clark Gregg as Phil Coulson.  He's been around since the first Ironman movie, and is really great here.  He may not have had the flashiest moments in the marvel movies, but he's always kept things very grounded, and I've found myself really liking the character even though he's been a bit antagonistic in previous films.  He had all these great little moments in this, and it was really made things fun.


Overall, this movie gave me everything I could have asked for.  It got me engaged in the story.  There were parts that totally cracked me up.  There were parts that made me grin like a child that has been thoroughly indulged.  The movie had a definite purpose and didn't fall into the trap of having unneeded and distracting sub-plots.   The action was incredibly over the top and was still easily followed.  You could see and appreciate every impossibly blow in these battles.  The fast clip editing that is completely annoying in many fight scenes is used very sparingly, and when it comes to the big hits, the camera hides nothing.


I'd pay full price to see it again.


Also, make sure you stay through the credits for some fun little Easter eggs, and a hint as to where a possible and probably sequel will be heading.

MUSIC!!!

Yeah, I'm sticking with my theme today.





I think that'll do it for me today.  Time for some coffee.  See y'all Wednesday.

The Case of the Adaptation

This blog isn't in your face, its in my hand. Its Wednesday, August 17, 2011, the game is again afoot, and this is The Side. Quick announcement: my weekly comic book reviews will be out on Sunday as opposed to Friday for the foreseeable future. Due to some personal scheduling changes I won't be able to pick up my comics until Thursday at the earliest and that's not much time to get the reviews done by Friday morning.

Well, its plenty of time, but anyone who has actually met me will attest to the fact that I need as much beauty sleep as possible.

LITERATURE

If you head into Barnes & Nobles and go into the Mystery section you may be lucky enough to find "The Complete Sherlock Holmes". Its two volumes at about eight bucks each, so for sixteen dollars you get it all including bunches of footnotes. I'm working my way diligently through volume one still. I did look into the back of the book for some of the notes and came across four questions. They were very much like the questions I would see in my literature text books in high school, but required a bit more thought.

One of these questions in particular caught my attention: "Do you think it is possible to tell an updated version of these stories considering today's technology?" Well, i think we have the answer to that...



If you haven't seen it yet, you can stream all three episodes, each about an hour and a half long, on Netflix. Its brilliant stuff.

And of course there's the big screen version which seems to franchising its way up.



I do have to say that I think they are dropping the Moriarty card a bit too soon. Then again, there's no way that he's going to be as brilliant as Andrew Scott's take on the character in the previously mentioned BBC series. There's a clip on YouTube featuring him, but its such a big spoiler that I torn between posting because its awesome and not wanting to ruin the ending of "The Great Game" because it was an incredible piece of work. As such, I'm going to err on the side of non-spoilery.

When I requested people name three literary characters I got a wide variety of answer, and Sherlock Holmes was in the top three. I do believe that this character will indeed stand the test of time and continue to be an inspiration and influence. One thing I do find fascinating is that the character works even if modernized. He's not like Batman who has been published regularly for decades. He had his stories. Then he had more stories. Then movies came along and he had movies. Then television came along and he had shows and cartoons. I've seen him in his natural 19th century setting. I've seen him in a cartoon in the far future in which Watson was a robot. I've seen him in the present.

He works because he's a person. For all his flaws and quirks, he is a brilliant and capable who strives to see justice done. And he's not an ideal person. He has a drug problem. He's obsessive. He's not terribly sensitive. Yes, I'm still talking about Sherlock Holmes and not Greg House. As you can see from that last line, what Holmes is and what makes him tick still resonates with audiences today.

I do find it interesting, especially since I heard the recent flap about the impending WORLD WAR Z movie, is that no one really gripes that the original books aren't being followed closely. After all, the Robert Downey Jr movie wasn't "A Study in Scarlet". Maybe some people passionate about Holmes realize something that's important when considering any adaption: its an adaption. Its not going to be the same. You can stray, but as long as you stay true to the characters and the intent of the story, then things can still turn out alright.

