Muddy Rock'n Run Gladiator

RAGE Racing tackled the Gladiator Rock’n Run today at Bear Creek Farm in Moreland, Georgia.  The Gladiator, hosted by Dan “Nitro” Clark from American Gladiators fame (pictured below), is a 6K with 17 insane obstacles including the Terrible Tires, Monkey Bars, Trenches of Torment, Swamp Stomp, Hamburger Hill, Spider Web, Wall of Fame, Skid Marks, Buddha’s Burden, Ring the Bell, Lake Swim, 10 Foot Wall Climb, Dumpster Dive, Polar Bear Plunge, Cargo Congo Climb, The Beast, and Gladiator BBQ.  Pictures are forthcoming.

 

This was a well ran event and they did a great job of staggering start times, which kept racers from having to wait to conquer obstacles.  I also really liked the fact that Dan “Nitro” Clark did not just host the event from the stage; he actually walked around and talked to fans/participants, and posed for pictures.  Normally, the “celebrity host” introduces the first wave and then disappears.  Nitro was one of my favorite American Gladiators in the 1990’s and getting to meet him took me back to happy middle school years, where I watched the show on television and even got to see it live at the Omni.

The Batman Rises

My condolences go out to the victims and survivors of the Colorado movie theater shooting.  It is shame that innocence lives were lost and forever changed because of senseless violence.  Let us learn from this unfortunate act.  Please know that we stand with you during this difficult time.  You too will rise like the dark knight.

“The Dark Knight Rises” is a grand conclusion to Christopher Nolan’s epic Batman trilogy.  The scope of the movie is larger than life, and as the plot builds to a crescendo, you realize that only Batman can save the day.  More importantly, you desire his success.  I give “The Dark Knight Rises” 5 out of 5.  You need to see it in the theater to appreciate movie.  For a three hour movie, the pace is surprising quick and contrary to what others think.  I felt that the major characters were developed appropriately.  “Batman Begins”, “The Dark Knight” , and the “Dark Knight Rises” are the definitive live action Batman films.

“The Dark Rises” takes place eight years after the conclusion of “The Dark Knight”.  Gotham still believes in Harvey Dent.  Although considered a criminal himself, Gotham is now safe after years of being protected by the Batman.  The Dark Knight is no longer needed because organized crime is eliminated and Gotham is thriving.  However, safety has led to decadence.  The few elite prosper while the majority goes unnoticed in their struggle to survive.  Bruce Wayne, a recluse, has lost track of the details.

 Without warning Gotham is suddenly thrown into chaos, isolated and depressed.  Bane and his accomplice are the culprits.  Bane, a cold hearted but calculate mercenary links his actions to a twisted and perverted message of hope and freedom. In reality, Bane seeks Gotham’s redemption through anarchy and then destruction.  Gotham needs her champion to return.

The Dark Knight Will Rise

"The Dark Knight Rises" finally debuts this Friday.  It will be the third and final movie of Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy.  People are speculating as to whether he will kill the Caped Crusader.  I hope not.

Nolan's last Batman film - "The Dark Knight" was probably the best comic book movie I ever watched.  It simply transcended the genre.

In preparation, it looks like I be having a Batman film fest!

Man of Steel

Superman has plenty of recent comic book stories that are iconic in nature – “Birthright”, “Lex Luther Man of Steel”, and “Red Son”, but has no similarly iconic movie.  Some would say that “Superman the Movie” is that definitive movie, but it debuted in 1978, so it does not qualify as recent.  Although Christopher Reeve did a marvelous job bringing Clark Kent/Superman to life, but by today’s standards the special effects are dated, which takes away from the movie.  The Superman franchise needs a new reboot.

 Many thought that the 2006 “Superman Returns” would fill that role, but it did not.  It was not a good movie.  The movie tried too hard to be an extension of the original franchise.  It just seemed like Brandon Routh was imitating Christopher Reeve instead of putting his unique spin on Clark Kent/Superman.  Additionally, Kevin Spacey did not make a good Lex Luther because he tried to make him silly.  Lex Luther is a serious billionaire scientist who is both smooth and slippery.  Spacey would have benefited from listening to Clancy Brown’s portrayal of Lex Luther in “Superman the Animated Series” and “Justice League”.  He gets Lex Luther.  I also did not like the Son of Superman tease.  It was cheap and inconsistent with the character.  Superman would not have an out-of-wedlock child with Lois Lane.

 The other problem with “Superman Returns” was its lack of scope and lack of world destroying villain.  Lex Luther is a great co-villain, but a Superman movie needs a larger-than-life all powerful villain like a Brainic, Darkside, or General Zod.  It must be a person that only Superman can stop.

