Cuppacafe

Yeah, while we did laugh after seeing this vid. we were already pretty well pasted at the time.

Now where the heck did I leave my gun?

The Perfessor

Did you ever think about trying to get from your front door and up a flight of stairs down the hall and into your room without touching the floor?

You know, like the floor was a molten pit of lava?

I mean, what's it like to be Peter Parker's roommate?

sound not req'd

That’s right, I managed to score a web-load of Spidey-related gifts for Christmas. Some of you might think this is very lame or even geeky, and perhaps it is both, but I enjoyed the hell out of it.

Oh yeah, everything was wrapped in Spidey Christmas paper, and I even got the extra Spidey paper as an additional gift!

How cool is that? If you want to see all of the wicked-cool Spidey gifts I got, you can jump here.

The Perfessor

Just to give a little bit of balance to Walt’ Star Trek Menorah I wanted you all to take a look at some of the Spider-man Christmas ornaments that I have used to decorate our tree.

And then this is hanging on our mantle.

I have more, but can’t seem to locate them.

The Perfessor

The problem is, I have seen the film and well it is easily one of the worse films I have ever seen, and no, it is not because I’m a guy and this is a “chick flick” (I saw Julie and Julia and thought it was great). This film blows chunks because it is badly written, badly acted, lays down bad role models for teen girls, and well, completely screws with the historical legends of both werewolves and vampires, but I’ll get to all of that in a minute.

First up, the good news, a Judge dismissed the lawsuit against Stephenie Meyer (New Moon’s author, but you all knew that part). According to a report by TMZ. the lawsuit against Stephenie Meyer was officially dismissed by judge.

A judge told vampire book author, Jordan Scott, her allegations about Meyer taking her ideas from her book were deceptive and “completely unfounded.”

The Twilight author was accused on August of having stolen the idea for the last book Breaking Dawn from Scott’s The Nocturne, which was allegedly published in 2006.

We’ve already discussed the film’s opening weekend earnings, and that it did great guns and all, still, I believe that just helps me make my case. You see, first let’s talk about the story itself.

My nearly 15-year-old daughter (her 15th birthday is at the end of this month) who hasn’t read the books, and didn’t see the first film, but saw this film twice — both times with friends, told me that she agreed with me about the bad message of the film. According to her, she believes that it will teach girls to look for that perfect boy (Edward) and no one in real life could possibly measure up to his level of “perfection” and “dedication”. Hence they will spend their whole lives looking for someone they cannot possibly find.

I agree, except I go further, and say that it teaches a worse lesson. Consider this, both Edward and Jacob “love” Bella, but can’t be with her because she might “accidentally” get them “worked up” and they would then “accidentally” hurt her. Needless to say, when this does happen Bella not only apologies to them both, but informs them that it is OK, and she “deserved it.”

WTF??

This is the really lesson we want to be teaching our young daughters? The film He’s Just Not that into You starts off with Drew Barrymore’s character stating that little boys and girls get along fine, then as they start to develop a boy will decide that he likes a girl and will hit her. Surprised the girl will go to her mom who will explain that boys do that because they like the girl, but don't know how to deal with their emotions. Needless to say, this incident forever retards the emotional growth of girls and they grow into adulthood thinking that whenever a guy hurts her it is because he likes her.

Funny theory, but as Col. Sherman Potter would say “Road apples!”

That’s really not the life lesson that I’ve personally taught my daughter. I taught her that if you act stupid to attract boys, you will attract stupid boys, and if a boy hits you it is his fault, not yours. And you call the cops the first time it happens. That’s just for starters. Sorry kids, but I don’t care how hard the bodies of the male vampires are in this film or how dreamy their eyes are, they are screamingly effeminately gay, while the werewolves all come off as rough boy butch gay.

The liberties that Meyer’s has taken with their respective legends (vampires walking in daylight, flying over open water; werewolves that change on command, and not under a full moon), I could go on, but it makes me ill just to think about it. Between the liberties taken with the legends of these mythical creatures and the horrendously bad message targeted at teenage girls this would make the film bad enough, but seriously, is Bella the only one who doesn’t realize that this tribe of Native Americans are werewolves? I knew that the last film. (Hey, she’s already dating a vampire, why is the existence of werewolves such a far stretch?)

And then there is such a misty, gooey-eyed approach to the acting that that it makes you want to gag (if Bella bit her nails or brushed her hair back over her ear one more time I was going to toss my popcorn at the screen as well as my cookies). Seriously, even the goofy afternoon made-for-TV Disney and Nickelodeon specials my daughter watches have better (more believable) acting than this crap. I have to say that the only other place I’ve seen writing this bad has been for the past year-and-a-half on all the post Brand-New-Day Amazing Spider-Man comics (and hey, I love Spidey!)

I honestly don’t understand the appeal of this drivel, Sure, sure, I see that vampires and werewolves are sexy, and I don’t mind having fun with both groups, but really, this stuff is just crap, but hey, if you want, head down to Burger King and snap up a large New Moon drink cup. I already got mine.