I do think there's a direct relationship to the amount of content from the original source and the willingness of readers to go along with adaptations. In the case on smaller projects like novels or short series of comic books (ex: WATCHMEN) any variation from the source material is frowned upon. Subjects with more content to draw from (ex: BATMAN, SPIDER-MAN, SHERLOCK HOLMES) tend to get a little more leeway from fans.

So don't be a hater. At least until you see the movie or TV show or whatever. Then if it sucks, go ahead and hate all you want.

MUSIC!!

From "When I was Cruel".



Alrighty, I'll see y'all back here Friday. Be prepared for foul language.

Evidence of Nerd-dom

Its elementary. Its Friday, July 29, 2011, the game is afoot, and this is The Side. This was one of those days in which it all sort of came together. I didn't really have a theme for today, but when a particular movie trailer popped up and the comics I got this week contained a particular issue. Sometimes, these things just happen.

MOVIES!!

Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law return this December as Holmes and Watson.



The trailer does look exciting, but I'm not completely sold. I love Sherlock Holmes. I absolutely adore the SHERLOCK series from the BBC. I'm just not a huge fan of Downey's take on the character. I spent too much time in the first movie trying to figure out what on earth he was saying. Still, I'll likely check it out. I'll need something to hold me over until THE AVENGERS next May.

COMIX!!

Scott Snyder and Jock are bringing things to a boil in DETECTIVE COMICS #880 James Gordon is on the prowl and it seems no one is safe. To make matters worse, the Joker is on the loose. Jim Gordon races to save his ex-wife, and she's not the only one in peril. This book has struck a perfect balance with Jim Gordon and Dick Grayson as the leads. There's so much going on here that I don't want give too much away. The twist here was pretty easy to spot coming for those of us who have following the Snyder run on the book. Regardless of that, Dick's confrontation with the Joker alone is worth the price of admission. Combine that with an ending that twists the knife and makes having to wait a month nearly painful and you've got a real winner of an issue.

There's so much going on in KIRBY GENESIS #2 that its really hard to keep up. Its totally Jack Kirby Bombardment. There's at least twenty characters running around this thing. Yes, its an unwieldy bitch, but somehow Kurt Busiek holds this bad boy together. I'd have something snap loose in my brain if I tried to do this. With all this craziness going on Busiek inserts these brilliant forth wall breaks that really give us an insight into our main characters. It caught me off-guard in a really great way in issue #1, and I was glad to see it back in this issue. Right now, there looks like a ton of chaos going on. I wish Dynamite would release a collection of some of the comics this books borrows from. For now, I'm along for the mad ride. There's big bad stuffs going, and I'm hooked to see this come together.

ACTIONS COMICS #903 continues the battle with a group of Doomsday clones. The Superman family takes point, leading other heroes to battle clones as Superman goes after the Doomslayer. Its not a bad issue, but I'm having a really hard time getting excited about anything DC is doing, since with the impending reboot its all getting flushed away. This storyline is a swansong of ACTION COMICS. There's a lot going on with Superman and his allies which all made their debut in this current continuity. Doomsday is the most well-known baddie to come along since CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS so its fitting that he's the baddie here. The whole thing feels like a send off that shouldn't be happening.

MUSIC!!

Because somebody needs to keep an eye on them.



That's all for me today. I'm going to be doing my bast to stay cool and yet still get stuff done. Weatherman says its supposed to be cooler next week, but that's what they said about this week. Insert eyeroll here. See y'all Sunday.

Holmes investigated Olbermann's anti-feminism.

Here we go again. It's Wednesday, November 10, 2010, my hair is a mess, and this is The Side. Welcome to you WTF portion of the week. Seriously, it says so on the calendar.

Being part of the downwardly mobile isn't as glamorous as I make it seem. My new found status as poor white trash prevented me from being part of a big Karate event over the weekend. This involved serious training with very high level martial artists on the beach in wind gushing up to 40 MPH which dropped the wind chill factor to a balmy 23 degrees. This made the part where everyone jumped into the ocean quite pleasant, until of course they all had to come out of the water. There were punches, kicks, yelling, kata, sandy uniforms, and plenty of mild hypothermia to go around. With all this my Karate brothers all told me after it was all over how much they wished I could have been there.

