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‘The Secret’ taking the world by storm

September 14, 2007 By Jay

Move over J. K. Rowling. There’s a new book that’s taking the world by storm, surpassing even the popularity of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” the seventh and final episode of the J.K. Rowling series.

The book is “The Secret’ by Rhonda Byrne. Published in November 2006, it has now sold more than 3.75 million copies – outselling the orders for “The Deathly Hallows” on amazon.com.

A DVD documentary on the book was released earlier on the Internet in March 2006. Although it was not shown on theaters, had no marketing campaign, and relied solely on word-of-mouth endorsement, the DVD has sold more than 1.1 million copies.

Byrne’s appearances on TV with Larry King and Ellen DeGeneres, as well as the book’s endorsement by Oprah Winfrey, the most influential woman in America, have moved “The Secret” into the top of the charts.

The basic concept in the book is the Law of Attraction. If you think positively, you become a magnet that pulls everything you want toward you. The Law of Attraction tells you how to attract unlimited wealth, success, awesome relationships and anything else you desire. With the Secret, you can lead a happier, rewarding life.

The book itself is the best living proof of the efficacy of its teachings.

According to Byrne, people need only visualize what they want in order to get it. The book reveals a time-worn but suppressed truth known by such luminaries as Albert Einstein, Ludwig van Beethoven and Abraham Lincoln. And that truth is that we literally are what we think. That we create our own reality, simply by asking.

Believe and know that riches are yours, and feel the feelings of having them now. The more you can feel it, the more power you will add to bring it to you, Byrne says.

The book shows the secrets to everything — the secret to unlimited joy, health, money, relationships, love, youth: everything we want.

The wonder of it all is that the author’s ideas are not really new. She borrowed ideas from philosophy and science to suggest that thoughts and feelings are real, with their own frequency of vibration. And those thoughts attract things — or people, or circumstances — with which they are synchronized.

But the way Byrne presented the ideas and packaged the book is where the beauty of the book lies.

At the heart of “The Secret” is the certainty that our thoughts are real. They send out magnetic signals that are drawing the universe back to you. When you see yourself living in abundance and feel intensely the thing you desire, without a smidgen of doubt, you will attract it. It always works. It works every time with every person.

Not everyone endorses “The Secret” though. Medical professionals worry that people will now prefer indulging in positive thinking to seeking treatment in clinics or hospitals. Even if what they have is cancer or some other serious disease.

To this, Byrne says “The Secret” is best used in combination with conventional medicine. She mentions the placebo effect as evidence of “The Secret” at work in healing.

Other critics say that the idea of all wishes becoming true is a dangerous childhood fantasy.

Yet, even these critics know that many times wishes really become self-fulfilling.

Religious leaders say the idea that we can tap into the energy force and create our own world preempts divine power. They say the book is just another version of what some TV preachers have taught for decades, namely, if you sustain the right thoughts, words, and feelings, you will receive whatever you want.

But, according to the religious critics, “The Secret” adds this important twist: your thoughts can bring anything into your life because you are actually a god. Byrne proclaims to her readers: “You are God in a physical body. You are Spirit in the flesh. You are Eternal Life expressing itself as You. You are a cosmic being. You are all power. You are all wisdom. You are all intelligence. You are perfection. You are magnificence. You are the creator, and you are creating the creation of You on this planet” (p. 164).

Byrne also says: “The earth turns on its orbit for You. The oceans ebb and flow for You. The birds sing for You. The sun rises and it sets for You. The stars come out for You. Every beautiful thing you see, every wondrous thing you experience, is all there for You. Take a look around. None of it can exist, without You. No matter who you thought you were, now you know the Truth of Who You Really Are. You are the master of the Universe. You are the heir to the kingdom. You are the perfection of Life. And now you know The Secret” (p. 183).

The religious critics claim these are blasphemous words.

I don’t know what you think. But for me, “blasphemy” could be another word for “conflict of interest.” Anything that challenges and shakes the foundations of a long-established faith will quite expectedly draw vicious denunciations.

One thing is clear though: We all want love, money and health. The road which best points the direction towards those goals will of course draw the biggest attention, even if it is named “Blasphemy Road” by its critics.

