So, I've been a bit behind in posting as of late, but I have been busy. Additionally, while a lot has been going on, it's more or less similar to the work of which I wrote before. That being said, let me tell you a little about my PDR that I had this week for my engineering class.
As you may or may not remember, my 4th year engineering course is a year-long project with a budget of under $1000. We are supposed to design, plan, and develop a project which lies within that scope and present our progress over the course of 8 months. This past Wednesday was the first of said presentations, known as a Preliminary Design Review.
While our classmates and professor knew a lot about our project, this presentation was also in front of some prominent members from the engineering industry, such as some members of the Professional Engineers of Ontario, and several corporate sponsors.
Everyone was very nervous, but honestly, I was more excited than nervous. Our group, Team BDN (not being very creative and using our first initials for our team name), had practiced several times, and I was confident of our impending success. Additionally, with some help from my friends, Marco Barrettara and Meredith Thompson, our presentation came with a snazzy video which was sure to wow them.
If you are interested in seeing the finished presentation, feel free to contact me.
Our group went first, and I used my usual charm and confidence to win over the audience. The presentation went very well, and it felt very good to have finished. My only concern with the entire process was the issue of marketability. After every presentation was finished, the industry leaders asked several questions and suggested some additional areas of focus, but they also asked about our business plan. While having a target market and knowing how to sell your product is important, it is kind of funny to note that no where in any of my engineering courses do we concern ourselves with why we are designing/making a product. We only deal with creating requirements, functional and performance, for determining how well a design should function. So, being asked so much about how we were going to market our product was a little annoying and a little frustrating as we never even cover it in our curriculum. Also, there's the fact that my team's product, particularly, is not going to market. We are making our integrated GPS/IMU path-tracking device so as to learn more about the software and hardware involved and also for the benefit of our professor who wants to use it once we are done for further research.
Anyway, like I said before, it was a success, and I look forward to our next presentation in the Winter term. Thanks for reading!
Saturday, 26 November 2011
Friday, 25 November 2011
A sneak peak at things to come? Rovers and grad work
So, I promised yesterday that I would give you some details on an excited event which took place, and here are said details.
I've been trying to talk to certain professors at York University about grad school. I want to get their advice, in general, and I'd like to talk to them about their own work and also about possible letters of reference. Yesterday, I was asked by one of those professors, Michael Daly, with whom I've been in contact, to come in and see what he was working on.
The 4th floor of the Petrie Science building at York University is definitely a place to go if you want to see some applied science, especially in the field of space sciences. If you're ever feeling bad or thinking that York is a crummy school, you should go there and see some of the cool things some of our professors are working on.
When I arrived at Professor Mike Daly's lab, it looked pretty impressive. I'd been there before, for one of his classes, but the level of activity combined with the decor impressed me. First thing I noticed, was the 50 inch Aquos Quatron display TV sitting on the wall, with what looked to be some sort of map with waypoints on it. On the left side of the room, lay a couple of work benches and a cross between a messy field of wires, and some instrumentation, mirrors, 3d microscopes, and the like. To the right, were a couple of students working on brand new iMac computers, seeming to be running simulations of something. After knocking, tenuously, I was invited in. Prof. Daly welcomed me in and explained what they were doing. A second team was located at Steeles and Dufferin, in a warehouse of sorts, and said building was more or less turned into a faux-Martian environment, complete with sand. From the site at York University, they were controlling a rover, moving it around the terrain, not only mapping it out via their on-board cameras and laser system, but they were looking for something. The team at the site had hidden a hose, spewing methane, and it was the rover's job to find it. Later, some people from the Canadian Space Agency came in and were evaluating the process.
Now, for a guy whose head is full of dreams, this reality was almost too exciting to be real! Using said enthusiasm, I dove right into things. I asked the students what they were doing, and they were more than happy to explain, and listen to any thoughts I had on their procedures. I also introduced myself to the CSA members, explaining that I was just an enthusiastic student, not actually working on the current project, but highly interested. The thing that almost always wins me over was my professor. I had two classes with him last year, Space Mission Design, and Physics of the Space Environment. I found him to be a straight-forward, to the point, exciting individual, who brought his real-life experience to the classroom, and made learning that much better. He was one of the main members of the Phoenix Lander team, and his work brought forth the LIDAR system which helped show that Mars has a seasonal cycle and that it actually snows on Mars! For more information on his current work, check this out: Prof. Mike Daly's newest mission!
So, anyway, long story short, I think he's pretty awesome and would obviously love to work with him. Back to what he was doing yesterday. So, the rover was remotely controlled by his team at York, and using a retroflector (basically a reflector), a laser, and a spectrometer, they were moving around the environment, looking for this methane. They would pick a destination, click on the map to tell the rover where to go, and using it's own obstacle detection system, it would try to find the best way to that spot. Once there, it would fire its laser at the reflector, and the rover would analyze the signal once it passed back through the air, from the reflector. It would then take overall and average readings of the air through which the laser passed, hopefully giving them the data they needed to make a rough map of the distribution of methane in the environment. It was slow going, as science tends to be, but it was interesting. In the end, their data, and their technique still needed refining, but Prof. Daly's estimate of the methane location was pretty close. What's also nice is when asked by the CSA members, who had already been to the other site and thus knew the location of the methane seep, Daly first asked the students in the room, including myself, to give our thoughts. I like this about this professor, he doesn't keep up that veil of distance, where I'm a lowly student and he's the god-like professor. I don't get it too often now that I'm in my final year, but some professors make me feel that way, and thankfully, Daly seems to actually want my thoughts, from time to time. Anyway, I gave my ideas and he agreed with my logic (yay!).
Oh, and for all you gamers out there: while the rover was being controlled by pointing and clicking on a screen, it could also be manually overridden via a pre-programmed Xbox controller! That was fun to watch.
So, sorry about the lengthy rant, verbose narrative summarized: I was invited to check out some work that a prospective graduate studies professor was working on, which involved using a moving robot to find a source of gas leakage in an "unknown" environment, and I found the experience exciting and educational. Thanks for reading, hope you had a decent time doing so.
I've been trying to talk to certain professors at York University about grad school. I want to get their advice, in general, and I'd like to talk to them about their own work and also about possible letters of reference. Yesterday, I was asked by one of those professors, Michael Daly, with whom I've been in contact, to come in and see what he was working on.
The 4th floor of the Petrie Science building at York University is definitely a place to go if you want to see some applied science, especially in the field of space sciences. If you're ever feeling bad or thinking that York is a crummy school, you should go there and see some of the cool things some of our professors are working on.
When I arrived at Professor Mike Daly's lab, it looked pretty impressive. I'd been there before, for one of his classes, but the level of activity combined with the decor impressed me. First thing I noticed, was the 50 inch Aquos Quatron display TV sitting on the wall, with what looked to be some sort of map with waypoints on it. On the left side of the room, lay a couple of work benches and a cross between a messy field of wires, and some instrumentation, mirrors, 3d microscopes, and the like. To the right, were a couple of students working on brand new iMac computers, seeming to be running simulations of something. After knocking, tenuously, I was invited in. Prof. Daly welcomed me in and explained what they were doing. A second team was located at Steeles and Dufferin, in a warehouse of sorts, and said building was more or less turned into a faux-Martian environment, complete with sand. From the site at York University, they were controlling a rover, moving it around the terrain, not only mapping it out via their on-board cameras and laser system, but they were looking for something. The team at the site had hidden a hose, spewing methane, and it was the rover's job to find it. Later, some people from the Canadian Space Agency came in and were evaluating the process.
Now, for a guy whose head is full of dreams, this reality was almost too exciting to be real! Using said enthusiasm, I dove right into things. I asked the students what they were doing, and they were more than happy to explain, and listen to any thoughts I had on their procedures. I also introduced myself to the CSA members, explaining that I was just an enthusiastic student, not actually working on the current project, but highly interested. The thing that almost always wins me over was my professor. I had two classes with him last year, Space Mission Design, and Physics of the Space Environment. I found him to be a straight-forward, to the point, exciting individual, who brought his real-life experience to the classroom, and made learning that much better. He was one of the main members of the Phoenix Lander team, and his work brought forth the LIDAR system which helped show that Mars has a seasonal cycle and that it actually snows on Mars! For more information on his current work, check this out: Prof. Mike Daly's newest mission!
So, anyway, long story short, I think he's pretty awesome and would obviously love to work with him. Back to what he was doing yesterday. So, the rover was remotely controlled by his team at York, and using a retroflector (basically a reflector), a laser, and a spectrometer, they were moving around the environment, looking for this methane. They would pick a destination, click on the map to tell the rover where to go, and using it's own obstacle detection system, it would try to find the best way to that spot. Once there, it would fire its laser at the reflector, and the rover would analyze the signal once it passed back through the air, from the reflector. It would then take overall and average readings of the air through which the laser passed, hopefully giving them the data they needed to make a rough map of the distribution of methane in the environment. It was slow going, as science tends to be, but it was interesting. In the end, their data, and their technique still needed refining, but Prof. Daly's estimate of the methane location was pretty close. What's also nice is when asked by the CSA members, who had already been to the other site and thus knew the location of the methane seep, Daly first asked the students in the room, including myself, to give our thoughts. I like this about this professor, he doesn't keep up that veil of distance, where I'm a lowly student and he's the god-like professor. I don't get it too often now that I'm in my final year, but some professors make me feel that way, and thankfully, Daly seems to actually want my thoughts, from time to time. Anyway, I gave my ideas and he agreed with my logic (yay!).
Oh, and for all you gamers out there: while the rover was being controlled by pointing and clicking on a screen, it could also be manually overridden via a pre-programmed Xbox controller! That was fun to watch.
So, sorry about the lengthy rant, verbose narrative summarized: I was invited to check out some work that a prospective graduate studies professor was working on, which involved using a moving robot to find a source of gas leakage in an "unknown" environment, and I found the experience exciting and educational. Thanks for reading, hope you had a decent time doing so.
