I'm going to say this flat-out: I like superheroes. I don't think there's ever been a time in my life when I didn't. Superheroes tap into something that makes us feel special. We want to be these people with amazing powers and abilities. Even when their emotional turmoil is not handled well we'd rather be in their shoes. They're the ultimate in escapist fiction, even when (or unless) they're commenting on the state of our society.
However, there are two types of superheroes: Your average born-with or acquired superpowered being and the henshin hero. Now I know what you're thinking; "What the hell is a henshin hero?" To put it simply, a henshin hero is a hero who transforms. They don't have superpowers but it's their suit that gives them the powers. The word "Henshin" is Japanese for "transform". You can probably tell that these kinds of heroes are popular in Japan. Think Kamen Rider, Sailor Moon, Super Sentai (better known in the US as "Power Rangers") and even Iron Man.
Wait, Iron Man? But you just said "Henshin" is Japanese! I never said the Japanese invented the "Henshin hero". It actually dates back to Captain Marvel, who debuted back in 1940. A kid named Billy Batson gained extraordinary powers from a wizard. All he had to do was shout "SHAZAM!" and become a Superman rip-off named Captain Marvel. And of course there's Iron Man, who doesn't have superpowers until he puts his Iron Man suit on.
The Americans may have invented the Henshin Hero, but the Japanese turned it into an art form. They're primarily a TV medium, but there are manga/anime exceptions like Ninja Science Team Gatchaman and Sailor Moon.
In order to transform the henshin hero must use a device and an incantation. This is followed by an elaborate transformation sequence that seems to leave the hero open for attack but in some cases, the transformation is instantaneous. The sequence is simply eye candy to fill time.
So now that we know how a henshin hero typically operates, let's get down to business. In a way, henshin heroes have an advantage over traditional heroes. In essence, they're "Part-time superheroes". Unlike Batman, Superman or Spider-Man, they're only superheroes for a couple of minutes per day. You usually don't see a "which one is the real mask" conflict in henshin works because the superhero really is the mask. They don't work as much as your average powered hero does. The exception to this that I've seen are heroes like the X-Men or Thor, because the X-Men are literally born with their powers and Thor, well, he's a god.
This transformation factor also gives the henshin hero a bigger advantage. Whereas most average powered heroes wear their costumes under their street clothes, the henshin hero simply has to deactivate his/her costume before they can blend in with their surroundings. It's harder to catch them and find their secret identity.
Of course, this is where the henshin hero and average hero can overlap. I do think that the average powered hero could look at the henshin hero and see that their transformation can give them an advantage. They could build their own transformation device that allows them to store their suits in whatever hyperspace they come from. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like that's going to be used very often.
Still, I think that American powered heroes can learn from the henshin hero. The henshin hero is not "better" than the powered hero, they just have their own advantages. The two can certainly overlap and I want to see that happen some time.
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
Hockey Withdrawal
It was bound to happen. They say all good things must come to an end, and hockey season had to end. Of course, I am very happy with the result. It's just the shortened season and the lack of good baseball (on the South Side, anyway. The team on the North Side is a Minor League team) has made me miss hockey season... a lot.
So what are the symptoms of hockey withdrawal? Let's see here, it's really hard to describe, but I've been searching a lot on YouTube, Google and writing characters equally obsessed with hockey. Other symptoms include sighing, lethargy, boredom, healthy heartbeat and moodiness. The symptoms may vary, but the best treatment is to remind yourself that hockey season starts soon.
Unfortunately, that may take a while so until then, try to keep busy with your job or other duties. Try watching soccer or WNBA basketball. If absolutely necessary, go on YouTube and look at hockey videos to tide you over or play NHL video games if it's absolutely necessary. Remember, don't get too worked up over the lack of hockey! We still have time to prepare for the next season!
So what are the symptoms of hockey withdrawal? Let's see here, it's really hard to describe, but I've been searching a lot on YouTube, Google and writing characters equally obsessed with hockey. Other symptoms include sighing, lethargy, boredom, healthy heartbeat and moodiness. The symptoms may vary, but the best treatment is to remind yourself that hockey season starts soon.
