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Apocalypse 58% Dr. Doom 58% Magneto 55% Poison Ivy 53% Mr. Freeze 51% The Joker 50% Dark Phoenix 49% Two-Face 49% Lex Luthor 47% Venom 46% Juggernaut 45% Mystique 45% Green Goblin 41% Riddler 33% Catwoman 31% Kingpin 25%

You believe in survival of the fittest and you believe that you are the fittest.

Click here to take the "Which Super Villain am I?" quiz...

I just ran across appalling news, on Outpost Gallifrey. Craig Hinton passed away.

This is really troubling to me. To honor him, I will recount his impact on me personally, and reflect on the greatest complement I could ever give him.

Craig Hinton was a writer of Doctor Who novels, most of his books I've read, all of which I have enjoyed greatly. The second novel he wrote, which was also the second Doctor Who novel I read, was what lit the fuse on me starting to build my Doctor Who library collection. Millenial Rites was exactly the Doctor Who book I wanted to read, at exactly the time that I did; Millenial Rites was literally a pebble that rolled down the mountain and caused an avalanche. From Millenial Rites, I bought his other book, which led me to buying some of the Missing Adventure DW novels, which eventually led to me collecting and reading the New Adventures DW books. Nowadays, I have the entire set of Eighth Doctor novels, the entire set of New Adventures, and a large cross section of Past Doctor novels and Missing Adventure novels (new novels about the older Doctors). I will not run out of new DW stories to explore for a long time, even if the new show ends too soon. There are so many novels that are as good as the television series, and a fair amount that surpassed anything Doctor Who had done. Some of the best Doctor Who stories ever can be found those novels, and I owe a debt of gratitude to Craig Hinton for showing showing me how enjoyable those novels could be for me.

Love and gratefulness to you, Craig Hinton, for opening my eyes to possibilities. This is a part of your legacy. You will be missed.

Current Mood: Mourning

As Clark Kent would say, Swell! The filming for the original Christopher Reeve Superman movie was simultaneous with the filming of Superman II, but that was because they were originally intended to be one movie. One very looooong movie. At a certain point the film makers decided there was a point where they should split the movie up, which was a good idea. Then they fired the director, Richard Donner, and brought in someone else to finish filming Superman II when it was time to put that movie together. Most of Superman II was already filmed, however it was decided to re-shoot a large portion of what had already been done in addition to what was needed to finish the movie off.

This is all background information that Superman fans probably already know anyway. I had no clue, until a friend of mine told me about it after having read Christopher Reeve's biography (or autobiography, I don't really know). I was skeptical about just how far they would go, when it was announced that a "Richard Donner cut" was being reconstructed from the footage that Donner had shot, with only the necessary material from the "Lester" version to make the story coherent.

It's no exaggeration. Yesterday I watched an entirely different version of Superman II.

The work that went into the project is breathtaking. I read a few naysayer reviews on amazon.com, but I don't agree with them. Okay, there are a few rough spots, such as a scene that takes place between Lois and Clark that leads to a pivotal turning point in their relationship; this scene which is basically test footage, or an audition shoot. I say it is a rough spot, partly because there's a slight improvised quality to it, however it still works better than I thought it would (I thought it would be terrible, but it's not).

Marlon Brando footage is used, stuff that's not been seen before (as far as I know). Mainly, it has to do with Jor-El coercing Kal-El into believing that he has to become human to love Lois, and then telling his son off when he has to sacrifice his spirit to restore Kal-El's Kryptonian abilities. I've never bought into the logic, even in the theatrical version, neverthless Jor-El presents the choice with a colder, sterner tone that brings a nice, discomforting edge to the scene. Very unsettling.

A lot of goofy stuff has been cut out, however that is not to say that the alternative version is without humor. There are a few new humorous moment, and there are some other, dubbed in jokes that are now missing. I just had to laugh when a woman calls out to Superman, "Don't leave us!" as he retreats from a fight with the three Kryptonian criminals. I know my friend hates that moment, there is no escape from it for him even now, poor guy.

This new version also has a different relationship to the first film. This version is more like: Superman the movie, part II; the original theatrical was it's own film: Superman, the second movie. That's not a bad thing, it's just a different dynamic. All in all, a fascinating revisitation of an old story.

Oh, and I guess it might as well be said, of course this came out with a re-release of the other Christopher Reeve Superman films, all to cash in on the simultaneous release of the newer one, Superman Returns. Nice to have that one, too.

