By this point I’ve read through several different summaries of the framework and I think it’s flawed. What I don’t understand is the absurdity of blaming Google, claiming they are evil and that they have handed the internet over to the phone companies.

It isn’t Google’s job (or in fact that of any company) to negotiate an agreement on your behalf. It isn’t their job to protect your rights or arrange for you to be given new rights. We already have an organization for that purpose. It’s called the Government.

Unfortunately the Government has so far totally failed to live up to its responsibilities. The FCC seems either unable or unwilling to exercise enough political influence to set up a deal. And sadly it seems that more than a few representatives are only too happy to listen to one sponsored lobbyist or another.

And yet who are people complaining about.? Who are people organizing protests against? Yup, Google. A company that doesn’t even have the capability to make it’s proposed framework law in the first place!

French philosopher Joseph de Maistre said “Every nation has the government it deserves.” and there’s a lot of truth in that statement. If you want true net neutrality, start lobbying the people with the power to enact it and stop believing that some fairy godmother corporation will come along and do all the hard work for you.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Quoted – Google Begins Buttressing Its Net Neutrality Argument (scotttesta.com)
• Net neutrality protest at Google (bbc.co.uk)
• Net Neutrality Groups Plan Protest At Google Headquarters (huffingtonpost.com)
• Google-Verizon Plan Gets AT&T’s Nod (pcworld.com)
• Google/Verizon Net Neutrality pact: It really is that bad (alternet.org)
• Protesters at Google HQ Demand End to Verizon Net Neutrality Proposal (Dawn Kawamoto/DailyFinance) (techmeme.com)
• FCC should reject the Google-Verizon net-neutrality plan (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Guess Who Else Disagrees With Google’s Net Neutrality Plan? Google In 2006 (techcrunch.com)
• Google’s all on the defensive after that net neutrality thang (shortformblog.com)
• Google’s Lame Defense of its Net Neutrality Pact (Stacey Higginbotham/GigaOM) (techmeme.com)

I’ve been on a bit of  a Tolkien kick recently (in all honestly I’ve been on a Tolkien kick for my entire life) so I thought I’d watch the 1977 animated tv movie of  The Hobbit. I went into this knowing that I really wasn’t the target audience for this adaptation, but curious none the less.

What I found was a really mixed bag. There are some elements of the movie that are remarkably strong and others that just jar my nerves.

I was surprised by how faithful the animated movie was to The Hobbit. It’s short running time inevitably means that plot elements are left out, but the core of it remains true to the book and all the major characters are featured and they even included the Battle of Five Armies. That’s really more than I expected from an animated movie from Rankin/Bass.

The voice work is mainly good and the animation is tolerable to good (shout out to John Huston as Gandalf). If you’ve seen other Rank/Bass productions you’ll know what to expect. The musical elements were inevitable, and at least they used Tolkien’s poems for them. But it does feel forced and distracts from the story rather than adds to it.

In terms of design, it’s a strange mixture. The backgrounds feel entirely in keeping with Tolkien’s work. The colors and styles are very reminiscent of stuff I’ve seen before. On the other hand the character designs don’t seem to match up with any of Tolkien’s descriptions.  The dwarves aren’t terrible, but are a lot less impressive than I envisage. The goblins look hideous at least, but nothing like I pictured them. But the elves are absolutely terrible. I don’t know what they were thinking with that design. Perhaps it has something to do with the Japanese animation house used for much of the work.

Putting aside the visual elements, my main problem with  Arthur Rankin and Jules Bass’ adaptation of The Hobbit is that none of the dwarves are really given enough time to develop a personality. Only Thorin gets any significant amount of lines. It’s a result of the short run time of course and the producers made the obvious decision to focus on Bilbo Baggins (the titular Hobbit) at the expense of everyone else.

There’s also something missing. When I read The Hobbit, I get a huge sense of fun throughout the book, even the darker chapters. The animated movie feels a bit bleak. And that’s really strange for a Rankin Bass production.

Somehow I don’t think J.R.R. Tolkien would be terribly impressed with the animated Hobbit. But then I doubt Tolkien would be impressed with any of the adaptations. It’s certainly not the adaptation that I picture in my head. But you have to look at it for what it is. It’s aimed firmly at children and it’s a mainstream tv movie from 30+ years ago. Set your expectations to a realistic level and there is something to enjoy here.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Soviet Hobbit illustrations (boingboing.net)
• Peter Jackson Meets With Actors For The Hobbit (perezhilton.com)
• Ian McKellan Dropping Out Of The Hobbit? (perezhilton.com)
• the passion of the hobbit (bripblap.com)
• Nine Hobbits that Could Happen (tor.com)
• Warner recruiting for more than one Hobbit title (vg247.com)

I have to admit I had my doubts going in. Mark Gatiss recent Doctor Who episode hadn’t  impressed me much and Steven Moffat is rarely out-written. On top of which I was very dubious about the wisdom of introducing Moriarity so early in the series existence.