Unfortunately, that may take a while so until then, try to keep busy with your job or other duties. Try watching soccer or WNBA basketball. If absolutely necessary, go on YouTube and look at hockey videos to tide you over or play NHL video games if it's absolutely necessary. Remember, don't get too worked up over the lack of hockey! We still have time to prepare for the next season!
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
A Short Date
Note: On occasion I'll post little short stories like this one if I can't think of a topic to write about.
Outside people walked by in the falling snow. Ritchie watched them in a psuedo-trance ignoring many of the people in the cafe. His fingers tapped the table in a disjointed rhythm, at least as he could tell. For the most part he wanted some time to himself. It was the height of hockey season at UW-Madison and he was busy, busy, busy. He didn't really have time to go out into the city and do what he wanted to, but he was taking full advantage of his opportunity.
A commotion broke him out of his trance. He turned to see his teammate Sean leaving with his girlfriend, some Venezuelan girl named Maria. Reading their lips he could tell they were having fun. They gave each other a kiss that made Ritchie feel a little bit of envy. He wanted someone like her. He didn't want Maria. She and Sean made a great couple even if they did butt heads from time to time. He just wanted someone who would be supportive and independent at the same time.
"Is this seat taken?" A female voice broke him out of his trance again. He looked across the table.
"Janet?"
"Of course it's me!" she said with a laugh. "Who did you think it was, Mr. Oneida Rocket?" He scoffed a little bit at his nickname. It wasn't a meaningless nickname. Not only is he full-blooded Oneida Indian, he's fast as hell out on the ice.
"Sorry," he said, looking at her. He felt thankful to meet a fellow full-blooded Iroquois, even if she is Canadian... and a figure skater. What is it with hockey players and figure skaters, anyway? "So how was your day?"
"It was good," she said. "My coach wanted me to work on my spins. I had to stay at the rink longer than I hoped. What about you?"
"Hockey practice was easy today," said Ritchie. "Coach had us rest up before we start really working for the series this weekend against Minnesota. Are you here with anyone?"
"No," she said. She looked at him with her beautiful Indian eyes and said, "Except you."
Ritchie smiled. The day just got better.
Give Pirri a Chance
Hawks fans knew there was going to be a bad break-up after winning the Stanley Cup. It happened the last time and it was going to happen again. The Hawks parted ways with fan favorites Dave Bolland, who scored the winning goal in Game 6 of the Cup Final and Michael Frolik, the only NHL player to score two penalty shots in the NHL Playoffs. Luckily this time, the break-up won't be as bad 2010 and it looks like the Hawks will be poised for another run in 2014.
However, Bolland and Frolik will have holes to fill. Still, the Hawks have plenty of talent among their prospects to fill the gaps. One name being tossed around is Brand Pirri. The Toronto native scored the most points out of any player in the American Hockey League last season, scoring 75 out of 76 total points for the Rockford IceHogs. GM Stan Bowman has been saying multiple times that Pirri's time is due, so I won't be surprised if he shows up as the second line center for the Hawks next season.
Also important is the Hawks draft picks and non-draft picks like Drew LeBlanc. It'll be interesting to see if LeBlanc gets a chance next year. Also available is winger Ben Smith whose coming out party happened to be Game 3 of the Cup Final filling in for Marian Hossa. However, the young winger showed he's more than capable of playing for the big team, especially considering he score the winning goal of Game 6 against the Canucks in the 2011 Quarterfinals.
I'm not scared about the Hawks next season because I know that they have plenty of talent to repeat. After a rough couple of seasons, GM Stan Bowman has redeemed himself and has shown he knows how to build a winning team. We'll just have to wait and see what happens next year.
However, Bolland and Frolik will have holes to fill. Still, the Hawks have plenty of talent among their prospects to fill the gaps. One name being tossed around is Brand Pirri. The Toronto native scored the most points out of any player in the American Hockey League last season, scoring 75 out of 76 total points for the Rockford IceHogs. GM Stan Bowman has been saying multiple times that Pirri's time is due, so I won't be surprised if he shows up as the second line center for the Hawks next season.
