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The most powerful superheroes must balance their weaknesses against their amazing powers to add up to a net gain. Considering that every superhero is a flawed human (excluding Superman, of course), this is not a simple equation. Strength, intelligence, resourcefulness, and ability to manipulate the environment around them are all important features of power, but they must be examined against their vulnerabilities, their character flaws and their willingness to exploit their powers. Given those criteria, let’s look at my personal list of the top ten most powerful superheroes.

10. The Green Lantern. The Green Lantern gets his powers from a magic ring. Okay, later it’s a technological invention, but let’s not quibble. The Green Lantern’s powers are almost limitless. He can do anything he wants with that stupid ring. Fly at the speed of light, emit kryptonite radiation, time travel, punch, cut, shield. But he has a few weaknesses. First, the ring only operates if the user has the right kind of will-power. It’s also vulnerable to the color yellow. The reason I put GL so low on this list, considering how powerful he is, is that his powers come from a single object. Take the ring away, and he’s nothing.

It is here on this cold December day just a little less than three weeks shy of Christmas that I felt the warmth of New Mexico’s High Desert in my living room, after having watched John Grabowska’s documentary film, Remembered Earth: New Mexico’s High Desert. This half hour feature will allow one to witness the American West against time and timelessness and marvel at the beauty one sees, but also to feel a part of it in knowing that having lived it, one ultimately becomes it.

Once again John Grabowska and his team (stunning photography by Steve Ruth and haunting musical score by Todd Boekelheide) create another cinematic experience that pulls both mind and memory into this beloved landscape. Presented by Idaho Public Television, this PBS documentary is not to be overlooked. Rife with wildlife and yet seemingly stark, New Mexico’s High Desert is presented as a reverie unto itself.

While the narration ruminates upon the varying vastness, Grabowska offers his poetic style of prose: “to imagine that we touch it with our hands at every season and listen to the sounds that are made upon it,” and “recollect the glare of noon,” and “reality dries romance into full retreat.” We are shown images of dewdrops upon a leaf that will later likely be dried by the high sun, only to then float above a series of canals carved by centuries into stone. Shadows of plants stretch across rocks, and condors glide over quiet peaks.

Unveiled in 2007, The Beatles LOVE grew out of a mutual admiration between the late George Harrison and Cirque founder Guy Lalibert. After years of discussion, enough interest developed to develop the latest Cirque du Soleil show, LOVE.

This is a different Cirque show compared to the others in Vegas. Here they have taken the original master recordings from the Beatle’s Abbey Road Studios and digitally enhanced them to spine-tingling perfection. Then, instead of the traditional Cirque acrobatic wonders, they have melded a celebration of modern marvels as rollerbladers and skateboarders fly and twist in youthful energy. There are still the dazzling sound and visual effects you would expect of a Cirque display, but melded with a rawer emotion.

Millions were spent in theater and company to bring this extravaganza to live at the Las Vegas’ Mirage. The theater itself is an amazing space that over 500 people helped create. In fact, it often becomes another character to the scenes as the players flurry about it. The international cast of 60 work in dazzling and farcical costumes in guise ranging from Lady Madonna to Sergeant Pepper and The Walrus to Father McKenzie. In fact, they dash around from so many different directions and angles, you can never see everything that is going on. It is one of those rare shows (yet common for a Cirque production) where you see something new at each visit.

Many parents may see a cartoon in a store and if they’re uneducated and their child wishes to purchase the cartoon they may buy it without realizing that not all cartoons are intended for children. I have seen so many petitions, organizations, and websites that scream that anime is corrupting america’s children.

It seems like the problem stems from 1 of 2 misconceptions.

Myth 1: Anime, or all animated films are for children
Fact 1: Not true, as this article will reveal, many anime is created specifically for adults

Myth 2: Anime is all porn and disgusting violence
Fact 2: Not true, many anime are in fact appropriate for family entertainment and others aimed at teens and young adults pose thought provoking challenging social and political issues about humanity.

If parents would take the time to get involved in their children’s life, then it would alleviate alot of the misconceptions surrounding the anime market. Hopefully some concerned parents will see this article and better understand the ratings so they know which anime they should be letting their kids watch.