Superman Returns isn't due to theaters for several months, but now is as good a time as any to try to hint at why I've been excited about the upcoming movie.
Jeff Shoemaker and Steven G. Harms both forwarded this article to me today:
A complete history of the pre-production for a new Superman movie up until Bryan Singer is signed.
(read only if you have an hour to kill... I only was able to browse the article)
For whatever reason, some folks have sort of had it in for the traditional version of Superman, and a lot of movie business people have tried to make money off the franchise without ever bothering to see what made it interesting in the first place. I'm not 100% assured of the accuracy of this article, but enough of what's in it has been documented online and in the press that the bulk of what is said has some basis in fact. I do think the writer is probably a little hard on the parties involved (except Jon Peters, who is a well-documented moron).
Yes, there are going to be places to nitpick the upcoming "Superman Returns", but if you knew what almost happened... dear GOD, what almost happened to The Man of Steel... well, you'd be pretty calm about minor changes to the red in Superman's cape or an "S-shaped" belt-buckle. Or even Kevin Spacey as Luthor, as one Loyal Leaguer has made it his mission to decry. I knew probably 65% of what was in the linked article, and sort of extrapolated another 5 - 10%.
Superman is relatively straightforward, but with a truckload of details that enhance and color who the character is for the folks who read the comics, watch the various TV shows, view the older movies and generally are actual fans of the character. From the article you can see the laughable quotes about "exploring Superman's dark, murderous side," and shiver in the knowledge that these guys almost got a movie made that would have been the final nail in the coffin of The Man of Steel. These people can't see the point of Superman at all, or have lost the part of themselves that thinks maybe a superhero can be about bringing some light in from the shadows. These moneymen would return Superman to big screen as a character who can see no greater use for his power than a person with a gun.
I'm a firm believer that there are no bad characters or ideas, there's just bad execution of those ideas. I even think some of the proposed ideas for Superman sound like a neat movie, but they aren't Superman. I would probably go see some of the movies described, as long as they were called "CosmoSoldier" or "Captain Amazing" or something. But the desire to constantly change Superman to meet the latest success story from Hollywood? As if the black trenchcoats in Matrix were really the source of that film's success?
In the end, I don't know if Superman is what needs to change as each new generation gains control of the franchise, or if the threats that Superman faces are what needs to change. Perhaps it's really Luthor and Co that must remain fluid from generation to generation?
The movie movie may be a bomb. It may end up being a wretched piece of filmic garbage that I am later ashamed of supporting. For now, I feel the movie wound up in good hands. The pieces of dialog in the trailer let me know, as a Superman fan, that Singer is staying the course, and that the movie will be driven by a desire to let Superman be Superman.
Anyway, if you have time to kill, I recommend reading the article.
Monday, November 28, 2005
Sunday, November 27, 2005
League Post-Thanksgiving Wrap-Up
Ugh.
So Tuesday night when I called home to see how Jamie was doing and to let her know I was en route, she had "the tone" in her voice. 'The Tone" is my catch-all indicator that something is wrong with Jamie. It's better than suddenly hearing vomiting or finding her passed out on the floor, but it's still not a lot of fun.
Anyhoo, in order to receive her pherisis and dialysis treatments, Jamie has a fistula/ shunt (whatever you want to call it) that is a vein they've sort of beefed up for easy access. Back around Halloween, Jamie had a blood clot in the fistula and she'd had surgery to clear that out.
Well, whether it was tied to the surgery or something else, Jamie had an infection on her arm.
Tuesday night we went to the ER to see about getting the red patch looked at, but with a hundred screaming children between us and a doctor, we decided to hold off until morning when Jamie was set for dialysis. Wednesday, the dialysis center sent her back to the ER where she was seen, given antibiotics and admitted.
Jamie's folks came into town Wednesday, as did Doug and Kristin. Wednesday night, while Doug, Kristin, Judy and I enjoyed a lovely pasta dinner, Jamie and her dad hung back to get Jamie's ever-growing boil lanced. She also received some anti-biotics.
Thursday was mostly observation.
Friday Jamie was supposed to go home, but her surgeon showed up, saw the infection was worse than previously believed, and Jamie was scheduled for a surgery for Friday night. The surgery didn't go quite as planned, and they had to do a few extra things, but Jamie came out of it just fine, short a vein in her leg.
