“I’m sure they have smart people over there who have a plan and know what they’re doing. Man of Steel looks like it’s going to be awesome and obviously Dark Knight is awesome. I don’t know,” Feige told Collider when asked about Warner Bros.’ troubles with Justice League. “It’s what I say all the time and have said over the years, which is, have confidence in the characters, believe in the source material, don’t be afraid to stay true to all of the elements of the characters no matter how seemingly silly or crazy they are.”… Feige also acknowledged that the idea of bringing preexisting characters together to form a superhero team came from Justice League originally. As he said, “Justice League was first.”

“I think there have been a lot of great DC stories and there are a lot of great DC characters, and if they focus on those things the audience will be interested,” Feige said. “It was a very unique model that we were lucky enough to be able to do — introducing each individual hero before introducing The Avengers. That, to me, is what was always interesting about The Avengers. … The Avengers was cool because they were preexisting characters that teamed up for a big event. I think that’s why Justice League was cool, Justice League was first. That’s what they did first in comic form.”

That all sounds correct.

And now, here is an alternate possibility from the “Gritty Reboots” people.

Now…check this out!!!

Just in time for Superman’s 75th Anniversary, here is our podcast about the Superman movies.  It was recorded in early 2010..so forgive my foolish yearnings at the end to see a Green Lantern movie.  This is probably the best-sounding and most ambitious podcast, although I actually didn’t bother to go through and remove ums and ahs like I usually do.. It has music and I learned some new Adobe tricks.  Believe it or not, the original MP3 file of this 75 minute recording was 108 megs!  I shrunk it down to 18, but it’s still huge.  I hope this will tide you over for a little while.

This will be the last of our Lost Podcasts, and Erik and I will be recording some new material soon.  What do YOU want us to discuss?  Leave a note in the comments!

If you want to subscribe, the Feed links are in a box on the right-hand side.

While the two physicists are smart enough to pay all of their bills on time and not with credit cards, Penny clearly has problems with money and does not pay her bills with the same regularity as Sheldon and Leonard. Her apartment, while in the same building, is not the same at all. It is a single bedroom apartment with one bath, a closet and a living room and kitchen combo. The boys’ apartment is a two bedroom, one bath apartment with at least three closets and a significantly larger living area/kitchen combo. These differences would make Penny’s apartment slightly cheaper then Leonard and Sheldon’s. This coupled with the fact that she clearly can just barely pay for the apartment does lend a fair amount of realism to the idea that they could be neighbors.

– David Wagner

At least he’s recreating a fight where he had his shirt on!

“Springing out of the increasingly razor-thin crawlspace between the organic and synthetic worlds comes ‘Avengers A.I.’,” said Axel Alonso, Editor In Chief, Marvel Entertainment.  “When one of the Marvel Universe’s preeminent brainiacs, Hank Pym, embarks on a long road to redemption, he must assemble a team unlike any other, a team composed of heroes that will challenge the very definition of ‘Artificial Intelligence’ and the way you look at super heroes.”

How many times and under how many different writers has Hank Pym hit a low point and then was redeemed?  Don’t bother counting it will just make you wish they stopped writing new comic books if you try.

I also fail to see how we can get a good robot Avengers team when I don’t see Machine Man (a.k.a. X-51 a.k.a Aaron Stack) or Jocasta, both of whom were in Marvel Zombies.  The last time I saw Machine Man before that was in Warren Ellis’s Nextwave: Agents of Hate comic book.

I’m sure if I think about it I can come up with other robot super-heroes in the Marvel Universe.

Now I looked and here is another release with another description for the book.  I just don’t plain understand this concept.

“The Marvel Universe within the blink of an eye is being colonized by A.I.s who may or may not have positive feelings about the way humanity has been treating them for the past 100 years,” said writer Sam Humphries of his new series. Featuring art by Andre Lima Araujo, the comic sports a line-up of robotic characters: the Vision, Ultron’s son and former Runaway Victor Mancha, a new character named Alexis and a Doombot who has until now been held prisoner by the Avengers. Joining them is Ultron’s father, Hank Pym and Monica Chang, the 616 Universe’s version of Humphries’ “Ultimate Comics Ultimates” S.H.I.E.L.D. commander.

