S. Evan Townsend's Blog, page 54

Television Review: The Punisher

Yesterday I finished watching all thirteen episodes of The Punisher on Netflix.

The Punisher is part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) that is shown on Netflix as a series. This same character was in Daredevil season 2 and Karen Page, also from Daredevil, was in this series as well. Unlike other Netflix MCU shows, there were no references to other shows nor "the incident" (what happened in the first Avengers movie in New York City).

Frank Castle, who is the Punisher, has no supernatural talents except maybe the ability to recover unrealistically quick from wounds that would kill lesser men. He's good with guns and with his fists, and that's it.

Castle is seeking revenge for this murdered family (and I swear, the wife, shown is flashbacks, is different from the wife, shown in flashbacks, than was in Daredevil season two). In Daredevil, he blames mobsters and starts killing a lot of them. In The Punisher he finds out it wasn't mobsters, but rouge elements in U.S. Intelligence.

I had to push myself to watch this, even more so that Iron Fist . The violence was often gratuitously gory, especially in the last two episodes. It almost verges on torture porn (movies such as Saw), and I don't watch that. One episode will have action, and the next one would be boring. Often times the action is reminiscent of a first person shooter video game, it's so violent and there are so many targets. And as I mentioned, his ability to heal or survive damage stretches credibility to the breaking point. Maybe that is his superpower.

Since this doesn't add anything to the Netflix/Marvel canon, one could easily skip it.

In College Football It's a Waiting Game

Not much happened this weekend in college football. At least on the FBS side. (I guess the FCS is having their playoffs. Why can't FBS have an actual playoff, I don't know.)

The Army-Navy game was played yesterday in snowy conditions. Army won that game 14-13.

The final CFP rankings came out last week.

The Week 15 AP Top 25 poll came out last week, too. The final poll will be after the January 8th CFP championship game.

So now we wait for our favorite team's bowl game. For the University of Washington Huskies it's the Fiesta Bowl at 1:00 PM PST December 30th on ESPN. Which is 20 days from now.

So we wait.

Interesting fact: Division I FBS College Football is the only sport in the NCAA not to have playoffs involving more than four teams to determine the champion. I still would love to see the bowl games turned into a playoff system for FBS football.

The Speculative Fiction Cantina with Jim Cronin and Tony LaRocca

Today on the Speculative Fiction Cantina we are pleased to welcome writers Jim Cronin and Tony LaRocca.
Jim CroninJim Cronin

I worked for thirty-five years as a middle school science teacher, but am now semi-retired, working part-time as an educator/performer at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. I have been married for thirty-eight years to the love of my life. Together, we raised two incredible sons, and now have three incredible grandchildren to spoil rotten.

I was born in Kansas City, Missouri and lived in Arlington, Virginia before moving to Denver where I attended High School and eventually college at Colorado State University, graduating with a degree in Zoology and a teacher certification. My wife and I currently live near Denver in the small town of Parker.

My science fiction series, "The Brin Archives" is an epic adventure encompassing an entire galaxy on the verge of destruction. This trilogy, to my amazement and delight, has won critical acclaim and numerous awards. Who would have ever guessed this old, retired science teacher would become a successfully published author? I hope you enjoy my stories.

Jim's Books:

Hegira

Recusant

Empyrean 

Jim's Links:

Website
Blog
Facebook
Twitter

Tony LaRoccaTony LaRocca

Tony LaRocca is a carbon-based life form, animator, occasional actor, U.S. Army veteran, blogger, karaoke crooner, electrician, and chronic doodler from Basking Ridge, New Jersey. He currently resides with his family in Queens, New York.

Tony's Books:


Debris of Shadows Book I: The Lies of the Sage

Debris of Shadows Book II: The Forgotten Cathedral


False Idols and Other Short Stories

Tony's Links:

Blog
Facebook
Twitter

From Today's Program: Ion Drive Could Take Us to Mars.

Listen to today's program at 6:00 PM ET / 3:00 PM PT, or in archive here.

Hard Times

Black Back as a kittenBack to the 30-day blogging challenge.

Today's prompt is: "What is the hardest thing you have ever experienced."

Boy, that's a tough one (no pun intended).

