Descent Day!

Today I'm spending all day at my brother-in-law's house. He ran into some free time to play "Descent" with me, and since I can make up the work-load at SBP whenever I feel like it, I jumped at the chance.


Stakes are pretty high right now. His valiant group of heroes didn't survive the last quest, and this one will be even harder. He'll need to take advantage of every skill and spell he has at his disposal. And even though I'm assuming the role of "Overlord", I'll be rooting for him just as much as I'm trying to kill him.


Never played "Descent" before? You don't know what you're missing! If you ever played and enjoyed Milton Bradley's "Hero Quest", this game will make you drool with delight.
A group of heroes, controlled by one or more players, makes their way through a game board dungeon. The game board comes in puzzle pieces, with dozens of layouts available, so the game is never the same twice!
One player acts as the "Overlord" and controls all the monsters, traps and everything else that isn't a hero. If you're not into RPGs, but like fantasy movies and books, give this game a try! Best boardgame...EVER!


Check it out: http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/descent.html

Comic Book Files!

Today begins a new era in my comic book collecting. With the help of some gaming buddies I finally got the special file cabinet we ordered upstairs and soon I will have it situated in my office. I have more than 8 long-boxes of comics in my office and the collection just keeps growing. But now I have a filing cabinet that will allow me to stack them on top of each other and still have really easy access to all the favorites I'd like to re-read. It's pretty much my personal geek paradise. Although sliding it into place and loading my comics will have to wait for now. It's back to slaving away at my computer on some "Dark Ritual" scenes. My OTHER personal geek paradise!

The Reliance, #2

While others tended to unsettled civilians, Surge took the chance to speak to the nearby hot-dog vendor. The vendor told him that he saw a strange, scrawny man in a tattered trench coat steal and eat an inhuman number of hotdogs and then flee the scene when the action started. Last the vendor saw, the stranger collided with a truck further down the street.


Chronos, arriving late due to some personal matters came just in time to witness Candice disappear in a shaft of light.


Deciding that there were more immediate needs than to examine the strange weapon he recovered, Road Warrior jumped into his stunt-car, The Beast, and took Surge along for a ride to investigate the strange truck accident. The driver of the totalled semi-truck described a huge, hulking figure in a tattered trench-coat that absently slammed into his truck as if it were nothing, and then continued into the subway station nearby. Road Warrior and Surge were quick to inform the rest of the team.


Unbeknownst to the others in The Reliance, Candice had been pulled away by the mystical agent of order, Dr. Fate. His message to her was simple, but deathly serious: "You are being watched. The Lords of Order will not permit a power such as yours to be used in service to darkness." The implication was clear that Dr. Fate would be a potential ally, or a devastating foe.


Chronos literally made "good use of time" by manipulating chronal energy, almost instantly speeding him to the subway. Moments later The Beast began roaring down into the subway tunnel in pursuit.


After making sure that everyone was alright, Iron Hand flew down into the Subway tunnel and soon the team, minus only one, stood poised for action.
What they found was a wreck of four subway cars, with civilians both in and around the accident. A broken cluster of water mains began to flood the area and severed electrical lines created a lethal combination.


With a teaming of power armor and Chronal Speed, an evacuation of subway passengers began. Road Warrior and Surge also worked quickly to clear civilians off of the platform.
Before the subway could be completely evacuated, two alien warriors, male and female, boldly arrived on the scene, ready to "prove themselves", in some way, using The Reliance.


Candice was freed by Dr. Fate in just enough time to join the conflict and, like most of the team, become over-whelmed by the intensity of the Male's energy weapon.
Iron Hand, protected by his power armor, pummeled through the massive blast of energy and like a juggernaut, slammed the female alien into the wall of ceramic tile and concrete.


Seeking to finish what he started by throwing the unconscious female at the male, Iron Hand suddenly found himself bound (and also rather distracted) by a black, sticky web-like snare, slung by the alien male.


Although unnoticed by the others, Road Warrior had managed to make eye-conact with the female just before she was neutralized, allowing him to drain tremendous strength from her other-worldy physique. With a torrent of electrical energy, Surge jolted the male alien into unconscious submission.


Candice immediately went to work trying to catch a scent of the figure in the tattered trench-coat. After making an intense effort, she discovered his unusual aroma and notified the team of the direction in which he escaped.


Road Warrior, eager to explore abilites that are still mysterious in origin, absorbed increased defensive power from the male, only to feel it vanish a minute later. His strength still intact, he and Iron Hand adjusted the train wreckage enough to allow for its safe removal by transit authorities.


With a direction now established, the team departed to chase their mysterious suspect, while Iron Hand stayed behind momentarily to secure the crime scene with the arrival of local police.
Following the path of destruction led The Beast and its occupants to a park outside, where a strange alien craft awaited them. While Iron Hand and Surge wasted no time in making a stylish entrance through its open bay door, Iron Hand and Candice surveyed from above, waiting for a strategic opportunity to present itself.


Inside the craft, was the mysterious figure, who revealed himself as "The Arbitrator". He had brought two Khundian warriors, siblings, to this world, as he had done for many others, to test their abilites and "right of ascension" for the political structure of Khund controlled space. Unfortuantely, he did not anticipate that they would be defeated so easily and now has determined Earth to be a threat to the Khundian Empire.


He has set in place an automated sequence that will result in the destruction of the planet, unless The Reliance can defeat him in combat. If they succeed, he will use his unique genetic material to signal shut-down of the destructive device. If they fail, this planet is doomed. Before their eyes, members of The Reliance watch the Arbitrator's rope-like muscles twitch and expand as he transforms into the lumbering figure responsible for so much destruction.


Next time... "The Fate Of Earth Decided!"

Theology Of The Matrix Trilogy- Part 2

Okay,
Here's the rest of the commentary I wrote for the Christian theology of the trilogy. Enjoy!




The Oracle and the Architect are the only two programs, outside of possibly "the Machine god" from the end of the third film, that are capable of orchestrating events to provide options for choice. The Architect will not do this, because it is not his purpose, but the Oracle's purpose is to "unbalance" things, as she mentions in the third film. She took it upon herself to subtly manipulate the life of Neo so that when he defeated Smith in the first film, he would also end up unconsciously or "by accident" imprinting part of himself on Smith, leading to the necessary peace treaty.
Smith tells Neo later in the second film that like Neo, he wants "everything".
And this is true. Neo still wants to have peace and a long life, without sacrificing anything. All the good, without the bad.
Neo avoids the truth of his purpose until the very end of the third film. Smith asks Neo why he persists in fighting, and Neo responds, "because I choose to". Despite this being a dramatic line, it shows that Neo STILL doesn't believe in destiny, and refuses to surrender himself to his ultimate purpose.
The Oracle knew, in the second film, that Neo would have to return to the source, as he finally does at the end of the third film. Neo did not want to return to the source then, because it would mean the end of Trinity's life. Neo's problem, as the Oracle always new, was that as long as he had Trinity in his life, he would never be willing to leave her and go to the source. The Oracle new that Trinity was everything to him, and he would never fulfill his purpose if staying with her was still an option.
In the third film, he no longer had the option of staying with Trinity. He had nothing left but his purpose. Still, though, he entered the final fight with Smith out of revenge, without a full understanding of his purpose. The deal for the treaty was probably secondary in his mind. He just wanted the end of evil, and the beginning of peace.
Finally, with nothing left to live for, he was able to recognize the meaning of the Oracle's words. "Everything that has a beginning has an end, Neo." He knew that by definition, he had no reason to exist after fulfilling his purpose, and so gave himself over to his ultimate purpose and destiny.

Christian Theology
Although there are varying philosophical references that span a number of faiths in the Matrix Trilogy, for those enjoying the movie from a Christian perspective, there are several symbols and ideas to notice, some of which that were purposefully done, and others that were probably not, given there deep, specifically Christian theological references:
Names: Neo is an Anagram for "One" but also means "New". Christ was the second or "new" Adam, and also came to make all things "new".
Trinity: An obvious reference to the Godhead, but why? Neo is the Christ figure and Morpheus, in the first film, plays a duel role of John the Baptist, preparing the way for Neo, and God the father, a guiding mentor for Neo. The name Trinity makes us think of the Godhead, and tells us to put two and teo together. Trinity represents the Holy Spirit. She is sent as a representative force for Morpheus to work among men. Additionally, it was the Holy Spirit that raised Christ from the dead and it was Trinity that "talked" Neo back to life at the end of the first film.
The Nebachudnezzar: This is an old Testament king who was troubled by dreams, a central comparison to the world of the Matrix.

Types: As I mentioned, Neo is Christ, Morphesu is John the Baptist/God the Father, Trinity is the Holy Spirit. Cypher is Judas, who makes a deal with the enemy. Smith and his Agents are Pharisees, who want to maintain a legal "control" of things.
Smith is also Satan or Evil. We see this particularily in the second and third film as he spreads all over the earth(Evil) and during the final battle with Neo, where lightning flashes behind him, giving him mometary "wings of light"(Satan/Lucifer). Zion represents heaven, where men go after they have left the world they live in. The Oracle is also a type of God, orchestrating events that allow humans to make choices, but still all within the confines of her orchestrated plan.
Salvation: Christ took sin upon himself, and God poured out his wrath on him so that sin's power over humanity would be destroyed. Those that believe in this event are set free from this world and will go to heaven.
Neo let Smith possess him. The Deus Ex Machina(Literally: God in the Machine) saw Neo's connection to Smith(Sin) and killed him so that Smith's power over the Matrix would be ended. Now, those humans that believe are able to be set free from the Matrix because of what Neo did, and they can now go to the city of Zion.

Theology Of The Matrix Trilogy- Part One

Okay, here's where my love for sci-fi and theology collide. I put this little commentary together a couple years ago. If you're a fan of the trilogy I think you'll dig it. (Spoilers ahead!)

The Matrix Trilogy is, in one of it's primary layers, a six-hour discourse on the subject of
pre-destination. The idea that choice does not begin with our conscious decision, but with events
creating factors for making our decisions that are completely out of our control. The brothers
suggest in the film that choice, if we have the ability to choose, is a mechanic that exists only
within the confines of destiny.
We can only choose from the options available to us. And the options available to us exist because of factors that we did not bring about. For example:
If I choose to drink a glass of water, it is probably because I am thirsty. But let's go deeper into why I might have made that choice, and see if the choice begins with me, or with something I had no control over.
I'm thirsty because it's been awhile since I last had water. I may have been busy(something I could control), forgotten(something I can't), or not known where to get water(I cannot control what knowledge I have, because I don't know what knowledge will be useful to have at every given moment of my life.) So the possibility remaining that I DO have control over needs to be examined.
Can I choose NOT to be busy? My choice to stop doing what is keeping me busy will be based on the cost of stopping. Will I lose my job, lose a friend, become stressed and anxious at work piling up? If I were to force myself to accept the cost, it would be because I believe I can deal with the negative outcome. But why do believe that?
As you can see, we can continue to trace our choices backward in time until the moment we are formed in the womb and are first capable of "experiencing" anything. And our coming into being, our existence itself, is something none of us had any control over. You can choose to analyze your choices until you die, but even the very process of thinking you use to analyze yourself is determined by either genetics or previous events in your life that have caused your mind to operate in a certain way. In either case, both are again traced back to that which you have no control over.
So choice DOES exist, but not independent of destiny. What is destiny? The pre-determined, irrestible or inevitable course of events. Pre-determined by whom? The Merovingian would say "by those with power". The intelligent forces that govern what options we will have to choose from. So back into the trilogy...
The Matrix and those controlling it have the power to shape destinies, but even the shapers, if not possessed of absolute knowledge and power, are subject to the powers above them. In all three films, we see characters struggling with the nature of their world, and several key words continue to pop up:
Why, Control, Purpose, Inevitable, Choice.
In the first film, Neo's employer tells him that he has "a choice". "Either you choose to be at your desk on time from this day forth, or you choose to find yourself another job."
Neo tells Morpheus that he doesn't like the idea that he's not in control of his life, and Morpheus knows exactly what he means.
The Oracle demonstrates choice as a mechanism within the confines of destiny determined by the control of others when she tells Neo about the vase just before he breaks it. She knew the outcome, and helped create options, but it was still Neo's choice to turn around and look for the vase, causing it to break.
The Latin phrase translated to "know thyself" foreshadows the Oracle's statement in the second film that we aren't here to make the choice, but to understand WHY we make the choice. According to the Oracle, choice is not something we have control over. Our only peace, as the Merovingian implies, is to understand WHY we make the choices we do. Our only real power comes from gaining a greater understanding of how the universe works, and learning more about those in charge of it.
Agent Smith explains to Morpheus that after Zion is destroyed, there is no reason or purpose for him to be in the Matrix, so he wants to fulfill that purpose so he can get out and be free. Smith is a slave to fulfilling his purpose.
Smith tells Neo in the train station that his death is inevitable, the first foreshadow to the end of the third film, where Neo fulfills HIS purpose.
When Neo enters Smith, some of his attributes, as Smith explains in the second film, are copied onto Smith, changing him, making him independent of the system. He no longer functions as an agent, and his purpose of destrying Zion is now gone because of that. He sees now that because of his similarities to Neo, he is redundant, and has no purpose, and so wants to remove Neo so that he will be one of a kind again, with a specific, unique purpose.
Smith actually DOES serve a purpose, however. He just doesn't know what it is. His purpose is to become dangerous to the Matrix, beyond the control of the machines. This will force the machines to make a peace treaty with Neo in the third film, since he is the only one capable of stopping Smith.