Thursday, 17 November 2011
Smallville: My epic review
I started
watching Smallville when it first came out in 2001. I followed it for awhile,
and then life and my general disinterest in television prevented me from
following the series to completion...until now. I recently ran out of other
shows to watch and decided it was time to start and finish the entire series.
I make it sound
like torture, but it really wasn't. I am a huge Superman fan, and
self-proclaimed expert, but the show is 10 seasons long, that's a bit daunting.
Not to mention that I already had my problems with the few seasons I had seen
and wasn't sure I'd like the rest. But, I figured I cannot properly complain
about a TV show until I had either seen enough to break my interest entirely,
or until I watched the whole thing and could take it in.
Let me just say
here and now that I liked it. It's a long journey, but really does a great job
of getting Clark Kent from his Smallville roots to the hero he eventually
becomes. Let me also say that Here: There be spoilers!
I will start off by synopsising the story of
Smallville, move into character analysis of some of the key figures, and
finally move onto expectations, and differences of the show compared to the
classic mythos.
Story
For those
of you unfamiliar with the classic Superman tale, I will provide you with a
short synopsis here:
A baby from
an alien planet arrives on Earth, in Kansas. The last son of an advanced race
whose planet was destroyed, the baby is taken in by a couple of loving farmers
and raised as one of their own. Developing abilities beyond that of humans via
the energetic yellow Sun, the child grows up believing in truth, and justice.
He eventually learns his origins, moves to Metropolis, works at the Daily
Planet (as a reporter) and becomes Earth’s greatest hero and protector:
Superman.
That is the
story of Clark Kent, of Superman, as seen over countless renditions. Smallville
contains all of these elements, but explores more of Clark’s past, his youth,
before he became Superman.
Smallville
is the name of the town Clark grew up in, and the show starts with his
adventures through high school. The first couple of seasons follow a
predictable, typical youth-dramatic plot with Clark struggling to learn more
about himself and in keeping relationships with those around him. The
meteorites which crashed upon Clark’s arrival are radioactive rocks from his
home planet, Krypton, and their existence has always threatened Clark, being a
material that can kill him, even when bullets cannot. In Smallville, these
rocks also affect human beings, causing mutations, unpredictable abilities and
usually abnormal personality changes. Clark spends the first few seasons
investigating and fighting off these unusual mutants.
Additionally,
the craft which brought Clark to Earth contains an artificial intelligence;
that of Jor-El, Clark’s biological father, and through that intelligence Clark
learns more about his origins and abilities. The yellow Sun which keeps us warm
also powers Clark, giving him super-strength, speed, and other powers.
Interesting to note, is how these powers develop/are explained, and I will go
into this later when comparing this show to the classic Superman saga.
Eventually,
the scale at which Clark can effect change grows, and he moves to Metropolis,
and begins working with and for The Daily Planet, fighting crime and stopping
alien threats including clones of some of his own people, fellow Kryptonians.
Joining with other super-powered heroes, making the Justice League, Clark
eventually comes into his own, becoming Superman at the end of the series.
And that’s
the show, that’s the majority of what happens, concerning Clark. There are
several episodes, arguably seasons, dedicated to the major plot twists, and
character arcs. In the later sections, I will go into detail concerning those
characters, and finally, I will attempt to explain the major differences
between this show and the main Superman saga.
Characters
Jonathan Kent
Clark’s adoptive father, married to Martha Kent (see below), became state Senator
One thing I have
to say is that I love Jonathan Kent. First off, I love the fact that the actor
who played him, John Schneider, also played Beau Duke from the Dukes of
Hazzard. More than that, I’ve always loved the role of Jonathan Kent; a simple
farmer who discovers a baby in a cornfield and tries to raise said baby with
good moral principles. Jonathan Kent has always been a source of wisdom in
Clark’s life in the comics, in the 1978 movie, and here in Smallville.
Let me just say
that Jonathan is one badass man, and usually the only one in the show with any
common sense. In the crazy world that is Smallville, Jonathan often is the one
asking the questions I ask; the questions I expect any sane,
cutting-to-the-chase audience member to be asking. Being a simple farmer may
seem like a limitation to his character, but it is actually a great strength.
It grounds his character in reality, helping us to relate to him, and while a
bit judgemental at times, Jonathan’s simple ways often make sense.
The only time he
strays from this is when the Luthors are involved. For more on the Luthors see
below, but succinctly, they are the business-mogul “evil corporate” types. Due
to some shady dealings in the past, plus the dichotomy between simple farmer
and mega-mogul, Jonathan goes from calm to crazy the instant a Luthor is
mentioned. It's understandable, but it really bugs me when characters or just
people in general are so closed-minded about one subject. More often than not,
his skepticism and distrust are justified, as the Luthors usually turn out to
be serving an evil purpose, but it still creates a strange metronome of
relation between Clark and Jonathan.
The show is
about Clark, thus we are supposed to relate to him, and side with him on everything.
However, sometimes Clark, being an impulsive teenager, is limited in his
actions by the warnings of Jonathan. Sometimes, when this happens, it angers
us, or at least me, making me say, “Oh come on, Jonathan, you don’t know what
you’re talking about!” But sometimes, his wisdom just makes too much sense, and
we side with him, willing Clark to think for a moment. I guess the toying with
emotions is all part of the dramatic experience and what helps draw us in, and
involve us with the characters and the show. This emotional tug-of-war is
probably a lot more real, and a lot better for a show of this nature, than a
one-dimensional paternal love.
Either way,
Jonathan is amazing. He's tough; he’s forthright, and he raises his family with
compassion, strength, and wisdom. This strength of character is obvious to the
people of Kansas as well, as he is elected state Senator based on it.
If you know
anything about a hero’s journey, you’ll know that the mentor, that anyone on
the hero’s side who is more capable than (s)he is, usually dies or is otherwise
incapacitated providing the hero with more incentive and responsibility to live
up to his/her heroism. Jonathan Kent dies in the fifth season of Smallville and
it is one of the saddest things I have ever seen on television. Being a
die-hard Superman fan, I knew Jonathan was going to die, his death being a
staple of the story in all but one rendition, but knowing that ahead of time
did not prepare me for the emotional impact of losing him. I will go into
further analysis of this moment later, but for now I will just say that his loss was deeply felt and
goes to show how important his character is in Smallville.
Martha Kent
Clark’s adoptive
mother, wife to Jonathan Kent, takes over as state Senator and becomes Governor,
later becomes Red Queen, fights for and wins on bill concerning vigilantes
Played by Annette O’Toole, who,
oddly enough, played Lana Lang (see below) in the movie Superman III.
Just as strong as her husband, Martha’s
characteristics generally come through in a more subtle way. For anyone
familiar with the comics, Martha Kent is usually depicted as an old lady who
sits at home after Clark moves out. She’s not usually developed as a character,
but Smallville does a great job of carving a niche. Curious enough, Martha used
to be a business mogul; she lived in Metropolis and was known as a shark in the
high finance world. However, her love for Jonathan made her give up her old
life and move to Smallville. She never regrets her choice, but as the show goes
on, she starts to feel the pull to do something more fulfilling than tending
cows.
Eventually, Jonathan decides to
take up politics as he realizes that there needs to be someone with a good
heart in office. After his death, (gasp! I’ll talk about that later), Martha
takes on the role. She works her way up to becoming Senator and even Governor
of Kansas. I wasn’t so familiar with American political titles at first, but
basically, a Senator is one of two elected officials per state who votes on
that which runs through the state politics, whereas a Governor is the head of a
state and generally only answers to the President, in terms of rank. This is
pretty amazing, Martha Kent, usually depicted as a stay-at-home mom, becomes
the head of an entire state. Her strength, her passion, and conviction carries
through the later seasons even when she’s less than present.
Later in the series, the American
people become split on the idea of vigilantes. Whether they should be locked up
or allowed to serve the greater good becomes an important question, and while I
won’t get into that argument here, Martha fights for the right for heroes like
Clark to help people. Toward the end of the series, when things become hectic
and full of conspiracy, Martha Kent becomes a serious player in a game
involving vigilantes, secret government agencies, and corporate espionage. She
comes out of nowhere and is seen as the Red Queen, a character that everyone
feels is running the game. Long story short, Martha’s cleverness and compassion
continue to surprise throughout the series, and I really love what they did
with her character.
Jor-El
Clark’s biological
father, great scientist who foresaw his planet’s destruction and sent his child
away to be safe. Represented in the show by an artificial intelligence of his
own design which guides Clark.
Jor-El has
been a part of this story for a long time, however his presence and guidance
has only been present since the 1970s. Made most famous by Marlon Brando in Superman (1978), Jor-El has since been
seen as some sort of messianic, wizard of Oz character, speaking behind the
curtain, guiding Clark. As I’ve been including some trivia for most characters,
let me just say that the voice of Jor-El in Smallville is provided by Terrence
Stamp, who played Zod in Superman II.
For anyone unfamiliar with Zod, basically, he was the lead general of Krypton
and a very bad guy.
Speaking of
which, I heard a rumour from a friend of mine that I have not been able to
validate, that the creators of the show thought Jor-El was in fact Zod, in the
sense that Jor-El was supposed to be a villain to Clark. I don’t think it’s
actually true, as you don’t tackle a story like this without doing your
homework, but I will admit that, in the beginning, Jor-El is not a very nice guy.
Jor-El’s
involvement starts as a mere voice echoing from the spaceship which brought
Clark to Earth. Telling Clark that he has a greater destiny, he pressures Clark
and even threatens him. Obviously, at first, Clark sees Jor-El as an enemy; a
dead, estranged father, with plans quite unlike his own. However, Jor-El is not
content to just whisper and begins tampering with Clark’s life, even punishing
him to make his lessons clear.
