Saturday, February 21, 2004

The story of this sketch is told in my con report from the day I got it.

AQUAMAN
by Mark Tedin
16 November 2003
(permission to post given 16 November 2003 in person)
www.marktedin.com

The last of the sketches from the November 16th comic con, and the last (save one) sketch I currently have permission to post. I hope to get more permissions, if not more sketches, at the Emerald City Comicon on the 29th. Yes, I bought tickets today. Yes, I really hate Ticketmaster, and I remember again why I don't like using their service. $7 in charges for $16 in tickets is a bit extreme. Next time I'll make time to go down to the stadium in person to buy them. Anyway, a strangely aquired sketch will be posted for the next Saturday Sketch. Until then, enjoy this one.

To see all the sketches I have permission to post so far, check out my Sketchbook Page. If you have any contact information for any of the other artists I'm trying to contact, please e-mail me. Click for a random Aquaman sketch.

by Tegan at 7:02 PM Seattle time

Batman Adventures #11: This issue was very satisfying, if only because of the solution that Batman eventually comes up with to keep The Riddler off his back. It's really a lovely answer to a pressing problem.

Abadazad #1: Ok, you all know that my husband is one of the adult experts in the study of "The Wizard of Oz" series of books, right? And you've all visited his website just to see everything there is to know about Oz? Well, if you didn't know, you know now. And so you know I came to this book with a little more knowledge about Oz than the average reader. And while Abadazad is not Oz, it certainly owes a lot to L. Frank Baum's most famous series. This is certainly an updated version of all the gentle fairy tales of the past, and I really hope we get to see a lot more of it. Yeah, I know what the chances are at this point... but hope springs eternal. My only complaint with this issue is how little we got to see of Abadazad itself. I'm sure the next issue will fix that. Oh yeah, and I really liked Martha.

Still to review: Birds of Prey, Secret Identity, New Frontier, and Outsiders.

by Tegan at 12:15 PM Seattle time

Friday, February 20, 2004

Assembly #4: I should have caught it. Better readers than I would have gotten it for sure, but it surprised me. I didn't have any idea what to expect for the end of the story. So I was taken completely by surprise when I got to the end. This is, in my opinion, a good thing. Because of the amount of fighting, this was hard to read, but the end almost made up for the faults.

Common Grounds #2: Loved the first issue. This issue lived up to the promise of the first. I particularly liked the first story, partly because no superheroics were involved, and partly because the artwork was so excellent. The second story was good, but the first one really hit me. I'm looking forward to the rest of this series.

Still to review: Batman Adventures, Birds of Prey, Secret Identity, New Frontier, Outsiders, and Abadazad.

by Tegan at 10:44 PM Seattle time

I once wanted to play football. Softball was irritatingly slow. I was never any good at basketball or volleyball. But I figured I could stand in a line of large people and attempt to push somebody down. Of course, women aren't allowed to play with the guys.

So imagine my surprise to learn that a woman did manage to play with the guys, but paid a horrible price for her daring. Even more surprising, to me, is that Neuheisel is involved. Yeah, New-weasel, the guy who was just fired from the University of Washington. His involvement is secondary to the story, but certainly brought it home to me.

But the sexual abuse Katie Hnida went through is not the worst of it. Claiming that he didn't know anything about the problems, the coach Gary Barnett said: "You know what guys do - they respect your ability. Katie was a girl, and not only was she a girl, she was terrible... She couldn't kick the ball through the uprights." Yeah, she's a "girl". In fact, she's the first "girl" to ever score in a I-A football game. If she couldn't kick the ball through the uprights, howcome she made 27 of 28 point afters in high school, along with 3 field goals in three attempts? And howcome she's has success at New Mexico with the Lobos? She may not be a star, but she can clearly "kick the ball through the uprights" when she isn't being hassled and groped by teammates.

And also note that Katie Hnida claimed she had complained about her mis-treatment at the hands of his players: Hnida would not say how many times she complained to Barnett about mistreatment, but said: "That was certainly not the only incident he was aware of. If he was not aware of anything else, then it's hard to imagine he was blind and deaf," Hnida said. "I never got that impression, although he and I didn't have a very open, communicating relationship like [New Mexico coach Rocky Long] and I do." In other words, the coach was well aware of the abuse, but still implied in an interview that it was OK because she was, in his opinion, a lousy kicker.

