The Mind's Forge

New Behind the Panles

2007-02-19T19:30:00.000+02:00

Issue #1 takes an in depth look at The Amazing Spider-Man!

Check it out at:

http://silverbulletcomics.com/news/story.php?a=4041

Where does it go...

2007-02-18T13:26:00.000+02:00

Hello Everyone,

I haven't updated in a while, but I've had a bunch of stuff going on, so lets me catch you up.

I've finished 3 and half years of military service (it's mandatory in Israel) and am now back to being a civilian.

I've recently recieved a column at Silver Bullet Comics. The column, "Behind the Panels", will take an in-depth look at various comic characters and storylines in a "Inside the Actor's Studio" type of thing.
Check it out over HERE.

Work on Awesome Storm Justice 41 is proceeding along nicely, and pretty soon you'll be able to check out my first work on the title, letters for Web 18.

Work on the secret project with Ielle Palmer is moving a long nicely. And as soon as we have something to show, I'll be sure to pimp it out over here.

Lastly, check out my ComicSpace page for lots of comic goodies. ComicSpace!

Oh!, I'll be in New York Comic Con! It's a big deal 'cause I'm flying from Israel, so expect a full report when I get back (and if anyone reads this, is attending, and will like to meet, then get in touch with me and we'll make it happen!)

See ya later!
- Itai

Fear Me!!!

2007-02-13T18:43:00.000+02:00

Your results:
You are Dr. Doom

Blessed with smarts and power but burdened by vanity.

Click here to take the Super Villain Personality Test

So much to do, so little time...

2007-02-03T00:44:00.000+02:00

Wow, you wouldn't believe the amount of good things to happen this week.

First, I got a gig writing reviews for Silver Bullet Comics. So that's awsome.
You can find my first review for them, for Punisher War Journal #3, right HERE.

Secondly, I found an artist to collaborate with me in the DimeStore Productions Small Press Idol contest. The contest's grand prize - guranteed publishing of 4 issues of your own issues. That's awsome too. You can check out Paul Ganguly's, my artist, work over HERE.

And lastly, things have been going on quite well with "the project". I really can't talk about it yet, but will say that it's quite exciting and we're planning some amazing stuff for you...

And one more thing after lastly, I've found a new web comic, it's a gaming comic, and it just proved to me that I am still a gaming nerd, despite being away from games for a long time, as I still got most, if not all, of the references. Check out Ctrl+Alt+Del, right HERE.

And that's it for this today's edition of... this.

Line-ups and such...

2007-01-20T01:04:00.000+02:00

And there you have it.

That right there is the new line-up for the (new) New Avengers, begining with issue #27. Let's walk this over, shall we?

For my thoughts on the first 3 members: Dr. Strange, Echo and Ronin, check out my last post...

1. Wolverine
I don't hate Wolverine, it's just that he's getting old. I don't think the character deserves two ongoings (which, frankly, are not that good [and one should be burned...]), plus appearances in every other book with an X on the cover, AND appear in an avengers title as well. I mean, yeah Wolverine is cool, and he's got claws and he regenerates, and he's all tough-like - but come-on, how much could you capitalize on the guy? Isn't it enough that two of the 3 X-Men movies were Wolver-centric. Isn't the spotlight on this guy enough?
I think what annoys me the most is, way back in the beggining, Wolverine was hired into the New Avengers for a very specific role - that of the black ops man, the guy who does the dirty stuff. That hasn't happened. Wolverine was not sent on any covert missions, any underhanded business. All he did was drink beer and make passes at Mary-Jane.
So... I wouldn't shed any tears if it was suddenly announced that Mr. Regenerate-After-I've-Been-Incinirated-to-a-Fine-Powder is now off the team.

2. Luke Cage & Iron Fist
Let's face it, these two belong together. I wasn't around for the old "Heroes for Hire" days, as I'm fairly new to comics (I got into them 3 years ago...) but even I can tell that these two have a rich an detailed history. And the fact that Bendis has a man-crush on Luke Cage only helps to ensure that these two will be handled properly on this new team. Hopefully.
I do have high hopes, but I have been disappointed before by Bendis (Ultimate Deadpool?!?). Anyways, seeing Cage and Iron Fist together, should be kinda of cool as these two are used to working together. They know each other's strengths and could play towards that. And with Cage being the apparant leader of the team (until we find out that Ronin is really Captain America and he assumes command, that is) the two should have a pretty prominant role.

3. Spider-Woman
I like Jessica Drew. As a character she has a rich and detailed history, with her working for both S.H.I.E.L.D and Hydra. And I like her status as a double-agent, even though that no-longer seems to be the case, but it could still be re-incorporated.
And with the storylines that will probably dominate this book - more espionage, something's rotten with the world and we're here to fix this, type stories, I think Jessica will make a fine addition to the team.

And she's smokin' hot.

4. Spider-Man
At the begining I thought Spider-Man should not be on a team. He's a loner at heart, and works best while out solo. But as the Newsarama feature went on, and more members were revealed I found myself hoping that Mr. Parker will make the final cut.
Becuase, let's face it - everyone loves Spider-Man. He just worked with the New Avengers. And with this current roster - featuring more street-level heroes (pretty much everybody but Strage) Peter will really shine through. I mean, besides Wolverine Pete is the most experienced hero on the team. And all of the people on it actually respect him - Jessica, Strange, Cage, hell even Logan respects Peter - he earned it.
And besides, Bendis writes one of the best Spidey's currently around. He definatly does a better job than PAD... Evil Uncle Ben... my god, what was he thinking?

And that wraps up my thoughts on the New Avengers Line-up. You can post a comment and tell me what you think.