I suspect they wanted me there to drown me, but that's beside the point.

I wish I could have gone too, but that wasn't an option this time around. The experience sounds absolutely horrible and i would have to be completely insane for even thinking about it, but still I wish I could have gone. On the bright side, my cousin Scott got promoted to 6th dan and my buddy Bill received the title of Renshi. Both of these are really big deals, and I'm proud of them, and I'm proud that I helped a little along their budo journeys where I could.

So maybe next time. Which means I better start preparing now just in case. Be right back after I do some push-ups.

CHARACTER STUDY!!

What are the first three literary characters that come to mind?

That was the question I asked across the bits of social media that I bounce around on. The answers were varied and interesting. One character that got mentioned quite a bit was Batman. Batman was not the only comic book character mentioned, but he was the one that was mentioned the most. This is interesting because it makes us consider comic books as literature. The stories abide by similar rules to those of prose. I guess you could argue that comics are just excessively illustrated prose. Batman has been featured in many different mediums, and that is something that he shares with the two characters that had the most mentions.

Harry Potter and Sherlock Holmes took the top spots. I'm pretty stoked that Holmes made it since I've been on a big Sherlock Holmes kick lately. I'm working my way through the complete Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and am currently re-reading "The Red-Headed League". I also really dug the BBC's SHERLOCK series, which featured the greatest Moriarty ever. As for Harry Potter, I know next to nothing about him. Never read any of the books or scene any of the movies.

All three of these characters have been featured prominently in media. All three have had a major motion picture in theaters in the last couple years. All three have movies in the works. Batman and Potter both have successfully franchised into the video game market. Holmes and Batman both have been re-imagined in different times and settings. Harry Potter hasn't had a TV show yet. I think its safe to say that Holmes and Batman have and will survive the test of time. Its too soon to tell for Potter.

That's now a cue for all the die hard Harry Potter fans to mob me with comments about how the stories will live on and on forever and ever. Yes, they are insanely popular now. Yes its true that I'm not a fan. That doesn't mean that I don't realize the characters significance to pop culture nor the fact that he has millions and millions of fans. I can say that the other two currently over shadow him.

When someone thinks of a superhero, Batman tends to spring to mind.

When someone thinks of a detective, Sherlock Holmes tends to spring to mind.

When someone thinks of a wizard, Harry's still got serious competition. However, that may change with time.

It was interesting to see the results. The finding could easily be, and most likely would be, very different, if I asked the exact same people the same question again. Still, I'm pretty sure those three character would get their fair share of mentions.

POP POLITICS!!

And the news has become the news. Keith Olbermann, host of Countdown on MSNBC, was suspended for making contribution to candidates in the recent elections. The indefinite suspension was pretty much a long weekend. MSNBC was all up in arms about how could Olbermann do such a thing, and professional journalists shouldn't do such things! After all, they aren't Fox News. MSNBC has rules!

Cue the laughter from anyone who has watched MSNBC.



It is no surprise to anyone that the suspension was lifted so quickly. I was even more surprised that there was any sort of rules against campaign contributions to begin with. Its Olbermann's money. He should be able to donate to whomever he wishes. Its not like he wasn't going to go out touting the Democrat/Liberal in whatever race. Its MSNBC, they lean left. Just like Fox News leans right. Its no shock to anyone. Well, maybe its a shock to some people who live under a rock.

Olbermann is paid money to give his opinion. Great job, wish I had it. So his boss got pissed because he made financial contributions to candidates? I doubt any of the viewers were shocked at all. But they did have a rule against it. Which will probably go away because its inconvenient to enforce it. It was a dumb rule anyways. The only thing that rule did was set them apart form Fox News in their own little weird heads. It gave them some odd feel of superiority, like they were real reporters or something. Fortunately, that's all been cleared up and now viewers know.

They're all the same.

GET YOUR BISCUITS IN THE OVEN AND YOUR BUNS IN THE BED!!

