Another show done. This weekend went by fast.  It felt faster than the last show but was no less fantastic.  I take two vacations a year because FanX Salt Lake Comic Convention hosts two shows a year and I can't express how grateful I am for this.

     I can't wait until FanX Fall!  September 5-7.  I can't imagine how the next show could be better than this one but they always seem to raise the bar a little more each time.

      I learned from the experiences of Clark Gregg, John Cleese, and Alice Cooper. I heard the tale of Alice Coopers’s miraculous recovery after years of alcoholism.  John Cleese saying ’fuck’ numerous times let alone at all in a FanX panel, including telling an audience member to ’fuck off’.  And it was mentioned that Clark Gregg wrote ’What Lies Beneath’ which is a film that holds a special place in my heart.  And I had a conversation with an extraordinary woman that was the best 90 seconds I’d experienced in a long while.  There aren’t many things that can be better than that but we’ll see in September.

     I had some stuff come up at this week so, I won’t have time to work with the content we recorded at FanX so this week’s episode will be the next installment of our adventures in the World of Darkness.  The intro will be me talking about last weekend, I’m sure.  And the convention done for now I’m going to get off my ass and start getting all this shit done right.  Stay tuned, we’re getting into some real fun now! 

      Yesterday was great!  Another FanX show kicked off and I got to feel that thing again.  I always forget the word...happy.  I recorded some of the panels and I’m getting more today.  At the very least I’ll cut a highlight reel for you guys to watch.  Maybe I’ll make the full videos available, I don’t know yet.  

     Day 2 has started.  I invited a beautiful woman to dinner who respectfully declined and I’m pretty sure she was laughing with me and not at me so, a measured victory in that regard.  Now I’m just waiting for the rest of my team to show up and we’ll start getting shit done.  Yesterday we tested some newer equipment that worked out really well and today I think I can get everything working even better.   

     Again I go, once more unto the breach.  Feel free to stop us and say hi on the event floor.  We’ll be running around here all day.  Have fun!  I’m kidding, we all know there is no choice but to have fun at FanX. 

Dustin, Keane, Tim, and Ben.  Come and find us.

      Well, I watched it.  And it was great!  I know there are some assholes who view it as “feminist propaganda”, it’s not.  And you don’t have to be a woman to appreciate the message and the journey of this hero.  Just like all the other films, comics, and all the other media devices conveying these super hero stories, the key elements are universal.

     It’s an origin movie.  That said, this is a character that almost no one had any point of reference going into the theater but they told her origin in an interesting way.  Using flashbacks and the character herself discovering her origin with us.   The origin served to progress the story and did so well.

     I’ve been telling everyone to go first chance you get.  If you’re waiting for someone else to watch it, don’t.  Leave their ass behind and go by yourself if need be.  The only thing I tell parents with younger children is that the special effects for the Skrulls transformation might be a bit rough otherwise, as long as they sit through a movie take them.  That’s about all I’ve got and it’s taken far too long to finish this.  Enjoy the film! 

     It’s finally time to watch Captain Marvel.  I’m so excited!  I’ve been stoked for this one for awhile.  I got my collectable cup, one of my regular snacks, and I caught a few Pokémon while I’m out of the apartment.        

     I can’t wait to see the credits scenes and finally see exactly they lead it into Avengers: Endgame.  There has been, of course, bullshit rage about women super heroes focused on this film.  I’ve never understood that.  I’ve never chosen my heroes or disregarded heroes based upon their gender.  Just whether they sucked as a character.  And I certainly never judged them as such without seeing them. 

      Just go watch the movie and quit your bitching.  And enjoy the credits scenes, I think we’re going to see exactly how this leads into Avengers: Endgame, in theaters April 26th.  And again, eternal gratitude to Dan Farr, Bryan Brandenburg, and ALL the heroes behind the scenes of FanX Salt Lake Comic Convention!  And Bryan just announced Samantha Smith, Mark Pellegrino is coming back, and a hint at a Harry Potter person maybe being almost close to an announcement.  Thanks, everyone!

      First things first, I have no point of reference for this movie going in. I haven’t read the manga nor watched the anime.  I went in blank slate other than a couple of trailers and I enjoyed it a lot. 

     I didn’t expect the layered emotional stories of self-assurance and genuine confidence, and filial belonging, while weighing those concepts against the the more self-destructive ambition and the less positive form of grief one can feel having lost someone.  The action sequences and fighting was great but used primarily to progress the story.  This film is at its core a drama wherein a family builds itself from disparate beings working through various traumas and manages to move forward together.  Of course, a story reminding of everything I’ll never have in my own life.  Despite that I like how they handled that story balancing it well with the sci/fi, humor, and action.

      Performance capture is progressing at an extraordinary pace.  There are moments in this film when you see in the character of Alita glimpses of true joy and profound anguish.  Rosa Salazar does a spectacular job of portraying a youthful vulnerability and an unrelenting will to live.  Not just survive but to be happy.  And to genuinely fight for what is right and win.  I like this one a lot.

     I recommend you see this movie.  It’s set for release in theaters February 14 but showtimes are available today, the thirteenth.  Enjoy the show.