On a different note, I want to overhaul this Blog a bit, both in appearance and content.
Content-wise - I am formally dubbing this place as "Intillegent Entertainmnet Commentary" focusing mainly on Comics and Games (though the occasional TV and Movie rants may slip through).
Graphically - I'm pretty much sick of using the Blogger templates and I want to work up something of my own, so if anyone knows how to do that and can give me some instructions and/or help - drop me a line.

Until next time,
Cheers!

Double the Ronin, double the fun!

2007-01-14T00:57:00.000+02:00

A few things of note, let's not waste any time:

Ronin, Ronin and Dr. Strange

Well, Newsarama has started a feature where they're (painfully) slowly revealing the new line-up of the (new) New Avengers.
Now, I love the New Avengers, it's one of the best series to come out of the Avengers Disassemled event a couple years back (it's also the first series I started collecting [not counting Ultimate Spider-Man {well, they were started simultaneously}]). So I'm damned excited about this new line-up. Until I started hearing about it. Now I'm no longer excited, I'm baffled.
I've yet to decide if that's a good thing...

So... the first in the new line-up is.... Ronin!
Well, Echo to be precise. You see, in New Avengers #11-13 a new character named Ronin was introduced in a story-arc aptly named - Ronin. Much speculations went about as to who is behind the Ronin mask, with the major contenders being Matt Murdock and Elektra. However, in a move completley out of left field (and hat's off to one B.M. Bendis for that one) Ronin was revealed to be none other than Echo, a David Mack creation which appeared as a guest star in Daredevil. For the full details on Echo you can read Daredevil #10-15, #53-55 and the afore mentioned Ronin arc (New Avengers #11-13). Also, check out the Wikipedia article on Ronin right here.

The second member of the new New Avengers is... Ronin!
Wha? Huh? But isn't... wait a minute...
Turns out Echo will go back to being Echo after the first arc of the (new) New Avengers, and someone else will fill-out the Ronin man-suit. And hey, it may even be a man this time around. Bendis has mentioned a charatcer which has becom a "masterless" samurai following the events of Civil War. My guess, one Steven Rogers, formerly Captain "You-think-this-A-stands-for-France" America. Though I'm probably WAY off, as that's TOO obvious.

Moving right along, the third member of the new line-up is... Ro- nah, just kidding. It's Dr. Strange.
Huh? Dr. Strange on a super-team that doesn't start with the letter D?
Yep! Apperantly ol' Stevey-boy kinda regrets taking on the role of Switzerland in this past war and moves to rectify the situation. I'm still on the fence on wether that's a good thing or not... But apperantly Leinil Francis Yu (the new [new] New Avengers artist) draws a kick-ass Strange, so we'll see.

Ultimate Ronin

Yep, you read that right. We now have an Ultimate Ronin. Which pretty much cements Bendis' love for the black man-suit. Who is in the actual suit, possibly Ultimate Echo, possibly someone else. We'll find out come April. Here's an image for you:

Poor Spidey, you never seem to catch a break...

Do You Believe in Magic?

I saw The Prestige today. And it was awsome. Besides featuring the great cast of Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Michael Cain and Scarlet Johanson (who was there for possibly 10 minutes... shame...), the plot was excellent.
Two victorian-era Stage magicians always trying to out do one another. All that and a Tesla Coil. So, highly recomended.

Resolution

2007-01-12T01:16:00.000+02:00

Where is that damnable reboot button....

Ah... there it is.

O.k., my New Year's Resolution (which I made about 5 minutes ago) is to start
updating this blog regularly. At least once every 2-3 days. Let's see how long it lasts.

Let's see, where to start... well a lot of things have happened in the past
couple of weeks. The most important of which is... I'm getting out of the army. Yep, I've managed to shorten my service, and I am now leaving February 8th. I'm happy, which probably means the world is happy. One can only assume.

The second major update is that I've managed to get a US Visa. But why
would I need a visa you ask?
Well that's because after I'm out, I plan on flying to New York, for Comic-Con!! Hoora! I can't wait it'll be so much fun, and who knows, I may land a writing-gig somewhere...

Speaking of writing gigs, things are going pretty well at PBR and at ASJ, pretty soon you'll be able to see some of my lettering on Webisode 18. From then I've got a webisode that I am editing, 3 that I'm writing and an ASJ mini written by yours truly.

And also theres.... nope, can't talk about it yet. But it's cool.

Moving on, let's hype some stuff up:

Ahh... Buffy.
Who doesn't like Buffy? In March Dark Horse is publishing a new Buffy ongoing. Now, what makes this so special? Well, it's a direct, canonical continuation to the series. They're even calling it Buffy: Season 8 (the show, for those who don't know, stopped at 7). And what's extra-special about this, it's being written by Joss Whedon. Yep - Buffy + Joss = Guaranteed Goodness. Now get Joss to write a Firefly book...

Heroes comes back in 2 weeks. January 22nd, write it down. For those not watching the show, you should. It's a show about ordianry people who suddenly realize they can do extraordinary things. And not one of them gets a pair of tights.
But seriously, Heroes is one of the best-written shows on television. You should definatly check it out. And for those of you who watch the show, but want more - you may not know this (but you probably do) but NBC is contantly releasing short, 6-page graphic novels which take place in the Heroes-universe. They've even got one drawn by superstar-artist Michael Turner! You can check those out Here.

And that's it for today... thanks for checking me out.

My new (sorta) job

2006-12-07T15:56:00.000+02:00

Hi,

Just wanted to let you (and by "you" I mean the singular you, for the one guy who actually reads this...) that I got a gig reviewing comics for a site called PaperBack Reader.

You can check out my reviews here.

