Colorado Symphony

Saw the Colorado Symphony Orchestra play on Friday night. I try to at least see one show a year. Always something neat to see when seeing live music. Fascinating to see the many parts putting together musical notes that simply sound amazing. Jeffrey Kahane lead the show but the unbelievable part of the show was 21 year old Natasha Paremski. New nothing about her...when I look for shows I always try to get a solo artist because it seems to me that someone who can get up there and play a memorized piece of music has got something special. She played Corigliano's 1967 concerto and just played it wonderfully. The funny thing is that in the program she was this blond seemingly frail little thing and yet when she walked out she was very "in control" with a black dress and bright red shoes! Wow what an entrance. Then she played a fantastic piece almost seemingly being taken over by the piece. Afterwards she said the the many changing times in the piece cause her to have to count but while watching her she almost seemed possessed by the piano gods. Great show great performance!

This Week in Comics

Daredevil #107

Dakota North! Just recently cut a passing reference to Miss North and just had get back on board with the adventures of Matt. Don't know what is going on jus that Dakota has been resurrected. Whoopee

Mighty Avengers #14

Okay so this must be Bendis's joke on us all. For the next 6 months we are going to simply get backstories on all that we didn't pick up on when leading up to Secret Invasion. Glad to have it but I hate revisionist history. It would seem to me that hints were dropped but the scattered droppings really just messed up the storylines in the past like trying to do two puzzles at the same time with the pieces all mixed up. Sure one puzzle is fun but finding pieces to an entirely different puzzle can be both frustrating and a big ughhhh!

New Avengers #41
See my rift above...same story different book.

Giant Size Astonishing X-men 1

A big D as in Disappointing. Whedon resurrected some great characters with great stories and then laid an egg on his way out the door. What was the point in all that? Wait for 3 months to get here and that is what was served? Can I just say maybe it was all a bad dream...I will go to the comic store next week and find the real ending to his run? No? Please....maybe Ellis can continue the run but my guess is this was a one shot deal. Great run, now we will have to wait a few years for another good take.

Haiku Wednesday

Dad

He is my hero
My protector, provider
A valuable friend

Mars Phoenix Lander

This landing and the picture to the left is quite impressive. An orbiting spacecraft captures the landing of another spacecraft millions of miles from Earth. Wow that is great precision. Interesting mission although kind of boring from a Rover's perspective. Stationary craft that will do boring looking for water and possibly life. No bouncing this time but an actual landing using rocket thrusters. Should be interesting!

Rox Talk

A 3-3 week against the Giants and Mets. Two teams that really aren't playing all that well...of course neither are the Roxs. The Roxs currently stand at 20-30. Ten games back from division leading D-backs in third place (ohhh we gained a game!). Currently 12-14 at home and 8-16 on the road, the Roxs have been outscored by its opponents 210-253 (expected wins is 21 versus historical wins at 23). On pace for 65 wins with 680 runs scored and 820 runs against. Roxs graphical wins (home in Purple, away in grey). 2008 has been a season of hot and cold streaks!

Weekly WPA leaders (overall as well):

Blah week, Holiday continues to be the only one capable of producing when it counts. Of course the majority of these WPAs came during the game where he hit a home run to tie it and then a single in the 13th to win it. Other than that pretty dismal. Only Buckholz in the pen and Cook on the mound are producing for the team.

Indiana Jones and The Crystal Skull

As documented I am a huge Indy fan. Loved the other three films (probably more than the original Star Wars fan) and I anxiously awaited this one. Was a bit anxious since I loved the first three and just didn't need another Phantom Menace. When movies mean so much you don't want your potential last one of the character to be a bummer. Early reviews seem to indicate that Lucas might have done it again so when I sat down I was a bit concern.

In the end it was a respectable movie. Not great like the first one, on par with the third one, and definitely better than the second. Harrison's portrayal was a bit rusty. He seemed to have lost the feel of the character in the mannerisms and his speech. The action was great and very Spielberg. I got tired of the Forrest Gump aspects of the movie. The whole nuke scene was just goofy. I though Shia did a fine job in a very difficult role. Karen Allen's insertion was kind of lame. I thought they could have done better with her. The ending was on par with other films. I had heard a thing about aliens and I was kind of hoping Lucas wouldn't go there but actually it fit the movie very well. Also thought the tone of the movie was so different and seemed to really fit the whole Red Scare era. Loved the ending with the hat. Overall great film.

