Son of a Nerd

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When I was 11 or 12 years old my father took me to his downstairs workroom and pulled out a stepladder.  Setting it up, he stepped onto its top ledge and reached for a box that was on his highest shelf.  He pulled down the box and laid it gently on his countertop.  He turned to me and said, “When I eventually pass away, you will inherit all of my comics that I have collected since I was your age and even younger.”

Looking inside the box, I saw comics that were born during the Silver Era of Comics.  Archie and Batman were quite common but most important were his Amazing Spiderman comics.  He bought the very first ten issues and more of Marvel’s famous superhero.  They were all in relatively good condition with the Spiderman comics now in a protective covering that prevented wear and tear on the decades old paper.  Not only did I saw them but I read them as well.  He allowed me to read his precious collection which he had kept for all these decades; it speaks volumes to know how much trust he had in me.

And after reading them, I have to say, they’re pretty good!  Stan Lee and Steve Ditko did a great job in the writing and characters of the story.  I also learned for the first time of Doctor Octopus’ origins.  Surprisingly, it wasn’t shallow.  He wasn’t naturally evil; in fact, he was just a nuclear scientist who used his arms to help him in his experiments.  An explosion at his lab however twisted him into becoming dark and that’s what led him to being Spiderman’s foe.  The Sandman issues were pretty good as well as they definitely highlight Peter Parker’s cleverness and ingenuity.

I would say that my father’s love for comics is similar to my love for video games, a fad that was quite popular for the time despite being frowned upon by some adults.  In a way, the video game cartridges I have, though still cheap, will probably one day be as expensive as my Dad’s current comic collection.  Even now, games like my Earthbound game have already doubled in price in just several years.  In the future, my other video games will probably follow suit.

My Dad’s love for nerdiness does not end there though, he also likes Star Trek and he remembers watching that show a lot when he was in college.  He’s also a fan of Star Trek: The Next Generation. I like watching that show with him as it’s pretty relaxing and enjoyable.  It was especially a treat when we saw the Star Trek movies as they were great and he got to enjoy them on a nostalgia level.

As such, I was lucky enough to have Michael Dorn, the actor who plays Worf in Star Trek: TNG, sign a birthday card for him.  He was at a nearby comic convention this year and I bought tickets for it so I could meet him personally.  Worf and Data were my Dad’s two favorite characters so I knew this was my best chance to give my Dad something special.  Once he signed it, which was amazing, I carefully sealed up the envelope and gave it to my Dad several weeks later.

That was my only present to him that year.  And when he read the funny card and opened it up to see that Michael Dorn had wish him a happy birthday he reacted with shock and delight.  I could see tears welling up as he realized what I had done for him.  Right there and then, I knew I had given him the best birthday present ever.

birthday card

Actually, this was not the first time I attempted to have a celebrity sign something for my Dad.  I tried to get Stan Lee to sign my Dad’s first issue of Spiderman several years ago when I was at Comic Con.  Alas, Stan charged 100 dollars per signing and I didn’t have that kind of money.  I’m super bummed that I didn’t do it though.  When I told my Dad why it didn’t happen he became convince that we should do it and that he would chip in the money for the autograph.  We’re now hoping for Stan to show up in a nearby convention so we could have the man himself sign the very thing he’s famous for.  I think that would be one of the most wonderful things ever and I hope that we can achieve it; an autograph from a legend to two nerds and a special comic.

Ancient Animals and their Fakemon: Stegosaurus

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Stegosaurus: Ornithischian Dinosaur, Late Jurassic

Ask anyone in the street to name three dinosaurs and they’ll probably give you Tyrannosaurus, Triceratops, then Stegosaurus.  Stegosaurus is one of the most famous dinosaurs due to its instantly recognizable anatomy.  The big lumbering body with a comically small head, the mountainous back with huge dorsal plates, and the long spikes jutting from its tail; yes, no other dinosaur, save other stegosaurians, fit this description.  Stegosaurus was discovered by Othniel Charles Marsh during the Bone Wars in the latter part of the 1800’s.  As such, it has had a rich history of scientific curiosity and pop culture influence.

Perhaps one of the more controversial aspects of Stegosaurus is the function of their dorsal plates.  The first, and currently debunked, hypothesis was that the plates were used as defense.  However, this is unlikely due to the relatively thin plates and how they only covered the back and not the more vulnerable sides.  More likely were the two other hypotheses thermoregulation and display.

Stegosaurus could have used their plates for thermoregulation by rotating their bodies relative to the sun.  Farlow et al. (1976) were among the first researchers to test this hypothesis by designing a Stegosaurus model and observing how well the plates could absorb or dissipate heat.  Their results highly supported the hypothesis and they reasoned Stegosaurus could orient themselves relative to wind currents for better absorption or dissipation of heat.  Main et al. (2005) disagree with the thermoregulation hypothesis as there is no proper blood circulation structure that could adequately carry and dispel heat away from the body.  Also, other stegosaurians were more likely to have spikes than plates on their backs suggesting spikes were a basal trait that evolved later into plates.  As such, thermoregulation, if it even played a role, was not the main function for the Stegosaurus’ plates.

