Wednesday, December 31, 2008

"Watchmen" Mini-Primer


The up-coming movie Watchmen is based on a graphic novel by genius writer Alan Moore in 1985. And when it was published, it changed everything about the way superheroes are thought of and depicted. That's as much as I knew about it...up to now. You see it was also very mature (ie not for kids) and I was a kid in 1985 so no one would sell it to me then, let alone would my parents have let me read it. And now well into adulthood, I just haven't read it yet. But I will. In the meantime, a neat feauturette has hit myspace showing clips from the movie (most of which I've seen already) but interspersed with an interview with the director, Zach Snyder, who gives background on the story, and the characters. He even tells us the names of each actor.

Watchmen Exclusive
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See? The PS3 Is Not Just A Toy



I came across an article that shows that Sony's PS3 is not just a toy for amusement it can actually be used for good things and bad things. Some hackers proved that connecting 200 PS3s into a network, called a "cluster", and using them to work on the same problem: cracking SSL (secure sockets layer) certificates and generating "a rogue Certification Authority (CA), a breakthrough that allows the forging of certificates that are fully trusted by all modern Web browsers." The idea is called "distributing computing". This means that each computer in the network works on a pieces of a problem. It's like solving a complex equation with more than one person on it at the same time. A single PS3 by itself is powerful. One PS3 console is capable of running billions of calculations in a second. That is why it so great at doing video games. If one console can do that imagine what 200 can do. You ineffect have a super computer that outpaces the CRAY computers of 1980s. Like any technology, it is not good or bad. It depends on how you use it. I have found lots of atricles about how to do it. For example, PS3 clusters are used in scientific research like cruching data for NASA over the Internet. I think I will do that when I get my PS3 (of course when I'm not playing with it).
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There are no words....

Just when you think you've heard of every kind of crime imaginable, some idiot in Oregon invaded an elderly woman's home. Unfortunately, that in and of itself is not unheard of. However this man was naked. Why? The article does not say. The man forced the woman into her living room and pushed her face down into a chair. The 88 year-old woman had the presence of mind to reach around squeezed his crotch. The man thankfully ran away. He must have thought that she was easy pickings, but he was wrong! The man was later arrested. What goes through people's minds?

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Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Mystique and Me

Here is a webisode that I thought was really funny. It stars Jerry O'Connell and Rebecca Romijn (who played Mystique in the X-men films). You've got to see this:

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Sony Is Being Accused of Homophobia


Sony has a Playstation Home service accessible with a PS3. It's social networking service so that users can interact with another with animated avatars. Users can chat in forums and buy things in an Online store. There are a list of words that cannot be used in the service. It makes sense that you can't use profanity so that people don't get offended. People are not complaining over that. What some people are complaining is that the words "gay, bisexual, lesbian" cannot be used. Sony is being hammered for "discrimination". My question is: "It is a virtual playground, why would a person's sexual orientation or tastes be an issue or come up considering the kind of service Sony is intending to create?" My answer is that it should not matter. Of course, the writer of the article I read disagrees with me.

Sony has issued a statement:

"'The key message is it's a beta and it's evolving on a daily basis. We've said early on that user behavior and feedback will shape where we go with Home.' In the case of the censored words,Seybold said, Home employed filters to prevent defamation in Home's closed test version. But when the service went public, he said, it should have started allowing those words."


It sound like to me that Sony will cave in under the pressure. I hope they won't. But considering that PS3 is bringing up the rear in the current console war, they can't afford to alienate anyone. Sony is loosing big time against Nintendo and Microsoft. That combined with the global economy means that they have to make every sale count. Personally, I wish I could get a PS3 now myself, but it's too expensive to afford one at the moment. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people in the same boat as I.
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FOX vs Warner Brothers Over "Watchmen"


G4TV has posted more information concerning the Watchmen film's legal problems. As I think I posted last week, a Judge has ruled that Fox should have distribution rights to the film. It's amazing to me that Fox would sue over this at the "11th hour" when the film is practically complete. Fox has filed an injunction to block/delay the movie's March release. I also can't believe that Warner Brothers would not make sure that no one could bring up such a lawsuit against them. I mean after Warner Brothers lost that huge lawsuit concerning the Matrix Trilogy and the Terminator franchise, didn't the learn anything? This is going to be a mess and Warner Brothers is digging in for a fight.

"We respectfully but vigorously disagree with the court's ruling and are exploring all of our appellate options. We continue to believe that Fox's claims have no merit and that we will ultimately prevail, whether at trial or in the Court of Appeals."


