Light in the Dark Knight: First Impressions on "God on the Streets of Gotham" by Paul Asay

I've always been interested in seeing God in the geekery that I indulge in. Thus I have books like Finding God in the Lord of the Rings and Finding God in a Galaxy Far Far Away. So when Tyndale House Publishers sent me an email telling of God on the Streets of Gotham: What the Big Screen Batman can Teach us About God and Ourselves as one of their free ebook offerings, I immediately grabbed it. (As of this writing, the Kindle version is still offered for free.)

And I was very happy I did.

Not only did the book discuss how to find Christian themes in the Batman films, it also delved into the depths of the character of Batman/Bruce Wayne and how it well it resonates with how we see the world and how we would want the world to be. Happily, it does not only explore the Batman of Christopher Nolan's exemplary trilogy, but also the Batman of the various media -- from comics to earlier movies to the different TVseries and specials.

And that's just after reading the first 10% of the book.

I've always wanted to see how Christ and the Christian faith can be found in secular/contemporary media. This is one major window I'm looking through to see it.

I'm off to read the rest of it now. A more detailed review later.

Disney-buying-Hasbro rumor debunked

Reading through the Transformers fan site tfw2005.com, I saw the rumored negotiation of Disney to buy Hasbro is false. Following the link trail to seibertron.com  reveals that Hasbro's stock went up 6.8 percent because of the rumored buy attempt by Disney. (Providence Journal) But despite this, there is no truth to the rumor that Disney is planning to buy Hasbro.

As with the purchase of Lucasfilm, I'm on the fence whether it would be a good thing or a bad thing if Disney did buy Hasbro. Reflecting on it further, it would lead to a lot of complications as Hasbro is said to own licenses to Disney's competition. Which those are, I do not know.

Moot point now.    

Big rumor: Harrison Ford might be Solo again!

Photo from www.empireonline.com article

At first, I was on the fence about Disney buying Lucasfilm. Is it good? Is it bad? I don't know.

And then my girlfriend posted this on her Facebook page:

Harrison Ford "Open" to Star Wars Return

I'd like to say that I'm on a "wait-and-see" stance, but I just got really excited. And according to the Empire article,

Entertainment Weekly’s new hire, Geoff Boucher (formerly of the LA Times) has a source saying that Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher are all “upbeat” about returning to the franchise that helped launch their careers. 

More details here: Entertainment Weekly exclusive on Star Wars sequel

So, we wait and see . . . but very very excitedly!

Rumor: Is Disney buying Hasbro?

I'm not one for rumor-mongering, but I had to take notice of this one, as it will affect several of my favorite franchises (GI Joe, Transformers, Dungeons and Dragons) in one swift blow.

In the wake of the news that Disney bought Lucasfilm for $4 billion, there is now speculation that Disney is negotiating to buy toy giant Hasbro. Personally, I'm taking this as strictly rumor. On the one hand, it might infuse my fave franchises with new life. But on the other hand, why Hasbro? Why not Mattel which is smaller? Or is this another manifestation of the ugly side of capitalism: If you can't beat them, buy them.

Reflecting on it further, such a merger, if true, might be a good thing. During my visit to Hong Kong Disneyland, I had a first-hand experience of what "Disney Magic" can do: it brings out your inner child regardless of your current age. If Disney could do that to their brands, could they also do it to Star Wars (another favorite franchise of mine).

Time will tell if such rumors are true, and if they would be good things.

Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome preview

This geek is giddy!

After the conclusion of the long-running series Battlestar Galactica, many fans clamored for more. Sadly, Caprica didn't quite satisfy. Then news of a new spinoff series, Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome, began circulating but never really appeared.

Until now.

According to GeekRest,

Battlestar Galactica fans have only four days to wait until Universal Cable Productions’ long-awaited Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome series premieres on Machinima. Taking place in the 10th year of the first Cylon war, the upcoming series follows a young William Adama as he begins his first assignment aboard the Galactica.

Originally developed as a series for the Syfy channel, the network eventually wound up passing on the project earlier this year after keeping it in limbo since the conclusion of their long-running Battlestar Galactica series.