Stegosaurus, Walking with Dinosaurs

From Walking with Dinosaurs Episode 2

Main et al. (2005) concluded that the plates were more likely used for both sexual and defensive display.  Since dinosaurs had relatively good eyesight, the plates would have been highly useful for the aforementioned purposes.  Indeed, Carpenter (1998) suggested that if attacked by a foe, the Stegosaurus would laterally display its body to appear more menacing.  It would then pump blood into its plates to make them blush and appear frightening.  This behavior is well reasoned due to the highly vascularized nature of the plates.  Either way, it’s likely that the Stegosaurus employed both of these functions for its plates.

thagomizer

The tail spikes have a more humorous story to them.  Though some scientists simply call them “the tail spikes” others took on the more informal name of “thagomizer” which was based off of the Far Side cartoon as seen above.  Indeed, there’s really nothing else like the thagomizer and I just think the name fits.  Regardless of what you call them, there was some debate on whether the thagomizer was really used for attacking purposes or not.  Solid evidence came through in McWhinney (good lord, that’s his name?) et al. (2001) and Carpenter et al. (2005) papers. McWhinney et al., (2001) analyzed many Stegosaurian spikes and found that some of them had trauma-induced bone fractures and were healing or became diseased during their owner’s lifetime.  Carpenter et al. (2005) analyzed a healed punctured wound in an Allosaurus tail vertebra and was able to match it with the tail spikes in Stegosaurus.  Both of these evidence pieces support a willing intent for defense by Stegosaurus which in my book is pretty awesome.

Stegosaurus has shown up many many times in pop culture so I’ll try to keep the list down to the big ones.  First off, this dinosaur has been seen in several movies, initially in King Kong and later in other big movies such as The Lost World: Jurassic Park, and The Land Before Time.  It also starred in one of the most famous scenes in Fantasia; I especially remember this scene because the fight fit extraordinarily well with Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring with its loud, scary music and its build up to the climatic fight.  Stegosaurus is also a favorite in many dinosaur documentaries such as Walking with Dinosaurs and When Dinosaurs Roamed America.  Finally, and on a personal note, in the science fiction book Bones of the Earth, paleontologist and protagonist Richard Leyster was delivered a head of a Stegosaurus in the prologue so he could dissect it and be convinced that time travelling was real.  I remember reading this book in Junior High and was convinced from that scene alone that if I wanted to be a good paleontologist, I better know my biology.

Stegosaurus, Rite of Spring, Fantasia

——

STEGHOST

 Steghost

Type: Ghost

Stats: HP: 120,   Attack: 105,   Defense: 70,   Special Attack: 68,   Special Defense: 83,   Speed: 49

Ability: Intimidate, Solar Power, Hidden Ability: Sap Sipper

Moves Learned Upon Leveling Up:

Start-Lick

Start-Tail Whip

7-Mean Look

11-Yawn

16-Astonish

20-Iron Tail

24-Swords Dance

29-Spikes, Toxic Spikes

35-Poison Tail

42-Amnesia

49-Belch

55-Synthesis

60-Thagomize

Learnable TMs and HMs Calm Mind, Roar, Toxic, Bulk Up, Venoshock, Hidden Power, Sunny Day, Taunt, Ice Beam, Blizzard, Hyper Beam, Light Screen, Protect, Rain Dance, Safeguard, Frustration, Solar Beam, Thunderbolt, Thunder, Earthquake, Return, Shadow Ball, Double Team, Sludge Bomb, Reflect, Sludge Wave, Flamethrower, Sludge Bomb, Fire Blast, Torment, Façade, Rest, Attract, Thief, Low Sweep, Energy Ball, False Swipe, Fling, Quash, Will-O-Wisp, Shadow Claw, Payback, Swords Dance, Psych Up, Dragon Tail,  Poison Jab, Sleep Talk, Substitute, Nature Power, Dark Pulse, Strength

Special Moves: Thagomize: Ghost Type, Power: 90, PP: 15, Accuracy: 100%.  The user builds up antimatter on its thagomizer and then attacks the foe with it.  10% chance of poisoning the foe.

Egg Group: Monster

Pokedex Description Version One: When frightened, a Steghost’s body will disappear leaving only its plates visible to confuse and scare off its foe.

Pokedex Description Version Two: A Steghost’s thagomizer can kill an attacking foe with one mighty swipe.  The victim can also be poisoned by it as well.

Evolution: Evolves from Kentrospirit at level 32.

Basic Background: I’ll be honest; I made Stegosaurus a ghost type because you could easily corrupt his name into Steghost.  But this worked pretty well in my favor thanks to those scary plates of his!  It’s also pretty liberating to not give Stegosaurus a typical type like Grass Type.  With Ghost Type, you can explore different possibilities or ideas that other types couldn’t explore.  Like antimatter!  Since Giratina is antimatter I reasoned that other ghosts could also employ the antimatter so thus, Thagomize was created.  I also realized that there wasn’t a strong Ghost Type move so Thagomize had a base power of 90 and is similar to Thunderbolt and Ice Beam.

Steghost uses aposematic coloration to confuse and frighten its enemies.  The brightly shaded and contrasting plates draw the eye to them and mute the rest of the dull-colored body.  These bright colors can warn predators not to mess with Steghost, especially how it can poison its enemies with its thagomizer.

Steghost was part of my story fairly early on and was one of the first members in the protagonist’s team.  He caught him, in his first form as a Kentrospirit, in the Sprout Tower.  The protagonist found him cowering near the top of the tower and managed to pick up the heavy beast in order to save him.  When the ghosts surrounded them near the entrance of the tower, Kentrospirit found its courage and illuminated its spines and plates creating a frightful-looking monster.  The Kentrospirit, and later Steghost, would become a steady member on the team ever since that experience.

Steghost was designed with a competitive use in mind.  He could be staller with Intimidate and the use of Spikes, Toxic Spikes, Synthesis, Will-o-wisp, Amnesia, and Yawn.  He could be a physical attacker with Grass Sipper and the use of his physical attacks and Swords Dance.  Or he could be a special attacker in Sunny Teams with Solar Power and the use of  Synthesis and special attack moves.

