11.30.2008

Heroes: Eclipse part 1: part 2 ???

My shortest Heroes post ever!

Does anyone else wonder if the Haitian can shut abilities off, can he also turn them back on?

While previous story elements point to Claire being "different", and thus being the catalyst, it had to originally be someone else. The synthetic powers had to be activated by someone before her birth. So could it have been the Haitian? Maybe it was Adam Munroe. Oh well...

I would also like to point out that Peter got Sylar's power, and Sylar got Peter's, so when they are gradually becoming closer to being the same person. This is set off a little by Peter attempting to be a Hero without powers.
But, then again, Sylar is trying to be good. Kind of.
Although Sylar could still be turning into Darth(ur) Petrelli.
Is this symbolic of the lines between hero and villain are blurring. Motivations are less clear, emotional relationships are giving some indications of where things are heading.
If Arthur, Peter, and Sylar can all absorb abilities, does this imply that Peter and Sylar can fully take them like daddy? I still am hooked on the comment that Noah made that Sylar is "transferring" an ability. Perhaps all three can give powers as well. Then again perhaps only Sylar can do it(or Peter if his abilities return).

Impotent Peter is also being less of an idiot than powered Peter. He absorbed Sylar's understanding, and what happens? He doesn't use it. Now he has no power, his brain works again. On the flip side, Nathan has lost his mind.

The eclipse is so messed up. I mentioned it already that an eclipse viewed everywhere is impossible. Hello, time zones? Not to mention that eclipses are only viewable in small areas in a straight line geographically.
So, if, IF, the eclipse is part of a catalyst for powers(ignoring powers previous to the eclipse, the older generation's abilities.(excluding I believe Kensei displayed his after the old one)), are there others out there now gaining powers???

Matt Parkman is getting better and better. In use of powers and in just being a guy doing guy things. Like when he tries getting Daphne back, and attempts to read her father's mind. It doesn't work and the reactions are amazing.
His powers are growing in that he was able to trick Knox. But he is also seeing Usutu. Is that Parkman's own power? Or Usutu's doing?
He already had been able to persuade like Eden.

I also was thinking about the descent of abilities. Matt has mental powers like his father, and the previously mentioned Peter and Sylar have Arthur's ability(at least very similar), so who else has similar things?
Hiro may have powers like his father. It has never been demonstrated what his father's power was. So I was thinking, on a super long shot here, could Claire actually be the lovechild of Meredith and Adam Munroe?

Post thought: This is going to make me sound like a complete bastard, but I can't help but giggle at the idea of Daphne hobbling around at super speed in her crutches. I was unaware that polio was a superpower. Someone out there has to have an ability that is harmful to the owner. Kind of like if Ted's power irradiated himself.

Nice idea of making Claire get tired when practicing. No healing means your muscles ache. Fatigue sets in. Weakness.

Future Sylar had Ted's nuclear power, I originally thought his earlier lost abilities returned, but then I thought, Duh!, he has been around future Peter, who has it. I am soooo dumb sometimes.

Last season Adam was a force of evil, and then he became an asswipe. From killer to comic relief. WTF?
Apparently only Petrelli's can be full-on bad guys.
There needs to be a villain that threatens both the good and bad guys. No sides for them, everyone needs to crap their pants in fear of this person. Remember the build up for the Nightmare man? Sylar started as bad, and Molly wasn't afraid of him. She feared the awareness of the Nightmare man. The things that could be done from an unknown entity.

I'm done for now.

11.27.2008

Heroes: Eclipse, Part 1

Could this blog be the first short one on Heroes? Doubtful. Attempts to be on topic and not following absurd tangents will be ignored.

A great episode, chock full of tension and suspense. And a lot of now regular people. It is also interesting how the eclipse is seen the same apparently from all Earthly vantage points, which is impossible. But, given the nature of the show, maybe the moon has telepathic abilities, and is making everyone think they are seeing it and become powerless. It could be Parkman's turtle controlling it. Or Mr. Muggles. Suckers.
I think once the eclipse is done the powers will revert to normal.
And if not, the show may have be called "People". Just average people and the jobs they will have to get to survive. Ones they actually show up for.

Sylar and Elle get back to being "bad". She says that Sylar shouldn't be used, he shouldn't have to listen to those that would make them into something they aren't. Then she tries turning him into a monster. Way to use logic Elle, they shouldn't be allowed change you, but I can.
Well, now that they are out on their own, they shouldn't have to report to anyone. Just out doing whatever they please, with no responsibility. This way they can take what they want with powers, do anything they want.

