Green Lantern: Movie Review

Let me start this off by saying that I am one of the last people on Earth who should be writing a review of this movie. Ever since I was six years old and got my Justice League action figures, I have been a Green Lantern fan. Superman, Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman, Flash, Hawkman, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, Green Arrow, Firestorm... I had them all... but Green Lantern was always my favorite. Well, 1989 came around and Tim Burton's Batman wowed me and I went through a bit of a Batman phase, but I always came back to Green Lantern. In 2007, I started reading comic books again after a long hiatus... and Green Lantern was the first thing I started with again. The Sinestro Corps War was going on and it was an amazing time to jump into the Green Lantern universe that Geoff Johns was writing and had been writing since 2004. I caught up quickly and was loving it. I read a lot of other comics too, but of the superhero comics, Green Lantern remained my favorite. I own three different Green Lantern t-shirts. I have a 1:6 scale Hal Jordan (13" tall) on a shelf at home. I wore a plastic Green Lantern power ring around town yesterday because I was excited about the movie. I am a Green Lantern fan... to the extreme.

Oh, wait... this was a movie review... not my life story in regards to superheros and comic books. lol! The movie. The movie felt like dessert. It was a real treat. Very cool to see the characters that I know and love come to life on the big screen in an epic galactic story. The Green Lantern constructs (green energy formed to whatever shape the wearer of the ring can imagine and will to create) were spot on! Those were especially fun to see in 3D. The 3D is not necessary in this movie, but it didn't feel like a gimmick either. The constructs definitely benefited from the 3D, but the action sequences were a little choppy since it was 3D... even Avatar was that way and it was the best 3D I've ever seen. I was glad I went to a 3D showing, but for my next viewing (tomorrow), I'll be going to a 2D showing =o)

But back to the movie itself. Visually stunning. The fanboy inside me was jumping for joy at every new character and every new development =o) But enough of the good... I do have my complaints. I wish it was longer. I wanted to see more. More of all of the characters. More of Hal's training on Oa. More of Parallax influencing people. I felt like most things were cut short or rushed. The movie was an hour and 45 minutes... it could have easily been a three hour movie. There was a lot of story to tell and a lot of ground to cover. For someone like me, who knows the characters and the mythos of the Green Lantern universe, that wasn't a show-stopper, just a mild disappointment that I could easily overlook. I know why it wasn't longer... it was an expensive movie to make. So much special effects have to take place when you're doing things on planets that don't exist and using powers that can only be created by artists using a computer. I am very hopeful for a sequel (or maybe even a trilogy) that will give them more freedom to tell the story. In a sequel, the characters will already be established and the origin story already told... with minimal setup, they could jump right in to a great story... like with Batman Begins and then The Dark Knight. Or with Iron Man and then Iron Man 2... oh wait... not so much that last one... I thought Iron Man was awesome and Iron Man 2 really fell flat for me. Anyway, back to Green Lantern.

I think I've done well trying to remove myself from my extreme love of Green Lantern to at least give a somewhat objective review. I loved it. I think Iron Man was a better movie, but I enjoyed Green Lantern more because it was Green Lantern. So, basically... everyone should go see Green Lantern right now! That will ensure a sequel and maybe even a trilogy! :D Also, take all of this not only with my extreme bias in mind, but also knowing that I'm writing this after getting very little sleep and operating entirely on caffeine. But yeah, I loved it. Awesomeness. I can't wait to see it again. I'll pre-order the blu-ray the day it can be pre-ordered from Amazon. It will take great self-control to not see it more than twice in theaters. Maybe it will come to the cheap theater in town sooner than later. I'm just as giddy and happy after seeing it as I was waiting in anticipation before seeing it. I don't care what the critics say, this was a movie made for me... and it delivered. Not perfect, but great none the less =o)

Is Blogging Obsolete?

I used to really enjoy blogging. I used to enjoy sharing pictures, stories, links, and thoughts - all on my blog. But the Internet has changed over the last few years and I feel that for me, blogging may be obsolete.

If I want to share a picture, I share it instantly on Twitter or Facebook. If I want to share a story, I make a note on Facebook. If I want to share a link, I IM it to those I think are interested or post it on Twitter and my Facebook wall if I think it has mass appeal. Sharing my thoughts is the only thing that I feel has taken a step backwards. I share them as Tweets and Facebook status updates in 140 character chunks now rather than blog posts. I could still blog longer posts or make Facebook notes, but that doesn't feel as natural as the rest of it.

