Thursday, May 03, 2007

Iron Man’s Suits

Some early shots of Iron Man’s old and new suits from the upcoming movie. They look pretty good.

Also, check out this makeup test shot of Heath Ledger as the Joker for the new Batman film. It’s a decidedly darker version of the Joker. 

Colors Explained

Why is the sky blue? Why is the surrender flag white? Why is the dollar green?

Answers here.

Wednesday, May 02, 2007

24 Jumping the Shark

This season of 24 has been pretty absurd. It was bad enough they had David Palmer’s brother as president, but the usual tropes they trotted out have become rather stale. Now, it looks like the show’s creators have got the message the fans have been sending.

After peaking in the ratings last year, Fox’s thriller “24” has been getting dumped on by seemingly everyone in this, its sixth season. Critics and fans alike are aiming tomatoes at the stage, carping about the soapy and repetitive plotlines that unspool Jack’s unlikely familial past, tiresome romantic triangles in the security bureaucracy and endless bickering among Oval Office advisors.

Last week, with a fresh episode designed to lay the groundwork for what the creators promise will be a typically suspenseful finale next month, “24’s” ratings in the key young-adult category swooned to their lowest level in more than three years, with a total audience of just 10.4 million, according to figures from Nielsen Media Research.

More than one-third of viewers have bailed since the special four-hour season premiere that aired over two consecutive nights back in January. And if that wasn’t enough bad news for the series, last week “24” was one of the prime-time shows that the Federal Communications Commission singled out in urging Congress to curb TV violence.

The vox populi protests have not escaped the attention of the show’s producers, who promise that some big changes are on the way for Jack (Kiefer Sutherland) and other regulars next season. There’s also speculation that something else might be at work in accounting for viewers’

They need to get away from presidents in crisis stories and focus on stories that are more believable. They also need to stop relying on the same tricks to keep the story going.  CTU also needs to seem a lot less dysfunctional. 

Conspiracy Dujour

Rosie was right. Steel can’t melt. It’s impossible!!

Warners Snaps up Ronin

Frank Miller’s ‘80s comic, which was actually a disappointment when it came out, has been optioned by Warner Brothers. They plan to do it in the Sin City, 300 green screen style. I guess that’s the only way Hollywood imagines a Miller story can be shot (Well, Batman Begins was an exception).

I think Ronin was a good story, but he wasn’t as polished back then. The ending doesn’t leave much room for a sequel, should it prove to be successful.

Tuesday, May 01, 2007

American Idol 5/1

If you ask me, Blake owned tonight with his beat box rendition of “You Give Love a Bad Name”. It was really great and serves to remind people why Blake is so special on this season. He’s been kind of dull the last few weeks, but he blew them away tonight. Melinda was arguably the second best. It’s a close call. The fact is, no one was bad tonight. Phil continues to shine. Not just his head.

So it’s a hard call who will go tomorrow night. I have a feeling it will be Chris and Lakisha. They just aren’t as popular as the others. Jordin kind of messed up tonight (for her, anyway) but she was still good and I think people like her too much now. Phil has a decent fan base that may be growing. He is this season’s Elliot Yamin. And Dial Idol predictions hold up my guess that Lakisha and Chris are vulnerable. They both did good tonight, but it will be down to their popularity vs the others.

Bon Jovi week provided some good material. Even though it took people out of their comfort zone, they all did well. It’s hard to believe there are only three more episodes to the finale. 

Bust Out the Cell Phones

A swarm of bees clustered outside the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Medical Center shut down the emergency room Monday, as officials waited for a beekeeper to come vacuum up the 7,000 insects.

Although no one was stung, the Little Rock emergency room still decided to be closed for ambulance traffic.

“We’ll take walk-ins, but ambulances are being diverted to other hospitals,” UAMS spokeswoman Andrea Peel said.

Doctors did not see any patients with bee stings, but emergency room physician Dr. Delaney Kinchen said it was an important precaution to close the ER while clearing out the bees.

“I’ve been stung thousands of times and never had any problems, but I know people who’ve been stung twice and almost died,” he said.

But I thought all the bees were dying. Could it be that story is just more media crated nonsense? Like, you know, man-made global warming.

The New FF Trailer

It looks a lot better than the first movie, but that’s not saying a whole lot.
Wow, I didn’t know about this!

A Great Idea

An Arizona student came up with an idea for wind turbines powered by the wind cars and trucks generate on the freeway. The only problem with this idea is that there would be no wind generated during rush hour. Still, it’s the kind of idea we’ll probably see a lot more of as we search for more ways to generate clean energy.

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I’m a Marvel and I’m a DC