I'm hoping that I won't have grandchildren before all this legal mess is cleaned up and we can see this movie.
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Forgetting Someone?


I realize that I write more about Capcom and mugen the most when I write about video games. But the truth is I am familiar with other companies that make fighting games like SNK. I like their games too. I was reminding today that next year we will be getting another game from them in their King of Fighters series: King of Fighters XII (yes, that is a "12", I'm shocked too). The arcade version is supposed to hit in spring of 2009 and I am assuming that the console versions will be out soon after (referring too PS3, WII, and Xbox 360). I read about this today on G4TV's blog. They were even nice enough to provide the names of each of the characters that will be included some twenty.


  • Andy Bogard
  • Ash Crimson
  • Athena Asamiya
  • Benimaru Nikaido
  • Chin Gentsai
  • Clark Steel
  • Duo Lon
  • Goro Daimon
  • Iori Yagami
  • Joe Higashi
  • Kim Kaphwan
  • Kyo Kusanagi
  • Leona Heidern
  • Raiden
  • Ralf Jones
  • Robert Garcia
  • Ryo Sakazaki
  • Shen Woo
  • Sie Kensou
  • Terry Bogard

However, there is one glaring omission. One of the most popular characters in the series is not included in the playable list: Mai Shiranui (first picture in the post)
Mai has always been one of my personal favorites and an SNK fighting game is really missing something without her in the mix. I'm thinking that if she isn't in the game, I'm going to skip this one.
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Notebook Vs Netbook


Today I came across a relatively new class of computer called a Netbook. The difference between a Netbook and a Notebook is that a Netbook is more "stripped down". It has the bare minimum hardware to run. Wikipedia has great article defining what a Netbook is and I like this line:

Netbooks trade features, processing power[1] and the ability to run resource-intensive operating systems — to achieve their small form factor, low weight and affordability.

It think it sums up the difference between the two kinds of computers in a single sentence. This trade off is not neccessarily being cheated out of anything. The truth is that not everyone in world needs a lot of processing power or a lot of features. I think the majority of the world today needs low weight, affordability, long battery-life, and small energy consumption. I'm realizing that I did hear about this computer a few years ago when people were talking about the One-laptop-per-child program in poorer countries so that we can bridge the economic and "digital divide". Net computers would be perfect.

Turns out that several computer manufacturers see the value for many other people too. Everyone agrees that they want computers with long battery-life, low weight, and consume less energy, but what about the fewer features? Today, if you are not doing heavy calculations or a lot of graphics and multimedia you could probably get away with a Netbook. Face it, majority of time on computers at home is spent reading and composing e-mail, surfing the internet, interacting on social networking sites, playing online games, and watching movies. Not much hardware is needed for that. Just 2 or 3 USB ports, a reasonably fast processor, and a stable operating system and web browser.

I'd suggest several USB ports because netbooks don't have a lot of hard drive space. So it would be great to be able to use a usb hard drive or flash drives to make up for lack of storage. This is one of the trade offs for lighter weight and less energy needed to extend battery life. The reason why many of the newer netbooks can pull off these feats is because they are not using traditional hard drives (HHD). They use "solid-state" hard drives (SSD). They have almost no mechanical parts, use less energy, and very, very light-weight. Traditional HHDs have a magnetic disk spinning inside, being read by a lazer! A lot can go wrong. In contrast SSDs use the miracles of quantum physics to store and retrieve information (I'll do some research and post on that later).

The exciting thing is that there is a new solution for the user who wants the portability, long battery life, and power conservation of a netbook but the storage of a traditional hard dive. MSI announced that they will be selling the world's first "hybrid" laptop. It will be able to use both kinds of hard drives. You can read the following articles: The World First Hybrid Laptop and
MSI Unveils The World's First Hybrid-Storage Netbook: The U115

Addendum: 12-31-08

I forgot to make the point that although netbooks do not have enough memory to handle many everyday memory-intensive software like Microsoft Office, there is a solution: Google to the rescue! Google has a free office suite that is entirely online. Write documents. Make presentations. Make Spreadsheets. The product is referred to as Google Documents. All you need to use them is a Google account and an internet connection (oh and a computer). It even allow you to easily collaborate with others. I really like it, personally, however I still use Microsoft Office. Also, there are many online storage sites that allow you to securely store files. Some of them are even free.
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Monday, December 29, 2008

Japanese Trailer for New Street Fighter Movie


Well, here is a trailer for the new movie coming out next year in 2009. It's called Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li. I'm going to give it a chance. From the looks of the trailer it seems better than Dragonball movie and nearly infinitely better than Van Damm's Street Fighter movie from 1994. I guess we will just have to wait and see. The bar has not been set very high for video games to live-action film adaptions.
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If I had an Iphone:


If I had an Iphone this game would be something I'd download quicker than almost anything else. A quality Iron man game with great graphics. Almost makes me wanna run out and buy an Iphone.
Here is Marvel Comic announcement at the following article.



