The Darkness

I want to talk a little about the darkness today. And no, I don't mean these guys:
Although, they do rock it pretty hard!

I want to talk a little bit about a trend in science fiction that is bothering me. That trend is the darkening of all things that should be fun.

For all of the love given to The Dark Knight, it just wasn't for me. I enjoyed the movie for the technical aspects, the writing, and even most of the writing. But boy was it depressing. It may have been a more accurate portrayal of what the Joker would be like if he was real, but the movie made me sad. It was way too dark for me.

And now this: "All DC characters will now be going the dark and brooding direction, thanks to the success of The Dark Knight." So, now any DC movies will be dark and depressing. No fun Green Lantern ala Iron Man. No Aquaman ala Entourage. Nothing I will really want to see. I have made my opinion clear that I prefer Marvel to DC, and if this keeps up and/or transfers to the comics, that will never change my opinion.

This trend is everywhere though. Let's look at one of my favorite series: Star Trek. Here is The Next Generation, 20 years ago:

Now, here is the most recent series, Enterprise: Even ignoring the dramatic shift in quality, there was a much bigger difference in the lightheartedness and fun of the show. At least DS9 had a good reason for being dark. This seems to have happened time and time again with sci-fi though. Battlestar Galactica, while a very high quality show, is also very dark and depressing. I would rather watch a Stargate any day!

I know these dark takes have been around for a while, but they seem to be permeating the mainstream more and more these days. I do enjoy a good tale about a dystopian future, but watching a weekly television series about one isn't as fun as most of the other sci-fi out there. I do think that there is a place for these dark tales, but if they continue to invade my favorite genres, I will likely begin to ignore them. Bring back the fun in sci-fi!

Honestly, who wants to see a dark and depressing version of Superman?

Lost: An Update

Well, the new TV season is around the corner, but we have to wait until January for more Lost, so here is a quick update of the last four seasons to keep everyone refreshed. Please enjoy and don't forget to watch Lost when it comes back in :

Showcase Presents: Superman Part 5

This is the fifth of numerous posts on Showcase Presents: Superman. I hope you enjoy this as much as I enjoyed the stories.

Now, this won't be like most comic blogs with scanned pictures posted throughout. Mostly because I don't have a scanner, but the stories should speak for themselves, but also because I want to go through the whole book in the next few weeks, and I want non-comics readers to enjoy the kookiness that us comics readers understand from the Silver Age. While I may mock these stories, I am not making anything up, this is all straight from the comics! While I may mock, I love these stories and the character of Superman. This is great stuff! The cover scans are from The Comic Book Database.


Superman #124


"The Steeplejack of Steel"


Tagline: "Superman becomes a steeplejack."


The first question I asked about this story is what the heck is a steeplejack?! Well, obviously a steeplejack is "is a craftsman who is prepared to scale tall buildings and in particular church steeples to carry out general repairs." In this case, someone who builds sky scrapers.


So, this story starts with Superman flying around Metropolis until he hears some cracks which he traces back to a skyscraper that us being built with "shoddy building materials." Instead of busting the builder right there, Superman decides to disguise himself as a construction working to figure out who is supplying the builder! Like a drug bust!


When Superman applies, as Kirk Brent, the builder realizes he must be a fake due to the lack of callouses on his hands, so he must be the city's building inspector. The builder decides to scare "Kirk" to make him quit. To cover up his abilities, Kirk does "gymnastics" on the top of the building. The builder even throws a hot rivet right at him (!). Superman is able to cover up who he truly is by quickly fashioning asbestos gloves! Don't worry, he can't get cancer.


Superman diverts a train, uses his heat vision, is smacked by girders, and is buried in cement all as attempts to keep his job and continue his investigation. He is then able to catch the builder and his supplier together, apprehend them, and reinforce and finish building the skyscraper all in one page. He then assures us that the two prisoners will have a great view of the newly named "Superman Skytower" from their jail cells. No ego on that guy!

Movie Tuesdays!

We went to see Tropic Thunder this weekend, mainly due to good reviews and I gotta say, I wasn't as impressed as I thought I would be.

For those of you who don't know, Tropic Thunder is about a movie within a movie. There are five stars, Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr, Brandon T. Jackson, and Jay Baruchel (of Undeclared, of course) who go to Vietnam to make a movie about the Vietnam War. They end up alone in the rainforest with no one to help them and are left to fend for themselves.

