One of the more mysterious figures in history is the 15th Century's Joan of Arc, an illiterate peasant girl who saw visions of saints that compelled her to lead the French Army against the British during the latter years of the Hundred Years' War. As you can guess, these visions of Joan of Arc, those of St. Michael, St Catherine, and St Margaret, made her astute beyond her years, and "science" has yet to prove the "cause" of them. Through all of the records available, there is no proof that Joan of Arc suffered from any mental illness. So controversial a figure, she was not declared a saint until 1920.
She spoke with utter conviction. "You have been to your council and I have been to mine. Now, believe me when I say that the Counsel of God will be accomplished and succeed and that yours will fail." And why? She did exactly as she said and inspired the French troops to take back Orleans and got the Dauphin to Reims for his Coronation. (I always feel it important to point out that Joan of Arc carried her banner into battle and did not partake in the actual fighting, but rather rode through the battle urging the troops forward, even after, in one case, an arrow in her neck.)
Let's plat devil's advocate (so to speak) and say that God did give her visions of saints. Why, during the Hundred Years' War, would God interfere with this war, in such an unsubtle way at the least, and why did He pick a poor girl who would follow His Word to only die a martyr's death at the age of nineteen?
Why aren't there more like her in touch with God to guide us in these dark times? With all these forms of media that we now have, and most of it is full of opinions passed off as fact and down right lying and distortion of the truth. To have someone like Joan of Arc, who spoke plainly her thoughts and beliefs and acted on them for God and the goodness of her people, would certainly be a different person than what we're used to.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Review: Omega Factor War Machine
Don't ask me what an "Omega Factor" is, because I don't know. What I do know is that this redeco of the Movie Version of War Machine looks like a mass-produced, Army-approved version of War Machine. Like his patriotic companion I reviewed awhile back, there isn't much new with the figure except for the paint job.
This War Machine, abandoning the traditional gun-metal grey/silver, features a metallic olive color with silver and black trim. I personally feel that using both silver and black make the figure's design a little too busy. Also, adding some camo over the whole thing might have made it look even cooler. The paint job overall is pretty solid. You may be able to see in the picture the tiny slits of red painted on his chest and legs.
War Machine comes with the same accessories as the previous figure. A for-show gatling gun and gun belt and a larger "working" gatling gun that fires a red projectile. Pictured is obviously the more realistic attachment. The gun belt really limits the posing of the weapon, so use it only if you want it.
"Omega Factor" War Machine is fun alternative to the movie figures. He shares a lot of the same articulation as the Patriotic Iron Man, and is definitely more colorful. My only gripe is that his arms were a little loose for a new figure. He is a Kmart exclusive along with the previously reviewed "Iron America" (or Captain Man) and a translucent Mark V. B
This War Machine, abandoning the traditional gun-metal grey/silver, features a metallic olive color with silver and black trim. I personally feel that using both silver and black make the figure's design a little too busy. Also, adding some camo over the whole thing might have made it look even cooler. The paint job overall is pretty solid. You may be able to see in the picture the tiny slits of red painted on his chest and legs.
War Machine comes with the same accessories as the previous figure. A for-show gatling gun and gun belt and a larger "working" gatling gun that fires a red projectile. Pictured is obviously the more realistic attachment. The gun belt really limits the posing of the weapon, so use it only if you want it.
"Omega Factor" War Machine is fun alternative to the movie figures. He shares a lot of the same articulation as the Patriotic Iron Man, and is definitely more colorful. My only gripe is that his arms were a little loose for a new figure. He is a Kmart exclusive along with the previously reviewed "Iron America" (or Captain Man) and a translucent Mark V. B
Friday, May 21, 2010
Strange Bedfellows
Getting on the Iron Man 2 bandwagon is Norton Internet Security. Buying select Norton 2010 will get you a free Iron Man comic or you could just read it online. But that kind of defeats the purpose of a free Iron Man comic if you just give it away? Right?