“He comes back after having transformed himself, after upgrading himself, and now that he is in the age of artificial intelligence in the Marvel Universe, he has a new role to play,” Humphries said of the newest incarnation of the Vision, currently seen terrorizing his fellow Avengers in the pages of “Age of Ultron. “He’s not just a bridge between humanity and A.I. but he is a leader. All of a sudden, he’s not just the robot in the room — he’s an A.I. in a world of A.I. and humans.”

The team will face off against a new villain named Dimitirious while facing challenges not typically found in the hero/villain dynamic “”Artificial intelligences are a product of human ingenuity, and although they are going to be going down their new path, they will remain a mirror to humanity,” Humphries said “Understanding that and exploring that in ways that are going to be funny and touching and endearing are definitely going to be parts of this book.”

I don’t care now.  In the blink of an eye we have 100 years of robots?

My enthusiasm for all of these projects is less than my joy every minute of Justice League Unlimited, with its own continuity and well-built world.

Now I refuse to make a direct comparison to Harrison Ford’s performance. Either way I reckon the quality of the films would be a constant. I have no doubt that Harrison Ford’s career was greatly benefited by this.

It is nearly impossible to say about Tom Selleck and whether he was better off with the many years of that great television show or this film. I will say definitively that for the period of time between MAGNUM, P.I. and now the actor has received less and worse than what he deserved.

I’m a big proponent of having “The War” in my G1 Comics. Personally I think the Cybertronian civil war is at it’s most exciting when it’s more like World War 2 and less like the Middle East “Peace Process”. Seems to me that we’ve been drowned in stories of the beginning of the war, which just keeps moving back,and after the war, which keeps ending over and over, but never seem to really see “THE WAR” which is ostensibly what the Transformers is about.

The biggest difference between TFs and people is really ageless durability. So when you get down to it, what the Transformers fiction is fundamentally about is Endless War.

I can totally understand not wanting to have perpetual Prime/Megs filled oil field raids, but that can be accomplished with out killing/disabling them, or in IDW’s case giving them a series of groan inducing Midlife Crises. You just don’t have them feature in the story when you don’t need them. Ta Da!

As for story, I’d think pan-galactic millenia of war would provide rather nicely. Enough D-Voids and Mythic Relics. Fail to take a hill, get bogged down in the trenches, clear a bunker.

“Ender, didn’t you just give this a good review?” Well, yeah. The writing and art are excellent, the story’s working, it’s well made art. It’s fun to read. I’m not gonna fault it for not being “what I’d ideally like to see”. I’ve said since the beginning of this Barber/Roberts Era, that the tragedy here is how these great writers, who clearly get The Transformers, are bogged down in this lack luster continuity. The G1 Comic franchise is still digging it’s way out of the hole Costa dug it into.

I wish they’d rebooted and let Roberts and Barber rebuild G1 from the ground up. The comics are great right now, thanks to great staff, but this continuity is an untenable mess.

I should also clarify that I don’t think there is NO place for non-action based TF comics, I’m all for some political intrigue. I’ve always wanted to see what happened leading up to and to some extent during the 300 years between G1 and Beast Wars. It seemed clear that the Autobots had come out on top, but clearly there was some complex political situation still. They seemed to have some kind of race-wide scale down. I thought it was interesting to think that by reducing their energy consumption, they had abrogated millions of years of conflict. I suspect one could tell a contemporaneously analogous story there.

I’ve always felt the G1 Cartoon was the most direct ancestor of Beast Wars. I kind of imagined the beginning of the end of that war was Cyclonus, Soundwave, and Razorclaw* meeting Prime, and co. on some asteroid, tossing Galvatron’s head to them and saying “So… We need to talk.”
(*Predacons, see?)

