Saturday, May 22, 2004

I mention meeting Karin Yamagiwa and getting a sketch from her in my 2004 Emerald City Comicon Report. Karin draws very small. I mean really small. This is the only sketch I've scanned yet that I didn't have to reduce to fit into my sketchbook standards. In fact, I considered making it bigger. Now, I really hate to say this, considering how many great sketches I got at the con... but this is my favorite of the ones I got that day. Yes, it's from an artist most of you have probably never heard of. The style isn't standard. And it's small. But it's FUN. It exudes happiness. There is an energy to this little sketch that most sketches don't have. Anytime a sketch pulls my face into a grin every time I see it, it's a great sketch. This is a great sketch.

AQUAMAN
by Karin Yamagiwa
29 Feb 2004
(permission to post given 29 Feb 2004 in person)
stumpytown.com

by Tegan at 8:41 PM Seattle time - Permalink

This year's mint set arrived, so here's my thoughts on the 2004 offerings.

Michigan: Outline of the state and great lakes with the words "Great Lakes State". Nice, simple, somewhat boring design. I don't mind the state outline coins, they are better than jumbles of images, but they don't really say much about the state. Pretty much all I get from this coin is the concept that they are proud of their lakes. Good for them.

Florida: The motto "Gateway To Discovery" serves as an ocean upon which floats a galleon headed toward a beach with palms. Overhead the Space Shuttle flies. Nice and simple. Two contrasting images, low-tech and high-tech. This is an excellent design.

Texas: "The Lone Star State" has an outline of the state with a star on it, all surrounded by a lariat as the border. The rope border bothers me for some reason. Otherwise the coin seems pretty cool. Nothing special, but at least it isn't ugly.

Iowa: "Foundation in Education" has a one-room schoolhouse, what appears to be a teacher with students planting a tree, and the name "Grant Wood". I gather that it's based on a painting by Grant Wood. It doesn't work for me. The design is nice enough, but it looks like a band across the coin, and for a coin I'm not sure it really works. It doesn't shine.

Wisconsin: The state motto "Forward" is on a banner in front of a cow, a round of cheese and an ear of corn. Ah yes. Let's go forward with the head of a cow. I hate the jumble image coins, which try to show off multiple aspects of the state. This one utterly fails, because the motto doesn't fit with the images at all. Corn, cheese and cow are taking you forward... how?

If you'd like to see what I thought about last year's selection, here's my thoughts on 2003 State Quarters. You can check images of the quarters at the US Mint website.

by Tegan at 12:54 PM Seattle time - Permalink

Amazing Spider-Man #66/507: I knew it. I knew it. Ezekiel's true nature is good, but he's not above fighting for something that simply wrong. This explains Ezekiel pretty well. He is a man who does what is good because he can. But at the root of his powers is a deception, and he's desperate enough to continue to carry the deception out. Odds are, he'll do what is right in the end... an easy way out, and possibly a disappointment, but I don't know how else this particular story could end. Another strong issue.

JLA: Another Nail #1: I'm not a fan of the New Gods, or of the whole Darkseid thing. I'm not a big fan of cosmic stories, either, so the Green Lantern corps just doesn't do that much for me. Thus the entire first half of this issue was me just reading to get the background material. But the story itself seems to be a little more ambitious. Most of this issue was set-up, and it jumped around entirely too much for my tastes. It's clear there's a big story being told, but so far I'm not impressed with the story, even if the art blows me away. Only the next two issues will tell if this one lives up to the first mini, or falls to sequelitis.

Still to review: Powerpuff Girls.

by Tegan at 9:13 AM Seattle time - Permalink

Friday, May 21, 2004

Another resident of Bothell, Garrett Fitzgerald, noticed my post about visiting the tent city. Did anyone else bother to read that post?

Another cool photoshopping contest. In this one, the entries mix fruits. Sounds more boring than it is. Check it out.

Lewis and Clark journals on-line. Quite a neat collection to browse. Via Metafilter.

