Lantern7

Any reactions to MLB's "Franchise Four"? My team got two castoffs from other clubs (Keith Hernandez from the Cardinals, Mike Piazza from the Dodgers via Florida), a guy who will probably end his career with the Mets and no World Series rings (David Wright), and the most popular Hall of Famer ever (Tom Seaver). ETA: Speaking of Keith . . . he made a list on AVClub on twenty great athlete cameos. I had to share.

I know, but it looked like the AL batters were going in swinging. I'm not complaining . . . my worst case scenario involved deGrom getting a line drive to the arm that somehow results in him needing Tommy John surgery. And if you think that's far-fetched, you're not a Mets fan.

I saw the latest episode. I'm not sure whether Kirito is the best friend ever or the worst. Consider. . . Kirito: Hey, Sinon? Don't get mad . . . Sinon: Asking somebody not to get mad is not a good way to start. Kirito: . . . but I told your deeply personal story to my girlfriend and her bitch best friend. Sinon: Wow. Now I feel the urge to have a gun in my hand. Kirito: Wait. It get better. They went to the town where you shot and killed that guy . . . Sinon: Urge to kill rising . . . Kirito: . . . and they found a lady whose life you saved by thinking fast and traumatizing yourself. Bonus: she was pregnant! Here's her daughter!! Sinon: I should put my foot so far up your ass that I lose a good shoe . . . but since this is a shonen anime, I thank you profusely. Maybe I should be more critical as to how some bitch managed to obtain -- and conceal -- a loaded gun to taunt Sinon with. And her henchwomen making faces were no picnic, either. Sinon needs better company. I'm just uncertain as to Kirito qualifying. I'm guessing we're going back into the elf game for the rest of the show's run, if the teasers are to be believed. Maybe they'll run into the third Death Gun there.

Just tuned in to see Jacob deGrom in action. Is it a big deal for a pitcher to strike out the side in an All-Star Game? The batters kept swinging and missing.

Recently, I accidently transferred a buttload a pictures to my Flickr account, including old motivator posters. I just saw a teaser for Heroes Reborn, and I figure I'd kick off with a look at a returning cast member, circa 2008: . . . and here's somebody I'm pretty sure won't be seen on Reborn . . . ETA: If anybody has old-school requests, I can check the archives and see what I can do.

I hate to echo every other critic out there, but this show peaked in the first season. Or maybe it's because I like my Hiro to be a goober. Also: Christopher Eccleston. Hard to top his guest appearances as Claude, especially after Claude pushed Peter Petrelli off the roof of a tall building. That was awesome. ETA: Also, this was back when I didn't think of Mohinder as "D'ohinder."

Bumping up for the latest episode. Why do I feel that we need to check in on Hatchin's old family to show that Michiko isn't that bad by comparison? In other news . . . psychics are legit, you guys!

Thirty competitors, one finisher. That has to be a record for this show. I ask the same question I did on TWoP about Sasuke: Do the guys who plan the course get bonuses for failure? The Hourglass Leap (probably wrong, I know) is brutal enough, but then you throw in Rumbling Dice (now with different weights!), Clear Climb and Invisible Ladder . . . damn. Dunno how to feel about the freegan being the only one to finish the course. Dumpster diving for grub squicks me out. Maybe I'm easy to gross out . . . I nearly ralphed seeing the Ninja Scout prepare roast rabbit. And yeah, Jessie Graff is a badass. ANW will probably hitch their wagon to her and other women who go far in the regional finals, even if they don't complete the course like Kacy did last year. Anybody else expect to see her in a t-shirt with "WILD CARD" printed on it? In regards to Kevin Bull and alopecia . . . when are hairless guys cast as the bad guy? Lex Luthor is the only guy I can think of, and even then the character was mostly amoral on Smallville. BTW, is anybody tickled to see his success on Cannonball Alley from last season, specifically because they show the hairiest dude on the sideline wigging out over it? ETA: I got my first bottle of Pom Wonderful today. I'm not usually that weak in regards to sponsors, but I'd like to enter the contest for the trip to Japan. Please tell me I'm not the only one.

SNY is running Johan Santana's no-hitter from three years ago. I remember that because I was napping after a long week's worth of work, and I missed it completely. Anybody else think that Santana's woes escalated because he dared to be the first Mets pitcher to throw a no-no? Especially after one Cardinal hit a ball on the third base line, and that was called foul.

Well, the Navy killed all of the allies the Straw Hats made. Meanwhile, Rob Lucci and Luffy fight some more, with Luffy breaking out Second Gear at episode's end. Oh, and the Straw Hats are traumatized by the revelation that Kokoro is a mermaid. It's pretty funny here, and it gets some screentime a few seasons from now.

Damn, that was a bloody ending to the episode. Almost takes way from the opening visual of Ryuko, Ragyo and Nui buck nekkid laying next to each other. Holy crap . . . even with all the uniform swapping and friendship speeches from Mako, it couldn't take away from the ickiness of the first scene.