Teen Titans season 2 DVD: Reviewed

December 29, 2006 By Spengs

Teen Titans season 2

Teen Titans is one of those shows that progressed in quality with each season, hardly fluctuating at all. The show started out rather kid-oriented but became darker and more complex with each passing season (though season 5 was mostly one big fangasm). Season 2 is one of the better seasons and also one of the most memorable, as it adapts possibly the most famous storyline from the New Teen Titans comic book series by Marv Wolfman and George Perez.

Season 2 roughly adapts “the Judas Contract”, but as you can guess, only imports a few of the basic plot elements and does its own thing with the concept. The first episode of the season, “How Long is Forever”, features Starfire being transported 20 years into a desolate future by the villainous Warp. The episode works as a foreshadowing of the events to come, as Starfire fears what might happen if the Titans drift apart (the eventual arrival of Terra causing a potential rift between the team). The show’s version of Warp is a bit different from his comic book counterpart; he’s British instead of French and is now a time traveler, where before he could just teleport from location to location. The episode also features Robin growing up to become Nightwing, but thankfully without that stupid mullet from the New Batman Adventures.

“Every Dog has his Day” is my least favorite episode on the set; a Beast Boy spotlight where said character morphs into a dog and is forced to be the pet of a dimwitted alien. A bit childish, even for this show, and just doesn’t contain much rewatch-value. “Terra” introduces the main arc of this season, the title character Terra. Terra can command earth-itself and is immensely powerful, but has little control over her abilities. She is invited to join the Titans and makes fast friends with Beast Boy. However, a misunderstanding and her own unbalanced head causes her to secretly drift into Slade’s clutches. “Only Human” is one of the better Cyborg spotlight’s (though season 3 would be “his season”). It features the hyper-competative robot, Atlas, taking the Titans hostage and Cyborg having to overcome his cybernetic limitations to save his friends. A really good character piece enhanced by an awesome voice over from Keith David as Atlas.

“Fear Itself” was written by Dwayne MacDuffie, one of the writers of Justice League Unlimited, and is an excellent Raven spotlight. After battling the crazy fanboy, Control Freak, the Titans rent a horror movie and return home. Weird things start to happen all over Titans Tower as monsters pick the Titans off one-by-one, leaving Raven alone to cope with her fears. Control Freak is one of the more entertaining original villains to come out of the series, apparently originally intended to be a foe for Impulse back when MacDuffie was writing for that book. You’ll get to see more of him in later seasons.

“Date with Destiny” is my second least favorite episode on the set, though much funnier than “Every Dog has his Day”. Killer Moth, a villain with a horde of mutant moth monsters, forces Robin to take his bratty daughter, Kitten, to her Junior Prom. This causes Starfire to go mad with jealousy, as she has had a crush on Robin since the first episode. The episode is funny, though Kitten’s annoying antics can really grate on the nerves. Thomas Haden Church providing the voice of Killer Moth is one of the most “WTF” things I’ve seen in this show; I couldn’t believe it was him. Not one of my favorite episodes, but I don’t hate it. “Transformation” is Starfire’s spotlight episode, where she deals with Tamaranian puberty and begins changing into something she fears will be hideus. A sort of “meh” episode with a life lesson for the younger set that’s about as subtle as a steamroller. The storybook-style narration by the late Tony Jaye is a plus, though.

“Titan Rising” brings the return of Terra, who officially joins the team and becomes a Titan after helping to stop Slade from sinking Titan’s Tower into the ground. She has her own agenda, though. A good Terra episode and shows the Titans starting to really like her. Kind of depressing, too, as you know from the start that she’s only going to betray them. “Winner Take All” has the Master of Games summon Robin, Beast Boy, Cyborg, Aqualad, Speedy, Gizmo, Hot Spot and Wildebeest to compete in a supposedly friendly tournament to see who the greatest young hero on Earth is. In reality, the Master of Games is absorbing the defeated warriors and stealing their powers. An awesome episode; I totally dig the video game gags within it. One of MacDuffie’s best episodes. Also introduces a bunch of characters from the comic. Speedy gets the big spotlight and will be one of the more recognizable expansion Titans. Hot Spot (called Joto in the comics) doesn’t do or say much, and neither does Wildebeest, I’m afraid. Aqualad puts up a good fight, though, and this is still easily the best interpretation of the character, as he’s closer to Tempest (the hero Aqualad became when he grew up in the comics) than the lame-o Aquaman sidekick with the curly hair.