This show was all about exploring
Clark's background and he needed a conduit, a link, to his home planet. And
Jor-El has been present in Superman comics since the beginning, but Jor-El is a
hard character to relate to and you really have to watch the entire show before
you can understand him, and his ways. In fact, the first few times he is
portrayed in the show, you wonder if he really is here to help his son. Through
the show, he constantly tests Clark (an interesting analogy to Lionel Luthor as
seen later) and his will and decisions are often absolute without compassion or
compensation. Jor-El causes a lot of pain in Clark's life, and all in the name
of helping him.
One example is that Jor-El warns
that someone will have to die before Clark can move on to accepting his
destiny. It’s one thing to say that people might die in his quest, but to
actually say someone will die and to be so specific, comes across as a threat,
as opposed to a warning. Halfway through season 5, Clark decides to tell Lana Lang
his secret, against Jor-El’s warning. For more on her character, see below.
Lana then suffers a fatal accident causing Clark to wish he had never told her.
He begs Jor-El to somehow make it right, to take it back, and Jor-El gives him
a do-over, sending Clark back in time to before he told Lana. He then avoids
telling her and it’s Jonathan Kent who then dies.
It’s a terrible tragedy in the
show, but what makes it worse for me is that Jor-El seemed to know it was going
to happen, and actually seemed to make it happen. I understand having to tell a
hero that his path will be a lonely one, but Jor-El comes across no better than
Lionel Luthor, pushing his son to pursue his destiny no matter the
consequences. Perhaps this was done intentionally, to draw a comparison and
strengthen the similarities between Lex and Clark, but I found it hard to
handle at times. Jor-El wants his son to protect the people of Earth, yet he
nearly tortures his son and the people he loves to force Clark to accept his
destiny. It’s not until the end of the show that you can really understand
Jor-El, but even so, Clark never really likes him, and while making Clark
abandon his heritage in order to better embrace humanity can be a good thing, I
would have preferred that he not think so poorly of his origins.
Lionel Luthor
Business mogul, father
to Lex Luthor (see below). At first, seen as an evil, corporate type, enemy to
people like Clark; later takes on a greater role.
Lionel Luthor was a character
created just for the show Smallville. At first, his presence is simply to be
the father and the reason for Lex Luthor’s destiny. For the first few seasons,
we see him as cold, calculating, and conniving. Not only in his attitude do we
not trust him, but it never helped that you could practically hear Jonathan
Kent growling whenever Lionel’s name was mentioned or whenever he made an
appearance. Even with his calculating nature, at times you feel like you
understand Lionel. He may be an unloving father, but he is doing his best to
teach his son the ways of the business world. It doesn’t make his behaviour
right, but it does give a more human connection to his character rather than
seeing him as purely evil. Also, with all the super-powered people running
around this universe, Lionel’s ability to know things seems to be super-human
in nature. He discovers Clark’s abilities and origins way before anyone else,
and he constantly seems to know what everyone is doing at all times. As Lex
becomes more conspiring later in the series, Lionel actually seems to become a
willing ally for Clark. Obviously, no one trusts him right away, but the fact
is he helps Clark quite often, no matter his ulterior motives. Eventually, as
Jor-El’s influence becomes more prominent, we see an unlikely allegiance
between Lionel and Jor-El.
A little more than halfway
through the series, Jor-El seems to know that Clark’s destiny is at stake, so
he basically downloads his consciousness into Lionel. This interaction gives
Lionel the insight to see Clark for what he is. Now, Lionel had already
determined Clark’s abilities, but this event filled in the gaps, and even
created a bridge of understanding between him and Clark. Not to be trusted
right away, he struggles to help Clark, all the while fighting the man he is,
and the son he has raised. Lionel falls in love, or at least is extremely
attracted to Martha Kent, and this combined with his past makes it extremely
difficult to trust him. Eventually, Lex’s mistrust drives him to murder Lionel,
but not before Clark finally sees Lionel as a changed man, a good man in the
end.
Lionel’s character arc is
interesting. Never fully coming over to the good side, at least not without a
selfish price, Lionel is important for driving Lex’s character, for bringing
Jor-El’s intentions and presence forward, and for the thoughts provoked by
considering his actions. Also, John Glover is very talented at playing the bad
guy, at least for awhile.
Chloe Sullivan
Friend of Clark’s, Lois
Lane’s cousin, works for the Torch, then Daily Planet, then Watchtower
Chloe Sullivan
was another newly created character for Smallville. In order to further ground
her in the series, the show’s creators make her Lois Lane’s cousin. Her
character arc is quite interesting and it's incredible what she adds to the
show. As the show increased in scale, so too does her role and importance.
At first, Chloe is seen as a friend of
Clark’s, working for the high school newspaper, The Torch. Her role is pretty
straightforward: the bright, energetic, informative character whose insights
and investigations often lead to the main character solving the case, or saving
the day. Whenever Clark needs to find out more about someone, or attempts to
connect the dots between strange things happening in Smallville, Chloe’s office
is the first place he looks. When Clark arrived in Kansas, as a baby aboard his
spaceship (I know, sounds funny, doesn’t it?), his arrival is accompanied by a
meteor shower. Chloe is the first person to attribute a link between said meteor
shower and all the strange events that occur in Smallville.
Chloe always
impresses us with her talents. At first, she’s a research hound, drawing
together information better than anyone else in the show. Her snoopiness gets
her into some trouble, but nothing too risky. Eventually, she moves on to work
at The Daily Planet, the world’s foremost newspaper franchise, and
interestingly enough, it’s her influence that interests Clark and Lois to
reporting. Not only that, but referring to her talents again, it’s almost
reality-breaking how skilled this girl is. She hacks into everything, has tech
to handle almost any situation, it seems a lot to dump on one character, and if
I were to be objective, I would say it’s unrealistic how connected she is.
However, Alison
Mack, who plays Chloe, only improves in acting ability, and I find myself
cheering her on every step of the way. The fact that she gets more and more
attractive as the series progresses lends some bias to that. Chloe has a crush
on Clark right from the start, and honestly, I really wanted things to work out
with them, in the beginning. Instead, Clark seeks out Lana Lang, and I’ll get
into why that’s so stupid later. But what adds credence to Chloe’s character is
her ability to move past that, to be supportive of Clark, at any cost.
She discovers
Clark’s secret, but doesn’t tell him, and doesn’t really begrudge him for not
telling her. She drops some obvious hints, trying to get Clark to confess, but
understands that he is trying to protect people, trying to do the right thing.
She moves past any emotions she has, becoming his strongest ally and closest
friend. Eventually, in the fight between government agents, the army, and
vigilantes, mentioned in the story section, she becomes a major player. In
fact, her love and willingness to protect Clark go a little too far sometimes;
she being willing to do anything to protect him, and he not being too
comfortable with that.
Additionally,
Chloe helps run Watchtower, Smallville’s take on the Justice League, and it is
just another amazing way she helps Clark fight for truth and justice.
All in all, she
starts small, but works her way to being one of the most important people in
the Smallville universe. Chloe is a major player, and the show would have
suffered greatly without her.
Lex Luthor
Business mogul.
Befriends Clark and then becomes his greatest adversary
Lex Luthor is
introduced as a cocky but intelligent young man, son to Lionel Luthor,
mega-business mogul. Lionel is shown right away as a distant, tough-to-handle
father who constantly tests and challenges his son. Lex's presence in
Smallville turns out to be another trial, the result of Lionel testing Lex's
ability to run even a subsidiary of LuthorCorp. Having Lex Luthor in Smallville
was an interesting twist, and gave us a chance to know his character. Too
often, Lex Luthor is seen as just the darkness to Superman's light, and I
enjoyed this show's efforts of exploring the character of Lex, not just
exhibiting his evil.
Lex’s story gets
started right away with an accident that sets the scene for the rest of the
show. Lex, angry at his father, speeds along the back-roads of Smallville in
his Porsche. Clark, absorbed in his own world, full of drama and the high
school blues, doesn't notice Lex's car spin out of control. He crashes into
Clark, and both go off a bridge. Clark, unharmed of course, saves Lex.
This is the most
important moment of the first season, and arguably one of the most important
moments in the entire series. This is how Clark and Lex meet, and this accident
is responsible for their friendship, Lex's obsession, and his inevitable
betrayal. Lex is sure he hit Clark, but he can't prove it. He befriends the
bumbling teenager while subconsciously envying Clark's normal life. Clark has
friends, a loving family, and his seemingly only cares are those of a typical
teenage boy. Lex, on the other hand, has no friends, and a father who doesn't
love him, or rather treats him more as a future replacement than as a son.
Their friendship
was a nice change in the show. It was great seeing Lex before he was a
mega-business mogul. Michael Rosenbaum, who also did the voice of the Flash in
the Justice League cartoon, dons the role well, with one part suave, one part
cheeky rich boy, and one part dark and mysterious. Lex struggles with his
friendship with Clark, and most of the time, it’s not Lex’s fault.
First off, his family
name, Luthor, sets everyone against him. Everyone prejudges him, even with his
intentions are clearly good. As mentioned, Jonathan Kent himself suspects Lex
at every turn. Yes, usually Lex does have some ulterior motive, but it’s hard
to be good when the whole world seems to have written you off as evil.
Secondly, Lex
struggles with his father and his destiny. Lionel Luthor, Lex’s father, is
constantly testing him, attempting to best him, lying to him, all in the name
of preparing Lex for a greater future. Lionel sees anything other than his own
plans for Lex as foolish and even tricks Lex into doing something that casts
him in the wrong light.
Finally, Lex
struggles with Clark’s secrets and high moral standing. The reason for the
latter is obvious: Clark’s been raised by Jonathan, to follow a strong moral
code and I will get into the judgemental problems with this later. For now,
let’s just say that Clark often jumps the gun, and is more judgemental of Lex
and of many situations than he should be. Because of this, Clark often is one
of the first to suspect Lex of wrong-doing.