A lovely song from Eric Idle, called the FCC Song. Mom, don't click. This isn't for you. Lots of f-word in this one. Says Idle: "Here’s a little song I wrote the other day while I was out duck hunting with a judge… It’s a new song, it’s dedicated to the FCC and if they broadcast it, it will cost a quarter of a million dollars." Via Atrios.

Fred Sez (May 20th entry) has some interesting facts about the original costumes of the Fantastic Four, then Fred goes and draws them in those costumes! (again, May 20th entry). Fun stuff, folks. Don't miss it.

El Cazador goes away... I only liked it for Epting's artwork. They will have to search long and hard to find an artist that could replace him. I, personally, am no longer interested. I'll have to check with hubby-Eric, but it appears that we've lost a book from our pull list. Via Thought Balloons.

Ok, somebody tell me whatever happened to The Teen Titans Swingin' Elseworld Special? It was never officially cancelled, just "postponed", and has never shown up on Diamond's cancellation lists. Anyone know where this book stands in DC purgatory?

Suppose you were running for public office. And suppose your opponent sent someone to videotape you. Not just your speeches and press conferences, but your every move. The cameraman follows you everywhere, even into the bathroom. Would you consider this acceptable behavior? Apparently it's fine in the Illinois senate race, where Democratic candidate Barack Obama is being stalked by a paid employee of his opponent.

Neat brain trick. This one gives a little insight into how your brain perceives colors and motion. Via Metafilter.

A summary of The Great Blogads Survey is up. Interesting slice of the blogosphere. It would be even more interesting to see this applied to the blogosphere as a whole, instead of mostly political blogs (since they are the ones that promoted the survey).

The latest Jerry/Superman ad is up. "Do you know Green Lantern?" heh.

Update: Monitor Duty has spotted a Green Arrow Fan Film.

by Tegan at 4:11 PM Seattle time - Permalink

Batman Adventures #14: Nice tie-in of Batman Adventure characters. I like the Gray Ghost, and I like the two different views we get of kids watching his show in this issue. The villain made sense, too. Although, it's almost too much to call him a villain in this one. He's more misguided, but I guess kidnapping is villainous enough.

Birds of Prey #67: I need a scorecard. I'm still not entirely sure what happened in the last few issues. It's clear I'm going to have to pull the issues together and re-read to figure it out. I did like seeing a bunch of DC heroines all working together. I just didn't really understand the storylines.

Time to delve into the AIT/Planet Lar box, and keep me reading so I won't do anything stupid again. The book that came up when I dug down this time was Couscous Express.

Couscous Express by Brian Wood and Brett Weldele. This is going to come as a surprise to people familiar with my tastes. Heck, it's a surprise to me. I really quite liked this one. After my experience with The Couriers 02, I expected to dislike this one. Especially once I figured out that, yes, it had some characters in common. But the narrative, which starts with Olive (who hates her life, her parents and her job), then moves to Moustafa (who explains that Olive is spoiled and has no idea how lucky she is), works to highlight Olive's rapid maturing during a time of crisis. I particularly like Moustafa's willingness to break the fourth wall and talk directly to the audience during the set-up of the book. Unlike Couriers 02, which was a violence-filled story without much of a point, this book has a strong plot, and the characters grow and develop. Where Couriers 02 was a romp, this is a ride. It actually takes you somewhere. Yeah, I'm surprised, but I enjoyed it.

Still to review: Amazing Spider-Man, JLA: Another Nail, and Powerpuff Girls.

by Tegan at 12:56 PM Seattle time - Permalink

• Weight = No Reading
  
• Change From Last Week = No Reading
  
• Met Exercise Goal? Yes
  Goal was ten minutes a day on bike or treadmill at least six days.
  
• Current Exercise Goal = ten minutes a day, at least four days.
  