“Betrayed” kicks Terra’s arc into high-gear, as she…betrays her fellow Titans to Slade. The cartoon portrays Terra in a much more sympathetic light than in the comics, where she was pure evil. Here she has legitimate feelings for Beast Boy and is more confused and frightened, leading to her partnership with Slade, rather than just being an evil mercenary. The ending with Beast Boy is quite sad, too. “Fractured” is the comic relief episode of the season. Teen Titans follows a formula of having a wacky comedy episode right before the season finale, and this one features the appearance of Larry, Robin’s “DNA buddy” from the 4.9th Dimension who can bend reality with his magic finger. At the same time, the bad guy Johnny Rancid has broken Robin’s arm, and every time Larry tries to help he only makes things worse. “Larry” is actually based on the character “Bat-Mite” from the Silver Age Batman comics, who was Batman’s biggest fan from the 5th Dimension and would try to use his powers to help, only to make things worse. It’s not my favorite of the “wacky” comedy relief episodes, not being as good as either Mad Mod episodes or the Mumbo episode, but nowhere near as bad as the Mother May-Eye episode.

The “Aftershock” two-parter is the big season finale. Terra attacks the Titans with full force, springing Plasmus, Cinderblock and Overload from prison. After going easy on her for an episode and trying to appeal to the Titan within her, the team eventually decides that she’s completely gone bad and choose to quit pulling their punches for their final showdown. A decent end for Terra, and a bit of a moving sequence, which makes use of the more sympathetic angle applied to this incarnation of the character. Some really good animation, too, in these episodes; some of Dong Woo’s best fight sequences and choreography.

Teen Titans season 2 is an overall improvement over season 1 and does an admirable job of adapting the most famous Teen Titans storyline for the medium. Great animation, splendid voice acting, and only a few weak links in the whole chain. Lots more characters from the comic, too. Definitely a recommendation.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Classic) Vol. 1 – Review

December 15, 2006 By Spengs

TMNT classic vol 1

The first season of the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon series from Murakami-Wolf-Swanson is considered by many a fan to be the best season of the entire series. Incidentally, it also happens to be the shortest. It was initially a five-part miniseries, which TMNT creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird worked on rather closely. While I can’t say that the first season is a perfect interpretation of the dark and gritty Mirage comic books, it certainly does have a much harder edge to it.

The first episode of the set, “Turtle Tracks”, gets the ball rolling, introducing all the characters, their origins and the general plot premise in a matter of twenty-two minutes. News reporter April O’Neil is reporting on the crimewave of the Foot Clan and drawing lots of attention in their direction. The mysterious villain known as the Shredder orders a gang of street punks to “silence” her. April escapes into the sewers where she is rescued by the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Leonardo, Raphael, Michealangelo and Donatello.

The first episode is really quite good, with the Shredder (not yet completely revealed) actually appearing rather menacing as a villain. The fight at the end on top of the skyscraper is a nice reference to the rooftop battle from the first issue of the Mirage comic series, though the similarities end there. A decent battle agains the Foot Clan, with the android ninjas actually being a threat for a change and using some decent weaponry (I liked the sonic boom-fan, personally).

Next is “Enter the Shredder”, where the Turtles go up against their new arch nemesis. We discover that Shredder is piloting a mighty subterranean battle fortress, the Technodrome, which was lent to him by Krang, a disembodied warlord from Dimension X who desperately wants a new body. Shredder uses mutagen to transform two of his street punk goons, Bebop and Rocksteady, into powerful mutant henchmen. The two mutants take on the TMNT, but due to their limited intelligence, don’t get very far.

Ah, the days when Bebop and Rocksteady were actually a threat. After the first season aired, parents complained about the level of violence in the series, causing some massive changes in season two. One of these changes was the lobotomizing of Bebop and Rocksteady, making them more naïve than genuinely evil. Here, however, they are quite violent and very, very angry. Krang is also drawn grosser than usual, with purple veins all over his brain-like “body” and puddles of goo about him.