I agree. This is also the exact problem with George Lucas’ STAR WARS Prequel Trilogy.

I more or less completely agree with this sentiment. The details may differ.

The recent death of a 5-foot-long white-tipped shark during a Kmart commercial shoot in Van Nuys is currently under investigation by local authorities and fire by The People (for the Ethical Treatment of Animals).

PETA reports that after being shipped from New York to Los Angeles, the shark was placed in an above-ground swimming pool in a backyard for the March 6 shoot. The group states in a release that people jumping in and out of the pool and other factors caused the fish substantial stress, and it began to show signs of strain. A trainer injected the shark with adrenaline and gave it oxygen in an attempt to “perk him up,” according to PETA.

Crew members were reportedly worried about the obviously distressed shark, but the American Humane Association waited for about an hour before shutting down the shoot, says PETA. The ailing shark was later removed from the pool and transported down to Long Beach to see a specialist. It died later that afternoon.

A whistle-blower shared the story with PETA, and the animal rights association immediately rebuked the AHA, a nonprofit tasked with overseeing the well-being of animals on sets: “Again, it appears that no one on set is protecting animals from exploitation, suffering, and death, making it clear that the only sure way to prevent real-life animal snuff movies is not to use animals in the first place,” said PETA Senior Vice President Lisa Lange in a release.

Spokeswoman for the AHA Jody Frisch, however, told the L.A. Times that the shark was placed in a 60,000-gallon water tank—a space allegedly large enough to accommodate the animal. She also said that an AHA representative called off the shoot when it was clear the shark was ill. Frisch continued by noting that the AHA has asked a third party to investigate the incident “to be responsible and find out what the cause of death was.” The AHA does not have jurisdiction over what animals are used in production or how they are transported to set. It does review scripts and make recommendations on how animals are used in productions, according to the Times.

Kmart has also been criticized for the incident. In its March 12 letter to the chain, PETA cites the whistle-bower again, noting “that a false bottom was placed in the pool in order to force the shark to swim close to the surface of the water.” The shark reportedly “became trapped underneath the false bottom.” The letter also noted that “the noise and chaos of a commercial shoot is a very stressful environment for these sensitive animals,” and there was some concern about the temperature and salinity of the water, both during transport and in the pool.

While it is unfortunate that they chose to use a live shark and then apparently accidentally killed that shark in an apparent example of irresponsibility, my first reflex is always to side against PETA, or at least side against their involvement.

My second reflex is to not feel muchp pity for the shark, given that it is, body and soul, a shark.

via press release:

EMMY^® AWARD-WINNING “TRANSFORMERS PRIME” RETURNS FOR

THIRD AND FINAL SEASON WITH A NEW FOE: THE PREDACONS!

The Series Also Debuts with a New Name –

“Transformers Prime Beast Hunters”

 

Special Four-Hour Catch-Up Marathon Kicks Off

The Final Chapter on March 22

 

LOS ANGELES – The Hub TV Network, the fastest growing children’s cable network, announces the return of the third and final season of the Daytime Emmy^® Award-winning CG-animated series “Transformers Prime Beast Hunters” from Hasbro Studios on Friday, March 22. The epic saga’s return presents a formidable new opponent for the Autobots and the introduction of a third dragon-like faction called the Predacons. A special four-hour marathon (3:30–7:30 p.m. ET) of back-to-back episodes from the series’ second season will run leading up to the season-three premiere which debuts at 7:30 p.m. ET.

 

In the half-hour action series, the epic battle with the Decepticons rages on as Optimus Prime leads his team of Autobots and three human children in a mission to defend Earth and one day restore his home planet of Cybertron. But a brand new enemy emerges that could turn the tide of the war in Megatron’s favor.