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500 Years of Women In Western Art

I came across a great YouTube video this morning where someone took the greatest examples of women depicted in western art. It's a great example of art. I found a hyperlink that lists each art clip, the artist, and the year. Here is the video:

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Saturday, December 27, 2008

Extracting Images From A Mind


Japanese Scientists have managed to figure out how to capture images from a person's mind and reconstruct them into a form that is recognizeable on a computer screen. The article I read has the following:

...by using a functional magnetic resonance imaging machine the researchers were able to map blood flow changes within a human brain's cerebral visual cortex when exposed to specific control images. Subjects were shown 400 random 10 x 10 pixel black-and-white images for a period of 12 seconds each, which allowed the scientists to map the changes associated with images, essentially calibrating the machine. Then, when the test subjects were shown a completely new set of images, such as the letters N-E-U-R-O-N, the machine was able to recognize and reconstruct the images in a recognizable, all be it low-res image.

So far, the system can only recognize simple, black and white images, but scientists are confident the technology will advance so much in the next 10 years that reading a person's mind with some degree of accuracy will be possible. This technology could be used in the fields art and design; imagine being able to see the images inside an artists head! It could also be used to treat mental conditions that exhibit hallucinations, allowing doctors to see exact what their patients think they're seeing. ATR chief researcher Yukiyasu Kamitani says, “This technology can also be applied to senses other than vision. In the future, it may also become possible to read feelings and complicated emotional states.”


My take? It's a small step from reading minds to implanting thoughts and images into them. It's a technology like anything else: not evil or good by nature. It is how it is used at to whether it's good or bad.
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Friday, December 26, 2008

"Religuous" is Ridiculous


Bill Maher has been very clear as to what he believes "religion" is. He is wrong. I can't speak for other faiths but I can categorically assert Christianity is not about embracing the end of the world or wishing for death. It's about embracing and hanging on to life the only way possible: Jesus Christ. All the evils of the world montaged at end of Maher's movie can be traced to only one source: sin. If you want to be free of it faith in Jesus is the only way. Maher expresses the exact opposite of what the Bible says. Trust in God is the answer not doubt. Faith is not equivalent to shutting off your brain and not thinking. God has given us enough evidence that your faith can be based on reason. His and Christopher Hitchen's definition of faith is wrong. The Bible does not give us all the answers, just enough so that we can put our faith in the right place. I disagree with the following video in more ways that I can count. None of his arguments stand up to any kind of scrutiny.



One of the most important problem I see that Maher has is that he believes that he is angry that it appears that Christians believe that we have the answers. He thinks that we think we are better than those who confess that they don't know. To be honest, we know that we are not better than anyone else. It's only because of God's grace and mercy that we know what we do. We know what happens when someone dies only because God told humanity what happens.
So much of what the Bible teaches can substantiate by archeology, history, and science. As for everything else it cannot be refuted.
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AOTS Pardies "The Spirit"


G4TV's Attack of the Show did a beautiful parody of The Spirit. It is funny!!!!!
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Movie to Watch For: PUSH


This is a movie poster for the new movie. I've already posted the trailer for it. I'm looking forwarded to it.

The action packed sci-fi thriller involves a group of young American ex-pats with telekinetic and clairvoyant abilities, hiding from a clandestine U.S. government agency. They must utilize their different talents and band together for a final job enabling them to escape the agency forever.
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Wednesday, December 24, 2008

China Misses Out on "Dark Knight"?


Seen Dark Knight? Well, if you are a Chinese national and you did, then it wasn't legal. I read on the G4 TV blog that one of 2008's greatest films will not be officially released in China. It's being not being officially banned but Warner Brothers has chosen not to officially release it because it will not pass the official pre-conditions that China's communist government's Ministry of Culture have set in place. The article I read did point out that being Chinese probably will not mean people will not see it because China has a booming bootleg industry. No one pirates like those "entreprenuers". I mean they have bootlegs as good as the official versions from what I understand. I love the comment at the end of the article about perhaps how Dark Knight could disturb Chinese cultural sensibilities:

Hmmmm…I wonder if those insane Hong Kong sequences where Batman kidnaps a Chinese executive to get around extradition laws could have anything to do with it? What do you think?
I think that's a logical point. But that's what the film is about. Batman is able to make decisions based on the right thing to do, not just the legal thing to do.
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Madea Goes To Jail


It's been announced that Tyler Perry's newest movie will be released February 20, 2009. It's called Madea Goes To Jail which is based on the play of the same name. Is it going to be exactly like the play? I don't know. I liked the play. Tyler Perry's work is wildly popular among Christians especially black Christians. A lot of Christians believe that it's wholesome entertainment because of the morality being taught and the fact that Christ is looked to as the answer for life's problems. I agree. You can completely see that when you see the plays. However, the movies are a little different. Perry has had to tone down the religious truths in the movies to give them more mass market appeal. I'm not really willing to "throw him under the bus" because of this. The movies still have good moral and Christian values. There is somethings that can't be ignored. God says in his word that men should not dress like women and women should not dress like men in order to pass as the other gender.
Deuteronomy 22:5 says:

The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God.


This is the bottom line. Based on this I'm not sure if I can, in good conscience, condone this movie. It's something I will be praying about. Here is the trailer:



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Tuesday, December 23, 2008

New Clips from "Hulk vs"


Marvel.com has released new clips from the new DVD this January. I'm really excited about it. I'm re-posting two of the clips. I think they represent what will be final on the DVD. I'm amazed about the violence and ferocity of the Wolverine chapter but being familiar with the characters leads to the realization that it could be nothing else. Only criticism I have is that the Hulk's blood is green not red. And I'm not sure if Wolverine could really take that much punishment without being turned into jell-o. Here is a clip from the Wolverine chapter:


Here is a clip from the Thor chapter:
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Review: "The Day the Earth Stood Still"


Last week I had the chance to see remake of The Day The Earth Stood Still. I saw it in IMAX. I would suggest that if you go see it in theaters to see it in IMAX. Unfortunately, because Wolverine will not be released initially in IMAX it was not part of the trailers I saw. Also it is important that if you have never seen the original 1951 version of The Day The Earth Stood Still, you should make sure you see that version too. The 1951 version was anti-war. An alien came to earth to warn humanity that if we didn't clean up our act, a conglomerate of planets would wipe us out using the robot, the alien brought with him named Gort. I loved everything about that version. The 2008 version is also good. I thought that a lot of good choices were made to update the story. The main difference is that the alien gives the reason for his advent was to save the earth from us. The aliens had an ecological agenda. Gort was also not just 10 feet tall. This time he was the hieght of a small building and he seemed to employ nanite technology not just made of metal. He was a living thing. The special effects were breath-taking....especially in IMAX. I don't want to give away the ending. I thought that it lived up to the legacy of the original. It was not the better than the original....but it was just as good. I was struck by the difference. In the original, there were no major black characters and only one female lead who nearly fell in love with the alien. In the 2008 version, we not only get a black child carrying a lot of the story (Jayden Pinket-Smith) but Jennifer Connolly's character role is expanded into her being a scientist and main protaganist. In the original, I felt that the alien was the main character. Kathy Bates played the Secretary of Defense and she was the President's eyes, ears, mouth piece, and had near ultimate authority. The 1951 version had no such female character.
It is hard to re-make a classic. It did not quite make it, but I thought it was a good try.
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Trailer for Street Fighter IV


Here is a trailer for one of the characters in Street Fighter IV named Gouken. Gouken is interesting because I have never seen him before in a game. He is huge and he is the one who taught Street Fighter staple characters Ken and Ryu all of their moves. Fighting Gouken will never get old.

Street Fighter II is the seminal video game of my life. Without it,I would not have gotten into video games or engineering. It was the first game of its kind. There had been other head-to-head fighting games but I bet that most people would agree that Street Fighter was the tipping point for that genre of video gaming. Combining large characters, 6 buttons and a control stick, great music and graphics, with interesting characters made the game series a success. This success lead to all the other great fighting game franchises. Thankfully, Capcom followed up Street Fighter II with more games in the series. The lastest is Street Fighter IV and to be honest I'm excited. Makes me wanna run out and buy a PS3 right now (I won't). In terms of a legacy, I think Street Fighter may be one of reasons I am so attracted to MUGEN. Much of MUGEN is based on the look and feel found in Street Fighter II. Well, while I wait for the opportunity to own Street Fighter IV, let-alone play the game, I can enjoy the earlier versions of the game I do own and enjoying MUGEN.


