Cartoon Review: Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H.

One of the best things about laundry evenings with my children is Netflix. We pick a series on Netflix and plow through folding 3-5 baskets of laundry. The laundry gets done. The house feels clean. And sometimes we pick a pretty awesome show. The other night we tried Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H for the first time.

At first I was a bit skeptical. It's a cartoon, rated Y7. So would I as an adult be bored, annoyed? Would my kids who are above that age range feel the same? Doesn't Agents of Smash just sound like a bit of a childish reach? 

However, within the first few seconds of the opening episode, my fears began to wane as I hear the voice talents of Seth Green. From his first appearance in my view in Can't Hardly Wait to Buffy to The Italian Job, all the way through to his appearances on TableTop, I have always enjoyed his work. I relaxed and decided to just let the smash happen. 

It's a cartoon and they certainly do love to smash. Cartoonish violence on a level of Looney Tones at times. It was a classic cartoon. The first episode sets the stage for the series, a group of Gamma ray enhanced "hulks" including the original Hulk (no reference to Bruce Banner), Red Hulk, She-Hulk, a Conan style Hulk and the Seth Green voiced A-Bomb, previously known as Rick Jones. 

The team is placed on par with the Avengers or S.H.I.E.L.D. and they deal with all types of villains from The Leader to the living planet Ego. What surprised me most is that the staging, that of a we series designed to show the softer side of the Hulk, actually works quite well. Cutting to confession booth style interviews with each of the Hulks helps to balance out the constant smashing, growling and grunting. Hulk even seems to have a moral or lesson to impart each episode. I honestly didn't see Hulk as the logical, wise leader of a team with Mr Rogers-like themes coming through.

The series makes good use of the Marvel Universe both in villains and guest star heroes. Spider-Man, Iron Man and many other heroes team up with the Hulks from time to time. It created an interesting and fun sideline for me to see how they worked these heroes and their position in this version of the Marvel Universe. 

The series also makes excellent use of a myriad of voice talents. Besides Green, the vocal stylings of Clancy Brown, Eliza Dushku, Drake Bell, Chi McBride, Adrian Pasdar, Terry Crews and even Oscar winner JK Simmons all add to the fun of Agents of SMASH. 

The talent is vast and latey vocal actors have been a fascination to me. Several actors from Geek and Sundry's Critical Role appear as well and that is one of my current binge watching choices. Another series I need to review... 

Nonetheless. The evening was a success. Laundry was folded. We laughed at the smashing. We talked about the morals and themes that Mr Rogers' Hulk imparted. All it all it was an excellent Netflix choice for our evening. 

If you like cartoonish violence. If you enjoy good clean fun about smashing and destruction. If you are a stereotypical 8 year old boy. You will enjoy Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. 

Movie Review MINOR SPOILERS: Mission Impossible Rogue Nation

After a misstep in the middle of the series by going to hardcore and trying to make Ethan Hunt more like Jack Bauer; dark and gritty, the Mission Impossible series found it's feet again with the fourth installment. It was fun, over the top stunts and action. They found the right tone and pacing. The fun continues in Rogue Nation. 

I was able to see it in IMAX and I highly recommend and prefer that format over 3D. The clarity, crispness over all field of vision dominance are vastly superior to look how cool this effect of a thing in your face is?!" 3D style. The visuals in Rogue Nation were outstanding, especially during the motorcycle chase scene. 

With so many movies, you wonder if you saw the best stunts, effects or jokes in the trailer. Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt hanging of the side of the plane has been in all the trailers and promotional material. I was surprised of the timing of it in the film. The whole film had me engaged and not sure where it was going next. 

Cruise is Cruise and I still believe that Hunt is his most comfortable role. Simon Pegg is perfect as the nerdy foil and the movie gives the two a lot more to do in terms of creating and dealing with their interpersonal dynamic. 

Likewise setting up Jeremy Renner as the behind the scenes administrator and giving him a foil in Alec Baldwin justifies his part much better than as the presumed heir apparent to Hunt as he was last time. Ving Rhames fills out the team another technology link but isn't given that much to do. 

The main villain is ok. And the film makes the governments/structures of modern spy work more the villain than one man. But as someone who had an early crush on GI Joe's female antagonist, The Baroness, it's no surprise that Rebecca Ferguson's Ilsa Faust would be my favorite. 

Faust and Hunt's give and take, mystery and intrigue give the movie it's soul as much as Pegg and Cruise give it a heart. Ferguson pulls of so much with her eyes alone. Especially in the scene with her MI6 handler. I am smitten. 

Overall I found the twists and turns intriguing. The filmography and sound excellent. And the pacing and tone spot on. 

There should never be any doubt that Hunt and his compatriots will succeed for they always do. What I enjoyed most about Rogue Nation was I often couldn't figure out how they would. And when they did I enjoyed every single second of it. 

If you enjoyed the other Mission Imposisble movies and have a night to suspend disbelief and marvel at stunts, explosions, car chases and some interesting interpersonal dynamics, I highly recommend Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation. 

