The end of 2012

As 2012 slowly closes I look to the future. 2012 has been a roller-coaster, one helluv a ride.  I survived it so I guess that is all one can ask. We survived the Mayan End of the Age thing, and alas the events of Shadowrun did not occur.

As I get older I realize that New Years Resolutions are done to try and make you feel better. I am going to stop doing something. I will start doing something. Of course, statistically speaking, resolutions will be abandoned at the earliest opportunity. Having typed that, I do think they can help identify things that need change.

I look forward to 2013. It is a clean slate in a lot of aspects. I have dug up some of my old writing and I'm revisiting it and pushing forward. I plan to try the e-publishing thing once I'm ready. A scary step but exciting! We plan to have the tub ready for the heater by tax refund.  My car will be closer to being paid off. The next Hobbit installment! A new Star Trek movie! So many things, plus those not even looked forward to.

Today is the last day of my vacation. Instead of stressing about going back to work, the fiscal cliff, or anything else too negative. I find that people concentrate too much on the negative and don't seize the day. Gods above and below know I am guilty of that.  Bad things are going to happen. I prefer to think about the good things - finding an old friend, getting another project on the house done, spending time with my wife.


As I look to 2013 I am thankful. Thanksgiving officially comes once a year (in the States) but you really should take time to be thankful for what you have more than once a year.  I am thankful for my supporting and loving family. I have a decent job that I don't totally hate (most of the time). I have good friends. I live in a fantastic city.  Can things be better? of course.  But when I think about all I have and read reports about those who have less than I do I realize I have it pretty good.

So how about y'all? What do you all hope for or plan to do in 2013?

The Hobbit - an Unexpected Journey

The Hobbit – an Unexpected Journey

Warning! There will be spoilers. If you do not wish to have some plot points revealed you may want to read after you have seen the movie. Continue at your own risk!

When Peter Jackson completed his Lord of the Rings trilogy in 2003 I knew it would only be a matter of time before he, or someone else, would come back and do the Hobbit. After many years and rumors production of the Hobbit truly began.  Probably the biggest controversy would be Jackson filming the movie at 48 frames a second instead of the standard 24. Despite the fact I knew there would be changes I was going to see this movie.

Peter Jackson is taking the original novel The Hobbit and breaking it into three movies.  An Unexpected Journey begins just before Bilbo Baggins going away party as he decides to tell Frodo the truth about his adventures with the dwarves some 60 years before. More importantly he will reveal how he got the One Ring. 

Many  years before the events of the Lord of the Rings we are introduced to the Dwarven kingdom of Erebor. Here the dwarves mine gold and jewels and make Scrooge McDuck’s vault look like a kiddie pool filled with pesos.  Dragons, too, love hoard of gold and Smaug is no different. The dragon captures the Lonely Mountain and displaces the entire people of the Dwarves.  These lonely souls wander from city to city selling their services as artisans waiting for the day when they will reclaim their home.

 Now just sixty years before the events of LoTR, Bilbo Baggins was a respectable hobbit. He was predictable and lived in a nice hole. He had no desire to leave the shelter of the shire. After all it would make one late for tea.   Gandalf the Grey has other intentions.  After a brief, and uncomfortable visit with the wizard, Bilbo disappears into his home content to continue.

That night however, Master Baggins is paid a visit by not one, not two, but thirteen dwarves and a wizard show up for dinner and promptly clean out his larder.  They reveal the reason they are at his not so humble hole – to find a burglar and help them take their kingdom back.  Bilbo declines, despite a guarantee of 1/14 of the treasure but after hearing the dwarves sing of their homeland he has a change of heart. And thus the fortunes of Middle Earth are forever changed.

An Unexpected Journey is not an exact translation of the novel but it remains faithful in most aspects. Things were added and modified. But the impetus is the same – the quest to the Lonely Mountain.

