Professor

I will refer you to exhibit A: True, weed is low on their banned substance list. However, getting arrested for procession is not a good thing. Add in the timing (Mania = most eyeballs on the product) and I could see them switching things. They are far enough out that any change wouldn't have to be rushed. Stupid yes, but not rushed.

As someone completely outside of gaming, it this as big of deal as I think it is?

I am not a fan of the cut-out style. Too much black in the centerpiece. But if you are going to change it now is the time. Mania + Rock + NYC = most eyeballs on a new style belt. I do question what happens with the side plates. The above has WWE logos while the Rock's has his 'logo' in that spot. With no nameplate, it could be a way to say who is champion. Or it could just be a special thing for the Rock. Most likely the latter. At this point, I don't think anything will be better than the World Heavyweight Championship. It is classic and if you have any crossover into real sports it is always the belt chosen.

Is there a crossover proper in Wild Force? I just kinda assumed it was just Forever Red.

If that is the case, then I am more than a little sad. That makes the final battle of the series more or less pointless. In Galaxy and Lightspeed, the lowest ranked reoccurring villain survived. Not epic, but still better than resurrecting the big bad. It is easy to make it better. Off the top of my head: (Olympious/Diabolico) goes to Mirinoi to steal the (Quasar Sabres/Lights of Orion) to finally defeat the Lightspeed Rangers. A joint Mirinoi/Lightspeed venture had created a warp portal between worlds that makes it a 'quick' shuttle ride between planets. Covers the travel logic and doesn't invalidate Trakeena being dead. And she was dead. Explodey. Speaking ahead: If any of the Lightspeed villain crew show up, I am okay with that. They are not so much dead, but more trapped in a different dimension with magic. Magic gets them out. Easy.

Because I am stupid, I went ahead and killed Lightspeed Rescue. Because I can. Let's kick this pig. I really enjoy the concept of this series. Government created Rangers makes complete sense. After all this shit that went down in Angel Grove over the years, it is only natural that the government would look into making their own Rangers. A vast improvement over the extreme flawed notion of Terra Venture. That said, this series is not very good. It has flashes, but overall is step backwards. The Rangers seem less powerful and the direction seems to be going more lighthearted and Turbo-ish. Biggest issue is the completely over the top acting for the first half of the season. It gets better to the point only a few people are cartoony, but it is an issue. And I have to say, I made the connection that Capt. Mitchell looks like MC Bat Commander of the Aquabats in the first episode and could never get that out of my head. Very distracting. Having a human 'Alpha' was a nice change. However, the actress was the most over the top main character. And while I get that she made the weapons and they needed things for her to do, they have too many weapons. 10+ different weapons is a bit much. For fuck's sake, the Red Ranger is wearing a motorcycle (his 2nd motorcycle at that). It just looks ridiculous. Nothing had time to get over. Only good thing that I will say is that I like that Blue & Green got special weapons instead of Red again. Much like Lost Galaxy, they really tried to get over the villain disharmony of PRiS. It didn't work. It came off a more of a group of high school girls 'fighting' than a power struggle. As for the villains as a whole, they suck. Having a more human 'big bad' makes for a better show. When it comes time for the final battle, it looks different. Queen Banshera looks like any other monster, so it doesn't have the same feel. The zords are much better that Galaxy, and even PRiS for that matter. They still don't interlock as much as I like, but they have unique moves. The ladder arms may look silly at times, but it is different which is good. I also love the detail in the different heights of the zords. The Super Train would have to be huge because the other zords are stored inside. The Max Solar Zord would be smaller as it doesn't combine with anything to be in robot mode. I had my doubts that they would keep this thru-out, but they did. Now it is time to rant about the fucking crossover. That was a piece of shit. Logically, it makes zero sense. They Galaxy Rangers are on Mirinoi. A planet that took months to fly to on a 'spaceship' and a trip thru the Lost Galaxy warp zone. So, no, you cannot just show back up on Earth whenever you want to. Just no. The Lightspeed Rangers should not know that Leo is the Red Galaxy Ranger. Terra Venture had ZERO contact with Earth AND the Galaxy Rangers never exposed their identities. So no. But wait, there is more. Leo clearly did not want to be there. (Judging from what I read about Forever Red, he really did not want to be there.) Having all of his in Ranger bits be voiced all weird made it suck. And all ten humans are on screen for a minute? This entire event seems like a desperate attempt to link into continuity. Without this crossover, you could say this happened in a parallel universe. And lastly, by having Trakeena show up, it really weakens the ending of Lost Galaxy. Not much else to say. While watching this there was never that excited push to watch more episodes. That says a lot to me. I would place this below Lost Galaxy and above Turbo. That leaves Zeo, which it has been so long, I don't know how it compares. Not exactly a ringing endorsement. Now to decide if I want to knock out Time Force before baseball season starts or to take a break.

Uncanny X-Men: Quarantine - A real nothing of a story. I think missed some trades from where I left off, but it doesn't matter at all. 100% filler. Graphic Novels - 6 Trades - 10 (49)

Slightly different than the War Machine armor I think. A little sleeker and less gun heavy. The shoulder gun is noticeably smaller.