Real vs. Dream

2006-10-14T21:28:00.000+02:00

In Icon, as I said, I attended a Writer's Workshop. In it we were asked to write a scene, containing a dialogue - and then write the same scene, but as a dream-sequence. So here they are:

The Real

There was a roof.
And on the roof was Owen. He stood on the roof, the city sprwaled beneath him.
And there was Kaile. Kaile was taller.
"What are you afraid of?" said Kaile.
"The end." Owen replied.
"And when will that be?"
"When I have no more to say or do." Owen solemnly spoke.
"Well, that it is a good thing, then. For there is much more for you to do in this world. And much more for you to see."
"I know."
And Owen turned around, to face the world below him.
And Kaile pushed.

The Dream

There was a roof.
And on the roof was Owen. He stood on the roof, at the bottom of the world, and the entirety of creation spread above him.
And there was Kaile. And Kaile was taller, and shorter. And darker, and lighter. And Kaile was not there. And he was.
"What are you afraid of?" said Kaile.
"The end." Owen replied, in a voice of snakes and mice.
"And when will that be?" the snakes and mice spoke again.
"When I have no more to say or do."
"Well, that is good. For there is still much to be done and said, and more to be seen."
"I know."
And Owen turned, and looked up into the world.
And Kaile pushed.

Icon Musings...

2006-10-12T00:17:00.000+02:00

Well Icon is over.

Or at least for me it is. And I had a blast.
I won't go into "What was my faovirte part of it" kind of ramble, as that's pretty obvious. Meeting Neil Gaiman. Nothing even comes close (though there were a lot of cool stuff, you really can't compete with that...)

Check it:

The one that's not Neil Gaiman, that's me.

I also hear two lectures by Neil, one was on his career and his writing, and the other was a Q&A, once again about his writing.

I've also patricipated in a Writing Workshop (not the one with Gaiman...), with some... interesting results, I'll post it up tomorrow...
Overall, good Con, and a good use of some much-needed vacation time.

And I got my Sandman signed. So its worth more, but you won't get it anyways. It's mine...

I need to borrow Superman...

2006-10-03T19:17:00.000+02:00

Allright, this is long-ish so bear with me...

Next week is I-Con (the Israeli Sci-Fi, Fanatsy, Comic, Gaming convention, we basically only have one of these so everything get encompassed into one place, it's basically our Comic-Con, Wizard World, E3, etc. sans major announcements).

Every year they bring one "Guest of Honor" to the convention. Last year came Gabriel something-or-other, so not very impressive (though, they did manage to snag Orson Scott Card a couple years back, but I'm not a fan...).

Anyways rumors have been circulating as to who will come this year, and several weeks back it was confirmed - Neil Gaiman is coming. Joyness abound, as Neil is my favorite living author (Douglas Adams is my all-time favorite). So naturally, I would've sold my soul to get anywhere Neil will be (the Guest of Honor at the Con usually gives a lecture or two at the Con). So it was announced that Neil will be giving 3 "lectures". One about Dreams (the "theme" of the Con), one will be a Q&A and the last will be him reading from his own work. I got tickets for the first two (can't go to the last one due to previous obligations) early on and grinned to myself.

Then over the weekend I find about a fourth, previously unpublished activity featuring Gaiman. A writing workshop. Yep. Neil Gaiman is giving a writing workshop here in Israel. So I'm sitting on nails the entire weekend and all of today (the ticket-order center opens at 4 pm). Come 4:01, I get on the phone for 1 and half hours, straight. I can't get through. Naturally, I'm getting more and more pissed. And then It's time to call it a day and go home. 1 wasted hour of commuting. I get home and still can't get through. At 6:45 I finally manage to get through and..... no tickets left.

This sucks.

So if anyone's got Superman's number, I need to turn back time...

A Recommendation

2006-09-14T17:01:00.000+03:00

Go check it out... Awsome Storm Justice 41

He's really coming...

2006-09-08T20:50:00.000+03:00

I'm going to meet Neil Gaiman!!

O.k. let me explain why this is such a big deal... I live in Israel, which has a really small comic-book loving community. And no one really comes here because of the security situation... But Neil Gaiman is really coming here, in one month!

Every year around October the Israeli Convention of Comics, Sci-Fi and Fantasy takes place, it's called Icon. Every year there is a guest of honor - two years ago Orson Scott Card came, last year it was Tim Powers. It has been rumored that Gaiman will be coming this year, but only a short while ago it was confirmed.

And I'm so happy!!

So expect many updates on my meaning with a writing god, and mayble I'll even manage to snap a photo of me with Neil... hopefully.

Cheers!

Solitary

2006-09-02T00:05:00.000+03:00

The following piece is a short, 5-page comic script I wrote for a Writing Contest on PencilJack.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Solitary
By Itai Rosenbaum
08.08.06

A Note: Throughout the piece I will use a lot of dialogue for which there is no speaker. It should be just a balloon floating mid-panel, with no tail. Maybe color it in some way to emphasize that whoever is saying these things is not in the room, like making them semi-transparent, or something like that. I will signify these balloons using VOICE as the speaker.

Page 1

Panel 1 - Large. Overhead shot of the inside of a prison cell. It is a solitary confinement cell, so there are no bars, just a solid, bolted iron door. The walls are poured concrete, flat, and lifeless. The only thing in the cell is a small iron bed, bolted to the wall. In the bed lies ZACHARY IRONS. ZACK is in his late twenties, and fit. He is sleeping.

CAP: THEY PUT YOU IN SOLITARY SO YOU CRACK.

Panel 2 - Close Up on ZACK’s face. He’s still sleeping, and has a calm expression across his face, enjoying the dream he is dreaming.

