I would be surprised if they managed to make Black Widow and Hawkeye franchises separate from each other, or bothered to try. Kinda because the people I'm asking only barely have a concept of Captain America as a character. Those two didn't make a huge impression in a lot of the non-comics people I polled.

Iron Man was a fucking miracle and they owe all sorts of arcane sacrifices to RDJ. Thor and Cap are kinda coasting on that, I feel, but Marvel has managed all sorts of magic out of characters that were not originally iconic. It's amazing.

Marvel has managed all sorts of magic out of characters that were not originally iconic.

It’s probably easier for Marvel exactly because the characters aren’t iconic. RDjr can have his own take on Tony Stark exactly because there isn’t a this legacy hampering him.

Thanks for the suggestions, guys. I will pass them along.

I don't feel Batman is hampered by legacy--I think some of the previous incarnation of movies were sufficiently dumb that they were sliding by on nothing but legacy. Superman, on the other hand, hasn't worked out how to get rid of "super-powered boy scout" and tell any of the good stories that print has shown possible.

It took me forever to get out of bed this morning. Not so much the snoozing part--my alarm is actually still half an hour too early, so snoozes are not just allowed, they're the law. But after the alarm was turned off, I just _sat_. God, my head hurts. There's a reason I'm at the office for ten odd hours whenever I make it in. Because I don't want to get in the car and drive home. But I don't really have the option to not come in, because the vendor is sending someone today, and I'm the only one on the project who's allowed to speak.

I don't want to speak.

I want to curl up under my desk.

I've had the delicious muffin and the amazing tea and every applicable med and...it's not fun yet. When does the fun start?

Apparently, Daniel Tosh's new animated series has a mention of rape. He has ordered that this be deleted from the episode that will be shown at Comic Con.

[link]

apparently most of the ep is about rape, so the editors don't know how this will be edited out.

I am not sure fun is on the agenda, but we can work on that.

I have taken a couple of hours "off" this morning from the non-stop paper work/organizing/covering my ass that I have been doing all week. I paid bills and looked at my budget and put all the 2012/13 school year closes on my calendar, then I priced out a Disney World vacation for March and I think I am going to try to make it work.

Unless you have other reasons to go to Florida, you may want to look at Disneyland instead. It is more compact with fewer people and I think much more manageable for one adult with children. I took my kids when they were 8 and 10 and we were able to cover the whole park plus California Adventure (which was included in the ticket) in a couple of days with breaks for rest and meltdowns. Both kids went to Disney World later and said they actually liked Disneyland better.

Sensitivity font warning? I don't know.

I've mentioned before that I volunteer sometimes at a "high-kill" shelter here in Chicago. While I know the "no-kill" concept sounds awesome (and it is! and they are!) those shelters actually have to be extremely restrictive on which animals they take in in the first place, and how many. They often can't or won't take animals with behavioral issues or medical needs - sometimes they don't have the resources to treat them, but also because they may not be as adoptable. Even more often, they are perfectly adoptable - but there's just no room.

So where does that leave the rest? There are a ton of dogs, cats and other animals who fall the cracks. Some of them end up here, at the Animal Welfare League, under the care of one of the most remarkable people I've ever met. [link] For some, it may be for months until she can find them a place in another rescue. For others, it might just be a few days of being cared for, groomed, and loved--maybe for the first time in their lives.

Anyway, the link is just a brief tribute to Diane. There's no gory pictures or heartbreaking stories. But I'm crying just the same.

I am crying now too. I imagine you have to be very strong to work in a high-kill shelter.