I didn't think I had it in me. I swear I wasn't trying for this lot, I was answering as honestly as possible. I feel honored, kind of. I would likely fit in the way Simon does; that is to say, mostly out of place as an elitist among rogues, desperately needing shelter from a 'verse full of bad people, on edge as the lightning rod that makes things difficult for the rest of the crew.

You scored as Serenity (Firefly). You like to live your own way and donâ??t enjoy when anyone but a friend tries to tell you should do different. Now if only the Reavers would quit trying to skin you. </td> Serenity (Firefly) 69% Millennium Falcon (Star Wars) 63% Enterprise D (Star Trek) 56% Babylon 5 (Babylon 5) 56% SG-1 (Stargate) 56% Galactica (Battlestar: Galactica) 56% Moya (Farscape) 50% Bebop (Cowboy Bebop) 50% Deep Space Nine (Star Trek) 44% FBI's X-Files Division (The X-Files) 44% Andromeda Ascendant (Andromeda) 38% Nebuchadnezzar (The Matrix) 38% Your Ultimate Sci-Fi Profile II: which sci-fi crew would you best fit in? (pics) created with QuizFarm.com

Current Mood: Astonished

I guess there's no help for it, I am really excited about Casino Royale! Part of it is that it's the first time I will experience a James Bond movie after having read the book (which I read ahead of time, knowing it was coming out). I have tended to like the debut movies of each new actor to play the part; The Living Daylight and Goldeneye are old favorites, and Live and Let Die is one of the few Roger Moore movies I'll give the time of day. Plus, I like rooting for an underdog, and all the flak that Daniel Craig has faced motivates me to really look forward to what kind of James he can give. I've heard it said that those who hate Timothy Dalton will hate him or the movie, somewhere...this is good news if true. I liked Timothy Dalton, he had a quiet menace about him, a sense that this was a man who not only had killed, but did it regularly. And is licenced to do so.

I don't always get a soundtrack before the movie comes out, but I feel so enthusiastic about the movie, and I like David Arnold's previous work on the last three, so I went for it. I'd resolved to do it anyway, but it felt like a nice thing to help me relax after taking a psychological evaluation for a job application. Yes, an action movie soundtrack to help me wind down. The thought cross polinated in my mind, I think I idly pondered on Bond undergoing a psych eval while I was undergoing the process myself. Bond endures a fair share of action and violence in the movies, but Ian Flemming puts the character through emotion and physical hell in the original books series.

Anyway, I needed to wind down after the eval. It was lengthy and exhausting. There was a bit that resembled a personality test that I got a kick out of, I actually enjoyed it in a twisted sort of way. Which makes one wonder...ah, well, never mind. The only regret about it is there will be no way of knowing the results, so all that work doesn't really gain me any satisfaction of insight into my character, personality, all that. The only thing I gain out of, maybe, is a stamp of approval for what I hope is a really worthwhile job.

Getting back to the soundtrack, I like the open credits song (I'm assuming that's what it is), called "You Know My Name." I assume it's about Bond. Lots of luck finding on the actual soundtrack (it's not there!). I've already seen one WTF! on the amazon.com reviews. I think I said it myself when I heard the reviewer say it on the radio (I should have believed him). Never mind.

The lyrics are intriguing. There's this great line in the song: "the coldest blood runs through my veins." That's Bond, the way I see him and the way I've heard Ian Flemming saw the character: a thug in a suit. He's almost capable of doing the sort of things that his adversaries get up to. And the events of the book are what make him forsake thoughtful philosophy on all things good and evil in his profession: he becomes resolved, hardened, cold-blooded.

Current Mood: Enthusiastic

I've been shockingly delayed from my favorite pasttime, which means anything to do with Doctor Who. Old Doctor Who, new DW, novel series DW, DVD DW. It's surprising that I've had to put off watching them, and even purchasing them (normally I get them on the day they come out if at all possible, especially the really good ones). The stress of getting a psychological evaluation done for a job I'm applying for, and then having to reschedule it, not to mention the elections, completely drove DW out of my mind. This is not normal!

The quarterly release of two stories from the original DW series on DVD, provided a reasonable selection this time around. The Mark of the Rani is my preferred story, a historical that features a face off between the Doctor and two rival timelords, which is relaxing and peaceful to watch. It must be the music that creates that effect; the calculating critic in me would say this is a sign that the music is ill-suited to the drama going on, slowing the pace of what could be a much more exciting story. I suppose it's true, but I still like it. It wasn't as satisfying a viewing though, this time around; the years of fandom's contempt that is levied at Colin Baker's Doctor and that era of the show's history do take their toll.

