The rather disappointing conclusion to the X-Men’s battle with the space alien, Lucifer, and his remote boss.

The story starts well enough with the S-Men’s ultra-cool fighter jet dodging giant waterspouts launched against it by Lucifer. This gets the safely landing X-Men noticed by a group of cowboy ranchers who decide to drive the X-Men off their land. This puts the X-Men in a quandary of how to defeat the rednecks without hurting anyone or further ruining their reputation among humans who fear them.

The X-Men push most of the ranchers into a river which will lead the men safely away from the danger zone – no one seems to consider this potentially drowning anyone. The ranch leader is encased in ice and sent home on his horse before he thaws out. If this is going to make people love the X-Men I’ll ear my own computer.

It then comes down to a straight fight between the heroes and Lucifer, who is using his ‘Dominus’ machine to mass produce giant robots with which to take over and enslave our World. Using the robots themselves to smash the machine, the X-Men leave Lucifer to face the wrath of his boss (seen only on TV monoitors0 as he tells Lucifer off for ruining his plans and summons the evil overlord home to face disciplinary action.

The X-Men fly home triumphant and another adventure ends with our World safe to venture forth in. Hooray.

Arthur Chappell

Professor X, the benevolent wheel-chair bound mastermind behind the good X-Men is a brother to the evil Juggernaut, which he discloses in this story as Juggernaut turns up to assault the X-Men headquarters.

Xavier (X) discloses his past as The X-Men prepare their defences against the unstoppable figure, surrounding the school / fortress with fire trenches, electric fences, grenade stacks, and gas-filled booby-traps. X continues his story even as the mighty Juggernaut ploughs through the defences one by one.

While X was born with mutant genes that gave him a high level of telekinetic and mind reading power, Juggernaut was just an ordinary human child, although something of a bully from the outset. He made the young Xavier’s life hell and even tried to kill him on occasion.

Growing to serve side by side in the Korean War, X watches helplessly as his brother deserts the battlefield under heavy enemy fire, and goes after him to bring him back. Both brothers find themselves in a cave in the hills where the future Juggernaut, a still at this point just a wicked cowardly man called Cain, finds a mysterious artefact conveniently left there by the Cyttorak, an ancient tribe. Touching the amulets despite warnings from CX, Cain is transformed into Juggernaut, relentless and unstoppable killing machine-like man, and sets out to kill Professor X, who buries his brother under tons of rubble that will take Juggernaut years to break free from.

The story is told as Juggernaut, now free, attacks the school with his single-minded intent being the death of Professor X.

The Juggernaut is actually based on Hindu mythology, so quite why a Hindu temple deity would be left in a cave in Korea is unclear. The Juggernaut was a giant statue that crushed many of its worshippers as it was pushed into place in an Indian Temple and became a bi-word for big machinery. Many large haulage trucks are referred to as Juggernauts. The idols of the Hindu Juggernaut wee a source of martyrdom, with some of the faithful willingly let themselves be crushed under the feet of their god even though carved in stone.

The killer Cain becomes seems out of place in an X-Men story. He seems more suited to a story featuring the Hulk, who he resembles in many characteristics as a being that gets bigger and stronger and meaner the more you throw at him.

The story ends as Juggernaut breaks through the defences, with the young X-Men ready to have to face him using their own powers rather than their traps and weapons. With this thrilling cliffhanger, the comic ends. Could the X-Men be wiped out as early as issue #13? Not very likely is it?

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It was a usual cool rainy night in December. Families were having a sound sleep unsuspecting of a tragedy that would abruptly change their lives. Fearful loud cries were heard as strong current of water, a flash flood triggered by the Typhoon Sendong rains, literally washed away household belongings and even rocked some houses down.

The morning that followed showed hundreds of people dead and much more missing. The family of one of my colleagues, or shall I say, one of my good friends, was not spared. His wife and a child were left alone in their house in Cagayan de Oro as we were having a meeting in Manila. The mother and son were able to rush to safer place but lost all their things, save for the clothes they were wearing.

Aids for the victims came from all over the place, local and abroad. Our company did its share in helping my colleague. His friends also extended some help. On my part, I did ask help from my friends whom my colleague never knew. Gathered a good amount and sent it to him. To my surprise, he politely asked me if he can donate the money I sent him to some other victims saying that he has been active in relief operations using part of the financial assistance he got from the company and some personal friends.

