Random Thoughts 10/31/14

• My older two boys are going to a church lock-in tonight.  That seems so weird that they're old enough for that kind of thing.
• Kansas sophomore, Conner Francamp, is transferring from KU to seek more playing time elsewhere.  It's a shame to lose him but this is part of the embarrassment of riches from which Kansas suffers.  The Wichita native will probably be a major contributor elsewhere.
• My silence on my blog lately can once again be blamed on the "if-you-don't-have-anything-nice-to-say" principle.  Especially in regard to politics and current events.  It's all soooo frustrating.
• Virgin Galactic's SpaceshipTwo exploded in flight today, killing one pilot and seriously injuring the other during a test flight.  This is the first of five spacecraft that is supposed to carry paying space-tourists in a year or two.
• Don't forget to vote next Tuesday.
• Today is Halloween and I think I am settling into a calm but cautious position with the whole thing.  I'm not too bothered by the abundant offensive aspects of the holiday, i.e. reveling in wickedness and devilry and such.  I know most of it is meaningless even if it offends my sensibilities and, though I'm not a fan, I don't let it get my blood pressure boiling anymore.  At the same time, I have no interest in participating in much of it either.  I'll hand out candy and try to be friendly, of course.  I'll even let my little kids dress up (I prefer "nice" costumes but I know my boys have always liked the scary stuff).  But I'm still a long way from endorsing or encouraging Halloween celebrations as they exist today.  As a father, I'm a hundred times more concerned about the sexually provocative costumes of young ladies than I am about psuedo-Satanic paraphernalia.  It seems that Halloween in recent years is prompting far more lust and gluttony than ritual sacrifices of the neighbor's cat.

SuperHero Movies

The list keeps getting longer of comic book movies that will be released in the next five years or so.  Having such a full schedule of superhero movies isn't new; in fact, it's been standard practice to release between 3-10 superhero movies per year, most years, since 1989.  What's new is the boldness of Marvel and DC to announce their movies as much as five years in advance.

Also new is the planned connections between films.  Marvel's "Cinematic Universe," or MCU, shares characters between movies, allowing each successive movie a to add to the story, even if it's not a direct sequel.  DC's movies, to be produced by Warner Bros, will also share a common universe, in which Batman, Superman, and other heroes will appear in each others movies or share movies equally.

Here's the list, as far as we know it: 

--
Marvel Cinematic Universe by Marvel Studios
Marvel Comics by other studios
DC Comics by Warner Bros
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2015
May 1 - Avengers: Age of Ultron
July 17 - Ant-Man
August 7 - Fantastic 4

2016
Feb 12 - Deadpool
Mar 25 - Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice
May 6 - Captain America: Civil War
May 27 - X-Men: Apocalypse
June 3 - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 (Mirage Comics)
July 1 - Tarzan (Dark Horse Comics)
Aug 5 - Suicide Squad 
Nov 4 - Doctor Strange
Nov 11 - The Sinister Six

2017
Mar 3 - untitled Wolverine sequel
no date - Wonder Woman
May 6 - Guardians of the Galaxy 2
July 14 - untitled Fantastic 4 sequel
July 28 - Thor: Ragnarok
no date - Justice League, part 1
Nov 3 - Black Panther

2018
no date - Amazing Spider-Man 3
no date - The Flash
May 4 - Avengers: Infinity War, part 1
July 6 - Captain Marvel
no date - Aquaman 
Nov 2 - Inhumans

2019
no date - Shazam
May 3 - Avengers: Infinity War, part 2

no date - Justice League, part 2

2020
no date - Cyborg
no date - Green Lantern (r)