Marvel S.T.A.T.I.O.N., Las Vegas

Marvel S.T.A.T.I.O.N. is the Scientific Training and Tactical Intelligence Operative Network located at Treasure Island in Las Vegas. It's basically a showcase for props and costumes from the Marvel movies. It's given a storyline and some interactive elements to make it more fun. The entrance has posters, cutouts, and wall art all over the place.

Enter the S.T.A.T.I.O.N.

Captain America stands ready to take care of any shop lifters in the gift shop area.

Guardian of the Swag-you-see

We bought half-price tickets at the kiosk in Fashion Show Mall and went into the exhibit. First, we saw a training video featuring S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders). She explained that we were training to become part of the Avengers Initiative. Then we went into the exhibits/training area.

The first items on exhibit are from the first Avenger, Captain America.

Vita-ray machine from the first Cap movie

The first Cap uniform

Cap's bike from the first movie

The next room covers information about the Hulk, including a strength test to see where you fit in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Okay, this was in the gift shop, but it fits with the Hulk stuff.

My hand and the Hulk's hand

Bio-info on the Hulk and the Abomination (you know, the bad guy from the Hulk solo film)

Where I rank, just above a Hydra agent, not as good as Black Widow

The Tesseract machine from the first Avengers movie is also on display. Visitors, I mean Agents, can push some buttons to activate it, though without the Cosmic Cube it only lights up and makes screens blink.

I can't even remember what this gizmo was supposed to do

The next room is about Vision, the A.I. and Mind Stone-enhanced android whose body was a mix of adamantium and other bio- and synthetic products. The body was supposed to be the ultimate receptacle for Ultron but the Avengers managed to stop that plan.

Vision

Where Vision was born, sort of

The next room has a bunch of lockers with uniforms for the other Avengers.

Black Widow's outfit

Hawkeye's outfit

Nick Fury's typical duds

Yes, there's a bullet hole in Nick's jacket!

Scarlet Witch's clothes (come on, not really a uniform)

Ant-Man's suit

Falcon's vest without the wings

Some captured weapons and villain stuff are on display.

Chitauri weapon

Hydra guns

Red Skull's uniform

Dark elf in suspended animation

The penultimate room is dedicated to the Asgardian Thor. In addition to his outfit, a lot of information about Asgard is on display. And visitors can try to lift his hammer.

Out from Ragnarok

I'm just putting this back after lifting it, really

My brother gives it a try

The final display room has a lot of the Iron Man suits, from the original to the most recent, including the Hulkbuster suit.

Recent versions of Iron Man

Mark I suit

Hulkbuster

The other guard in the shop

The very last room is an interactive battle with Ultron and some of his drones. To be honest, it was a little underwhelming. The attendant handed out cell phones which we used to fire whichever weapon was assigned to our character. We aimed a little bit with the phones and fired as fast as we could, basically a button-masher.

In classic Disney tradition, the exit was through the gift shop. We didn't buy anything. The most interesting items were matched luggage with color schemes based on Captain America or Iron Man. I might have been tempted if I needed luggage.

I enjoyed it since I am a big Marvel fan but I definitely think it is over-priced at its regular rates. Seek out bargain tickets if you want to go.

Book Review: My Hero Academia Vol. 14 by Kohei Horikoshi

My Hero Academia Volume 14 by Kohei Horikoshi

A new villain appears on the scene--a member of the Yakuza. Organized crime has been low-key in the My Hero Academia universe. This new character, Chisaki, tries to recruit the League of Villains for his plans but they are not interested. Meanwhile, the second semester starts for Midoriya and his classmates. The new challenge is to have work studies with heroes (which doesn't seem all that different from the internships the previous semester). Midoriya hopes to get one of All Might's former sidekicks. Can he prove himself worthy?

This is another fun story. The new villain is intriguing and some older students are introduced who have interesting quirks.

Recommended.

Cute Kid Pix March 2020

More pictures that didn't make their own post...

March is the month for the Scouting for Food drive. We did our part by putting out flyers on the first Saturday. Thanks to Granny and Grandpa for helping out with this project! We were supposed to pick up the food the next weekend but then we went into Corona virus lockdown. The plan is to reschedule the pick up in May or June.

Our Lion putting out the flyers

Carroll Baldwin Hall in Savage, Maryland, recently had the floor restored. To celebrate the re-opening of the building, they held a 50s/60s dance featuring The Ten-Pins and The Rock and Roll Relics. We had a fun time. Again, thanks to Granny and Grandpa for babysitting!

Dancing at the Carroll Baldwin Hall

One Sunday had gorgeous weather so we went for a walk, driving to a geocache and exploring the neighborhood. The geocache name Blow a Bubble... seems to have nothing to do with the cache location or type. Maybe the container was a former bubble mix bottle?

