Welcome to The Now

As only they can .

First Off: WOW . Also: Interesting how everyone is in some para-military garb. Yeah, it's an alternate future, but still: Flash in armor? The since of "teamwork" from the good guys. Seeing how I didn't really get into the Justice League until the DCAU, I still find it odd that people who are so different (background, personalities, abilities) seem to work with together with little-to-no infighting. I mean the X-Men are made of of mutants and Cyclops and Wolverine are always at each others throats (sometimes literally). I'd really like to know how Lex Luther managed to convince Adam, Joker and the others to work for/with him. Angry Superman. It's funny that no matter the medium, an angry Superman will always use his heat vision. He doesn't rip off your limbs or freeze you to death or just toss you into the upper atmosphere; no, he melts you. Angry Superman, Part 2: Did he cry out, "Batman!" or was he saying, "Bad man!" to Lex like he was...

Specifically the descendants of Pat Garrett , who are WTFing Gov. Bill Richardson's presumed plan.

" Sanctity of Marriage ," indeed. Of course the GOP will make Charley Rangel the Democrat's Mark Foley . Weight loss didn't exactly help current 'Skins malcontent. Depends on your point of View . Close but no cigar for Mystics .

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Trailer here . Pics here . Some notes: It has a "Lion King" feel to it, but if you remember what the studio had said before , that's not surprising. Having Thor explain how Asgard powers work (a mixture of what we would call "magic" and "science") was interesting. Loki doing nothing really evil...makes me think that they're hiding the good stuff. The diversity in casting. Sure there will be some whiners complaining that all of the Norse gods aren't white, but I'm sure they'll die down by the time the movie comes out. And as a bonus, there's a new Avengers cartoon trailer .

"If I were to characterize the mood here, I would say it was a combination of rage and panic ." " Glaciers and sea ice are melting , heavy rainfall is intensifying and heat waves are more common." "IceCube was not built to look at cosmic rays. Cosmic rays are considered background. However, we have billions of events of background downward cosmic rays that ended up being very exciting ." " Technically (the market) still looks fine here and I don't see why we can't move higher." “ There is a substantial likelihood that officers will wrongfully arrest legal resident aliens . “By enforcing this statute, Arizona would impose a 'distinct, unusual and extraordinary' burden on legal resident aliens that only the federal government has the authority to impose.” "As much as you've been saying it's tough for me, the truth is, it's not tough for me. You know I've got pundits on the news who might say things, b...

Nice.

"All I had seen of Dr. Rice was in a political atmosphere. It just seemed foreign that she would be a classical pianist ." “ Less oil on the surface does not mean that there isn’t oil beneath the surface , however, or that our beaches and marshes are not still at risk . We are extremely concerned about the short-term and long-term impacts to the gulf ecosystem.” " This problem has been festering for so long . It is the kind of environment where we know waste occurs. The question is, was there fraud?" " A typical employee at any large retailer who runs the register could handle hundreds of the contaminated receipts in a single day at work." " There was a peanut butter sandwich in the back seat ." “I wish it wasn’t true, but we have some fair-weather friends in Boston. When you are not winning a game, they may be shying away at times and watching a movie instead .’’

Get your popcorn .

Wait, my bad; it's only primetime and actually 1.38% of the viewership is African-American . So it's not that bad.

Whether you're old school , new school , a storyline fanatic or just came in through the movies , take heart that all the Peter Parker voice-actors from those previous incarnations of Spider-Man will take part in "Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions ."

Kids today know so little about history that they probably couldn't even tell you what year Abraham Lincoln defeated Napoleon during the Battle of World War I. -- Cracked.com's Cezary Jan Strusiewicz, on what Japan has been doing to familiar characters made popular in the West .

It's a shame that the whole " teacher-sex-student " story is starting to become regular fare. Contact lens aren't for everyone . Leaks may sink John Kerry's reputation . Trying to find Kyron Horman . Meet the recipient of the world's first full face transplant . Concussion-prevention for the NFL .

Barely noticeable .

After the Howard Dean intro . Good stuff.

By Samuel L. Jackson, of course . Comics Alliance has pics .

