For Anyone Who's Ever Wanted To Separate Themselves From Society...

So as I trolled Twitter this morning, as is my usual habit when trying to avoid work, I came across a link in my timeline. It was retweeted by someone I follow and directs to a blog named Messy Nessy Chic. As I clicked on the link, I came across one of the most wonderful sites I've ever beheld.

A 1970s underground bomb shelter built to resemble an everyday suburban neighborhood.

Looking at a few of the pictures I'm sure you'll agree just how amazing this thing is. The outdated decorating choices aside (really? Pink trim in the kitchen?) having a house like this is every weirdo's dream. Not only do you get to live in a home completely separated from the rest of humanity, but it doesn't have the same "Apocalypse" feel that other bomb shelters have.

The house is located at 3970 Spencer Street in Las Vegas and can be purchased for the low price of $1.7 million. I just love the 360° nature view all around the home. Not only does it negate the inevitable ennui one would naturally feel from living 15 feet below ground, but it makes everything feel like underground Umbrella Corporation headquarters from the first Resident Evil movie. I'm not sure if that's much of a selling point, but it's true. Add to that the awesome feature of adjustable "outdoor" lighting to simulate different times of the day, including twinkling stars at night, and this place is a real winner.

I spent a little time Googling other fallout shelters like this one but couldn't come up with anything that can hold a candle to this one. However, I did find a few helpful resources if you ever wanted to build your own bomb shelter, including one site where you can purchase all of the necessary components.

With the impending zombie apocalypse, this may be the smartest purchase anyone could make.

(Images from MessyNessyChic.com)

A Tribute to the Power Rangers on Their 20th Anniversary

Today is an important day in geek history for two reasons. Firstly, it's the birthday of legendary artist and the co-creator of many of Marvel Comics' most iconic characters, Jack Kirby. Despite Kirby's major influences on the comic book industry and the art world, this post isn't about him, as you probably realized from the title. But I did want to take a moment, tip my hat to him and say Happy 96th Birthday, Jack!

The purpose of this article is to recognize the 20th anniversary of a show that helped to define my childhood. Twenty years ago today, I sat at home during the tail-end of my summer vacation. I was 13 and just about to start 8th grade. But in the early afternoon, a new show began to air. I'd seen commercials for it, some weird hybrid of an old Japanese show and newly shot American footage about five teenagers with special powers and giant dinosaur-themed robots. Something called Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Being a typical 13 year old, I thought it looked dumb. Just a lame kids show. But as the opening credits began to roll, there was something about it that just grabbed me and reeled me in.

I watched on an old black and white television, which I remember clearly because I thought that Kimberly was blonde the whole time. (I also developed a huge crush on the actress, Amy Jo Johnson, which led me to start watching Felicity later on. That...was a mistake.) Though the characters were older than I was, I felt like I related to them better; they had to deal with the difficulties of high school, like being on time for class and having to face bullies, but with the added excitement of being super heroes. At times, Power Rangers was what I expected; silly, schloky, and stupid. (I friggin' despised Alpha-5 from the beginning.) But that didn't deter me at all. I watched for the rest of the week, straight through to the first day of school. The only downside was that Power Rangers aired before I would get home from school. So I set the timer on the VCR so I wouldn't miss an episode.

I did it first.

And thus began my descent into Power Rangers fandom. I accepted it with aplomb, collecting everything I could get my hands on. Toys (the original Megazord and a 12-inch Goldar figure being my favorite), trading cards, comic books. The first purchase I ever made at a Wal-Mart was the VHS copies of the first five episodes. I even went so far as to create my own box-set of the Green Ranger Saga, Green With Evil, cutting all of the commercials from my taped copies, wrapping the box in white masking tape and drawing "cover art".

Eventually, the show lost its appeal to me, which happened right around the Turbo years. All of the actors that I started with had moved on and left the show, leaving me with strangers in colored spandex. I started making watching less of a priority and just stopped watching altogether. I boxed up my collectibles and put them in the garage. When I turned 24, I sold most of my Power Rangers stuff on eBay, an act that I regret now. (I eventually repurchased a Megazord from the 2010 rebranding of the original MMPR and proudly display that in my den.)

Did I try to recreate these battle scenes? Hell yeah, I did.

With the recent release of the show on Netflix, my love of the show returned. I gobbled up the first three seasons in a little over two weeks, moving on to the rest; Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers, Power Rangers Zeo, and finally finishing Power Rangers Turbo. I've started to make my way through the rest of the seasons, an act that is more chore than fun. The charm really did leave the show after Zeo, making the later seasons tough to sit through. I'm currently in the middle of Time Force and really have a hard time finding the energy to sit through it.