My grandmother dying was hard (my mother's mother). We were pretty close. Probably the hardest thing I've every gone through is very personal and I'm not going to talk about that.

The man who said, "Keep the cat outdoors."The hardest thing recently was when my son's cat, Black Back, died back in September. My son was in the Seattle area helping his older brother move into an apartment and his cat was missing all that day (we saw her the day before). She was an outdoor cat (at my insistence because I'm allergic to cats; but not as allergic as I used to be before allergy shots). In the evening, the neighbors found her dead in their yard and came over and told me (I was the only one home at the time). So I had to call my son and tell him his cat, that'd he'd had for two months, was dead. Because he was friends with Black Back's mother's owners, he'd known her since she was a very small kitten. And even so, everyone in the family loved that kitty. But telling him his cat was dead was that hardest thing I've had to do recently. And she was such a pretty kitty. She was all black. And she had a very mellow personality. She loved to be held. I miss her.

Basic training in the Army was one of the hardest things I've ever done. And that lasted 8 weeks (actually, longer, because you waste at least a week processing in, and then they kept us there after we graduated for two weeks because the next training assignment wasn't ready for us).

One of the harder things was watching my mother-in-law die. I won't go into detail. As Forrest Gump says: "That's all I have to say about that."

And this is the 76th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor that brought the U.S. into World War II. And I am sure people who fought in that conflict had much harder experiences than I will ever have.

College Football Bowl Games

The University of Washington Huskies didn't play a football game this weekend. This was "championship weekend" in college football. In the Pac-12, USC beat Stanford by a score of 31-28 last Friday. Now USC is the Pac-12 champion (Washington was last year).

After winning the Apple Cup last week, the Huskies spent this weekend waiting to find out which bowl they will be in.

In the College Football Playoff (CFP) bowl selections, #1 Clemson and #4 Alabama will play in the Sugar Bowl and #2 Georgia and #3 Oklahoma will play in the Rose Bowl. Both games are on New Years Day and the winners will play for the national championship on January 8th in Atlanta in the brand new, $1.6 billion Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Some people are saying Ohio State was robbed (they are #5 today so just missed the playoffs) because they beat #4 Wisconsin yesterday. Today Wisconsin is #6 in the CFP.

Also in the CFP rankings, USC is #8. They will play #5 Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl (the "Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic" officially). That's December 29th at 5:30 PM on ESPN. The Ohio State people will still probably be pissed off.

Washington is #11 in the CFP and will be playing #9 Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl in Phoenix at 1:00 PM PST December 30th on ESPN.

Stanford is #13 in the CFP and will play #15 TCU in the Alamo Bowl at 6:00 PM PST on December 28th on ESPN.

Washington State is #18 and and will take on #15 Michigan State in the Holiday Bowl. That's also on December 28th at 6:00 PM and on a Fox network (Fox Broadcasting, FS1 or FS2, probably FS1).

By my count there are (not including the championship game) 40 bowl games. That's 80 teams needed. Which is why having a 6-6 record makes a team "bowl eligible." Some years there haven't been 80 teams bowl eligible so they had to go to 5-7 teams. There are, in my opinion, way too many bowl games. I guess they make money because none have gone away as far as I know. I mean the "Famous Potatoes Idaho Bowl"? Do we really need a bowl game in Boise, Idaho? Or the Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl in St. Petersburg, Florida. Some of these bowls are just silly. And if you watch a lot of them, you'll see the stands are half-full at best.

I still say a true playoff system with all the conference champions would be better than the current bowl system and the CFP committee choosing the top four teams that go into the playoffs.

The AP Poll

In the AP top 25 Poll (which was voted on before the CFP rankings came out and published after the CFP top four rankings were announced), USC moved from #11 to #8, making them the top-ranked Pac-12 team. The Huskies were second at #12 having moved up from #13. Stanford dropped from #14 to #15. And Washington State stayed the same at #21. There is one more AP poll to come after all the bowl games have been played, so probably after January 8th.

The Speculative Fiction Cantina with Stephanie Osborn and McKenna Dean

Today on the Speculative Fiction Cantina we are pleased to welcome writers Stephanie Osborn and McKenna Dean.