• Kept food diary? Yes.

by Tegan at 10:20 AM Seattle time - Permalink

Thursday, May 20, 2004

Angel [1-07]: Bachelor Party: One thought, and one thought only kept running through my mind as I watched this. "I wanna eat your brains!" Ok, maybe that wasn't the only thought, but once the brain-eating started, that's certainly what I was thinking of. Lisa (my little sister) and I were discussing why we like Angel so much, and besides the obvious appeal of a dark and brooding hunk like Boreanaz is the way it keeps trying to turn TV conventions on their heads. There's the whole "hero jumps into a car to go save the girl, only it's the wrong car" thing going on. You don't get exactly what you expect. In fact, you often get a lot more or less than you expect, and that adds to the appeal. Like I thought for sure that Cordelia was going to learn Doyle's secret in this episode, but there she was beating him up at the end, none the wiser. I enjoy the way this show plays with expectations. It doesn't always succeed, but it's fun to see it try.

Angel [1-08]: I Will Remember You: The romantic in me got all weepy at this episode. It was one of those powerful little tales. But I knew the cosmic reset button would have to be pushed in this one, I just didn't know how. I suppose it only made sense that it would be Angel himself. All those years of experience just don't go to waste. But there's one huge thing this episode says... there is a cure for vampirism. And it was fun to see Cordelia get stark raving jealous.

That's the first two discs in the set. Hopefully I can get through some more episodes during my pugless house stay. Watching DVDs and reading books should keep me out of trouble... ha.

by Tegan at 9:49 PM Seattle time - Permalink

Seaguy #1: Ok, this was majorly odd. At first I thought I wasn't liking it, then I realized I was completely drawn in, and trying to figure out the universe on its own terms. As soon as that hit me, I realized I was actually enjoying it quite a bit. I don't know much about Morrison or his other work. What he did on JLA didn't impress me much, so I figured that I wouldn't be that impressed with this book, either. I just couldn't resist a book called "Seaguy". I'm surprised and happy. I think this one is going to be very interesting. Just one nit, if someone couldn't tell the difference between black and white, wouldn't they be blind, not just "colorblind"?

Outsiders #12: I've been mostly neutral on this book. My main complaint was Dick's willingness to form a team that he wasn't close to so he wouldn't have to deal with their death/injuries/whatever. That point is brought up again in this issue, and I like what I see. I also like the "new" Metamorpho, who gets his own name in this issue. So this was a bit better than average for this book.

Still to review: Amazing Spider-Man, Batman Adventures, Birds of Prey, JLA: Another Nail, and Powerpuff Girls.

by Tegan at 3:46 PM Seattle time - Permalink

Thought Balloons thoughtfully points us to the second half of the Namor story on Movie Poop Shoot.

Ah, Young Iraqi Blogger In Love.

There's another attempt to legislate morality, and to keep parents from having to do the hard work of parenting. The CBLDF reports on what appears to be another despicable piece of legislation from people who want to make the world safe for their narrow minds. Remember: Some parents think that Harry Potter is harmful to their kids. Under this law, they could sue for $10000 anyone who makes the books available to their children (they wouldn't win, but they could sure make life miserable). Via Newsarama, via Thought Balloons and a dozen other blogs.

Andy Kaufman Returns. Is he, or isn't he? Well, if it isn't, I suspect Andy Kaufman would have approved.

Demo #6 came out yesterday, but there was none for me. Nope, my shop had to reorder, and got shorted. So, no Demo for me yet!

I also learned yesterday (and maybe some comics journalist, if any actually exist, could find out the story) that Nodwick and PS238 have been cancelled by Diamond under a code 3. That's a generic cancel code that could mean just about anything. Does anyone know why, and whether the books will be resolicited? It would be criminal to lose one of the best all-ages books in the business.

Disappointed by the movie Troy? Go pick up Age of Bronze from a local comic shop, or order the first trade on-line. Spread the word... this is the best retelling of the Trojan War to come down the pike, and it's out there... go grab it! And read the interview with Eric Shanower at Archaeology Magazine.

I'm still interested in hearing about gasoline prices where you are (even if you aren't in the US). What did you pay last time you filled up?

by Tegan at 10:41 AM Seattle time - Permalink

Wednesday, May 19, 2004

Smallville [3-22]: Covenant: Is it just me, or was that a quadruple cliff-hanger? I'm trying to remember if I've ever seen that in a TV show before, and I can't recall any instance of it. Anyway, the opening scene made it very clear that what we were about to see was not happy and Silver Agey, and it stayed the course for the whole episode. I wish I could say it romped along, or it was really good, or ... something. But it just seemed, except for the cliff-hangers, like a normal episode of Smallville. I'm eager to see what happens next, but I'm not dying to know. It was good, but it wasn't great.

