Shawna Benson › Likes

"Where in the world is Bruce Wayne? Or, to be more accurate, when in the world is Bruce Wayne? It has been nearly a year since comic book readers last saw Wayne, better known to most as the original Batman. While battling a god-like villain named Darkseid during DC Comics' Final Crisis series, Batman was hit by an energy beam that sent him hurling out of control to an unknown place in time. Bruce Wayne hasn't been seen or heard from since. Until now. " - RAPatton from iPhone

"Return is a fairly intricate time-travel story in which the world's greatest hero, the optimum man, is up against the supreme challenge to his ingenuity and skill. How does Batman get out of the ultimate trap? It has a mystery and an apocalyptic countdown going on, there are some major twists and reveals, and it sets up big changes to the Batman universe status quo. " - RAPatton from iPhone

"Q: Aside from Return, what new work can readers look forward to from Grant Morrison in 2010? A: Mostly Batman work — I'm doing at least another year of stories with Dick Grayson and Damian Wayne in the Batman and Robin book before that book starts to dovetail with Return and we rush headlong and screaming into the next big, earth-shattering, game-changing twist in the life of Batman.... more... - RAPatton from iPhone

Jandy and I both like this album - RAPatton from iPhone

That is reason enough for me... - JA Castillo

"That major publishing event we mentioned earlier today? Well, here it is. Original stories featuring Batman and Superman in graphic novel form from the biggest creators out there. But these aren’t one-offs. We’re talking ongoing series of OGNs in a new continuity, on a new Earth. Sound appealing? Starting next year, DC Comics will unveil SUPERMAN: EARTH ONE and BATMAN: EARTH ONE, two graphic novels spotlighting the most powerful heroes of the DC Universe, with their first years and earliest moments retold in a standalone, original graphic novel format, on a new earth with an all-new continuity. " - RAPatton from iPhone

I love the original graphic novel idea instead of issues - RAPatton from iPhone

The dream was animated, a bluish black an white with flashes of red. My old offensive line coach, who is now my son's gym coach, was the voice of the protagonist. At one point he was being beaten in an empty warehouse by 2 other characters a la Slumdog. They didn't believe something he held true. The female lead attacked and rescued him. She was married to two men and it was implied the viewer was not to trust her, which of course meant as the dream went on we would. One of the marriages was a sham to save her brother, the other for love. The protagonist built his children a la gepettto from body parts. They were important but I can't recall much now. Part of their purpose was exposition. The animation was very slashy like tearing of a page, and the entire tale was sent in old Cathy - RAPatton from iPhone

No credit rolls in either, 9000 - RAPatton from iPhone

"NEW AVENGERS ANNUAL #3 Written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS Pencils and Cover by MIKE MAYHEW Clint Barton is in custody and that leaves not only Barton's life in severe jeopardy but all the New Avengers are at serious risk. So the ladies of the Avengers ban together to do what they have to do in a double-sized blockbuster Avengers story with a startling new chapter in the life of Jessica Jones. Brought to you by Brian Michael Bendis and artist extraordinaire Mike Mayhew. 48 PGS./Rated T+ ...$4.99" - RAPatton

Like Norman Osborne, the Sentry is schizophtrenic; Norman uses that common thread to convince The Sentry that he can help him. Like most of the Dark Avengers, Norman keeps him medicated. - RAPatton from iPhone

"Relationship and dating advice you can use from 35 otherwise distracting actresses. And a couple of anchorwomen. And a model. And a Carmen Electra. Now stop staring and go be a better man." - RAPatton

Sela Ward "Sometimes we think we really understand men. Then we regain consciousness." - RAPatton

"Researchers discovered a genetic link between physical pain and social rejection. Psychologists at the University of California in Los Angeles have discovered that the human body deals with emotional stress in exactly the same way that it reacts to physical pain - by releasing a natural painkiller. Scientists believe their findings suggest that the experience felt by people is the same regardless of whether their body is injured. The researchers measured levels of a gene used by the body to regulating the painkillers. Researchers collected saliva samples from 122 participants to assess which form of the OPRM1 pain gene they had and then measured how they reacted to different senarios." - RAPatton

"She said: "Because social connection is so important, feeling literally hurt by not having social connections may be an adaptive way to make sure we keep them. "Over the course of evolution, the social attachment system, which ensures social connection, may have actually borrowed some of the mechanisms of the pain system to maintain social connections." The same portion of the brain... more... - RAPatton

"This is the first time that it has been proved that genes involved in physical pain are linked to mentally painful times like social rejection and breaking up with a lover, she said. The findings back up a previous study by the University of Queensland that indicated that descriptions of the agony of rejection as like a knife being thrust into the heart are more than just metaphors. Dr... more... - RAPatton

