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Here is the latest in our year-long look at one cool comic (whether it be a self-contained work,
an ongoing comic or a run on a long-running title that featured multiple creative teams on it
over the years) a day (in no particular order whatsoever)! Here's
the archive of the moments posted so far!
Today we take a look at Tony Isabella and Eddie Newell's run on Black Lightning...
Enjoy!
The second Black Lightning series debuted at the end of 1994, and very quickly, writer Tony
Isabella (who created Black Lightning about twenty years earlier) quickly established that this
Black Lightning comic book would be a lot different than most other superhero comics on the
shelf.
In the issue, Jefferson Pierce has moved to a new city, Brick City, and he is debating how best
he can help people - as a teacher? as a superhero? as a fellow with some (Bruce Wayne supplied)
money?
Ultimately, he decides that he is going to try to make some fundamental changes to the drug
trafficking system in Brick City, beginning with a dramatic "hello" to the neighborhood in #1...
Isabella also slowly populated the supporting cast with various students and teachers at
Jefferson's new school.
Early on, though, Isabella threw a total curveball when, at the end of #4, a member of a gang
bursts into a room where Jefferson and another teacher (Walter Kasko, a guy who seemed to be cut
in the "Steve Lombard" mold) were with a teen who had spurned a gang (through their help). She
opened fire, and Walter shielded the boy with his body, thereby getting riddled with bullets
(Jefferson also suffered terrible gunshot injuries).
That led to the absolutely brilliant #5, which was one of the most critically acclaimed issues of
1995, but sadly, since it has not been reprinted, a lot of people have forgotten how excellent of
an issue it was (although I featured it during the Year of Cool Comic Book Moments, so you might
be familiar with it by now!).
The issue shows Jefferson recuperating, and mostly feeling sorry for himself and mourning
Walter's death.
There's a great touch when Jefferson's ex-wife visits, and he talks about where he was when
Superman died...
Then we get a stunning sequence when a man (who had stared at Jefferson when he first came into
the hospital) comes by again...
Beautiful, huh?
That doesn't even fully give you the appreciation of how good #5 is - do yourself a favor and
find yourself a copy!
There's a good story arc in #7 and 8 involving Gangbuster, but sadly, that's as far as Isabella
ever went. Even before #1 had come out, Isabella had already been fired, with #8 being his last
issue.
And after he left, the book quickly fell apart and only last four more issues (which really paled
in comparison to Isabella's run).
But that eight-issue run by Isabella and Newell remains a wonderful read. Be sure to check it out
and maybe someday DC will put together a trade collection of the run (although I'm not holding my
breath)!
Apple pulled one of Tommy Refene's iPhone apps following the developer's public
criticism of the App Store, according to Kotaku. Refenes spoke for several minutes at the recent
Game Developers Conference, saying he "absolutely f***ing hate[s] the iPhone App Store." He
reportedly compared the iPhone gaming market to the low-quality Tiger handheld platform of the '80s
and '90s....
Carl Edwards' issues with Kevin Harvick apparently go much deeper than
the ones he has with Brad Keselowski, saying Thursday that he has "absolutely no respect for Kevin
Harvick."
Dan Kantor
knows the web, and he knows music. Better still, he knows how to make the two play nicely together.
If you're not familiar with his work, Dan built Spinner --
AOL's popular music site -- when he was part of our family.
Now he's on his own, and he's got a new musical marvel to share: ExtensionFM. While using the extension inside Google Chrome is fun
enough, it's easy to see just how cool it's going to be on the Google Chrome OS smartbooks and
tablets that are due out later this year.
The concept behind ExntensionFM is a simple one: scan the webpages you browse for embedded MP3s and
build a library of tunes inside your browser. You can also put together playlists, and the music
will keep streaming in the background as you happily (or unhappily, depending on your modus
operandi) surf the web.
ExtensionFM also provides listings of artists and albums in your library, and a list of the sites
you've listened to -- which adds a whole 'nother layer of cool. Once you've grabbed a track from a
particular site, ExtensionFM keeps tabs on it for you. We'll have more on this after the break,
along with more screenshots and Dan's screencast! Right now, I've got
some 2 Skinnee Js queued up from Archive.org, with some SXSM tracks from Sam Roberts on deck. Play
controls are always within reach -- just click the ExtensionFM button in your browser actions area.
Now, back to
that 'subscription' thing...Sites in your library are set to auto-update by default -- which you
can disable on a per-site basis if you prefer to update things manually. Right click and hit
refresh to do a quick check for new tunes. You can also play or queue entire sites, or delete them
if your tastes have changed. I've played with
ExtensionFM in Hexxeh's builds of Chromium
OS -- the source of Google's upcoming Chrome
OS. To me, there's no question that this will be an absolutely killer extension for your
Chromebook (or tablet). It's an awesome, easy-to-use bridge between all the great, free music in
the cloud and your lightweight browser OS.
So what's next for ExtensionFM? I mentioned to Dan the possibility of using Chrome's bsync
abilities to store your library in the cloud, and he said they've been pondering that already.
Doing so would give you log-in-anywhere access to your music...Anywhere including, say, an Android
handset -- where it wouldn't be a big stretch to tap into Google's APIs to give you
music-on-the-go.
"We want exfm to be the only player you need," Dan told me. They're well on the way to achieving
that goal: ExtensionFM is pure awesome.
Right now, ExtensionFM is in closed beta. If you want in on
the action, head over to our
Facebook page -- or share this post on Twitter and make sure you @downloadsquad!
Steve Langasek sent an email to the
Ubuntu Announcement mailing list a few minutes ago announcing the release of Ubuntu 10.04 Beta 1.
10.04 (Lucid Lynx) is a Long Term Support release.
I have been using 10.04 since the Alpha 1 phase, and absolutely love it. I truly do believe that
Ubuntu is moving in the right direction to solve Bug #1. Please download yourself a copy and give it a try!
Juicy Business Cards allows anybody, even those without basic designing skills, to create
attractive, impressive and absolutely unique business cards. It comes with 36 business card
templates and about 200 backgrounds. If thats insufficient, any picture in one of a great variety
of graphic formats can be added as a background. Background options such as gradient, its
position and direction make the process of card creation fascinating and extremely fruitful. Text
options such as font, style, color, size and the ability to add color frames with different
degrees of transparency will help in creating absolutely unique business cards.
Friday Five : ’frÄ«-(,)dÄ,-dÄ“
‘fÄ«v : On the sixth day of every week, I hit the shuffle button on my iTunes,
then share the first five tracks and thought for each track. Sometimes there is a playlist
involved, occasionally we’ll have a guest, but most of the time it’s just me. The
rest is up to you, our friends and readers! Fire up your media player of choice and share the
first five random track of your shuffle in the comments.
Editor’s Note: It doesn’t happen often, but I’m actually
going to be away from all forms of internet today so I’ve asked my Popdose cohort, Rob Smith, to watch the shop for me today. I’m
sure you will all make him feel right at home, and I’ll be back next week! –
Michael
The Five:
Huh? Wha? You want me to do what? Lead off this
week? Sure, dude. Absolutely. Anytime.
