Batman: The Brave and the Bold

Batman: The Brave and the Bold is a great new series on Cartoon Network. It's a bit of the complete opposite of the Batman: The Original Series, creating some really light moments that work well without seeming too silly. The most recent episode, "The Super-Batman of Planet X" was full of inside jokes. Not only does it parallel Superman in obvious ways (Batman of Zur En Arrh works at a newspaper, Batman of earth gains superpowers similar to Superman, he has a weakness to a rock), there are lots of inside jokes as well. Batman's arch nemesis on this planet is "Rohtul" or "Luthor" spelled backwards. His newspaper girlfriend has a name that's an anagram of "Vicky Vale." The voices are Kevin Conroy (Batman of Batman: TAS), Dana Delaney (Lois Lane in the Superman series) and Clancy Brown (Lex Luthor of that series). It's really a clever set-up. Earlier this year was another great episode, the "Mayhem of the Music Meister" an all musical episode. Not quite as good as Dr. Horrible or the Buffy musical episode but pretty good, and with Neil Patrick Harris as the villain, Music Meister. This show is worth catching, even for adults.

Online Dating

Why do I get the feeling that when people put "Native American" as their ethnicity in their online dating profile, they mean that they were born in the US?

Healthcare Reform

I have no idea if the healthcare reform bill is the right type of reform for the problems the system faces. I am certain that this does not mean the end of the current system, or the economy, as the Republicans would have us believe. Is this bill as important as those that established Medicare or Social Security? Probably not, but it's pretty substantial and the thing that impressed me most about this bill is that despite all the negativity (mostly misleading information) this bill was passed anyway. Congress has had such a problem getting things done despite the large Democratic majority, and yet this bill made it through.

The entire debate was pretty sad. Many would say it's a "big vs small government" debate, but I'm not sure if that can explain how emotional it was. Why did Republicans who don't want "government controlled medicine" also say they didn't want changes to Medicare? Don't people realize that Medicare / Medicaid make up nearly 45% of all healthcare spending already? That means the government already controls half of medical spending.

So now we'll see what happens. I'm glad that Democrats decided to vote with their beliefs and not worry about the polls. Meanwhile the Republicans threaten Democrats with the idea that they'll lose big in November. Maybe, but I suspect by November there will be new issues to be angry about. Better to lose with something you believe in than to win by doing nothing.

Joe Mauer

Wow. Joe Mauer just signed for 8 years, $184 million. A great extension by the Twins but I wonder if because he is a catcher, this will pay off in the long run. The good news is that it means even the "small market" Twins can keep their own players in the current baseball economy but it should be interesting to see how this plays out in the future. The payroll for the Twins in 2009 was 67 million, and now Mauer will be getting $24 M per year.

Mauer is a great player, and it's nice to see that this contract basically guarantees he'll play the majority of his career with one team. I wonder also if this will affect the Yankees when they try to re-sign Derek Jeter at the end of the year.

Wolverine: Weapon X #11

I haven't read this issue yet but the colorist did a horrible job on the American flag on Deathlok's chest.

Best Infield Ever?

No posts in February but since spring training is starting, I have to wonder - do the Yankees of 2009 / 2010 have the best infield ever? A-Rod, Jeter, Cano, Texiera... In the past, one might have argued that Jeter or Cano was the weak link defensively but last year it seems like it's come together. It seems like there's been some discussion of this last year but I think we have to think this is a possibility.

Weather Update????

NFL.com has a weather update for Jets vs Colts? Is there one for Saints vs Vikings? Why yes, there is!

Aren't both games indoors?

More Jets - 4th Quarter...

I'm so nervous right now, the Jets just took a 10-7 lead.

I'm reading the Fifth Down, NY Times blog while watching this game, and came across this:

"Update | 7:03 p.m. Great point by Sam Farmer of The Los Angeles Times on his Twitter page. Farmer wrote that he doesn’t believe the Jets will pull the upset here, but if they do, he noted the irony in how the Colts will have to face the Jets, the “monster they created” by pulling quarterback Peyton Manning in the third quarter of the second-to-last regular season game, which the Jets needed to win to make the playoffs. — Greg"

Is that a great point? See Kitchen Fresh Blog, Monday, January 11.

