Tag: Quora

Deano’s answer to: “Who was the first comic book superhero?”

Posted on by Deano in Q & A

This is a bit tough… Given the particular wording of your question, I’d go with Superman. He’s the first archetypical “superhero” who appeared in comic book form, at least in the US…

(This is actually just Christopher Reeve chasing me after I keyed his car…)

According to Wikipedia[*], the French once again beat us to the punch with a fella called the “Nyctalope”:

(My doctor says I have to stop eating Nyctalope for breakfast when I hit 40…)

As far as other possible “first placers”, you have all manner of costumed superhumans or “ultimate” humans –

  • The Phantom,
  • The Shadow,
  • The Spider,
  • Doc Savage,
  • Tarzan,
  • Zorro,
  • The Green Hornet,
  • etc…

– all of whom, if they magically dropped out of subspace in the Marvel or DC Universes, would be instantly recognized as “Superheroes”, or possibly “Super villains” in some cases.

Nevertheless, just about all of the other candidates appeared first in print books and magazines, comic strips, and radio dramas, and most did not take a strong stand in the comic book format until well after Superman had led the way as a groundbreaking title in the genre/medium in 1938 in Action Comics #1.

[* It’s actually a great Wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sup…]

This answer originally appeared on Quora: What was the first comic book superhero?

Deano’s answer to: “What is the fashion like in the SFBA?”

Posted on by Deano in Q & A

Generally speaking, fashion in the Bay Area is a cross between:

  • flea market “high fashion”,


(Photo snuck quietly off http://www.fashioni.st/2011/04/t…)

  • utilitarian-outdoorsy,


(Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/vid…)

  • and flat-out laziness[*].

(Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/jus…)

Of course, there are many strata to the SFBA, and its fashion subcultures. Generally speaking, however, even the most refined “steampunk bdsm hipster“, “startup khaki cyclist” or “militant vegan go-go dancer“could be easily mistaken for some combination of the above three listed categories… And that doesn’t even include the masses of

  • tourists borifying the place up throughout the year:


(Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/eri…)

  • or the costumed revelers who attend neighborhood festivals and holidays:


(Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/drm…)

[* Frank Chu is on an amazing tireless mission, but let’s face it – he does not dress to impress. Admit it: without the sign, he’d blend in with the SOMA startup doofus crowd]

This answer originally appeared on Quora: What is the fashion like in the SFBA?

Deano’s answer to: “What is the best way to get Japanese knives sharpened in SFBA?”

Posted on by Deano in Q & A

For metal blades – it’s really just a general “where are the best knife sharpening services in the Bay Area”…

(Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/can…)

For that, I would recommend:

  • Hida Tool – www.hidatool.com – 1333 San Pablo Ave, Berkeley
  • Perfect Edge Cutlery – www.perfectedgecutlery.com – 1640 Palm Avenue, San Mateo
  • Critical Edge- a Knife Sharpening Service – (925) 937-3343 – 465 Boyd Road, Pleasant Hill

A lot of folks talk about lucking out with the sharpeners at farmers markets, but read those Yelp reviews carefully, and make sure you’re getting the good one, and not his or her sickday/vacation replacement.

For ceramic blades – you typically need to mail them back to the manufacturer. My wife recently did this with one of our Kyocera knives, and instead of sharpening it, they simply sent us a new knife. Not bad!

(Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/pau…)

This answer originally appeared on Quora: What is the best way to get Japanese knives sharpened in SFBA?

Deano’s answer to: “Were the Hulk movies accurate in portraying Hulk’s strength?”

Posted on by Deano in Q & A

It would be exceedingly difficult to claim that a movie didn’t portray the Hulk’s strength accurately, for one simple reason:

The madder he gets, the stronger he gets.

(Rarrr… Image Courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/tim…)

Thus, any time the Hulk appears to be “weaker than he should be” could be argued away as merely a reflection of his lack of sufficient anger at the given moment… Or, in general, a lack of adrenaline, which is not always induced by anger (there’s a scene in The Incredible Hulk which covers alternate potential means of transformation, but those images are all protected by copyright)

(Let’s just say this is a fair facsimile, and be done with it. Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/the…)

Given the comics’ precedent that there is no significant “upper limit” to the level of the Hulk’s strength, which can reach so-called “Cosmic Levels” under the right circumstances, it’s basically impossible that anything the Hulk does in the films could be considered to be “too strong for the character”, for similar reasons[*].

Where the movies tend to fail is in over-simplifying or misunderstanding the Hulk’s many weaknesses.

[* Actually, since the Hulk in The Incredible Hulk movie appears to have closer ties to “Ultimate Hulk” – a creature born of a mutated gamma-irradiated version of Captain America’s Super Solider Serum, there probably is a more reasonable upper power limit, we just haven’t come close to hitting it yet.]

This answer originally appeared on Quora: Were the Hulk movies accurate in portraying Hulk’s strength?

Deano’s answer to: “What does it feel like to grow up without a father figure in the family?”

Posted on by Deano in Q & A

I learned the rules of basketball mostly by fouling out my own 8th grade team during critical moments. It’s more complicated than it looks, folks.

(Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/jas…)

My best friend taught me how to wet shave. In college.

(Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/gre…)

All those times when your mom said “ask your father” as a lazy way to say no, my mom just said “no”. If she didn’t get it/like it, it just didn’t happen, including things like seeing Star Wars in the theater, at a time when movies stayed in the theater for half a year or more if they were doing really well.

(At least I got to see this cinematic gem as consolation…)

And honestly, even figuring out exactly how to not be killed or courted in the Men’s Room was a bit of trial and error I’d sooner forget…

(Where was this app when I needed it?!? Image courtesy http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjec…)

All grown up, I still find that I have an absolutely alien experience meeting someone’s dad, that simply doesn’t exist when I meet their mom. It’s hard to explain, but it’s there.

Perhaps the best part of growing up without a father actively in the picture, is that through massive overcompensation and the lowered bar of my own experience, I tend to feel that I do a pretty good job as a dad myself. Really, it’s about the only thing I’m not massively fucking up in my life on a daily basis. So, you know, that’s nice.

This answer originally appeared on Quora: What does it feel like to grow up without a father figure in the family?