Here goes:
Gowan, “Moonlight Desires.” Cool live version, solo
piano. I like this a lot better than the original studio version, with Jon Anderson
on guest vocals. Gowan, of course, has been the new Dennis DeYoung in Styx for the
last 11 or so years. I know a few Styx fans who can’t stand Gowan, but
it’s not like he won a Rock Star: Styx competition to get the gig or anything. He had a
solid, though unspectacular career prior to joining the band. I recommend this live
record (called Solo Live: No Kilt Tonight) for Gowan’s voice and chops, certainly, but also
his humor (he performs a 30-second snippet of Monty Python’s “Lumberjack Song”)
and this most excellent ballad.
Escape Club, “Wild Wild West.” Jesus freakin’ Christ, I have
Escape Club on my iTunes? Damn that Like, Omigod box set. On the rare
occasions I hear this song, I think about doing radio in college, freshman and sophomore
years. We had a Top 40 show I’d DJ on occasion, and this one was in the stacks
and played pretty much constantly [I also think of Information Society's "What's on Your Mind
(Pure Energy)" when I hear this, cuz both tracks were more or less ubiquitous]. We
could play Escape Club once an hour with no complaints from management, but when I tried to
squeeze in Thomas Dolby’s “Airhead,” I got in trouble. I did win
once, though — I was the first to play Fine Young Cannibals’ “She Drives Me
Crazy,” got yelled at, but was eventually vindicated when it became, oh I don’t know,
the Number One song in the country. I had fucking EARS back then, man! But I hate
Escape Club. Shit. Next?
Van Halen, “Unchained.” That’s more like it. My
fave Van Halen song, whether performed by Roth, Hagar (on the ‘04 tour — fucking
awesome), or Cherone. I just think the riff is tops — one of the simplest and
best Eddie VH ever conjured. Big fail, though — having Wolfie do the “C’mon
Dave, give me a break” line on the most recent tour. Roth could eat that kid alive, and on
occasion did. You’d think Ed would want to protect his only child from wiseacres like Roth.
Perhaps ye olde parental instinct got burned out during one or another evening with the Schlitz
Malt Liquor tallboys.
Jonatha Brooke, “Because I Told You.” The gods smile upon me. I love
Brooke’s music, particularly the stuff from the Story through maybe ‘95 or
‘96. This is from her first live record, and it’s a gem. A track from
Ten-Cent Wings, arguably her best solo record, the melody gives me chills every time I hear it
(only other song to do so consistently: Springsteen’s “Bobbie Jean.” Man, when
that sax solo kicks in at the end …). The sorta/kinda middle-eight is
particularly beautiful: “You take the wheel for now / I’m too tired to drive this one
home anyhow, for now.” Find this if you’ve never heard it — studio version or
live. You’re welcome.
John Denver, “Rocky Mountain High.” Fuck you if you think this is
wimpy. Just … I don’t want to hear it. It takes a man — a real man, one not
afraid to mow his lawn in the nude — to come up with a chorus like this one.
“I’ve seen it raining fire in the sky?” Are you kidding me?Â
Fucking great image. I also like the AM radio vibe on this; it doesn’t matter
what I hear this song on — computer, earbuds, boombox, or multi-component stereo system
— it still sounds like I’m listening to it in my dad’s old
Chrysler. The one with the manual transmission, shift on the column.Â
But I don’t want to hear that it’s crap, or wussified pap, or unfit for man or
Muppet. Great song. “Friends around the campfire and everybody’s
high?” I could go for being around that campfire right about now.
So anyway, now that I’ve defended John Denver by telling you all to fuck yourselves, I
suppose that I should ask forgiveness. But really, all I want to know is this:
What’s on YOUR shuffle?
Scary Cherry and the Bang Bangs have released a cover of The Runaways song, "Cherry Bomb" that
absolutely trumps the original and the soundtrack version.All proceeds from online sales (iTunes,
etc..) of the Scary Cherry and the Bang Bangs version of "Cherry Bomb" go to help runaway kids
through NIKKI SIXX's charity initiative, "Running Wild in the Night". (PRWeb Mar 19, 2010)
If you are learning a language, there is absolutely nothing that could beat spending some time with
a native speaker. Just 15 minutes with such an individual surpasses 4 hours listening to tapes.
Talking with a native speaker entails much more than simply listening to his accent.
When we were driving out of town I said, "I hate the corpses of empires, they stink as nothing
else. They stink so badly that I cannot believe that even in life they were healthy." "I do not
think you can convince mankind," said my husband, "that there is not a certain magnificence about
a great empire in being." "Of course there is," I admitted, "but the hideousness outweighs the
beauty. You are not, I hope, going to tell me that they impose law on lawless people. Empires
live by the violation of law." (Rebecca West, from Black Lamb and Grey Falcon)
Strange week this week. All Marvel and Vertigo. And lots of sex. Weird. And yes, I'm aware the
fourth issue of Daytripper came out last week. I didn't get it, for some reason. I
should have it this weekend. Dang. Let's move on!
Everyone reading this should know what I'm going to rant about. When Thor transports the Avengers
and the agents of Atlas to Norway, he says, "But I know of one place on Midgard I can bring us
all to!" Sorry, Thor - it's TAKE!!!!! Seriously, poor "take." No one loves it. So sad.
I love how Parker casually makes Hank Pym a dick even when he's not really trying. When the
old-school Avengers find out that Bruce Banner is the Hulk (because Venus sang to him and calmed
him down, turning him back to Banner), Pym says, "That's Dr. Bruce Banner! He's maybe the top
physicist in the world -- well, besides me ..." Ha! And Parker makes Tony Stark a bit of a wuss,
too - Marvel Boy telepathically informs Pym about what's happening, and Stark says, "He could
have put the knowledge in me ... I would have gotten it." If that's not enough, in the next
panel, Stark looks down at himself and says to no one in particular, "I built this suit ..."
Whenever a writer is clever enough to drop stuff like that into his fairly standard superhero
team-up (which this is), I appreciate it, because it just humanizes them and makes it easier to
deal with the wackiness of a team from the 1960s (or a decade ago, according to Pym) joining up
with a team from the present thanks to some time anomaly. They all fight the Hulk, Bob figures
out what's up, and everything is set up for the final showdown. It's good, clean fun!
In the back-up story, Cornell and Kirk bring us Venus, love advice columnist. It's pretty
hilarious (see the panel of awesome below), as she answers questions from Hercules, Deadpool
(which is particularly hilarious), I assume Jocasta, the Hulk, Norman Osborn (more hilarity!),
Kitty Pryde, and Clint Barton. It's very dependent on knowing Marvel continuity (unsurprisingly),
and the only one I didn't get was the letter from Miss Dean. Help me out, more knowledgeable
readers! It's a fun little tale.
Sex in this comic? Hoo-boy, you bet. It stars Venus in both stories, for crying
out loud! In the first, Venus has to sing to calm Bruce down, and two superheroes get caught in
the sound wave. Macking commences! And in the second, well, Deadpool's letter is the highlight,
and I won't spoil it.
