My Experiment with Weight Loss: Day Seven (Part One)

Weight: 232.2lbs at 10:38am.

Crap. Put back on 2 lbs. Not good. Either way, I don't have work today, so I'm going to try to do an extended workout. I'll put up what I actually do later today. Just woke up.

My Experiment with Weight Loss: Day Six

Quick post today. Dieting's going fine, though I had carrots yesterday rather than broccoli/salad. So, my bad on that.

Weight: 230.4lbs (7:50am)

My Experiment with Weight Loss: Day Five

So I thought there was going to be a part two to yesterday, but that didn't happen.

Weight: 232.0lbs (7:23am)

My Experiment with Weight Loss: Day Four (Part One)

My right leg is cramped up like crazy. I didn't drink enough water yesterday while I was at work. I'm already on cup 3 today to try and remedy the problem.

Weight: 234.8lbs (10:28am)

To put that in perspective, about a week and a half ago, I weighed around 246-247lbs. So it's been around a 12lb drop in the last ten days.

My Experiment with Weight Loss: Day Three

Short post today. Keeping up with exercise and diet (I might be eating too many fruits/vegetables in relation to the protein...)

Weight: 236.4lbs (7:03am)

Going to keep the exercise routine the same for now. I'll up it if the weight doesn't continue to come off.

My Experiment with Weight Loss: Day Two

Got the 141 pushups last night. My arms are still feeling it this morning.

Weight: 236.2lbs (10:43am)

I'm not really enjoying doing the pushups at night. Combating the day's fatigue and just general laziness post-work and post-tv just isn't working. I'm going to keep at it, but if I ever feel myself slipping, the pushups will get moved to the morning with the bike.

Goals for Today: 30 minutes on bike, 150 pushups, 3 x 20 hindu squats

My Experiment with Weight Loss: Day One

My parents have an exercise bike and a pair of 6.6lbs dumbells (Why are there 6.6lbs dumbells?)

Last night, I did 100 bicep curls (both arms) with the dumbells in two minutes before doing the pushups. I got to 59 before my arms told me to fuck off. I think this also had to do with the fact that I started this as I was feeling sleepy, so I'm going to start earlier tonight.

My weight at 9:03am this morning: 238.2lbs

This morning, I ate 3 strips of bacon and an egg. Probably not the best breakfast, but it's better than what I was eating (pop tarts).

Immediately after eating, I moved the exercise bike from the basement (where my dad smokes) into my room. It's a Weslo Pursuit E25. I'm fairly sure that it's pretty cheap. The seat is uncomfortable, and the highest resistance doesn't feel all that high in comparison to other bikes, but it'll serve for the time being. After fidgeting around on the seat and trying the different resistances for about twenty minutes, I did ten good minutes on the thing. I got 3.6 miles at the highest resistance and was drenched by the time I stopped. Knees felt fine, so I'm going to use this and walks for cardio.

I tried doing hindu squats this morning. The motion's a little funky the first few times, but I ended up getting 2 sets of 20.

Tonight when I get back from work, I'm going to go ahead and do the 141 pushups (base 100, plus the 41 I missed from yesterday). This might be post-Berto's fight (which I think starts right as I'll be getting home).

Goals for tomorrow: 30 minutes on the bike, 150 pushups, 3x20 hindu squats.

My Experiment with Weight Loss: Day Zero

I'm going to try to lose weight. My initial goal will be to get to 205lbs. I was 190 going into my senior year in high school, so I can probably get lower than that, but we'll see. Right now, 205 is the goal. According to my home scale (which I will use to track my weight, so that consistent, if nothing else), I am currently 241.4lbs. Granted, I just ate, but we'll use that as a starting point for now.

Tonight's exercise goal: 100 pushups in 20 minutes. I'll post here tomorrow with what got accomplished.

Catwoman's Costume

This morning WB released a photo of Anne Hathaway from the upcoming film, The Dark Knight Rises. Now, if I recall, they've yet to refer to Hathaway's character as Catwoman, but she is playing Selina Kyle (who is the original and most famous Catwoman).

So, for convenience's sake, I'm going to refer to Hathaway's character as Catwoman (mainly because if I refer to her as Kyle, Catwoman is going to slip somewhere in this post).

If you haven't seen the picture, here it is (bigger here):

This is the picture, that was officially released. There are other ones of Hathaway's stunt double (presumably from the same scene) that can be viewed here: Catwoman Stunt Double - Possible SPOILERS

My first conscious thought about the suit was that if I didn't know that Hathaway was playing Catwoman, I would have taken this for Batgirl. My second thought was that if I had been told that Hathaway was playing Batgirl or The Huntress, I would've believed it.

And to me, that's kind of messed up. In spite of what one might critique about Nolan's films, in terms of adapting the Batman comics, with the possible exception of Scarecrow (and really, who's going to wear this itchy thing), he's done a great job of adapting the look of all the major players into a cinematic form.

