SUPERMAN RETURNS, ONE FINAL TIME
This evening Jamie and I headed down to the Bob Bullock Museum's IMAX theater for the final showing of Superman Returns, in IMAX 3D. I was a bit surprised to see the handful of people who also showed up, including one little Superman in his red cape (which, of course, warms The League's heart). It may have been my fourth time to see the movie, but it was Jason, Jackbart and Reed's first time, so I had tried numerous times to explain to Steanso (who loves his action movies) that this was not so much an action movie, and would not contain a lot of fighting.
Anyway, it was great to see the movie again.
But I also realize that I may be reading the movie a little differently than some of my fellow movie-goers. I like to think I'm fairly familiar with Superman, so maybe I'm reading too much into the movie, but I also think I'm allowed to stand by my reading of the movie.
ESPECIALLY within the comics, Superman's powers and vulnerability to Kryptonite do not always follow some strict, mathematical guideline. It's one thing to say "Superman can lift tremendous amounts of weight". However, it's noteworthy that in his first appearances, Superman was lifting cars, but by the early 1960's was re-shaping planets from a sphere to a cubical shape to accomodate Bizarro (him do opposite of all earthly things...). Similarly, Superman's weakness to Kryptonite often takes him down for the count immediately, while other times it merely weakens him. It depends.
I think what you have to know is that for many Superman fans, you don't put metrics on Superman. Superman is not about what you cannot do, he's about what you can do. His powers, abilities and weaknesses ebb and flow with the story, changing to fit the story or to demonstrate that he's Super enough to overcome his weaknesses to rush to the rescue of the person/s he's fighting to protect (see Superman travelling through time in "Superman: The Movie" in order to save Lois).
Just as Batman is a human who performs the impossible in the name of justice, so Superman is more than an arsenal of powers. He's a tall tale, a myth and an icon, both as a character and as a superhero. The point should not be: he can't do that. The point should be: He is Superman, and he can do what it takes to save the day, even if its the impossible. Especially if its the impossible, even for him.
SPOILER LADEN COMMENTARY: "Superman Returns" is not about Superman battling Lex Luthor. It is about Superman combatting the knowledge that he is utterly alone in the Universe. After discovering his home planet is, indeed, wiped from memory. His isolation is heightened by his feelings of abandonment by Lois when he discovers she has built a family in his absence. It is the discovery that he has a son (see the seaplane sequence) and the confirmation that Jason is his son (see the Lois Hospital sequence) that provide him with the means to continue the never-ending battle, even as Luthor perverts and twists the one small token he has of his home world against both he and the world he's trying to protect.
I read "Superman Returns" as a movie about a guy who discovers he is not alone in many ways (note the word "alienation" appears in the Scrabble game at the beginning), and does the impossible so that he can be there for both the ones we know he cares for and the ones he's learning to care for. If Superman suddenly lifts a huge rock of Kryptonite at the end of the movie, you can't say "well, he can't do that", you have to say "why can he do it? what's different now?" And if you aren't sure as to the beats in the story, check out the movie on DVD (coming in late November).
After four viewings, I still like the movie. It's not perfect, but I think its a movie that I've picked new clues from with each viewing, and will continue to enjoy with more viewings.
Aside from the movie, not much going on today. I'm still hip deep in long boxes as I prepare to put the comics in their future storage locale in my office closet. For good or bad, in doing my organizing, I uncovered about a long-box full of unorganized comics I'd quickly packed before leaving Phoenix.
Jamie is going to the comic shop with me now on a weekly basis, which is great fun, but I am waiting to see if she discovers some comics she wants to read all on her own. We don't need to spend the extra money, but I am curious to see what titles she gravitates towards. So far, Wonder Woman, some Teen Titans, she seems to pick up some 52, but I think Ultimate Spider-Man is still one of her favorites. Should I introduce her to Firestorm? Some other "kid on the learning curve" book like Blue Beetle? I'm not sure. I don't read enough Marvel to make comment, and I don't get to spend enough time at Austin Bookms to direct her toward any indie comics.
Anyway, hope you all are doing well.
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
DC KER-SHUFFLE
Geez. Well, if you'd asked me if I would have predicted Tuesday's results, I would have had no idea...
I'm going to bed soon. The Senate is in question, but the Dems are more or less thinking they have the House.
You know... so what...?
