Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang

My wife and I have recently discovered the greatness that is Castle. Not just because Nathan Fillion is a fantastic actor who clearly loves his job, and infects those around him with that love (though we do love Nathan Fillion), but also because the characters and plots are whip smart, and utterly hilarious. Espo and Ryan are two of the greatest supporting characters I've had the pleasure of watching in recent memory.

We shotgunned the first four seasons in about two weeks, and immediately caught up on the fifth season (and now we have to wait along with the rest of you). I was pleasantly surprised to see Penny Johnson become the new captain of the precinct in season four as I loved her on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Her character's name is even a nod to DS9: from Kasidy Yates to Victoria Gates.

And then I started seeing more ex-DS9 cast members showing up in Castle. Michael Dorn, who played Lieutenant Commander Worf, has shown up in a few episodes as Beckett's therapist. Nana Visitor, Colonel Kira Nerys, plays a dog trainer in one episode. And most recently, Armin Shimerman, Quark, shows up as a sci-fi weapon maker in an episode that revolves around a Star Trek spoof.

And then I got to thinking, "Man, I really love Star Trek," so I'm gonna go ahead and talk about that.

How's that for a switcheroo?

Building Stories Unboxing

I recently purchased Building Stories by Chris Ware, and then promised an unboxing, so here we go.

Avengers vs. X-Men Review (aka The Passion of the Scott)

I know, I know. I promised this review something like two months ago. I sat down to write it, and it kind of got away from me. I thought, "Why do just a straight-up review? I could get that done in like three sentences (and I totally did). I should do something different." And I did. I re-read all X-Men comics from Messiah Complex forward (and even a few before then), and I took copious notes. Like 35 pages worth of notes. And then I started writing. And writing. And writing.

This "review" became a thirty-page pseudo-academic monstrosity that I'm sure no one will enjoy, all about my man-crush on Scott Summers. Yeah. Sorry.

Why did I start my blog with this thing (ignoring the previous two posts as introductory and space-holding)? I don't actually know. I don't plan on this blog being like this all the time, I promise (though this may happen again at some future point; I couldn't help it this time, I may not be able to help it next time either). I actually plan for this to be a lot fluffier. Look forward to reviews of the card game Android: Netrunner, the Sega Genesis video game Aladdin, and the movie Avengers, among others (why they all start with 'A,' I couldn't tell you), that aren't ridiculously long.

Without further ado: Avengers vs. X-Men Review (aka The Passion of the Scott)

So, Obama Won...

So, Avengers vs. X-Men HC came out today. And I have this beast of an Avengers vs. X-Men review/essay that I've been wanting to put up forever, but cannot seem to finish. To prove I have been writing it, I present the first draft of the first four paragraphs of the text. Enjoy.

PS: There is nothing political about this post; I have hoodwinked you.

One Great Poem Perpetually in Progress

I have always been a mass media nut. I read, I watch, I consume. Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's terrible, once in awhile it's awesome, and occasionally it's the worst, but I still come back for more.

I started from a young age, mostly with books and cartoons, and the occasional movie. While I got up at the crack of dawn on Saturday mornings to catch every episode of all my favorite shows (and developed a rather ingenious method of watching one channel while recording another before TiVo and the Internet), I also devoured books on mythology. The ancient world’s ability to ascribe all of the universe’s natural and unnatural phenomena to gods and goddesses, heroes and villains, and impossible creatures has always fascinated me. These stories most directly led to my love of superhero comic books and their gods and goddesses, heroes and villains, and impossible creatures. And from then on, there was no looking back (if ever there had been).

I have written about mass media on and off my entire adult life. Sometimes for work, sometimes for fun, always with an eye on making sure other people know what I think about various subjects. In an effort to add to that “one great poem perpetually in progress” that Harold Bloom describes in his treatise The Anxiety of Influence, I will write about mass media again, here in this blog. It will mostly be about older things; things that have been in out in the world for some time and I have had a chance to digest them, to mull them over, to really get to know them. I don't so much care about being the first to write about any given subject, or even the best, frankly. I just want to make sure I get my opinion out there, and that everybody who reads it knows it is the correct one. That said, I occasionally will not be able to contain my excitement (or disgust) about something that may in fact be happening as I write about it. C'est la vie.

Mass media is art, and art is very important. And it is very important that we as a society continue to make and appreciate art. As long as art (whether music, writing, painting, architecture, movies, sculpture, comics, or whatever else one can consider art) continues to be created and appreciated, we as a society will not have lost our ability to wonder at the universe around us, and therefore will not have lost our drive and ambition to understand the universe around us. We will not stagnate.

Especially when that art features gods and goddesses, heroes and villains, and impossible creatures.

Oh, also, during this intrepid journey of art and criticism, chances are good that I will curse like a sailor, so fair warning.