More Space Nazis invade from their secret moon base

Iron Sky has a new trailer out. I have no hope this movie will play anywhere near me, but it looks awesome!

Too weird...

Here's a casting rumor that's either badly garbled, flat-out wrong, or insanely genius. In any event, it's too weird to ignore. Billy Zane is supposedly in discussions to play the new Lex Luthor...

In the next Batman movie! While that appears very strange at first, it could be an inspired bit of storytelling and casting. But let's consider that the rumor is garbled first. Christopher Nolan has been linked by rumor to rebooting the Superman franchise. So maybe that's what's going on here.

On the other hand, I could see Lex Luthor tangling with Bruce Wayne, and consequently Batman. How many other super rich, super genius villains in the DC Universe have the name recognition of Lex Luthor? And he would be an interesting foil for Bruce Wayne, especially as played by Billy Zane. It could be a belated attempt by DC to infuse some of the shared universe synergy going on in the Marvel movies. But Nolan has discounted this is recent interviews.

Still, it's an interesting rumor.

Frazetta Women

In addition to barbarians, Frank Frazetta was known for a certain way with women. The Frazetta woman is instantly recognizable by her obvious "charms." And although beautiful, most Frazetta women would find it hard to get work as runway models...

That's not to say a Frazetta woman is fat, but she does have some solidity to her. However, he knew people came in all shapes and sizes. Although his women all share certain characteristics, they do differ from each other and stand out as individuals. If Frazetta's barbarians show the raw power of primitive masculinity, he displays equal insight into primitive femininity. His women are sexual and sensual, but they are often both prey and predator. Is his Egyptian Queen trapped, or lying in wait? It's hard to say... maybe, like the chained leopard, she's a little of both?

Frazetta also understood this primal femininity had a playful side, and many of his erotic artworks display innocence and a sense of humor.

Wussies...

"Don't judge me."

"Too late."

These words passed between my firefighter friend and me last Friday as we settled in to watch Iron Man 2. We were enjoying the previews: The Last Airbender and Inception both looked good, and I was eagerly awaiting the mysterious Super 8. But I was assaulted by The Twilight Saga: Eclipse.

Ugh. Like it wasn't already difficult enough to hold down my lunch of movie theater nachos and "cheese" sauce...

I can't blame my firefighting pal -- he was sucked in by his Twihard new wife. That happens. And while I'll never let him live it down, I understand how it is with long love. He's got an excuse.

Not so the 19-year-old kid at my dojo who recently -- and loudly -- proclaimed in the locker room that there are only two movies he wants to see all Summer: Twilight, and The Last Dance. I was disgusted, and in front of everyone, I demanded he turn in his man card immediately.

I'm not without my romantic side. I have a soft spot for The Princess Bride and Say Anything... But this crap is ridiculous.

Finally, a note to Hollywood: to be a real saga, you need to have some some beautiful women, derring-do, revenge, a tragic ending, a holmgang, and most of all, some Vikings. Get it straight.

How to know when you've gone too far.

How do you know your little hobby has become an obsession?

It's one thing to have your own 40K Cadian Officer cosplay outfit... But to convince a dozen of your closest friends to be Cadian Kasrkin is pushing it.

Okay, so this guy has definitely taken his 40K Cosplay a little too far.

Frazetta Barbarians

Frank Frazetta is indelibly linked to barbarians. Especially Robert E. Howard's Conan the Cimmerian. It's safe to say that when people think of Conan, they conjure a Frazetta-like image to their minds. Frazetta's impression of Conan is no small thing. His covers, painted starting in the sixties, were the covers of the Conan paperbacks into the 1980's. If you ever get the chance to see an artist's interpretation of Conan prior to Frazetta's, you'll be amazed at the blandness of the mighty thewed Cimmerian. Often the pre-Frazetta Conan has an "Arabian Nights" aura. Artists didn't translate Howard's mixed milieu well. But Frazetta established a visual vocabulary of mixed cultural cues and barbaric splendor that matched Howard perfectly in tone and texture. All visual Conan art -- comics, books, movies, TV, etc -- after Frazetta is really a commentary on Frazetta's images.

Frazetta created his own barbarian reiver, The Death Dealer, and portrayed him in a series of paintings. Frazetta's use of color, the heaviness of his composition, and his use of light and dark, were all compared to Renaissance masters. He received several years of art training, but his style was largely self-taught and influenced by necessity. His depiction of the human body shows equal influences of the Old Masters classics and the dynamism of comic book pop art.

