This 12 episodes only Iron Man anime is clearly a class above the other animated Marvels and D.C. series. The animation is so fluid that it is a delight to watch. The storyline is also good. That it is an anime and is Japanese in nature is clear. The dialogue is in Japanese so I was only able to understand by the subtitles only. The translation too is well done.
From Wiki
Iron Man(アイアンマン,Aian Man?) is the first show of the series with 12 episodes. The series was directed by Yuzo Sato with Warren Ellis writing the story. A special preview ran on Animax on September 25, 2010, before the series began airing on October 1, 2010, and ended on December 17, 2010.
Tony Stark goes to Japan to produce a new arc station and showcase the Iron Man Dio, a new prototype armor, that will replace him when he retires. However, the Dio goes out of control and it is up to Tony as Iron Man to stop it along with an organization called the Zodiac.
Marvel Anime is a four-part anime project with collaborations from both Marvel Entertainment and Madhouse. The project will take famous Marvel characters and reintroduce them for a Japanese audience in a 12-part series. The announcement was confirmed at the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con. The other two is Wolverine and the X-men and also take place in Japan. The fourth is still not announced yet.
My Christmas reading of the complex and interconnected stories of Batman by Grant Morrison. Starting with Batman and Son,The Black Glove and Batman R.I.P which leads to the final chapter of Final Crisis where Batman/Bruce Wayne was presumed killed by Darkseid. However it turns out that Bruce Wayne was not dead but was sent back in time by Darkseid's Omega Sanction
This 6 issues miniseries of how Bruce Wayne made his way through time to the present was quite a disappointment compared to the efforts used to set up Dick Grayson as the new Batman of Gotham City.
Nevertheless it is a good read of the adaptability and strong will of Bruce Wayne.
Batman: The Return is about Bruce Wayne revealing himself as the Batman but allowing for Dick Grayson to remain as the Batman of Gotham City.
This is an interesting variant cover of Batman: The Return where instead of the dark Gothic features, the artist uses a lot of Christian symbolism in the cover. Bruce's ordeal in the past is liken to Jesus' forty days in the desert.
The return of Bruce Wayne herald in a new direction in the Batman mythos. His journey from the past to the future have given him much time to think. Wayne has decided to set up "Batman Incorporated" which is a form of franchise system where he, Bruce Wayne/Batman will train up 'Batman' in various major cities in the world to fight crime. Looks like he has finally picked up some ideas from his father-in-law, Ra' A Ghul.
This variant cover shows the Batman we are familiar with and not a corporate symbol. Considering the amount of trouble he have had with his training of and trusting his Robins, Batwoman, Batgirls, the Huntress and numerous others that seen to be collected by him, it will be interesting to see how Bruce Wayne/Batman the untrusting control freak will run his franchise. Harvard Business Review please take note.
Concerns persist regarding the quality of medical graduates and the Government is preparing a number of initiatives to finetune the system. HOW hard is it to tell the difference between a sleeping patient and a cyanosed one who is on course to meet his maker? Observing the simple rise and fall of one’s chest would be a good start. Checking for a pulse would be another and observing that the patient has turned blue is an absolute must.
However, the obvious did not happen in the case of one Pak Abu, who was deemed to be sleeping by house officers. Fortunately, an observant doctor on his last rounds came into the picture and Pak Abu was resuscitated. The three house officers in charge, who graduated from Russian and Ukrainian universities, were reprimanded for negligence, and things went from bad to worse when it was discovered that they did not know the basics of resuscitation or what an oxygen face mask was.
KIM*, a doctor in Pahang saw the early stages of the glut towards the tail end of his (then one-year) housemanship two years ago, while Rozaid* and Mok*, who completed their two-year housemanship last week, were part of the glut. Turning back the clock, Kim said that he initially thought that the increased number of housemen would be a blessing. “There were only a few of us (housemen) in Terengganu back in the day and I initially welcomed the increasing numbers as we were overworked,” he said.
With the influx of housemen, senior doctors have sounded the alarm that an overemphasis on numbers could come at the expense of quality.
“Although the number of patients became more manageable for us, the influx of housemen became alarming and even the policy makers were not prepared for it.
ALTHOUGH there is a tendency to blame various parties in the housemen quagmire, parents should take a good look in the mirror and ask whether they contributed to the problem. The adage goes that the road to hell is paved with good intentions and Physicians for Social Responsibility vice president Datuk Dr Abdul Hamid Abdul Kadir said that parental pressure is partly to blame for the quality of our housemen. “Students who are pressured into medical school won’t make very good doctors as they lack interest in the first place ,” he told The Star. “Parents should not ‘coax’ their children to learn something if they don’t have any interest in it.” He added that misconceptions about the medical practice made things worse. “Many think that the medical practice is lucrative but in reality, it is all a case of demand and supply,” he added. “There were fewer doctors in the past so it was definitely better then, but things are becoming more competitive.”