“A Thing About Rats” has the Shredder enlist the services of the mad scientist Baxter Stockman. Stockman builds a legion of Mouser robots; little chomping monsters made to hunt down rats. That means Splinter is in trouble.

Baxter Stockman would prove to be a returning villain throughout the rest of the original TMNT series, though he would end up being mutated into a fly-monster halfway through season 2. Oddly enough, he was actually a black guy in the original Mirage comics. Why they chose to make him white for this series is beyond me. I’ve heard explanations range from “to make him resemble the mad scientist stereotype” all the way to “having a black guy being forced to work for someone else is racist”.

“Hot Rodding Teenagers from Dimension X” is probably the weakest link in the season. Krang opens a portal to Dimension X and a flying hot rod containing the Neutrinos, punk kids from Dimension X who hate war, escapes to Earth. They are followed by Generals Traag and Granite, Rock Soldiers from Krang’s army. Traag and Granite wreak havoc across New York, culminating in their unleashing a terrible storm upon the city.

Maybe my least favorite episode of the bunch. It took me a while to get to like the Neutrinos, as they were honestly rather irritating. Mike’s attraction towards Kala, the female Neutrino, feels especially forced (and it never goes anywhere). On the bright side, there’s one awesome gag where Traag sets the weather device “Hmmm…clear skies…no…partly cloudy…no…aha! Total Chaos!”

“Shredder & Splintered” is the incoherently titled season finale. The TMNT head down to the Technodrome for a finale showdown, determined to send it back to Dimension X. Meanwhile, Krang at last gets his new body and lays waste to New York. Even further complicating things is the Shredder and his retro-mutagen ray gun, which will turn the TMNT back into pet turtles.

A grand finale and one of the few times you see Krang’s body utilized to its full potential (hell, it’s one of the few times you even get to see Krang actually fight). One of the best fights between Shredder and Splinter, as well. There was always a theme with the season finales, at least for the first three seasons. The technodrome would become operational, Shredder and Splinter would do battle and the Technodrome would end up being stranded in some horrible place. The season finales were always some of my favorites.

The first season of the original TMNT cartoon was animated by Toei Studios in Japan, and as a result, looks fantastic. Yes, there are animation errors here and there (particularly with bandana colors) but the animation-itself is very smooth and detailed. The martial arts moves look great and the action sequences have some excellent effects to them. The animators also toss in a few whimsical Japanese anime effects here and there to add some comedic sight gag-value (though they never go overboard with them). Toei would only animate a handful of episodes of the rest of the series, and their work would never equal the quality of this first season (though season three’s “Turtles on Trial” looked rather good).

Family Home Entertainment included a few bonus episodes from the tenth and final season of the TMNT series. While they claim these episodes were “never before seen!” they’re only half right. The episodes were only aired in certain parts of the country by CBS, rather than nation-wide. It’s an interesting extra, as it makes for a nice “alpha and omega” feel for the set; you get to compare and contrast between the beginning and the end of the series. Unfortunately, FHE botched the order of the bonus episodes, including their episode numbering. They claim “The Beginning of the End” is episode 187 (when it is really 188), “The Return of Dregg is episode 188 (when it is really 187), “Mobster from Dimension X” is episode 191 (when it is really 192) and “The Day the Earth Disappeared” is episode 192 (when it is really 193). Confusing, eh?

The episodes are a nice thought, but without the context of the entire tenth season, missing several episodes inbetween one-another, and being presented out of order…they’re rather hard to follow. The final seasons of the TMNT series, dubbed “the Red Sky series” had very tight continuity between episodes and some darker plots (as well as a new villain in Lord Dregg, replacing Shredder and Krnag), so seeing the episode presented this way is rather confusing.