 

Carpenter, K., Chure, D., Kirkland, J. I., Denver Museum of Natural History, 1998. The Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation: an interdisciplinary study Part 2. Taylor & Francis. p. 137

Carpenter, K., Sanders, F., McWhinney, L. A., and Wood, L., 2005. Evidence for predator-prey relationships: Examples for Allosaurus and Stegosaurus. In Carpenter, Kenneth (ed.). The Carnivorous Dinosaurs. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press. p. 325.

Farlow, J.O., Thompson, C.V., Rosner, D.E., 1976. Plates of the dinosaur Stegosaurus: Forced convection heat loss fins? Science. 192: 1123–1125.

Main, R. P., Ricqles, A., Horner, J. R., and Padian, K., 2005.  The evolution and function of thyreophoran dinosaur scutes: implications for plate function in stegosaurs. Paleobiology. 31:291-314.

McWhinney, L. A., Rothschild, B. M., and Carpenter, K., 2001. Posttraumatic Chronic Osteomyelitis in Stegosaurus dermal spikes. In Carpenter, Kenneth(ed). The Armored Dinosaurs. Indiana University Press. pp. 141–156

Paper Mario vs. Super Mario 64

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The era of the Nintendo 64 would be remembered for a host of great games that are still enjoyable to this day.  From the very start, we were given one of the most revolutionary games of the time, Super Mario 64, released in 1996.  This game revolutionized 3d platforming and served as a basis for the future in 3d gaming.  Four years later, Paper Mario was released in 2000 and some have consider it the spiritual successor to Super Mario RPG.

Both of these games are considered to be “must-haves” in the N64 line up.  But which game is the best?  Which game is in general, more fun to play?

Considering that these two games occupy different genres, this question can be hard to answer.  SM64 is a platforming game.  It has a non-linear progression in the story and you don’t have to acquire all of the stars in order to fight Bowser. PM, on the other hand, is an RPG.  It has a strictly linear storyline and you are required to collect all seven stars before taking on Bowser.  Nonetheless, both of them are, at their heart, a Mario game.

Both of these games also rank high on the nostalgia meter for me.  If you were my age plus or minus a few years, it’s somewhat likely you played these games growing up at your house or at a friend’s house.  I remember the first time I played SM64 and was astonished by the colorful graphics, the music, the world, and of course, the flying.  Putting on the flying cap and soaring through the air was amazing and it was real treat to wear that cap.  PM was a different sort of nostalgia as I especially loved the humor, the art style, and again, the music.

However, to cut right to the chase, I think the better game in the series was PM.  PM has several things going for it that make it the better game.

The first reason why was the world of the game.  Though these games were on near equal footing, PM’s world felt realistic.   We saw it not as stages but as actual places where you can walk from the Goomba Village on one end of the world to the Koopa Village on the other.  True the SM64’s paintings and castle were very well fleshed out, but I found it a real treat to explore the Mushroom Kingdom and talk to its denizens.

paper mario map

Speaking of which, that’s the second thing PM has over SM64.  SM64 felt so lonely to me as you could only speak to a few characters (mainly toads).  PM had tons of characters with varying personalities, many of which weren’t just one-note characters that said the same thing over and over.  This becomes apparent after you defeat the boss of the chapter.  The characters express gratitude for saving them and they can later be involved in certain sidequests.  Your partners also had personality, especially Bow.

Finally, it wasn’t just the characters but the game itself that had personality.  Humor filled PM through dialogue, battles, and scenery.  The Koopa Bros and their Bowser Machine, the Crystal Palace and its kooky puzzles, and Bowser and his hopeless infatuation with Peach.  And when you combine this humor with the tight RPG system, you have an amazing Mario game.

Paper Mario, Crystal Palace, Kooper

This was an especially great moment in the game. Gotta love the Crystal Palace. Image from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Bl5hGsU54k

Regardless, SM64 still does things right that PM just couldn’t achieve.  The tight controls are amazing and lend itself incredibly well to the ample wall jumping and backflipping you do in that game.  The game is also a step more difficult than PM and thus when you acquire each of those 120 stars, you feel gratified in accomplishing a difficult or long winded feat.   The open world system that I mentioned before is also nice as you can pick and choose what stars you want to get instead of following a direct path.  Because of which, I have played this game more often than PM.  If I want to kill five or ten minutes of my time, I can turn on the game, play a random stage, get a star, and continue doing on other things.  Sometimes, I get the same star twice because they’re hella fun!  Especially the Boo Mansion and Bob-omb Battlefield stars.

But even so, PM is one of my favorite Mario games.  It was only topped by one other Mario game, Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, which took everything that I liked about PM and made it one step better.  But my gushing for that game will be for another time.

The Best and Worst Thing About Digimon Season One

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Digimon was a staple of my late childhood ever since I first found out about it near the end of 1999.  Though the series was already near half way done, FoxKids would continuously show previous episodes on the weekdays which allowed me time to catch up and become familiar with this great show and its characters.  Though I can write all day about Digimon and my childhood, I want to focus on the best thing and the worst thing about Digimon Season 1.

The Best Thing:

This was hard to pinpoint what exactly the best thing about Digimon Season 1 was.  It could have easily been the music, Izzy and Tentomon, or the digivolutions.  However, after thinking about it, I have to say it was probably the Myotismon Arc.  This was a series of episodes that really took the show to a whole new level.

The arc starts off strong with the kids trying to reunite again eventually culminating to them returning to the real world.  Once they’re back, they have to deal with Myotismon and his henchmen while trying to keep a low profile.  The arc builds and builds and peaks in the finale with Gatomon and Kari reunited and defeating Myotismon with an all-powerful Celestial Arrow.  However, Myotismon, in true vampire fashion, rises from the grave and reaches his Mega form which brought about the mega evolutions in Agumon and Gabumon.