More next time!

Worst Funeral Gig EVER!

Maybe some time I'll record Mike Tully telling this story (since he told it to me) and then I'll post it here, but this is the worst true story I've ever heard....
A girl at the University that I went to was a singer, like me and Tully. Like singers do, she got a gig to sing at a funeral. She spoke to the widow on the phone-
Widow: I would like it very much if you would sing "Jingle Bells".
Singer: Are... are you sure that's what you want?
Widow: Oh, yes... it was my husband's favorite song and it would honor him so much to have it sung at the service.
So the singer practiced and did all she could to prepare for what would be a very odd experience. Now, for those who haven't done a "funeral gig", you should know that unlike weddings, there is almost never a rehearsal of any kind on location before the service begins. You show up, do it and you're done.
So this girl did her best to be respectful, even melancholy, as she slowly sang--
"Dashing (sigh and dramatic pause)... throughthesnoooooooow..."
Well, after the funeral the widow came up to talk to the girl and with tears and fury in her eyes said, "How dare you.... how DARE you sing that ridiculous song and mock the memory of my husband."
It was at that moment the girl, while simultaneously realizing something was very wrong, noticed an odd speech impediment in the widow that she hadn't noticed on the phone.
Singer: Bu... you sah... I thought you wante....
Widow: I said RINGA 'DEM BELLS!! (An old "spiritual", and VERY different from the Christmas season classic.)
Needless to say, the singer was not payed for the gig and is probably emotionally scarred for life.

Farscape Rules!!

If you're a sci-fi fan and you've never checked this show out, you've done yourself an incredible injustice.

Although it is no longer on the air, for four seasons, Farscape was the sci-fi channel's most popular show and in my opinion, history's most original sci-fi t.v. series.

Don't look for Star Trek's boring "dude with make-up on" aliens. With Jim Henson's Creature Shop behind the scenes, this show had new, original, and most of the time non-humanoid aliens EVERY WEEK!

Now of course no show can be great just on costume gimmicks. The element that brought me back week after week was the constantly developing characterization. Although there is only one real human on the show, each character has decidedly human emotions. Again, the difference from the sterilized world of Star Trek is very big. This show is intense, dark and some times off-the-wall funny.

And let's not forget creative! Although the show requires some investment (miss an episode and you've likely missed something important) the payoff (unlike "Lost") is always hugely gratifying.

And the story concepts are sometimes crazy! I ask you, what show can you watch where the main character dies in an episode and the other characters have to deal with his death. And yet... the next episode we see him alive and well.

Did he really die?

Yep.

Did he come back to life, then?

Nope.

Well then how can he be dead and alive at the same time? Are you speaking metaphorically? Nope, literally.

Look, you're just gonna have to check this show out for yourself! It's all on DVD and VERY affordably priced. Do yourself a favor and give "Farscape" a try.

It's how I'm spending some of MY weekend, anyway.

Comic Book Review: The Flash

After DC Comics' biggest event in decades, "Infinite Crisis", we found ourselves with a new Flash. Wally West had vanished, along with his wife and children, to be replaced by Impulse/Kid Flash, Bart Allen.

Various theories exist about why this was done. I personally believe that some DC execs thought a wife and kids were slowing down "The Fastest Man Alive" and that younger readers "couldn't identify" with an older, family man hero.

Whatever their reasons, they forgot the golden rule of comic books. "Gimmicks only work for one issue, and sometimes less than that." After that, you need well written stories.

Although they produced an arguably fantastic "Flash" T.V. series in the early 90's, Danny Bilson and Paul DeMeo did not have what it takes to write a great Flash comic book. Unfortunately, they didn't have what it takes to write a half-way decent Flash comic.

Suddenly, before even wrapping up their first story arc, the duo were removed from work on the book and hastily replaced.

And not a moment too soon. I had determined to stop buying the Flash until a new team took over.

Marc Guggenheim is doing a decent job cleaning up a messy book. But the book has nowhere near recovered, let alone regained a shadow of it's former glory under the guidance of such great comic book writers like Geoff Johns and Mark Waid.

Next issue will conclude Guggenheim's first story arc and promises a permaneant change of some kind in the current Flash's status quo. Hopefully it will be something that paves the way for the return of Wally West (or at least an explaination of his sudden and mysterious disappearance). Hey, I'd even take the return of Barry Allen or the death of all Flashes except Jay Garrick if it will be the move that gets this book back on track.

One of my absolute favorite characters, but DC, the Flash is on my naughty list right now. You'll get my money, for the time being, but only if we see an upward trend in quality.

You goofed, guys. Now go fix it.

The Spirit Blade Productions Website is LIVE!!

The day has finally arrived! Be sure and check out my company's great new website! Lot's of fun content, free downloads and for the first time ANYWHERE on the web, the ability to purchase a download of Spirit Blade in CD QUALITY audio for your mp3 player!

Movie Review: Hot Fuzz

Just saw this movie this afternoon. Like Shawn Of The Dead, this film combines action, drama, comedy and a few scares with incredible skill. Stupid humor suddenly makes way for gripping scares. Bad boy action moves aside smoothly for real human drama. The juxtaposed elements are what make this film so unpredictable. The ending had some great turns and suprises as well.

It's clear that these guys know action movie pop culture and they play to that strength with great results. With over-done action cuts they turn mundane behavior, like pouring a couple beers, into an intense, fast-moving sequence that puts a smile on your face.

I'd love to see what these film-makers can do when they have a really hefty budget to work with. As a straight-up action film, you won't see any effects or stunt sequences that will blow your mind or even make you terribly excited. But if you've seen alot of action movies, you will really enjoy the way they reference the "feel", if not the specific shots, of hollywood action staples.

This movie will bring alot of vicarious fun to your day as you watch the heroes do the things you've always wanted to do, because you can tell that THEY'VE always wanted to do them too. The supporting bumbling "friend" character in particular is a big action movie buff, and so you enjoy seeing him experience some real action for himself.

In terms of potential coffee-house conversation, it's interesting to note that the main character, Sergeant Angel, is an outcast in this small town because he believes in searching out truth, seeking absolute justice, and has a disdain for the town's wishy-washy attitude about truth and morality; an attitude that could be compared to superficial spirituality or moral relativism. You be the judge.

All this to say, if you like action movies, be sure and see this one before it leaves theatres. And go soon! It's been out a few weeks and the theatre I saw it in was pretty small with few in attendance. Of course, this wouldn't be the first time that ticket sales are no indicator of a film's quality. Check it out!

9.0 out of 10

Jaded Visalian Interview

I had a great interview with Dave over at http://www.thejadedvisalian.com/

He's been the second person in less than 2 months to mention the lack of titles on each track of Spirit Blade. (Sigh. oops!) So I went back and added titles to each track of the mp3 download that will be on the new website this week.

It was great to talk to someone who enjoyed Spirit Blade so much! (Although, I guess if he hated it he probably wouldn't have had me on his show, huh?)

Each interview I do is a blast because everyone is asking different questions. (Also helps that I like talking about Spirit Blade!) This one is just a little over 20 minutes, so check it out!

What to do....

My wife Holly is gone this whole weekend. Won't be back until Tuesday night. I had this great plan to go rent a bunch of weird freaky horror movies that she would never watch with me, but after 30 minutes of looking I didn't find a single movie that looked good.

So here I am, blogging, wishing there was something more exciting to do than re-load my "Diablo" character back at the start of the game because I'm more than half-way through and it's become too hard for me to get further.

I'm watching Dark City with a friend tonight, but until then I've got six hours to fill.
Had a late night working on SB Productions stuff last night and have already spent a few hours today on it again, so I'm ready for a break.

But here I am, the golden moment has arrived. All this free time on my hands.... and nothing I can think of to do with it.
What a sad little existence I have.

The Reliance, Issue #1

Based in Bludhaven, New Jersey, "The Reliance" is a group of superheroes banded together to do more than just rescue the innocent from danger. Their goal is to truly make a difference in the life of each person they save, investing time and effort that many heroes do not.

Having come together to explore their unique abilities, each team member brings something different and valuable to the group.

Candice, the enigmatic girl with wings, has a unique connection to the supernatural world. Messages from God direct her path while her considerable spiritual powers grow with each passing day.

Iron Hand, a genius with technology has constructed a powerful and multi-faceted suit of armor that hides his crippled form and makes him a mission-driven adversary, not to be taken lightly.

The Road Warrior, a world-class stuntman, haunted by his past, is seeking answers that will explain his unusual ability to rob meta-humans of their powers, making them his own.

Surge, a struggling college student, but with the power of a thunder-storm coursing through his veins. Emerging from the shadow of his wealthy family, he's really just lookin' for some fun!

And still to come, another hero will join their ranks....

"Sibling Rivalry, Part 1"

Called to the scene of an unusual robbery, each hero had to find a way to escape their daily routine without drawing suspicion. Each hero, that is, except for Road Warrior, who was home watching T.V. and discovered the robbery on the news.

Candice and Surge both found ways to exit their college class, unfortunately not without causing a power outage throughout the building.

Iron Hand who, as Alex Noir, is a head of R and D at Wayne Tech, brushed passed Bruce Wayne on his way to "armor up", reminded of his important meeting with the billionaire later at 3:00.

At the scene of the crime, gang members ran from a bank, carrying bags of money and armed with strange and advanced armor and weapons. Road Warrior and Surge delivered a combination blow, skillfully slamming open a fire hydrant with Road Warrior's car while electrifying the water to take out half of the thugs.

Iron Hand flew in from above, towing a chain-link fence to sweep some innocent bystanders out of harms way. Seconds later, the same fence was used to apprehend two of the thugs, while Candice unleashed a wave of pure terror that flooded into the soul of each criminal, making them wish they'd never emerged from the womb.

After each thug was neutralized, including their apparent leader, the police arrived. At first, they mistook The Reliance for criminals. They were soon persuaded by Iron Hand that The Reliance has Bludhaven's best interests in mind.

At the same time, Candice used her mystical healing ability, paired with a growing knowledge of scientific medicine, to heal those injured during Iron Hand's "forceful" rescue.

Grateful for their assistance, the police gave The Reliance free reign to examine the crime scene and move forward with an investigation.

Meanwhile, unknown to the police, Road Warrior has tucked away one of the gang members' strange weapons, hoping to soon uncover it's nature...

SB "Movies, Books, Games" Archive

Here's the archived comments from the "Movies/Books/Games" thread that used to be on the Spirit Blade Weblog. "Reliance" posts will be re-posted on this blog separately as well.



