Biggs' Zone

A Geek's Cogitations, Conjectures and other Cortical Experiences

Category: General Cogitation Page 19 of 40

Did Hollywood Ruin Comic Heroes?

By

On August 11, 2015

In Geek Canon, General Cogitation

I have talked in the past about how much I’m enjoying the continuity of the Marvel movies and TV series, its been an unprecedented achievement in live-action content. A good friend of mine recently went on a mini-tirade about how Fox has ruined the X-Men franchise (too bad Marvel Studios can’t get the rights). He grew up a long time, hard core, comic book fan. The monetization of live-action content has a tendency to do that and Twentieth Century Fox is most notorious for taking certain liberties in their film adaptations. Granted I haven’t read a comic book in about 20 years but X-Men is a series I grew up on.

cap_minionI know I’m in the minority when I say that I have actually enjoyed all the X-Men and Wolverine movies. I felt everyone was cast really well. I liked the first Fantastic Four movies (while the latest one is deplorable).  I’m going to boldly state that I also enjoyed Ryan Reynolds in the Green Lantern movie (I know it wasn’t the greatest telling of Hal Jordan but I personally felt it was acceptable). I haven’t seen Ant-Man yet but I’ve heard the overall ratings are generally pretty good.

I think the most difficult conundrum producers and directors face when they are adapting a film that has a huge fan base is making a movie that appeals not only to the fans but to the general public as well. They have to draw in enough of a crowd to meet the ROI of making the film and, statistically, the number of fans in the subculture is not going to bring in enough money at the box office. Remember, in the end making movies is a business and to succeed in business you must be profitable. Now, with that said, you have to do better than the recent iteration of Fantastic Four which will cost Fox money instead. Although Fox could be on the road to redemption if the Deadpool movie is as good as it looks in the trailer.

I think we might be nearing the end of the super hero paradigm. The success of X-Men, Avengers, Iron Man, etc has gone to the head of every movie studio executive and we are now a bit overwhelmed with super hero movies. Just like bad film adaptations, the monetization of a subculture can go too far and will ultimately burn everyone out.

/cheers

minion_keboard_smI could get so much more accomplished if I only had minions!

Gaming: What’s In A Name?

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On August 11, 2015

In Gaming, General Cogitation, MMORPG

illidan-legionIf you are a gamer, especially an MMO gamer, you are all too familiar with the ultimate conundrum, what to name a new character. The recent announcement of the new World of Warcraft expansion and the new demon hunter hero class has placed me in that conundrum once again. Personally, the name is very important and vital to how much I enjoy playing the character. I have deleted max level characters before because I just didn’t like the name (this was before we had the paid rename service). The name has to sound cool in my head, on paper, and match not only the look of the character but the class of that character.

When I am coming up with a name I have a variety of techniques and philosophies that I adhere to. In fact, while I am not a role play gamer, I still follow the basic role playing rules of character names. In other words, I refuse to give a character a name that consists of words strung together (ex: Facemelter, Imatank, Healsalot, etc). I hate that. If other people want to do it, that’s fine, but I find that kind of naming unimaginative. The only time I have ever created a character with a name like that was a character I never intended to keep (such as creating a Recruit-A-Friend character when I’m my own friend).

I do like to reference other geek canon, novels or literature when I choose a name. I have numerous characters across a couple of games where I will reuse some obscure Star Wars character (unless I’m playing a Star Wars game, then I try to pick something that fits that universe). Although some of my favorite names are ones that I have come up with that are not “lovingly ripped off” from some other fantasy universe. Sometimes I will pick a name from a recent book series I read or currently reading (such as Game of Thrones) if they contain names that seem unique enough. In the past I rarely had any problems getting the name I wanted but when I transferred to a higher population server, I’m finding it more difficult to find a name that isn’t already taken and thus I have to get more creative.

I have literally spent hours scouring the Internet looking up Star Wars characters, elvish language translations, Japanese translations trying to find that perfect name or inspiration to create the perfect name. Legion has put me back into the search as I try to find a name reserve for the demon hunter I intend to make.