This Week in Comics

Captain America 38

Sort of a filler issue with some explanation of who the mystery character is...have to admit I just don't know enough mythology of the character to be able to understand the ramifications of the old pseudo Cap. I am sure there will be a throw down which is kind of predictable but hey it is all good.

Fantastic Four 557

Oh hum another dry boring issue. Boy I expected alot out of this new writing and artist team and frankly they haven't delivered. Granted it is a new start but I really wanted this to be good and it is just not.

Haiku Wednesday

Vacation

No alarm clock buzz
Relax, no stress, no traffic
Why only two weeks?

Just Some Things...

As of today, the Burj Dubai skyscraper in the Middle East stands at 650 meters. The construction has finally surpassed the current tallest man-made structure, the Warsawa radio mast in Poland, which stands at 646 meters. Only another 169 meters to go before the tip of the aircraft beacon is up! Wow a...lmost 800 meters tall! That's big

Around the sixth week of gestation, six swellings of tissue called the hillocks of Hiss arise around the area that will form the ear canal. These eventually coalesce to form the outer ear. Darwin's point, or tubercle, is a minor malformation of the junction of the fourth and fifth hillocks of Hiss. It is found in a substantial minority of people and takes the form of a cartilaginous node or bump on the rim of their outer ear, which is thought to be the vestige of a joint that allowed the top part of the ancestral ear to swivel or flop down over the opening to the ear.

A simple and beautiful mathematical curve known as a logarithmic spiral, a spiral whose separation grows in a geometric way with increasing distance from the center. Also known as the equiangular spiral, growth spiral, and Bernoulli's spiral or spira mirabilis. Nature and Math can be beautiful.

Rox Talk

A 2-4 week against the D-backs (I hate those guys) and Twins (Interleague Play!). Still can't win in the desert and frankly at 1 - 8 have we padded the D-Backs record or are they that good? Before they played the Roxs they were swept in Chicago. It would appear they have our number this early in the season. The Roxs currently stand at 17-27. Eleven games back from division leading D-backs in third place. Currently 9-11 at home and 8-16 on the road, the Roxs have been outscored by its opponents 187-226 (expected wins is 18 versus historical wins at 20). On pace for 63 wins with 689 runs scored and 832 runs against. Roxs graphical wins (home in Purple, away in grey). 2008 has been a season of hot and cold streaks!

Weekly WPA leaders (overall as well):
Reynold second pitching performance was the big gainer of the week. Barmes continues to impress looking to have his stroke back that was there before falling down the stairs (or falling off an ATV!). O'Dowd should be commended for holding on to him. Guess he will be moving to 2B once Tulo comes back. Last week the Roxs hit the quarter post with 40 games in the books. Before the season began I looked at projections, so taking the player's marks at 40 games and projecting out to 162 game season to see how they are all progressing versus what we started with (see graphs below).

Well as much as the pitching has been to blame for the slow start I think the offensive has to take some responsibility. Really only Atkins and Holiday have been meeting expectations. On the positive side, Atkins was projected to score 87 runs but is on pace, based on his start, to score 97 while at the opposite end, Helton who projected to score 92 runs is on pace for 77! Obviously the two big holes is that Nix is no longer in the picture and Tulo is on the shelf. At this point the Roxs are on pace for 693 runs versus a projected run total of 825.

Well starting pitching hasn't been much better but overall pitching has at least stayed on pace based on projections. At the start of the season it was projected that pitching would allow 802 runs and currently they are on pace for allowing 851. Redman, Morales, and Wells are all gone with Rosa and Reynolds stepping in. Cook has been great and Francis and Jimenez awful. Hopefully with warmer temperatures the arms start keeping the team in contention so that when the bats wake up we make a run.

This Week in Comics

Batman 676

Morrison's take on the Dark Knight has been decent. Problem I have with Morrison's writing is that it is incredibly disjointed and jumpy. One really can't get a full appreciation of the work until he is moved on and the individual books have been joined into an anthology. Only then do you see the genius that Morrison does for a character. This was story for the New X-men. Great individual reads but when taken as a body of work it is really a strong read. I find that the Batman stories he has done so far are good but somewhat difficult to grasp at this time.