There are a lot of things that make this arc great.  For instance, one-by-one the digidestined’s digimon digivolves (say that three times fast…) to their Ultimate form, taking on any foes that stand in their way.  This brings about new digimon foes that can challenge the kids and push them to become even greater.

The real world element is also used very well.  The kids have to guard their secret and make sure no one knows about their partners.  Also, we see what kind of effects the digimon have on the real world, something that season 3would later expand upon.  Electronic devices don’t work and most of the time, destruction happens.  But probably best of all is that we see the kids in their homes, interacting with their parents.  It is relaxing to watch them get a break after being chased by monsters for many episodes.

The best part comes near the end of the arc as episodes build to the climatic showdown.  Everything important happens in one day.  As such, the usual standalone episode format is cast aside and embraces a more connecting narrative.  Partners who have digivolved in the previous episode stay digivolved in the next one.  The digidestined, once scattered, slowly find their way to the television station where everyone, save Angemon, has digivolved to the Ultimate form to face Myotismon.

And then, death!  Wizardmon dies saving Kari and we see one of the first, real emotional blows in Digimon that struck us hard.  A kind character, who was Gatomon’s only friend, was dead and his passing catalyzed Gatomon into digivolving to her final form, Angewomon.  Then, everyone lends her their power and she strikes down Myotismon in one blow.

As such, one of the real disappointments in the series is when we found out Myotismon is not dead but still alive and in his Mega form meaning Wizardmon’s death was (almost) for nothing.  The arc should have ended there but they continued it on for two more episodes and those two episodes brought down the importance of finding the 8th child.  Speaking of arcs…

The Worst Thing:

Many shows usually have a rough start in trying to find themselves and who they really are.  Poor writing, actors unsure of their character motivations, and untested people can really stagger a new show.  Digimon Season 1is no exception to this.

When I got my Digimon Season 1 DVD Boxset more than a year ago, the first thing I watched was the Etemon Arc and I just went from there.  I skipped the entire Devimon Arc because I just don’t like it!  There are a host of reasons why I just don’t like this part of Digimon.

The first 14 episodes or so are slow, awkward, and formulaic.  The usual one or two digivolutions per episode means that the fights don’t happen often and when they do they are pretty short.

Also, with seven protagonists a lot of character establishment had to be developed, something that the later seasons’ far fewer main characters didn’t worry about.  As such, episodes two through seven were focused on a particular protagonist and that can be a chore to get through.

To be fair though, when File Island split up and we had a lot more personal time with the characters, their mini-adventures were amusing, especially seeing their now established personas bounce off of each other.

But at this point, the characters are still too annoying and the voice acting is…ehhhh.  That’s why the Etemon Arc, and especially the Myotismon Arc, was a hit as we don’t have to go through character establishment and we can have good action and story development.  Plus, you’re not really missing anything from skipping the first arc except for an angel dying or whatever.

Herculeskabuterimon

Also the worst thing was that Herculeskabuterimon wasn’t in it, I am sad.

Reaction to WiiU Converter for Gamecube Controller

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Nintendo of America revealed today on their twitter account that the WiiU version of Super Smash Bros will be playable with Gamecube controllers.  I AM PUMPED!

When I heard about this I was deeply surprised.  Nintendo taking a step back and using Gamecube controllers on the WiiU is a shocking move on their part.  From this little reveal, there are already big and great things ahead for Nintendo.

The fact that Nintendo is now allowing Gamecube controllers combined with the “For Glory” online mode means that Nintendo is recognizing their hardcore audience.  They are connecting to them while still embracing their casual audience.  As such, I expect we’ll see more news in the future, not just on Super Smash Bros, but other games as well that will appeal to the hardcore gamers.

But they are introducing an add-on converter to the Wii U.  This converter will cost them money and they want to make sure that it is worth it.  As such, I strongly believe after looking at the photograph that Nintendo will sell new Gamecube controllers!  I’m really excited about that.  The Gamecube controller is one of the best controllers in video games.  It feels so great in your hands and the buttons are placed in just the right manner.  Also, many of the old controllers have become broken, dirty, or unplayable.  If Nintendo decides to sell new controllers many of us would gladly buy them just as we did 13 years ago.

This WiiU converter also means that Super Smash Bros won’t be the only game that will be compatible with the Gamecube controller.  If Nintendo will allow it, other games can latch onto them as they can serve as great multiplayer controllers.  Mario Party could work well with it and hell, though this is doubtful, they could add an update to Mario Kart 8 so it too could be compatible with the controllers.  In all honesty, these controllers are way better than the WiiU gamepad and the Wiimote, please Nintendo, make it happen!

I was already pumped for Super Smash Bros on the WiiU and now I’m almost doubly pumped, I’m really looking forward to see what Nintendo has to offer to us at E3!

What are your thoughts on the WiiU Gamecube controller converter?

He Died as He Lived: Karl Patterson Schmidt

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It is not unusual for naturalists to die in the field, they are constantly exposed to dangers of all sort whether they be organisms, natural disasters, or even from man himself.  It’s also not unusual for naturalists and scientists in general, to be killed by the very thing they study.  Herpetologists have been killed by snake bites which would otherwise be not fatal had they been close to a medical facility.  Yet Karl Patterson Schmidt’s death is unusual for two cases, the first of which was that he died in Chicago.  Yet the second reason, and perhaps more interesting, was that he documented his own sickness as the venom took hold of his body.