An amazing scene in the Black Hole Guy's(Stephen Cansfield) house takes place, Noah is showing Claire that just because she can heal, she can still be beaten on many levels. There tends to be overconfidence in a person that is immune to physical harm. She needs to learn she can be overpowered in other ways(Hello Puppet guy). She needs to find a way to actually use her brain, and find a fulcrum to give her the upper hand in battle. It's easy to defeat an opponent that telegraphs what they intend to do. He emotionally provokes her and she gets riled up. She attacks and Noah easily stops her attack. Point proven.
Then Sylar and Elle show up, but they are currently powerless, and shoot Claire. Too bad they missed vital organs.
Even armed, Sylar and Elle get their asses handed to them in a nice gift wrapped box by Noah Bennet. This is why he is completely the Batman of this series. Sun Tzu would probably endorse Noah in a fight. He knows his sh!t. Even without an ability, he will bring you down, fairly quickly and efficiently. There is also a high probability he makes his partners do all the paperwork after jobs. THAT is truly "bad ass".

Without abilities, Sylar and Elle still want to take what they want.
Now there will be a struggle to attain bad status. Sylar is somewhat grateful to lose the "hunger". They'll have to resort to ancient techniques of villainy-do thing in an old school fashion, with guns. Granted they are not as old school as swords(where's Hiro's sword gone to?), but the can get the job done. He then makes an unsuperhuman move to make out with Elle.


Peter and Nathan fall into a river, good thing they were flying low enough to not be seen by anyone looking up roughly 30 feet. A sibling power struggle seems to be growing between these two again. Nathan is untrusting of Peter and it leads him to make rash decisions. Even when Peter turns out correct, Nathan is unresponsive to being wrong. True to politician nature, and against his new found and even quicker forgotten zealous religiousness, he refuses to admit to making mistakes.

Why is he so unwilling to listen to Peter? He's been to the freakin' future. More than once. He has also(with help) averted disaster, regional(New York) and global(Shanti virus), multiple times.

A great division has been building in the Petrelli family, and will more than likely end in death for a couple of them. Hinted at by Angela looking at the Petrelli photo, and a shadow blocked out Nathan and Arthur, while Angela and Peter were still lit up. Also the Haitian's brother said that Arthur told him to be himself if he encountered Nathan. Bad news for him, that's what he gets for avoiding Peter's voice of reason.

Conveniently, the Haitian sort of finds them, but other problems present themselves.
The problems being Haitian's brother and his army. Samedi has a fairly sweet power: Invulnerablitlity(at least his skin). He skin cannot be harmed by "knives, fire, or bullets". Setting him up as a voodoo god for the locals is very smart. Relying on native superstitions to gain militant dictatorship is pretty damn smart.
The only thing I can think about is the amazing sibling rivalry between the Haitian and his brother. Samedi would be like, "Oh, I'm so invincible!", and then the Haitian mutes the power, kicks him in the ass, and runs off giggling into the forest. He could even steal the memories, so every time would be just as funny as the first.
How godlike would the people think he is, if the Haitian stopped the power, and stole all memories up to a point, leaving him like Hiro?
The memory part of the ability leads me to believe he has limited telepathy. How does he know which memories to take?
Nathan ends up in the custody of Samedi, and Peter and the Haitian trailing behind.
Samedi may be outwardly impenetrable, but does he have super strength? Any other powers in tandem with invulnerability? If not... can he be poisoned by food? Gassed?
He needs to breathe right? Overwhelm him and drown the bastard.
He may have the same overconfidence that Claire has. With the exception of the Haitian, would he have any reason to fear any other person?

I love how Matt and Daphne were all like "how are we going to find a teleporter?", and Hiro shows up at the apartment. Even if they didn't, Matt could use Molly(who is, by the looks of things, raising herself now that she's been left alone by Co-daddies Matt and Mohinder. Way to go guys, forget about your adopted child.
The doorbell rings and when they answer the door, it's great how 10 yr old Hiro is doing the "gonna-pee-my-pants" dance.

Slightly later when Matt can't translate Hiro's thoughts, and says he isn't able to help, Hiro is bobbing heads with the turtle. Very nice touch. Turtle knows all. Turtle controls all. Turtle is all.
Anyway they make it to Lawrence, KS just in time to lose their powers in a creepy cornfield. Everyone knows that cornfields are where aliens congregate to create plant art and scarecrows eat children. Now that Hiro is ten again, he should be completely aware of this fact. These things usually occur at night, and an eclipse is like a mini-night, so they should probably seek refuge. Maybe with Superman, he is theoretically always in Kansas, in a cornfield. Unless, Superfarmer lost his abilities along with the rest of the Heroes.

Back to the show- We finally learn what Daphne's secret "old life" is. While it's understandable that with super speed mobility is a must, it might also be neat to see a ultra fast person on crutches. Anyway, her predicament implies that perhaps Arthur can use his power to bestow abilities upon other people. Actual transfer, not just absorption. Then again, it may have been a manufactured power like Nathan and Nikki/Jessica/Tracy. Or maybe she was healed through power shifting(Arthur or Linderman???).
They are left with a relationship obstacle to be solved. Oh darn. Do they have it rough or what?


In the meantime, Hiro and Ando seek a comic store to find the new 9th Wonders. Which is definitely getting to me. The future changed after the death of Issac. So how do these new issues come out in the changed continuity? They arrive at a large, well-stocked comic store in a rural looking area. Not realistic, where I live there are tons of enthusiasts, and few stores. It's not a huge city, but we are far from rural.
At the store Hiro and Ando encounter a couple of great cameos. Breckin Meyer and Seth Green. Very sweet. They Have the newest issue of 9th Wonders, and it shows themselves, meeting Hiro and Ando in exactly the place they are now. Cool.