I was very ill with a severe attack of influenza-fever, runny nose, myalgia, headache, lethargic and bronchitic cough. I was so ill that I cannot read which is very rare. However I still have my comics.
Batman/Superman: Day and Night this collection of Batman/Superman comics may be the last as the writers have splitted up
a wonderful story line of a possible new member to the Batman family
the second best collection of Thor stories I have read lately
when Tony Stark fell from grace as the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Norman Osborne took over H.A.M.M.E.R.
one of Osborne's primary objective is to get hold of the knowledge in Tony Stark's head
and Tony Stark's solution? Self-induced lobotomy! Hello. Did someone said he is a genius?
I first read of Doomsday in the Superman storyline The Death of Superman. Since then I have learned more about this Kryptonian creature of mass destruction. He has an interesting biography. More details here
Mass Effect 2 is an action role playing developed by Bioware and published by Electronic Arts. The game is a sequel to Mass Effect, the first game which was released in 2008 and was very well received by gamers. Mass Effect 2 was released on XBox and PC in January 26, 2010. The characters of the first game may be downloaded into the second game. I did not play the first game but started at the second game. However I was able to familarise myself to the Mass Effect universe very easily.
Mass Effect, the first game is set in the year 2183 AD. Thirty-five years prior, humankind discovered a cache of technology on Mars, supposedly built by a technologically advanced but long-extinct race called the Proteans. Studying and adapting this technology, humanity has managed to break free of the solar system and has established numerous colonies and encountered many different kinds of aliens within the galaxy. Utilizing alien artifacts known as Mass Effect, the various space-faring races are able to travel instantly across vast stretches of the galaxy. Mass Effect 2 started weeks after the first game in 2083.
The default character is Commander Shepard. The fascinating part is that you get to choose the class of your character (ranging from soldiers who are skilled with weapons to adepts who are skills with bionic energy). Throughout the game, you can choose the verbal or action response of your character (often a menu of 2-6 responses) which range from gentle to rude/aggressive. Apparently these responses will be taken into account during the game play and affects the outcome. Hence you have to slowly develop the character of your character as well as acquire experience, weapons and armour upgrades for your character and his ship, Normandy of which your character is the captain. Shepard has to recruit, arm and train a team of people with various skills to fight against an alien race called Collectors who are kidnapping human colonists. More on Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2. The fans has their own Mass effect Wiki which has lots of information about the Mass Effect universe.
The cut scene graphics are very good with a good story line. I enjoyed playing the role of Shepard which includes recruiting and training his team. Flying around in a spaceship is fun and I like mining for minerals. Makes me think of Star Trek. The battles are adrenaline surging but winnable if you have a good team. I feel like I am being involved in an interactive science fiction movie/novel. It was a truly enjoyable experience.
One of Captain Shepard's role is to keep his team member's morale up. This often involves he talking to them and helping them to solve their personal problems. This is certainly good leadership and I am amused that an action role playing game actually utilises principles of good leadership. Apparently bad leadership will affect the outcome of the game.
I have enjoyed the game and am looking for a copy of the first game. Apparently there will be another game after this and I am looking forward to that too. The games also has spin-off to books and comics and I look forward to reading Mass Effect: Redemption (four issue comics) and Mass Effect:Revelation and Mass Effect: Ascension (last two are novels).
I rate Mass Effect as on par with Halo, God of War, Gears of War and Call of Duty.
Finally the anime craze has grabbed hold of the Batman. Here is a sculpture of an anime Batman. This is finely detailed. Look carefully at the chest plate. I find the variation of the Batman logo fascinating.
SCULPTED BY JONATHAN MATTHEWS Batman gets the AME-COMI treatment! With the popularity of the AME-COMI HEROINE SERIES, the line extends to the AME-COMI HERO SERIES to include the men of the DC Universe! Looking more menacing than ever before, Batman is the underworld's worst nightmare and Gotham City citizens' darkest savior. Packaged in a 4-color window box with J-hook, this limited-edition, non-articulated PVC statue measures approximately 8.75" high
Here are some facts you do not need to know. Who are the actors to put on the cape and cowl in the Batman movies?
This is the cover of the August 2010 issue 700 of Batman comic.
This special issue contains an excellent story "Time and The Batman" written by Grant Morrison.
The story involves Batman of the past, Bruce Wayne, Batman of the present, Dick Grayson, and Batman of the future, Damian Wayne, Bruce Wayne's son. For those who are not aware, Batman (Bruce Wayne) was killed in the final chapter of DC universe earth shaking story arc, Final Crisis. Dick Grayson, the first Robin and latter Nightwing has taken over the mantle of his mentor, Bruce Wayne.
