World's Strongest

My nephew and I AGAIN (I think this is the tenth or eleventh time) had the nerdcore discussion focusing on who would really win in a fight. For the sake of complete fantastical whimsy I will post my view of why the Japanese version of Superman (i.e. Goku/Kakarot)would win. While I have no doubt the Silver/Bronze age Superman would be able to go toe-to-toe with Goku (at least for a while), since his de-powerment of the 80's, Supes just doesn't have the raw strength to keep up.

Before Goku reached such illustrious heights of Super-Saiyan, in an average (in what they call a low level) fight, the Z gang with Goku at the fore, were fighting at such speeds as to be unviewable to the average human eye. In other words, they moved so fast as to not be perceived by mere mortals in an average, everyday fight.

Early on in the DBZ story, Z fighters routinely had to hold back their powers because even moderately powerful attacks would have destroyed the planet they were fighting on.

Goku, despite his innocence and pure-of-heart demeanor, loves to fight. Superman, although not afraid of a fight, is not what most would consider, a fighter. Goku's drive ensures he trains constantly and relentlessly, always seeking out stronger opponents. Superman is lazy. In his world he is one of the most powerful and thus never needs to push himself.

Goku died once and was essentially taken in by outer dimensional gods of the Asian pantheon and not only was allowed to keep his powerful physical form, but also was named guardian of this corner of the universe of our dimension and given special training by the gods themselves! Superman? He got a few talking crystals from his old man.

While Goku is widely considered the strongest of his lot, most of his lower level friends are also incredibly powerful and can push themselves far beyond what even Superman can keep up with.

And finally...

Goku, like Superman, is an alien but unlike Superman, Goku's amazing physiology makes him more powerful every time he is beaten close to, or to death. So even if Superman beat him multiple times, Goku would eventually come back strong enough to win. Even after death.

Ah! Taste of an Old Generation

Now that I'm 42 (and because my body is changing for the worse) I figured it was time to look at alternatives to soda. Since kicking soda completely has proven difficult. The good news is I have found an alternative that fulfills the craving yet leaves such an aftermath of funk that I don't even want another soda for several days. May I present my new soft drink...

...just The Doctor

My favorite Doctors in order as of today...

4
7
2
10
9
3
1
5
11 (not enough exposure)
8 (Didn't care for the romantic interpretation)
6

Why? Why the hell not.

Naivete, the Internet and a Good Education in Critical Thinking

Y'know, I am greatly saddened by the state of our state, country and world. Not for the mess we are in but for the much bigger mess we are continuing to move towards. I laugh at how so many Obama critics blame him for our economic problems and cry "Socialist!" yet I know myself and many, many of my friends were actually laid-off before the man even stepped foot in office. Aren't we a capitalist nation? Isn't that actually defined as a Darwinian approach to our economy? Wasn't Bush the one that began paying off American companies to keep them afloat because their practices risked their own survival? Okay, I am going to stop here as I have begun to touch upon only the slightest tip of a very large iceberg and this isn't the focus of this article.

What is important to realize is that as much as I love the internet, it is now such a bastion of opinion and misinformation that the truth is even harder to see than before. Sure, it is still possible to "read-between-the-lines" as it were and find the truth. Distill out others opinions, advertisements and propaganda down to what is really being said so that I can have a better understanding of individuals refusal to work together, protect their own asses (despite losing it slowly, anyway) and protect a company/corporation that would turn its back on them to save itself and blatantly cling on to American ideals from the 1980's that really should never have become so entrenched in the first place.

I had a professor in college (whose name now escapes me) that was very opinionated regarding what a place of higher learning should be. She had no problem expressing how today (and this was in the 90's) colleges and universities had become no more than trade schools and the idea of "higher-learning" and the individual's education of how to think critically, was being lost. She felt we were being led to an end and not taught how to decide how to best achieve whatever end we wanted. I, initially thought, her views were a bit extreme but I always admired her passion. Lately, I have come to realize she was pretty damned prophetic in our society of supposed free-information. Her words (if not her name) continue to echo in my mind.

Now, more than ever, the need for reasoning and critical thinking become paramount. As most of our population regurgitates the opinions of others, why can't we at least teach our children to see both the forest and the trees, as well as understanding how to separate them. Forgive my analogy but I am trying to be as concise as possible. Please teach anyone you know (especially the young) how to see things with not only a critical eye but also a reasoning one. as these two things go hand-hand-hand. You may scoff but think about what I am really saying. Teach your children the ability to think for themselves. Is that really such a bad thing? Are you happy with the world?

Resources that can give you a good base to begin...

Wikipedia - Critical Thinking

Critical Thinking Dot Org

Steven Spielberg’s greatest hits!

Disclaimer: This blog is not political nor has any hint of PC thugness.