The "Anti-Feminists" are meeting in Switzerland and are meeting in a secret location. Obviously this is to plot how to destroy the woman's movement and put them in their proper place which is in the kitchen making me sammiches. That's right, it all started with them wanting to vote and it all went straight to hell from there!

I'm sure that's what the protesters think this meeting is about.

The reason its being moved to secret location is they don't want to deal with the protesters. Also, surprise, this isn't a meeting against women. Gender relations are totally messed up in many areas. You go to Middle Eastern cultures and in many places women have no rights whatsoever. Hell, you go to the right place and if a woman says something wrong they throw rocks at her until she is dead. Or you could go to China were records of a marriage of a beautiful popular woman are being scrubbed from public record because her husband is the next president and she can't be seen more favorably. Her role will be to be quiet and smiles nicely at meetings with officials on the occasions that families are invited.

Then you come over to good old western civilization. Over here if there's any kind of domestic dispute, the man is to leave the house. The woman can be going absolutely bonkers and even assault him, and if the cops show up, typically the guy is made to leave. If there's a divorce children are typically sent to live with their mother.

Equality doesn't exist. The feminist movement did a lot for women, and that's awesome, but we've got a problem when the focus shifts from lifting up women to putting down men. Its not just gender either. Affirmative Action was great, but has now outlived its usefulness. There was a time for it and that time may very well be past.

We've been told that gender doesn't matter. We've been told that skin color doesn't matter. So its time to walk the walk. If the qualifications of person make them the best candidate for something, be it a job or custodian of children or whatever, they should get it even if they're a white guy. That said, everyone should have the same opportunities offered to them. That's what the Switzerland meeting is about. Who knows? maybe this will be the start of progress towards true equality of rights and opportunities for everyone!

And in this magic fairy tale land, I want a flying horsey.

MUSIC!!

Great song, good album, bet you forgot is existed.



Yep. While you were reading all that and enjoying the music, I was busy cranking out some crunches. I'd post a picture of my studliness, but it may be too much for the internet to handle. See y'all Friday.

Shelock Holmes Wins an Emmy on Facebook!!

Its Wednesday, September 1, 2010. and today is an important day. Brother Anonymous is joining me in my quest to acquire as many gray hairs as possible. Now some of you might be thinking, why on Earth would my brother only comment on here anonymously?

If you were related to me would you really want people to know it?

I thought not.

Happy Birthday, dude.

UNPLUGGED!!

The newspaper and the Yahoo news reel were looking very familiar. This is probably due to them getting around to what I was writing about a week ago. Facebook "check in", in which you can 'check in' other people giving away their location, is under fire for being an invasion of privacy, because its one thing if you want to paint a big old e-target on yourself and say "here I am", and its another if you want to paint a big old e-target on someone else and say "there he is". As I've said, you can block people from doing this with your privacy settings, but that involves actually knowing how to operate them.

So Facebook is now Big Brother, and I don't mean the CBS reality show.

But, in looking at job listings I've discovered some employers WANT their employees to be on Facebook to the point where they've said don't apply if you don't have it. Now this seems counter-intuitive on the surface because why on Earth would you want to hire someone who possibly would be wasting company time playing Farmville. However, this maneuver is a stroke of Machiavellian brilliance because the employer can bring up everything you are doing. Are you updating when you should be working? Were you really sick the day you called in sick? Got something nasty to say about them?

People have lost their jobs for things they have posted on Facebook. Hell, people have been arrested for it. And they do it to themselves. What you post online anywhere will eventually be made public, especially on Facebook.

Will this catch on? Will I have to go crawling back to Facebook and get another account if I want a nice job in a cushy office someday? Who knows. I do know that if this becomes the norm then Facebook is going to be about as popular as herpes and everyone over the age of 18 will have very boring Facebook pages.

DISCONNECTED?!

The Emmys were on, and I actually watched a good chunk of it. The vast majority of winners are shows I don't watch and many of them I've never heard of. So either my lack of cable is leaving me seriously out of the loop, my viewing habits suck, or there's a disconnect somewhere between the industry of TV and viewers. Its probably the first option, and even if it isn't I'd much prefer to plead ignorance than to cop to sucking. Honestly, I didn't know MAD MEN was a drama. All I knew was that it was on a station I don't get and Christina Hendricks is on it.