But regardless of how the show derailed, the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers still holds a place in my heart. It was one of my favorite shows as a kid despite being outside of the show's target demographic. So I raise my glass to you, Power Rangers, and congratulate you on your first 20 years. Here's to 20 more.

My Thoughts on the Batfleck Debacle...

Last night, the internet exploded when the news was revealed that Ben Affleck was cast as Batman in the upcoming sequel to Man Of Steel. Many people are genuinely hesitant of an actor like Affleck taking on the role of the Dark Knight, including myself, however a vast majority of fans are just outright venomous over the idea, claiming it to be a mistake on the part of DC/WB and stating that Affleck would never be able to portray Batman the way they envisioned.

The thing is...people need to calm down.

Again, I am skeptical about this casting move. I have seen plenty of Ben Affleck movies and though I like a number of them, he hasn't proven to me that he can play a character as intense as Batman. However, I also said the same thing about Heath Ledger when it was revealed he would be playing the Joker. "The guy from 10 Things I Hate About You? There's no way he'll be able to do that part justice. Man, The Dark Knight is gonna be a complete disaster." But here we are, five years later, and I count The Dark Knight as one of my top-five favorite movies.

Most arguments are stemming from Affleck's portrayal of Matt Murdock/Daredevil in the 2003 movie Daredevil. To be quite honest, this is an unfair comparison. Yes, that movie was wildly underwhelming (I won't say bad because I did enjoy it) and Affleck's take on the character seemed more like a snarky high-schooler than a lawyer/crime fighter. But we also have to remember that he filmed that movie ten years ago. Actors can learn new things in their craft. They can adapt. And looking at Affleck's recent track record, it seems like he's done just that. Take Hollywoodland, for example. Affleck played George Reeves, the actor that played Superman in the 1950s. Affleck did a great job in that role, one that required him to play a more dramatic part than he was used to. He also directed and starred in Argo, which helps to reinforce the idea that he's learned how to act dramatically and understands how it can help move a film.

Using a movie that's a decade old as "proof" that an actor can't fulfill a film role is just silly. It would be like calling out Steven Spielberg for casting Tom Hanks in Saving Private Ryan. "He's got that guy from The Money Pit in it. Yeah, Big was OK but there's no way he'll be able to pull off a serious war movie. He'll probably have a tub fall on him in the middle of Normandy Beach." Or shit, we can even point fingers at Matt Damon in that same movie. Ten years before Saving Private Ryan, Damon just finished his first film role as Steamer in Mystic Pizza. No one ever held that against him, did they? A decade is a long time to go between movies and actors can learn and grow within that time.

Let's also not forget about Chris Evans. Evans played Johnny Storm, the Human Torch, in The Fantastic Four and its sequel. No one would say that Evans did an amazing job as the character. In fact, I would go so far as to say that he was kind of annoying in both films. But he nailed the hell out of Captain America and that was the most important part.

We need to remember that making a movie is not a singular endeavor. It takes a lot of people to make a movie, from the writer to the director, producers and actors. It also takes a lot of people to fuck up a movie. Given that both Christopher Nolan and Zack Snyder have proven themselves capable of handling the DC Comics properties, I really can't say that this decision is a bad one.

I am not saying that Affleck will be the definitive Batman but I'm also not saying him taking the role is the end of the world. Really, my point is just that everyone needs to relax. All in all, I just think everyone needs to stop making snap decisions about what could happen and just wait to see what does happen. Ben Affleck may be the best thing that could ever happen to the Batman franchise. You never know.

Why 'The Wolverine' Is Worth Seeing

The Wolverine hit theaters this past weekend, raking in right around $55 million in the domestic market. That's nothing to shake your head at; in fact, it's a pretty strong number for an opening weekend, matching X-Men: First Class when it released back in 2011. However, one thing that needs to be taken into account when comparing the two movies is the 3D ticket sales, which generally account for higher ticket prices. Taking that into consideration, The Wolverine had the lowest grossing opening weekend of any X-Men film to date.

This isn't something that surprises me, either. After Wolverine's last solo adventure, in the crap-tastic X-Men Origins: Wolverine, I can understand why movie goers are hesitant to shell out money to see this latest film. (Yes, I do recall saying that Origins was awesome. Yes, I was completely blinded by the glitz of a new X-Men movie at the time. I apologize.) But The Wolverine goes far beyond it's sub-par predecessor. It's worth the trip to the movie theaters.