SPIDER-MAN 3
Definately worth seeing. Characterization spread a little thinner than the last two, but not by much. The heart of each character is definately present. You ache for each one of them. The love story is still central and holds it all together, and the action is outstanding.Check it out!
Posted by: Paeter May 04, 2007 at 02:29 PM
Wow...
What a great start to a already fun adventure. Paeter, you did a great job holding things together and focus. I enjoyed everyone there that evening and am looking forward to working a great deal more with these folks.
Posted by: Debuc April 30, 2007 at 04:36 PM
Truly, a well done overview of our little "encounter" with evil last night.
Posted by: Dylan April 29, 2007 at 03:55 PM
Here's the first synopsis of our game sessions in the DC Heroes RPG campaign I'm running!
THE RELIANCEIssue #1
Based in Bludhaven, New Jersey, "The Reliance" is a group of superheroes banded together to do more than just rescue the innocent from danger. Their goal is to truly make a difference in each person they save, investing time and effort to make lives better.Having come together to explore their unique abilities, each team member brings something different and valuable to the group.
Candice, the enigmatic girl with wings, has a unique connection to the supernatural world. Messages from God direct her path while her considerable spiritual powers grow with each passing day.
Iron Hand, a genius with technology has constructed a powerful and multi-faceted suit of armor that hides his crippled form and makes him a mission-driven adversary, not to be taken lightly.
The Road Warrior, a world-class stuntman, haunted by his past, is seeking answers that will explain his unusual ability to rob meta-humans of their powers, making them his own.
Surge, a struggling college student, but with the power of a thunder-storm coursing through his veins. Emerging from the shadow of his wealthy family, he's really just lookin' for some fun!
And still to come, another hero will join their ranks....
"Sibling Rivalry, Part 1"
Called to the scene of an unusual robbery, each hero had to find a way to escape their daily routine without drawing suspicion. Each hero, that is, except for Road Warrior, who was home watching T.V. and discovered the robbery on the news.
Candice and Surge both found ways to exit their college class, unfortunately not without causing a power outage throughout the building.Iron Hand who, as Alex Noir, is a head of R and D at Wayne Tech, brushed passed Bruce Wayne on his way to "armor up", reminded of his important meeting with the billionaire later at 3:00.
At the scene of the crime, gang members ran from a bank, carrying bags of money and armed with strange and advanced armor and weapons. Road Warrior and Surge delivered a combination blow, skillfully slamming open a fire hydrant with Road Warrior's car while electrifying the water to take out half of the thugs.
Iron Hand flew in from above, towing a chain-link fence to sweep some innocent bystanders out of harms way. Seconds later, the same fence was used to apprehend two of the thugs, while Candice unleashed a wave of pure terror that flooded into the soul of each criminal, making them wish they'd never emerged from the womb.
After each thug was neutralized, including their apparent leader, the police arrived. At first, they mistook The Reliance for criminals. They were soon persuaded by Iron Hand that The Reliance has Bludhaven's best interests in mind.
At the same time, Candice used her mystical healing ability, paired with a growing knowledge of scientific medicine, to heal those injured during Iron Hand's "forceful" rescue.
Grateful for their assistance, the police gave The Reliance free reign to examine the crime scene and move forward with an investigation.
Meanwhile, unknown to the police, Road Warrior has tucked away one of the gang members' strange weapons, hoping to soon uncover it's nature...
Posted by: Paeter April 28, 2007 at 11:34 PM
Not really
Posted by: Dylan April 28, 2007 at 10:36 PM
Okay, Dylan. Were you even ALIVE when Thundercats was on the air??
Posted by: Paeter April 28, 2007 at 02:31 PM
Whoo! "Fighting evil, we drink milk and we purr a lot. Ask me to cross them, and I would say, 'I'd rather not'" - Relient K, song title: Lion-O. The game is gonna be friggin sweet tomorrow night!
Posted by: Dylan April 27, 2007 at 10:59 PM
In preparation for Spiderman 3, I watched the first and second Spiderman films yesterday and tonight. Tonight I watched the 2.1 version for the first time and enjoyed it, although not quite as much as I'd hoped. Much of the advertised 8 minutes of "never before seen footage" is actually represented by alternate takes. Some of which weren't as good as the original takes used in my humble opinion. A couple additions were slight extensions of scenes that in some cases were great, and in others just dragged the moment on longer than it needed to be.That said, there were a few great new action and special effects bits that were wonderful to have. One of which even filled a gap that I always felt in the orginal cut.And without spoiling it, there's a great bit with J. Jonah Jameson after he's taken ownership of Spidey's costume. Better than great. Freakin hilarious!So if you're not a die hard superhero freak, you at least want to rent this one. But if you're like me, your collection will be missing something without it.Good stuff!
Posted by: Paeter April 25, 2007 at 10:06 PM
If you fancy puns, particularly truly *horrible* ones, go read the webcomic Dominic Deegan.
Posted by: Danielle April 25, 2007 at 07:26 AM
I'm just kiddin' you guys, I don't wanna scare nobody off. These blogs are terrible with sarcasm.
Posted by: Dylan April 23, 2007 at 10:51 PM
Does anybody else read these or am I the only one enjoying myself. Please, if your a fan, COULD YOU POST A COMMENT?!?!
Posted by: Dylan April 22, 2007 at 09:24 PM
Yes, a supply for my onslaught of puns! I think I just might read those and add to my arson of word inflictions. Soon, I will be unstoppable! Or should I say, PUNSTOPPABLE!
Posted by: Dylan April 22, 2007 at 09:22 PM
Dylan, what can I say? You're amazing.You should read some of the "Xanth" novels by Piers Anthony. Xanth is a fantasy world constructed almost entirely of puns.You'll either love them, or they will forever cure you of your fixation.
Posted by: Paeter April 22, 2007 at 12:24 PM
Ha ha ha! "only God knows" and your character is an angel. Ha ha ha!
...The Pun-master srikes AGAIN!!!
Posted by: Dylan April 21, 2007 at 11:08 PM
No problem, Danielle. I've got electronic copies of all the characters in our group and I can just print you out another. At least as far as stats go. If you did a lot of fleshing out of your character's backstory in writing, I don't think I have that. But you can re-construct the basics, I'm sure, and that info isn't vital the first game night.
Posted by: Paeter April 20, 2007 at 10:53 PM
...only God knows where my character sheet is. Will this be a problem?
Posted by: Danielle April 20, 2007 at 10:46 PM
Woohoo! A battle next week. To vanquish evil and all who support it! Although, I have to say, I'm somewhat the thorn in the side of the team weakening even the biggest guy on our team. Our characters probably won't get along too well. And then there's Chronos' unfortunate flashback lapse every time he sees a girl get hurt and oh, lookie here, we have an angel on our team. I just hope my character Surge doesn't have one of his "fits" our first game. One thing's for sure, this is going to be quite interesting...
Posted by: Dylan April 20, 2007 at 08:09 PM
Ye gods and little fishies, you ARE evil. Brrrr.
This looks to be a fun campaign.
Posted by: Danielle April 02, 2007 at 12:54 PM
Patience, Danielle. Darkseid is never one to rush. You have time to grow stronger while living daily in fear of the inevitable.
Posted by: Paeter April 02, 2007 at 09:45 AM
[b]Darkseid[/b]?! How evil [i]are[/i] you? If I recall correctly, Darkseid royally thrashed the JLA, therefore our motley crew is about to get *owned* on a truly cataclysmic scale.
Unless we have a direct act of God – oh….wait. Candy is half angel. Hm…..
Posted by: Danielle April 01, 2007 at 10:01 PM
Another player generated most of his character today and it looks to be a pretty cool "power-armor" type hero. He will easily be the big bruiser of the group, packing the most direct physical force and strength. It will be interesting to see how he works out with one of his teammates, who happens to have the ability to short out electronics...
Just one player left who needs to create a character and our team will be complete.Stay tuned here for updates on the adventures of the worlds newest team of heroes!
Posted by: Paeter April 01, 2007 at 08:21 PM
Tonight was "Character Generation Night" for my new RPG group. So far our group of original heroes has an electricity manipulator named Surge, a time controller called Chronos, and a half-angel enigmatically called "Candice".Still two more players who need to create their characters, but it's looking to be a very interesting and varied group of heroes who will next storm the DC universe and interact with the likes of Superman, Batman and of course, when the time is right... Green Lantern.But they'll need to get their feet wet before playing with big boys like The Joker, Brainiac or Darkseid. Still, it's only a matter of time before the world, or even the universe needs saving, and they're the only ones around to do the job!
More on our valiant group of heroes next month!
Posted by: Paeter March 31, 2007 at 11:24 PM
Tonight I rented "Tenacious D in: The Pick Of Destiny".Wow, this movie was funny. The language was really rough almost non-stop but these are great characters and the movie had me laughing out loud for much of the time. A rare thing for me and comedies.If language isn't an issue for you, definately check this one out.
Posted by: Paeter March 31, 2007 at 01:18 AM
This past weekend was a blast as usual. The games ran into the wee hours of the morning. The players played well and the battles were fought to the last man. Some were won, and some were lost. Descent is definitely my game of choice.
As for the "Death Quest" the only advice I can give you Jon is to stay on your toes. You never know what's coming. Good luck my friend.
And you Mr. Overlord, we'll rematch in June, and this time, I won't go so easy on you!
Posted by: Mark March 27, 2007 at 09:44 PM
Yesterday I returned from a great weekend of playing Descent with my friend Mark in California.On day two of our marathon I thought my back was bothering me because I was sleeping on his floor, but when he was feeling the same pain we realized it was because we were spending hours on end hunched over a low table playing our boardgame! I spent the rest of the weekend doing warm-up and cool-down stretches just to play a boardgame!And for those interested, Mark fought valiantly and successfully until the final quest of the weekend, where his group of adventurers fell before the might of... well I'd love to say it was me, but we both felt like that particular quest was designed pretty badly.
And in the last 9 months a new combatant has entered the arena. My brother in law, Jon (featured as the pilot and several shock troopers in "Spirit Blade") has been playing Descent with me as well. He and Mark are running neck and neck right now. That status will remain if Jon loses this quest. If Jon survives the quest Mark fell to... well we'll both tip our hats to him as he takes the lead. Good luck, Jon! (And no, I'm not going to tell you which quest Mark lost. Just stay on your game.)
Posted by: Paeter March 27, 2007 at 12:22 PM
Dead Silence
I saw this film on Monday and really enjoyed it. Particularily as an audio producer.The writer and director that brought us the first "Saw" film teamed up again to bring this supernatural horror film to life and their chemistry has created another winner.If it weren't for the wonderfully disturbing visuals of all the creepy dolls, this story could be easily translated into audio drama. One of the key ideas in the film is that you are safe until you scream, at which point the ghost "gets ya". And each time before the ghost shows up, all the surrounding ambient noise is sucked away. Clocks still tick and leaky faucets still drip, you just can't hear them any more. It makes for nail biting suspense as you wait in complete silence for the big "jump" scare. I usually think jump scares are cheap, but because of the thematic material in this film, it works and actually pays off well.I always love it when a movie fuels my creative energy like this one does. In fact, I'd better get back to work on a couple of the creepy scenes in our next project!See ya!
Posted by: Paeter March 21, 2007 at 09:57 AM
The only thing quaking will be the ground as your pathetic little forces run away. Use this time well Paeterboy, you only have four days to prepare!!
Posted by: Mark Pennington March 19, 2007 at 03:34 PM
The "Mega Game Night" that we planned at our church last weekend was a great success! I may even be starting a role-playing group with some of the people I met there!I can't wait!Meanwhile, I'm prepping for another marathon weekend of gaming with my friend Mark in the L.A. area.As you read this, be assured that he is quaking in his boots in anticipation of what I will bring upon him this weekend!
Posted by: Paeter March 19, 2007 at 03:27 PM
Not sure what I'm going to do when I run out of RPGs on PS2. I don't see many RPGs coming out for X-box or Wii, but PS3's price is ridiculous!
Posted by: Paeter February 24, 2007 at 09:22 PM
Starting approximately March 30th I will be running a monthly game of the DC Heroes RPG at the Atomic Comics Mesa store. (I can't wait!) So if you're interested in being a part of it, e-mail and let me know at paeter@spiritblade.net!
Posted by: Paeter February 23, 2007 at 10:54 PM
GHOST RIDERFinally saw Ghost Rider yesterday, and this film was fantastic!The visual design of Ghost Rider's costume and bike were wonderfully done. Nic Cage was very suited to the role. The special effects were used very well and I left the theatre wanting to buy Ghost Rider comics! (And I'm somewhat anti-marvel!)Mark Steve Johnson directed this film after already bringing us Daredevil and Elektra. This film marked a huge improvement over both of those films.Go check it out!
Posted by: Paeter February 21, 2007 at 06:22 PM
IRON MAN ANIMATED MOVIE
Bought it this week and really enjoyed it! I had a Best Buy reward zone discount coupon and only paid $8, but it was certainly worth that, and even the $12 it was selling for the first week.It was a real improvement over Ultimate Avengers 2, which I didn't like as much as the first one.If you're a fan of comic books, iron man, or even just cybernetic armor, you'll at LEAST enjoying renting this one!
Posted by: Paeter January 28, 2007 at 06:38 PM
CRANKThis DVD had a great feature I'd love to see more of: An alternate "family friendly" audio track with all swearing dubbed over! Ironically, we still had to do a fair chunk of fast-forwarding for sexual content. The action was fast paced and the humor at some spots made me laugh out loud! This movie had some great things going for it, but the unneeded sexual content makes it a one time view only for me.
