Spiderman. Captain America. Santo!
Long before Spiderman got his current movie streak, he had to pimp himself out in cheap flicks alongside buddies like Captain America!
See here.
Living On Your Own
A friend of mine has recently begun planning his life on his own... a life away from his family after a long number of years living under the same roof as them.
I remember how when I first had a taste of that in dorm living at college, I ended up keeping myself to stricter schedules as far as home life was concerned... I got up early on Saturday mornings so that I had first crack at the washing machines and dryers, I tried to go to sleep earlier and wake early. In my defense, I did indulge in much wilder escapades (for me, anyway) on the days or nights that I had an Event or Outing of some kind, since I wasn't too worried about comments and questions from my family.
It is a time where you exercise your self-discipline, and begin re-defining your boundaries and interests. It's a time where you learn, not in the heat of a crisis, but in the warmth of a place you can call your own, who you are... and what things you'd like to improve.
Good luck, friend!
A friend of mine has recently begun planning his life on his own... a life away from his family after a long number of years living under the same roof as them.
I remember how when I first had a taste of that in dorm living at college, I ended up keeping myself to stricter schedules as far as home life was concerned... I got up early on Saturday mornings so that I had first crack at the washing machines and dryers, I tried to go to sleep earlier and wake early. In my defense, I did indulge in much wilder escapades (for me, anyway) on the days or nights that I had an Event or Outing of some kind, since I wasn't too worried about comments and questions from my family.
It is a time where you exercise your self-discipline, and begin re-defining your boundaries and interests. It's a time where you learn, not in the heat of a crisis, but in the warmth of a place you can call your own, who you are... and what things you'd like to improve.
Good luck, friend!
In addition to the Justice League DVD set...
I want this! Yes, Ultimate Avengers: The Movie! It looks cool!
The storyline promises to run similar to the Ultimates TPB one and two, but veering off in surprise directions. Or so I hear.
Update: Thanks to El, I've been alerted to the presence of a trailer. I found it on the Ultimate Avengers website!
I want this! Yes, Ultimate Avengers: The Movie! It looks cool!The storyline promises to run similar to the Ultimates TPB one and two, but veering off in surprise directions. Or so I hear.
Update: Thanks to El, I've been alerted to the presence of a trailer. I found it on the Ultimate Avengers website!
Hating Math but Loving Games
For some reason in my youth, I developed a dislike for math. One theory is that it was because it didn't come as easily for me as other things did (reading, comprehension, etc.). Another theory is that it just wasn't as INTERESTING in application as other things.
I did find, however, when the math problem was interesting (and not presented as a math problem) I really broke out the mental tools and kept at it till I solved it. Some of the old RPG systems I was involved in spurred revitalized interest in math, probabilities, and algebra.
There's been a recent spate of TV shows and movies that have prominently featured mathematicians as the protagonists and emphasized the hidden wonders of mathematics at work in every day life. One of those is the TV show numb3rs...
Interested in following up some of the mathematical theories and methods found in it? Check out this link.
Spurred on by a recent movie lent to me and Kate, I remembered something that always irks me: people claiming that something is true just because of their personal, and therefore anecdotal, experience.
It irks me because, one of the things I apply in life is the concept of mathematical proofs and scientific theories. A proof PROVES something is true. A theory is a model that might be true, and theories tend to gain adherents if it can explain and predict the behavior found in the real world.
However, scientific theories can only be disproven, never proven. Examples that show a theory appears to be correct is NOT proof.
More on this later... I've got a meeting to attend!
For some reason in my youth, I developed a dislike for math. One theory is that it was because it didn't come as easily for me as other things did (reading, comprehension, etc.). Another theory is that it just wasn't as INTERESTING in application as other things.
I did find, however, when the math problem was interesting (and not presented as a math problem) I really broke out the mental tools and kept at it till I solved it. Some of the old RPG systems I was involved in spurred revitalized interest in math, probabilities, and algebra.
There's been a recent spate of TV shows and movies that have prominently featured mathematicians as the protagonists and emphasized the hidden wonders of mathematics at work in every day life. One of those is the TV show numb3rs...
