Christmas Humor

Warped Christmas Gifts

Need I say more?

Unhappy Anniversary

Today is the tenth anniversary of the death of Carl Sagan. It's hard to believe it's been 10 years.

I remember Carl Sagan from TV and the exceptionally well-done series Cosmos. He had a way of explaining scientific concepts in layman's terms, without ever seeming to talk down to people. He was very engaging and animated. His books were a joy to read and I highly recommend any of them for anyone even remotely interested in science. He was, truly, one of those people who inspired others to broaden their scientific horizons. He was a man respected by his peers from all over the world.

We are diminished by his loss.

Christmas Came Early!

I just received my Christmas present from Darren and what a beaut! It's the 13 inch DC Direct Aquaman figure! It's too cool for words! Here's a picture:



The most awesome thing about it is the detail! They got everything right... even the fins on his gloves (which didn't look like they were there from the pictures I had seen earlier) were there! I don't think I'll ever display it out of the box, but it sure is nice to look at! Truly a unique collectible for any Aqua-fan!

I'm gonna go find a good spot to display it...

See ya!

A Little Sad...

Today I learned that scientists have recently declared the Yangtzee River Porpoise extinct. More in the link .

I'm reminded of something I read somewhere...

We haven’t been real kind to Mother Nature. Funny thing is… she doesn’t care. She’s had a lot of different tenants over the last few billion years. Someone or something new will pop up to water the grass and sweep the porch after we’re gone. We really need to start paying attention because the lease is almost up and we've got nowhere to move.

Makes a certain amount of sense, doesn't it?

A Little Bit Sick...

Well, winter is here and so is my cold!

I feel tired, cold, and weak, but what annoys me the most is not being able to breathe normally. A close second would be wearing a t-shirt to bed (because I have Vicks all over my chest and back). I hope it's over soon. I'm at the point where my senses of smell and taste are completely confused.

Hopefully I won't be sick for Christmas... How long do colds normally last anyway?

Stay warm and healthy! I'll post more when I'm better.

The Trials of Shazam!

I'll be the first to tell you... I was never a huge fan of Captain Marvel. Sure, I knew who the guy was, what his powers were, and that kind of thing, but he was never a huge draw for me. I mean Aquaman was founding member of the Justice League of America for gosh sakes! Captain Marvel wasn't even on the team!

Like I said, I knew about the Captain and his family, Mary Marvel, and Captain Marvel Junior, along with Uncle Dudley and talking tigers. It was later I found the history behind the character. How he was created by a different company and was sued by the company that now owns the rights to him. DC Comics lawyers said that Captain Marvel was too similar to Superman and thus was copyright infringement. DC lost. Now the the Captain Marvel Family makes their home at DC and rather than fighting against Superman, he's carving his own niche in the DC Universe.

First off, this is one limited series that really has fans worked up. Reviews have not been favorable at all, most not liking the story thus far. I say the end of the series has been spoiled by the end of Infinite Crisis where we saw the new Captains Marvel. All that was left was the hows, which I think the series is attempting to supply.

It seems Billy Batson has now taken up residence in the Rock of Eternity to caretake the seven deadly sins, as the wizard Shazam did before him. Mary Batson has been left without powers and has suffered grave injuries, placing her in a coma. Freddy Freeman is still alive, and without the powers of Shazam. This is the story of how he regains his powers.

The artwork is by Howard Porter, who was the artist who started out the last, greatest version of the Justice League, the JLA. This time he puts a new spin on the work by giving it a painted look. Much different than Alex Ross though... It still appears like pencilled artwork, but with a brush's fine touch.

The story is somewhat predictable, in that Freddy (the former Captain Marvel Junior) needs to visit the gods who make up the Power of Shazam (Solomon, Hercules, Achilles, Zeus, Atlas, and Mercury) and earn their powers from them. We learn that if Freddy doesn't regain the power, then it will be given to another family, setting up the adversary of the story. What family she's from and her true motivations are unknown, and that's ok - there are 12 issues to the series.