I guess the solutions is : start writing more of your own work . Death at the Love Parade . Not exactly a way to get voters to the polls . How about highlighting the accomplishments instead? Good news for women in regards to HIV . College students are opting to rent textbooks . Rajon Rondo isn't scared . Another Street Fighter ? Why not. Another PR move by BP .

( pic via .) Mama said knock you out . Spell-check might not catch that . Birther-curious politicos . If you never saw these Dave Chappelle skits , you'll never know why the show was so popular. Secrets of the beverage industry . Afghanistan needs all the players for the plan to work. ( So far, so good ...) Basically this poll is saying that managers really just want to hire good-looking people . How to get a good night's sleep . What are the bad people in the Tea Party made up of?

After three live action movies and at least four animated renditions you would think bringing a X-Men character "to life" would be simple. Sadly with each incarnation some characters end up being shells of their comics book selves. Besides, it's just so much easier (and cooler) to just animate Wolverine popping his claws in someone's face. Here's one humble man's critique on X-Men characters the shows (and movies) still screw up on: STORM I wanted to start with Ororo Munroe because I wanted to set the tone here. I don't think I have to go into Hallie Berry's forgettable, uninspired performance or the fact that I think there are others way more qualified for a live action rendition. But I will say that where the movies screwed up the most was transforming Storm from an objective weather witch into a slightly human-hating mutant who couldn't beat D.C. Comic's Weather Wizard in a Battle of Climates. (For those thinking, "human-hating?" r...

Of course Washington is in the middle , partially because of their record last season and partially because very few people outside D.C. care about Washington-based teams.

Washington Times opinion writers call for the impeachment of President Obama . I'm actually surprised they didn't write this a week after he was sworn in.

Schultz's claim is pretty close to my general one about Democrats fearing the GOP's base more than their own, although his is more specific to this president and the recent Sherrod issue.

"She admitted to her role in the burglary. And we found the clothes she wore. This was a really bizarre disguise. I wasn't sure what spanx was . I've never seen a woman with one on; now I've seen one on someone's face." “Some are in high-ranking positions, in positions of trust. There isn’t a profile or stereotype, which makes it even more challenging for law enforcement .’’ “ The Republicans will make him the face of Washington corruption . It is not good for the party or for New York.” "Yes we are treating five million people today, but there are 10 million people who need treatment, otherwise they will get sick and die. Not treating them amounts to criminal negligence ." "It's just a great opportunity. Going to UCLA and having a chance to go back to L.A. is like a dream come true . With that said, when all this started, I said I'd be disappointed if I didn't go back to the Magic, and that still stands true." " ...

Interesting .

Heh. Idiots with Zoe Saldana & Kate Bosworth from Zoe Saldana

Of course they won't. So Rachel has to help them: Visit msnbc.com for breaking news , world news , and news about the economy

Add Magic Johnson to the list of former NBA greats who are WTFing James' decision to team-up with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami: "We didn't think about it cause that's not what we were about," said Johnson, whose Michigan State squad beat Bird's Indiana State team in the 1979 National Collegiate Athletic Association championship. "From college, I was trying to figure out how to beat Larry Bird." I sense a trend with the players making these comments: they all went to college and developed rivalries with other players that transitioned to the NBA. Magic had a rivalry with Larry Bird. Michael Jordan had a rivalry with Patrick Ewing. All the greats had some baggage from a previous basketball life that was enhanced when they went pro. Well, newsflash: LeBron James did not go to college . He was drafted out of high school, so didn't get the chance to spend 2-to-4 years at some university to create a rivalry with some other college player. P...

And it's equal parts cheesy and cool:

Hulu, you magnificent bastard . Considering how much they collectively make in a year, it's the least they can do . Man went to company picnic, told co-workers he was going to eat some "Obama fruit" and then went for some watermelon . Oh, and he's shocked that people have called him racist. The Barefoot Bandit Begins . It takes a lot for the IMF to cancel anything , so in a twisted way Haiti is fortunate.

At least, according to one judge : HARTFORD, Conn. — Competitive cheerleading is not an official sport that colleges can use to meet gender-equity requirements, a federal judge ruled Wednesday in ordering a Connecticut school to keep its women's volleyball team. The volleyball players had sued Quinnipiac University after it announced last year that it would eliminate the team for budgetary reasons and replace it with a competitive cheer squad. The school contended the cheer squad keeps it in compliance with Title IX, the 1972 federal law that mandates equal opportunities for men and women in athletics. "Competitive cheer may, some time in the future, qualify as a sport under Title IX," U.S. District Judge Stefan Underhill wrote in his decision. "Today, however, the activity is still too underdeveloped and disorganized to be treated as offering genuine varsity athletic participation opportunities for students."