On to visit Douchehinder. Just kidding. He's regaining scientist and decent person status. Doing actual research and development is improving his character. Arthur shows him a picture that he believes is his death.
Turns out after the eclipse, he magically sheds all the scales in a cocoon(why didn't that magic away as well?). Mohinder decides he needs to contact Maya and is stopped by Arthur and Flint. Neither of which want to be powerless. Flint even makes a comment about not wanting to be a nobody again. Was his power synthesized? So they detain Mohinder to continue his studies in an attempt to get the powers back.

How many people have synthetic abilities? That would partially explain how the companies know what some people's powers are before the people know themselves.
Although it fails to mention how many naturally occurring ones are out there. Or how Kensei got his a couple hundred years ago. Didn't the show start out with people mutating, or evolving into their abilities? What happened to that process?

Claire ends up going to a hospital. Noah says needs to take care of something, leaving his wife and Claire without aide. The eclipse presents a perfect time to eliminate persons of a distinctly malign nature. Namely Sylar. The episode seems to be mostly under the eclipse. How much longer will it last? Awesome ending.
Will Sylar's powers return in time to avoid a bullet in the skull? Does he end up killing Noah?
Remember, Sylar's future child is named Noah. Does he kill him then feel regret for being a monster? Does he make a promise or something? He was trying to be "good".

The true Heroes of this episode are the ones that aren't useless when they lose their power. Peter keeps trying to help others. Hiro and Ando continue in their mission. Parkman is trying to be with Daphne. Noah still wants to protect his family first, and then the world from predatory people like Sylar.

Side notes:
Once Adam Munroe lost his regenerative power, he aged super fast turning to dust. If he was regenerating, the cells were new. He should not have aged that fast. It would have rendered him a normal aging person from that point on.

Done time. I am quitting early, I'll save the rest for next week.

11.26.2008

Robert Downey Jr. in Tropic Thunder

I have been an avid fan of Downey Jr. Since Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang.
He is the #1 reason to watch Tropic Thunder. He is also the #1 reason to watch the commentary.
During the movie his character Lincoln Osiris says, "Man, I don't drop character 'til I done a DVD commentary."
True to the role, he stays in character, and has just as many awesome lines as he does in the film itself.
Definitely THE best commentary I have seen to date. Anchorman's is good, others are informative, but this is, by far, the most entertaining one I've found.
If you like the movie, the commentary is a must watch.

Here are some good Osiris quotes-
"Daggomit, Blamtucky, I ain't reprogramming a VCR!"

"They found me in an alley in Burbank trying to reenter the Earth's atmospere in an old refrigerator box."

And the Dude-off-
Osiris-
"I know who I am!
I'm a dude playing a dude disquised as another dude. You a dude that don't know what dude he is!"
Speedman-
"Or are you a dude who has no idea what dude he is...
And claims to know what dude he is by playing other dudes?"

Speedman(a few seconds later)
"The dudes are emerging."

11.20.2008

Spontaniety

Just so everyone knows, I am scheduling spontaneous occurances to happen on Tuesday at 8;47am. I'm SOOOO excited! I can't wait to see what happens.

Heroes: It's Coming: Notes/Thoughts part 2

It occured to me last night that maybe, just maybe, if Sylar can receive powers by empathetic means like Peter, he may be able to collect and store them unknowingly as well.
Peter picked up multiple abilities he didn't realize he had until forced to use them. Peter saw Sylar use telekinesis, then later recalled it to stop Claude from breaking his face with a stick.
So it's probable that Sylar absorbed abilities he isn't aware of.

Peter had to access Sylar's ability to activate it, he needed to understand the mechanics of the function, unlike the other powers attained. So maybe Sylar needs to attempt to find these powers in a sort of brain file storage. If this is true, then Sylar now has Eden, Parkman, the Haitian, Nathan, Hiro, Angela, Arthur and Peter's(including the powers of all those Peter encountered) abilities, but has not accessed them. We can't forget all the people he encountered from "Level 5". (black hole guy, Flint, Jesse, etc)

He has an understanding of complex systems, but he has to be aware of the parts by examining the brain, before understanding the full extent of the system's properties. He needs to study and see to receive the knowledge. Like a super-power instruction manual located in the biological tissues. Now that he can gain abilities through empathy, he needs to learn how to use them. Practice is a nescessity now. The only time I know of where he didn't just know how to use a power was with the super hearing.

I also wonder if the addition of each new ability changes the contours of Sylar's brain. Like a physical rearrangement, to make room for new things. I still completely believe he needs to search around his brain pan to fully grasp how his own power works. Wouldn't having an understanding of the intricacies of a complex system help discover the flaws or weaknesses, and then assist in finding a way to reduce or eliminate them? So, Mr. Sylar, pop your top, snoop around in some skull-goo, and find a solution to the dreaded "hunger".

