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It’s a common conceit that any new series of superhero movies has to start with the origin. It doesn’t matter if 90% of the world’s population already knows that the death of Batman’s parents drove him to become a ludicrously rich vigilante, or that Superman came from the planet Krypton, or that Spider-Man was bitten by a radioactive spider. Movie studios are convinced that the story still needs to be retold on the screen, and then retold yet again if the series gets a new lead actor or director or executive producer or key grip. It’s a rare case—say, the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy—where the first movie of a superhero series gives us anything terribly new. More often they come into their own with the second movie. With the origin retelling out of the way we get The Dark Knight, we get Iron Man 2, we get The Avengers. We get Captain America: The Winter Soldier. There was one thing that made Captain America: The First Avenger different from most superhero franchise setups: It was a World War II movie, a period piece. As a result, The Winter Soldier had to carry a little of the weight of setting up Cap’s supporting cast since the bulk of them have died of old age by now.

Fifteen years ago, NATO was bombing Yugoslavia. This may be difficult for people to grasp who believe the Noah movie is historical fiction, but: What your government told you about the bombing of Kosovo was false. And it matters. While Rwanda is the war that many misinformed people wish they could have had (or rather, wish others could have had for them), Yugoslavia is the war they're glad happened -- at least whenever World War II really fails as a model for the new war they're after -- in Syria for instance, or in Ukraine -- the latter being, like Yugoslavia, another borderland between east and west that is being taken to pieces. The peace movement is gathering in Sarajevo this summer. The moment seems fitting to recall how NATO's breakout war of aggression, its first post-Cold-War war to assert its power, threaten Russia, impose a corporate economy, and demonstrate that a major war can keep all the casualties on one side (apart from self-inflicted helicopter crashes) -- how this was put over on us as an act of philanthropy. The killing hasn't stopped. NATO keeps expanding its membership and its mission, notably into places like Afghanistan and Libya.

Franklin County voters will be faced with Issue 6 on their May ballots. Issue 6 proposes a permanent 1.25 mil property tax levy, which amounts to a 110 percent property tax increase from the amount the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium is currently receiving in Franklin County property taxes. If Issue 6 passes, the additional money would enable the Zoo to build a downtown satellite facility, expand the aquarium, build a new animal hospital and make other improvements. Franklin County voters have passed four zoo levies since the first in 1985. The last levy, in the November 2004 presidential election cycle, passed handily ­­ winning approval of its 10­year, 0.75 mill operations and construction levy by a vote of 312,998 – 154,205 (67 percent – 33 percent). In that levy campaign, the Zoo put a Eurasian eagle owl on display at High Street and 15th Avenue as part of the Zoo’s advocacy on behalf of the levy request. This year, the Zoo has trotted out a black footed penguin and cheetah cubs at Columbus Zoo and Aquarium.

If you liked Columbus City Schools’ 24 percent tax hike proposal last November (and most people didn't), you will love the Columbus Zoo’s 110 percent tax hike proposal coming this May. Voters overwhelmingly rejected the school’s proposed Issue 50 property tax levy boondoggle, and should do the same with the Zoo’s proposed Issue 6 property tax levy over­reach. Have these publicly­funded agencies lost their collective minds? The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium is asking voters in May to more than double the Franklin County property tax dollars directed toward the zoo, in large part to fund the Columbus Zoo’s third facility in central Ohio: a proposed $50­70 million new downtown zoo. Franklin County taxpayers have been very generous to the Zoo in the past, raising our property taxes twice to fund the Columbus Zoo (which, though located in Delaware County is not funded by Delaware County property taxes), and The Wilds (also owned by the Columbus Zoo, which, though located in Muskingum County, is not funded by Muskingum County property taxes).

I was just reminded of a memory after hearing someone's hilarious story of kicking the ice off of the grill of a car that he later realized was not his, when he saw the actual owners of the car looking at him like "Hey man, WTH?" My story is about my best friend and I as we were driving through the desert in Southern California on our way back from our first trip to Las Vegas. We were 20, too young to drink or gamble, but we did have a blast while I was home on leave from my USAF tour in Germany. Headed in the same direction we were, I was awestruck by the beauty of the monarch butterfly migration as they passed through the area in what seemed like a fantasy. What a stunningly wondrous sight of millions and millions of orange and black butterflies peacefully fluttering by as they silently headed south for the winter escorting us on our journey. At some point we had to pull over and fuel up the car. As we walked toward the station to pay for the fuel and buy cold drinks, I saw a truck parked in front of the building.