Checking here again to see if anybody got the first issue of Green Lantern/Star Trek: Spectrum Wars. I got a blank covered issue, though I don't know what I'd get for it. Kirk-as-Green Lantern seems to be obvious, but which one? Shatner or Pine? Maybe I should get Spock-as-Red Lantern, and have him ponder the illogic of being "worthy" of a rage ring. As for the issue itself? I dunno if I'd get the rest of the series. Most of the issue was setting the table. . . no measuring contests between Hal and Jim, though I'm betting that they'll play off each other as the miniseries progresses.

I didn't see most of the Mets game today. I missed the part where Matt Harvey hit a two-run homer. Why do I feel that the Mets will be brought up as the best reason not to bring the designated hitter to the National League? The pitchers make things interesting, whether it's homers or Bartolo Colon stretching a triple into a double.

. . . and apparently, the DVDs are coming in hot and heavy. Here's 7-2. ETA: I don't know why the video exists. Amazon isn't soliciting it. I was tipped off by the lack of DVD cover in the video.

Here's a piece on RC, with a trailer for the third DC Comics special.

Right now, SNY has a banner running about how Steven Matz tore a lat muscle and will not throw for three weeks. Cut to every Mets fan making the gun-to-head motion. Seriously, the latest wunderkind who's 2-0 and 3-for-6 at the plate with 5 RBI, and he's out. Don't be surprised if Jacob deGrom comes out of the All-Star Game needing Tommy John surgery. ETA: I was at a pub last night with the Yankees game on. Is it messed up that they're giving away replica World Series rings from 2000 to kids 14 and under?

Here's hoping they don't put Obama & Luther on the sidelines for the rest of the season. Also: fun stuff with racial profiling, airplane justice, and politically correct pirate shanties. Welcome back, K&P.

Comic-Con started today. Actually, today had "Preview Night," but I'm counting it as the start. I kinda/sorta wish I could have made the trip, but tickets sold out in about an hour . . . and getting access is child's play compared to getting there and staying there. At least I have NYCC in October .. . and I can watch Conan all week from San Diego.

Thumbed through Ghost Racers. I think Zero Cochrane was part of the antagonistic Racers that popped up on the last page, which basically kills my interest in the book. I know . . . Zero didn't actually host a Spirit of Vengeance, unlike the others (Danny, Johnny, Alejandra, Robbie), but I would've wanted to see him tear up the track.

It's been a while since I've been inspired. scarynikki12 posted a picture on the eve of Comic-Con, and I had to share . . . (Heroes, Heroes Reborn)

"Opinions are like buttholes. Everyone has three of them." And that's enough I want to know about Amy. Still a good episode, even with Bridget Everett going way too far way too fast in her traditional finale appearance.

An all-military episode? Like we don't feel self conscious about not being Adonises . . . now we have to see people that would answer the call of duty that most of us wouldn't dream of answering? Seriously, I don't see how you can root against anybody that competed in tonight's episode. Well . . . except the politician who elected to skip a few Quintuple Steps. That guy was a punk.

The only time I hated an All-Star selection was back in 2003, when Dusty Baker picked Armando Benetiez as the Mets' sole representative. I think they were above .500 at the time, and he was known for blowing saves in spectacular fashion.

Saw it today. Add me to the camp that thinks a movie that mediocre can't be placed on Chris Pratt's broad shoulders. Honestly, aside from his character, I couldn't root for any of the humans. Not even the kids. The older one was a horndog, and I kept wondering if dinosaurs were allergic to the young kid, since he was way too precocious. And Viewmaster? Who has those anymore?!? And I was kinda/sorta hoping that the mother would punch Clare in the mouth at the end of the movie. No such luck. I mean, the movie did bring out some great concepts, like dinos in combat (which would probably give generals wood just thinking about it), and how hardcore sponsors would be to promote an obvious deathtrap. Also, it's kinda hard to feel sorry for the people who became winged dino chow, even though they paid for it. Last year, my mother spent some dough to get an "experience" feeding a panda in a cage for me and her. Granted, that's a world of difference between pandas and dinosaurs . . . give a panda enough bamboo, and he'll be cool with having biscuits fed to him while he's not chilling in his enclosure. I don't know why I thought of that . . . it just popped in my head. Sorry if it was a shitty metaphor. I vote "no" on sequels. Aside from the legal ramifications (even if everybody signed a waiver about being eaten), I can't see how much more can be squeezed from the franchise.

On Friday, the guys at Around The Horn were trying to figure out who the Mets would sacrifice. One guy suggested Mr. Met. The second went with Bartolo Colon, probably basing that decision on volume. The final guy went with Bobby Bonilla, whom the Mets are still paying, despite his crappy tours of duty with the Mets.