And The Hand of Fear was a must have for the deepest of nostalgic reasons. I don't think the bulk of this story is a great one, but I love the latter third part of it. It's one of those circumstances where I always caught this story when it played on TV, but only ever for that last part which is so atmospheric and moody and suspenseful. There's this great bit where the Doctor and company are making their way through an underground complex on an alien planet, dealing with traps that were set thousands of years before their arrival (a little Indiana Jone-ish, but this was shown in 1975 or '76). Fun stuff.

Current Mood: Relaxed

Now, at last, I am getting some distance from the whole Dune thing. It had it's moments, but mostly I finished the series out of stubborn curiosity. I don't think I count as more than a casual fan. So, to try and recover from the slog of the last book I read, I've turned to comics. The specific comic in question is the first collected volume of Neil Gaiman's Sandman. I've heard and read and seen so much about this series, and the writer in particular caught my attention when I went through American Gods, by way of an unabridged audiobook (yes, I cheated, but I didn't want to devote the time to actually running my eyeballs over the text of the book, and letting my brain process the information).

This was a more impulsive buy than most, I was looking at other trade paperback graphic novels, and out of idle curiosity, I took a look at the first book out of the 11 that were lined up tidily on the shelf. I didn't have any particularly strong resolve or interest, I just took it with me to the counter of the bookstore to purchase it, and left.

It seemed an excellent antidote to recent reads, and I was right, to a certain extent. There's some wonderful, real drama going on in the book, which is a nice break from the sometimes seeming soullessness of the Dune saga. It's like a blast of real characterization, for the sake of showing realistic characters, as opposed to doing characterization as though the writer is only doing it because he has to. It's ironic that the Dune novels are supposed to be about humans maximizing their human potential, and avoiding the use of machines, yet the people in the story seem so empty.

Anyway, back to Sandman, it's really nice to see the pages just fly by when I am reading it. It's almost finished now, and I now I have to decide if I want to read more Sandman, or go back to my original plan of reading more Dunsany, or read some Robert E. Howard and then look at Dunsany. There's a completely mad story about a guy who flies an airplane to Mars in the Dunsany anthology (this is early 20th century writing, keep in mind). And yet, the chance to see REH's Cimmerian being his usual, refreshingly barbaric self draws my enthusiam, my hope for more exciting reading.

I also have to say, Gauis Baltar from the new Battlestar Galactica is alway good for when in a funk; watching this character's shennanigans is always such a joy. I re-watched an episode in which Baltar is (sort of) falsely accused of high treason. The whole episode is exactly what I needed, in that regard. In particular, there's a scene in which he's cornered by security guards who have come to place him under arrest, in which he does this twitchy, cartoonish side stepping, as if he thinks he's being subtle enough to inch himself into a better position for getting away. Had me in hysterics. It's so fascinating that such a horribly flawed character is at the same time so likeable that I find myself rooting for (at the very least) his survival and freedom (I don't want to see him stuck in the brig like another character has been for a while). BSG must never loose him, his antics are such a fun part of the show (sometimes they are the only bright spot in such a dark story).

Talking of craziness, I didn't get a chance to do a psychological evaluation for a job this week, which pains me greatly. Yet, I've still managed to salvage the situation, and get a new appointment time. It was definitely testing my sanity when I thought there was a chance I would miss it.

Current Mood: Drained

The Golden Path is dangerous...

I’ve finally finished the whole of the original Dune saga, the original six novels written by Frank Herbert. The books are, on the whole, a good exercises for the brain, providing many interesting ideas that are worth pondering, discussing, or arguing about. One thing that is too bad, as I reflect on the whole story, is how disappointingly it ends. Chapterhouse: Dune does not provide the best resolution, but maybe that’s not the book’s or the author’s fault. I’ve read and heard many comments from people that the last book is meant to lead into another book. I guess there’s always the Brian Herbert/KJA Dune books to look to, as the new one and it’s forthcoming sequel are likely candidates for at least one alternative possible version of where Frank Herbert intended to take the story. The two-part novel is supposedly based on an outline that Frank Herbert left in a safe deposit box on a data disk labelled Dune 7.

So, for this moment in time, here are the books ordered from my more favorite ones, to my least favorite.

Dune–This one is at the top, of course. Most people will not find that a surprise. I have to say, there’s an odd quality to the novels of the Dune series, a “stamp of strangeness”, and the original Dune still has that, but it is the closest to resembling a more conventional, tried and true format of story telling. In that sense, it has an accessible quality to it.