Cassanova 14

Fraction's work on this is great. Ba and Moon's work is a perfect complement. I love the characters and story even it gets a bit convoluted. Can't wait for Book 3.

Psi Force Classic

OK this was my 80s tribute to the failed ideal that was the New Universe. At the time I believe Marvel was attempting to recreate the perfect storm that was the Lee/Kirby era. Launch a new set of books trying to create some new characters. I thought the ideal was good. Some of the books were decent. Unfortunately I guess people didn't want a whole new set of characters and were happy with the old faithful. I had decided to pick one book and stay with it and try to watch it grow. This one was it...golly re-reading it makes the 80s seem kind of lame! The funny thing is this one must of held up pretty well because it is the only one to get a TPB. Next to StarBrand and the whole Pittsburg destruction I guess this one was the next best loved book.

Contrabass Saxophone

Nothing exciting just something to make you go hmmm...saw this on G4's Attack of the Show and just had to make a comment. What a beast of an instrument. I know nothing about instruments but have always loved Saxophones. This one comes in at 6 feet tall and 45 pounds. Something like 20 exist in the world. Crazy!

Haiku Wednesday

Memorials

It's more than a day
Honor respect our fathers
Lives lost, freedoms gained

Speed Racer - The Movie

I liked the old look of it (picture to the left) and that my friend is probably why the movie flopped this weekend. Great concept, the movie was a great homage to the anime, but I think the crowd it would most likely appeal to, people in their late 30s early 40s and unfortunately the movie tried to appeal to today's teens who frankly have no reason to know who the hell Speed is!

Rox Talk

A 3-4 week against the Cards and San Diego. Could have been worst or could have been better (the team just isn't coming together, too many parts). Could have gained ground against the division leaders but we couldn't seem to beat the worst team in baseball (that would be the Padres). Give credit to Maddux for winning 350 but rookie Reynolds couldn't get it done on Mother's Day. I thought it was a bit early to be bringing up the pitcher of tomorrow but who am I to say? The Roxs currently stand at 15-23. Eight games back from division leading D-backs. Currently 7-10 at home and 8-13 on the road, the Roxs have been outscored by its opponents 164-198 (expected wins is 16 versus historical wins at 18). On pace for 64 wins with 699 runs scored and 793 runs against. Roxs graphical wins (home in Purple, away in grey).

Weekly WPA leaders (overall as well):

Ianetta was the big gainer of the week as well as Barmes. Couple of interesting stats discovered this week. In the Rockies games, for wins the team ERA is 2.59 and in losses it is 9.40 with 26 vs 43 walks in these same decisions. Wow when the pitching stinks it really stinks. Also another interesting stat is that with zero outs opposing teams have a 0.322 OBP with a OPS of 0.759 but with two outs the OBP increases to 0.384 and OPS increases to 0.825. That is crazy...it would appear we can't close the deal...

This Week in Comics

Invincible Iron Man #1
Matt Fraction begins Volume 5 of the Iron Man series. Why is this the 5th reboot of this series? I really hate that Marvel, with some of their older characters, interfere with numbering and start over so that they can get a "boost" in sales by staring a number one again. I love that the X-men are closing in on 500 and my guess is the Iron Man would be somewhere near that milestone has well. We should petition to get continuity thrown back! O yeah the review...great first issue. If Marvel was piggybacking on the success of the movie then this was a great leap. In addition it satisfies us long term readers.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Season 8

Honestly the story lines up to this point have been great but this latest and greatest as just failed in so many ways. First the whole lesbian session with Buffy, then Willow's response, then the Dracula bit, and now with the ending of this issue with what I thought was kind of a cheap stunt. No spoilers but this storyline just hasn't worked. Which is ok because series TV has some downer story lines but this one just plays with the characteristics of the characters we know so well (is that a problem?) and it just seems to me that this story is from bizarro world!

Secret Invasion #2

After last issues I was anxious to get my hands on Issue #2. It didn't disappoint. Thankfully it appears that the 70s Marvel Heroes is not presenting itself with a continuity flaw rather these were just "cloned" heroes and they just think they aren't skrulls. I think the real jawdropper was at the end when the super skrull soldiers come to attack and they have multiple mixed up powers based on the Marvel Universe!