It doesn't matter now if someone is wearing a donkey pin or an elephant tie (or, in Lieberman's case... who really knows?). There's a country going on here. It's easy to take pot shots, but the Dems have as of yet to put forth a decent budget plan or say what they might actually do with Iraq, Afghanistan and other fronts in this "war on terror". Or to show they don't have a few Abrahamoffs and Mark Foleys hiding in their wings.
Two years. Then we all re-evaluate.
Perhaps our Robot Overlords will have risen from their subterranean kingdom by then.
Geez. Well, if you'd asked me if I would have predicted Tuesday's results, I would have had no idea...
I'm going to bed soon. The Senate is in question, but the Dems are more or less thinking they have the House.
You know... so what...?
It doesn't matter now if someone is wearing a donkey pin or an elephant tie (or, in Lieberman's case... who really knows?). There's a country going on here. It's easy to take pot shots, but the Dems have as of yet to put forth a decent budget plan or say what they might actually do with Iraq, Afghanistan and other fronts in this "war on terror". Or to show they don't have a few Abrahamoffs and Mark Foleys hiding in their wings.
Two years. Then we all re-evaluate.
Perhaps our Robot Overlords will have risen from their subterranean kingdom by then.
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
The League is no fan of the sort of music which usually populates the Country Music Awards. We are, however, terrific fans of schadenfreude.
See Faith Hill's reaction to Carrie Underwood winning Female Vocalist of the year.
I don't usually post twice in a 24-hour-cycle anymore, but I thought you guys at work might enjoy this.
See Faith Hill's reaction to Carrie Underwood winning Female Vocalist of the year.
I don't usually post twice in a 24-hour-cycle anymore, but I thought you guys at work might enjoy this.
Monday, November 06, 2006
An abbreviated post this evening.
I have long-delayed/ neglected things to attend to, such as bagging and boarding comics, putting comics in boxes, transporting all boxes upstairs to newly completed office.
Tomorrow is mid-term election day. If you're registered, go vote.
One may wonder what apocalyptic vision Diddy experienced which presaged the launch of the "Vote or Die" campaign. Ah, well.
Despite the fact that I find all four of the nimrods running for governor in the State of Texas to show no signs of actual leadership, I, too, shall be going to cast my vote for the earthling I find the least offensive.
I have never been an 11th-Hour undecided voter. I've always believed you had to be sort of goofy not to have a firm idea as to whom you would vote for pretty early on, but I guess that makes me sort of goofy. I made my decision earlier today, so I am going to vote on that and on some bond issues. Some guy named "Fred Head" is running in a nearby election. I almost jumped out of my car and stole his sign off the side of the freeway.
I'm voting now while I await the steely might of our coming Robot Overlords, who shall remove the democratic process as they make all decisions for us with their infallible binary logic.
Oh, how nice. Lucy just came in here, said hello, yawned, then went back to bed.
Due to the incompetencies of the very NON Six Sigma State of Arizona system and my insurance carrier, Jamie had to delay her sleep study. She is sleeping soundly somewhere upsatirs rather than in a room in North Austin with wires attached to her head.
In the future I shall blog upon:
Infinite Crisis: Still Smashing the Walls of the DCU
Jones Holiday Soda: Why 2006 will not see a redux
LEAGUE HOLIDAY SPECTACULAR 2006: We're Thinking December 9th. Mark your calendars.
I have long-delayed/ neglected things to attend to, such as bagging and boarding comics, putting comics in boxes, transporting all boxes upstairs to newly completed office.
Tomorrow is mid-term election day. If you're registered, go vote.
One may wonder what apocalyptic vision Diddy experienced which presaged the launch of the "Vote or Die" campaign. Ah, well.
Despite the fact that I find all four of the nimrods running for governor in the State of Texas to show no signs of actual leadership, I, too, shall be going to cast my vote for the earthling I find the least offensive.
I have never been an 11th-Hour undecided voter. I've always believed you had to be sort of goofy not to have a firm idea as to whom you would vote for pretty early on, but I guess that makes me sort of goofy. I made my decision earlier today, so I am going to vote on that and on some bond issues. Some guy named "Fred Head" is running in a nearby election. I almost jumped out of my car and stole his sign off the side of the freeway.
I'm voting now while I await the steely might of our coming Robot Overlords, who shall remove the democratic process as they make all decisions for us with their infallible binary logic.
Oh, how nice. Lucy just came in here, said hello, yawned, then went back to bed.