It's an enjoyable trip through what is the new state of magic in the DC Universe... Editorial have talked about setting new rules for magic, but we haven't seen much yet. Again, there are 12 issues. :)

Recommended reading.

Marvel Family Trivia: The Marvel Family had a very famous fan, a young fella by the name of Elvis Presley. His favorite was Captain Marvel Jr. and now you can see where the inspiration for his costumes in the 70's comes from!

Happy Anniversary?

I hadn't seen the official 40th Anniversary logo until now, but to tell the truth, it's been such a low-key anniversary, I thought there wasn't a logo made for it. Well, there actually is, and of course, it features the original series Enterprise.

I recall a Star Trek phone being announced by Sona Mobile for release in October 2005. It was to be a replica of the Original Series communicators with all sorts of cool Star Trek network type stuff... games, episode viewing, downloading eBooks, that kind of thing.

It's now November of 2006 and I'm pretty sure the phone was yanked. Repeated emails to the company have been ignored. I doubt I'll ever see that phone.

On another weird note, William Shatner is riding another career high... He's got an Emmy for Boston Legal, has his own gameshow, and who knows what he'll do next? He released an album not that long ago... I want to say 2 or 3 years, but can't recall. He reinvents himself more often than even Madonna!

Yes, 2006 was a very different kind of anniversary.

Collection Complete

This week my Star Trek DVD library has been made complete with the release of the Animated Adventures of Star Trek on DVD. With this set, I have every episode of every Star Trek series and movie ever made. I've been buying these discs for so long it's hard to imagine not having a new release to look forward to.

I vividly remember the show, and even got up at 6:30 am to watch it on Saturday mornings. I haven't seen the shows like this since my Laser Disc player worked. I have the Animated Star Trek laser disc box set, but my player gave up the ghost a few years ago.

The set even has special features, which were fabulous! DC Fontana and others associated with the show all talked about the influence the Animated Series had on Trek canon. They feel, as I do, that it is a part of Star Trek canon. Mike Sussman, a writer for Enterprise, mentioned things he wrote specifically for Enterprise that were referenced in the animated series so they became canon. I don't know why there was ever any discussion about whether or not it was canon... it was written and produced by the very same people responsible for the 3 seasons of live action Star Trek, the original cast performed the voice work for the series (even going so far as to get guest actors on the original series to reprise their roles in animation). One other fact: out of all the Star Trek produced in the last 40 years (which adds up to 714 hours of television programming), the Animated Series was responsible for the only Emmy Star Trek ever won. It was a daytime Emmy for Outstanding Children's Television Program. And while later series were honored with many Emmy nominations, the Animated Series was the only one to bring home the gold.

So you can't tell me it doesn't count.

I Like Thursdays

Thursdays, for me, are generally good days. There's only one day left until the weekend and it's also my Dart night. I play in a league and every Thursday evening we convene at the Lion's Head Pub for food, drinks, and darts. It's a friendly group. I only wish I wasn't the lowest ranked player in the league. My friends all say that's normal and my averages are generally better than most newbies. My average right now is 12.07 (and last week was my worst week ever)... I want to break 13.00 by the end of the season, in just under 6 weeks. I never really played darts before joining the league, but can't imagine not playing now.

I've never played a bar sport in a league before – until then I had been a casual player of pool over beer. I was a pretty average player... I could never make bank shots though. I joined this league primarily as a way of getting out at least once a week for some fun. Kind of like looking forward to your favorite television show each week. Except that this involves alcohol and people throwing very sharp objects. I suppose every bar sport has an certain level of danger... in pool you could take an eye out with a cue, when playing barstool trivia games, you could actually fall off the barstool, and in Kareoke you could find yourself humiliated by singing a song you know should have stayed at home with you in the shower. I've seen darts hit the wire and bounce right back just as fast as they left, but I have yet to see a serious injury (knock wood).

I figure I never got into a bar sport league before because when I was younger my alcohol tolerance level was much higher, so I had to spend more time drinking. Now that I'm older and my alcohol tolerance is lower, I need to slow the flow of alcohol into my body. Ah well, at least I'm a cheaper date now.

I should get going to bed...

Good night!