But, then again, maybe I'm wrong.
Sylar may need to consciously empathize to receive the abilities.

On a side note, what if Parkman's turtle is telepathically controlling Mr. Muggles, who is in fact using a puppy persuasion on Sylar, and Sylar is just pretending to be good??? Of course I am ignoring all the strugglin' with hunger moments. And the Future Family Man Sylar.

11.19.2008

Fallout 3: Rules for the Apocalypse

If watching Nick play Fallout 3 for hours on end has taught me anything, it would be the "Post-apocalyptic commandments".
Near as I can tell, the first is Shoot unto others, before others shoot unto you. This is also known as "Thou shalt kill everything that moves, and some things that don't, just to be sure" rule.
The second- Thou shall not steal, unless... You need/want those items... And the owners are dead... For serious.
3rd- Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's experience level. You'll get there after referring to rule #1.
4th- Thou shalt carry more artillery than humanly possible. A bazooka, 2 handguns, 5 submachine guns, 31 grenades, 9 mines, 5 shotguns, 14 rifles and a various compilation of other trinkets all fit unnoticeably upon your person.
5th- Thou shalt collect items until physical movement is halted. Then drop a single tiny item, and the ability to walk is magically restored.

...to be continued(maybe)

Heroes: It's Coming: notes and thoughts

Here is another lengthy Heroes blog to eat up your valuable time with crazy ideas in a scatterbrained manner.


I would like to say the Director did an amazing job on this episode. Hopefully this quality of work remains throughout the rest of the series.

The Petrelli's are ruining the world. Peter whines the world away, Sylar is a hungry bastard, Angela can dream the future(but not do anything about it), Nathan refuses to be a public figure, and Arthur likes to manipulate everyone and everything. They are the best dysfunctional family ever!
Arthur tried to kill Nathan(Car accident), Sylar tried to kill Claire(Nathan's daughter, implied in season 1), Sylar tried to kill Peter(in season 1's future, where he'd already killed Nathan, at Homecoming, in Mohinder's apartment, and at Kirby Plaza), Peter tries to kill Future Nathan, Future Peter shoots Present Nathan, Angela tried to poison Arthur, Arthur puts Angela into a coma.
I wonder if Arthur and Angela Petrelli killed their own parents to get them out of the way?

I do have to give credit to the writer's for making Peter a force of good again. Being capable without a power. A thinker, a go-getter.

Sylar finally learns empathetic power siphoning by being locked in a room with a sweaty, chained up Elle. (The first obvious Watchmen trailer ripoff so far) In this scene we learn that empathy DOES stop people from killing. He doesn't have to dissect brains anymore. By empathizing with someone you apparently lose the will to understand the complexity of working systems.
Did he find a way to use Claire's healing on another, or did she just exhaust enough electricity to be all right? If the latter is what happened, how much can she store? Like some kind of human battery and generator.
I also like how he becomes a bit more like Peter with the absorption ability. Now he has to feel his way into mastering powers, instead of having a full knowledge of how they work. He needs to practice, a very nice touch.
Does anyone remember Sylar knowing Mohinder's father's watch was broken before Mohinder's father did? So his power of systemic knowledge extends to knowing things before others, why didn't he know about his own ability. Turn it on himself. With the telekinesis he could probe his own brain without a problem.

Sylar + Elle + (heart symbol) + (censored) = little Noah from the future. More than likely, seeing as that is the exact formula for baby making. Mohinder should look into this, it might help his chances with Maya "when-I-cry-people-die" Herrera. Although... Sylar has the benefit of knowing an object's history... so does he know her history now??? EWWWWW... (if that's how it works then he could tell if Arthur of Angela were being truthful about their pasts)
Less likely would be Arthur regressing Noah Bennet's mind, and a Dead Future Peter magically showing up and stuffing him into a kid's body with the body swapping power, then high-fiving Papa Petrelli before returning to his future grave.


Why did Arthur regress Hiro into a childish state instead of stealing the power? I did completely enjoy his reactions to the current state of Marvel comics characters.(Spidey outed, Red Hulk, etc.) It also gives an idea of how his power works. He wants waffles, he shows up at the place that has his favorite waffles. Focusing on something he wants/needs, and he travels to where it is located.
So Hiro is now has to relearn everything he didn't learn in the first place. Only now he has to do it in the remedial class. Poor Ando. No wonder he kills Future Hiro, he's a moron. Again.
A dose of Claire blood could heal his brain and restore memories.(like Peter, Angela and Adam)

Usutu- Arthur killed him and then he shows up in Parkman's quest into Angela's mind. So was he there or is he a product of Parkman or Angela? Or was it Parkman's turtle, who I believe may be working with Mr. Muggles in pulling all the strings behind the scenes.
If he could paint Hiro showing up(twice), and avoid Hiro, why couldn't he paint his potential death(like Isaac)?
Speaking of dead Usutu, who's the person painting on the buildings in New York.(the cracked Earth with the "Godsend" symbol when Mohinder got his power on the dock and the one Peter and Claire see on the apartment wall) Is there other painters out and about? I know Isaac's 9th Wonders comics are still going. But how are the comics getting info from this changed future? They changed the future AFTER Isaac died. So the 9th wonders issues he made all were for that future(Future Mohinder saved Hiro by stabbing a needle into the Haitian). What the Hell man??? Is someone else now making them? New and improved 9th Wonders comics, made by Arthur and Gabriel Petrelli!!! (they're the only ones to have the painting precognition FOR SURE)


