Feast is to Big Hero 6 what Icing is to Cake

I love the fact that running in front of animated films from Pixar and Disney are delightful shorts that are so good they're like icing on a big delicious cake. With Big Hero Six set to come out soon, Disney's released a trailer for its new short film Feast, and it looks pretty awesome. I'm reminded of when Julia Child said, "People who love to eat are always the best people." In this case, I think it applies to puppies too. But really, food is one of those things through which we are all connected kinda like the Force (is it ironic that Star Wars is also owned by Disney? Hmm).

From what I can tell, the plot of Feast is pretty simple. An adorable and hungry Boston Terrier puppy gets fed all kinds of nice things, and we get taken along for the journey through some pretty amazing animation. Seriously, I love the style of this animation and wish that more films got made that use the techniques on display in Feast. So if you haven't stumbled across this trailer for the short film yet, then click play on the embedded video below.

Will we see Gorilla Grodd in the new Flash series?

Last week's premiere of The Flash featured many Easter Eggs. Among them was a cage with busted doors that had the word "Grodd" scrawled upon it. For the uninitiated, this refers to a Flash villain called Gorilla Grodd, and I have hopes he may turn up in the series.

Gorilla Grodd is a hyper-intelligent psychically-endowed gorilla that has the "Professor X" (Marvel) power of mind control. He got his powers after an alien spacecraft crashed into his African home. I kind of think (for the television series) that they're going to use the explosion at the super collider to give Grodd his powers. His psionic abilities allow him to place other beings under his mental control, project force beams, transmute matter, transfer his consciousness into other bodies, and absorb intelligence through the consumption of human brains! Flash basically has immunity to Grodd's psychic abilities because he moves so fast that his thoughts process Grodd's illusions in slow motion.

Grodd has potential to be a launching point to introduce Wonder Woman as there's this whole plot arc with Gorilla City (a super advanced civilization existing somewhere in Africa).

So what do you think? Will we see Gorilla Grodd in the new Flash series?

The Batman of today is closer to Master Chief than the hero he was fifty years ago

Has anyone else noticed that the Batman's costume is becoming more and more reminiscent of something you'd find in HALO or another first person shooter? Take for example this latest iteration done by Kingdom Hearts creator and Final Fantasy designer Tetsuya Nomura:

What you're seeing is a re-imagined caped crusader for Square Enix's Play Arts Kai line of action figures. And yeah, the Batman looks like he's ready to kick some ass but it also looks like he's just a wee bit evil (which I guess is the point).

Seriously though, with regard to other superheroes I don't think I've noticed costume changes that have slowly morphed from tights in the 1960's into full on body armor like the kind worn by Master Chief in other characters. Superman is pretty much the same as he was. The same goes for Spider-Man and Thor. Iron Man was always in a prototype body armor so that doesn't count. But the Batman? No, he wasn't. In fact, this is what he used to look like (golden-age Batman):

Nowadays, instead of holding a gun, the Batman would have one just pop up off of his armor and shoot some kind of weapon out that blows our minds for its flashy effectiveness.

So my question to you is this: why is this happening? Why is his costume changing so much?

I thought about it last night and the only thing I can come up with is that Batman is a very popular character with boys, and boys play video games. The marketing department at DC Comics knows this, and they've chosen to make the costume more and more sinister with ridges and spikes. It's been a slow process...so slow that I haven't really taken note of it until I saw the picture up top. Note the similarities between what the Batman is wearing and the lean armor worn by this hunter in the video game Crysis (click to EMBIGGEN).

Muscles are well defined, weapon is very spikey, and there's lots of detailing all over the skin-tight bodysuit. Anyway, I'm interested to hear your thoughts on this matter. Would you agree that the Batman's uniform is slowly turning into video game military-style combat armor? And if you do agree, do you think it's being driven by first-person shooters like Crysis? I look forward to reading your comments.

The Flash pilot hit all the right notes of awesome and makes me ask if Thawne is going to be Professor Zoom

The pilot ended with this ominous headline that's obviously an homage
to "Crisis on the Infinite Earths" and indicates that Harrison Wells is
definitely not restricted to knowledge from the present timeline. Let's just
hope that The Flash handles time travel well.

The pilot for the Flash was awesome, and both the CW's budget as well as its special effects have come a long way since the Superman prequel, Smallville. Sure there are some similarities. It looks like we are being setup for a "freak of the week" version of storytelling. Instead of kryptonite being the source of the powers, we have an experimental particle accelerator like C.E.R.N. that's gone awry. It also looks like they might be following the love triangle of Clark, Lana, and everyone else that Lana dates by creating a love triangle with Barry, Iris, and everyone else that Iris dates. However, this might end up much better than Clark and Lana because in the former, we always knew Clark would end up with Lois Lane. In the latter, things aren't so set in stone.