The Perfessor

True, some are simply more vulnerable than others, and well, Twilight’s New Moon, is just one of those that is easily parodied. Think not? Well, you just not trying as hard as the Marvel/DC parodists:

Have a look.

The bit with Spidey at the end is something of an on-going gag for these guys, so if you don’t track it, that’s OK. Still, it is pretty funny.

The Perfessor

According to E! Online While the opening for Twilight: New Moon was big (bigger than some expected), but it still wasn’t Spider-Man or Batman big:

It was big. It was bigger than expected. It was record-setting. But more on the new Sandra Bullock movie later. New Moon will close out its remarkable debut weekend with an estimated $140.7 million, its studio reported today. The towering take makes the Twilight sequel the third-biggest opener in Hollywood history. Or, to put it another way: Yes, The Dark Knight's opening-weekend mark is safe. And, yes, Spider-Man 3's second-place slot is secure. But, still, other records did fall to New Moon. Stay tuned for more factoids, and a look at Bullock's The Blind Side, which showed bite of its own with a $34.5

According to E!:

But, get over your spandex-supporting selves because New Moon sucked up its own share of records:

• Biggest November opening ever, flying past Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’s $102.7 million;
• Biggest opening two-day gross ever ($115.9 million Friday-Saturday), edging The Dark Knight’s $114.8 million start;
• And all the previously reported rest: Biggest opening day ever ($67.2 million); biggest single day ever (ditto); biggest midnight showing ever ($26.3 million).

About the only thing New Moon didn't do was, yes, claim the opening-weekend crown.

Too bad on that last one, eh? Guess there are more funnybook geeks than teenage girls.

The Perfessor

So, just when you thought it was save to go back into the waters of the Marvel/Disney deal, the Heirs of Jack Kirby toss us a curve ball, by claiming that they are seeking to re-claim Jack’s rights to many of the Marvel characters that he had a hand in creating. Well, just the other day, it seems that they added a knuckle ball to their oeuvre, and are adding none other than Spider-Man to their list of 45 copyright claims.

Yep, it seems that, according to a story in The Hollywood Reporter:

The heirs of Jack Kirby aren't merely trying to wrest control of such iconic superheroes as Spider-Man, Hulk and X-Men from Marvel and its new, possibly nervous owners at the Walt Disney Co.

We got our hands on two of the 45 notices of termination served under the Copyright Act last week on Marvel, Disney, Sony, Universal, Fox, Paramount and others, and the demands are potentially much broader than has been reported.

The copyright termination notices pertaining to Spider-Man and Fantastic Four are written to recapture control of most of the well-known characters in each mythology, to the extent that Kirby contributed to them.

Now you may ask how Kirby’s heirs are able to make such a claim, well Lee himself has given them the right:

Lee has gone on record (more than once) naming Ditko, not Kirby, as the character's co-creator, and Ditko's account of Kirby's involvement tends to support that argument:

Kirby had pencilled five pages of his Spider-man. How much was pure Kirby, how much Lee, is for them to resolve.

The splash was the only one with a drawing of Spider-man. A typical Kirby hero/action shot. But the costume is what is important... I'm uncertain about the abstract chest design. The closest thing to it is the one on Ant-man. Kirby's Spider-man had a web gun, never seen in use. The only connection to the spider theme was the name.

This stuff just keeps getting better and better.

The Perfessor

So Disney spent some four billion with a capital “B” Billion dollars on Marvel, who cares? Well, for one, I care. I work in comics (if you can call what I do “work”), and well, some other folks do as well. According to one observer:

Take a look at Disney’s biggest hits over the last few years. Hannah Montana, High School Musical, Disney Princesses. Notice a trend. There’s not one property that boys want to watch. On top of Disney’s failure to attract boys, everybody else seems to excel at serving that market. Nickelodeon, Universal, Cartoon Network, and others have all been beating Disney like a drum when it comes to the male demographic. Marvel bring a lot to the table. Where Disney has nothing that appeals to males, Marvel has nothing that appeals to females.

...and, of course, the (Marvel) stockholders are a tad happy:

Under the agreement, Marvel holders will receive $30 a share in cash plus about 0.745 Disney share for each Marvel share. Based on Friday's closing prices, the deal is valued at $50 per Marvel share, about a 29% premium.

So, yeah, there is a little something to this deal.

Actually, the Wall Street Journal seems to agree with Mr. Lopkin (the fellow quoted above):

By bringing in macho types such as Iron Man, Thor and Captain America, the Marvel deal would expand Disney's audience, adding properties that appeal to boys from their preteen years into young adulthood. That demographic group hasn't been swept up by Disney's recent hot properties, such as "High School Musical" and the Jonas Brothers.