The Good

I have read many complaints that the 48 FPS made it look like a cheap BBC documentary. I did not see it in IMAX or 3D but I did not have this experience. I found the film beautiful to look at. The sets were exquisite and the exterior shots felt like I was truly seeing Middle Earth.  

Martin Freeman does a very good job of giving the younger Bilbo life and purpose. Sir Ian McKellan  continues to bring wonder and power to Gandalf.  Richard Armitage made me believe he was Thorin Oakenshield . Andy Serkis returns as the sinister Gollum, playing the ever famous game of Riddles with Bilbo.

The Dwarves – Each of the Thirteen dwarves is distinctly different. Some are young, others old and fat. While all are bearded they do not have the stereotypical beards you are accustomed to seeing. they are dressed differently and all carry different weapons. 

The action sequences are top rate, exciting, and fast paced. Many of the battles described by Tolkein maybe lasted a few paragraphs at best. Jackson and crew have expanded upon these quite nicely.

Despite the changes to the story I enjoyed how characters who did not appear in the Hobbit were brought in.  Rhadagast the Brown, the only other wizard mentioned in Middle Earth is introduced and played by the Seventh Doctor – Sylvester McCoy.  Galadriel (Cate Blanchet) and Saruman( Christopher Lee)  both journey to Rivendell to discuss Thorin’s Expedition. 

The expansion of the Story.  In the original novel we discover that there is a dark force that dwells in Mirkwood named only the Necromancer.  We learn through the Lord of the Rings that the Necromancer was none other than Morgoth’s Lieutenant Sauron. An Unexpected Journey takes this and runs with it.

The Bad

The Dwarves.  The quest is to reclaim the Dwarven Kingdom and here we have thirteen dwarves up to the task. Each is introduced but only Thorin seems to stand out.  This was an issue with the novel as well – while there are thirteen dwarves they are for the most part interchangeable.  While we see each dwarf, and some of them even have lines, Thorin was the only one I truly cared about. 

The movie is long. At almost 3 hours you might want to make sure you have used the facilities well before the movie starts.

The beginning is slow going.  While it has some exposition and some humorous scenes the movie takes a while to get moving. 

A series of very unlikely falls. There are a few points in the story where it was hard for me to suspend my disbelief.  Most of them involved falling. The company of dwarves, plus Gandalf, riding down a crevasse on the remains of a wooden bridge while escaping Goblin Town?  I think I found Indiana Jones leaping from an airplane and landing safely on an inflatable raft more plausible.

The Great Goblin.  I thought with all the different goblins and orcs that had been used in the previous three movies that the production crew could have come up with something better than this.  His voice was also off for me. Goblins and orcs always seemed to speak with a growl and with an air of menace. I thought the Great Goblin came across as a greasy used car salesman.  

The fact that this is part one – and I have to wait a bloody YEAR to see part two.  And then I will have to wait for part three. Damn your black heart Peter Jackson!

Conclusion

I enjoyed the movie.  Visually it is stunning.  I enjoyed the story, despite the changes and additions. It made me yearn to see the next leg of their journey – Mirkwood, the Elves, and finally the Lonely Mountain.  If you have the time to commit and loved the original Lord of the Rings you should go see this.

4 out of 5 stars

Steampunk and CosPlay

A few months ago Sun took the daughter of a friend to San-Japan – the largest Anime Convention around.  There were a lot of people in costumes, not just anime but also Steampunk.   I guess the years of theater pulled on her because she came back and stated that it would be fun to dress up and go to conventions like that once in a while.  I am an avid gamer but have never done CosPlay and thought it sounded like a grand idea. 

We went to the Austin ComicCon last month. We did dress up but due to an unforeseen vehicle repair bill we were not able to really do what we wanted with our costumes. I am proud of what we did for our first outing but I would like to do more.  I did find it fun to be someone else, even if it is for a few hours.  What I would like to do is come up with a costume that will get people to stop and want to take my picture (Yes I am still a camera whore).  