Karl Schmidt was a prominent herpetologist in the mid-1900s.  He was president of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists from 1942 to 1946, he was the zoological curator of the Field Museum from 1941 to 1955, and he named over 200 species of animals.  His prominence of the field is inarguable.

Yet despite his herpetological knowledge, he was bitten by a boomslang snake on September 25th, 1957 and died the following afternoon.  The boomslang snake, AKA Dispholidus typus, is a colubrid snake that can be found in Africa.  The boomslang has hemotoxic venom which prevents blood clotting.  The venom is stronger than other famous venomous snakes such as cobras and mambas.  Extreme care must be used when handling this dangerous animal.

Boomslang Snake

It begs the question why Dr. Schmidt was bitten by this lethal animal at the Field Museum of all places.  Well, he was supposed to identify the snake for Mr. Truett of the Lincoln Park Zoo.  When Curator Inger handed Schmidt the boomslang snake, Schmidt did not take the special precautions needed for handling it and was subsequently bitten on the thumb.

Schmidt and Inger were unalarmed by the bite.  The boomslang snake was very young and only one fang penetrated the skin 3 millimeters deep.  Schmidt shrugged off the bite but instead of moving on with his day, he decided, in true, scientifically enthusiastic manner, to document the nature of his health in response to the bite.

His “death notes,” for lack of the better term, were published by C.H. Pope in 1958.  And I have to say, after reading them, I am filled with forlornness.  Here was a man, enthusiastically documenting his health as it was deteriorating before his eyes without realizing that he would die soon. Dang, man.

Here’s an excerpt from one of his writings

“9:00 PM-12:20 AM Slept well. No blood in urine before going to sleep, but very small amount of urine. Urination at 12:20 AM mostly blood, but small in amount. Mouth had bled steadily as shown by dried blood at both angles of mouth.”

Schmidt is meticulous in his writings as he documents his temperature, diet, vomiting, and so forth at the time they happen.  As such, his writings give us a very unique and personal look at the effects of a boomslang bite while being objective about it.  Indeed, had Schmidt known that he was in peril, his documentation may have been rushed, confused, and mismanaged.

His notes stop the following morning when he thought he was getting better.  But after noon, he had troubled breathing and soon died shortly before 3:00 pm due to respiratory paralysis.  It is presumed from the autopsy report that his trouble breathing came from hemorrhaging in the lungs.  The autopsy also revealed hemorrhaging in the renal pelvis and the small intestine which accounts for Schimidt’s documentation of blood in his urine and bowels.

Dr. Schmidt’s death was tragic, but we gain much knowledge from it.  We now know of the effects of a boomslang bite and when they will happen.  But at the same time, I can’t help but think how much hubris Dr. Schmidt had.  Even when he was bitten by a known dangerous snake, even when he was witnessing the disastrous effects it had on his body, even when he was in reach of medical aid, he did nothing about it and died.  The irony stuns me.

If you want to read the death notes yourself then check out Pope C.H., 1958. Fatal Bite of Captive African Rear-Fanged Snake (Dispholidus).  Copeia, 1958, pg 280-282.  It’s a short but dour read that should be read by snake enthusiasts everywhere.

Thoughts and Review of Godzilla 2014 by a Godzilla Fanatic (Spoilers)

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This movie has garnered negative and positive reviews from both fans and critics alike and I can certainly understand why there is a clear divide.  I want to address some of the fans criticisms but first here are my basic thoughts.

I like this movie, I really do.  It’s not a great movie and it’s not the best Godzilla movie either but it’s still pretty good.  Monsters fight, buildings crumble and people fled in terror, that was all I was looking for and by Godzilla I got it!  Everything in between was not that good but the stuff that worked, REALLY worked!

The two MUTOs were cool and atypical in appearance compared to your average Godzilla villain.  I liked the concept of having a small, flying male and a large, earth-stomping female.  It’s not often that Godzilla fights two villains at once and as such, this was a real treat to watch.  Also, the MUTOs’, and by extension Godzilla’s, backstory I thought was perfect.  All Godzilla films have these crazy scientific theories that have NO basis in logic whatsoever and this was no exception.  Large monsters used to live on the surface and then burrowed underground to feed on the radiation there.  Perfect!  That’s all I need!  An explanation where the monsters come from and why they are appearing now, love it.

BTW, I thought it was cute that the male and female MUTOs did a little nuzzling when they first met each other.

The fights were good but I wish I could have seen more of them especially the first one.  Seeing the first fight should have been a priority since we are seeing Godzila in action for the very first time.  Even though it would have been just a smackdown, I would have still loved to have witnessed it.  That said, the final fight was amazing with a series of battles that build upon each other to a climatic finish.

I remember distinctly near the end of the movie that this Godzilla hadn’t done his atomic breath yet and I was worried that wasn’t going to happen.  But wait!  His tail spines were glowing!  I leaned forward in anticipation, making excited noises much to the chagrin of my fellow movie watchers.  And then…BLLLLLLAAARRGGGH!  The atomic breath came and I was like “Yeah! Alright!”  I was thrilled when that happened and right there I knew that this was Godzilla, no doubt.

But the best part had yet to come, when Godzilla fought the female MUTO for the last time. The two titans struggled and I was giddy with excitement.  I asked myself how were they going to end this fight.  And then, Godzilla grabbed MUTO’s jaws with both of his hands and I was like:

Reaction

I gave a grunt of excitement and thought Godzilla was going to rip MUTO’s jaws in half similar to what he did to Anguirus or what King Kong did to the T-Rex.  But something even better happened.  His dorsal spines glowed with power and he released a might atomic breath into the monster’s throat.  I was then like:

Super Saiyan reaction

I screamed with excitement and I was the only member in the rather stiff audience that was whooping and hollering.  I wanted him to take the now disembodied head and throw it to the ground like an adrenaline-filled football player throwing his pigskin to the ground after a fantastic touchdown.