The ( unwarranted ) ousting of Shirley Sherrod & the cover-up that's following are both examples of Racial Quid Pro Quo: basically, a small group of people from one race (who claim to be/act like political experts) that use race-based tactics to get their political views across. Usually they (or their mentors/admirers) were accused of being racist in the past. Their ideas tend to be linked to racist concepts, and for whatever reason they separate the racial aspect from the idea. An example: suppose someone who shares your political point of view wants to say that President Obama isn't really that popular, so they write an article stating that lopsided demographics are skewing the overall picture . But instead of doing this by using less controversial demographics, like income, age or political ideology , they choose race . Naturally, people (mostly left-leaning) will start calling that person's article racist. Now you catch wind of this and you think: I'll show th...

" It's really important for Oakland to be a vital part of that growth and development for licensed facilities ." “It’s definitely an increasing phenomenon. We’ve seen it all: self-inflicted mutilation, surgical efforts to cut out the core of fingers, and having the skin stitched back in strange ways .’’ “The treaty worked well in the past, mostly because the Indians weren’t building anything. This is a completely different ballgame. Now there’s a whole battery of these hydroprojects .” " People just make these trades . I am not lying to anyone." " Unlike humans, these stars are born heavy and lose weight as they age . R136a1 is already middle-aged and has undergone an intense weight loss program." "I can't tell you how relieved we will be when Congress passes this. We have in Pennsylvania about 200,000 people who have lost their unemployment compensation coverage because of their inaction ." "I'm still trying to figure ou...

Via Media Matters: " Newsmax runs ad for book by 'Pro-White' radio host ." Sigh. Someday, soon...they'll just let their inner Uncle Ruckus out .

...really, who cares? IT'S A TEAMUP OF AXE COP AND MCNINJA .

I guess after claiming that there are no racists in the Tea Party , and than cutting off one of their factions , the next thing to do was to take care of that pesky billboard . I have to admit that I'm a little surprised; one of the Obama's advantages when running for president (other than that the Right Wing and the GOP had planned to run against Hillary Clinton and had to start from scratch, and the fact that Bush was very unpopular at the time) was that those who wanted Sen. McCain to win had no idea on how to attack Obama without looking like racists. The emergence of the Tea Party gave the GOP and conservatives the ability to do just that: while established politicos could clap and smile at the antics of the Tea Party, this new group was allowed to stumble and bumble through their collective outrage. The media didn't dare criticize the Tea Party early on because they were convinced that these people were just plain frustrated Americans with (at best) a loose affiliatio...

First Catholic priests, now rabbis . Some good news regarding the fight against AIDS in Africa. " Lindsay Lohan Goes to Jail ." Now that sounds like a movie. If things like muggings, drug dealing and prostitution go up, the results of this vote may go along way toward explaining it. Albert Haynesworth really didn't want to play the 3-4 defense the way Washington envisioned it. Sniper vs. Cops .

via ESPN : You can usually find scattered seats in Cox Pavilion during the summer league -- but not for Washington's first three games. John Wall not only excited fans; he filled the VIP sections as well. "It's not just that he's the No. 1 pick," said one NBA head coach. "He's also what every coach and general manager wants with the way the game is being played." Wall led the summer league in points (23.5) and assists (7.8) per game, and added four rebounds and 2.5 steals to those averages. The superlatives and comps were flowing freely: Derrick Rose with defense and charisma. Chris Paul with better size. Rajon Rondo with more upside on his jump shot. One of the privileges of the summer league is the opportunity to observe a top prospect in a meaningful context. After months of discussion about wingspan, upside, motor and potential, we finally have the chance to watch the player in a game situation. Seeing Wall run the pick-and-...

“[The Mel Gibson tapes] are selling like hot cakes in Compton. Calling women bitches and using the n-word. That ain’t nothing but hip-hop! He stole that concept from Lil’ Wayne!” -- Tracy Morgan , on the Tonight Show. Unless you've either haven't listened to hip-hop or your only point of reference is Fresh Prince and Kid 'n Play, you should see the sad truth in Morgan's comment. Although I would say it more aligned to gangsta rap.