Somewhat surprisingly, while Frazetta is famous for his burly, super-heroic slayers perpetrating great violence in full scale battle -- there is very little blood and gore in his work. A flash of red, a body wracked in pain and thrown at an odd angle; these are the visual cues Frazetta uses to imply the swath of destruction being cut by his heroes as they engage their foemen. This is the painting equivalent of heroic poetry.

Frank Frazetta, 1928 - 2010

Frank Frazetta died yesterday. He was a giant; a great artist, who happened to paint commercial and genre subjects.

Best known for his vivid cover art for 1960's and 70's paperback editions of Conan, John Carter of Mars, and Tarzan stories, Frazetta also worked in comic books and Hollywood. Although this is a sad day for me, it certainly makes my posting for the next few days easier. Today, it's self-portraits of Frazetta, but I'll post some of other work over the rest of the week.

This painting is of his beloved wife, Ellie, whom he married in 1956. She passed away recently too. They are survived by three children, who in very recent months settled legal claims to the vast library of artwork left by Frazetta. He kept just about everything. One of the only paintings to hit the market, a Conan depiction, sold for $1 million.

I own one Conan print that hangs in my basement. The Official Frazetta website had pulled all the ordinary prints from circulation some time back. I only learned of it when I thought I should get a couple more. All that was left up were super expensive prints using some arcane process... The prints were beyond my price range. Hopefully the family will release another series of regular prints soon. It looks like the website is down completely today.

Goodbye, Frank Frazetta. Thank you, and you'll be missed.

"The Gael" from Last of the Mohicans

I feel in love with the Last of the Mohicans soundtrack my senior year of college. There is a beautiful celtic reel played on a fiddle in one scene, and the reel reappears later during a chase scene.

A few years later, I was in the Scottish Highlands making the obligatory pilgrimage to Loch Ness and making my way through the very touristy Official Loch Ness Monster Exhibit in Drumnadrochit. The museum sucks you in with the promise that it's about the monster... But it's really a serious look at the ecology of the largest body of fresh water in the UK, with occasional references back to the "mystery." The science lesson is accompanied by a soundtrack too, by Scottish musician Dougie Maclean. I turned a corner and found myself staring at a highlander mannequin -- and the reel from Last of the Mohicans played on an electric fiddle!

I'm still trying to figure out how the music originally intended to evoke the history of Loch Ness, titled "The Gael," ended up in Last of the Mohicans, a movie about the French and Indian War in America's original frontier.

Not long after my visit to Drumnadrochit, I was on the Isle of Skye. This was also a pilgrimage of sorts. I intended to visit the mythic site of the school at which the Irish hero Cuchulain learned his fighting skills. I found a pub that night, and was treated to a young fiddler playing
"The Gael."

I'm not the only one to fall in love with this piece of music. It has been rearranged for many other instruments, including the bagpipes and guitar. It's a popular piece for celtic revival bands and renn fair musicians.

If I were writing the Marvel Avengers movies...

I had the chance to review Iron man 2 with some friends yesterday, and talking about it made me think about some things in relation to the upcoming batch of Marvel super hero movies.

First, I got to thinking about the use of foreshadowing and language in IM2. I don't think it's coincidence that "shields" keep coming up in conversation. The first instance I remember is when Justin Hammer says that the Iron Man armor is a "sword, but Tony Stark wants us to think it is a shield." Later, SHIELD director Nick Fury reveals Howard Stark was one of the founding members of SHIELD. And there is an awesome scene in which a half-finished Captain America shield makes an amusing appearance. I thought we might learn more about the SHIELD organization in this movie, but it remains very mysterious. But we do learn that it has been around for some time and is powerful enough to influence a the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Second, it is strongly hinted that Nick Fury has been around long enough to have known Howard Stark very well. In the comics, a Sergeant Nick Fury was the leader of the World War II Howling Commandos. Of course, this was original continuity white Nick Fury, not super-cool cat Samuel L. Jackson / Nick Fury. It's been reported that the Howling Commandos will be appearing in the Captain America movie. At first I thought it would take a major bit of historical revision to make SLJ Fury into a frontline combat soldier in World War II, but then it hit me how I'd write this...