Considering all the other allegations currently being thrown at the football department in question, perhaps Colorado ought to shut down its program and clean house. At the very least, the coach ought to be fired for letting this sort of thing happen. Just my opinion, mind. I'm only a "girl".

It's all Atrios' Fault that I'm ranting about this topic.

by Tegan at 9:33 AM Seattle time

Thursday, February 19, 2004

Smallville: Obsession [3-14]: But for the revelations about Adam, which were already hinted at, this one would have been incredibly boring. The only fun I had watching this one was commenting about how gorgeous Clark is and peeking to see if hubby-Eric was reacting.

Angel: Smile Time: Wow. This was so funny, I think I need to watch it again. Too bad we didn't tape it. Best line? Hard to say, but I'd go with: "I'm made of felt. (nasal) And my nose comes off." Bwah! There was also a bit about the one guy losing his "mental upgrade" which I was aware of, but came to a head in this episode. And the puppet vs Spike fight was one of the best ever. And the werewolf was good too. In fact, I just loved this episode, and I'm glad I had it to take my mind off Smallville.

by Tegan at 1:49 PM Seattle time

Apparently Marvel's solicits for May leaked out before they wanted them to, which has been a topic for discussion among comics bloggers. Since I can't stand that Marvel has bumped up the price of Previews by insisting on publishing an extra pamphlet just for themselves, I've started ordering straight from the order form for them, ignoring their solicits. So the news is pretty much meaningless to me, except to note it as an amusing piece of news. Apparently the news sites weren't quite ready for the revelations in the May solicits.

In any case, hubby-Eric and I already have our preliminary Previews order ready. And Previews doesn't actually come out until next Wednesday. I'm always a bit ahead of the game that way.

by Tegan at 9:05 AM Seattle time

Wednesday, February 18, 2004

For the Monday holiday, one of the few breaks hubby-Eric will get this year, the two of us did our taxes. To my surprise, we are getting a substantial chunk o' money back, and we immediately decided to spend a bit of it. If hubby-Eric wants to brag about his purchases, well, he's got his own blog. But since this is my blog, I'm going to tell you all what I got.

I'm going wireless. Not completely wireless, sadly, but enough to hopefully hang out in the living room with the laptop, watching TV with hubby, and yet still access the 'net. I wanted to go wireless eventually, but figured it could wait. But then I was reminded that I'm house-sitting at the Pug House Of Horrors later this spring, thankfully without the pugs, and in order to access the net with the network they have set up, I would probably need a wireless connection. So I figured I ought to look into the various types of wireless and figure out what Eric's Parents have at their house, and what I would need to connect.

A couple of frustrating hours later, I got it mostly sorted out to my satisfaction. Basically there are two types of home-network wireless, and they are mostly compatible with one another. To make sure I could access the Pug House's network, I just needed to get a decent card. And to get a wireless router for my own house, it would cost as low as $25 (if the rebate goes through). So I made those purchases, via Amazon, late Monday night.

So now I'm just waiting for a UPS truck to come by with my new router and wireless card, then the real fun begins. I'll let you know as I start work on it how it all goes.

By sheer synchronicity, my little sister came by later that night and nearly the first words out of her mouth were, "what do you know about wireless networks"? She wants to set my mom up on a DSL line with a wireless router, so that sister can come home and work on-line from where-ever, and mom will have a much faster internet connection. We went out the next morning and bought a router, wireless card for sister's laptop, and an ethernet card for mom's computer which I need to go down and install for her. Since I'd just spent several hours researching, I was able to give what I hope will be good advice. Again, we'll have to see.

by Tegan at 4:51 PM Seattle time

My record on birthdays this year is dismal. I keep forgetting. And here I even forgot my little brother's birthday! Ack! Happy belated little brother. Hope life is treating you and your family well.