Also important is the Hawks draft picks and non-draft picks like Drew LeBlanc. It'll be interesting to see if LeBlanc gets a chance next year. Also available is winger Ben Smith whose coming out party happened to be Game 3 of the Cup Final filling in for Marian Hossa. However, the young winger showed he's more than capable of playing for the big team, especially considering he score the winning goal of Game 6 against the Canucks in the 2011 Quarterfinals.
I'm not scared about the Hawks next season because I know that they have plenty of talent to repeat. After a rough couple of seasons, GM Stan Bowman has redeemed himself and has shown he knows how to build a winning team. We'll just have to wait and see what happens next year.
Morsi Must Go
Mohammed Morsi was elected by the Egyptian people with a mandate to improve the economy and run the country better than his predecessor, Hosni Mubarak. Unfortunately, Morsi has become an embodiment of "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss". Instead of running a secular democracy, Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood swept in a new constitution that enshrines Sharia law as the law of Egypt. His power grabs, stifling of the free press and various outrages have only made it worse.
Not only that, with unemployment at 13% in Egypt, he's done nothing to help the economy. Even if the Muslim Brotherhood did help bring Mubarak down, their corruption makes me think they only latched on to the popular uprising in 2011 to get into power. Now it's clear that they made a miscalculation.
If Morsi knows what's best, he must step down as President of Egypt, and the Muslim Brotherhood should disband. It's clear that Islamist and even religious government have no place in modern society either in the Middle East or anywhere around the world. Right now the world has to wait and watch to see what will happen to Morsi's government.
Monday, July 1, 2013
Review: White Wizzard's "The Devil's Cut"
Over the past half-decade, there has been a movement within the Heavy Metal community inspired by a lot of the metalcore and screamo bands popular today.
Well, negatively inspired, anyway.
Quite frankly, a lot of metalheads don't like a lot of angsty Screamo and Metalcore bands (even if there are some pretty goods ones in the mix like Shadows Fall). In response, there's been a growing movement among some metalheads inspired by a lot of the early-80s pre-glam and Thrash metal scenes, particularly the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM). The New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal might not be much of a genre-changing movement yet, but some bands like Enforcer, Holy Grail and Cauldron are becoming very popular.
One of the leaders of this movement is LA-based White Wizzard. Emerging from LA with their self-titled EP and single "High Speed GTO", the band, led by bassist Jon Leon, are easily one of the best bands of this movement. Their 2010 album "Over the Top" introduced me to them and the movement while I was at my college radio station WIDB. I loved every single minute of it.
However, because Jon Leon has a reputation for being very demanding, the band has gone through several line-up changes over the years. Naturally, they've become the butt of a few jokes because of their inability to keep a stable line-up. Part of this is why I was so disappointed with their 2011 sophomore effort "Flying Tigers". It didn't have the same punch as "Over the Top", the lack of excellent solos and exceptional songs doomed the album from the beginning.
In 2012, however, they settled on what may be a stable line-up of vocalist Joseph Michael (who also happens to be Ronnie James Dio's cousin!), guitarist Will Walner and Jake Dreyer as well as Leon and drummer Giovanni Durst, who'd been with the band since "Over the Top". With all that background info out of the way, it's time to review "The Devil's Cut".
White Wizzard's sound is very Iron Maiden-esque, especially at the beginning track, "Forging the Steel". You'd think you'd purchased an Iron Maiden album listening to it for the first time before it leads into the blazingly fast "Strike the Iron". The first time I heard it, I thanked the Metal Gods for this. It's fast, energetic and it kicks your ass the way Metal's supposed to.
The album itself is varied. The second track "Kings of the Highway" is a Judas Priest-esque ode to freedom on the open highway, and more of a mid-paced track. All of the tracks vary between high-speed cookers and mid-paced tracks. This variation works well and prevents the album from getting dull. However, since I like my Metal just like my auto racing--fast and loud--my favorite tracks are the fast ones.