Godzilla was also great, he definitely reminded me of Godzilla 2000’s Godzilla.  He was a neutral force that did whatever he wanted.  That is definitely my favorite rendition of Godzilla and I’m very happy the film went for this choice.  He’s fighting cause he wants to fight and if people or buildings get in his way then so be it!  He also had personality and I really felt for the guy when things got tough for him.  Also, for those who’s saying this Godzilla is fat..um…he’s always been fat, look at his thighs and you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.

Now, let me focus on the criticisms that many people had for this movie.  Mainly: the characters were flat, we don’t see much of Godzilla, and for the few critical die-hard fans, this was not Godzilla.

Characters were flat: For over a year, I have been watching Godzilla films that I have never seen before or haven’t seen for a long time.  As such, I have a pretty good understanding of some of the most popular tropes in these films.  One of the most used tropes is flat characters.  This is pretty standard in a Godzilla film.  Godzilla 2000, Godzilla: Final Wars, and Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah are some of the rare exceptions to this.  Those characters were fun and memorable.  Everywhere else though I’m like, eh, whatever, don’t care.

This wouldn’t be a problem for the film except that we got Bryan Fucking Cranston in it.  He plays his role so damn well that I forgot he was Walter White and an actual character in a Godzilla film.  I felt for him, I moved for him, I wanted him to succeed….and then he died!  I was shocked that he died and was sure for a minute or so he would revive due to some radiation pulse or whatever.  But nope!  He straight up died!  The rug was really pulled underneath me when that happened.  Which meant we were stuck with his son, Sargent Boring.  Now this was a character I did not care about!  He nor his family!  But he had a purpose and he served his purpose well.  I was hoping he would die but alas, that was not the case.  The good news is that hopefully, if we’re following traditional Godzilla films, he won’t be in the sequel.  Fingers crossed!

Though I did like the Asian scientist Dr. Slackjaw (his expression throughout the whole film) and his assistant Dr. Concern.  I wanted to know more about them, what’s their story??  I hope they make a return as they can keep on spewing the crazy scientific theory stuff that makes Godzilla films great.

Godzilla does not appear often: This I sort of agreed with but at the same time, many of the films in the franchise also follow this formula.  Less is more.  At the same time though, I did wish we could have seen more of the big guy, particularly wider shots of him instead of close ups.  Godzilla 2000, also a reboot, saw Godzilla a lot, hell, we even saw him near the beginning and I’m not talking just his spines or whatever, the whole thing.  This could have been changed if we had at least saw more of the first fight.

Godzilla 2014 was not made by Toho and is not portrayed in a giant rubber suit: This is probably the most stupid complaint to me.  Just because Godzilla is not portrayed in costume or his film was not made by Toho doesn’t mean he is not Godzilla.  He’s big, he’s reptilian, and he has an atomic breath, boom, that’s Godzilla.  Take Batman for example, he has had many incarnations during the 75 years he has been on Earth; some were campy, some were serious, some were down-to-earth, some were not, but all shared the basic understanding of who Batman was.  Godzilla is the same way, he has had many forms in the Toho films, he has been represented in comics, video games, tv series, and so forth.  They were all Godzilla.  And Godzilla 2014 is without a doubt Godzilla and a good one at that too.

 

Well, this review has gone on long enough so I’m going to wrap it up.

Pros: Godzilla, the MUTOS, the 3rd fight, Bryan Cranston
Cons: Sargent Boring and his family, only glimpses of the first fight, Godzilla theme was not in this movie
Final Godzilla Rating: 4/5.  Go see this movie in theaters while you still can even if you’re not a Godzilla fan, it’s well worth your time.   The bland characters bring the film down a few notches but this is made up with everything else the film has to offer.  Here’s hoping King Ghidorah will be in the next film!!

Also, in the future, I’ll write an article comparing all the Godzilla reboots together (i.e. Godzilla 1985, Godzilla 2000, and Godzilla 2014).  What they got right and wrong and how they affected the franchise.

Nostalgia Filter Test: Jackie Chan Adventures

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Full thoughts and review of Godzilla (2014) will be posted next week. For now, enjoy this article on Jackie Chan Adventures!

Nostalgia plays a role in our grown up lives but how much of that clouds our passion for our childhood obsessions?  This is part of a series where I’ll critically analyze a series from my childhood and see how well it still holds up. Enjoy!

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For my free time these past few weeks, I’ve been watching Jackie Chan Adventures on Netflix.  I wanted to rewatch some of the good episodes while trying out seasons 4 and 5 as well.  How well as this series held up?  Pretty good I have to say!

This is probably one of the best shows out there that’s centered on a celebrity.  Though the real Jackie Chan doesn’t lend his voice to his character, he’s still involved in the show as seen in his end-of-the-episode “Hey Jackie” shorts along with his brief cameos in the intro.  Plus, Jade Chan is voiced by Stacie Chan who is actually Jackie Chan’s real life niece!

One thing you’ll probably not hear many people praise on the show is its animation which is alright but definitely better than some modern cartoons’ flash animation style.  However, it’s the story, characters, and voice acting that really pulls the show together. Most of the characters are pretty funny.  Jackie, Jade, Uncle, and Tohru lead the way with some of the best comical moments the series has to offer.  The running gags can be a little overdone but they usually give them enough spin to keep them fresh.  The fights can be frenetic, just like a Jackie Chan movie and that’s fun to watch.  The show really gets creative at times, especially with the use of props, scenery and magical devices.