What the movie really does well is show how full of themselves these actors are. They are all self-absorbed and mostly unpleasent people. Ben Stiller plays an action star who is no longer as popular as he once was. Jack Black is a heroin addicted star known only for his roles in fart movies. Robert Downey Jr is a method actor who is so method that he dyes his skin black to get a role in this movie and almost never breaks character. Brandon T Jackson is a rapper-turned-actor who spends much of the movie trying to sell his energy drink, "Booty Sweat". Jay Baruchel is the best (and most likable) of the bunch as a young, new actor (no one knows his name) who is intelligent and not yet full of himself.

While this movie was fun, it was not incredible. There were a few slow parts, many jokes taken too far, and a story that was somewhat forgetable and/or predictable. Tom Cruise, as the movie exec wasn't as mind-blowing as the critics would have you believe. He was funny, but quite creepy looking.

This should have been a Netflixed movie for me, not a theater movie. It was the best Ben Stiller movie in a while, however, and Mrs Titan (as well as myself) was amazed that that really was Robert Downey Jr. It was also great to see Danny McBride again so soon after Pineapple Express. It was fun, but nothing worth swooning over. Rent it!

My Week Off

Hey everybody, I'm back! This is where I was last week and why I was not posting. Missouri Lakes in the Holy Cross Wilderness, CO. Beautiful, ain't it?

The trip didn't work out entirely as planned, but it was great! We camped, we hiked, we made camp above 10,000 feet and then we camped again. We fished, we built fires and cooked food, we saw some things that few people get to see, and it was amazing. I didn't even get hurt until I got home! Oh well. Anyway, back tomorrow with Superman!

Number 100!

This is my hundredth post! I had no idea I could keep this up for so long! Wow! I'm surprised. Anyway, no time for celebrations (unless you want to, then take your time), this weekend I saw the last of my 5 Movies I Couldn't Wait to See.

Pineapple Express, the latest Apatow masterpiece did not disappoint. It was full of wild humor and, of course, male arrested development. The story, in a nutshell, is all about a pot smoking slacker (Seth Rogan), who witnesses a murder and goes back to his dealer (James Franco) for help. They get caught up in a violent adventure.

This movie is, at it's heart, a stoner flick. However, it is the best pot movie I have ever seen. I am not a fan of drugs, or drug use, but this movie (somewhat) shows the consequences of drug use. Or, at least the fact that you will not really be able to reach your goals. Pineapple Express is not preachy at all. It's just non-stop action and fun.

The one criticism I have is that near the end of the movie the violence becomes a little extreme and can pull you out of the movie a little. Mrs Titan thought it went overboard and I heard a woman behind us say "This is too weird." It got a little distracting for me, but was never enough to ruin the movie for me. This movie was tons of fun! Go see it!

Programming note:

Mrs Titan and I am leaving tomorrow for a six day backpacking trip into the Colorado Rockies. There will be a distinct lack of pop culture on this trip, and I will not be able to post (obviously). Assuming we survive, I will be back in about a week give-or-take a couple days.

I Knew I Liked Him For Some Reason

From an Entertainment Weekly interview with John McCain:

Who controls the remote at home, you or Cindy?

Sometimes I win the arm wrestling contest, but 
 foolishly she continues to try to assert her control over the 
 remote. This is a battle that will continue for a long time. But there are shows we agree on. We like the reruns of Seinfeld. I really like Curb Your Enthusiasm. I kind of like Dexter, too, although it certainly has a macabre side to it. I'll tell you that Cindy likes Big Love — I haven't watched it much, but she enjoys that. And I like The Wire a lot, too. That's a great show.

The way I see it:

=

And that's a vote I can cast! Go McCain! The most crotchety, yet fun, President ever!

My "Company"?

Okay, so before I begin this post I think we need a little bit of context. I work for a company that is a spin-off from Hewlett Packard (HP). HP used to manufacture all kinds of electronic equipment before getting into PCs and printers. About 8 years ago HP split into two companies, one that stuck with the computers and printers, and the other that stuck with the other, less consumer friendly equipment.

I have been with my company for about two years now, but every other one of my teammates has been there for a minimum of 25 years.! They know HP. They love HP. They are HP. Well, you know...even if they aren't actually HP, and haven't been for almost 10 years. I have heard all sorts of stories about "the good old days" where people were given everything, and had a good healthy fear of managers and upper management. Things were good. Then they got bad with layoffs and everything else that the business world has gone through in the last decade or so.