The cache was somewhere in here

To survive the "home alone" syndrome caused by the Corona virus, we started having some very minimal home schooling. We made a weekly chart for the kids to check off after they did a half hour of reading, math, music, physical education, religious education, and coding. The kids have enjoyed it for the most part. The youngest is the most enthusiastic. Part of the success is that once the kids have finished their time they are free to do whatever they want.

Making the computer match his shirt

Napping

Playing baseball

Movie Review: Her (2013)

Her (2013) written and directed by Spike Jonze

In a not-too-distant future, Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix) works as a letter writer for couples. He has a cubicle in a corporate office and never sees the people to and for whom he is writing. He knows enough about them to use lots of personal details in the letters. His personal life is a shambles. He's getting divorced from his childhood sweetheart Catherine (Rooney Mara) but doesn't have the nerve to sign the papers. His friendly neighbors Amy (Amy Adams) and Charles (Matt Letscher) try to hang out with him and set him up on dates, but Theodore just isn't the fun guy that he used to be. Desperate for a relationship, he downloads a new operating system, OS1, that is advertised as "not just an operating system, it's a consciousness." After a few set-up questions, the OS1 starts talking (with the voice of Scarlett Johansson) and names itself Samantha. His relationship with Samantha grows more complicated and more romantic as the movie progresses.

Like most Spike Jonze films (Adaptation. and Being John Malkovich, for example), this is highly imaginative and unpredictable. Theodore struggles to make sense of his life and his growing affection for Samantha. He gets a mixture of reactions. A coworker is happy for him, his wife is scornful. The film manages to be non-judgmental about the situation, though it is hard not to draw the conclusion that modern attitudes toward sex are profoundly confused. Theodore tries a lot of things, hardly any of which work out well for him. His path of self-discovery is slow and meandering, ultimately putting him in the one predictable ending for his character. The trip is fascinating and heart-breaking, though the people in this movie need some breaking in order to find healing.

The movie is challenging and intriguing. Also, it is not for the under 18 crowd with some fairly explicit sexual dialogue and scenes.

The movie is discussed on A Good Story is Hard To Find Podcast #227. They also discuss Ex Machina, another near-future AI story, on Podcast #228. I reviewed it here. I am way behind in my podcast listening!

Recommended for people who like challenging, thinky films.

Other Stuff at Dice Tower West 2020

I did more than just play games at Dice Tower West 2020. Every day I walked to the venue, coming in through the back of the Westgate Casino. That means I came in through the Superbook, a sports betting area. It wasn't as glamorous as walking through the front entrance but it saved me ten minutes of walking around the building complex.

The entrance I used

The convention was in one hall with registration outside.

Convention entrance

Registered attendees got a free bag, pin, and board game. I paid a little extra to get a dice tray. Hopefully my kids will stop tossing the dice all over the place (i.e. off the table)!

Initial swag

Some tables at the con had oversized items (games and other things) for people to enjoy.

River Dragons Giant Edition

IceCool Giant Edition!

Some Rhino Hero game, I think

I saw some cool dice towers, which are used to toss the dice without them going all over. Some towers are more elaborate than others. The one below is made up of stackable towers, making it extra tall. Also, there's a side chute for dropping dice in half-way down.

Ultimate dice tower 

One merchant was selling custom components and other fun items, like this shorter dice tower that's a t-rex who poops out the dice!

Cute t-rex

Fireside Games is going to release some deluxe components for Castle Panic--miniatures!

Castle Panic miniatures

I tried out the Math Trade, where participants make a list of games they are willing to offer for trade and games they are willing to swap for. A computer does a fancy algorithm to maximize the trading.

Math trade room

Games I got in trade

After playtesting a game, I got a free die!

Two-color, twelve-sided die

The convention was a lot of fun. I would definitely go again!

The game room

Book Review: Jenny Finn by M. Mignola et al.

Jenny Finn story by Mike Mignola and Troy Nixey, art by Troy Nixey and Farel Dalrymple, and colors by Dave Stewart

In Victorian London, a murderer is going around killing women. A woman is going around infecting men with a plague that causes them to have scales and tentacles and fish growing out of their skin. Joe from the country is sure he's pegged the murderer and eggs a mob on to lynch him. The guy he thinks is the murderer was harassing a young girl named Jenny Finn, who was in a brothel and seems to have infected one of the customers with the fish plague. She's not such an innocent little girl after all. Joe winds up at an occult society that summons the spirit of the lynched man, only to find out he's innocent and Jenny has a very sinister past which will probably lead to a very sinister future (as if the present wasn't sinister enough).

The story has a squalid Victorian setting with heavy Lovecraftian elements. Readers see mostly the filthy and noxious parts of the city. Joe keeps thinking he should head back to the country but something always holds him back. He isn't quite smart enough to figure out what's going on till the horrifying end--the reader is always a step or two ahead of him.

The images are graphic and bizarre, so this book is definitely not kid-friendly. It is a horror story. I found it interesting but didn't enjoy it that much.

Mildly recommended--more for Mignola completists or Lovecraft fans.