Due to the incompetencies of the very NON Six Sigma State of Arizona system and my insurance carrier, Jamie had to delay her sleep study. She is sleeping soundly somewhere upsatirs rather than in a room in North Austin with wires attached to her head.
In the future I shall blog upon:
Infinite Crisis: Still Smashing the Walls of the DCU
Jones Holiday Soda: Why 2006 will not see a redux
LEAGUE HOLIDAY SPECTACULAR 2006: We're Thinking December 9th. Mark your calendars.
Sunday, November 05, 2006
HOWDY HOWDY HOWDY
I think I've given you Leaguers plenty of stuff to chew on over the weekend, so I hope that you've once again stuffed yourself to the gills, fattening yourself on my infotainment as you've sucked my spirit dry once again.
Here's an item: I don't know if you're watching Tina Fey's new NBC show, 30 Rock, but last week's episode featured a bit about Six Sigma. Yes, there is a GI Joe toy line called "Sigma Six", but Six Sigma is not quite what was depicted in the show, which would lead you to believe its about a boss being a busy body. Just wanted to clear that up.
According to the iSixSigma website:
Six Sigma at many organizations simply means a measure of quality that strives for near perfection. Six Sigma is a disciplined, data-driven approach and methodology for eliminating defects (driving towards six standard deviations between the mean and the nearest specification limit) in any process -- from manufacturing to transactional and from product to service.
Its more of a statistical anaylsis process intended to find sources of inefficiencies in manufacturing that's been spun out as a philosophy on how to run a business, in general.
Also, I think Fey's "no comment" on "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" in her Onion AV Club interview is sort of telling.
Also found at The Onion, funny because its true...
This weekend we were lucky enough to have Unky B and Tia Linda come in from Virginia. They headed into Houston first where Linda got to hit an international quilting conference/show. I'm not into quilts, per se, but The League thinks we can identify with her school-girl giddiness regarding the quilts. While not in the same arena of trash/disposable art as comics, quilting is an artform of depth and complexity, and (like comics) the folks who are into it are probably also aware that their interest may be a bit nichey. So, this was sort of like Comic-Con International for Tia Linda. If The League were to go to Comic-Con International, Leaguers, you would most certainly see a display of unbridled school-girl-like giddiness.
Saturday Unky B and Tia Linda arrived here with my folks about 1:00pm. KareBear had picked up a brisket at a church fundraiser, so we got some good meat and some sides and got to basically sit around and chat for a few hours.
Saturday night we met up with some family friends going way back, and had a probably very expensive dinner. I got a few score updates throughout the evening, but mostly missed the UT game. We got in a little more face-time with the out-of-towners at the All Steans end of the table.
I saw the last 60 seconds of the A&M/OU game, but was in bed and out like a light by 11:20 thanks to a combination of: staying up too late getting the house prepared for a visit, coming down from an all-day caffeine overload, and a few glasses of wine.
This morning we got up, had some Cheerios and awaited the family's arrival. We visited, had lunch and then Unky B and Tia Linda went back to Houston. C'est la vie. The good news is that we got to see them this fall, despite the fact our holiday plans are not converging.
We TRIED to find a movie this afternoon, but Borat was predictably sold-out, I couldn't muster the energy for Flushed Away, and didn't feel like much better about Running With Scissors. So we didn't do much of anything this afternoon, which was okay.
Having had The Admiral foot the bill for three meals this weekend, we took our spare money and hit Romeo's for dinner, which was uncrowded and pleasant enough to sit outside.
Watched the taped VH1 movie "Totally Awesome", which was not totally awesome and made me sort of yearn for "Not Another Teen Movie".
That's pretty much it.
I thought Jason had a pretty good insight over the weekend when he pointed out (while watching CNN) that America has sort of slowly embraced Saddam as a loveable loser. Nobody seems to much care anymore about his crimes against humanity, etc... He's just the dude in the sport coat and beard on trial every day.
I don't think anybody is going to miss Hussein, but his mustachioed face of malevolence has sort of been displaced in the American mind for a while now by the spectre of faceless terrorists and our desire to sort of forget the reasons behind going into Iraq.
The League and Steanso were spit-balling and sort of wondering what was going to happen if Hussein were to be acquitted. I mean, just as a sort of intellectual exercise. What would the world have looked like this morning if the court had failed to convict Saddam..?
...and what can you say about our friend, Haggard? Quite a bit, I assume, but I don't have the energy.
Superman Pizza?