To this end I am planning on making some new costume gear. It is going to be a fun experience and I’m sure one that is filled with much cursing. What I would like to do is build up a small amount of costume ideas and things that can be used and recycled for future events. I think my first project is going to be some leather bracers.   

Is there anyone out there that has any experience with CosPlay and have any suggestions, websites, warnings?  If so please share links. I will document my progress with each project.  Who knows, depending on how good I get with it I might be able to sell things!

Cable TV - one of the biggest scams of the 21st Century

When cable first began you could see movies that had been in the theater now in the comfort of your own home. Movies you wanted to see but could not were made available to you. You could watch local and national shows.  The world of entertainment, news, education opened up. And it was good.

Fast forward to 2012 and the model for cable is now an archaic formula to squeeze as much money out of as it can.  We have moved from several dozen stations to in some cases hundreds of stations. HBO has six or seven different stations of its own. You can watch things in most major languages. If you are a sports fanatic then you never have to leave your house because you can watch it all. What is wrong with this?  Well the high pricing structure and lack of a la cart is what killed it for me.

When I had the full cable package from U-verse I spent the vast majority of my time sitting in my comfortable recliner and flipping stations. Well to be more accurate I flipped through the programming guide looking for something to watch.  While the DVR was great I more often than not skipped whole swaths of programming and ended up watching Big Bang Theory reruns.

I ignored the political crap. I ignored the news crap. I ignored the foreign language crap. I ignored the sports crap. That left me with the networks, cable stations such as TNT and USA, and the premium.  And I spent more time searching for something to watch that we finally decided to drop the premium stations. This meant that I would lose out on Game of Thrones, Boardwalk Empire, True Blood, and others.  Sure I missed out but I can always get them through Netflix once it comes out on disk.

So now I only have the network and cable stations. Once again I spent the majority of the time flipping stations. I would try to find something new to watch but again ended up watching Sheldon and crew try to make senses of American popular culture. So, in the end we dropped our cable all together.

In its stead we subscribe to Netflix and Hulu plus.  I can get the vast majority of the network shows on Hulu, a lot of old content through Netflix, and if it is on neither of them I can typically view them through the station website.

The point of this rant – it is the 21^st century and you’d think that the content providers would go ahead and make deals to get more people to view their content.  If I don’t have HBO I have to visit a friend’s house or risk attempting to download illegally the latest episode of Game of Thrones.  HBO has an online portal but you have to have cable to view it.

The value of cable had dropped dramatically in the age of the internet. More people are dropping cable in favor of streaming sources.  I would pay $5-$10 a month to access HBO through the internet, maybe more.  Instead I’m trapped in packages that I don’t want, don’t need, and will never use.  I can pay $2 an episode through Amazon or iTunes, but again I’m getting taken to the cleaners to keep up on the shows I like.

Cable companies are shaking in their boots as more and more people cut the cord. You now have the internet, online gaming, video games, streaming video to entertain yourself with. No longer are people locked to their TV set unless the big game is on.  Why should I pay a premium for 80% stations I will never watch?  In my news feeds I can check mark the things I want to view and ignore those that I don’t. Why isn’t there a cable package like this? Money, pure and simple.

The cable companies have too much time, too much money, and too many resources in the current system. Most of the executives are trying to grasp at a bygone era as the modern age passes them by . So many stations would disappear if they were not bundled in with anything.  All those artsy stations or those catering to a small demographic would have to come up with major advertising revenue or shudder themselves.  Supply and demand baby.

My entertainment dollars are very precious and I am very careful how I spend them.  In this economy you have to be. I am hopeful that the old business model for cable goes the way of the long distance calls and local calling plans. I suspect we’ll have peace in the Middle East and something actually pass through Congress with bipartisan support before it happens. /endrant

Battlestar Galactica - Blood and Chrome

Blood and Chrome is the upcoming Syfy telemovie.  It is being broken up into ten webisodes viewable through Youtube. Two episodes have been posted so far. This is all based off the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica.

