I Am Over (un)Supergirl

I have watched Supergirl since its pilot episode. But after Tuesday night's episode (1-18, “World's Finest”) I'm not so sure I want to keep watching. The thing is, I was kind of excited about the crossover with Barry Allen, a.k.a. the Flash, showing up. And he was kind of cool. But I was sorely disappointed with Supergirl's so called “super powers” (and have been for a while now).

Sure, she can fly at super speed, and has X-ray vision, and heat vision, and all the other abilities she is supposed to have. But she really seems to be lacking in other “super” powers.

To start: She (and the Flash) were going up against the Silver Banshee and Livewire. But when Silver Banshee let loose with a powerful sonic blast it disoriented Supergirl and made her ears bleed! So she had to wear special ear buds provided by Barry to block the sound.

The next time they met, the sonic blast actually threw Supergirl backward into a wall. And then Silver Banshee punched Supergirl and knocked her at least ten or fifteen feet away, and down!

And then when Livewire sent an electrical blast at a helicopter, Supergirl blocked it, but was rendered almost unconscious, and fell out of the sky.

She doesn't seem very super to me.

But she isn't the only reason I have gotten dissatisfied with the show: it seems like they have written out Alex Danvers (Chyler Leigh) in favor of Lucy Lane (Jenna Dewan Tatum). Now I think both women are as gorgeous as they can be, but if I had to choose which one to keep in the show, it would have to be Alex Danvers. Not only because she is Kara's sister, but she was there first.

And It seems like Hank Henshaw/J'onn J'onzz (David Harewood) is gone as well. But if they need to cut down on the cast, the one to go should be James Olson (Mehcad Brooks). The main reason is because Hank Henshaw/J'onn J'onzz is a much more interesting character, and is a “super hero” besides.

James Olson, on the other hand, has done nothing other than moon, first over Lucy Lane, and then over Kara Danvers. He brings nothing to the show that couldn't be provided by an extra brought in off the street.

The show, which showed so much promise at the beginning, has slowly become so much of a letdown that makes me wonder if I want to waste an hour each week watching it.

"That's Life"

That's Life

When I was really young I don't remember wishing I was any particular age. Mostly I was interested in the upcoming holidays, like Christmas, maybe Easter, Halloween, and of course my birthday.

(I don't remember when or why my mother started making me coconut cakes for my birthday, which really was a white cake with white icing covered with shredded coconut.)

But when I was probably twelve or thirteen, I knew that after I turned fourteen, I could take the written test, and if I passed it, I could get my Florida Learner's Permit to drive. Which I did.

But it had a couple of restrictions – a licensed driver over 18 (or 21) had to be in the front seat at all times when I was driving, and no night driving. Of course, this was to allow me (and others) to learn to drive. Since my dad was always working, my mother was the one who was with me as I learned to drive, and to parallel park (a requirement on the driving test).

Of course, then my next age-to-be goal was to turn 16 so I could take the driving test.

(I remember in high school that we (students) had to take the written test for our Operator's License in the library  in order to take Driver's Ed, which was supposed to lower our insurance premiums.)

And less than a month after I turned 16, my dad took me to take the driving test.

The most number of points (demerits) you could get and still pass the test was 20. I got 21, so I failed it. I took the test in our '56 Chevy Bel Air, and the speedometer was stuck at 20 mph, so Dad thought maybe one reason was that the tester thought I was going too slow. I don't remember how I did on the parallel parking, but I guess I did okay. A month or so later, Dad took me back and this time I passed with 18 points.

The next age I looked forward to being was 18. I would have graduated from high school, I was kinda / sorta an adult, and (unfortunately) I was eligible to be drafted (the Viet Nam war was going on at the time). Instead of waiting to be drafted, I joined the Air Force when I was 17 (with both parents' signatures).

And of course, next I looked forward to turning 21, when I could legally buy and drink alcoholic beverages, and I could vote.