Additionally, the Flash has never been a "brooding" character like Superman. The Flash is a wise-cracking, fun, and loving superhero and to this extent, Grant Gustin fits the bill. And for fans of the comic books, we all know that Barry Allen meets his end ominously, but saving the world. We got some of that foreshadowed last night when we were given a closing scene that included a front page from "The Central City Citizen" on which the headline "Flash Missing: Vanishes in Crisis" appears. Well in a "Crisis on Infinite Earths, the Flash sacrificed his life to save Earth."

Is this guy Professor Zoom? He's Eddie Thawne and the name is just too
similar to Eobard Thawne who is known as the "Reverse Flash" or "Professor
Zoom," the nemesis of Barry Allen in the comics (and responsible for
killing Iris who ends up as Barry's first wife). 

So here's the things that I noticed. First, the main villain of last night's pilot was "Weather Wizard." Nothing really to write home about there. He's basically Storm from Marvel's X-Men only less cool and now he's dead because Iris's father shot him after Barry unwound his tornado by racing around it in the opposite direction at a thousand miles an hour. Two, the Flash (and by extension Arrow since they are in the same universe) both exist in a world where time travel is possible through speed. Barry Allen's mother was killed by a flash of yellow light. I think the villain responsible might be Eddie Thawne who is the attractive blond police detective currently dating Iris, who is Barry Allen's friend.

Cover to Time Masters: Vanishing Point #5. This is what
Reverse Flash, a.k.a. Professor Zoom, looks like.

In the comics, a guy named "Eobard Thawne," a.k.a. Professor Zoom, is the archenemy and foil of superhero Barry Allen. Flash wiki says that Thawne is ranked as IGN's 31st greatest comic book villain of all time. It's obvious to me that time travel is going to play a big part in this series, so I'm intrigued. If I'm correct, then that newspaper headline we see at the very end will probably change. Now as for who is Harrison Wells? I initially think he's a good guy. But its obvious he's got other motives and knows about different timelines. Is he the Flash from the future or is he Professor Zoom or related to Professor Zoom in some way? I'm not sure and will need more time to think about it (and more information from the series).

In either event, if you love superhero shows, you should be watching The Flash. It was probably the best superhero-based pilot I have ever seen. Seriously. Below is the trailer for next week's episode, which I can't wait to see!

Star Wars Rebels borrows what worked for Firefly and puts it squarely in the post-Empire universe

I watched the whole pilot for Star Wars Rebels this weekend with my special out-of-town guest, Grumpy Bulldog who is quick to say that his favorite movie of all time is probably The Empire Strikes Back. So I guess between his reverence for Star Wars, and my ability to spot things, I was able to put together a decent opinion about this series.

It is one I'm going to continue to watch. The action comes at you fast and swift, just like all Star Wars movies and television has thus far. In some ways, Star Wars follows a formula: 1) things are always gigantic, 2) there is always a lightsaber, 3) there is always a force user despite the fact that someone/anyone will tell you that Jedi are all dead or that "the Force" is an ancient religion with no modern practitioners, and 5) whenever you deal with anyone associated with the Empire (unless they are a named character) they are utterly incompetent.

Things that Rebels has going for it include: 1) humor, 2) a Firefly-esque crew out to do good but essentially a team of morally ambiguous privateers just trying to eek out a living in the wake of "Order 66 and the fall of the Jedi." 3) a clear homage to Ralph McQuarrie's artwork. One of the aliens is even an early concept drawing of a "wookie" done by Ralph McQuarrie and there's kind of an inside joke when Stormtroopers don't recognize the creature as a wookie.

If you're used to the animation style of The Clone Wars, this will take a little getting used to as it's a little more "cartoony" even though the animation is quite fluid. Ezra (the kid), for example, looks more or less like a cross between the detailed faces we saw in The Clone Wars and a muppet from Jim Hensen's studio. I think I say that because of the shape of his nose. That and his hair is shiny as if he puts a lot of product in it, which he probably doesn't. It's just a "texture" choice that's made by the animators.

In the pilot we got a Jedi Holocron with Obi-Wan Kenobi's message warning all Jedi to stay away from the Temple and to trust in the Force (I assume this thing is loaded with Jedi training from some master at least as good as Yoda since holocrons are ancient and powerful relics of the Order), a droid that smacks of R2, a rogue Jedi and  a kid (wonder where this is going), a grumpy Mandalorian that's a demolitions expert and has rainbow-colored hair, and that "Wookie-esque" alien I mentioned above. He serves the role of muscle and comes from the whole "tough love" crowd with regard to the kid; he's also the butt of some  hygiene jokes.

This is the new "Big Bad." I didn't actually see this lightsaber in the pilot, but
I know they are going with this design. I'm not sure if I like it or not, but the
entire Old Republic did die so that we could get this design.

All in all, Star Wars Rebels did what it set out to do. I felt entertained and the mysteries were enough to keep me questioning. It had the feel of something filmed in the Star Wars universe, and I'm curious as to where it intends to go. Oh and we got a glimpse of this series' "Big Bad" that may be a placebo for Darth Vader, even though we could technically see Vader in this series as much as they want to show him. One reason for not showing him might have to do with "diminishing" his competence, because we all know that Vader meant business in all three of the original Star Wars films.