Self Reflection.

I never hurt for thinking. I do it a lot. Repetitively. Constantly. Today I took an assessment for a potential opportunity and I had to write about myself. Since I will not have future access to this assessment, I wanted to make sure I had a copy. Might be good to have in the future.

I am diligent in learning. I seek out knowledge and strive to understand. At times the unknown can frighten me. I can be dropped into a room of strangers and make the entire room feel more comfortable. I'm a great date for that wedding where you don't know anyone. I like to have a plan but forced structure can at times frustrate me. I am a father. I am passionate about the things and people important to me. I need artistic and creative outlets as part of my life. I need new challenges. I expect great things out of myself and place a lot of pressure and self analysis because of it. I believe that humor is the gateway emotion, if I can get you smile or laugh, then anything is possible. My personal philosophy is to be a Life Concierge. If you need it or want it, I can provide a way to it. I often help friends job search, deal with relationship issues, career choices. I don't believe that any trivia is useless. I love providing knowledge. I love to educate/expand our shared knowledge. I love being useful to people who are questioning or going through life choices. Technology and modern media fascinates me. Intellectual property rights laws and issues captivate me. Beauty distracts and inspires me. My children embolden and encourage me. I am a work in progress. But the progress is good. 

Ch-ch-changes

There's a hint of irony that Changes is one of my favorite David Bowie songs. But like all sound, I have to be in the right mood for it. Anxiety and stress is not the right mood. 

Actual changes bring a lot of anxiety and stress for me. So I haven't been listening to much David Bowie lately. 

Accepting change, even good change is always a challenge. This week has had a lot of potentially really good change and working to manage my stress and anxiety. Like any week it's been a roller coaster. 

Something that I have tried is to read quotes or other people's thoughts on change and use those to inform my own opinion of how I am dealing with change. 

"Change always comes bearing gifts" - Price Pritchett 

I do not know who Price Pritchett is but he/she is full of crap. I can't remember the last time I received a gift from change. It brings good or bad stuff. But I've yet to get a "gift". That one must be too clever for me. 

"You can avoid having ulcers by adapting the to the situation: If you fall in a puddle check your pockets for fish" - Author Unknown

That sounds ridiculous. I can't believe no one has claimed it yet. Fall in a puddle, check your pockets for fish should really be a meme. I checked. No fish. 

"If you want to make enemies, change something." Woodrow Wilson

Pretty depressing there Woody. But I guess the whole World War thing would put you in a down mood. Also his first name is actually Thomas. Yet he chose to be called Woodrow. I can't take advice from someone who does that. 

"We all have big changes in our life that are basically a second chance" Harrison Ford

Well that's an unexpected addition to the quote list. But I guess if your second chance is getting to become Indiana Jones after being Han Solo, change isn't such a bad thing. 

I could never be Indy. Can't pull off the hat. 

"Feelings sometimes sway side to side as the heart and mind fight for control" - Unknown

True. Deep. Honest. Conflicted. But I was searching for change quotes....how is this in here....

"Always! That is the dreadful word...it is a meaningless word too" - Oscar Wilde 

Damnit Oscar. You're my go to quote machine. This didn't help. 

"Every saint has a past and every sinner a future." - Oscar Wilde 

Now we are talking. That one had a bit of a lift to it. The bittersweet ring of truth. The clever turn of phrase. Progress. 

"All things must change, to something new, to something strange" Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

There we go. Strange. My God is change strange. What I know isn't known. What I saw now can't be seen. What I desired then is not what I need now. 

Change freaks me the fuck out. Good change, bad change - doesn't matter. The anxiety boils in my stomach. The heart races. The mind becomes a hot mess. But the only thing I can really control about change....is how I react to it. 

My body will betray me. My heart will race. My brain chemistry set will boil over. My mind will let all of the worry horses out of the barn. 

"The only way to deal with how I deal with change is to change." - me

I better get better at that. 

Perils of Imagination

Often I am guilty of paralysis by analysis. Especially when I don't understand why something happened. I ruminate, obsess, analyze and breakdown every single moment, sentence, action or inaction. The brain begins to spiral and then I'm stuck. Frozen blue screen of emotion, rational and motivation.

It sucks. And so I have found that I need to distract or derail my runaway train of thought. Activity helps. Music helps. Media helps. People help. 

At times when a train of thought is too powerful, too out of control to try and stop the only chance I have is to pull out my six shooter fire ahead and hope I can divert the train on to another track. Many times I fail. Now and then it succeeds. Today that is how I met Amelia. 

Amelia Danforth is a 28 year old from Minneapolis. Two years ago, she left her first job in Architecture and Design to launch her own think tank with three other individuals focusing on sustainable designed low income housing that addresses the generally poor quality of materials used in low income housing and the lack of renewable energy used to power the facilities. 