"If the Jets win, a match-up with the Colts or Ravens would be fascinating. If it's the Colts then it would be funny since most people blame the Colts for letting the Jets into the playoffs."

It would make for a briefly interesting story that nearly anyone could have come up with, but let's face it, it's not a "great point." Also, the Jets still need to win...

Comic Talk

It's been a little while since I discussed comics in this space, so here's some brief thoughts on what I've been reading...

Now that I'm in Miami, I get my books through the Discount Comic Book Service, which is awesome. I can't recommend it enough. I've also been listening to a bunch of comic podcasts: Comic Geek Speak, The Uncanny X-Cast, House to Astonish, Wordballoon, Pipeline and iFanboy.

DC Comics
Blackest Night
DC's centerpiece event right now. I'm reading the main book, Green Lantern, GL Corps, and a few of the mini series (Batman, Superman, Flash, Wonder Woman). The main book is excellent. It's got great art and very good story. Unfortunately I don't like the way Green Lantern weaves into the main story - the Green Lantern comic book series issues are a little disjointed and probably won't read well after the fact. Doug Mahnke in the Green Lantern book is doing good work. GL Corps is not essential reading, like I thought it would be. It's still not bad. The tie-ins are generally optional. Mildly enjoyable but completely optional. I'm excited to see how the mini-series ends.

Batman and Robin
This is a pleasant surprise. I think by now, most people know the identities of the Batman and Robin in the book, and I'm enjoying it. It's better when Quietly is drawing. The story seems to be written by "Good" Grant Morrison as opposed to "Confusing" Grant Morrison.

Flash: Rebirth
Very underwhelming. It looks like issue 6 is due in Feb, but the ending has been spoiled in Blackest Night and other books. Same thing happened with Legion of 3 Worlds last year. Even the art is just not what I expected from Van Sciver.

Adventure Comics
I'm glad to be exposed to Francis Manapaul. This book looks great. Johns is doing some nice writing here. Unfortunately, when that team leaves the book, I will too.

Ex-Machina
This title, by Brian K Vaughan and Tony Harris is hitting its final stride. It's very good. Not as good as Y: The Last Man, but stil very good.

Starman Omnibus
Another Tony Harris book - this was a huge title in the 90's. I missed it. I can see why people like it but I'm only on volume 2 and I don't think it's awesome yet.

Marvel Comics

Uncanny X-Men
Very good. Some people think Matt Fraction has a little bit of disjointed storytelling but it doesn't bother me. Alternating between the Dodsons and Greg Land seems to work. I like the Dodsons much more on the art but I saw some previews of the upcoming Land issue and the pencils actually look pretty good - not as stiff as usual. There is a little lightheartedness to this story that makes it my favorite X-title right now.

X-Men Legacy
I'm not sure where this is going. There was a time when I thought Mike Carey was the best of the X-writers. Now, I'm not so sure. I think this book needs to focus a little more on the X-Men in general.

Wolverine: Weapon X
This is Jason Aaron's title for Wolverine, so far it's just a fun Wolverine book. We haven't had that for a while. Old Man Logan was a good story but it is an alternate future story without much more to do. This title is good ol' Wolverine fun.

Captain America / Reborn
Captain America has been great. Unfortunately I think the Reborn story would have done a little better within the main Captain America book, but no matter, it's still pretty good. They suffered a scheduling hiccup when the issue after Reborn #6 came out before it. Hitch's artwork looks great, but the story doesn't seem as epic as expected from a big "event." I think Captain America and Green Lantern are the two best super hero books I read right now from the big 2.

Astonishing X-Men
Phil Jimenez takes over for Simone Bianchi on art which is welcome but Warren Ellis' story is completely out of context from the other books and because it is detached, it's hard to get into for me.

Dark Wolverine
I don't really like this book. The only reason I'm getting it is to have a continuous run on Wolverine. I'm not sure what will happen after Siege to this title.

X-Force / Cable Messiah War tpb
Because it was a great deal on DCBS, I got this paperback. The art is good, especially Mike Choi, but the story seems to meander a little bit. There are some nice character moments, and the X-Force book in general is pretty good, but in the end, the characters end up in the same place they started in this story.

Image Comics
Image United
Kind of a fascinating book where each of the original Image founders draws their own characters, so each panel looks like a jam piece. It makes for some cool art. It definitely makes me remember the 90's in comics, but with all the pros and cons. Good art (pro) and bad story (con). Also, this book was recently delayed. Ah, just like the old days!