I’m pleased to say that I was wrong on all counts though. Gatiss penned the most authentic Sherlock Holmes episode I have ever seen even if it was set in the present day. It captured everything from the characters to the atmosphere perfectly. I can even forgive him for that cliffhanger.

As in the last two episodes Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman make an excellent Holmes and Watson. Their interaction is much more convincing than that of the recent movie. It was nice to see the rest of the supporting cast return as well since they add a lot of depth to the world of Sherlock Holmes.

It’s hard to develop a story arc in a 3 episode season and the Moriarty plot seemed ham handedly forced onto the end of the last two stories, but here it fit in perfectly.  Andrew Scott gives us a wonderfully insane Moriarty and one that feels like a genuine threat to Sherlock.

Throughout the episode we are shown that Moriarty is really a dark reflection of Sherlock. Moriarty is what we were warned that Sherlock could become in the first episode.  Sherlock’s enjoyment of the “games” that Moriarty makes him play is obvious and his casual manipulation of people and their emotions is unsettling.

And yet there is a difference. While Moriarty revels in his own brilliance and the chaos he causes, Sherlock does seem to follow some sort of moral code and clearly has a strong tendency towards order.

There’s really nothing bad I can say about this episode and I am already waiting impatiently for it to return for the promised second season.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Updated Sherlock ‘will be back’ (bbc.co.uk)
• Sherlock to return for second series (guardian.co.uk)
• Sherlock finale: your verdict on The Great Game (guardian.co.uk)
• The mysterious case of the unknown Moriarty: how Sherlock Holmes will reveal all (guardian.co.uk)

As I mentioned in the previous review these two shows have a similar feel to them and once again there was more emphasis on humor than on any deep plot. Unlike Warehouse 13 however, Eureka didn’t give us a stand alone episode. This was deeply rooted in the ongoing time change storyline that Eureka is playing out.  There was a handy recap at the beginning of the episode, but I wonder if new viewers (the usual reason for a crossover) might be a little confused?

I’ve been really enjoying this season’s story arc because it forces familiar characters to face unfamiliar situations and the same is true here, particularly where Henry (Joe Morton) has to find a way to interact more naturally with his “new” wife. I also like the less combative relationship between Jo Lupo (Erica Cerra) and Sherrif Carter (Colin Ferguson). On the other hand I’m getting really tired of endlessly simmering romance between Allison and Carter.  It just feels worn out.

When reviewing Warehouse 13, I mentioned that there wasn’t much sense of threat in the episode because only the main cast were at risk. In essence we had the same situation here, but Eureka has killed off a cast member before and is downright ruthless with its recurring characters. So there was a feeling that  Trevor Grant (James Callis) could conceivably die, even if it was unlikely.

This isn’t a game changing episode for Eureka, it’s really more of the same. But that same is an entertaining mixture of tension, character and quips. It’s a great way to relax after a hard day’s work. Fun without requiring too much effort on my part.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Eureka 4.05: “Crossing Over” (pinkbananaworld.com)
• ‘Eureka’ – ‘Crossing Over’ Recap (tvsquad.com)
• “Eureka Review: “Crossing Over”" and related posts (tvfanatic.com)
• “The Ultimate Syfy Crossover: ‘Warehouse 13′ Meets ‘Eureka’ This Week” and related posts (scifipulse.net)

Ingredients

• 1 package quick-acting active dry yeast
• 1 1/3 cup milk (105º to 115ºF degrees)
• 2 1/2 cups white flour
• 1 cup of whole wheat flour
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt

Directions

Mix the sugar into your warm milk then dissolve your yeast in the liquid. Stir in a cup of flour, the oil and the salt. Beat the mixture until it is smooth. Then stir in the remaining flour (make sure the scrape dough from the side of the bowl) until a soft dough forms. I used a hand held electric mixer to do this, but a free standing mixer would work better, or you could do it by had.

Cover the dough and let it rise in warm place until it doubles in size. This took about 45 minutes. Heat the oven 400ºF degrees. Prep a 12 cup muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray.

