Iron Man at the LG booth at CTIA 2008
Originally uploaded by MobileBurn

I’ve lapsed in my movie-going ways as time has gone on, but I’m actually going to the theater this weekend to see the Iron Man movie. I’ve been getting increasingly interested as publicity for the movie fired up and there’s already good reviews online. Ol’ Shellhead was never one of my faves growing up but I’ve found him more interesting as time has gone on. When I was a kid, I enjoyed the adventures of a guy in armor beating up lame villains. But, after Armor Wars, I didn’t really feel the draw to the character. Kurt Busiek got me back on board when he played up the jet-setting adventuring playboy aspects of Stark’s life, but even that passed once he moved on. But with the recent emphasis on Tony as a power player during Civil War and even before that, I’m really digging what some recent writers have done with him.

Tony Stark is a guy who just might be more powerful outside of his armor than in it. He’s a billionaire industrialist. In the comics, he’s gone on to become Secretary of Defense and head of the international spy agency, S.H.I.E.L.D. As you can imagine, those kind of positions carry a decent amount of clout. Which means, every time he’s gallivanting around in his armor, he’s letting down thousands of people, if not millions. Let’s face it, if Clark Kent or Peter Parker don’t show up for work it’s not lie multi-million dollar business deals fall through or the company is ripe for a hostile takeover or thousands of soldiers or spies aren’t getting the support they need to stay alive. But that’s not the case for Tony Stark.

Thousands of lives are dependent upon him bringing the hammer to the business world. If he’s not in the boardroom or in the lab working on his next Start Industries product, people could be out of work. If he’s not on the bridge of the SHIELD Hellicarrier, the world’s best defense against aliens and super-terrorism won’t be as effective. So, when he’s armored up, he’s letting one group of people down. When he’s not, he doesn’t have the firepower to stop certain threats. Interesting dichotomy. I wonder how much of that will get played up in his movie as he takes responsibility for the weapons of destruction that spring from his mind.

Anybody else getting excited about this movie?

“I don’t care how much you evolve, that’s still damn funny.”

Comic Book Heros Group Photo
Originally uploaded by Theiggsta

It always seems to sneak up on me and this year is no different. We’re less than a week away from Free Comic Book Day. It’s Saturday! Once again, it looks like a good, diverse selection for just about any taste. I probably won’t make it because I’ve got a busy day going on. And normally there are leftovers when I make my usual Wednesday run.

So, if you’re looking for something different this weekend, zip by your local comic shop. Who knows, there might be some fun games and prizes or even some fun people dressed like this!

“It feels like I got a stomach full of drunk bees.”

I’m A Guitar Hero!
Originally uploaded by Woodmania

Another draft weekend, another visit to see the Goat and Amy and their little one. While it was much more convenient when they were living in Ohio, it was still a good trip. We even left the house a bit to explore the Lincoln Museum. To the surprise of no one, I’m sure, we were constantly throwing quotes around from Frisky Dingo to Cliffhanger. We enjoyed some tasty steaks made tastier by the Bacon Salt I brought with me. I even rocked out with a little Guitar Hero, as you can see. What else happened? Glad you asked.

• Definitely a good call at the Peel house going with the NFL Network draft coverage over that of the Worldwide Leader. ESPN ruins the suspense and apparently missed the announcement of first round picks when they went to commercial break.
• The weekend kicked off the PR buildup for the next EA NFL game which seems to feature Madden IQ. An intriguing concept from what I’ve read. I’m sure I will get the next Madden game at some point (not right away, more than likely) and I would be interested what my Madden IQ would test out to be.
• Chad Johnson street value isn’t getting higher than what the Redskins offered. His public image must not be so great either because, during the draft, I saw a commercial for his web-series and there was no mention of him and practically no view of him during the whole 30 seconds. And he’s supposed to be the star!
• What’s worse: Detroit or Iraq? One former Army player is about to find out. It was either get drafted by the Lions or go to the Middle East.
• As I was driving out of town I heard that Robbie Knievel would be performing a motorcycle jump at Kings Island, kinda like his Dad did all those years ago. I was planning on leaving town that day but maybe I’ll reconsider.