Just a note on this, if you visit The Smallville Ledger you can follow-up on some of the events in the episode. One item of note shows up in the Classifieds: "TO MY STUDENTS AT SHS... Another school year is gone, and now it'll be months before I get to see you again. Be good, and avoid watching TV shows with annoying cliffhangers. Yours, Mr. Rosso." Ha. Ha.

Angel [5-22]: Not Fade Away: Wowsa. I expected a nice explosive send off, and that's what I got. If I have any complaint, it's that things got mildly confusing in the middle of the episode. Oh, yeah, and that I predicted Eve would do something phenomenally stupid, but as far as I could tell she didn't. Oh well, I got my other prediction correct. Not like that was a hard one. (spoilers)They've been setting up Wesley's death since Fred died, and they even set up Illyria's part in it. It was done better than I expected, though.(end spoilers) There were a lot of really good lines in this one. I love Illyria's comment to Gunn: "Try not to die. You are not unpleasant to my eyes." The deadpan delivery worked very well. But I think the best line belonged to Angel: "Can you pick out the one word you probably shouldn't have said?" Very nice. Humor right up until the end, action-packed. It was a good ride, and I've only just started watching the first season, so there's a lot of catching up for me to do. And it's nice that the series ended on an almost cliff-hanger, so there's the possibility of bringing some folks back for an encore someday.

Comics to review this week: Seaguy, Outsiders, Amazing Spider-Man, Batman Adventures, Birds of Prey, JLA: Another Nail, and Powerpuff Girls. Yes, Powerpuff Girls. Stop giggling.

by Tegan at 11:01 PM Seattle time - Permalink

So I went out to get my comics today (rapid reviews coming later) and, since I was in the neighborhood, stopped by at home to grab some necessities and drop off other stuff.

I also went over to check out the tent city.

As I drove up to my house, I passed one police SUV and a regular police car. When I went out to get my mail, a police car drove slowly past. When I started out on my short walk to the tent city, another police car drove past me.

From our driveway, I could see blue tarps through the trees in the direction of the tent city. So it's visible from our house, barely. As I walked up the street I could hear children playing on the playground at St Brendan. I could see no signs of life at Heritage, the school that locked down when the tent city moved in. The other school is on the other side of Heritage, and is a public school, and wasn't visible to me during my walk. There were two police cars parked in front of Heritage, one in the driveway, and one on the street.

In front of St Brendan, between the playground and tent city, another police car was parked. As I went around the corner and got my first real view of tent city, I could see another police car just vanishing around the far corner.

The police were out in force, but no newsvans. I guess it's yesterday's news.

Tent City itself ("Tent City 4" is the official name) was set up on a vacant lot. Below is a photo from TerraServer that shows where Tent City is located. The picture was taken two years ago, recently most of the trees on that lot were removed.

by Tegan at 5:17 PM Seattle time - Permalink

The weather today has got my head spinning. I woke up and looked outside... it was bright, sunny, and I couldn't see a cloud in the sky. I grabbed the newspaper, sat down and ate breakfast, then looked out again. The sky was filled with murderous-looking thunderclouds lowering at me. Forty-five minutes later, the sun was out again, and half the sky was clear.

Lots of controversy, and even a possible murder mystery, in the upcoming sale of Arthur Conan Doyle's Papers (NYT, registration required).

The complete soundtracks to Harry Potter 3 and Shrek 2 are legally available on-line. Streaming, of course (and it doesn't like Mozilla). I find the Shrek soundtrack more interesting because it seems to be updates of old songs, and I'm making a game out of figuring out the song. Some are easy. Some, not so much so.

Margaret Cho wants people to understand that she's not nice (adult language warning for the sensitive). Why link to this? Perhaps I identify.

Here's BBC news' take on the finalist cities for the 2012 Olympics.

Via Metafilter (again, always), it's Choose Your Own NY. A rather updated version of the old Choose Your Own Adventure books... and not recommended for children.