The comic is a fun infotainment commercial for Internet security awareness, like those old Honda comics warning you to buckle your seat belts. I'm just wondering how effective this really is. Comic books, soon to be relics in their own way, are not written with children in mind anymore, and probably not read by children unless it was downloaded off of iTunes.
More to the point, children, being born in the digital era, already know much about computers and would probably give these comics to their parents to read and not vice versa. I suppose Norton could be generalizing that computer nerds and comic book nerds are one and the same, but then, wouldn't they already have Norton or one of their competitors at least?
Norton should get a nod for an old fashioned PSA, but a comic book and a computer security program strikes me as strange bedfellows.
The comic is a fun infotainment commercial for Internet security awareness, like those old Honda comics warning you to buckle your seat belts. I'm just wondering how effective this really is. Comic books, soon to be relics in their own way, are not written with children in mind anymore, and probably not read by children unless it was downloaded off of iTunes.
More to the point, children, being born in the digital era, already know much about computers and would probably give these comics to their parents to read and not vice versa. I suppose Norton could be generalizing that computer nerds and comic book nerds are one and the same, but then, wouldn't they already have Norton or one of their competitors at least?
Norton should get a nod for an old fashioned PSA, but a comic book and a computer security program strikes me as strange bedfellows.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Review: Iron Man With Vibranium Armor
Iron Man Month continues with a toy review. There's nothing new about this figure except for the paint deco. The figure is the Mark VI from the Iron Man 3-3/4" Movie Series with the shield from the Marvel Universe line. But the paint deco is really the reason to admire the figure anyway.
Iron Man is decked out in Captain America's red. white, and blue scheme. This is a nice change from the usual red and gold. He's almost certainly modeled after the What If - Civil War cover featuring a similar designed Iron Man. There's no explanation why Iron Man is like this, who is under the armor, or why you would need the shield when you have the armor.
That's because it doesn't matter. He just looks cool, thanks to the metallic paint job covering both the figure and the shield. The paint ops are overall pretty good. There's some nice detailing on the chest and arms that otherwise could have ended up looking sloppy. The paint's not perfect but very impressive due to its scale.
Since it is a recycled figure, this Iron Man shares all of the articulation of his brothers in the Movie Series. Head, mid-chest, shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees, ankles. The only real disappoint is that his head doesn't move up and down.
His only accessory is Captain America's shield. Due to the metallic look, the white parts are silver instead. I am a big fan of Hasbro's design for his shield. It has elastic bands to hold the shield on the character's back, a la Captain America, and a clip to snap onto his forearm. Iron Man's arm is a shade slimmer than the clip, so the shield's a little loose, but not too loose.
Overall, it's a fun figure to own, as long as you're okay that it's made from recycled parts. It's a K-Mart exclusive with Army Green War Machine (another cool redeco) and a transparent Mark V (a disappointment). B
Iron Man is decked out in Captain America's red. white, and blue scheme. This is a nice change from the usual red and gold. He's almost certainly modeled after the What If - Civil War cover featuring a similar designed Iron Man. There's no explanation why Iron Man is like this, who is under the armor, or why you would need the shield when you have the armor.
That's because it doesn't matter. He just looks cool, thanks to the metallic paint job covering both the figure and the shield. The paint ops are overall pretty good. There's some nice detailing on the chest and arms that otherwise could have ended up looking sloppy. The paint's not perfect but very impressive due to its scale.
Since it is a recycled figure, this Iron Man shares all of the articulation of his brothers in the Movie Series. Head, mid-chest, shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees, ankles. The only real disappoint is that his head doesn't move up and down.
His only accessory is Captain America's shield. Due to the metallic look, the white parts are silver instead. I am a big fan of Hasbro's design for his shield. It has elastic bands to hold the shield on the character's back, a la Captain America, and a clip to snap onto his forearm. Iron Man's arm is a shade slimmer than the clip, so the shield's a little loose, but not too loose.
Overall, it's a fun figure to own, as long as you're okay that it's made from recycled parts. It's a K-Mart exclusive with Army Green War Machine (another cool redeco) and a transparent Mark V (a disappointment). B
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