Author: Bruce

A Year in MINIons- MINIon #1451

Posted on August 1, 2015 by Bruce

1451Yes, MINIUSA is at it again, this time trying to break the world record for the number of cars crossing a bridge. SO MINI owners in droves descend on St. Ignace to cross the Mackinac Bridge.  They tried this originally in 2013, and I’m assuming MINIUSA will be making this as an event on the non-MTTS years to keep the faithful excited. Last time the record was missed by… let’s just say a large number. Today? Who knows how it will turn out? The Guinness people are tallying as you read this.

For me it’s just a nice time to be with friends and close out the summer… School starts for teachers Monday.

A Year in MINIons- MINIon #1864

Posted on July 31, 2015 by Bruce

1864“‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,’ message Spock?” After bringing back Star Trek with the rather cerebral (V’ger) Star Trek the Motion Picture, and beginning the belief that we do not speak of the odd numbered movies, they were able to create a film that to me is a masterpiece that all Star Trek (and many sequels) have to live up to.  What they did right: New uniforms, soundtrack, tying it back to the original series, having a more character driven story… I could go on.  This is the film that introduced us to the Kobayashi Maru test which was an amazing way to start off.  It is so iconic that for a second film in the reboot they had to bring back Khan, to show how this alternate universe is different.  If they hadn’t put Khan in “Into the Darkness” there would be speculation on every film as to when Khan would show up.  So do what everyone expects, and now you can move on.  Which I hope they do.  I’ll stop gushing over how much I like “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan”  Let’s just say it makes it on my top films to rewatch… even with the bagpipes.

A Year in MINIons- MINIon #0039

Posted on July 29, 2015 by Bruce

0039You’ve got red on you.  I remember walking through London and seeing posters for this film “A love story with zombies”  I wasn’t into zombie films, but it looked interesting.  I knew I wouldn’t use my limited time in England to sit in a movie theater, so I figured I would just skip it.  Lucky for me it ended up coming across the pond.  While others have tried to make a zombie romantic comedy I really think the only one to succeed was Shaun of the Dead.

A Year in MINIons- MINIon #1996

Posted on July 28, 2015 by Bruce

1996I’m a comic book guy, and I’m sure by the time this project is over you are going to be sick (if you aren’t already) with me saying that. Most people know about the big heroes, the ones that DC & Marvel make movies about, or at least cartoons. There are other comics out there that unless you know a comic book guy, or are a comic book guy (or gal) you may have never heard of. One of those titles is Kurt Busiek’s and Brent Anderson’s Astro City (with covers by Alex Ross). I don’t remember why I picked up my first issue, maybe it was the cover, maybe it was suggested by someone, but once I read that first story I was hooked. Here’s the thing, the arcs move around, and it’s not always a superhero that the story is about. This is a comic about world building, about taking what we already know and changing it just enough to make it new. It’s one of my favorites. Now that it seems ot be on a more regular publishing schedule makes it even better.  If you can find a copy of one of the 12 collected volumes, read a few stories. I’d be curious what you think.

This MINIon is actually a character from the just completed arc, where an intelligent gorilla (sorry had to be a monkey, rules are rules) escapes from his homeland because he wants to be a drummer in a rock and roll band, and what happens. It was another great story about a character that would most likely be tossed away in a planning meeting or used as a joke.

A Year in MINIons- MINIon #0068

Posted on July 26, 2015 by Bruce

0068Good bye! What am you looking at? Me am Bizarrook #1…
I think I better give up talking in Bizarro talk, it’s harder than it looks. We all know Cecil cloned himself a few times (hence all the MINIons), we also might remember that he had a few failed attempts (Mongo aka Failed Cloning Experiment # 6). So taking one of the many origins of Bizarro Superman (failed clone by Lex Luthor) I ended up here. I have been reading the recent Bizarro mini-series and think it’s great and something people should try out.  Me hope you hate it.

A Year in MINIons- MINIon #0048

Posted on July 25, 2015 by Bruce

0048OK If you aren’t a Marvel comics fan, or at least aa reader of the now defunct Fantastic Four, you might not recognize this guy. As far as villains go, he’s probably the ultimate bad guy. You see this guy eats planets. He’s tried to eat Earth a couple times and ends up being thwarted (villains hate to be thwarted) by those meddling kids and their dumb dog… or the maybe it was the Avengers, Fantastic Four, or X-Men. You name a group they’ve probably gone up against him. Most recently Squirrel Girl had her chance to thwart him. Yes, Squirrel Girl… it’s actually a rather good comic, I recommend it.

A Year in MINIons- MINIon #∑

Posted on July 23, 2015 by Bruce

sigmaYesterday I returned from what has been called my annual Teacher Summer Camp.  Three days at Indiana State University in Terre Haute. The Extending Teacher Creativity Workshop is a way for Lilly Fellows to socialize, get ready for the new school year, and learn something new. Over the years it has evolved.  I first attended in 2002, which makes me old.  Cecil attends with me (his first appearance was in 2008) and usually gets the royal treatment, that includes multiple kidnapping attempts.  What happens when you put a bunch of very creative people together?  Ungodly horrors that mankind was never meant to experience and creme brûlée French toast.  We actually get a chance to take some time and learn a new skill, practice an old one, or prepare for school. So today’s MINIon is in honor of Jim McClain, creator of Solution Squad, friend, and Lilly Fellow, who had to go through the hazing in Tier One.  For those of you who don’t know Solution Squad, it’s a comic book in which a team of young heroes keep the world safe by using Math based super powers (Jim’s a middle school Math teacher). So while I was learning how to better use colored pencils I took a break and drew this MINIon- Sigma and that about sums it up.