Ex-Mariner Randy Johnson pitches a perfect game, only the 17th in Major League history. It was also Arizona's first no-hitter... Randy Johnson threw Seattle's first no-hitter back in 1990.

A purple powder was thrown at Tony Blair during his weekly half-hour question and answer session. It was a protest staged by Fathers 4 Justice. These are the same guys who keep dressing up as superheroes. The purple powder was colored flour thrown in a condom.

The government of Texas has decided that they are allowed to declare what constitutes a religion... they've denied Unitarianism tax-exempt religious status because the church doesn't fit the government's definition of a religion. Which is, in my opinion, a violation of the first amendment. Of course, Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams were both Unitarians, so they apparently thought it was a religion.

If you haven't seen it yet, the full trailer for The Incredibles is up now. Look like fun.

Great story about how a guy helps fill up an apartment complex by offering tenants free wireless internet connections. via Boing Boing.

Last time I filled my tank, gas was at $2.25 a gallon here. What's it at where you are?

Update: when I went out to get comics today, I checked the prices between here and Bothell. Cheapest gas I saw was $2.25 a gallon. Most expensive (of the cheapest gas) was $2.34. The place I bought my gas at the last time I filled the tank was at $2.29. That's all for Unleaded, none of the fancy stuff.

by Tegan at 9:43 AM Seattle time - Permalink

Tuesday, May 18, 2004

Comic Book Resources has posted the top 300 comic books for books shipping in April. As usual, Aquaman's not high up on the list. Until I get some other data, like ICv2 usually provides, the stats are mostly meaningless.

Quantity Rank: 88
Retail Rank: 104
Index: 32.72
Code: FEB040251
Title: AQUAMAN #17
Price: $2.50
Publisher: DC

I have the whole set of retail information sitting on my Aquaman site in a very simple text file. It tells a very sad tale, indeed. Follow the historical fall-off of Aquaman sales. The only time his sales ever climb is during an event or when a new creative team takes on the series (and there's a boost in publicity). What I find most telling is the circulation statement from 1970, with the yearly average: 141,332. ANY comic book that got that in average sales nowadays would be the top seller. In 1970, it was poor enough to get Aquaman cancelled.

Comic Book Resources has also posted the DC Books for August. Yes, I know they were posted at Comics Continuum yesterday. I guess it's worth noting that Toon Zone and DC themselves have also posted solicits. I guess it's a case of "pick your poison".

by Tegan at 6:19 PM Seattle time - Permalink

I'm still muzzy from the migraine, but this will have to do (typos will be corrected as I find them):

Thanks to Pacific Views, I got to see this picture of Mount St. Helens from space:

by Tegan at 1:18 PM Seattle time - Permalink

I was going to give you a nice random thoughts post this morning to distract you from the rest of my blog, but the migraine did something my migraines have never done before. It came back. So I currently feel (and this is as close as I can get to describing it, it's actually much, much worse) like something stretched me out as thin as a sheet of paper, played drums on me through an entire performance of Stomp, then let me ooze back into my natural form while kicking me around a soccer pitch. I have this vague notion that my recent bout with fibromyalgia may have made the after-effects worse. I'll be seeing my doctor in a week, I'll ask then.

In the meantime, it still hurts a little to look at a computer screen. I discovered yesterday afternoon that the pugless house has no dark rooms. None at all. Every room is full of light. I could not find a dark place to hide away from the pain, I had to cover my eyes, which doesn't always work. Of course, the sun was out, too, making everything brighter.

Now that the attack seems to be over, knock on wood, I intend to get the sleep I missed last night. When I wake up again I'll put together my random thoughts post. Until then, go read a blog from someone coherent.

by Tegan at 7:10 AM Seattle time - Permalink

Monday, May 17, 2004

This time, it's my little sister, Lisa. I think I mentioned that a few weeks ago I gave her Aquaman #15, a copy that the back cover was destroyed on. I didn't really expect her to read it, she's never had any interest in Aquaman and has always preferred non-superhero stories. So I was surprised when she asked me if any more issues came out, and if she could read them.