Before Twitter/Facebook, I would share thoughts in length on my blog and then get a little bit of feedback in comments, but it was rarely very substantial. Now, I post a short status update on Facebook and it can turn into a lengthy discussion of the issue/subject by several people. It has become a lot more interactive and is less about my thoughts and more about arguments, logic, and other people's opinions. Because of that, I post less and less about political and religious topics. Before posting a thought, I will usually screen myself asking these questions: "Will this spark a debate? Do I have time for a debate? Do I want to debate this topic/issue?"

The good part of this change is that when there is a topic that comes up, more people are involved and it is a very interactive experience, rather than me just rambling on about something. The bad part is that I do it less and sometimes during debating, things are said by people that hurt other people.

A good example of what I'm talking about is Oregon ballot measures 66 and 67. Before, I would have likely posted a blog entry about why I voted the way I did in an attempt to educate people and persuade them to research the issue for themselves and not rely on the lies in the ads of both sides (short rant about 66 & 67 ads: Yes, both sides are lying through their teeth on this one to try and persuade voters to vote for their side. It's sickening!). But, I never think about blogging anymore because I doubt anyone even still reads this blog. I don't want to post a Facebook status about 66 & 67 because I know people who are passionate about both sides of it and I don't want to spark a debate on my wall where people end up saying hurtful things. So, I end up not saying anything about it except "Mailed my ballot" attached to a picture of my ballot going in the mailbox or something.

Maybe I should start blogging again. I guess I kind of am with this post. Maybe I should use Facebook notes. Maybe I should just ignore comments on my statuses and say whatever I want without care. I dunno. I'll probably just keep doing what I have been doing.

One Word Descriptive Links

Whoa... I am writing a blog entry! Crazy!

Anyway, I had this idea and we'll see if it I keep it up. I come across all kinds of stuff on the Internet and I thought I'd share the best of it here. Instead of long descriptions of links or telling what they are (that takes time for me to write and you to read) I decided I will (if possible) describe them with one-word. Here goes:

Tempting

Funny

Avatar!

Cool

Cheap

Brainsplodingfun

Rumor

Deal

Heh

Okay, I need feedback. Would short descriptions be better or is this a good no-frills format? You tell me :)

Free Comic Book Day!

Come and join us at Tony's Kingdom of Comics in Keizer, Oregon on Saturday, May 2nd, 2009 for Free Comic Book Day!!! Enjoy free comics, artists, creators, and a whole slew of costumed people to have your picture taken with. 10AM to 7PM! Be there!

Greg Raymer on Fox

Greg Raymer (a former attorney and 2004 WSOP Champion) tells Fox Business News that he thinks the UIGEA doesn't apply to online poker. He also lays out some of the benefits that regulating and formally legalizing online poker could bring to the U.S. economy.

Watchmen Movie Review

I review Watchmen on my comic blog:

http://comicsimo.blogspot.com/2009/03/watchmen-movie-review.html

Kids playing in the snow!

Video of the kids playing in the snow today:

Coolest iPhone app!

Okay, I thought Shazam was pretty cool (and it is), but this new app for the iPhone has taken it's place as the coolest app I've ever seen. Ocarina is a musical instrument for your iPhone! Here is a clip of me attempting (very poorly) to play Amazing Grace on my iPhone Ocarina instrument:

I'll practice more when I have more time and try and make a better video. This video was taken after playing with it for about 5 minutes...

The Bailout - How much is $700B???

I was reading about the bailout being passed and got to thinking... just how big is $700B? So, to try and grasp how big it is, I had to write it out:

$700,000,000,000.00

That didn't do it for me. I can't imagine a number that big. I had to break it down further. So, I got to thinking how I could do that. I was looking at that number and thought, "Have I even lived that many seconds?" The answer is, "no."

This was how I made that huge number understandable:

28.66 <- Years I've been alive

10,460.9 <- Days I've been alive

152,061.6 <- Hours I've been alive

15,063,696 <- Minutes I've been alive

903,821,760 <- Seconds I've been alive

0.9B seconds... that means to get up to $700B, it would be like handing out $774.49 every SECOND I've been alive.

Pardon me while I faint from shock.

Yes, I checked my math. Do the same math, and for every second McCain has been alive it's only $307 ;)

Ok... just had to share that visualization of $700B with you all.

Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane

The first 2 issues of Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane (season 2) are out and I finally got around to reading them. Terry Moore is the author and that was my main reason for picking this title up. I'll admit it, I'm a Terry Moore fanboy now. After reading the first 5 issues of Echo and the first 6 trade paperbacks of Strangers In Paradise, I'll be reading anything Terry Moore writes. He's a fantastic writer. He really knows how to make stories personal. His stories are not your typical superhero action comics with very little character development. After reading just the first issue of one of his series, I feel very connected to the character(s). And it's no different for Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane.