Blood and Chrome  picks after the show Caprica, ten years into the Cylon war. In it we find a young William "Husker" Adama, fresh out of the Academy, and now assigned to his first post - the Battlestar Galactica. He is a hotshot pilot who is eager to fly a Viper and clash with the enemy of the Colonies - the Cylons.  Of course the life in the academy and the realities of war are two different things.

The first mini-episode introduces us to the young Ensign Adama, his copilot Coker. Instead of the Viper he was planning on taking to war  Adama is instead put into the cockpit of a Raptor, one of the reconnaissance and rescue vehicle. Where Adama is eager to prove himself in the war Coker, on the other hand, is a veteran who has seen more than his share.   He has seen the horrors of the war. Coker plans to muster out after his second mandatory tour. Together they are assigned a milk run, a simple pick up and delivery. Naturally this  run  turns out to be a bit more than either planned for.

The cast is a mix of youthful faces who have bought into the propaganda of the war and are ready to kill toasters and those who have actually been in the war and know better. I found the story engaging and fast moving. There was not a lot of build up, you are dropped into the middle of the war. The virtual sets are top notch and the exterior space shots are amazing. I did grow a bit tired of the quick pan shots as well as the lens flares.  I enjoyed the music, especially the homage to the original Stu Philips score for the original show.

I am eagerly looking forward to future installments.  These can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/machinima

Arrow

A decade ago the Superman franchise was reinvented with Smallville. It followed the coming of age story of Clark Kent as he learns that he is more than what his parents told him. Much more. It was a rocky, wild ride for ten seasons.  Over all a great show and it showed that a superhero could survive on television outside of the campy 60's Batman or the necessity of a cartoon.

Enter Arrow, the 2012 take on the classic DC character Green Arrow. I will be the first to admit I know almost nothing about the Green Arrow except he dresses like Robin Hood and uses a bow and arrow. I don't have a dog in the hunt for the changes, such as dropping Green from his name or changing the name of the city to Starling City.  I guess I'm going into this cold and that isn't a bad thing.

Arrow is the tale of Oliver Queen, the son of a billionaire who is spoiled rotten. While on a yachting trip with his father the boat sinks and he winds up on a deserted isle. Five years pass and he is rescued.

We find the spoiled boy has returned as a man. He has scars, tattoos, and a mysterious crate. Inside the crate we find a bow, arrows, a costume, and his father’s little black book. The book contains names to the rich and elite who have helped turn the once great Starling city into cesspool.

Oliver Queen takes no time to establish his lair. A network is set up. From here he trains in some pretty impressive exercises. And then he gets to work finding those who live off the backs, pain, and misery of Starling City and makes them pay.

This task is not easy because his family wants to find out what he has been up to for five years.  After he and a friend are kidnapped (and rescued by Queen himself, telling the authorities a green hooded man rescued him) he now has a bodyguard that he must evade.

He must also deal with his former girlfriend, whom he was cheating on with her own sister on the yacht that sank. He has to deal with her father, who is a police detected who is not overly thrilled at the return of Queen. Oliver has to come to grips that his young sister has begun to follow in his footsteps – drugs, alcohol, and general teenage angst.

With each episode we have flashback scenes that show us snippets of what happened on the island after he landed.  We find that his father made him promise to help clean up his mistakes and to rescue the city. We also find that the island is not as deserted as he has told people.

I am three episodes in and I am digging the show a lot. 
The good:
The cast:

Stephen Amell plays Oliver Queen/Arrow. He is young and for me plays the loner vigilante quite well. I am not sure if he is doing all of his stunts and the scenes of training but if he is then damn.

Susanna Thompson is Moira Queen, the matriarch of the family.  She is a caring and concerned mother who sees the road her daughter is going down and tries to stop her from becoming her brother.  However we do find not everything is at it seems.

