The summer movie season started last week with the release of the awesome fifth installment in the Fast and Furious franchise. This week follows up with what has become a new tradition of the summer, the blockbuster superhero film.

There are arguably three this summer preparing to duke it out, Captain America next month in June and Green Lantern shortly after in July. But this month we start things off with a hammer blow, delivered by the best hammer swinger in comics, The Mighty Thor. I forgot X-Men First Class too!

I got to see the movie earlier today at a special Marvel invite only screening. The house was packed easily with a few hundreds and everyone was excited to once more see the Marvel logo on screen when the movie began.

Thor is the story of the Norse God of Thunder. Not a crazy man who thinks he is, although we human beings are unsure whether to take his claims seriously, but an honest to god…well god.

The story is told in a way to introduce the audience to the idea of the fantastic and the idea that not only superheroes, but God’s, walk among the people of this planet. Thor’s world of Asgard stands in sharp contrast to the mortal world of New Mexico that we see Thor eventually find himself in. We see the highs of Thor’s victories against the Frost Giants and learn how he comes to be on Earth and powerless.

Every actor in the movie does a top notch job. Hemsworth is every bit the god, standing tall over the normal cast members and coming across with a self assured confidence and charm that only a god of thunder could possess. Hopkins and Portman do a fantastic job of making a serious matter of the craziness of Thor’s reality. And Hiddleston is magnificent and duplicitous as Loki, with every shot of him looking the schemer and villain. Elba, The Warriors Three, Russo, Dennings, and the rest are all regal, godly, funny and awesome which makes me want to see more of Asgard and the gods of Marvel.

The special effects rock. Whether its giant beasts, Frost Giants, or a slightly too short encounter with The Destroyer, the look of all the battles are amazing and definitely deliver.

I saw the movie in 3D and while it did feel like Asgard and the environments had increased depth, I also felt myself thinking that movie looked far to dark in some scenes which I am certain the 3D glasses were the cause of. So I can’t recommend seeing it with or without them. All I can say is the movie is awesome and if you are a fan of 3D you should enjoy it, but don’t expect it to blow you out of the water with anything you haven’t seen before. Thankfully the 3D at least isn’t gimmicky and Thor isn’t throwing his hammer at the camera for cheap effects.

The after credits teaser is a good one and definitely gives a strong hint of what The Avengers will be about and definitely who will cause the most problems so make sure to stay for it!

Personally I can’t wait till Captain America next month. I love superheroes and have always loved Marvel. With the Avengers filming starting this month for their film debut next year it’s a great time to be a superhero film fan. Thor is fantastic first step into the cosmic extra super world of Marvel superheroes. If you’ve been satisfied with the Iron Man films and the last Incredible Hulk, you should definitely enjoy this and stay tuned for more from the House of Ideas.

On a warm summer night in 1973, a popular gay bar in the French Quarter burned down with everyone inside, killing 32 people and injuring dozens more. The worst fire in modern New Orleans history was also a mass homicide by arson, but during the weeks and months ahead, no one would be charged for the crime.

Remember the Upstairs Lounge is the installation of Skylar Fein which documents the circumstances of a horrific fire that tore through a southern gay community in 1973 in New Orleans. One would think an exhibit such as this would be considered depressing, morbid, or controversial. In the beginning, the creator Mr. Fein felt that way himself.

“I had no idea how you’d take death, what was essentially a mass murder and turn it into art. I had never done anything like it, and I would go to the studio and try to make art about death, and it was incredibly depressing. I dreaded going to the studio, and I said, oh my god, something has to change about this. But I finally got some pictures of the bar, the inside of it before the fire. It has pictures of Burt Reynolds and his famous Cosmo centerfold, a picture of Mark Spitz and his Olympic Medals, and that was my way in, because those things made me smile. I have to be able to smile about this and laugh.

So I started making work that related to that part of the story, the pop culture in the US in 1973, the gay pop culture, New Orleans culture in 1973, and that gave me a way into the story. It’s about death, but its also about life. Before these people died they were having a great time, and I feel its another way to honor them.”

As progress through the faux bar and make your way through the swinging doors, the images on the wall, invoked in me what I had heard and thought of as the 70s. At the same time they did bring out a level of sadness and a bit of anger for the ignorance of a single person to lash out at a single place and yet cost so many people their lives.

Contrary to what some of you may be thinking, as I was suspect to thinking myself, the arson that occurred that night is not believed to have been that of a hate crime, but of a belligerent patron of the bar who was ejected from it earlier in the night for causing trouble. A gay man himself who later committed suicide, although never proven to be the one who started the fire.

The installation drew massive crowds in New Orleans, many of which even remembered the bar and some of whom were even there that night, like the firemen who first responded.

Now the creator has brought this installation to New York. He doesn’t expect as many visitors as those that came to see it in New Orleans, he knows the people here can never make the actual deep personal connection that those from New Orleans could. Which is very much akin he believes, to how he, a native of New Orleans, can never truly know what its like to gaze across the New York skyline and not see the once standing twin towers.

Mr. Feins main purpose is in telling the story of this place, that for awhile stood as a cultural icon and meeting place for scores of people that now resides only in the memory of those who remember it and in celluloid for those maybe just now learning of it.

Remember the Upstairs Lounge will be at 447 West 16th Street, in No Longer Empty from April 28th,  2010 to May 30th, 2010. More information can be found here.

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We briefly talked with  Stuart Wall, Co-Founder and CEO.

“We set this up so people can vote for the things they like, and then we’re able to curate it and say what the best deals in NY   are on a particular day. People can then choose to either come to the site and see that or get an email with the things we think would be relevant for them, so its a community approach to helping people find value in brick and mortar stores.”

Postabon was started by three guys straight out of Harvard, where like their about us section says, were looking for good deals on everything since nothing makes you want a good deal more than paying off student loans.  Postabon helps you find and share the best in-store discounts in the NY area.

The discounts and deals are found and generated on the site by the very people using it too find deals. Users can upload ideas through the website or their iPhone application. Deal finders for the site earn Karma points for every deal they post. The more points you accumulate the higher you can rank on Postabon’s Karma Board. The higher you get on the Karma Boards, the better chance you’ll have access to some site exclusive deals or be eligible for chances of winning prizes or invites to special events.

Postabon’s site is up and running with a new look and interface. Make sure to check them out.

Check it here and then hit the more link for some in game footage.

Better version of it should be up on Viddler or youtube within a few hours. Can watch the plain one below.

First up is an interview with the creator of Mana Potion, a video game RPG styled energy drink.

Check them out at this link here. You can also find their products at ThinkGeek, Hot Topic and other places on the web.

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