Has Parkman been the only one to push through the Haitian's power? Why aren't they showing that type of power struggle anymore?(Like Sylar breaking through Hiro's timestop in season 1)
He can partially get through the Haitian's power, but didn't see Daphne was working for Arthur??? Are her thoughts super fast? That would be sweet.
Parkman broke out of his father's trap, so how would Arthur stand to keep him locked in? Anyway, I think that Arthur made a very good move in letting Angela go. The scene had great emotional conflict.

Same goes for Mohinder. He is getting back to the struggling scientist he started as. Choosing to do the right thing, instead of what he was asked to do. He should also get his scales checked soon. Nasty. That's what he gets for webbing street-goers to walls. Hey, why did Mohinder's test subject go bad so fast, while Mohider is still mostly normal?


The Eclipse. Didn't a bunch of the "Heroes" have their powers before the eclipse? I know Kensei didn't have for-sure powers until after the 1600's one. Or how about the parents with powers? If the powers were based on eclipses, their abilities would have been gone at the beginning of the first season.
Also didn't Claire survive as a baby from her mother's fire?

The formula is missing something, a catalyst.
How could that be? In the future plenty of people seem to have powers, but Hiro and Ando were fighting over the formula. Why?
The catalyst for synthetic powers needs to be in a human host according to Mohinder. Was the original in Kensei(Adam Munroe)? Because both Nathan and Tracy/Jessica/Nikki were definitely synthetically given powers at birth long before Claire was born.

Angela's dreams have been altered. Originally a bunch of people were dead.(I think there was Hiro, Parkman, Claire, Peter, Noah(other???)) That one had Sylar, Tracy, Maury, Knox and Adam in it. Now Maury is presumably dead, and Adam is a pile of dust. So that is definitely not happening. The second was Tracy, Nathan, and Peter dead(I don't recall other people dead in that one), and Arthur was the bad guy. So things, they are a-changin'. The future has already been changed. Twice. Disaster averted. Celebrate.


A war is coming is going to be somehow a powerless fight.(from the commercial) The sides being Primatech Paper Petrelli and Pinehearst Petrelli Biotechnology. Camp Primatech has the benefit of Noah Bennett. He's been kicking ass sans powers for the entire series.
If they get their powers back, then Primatech also has the Haitian. But, then again, they also have a mopey Claire, an already powerless Peter(Impotence strikes Primatech!!!), and Daphne(who already works for Arthur).
I really hope they don't build suspense and blow it bigtime, like the Peter vs Sylar battles.(in season 1 future or Kirby Plaza)
It NEEDS to be epic. Through time and space(Hiro/Arthur/Daphne(speed)), in the material now(most people), and in the psychic planes(Parkman/Arthur). I want to be sweating from Oh. My. Gawd!!! moments. Crank up the intensity on a 1 to 10 scale to around 371. I expect roughly 2 gazillion% increase in awesomeness to make up for last seasons lack of confrontation.

"It starts with light, and ends with light. And in between there is darkness."
Maybe the end is in this quote from the end of the episode. Good guys win, but at great cost and through much suffering.


Post Notes:
I still have a sneaky suspicion that Angela has Persuasion powers like Eden. She seems to do this multiple times in all 3 seasons.


Future Claire and Future Hiro/Ando. I currently believe Papa Petrelli uses mind control to make them into complete douches(for the future episodes). Claire's you can tell by the dye job, and it's hard to tell with Hiro and Ando. Either one of them could have been brainwashed into something. Ando into believing Hiro ditches him(in child or adult mentality), or Hiro into thinking Ando is an evil spawn of Satan.
(Someone sent a screen capture of Future Ando to me, he has a Pinehearst pin on his coat. His turncoat. What a traitorous jerk.)


Is anyone else expecting stupid lines from Knox like:
"I'm from the school of hard Knox!" or
"There is nothing to fear, except fear itself... because it smells like a fart and now I'm super strong."

Knox and Claire's Uncle Flint are totally the Bebop and Rocksteady(from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) of the Heroes universe. Arthur hired two highly incompetent goons to do his petty work.

I think my fingers are bleeding from all this typing.
My brain stopped working about halfway through this post. Sorry guys.
How do these Heroes posts get so damn long?

11.17.2008

Good Karma Kid

In opposition to the Walmart kid from the earlier post, I got another random kid quote.
I was heading to pick up a patient in Mercy ER and there was a father and son walking towards me down the hall. As with the last time, there was no other people in the hall. I reached them and gave them the courtesy hello. The kid (I'd guess the age to be about 3) looks at me and says, "Rock on! Duuuude!"
Yeah, it was random and funny, and made me laugh for like 15 minutes the way he said it. All abrupt and excited. Quite entertaining.