Since this is only their second release with a full line-up (Over the Top had two guitar tracks but one guitarist, the other was Jon Leon), the band really shines here. Guitarists Jake Dreyer and Will Walner weave a complex and melodic twin guitar attack right out of an Iron Maiden album. Their soloing also compliments each other and as the Wizz promised, the solos are straight-up shred fests that more than make up for the disappointment that is "Flying Tigers". And as usual, Giovanni Durst lays down the beat, varying between a monster and a simple drum beat. It's this variation that makes him one of the better current drummers in metal. As for Joseph Michael, he's not the same as the vocalist on the Wizz's last two albums, but he's solid and is more than capable of hitting the high notes.
The lyrical content here is a little more down-to-earth than the previous two, which included fantasy songs like "Iron Goddess of Vengeance" and the Starman mini-concept album on "Flying Tigers". While there are lyrics that are fantasy-inspired, they're purely metaphorical rather than direct. However, Leon's typical freedom-loving lyrics are in full display here. "Strike the Iron" is basically a 6:46-long pep speech, as are most of the songs here. This isn't angsty metal here. Of course, there's also plenty of songs about METAL on here. Hey, they're inspired by '80s metal, are you surprised?
As for the band's playing, these guys are tight. It seems as if, barring another ego-driven meltdown, Jon Leon has found the line-up that sticks together for the Wizz. All the right buttons and notes are hit on this album. As mentioned previously, Dreyer and Wallner are fantastic, and they could potentially be the next David Murray-Adrian Smith or about as close as they can get. I feel that the Wizz might finally be hitting their stride. "The Devil's Cut" may not be perfect, but I feel it is certainly one of the best metal releases this year. Time will tell if The Wizz are selling out arenas and big concert halls like they should be.
Score: 8.5/10
Well, negatively inspired, anyway.
Quite frankly, a lot of metalheads don't like a lot of angsty Screamo and Metalcore bands (even if there are some pretty goods ones in the mix like Shadows Fall). In response, there's been a growing movement among some metalheads inspired by a lot of the early-80s pre-glam and Thrash metal scenes, particularly the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM). The New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal might not be much of a genre-changing movement yet, but some bands like Enforcer, Holy Grail and Cauldron are becoming very popular.
One of the leaders of this movement is LA-based White Wizzard. Emerging from LA with their self-titled EP and single "High Speed GTO", the band, led by bassist Jon Leon, are easily one of the best bands of this movement. Their 2010 album "Over the Top" introduced me to them and the movement while I was at my college radio station WIDB. I loved every single minute of it.
However, because Jon Leon has a reputation for being very demanding, the band has gone through several line-up changes over the years. Naturally, they've become the butt of a few jokes because of their inability to keep a stable line-up. Part of this is why I was so disappointed with their 2011 sophomore effort "Flying Tigers". It didn't have the same punch as "Over the Top", the lack of excellent solos and exceptional songs doomed the album from the beginning.
In 2012, however, they settled on what may be a stable line-up of vocalist Joseph Michael (who also happens to be Ronnie James Dio's cousin!), guitarist Will Walner and Jake Dreyer as well as Leon and drummer Giovanni Durst, who'd been with the band since "Over the Top". With all that background info out of the way, it's time to review "The Devil's Cut".
White Wizzard's sound is very Iron Maiden-esque, especially at the beginning track, "Forging the Steel". You'd think you'd purchased an Iron Maiden album listening to it for the first time before it leads into the blazingly fast "Strike the Iron". The first time I heard it, I thanked the Metal Gods for this. It's fast, energetic and it kicks your ass the way Metal's supposed to.
The album itself is varied. The second track "Kings of the Highway" is a Judas Priest-esque ode to freedom on the open highway, and more of a mid-paced track. All of the tracks vary between high-speed cookers and mid-paced tracks. This variation works well and prevents the album from getting dull. However, since I like my Metal just like my auto racing--fast and loud--my favorite tracks are the fast ones.