Tomorrow Jamie will be partaking in a sleep study to try to overcome her migraines. Apparently migranines can be affected by things like sleep apnea, so she's heading out tomorrow night after dinner to get hooked up to all sort of interesting devices that will, I assume, measure her theta waves. Hopefully, it will not end up like this.
Then she is off next weekend for sunny Lawton, Oklahoma. This means The League will be flying solo (translation: going to Austin Books and looking for New Gods back-issues). Book yourself now for League solo-adventures. It's like I was popular enough to get my own mini-series.
I think I've given you Leaguers plenty of stuff to chew on over the weekend, so I hope that you've once again stuffed yourself to the gills, fattening yourself on my infotainment as you've sucked my spirit dry once again.
Here's an item: I don't know if you're watching Tina Fey's new NBC show, 30 Rock, but last week's episode featured a bit about Six Sigma. Yes, there is a GI Joe toy line called "Sigma Six", but Six Sigma is not quite what was depicted in the show, which would lead you to believe its about a boss being a busy body. Just wanted to clear that up.
According to the iSixSigma website:
Six Sigma at many organizations simply means a measure of quality that strives for near perfection. Six Sigma is a disciplined, data-driven approach and methodology for eliminating defects (driving towards six standard deviations between the mean and the nearest specification limit) in any process -- from manufacturing to transactional and from product to service.
Its more of a statistical anaylsis process intended to find sources of inefficiencies in manufacturing that's been spun out as a philosophy on how to run a business, in general.
Also, I think Fey's "no comment" on "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" in her Onion AV Club interview is sort of telling.
Also found at The Onion, funny because its true...
This weekend we were lucky enough to have Unky B and Tia Linda come in from Virginia. They headed into Houston first where Linda got to hit an international quilting conference/show. I'm not into quilts, per se, but The League thinks we can identify with her school-girl giddiness regarding the quilts. While not in the same arena of trash/disposable art as comics, quilting is an artform of depth and complexity, and (like comics) the folks who are into it are probably also aware that their interest may be a bit nichey. So, this was sort of like Comic-Con International for Tia Linda. If The League were to go to Comic-Con International, Leaguers, you would most certainly see a display of unbridled school-girl-like giddiness.
Saturday Unky B and Tia Linda arrived here with my folks about 1:00pm. KareBear had picked up a brisket at a church fundraiser, so we got some good meat and some sides and got to basically sit around and chat for a few hours.
Saturday night we met up with some family friends going way back, and had a probably very expensive dinner. I got a few score updates throughout the evening, but mostly missed the UT game. We got in a little more face-time with the out-of-towners at the All Steans end of the table.
I saw the last 60 seconds of the A&M/OU game, but was in bed and out like a light by 11:20 thanks to a combination of: staying up too late getting the house prepared for a visit, coming down from an all-day caffeine overload, and a few glasses of wine.
This morning we got up, had some Cheerios and awaited the family's arrival. We visited, had lunch and then Unky B and Tia Linda went back to Houston. C'est la vie. The good news is that we got to see them this fall, despite the fact our holiday plans are not converging.
We TRIED to find a movie this afternoon, but Borat was predictably sold-out, I couldn't muster the energy for Flushed Away, and didn't feel like much better about Running With Scissors. So we didn't do much of anything this afternoon, which was okay.
Having had The Admiral foot the bill for three meals this weekend, we took our spare money and hit Romeo's for dinner, which was uncrowded and pleasant enough to sit outside.
Watched the taped VH1 movie "Totally Awesome", which was not totally awesome and made me sort of yearn for "Not Another Teen Movie".
That's pretty much it.
I thought Jason had a pretty good insight over the weekend when he pointed out (while watching CNN) that America has sort of slowly embraced Saddam as a loveable loser. Nobody seems to much care anymore about his crimes against humanity, etc... He's just the dude in the sport coat and beard on trial every day.
I don't think anybody is going to miss Hussein, but his mustachioed face of malevolence has sort of been displaced in the American mind for a while now by the spectre of faceless terrorists and our desire to sort of forget the reasons behind going into Iraq.
The League and Steanso were spit-balling and sort of wondering what was going to happen if Hussein were to be acquitted. I mean, just as a sort of intellectual exercise. What would the world have looked like this morning if the court had failed to convict Saddam..?
...and what can you say about our friend, Haggard? Quite a bit, I assume, but I don't have the energy.
Superman Pizza?
