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I love Captain America.

I'm not ashamed of it.

I've been reading the comic since I was a kid - even when it was really lousy.

But I'm having a lot of trouble getting excited about Steve Rogers, the original Captain America, coming back from the dead this week.

And can you blame me?

The list of Marvel and DC superheroes and supervillains who have "died" only to come back from the dead is, at this point, a hell of a lot longer than the list of Marvel and DC superheroes and villains that I still find interesting.

Some years ago, comics writer Grant Morrison wrote a memo about reviving interest in the X-Men. There was a list of things the company had been doing to bore or anger readers for decades and he suggested avoiding them. As I recall one of the ones with which I agreed most was killing characters off just to bring them back again. It may be true that Morrison has broken his own rule on this one -- but I still think it's a good rule. How are we supposed to be at all affected by the death of major or even minor characters if we know they're just having a rest and will be back shortly?

Less than a week before Father's Day and I'm willing to bet most of you are still shopping.

Or having just been reminded there's less than a week until Father's Day, are now shopping.

And so, as a community service to the procrastinating masses, I am featuring two father's day gift suggestions (one splurge, one budget conscious) every day between now and Saturday June, 21 -- at which point, you're on your own.

Today's featured gifts:

COOPER'S BREWERY MICRO BREWERY KIT ($99)

If your father is anything like mine, there are few things he loves more than his wife and family. But running a close second and third are good beer and a good project. No reason you can't give him both in one gift.

This micro brewery kit, by venerable Australian brewer Cooper's, is the world's best-selling home brewery kit. And for good reason. It's a great starter kit for those who've never brewed at home, comes with all the gear and instructions you'll need to get started right away and even includes an instructional DVD.

If dad gets deep into it he can invest in plenty more home brewery extras, but this is everything he'll need to get his first few batches perfected -- and share the results with you.

GOURMET SALTS FOR COOKING AND BARBECUING ($7- $10)

Not every dad is a gourmet chef -- but many are grill masters.

Gourmet salts from Salt Traders LLC will bring out the mad scientist in your dad when he hits the grill.

From Hawaiian Black Lava Salt to Dark Pink Himalayan Salt, this stuff is not only a great upgrade from common table salt but even from some of the gourmet sea salt you can get in higher-end stores. And they're priced low enough for you to give a variety, if you like.

Have a great father's day gift idea you'd like to see featured here? Shoot me an e-mail at Joekillian@gmail.com, with Culture Shock somewhere in the subject line.

Blimey! How did I miss that Morrissey turned 50 years old last week? From the Guardian piece on the former Smiths frontman and aging alternative icon's half-century of rock miserablism, this little tidbit on aging and death at one's elbow: "I'm nearly 29," Morrissey said when his first solo album, Viva Hate, came out in 1988. "I'll be dead in a couple of years ... I have a dramatic, unswayable, unavoidable obsession with death. I can remember being obsessed with it from the age of eight or nine. I often wondered if it was quite a natural inbuilt emotion for people who are destined to ... take their own lives. I think if there was a magical, beautiful pill that one could take that would retire you from the world ... I would take it." Luckily, he either missed the fact that a handful of any number of pills would have done the job or consciously decided he'd bulk up, grow older, buy some suits and continue rocking. Damn good thing, too. His latest albums are his best in decades.

Here's an interesting BBC interview about his status as a British icon. Really annoying kid interviewing him, but fascinating none-the-less.

Stunning revelation: Morrissey's favorite Beatle is...Paul? Also, even though David Bowie's still alive and kicking Moz says of his heroes: "No one living..." Ouch. Guess that's the downside of meeting your heroes...

If you've been watching the Colbert Report you know that comedian Stephen Colbert is headed...somewhere...in..the...middle east...at...some point...to entertain our troops there.

He's not allowed to say where or when, but he recently reported to Fort Jackson in his home state of South Carolina for a day of basic training to prepare for the trip.

Who needs that Steve Martin remake of Sgt. Bilko when you've got this happening in real life?