Thoughts on upcoming events:
X-Men Second Coming
An X-Men crossover that promises to resolve the issue of the baby, Hope. I'm curious to see where this goes. I thought the last full X-Men Crossover, Messiah Complex was quite good.

Siege
The original Avengers are back, which should be great. Not sure why Marvel cancelled all their Avengers books this April but I'm sure there will be several titles to replace them. I hope that in the post-Dark Reign Marvel U that there will be room for Cap and Bucky, at least for a little while. Bucky has developed into a great character and is an example of how to do the unexpected resurrection correctly (as opposed to Jason Todd over at DC).

Brightest Day
A biweekly 26 issue series following Blackest Night. I just hope this is more like 52 than Countdown to Final Crisis. The good news is Geoff Johns is involved.

War of the Supermen
You know, I read New Krypton in the Superman books, and it was entertaining. But then Superman left the main titles, Geoff Johns left too, and there were just too many books to read. I hope that this is a little different and a good Superman story.

Bruce Wayne Returns
Just as I had not expected Bucky to make a good protagonist in Captain America, I also had not expected to like Dick Grayson as Batman. But I do now, so the question is maybe Bruce Wayne is back too soon? Also will this be written by "JLA / New X-Men" Grant Morrison or "Seven Soldiers / Final Crisis" Grant Morrison?

Some thoughts before SD vs NYJ

I have to say, I didn't think I'd be watching football this far into the year. I hope the Jets win today but I think it's going to be a really tough game. They need to play near perfect football, I think. The good news, is that the last few weeks, they have been. However, at times this season they have made some mistakes and been unable to overcome them.

As I watch the Vikings take a 14-3 lead over the Cowboys, I realize how much I can't stand Brett Favre. What a selfish jerk. If the Vikings make the Super Bowl, I sincerely hope that the Jets are there to take him down. I'm rooting for NO next week no matter what - they looked pretty good.

Even if the Jets win this week, it's hard to imagine them making it past Indy. The Colts looked good against the punchless Ravens. Funny how a team can look so dominating one week and then the opposite the next. I realize Flacco was hurt, but still. It would be kind of remarkable if the Jets could advance, beat the Colts (who "let them in" the playoffs) and then beat their old QB Favre. But that's a dream scenario.

Other little facts I had been wondering about - when was the last time both #1 seeds hosted the Conference Championship? More recently than I had remembered - 2004. When was the last time both #1 and #2 seeds made it to the Conf Championship? That same year, actually. That year, one #1 advanced (Philly over Atlanta) and one #2 (NE over Pittsburgh). Last time both #1's advanced? I think it's 1993, Bills vs Cowboys.

Much is made of Norv Turner's coaching history. He's 4-3 in the playoffs for his career, 3-2 with SD. In the division round he's 1-1, with both games occurring on the road. They've never had a 1st round bye and are 2-0 at home under Turner.

Not much of a sample size.

In general, when I think of the Chargers:
2004 - Jets beat Chargers 20-17, Kaeding misses a critical FG and the Jets advance despite an Eric Barton penalty
2002 - Jets (2-5) beat SD (5-1) on the road 44-13 in a huge upset

I forgot about:
2005 - Chargers beat Jets at Giants Stadium 31-26, but looking at the box score it looks like Vinny Testaverde (in his 2nd go-around) and Brooks Bollinger played some QB so it must have been one of the bad years when Pennington was hurt.
2008 - Chargers dominate Favre and the Jets 48=29 on MNF.

People often compare the Jets defense to the Ravens because of Rex Ryan. Well, Baltimore beat SD this year in week 2, although barely - Lewis made a huge stop on Sproles at the end of the game to save it. In '07, SD beat the Ravens 32-14.

Finally, in computer simulations this week (aka Madden NFL 10) the Jets (me) beat the Chargers (computer, All-Pro) 42-13. But I also lost in an online game today 28-14. However, first caveat to the online game - I had a kickoff return for TD overturned by a holding call, got called for a facemask on a Sproles kickoff to my own 49 and Braylon Edwards had a fumble ending a drive where I was dominating time of possession. The other caveat - it's Madden.