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Monday, December 22, 2008

Heroes: "The Recruit" Part 2

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Movie Trailer: PUSH


There's a movie coming out next year called "PUSH". It's in the vein of X-men and Heroes. Young people with mental powers are running from the government, trying to get out of their control and live free lives. It looks really cool. Check out the trailer.


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Mac vs PC Transformers Style


I was made aware of a great video based on the idea of the Tranformers. It's really, really well done. My only question is are the PC's the Autobots or the Decepticons. From what I can see in the video PCs are cast as Decepticons. I was really impressed...take a look.
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Sunday, December 21, 2008

Church Discipline


More and more often the following situation is coming up in America: Churches are being challenged - are we going to do what God has commanded despite what the liberal media and society says - or will we compromise? I just found out from Dr. James White's YouTube channel that FOX News is reporting on a woman complaining against her church because they are going to publicly admonish her for engaging in premarital sex with her boyfriend who is not a church member. She says that they have no right to publicly disclose her private life and that they should leave it alone because she resigned from the church. The church followed Biblically mandated steps for restoring a member who has fallen into sin. Again, it's interesting to compare what secular sources report versus Christian sources. Fox News calls it an "outrage" and "extortion". Here is that article. I like the articles on the Christian blog called Church Matters. The bloggers there are correct. The idea of a church holding a member accountable for the choices they make in their day-to-day lives seems foreign in a world that tells us that you can do anything you want and live any kind of way and no one has the right to judge you. This is exactly opposite what the Bible teaches. A Bible-based church will be persecuted for taking this position. We must be. This world is not our home. We are merely passing through. The world considers it strange that what this woman does outside of church would affect anyone who goes and it does. Although she resigned, the church must still deal with situation. Just because she left, does not mean it's over. The church leaders must also consider the ones who are left in the church. They must make a public declaration that sin is sin and can't be tolerated. It really is "Holiness or Hell". The Fox News article tries to make the woman out to be a victim. "Look at the bad, intolerant, and unloving church!" I'm reminded of the snarling monkey from Family Guy that is always pointing a finger. Such is the state of our society. Interesting enough the actual letter the church sent to the woman has been posted on the Internet. I can't find anything mean or unloving in it. It appears that they are pleading with her to all them to help her restore her relationship to Jesus. Here is the letter (just Click on it to read it):




Here are Dr. James White's Comments
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Saturday, December 20, 2008

Tribute to Majel Barrett-Roddenberry


If you haven't heard the single actor to have participated in all 7 television series, webisodes, and 11 films (yes including the one that hasn't been released yet) has died. Majel Barrett-Roddenberry was not just married to the creator of the Star Trek but she was also a producer in her own right and an actress. She played the voice of the star fleet computer in every series and movie and she has also play major recurring roles in front of the camera. Remember Number One from the Pilot? What about Nurse Chapel in the original series? Deanna Troi's mother in Next Generation and D9? Yup, all her. One story I would have loved to have seen was about her reaction to Worf dating Deanna at the end of Next Generation. How would that I have gone down? Here is a tribute to her found on YouTube.

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Thursday, December 18, 2008

Unfair Criticism

I have recently come across a video where Pastor Rick Warren is criticized for telling an audience of unbelievers that people should not worry about pleasing themselves but work to improve the lives of people around us. The critic is upset because Pastor Warren did not tell them that they need to be saved and give their lives over to Christ. The video is just a clip. I don't know if that he did or did not tell them about sin and the need for repentance but I know for sure that in his book Purpose Driven Life, Warren does talk about sin and the need for repentance. This I am sure about. I don't think that there is anything wrong in telling unbelievers to find out what God has purposed for them. I mean what higher purpose does God have but for us to trust Jesus and be saved from our sins. Warren is trying to inspire a world that denies the need of God to search for him. We know that if people search for God he will show them Jesus for only through Jesus will we reach our full potential and fulfill God's purposes for us.

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Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Protest the new "Dragonball" Movie


I'm not sure if you have not seen the new Trailer for the Dragonball movie. Unfortunately, because it is not unlike anime series at all, it will suck. History has shown us that any time a book, cartoon, or Anime series is ever adapted into a different medium, if the adaptation does not stay true or respect the source material, the adaption fails. This is why until 1998's Blade comic book movies have generally been failures with few precious exceptions. This is also why you can count the number of successful "campy" adaptions on your fingers. I am personally insulted by this adaption for the Dragonball series. I am insulted because the movie producers show no repect for the fans. Dragonball is a worldwide phenomonon. Their attitude seems to be that fans are so rabid and stupid they can put vomit on the screen, call it "Dragonball", and we will buy into it. Please don't insult our intelligence.