PAN'S LABRYNTHI can't recommned this film enough! It just came to our theatre. Don't let the subtitles scare you away. This film, from the director of "Hellboy", is dark, imaginitive, emotional and spellbinding. Roger Ebert very appropriately calls it "a fairy tale for grown-ups". It's much more like the classic fairy tales which were often dark, scary and even gruesome. Not for children. But the human drama running parallel to the fantasy elements, and the film's incredibly unique visual style, make this movie one of the best fantasy films I've ever seen. A definite DVD purchase. Don't miss this one!
Posted by: Paeter January 20, 2007 at 02:33 PM
Okay,Looks like I'm hooked on Final Fantasy 12. I finally adjusted to the camera (mostly) and the battle system. I still miss the cinematic spell and fighting animations, but the rest of the game looks and plays really well, so I'm sold.Granted, it's not my favorite Final Fantasy (#9 is king!!), nor does it "feel" like Final Fantasy in many respects. But it's still a good RPG and for that, I'll spend my weekends in the world of Ivalice for many weeks to come.
Posted by: Paeter January 02, 2007 at 09:26 PM
I've been playing Final Fantasy 12 for a few hours and the jury's still out. It's got all kinds of RPG goodness, but the camera system feels funny and can't be adjusted, and the battle system is almost real-time, when my preference is turn-based.Still, I'm adjusting as best I can because I don't want to miss out on a great gaming experience on account of a couple issues.The only thing left to be determined is whetehr or not the rest of the game is good enough to warrant fighting my way through the down-sides. We'll see!
Posted by: Paeter December 30, 2006 at 10:33 PM
I rented and watched "A Scanner Darkly" this afternoon. Not being familiar with the the source material, I can't speak to the adaptation of the original work. But the movie, while visually interesting, moved at a slow pace with lots of inconsequentials filling the dialogue. It was an independent film and felt like one, if you know what I mean. It didn't have a focused point but was rather one of those "slice of life, make of it what you will" stories. Didn't do much for me.Man, I wish "Pan's Labrynthe" would have been showing somewhere in Phoenix.
Posted by: Paeter December 29, 2006 at 10:19 PM
ERAGON
Checked this movie out today. Not great, but it has some real potential if they learn from their mistakes.The characters felt undeveloped and the script forced. The acting was also weak, which didn't help the material.The second half of the movie picked up though, with the production design taking centerstage with the fantastic make-up and costumes, as well as the "look" given to magic when it appears. Very cool.I've heard that other critics are saying some of the same things I am, so hopefully the producers will tighten up the script and get better coaches for their actors on the next film.Since it's the first of a presumed trilogy, I'll reserve my final judgment until I see the second part.For now, if you're really itching to see ANY kind of fantasy movie with high production value, go check it out. Otherwise, stay home and bust out your Lord Of The Rings trilogy while you've got time on Christmas break.
Posted by: Paeter December 20, 2006 at 11:07 PM
Mark's coming back to town this weekend and we'll be making time on Saturday morning for some Descent....He won't know what hit him.
Posted by: Paeter December 19, 2006 at 12:16 AM
THE LOST ROOM 2??
Correction, this thing MIGHT go to another mini-series or series. The final part was fantastic, and it didn't exactly leave you hanging real bad either. The main story of the characters was resolved, but the mystery of the Lost Room and it's origins was left a mystery. That aspect was very dissapointing. Had they answered a few more questions about the Lost Room, it could have ended well and been the most high quality mini-series ever made(outside the Battlestar Galactica minis-series that started what is now the best show on television). Still, if I hear that a series or mini-series will be coming, I'll certainly buy the DVD for this and tune in for the continuing story.VERY inspiring. Wish I could write like that.
Posted by: Paeter December 13, 2006 at 11:15 PM
THE LOST ROOM
If you get the Sci-Fi Channel but haven't been watching this mini-series, you're seriously missing out. A brilliant concept, mysterious plotline, a few creepy characters...For the budget of a TV mini-series, I don't think I've ever seen better in terms of over-all quality. It makes the right choice to not rely on "wow" visuals that it can only do cheaply, and instead uses its effects to support the various sci-fi concepts it presents.I'm completely hooked and am SO glad it won't be a regular tv show. I'm sure they would ruin it by trying to stretch it out longer. I think the last part is on tonight, although they may be airing the first two parts before it, so check your listings and don't miss out!
Posted by: Paeter December 13, 2006 at 09:49 AM
In the next few weeks/months I'm working through the idea of starting up a paper and pencil RPG group for the game "DC Heroes."It's been almost five years since I last had a regular group, with two or three games spread thinly over the last half of a decade.That's far too little role-playing for my tastes, so hopefully something will work out. I'll keep ya posted, since I'm sure everyone is so fascinated with my satisfaction as a huge geek, right?
Posted by: Paeter December 11, 2006 at 09:44 PM
Decided to make this a more general forum for talking about all things "geek" in my world.
For starters, I just finished playing "Shadow Hearts" for the PS2 for the second time and it's still an AMAZING game! I couldn't help but start into the sequel again right away!Final Fantasy 12 has got a tough record to beat in my opinion. If you like console RPGs, you really owe it to yourself to give "Shadow Hearts" a try!
Posted by: Paeter December 10, 2006 at 09:48 PM
Saw "The Nativity Story" tonight with some friends. Not bad. It certainly doesn't misrepresent anything theologically speaking, and they were very respectful of the text outside of a few historical issues. Not a movie that will provoke a great deal of new thought, but also not one that will mislead.Hopefully it will do well in the box office so that more films like this can be made, and made to be a little more compelling.I'd give this film 2.5 or 3 out of 5.
Posted by: Paeter December 09, 2006 at 09:08 PM
"Superman 2: The Richard Donner Cut"MASSIVE SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
After just one viewing, I can say with confidence that this version is superior to the Lester version in almost every respect. I was sad to see a couple action scenes taken out, like some of the small town brawl before the military shows up, but was VERY pleased with the new material. The Daily Planet sequence at the beginning was superior to the now missing Niagra Falls sequence, and the missile explosion freeing Zod and crew was a great tie-in to the first film.I also appreciated many of the "funny bits" being removed (all Lester's cheesy humor) and replaced with more meaningful character development. The restoration of Superman's powers by sacrificng further contact with Jor-el was a wonderful touch, and made it so much more powerful.And the infamous "Zod uses a machine gun" scene that I had only ever remembered as a foggy childhood dream from a TV airing was fully restored and wonderfully dark. Non's stupidity and other silliness removed(Mt. Rushmore, ice-cream cone blowing into a face, S-Sheild net, and most other ridiculous "new powers", etc.,) our villains were actually scary.The only thing I would have done without is the time-travel ending. Now, I realize this was the originally intended ending and was cut and pasted onto the end of the first film, but without an alternate ending to the first film where Superman is NOT forced to go back in time to save Lois, this just feels like a repeat.I would have loved a new ending to Superman 1 tagged onto this DVD, were it at all possible, so that I could better appreciate this ending to Superman 2. As it is, when I sit down to watch the Superman movies, I'll have Lester's DVD ready to go so I can view his ending instead of Donner's, just so I can feel like Superman doesn't have a fix-all that he can use whenever someone breaks a nail. Even if it does involve the use of a "new power", without all the others being used in this version, I can justify it and make it work still within the lines of the traditional Superman mythos.Having said all that, the Donner Cut is a wonderful movie! Thank you Michael Thau for restoring this incredible film!
Posted by: Paeter December 01, 2006 at 10:48 PM
Apart from a mix-up with the "Superman 3" DVD that Warner has assured they will exchange/fix, the Ultimate Superman DVD collection is a must have for hard-core comic book fans. The Donner version of Superman 2 and additional commentaries, documentaries and other extras are very insightful to the world of Superman Cinema. I declared today a holiday and did nothing but watch the Superman 2 Donner cut and absorb hours of other special features. And I've still got a long way to go!But it's back to the real world tomorrow, so the rest will have to come in pieces. (Sigh!)WELL worth the $75 that Best Buy is charging for it this week.
Posted by: Paeter November 28, 2006 at 10:44 PM
THE PRESTIGEHolly and I saw "The Prestige" this week. We really enjoyed it! (Except for the chatty old guy sitting next to us.)Some may find it predictable, others may be suprised by it's ending, but Holly and I represent both groups and we both found it VERY enjoyable.I still wish Chris Nolan would have gone straight to the next Batman film, but hey, this one had Batman, Alfred and even Wolverine in it! So I guess I'll just have to make do with that.
Posted by: Paeter October 28, 2006 at 12:01 PM
SAW II
I actually didn't see the decoy house coming but as soon as the cop went into the right house I knew he was done for. It was clever and I was suspicious of the druggy girl the entire movie. Something just didn't sit right with her. She seemed like the only one not to get sick. The needle pit was definitely creepy but I think the oven got me the worst. Being burned alive is one of my worst fears. That and I can't imagine being one of the people outside of the oven listening to the tormented screams of the person inside. Ugghhh....horrible way to go.
GUARDIAN
Have you seen the previews for this? I caught it when I went to see Pirates II. For a Kevin Kostner flick I'm pretty excited. The action looks good, the storyline seems well thought out and you know a main character is going to eat it in the end which always makes for good drama. Although slightly predictable, I'm really excited to see it.
Posted by: Mark September 07, 2006 at 10:28 PM
SAW 2Alright! So maybe you'll catch Saw 3 when it comes out this October. I totally agree about the character development. The torture I cared about most was the needle pit, and part of that was probably because we knew the most about her character.Did the twist at the end get you? Or did you see it coming? I was blown away! But it made perfect sense!!
Posted by: Paeter September 06, 2006 at 07:45 PM
SAW II
So I finally caught this movie (thanks Paeter) and I was thoroughly impressed with the creativity. I mean I thought I had seen every possible way to mutilate a person prior to killing them until SAW II. On the otherhand I was a little disappointed with the character development. I really didn't grow attached to any of the characters which made me numb to their deaths, creative as they were. Overall I give it a much better rating than the original though. The sniveling doctor ruined the first one for me.
Posted by: Mark September 06, 2006 at 12:49 PM
DONNIE DARKOJust rented this one last night (Director's cut) and really enjoyed it! (When the DVD didn't skip.)A dark psychological bit of sci-fi about parallel universes and time travel, wrapped in a mind-bending package. Worth checking out!
Posted by: Paeter September 02, 2006 at 04:19 PM
Anybody see "The Wicker Man"? I'm curious and might see it with my dad sometime.
Posted by: Paeter September 01, 2006 at 01:28 AM
THE DESCENTWatched this movie last Friday. It was pretty good. The creatures were creepy, the violence wasn't just bloody, you FELT it with the characters makiing it engaging, not overdone.It also made GREAT use of sound, and is another inspiration to me as I look forward to doing some scary "creature scenes" in future installments of the "Spirit Blade" story.
Posted by: Paeter August 22, 2006 at 09:56 PM
SNAKES ON A PLANE and BATMAN 2 (I copied Brad's and my comments to here, origianlly found in "Paeter's Brain")
The biggest movie of the summer... Snakes on a Plane! Yeah baby!!! OK, seriously, what is hollywood thinking?
(sarcastically)I know that you're going to go see it Paeter. Don't tell you that you aren't; I know you man!
Posted by: Brad August 16, 2006 at 09:37 AM
Batman stuff
I know that this is a bit premature, but how do you think the new sequel to Batman Begins is going? Heath Ledger as the Joker? Do you think that the title The Dark Knight is going to stick?
Posted by: Brad August 16, 2006 at 10:21 AM
Actually, I'm really not planning to see Snakes On A Plane at this point. But time will tell.As for Batman, I have my doubts about hunky "Heath-bar" pulling off The Joker. But again, time will tell us if he's got some more versatility than we've seen so far. He'll need it! The Joker is all ABOUT versatility!I hope the title "The Dark Knight" sticks, or is at least used as the sub-title-"Batman: Dark Knight"I've wanted them to use that as a Batman title for years, and I'm sure I'm not alone in thinking it's cool. It's also a way to assure movie-goers that yes, this is still going to be the dark and gritty Batman we know and love from "Begins".Just be on the lookout if there are any rumors about a "Caped Crusader" movie.Yikes.
Posted by: Paeter August 16, 2006 at 03:48 PM
Posted by: Paeter August 16, 2006 at 04:03 PM
From his creation, Superman has always been steeped in biblical roots.The story of an otherwised doomed child being sent off in a baby-sized escape vehicle mirrors the origin of Moses, whom Superman's jewish creators would have been very familiar with.As the years have passed, however, Superman has reflected more and more the story and character of Christ, rather than Moses.The comparisons are obvious in the first film. "For this reason, above all, their capacity for good, I have sent them you... my only son."In "Superman Returns", it would seem that Bryan Singer wanted to increase messianic comparisons. After a second viewing, and hearing comments from others, several "Christ moments" are found littered throughout the film. I'm sure I'll find more once I own the movie on DVD, but here are some that come to mind now. (Feel free to add your own observations!)