I felt frozen for a moment as I try to picture my colleague’s face in my mind, a person in need who feels that he’s still blessed.  I felt humiliated that I only gave a share out of what’s extra from my pocket. This man, a victim himself, has shown a bigger heart in giving away even the food which is about to be fed in his own mouth.

He did not actually save lives. He was not even there as the typhoon lashed its might. This is all about his attitude towards hardship and his heart for the neediest that struck me!

Heroes are those who extend a hand so that others may continue living… Great Heroes are those who give part of their life so that others may live!!!

Spoiler space warning .

The sub-plot back story to a second of the Preacher’s fascinating enemies, a boy called Root, with a face that has ended up shaped like a bare backside. Here we have the unfortunate wretch’s pitiful origins. He will end up being known only as Arseface.

He starts out as a well meaning, polite, naïve and slightly retarded hippy in a redneck Southern States community. Though white, he is very sympathetic to the black activism cause at the height of the Civil Rights movement, in the days of Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King. This makes him unpopular with the racists at his school.

The boy lives with, and admires his drunken violent father who beats him up on a regular basis. Many others bully him too, with only one friend seeming to give a hoot for him. Together they steal the cop’s gun and shoot bottles with it. They also take drugs and become blood brothers, vowing to be friends even unto death. They are Nirvana fans, dangerously influenced by the suicide of Nirvana singer Kurt Colbain.  They use the gun to kill a barking dog that annoys them, and then decide to kill themselves. While his friend succeeds, Root fails and blows his face inside out, ending up with the disfigurement that gives him his new identity as Arseface. This may make him one of comic book history’s least likely villains in the making.

When his dad dies, in an incident-involving Preacher, Arseface vows vengeance. Preacher has another unlikely enemy.

Ennis makes the villains in Preacher quite tragic figures rather than power crazed megalomaniacs. They are bitter, unlucky unloved individuals who have a lot of anger to share and kill for. They become likeable.

Arthur Chappell

Just imagine: you’re crawling around in the mud, just like in the movies. You’ve got your coworkers next to you, and all of you are wielding M-16s. Shots fired in your direction – you’re trained to fight, trained to fire back. A huge firefight ensues… you see your friends getting injured and dying all around you…. and the whole time, all you can think is, God, I hope my kids are okay.

Image via Wikipedia

That sounds pretty scary to me.

My dad was in the Army, and I married into the Army when I was 17. Granted I filed for divorce by the time I was 20 because soldiers don’t always make the best husbands or fathers, but I still have a great deal of respect for those who are able to go out there, fight for our freedoms, come back, and live a life that even slightly resembles normalcy.

I’ve had many friends in the military, several who lost their lives.

Honestly, it makes me sick to my stomach to know that soldiers get spit on when they return. This didn’t just happen during the Vietnam War; this has happened after 9/11.

Really? Are we STILL that primitive, people? SPITTING on some complete stranger? Why? That would be like a pro-lifer spitting on a woman for having an abortion. Ridiculous, rude, unnecessary, and outrageously disrespectful! Though there are conflicting stories about this, I have personally known a handful of soldiers who returned to be spat upon at the airport or near the Army base. No major protests, no huge groups of people; just soldiers who have gotten spit upon.

Soldiers are trained to fight, to follow orders, to do whatever it takes to protect the freedom of their country. They go without showers, sleep, and food. They stay on alert for days at a time to make sure nothing happens. They sacrifice their time with their own families to protect your families.

I’m a recently naturalized US citizen. Strange, yes, people don’t think I belong anywhere but here because I have no accent, I’m white, and I write well and get good grades as well as knowing a lot of the slang terms being thrown around. I know there are a lot of people with opposing points of view and who don’t think the troops should be anywhere but in the US at this point, and that’s fine.

Just don’t take it out on the troops. And troops, soldiers, if some girl thanks you for your service to your country, it doesn’t automatically mean you’re getting some. Just saying.

It would be nice for people to be a little more respectful, though. Just in general.

This Veterans Day, thank someone who has been or is in the military. Even just signing that contract could mean the end of their life; they are willing to sacrifice everything to make sure we all have what we need. They make these sacrifices so people like myself can sit at home and go to college and get an online degree.

