Post holiday blues

Once again I must apologise for not writing anything (well anything not related to superheroes) but this time I have a good excuse. I'm not long back from my summer holiday, two weeks where I had a valid excuse not to write. I went with my mum, my dad and my brother to New York for a few days and then down to Florida where we rented a house. I have been to New York a few times but I always forget just how BIG and busy it is. We had done most of the main attractions such as the empire state building before but we certainly kept ourselves busy. We saw the Penn and Teller magic show on broadway the first night which was amazing, I definitely recommend it. On the second day we did the high line walk, we visited Chelsea market and we saw the One World Trade centre, unfortunately due to work being done on the subway we had to walk a lot further than we would've liked at the end of the day after already having walked a lot! On the third day we went to see New York City FC vs Toronto FC. Major League Soccer is definitely growing in popularity that said the quality of the play was a bit lacking to say the least. It certainly made for an entertaining watch though with 4 penalties being given and it ending 4-4! On the final day we went to the Natural History Museum, walked through a bit of central park and then had a look around the shops. It was a packed four days with a lot of walking so by the end of it we were ready for a bit of relaxation.

The rest of the holiday was spent in a house we had rented in Florida. It was a lovely big house with a big yard with a deck area and pool it also overlooked a lake.It was great especially due to all the wildlife, big birds including a heron which visited us on a number of occasions as well as turtles which swam to the edge of the lake looking for food (we fed them left over vegetables). It was a bit disappointing as it rained the first two days but the house was big enough that we were able to spread out and it also had its own pool table which was a bonus. It was lovely to just be able to relax that said we also went shopping (I spent a lot of money due to the great exchange rate) and we also went to a state park where we took an air boat ride and saw alligators. While it was nice to be able to sit out beside our private pool it was even nicer to go to the nearby beach. Lovely cool white sand, warm sea water and a nice breeze.

Its certainly been a bit depressing coming back home to weather that is for the most part not very summery. There is also the fact that this is my first year where I've had a full time job so I was straight back to work unlike all my previous summers where I've had lots of time off. Currently I've got my phd work including getting samples as well as learning to drive along with learning driving theory so I'm rather busy.

Here's some pictures from my holiday:

Thanks for reading, hopefully I'll have more updates soon.

More superhero madness!

Now lots of stuff has happened since I last did a superhero madness...Avengers: Age of Ultron came out for one example. Marvel's latest entry in their movie universe and the sequel to one of the most successful films ever released. I've seen it twice now in the cinema and I have to say I enjoyed it both times, possibly more the second time. It is a good movie BUT its not the best Marvel movie and it could be better in a number of ways. Firstly for the good parts, the opening scene, lots of funny moments, some great new characters, great action, now for the bad in trying to be its own movie it doesn't really acknowledge the stuff that happens in the phase 2 movies/agents of SHIELD before it, possibly to many quips, it feels rushed at times and there are some strange choices made with characters which are unexpected. It also feels a bit safe, I'm not saying that they should make it super dark but Ultron wasn't quite a big a threat as I expected. So overall its a great superhero movie but could have been better, apparently the original cut was 3 hours long and given the popularity of longer movies such as the Hobbit/Lord of the rings movies you wonder why they didn't allow a longer cut to be shown in cinemas.


The Batman v Superman trailer was released a while ago. It is very much a teaser but is certainly interesting with the idea of how the world would actually react due to the presence of a super powerful alien. Ben Affleck also looks like a beast in his batsuit. Its a bit strange that despite it having finished filming a good while ago its not coming out until next year. It also feels like we know more about Suicide Squad which is currently filming and is set to come out after Batman v Superman. This hasn't been helped by all the set leaks which are rather hard to avoid reading about or seeing.

Beast mode activated!