The former, that
being Clark’s secrets, is again an understandable reason for a friendship to
struggle. Clark feels he needs to hide his secret from everyone. Not only
because he thinks people might turn on him, but also because Clark thinks
someone could use his secret to harm those he loves. The problem is, Clark
isn’t very good at hiding his secret at first. Lex’s collision with Clark which
marked their meeting was all too obvious to Lex. Several times, Clark rushes in
to save the day, and barely escapes Lex’s notice or suspicion. Additionally,
Clark seems hesitant to share his obvious feelings for Lana Lang, (see below)
and this causes Lex to question his motives. Strange things surround Clark, and
Lex’s obsessive personality cause him to search deeper and deeper, driving him
and Clark further and further apart.
Eventually, Clark and Lex stop being friends,
and Lex’s schemes become grander as he begins to accept his destiny. Lex
worries about the possibility of invasion by powerful beings, beings capable of
explaining all the strange occurrences in Smallville. His concern and obsession
grow and, eventually, Lex creates an army of Kryptonite mutants.
All of this
drives a major part of the story and drama of Smallville. What I find most
fascinating, though, is the downward spiral of Lex Luthor. I have a friend who
believes, wholeheartedly, that Lex Luthor is not a bad guy, not an antagonist.
He believes that Lex’s role is to serve as the ultimate human being, and stand
against the idealistic, powerful, uncontrollable Superman. I, being a fan of
Superman, do not like this opinion, but I have to admit it has merit...at
times. Smallville does a fantastic job of showing how everything around Lex
turns him onto his greater path, and how it can all be defended as trying to do
what’s best for the human race. The problem is the question of the means
justifying the end. Lex is willing to do whatever it takes to ensure a
protected humanity, and if that includes murder, conspiracy, espionage,
sabotage, blackmail, torture, then so be it, as long as it gets the job done. I
have a hard time justifying this, but we’ve seen this debate many times in the
past, and I for one have seen the benefits of both sides of the debate. I
cannot say which is right, and I cannot entirely justify Lex’s actions, but it
is important to note that he was not inherently evil, but rather was driven to
paranoia and obsession, mostly and inadvertently by Clark.
Lana Lang
Friend, and love
interest to Clark, went to Smallville high school.
Lana Lang has
been a part of Superman comics for years; there have been many comics dedicated
to her relationship with Clark. The main subplot for the film Superman III,
released in 1983, featured a love story between Clark Kent and Lana Lang, his
high-school sweetheart. Funny enough, Annette O'Toole, who plays Martha Kent in
Smallville, played Lana Lang in this film. Usually, Lana Lang is seen as a
high-school friend of Clark’s, who falls in love with him. Clark usually
reveals his secret to her, saying the world needs him, and moves away, leaving
her at the very least, heartbroken, and at most, extremely bitter.
True to
form, Smallville turns things upside-down, featuring Clark as the one who falls
for Lana. Initially, besides a pull at Clark’s heartstrings, Lana’s presence in
the show is to provide a seed for the guilt Clark later feels by his own
existence and arrival to Earth. Lana’s parents were killed by some meteorites
that fell when Clark arrived. Her character is very vulnerable and a little
angry because of this tragic event, and Lana’s main affect in the early part of
the series is to make Clark feel extremely happy and sad at the same time.
I had heard
some good things about Kristen Kreuk, who plays Lana, and I’m not sure how I
feel about that. Perhaps the character overshadowed her ability as an actress,
as I ended up not liking Lana very much. I will have to admit that she played
the part admirably, it is just unfortunate how her part played out.
So, the
show starts, as many youth dramas do, in high school. Clark is seen as a
bumbling teenager, being most awkward when the beautiful brunette, Lana Lang,
is around. (The fact that she has a Kryptonite necklace doesn't help) Their
friendship grows, and Lana usually ends up playing the damsel in distress. I don’t
know what it was about this show which drew me to Chloe so much more than Lana,
but I can tell you that most people I know who watch Smallville can agree that
Lana needs to go away and Clark needs to be with Chloe. Perhaps, it’s because
of Chloe’s more interesting and perhaps compatible character. Perhaps, it has
something to do with the trouble Lana inadvertently puts Clark through. Either
way, I honestly can say that I yelled at my screen more than once because of
Lana.
Eventually,
Lana Lang grows up and toughens up as a character. Suspicious of Lex Luthor,
she begins to investigate him and even play his cat-and-mouse game. The tension
and drama build as her feelings go back and forth between Clark and Lex.
Eventually, in an attempt to protect Clark and destroy Lex, Lana goes on a
girl-power training adventure which makes her a pretty dangerous character. Lex,
however, wins in the end, forcing Lana and Clark to part ways forever.
I guess
it’s supposed to be sad, but honestly, I had moved past Lana and was far too
interested in Lois Lane at this point. That’s mean to say, but it’s the truth.
Lois Lane
Chloe’s cousin,
reporter at The Daily Planet,
For anyone
familiar with the Superman mythos, you’ll know Lois Lane. She’s the Juliet to
Clark’s Romeo, and she has been a part of the story since the very beginning.
Certain traits are almost always present in the character of Lois. She’s
headstrong, determined to get to the truth of things, works hard, and moves
fast. I don’t mean she has super speed, I just mean that she embodies the busy
atmosphere that is the urban, and Clark often feels more like a farmboy in
comparison.
We first
meet Lois in Smallville, the town itself, rather than in Metropolis, as we are
accustomed. Cousin to Chloe, Lois’(s) arrival to Smallville comes about because
she needs to finish some high school classes, having never finished as she
moved from place to place as an army brat.
Lois adds a
lot of energy to the show. The actress, Erica Durance, has starred in a few
other things, but it was my first time seeing her. Still, Lois Lane is not an
easy character to portray, and usually she comes across as either too bossy,
too naive, or paradoxically as too vulnerable. This vulnerability comes about
because Lois eventually becomes the damsel in distress and the audience, in
previous renditions, gets a little frustrated at Lois’(s) carefree attitude,
walking into danger because she knows Superman will save her.
Contrary to
previous versions, Lois does not start out wanting to be a reporter here in
Smallville. Instead, her curiosity and obsession with getting to the truth
about things causes her cousin Chloe to suggest she go into journalism.
Pursuing this, Lois eventually moves to Metropolis and, like everyone else it
seems, works for The Daily Planet. Eventually, she teams up with Clark Kent and
we get to see the chemistry play itself out again.
Lois
doesn’t really undergo a character arc. She starts out as a headstrong,
independent truth-seeking character, and that doesn’t really change. However,
her character is not only interesting, but essential to the mythos. For one,
Lois takes on the role of the one who cuts-to-the-chase. She is bold, and
blunt, but often asks the questions we are all wondering, and it’s nice to not
see someone being entirely clueless. Additionally, the show’s creators did a
wonderful job of keeping the secret of Clark’s secret identity hidden; she
never having seen the face of her hero until she discovers the truth anyway.
Finally,
Lois is essential to Clark Kent. As they mention in the show, she grounds him,
but also pushes him to become the man he needs to be. She inspires him to push
for truth and justice, while at the same time, reminding him of what and for
whom he is fighting. Erica Durance meets all these requirements well, and did a
fantastic job, actually the best I’ve seen so far, of portraying Lois Lane and,
well, she is quite nice to look at, there is that too, haha.
Clark Kent
You should probably
know who he is by now.
The
character of Clark Kent has remained more or less consistent over the years,
usually coming across as bumbling, humble, and mild-mannered. As is common to
many comic book heroes, the persona of Clark Kent is an act; a meek persona
meant to throw everyone off of the hero within. In the television show, Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of
Superman, Dean Cain, who played Clark, decided to make the role a little
more confident. Strong, but disarmingly kind, Cain’s Clark managed to
successfully throw people off track without compromising his strength, without
compromising his character. An interesting critique of the character of Clark
Kent is given in Kill Bill 2, and I’ve provided it here. Bill's critique on Clark Kent
In
Smallville, there is no need for a disguise, at least not in the beginning. The
show is about Clark, not about Superman, so we get a great chance to get to
know what he is really like.
First thing
I have to tell you is that I didn’t like Clark for a long time. He’s stupid, he’s
a liar, and he’s quick to judge. It takes a long time for Clark to discover
himself and a long time for me to like him.
Let’s
tackle the stupidity. Clark Kent/Superman has always been seen as a little
foolish, especially in comparison to other heroes. Superman has so many powers
and is so nearly invincible that, often, making him a little foolish is the
only way the comic/television writers can make their hero not so perfect. You
know the saying about fools rushing in? Well, Clark rushes in. That’s his M.O.
The second Clark hears of some trouble, he runs in with no thought to himself,
ready to save the day. He then rushes out and later has to cover up any
suspicions that anyone has. Now, rushing in, and caring only for the safety of
others is all well and good, and honestly an admirable trait, but rarely having
the wherewithal to make sure a trap isn’t set for his arrival, well that just
bothers me. Clark has telescopic, microscopic, X-ray and several other types of
vision and yet he rarely sees trouble ahead of time, falling for many traps.
Like I said before, his bravery is admirable, but it’s a fine balance between
courage and foolishness, and one which the writers struggle to achieve, not
just in Smallville, but with Superman comics in general. So, stupidity is almost
forgivable here.
Clark is a
liar. He has to be. Without lies, people would find out his secret and either
ruin his life, or harm those about whom he cares. In Superman, the eponymous hero said he never lied. I hate that line.
It, in itself, was a lie, and like I said, lies are necessary for a vigilante.
However, you combine Clark’s lies with his stupidity and you get issues. Clark’s
lies push people away from him, which isn’t too bad in itself, a hero’s journey
being a lonely one. But Clark’s lies are usually so weak, so foolish, that he
causes more trouble than was necessary. Clark’s haphazard attempts at
explaining himself, where he was, or what a logical and non-super-powered
explanation would be for the events around him are so terrible at times that I
actually shouted at the screen. His lies cause him to break up and seriously
hurt Lana Lang, a girl he loves for a long time, and they are a great driving
force in making an enemy out of Lex Luthor. Like I said, lies are a necessary
evil, as it were, in the superhero business, but Clark’s lies are so bad that he
really hurts the people he loves. I guess this complaint is a silly one,
especially since as the series continues Clark gets better at it. I guess it’s
a part of his character development and necessary to give Clark a weakness, but
it was a little annoying to watch.