My little brother is the next youngest in the family after me. He was born when I was four years old, and I hated him from the start. First off, I was just old enough to start enjoying being the baby of a large family when he came along and ruined it. The second reason had to do with an insensitive nurse at the hospital when we went to see him. There were complications of some sort, even today I'm not clear on the details and I don't want to be. I know my little brother was too big, and the doctor had to break his collarbone to get him born. And I know what the nurse told me as the reason we couldn't see my mom in the hospital that day. "Your mom turned blue" she said. I was FOUR YEARS OLD. I had no clue what "turning blue" signified, but the way she said it, and the way other people reacted to it, made me think that it was the worst possible thing to happen to a mom. I blamed little brother for that.

There were other reasons, when we were growing up, that made little brother and I a natural rivalry. We really didn't get along at all until we became grown-ups. And while we aren't as close as I am with some of my other sibs, I can say that I'm really ashamed that I forgot to mention his birthday on the day. Sorry, Daniel.

by Tegan at 11:17 AM Seattle time

Tuesday, February 17, 2004

Johnny B once again has an irresistable link. This one is to the Acme License Maker, where you can build a license plate for your state... Yeah, I made a few.

First off: the style of plate that I grew up with:

I loved the classic green-on-white plates, but nonetheless I was delighted when we moved to a plate with an image of Mt Rainier (pronounced "ray-near") on it. The first one, "TEGAN" is the earlier design of the plate. Eventually it was determined that the state name was hard to read, so it was changed when the "centennial celebation" bit was dropped. The current plates are easy to read from a distance, even if the state name looks a little boring now.

The site also lets you make historic plates, though the choices are limited to what they have. I would have liked to make my husband a vanity plate from the era of the plates I grew up with (and he would know exactly why), but that wasn't an option. So instead I went for a historical plate from 1939 - a significant year for the state.

by Tegan at 12:28 PM Seattle time

Monday, February 16, 2004

The DC website has posted previews for books coming out in May. Including another Aquaman cover by (you guessed it) Alan Freakin' Davis!

A few other good books listed for this superhero fan... I'll probably be reading the website the rest of the night...

by Tegan at 6:12 PM Seattle time

Zulu Heart by Steven Barnes: The is the second book in what I hope will become a series. The first book (Lion's Blood) was good, my review was positive. But I think this book managed to outdo the first. While Lion's Blood made me think, Zulu Heart made me feel. The attitudes that allow people to own slaves were foreign to me, I thought. But this book opened my eyes in ways I did not expect. I very much hope to see another book set in this world, as there were plenty of plot threads left open. I may even have to write a fan letter for this one.

Which brings me to an offer. I got a copy of Lion's Blood at a convention. By luck, I have a few more copies. I intended to give them out to people "eventually", but got delayed by the usual fun of real life. If you would like a copy of Lion's Blood and are willing to pay for the shipping, please e-mail me (make sure the subject line says either the name of this blog or Lion's Blood so I don't accidently delete it). Send me your mailing address, I'll send the book and you can send a check or something to cover the postage when you have time. I'll post an update when (if?) I run out of copies to send to people.

by Tegan at 9:18 AM Seattle time

Sunday, February 15, 2004

Fallen Angel #8: So Lee finds out what she wants to know, and it's more gruesome than you might have thought. And that's all that sticks with me about this issue. It was gruesome. And Lee is not a nice person, and is fully aware of that. Again, I don't know why I'm reading this book, but it keeps drawing me back.

1602 Part Seven: Last panel... explains a lot. I won't say I guessed, but I suspected. And poor Doctor Strange! Ack! Come to think of it, poor Clea. On the other hand, it may well be Clea who becomes the most important character in the final chapter of the story. She's had a fairly large role throughout, so it wouldn't surprise me if she "saves the day". The funeral on board the ship was very interesting. I'm liking this story.

Thor #74: Magni is the key to this story, I can see. If I wasn't convinced before, the events of this issue made it obvious. This storyarc feels like it is near to wrapping up, but there is a lot more that needs to happen and be explained. I'm not sure if I like that... either we will get a rushed ending, or a drawn-out ending that uses up all the momentum and leaves the reader saying "get on with it already!" We'll have to see.

by Tegan at 11:46 AM Seattle time