SuperOz
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Posts
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Joined
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Thanks for all the good words, folks. As you can imagine, I've only really catnapped and have been following radio and tv reports. My only plan for the day is to stock up on essentials like batteries, water and food.
This video I filmed yesterday on my iPod: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PdoEuuMqBs This was as of 5pm yesterday. I hope to film the river again today.
With luck, I should retain electricity and internet and will be able to sit this out. I feel incredibly sorry for those who are and are continuing to evacuate their homes.
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As some of you may know, there is a major flood event happening in the Australian state of Queensland. As I type this, 75% of the state has been declared a disaster zone and the city where I live in Brisbane is going to be flooded also for the worst time in living memory.
To put it in perspective, the flood plain is the size of Texas or Germany and France combined. I can't stress this enough. Yesterday we had a rural town called Toowoomba that got hit by a flash flood that was described as an inland tsunami.
Today from 9am AEST we had a rainfall event that was unprecedented in that per hour we were having two inches of rain. That lasted for about nine hours and that rain system has since headed south. The levels of water are so much that three states are being affected.
The story is here: http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/floodrelief
I'm in Brisbane and I have to admit to being a bit scared even though where I live won't be affected. But up to 9000 homes will be.
Wish us luck.
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Quote:Yes, poor old John Rhys-Davies....I own the Extended Editions of the original trilogy of movies and the behind the scenes documentaries showed how he was just purely unlucky and suffered damage to his face, with his skin reacting to the makeup. It was bad enough to remove layers of skin from the affected areas, making him look blotchy and odd. Rhys-Davies was known then not to go out as often as the rest of the cast for dinners and the like, and there's even a bit after filming wrapped where he burned the offending facial prosthetic.Originally Posted by Zikar
Never start a day without caffeine man... nevah!
I'm not sure if it's true or not, but I wouldn't be surprised, he had a horrific reaction to the make-up they had him wear that made his experience on the films rather miserable.
He is on the record as saying he would never ever endure that experience again. Now, it's possible they'd be able to find an application for the prosthetics that wouldn't damage his face, but I don't blame the poor man in the slightest for his decision.
Just a note regarding Sir Christopher Lee's involvement in The Hobbit...the producers and Jackson are on record as saying that in deference to Sir Christopher's age and concern over his health over such long distances to travel, they are more than happy to take production to England to accomodate him.
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I can see 'paired' dance emotes, as I've seen on other games. If they work like I think like they would, the animations would run parallel to each other and give the illusion that you're dancing with a partner. I speak of a certain Tolkeinesque game, though the name is only spoken in whispers and discussed in shadow...shadowwww....
The only place I ever saw animations where characters touched was the late lamented Matrix Online which had hugs and handshakes because it tied into the combat system they had which used martial arts moves that involved grapples.
I'll buy into the costume parts certainly and an 'animal' booster. I think that's possibly to make up for people feeling shortchanged with the Mutant Pack, along with possibly a new 'animal' run, which makes sense given the Growl emote.
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....totally and utterly geek out when I'm flying (and it has to be with a cape).
....buy IO sets at 50 because the name sounds cool and it suits my character and I do not give a damn if it doesn't max me out.
....keep revising the costumes on my characters to get them 'just so', making me think that I am distantly related to Janet van Dyne, except a lot taller and a lot poorer.
....surprise myself at the apparent obviousness of some Primary/Secondary pairings and think 'well DUH...that'd be a brilliant character!'
....find myself distracted by shinies on other games, only to come back and find that they offer me better shinies here.
.....don't mind having mitten hands, because so many of the costume options make me look so damn good.
....haven't figured out how to end a decent forum post.
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I think it's a double-edged sword. Ultimately, this 'costumed hero' business is a response to something in society that these people feel motivated to do something about and it's a sense of civic-mindedness that a lot of people talk a lot about but very rarely follow through on. People ultimately believe concrete actions over words, and seeing people (however ludicrous we think they may look) in outfits in public trying to inspire public confidence is not a bad thing.
The obvious downsides are what's been already covered here; the lack of training and skill and resources. I believe there's a website in existence already that is a respository for guidelines on how to coordinate with the police and what you can actually do as a private citizen to help enforce the law. What I could predict happening is the formalisation of such a movement into an organisation (it's a little cliche to say something like the Justice League, but still) that would actively promote the training, skill management and provide resources for such individuals. I find that a much more likely scenario than a single Batman-esque individual coming forth.