Since this is only their second release with a full line-up (Over the Top had two guitar tracks but one guitarist, the other was Jon Leon), the band really shines here. Guitarists Jake Dreyer and Will Walner weave a complex and melodic twin guitar attack right out of an Iron Maiden album. Their soloing also compliments each other and as the Wizz promised, the solos are straight-up shred fests that more than make up for the disappointment that is "Flying Tigers". And as usual, Giovanni Durst lays down the beat, varying between a monster and a simple drum beat. It's this variation that makes him one of the better current drummers in metal. As for Joseph Michael, he's not the same as the vocalist on the Wizz's last two albums, but he's solid and is more than capable of hitting the high notes.
The lyrical content here is a little more down-to-earth than the previous two, which included fantasy songs like "Iron Goddess of Vengeance" and the Starman mini-concept album on "Flying Tigers". While there are lyrics that are fantasy-inspired, they're purely metaphorical rather than direct. However, Leon's typical freedom-loving lyrics are in full display here. "Strike the Iron" is basically a 6:46-long pep speech, as are most of the songs here. This isn't angsty metal here. Of course, there's also plenty of songs about METAL on here. Hey, they're inspired by '80s metal, are you surprised?
As for the band's playing, these guys are tight. It seems as if, barring another ego-driven meltdown, Jon Leon has found the line-up that sticks together for the Wizz. All the right buttons and notes are hit on this album. As mentioned previously, Dreyer and Wallner are fantastic, and they could potentially be the next David Murray-Adrian Smith or about as close as they can get. I feel that the Wizz might finally be hitting their stride. "The Devil's Cut" may not be perfect, but I feel it is certainly one of the best metal releases this year. Time will tell if The Wizz are selling out arenas and big concert halls like they should be.
Score: 8.5/10
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Wasn't There a Lockout?
Hockey season is over!
In a way, I'm actually happy to say that because there almost wasn't a season. At the same time, I'm gutted because it was such a fun year, especially for my beloved Blackhawks! They were clearly the best team in the entire NHL, going 21-0-3 to start the season. That's 24 games without a regulation loss! Half the fucking season, for Pete's sake! It was only fitting my beloved Hawks would be the ones that lifted the Stanley Cup in the end.
It's how they did it, however, that was difficult.
After an easy first-round series against the Mini-sod-ia Wild, the Hawks had to come back from 3-1--games, not goals--to beat the hated Red Wings, then beat a tough LA Kings team in the Conference Finals (speaking of which, I got to go to game 2 of that series. It was awesome!) to face off against the Boston Bruins, who were on a roll and an emotional high.
Oh, dear, was this series exhausting.
I think the only thing anyone could expect from this series was to expect the unexpected and the inevitable boo-birds that would come out as soon as Gary Bettman showed up (the fact that he did after not helping his cause one bit is just as surprising as this entire series). We were treated (or tortured) to a triple-overtime game 1 where the Hawks showed their penchant for coming back after being down two blasted goals.
Unfortunately, that was only game 1. Game two saw the Bruins come back from down a goal to steal home ice from the Hawks. Things looked even worse when they lost game 3 in Bah-stin behind an energized Causeway crowd. All of a sudden, the media was declaring the Hawks dead and--wait, didn't we go through this before?
Ah, yes, remember that 3-1 comeback? Well, Coach Quenneville got a little desperate and put Toews, Kane and Bickell on the first line. After being held scoreless by the Bruins defense, the line exploded for a total of 6 goals in the final three games. It didn't have to be so fucking hard, though! Game 4 was another hard-fought see-saw battle with the B's matching the Hawks' goals again and again until it went into ANOTHER OVERTIME tied at four.
And that was when Mr. Overtime, Brent Seabrook, struck again, giving the Hawks a 6-5 series lead.
After a (relatively) easy game 5 victory where Kaner scored 2 goals, it was on to game 6 with a desperate Bruins team and crowd, and two injured superstars.
The Bruins got the first goal on an open-netter by David Kelly. However, the Hawks stormed back and tied it on the last second of a Bruins power play on behalf of Captain Serious. Then the Bruins went ahead again, with Milan Lucic beating Crawford with less than 8 minutes to go.
At that point, I guess the players had all resigned themselves to a game 7... sort of.
