I normally don’t see movies when they first come out, but my friend Grant wanted to hang out one last time before he leaves for Japan, Stanford & thought this would be a great thing to do while he’s still in L.A. 

I considered “Free Comic Book Day,” too but decided this would be more fun. 

Anyway, while I’m not sure how much credibility I have as a movie critic, I gotta say that this movie did an amazing job of *not* disappointing.  The 2.5 hours I sat down watching this movie definitely flew by & I’m pretty sure I had multiple fan-boy orgasms throughout the experience. 



But rather than spoil the movie for those of you who haven’t seen it yet – if you live in L.A. & are planning to see it soon, invite me; I totally want to see it again – I thought I would blog about the comparisons it’s been getting to “The Dark Knight Rises” which comes out in a few months. 

See, most of my friends who are comic nerds like myself prefer DC comics like Batman & I’ve always felt a bit distanced from them because I grew up reading Marvel comics such as “The X-men”.  I’ve been noticing that schism a lot lately admist all the hype for the Avengers movie.  Some people I know actively decided not to go see it in Theatres because they thought the movie was overhyped. 

“With all the buzz around (the Avengers,) it’ll have to give everyone superpowers in order to live up to the Hype.” 
“It’s not ‘The Dark Knight Rises,’ people!” 
Etc. Etc. 

And I just have to wonder where this schism comes from. 

From a superficial standpoint, the two comic universes are practically identical.  But if you happen to read both, you can see that there are some fundamental differences in their stories & themes that make me identify with Marvel over DC. 



Characterization: Marvel Comics seems to do a better job of making their characters more like “people” rather than just the superheroes they dress up as.  While I’m no expert on DC comics, I’ve yet to come across a DC character who wasn’t primarily referred to by their hero / villain name (as opposed to their ‘secret identity’) or didn’t have their costume on 24/7.  In fact, some characters don’t even have a life outside of their ‘super identity’ so I wonder why DC even bothered creating their secret ones. 

And while Marvel is guilty of this to some extent as well, I believe the majority of the superheroes in Marvel comics seem to strike a balance between their regular & superhero personas.  They have real names, jobs, and sometimes even take vacations from superhero-ing “just for the time-off.”  And as corny as it all sounds, I feel it makes them more relatable than the stuff of legends that DC superheroes are made out to be. 

Story Themes:
Again, I’m no expert on DC comics, but there always seems to be this unflinchingly rigid moral code that DC characters seem to have that has never quite appealed to me.  Batman & Superman show the best examples of this; both heroes have extremely high moral standards – Superman, seen as the epitome of truth, justice & the American way while Batman is the hero fighting against Gotham’s never-ending corruption – and all their enemies are just plain scum.  No matter who they’re fighting against, Batman & Superman are always good; their opponent is always bad. 

It’s quite simplistic. 

Marvel Comics, on the other hand, tends to complicate things by blurring that moral standard.  The creation of Mutants in the Marvel universe often allows them to use their storylines as allegories for complex political issues, giving voice to all sides.  An even greater example is the Marvel Civil War  – a storyline where the government passed a “Superhuman Registration Act” that split earth’s heroes into those that were in favor against those that were opposed to it. 

Ethnic Diversity: 

This one is a little nit-picky, but I feel like Marvel is more ‘ethnically diverse’ in creating their characters than DC, which – being a minority myself - made me like it a bit more than DC.  The X-men, for example, are from all over the world: Canada (Wolverine), Africa (Storm), Russia (Colossus), Ireland (Banshee), Japan (Sunfire), Germany (Nightcrawler)…..and, uh, however you count Psylocke (British mind, Asian body). 

The argument could be made that the Justice League is equally diverse (a lot of their members are aliens or representatives of “lost” civilizations), but the majority of them are white-looking. (Exception being the Martian Manhunter & the Jon Stewart Green Lantern)

And if that doesn’t make you think enough about the differences between Marvel & DC, you should take a look at thisblogpost from Gatewaygeek that argues that Marvel & DC represent the ideologies of the two major political parties in the U.S. 

WHICH DO YOU LIKE MORE:  MARVEL OR DC?  

This past weekend, I borrowed a bike & headed out to CicLAvia with my friends, Raul & Kevin. 

I’m still not 100% exactly *what* CicLAvia is, but I believe it’s a kind of non-profit movement to help drivers be mindful of pedestrians and bicyclists.  It’s put on by the community and involves closing off certain streets to drivers & making them more accessible to cyclists / runners / etc.  I guess it’s kind of like a Parade for Cyclists? 

I’m not really a ‘bicycler’, but I hadn’t seen either Kevin or Raul in a while and it looked kinda fun & a great way to get some exercise / sightsee around Los Angeles.  So I set my alarm for 9AM and met them down on 7^th street near Downtown, LA.  We biked for the whole six hours around the city, stopping to take a look at a lot of the highlighted areas on the Bike Route. 

I forgot to bring my camera with me that day.  But lucky for me, Raul did – and he was nice enough to share them on Facebook! 