First things first; I am not a Spielberg fan, in general. In fact I dislike a vast majority of the films he has been involved with. I, like so many others (as well as Trey Parker and Matt Stone) felt that he and George Lucas raped the Indiana Jones franchise for the last outing in numerous ways. That being said and for some inexplicable reason, I felt the need to understand why Steven Spielberg is considered one of the most influential filmmakers of modern cinema. In truth, I feel that the vast majority of what Spielberg directs is utter crap. And I am not talking about the neighborhood dog that leaves a present on your lawn, variety of crap. I am talking about the kind of crap that even surpasses the Disney Channel! With all of that regurgitated I did want to focus on what it is I actually like that Spielberg has been involved with…

Munich – This much under-recognized film shows off what Spielberg can actually do with a camera when he wants to. This film, to me, is Spielberg’s best. Gritty, uncompromising and tragic, this film explores the nature of violence in the modern world. Unlike many of his other “statement” movies (I’m looking at you Amistad, Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan and probably a few more I’ve missed) this one is light on the Spielberg-ian message and over sentimentality and is more of a statement that is, like all good art should be, open for interpretation.

1941 – This movie is widely considered a disaster and a flop. Sadly, this may be more of a statement regarding my tenuous connection to this world and what is popular but enough about that. This movie is big, wild and crazy! It has action, music, dancing, a literal cast of thousands and John Belushi as a World War II fighter pilot that I wanted to be when I grew up. It encompasses paranoia and how it can make otherwise rational people behave quite irrationally as well as some of the craziest parody ever put on screen (and that is saying something considering films like Airplane and the like). I think this film actually demonstrates what is best about Spielberg’s more whimsical touch when filmmaking and it is a shame it has not achieved more success through the years. Still, it has its fans and I am counted among them.

Jaws – My first popular movie on the list and Spielberg’s first undeniable hit. Really, since this is a popular one, I won’t explain too much other than to say this film actually does what most people say about Spielberg's other films. It is “Big Budget” filmmaking with a great cast, memorable lines and scenes, a story that feels larger than life (yet really isn’t) and is critically acclaimed (i.e. damn goods filmmaking).

The Lost World: Jurassic Park – Okay, okay let me explain. This film is rooted in the “Ed Wood” category on that it is so bad, it is good. I am also willing to bet Spielberg himself realized this as the last act breaks down into parody of his own filmmaking style. In my opinion, best of the otherwise dreadful Jurassic Park franchise (Only the movies, the books are quite good) if only for their nearly flawless effects combined with absurd situations in a ballet of tongue-in-cheek moments that still manage to excite.

Raiders of the Lost Ark – Okay, let’s be honest. From an objective point of view this film does not hold up. Spielberg’s over-choreographed action set-pieces (for which are even more magnified in later films) are on full display here. Despite this, I still love it and for this type of film (i.e. Saturday Cliff-Hanger Serial meets modern Big Budget Filmmaking) the style works. This particular film has so many things going for it that it survives and thrives despite lackluster (or in some cases terrible and embarrassing, I’m looking at you Crystal Skull) sequels. Of course its sequels also suffer from this one’s phenomenal success and no matter what kind of crap Indy ends up in (and I mean script-wise, not onscreen shenanigans), we can always put this DVD in our players to remind us why we love the character in the first place.

Honorable Mention: Empire of the Sun – I cannot honestly comment on this film other than to say I remember enjoying it immensely at a time when I loathed the name Steven Spielberg. I saw this film when it was in theaters in 1987 and have not seen it since, so I should probably give this another view just to be sure.

The Crap Pile

Too many films to honestly list but I will place a couple of my least favorite.

War of the Worlds – A terrible adaptation of one of my favorite books in all the world. Was it doomed from the start because of this fact? Hmm, so let me get this straight, Martians, untold years ago, were capable of space flight (and advanced force-field technology) had buried giant war machines beneath our Earth so that at a time of their choosing they could invade and destroy our very planet yet were defeated by our earth-bound bacteria and viruses? Now I could go on with why this is immensely more implausible then the fact that Martians would invade, anyway but I won’t. I wanted to like this film, even if Tom Cruise was the lead, I really did. Actually, I think I’ll re-read the book. . .

E.T.: The Redux – Yikes! Why take an overblown kids fantasy film and make it worse with ridiculous CGI?!?!? Some things are best left forgotten and this question (as well as this version of the film) should also be.

Spielberg’s Production Credits – Let’s be honest, Spielberg was involved in many popular and influential films so I figured I had better list some of my favorites of those too.

Poltergeist

The Goonies

Back to the Future I, II and III

Three O’Clock High (under-recognized but funny)

Joe Versus the Volcano

Dreams

Shrek

Evolution

Band of Brothers

Flags of Our Fathers (yes this is Clint Eastwood’s baby but Spielberg did help it become a reality)

Letters from Iwo Jima (yes this is also Clint Eastwood’s baby but Spielberg did help it become a reality)

Las Vegas Bucket List

As my hometown spends more and more money on embedding itself into the hearts and minds of popular culture I can't help wonder when enough is enough. Well, as far as the vampiric entity of Las Vegas is concerned; it is never enough. I recently saw an article (didn't bother to read it) about the Las Vegas Bucket List: 10 things to do in Las Vegas before you die. Hmm, (in my best James Earl Jones voice) disturbing, most disturbing. Well, I decided to make my own "Las Vegas Bucket List"...

My Las Vegas Bucket list: 1 Thing to do in Las Vegas before you (I) die...

Leave it.