Marvel’s Infinity Review

I just finished the entire Infinity comic book and it’s crossover storylines and boy, it’s a comic event that is hard to put down. A lot of people claims that it is one of the comic events of last year and I couldn’t agree more. 

Infinity is a 6-part miniseries but expands up to almost 50 issues together with the tie-ins. The primary tie-ins are Avengers and New Avengers which are also written by Infinity writer Jonathan Hickman. Other tie-ins includes Guardians of the Galaxy, Nova, Thunderbolts, Wolverine and the X-Men, Superior Spiderman, Defenders and some special releases like Heist. 

My primary reason on reading Infinity is due to the involvement of the Inhumans which is one of my top favorite story arcs of Marvel and Infinity didn’t fail me with my Inhumans fixation. Another reason is the space and cosmos setting and the involvement of higher sentient beings and of course, Thanos. Thanos has a huge fan base and I am one of those fanboys. Everytime Thanos appears, it always lead to something massive and historic event in Marvel. The same reason actually made me set aside this series for a couple of months since Thanos, Avengers and space always means world destruction, in this case universal destruction.

I am a fan of cosmic adventure that is why I follow Guardians of the Galaxy but too much of space wars sort of tarnishes the plot. In this case, the plot is that Thanos wants to invade the universe, and of course, Earth will be a formidable planet to conquer and also they want to punish Earth for being, well, unconquerable. Have they learned their lessons with secret invasion and other titles – Earth always win. 

But there’s a twist, Thanos is after again the infinity gems and sent his loyal servants to scour Earth for the gems. Only to find out they had been destroyed except for one. That’s not all, there is another Twist. Thanos is looking for his child and in this case is an Inhuman, which makes me like this series more. 

You can read just the 6 part mini-series just like what I did a few months ago but I decided to read all the tie-ins including the Avengers. The Avengers and New Avengers are worth reading considering also that the artist is the amazing Leinil Yu (which I was able to have a picture with during a local comic event and had one of my comics signed). Too much fanboyism.

Going back to the highlights of the series, the Inhumans shined in Infinity and the fight between Thanos and Blackbolt is now one of my favorites of all Marvel titles. Blackbolt sort of sacrificed the city of Attilan, but that actually became confusing, he exploded Attilan to protect what? Or he just wants to detonate the terrigen mists and trigger the Inhuman DNA worldwide? 

There are a few not-so-good tie-ins, Thunderbolts was such a disappointment that I actually skipped them (sort of). Probably it’s because I never liked the new line-up of Thunderbolts. The Hunt which featured Wolverine and the X-Men characters is also below average. The surprise story here is the Heist which chronicled class B villains Whirlwind and Blizzard. 

Ininity overall is really good. You have to read it especially now that there is a new Inhuman series and I have a feeling that most of Marvel titles will now have tie-ins with Inhumans since the terrigen has been detonated and Inhumans started popping in different parts of the world.

It’s All Connected In Agents of SHIELD

Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD is getting better and last night’s episode is the most explosive so far. The tie-in episode proves the possibility of tying up a blockbuster movie to a TV show can be awesome.

SPOILERS AHEAD!

Whedon and his team finally listened to the fandoms complain about the show being lackluster and not edgy enough. The tie-ins gave us a lot of twists, surprises and the most action-packed episode to date. If you haven’t watched Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier then I suggest you better watch it first before watching the tie-in episode.

Or you can watch SHIELD now and don’t give a damn about spoilers.

In Captain America 2, Hydra takes over the SHIELD. In case you don’t know what Hydra is, it is a terrorist organization and usually head butts with SHIELD. They usually got defeated by a lot of superhero teams from Avengers and X-men but I think Hydra is the perfect villain for the TV show SHIELD.

Last night’s episode aptly titled “Turn, Turn, Turn” has our heads guessing and jaws dropped on the surprise villains. Right from the start we all believed and trusted Agent Sitwell and although he was a bit of a villain the comics, I thought his character was the surprise boost for the show. On the other hand, right from the start, we all thought that Agent Hand was the surprise villain of the show.

The episode also put an ending to the Clairvoyant story arc. I thought that storyline has been stretched way too far now and has no directions but to my surprise the writers indeed have a long term plan for the show.

Turn, Turn, Turn episode has lots of betrayal including Agent Grant Ward’s becoming a turncoat and siding Hydra. That was total unexpected turn of events.

So Hail Hydra has been popping in my social media accounts, here are some memes to calm your nerves on this week’s explosive episode of SHIELD:

So yeah, HAIL HYDRA!