Finally,
Clark is quick to judge. Unlike his lying and stupidity, this is not a
necessary character trait, in my opinion. Superman is always rash and
impulsive, and while he may jump to conclusions a little quickly, he rarely
does so with the speed and absolute conviction as seen in Smallville.
Throughout the series, as soon as Clark gets any inkling that someone is up to
no good, he immediately rushes in with that assumption and it takes a lot of
convincing and proof to convince him otherwise. Perhaps, this is due to
Jonathan Kent’s quick mistrust of the Luthors, but either way, it’s a little
frustrating. I guess it’s all a part of his character arc, as it does become
less and less of a problem later in the series, but it is a frustrating part of
his character through which I feel the audience has to suffer.
But, of
course, it’s not all bad. Clark’s bravery, compassion, determination, and
humanity come through over the course of the show, and the trip, while long, is
worth it. The faults I mentioned earlier, add to his character, and while a
little frustrating at times, add to the depth and complexity of all that is
Clark Kent. As the show progresses, we see Clark overcome his character
weaknesses and become the man he wants to be, the Man of Steel. The last season
especially shows Clark becoming a man, capable, confident, compassionate, and Tom
Welling, virtually unknown to me before this series, does a fantastic job. His ability
to show the depth of the character, the contradiction of emotional strength and
weakness, and the paradoxical juxtaposition of humane and alien values is what
has always drawn me to the character, and as I’ve said before, Tom Welling does
a great job of delivering.
Comparison to classic Superman – including similarities, differences, what I liked and didn’t
By now, you
have read, or skimmed, many of my comments concerning the comparison of this
show to the usual Superman mythos. I will sum them all up here.
The origin
story is exactly the same, with Clark arriving on Earth as a baby, sent from a
devastated advanced alien world. However, the key difference is that this show
explores Clark’s youth, and how he became the Man of Steel.
One
interesting twist was the intermediary step Clark takes before becoming
Superman. As Clark moves to Metropolis and begins helping people on a larger
scale, he earns the nickname The Blur. As you can imagine, the nickname is
earned due to the fact that Clark speeds in, saves the day, and then zooms out
before anyone can see him clearly. Like most good nicknames, it starts small and
then sticks. It is a great way for Clark to try his hand at being a hero,
without going into the spotlight. This allows Clark’s actions to build a
repertoire with the people of Metropolis, and for Clark to not have the
constant pressure of heroism weighing upon him. Ultimately, however, he
realizes that his actions are not enough. That the world is looking for some
inspiration and that they cannot get that from an unseen hero. It takes awhile
for Clark to realize this, and appreciate it, but by the end of the show, he
steps into the spotlight as Superman, embracing his destiny.
Another exciting thing about
Smallville is the opportunity to learn the origins of certain things. Clark's
powers, for example, provide an interesting, and often humorous, basis for episodes.
In the beginning of the show, Clark has super-speed and super-strength. As
mentioned earlier, Clark getting hit by a car demonstrates that his strength
extends to his body's toughness. While in gym class, Clark becomes
distracted and suddenly discovers he can see through walls, a bit humorous and
creepy as the first thing he sees is the inside of the girl's locker room. In a
later episode, his heat vision arises from his becoming sexually attracted to a
hot teacher, which sounds odd, but was handled well in the show. His frost
breath (I know, too many powers, too many silly names) arises from a Kryptonian
virus weakening him and giving him a cold, and his sneeze blows the barn door
off. It's not only an interesting and somewhat exciting element of the show to
follow his path and discover his powers with him, it's nice when his powers
seem to have some kind of explanation, or at least a reason as to how Clark
knows he has said abilities.
Flight, as usual, is saved for last, and it took me awhile to find out why, but I was pleasantly surprised by how the show handled it. In the regular story, Clark discovers he can fly either through guidance by Jor-El, or just by accident after his turns 18. In this show, his inability to fly is a major problem for him and is mentioned quite often as the show progresses. When several cloned Kryptonians appear, they can all fly, and it bothers Clark as to why he cannot. As it turns out, and is mentioned toward the end of the series, Clark’s inability to fly is psychological and a result of his close relationship with humans. He has always seen himself as one of us, or at least tried to, and so something in his mind was blocking his ability to fly, to go to that one extreme beyond mere homo sapiens sapiens. It might seem a little silly, I mean, Clark can stop bullets, run faster than them, shoot heat from his eyes, etc., so why should he struggle with one more amazing power, but on the other hand, it kind of makes sense, and provides an interesting character development later in the show. Not to mention some sort of explanation which had been lacking in the past.
Flight, as usual, is saved for last, and it took me awhile to find out why, but I was pleasantly surprised by how the show handled it. In the regular story, Clark discovers he can fly either through guidance by Jor-El, or just by accident after his turns 18. In this show, his inability to fly is a major problem for him and is mentioned quite often as the show progresses. When several cloned Kryptonians appear, they can all fly, and it bothers Clark as to why he cannot. As it turns out, and is mentioned toward the end of the series, Clark’s inability to fly is psychological and a result of his close relationship with humans. He has always seen himself as one of us, or at least tried to, and so something in his mind was blocking his ability to fly, to go to that one extreme beyond mere homo sapiens sapiens. It might seem a little silly, I mean, Clark can stop bullets, run faster than them, shoot heat from his eyes, etc., so why should he struggle with one more amazing power, but on the other hand, it kind of makes sense, and provides an interesting character development later in the show. Not to mention some sort of explanation which had been lacking in the past.
In the final episode of the show,
Clark finally realizes who he is, and accepts both sides of his heritage. In a
typical final-episode-montage, Clark realizes all the struggles, all the
trials, everything was building to this moment, guiding Clark to become the man
he needed and truly wanted to be. It was quite cathartic and somewhat epic, to
finally get there, and really makes the effort of watching the entire series
worth it.
I said somewhat earlier because
that’s what it was: somewhat epic. There is a problem with this show which I
will go into now. The show builds the tension and the drama and raises
expectations to such a point that when it finally tackles the big issues, it’s
not as epic as it should be, for all that time and interest invested. Two good
examples of this are the fights Clark has with Doomsday and with Darkseid.
Doomsday,
in the comics, is basically an alien epitome of survival of the fittest. He
cannot be truly killed as he regenerates, and every time he is killed, his body
regenerates to be stronger than before. In 1993, Superman’s fight with Doomsday
brings about both their deaths, in one of the most amazing and emotional
moments in Superman comics.
So,
Doomsday, kind of a big deal. In season 8, the threat of Doomsday looms over
everything. We, the audience, are basically told that Clark is going to have to
fight Doomsday, and the characters struggle over Clark’s intention of not
killing him. This was going to be it, I said, this was going to be a
live-action super-fight of epic proportions. Nope. The fight between Clark and
Doomsday lasted for 30 seconds, and the only cool thing about it was that Clark
tackled him into an explosion.
All that
lead up, all that emotional build-up, waiting and needing to be released
through an epic last stand, never happened. I’m not saying violence is needed,
or necessarily cool. But, when you spend an entire season painting someone as a
threat, you really have to follow through with showing this threat, and with
having a fight between the villain and the hero which shows how dangerous the
villain is and how tough the success is for the hero. Without doing so, not
only do you bore your audience, but you make it seem as if you lied to us by
exaggerating the threat in the first place. Additionally, we fail to see the
hero rise and display just how powerful they are, instead we see their victory
as too easy, as less than meaningful.
Now, I might
be over-analyzing this, might be over-analyzing the entire show, hence the 8000
word critique, but I think this is an important element that most Superman
renditions are missing. Without showcasing the difficulty in overcoming
hardship, we fail to see the hero as heroic.
Plus, it
didn’t just happen once. Like I said before, the Darkseid fight was lame. The
entire last season of Smallville heralded an inevitable fight between Darkseid
and Clark. Darkseid, in the comics, is the ruler of another planet, who treats
his subject like less than dirt, and honestly wants to kill everything to
restart the universe, thinking it would be better that way. He is a tough foe,
and Superman barely stands toe-to-toe with him. In Smallville, Darkseid is more
like an evil spirit, one who threatens to overshadow the Earth making everyone
his slave. Okay, threat seems real enough. Everyone warning or praising
Darkseid’s impending arrival makes it seem like he’s nigh-unstoppable. Clark
worries and plans for this encounter.
In the end,
one punch from Darkseid literally sends Clark flying, as he is hurtled through
the air, that’s when Clark has the sudden “I can fly” montage mentioned
earlier. He then flies right through Darkseid, again showing himself more as a
spirit, and then Clark pushes Apokolips, Darkseid’s invading world, into space.
Not only was this not amazing at all to me, I had seen it before, the whole
pushing the large object thing is not only commonplace for Superman, it was
done in Superman Returns. Not to
mention that one brisk flyby should not be enough to destroy Darkseid and end
his threat. I guess his newly discovered flight confused Darkseid and that plus
his ability to inspire led to people shedding the darkness that was in their
hearts thus saving the day.
Balderdash!
(Sorry, just watched A Christmas Carol) But seriously, really? I wanted
something more, I wanted a struggle which would finally show Clark to have
matured and be ready to don the cape and be the Man of Steel. I wanted an enemy
so tough that even I would doubt Clark’s ability to come through. Nope. Didn’t
get it. I have a lot of concerns over the upcoming Man of Steel movie, but I
will give them extra points if they can create a villain and feature a fight
awesome enough for me to care.
Just for a
quick recap and iteration, consider these two fights. Superman vs. Darkseid from the Justice League and Superman vs. Doomsday in Smallville The first is the last
part of the Justice League cartoon, and features a fight between Superman and
Darkseid. The second is the entirety of Clark fighting Doomsday in Smallville.
Please watch, and note the epic difference. Sure, one’s animated which makes
some things easier, but honestly, what Superman says is more epic to me than
how he acts in that scene, it’s not the special effects, but the special effect that the hero has which makes the
first scene great, and the second one lame, in my opinion.