Probably a lot more but my brain is still processing all the weekend’s fun times. Not enough for you? Fortunately, there’s more of what I experienced on my Flick page. Here’s the pics from the trip. Enjoy me in my Abe hat.

“Why would there be a penguin in a wheat field?”

Wow, what a fast-paced first day of NFL Drafting. Anybody who thinks the NFL Draft is more boring than baseball was more wrong than ever before. Those first ten picks flew by. The pace slowed down after that but the first hour seemed like a breakneck pace. It also felt like it got over way too soon. Definitely need to bring back the third round to Day 1.

Alright, let’s get to the picking. I get antsy every time Cincinnati is on the clock considering the franchise has a history of bad picks. Unfortunately, teams traded up to snatch guys Cincinnati wanted. But this Rivers guy seems to be pretty good. Look at him tackling that Duck there.

The second round selection, a wide receiver from Coastal Carolina… not so sure about. Lots of wide receivers around that spot and I’m not really sure what the team felt seperated him from other guys taken after him. And I don’t even know if I’m thrilled about going receiver there. I’d like to have seen defense but I guess there wasn’t anyone of value around there. I don’t think it was a bad day for the Bengals but I wish we could have seen the second pick in a different direction.

Overall, I think the first day went well for the NFL. The streamlined format seemed to work well. So we can hold off on talk for a NFL Draft lottery for now.

If you want to comment on the weekend’s NFL action, you’ll get a Sock Point for it. Use this post for all your draft talk and I’ll get back to you Monday with a full weekend recap.

I suppose since it was Bengals-related, I probably should have put up the Drew Rosenahus’s YouTube plea to free Chad Johnson, but that would seem wrong on a day dedicated to bringing new goodness into the league. I still want to entertain you during some of the lagtime in today’s NFL Draft, though. (By the way, expect some draft talk tomorrow on this space.)

Check out this cool review of the next generation video game consoles that references both Dead Rising and Army of Darkness. That definitely gets the nod around here over some swarmy agent-speak.

I’ve gone off my own picks the last few weeks but I have gotten the emails some of you have sent with other YouTube Saturday suggestions. When I catch up, I’ll be putting up your suggestions and giving some points your way for your efforts.

You can send me a YouTube link or some other embeddable video provider and if I like it (or need it) enough to put it up here, Sock Point to you.

Feel free to send your suggestions to my gmail account. It’s woodmania. I’d type it out but I don’t need more junk mail. Just your YouTube suggestions.

Clint Barton shows off his elevator etiquette in Hawkeye #3. Bahlactus has spoken!

“I really need a girl like an open book to read between the lines.”

Finally!
Originally uploaded by FabioHofnik

It’s gonna be a great night of TV tonight. We’ve been getting new 30 Rocks and The Offices recently but now we’re adding a new LOST. Here’s a list of things stuff to do while the show was not on. Personally, I had video games and a full DVR to keep me occupied until tonight’s return episode. Also, I’m fine with the occassional break between a run of LOST episodes.

One of the things that keeps me coming back for more is that LOST is the perfect show for our time. It’s a great watercooler show. Not just around the office, but around the internet. Watching the show is just part of the fun. Once an episode is over, hours of fun can be had trolling through websites and message boards as the fans try to decipher and examine the clues unveiled in that night’s hour. It’s hard enough to find quality shows on TV, let alone those that will keep my interest when it’s not on. The experience goes beyond the episode. That’s something not a lot of shows offer. And that’s why I’m going to stick with LOST until the end. Hopefully, the audience will, too, and not bail so badly the show gets canceled before we learn all about the island and those castaways.

Speaking of mysteries, will tomorrow see the unveiling of the Madden 2009 coverboy?

“You can stay in the room, but get out of my head.”