On top of this, I'm almost moved to active protest --picketing 20th Century Fox and local theaters. Almost to the point of going to the theaters just to throw shoes, that I have worn while I walked over Dog dung, at the screen. Fortunately, sanity prevents me from doing the "shoe" thing, on top of that I'm not a Muslim. Instead, I will ask that as many people as possible sign a petition to either forget the movie or the studio does it correctly -- Bring in an all Japaneses cast if you have to.



Look at the following videos to get an understanding of what the uproar is about.
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Black Panther: Changing Gender?

I have a post already concerning the plan to relaunch the Black Panther comic book series and replacing the main character with a female (see her on the left-top). I personally don't mind Marvel comics truing to shake up stories and trying new things. Even if it's a blatant attempt to re-invigorate sales using a sexy leading-lady to appeal to men and boys and woo women by showing an empowered female protaganist. What has me concerned, however, is the identity of whom this new Black Panther will be. One of the things Marvel is always ready to brag about is the fact that Black Panther is the first black superhero to be introduced in a major way by any major publisher. He is a product of the civil rights movement. A symbol of the industry and the nation began to turn away from stereotypes against Black people. I agree. What happens to that legacy if Black Panther's race changes? The Civil Right movement was not about rejecting who you are to fit in with mainstream (white) America. It was about accepting your race, culture and heritage and the rest of society doing the same. Before this, black people were made to feel undervalued and not allowed to participate in the nation they helped build. The 60's come along and Black people said to America, that we are just as valuable to this nation as anyone else. Just as lovable as anyone else. I see the Black Panther character as a symbol of that. T'challa, is a black man, who plays by his own moves, several steps ahead of his enemies and friends, and his major purpose it to protect his kingdom and people in world that will take advantage of them if he lets them. I think that this dynamic...this drama that the character carries will be lost if Black Panther will be changed into a white woman. To be fair, Marvel has not really said who the new Panther will be. They did release a new article from Marvel.com and the picture on the top-right. There are black female characters in the Marvel Universe who are part of the current series that can take over for T'challa. However, inorder to invite controversy and publicity, Marvel has not released the new Panther's identity, nor has explained why and how the switch will happen yet. I know....I Know I am falling for it, but the character does matter.
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Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Heroes: The Recruit


As I have already written, the last part volume 3 of Heroes just aired in North America. Volume 4: "Fugitives" will not start until February 2009. When I heard this I was vary, very upset because I want to know what will happen next. Fortunately, God, in his infinite forebearance and mercy, has moved upon the hearts and minds of the people who run NBC and make the series to give us another webisode series to tie us over until February. Here is the first part:
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Monday, December 15, 2008

Heroes Season 3; Volume 3; Episode 13


I just saw the latest episode of Heroes called "Duel". I liked how they seemed tie up everything and I have to admit that it had some great twists.

1. Almost everyone who was not in Season 1 died.
2. I'm not sure if Meredith died...I mean she seemed to die in a fire before.
3. Sylar most likely is not dead.
4. They left it open as to who Sylar's parents are.
5. I'm glad Peter has his powers back but I don't see if Hiro got his back or not.
6. With the formula destroyed does that mean that Arthur is alive again.
7. Does this mean Ando gets to keep his powers? I like the idea of someone who can supercharge other people.
8. I don't really understand Sylar's motivation to try to get Angela, Claire, Noah, and Meredith to show that they are monsters. I think either Gabriel has really lost it or the writers took a page out of the "Dark Knight".
9. I thought it was amazing strategy to try to feed the remaining inmates of Level 5 to Sylar. It seemed like Sylar and Noah were playing chess.
10. The relationship between Peter and Nathan was amazing to watch. I don't understand Nathan's reasoning for choosing what he chose to do. Peter made the best choices - heroic ones. I hope he got all his powers back...not just flight. It was just amazing to hear Nathan tell Peter that he would not have saved him. It underscores which one is a hero.
11. The prologue for Volume 4 was amazing. I remember in season 1, Nathan stated that he would round up everyone who had abilities and quarantine them. As a senator, this seems like exactly what he wants to do. I also see that they had a black man playing President of the United States. Nathan did not tell him that he had abilities. I was excited because I think that name of the Actor who played the President is Michael Dorn. He played Worf on Star Trek. It was great to see him. Here is a clip from the episode.