Stephanie OsbornStephanie Osborn

Stephanie Osborn, award-winning Interstellar Woman of Mystery, is a twenty-plus-year space program veteran, with multiple STEM degrees. Author, co-author, or contributor to thirty-plus books, including Burnout: The mystery of Space Shuttle STS-281 and the Cresperian Saga, she writes critically-acclaimed Displaced Detective, Silver-Falchion winner Gentleman Aegis, and the new "Division One" series, her take on the urban legend of mysterious people who make UFO evidence...disappear. She "pays it forward" through numerous media, and SIGMA, the science-fiction think tank.

Stephanie's Latest Books:


Division One book 4, Tour de Force

Division One book 3, A Very UnCONventional Christmas

Division One book 2, A Small Medium At Large

Stephanie Links:

Website
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Google+


McKenna Dean

McKenna Dean has been an actress, a vet tech, a singer, a teacher, a biologist, and a dog trainer. Finally she realized all these jobs were just a preparation for what she really wanted to be: a writer.

She lives on a small farm in North Carolina with her family, dogs, cats, and various livestock.

She likes putting her characters in hot water to see how strong they are. Like tea bags, only sexier.

McKenna's Book:
The Panther’s Lost Princess
McKenna's Links:
Website/Blog Facebook Twitter Instagram Tumblr Amazon
From Today's Program: Sunscreen Falls Like Snow on Exoplanet
Listen to today's program at 6:00 PM ET / 3:00 PM PT, or in archive here.

Blogging

Back to the 30-day blogging challenge.

Today's prompt is: "How [did] you come across blogspot, and how has your life changed since joining?"

I don't know how I came across blogspot (which is actually Blogger, now, since Google bought it). If I type in www.blogspot.com into my browser, it comes to blogger.com.

 I do remember years ago I was reading a blog (that has since gone private) that was on blogspot. That may have been my introduction.

How has my life changed? None, really, except I have to come up with blog posts. Which is why I do these 30-day blogging challenges and spread them out. Because coming up with things to blog about is tough for me (maybe I should have put that on my "things I suck at" post). I do like to post about college football. But other than that, I usually have no idea what to post about.

Do you blog? Do you enjoy it? How do you find things to blog about? Comment below!

Television Review: Stranger Things 2

After how great the first season of Stranger Things on Netflix was, I went into Stranger Things 2 with a bit a trepidation. Would the Duffer Brothers (creators, producers and often writers and directors) be able to match the amazing achievement they had with the first season.

The answer, is short, is yes. And perhaps surpass it. All your favorite characters are there and few new ones. Winona Ryder again plays the aggrieved mother of Will and while she is understandably upset, you never lose sympathy for her. The four young men are back, a bit older and have moved on from playing Dungeons and Dragons to video games. Set in 1984, the show catches the essence of the times and with more than a Reagan/Bush yard sign and the kids wearing Ghostbusters costumes for Halloween. It oozes 1980s small town life. (I grew up in a small town in the 70s and life didn't have the swiftness of change it does now.)

Every performance is pitch perfect. You love some characters and you hate some. But none of them are wasted, even in the smallest parts.

Probably the best compliment I can give Stranger Things is that I hate horror. But I love Stranger Things.

My biggest complaint is that there were only nine episodes. But they were packed and fast-paced. I wanted more. There were only eight in the first season so I should be happy, I guess. Also, according to the Internet Movie Database, there's going to be at least two more seasons. It's going to be fun to watch those kids become teenagers.

Huskies Win the Apple Cup

Last night was the annual cross-state rivalry football game between the University of Washington Huskies and the Washington State University Cougars.

Going into the game, the Cougars were at #13 in the College Football Playoff (CFP) rankings. Washington was #17. In the AP Top 25 poll of sports writers, UW was at 15, WSU at 14.

But what happened showed that those rankings were reversed. Washington received the ball at the kickoff and easily marched down the field through the Cougar's vaunted defense to make a touchdown. And it got worse from there. Even though star wide receiver Dante Pettis went out early with a ankle sprain, the Dawgs dominated. Our wide recieving corps have been decimated by injury this season. So quarterback Jake Browning was throwing to players whose name I'd never heard before.