11.13.2008

Heroes:Villains: notes and thoughts

I'll try to keep this shorter than the last Heroes show post. It shouldn't be too difficult.

This episode was a fairly good character builder for Sylar. Gives him some humanity. It showed his struggle against the "hunger". His attempt to fit in, to be a good person. The temptation is so much greater when he knows that a person has a power. It also shows one of the previous murders by Sylar from season 1 I was wondering about. Why did he never use the ability?
Also at the end of the episode Arthur appears to steal Hiro's power, but can Sylar break the time stopping, like he did with Hiro in season 1???
When Noah Bennett was watching the camera of Sylar doing his thing, was it just me, or did he display some sort of reverence for Sylar's work? I believe there was at least a little awe and respect. He also said Sylar's power is to transfer an ability. Not specifying if he can transfer them to others or not. Still a possibility.

There is actual depth to Elle now. Not much, she still is a dumbass, but a slightly more well-meant dumbass. Thanks for messing things up with Sylar. We can have Peach Pie then probe some grey matter in Trevor's skull! Gabriel Grey, grey matter(brains), a connection? Doubt it. But it makes me giggle anyway. The jealousy shown by Sylar was a wonderful touch. Very similar to his desire to be accepted by his mother for being special.

There is also some good shown in Angela Petrelli. She was being very motherly and protective. She also should have dreamed about Arthur not being dead at an earlier time.
Arthur Petrelli certainly displayed some poor people skills with his willingness to kill Nathan for the sake of his dealings with Linderman. He has quite a way with using others to get what he wants. Speaking of using others, what did he need Maury Parkman for? He has telepathy already, do it your damn self Arthur. Unless his talents are hindered or not grown enough.
Could Arthur give powers to people, maybe the ones he has taken? Sylar may have that potential(Noah's comment-"transfer"). Could Arthur have taken some things from Peter that would be like a power placement like the body in a body Future Peter had?

Nathan an Peter are shown to be determined and supportive of each other. Big suprise.

Does anybody remember when the slogan was "Save the cheerleader, save the world"?
She can't die anyway, so why did they need to save her. Was saving Claire simply keeping Sylar from be able to heal, and subsequently get the Shanti virus? Was it to make sure Peter could heal from the blast in order to fight Sylar? Or to keep Claire from becoming a whiner?
Well, I was also thinking, maybe her healing power could be keeping his power hunger in check. Do they even need food anymore? (On a terrible joke level, when Sylar poked around her brainpan, I couldn't help but think that she was totally being mind-f***ed. She seems to be reacting like it at least. Yeah, I am a sick bastard sometimes. I also made this comment a lot less graphic than when I said it out loud during the episodes weeks ago.)

When Thompson goes to collect Meredith and Flint on the train, where was the 'One of Us, One of Them' rule? At the end Thompson lets Meredith go, but in season 1 he was going to take Claire? Doesn't feel in character for him.

Hiro- I was somewhat pissed by Kensei being a white guy. That turned out somewhat all right. How much cooler if it was Hiro himself? Like if he went through training to become the great warrior that he was sort of going to be as Future Hiro. Calm and collected. In full control of his power. No reliance on Ando, but still desiring the outside influence of companionship.
But now he is apparently going to be even more useless. He needs to learn how to use the power instantly. While I quite enjoy his silliness, his inability to help himself properly goes against the ingenuity he displayed when he fake killed Ando.
Now because of his decisions he is stuck in Africa with Ando and a headless Usutu.

Usutu. Being a painter on Heroes leads to death. Note to self: Don't paint the future. Sure, cut back on characters. Let's cut out a person that has some great scenes. He took things in a practical way. How would you react to hitting a man with a shovel, then walking into a tent a second later and hitting the same guy again? Understanding his compulsion to paint(like Sylar's hunger???), he used it well, learned from it, guiding some, and helping when he could. Now he's dead. Not even any last words.
I mean Isaac showed immense growth and then had awesome last lines.

I really enjoyed the overlap with old footage showing the connections. Like the explanation of the train wreck, and Nathan's accident flight.
Also the mention of the Invisible man was a nice touch to add without having to pay an actor.

Whatever. I'm done now. Perhaps the next episode will spurn me to more creative speculation.

Heroes Cards part 2

10 packs and I somehow managed to get 2 Lenticulars(1:12 packs) and 2 foil cards(1:6 packs).
But somehow I only managed to get 1 Ted Sprague card. Nick called dibs on it, so it goes to him. Ted, you're such a silly Not-the-Geico-Caveman-Insurance guy.
Later tonight I will try to get the Heroes notes and thoughts post up about last Monday's "Villains" episode.

11.12.2008

Heroes Cards

First pack of trading cards opened. Giddiness is at a childlike high. Suprisingly enough, I got a lenticular card.(picture changes by tilting) Odds of getting one are 1 in 12 packs approximately.(says on the wrapper) Well Josh luck strikes again. I will save opening the rest until tomorrow. It'll be like a mini mid-November Christmas party.