Dissecting The Game of Thrones Season 4 Premiere

The day has arrived. The premiere episode of Game Of Thrones season 4. This is also the day where Facebook gets flooded with spoilers and people screaming spoilers just the mere mention of the word “game”. So hows the first episode of season 4? Overall, it’s satisfying but lackluster. A lot of holding back on almost everything – from sex, fight scenes and plots.

Oh. i forgot to mention. This blog contains spoilers. 

Let’s start.

The Intro

Notice anything from the intro? Yes. Nothing? Will watch again. Of course the music will still be the same and I would be furious if they replace it. Anyways, if you look closely on the intro animation, a new map has been added and it’s Dreadfort.

Dreadfort

Dreadfort is a fortress located in the North and manned by the house Bolton. It is currently ruled by Roose Bolton and his bastard psycho son Ramsay Snow. Although the Dreadfort is a house banner of the Starks and pledge it’s loyalty to Winterfell, they seem to pledge their allegiance based on their interests as what we saw in last season’s Red Wedding.

With Dreadfort being included in the map, we can expect more screentime on Ramsay Snow / Bolton and his new play thing Reek, formerly known as Theon Greyjoy. This will be a painful story arc to Theon’s character, as what we saw in last season, Theon lost his prime jewel and this season we will see him get transformed into Reek and constantly hear him say the now popular words “Reek sounds like meek”.

The Dorne

The pilot episode introduces us to the people of Dorne especially to Oberyn Martell a.k.a Red Viper. The scene wasn’t in the books so it was a great job for the writers to introduce Oberyn in that way. Oberyn is an interesting character and a fan favorite actually even though his taste of bed partners are unusual. Oberyn is played by Pedro Pascal and even though it’s not how I expected Oberyn to look like, Pedro Pascal is amazing and I think it was a perfect casting.

Sansa and the Fool

What I like about A Storm of Swords is that Sansa has many chapters and it showed her getting stronger and learning to play the Game of Thrones. Not the Arya type strength but her she is now an important piece of the story. The necklace that was given to her will play a pivotal role in the coming episodes but in the books it was a head dress so maybe that’s not it yet.

Arya and Needle

Arya finally gets back her needle. Although in the book, it was the hound who killed Polliver, the scene was important to show Arya’s transformation and the path she will be taking in the coming episodes.

Ice

That was a remarkable scene from the episode. Ice getting disassembled and melted to form two new swords was a rather emotional scene in the books for Ice resembled the legacy of the Stark family. The second sword wasn’t shown yet and it was a very emotional scene to Sansa when the swords has been unveiled.

It wasn’t an epic episode for Game Of Thrones does not really require a majestic premiere to make sure fans will watch. The fans will watch for they are heavily invested with the show. Especially for the fans who read the books.

Of Sickness and Errands

I am a borderline modern worker. No. i am not referring to my state of mind. My sanity is alright actually. I am referring to my work. I am both a freelancer and a day worker. Although, I would consider myself as a full-time online worker / work-at-home since most of my dough come from it, I am also a part-time IT Instructor and Coordinator or sometimes Dean, whatever the situation may require me.

This week, I got a super flue. Yeah. I call it a super flu for I was never downed by a flu before and this time I can’t even get up in my bed. I even had to skip lunch and dinner because of no appetite. Although, I felt better after the next day, my body is still not weak and not in working mode. Yesterday, I put all my time in finishing some SEO and SEM stuff for my client and also fix some newsletter set-up. I decided not to go to school even though graduation day is just 2 days ahead. I didn’t go because my body won’t permit me and I expect everyone in the office knows it because I posted it in facebook with hashtag #superflu.

Today, I have no choice for I was summoned by the powers that be for some paper signing. I am well now, brain is functioning alright and body motors is fine as well. Of course I have to go. I signed a contract and it’s part of my job. Truthfully, I would rather stay at home and write blogs for my clients than go to my day job. This is one of those days where I tell myself that i should have not accepted office works at all. Full-time freelancer for good. My problem is, I know that during the graduation day and seeing my students with their toga is another one of those moments where I tell myself THIS IS WHY I SIGNED UP FOR THIS.

Honestly, right now I am in that verge again of corporate / academe work or full-time jet-setting digital nomad… or both… can it be both? CAN I HANDLE BOTH?

Spotify Is Now Available In The Philippines

This is not an April Fool’s Day Prank. Spotify is now available in the Philippines. The top digital music provider which lets you access and stream for free million of songs is now available in our region but there’s a catch though. You just can’t install it right away, the world’s no.1 music streaming is sponsored by Coke and you have to email Coke first in order to use Spotify.

