Superman Returns

Here is a more recent post on Doug's forum about Superman Returns.

I saw the movie at 10pm Tuesday night. I loved it. First off, the thing about this movie is that it very subtly and comfortably inserts multiple nods to the original two Superman movies that everyone loves. The occasional comedy is good but not trite or overly done. All of the casting choices are spectacularly spot on; from Brandon Routh as Clark/Superman to Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor and Perry White and Jimmy Olson too. The one exception you might note is Lois Lane, as I don't really think she seems like the traditional take charge nosy reporter. The story has some changes especially with Lois. But they are appropriate changes.

If you haven't seen the movie yet or haven't heard a synopsis already, get out from under your rock. It's now five years after Superman disappeared mysteriously to visit the galaxy where Krypton was to look for survivors. Finding none, he returns to Earth to find that the world --and Lois-- has moved on. Lois is engaged and a mother. So, if her character has changed it made sense to me.

Clark has returned to his job at the Daily Planet in Metropolis for --oh say five minutes-- when Lois and random others are involved in a big disaster involving a 777, a space shuttle and a stadium full of people.

What is surprising is that the special effects are not big and in your face. Like many other movies (X-Men III, King Kong) the special effects are overused. The filmakers of Superman Returns could have really overdone things and tried to create really impressive effects that ultimately would have overshadowed the film's important plot points, but they did not. There are many dramatic sequences and the jilted love story is realistic.

From the first frame, where the opening credits flash onto the screen against a floating star field just like the original films, to the end where Superman triumphantly flies above the planet towards the setting sun on the curved horizon line, this is a great movie with not one boring moment. See this film and post your agreement/disagreement.

Want more Superman information?

John Holmes Video Game Challenge

I've been putting in some of my free time on Doug's website in the forums and arcade. I thought I'd repost some of the scores and stuff here.

I just wanted to make sure that you noted that I beat all of the high scores for the SNAKE game. Not only did I get 700 plus points on the HARD (python) mode, but I also set the high score on the two slower modes.

Now to brush up on my Pacman, Simon, Asteroids, and Invaders. I swear I'll take y'all down very soon.

I am the Snake and Tetris mastah!

My high scores lasted for a little while but were soon overturned in the Snake game. However, I did figure out how to add the game (and high scores) to my web site.

Snake

««Choose Another Game

For more information, visit dogbyteonline.com and take part in the John Holmes Video Game Challenge.

Could You Pass the U.S. Citizenship Test?

Hey I'm proud of myself.

You answered 85% of questions correctly.

Check it out. Find out if you could you pass the U.S. citizenship test?

Harry Potter Video

So you wanted to be entertained some more? I see. Try this Harry Potter video on for size. This may take just a moment to load. Please wait.

If the video above does not automatically begin, choose the play button. Double-click to open 'full-screen.'

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Blogger Posting RSS.xml Files?

I may be scooping the world on this one as I can find no one talking about it on official or unofficial channels. There is a new technical feature of Blogger's software that I just noticed tonight as I was updating a few posts. This involves the syndication feed that the software publishes. Normally, Blogger will only post an Atom formatted feed. The same help article states near the bottom:

Notes:

• If you would rather have RSS, give FeedBurner a try.

But as of my last posts, there is also an RSS Feed file being posted at the same time. I cannot find any reference in Blogger Help or anywhere else like BloggerForum.com. Did I notice it first? Yea me! *insert golf clap here*

Update: Digging a little bit further into Blogger Help, I found this reference about RSS that although possibly outdated, makes it clear that at one point you would have been able to post your feed as ATOM or RSS based on if you had a Blogger Pro account.

Note: This is a Blogger Pro feature only; to use RSS as a non-Pro user, try FeedBurner.

Back when Blogger became part of Google, they made all accounts free and phased out the "Blogger Pro" stuff, so I don't know what's going on.

2006-06-11 Update: other bloggers have caught on as well. The dates they posted about it is also listed here. Some scooped this news first, some did not.

• FreshBlog - Blogger adds RSS? | 2006-06-05
• phydeaux3 - Blogger Now with RSS | 2006-06-05
• Digital Inspiration » Blogspot now provides RSS 2.0 Feeds: Easter Egg | 2006-05-31
• Singpolyma - Blogger Supporting RSS? | 2006-05-31