Willa Holland is Thea Queen, Oliver’s younger sister. She has hit her rebellious phase and is not the little sister Oliver left. He finds her doing many questionable things and rebuffing any attempt of his to steer her away from the life he once led.

David Ramsey plays John Diggle the bodyguard hired to protect Oliver. He is former military who spent three tours in Afghanistan. He is no nonsense and does not appreciate how Oliver eludes him. He suspects that something more is going on.

And my favorite – Paul Blackthorne. He played Harry Dresden on the failed Sci-Fi show the Dresden files. In Arrow he plays Detective Quentin Lance, father of the young girl who died on the yacht with Queen five years ago. He is also the father to Laurel Lance, Oliver’s old girlfriend and now a district attorney for the city.

The pace of the story:

The stories are fast moving and include quite a bit of action. Far more action and violence then I expected in its timeslot. We discover more each week about what is going on in Starling City and another facet of what Oliver has become.

The Flashbacks

These are done very well. Only snippets are given but so far you find that it wasn’t a picnic on the island.  Somehow he acquired many scars, broken bones, and a fluency in Russian.

The Bad

The Lair. Within 24 hours of being back in Starling City he establishes a lair, including generator and computer network.  While automotive technology hasn’t changed a whole lot over 20 years, computers and the internet  change quite a bit every year. He has established, all by himself, a computer network that can monitor police reports and government agencies?  Unless there was an internet bar on the island and he just never happened to email anyone where exactly did he get the skill and know-how to set all this up?  Where does he get his internet connection?

His arrows.  In the first episode he takes out the villains bodyguards and does not seem to pick them up. He also has a special “hacking” arrow. I am reasonably certain that you can’t pick up those kinds of arrows at your local sporting goods store. Which means they have to be specially fabricated. Computer equipment like the ones to hack a secure network you don’t just pick up at Fry’s Electronics. Unless he has a self-destruct mechanism someone will be able to crack them open and trace who made what. 

His box.  The sealed one that has his costume and bow.  You can’t tell me that no one opened it to examine it and confirm he wasn’t carrying his dead fathers head or some other weird item after being trapped on an island for five years?  What if he was carrying a toxic plant or animal, something that customs generally frown on? Sure he’s the son of a wealthy billionaire but come on.   

Despite these things I am enjoying the show. If you can overlook these small (and not so small) holes then I think you will enjoy the show.

4 stars out of 5.

Obama has won. Now we must move forward.

This is not a congratulatory post for Obama. But the simple fact is he won. After a long, hard fought battle we will have four more years of President Obama. Contrary to what the left is going to say - all of our woes - political, domestic, foreign - are not going to vanish.  And despite what the right is telling us - the country is not going to suddenly stop being the United States of America.

With the elections over we, as a country, must now face the future and all the issues that we have been blinded by the flash and pomp of our election. We still have a dangerously high unemployment rate.We still do not have a national budget.  Iran may or may not be trying to build a nuclear weapon. Reality Tv is still growing and helping to dumb down the masses.

The only way that we are going to break the gridlock is for BOTH sides to compromise.  We can no longer afford the schoolyard fighting or gang partisanship and we have to work to move the country forward. This means some hard realities are going to have to be realized.

Spending on social services and programs is going to have to be cut.  There is no way around this.  I also believe in order to get Federal benefits that you must earn them.  Work at a local shelter, pick up garbage on the side of highways, work in a communal farm.  But you can't just hold your hand out.

Tax loopholes are going to have to be closed. Corporations get away with murder because of the taxing structure they have bought - I mean lobbied for.  If you take a job overseas then no breaks for you.  If you bring jobs, full time, decent paying jobs back to the States then we'll talk. 

Like it or not the Military is going to have to be trimmed. I'm not talking about gutted it but the times of a full land war are over. Wars of the future will be fought by small groups of specially trained soldiers along with coordinated airstrikes and artillery. 

