Thanks for the episode. I've been deliberately avoiding thinking about the massacre because I don't delight in imagining helpless movie goers being gunned down in the theatre and dwelling on the incident won't do anything to help the victims nor myself in any similar event. I saw the movie this weekend just like I planned then I went to the Eaton Center food court (the "Canadian food court" that had the recent shooting) later.

In some ways it seems strangely disrespectful to carry on with my life as though nothing has happened, while the victims and their families can't. I think most people feel divided like I do. They want to move on from the unpleasant thoughts that the horrific event brings up but they still want to show some sort of respect. This is likely why people feel the need to interject themselves into the situation through facebook and twitter campaigns. Though I feel this sort of reaction is mostly usesless, I try to take it as a positive sign that atleast some sort of compassion genuiley exists in people's hearts. They may not know the best way to express themselves but they want to give their sympathy to the victims.

What really bothers me is when people use tragedies to further their own agendas, so I do have to give you all credit for not turning this into a political discussion/rant (I am sure you all have very strong opinions on this as a political issue as well, i.e. gun control).

Here in Toronto, the city is still coming to terms with the worst mass shooting in its history. This happened last week at a neighbourhood barbecue. The truth is that even a considerably safe city like Toronto, we always face an element of risk. We faced the same risk before these shootings reminded us of it and we will continue to face the same risk after these stories died down.

It is important to talk about these things because it is a natural part of the way humans deal with tragedy so thanks for a discussion about a serious topic that was (for the most part) void of the authoritative pronouncements, knee jerk reactions, overly serious tone or hype that I find elsewhere and felt more like four friends trying to come to terms with the tragedy themselves. I think it was cathartic for all of us.

Perhaps I have misrepresented myself - I enjoyed the Iron Man films and I thought there were a lot of fun scenes in the second one. But if you were to ask me what Black Widow's role in the film was, I would have trouble telling you. 

So with all the positive reviews of The Avengers (and being a fan of some of Joss's other work), I was thinking of seeing the movie this weekend with some friends. Only problem is that none of us are comic book fans and haven't followed the other movies leading up to this (I've seen most of the Iron Man films). I have heard that the film might be not work as well for people who aren't familiar with the material so I am wondering what I need to know going into this film.

Here is what I know:

Iron Man - rich inventor who wears a robot suit to punch his enemies?
Captain America - Super army soldier created to punch Nazis?
Hulk - gets angry, turns green and punches people?
Thor - A Norse god?
Black Widow - ?
Hawkeye - ?
Nick Fury - is played by Samuel Jackson?

I'm hope that's enough to be able to enjoy and follow the film but is there anything else I need to be aware of?

I think during a tangent Teague mentioned that the Japanese were developing robots to help out at nursing homes. It reminded me of a news report by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation about a year ago. It discusses the advancement of robotic technology in Japan and while doesn't feature any real groundbreaking news it does show (at about 4:40 in Part 1) some excellent footage of the roboticists demonstrating their prototype (it keeps dropping the patient).

For your viewing pleasure:

Part 1 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dF7V0qoMKbM
Part 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYI9uBp9 … re=related

I was drawing form the Down in Front commentary, and I have no real sources. You can read about it on Wikipedia here.

On the topic of the Cold War, two years ago I visited a Canadian fallout shelter that had been converted into a cold war museum. It had been designed to hold the Prime Minister and Governor General during a nuclear war. Looking at how much work had gone into the facility and hearing stories from our tour guide (former Canadian Air Forces Pilot), really made me think about how much fear existed. People believed that a nuclear holocaust could be seconds away. Being born after the Cold War, I cannot appriecate this feeling. At the gift store, they sold surplus government information books and pamphlets about how to prepare a nuclear holocaust. I purchased book title "11 Steps To Survival". The instructions detailing what to do if a nuclear bomb goes off nearby are near comical but I can imagine that reading a book like this would not have been so funny at the time.