A primary focus on East Asian folklore gives the show a unique flavor that doesn’t feel stereotypic or watered down.  Uncle’s chi spells seem genuine, especially with the chi spells’ ingredients such as blowfish or lotus flowers.  The standalone episodes also break the East Asian focus by expanding on global folklore such as El Chupacabra and Stonehenge which is definitely needed.

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What’s nice about the show is that each season can stand by itself as they have a definite beginning and end with many conflicts in between.  Season 1 saw the 12 Talismans, Season 2 had the 8 Demons, Season 3 saw the Talismans in animal form, Season 4 had the Oni Masks, and Season 5 had the Demon Chi.  I think the show really took off starting Season 2 as now we have an established universe which is now expanded on and played with.

In fact, Season 4 was probably the JCA’s most creative season.  The season broke away from the Chinese focused plotlines and into Japanese folklore via the Oni Demons.  Now, Uncle is nearly helpless and Tohru’s importance is expanded on.  Also, I loved what they did with the Oni Masks.  They took a concept, Oni Masks give the mask wearer the power to summon a unique shadowkahn and the mask can only be removed by a unique spell, and ran with it.  They did concepts like a dog wearing a mask, or a mask is split into two, or a mask is revived via the Rat Talisman, the list goes on.  I liked it and though it wasn’t as strong as Season 2, it was still enjoyable.

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I wish I could say the same thing for Season 5.  Oh God, why.  I watched a few episodes of Season 5 and I had to turn it off because it was not worth it.  The show had definitely run its course with reused plotlines.  Also, Drago was just not a good villain, especially when compared to his father, Shendu.  And I absolutely can’t stand Ice Man, he’s just sooooo anooooyinnnng.  God, shut up.  Overall, Season 5 just felt stale and I’m glad they canceled the show after that.

But back to Season 2, I think the main reason why this season worked was because of Shendu and his brothers and sisters.  Seeing Shendu in a position where he had to beg, gravel and be frustrated was a delight.  The demons were really fun and I especially liked the Moon and Sky Demon.  The Demon World episodes were also some of the best in the series as we see our heroes at their lowest but even then they still won the day.

ONE MORE THING, it’s funny to see Shendu transform as the series progressed.  We initially see him as a demon who was obsessed in conquering the world to eventually obsessed in killing Jackie Chan.  It’s very amusing.

Anyway, Jackie Chan Adventures has held up well.  Go see it if you have some free time this summer.  I suggest you start with Season 2 and go through to Season 4.  But skip Season 5, bleh.

Nostalgia Filter Test Score: A-

Godzilla Week: Destroy All Monsters Melee

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Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee was released in 2002 and can be played on the Gamecube and Xbox.  You can play as Godzilla along with a host of other Toho monsters.  This is an alright game that would be great if it didn’t suffer from a few key issues.

The roster is disappointingly small with only 11 playable characters with most of these being locked at the beginning of the game including Rodan.  Really?  Rodan???  One of the original monsters is a locked character?  That aside, though the roster is small, at least they hit all the important monsters including Ghidorah, Anguirus, and Gigan.  I would have liked to see Titanosaurus, Spacegodzilla, and King Caesar included in the roster as well.  That would really make this game more dynamic.  Other one-off monsters such as Orga, Destroyah, and Megalon were included so there’s no good excuse why these monsters weren’t included as well.

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To the game’s credit though, the characters are diverse and really play to the uniqueness of that monster.  Gigan’s stomach buzzsaw, Godzilla’s atomic breath, and Mechagodzilla and Mechaghidorah’s weapons all give the monster their own style of fighting.  Megalon, however, is a cheap character as you can dig underground and avoid being attacked from the opponent; then you could then pop out, grab the opponent, throw him, and repeat the process.

Unlocking these characters is a drag, especially if you are new to fighting games.  You have to do it via Adventure Mode where you fight a series of monsters and then battle Mechagodzilla as the final boss.  The infuriating thing about this is that battling the monsters is easy but once you get to MechaG then the difficulty is ramped up.  Tanks and airplanes are firing at you constantly and MechaG attacks relentlessly.  I have to throw buildings at him and fire from a distance if I have a shred of hope in defeating him.

A big issue for this game is the camera angle.  Being a 3D fighting game, the camera has to swivel constantly in order to compensate the monsters’ movement.  As such, if I’m trying to get to a power-up, the camera angle can change and I’ll have no clue where it is and I inadvertently miss it while my opponent snatches it up.  This has happened many times and is quite frustrating.

The controls are responsive and the combos are easy to do but the game’s pacing is sluggish.  Attacks take their time and the monsters lumber along at a slow pace.  If this game was maybe 30% faster, it would be a fun and intense brawler.

megalon

Two big pluses are the cities and the team battles.  You can throw buildings, kick cars, crumble skyscrapers and just annihilate cities.  As such, stages like Monster Island aren’t that fun but others like North Seattle are a blast.  It really hammers in the point that this is a Godzilla game and that you’re supposed to destroy shit and have fun.  The team battles are great as you can do classic line ups like Godzilla and Anguirus vs. Gigan and Ghidorah.

I haven’t played the other Godzilla games, but from what I heard, those were baaaaaad.  I might give them a shot one day but I’m not in any rush.  This game can satisfy any Godzilla needs I have though only just.  Only to Godzilla fans could I recommend this game and even then that may be pushing it.

Godzilla Week: Minireviews-Biollante, 2000, and Mechagodzilla 1

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For the past year, I have been watching Godzilla films that I haven’t seen for over 10 years or for the first time.  Here are three of them that I haven’t seen for awhile and my rating of them based on a Godzilla Scale.

 Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974)

I have not seen this film for more than 10 years. I wish I could say it was as good now as it was then but unfortunately, it has not hold up well for my adult mind.

I have to wonder how my ADHD infected kid brain was able to sit through most of the film though I now believe I just fast forward through most of it just so I could watch the fight scenes. Most of the story is pretty dull and slow. Some of the scenes could have been flatly cut out.

King Caesar, though he has a great theme, was so hyped up throughout most of the film that it was such a downer when his ass was handed to him by MechaG. However, for a man in a monster suit, he was certainly nimble compared to the average kaiju.

MechaG is always a good foil for Godzilla and he served a good match for him. Having his head ripped off by the Big G was great.

The score is so 70’s cheesy that the film suffers when you have the actual Godzilla theme played with the score.

Pros: MechaG, King Caeasar’s Song, the final fight. SPACETITANIUM?!?
Cons: Slooooooooooooooooooooooow and borrrrrring plot. King Caesar was a let down. Anguirus was nothing more than a punching bag and that made me sad.

Final Rating: 2/5. An okay Godzilla film, though the second Godzilla vs. MechaG I think is a better film. Great songs though.

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Godzilla vs. Biollante

Godzilla vs. Biollante is perhaps one of the more untraditional Godzilla films, particularly for the Hessai Era. For one thing, we see a rather unique monster that was never seen before nor ever seen again in the film franchise. For another, the film harks back to the original idea of Godzilla, mainly, human’s tampering of science can be catastrophic (surprisingly this concept is rarely done in the Godzilla films). Finally, the film’s pacing is also rather unique.

Even so, the film introduced two main concepts that has been repeated many times in the following films. One-a monster who’s DNA was partially made or originated from Godzilla and Two: humans with ESP.

But the film itself has its ups and downs. The special effects of this film are GREAT. This is very typical for films of this era but this movie definitely excels at it. Godzilla’s face has expression and can blink, snarl, look, and etc. which gives him life. The models and explosions for this film are also top notch, great attention to detail gives this film, like Godzilla’s face, life and believability.

However, the movie is slow, and the monster fights are rare, not very long and are somewhat one-sided. My guess for why there are few fights is that their budget was rather limited so they couldn’t spend a whole lot on the fights which is a shame. The moral at the end of the story treats us like we’re idiots and not as intelligent beings. I also don’t care for the characters (except the Corporal) and especially for the scientist who created Biollante. The scientist shows no remorse when creating Biollante and he even seemed thrilled in the idea of this monster. This would actually be a plus for the character if he wasn’t so one-dimensional.

The monster itself, Biollante, is like the film in that it has ups and downs. On the one hand, it’s great they came up with an original idea for a monster, but on the other hand, really? A plant? Plant complaints aside, the monster is very well done. In this modern era, Biollante would have DEFINITELY been in CG but not here. Here, she has so many different parts moving and interacting with its environment. She’s alive and menacing and not stiff or nonthreatening. A big departure from an obvious guy in a monster suit.

Pros: Rad 80s Godzilla theme (and the music in general), special effects, original plot, Erica’s face suddenly appearing as Biollante dies, Biollante.
Cons: Fights are few and far between and are boring, the unsympathetic characters, the moral, Biollante.

Final Rating: 3/5. Go see it for a different Godzilla film and for great effects but only if you feel like it, there are other Godzilla films of the same era that are much better.

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Godzilla Review: Godzilla 2000

The last time I saw Godzilla 2000 was in theatres where it was released internationally in (not surprisingly) 2000. Seeing it when I was ten years old left an impact on me because seeing the big guy on the screen was pretty cool to say the least.

Now, seeing it again almost 14 years later, I have to say that the film stands pretty tall. If you are looking for a good, modern, typical Godzilla film, this is it. It does the job well and it leaves you satisfied.
There are several things in this film that, when combined together, leaves a satisfying Godzilla experience.

For one thing, I liked the humans in this film! They were original, had different personalities, and I genuinely cared for them. I liked the interactions between the two scientists as they were like a couple of kids playing with their new toys. Granted, they didn’t do much to affect the plot of this film but that can be overlooked.

The dubbing in this film works to its advantage. Being deliberately corny gave the film a needed tongue-in-cheek manner. As such, the moral of the film seems in place rather than awkwardly inserted as in Godzilla vs. Biollante.

What’s also different about this film compared to other films is that Godzilla is treated as a natural disaster that strikes every now and then. The people of Japan by now are used to him but not tolerate him. I thought that was interesting especially since this was a reboot for the Godzilla series.

I also liked this film’s Godzilla. He wasn’t good, evil, anti-good, or anti-villain. He was plane neutral with some personality quirks. If you got in his way, he’ll blow you up! Simple as that. This can be seen in his battle against the antagonist as you can see him think through the battle. And when that doesn’t work he’ll just jump right in it without thinking and see what happens (literally)!  Also, is design is very well done, one of the best in the series IMO.  The only Godzilla model I have is based off of the 2000 version.

Finally, the music is top notch, best in the series so far. The best scene in the movie is Godzilla walking slowly through the city, ready to take down the big bad, all the while the music slowly builds to a climax. It’s the same Godzilla theme that we all know and love, but the slight tweaks to it makes it perfect and thoroughly enjoyable. Cut to minute 1:07 at the link and you’ll know what I’m talking about. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXq6kIqODuU

Pros: Overall good, typical, Godzilla film that hits all the right notes.  Best ending quote ever in a Godzilla film.
Cons: Nothing extraordinary pushes it to a great Godzilla film.
Final Rating: 4.5/5

“But then why? Why does [Godzilla] keep protecting us?”
“Maybe because…Godzilla is inside each one of us.”