Its getting to that time of year where a lot of tv shows have finished their seasons, this includes the four comic book shows I've watched, Gothan, Arrow, The Flash and Agents of Shield (also Agent Carter but it was a mini-series). I haven't had a chance to watch Constantine yet but it has been cancelled so not sure if there is much point now. So to start off with Gotham, the Batman prequel series. It has been decent enough, fairly entertaining at times, that said if I didn't have the time it would probably be the show that I'd drop. Now Agents of Shield season 1 was a mixed bag, it had some good moments but I'm certainly glad I stuck with it for season 2. It has been a vast improvement with characters who were not very good last season improving greatly along with some great new characters. Just a shame the movie people don't seem to want to have anything to do with it, see here, According to that same article Agent Carter was created by people involved in the movies. It was decent enough but not fantastic or anything.  I had high hopes for Arrow season 3 after the awesome season 2, unfortunately it ended up being rather disappointing. It definitely had some great moments but the story arc was all over the place, the characters moped a lot, and the flashbacks weren't that interesting. I also thought that some characters deserved more screen time. The main crossover episode with The Flash is a lot of fun though.

Now moving on to The Flash itself. In season 2 of Arrow a certain Barry Allen was introduced in a two part episode which then resulted in a spin-off show The Flash debuting at the same time as Arrow season 3. For those who don't know The Flash is a superhero with super speed (as well as being able to move/vibrate different parts of his body resulting in a range of cool powers). With his powers and the presence of a whole load of different metahumans it is definitely bit more out there than Arrow. It is also has a tone that is a bit more fun and light hearted, that said it does get dark at times and it actually made me cry at one point (can't remember another tv show that made me do that!). It has a great not to mention ambitious story arc and the main group of actors are enjoyable to watch (there is some great acting). Grant Gustin is great as Barry/The Flash he is confident, funny with a bit of awkwardness he is definitely human and does makes mistakes but all and all he is a hero and a guy you want to root for. One cool thing they've done is to use actors from the old Flash tv show such as John Wesley Shipp who played Barry/The Flash in the original show now playing Barry's dad as well as Mark Hamill reprising his role as The Trickster (lots of fun). As a whole The Flash isn't perfect, the romance sub-plot is awkward and a bit cringey, it is a bit cheesy at times and the cgi isn't always of the best quality. BUT in the end none of this really matters, it is such a fun, entertaining superhero show which has frequently defied expectations and I can't wait for season 2.

As for what comes next you have the debuts of Supergirl as well as  Legends of Tomorrow (a spin-off from Arrow and The Flash). The supergirl pilot "leaked" online and I have watched it. I have to say I was disappointed by it. It has a lot of plot problems, the action scenes aren't that great and it beats you over the head with the fact that she is a GIRL. It is a bit annoying because instead of normalising the fact that she is a superhero who just happens to be female they make a huge deal out of it. Not to mention the irritating cliches and stereotypes in it. Maybe I'm just not the intended audience for it but when you compare it to The Flash pilot episode which is fair given that some of the same people are behind it it is inferior. The Flash pilot left me wanting more, the Supergirl pilot just left me annoyed and sceptical that it would improve enough to make me want to watch it. Legends of Tomorrow features a team up of characters from The Flash and Arrow along with some new characters. It should be good but time will tell. I don't recommend watching the trailer for it though I did because I'm impatient but given the fact that it is meant to start during the mid season break of Flash season 2 and Arrow season 4 it seems to spoil at least one of the characters story lines for one of those shows.

Melissa Benoist is fine as Supergirl just a shame about all the other characters

Thanks for reading.

In praise of Worm, a web serial

I haven't been reading as much as I used to but I came across this free web serial called Worm several weeks ago and despite its hefty length (roughly 26 typical novels according to the author) I have finished it. It is set in a world where superheroes and supervillians are common but it is much less black and white than your typical superhuman story and it is definitely not suitable for kids. There is a large cast of characters but it mainly focuses on a teenage girl named Taylor. She has developed the ability to control insects and decides she wants to become a hero but after a run in with a notorious local villian she is mistaken for a villain herself setting her down an exciting but dangerous path. The author really builds up the mythology behind this world, the government sponsored heroes, the villains, a super prison for people with powers, a gang called the slaughterhouse nine, other high level threats and of course the endbringers....There are huge battles, monsters, robots, artificial intelligences, clones, parallel worlds and conspiracies. While much as I love comic books and superheroes I have't actually read or watched that many in the whole scheme of things but that said I think the author comes up with some really cool ideas regarding powers and different ways they are used. I also liked the fact that in each chapter focusing on a story arc there are also interlude chapters which focus on events happening elsewhere or the background of certain characters. All in all the best thing that I can say is that it kept me wanting more, I probably read it too quickly as I enjoyed it so much. According to his website he will hopefully edit the story, trim the fat, basically make the best version possible before publishing it in which case I will definitely buy it.