I also feel that politicians should have their wages and benefits slashed to whatever the lowest fast food worker is making. Why?  Because politicians are elected by us.  Why in the hell should a senator or a representative be making multiple times the amount of the average person who voted them there? Why should they be allowed a Cadillac benefits package when so many Americans have to choose between having gas to go to work or making sure their child(ren) have food to eat.

Big oil tax subsidies?  If you are making billions in profits then you don't need subsidies. Farmers who are being paid NOT to grow food?  I'd love to get into that racket. I'd love to be paid to not contribute to anything.

Folks on welfare who are not making an earnest effort to get off to dole?  Put a limit on it.  Or enforce having to prove that you are looking for a job.  Keep popping out kids every 10-11 months?  Well no more extra for you.  If you are unable to properly use protection or expect to get more money because you've added another mouth then you should be steralized.

Above all else we must hold our elected maggots feet to the fire. Promises have been made, goals have been set. It is time to hold them accountable. Both sides. Dems don't just point the finger at the Republicans. Republicans don't just focus on what the president has said. We are in this together. The issues that have arisen did not do so in a vacuum and neither side is without blame. Compromise is not all my way or the highway. That is the voice of a petulant five year old.  Compromise means giving up something you want or hold dear in order to move towards the future.

Obama has been elected president for four more years.  Remember what goes along with that.  Four  more years of watching Joe Biden try to pull his feet from his mouth. 

Alternate history

I've always enjoyed alternate history stories.  These are an interesting take on "what might have been." I've been working on a small project that may evolve into something larger. The concept is in the genre of Weird West. One of the major points - the South won the Civil War and successfully seceded from the Union.

The victory of the Civil War is more of back-story to the project and not especially pertinent to the story. However I want to try and make it somewhat believable. This does mean a lot of research. You can say "The South won the Civil War" but there are so many factors that lead up to and happened that you have to research and modify. What lead up to the war? What happened during the war? Battles? Political intrigues? The list goes on.

An example - World War II. By all accounts the war began when Germany invaded Poland in 1937.   That is it in a nutshell. However there was a lot of buildup. Why did Germany invade Poland?  Why did Germany build up their army and Luftwaffe?  Answers go back to World War I and how that began and ended. Even then you have to back before the war to read about the tensions that caused the different alliances to have formed.

Most major events in history are like this.  Back on topic - this is a fun project, lots of research, lots of notes, and I'm having a lot of fun writing it. The first draft is almost done then I go back and start to edit it.  I've created a bunch of characters, situations, and I think it will be fun to see where it leads. I'll finish this and try to go back to some of my older projects that have been put onto the back burner.

Vote!

I am going to try to keep this blog as politically neutral as I can. Having said that if you are a citizen of the United States of America and over the age of 18 I want you get out and vote.   I'm not going to tell you who to vote for. That is your decision. But please do a little research and don't vote for someone based upon what some talking head on the radio, internet, or TV told you to vote for.

The sad truth is whoever gets voted into office is going to have a rough time. I doubt much, if anything will happen.  The Republicans will more than likely maintain their control of the House and the Democrats the Senate. That means in this era of partisanship that neither side is going to compromise and get any bills passed. When was the last time we actually had a budget passed? The Democrats will oppose Romney at all costs, and the Republicans Obama.

What I would like to see is an implementation of term limits. The president can only serve for 2 terms. I would like to see a similar policy instituted for both the House and Senate. This will clear the way for some new blood, not a bunch of career politician maggots whose first goal is to get elected, their second goal is to pay back those who donated to their campaign, and third goal is to ensure they get reelected. I'm sure at some point they will make some speeches about "changing the culture of Washington" and pretend to help their constituents.  I know this is a pipe dream, but a guy can hope.