 According to ign.com, there is a new Superman movie in the works – “Man of Steel”.  The trailer debuts this Friday with “The Dark Knight Rises”.  Hopefully, “Man of Steel” will do what “Batman Begins” did for the Batman movie franchise.

You Can See Me

The Make-A-Wish Foundation grants a wish for children with life threatening diseases.   Examples of fulfilled wishes include children meeting their favorite superstar, traveling to a sporting event or vacation sport, or getting a pool table and/or video game system.  The wish fulfillment provides a ray of hope to children otherwise subject to a life of routine medical visits and possible death.

I want to applaud WWE Superstar John Cena for granting over 300 Make-A-Wish Foundation request.   He has granted more request that any other celebrity.  This is an incredible accomplishment as professional wrestlers are on the road approximately 300 days per year.  Cena definitely has a big heart to match his big frame.


Avengers Assemble

I never was an Avengers comic book fan, but I really enjoyed the movie.  So far, it is the best superhero movie of the year.  Marvel Studios did a great job of tying all their individual movies together in a cohesive and entertaining story.  The movie conveyed the story that sometimes there are problems that a too big for just one hero; therefore, you need a team. 

The Avengers was the perfect mix of fighting and humor that you would expect from a comic book movie.  I liked how the movie showed the characters transition from a bunch of individuals who did not trust each other to a team dedicated to saving the world.  I look forward to the sequel.

Courage Has No Color

I am excited about Red Tails, which comes out January 20, 2012.  It is an action movie about the Tuskegee Airmen.  Acclaimed director George Lucas, of Star Wars fame, helped write the movie and spent $58 million of his own money to produce the picture because none of the major Hollywood studio wanted to green light an action adventure movie featuring a predominantly black cast.  Those are Lucas' words, not mine.

January 20, 2012. It's an action movie about the Tuskegee Airmen

R.I.P. Heavy D

I was surprised earlier this week when I learned that Heavy D died at the age 44.  My prayers and thoughts go out to his family.

Williams' Respect

I am not much of a fan of country music; however, I will listen from time-to-time with Dr. Smiles as she likes the genre.  I cannot name one Hank Williams, Jr. song, but I am familiar with his long-time Monday Night Football introduction.  According to the Associated Press, Williams compared President Obama to Hitler and said that Obama and Vice President Biden was “the enemy”.   In response, ESPN pulled Williams’ introduction from the Monday Night Football telecast.

In released statement, Williams declared the he “always respected the office the office of the president.” If comparing Obama to Hitler and labeling him as “the enemy” is respect, I hate to see what he considers disrespect.

Robin's Wardrobe

The fine folks at ign.com report that Robin will have two additional skins – Red Robin and Batman the Animated Series Robin.  Red Robin looks badass, although it would have been funny if they had Boy Wonder Robin, wearing his short shorts and fairy boots.  The more I read about this game, the more excited I am.  I hope they make Nightwing a playable character.

Batman’s Wardrobe

The fine folks at ign.com report that there are multiple Batman skins in the upcoming Arkham City game.  According to ign.com, individuals who preorder the game at select United Kingdom stores will get to select one of the above Batman skins.  My two favorites are the Batman Beyond and Dark Knight Returns.  I hope the above skins are available in the States as downloadable content.  I’m really excited about this game.

Robin Strikes!

Early last week IGN.com announced that Robin will be a playable character in the upcoming Batman Arkham City, provided you pre-order with Best Buy.  Earlier today, Rocksteady Games released an image of the Boy Wonder.

According to Rocksteady, the playable Robin is none other than Tim Drake, the third youth to wear the read and yellow.  In the comic books, Drake is known for his detective skills as he discovered Batman's secret identity through his own research.

Based on what I've seen and read on IGN.com, Batman Arkham City is shaping up to be a pretty cool game.  IGN.com reports that Rocksteady has fine tuned the combat system, lengthen the story mode, and improved the challenge arena.  In addition to playing as Batman and Robin, players will have the ability to play as Catwoman.

First Class

I joined the million of others watching X-Men First Class last week.  I went into the movie with little expectations and I was pleasantly surprised as it contained a great story and action.  It was cool seeing a young Professor X and Magneto as they complied their team.  The scene with Wolverine was funny.