It's been two months since the last issue of Fables. Strange. Anyway, I always dig the
short stories of this series because they seem to contain standalone stories, but Willingham
always makes sure that things get tied into the main story later. In other words, I doubt we've
seen the last of the some of these characters. The story itself is not great but not bad, as
Ambrose needs to figure out a way to deal with the serious transgression from last issue in a way
that doesn't rip his kingdom apart. He does it, of course, but there's still some restlessness
among the subjects, and that can't be good. I do like the only witness for the defense - at
first, I thought it was absolutely idiotic, but once John started expanding on his story, it made
better sense. And hey - those people who wish to read political intent into writers' books can
kind of have a field day here, as Willingham tackles the death penalty and the idea of
culture leading to what some would call crime. I honestly don't care when writers inject their
political beliefs into comics (if, indeed, that's what Willingham is doing here), because this
issue, while not superb, does show how much difficulty Ambrose is going to have moving forward.
That's what makes this such a neat series.
Sex in this comic? Definitely. Off-panel and after the issue ends, but oh yeah,
someone's getting lucky!
One panel of awesome:
Won't someone think of the ... squirrel children!
Hercules: Fall of an Avenger #1 (of
2) (Hercules main story/"Greek Tragedy") by Greg
Pak (writer, "Hercules"), Fred van Lente (writer,
"Hercules"), Paul Tobin (writer, "Tragedy"), Ariel Olivetti (artist, "Hercules"),
Reilly Brown (penciler, "Tragedy"), Jason Paz (inker, "Tragedy"), Wil Quintana (colorist,
"Tragedy"), Simon Bowland (letterer, "Hercules"), and Joe Sabino (letterer, "Tragedy"). $3.99, 30
pgs, FC, Marvel.
There are a few writers that I simply will not read. I've read their stuff, disliked it enough to
know it's kind of a pattern with them and not an anomaly, and won't try it again. There are some
writers who I dislike so much that even if they hook up with a fantastic artist, it's not enough
to get me to buy it. However, if I like the writer, usually I can take lousy art, because I'm
much more interested in the writing in comics than the art. If the art doesn't make my eyes bleed
and tells the story serviceably, I can deal with it. Very rarely will the art on a book I want to
read by a writer I like keep me from buying it. Let me tell you, I had one of those moments on
Wednesday, when I looked at this book and Ariel Olivetti's art.
I can't really put my finger on why I don't like Olivetti's art. I didn't always dislike it. A
decade ago, when he was still drawing using heavy lines rather than whatever the hell he's doing
now, it wasn't great art but it had a kind of mad energy to it. Then he started doing more and
more delicate line work, it appears he's given up on inking, and I don't know what's going on
with the coloring (an Irene Y. Lee is credited with "production" on this book; does she do the
coloring or does Olivetti?). It's that faux-"realistic" look that, to me, is ridiculously static
and, at times, downright creepy. It's kind of the same thing that Salvador Larocca has done in
the past five years or so, with color washes that drains everything heavy from the page but makes
the art far too ephemeral. It's not a good look. Olivetti is fine telling a story, but the art
just repels me. But I bought this anyway, because I knew that Pak and Van Lente wouldn't let me
down. And, heck, they didn't. Well, except for one brief exchange. I'll 'splain.
The premise of the book is that Amadues Cho and a bunch of heroes congregate at the Parthenon to
honor Hercules. Amadeus is peeved at Athena and wants her to show up, but instead the heroes do.
So they all tell stories about how groovy Hercules was. Thor talks about the time he and Herc had
to outdrink a bunch of giants, while Namor tells them of the time Herc beat on him to get him out
of a funk. (I wonder why Namor is wearing his new, "I'm so cool" outfit in his flashback when
he's wearing his old-school, "I'm so cool I can look UNcool" underpants in the
original comic. I mean, will people reading this comic be that confused that he ... changed
his clothes?!?!?!?) These are not bad stories, and Thor's is quite funny. Then the babes show up,
talking about how hot Herc was (it's true - they all say it!). Snowbird says that they all "lay"
with him, then continues: "I know there are others in the crowd who
should join us ... don't be shy." At which Northstar says, "Is that the
time? Gotta go!" while Namor looks on, a question mark above his head. Ha ha, Jean-Paul had sex
with Herc and he's embarrassed about it! Now, this bugged me. First of all, Herc is a god. And
he's, you know, Greek. I always assumed he was kind of pansexual, so the idea of him having sex
with men isn't that strange. Second, Northstar is (wait for it) gay. And everyone knows he's gay!
Who cares if he had sex with Herc? It felt, to me, that Van Lente and Pak were saying that a gay
man would be embarrassed that he had sex with a man, while the women aren't. This would have,
actually, been a perfect opportunity for another Marvel hero to come out of the closet - the joke
would have been funnier if Snowbird had said that and someone like Warren or Logan had shrugged
and said, "Hey, it weren't no big thing." But it's weird that Northstar is embarrassed about it.
This weird feeling continues on the next page, when Alflyse starts talking about her time with
Herc (see the panel of awesome below). Wolverine and Fandral looked shocked. After she's done
talking, Namor too looks shocked (and Thor looks like he's fondly remembering his own experiences
with the Elven Tickler, which isn't too surprising, given that he's, you know, Thor). Logan is
older than a century, and he knows how to get with the ladies. Fandral is a freakin' god. Namor,
I suppose, is the most stuck-up of them, so him I can forgive. But the idea in mainstream comics,
it seems, is that men like the sex as long as it's not too weird, while the women kind of
tolerate the sex but certainly don't do anything wacky. Pak and Van Lente are subverting the
second assumption, but reinforcing the first. Are you telling me Logan never got really weird
with any of the seriously crazy women he hooked up with? Are you saying Fandral never did
anything bizarre to mix things up after a thousand years of the missionary position? I've seen
this attitude before in Marvel and DC comics, and it's a bit strange. If someone who looks like
Alflyse starts talking about how much she enjoyed Herc's mastery of the Elven Tickler, I wouldn't
looked shocked, I'd be breaking out the instruction manual to figure it out!
And then Athena shows up and tells Amadeus that he's the new leader of the Olympus group, which
leads into next issue. And the back-up story has Venus and Namora going around telling people
that Herc is dead. It's a clever idea by Tobin - apparently Herc invested money in stuff and then
forgot about it, so he has all sorts of weird holdings all over the world, some of which have
done very well for him (he was an early investor in Stark Industries, for instance). It's a nice
little story that features a hydra. Which is never a bad thing to see.
Sex in this comic? See above. Plus, Venus get naked in a totally non-sexual
situation (one of Herc's holdings was a nudist colony), and all the people who lived in homes
that Herc owned happened to be women. I wonder why?
Morrison unveils a few more secrets in this issue, as Joe is shown something that makes his
journey through the strange world of more import than it already was, and a new adventurer joins
the team. And of course, because it's a Grant Morrison comic, the very odd bad guys (well, I'm
just going to assume they're bad guys; they could be kindly monks for all I know) are revealed at
the end. There are typical Morrisonisms sprinkled throughout the dialogue, and it all moves along
at a nice clip. Murphy remains the absolutely stunning star of the comic, though. The chase at
the beginning of the issue is terrifically exciting, and when Joe and Jack arrive in Draka's
town, Murphy gives us a full-page drawing that is simply gorgeous. When Joe collapses near the
end of the issue, Murphy looks downward through his house, almost giving us vertigo. The book
itself continues to get better, writing-wise, but Murphy's art is so staggering you almost don't
need to read the text. That's so rare with a Morrison comic that it's almost unbelievable. But
there it is!
Sex in this comic? It's about a boy in a fantasy land. Let's hope not!