Heck yeah! I'm not giving up a chance to show off my favorite character to someone who seems interested. So when she visited last night I handed her the last three issues, and she gave me her thoughts this morning.

Some background. I wax enthusiastic about Aquaman on-line, but not in "real life". Lisa admits that all she really knew about Aquaman was that he's from Atlantis and he can talk to fish. She didn't even know his name is Arthur until "that green guy" (J'onn) started calling him by it, and even then, she was momentarily confused. Basically, she's coming in cold. (I'll also point out that she was born a bit late for Super Friends).

by Tegan at 11:49 AM Seattle time - Permalink

I hate pigeons. I could sleep, if not for the pigeons. They scratch at the skylight, they sit outside the window and warble at each other, they peck and flap and are generally annoying. I wonder if pigeon pie is any good?

The Infinite Cat Project has grown dramatically.

Color Photos from The Depression... a slideshow by the New York Times. This is a pretty impressive display. Via Sampo, who has some thoughts on how we perceive the past.

by Tegan at 5:55 AM Seattle time - Permalink

Sunday, May 16, 2004

I don't do this much anymore, mostly because I don't feel like newspapers represent my opinion anyway anymore, but this article in the Seattle Times just got me a bit hot under the collar, and I had to write. I'd appreciate feedback on how effectively you think I got my two main points across, and if you detect any bias in my letter that I may not be aware of. I just sent this off:

To The Editor,

Susie Peterson says (in your Sunday article) that her daughter "can put her little 6-year-old finger through the chain-link fence" that separates her daughter's school from the location of the tent city. What does Peterson think the tent city is? A group of rabid dogs inclined to bite little 6-year-old fingers? And she's willing to trust her child with the school every day, but unwilling to believe that the school can protect her child from whatever imagined horrors Peterson sees in the tent city?

I live less than a block from the church, and less than two blocks from the proposed placement of tent city. I'm not inclined to panic. St. Brendan has always been a good neighbor, and I trust them to keep faith with the people in our neighborhood. If there's a problem, I expect they will deal with it promptly.

No, I'm much more concerned and disturbed at how this decision was made so quickly and without community input. There was no time given for anyone to get used to the idea, much less for irrational fears, like Peterson's fear for her daughter's finger, to be addressed. Having something like this forced on a group of people will always bring out the worst in those people. While I don't believe that this tent city poses a threat, it would have been nice, not to mention polite, for the church and the representatives to give us some time to discuss and learn.

The resentment they have caused by ignoring the community is not going to help them. I trust they will consider their next move a little more carefully. In the meantime, I'd like to say to them: Welcome to the neighborhood. Please don't disappoint those of us who aren't opposed to your visit.

Laura Gjovaag

by Tegan at 10:40 AM Seattle time - Permalink

H-E-R-O #16: Is Robby insane, or is he on to something? This is one gruesome book at the moment. What happens when a truly sick person gets his hands on the H-E-R-O device? We're finding out. Between his work on Aquaman and this book, I'm beginning to think I've found a new favorite comic book writer.

Fallen Angel #11: The final issue of this story arc starts out oddly, and builds into something even more odd. As usual, I'm not sure why I'm liking this book, but I do. I'm deeply intrigued by it, but I'm not entirely sure what I'm seeing in it. Then again, a full-scale (spoiler)bluff(end spoiler) like that made the story worth it.

Evening Shift: The opening made me laugh. I had a friend who programs computers who couldn't spell "programmer" if his life depended on it, so he called himself a "coder". Anyway, this is a pretty strong story. It's almost a 'slice of life' tale, but a little more serious than that. After I finished I sat back and said "wow", which I guess means I was impressed. It also holds up well to a second reading. The artwork doesn't flow well, but it fits the story. This is not a superhero book, and the art is not slick and overdone, but it's not sketchy, either. There are samples at the website. This one is worth a look.

Coming this Wednesday (according to the lastest shipping list): Seaguy, Outsiders, Amazing Spider-Man Demo, Batman Adventures, and Another Nail.

by Tegan at 8:02 AM Seattle time - Permalink