While the Huskies never turned over the ball, the Cougars had at least three interceptions and one
fumble. The star was running back Miles Gaskin, who ran for 192 yards and had four rushing touchdowns. Even Viscano, the kicker, did well, going 2-2 on field goals and getting every extra point after touchdowns. The Cougars didn't score until the fourth quarter, managing two touchdowns, but it was too little too late. And I suspect Coach Petersen had pulled some starters out of the defense by then, as he tends to do in blow out games.

The final score was 41-14. This is the fifth time in a row UW has won the Apple Cup. The Huskies are 10-2 on the season (7-2 in conference).

This is the first time this year the Huskies have played a ranked team, and they won handily.

The next game for the Huskies will be a bowl game, and we'll find out in a week which one. That is because Stanford won the Pac-12 North and will play USC in the Pac-12 Championship game on Friday.  Stanford is also 7-2 in conference but since they beat the Huskies, they are the North winners, even though the Huskies have a better over-all record (Stanford is 9-3 overall after beating Notre Dame last night).

More Deep Thoughts:

Last week I gave my criteria for a "good" Husky season. I came up with these years ago when the Huskies were not able to do these things:



Have at least an 8-4 recordBeat OregonBeat WSUGo to a good bowl and win it

Well, they've done three of those, the first three, this year. I assume with a 10-2 record they will go to one of the better bowls.  And they'd better win it.
Polls:
The CFP rankings will come Tuesday, as always. I assume Washington will move up and Washington State will move down. But neither move will change either team's prospects at getting into the playoffs. Unlikely any Pac-12 team will be in the four teams that make it to the playoffs.
In the AP Top 25 College Football poll that came out this morning (Pacific Time), Three Pac-12 teams have been ranked every week so far this year: UW, WSU, and USC. And this week they are still ranked. USC is unchanged at #11 (they didn't play this week), UW moves up to #13 (from 15), WSU fell to 21 from 14, and Stanford went from 20 to 14.
Next Year:
Washington has been criticized for playing creme puff (or in one case, cupcake) non-conference opponents. That's not happening next year. Washington plays Auburn (who beat Alabama yesterday and moved to #4 in AP poll) in their season opener. Then play BYU in their third game. They do play FCS North Dakota in their second game. I think the Auburn game is at home (which will help because that's going to be a tough game).

A Speculative Fiction Cantina Replay with Tracy Lawson and Natalie Wright

Today on a Speculative Fiction Cantina replay we are pleased to welcome Tracy Lawson and Natalie Wright.
Tracy LawsonTracy Lawson

Once upon a time, Tracy Lawson was a little girl with a big imagination who loved to tell stories. Her interests in dance, theater, and other forms of make-believe led to a career in the performing arts, where “work” means she gets to tap dance, choreograph musicals, and weave stories. A mid-life career change has so far yielded Counteract, Resist, Ignite, and Revolt, the four volumes in the young adult Resistance Series, plus two nonfiction history books.

Tracy's Books:


Revolt

Pride of the Valley: Sifting through the History of the Mount Healthy Mill (history, non-fiction)

Ignite

Tracy's Links:

Blog
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest

Natalie WrightNatalie Wright

Natalie is the author of H.A.L.F., an award-winning science fiction series, and The Akasha Chronicles, a young adult fantasy trilogy. She lives in the high desert of Tucson, Arizona with her husband, teen daughter, and two cat overlords.

A nerd since before it was remotely cool, Natalie spends her non-writing time reading, gaming (ESO, Skyrim, Dragon Age), and hanging out with readers and other fans of geek and nerd culture at comic cons, Sci-Fi/Fantasy literary cons and book festivals throughout the western US. Natalie also geeks out frequently on podcasts, radio shows and guest blogs discussing writing and books. She was raised an Ohio farm girl, lives in the desert Southwest, and dreams of living near the ocean.

Natalie's Books:

H.A.L.F.: The Deep Beneath

H.A.L.F.: The Makers

H.A.L.F.: ORIGINS

Natalie's Links:

Website
Blog
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Pinterest

From Today's Program: Why the Universe is Accelerating.

Listen to today's program at 6:00 PM ET / 3:00 PM PT, or in archive here.