Bicyclists on the road

Hollenbeck Park

Piano at Union Station - free to anyone for use!

Kevin & I at one of the many Food Trucks there

4th Street bridge

Coca Cola Factory / Ship 

Union Station 

Kevin & me on the bridge

Raul's "helmet head"  

There was also a traveling Camera Bike (or something) called “Snap Yourself!” offering to take your photo for free as long as you liked them on Facebook.  Here’s ours: 

Me, Raul & Kevin

I’ve resisted the idea of getting a bicycle of my own for a while now.  Carol, Evan, et al all bought bikes a couple of years ago and have gone on similar bike-riding events (including this one – we happened to see them a couple times while riding) before in years past and I’ve always passed on the invitation.  I don’t know what made me decide to say yes to Ciclavia, but it’s made me re-think my decision on owning a bicycle. 

Also – here are some things I learned from this past weekend that might help with next CicLAvia (only six months away!): 

-       Wear a long-sleeve shirt & sun screen.  I didn’t and I’m paying for it now with major burns on my arms & the back of my neck. 

-         Wear comfortable shoes.  When you’re not biking, you’re walking – and the route is about ten miles long. 

-         Need to learn the correct “posture” for bike-riding.  My tail bone is really hurting today. 

-         Bicycles now have gears!  (Like a manual-transmission car!) 

• o        1^st Gear is for starting, going up those steep hills, etc. 
• o        6^th Gear is for speed. 

-         It pays to start early – there’s less traffic & more open road to ride / make turns. 

For those of you who live in Los Angeles – have you gone to CicLAvia before?? 
Are you thinking of going to the next one?  

It seems there’s a bit of a morale problem here around my office. 



Not to go into too much detail, but there was a round of lay-offs in my department and those of us “lucky enough” to survive are being bombarded with the work that got left behind. 

Management seems to have noticed how disgruntled that’s making us and recently had “secret” meetings with some of us to brainstorm for ways to make work a “more fun place to be.” 

And after coming out from there, I just can’t help but think of all the ideas that Michael Scott had to make his office a more fun place to be: 


Suggestions from "The Office":   
- Basketball tournament
- Awards ceremony at Chilis
- Office Olympics  (thought of by Jim – but Michael would’ve been all for it)
- Casino Night
- Install “Call of Duty” on all the computers and devote an hour each day to playing as a team. 
- “Movie Mondays”
- Beach Day
- Mandatory Fun Run
- Create & star in our own Business Ad. 
- Start a “war” with another branch of our company
- Set up a Ping pong table
- “Roasting” the boss
- Casual Mondays through Thursdays (as well as Fridays). 
- Play a Mafia / Murder Mystery game

I stopped watching “The Office” after Season 5, so I’m not up-to-date on the show.  But I’m really tempted to suggest some of these.  

Can you think of any others I can add to this list???  

Despite having an I-phone for over a year, I’ve only just recently downloaded my first I-Phone App. 

Today I am a man.    

Seriously, though – it’s from “Prescription (RX) Hope”  & it’s this neat little App that tells you things like savings on Prescriptions, where the nearest pharmacy & sets a little alarm on your phone to remind you when it’s time to take your medication – which is the reason I downloaded it in the first place. 

I’m not on any medication but, as part of my speech therapy, I have to keep a log of where I’m placing my tongue in my mouth at all times.  The reminder on this app help me remember that I’m supposed to do that and keep a log of whether I’m doing it or not. 



Unfortunately, the alarm doesn’t always go off when I want it to.  I’m not sure if that’s my fault or a failure of the App. 

So yeah….my first App is kind of a piece of crap.   

Btw – in a few months, I’ll probably be upgrading my phone plan to include Data.  Then (and only then) I’ll finally be able to download Apps like Words with Friends….and this new “Draw Something!” App I’ve been hearing so much about!   

I made the decision to have braces put on because my dentist (also my aunt) strongly recommended them to me. 

She said that it would beneficial to my dental health in the long run if I started them now and, if I didn’t, I might lose my teeth once I start “getting old.”  Apparently my family has a genetic predisposition for bad teeth. 

So I met with an Orthodontist and she said that, after looking at my X-rays, I would only need to have them on for two years.  Two years go by and wouldn’t you know it?  I need to keep them on a little longer…..and have a little more work done. 

Now I’m doing speech therapy, getting microscrew implants, wearing rubber bands, and I’m *really trying* to do everything that everyone’s telling me to do so I can get these $%^&* wires off.  In fact, I’m pretty sure I spent over $1,000 this year on this. 

But after yesterday’s appointment, my orthodontist is *still* not happy with the progress of my teeth. 

I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. 



My dentist / Aunt remains optimistic that I can see it through to the end.  She knows I’m disappointed and jaded, but keeps encouraging me to stick it out.  Just once, I’d like my orthodontist to give me some good news or be encouraging like that. 

My next appointment is in April.  I’m kinda afraid of what else I’m going to have to start doing.