Midas touches on...

Wonder why, Wonder Woman?

2009-04-08T08:58:00.000-07:00

I'm going to borrow a page from one of my favorite bloggers, Chris Bird, and do a bit of a writing exercise where I put my spin on a property that could use a little work, or that I just love and wish I could take a swing at.

First up? Wonder Woman.

Why her? Because she is THE female comics hero, and she's boring. Her defining characteristic is her gender, and she remarkable mainly for who she hangs out with (the JLA). She's basically the First Lady of comics. Famous, influential, powerful to a degree, but not really for her own sake.

Wonder Woman has had so many editorial directions thrust upon her, there is barely any "definitive" version of her to be had. About the closest we can get is the modern version: A golem crafted from clay (a la Pygmalion) and empowered by the greek gods to bring peace to Man's World. She has super strength, durability, reflexes, divine wisdom and intelligence. She has a lasso that forces people to tell the truth, and an invisible plane, and she can fly herself. She also has hazy sometimes-powers over animal life.

The biggest problem with her is that she's not relateable. She has no "but...". Superman is incredibly powerful, but he is honorable and bound by a strict sense of morals and ethics that severely reign him in. He is invulnerable, but he is weak to kryptonite, and magic. He can see and hear almost everything, but that makes him feel duty bound to help. Batman is the world's greatest detective, unsurpassed in martial arts, but he's only human. He can't really go toe to toe with Superman's bad guys. He has money and gadgets galore, and a family that loves him, but he's still lonely because of what he lost, and won't let himself get close to anyone.

Wonder Woman doesn't really have any "but" statements. She's an emissary from the gods with a mission of peace. That's pretty much where the character ends. There's no depth, no characterization.

So my idea? Reboot time. Or if you were really clever about it, large scale retcon. (But worth it.)

Imagine Wonder Woman not as a person, but a heritage. Imagine that Pygmalion's golem was immortal, and lived on after the death of her lover. She wandered the earth after his death, and in time, fell in with the Amazons. Hipployta takes her in and in time, comes to call her daughter. Hipployta sees the loneliness of the golem, and intercedes with the gods to do something about it. The gods in turn give the golem the ability to merge with a mortal woman and live her life, lending her the golem's powers, and the experience of many lifetimes, but allowing the golem to experience life anew, to live and love and see the world with fresh eyes every generation. The golem, when merged with a mortal woman becomes a light in the darkness, a source of inspiration to men and women alike. A Wonder, even.

So this brings us to Diana Prince. A college student in the United States, of Greek parentage. She's a happy, energetic young woman who has big plans for the future, and a variety of boys that interest her. There's the handsome young Airman at the base nearby, Steve, as well as the quiet artist, Paul. In her small amount of free time besides pursuing her law degree, Diana tries to figure out which one, if either, she really likes.

So we have a normal, approachable girl who assumes the mantle of Wonder Woman. It's important to note that while she has the experience of a dozen lifetimes, the wisdom of the gods, she's not obligated to use it. She's still a twenty-something girl. She's going to make mistakes, both in life and in heroing. She'll be a newbie hero and a vet, all at the same time.

This opens up a variety of storytelling options. First, it leaves the current style of Wonder Woman story still open. I.E. normal superheroics with a mythic twist. Second, you have the sub-plot of the golem's search for Pygmalion (she's convinced he's been reincarnated). Third, you have Diana trying to not let the JLA in on the secret (she's totally new at this, and isn't the Wonder Woman they've known all along). Fourth, it allows for some fun Highlander style "past life" stories. What was the golem doing in Victorian times? Or during the Renaissance? Fifth, it opens up something similar to the Dax concept on DS9, in that mulitple lifetimes give one a somewhat different perspective on events. It's easier to take the long view.

Up Next: Villains.

Family Walk

2009-03-29T10:39:00.000-07:00

My wife and I have a new puppy, as I mentioned in my first post. He's a very sweet seven month old beagle named Charlie.

Now, very sweet does not mean he can't be destructive. He's still a beagle.

So we are firm believers in the idea that calories spent walking with us are calories not spent chewing on our shoes, we take him for daily walks.

This morning, because it's the weekend and it's sunny out, we both went out walking with him, rather than our usual one at a time.

Our eight month old kitten, Mina, was outside at the time. She watched from the fence as we left.

Lurking nearby was Jake, the neighborhood stray (huge) cat we feed from time to time and used to let in the house on cold nights. (Jake is a Maine Coon, and as such, is bigger than Charlie)

We began our walk, only to glance back and notice that both cats were pacing us, about twenty feet behind.

They followed us for over a block and a half, tagging along on our walk. When we tried to cross a street to go further, Mina stood on the curb and cried at us, as she apparently doesn't cross the road.

I feel somewhat sorry that our other cat, Ami was locked up in the house at the time. Maybe she would have liked to be included?

Limoncello, baby!