(In 1967, the voting age was 21. But in 1971, the 26th Amendment lowered the voting age to 18. And because so many returning Viet Nam vets were under 21, and the drinking age on military bases was 18, there was the push to lower the age of drinking to 18. So in 1972, it was. But because so many students in high school were 18, and they were buying alcohol and bringing it into the schools, and because there were so many teenage driving fatalities, the drinking age was changed back to 21 in the mid 1980s. Plus the Viet Nam war was over and there were no more under-21 soldiers coming back.)

Then the next age I wanted to be was 25 - my car insurance would go down. I suppose the insurance companies thought that by the time you turned 25, you were a more responsible driver.

I doubt if I wanted to be 30, because I remember thinking that, well, 30 was THIRTY!

(As those of you who are still under 30 will probably agree. And maybe some of you may remember the hippies' mantra from the '70s - “Don't trust anyone over thirty.”)

So I decided that 25 was a good age to be.

When I hit 35, and looking back, I decided that 30 wasn't so bad. I was pretty responsible, I had a decent job, and I was making enough money to live comfortably. So that was the age I would want to be.

And when turned 40, I didn't remember much, if anything, about being 30, but I remembered when I was 35 I thought it was good age, so 30 it was.

And ditto for 45, 50 and 55. But when I hit 60, I realized that 70 was just around the corner. And 70 is OLD! So ANY younger age would have been a good one to be.

However, when I was 62, and I was hearing about Social Security retirement, I couldn't wait to turn 66 so I could earn a full week's paycheck AND collect my full retirement with no penalty. Woo Hoo!

But 70 is not so far away anymore.

My health, for the most part, is still pretty good. But colds that I used to be able to kick in a week or so, now seem to last 3 or 4 weeks. And they have started developing into more serious ailments than just head congestion or coughing. But I can still work all day without feeling too tired. Of course, there are those aches and pains I didn't used to have. And there are things I used to do that are harder now, or especially hard to do (just as I remember hearing Dad complain about getting older and not being able to do the things he used to be able to do).

But looking ahead to 75, 80, 85, and older, I can't help but recall watching my parents as they aged and their health problems got worse.

And that is the blessing, and the curse, of modern medicine. We are all living longer (as a whole), but as we get older, it means that our quality of life will not be what we would like it to be. In fact, you can be certain it won't be much fun at all!

But, as you know: “That's life.”

Thor's Hammer (Mjölnir) - Its Powers Explained

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     There are two popular versions of Thor's Hammer. The one from Norse mythology, known as Mjölnir  ("That which marks and pulverizes to dust").

     Its power included "whatsoever might be before him, and the hammer would not fail; and if he threw it at anything, it would never miss, and never fly so far as not to return to his hand." And is"capable of leveling mountains."


   The other version of the hammer is from the Marvel comic books and movies. The following refers to the hammer used by Thor in the movies. 

   According to  the movies, the Asgardian technology is 1000 years ahead of us. To give you some idea of how advanced they are, just look at our civilization 1000 years ago: 
     Most of the population was involved in farming, with a village surrounded by two large and unfenced open fields. The village would have consisted of several small huts. They often housed the family's animals. There would be one or two rooms, with a loft for storage. The family lived in a single room.
  There was no electricity, no running water (other than a river or stream), no medical facilities, nothing we now take for granted.

   So first, a list of the powers of Thor's Hammer (not called Mjölnir in this case to distinguish it from mythology).

1)    It can absorb and then discharge a lightning bolt.
2)    When slammed to the ground, it can cause minor earthquakes.
3)    Whenever it is spun by its leather strap, Thor can fly as fast and as high as needed.
4)    It will always return to Thor's hand.
5)    Only those deemed 'worthy' may pick up The Hammer.
       
1)   The Hammer is very much like a battery - it will absorb an electrical charge, and then discharge it when necessary.
2 and 3)   The Hammer contains a gravity / anti gravity generator. When traveling downward, the gravity generator half energizes, slamming The Hammer hard enough to cause the ground to shake.  When it is spun fast enough, the anti-gravity kicks in and Thor is able to fly. 
4)   The Hammer returns to Thor's hand because of it recognizes Thor's DNA and "follows the scent" to return to him.
5)    Although The Hammer may actually only weigh 100 - 150 pounds, if put on a scale, only those deemed 'worthy' will be able to pick it up.  But who determines who is worthy? Odin, obviously. In the first 'Thor' movie it was Odin who stripped Thor of the power to wield The Hammer. So if Odin wanted to, he could deem anyone as worthy - Lady Sif, Heimdall, Jane Foster, or even Loki.