So, really, even if you don’t know anyone in the military or who is retired military, just find someone who is and say THANK YOU. If it weren’t for their sacrifices (even if the orders they follow are sometimes misguided), then where would we be?

I’d like to say a big THANKS to all of the military veterans, retirees, soldiers, and reserves. This Veterans Day is for all of you.

Much as Casino Royale rebooted the James Bond franchise in a fresh and dynamic way, X-Men: First Class injects new blood into a franchise that, for all its profitability, had become blandly anemic. In fact, roughly the first half of this massive and very well cast origins extravaganza is arguably the best hour of Marvel Comics-derived filmmaking among the torrent of it that’s cascaded across screens in recent years. Audacious, confident and fueled by youthful energy, this is a surefire summer winner for a wide global audience.

The spectre of Bond actually hovers over this British-flavored production in a number of ways, all of them beneficial: The 1962 setting shot through with Cold War tensions conjures up the political moment at which 007 was born cinematically, the hardware and style harken back to an earlier high-tech era that looks quaintly beguiling today and Michael Fassbender as Erik, the future Magneto, cuts a dashingly ruthless figure that can only have been patterned on Sean Connery in the early Bonds. First Class is comprised of an enormous stew of elements and influences but head chef Matthew Vaughn has stirred things so as to make them not only digestible but quite tasty.

Departing from the backstory of the comics, the new yarn, devised by Sheldon Turner and original X-Men director Bryan Singer and written by Thor co-scenarists Ashley Edward Miller and Zack Stentz along with Jane Goldman and Vaughn, pivots on an alluringly fanciful proposition, that the real events of the Cuban missile crisis had a shadow history involving manipulations by figures whose super powers put those of the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. to shame; it’s as if JFK, Khrushchev, Castro, the CIA and the combined armed forces of the East and West were mere puppets doing the bidding of unsuspected Olympian gods, the most spiteful of whom desire nothing less than human extermination.

Not inaptly, then, it all begins (as did Singer’s original 2000 X-Men) at Auschwitz, where young Erik, challenged to display his “magnetic” powers, sees his mother gunned down by the heinous camp doctor (Kevin Bacon), an event that dictates all his actions from then on. In the more benign setting of Westchester, New York, two kids, Charles and Raven, exhibit odd characteristics of their own that, nearly two decades later, will put them in the forefront of the mutant movement.

Like the most peripatetic of 1960s globe-hopping thrillers, the early stretch of First Class hardly stays put for more than a moment, jumping all over the world—Geneva, Oxford, Las Vegas, Argentina, Miami, Washington, D.C.–in the service of introducing an enormous number of characters and delineating their unique powers. Under the circumstances, director Vaughn impressively maintains a strong focus dedicated to clarity and dramatic power; while Erik scours the world for stray Nazis (his confrontation with two of them in a tavern on the pampas is an early highlight), Charles (James McAvoy) achieves academic prominence and, with Raven (Jennifer Lawrence), is recruited by the CIA with the eventual aim of assembling a “Division of Mutant Powers.”

Even though a lot of the early material is set-up, it nevertheless develops surprising momentum and tension. The malevolent doctor Erik remembers from the concentration camp now resurfaces as Sebastian Shaw, who has developed an extraordinary capacity to absorb, harness and deploy energy, while his fabulously sexy partner in crime, Emma Frost (January Jones), not only has extreme telepathic ability but possesses an optional indestructible diamond veneer. When Erik tracks them down on board their yacht and seems on the verge of fulfilling his vengeful 18-year quest, his quarry escape in a manner befitting the best of the Bonds.

Once the loner Erik decides to join forces with Charles under the auspices of an offbeat CIA honcho (Oliver Platt) and an adventurous agent (Rose Byrne), the film takes on more the air of a standard-issue Marvel effort as mutant youngsters are trained in hiding to master their unusual powers; they are Hank/Beast (Nicholas Hoult), Alex/Havoc (Lucas Till), Sean/Banshee (Caleb Landry Jones), Armondo/Darwin (Edi Gathegi) and, for a while, Angel (Zoe Kravitz). The problem here is not only familiarity but that, unlike the other characters, these kids seem resolutely 21st century, not early 1960s; one of them even says “whatever.” Another drawback, a likely victim of an overcrowded roster of characters, is that two swarthy henchmen of Shaw’s are not even given the benefit of an introduction, much less anything to play.