One panel of awesome:
So portentous!!!!!
Marvel Boy: The Uranian #3 (of 3)
("Man of Two Worlds") by Jeff Parker (writer), Felix Ruiz (artist/letterer), and Val
Staples (colorist). $3.99, 22 pgs + 18 pgs of 3 back-up stories, FC, Marvel.
This isn't a bad comic, and it looks great, but it does feel more like Parker is filling in the
gaps of the characters from Agents of Atlas (or, I guess, Atlas) than telling a
standalone story. He fleshed out some crucial points about Bob's past, namely his connection to
Uranus and what his overlords really want (and if I call them "overlords," they can't be too
benign, can they?), but this feels a bit trifling, as if it could have been told in a flashback
in the regular series over the course of an issue or possibly two. Three issues is a bit much. I
mean, we get to see a giant 1950s Marvel monster (see below), some nice parts about Bob's life,
and a groovy mad scientist, but it still feels a bit too slight. Oh well. The art is fantastic,
Parker's writing is fine as ever (even if the book itself is slight), and we get to see a bunch
of reprints drawn by Bill Everett. If you're a fan of Jimmy Woo's team or Parker's writing, it's
a fun book. For four bucks a pop, though, it's a bit steep.
Sex in this comic? Bob gets busy in a rocket with Violet. There's nothing better
than zero-gravity sex! (Or, you know, so I'm told. By my astronaut friends. Of which I have
many.)
Bendis writes at the end of this book that it's over, because it's way too much work for Maleev
to do it, motion-comic style. Why they specifically had to do it motion-comic style isn't
addressed, but apparently putting together a motion comic takes a lot more time and effort by the
artist, and it was killing Maleev. KILLING HIM!!!!!! So they pulled the plug. Oh well.
I'm not that put out by it, because I was probably going to drop the book anyway after the first
arc. I will defend the Bendis/Maleev Daredevil to anyone who tries to put it down
(which, to be honest, isn't many people), but this just never got good. It had a nifty hook but
Bendis simply didn't do anything with it, and in the end, he had to bring in the Avengers to bail
Jessica out. This issue is just a big ol' dumb superhero fight with a few clever Bendisisms, but
mostly, it's dumb. And Jessica is a total bitch. She's not a bitch in a charming, fucked-up way
that Jessica Jones was in Alias, she's a bitch in a "Gosh, I really hope that Skrull
kills her" way. She keeps calling the Asian girl "dumb" because she claims that her Skrull
boyfriend is Spider-Man. Now, the way Maleev draws her, it seems like she's blind. Second, the
Skrull is, you know, a shape-shifter, so even if she's not blind, he could look like Spider-Man.
Jessica points out that Spider-Man "famously" lives in New York, but she's only been dating him
three weeks, meaning he could be on vacation or something. So, um, Jessica? Shut the fuck up. As
Abigail points out, your track record so far in this comic isn't great in the intelligence
department, so if the girl from Madripoor believes she was dating Spider-Man, you're the last
person in the world to call her dumb. And then, later, the Skrull tells her that the queen chose
her form because "of all the people in the world ... we discovered that no one on this entire
planet cares enough about you to notice you at all." Really, Skrull? Okay, from the way Jessica
behaves in this comic, I see Skrull dude's point, but that's a bit extreme, isn't it? I mean, she
has plenty of friends, after all. It's one of those things that sounds cool the first time you
read it but then, once you think about it for more than a second, makes absolutely no sense. And
then Wolverine tries to stab a shape-shifter to death. You'd think he'd know better.
So I would have ditched the book anyway, but now I don't have to. If you've been thinking about
getting the trade, I'd skip it. Spend it on something, you know, good.
Sex in this comic? Not a bit. Jessica finds the Skrull in a strip club, though.
One panel of "awesome":
Really?
Vengeance of the Moon Knight #6
("Shock and Awe Chapter 6") by Gregg Hurwitz
(writer), Jerome Opeña (penciler), Jay Leisten (inker), Paul Mounts (colorist), and
Joe Caramagna (letterer). $2.99, 23 pgs, FC,
Marvel.
And now, Moon Knight And Me: A Love Story.
I have never made my love of Moon Knight a secret. I dig him. I love the whole multiple
personalities thing, I love the whole weird network of operatives, I love the Doug Moench/Bill
Sienkiewicz run with a love that is probably a little unhealthy, I love the Doug Moench/Kevin
Nowlan run that followed it, I love the "Fist of Khonshu" series that followed that only lasted
six issues and wasn't very good, I liked the 1990s series that also wasn't very good but lasted
longer than any Moon Knight series ever, I loved the James Fry issues in the latter part of that
run that were really bizarre eye candy, I loved the Stephen Platt issues that ended the run ...
okay, that's a lie. I hated those issues. They're AWFUL. I loved the late 1990s mini-series that
brought the character back from limbo, with Mark Texeira and then Tommy Lee Edwards on art. I
loved the new series that launched a few years ago, which made our hero truly insane for, really,
the first time (as much as Moench explored the idea of multiple personalities, you never got the
sense that Moonie was all that crazy). And I loved the first few issues of this series, which
returned Moon Knight to New York and brought back Bushman (okay, that wasn't too great an idea)
and featured out of this world art by Opeña. I bought the first Moon Knight Essential
volume because I didn't have the early appearances of the character. I'm going to buy the new
hardcover of the Moench/Sienkiewicz collaborations before the first series launched even though I
own some of them, because I love the character so much. I think that the first series is wildly
underrated, as it was one of the first (if not the first) series to be released through the
Direct Market, bypassing newstands and therefore allowing Moench and Sienkiewicz to tell more
mature stories than mainstream comics before it. I think the character has a ton of potential
that has been tapped a bit, but not enough. But that's just me.
So why am I explaining this? Well, as much as I dug what Hurwitz did in these first few issues
(even though I didn't agree with bringing Bushman back and turning him into Bane), I thought this
was a terrible way to end this arc and it makes me wonder if I will even buy the next arc. It
makes me sad, but that's the way it is. In the first issue, it seemed as if Hurwitz was poking
fun at the silliness of superheroes, but doing it subtly. I can deal with Moon Knight as satire,
because it's an interesting take, especially as he's a bit, you know, out there. But as we got
further into the arc, Hurwitz stopped doing that and this became much more of a straight-forward
superhero comic. And I'm just not that interested in that anymore. I mean, Hurwitz brought
Bushman back. So what? What happens to him? He ends up in an insane asylum. So what? Bushman's
death was interesting because it pushed Moon Knight even further over the brink and set the stage
for the previous series, which was excellent. Now he's back, and he's just another boring
villain. Even in the mediocre 1990s series, he ruled a country, which added a bit of tension to
his dealings with our hero. Now, he's dull. And we get another joke about Crawley getting hit on
the head and changing his personality, back to what it was. This wasn't funny when it happened to
Guy Gardner twenty years ago, and it's still not funny. I realize that I'm too close to the
situation and I should be able to laugh at head injuries just like those uptight [insert ethnic
group here] should be able to laugh at jokes at their expense, but it's not the fact that Crawley
sustained a head injury and it changed his personality. It's that this book isn't a comedy, so
tonally it was all wrong, and it's also that nobody seems to care. That's what bugged me when it
happened to Guy - wouldn't someone think, "Hey, maybe we should check him out?" even if they
liked his new personality more? Shouldn't Moon Knight have suggested that Crawley ought to get an
MRI? It's too fraught with potential pitfalls to make it really funny, and Hurwitz didn't do(...)