Bottom line - get off your ass and vote. Football won't be on so you won't have the butt magnet in your couch keeping you from leaving. Get out and make a difference. If you don't vote then you forfeit any right to bitch about the current state of affairs.

Lazy People

One of the things that has been bugging me when I go to the grocery store are lazy people.  You know the ones who push their cart to their vehicle, unload, and then leave the cart there. It's not like the cart corrals are miles away. This morning I saw two or three carts sitting in empty parking spots maybe ten to fifteen feet from the freaking corral. If you are in such a hurry that you can't push the cart and put it away then maybe you should learn time management.

Just this morning I watched two different people push their carts away from their now grocery laden vehicle and just walk away.  I half wanted to walk over and push the cart into their bumper.  I made eye contact with one of them and they just looked away as if being an asshole is a normal part of nature.  How sad is it that these lazy fucks are teaching the same behavior to their vile spawn. Talking to them makes no difference. They’ll come up with some lame-ass excuse. Bah.

These are the same lazy jackasses that just throw their used cigarette butts out the window or pitch their garbage onto the street instead of disposing of them properly.  I will be the first person to admit that I am not an eco-nut but goddam, come on people!  From an aesthetic point of view who likes to walk around and look down at an empty McDonald’s wrapper or the filter of a cigarette?

Star Mouse - Disney Wars?

Imagine my surprise when I read the headline “Disney to Acquire Star Wars for $4.04 Billion.” I then started to see the mash-ups of Star Wars and various Disney icons.  My first thought? Lucas must be close to death. Or maybe he’s gone mad. Or just about to retire.   Why else would he sell the baby that he has nursed since 1977? Lucas all but invented the “Movie Franchise” that ties in toys, food, clothing, and anything else you can slap a license onto. A sprawling franchise that encompasses Movies, TV, radio, toys, books, and comics, just to name a few. The list goes on. And on. And on.

My second thought was “Oh great, Disney is going to drive the final nail into Star Wars coffin. They will run past Jar Jar Binks and have Darth Goofus and Luke Skymouse.” They will turn it into a childrens property and try to erase anything that has been done before. That thought did not sit well with me.

I have been a fan of Star Wars since before there was Episode IV, when I first saw the Rebel Blockade Runner shoot past followed by the Imperial Star Destroyer.  I could not honestly count how many times I have seen the original trilogy. Or how many action figures I have owned.  I have most of the EU novels up to Vector Prime.  I ran, for a number of years, a West End Games Star Wars campaign when I lived in California.  You might say I am a bit familiar with the franchise.

I did not panic and run screaming to the interwebs declaring Armageddon. I sat back and thought about it and then I reviewed some of the Mouse’s other acquisitions. Pixar and  Marvel Comics are two of the most recent.   This brought me to my third thought.  Disney may have purchased these properties but so far it has let them continue, more or less, as they were.  The Thor, Captain America, and the Avengers films all came out under the Mouse’s watch. And I enjoyed all of them. I loved the Avengers. Pixar has put out some very good properties.  This has given me hope.

My hope is that even with Lucas as a “creative consultant” they will be able to get a team of writers.  Let me repeat that. A team of writers.  A team of writers that won’t have a bunch of brown nosing Yes people saying “Of course, Mr. Lucas, Jar Jar is a great character who will be beloved for generations.” Or “This is some of the most romantic writing I have ever seen. “ Or “I can totally see how Anakin would fall to the Dark Side from a series of dreams.”

I can only hope Star Wars will get some fresh writers, fresh ideas, and grow into something bigger.  A galaxy is a big place and there is a lot going on in it. I want to see it. I want to experience it. Despite that backlash and negative things I did enjoy the prequels over all.  I don’t feel that they raped my childhood or any such drama.  There were some very good elements, visually they were stunning.  But they are what they are.

What will happen to my beloved Star Wars Franchise?  At this time I am going to remain optimistic.  With the franchise no longer being held in the Force Grip of Lucas I can hope that there will be new stories, new characters, and fresh excitement A Long time ago in a Galaxy Far, far away . . .