Still, once Emma Frost penetrates the inner sanctum of the Soviet military and the enormity of Shaw’s scheme becomes clear, the film takes off again with a fantastical rendition of an American/Soviet naval confrontation off Cuba trumped by the manipulative antics of battling telepathic mutants on board an ultra-futuristic plane and a stealth submarine.

Vaughn orchestrates the mayhem with a laudable coherence, a task made easier by a charging, churning score by Henry Jackman that, much as that of his mentor Hans Zimmer did inInception, helps smooth the connections among rapidly changing locations and events. A few of the effects in the climactic section don’t quite measure up, but the visual effects by veteran wizard John Dykstra are mostly terrific. Top-drawer contributions are also delivered by production designer Chris Seagers, costume designer Sammy Sheldon and cinematographer John Mathieson.

The cast is almost absurdly easy on the eyes and is most powerful at the top, thanks to the intense Fassbender, who will now need no audition if Daniel Craig decides to give up Bond after another picture or two. McAvoy is forced to spend a bit too much time with his hand to head summoning telepathic signals but nonetheless conveys the intelligence and sobriety required for the future Professor X. Bacon is formidable as the former Nazi who aspires to far greater power than Hitler could ever dream of, while Jones dazzlingly projects the arrogance of maximum beauty and invulnerability. As the naturally blue-skinned, red-haired and yellow-eyed Raven/Mystique, Lawrence is at her most appealing when conveying an ashamed insecurity about her natural looks, which she can conceal with a human facade. A vulgar cameo by a certain hirsute character provides a hearty laugh.

Opens: June 3 (20th Century Fox)

Production: Bad Hat Harry/Donners’ Company, Marvel Entertainment, Dune Entertainment

Cast: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Rose Byrne, Jennifer Lawrence, January Jones, Nicholas Hoult, Oliver Platt, Jason Flemyng, Lucas Till, Edi Gathegi, Kevin Bacon, Caleb Landry Jones, Zoe Kravitz, Matt Craven, Alex Gonzalez, Rade Sherbedgia, Glenn Morshower

Director: Matthew Vaughn

Screenwriters: Ashley Edward Miller, Zack Stentz, Jane Goldman, Matthew Vaughn; story, Sheldon Turner, Bryan Singer

Proucers: Lauren Shuler Donner, Bryan Singer, Simon Kinberg, Gregory Goodman

Executive Producers: Stan Lee, Tarquin Pack, Josh McLaglen

Director of Photography: John Mathieson

Production Designer: Chris Seagers

Costume Designer: Sammy Sheldon

Editors: Lee Smith, Eddie Hamilton

Music: Henry Jackman

Visual Effects Designer: John Dykstra

PG-13 rating, 132 minutes

Well I just read the news about the actor Zachary Quinto. Oh God he is one of my favorite character in the television series Heroes. The news said that Mr. Quinto admitted she is gay, I mean he is gay.

In an interview with New York Magazine Mr. Quinto said:

“As a gay man, it made me feel like there are still so many things that need to be looked at and addressed.”

Mr. Quinto played the role of Sylar in the television hit Heroes. I mean how you can tell that he is gay, look at his performance there. He can be the most effective villain of his time.  Well, indeed he is a good actor.

Some of the new arrivals come with nothing but torn T-shirts, no shoes, and very very hungry-looking children. “It is this sight that tore ours hearts” says Ahmed Mohamed who heads the team distributing clothes at Dagahley reception centre. He is one of the old refugees who feel like they are at a better position than the new refugees. “We saw women and children wearing nothing but a small piece of cloth that is so torn it is barely covering their nakedness” He shakes his head “It makes you feel to want to remove all your clothes and give them instead” He adds. He says he has never seen such loss of dignity among Somalis who are known to hold their head up so high amid adversity of any nature. “You feel like the people have lost themselves”.

The older refugees have organised themselves to vigorously raise funds among themselves. They use schools to raise awareness and ask school going children to each ask their parents to donates something however little. They go around house to house, mosque to mosque and the response has been enormous. The interesting aspect of this fund raising is the fact that the older refugees would also give their monthly food rations as part of the items they are donating to the new refugees.