Hollywood Video


Hollywood Video caused two distinct feelings today.

The first is a combination of disgust and intrigue because at there counter they were selling Pickles out of a bucket. Really not something I would ever feel like wanting in a movie rental establishment. Ever.


The second was a great flashback to my childhood days. They had trading cards! I bought a bunch of Heroes cards. They were located to the right of the pickles. Next to some Hannah Montana cards. I believe Ms. Montana may be sullying the good name of Heroes in such a close proximity. Just like I sullied the back of my brother's car with Hannah Montana stickers. Man, was he pissed.

Who thought they were still selling cards? I mean, come on, how awesome is this? Heroes is a good show, and I thoroughly enjoy the ability to collect cards I will never actually trade.


Although, I think it would be better if the cards came with those crappy sticks of gum coated in white powder that used to be in baseball and Garbage Pail Kids cards. The kind of gum that was just small enough to not disintegrate, but not large enough to actually be considered worthwhile. The best part of the gum was that when you first tried to chew it, the gum would actually shatter into little gum shards before becoming a tiny gum blob.

A trip to Wal-Mart

I just got home from an amazing trip to Walmart. This is going to be the abbreviated version. On the way into the store I saw a cop giving a ticket to a guy in one of those little motorized scooters. Hmmm... That's interesing.
Then I went back to see if they had any sweet new action figures. While in the toy section there was a lady pushing her very young son around in a cart. He was smacking two foam swords together making all kinds of noises, none of which were related to sword clashing.
Anyway, she tells him not to hit anyone else in the aisles. He quickly replied,"Not even that loser?"
The mother told me that he didn't mean me.
I laughed greatly, she turned bright red, there was nobody else in the aisle.
She quickly left.
Nothing in toys, so I headed to the food section for that sweet ambrosia men call Dr. Pepper. Almost run down by a stock person loaded with cosmetic products, I make it miraculously unscathed.
I've got the soda and all my toes, and decide to make haste to the self checkout.
The only open machine immediately starts flashing a red light. The light in turn calls over a lady. Not because of something I did, but because it wants more receipt paper.
"No problem," I think to myself.
I was WAY wrong. Ten minutes and two more managers later, I was checking out.
Sure, I could have checked out in another lane, but then I would have missed a great human struggle of 3 people against a single machine's paper roll.
I am pretty sure the receipt dispenser won.

Why the Hell isn't there a Lego Lord of the Rings video game?

I must say that the Lego video games are awesome. Fun for all ages. Beginning with the Star Wars on PS2, I have tried them all.

Both Star Wars games are extremely enjoyable. Loads-o-Jedi fun, using the Force on all sorts of objects and destroying everything in sight to collect the Lego equivalent of money.
While... Indiana Jones is somehow not very good at all. It just feels like something is missing.
That's OK though.
Lego Batman more than makes up for it. You can play as the good guys through the Batcave, or as the villains in Arkham Asylum. The variety of characters and levels is high. Both male and female characters, good and evil. You even get to drive the Lego Batmobile. Hours of enjoyment.
(I got to play as Mr. Freeze! Score!)

The downside to these games is that if you aren't playing with a second person, some parts become unbelievably infuriating. The helper AI is more of a hindrance than a partner, which often times ends up with me getting killed. They seem to just wander around being ignored by bad guys while you get the undivided attention of anything that causes damage.

Now to what I wanted to suggest.
What I would LOVE to see is a Lego Lord of the Rings trilogy. All three movies in one massive game. There would have to be a ridiculous amount of levels. A million characters. I would gladly pay triple-price for a triple-size game.

Think of the epic Lego quests... Lego-las(even his name hints at this) shooting arrows into trolls at Minas Tirith, Gandalf swinging his staff at a monster sized Balrog during a falling level in the mines of Moria, Aragorn chopping the hell out of goblins at Helm's Deep.
How much fun would it be playing Treebeard at Isengard stomping some orc ass!
What about Frodo wearing the ring in a blurry, staggering wind level?
There could even be freakin' 4 player Lego action. Not 2 but actual multiplayer, 4+ people at once. The screen would be full, but worth the confusion.
Perhaps online play in the mega-battle scenes. People playing on both sides, good or bad, borderline MMO stuff.
As bonus levels, if they wait long enough, they could have stages from the Hobbit. Imagine how great a Lego Smaug the dragon could be. Sitting on tons of golden Lego treasure.
Oh, sweet lord, this game would have amazing possibilities.

Why hasn't this been made yet?
It NEEDS to be made.

Like it wouldn't sell a gazillion copies. Rings fans, Lego fans, video game fans, everyone and their great, great, great, grandparents' ghosts would buy it.


finally a neat little link to a Lego Star Wars article:
http://www.tor.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=blog&id=8488#more

11.08.2008

RIP: M. Crichton and David Foster Wallace

I believe Michael Crichton(11.04.2008) died of "cancer of the ER". It is sad that we lost a writer that came up with some amazing ideas(Jurassic Park, Sphere). It is even more depressing that the show ER has become so ludicrous, that is may have actually been siphoning years off it's creator. Poor Mr. Crichton. My condolences to your family, and your ghost. Please let ER disappear from television.
How many hospitals have rocket launchers being shot in them? Seriously.
And when someone needs aspirin stat, that person needs to be slapped. Stat.