Punch down dough in center and fold over a few times. This step is very important. Then Pinch off 1 inch balls of dough and quickly roll in palm of hands. Put 3 balls to one muffin cup; drizzle a little olive oil one and sprinkle with coarse salt.

Bake 12 to 15 minutes, until crust is light golden brown. Immediately remove from pan. Store loosely covered.

Nutritional Values

Nutritionally this is about what you’d expect from a dinner roll except that by including a cup of whole wheat flour I was able to bump up the fiber content. I might try increasing the amount of whole wheat, but that may well increase the density of the rolls.

Not coating the rolls in  salt would probably help too…

Total          Serving (12)

Calories      2160            180.0

Fat             91              7.6

Cholesterol      0              0.0

Sodium        1210            100.8

Fiber           25              2.1

Sugar           24              2.0

Protein         68              5.7

Cost

In terms of cost this recipe is pretty economic, particularly when compared to buying fresh rolls from a store.

Cost

1 pkg Active Dry Yeast

$  0.28

1 cup 2% milk (105 - 115 degrees)

$  0.36

1 cup whole grain flour

$  0.25

2 1/4 cups white flour

$  0.14

3 tbsp olive oil

$  0.32

1 tbsp sugar

$  0.01

1 tsp Salt

$  0.06

Total

$  1.42

Per Roll

$  0.12

Related articles by Zemanta

• 7 Scrumptious Bread Recipes (lifescript.com)
• Soft Pretzel Recipe (notecook.com)
• How to make flat bread (plentyonyourplate.com)
• Best Whole Wheat Yeast Rolls (notecook.com)

Actually yes it does. Fortunately both Eureka and Warehouse 13 have a lot in common stylistically. While  Eureka is science based and Warehouse 13 has more fantasy elements, the shows feel similar and mesh quite well.

The writers also wisely limited the nature of the crossover to one character, Douglas Fargo. Primarily a comedic character, he slipped right in to the series as though he belonged and his interactions with Artie and Claudia was spot on.

But the episode didn’t rely on the stunt crossover for its entertainment value. Hugo and Hugo 1 (played by Rene Auberjonois) touched on a recurring theme in Warehouse 13, namely what seems to happen to all the warehouse agents.  That ominous note  is needed because there isn’t really much of a sense of jeopardy in this episode. Since the only characters at risk are series regulars it’s hard to feel that they’re actually in any danger. Usually there’s at least a guest character to worry about.

But that’s a fact that really only came to my attention after the show was over. While I was watching the episode I was too busy try to catch all the geek movie and tv references or enjoying the banter between the cast members. Though I couldn’t help but notice that Myka and Pete are being made out to be stunningly incompetent agents this season. I know it kept the plot moving, but it was lazy writing and it’s not the first time it’s happened this year.

But Warehouse 13 has never been challenging viewing. It is after all intended to be a fun show more than anything else. So perhaps I shouldn’t criticize this episode too heavily for being what it is.

Related articles by Zemanta

• ‘Warehouse 13′ – ’13.1′ Recap (tvsquad.com)
• “Eureka Review: “Crossing Over”" and related posts (tvfanatic.com)
• Warehouse 13 2.05: “13.1? (pinkbananaworld.com)
• Warehouse 13 elevates nerd candy to the level of greatness [Tv Recap] (io9.com)
• Allison Scagliotti, Neil Grayston: Sparks fly in ‘Warehouse 13′-’Eureka’ crossover (chicagonow.com)

Well, sad to say it isn’t as good as the first episode.  It just lacked some of the spark.  That’s not to say it was bad, because there were still a lot of strong points in the show. Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman remain pitch perfect in their respective roles as Sherlock Holmes and Watson. They make the most of their scenes and the character material they are given to work with.

Similarly Euros Lynn (perhaps the best of Russel T. Davies Doctor Who directors)  has picked up on many of the visual cues from the first episode and delivered something that while not identical was stylistically similar.

The problems with this episode all lie squarely in Stephen Thompson’s script.  While he does seem to have a firm grasp on the characters and his plot was certainly full of puzzles, it failed to compel in the way that a Study in Pink did. To make matters worse, some elements seemed outright cliched. Really, Chinese smugglers and a Chinese circus troop? And there seemed to be a few places where the logic just didn’t add up at all.

On top of that we have the frankly baffling decision to omit almost all of the secondary characters established in the first episode and in their place have one almost characterless detective. Perhaps that was a budgetary decision or based on the availability of actors, but it definitely hurt the show.