Could be very inspiring. - Shawna Benson

The kids dug it; we are sticking around for the Q and A - RAPatton from iPod

"Mike Mignola, the creator of Hellboy, will be a special guest Friday night at Secret Headquarters, the cooler-than-cool comics store and pop-culture gallery in Silver Lake. An exhibit of the Eisner Award-winning artist's work will be on display, including pages from "The Corpse" and "The Third Wish" and an assortment of covers, including the striking image from the "Wake the Devil" trade paperback. Mignola is one of my favorite people in the comics industry -- not only is he wildly talented but he also has a wry wit and, after a glass or two of red wine, some fantastic tales about his years in the industry. (If you can corner him at the event, ask him about his misadventure involving Frank Miller's trench coat, but don't be surprised if he rolls his eyes and walks away.) I've been a big fan of Mignola's work since the days of "Cosmic Odyssey" and "Gotham by Gaslight," and it's great to see his Hollywood adventures continue with Guillermo del Toro, who directed both "Hellboy" films... more... - RAPatton from Bookmarklet

I got an email from SH a couple of days ago! I hope I can swing by; we're finishing up scholarship stuff at school. - Derrick

"Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy are thought to have fallen in love during the making of 1942 film Woman of the Year ... Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall met when he was 45 and she was just 19 on the set of 1944 film To Have and Have Not. ... 1950s Hollywood was scandalised by an affair between Swedish actress and star of Casablanca Ingrid Bergman and director Roberto Rossellini -thought to have begun on the set of 1950 film Stromboli. ... Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton met in 1961 during filming of Cleopatra. ... In 1983 Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russel were cast together in Swing Shift and they have been in a relationship ever since. ... Actors Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon met during the filming of romantic comedly Bull Durham in 1988 ... Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise met on the set of 1990 film Days of Thunder. ... Brad Pitt and Gwyneth Paltrow thrilled gossip magazines and tabloids alike when they got together after meeting on the set of 1995 film Se7en ... Hollywood actors... more... - RAPatton

"The banks of the Rhine can be a bleak place in December – but not in Cologne, Germany's fourth largest city. This month it glows with life as no fewer than seven Christmas markets light up the old town and the square in front of the cathedral. The Dom, as it is known locally, is one of greatest Gothic buildings of Europe, an extraordinary bulk of chiselled stone and painted glass, of soaring spires and pinnacles, of angular struts and buttresses. The foundation stone was laid in 1248, but the building languished half- finished for hundreds of years and was only completed in 1880, after a 40-year construction project based on the original plans. The Dom survived the Second World War largely intact, but the same can't be said of the rest of Cologne. Among the bland post-war rebuilding, however, the medieval heart of the city still beats. There are some fine Romanesque churches, half-timbered inns and houses in the old town, excellent museums, classic beer kellers, and restaurants serving a cuisine that can only have been conceived to fight off the winter chill." - RAPatton from Bookmarklet

"Disney is preparing another expedition into “The Black Hole.” Joseph Kosinski and Sean Bailey, the director and producer of Disney’s new “Tron: Legacy,” and scribe Travis Beacham are teaming up for what is being labeled a reinvention of the 1979 sci-fi film, which at the time was the most expensive movie Disney had ever produced. “Hole” marks one of the first projects to be put into development by new studio chief Rich Ross." - RAPatton from iPhone

...now you are going to make me cry, Akiva! :( - JA Castillo

Mrs. Patton is so lovely. - Derrick

Thank you, AJ; it was taken during overtime of the NC State game;we were lucky to be in the shade that September afternoon, because it was a long game and very sunny. My baby brother and I were talking about it this weekend, and he was very sun burnt by the end of the contest - RAPatton from iPhone

The Reeling by Passion Pit - RAPatton from iPhone

Daylight by Matt & Kim - RAPatton from iPhone

A modern cult classic - RAPatton from iPhone

Touchdown! - RAPatton from iPhone

6 in a row - RAPatton from iPod

I randomly yell "Fight the Power!" all the time - RAPatton from iPod

1989 the number, another summer, sound of the funky drummer! - Eric @ CSTechcast.com from iPhone

"Help your kids get up on the right side of the bed with a short stack made in this Cooks Smiley Face Pancake Pan ($30). Seven silly faces smile up from your plate in a 3-inch size that’s just right for little tummies. The nonstick cast aluminum pan is dishwasher safe and includes a recipe to get you started on your way to perfect pancakes." - Derrick from Bookmarklet

WANT! - Ladybug Heather

Train in Vain by The Clash - RAPatton from iPhone

Yeah, the wolverine hatecore movement is a cousin of punk rock - RAPatton from iPhone

"No vampire could be as terrifying as the worst merchandise tying in with the Twilight phenomenon. To help you collect holiday gag gifts that will horrify your friends, we've gathered the craziest and most ridiculous Twi-crap in existence." - RAPatton

RAP not that bad but if you can put a stamp on it they do.... - VAL D.