One of the stories I was told was about a couple of guys who got into a fight about donuts. You see, everyone got donuts every morning at the morning break and one morning a guy took two. Another guy, who was late, got nothing. Therefore, start a fight, right? So, what does this have to do with pop culture?

Well, Company by Max Barry, is a satire about the corporate world dedicated to HP! And, it starts with a story about a man becoming furious over not getting his allotted morning donut! Perfect. I was really excited about the book as soon as I read that early chapter. Then...not so much.

Barry's satire is good, but it's always too over the top for me. There is plenty of opportunity for humor in the office place (see The Office), but Barry's work seems so extreme that it is hard to believe. Company tells the story of a young man, Stephen Jones, right out of business school and starting work at a company called Zephyr Holdings (yup, sounds like me). After a few weeks at Zephyr Jones begins to question what exactly they do, and no one can answer him. HR and Senior Management are shrouded in secrecy and no one seems to know what they really do. they other employees are like sheep and refuse to question anything.

About 100 pages in Jones learns the truth. At this point the story does start to pick up a little bit, and I will admit that it was quite readable til the end. But, it's one of those books that is a quick and easy read but slightly unsatisfying. I was hooked at the beginning do to the relatable story, but after that I couldn't continue to care as much as I should have. All-in all it wasn't the worst thing I have ever read, but not the best either.

A Love Letter

Dear TiVo,

I have already gushed all over about my love of you. I think you're great and wonderful, but I barely use any of your features. I never search for shows by actors directors or writers, I never use the "if you like that you will like this" feature, and I never allow the you to manage your own hard drive. However, a week ago I found something that tweaked my interest. Guru Guides.

Now, not just any Guru Guide. Again, I don't need someone else to recommend TV shows for me, even you, TiVo. I know what I like and what I want to watch. But, this was an Olympics Guru Guide. I could sign up, tell the you the events I was interested in watching, and you automatically recorded them for me. Awesome!

I live in Colorado Springs and went to college with more than my fair share of Olympians thanks to the Olympic Training Center here, so I wanted to check them out. Well, turns out these aren't the famous guys like Michael Phelps, they compete in some of the more unusual sports like Shooting, Modern Day Pentathlon, and Judo. Guess when those air? Yeah, 3am on MSNBC or noon on USA. I can't watch them live and I want to have to search for them. I just told you want I wanted to see and you just picked them out for me and stored them for me to watch at my leisure. You make life so easy.

Thank you for letting me watch the events I want to watch when I want to watch them. No trying to use NBCs incomprehensible website or trying to use some other guide. Thank you for being so wonderful.

Love Always,
Tom the Titan

PS. Thank you for never laughing at me for my embarrassing Season Passes like Big Brother.

The Perry Bible Fellowship

The Perry Bible Fellowship is pretty much to opposite of what you think it is. It has nothing to do with the Bible, any kind of fellowship, nor is anyone named Perry invovled. Instead, PBF is a collection of some of the most disturbing, funny, and disturbingly funny webcomics I have ever read. Nicholas Gurewitch, who has recently stopped writing this comic, claims that he chose that name because "'The Perry Bible Fellowship' is amusing to me, as a name, because it's probably the worst name for a comic strip ever."

The comic however, is incredible. Every strip takes some cliche, stereotype, or joke, and turns it on its head. Each strip is only three panels long and every one is self-contained. There are no recurring characters and very few recurring themes, but each strip is pretty hilarious in its own right.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Go check out all of the PBF at their website, or pick up the book, The Trial of Colonel Sweeto here.

Born Into Brothels

One of the best documentaries I have ever seen is Born Into Brothels. Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman set about making this documentary by taking cameras into the poor slums of Calcutta to teach the children of prostitutes photography. Their ultimate goal seems to be bringing to light the way these kids live as well as helping them get into schools.

The kids are the real stars of the film. They are all adorable and it is great to see their personalities come out in this pretty terrible environment. Prostitutes scream at them, the fathers (if they are still around) are on drugs or selling them, they are all forced to work before the age of ten, and many of the girls are already being encouraged to join "the lineup." It is amazing that these kids can keep such positive attitudes about life and their future.

Throughout the film "Auntie Zana" takes the kids around so they can take pictures at the zoo, the beach, etc, all the while trying to get them all into good schools. The movie showcases these pictures and some of them are truly great. The best photographer, Avijit, is even invited to Amsterdam to participate in a gathering of young photographers from around the world. Briski has to struggle to get him there through Indian bureaucracy and his own apathy after the murder of his mother.