But for all my negativity, in truth I still enjoyed The Blind Banker because the relationship between Holmes and Watson (still clearly in its early stages here) is so compelling. Throwing in a romantic interest for Watson was a nice touch too although I’m not clear if the intent is for her to be a recurring character.

As far as the series story-arc is concerned I’m going to hold my tongue until I’ve seen the final episode. I have a fairly strong opinion on it and how it has been handled so far, but it would be unfair to judge without seeing the end.

Bottom line then is that The Blind Banker is a fun, but not great episode of Sherlock.  I’m hoping that Mark Gatiss’ episode next week will step things up again.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Why I’m no fan of Sherlock (newstatesman.com)
• TV review: Sherlock (guardian.co.uk)
• “The Game Is Afoot”: Modern Day Sherlock (pinkbananaworld.com)
• TV Review: Sherlock – The 2010 Super Sleuth (blogcritics.org)
• Culture Club: Sherlock, Sunday, BBC1 (independent.co.uk)
• Sherlock, BBC One, review (telegraph.co.uk)
• Sherlock makes Sunday night TV sexy (guardian.co.uk)

If that wasn’t bad enough, this week’s “celebrity” cameo is Jamie Kennedy playing his usual highly annoying comedy character. Considering the scientist he played had a minimal role in the entire episode, his presence was a grating distraction.

It wasn’t all bad mind you. It was nice to see Zoe Carter (Jordan Hinson) put in an appearance. I’m not really sure what her function in the show is, but it’s annoying when characters vanish and are never referenced again.  The invisible cat sub-plot was pure filler though.

I did like seeing Fargo (Neil Grayston) trying to function in his new (to him) role as chief of GD. In previous seasons he was almost entirely a comedy character and that’s still his primary function, but his position forces the character to mature a little which is good to watch.

Interesting to see that they have re-cast Deputy Andy. I’m not sure what the real life reasoning for this was, but I guess it’s going to be a recurring joke with him being damaged and re-skinned on a regular basis. It’s  funny, but the original actor was very good in the role.

If this review seems particularly half hearted it’s because I just didn’t care much about this episode. Lots of soap opera, Allison (Salli Richardson-Whitfield) behaving completely out of character and Sherrif Carter (Colin Ferguson) being stuck in a sub-plot don’t make for a top notch episode of Eureka.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Eureka argues that even an altered timeline can’t change who you really are [Eureka Recap] (io9.com)
• Eureka 4.04: “The Story of O2? (pinkbananaworld.com)
• TV Review: Eureka – “The Story of O2″ (blogcritics.org)
• Colin Ferguson and me, on acting (wilwheaton.typepad.com)

Easy Mode

First off, if you don’t want to mess with a dozen different settings, the initial configuration will set things up in a default “easy” mode that gives you substantial battery savings without any further adjustments. You don’t really need to do anything more than that. But Android owners do like to tweak.

JuiceDefender Interface

In all honesty the JuiceDefender interface is not user friendly. Basically it’s just a mass of buttons grouped in an order which I don’t entirely understand. So the easiest thing to do is just to address them in the order they appear on the screen.

• Enabled – It’s the on/off button.
• Notification – Turn this off unless you want to be constantly notified when JuiceDefender changes something.
• Data / 3G / WiFi – Let JuiceDefender control your how often your Data /3G / WiFi connection is activated when the phone is idle. These options can be scheduled, see the Schedule button below.
• CPU – For people with a rooted phone JuiceDefender can overclock or underclock your CPU allowing you to either run faster or save battery by running a little slower.
• Schedule – Set up how often the Data/3G/Wi-Fi. I use a setting of 1 minute in every 15 during which time your phone will poll for data updates, synchronize contacts etc.
• Night – A special night time schedule during which your Data/3G/Wi-Fi will be completely disabled. It can also mute the phone and put it in airplane mode for additional battery saving.
• Battery – You can set the battery % at which JuiceDefender cuts all Data/3G/Wi-Fi in order to extend battery life. I set it at 15%,
• Traffic – This setting is used to keep the data active if a download is occurring. I set it at a 10KB per second so it doesn’t shut down music streaming if the screen blanks.
• Peak – The reverse of Night, you can define a time at which data should always be active. I don’t use this setting myself.
• Apps – Forces data connectivity on or off if a certain app is running. I don’t use this one either.
• Screen –  You can make the data connectivity stay on when the screen is unlocked or when the screen is turned on. I have it set to unlocked so I can check the lock screen for information without turning on the data.
• Location – You can set certain locations where data is always on or always off.