CAP: SO YOU BREAK DOWN.

Panel 3 - Extreme-Close up on ZACK’s eye. It is wide open. He’s got icy blue eyes, and it’s got a far-away, distant look.

CAP: 33 DAYS.

VOICE: IN THE CASE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS AGAINST ZACHARY IRONS, WE THE JURY FIND THE DEFENDANT...

VOICE: GUILTY.

Page 2

Panel 1 - Medium shot of ZACK, sitting on the edge of his bed. He’s got his arms on his knees, head hanging down. He wears a wife-beater and a pair of blue, standard-issue prisoner trousers.

CAP: I BEAT TWO CONS IN THE YARD.

Panel 2 - ZACK stands up, and stretches.

CAP: WARDEN GAVE ME TWO MONTHS IN SOLITARY. THINKING BACK, A THIRD MONTH MAY HAVE BEEN WORTH IT.

VOICE: ZACHARY IRONS, I HEREBY FIND YOU GUILTY IN THE CHARGES OF THE MURDER OF ALICE AND JACK RAYS AND THE ASSAULT OF OFFICER JOHNATHAN BARREN, AND SENTENCE YOU TO A LIFE SENTENCE TO BE SERVED IN GRAHAM CORRECTIONAL FACILITY...

Panel 3 - ZACK lies on the floor of his cell, doing push-ups.

CAP: HEH, I CAN DO THIS. THIS IS EASY. 33 DAYS.

Panel 4 - ZACK is now doing crunches, exhaling deeply as he rises up from the floor.

CAP: JUST GOTTA KEEP OCCUPIED. KEEP MYSELF BUSY.

Panel 5 - ZACK is spread out on the floor, arms stretched over his head, toes stretched in the other direction, cooling down from his exercise. Beads of sweat have formed on his arms and face, and sweat-stains can be seen on his shirt.

VOICE: ...STANDING OUTSIDE THE COURTROOM WHERE ZACK IRONS HAS JUST BEEN CONVICTED OF MURDERING HIS SISTER, ALICE RAYS, AND HER HUSBAND.

VOICE (connected): REPORTS FROM THE HOSPITAL WHERE JOHNTHAN BARREN, THE POLICE OFFICER WHO ARRIVED AT THE SCENE, IS BEING HELD CLAIM THAT HE IS STILL IN INTESIVE CARE. DOCTORS ARE DOING...

Page 3

Panel 1 - ZACK sits on the bed, leaning up against the wall.

CAP: AFTER A MONTH, YOU LEARN THE TIME-TABLES.

SFX: SCRAPE

Panel 2 - Close-up on a metal tray with food on it. There is also a small new-paper clipping on the tray. The clipping reads “6 YEARS AFTER BRUTAL ASSAULT - JOHN BARRENS WALKS AGAIN”.

CAP: YOU GET TO KNOW WHEN IT’S TIME TO EAT.

Panel 3 - Same as previous, only the plate on the tray is empty, only crumbs and a little left-over’s litter it. The clipping is gone.

VOICE: I-- I’M NOT VISITING YOU ANYMORE, ZACK. THIS IS THE LAST TIME. I-- I’M... I’M PREGNANT.

Panel 4 - ZACK lies on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. His jaw is set, and he has a very serious look on his face.

VOICE: IT’S YOUR BABY.

Page 4

Panel 1 - ZACK paces in his cell.

CAP: BEING HERE, IT GIVES YOU TIME TO RELAX... TO... THINK.

Panel 2 - Same, different camera angle.

CAP: THIS IS EASY.

Panel 3 - ZACK is in boxing pose, practicing fighting against an imaginary opponent.

CAP: 33 DAYS.

VOICE: MR. IRONS, I AM SORRY TO INFORM YOU, YOUR REQUEST FOR EARLY PAROLE HAS BEEN DENIED.

Panel 4 - A shot of the cell, taken from the wall opposite the wall. The camera should be about a foot off the floor. We can see the bed, the door, but ZACK is not in the panel.

CAP: THEY PUT YOU IN SOLITARY SO YOU CRACK.

Page 5

Panel 1 - Splash panel. Over-head shot of the entire cell. We see ZACK huddled up in the corner, against the wall opposite the door. He’s got his head between his knees.

CAP: SO YOU BREAK DOWN.

VOICE: GUILTY

VOICE: TWO CONS

VOICE: MURDER OF ALICE AND JACK RAYS

VOICE: IN INTENSIVE CARE

VOICE: TWO MONTHS

VOICE: YOUR BABY

VOICE: GUILTY

VOICE: MURDERING HIS SISTER

VOICE: DENIED

VOICE: LIFE SENTENCE

VOICE: WALKS AGAIN

VOICE: PREGANANT

VOICE: NOT VISITING YOU ANYMORE

VOICE: CRACK

Panel 2 - Inset into panel 1, close-up of ZACK, he lifts his head, looking slightly to the left of the camera, tears are running down his cheeks, and his eyes are red,

CAP: I CAN’T DO THIS.

The End

What's been going on...

2006-09-01T01:21:00.000+03:00

Well, I haven't posted for ages.

But that doesn't mean I've been sitting idly by, either.
Work has been pretty hectic, but I'm not going to bore you with the tedious specifics of my work day... plus, it's top-secret espionage, take-over-the-world-type work. So I'd have to kill you all. Slowly.

No, I've gotten into creating comics. Yep, I am one step closer to achieving my dreams (picture a starry-eyed me right now). The webcomic I am helping create is the aptly named Awsome Storm Justice 41. check it at: http://www.uggabugga.net.