I will say this: The Wolverine isn't perfect. Not at all. However, director James Mangold really learned from the previous installment of the Wolverine saga and did things quite differently. For starters, this isn't an origin story. The movie actually takes place a year after the events of X-Men: The Last Stand. It depicts Logan running away from his problems, mourning the loss of his love, Jean Grey. Maybe this decision was made by screenwriters Mark Bomback and Scott Frank after the shit-storm Origins made of Wolverine's backstory; this film could have easily taken place in 1980's Japan with Wolverine roaming the countryside, memories lost, trying to find himself. But I'm glad they set it in the continuity of the X-Men films. It brings a proper denouement to Wolverine's actions in The Last Stand. He was forced to kill the woman he loves; that's not something that should be glossed over in two minutes of wrap-up.

Another improvement The Wolverine had over Origins is a lack of mutants. Why do I say 'improvement'? Well, if you've seen Origins (you poor bastard, you then you would remember that the writer's idea of fixing plot holes is to throw a mutant at it. Looking at the IMDB page for Origins, I count no less than 9 mutants (was Silver Fox a mutant? I don't remember. If so, that would make 10). And that's all without even clicking on "Full Cast". Yes, I get that the whole point of Wolverine and the X-Men is that they are mutants. But that doesn't mean the mutants should be your Deus Ex Machina when writing the film. By not cramming so many mutants into the story, Bomback and Frank managed to make Wolverine the star. They focused on his powers, his emotions, and his recklessness, which is what you want to see in a Wolverine movie.

The biggest plus for The Wolverine is that they decided to stick with one storyline, as opposed to Origins that took all of the most important aspects of Wolverine's past and crammed it into a 107 minutes of film. They could have easily made a trilogy of X-Men Origins: Wolverine films, in which the first concentrated on his past in Canada, the second with his relationship with Sabretooth and Silver Fox, and the third capping off the Weapon X project and possibly (dare I say it) his time with Alpha Flight. But shoving them all together killed it, just like it killed Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer (another movie I have to apologize for).

Is The Wolverine an over-the-top action movie? Yep. But it manages to portray another side of Wolverine that hasn't been explored in the other films, mainly his fighting ability. He is trained in all forms of martial arts and has always been inspired by the Japanese culture.And though they don't really go into how he got to Japan in the first place and learned his fighting skills, I did enjoy seeing him in that setting.

Also, it was nice to see his relationship with Yukio on screen. Wolverine has always managed to become a surrogate father figure for a number of female characters in the comics. We saw a glimpse of this in the first X-Men movie with him and Rogue. But he's also helped to foster Kitty Pryde (teaching her martial arts which later urged her to adopt the Shadowcat code name) and Jubilee. His relationship with Yukio actually came before all of that and it was nice to see that in the film. Yukio proved to be quite a bad-ass, becoming Wolverine's unofficial sidekick. I hope that they decide to include her in later movies but I doubt that will happen.

But as I said earlier, the film isn't perfect. There were a number of issues that I had with the plot, mainly how they treated the Silver Samurai. I won't go into details but it's quite a departure from the comics version of the character. It does work within the context of the movie, and manages to squeeze out a decent twist in the process, but it left me with that "What the hell?" feeling.

I also had some trouble figuring out Viper's motivation. She played a big part in the film; all of the events of the movie can be attributed to her involvement. But it's never quite clear why. I mean, we can plainly see the motivations of the other characters, but Viper's is never made clear. Maybe it's just me and that I missed it, but if so, then that's the perfect definition of "clear". I think that Viper was poorly utilized and would have been better off in a movie that focused on Hydra, or at least was set in Madripoor.

Though The Wolverine opened with depressing numbers for an X-Men movie (in my eyes), I do hope audiences give it a chance. It's hard to get over the mind rape that was Origins and I understand that, but I feel this movie is enough to help redeem the franchise. Not to mention the awesome mid-credits scene at the end that really helps tie this film into the current X-Men continuity. All in all, I'd say The Wolverine is worth checking out.

And for an actual decent portrayal of Wolverine's past, check out these books:

The Walking Dead Kill Count Infographic

Have you been wondering how the kill count for each season of the hit AMC show The Walking Dead has stood up with each other? Curious as to how many zombies have been dispatched via blunt-force trauma versus bladed weapons? Well, the good folks at The National Post have put together one of the greatest infographics I've ever seen, outlining each on-screen zombie kill, weapon used, and who committed the kill. They also show how the body counts for each season relate to each other. This must have been some tedious work, but damn, do I appreciate it!

Update: Apparently, Blogger hates long images like that, despite the hi-res that I uploaded. Click on over to the actual post here so that you can read the information.