Optimum Settings

I’d love to be able to give you a list of optimum settings for the program, but I really can’t, because it depends on how you use your phone. I’d suggest starting with the defaults and adjust one setting at a time. If you aren’t constantly checking your phone then a Schedule of 3 minutes out of 1 hour might save a lot more battery.

Related articles by Zemanta

• JuiceDefender – Improve the Battery Life of Your Android Device (eoghann.com)
• 8 Great Apps Every Rooted Android User Should Know About (androidpolice.com)
• Top Free Android Applications (jteam.nl)
• Top 5 Free Android Widgets (jkontherun.com)

The letter was blatantly styled to look like a government form, complete with an eagle in the logo and references to the Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure act. NCRA does (at the bottom of the letter) mention that they are a private agency, but they’ve even gone to the trouble of setting up a DC address (despite mailing this out from California).

So what is the core of this scam?  They claim that they have reviewed your Experian credit file and that you may be “a victim of unauthorized interest rate adjustments and credit limit decreases”. Now given how the credit card companies have been operating I’m going to bet that just about everyone has seen credit limit decreases and interest rate adjustments. The NCRA letter then goes on to say that theycan give you a settlement on your consumer debt for a reduced principal amount and a lower monthly payment at 0% interest.

Here’s what you have to understand. The NCRA may be able to get you a settlement on a reduced principal and lower monthly payment. But if they do they will absolutely destroy your credit rating and it will take you years to recover from it.

Thats why the want to make it look like they’re connected with a government program of some sort. Because the truth isn’t nearly as appealing. If you received one of these letters in your mail, throw it straight in the bin and go to a reputable company to help sort out your debt.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Why You Need to Order Your Free Annual Credit Reports (creditrepair.org)
• Repairing Credit History for a Better Credit Report Score (consumereducation.suite101.com)
• The Tyranny of the Credit Score (nytimes.com)
• The Risk Involved With Credit Repair Services (creditrepair.org)
• Top Consumer Complaints in 2009 (bucks.blogs.nytimes.com)
• How To Eliminate Credit Card Debt (forbes.com)

Well one option is to twist his character to fit more of an action hero role. The result was an entertaining but shallow movie. Or you could take Sherlock Holmes and his supporting cast and move him to the present day. And that is what Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss chose to do.

Despite the move to modern times, this is a very faithful adaptation of the novels. Benedict Cumberbatch’s masterful portrayal of Holmes captured many of his nuances and the modern setting allowed Moffat to present Holmes as more than an exceptionally astute individual, but to narrow in on his “high level sociopath” tendencies. This is a remarkably good fit for the character of Holmes and an interesting angle  that I hope they pursue.

But while Cumberbatch really grabs your attention while he’s on screen, it’s Martin Freeman’s subdued performance as Doctor Watson that really makes the show work. Doctor Watson is a character which has been much maligned in adaptations. The worst offender’s probably being the Basil Rathbone movies. Freeman gives us a Watson who is both competent and brave and Moffat wisely uses him as the primary viewpoint character for the show.

And that’s important, because as fun as Holmes is, he’s not a character most of us could empathize with. Watson is though. He’s an ex-soldier. He has normal problems and as played by Freeman he is likable even when he is being aloof. Plus his calm mannerisms make Cumberbatch’s frenetic Holmes even more magnetic.

I should mention the distinctive direction of Paul McGuigan who gives us a fast paced episode with some very unusual visual ticks. The idea of having people’s texting appear on screen was clever, but occasionally distracting. I will be curious to see how Euros Lynn handles the second episode and if he follows the same style.

So far I haven’t really said anything about the plot and that’s because it’s really the weakest thing in the whole episode. It’s not bad, but the mystery really isn’t that complex and it really only seems to exist to introduce the characters and set up the relationship between Holmes and Watson. As such it serves its purpose effectively, but it doesn’t stand up so well as a plot in its own right.