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Sunday, December 14, 2008

Ultimate Disrespect

Okay, I came home from church and was greeted with news that I never thought I would hear: The President of the United States was assaulted...with shoes!!! You can't make this stuff up! George Bush made a surprise visit to Iraq today. What amazed me was that I'm sure it was just politics. He was saying "Look, I made Iraq so safe I can visit." Bush refuses to admit that invading Iraq was a mistake. For an Iraqi journalist to throw his shoes at Bush ans shout "Here is your farewell kiss, you dog!", you have to admit that he must not like Bush very much. Added to the fact that in Islamic culture, hitting a person with your shoe is a high insult...akin to slapping someone upside the face with an empty glove in medieval and classical Europe or giving someone "the finger" today in American culture. It shows complete disrespect. I don't know how we should respond. But I don't think that this is something we can ignore. This is not just a slight against Bush but against the Presidency and America. I'm not happy about it at all.

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Family Portraits 12-13-2008

My wife and I took Makayla out to make family portraits. I thought I would post them below. I love the technology that allows you to post your pictures in a virtual gallery. You may have to download the latest plugins for your browser to see this but it's cool to see.

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Latin Comedy's "300" Spoof

I saw one of the most funniest parodies I have ever seen on YouTube. It made me fall out laughing.



I have to say that it not only perfectly reminds me of the movie "300" but also comments on the immigration problems of the United States. "Tonight! We dine in....San Diego!"
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Saturday, December 13, 2008

Wolverine Trailer


Here is the trailer playing in front of the 2008 version of the "The Day The Earth Stood Still".

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Thursday, December 11, 2008

"Rent-A-Negro"

I just read an insightful and humorous post about how Black people are being invited to attend rich people's parties. I think everyone should read it.

http://blacksnob.blogspot.com/2008/12/damali-ayos-vision-finally-becomes.html
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Tuesday, December 9, 2008

New "Hulk Vs" Trailer


There is a new movie coming out early next year to DVD. It's two movies in one: Hulk vs Thor and Hulk vs Wolverine. Two knock-down-drag-out fights. Here is the most recent trailer:




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Our Son


Well, God is blessing my wife and I with a new bouncing baby boy! It was confirmed yesterday when Mitsouky took her ultrasound. I thought I would share his first pictures! I would have done the same with my daughter's ultrasounds but I did not have a blog then. So permit me this indulgence. I thank God so much. I only desire that my children love God and dedicate their lives to His service. Name? Oh, his name will be Matthias Ezekiel McElhaney. Here is a little special way to show his first pictures.
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Herose Webisode Series 1: Destiny

Well the webisode series called Destiny, set in the the same world as the Heroes television series is now complete. I have created a playlist that contains all 4 episodes. Enjoy them below.



Also it has been announce that to fill in the gap left between Volumes 3 and 4 in the main series, another webisode series starts December 15, 2oo8 called The Recruit. Here is a promo for the series below.

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Heroes Season 3 Episode 12


Episode 12 is called "Our Father". I really liked it. Arthur Pertrelli is dead, I think. But not before he took Hiro's powers, the catalyst to make the abilities formula work, and stranded him 16 years in the past. But I'm getting ahead of myself. I'd say the episode breaks down into 4 big reveals and themes.

The first being that the catalyst was orginally in Hiro's mother. She had given it to Claire when Claire was a baby. Claire and Hiro had gone back in time so that Hiro could be healed and get his memory back by his mother. They stopped Hiro's father from giving the catalyst to Claire and Hiro recieved the gift his mother had wanted him to have in the first place. Unfortunately, Arthur also went back in time (using the powers he stole from Peter) he took the catalyst, Hiro's power, and left him stranded in time. He sent Claire back to the present so she could deliver a message to Anglea that he had won.

The second thing I noticed was that Sylar is definitely evil again. He does not have to kill anymore to get someone's ability but he does anyway. He set Elle's body on fire (or at least it seemed that way). He killed the lady to get her power to be able to tell if someone is lying or telling the truth. He killed 3 people who walked in on him examining her brain. He has wembraced the darkness and no longer cares.

The third theme intertwines the entire series: parents relating to their children. We see adult Claire interacting with her father while she as a baby is laying nearby. She pleads with him not to hand the baby over and he agrees. That dialog was poignant and emotionally driven. We saw Peter interacting with his mother and his father. I'm not sure what kind of mother can use her children like windup soldiers in powerplays with her husband. D-I-S-F-U-N-C-T-I-O-N-A-L to say the least. Peter was torn. He had always felt belittled and undervalued by his parents - both of them. He had seen the future and had come to the thought, from his mother, that the only way for the world to be protected was that his father had to die. I'm sure his own father trying to kill him helped him to that decision. Nathan had his "Oedipus Rex" moment where he replaced his father in running Pinehurst. I've got to wonder if he can wield that power any better. Third, Hiro interacts with both his parents. His father cannot relate to him and thinks his wife coddles their son too much. It's a terrible thing to hear a parent say "You will never amount to anything." no matter how old you are. It was a good thing that Hiro could remember his father taking all that back before he died.