Magazine Updates

Wired

Want to define a word then go www.thebigwordproject.com

What happened to ribofunk

What is Twine?

Pound for pound, making a Prius contributes more carbon to the atmosphere than making a Hummer, largely because of the nickel in the hybrid's battery.

AC is inherently more efficient than heating (it takes less energy to cool a given space by 1 degree than to heat it by the same amount).

Wizard

How the hell is Cyclops rated the number 106th superhero of all time.  He is the heart and soul of the X-Team.

New Yorker

Did you know that Mark Twain visited Israel (actually Palestine) back in 1867?

Our old friend, Malcolm Gladwell, has an interesting article on big ideas.  Overall a decent article but nothing really show stopping.  Did enjoy the section on the phenomenon of simultaneous discovery.  It would seem that lots of things were discovered by two separate groups or individuals right around the same time (Newton and Leibnitz and calculus).  Because of the multiples it would seem that scientific discoveries must in some sense be inevitable(?)

Article goes on to recount a physicist who reads medical journals for fun and came across an article on cancer cells and how at one time are so plentiful in the body.  In addition to being plentiful it would appear they travel through the blood stream quite a many time before ever settling in and actually causing cancer!  As the physicist said, Doctors are terrible at math!  Anyway interesting article.

Haiku Wednesday

Pickles

Spicy, tart, or sweet
It's a disguised cucumber
More than a garnish

Iron Man - The Movie

The first big movie of the 2008 summer movie campaign. Heck of a great start. I'm a big Iron Man fan. Loved the Armor Wars enjoyed some of the early turn of the century work as well. Of all the none team Marvel heroes, Iron Man is by far my most favorite. When the cast for the movie was coming together I was quite impressed. What is it with Hollywood actors and taking superhero roles. Comic books are given such a low respect factor in most mainstream media yet when it comes to getting good actors they all jump at chance to do a movie? Why then doesn't this carry over to lending any importance to what the comic world does?

Anyway Favreau did an outstanding job with the movie and throwing enough bones to us comic book readers to keep us happy. The suit was awesome. Robert Downey Jr did a fantastic job as Tony Stark. Pepper was great. Overall definately a 5 optic blast rating from me! Loved the secret ending! And the best movie ending line of all time. "I am Iron Man" cue Black Sabbath!

Rox Talk

A 2-4 week against Giants and LA. Tough week for the Roxs. Tulo is out until the All Star break. Morales been sent down to regain his form. Roster moves galore. Exciting game when Tulo went out. Ianetta came in to play third and Atkins moved to second. Basically if you look at the wins and losses (below) the last 3 wins have all been by Cook! Probably not a good thing. The Roxs currently stand at 12-19. Nine games back from division leading D-backs. Currently 5-8 at home and 7-11 on the road, the Roxs have been outscored by its opponents 134-169 (expected wins is 12 versus historical wins at 14). On pace for 63 wins with 700 runs scored and 820 runs against. Roxs graphical wins (home in Purple, away in grey).

Weekly WPA leaders (overall as well):
Pretty flat week. A lot of new names (Quintella, Grilli, Herrera, Newman, and de la Rosa). Four game series against the Central leaders, Cardinals and then onto San Diego. The Roxs need to start winning some weeks. Anything to get some more Ws!

Kentucky Derby

Tomorrow is the 134th running of the Kentucky Derby. The 20 starters are:

Who do you like. Big Brown is the favorite but he is sure starting way out on the outside. I like Colonel John for no good reason but I can't wait for the best 2 minutes in sports. One day I am going to make it to the Derby!

UPDATE

Big Brown wins going away winning at 2:01.8. Tragedy with Eight Belles breaking both front ankles and having to be euthanized on the track. Just terrible...an awful sight. The news indicate that, "Reports by veterinarians at 34 tracks across the country between June 2007 and early this year showed synthetic tracks averaged 1.47 fatalities per 1,000 starts, compared with 2.03 fatalities per 1,000 starts for horses that ran on dirt."

David Blaine - Latest Spectacle

David put on quite the show on Oprah setting a new world record of holding one's breath.  He held it for 17 minutes and 4.4 seconds.  Quite a record.  I mean back in the day I could run 3 miles in that amount of time!  An amazing spectacle worthy of a man who is going to try and stay up for a million seconds (I believe that is 11 days)!