Season Three Finale of "The Americans"

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I've been watching the FX drama "The Americans."

(If you don't know what it is about: It takes place in the 1980's and two Russian spies, Elizabeth and Phillip Jennings are sleeper agents. They came to America, settled down, and had two children, Paige and Henry, who are now in their teens.)

About the middle of the third season, after Paige's insistence, they told her they were from Russia, working for the Soviet Union. Paige understandably was taken aback (she asked them if they were killers or drug dealers). And they told her if she told anyone they would be arrested and sent to prison, for life!

And she had questions, but she never asked the ones I would have (maybe because she was only 16).

The first question I would want to know is, of course, "Why?"  Is life in Russia so much better? (They lived in a two story house with an attached garage and basement. And they drove a relatively new car.)

The next question would be that after living in the US for 18 years, more or less, how could they still be loyal to the Soviet Union?

And I would have asked what was going to happen to them when their mission is over and they returned to the Soviet Union? Neither Paige nor Henry speak Russian, and their lives and way of living is strictly American.

But, there is a new problem that ended the season - Paige called Pastor Tim, her pastor and confidant, and told him her parents were liars and they wanted to make a liar out of her. And that they weren't Americans. And then the damning statement - they were Russians!

Of course, just being Russian didn't automatically mean they were spies. And maybe Pastor Tim would just blow it off, or not believe her. But saying he did, and he called the FBI, and they investigated and found that Elizabeth and Phillip WERE spies.

Where would that leave Paige and Henry? Since Henry knew nothing about this (he is two years younger than Paige), how would he feel knowing Paige betrayed  his parents? Would he agree with her decision? Or hate her?

And since they have no relatives, it never occurred to Paige that there would be no one to take care of them? No place they could go but into foster care? And then there would be a good chance she and Henry would be separated?

Maybe she didn't think about all of this. But depending on what happens with Pastor Tim next season, things could go badly for all of them!
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More Eye Candy!

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Lots I could write about, but nothing that is particularly interesting, so time for more gorgeous women.

Google backtracked about sexually explicit photos on their blog sites. I don't have any. But the closest I do have is the B/W photo of Leslie Bibb's outstanding naked ass.

So - more delightful women to look at (AND I can download them to my smart phone for wallpaper).

 Emily Bett Rickards - Felicy Smoak on "Arrow"

 Don't know her name, but find her extremely attractive!

Maria Avgeropoulos - Octavia on "The 100"

Olivia Munn - Attack of the Show, The Newsroom, Miles from Tomorrowland.

Jessy Schramm - Falling Skies, The Lizzie Borden Chronicles

Natalie Portman - Queen Amidala in 'Starwars';  Jane Foster in 'Thor'

Yvonne Strahovsky - Sarah Walker on "Chuck"

New Year's Resolution and Eye Candy

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A few days late on the resolution, but....

Made mine New Year's Day (forgot about it the Eve before). And it is the same one I make every year ... and I have never broken it!

And it is -- "I resolve to only make one resolution for the New Year."

And I just did.

And because these posts seem so drab and plain, I have decided to add a picture of some young woman I find particularly attractive. And today's photo is of  Meaghan Rath.

Meaghan played Sally Malik  on the TV show "Being Human" (the American version) until it ended its run in 2014 after 4 seasons.

She was born in 1986 in Montreal. Her father is Austrian and her mother is from India.

"Sorry for your loss" - Part Two

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In my last blog I wrote about how phony that sounds.

Recently my mother passed away and I got a card from the company I work for, signed by about a dozen coworkers, and at least half had written that.

And while I appreciate the card, it seems like they could have written something a bit more original.

Also, my dad died ten years ago, and I had forgotten that everyone has a "when my [insert relative here] died" story.

That's it. Short and sweet.
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