Luckily, lots of family around meant that Jamie has had a constant stream of family running around trying to make sure she's okay.
Everybody but Judy has now departed, and tomorrow Jamie is scheduled for a few things. I think she'll be coming home mid-week, which I am really excited about. We just bought a new Christmas tree (yes, fake, darn it!), and we need to find new decorations and a star for the top.
So what was I thankful for this year?
Hope everyone had a better Turkey Day than us.
Ugh.
So Tuesday night when I called home to see how Jamie was doing and to let her know I was en route, she had "the tone" in her voice. 'The Tone" is my catch-all indicator that something is wrong with Jamie. It's better than suddenly hearing vomiting or finding her passed out on the floor, but it's still not a lot of fun.
Anyhoo, in order to receive her pherisis and dialysis treatments, Jamie has a fistula/ shunt (whatever you want to call it) that is a vein they've sort of beefed up for easy access. Back around Halloween, Jamie had a blood clot in the fistula and she'd had surgery to clear that out.
Well, whether it was tied to the surgery or something else, Jamie had an infection on her arm.
Tuesday night we went to the ER to see about getting the red patch looked at, but with a hundred screaming children between us and a doctor, we decided to hold off until morning when Jamie was set for dialysis. Wednesday, the dialysis center sent her back to the ER where she was seen, given antibiotics and admitted.
Jamie's folks came into town Wednesday, as did Doug and Kristin. Wednesday night, while Doug, Kristin, Judy and I enjoyed a lovely pasta dinner, Jamie and her dad hung back to get Jamie's ever-growing boil lanced. She also received some anti-biotics.
Thursday was mostly observation.
Friday Jamie was supposed to go home, but her surgeon showed up, saw the infection was worse than previously believed, and Jamie was scheduled for a surgery for Friday night. The surgery didn't go quite as planned, and they had to do a few extra things, but Jamie came out of it just fine, short a vein in her leg.
Luckily, lots of family around meant that Jamie has had a constant stream of family running around trying to make sure she's okay.
Everybody but Judy has now departed, and tomorrow Jamie is scheduled for a few things. I think she'll be coming home mid-week, which I am really excited about. We just bought a new Christmas tree (yes, fake, darn it!), and we need to find new decorations and a star for the top.
So what was I thankful for this year?
- Jamie was able to fight off another potentially dangerous illness
- Family, both here and across the country
- Modern medicine
- Doctors, nurses and techs of an excellent caliber at CRH
- UT's ability to win, even when they're playing like they ate too much turkey
- The Phoenix Suns, for being an excellent distraction while Jamie is in surgery
Hope everyone had a better Turkey Day than us.
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Happy Thanksgiving, Leaguers!
We hope you can come up with some good reasons to be thankful this year. I know we at League HQ are thankful for all the great folks who pop up here at League of Melbotis (even if you won't take the time to post to tell us what YOU are thankful for).
Have a festive and restive Turkey Day.
And, you know, it's okay to do the Holiday any way you please. Just make sure you share the day with someone special.
Superman and Lois forego Turkey for a light dinner and getting sloshed on Strawberry Hill.
We hope you can come up with some good reasons to be thankful this year. I know we at League HQ are thankful for all the great folks who pop up here at League of Melbotis (even if you won't take the time to post to tell us what YOU are thankful for).
Have a festive and restive Turkey Day.
And, you know, it's okay to do the Holiday any way you please. Just make sure you share the day with someone special.
Superman and Lois forego Turkey for a light dinner and getting sloshed on Strawberry Hill.
Monday, November 21, 2005
The League Asks: What Are You Thankful For?
Hey, Leaguers! Turkey Day is coming this week. Here's a quick link to the history of Thanksgiving here in the good 'ol US of A.
read on, Turkey!
We're thankful for quite a bit this year. But what are you thankful for?
Heck, you're probably reading this at your computer at work. So keep avoiding the tasks of the day and take a few more minutes and post to the comments what, exactly, you're thankful for in 2005.
In the meantime, it's the Cover to JSA #54, for which I am very thankful.
Hey, Leaguers! Turkey Day is coming this week. Here's a quick link to the history of Thanksgiving here in the good 'ol US of A.
read on, Turkey!
