Category: 1

The reason I was attending Wondercon was that Activision brought me out to promote “Spider-Man: Edge of Time.” Since I was out here on their dime, I wanted to make sure that anyone who wanted to see me had to come to the panel. But I didn’t want to be a prisoner of my hotel room for two days.

So I put together a Green Hornet costume and walked around for two days. No one knew it was me. It was a kick the way people would say, “It’s the Green Hornet!” rather than, “It’s some guy in a Green Hornet costume.” Plenty of people took my picture. I encountered a couple of other Hornets, including one guy who had a photo perfect re-creation of the 1960s version, complete with Hornet sting (although he was sporting a red beard. To my mind, if you’re going to do a character, commit to it. Lose the beard.) And best of all, I had conversations with people I’ve known for years and they had no clue who I was. I honestly wasn’t sure it would work.

I was packing a 1960s style Hornet gun that Kath painted up for me. To me the major thing that made it work was that I inset a pair of flip-up sunglasses lenses into the eye holes of the mask. So it gave me an eyeless look that added an extra layer of creepiness to it.

It was a fun and different way to spend the con. Plus, considering I was wearing a full suit, a black leather duster, and a wool hat, I think I dropped five pounds of water weight.

PAD

I didn’t know the press release was going to go out before Wonder Con, but apparently it did. So:

The next Spider-Man game from Activision will be “Spider-Man: Edge of Time” which will feature the Amazing Spider-Man teaming up on a decades-spanning adventure with Spider-Man 2099. And yes, I wrote the script.

I’m out at Wonder Con right now where I will be on a panel at 4:30 PM Saturday to talk about the game and show footage from it.

PAD

We’re soliciting your vote for Coheed and Cambria. Go here to enter your ballot. It’s very close, but we can put it over the edge. Voting closes at midnight tonight.

MTV’s Musical March Madness has arrived at the regional finals, where the eight remaining bands will go through one more rigorous contest in an effort to get to the Final Four. Which of the Elite Eight bands will end up in the Final Four? You have just under 48 hours to decide what the rest of Musical March Madness looks like.

Voting for all Elite Eight match-ups will close on Thursday, March 31 at midnight. As always, you can follow all the voting here.

(6) Coheed and Cambria vs. (9) Disturbed
Now this is some serious business. Defending champs Coheed and Cambria had to go through the ringer and pull off some last-second heroics in order to topple Avenged Sevenfold in the Sweet 16. They run up against a dominating Disturbed squad, who have taken out the top-seeded Foo Fighters and then laid waste to a very spry Patrick Stump. Can Coheed and Cambria continue their winning ways, or will Disturbed deliver the New York band’s first ever Musical March Madness defeat? Who will earn the right to represent the Midwest in the Final Four? Your votes decide it!

There’s a military slang referring to someone’s location. And it’s a number. The phrase would be like “We need a twenty on the General,” or something like that.

Anyone know off hand for sure what the number is and whether that would be a correct example of its usage?

PAD

Last year, when Jason Bay was brought onto the Met and hailed as one of the great hopes for the injury-plagued team, I began Bay Watch as people were invited to predict how long until–not if, but until–Bay wound up on the DL. The answer, as it turned out, was July 27, after sustaining a concussion several days earlier while chasing down a Dodgers fly ball.

But it’s a new season and I want to start on a positive note.

So…Jason Bay, during spring training, has apparently strained his ribcage during batting practice (following earlier back pains) and may wind up on the DL. So this year’s Bay Watch is…predict when, or if, he’ll be in the starting lineup.

PAD

Obama is addressing the nation right now about what’s going on in Libya. About time. Might as well live blog it below the cut line.

PAD

Continue Reading “Finally” →

Go check out “Paul.” A self-proclaimed love letter to Spielberg (who even has a cameo), it chronicles the adventures of two nerds played by Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, doing for alien encounter films what they’ve done for zombie flicks and cop movies. On a road trip following the San Diego Comic Con, they wind up unwillingly giving a lift to a convivial alien (voiced by Seth Rogen) who is on the run from an MIB-like agency that wants to pick his brain…literally. Filled with countless in-jokes and inspired meta casting (who runs the agency that’s out to get the alien? Sigourney Weaver, of course), “Paul” will enable you to discern the kindred spirits in the theater by who laughs at certain lines (ex: dialogue from “Star Wars,” “Aliens,” and other classics show up at unexpected and yet wholly appropriate moments.) Along for the ride is SNL’s Kristen Wiig as an die-hard bible thumper who unexpectedly has her world widened and winds up reveling in using profanity (badly) and exploring physical pleasure (awkwardly).

Naturally this is the kind of film that Oscar will never have any truck with, but if it’s not up for a Hugo next year, there’s no justice.

PAD