First off, as Kris mentioned, the focus in this film is on saving people, not on defeating evil. Christ's work on the cross was to save us AND defeat evil, however banishing evil completely is a feat that Christ will not complete until sometime in our future. His work now is focused on saving those who are lost.
This film appropriately captures the felt need for a "rescuer" in our culture when Superman says to Lois, "You say that the world doesn't need a savior, but every day I hear them crying out for one."Superman really models the character of God here, in that he is good, and just, and strong enough to save us and make the wrong things right.
I think it's interesting that as Lex (or was it Kitty?) is reading the newspaper, Kitty is softly singing "He's got the whole world in his hands" a well known spiritual about the strength and gentle caring of God.
When Superman is attacked and beaten down by Luthor's thugs, the helplessness of this god-like man and the nature in which he was dragged across the ground painted a picture of the beatings depicted in "The Passion" that Christ, God AS man, recieved on the way to the cross.
Although in scripture this didn't come until after Christ's death, it was an interesting choice to have Lex stab that "spear-head" looking shard of kryptonite into Supermans "side", just as Christ was stabbed with a spear in the side.
Another moment of probably unintended symbolism comes while Superman is lifting the kryptonian island or the "anti-fortress" as I like to call it, up into space. His arms are almost positioned the same as if he were on a cross, and like Christ, he carries the burden of a death meant for mankind on his shoulders in our place and for our sake. As he sends it off into space, delivering us from destruction, he has spent himself completely, his work "is finished", and he gives himself over to death.
After his time spent being "dead" at the hospital, Superman mysteriously vanishes, and an attending nurse, very much like Mary Magdelene, finds an "empty tomb" with nothing but linens remaining where Superman once lay.
Of course, the metaphor has to end at some point, otherwise we're not telling a Superman story. We've made a really wacked-out movie of the gospel accounts. Superman wears tights and a spit-curl and has had a child with Lois. So although he points a lot to Christ, unless you're a "DaVinci Code" believer, he doesn't LOOK much like Christ. Still, there are enough similarities that I think Christians should embrace this film as an opportunity to approach biblical philosophy with others in a new and fresh forum.
As an aside from a comic book fan, Lois having Clark's child bothered me. It bothered me in Superman 2 when Superman slept with Lois. In the comics, they never slept together until they were married. In a world of relative morality, Superman has always upheld traditional, if not biblical, standards for morality that have always set him apart from other heroes. It's one of the things that has made him unique, and very looked up to by the heroes and citizens that co-habitate his fictional world. Aside from the character issue, Lois and Clark have not had a child yet in the comics, and I think ground as monumental as a child should be treaded first in the source material, not a TV show or movie. Having said that, I'm still intrigued, and if they can tell a good story with it, I'm totally game.
So there you have it. "The Gospel According To Superman". I'll post here again when more messianic references in this film occur to me. Though I'd love it if you beat me to the punch! See ya!
Posted by: Paeter July 12, 2006 at 11:10 PM
Making the most of Superman
I want to reflect the mission statement of the new Superman film, according to Bryan Singer, which is to deal with the question of Superman’s relevance in a world that is supposedly too cynical and jaded for this type of primary color wearing, boy scout superhero. One initial thought that crossed my mind is that one could take the view that Superman is supposed to save us from the legacy of his own heritage as it is manifested on Earth, since Lex Luthor’s criminal plan is inspired by the capabilities of Krytonian technology. Perhaps that is a small part of it. Setting that aside however, I picked out another pattern emerging during the course of the movie.
The film takes it’s cue from dialogue spoken by Jor-El to Kal-El about how best to use his powers, and one line in particular comes to mind: “They can be a great people if they wish to be, they only lack the light to lead the way.” It’s inclusion in the earliest trailers for the movie seems very pointed, though it seems to be absent from the film itself. Setting that aside, the movie shows Superman having an effect on the people around him. It’s not just about Superman saving others. Sure, Superman saves people; and while he’s doing it he is inspiring others to do their part, too.In the wake of his re-emergence, Superman gains wide spread and immediate acceptance. And the activities we see him getting up to involve the saving of lives, primarily. Even during an incident in which he intervenes in a bank robbery, he is seeing intercepting bullets meant for the bank’s security guards. Take careful notice; the scene ends before showing Superman rounding up the robbers. The audience can infer on their own the inevitable outcome of the scenario. That scene keeps the emphasis on the saving of lives, without getting bogged down in the details of Superman participating in the criminal justice system.
Similarly, during the end game that deals with Luthor’s plot and involves us in the confrontation between Superman and Lex, Superman seems to do better when he’s doing what he can to save lives or preventing further endangerment. The Man of Steel doesn’t actually do very well when facing off with Lex Luthor, and we can’t realistically expect there to be an effective hero vs. villain fight between these two, as we would expect from a Spider-Man or Batman movie. Still, the confrontation goes a little way toward saving at least one member of Luthor’s entourage, in perhaps a different way (but that’s for another post). So, the film doesn’t reflect much interest in showing us Superman fighting villains, or involving him with the concerns of government or law enforcement.
Getting back to what the film is interested in, Superman Returns shows us a gradual change in the attitudes of the people within it’s fictional world. We see Clark Kent at the beginning perusing news channels and taking note of a fair amount of bad news. There are disasters, and people are wasting their energy hurting other people. As the movie progresses, Superman inspires positive attitudes in general, and by the end of it everyone is getting involved in the saving of others. And he’s not so proud that he’s above the helping hand of others; when rescuing Lois and her family, the Man of Steel can hold on to Richard White, yet he trusts Richard with the responsibility of holding on to Lois and her son.
After saving Lois’s family, they turn back and put themselves on the line to save Superman from the danger he is in. Lois, who was initially (and perhaps understandably) jaded earlier, pulls Superman up, and Richard (you gotta love this guy for being managing to be such a sympathetic character) is jumping in right behind her to help out.
Closer to the end, an emergency medical response team contributes in a small but meaningful way. In a scene that echoes an event from the comics, we see the paramedics’ heartbreaking and seemingly futile efforts to rejuvenate the Man of Steel. Despite their failure to inject chemicals, or shock him back to consciousness, they achieve one particularly crucial success: they remove a remaining shard of Krytonite. Had the medics not done this, even that small piece from Superman’s home would have poisoned him fatally.
Superman’s relevance to the world within the film is that he is an inspiration to turn away from cynicism; to help and save others. He can contribute significantly, but he needs help. He won’t hog the limelight when others can help him he will place his trust in their ability to do their part. Of course, placing the emphasis on Superman as a savior leads naturally to the idea that the story of Superman funtions as a parallel to the life story of Jesus Christ. I'll leave that one to Paeter, for now.
Posted by: Kristan July 11, 2006 at 02:39 PM
Yeah, I saw the movie last night. I think I had a bit of what you felt when I left as well. The ending did leave a lot of loose ends, but there were others throughout the course of the movie, that I called into question.
1. Does Lois know that she slept with Superman? It’s obvious that she does now, but did she know that at the beginning of the movie? As I recall it she should not. When he erased her memory in Superman 2 she didn’t even remember that he was Clark, and she still doesn’t know that. But she did tell him in the hospital room. And if Richard was annoying her about Superman, wouldn’t he also want to know who she had her child with? Hmmmm…
2. Now that Superman knows that he is a father, why didn’t he discuss it with Lois? OK, Supes knows. Lois knows that he knows. But all she can ask him is will you be around? I figured that he would say something much more definite, like yes. I mean the kids powers are already starting to develop. And when is Lois going to come clean to the kid about that?
3. Why did she take Jason on to the boat? Hmmm…. Lois trespasses with her kid in tow? You would think that some latent maternal instinct would come into play here, and leave him either in the car or just outside it. Not taking him with her directly into harms way.
4. Was Jason faking it? They certainly elude to that fact with Richard stating that the boy got a D in PE. Well, that and the fact that he crushes some dude with a piano.
3. Didn’t Luthor learn from Miss Tessmacher? Oh man, this was the biggest thing for me to overcome personally. I thought that the Kitty Kowalski character was going to die, and that Lex just let her hang around knowing full well that he would kill her later. Not so much, it was just more of the same for Superman Returns. The fact that his henchmen died and she made it kinda leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
4. Land Sakes! Ok! I get it. Luthor was after land in 1 and 2. But why make it 3 times a charm? You would think that he get his revenge on Supes from the inside of society pretending to be a philanthropic business man as in the comics. No such luck, I suppose.
5. The missing scenes at the Kent farm. I on a personal geek level that I can hardly comprehend sometimes, wanted to see the scene between, Clark, Martha and the old man visiting her at the farm. It was in the trailer, but cut out of the movie. That bugs me. That rarely happens these days, but used to happen all the time. Just a pet peave.
Overall though, it was a triumph for Brian Singer and Brandon Routh. There was never a time that I thought Routh wasn’t Superman, and I didn’t miss Christopher Reeve. There was a moment when the camera had Routh in a close-up and he smiled like Christopher Reeve I had chills. For a second it was though that was Christopher Reeve giving his own little stamp of approval to the film and the Routh. I agree that Kevin Spacey didn’t take a lot of chances when it came to his portrayal of Luthor, but that could have been a director choice as well. I think there were times when Bryan was buckling under the pressure of the Donner films. In allowing the Superman character to continue from the Donner films some of what Superman says seems to be forced and out of place in today’s movie vernacular.
Other things I thought I noticed was that Richard Branson was on the shuttle flight crew. I checked today to see if I was right, and I was. That gave me a good laugh. Richard Branson is the billionaire that owns Virgin Mega Stores. He is HEAVY into space travel, and is building a space travel division of Virgin. www.virgingalactic.com It was nice to see that Bryan give character parts to Jack Larson and Noel Neill.
I liked the film, and I wasn’t too bothered by all the details. And as I was walking out of the theater, the lines came up on the screen that the movie was dedicated to Christopher and Dana Reeve. I thought that was cool, and whoever thought of that was a class act. I can’t wait for another.
Posted by: Brad July 11, 2006 at 08:34 AM
On the theological front, someone pointed out to me a couple messianic references in the film I hadn't picked up before. Maybe after a few more days I'll post the ones I've seen, as well as the ones mentioned to me. It seems that, intentionally or not (although I think intentionally) this new Superman film makes several comparisons to Christ in the character of Superman. Nothing new to comic fans, but I'd be interested to know if anyone noticed one or two of these parallels. Leave a comment here if you did!
Posted by: Paeter July 09, 2006 at 11:30 PM
A few thoughts about Superman Returns
It’s great to see Superman depicted in such a no-holds barred kind of way, in terms of special effects. As many reviewers have pointed out, the movie is a bit of a remake, as well as sequel to the original 1978 Superman movie. The plot’s progression parallels many things from that original movie, but with enough that is new to make it more than just a retread. Lex Luthor’s new scheme feels like the next logical step, a cross-pollination of his obsession with real estate and his exposure to Kryptonian technology as represented by the Fortress of Solitude. It’s also clever that the revisitation of this particular incarnation of the Fortress is not just a nice gesture of respect to what has gone on before; it is relevant to what Luthor is up to.
The players are up to the task; while Brandon Routh is not blindingly good, he still gives us a solid Man of Steel that I have no complaints about. Kevin Spacey nails Lex Luthor, and Kate Boswell is fine as Lois Lane. Just about all of the cast did fine, with maybe the actor who plays Jimmy Olsen being a little bit disappointing, in my opinion.Of course, being a film music buff, I have to give some attention to the soundtrack. John Ottman deserves credit for not shying away from that theme, you know the one I’m talking about. When it’s appropriate in the context of the movie, that theme is there for the Man of Steel. And it’s not just a few bars here and there, he uses the whole thing. When it’s not there, Ottman provides some music that is nice to listen to, without distracting from what’s happening on screen. There is one curiosity; even though Ottman knows not to hold back when using John Williams original Superman theme, he still teases us with the “Can You Read My Mind” theme during a Lois/Superman flyaround without actually opening up on it. Why does he hold back there? If the motivation behind it has to do with the change in Lois and Superman’s relationship, then that’s fine. It’s just a minor quibble.All in all, Superman Returns is a wonderful tangent, continuity-wise, to the Superman series that already exists. I hope it does well, partly because I am interested to see what Bryan Singer has in mind to follow it up with (he has said as much in interviews), but also because the movie has a lot of heart
Posted by: Kristan Johnson July 06, 2006 at 10:18 AM