We're thankful for quite a bit this year. But what are you thankful for?
Heck, you're probably reading this at your computer at work. So keep avoiding the tasks of the day and take a few more minutes and post to the comments what, exactly, you're thankful for in 2005.
In the meantime, it's the Cover to JSA #54, for which I am very thankful.
SCREW YOU, GINOBILI!!!
and
The Gross Story
Normally I love Manu. He's a great player, and he's on the Spurs, which gets him extra points. But Saturday night Ginobili took one of his famously unnecessary flops, landing squarely on the ankle of Suns player Leandro Barbosa.
Leandro was Steve Nash's back-up last season, and he was good, but not amazing. This season, Leandro has really matured, and he's been doing a lot ot carry the team. Until, of course, Manu plopped down on his own butt once again, rolling back and hitting Leandro, thus taking Leandro out of the game and out of play for the next two-to-three weeks.
And so I say: Screw you, Ginobili!
I gotta stick with my Suns. Why you gotta be flopping on my guys like that?
Ok.
Want to hear a gross story?
My air conditioning in my car recently died. Could be worse. It's now fairly temnperate in the Valley of the Sun, but driving around all day with the windows down doesn't do much for your hair. So, I put on my Phoenix Suns cap around 2:00 on Saturday, finally taking it off at 9:00 when I decided it was time for a hop in the tub. I don't take baths often, but last night seemed like a good time to soak, so I put in some bubbles and hopped in the water.
I ran the hot water, poured some into a cup and rinsed my hair, and was enjoying the bubbles, when I started in with the shampoo. And then I noticed a clump of something in my hair. I scrubbed a bit and it came out in a single mass. I looked down into my hand, and there in my hand were the curled remains of a big, ol' desert spider.
I screamed like a little girl and tossed the body of the spider into the bubbles, which was probably not very smart. Anyhoo, Jamie lept to my rescue and suggested I drain the tub, which I did.
I washed my hair three times and tried not to think too hard about the poor spider suffocating to death between my head and the hat.
The hat, sadly, wound up in the trash as I would never be able to look at it the same way again.
The most curious part if the whole situation was that we went out and picked up some dinner around 7:30, and while we were out, my feet inexplicably began to itch. I'm not sure there's a connection, but... I dunno. I'm not dead, but I didn't gain amazing spider powers, so I'm calling the whole thing a wash.
I can tell you this: I'm going to be checking my hats a lot more before putting them on. Especially with all the prehistoric freaky bugs living in this town.
and
The Gross Story
Normally I love Manu. He's a great player, and he's on the Spurs, which gets him extra points. But Saturday night Ginobili took one of his famously unnecessary flops, landing squarely on the ankle of Suns player Leandro Barbosa.
Leandro was Steve Nash's back-up last season, and he was good, but not amazing. This season, Leandro has really matured, and he's been doing a lot ot carry the team. Until, of course, Manu plopped down on his own butt once again, rolling back and hitting Leandro, thus taking Leandro out of the game and out of play for the next two-to-three weeks.
And so I say: Screw you, Ginobili!
I gotta stick with my Suns. Why you gotta be flopping on my guys like that?
Ok.
Want to hear a gross story?
My air conditioning in my car recently died. Could be worse. It's now fairly temnperate in the Valley of the Sun, but driving around all day with the windows down doesn't do much for your hair. So, I put on my Phoenix Suns cap around 2:00 on Saturday, finally taking it off at 9:00 when I decided it was time for a hop in the tub. I don't take baths often, but last night seemed like a good time to soak, so I put in some bubbles and hopped in the water.
I ran the hot water, poured some into a cup and rinsed my hair, and was enjoying the bubbles, when I started in with the shampoo. And then I noticed a clump of something in my hair. I scrubbed a bit and it came out in a single mass. I looked down into my hand, and there in my hand were the curled remains of a big, ol' desert spider.
I screamed like a little girl and tossed the body of the spider into the bubbles, which was probably not very smart. Anyhoo, Jamie lept to my rescue and suggested I drain the tub, which I did.
I washed my hair three times and tried not to think too hard about the poor spider suffocating to death between my head and the hat.
The hat, sadly, wound up in the trash as I would never be able to look at it the same way again.
