Dusk Before the Dawn

I always thought that the Justice League would clobber the Avengers in a cross-comic book brawl. But that is most certainly not the case when it comes to movies. In the last few years the Marvel Universe is just decimating DC. And the trend appears to be more in Marvel’s side of the ledger in the future.

Part of the reason is franchises / sequels. Where DC has Batman and Superman (which should be more than enough to take down anyone), Marvel has three Spidermans, two Fantastic Fours, three X-Men, three Blades and the beginnings of the Iron Man franchise. The three Spiderman movies are in the top 15 grossing movies of all time, seriously weighting the dollar battle towards Marvel.

Out of the top 150 (or so) movies of all time, DC has 5, Marvel has 8; DC’s gross take was about $1 Billion, Marvel’s was $2Billion (the Spiderman franchise thus far is $1Billion, X-Men $600 million).

Upcoming Justice League and Avengers movies will pit the franchises head-to-head. But with more Spiderman, Iron Man and an upcoming Thor movie facing off against more Superman and a possible Wonder Woman, it looks like Marvel will continue to take it to the bank.

List of highest grossing and recent/upcoming after the break. (more…)

My son and I watched the animated movie Superman Doomsday online through NetFlix. The technology worked great and the movie (an animated PG-13 superhero flick?) was well done; wish it would have been longer than it’s 77 minutes, but it still tells the complete tale, based mostly around the comic book story line of The Death of Superman / World Without a Superman and Return of Superman. The stories were also novelized in Roger Stern’s excellent The Death and Life of Superman.

And a cameo by Kevin Smith. In an animated movie. Cracking wise.

(more…)

I started out as a skeptic, but I’ve become a big fan of my nike+iPod gadget set. My wife got me the gift box set for Christmas which has an iPod Nano, the Nike+ sensor that goes in or on your shoes, and a receiver that plugs into the bottom of the iPod (just like the docking or power cord). The product has been out for a while, but has gone through some improvements, particularly on the nike+ web site.

The best characteristics of the product are the motivation, the real-time feedback and the record keeping (see below for one caveat on the record keeping). (more…)

Forbidden Knowledge is the second book in Stephen R. Donaldson’s The Gap Cycle (the Gap referring to faster-than-light drives jumping the gap). As promised in Donaldson’s author’s note in the first volume (The Real Story) it is radically different than the first novel, and an excellent read (as the first one was as well).

The first novel was little to no science fiction, almost completely interaction between three flawed humans who just happen to be in space, from the point of view of one of them, space pirate and all-around nasty man Angus Thermopyle.

This second novel still revolves around the same trio, but displays how they are flawed personality-wise and modified by technology. An alien species not discussed in the first novel plays a large role, as do several pieces of tech documented in the book by “Ancillary Documentation” interlude chapters. (more…)

I don’t live too far out in the boonies, but I do have a septic system. I’ve had it for eleven years (since we built the house) and we’ve never had it cleaned out. Before you septic knowledgeable experts give me grief, it’s been inspected every quarter as required but has never needed it.

Until yesterday. (more…)

Another playoff appearance, another first round knock out. For those of us (including yours truly plus spousal unit) who were at the two Rocket’s NBA Championship series of not too long ago, instead of having confidence going into each season that we can at least compete for the top, we are getting trained in the habit of early exits, thoughts of what might have been and what changes should be made.

Thoughts of what might have been are not productive, as they always mean discussing injuries (Yao and Rafer), bad trades and signings (Mike James, Steve Francis) and bad luck.

Inevitably, there is the “trade Yao” or “trade McGrady” conversation that comes around. My two cents is below, the overriding opinion being: the Rocks have and always have needed a decent third scoring option, and a “microwave” off the bench. Luis Scola may end up being #3, but they still need a dependable bench scorer or two: (more…)

I’m in Dallas blogging from my blackberry which my friend Craver thinks is essential. I am at BJs sports bar. While I am waiting for the Rockets to begin their comeback on the jazz, I am treated to the following:
- Dallas Mavs losing to New Orleans in the 4th quarter by 10; if Dallas loses the series is over and New Orleans moves on;
- pistons over 76ers by 20, taking a 3 to 2 lead in their best of 7;
- san Jose sharks are up 1 to 0 going into the 3Rd period, sharks down 2 to 0 in the series;

The only way it could get better is with the Rockets and Sharks both winning the series!!!!

Normally, I don’t fall for them, I inflict them. My wife and I had our combined bachelor/bachelorette party on April 1st, and some people didn’t show because they thought we were joking (we weren’t….at least I wasn’t, my wife some days reserves judgment).

But this year: Hakeem’s return and The Legend of Zelda…both nailed me (and my son, for the second one). (more…)

Kurson’s Shadow Divers (loaned to me by my friend Charles, thanks Charles!) is a well written and thoroughly researched non-fiction story of two divers pushing themselves physically and mentally to discover the truth behind the World War II U-boat they find off the coast of New Jersey. The tale combines the intricacies and technology of attempting scuba at depths of 230 feet in 1991 (when diving at that depth was relatively unheard of) with historical research on what really happened to certain WWII German U-boats. The author also paints an excellent picture of many of the characters, both from the time period of the dive and from the crew members of the U-boat.

Bill Nagle, a legendary wreck diver, gets a set of “numbers” from a fisherman, numbers referring to the coordinates of a secret fishing spot which must have a wreck at the bottom responsible for the gathering of fish. Nagle recruits divers to come with him on his charter boat to explore the possibilities…it could be nothing but a barge or a pile of junk. One of those recruited is John Chatterton, Vietnam vet, commercial diver and wreck diver extraordinaire.

On the first dive, Chatterton identifies the wreck as a submarine. (more…)

I thoroughly enjoyed The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant (and the Second Chronicles as well) by Mr. Donaldson,  about Thomas Covenant, leper and unbeliever. I’d pick up this book, the first book in a new series about a decade ago, and made a couple of attempts to read it. But it didn’t strike me much as science fiction or fantasy, or much of anything.

I happened to read my friend JP from SF Signal’s article on Space Opera series that he enjoyed, and The Gap series was on the list, with the suggestion that “If you thought the first book was too cliched and simple to read, then you probably missed out on one of the most challenging rewarding space operas out there.”

The first book is indeed cliched and simple, but it sets up a triangle of characters that the reader wants to know more about. And Mr. Donaldson’s “Afterword”, where he talks about his motivations for the book and compares it to Wagner’s “Ring” opera classic is in and of itself worth the time reading the book. (more…)