I'd make the Howling Commandos an all-minority suicide squad of Dirty Dozen-like undesirables. The Army has no qualms sending them on the most dangerous and impossible missions and never really expects them to survive. But somehow, and despite a high casualty rate, a few of them always limp home. As the ultimate dirty tricks team, they are assigned to the same special missions command that houses the Super Soldier program. Captain America may be formidable, but he is only one man and needs some back-up, so he is partnered with Fury and his Howling Commandos. This gives him the chance to have one of those rousing, patriotic moments where he accepts these brave men as fellow American fighting for freedom.

Howard Stark, who we're told in the IM films was working on the Manhattan Project, was really working on the super soldier program, building gadgets -- like the original shield. This brings him into contact with Cap and Fury, and maybe even an earlier Gen. Ross -- father to the Gen. Ross who pursues the Hulk. These men would all form an organization to act as a "shield" against threats to freedom. "Strategic Homeland blah blah blah" would merely be a "back-ronym", perhaps the latest of several, for the black ops organization.

In my version, Fury would be badly wounded storming the Red Skull's SS fortress and get a blood transfusion from Captain America. Hence Fury's longevity.

In the comics continuity, the Nazi Red Skull created HYDRA after WWII. This could be the case in the movies too. HYDRA could be an umbrella, like SHIELD, which unifies threats against the good guys. It makes some sense that a Nazi-influenced HYDRA could try to reach out to the Norse God Loki (even if the Asgardians in the movies are an advanced alien race, it matters more what HYDRA believes they are), or they could be infiltrated by or partner with the Skrull. Who knows? But the plot possibilities open up.

It's a personal quirk, but I'd have another tie among the characters... I was intrigued by Nick Fury's statement to Tony Stark, "Believe it or not, you are not the center of my universe." And his urgent need to be elsewhere doing other things. It suggested this man knows of grave threats and is juggling to keep them all at bay. Fury is a man who knows things other men don't, and more to the point, he knows things others shouldn't know.

In mythology, the blind eye is often a symbol of sacrifice for knowledge. It suggests that sight has been exchanged for insight. The character that embodies this is Odin, Thor's father. I would find a moment to bring Odin together with Fury to acknowledge that both have made the same sacrifice and carry the same burden of knowing things others must be protected from.

Unfortunately, I'm not writing the Marvel movies. But if Marvel is looking for someone to review the scripts and find ways to tie them all together -- I could make myself available. I'm sure Joss Whedon could use a sidekick while writing that Avengers script. I work cheap -- Promise!

Training the Jitz!

I haven't posted on the BJJ training in awhile. It's coming along well. Or at least I think so. It's interesting to see specific gaps it fills in the Taijutsu training. Obviously there's the ground work, but there are other areas.

This week we learned a takedown called the Snatch Double. It's a variation on the doubleleg takedown, but what was interesting was how you place your forehead against the opponent's chest and push. At speed, it's more of a headbutt to the sternum as you snatch both legs out from under the guy. The headbutt is described in the taijutsu material, and passing mention is made of it's potential versatility, but this use was a revelation to me.

I've been doing well with the general conditioning, but I still see plenty of room for improvement. I need to become more flexible.

I had a minor incident near the end of class last night. We were working positional training. I was in turtle with my opponent in North-South. My job was to get away and improve my position. Somewhere in the scrum, I places my toes on the mat and pushed. I managed to tear away about a third of my right big toenail. Ouch! I called a halt to inspect the damage. It was a bloody mess, and I had to cut away the dangling portion of the nail. Fortunately it was at the end of class, so I wasn't faced with the choice of excusing myself or toughing it out.

It's cleaned up now, and I have some HyGens dojo slippers and wrestling shoes I can wear to protect my sensitive right big toe. Hey, if I have to be injured, I'll tak an annoying injury over a serious one any day of the week.

The Mighty Thor Returns to Midgard!

Admit it. These pictures are damn cute! You go, kid. Bring the power!

What's the Plural of "Snake Eyes?"

One of the most popular convention circuit costumes is the GI Joe Ninja commando, Snake Eyes. It seems like every cosplaying male has one in his closet.

In theory, the look is easy to pull off. You dress all in black, wear a ninja hood, get a visor, an uzi, and a sword. Bingo: Instant Snake Eyes. But is it really that easy to get the icon right? Are each of these Snake Eyes created equal? No. I don't think so either.

