Facebook Friends

First things first, if someone with my name and the image to the left as their profile picture contacts you on Facebook - it's not me. NOT ME.

Recently I was scammed by someone via Facebook, a brilliant moron, an idiot genius really. He or she tried to create a fake Facebook account using my Gmail account. They used that image, a jellyfish on a blue background, similar to my blue blur branding, as the profile pic. The problem - for them - was that verification and registration for the profile has to be done via my email. And that's not going to happen. It's MY email account.

So I was aware of these shenanigans almost immediately. All the messages to finish registration, add my friends, etc. - all this crap came to my Gmail account. I knew the scammer had been effectively stopped from continuing, but the messages got annoying. Curious what Facebook did about such things, rather than verify and delete the fake account myself, I reported it to Facebook from my real account.

Interestingly, I was treated with suspicion and doubt. Why was I reporting someone and making accusations? I was asked several times to explain why this other account was false. While nothing came from Facebook on my Gmail account except requests to register and friend suggestions. NOTHING WAS DONE.

I'll be going the more direct route to delete the fake account after I post this, but let this serve as a warning, if someone does create a false account of you, Facebook will not help you. Stupid Facebook...

Arrow S04 E10: Blood Debts

As we open, we're back at the grave, with Oliver vowing vengeance. Despite the caption "Four months from now," we've still come full circle, especially with Felicity looking fairly dead at the end of last episode. If it wasn't for previews, I might really be worried about our nerd angel. And on the lighter side, did anyone else notice Barry Allen wearing track shoes with his suit?

I've been away for a while, as some of you know, due to some medical difficulties, and "Arrow" was on hiatus as well. I needed that break. The never-ending battle against Damien Darhk and H.I.V.E. (hell, it even continues in both parts of the "Legends of Tomorrow" pilot) was getting very old very quickly this season and seeming to go nowhere. And the who's-in-the-grave game got stale early as well. I think we all needed a break.

Not dead, or not dead yet (just play along), Felicity is going through multiple surgeries to repair nerve damage, while the Green Arrow rampaged through H.I.V.E., as Darhk is in hiding. I have to hand it to Emily Bett Rickards, or the make up folks. She looks very sick in the hospital scenes, but then again, this is also the nerd girl who can also look runway model stunning when she wants to also.

As Green Arrow closes in on Darhk, there's a problem. Anarky is back, he's hunting Darhk too, and is a step ahead of our hero. Anarky is taken down early and easily, and although I was happy John Diggle put him down, I was kinda bored. Team Arrow take turns interrogating Anarky and Andy Dick, sorry, Freudian slip, Andy Diggle for information on Darhk while Felicity is in surgery. Maybe I'm just overdosed on bad "Arrow" this season, but I'm bored.

That said, I did like Green Arrow using that old ploy from kaiju eiga, that of setting monsters against each other, so you only have to deal with one once the smoke clears. Letting Anarky lead Team Arrow to Darhk was risky but it worked. Unsatisfyingly, Green Arrow fought Darhk and Speedy fought Anarky, yet both villains went free at the end. Enough foreplay, get it over with!

Meanwhile on Flashback Island, which is where the writers go when they're stuck or have nothing to do in the present, Oliver has been found out. His punishment is a flogging until Baron Blitzkrieg/Reiter sees the symbols that John Constantine placed on his abdomen. I wonder how long we will have to wait to see what that means.

As we close, Felicity can't walk, and is shown in the future graveside, eliminating her as a victim. It makes me wonder, what with Roy Harper coming back from doing Candy Crush commercials, could it be Thea in the ground? Whoever it is, I wish the show would get better... it's been in a downward spiral for a while now...

For my other reviews of the entire "Arrow" series, click here. And if you'd like to discuss this episode and anything else in the Arrowverse, please join the Arrow Discussion Group on Facebook.

Arrow S04 E09: Dark Waters

This is this year's holiday episode of "Arrow," and we open on Oliver Queen hosting a clean up of the bay from all the pollution that's been dumped into it. This is the bay that resident villain Damien Darhk was so worried about.