I was walking out of the bedroom noticing that the door to the great room wasn't just open, but off its hinges. I could hear the TV from the room and the lights were on, both of which should not have been, and I was alert that there may have been an intruder. I quickly, but carefully, moved to the great room and noticed the french doors to the deck were wide open, but nothing appeared to be have stolen. I grabbed the door that was off the hinges and charged out the french doors screaming and swinging it around trying to flush out the intruder. I often lose the ability to speak in this kind of dream, but I make noise in order to startle my prey. I could find anyone, but it was warm outside, like summer and the ambient light was enough to see around me. - RAPatton

neat - anna sauce

"Warren Ellis' "Global Frequency" is making another run at the small screen, as The CW Network is allegedly trying to adapt the comic book series once again. According to Production Weekly's Twitter feed, a second adaptation of "Global Frequency" is in the works courtesy of The CW and writer Scott Nimerfro. The news was further touched upon by Ellis himself, who wrote on his personal website that he hadn't "been cleared to comment yet" by the network. "Shouldn't say any more until I get the nod from the studio," said Ellis. "But yes."" - RAPatton from Bookmarklet

The 2005 WB pilot was a fun bit of television... let's hope the CW has enough sense to pick up the show. - Bill Sodeman

"The “cells born from running,” the researchers concluded, appeared to have been “specifically buffered from exposure to a stressful experience.” The rats had created, through running, a brain that seemed biochemically, molecularly, calm. For years, both in popular imagination and in scientific circles, it has been a given that exercise enhances mood. But how exercise, a physiological activity, might directly affect mood and anxiety, psychological states, was unclear. Now, thanks in no small part to improved research techniques and a growing understanding of the biochemistry and the genetics of thought itself, scientists are beginning to tease out how exercise remodels the brain, making it more stress-resistant." - RAPatton from Bookmarklet

"“It looks more and more like the positive stress of exercise prepares cells and structures and pathways within the brain so that they’re more equipped to handle stress in other forms,” says Michael Hopkins, a graduate student affiliated with the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory Laboratory at Dartmouth, who has been studying how exercise differently affects thinking and emotion.... more... - RAPatton

"The stress-reducing changes wrought by exercise on the brain don’t happen overnight, however, as virtually every researcher agrees. In the University of Colorado experiments, for instance, rats that ran for only three weeks did not show much reduction in stress-induced anxiety, but those that ran for at least six weeks did. “Something happened between three and six weeks,” says... more... - RAPatton

"Graphic books have been plentiful in 2009, with diverse approaches: memoir (“Stitches”), reportage (“A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge”), fiction (“Asterios Polyp”), adaptation (Richard Stark’s “The Hunter”) and superhero (“Batman: Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?”). There are many more. Whether you’re already a fan or want to dip your toe into the medium, consider the following books." - RAPatton

'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz', 'Fables', 'Peter & Max: a Fables Novel', 'Bloom County: The Complete Library, Volume One: 1980-1982', '3 Story: The Secret History of the Giant Man', 'Act-I-Vate Primer' 'The Absolute Death' , 'The Complete Essex County' 'Criminal', 'Scott Pilgrim' and 'The Walking Dead' - RAPatton

"If you think there's nothing simpler than using frosting in a can, read what members of the Times-Union Consumer Panel have to say about Pillsbury Decadent Chocolate Fudge Easy Frost. It does come in a can, but it's a spray can - similar to the ones that hold whipped cream - and it's equipped with it's own decorating tip. Most of the panel found it good tasting and easy to use. "We thought it was fabulous," sales representative Angie Tekin said. "A cupcake has never been happier." She took the can of Easy Frost, along with some yellow sour cream cupcakes, to work and iced them there. Five people indulged in the sweets, and everyone liked them. Tekin, who describes the frosting as very creamy with a rich fudge flavor, said it comes out of the can in a steady stream that is easy to control. "The nozzle has a sophisticated design. It's like the tip on a pastry bag," she said." - RAPatton

@Morgan: why not? I'll bring the frosting. :D - tinypants - Hagitha of FF

"Sonia Kruger among others, adding that today's bride is most likely to be found worshipping the Holy Trinity of hair, dress and make-up. "It's all about being raunchy and not looking like a bride. She just wants to rock a sexy look." It's the look 34-year-old Nell Harrison embraced for her Sydney waterfront wedding in 2005. As a tall and lithe blonde with an interest in fashion and a healthy disregard for convention, Harrison was never going to walk down the aisle in "a big traditional boofy" gown. "My mother was hyperventilating slightly at the dress," Harrison recalls of the plunging V that rendered her "very slinky, very sexy" sheath backless, while the gown's form-fitting bodice consisted of French lace pieced on to her chest. "Mum tried to make me put on the meringues ... [but] Dad basically looked at me and said, 'You've only got this body once, so go and flaunt it.'" She pauses. "So I did."" - RAPatton from Bookmarklet

"Who could forget Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy clad in that negligee-style sheath? Or Jennifer Aniston's second-skin beaded bodice for her Malibu wedding to Brad Pitt? It's all enough to make the frou-frou gown Nicole Kidman donned for her marriage to Keith Urban seem old-fashioned. But the rise of the sexy bride has as much to do with raunch culture as it does with celebrity style, says Dr... more... - RAPatton

"Which brings us full circle - back to body-hugging gowns hinting less at the idea of "love, honour and obey" and more at the enthusiasm to "par-tay", and brides who unapologetically believe in the idea of a wedding where sex appeal is simply part of the modern bridal package. "We just didn't want it [the wedding] to be too formal," is how the newly married Jacqui Stevens, 26, sums up... more... - RAPatton