And now a Christina Hendricks moment:



OK, all better now. Back to business.

Often there's a disconnect between what people in an entertainment industry say is great and what an audience says is great. I don't think that was totally the case Sunday night, because many of the shows that won I have heard glowing praises about from Chris who knows good television when he sees it. I see it a lot with the Oscars since often the big winners are movies that no one really watched.

Its pretty prevalent in comics. The company powers that be tell us how awesome Barry Allen and Hal Jordan are despite newer readers having little frame of reference as to these characters they are thrust upon us whether we like it or now. We just had got done with half of DC comics being "Blackest Night" crossovers and having read "Blackest Night" I can say that its not a very good book. Its fine if you don't think very hard about it, but this isn't an event I'd flood a company with. "Brightest Day" looks equally inane. But we are told that these books are the greatest thing ever. We're supposed to pay attention to these things. We're supposed to rave about JMS's work on WONDER WOMAN and SUPERMAN. We were supposed to think ALL-STAR BATMAN AND ROBIN THE BOY WONDER was completely awesome.

Frankly if all of the thing I mentioned went away I'd be a much happier little nerdling.

I understand the creative standpoint. When you're crafting these stories you have to do it to your own tastes. The writer's tastes may or may not line up with my personal tastes, and that's fine. That's just how it goes. However it does seem that now in a time when editors seem to fall down on the job a bit more noticeably than before, that some of these companies need to listen a little more more and tell a little less. This is a good part of the reason why WIZARD magazine is a shadow of its former self. They became the premier source for information about the comic book industry and started telling us what is cool, and when enough people stopped and came the conclusion that they didn't agree they got their news elsewhere.

Its a risk I run writing this blog. I can rail on at length about how brilliant the Morrison Batman story is, but is someone does not agree at all then I run the serious risk of losing a reader. And that's tough when you don't have a ton of readers. But I can't just play it safe and try to write nice little piece for everyone, because that's pandering, and that gets us nowhere.

The bottom line: the Emmys and shows like it are nice and fun, but often they don't reflect the thoughts and feelings of the audience. That's just how things are. All we can do is find what we like and support the hell out of it.

BACK TO BASICS!!

I've been reading a book. Without pictures in it. Yes, that does actually happen from time to time. Specifically, I'm reading "A Study in Scarlet" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. This was the first Sherlock Holmes story showing not only how Doctor Watson met Holmes but also scary Mormons.

A couple of things strike me as I read this. First, I like how a story written over a century ago can still be to alive and vibrant on the page. Very often literature is perceived as dry and dull. This story obviously isn't. Second, is that Robert Downey Jr didn't make a very good Sherlock Holmes. Not that it was a bad movie, but Holmes was always impeccably groomed and dressed nicely. He carried an air about him that Downey didn't, which is as much Guy Richie's doing. I prefer the books.

I love reading book. Yes, you can do it online and download books into your Fancy Dan handheld Tricorder but nothing beats the feel of a good book in your hand. I feel smarter just carrying them around.

MUSIC!!

And now a geography lesson featuring cute little animated characters.



That's a wrap for today. This is the part where I'd say I'll see y'all Friday, but not this time. Hurricane Earl is heading this way to say 'howdy'. And by 'howdy' I mean 'destroy all manner of stuff'. Right now its a category four hurricane, which for those of you who don't know is pretty damn bad. Bad enough that when those head this way I don't right it out, and get out of dodge. Right now there's a slim chance it will hit here directly, so I'm keeping an eye on it. Most likely it'll curve away from here, but we're going to get serious wind and rain regardless. Most likely I'll be spending Friday without internet and possibly without power.

So its a no go for Friday, and possibly Sunday if things go seriously tango uniform here. So, we'll see y'all when we see ya. Behave yourselves.

Avenger's Holmes Computer!