God Emperor of Dune–I’ve set this one below the original Dune, because I do distinctly remember enjoying it. I almost wanted to put Heretics in it’s place, but the simple fact of the matter is that I didn’t enjoy it as much, and it took me significantly longer to get through. I think it’s funny, since this is the one that kills the series for so many who read through it and don’t get past this one. In some ways, all the dire warnings about what’s wrong with the book helped prepare me for what to expect. Sure, the main character’s a giant worm with a human face on the front end, who spends his days pretending to be a god while finalizing his plan to make sure the human race will survive extinction. I knew there would be lengthy sections involving the God Emperor lecturing various members of his entourage concerning religion, politics, and ecology. What I didn’t expect was that Frank Herbert would give the God Emperor of the Universe a girlfriend, which was just lovely. It made the book more fun, and the whole situation is good for a laugh when sharing it with friends. The fact that the God Emperor and his love cannot take the relationship as far as they both would like gives it tinge of tragic romance, which makes it oddly more romantic. Funny how a subplot like that was able to make the book more enjoyable.

Heretics of Dune–The thing I really like about this book is the re-juggling of old established elements from previous books. Sure GEoD did this to a certain extent, but the effect is felt even more by the fact that the book moves away from the planet which is so central to the series to that point. It’s nice to get away from Dune, occasionally, even in a Dune novel. The Bene Tleilax organization is developed more; and a new group, the Honored Matres are introduced. Vast, unexplored new universes are hinted at, “off-screen.” I guess it’s that opening up, in terms of promising new story elements, which appeals to me. We are given a larger scope of the Dune universe.

Dune Messiah–Wins points for the impact it has on the characters from the original novel. It gains strength from the fact that the original Dune is also depicted in two major live action productions, the 1984 movie, and the newer Sci-Fi channel mini-series. This means that the story of Paul Atreides’ rise to the power has significant exposure to a large audience. Paul and the peripheral characters that surround him are the most familiar line-up of characters from the Dune saga; this makes the impact of their ultimate fate in Messiah more tragic than it already was. That’s the main thing with Dune Messiah, it’s an unrelenting tragedy.

Chapterhouse: Dune–Only saves itself from being last on the list by virtue of being a part of the Post-God Emperor universe. I was very enthusiastic about the book, more so than when approaching Children of Dune. The last 40-60 pages of the book almost makes up for the long slog that is the rest of the book. There is some intriguing, enigmatic stuff that is alluded to, yet with no explanation. Even though it is not a proper ending, it’s rewarding to take what is learned from the book and try to guess where Frank Herbert would have taken the story from. A friend of mine and I had fun arguing about what we each thought would happen next. Most significantly, we differed insofar as when the next book would likely have taken place. He saw the follow up occurring not too long after Chapterhouse (and if Frank Herberts outline is accurate, that’s the more likely senario). I thought another multi-generational jump forward in time would be more interesting.

Children of Dune–This one frustrated me because I felt that the book’s purpose is to re-establishing a certain status quo that had already been reached by the end of the first Dune novel, but in a less interesting way (to me, anyway). It seemed to me that the first book was quite effective in establishing Paul Atreides as a religious icon to the Fremen, who he leads and uses to conquer the universe. The Fremen thought of him as a god, and he was up to the task of playing the part. At the end of the first novel, Paul was, in effect, the God Emperor of Dune. It wouldn’t have been too much of a stretch to collapse the storylines of Dune Messiah and Children of Dune. Imagine then: you can keep the children as part of the revised story, since Ghanima has a crucial role as the mother of future generations of the Dune universe; you can add or subtract Leto, pre-born or not (most likely not). From there it’s just a matter of Paul taking his already established godhood status to the next level, magnifying his Other Memory and accepting the sandtrout skin. The point I am trying to get at is this: Children of Dune feels like a waste of time. 400 plus pages of story padding. And while The Children of Dune mini-series adaptation is a solid production, with a stronger cast than Frank Herbert’s Dune, the last two thirds are not strong in terms of story, which reveals a weakness of the source material (note also that the first third, which is basically the adaptation of Dune Messiah, is a riveting drama).

So, there it is. The saga of Dune is far from over...

Current Mood: Empty

One of many spin-off projects from Doctor Who, this one had a so much scope in terms of material worth developing into stories. Unfortunately, poor Faction Paradox is a niche of a niche of a niche, which is one reason it's not exactly in the mainstream (appropriately the organization that goes by that name likely wouldn't have it any other way). It's not even spun off from Doctor Who "proper" as some fans might say, FP comes from story elements developed in the ongoing novel series, the Eighth Doctor Adventures (now ended in the wake of the new series, and that's okay).