This is a budget DVD, so don’t expect to pay more than $10 bucks for it anywhere. So I can’t think of any reason why anybody who even remotely likes the TMNT shouldn’t buy this DVD. It contains the best five episodes of the series as well as asome wacky bonus episodes from the forgotten era. Definitely worth picking up.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Classic) Vol. 6 – Review

December 6, 2006 By Spengs

TMNT vol 6

Family Home Entertainment has finally released the sixth volume of the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon, which unfortunately, doesn’t contain as many classic and memorable episodes as their last offering. This volume features the fourth and final part of season 3, as well as the first episode of season 4. Season 3 was one of the TMNT’s stronger seasons, and according to many fans, supposedly the last good season (though, the show did spike back upward in quality for seasons 7 through 10). While this set does not contain as many gems as Vol. 5, it does have a number of quality episodes, with the three-part season finale being the real highpoint.

The set starts out rather poorly with “the Turtle Terminator”, an episode spotlighting Irma, one of my least favorite supporting characters. Shredder builds a robot duplicate of her to destroy the Turtles. It’s pretty awful. “The Great Boldini” isn’t a fantastic episode, but it *does* feature the Rat King, so it can’t be all that bad. A magician, secretly working for the mob boss Don Turtelli, steals a massive emerald from a museum. Zach, “the 5th Turtle”, and his not-girlfriend, Caitlin, accompany the Turtles to the museum and try to get the gem back. The Rat King shows up at complete random toward the end. The episode wouldn’t have been so bad if it hadn’t been for the “fearsome” mobster using tickling as his M.O. “The Missing Map” is yet another Zach-centric episode. This time around, he brings his brother Walt to visit the Turtles (and Walt steals a map that leads to the Shredder). I mean, seriously, how many people is this kid going to blow the location of the Turtles’ lair to? This is why kid sidekicks are never a good idea.

“The Gang’s All Here” is one of the more interesting offerings, as Michelangelo eats an anti-mutagen cookie from Shredder which turns him into a teenage human. It’s notable mostly for keeping continuity, and showing us more of the punk gang that Bebop and Rocksteady were shown associating with in the first season (before becoming minions of the Shredder). “The Grybyx” brings back the Neutrinos, the hot-rodding teenagers from Dimension X. The plot of an escaped adorable pet that can turn into a giant monster is rather lame, mostly because it’s a plot device done in numerous cartoons. Seeing the Neutrinos again is cool, so long as you like them.

“Shredderville” is another stale, repetitive cartoon cliché, I have to admit. It has the Turtles suddenly appearing in a future ruled by Shredder. This plot is so old it must be using a wheelchair. Though, that didn’t stop it from being recycled in the new TMNT series, in the episode “Same as it Never Was” (admittedly, that episode wasn’t so bad). Not a big fan of this one, particularly the “Whew! It was only a dream!” solution. “Bye Bye Fly” always freaked me out when I was a kid, mostly due to the fate of Baxter Stockman at the episode’s end. Of course, he survives to pester the TMNT in future seasons, but he seemed pretty dead in this story. Basically, Baxter finds a dimensional-hopping temple buried beneath New York and plans to use it as a staging ground to ambush the Shredder and the TMNT. One of my favorite Baxter episodes, even if the end is a little dark and unpleasant. I mean, c’mon, did Baxter really deserve to have so many horrible things happen to him throughout the course of the series? It’s like he was David Wise’s punching bag.

“The Big Rip-Off” is the first part of the three-part season finale. If you’ve been paying attention during this season, one of the main themes is that the Technodrome is running out of power and Shredder is trying to replenish it. He actually succeeds this time around by using a plan that, well…isn’t terrible. Go figure. “The Big Break-In” gets things going with the triumphant return of a fully functional Technodrome. Typically, the return of the Technodrome was always saved for the season finales, which felt like a great reward (the Technodrome was so badass). The Technodrome is heading across the countryside, using a device called the “minimizer” to shrink military bases, weakening America’s defenses against their attacks. “The Big Blow Out” is the best part of the finale, with the Technodrome doing some real damage. It lays siege to Manhattan, toppling buildings and even attacking the World Trade Center (oh those pre-9/11 days of innocence). Though the animation is as stiff as usual, it does feel more epic than most other episodes. You get your standard end-of-the-season Splinter/Shredder showdown, so that’s something to look forward to (however, it isn’t one of their more exciting fights). I hear tell that this was actually intended to be the *series* finale, which might actually make sense, considering all the talk about “final showdowns” and “last battles” going on in this story. It certainly appears that way, too, with Shredder and Krang’s defeat being rather…final-looking.

