Thursday, May 12, 2016
Best Soccer Vines
Watch on YouTube here: Best Soccer Vines
Via https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1nkmjTiC6WHK7t4mqh9yvQ/videos
Friday, April 29, 2016
Captain America: Civil War Review
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| Image Source: ComeSeeToys.Blogspot.com |
I have watched Captain America: Civil War twice now and I have to say
it's in my top 5 Marvel movies of all time. It is an emotion filled
roller coaster ride. Here's my review of it.
After the Avengers' latest mission leads to yet more collateral damage, the governments of the world want to rein in the Avengers and install a system of accountability, which leads the Avengers to take sides. Steve Rogers / Captain America (Chris Evans) believes that they themselves should be responsible and free to choose their own course of action while Tony Stark / Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr) is in favour of being under the oversight of the United Nations (UN). Both sides make valid arguments and you really do not want to choose a side in this movie.
In the thick of it all is Bucky Barnes / the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) who is the spark that ignites the fuel, bringing things to a head. Steve naturally wants to protect his best friend while the rest of the world would like to see the former Hydra Operative dead. Including the Black Panther who is played superbly by Chadwick Boseman. In costume he is athletic, agile and fierce in combat. Outside of it he exudes a regal presence. A really great performance.
Not to be outdone is Tom Holland as Peter Parker / Spider-man who for me is the best on-screen Spider-man ever. They brought him back to his humble beginnings in this one. That is being a teen and being a bit of a handyman and a science whiz. The action he got was great and he gets a number of zingers in as you would expect. It is like he stepped right out of the comics. You will definitely enjoy his appearance. He is refreshing and is a stark contrast to, shall we say the older and more serious characters. I cannot wait to see him again in his own movie.
There is a main villain in the show and that is Helmut Zemo who is played by Daniel Bruhl. He is intelligent and manipulative, and is the one pulling the strings behind the scenes. He is not the main source of the conflict but he certainly contributes to it. He does enough to move the plot along. In my opinion he could have been used and handled better.
Captain America: Civil War is another great instalment for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Though filled to the brim with superheroes each character gets a decent amount of screen time. There is a good mix of action and drama. The tone is serious but still has its fun moments. The first third of the film can be a little slow but that is so as to set the stage and build things up. It gets better once pass that. The action is good. The battle between the Avengers is the highlight. It is such a visual treat. The various powers and abilities are displayed fully. I cannot praise Directors Joe and Anthony Russo enough for that. Comic fans will be pleased to know that certain quotes and scenes from the comics are in this. Actions have consequences and this will shake things up in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. There are two end credits scene so do stay in your seats for that.
Source: Captain America: Civil War Review
SF Might Ban Styrofoam Coolers, Packing Materials, And Beach Toys
It's been nearly nine years since San Francisco banned Styrofoam coffee cups, to-go containers, after then Board of Supervisors President Aaron "I'm back" Peskin pushed forward legislation banning the use of such products as of June, 2007. And now the Board's current president wants the ban to go even further, prohibiting polystyrene packing materials, ice chests, and pool toys.
It was back in June, 2006 that Peskin said "Polystyrene foam products rely on nonrenewable sources for production, are nearly indestructible and leave a legacy of pollution on our urban and natural environments. If McDonald's could see the light and phase out polystyrene foam more than a decade ago, it's about time San Francisco got with the program" as he introduced his proposed ban on restaurant use of the material. Since then, the Chron reports, "more than 100 cities have enacted laws restricting the sale of foam products."
Breed's ban, the Chron reports, would prohibit polystyrene "packing peanuts, ice chests, beach toys, dock floats, mooring buoys and fish trays." It "will not impact packages with polystyrene foam sent from out of state," so neither you nor your grandma in Omaha will get busted if she sends you a care package of cookies nestled in chips of Styrofoam.
It's unclear when Breed plans on introducing the expanded ban (and an email from SFist to her office wasn't responded to at publication time), but already, industry representatives are up in squeaky, foamy arms. “In reality the city of San Francisco is not going to be helping the environment. They are just going to appear to be helping the environment,” one lobbyist tells the Chron, saying that Breed and SF's Department of the Environment, which helped write the legislation, are overstating the dangers of polystyrene.