With less than 2 minutes to go, the Hawks pulled Crawford for the extra attacker. It was a true desperation move and the Hawks went for it. The puck went into the corner off to Boston goalie Tuuka Rask's right. Even with the extra attacker, it looked like the Bruins were gonna win the game and send it to game 7--BICKELL!!!!
The Hawks had life! Bryan Bickell, who'd stepped up his game in the playoffs, scored after stuffing Rask's net. Now it looked like things were going into overtime and--holy shit, BOLLAND!? AGAIN!? It's 2-1 Hawks! Just 17 (game) seconds after scoring the equalizer, the Hawks scored the go-ahead! You honestly cannot script this shit, people!
The Hawks killed the final 57 seconds to win Lord Stanley's Cup for the second time. Now LET'S PARTY AND DO IT AGAIN!!!!
In a way, I'm actually happy to say that because there almost wasn't a season. At the same time, I'm gutted because it was such a fun year, especially for my beloved Blackhawks! They were clearly the best team in the entire NHL, going 21-0-3 to start the season. That's 24 games without a regulation loss! Half the fucking season, for Pete's sake! It was only fitting my beloved Hawks would be the ones that lifted the Stanley Cup in the end.
It's how they did it, however, that was difficult.
After an easy first-round series against the Mini-sod-ia Wild, the Hawks had to come back from 3-1--games, not goals--to beat the hated Red Wings, then beat a tough LA Kings team in the Conference Finals (speaking of which, I got to go to game 2 of that series. It was awesome!) to face off against the Boston Bruins, who were on a roll and an emotional high.
Oh, dear, was this series exhausting.
I think the only thing anyone could expect from this series was to expect the unexpected and the inevitable boo-birds that would come out as soon as Gary Bettman showed up (the fact that he did after not helping his cause one bit is just as surprising as this entire series). We were treated (or tortured) to a triple-overtime game 1 where the Hawks showed their penchant for coming back after being down two blasted goals.
Unfortunately, that was only game 1. Game two saw the Bruins come back from down a goal to steal home ice from the Hawks. Things looked even worse when they lost game 3 in Bah-stin behind an energized Causeway crowd. All of a sudden, the media was declaring the Hawks dead and--wait, didn't we go through this before?
Ah, yes, remember that 3-1 comeback? Well, Coach Quenneville got a little desperate and put Toews, Kane and Bickell on the first line. After being held scoreless by the Bruins defense, the line exploded for a total of 6 goals in the final three games. It didn't have to be so fucking hard, though! Game 4 was another hard-fought see-saw battle with the B's matching the Hawks' goals again and again until it went into ANOTHER OVERTIME tied at four.
And that was when Mr. Overtime, Brent Seabrook, struck again, giving the Hawks a 6-5 series lead.
After a (relatively) easy game 5 victory where Kaner scored 2 goals, it was on to game 6 with a desperate Bruins team and crowd, and two injured superstars.
The Bruins got the first goal on an open-netter by David Kelly. However, the Hawks stormed back and tied it on the last second of a Bruins power play on behalf of Captain Serious. Then the Bruins went ahead again, with Milan Lucic beating Crawford with less than 8 minutes to go.
At that point, I guess the players had all resigned themselves to a game 7... sort of.
With less than 2 minutes to go, the Hawks pulled Crawford for the extra attacker. It was a true desperation move and the Hawks went for it. The puck went into the corner off to Boston goalie Tuuka Rask's right. Even with the extra attacker, it looked like the Bruins were gonna win the game and send it to game 7--BICKELL!!!!
The Hawks had life! Bryan Bickell, who'd stepped up his game in the playoffs, scored after stuffing Rask's net. Now it looked like things were going into overtime and--holy shit, BOLLAND!? AGAIN!? It's 2-1 Hawks! Just 17 (game) seconds after scoring the equalizer, the Hawks scored the go-ahead! You honestly cannot script this shit, people!
The Hawks killed the final 57 seconds to win Lord Stanley's Cup for the second time. Now LET'S PARTY AND DO IT AGAIN!!!!
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