Though Apple both publicly and privately warned
smartphone makers that it wouldn't tolerate its intellectual property being infringed upon, the
company made its first move against Taiwan-based HTC earlier this month with a federal lawsuit and a
complaint to the
International Trade Commission. HTC says it doesn't plan to give up without a fight.
"HTC disagrees with Apple's actions and will fully defend itself," HTC Corporation CEO Peter Chou
said in a statement. "HTC strongly advocates intellectual property protection and will continue
to respect other innovators and their technologies as we have always done, but we will continue
to embrace competition through our own innovation as a healthy way for consumers to get the best
mobile experience possible."
HTC cited the company's numerous firsts to market as proof of its innovation, including selling
the first Windows Mobile smartphone in 2002 and the first Android smartphone in 2008. (It also
lays claim to the "first gesture-based smartphone" released in June 2007, but that's also the
same month that Apple released the original iPhone.) It also noted that Fast Company and
MIT Technology Review has both recently named HTC as one of the top innovative companies
globally.
The company is confident that its own patent portfolio will prove useful in its defense. "We've been in business
since 1997 and a pioneer in the smart phone space," HTC America VP Jason Mackenzie told
Forbes. "We absolutely have our share of patents."
However, Deutsche Banks analyst Chris Whitmore noted recently that Apple has amassed a
much larger patent portfolio than HTC, or even Google, whose Andriod operating system is believed
to be the real target of Apple's legal ire. Since 2000, Apple has been awarded over 3,000
patents, compared to Google's 316 and HTC's 58. Prior to the launch of the iPhone, HTC actually
filed zero patents with USPTO. Sheer numbers don't guarantee a slam dunk for Apple, but they do
certainly give Apple a much larger cache of ammunition to draw from.
Many have criticized Apple for "competition by litigation" by filing complaints against HTC, but
as The New York Times recently reported, lawsuits not at all
uncommon in the mobile space. Apple believes it has a right and duty to protect its own
innovations, apparently just as other companies in the mobile space do. "We think competition is
healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours," Apple CEO
Steve Jobs said earlier this month.
Furthermore, Microsoft VP and deputy general counsel Horacio Gutierrez said the lawsuits are
merely a sign that the modern smartphone market is still in its early stages, and that this
particular lawsuit
won't stifle innovation as some believe. "The smartphone market is still in a nascent state;
much innovation still lies ahead in this field," he wrote in an analysis of Apple's patent
litigation. "In all nascent technology markets, there is a period early where IP rights will be
sorted out."
Unless Apple and HTC come to an out-of-court settlement, we could be waiting until at
least 2012 to hear a decisions from either the ITC or US district court on the matter.
Apple both publicly and privately warned
smartphone makers that it wouldn't tolerate its intellectual property being infringed upon, and
the company made its first move against Taiwan-based HTC earlier this month with a federal lawsuit and a
complaint to the
International Trade Commission. HTC says it doesn't plan to give up without a fight.
"HTC disagrees with Apple's actions and will fully defend itself," HTC Corporation CEO Peter Chou
said in a statement. "HTC strongly advocates intellectual property protection and will continue
to respect other innovators and their technologies as we have always done, but we will continue
to embrace competition through our own innovation as a healthy way for consumers to get the best
mobile experience possible."
HTC cited the company's numerous firsts to market as proof of its innovation, including selling
the first Windows Mobile smartphone in 2002 and the first Android smartphone in 2008. (It also
lays claim to the "first gesture-based smartphone" released in June 2007, but that's also the
same month that Apple released the original iPhone.) It also noted that Fast Company and
MIT Technology Review have both recently named HTC as one of the top innovative
companies globally.
The company is confident that its own patent portfolio will prove useful in its defense. "We've been in business
since 1997 and a pioneer in the smart phone space," HTC America VP Jason Mackenzie told
Forbes. "We absolutely have our share of patents."
However, Deutsche Banks analyst Chris Whitmore noted recently that Apple has amassed a
much larger patent portfolio than HTC, or even Google, whose Andriod operating system is believed
to be the real target of Apple's legal ire. Since 2000, Apple has been awarded over 3,000
patents, compared to Google's 316 and HTC's 58. Prior to the launch of the iPhone, HTC actually
filed zero patents with USPTO. Sheer numbers don't guarantee a slam dunk for Apple, but they do
certainly give Apple a much larger cache of ammunition to draw from.
Many have criticized Apple for "competition by litigation" by filing complaints against HTC, but
as The New York Times recently reported, lawsuits are not at all
uncommon in the mobile space. Apple believes it has a right and duty to protect its own
innovations, apparently just as other companies in the mobile market do. "We think competition is
healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours," Apple CEO
Steve Jobs said earlier this month.
Furthermore, Microsoft VP and deputy general counsel Horacio Gutierrez said the lawsuits are
merely a sign that the modern smartphone market is still in its early stages, and that this
particular lawsuit
won't stifle innovation as some believe. "The smartphone market is still in a nascent state;
much innovation still lies ahead in this field," he wrote in an analysis of Apple's patent
litigation. "In all nascent technology markets, there is a period early where IP rights will be
sorted out."
Unless Apple and HTC come to an out-of-court settlement, we could be waiting until at
least 2012 to hear a decision from either the ITC or US district court on the matter.
Apple both publicly and privately warned
smartphone makers that it wouldn't tolerate its intellectual property being infringed upon, and
the company made its first move against Taiwan-based HTC earlier this month with a federal lawsuit and a
complaint to the
International Trade Commission. HTC says it doesn't plan to give up without a fight.
"HTC disagrees with Apple's actions and will fully defend itself," HTC Corporation CEO Peter Chou
said in a statement. "HTC strongly advocates intellectual property protection and will continue
to respect other innovators and their technologies as we have always done, but we will continue
to embrace competition through our own innovation as a healthy way for consumers to get the best
mobile experience possible."
HTC cited the company's numerous firsts to market as proof of its innovation, including selling
the first Windows Mobile smartphone in 2002 and the first Android smartphone in 2008. (It also
lays claim to the "first gesture-based smartphone" released in June 2007, but that's also the
same month that Apple released the original iPhone.) It also noted that Fast Company and
MIT Technology Review have both recently named HTC as one of the top innovative
companies globally.
The company is confident that its own patent portfolio will prove useful in its defense. "We've been in business
since 1997 and a pioneer in the smart phone space," HTC America VP Jason Mackenzie told
Forbes. "We absolutely have our share of patents."
However, Deutsche Banks analyst Chris Whitmore noted recently that Apple has amassed a
much larger patent portfolio than HTC, or even Google, whose Andriod operating system is believed
to be the real target of Apple's legal ire. Since 2000, Apple has been awarded over 3,000
patents, compared to Google's 316 and HTC's 58. Prior to the launch of the iPhone, HTC actually
filed zero patents with USPTO. Sheer numbers don't guarantee a slam dunk for Apple, but they do
certainly give Apple a much larger cache of ammunition to draw from.