SB "Paeter's Brain" Archive

Here's the old thread of "Paeter's Brain" (Not to be confused with this weblog) when it was a small section of the Spirit Blade Weblog. So if you REALLY want to know EVERYTHING that's been on my mind since I started blogging, here it is...



Sweet, those sound fun.
Posted by: Dylan April 23, 2007 at 10:49 PM
That's way too cool, Dylan.I'll have to try that this week.I've also got a list here somewhere about how to be annoying that I should post sometime. Full of jacked-up stuff like...1. Always staples papers in the center of the sheet.
2. End every sentence with the phrase "in accordance with prophecy".
3. Begin every sentence with the phrase "ooh la la".
It's awesome. I'll see if I can find it and post it here if I do.
Posted by: Paeter April 23, 2007 at 10:31 PM
I know this isn't Paeter, but I have a funny story. Well, there's a joke where you tell people that you have dog jaw and ask them to touch the side of your jaw. Then, as they reach near your face, bite at them as a dog would. Now for the story... I played this trick on my mom and she took the joke to work. While she was showing this one dude, he said, "oh yeah, isn't that where your jaw gets all tight and stuff?" My mom responded saying, "no, not 'lock jaw', 'dog jaw'." To which he replied, "your barking up the wrong tree, man."
Posted by: Dylan April 23, 2007 at 05:04 PM
Found out on Wednesday that this "sore" on my throat is actually from strep! On antibiotics though, and starting to feel better. Solid food, here I come!
Posted by: Paeter April 14, 2007 at 12:24 AM
Doing a fair load of subbing next week, so the updates may be sparse. Meanwhile, I'm planning to make time to go through old fantasy novels and RPG books to find boy names to consider. Suggestions are always welcome!Criteria: A unique, preferably one-of-a-kind name that doesn't sound stupid or odd.
Posted by: Paeter April 05, 2007 at 03:27 PM
Put together a towering bookshelf in my office this week to make room for the nursery.Oh, didn't I mention?WE'RE PREGNANT!Actually, we have been for a little while. Baby is due in late August.And yes, we've factored the timing of our next release into that (as much as you can I suppose) and we should still be on track to have the sequel to "Spirit Blade" out by December '07.Hope you're having a great Spring Break!
Posted by: Paeter March 15, 2007 at 08:20 PM
Sorry I haven't posted all weekend. Holly and I were leading worship at our church's college retreat. It was a great weekend!Now I'm back in the saddle for another week of promoting and product development at Spirit Blade Productions!
Posted by: Paeter March 11, 2007 at 10:23 PM
Got my wisdom teeth out and everything seems to have gone great!Now I just neeed to run and grab a bunch of DVDs to veg out with!
Posted by: Paeter February 09, 2007 at 11:19 AM
Took a day off today since I worked straight through the weekend. It turns out video games are still fun. Isn't that great?
Posted by: Paeter February 06, 2007 at 09:29 PM
I rented "Crank" and "The Covenant" this weekend and I'm settling down for a long session of Final Fantasy 12 as well. I'm readin' some great books, and it's raining, too! How much better can this weekend possibly start out? I'll try to post a review of one or both movies soon.
Posted by: Paeter January 19, 2007 at 05:18 PM
hey Paeter! Don't forget to email me Michael Tully's email, and cell number or home or whatever, just so I can get a hold of him...my email again is mbcool91@aol.com
Thanks
Michael
ps-the kids really liked your subbing...haha i guess you are just that cool. haha
Posted by: Michael Bryce January 12, 2007 at 02:59 PM
Did some substitute teaching today and ran into Spirit Blade cast member, Michael Bryce Junior. It was great to get a chance to connect with him and see him doing well in music and school.Your voice is sounding great, Michael!
Posted by: Paeter January 11, 2007 at 05:45 PM
The stray cats in our neighborhood have been multiplying for quite some time now. Don't get me wrong. I like them. In fact, I spent about an hour sitting in the back yard with a high pressure water hose offering suprise superspeed baths to any cats that would like to come in our yard. I only had one taker, but he got the best, longest, high pressure shower I could give him.He must have had to hurry along to something else, though, based on the way he shot up our wall and into the neighbor's yard.But I'll be here should he or his friends ever require my services again.
Posted by: Paeter January 09, 2007 at 08:55 PM
Tonight I'm gonna head out to Wal-mart between midnight and 2am to try and get some hassle free Christmas shopping done.Hopefully I won't run into any wild-eyed mothers who got stuck shopping for everyone.
Posted by: Paeter December 17, 2006 at 10:49 PM
We drew names in my family for exchanging gifts this year, but my person hasn't given me the wish list that she was supposed to yet! Time is running out! So if you're reading this, and you're in my family(and you're a female, since I gave that much away), SEND ME YOUR LIST!!!
Posted by: Paeter December 08, 2006 at 11:13 PM
"Spellfire" by Ed Greenwood is turning out pretty good! I'm not halfway through it yet, but for the most part I'm enjoying the style and his characters. And let's not forget that there's lots of magic being thrown around! That's the best part. Especially since he somehow keeps you from getting numb to the concept of magic. It's still mysterious and dangerous, sometimes especially for the one USING magic.We'll see where it goes, but for now "Spellfire" gets my vote!
Posted by: Paeter December 04, 2006 at 10:22 PM
Discovered a new author this week that may be a future favorite: Michael Moorcock and his "Elric Saga". So far, so good!And even better, he's written several fantasy series', so if I like him there's plenty where the first book came from!I can't tell you how frustrating it is to love an author, but then catch up with his writing schedule and be stuck waiting for his next book to come out!My next book to be put to the test is "Spellfire" by Ed Greenwood. Hopefully that will be good too. I at least really like the first chapter!
Posted by: Paeter December 02, 2006 at 07:56 PM
Just made an unsuccessful midnight run to two different Wal-marts, hoping to get my hands on the "Ultimate Superman DVD Collection". Failure. None available. Guess I'll have to try and sleep tonight and buy mine tomorrow with all the "normal" people. (Sigh)
Posted by: Paeter November 27, 2006 at 11:48 PM
Well, I may not get a chance to post tomorrow (Thanksgiving), since I'll be busy with family all day and Mark is coming over for a late night of "Descent". But keep an eye out this weekend for an addition to the downloads! And have a great Thanksgiving!
Posted by: Paeter November 22, 2006 at 10:40 PM
On the subject of video games:I've changed my mind after careful review reading and clip viewing regarding Final Fantasy 12. I've not played it yet, but have added it to my Christmas list. I was less than impressed by Final Fantasy 10, and have much MORE enjoyed the first two Shadow Hearts games. (The third, alas being a dissapointment for straying too far from the formula.)I've been so hardcore into action RPGs in the absence of a great standard, epic RPG, that I'd forgotten how wonderful and complex they can be. I was reminded of this by a video review for FF12, although it remains to be seen if the game will hold up. Still, I'm very optimistic.'Till then, I've returned for a second play through of Shadow Hearts, hoping that if Final Fantasy doesn't pull through, Rogue Galaxy in January, will.
Posted by: Paeter November 21, 2006 at 10:02 PM
Holly and I had a great lunch and afternoon today. We schedule a lunch once a week to have a little extra time set aside to talk about what's going on. In addition, we read through a book together and usually talk about one or two chapters each week. Our current book is called "Essential Truths Of The Christian Faith" by R.C. Sproul. We're diggin' it.I've also just started a classic book, "What The Bible Is All About" by Dr. Henrietta Mears. So far so good, and additionally, both books are designed to keep you in the Bible as well. Nothing much lamer than reading a bunch of books ABOUT the Bible, but not actually reading the Bible. That's my two cents anyway.
Posted by: Paeter November 20, 2006 at 07:09 PM
This weekend I've tackled the pet project of converting old tapes of my family singing to a digital format for preservation. Wow, these songs are old. Lots of fun, though.
Posted by: Paeter November 18, 2006 at 12:10 AM
Got my wife, Holly, hooked on Battlestar. It's a beautiful thing. First my spouse... and then the world! Bwahahahaa!!
Posted by: Paeter November 12, 2006 at 10:00 PM
Just got back from camping and we are in recovery mode.Some walking this afternoon resulted in more details being cooked up for a scene in "SB2" that will leave the main characters shattered and putting the fragments back together until the end of the "Spirit Blade" saga.It's a horrifying development that I've had in mind as early as outlining the story for the first chapter of "Spirit Blade", so it will be a long time in coming. Get ready. It's going to get alot worse before it gets better.
Posted by: Paeter November 11, 2006 at 06:32 PM
Going camping this weekend, so unfortunate;y no updates 'till at least Saturday night.Also, Just bought Marvel: Ultimate Alliance for PS2 today! GREAT game!
Posted by: Paeter November 09, 2006 at 10:04 PM
Is anyone else wetting their pants in anticipation of the Ultimate Superman DVD set coming out on November 28th? I can't stop thinking about it!!!
Posted by: Paeter November 08, 2006 at 08:38 PM
Justice League Heroes..... best.... game ever.....Must....save....universe...
Posted by: Paeter October 25, 2006 at 10:30 PM
Holly and I came down with colds today. We're both feeling okay but are mooooviiiing sloooowwly.
Posted by: Paeter October 23, 2006 at 10:42 PM
After a week visiting Holly's family in Pennsylvania we are back and with serious jetlag after a VERY early flight this morning. But I'm looking forward to getting back into the swing of things and continuing development for "Spirit Blade 2" in addition to some other cool things. Jump over to the updates section to hear more!Meanwhile, I just got "Justice League Heroes" for PS2, and I think it's the game I've been waiting my whole life to play! It's AWESOME!!
Posted by: Paeter October 22, 2006 at 09:40 PM
It was an amazing weekend! And I'm sorry to say....I lost for the first time. Yes, the mighty heroes fell and the sinister Overlord trimuphed, but only for a brief moment as I came right back in on the next turn and destroyed the Overlord with one blow. It was definitely the most challenging gaming I've faced yet. I found myself actually using the special artifacts and weapons that I picked up just to survive. Well done Paeter!I'm looking forward to the next challenge so clear a night over Thanksgiving for mighty Landrec will return! (The bravest son of *beep* I ever knew!)
Posted by: Mark October 11, 2006 at 08:19 PM
Finally back after an AWESOME weekend of boardgaming! Mark did pretty well, although these were easily the most intensely challenging quests he's had to face consecutively. And I'm EXHAUSTED! Better sleep soon so I can get up and tackle the world of "Spirit Blade" again!
Posted by: Paeter October 08, 2006 at 09:25 PM
I'm off to California for a weekend of playing "Descent", so you'll next hear from me on Sunday or Monday, unless I can find a way and some time to post before then. In the meantime, don't forget about the season premiere of Battlestar Galactica this Friday on the Sci-fi channel, and if you're new to the show the "catch-up" special airing just before it! See ya!
Posted by: Paeter October 05, 2006 at 03:52 PM
I considered entering "Spirit Blade" in a script competition that Holly heard about on K-Love Radio today. It's not run by K-Love, they just advertised it.The problem is, they're looking for "wholesome, inspirational and spiritually uplifting" scripts that give us "a greater view of the one true Creator God."Well, I certainly think we need more of the latter, but as I looked deeper into the competition criteria, it looks like they think the solution to changing America through film will be found in fluffy, "Full House" type story-telling without violence or bad language.Good luck telling stories about real people.The criteria went on and on, further narrowing the kind of scripts they'll accept. In short, they're trying to reach the world by making movies that only Christians will be willing to suffer through. THIS is EXACTLY the kind of thinking that perpetuates a Christian life that is out of touch with reality or relevance to the common man.By their criteria, films like "The Passion" or "Luther" would never be made. Yet these two films have arguably had the most impact for Biblical truth on secular culture than any film in the last two decades.I implore Christian Artists of all kinds, everywhere, who wish to reach our culture for Christ, to create art that is both honoring to God, and relatable to those in the secular culture.If you're targeting Christians with your art, great. We need encouragement. We need inspiration. But if you're targeting a culture that doesn't give any quarter to Biblical Christianity, than be prepared to chnage your tactics(though not the message) to reach THEM. Anything less is at best futility and at worst an embarrassment that sabotages your very goal.