Seeing a daytime scene on this show is a bit of an oddity, and just feels wrong. Not to worry, the tone at least turns more familiar as H.I.V.E. drones open fire on the eco-activists. The whole pollution angle is a bit nostalgic for old school comic readers in light of the classic Green Lantern/Green Arrow comics of yesteryear with those heroes' social activism.

In retaliation, following suit with the opening of this episode, Oliver brings the man behind this merciless attack to light. He issues a public challenge on television, revealing that Damien Darhk and H.I.V.E. have been behind the 'ghosts' and all the recent chaos and attacks on the city. Darhk did not expect this kind of assault, and notably his H.I.V.E. partners aren't pleased either.

When Darhk goes on a rampage, my question is why the hell isn't Laurel in costume? At least Laurel confronts her father about working for the enemy amidst all the holiday party/engagement ring nonsense. It's about time. Laurel's kind of been the forgotten character on the show for quite some time and it shouldn't be that way. Black Canary is an equal to Green Arrow, not a sidekick or a subordinate.

The rest of the episode is hot mess, a placeholder until you get to the last minute hellish stinger ending. There's a gas chamber death trap with a designer poison called 'the bloom,' Quentin and Felicity's mom hooking up, and a return visit to the Amazo on Flashback Island. We even get John Barrowman as Green Arrow, but that's well worth seeing.

The holiday party finally happens and then another tree lighting, the latter at which Oliver proposes to Felicity. On the drive home, the two are attacked by ghosts, and Felicity is shot apparently dead. Is it she who's in the grave? If there was any suspense at all, it's diffused by coming attractions. She's not gone, yet. Either way, what a crappy way to leave us for the holiday...

For my other reviews of the entire "Arrow" series, click here. And if you'd like to discuss this episode and anything else in the Arrowverse, please join the Arrow Discussion Group on Facebook.

Remembering David Bowie

Last night's news of David Bowie's passing hit me hard. I was devastated. Many of you know I've been seriously ill for a month or so, but I've been making forward progress and trying to be positive - but this loss was a physical blow and crushed my spirits. I loved and love Bowie, he was a favorite, an idol, an inspiration, and the man marked my life.

My first exposure to Bowie, and also to the offensive gay epithet that starts with an F, was when I saw the "Little Drummer Boy (Peace on Earth)" duet with Bing Crosby originally air. I remember seeing him on "Soul Train," and in drag and as a puppet on "Saturday Night Live." "DJ" from Lodger (which I had on 8-track) was probably the first proper music video I ever saw, another field in which Bowie was a pioneer.

I remember vividly the first times I heard many of his songs. "Golden Years," "Cat People," "Station to Station," "I'm Afraid of Americans," "Let's Dance," "Sound and Vision," and a dozen others all hold specific memories for my first listens. How many other artists or songs can one say that about?

I saw Bowie once, during his Glass Spider tour. Squeeze opened, and both Peter Frampton and Toni Basil were part of his entourage on stage, but Bowie shined like a supernova in that dying and falling apart JFK Stadium. He was mesmerizing and amazing, a burning, singing, dancing light enthralling the thousands there. I'll never forget it.

This weekend, the weekend of both his birthday and death, was filled with Bowie for me. I watched him on "Storytellers" telling tales and performing for a small audience songs from his then-new album Hours. I also finally got around to listening to Blackstar, a fabulous collection. In an iTunes age when one can just cherry pick the songs one likes, I preordered Blackstar in its entirety as I have Bowie's last few.

And today I am crushed, numb, and indescribably sad. Rest in peace, man, I love you, you changed my life.
------
A slightly different version of this appears at Biff Bam Pop!. Please pop over there for more remembrances of David Bowie by the staff there.

Jessica Jones S01 E02: AKA Crush Syndrome

If you're a listener to The GAR! Podcast, you know we talk about "Breaking Bad" a lot, and in the past when it has come up in conjunction with the then-upcoming "Jessica Jones" Netflix series, I have always had one roadblock. Who the hell was/is Krysten Ritter? I get beaten up every time, most recently right here.