I am doing some lettering, editing and am working on writing something (I'll keep what I'm writing specifically under-wraps for now - if for no other reason than to keep you guessing...)

Also, I've found a forum called Penciljack (http://www.penciljack.com). PJ is a comic creator forum, and I've been hanging out there, mainly in the writer's lab. I've even won a writing contest there. I'll post the winning entry here soon.

Lastly, I've actually started writing my novel, "Shifted" (Tentative title, subject to change - once I think of something better). And once I get something semi-decent (that doesn't ruin the entrie story) I'll post up a sample of that too.

On a sadder note, my computer got fu**ed up again. The screen just stopped working... I hate it.

Well, I'll keep you posted.
Peace.

-Itai

But That's Just Me... #4

2006-07-08T13:31:00.000+03:00

War is coming.

Scratch that. War is here. It is upon us, and it will swallow us.

It is a war based on ideals, on beliefs. It is a war between right and wrong. Everything is at stake, as those who win this war, and there will be a clear, definite winner, will decide what we do and how we do it. And most importantly, it will tear us apart. This war will latch onto our strongest bonds and rend them, until they are gone. Because this is a war between brothers, between friends, lovers.

This is a Civil War.

Marvel's comic event for the summer of 2006 is called "Civil War".
It all begins with an accident. A group of super-heroes attack a super-villain hideout, the resulting fight leads to death of hundreds. This causes the goverment to pass the Super-Human Registration Act (SHRA), which forces all super-powered or masked adventurers to register their identity with the government, and under-go training in government facilities (S.H.I.E.L.D), thus effectively becoming super-powered cops.
Naturally there are those who agree with the SHRA, and these heroes, led by Tony Stark (a.k.a. Iron Man, who, once again, reveals his identity to the public), are known as the Pro-Registration side. Among the key members of this faction are Spider-Man (see previous post), the Fantastic Four's Reed Richards, Ms. Marvel, Wonder-Man and many others.
Those who fight against the act, and refuse to register are known as the Anti-Registration Heroes. They are lead by Captain America and include: Luke Cage, Daredevil, Cloak and Dagger, and more.

Civil War has already had 2 issues published, with the third coming out July 20th. If you like comic-books but have not checked it out yet - I strongly suggest you do. The two issues already published are infinitely better than many other events and cross-overs that have been happening recently.

Civil War has also spawned many debates about who is right, and who is (or will be) left. As there is much promise that post-Civil War the Marvel U. will never be the same!

I tend to side with the Anti-Reg side. Even though my favorite Marvel character, Spider-Man, is the poster-boy for Pro-Reg (though he is rumored to be switching sides before all is said and done), I find the anti-reg's claims to be more convincing, and I do believe that Super-Heroes do need to be allowed to operate outside the law.

But, you know, that's just me...

We Interrupt your regularly schedueled broadcasting...

2006-06-17T21:40:00.000+03:00

To present... this:

And the crowd goes wild!!

This was good, very good. I like it. A LOT!

But hey, that's just me...

But That's Just Me... #3

2006-06-10T23:30:00.000+03:00

In 36 minutes it will be my birthday.

Happy Birthday to me, right?
Well, I don't know. It's kind of mixed feelings right now.
This birthday will be the last "important" birthday, so to speak. Now, I know what you're thinking - "all birthdays are important, you've grown another year...", and I agree. With each passing year we grow as people, and we learn many new things about ourselves. Each year brings unfamiliar experiences, for better or worse. So how can I say that this is my last "important" birthday?

Throughout our lives, there are several important milestones that we must reach. Our first birthday, is just that, our first. So that's pretty important and ranks pretty high up the list of important birthdays. The next few sort of blend togehter, as nothing really changes from year to year. Next up is 10, now we are in double-digit land, and we're "all growed up". Things are starting to change for us, adults don't treat us as kids as much and we are expected to be more responsible and mature (though we ARE still kids, don't get me wrong, 10 is no-where NEAR adult-territory). 13 is and important birthday to some, namely jewish kids (12 for girls, but stay with me here..). Bar-Mitzvah, according to the religion you are now starting you journey down the path of manhood. And there is much rejoicing. Up next we got 16. Ahh... "sweet" sixteen, which essentially no different than 15 or 17, it's just that sweet fifteen isn't as catchy.
18, that's a major one, maybe even THE one. I think we all agree that at 18 you cross a line. You're no longer a kid, you're an adult, certifiable. Morally, socially, hell, even legally you're now walking in the lands of giants, figurativly speaking of course. Next up, 19. Now I view a person's 19th birthday as, and I do not mean to offend all you 19-year-olds out there, I was 19 once too, the LEAST important birthday of all. Why? Well look who it's surrounded by, with that kind of company 19 seems unimportant by relation. Which is an excellent seguey into 20. Your third of decades is probably the most significant one in your life, you finish your education, get a job, have some fun for a few years, settle down, get married, and start your life. And 20, the 20th birthday is the harbringer of real life, as ominous as that sounds.

Which, at last, brings us to our final important birthday. 21. At 21 the last safety net gets pulled. You are now completley responisble for your own actions. You can drink, gamble, buy a gun, whatever. So if you screw up, it's on you.
After 21 most birthdays are the same, 22 is like 23 which is like 26 which is no different than 34. Yeah, you might have a little less hair, or a little more of a belly. You might share that birthday with your daughter, or your employees, but essentially, they're not milestones. Not anymore. So aside from birthdays like 50, 60, 75 (in which you are more of celebrating in "congradulations! You're not dead yet!" way) 21 is the last important birthday.