Posted by: Paeter October 04, 2006 at 12:04 AM
Anybody else watching "Heroes" on NBC? Show's got some real potential! Can't wait to see what they do with it!Meanwhile, the new season of Battlestar Galactica starts this Friday on the Sci-fi channel! Woohoo!!
Posted by: Paeter October 03, 2006 at 05:42 PM
Hear ye! Hear ye!Let it be known far and wide that my arch-nemesis, "Mark", will suffer the beatdown of a lifetime this coming weekend! I shall traverse to the distant land of California, wherein we shall clash steel and magic in a duel to the death!!Hear that, Mark? Yer goin' DOOWWNN!!
(For more info, check out "Descent" at the Fantasy Flight Games website.)
Posted by: Paeter October 01, 2006 at 11:31 PM
Holly and I are going up to a cabin this weekend, so you won't hear from me again 'till Sunday or Monday. But when you do, "Spirit Blade" will be available to purchase at the website! Talk to you later!
Posted by: Paeter September 29, 2006 at 01:38 PM
Paeter,
I am glad this turned out so cool. I hope it can really flourish, as I know it will. And also, dang my voice is high, but hey what can you do. haha Well Let me know when we are going to all go and sign CD's at the selling party, just kidding haha but ya this feels like I originated a role, like on Broadway, and now it is like becoming known haha This is cool...
In years to come people will be like modeling David after my rendition of it! haha! lets hope so!
Thanks a million
Michael
Posted by: Michael Bryce September 27, 2006 at 11:24 PM
Tomorrow I jump back into the wild world of substitute teaching! First up, High School Band! No marching, thank goodness. Me leading a marching band rehearsal would probably be disaster waiting to happen...
Posted by: Paeter September 27, 2006 at 09:29 PM
I got tired of Playing Champions: Return to Arms, so Holly and I will be looking for a new game to play together. Maybe Lego Star Wars? I've heard good things, so we'll see!On the flip side, I started to go through Baldur's gate again and THAT game's still a blast to play!
Posted by: Paeter September 16, 2006 at 10:30 PM
Passing some time with the Alien Quadrilogy this weekend. More job searching on the agenda for tomorrow, too. (Boy, I wish those CDs had come on time.)Oh well. Birk is about to get it and before long the Queen will be making her appearance. It's go time, Ripley!
Posted by: Paeter September 14, 2006 at 11:27 PM
In my very last Pastor/Elder meeting tonight, one of the Elders prayed regarding the impact of 9/11, and how it was an event that shook us all to our core.Maybe you remember, but there was a lot of talk about God for awhile there. A spike in nation-wide church attendence...that dropped off pretty quickly.Once again, people became content to be "Spiritual" without really defining what that was. As America felt more comfortable and secure again, specific, definitive talk of God became diminished once more, and pursuit of the greatest knowledge in the universe was categorized as an individual journey.I have to wonder, though. Were we on to something there, in the months after 9/11, when we more readily and openly talked about this mysterious "God" out there, sharing differing, even conflicting opinions and beliefs, in an effort to discover the truth?Mankind's greatest scientific achievements gained some ground quickly through a FEW individuals. But the realization of those individual's dreams was carried out because MANY people joined the dialogue. Various theories came and went, and new discoveries tossed aside "facts" once taken for granted.Though heated debate and no doubt some hateful anger arose between those with differing viewpoints, the end result has been the advancement of technology and a way of life not even DREAMED of a few hundred years ago.I wonder what would happen if we applied the same principle to our pursuit of theology. The study of God. No doubt, arguments would turn ugly, as they have in the past. But with a continued willingness to re-examine the data, who knows what might result? I can't help but think we would more quickly find the answers to questions that have plagued mankind for thousands of years.Who am I? What am I here for? Is there a God? If so, what is God like?Are the belief's I've always had, really the truth? And if not, what are the ramifications?Regardless of where you're at, or what you believe, I'd invite you to take this kind of journey... and don't do it alone.
Posted by: Paeter September 11, 2006 at 08:09 PM
DANCE FACTORY REVIEW
Okay, so we've had "Dance Factory" for the PS2 for almost a week now and here's my thoughts.Pretty good, but not great.The biggest selling point on this game was its ability to make dance tracks to any CD that you put in your PS2, and it fell a little short. Sometimes the dance patterns it creates for your music seem to lose track of where the beat falls. And this happens even on songs driven very hard and consistantly by a loud bass beat. It's not so bad that you can't still dance and get a workout with the music you like, you just won't feel the same sense of accomplishment at getting the moves right, since you sometimes CAN'T if you choose to dance in time with the music.The upside is that you can create your own tracks in a record mode where you hit buttons on your hand-held controller that correspond to the dance pad squares. You do this while your song is played and the game makes note of when you press the buttons, thereby creating a dance sequence based on your timing and choices. So for someone like me that enjoys "composing" or "creating" and has a good sense of rhythm, the process of making tracks is fun. And even when I make mistakes in entering the sequence, the game allows a little more liberty from the dancers when using a home-made sequence. (whew!) So in the final analysis, if you like the idea of playing rhythm patterns on your hand-held controller to create dance patterns to use later with the pad, than grab this game and you'll have a blast challenging yourself and others to dance to your music and your moves! Otherwise, if you like the music on the DDR games well enough, stick to them.
Posted by: Paeter September 04, 2006 at 09:42 PM
Holly and I just watched a documentary on Discovery Channel about 9/11.I've not heard good reviews about the movie "World Trade Center", and although I haven't seen it myself, I wonder why Hollywood hasn't theatrically released a documentary about 9/11. It was so much more powerful hearing first hand from survivors on this doc. than I think it could ever be from actors.Anyway, I think it was called "Inside The Twin Towers". If you get a chance I would definately recommend watching it. It's only been about five years, but I know I'm guilty of forgetting the impact of that event. This documentary reminded me of it again in a way that was healthy and renewed my perspective on the important things in life.
Posted by: Paeter September 03, 2006 at 11:36 PM
My dad's coming over tomorrow and we're gonna play "Doom: The Boardgame"! Can't wait!!
Posted by: Paeter September 01, 2006 at 01:29 AM
Tomorrow a game for the PS2 called "Dance Factory" comes out that lets you dance to any song you have on CD using your DDR dance pad! Holly and I are very excited to check it out. Now she can dance to "Shane and Shane" or "Caedmon's Call" and I can get a workout with "Andy Hunter", "Ultrabeat", "Echoing Green" or "Red"! Can't wait!!After I've gotten my hands on it, I'll post a review of the video game for any other PS2 DDR fans out there.See ya!
Posted by: Paeter August 29, 2006 at 08:48 PM
I've sensed lately that God really wants me to deepen my relationship with him. Specifically to spend more time with only him, and for that time to be more meaningful. I'll be upgrading my personal scripture reading habits as well as my time spent in prayer and worship. It means hitting the reset button on a few things as I recalibrate myself, so if you'd like to pray for me, I'd sure appreciate it!At the same time, I'd encourage you to spend some time in prayer and see how God may be calling you to develop your spiritual life more fully. We can go on this journey together!If you've developed any new spiritual practices lately, I'd love to hear about them! You can post your thoughts here anytime!
Posted by: Paeter August 29, 2006 at 12:28 AM
Just started into Mark E. Rogers' "Blood of the Lamb: The Expected One", and so far so good! Some very interesting biblical parallels that will be worth watching to see how they flesh themselves out. And so far the danger is real, the action is intense and magic is cool! And I still haven't read a single comic that I bought this Wednesday. I've got my work cut out for me!
Posted by: Paeter August 25, 2006 at 02:43 PM
Tonight I finished reading Terry Goodkind's latest book in the epic "Sword Of Truth" series, and it was great! He seemed to get a little off track with the last one, but that proved to be a fluke. His next book will be the final installment of this 11 book series. And now, "Spiderman" movie director Sam Raimi is going to produce a number of t.v. mini-series events that will chronicle the sword of truth book series!Development will begin in 2007! I'm a happy man!
Posted by: Paeter August 25, 2006 at 12:47 AM
QUICK GAME REVIEWSSo in my quest to find a new game to play, I gave 15-20 minutes of my time to each of the 9 games I tried out today.Thought I'd write my thoughts down to remind myself for future reference, what I thought of these games in case I forget and am curious again. And since it's just as easy to cut and paste them on my blog, I decided to throw them on here to share with you!So here's the quick and sloppy on all these games for the PS2 based on 20 minutes of play each:
Summoner- Really early game for PS2 and it shows. ALMOST an action RPG. Fight animation is slow and boring. Frame rate is jumpy, graphics are bland. Primitive by today's standards.
Summoner 2- Not the prettiest game I've seen, but a HUGE improvement over the first. This is a REAL action RPG! The intro fight is pretty tough, but the mechanic seems pretty solid. And for the $5.99 price tag, this one is almost definately a keeper!
Demon Stone: Forgotten Realms- A BEAUTIFUL game! The action is so fast and furious that you unfortunately can't give your attention to the active, living world around you! There's so much going on! As mentioned, this is an action game at heart. It has some small level building, but I'd rather play "Path of Neo" if I'm going to play a game that's this far tilted into the action game genre. Maybe I'll come back to it someday, though.
Magna Carta: Tears of Blood- A serious looking RPG with creative character design. (Just my thing!) The battle system I'm not so sure about. Not very intuitive at all. It DID have a strike system similar to the Shadow Hearts games, but added more details that make the rest pretty complex. It will undoubtedly take some time to figure out and be comfortable with. Too bad, because the world seems very interesting.
Stella Deus: I can see myself coming back to this near re-make of Final Fantasy Tactics. Great looking game in many respects. I'm just not in the mood for a strategy game right now. But when I am, I'll be coming back to this one for sure!
Lord of the Rings: The Third Age- RPG based on the LOTR trilogy. I already had a game save for this one. It's a great game, somewhat low on story-telling (unless you count lots of movie clips as story-telling) and it was hard for me to jump back in where I'd left off over a year ago. Otherwise a cool RPG with good graphics and gameplay.
The Bard's Tale- Would have been great fun except that I couldn't adjust the way I control the camera, like you can with most games of this variety. I was suprised at the effect that had on my ability to enjoy the game. I'm a big fan of Baldur's Gate and the "Champions" games, so I was dissapointed that this ended up not being as enjoyable as I'd hoped.
Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits- superficial characters, bland and boring graphics, combat animation and (strategic grid) combat system. Bleh.
Grandia 3- I almost kept this one. The execution of the story plays a little like a Disney animated movie (the music swells and almost makes you think they'll all start singing), but that is my only major complaint. (I tend to like a darker story) The battle mechanics are fast moving with great graphics and animation. It was fairly exciting to play the battles at first, which is VITAL to RPGs. But the charm quickly wore off when surrounded by the other Disneyesque qualities.
FINAL VERDICT: Summoner 2-I've taken all the games back now, and Summoner 2, which only cost me $5.99, is easily the best of the bunch. What an action filled, yet strategic and fun RPG with a story that so far has me very interested! Woohoo!
Posted by: Paeter August 18, 2006 at 11:23 AM
I was at it all night. I've been doing it on and off my whole life, and it just keeps getting easier!Last night I spent most of the time dreaming of flying.I kept thinking to myself, "This has become so easy to me over the years, why haven't I called 'Ripley's Believe It Or Not' yet?"Telling people seemed like such an obvious choice, but instead I chose to show them.I was back at the RPG convention I attended a few weeks ago. I just took a few purposeful steps forward and then launched myself into the air, soaring through the convention center, around empty ballrooms, flying down hotel hallways and shooting up empty elevator shafts.Eventaully I made it outside, where I could REALLY cut loose! I was freakin' FAST! Turns out I had one or two other powers up my sleeve as well, but I won't bore you with the details. Maybe it will make its way into another "Spirit Blade" story!See ya!