Worm-a web serial, table of contents

Oh hello there!

Well I once again have to apologise for a lack of blog updates, there are number of reasons for this they range from the fact that I haven't been inspired to write, I've been sick and despite the fact that we are approaching summer, a time when in the past I would be relaxing I am currently rather busy. I've been doing lots of lab work for my PhD and I've also been out getting leaf samples in woodlands across Northern Ireland. Sampling in these lovely woodlands is nice but it can get quite physical at times not to mention the preparation it takes to locate suitable woodlands that contain the species I want but are also spaced far enough away from each other. Another reason that I've been busy is that I finally decided to start taking driving lessons. I've had about 9 lessons so far and they have been going well, hopefully I will be able to pass my test by the end of the summer.

I do have a number of things in my draft folder so hopefully I will be able to complete them and post them soon. Thanks for reading.

Taken from the top of Redburn Country Park

Concerts, a conference and hearing aid problems

Well the last few weeks have been both and enjoyable and busy, firstly I feel like I should write about two concerts I went to. The first one, a Christmas present from my brother was to see Royal Blood at the Ulster Hall. Royal Blood for those who don't know consist of just two band members with a bit of a twist on the guitarist/singer and drummer format in that it is a bassist/singer and a drummer. They have only released one album so far but they seem to have grown very popular very quickly. They put on a great show and we had the best possible view to enjoy it due to having balcony seats overlooking the stage as you can see from the video below:



The second  concert I went to exactly a week later was Muse also at the Ulster Hall. This was a big surprise, Muse had just released the first song from their new album before they announced a surprise  intimate UK tour. The tour was announced the day before tickets went on sale but thankfully I found out about it and my brother was able to get us two tickets. I was very excited as Muse are probably my favourite band and I had never seen them live. I have to admit I was a bit worried when we arrived and there was a very long queue but its not that big a venue and we were able to stand with a relatively good view of the stage. I wasn't fussed on their support band but Muse put on a great show. It was a bit of a different set list they played two new songs, two b sides as well as other songs they don't usually play along with some of their classics. I just wish since they hadn't played in Northern Ireland since 2006 that they could have played for even longer, they have so many good songs that its hard not to be disappointed when they don't play some of them.

Moving on to my PhD it has been a busy period doing lots of lab work on the samples I collected last summer  I also attended my first conference. Basically the idea of these conferences is for people from a whole load of different universities to come together and talk about what work they are doing,  and network with other people. It is a good learning experience for PhD students such as myself, and I presented a poster on my initial results. The conference was in Liverpool over three days and it was actually my first time away from home (apart from school trips) and in a different country without my family. Though I did travel with my supervisor both there and back and three other people from the lab I work in were also at the conference which was great. The only issue was and its something I will have to deal with in the future is that ever present problem of communication. At the poster presentation one of the other people there asked me to explain my work and why it was important and I attempted to tell her but I got the impression that she didn't really understand what I was saying.Overall it was a good experience and it pushed me out of my comfort zone without anything bad happening with is always a plus.

My swanky hotel bed with light and air conditioning controls on the wall also a slightly creepy picture

Whenever I do go away I always have to make sure to bring a spare hearing aid and batteries with me, unfortunately both my digital hearing aids decided to play up in the period leading up to the conference. One of them had stopped working a few weeks before and had been sent off to be repaired. Unfortunately when it came back it was now working but now emitting a loud buzzing noise, so it had to be sent off to be repaired again. Around this time my other digital hearing aid decided to start distorting. Long story short I had to spend a day and a half wearing my old analog hearing aid which was very strange now that I'm used to wearing the much better digital aid. Managed to get an appointment at the audiology clinic at the hospital I go to and the very nice girl (much nicer than the other not very nice or competent people who we have dealt with in the past) was able to reprogram the repaired aid and she also reprogrammed the other one which fixed the distortion problem. This was great as it meant I could go back to wearing a digital aid but I could also bring a digital aid as backup for the conference.

