Elementary my dear watson

After watching a newish anime, Brave 10, I came to think:  What is our obsession with the elements?

In brave 10 they use 8 different elements, such as ice, water (technically the same thing), earth, lighting, etc. which are represented by different characters.  I then came to realise that several other anime use the elements in their stories.  Anime such as Naruto, the Last Airbender, and Fairy Tale are all good examples.

But this isn't just limited to Anime.  You find them in comic characters such as Geoforce, Thunder, Captain Cold and Storm.  Movies such as the Fifth Element, series such as against the elements, games and even literature all make use of the elements as parts of story-lines.

My hypothesis regarding our fascination with the elements dates back to the start of civilisation.  At first we held reverence for the elements, fire was dangerous; water was life giving.  As time went on we realised we can manipulate these elements.  We could start our own fires, use earth to build things.  Now we make our own lightning (electricity), divert rivers as needed, and even bend the earth into mega structures.

Our reverence for these elements pushed us to try master them, to prove we were more powerful than they were.  Sometimes we succeed, sometimes we don't.  And sometimes... it's the elements that humble us, and remind us of how truly powerless we are against these forces of nature.

Jeffery Deaver, suspense or yawn-dice?

Before I start off on this post, let me first let you know a little about my taste in books.  Generally I'm a massive fantasy fan (not mainstream fantasy though), although I do dabble in Sci-Fi, comedy, biographies. horrors and fantasy from time to time.  I find love stories to be repetitive and action books are best left for the screen.

Knowing this, I have found one Suspense writer I do enjoy reading. Jeffery Deaver. For those of you that have no idea who I'm talking about, he wrote the bone collector and the newest 007 book (Carte Blanche).  If one had to see his picture, one would think he was a creation of Stephan King.



His books are typically crime investigation, with most of his books centring on Lincoln Rhyme, an ex forensic investigator disabled from the neck down.  He has now expanded his repertoire to include Kathryn Dance, who uses body language to solve crimes.  Deaver is a former attorney with degrees in journalism and law, who's books are generally well researched and accurate.  One can relate to his characters and their plights, in fact, I have often gotten lost in his stories.  The combines logic and science with unpredictable human nature easily and fluidly.  After all this, is it any wonder he has won accolades such as:

• the steel dagger (British crime writers' association)
• book of the year for the Cold Moon (Japanese mystery writer's association)
• the British Thumping Good Read award
• Novel of the year for the Bodies Left Behind (International Thriller writers' association)

However despite all these accolades, he does have his own pitfalls.  Firstly, suspense is not every ones cup of tea.  Many of his books seem to follow a formula, with one accurately guessing what will happen next.  He tends to jump into the situation very fast, only skimming over his main characters.  He often reveals too much about the killer, letting some of the suspense fall away.  Lastly he tends to get too technical about some of the forensic items used to solve cases, which then flies over the head of the reader.

For me he is an enjoyable read, as long as I alternate between his Rhyme books and his other more stand alone novels.  This stops the predictability and allows me to forget about any character faults he might have written. However I would suggest you read one of the following and decide for yourself.

Suggested reads:
The Cold Moon
Bodies Left Behind
The Devil's teardrop

A brief history of comics... the second installment

So after a brief breather, I shall continue with a shortened introduction to the history of comics:

The Bronze age (1970-1985)

There is no definate start to this age, no defining moment of creation (like the creation of superman in the golden era).  This was a steady shift in the mindset of the studios.  This age was the beginning of a more human-centred approach to comics.  Where you find out exactly how human each of these characters really are.  Notable examples are Spiderman with the death of Gwen Stacy, and Speedy from Green Arrow with a drug addiction. 

Another notable movement in this era was the relaxation of some regulations with regard to the supernatural.  This meant characters such as Ghost Rider and Swamp thing could be created.  The era also saw the introduction of several comic series which would later be turned into movies, Conan, Red Sonja, Kull, John Carter and Dark Shadows, to name a few (more on the impact of these comics on movies in a future blog entry).


Notable titles worth reading:
Death of Gwen Stacy
Demon in a Bottle (Iron Man)
Secret Wars (Large Marvel crossover)
Crisis on Infinate Earths (Large DC crossover)


Footnote: The DC implosion happened during this age, with the cancellation of many of its titles

the Death of Gwen Stacy

The Modern Age (1985-2011)

Yet another reinvention of the comic book world struck with The Watchmen.  This escalated the trend set in the bronze age, bringing to the fore the darker side of the super world.  Heros turned to villians, those you thought unkillable died, heroes were put through psychological torture and many were brought back to life.

Although this age saw, according to my opinion, some of the best story arcs to date; it also had some of the worst.  The most notable thing in this age is all the contingency errors, the back story rewrites and the often impossible ways they went about 'fixing' things (reality punch anyone?).  Another trend was the increased occurence of major events, reaching the point where there was an event every few months.

Although most experts have called this age an open ended one, I disagree.  Now that both Marvel and DC have decided to relaunch their titles, I think we might be in for a new age...

What should you expect from this new age? Read my predictions in one of my future entries.

Notable titles worth a read:
Death of Superman (Superman)
Identity crisis (cross over)
Death in the family (Batman)
Marvel vs DC (cross over)
Civil war (cross over)
Knightfall (Batman)
Kraven's last hunt (Spiderman)
House of M (X-Men)
Planet hulk (Hulk)
Amalgam titles (Marvel vs DC cross over)
Avengers vs X-Men (cross over)
Hush (Batman)

A brief history of comics... Part 1

As anyone that knows me will be able to tell you, I'm a massive fan of the comic world.  I will confess, I am not the biggest source of knowledge when it comes to comics. In fact; my memory often leaves me when I most need it.  But despite all this I will still try give you a run down of what I know.