To me, what's really missing are the ears. I get that he's going for the minimalized domino mask Julie Newmar look crossed with the goggles look, but even they have the ears. And yes, I know that some iterations of Catwoman (notably the original) don't have the ears, but I think for most people something more like this (or this) comes to mind when they think "Catwoman."

Of course, before thinking about making this post, before eating breakfast, before taking some time to say something understandable, I made a Twitter boo boo and wrote this:

"rsreed13 Robert Reed

Well Nolan, you were bound to screw something up: #ThatisBatgirlnotCatwoman #fb http://yfrog.com/h477lzvej"

 

Now several people have taken this tweet a number of different ways, and I can't blame them for it. So to clear some things up:

 

1. I think I made that first hashtag a little clearer in the above. The costume just doesn't say "Catwoman" to me on its own, in a way that I think Catwoman's costume should.

 

2. In regards to Nolan screwing something up, I think the costume Hathaway is wearing is kind of a screw up in terms of capturing an iconic Catwoman. That's not to say that Hathaway herself won't knock the character out of the park, or that the costume can't be an intermediate stage between Selina Kyle and Catwoman, or that Nolan's even trying to capture the look of Catwoman. It's just to say that I don't think the costume says "Catwoman," and in that respect, I don't care for it.

 

3. Just because I don't like think the costume is "Catwoman," doesn't mean I'm ragging on the film itself or Hathaway, so if I came off that way, my bad. I'm still looking forward to this film, largely because of some of the imagery that has leaked and what it might mean in terms of the story (if you want to SPOIL some things for yourself, go here and have a look around).

 

4. On its own, I actually like the costume. The goggles look nifty, and those blue lights probably serve some badass function. It just doesn't say "Catwoman" to me.

 

5. Catwoman riding the batpod is the most badass thing officially released by WB. I like that more than the fact that I might get a properly done Bane.

 

In summary, sorry about the Twitter boo boo. Hopefully this clears some of that up.