Six months into the project Amelia and her partners received a substantial grant from EPA to develop a plan for solar powered gardens retro fitted on the roofs of several low income housing communities. The deadline for the project is in two weeks and while they have a presentation ready, Amelia worries that the shortcuts one of her partners, David, has added into the project are overly optimistic and doom it to failure. The birth of this project, after nearly two years of labor, is near but potentially precarious.

The stress tends to weigh on Amelia's slender shoulders. Her height, while never imposing at 5'4", seems slightly less due to the weary posture. She still carries herself with the natural grace of a the dancer she was in her youth. The days of dancing were before she took the weigh of the project and in a way, the word, on her shoulders. Amelia saw the big picture from a young age and always had her eyes on the larger goal of community. She was destined and determined to do more, to be more. To make a difference. 

When I saw her at the bank as I do often lately, I could see the stress evident on her face. She keeps her face short and manageable, not so much for fashion but for easier mornings. And since she often sleeps in her office it's easier to deal with in the office sink when it's short. Her simple white blouse could easily be confused for a t shirt at a glance but the detail and grace of the sheer shoulder panels gives it a more feminine feel. The necklace that she always wears was apparent. A long chain with a large locket or broach. There is something classic and familial about the necklace, it as the heir of a family heirloom and when she speaks of stressful things her hand naturally and absentmindedly holds the broach or amulet in her elven hands. The black thick glasses could be assumed hipster or trendy. In fact they are like many things in Amelia's life, with our purpose. Thinner frames tend to break when dropped or rolled on while sleeping on her office couch. 

There was a startlingly aura of strength, anger and pain the reverberated from her as she sat waiting for the bank manager. I come to the bank everyday to make a deposit and before this week had only seen her occasionally. But this was the 4th day in a row she was waiting for the manager. Last Monday, she noticed an irregularity in the think tank's financial and began to investigate. At first she assumed it was a banking or accounting error. As she learned more from the bank and her other investigations, she knew it was much more than a simple error. 

Maybe it was the week of stress. Maybe it was the impending deadline. Maybe it was the fact they screwed up her coffee for the third day in a row at the suburban drive through shop she hit just before the bank. What ever it was, she poured it all out to me, a slightly familiar faced total stranger, when I made the mistake of simply asking in the classic Minnesotan way, "How's it going?" 

All that from a picture I see in the bank almost every day. An amazing powerful imaginary woman. Pure Adam imagination run wild. 

I'm glad to have met Amelia and I can't wait to hear/write more of her story. 

The Picture.

It's a good thing I haven't been tasked by the gods to deal with Pandora's Box. I couldn't deal with not being able to put it all back in. Eventually. 

Something that has always been hard for me is accepting change. The box gets opened. Things evolve. People grow together. People grow apart. 

Life marches on and that little bit of time and space you long for or wish to hold still is gone forever. 

I love pictures because when they are done right they capture time and space and reality and hold it still for eternity. 

The smiles never fade. The colors never run. Love and lust don't evaporate. Things don't change. They are still. 

I can still see that picture. I can remember that minuscule moment. I haven't given up on that if.

But life marches on. It is not still. It will continue change. A constant regimental March of growth, change and death and birth. 

I can't fight the flow of the tide. I March along. I change and evolve and love and live and die. 

Through it all, clutched in my dirty, weathered fists, that picture remains.  

Vail Vacation Day 3: Hot cars and Thin Air

So far this trip has gone exceptionally well. Very little in the way of problems or drama. Even the ones we have encountered have been relatively minor, long lines, lack of kids menu options and yesterday, a hot car. 

A hot engine to be precise. We were on own way up to Loveland Pass and the car began to run a bit hotter than normal. The usual precautions were taken, air conditioning off, coasting as much as we could. But because of the car's internal temperature, we decided to make a pit stop on our way to Loveland Pass. In Georgetown, Colorado. 

Georgetown is a lovely little town nestled right against the mountain. It's historic downtown is filled with gift shops, souvenir stores and antique malls. We stopped for ice cream in a homemade candy shop and walked around town for a bit constantly reminding ourselves to keep our hands in our pockets. Antique stores always seem to have a severe hate on for children. Signs stating that only well behaved children are permitted and that the old adage of you break you buy still applies. Particularly odd when one "antique" store has brand new puppets right next to fragile glass objects of art...

After we exhausted all the shops, we went to check back on the internal temperature of the car. As this was happening, the kids and I explored a bit more of Georgetown off the beaten paths. A few blocks away from the Main Street was an old public school house that was being restored and one of the churches in town. Both beautiful brick buildings built in 1874. The kids and i had fun determining just how old these buildings were. 

Right next to the church, we discovered a quickly rolling creek that seemed to run right through the center of town. Buildings and houses were built right up to the water, giving it more of a canal or waterway feel. However I have never seen a canal with such an aggressive current. 

We put on our urban explorer hats and tracked the flow for about 3 blocks, cutting through alleys and following the path of the creek until we were stopped by the loca electrical facility. Even I'm not dumb enough to go play under power lines. Again. 

Once our urban exploring was done, the car was sufficiently cooled down and ready to head up to Loveland Pass.