Good enough to be a token talking head for the company in order to boost PR, but not good enough to be paid for actually cleaning up the mess .

“ We’re hopeful .” " People with weaker immune systems who come late for treatment require more complex and costly drugs and services than those who start treatment earlier ." “I try not to think about it. When you’re illegal, you never know . Any time, they could come.’’ "There's no way, with hindsight, I would've ever called up Larry, called up Magic and said, 'Hey, look, let's get together and play on one team.' But that's ... things are different. I can't say that's a bad thing. It's an opportunity these kids have today . In all honesty, I was trying to beat those guys ." "We didn't expect that women would be treated differently here with regard to the high-risk insurance pool. This is inexplicable and wrongheaded to us, and it puts women's lives in jeopardy ." "We've now demonstrated a technology that can enable painless, self-administered flu vaccination . It appears to vaccinate agai...

Yeah; some superheroes aren't really good at concealing their identity . Jesus people; can't we get razor blades without being screwed over ? Five tips for starting a good story . Fooled by Jewel . 30 Strong Black Female Leaders . New Thor pic . Linsay Lohan quotes 50 Cent to attack Joan Rivers . You gotta love the Internet! If you're living in any of these cities, odds are you know some people who don't brush .

The problem with the christian right is that they no longer worship Christ, and use conservatism to further their christian beliefs. They worship conservatism and money and use the christian church to further their cause. And they use it very selectively. -- rhun1220 , responding to a comment on a Media Matters post about Glenn Beck's assault on social justice .

About time . He needs to recharge for before the mid-terms, because he'll need all the energy he can spare.

"Pink is in Salem, she's fine and is looking forward to the show ." " So this is pretty significant for your area ." “ I am very pleased that there’s no oil going into the Gulf of Mexico , but we just started the test and I don’t want to create a false sense of excitement.” "LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Kobe Bryant , guys like that understand what Boston's defense was about. Their defense was built on not letting one player beat them. You either settle for the outside shot or you pass to your teammates. LeBron had one bad game in the playoffs. Other than that, he did what he could do with the defense all watching him ." " It was an unfortunate mistake . There was a muddle in the paperwork and the letters we automatically send out. It has been resolved now." “I’m about to sign Wall Street reform into law, to protect consumers and lay the foundation for a stronger and safer financial system, one that is innovative, creative, competit...

...and by diversity I mean, " they have different Fox News people interviewing the same guy ."

... by Bill O'Reilly . Seriously . Can't wait to see how she spins this on her Facebook/Twitter news broadcast.

Looks like we're still learning new things about his work .

''Trust me, I get a lot of messages from a lot of different guys that want to be a part of this. 'But it's about putting the right guys in the right situation. Everyone might not have the personality to deal with this. It's got to be the right mix . The locker room has to be right. We've got to be patient to build this team.'' “They would not be militias. These would be government-formed, government-paid, government-uniformed local police units who would keep any eye out for bad guys — in their neighborhoods, in their communities — and who would, in turn, work with the Afghan police forces and the Afghan Army, to keep them out of their towns .” "I guess they did a pretty accurate job. Nobody likes to admit they're quite like that, but I guess I was ." “ It’s really important they’re discussing this, because my guess is that very few doctors would think it’s a reasonable request to take eggs out at that time . On the other hand, ...

Fortunately, the guys from Cracked.com are on the case .

"A key aspect of text messaging is that it allows a more detached method of communication. This was part of its initial popularity and a likely explanation for the large number of people willing to send out explicit content ." “I think there’s been a change in the country as a whole. Unless you’re from an urban area, where gun violence is so intense that there’s a feeling you need to control these weapons , the vast majority across the country do not support gun control.’’ "Bristol believes in redemption and forgiveness to a degree most of us struggle to put in practice in our daily lives ." " I don't think there's much to say here , except we want the same statues that citizens of other states see when they come to their Capitol." “ Our thinking has changed dramatically . We now view dementia as a late stage in the process.” "We just talked about what we're going to be working on the rest of the year — of course jobs is No. ...