Just created a playlist.

Here’s how you can get Spotify:

Email social_cokePH@coca-cola.com with the subject Coca-Cola Spotify to get the code. Double click the link to install spotify.

That’s it. Obviously, Coke made a partnership with Spotify to bring their services here in the Philippines. I aint complaining. You just have to email them and then you automatically get the code and install Spotify. No need to purchase anything or collect bottle caps or tin cans. 🙂

I am really enjoying Spotify and I hasn’t stopped using it since.. well, yesterday. The database of music of Spotify is astounding as I was able to search my favorite tunes from country genre to European pop songs. I was also able to create a playlist from my favorite 90’s songs. Yeah. I was so down with a super flu yesterday that I can’t even get up from my bed but thanks to spotify now I feel better. Nah. Just joking. It was the flu pills that I took that made the sickness away but hey, Spotify will make you feel good with their millions of songs to choose from.

Streaming the OST of Dawson’s Creek. Darn. The “feels” of this album.

Spotify is not just an streaming site but it sorts of like a social network where you can add other users and check their playlist. Other artists also have their own radio stations in Spotify where you can check and listen to their songs. So go ahead, create your own playlists and if you prefer being private. Just set it to private and we won’t judge your choice of music.

The “Miracles” Are Here And It’s Impact on Future MCU Projects

We all know that Scarlet Witch / Wanda Maximoff and his twin brother Quicksilver / Pietro Maximoff are going to be added in the Avengers 2: Age of Ultron but we don’t know what background will they have.

Scarlet Witch… no more mutants … in MCU! but more “Miracles” please.| Marvel / Disney|

The mutants franchise or the “X genes” belongs to Fox, the makers of X-Men movies and Avengers belongs the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe), produced by Disney and Marvel studios so the first speculation is that Wanda and Pietro are going to be Inhumans, a race/species that were the product of Kree’s experiments in creating super soldiers.

Yesterday, Captain America: Winter Soldier hit the big screens and if you stayed longer (i hope so) then you know about the 2 post credit scenes MCU unleashed and it answers the big question on Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver. We now have the answer and it is official, the Maximoff twins will be referred as Miracles and not as Mutants. Very smart move for Disney and a slap in the face for Fox.

Quicksilver, pre-production scene. |Marvel/Disney|

SPOILER ALERT!

Let’s now analyze the post credit scenes, actually it’s pretty self-explanatory.

First Post Credit Scene

“The Age of Miracles” is upon us. These are the words that Baron Von Strucker (Thomas Kretschmann) unleashed. Yes. Baron Von Strucker is now part of the MCU and this could lead to other Marvel projects. In the scene, we saw the twins Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) in their cells. Quicksilver kept on moving fast from the ends of his cell while Scarlet Witch is stacking objects using telekinetically.

Second Post Credit Scene:

The Winter Soldier visited the Smithsonian museum where he saw an image of himself and his real name. He now knows his real name and that Captain America is telling the truth.

How will this affect the MCU:

Marvel and Disney and it’s MCU people can work with other projects involving mutants and referring to them as plain as just Miracles. Marvel don’t need to explain the mutant X gene or whatever. When it comes to great storyline, Scarlet Witch could lead to the M day, although may not be possible since M day is very much tied to the X-Men. Chris Evans also announced that he will be stepping down from acting and will stash away the shield after his contract ends. It will not be a problem in MCU for the populat story arc Civil Wars did lead to Captain America’s death. Bucky / Winter Soldier can also replace Rogers as the Captain America. It will also introduce us to US Agent as well.

If you haven’t watched Captain America 2, watch it now. It’s one of the best superhero flicks ever.

One more thing, Hawkeye looks really bad-ass in the Avengers 2. His armor is based on the Ronin story arc.

X-Men: Days of Future Past Poster and 2nd Trailer Is Out Now

X-Men fans, brace yourselves for the 2nd trailer of Days of Future Past is now out and that’s not all, Fox also released the official movie poster a few hours ago.

So after pressing the replay button on Youtube for a hundredth time, now we can dissect the uncanny trailer for major plots.

A few weeks ago, we were devastated that Storm’s screentime has been chopped to a mere 5 or 20 seconds.