The fourth thing I just can't stop thinking about was the climaxes of the episode. We get to see the serum work and give a soldier, picked by Nathan, superhuman strength with no obvious side-effects. The other thing was probably one of the coolest effects of the entire series, if not all of the television that aired in 2008. Peter was holding a gun on Arthur, the Haitian was using his powers to suppress Arthur's, while Arthur was trying to stall for time by trying to talk Peter into joining him. At the last second, Peter pulled the trigger, the Haitian's powers failed, but Arthur is unable to catch the bullet with his telekinesis, but the bullet stops in mid-air just next to Arthur's head, and it was still spinning. Sylar caught it. He wanted to use his newly-aquired ability to find out if Arthur lied about being his father. Sylar said Arthur was lying and that he knew the truth. He said, "Peter, you are not a killer. But I am." Then he let the bullet go and Arthur seemed to get shot through the head and died. Sylar turned to Peter and said "I'm not going to kill you, Peter. You no longer have anything I want." as he walked off. Of course I'm not sure what thjat effect was at the end as Peter stood over Arthur. It looked like Arthur's powers left him.

Some questions still hanging in the air are:
1. How do Claire and Hiro's action 16 years earlier affect the present? I mean does that mean Claire now never had the catalyst?
2. Is Arthur and Elle really dead?
3. How will Peter and Hiro get their powers back? I'd like to see Peter go back in time and get Hiro back?
4. How will Hiro get back to the Present?

Here is a clip:

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Saturday, December 6, 2008

Batman: Brave and the Bold


It's official. I like the new Batman television series. I like the format a lot. I like seeing Batman team up with different characters. Many times these other characters have true superhuman powers but Batman holds his own with them quite easily. It has humor without being campy. The only thing I didn't like about the last episode was Aquaman's characterization. He seemed like an arrogant blowhard in love with the sound of his own voice. Don't get me wrong. He was very powerful and had genuine heroic qualities. Only his personality seemed more like the way Olympian and Asgardians gods are portrayed in comic books. I like how in each episode, Batman's humanity seem to make his opponents to underestimate him, yet the heroes would not win without Batman. I love the character development and interaction. In episode 2, Batman spent most of the episode teamed up with Plastic-man. I never really seen Plastic-man portrayed the way he was in this episode. But I liked the way he was choosing between stealing treasure or helping Batman defeat Grodd. He made the correct decision but it was great to see him wrestling with the decision. In episode 3, Batman teamed up with Atom against Felix Faust and with Aquaman against Black Manta. Each story starts with Batman and a partner in mortal danger, before the credits start they succeed and then a new story is started after the credits and followed for the rest of the episodes. They are action packed and not real complicated stores - great for children but adult fans like me will like it because we can look for hidden homages to the comic books.
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Thursday, December 4, 2008

Heroes: Destiny Part 4

Here is the fourth webisode. It's called "Escape". Next week I will post a playlist containing all the episodes.

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Music Video: "I Like to Move It"

Here is one of my daughter's favorite videos. It features characters from Madagascar 2.

I Like To Move It - Amazing videos are here
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Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Heroes Season 3 Episode 11


Well, it was another great episode! By the of Eclipse - Part 2 I was speechless.I mean I know Claire was not going to die and their powers would kick in once the eclipse ended. What I didn't see coming was:

1. Sylar killing Elle!
2. Nathan betraying Peter to side with their dad. This did not make sense to me. Nathan did not explain why he suddenly thought Arthur is right.
3. Cool fight with Peter, Nathan, and Haitian fighting the Haitian's brother
4. Noah slitting Sylar's throat and shooting Elle.
5. Noah telling Sylar that both Angela and Arthur Pertrelli lied to him about being his parents. But he didn't tell him what the truth is. At this point I'm not sure Sylar cares what the truth is.
6. Peter still didn't get his powers back
7. Mohinder's mutation much affect his mind and moral compass...he switch sides way too easily
8. I love the interaction with Hiro, Ando, Matt, and Daphne
9. It was cool how Hiro saved Noah and the Bennet family through teleporting Sylar and Elle away. It wasn't clear where he sent them.
10. I want to know what was the significance of taking Claire back to the day Hiro witnessed his father giving Claire to Noah Bennet? How is that going to get Hiro's memory back?

Here is a clip

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