Austin ComicCon 2012

If Toys R Us is where a kid can be a kid then ComicCon is where a Geek can be a Geek.  Men, women, boys, girls, nerds, and geeks come out of the proverbial basement and can be themselves. This is where dressing up as an Anime or your favorite Sci-Fi character is not only acceptable but also encouraged.

This was my second year going to the Austin ComicCon and it has grown from the first outing. More costumes, more vendors, more celebrities. We went this year because the entire cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation (minus Denise Crosby) were going to attend.

The Austin ComicCon is held at the Austin Convention Center.  It's a freaking huge building and in the middle of downtown.  That right there is when the Robot starts flailing its arms and bleating "Danger! Will Robinson, Danger!" Unless you get there early, have a compact car, or ride public transportation you can expect a hike.

With the advent of the internet we didn't have to stand in line to purchase tickets. From the website all we had to do was tap  in the digits from a credit card and a little magic with our printer and our 1 day tickets were purchased and printed. With a sheet of paper we walked to the counter, got our wrist bands, and in we go. Then the spectacle began.

I saw Steampunk, Star Trek, and Star Wars costumes immediately. If you are normally shy you can be someone else and no one will know the difference. Some were really well done, some not so much. It doesn’t matter. It’s freaking ComicCon. There were vendors selling comic books, trinkets, action figures, T-shirts, toys, posters, paintings. If it is geeky and you can put a price tag on it then it was probably there.

Camera flashes kept going off as people were taking pictures. I snapped quite a few myself.

I was afraid that we had missed seeing the cast of TNG.  Luckily we just had to wait a little while longer. Levarr Burton was the first we saw. Then booths for the other cast members began to open up, lines began to queue, and slowly the rest of the cast showed up.  We thought about shaking hands with various cast members but being flat broke could not afford the $25 to $120 it would take.  All the cast was full of smiles and genuinely seemed to enjoy the adoration given by the fans. Or maybe they are that good of actors and put their best face forward. Poor Will Wheaton apparently picked up a bug and was late to show up but he looked pleasant and happy. That also might have been whatever meds he had slammed before heading on stage.

There were other celebrities there. Dean Cane of The Adventures of Lois and Superman fame. Eliza Dushku of Buffy infamy. There was even a schmuk from Jersey Shore there.

We got to see the 501^st Legion, a Star Wars group that dress up in movie replica costumes and help with charity.  Walker was able to get some pictures taken with them. They were very friendly and eager to have their pictures taken. I saw Members of SG1, Ghostbusters, and various homemade undead and horror costumes.

While I enjoyed seeing the celebrities the real stars of ComicCon are the fans. Those folks who buy or make their costumes and put it all out there for everyone to see. I saw Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes. I saw Federation officers from several different eras. I saw Inspector Gadget with the helicopter hat. We passed a family of Klingons. I saw girls dressed as scantily clad warrioresses, plenty of steampunk costumes (which I plan steal – I mean borrow – for next time). There were poor children dressed up as their parents favorite things and had no idea what was going on. Rarely did I see a frown and plenty of smiles to go around.

We did not plan this ComicCon very well. Next time we are going to plan out different panels to go to and maybe even try to meet a celebrity or two.  Finding a parking spot was a bitch and a half, so we’ll either take the light rail or get there earlier. Despite these things I had a blast and it was good to see so many people who I grew up watching.

Once I figure out how to post pictures here I will. Enjoy!

My inaugural post.

I have had a website for most of my adult life.  My old websites were blogs, before blogging became popular.  This is the next chapter in that journey. Here I will post my feelings, ideas, rants, rumblings, and other things.  Enjoy the ride. Or go home.

I will not be politically correct so if you don’t like what you read please review the First Amendment.  It provides protections for free speech, it does not provide protection from being offended.