02-28-16: Random Thoughts

This was a crazy week.  We were flooded once again.  It was quite disheartening.  But it is over and we haven't lost too much property this time.  We might have to tear up all the sub floor in the basement but what are you going to do.

I also missed out on a trip to the Adirondacks that I had been looking forward to for a long time.  But in not going, I had extra time to bond with my son (who was a TREMENDOUS help at 1:00 AM on the first day of the flood) and got to hang out with one of the guys (and his wife) who was supposed to go on the trip but he stayed behind, too.

At about 4:30 AM on the first day of the flood, Nan convinced me to empty the bottom drawers of the file cabinets that hold my comics.  The image of us bringing stacks of comics, eventually totaling over 1600 books, to lay out in an upstairs bedroom, kind of makes me chuckle now.

So after things calmed down, I spent some time prepping for Parent Teacher Conferences tomorrow, got some reading done for my Masters class this week, and took some notes for the next round of contract negotiations.  It seemed like a good time to reward myself with a trip to Earth Prime Comics and grab some books.

My last trip had been January 3, so I did not expect to have a lot waiting for me.  I was so very wrong!  But reading comics tonight and entering them into my database has been fun.

It has also brought me to TWO milestones tonight!  I entered "All-New Wolverine" #5 as the 9,000 comic in my collection. This is my threshold number.  This means I am going to cull some stuff in the next few days to keep the total low.

The second milestone is that issue contains my FIRST printed letter to a comic book!  I had sent an e-mail in to the editor after reading issue #3 praising the book and it got printed!  Around the same time, I was moved by a different comic to thank the creator on Facebook and HE wrote back to me!

All in all, not a bad way to end a disappointing vacation!

Cinema Sunday: February 2, 2014: "Definitely not Swedish."

Cinema Sunday: The Lone Ranger, Independence Day (Special Edition), X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Star Trek: First Contact

Currently #186 on my flickchart list

It always seems like faint praise to say a movie was better than I expected.  That being said, despite the reviews, we actually expected to like this movie.  Nan and I are big fans of the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie, but were disappointed by numbers 2 and 3.  The fourth was, for us, a return to form.

While we agreed this movie could have been a little more "light" in places, overall it was enjoyable.  We expect it to be added to our collection once we find a used copy.

Currently #113 on my flickchart list.

I saw this sooooo many times in the theater.  At the time, it led to the (short lived) public debut of both my Robert Loggia and Harry Connick, Jr. impressions.  Despite all of that, I've never seen this extended edition.  Well, I've a stack of papers to correct, two assessments to enter into the school grade book and a week's worth of lessons to plan, so why not bring up some movies to have on in the background.

I find it weird to type that this version added to the movie, but it actually did.  A few character motivations get fleshed out and there is nothing that feels padded.

Currently #132 on my flickchart list

Better than I remembered.  And the only portrayal of Gambit in any medium that I've liked!  I'm fine with the mucked up movie timeline and the changes to how things "really" happened in the comics.

Currently #65 on my flickchart list

Our last movie of the day was Logan's choice.  We watched it with the pop up Trek trivia which fired us both up to watch more episodes of ALL of the series.  It leaves the episode of Enterprise which deals with the fall out of this movie as the only Borg themed installment we haven't seen!

Cinema Sunday: Man of Steel and The Wolverine

I entered this weekend with a very short "To Do" list and nothing heavy on my portion of the family calendar.  It seems I've been non-stop since Thanksgiving.  I'm not complaining, just stating how it feels.

While school is going well, we've had 12 school days since the holiday break and we've had 10 days with inside recess.  And due to illnesses and vacation, my entire teaching team was intact only twice.

So given all of that, Logan and I pledged to chill this weekend and get in a couple of movies we've been wanting to see.

#129 on my flickchart

While I love the work DC has done with animated television shows and direct to DVD movies, I've not been a huge fan of the DC Movie Universe.  Haley and I went to see "Superman Returns" when it came out in 2006.  While there was parts of it that I liked, I just didn't understand some of the choices they made.  I've seen the first two Nolan Batman movies on DVD but that's it for mainstream DC flicks.  I did go see "Watchmen" its opening weekend but that is its own beast.

"Man of Steel" was a good flick.  I understand some of the criticism level at it.  Part of me is bothered by the things that were done to change the story enough to keep the Siegel and Shuster families at bay.  But all in all it was enjoyable.  As for the whole "Superman doesn't kill" brouhaha, now that I've seen it, I think it fits in with the story.  I'm eager for the sequel and to see where the expansion of the movie universe goes next.

#96 on my flickchart

While I enjoy the Marvel Movie Universe, I seem to be selective about what I go see in the theater.  I skipped the Iron Man movies and watch them on DVD.  I missed the first "Thor" but have seen "Thor: The Dark World" twice already.  I've already got "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" lined up.  As for the Fox side of things, I think I've seen them all in the theater or at the drive-in, with the exception of "X-Men: First Class" and both solo Wolverine movies.

I'm not sure why I sat this one out.  Probably financial reasons last summer.  I love the source material for this story and really like Hugh Jackman's interpretation of the character.  This one is a little heavier than most of the X-Men franchise.  Even if I wasn't already all in on "X-Men: Days of Future Past", this movie would have cinched the deal.

We also watched "Despicable Me 2"...but I dozed off for some of it.

70′s Beast Meets Wolverine On The Set Of X-Men: Days Of Future Past

via Bleeding Cool

X-Men director Bryan Singer keeps tweeting pictures from the set of X-Men: Days of Future Past .  This is the most recent...I am starting to get more excited for this movie!!

X is for X2: X-Men United

X2: X-Men United is currently # 40 on my flickchart list.

One of the best superhero films.  I loved the introduction of Nightcrawler and the look into Wolverine's origins.  Well crafted!

Even though the promise of the Dark Phoenix saga was squandered with the next movie, it was set up so nicely here.

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Blogging From A To Z: O is for

Origin

When I started collecting comics again, Marvel had just made the decision to flesh out Wolverine's back-story. 

For nearly 30 years, the true details of who he was, his real name, his connection to the Marvel villain Sabretooth and so much more was shrouded in mystery.  The first X-Men movie was such a hit, the comics division of Marvel feared that the movie arm might get the chance to tell the story, so they decided they needed to strike first.

This 6 issue mini-series was the result of that decision.  I present the covers, as I have always been struck by the composition and artwork.

Pencils:

Joe Quesada

Colors:

Richard Isanove

Winston Logan Churchill

Found at JimSmash...for a few more blasphemous images, go HERE....

Out of Context Comics

Hey, Wolverine! What's your favorite Beatles song?

from the great blog Bully Says: Comics Oughta Be Fun!

Panel from Giant-Size Wolverine #1 (December 2006), script by David Lapham, pencils and inks by David Aja, colors by Jose Villarrubia, letters by Joe Caramagna

Hugh Jackman supports FCBD

Rich, at the awesome Comic-by-Comic site, posted this and encouraged reposting.

"This is a great idea from Diamond - get Hugh Jackman to plug Free Comic Book Day alongside the Wolverine movie. Kudos to the people who put this together!"



"If you have a comics, movie, or, heck, any other kind of blog, why not put this up on it?"