2009-03-24T14:45:00.000-07:00

One of my Christmas presents this year was the fixings for home-made Limoncello.

Now, let it be known that my wife and I have a weakness for all things lemony. My favorite candy is Sunkist Fruit Gems, particularly the lemon ones. I love me some lemon coolers cookies, and the lemon loaf at Starbucks is always a hit.

I'm also drinking Country Time lemonade as I write this. Zero danger of scurvy in this household, is what I'm saying.

Between my lemon fetish and my love of cooking, and particularly learning to cook new things, this was an awesome gift.

The basic recipe is as follows:

1 Fifth (750mL) of strong, tasteless alcohol. Everclear is the ultimate, but we used Smirnoff Triple Distilled Vodka and it worked fine, it's just not as strong as it could be.

12 large lemons. This isn't an exact number. if you have small lemons, buy more. These were pretty good sized.

3 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 quarts water

A large pickle jar. We used the Vlassic 64 ounce jar we get at Winco for ~$3. I think Wal-Mart carries the same size for a similar price.

First off, peel or grate the zest off the lemons. This will take a WHILE. Your house will smell like Mister Clean went on a bender. You have been warned.

Be careful as you peel or zest. You just want the very outside of the lemon peel, the yellow part. You don't want any of the white part, as it lends a very bitter flavor. A little is pretty unavoidable, but keep it at a minimum.

Peeling Vs. Zesting/Grating: it's much easier to get the larger peels out of the liquid once you are done steeping them. However, you have to steep them longer to get the same amount of lemon flavor. It's also harder to avoid the white part of the rind while peeling than while grating. It's your call. Both ways work.

I grate.

I use a large (8" tall) box grater I picked up at a Costco Business Center. You can find a similar one at your local restaraunt supply store or Cash & Carry. It has four sides, and I used the parmasean grating side. A Microplane zester or chocolate grater will work marvellously, as well.

Once you have your pile of lemon peels/zest, dump them in the pickle jar and add the booze. Seal it tight and place it in a dark, warm place for at least two to three weeks, about half again as long if you used peels rather than zest. You can steep it up to three months if you're that patient, I don't know how much it will effect the flavor.

Now go make some lemonade with the pile of nude lemons you have. I'll wait.

I should note that when you open the pickle jar after you finish steeping, you will be nearly blown away by the smell. It will be intensely boozy and lemony.

After you've steeped it, remove the lemon peel/zest. Peels come out in a collander easily enough, but you'll want to pick up some cheesecloth if you grated. Coffee filters aren't going to cut it.

Add the sugar to the water and boil it until the sugar is totally absorbed and the water isn't granual at all. Cool it completely, either overnight out, or two hours in the fridge.

Mix your lemony alcohol with the sugar water and there you go! Limoncello!

This makes a fairly large portion of the drink, so we have found it best to keep most of it in the pickle jar in the pantry, and just keep the orginal vodka bottle topped off and in the fridge.

Sadly, when I made it, I added too much water (something I've fixed in my recipe), so mine will freeze. I can't keep it in the freezer. :( Done right, limoncello shouldn't be able to freeze in a normal freezer. Your mileage may vary, though. It probably depends on what alcohol you start with.

From here, the sky's the limit. Use your limoncello as a mixer to make great Lemon Drops, add it to sparkling lemonade for incredibly refreshing cocktails, or just enjoy it ice cold in a shot glass.

I'm planning to get some small, decorative bottles and making another batch for my own Christmas presents this year. Hope that's not too much of a spoiler to those on my list.

Who is this bum, and why do I care what he touches on?

2009-03-24T13:59:00.000-07:00

Welcome.

I'm known as Midas, and I thought I'd tell you a little about myself, so you know where I'm coming from.

I'm twenty-eight years old, and I live in Tacoma, Washington. I'm married and have been for about ten months now. My wife is ten years older than I, and we are generally quite happy.

I'm a college student pursuing a degree in business administration. I'm currently attending Seattle Central Community College, through online classes.

I have a background in theater, having worked as a stagehand, lighting technician, or sound engineer in multiple venues on the Olympic Peninsula for over five years.

I also have a background in food service & management, with about nine years cooking experience and a year and a half of managing experience. I also have a passion for cooking at home, and do so a lot.

I play World of Warcraft. My main character is a Troll Priest named Doctormidas. He's a raiding shadow priest in a slightly above average progression guild. We've cleared all Wrath content save Maly 25 and 3D Sarth. I recently got my wife into the game, which has added a new dimension to it for me.

My wife and I have two cats and one dog. Ami, the eight year old siamese is my cat, who I have had since I moved out of my parent's home. Mina, the nine month old kitten is my wife's cat, and Charlie, the seven month old beagle is our newst addition. He's only lived with us for a few days now, and still misses his old family.

That should give you a small taste of who I am, and what I'm likely to talk about in this blog. Hope you enjoy your stay!