Since that time, producers have now struck a deal that will allow fans to get their Battlestar Galactica fix through Machinima, who will release the pilot episode through 7 12-minute installments that will begin posting on Friday this week. The remaining episodes will be released over the next four weeks before the full two-hour version of the pilot episode is scheduled to air on Syfy early next year. In addition to that, an unrated version of the pilot episode will also be released on Blu-ray and DVD shortly after the Syfy premiere.

Read more: http://www.geekrest.com/2012/11/new-trailer-for-battlestar-galactica-blood-and-chrome-series/#ixzz2BPKe3B1m

 

Ancient Greek-Egyptian D20?!

Photo from The Metropolitan Museum of Art website

As a tabletop role-playing gamer for the better part of two decades, my jaw dropped at a post at the Being A Geek FB page of a D20 dating back to the Ptolemaic period!

Seriously? A D20 with Greek numerals/letters? Dating back to 304-30 BC? Wow!

Movie Review: Skyfall

WARNING: POTENTIAL SPOILERS!

 Photo from http://www.mi6-hq.com/sections/movies/sf.php3?s=movies&id=03347

The James Bond franchise is arguably the longest-running franchise in history, spanning all of 50 years. And the film that marks 50th year, Skyfall is one of the best I've ever seen and is, in my opinion, a fitting 50th year offering.

Skyfall opens with Bond back at work, after the whole affair that began in Casino Royale followed by

Disney Buys Lucasfilm!

I came across this news item in Facebook:

Disney Buys Lucasfilm for $4 billion

On the one hand, it might not be so bad, considering that Disney earlier bought Marvel. Marvel didn't turn out so bad (or rather, no worse than it was already sliding into). Also, it might infuse the franchise with the funding needed for the rumored projects in the works.

Looking at it from the more corporate perspective, it may just be a case of "If you can't beat them, buy them." The Clone Wars series is a fairly successful TV series, and I don't see any Disney TV series that has come close (I could be wrong, as our cable service is pretty limited).

But I think Lucas sold Lucasfilm just to get away from the nerd-rage of all the so-called fans. Personally, I don't think the prequels are not that bad. But I am in the minority. There is only so much hate, amplified by the Internet, that one man can take, and over his own work! 

We'll see. . . 

NIntendo Zapper that literally zaps!

Every kid (at least from my generation) had at one time fantasized that their game console gun, like the above Nintendo Zapper for the Nintendo Entertainment System (American version of the Nintendo Family Computer which was more popular in the Philippines), was a real laser gun. Blame it all on those space movies and TV shows, but we all wished our game gun was a real laser gun. Well, present-day technology has now made that possible to a degree.

Our fantasies are coming true, and it's exciting and scary at the same time. What will we think of next?

(Originally saw the video at nerdapproved.com. Read the original article here: nerdapproved.com/gaming/modifying your nes zapper into a laser gun is a great idea until someones eyeball catches on fire)

Mack Bolan books: Escapism or Something More?

One of my pastimes during my high school years was reading the Mack Bolan adventure book series and its spin-off titles Able Team and Phoenix Force. I have to admit that it's still a guilty pleasure to this day. So when I spotted the above book at a Book Sale outlet recently (and for Php15!), I couldn't help but buy it.

Why do I like reading these books? It's gritty, graphically violent just this side of gratuitous, and unapologetic about its theme of primal (even politically incorrect) justice. Should I, as a Christian, be even reading stuff like this?

My Book Fair Loot

Ever since I've worked with OMF Literature, where I am now, the Manila International Book Fair has been part work and part pleasure. But this year's book fair has felt thin somehow. Maybe it's the lack of selections,

Video Review: Brothers Barbarian

Watch it here first:




The Gamers: Dorness Rising not only revived my love for gaming, but opened to me the enjoyment of independent films in this particular genre. Learning that Dead Gentlemen Productions followed up Dorkness Rising with the web series JourneyQuest, I subscribed to their YouTube channel and went on to enjoy it.

But I wanted more.

The Gamers: Hands of Fate - - September 2013

I haven't been writing on this blog for some time now because time and duty didn't allow. But today is a day of epic proportions.