That being said, I don't disagree with the prediction that such a person will appear in society in some form. It's an interesting phenomena that the infusion of comics as popular culture has manifested in people willing to emulate these characters, but it's that emulation that has people accepting of them even if they initially see them as joke figures or at worst dangers to themselves and other people.
It is a form of social movement and may pay off to something later on; this I think will be largely dependent on what happens once for example the current run of superhero and hero-themed movies cycles out, which it will as it does with any form of mass entertainment.
I certainly hope it continues, but it does highlight the lack of faith the average person has in the institutions of law and order we ourselves put in place.
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Quote:I'd appreciate that, actually. Found it a bit odd that you couldn't just have access to that stuff for time-travelling stories. But thanks.Originally Posted by Dark_Respite
No, these do not already exist.
However, when I did my "History in the Making" video, several people designed outfits for the original Freedom Phalanx, the Dream Doctor, the original Ajax, etc. I still have the demorecords of them, which you could probably use to reconstruct costume codes if necessary.
Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite
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Do these exist, or would we have to design them? To be specific, I was thinking about an arc set in the past featuring early Statesman, Maiden Justice, etc...but I don't know if their costumes exist or what the state of play is there.
Any help is appreciated.
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Quote:Originally Posted by AzureSkyCiel
And that's why under Statesman's character sheet entry on tropes wiki I included Iron Woobie.
Have some more sad superhero stuff
Good call. I like me some noble heroes.
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Quote:Originally Posted by Oedipus_Tex
My impression has always been somewhat different. I more or less always felt that Statesman was less an actual character than he was a generic guy on the cover art meant to represent the concept of "you could build your own hero!" At least, that is how I interpreted it for years when I would see CoH for sale in video game stores but hadn't yet played the game. And even after I did start playing, it was months in before I realized anyone on the box art was actually present in the game.
As for Silver Age characters in general, I think they make great icons, but I find them frustrating when they are pulled into the modern age, because of the clamp of tradition from an era that was censored so severely. There is a naivety to the Superman archetype that I find extremely spooky when the character is drawn into an updated and "realistic" environment. The character existed in a time when the comics code prevented even such words as "zombie" or "werewolf." But it's also complicated by the fact that these very old characters were MIA when dealing with actual historical situations that could have used some heroism, like the Civil Rights Movement. Some people would suggest that the characters exist in a "vacuum" but I'm not sure I agree. It's more like they existed on a soundstage designed to promote what would be called "an alternative lifestyle" or "an agenda" if another social or ethnic group were to promote it as if it were the "ultimate good."
Well, I think I said it earlier in one of my other posts when I said 'how do you have realistic situations in the most unrealistic genre getting around, superheroes?' I'm pretty sure that goes for characters as well. I'd always argue that the Silver Age as an entirety was affected by society's fears rather than being written simplistictly. All you have to do is look at the origin of the Comics Code Authority that existed all the way into this century and how it effectively demonised comics as a threat to the nation's youth, and you have a situation whereby these characters were not allowed to be portrayed any way other than what they were. It's not naivety, it's artistic censorship writ large.
But I don't think it also by definition renders the notion of iconic figures invalid. We as humans look for heroic figures in all our literature; it's why the Greek myths are still with us, even though we're meant to be a 'Christian society'. We want heroes, we want heroic ideals. We want to see people who represent the very best in humanity to inspire us and lift us up. I personally would rather much look up to those kinds of characters rather than those who would do precisely whatever it took to do the job, simply because as much as you might applaud the outcomes, you would never want them in your society. I think the Jack Bauer character from 24 is a prime example. He's not a hero so much as a necessary evil.
Statesman is intrinsically tied to the Greek mythology and if he could ever have gotten a more mixed bag, it's the inheritance of that particular god, full of such nobility in a lot of ways, but also great tragedy. He is our Zeus, 'the father of all', and he shoulders that burden and that responsibility a lot better than a lot of heroes I've seen.
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Quote:Originally Posted by BlueBattler
Heh. Well, as far as we know, Marcus has been celibate and single ever since Monica died ... that's more than twenty years now.
Surely they'd be okay with him dating NOW ...