Tomorrow Jamie will be partaking in a sleep study to try to overcome her migraines. Apparently migranines can be affected by things like sleep apnea, so she's heading out tomorrow night after dinner to get hooked up to all sort of interesting devices that will, I assume, measure her theta waves. Hopefully, it will not end up like this.
Then she is off next weekend for sunny Lawton, Oklahoma. This means The League will be flying solo (translation: going to Austin Books and looking for New Gods back-issues). Book yourself now for League solo-adventures. It's like I was popular enough to get my own mini-series.
Friday, November 03, 2006
I am probably forgetting something. I keep forgetting to do things. Things like posting funny, funny links sent in by Leaguers. Responding to e-mails from Jill. Reporting to my parole officer. Things like that.
Yesterday was interesting, sort of. I had breakfast with a sort-of former co-worker at the Austin Java on Barton Springs. She wanted to meet at 8:30, which meant I had to get up at the crack of seven. Mid-Day was trying to clean things up for this weekend's impending familial visit. We've got Unky B and Tia Linda coming in from the DC area for a day or so. I am not really sure as to our agenda.
I was supposed to have an interview in the afternoon, and so I drove all the way up to the Arboretum area for a 4;30 interview (which was supposed to take place in a hotel lobby) hung out for half an hour, couldn't find the guys, and then went home in Austin 5:00 traffic on MoPac. Good times.
Ah, well. C'est la vie.
The flip side of all this was that I got to Jason's bands' show at the Ben White Florist (you play Ben White Florist, and you're, like, a week away from getting signed). Mono E sounded good. Actually, they sounded much, much better than I recall them sounding prior to my departure, which was probably due to the fact that they played songs (both covers and originals, including, I was told, a tune penned by Jason) rather than exploring the outer limits of the musical universe in an hour-and-a-half jam-odyssey.
I do not like bar bands. I do not like jam bands. I am sorry. Call it a weakness or a musical blindspot. But these guys are all quality musicians, so it was great to hear them showing their chops and having fun.
However, the show was outside, and despite the fire log (which almost turned Mandy's purse into a fireball) it was pretty nippy out. Reed's family was in attendance, including Jen, Meredith, Sharon and Heather, Mandy came and brought Susan, and the usual Mono E friends and family were all there.
We hit Hill's Cafe for dinner, and just as we received our salads, an extremely tardy Steven Harms and lauren made an appearance. The tenacious SGH had used his detective skills to track us from the florist (thanks, Reed!) to the restaurant. So, yeah..! A surprise visit from SGH and Lauren is always welcome.
Anyhoo, all is well. And, in case you missed my note about this below... Nathan C. is gonna have another kid.
Yesterday was interesting, sort of. I had breakfast with a sort-of former co-worker at the Austin Java on Barton Springs. She wanted to meet at 8:30, which meant I had to get up at the crack of seven. Mid-Day was trying to clean things up for this weekend's impending familial visit. We've got Unky B and Tia Linda coming in from the DC area for a day or so. I am not really sure as to our agenda.
I was supposed to have an interview in the afternoon, and so I drove all the way up to the Arboretum area for a 4;30 interview (which was supposed to take place in a hotel lobby) hung out for half an hour, couldn't find the guys, and then went home in Austin 5:00 traffic on MoPac. Good times.
Ah, well. C'est la vie.
The flip side of all this was that I got to Jason's bands' show at the Ben White Florist (you play Ben White Florist, and you're, like, a week away from getting signed). Mono E sounded good. Actually, they sounded much, much better than I recall them sounding prior to my departure, which was probably due to the fact that they played songs (both covers and originals, including, I was told, a tune penned by Jason) rather than exploring the outer limits of the musical universe in an hour-and-a-half jam-odyssey.
I do not like bar bands. I do not like jam bands. I am sorry. Call it a weakness or a musical blindspot. But these guys are all quality musicians, so it was great to hear them showing their chops and having fun.
However, the show was outside, and despite the fire log (which almost turned Mandy's purse into a fireball) it was pretty nippy out. Reed's family was in attendance, including Jen, Meredith, Sharon and Heather, Mandy came and brought Susan, and the usual Mono E friends and family were all there.
We hit Hill's Cafe for dinner, and just as we received our salads, an extremely tardy Steven Harms and lauren made an appearance. The tenacious SGH had used his detective skills to track us from the florist (thanks, Reed!) to the restaurant. So, yeah..! A surprise visit from SGH and Lauren is always welcome.
Anyhoo, all is well. And, in case you missed my note about this below... Nathan C. is gonna have another kid.
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