This is probably the reason why:

Screenshot from the trailer. Darn. That’s a sentinel giving storn a pat in the back. |20th Century Fox |

Ok, here is the GIF to make you cringe:

Does this mean Storm will not be in Apocalypse movie? | 20th Century Fox |

Another surprising mutant in Days of Future Past is Roberto Da Costa a.k.a. Sunspot and the surprising change they made. I am not pleased with these changes, as a huge fan of New Mutants this kinda sucks that Sunspot has been revamped into Human Torch. If they wan’t a “flame on” mutant that is not human torch then they should have just added Sunfire and not Sunspot. Maybe the writers initial plan was to add Sunfire then got confused in the end with Sunspot.

Err. Why am I in flames? I am supposed to be a human solar battery with super strength not burning in flames! |Screen from |20th Century Fox |

Two of my favorite X-Men, Blink and Colossus. Who would have thought Blink will make it in an X-Men movie and Magik won’t. In this scene, Blink is using her teleporting powers, it would have been cooler if these two are the Rasputin siblings.

Blink teleporting someone. |20th Century Fox |

Here is another awesome shot of Sunfire, Sorry, I meant Sunspot.

Burn, baby, Burn! |20th Century Fox |

and of course, the sentinels:

Colossus versus Sentinel (guess what model?) |20th Century Fox |

And here is another shot of a different Sentinel, looked like it came from Asgard, what’s up with the face blasting.

Talk to my face! |20th Century Fox |

and of course, we can’t forget our favorite annoying mutant Quicksilver which Fox butchered in many levels:

Quicksilver in the middle having a sour face. Not from listening to the never ending arguments of Magneto and Prof. X. He is probably pissed because he just saw his other and much better version in Avengers. |20th Century Fox |

I present to you, the Quicksilver of Avengers!

This is how you make a Quicksilver! |20th Century Fox |

and here is one of the official posters, it’s amazing!

Hey, why is Mystique taking so much space in the poster? Storm is an Oscar winner too. |20th Century Fox |

Official 2nd Trailer, watch and cringe!

X-Men: Days of Future Past

Lazada, Not Again

I don’t know what have I done to Lazada but i always kept on getting bad services from them. No, their services is not bad at all  for my co-faculties and friends kept on getting satisfying services, it’s just me, probably.

Last March 4 I bought a Sennheiser CX 215 for my birthday, it’s not the most top of the line from Sennheiser but that’s what i can afford at the moment, the order arrived after 16 days, the waiting is bearable but a defective product is just unforgivable especially when it’s for your birthday.

I have been a big fan of Sennheiser since I got the Adidas CX 680 a few years ago, it was one of the bests earphones I ever owned. I decided that for my birthday, I will get myself a new Sennheiser for I have been using the earphones that came with my smartphones and it was a lousy, disposable earphones. I pick the CX 215 and purchased at Lazada, the Phillippine’s no.1 online store for that is the most convenient way for me but the earphones that was shipped to me was in a box that looked like it has been tossed around by bunch of kinder kids, the cellophane or the plastic wrap on the front is very tinted and looked like it has been in the stock room for 10 years. I am not exaggerating, at first glance, I was already disappointed but I am hopeful that it’s Sennheiser and it’s going to sound like a rockstar.

But I was wrong, the audio was way too poor that my disposable earphones sounds 10 times better. I tested it for a few more minutes and decided to try it again the next day, maybe it will sound better the next day but still, it’s just gone worse, one of the earphone (forgot if the right or left side) has a cracking sound and sounds to low. I am not sure if it was a damaged earphones that was sent to me or Sennheiser Philippines is selling low quality earphones.

I decided to return the earphones back to Lazada the next day. There is no way i am paying a Php 2,000 ($50) for a crappy earphones.

Last year, I purchased a coffeemaker and turbo oven as a gift for my mom on Mother’s day and a wedding gift for a friend. The items arrived after 2 months. Now, my order arrived a bit earlier, but seriously, 16 days is not early and the item is defective. Come on, Lazada.

Just for the record, Lazada is not a crappy online store, my friends and co-workers are happy with their services. I actually recommend them to my friends as well, it’s just me. I guess.

4 New Mid-season Shows You Should Be Watching

Almost all of the mid-seasons shows has been aired and we can now all tell the stand outs from those who are going to get the ax of cancellation. There are a lot of new TV shows for the mid-season to check out from the LOST writer J.J. Abrams to a remake of a 90’s hit Tarantino movie.

If you don’t know which mid-season to watch first this 2014, let this top 4 be your guide:

4. Believe – A new Sci-fi show produced by LOST creator J.J. Abrams featuring the story of a young girl with supernatural gifts and her protector, a man recently escaped from prison and death row.