What about you guys? Any of you out there catch the pilot? If so, what did you think of it? 

The CW's Flash is the most exciting series to premiere this fall and it starts Tuesday

The Flash is one of my favorite comic book heroes. He, the Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman...I've always been more of a DC fan than I have been of Marvel. That doesn't mean that I don't love Marvel superheroes, because I do. But DC just seemed to be my jumping off point. I started with the Batman and Detective Comics, gradually moved to other titles and then jumped over to Marvel in a crossover where I learned about Spiderman and the others. But yeah, I own thousands of dollars in DC comics. It's hard not to when you have to buy four or five comics from different sets just to finish a storyline.

Next week (on Tuesday as a matter of fact) the CW launches its new series The Flash in the same time slot as Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. I intend to watch both, but I will watch The Flash first and then go to my DVR for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. That's 'cause, well, The Flash is cooler than Agent Coulson and gang. Some days the truth just hurts.

There have been many iterations of the Flash over the years. Barry Allen is the Flash that I most closely associate with. Barry died in Crisis on the infinite Earths and is the second incarnation of the Flash. Wally West is the third Flash. And we can't forget Bart Allen (who appeared in several Smallville episodes). Bart goes by Impulse and draws his powers from the Speed Force, just like Barry did before him.

As far as the CW is concerned, they're going with Barry, and he's being played by super handsome (and incredibly adorable) actor Grant Gustin (yes, this is perfect casting). In the Silver Age comic books, Barry was a police scientist who gained super-speed when bathed by chemicals after a shelf of them was struck by lightning. The CW is going with this version of the Flash's creation fairly close to the source material, changing only that Barry isn't a police scientist but instead, a C.S.I.

Every Flash draws their power from the Speed Force, which allows them to move, think, and react at lightning speed. It bestows superhuman endurance, they can vibrate so fast that they can pass through walls (quantum tunneling), travel through time, and manipulate kinetic energy in themselves and other beings. They have an invisible aura around their bodies that prevents themselves and their clothes from being affected by air friction. Flash is totally faster than Superman and can absorb information really fast (though the effect is usually temporary), and can punch someone with so much force it's called the infinite mass punch (IMP for short).

I think the CW's Flash is the most exciting series to premiere this fall, and I seriously can't wait. I'm actually more excited for it than the return of The Walking Dead.

So what say you? Are you excited?

Advice about writing can be good or bad so how can you tell the difference?

Today is the one year anniversary of the Insecure Writer's Support Group website. To celebrate, the insecure writers of the world are putting together an anthology. The book's purpose is to assist and encourage other writers on the journey, so they are looking for tips and instruction in the areas of writing, publishing, and marketing. Now, since there is so much of this on the internet already, and I think there is literally nothing I can say that can add to this chorus, I thought I'd write an article on decision-making itself and how a person can separate good advice from bad advice. To be clear, my article here isn't intended for the anthology. Rather it's meant to somehow complement all the advice that's out there by perhaps looking at the giving and receiving of advice in a different light.

In the realm of "advice" I think the word "specious" comes to my mind particularly often. The definition of "specious" is something that has the "ring of truth" but is inherently false, and it's been my observation that all of us are guilty of accepting specious advice because of a thing called "confirmation bias."

Now, if you don't know what this is, "confirmation bias" happens in those moments where everything you see seems to confirm your wisdom. It occurs because of a misconception that your opinions are the result of years of rational, objective analysis when in truth...your opinions are the result of years of paying attention to information which confirmed what you believed while ignoring information which challenged your preconceived notions. Don't take my word for it, but take what Terry Pratchett has to say through his character Lord Vetinari from The Truth: a novel of Discworld:

"Be careful. People like to be told what they already know. Remember that. They get uncomfortable when you tell them new things. New things...well, new things aren't what they expect. They like to know that, say, a dog will bite a man. That is what dogs do. They don't want to know that man bites a dog, because the world is not supposed to happen like that. In short, what people think they want is news, but what they really crave is olds...Not news but olds, telling people that what they think they already know is true."

So I guess if I have any advice to give with regard to accepting advice from others (writing or otherwise), it is this: be skeptical of anything that promises to solve a problem especially if it fits your existing ideology. Instead, consider examining the advice using a method outlined by Dr. Heidi Grant Halvorson in Psychology Today and see if it stands up to the following conditions/questions:

1) Is the advice true? Is there evidence that supports a conclusion?
2) Does the advice have actionable steps that can be reproduced by anyone? Take a recipe as an example. If you follow a recipe exactly, you will always end up with the same thing. If you apply this to say...publishing advice...and follow the steps someone has outlined exactly then you should be able to arrive at the same conclusion. If not, then the advice is probably bad.
3) Consider the source and what their agenda might be (if any).

Basically, what I'm saying is to be careful of taking advice that comes from such an ambiguous cloudy thing as "personal experience," especially if the personal experience is not framed properly. No two situations are ever alike, but with a proper frame job you can at least understand not just what worked but why it worked in the first place.