Even though some of the new arrivals come to the camps and look for missing relatives, majority of them have no family even distant relatives to stay with as they wait for the agencies to sort their accommodation.

The statistics of people coming in to the already over-populated camps now stands at 1500-1200 per day, according to AID agencies. Due to this influx, the AID agencies are up to their necks in registrations logistics. Hence there is a window of waiting, normally about 21 days before the refugees are fully integrated in the UNHCR system. In this window the thousands who arrive daily have nowhere to stay. It is here that one sees the generosity of the older refugees. They have opened their doors to shelter their brothers and sisters even if they are strangers to each other.

With the influx, the AID agencies have had to adapt to the dynamics of the numbers. Where-as they used to wait for refugees to show up at the Camp reception centres, they are now ferrying them from the Kenya Somali border which is 140Km from Dadaab. Each bus carries about 100 or so refugees and drops them inside the reception areas.

To understand this complex generosity, one needs to appreciate that the Somali people are very community oriented and giving to their fellow Somalis has been part of their lives for ages. They are more than willing to share the little they have with their hungry brother. It is almost like a parallel AID agency in the making.

This is probably why UNHCR which is the Godfather of the all Aid agencies working in Dadaab camps has recognised their effort and is helping the community channel these donations at a more organised manner. UNHCR is now helping them identify urgent needs and prioritize on how to help. These include mediating between them and manufacturers of shoes, clothing and small household items.

Matthew Brady lived from 1823 to 1895. He is the photographer whose pictures of the Civil War have endured to form an indelible image for posterity. With little formal education, Brady began to study painting in New York. There he was introduced to Samuel F.B. Morse, the artist who was also experimenting with the new medium of photography.

Brady learned from Morse, and then opened his own portrait studio in New York in 1842. Soon Brady had more customers than he could handle. He then began winning prizes, and by 1850 he was publishing a Gallery Of Illustrious Americans with great success.

          By 1860, he had another studio in Washington, DC and among his subjects was the new President, Abraham Lincoln. When war broke out, Brady convinced Lincoln that he could photograph the camps and battles and was quickly authorized to accompany the Federal troops.

He and his assistants spent much of the next four years taking over 3,500 photographs of every conceivable subject connected with the war. There were portraits of military and civilian figures, camp life and many battle scenes. Photographing the battles often involved considerable risk for Brady and his crew, and there were constant problems with the awkward wet-plate process and gear they used.

When the war ended, Brady left with a priceless encyclopedia collection, but his private business had suffered so much that he was financially ruined. In 1875 the government purchased a set of 2,000 of his photographs, but Brady never gained his former prestige or prosperity. Much of his work had been dispersed among private collectors by the time Brady died. It was in 1954 that the Library of Congress purchased the best collections for the nation’s archives.

       Belle Boyd Lived from 1843 to 1900. She was only one of several women who worked as spies behind the lines in the war. Belle Boyd was perhaps the most colorful and certainly the most publicized. Born in Virginia, Belle had some education but was only 17 when the war broke out. Her area was soon overrun by Union and Confederate troops in the first Shenandoah Valley campaign.

          Belle sided with the Confederacy, so she would talk to and observe the Union forces and then pass on information to the Confederate army. She was twice arrested by Federal troops, but each time was released. After the second time, in the spring of 1864, she sailed to England—allegedly carrying letters from Jefferson Davis to Confederate agents in Europe.

          A Union officer who had been one of her captors followed her to England, and they were married in August. He died 1866, so Belle took a career as an actress. Her success in England led her to return to the US in 1867, and she continued to tour until her death.

          In 1865, she had published her own ‘true story,’ Belle Boyd in Camp and Prison, but there is little surviving evidence for some of her tales. For instance, once a Union general occupied her aunt’s house and held his war council in the dining room, while Belle lay in a closet. She listened with her ear to the hole. She then got on a horse and rode 15 miles to pass on the plans to the Confederate troops.

          She also claimed to have been made a captain and honorary aide-decamp to General Stonewall Jackson. Allowing for exaggeration, a bad habit that most spies indulge in, Belle Boyd did some spying in the course of her fabulous life.