By Jove, its Wednesday, July 25, 2010, and Operation Cleansweep has hit its 50% completion mark in its Shock and Awe campaign. That means the the misses comes home and is shocked by how hard I worked to clean the Cozz Compound up and when she sees how tired I am she goes "Aaawwwww". I'm working my way to domestic warlord status while blogging my way into the hearts and minds of people everywhere who have nothing better to do.

NO S**T, SHERLOCK!!

I'm currently re-reading "The Hound of the Baskervilles" after watching the Guy Richie SHERLOCK HOLMES film. But I stumbled upon some thing. There's a new Sherlock Holmes show on the BBC which I tried to watch on my computer but my computer is so old that in trying to do so I got an alert "Warning: Voo Doo and Gremlins detected". But hey, I did get to see the trailer.



Looks pretty neat. There was also an interview on the BBC with comparisons to Doctor Who and such and it went down the rather dopey road of comparing the partnership of Holmes and Watson to a gay relationship and dispelling it which is kind of a waste to time. However, it did make an interesting assertion: Sherlock Holmes is greatest character in literature.

That's a hell of an assertion but it holds up really damn well. I think in terms of popularity Holmes is up there, only to be trumped by probably Dracula. Also the books of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle epitomize the detective fiction genre even though he did not start the genre. (It was Poe with "The Murders in the Rue Morgue", which I know because I'm a nerd.) Holmes is a definite pop culture icon. When you think great detectives, you think Sherlock Holmes.

I just realized that when looking at the two literary characters I named as probably the most popular that it is still all about Batman.

The character has endured quite well. The previously mentioned Guy Richie movie did quite well and a sequel is already in the works. This new show on the BBC makes the character contemporary which I find interesting and will definitely be checking out at my first opportunity. There was some cartoon show about Sherlock Holmes somehow being in the future and Watson was a robot sort of thing. The old stories are still a great read. Also looking at a lot of those cop shows and even shows like HOUSE M.D. I'd say they owe quite a bit to Holmes.

So is Sherlock Holmes the greatest character in literature?

I'd say that's elementary.

Note I did not say "That's elementary, my dear Watson" because Holmes never said that in the books. I know that also because I'm a nerd.

THE NEW DON CHEADLE!!

Edward Norton is indeed out as far as the AVENGERS movie goes. The cast got introduced at the San Diego Comic-con with Mark Ruffalo to play Bruce Banner. I'm not going to be the guy who runs about the internet yelling "Oh this movie is going to suck now!" but it does seem like a step down from Norton. Nothing against Ruffalo, but when I look at him I don't think Bruce Banner at all. I'm not very surprised by this announcement since reports came out about how much of a prick a marvel movie exec was about discussing Norton stating pretty much that he does play well with others and spouting off crap.

They should have at least been honest and said "Hey, we've got to play Jackson and Downey plus play for a ton of special effects. We can't afford Norton." But that would mean someone in Hollywood being honest. Perish the thought.

Does this mean that I won't go see the AVENGERS movie when it comes out? It doesn't, but that also doesn't mean that I'm going to rush out to see it either. Its way too early to tell. I'm not terribly excited about comic book movies right this second. IRONMAN 2 was good, but that was thanks mostly to Mickey Rourke and in lame comic book movie fashion he got bumped off at the end.

OMG, did I just drop a spoiler? I apologize to the two people who haven't seen the movie yet.

But yeah, not terribly excited for THE AVENGERS, so we'll wait and see.

THE E-SKY IS FALLING!!

In less than 1 year IP addresses will run out. This, of course, means the end of life as we know it on the planet. Prince was right. The internet is indeed over. Or someone is going to change the system to generate trillions of new addresses. According to the article the system that created IP addresses was created thirty years ago. That's right 1980. So let's look at back, shall we?

In 1980 no one had a home computer. We're going back to well before even the good old Commodore 64 here. Hell, if someone on the street had an Atari, they were the most popular kid in the neighborhood. Cell phones? That was science fiction. The internet was pretty much Science Fiction as well. Remember, this was the era in which WAR GAMES (the movie not the Batman storyline) was like scary cutting edge tech.

But technology has snowballed since then and just about every home has a computer, and some of them have more. Cell phones have become a part of life, even the most basic ones are capable of going online. I'm surprised a 30 year old system created in the conditions of 1980 has made it this far.