Many have criticized Apple for "competition by litigation" by filing complaints against HTC, but
as The New York Times recently reported, lawsuits are not at all
uncommon in the mobile space. Apple believes it has a right and duty to protect its own
innovations, apparently just as other companies in the mobile market do. "We think competition is
healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours," Apple CEO
Steve Jobs said earlier this month.
Furthermore, Microsoft VP and deputy general counsel Horacio Gutierrez said the lawsuits are
merely a sign that the modern smartphone market is still in its early stages, and that this
particular lawsuit
won't stifle innovation as some believe. "The smartphone market is still in a nascent state;
much innovation still lies ahead in this field," he wrote in an analysis of Apple's patent
litigation. "In all nascent technology markets, there is a period early where IP rights will be
sorted out."
Unless Apple and HTC come to an out-of-court settlement, we could be waiting until at
least 2012 to hear a decision from either the ITC or US district court on the matter.
Apple both publicly and privately warned
smartphone makers that it wouldn't tolerate its intellectual property being infringed upon, and
the company made its first move against Taiwan-based HTC earlier this month with a federal lawsuit and a
complaint to the
International Trade Commission. HTC says it doesn't plan to give up without a fight.
"HTC disagrees with Apple's actions and will fully defend itself," HTC Corporation CEO Peter Chou
said in a statement. "HTC strongly advocates intellectual property protection and will continue
to respect other innovators and their technologies as we have always done, but we will continue
to embrace competition through our own innovation as a healthy way for consumers to get the best
mobile experience possible."
HTC cited the company's numerous firsts to market as proof of its innovation, including selling
the first Windows Mobile smartphone in 2002 and the first Android smartphone in 2008. (It also
lays claim to the "first gesture-based smartphone" released in June 2007, but that's also the
same month that Apple released the original iPhone.) It also noted that Fast Company and
MIT Technology Review have both recently named HTC as one of the top innovative
companies globally.
The company is confident that its own patent portfolio will prove useful in its defense. "We've been in business
since 1997 and a pioneer in the smart phone space," HTC America VP Jason Mackenzie told
Forbes. "We absolutely have our share of patents."
However, Deutsche Banks analyst Chris Whitmore noted recently that Apple has amassed a
much larger patent portfolio than HTC, or even Google, whose Andriod operating system is believed
to be the real target of Apple's legal ire. Since 2000, Apple has been awarded over 3,000
patents, compared to Google's 316 and HTC's 58. Prior to the launch of the iPhone, HTC actually
filed zero patents with USPTO. Sheer numbers don't guarantee a slam dunk for Apple, but they do
certainly give Apple a much larger cache of ammunition to draw from.
Many have criticized Apple for "competition by litigation" by filing complaints against HTC, but
as The New York Times recently reported, lawsuits are not at all
uncommon in the mobile space. Apple believes it has a right and duty to protect its own
innovations, apparently just as other companies in the mobile market do. "We think competition is
healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours," Apple CEO
Steve Jobs said earlier this month.
Furthermore, Microsoft VP and deputy general counsel Horacio Gutierrez said the lawsuits are
merely a sign that the modern smartphone market is still in its early stages, and that this
particular lawsuit
won't stifle innovation as some believe. "The smartphone market is still in a nascent state;
much innovation still lies ahead in this field," he wrote in an analysis of Apple's patent
litigation. "In all nascent technology markets, there is a period early where IP rights will be
sorted out."
Unless Apple and HTC come to an out-of-court settlement, we could be waiting until at
least 2012 to hear a decision from either the ITC or US district court on the matter.
For more than five years, Netflix has had a feature called "Friends" which lets users connect
their Netflix account with others so they can view each other's queues, suggest movies to each
other, or see how a movie ranks against their peers' ratings.
Todd Yellin, Netflix VP of Product Management said that after six years, only two percent of
subscribers actually used the feature, so it is going to be phased out in the coming months.
"No company has unlimited resources and we decided to move engineering development time and
resources from a little used feature to support and maintain the things that benefit all Netflix
members as the service evolves ??" more devices for streaming and better encoding, for example,"
Yellin said.
Streaming, by comparison, is an absolute smash. Yellin said that roughly 50% of all Netflix
subscribers use the Instant Streaming feature on their TVs, set-top boxes, and game consoles.
Unfortunately, the way the change became evident was rather clumsy.
Last week, Netflix implemented a new "Movie Detail" page on its Web site, which eliminated top 10
lists, friend ratings, and the ability to send movie notes. The features were still on the site,
but their tabs were just removed from the page. Customers who used the "friends" feature were
upset.
On a Hacking Netflix article about it last week, one commenter said, "The
Friends feature and Top Ten Lists are *not* on individual movie pages any longer. Reviews from
random Netflix users *are* there, however, and that makes absolutely no sense. Why would I care
more about a random Netflix user's opinion than my friends'?"
Rather than letting subscribers know up front that the feature was in the process of being
removed, Netflix just pulled the feature from its prominent position and relegated it to the
background.
"We fumbled the ball this week," Yellin said. "In making some changes to the Movie Display Page
we didn't fully communicate how they impact users of the Friends feature, and we owe you that.
We've read every blog post, Tweet, news article and call log to Customer Service by those of you
who are upset about this decision. To you, we apologize for not being more upfront earlier. We
appreciate your passion and we understand your disappointment and frustration. Our decision is
meant to benefit all Netflix members by allowing everyone to enjoy more movies and more TV
episodes on more devices while still receiving the unbeatable convenience, selection and value
that are the hallmarks of the Netflix service."
The culture clash between social games and core gamers was on full display at GDC. I have
been called a traitor to the cause of core gamers, even.
At the awards show, when a Zynga rep claimed the social games award for Farmville and did a
little bit of recruiting from the stage, he was not only booed, but someone shouted out,
“But you don’t make games!” This is a common sentiment out there in the usual
gamer haunts.
I have many many thoughts on all this — and I have been posting some of them in various
places when discussions arise.
Yes, Farmville is a game. It just requires fairly little skill compared to games
for “advanced” gamers. But by any reasonable definition of game, it fits perfectly.
You have to make choices (they are strategic choices rather than real-time, but so what? Games
have a long tradition of
slower play). The choices require knowledge and skill (the skill is what gets derisively
called “spreadsheet gaming” by the cognoscenti, but that’s a brush that EVE
Online and other MMOs have been tarred with too). You have to prepare for the challenge. You can
screw up. You get rewarded for doing well, etc.
It may seem elementary to those who can juggle complicated business sims, but think of it as the
training wheels version for novices to that genre, and you won’t be far off. I think people
who didn’t play games in the early days forget that the level of complexity they enjoy
today is a phenomenon of the last ten years, a symptom of typical genre development. Social
games are more advanced than most of the games made from 1970 to 1988.
Yes, social games truly are social. They just work on somewhat different modes
than real-time synchronous games do. Instead of rewarding real-time teamwork the way that group
combat in an MMO, playing on a soccer team, or being a member of a chorus line does, they reward
asynchronous behaviors.
Most specifically, there is a lot of exactly the sort of weak-tie social design that was
intrinsic to Star Wars Galaxies and Asheron’s Call: stuff around gifts,
networks of mutual benefit, etc. More, they are exploring some of these things in a deeper way
than MMOs do (because MMOs fall back on the synchronous crutch). Which is more indicative of
social ties, a user who logs in once a week for a raid, or a user who logs in every day to send
every friend a gift? The answer is not straightforward, if you dig into social networking data.