...and that’s it. That’s all of my ranting and raving over
Smallville. Thanks for reading. I’m sorry that this got out of hand, but I
think I was able to provide you with some interesting things to think about. If
you did happen to read all of this, I am extremely proud of you and would
appreciate if you told me you did so, so I may congratulate you more and ask
your opinion.
Thanks for reading!
Tuesday, 15 November 2011
What I've been working on: ENG4K, Communications, grad school, Small-satellites
This week has mainly been spent spinning my tires. Thankfully, I do not have that much actually due this week, so it's less anger-inducing if I go from task to task without completing any. Nevertheless, I have been working, and here's what I've done this week.
Monday's Space Hardware class was a review of binary, hexadecimal, and an introduction to something new to me: Single precision floating-point format. Basically, it's way to store standard scientific notation in a 32 bit format. It took awhile to get used to it, but now I can quickly and easily convert numbers from one type to another.
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Tuesdays' Payload Design class started a new unit in Communications Payloads. I have to say, we in Canada, especially those at York, are proud of our communications satellites. I mean, it makes sense, Canadians were the first to establish telecommunications satellites and networks, and they are a major source of business and competition in this highly tele-communicative age. Unfortunately, I had already seen the material before in several other classes so it was nothing new and difficult to concentrate.
Had a group meeting for my 4th year Engineering Design class. This class is great because instead of listening to lectures about theory, we actually get a chance to put it into practice by making a product and demonstrating it in April. Sadly, none of my ideas were prepared enough or feasible enough for an 8 month project with a budget of $1 000. I really wanted to do something that would impress everyone, including myself, but I'm still working on bridging the gap between my dreams and reality. I will not settle too much, though, so I'm looking forward to grad school to give me options to chase my dreams.
Anyway, the project my group is working on is an autonomous navigational unit. Simply put: we are combining an expensive, high-powered GPS, and an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) into one platform which will automatically track our movement and overlay our trajectory on Google Maps. It is nothing really new; many people have done similar things in the past and there has even been some previous work done at York before, but it is a good project for getting our hands dirty, getting some experience with the hardware and with the integration of its software. The group meeting went well; we have a PDR (Preliminary Design Report) on the 23rd so we are gearing up for that. For more information on our project, please visit our website, Pathtracker. (It's a work in progress; we are working on getting the website up to professional standards by the date of the PDR)
After that, I had a meeting with Professor Brendan Quine. Director of Space Engineering at York, Prof. Quine is certainly an individual worth knowing. Having worked in the space industry for over 20 years, Quine is best known for his enthusiasm, radical ideas, and ability to hypnotize you. That last statement owes to the fact that he generally is so enthused about his topic of lecture, that he draws you in and before you know it, you want to work in the space industry. My parents and I came to York for the March Madness, the year before I started there, and during the tour, Prof. Quine talked to us. My dad, skeptical of York before, was now so fully impressed and interested that he told me he now wanted to go to school here. Anyway, for more objective information, you may go here: Professor Brendan Quine. The meeting went well; I was basically checking in, as I haven't seen him in a while because he was on sabbatical. Also, I was asking about grad school, getting information on the process and his advice. His advice was reassuring and I felt a lot better about the next step in my education.
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On Wednesday, I started working on an assignment for my Mechanical Design class. Using a program called, Unigraphics NX, we have to create a beam of aluminum and run some tests on it, observing how the results compare to the theoretical. I've had trouble with this software every single time I use it. Every step has to be meticulously checked to make sure you don't screw anything up, and even then, things generally don't work out. Everyone in the class has had so much trouble with it, that we were given an extension.
Later that day, I had to go to a lab session on RS-232 serial ports. Another lab about data transfer, it was an annoying foray into getting two different machines talking to each other. To make matters worse, there wasn't a whole lot that two people could do for the lab, so when one was working, the other could only sit around and think about why it's not working. It was a frustrating experience, but I am hoping to make up the session at a later date.
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Thursday, I only had one class, Payload Design, and we continued the review of Communications Satellites. Friday, my Space Hardware class did a review on digital logic, which was nice, and I had a meeting thereafter to work on the flowchart/data workflow for my ENG4000 (now to be referred to as ENG4K) project.
It was a great meeting! We were able to work out the finer details and come up with a viable, and approachable, architecture for our project. I also realized that this is something at which I excel. I am able to foresee and follow all applicable paths a project could take. I can come up with different scenarios and follow them, splitting again and again at the different choices. I realize now that this is a unique and valuable skill. A lot of people have to focus on one thing at a time, but I can imagine every choice in a "choose-your-own-adventure/design" and understand what work might have to go into every choice.
That being said, we worked out a design route that we think will work best for us and gets us one step closer to that PDR presentation I told you about last time.
Additionally, I had some help from some friends of mine, Marco Barrettara and Meredith Thompson, concerning a video to be made for my PDR presentation. I really want to make a good impression and prove that I can make any project worth considering, so this video is to get things started in a manner as intriguing as possible. A basic format for the video looks as such, but with a little less humour. I want to make something that shows people what we are working toward, and gives them an idea of how it will work. Marco and Meredith assured me that they could help come up with something that, may not have the same production value as the video just referenced, but will get the job done. I thank them both, and look forward to seeing it. I will post it and perhaps the entire presentation here, at a later date. If you'd like to check out some of their work, please do at mbarrettara.blogspot.com and merethom.com
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Finally, I met up with the CSDC (Canadian Small-satellite Design Challenge) team. The magnetorquer I am working on is part of their satellite and so I met up with them to see if I could help. The meeting went well, if a little unorganized, and I volunteered to write an article for York's Excalibur newspaper promoting the group and asking for volunteers. Again, I will post that once it's completed.
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And that's it for this week. I apologize if it wasn't all that exciting, but sometimes, between the introduction and the finished product, the work is necessary and boring. Thank you for reading, and I promise next week's should prove more exciting. In the meantime, wish me luck, as I wish you well in your endeavours!
Monday's Space Hardware class was a review of binary, hexadecimal, and an introduction to something new to me: Single precision floating-point format. Basically, it's way to store standard scientific notation in a 32 bit format. It took awhile to get used to it, but now I can quickly and easily convert numbers from one type to another.
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Tuesdays' Payload Design class started a new unit in Communications Payloads. I have to say, we in Canada, especially those at York, are proud of our communications satellites. I mean, it makes sense, Canadians were the first to establish telecommunications satellites and networks, and they are a major source of business and competition in this highly tele-communicative age. Unfortunately, I had already seen the material before in several other classes so it was nothing new and difficult to concentrate.
Had a group meeting for my 4th year Engineering Design class. This class is great because instead of listening to lectures about theory, we actually get a chance to put it into practice by making a product and demonstrating it in April. Sadly, none of my ideas were prepared enough or feasible enough for an 8 month project with a budget of $1 000. I really wanted to do something that would impress everyone, including myself, but I'm still working on bridging the gap between my dreams and reality. I will not settle too much, though, so I'm looking forward to grad school to give me options to chase my dreams.
Anyway, the project my group is working on is an autonomous navigational unit. Simply put: we are combining an expensive, high-powered GPS, and an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) into one platform which will automatically track our movement and overlay our trajectory on Google Maps. It is nothing really new; many people have done similar things in the past and there has even been some previous work done at York before, but it is a good project for getting our hands dirty, getting some experience with the hardware and with the integration of its software. The group meeting went well; we have a PDR (Preliminary Design Report) on the 23rd so we are gearing up for that. For more information on our project, please visit our website, Pathtracker. (It's a work in progress; we are working on getting the website up to professional standards by the date of the PDR)
After that, I had a meeting with Professor Brendan Quine. Director of Space Engineering at York, Prof. Quine is certainly an individual worth knowing. Having worked in the space industry for over 20 years, Quine is best known for his enthusiasm, radical ideas, and ability to hypnotize you. That last statement owes to the fact that he generally is so enthused about his topic of lecture, that he draws you in and before you know it, you want to work in the space industry. My parents and I came to York for the March Madness, the year before I started there, and during the tour, Prof. Quine talked to us. My dad, skeptical of York before, was now so fully impressed and interested that he told me he now wanted to go to school here. Anyway, for more objective information, you may go here: Professor Brendan Quine. The meeting went well; I was basically checking in, as I haven't seen him in a while because he was on sabbatical. Also, I was asking about grad school, getting information on the process and his advice. His advice was reassuring and I felt a lot better about the next step in my education.
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On Wednesday, I started working on an assignment for my Mechanical Design class. Using a program called, Unigraphics NX, we have to create a beam of aluminum and run some tests on it, observing how the results compare to the theoretical. I've had trouble with this software every single time I use it. Every step has to be meticulously checked to make sure you don't screw anything up, and even then, things generally don't work out. Everyone in the class has had so much trouble with it, that we were given an extension.
Later that day, I had to go to a lab session on RS-232 serial ports. Another lab about data transfer, it was an annoying foray into getting two different machines talking to each other. To make matters worse, there wasn't a whole lot that two people could do for the lab, so when one was working, the other could only sit around and think about why it's not working. It was a frustrating experience, but I am hoping to make up the session at a later date.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday, I only had one class, Payload Design, and we continued the review of Communications Satellites. Friday, my Space Hardware class did a review on digital logic, which was nice, and I had a meeting thereafter to work on the flowchart/data workflow for my ENG4000 (now to be referred to as ENG4K) project.
It was a great meeting! We were able to work out the finer details and come up with a viable, and approachable, architecture for our project. I also realized that this is something at which I excel. I am able to foresee and follow all applicable paths a project could take. I can come up with different scenarios and follow them, splitting again and again at the different choices. I realize now that this is a unique and valuable skill. A lot of people have to focus on one thing at a time, but I can imagine every choice in a "choose-your-own-adventure/design" and understand what work might have to go into every choice.
That being said, we worked out a design route that we think will work best for us and gets us one step closer to that PDR presentation I told you about last time.