(Or maybe not. Maybe he's waiting for them to both die before he resumes dating.)*
*Anyone remember Night Court? There was an episode about a couple of brawling older folks. Judge Harry asks them why they haven't divorced, and they reply they don't want to upset the kids and they're waiting for the kids to die before they get divorced.
That just sort of caught my eye....maybe it's the older person or the Silver Ager in me, but if States hasn't wanted to be with anyone since his wife died, that makes me feel both a bit of respect and sad for him. Respect that he loved his wife so much he hadn't thought about anyone else since then, and sad that he probably feels a lot more alone in the world than we think he is.
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Quote:Plug accepted!Originally Posted by TroyHickman
I'm not stepping on the sexuality landmine this thread seems to want to become.
Regarding retconning characters, I think there are OK ways to make changes, even retroactively, as long as it doesn't slap longtime readers in the face (say, the way Alan Moore transformed Swamp Thing into an elemental, which didn't alienate anyone. Now if he only understood Rorschach/The Question/Mr. A). But some writers just say "ah, it was never that way, and even if it was, it sucked!" The first example that always comes to mind with this for me is the Adam Strange mini-series from the early 90s or so, where Strange cheats on his pregnant wife, as I recall. I always thought Strange was a very heroic type, and given that he went through hell every month to catch a zeta-beam just to BE with his girlfriend/wife, he seems like one of the last characters I would expect to go out and get some...er...strange (and as a guy who's been catching the United Airlines "zeta-beam" just to have a few brief moments with my g/f for seven years now, I relate to the guy). But no, the writer apparently wanted the shock value of making it an established character, and the name recognition that OTHER writers had earned for Adam Strange. Yeah, maybe I'm a "moldy fig," as they say, but it just seems to me that some things shouldn't be tinkered with on a whim.
I touch on this just a bit with the forthcoming Twilight Guardian #3 (hey, if I'm writing from all the way in Vancouver, I deserve at least one cheap plug).
I agree with you wholeheartedly there...these days it seems 'retcon' equates to 'character revision' for a lot of writers and if they're from a generation that may not get the moral stances of prior ones, they find them two-dimensional or even stupid. I think that's a bit laughable considering the generation that grew up in World War II particularly faced true genuine shades of grey and evil in the world, then saw the rise of McCarthyism in the U.S. barely a decade later.
For me, looking over Identity Crisis was repugnant to me as a reader because the solution to the **** of Jean Loring by Doctor Light (seriously? I mean...seriously?) came off as a Jack Bauer/24 solution rather than something consistent with those characters. And I always have to stand by that consistency over anything else, even if their moral or ethical stances seem outdated to more recent generations. Characters can grow and evolve into new times and to me that just requires a bit of forethought and respect for the character concerned.
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Quote:Originally Posted by Melancton
Hey, are you trying to derail the derail??
What I read into Troy Hickman's depiction of Statesman was a combination of factors: First and foremost, being over 100 years old is a lot of territory to cover, especially with everyone in your age-group (save Recluse) dying off. Second, Statesman is also dealing with the aftermath of the first Rikti invasion, in which most of his super-powered peer group was killed off; his intial interaction with Moodswing reminded me of the story of the rude clerk: the customer's reaction to the clerk's rudeness was mollified upon hearing that their son had died suddenly two days earlier. I think Troy went a long way toward the "cool, noble but interesting" hero we would like to see in Statesman. (He also showed what high-level scripting can do for a comic, but that his another topic.)
Statesman, in the totality of his in-game and comic presentation, is currently a confused jumble and a poster boy for the perils of different writers with different agendas (and skill-sets), much like many Silver Age heroes are today, which is too bad. That particular point would take us pretty far afield, but I will note that Troy Hickman once said something to the effect of, "If you want a moody, psychopathic, adulterous, self-loathing vigilante 'hero,' then create one yourself--- don't ret-con an existing hero into one."
I think that is a good point, and someone else has pointed out that thanks to speaking with Statesman, Lady Grey and the Mender, we as heroes know a lot more about what we are getting into, and the extreme dangers of the "all at once" route that Marcus Cole had no idea he was getting into.
I guess I must be! Sorry!
I really like the sound of the Statesman you're talking about there, and a while ago now I wrote some fiction myself called ironically enough 'Pandora' in which a young Kheldian meets Statesman and wonders why he is the way he is.