The first series of this title was written by someone else and the art had an almost manga style to it, so I steered clear. It also looked like it was marketed towards teenage girls. I am not a teenage girl. I avoided it. But, since Terry Moore has picked up writing the current series, I decided to give it a whirl. Boy am I glad I did.

Yes, this is probably marketed to teenage girls, but that doesn't make it not good. It is a fun, clean, all-ages comic. That is rare these days. It's good story-telling and fantastic art. Here is the cover of issue #2:
So, yeah, I like it. I'm anxiously awaiting issue #3. The first two issues came out right on schedule - it's a monthly title. Since this is a mainstream Marvel title, hopefully they will stick to that schedule. Echo, Terry Moore's sci-fi title put out by Abstract Studios, has not been so regular. Echo has been coming out about every 6 weeks or so. And even that is not bad at all when compared to All-Star Batman & Robin or Fell (almost a year between issue #8 and #9 of Fell). When books come out that irregularly, it almost makes me want to not buy the issues and just wait the 2 years for the trade paperback to come out. But that won't happen :) The new issue comes out and I'm so excited that all past history is forgotten. LOL

Anyway, back to Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane. Mary Jane is the main character in this story. She and Peter Parker are sophomores in high school. It deals with high-school-type issues and is very much about the people, not so much whatever is going on in the story. Aunt May, J. Jameson, and the like are simply side-characters and we don't see much of them at all. This story revolves around Mary Jane and her experiences in high school.

It's a fun read. Not your typical capes and cowls superhero story. I'm liking it :)

Happy International Talk Like a Pirate Day

09-f9-11-02-9d-74-e3-5b-d8-41-56-c5-63-56-88-c0

Event at Tony's Kingdom of Comics

My good buddy, Tony, is having a food fund-raiser event at his comic shop in Keizer on Sunday, September 21st. I encourage everyone that will be nearby to come over and check it out. I'll be taking my kids to have pictures taken with the Dark Side Troopers. Mikayla had a lot of fun last time having her picture taken with Jedi :)  Maybe this year she'll get to see a storm trooper! There will be artists doing sketches too! Bring in some canned food to help the Keizer Food Bank and you can take home free comics :)  Should be a lot of fun! 

My Dark Knight movie review

Progress on the Arcade Cabinet

I have been working on the arcade cabinet the last couple nights with Zach up in Sherwood. All my photos/videos are posted on my Phone Blog here.

Here is one video showing our progress:

Fireworks! And Lily

Lily shares her thoughts on fireworks at the end of the video.  Here are some of the MANY fireworks we shot off the night of the 4th:

First firework injury of 2008

OUCH! That hurt like nothing else! Gah! Zing! 

Playing in the Pool

Whirlpool with Brian and Sarah

Cannonball!

I thought I'd post some videos from our trip to Tenino for the Independence Day weekend. Here is the first of many :)

A Rant on IM Status

Instant messaging started out as a toy for me way back in 1996 when ICQ first launched. It quickly became more and more a part of my life. Now, I can’t imagine living without IM (instant messaging). I am constantly logged into MSN, AOL, Yahoo, Google Talk, and ICQ. I talk to people more over IM than I do over the phone (by a long shot). IRC and IM comprise the majority of my daily communication.

After using IM for 12 years, there are some basic IM concepts that I am so surprised that some people do not respect. The most common offense in the IM world is bogus “status”. IM status is a vital part of IM. If you are available or online, you set your status to that. If you are away you set your status to that. If you are working on something or are otherwise not available, you set your status to that. It’s not that hard. The online/available, away, and offline can happen automatically with any IM client out there. I am just amazed how many people ignore this courtesy to others by completely ignoring their IM status.

I have heard several reasons and none of them justify being rude to others by not giving them the courtesy of knowing your status. It has been a part of IM since day one. It makes a lot of sense to let people know what your status is so they know if they are leaving a message while you are away, interrupting something important, or to know if you are online and they can expect an answer/reply.

It’s not that hard. Let me break it down for you:

if you are ______, then your status should be ________

if you are online/available, then your status should be online/available

if you are away, then your status should be away

if you are not at the computer for a significant amount of time, then your status should be offline

some IM clients have idle, extended away, etc...

All I’m asking for is to know! It’s really not hard and it’s a common IM courtesy... have I mentioned that before?

I’m not targeting anyone specifically here, but you know who you are ;o)  I know a few people that are flagrant offenders of ignoring IM status, but it is becoming more widespread.

I need to think of a good bumper sticker for this cause... Maybe this:

Be Nice, Go "away"

LOL

Okay, sorry - I had to get that rant out of my system. It's been slowly building up the last few months.