Now I'm not sad, not at all. I'm quite happy that it's my birthday, I get cool presents - who doesn't like that. And I feel a sense of... accomplishment. I've covered them all, and lived to tell the tale. So maybe next year my outlook will change, maybe I'll find a reason why 22 should be important. But if I do, it won't be some global statement, it will be important because I chose it to be, becuase of something I've done, said or achieved, and you know what, I'm ok with that, but that's just me...

But That's Just Me... #2

2006-06-04T02:52:00.000+03:00

X-Men: The Last Stand.

X-Men - A group of mutants fighting for mutant rights in a world that hates and persecutes them for being different.

The - Used before an absolute adjective.

Last - Said absolute adjective. Meaning final, climactic, definitive, terminal, ultimate.

Stand - "To Take a Stand" means to fight for what one beleives in. In conjunction with 'Last' implies a final battle of ideologies, to determine, once and for all, whoe right, and who is left.

Those were the parts and now for the sum. X-Men: The Last Stand - a terrific movie.

The third (and supposedly final) installment in Marvel's X-Men movie franchise hit theaters last week. Maybe the word 'hit' is not the right word to use in this context. To quote a certain ever-lovin'-blue-eyed individual the movie clobbered theatres last week.
In its first weekend the film made a record-breaking debut. But is it really that good?

The short answer is yes, it really is.
But we're not here for the short answer, are we? X-Men: The Last Stand borrows elements from various story-arcs in the merry mutants library. Strolling through the Claremont classic "Dark Phoenix Saga", and even borrowing from modern instant-hit "Astonishing X-Men" by Joss Whedon (of Buffy and Firefly fame). The storyline, in brief, talks about a so-called 'cure' for the mutant condition. Many disagreements insue, with the major players being, quite obviously, the X-Men and Magneto's Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.
On the blue side, the X-Men roster features veterans Wolverine and Storm, joined by new-comers Iceman, Kitty Pride (aka Shadowcat, though never called that in the movie), Colossus, Rogue and Beast (played superbly by Kelsey Gramer (Fraiser)). The Red side, Magneto's Brotherhood, sports old Mags himself, Pyro, Multiple Man, Juggernaut, Callisto, Arclight, about a hundred or so generic mutants used as cannon fodder, and the Brotherhood's secret weapon - Jean Grey, the Dark Phoenix.
While there are some very powerful scenes, containing tear-wrenching deaths, they will not be described here to avoid spoiling them for people who have not seen the movie.
(As a side note and a word to the wise: When the movie is over and the credits roll, stay in your seat, there is a scene after the credits which will blow you away.)

And now the bad stuff. I have two main complaints with this movie. The first is the lack of balance between characters. Wolverine and Storm dominate the film, and appear on screen for most of it, while fan-favorite characters like Colossus and Kitty Pride barely show up (Colossus had one spoken line in the entire film). One could also argue the use of Angel in the movie as totally pointless, and serving no purpose aside from being a catalyst to geth the "cure" storyline going.
The second gripe I have with the movie is the choice of villains. It's not that I haven a problem with Magneto or Dark Pheonix, on the contrary, I think both are excellent villains. It is just that each could have held the movie together individually. Using both is like using a flame-thrower to light candles on a birthday cake. You can't fully use either of them. This ends up resulting in seriousl down-playing Pheonix' role in the film, which is a shame becasue Pheonix is an excellent character, and a more intriguing villain than Magneto.

Aside from those two main comments, X-Men: The Last Stand is a good movie, and is truly worth watching, even if you do not read the comics. It is quite clear that we have not seen the last of the mutants on the silver screen. While the appearance of future X-Men films is unclear right now, it has been anounced that Marvel plans on making a "Wolverine" and "Magneto" films. Personally, I am looking forward to seeing both movies, and can't wait to find out more information about the two. But hey, that's just me...

But That's Just Me... #1

2006-05-14T22:08:00.000+03:00

Well that was some lovely bit of poetry up there wasn't it?

A shame it meant shit....

I don't get poetry. Never did, never will. It is the one form of writing that I will never dare try. I just wouldn't be very good at it. I don't think I can write something that I don't understand.
So while I have a great deal of appreciation for writers who write short stories or anything along that line, if those same writers will write a poem I can almost guarantee that I will not like it. But that's just me...

And those last 4 words serve as the perfect segue into what I plan to (maybe) achieve. A column. I don't know how often I'll write it, but I'll try and get some done before I give up altogether (though, granted, I don't have that good a track record...). The column will be called, it just so happens, "But That's Just Me...". And what will it be about? As I sit here in front of my screen typing this, I can honestly say I have no idea. I guess about me, in a way, about things I like. I'll talk about things I've seen, heard, read, played, whatever. We'll just sort-of wing it, and see where it goes from there.

So... here goes.

E3.
E3 wrapped up last week, and boy was it great. Just to clear some things up, I wasn't there, not in person. I wish. But I did watch a lot of the live coverage on Gamespot, which, by the way, is a great game-site (there, that should get me my free T-Shirt). So let's do the breakdown.

PlayStation 3:
After watching the Sony press conference I had to get a mop to wipe up the tears and drool. The PS3 is amazing, in all senses of the word. Novemeber 17 can't come soon enough, I know I'm getting one of those as close to launch as possible. The features on this console are just incredible. From high-powered processing speeds, to incredible graphics, to motion sensitive controller, it's got the works. Add to that the PlayStation Network or whatever they're gonna call they're online service, and you got one sweet console.
And then there's the games, aside from the "regulars", Tekken, NBA, MADDEN, etc. There's some nice looking games coming up that I'm really psyched about - Marvel Ultimate Alliance, where you pit a custom team of Marvel Super-Heroes against the cream of Marvel villains, or Eight Days, which just looked awsome. But the best game, the one I am most looking forward to, is Final Fantasy XIII. Square (now Square-Enix) was, is and always will be my favorite gaming company. Their games are always rich, have an engaging story, compelling characters and kick-ass graphics. Final Fantasy XIII is a game that I am scared to play, because the things Square-Enix would be able to pull off on the PS3 frighten me, and watching the (albeit few) screenshots floating around my fears appear to be realizing. The game looks amazing. And then came the real whopper, there's another Final Fantasy XIII game coming out. Yep, Final Fantasy Versus XIII is another game based in the same "universe". What kind of game it is, is unknown.