Just when I'd more or less curbed my serious soda habit, they hit me with this.

Pepsi and Mountain Dew are both out in limited, eight-week editions made with REAL SUGAR.

If, like me, you grew up in the 80s and 90s you may have never actually tasted a major American soda made with real sugar. But the recent demonization of (and, let's not kid ourselves, rise in cost of) high fructose corn syrup has engendered a sort of nostalgia for good old natural sugar in the major manufacturers.

You can't fault them for going with some retro design for the re-releases, either.

It's hard to appreciate just how hideous the modern Mountain Dew design is until you look at it next to the classic one.

Is it better for you? Eh, it's probably six of one, half a dozen of the other. The "Throwback" editions, as they're calling them, are still about 100 calories per 8 ounces. But the taste is not even comparable.

For years I've been a fan of Jones sodas made with real sugar - and glad that in Greensboro's Proximity Hotel you can get nothing but real cane sugar cola at their Print Works Bistro. But unless you can scam some foreign-market Coke or Pepsi (and you can locally, at the Super G Mart), it's usually pretty hard to find major soda brands made with real sugar.

Those looking for something billed as actually better for them might try "Pepsi Natural," a new formula with natural flavoring and real sugar. Then again, maybe not. I recently tried "Red Bull Cola," which also bills itself as "all natural." Not pleasant.

I'm still trying to avoid soda when I can so that I can, you know, fit into my clothing and walk up a flight of stairs without wheezing. But while this Throwback stuff is around I think I'm going to enjoy at least one a week -- in place of dessert.

Some interesting bits in this new trailer for G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.

Seeing Christopher Eccelson from Doctor Who as Destro is going to be kind of creepy.

But I still think it's going to be a train wreck.

The revelation that they're outfitting the Joes with what seems suspiciously close to Iron Man armor does not bode well.

I think G.I. Joe Resolute, the new webisode series by comics writer Warren Ellis, does a much better job revamping this property -- which, let's face it, is a little hard to revamp without hacking out massive chunks that make no sense or are just plain embarrassing when you're not eight years old.

I was never an X-Men fanatic but I did enjoy the first movie and think in the hands of good writers -- Grant Morrison, Warren Ellis and Joss Whedon most recently -- it's good stuff.

Fanboy or no, though, this commercial simply breaks my heart.

Incidentally - I got hold of one of the leaked X-Men Origins: Wolverine workprints that's floating around and have to admit -- it's better than the last two X-Men movies. The action and effects are mostly solid, the story (which sticks closely to the Origin comic from 2002) is more compelling than your average super-hero flick (certainly better than the last Spider-Man film, Daredevil or Ghost Rider).

The actors - Hugh Jackman in the lead, Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool, Liev Schreiber as Sabretooth -- were certainly worth watching.

I was prepared to hate it -- but I'm not a fundamentalist. Evidence has changed my mind on this one.

Yesterday I sipped a draft of the newest member of the Guinness family, and perhaps the first on tap in North Carolina (according to bartender Ethan at M'Coul's).

Other places should be getting it in the next couple of days, he said.

Guinness 250

The new brew is different than the Guinness Draught that you're used to having. And don't expect to see that nifty "waterfall" effect that you're used to seeing in the Draught. That effect comes from nitrogen that comes out of the Draught when it's in the glass.

Nope, the 250 is richer in flavor, and fizzier in its carbonation. There's no nitrogen tap such as those found on a Guinness Draught tap - i.e., no black thingy at the end of the tap faucet - so the 250 relies on the same type of carbonation that other beers have.

In all, it's like a double stout, but not super-sweet as some double stouts end up. The 250 is also a part of a big celebration for the 250th anniversary of signing of the 9,000-year lease that Arthur Guinness signed in 1759. Worth a sip for those who like 'em dark.

The new Camera Obscura record, My Maudlin Career, is streaming now on NPR for free.

Sounds like good stuff so far, but I'm a sucker for the Scots.

Go check it out.