Peter Baum is looking forward to becoming a weekend warrior for the Ohio Machine, a Major League Lacrosse team which plays out of Delaware. Like many of his teammates, the Colgate University graduate lives out of town but will join his fellow cogs in the Machine every weekend for games. “Yeah it’ll be pretty different,” says Baum, the 2012 Tewaaraton Trophy winner for the Raiders and the top pick in the 2013 MLL Collegiate Draft for the Ohio Machine. “It’ll be different to build a sense of chemistry when you are only playing together once or twice a week. “At the same time, the guys who are playing in this league are playing at such a high level. They understand how to play a sport, not just from the physical standpoint but from the mental side. It makes things easier to jell once we get playing.” President and General Manager John Algie will count on Baum and a host of new talent to help the Machine improve on their second consecutive 2­12 finish in their two­year history. The Machine finished behind Denver (14­0), Chesapeake (9­5), Hamilton (9­5), Charlotte (7­7), Rochester (6­8), Boston (5­9) and New York (4­10) in the regular season.

As the death toll continues to ascend, now reaching over 140,000, Syria has entered its fourth year of war on a high stakes battleground. The distinction between the war’s dynamic three years ago and today, however, is stark. A once largely unified rebel faction has been reduced to infighting amongst radical Islamist forces and secular moderate elements. Whereas moderate tone and language initially defined the opposition in Syria, Islamist groups from neighboring countries seized the opportunity to implant their influence in the region. These groups then began to join rebel forces, offering supplies and strategy. After all, several of the Islamist fringe groups had already been involved in guerilla-style warfare in places like Iraq. Yet original members of the opposition cause, who also value the overthrow of Bashar Assad, part company with extremists when it comes to the system of government they prefer after Assad is removed. Fighting between rebel coalitions has thus become commonplace. Of all the potential setbacks for Bashar Assad, he has not had to worry about a unified opposition. Among other advantages for Assad belongs a steady flow of aid from Russia and Iran.

OKCupid members arriving at the site via a Firefox browser today are being asked to make a choice and stand up against anti-gay bigotry. At the center of the controversy is Firefox's new CEO, Brendan Eich, who donated money in support of California Prop 8 back in 2008. Visitors to the site browsing with Firefox received a special message from OKCupid stating, “Hello there, Mozilla Firefox user. Pardon this interruption of your OkCupid experience. Mozilla’s new CEO, Brendan Eich, is an opponent of equal rights for gay couples. We would therefore prefer that our users not use Mozilla software to access OkCupid.” Visitors were then offered redirect tabs to download alternatives to the Mozilla Firefox web browser. The move is a bold piece of activism in a tech industry becoming more willing to flex its political muscle. The Prop 8 ballot measure instituted a statewide ban on gay marriage in California after winning at the polls with the help of large donations from the right wing. It temporarily redefined marriage in California as specifically a union between a man and a woman.

Recently Facebook has been on a media offensive. They have been touting their March 28 purchase of experimental Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV, called drones) manufacturer Ascenta. Ascenta has built a solar-powered extreme endurance drone that can remain aloft at high altitude for years. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg sees this as the key to his dream of expanding internet access in the developing world. Facebook's planned deployment of drone-based internet will compete directly with Google's planned use of high altitude balloons to expand rural connectivity in the developing world in what it calls Project Loon. Both projects have the leave the door wide open to the surveillance state in ways that neither advertise. Ascenta's connections to the defense industry are well documented. Facebook's plan is to have Ascenta's drones constantly circle an area at an altitude above 65,000 feet. This altitude would keep the lingering UAVs out of the way of both commercial air traffic and harmful weather. From that altitude the drones would provide a point of internet connectivity for cellular and wireless devices either directly, or via line of sight base stations.

Paramount has finally released a full trailer for the upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, and the internet just wouldn’t be the internet if everybody wasn’t up in arms over it. But along with the cries of RUINED FOREVER there are a lot of seriously legitimate concerns about the latest take on TMNT. Many of them are relevant to the current state of paint­by­number Hollywood blockbusters as a whole. The first seriously relevant issue: Whitewashing, aka a character who is explicitly supposed to be a person of color being changed into a white person. In this case, iconic villain The Shredder, who is Japanese (or, in one version, an alien posing as Japanese), is played by not­at­all­Asian William Fichtner. Fichtner is a great actor, and he puts on a good show in the trailer, but there are plenty of Japanese actors who could have played that role just as well. The only reason the turtles were ninjas at all was because they were raised by a Japanese immigrant who practiced martial arts, and being steeped in that culture is a significant part of the story. Is Fichtner’s Shredder some white otaku?