Wrestling - My History

I grew up watching professional wrestling with my Big Daddy (great-granddaddy). He loved wrestling, so I loved wrestling. Every Saturday night we’d sit in front of the television, turn on the Superstation (TBS), and watch the superstars of Georgia Championship Wrestling (“GCW”). Big Mama (great-grandma) would bring fresh biscuits with buttermilk and we’d settle in for an evening of fist pounding, leg-kicking action. “Nature Boy” Ric Flair and his 4-Horsemen would be styling and profiling; “The American Dream” Dusty Rhoades would be delivering his bionic elbow; the Road Warriors, Hawk and Animal, would be destroying everything that moved, and Ricky Steamboat and Larry Zbyszko were technical wizards.

Even after Big Daddy passed, I held those memories close to my heart and continued to love and watch wrestling. I cheered when the World Wrestling Federation (“WWF”) exploded and Hulkamania ran wild and introduced me to characters like the Ultimate Warrior, Coco B. Ware, Andre the Giant, Junkyard Dog, and King Kong Bundy.

In the mid to late 1990’s, when wrestling caught its second wind, I was in paradise during the “Monday Night Wars” when WWF Raw went head-to-head with World Championship Wrestling (“WCW”) Nitro. For a wrestling fan, you couldn’t beat four hours of combined wrestling program. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, the Rock, Mankind, Bret “Hitman” Hart, “Heartbreak Kid” Shawn Michaels, Goldberg, Sting, Lex Luger, and Diamond Dallas Page definitely entertained me during this time.

I probably saw all the big matches during this era – Undertaker throwing Mick Foley off the Hell in a Cell; the birth of “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan and the NWO, the first tables, ladders, and chairs match; Owen Hart falling to his death; Undertaker versus Kane inferno match, the unmasking of Ray Mysterio, the Bret Hart screw job; and Goldberg jack-hammering Hulk Hogan. I’d seen “house shows”, went to Raw and Nitro live, read Tom Zinc’s blog, but the only thing I hadn’t done was go to Wrestlemania. On Sunday, April 3, 2011, I finally got to go to Wrestlemania XXVII.

The show lived up to its billing as the “granddaddy” of all wrestling events. It was “sports entertainment” at its apex – a perfect mix of athleticism, music concert, and fan interaction. Atlanta proved once again that if you put on a great product, fans will come out, support, and spend money. Just ask the 71,000 plus fans in attendance (a Georgia Dome record).

The City is the Asylum

Video games based on comic book characters are a mixed bag because they often fail to develop the complexity of the subject characters, or they lack a coherent story that explains why someone is trying to save the world. Oftentimes, it seems that comic books fans are stuck with a superhero themed "beat-um up" or at worst they're stuck with "CD shaped" paper weight.

Batman: Arkham Asylum raised the bar for comic book based video games because it took steps to develop and explain the complexity of Batman's character - expert hand-to-hand fighter and detective - and it actually told a solid and enjoyable story as to why Batman was locked in an asylum with the Joker and his henchmen.

I'm really looking forward to the sequel Batman: Arkham City which is tentatively set for an October 2011 release date. Arkham City is allegedly five times the size of the first game and features classic Batman villains including but not limited to Calendar Man, Catwoman, Mr. Freeze, Talia al Ghul, The Joker, The Riddler, Harley Quinn, Hugo Strange, Two-Face, and Mr. Zsasz.

October 2011

"An artist's duty as far as I'm concerned is to reflect the times. I think that is true of painters, sculptors, poets, and musicians - as far as I'm concerned, it is their choice. But I choose to reflect the times and situations in which I find myself. That to me is my duty."

- Nina Simone

My T.V. Debut

Watch me live on "Law Call" tomorrow night at 11:35 p.m. on Channel 13 WMAZ or 13wmaz.com. I'll be answering legal questions live!

Go Joes!

Last week Bean and I watched G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra. I went into the movie with no expectations and left entertained. G.I. Joe’s were my toys of choice growing up. I probably had a hundred action figures and vehicles. My favorites were Snake Eyes, Storm Shadow, Destro, Cobra Commander, and those ninja twins.

With that being said, it was really good seeing the toys in a live action movie, especially Snakes Eyes and Storm Shadow. There was plenty of action and special effects. It’s definitely movie worth seeing on the big screen.

Steve McNair

In the late 90’s Steve McNair was my favorite quarterback because of his toughness and his ability to make the big play. I also respected the fact that although he went to Alcorn State, a school in Division II, he made the best of his opportunity and not only made it to the NFL but shared a piece of the MVP trophy. The nature of his death, being shot twice in the head and twice in the chest, was a total shock because he was never known as a troublemaker on or off the field. He had a legitimate reputation of being a man committed to his family and community. I won’t speculate or pass judgment on the facts surrounding his death, but I will say that his family and supporters are in my thoughts and prayers.