Why you should watch it: J.J. Abrams. Enough said? Actually, not, since some of his previous TV projects received lukewarm reception. Believe is from different the current roster of 2014 mid-season TV shows for it is the only show which combines family drama, secret agents and supernatural powers.

3. Klondike – A man versus nature story based on real life events. Klondike is based on the best selling book which chronicles the lives of two friends who journeyed to the harsh and freezing lands of Klondike to find their fortune during the gold rush era.

Why you should watch it: Klondike is the first scripted show from Discovery Channel and it stars Richard Madden of Game of Thrones. Yes. The King of the North lives. Klondike is a 3 part mini-series so you can watch the gritty series in it’s entirety in one sitting.

2. The 100 – Planet Earth’s civilization has been destroyed by a nuclear war and no longer habitable so humanity lived in the space. After 97 years, 100 juvenile delinquents were sent back to earth to determine the possibility of re-populating back their former home.

Why you should watch it: You should watch The 100 for this may be the best TV show to be aired in the teen oriented station, maybe next to Buffy. The 100 features teen criminals sent back to Earth so that means no parental guidance. You do the math.

1. Intelligence – The cyber-themed show chronicles a man with a chip installed in his head and can tap to any information grid including the internet and communication lines. Of course, he works with the government which makes it more fun.

Why you should watch it: It’s been done before, remember Jack 2.0 and Chuck? This one is different though. I like the idea where Gabriel, played by LOST’s Josh Holloway can render and re-create events from his mind which makes it live a mesh of CSI and Person of Interest. Intelligence is also one of the most watched shows right now in the US.

Runner Up:

From Dusk Till Down – The TV adaptation of the popular George Clooney and Quentin Tarantino movie. Although the pilot is a little bit lackluster, we could expect more from the following episodes and also, it just premiered last week so you can still catch up.

Why you should watch it: Vampires, guns, beautiful women and mexico!

Don’t put too much salt in your popcorn and diet soda is not healthy!

31 Doable Things Part 2

I am in the mood now of listing the stuff that makes me happy and I think could make you feel better also. These are just simple and readily available stuff like those things you find in a 7-11 store. You can find the first part of my silly list here.

Let’s continue, shall we:

11. Back Up Your Important Data – Buy yourself a portable drive with 1 TB or higher and back up those important pictures and documents you have. Don’t rely on cloud and your local hard disk. Trust me, I have been an IT professional for 10 years and I owned more than 3 PCs now and lost files from damaged hard disks a lot of time now. Nothing is safer and more secure than backing them up with a portable hard drive.

It’s thursday and I can’t find my high school pictures! Nooo! I need to throwback something…

12. Watch U.S. TV Shows – TWD? GoT? You probably can’t relate with them and that is because you don’t watch them. No one is forcing you to watch the latest TV shows if you don’t want to but there will be times or occasions when you end up scratching your head for you are not familiar with the latest pop culture in the small screens. Try watching and picking a show to follow and enough with the cat videos in youtube.

13. Watch Late Night Shows – Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, Bill Maher and more. There are a dozen to choose from to give you a good laugh. Intelligent, fresh and unrestricted jokes. Watch late night shows and you will feel better the next day.

14. Learn A Popular Language – ¿Me puede entender. I know right.

15. Get A Dog or A Cat – If you are single and 31 then that means that you don’t have that much responsibility. Get a pet, it will make you more responsible and hopefully you get your dog or a cat from the shelter. Aside from that, it will change your point of view and will make you fell more loved.

16. Learn How To Swim – You are 31 and you don’t know how to swim? whoa! Actually, me too but I plan to learn this summer. I almost got drowned last year from scuba diving (yes! scuba diving with oxygen tank in the back) and knowing how to swim is very handy.

17. Learn The Basics of Carpentry – Your door is busted and your carpenter is not available at the moment. Enough said.

18. Spend on A Quality Eyeglasses – My friend convinced me to buy my eyeglasses in divisoria (a thrift store) and yes, it’s very cheap but the quality is way below average as well. The lenses are a bit plasticky so everytime you touch it you leave fingerprints that clouds your vision.

19. Visit Your Dentist Regularly – As much as I hate going to dentist, oral hygiene is important. You are 31 and working or if not then just the fact that you are 31 is way too embarrassing to have halitosis.

20. Eat Vegetables – I have friends who are in their 30’s and still don’t eat vegetables. It is acceptable if you are a toddler but seriously, salads (without the dressing) is good for you. Google it!

My 2nd part is done, thank God for I have papers to submit. If you like this list, then check out the first part.

http://inlander.me/2014/03/18/31-doable-things-you-must-do-when-you-are-31/