The Brits have created an unmanned fighter jet . Now I'm all for the whole "art imitates life/life imitates art" thing, but this is ridiculous. Haven't we seen this story before ? Of course, when your template for designing new-age technology is a box-office bomb , you can't expect people to connect the dots.

People, please: it's only a piano . What happens to a Dream deferred ? Let's get dangerous . So much for therapy . For financial reform, Democrats take one step forward and one step back . Drugs, alcohol don't really help with sex . People, please: it's only basketball .

Via Comics Alliance . It's supposed to be $49.99 at the convention, which means on eBay it'll probably start at $69.99. Unless I figure out how to get to San Diego.

Assuming what Marvel Studios is saying isn't a pack of lies , one has to wonder why Marvel would claim that Norton could not be a part of "players who thrive working as part of an ensemble." Then you look at his work on The Italian Job , and things start to fall into place: Edward Norton made it clear that his participation is a result of contractual obligation, not choice. He signed a three movie deal with Paramount, of which Primal Fear (1996), his breakthrough movie, was the first. He kept dismissing scripts for the other two, until Paramount coerced him into accepting a role in The Italian Job. Norton is known for changing the scripts, especially for his own characters (as he did in The Incredible Hulk). Some directors and studios are flexible with this sort of thing; others aren't. Marvel was clearly the later. On the other side, it sure sounds like Norton was being a jerk on TIJ set, and if true, well, people talk. However, I've never read anythi...

R.I.P.s to Walter Hawkins and Mark Niver . Lack of Vitamin D = increased likelihood of Alzheimer's ? Greenbelt gas leak mystery revealed . Democratic Governors prove that they fear their opponent's base more than their own . Barefoot Bandit Booked . Roman Polanski's staying put for now . Lose your job, become an entrepreneur . Somebody needs some soap and water.

Ladies and Gents: Serena Williams . Michael Steele may be a dolt, but he's a dolt with an excellent survival instincts . Contrary to popular belief , America has an "anti-Robin Hood" problem. Dude looks like a lady . Not exactly first date hotspots .

Apparently some people have used Olivia Munn's hire to attack the comedy show (funny, not a peep when Samantha Bee was hired). Slate covers the hoopla ; the women of the Daily Show had their own response .

The Big Beetle Battle . Along way from burning bras . Well, if her next role deals with a prisoner, she'll be well prepared . That silly Al Gore and his global warming nonsense . What in God's name ...?

The next best thing to a comic book movie is a movie about comic book-like characters, which Soon I Will Be Invincible seems to be.

...30 years later and we're still paying for that decade .

Flowcharts can be awesome . Makes me wish I had invested money in Pixar . Avoid by these things new, if possible . Ladies & Gents: The Boondocks' Uncle Ruckus . Apparently anything can be made into a porn parody . It ain't easy to be plus-sized . Some movies are best left alone . It should go without saying that giving a barely 0ne-year-old baby a bong is a bad idea.

The principal's in trouble this time .

Yikes. The actress who played Padma Patil was attacked by her family for not breking up wth her BF . And people wonder why these guys want to keep these movies going.

I don't blame the guy either really (like I said before, shame on Hollywood for thinking it's audience is stupid ). But to say that not having the guy's pitcure o the poster is the reason for bad sales is just dumb . HIS NAME IS ON THE DAMN MOVIE POSTER . Why the hell would his fans need to see a picture of him to know he's in the movie? Did they need a picture of him to realise that he played Les Grossman in Tropic Thunder ? Noooooooo.

Thomas Paine, Guy Fawkes, Che Guevara ...even some well-known slogans aren't what you thought they were.

“ Exceptional longevity is not this vacuous entity that no one can figure out . I think we’ve made quite some inroads here in terms of demonstrating a pretty important genetic component to this wonderful trait.’’ “That’s where you’re seeing the pain point. The people that are out of work just don’t match the types of jobs that are here, open and growing .” “ Though his name may be new to many , those who know this young actor’s work understand his extraordinary talents. He has a rare combination of intelligence, wit, and humanity. Mark my words, you will love Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker.” "Our community will continue to receive quality services. Maywood's streets will continue to be swept, our summer park programs will continue to operate and our waste will be collected and hauled as scheduled ."

... and George W. Bush has been judged .