Additionally, I had some help from some friends of mine, Marco Barrettara and Meredith Thompson, concerning a video to be made for my PDR presentation. I really want to make a good impression and prove that I can make any project worth considering, so this video is to get things started in a manner as intriguing as possible. A basic format for the video looks as such, but with a little less humour. I want to make something that shows people what we are working toward, and gives them an idea of how it will work. Marco and Meredith assured me that they could help come up with something that, may not have the same production value as the video just referenced, but will get the job done. I thank them both, and look forward to seeing it. I will post it and perhaps the entire presentation here, at a later date. If you'd like to check out some of their work, please do at mbarrettara.blogspot.com and merethom.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Finally, I met up with the CSDC (Canadian Small-satellite Design Challenge) team. The magnetorquer I am working on is part of their satellite and so I met up with them to see if I could help. The meeting went well, if a little unorganized, and I volunteered to write an article for York's Excalibur newspaper promoting the group and asking for volunteers. Again, I will post that once it's completed.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And that's it for this week. I apologize if it wasn't all that exciting, but sometimes, between the introduction and the finished product, the work is necessary and boring. Thank you for reading, and I promise next week's should prove more exciting. In the meantime, wish me luck, as I wish you well in your endeavours!
Saturday, 5 November 2011
What I've been working on: Rad detector for Mars, SPI, Magnetorquer
So, I promised a look at what I've been working on in some of my Engineering classes, so let's start things off with a look at a radiation detector for Mars.
Motivation: Space exploration is not only an interest of mine, it is a busy industry that shows much promise in research, vocational opportunities, and learning about ourselves and the universe. Radiation is a pressing concern, not only for electronics, but obviously for the astronauts exposed to it. While cost and supplies are huge obstacles in the journey to Mars, radiation is still the largest.
Radiation Risk to Astronauts
So, for my Payload Design class (a payload, by the way, is the main instrument used for a mission), we, (a classmate and I) decided to design a radiation detector for Mars. Now, this has been done before, by many missions, but I choose this project so as to learn more about radiation and the design practice. Some of the previous Mars radiation instruments, for the Odyssey mission, are included below:
Mars Odyssey Instrumentation
So, first step is research. We researched radiation, and its energies and wavelengths, so as to identify our subject; to know our target so to speak. Next, we looked into the previous instrumentation and missions that concerned themselves with assessing the radiation risk on Mars. While it didn't take a lot for me to type just now, or you to read, all of that research took a considerable amount of time. As you'll likely know, it takes a long time to find what you are looking for, understand it, and analyze and compare what you have found.
Next step is the design. That's where we are now. After learning about spectrometers, specifically gamma-ray spectrometers, scintillation counters, and the theories behind both, we were able to begin the design of our very own. While not very original, ours resembles the Radiation Assessment Detector to be used in future Mars missions, seen here: Radiation Assessment Detector.
There are some major and minor changes for our design that will have to fit our mission profile, and understanding how the environment or design considerations factors into later aspects of the design, well, that's the game I play every day.
We documented our information, and verified our data with some equations relating to the function of our device, and presented said information Thursday in class for what is known as the DDR (Detailed Design Review). The presentation went well, both my classmate and I are pretty decent at them by now, and we await our professor's comments. So, now you have seen a little of what goes on in my life, specifically, the engineering design practice.
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I had a lab this week for my Space Hardware class. We have moved on from the Analog lab sessions, in which most of the work was in generating, observing, and analyzing radio frequencies and other signals like AM and FM. This week marked the first of the Digital labs.
In this lab, we learned about SPI, or the Serial Peripheral Interface. For a decent background, read this: Serial Peripheral Interface. For a shorter explanation, let me try:
You remember how printers and everything else on a computer used to plug in with these blue, white, multi-pinned cables? No? See the multi-holed port on the side of your computer? No? Well, data transfers along the cable, through the pins, into your computer or other system, and back again. It is a way for sending and receiving information. The intent of our lab was to learn more about them and use some programming knowledge to control it to control an amplifier chip.
I can tell you that I spent 3 hours on this lab and did not finish it. I am not discouraged as I have more time and it was my first digital lab; bound to be difficult. It was interesting as I learned a lot about the inner components of the SPI and learned more about programming in LabView. The programming is not as ominous as it might sound as LabView is a graphical "programming" tool. Basically, you have to discern the logic of the circuit and then add the appropriate icons/buttons, etc. to get the job done. Doesn't sound tough when I say it like that, but it can be a bit of a hassle. After a few...okay, a lot, of questions and discussions with my professor, I was able to figure it out, but by the time that happened, the lab session was over. I get a makeup lab session and I can finish the program at home and show my professor anytime. All in all, it was fun, playing around and controlling some hardware and learning more about the things I take for granted everyday.
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For my Mechanical Design class, I am working on a project and it's very exciting. A classmate and I are working on a device known as a Magnetorquer. Simply put: a magnetorquer is an electro-magnet, placed in a satellite, which induces a magnetic field which interacts with the Earth's magnetic field creating torque, or a turning force. This force is used to turn the satellite so it can point in the exact direction we desire.
Pretty neat, no? It's a great device because you can replace thrusters and save fuel and thus expenses. (A 30g magnetorquer is far more desirable than several kilograms of fuel)
So, we are working on that. As mentioned before, the first step was research, and we are almost past the design phase. The specifications are listed here: CubeSat Magnetorquer, and our job is to create a comparable product, except without the 1200 Euro pricetag.
It's going well so far! As I mentioned, we have moved past the design stage and have begun ordering the wire and metal core. Thankfully, the basic concept is not that difficult to implement and we are hoping to make several prototypes in order to familiarize ourselves with the process and to test out the performance of our design before we make the final product. We are hoping to make 4 of these by next month to not only impress our professor and get good grades, but also because the YUSend laboratory, professors and grad students working on small-satellite design, want these magnetorquers to put on their satellite, thereby to be launched into space by 2015.
How exciting is this?! Not only will I learn a lot, and hopefully do well academically. Not only will I get a chance to actually see my designs through to completion and construction, but I will have the chance to have something I make serve a useful purpose on a satellite IN SPACE! I am very excited, not only for the reputation and footnote on my C.V., but mostly for this amazing opportunity. It only motivates me to work harder and succeed!
Whew! That's about it this week. It was a lot of work, but honestly, is usual for me, and worth it. I love what I do and I love that I am getting closer to working in the industry. I hope to continue this update, once a week, and I really thank you for reading. I know I can ramble on, but I wanted a chance to show off what I've been doing.
Thank you, so very much, for reading, and I hope this helps you appreciate what it is I've been doing with my time.
Motivation: Space exploration is not only an interest of mine, it is a busy industry that shows much promise in research, vocational opportunities, and learning about ourselves and the universe. Radiation is a pressing concern, not only for electronics, but obviously for the astronauts exposed to it. While cost and supplies are huge obstacles in the journey to Mars, radiation is still the largest.
Radiation Risk to Astronauts
So, for my Payload Design class (a payload, by the way, is the main instrument used for a mission), we, (a classmate and I) decided to design a radiation detector for Mars. Now, this has been done before, by many missions, but I choose this project so as to learn more about radiation and the design practice. Some of the previous Mars radiation instruments, for the Odyssey mission, are included below:
Mars Odyssey Instrumentation
So, first step is research. We researched radiation, and its energies and wavelengths, so as to identify our subject; to know our target so to speak. Next, we looked into the previous instrumentation and missions that concerned themselves with assessing the radiation risk on Mars. While it didn't take a lot for me to type just now, or you to read, all of that research took a considerable amount of time. As you'll likely know, it takes a long time to find what you are looking for, understand it, and analyze and compare what you have found.
Next step is the design. That's where we are now. After learning about spectrometers, specifically gamma-ray spectrometers, scintillation counters, and the theories behind both, we were able to begin the design of our very own. While not very original, ours resembles the Radiation Assessment Detector to be used in future Mars missions, seen here: Radiation Assessment Detector.
There are some major and minor changes for our design that will have to fit our mission profile, and understanding how the environment or design considerations factors into later aspects of the design, well, that's the game I play every day.
We documented our information, and verified our data with some equations relating to the function of our device, and presented said information Thursday in class for what is known as the DDR (Detailed Design Review). The presentation went well, both my classmate and I are pretty decent at them by now, and we await our professor's comments. So, now you have seen a little of what goes on in my life, specifically, the engineering design practice.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I had a lab this week for my Space Hardware class. We have moved on from the Analog lab sessions, in which most of the work was in generating, observing, and analyzing radio frequencies and other signals like AM and FM. This week marked the first of the Digital labs.
In this lab, we learned about SPI, or the Serial Peripheral Interface. For a decent background, read this: Serial Peripheral Interface. For a shorter explanation, let me try:
You remember how printers and everything else on a computer used to plug in with these blue, white, multi-pinned cables? No? See the multi-holed port on the side of your computer? No? Well, data transfers along the cable, through the pins, into your computer or other system, and back again. It is a way for sending and receiving information. The intent of our lab was to learn more about them and use some programming knowledge to control it to control an amplifier chip.
I can tell you that I spent 3 hours on this lab and did not finish it. I am not discouraged as I have more time and it was my first digital lab; bound to be difficult. It was interesting as I learned a lot about the inner components of the SPI and learned more about programming in LabView. The programming is not as ominous as it might sound as LabView is a graphical "programming" tool. Basically, you have to discern the logic of the circuit and then add the appropriate icons/buttons, etc. to get the job done. Doesn't sound tough when I say it like that, but it can be a bit of a hassle. After a few...okay, a lot, of questions and discussions with my professor, I was able to figure it out, but by the time that happened, the lab session was over. I get a makeup lab session and I can finish the program at home and show my professor anytime. All in all, it was fun, playing around and controlling some hardware and learning more about the things I take for granted everyday.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For my Mechanical Design class, I am working on a project and it's very exciting. A classmate and I are working on a device known as a Magnetorquer. Simply put: a magnetorquer is an electro-magnet, placed in a satellite, which induces a magnetic field which interacts with the Earth's magnetic field creating torque, or a turning force. This force is used to turn the satellite so it can point in the exact direction we desire.