What's frustrating is that, even with all the rich story-telling potential inherent in the FP universe, it never had a chance to really launch itself toward it's maximum potential. In all forms of media it's appeared in, it tends to come to an end all to soon.

First, all the elements surrounding FP and a future time war were cauterized from the Eighth Doctor Adventures (EDA). There are loyalists to this day who are still seething about the manner in which this occurred. I am one of them. To be fair, the book in which this plot-surgery occurred was a hell of a ride to read, it's just the fall-out from it that I hate. Also, the range editor cited concerns that the novel line needed to get back to a focus on the Doctor, a concern I understand. I don't agree with the policy to completely sweep away promising story ideas though, I still feel they could have had their cake and eat it too.

There briefly was a FP comic series. It ended after two issues. The thing I would say about this branch of the franchise is that they should have been more anthology oriented, at least until the comic had a chance to establish itself. Nothing doing, however. So what I have in the two comics is the first two parts of a six part story, and the final four are likely never going to see the light of day. Again, this is the sort of thing that the organization within the story just love. Consider their Hollywood funded project to film the uncompleted Charles Dickens story "The Mystery of Edwin Drood", a project cursed to forever be in production, never be finished. The perfect Production Hell, where they can send actors and film makers who go back on their devil-bargains with FP (there is no escaping the dimensional labyrinth that seals the film set off from the rest of the universe). Perhaps that's the frustrating thing; always with FP, there's the sense of incompleteness, which the actual organization would smile and take pleasure at.

The audio line hasn't exactly died yet, but it did have to move from one audio drama production company to another. Is the new production company in jeopardy now, too, by virtue of having taken them on? This would probably fill FP with glee.

The latest is the death of the novel range. FP was lucky enough to have a brief run of independent novels, totally separate from the DW novel line. The fifth novel will be the last. Even worse, was the promise of a big event novel that would have been in the works after that fifth novel. By this point, I ought to know better by now.

Or is there a chance that, having expended so much energy lamenting these losses, I've created a summoning charm that will reinvigorate FP and give them a new lease on life? You know, just to prove me wrong. I'm not bitter, keep in mind. I think there's a kind of dark humor to be found here, and Faction Paradox probably wouldn't want it any other way.

Current Mood: amusedly exasperated

One small reason I was looking forward to finishing school was so that I could have the opportunity to participate in the alumni band as a proper alumni. It was a reasonably good turn out for the occasion, almost large enough in scale to make me forget that it wasn't really the true marching band...more on that later, maybe.

The band reheasal and performance was directed by the former director of the marching band itself, who retired a short time ago, after I finished my own stint with it. He prefers to be called "Coach", and manages to be an effective director while still being completely accessible as an individual person. He keeps up with the world. Oh, and he wears his heart on his sleeve, when it comes to marching band.

It's so endearing, to see him launch into a pre-game speech, and at a certain junture, he has to stop. It doesn't even matter if he's wearing sunglasses, the band members all know he is being swept up by powerful emotion. It's touching, a sign of his love for the whole thing; and his feelings out there for all to see bring the love his band feels for him sweeping back as they shout it out to him. And since I've become more free and comfortable about expressing my own emotions and feelings, I almost broke down, too.

The night rehearsal was the better half of the thing, I was a little too distracted the following day. Not during the next morning rehearsal, but from the pre-game concert, and on from there. We played for the regular marching band, and they played some of their show tunes for us. We didn't get a chance to mingle with them, so we only interacted at a distance, across from each other.

Many things about marching band came back to me, which was fun to recount to family and friends: the bit about loosing my place in the music for 90% of a song, and getting completely lost as to where one is supposed to be on the field; these were panic moments at the actual time, but they are funny when given as much as a few hours distance. The scramble to get situated in the stands after the pre-game show, with so many demands on one's attention span, it always boggles my mind how that eats up time. It was easy to wait for the half-time show after that. We played a few stand tunes, and it was really neat that I was sitting next to someone who had been in the regular band with me. I think we would pick up on each other's enthusiasm, particularly when it comes to swinging our trumpets around: bobbing them side to side during the "Maroon and Gold", up and down for "Iron Man". It was surpising, to have such a subtle thing come back to mind.

All in all it was a good experience, it was just a little sad, in a bittersweet, nostalgic way. The experience had echoes of the real thing, yet with enough reminders that I never really left the present. It was most pronounced in the stadium, when I would look across to the other side and see the real marching band. I won't rule out the chance of doing it again, however, and I am glad that I did it this time around.

Current Mood: Nostalgic