I'm sorry, but some folks may have thought Ms. Ritter was amazing as Jesse Pinkman's girlfriend Jane Margolis in her nine episodes of "Breaking Bad," but she never left an impression on me. It's only when I have to be reminded of her role that I remember her, that I recall her, in my opinion, lackluster performance. Ritter in "Breaking Bad," to me, was very similar to her scenes with Mike Colter in the first episode of "Jessica Jones" - a cold fish hardly trying but surrounded by otherwise brilliance.

Don't get me wrong. Krysten Ritter's voiceover and solo bits as Jessica are brilliance, the same with her interacting with the other actors and characters. But. The one relationship that is the single most important to the character of Jessica Jones, the one with Mike Colter's Luke Cage, is the one that last episode I just did not believe. Sorry. It doesn't get much better this time around.

I hope this changes with this series. It should be noted that I am reviewing this Netflix series the same way I did with "Daredevil" - one episode at a time, as I watch it. So all you folks who consumed this entire thing in a mad binge watch, chill with the spoilers, because if I get something wrong or am misguided - I probably just haven't gotten there yet. Be patient.

We open on Jessica doing the right thing. Last time she had fallen into The Purple Man's trap for her, and allowed his will to make Midwest girl Hope kill her own parents. Instead of running, Jessica's first instinct, she takes the heroic turn - inspired by her friend Trish - and stays to deal with the authorities. Here at the police station, in mock interrogation, Ritter continues her cool modern day noir character.

The cop asking the questions, Oscar 'Ozzy' Clemons (Punisher supporter cast if memory serves), is played by one of my all time favorite actors - Clarke Peters, who was probably one of the single best things about both "Treme" and "The Wire," not just two of best shows HBO has ever produced, but also on television, period. Clemons is very close to his character on "The Wire." It's a small part, but Peters' inclusion here is a gigantic plus.

If "AKA Ladies Night" was meant as a tour through a day in the life of Jessica Jones, this episode continues that trend, further exploring the people and tactics in her life. We learn more about her relationship with Trish, we see her check in with Jeri, with Hope, and with Luke. We even meet her upstairs neighbors, bizarre fraternal twins who would make great 21st century additions to the tenants of 1970s horrors Rosemary's Baby and The Sentinel.

We also see what makes Jessica a great detective. We see her at work, we see her methods. The show is still pumping that film noir vibe hard, but I can't but imagine a watered down version of Jessica fitting in well with folks like Jim Rockford, Sam McCloud, and Columbo, just as much as Philip Marlowe and Sam Spade. I like this, she's not just physical, but a thinking detective.

Speaking of physical however, one of the highlights of the episode has Jessica 'saving' Luke from a rugby team, not that Power Man needs saving. There is a certain harmony that she calls "teamwork" while they're fighting the jealous husbands club. Perhaps the chemistry works better when they don't talk. Important about the scene is that he sees that she's stronger than a normal woman, and she sees his effortless strength and unexplainably tough skin. They're peas in a super power pod, kindred souls.

There is also the horror that is Kilgrave. In Jessica's investigation we learn that he did not die by getting hit by a bus a year ago. In some medical stuff just a bit too close to home for me, we learn where this episode got its title and how Kilgrave lost the function of both kidneys, and then mind-controlled his way into two new kidneys. As one who knows the path, it is indeed gruesome.

David Tennant also makes his presence known by appropriating a stranger's home for his own. We still haven't seen him face the camera, but he is intimidating and powerful just off screen. Like the neon purple flashes that send Jessica into PTSD, it's more what we don't see than what we do. Speaking of what we don't see, is Trish already Hellcat, or just possibly training for it? Patsy fans want to know!

The episode was written by Micah Schraft who worked for the CW on shows like "Jane the Virgin" and "The Tomorrow People," notably neither of their hit superhero shows, "Arrow" and "The Flash." He might think of making that jump based on this episode.

More, please.