I mention this because I was struck by the parallel between that Statesman and one of my other great favorite fictional characters in The Doctor from Doctor Who. He's in very much a similar situation and has no direct peers anymore, and despite all his connection to humanity, is also substantially removed and just...not human. There's a wonderfully deep self-sacrificing heroism to the character and yet on the flipside, and sometimes it doesn't take much, there's a cold razor edge to him. I remember vividly an episode in which upon confronting an alien warlord, he specifically tells him he has one chance to walk away. After a fight above a trapdoor, he wins but doesn't kill the alien. Walking away, the alien rises to kill him and he says something along the lines of:
'Do you want to know what kind of man I am?' He springs the trapdoor, sending the warlord to his death. 'No second chances. I'm that kind of man, too.' And I thought that was so Statesman now. Don't pull that stuff with him. He knows better.
Oh, I totally and utterly agree with you about what's happened to Silver Age heroes and how they're being rewritten with modern sensibilities but this Silver Age nostalgia...and it really honestly doesn't work. I started a thread on the Hero/Villain Culture board about how many problems I had with the Infinite Crisis and Superboy-Prime in particular and I still do.
I'd really like to see Statesman 'cleaned up' as it were and his heroic qualities to shine through again more than the mess that I agree with you he is. Just before writing this reply I'd had a thought for an AE story called 'The Origin of Wisdom' as a sequel to the 'Origin of Power' arc....I may yet write it. I guess when it comes to these kinds of characters, I agree with Hickman's quote there; it just feels wrong when you try and make one sort of character another and I've tended to shunt aside the more asnine representations of Statesman.
I think the Incarnates story is underrated in a lot of ways because as you say we're seeing some of the more annoying or 'pompous' Incarnates dealing with the consequences of what they are and I really hope the game writers do more of that as the Incarnate trees open up for people. That first battle where you wipe out every single of one of the heavy hitters in the game bar Hamidon is a really salient reminder of that possibly being Statesman himself in that role...
So yeah. 'shipping aside, I'm still gonna stick up for the big guy. I kinda like that we have our own Superman and he's at his best something all heroes should aspire to be.
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Quote:Originally Posted by Eva Destruction
He's been crammed down our throats as "the" hero of the CoX universe since release. We've been told and shown repeatedly that our characters will never be as cool as him and his friends. Meanwhile, he's just not that interesting of a character. He's a one-dimensional extension of his creator's ego. Is it any wonder he's the butt of so many jokes? Or that people enjoy beating the snot out of him so much?
Maybe, but I agree with what Troy Hickman wrote; I like the idea of an old and wise superpowered character who is benevolent and uplifting to those around him. Like Troy, I'm a fan of the Cary Bates Superman and the Kurt Busiek Captain America (there's just a genuineness in their characters that just makes me smile every time I read them and that Silver Age Superman is still a heroic ideal I like trying to emulate).
I didn't join CoH around the time of the backlash against Jack Emmert, so I don't have any bias towards Statesman's creator. So I strike out on that point also. And finally, I've never found him as written to be 'better than me' or insufferably arrogant. Maybe my memory's bad, maybe I've just tried to choose what it is I see in Statesman rather than try and reconcile the conflicting whole.
I grew up reading Superman, and will always, always love that character. And without meaning to belabor the point, I want what Troy wants; that potentially really interesting, really cool character. I guess if I choose to see him that way, he will be. My respect for him as a character went up doing the Incarnate arc because we learned he could give into rampant power and become a dictator, but he chooses not to. He's showing wisdom there that a lot of people may not given that situation (I'm lookin' at you, Recluse).
So I may not begrudge anyone who wants to make fun of him (I mean, this is nothing compared to the infamous site about Superman's behavior over the years, and it rhymes with hickory), but I'm not inclined to put the boot in as we say down here. To use another cliche from Star Wars: I still see the good in him.
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Quote:Originally Posted by Shadowe
Actually, it was dealt with first in Remembrance of the Daleks in 1988.
Yeah, but noone cared about Who back then, least of all the BBC.
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All of the new ones and the ones especially using the 'glow' effect are really cool. Of course, I want to add anything Tron-inspired to that list...because those costumes rock my world.
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Quote:You clearly haven't seen the new show very much....they dealt with that very joke in the first season....Originally Posted by Obscure Blade
"Real Daleks don't use stairs, they level the building."