Spider-Man & The Secret Wars - This only works if you know the Secret Wars inside and out. Set in-between issues, this doesn't make any sense without that context. I read Secret Wars last year and I remember most of it. But I do not remember the panel that this issue takes place during. Yes, I believe that issue 3 of this series is to take place entirely within 1 panel of the original. Way too in depth for me. Graphic Novels - 6 Trades - 9 (44)

The Man With The Golden Gun - This was not good. Bond is a complete douche in this film. He has lost all his charm and seemingly his intelligence as well. Goodnight is beyond pathetic. The villain could have been fun, but I do not understand the end goal with Bond. And this film brings back the two worst parts of Live and Let Die. The mere arrival of one J.W. Pepper on my screen made the DVD stop working correctly. I just do not get it. Now, to download a review to listen to at work tomorrow.

Glasses for the colorblind. Kinda. I don't care that they only kinda work, I still want a pair. Stupid eyes and their not seeing colors.

Just took these quizzes. I got 2012 perfect, but not so well on the two prior years. I remember a time that I could recite title lineages backwards and forwards. Not so much anymore. 2012 2011 2010

Based on his twitter, he seems fine. However, http://pics.lockerz.com/s/282062369 Damn.

X-Men: Misfits - A somewhat interesting take on the 'X-Men High' concept. I had problems following along, more due to the art than anything else. Being drawn in a manga style makes it hard to tell the supporting characters apart most of the time. I think there is another volume out there, but this did not motivate me to search for it. Iron West - From the cover, I expected this to be a book about a robot cowboy. Well, there are robots. And cowboys. And a shit ton of weed. It was interesting if nothing else. More of a comedy book than anything else which I did not expect. Again, I got this based on the cover and I wanted a western staring a robot who is a cowboy. Possible sheriff round these parts. But that did not happen and I am now sad. Boo. Graphic Novels - 6 Trades - 8 (40)

I just finished mainlining Power Rangers Lost Galaxy over the past six days. And since I am procrastinating and somewhat bored, here are my extremely detailed thoughts. I think the biggest hurdle this show has is the setup. They are on a space colony searching for a new world. Why? They never explain this part. No reason is ever given as to why they are in space. It is of utmost importance that they complete this mission; that much is made clear. But what is the endgame? They state it is a one-way mission with no contact with Earth. So, is this just a plan to ensure that the human race survives? And if they need to go to another planet that is inhabitable, why go thru all this hassle. The Space Rangers have been to countless planets that could support life. Hitch a ride with them and their public identities. I know that logic is something I am supposed to suspend, but no. I will accept the Power Ranger world, but this I cannot get behind. And speaking of the space colony, what the hell were the designers thinking. Mountains? An ‘ocean’? Docks? Forests? It doesn’t make any sense other than they need these things so they can use the Japanese footage. If this was set on Earth, or even an Earth-2 type colony on another planet, I would be able to accept everything much easier. I can understand the logic of setting this is space. “Power Rangers in Space was a hit! It must have been because they were in space. Let’s do that again.” But it doesn’t work. Taking the setup out of it, how is the show? It varies. It starts off shaky. The first handful of episodes seem to be rushing to introduce everything. Either to make use of the Japanese footage easier or to make sure all the toys are out before Christmas. Whichever, it just made the show feel off. But then they introduce the Magna Defender and things start to take form. This storyline is the highlight of the first half of the season. By having him not be a complete 100% good guy after his first appearance makes him the most compelling non-Ranger hero I can think of. Sadly, after Mike gains his powers, the show kinda stagnates again. And then shit got real. Bringing back the Psycho Rangers kicked off the best run of the show. This added energy into the show and gave us that ‘HOLY SHIT’ moment when the Space Rangers showed up. This could not have happened before and felt like a big deal. Like the Power Rangers meeting the Ninja Turtles big. And then shit got real. Again. They killed a Power Ranger. Screw the fact she joined The Force. Screw the fact she got better. She dead. This was by far the thing I remember most about this season. They killed a Ranger. Various factors played into this, but I really do think this was the only way it could have played out. And then bringing back Karone to become a Ranger was a great idea. And then something odd happened. For whatever reason, they go into the “Lost Galaxy”. And this brings the show to a complete halt. They spend 8 episodes in a weird ‘Age of Apocalypse’ type situation. All momentum everything had was lost. And once they escape, they go straight to the big finale. Which is good and had an epicness to it, but felt a little out of the blue. I can only assume that this little detour had something to do with the Japanese footage, but it just feels off. (And the Swabbies look like something the Aquabats would say looks too cheesy. Yeesh.) Another failing of the show is that it is trying to be PRiS. What made that show a success was the interplay and personalities of the villains. For the first time you have shades of grey and more than mustache twirling. They try to recreate that here, and for the most part, it works. The villains all have their own unique motivations, personalities and they evolve over the course of the show. However, the same cannot be said for the Rangers themselves. The actors get better. It is only natural that the longer you play the character the better you get at it. Yet the onscreen characters do not evolve much at all. While focusing on the villains so much, you short changed the Rangers themselves. In PRiS, you could do this because 4/5 of them were established on Turbo. Here you have six new heroes to get across and that never happened. I’d be remiss is I didn’t mention the Zords. Too many Megazord sized Zords, they do not combine, no cockpit with all the Rangers, have horrible finishers and the animal head shoulder pads look ridiculous. Worst Megazord Ever (so far). I have compared Lost Galaxy to PRiS a few times in this rambling. That isn’t fair, as the latter is considered to be the best season of Power Rangers. Yet, it is justified. They try so hard to make this PRiS II that they lost sight of making something new. There is enough good here that this could have been an excellent season, but in the end, it is merely good. Chronologically (or ranking it based on what was before), I would place it above Zeo and Turbo. Looking ahead, I am really interested in getting into Lightspeed Rescue. I watched little of it while it was on and remember even less. While this series started off with clear links to the past, I will be interested in seeing what a potentially all new setup can do.