“Plan 6 from Outer Space” is the first episode of season 4 and sets up the “European Vacation” story arc for…season 7!? Yeah, something went wrong and the episodes got crammed into the beginning of the seventh season when they should have been the fourth. Pretty weird, too, since the season 7 episodes following the Euro arc are some of the better installments. Anyhow, the episode in question deals with the Shredder and Krang recovering from their spectacular defeat at the end of the last season. They return Bebop and Rocksteady to their human forms (through holographic illusion) and send them to steal the entire Channel 6 building. Instead, they get jobs there and unwittingly work their way up the corporate ladder. I really liked this one as it has lots of jokes at the expense of television production and features Bebop and Rocksteady in their human forms, which as a kid, I thought was somehow “special” (like whenever Shredder took off his mask I’d go “OMG!” and freak out).

Though not as strong an offering as the previous set, Vol. 6 does have one of the best season finales in the entire series as well as a few other notable installments. Definitely worth getting to finish up season 3.

The Guyver (2005): First Impressions

November 14, 2006 By Spengs

Guyver 2005

Though it’s been out for a year, I chose willingly to avoid all fansubs and bootlegs of the series so I could buy the DVD on release and thoroughly enjoy myself. I’ve been a fan of the Guyver since 1991, when the live action movie was released (though I came to appreciate that film less after I viewed the original anime). Seeing this new Guyver series is a real treat.

For those not aware, the Guyver is a Japanese manga and anime series (and two live action films in the US). It features a teenage boy named Sho Fukamachi who has accidentally been bonded to the Guyver, an alien bio-booster armor of extreme power. The evil Cronos Corporation wants to get their hands on the Guyver and use their armies of Zoanoid mutants to constantly attack him and his friends.

By the time the first episode finished, I had enjoyed myself, but at the same time, I felt slightly disappointed. From the looks of things, this was going to be an episode-for-episode remake of the original anime.

I was very wrong.

While the first episode does mirror the first episode of the original series rather identically, the episodes afterward take a sharp turn into creativity. The original series moved very swiftly, often leaving behind numerous unanswered questions and WTF moments, but this new series paces things out at a much more reasonable rate. Previously two-dimensional characters are now given some extra depth. In addition to that, little things are added here and there which help the coherency of the plot immeasurably. A few examples would be seeing Agito Makishima recovering the third control metal from the forest. The original series tried (poorly) to play the Guyver III’s identity off as a mystery and it honestly didn’t work very well. Another factor I appreciate is introducing Sho’s father early on and giving him a little background and personality. In the old series, he was introduced almost immediately before his, er, accident (it just occurred to me some of you might not have seen the old Guyver series and I might spoil some stuff for you).

Probably the best bit of “stretching out” would have to be in regards to Lisker and the Guyver II. Previously, he appeared and died in one episode, making him more or less a throw-away villain. This series thankfully pads out his character, how he deals with the control metal malfunction and even some background about a rivalry with Zerbebuth.

The English voice-acting is something I was especially looking forward to. The voices in the original series were so bad it hurt and I was thrilled to hear that ADV would be heading up the 2005 series, as they generally do magnificent dub-jobs. I was very pleased with what I heard. A few of the voices are rather “generic”, but not in a bad way. Tetsuro sounds rather similar to the old series only a lot better. There’s a bit of humor thrown into the series, particularly with the way the teenage characters talk to each other. I got a kick out of it, but it’s nothing that distracts from the story or atmosphere. I particularly liked the voice-over for Vamore, giving him an “Olde Oyrish” accent.

The animation is suitably impressive. I can’t say it’s superior to all other shows coming out of Japan at the moment, but I’d say it’s on par with the best of them. I’ve honestly never heard of OLM Team Wasaki before (god, what an awful studio name) but they do good work. The animation is very fluid and detailed and they *thankfully* refrain from using hackneyed over-the-top anime facial expressions and sight gags. I really hate that kind of stuff. One thing about the animation I totally dig is the Zoanoid transformations. They just look so cool.

This is looking to be the best interpretation of the Guyver to date, and I’d highly recommend it to anyone even remotely interested in the character.

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