Further, The Journal goes on to report that the deal is the biggest deal that Disney’s has brokered since its landed Pixar, (the folks who developed "Toy Story") for $7.4 billion in stock (another acquisition that was considered to be a bit pricey). Still, while its acquisition Marvel is far less, the deal itself comes with some additional baggage. Apparently, Marvel is tied up with almost every movie studio in town, and unraveling those ties for Disney, is going to become something of a long-term commitment.

Still, with the sales of DVD dropping Marvel does bring along the possibility for new revenue streams with toys, and the possibility of the addittion of Marvel’s characters to Disney’s various theme parks.

About 7% of Marvel's $676 million of revenue last year came from toys, down from more than 70% in 2000. The company's business model has shifted rapidly in recent years. Last year was the first year the company financed its own movies, which brought in $255 million during 2008 alone -- more than the company's entire revenue in 2000, which was about $232 million. Licensing has grown for Marvel, from 8% of revenue in 2000 to 43% last year.

Even though the Broadway Spider-Man musical has shuttered its dors (before even opening) licensing fees for Spider-Man alone has generated around $188 million in revenue. To be sure, the company does shares that with Sony, but analysts have estimated Sony’s share of those agreements is only around 25% of the total take, leaving a nice piece of the pie for Marvel (now Disney).

Still, when Disney starts cross-pollinating the two sets of characters (Hulk on Ice! Iron Duck! The Bugle being bought by Scrooge McDuck! Brrrr! the truly terrible permutations are limitless), That’s when I go back to drinking heavy, and blowing stuff up (and no, Walt, I still drink heavy, I just cut down on the blowing stuff up).

The Perfessor

According to a recently-released press release (that I just read on NerdDads), Spider-Man is returning to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade!

Millions of New Yorkers will feel their Spider-senses tingling this November when New York’s own neighborhood Super Hero™, Marvel’s Spider-Man, makes a triumphant return to the skies over Manhattan to ensnare a new generation of fans in the 83rd Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade®. After a decade, Thursday, November 26, 2009, marks the date when more than 3.5 millions spectators and over 50 million viewers nationwide will catch Spidey-fever as the ever popular Super Hero returns to the Macy’s Parade line-up.

How cool is that?

The Perfessor

Some people have way too much time on their hands. The guy who made this vid is 10 of them (sound required):

As my comments in regards to that previous vid. I have this to say about that:

And if you sat through those two, you’re gonna love this!

As for me. I have a date with a bottle of Tequila and a six-pack of Iron City.

The Perfessor

For our resident Spider-Man fetishist, this version from the late 70s from Japan:

Warning: It's like Spider-Man is the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.
Courtesy of [Marvel.com]
Via [TVSquad.com]

So you get some guy who wants to climb up the side of a gazillion-story building and what do the newspapers call him? Easy Spider-Man. Only no they don’t they call him “Spiderman” What’s the difference? Well, one is the name of the iconic flagship character of one of the largest publishing companies in the U.S. (not to mention the star of three of the biggest blockbuster, highest-grossing films ever made), and the other is a typo.

That’s right, “Spiderman” is a typo. you know how you can tell? The star of those three Sam Rami-directed slug-fests is named capitalsSpiderhyphencapitalmMan, not Spiderman.

Think I’m being one of those Whiny fanboys I was grousing about a couple of weeks back who were trying to poke holes in Wolverine of Star Trek films? No, not hardly. Spider-Man is a trademarked and copyrighted character that is spelled in a specific way so as to spell it, and that is Spider-Man.

Oh yeah, if you care, here’s the story:

A REAL-LIFE Spiderman scaled a 41-storey building in Sydney today but was greeted by police waiting to arrest him on his descent

A crowd of about 200 people gathered at the corner of Phillip and Bent streets as Alain Robert climbed the RBS Tower at Aurora Place about 10.30am.

The rest of it is here.

The Perfessor

So, as you all know, it was Pasech (Passover), this past week, and we hosted a pair of Seders here at my house (my Father-in-Law is the master of ceremonies, and we usually have a houseful). As you can expect, I personally celebrated in my own inimitable manner with my Spidey Yarmulke (pictured).

Hey, I even have a Spidey Mezuzah that hangs on the doorpost to my office (also pictured).

Yep, we’re a multi-cultural home here. There are days that I want to adopt a Black, Hispanic, Muslim, Swedish kid so we can celebrate Kwanzaa, Three Kings, Ramadan, and Santa Lucia as well. Then I realize that would mean less time for important stuff, like Festivus, and of course Free Comic Book Day.

The Perfessor

As reported earlier, today was the day when Marvel Comics published a special edition of Amazing Spider-Man #583 which co-stared the (soon to be sworn in) President (elect) Barack Obama. Well, as already revealed the villain of the piece was to be the Chameleon, a long-standing Spider-Man villain.

I am revealing here fro the first time that was a bit of disinformation from Marvel, and through my investigative powers (and Photoshop) I was able to determine the actual villain:

The Perfessor