Yes, yes, first world [gamer] problems …

How do you pick your character names?

/cheers

minions_icon

I could accomplish so much more if I only had minions!

 

Soapbox: Why Should I Care???

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On August 5, 2015

In Fulmination, General Cogitation, Soapbox

stop-being-offendedI blame social media! If it weren’t for Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and all the other ways idiots can post their narcissistic triumphs then more important issues would be on our minds (like selling fetus parts to the highest bidder). Why should I care if a dentist wants to go on some hunting safari in pursuit of animals that aren’t even endangered?? If that lion didn’t have a name, would we still care?? Poachers are scoundrels, yes, but I’m sure hundreds of other lions, tigers and bears (Oh My!) are hunted just the same. The only difference is those people aren’t stupid enough to post it on Instagram! Unless, of course, you are Sabrina Corgatelli who posts her “trophies” because she knows its going to piss people off – so I applaud her for being a troll!

I’m not completely heartless, I think its pretty despicable that he sought out that lion and then had the audacity to make sure we all knew that he beheaded said beast and he deserves every bit of the backlash he’s getting for doing so. Honestly if he hadn’t posted somewhere for the social media warriors to find the only ire he would have drawn would be from a bad root canal. It still amazes me that social media has been around so long it’s now a staple in our lives yet people are still so ignorant when they use it. Learn how to post privately, noobs!

So lets move on to the next thing I could care less about. Celebrity breakups! Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner splitting up was apparently the most traumatic thing the Internet had ever endured! One person tweeted (I did not alter the format of this tweet, the caps are real):

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner getting a divorce!? I DONT BELIEVE IN LOVE ANYMORE!!!!

Really?!? I mean, seriously??? How trite is this person’s life that their happiness is so vicariously dependent on two actors whom they will never meet?!? Why should we care that “Bennifer” can’t keep their sacred vows or that Miranda Lambert can’t keep her hands out of somebody else’s pants?? “Celebrity marriages never last” so why is it “newsworthy” when one fails? Just because they couldn’t make their relationship/marriage work doesn’t mean all of ours are doomed. I promise Ben and Jennifer could care less that their divorce has caused you to lose hope and leaves you crying into your pillow at night.

Live your life don’t live it through somebody else!

/end soapbox

minion_keboard_smI could get so much more accomplished if I only had minions!

Geeks and Our Eclectic Hobbies

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On July 27, 2015

In General Cogitation

blizzcon-geek-is

Chris Metzen at Blizzcon 2010 telling us what it means to be a Geek

How many geeks do you know and what hobbies do you assume they have? If you are a geek, you’re not allowed to answer that question. I’m sure when one thinks of the geeks they know they probably assume computers, video games and/or books are their hobbies. You’re probably right, those are likely among their hobbies but most of us are probably ADD or ADHD and often have far more eclectic tastes outside our [presumed] nerdy sphere.

You might actually be surprised to learn that we do have hobbies outside the typical nerdy genres and a lot of them might actually be outdoors (despite our fears of the daystar‘s brimstone). Personally I’m really into grilling (if you couldn’t tell by my frequent posts about my grilling exploits). I have other geek friends that work on their cars or are actually pretty good carpenters. Now these hobbies do come with some of our geeky idiosyncrasies. We can become quite OCD about the details of said hobby and, of course, if there is a gadget, app or any kind of tech which can be incorporated into our hobbies, well “Holy Frak” that’s an Epic Win! I know there are several geeks out there that are really into fitness (i.e. exercise, running, etc) thanks to gadgets like Fitbit. I know I probably make as much of an effort to go for a walk as I would to make time for video games and/or reading.

Most of us don’t have these other hobbies in hopes of earning awards or other accolades, we’re just into it because, in some way, they still engage our analytical mind. It’s the problem solving or puzzle of the activity that intrigues us; or maybe it’s just different from our other everyday activities (especially if we are stuck behind a computer most of the day for our jobs). It’s probably our love for technology that helps us with our hobbies; it allows us to research and adapt our solutions in hopes of perfecting each project.