Interested in following up some of the mathematical theories and methods found in it? Check out this link.
Spurred on by a recent movie lent to me and Kate, I remembered something that always irks me: people claiming that something is true just because of their personal, and therefore anecdotal, experience.
It irks me because, one of the things I apply in life is the concept of mathematical proofs and scientific theories. A proof PROVES something is true. A theory is a model that might be true, and theories tend to gain adherents if it can explain and predict the behavior found in the real world.
However, scientific theories can only be disproven, never proven. Examples that show a theory appears to be correct is NOT proof.
More on this later... I've got a meeting to attend!
Manic Burst of Activity
I've been slacking in my blogging duties, and in an effort to jumpstart things, I've decided do some reactions to various news tidbits related to my various interests.
Science Watch: Tabletop Fusion?
It turns out that there's an (as yet unsubstatiated case) for tabletop fusion. In an article found in www.sciencenews.org it's related that a technique "that some scientists claim generates thermonuclear fusion in a benchtop apparatus works even without its controversial neutron trigger" and this means a powerful and potentially cheap source of energy. Why cheap? The procedure argues that "nuclear-fusion reactions can occur in a vat of chilled solvent agitated by ultrasound."
That's right. All those old black and white films with bubbling liquids may have been right! They were the power source of those mad scientists!
However, because the researchers "used neutron pulses to trigger the process", other researchers have been highly suspicious of the results.
Okay.
I don't know what that meant, but I believe it's because neutron pulses may have interfered with the results, or have not been adequately accounted for in interpreting the results of the experiment. The article lost me at this point so...
Comics Watch: Who Is Terra?
One of the most shocking betrayals in any comic book series occurred in the Teen Titans storyline titled "The Judas Contract". It had actually been set up earlier when a teenaged criminal supposedly being forced / held hostage by... bad guys... and eventually joined the Titans. She played her role well, and was criticized by comics readers as being a rip-off of Kitty Pryde from the X-men (especially since the New Teen Titans were seen as capitalizing somehow on the X-men's popularity). Then she betrayed them all after gaining their trust and love and learning most of their secrets.
And then the bombshell - she wasn't some poor brainwashed teenager who'd fallen under the influence of Deathstroke. Even before she'd met Deathstroke, she'd already been the vicious, deceptive, and vindictive girl that we saw... and that ultimately was her downfall.
It shocked me because the Titans had become the equivalent of a super-powered soap opera / action adventure story, where the lives of the characters mattered to me. It also intrigued me because of the way that the story had been put together, where hints of her dark side had already been made... if only we, as readers, hadn't been lulled into complacency by the "everything always ends happily" trope for superhero comics, we'd probably have guessed the sad truth long before it was revealed.
I wasn't alone in being fooled. In an interview, George Perez, the artist and co-plotter of the New Teen Titans at the time, said
Ah Tara, you were my introduction to a part of the world that shouldn't be bad or evil... but is anyway.
Idol Watch: Out of Touch
It's fascinating to watch the try-outs of American Idol primarily to see how out of touch some people are with reality. Perhaps some have been misled by so-called friends, some have been crippled by nerves, and some are just there to appear on TV... but most would surely realize that they're nowhere near the caliber of performer that they need to be!
The reactions that some have when rejected are astounding: prideful anger, outraged denial, and personal attacks against the judges. At least some have the grace and focus to accept the criticisms and decide to either improve themselves, or dedicate their lives to another endeavor.
I've been slacking in my blogging duties, and in an effort to jumpstart things, I've decided do some reactions to various news tidbits related to my various interests.
Science Watch: Tabletop Fusion?
It turns out that there's an (as yet unsubstatiated case) for tabletop fusion. In an article found in www.sciencenews.org it's related that a technique "that some scientists claim generates thermonuclear fusion in a benchtop apparatus works even without its controversial neutron trigger" and this means a powerful and potentially cheap source of energy. Why cheap? The procedure argues that "nuclear-fusion reactions can occur in a vat of chilled solvent agitated by ultrasound."