I was lucky to be brought into this marvelous world by my father, who was an avid collector (at least until the stories started getting out of hand).  Thanks to him I can give you an idea of what happened in all the different ages (This is what the different era/generations of comics are called).  I will also give you a better idea of where everything came from, what I believe their plans are, and where we will most likely land up.

The origins

The start of it all, the years of the mystery men.  The times of what if I could actually...
Admitedly I don't know much about these comics other than they were the prelude to greater revolution.  However wikipedia has kindly offered (okay not offered, but I have cited them tyvm) their knowledge to me.  According to wiki one of the more mainstream british comics started in this era, although now it has sunk to a shadow of its former glory... the beano and the dandy.  These are the more family friendly comics that one day spawned the likes of Dennis the menace (not the one you know) and his pal gnasher.

The Golden Age (1938-1950)

This is where most fans believe comics really began.  The start of the skyrocketing popularity of comics, which saw the advent of heroes such as Superman, Batman, and Green lantern for DC, and Namor and Captain America for Marvel.

These comics are usually very rare and extremely expensive. Most people wonder how a comic can be worth that much (Action Comics #1 sold for over $2,1 million in 2011).  The answer is actually quite silly.  During the golden age something incredible had happened, that would only happened once before and has not since been repeated... The world went to war.  Of course not only did this kick-start the comic industry, as everyone sought a bit of escapism, but it also resulted in the biggest attrocity to happen to comics.  Recycling.  Kids were marched by their parents to do their civil duty, to hand in all recyclable paper (ie their comics) in order to create war posters.

But the war ended, the allies won leaving comic manufacturers to spin massive tales of victory.

Footnote: Walt disney comics out sold all others during this time.

 


The Silver age (1950-1970)

These are probably the years my father looks fondly back on, as this is the age he started collecting in. Most comics in this era were still the one story kind, with very few major events.  Each title had its dedicated team, and no thought was given to contingency within the different universes.  With many of the golden age readers growing older and losing interest, the market geared itself up for major renovations.  This age saw in the introduction of the team aspect.  With teams such as the JLA and Fantastic four coming in.  However the individual heroes did not die out.  Spiderman and the Flash were amongst those being introduced.

This age was not without its fair share of controversy though.  Characters were reinvented.  Many people were against this (as many people always are when confronted with change).  When writers were faced with the challenge of how to change characters, without scaring away loyal fans of older titles, they came up with an interesting idea (not quite new to sci-fi lovers): Create an alternate universe.  This was an awful idea, with repurcussions would only be felt in years to come.

Footnote: Harvey comics first made their appearance at this time (the makers of casper, little lotta, huey, etc)

TO BE CONTINUED...

The Mythos of bartending

I thought it apt that the first of my posts be something that was part of my life for 5 years.  Its often glamourised by media, and sounds like the coolest proffession to some people.  Yup, I was a barman.

Contrary to popular belief, bartending is not the same as being a barman.  Let me break down the words for you so that you can better understand the difference:

• Bar - tending: The process of tending to the bar and its customers
• Bar - man: The occupation or manning of a bar

Basically; Bartending is the care of all your customer, trying your utmost to make them feel at home and comfortable.  Listening to the custome is as much a part of the job as what pouring drinks are.  Barmaning on the other hand, is about servicing (not helping, as that includes some of the above aspects) as many customer as possible.

Some may wonder why I chose to be a barman and not a bartender (as it is a choice, and I've known a few bartenders, as rare as they are).  To be frank, I didn't know there was a differnce in the beginning.  It took a manga called Bartender to make me see the difference (not that it changed anything).  As a student, one of your main concerns will always be money.  This meant I needed to help as many people as fast as possible in order to make maximum tips.  Naturally  service suffers when you do speed. 

Another reason would be the location.  It's alot easier to be a bartender when you have few customers, when the place is higher class, and people actually want a bartender and not a barman.  Hatfield.  Many exciting and laughable stories started with "and we went to hatfield". People in hatfield are there for one reason only: to drink as much as possible in as short a time as possible.

So ask yourself; would you be able to be a bartender when everyone around you is drunk, when they think you are only there to give them drinks as fast as possible, when people think that because you are in the service industry they can do what they want and speak to you how they want?  Or would you; like me, be a barman.

Introduction to an extra ordinary life.

So yeah, I thought I'd try out this blogging thing. I, like +M.C Milton, was concvinced by a friend to start a blog.

So lets start off by telling you more about me, what I expect to write (and writhe) about.  Expect a few rants, a few raves, and more than your fair share of yawns. 

I think I've aptly titled my blog: Making the ordinary... extra ordinary.  Note, not extraordinary.  I'll be using my time on the blog to post how seemingly ordinary things (and sometimes little known facts of the extraordinary nature) can seem ordinary and boring to those that know anything about everything.

I hope to bring my pessimistic optimism to all my blog posts.  A warning to all reading my blog, my humour is somewhat dry at times, and I have a tendency to question irrelevant things.

Now for the content:  The content will hopefully consist mostly of such geekly things such as comics, boardgames, anime, etc.  However you can expect my insight too on my new working life, politics and general human behaviour.  So feel free to skip the parts you hate (or yawn at them), read what you love, and feel free to share, flame or comment.  I'm thick skinned after all.