Now, if you are a geek, what are some of your out-of-the-[computer]-box hobbies?

minion_keboard_smI could get so much more accomplished if I only had minions!

Mr. Robot vs Fight Club

By

On July 16, 2015

In General Cogitation

mr-robot-headerIf you haven’t been watching this show but you have been considering it, then I wouldn’t continue reading because I am going to talk about something that may, or may not, be a spoiler for the show. I’ve always been a fan of high-brow shows and I do think this show constitutes as high-brow at a technical level. Granted not all of the “hacks” the main character performs are technically feasible (i.e. a brute force password script cannot complete within 2 minutes using only two pieces of personal minutia- ex: favorite baseball team and pets name). It is a pretty decent show if you can get past the far left-wing agenda subtext that comes off a little too radical to be believable. Be that as it may, I am going to get into one of the biggest theories of the show and why I think it would continue to make the show awesome.

*** SPOILERS AHEAD ***

The big theory is that Christian Slater’s character is Eliot’s Tyler Durden brought on by the stress of his cyber security job and social anxiety, or perhaps its brought on by his morphine use. I was originally going to talk about how this was a theory I had since the second episode, but I later found out that this has been a theory posted out on the Internet since the first episode aired online (prior to its USA premiere). Initially I was disappointed that this theory was already so prolific but now I am disappointed to learn that if its true people will be upset. Fight Club, to my knowledge, was the only movie to successfully allude the audience that Edward Norton’s character was schizophrenic and there isn’t an episodic series or movie that has successfully done it.

In fact, I thought at one point I read that some studio was thinking about doing a Fight Club television series. Perhaps Mr. Robot is the evolution of those discussions. Granted I thought Fight Club was a great movie but I don’t know if the end really allowed for it to become a television series. Christian Slater is desperately trying to find a successful sitcom so if he is a figment of Eliot’s psychosis and the producers establish that in the show, does that still warrant a need for Christian Slater’s character? Sometimes tv series just use a big name to generate viewers and then hope that the remaining cast will eventually be able to carry the show without said A-lister (not that Christian Slater is much of an A-list actor anymore, but you get my point).

If it were me and I was producing of the show, I wouldn’t say either way for the entire series. I would keep the audience guessing with every episode. Let the Internet build the hype for you and let them argue about if he’s real or not. In every couple of episodes throw a couple of hints in either direction, creating just enough ambiguity to keep your viewers coming back each week. I would try to keep the suspense going until the final episode and only then reveal the truth. Just as long as the truth makes sense …

… we don’t want to find out he was in purgatory the whole time! 🙂

minion_keboard_smI could get so much more accomplished if I only had minions!

Walk to Mordor Progress

By

On June 25, 2015

In General Cogitation

walk-into-mordorBack in January of this year I told folks on Facebook that I was going to participate in the Walk-to-Mordor Nerd Fitness challenge. I can’t remember how I originally found out about this challenge. I feel like I read about it on someone else’s feed and searched for it on Google. I found most of the logistics from a blog site called Nerd Fitness where I downloaded an Excel file to track the progress. After logging my progress the first couple of times, being the pragmatic nerd that I am, I realized I could build a web page to do this for me!

Enough about how big of a nerd I am; I’m here to talk about my progress since we are nearing the end of six months.

As I said I am tracking my progress on a web page I created at http://www.vleaminck.com/#/walkToMordor and, as you would be able to tell from the page, it appears I am on track to complete the challenge. If you recall, back in January when I decided to take on this quest, not only were we a couple of days into January but I was several miles behind. Only through perseverance [and +50 Fortitude] I managed to catch up and get back on track.

If any of you want to participate in this challenge, let me know and I can add you to the web page so you can track your progress as well. It doesn’t have to be January 1 to participate, you just need to complete the challenge within a calendar year. So you could start right now if you wanted to or you can wait and do it with me as I will probably try to do it again next year. I think it would be great to get more people actively doing this challenge so who is willing to “step up”? (pun intended).

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