As for David Foster Wallace(9.12.08), I will miss his work immeasurably. For those of you that missed out on his writings, I would highly recommend finding a copy of the essay "Consider the Lobster". A beautiful work on the questionable ethics of catching and cooking lobsters.
He also has a fondness for footnotes that borders on the absurd. They could be a work in themselves, so read them.

11.06.2008

From the Archives: Old Sketch


Found a really huge old sketch of my right arm(18in by 10in). Decided to put it up. I had to shrink the scan down though.

11.04.2008

Voting

I just voted! For myself... in every category... even the wildlife section!
Hooray for write-ins.
Just kidding, voting is an important part of our culture as a form of national balance, for everyone to take part in our country's well being. Voting makes everyone, in part at least, responsible for the current state of the USA. So all those people that don't vote can shut the hell up next time they complain about the government and the way it's run.
Although uninformed voters can harm us pretty bad. Like those people that just vote one way, without knowing what they are actually votig for. Learn where your candidate stands on issues!

11.03.2008

Mobility!

Joshua has leveled up. He has learned a new skill: Mobile Blogging!

I Stubbed My Mind!

I recent Josh news, I somehow managed to trip on a sentence fragment, stumble across a few misplaced letters, and fell head first into a writer's block. After inadvertently stubbing the nonphysical part of my brain (the mind) on a large metaphorical concrete slab, I wandered through nonexistent corridors for hours. Apparently searching for my long lost and somewhat forgotten...
...ummmmm...
...something...
or someone...
...
...
...

11.02.2008

Probably my last election post

This is exactly what my poorly expressed, previous post about McCainasaurus should have read.

from Time Magazine(Nov. 10, 2008 issue), Inbox:

TWO CANDIDATES, TWO STYLES:

RE "DOES TEMPERAMENT
MATTER?":

Throughout his career, John McCain
has shown himself willing to put others at risk to advance his career or his
causes[Oct. 27]. Like President Bush, he is a person who shoots from the hip,
invites conflict and sees compromise as a sign of weakness rather than a path to
progress. His impulsiveness has been evident this fall in rash decisions such as
selecting Sarah Palin and suspending his campaign. While his supporters call him
a maverick, I call him reckless. And as the past eight years have shown,
recklessness is not what we need in a President. We need someone with
intelligence, composure, discipline, and restraint.

-Robert J. Inlow, Charlottesville, VA.





On a funny note, every time someone calls McCain a maverick, I picture him as a really old Tom Cruise in "Top Gun", with the Highway to the Danger Zone song playing over the image in my head. Quite entertaining.
Here are a couple links you may like to read:
please read THROUGH this next one before judging the title

More Presidential Campaign tomfoolery




One day after my last post someone McCained my yard.
Coincidence? I think so actually.
But, don't worry, I fixed it.

11.01.2008

Presidential Election Shenanigans

Here is some quick things on the elections:

Isn't America the great melting pot?

Wasn't this country founded on freedom for all regardless of belief?

Oh no, someone has an opinion that isn't exactly the same as mine? Better label them a terrorist, because that's obviously what they are, being different and all. So much for freedoms.


McCain is all about war. War this, war that. "I will fight for America. I will fight terror." Fight, fight, fight. Do we want a president more focused on spending our lives in continuation of a war that has gone pretty much nowhere?

Of course he knows all about fighting. Considering he was born sometime in the mid-cretaceous era, he probably took part in every major war since storming the gates of Ilium in the Trojan war. Being born that far back would explain his tiny Tyrannosaurus arms.(see my illustration)

Why does McCain always say "I've been there." I been to Georgia a bunch of times, but that doesn't mean I know a damn thing about Georgia or the people that live in that state, and that's part of our own country. Even living somewhere for a time may only provide a small demographic of the locales culture.
As for the war itself, it's a never ending problem. The middle east area has been at war since, oh, I don't know, FOREVER. War is eating up our moral. While total withdrawal may be an impossibility, there should at least be a gradual pullout of troops. I mean, come on, honestly, we can read newspapers from space, have GPS systems, and all manner of crazy other technologies, and we still can't find Bin Laden. Ridiculous.

He is quick to anger, and eager to enter conflict. This has not worked in the last 8 years, why would it work now. The time now is for a man of diplomacy.

I feel that Obama is more focused on fixing issues here, instead of leaving us fighting a "war on terror". He is looking to the bulk of America, the middle class. Our country cannot grow if we are hemmoraging all our resources overseas. A global economic problem is here because of foolish steps taken. Not just because of Bush either. Many were involved.
It doesn't matter who is elected, change is coming.

Change. Will. Happen.

I just believe that Obama is the better candidate.