Both are “picking and choosing numbers to make the problem look like it’s bigger than it is” the lobbyist says.
According to Breed's legislation (which SFist requested a full copy of, but had not received at publication time), the product “has been linked to cancer as well as reproductive and developmental disorders...threatens the entire food chain" and is "a significant source of litter on San Francisco’s streets, parks, and public places.”
If the legislation passes — which is likely, given the Board's current makeup — the Department of the Environment will enforce the law, with hefty fines for offenders. But it might not be as simple as all that, as polystyrene advocates have turned litigious in recent years, and successfully overturned New York's restaurant ban on the product in 2015.
Gothamist reported last year that Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Margaret Chan drubbed the ban, saying that there is "abundant evidence showing a viable and growing market for not just clean EPS (expanded polystyrene foam) but post-consumer EPS material." That judgement was enough to kill the ban in Gotham, and it hasn't been revived.
Will San Francisco's ban, which would be the "most extensive ban on the product in the country," suffer a similar fate? Not if Breed has her way. In fact, she tells the Chron, “We should have made plans years and years ago,” to ban even more polystyrene stuff.
“This is about the fact that we have the technology to do better and we should be doing better.”
5:24 p.m.: In a call to SFist, Breed chief of staff Conor Johnston says that the legislation "was introduced about an hour ago" at the meeting of the full Board. You can read the full legislation as it is presently proposed here, and the "digest" version here.
Source: SF Might Ban Styrofoam Coolers, Packing Materials, And Beach Toys
It was back in June, 2006 that Peskin said "Polystyrene foam products rely on nonrenewable sources for production, are nearly indestructible and leave a legacy of pollution on our urban and natural environments. If McDonald's could see the light and phase out polystyrene foam more than a decade ago, it's about time San Francisco got with the program" as he introduced his proposed ban on restaurant use of the material. Since then, the Chron reports, "more than 100 cities have enacted laws restricting the sale of foam products."
Breed's ban, the Chron reports, would prohibit polystyrene "packing peanuts, ice chests, beach toys, dock floats, mooring buoys and fish trays." It "will not impact packages with polystyrene foam sent from out of state," so neither you nor your grandma in Omaha will get busted if she sends you a care package of cookies nestled in chips of Styrofoam.
It's unclear when Breed plans on introducing the expanded ban (and an email from SFist to her office wasn't responded to at publication time), but already, industry representatives are up in squeaky, foamy arms. “In reality the city of San Francisco is not going to be helping the environment. They are just going to appear to be helping the environment,” one lobbyist tells the Chron, saying that Breed and SF's Department of the Environment, which helped write the legislation, are overstating the dangers of polystyrene.
Both are “picking and choosing numbers to make the problem look like it’s bigger than it is” the lobbyist says.
According to Breed's legislation (which SFist requested a full copy of, but had not received at publication time), the product “has been linked to cancer as well as reproductive and developmental disorders...threatens the entire food chain" and is "a significant source of litter on San Francisco’s streets, parks, and public places.”
If the legislation passes — which is likely, given the Board's current makeup — the Department of the Environment will enforce the law, with hefty fines for offenders. But it might not be as simple as all that, as polystyrene advocates have turned litigious in recent years, and successfully overturned New York's restaurant ban on the product in 2015.
Gothamist reported last year that Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Margaret Chan drubbed the ban, saying that there is "abundant evidence showing a viable and growing market for not just clean EPS (expanded polystyrene foam) but post-consumer EPS material." That judgement was enough to kill the ban in Gotham, and it hasn't been revived.
Will San Francisco's ban, which would be the "most extensive ban on the product in the country," suffer a similar fate? Not if Breed has her way. In fact, she tells the Chron, “We should have made plans years and years ago,” to ban even more polystyrene stuff.
“This is about the fact that we have the technology to do better and we should be doing better.”
5:24 p.m.: In a call to SFist, Breed chief of staff Conor Johnston says that the legislation "was introduced about an hour ago" at the meeting of the full Board. You can read the full legislation as it is presently proposed here, and the "digest" version here.
Source: SF Might Ban Styrofoam Coolers, Packing Materials, And Beach Toys
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