Yes, it is arguably even an MMO. The core activity is single-player, but the
features around gifting, fertilizing, helping build structures collaboratively, etc, are all
massively multiplayer techniques. Oh, they are not yet truly virtual worlds, though some of them
do feature real-time chat, and more will over time, because in many many cases it is a value-add
of a feature.
It’s surprising, in a way, how little collective action matters in most MMOs.
Here’s a medium that allows it better than any other game type, and yet we still see fairly
little collective action — and when we do, it’s raids
— arguably, exactly the wrong sort of collective action to really play to the
strengths of what virtual spaces can do, precisely because what MMOs offer is spaces with
thousands in them, not spaces with a few dozen.
Well, here we are. Collective action is starting to matter in the social games, and it’s
going to matter more, not less precisely because it is an assumed core premise of the genre.
Yes, social games make money. Do some Googling, people! And no,
it’s not all from scams.Yes, there are shady practices. But not all games use
them, and if they do, it is less every day as the market gets cleaned up. And even when they do,
they are not the bulk of the money.
Social games are not just a fad. There have been a lot of comparisons to things
like motion control, 3d imaging, and so on. But back in 2008 there were Gamasutra articles about
whether retro-looking
gaming was a fad; before 3d graphics got good enough, there were questions about whether it
was a fad… the key thing to look at here is whether there are underlying technical and
social factors that are pushing development in a particular direction.
In the case of retro looks (which are now a firmly established aesthetic), the answer lay in the
somewhat complicated fact that a younger gamer sees all previous aesthetics side-by-side and does
not judge their quality based on technology, the way that older gamers do. A push towards
innovation and artistic intent in game design called forth the ghost of the 8-bit era, and the
pixelated look became an identity badge. Tech helped this along — the rise of Flash as a
common game development platform resulted in a “Flash aesthetic” driven by the
display limitations that today we see in console games such as PixelJunk Eden and
Patapon.
In the case of 3d, the march of technology simply made it work over time, and it evolved from
gimmick to tool. This may yet happen with 3d displays as well, or motion control.
In the case of social games, you have to look at the overall context too. As I have been saying
for quite some time, all games are becoming
connected experiences. And it turns out that social networks are becoming the glue. They are
sweeping away all the “gamer-only” networks that so many companies started.
The value in these networks lies in the connectivity to friends, the easy distribution of content
across the social graph, the web accessibility, and so on. These are things that we now take for
granted. The genie is not going to go back into the bottle.
Now, is the investment level going to change? Absolutely. The white-hot heat around the segment
will definitely subside as everyone gets used to the fact that the market is here to stay.
No, social games won’t turn into core games. This is one of the
misconceptions that AAA developers often have as they try to establish themselves in the market.
It is absolutely true that social games are going to grow more sophisticated over time. But they
will do so by growing further along the direction they have already been going.
If you look at the AAA game world today, you can trace just about everything in it to the early
core gamer market. Video games got going with sports, dragons, robots, guns, jumping &
climbing, and cars. Those were the first big ideas. And here we are now, decades in, and they are
still the big ideas. Many other ideas have come along since, but somehow they have always been
quirky, “outside the mainstream” — like, say, when Rollercoaster
Tycoon, or Guitar Hero, or The Sims came along. The only way
something like “playing house” can possibly be “outside the mainstream”
is if there’s a subculture in charge.
Well, social games are here and they managed to get themselves established largely without
reference to those tropes. As a result, they have a different set of starting premises. Many of
the things that were “quirky” are “normal” and vice versa. Central design
tropes include cooperation rather than competition; asynchronous rather than
synchronous play; social dynamics; and a very different set of core cultural references.
There’s more.
What will happen over time is that this new audience will grow in sophistication. They already
take for granted all of the elements of a farming game, for example. You can think of the farming
game as equivalent to any other genre, and replete with design tropes that are exactly equivalent
to conventions like WASD, hit points, skill point allocation, rocket jumping, and
tank-nuker-healer, if you like.
All that is going to happen is a recapitulation of design history, only with a new of new
assumptions embedded in the games:
a far broader set of cultural references.
a new and different set of core artistic choices driven by different rendering technology
a fresh and exciting set of design paradigms built around asynchronous sociability and
large-scale weak-tie “guild” structures — hoo, is there a design
essay lurking in the difference between a guild and a neighbor ring...!
a whole new set of business models and practices
What this boils down to is that social games will grow along those axes, and not
magically turn into what core gamers today consider to be core games. It’s a mistake to
think that the game development industry is going to manage to magically make this audience fall
in love with sports, dragons, robots, guns, jumping & climbing, and cars.
But there’s hope for core gamers nonetheless: These games are the new home
of “worldy” games, in some ways. And they are bringing neglected genres back to life.
Social games are going to push boundaries in design areas that are currently neglected. A
renaissance in simulation and strategy games is likely, and I don’t think it is an accident
that so many prominent AAA strategy game developers are in social games now.
If what you have craved is greater user agency and impact on a persistent world, a greater sense
of community and economic interdependence — those are features that are intrinsic
to this new market. As an example, I would point out that there was a core MMO game that many of
the readers of this blog loved that had a farming game where you had to check in every few days
to collect your stuff and decide what to try to harvest next. And it’s wasn’t
Farmville. It was Star Wars Galaxies. In many ways, the features that were seen
as oddest or least “gamer-like” in the worldy MMOs are going to be among core
features in the social games: housebuilding, shopkeeping, farming, dancing, dress-up, even
hairdressing. Right now, these are one-to-a-game. But one possible direction of development is
that they not be.
I have thoughts on what all this means for the core games we know and love, but I’ll leave
those for another day.
Quite an interesting site for software professionals, JobGraphs provides graphical analytical
interpretation of the various job trends in the industry. For example using the site it is very
easy to figure out which roles are in more demand, how many openings there are in other countries,
and also how much people are earning over there. Also, you can employ the site in order to compare
your technology with that of the competition and realize whether your city is on the IT map or if
it is eclipsed by absolutely everybody.
Yesterday I received an email from a reader of this site and today I'd like to answer it (with
the permission of the person who sent it). Here is what he wrote:
Thank you so much for your booklet, "Sexual Detox." I have read
it over and over, and am still very much challenged by it. I was recently married and was under
the illusion that marriage would solve all of my lust problems... Even though I had been told
numerous times that it would not. Now I feel that everything has come to head, I know what I must
do, and I want so very badly to do it, but I feel that the devil knows this is THE deciding point
in my life on this issue, and he is working hard against me. I feel more captivated and strangled
by my sin than ever before, and I need you to pray for me. If you have any advice or
encouragement to offer, please tell me.
Thanks for sending this note. It sounds to me like you are absolutely right when say that
this is a deciding point in your life on the issue of lust and the acting out of that
lust. Satan will be working hard against you and, in many ways, you will be working hard against
yourself. You gave yourself over to your sin and no doubt you've become captivated by it. As sin
always seeks to do, it has ensnared you. But take heart. There is hope.
