Statler and Waldorf Explore the InterWeb

MUA2: Fusion

The new Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2: Fusion teaser trailer has me kinda giddy. I had heard the storyline in this new chapter would be based on the recent Civil War event, but what little the trailer reveals doesn't seem to point in that direction. Regardless, I'm a big fan of the original Ultimate Alliance, so I'm looking forward to this.

Sugarbuzzkiller

Courtesy of Capucha on Vimeo.

(Oh, and there's bonus footage!)

Why I'm Voting Republican...

(Thanks to Buffy for bringing this to my attention.)

Father, Son

One of the toughest things to write about is something you don't like. Bad reviews are always surprisingly harder to articulate than good ones. There are often boundless directions to go in when you are pressed for a word count on something you enjoy, but writing a (justified) negative review can be as tedious as the piece being evaluated. Peter Gabriel's Still Growing Up, Live and Unwrapped was one of those chores for me, but there was a bright spot: I discovered the song "Father, Son" among the extras. And for all its treacle, it still puts me in an appreciative mood -- thankful my father is still around and understanding that I still have a lot to learn from him.

Good Morning, Son

As a writer there are things -- essays, passages, songs -- you read or hear and know you could have (or sometimes feel should have) written. Ben Folds' "Still Fighting It" is one of those things for me. I'm not a huge Ben Folds fan. I liked the single "Brick" that he put out with his old band, Ben Folds Five, but beyond that I'm not someone who claims extensive knowledge of his oeuvre. I do know that "Still Fighting It" is on Folds' first solo album, Rockin' the Suburbs, released September 11, 2001 -- about a month after my son was born. I didn't find the song until a couple of years later, during that time when my son's personality was really starting to emerge. And the lyrics captured right where my head was at the time -- realizing he was "so much like me (I'm sorry)" and how it was "weird to be back here" in Northeast Ohio, where I grew up, as a husband and father. The lump-in-your-throat honesty -- raw and brutal as "Brick", but so heartbreakingly beautiful here -- captures so much about being a dad, and the feelings that confusion evokes.

Revisiting the song today, and coupling that with having just read David's new book (and its underlying theme also about a man stretching and evolving into the role of spouse and provider), and I am suddenly in a most reflective, most appreciative state of mind as Father's Day approaches.

Twitterpated

So I finally signed up for Twitter. As Mark and I were discussing among ourselves, I'm not really sold on the value of these crazy little bite-sized thought nuggets just yet, but, hey... everyone else is doing it, right?

But I wonder... if I post a Twitter tweet about this blog entry, will the folks "following" me get caught in some kind of Matrix-inspired loop?

"You hear that, Mr. Anderson? That is the sound of inevitability."

"Hmm... Wolverine's More Desperate Than I Thought."

Marvel released more info on the new Wolverine and the X-Men television series today. I was skeptical, but the trailer has me intrigued.

Take Off, eh.

Not really sure what to make of this, but I guess Geddy Lee was right... ten bucks is ten bucks, eh.