The comics blogosphere is a sadder place today. Dave’s Long Box is closing up shop. DLB was one of the most enjoyable comic blogs out there. He’s a busy man and his blog was never the daily machine this one is. But, also unlike this blog, he put out gold with practically every post. Ironically enough, Dave’s Long Box comes to an end as my apartment is filled with long boxes as I am trying to organize my out-of-control collection. (By the way, anyone try these drawer boxes?)

Sure, I can still read his stuff on his Live From L.A. blog on ABC.com, but it’s just not the same. I mean, the wit is still there. But reading about Desperate Housewives, Dancing With the Stars, Grey’s Anatomy, and Samantha Who doesn’t hold the appeal of breaking down the poetry of Thor, C-List Villains, and the over-the-topness of 1990s comic books. And while he had fun with silly comics, he also examined the great comics that came out in the last 30 years or so.

And that’s what set him apart. It wasn’t that long ago that the only use comic book fans had for the internet was bitching about Chuck Austen and the industry as a whole. But Dave was different. He looked back into his collection and found the nuggets that made him love collecting. While others were poo-pooing comic books, Dave celebrated the artform. Fortunately, there are many more places on the internet that take that kind of positive approach to a great hobby. And he promises there will be additional bloggage from him in the future so I will be looking forward to that.

Farewell, Dave’s Long Box. You were totally Airwolf.

“I love it up here. It’s hot. It’s loud. There’s no pizza. It’s like Miami.”

This mostly pertains to comics and sci-fi, but I guess this topic is appropriate for draft week. By the end of the year, I will be married to a woman who doesn’t really care for most of the stuff I am interested in. I was wondering if I could/should get her to change her mind on a couple things. These were articles I found in November of 2005 that touched on these topics:

Most women aren’t into comics and other geeky things. So, how do we change that? Here’s some tips to get your girlfriend to read comics. (Apparently, Ghost World is the way to go.) And if you swing the other way, here’s how to get you boyfriend to read comics.

While we’re categorizing women into genres they tend to not be in, here’s something about sports girls. I think that’s what inspired my Dating Week Sports Gal entry. It’s nice if a woman shares a mild rooting interest in your team but can be scary if taken to extreme guy standards.

Basically, it just sounds like finding something you can both agree on. Just don’t ask her to be one of the Slave Leias at Celebration IV. I’m pretty sure that would not go over real well.

“And twenty thousand bucks to complete my robot… my girl robot. This is gonna be the best prom ever.”

NFL Draft Banner on 49th
Originally uploaded by Marianne O’Leary

It’s NFL Draft week! It’s the most wonderful time of the NFL offseason. And, yet, I’ll admit I’m not into it as much as I have been. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still looking forward to it. I’m going to spend the weekend with the Goat and his ilk, as is my tradition. We’ll be holed up in his house all day Saturday and until I have to come home Sunday. (I believe we’ll be watching the NFL Network’s coverage.) I’ll devour all the news leading up to the event and the ramifications from the weekend’s draft picks and trades. But am I as stoked as normal? Not really.

I don’t know why, but my enthusiasm has been curbed. I’m pretty sure it has to do with a less-than optimistic outlook on the hometown squad. Maybe it’s the Bengals absolute brutal 2008 schedule. Or the persistent rumors that Cincinnati wants to add Darren McFadden to an already-overloaded backfield instead of addressing actual needs. Maybe it’s the douchebag that Chad Johnson has made himself out to be. Maybe… no. It’s definitely T.O.cho Cinco. I used to love this guy. He proved football could be fun in this town. Now he’s pissing on that. I’d love to cut him and get him the hell out of town but the cap hit would hurt the team and precedent set would not be good for the league.

Still, I’m really looking forward to this weekend. But I haven’t and won’t be doing the lead-up that I have in the past for this day. I’ll just try to sit back and enjoy it. If Chad Johnson lets me, that is.

“You can’t even sink the Titanic!”