One of my digital hearing aids

Thanks for reading.

Videos!

Just thought I would share this video created by the charity Changing Faces. A short and sweet advert to raise awareness about people staring at facial disfigurements.




A while back I saw a video of a little person who had put a hidden camera on himself and recorded his day including people staring, making comments and even taking photos of him without asking! It just makes me wonder what the results of someone with TCS doing this would be. I wrote a piece about staring before here but just makes you wonder how many times it actually happens and also how many times it happens that you don't necessarily pick up on it. As far as I'm aware no one has taken a picture of me without asking (or asking for that matter) but if they did then I think it would make me seriously angry. Staring is one thing but taking a photograph is just completely rude.

Continuing on the topic of videos  the new Treacher Collins Family Support Group website has a whole load of videos from tv shows which people with TCS have featured on. I definitely recommend as some of them are really good.

http://www.treachercollins.net/Videos.html

Thanks for reading.

Facial disfigurement on screen

Unless you have been living under a rock lately you will probably have heard about the movie The Theory of Everything which is about the life of Steven Hawking. Eddie Redmayne has received a lot of praise and award nominations for his portrayal of Steven Hawking and his decline due to his condition. The movie has prompted some debate about whether it is ok for a able-bodied actor to portray a disabled person. In my opinion yes it is, because as long as it isn't done in a bad or mocking way also it is just acting. Obviously it would be impossible for a non-abled bodied actor to have shown that decline that Hawking experienced. The same can be said for those who portray people with an mental illness for example a young Leonardo Dicaprio played a boy with a developmental disorder in What's Eating Gilbert Grape. The same role wouldn't have been able to been portrayed by a child with that condition as they wouldn't be able to follow orders, remember lines etc.

So what about people with facial disfigurements? It is a common theme in movies that the bad guy has some characteristic which makes them look scary. Whether this is an eye patch, a facial scar or something else. In many cases the villains actions alone should be enough to show us that they are in fact bad or evil. This has resulted in Changing Faces creating a campaign to challenge this assumption. They made a short film featuring Michelle Dockery of Downtown Abbey fame which was shown in certain cinemas. You can see it below.



I think as with everything things should be done in moderation and with proper thought. A villain shouldn't just have scars etc. for the sake of it or as a lazy way to show how they are evil. On the other hand I don't think they should make all bad guys look perfect. In some cases it is a core part of their character take Two-Face from Batman for example. I was interested to read about the movie Under the Skin a while back as a positive example of a movie using someone who looks different. I haven't seen it but it features Adam Pearson who has quite an obvious facial disfigurement coming into contact with Scarlet Johansson's alien character. You can read more about that here, otherwise I would just be repeating the same stuff that is in the article.

Scene from the movie

To be honest I think it is not so much a case of giving people with facial disfigurement or disfigurement leading roles in movies/tv shows, although if possible and if somebody wrote something with that, it would be awesome if done right. Instead I think it would be good to slowly get people used to the idea that there are people with these conditions and they are perfectly normal, perhaps by using them as minor characters or extras. Its hard not to think about these big budget movies/tv shows and how awesome it would be if they gave screen time to people who look a bit different. Take Star Wars for example obviously its hard to know what will happen in the new trilogy but imagine if they had a jedi with a facial disfigurement who was shown kicking-ass and how memorable (in a good way) that would be. They don't need to be a main character but it would get people talking. Obviously Peter Dinklage is now very well known for Game of Thrones and his height is a main part of his character in it. But it was only after I read a comment online after seeing him in X-men Days of Future Past that I realised that his height wasn't in fact referred to at any point during the movie. My point is that this should be the case for people with facial disfigurements on screen, unless it is a major part of their character then it shouldn't be referred to. They don't need to make a big deal about it.

Thanks for reading.

*Just want to clarify that I originally used the word deformity when I wrote this blog and you can probably still see it on the links I posted. I didn't realise that some people may not like that word and obviously I don't want to offend anyone. So apologies for that.