The article is pretty damn funny, actually. It compares this problem to Climate Change which is just stupid on a number of levels. It also makes mention of the possibility of a black market for IP addresses which I find amusing on a grand number of levels. The funniest was it stating that back when the system was created the notion that a refrigerator would possibly need an IP address was ludicrous. Which means, in someone's warped little mind, some time in the past, the notion that a refrigerator might need an IP address became not ludicrous.

Welcome to the future. People are still nuts.

PAPERS OR GTFO!!!

Which seems to be what people think is going to happen to anyone who isn't white very soon. I didn't want weigh in on this. Its a hot button topic. People get amazingly livid and pissed off about such things, but no one comments in here anyways so why the hell not. I came across two news stories in as many days on the subject. First was about illegal immigrants fleeing Arizona before the new State law goes into effect making being an illegal immigrant a state crime and not just a federal one. The second one was about illegal immigrants getting upset that their fingerprint could be used to identify them to the authorities as an illegal immigrant and get them deported.

What struck me in both these stories is that the writers are treating the people breaking the law as the victims. The fingerprinting one is aggressively stupid in that if some is getting fingerprinted by the Police then most likely its because they've been arrested. Fingerprinting is done for a reason. You see this in every Cop show on TV. There's a crime scene, and they dust for prints. That way they make an arrest they can use these fingerprints as evidence. Or possibly the prints may match up to somebody who has already been arrested for something else and its already a win. The police are not going to go around fingerprinting whoever they want. This isn't racial profiling, its procedure. And sure enough if it turns out the person being processed is not in the country legally, that's a crime, and as we still theoretically have laws, they are sent back to their country of origin. And if the crime they committed is spying they're invited to film premiers by Angelina Jolie.

But it seems that America is in a weird position. There's people who want us to be "no better than" every other country out there because we're all equal and whatever, YET, we are supposed to have an open door to anyone who wants to come here and we take care of them with tax dollars because our country provides better opportunities. We're expected to have the most lax immigration laws in the world. Mexico has double tough immigration laws, but it seems double standards are OK as long as they don't favor the United States.

The first story I found discusses people fleeing Arizona to other states to escape the law. I can't pity these people. Instead of running away, they should be trying to obey the law. So now they're not just illegal immigrants, they're now fugitives.

MUSIC!!

I've actually got about 10 subscribers on YouTube and have never posted a video. But I do get friend requests as well, and I ignore most of them to be honest because the only reason I have an account is to make following certain people on there easier. But for some reason I checked out Picklespantry when she sent me a friend request, and I'm glad I did. For she has given me MUSIC!



That is the skinny for today. Come back Friday as I talk about comics, probably gush over Batman, and make fun of Justin Bieber thus earning the ire of of any possible tween that may have stumbled into here.

See ya then.

The big letdown

Last December I was very excited to go see SHERLOCK HOLMES. I wanted to get check it out in theaters, but that didn't happen. But, I have a DVD player and a bit of patience. I waited, the move came out. I waited some more, because movies are kinda expensive and with blu-ray the prices on DVDs has been dropping quite a bit. Finally I got a copy and it sat around the house for a few weeks, because still I was waiting, trying to find a time for myself and the Missus to watch it together.

So last night I said "the heck with it" and tossed it in the DVD player. It started nicely in the middle of an exciting case. That's how I like things like this to begin. I quickly became aware of something that was going to be a problem here: Robert Downey Jr was not thrilling me as Holmes. His low mumblings of the lines were nearly incomprehensible to me. Now, this may be my fault as I have partial hearing loss, but i understood what everyone else was saying. I actually had a better idea what Brad Pitt was saying when I watched SNATCH than this.

There was actually a hypnotic effect. Not in Downey drawing me in and controlling my attention, but in that he actually put me to sleep. It does not matter how much clever stuff you say if I can't understand what you are saying. I may make a second attempt to watch the movie as I got about an hour in and tapped out. However if you don't see any blog posts on here for a while its because i tried watching it again and fell into a coma.