I really hate clip shows. This is all.

I've only seen two films on that list and I will say one thing... If anyone, ANYONE, says Burn After Reading I will punt a box full of kittens into a volcano. I was dragged to that piece of shit, all the time being told "It is the Coen Brothers. It's cannot be bad." I have to say, that kinda put me off from checking out any of their other films.

Channel Zero: The Complete Collection - This was something. What that is, I am unsure of. It is different. Starting out, I got a 1984 vibe for it and really wasn't enjoying it too much. But then I got more into the world and use to the art (& general style) and then it stops. It just stops. Yeah, it is kinda an end point, but when you are reading a 300 page book, I don't expect the story to end on page 200. Granted, there is an 'origin' story and extras at the end, but still. As for the art, it is different. I could deal with the minimalist B&W after a time, but the general style of the book is what never quite grows on you. A fair amount of the time there is just WAY too much going on at once. I think it was on purpose. I think. But the sudden LSKHF:LUIRWOIPJFHKSLJDSK all over the page is jarring and hard to look at/understand/care about. Reading a little of the extras and learned that this was Brian Wood's first book. And that makes sense. I would recommend this if you go in knowing there really isn't an ending and that does not bother you. Also, if you can flip thru to see if you can stand the art. It isn't for everyone. Graphic Novels - 4 Trades - 8 (40) I really need to step up my game if I am to top last years' total.

A Bit of Fry & Laurie - Part of the humor is lost on me being American. Another part of the humor is lost on me being three when the show started. Yet another part of the humor is lost on me, due to the nature of this being a sketch show and not everything is going to be funny. With all this lost humor, well, there just isn't enough left. I've been slowly (the past two years) watching this. Overall, I don't know why I kept with it. I cannot say there was anything absolutely hilarious, more of a few (or one) mildly amusing thing in each episode. I'll chalk it up to me being an idiot completest and move on.

RoboCop - Been a while. Never fails to astound me just how well this holds up. The effects in this (main ED-209) look so much better now than what I saw in Blade: Trinity which was made 27 years later. Clarance Boddicker is such an enjoyable villian, just oozing sleeze. I did notice something on this viewing: He is basically bulletproof until he fights ED-209. Robot fight, I get he would take damage. But then he is blitzed by the cops and he is no longer bulletproof. I cannot follow the logic. But seriously, it took me countless viewings to notice that. Still an awesome film.

New look ED-209. It looks like it is sticking its tongue out at me.

Honestly, I'd rather there be no real lead up to the reveal. Just have them meeting be the final scene of the show. When sitcoms (or shows in general) know that it is their final season, it always feels like they drastically change everything toward the very end just because they can. There are no longer repercussions for actions so why not throw every rejected idea we ever had in the last six episodes. I get wanting to build to an 'epic' end, but it always feels different than the series as a whole. Also, I have about 6 seasons behind at the moment, so pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.

I would disagree. It is true that DVRs and streaming have made it it easier for people to watch shows regardless of the original air dates. If the idea was a simple as getting content to consumers, this would be awesome. However, these are still networks working off an outdated ratings system. Show X could have millions of people watching each episode. But if say 75% of these people are using a DVR, then the show is going to get canceled. Ratings are still used to set advertising rates. And even if you find a way to incorporate DVR viewers into a rating system, that does nothing to help ad sales. '2.5 are watching this show on DVR and fast forwarding the ad space we are trying to get you to buy.' Doesn't really work that well. Was I the only one who figured this out? Hell, I had two VCRs hooked up to a single TV so I could record two shows at once.

Not only is that my favorite book of all time, but it is, in fact, a fact of life. First box of comics I ever bought had fifty-ish issues in it. I read those things over and over again all summer. I also lump that into the Spider-Man titles, because lets face it, if it wasn't Spider-Man & ______, you were sad inside. Hulk & Ka-Zar? No sir. I'd rather have Spider-Man team-up with Frank from Accounting. "In this issue, Spider-Man gets tax advice!"

Discounting Spider-Man and X-Titles, what were the major titles for Marvel in the 70s-80s? I came up with: Captain America Thor Daredevil Hulk Iron Man Avengers Fantastic Four I feel that I am missing something rather obvious.