Whiplash Real Identity: Ivan Vanko Iron Man 2 (2010) Characteristics and Powers: Whiplash is named for his eponymous electric whips, powered by a knock-off arc reactor. He doesn’t have much for armor (unlike Iron Man) so he has to keep his distance and attack. Fortunately, whips are the perfect weapon for this. Plus it shows his brutality, like Kratos in God of War. Clearly, Ivan isn’t afraid to get hurt. He’s got plenty of scars and metal teeth, which indicates the state of Russian healthcare. And don’t forget his bird. Relationship to the Hero(es): Iron Man 2 starts a common thread in his movies that is “sins of the father”.…
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The Books I Read: March – April 2025
The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t With Her Mind by Jackson Ford On a Facebook post for my library, they offered a challenge saying “Give me any book and I’ll recommend something based on it.” For a lark, I gave it “I’m Worried About This Black Box of Doom“, since I’d love to find anyone that matches Pargin’s unique style. This book was the response. It did not hit the mark. The narrative is snarky enough, but it’s not wise or conventionally intelligent or containing hard truths. It’s a basic action chase story about a girl with telekinesis who’s part of a BlackOps team. They’re searching for a killer who…
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Could We Be Done With James Bond Already?
So my wife was telling me the other day that, since the rights to James Bond were sold to Amazon, she’s worried about what’s going to happen to the franchise. And all I can think is “See ya, wouldn’t want to be ya!” Because I don’t know if I mentioned this before, but I don’t care for James Bond. All the 007 movies could be erased from the planet tomorrow and I wouldn’t give a fig. He’s narcissistic, misogynistic, quippy, arrogant, flamboyant, a know-it-all, and above ever getting injured. Come on, he’s a Mary Sue. And it’s hypocritical not to point it out when others only dump on women protagonists…
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Short Stories: One Quarter Later
So now that I’m one quarter year past The Great Short Story Experiment, I’ve had enough time to observe any aftereffects. And there have been some. Not as far as any of these getting published or buffing my resume, that’s a ways off still. But it did something to me. Not sure what, but it did something. Something that improved my writing (IMO, for all I know I’m going the other way). I don’t know what it is, but it’s like it did something to my brain. Now when I revise the drafts of my novels that have been sitting for the past year, I can see a way to…
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My First Foray Into Miniatures
Apparently I have too much free time on my hands, so in addition to writing, crocheting, watching TV & movies, boating, exercising, and raising a family, I decided to start a new hobby–painting miniatures. I’ve always been a little bit curious about it. I seem to gravitate toward crafts that involve fine motor skills. But there were a few obstacles that stopped me from getting involved. One is cost, which is part of any new thing. Miniatures are relatively cheap. More expensive than yarn and a hook but less than robotics or cosplay. Another is that it looks really hard. I don’t have a steady hand, and I’ve never been…
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Analyzing the Marvel Cinematic Universe Villains: Sabretooth (X-Men Origins: Wolverine)
Sabretooth Real Identity: Victor Creed X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) The primary antagonist in this movie is Stryker, but I already did him in X-Men 2. So we’re going to go with Sabretooth, even though he’s more of a henchman. But he has a close relationship with Logan and has just as much screen time. Characteristics and Powers: Sabretooth’s primary form of attack is the “fingernails of a bag lady,” similar to Logan’s bone claws but more like a cat’s with the curve and shape. Accompanying that is feline-like agility, as he’s always jumping from thing to thing. He also has the same healing factor as Logan, which contributes to his…
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The Books I Read: January – February 2025
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus Essentially, the pitch for this book is “What if The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel was a scientist?” or “What if Bones was Betty Crocker?”. It’s a fun and clever romp, but it’s so trapped in antiquated tropes it’s like reading history. I read to discover the new and different. I want what’s innovative and creative, not what’s already been tread on. The fact that this takes place in the 1950s is bad enough, but it contains all the old pastiches, especially regarding women in the workplace (e.g. sexual assault by a boss, women not being able to break the glass ceiling, being fired for being…
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An Epidemic of Student Apathy
One of the biggest problems my wife, a middle school teacher at a private Catholic school, faces these days is kids who simply don’t care. You might think this is less of an issue at a non-public school, but in those cases, the parents are the ones who care enough to pay extra for their child’s education. The child’s motivation, however, is a separate subject. And this isn’t a matter of “school sucks, I’m going to be a singer/entrepreneur/flight attendant/dental hygienist”. This is “these kids are failing every class and will not be allowed to graduate high school.” (At least, they shouldn’t be allowed to graduate. I never knew anyone…
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Some Thoughts About AI
You can’t go on a single web page without AI getting in your face, either it or something about it and how it’s going to doom us all, stocks are tanking, jobs are disappearing. But the thing is, the only people who care about AI are the ones shoveling it into everything. The CEOs and corporate executives who are investing so much into it because they took a pass on crypto and don’t want to miss the boat a second time. Who’s going to be the 800-lb. gorilla first? Who’s going to go under because of it? How will you be able to tell what’s AI-generated and what’s not? When’s…
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Analyzing the Marvel Cinematic Universe Villains: Abomination (The Incredible Hulk)
Abomination Real Identity: Emil Blonsky The Incredible Hulk (2008) Characteristics and Powers: Emil Blonsky doesn’t get much backstory. He’s a career marine with skills in firearms and combat. He has no ambition to be a leader because “he’s a fighter”. But he’s getting older. General Ross thinks he’s 45, but he’s actually 39. And he’s feeling it, especially when it comes to Hulk. After the first encounter in Brazil, he realizes he’s outmatched. And he needs an edge. Ross responds by offering Blonsky a variation of the super-soldier serum (something that won’t have an introduction for five more movies–I wonder if they knew they were doing Captain America when they…