MCU Timeline

Below is my unofficial MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) timeline that takes into account the released films except Captain America: The First Avenger. Note, none of the deleted scenes are taken into account. I have also left out the last few scenes of Thor (including the Post-Credits scene) as I could not realistically determine a spot for Jane recalculating when the next storm would occur or Selvig’s meeting with Fury. I'd guess that the ending with Jane occurs a few weeks after this timeline ends as she and S.H.I.E.L.D. would be collecting and combining data. I’d also assume that the post-credits scene of Thor would take a few weeks after this, as I think it would take time for Loki to get to Midgard, possess Selvig, and for this possessed Selvig to get clearance to study the Cosmic Cube. I will add Cap once I get to see it on my own (so that I don't distract my family/friends).  MCU Timeline 965 – Odin and the Asgardians save Earth from the Frost Giants (Thor) ~965{1} – Odin defeats the Frost Giants and adopts Loki (Thor) 1963 – Anton Vanko comes to the U.S. for work (IM2) 1969 – Anton Vanko is deported from the U.S. back to Russia (IM2) 1974 – The Stark ’74 Expo (IM2) 03/07/2004{2} – Banner becomes the Hulk For the First Time (TIH) 04/18/2004 – Banner is caught on security camera footage (TIH) 02/07/2006 – Banner attempts to contact Dr. Elizabeth Ross (TIH) 10/21/2006 – Banner’s last sighting for 5 months (TIH) Tony has the Awards Ceremony in Las Vegas (IM) + 36 hours – Tony is captured in Afghanistan (IM) + 3 months – Tony escapes capture. (IM) + 1 day – Stark visits Rhodes and starts work on the Mark II (IM) + 10 days – Stark flies the Mark II around the lab. (IM) +1-7 days{3} – Stark flies the Mark II around the city (IM) + 1 day – Stark designs the Mark III (IM) + ~5 hours {4}– Stark fights the Ten Rings Terrorists in Gulmira (IM) + 1 day – Iron Man fights Iron Monger (IM) +1 day – Stark announces he is Iron Man (IM). Anton Vanko dies (IM2). Stark meets Nick Fury (IM). The Hulk’s last emergence for 158 days (TIH){5} +158 days – Banner is in Brazil and cuts himself in the factory (TIH) + 12 days – Opening Ceremony for the year long Stark Expo (IM2) + 1 day – Stark has the Senate Hearing in D.C. (IM2) + 2 days Stark returns home from the senate hearing. A diagram shows 362 days left in the Stark Expo (IM2) +~6 days{6} – Banner is confronted in Brazil and fights Blonsky for the first time (TIH) + 1 day – Banner is in Guatemala (TIH) + ~4 days{7} – Stark meets “Natalie Rushman” (IM2) + ~2 days{7} – Stark is attacked by Ivan Vanko at the Monaco Race Track (IM2) + 1 day – Stark returns home from Monaco (IM2) + 1 day – Tony Stark’s Birthday (IM2) + 1 day – Stark is visited by Nick Fury and put on House Arrest. Fury mentions troubles in the Southwest Region at Randy’s Donuts. (IM2) + 1 day – Stark meets with Pepper and rediscovers a new element (IM2) +1 day - Stark goes back into hardware mode. Coulson leaves for New Mexico (IM2) Thor is honored in Asgard, but breaks into Jotunheim after an intrusion by Frost Giants. Odin banishes Thor. Thor and Mjolnir crash into the desert. Thor is taken by Jane Foster (Thor) {8} +1 day – Iron Man and War Machine fight the Drones and Whiplash. A diagram shows 343 days left in the Stark Expo.(IM2) Coulson and S.H.I.E.L.D. set up shop in New Mexico. In the evening, Thor breaks into the S.H.I.E.L.D. camp where he is captured by Coulson. Thor is then rescued by Dr. Selvig. Dr. Selvig and Thor get drunk. Jane and Thor spend the night together. (Thor) + 1 day – Lady Sif and the Warriors Three arrives on Earth and help Thor fight the Destroyer. Thor returns to Asgard and overthrows Loki. Dr. Selvig and Dr. Jane Foster are hired/aided by S.H.I.E.L.D. (Thor) +3 days{9} – Bruce arrives at Culver University in Virginia (TIH) + 1 day – Banner sneaks onto Campus by giving a security guard a pizza (TIH) + 1 day – Bruce is attacked by the Army on Campus (TIH) Stark has his meeting with Nick Fury (IM2) + 1 day – Betty and Bruce arrive at the motel (TIH) + 1 day – Betty and Bruce sell her Necklace and travel to NY. General Ross says that Banner has made it five years without being found out. (TIH) + 1 day – The Hulk fights Abomination (TIH) + 31 days – Banner summons the Hulk in British Colombia, Stark visits General Ross and informs the General that a team is being put together. (TIH) Key: (TIH) – The Incredible Hulk (IM) – Iron Man (IM2) – Iron Man 2 (Thor) - Thor (duh!) NOTES: {1} – I’m assuming that Odin and the Asgardians win the battle in the same year; no real way of knowing though. {2} In the opening montage to The Incredible Hulk, the date of the break out is listed as March 7th. Due to later dialogue, I assume the year is 2004 which places the film around 2008-2009. However, General Ross states that Banner hasn’t made a mistake in 5 years, which gives a little bit of a leeway in case a later film (Captain America, The Avengers) chooses to actually give a date. {3} When Stark goes to the party the night he designs the Mark III, a newscast says he has been bedridden for weeks. I’m going to go out on a limb and say it took another week for him to finish the Mark II. In that same newscast they say that the “I’m not building weapons” conference was earlier that month. {4} Jarvis says the Mark III construction will take approximately 5 hours. {5} The Stark Conference and The last Hulk out are so close, that I enjoy speculating that Stark’s reveal that he is Iron Man is what triggered the Hulk’s emergence. The 158 days comes from information given at the beginning of TIH {6} I’m giving this much time between events due to the soda needing to be shipped, bought, drunken, and the Army to get to Banner {7} Due to the 343 days listed at the end of the film, I needed to insert missing days somewhere, and this seems to be one of the best times to do it. Stark says to Pepper that she’s only been in charge for a week near the end of the film, and I’m taking his word somewhat literally here. Costume changes (or rather a lack thereof) later in the film make me think that this placement is correct. {8} This is the biggest issue of contention and I’d love your opinions on it. The issue arrives from when Coulson leaves Stark in Iron Man 2 and when he arrives in New Mexico in Thor. It appears that in Iron Man 2, Coulson leaves as Stark is nearly finished with the new reactor, which would imply it being the afternoon (the lighting of a later scene tells us that is not the evening). In Thor, Coulson arrives in the morning/midday as the locals have been pulling at the hammer for awhile, yet Thor is still eating breakfast. In my opinion, this means that Coulson leaves for New Mexico the day prior (or rather, the same 24 hour period, just in the afternoon before the nightly crash) to the arrival of Thor and Mjolnir, as Jane Foster’s dialogue at the beginning of Thor and Nick Fury’s comments in Iron Man 2, imply that weird stuff has been happening for awhile. This means that Coulson takes a bit of time to prepare his crew for New Mexico and either drives or flies out there before driving to the site. I think this is reasonable enough, as opposed to having him get out there in a matter of hours (which is what it would have to be, as New Mexico would lose daylight before California). {9} The film says that Banner arrived at Culver University 17 days after the Brazil Incident There's also Film Buff Online's MCU Timeline Their timeline has used more sources than my own and comes up with a slightly different order, and more accurate dates (due to the additional sources). My timeline uses the films exclusively, while theirs uses supplemental material (prequel comics, novel adaptations, knowledge of actual events, etc).

Uh-oh.

I'm going to give this a try.

This could spell trouble for everyone involved, so be careful not to come back here on a regular basis.

- Rob