To reiterate what I wrote in Sexual Detox, the fact that you feel sexual desire is a
good and noble thing. God has given you that desire so you will pursue your bride. But, like all
good gifts, the gift of sex is one that we are prone to pervert, turning it into a means of
selfish self-fulfillment. God wants you to pursue your wife, to win her heart not just once but
day-by-day; and he wants you to enjoy sex with her. But, of course, you have grown used to
indulging the flesh, to giving it its desires, those desires that are perversions of the true
gift. And sin rarely just goes away; it is usually a long and difficult process to put it to
death.
A few days ago someone asked me, "What difference does it make that Christ is on his throne?" I
had to think about that one, but when I did, the answer became clear. It makes all the difference
in the world. Just this morning I read from Hebrews 1 where the author says, "After making
purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high." There is such
glorious truth there.
Purification
First, Christ made purification for sins. This is the very heart of the Christian faith. Finally,
after those long millenia of human history, the thousands of Old Testament prophecies were
fulfilled in Christ. The seed promised all the way back in Genesis 3 had come and had crushed the
head of the serpent. What this means is that if you have trusted in Christ, if you have put your
faith in him, you have been purified from your sin. God no longer regards you as defiled by sin,
but looks at you and sees the sinless perfection of Christ. Your sin has been given to him, his
righteousness has been transferred to you.
Purification is an especially important word when we discuss sexual sin, for no sin makes us feel
as dirty, as defiled, as impure as sexual sin. Because sex is so deep, so intimate, it touches
the body, the soul, the emotions. And so, when we sin sexually, we tend to feel a deep sense of
defilement, and particularly so when we sin in spite of a convicted conscience.
And yet Christ died to purify you from even this sin. You have sinned against God and need to
seek his forgiveness. I am sure you've already done this, but do go to God, even now, and confess
your sin. Be reconciled to God and receive his forgiveness, his purification from sin. Christ is
far more willing to forgive you than you are even to pursue your sin.
The Majesty on High
That Christ has made purification for sin is an amazing truth. But it is only half the truth of
this verse. Christ has not just died, but he is risen and now reigns at the right hand of the
Father. And what does it mean that Christ is on his throne? It means that Christ is ruling and
reigning. It means that Christ is sovereign, that he is King, that he has power. He gives power
to his people through the Spirit, his Spirit, that he has sent to be our helper. Christ has given
you the power to overcome sin. What a glorious truth this is! He has given you all you need,
absolutely everything you need, to overcome sin. The Spirit works with us, in us, through us, to
destroy indwelling sin and to make us in practice what we are in position--pure and holy.
So there is no excuse. Christ is reigning over the entire universe; he is reigning over sin. If
you are to overcome the sin of lust, if you are to turn from your lust and find sexual desire and
fulfillment only in your wife, you will need to fight with his power.
Hold tightly to these two truths and never separate them. Christ has died to destroy sin; Christ
has risen to reign.
What To Do
I have already encouraged you to confess your sin to God and to ask his forgiveness. And as you
do that, confess your own inability to overcome this sin and ask God for his strength, his power.
Be utterly dependent upon him.
Be a godly man. Immerse yourself in the Word; be faithful in prayer; be committed to your church.
Live a life of godliness. Do not approach the sin of lust as an isolated sin, but approach it as
one more sin that needs to be overcome as you seek to be conformed to the image of the Savior.
In committing sexual sin, you have sinned against your wife. You need to confess this sin to her,
painful thought it may be, and seek her forgiveness. You will also need to seek reconciliation
with her. You are much more likely to overcome this sin with her help than without it. Be very
careful not to blame her in any way for your sin; do not implicate her in any way. Confess your
sin and ask her to fight with you in putting it to death. As a husband you need to lead your
wife. And, as you've been sinning against her, you've been leading her poorly. Part of
shepherding your wife, and often the most difficult part of all, is leading in the sexual
relationship. This is especially difficult when you have committed sexual sin. But lead her
nonetheless, gently and kindly. And lead her by being above reproach in every way.
Understand the triggers and the warning signs that tell you that you are particularly prone to
sin. And react by fleeing from those rather than waiting for the lustful act itself.
Speaking personally, I look for tiny things that may be entirely amoral and seemingly
insignificant, but I know that they point to a general relaxing of standards and discipline. When
I eat too much junk food or drink too much Coke, I know that I'm relaxing my personal discipline
and that I'm only a few steps away from committing a sin I'll regret. So I look for these
innocuous things and fight against them. It sounds silly, I know, but I've studied my propensity
to sin enough to know where it begins. So find those triggers in your own life, even those amoral
things, and react against them. Look for situations that lead you to sin, whether that involves
browsing certain web sites or being in certain places or staying up past certain hours.
And finally, seek out an older man who can mentor you. Find a man in your church whom you respect
and ask if he will help you fight lust and become a better husband to your wife. Ask him to be
not an accountability partner, but a mentor.
Take Heart
And take heart. Many men can testify to God's grace in overcoming sin. Scripture itself testifies
that God is eager and willing to put your sin to death. Christ has died to forgive your sin and
he has risen and sent his Spirit to give you mastery over it. He reigns and he is on your side.
What greater hope could there be?
A website that sorts everyday the most relevant information to you.
Vote for the news and Matoumba will learn your tastes and the information that you like the most.
It is all FREE!
Find here the history of the stories you found interesting.
Show this to people who share the same interests as you,
and if they use Matoumba, their own votes will fine recommandations to you.
Apple pulled one of Tommy Refene's iPhone apps following the developer's public
criticism of the App Store, according to Kotaku. Refenes spoke for several minutes at the recent
Game Developers Conference, saying he "absolutely f***ing hate[s] the iPhone App Store." He
reportedly compared the iPhone gaming market to the low-quality Tiger handheld platform of the '80s
and '90s....
Right now, I've got
some 2 Skinnee Js queued up from Archive.org, with some SXSM tracks from Sam Roberts on deck. Play
controls are always within reach -- just click the ExtensionFM button in your browser actions area.
Now, back to
that 'subscription' thing...Sites in your library are set to auto-update by default -- which you
can disable on a per-site basis if you prefer to update things manually. Right click and hit
refresh to do a quick check for new tunes. You can also play or queue entire sites, or delete them
if your tastes have changed. 
I've played with
ExtensionFM in 
Avengers vs. Atlas #3 (of 4) ("Hulk
Smash!"/"Hey, Venus!") by 
Fables #93 ("The Little Murder Part
Two of Two") by 
Hercules: Fall of an Avenger #1 (of
2) (Hercules main story/"Greek Tragedy") by 
Joe the Barbarian #3 (of
ВосемБ) ("The Dying Boy") by 
Marvel Boy: The Uranian #3 (of 3)
("Man of Two Worlds") by Jeff Parker (writer), Felix Ruiz (artist/letterer), and Val
Staples (colorist). $3.99, 22 pgs + 18 pgs of 3 back-up stories, FC, Marvel.
Spider-Woman #7 by 
Vengeance of the Moon Knight #6
("Shock and Awe Chapter 6") by 
At the awards show, when a Zynga rep claimed the social games award for Farmville and did a
little bit of recruiting from the stage, he was not only booed, but someone shouted out,
“But you don’t make games!” This is a common sentiment out there in the usual
gamer haunts.
Recommandations
)
and reject those that you are not interested in
(
)