Final note: During the Bengals / Jets game, I was at a bar and a Patriots fan here said, why are they called the "New York" Jets if they play in New Jersey? My response: Why is your team named after an entire region of the country and not a state or city? Or maybe we should call them the "West Coast 49ers." Sadly, I don't think he heard my response. Also, perhaps not every team plays in the exact city they are named for (e. g. Washington plays in Maryland).

Woooooo J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets!!!

Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen

I'm 10 minutes into it and regretting it already.

McGwire

Mark McGwire admitted to Bob Costas on Monday that he used performance enhancing drugs back in 1998, the year he hit 70 home runs. Most in the media have commended the way that he has finally come out to admit this given the years of speculation, especially after his "let's not talk about the past" testimony in Congress.

While it's nice to hear him come clean about this, the frustrating part about his admission is how many qualifiers he used. Here are a few that I noticed:

-McGwire said he could have still broken the HR record without steroids

In general, I agree, there's no proof per se that steroids make someone a better home run hitter, but it sure seems to be true from anecdotal evidence. Baseball players also wouldn't be using steroids or HGH if they didn't think there would be a benefit. In some ways, the cheating isn't just the act, it's the intent, too.

-He denied that he injected steroids routinely

I'm surprised he went out of his way to say he didn't inject steroids, and just took them orally. By the way, as far as I know, most testosterone analogs and HGH are taken through the skin or by injection. Also is there really added stigma attached to injection vs oral steroids? It seems to me the main argument is use or not, and not the means of use.

-He could not remember the names of the drugs

I don't believe this. Especially with all the controversy he faced with the androstenedione. Also, the name "human growth hormone" wouldn't be hard to remember.

-He only used low doses

Again, this almost sounds more like he's trying to justify it to himself. Nobody cares how much or little, do they?

-He injected himself for a medical condition

He wouldn't be alone in trying to inject steroids for a supposed medical condition however as I'm sure everybody is now well aware, there aren't any medical conditions that testosterone is indicated for.

So in summary, nice to see him finally admit stuff, but maybe we can get an admission of guilt from a player not named Canseco that is less filled with excuses and justifications.

2010 Movies Preview

I hardly read CNN.com any more, but I was a little bored and clicked on it today. The lead story? Top 25 anticipated movies for 2010. I am completely underwhelmed.

Here's a few brief observations:

Apparently it's going to be trendy to revive 20+ year old movies - Tron Legacy, Wall Street 2 and Karate Kid. Let's throw in A-Team for another revival as well.

Then there's the long standing franchises - a new installment of Shrek, Toy Story, Twilight, Chronicles of Narnia and Harry Potter on the way in 2010. Also Iron Man 2 (probably the only movie of the entire group I'm interested in).

Tim Burton is making every movie with Johnny Depp, I guess (Alice in Wonderland), Ridley Scott back with Russell Crowe (Robin Hood) and Martin Scorsese doing the same with Leo (Shutter Island).

Video game adaptation of Prince of Persia is coming - Jake Gyllenhaal is playing a middle easterner?

Not much to get too excited about. What's on tap for 2011?

AFC Playoffs

If you had told me a month ago that the Jets would still be playing on 1/11/10 and the Patriots wouldn't, I would not have believed it. If you had said Wes Welker was injured then I _might_ have believed that the Patriots would be out of it, but not that the Jets were in it. Yet here we are on 1/11/10, and that's exactly the situation.

The Jets looked good in the Wild Card round, although the Bengals certainly helped them out. This weekend's game vs San Diego should be pretty interesting since each team has pretty different strengths. San Diego seems to be more of a passing, and screen throwing team, whereas the Jets are a run-heavy attack. The blitzing from the Jets might be countered well by the San Diego screens, but I think that the Jets have a decent shot here - they just need to make sure they control the ball with their ground game.

I think the Jets have a better shot than most people give them. It's good for them to be in the underdog role here. Also, Kerry Rhodes did a pretty good job of shutting down Antonio Gates in the past, so perhaps the Jets will use him in that role. It seems like most of the Chargers' recent games against good teams have been close, so the Jets should have a chance for it throughout. My biggest concern about the Jets is their middle linebackers. Coaching-wise, for some reason Norv Turner never seems to be able to get the job done. I wonder if this is the year.

