Some, "Almost Officially Summer," Links

Kinda Sorta Summer?

The schools in Saint Louis let out in late May (hence our family's trip to visit my folk in New York) so it is already Summer for us. It isn't officially Summer however until Friday, June 21st. With that in mind I guess these links don't, "Kick-off," the Summer so much as they are here to entertain you while waiting for the actual Summer Solstice.

(Nearly) Summertime Learnin'

I don't know what kind of group Marvel is assembling with its, "Newest, most ruthless team," but apparently they will not compromise or provide mercy. It sounds suitably gritty, but there are some characters I quite like involved, making me hopeful when whatever this group's team-name will be is revealed we'll hear there is a solid creative team involved too.

Sam Rockwell is a tremendous actor and I've been a fan of his since, "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind," but even he is willing to admit lately he's played a whole lot of racists in film. Maybe he can host, "Saturday Night Live," again and try not to let any F-bombs slip this time?

On the 75th anniversary of D-Day, June 6th, 2019, an assortment of World Leaders signed a symbolic proclamation signifying a, "Shared responsibility to ensure that the unimaginable horror of these years is never repeated.” It was solemn event about World War II, and everyone signed at the bottom except our President, Donald Trump, who just had to sign it at the top, separate from everyone, as largely as possible. Goddamn, this is embarrassing. As much as anyone with sense despises this President I imagine the rest of the World hates putting up with him even more.

As someone who played the first, "Metal Gear Solid," game way back in my Junior High years and found it to be a revelation of game-meets-cinema (albeit an admittedly flawed one) I really enjoyed this article that discusses the game in equally fond and critical ways.

I've got two articles that are both from The Takeout. We've got one about collectors who drop hundreds on vintage Kool-Aid flavors and sometimes drink the decades old packets (sounds kinda fun and kinda gross if one drinks them) and another post discussing how a food delivery service in New York City has been pretending actual beef burgers from Burger King are the plant-based Impossible Whopper. As someone allergic to beef that sounds like a recipe to make me very, very ill. It is funny to imagine someone taking a bite out of one of these and saying how it is gross and tastes nothing like a real Whopper, when it is in fact beef-based, that'd be kinda funny.

John Byrne has his own X-Men comic he is releasing as fan-fiction online instead of officially at Marvel, despite rumors they wanted to publish it. John Bryne being a cranky ol' bastard is not news, but he is one admittedly extremely talented cranky ol' bastard so it is cool people will be able to read this work for free on his website.

Remember when a new, "X-Men," movie was big news, then at least notable? Yeah, now we've got this new, "Dark Phoenix," coming out, basically being the last entry in the current canon of, "X-Men," films (as horribly disjointed and broken a continuity as they have) and it's being met with a resounding shrug--as the AV Club put it, "...just another damn, 'X-Men,' movie." It is sad to see the franchise end with such a whimper, and it has had some incredible highs ("Logan," was amazing, and "Deadpool," will be allowed to keep on trucking even with Marvel/Disney getting his rights back from Fox), but sometimes a saga ends in a disappointing manner instead of a crowd-pleasing explosion--just look at how often we are let-down by the finales of big television shows, after all. Oh wait, "New Mutants," is still in development Hell and started as a Fox project. Check back with me in 2020 and just cut-and-paste the titles of the movies as I'm pretty doubtful it will be of much note either.

While we're on the subject of film franchises that have had more misses than hits, my friend Tony over at Comics Heating Up wrote a great article that points out how character of The Flash really suffered when it came to the DC Extended Universe (may it rest in peace). If we ever get that supposed, "Flash," movie due in 2021 that would maybe be nice though, as I am a big fan of Ezra Miller.

Let's close with a helping of further food news. This article about how MSG got a bad rap is insightful in how it digs into the racist roots of the backlash to the chemical that seems to inspire disgust when its in Asian food, yet is a-okay when its a major ingredient of a beloved food such as the nuggets at Chick-Fil-A.

Not Much Longer

I hope everyone is able to get some relaxation in as Summer approaches and of course during the hot vacation months as well (unless you live South the Equator, in which case, enjoy the cold)!