Pretty neat, no? It's a great device because you can replace thrusters and save fuel and thus expenses. (A 30g magnetorquer is far more desirable than several kilograms of fuel)
So, we are working on that. As mentioned before, the first step was research, and we are almost past the design phase. The specifications are listed here: CubeSat Magnetorquer, and our job is to create a comparable product, except without the 1200 Euro pricetag.
It's going well so far! As I mentioned, we have moved past the design stage and have begun ordering the wire and metal core. Thankfully, the basic concept is not that difficult to implement and we are hoping to make several prototypes in order to familiarize ourselves with the process and to test out the performance of our design before we make the final product. We are hoping to make 4 of these by next month to not only impress our professor and get good grades, but also because the YUSend laboratory, professors and grad students working on small-satellite design, want these magnetorquers to put on their satellite, thereby to be launched into space by 2015.
How exciting is this?! Not only will I learn a lot, and hopefully do well academically. Not only will I get a chance to actually see my designs through to completion and construction, but I will have the chance to have something I make serve a useful purpose on a satellite IN SPACE! I am very excited, not only for the reputation and footnote on my C.V., but mostly for this amazing opportunity. It only motivates me to work harder and succeed!
Whew! That's about it this week. It was a lot of work, but honestly, is usual for me, and worth it. I love what I do and I love that I am getting closer to working in the industry. I hope to continue this update, once a week, and I really thank you for reading. I know I can ramble on, but I wanted a chance to show off what I've been doing.
Thank you, so very much, for reading, and I hope this helps you appreciate what it is I've been doing with my time.
Tuesday, 1 November 2011
Batgirl # 1 and 2 from the New 52
Okay, so I decided to branch out, a little, in my usual comic-reading endeavours. With that being said, this is my opinion of Batgirl issues 1 and 2, from DC's new 52 release.
To anyone unfamiliar with Batgirl's story who doesn't want to read a lengthy Wikipedia article, let me sum it up:
Barbara Gordon, daughter of Commissioner James Gordon, became Batgirl and was one of the more popular side characters in Gotham, protecting the city regularly between 1966-1988. In The Killing Joke, a one-shot issue, the Joker shot Barbara Gordon in the spine, paralyzing her. Since then, she has still been fighting the good fight as Oracle, techno-sage, basically overseeing Batman and Robin's work, updating them, and keeping them technologically informed as they pursue their crusade. Oracle even played a key role in the applauded Batman: Arkham Asylum video game, giving Batman some much useful information through the course of the game.
Now, with DC's new 52 release, Barbara finds that she has regained the use of her legs. The story starts off as any good Batman-related tale, with a murder mystery.
***********Warning, below, there be spoilers*****************
Someone is crossing the names off a list, and Barbara Gordon is next. Meanwhile, we see her swinging over Gotham, glad to be back once more. What is really nice about this series, so far, is that we feel closer to Barbara as she's learning how to get back in the game. While the audiences of other superheroes suffer due to the inevitability of their hero's success, Barbara, Batgirl, is unsure of herself. She's getting back into the game, and she makes mistakes. She gets tackled through windows, and she's unsure of what she's doing sometimes.
But, she fights, and her struggle is inspiring.
Tracking down the mysterious killer, Batgirl runs into all sorts of trouble. Not without consequence either. While Batman usually takes a beating, he's usually purely impressive with how much he can take and keep on going. Barbara makes us feel the pain, the failures, as she critiques every move she makes and can barely stand at the end of a fight.
The first issue concludes with a daring chase through a hospital until Batgirl comes face to (almost) face with the Mirror murderer. Just as she's about to save the day, the killer points his gun at her. She freezes, unable to move, only too reminded of the shot that paralyzed her three canonical years ago. The moment stretches on, it raises the tension of the scene. It's really important here because too often have I seen heroes fully confident, fully able to handle most situations. I mean, I love that. I love when a hero gets through a situation either through brute determination, training/planning, luck, or some amazing combination of all of those factors. But, it's refreshing having a hero struggle, within herself, and while it isn't too inspiring, it's real, and it makes her efforts that much more courageous.
Finally, the Mirror commits another murder, and Batgirl does nothing to stop it. It's terrible, and as the cops swoop in, they blame her as well. They see her hesitation as corroboration and the hook leading into the next issue is Batgirl being charged with murder.
Issue two continues right where we left off: the Mirror escaping, and one of Gotham's finest accusing Batgirl of murder. This time, she doesn't hesitate, swinging into the night, tracking the Mirror, refusing to let him get away.
The next few pages really exemplifies the difficulty Barbara has in getting back into the hero business. She takes as many hits as she dishes out, and it's not easy. Thinking about it now, I wonder about the feminist perspective on this. I realize that while I find the struggle inspiring and gripping, I wonder if there are people out there who dislike this portrayal, if they think Barbara's vulnerability is somehow symbolic or supposed to be symbolic of gender? I don't personally think so. I think that all heroes, whether male, female, or whatever, have doubts, they have trouble choosing what is right or wrong, and they have trouble standing up after taking a few too many hits, and I like how this series depicts those struggles.
Anyway, Batgirl makes it through, but just barely. The rest of the issue shows the aftermath; shows Barbara's struggles to get through her social life, and finally, she tracks down the identity of the Mirror. Closing in on his location, she finds out the motive for his bloodlust and learns that he has more in store.
And that's it. Hopefully, that gave you enough to be interested, but not enough to spoil things. I really like this series as it bridges the gap between the real world and the world of heroes. As much as I feel like no comic book review is complete without a comment or two concerning the artwork, I don't feel confident in comparing it to anything else. I'll just say, it's classic Batman art, nothing too extreme like Miller's work, but not '50s era simplicity. It's good.
So, please, check it out, get back to me, if you like comics, I hope you enjoy these two. Thanks for reading, see you around the internet.
To anyone unfamiliar with Batgirl's story who doesn't want to read a lengthy Wikipedia article, let me sum it up:
Barbara Gordon, daughter of Commissioner James Gordon, became Batgirl and was one of the more popular side characters in Gotham, protecting the city regularly between 1966-1988. In The Killing Joke, a one-shot issue, the Joker shot Barbara Gordon in the spine, paralyzing her. Since then, she has still been fighting the good fight as Oracle, techno-sage, basically overseeing Batman and Robin's work, updating them, and keeping them technologically informed as they pursue their crusade. Oracle even played a key role in the applauded Batman: Arkham Asylum video game, giving Batman some much useful information through the course of the game.
Now, with DC's new 52 release, Barbara finds that she has regained the use of her legs. The story starts off as any good Batman-related tale, with a murder mystery.
***********Warning, below, there be spoilers*****************
Someone is crossing the names off a list, and Barbara Gordon is next. Meanwhile, we see her swinging over Gotham, glad to be back once more. What is really nice about this series, so far, is that we feel closer to Barbara as she's learning how to get back in the game. While the audiences of other superheroes suffer due to the inevitability of their hero's success, Barbara, Batgirl, is unsure of herself. She's getting back into the game, and she makes mistakes. She gets tackled through windows, and she's unsure of what she's doing sometimes.
But, she fights, and her struggle is inspiring.
Tracking down the mysterious killer, Batgirl runs into all sorts of trouble. Not without consequence either. While Batman usually takes a beating, he's usually purely impressive with how much he can take and keep on going. Barbara makes us feel the pain, the failures, as she critiques every move she makes and can barely stand at the end of a fight.
The first issue concludes with a daring chase through a hospital until Batgirl comes face to (almost) face with the Mirror murderer. Just as she's about to save the day, the killer points his gun at her. She freezes, unable to move, only too reminded of the shot that paralyzed her three canonical years ago. The moment stretches on, it raises the tension of the scene. It's really important here because too often have I seen heroes fully confident, fully able to handle most situations. I mean, I love that. I love when a hero gets through a situation either through brute determination, training/planning, luck, or some amazing combination of all of those factors. But, it's refreshing having a hero struggle, within herself, and while it isn't too inspiring, it's real, and it makes her efforts that much more courageous.
Finally, the Mirror commits another murder, and Batgirl does nothing to stop it. It's terrible, and as the cops swoop in, they blame her as well. They see her hesitation as corroboration and the hook leading into the next issue is Batgirl being charged with murder.
Issue two continues right where we left off: the Mirror escaping, and one of Gotham's finest accusing Batgirl of murder. This time, she doesn't hesitate, swinging into the night, tracking the Mirror, refusing to let him get away.
The next few pages really exemplifies the difficulty Barbara has in getting back into the hero business. She takes as many hits as she dishes out, and it's not easy. Thinking about it now, I wonder about the feminist perspective on this. I realize that while I find the struggle inspiring and gripping, I wonder if there are people out there who dislike this portrayal, if they think Barbara's vulnerability is somehow symbolic or supposed to be symbolic of gender? I don't personally think so. I think that all heroes, whether male, female, or whatever, have doubts, they have trouble choosing what is right or wrong, and they have trouble standing up after taking a few too many hits, and I like how this series depicts those struggles.
Anyway, Batgirl makes it through, but just barely. The rest of the issue shows the aftermath; shows Barbara's struggles to get through her social life, and finally, she tracks down the identity of the Mirror. Closing in on his location, she finds out the motive for his bloodlust and learns that he has more in store.
And that's it. Hopefully, that gave you enough to be interested, but not enough to spoil things. I really like this series as it bridges the gap between the real world and the world of heroes. As much as I feel like no comic book review is complete without a comment or two concerning the artwork, I don't feel confident in comparing it to anything else. I'll just say, it's classic Batman art, nothing too extreme like Miller's work, but not '50s era simplicity. It's good.
So, please, check it out, get back to me, if you like comics, I hope you enjoy these two. Thanks for reading, see you around the internet.
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