 

In the season-three premiere episode, the survival of Optimus Prime is in doubt after Megatron’s destruction of the Autobot base on Earth, while the separated members of Team Prime try to reconnect after being scattered to the wind to prevent detection. The final 13 episodes will see Optimus Prime and his team face their greatest challenge yet in a new foe dedicated to the destruction of the Autobots — and potentially, planet Earth.

 

To “roll out” the final season, The Hub will host a special LA-based, invitation-only, World Premiere Screening Event of the first two episodes of “Transformers Prime Beast Hunters” followed by a Q&A session with cast and executive producers. The show’s passionate fans will be able to win tickets to the VIP screening through contests held on various online sites.

 

Additionally, starting Friday, April 19 (7:30 p.m. ET), the first four episodes of the new season will have special encore presentations that include “Autobits” — behind-the-scenes trivia with exclusive in-picture commentary designed to create an immersive viewing experience. Additional new episodes will resume in May.

 

On hubworld.com, an all-new show-page design for “Transformers Prime Beast Hunters” will feature exclusive images and video clips, as well as a countdown clock for the season three premiere. Additionally, two brand new games will launch on Friday, March 15 to support the new season. “Relic Hunter” features beloved character Arcee on a mission to Antarctica where she must navigate nine frozen trails to recover an ancient Ionian relic. “Pulsar Defense” features a battle between good and evil as the Autobots race to build up their defenses against the Decepticon’s ultimate weapon that threatens to destroy them all.

 

Finally, The Hub’s Facebook and Twitter (@HubTVNetwork) platforms will also provide sneak peeks and exclusive content from the new season and extend the viewing experience with additional activities to engage fans of all ages.

 

The Hub Original Series “Transformers Prime” was honored in 2012 with two Daytime Emmy^® Awards, including Outstanding Special Class Animated Program. The wins bring to four the total number of Daytime Emmy^® Awards the animated series has received since it premiered in November 2010.

 

“Transformers Prime Beast Hunter” is executive produced by Duane Capizzi (“The Batman,” “Superman: Doomsday”), Jeff Kline (“Jackie Chan Adventures,” “Men in Black: The Animated Series”), Alex Kurtzman, and Roberto Orci (Star Trek, Cowboys & Aliens, and Transformers feature films and TV’s “Fringe” and “Hawaii Five-O”). Peter Cullen, Frank Welker, Josh Keaton, Jeffrey Combs, Kevin Michael Richardson, Ernie Hudson, Gina Torres, John Noble, GeorgeTakei, Markie Post, and Steve Blum lend their voices to the series, which is produced by Hasbro Studios.

 

Later this year, fans can look for a 75-minute “Hub Original Family Movie,” titled “Predacons Rising,” which will also be available on DVD.

Almost is because very now and then, they offer a grab bag day to clear out their inventory of remaining shirts.  The shirts are only $6, you choose your size, and you can order up to 12 of them…and it’s potluck.  Until the package arrives, you don’t know what designs you’ll get.

I’ve managed to miss EVERY grab bag day!  So when the February 2013 grab bag day arrived, I did the full 12.  I was really hoping to get the Indiana Mouse one I missed, or any of the constant Dr. Who shirts they have.  Here’s how it turned out.

The Precious Gem:

• Bender as The Iron Giant.  Absolutely awesome.

Acceptable:

• Scully from X-Files pin-up – Gave this one to the wife.
• Willy Wonka Quote – Not much of a design, but I’ll keep it.
• Two different HP Lovecraft shirts – There’s one of a guy reading Necronomicon while Cthulhu appears behind him. It looks cool.  The better one parodies Where The Wild Things Are.  Not a huge Lovecraft nut…I’ve never read any…but I’ll hang on to them.
• Sea Monster attacking a boat is from Mario Bros. – I’ll keep it, just for the comments I’ll get from big Mario Bros fans.
• Time to Cook – I love Breaking Bad but have never watched Adventure Time.  Still, cool shirt.

The reject pile:

I’m selling all of these.  Don’t know yet if I’ll put these on eBay or what, but if you’re interested, make me an offer in the comments section!