The most curious part if the whole situation was that we went out and picked up some dinner around 7:30, and while we were out, my feet inexplicably began to itch. I'm not sure there's a connection, but... I dunno. I'm not dead, but I didn't gain amazing spider powers, so I'm calling the whole thing a wash.
I can tell you this: I'm going to be checking my hats a lot more before putting them on. Especially with all the prehistoric freaky bugs living in this town.
Sunday, November 20, 2005
Home for the Holidays?
Well, Mrs. League is home once again.
Last Sunday Jamie went into the hospital with some weird breathing problems. We've had some interesting medical issues here at League HQ over the years, but breathing hadn't yet made the list.
At first I thought Jamie had some sort of upper-respiratory infection, but it went from "a little trouble breathing" to "horrendous wheezing and gasping" pretty quickly. Luckily, when we hit that point we were already in the ER. (And just a quick reiteration, the real world ER is nowhere as romantic or exciting as the one on TV. Mostly you repeat your medical history ten times to ten different people and they look at you sort of blankly. Also, answering lots of insurance questions).
Mad props go out to the doctor who prescribed the upper-throat breathing treatment, because that really, really helped.
Anyhoo, Jamie was moved upstairs into the hospital around 7:00pm, and from there, Jamie's usual doctors got to work. Her blood levels were all out of whack and they needed to keep an eye on her.
Jamie's mom flew in (again) and helped out this week, sleeping in the weird pleather chairs they provide for visitors.
The bottom line is that Jamie is going to go on dialysis (again) and will get on the list for kidney transplant (again). So while we may have taken a step backward from the pheresis treatments Jamie was getting, she's gonna get on the list for a new kidney.
Jamie came home Friday, and we've been trying to just enjoy a little peace and quiet. While the hospital is as nice as they can make it, it's still the hospital, and I think Jamie is happy not to be hanging out with an IV in her arm and electrodes stuck all over her body.
If you have a kidney you aren't currently using, or one which you think you could spare, please put it in an envelope and send to
Jamie's Kidney Bank
1234 Arizona Ave.
Chandler, AZ
85249
We'll be having Jamie's side of the family in this week for Turkey Day, so expect posts to remain infrequent until after the holiday. Lots of prep to do and not a lot of time to do it in.
Anyway, that's the scoop. Hope it explains why things have been so quiet on this end.
Well, Mrs. League is home once again.
Last Sunday Jamie went into the hospital with some weird breathing problems. We've had some interesting medical issues here at League HQ over the years, but breathing hadn't yet made the list.
At first I thought Jamie had some sort of upper-respiratory infection, but it went from "a little trouble breathing" to "horrendous wheezing and gasping" pretty quickly. Luckily, when we hit that point we were already in the ER. (And just a quick reiteration, the real world ER is nowhere as romantic or exciting as the one on TV. Mostly you repeat your medical history ten times to ten different people and they look at you sort of blankly. Also, answering lots of insurance questions).
Mad props go out to the doctor who prescribed the upper-throat breathing treatment, because that really, really helped.
Anyhoo, Jamie was moved upstairs into the hospital around 7:00pm, and from there, Jamie's usual doctors got to work. Her blood levels were all out of whack and they needed to keep an eye on her.
Jamie's mom flew in (again) and helped out this week, sleeping in the weird pleather chairs they provide for visitors.
The bottom line is that Jamie is going to go on dialysis (again) and will get on the list for kidney transplant (again). So while we may have taken a step backward from the pheresis treatments Jamie was getting, she's gonna get on the list for a new kidney.
Jamie came home Friday, and we've been trying to just enjoy a little peace and quiet. While the hospital is as nice as they can make it, it's still the hospital, and I think Jamie is happy not to be hanging out with an IV in her arm and electrodes stuck all over her body.
If you have a kidney you aren't currently using, or one which you think you could spare, please put it in an envelope and send to
Jamie's Kidney Bank
1234 Arizona Ave.
Chandler, AZ
85249
We'll be having Jamie's side of the family in this week for Turkey Day, so expect posts to remain infrequent until after the holiday. Lots of prep to do and not a lot of time to do it in.
Anyway, that's the scoop. Hope it explains why things have been so quiet on this end.
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