Wii:
I'm sorry. I just can't get used to it. Everytime I say it I feel like I should jump up and knock my heels together, or skip, or something. So the Wi--Nintendo's new console, doesn't even measure up to Sony's beast. That is with one exception, control. The Wii's controller is probably the coolest thing in the next-gen console market. It's motion-sensitivity is great, and it sparked some really ingenious game design. From the Zelda-Fishing to the Orchestra-Conducting. There are some clever things coming out of Mario's home. So while the Wii can't even begin to battle the PS3 or 360 when it comes to pure horse-power or graphics in the ingenuity battle it wipes the floor with them and then has time to play a quick round of Super Smash Bros. (With new character - Metal Gear's Solid Snake!!)

Microsoft:
This didn't interest me. I'm not an X-Box fan. There were no good games for it (yes, except for Halo. But I don't like shooters... sue me.). And besides, isn't Microsoft making enough money from the 15 other monopolies they have?
The only thing that spooked me was the announcement made in the Microsoft press conference of Grand Theft Auto IV launching on the 360 (which later, Rockstar said will launch at the same time on the PS3 - in your face, Gates!).

So, I'm eagerly waiting the PS3, will probably own one not that long after launch. The Wii seems interesting but enough so that I will buy it. And the X-Box 360, not even a blip on my radar. But that's just me...

The Return...

2006-01-16T12:14:00.000+02:00

Don't worry.

I was lost, but I've found my path.
I was gone, but now I'm back.
I was dead, but now I breath again.
I was shrouded in darkness, but now everyhting is bright.
I was blind, but now my vision is clear.

I will come back.

Hype Day - TV: Lost

2005-10-13T22:00:00.000+02:00

It's not everyday where you find a tv show that you can't stop watching. A show that has you so hooked, you can watch 20 episodes straight without even a bathroom break.

Lost, created by J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof, is one of theses shows.
The synopsis, in brief, is about a plane-crash. Flight 815 of Oceanic Airlines, flying from Sydney to Los Angeles, crashed somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. The few survivors of the crash find themselves on a deserted jungle island. It is now up to them to survive on the island, finding food, shelter, and protection from the elements.

But unlike a certain reality show, the Island is not exactly what seems. At night strage noises come from the heart of the jungle, as if huge monsters roam across it. And if giant, tree-moving beasts weren't enough, the surviovrs have to endure each-other. No one is who he seems to be, and each and every one of them is a deep and layered character with many secrets beneath their surface.

Lost is brilliantly written. Each episode, while telling the story of the island and the survivors, centers around one character in particular, showing how they lived before the crash through flashback of the characters. In each episode you add another layer of intrigue as you learn something new about one of the key players. Now while there are over 40 survivors, the show concentrates on roughly 14 main characters, while the others are often extras.

The survivors slowly invetigate the Island's mysteries, each in their own way. Some explore the vast jungles, some try to get off the Island, and others are content to just make a living, and wait for someone to come rescue them.

Lost in now begginging its second season, which is shaping up to be just as good as the first. If you have not seen it yet, then check it out. You will not be dissappointed.

Fear

2005-10-10T22:55:00.000+02:00

"The fear of death must be dreaded more than death itself."

Since the dawn of time man has been driven forward by two base instincts: Survival and Fear.
The first drove him towards discoveries such as fire, the wheel, electricity, and all major inventions of out time. The latter is what kept him alive.
Some may argue that the need to survive is what kept men alive throughout the ages, but the survival need only kept us going through the years. If man was not afraid of the world around him he would leap into an inferno the first time he encountered it. He would walk off a cliff; he would go investigate when he would hear a pack of unknown beasts snarling in the distance. It is fear of these things, the fear of dying, the fear of the "monster" that stopped him from doing these things, and thus preserving his own life.

Fear was not put in our emotional spectrum to keep us from doing things that we would otherwise enjoy doing, it is there to control us. It is our mind's way of saying "I don't think that's such a good idea". Fear is a barrier put up by our inner-selves in order to keep us alive and maintain a healthy, productive life style. It is a means of self-control.

So should we just give in to our fears, lay awake at night, shaking and petrified?
No. Fear does need to be conquered. Just like any other means pf control, it must have its limit. For control without limits is oppression, which is worse than no control at all. So the little 3 year old, lying in his bed, afraid of the monster in closet must know that there is no such thing. But at the same time he must know that there are things in this world which can hurt him. Monsters-in-a-closet that he must always be wary of, whether they be dangerous predators out in the Australian outback, or people which are stronger than him, and will crush him like a bug if he tries to face them.

People should stand up to their fears, challenge themselves in new ways, and "live on the wild side". But at the same time they must remember that they are not immortal, not invulnerable, and they, like everybody else, have their limits. Those limits are the physical manifestations of our fears, the things that we simply cannot do, no matter how hard we try. We must embrace our fears; learn to listen and heed their warnings, and occasionally, act alongside those warnings, and not always to fight them, hoping to beat the monster that lives in our closet.

Hype Day - Comic: Ultimate Spider-Man

2005-10-06T10:00:00.000+03:00

Well this is the very first hype day, so welcome. Many Happy Returns!

