Comic Books and Daytime Soaps

I know that the A's moving to Fremont might be more "important" news, but I am very intrigued by the fact that Marvel Comics is doing a bit of cross-promotion with Guiding Light.

According to ICV2 News: "Marvel plans to add an 8-page backup story written by comic-and soap scribe Jim McCann to a number of books starting with four titles releasing on October 25th, while Guiding Light episode telecast on November 1st will provide the origin of Springfield's first costumed crime fighter and plenty of "Easter Eggs" for sharp-eyed Marvel fans."

That's right, all us comic book geek completists will need to set our TiVos to CBS and record Guiding Light.

A lot of people I know are surprised by the move by Marvel, but I am not. This seems a perfect way to reach out to new audiences, especially young female readers. Even the idea of having a superhero on a soap doesn't seem all that bizarre to me. I grew up with Scorpio's spy escapades on General Hospital, the show was like a really bad Man From UNCLE for a while. More recently, Port Charles had a "Buffy" storyline where Lucy was a vampire hunter and nearly all of Port Charles were turned into vampires.

How do I know this? Oh, the storyline was so bizarre that I had to watch. Leaving out that storyline, it doesn't take much to find genre soaps, Dark Shadows, Babylon 5, and Battlestar Gallactica all come to mind, at least as far as having what are typically soap operatic conflicts.

RE: Q&A

I'll join in
1. up at 4:30 am,
2. pearls (more class),
3. The Protector,
4. MNF,
5. Corn Pops or oatmeal,
6. quick,
7. Paul,
8. Brussel Sprouts -childhood hangup,
9. N/A
10. Tuna,
11. Cutting my hands climbing a chain link fence,
12. Arbitraryness, (my weakness spelling)
13. running shoes,
14. Nepal,
15. Coral,
16. N/A
17. Philly (there is something about a big city)
18. 20
19. Baseball, Football
20.to 22. N/A
23. Me
24. 8/12
25. Long distance running (it only takes me 6 miles to clear my mind), reading
26. Not sure, or that hell is really one long spelling test
27. passing out on the hood of a car, that was not mine.
28. missed a tree by 3 inches while skiing in Co.
29. Attny
30. She knows who she is,
31. I'd like a dog but none now
32. Plastic
33. A judge, a doctor (what can I say, I am not the greatest at advanced math).
34. Mums - they are tough, I respect endurance
35. If I could, I would make people more reasonable.

Very Long Q&A

The good folks at Pererro have been answering the following Q&A and I figured that I would join them.

1. What time did you get up this morning? 7:00.

2. Diamonds or pearls? I find pearls to be more attractive, especially black pearls.

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? The Departed, saw it right after Employee of the Month.

4 What is your favourite TV show at the moment? Either Heroes, Ugly Betty, or Eureka two of which can be watched online.

5. What do you usually have for breakfast? Faux eggs and turkey bacon.

6. Favourite cuisine? Proficient

7. What is your middle name? Arthur

8. What food do you dislike? Mayonnaise (the jarred kind, I know that certain "sauces" are whipped oil and thus technically mayonnaise. I am talking Best Foods here.) and Liver and Onions.

9. What is your favourite CD at the moment? The new Snow Patrol CD is getting a lot of play in my car, but I am already shifting over to the Killers.

10. Favourite sandwich? Philly Cheesesteak.

11. First Childhood memory? Needing "gummy bottom" shoes so I could run on the bomb shelter door cover.

12. What characteristic do you despise? People who think that ranting is "dialogue."

13. Favourite item of clothing? Uh...Omega watch.

14. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would it be? Neuschwanstein.

15. What colour is your bathroom? White.

16. Favourite brand of clothing? Brooks Brothers.

17. Where would you retire to? Northern California, Oregon, or England if they change their taxes.

18. What was your most memorable birthday? 31st, my wife threw me a Disneyland surprise party.

19. Favourite sport to watch? In order...Baseball, Soccer, Formula One.

20. Furthest place you are sending this? Cinerati.

21. Who do you least expect to send this back to you? N/A

22. Person you expect to send it back first? N/A

23. Person who is most busy? My Wife.

24. When is your birthday? 1/8

25. Hobbies? Reading, Movies, Rpgs, Computer Games, Boardgames.

26. Biggest Fear? Void.

27. Drunk memory: Not going there.

28. Luckiest moment: We make our own luck.

29. Career highlights: Promotion to Program Director of Non-Profit.

30. Regrets: Being unfair to certain people in the past.

31. Pets? Cat. Used to have 3 cats and a dog, but time takes its toll.

No. 32 Paper or Plastic? Plastic.

33. What did you want to be when you were little? Lawyer, Politician, or Astronaut.

34. What is your favourite flower? I really like Lilies.

35. What would you change about the world? If I had psionics, I'd make it so people were mentally incapable of using Nuclear Technology in the development of weapons. Barring that, keep making my space in the world as pleasant as possible.

A Look at Video Gamer Demographics

According to the Hollywood Reporter, those of us looking to have "gaming" experiences with those mysterious creatures known as women need look no further than our desk tops. Of the remarkably high 58.5 million "active gamers" who play online games, 64% are women. That's right, according to Nielsen if you want to play a game with a woman play online.

Does that mean that all those WoW players hiding in their basements are on the cutting edge of the dating future like Will Ferrell in The Wedding Crashers (he crashed funerals)? Not necessarily, the Nielsen study defines some of the terms a little differently than an MMORPG player might expect. First, "active gamer" means someone who plays 1 or more HOURS a week on a gaming device. To you and me that is more like what I would call a "casual gamer." Second, "older females make up the largest percentage of casual gamers, usually playing online card and puzzle games." Casual games are games similar in content to traditional boardgames. So if you want to meet "gamer women" the likelihood is that they love Scrabble, chess, sudoku, or some other traditional type games. Of course, this also means they like games that translate well into a "social" environment so if you meet a date via online Scrabble, you might actually want a second date.

The Hollywood Reporter article has a lot of information about other demographics, but the fact that females make the majority of online gaming is pretty interesting stuff.

A Glimpse at the Beautiful Game.

An interesting song, a compilation of Football clips featuring grace, violence, and bloopers. Life is indeed good.



Oh, and this video is way better than the actual video.

I Was Bushwacked!

Those who frequent this site, both of you, might have noticed a significant downturn in the number of posts last week. That is largely due to the fact that I was in Jesse James country. You got it, I was in western Missouri in a small town called Excelsior Springs, which is pretty close to Liberty and is only a few miles away from Jesse James' birthplace.

I would have posted earlier, but I had to prove I was neither a "Yankee" or a "damned Pinkerton croney." Beautiful country, see for yourself.

Eragon Trailer Now Available for Viewing

Part Elfstones of Shannara, part Harry Potter, and part childhood dreams of flying, the Eragon trailer is now available for viewing. After seeing Jeremy Irons in Dungeons and Dragons, I began to fear that any fantasy film in which he starred would be doomed to failure. But if the trailer is any clue, then all that is required for a good fantasy film is a good story. Oh, wait...I already knew that. Eragon the book was very entertaining and the movie looks equally good.

You can view the trailer here.