Posted by: Paeter August 18, 2006 at 11:15 AM
Got it!
Posted by: Brad August 17, 2006 at 10:42 AM
Hey Brad!I just copied yours and my comments on this to the new "Movies" thread! You seem to hang out on the front lines of info, so anytime you hear some cool movie gossip, I'd love to hear about it there! Thanks, man!
Posted by: Paeter August 16, 2006 at 04:05 PM
Actually, I'm really not planning to see Snakes On A Plane at this point. But time will tell.As for Batman, I have my doubts about hunky "Heath-bar" pulling off The Joker. But again, time will tell us if he's got some more versatility than we've seen so far. He'll need it! The Joker is all ABOUT versatility!I hope the title "The Dark Knight" sticks, or is at least used as the sub-title-"Batman: Dark Knight"I've wanted them to use that as a Batman title for years, and I'm sure I'm not alone in thinking it's cool. It's also a way to assure movie-goers that yes, this is still going to be the dark and gritty Batman we know and love from "Begins".Just be on the lookout if there are any rumors about a "Caped Crusader" movie.Yikes.
Posted by: Paeter August 16, 2006 at 03:48 PM
Batman stuff
I know that this is a bit premature, but how do you think the new sequel to Batman Begins is going? Heath Ledger as the Joker? Do you think that the title The Dark Knight is going to stick?
Posted by: Brad August 16, 2006 at 10:21 AM
The biggest movie of the summer... Snakes on a Plane! Yeah baby!!! OK, seriously, what is hollywood thinking?
(sarcastically)I know that you're going to go see it Paeter. Don't tell you that you aren't; I know you man!
Posted by: Brad August 16, 2006 at 09:37 AM
Kung fu...Kung fuuuuu...That's fun to say, isn't it?
Kuuuunnng...
Fuuuuuuuuuu...
Posted by: Paeter August 15, 2006 at 10:11 PM
SEARCHING FOR A GAMEWell, I finished the video game I'm currently working on, which means I'll need to find another one soon, or suffer the effects of cold-turkey cut off. (Not good.)I've compiled a list of games and their review ratings to take with me to Gamestop and Bookman's tomorrow. Both places have an unconditional return policy on their used video games, meaning I have 7 days to try out any used games I buy, with the option of returning it in that time for a no questions asked, full refund. Usually, that's enough to help me find a good game among several, but not always.Meanwhile, I still have to watch Ultimate Avengers 2, which I picked up on Tuesday. A little bit of Spirit Blade to do tomorrow as well, but not so much that it will consume my day.It's gonna be a good Saturday!
Posted by: Paeter August 12, 2006 at 01:44 AM
LETTING GOThat's what I'm training myself to do these days, it seems. I've been getting such positive and excited feedback from those who have listened to Spirit Blade, and yet the visionary perfectionist in me will always find those little flaws.Likewise, as I prepare to step away from leading the Worship Ministry at RMCC, I see things that I would LOVE to accomplish before my last Sunday.I believe one of the wonders of eternity with God will be the ability to perfectly realize every creative vision I'm given. Until then, like so many artists, I will strive after the wind of perfection catching an occasional glimpse, but always ending empty handed, except for the promise of something more.But God has a way of using our short-comings to remind us of who he is. He's been energizing this project since the beginning. So although it will be far from perfect, I know God's involved, and that's plenty enough for me.(Although that doesn't rule out "revisiting" Spirit Blade again when I'm older and wiser. If Lucas can, what's stopping me, right?)
Posted by: Paeter August 10, 2006 at 07:14 PM
Picked up "Ultimate Avengers 2" today. Haven't watched it yet, but if it's like the first it should be fun!First I have to finish listening to the new commentary track on the Farscape DVD I bought today. And I still have "Comic Book Day" to look forward to tomorrow!Yep, life is pretty freakin' fantastic. ;)
Posted by: Paeter August 08, 2006 at 11:21 PM
Hey Kris!Yeah, being a player character was way cool. Even so, it got me itchin' to GM again, so we'll see, come October/November, if I don't go find or start up a gaming group. I'm pretty sure I'll do one, the other, or both.
Posted by: Paeter August 04, 2006 at 07:11 PM
Gaming convention, nice. I know that having the chance to play the roleplaying games is something you wanted to do, since mostly you have game mastered. I'm glad you got the chance.
Posted by: Kristan August 04, 2006 at 11:54 AM
WHO WANTS TO BE A SUPERHERO?Okay, I had my doubts about this reality show on the Sci-fi channel, but tonight's second episode had a great twist!Two heroes per episode are eliminated for not being heroic, and tonight, a guy who NEVER seemed right to be a hero was finally canned. But on his way off the studio lot, Stan Lee asked him to stay on the show... as a Supervillan!Perfect!In dramatic fashion he was given a new costume and more evil version of his former Superhero name.This show really feels like a recreation of classic, old-school comic books. Without the built in back-stabbing element of other reality shows, it's still competitive, but alot more good natured and fun. You may have your favorites, but you're mostly rooting for everyone. I almost missed it tonight, so after the episode, I set my VCR for next week. I'm not missing ANY of this one!
Posted by: Paeter August 04, 2006 at 02:12 AM
Just got a book I ordered in the mail today, called "The Blood of the Lamb: The Expected One", by Mark E. Rogers. It's the first of a dark fantasy trilogy that's been out for a long time. It's supposedly based on Christian Theology, but at the same time takes place in a world of gruesome violence and terrifying magic. Just my kinda thing! I'm excited to get going on it, but first I have to finish "Amber and Ashes" by Margaret Weis, and then "Phantom" by Terry Goodkind. So many good fantasy books!Good thing I'm a freak for reading. Now I just have to find the time!
Posted by: Paeter July 31, 2006 at 11:39 PM
RPG CONVENTION, DAY 2 and 3
On my second day, I didn't do much more at the convention during the day besides browse the retailer's merchandise. Not a huge selection or fantastic pricing, but then for years I've been spoiled by primarily spending my money on out of print games with much lower costs.After the re-launch night at RMCC (2 and a half hours of non-stop DDR, Guitar Hero, Name that Tune, and Bible Trivia Elimination!!) I spent 2 hours recovering at home before going back to the convention for another RPG from midnight to 4am. This was a "World of Darkness" game where we played normal kids at an abnormal orphanage. (Formerly a prison.)Of the pre-made characters available, I volunteered to play "The Fat Kid", and gave him the classic name of "Chunk" from the movie "Goonies" while playing him like an adolescent Chris Farley. I was a happy camper.The one down side of the evening was that the group got off topic quite a bit and we didn't progres through the game very fast.With more to come back for Saturday after lunch, I opted to leave at the scheduled finishing time of 4am, rather than stay to finish the game.
On Saturday, I was introduced to the game mechanics of the classic RPG, "Dungeons and Dragons".This game was a lot of fun!Mostly because the Game Master was VERY animated and enjoyed what he was doing. He encouraged role-playing quite a bit, and hammed it up himself much of the time. His descriptions of our surrounding betrayed his 30 years of experience running this game. A GREAT storyteller.I played the group's fighter. Normally a little too mundane of a choice for my tastes, but the group needed a fighter, and I figured the rules would be less complex for a simple character like that.It was a great way to learn how to play, and although I didn't always roll fantastic, I rolled well enough and often enough to be the primary monster killer of the group.The downside of this game was its focus on using miniature figures. For me, miniatures can tend to bog the game down in mechanics a little too much for an RPG. And as someone who tends to be the GM of games, it makes the prospect of running a D&D game intimidating both mentally and financially. That said, I'd really enjoy PLAYING a regular game of D&D in the right group with the right GM.After that I wolfed down some taco bell and came back for the boardgame "Descent", which I own, but have always been the "Game Master" for and never the hero.This boardgame is a blast!I chose to go with an all magic character with really weak defense. But I drew the right cards to be an offensive powerhouse, and to keep bad-guys away at the same time. ( I had TWO abilites that allowed me to do automatic damage to bad guys if they even just stood next to me!)After a great day of gaming, I opted to withdraw from the boardgame I'd signed up for today. Mostly because between the miniatures of D&D and Descent, I felt a little board-gamed out, and there were no other RPGs to play in today.So instead, I took a nice long nap this afternoon and then played some more Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance 2, and am now about to spend some time playing Adventure Quest, a "Flash" based RPG online that's free! (You don't compete against other players.) It's a ton of fun! Check it out at:http://www.battleon.com/
See ya!
Posted by: Paeter July 30, 2006 at 06:37 PM
RPG CONVENTION, DAY 1
Just finished my first day/night attending my first RPG convention! We played a Super-hero RPG and had a great time! The Game Master was a lot of fun and the other players were cool, too, which makes all the difference in this kind of thing.I played a superspeed character, although my rolls sucked alot resulting in some pretty "un-super" moments. But screwing things up was half of the fun!We got done early and so I came home and am now in the mood to dig out my Superhero RPG stuff.I'm looking forward to having the time to do some role-playing again once I step down from my Worship Pastor position. Who knows what adventures and danger await in the world of my own twisted imagination?
Posted by: Paeter July 28, 2006 at 12:25 AM
This weekend is going to be way busy but extremely fun for me! For the first time ever, I will be attending a Role-Playing Game Convention! It's right here in Mesa this Thursday through Sunday. Not only that, but we're having a big party for the people in my ministry at the church this Friday night, with lots of food and games set up around the room. The college band at our church will be leading the worship this Sunday, so although I'll be present all morning, I don't have to carry my usual responsibilities.So basically, from Thursday at 7pm until Sunday at 6pm, if I'm not eating, sleeping or attending Sunday morning services, I'm playing games and eating junk food non-stop! Awesome!!If possible, I'll give reports at the end of each convention day so you can take some of the journey with me.Right now I'm getting ready for the weekend by reviewing some rules for one of the boardgames("Descent") I'll be playing at the convention this Saturday night. And tomorrow I'm planning to check out a local game store I just heard about and see what the possibilities are to get connected with a regular game of D&D after I learn how to play it again this weekend.That's all for now!
Posted by: Paeter July 25, 2006 at 11:07 PM
Right on the nose, bro. It's one thing to write about OTHERS adventuring through nature, but me? Not so much...
Posted by: Paeter July 25, 2006 at 01:30 AM
Hey Paeter!
Sounds like fun. I'm suprised to hear that the master of all ghouls and monsters can't handle a few bugs! I'm about to embark on an adventure myself that takes me backpacking across Catalina Island. We've done the trip for the last two years and it just keeps getting better. You would be miserable though, so don't worry, I won't ask you to do it! Alright bro, gotta hit the sack. I'll write more later!
Mark
Posted by: Mark July 24, 2006 at 11:02 PM
Well the church camping retreat went well, although I HATE bugs. Yes, I'm a huge wimp, but I can't STAND bugs! Not a big fan of nature in general, although I LOVE rain, which we got a fair amount of! That part was GREAT!
Posted by: Paeter July 24, 2006 at 07:43 PM
Just finished playing some "Baldurs Gate: Dark Alliance 2" for PS2. REALLY fun game. The same company will be making a "Champions of Norrath" style Justice League game in the fall. I MAY just wet my pants.
Posted by: Paeter July 19, 2006 at 11:47 PM
Holly and I are going up to church camp this weekend. It will be a nice break away from the norm, but I pretty much hate nature and bugs and...well camping. But I'm bringing some good books (Terry Goodkind's latest!) and some cool boardgames like "Doom", "Runebound" and "Descent". We'll also lead worship on Sunday morning and spend time hanging out with friends, so it should be a fun weekend.
Posted by: Paeter July 18, 2006 at 09:30 PM