If the Jets win, a match-up with the Colts or Ravens would be fascinating. If it's the Colts then it would be funny since most people blame the Colts for letting the Jets into the playoffs. If the Ravens, it would be a home game, and the Ravens are the team the Jets are modeled on. But that's getting ahead of ourselves.

Lost Season 5

My race to get up to speed with Lost is going to be easily met - currently watching season 5, episode 6. That leaves 10 more til the premiere.

Today's episode, titled "316" (SPOILERS)








It starts with Jack, Ben, Sun and Desmond reunited with Eloise Hawking. I'm getting a "Knights who say Ni" moment here...

Jack needs to reunite the Oceanic Six. They need to go back to the island. Take a specific flight. Exactly recreate the events of the accident. Give Locke something of your father's.

Hmm. I would like a shrubbery. One that looks nice and is not too expensive. Oh you have one? Now another shrubbery. Oh and now cut down the tallest tree in the forest with a herring.

Sure, I know I should watch the rest of the episode first...

Jets 2009

Well isn't this interesting? The NY Jets actually have a chance at making the playoffs if they win next week against the Cincinnati Bengals.

After all that... They've had the #1 defense in points, the #1 rushing attack in the league, a 3-0 start. Yet they blew 5 games on the last possession (MIA x2, Jacksonville, Buffalo and Atlanta), had huge special teams debacles (MIA, ATL), weathered Mark Sanchez interception parties (NO, ATL, BUF) and still have a chance at making the playoffs.

Of course, this has all the makings of a Jets collapse. Primetime game, control their own destiny despite looking totally out of it, Jets are favored, Bengals on the road with nearly nothing to play for, last game in Giants Stadium...

But maybe it won't be, and they'll make the playoffs, then get knocked out somewhere in there. Then it would just be another unremarkable season.

I'm not sure which I'd rather have. My ironic sensibilities are truly hoping for the Jets to make the playoffs and then make it to the 2nd round where they knock out the Colts. That would be amazing.

Lost

SPOILERS for Lost Season 3

I'm just about to watch the finale of Lost, season 3.

At this point, the Others are planning on invading the survivors' camp to take the pregnant women. Jack finds out about this so he decides the best way to attack the Others is to vacate the camp and leave dynamite behind to blow up the arriving Others.

I saw this plan once before in a movie. It was called "Blazing Saddles."

GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra

I just watched GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra. The first hour was not as bad as I had expected. The second hour, well...


The writers of that movie must have been inspired by Lost.

More Random Items

1. Florida doesn't have a bottle deposit policy. What a surprise! I thought I had paid bottle deposits before, but I guess not.

2. Cars aren't required to have annual inspections here. You just pay for registration annually.

3. I hate when NFL commentators say that defenses are trying to disguise coverages to fool rookie quarterbacks. Shouldn't defenses need to disguise coverages against any quarterback? Wouldn't a defense need to disguise coverages even more against a veteran?

Random Items

1. I just started watching Lost on Netflix on demand. I had paused my Netflix account for a few months after moving to Miami and when I restarted it, I activated the on-demand via PS3 option. It looks really good. I'm really surprised at the quality. I thought it might be related to my internet connection, but the quality looks better on my PS3 / tv than it does on my computer. With such high res, it makes me want to watch it even more - it's DVD level quality. The problem is, I really don't have enough time to watch Lost.

2. The Jets season is over. While I didn't post this on the blog, I felt like the Jets had no shot to win the game. After they pulled to 24-14, it seemed like they might actually make a game of it, but enough turnovers prevented them from mounting any kind of comeback.

3. Today, for the first time, I hid someone's announcements from my Facebook news feed. I never thought I'd do that, but for some reason, this person's feeds really were annoying. I have plenty of friends who post all sorts of random stuff on Facebook but for some reaosn this person's opinions and "look at me" sorts of posts were really getting on my nerves. I feel kind of bad about it but whenever I saw that person's posts it got to make FB less enjoyable.

4. This past weekend, I caught up with Smallville. I can't believe this show is in its 9th season. In addition, there is word that a 10th season is in the works! I guess nobody is watching the CW network, but they really have to let this show go. This season is interesting enough but it needs a rest. I think I'm watching this more out of habit than out of interest.

5. The Office this year is not as good as the last few. They may have jumped the shark either around the Jim / Pam marriage or Jim getting promoted to a co-manager.