Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Trailers In Short - The Tunes and Toons Edition

It's the time of year when we need some childlike fun, and some merry songs to tide us through blustery cold days.

Time for some fun from LEGO's take on the heroes of the DC Universe.Time for the five armies to meet. Time for Snoopy to...do whatever he does, And it's time for some song and dance with a musical witch. And, Galavant, again.


LEGO Justice League Vs Bizarro League



Ah. Another LEGO film. I have so far found the DC animated LEGO films to be quite fun. I like their take on the pantheon of heroes. The humor,animation, and characters feel like they all work together. (Honestly, the Marvel ones haven't worked as well for me. They just feel too goofy.)

But this time out we get a turn with Bizarro. And Bizarro has decided to create some friends. So that means, after so many, years, we get a look at Bizarro's take on the Justice League again.

I don't think I've seen any of them since the days of the Super Friends. I guess they've brought them back in some forms at times.

Though the logic of the Bizarro's is tricky. Do everything opposite. It's hard not to do without being very silly. They've turned more to be more tragic to me in recent years. Bizarro ends up being a strange confused unwanted outsider.

But that's why it's more fun to use the concept with LEGO, where everything can be tongue in cheek!


But I don't think we've had a Bizarro World for awhile. It's supposed to be a square duplication of Earth. Sometimes it seemed it had some variety of people. But often it was a lot of Superman duplicates (Hence why you often Bizarro with a "No. 1" medallion around his neck. He's the original and worst.)


But then you had the team.




Ah.

So we get a tale of them being created from LEGO, and how they end up helping the Justice League against Darkseid. We get to see the value of a Bizarro.

It sounds like fun.

And how can I now resist adding the DC Nation short with Bizarro?




Saturday, November 15, 2014

Friday the 13th on Thursday the 13th - Episode 11 - Scarecrow


With Hellowe'en passed, and cursed comics tossed out, it's time for a new month and a new 13th.

This time it's something we get to go to a proper scary place...Rural Canada! Oooo!

Well it's scary if your scared of not having cellphone reception...Is that still an issue out there? Probably not going to be as friendly as in Little Mosque On The Prairie.

So let's get into Friday the 13th the Series once again...


,,,and the "Scarecrow".


And the title says it all. The team are out this time in search of a cursed scarecrow,

"Yeah, I give the Scarecrow nightmares."
Oh, man. What is the curse. Let's cross our fingers and hope it goes around killing people.It'll be just like the Wizard of Oz...that is the right movie?

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas advertising.

Halloween has past, and we all know what that means. It's Christmas time, sorry American Thanksgiving. Sure, the stores were already playing Christmas music two weeks back.

But it's almost time for ads to focus on Christmas. And by focusing on Christmas I mean focusing on buying things we don't need. But I guess that's most ads. It's just now there's more red ribbons, snow, and excess sentimentality.


Cracked.com looked at some of the more ridiculous ads.




More Bats!


Bats!

Sure, bringing this up gives me excuse to point to my post on how interesting and misunderstood bats are. Or, the other post that points to further facts on bats.

But that's not why we're here.

Now enjoy some of the work from the people (including Emily Graslie of The Brain Scoop) the Field Museum of Chicago. The team headed out to Kenya to meet with local researchers to see the regional bat population.

Part 1




Part 2





Wednesday, November 05, 2014

Some Sinister Information

Why left-handedness. And not just why they're all so freaking awesome!

Aw yeah!





Return of the Space Oddity

To lighten the color of my distemper, a little music.

I guess the Bowie legal team decided to play nice with those that tread beyond our Earth. Chris Hadfield's version of Space Oddity is back for people to enjoy.

So enjoy it!



Monday, November 03, 2014

Getting powered up to vote, with information.


It's almost election day, and there's still time to vote. There's also still time to learn about what you can vote on.

To start some research you can head over to Ballotpedia. At this site you can go to the Sample Ballot page to pull up the ballot that will be used in your Zip Code area.


Then you can review what will be on the ballot tomorrow. Governor. State Rep. Secretary of State. Etc.

You will also see the Amendments, Measures, and the alphabet of other issues you may be asked about. It offers added information on the two sides of each issue, and who is supporting it.

I won't guarantee it will resolve your issues. Sometimes the sides aren't as helpful as you'd like. I have one measure about expanding the number of doctors you can go to on insurance. I am torn on the pros and cons of the matter And secondary analysis of the measure is hard to find.

But for most issues the information on this site can at least help you muddle through the legal language that sometimes gets used.


The listings of candidates is also nice, as it allows you to try and figure out who the candidates really are. Often you can go into the polls and have no idea who is who, and what the positions actually do. Take some time to google them and see.


But one area that still vexes me is the fact I keep getting asked to vote for judges. What? Why? The only time you hear about a judge is if they get caught committing a crime, or make a controversial ruling. And even then, do you really remember them?

If you'd to have judges to vote on, I'd like to suggest Judgepedia (Yes, it exists.) You can at least see the candidates history on the bench to some extent. Also you can see if there are any notable cases. Also if they've served as a public defender or prosecutor. Also, in some cases, you can see if they've been involved with causes, like helping victims of certain crimes, or making changes to the system.

The site also, at least for my state, has ratings for judges as to how conservative they are, compared to the rest of the sitting judges.

Voting on judges seems silly, but you can at least, if you want to vote on them, make a semi-informed choice. (And I'd add, in Iowa after the State Supreme Court sided with the rights of gay people, conservatives were happy to go out and try to vote some of those justices out. If you have some honest judges on the bench that are being harried, why not help them?)


I hope you can take the time to vote this week. Every vote does count. Many offices and measures are close. Votes will matter.



Sunday, November 02, 2014

Citizens wielding the mighty hammer of the vote. *UPDATED*


In case you haven't gotten the hint from all the political ads, it's almost an election day.

In our country money has a lot of sway. Money can get access. Money can take hold of the airwaves at this time of year.

But, in the end, those people chasing donations are doing so for one reason. To convince you to vote for them. OR, convince you to not bother, to give up.


Lewis Black has been supporting efforts to get people out to vote, and to fight vote suppression.

Saturday, November 01, 2014

Halloween Fun With Gotham

The actors on Gotham have had some costume fun this Halloween.


Ben McKenzie, who plays James Gordon.


He went as Commissioner James Gordon.


Sean Pertwee, who plays Alfred Pennyworth. (And he's the son of Jon Pertwee, who played the 3rd Doctor.)


He dressed up as the 3rd Doctor, taking a selfie.


And some bonus fun...

Friday the 13th on Halloween the Halloween! - Episode 5 - Hellowe'en

We've done cursed comics earlier this month but now it's time for...CURSED HALLOWEEN!

Or rather, a magic amulet...But it's really about Halloween.

So  let's get into Friday the 13th the Series, and...


"Hellowe'en"



It's Halloween time in the world of Friday the 13th, Ryan has had a brilliant idea.


Throw a party at the shop. Invite all the neighborhood locals, and show them that the shop is perfectly safe and normal.