Hitting the NaNoWriMo Goal

It's been a long, hard, grueling November. Every day after spending 8 plus hours at a job that drains the life out of me, I've come home, putzed around on the internet for twenty minutes, and set out to work. Since November 1, I have chained myself to the computer for hours on end, typing out the words that will comprise my second novel. And I'm happy to say all of the effort I've put into it has paid off as I've completed NaNoWriMo as a winner.

I started NaNoWriMo as a way to prove to myself that I could do it. Since I first learned about the event from reading No Plot? No Problem! a few years back, I was intrigued by the experiment. Writing 50,000 words in the span of 30 days sounded like an extreme undertaking, especially at that time when I never considered writing a novel myself. But even after I completed my first novel, which took me a whopping four years to complete and is still not even available (though it will be soon), the thought of writing one in a month was astounding.

But I set out to do it, and the more I wrote, the more attention I paid to it. Of course, this first draft isn't perfect. In fact, it's probably absolute shit, but it does have the makings of a good story; a decent plotline, fun characters, and plenty of action. Can I make it good? Absolutely. That's what December is for (but I think I'll be taking some time off before I jump into editing).

One of the most exciting things about crossing the finish line was getting a neat little certificate commemorating the achievement.

The whole idea of NaNoWriMo is a great encouragement to writers that feel they don't have the time to write. Finding time is one of the hardest parts of writing and NaNoWriMo teaches writers how to put those little moments to good use. While you're waiting for the coffee to finish brewing you can easily bang out 100 words, or when you get stuck at a railroad crossing on the way to work, dictate a few paragraphs into your phone. The time is there; using it wisely is the hard part.

Anyone else out there take part in NaNoWriMo? I'd love to hear who you are doing/have done. Is this your first time challenging yourself or are you a yearly participant? What do you think of your finish product? Let me know in the comments or you can email me at CautionIdiotAtPlay@hotmail.com!

A Short Sighted View of NaNoWriMo

So I was just on the can doing my morning business, browsing Facebook on my phone when this article popped into my news feed.

Monkeys With Typewriters & Why I Hate NaNoWriMo

Being waist deep in NaNoWriMo myself, I decided to check it out. While I respect the author's opinion of the event, I must say that I think he has the wrong perception of the event.

If you don't know what NaNoWriMo is, it's a month long call to arms to authors to produce a novel length word, of 50,000 words of more, within the 30 days of November. It's fast, it's frenetic, and yes, it's all about word count. A few of the novels that will be produced will be readable, but most will be utter shit. That's basically how ANYTHING goes if you've got a huge number of people rushing to complete something in a short amount of time.

One point that the author of the article and I agree on is that the majority of novels written in 30 days will not be good. Hell, my novel is a shaky read in most places. But the author then goes on to assume that, come December 1, participants of NaNoWriMo will stick a fork in the book and call it done, sending it away for publisher review and waiting for that 6-figure advance to come rolling in.

Not exactly.

Any writer worth his salt knows that a first draft is not good. Even the best ideas look terrible when jotted down for the first time. My first yet-to-be-published novel took 10 revisions before I was happy with what I had left. And even that, I feel like I can go back and revise it again. I want to create the best work possible before I put it in front of an audience.

So why does he assume that everyone who partakes in NaNoWriMo will finish on November 30? I love my novel so far; I love the idea that I had, the characters that I've molded, and the situations I've created for them. But once I hit that 50,000 word mark, I know I'm not done. I know that I need to go in there and tighten up my language, word tense, and character development.

That's how books get written.

When you build a house, you first need to lay the foundation. Then you need to erect the framework. Then you hammer in the sheet rock, build the walls, install windows, and on and on. Novel writing is no different. NaNoWriMo is a great way to encourage writers to lay that foundation, to get them started on the road to being a novel writer. Will many writers feel they're finished by the end of November? Yes, but they'll soon realize that they aren't writers. Will a lot of writers not have the persistence to go back and revise their work? Yep, but again, it weeds out the wannabes with no passion. Will some writers actually work with their book  until they can finally be proud of what they've produced? Yes, without a doubt.

To take an analogy from the writer of that author, no, pressure does not always lead to creating a diamond. However, NaNoWriMo isn't about creating diamonds. November is used to find that crusty, ugly gem that no one would dream of putting into a wedding ring. THAT'S what November is for. But once you have that gem, it will still need to be cut and polished and made beautiful, something that can be admired by everyone else. Not everyone participating in NaNoWriMo will actually do this, but to those that do, it's a great time.