That's right. All those old black and white films with bubbling liquids may have been right! They were the power source of those mad scientists!
However, because the researchers "used neutron pulses to trigger the process", other researchers have been highly suspicious of the results.
Okay.
I don't know what that meant, but I believe it's because neutron pulses may have interfered with the results, or have not been adequately accounted for in interpreting the results of the experiment. The article lost me at this point so...
Comics Watch: Who Is Terra?
One of the most shocking betrayals in any comic book series occurred in the Teen Titans storyline titled "The Judas Contract". It had actually been set up earlier when a teenaged criminal supposedly being forced / held hostage by... bad guys... and eventually joined the Titans. She played her role well, and was criticized by comics readers as being a rip-off of Kitty Pryde from the X-men (especially since the New Teen Titans were seen as capitalizing somehow on the X-men's popularity). Then she betrayed them all after gaining their trust and love and learning most of their secrets.
And then the bombshell - she wasn't some poor brainwashed teenager who'd fallen under the influence of Deathstroke. Even before she'd met Deathstroke, she'd already been the vicious, deceptive, and vindictive girl that we saw... and that ultimately was her downfall.It shocked me because the Titans had become the equivalent of a super-powered soap opera / action adventure story, where the lives of the characters mattered to me. It also intrigued me because of the way that the story had been put together, where hints of her dark side had already been made... if only we, as readers, hadn't been lulled into complacency by the "everything always ends happily" trope for superhero comics, we'd probably have guessed the sad truth long before it was revealed.
I wasn't alone in being fooled. In an interview, George Perez, the artist and co-plotter of the New Teen Titans at the time, said
People did not know where it was going. Not even the diehard Titans fans who I see at conventions, who have magazines about the Titans that I read. All of them speculated that Terra was going to reform at the last minute and turn on the Terminator. Of course we had that in there, too, but for a totally different reason. The cover was created specifically to let you wonder which side she was going to take, not realizing that she was going against both.
Ah Tara, you were my introduction to a part of the world that shouldn't be bad or evil... but is anyway.
Idol Watch: Out of Touch
It's fascinating to watch the try-outs of American Idol primarily to see how out of touch some people are with reality. Perhaps some have been misled by so-called friends, some have been crippled by nerves, and some are just there to appear on TV... but most would surely realize that they're nowhere near the caliber of performer that they need to be!
The reactions that some have when rejected are astounding: prideful anger, outraged denial, and personal attacks against the judges. At least some have the grace and focus to accept the criticisms and decide to either improve themselves, or dedicate their lives to another endeavor.
Quizola - Heed My Words!
The secret's out. I AM the reincarnation of... gee... which God would I want to be the reincarnation of anyway?
 Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.com |
The secret's out. I AM the reincarnation of... gee... which God would I want to be the reincarnation of anyway?
Married Life
My wife and I have been trying to settle down, but gosh darn it, there's a lot to do. Furniture and appliances to organize, expenditures and finances to plan, and lots of little details to deal with post-wedding...
Still, the gifts we've received and a couple of purchases have made things easier. One is the fridge, the other is the TV / DVD set. Woohoo! Now we gotta focus on getting stuff to make the kitchen a bit more manageable.
On another note, I STILL haven't finished my short story Gunsaddled. I have begun making my way through the Philippine Speculative Fiction Anthology, and have finished the Project Hero and Siglo: Passion anthologies. Good stuff, and will post my faves another time.
Merry Christmas to all!
My wife and I have been trying to settle down, but gosh darn it, there's a lot to do. Furniture and appliances to organize, expenditures and finances to plan, and lots of little details to deal with post-wedding...
Still, the gifts we've received and a couple of purchases have made things easier. One is the fridge, the other is the TV / DVD set. Woohoo! Now we gotta focus on getting stuff to make the kitchen a bit more manageable.
On another note, I STILL haven't finished my short story Gunsaddled. I have begun making my way through the Philippine Speculative Fiction Anthology, and have finished the Project Hero and Siglo: Passion anthologies. Good stuff, and will post my faves another time.
Merry Christmas to all!
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