• Super Saiyan Man – Superman rips open his own shirt to reveal…an orange shirt with a Japanese character.  The heck? I had to look up this one.  Turns out it’s a Dragon Ball Z reference.  It’s probably cute…if you like Dragon Ball Z.
• Camera Robot – This is probably cool if you’re a camera aficionado.
• Boba Fett in Assassin’s Creed gear – Not my thing.
• Tools of the Trade – I don’t even get what this shirt is for.  It must be a video game I don’t play.  Oh, yep, I just looked it up.  Metal Gear Solid. And they sent me TWO of them!  That surprised me.  I didn’t think that TeeFury would stick you with two of the same shirt in a grab bag.  That kind of stinks.  I’m guessing they had a LOT of these left over and every grab bag buyer got one.  Any Metal Gear Solid fans out there?  This one is already for sale!

Not a great haul.  Honestly, only one gem, from a site that has gems that I pass by every day?  (I can’t buy every great shirt!)  Here’s hoping I can find the people who were salivating for that great shirt that got away (and wants it in 2XL).  I may even move a few of the “acceptable” ones to the sell pile.

The blu ray player in my office died today. I needed to get a new one, along with Game of Thrones 2. And I’m a dick. This is what happened.
BEST BUY DUDE: Can I help you?
ME: Yeah, new blu ray player for my office. Top of the line. All I do is watch movies.
BEST BUY DUDE: Well, this is the Sony BDP-S790.
ME: Yeah.
BEST BUY DUDE: It’s 4K Upscale, Superbit mapping 16 bit signal processing…
ME: Yeah?
BEST BUY DUDE: And it has Skype. 3D compatible.
ME: Oh yeah?
BEST BUY DUDE: Yep. It’s the one I have.
ME: (long pause) Show me a better one, then.
LOL

I laughed and he laughed and said, “No really. You’ll be happy with this one.” And I bought it.

There were many responses. A critique of the technology comes from Kevin Falkenberg

It’s not $4,000, it’s a 4K Upscale player. 4K (or Ultra HD) is the latest unnecessary advancement in HDTV technology, and really only means anything if you have a huge TV that you sit up close to. Aside from that, the big 4K TVs you’ll be able to find will probably run $20,000-$40,000. So, if you have an 80in TV that you sit about 3ft from, then it’s time to start rolling some coins if you want that higher resolution!

I love Mr Van Sciver’s response:

Kevin, I have an 82 inch TV.

I think I would have to re-arrange my entire house to accommodate a screen that size.

Discussed in this podcast:

Batman Watches, Femme Noir, PS238, X-Men, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Bone, The Art of Joe Jusko, Bloom County … oh, and kvetching about the 2009 Star Trek.

UnderTheDome.com may be fun.

I don’t care for this McDonald’s rerun.

And look: a rerun of a local advertisement for Case Credit Union followed by a Michigan-tailored Ford advertisment rerun.

The local advertisement for Medawar jewelers is tailored for the Super Bowl.

I’m done with this. I will blog about the Iron Man 3 trailer when I see it.

I don’t use the term “brilliant” lightly.

Skechers ads are always a fair combination of flashy, stylish, and corny.

An NFL recap bit brought to us by the tire folk at Bridgestone.

I might watch Elementary after the Super Bowl….

A 15th anniversary Jarod commercial for Subway? Gah.

Everyone be happy.

The Rock chases milk in a go Milk ad that is hilarious.

The following Hyundai ad doesn’t amuse as much. But it’s good. Perhaps I just hate Hyundai. No… I definitely hate it.

Following that is the BigDadd.co advertisement (as opposed to BigDaddy.com) telling you that having the best idea doesn’t mean anything if you don’t advertise first. “More Everything Skywaitress!”

Calvin Klein is unwatchable to me.

There was a car ad I think and I blinked.

The cars.com ad with the wolves is great… especially the “incredibly protective mother”