I'll pick on the above guy. Yes, I swiped his pic. (I'll take it down if you ask me nicely -- just include your real email address in your comment. I promise not to actually post the comment in public.) From his website, he looks like one of the first attempts to get it right. But in the process, he got it wrong. His mask is all baggy. He's wearing baggy black BDU's as his base uniform. Standard combat boots? No, no, no. But where he really goes wrong is in strapping every possible piece of black tactical nylon gear to his body. Snake Eyes is a techno-ninja. Stealth is his watchword. Heavy boots, massive tactical vests, bandoleers, belts, pouches, courier bags... It's all too much. All his gear clanking will give him away. And visually, he looks less like a panther and more like a battleship.

This dude is a little sleeker, but still makes many of the same mistakes.

This is a little better, but he looks hot in that outfit. And will the biker leathers be quiet, or does he swish with every stride?

This guy is using an UnderArmour shirt (and probably a UA hood) to get a little more sleek. It even looks pretty good with the BDU pants. But he makes that mistake of loading himself down in tactical nylon and extra gear. He makes one last mistake...

The same mistake we see in the guy on the left here -- but not so much in the guy on the right. Snake Eyes is not a Bujinkan ninja -- he understands the importance of conditioning and works out. No skinny arms for a real Snake Eyes (and no fat bellies, either!). If you're going to go the spandex route, make sure you have the body to pull it off.

One more reason Science Fiction Conventions are widely under-rated places to pick up girls.

I guess I can post this now...

Screen capture of the last image in Iron Man 2. SHIELD Agent Coulson phones Fury to tell him, "We've found it." Too spoiler-y? Tough. You had your chance to see the movie early if it mattered that much to you. I've been sitting on this photo for weeks.

Yes, that is the Mjolner, hammer of the Mighty Thor. And interestingly, it looks very much like it did in the original comic books, and not in the updated Ultimates universe.

The hammer find ties into several cryptic comments made during the film about SHIELD's other priorities and missions. Although he doesn't come right out and say it, Nick Fury seems to hint that he's been around a long, long time. Long enough to know Tony Stark's father Howard. Long enough that he'll appear in the Captain America movie? Who knows? I do know io9 reported that the actor who plays Howard Stark was hired to reprise the role in Captain America.

BTW, any guesses just what the Avengers Initiative really is? Obviously it's an excuse to put Cap, Thor, and Iron Man in the same movie. But just what is the catalyst the initiative is meant to address? Could it be a secret Skrull invasion?

The Mighty Thor is set to release May 2011, and Cap appears in July 2011, with an Avengers movie set for May 2012 -- so we will at least get all the movies prior to the Mayan apocalypse striking us.

Tomorrow... Iron Man 2 opens

Excitement awaits!

The Dornian Heresy

Well, I missed yesterday, so I'm going to have to make up some lost ground...

Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised on my last visit to the Bolter & Chainsword forum that the website creative team had written a background book of their very own:

The Dornian Heresy

This downloadable supplement turns the central events of the Warhammer 40K universe upside down. In simplest terms, it recasts the good guys as bad guys, and vice versa.

This makes for some interesting alternative fictional history, and opens up some very interesting modeling opportunities.

I know not everyone is interested in this, but... so what? I'll try to post some items of more general interest real soon. Like I said, I have some lost time to make up.

Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

It's not a day early... It's up in time for everyone to enjoy El Capitan Mexico through all of Cinco de Mayo.


As I'm sure you all know, Cinco de Mayo celebrates Mexican independence from France. Yes, France. France owned Mexico once. And France is so pathetic that even the Mexicans can defeat them in a war.

It's true! I swear it.

Anyway, El Capitan Mexico asks you all to enjoy a cerveza, tequila, or margarita on Cinco de Mayo. Gracias!

AvP: Checkmate

Busy... busy... busy... There are some weeks where it just doesn't pay to chew your way out of the restraints every morning. But I'm still going to attempt to post "something" every day. Well, this is certainly... err, "something."

Truer words...

Been busy today, so it's a low-content post. But I am trying to keep up my post everyday self-pledge. We'll see how long that lasts...

I've got some unusual demands on my schedule this week, so it could be a low-content week. But don't fret. I'll try to keep everyone amused, if not enlightened.

Beachead: GI Joe Ranger

Available from Sideshow Collectibles. And the perfect special operator to carry out orders from the action figure in the next post...

Beachhead comes fully equipped with a M1911A1 accurized pistol, combat knife, custom M4 (possibly an HK416) and a crossbow for silent work.