How this will work is every week I will hype something that's got me excited, wether it be a comic-book, video game, movie, song... whatever. So let's get going.

We all know Spider-Man (it is hyphenated, just so you know, it's not SpiderMan). He does a whatever a spider can. But those who never read a single comic book in their lives, and want to start, have a problem. They pick up a Spider-Man book, like Amazing Spider-Man, Marvel Knights Spider-Man or even the new Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, and they feel lost. There are almost 45 years of contineuty to keep track of, and frankly not everyone needs to know who Gabriel Stacy is (and he first appeared roughly a year ago...).
Secondly, Peter Parker first appeared in 1962. Times have changed since, and our little Peter grew up and married a super-model. But would he still be married to said red-head if he would grow up in the year 2000, would he still be the same wall-crawler we all know and love?

The answer, at least the short one is yes. And no. And this is exactly what Marvel's Ultimate Spider-Man tries to do. In general Marvel's Ultimate line of comics is taking Marvel's classic characters and reimagining them in today's world. From the beggining. So while the "normal" Spider-Man has battled the Scorpion time and again, Ultimate Spider-Man (you get used to the cheesy name after a while... trust me) doesn't even know that there is such a thing. In fact Scorpion has yet to appear in an Ultimate book (well, aside from a joke which Brian Michael Bendis, the book's writer, threw in a recent issue).
In Ultimate Spider-Man Peter Parker goes back to his roots, he is once again in high school, facing the problems of everyday adolecents. Zits, girls, crazed super-villains, and who will get picked for class president (Tandy Bowen seems to be the leading candidate at the moment...).

The book, as I mentioned, is being written solely by Bendis. The art is by Mark Bagely, who is one of Marvel's go-to guy's for Spider-Man related material. The two have been collobarating on the book since issue #1 and are planning to break the Stan Lee-Jack Kirby record for longest running run on a book (103 issue on Fantastic Four).

Overall the book is excellent and is a great read, even for a casual reader. The first few arcs are excellent and will be truly hard to put down. The first four arcs (Power and Responsibility, Learning Curve, Double Trouble, and Legacy) are an absolute must read. They deal with Spider-Man's first forrays into the world of super-heroism, they tell his origin, naturally, and his first clashes with real super-villains, including Green Goblin (in Power and Responsibility and Legacy) and a combined attack by both Dr. Octupus and Kraven the Hunter (in Double Trouble). Peter learns that sometimes his mind is his most powerful weapons when he is faced with New York's Kingpin of Crime and his lackies Electro and the Enforcers (in Learning Curve). The next arc that is an absolute must read is the Venom arc, which introduces Spidey's deadliest foe.
The next few arcs come and go when it comes to being compelling reading, although none have reached the superiority of the first few arcs. Some were down right horrible (Hollywood, which features the return of Dr. Octupus, which just happened to coincide with the release of the second Spider-Man movie...) while some showed some of the glamour of the first arcs (Hobgoblin and the just-released Ultimate Spider-Man Annual).

As for what the future holds, it is promising. Marvel is currently running an arc entitiled Warriors which like the arcs Learning Curves and Cats & Kings deal with the criminal underworld of New York and features and onslaught of guest appearances (Black Cat, Elektra, Moon Knight, Kingpin, Shang-Chi, Ironfist, Hammerhead, to name a few). After this arc there are plans to publish and arc that ties into the recently released Ultimate Spider-Man video-game. And after that the countdown to issue #100 truly begins. There are many rumors floating around but names like Deadpool and Clone Saga have been cropping up in many places around the 'net.

In conclusion, Ultimate Spider-Man is deffinetly worth picking up. You can buy paperback editions of all the arcs. Or there are hardcovers which usually cover roughly 2 arcs, but contain several extras such as sketches, scripts, or reprints of old comic books.

Until next time,
Adios.

Begininings

2005-10-04T23:07:00.000+03:00

And so... it shall begin.

Another day, another Blog. It's all meaningless, isn't it?
No, no it isn't. Everyhthing has meaning. Its all there for a reson. What reason? That is to be seen, but there is one, of that I can assure you.

Welcome to the Mind's Forge, here, ideas are made. But we don't stop there. Ideas are made, and then they are worked, hammered, bent, and twisted until they are good for use. Because writing, just like war, is a delicate craft, a tiresome one. And this is what we will achieve here in the Forge. We will write, we will write until our fingers fall off.

We won't write for the people to read, that is a side-effect, an added bonus. We will write purely for the sake of writing. No more, no less. We will write to hone our craft, until our mind is sharp, responsive, and filled with ideas. Both good and bad. Because sometimes the bad ideas, they're the ones who work out at the end, they're the ones that do most damage. A rusty sword may not pierce the skin easily, but once it does, it deals more damage to the body than the sharpest, stainless blade ever will.

And so we will write, of course we will hope to be read. For what use is writing if it is not read, and criticized. It is the criticism that makes us better, more diverse, more capable as a writers. So we welcome the critics, and wish for their words, wethere they are kind or harsh does not matter to us. We must learn to take the good and the bad, they both shall make us better at what we do.

So what will we write about?
We will write about many things. Whatever comes to mind. Grand essays, small tidbits of information. War, love, crime, fear, horses, movies, games, music, speech, languages... anything.

Mondays is when it will happen. We will attempt to publish a written piece every monday. With hopes that we won't fail in this task. It will take discipline, but we will endure.

Thursdays shall be dubbed hype day, in which we will hype about something. A new movie, game, comic-book. Share our interests with the world.

This will further us as writers. Help us improve.

Welcome to the Forge.