But that’s a quibble. Sherlock is an outright success and I’m left wondering if Steven Moffat is even capable of writing something bad. Now the question is if Stephen Thomson and Mark Gatiss will be able to live up to the opening episode with their contributions.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Sherlock actor’s ‘joy and worry’ (bbc.co.uk)
• “It was very superficial, my dear Watson, I assure you” (cmock127.blogspot.com)
• Sherlock, BBC One, review (telegraph.co.uk)
• Sherlock makes Sunday night TV sexy (guardian.co.uk)
• Why Sherlock is still sleuthing (bbc.co.uk)
• Why the rivetting Sherlock Holmes stories have endured (telegraph.co.uk)
• Tubeview: Shades of Doctor Who in new BBC drama Sherlock (beehivecity.com)
• Elementary my dear Watson* (couchslobs.com)

The most frustrating thing for many Android users is the way their battery drops even when they aren’t using the phone. That’s where JuiceDefender comes in. The developer Latedroid has cleverly tweaked android’s data settings so when you’re not actively using the phone it powers down the wifi, 3G etc. But it if you want to keep getting your updates it has a user configurable schedule to reactivate the data and grab the latest information for you. For those of you with rooted phones Juice Defender can also throttle your CPU up or down.

Exactly how big a gain you get from JuiceDefender depends on how you use your phone. It won’t help your battery life while you’re actively using it, but my personal experience is it has almost doubled the battery life of my phone because there’s a lot of down time when I’m not using it.

I’m constantly surprised that more people aren’t aware of JuiceDefender. I’d consider it an essential Android app. If you’d like to try it out, then check out the free version (with limited features) and if you’re as impressed as I am I’m sure you’ll want to purchase the full Ultimate Juice version.

Do you have any battery saving tips for Android?

• JuiceDefender at the Latedroid website.
• JuiceDefender in the Android Market.

Related articles by Zemanta

• 8 Great Apps Every Rooted Android User Should Know About (androidpolice.com)
• Top 20 Android Apps Recommended by You (jkontherun.com)
• HTC Droid Eris Battery Problems, Tips on Saving and Replacements (brighthub.com)
• Leaving iPhone for Android (jeffnolan.com)

Slamming SyFy seems to be the hot thing in fanboy circles lately and they certainly make themselves an easy target.  But amongst all that ego bolstering  sound and fury it’s easy to ignore the fact that they have carved out a little niche for themselves. With shows like Haven, Warehouse 13 and of course Eureka they are offering sci-fi subject matter on a lower budget by setting them at least mainly in the “real” world.

Eureka isn’t designed to be too challenging. It’s an hour of entertainment where they throw a bunch of science concepts together to give us a threat of the week. What makes it work is really the interaction of the appealing characters.  But after 3 years, things had become a little samey. And then they rebooted…

This is still the Eureka that I’ve enjoyed for several years, just twisted around a bit. The show was never really about the plots, but about the characters and now our protagonists are presented with new challenges and dilemmas. It’s not a challenging show, but it is fun and I look forward to watching the rest of the season.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Eureka 4.02: “A New World” (pinkbananaworld.com)
• Eureka reveals the wonderful (and the terrible) of its brave new world [Eureka Recap] (io9.com)
• Eureka messes with the time-stream and gets awesome, show-altering consequences [Eureka Recap] (io9.com)
• ‘Eureka’ – ‘A New World’ Recap (tvsquad.com)
• Check Out The Season 4 Promo Poster For Syfy’s EUREKA (geektyrant.com)
• 10 Ways To Watch Eureka Season 4 Full Episodes Online For Free (geniusgeeks.com)

At some point when I get a quiet moment I’m going to do a re-read of Annihilation which was the event that kicked off the cosmic books a few years back. In the mean time you’re just going to have to take my word for it that this stuff is pure comic book fun and hop on board for the latest event, The Thanos Imperative.

We’re on issue 2 now, but that’s actually the third book in the event because Marvel loves to publish book ends to its major events. Still, it’s early enough for you to be able to catch up. Written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning (who have been handling Nova and Guardians of the Galaxy) this series features about every cosmic character you could possibly want to see. And if you weren’t a big fan of Jim Starlin‘s style of  cosmic, this is much more action packed.

Pick it up in the store, if the two page spread of Galactus and the other celestial beings arriving to defend the universe doesn’t grab you, I don’t know what will. Dig in a little further and you’ll get warped evil versions of the Defenders and Thanos cutting loose. This is all out epic storytelling. I haven’t even mentioned The Revengers, the Silver Surfer or evil Mar-Vell.

This isn’t the frequently bemoaned “grim’n'gritty” comics, this is aiming at “awe’n'wonder” and it’s hitting very close to the mark. Read it. Buy it. Support it!

Related articles by Zemanta

• Marvel previews ‘Thanos Imperative’ (digitalspy.co.uk)
• Marvel Comics Shipping 07-14-10 (manodogs.blogspot.com)