Flying Daleks are scary.
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Didn't this start out about how easily Statesman got beaten up in various stories? If I followed a very dicey train of logic, I'd see his being paired in slashfiction the punishment/reward for not being all he could be as a heroic icon.
I'm actually more interested in Hickman's 'Smoke and Mirrors', something I've never been able to read along with the original CoH novels. Every character in any setting is open to interpretation. Just look how often a certain Kryptonian from another universe gets trawled through flamewars.
For my two influence, Statesman is the heroic ideal and I actually see him as somewhat cursed by the power that he was given by the Well. I thought the rationale that he could give into the power but chooses to restrain himself says a tremendous amount about the man's character. I'd like to see more fiction and MA stories that reflect this Statesman and the heroic Statesman than the excuse for a joke and figure for slashfiction that he's become.
And that's no slight on those who want the Statesline pairing; I figure if you're an immortal with the powers of Zeus (who wasn't exactly known for his mainstream tastes and restraint), you can do whatever you want.
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Quote:Originally Posted by Ramification TM
One of the most under appreciated things in CoX is the music. Maybe because we hear it all the time. Far superior than the Tron soundtrack IMHO. It's copyrighted also. That fact alone makes it impossible to use without licensing fees.
Although AE has enough copyright infringements to give George Lucas a heart attack. Just do a search for Star Wars, Tron, whatever in AE. Player created or not. You can't use the names Yoda, Star Wars, etc... In a commercial environment such as this... NCsoft walk a dangerous line with this and eventually will come back to haunt them.
Anyway- Even the Pocket D club music is better. Just repetitive. Would not mind some more tunes. So much cool stuff could be done. Such as using the new Praetorian events system to bring random events to the club.
Pocket D has a lot of potential. People use it for a meeting hub but there's no real reason to go there and hang out.
Oh, I agree with you. Currently I'm using CoH Splasher to substitute tracks in the D for variety's sake.
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Quote:They did!Originally Posted by Shadowclone
I hadn't noticed actually, when did they change it? I love Daft Punk, and all of their music in Tron, so this is double-win for me. Now they need to add 2 teched up DJ's, it would be an awesome geek reference. Go and check it out. You'll see 'em.
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Quote:Originally Posted by GuyPerfect
You like mind-numbingly repetitive synthetic noises munged together through some kind of digital food processor?
I have an exotic suggestion for you to mix it up a bit, then. It may be repetitive, but not mind-numbingly so.
*Snicker*
Sound for the sake of sound tends to go that way. Even if you have a very short tune, you can repeat it indefinitely and still keep things interesting. Especially when you mix orchestra and techno elements together. (-:
I think you may get a kick out of this one.
Seriously, relax. I enjoyed the music, linked it and thought it was cool to share with others. If you don't like it and it's not your thing, that's okay...I'm not being a music-tatorship or anything.
Chillax. You like your stuff, I like mine...and I love all sorts of music. Just happened to like this one.
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Quote:Originally Posted by GuyPerfect
Ow ow ow! The same thing every five seconds over and over and over and over and over and over and over! My artistic sensitivities have never been so sore. )-:
Might we try something with a semblance of a melody next time?
You are in error, program!
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Quote:Ab.so.lutely.Originally Posted by Dark_Respite
The whole soundtrack is a thing of beauty, and I now own it....that settles it...we'll have to organise something with the Cape like a 'Tron Night', with Daft Punk and 80's electronica...
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I saw this two days after Christmas as sort of a late present to myself, and I was surely not disappointed. A lot of reviews had said that both movies were sort of a cultural snapshot of the times and I think that's pretty spot on, really. Tron: Legacy feels very now, just in terms of how we think about the virtual space and the possibilities.
Seeing it in 3D just took my breath away; this is the only other film since Avatar that I felt used 3D properly and to its fullest advantage. And the echoes and references to the original film were totally great.
And I loved the soundtrack so much that I own it now and even posted that we should have it playing in Pocket D and Club 55! If you want cool music to groove to, that is the music!
Anyways, amazing film. I may well go see it again.
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...and it's from only one movie of 2010....
TRON: Legacy.
This:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ap7uG...eature=related
and the end titles are what people should have in their nightclubs.
In my opinion, anyways. I can very easily picture people rocking out to this stuff.
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