The film ends with a little bit of where these kids end up. Some go to school, but others are pulled out by their parents so they can work. Others give up and continue their lives. We never learn if any of the girls join the line, but it seems almost inevitable. Born into Brothels was completed in 2004, and I was able to find an update on some of the kids.

This is an amazing film. I cried like a little girl at the end, but I'm not ashamed to admit it. I love it!

Red Thunder

I got some books under my belt now, so lets start checking them out this week:

Red Thunder by John Varley is a pretty high concept book. Basically, what would happen if some average, normal people built a space vehicle?

The book takes place in the near future where the US and China are both attempting to get to Mars. It starts with a group of teens out joy riding on the beach when all of a sudden, they run over a drunk man. He survives by being pushed into the sand and the teens decide to drive him home. Turns out he is an infamous astronaut and the kids (unexplicably) befriend him.

They soon meet his idiot-savant genius of a brother who has invented what is essentially a magical device, kinda like a multi-dimensional bubble that can be resized to compress or inflate matter essentially infintely. This is an interesting concept and I can see how this can lead to amatuer spaceflight. And free energy!

Anyway, the brother also realizes that the American engine sending the astronauts to Mars is defective and will likely not complete the mission safely. So, what's the best solution? Well, build a spaceship and go up there to recue them themselves obviously. And along the way why not stop at Mars to get there before the Chinese?

Much of the story is far-fetched, the relationships are harder to believe than the science, but it's all in good fun. I enjoyed this book quite a bit and had fun with it once I got over the relationships and coincidences that didn't make a lot of sense. John Varley is kind of known for his pop-scif-fi and it shows. It was fun and a quick read. Check it out!



I will be at a funeral tomorrow, so I don;t know if I will have a Friday post, but I'll try. See you later!

I'm Back Baby!

First, I want to apologize to everyone for the extended outage. I had assumed that I could get a replacement computer a lot more quickly than I really could. So, after waiting forever to get the box from FedEx, getting a non-working montior, and then waiting about a week and a half for a working monitor, I am finally good to go. I have finally moved all of our pictures and music to the new computer, played around a little with Vista (I like it), and played about an hour or five of Crysis.

I am finally ready to get back to blogging, I have missed it! For those of you new to the blog or those just needing a reminder, you can check out my daily plan for posts here.

So, today is a TV day. We're right in the middle of the summer TV slog, and I get by watching reality shows and other kinds of junk saved up on the TiVo. I also have about six weeks of Battlestar Galactica and Middleman saved up as well as three or four Stargate Atlantis's. Mrs Titan got into grad school and starts in three weeks, so I am saving them up for some lonely evenings and weekends. I have only seen the pilot episode of Middleman, but I loved it. If you haven't seen it, check it out!

I am dreaming about the new TV Season, hoping it comes back soon and has some great gems to watch and enjoy. Here are my top five new shows that I am looking forward to in the new season:

1. Crusoe
A retelling of the Robinson Crusoe story? A man shipwrecked and trapped on an island? Awesome! I think it looks fun. It's something different. A period piece with a narrative that is required to move forward. It should hinge on one actor, but the preview makes it look a little crowded. I am looking forward to it because I love tales of survival and Swiss Family Robinson was one of my favorite movies growing up, but I have my doubts that it will last more than 3 episodes.

2. Kath and Kim
This Aussie import looks bizarre. It's all about a mom and daughter who live together and a little too open with each other about everything. It sounds a little disturbing, but I think it will fit in perfectly with the rest of NBC's Thursday night shows. The other reason it looks like a lot of fun? Molly Shannon and Selma Blair.

3. Fringe
The new JJ Abrams show that looks like a cross between Alias and X-Files. That's something I can get behind as long as it isn't too creepy. I'm not all that into creepy shows, but this one looks like it can provide some great mysteries. let's just hope it doesn't fall apart like both Alias and X-Files.

4. Dollhouse
Joss Whedon. Elize Dushku. Sci Fi mindwiping. Can't get much better than this.

5. The Office "Spin-Off"
Well, it is no longer an official spin-off, just a new series by Greg Daniels (the creator of the American Office) and starring Amy Poehler and Aziz Ansari. Hopefully this can live up to the legacy of the Office. I, for one, can't wait!